glapplebloom

[glapplebloom]

Grogar: Prove your worth by winning on your own. Do not involve me in things beneath my scope.

@evilkingsombra

[glapplebloom]

An interesting look, strictly from a gameplay style.

(SOURCE of Image from Sonic Beyond)

Today’s subject comes from a Twitter Post asking who would win if they did switch places. This is a very popular subject where I’ve seen Animations about it as well as people who swap gameplays. I’m going to go with the second option, but taking it in a different approach: I am going to make them go through the other’s game and see if they can get through the other’s story. So here are the ground rules...

This is putting Sonic in Super Mario Odyssey while Mario is going through Sonic Frontiers. 

This is not going to use stats, but gameplay abilities. And since both are platforming games, only the moves they are capable of in Platforming games will be used.

They only have access to the Items in the games they’re in. So no bringing power ups or the like from their games like Mario’s FLUDD or Sonic’s Wisps. 

They will get access to NPCs, so Sonic will get Cappy and Mario will get Sonic’s Friends.

Mario will be getting 8 hit points using the individual sunrays of Super Mario Sunshine with the individual hit points of SMB2 (US). Sonic will get 999 Rings since that is his Max Capacity while losing only 10 rings per hit. They can only recover if they can find a way to recover hit points like they could in any of their original platforming games.

No need to 100%. Just beat the game.

The Sonic Side...

Starting off with Sonic in Mario Odyssey, after Mario gets kicked off Bowser’s ship and magically Sonic is where Mario is when Cappy finds him, Sonic chases Cappy when he scares him off. Cappy tells Sonic the story and gives him Mario’s hat that he possesses. So now Sonic can do the Possession Part of the game. I’ll allow him the ability to throw Cappy like Mario because I can see Cappy assist with that. Sonic can homing attack Cappy, allowing him some of that Mario maneuverability. But he can’t do all the fancy jumping Mario could do, only his own. I can see Sonic able to jump or run up the walls during the Frog Part of it like he could in Sonic Lost World, though I would suspect Cappy would make him do it to show off another ability of his. 

While the Life-Up Hearts can increase Mario’s hit Points from 3 to 6 or 9, I will say this does not increase Sonic’s hit points since his are ring base. Any Coin Rings I will count as one ring each, so there’s that. But no 3 coins = 1 ring thing. Sonic gotta collect rings and rings only for health. Sonic would then encounter Topper, who I think Sonic could easily handle especially if you consider how he fights in Sonic Frontiers. Though when that Powerline shows up, I think Sonic would try to grind on it instead of relying on Cappy to carry him across from it. Either way, the two should cross and we enter the full game proper. While Sonic can break through stones, he can’t break through all of them. But if they look like a bunch of rocks put together yet not packed together I can see Sonic breaking it on his own. Something that requires a T-Rex I would say he needs Cappy.

Madam Broode is next and she should be easy for Sonic regardless of how he plays it. After all, she won’t be the first Ball and Chain he had to deal with in his lifetime. They Restore the Odyssey and travel to the other Kingdoms. I’ll be skipping a lot since I’m pretty sure Sonic can handle the platforming as well as Mario between his own skills and Cappy’s. So I’ll be highlighting boss fights and specific moments. His next Boss fight is against Hariet and it sort of fights similarly to a Sonic 3D Blast Boss: Sonic definitely can handle this no matter how he fights. The next boss is Knucklotec and while it is similar to a Sonic 3 enemy, I think this is something Sonic has to rely on Cappy’s abilities to handle. He’ll avoid the attacks fine until Cappy can take a hand and smash Knucklotec’s face in.

The Lake Kingdom is where Sonic’s troubles begin. Though Sonic could sort of Swim a la Sonic Colors for the Wii. And there are air bubbles in the game. But are there enough? Mario can hold his breath for 40 seconds in Odyssey, so what is the max length of time Sonic could hold his breath? From what I’ve seen, Sonic’s Max breath holding is 30 seconds. And Mario is a better swimmer, though looking at some of the bubble placements they seem to be in pretty close locations to each other. Plus possessing a Fish would allow Sonic to breathe underwater. So the safest bet for Sonic is any underwater challenges that are quick or require a fish he could do, but anything that requires 30 seconds from one bubble to another will be unbeatable for him.

Rango is the next boss and he looks super easy, barely an inconvenience. Spewart is the next boss and he may be more of a challenge. Poisoning the ground would reduce the amount of ground Sonic could run across. But Cappy’s spin can clean it up. And with Cappy smacking the hat while Spewart is in it will help ensure less of the ground would be covered in it. Torkdrift is the next boss and like Knucklotec, is something Cappy will need to carry the fight on. While Sonic fought something similar, it doesn’t lower down periodically like those other bosses. And I doubt he can Bounce Jump to it without getting hit by the lasers. 

Now it's time for the first Bowser confrontation and while Death Battle gave him everything he has ever done, the games decided to give him a new hat. And while he has shown enough magic, nothing really seems out of Sonic’s wheelhouse so another easy fight for him. But since the game doesn’t end there, Sonic’s Odyssey continues. Cappy gets kidnapped in Lost Kingdom but Sonic’s Stomp move is similar to Mario’s Ground Pound, so he can get him back. The next boss is the Mechawiggler, which honestly looks the most like a Sonic Boss out of any Mario Boss. And so far the only Non-Broodals/Bowser fight I can see Sonic win without Cappy.

Rango is next again for some reason, but the only thing that changed is he throws two hats and the floor is icy. No issue. The next boss is Mollusque-Lanceur, and he’s another one that requires Cappy since it's a water fight. You would need speed to be on top of the water and a Gushen to clear the lava hair he has. Spewart comes for a Round 2 as well and honestly it looks easier. Bigger arena means more places to move. Not to mention he doesn’t do the spit around after getting hit (or get the chance to). Cookatiel is next and considering you need to be in a hot bowl of liquid for the fight, Cappy is required.

The next boss fight is the Ruined Dragon: the most realistic looking dragon in the entire Mario series. Surprisingly not the only Dragon Sonic has fought. Doesn’t seem too hard for Sonic to fight without Cappy though. Dodge his electricity until he tires, take out the golden spikes and hit his exposed weak point with a stomp. Topper gets his rematch and besides more hats, seems to be the same boss. But right after is a Hariet rematch. She upgraded her ponytail into pigtails. But again, mostly the same as last time. And before confronting Bowser one last time, you fight all the Broodals again, only in a giant mech.

The RoboBrood requires you to take out the legs first using the bombs it throws, then climb its side to hit a Broodal. And honestly, looking at it I can see Sonic beating it without using Cappy. It does seem pretty close to the type of boss fights Sonic fights: including hitting cockpits to do damage. For some reason, Madame Broode is the next fight after RoboBrood. And the only difference is she put on more hats on her dog than last time. We finally interrupt the wedding and a Bowser Rematch. It is a lot more impressive as he’s faster, breathes fire and has a fire shield around him at times. He even tries for a sweep to counter attack. But it’s still the same so I can see Sonic win this.

And after taking over Bowser’s mind to clear the way during the collapse, and Sonic completed the game. But this is using Cappy, could Sonic beat Mario Odyssey without him? Well according to this video it is possible to get 137 Moons without Cappy using skills, exploits and glitches. According to this post, 124 is the minimum required to beat the game. But this video about minimum captures does highlight Cappy is a requirement. Even if I said Sonic could grind the first capture and do the first few shows without Cappy, to get to the Dragon he would still need Cappy to travel him across the cavern. And Sonic can not rightfully do the Nut Jump to skip the Bowser Zip lines. And heck, some of the skips still require Cappy to get some of those moons.

So Sonic could beat Odyssey but not without Cappy. Which means it's Mario’s turn. Can he beat Sonic Frontiers? Can he do better and beat it without any help? Let’s find out next week.

[glapplebloom]

Congratulations! Keep up the great work!

Half A Year

Thats how long this blogs been going, and by golly golly its going to keep going, To celebrate this I'll do a thank you list

Thank you the the Crusader Crisis @gm-scoots and @glapplebloom

Thank you my first collaborator @ask-coppertop

Thank you @askbananapie for just being one of the most lively users Ive seen

And thank all those who watch me and been with me this far

Sincerely, Talanted, The Author.

[glapplebloom]

((You can join @crusade-crisis if you have Crusaders, canon or not))

@ask-the-doctor15

[glapplebloom]

What if this rumor was true?

Yeah, I think this is a joke. But what if it wasn’t. Sonic X Shadow Generations showed that it worked very well. But what if they gave Sonic Heroes a remake like that? The Original Game and something additional. The question remains, what can be added to the original game that would make it more valuable?

1 - Original Level Layouts

A big flaw of Sonic Heroes is that while there are numerous variations, they are basically the same level layouts for each team. You’ll be playing the same 14 stages four times. 8 enemy rushes. 8 of the flying boss in 2 variations, and the Egg Emperor four times. And that sounds boring. We could definitely change it up. Here’s how I’ll do it...

Team Sonic - Level Designs are the most directly the same as the original. 

Team Dark - Since they are supposed to be harder versions of the Sonic Levels, make them harder by being more unique so players who got used to the Sonic Levels won’t expect the new challenges in Dark’s.

Team Rose - In the original, they were the Easy Mode. I think they should be more puzzle based so you would have to use each specific skill creatively to get past certain obstacles. It makes them bring something more unique to the groups.

Team Chaotix - They are missioned based, so their stages should play up on that. For example, the finding stuff missions play more similarly to the Open Zones of Sonic Frontiers. Or the Stealth Missions making it difficult to try to remain out of sight.

2 - Gameplay Engine

They would probably use their current Hedgehog Engine for this. I would say go for it, but don’t have the dashing option. No holding a button to get a big burst of speed. I think it could work as Frontiers showed it can. Probably add some new bosses to at least remove the Enemy rushes and second flying bird ship. Maybe a new team battle with the characters who don’t interact: Team Chaotix Vs Team Sonic and Team Rose Vs Team Dark

3 - New Modes

Of course the big selling point would be the new modes. So what would those new modes be?

Solo Mode - Play Sonic from Sonic Frontiers in the Team Dark Levels. The Dash Button, his ability to do all the moves he can do in that game. Metal Madness boss Fight similar to the Sonic Frontiers. There'll be no story connected to this, it’ll just be for fun.

Mix and Match - Want a team consisting of Amy, Tails and Vector? Want to use only the Flying Characters? Think it’ll be fun to do the Puzzle Levels as Team Dark? This is the mode for you. It’ll let you play as any character on any level. And they’ll be unique dialogue depending on certain team ups.

4 - New Teams

And the other bigger selling point? New Teams. For this one, I am going to make each team go through a random set of the Levels while they get their own cutscenes. So what would these teams be? Here are a few ideas...

Team Eggman - Metal Sonic will be Speed, Sage will be Flight and Eggman will be Power. Sage was reviewing past Eggman takeover plans when she noticed a specific period of time that Eggman was disposed of despite being the threat. That’s when Eggman told her about Metal Sonic’s takeover. She wonders how close was Metal in defeating Sonic? What if Eggman wasn’t disposed of? What if she was there? So she enters her mind and simulates Eggman, Metal and herself going through this situation. When a cutscene is supposed to play, she would take notes on what mistakes Metal did and make improvements on. In the end, she deemed it too random. It only seemed to serve only one purpose: to make Metal Sonic stronger. She figures there are easy ways to do this.

Silver - Silver went back in time and sadly too far back. He’s now in the Sonic Heroes timeline and has to find a way back home. And he figured the Chaos Emeralds could help with that. Unlike the other characters, he can play all three roles and switch between them. 

And characters for Mix and Match mode. This could be the DLC additions.

Blaze - Speed or Flight

Marine - Power

Sticks - Speed

Surge - Speed

Kitsunami - Power

Jet - Speed

Wave - Fight

Storm - Power

Tangle - Speed

Whisper - Flight

Lanolin - Power

That’s my idea for a Sonic Heroes Remake. Do you think it would be a good idea?

[glapplebloom]

((Well, since not even the Journal of the Two Sisters explained what happened, let's use some G5 content.))

@puzzlingfrost

[glapplebloom]

((Its fun to remember when you have two different lives you lived through))

EDIT: Man, I jumped the gun with this. Next week the Ending of the End will be the Observation Comic of the Week.

[glapplebloom]

Discord: I maybe dumb enough in another continuity to continue the Grogar disguise despite the obvious betrayal, but I would never purposely upset Fluttershy.

[glapplebloom]

So FlutterCord is definitely a thing...

The Fast and the Furriest

Remember the Carts Before the Ponies? This is that episode only with all six of the Mane Six and their pets. But it begins with Dash and Twilight in Sugarcube Corner. Though it seems Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle are being super competitive since they felt they are the food faster. And after finding out about the Maplewood Motor Match, they decide to settle it with that. The prize is a mountain of cupcakes and without magic, they have to build carts and let their pets drive. No taking over for them.

Applejack is building with Winonna’s Help (sort of). Rarity is taking selfies with Opal while she hires people to do it. Angel is reluctantly helping and finally getting what he deserves. And Twilight and Rainbow Dash are putting in actual engines to these Go Karts. Looking at the pets now, it honestly feels like Opal and Tank are still the same looking as their main series counterparts. The others definitely got the Pony Life makeover.

And like the Carts Before the Ponies, the competitive nature of the two (actually being carried out by their pets who want to win) ruins it for everyone else. But after seeing the mess they cause, Tank and Owlowiscious go back to help their friends. Twilight and Dash are upset at first, but after being told what was up they apologize for how they were acting. The race now ends in a six way tie as Twilight and Dash still seem intent on competing. Though in reality Angel won.

Disappearing Act

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are here! They’re Junior Trail Trotters (which wouldn’t that mean the girls could be a legit thing working as their chaperones?) and are excited to see what the “Trail Trotters” got for them. Rarity reveals she’s going to put on a Magic Show. The Crusaders are excited but the others are not. Especially when she forces the girls to volunteer. She combined three potions for the purpose of making the table they’re standing on disappear. Instead, the girls are gone.

The girls are stuck in the void (with Pinkie being there already) as Rarity tries to figure out how to get her friends back. Luckily the Crusaders found Rarity's Super Rare Book of Rare Spells! (as said in the episode) as Rarity tries to bring her friends back. The spell didn’t work because she didn’t let her friends participate in the trick, thus they disappeared. She didn’t think she didn’t until she realized she put a lot of emphasis on herself. 

Realizing this and quickly figuring out how to clean up this mess, she drinks the potion and gets them to participate in it. Friendship is magic and they’re back in the real world. And that’s it. Felt like the episode was going to show them doing gardening and paint soiree but it didn’t.

Badge of Shame

Twilight got a big package. Perfect timing since Pinkie’s Oven broke down. Turns out it's not an oven, it's a machine for Twilight to earn her Trail Trotters Engineering Badge. Twilight is confident since she’s an expert on instructions but this is similar to Sonic Boom trying to build a Bookcase level of difficulty. Twilight is so confused, she breaks apart. But after some pep talk from Fluttershy, she believes she is going to improve it. And seeing Pinkie Pie sad about her oven, Twilight chooses her to be her assistant. After a montage and AJ’s narrating, they made a new oven for Pinkie Pie. It ends with Pinkie happy about her new oven and Twilight really enjoying it as well.

Discord's Peak

The girls are going to be climbing Mount Volcanope. The girls are afraid of the possibility of it erupting but Discord informs them that it won’t. That’s why it's called Volca-NOPE. Fluttershy invites him, but he refuses. The others are happy about it but Fluttershy insists. He still says no. Fluttershy wants him to come along during the trip and we DEFINITELY see Fluttershy embrace her inner Harley. So much so she decides to make Volcanope into Volca-YES. The Overstuffed with Baking Soda Cupcake comes back to make the Volcano erupt thanks to Fluttershy.

Back with Discord, he definitely wanted to go but still insists he didn’t. But after seeing the Volcano erupt, he finally gets the motivation to go. He stops the Volcano and Fluttershy decides to trick him into joining the Trail Trotters by making him join as a solo Scout. We get a reminder that this Trail Trotters thing is all fake and Fluttershy learning the lesson about not forcing things on people. Then Discord returns asking for help getting back down.

It's nice to see the Crusaders and Discord (despite being voiced by someone else) again. They’re all simple stories but I do like seeing the Crusaders bring their own thing into this show. And Rarity is great as always. AJ really steps up as she narrates certain moments, basically breaking the 4th wall like a certain Pink Pony. Though I’m not sure how I feel about Fluttershy causing a Volcano to get someone she likes to join. Talk about a Bad Romance. 

[glapplebloom]

((A world of Harmony would be hard to maintain the Rage to be a Lantern))

[glapplebloom]

Surprisingly not the end.

The third to final episode begins with a unicorn walking to Canterlot while a familiar looking Unicorn is spreading rumors. If you’ve been following this series, you know this is Chrysalis. She goes back to the trio just in time because Tirek figured out how to use Grogar’s Bell. Making sure everyone gets their fair share, the three now have the power of Grogar. Which means Tirek is buff, Cozy Glow is now an Alicorn and Chrysalis gets more jewelry.

Grogar returns with an artifact and a plan. He said they have to work together in order to succeed. This is followed by the three of them doing just that to overthrow Grogar and take over his bell. And after all his magic is gone, it is revealed that it was Discord all this time. I know a lot of people are upset with the reveal but you could argue this was set up since the beginning. Though another thing is a lot of people felt this shouldn’t have happened.

Thing is, this is entirely within Discord’s character. He’s so powerful, he really doesn’t take things too seriously until some time after, usually too late. There are numerous examples of this. Even Cosmos, the one entity he was entirely serious against from the beginning in the IDW Comics, has him just hiding a piece and trying to run away with Fluttershy instead of, you know, finding the individual pieces and hiding them lightyears away from each other or in a black hole or different dimensions. He either can’t take things too seriously or is an idiot when it comes to planning things.

And let’s face it, those with egos are pretty dumb as they let Discord leave because they felt he isn’t a threat without magic. Thing is he can still warn the others so they could prepare. Speaking of others, it seems Twilight is finally ready to take over the Kingdom. And the first thing she does is make Spike her Royal Vizier I mean Advisor. Meeting up with the others, it seems the trio’s previous work is taking effect as nobody is helping out and not trusting each other. Basically, racism. That’s when Discord arrives and reveals the news...

Discord wanted to test Twilight and show her she is ready for the crown. You saw this in the Beginning of the End where he faked his death to give Twilight the motivation to defeat Sombra. He was a safety net if things went South, but the Evil Trio decided to pull a Robin and ruin said safety net during the final exam. After a small pep talk from Celestia, Twilight has a plan: have the Pillars come to Canterlot to guard the borders, warn Starlight because Chrysalis has a major hate boner for her and the Crystal Empire be the last defense if they have to flee Canterlot. 

Luckily they got time as the Trio were bickering for a bit, then debating what to do with Discord’s Magic. Chrysalis wants to use it but Tirek said it is impossible for any other creature to control. While he had absorbed Discord’s magic in the past, you also have to remember he hasn’t used much of his magic. You can argue the bubbles, but ultimately Tirek likely only used it to buff his own strength. Cozy Glow volunteers to test drive it, but her attempts to backstab them after doing so failed. So Discord’s magic is off the table. They’re cool with it since they knew they would have done the same thing if given the chance.

The Trio Split up as Twilight gives a pep talk to her friends. Then Cozy Glow shows up, already defeating most of the soldiers and taking out the Princesses with relative ease. Speaking of ease, Tirek shows up to defeat the Pillars. This is why I am comfortable with scaling the higher ponies to Starswirl but not opposite. He had all his friends there and failed miserably. Meanwhile Starlight did pretty well against Chrysalis one on one. She still lost in the end, but it is still the best showing one on one.

Speaking of doing well, after Cozy Glow cleared out the JOB Squad, Team Twilight did amazingly well against Cozy Glow. They could have beaten her if it wasn’t for the other two showing up to save her. That’s when the Trio revealed that they were the cause of the ponies no longer being united. Twilight’s friends block a big blast while telling Twilight to go get help. The first half ends with that happening. The second half begins with the Trip capturing the others and arguing what to do with them. Cozy wants to destroy them now, Chrysalis wants to torture and then destroy them publicly, and Tirek wants to find Twilight.

Basically, they’re winning because they worked together but their bickering is giving the others an opportunity. An Opportunity that Discord sees. After apologizing, he antagonizes them enough (with the only mention of an IDW concept with Tirek’s father’s name) to reflect a blast to free Starlight Glimmer. Good thing the Crystal Caves have reflective surfaces. Starlight is free, frees the others as the Mane Six look for her as the others fight. And considering their track record, Starlight Glimmer is going to be the Metal Sonic of this fight.

With the others, they find out every pony is looking out for themselves. Even Ponyville seems to be splitting apart. And since Twilight isn’t in Ponyville, they’re going to the Crystal Empire. Twilight is there, but it seems she’s on her last rope. Doesn’t help that the Windigos have arrived since apparently everyone forgot about Hearth’s Warming. But you notice some ponies (like Sandbar) seemingly have doubts on the everyone for themselves mentality. And after a pep talk with her friends, Twilight gets the motivation to do one last attack against the Trio. 

Back with the Trio, they recognize the Windigos. They debate for a bit what to do since leaving them alone has their benefits and drawbacks, but they decide to work together to fight Twilight and Friends. Their plan is to get the bell and restore the magic of the others. They do pretty well but after Spike gets threatened they stand down. Luckily for them a blast that would have stopped them was stopped by the combined magic of the Unicorns. We got an Endgame moment. Almost every character who was ever on the show appeared. You even see Tempest Shadow (but no Capper or the Pirates). 

Turns out the School of Friendship inspired others to unite their kind to fight against the Trio. Shame the Unicorn and Pegasus are no names. But it is nice to see the Student Six inspire their kind to help out. And despite seeing the ones fighting go down, Twilight does her Friendship speech and with the combination of her friends past, present and future, she defeats the trio and removes the power of Grogar from them. And after restoring everyone of their powers after Pinkie Pie took the bell, Discord and the Princesses turn the Trio into stone despite Chrysalis being the one most likely to never turn good no matter how much you try.

People like to say this is too harsh for Cozy Glow, but there are a few things to remember: being stoned is not permanent punishment, it is not the equivalent to Death (because there is actual death), and she did almost destroy Equestria for a second time. She’ll likely be freed overtime, but for now she’s kept locked away to ensure she doesn’t try for a third time. Though they probably should kill Chrysalis. Even her final act was to try to attack with the other two being scared. The episode ends with them going to Donut Joe’s as Twilight spends a quiet moment with her friends.

It's the end of an era and whatever comes next will be perfect as long as she has her friends by her side. Granted, G5 kind of ruins that idea but considering we really don’t have a solid understanding about how it came to be (if not multiverse theory, the Manga making it Pony Life and then G5 makes the most sense since Trail Trotters came from Pony Life). But if this was the final episode of the series, it is a great note to end on. But it is not. We have one final episode to look through, but before that we’re making a detour.

Starting next week, we’ll be taking a look at two clip shows at a time before we get to the Last Problem. And then we’ll begin the New Year with a goodbye to the old. So stay tuned. Click here for the original review and how it fits in GLAB Canon.

[glapplebloom]

Huh, of all the people to get a solo TV Series, I didn’t expect him.

Beast Boy: Lone Wolf is a series of Shorts where Beast Boy tries to go solo. It's because the Titans are on a break (funny how at the same time TTG is airing a series of Solo Raven stories which I find really enjoyable). And on Youtube Cartoon Network UK has every episode (presumably). And it’s all under a half an hour so it's easy to sit through.

It begins with a Frog Dude and his gang of tadpoles (guys dressed as tadpoles) robbing a bank. This gives you the first impression that while it is still going to be silly, it won’t be Teen Titans Go Silly. More serious at times because the Frog Dude is dangerous and is about to shoot a girl in the face for laughing at him. Luckily Beast Boy stops him and his gang. He does well until that same girl thinks he’s with the Titans and BB is the silly one of the group.

Following episodes have many escapades. Getting a Signed Baseball from a Haunted House, fighting the Elephant Man, fighting Killer Moth who actually looks like he lives up to that first name. But they do have their fun moments too like Elephant Man causing a lot of damage at Lex-mart and BB is responsible for the damages or accidentally helping Luhtor. A really great episode is when he tries to face Starro.

This is his first solo fight against a headlining villain and tells his game plan to that same girl (who, let's face it, is a recurring character at this point. Her name is Mickie). Despite his best efforts to come up with a good plan, she points out how those won’t work. When he gives up, Mickie gives him a pep talk that inspires him to actually have Plan A work: turn into a giant Kaiju to fight Starro! The problem is as soon as he was ready, a certain red caped hero showed up to defeat Starro.

There’s a two parter where Beast Boy is a Rat undercover for a gang of Mice Robbing places. And it is the Pied Piper controlling them. And it is a pretty impressive usage of a gang of mice. He also faces someone called the Black Witch. Apparently she has a grudge on him since she was close to defeat the Teen Titans and Beast Boy stopped her at the last minute. He doesn’t remember her. Honestly, I would think she was a friend of Raven’s. And another mission where he has to infiltrate Kobra’s headquarters. Not to be confused with Cobra.

And the final episode, for now, is Lone Wolf Vs his Rogues Gallery. Basically all four of the named villains he faces in the series. He doesn’t do too hot until Mickie gets in trouble. Also Frog Dude is a Toad. The Rat from the Pied Piper episode promises that this won’t be the last time he sees him. Considering afterwards he met the cat BB was trying to save from a tree, I bet it will be.

Honestly, I would love to see a full series like this. The animation is pretty charming and I enjoyed the writing. Lots of fun situations too. I would also like for the other Titans to get this treatment. See what kind of solo stuff they could do. And honestly, I’m glad Greg Cipes is doing this Beast Boy. Give him something more to be than “the silly one”.

[glapplebloom]

((Yep, I got IDW's Sombra despite preferring the Season 9 one.))

[glapplebloom]

Evolution is a mystery. Full of change that no one sees.

(SOURCE)

So on Twitter there was an interesting debate about what would happen if Ben 10 scanned a Saiyan like Goku. Would Ben 10 be the absolute peak of Saiyan (AKA Broly) or is there more to it than genetics? So let’s compare and contrast the two and see what if Ben 10 actually did scan a Saiyan based on what usually happens when Ben 10 scans Vs what we should expect from a Saiyan.

What makes people think Ben 10 can become Broly Level

Now I haven’t seen a lot of Ben 10 because... Reasons... But searching around can lead me to finding answers. The reason people believe Ben 10 would be a Saiyan on the same scale of Broly is that when the Omnitrix scans an alien, it gets the max potential of a species. Four Arms for example is stronger than some female Tetramands, who in their species are usually stronger than their male counterparts. 

Other examples include Bullfrag looking a lot more physically impressive than regular Incursean, Way Big beating To’kustars which I heard were mutated at the time, and Kickin' Hawk beating the other bird creature that the Wiki doesn’t have a name for the species for. Not to mention Ben 10’s Alien X beating that Celestialsapien in combat despite it having the better experience. So Ben 10 being the Absolute Peak of Saiyans could be possible. But what is the Peak of a Saiyan?

What makes people think Ben 10 would be lower than Goku or Vegeta

As seen with Captain Ginyu, having a Saiyan Body does not automatically give you knowledge of how it works. Sure, Ben could probably figure out the basics like flying and shooting energy beams, but the big stuff is done through techniques. Instant Transmission is a technique. The Kamehameha is a technique. The Kaioken is a technique. Even the Super Saiyan is something you have to train for in order to properly master. And while smarter species increases Ben’s intellect, it's only while in use. So it is entirely possible Ben 10 would not instantly know how to do stuff that requires to be trained to do.

But let’s say you argue that the Omnitrix does give him such knowledge. What is the potential of a Saiyan? Is it based on how strong they could be living on the Planet Saiyan or something else. Honestly, I would suspect it is based on how strong they could be on their planet. After all, traveling to new places and experiencing things you wouldn’t back home could drastically change your overall body. From something as simple as unique as antibodies to something as extreme as exposure to conditions you can’t get home. And Goku and Vegeta have been exposed to gravity even greater than on Planet Vegeta.

But let’s say it would include that. After all, Broly didn’t do any of that and he’s even super strong. Here’s the thing: signs point to him being a mutant. As a baby, he was already breaking scouters. While you could argue King Vegeta was upset that a low class Saiyan was stronger than his son, Paragus was thinking King Vegeta was right after seeing his son fighting Goku. The fact he could contain the Power of an Oozaru without transformation definitely shows that this is no normal Saiyan. 

My thoughts

Honestly, I’m on Team “Ben ain’t getting no Broly Form”. Broly is something so unique that I doubt any Saiyan could match it. That’s how evolution works: the peak of a species can only last so long until a mutation that allows said species to adapt in different locations or better than previous breed more and outlast the original species. You could argue this is the peak of a Saiyan but honestly I could make the same argument that Saiyan Saga Vegeta was the peak of the species. 

Because Goku and Vegeta have grown beyond their species. They do not need their tails. They can transform into a form that was so legendary they only saw one every thousands of years. They can grow beyond that and reach the levels of Deities. And their Instincts and Ego respectively are so high, they have gone beyond what is capable of mortals let alone the Saiyan Race. They are not the Peak of Saiyan Evolution. That is way below them now.

And finally, even if you want to ignore everything else, the Omnitrix ignores scanning Human DNA and anything similar to that. Saiyan DNA can crossbreed with Humans to create hybrids who can also give birth to more children. Ben 10’s Omnitrix has not scanned other aliens closely related to Humans. The reason why could be the same reason Ben 10 doesn’t transform into the Peak Human: his DNA is the baseline so anything that closely resembles it is ignored. 

But are you a Ben 10 fan and think differently? Give your thoughts and any examples that prove my theory wrong.

[glapplebloom]

Discord: I was even not thinking when creating things and he saw it coming!

[glapplebloom]

The best thing to come out of the Death Battle besides memes. (Source of Image)

First things first, I am not going to do notes for Death Battles I researched after their fights. This is because since everything is now monthly, there would be big gaps of time between the two, so I have decided to make it a year review so anything Death Battle related I’ve done, be it researching or helping in other ways, I’ll be sure to note. But back to the original subject in hand...

Evil Playdate is what I would like to call the combination of Bowser Jr. and Sage. While people think it happened because of Death Battle, it actually predates Sage’s creation. Back when Eggette was a meme, a popular thing to do was have her meet Bowser Jr. The idea of two evil kids from renowned villains was something a lot of people enjoyed. And when Sage debuted, that idea became stronger since now we actually have canon kids for the two. So like wanting to see their evil dads team up, people want to see their kids together as well.

(Source)

Don’t think of this as shipping. Sure, there is plenty of shipping and the idea of Bowser Jr having a childhood crush with Sage trying to understand it is a cute idea, but it is not limited to that. Like how people think Eggman and Bowser could make a great team: so could Bowser Jr and Sage. Some really nice artwork I’ve seen are the two just hanging around. Playing chess while Junior eats the pieces behind her back. Bowser Jr teaches her how to play a game only for her to instantly win. Seeing their friendship grow is such a great idea for a story since there’s as much potential for stuff as with their dads.

Honestly, I would love for more villains to have kids. Nina Cortex joining the duo. K. Rool having a little daughter who is a rival to Bowser Jr. Gnasty Gnorc having a jock son. Have them all go to school together to learn how to be better bad guys. It could be so much fun seeing the next generation of villains being all school friends.

(Source)

Another idea I have in my head: basically a retelling of Swan Princess. Eggman and Bowser try to get their kids together, they dislike each other initially but when they matured (or in Sage’s case have an upgraded body) they get their feelings for each other only for Bowser Jr to screw things up. Then Sage gets kidnapped by Fawful and so on and so on. That’s about as far as I got but if I put more thought into it I think I can make something more from this.

(Source)

Basically, Sage and Bowser Jr should definitely meet like their parents did. Makes me sad Sega no longer has the Olympics License. I could see the next Mario and Sonic at the Olympics having Sage there as a new playable character. And if it's the ones with a story mode it could be fun. Heck, Paper Jam showed how fun it is for Junior to have someone to bounce off of and that was just his paper double.

[glapplebloom]

((Do you know?))