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Chris Osborne:: And welcome to Play comics, where once again, we are here looking at a video game based on a
comic property and how well it represents that source material.
And today we've got such a great team up going on because I'm here with AJ Malacarne, and we're going to be taking a look at Justice League
Injustice For All.
Chris Osborne:: AJ, how are you today?
AJ Malacarne:: I'm doing great. How are you doing?
Chris Osborne:: I've been looking forward to this one for a while.
You're one of those wonderful people that.
Chris Osborne:: Scheduled, like, two months ahead of time, I think so.
It's nice to have so much time to look at a game and know who I'm looking at it with.
And, you know, this is, the Justice League is an important franchise, so I'm glad that we've both had this kind of time to prepare for it.
AJ Malacarne:: Me, too. Yeah, no, I'm really excited.
This game is based off of one of my favorite childhood shows, so I'm really excited to get into it.
Chris Osborne:: That is the one thing I sadly did not have time to do because. Somebody in my house insisted on watching. One piece a lot. So she said we had to watch that.
But as you said, this game is.
Chris Osborne:: Based on the Justice League cartoon and Justice League Unlimited. You know, they're all the same thing anyway.
I don't care what the title says.
And what is it about this show that makes it a absolutely, no question top five superhero cartoon?
AJ Malacarne:: I really got into Justice League starting with young justice, the tv show.
And I, even though that shows mostly about, like, the teenage superheroes, I was so into the
Justice League characters as the archetypes that they are that I went back and rewatched the
Justice League injustice League unlimited cartoons, and I always just, it just always stuck out to me that I think it's the first episode of Justice League Unlimited where it starts with, like, Green Arrow and just his perspective kind of set up the whole show for me.
I love how the show explores these, like, big characters who are, like, there's the kind of,
I don't know if it's a metaphor or allegory where it's like, the idea that the Justice League are these gods walking among humans.
But I always liked that the show really humanized these characters and really made us understand who ichi's characters are at their core.
It's a show that made me fall in love with the flash.
There's a famous episode where WALL e goes and helps out the trickster, who's.
AJ Malacarne:: This character that's struggling with mental illness. And it was just something I never had seen in any other cartoons when I was younger.
And it's just one of the reasons chose, like, a top five cartoon for me.
Chris Osborne:: Justice League is like the perfect example of what DC can put together when they really have their act together.
You have so many characters going, so many people in and out of the story as needed.
Like, it has no business being good as it is at all.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, no, it's fantastic. And, I mean, it's great because it's kind of like the culmination
of so many things because you have the Batman animate series and the Superman animated series feeding into this thing.
And it really feels like there's so.
AJ Malacarne:: Much thought and care put into this. Project that you really feel like it's people who believe in it.
And that's something that sometimes isn't always in a superhero adaptation, be it video games or movies or tv shows.
You sometimes feel like these people don't really, like, care about these characters or these people don't really know these characters.
And even though the show does take some creative liberties here and there, it feels like they really care and understand these characters.
Chris Osborne:: This is a show that came out in late 2001 and it always surprises me when I realize it only
lasted for, like, three years because it is just so solid front to back, everything.
I mean, obviously there's some episodes that are better than others, but I don't remember any clunkers in this entire run at all.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, no, and it's one of those. Shows that it really treats its audience like.
Even though a lot of the audience was kids, it doesn't treat them like kids.
It's just good storytelling with good characters in it.
It just is there to tell a good story.
And I remember even looking back and watching it now, you're like, oh, I was watching this as a kid.
Like, some of the episodes just deal with really, like, big topics.
I know why the later episodes Batman has to deal with, like, potentially ending.
AJ Malacarne:: Someone'S life because of the threat they pose to the universe. And it's like this whole big thing that it's like kids dealing with really. Big topics through their favorite cartoon characters. Which is, again, why, I think, makes the show so good.
Chris Osborne:: It's almost like, kids are people too.
It's a really weird concept, I find, where, you know, you can talk to kids like adults.
You do have to sometimes bring the language down a little bit because there are some words that, you know, a.
Chris Osborne:: Five year old is just not going. To understand, but the concepts of everything, you know, even if you have to simplify it, you
can get really into, like, good versus evil stuff and that gray area in between and what's okay for you to do versus it being.
Chris Osborne:: Not okay for somebody else to do. And this is just a whole series where you've got your main group that are in almost every episode, but you. Know that anybody else that shows up for more than just seeing them walk by in the hallway kind of thing. They'Re going to be important to that episode. They're going to have something big to do. And just the way that it's treated, like they're always around, they just happen to not be in the camera as. Opposed to a lot of cartoons where. Oh, hey, look, Aquaman is here today.
Let's all talk to him because he's never here.
Instead, it's like, oh, hey, cool, Aquaman's.
Chris Osborne:: On this adventure today. That happens to be the one that they're filming.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, no, and right along with that. There were so many characters. They included that. Looking back, I'm like, you actually had kids who were interested in who the. Question was as a character. And, I mean, I'm a big fan of the question because he's just this crazy character.
But, like, if you had told someone reading the old, like, eighties run that they were putting him in a children's cartoon, it's, it's crazy, but they make it also, like, on a level playing field for all ages and all audiences that they can all understand what who is who and who's where everyone is.
Speaking of the Aquaman thing, from what I've heard, there was actually, I don't know too much about this, but there was actually an embargo on them using Aquaman for a section of the tv show series, which is why he's not one of the main seven members of the Justice League.
Chris Osborne:: I'm so glad I just randomly picked Aquaman to stay there then, because I had absolutely no reason to do that.
And it makes sense because when you're watching super friends, there's Aquaman.
You know, when I see any old Justice League team thing, there's Aquaman, and I don't know what it is.
That just didn't really click in my.
Chris Osborne:: Head as I was watching this before that. He's not there as much as everybody else.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, it's. It's fascinating. The roster they went with, like, you have Superman, Wonder Woman,
Batman, the three originals, the three that I think are pretty much every adaptation.
And then you have the Flash, Green Lantern, Hawk girl, or Hawk Woman.
I can't remember which version of the name they use.
And the fact that Hawkwoman was a main character that I know so many people reading comics now because we'll talk about her and be like, where is she?
And they only know of her simply because this cartoon, which is so fascinating that a cartoon from our youth can affect the whole pop culture of comics going forward.
Anytime Hawkwoman or Hawkgirl appears, I know there's so much interest in being like, is this diversion from the tv show or something similar to that?
Chris Osborne:: And Martian Manhunter in there, being able. To fill so many roles, like, oh.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, completely forgot that.
Chris Osborne:: If you're going to forget one, I think he is the best one to. Forget, not because he's a horrible character or anything, but just because the nature of his
powers, he's so able to blend in so well with what's going on.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, I'll just blame it on the fact that he, a version of him just mind erased me during that few seconds ago.
But no, he's just such a fascinating character.
And I love that in this show, as well as in some of the other DC animation that happened, especially,
I think it's called new frontier.
It was like a movie for DC set in, like, the fifties and sixties.
And I love how they explore his character as this, like, alien, how he's like a complete alien to all of earth culture and trying to, like, fit in and find his place.
And again, another character that I feel like they really fleshed out for, like, modern audiences.
I know, like, even looking at, like, the last Justice League movie, regardless of your opinions on it, like, so much of those characters are, like, based on the fact that they appeared in a kids cartoon and have caused audiences to just say, this is the Justice League that should be in every version now.
Chris Osborne:: Yeah, we are about in that part of the cycle where these should all be coming back.
So, like, somebody please make this cartoon happen again.
Chris Osborne:: Or the live action version or no. Not the live action version, because this is still DC we're talking about.
I want them to prove themselves on something a little less ambitious.
AJ Malacarne:: I do know that two things spiraling out of this cartoon that are relevant now is one.
In a new Superman movie, a version of Hot Girl is going to be in the movie, which I'm really excited for, but then also recently, I can't remember how many weekends ago it was.
It feels, time feels so weird recently.
But San Diego Comic Con, they announced that Justice League Unlimited is now going to be the main Justice League comic, where they're going to do the same premise where, like, each issue, there's always a revolving cast of the Justice League, and just every single hero is now in the Justice League.
AJ Malacarne:: I believe that's Mark Wade and Dan. Mora who are working on that.
And I trust Mark Wade and Dan Morris.
Art is amazing on everything, so.
But I do know that the beginning cast, they announced that, like, characters like Captain Atom, black Lightning, and even villains like Star Sapphire are going to be on this new Justice League.
And it's just really cool to see, oh, everyone's still being influenced by this cartoon from decades ago.
Chris Osborne:: I mean, we've said it before and we're going to say it again right here. Like, this cartoon is just really, really good.
And, like, if you haven't watched it, then you need to go watch it.
Chris Osborne:: Start at the beginning and go all the way to the end. Like, that's how good it is.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah. No, I think it's truly stood the test of time.
There's a lot of cartoons that you can look back and be like, oh, no, that doesn't hold up.
AJ Malacarne:: But even the quality of the animation. Like, still really holds up today.
And I wishing that they would do, like similar to in the vein of X Men 97, do like a refresh or revisit this universe and like, a modern cartoon because I think that would be really amazing, especially if you could.
Chris Osborne:: Bring in some of the characters that. Have come about since this show ended.
You know, if you could get Jessica Cruz in here, I would wet my pants.
AJ Malacarne:: I am glad that I am not. The only Jessica Cruz fan in this. Podcast because Jessica Cruz, I think, is. One of the most interesting Green Lanterns. I remember going to the library when I was in high school, like, every week, and anytime they
had, like, the new 52 Justice League run, I remember.
AJ Malacarne:: Her character being so distinctive. She was this character who got, like, the evil version of the Green Lantern ring and then, like,
ultimately becomes her own Green Lantern.
AJ Malacarne:: And I don't think she's used enough. And I do know, I think she did actually appear in there was a Justice League animated movie. I don't know if it's set in. The same universe, the Justice League cartoon, but it did have Jessica Cruz in it.
And I was so excited to see that people outside of comics now know her character because she's so cool.
Chris Osborne:: Well, we're gonna go dream about what else can pop up as I drop some promos for a few other things.
Background:: Welcome to Shatanami, a variety podcast that discusses topics from gaming and films to anime and general interests. Previously on Chatsunami.
We've analyzed what makes a good horror game, conducted a retrospective on Pierce Brosnan's run's James Bond, and listened to us take deep dives into both the Sonic and Halo franchises.
Background:: Also, if you're an anime fan, then don't forget to check us out on our sub series Chatsunani,
where we dive into the world of anime.
So far, we've reviewed things like Death Note, Princess Mononoke, and the hit Beyblade series.
Background:: If that sounds like your cup of tea, then you can check us out on Spotify, iTunes, and all good podcast apps. As always, stay safe, stay awesome, and. Most importantly, stay hydrated. Do you find yourself playing older games and wishing that there were new discussions about those games?
Enter tales from the backlog hi, I'm Dave Jackson, and on each episode I'm joined by a guest to break down those games that may be stuck in your ever expanding backlog.
Each episode looks at one game in depth, focusing on mechanics, story, music and other aspects with no spoilers until a clearly marked spoiler wall in the middle.
If you've played the game, go ahead and climb that spoiler wall and enjoy in depth story discussions.
And if not, jump out when we warn you and maybe go play that game for yourself.
We have over 100 episodes in the feed, everything from Disco Elysium to tunic to discussion episodes about how to get into horror games.
And if games actually need to be fun or if they have more to offer, I guarantee that there's something in there for everybody.
Once again, that's tales from the backlog, available wherever your podcasts are found.
Chris Osborne:: Those are some great things to check out.
But first, let's finish up here.
AJ, we do have to get around to the game eventually.
I know we could probably talk about the show for hours because that's just how good it is.
But the people are here to hear about Justice League injustice for all, which is a game that was released on the Game Boy advance in November of 2002.
Chris Osborne:: It was made by Midway and Sapphire. Which somehow I have not looked at any games from either company on the show so far.
So Sapphire, smaller company like.
I'm not that surprised about that one.
Chris Osborne:: Midway is a company that makes a. Lot of stuff, so it's a bit surprising to me that we've come this far into the show and this is. The first Midway game.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, I would. I thought it was really cool looking at.
And I, of course, Will, unfortunately, forget their names unless you know them.
But there was so many cool creative.
AJ Malacarne:: Names that were involved in this project and it. It wasn't a relatively, like, large cast of creators from what I could find.
But there were some really cool names.
Like, two of the big producers were people from Warner Bros.
Games which I thought was really cool because, I mean, it is Warner Bros.
Property but the fact that they were actually having cross.
AJ Malacarne:: Connection between their different game companies because. I know so much now is, like, especially with comic book video games or. Ip esque video games. It's so much under, like, a few different umbrellas.
But this was back during an era where comic book characters all of a sudden, like, blew up and every video game company was just wanted to buy up the rights to whatever they could to make their own little small video games.
Chris Osborne:: It surprises me how many games but also how few games came out in this time period because like
you said, you had everybody buying up rights to stuff.
Chris Osborne:: You had people that had had rights. For a while that realized, oh, gosh, I gotta put out a game or I'm gonna lose these rights.
When you've got things like the cartoons that were happening when I was younger hand feeding you these stories that you could make into a game, then.
I mean, writing is important in a game and everything but when you get to basically skip that part and just do the game mechanics part of it.
Chris Osborne:: That does make things a lot easier.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah. And it was fascinating because this game is actually shares the title with the actual
final, I believe, either final or final two episodes of the series which I thought was really interesting.
And of course, you gotta wonder if the injustice name came back later on because we all know that DC comes and uses that again which when.
When you told me about this game and said to me, I was like, oh, is this, like, related to that?
And it's just completely different.
But it's fascinating that the word the Justice League alongside injustice just always stuck.
AJ Malacarne:: In the heads of DC's mind.
Chris Osborne:: I have to think, though, that the. Injustice fighting games, which we'll get to. Eventually and the comic series that went with that they had to have been fans of the show.
There's no way they weren't.
The timelines are just too perfect there for that to not be true.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah. And they pay so much respect to, like, I mean, respect's relative because we all know
that Superman turns evil and.
AJ Malacarne:: Does so many terrible things in that. Game, but they pay so much respect. Through characters to this earlier era. Even I know, like, Supergirl is a big part of, like, parts of the arcs of the Justice League
cartoon, and then she goes on, and the injustice.
AJ Malacarne:: Games is, like, practically a big part. Of plot of the second game.
And even the idea of building a bigger justice league than just the seven members is like a whole arc of the second game, which I thought was really cool.
Chris Osborne:: Well, speaking of plot, the plot of this game here is that the Justice League, as we have the
team here, which is mostly our core cast of everybody, they're alerted to a bunch of robots that Lex Luthor made. They're going after Metropolis.
So people go and confront Luthor, and then there's different things happening in other.
Chris Osborne:: Places, and other people fight them, and. There'S different things happening in other places.
And, I mean, who cares?
Because you're playing as your favorite characters.
Chris Osborne:: And you're getting to run around and. Use their powers, and it's just cool.
So I don't care why. It's fun.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, no, the plot is not exactly what, it's not bad, but it's not what you're coming here for.
You're coming here to place the Justice League members and just beat up robots.
Chris Osborne:: And aliens in that way that late nineties, early two thousands games, it's all robots and aliens
because, of course it is kind of thing.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, no, and, like, even going over the plot, I mean, aliens are a. Big part of this plot, and so are robots. Like, Lex's main, your main villain you're fighting throughout the game is Lex's robots.
I mean, of course there are big, like, the boss enemies that you fight, which are various, like, super villains that, you know from the show.
But, like, robots are a huge, like, the main enemy of the whole game, which I thought was really interesting just to kind of set, like, a standardized enemy for everything.
Instead of making, like, oh, let's make a subsection of villains of, like, henchmen villains for each villain.
I thought it was definitely a time saving mechanic for them, but it was a really good way to standardize everything.
AJ Malacarne:: And just set one enemy across the board.
Chris Osborne:: Yeah. Getting that cohesiveness there is so important. Because that's one of the things that. I found that kind of brings down just the ability to get sucked into these really large ensemble games before.
Is that why do you have henchmen from everybody's thing going?
So solving that in a super easy way, especially on a Game Boy, cartridge where you still have to worry about space and stuff.
It was a really smart move from them.
And as far as villains go, we've mentioned Luthor, but you've also got the Joker, the ultra humanite, Star Sapphire, Cheetah, Solomon Grundy, the Shade, Felix Faust, and.
Chris Osborne:: Random aliens, of course, because it wouldn't.
AJ Malacarne:: Be a superhero game without just random aliens that you throw on there. I did think some of the villain. Choices were interesting, though, because you do have a lot of the typical ones, like Joker,
of course, Lex Luthor, but then you have ones like Shade and Felix Faust, which I thought was so interesting because, I mean, I didn't know that many people that knew about Shade.
I know he is a part of the cartoon, which, again, was an interesting.
AJ Malacarne:: Choice by the cartoon to include these characters you know less about. But Shaden, especially Shaden, Felix Faust being main characters as villains was a really, like,
interesting concept for the video game developers to be like, we could use one of the bigger, well, more, well, more well known names, but let's bring in these characters who aren't as well known for the kids who are just buying the video games that have no idea that the show exists to meet these characters.
Chris Osborne:: I have to think that the show having so many random characters on it on both sides of the fight there. That'S just a giant invitation to let's. Go down and get the deepest cuts we want to pull out of here because, like, you know, cheetah.
Okay, that's, I mean, that's not the first person you think of when you think of Justice League villains, but we're all going to get there eventually.
Star Sapphire kind of the same way.
But, you know, getting these lesser known villains and just getting to have fun with them as well is, oh, I mean, the show was great at it.
This game is great for doing it. I just love it.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, I was so excited to see just especially the lesser known ones, and even if they're like,
they weren't like, the perfect, like, oh, let's just get the evil version of one of these superheroes.
It was really cool to get to see, like, I, of course, had to throw the Joker in because it's not going to be a game with Batman without a joker in it.
But it was cool to see these lesser known characters get to play around and see how their battle mechanics are, like, different than the other villains you.
Chris Osborne:: Might face and the powers you get to use when you're playing as everybody, everybody has their own unique powers.
They're kind of parsed down in a lot of aspects because, again, it's a Game Boy card.
There's only so much you can do, but the powers are there and you get to use them.
Chris Osborne:: And it's not like Batman runs up a wall because of this and flash. Runs up a wall because of that.
And Superman flies, so he runs up a wall, except there's pixels between him and the wall, so he's not really touching it.
Like they're actually distinct differences in there.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah. And that was, I think one of. The most important things this game had. To do was it had to differentiate each character to their core elements without. With, again, the storage. It all comes back to storage as a Game Boy game.
So I thought it was so cool how each character just is so dynamic on this very limited console because you can't expect, like, flash to be just zipping around like you would in a open world game on a game Boy game.
And Superman's flying, again, has to be.
AJ Malacarne:: Limited because it's a side scroller. But they did the amazing job with what they had.
Chris Osborne:: And especially knowing that Game Boy advance screens, it was common enough that you had to think about it when you. Were developing these games. The edges of that screen sometimes just didn't exist because you had kids playing with them and messing it up.
So you even had things like that.
Chris Osborne:: Whether taken into account on purpose or not. Because, you know, kids are going to be getting this game.
They're going to be rough with their game, Boyd.
Chris Osborne:: And you have a game that still. Works when you've got the messed up. Screen with the corner that doesn't light. Up anymore and the crack going down the right side because your brother pushed you in the hallway
trying to get to it first.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah. As someone who grew up with a. Bunch of DS's that have been broken. By me and my siblings, I mean, we all.
It was great that the developers, like, actually think about their target audience because, yes, is this like a fighting game?
And yes, do adults also watch this show?
But it's a game made for kids.
And they, like you said, the little.
AJ Malacarne:: Pixels along the screen that might no longer be there. The kid can't see what they're doing.
They're just going to take the game and never play it again.
I mean, yes, they've already made their money by that point, but they still want to give a good gaming experience.
AJ Malacarne:: As best they can to their audience.
Chris Osborne:: And going through this game, you've got kind of a combination brawler platformer thing going
on, which I really like.
You're basically just going through every level, trying to get to the end and beating up people along the way, which, yeah, it simplifies it a lot, but the way that you're getting to do it is what makes this one fun.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, no, I think the Flash was.
I mean, I'm a big flash fan, but even in this game, I thought the Flash was the coolest character to play as just the way he played through everything.
And, like, it's hard to make super speed look dynamic in, like, a game.
AJ Malacarne:: Where you can't just make him run. At the speed of light back and forth.
And I feel like they did a pretty good job of making him feel like the dynamic character that he is and not just like, oh, he's just gonna be Batman with punching, but faster.
I feel like they actually gave him some really dynamic abilities.
Chris Osborne:: And what else I really liked was. You had to use certain characters in certain levels. And, I mean, this is something that's really easy to screw up.
But the way that they did it here, I think, actually works because it makes sense in the plot of the story, even with what little plot there is.
And it means you can't just Superman your way through the entire game.
You have to actually use everybody.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, no, and I think that's a thing that the.
Again, I know we've said it like, a billion times at this point, but.
AJ Malacarne:: That'S the thing that cartoon did really. Well, was making each character essential.
And, I mean, all storytelling has to make each character essential, but especially in a video game where you can just.
AJ Malacarne:: Be the most powerful character and smash every single wall. But really getting into the mechanics of. Why do we need Wonder Woman for. This level or why do we need Green Lantern makes, I think makes her a more interesting play throughout the whole game.
Chris Osborne:: As we start to wind things up, what do you think are the highlights for what this game gets
right about both the comic version and the cartoon version of the Justice League?
AJ Malacarne:: Well, one thing I'll say is that the.
Is that shade is actually an interesting villain. I love him. There's a.
I can't remember the exact writer and artist combo team, but they did a run of Starman, and one.
AJ Malacarne:: Of his main characters is the shade. And who, I think the fact that they included him in this game was one of my favorite bits, but
the fact that they have the heroes fighting against, like, what you might not even see as their opposite, but a character who's in a rogues gallery and the.
AJ Malacarne:: Team ups, again, was one of my favorite parts. Wherever it's just characters splitting off into teams, which I felt was so accurate to show
because the show couldn't always do, like, seven heroes versus seven villains.
They did a really good job of breaking it into these compartmentalized, adjustable little battle scenes.
And I feel like the game grabbed that idea and used it to their.
AJ Malacarne:: Advantage in the game design.
Chris Osborne:: That's something I hadn't even really thought about. It just makes perfect sense in the. Show because you can cut between different little plot lines and stuff going, but even here
in the game, you've got your reason why you're fighting this villain, and with everybody spread out like they are trying to take everything out.
Of course, you can't have everybody go.
Chris Osborne:: Fight the one villain because then the. Other six are going to win and you're done.
And what was the point, even if.
AJ Malacarne:: You'Re not playing co op? That's what I love most about team. Games, is they always have to find a story reason to break up the team and then bring them back
together at the end, which is, again, pulled right from the show because the show always found the best way to say, why are we going to send these characters here when we could just send Superman?
Because, I mean, obviously Superman is usually the answer to every single problem, but if you can find a creative way to go, no, I think, like, some random character, like, I know there was a cowboy who was part of the Justice League, which as a kid, I always wanted to, like, what's he going to do against, like, Lex Luthor or, like, reverse Flash when he just has two little pistols?
But the show always made a reason to have each character matter, which, again, is something
I think the game nailed.
Chris Osborne:: What do you think this game gets wrong looking at the comparison there?
AJ Malacarne:: I think on a story level, I think some of the villains, while I love some of the lesser known
villains, I do think it's sometimes as a comparison to show, I think they don't always get the villains right. Like the big.
AJ Malacarne:: Do you care if I spoil the climax of the game?
Chris Osborne:: Have at it.
AJ Malacarne:: Okay, so in a big. The big climax of the game is. That you find out that Lex Luthor. Is intending to give the world over. To extraterrestrials, which always felt a weird. Bit to me and out of character. Because he's always this guy who thinks. I can save the world. I'm actually saving the world from Superman.
And he kind of used the Justice League as this, like, ultimate problem that.
AJ Malacarne:: He needs to solve. And the aliens basically say, you can have the Justice League if we can have the earth.
And it's like, this very weird thing that feels very out of character for him because it feels like, oh, he would want both because ultimately in the show, he does become president and like, an alternate future, which is a whole.
AJ Malacarne:: Plot line in the show. But I feel like that's the version of Lex Luthor that I know from the show. I feel like the game kind of. Was like, oh, he's just so focused on getting rid of Justice League that. He doesn't care about anything else. But I feel like getting rid of Justice League is just a check mark on Luther's checklist of
things he has to do to save the world in his mind, and that he won't just give it over to aliens, especially because as far as I know, the alien race is never named.
So it just feels very out of.
AJ Malacarne:: Character for him, especially as someone who. Doesn'T trust Superman because he knows he's an alien.
Why would he trust random aliens? He doesn't know.
Chris Osborne:: I could have understood them doing that if you also saw that he was planning on double crossing
those aliens, because then, I mean, that's a luthor thing to do, but to have that be his actual goal and everything, I mean, you're right.
I, that just seems like, it seems.
Chris Osborne:: Weird that that's the direction they would go. But honestly, other than that, I think your biggest gripe at all is they don't have my favorite
version of insert hero here, and you're not going to win with that with everybody ever.
AJ Malacarne:: No, I know, I know a bunch of friends who will, who I was talking to about this game, and they're. Like, ah, I wish Green Arrow was. In it, or, oh, I wish, like you said, insert character here, and it's like, it's a game boy game.
Like, maybe if it was on, like, a more advanced, like, console, you could have had more characters, but you really.
AJ Malacarne:: Do have such a limited cast. And I really think they hit all the, all these seven essentials that you really need to pay
respect to the show without going too crazy overboard.
Chris Osborne:: If you had somebody that you knew wanted to get into the Justice League comics, like, forget
about the show because obviously you're going to show them the show, but would you give them this game as well as a bit of a primer course?
AJ Malacarne:: I would be hesitant because even though this game is connected to a really great tv show, I
think there's a lot of specifics with this game, especially with the way that we just said a few minutes ago about how it treats Lex Luthor.
I think I would, I think there are definitely other comics, I would recommend them.
Although I would recommend this game over injustice. I do.
AJ Malacarne:: I have met so many people who. Played injustice as one of their first. DC games and now have completely messed. Up ideas about how Superman and Wonder Woman should act.
So I think this game definitely gets.
AJ Malacarne:: Most of the characters right. I think they're just little bits that the comics do.
Comics and tv show do better.
Chris Osborne:: I think you've really hit on the big one with this one.
Like, it's a great game. It's wonderful.
I want to give it to people if they're already into the comic side of things.
Things like, this is not your intro course, but it is something that you.
Chris Osborne:: Have on your list of required classes.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, no, absolutely.
Chris Osborne:: And finally, if you could add one person to the hero side and one person to the villain side.
And when I say person, I really mean Muppet.
Which Muppet would you add on each side?
AJ Malacarne:: Okay, so it's funny because I was actually talking about the Muppets earlier today about Pepe
the prong king, because he's one of the wackiest characters.
So Pepe is definitely a villain. He's just.
I was recently watching Muppets haunted Mansion, and he's just such a bizarre character.
And I think he has that classic villain like self obsession, but also obliviousness that I think he would be a.
AJ Malacarne:: Perfect villain in this game. And I think you have to go with Gonzo as your hero because I think his, like, chaotic nature,
I think it would be better in a more modernized game.
But I think even on the game Boy, they could get his chaotic nature.
I think him launching himself out of a cannon would be one of the most hysterical moves.
If you just line him up against, like, the Joker, I think.
AJ Malacarne:: I don't even think the Joker would. Quite know what to do with it with a flying Muppet coming at him.
And I think it would be absolutely amazing.
Chris Osborne:: Oh, I mean, the only notes I have on that at all are maybe possibly you do super Grover instead
of Gonzo, but it's all the same reasons. Anyway, yeah.
AJ, it has been great talking to you about all of this.
If people want to hear more from.
Chris Osborne:: You, where else can they find you? Around the Internet?
AJ Malacarne:: So I'm on pretty much every social media.
I'm on Twitter and Instagram.
Alicia, there's sometimes an underscore everyone's a bit different.
But if you just search up aj malekarney, I'm on Twitter, Instagram, bluesky threads, I think that's most of them.
And I do have a newsletter on substack that I'm planning on getting more into now that I'm just graduated, and.
AJ Malacarne:: Getting more into that. It's called Gamma head press, and you can find it all on my Twitter bio.
Just go to Twitter and pretty much there's a way to get to everything I have on there.
But, yeah, thank you so much for having me on.
Chris Osborne:: You're very welcome. And just like always, we'll put this. On easy mode for everybody. And there will be links down the show notes because clicking links are so. Much easier than trying to remember how. To spell things or which ones have which punctuation. And as always, the best place to find me is over@playcomics.com. Dot there's links to all the social media things still, mostly Twitter, sneaking blue sky in.
You know, I'm going to do this one at a time.
I'm going to break the Twitter addiction, which is really more of a Twitter.
Chris Osborne:: Kidnapping situation or hostage situation, maybe, I. Don'T know, but we'll see how it goes.
If you want to come on the show yourself and be like AJ, be like all the other cool guests that
I've had, there is a link down.
Chris Osborne:: In the show notes to a page on the website where I have a list of what I am looking to. Get booked the soonest. I don't know what's on there right. Now because I forgot to, and I don't feel like looking at it because I'm a loser who just doesn't
feel like looking at it, so I'm not going to.
Plus, the list is always updating, so you can just look at it and, you know, see up to date what there is.
If you want to help support the show, then you can be like, oh, no, lit class or Dan McMahon and give the show money, because making podcasts does cost money.
But you can also just share it with a friend, leave reviews, all that fun stuff, and, you know, tell people about it because you love it and it's wonderful.
I guess, something like that.
Don't forget that play comics is a part of the Gonadgeek.com network, home to such wonderful shows as legends of S h I e l d, where you may or may not get to hear me talking about X Men evolution for a while.
Chris Osborne:: And then when Agatha, after all, comes. Out, you can say, hey, Chris, we can hear you want Agatha, too, talking about that one, because
that's what's gonna be happening.
If you like the music that I'm rudely talking on top of right now, head on over to backietrack GG to.
Chris Osborne:: Check out all the great music that. They'Re putting out over there.
Most of all, just grab a game, grab a stack of comics, go find yourself and do a favorite character.
And welcome to Play comics.
Chris Osborne:: Oh, there is the one dumb thing. I forgot to ask you.
Can you say your name for me?
AJ Malacarne:: Yes. My name is AJ Malekarney.
Chris Osborne:: All right, cool. Malicarney. The e at the end is important. I need to remember that.
AJ Malacarne:: Yeah, I know. It's. It's hard to like. No, you're. Thank you for asking, because I've had so many people just butcher it before, and I really appreciate you asking.
Chris Osborne:: Well, thank you. It was made by Midway and Sapphire.
I forgot to scroll the page.