If you thought a talking Great Dane was ridiculous, meet Speed Buggy. He is a stammering, self-controlling, rally racing dune buggy. Oh, and he fights crime. Obviously.

Speedy was invented by Tinker, a genius who sounds like a slightly more dim Gomer Pyle and can’t go five minutes without shouting “GOL-LY!” Despite the fact that Speedy is a generally well behaved (if not silly) robotic car, Tinker had the good sense to make something that practically no robotics inventor in the whole of science fiction ever thought to– a robot control that can’t override Speedy’s free will. He never uses it, but Tinker sure as hell won’t be finding himself in The Matrix should that buggy ever rebel.

Joining Tinker and Speedy on their rally races are Debbie and Mark. If this trio of human characters looks vaguely familiar to you, there’s a very good reason for that.

Nobody ever looks like Velma

Just like the Scooby-Doo gang or the Pussycats, Speedy Buggy and crew spent their days thwarting the plans of criminal masterminds. This wasn’t something they did during their downtime, either. They’d be in the middle of a race, see some sort of wacky laser weapon firing nearby, and drive off to investigate. Because who the hell needs prize money, trophies, and sponsorship? There’s foul science afoot!

Only 16 episodes of Speed Buggy were ever created. Despite the short run, this cartoon has never stopped airing on television. Ever. If you ever needed proof that kids don’t get tired of watching the same shit over and over, this is it. Currently, it airs every night on Cartoon Network’s Boomerang. So tune in for a couple of weeks to catch every episode. Then watch them again for the hell of it.

After the events of Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, President Lex Luthor has been impeached and our heroes are back on the right side of the law. Its sequel, Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, picks up some time later. Superman has returned to Metropolis. Batman continues to stalk the streets of Gotham City. However, something strange, dangerous, and oddly familiar is on a collision course with the Earth, and things about to change for our heroes in ways they couldn’t have imagined. This animated film is heavily based on the comic book tale Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner.

This is the tale of how Superman’s cousin, Kara Zor-El, first arrived to Earth and became the hero we all know as Supergirl. Rather than jump straight into Kara’s career as a superhero, the movie instead chooses to focus on Kara’s adjustment to life on Earth, the many mentors who want to decide what direction to steer her life toward, and Kara’s own struggle to find her own identity. The movie starts off with Kara’s spacecraft crashing into Gotham City’s harbor, and jumps straight into the action from there.

After Batman and Superman establish Kara’s identity, the movie then slows down to show us how Kara gets along with both men. Her relationship with Batman is antagonistic, as Batman doesn’t believe she is who she says she is. Even Superman’s dog Krypto doesn’t trust her. Superman, however, bonds immediately with his last living relative, and decides to show her a good time in Metropolis.

Wonder Woman plays a major role in this movie as Kara’s trainer in how to fight and properly use her powers. With Batman taking a backseat for most of the movie and Wonder Woman stepping up as a major player, I almost wonder why this movie wasn’t titled Superman/Wonder Woman: Apocalypse.

And then there’s the “Apocalypse” part of our story– or more appropriately, Apokalips. Kara has caught the attention of the villainous Darkseid, who has his own plans for the girl. These plans involve Granny Goodness and her Female Furies, pulling Fourth World heroine Big Barda into the tale for the showdown against Darkseid’s forces.

The action in this movie is hard-hitting, violent, bloody in some parts, and just plain savage. It’s really the biggest plus in the film. However, some of the character relationships just feel false and poorly developed. Kara and Harbinger are apparently supposed to be best friends– at least that’s what the characters said in the one brief scene they actually shared. Wonder Woman is introduced in the film like she’s practically a villain, but the movie quickly cuts to the point where any animosity between certain characters is mostly gone. Batman’s name is in the title, but he doesn’t do anything in the movie beyond finding Kara in Gotham and tricking Darkseid into a stalemate via some plan he enacted off-camera.

Tim Daly (Superman), Kevin Conroy (Batman), Susan Eisenberg (Wonder Woman), and Ed Asner (Granny Goodness) all reprise their voice roles from earlier animated series. Summer Glau’s Kara starts off a little odd, but sounds more natural in later parts of the film. Andre Braugher does a decent enough job at replacing Michael Ironside as the voice of Darkseid.

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse is a fine enough animated movie for its fight scenes (and there are plenty in the final act), but I feel like it fails to make me care about some of the characters. The final fight scene is the very definition of tacked-on, and there’s a red herring death in the movie that feels totally pointless and hollow. It’s an okay movie, but not something I’m at all eager to completely watch a second time.

DC Comics brings us more tales of the Batman and Gotham City’s criminal underbelly with yet another direct-to-video animated feature. Batman: Under the Red Hood is an animated adaptation of Judd Winick’s “Under the Hood” story arc from the monthly Batman comic. It tells the story of a mysterious new figure in Gotham City calling himself the Red Hood. Is the Red Hood a hero or a villain? What’s his connection to Batman? What does any of this have to do with the Joker and Ra’s Al Ghul? Is this movie any good?

It’s no secret, and you’ll certainly figure it out for yourselves before Batman does in the movie, but the Red Hood is Jason Todd. Jason Todd was a teenage boy that Batman took in to become the second Robin after Dick Grayson left and made a new name for himself as Nightwing. Jason suffered a tragic death at the hands of the Joker, Batman’s greatest foe. This movie tells the story of Jason’s tragic death, the circumstances that bring about his return, and the reactions it brings about in certain characters.

I wasn’t really a fan of the comic that this movie was based off of. It felt like an unnecessary, scattered story of a violent whiny brat who should’ve stayed dead, and he wanted to lash out at the world and his old mentor for his death. The movie, however, has a much tighter narrative that works to its advantage. The scale of Batman’s universe is brought down, creating quite a few differences from the comics that are, as far as I’m concerned, much better. The Red Hood is a lot more focused on his task and goals, and although the original bitterness is still there, there’s a strong sense of tragedy in this movie that I wasn’t feeling in the comics. This movie made me feel sorry for Jason Todd, which was quite an accomplishment.

By its own merits, this is a very well made animated movie. The animation is fairly smooth, the action scenes are intense, and the pacing of the story is just about perfect. The story is a very tragic one, and this is only punctuated by the last moments of the film. It’s also a PG-13 film, so prepare to see a little brutality and hear some mild profanity.

Batman is voiced aptly by Bruce Greenwood, who also provides the voice of Batman on the new Young Justice animated series. Jensen Ackles (Dean from Supernatural) does a good job as the Red Hood, having no trouble bringing across the characters wit or anger. John DiMaggio (Bender from Futurama) voices the Joker with a lot more control and sinister amusement than I’m used to from previous portrayals of the character.

If you haven’t already seen Under the Red Hood (seriously, people. It’s been out for six months), definitely check it out. It’s one of the best direct-to-video animated Batman movies out there.

If you’re one of my few subscribers, don’t be alarmed. This is just the first time I’ve updated the site since June 2010. I just wanted to inform everyone that I’m back. And I’m angry. So hold on to your knickers and petticoats, folks. It’s about to be a wild and crazy year for NuMutant!

Disclaimer: Wildness and craziness not guaranteed.

Oh, I’m sure this will go over well.

Yep. Wonder Woman is ditching her classic outfit for a new look: black pants, a choker collar, and a star-spangled leather jacket.

That’s not all, folks. Wonder Woman’s timeline is getting a total reboot, not completely unlike what happened to Spider-Man at the end of One More Day.

“The Gods, for reasons of their own but which may have something to with their survival and perhaps the survival of Earth itself, have changed the timeline. In the new timeline, years ago the Gods removed their protection from Paradise Island, and left it vulnerable to attack. And attacked it was. Led by a dark figure, a veritable army descended upon the Island, equipped with weapons that could kill even the Amazons. Outgunned, doomed, Hippolyta gave over her three-year-old daughter to a handful of guardians who spirited her away as Hippolyta led one last desperate battle against the forces that had come to destroy all she had created. In that final battle, she and most of the Amazons were killed, though some managed to escape.”

In this new reality, Diana instead grows up in the inner-city, constantly on the run. Somehow, that explains why she’s apparently raided Black Canary’s closet. She also doesn’t have her powers in this timeline.

Boy, JMS really gets Wonder Woman, doesn’t he?

Take comfort, Wonder Woman fans. If this new look doesn’t suit you, there’s a chance it might be temporary. Wonder Woman isn’t just living in a rebooted timeline. During the first arc in Straczynski’s run, Diana will still retain some memories from her original timeline, and she’s taking action to find out “if the timeline can be corrected.”

Read the original article from DC here

That’s right, there’s word that Turtles Forever is hitting retail shelves on August 24th!

Turtles Forever is an animated movie that features both the 2003 and late 80’s incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a crossover event that brought back heroes, supporting characters, and villains from across several generations. It was played at San Diego Comic Con in the summer of 2009, then aired a couple of Saturday mornings on CW4Kids.

There isn’t any word on a Blu-Ray release, and only a fullscreen DVD has been confirmed so far. It’ll retail for around $16.99 and Amazon.com is already taking pre-orders.

Writer: Sean McKeever
Penciler: David Baldeon
Publisher: Marvel

The Heroic Age has launched another title for Marvel! (Yay!)
But it’s not an Avengers title. (Cautious Yay…)
Young Allies is a relaunch of an old concept. It gathers some of the young breakout superheroes of today (who aren’t Young Avengers, Runaways, or Young X-Men), and teams them up in Marvel’s ever-present New York City backdrop. But does the newest team of young heroes have what it takes to stop the newest team of young villains in town? Will this series last beyond its sixth issue? Should you even care?

The answer to that last question is “yes,” by the way.

The stars of Young Allies are Nomad, the female Bucky from the Heroes Reborn universe, now stuck in the 616 universe; Araña, former agent of the Spider Society and sidekick to Ms. Marvel, now depowered and striking it out on her own; Gravity, former solo star and initiative recruit who’s back in town and attending NYU; Firestar, former Hellion and New Warrior who’s back in action with the Registration Act repealed and her breast cancer in remission; Toro, an all new character with a troubled past.

At the beginning of the issue, most of our heroes don’t even know one another. Instead, they find themselves drawn together when a new band of supervillains calling themselves The Bastards of Evil (I’m not joking) decide to make their debut with a little murder and wanton destruction in the streets of New York.

Baldeon’s artwork is good, and he executes his action sequences perfectly. I’m also digging the new costume design for Araña, which rings more of Julia Carpenter’s Spider-Woman, and less of a girl who threw on her gym clothes and ski goggles. What I do find strange is that he drew Firestar in her older costume, but he isn’t exactly the first artist to do that in recent memory.

Gravity battles with the concept of lethal force. Also, a villain.

No, this isn’t an Avengers comic, but you should pick it up anyway if you like comics that are, you know, good. Like all new launches, this title has a $3.99 price for its first issue. However, they try to make it worth your extra dollar by including nine pages at the end that explain the biographies of the main characters. That’s going to be a definite help I’m sure, because I wouldn’t be surprised if most of you hadn’t heard of (or at least read anything including) these characters.