TRON: UPRISING

I missed TRON: UPRISING the first time around, back in 2012-2013, because we didn't pay for Disney XD back then.  However, streaming Disney+ (which is increasing in price again next month to $18.99/month!) allowed me to check it out before I rewatched TRON: LEGACY.  I (briefly) mentioned my fondness for Legacy in my TRON: ARES post earlier this week.  Somehow, I had time to watch episode 1 on Monday, then I got around to episodes 2-5 on Thursday, before finishing the series in a marathon layabout day (that was quite enjoyable) yesterday*, watching episodes 6-19.

*Skipping the Baltimore Comic-Con for the second year in a row for other reasons.

Was it worth it...?

ABSOLUTELY!!!

Clocking in at just under 8 hours, it's a small investment of time for a lot of stellar content, especially if you're a TRON fan.  Actually, I think anyone who likes fast-paced, well-developed, and visually stunning anime would enjoy it.  It definitely gave off Batman Beyond vibes with a bit of classic** Spider-Man.

**You know, the good pre-JMS Spider-Man - it just hasn't been the same for me since Gwen and Norman (reportedly) "danced" to Taylor Swift's song, "Wood" (explicit version).  And post Brand New Day, Marvel managed to kill my love for Peter Parker, turning him into a player/loser that still continues to this day.  But I'm sure I've ranted about that previously enough...

<<SPOILERS follow>>

If you want to watch a really good recap of TRON: LEGACY, I recommend watching this video from RetroBlasting.  In it, one of Michael's laments is the (mostly) lack of TRON in the movie.  Well, Uprising fixes all that in spades.  TRON (Bruce Boxlietner) is back, but badly damaged, needing to train a protégé to assume the identity of TRON in hopes of sparking a revolution against CLU.  He recruits a young mechanic, named Beck (played by Elijah [Frodo] Wood).  To make things simple hereafter, I'll refer to Bruce as OG-Tron and Elijah as nu-TRON.

This is where you see the Batman Beyond parallels - the original hero who can no longer directly fight and needs a younger but passionate person to carry the torch. You might call it a "legacy" (harkening back to DC's largely successful use of next-gen heroes), but then that would get confusing.  And Beck could be a stand-in for Peter Parker in appearance.  There's also a lot of crazy acrobatics like Spidey, and of course, the whole hiding your secret identity and lying to your friends thing.  Not to mention running afoul of the governing authority's troops.  Add in the brilliant design aesthetic of Legacy, beautifully stylized***, and another awesome soundtrack...Well, you've created a perfect recipe for me to enjoy.

***The picture above does not due it justice.

We also get a good ensemble of supporting characters that really flesh out the series.  There's Paige, Beck/nu-TRON's chief hand-to-hand opponent, who you definitely want to see them "ship" together at some point.  We have his garage, best friends, Mara and Zed; one likes the Renegade (what people call nu-TRON), the other doesn't.  They're two friends who (obviously to us) may end up as more than friends one day.  Able is the garage owner, who initially appears frustrated with Beck, but ends up an ally in the Revolution.  Paige's boss, Tesler, is a worthy anime villain with cool expanding hands (like Machine Man).  And Paige's chief competitor, Pavel, is a sadistic jerk who creeps everyone out, eliciting one of the best lines of the series from Paige: "It is amazing how you keep finding new ways to disgust me."

While there is a certain formula to most episodes, they're not what I consider formulastic either, because the storyline is actually building toward something. We know from Legacy that OG-Tron will eventually be repurposed by CLU as Rinzler.  And there is a ton of action: fighting, light cycle chases, battles on trains, etc.  It's just a super awesome show! (Apologies that ye ole writer can't be more eloquent than that right now.)

Anyway, I highly recommend it, and I definitely plan to rewatch, one day.

The only problem...

Okay, so I have an uncanny ability to ignore certain facts by choosing not to see them or investigate them.  Such as refusing to look at the alarm clock.  Do I have 20 minutes left to sleep or 2 hours? If I don't look, then both are still possible!  Try it, you'll sleep better.  Similarly, not wanting to spoil the series (such as reading a spoiler-filled blog post), I didn't do any research on Uprising before I started watching it.  Here I am thinking the series is building toward the fateful - OG-Tron gets turned moment, when BAM - the whole thing ends on a cliffhanger.  The series was CANCELLED after the first season!  At least I got to experience the same shock**** as the original viewers.

****I've experienced this before.  Most notably when Magnum died at the end of season 7, and Captain America was shot in Ed Brubaker's series (#25).

So, while the whole series was hugely entertaining and satisfying, the ending was a letdown because I wanted to see so much more!  Dang.   (Pardon my French.)  But just because it was short-lived doesn't mean it isn't worthwhile.  It certainly is.