Watching every major media franchise turn into a trainwreck can be disheartening (if you’re not an indie author waiting in the wings and putting out better content than these corporations).
Most recently, there’s been no greater failures than the Star Trek and Batman franchises. It’s hard to know where to begin talking about these because every avenue has led to a major trainwreck. If you haven’t been following along, look at any review of Star Trek: Picard (yes, they trotted out old Patrick Stewart to destroy his legacy) and Lower Decks. It is a slap in the face to everything star trek was ever about.
There is no hope, no heroism, no better humanity, no exploration… they just put the name Star Trek on this and expect suckers to subscribe to their streaming service.
Batman doesn’t fare better. Putting sparkly vampire Robert Pattinson as their lead in their new movie is a huge step down from the last incarnation of the franchise alone. Of course, they promise a “gritty and violent version of Batman.” Gee, just what we need. More grimdark. I anticipate this will be a colossal failure.
On the comic end, if Tom King’s dismal run wasn’t enough, now they’ve announced plans to, you guessed it, replace Batman with a black Batman. Like every character, DC seems not to have learned its lesson from Marvel’s debacle a few years back.
Why does this happen so consistently? It’s a trend to the point it can’t be a mistake or just some bad talent.
These companies are pushing social justice agendas quite inteintionally. They don’t care about the brand for real, they don’t care about profit, just about forcing messages to you. They do intentionally put people who HATE and LOATHE these characters on these shows and comics to “deconstruct” what the hero once was. These aren’t people who will take good care of the characters like Jim Shooter or Tom DeFalco did in days past, these are people who are looking to change the characters into their own dark fantasies, usually helmed by damaged or mentally-ill writers who could never capture the true essence of these characters and series.
It’s sad, but it’s time to peel off the bandaid and leave these corporate properties behind. There are new options, and for Star Trek, if you enjoyed that, you’ll love The Stars Entwined — and its sequel coming out tomorrow. It’s the best Trek-style sci-fi since Deep Space 9, guaranteed.
And it’s waiting for you to read here.
The Picard series was terrible. I read The Stars Entwined and Colony Launch this summer. Great books, keep up the good work Jon. I look forward to The Stars Asunder.
Thanks brother! I think you’ll love this one!