congratulations to DC for endearing me to super hero stuff again

Remember 2008? That was when The Dark Knight and Iron Man released. Remember how much people liked them? Remember how fresh they seemed?

I didn't realize this at the time, but I was slowly being brainpoisoned with superhero background stories. I had Teen Titans, Batman movies, and Spiderman growing up.

Superhero movies had grown increasingly tiring, until 2012 with the Avengers when the fad was finally ready to pass... Until it didn't. They kept making that shit.

Then, in 2019, I was surprised: Joker was announced and it looked promising? Fun? Then it came out, and it was good? Watching it didn't feel like eating a spoonful of grill grease like other superhero stuff did.

The next year, the pandemic started, and boy howdy did I run out of things to watch fast. I watched Joker, and it was very good. Then I watched Suicide Squad (2020), and it was also very good. Then I watched Suicide Squad (2016) just for context. Little by little, I was learning all these dinky DC heroes.

Then there was Batman (2022). When it was announced, I didn't get it. A pointless reboot? What? Why? This is just Andrew Garfield's Spiderman all over again?

Then I watched Batman (2022), and it was very good too, and I now consider myself convinced that I will watch the inevitable Batman live-action reboot that we will get in about 20 years.

Then I was recommended the TV series "Harley Quinn". It's never a good thing when someone says "it's like Rick and Morty", but the thing is it's also quite good, and hey! King Shark is there too, like from Suicide Squad (2020)!

Then I read the wikipedia article for Harley Quinn. Hey! They're making references to the DC publication history and the controversies about Harley's backstory! I can do a pretty convincing Bane impression, that's fun! Hey, this joke is a reference to The Killing Joke, which-

oh no

i have become a superhero fan

The final nail in the coffin is Peacemaker (2022), a TV series starring the least sympathetic character from Suicide Squad, with the most milktoast premise: The annoying fuckboy main character is sexist and horrible, but he has trauma and character growth. Can he stop a mysterious invasion?

But the thing about Peacemaker (2022) is:

• John Cena has a body built like a cartoon character, and
• Despite everything, it is also very enjoyable.

I think the thing that makes it all work is that the "DC Universe" is not connected. Harley Quinn from the TV show doesn't have to be compatible with the Peacemaker universe, and that doesn't need to be compatible with the Batman universe, and that doesn't need to be compatible with the Joker universe.

What has become of me? I'm enthusiastically consuming a lot of superhero content? Like a lot? I think I've watched four or five "super hero things" in 2023 alone!

This is bad for me, right? Pluto doesn't count as superhero shit, right?

..

Oh, dip, a Batman (2022) spinoff TV series The Penguin (2024) is releasing (2024)?