#Also adds the interesting elements of making a villain who's own worst enemy is himself

[crystal-moon-101]

Got good old Albedo next on the list for redesign and rewrite, and oh boy do I have a lot instore in how I ended up writing this character. There's just a lot to do with the idea of him, and I happened to pick a pretty depressing route, but I think it works in the end. Vilgax will be done next, though I'll be a little busy for the next two weeks so not much art will be done in a while, then eventually Rook and Rayona. But, onto the rewrite for Albedo!

-Albedo-

Albedo's background is...something. When he was growing up, he exceled in many of his classes, projects, and many even theorized that he could have potentially become the next First Thinker if Azmuth hadn't come back. Because of this, Albedo grew up with nonstop praise, parents that would brag about him, and people building up this idea of him having a grand future. So, as you can expect, he became arrogant, prideful, and due to issues in Galvan culture, did look down on those lesser, mostly other species in the galaxy. When Azmuth arrived back and was giving the role of First Thinker, Albedo wasn't too bothered by it, either believing he would get it one day, or find something better for him, but he felt honored when Azmuth took notice of him, and suggested that Albedo be one of his assistances, and even apprentice. Albedo agreed, wanting nothing but the best of the best, and having Azmuth as his teacher would surely benefit him quite a bit.

But that's when his prideful fantasy began the start of it's downfall, those little cracks showing up. Azmuth was by no means cruel, but he wasn't one to give blinding praise, knowing criticism was good to shape a young ego, something he had also been doing with Ben at the time. What he didn't realize was that, because Albedo had been nothing but praised his entirely life, he didn't know how to handle criticism, especially since Azmuth does have a dry sense of humor and can sound harsh when he means well. It started making the young Galvan insecure, because he had to be the best, he had to be perfect, that's what everyone else said, so why did Azmuth see it differently. Did Azmuth not think he was good enough?...Of course, that wasn't true at all, and Azmuth saw a lot of potential in Albedo, but will admit he missed many signs of what kind of mental state his young friend was in.

It didn't help when it came to Albedo's behavior towards three other people Azmuth worked with, that being Ben, Myaxx and Eunice. Not only did he look down on them for not being Galvan, but he just couldn't understand what Azmuth saw in all of them. He saw Myaxx as loud, rude, and would never admit she was smarter than he gave credit for. Eunice, who is Azmuth's bodyguard Galvanic Metamorph, felt a little too free for his taste, since while she did do her job, Azmuth let her mostly do what she wanted, far too chipper for Albedo's taste. And then there was Ben...the most baffling out of the three. He was nothing but a dumb, chaotic, little brat that for some reason Azmuth saw so much potential in, and even had enough faith and trust in Ben to let him handle the Omnitrix. It didn't help that Ben could not only handle Azmuth's criticism and suggestion, but he even dear talk back against the First Thinker and test his judgement, and Azmuth would actually listen or let it slide. Just what exactly did Ben have that he didn't??

Eunice and Myaxx weren't really bothered by Albedo's attitude towards them, and Ben always had a proper comeback to tease Albedo, but Azmuth did tell him to knock it off often. Albedo did bring up his concerns many times, especially about letting Ben run around the watch, and while Azmuth tried to tame his worries, Albedo felt like he wasn't listen...or at the very least Albedo wasn't willing to see from a different view. And yet he still tried, and worked under Azmuth for a few years, even getting involved in the Malware situation which he tried to deal with in his own way, only making it worse though. He will admit he was somewhat happy that Ben stopped wearing the watch sometime after that event, but still annoyed that Azmuth let him keep it just in case.

It finally came to head when Ben put the watch back on and was getting involved with Highbreed stuff. Albedo just couldn't understand the relationship between Azmuth and Ben, especially when Azmuth gave a lot of his time to Ben (Because of the Highbreed issue), and Albedo still felt like he wasn't good enough for Azmuth. So, after trying to understand the whole thing in how he saw it, Albedo pinpointed the idea that it must be the omnitrix that connects all of this, why else would Azmuth care about some kid on earth? If he could prove to Azmuth that he could do just as a good of job as Ben, even better, then Azmuth would finally see him as the worthy Galvan he was...expect, that's not what happened. Albedo found himself trapped in Ben's body, and Azmuth was furious with him for making another watch, and when Azmuth said, for the first time in Albedo's life, he was highly disappointed in him. Something in Albedo finally just snapped.

Azmuth said he would help turn Albedo back to normal if he gave him back the copy watch, and to get help for this problematic state he was in, but Albedo refused. He now jumped to the idea that Ben and Azmuth were the route to all his problems, and that he was going to prove that his way of life and thinking was better than whatever Azmuth could come up with, even wanting to prove he could fix this human body issue he had going on his own. Azmuth will admit, he was surprised from this outburst, and is somewhat upset with himself that he didn't notice sooner to help...But for now, he ask that Ben keep an eye out for Albedo and make sure he doesn't do anything to harmful to him or anyone else, which Ben agreed to, feeling bad for Albedo and the obvious effect on how blind praise for years ended up hurting him in the end.

Now Albedo runs loose, crafting plan after plan after plan to prove he's better than Ben or Azmuth, as if trying to convince them he's worthy of something...or perhaps, to convince himself...

Notes:

Because Azmuth still feels responsible for Albedo, he does send him supply packs of food, water, medicine, blankets and anything else he might need when he can. Ben also pitches in, by getting Albedo things human teenagers need that Albedo isn't too well versed in, and even gets him his clothes since they're both the same size. Albedo often tells them both to bugger off...but does even up using their gifts since he doesn't have the money to buy his own things.

Albedo is an albino Galvan, and all the aliens he turns into are albino too, or at least the equivalent for certain species.

After he fled, Azmuth had returned home to info others what happened, and Albedo's parents kind of...disowned him after that, though they weren't the best parents anyway, only really enjoying the fame their son brought for them originally. Azmuth did give them a good talking to about his disguised he was of them.  

Albedo isn't sure why he enjoys chillfries so much, since Ben admits he takes it to a whole other level. Maybe a glitch in the watch, maybe because it was cheap to get, maybe a part of him that he denies kind of likes some of the food not from home...

Azmuth knows he can't force Albedo to accept his help, as that would just make things worse, so he said he will always offer the chance to turn him back to normal, but Albedo has to be the one to take that help, and to still hand over the watch and perhaps get some therapy too. But he keeps rejecting this, saying he doesn't need Azmuth's help.

The moment that actually starts to make Albedo doubt himself in what he's trying to do was when Vilgax out tricked him and betrayed him at the end of Alien Force. Something about it was different compared to when Ben and his crew would win against him...Perhaps because of the idea that another alien race could do something he could not...But he wouldn't admit that...

Albedo does get involved during the Malware arc, due to his previous connections to it and Azmuth, making him a target for Malware. Begrudgingly, he does ask for Ben and Azmuth's help in that to stay safe...

Despite hoping Albedo would come back, Azmuth did eventually have to get a new assistance, another Galvan by the name of Abacas, who Albedo is aware about, and hates that his spot has been replaced, even if he was the one who up and left.

He does not get enough sleep, thus the bags under his eyes.

Since Galvans are insectivores. Albedo does still eat bugs as a human, mostly out of habit.

Is really bad at understanding humor.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really THAT Bad?

The DC films have been a mixed bag, to put it lightly. As of 2020, for every fun and enjoyable superhero film like Wonder Woman, Shazam, Aquaman, and Birds of Prey, there has been a film that was reviled or polarizing. Dawn of Justice and Justice League are both common punching bags, but there is one movie that stands out as the single most despised film in the DC cinematic universe so far:

Suicide Squad.

A lot of this comes from just how unashamedly blatant the film is at being a rushed cash in on the type of quirky superhero movie that Guardians of the Galaxy helped popularize: a bunch of wild and wacky antiheroes team up, fight a big problem, make one liners, and become a family, all while an awesome soundtrack blares in the background. It seems like the easiest thing in the world to rip off, but there’s a lot of heart and charm in Guardians that it’s not easy to replicate. And if you ask most critics… this movie did not.

Opinions on the film tend to range from lukewarm to outright hating, with IHE and the [REDACTED] Critic all throwing in their two cents. Perhaps the most damning review of all came from Mick LaSalle, who wrote:

“If you know someone you really can’t stand — not someone you dislike, not someone who rubs you the wrong way, but someone you really loathe and detest — send that person a ticket for “Suicide Squad.” It’s the kind of torment you can wish on your worst enemy without feeling too guilty: not something to inflict permanent damage, just two hours of soul-sickening confusion and sensory torment.”

There’s not much love for this, is what should be abundantly clear. And it’s really a shame, because there is stuff this film has going for it, but it wasn’t really enough to stop DC from basically hitting the soft reboot button and snagging the actual James Gunn to make a sequel while also doing their best to downplay that the events of this film actually happened. But now with a few years of hindsight, I have to go back and wonder like the heathen I am…

Is Suicide Squad REALLY that bad?

THE GOOD

Yes, amazingly, there is some good stuff here, mostly to do with the casting. At least half the cast is just pitch perfect for their roles. Famous rapper and YouTube Rewind star Will Smith as Deadshot is, of course, one of the standout examples; he brings a lot of charm and charisma to his role of an assassin who really loves his daughter, but then again, this is Will Smith. It’s hard not to love the guy in anything he does. Viola Davis as Amanda Waller is another inspired bit of casting, and she truly owns the role, and Jai Courtney is perhaps the most consistently enjoyable member of the Squad, Captain Boomerang, the exact sort of stupid D-list villain who SHOULD be getting screentime in a movie like this.

Of course, the very best bit of casting is Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, in Harley’s big screen debut. Robbie has such an enthusiasm for the role that shines through even with the clunky script, and while she would definitely improve her craft for her outing in Birds of Prey, her performance here still has that spark of zany fun that Harley needs, cementing Robbie as the perfect star for the role. Frankly, that’s the feeling that can be gathered from a lot of these really good performances; they’re good, but they lack proper refinement, and so are stuck spouting the stupidest, corniest, clunkiest lines imaginable. But yes, really the worst thing you can say about Harley in this film is that her outfit is absolutely atrocious and demeaning.

While we’re on the subject of Harley Quinn, tough… while the whole situation with the Joker is something I’ll get to shortly, I think their relationship in this film is actually done well in many aspects. I’ve always preferred the original idea of “Mad Love” over the glorified domestic abuse that Joker x Harley has often devolved into, and while there is a bit of the latter, the fact that Joker literally goes out of his way to save Harley at every opportunity to the point he’s a definition satellite love interest is really good. Of course, this was thrown out for Birds of Prey, but I do think it worked in the context of this film.

Of course, we all know that the greatest aspect of this film is REALLY Slipknot, the single most powerful member of the Squad. I’ve already written an entire Psycho Analysis on why he’s the greatest villain in the history of cinema, so just read that for the rundown on how our man Slipknot climbs his way into your heart and mind.

THE BAD

So there is just a lot to go over here.

First, there’s the soundtrack’s implementation. As a blatant Guardians ripoff, everything the characters do needs to be punctuated by some sort of awesome music to tie the scene together. The difference is that where in the Guardian movies the soundtrack is used as a storytelling tool to help subtly emphasize points that the narrative doesn’t want to spell out for you, Suicide Squad just has these songs because they’re cool and because Guardians did it. Why is “Black Skinhead” playing while Deadshot tests his weapon skills? Why is “House of the Rising Sun” playing during Waller talking about the Squad? What exactly do these songs add besides background music? The opening montage of everyone in the Squad is particularly bad because the songs are just switching up really quickly as the montage goes along, which echoes a complaint I had about Little Nicky, of all films: “One of the more noticeable problems is the usage of music; in the course of one single scene, they play four different songs, and all of this is in a span of about one or two minutes. Just pick a song and stick to it for fuck’s sake!” About the only song that is really properly utilized is “Heathens,” which plays over the (admittedly cool) credit sequence.

Now let’s get into the characters, because for every awesome character in this film, there’s two that just absolutely suck or are so underutilized it’s laughable. Probably the worst case of this is Killer Croc, who despite being a stunning practical effect and probably the reason this film scored an Oscar, does pretty much nothing for the entire film, save for a short bit in the ending where he swims. You’d be entirely forgiven for forgetting he’s in the film, which is not something you should be saying about a Batman villain of this caliber.

Katana and Diablo are both characters who should be awesome, but the story givers them nothing to do and rushes their character arcs, respectively. Katana is yet another character you’d probably forget is there, even though she has a lot of fascinating elements to her character (some of which are detailed in her infamous introduction, which don’t worry, I’m working towards it), but nothing is really done with her. Diablo is actually one of the best and most fleshed-out characters in the film, but the narrative just completely fails to justify him or his ultimate heroic sacrifice; by the end, he claims the Squad is like family, but they’ve never really done anything to earn this. Like, think to the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy, where we have moments like Drax standing up for Gamora and Groot sacrificing himself. These moments only work because the characters had their relationships built up over the course of the movie so that there is a punch when these things happen. Suicide Squad really just throws it in just to have it.

Then we come to our villain. Enchantress is yet another villain I once detailed on Psycho Analysis, and my opinion on her remains unchanged. While she most certainly has a cool design, she is absolutely not the sort of world-ending supernatural threat a team of snarky jackasses should be fighting on their first mission together. The Squad should have had a mission more grounded in reality, and that can’t happen when you have an ancient interdimensional witch causing a Luddite zombie apocalypse through the power of interpretive dance. There’s also the fact that there’s never really any reason given to care about the character of June Moon, the host of the Enchantress, so the desperation of Rick Flag (a character so boring and pointless I didn’t even waste time mentioning him before) to save her comes off as hollow as most of the movie’s other emotional moments. Overall, Enchantress is just a boring generic doomsday villain who feels wildly out of place in the story and just doesn’t do anything to make herself stand out.

Then we have Joker.

I’m not really going to get into Jared Leto’s obnoxious behind-the-scenes antics, because that has little bearing on his performance, kind of like how his performance has little bearing on the film. As I mentioned before, this Joker is nothing more than a satellite for Harley. This is probably a good thing, because despite being called Joker he’s pretty divorced from most other interpretations; while he plays up the thuggish, brutish elements the Joker does typically have, everything else about him is just so jarringly non-Joker as to be laughable, from his ridiculous grill to the absolutely cringeworthy “Damaged” tattoo on his forehead. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to say he’s the worst villain in a superhero movie ever as some have, mostly because he’s not even in the film long enough to leave much of an impact. I will, however, say that so far he is the absolute worst onscreen depiction of Joker in film. Once again, if you’d like to hear more of my in-depth thoughts on Leto’s portrayal, I did make a Psycho Analysis on him a while back.

But all that aside, the worst aspect of this film is the writing. The writing is just utterly abysmal throughout, and while there are a few good lines sprinkled here and there, a lot of the dialogue is cringeworthy and the story itself is a convoluted mess. The story takes so many nonsensical turns from the get-go, starting with how Amanda Waller thinks a bunch of non-superpowered criminals could take down a metahuman threat; what the hell is Killer Croc, whose only power is “being an ugly cannibal,” going to do against Superman? That’s like if you put Leatherface up against a Predator, who would be stupid en-

...Oh. Right. Well, if nothing else, Amanda Waller has a very bright future as a designer for Mortal Kombat games. Beyond that, as mentioned above, a lot of the characters simply exist and serve little purpose in the narrative, and the ones that do serve a purpose are underplayed unless they’re Deadshot or Harley. You’d think Diablo’s tragic backstory and desire to have a family or Flag’s desire to save June from her curse would be more major elements, but nah. We don’t get much, if any, development on these fronts. And for the dialogue… well, I think this one speaks for itself:

Is It Really THAT Bad?

So I’ve been pretty hard on this film overall, I think, but here’s the shocking twist: I don’t think this is the worst DC movie. Frankly, I find the claims that this is the bottom of the barrel in terms of superhero films a gross overexaggeration. F4ntastic and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 are far and away worse films with little to no redeeming qualities whatsoever in them. At the very least, Suicide Squad is a fun kind of stupid, whereas those movies are bleak, miserable slogs that fail to even try and engage the viewer on any level.

And then, even within the DC movie lineup, I would not say this is worse than Dawn of Justice. Dawn of Justice has a more coherent story, and it in a general sense has better writing, dialogue, and so on… but it isn’t fun, it’s overly long, it’s incredibly pretentious, and it absolutely squanders the coolest concept for a crossover fight that there ever could be, all while giving us a Lex Luthor who is an obnoxious, whiny, sniveling brat who is utterly unbelievable as a threat. Suicide Squad almost seems within the ballpark of being self aware that it’s stupid schlock, and I find that infinitely more respectable than a film that, regardless of its artistic merit, thinks it’s deep and meaningful when it is anything but.

Suicide Squad is firmly on the side of “So bad it’s good,” and even within that category it’s somewhat underrated. I don’t necessarily think this film needs more respect per se, but I feel like it falls into the same category as movies like The Emoji Movie, where it isn’t good by any means but people will rant and rave about how it’s destroying cinema by being apocaliptically bad instead of just saying it’s crappy and moving on with their lives. Like this isn’t a great movie, but at least there’s a couple of enjoyable things, and superhero movies have been through far worse. Its current score of 6 on IMDB is honestly pretty fair. Is it spectacular? No. Could you be watching something way better. Definitely. But is it a trashy, idiotic romp with some good actors and some fun performances in a story so mind-bogglingly dumb that it needs to be seen to be believed? Hell yes.

[margridarnauds]

Feel free to ignore this message, but I've got a question regarding the Mythological Cycle; top 10 characters, rated best to worst. Let's go.

WHY WOULD I IGNORE THIS? THIS IS GREAT. 

So, as a warning, since this is a very, very subjective list, I am not going to be............as academic as I could potentially be. I’m willing to chat any of this, since....I’m always down for any asks, specifically re: THIS most niche of niche topics, but in this particular list, I’m not rolling out all the sources I probably could, I’m not doing any massive Old Irish parsing, though I am trying to reference at least where I’m getting this from for the most part. Also, just because a character ends up on one end or the other doesn’t mean that I don’t ACKNOWLEDGE their complexity, it’s just that one end of it kind of sticks out to me. As we’re going to see. 

[rape mention tw]

1. Bres- Best boi. Next question. (I mean, come on, my #1 location to visit here since the first day I got off the plane has been Mizenhead, because that’s where the Dindsenchas say he died.) 

2. Sreng- Look. Sreng gets ONE text where he has a prominent role (that would be the Early Modern text Cath Muige Tuired Cunga, for anyone following), but my GOD does he make it count. Brother and son to a slaughtered king of Ireland, the warrior who didn’t want to go to war, the man who made the gods bleed and held out an entire ass battle by himself, the boyfriend of Bres. He’s definitely a figure who tends to go beneath the radar, and when he is brought up, it’s generally to present him in an unfavorable light compared to the TDD, but like. He deserves the world and I love him. 

3. Lugh - This is going to be an absolute SHOCKER for people, because I think that people tend to think that, because I rip him routinely and my nickname for him is “The Bitch”, that means I HATE him. And I don’t. Not really. I don’t think he’s a straightforwardly HEROIC character, at least not all the time. I get slightly annoyed when people gloss over his flaws in order to paint him as a perfect figure even in texts where that is BLATANTLY not the case. But Lugh is FASCINATINGLY complex, and I love the texts that show that. The Early Modern edition of Cath Maige Tuired, Cath Muighe Tuireadh, shows a complex Lugh, as does Oidheadh Chloinne Tuireann and the Dinsenchas poem Carn húi Néit. Hell, even in the Táin, is Lugh really a GOOD guy, or is he just a “good guy” because he tends to Cú Chulainn? He doesn’t really give a damn if anyone else dies, so long as his own son is taken care of. He loves his father, and is willing to do anything to avenge his death even if it means that the innocent family members of his father’s killers get caught up in it as well. Lugh is a GREAT hero, he’s one of the pre-eminent figures of Irish Mythology, with some fairly strong evidence to indicate that an equivalent figure to him was the most widely revered deity in Gaul. But he is also, depending on the text, absolutely RUTHLESS in attaining what he feels is a greater good. He IS “dutiful/pious Lugh”, but what does that duty mean? How does he interpret that? He kills his own family members quite routinely (the Sons of Tuireann, Bres, Balor, Cermait, off the top of my head), and basically gets himself killed because of a marital dispute, and that’s an element of him that I think that people are afraid of, but I ADORE.  It makes him HUMAN. 

4. Ériu - The only person in the myths to love Bres as much as I do. Down to lose her virginity to a random stranger on the beach. The Sons of Míl come in and she’s like “Yeah, okay, just make sure to name the island after me, okay?” I love her. (Okay, but talk to me about how Bres is her ONLY CHILD across the various myths, about how it’s HER who gives him land, it’s HER who goes with him to Elatha and negotiates for his sake. She was willing to put aside her own people, travel to a foreign country filled with people who have been raiding her own people for years, and she did it for love of her son. You can argue over whether she indulged him too much, but you can’t argue that she’s possibly one of the single most devoted mothers in the Mythological Cycle.)

5. Carmun - Only gets one Dindsenchas poem to her name, but WHAT a showstopper it is. “One fierce, marauding woman” indeed. An Athenian witch who tries to invade Ireland with her three sons, only to be captured by the Tuatha dé and kept as a hostage. Longing (for her children? For freedom? For her old home of Athens?) eventually kills her, and she, like Tailtiu, another foreign woman who has a meeting space named after her, dies in an oak grove. An interesting example of a female villain in a myth, with the text obviously having quite a bit of respect for her, and her obviously genuinely caring for her sons and vice versa. There’s really not all that much more ON her, but I’m not sure that there really needs to be all that more because her story isn’t REALLY an epic. It’s very neatly contained as it is. 

6.  Bríg - It isn’t that I don’t LIKE Bríg, it’s that. Well. I get tired of talking about Bríg when there are a dozen characters more who actually DO things in the saga literature. You know. Like her husband. Who is almost never brought up in discussions on Bríg as if he’s not there. NOT THAT I’M BITTER.I just.....don’t really CARE for her. At all. And the way that people tend to discuss Bres in conjunction with Bríg has given me a certain level of resentment, so I just............ignore her whenever it’s at all possible. She gets points for the scene where she keens for Ruadan, since that’s a wonderfully human scene in a text that tends to be rather inhuman and detached in the amounts of blood, gore, and sex that saturate it, but like....I just don’t CARE. I don’t believe, at this point, that there is any way to really make me invested in Bríg, as a character. But I can’t really rate her lower because like. Below this, we start getting into the “Hall of Dicks” territory so I’m just putting her here. 

7. Tethra - Interesting figure. Not an awful lot about him, so I can’t really say all that much. But I do think that he tends to get under-discussed, in general, and put kind of in a generic “Evil Fomorian” category when he is, and...he DOES invade Ireland, along with Elatha and Indech (Indech is not on this list mainly because it is hard to properly quantify my “You are a total trashbag, but also you’re very interesting to me, but also I want to light you on fire and feed you to the dogs” feelings re: him.) But also he is the great uncle of Emer, he is described in a positive light in a few other texts, including IN CMT ITSELF. He seems to be married to Badb, which is....someone just GIVE ME THE ENEMIES TO LOVERS POST-CMT STORY, FT. A FOMORIAN WARLORD FALLING OVER HIMSELF FOR A TERRIFYING SCALD CROW WAR GODDESS. 

Anyway, only reason he isn’t ranked higher is because we don’t really know all that much about him and I thought it would be a little unfair to, say, Bríg to rank him higher when I used her lack of personality/overall narrative to place her lower out of spite. He doesn’t have any actual APPEARANCES, no lines, etc. So like. I love him, I’m endlessly interested in him, but he’s gotta be near the end. 

8. The Dagda - “Now, Rachel, the Dagda is a very important figure, with a variety of appearances-” and like. You would be RIGHT. He IS very important. And, actually, I’m INTERESTED in him, which is why he’s not at the bottom. He’s a very interesting figure, and I’d be lying if I said he doesn’t make anything he appears in more colorful. 

He is also a DICK. 

So, like, he fucks a married woman (I WILL say, Boann enthusiastically consented so....props? You were NOT as much of a dick as you could have been), he sends the husband out on a trip to his weird half-Fomorian brother (Bres deserved sainthood for that one ALONE), and then....oh wait.....when it comes time to provide for the partitioning of Ireland he just GIVES AENGUS ELCMAR’S HOUSE? Like. Come on dude. That’s a way to just add insult to injury. That’s a dick move. (Thomas Charles-Edwards DID write an article that discusses how the Dagda is not as much in the wrong as you would think, but like. Still a dick move, I’m sorry.) 

How the Dagda Got His Magic Staff? He gets these three brothers to lend him their magical staff so he can resurrect his fuckboy son, then KILLS THEM? Then his son is like “Dad, that’s a dick move” and he brings them back, on the condition that he KEEPS THEIR STAFF? AND THEN HE RAISES AN ENTIRE ZOMBIE ARMY IN ORDER TO ASSUME THE HIGH KINGSHIP OF IRELAND? 

I just. I just. 

In the Intoxication of the Ulstermen (Mesca Ulad), we learn about what the Dagda DID with his Necromancy Staff: He created a corpse xylophone where he keeps nine people in front of him, hits them with one end of the staff in order to bring them back to life, and then hits them with the other in order to kill them, on and on. 

AND SPEAKING OF MORALLY DUBIOUS SHIT: Tell me that there is another way to interpret this Dindsenchas tale than....the one that seems most obvious. 

“Let come of it what may.” 

And of course CMT, where he does totally kill Cridenbél with the whole “PSYCH you asked for the best three bits now EAT GOLD” Thing, even if it isn’t the way that Bres thought AND Bres did overreact. The Dagda should have paid the proper honor price for Cridenbel, Bres should NOT have tried putting him to death. It was a STUPID move, since it led to Bres’ ruling being called into question. And.....the porridge incident in that same text. Which. I can. Discuss. If asked to specifically. But will leave for now in case anyone should instead want to search for it on their lonesome. 

His relationship with the Morrigan is interesting to me, in that you have these really rather amoral forces being married to one another, having a relationship of long-standing, even though they have no issues getting sex elsewhere. And it is my pure scholarly opinion that she pegs him.

Basically, the Dagda is interesting to me, I think that there are two principal things that motivate him in any given tale: His own id and his loved ones, in exactly that order. He’s a rather disgusting figure, but you kind of keep wanting to peer in to see how far the muck goes. And, if it isn’t obvious, I definitely prefer, say, Lugh to him, because I feel like, of the two of them, at least Lugh DOES believe that he’s doing the right thing. It’s just not always in any way that anyone, not even in medieval Ireland, would really think about “doing the right thing.” There’s this complexity to Lugh, even at his absolute worst. The Dagda just doesn’t care. The Dagda is more a God in the way of Zeus or Poseidon where it’s like “I’ll do what I want and damn the consequences.” Interesting to see, but not my favorite as far as character. 

He kind of reminds me of Cú Chulainn, actually, where it’s like. He’s interesting. But also there’s this sort of rank misogyny and brutality that tends to be drenched in the texts that he’s featured in, even by Medieval Irish standards (and I’d argue that those standards are MUCH more flexible than we give them credit for), so I can never really enjoy him. And I’m saying this as someone who deeply loves some VERY VERY MISOGYNISTIC TEXTS. 

9. Balor - You would not THINK that Balor would be near the top of ANY lists on Mythological Cycle figures, but he’s actually very interesting to me, in terms of his evolution. In folklore, he is very much a straightforward villain, kind of adjusting to fit whoever the invaders of the time were. I am NOT saying there is no basis for a villainous Balor, or even that a villainous Balor is an INNOVATION like it is for Bres. I am DEFINITELY not saying that, especially since those folklore stories tend to include Proto-Indo European elements that indicate that they could be VERY old, possibly older than the saga material. But I am saying the man is interesting. Something that tends to be totally overlooked in discussions on him is that he was a BOY when, in Cath Maige Tuired, he peered in on his father’s druids performing magic and it seeped into his eye, giving him his Evil Eye. He was a KID. Of COURSE he would be curious and want to explore. And because of that, he was turned into a monster. How would you go about it, as a kid, learning that you had to keep one eye closed forever because you could kill everyone nearby? How would you cope, really, seeing everyone turning away from you in fear? And, in Cath Maige Tuired, he doesn’t even KNOW that Lugh is his grandson when Lugh kills him. He knew he gave his daughter away in marriage to a young man of the Tuatha dé, he would probably guess that he had a grandson there, or at least the possibility of one, but like. He didn’t realize it was Lugh SPECIFICALLY then. And then Lugh killed him. Lugh was, for once, RIGHT to kill him, but. Still. There’s something a little tragic about Balor’s death, even if it’s 100% not what the redactor intended. I have to have a little sympathy for him, despite it all. Also his wife, Cethlenn of the Crooked Teeth, is very interesting to me, as a figure. I’m really curious what kind of marriage they had. I kind of like to think, regardless of what evidence there really is for it, that they had that type of Bad Guy Relationship where they were absolutely ruthless and awful, but fairly devoted to one another. That’s outside the realm of scholarly observation, but I like to think it. She’s the one who kills the Dagda, btw. Absolute underrated BADASS. 

Also like he did try to kill Lugh in the Early Modern Cath Maige Tuired with the whole “Put my head on yours” thing so like, props for trying Balor. Props for trying. 

The main reason Balor is rated so lowly despite everything else is......folkloric Balor. Because fuck folkloric Balor. He still isn’t my LEAST FAVORITE of the Fomorian lords, because we have #10 and Indech, but like. I can’t REALLY put him so high up in my favorites list. 

10. Elatha - I hate him. I actually hate this man. I know he gets a few sentences, really, but God. I hate him. The only good thing that he, as a character, did is to give us Bres, the Dagda, Ogma, and Lir. (NOT including Delbaeth. For Reasons.) I could discuss how, like Bres, he was not always a villainous character, how his image was molded to suit the Scandinavian setting for the Fomoire in Cath Maige Tuired, but consider: I hate him. 

Actually, let’s go more in-depth here. “WHY do you hate Elatha more than Balor, Rachel, he only has small appearance in one text? And you already said you like Balor-” Which is a GOOD question. Very good. So, let’s go into the Elatha Call Out Mode. 

So, first of all. 

He has sex with Ériu, gets her with a kid, and then leaves. He KNEW she was pregnant. But no, he doesn’t give a damn, he just drops a ring into her hand, gives him his name + a name for the kid (GOOD THING ÉRIU DIDN’T HAVE ANY OTHER NAMES SHE WANTED TO GIVE THAT KID) and fucks off to his own people. Now, I will say, he didn’t deceive her, in the sense that she was never PROMISED marriage, but. God. She was a virgin, she was presumably quite young at the time. He was a king of the Fomoire, and she sure as Hell didn’t know THAT when she slept with him. And she obviously didn’t have his certainty that a kid would result from it. I don’t think there was straight-up DECEPTION involved, per se, I don’t believe that we’re looking at a case of rape, in either the modern or the medieval understanding of it (he isn’t Cú Chulainn, after all), but Elatha sure as Hell didn’t give Ériu ALL the information that he had until it was too late. 

Okay, okay, dickish, Bres was forced to rely on his maternal kin-group all of his life and Ériu was basically fucked (though aristocratic enough that she obviously had land to give him in the first place, so not MASSIVELY inconvenienced), but like. Not really UNUSUAL for an Irish “hero”. 

So, let’s go into this further. 

He raids Ireland, alongside the rest of the Fomorian lords. “Now, Rachel, that is unreasonable, as you’ve already said you like Balor and Tethra, who also-” But consider: Tethra didn’t KNOW he had a son on the other side. (Balor didn’t raid Ireland until the battle itself, so he gets a few Brownie points. A few.) Elatha DID. Elatha knew damn well where his son was, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had at least some idea that his son was king of the Tuatha dé, given how much he ALREADY knew about Bres’ birth. I can’t prove it with the information given in-text, so I can’t argue it in a scholarly setting, but like. He fucking knew. If Bres had been an average warrior, he could have DIED because of Elatha being a massive dickwad, because like. Even if we ASSUME that Elatha gave a damn about what happened to his son and wouldn’t attack him directly, he couldn’t exactly control ALL of his men during a raid. People are going everywhere, weapons are flying. 

BUT ELATHA IS THE ONLY GOOD FOMORIAN, AM I RIGHT? 

ANYWAY, next we see him, Bres is going to him for help. He’s at his most vulnerable, his most humble after being yeeted off the throne by the Tuatha dé. He SAYS exactly what he did, that it was wrong, with a level of humility that’s honestly rare in anti-heroes even today. What does Elatha say? 

‘That is bad,’ said his father. ‘Better their prosperity than their kingship. Better their requests than their curses. Why then have you come?’ asked his father.

‘I have come to ask you for warriors,’ he said. ‘I intend to take that land by force.’

‘You ought not to gain it by injustice if you do not gain it by justice,’ he said.

“But Rachel,” you might say, “This makes perfect sense, this is GOOD advice.” But consider: Bres had ALREADY admitted his wrongs. He doesn’t need a lecture. Elatha’s advice gives him absolutely NOTHING, while conveniently absolving him of ANY accountability for Bres’ actions. (And keep in mind, under Medieval Irish law, the kin-group WAS deemed as at least partially responsible for the actions of its members, so like. I’m NOT just putting modern ideas onto Elatha here.) Also: THIS IS LITERALLY BRES’ FIRST TIME MEETING HIS FATHER. He has traveled SO far to see this man, and what is Elatha’s reaction? THAT. Treating him as essentially a flea to be swatted away with platitudes while absolving himself, even though he was the one who set Bres up to be in that position from the get-go.

I’m not saying that Bres is flawless here, given that he ADMITS HE ISN’T HIMSELF, but Elatha? Is a douche. And then, to compound his douchiness, he doesn’t keep Bres in line. He doesn’t bother to deal with him, he just sets him up with an army and goes back to invade Ireland again. I know that some scholars (chiefly Elizabeth Gray) have read it as paternal indulgence, but personally? I don’t think his moral qualm was EVER with invading it. I don’t think he had a single issue with invading Ireland, given that he’d already done it before. He just wanted to hammer it in hard to Bres how utterly he’d failed. If he had REALLY given a damn about him, he could have spent time getting to know him, trying to tone him down, be more of a proper FATHER to him, but he doesn’t. And, if Bres’ actions during Cath Maige Tuired cause thousands of people on both sides to die, then Elatha set everything in place so he could. The only difference is that Bres almost never gets a trace of sympathy for it, while Elatha is presented as a tragic figure whose son is an unfortunate accident. 

Also like. Bres is the only one of his kids he’s even involved with to begin with, for better or worse. Like, this is 100% a scribal error, but I’m using it to further my “Elatha is a dick” agenda: Ogma, in Cath Maige Tuired (so I’m not even using outside genealogies that the scribe of CMT might not have been aware of), is described as a son of Elatha. So, not only did Elatha fuck over ONE SON, but he did this type of shit repeatedly. He didn’t give a damn about any of his kids. 

Anyway: THE ONLY GOOD FOMORIAN. AM I RIGHT? 

[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure (Console)

(In this case PS3, as it differed slightly from the Wii version. It won’t affect much of my review, though.)

I have to say I have mixed feelings about this series. On one hand, when it was announced I was so excited. It wasn’t TLoS, which at the time I hated! It brought Spyro back to being colorful and fun! With the figure gimmick, there were endless possibilities of the types of games that would be released!

On the other hand, this series singlehandedly beat the completionist out of me, made me despise Activision, and now I have two shelves full of plastic figures I hardly look at, let alone use. And I still sometimes look at the ones I’m missing on Amazon to check if they’ve become worthless yet since I wasn’t going to pay premium for them then, let alone now.

This was the first game, though. It was when optimism was high. And honestly the last time I played this game the nostalgia hit me hard even though it was only five years old or so. So this one gets a pass.

Gameplay

We have a complete overhaul again. With so many playable characters, things have to be genericized a bit.

We’ve got a fixed camera now. Platforming is only done with Bounce Pads and there’s hardy any of that in the first place. There’s no jumping in this game otherwise. In general, maneuvering isn’t the challenge, combat is. That’s what the game’s built around.

Every character has three attacks, and they all act differently (at least in this game). I’d be here all day describing them if I did, and honestly I don’t have all of them to describe anyway. Because these characters are the ones you buy. With real money. In the real world. But be assured that the combat works pretty well. Some are faster than others, but you can beat the game with anybody and have fun doing so if you like this sort of combat. Like in TLoS, you buy new abilities for your characters as you play, and each character has two ability paths to give some customization options.

But yeah, no jumping, no gliding. Spyro’s moveset is reduced to something more varied than his Classic counterpart but much less varied than his Legend counterpart. No more gems, even, although there is a money system, sort-of.

The Gates

Not going to talk about additional playable characters because that’s overwhelming, but here’s a section on why you’ll want to buy them.

You cannot have a file that says 100% on it without buying at least five additional figures. Each level has a couple/few Elemental Gates scattered around, and you cannot access them without a Skylander of that element. The Starter Pack gives you three, but beyond that you’ll have to go to your local retailer to buy extras.

Is it worth it? Honestly... not really. But without them the game feels particularly frustrating, at least that’s what I found with a later title. In this game, the Elemental Areas are pretty small, but have the more interesting puzzles in them. But honestly they don’t add that much to the gameplay, and your dollar-to-playtime ratio isn’t very favorable if you solely get the characters for additional content. At least when it came out. If you can get a bulk deal nowadays it might be different.

The Collectables

There’s five types of collectables in this game, to various effect.

The most common is Treasure Chests, which are generally scattered around the levels in the main areas, but are also sometimes hidden in Elemental Gates. Yeah. They give you a burst of treasure, which you can use to buy upgrades.

Next we have Soul Gems, which unlock a special ability to the Skylander it features. It also advertises them with a quick video showcasing their powers. Each Skylander has one Soul Gem somewhere in the game, and they’re usually in the main level. The ones that aren’t are only in Magic, Water, and Tech areas, which elements come in the Starter Pack so with just that you’ll be able to get them all.

Next are Story Scrolls, which just give you some flavor text. They’re generally at the end of optional puzzles in the main level. (When I say “main level,” by the way, I’m just talking about anything that’s not an Elemental Area)

Finally we have Legendary Treasures, which are very well-hidden. Some are in the main level, others require you to traverse Elemental Areas, but all of them are difficult to find. On my first playthrough, I thought they were exclusive to something I didn’t have since I found none on my own.

Bosses

Usually come in the form of just a bunch of enemies, but Kaos comes at you with some Skylanders of his own occasionally. I always found the Kaos fights particularly fun, as they go between fighting his Skylanders and him casting spells you need to dodge/use to your advantage.

Kaos himself, the final boss, is this turned up to eleven. It’s actually legitimately difficult, as Toys For Bob did not get to the point of difficulty testing it before release. I say it’s for the better, and it was a fantastic and fun fight, that really puts your skill and collection to the test.

Levels

Feel really dumbed-down compared to Spyro games. You’re shown where to go if it’s not already obvious (and sometimes even if it is). You’re told what to do. Puzzles are literally just push the boulder until you can’t anymore or interact with the light reflector until you can’t anymore. And if you don’t have a full collection of elements, you’re very limited in what you can access, as the best content is all behind Elemental Gates, but again, they’re not worth the price to open them. I did of course, but it just didn’t feel quite worth it. Honestly I got them with the assumption that they’d be useful in future games. In a way I was right, but in other ways I was very very wrong.

Story

Kaos is an evil Portal Master who used his powers of darkness to destroy the Core of Light, essentially render the good Portal Master a ghost, and send all the Skylanders to a different dimension. When you arrive, he has already won.

And it is *you* arriving. You’re a Portal Master who found the Skylanders, and it’s up to you to restore the Core of Light (by finding each individual piece) and defeat Kaos. Characters talk directly to *you* oftentimes (although usually they do speak to the Skylanders).

And honestly, I love the concept. It’s not often you see the villain having already won in children’s media. Usually you stop them before the worst happens, but here it already did.

Okay, TLoS did that too, but it felt like it aimed a bit higher on the age scale. This game overall has a very unique feel and I love it.

Unique in the Series?

As far as Skylanders goes, this is the only game that has specific terrain that only specific types of Skylanders can traverse. There’s water that Water-element and anyone who can fly can fly over, and there’s lava that only Fire-element Skylanders can walk across. I found this concept fun, especially since the game comes with Skylanders than can traverse water, and my favorite level uses this gimmick to a ridiculous degree.

Also, this is the only Skylanders game where the characters don’t all speak in your language. In this game, they each have unique sounds, some shouting in their own language and others making animal noises. A few speak your language, but they’re the exception, not the norm.

Both of these features I missed in later titles, but everything else this game sets the standard for remains for at least one other game.

Conclusion

This game would be pretty good if it weren’t for the fact that you need to buy all the characters separately. If a complete version of this game (or really any game in the series) comes out where you unlock the characters through gameplay, I would be all for it. I might even get it. Maybe.

At the same time, though, I liked the gimmick. It was legitimately fun picking up a physical figure and the character disappears from the screen, replacing it with another one, and that one appears on-screen. This game also has the lowest loading time for that action, and it’s satisfying.

I had high hopes for this series and they only sort-of came to fruition. And because of those hopes I feel positively about this first title because I actually did have hope for the franchise back then. It’s just a bit bittersweet because the series disappointed me more and more as time went on.

So I’m just going to stick with: the story was great, the combat worked well enough, but the puzzles were pretty dumbed-down aside from the Legendary Treasure ones. The real issue is the price, as it’s just not worth what you get for it. If you like collecting toys, this game has no downsides, but judging it as a game it’s not worth it.

[thesnootyushers]

Welcome back Ranger fans, following the series high point of Power Rangers In Space, we enter a new era in Power Rangers lore.  Welcome to Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy.

Set  a year after the events of Power Rangers In Space, the Galactic Space Alliance has launched the space colony Terra Venture in search of a new world to colonize for Earth’s people. Across the cosmos, the evil forces of Scorpius have invaded the planet Mirinoi to steal a set of legendary relics called the Quasar Sabers that sit in a stone altar.

When Maya, a young native of the planet escapes through a dimensional portal to find help, she arrives on Terra Venture.   She finds workers Kendrix, Kai, and Mike who are currently trying to stop Mike’s little brother Leo as he tries to smuggle his way onto the colony and begs them to help.  All except Kai agree, but in the long run he is unable to ignore the situation and employs the Astro Megaship and its caretaker Damon to take him to the planet and help his friends.

When they reunite on Mirinoi, Leo, Kai, Damon, Maya, Kendrix, and Mike try to fight Scorpius’s minions and in doing so draw the Quasar Sabers, allowing them to become The Galaxy Power Rangers!

In anger, Scorpius’s general Furio turns everything to stone. Mike gives his life to protect his friends as they escape, and Leo is given the Red Quasar Saber from Mike to become the Galaxy Red Ranger. Aided by new Zords known as Galactabeasts, The Rangers protect Terra Venture from Scorpius and his generals Furio and Treacheron.

This series sees The Magna Defender come to help The Galaxy Rangers. Having lost his son Zika to Scorpius long ago, he is driven by vengeance . It is later discovered that The Magna Defender had saved Mike from his death by absorbing his life into himself, and it is Mike’s noble influence and Zika’s memory that ultimately drives The Magna Defender to give up his life and save Terra Venture from a disaster that he had blindly created. Having found peace in his death, The Magna Defender gives his powers to Mike, allowing him to aid The Rangers in battle.

Meanwhile, Scorpius has woven a cocoon to be used by his spoiled human daughter Trakeena so that she can embrace her true power. In a fit of selfishness, Trakeena refuses and flees to the planet Onyx, where she meets the warrior Villamax and his aide Kegler. As they train Trakeena in the ways of combat, the manipulative villain Deviot sides with Scorpius in an attempt to take the cocoon’s power for his own. Knowing that he won’t let him near the prize so long as he lives, Deviot manipulates Scorpius into attacking The Rangers by claiming that they have his daughter and he is critically wounded in battle. Trakeena returns to her father’s side as he dies from his wounds and Scorpius leaves all his power and forces to her, infuriating Deviot.

Swearing to avenge her father, Trakeena continues to attack Terra Venture and has the infamous Psycho Rangers revived to destroy her enemies. When word of their revival reaches Earth, The Space Rangers rush to the colony to aid The Galaxy Rangers in destroying the dangerous doppelgangers. Psycho Pink manages to survive their attack and escapes to obtain a deadly weapon known as the Savage Sword, but Kendrix gives her life to destroy the last of the Psycho Rangers. Her Quasar Saber is later found by Karone, the woman who had once terrorized the galaxy as Astronema, and she is chosen to become the new Pink Galaxy Ranger.

Deviot eventually takes extreme measures and recites an ancient spell to send Terra Venture into uncharted and very dangerous territory: The Lost Galaxy. This cursed realm is ruled by Captain Mutiny, who wants to enslave Terra Venture’s crew to work his gem mines. To make matters worse, Terra Venture’s systems become damaged, putting it and The Galaxy Rangers on an urgent mission to escape and find a planet before the colony dies. Mike is ultimately forced to give up his Magna Defender powers to ensure Terra Venture’s survival and escape from Captain Mutiny’s forces.

Upon escaping the Lost Galaxy, Terra Venture finally finds a habitable planet and sets course for approach, while Deviot tries to kill Trakeena and drags her into the cocoon. Deviot is destroyed as his body is absorbed into Trakeena’s, but the fusion also destroys Trakeena’s sanity and she begins an assault to wipe out everybody and everything in Terra Venture. The Rangers are forced to sacrifice the Astro Megaship in order to protect the evacuating colonists, and Trakeena resorts to using the cocoon as a final act of defiance. Now incredibly powerful, she attempts to drop the colony wreckage onto the planet, and The Rangers are barely able to fight her to a standstill. Leo seemingly destroys Trakeena in a point-blank energy blast that nearly kills him, and the Galactabeasts are able to catch the wreckage in time to save the day.

With the colonists safe and Trakeena gone, The Galaxy Rangers explore the planet and discover that they are right back where they started: Mirinoi. As The Rangers return the Quasar Sabers to the stone altar, the petrified world and its people are restored to life, and Kendrix is revived as well. Their mission done, The Rangers and their friends celebrate.

The Lost Galaxy season in interesting and serves as a transitional series and a unique one in Power Rangers history. It is neither completely self-contained nor a direct continuation, but instead is a bit of both. The show would not begin to have completely independent stories until the following series, Lightspeed Rescue.

The main reason being,  although it’s a stand-alone story, there were several ties to previous seasons (or Zordon Era). There were allusions to Zordon being the source of the Galaxy Power Rangers’ powers; Paul Schrier and Jack Banning reprise their roles as Bulk and Professor Phenomenus, respectively. Alpha 6 and the Astro Megaship were used again and Melody Perkins reprises her role as Karone (Astronema from In Space)midway through the series. This is also the first season to have sentient Zords and feature the demise of a Power Ranger in battle, though Kendrix would be revived in the finale.

This season had a lot to live up to, given the almost deity like appreciation In Space had heaped upon it. The writers knowing this, adapted the Sentai Series this was based on to have a space theme so it could strike while the space opera iron was still hot. The Super Sentai series Seijuu Sentai Gingaman, a nature themed (The title Lost Galaxy was thought significant because the word “Ginga” is a Japanese for “Galaxy”.) This was often difficult for the writers as the stock footage was of a nature-based show with no space elements. Really though this has lots of mystical and even legendary overtones. In particular the swords in the stones, the Zords and enhancements all come from mystical as oppose to technical origins. What’s more, all the changes resulted in stories being scrapped and footage that was filmed not being used. It caused several narrative issues.

Lost Galaxy had a solid story, it was just a bit vague due to lack of information on the Galaxy Powers and Mirinoi and there were plot holes which isn’t surprising since lots of this story was dropped in lieu if the space motif. Still it had an excellent cast of heroes and villains and in a Power Rangers series, that is the key.

Starting with The Rangers all were very well rounded, in particular Kai (Blue Galaxy Ranger), who was a loyal soldier and a man who stuck rigidly to procedure.  Throughout the series, he begins to follow his instincts, his morals and his friends to become an even better officer. He reminds me of a watered down version of Simon Pegg’s Sgt. Angel character in Hot Fuzz.

Kendrix (Pink Galaxy Ranger) was great, despite her  hyper intelligence and deep science knowledge she was never a nerd or social misfit. She was bright, friendly and helpful.  The reason Kendrix  was killed was that the actress was diagnosed with leukemia and had to leave the series to undergo treatment; Saban still credited her, however, so they could assist in paying for her treatment. After thankfully recovering, the character was resurrected at the end of the season, and she reprises her role for a guest spot during the show’s next incarnation the following season.

I also like the addition of Karone from the previous season. She was a good link to In Space but taking on the mantle of The Pink Galaxy Ranger helped develop her already pretty deep character. We saw her finally doing good and not evil. We also saw her dealing with the guilt of some of her past mistakes. It’s a shame she was replaced again by the resurrection of Kendrix.

Now, do not think I am heartless, I am so thrilled that the actress Valerie Vernon recovered from Leukemia,  I also understand why they brought her back to life. However just like with the resurrection of Astronema last season, this weakened the narrative a bit. It was such a moving and noble death scene and it really had an impact on me. It showed the serious nature of The Rangers task. So to bring her back this time with no explanation I felt spat on everything they had done mid season.

Leo (Red Galaxy Ranger) was an okay leader. He was very impulsive and rash usually acting without thinking. He also had the screw up younger brother complex. He didn’t have the hardened lone wolf mentality of Andros or the sheer awesomeness of Tommy. He functioned well in the team, he learned and developed over the series but stands by most of the decisions he made.  Leo is not The best Red Ranger but he is not the worst either.

Damon (Green Galaxy Ranger)  is interesting, he is bold and definitely willing to risk his life to fulfill his duties but he can be insensitive to others feelings and looks at what he can get for himself. This is the first time we see a Ranger with less than noble intentions. They are not inherently bad just a little introspective. It adds some nice dramatic moments and like the others  he does work on this and becomes a bit warmer. I didn’t like it as a kid, but thinking about it now its really creates a diverse group. They are not all super perfect people.

Maya (Yellow Galaxy Ranger) is an empath, highly sensitive to the world around her. Her connection with nature allows her to understand everything and everyone around her, particularly the Galactabeasts . On occasion, she’s received clairvoyant dreams or feelings concerning  Mike, Kendrix and Trakeena’s rise to power after the death of Scorpius.  On top of her emphatic abilities, Maya is also a skilled fighter, fueled by an unwillingness to back down (especially when slighted for her gender) or forced to retreat from battle when she believes she has the upper hand. On more than one occasion, she clashed with Trakeena’s general, Deviot, often attacking him first upon arriving on the scene.

Mayas development suffered because of the change in story, since lots of the mystical material was dropped in favor of the Sci-Fi elements, what I imagine would be more backstory was also altered or cut. Something else that arise as a consequence of this is not much is made of the planet Mirinoi. Don’t forget Maya’s home was attacked, her people turned to stone and she was pulled across the galaxy into an entirely new environment in which she had no idea of. Yet it never affected her. Once again I think this is due to the bigger focus being on making another space opera as oppose to a mystical tale.

Heroes wouldn’t be heroes without villains and once again the villains are up to the task.  Most of these villains are very much warriors with a code, Samurai or Knights loyal to their respective King or Queen. The politics and interplay between these villains is equally as entertaining as The Rangers drama. There was a huge emphasis on swordplay in this series.

Villamax is another amazing lieutenant, in the same vein to Ecliptor, he trains Trakeena and swears loyalty to her. Even though he disagrees with her methods as the series continues and even refuses her orders. He allows her to kill him refusing to raise his weapon to strike her out of honour. There is a scene where he saves a child in Terra Venture and she gives him a  blue flower.   It’s Oscar worthy….okay, maybe not that far…but it is a great scene.  Treacheron is similar too, his loyalty to Scorpius is unyielding and he challenges The Red Ranger to a one on one sword fight to the death. It’s brilliant.

Trakeena

Treacheron

Villamax

Trakeena is also brilliant as a villain. She is basically a spoilt little brat. She always wants more and goes further and further in her quest for power and control. She cares only about herself. Like Astronema before her she is a great fighter, cunning,  able and completely heartless. Unlike Astronema however she is just evil to the core. She looks even more sadistic and villainous next to all these warrior generals.

This series features one of my favourite episode called Loyax’s Battle.  Loyax is an aged and powerful warrior.  He wants one last fight against a worthy adversary. He asks Trakeena to give him a shot at The Rangers.  On Villamax’s endorsement, she sends him to battle.  He is angered when he meets Maya. He is sexist towards her as a fighter, she discovers Loyax  once fought for good but now serves evil. During the battle, Loyax and Maya fall into a cave and are forced to work together in order to escape, but Maya convinces the disillusioned warrior to again become the hero he once was.. the final scene is incredible.

The Lost Galaxy would start something here that would be a staple of each series that followed.  The Team up episode. Every series, The Ranger team from the previous series would show up for a crossover and this was one of the best.  Firstly because I love the Space Rangers but also because it was a very well told story hat showcased both teams. There is always a risk of one outshining the other.

Some brief aesthetics I always like to talk about is Zord and costumes. This time the Zords were called Galactabeasts (animals once again) and were sentient unlike Zords of previous generations. They were good but for me not as good as the Astro Mega ship or the original Megazord.

I hated the new Galaxy Rangers costumes. Too much white, not enough colour and the way the accompanying Galactabeast features were emblazoned on the helmets mage them look goofy. This is the first incarnation of The Rangers in which I haven’t liked the suits. The rest have all been quite sleek. Even the Turbo Helmets with car design were still quite polished.

All in all, this was a decent series, the story was good and featured some great character work.  It was always going to be compared to In Space and I reckon had they followed the original motif of the series which was a mystical adventure it could have been equally as good. The changing and editing to make it another space opera really threw up some gaping issues with flow of the narrative, backstory and character development.

A major plot hole remains, in as much as I don’t actually know what the Lost Galaxy is. If it was just some place they went for several episodes, why was that the title for the series? It confused me then and it confuses me now. Yet again the viewing figures took a  down turn, people were a little confused with the story and also found it slow to start.

I didn’t hate it, but reiterate, I would have loved to see where they could have gone if they had followed the Sentai more. A series based on sword and sorcery would have been novel. As we have never had that in a Power Rangers series.

Although the audience numbers  fell slightly, they were still much higher than Turbo. The profits were still growing and merchandise was still churning out the green. The new formula was working. The writers and crew decided next series to go back to more earthly mundane roots and look at the rescue services. Sooooooo that is all from The Lost Galaxy, all that’s left to say is…..

Tune in next time when I look at Power Rangers  Lightspeed Rescue.

The Power Rangers Legacy Volume 7: Lost Galaxy Welcome back Ranger fans, following the series high point of Power Rangers In Space, we enter a new era in Power Rangers lore.