Never did I imagine the website would make it to 2000 posts but here it is. I’ll put more of a reflection on what that means for me -and hopefully the rest of the team at the end but I thought it would be prudent to star talking about how I decided to honour this achievement of inflating numbers.

I was recently watching the animated DC film The Death of Superman and its sequel Reign of the Supermen which is where the genesis of this idea came from. During the long form action sequence I was reminded of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and how that botched Superman’s death by robbing it of all meaning. There just wasn’t enough impact of that as a moment in the film so I thought to myself how different it might have been if it had been earned. Cinematic Universes are all the rage right now and it’s no secret that I think Marvel have nailed the formula that they created. Attempts by others haven’t been nearly as successful because of various mistakes made in how the setup was handled. Basically they tried to skip to the pay-off without properly earning it.

What I plan to do in this article is suggest an approach to building a DC Cinematic Universe that I would find workable. It’ll follow the Marvel model to some degree but there are a few tweaks here and there that I think will make it distinct. I’ll explore my idea by putting brief summaries for each of the films that build up to my conception of two Justice League movies. Some will be longer than others as I’ve formed things more fully for certain characters in my head.

On the whole I’m not going to go into major plot details because this is very much an outline concept and casting isn’t a priority though I will suggest my preferences here and there. If you like or dislike my approach then get involved in the comments and let me know your thoughts. This was a fun exercise for me and I’d love to talk more about it with people.

 

General Notes

There are some general thoughts I had that relate to many of the films and the world itself that I’m putting down here first as I won’t reference all of them in my outlines for each of the films:

• Very few origins stories – my approach is to assume that many of the characters will be well known enough already that audience won’t need to sit through another origin story for them. Some of the films will depict origins for the characters but these are few and far between
• The Martian Manhunter is a character who appears in most of the films to aid with the world building. This character is a shapeshifter so he will be played by different actors in each of the solo films he appears in and his identity will often be a reveal in that film which creates some mystery as to how he will turn up.
• Many of the films will feature other DC characters who wouldn’t necessarily carry their own franchise but would be better served by having some grounding in other movies. This would be more of a second phase focus though some would appear in earlier films
• My base assumption is that all of these films will be successful enough for Warner Brothers to not alter the plan in any way. The focus is on making engaging solo films that have a wider universe in mind so instead of growing it gradually as Marvel did the characters are already part of the shared universe but have their own adventures within it.

Wonder Woman

This is as logical a place to start as any and it’s the film that will be the least changed from what we have already. Her origin was well handled, Gal Gadot was great in the lead role and the World War I setting allowed it to stand out from its contemporaries so I saw no need to make significant alterations here. My changes would start in the second half of the film as I find the Ares reveal and subsequent laughably massive action sequence to be really contrived. I’m more interested in Diana naively believing that Ares was responsible for corrupting humanity to the point of doing so much harm to one another and learning the harsh lesson that human beings are capable of terrible things. It wouldn’t be as simple as believing that all of humanity is like that as Steve Trevor as well as the other soldiers would still act as a shining example of goodness but she should come away from this film being jaded about the agendas of those in power and resolving to remove herself from interacting as much as possible.

Another tweak would be to make the reasons behind her being unable to return to Themiscyra a lot clearer as she parts from Hippolyta a little too amicably for the impact to be felt. When she makes the conscious decision to not be part of the world it has to be clear that she has nowhere else to go and makes the decision entirely based on what she experiences during the War coupled with her reaction to Steve’s death. As for who can serve as an antagonist in this film now that Ares is no longer a part of it I would alter Luddendorf to be strong enough to put him on an even playing field and prolong their fight as Steve leads his team to destroy the facility. It’ll be more grounded, the stakes will fit the situation a lot better and Luddendorf would be a more formidable villain through removing the twist that doesn’t really work for me. The Martian Manhunter’s introduction in this film would be as a medic in Steve Trevor’s squad and the hint of who he is would be a brief visual of glowing red eyes or perhaps he uses his powers when he thinks that nobody’s looking.

Superman

There would be a significant time skip for the second entry into this universe to the present day. This wouldn’t be a Superman origin story in the traditional sense as in we wouldn’t see Krypton destroyed or anything like that. As the film begins, Clark Kent knows nothing about where he came from which has him feeling a bit lost. His life is fairly together at this point as in he’s a well respected reporter at the Daily Planet, has a semi-adversarial partnership with Lois Lane where they are constantly in competition with one another which has the added effect of making them better as a result. There would be no suggestion of romance between them, at least not in this film. Lois is in a long term relationship with Hal Jordan aka the future Green Lantern. He takes on his traditional role of test pilot and will act as a main character throughout the film. Hal and Lois will come across as a well matched couple because of their endearing self confidence and clear well earned comfort that exists between them. Clark Kent isn’t someone he pays a lot of attention to because he doesn’t feel the least bit threatened by him and doubts they have anything in common. Sometime towards the end of the film Hal will disappear during a test flight with no indication of what happened to him.

At the start of the film, Clark Kent isn’t Superman yet though he has mastered all of his abilities. There might be flashbacks to endearing moments of him learning how to fly or practicing heat vision though I don’t see that as essential. The main thrust of this film is Clark Kent becoming the hero he’s meant to be and the whole point as far as I’m concerned that this is something he has to do. There will be no interaction with his Jor’El or any other Kryptonians so the ideas of destiny and legacy won’t be part of this character at this early stage so he does have to make his own choices. Jonathan and Martha Kent are very much alive but they are fairly hands off when it comes to their son deciding what to do with their life. There will be at least one scene of them having a normal family dinner where Clark gets to be completely at ease free from the complications of city life.

Even though Clark isn’t currently Superman by name that doesn’t mean he doesn’t help people. He uses his powers in secret in order to protect people. His speed allows him to do so unseen though people talk about a red blur that can be seen at crime scenes or at accident sites on occasions. There are no confirmed sightings nor has anyone managed to catch it on any kind of film but people do feel comforted that something is out there looking over them. Naysayers are countered by references to The Flash in Central City who is a very public super powered individual so it’s not unreasonable to assume that Metropolis might have one too.

Clark’s approach to heroism changes when a villain openly looking to challenge him appears on the scene. John Corben aka Metallo is injured nearly to the point of death at an accident and Clark is too late to get him to safety before he sustains the injury. The last thing John sees before passing out is the angelic blur but the visual sticks in his head and ends up fuelling a misguided quest for revenge. Word gets around about his sighting of the red angel and Lex Luthor becomes interested in him, offering to save his life through some experimental technology. Naturally John accepts and Metallo is born. Metallo will take on several forms throughout the film to represent the continued loss of his humanity. Naturally Lex will be pulling the strings but keep any involvement a secret from the public. This version of Lex will be characterised as a self serving sadist who develops a strong grudge against the would be Superman once he learns beyond doubt that he exists.

Lex’s plan for John is to cause several disturbances that will bait the red angel into action. This works fairly quickly and Clark is publicly revealed in an attempted display of heroics that confirms his existence. From here he decides that he has to own this opportunity and decides to come up with a brand. His failure to save John and the damage caused by Metallo help him realise that accountability is important so he will need to have a public persona if he wants to truly help the people of Metropolis. With the help of Martha Kent he comes up with a costume that evolves into the traditional Superman costume as the film progresses before being triumphantly revealed in his final battle with Metallo. Superman is widely accepted as a hero by the public and is given his name by Lois as is the tradition for the character. As the film ends he doesn’t know about Lex Luthor the villain but is supicious of Lex Luthor the businessman.

The Flash

The Flash would feature in a solo movie next following references to him in the above Superman concept. This version of Barry Allen differs from any seen before in that he’s an arrogant teenager who performs heroics in his spare time. At this point he’s a senior in high school and isn’t motivated by a desire to do the right thing. He helps people because he’s bored and likes to show off his powers when clad in his red suit. It’s a direct contrast to his school life where he’s unable to show off at all outside of academic achievement. Barry is one of those geniuses who doesn’t appreciate the fact that he’s a genius. Everything comes so easily to him but he’s pretty aimless in life despite having the potential to do much anything with it. The root cause of his aimlessness is the death of his mother under mysterious circumstances when he was very young.

Arrogance is a fairly irritating trait to some so the high school scenes will show a more thoughtful side to Barry who is careful not to get noticed too heavily out of fear of discovery. Unlike Superman Barry will have a love interest in the form of Iris West, a beautiful classmate that he pines after even though she shows no interest in him or even treats him all that well. What Iris doesn’t know is that their mothers died the exact same night so he understands that her picking on him is a coping mechanism much like his showboating as the Flash. They won’t enter into a relationship in this film but will share a meaningful conversation by the end of it indicating that she doesn’t find him completely repulsive.

His relationship with his father is also key as Barry is doing a lot to keep up appearances that his father is a fit parent even though he is far from capable. He does this because he doesn’t want to be taken away from his home life as he operates under the belief that finding the truth behind his mother’s murder will help his father regain some of his former sanity. Naivety will be a consistent trait for Barry in several aspects of his life.

Barry’s arc will focus on him starting to live up to his potential. He is discovered early on by Jay Garrick, a wealthy former Speedster who operated a few decades ago and has since lost his powers. Through Jay Barry will learn how to use his powers properly and start to understand that they come from a mysterious source that he calls the Speedforce. There is a mystery surrounding the loss of Jay’s powers though his working theory is that the Speed Force abandoned him in favour of granting Barry his powers even though Jay’s loss and Barry’s gain happened decades apart. This would introduce the idea of Barry’s ability to travel through time though he won’t do that in this film. Jay also makes Barry a better looking suit to replace the home made one.

Jay Garrick will remain a mysterious character throughout the film though will take on the role of a father figure for Barry. He receives guidance and affection from Jay and starts to understand that he’s part of a long legacy of Speedsters spanning centuries which helps Barry see the world differently and start to think about what he can do to make it a better place. This results in a more focused and motivated display of heroics with less showboating and more attention paid to resolving the situation with as much finesse as possible. This film won’t feature a single villain for Barry to contend with though there will be a ringleader in the form of Weather Wizard; a Metahuman with the ability to manipulate the weather. He will lead a team of villains that the media call the Rogues and send them to test The Flash’s powers one by one. He’ll take on Pied Piper, Top and Girder who will all present different challenges before finally taking on Weather Wizard in a visual feast. The film ends with The Flash more committed to being the protector of Central City and a much more experienced hero.

Batman

Batman is a fairly late addition to my reimagined DC Cinematic universe. When first introduced he has a relatively spartan setup with no Batmobile, a largely empty Batcave and very few gadgets. His war against crime is very much in its early stages but it will be familiar to fans of the character as Alfred will act as his support and he will be a very public obnoxious billionaire as a disguise. Batman Begins and The Dark Knight presented a Bruce Wayne who pretended to be selfish and uninformed so this version would be similar to that in some ways.

Bruce Wayne’s world will be populated by familiar characters. He will already have an established partnership with Commissioner Gordon that is based on mutual trust, Gordon’s teenage daughter Barbara who is a teenage prodigy, a few cops he gets along with -one of which will be Martian Manhunter- and mention of Selina Kyle though she won’t actually appear. He will also have something of a rivalry with Harvey Dent, a lawyer that he has known for a few years and gives him a run for his money in the playboy lifestyle.

As Batman he’s ruthless, determined and fiercely intelligent. This version would show him as more of a detective doing a lot of clandestine investigation work with less emphasis on combat. It will still be part of it but not as much as previous versions. My favourite version of Batman is the Kevin Conroy version and I’ve always wanted to something closer to that in the big screen adaptations of the character. This would also be reflected in his sense of humour as Batman where he conducts himself with and unflinching dry wit.

The main villain would be Mr. Freeze and I’d be looking for someone like Bryan Cranston to play the role as he would be able to do the intensity while also being sympathetic. Batman would come across him when he tracks down some people who have gone missing to a makeshift lab in a warehouse. Victor Fries is performing experiments on them in the desperate attempt to cure his wife’s so far incurable disease. Batman is understandably disgusted by this and they have a brief fight that ends up with Fries being exposed to the chemicals he has been working with which ends up creating Mr. Freeze. He’s unable to exist outside of cold climates until a mysterious benefactor -later revealed to be Lex Luthor- gifts him with a suit that regulates his body temperature as well as the cold gun. Victor becomes obsessed with bringing down Batman as punishment for putting him in that situation so puts civilians in danger in order to draw him out. This results in Batman being confirmed as real to the public who are largely more afraid of him. This version won’t be popular with the city he protects and Victor blaming him for his current condition will be a big part of why that is. Naturally this won’t hurt Lex Luthor’s plans who has a vested interest in turning the public against all of the heroes but that won’t be a big focus in this film as it’s very much about the personal conflict between Batman and Victor. The climactic sequence would be a game of wits where Batman has to find a way to outsmart him similar to the boss battle in Batman: Arkham City with a cinematic twist.

The Trinity

Before getting to the formation of the Justice League there would be a film where Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman come together for a team-up. The villain would be Black Adam so that Superman’s vulnerability to magic could be exploited. Batman would act more as a general in those fights using his training and experience to help coordinate the fight without going directly toe to to with Black Adam as he would be no match for a really strong magic based villain. Once again it would highlight Batman’s intelligence and resourcefulness.

The first characters to meet with be Superman and Wonder Woman as Clark actively seeks her out after chasing down rumours of a mysterious powered woman roaming the Earth helping people over the past few decades. She still hasn’t fully accepted that there’s goodness in Humanity at this point but is willing to hear Clark out when he tells her that he isn’t Human. Through interacting with Clark she will start to understand why he has such affection for the Human race though it’s not enough to completely change her mind. The Superman/Wonder Woman dynamic will be endearing because they answer a need that the other has. Diana has been in self imposed exile for decades and Clark finds it difficult to relate to others because he feels that his powers separate him from those he tries to protect. They are kindred spirits and there is a hint of romance that doesn’t go anywhere because there is an unease that exists between them as well because of their different stance on humanity.

Bruce Wayne easily tracks down Clark Kent by investigating Superman after learning that he’s Superman. He confronts him as Batman and the two discuss their similarities and differences. There will be a tension between them at first because Bruce has invaded Clark’s privacy by forcibly learning his secret identity. Bruce calls Clark out for being sloppy and Clark returns the favour by using his X-Ray vision to see through his cowl. As the film progresses Bruce teaches Clark how to cover his tracks better so that people don’t learn the truth so easily while mocking him for the ridiculousness of his disguise.

Batman and Wonder Woman’s dynamic would receive less exploration by design but she will be wary of him throughout the film because she doesn’t see him as a good example of Humanity. She will eventually come around to the idea of him being at least useful though she will find him very difficult to like though together the three of them will make an effective team. The film will end with them parting on good terms without formalising a partnership but resolving to help each other should it be needed.

Justice League

The need for the heroes to unite will be because of Lex Luthor who brings together all of the villains from the films leading up to this -except for Luddendorf- into a team that he plans to use to wipe the heroes out therefore leaving no resistance to his plans. The Martian Manhunter will be found investigating Lex Luthor by using his shape shifting ability to infiltrate his organisation. When he learns about Lex’s plan he decides that now is the time to make himself known and warn those in Lex’s crosshairs. He starts with Superman who is overjoyed to meet another alien. Batman is inclined not to trust him because he posed as a Gotham City cop, Diana is happy to have someone to reminisce about Steve with and Barry is indifferent but enjoys the prospect of meeting Superman.

Much of the work was done to establish the Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman dynamic in the last film so a vast chunk of the focus will be on Martian Manhunter and The Flash. Barry will be the audience surrogate in a way because he finds the situation both exciting and overwhelming being so young around all these larger than life heroes. Clark will be impressed by how much Barry has accomplished in such a short time and Bruce will be less than impressed by how immature he comes across. He’s must uneasy around Diana because he’s a teenager around a godly beautiful woman so he’s not quite sure how to handle that. Diana doesn’t give him much thought at all but sees the value of his abilities and trusts Clark’s judgement in this case.

Hal Jordan makes his return in this movie as Green Lantern but his appearance is shrouded in secrecy. He has a plan that has nothing to do with the other characters though overlaps because it turns out he’s tasked with removing Lex’s access to some really dangerous alien technology. Eventually he reluctantly decides to work with the other characters and the team formalise their arrangement to bring down the group of villains. There will be plenty of opportunity for really cool action sequences that make great use of the combined powers and growing camaraderie between the characters. The Justice League officially forms at the end of the film with Hal pledging his support whenever he happens to be available. The others are excited by the prospect of teaming up more regularly and discuss the possibility of recruitment to expand their roster.

Green Lantern

Hal Jordan’s reappearance in Justice League remains a mystery to the other members of the team but the audience will have a little more insight through contact he would have with other Green Lanterns. The final film in the first phase will tell Hal’s story while setting up the fact that there is a larger universe out there.

Hal’s disappearance will be revealed to be an unintended side effect of a mission that Abin Sur was on at the time. He basically gets scooped up and is along for the ride after that. The first half of the film would basically be a buddy movie where Hal is Abin Sur’s unintended partner. This allows him -and by extension the audience to learn all about the Green Lantern Corps while striking up a meaningful friendship with Abin Sur.

Atrocitus would be the villain though he would go by Atros to be less on the nose. He will help widen the scope of the universe through the introduction of the Red Lanterns as an oppositional force to the Green Lanterns so the theme of this film would be hope vs. anger which would come into play throughout Hal’s arc as he has to learn to better control his emotions in order to handle the situation.

Atros kills Abin Sur at roughly the halfway point and leaves Hal with the ring. It doesn’t work for him at this point but some soul searching and flashbacks to his past reveal points in his life where willpower enabled him to achieve. Lois Lane would definitely be a fixture in these flashbacks but it would more serve as a way to understand Hal and the way he is. Once he learns the necessary lesson the ring comes to life and he’s able to use it. He knows that force of will is what connects a Green Lantern to their power and fear dulls it so initially he has to overcome his fear of Atros enough to use the ring effectively. In order to compensate for this he channels his anger into his fight with Atros not realising that it negatively affects his ability to wield the ring in a different way. Abin Sur didn’t know a lot about the Red Lanterns so couldn’t impart that knowledge. Hal loses control and almost kills Atros but comes to his senses before he does so and turns him over to the Green Lantern Corps so that he can have a fair trial. This counts as his initiation and he is inducted into the corp officially to take Abin Sur’s place.

Second Phase

The second phase would be all about expanding the universe. I haven’t formed the individual film ideas as much as I have above so have a few basic bullet points to share

• The Superman sequel would have him learn about his past through the arrival of Supergirl who acts as more of an antihero antagonist who doesn’t have any connection to Earth or Humanity. Being his cousin Clark learns a lot from Kara but is also forced to stop her because her ambivalence is dangerous. I hadn’t got to the point of her learning to value Humans or not so whether that lesson works in context is unknown at this time. Everything about Clark’s world would be expanded by this story as he would learn more about where he came from, who his family are on Krypton, the mistakes that led to its destruction and the legacy his species left on the universe. I had the idea of Kryptonians not being well liked throughout the universe which automatically sets up cosmic antagonists for him to deal with in the future as they may see the last Kryptonian to be a target
• The Batman sequel is the story of widespread escalation of crime in Gotham. Bruce quickly realises that it’s more than he and the police can handle. The question of the Justice League handling it is asked but the other heroes have their own concerns so can’t assist him to the degree that he would need. His only option is to find others to help in his cause which leads him to Dick Grayson, an orphan like him in his early 20s who has a lot of skill but not a lot of focus. Bruce takes him in, trains him and Dick takes on the costumed identity of Robin for sentimental reasons personal to him. How this ends up helping Bruce clean up Gotham is unclear at this point though the film would be a variation of the Knightfall storyline where there is just more to deal with than Bruce can handle. As for a main villain it might be Bane or perhaps a collection of others to help sell the sheer intensity of it all
• The Wonder Woman sequel would fill in the gap between her first movie and her reappearance in “The Trinity”. It would be a decades spanning narrative showing what she did to help people without really being part of the world. She would slowly see that there is still hope for Humanity but witnessing other Wars would serve as a reminder of how much pain people cause each other for what she considers to be no good reason. This would be the ideal place to introduce Hawkman and Hawkgirl in a few of their incarnations as Diana takes the slow path through history. She could see them die and be reborn a couple of times to establish that they can easily make their way to the present day. Diana’s second film would be more morbid than the first but not bereft of hope
• The Flash sequel would expand his rogues gallery with one or two new small scale villains and the introduction of Reverse Flash who would definitely be from the future. Why he comes back and what he does isn’t something I’ve figured out quite yet but there would be a great opportunity for some impressive speed based sequences. It could be that the final sequence takes place in less than a second real time as a way to poke fun at the stakes in some way
• There would be other solo character films featuring the likes of Aquaman as per the film that was actually released, Green Arrow who would basically be the people’s Batman with a much more accessible attitude to everything, Zatanna who would explore the mystical side of the DC universe, Doctor Fate who would compliment this while delivering something weirdly unique and visually amazing. There are so many other characters that could be turned into engaging solo films or prop up someone else’s film.
• Before the Justice League sequel I’d throw in another Trinity film where the story is focused on recruiting to the Justice League as alien threats start to make their way to Earth. Batman makes the point that the escalation of the the threats has forced aggressive recruitment on their part which brings its own problems in terms of clashing personalities and less experienced heroes wondering why they should take orders from the likes of Batman. It may seem like a film that has too much going on but the core will be the Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman dynamic and the final fight against whoever the main antagonist ends up being will be just the three of them

Justice League 2

This film is where I’ll stop my fantasy DC Cinematic Universe notes as I feel it’s a natural end point for what I wanted to achieve from this article. It would be a film of two halves with the first focusing on how the Justice League have become like a family through everything they’ve been through. There would be a couple of threats that they have to deal with allowing them time to banter and prove how well they know each other as well as how naturally they gel as a team. The new recruits would be removed from this dynamic as Batman has basically labelled them as the B-Team only to be used when needed.

The second half would bring Doomsday into the equation and the fight would play out similar to how it did in the comics or in the recent Reign of the Supermen. Every member of the Justice League old and new would take him on and be easily defeated with possibly a couple of permanent deaths due to the ferocity of the attack. Eventually Superman joins the battle and can barely hold his own against Doomsday but fights on to protect his friends, family and the planet he has come to love. The fight would end with Doomsday’s defeat and Superman’s death which is seen as devastating on both a global and personal scale for everyone concerned. As with Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice the film would end with Superman’s funeral and a sense that the world has been altered by this loss. Batman is also worried that every threat in the galaxy might see Earth as a more tempting target now. Basically the film would end with a deep breath and a question mark about what will happen next.

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So there we have it. My notes on how I might approach a DC Cinematic Universe leading up to an impactful Superman death. Did you enjoy this article and want to see me tackle more like it? Make yourself known and feel free to contact me with things you’d like to see me turn my mind to. I did a similar exercise with Power Rangers for the 100th post and enjoy thinking about how things could be updated.

Now onto the sentimental stuff. I started a blog in March 2014 on the blogger platform when I didn’t have any idea what I was doing. My first post was a review of A Long Way Down which is arguably not the most monumental of films to choose to cover first but it just goes to show that not everything has a sense of ceremony to it. It wasn’t the first review I ever wrote though, that honour goes to World War Z which can be found on my friend Adam’s site where I wrote a few reviews. Those early days of the blog -then known as The Review at the End of the Universe”- were a definite learning curve for me but I always had a fair idea of what I wanted the site to be and have always developed it along those lines. It may have been rudimentary but it was enough to get me some accolades such as a press pass for the Edinburgh International Film Festival, something I continue to attend because of how much I love it.

Eventually my friend Dayne offered to build a website for me that would look more slick than the blog and would really help show how serious I was about building something. On September 2, 2016. Kneel Before Blog launched with an article comparing the Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill versions of Superman as a reference to the blog’s title which I can’t take credit for. The name was coined by my former flatmate Katie Siwek and I liked it so much that I took it.

Things have progressed a great deal since those early days. I’ve recruited writers who help me out off and on. Thanks to Gwen, Aaron, Angus, Natalie, JP, Tiff, Urfa, Simon, Jordan, Graeme and Andrew who have all contributed written content over the years. I’m genuinely grateful to all those willing to work for the promise of exposure and hopefully good chat with me. Expansion has also produced a podcast where I have a team of contributors that help make them as much fun as they have been. Thanks to Aaron, Chris, Angus, Natalie, Sandy, Nick, Kat, Izaak and Andrew for lending your voices as well as your opinions to what I can confidently say is a really entertaining series of long form discussions. There have also been several interviews with a lot of famous people, some of which were personal wins for me in terms of getting to talk to them so I’d consider the venture to be a huge success.

I’ve learned a lot about producing content, reviewing and how to analyse TV shows. My wheelhouse is more on the reviewing TV side but I enjoy covering films as well. Editing podcasts, preparing interviews and playing around with funny sounds to block out swearing are other strings to add to my bow. I’m always looking to learn, expand and grow as much as I can. The only barrier I have to producing content is time; sadly I always find myself running out of it and I’m not able to do much more than I already do but I give what I can and I’m really proud of myself for sticking with this project for as long as I have. In March I’ll have been at this 4 years and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.

What’s Next?

I usually have this heading on my season finale TV reviews so it’s only fair that I ask that of myself? The immediate thing I want to do is have a new logo designed both for the website and for the podcast and do a bit of a rebrand. I’m aiming to have this done before Edinburgh Comic-Con 2019 but we’ll see if that can be achieved. I also want to get better at replying to comments as I’ve gotten a bit lax on those lately. I would also like to get better at social media as it’s far from my strong suit. In terms of more specific other plans I don’t have many but I’m certainly open to suggestions from the audience.

It was said above but a huge thanks to the writing and podcast team. Even though I run this website I’m constantly aware that what Kneel Before Blog is today isn’t all down to me. Others deserve credit as well as well as my sincere gratitude. The last thing I’d like to say is a massive thank you to everyone who has clicked, read, shared, retweeted, offered a comment, given up their time to talk to me and generally helped keep me sane through the 2000 posts that weren’t all written by me. It certainly helps makes me feel that I’m spending the bulk of my free time on something worthwhile. This was probably the closest I’ll ever get to an acceptance speech so hopefully it got the point across. Here’s to another 2000 posts.