Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

I've finally read all the answers and questions in the queues. (Wow!) Now, before the queue is closed I can post...really old reviews. (All positive ;)

Performance- very nice...

...But first a very quick review of the DC Nation shorts:
"Animal Man...!" bwahahaha SBFF...happy happy.

Question 1- apropos of very little, what do you think of the new DC logo? Personally, I like it fine on tv, especially when they can fill the bottom image with moving images. Although it still strikes me as a good logo for a different product when I see it still, mostly I don't notice it any more.

Haly's Circus...you can go home again!

Question 2 (a little long) - Haly's always seemed to me a bit of a golden childhood that Dick can revisit at any time and has a lot to do with why he is nowhere near as dark a character as Bruce. They couldn't raise him after his parents' death, but they were still family. They saved money to support him. They always welcome him to visit and step right back into his old life.

I'm working on the assumption that you are too busy to keep up with the current main universe comics, but are you aware of the current Court of Owls storyline? In it it turns out that the circus and the Graysons were part of a centuries old kabal that controls all but only rises to the knowledge of the public as nursery rhyme references. The circus exists to provide enforcers who are made somewhat dead somewhat immortal and unquestioningly loyal. Dick would have been next had it not been for the accident that killed his parents and took him away.

Divorced from Batman and Dick it is an interesting story, but I find it galling that they have so changed the circumstances of Dick's life- it has made monsters of his circus family, of his own parents; they all knew what was in store for him. It seems too far a departure from the basic truths of a character.

{Oddly I'm enjoying the heck out of the current Wonder Woman storyline which does the same to Thymiscara - now there are no men because they go out on ocean raids, take over ships, get pregnant, kill the men and give away the male babies. They would have killed the boys, but instead they trade them for armor and weapons because Hephaestus insists upon it. His own history making him particularly empathetic to unwanted children. I should object to the change on the same grounds, but the new mythological based series is so different my mind has simply been treating it as a fantastic elseworld run.}

If you are familiar with the City of Owls story, what do you think of it? In general, what do you think are the limits to how far you can push a story while remaining true to its essence? You've done several adaptations, what are the guideposts you use to what is and what is not acceptable?

Personally I reference the movie The Iron Giant when, er...spoiler free version...when the Giant makes a momentous decision at potential great cost to himself, he remembers a previous discussion with the boy, "You are who you choose to be". He smiles and says, "I am Superman". Any none elseworld depiction of Superman must be one in which that thought make sense. To my mind, Dick is always an orphan of a loving family, not someone who narrowly escaped the family job of unkillable assassin. If you want to have a Batman protégé who was created to be a killer make a new one. (I guess a new new one besides Cass and Damian.)

Back to commenting on the episode. (mostly just listing what caught my eye.)
mmm...Flying Grayson poster is reminiscent of Nightwing's costume...not the high collar version. Clever. Of course now I wonder what Dead Man's costume looks like on Earth 16.

Love:
Q;"Who knew a Martian could be vulnerable to a human virus?"
A;"Uh...HG Wells"
(Also, nice body language with Conner on edge of M'gann's bed in that scene.)

Question 3 No one questions them staying in costume and mask on the train?

"Does this circus have an elephant I don't know about?" "Not on foreign tours."
2 pts - one for actually show how their observation skills would work and another probably being realistic for a traveling circus.

Chuckle: "Uh guys, I found Ray"- mask

It is interesting how in sync Artimas and Roy are. They actually work in concert as well as Bat Family members work with each other.

Robin spy camera tube is more or less real world spy tech.

"There is no mole." The irony!

Question 4 I love that the closing credits are for the Danger family- It ups the fun of them generally being listed according to whether or not they are in costume. Was the series idea to credit characters as they appear in a particular ep just for fun, or was it humor borne of necessity?

thanks and more to come...