Author: Robert Greenberger

DC Comics and Warner Animation have every reason to celebrate their first decade of original feature film work. Since their inception, they have explored ways of adapting classic and current storylines to expand the audience for the heroes and villains that have existed on the four-color page. In time, they have experimented with styles, looks, and sounds, slowly but surely evolving into a shared universe of linked features so dedicated audiences can watch things progress.

The celebration is taking place in the just-released DC Universe Original Movies: 10^th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray box set, which is limited to a numbered set of 20,000 units, priced at $299.99.

In addition to the thirty films and bonus content disc, the box set comes with an exclusive 40-page adult coloring book featuring key art from all DC Universe films and exclusive collector coins featuring the DC “Trinity” – Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

Overall, it’s handsome set with lovely cover artwork and nice interior design. Clearly aimed at collectors, it ranks up there with some of the other anniversary box sets from elsewhere in the digital universe. Obviously, the films vary in quality and not all is to individual taste, but together they are a testament to the characters’ adaptable quality, able to be interpreted and reinterpreted by a wide range of talents.

On the bonus disc, there should be something about the decade itself, some roundtable of creators, animators and voice actors looking back. It feels like a gaping absence. Instead, we start with a 49-minute “The Super Human in Us All” which is meant to be an inspiring look at real-world heroes, individuals who have committed selfless acts to help others. Some have used those moments to launch new careers and they are justifiably celebrated, but it is an oh-so-serious, ponderous production, intermixing way too much Alex Ross artwork to connect DC’s heroes with these admirable humans that it proves more self-important than inspiring.

The hosts from DC All-Access take us through a cursory “Comic Book History of Justice League Dark”, leaving out key details. Considering they appear in just one of the films with no announced plans for more, it is a curiosity.

Far better is “Mark Hamill: Finding The Laugh”, as the actor traces his career from Star Wars to his 20-plus year career voicing the Clown Prince of Crime. He acknowledges those who brought their own take as found on several films in this set and walks us through his thought process in finding his voice and sustaining it as the content has grown darker, notably the video games.

Also included is the obligatory DC Universe Original Movies 10^th Anniversary Panel at 2017 Comic-Con International spotlights Bruce Timm, James Tucker, co-producers/screenwriters Alan Burnett and Jim Krieg; along with voice actors Kevin Conroy (Batman), Tara Strong (Harley Quinn), John DiMaggio (multiple), Vanessa Marshall (Wonder Woman) and Christopher Gorham (Flash).

As is appropriate for the celebration, the 2008 Comic-Con International Wonder Woman (Animated) Panel is presented, featuring former DC Publisher Paul Levitz, Bruce Timm, director Lauren Montgomery, eight-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue/casting director Andrea Romano, and Nathan Fillion (Steve Trevor).

There are Lookbooks for Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, Batman: The Killing Joke, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis and Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, which are essentially still images and text.

Panel Discussion – A Tribute to Darwyn Cooke is another celebration of the artist and animator who left us too early but did give us many wonderful projects so deserves the look back.

There are three brief pieces drawn from the JLA: Gods & Monsters film, featuring variant takes on the trinity.

For the record: the 30-film DC Universe Original Movies: 10^th Anniversary Collection includes:

1. SUPERMAN: DOOMSDAY
2. JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE NEW FRONTIER (COMMEMORATIVE EDITION)
3. BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT
4. WONDER WOMAN (COMMEMORATIVE EDITION)
5. GREEN LANTERN: FIRST FLIGHT
6. SUPERMAN/BATMAN: PUBLIC ENEMIES
7. JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS
8. BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD
9. SUPERMAN/BATMAN: APOCALYPSE
10. ALL-STAR SUPERMAN
11. GREEN LANTERN: EMERALD KNIGHTS
12. BATMAN: YEAR ONE
13. JUSTICE LEAGUE: DOOM
14. SUPERMAN VS. THE ELITE
15. THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, PART 1
16. THE DARK KNIGHTS RETURNS, PART 2
17. SUPERMAN: UNBOUND
18. JUSTICE LEAGUE: THE FLASHPOINT PARADOX
19. JUSTICE LEAGUE: WAR
20. SON OF BATMAN
21. BATMAN: ASSAULT ON ARKHAM
22. JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS
23. BATMAN VS. ROBIN
24. JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS AND MONSTERS
25. BATMAN: BAD BLOOD
26. JUSTICE LEAGUE VS. TEEN TITANS
27. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE
28. JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK
29. TEEN TITANS: THE JUDAS CONTRACT
30. BATMAN AND HARLEY QUINN

Also included: SUPERMAN/SHAZAM! The Return of Black Adam, along with The Spectre, Green Arrow, Jonah Hex, and Catwoman shorts.

Once upon a time, a young screenwriter managed to sell a vampire film script with the absurd title of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What no one realized at the time was that this amusing romp would evolve into a cult television series that would make stars out of the cast and turn the screenwriter into an acclaimed writer/director of television, feature films, and comic books.

But what was there in that little summer film from a, gasp, quarter-century ago? No surprise here, this month 20^th Century Home Entertainment wasn’t going to let its anniversary slide and now have the Buffy the Vampire Slayer 25th Anniversary edition for consideration.

While the Joss Whedon script shows flashes of the wunderkind he was to become soon after, here, his subtle touches are mashed by director Fran Rubel Kuzui, who didn’t seem to share his sensibilities. Instead, she seems more accustomed to the Japanese style of film where she has largely toiled ever since. The necessary mix of geek humor and outright horror seemed beyond her skills to pull off effectively.

The film featured Kristy Swanson as Buffy Summers and was supported by Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Hilary Swank, David Arquette, and Luke Perry in their attempt to save California from Rutger Hauer and his demon horde. If you come to this fresh, knowing only the show, there’s a lot that changed. Buffy on film is a senior and Giles is a mysterious stranger named Merrick Jamison-Smythe. What may seem familiar is Buffy was your stereotypical airhead/cheerleader who has to grow up in a hurry to accept her destiny as the Slayer. While Joyce on the show was a loving, supportive mother, here, Mom (Candy Clark) is a distant, neglectful influence.

If you pay attention will see uncredited turns from Ben Affleck, Ricki Lake, and later Buffy regular, Seth Green.

The 1992 release came and went without much of a ripple in the zeitgeist so this is an interesting misfire of a cultural artifact. A better interpretation of Whedon’s intention would be his Dark Horse graphic novel, Buffy: The Origin, which he considers more faithful and canonical.

It’s a fairly tepid celebration with no new extras, just a nice high definition transfer and a digital HD code.

While Warner Animation and Warner Home Entertainment celebrate ten years of DC Comics adaptations with next month’s 30-disc set, they are also spotlighting one of their best efforts with the current release of Justice League: The New Frontier – Commemorative Edition in a steelbook.

Based on Darwyn Cooke’s 2004 acclaimed miniseries, the 2008 animated adaptation received an 8/10 here at ComicMix. The 75-minute story deserves a fresh look and it’s a loving tribute to Cooke, who died in 2016, leaving behind a fine legacy. Directed by Dave Bullock from a script by Cooke and Stan Berkowitz, the largely faithful story is a loving tribute to an earlier era when heroes needed courage first, powers were secondary.

While the characters hail from the first days of comics’ Silver Age, the story is a fresh take, involving an alien entity known as The Centre, threatening all life of earth. With each feint and direct attack, men and women rise to the challenge, some demonstrating powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. J’Onn J’Onzz (Miguel Ferrer) reveals himself a Martian while Wonder Woman (Lucy Lawless) comes from Paradise Island to participate in the world’s defense. Bit by bit, the heroes band together so you have the birth of the Justice League, but we also have the Challengers of the Unknown, the original Suicide Squad, Dinosaur Island, the Losers, and others making an appearance.

You have to watch this to absorb all the Easter Eggs and marvel at Cooke’s deft ability to make each character recognizable and distinct. This is action-packed and perhaps one of the best adaptations over the last decade. No doubt, Cooke’s involvement guarantees that. The vocal cast, anchored by Jeremy Sisto, David Boreanez, Neil Patrick Harris, Kyle MacLachlan, Phil Morris, and John Heard is one of the stronger assemblages of talent.

The Blu-ray remains visually striking but no different than the original edition. The original special features — Audio Commentary: Bruce Timm, Michael Goguen, David Bullock, Stan Berkowitz, Andrea Romano and Gregory Noveck; Audio Commentary: Writer/Artist Darwyn Cooke; Super Heroes United! The Complete Justice League History; The Legion of Doom: The Pathology of the DC Super Villain; Comic Book Commentary: Homage to the New Frontier – are retained here.

What is new, though, is Retro Action Cool: The Story of Darwyn Cooke where friends and colleagues talk about Cooke the creator and his legacy. Many get emotional talking about their departed friend, especially Art Director Mark Chiarello, who found his work in an editor’s slush pile, and offered to get him published. It’s nice that Cooke’s work for IDW’s Parker adaptations is featured in addition to his DC material. And in a welcome touch, you actually get some interview outtakes that humanize the earnest talking heads, especially DC co-publisher Dan DiDio.

If you missed this then, get it now.

You can’t help but watch the just-released Batman vs. Two-Face with a tear in your eye and weight in your heart. Adam West’s final performance was thankfully completed well before his untimely death in June. He goes out with some fine tributes but it’s a shame the concluding chapter of his Batman career is such a mess of a story.

For whatever reason, ABC and 20^th Century-Fox chose not to use Two-Face, perhaps fearing he was too gruesome for 7:30 p.m. viewing. That’s a shame since the Harlan Ellison treatment for a two-parter, had some promise. The tortured psyche of District Attorney Harvey Dent makes for a wonderful examination of mankind’s duality and the obsession with the number two fits in with the rest of the rogues’ gallery. For whatever reason, the screenwriters eschewed the comic origins in favor of something hewing closer to Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde (appropriately name-checked here).

There are storytelling lapses in logic that one could argue is in keeping with the rushed pace of producing the original story but for a sustained, feature-length story, you need a far stronger premise. We have Prof. Hugo Strange (Jim Ward) making his debut, demonstrating he has figured out how to extract “evil” from Batman’s foes. To test it, some genius has allowed him to experiment on five of the most dangerous foes rather than one, so yes it works, but so much evil has been extracted that the machine predictably explodes. And so Two-Face is born.

The rest of the story presents an opportunity to showcase large numbers of familiar felons in a wrong-headed bit of fan service (we got them last time so this feels repetitive) while creating an oddly dissatisfying subplot of Dick Grayson (Burt Ward) actually feeling jealous of Bruce Wayne (West) having an adult male friendship with Dent (William Shatner); something to feed the homosexual theories that have existed between the duo since Fredric Wertham first raised the issue in the 1950s. Thankfully, we have the welcome dalliance between Batman and Catwoman (Julie Newmar) early in the story to cement the notion that Bruce is straight. His opening scene of reciting poetry to her from outside her prison cell is one of the most romantic elements in the series.

Given the pedigree shared by writers James Tucker and Michael Jelenic, I expected a tighter story. There’s a lot of fighting, wheel-spinning, and effort to wink at the fans to prolong the story of Two-Face’s efforts to rule Gotham, especially after he unmasks Batman, and Dent’s struggle to retain his humanity. We get a nice focus on King Tut (Wally Wingert) and his own duality issues while little used villain Bookworm (Jeff Bergman) makes for a nice red herring. There is also the introduction of Dr. Quinzel (Sirena Irwin) which is tonally wrong and out of place.

Director Rick Morales does a serviceable job but may have allowed too many inside jokes, marring the actual pathos of the story. That said, of the various puns and jokes, the best may be that Dent is treated after the initial explosion at the Sisters of Perpetual Irony Hospital.

While West, Ward, and Newmar are welcome familiar voices, Shatner surprises with a nuanced performance as Dent/Two-Face. What could have been over-the-top, even for this series, actually helps ground the character’s torment. They are all well-supported by an able vocal cast.

Visually, the designs for Batman/Wayne and Robin/Grayson are less effective than the previous feature. In some angles, Robin actually looks aged and too often, neither look like their live-action counterparts. Thankfully, the animators literally copied Filmation’s Captain Kirk poses so Shatner is recognizable as his 1966 self and his Two-Face is appropriately creepy.

The Blu-ray combo pack comes with the Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD code. The Special Features open with “The Wonderful World of Burt Ward” (14:30), a look at the actor’s career and half-century relationship with West. The actor is remember during the Adam West Tribute Panel from Comic-Con International 2017 (39:30), where radio personality Ralph Garman, director Kevin Smith, producer James Tucker, actress Lee Meriwether, and moderator Gary Miereanu talk about the man’s influence over generations; “Burt Ward on Being Starstruck” (2:00); “Burt Ward on Ambition” (1:00); and “Julie Newmar on Inspiration” (2:00). Look for a 30-second Easter Egg which is fun, but obvious.: bAT

There has been a certain joyfulness to the CW’s iZombie which was missing in the original Vertigo series. Producer Rob Thomas has also been wise in making each season feel slightly different than the preceding one to keep things fresh. It certainly helps to have shorter seasons for a more potent viewing experience. Warner Home Entertainment has released iZombie the Complete Third Season on DVD while Warner Archive offers up a Blu-ray version.

Much of the credit beyond Thomas’ light touch goes to Rose McIver who plays Liv, the zombie who must consume a deceased’s brains once a month otherwise be turned into your stereotypical monster. Once she devours the brains, she briefly takes on the person’s aspect giving her a chance to go from vamp to klutz, a performance second only to Tatiana Maslany’s many-faceted clone over at Orphan Black.

She’s surrounded by a strong supporting cast led by Liv’s ex-fiancé Major (Robert Buckley), also a zombie. We open the third season to deal with ramifications of Chase Graves’ (Jason Dohring) company Filmore Graves having taken over energy drink producer Max Rager for reasons that get spelled out throughout the season. The idea of a home in Seattle for the growing population of zombies is an interesting one but things are never simple.

The inter-relationships have deepened this year as police detective Clive Babineaux (Malcolm Goodwin) learns the truth about Liv, making him more of an ally. Being a CW show, there are plenty of romantic complications, notably Ravi Chakrabarti (Rahul Kohli) learning that Peyton (Aly Michalka) has slept with former zombie, once more human Blaine (David Anders).

Everything, gets shoved aside as D-Day approaches, with Carey Gold (Anjali Jay) releasing the Aleutian Fly as part of the master plan. When Aleutian Flu vaccines containing zombie virus are beginning to spread among the populace. The final episodes packs a little too much exposition into the beginning, which may show some earlier plotting missteps. To warn America about the plot, Liv agrees to let Johnny Frost (Daran Norris) broadcast that is not only warning about the tainted vaccine but that zombies already walk among them. This sets up an intriguing new status quo for the forthcoming season four.

The DVD set has fine transfers so audio and video are good for rewatching. There are a handful of deleted scenes throughout, including a thread about the Major seeking zombie turned called girl Natalie (Brooke Lyons). Beyond that we have the obligatory 2016 iZombie panel from San Diego Comic-Con.

The Transformers mythology is an eons-long inter-galactic tale that is rich in its own history. We have the rise of intelligent techno-organic lifeforms, a split between rival points of view, and a struggle for supremacy. All along the way, for reasons that are never spelled out in their history, Earth has been of particular interest to the Autobots and Decepticons.

That much has powered countless comics, animated episodes, and four live-action feature films. Rather than marvel at the wonders of the cosmos or reveal to us why the planet is important, the fifth installment, The Last Knight, retrofit the Knights of the Round Table to an already convoluted and, frankly, boring film series. This film, out now on disc from Paramount Home Entertainment, more or less retreads the first four films, mixing returning humans and Transformers and adding in a few new figures to freshen things, and yet, no one cares. The film was widely panned and crashed at the box office, another sequel that failed to interest its core audience nor attract new fans.

The blame clearly has to be laid at the feet of director Michael Bay, who is endlessly repeating himself and may have grown just as bored as his audience. The title is a clear link between Cybertron and King Arthur (Liam Garrigan) and tries to make this mess sound important. We have Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) turned into his evil twin Nemesis Prime, we have Quintessa (Gemma Chan), who claims to be leader of the Decpticons and a physical manifestation of  Unicron, the source for all Transformers, and even Viviane Wembly (Laura Haddock), who turns out to be Merlin’s descendant, channeling the great wizard. Lots of reincarnation and resurrection, but really, lots of sound and fury without signifying a damn thing we care about.

Mark Wahlberg is back and we wonder why, much as we question Stanley Tucci and Anthony Hopkins slumming here for the paycheck. What should be a Big Kids’ action-adventure romp has grown weighty and ponderous with each successive installment so we can hope the pitiful box office means they will retire or at least retool.

The film is available in all the usual digital formats including the popular Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD combo pack. There, the high def transfer is sharp and satisfying, surpassed by the top notch audio track.

And if you think the film franchise is tired, the extras carry that theme onto a bonus second Blu-ray disc. There, you can watch Merging Mythologies (19:53), Climbing the Ranks (8:48), The Royal Treatment: Transformers in the UK (27:04), Motors and Magic (14:47), Alien Landscape: Cybertron (7:15), and One More Giant Effin’ Movie (6:45). What it needed was a primer on the larger Transformers mythology and how this film fits in.

A good franchise finds nooks and crannies to explore, taking the beloved characters to new places, letting us see how they handle new challenges or opponents.

A bad franchise retreads the elements from the first offering without really making any effort to show us anything new or to deepen our affection for the character(s).

This summer, sadly, we have been presented with several misfires starting with Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was a breath of fresh air when he first stepped ashore many, many years ago. But the tipsy captain with the heart of gold and squishy moral code is pretty much the same here, film number five. We’re learning nothing new about him, we’re seeing him do nothing we haven’t seen before and frankly, we’re bored.

Visually, Dead Men Tell No Tales, is fine. The sea looks lovely, the costumes, props, sets, and ships are nicely rendered and detailed. But we’ve seen dead pirates rise from the grave, we’ve seen sea battles, we’ve seen people swoon or swing at Jack.

His initial supporting cast is now largely gone through attrition which is a shame since they livened up the story. His closest comrades, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley) fell in love, married, and had a kid more or less ending their saga. The son, Henry (Brenton Thwaites) is now a man and is seeking a way to save dear old dad from eternal service aboard the Flying Dutchman. His quest has him cross paths with Jack, and we realize after two decades, he’s much the same. A Jack confronting age and mortality might have been interesting but Terry Rossio, back for one more bite of the apple, and co-writer Jeff Nathanson aren’t interested in that.

They came up with yet another relic, Poseidon’s Trident, and used that as the Maguffin to move the pieces around the seven seas. We do meet Carina (Kaya Scodelario), an amateur astronomer, who is interesting but doesn’t really play as large a part as she might have. When they encounter Jack, he is a lost man, without his beloved crew or powerful compass. Its loss, somehow triggers the resurrection of Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his undead crew but, yawn, we’ve seen that, too.

In the end, we see justice and true love triumph, we have fine cameos from Bloom and Knightley and even Sir Paul McCartney turns up. But really, we’re done and hopefully so is Disney.

The film was digitally photographed and the Digital HD copy that was reviewed was sharp, crisp, and just a delight to watch on the flatscreen. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack is also excellent so at least we’re getting a pretty film to enjoy despite the content’s shortcomings.

The film is also available in 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD in varying combinations. Most contain the usual assortment of so-so extras including Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Making of a New Adventure: A seven-part behind-the-scenes feature made up of  A Return to the Sea (3:33); Telling Tales: A Sit-Down with Brenton & Kaya (8:48); The Matador & The Bull: Secrets of Salazar & the Silent Mary (13:38); First Mate Confidential (8:48); Deconstructing the Ghost Sharks (3:50); Wings Over the Caribbean (5:11); and, An Enduring Legacy (3:59).

Additionally, there are some amusing Bloopers of the Caribbean (2:58), Jerry Bruckheimer Photo Diary (1:40), and four Deleted Scenes (2:59).

Having earned over $800 million, Wonder Woman has proven itself on many levels. In a year that started, more or less, with Hidden Figures, and with a summer that had three hits featuring women (the others being Atomic Blonde and Girls Trip) the female half of the movie going audience is finally receiving their due. Director Patty Jenkins has certainly shattered some records and glass ceilings along the way while Gal Gadot has now proven she can open a movie.

With Wonder Woman out today on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video, we have a chance to look back and enjoy it all over again. While it fits neatly in the larger DC Cinematic Universe thanks to the framing sequence, the movie largely works on its own with a vastly superior tone and vision than its predecessors.

There is sumptuous color representing Themyscira, home to the Amazons. All the scenes there are a delight as we see women of age and color living harmoniously with the land and training because they know that man’s world remains a violent one.

When the First World War literally arrives on their shores, the women are ready and the beach fight is a spectacle. It also means it is time to re-engage with the world and Diana insists she be the emissary, bringing Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) back to his people. It’s clear to the Amazons that Ares (David Thewlis) is behind this and Diana brings with her the god-killer sword, convinced men will lay down their arms once Ares is defeated.

The remainder of the movie is Diana’s journey, less a fish out of a water story, more of a series of discoveries. She learns to trust men, marvel at ice cream, and show compassion where others would demonstrate might. With Trevor, she collects a select team of agents, each with their skills, but all in awe of what she can do. The team – Sameer (Said Taghmaoui), Charlie (Ewen Bremner), and Chief Napi (Eugene Brave Rock) – give her someone to talk to along the way and they demonstrate that not all men are square-jawed righteous as Trevor is or as devious as General Erich Ludendorff  (Danny Huston). Similarly, Trevor’s British contact, Etta Candy (Lucy Davis) is contrasted by Doctor Poison (Elena Anaya).

Her arrival in No Man’s Land, changing the months-long stalemate, is perhaps the film’s best sequence as it shows Diana as Wonder Woman for the first time and it’s a joy to behold.

If there are any quibbles it is the one many comics fans made, the final fate of Steve Trevor. Set in World War I, there was not plausible way for Trevor to be a part of her life in the modern world so his story had to end. It just didn’t need to repeat the end of Captain America; The First Avenger.

The film is released in the usual assortment of packages including the popular Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD set. The high definition 2.39:1 transfer is brilliant, letting Themyscira glisten and not losing a detail during the less color-saturated war sequences. The Dolby Atmos sound track is a delight, showcasing Rupert Gregson-Williams’ excellent score.

As it deserves, the film is accompanied with a rich assortment of special features, starting with Epilogue: Etta’s Mission, a brief bit that toasts Trevor’s memory and establishes the team as force, on the hunt for a Mother Box (hinting at Justice League of course).

The behind-the-scenes material begins with Crafting the Wonder which explores the look of the film and how much the lighting was influenced by the paintings of John Singer Sargent. We then get five short A Director’s Vision pieces: Themyscira: The Hidden Island (4:53), Beach Battle (4:54), A Photograph Through Time ((5:01), Diana in the Modern World (4:37), and Wonder Woman at War (4:58).

Warriors of Wonder Woman (9:50) introduces us to the international assortment of women who spent four months physically training to become Amazons.

The Trinity (15:56) has cast, crew and comics creators Greg Rucka, Phil Jimenez, Liam Sharp, Paul Dini, Cliff Chiawonder ng, Jill Thompson, and Lauren Montgomery who directed the 2008 animated Wonder Woman film, examine DC’s holy trinity of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. They discuss their similarities and differences and how they balance once another in print and on screen.

The Wonder Behind the Camera (15:31) focuses on the many women Jenkins hired to work on the production, as seen through the eyes of aspiring female teen filmmakers who visited for a day.

Finding the Wonder Woman Within (22:40) has award-winning poets and a wide assortment of public figures (including Dee Dee Meyers and Danica Patrick) discuss what female empowerment means to them along with their connection to the Amazon Princess.

There are six Extended Scenes which are worth a look and the usual Blooper Reel.

All along, showrunners Marc Guggenheim and Wendy Mericle have been telling us Arrow was seen as a five-year odyssey, intended to be the same amount of time post-Lian Yu, to show how he has grown since being stranded there. Other than that noble notion, the execution has been incredibly uneven season to season.

As the series entered its fifth year, they began the season uncertain if this was going to be its final one so they made certain things got tidied up. The tedious flashbacks had to wrap up the five years before the series’ start and move Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) and his friends towards a point where, should it be canceled, viewers were left satisfied.

Somewhere during the production of the final nine episodes, they got a sixth season renewal so shifted the planning to bring things to a climax and a cliffhanger. The messy 23 episodes are now collected by Warner Home Entertainment in Arrow: The Complete Fifth Season.

Oliver Queen’s story was one of redemption and responsibility wrapped around his family. Along the way it has taken interesting twists and turns and this year it was clear the intent was to get back to the street-level threats that propelled the Hood, the Arrow, and Green Arrow to protect Starling, now Star, City. As a result, it was an odd monkey-wrench tossed in when the series had to acknowledge the existence of aliens among us with its participation in the four-part crossover. The planning was haphazard since the episode had to double as a celebration of its 100^th episode and therefore focused more on that than the crossover, spoiling the impact it should have had.

Oliver realizes there is so much to do, as both the Arrow and as Mayor, that he needs a team now that Diggle (David Ramsey) is in prison and Speedy (Willa Holland) has had her fill of costumed adventure. Slowly, and reluctantly, he rebuilds with the addition of Wild Dog (Rick Gonzalez), Artemis (Madison McLaughlin), Ragman (Joe Dinicol), and Mister Terrific (Echo Kellum). Later, detective Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy) uses her sonic powers to join the team as the future Black Canary III. These newcomers offer a breath of fresh air to the series’ dynamic, especially as they are trained and then sent out to fight, not entirely agreeing with the hows. Artemis’ betrayal is a surprise but she’s off-stage for so long that when she turns up as Prometheus’ sidekick, we wonder where she’s been. Her arc deserved better since the betrayal is important.

Picking up from the Olicity breakup at the end of season four, the season’s best episode may have been “Underneath”, which focused mainly on Ollie and Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards), allowing them to air out their emotions showing more can be done with less – a lesson I wish all the CW series would learn.

Instead, Prometheus (voiced by Michael Dorn) is the Big Bad, the son of someone Arrow killed way back in season one and has spent the last four years not only training himself to be the hero’s physical equal but to be psychologically ahead of his target. Throughout the season he takes out the people around Ollie until he gets Ollie himself and forces him to look deep inside himself to confront some harsh truths.

The problem with Adrian Chase (Josh Segarra) as Prometheus is that he’s too smart, too sophisticated and accomplishes way more than he should be capable of. He’s too perfect of a villain to be a true threat and I reached my limit when he produced Ollie’s secret son William (Jack Moore).

Muddying the storyline are threads that never went anywhere such as Ollie’s sort of romance with journalist Susan Williams (Carly Pope), and the periodic appearance of Vigilante, who in the comics is Chase, so makes us wonder who this one is.

And with such a sprawling cast, Quentin Lance (Paul Blackthorne) doesn’t get enough screen time but what he does get, is usually as a foil to Wild Dog – their dynamic is at least a fresh one. Holland’s coming and going from the series was never adequately covered so her character is under-served and deserves far better.

Personally, I felt Ollie never should have left the island and the flashbacks should have ended about three seasons earlier. That said, I am fine the Russian thread got dealt with and we can move forward.

The climax, set where it all began, on the island, brings everyone to one place then doesn’t do anywhere enough with them, including Talia al Ghul (Lexa Doig) , who felt more tacked on that useful. As it stands, the past has been figuratively and literally destroyed in the final episode so truly, the new season next month can finally move forward.

The 23 episodes come complete with a series of related deleted scenes and the ever-popular Gag Reel. We get the third installment of Allied: The Invasion Complex, this one focusing on using the alien tech to let the Arrow characters see alternate histories, which reset Oliver’s goals for the remainder of the season. There are two other featurettes: The New Team Arrow where the production team talk about how the new team members were selected, designed to be fresh and allow the writers to change-up the character interplays; and Returning to the Roots of Arrow: Prometheus, examining how the series unintentionally set this up and how it got to be paid off (without really discussing the comic book origins of Prometheus or Adrian Chase).

After two seasons of relentlessly grim Arrow, we all welcomed Flash with open arms, rejoicing in its optimism and joy. Sure, there were some quibbles and wobbles, but it was still eminently entertaining with an appealing cast.

Then came season three. I do not understand DC’s fixation with Flashpoint, a miniseries that really doesn’t hold up to examination and was not only the cornerstone for this misfire of a season but will also be felt in the first Flash feature film. The repercussions of Barry’s rash decision at the end of season two, to race back in time and save his mother’s life, had substantial impact on his life and those of others in his world. Then, when he tried to fix it, other changes happened and he spent most of the season moping.

Flash: The Complete Third Season, out this week from Warner Home Entertainment, was an unhappy slog through muddled storylines and soap opera elements with bright bursts of hope things would get better.

In comics, Savitar was a serious threat to the Speed Force and all speedsters, but here, he was revealed to be a grumpy older Barry (Grant Gustin) stuck in a suit of armor that didn’t make a lot of sense. The drawn out thread was so badly handled the producers have publically regretted they didn’t plan it out better. No kidding.

They have also fallen into the bad trap of the characters always lying to one another to “protect” them or some other noble claptrap. Let them be honest and handle the fallout. No wonder Team Flash has trust issues – and they’re the good guys.

While people have rightly complained the Big Bads are always speedsters, the show is getting rather full of fleet-footed heroes, too. With Flash, Kid Flash (Keiynan Lonsdale), Jesse Quick (Violett Beane), and Jay Garrick (John Wesley Shipp), it’s a bit much when trying to keep the focus on the title character.

The idea of different Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanagh) coming to Earth-1 from across the multiverse is interesting once or twice, but I think enough is enough. Either stick with one or send him home.

So, instead, let’s focus on the better elements such as how well handled this series’ installment of the four-part (really two-part) “Invasion!” crossover was or how delightful the musical crossover with Supergirl was. The Barry/Iris (Candace Patton) romance simmered well as was Joe West’s (Jesse L. Martin) new romance with Cecile (Danielle Nicolet). HG’s nascent romance with Anne Dudak’s scientist was interesting but she was never fully integrated into the Team, which I thought was a shame.

From the beginning we knew Caitlin (Danielle Panabaker) was doomed to become Killer Frost and had hints of it previously, but her permanent change was another well-handled bit of business, especially as she was falling for Julian Albert (Tom Felton). It was also interesting to see Cisco (Carlos Valdes) grow into his Vibe powers and his scenes with would-be paramour Gypsy (Jessica Camacho) were always fun.

And Flash in comics or TV has been about the fun, the joy of being a hero. He enjoys one of the best collection of villains in all comicdom and it’s good to see so many make it to the screen – it’d be nice if they were better developed, but who can complain about Flash vs. Grodd in an arena full of gorillas? More please.

“Finish Line” closed the season with Flash entering the Speed Force because, for reasons beyond comprehension, a speedster must always live there. Don’t worry, we all know he’s coming back and the producers hope it’s in some heroic manner but really, in October, get things rolling without dithering.

The Blu-ray set contains four discs with all twenty-three episodes, most coming with deleted scenes of varying length and importance. Additionally, there are numerous special features, mostly on the final disc but they are scattered. We have the The Flash: 2016 Comic-Con Panel, a bunch of talking heads trying to explain A Flash in Time: Time Travel in the Flash Universe, a look at Villain School: The Flash Rogues, one-part of Allied: The Invasion Complex (continued, of course, on the Arrow set); a look at the construction wonders in Rise of Gorilla City; A Conversation with Andrew Kreisberg and Kevin Smith, and a Gag Reel. Of special note is the four featurettes focusing on the series music and the musical episode in particular.  The Flash: I’m Your Super Friend, The Flash: Hitting the Fast Note, Harmony in a Flash, and Synchronicity in a Flash are really interesting, a rare look at scoring a weekly show.