Top Superhero Animal Sidekicks

I recently adopted a pup.  He is my new best friend and a family member.  When trying to come up with a name for the little guy I turned to comic book characters for inspiration.  At one point his name was going to be Loki since he is mischevious and another idea was Ace who is Batman's canine sidekick.  This got me thinking of a post of other animal sidekicks to heroes.  Most people know about Krypto the superdog, whereas Ace doesn't seem to be very well known.  Here is my list of animal sidekicks to our wonderful heroes.

Ace the Bathound
Ace appeared in the comics in the 1950's and 60's.  He was inspired by the success of Krypto and was based on a German Shepherd dog.  Ace was found by Batman and Robin when his scientist owner was kidnapped.

Krypto the Superdog
Krypto first appeared in 1955 as a white dog of unkown pedigree.  Krypto has most of the same abilities as Superman such as super strenth, speed, and flight.  He is the family dog from Krypton of Kal-El as a toddler.  One Superman was sent to earth, Krypto was used as a test subject.  But his rocket went off course and to Earth.

The Legion of Super-pets
DC really got into the whole super-pet thing with the Legion of Super-pets which was first published in 1962.  Not only does the Legion of Super-pets include Krypo, but it also has Comet the Super-Horse, Streaky the Super-Cat and Beppo the Super-Monkey.  Yea, that's right, Super-Monkey.   I swear I am not making this up, the picture is proof.

Lockheed
Lockheed is the alien, dragon companion of Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat).  He first appeared in 1963 and is a member of the X-men along with Kitty Pryde.  In addition to flight and fire power like other dragons, Lockheed is immune to telepaths.  He also has the power of empathy and can understand human speech.  He has even spoke on a few occasions.

There is more comic animals where that came from.  I found evidence of Throg the Frog and Jumpa the Kangaroo, as well as an octopus.  Yea, an octopus.  This is however TOP Superhero Animal Sidekicks.  Not little known, odd, and useless animal sidekicks.  Lockheed and Ace are probably my favorite two listed.

Favorite Batman Villians

I am totally a Marvel fan. I have never cared too much for DC comics or movies.  The one exception being Batman.  This is probably because my dad is a fan of Batman but I am not sure.  I also grew up watching all the movies staring with Tim Burton's version in the 80's.  Some of the villains are awesome too, my favorite being Harley Quinn.  Here's my list of favorite Batman villains including Harley.

Harley Quinn
I have always been a fan of hers and I have no real reason why.  She's just so awesome and crazy.  Perhaps I like her since she is a psychologist?  I am still hoping for her to show up in Gotham.

The Joker
I never really appreciated the Joker until The Dark Knight and Heath Ledgers portrayal.  He is Batman's biggest villain, so one has to like him for that.  The guy is pretty much crazy and willing to do anything.

Scarecrow
I honestly never knew who the Scarecrow was until Batman Begins.  Again, he is like a psychologist so I like that.

Poison Ivy
Another one I have always been drawn too.  I seem to like the female villains-Girl Power.  Poison Ivy is also interesting with her plants and all.  I think the first time I saw her was in Batman Forever.  Not the greatest film but still introduced me to this great character.

Lady Shiva
For those not aware, Lady Shiva is an assassin and a fighter.  She is pretty much a bad ass.  She is also sometimes an ally of Batman

Gotham: Penguins Umbrella

Its that time of the week.  Time for my new favorite show, Gotham.  Careful if you haven't seen this weeks episode. I don't want to spoil anything for you
This week starts out where we left off last week: with the knocking at Jim Gordons door.   Of course Gordon isn't going g to go peacefully.   He escapes from tbe loft and puts Barbara on a train out of town saying he has business first then willeet her again.
Next up he goes to the police station like nothing is going on.   This is where uber creepy Victor Zazz comes for him.  Let me repeat very creepy.
Montoya and Allen come to his aid.  How and why I am not sure.  Apparently they are on the same said now.
Bullock shows up drunk to Gordon's loft.   He is also on his side.  No surprise that he sodes with Gordon.  I was more surprised by the fact that he is getting involved and willing to go against the big guys.
Meanwhile Fish Mooney is up to her usual crap again.  Scheming to overthrow Falcone.  She is also very concerned about Penguin not being dead.  Maroni refuses to give Penguin back to Fish, creating yet another mob war.  The Penguin also does some more work to work his way up the ladder.  He is smart and scary at the same time.
Gordon comes up with a plan to bring down falcone and all the bad guys.  I won't spoil that bit for those who haven't watched yet.
Finallh we see the Penguins plan.  Or at least a great part of it and o my lord.  He is something else.

Overall I think this was another solid episode.  I could do with less Fish per usual.  I guess its just a character I will have to suck it up and put up with.  I continue to love the Penguin.  Like in said earlier Nevis cunning and smart, yet kind of scary.  I think Robin Lord Taylor continues to do a great job in that role.
I am consfused as to why Montoya and Allen are now on Gordons side.  Did I moss something last week?  If not, I would like some explanations Fox.  I would be interested to see more Zazz in the future.  He is super creepy and could be a Great bad guy in the future.
Next weeks episode looks ppromising judging by the previews.  At one point young Bruce Wayne asks Alfred to teach him to fight.  Apparently this war is just beginning as well.  I have a feeling just a few more episodes before then shows winter hiatus.
That is all for this week.  See ha next week.

Gotham: Viper

What another interesting episode of Gotham. I am really beginning to like this show.  This week was about a terrible drug being dispersed throughout Gotham that made the taker extremely strong but then eventually killed them.  Of course Gordon and Bullock were put in charge of the case.  We also got to see what Oswald is up to once again over at camp Maroni.
This was an interesting concept this week.  I'm going to try and not give much away but there is some Wayne Enterprises involved with everything.  I am still curious as to who just takes a random green drug handed to you on the street.  I get there are addicts in the world but really, none of these people found this suspicious?  Just saying.
As usual my favorite part was seeing what Oswald is up to.  He told Maroni (played by David Zayas, previously from Dexter) his past with Falcone and Fish Mooney.  The dude has balls.  I am pretty sure Maroni likes this and is beginning to like him.  Where will he go next?
Finally, we go to see just what Fish Mooney is up to with her newest employee.  That sneaky woman has some big plans for power I think.  It is starting to make sense.

I do wish they would feature Ed Nigma a little bit more.  He appeared once again but only briefly.  I am assuming his role will expand in the future once the Penguins story line is closer to being completed.  Regardless, still a good show.  What were your thoughts on this weeks episode?

Gotham Episode 4: Arkham

I had such high hopes for this weeks episode of Gotham.  I am not saying it was bad.  Not at all.  However seeing as it was called Arkham I just had such ridiculously high hopes for this week.  That is my own fault.
Overall it was a good episode.  This week we finally got an idea of what is going on with Arkham.  The two big crime families are having a turf war over it and who gets control.  This leads to murder which leads to Gordon and Bullock investigating.  We also got to see once again what Oswald Cobblepot is up to over at the restaurant owned by Maroni.  O, and Fish Mooney popped up per usual with no major input in the plot line.
I love Cobblepot/The Penguin.  The actor Robin Lord Taylor is a great pick for that role and owns it.  So creepy and smart and an interesting character all around.  We also got to see the wonderful Ed Nigma again.  I wish they would show him more often, but I am sure that will be later.
Once again, Fish Mooney appeared.  She was having try outs for a new singer/worker.  I am not totally sure why, or the purpose of this.  She then has the two fight it out for who gets the job.  The only thing I liked about this whole Fish story line was that it reminded me of the Joker in The Dark Knight when he only wants one or two thugs to help him and throws them the broken pool cue to fight it out.  I am sure this will have more meaning in the future but as of now I don't get it and I still do not like the character of Fish Mooney.
One last bit, we have Arkham.  We finally got a glimpse at Arhkam Asylum.  There was a great shot of the gates to Arhkam that made me think of a comic book.  I loved it.  Turns out Arkham Asylum is being updated.  I am still hopeful that Arkham will play a bigger role in the future.  I will have to wait and see.
Overall another decent episode.  Actually, I really enjoyed it with the exception of certain characters.  Hoping next weeks episode is another great one.

Gotham Episode 3: The Balloonman

Let's talk about Monday's episode of Gotham.  If you haven't watched it yet and plan to caution: possible spoilers ahead.
Let's start with this weeks villain.  He wasn't the worst villain there is. I mean he was sort of a vigilante.  It almost seemed like young Bruce Wayne looked up to him to a certain extent.  With the exception of the murdering people.  Like he said "he killed people, that makes him a criminal".  Hmm, I see some Batman characteristics already. After all Batman's #1 rule is he does not kill.
Another doping of interest this week was more back story on Barbara and detective Montoya.  Very interesting indeed.  That relationship could be interesting in the future.

And finally, Arkham.  Yes, it was mentioned several times again this week.  I have a feeling Arkham will be big and exciting when it arrives.  I'm thinking it will finally make an appearance next week seeing as the episode is titled Arkham.  I for one am excited for this.  I am hoping other great villains like Harley Quinn and Scarecrow show up along with it too.  Fingers crossed.

What did you think of this week?  Like or dislike?  What are you looking forward too going forward?  Let me know in the comments.  Until next week.

Gotham Episode 2: Selina Kyle

Another Monday means another episode of Gotham.  This weeks episode was titled Selina Kyle.  One would think that with that title it would center in Selina Kyle but no, not totally.  I mean she was in the last half of the show.  We also did not get food background info on her.  I was personally hoping for a little bit more.
With that being said I think this weeks episode was am improvement.  I am officially excited for the show and what's to come.  The penguin is turning out to be an interesting character who has a mother almost as crazy as him.  I am also still a fan of Ed Nigma.   He is so awkward and going to be a fun character to watch develop.
Some other thoughts of mine are as follows.  Alfred is a jerk- I much prefer the Michael Caine version from Christopher Nolan films.  I am also still not sure about the Fish Mooney character.  I do however like Harvey Bullock.  Is he kind of an ass?  Yes, but he is well plagued by Donal Longue and just interesting to me.
I am excited to see where the show goes from here.  This week we had mention of Arkham Asylum.  I am hoping this will show up again along with Dr Quinzel and the Scarecrow.  One can dream right? Regardless I will be tuning in again next week.

Gotham Premiere Review

This evening was the premiere of the new show Gotham.  This was one of the few shows I was actually interested to see this year.  I am not sure if I will continue watching every week though.
I am not saying it was bad, not at all.  I just feel like it was way over-hyped.  It was just the pilot episode and there is room for the show to grow.  I will give it a few weeks to build up some momentum before deciding whether I keep tuning in or not.

I enjoyed watching Ben McKenzie as young Jim Gordan and Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock.  I think they both did well and have room to grow the characters.  I also liked how some of the villains were portrayed like Oswald Cobblepot who will one day be the Penguin.  My favorite though was Ed Nigma who seems to like to tell riddles (hint, hint)   It will be interesting to see how that character changes and grows over the series.
I did not however like Jada Pinkett Smith as Fish Mooney.  I am not a big Jada fan to begin with so that could play a part in my dislike for the character.  We shall see what this new character to the Batman universe brings in the future.
I am also disappointed we did not see very much of Selina Kyle in the pilot.  I know she will appear later within the series, especially since next weeks episode is called Selina Kyle.
Like I said earlier, this was the pilot episode.  It did what it was supposed to do and introduced us the characters.  It was overall well done but needs to have more excitement in the future.  I am hoping it will build and grow into a great show.  Hopefully Fox will give it time to do this and not cancel it like they have done with many other great shows (cough FireFly cough Dollhouse).