#Depicting: Game & Watch Octopus

[gaminghardwareingames]

Game & Watch Gallery 4

Sprites from: https://www.spriters-resource.com/game_boy_advance/gnwgal4/

[basslinegrave]

i was being a completely sane person today (/s) and was creating a timeline tree for snm would anyone even be interested in that. and collecting my shipping thoughts (or specifics about them being a couple etc). know that i still consider my knowledge of the franchise as poor. its just tidying it up in my head so when i talk about something i can pinpoint a specific thing (i was too deep in fnaf theorizing so now i have to suffer thru a franchise that doesnt even have a canon)

in short/tldr the comics are the base that happened in every possible timeline and everything else is derived from that, happening after, except the cartoon, which shows some events the same way so that would be more intertwined; not everything is connected/within one timeline. and the cartoon is my most fav and where i see them as a true couple.

long rant ahead

on one hand i really like the time travel theory where its like comics -> ttg -> cartoon etc by them travelling back in time for that, however there are many holes especially thinking about their families and stuff so

i like the idea of things branching off. one branch is comics - htr - cartoon, as something more intertwined

second is comics -> ttg -> poker night 2 (since it references ttg events) (idk bout 1 i havent played/seen that)

third would be comics -> ttiv (or comics -> htr -> ttiv, i have no idea atm if bosco's is mentioned in the comics but it is in htr and mentioned in ttiv. ttiv is also set in the year it came out, so theres a huge gap inbetween ttiv and htr but i wouldnt say its where the ttg games happened!)

and i dont mean this in like a multiverse way, since the creator seems to dislike that, its simply just a very loose canon that differs with each installment (simply due to different people working on these imo. nothing too deep imo)

but the juicy part!! i even made brackets that im too lazy to remake digitally so i will just write it out for each bigger installment. im excluding poker night 1 as i havent played it nor watched much gameplay

M = married, BF = best friends (in all technically)

comics: M - unlikely; BF - yes absolutely

htr: M - possible; BF - yes

cartoons: M - i take it as canon here. BF - yes million percent

ttg all seasons: M - no; BF - yes.

poker night 2: M - not sure, implied dating, i take that as good enough; BF - yes

ttiv: M - absolutely not. not a couple at all. BF - they seem too tense, yes, but from my experience playing, their interactions were imo the worst in all of their media, so i wasnt buying it at some points

note - ttiv has to be like the straightest they ever were and i also see it in S.P.'s more recent work. im looking too deep into that, perhaps, but im just thinking were never gonna get anything similar to what we got from back in the 90s again, if theres any future projects

people are also saying they got married like 4 times and its making me a bit confused here. do people mean cartoon, htr dress up card, cake topper and tdph ring scene or am i missing something big?? because to me that is married once, other ones being just for jokes (first one as well but its less vague), and in the ttg games its so extremely vague i cant count that (being realistic here) that said its still fun to joke about them getting married several times, but in this case wouldnt it be more of a marriage per timeline?

and to end this, a personal tierlist

my most fave obviously is the cartoon. not only is it the easiest to work with for me, with the fast pacing and short watch time (but ofc i wish it was longer) i absolutely love how their relationship is depicted there, even if a lot of stuff there is just jokes, but if everything is a joke then its also fine to take everything as canon within this media, to me! like when haters say that people only take the wedding scene out of the intro and ignore the rest - as if the other stuff couldnt happen (isnt one of the shots them fighting a giant octopus, which they end up having an episode about too. like cmon. anything goes here) even if it was contained within this specific part of the franchise, im ok with calling them a couple here. and its S tier overall

another S tier is the comics. nothing else to say

HTR is like A tier to me, only taking off points because its soooo sloooowwww and playing it after watching the series took 3 years off my life immediately. otherwise gud game.

ttg is like A to B tier for me, because of some specifics and preferences but thats just me being nitpicky so, the games overall are good. A- it is. thats all

poker night 2 is fun, i watch the gameplay a lot lately when im too tired at midnight to do anything else, A tier

ttiv. oh how mixed i am about you. gameplay by itself and my first experience with the game - S tier. it made me so giddy more than one time and i kept wanting to come back until i finished the game fully. i dont mind the bugs, its just what i expect in VR games and even tho it made me a bit frustrated at times it wasnt all that bad. its also the only vr game i played for over an hour once and didnt get motion sick - the exception was the level at the store which seemed too bright and actually made me nauseous. which is a feeling that somehow comes back whenever i think about this game. what i dislike was the dialogue, while most of it was fun and fine, i had moments where i just burst out laughing, they (or max especially) were way too mean towards the player. i know its a joke and you could chalk it up to max being unhappy with us/jealous, but it got like, generally unpleasant very quickly. with stuff like good throw - "nice!" bad throw - *neverending insults* and the second was how painfully straight it was and like. the vibes i got from them two was like, oh theyre fed up with each other and my shipping self was just left quite disappointed. i did not get all lines during my gameplay which made it great but upon going thru every line manually after, i was just more and more uncomfortable with what they said in their banter. this drops the game to like C for me? maybe B if i squint. being generous. i also got sick of their talking animations over time... the models are fine just got to be too much. bonus points for max ragdoll physics tho. coming up with a conclusion that this is a completely separate timeline and has nothing to do with anything other than the comics and perhaps HTR. i talked so long about this one cause its the one thing that prompted all of this lol.

but its not that serious! i just knew this franchise for ages as "oh its the two animal guys that are married and its funny" and now that i got into it fully, i see a lot of the shippers are obviously daydreaming and taking things out of context - which is fun, i agree!! i also do that. but it just painted a completely different picture for me. so no. theyre not married, theyre not a couple, except for the cartoon, where its implied, which stays on top for me. but in ttg at least, they love each other, its not as romantic, but i can ship them there (so i ship them in the context of the cartoon and ttg basically)

anyway. nothing is canon for them, everything is canon for them, and everything they say or do is a joke so. its not that deep at all. they gay tho

[mask131]

The evolution of Wednesday Addams (1)

We did the mother and the grandmother, now we need to talk about the daughter. In this month leading up to an entire television series centered around her, we cannot ignore who became one of the favorites of the Addams fans: Wednesday Addams, the only daughter of Gomez and Morticia.

Wednesday’s original appearance in the cartoons of Charles Addams was iconic enough for it to never change across adaptations. A little girl dressed in a white-collared black dress that would be perfect for a funeral, with a thin body, pale face and sleek black hair. Note that while in all adaptations Wednesday has braids, here she does not: her hair simply parts and falls around her head neatly as if she had braids, even though she has not. Her appearance is very reminiscent, in miniature, of her mother’s - she inherited a pale complexion, black hair and a tight black dress, but all the morbid glamour of Morticia is gone to rather have a sort of mournful innocence with Wednesday. One unique trait however, which makes her stand out among the rest of her family, is the way her eyes are drawn. Two black dots, as if we were in a Belgian comic book. This makes her look much “cuter” and more “cartoony”, reinforcing again this sense of innocence and somehow setting her a bit apart from the rest of her grim-looking family... But we’ll come back to that later. 

It might surprise you to learn that Wednesday wasn’t originally a cold, stoic, cynical and emotionless girl. This is what the adaptations built through time but originally, Wednesday had... emotions! And not just quiet emotions, open and visible ones! In fact Wednesday smiled - and quite a lot. She showed through the cartoons a true childful glee and youthful energy in all her games and activites, be it wielding a crossbow, shooting the recreation hall monitor with arrows, or digging up bodies in the graveyard. Not only did she show joy, but she also showed anger: we have one notorious drawing of Wednesday screaming and kicking her bed due to being put on the roll of honor at school. Yes, in the original cartoons, Wednesday was able to throw a tantrum. She only shows in a few drawings a blank expression, but it seems to be usually in answer to things she doesn’t like much (such as being dressed up as an angel on Christmas). 

Wednesday is seen throughout Chas’ cartoons partaking in various typical childish or girlish activites, but always with a twist. She reads books - but the book turns out to be “A werewolf in Paris” and briefly turns HER into a werewolf. She cut paper dolls - but mysteriously one in the row has three legs. She keeps watch for a bird-house in the tree... except the bird-house is a miniature replica of the Addams house, and it doesn’t attract bird but bats. Her father pushes her not on a swing-tire ; but on a broom-swing. And she is often seen playing with her dollhouse, be it for putting skeletons in a small closet or decorating the house for a funeral - sometimes, you can even see actual miniature human people living INSIDE the dollhouse. Chas often depicts Wednesday’s private bedroom (well, what seems to be her private bedroom, even though Pugsley sometimes sleeps with her in bed) - a lovely little decrepit room with an octopus painted on the bed, a cobweb-filled window, a private staircase to the attic and a bizarre mural depicting some sort of... humanoid-bird-like-child being... chased by a weird friendly spiky lizard and a snake... on what seems to be a beach? There must be some reference I am missing.

Wednesday’s childhood however is far from being all gloomy sunsets and heavy rains, so to speak - she could be considered the least “lucky” of the family members. “Wednesday, child of woe”, and indeed in Charles Addams cartoons, instead of being a true predator like in future adaptations, Wednesday is often... a victim. She seems to be the “weak” link of the chain, a bit too soft and gentle for the habits of her own family. As seen in the tantrum cartoon, she gets on a roll of honor at school while her brother is a perfectly horrible brat. Several time she seems puzzled by her own abilities, such as the bizarre paper dolls. She is seen distinctively worried when Pugsley drives his toy car alongside the family’s car on the big road - while everybody else smiles and cheers. And Pugsley is seen actually trapping his sister alive behind a wall as part of his “games”... It shows that when Charles Addams did a grim parody of Mother Goose’s Nursery Rhymes (with Grandma Addams as the Mother Goose), Wednesday appeared as Miss Muffet, scared and distraught by the sudden apparition of a disturbing giant spider... She can’t even take a break on holiday, as a drawing of her on the beach shows her scared when a hand pops out of a seashell. It seems that poor little Wednesday is a magnet for weird, surprising and disturbing things.

Now, despite all of this, one shouldn’t think that Wednesday isn’t a happy child. Far from it: she seems to be showered in love by many members of the family. Her father is especially close to her: he plays with her on the broom-swing, he does creepy shadow-puppets before she goes to sleep ; he sings the “This little piggy” rhyme to her when she goes to bed (note: it is canon that in this incarnation Wednesday has six toes on one feet)... Wednesday’s relationship with her mother seems much more distant and cold. Beyond one drawing where she is seen eating with her mother at a restaurant only for Morticia to ask for the leftover meat (in order to feed the vultures), there isn’t really any intimate, playful or loving actions between her and Wednesday. In contrast to Wednesday’s closeness to her father, this is quite jarring - but again, Morticia was designed as a cold, aloof, stern mother locking her own children in a chest when they need to be punished. The coldness of Morticia is perfectly expressed in one specific drawing: Wednesday, who just has been poisoned by Pugsley, comes rushing to her mother, only for Morticia to answer “Well don’t come whining to me. Go tell him you’ll poison him right back!”. Again, we see here how Wednesday, with her mind “too soft”, doesn’t fit immediately within the deadly and morbid logic of the family.

When talking about Pugsley, Wednesday seems to have a conflictual relationship with him (as all brothers and sisters do). As seen above, Pugsley is a bit of a bully-brother towards her, poisoning her or walling her in without Wednesday being able to do anything. He also seems to mock her when she gets on the honor roll at scholl... But at the same time, they appear very close in many other drawings, companions in mischief. They sell together poisons at a lemonade stand. They are seen tripping together the mailman, and she helps Pugsley put on a fake shark suit to frighten swimmers. They are even seen playing together at Christmas - be it warming the fire to burn Santa Claus if he ever comes down the chimney, or playing together at beheading dolls on Christmas Eve. To complete the family portrait, Grandmama is seen telling Wednesday lovely fairytales and bedtime stories where the dragon gobbles up knights and princesses before living happy ever after. Wednesday even seems to be somehow close to Lurch, as in some drawings she is seen holding his hand - while no other member of the family has any physical contact with the butler. 

Charles Addams named Wednesday after the popular rhyme “Monday Child” that went as such:  “Monday’s child is fair of face, / Tuesday’s child is full of grace. / Wednesday’s child is full of woe, / Thursday’s child has far to go. / Friday’s child is loving and giving, / Saturday’s child works hard for a living. / And the child born on the Sabbath day / Is bonny and blithe, good and gay.”

As for the description he gave of her for the upcoming television series, here is what he had to say:

“Child of woe, is wan and delicate with her mother’s black hair and white complexion. Sensitive and on the quiet side, she loves the picnics and outings to the underground caverns often planned by Morticia and Gomez. She is a solemn child, prim in dress and, on the whole, pretty lost. Gomez is wild about her. Secretive and imaginative, poetic, seems underprivileged and given to occasional tantrums. Has six toes on one foot.”

A last interesting note: before Wednesday became the daughter of the “family”, she was originally conceived for a series of specific drawings about a little girl playing at jumping rope all alone in a city street - two drawings to be exact. One had the little girls completely exhausted, murmuring numbers beyond the two thousand as she kept jumping and jumping, with a passing by couple giving her worried looks. The other had the little girl jumping under a streetlight alone at night in an empty street, with a disturbed or distraught look on her face.

[ceph-the-ghost-writer]

hello! random question, feel free to ignore. what is your oc's favorite way to treat themselves? do they keep it secret or do they like to share it?

Hi! And thank you for the ask. They're always welcome, random or otherwise.

Isaac likes when the weather starts to get chillier so he can wrap himself in a blanket like a cozy crepe with some hot chocolate and just watch the snow or rain outside his windows. Binge a show. Exist. Preferably while snuggled up with someone else. Or at least he used to do this before he became a workaholic to avoid his feelings. Sounds like somebody might have to convince him to do this again.

Contrary to some depictions, UV light doesn't harm bloodborn. So Renato enjoys lounging underneath a tanning lamp by a fancy hotel pool that he can take a swim in when he's done. Not that he doesn't mind being admired while doing so, but he prefers to be unbothered.

Dorian's never met a museum they didn't love, especially if it has dinosaurs. Going with someone who enjoys reading the display plaques, or better yet, lets them gush about what they know already is the definition of a perfect day.

I mentioned this in another ask I think, but Kinslayer enjoys "hitchhiking" in the bodies of other creatures. Their consciousness will attach to an octopus's or a hawk's or whatever and just experience life as it does for a bit. If they notice a spiritual passenger, most animals don't appear to mind too much.

Elfy has amassed quite a collection of haunted/cursed objects from salvage and thrift stores. As if that weren't enough, though, she loves to try out potentially deadly supernatural party games too (e.g. Light As a Feather, Stiff As a Board, The Elevator Game, etc.). Forcing Isaac to play just adds to the fun.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hcs for Idia, Lilia, and Jamil with s/o who is a HUGE otaku and often have crushes on characters from animes pls? Thank you so much! Love your work! 💕

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Idia Shroud...

...shares your sentiments! As a fellow otaku, he understands the appeal of 2D characters...! He’s fine with you crushing on anime characters, since he often does the same. Mutual simping makes the two of you grow closer!

You and Idia often snuggle up for anime nights together, taking turns picking what you want to watch to keep things fair.

Other times, you’ll share earbuds while listening to a drama CD or the newest album from your favorite idol groups.

If there’s a big anime film coming out, of course Idia will snag some tickets for you two. He’ll brave going outside of his room and heading into a dark, crowded area if you’re with him!

Idia gifts you merch of your favorite anime characters during holidays like your birthday and your anniversary~ He uses his hacker skills to snag you the high quality, rare stuff!

You overanalyze your favorite scenes, shows, and characters, often geeking out with Idia for what seems like forever.

You let him pull for you in your gacha games; he lets you do the same in return. Then you salt together and cry about your pulls.

Of course, you attend conventions and idol concerts! You make sure to never stray far from one another’s side as you enjoy the panels, events, and music.

If you’re feeling bold, you wear couple cosplay together! They’re not anything close to being professional, but it doesn’t matter as long as you two are having fun. (Ortho will use his built-in camera feature to capture all your happy memories!)

Jamil Viper...

...is very jealous of your 2D husbandos!

Why would you have a crush on a PNG when you have your real boyfriend right in front of you? Is he not good enough or something?

He’ll demand to be gushed over. Since you’re so busy fawning over fake boys, then surely you must have the time and energy to praise a real boy, right?

You can display your anime merch and posters in your room if you want, but you had BETTER not have any body pillows or Jamil will trap you in his arms and remind you which is the better thing to be hugging.

He pays careful attention to the types of characters you simp for crush on, and he will try to (subtly) behave in ways that will (hopefully) implicate to you that he is similar to them.

Your favorite boy can make a mean omurice? Jamil can make it better. Your best boy saved a kitty from a tree? Jamil will force a stray up the apple tree in the courtyard and time his rescue just right so that you get a good eyeful of how kind he is.

Jamil tries to gift you items that do not depict your husbandos--oh, look! Tickets for the Fates’ latest tour. You should take your eyes off of that visual novel and go with him to the concert. (Jamil will bring the light sticks.)

Other times, he’ll just shove a gift card at you to spend on in-game currency to roll for that shiny limited SSR or UR.

Don’t make tentacle jokes, or he will become visibly annoyed. Jamil already hates a certain octopus, and he does not need any reminders.

Lilia Vanrouge...

...is unfamiliar with what anime and manga are, but he fully supports your interests. (“The youth these days amuse themselves with such odd creations, kufufu.”)

He’s absolutely fascinated with watching you engage in the otaku culture especially when you gush about your favorite characters--but he’ll always jokingly pout at the end and ask, “But I’m your favorite boy, right?”

Lilia encourages you to explain tropes to him. His blind reactions to typical anime shenanigans always amuse you (”...My, that is quite a lot of sparkling. I think I need sunglasses to look at this fellow.” “I do wonder why toast is the traditional ‘late for school’ food in these shows. Back in my day, a raw tomato was sufficient.” “Tsun...dere? Hohoh. The hot and cold type, I see. Do you know of anyone like that in real life?”)

He will watch cooking anime with you, in hopes that it will help him improve his own cooking. (Spoiler: it doesn’t, but at least you both get to stare at tantalizing dishes together.)

Makes jokes whenever he walks in on you watching anime or reading manga (”Are you watching another one of your ‘annie-mays’, (Y/N)?” “Lilia, I’m reading manga.” “Is it a ‘hen tie’?” “LILIA, PLEASE--”)

Does the Naruto run when he sees you on campus.

Lilia tries to do his research and gift you items from your favorite shows, but all the anime titles and character names start blending together and sound alike to him. Ultimately, he gives merch of the classics.

He’ll learn how to play a few of your favorite anime songs for you with the Light Music Club! Come see Lilia’s performance, and he’ll announce that the next song is dedicated to you, throwing you a cheeky wink from the stage.

[ao3feed-crimeboys]

Sunshine Fire

by Justtras_h

Hot lava flowed all around the island, making it impossible for a non-skilled firebender to get out of the place. Making it the perfect prison for young benders and other war prisoners who couldn't be accused of nothing since they weren’t part of the non-stopping war that had been going on and that the people of many nations were so tired of. ----------------- Or, I gave my favourite block men more trauma ----------------- Or, or, more brainrots

Words: 1649, Chapters: 1/15, Language: English

Fandoms: Minecraft (Video Game), Avatar: The Last Airbender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: Multi

Characters: TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot, Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Toby Smith | Tubbo, Alexis | Quackity, Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Niki | Nihachu

Relationships: Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & TommyInnit & Phil Watson, Technoblade & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Alexis | Quackity & TommyInnit, Alexis | Quackity/Sapnap, Sapnap & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Niki | Nihachu & TommyInnit, Minor or Background Relationship(s)

Additional Tags: Bad Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Phil Watson is TommyInnit's Parent (Video Blogging RPF), TommyInnit is Not Okay (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot and Technoblade are Not Siblings, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Not Siblings, Character Death, Minor Character Death, Grief/Mourning, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Cuddling, It gets better before it gets worse, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gaslighting, Self-Doubt, Self-Hatred, Self-Sacrifice, Near Death Experiences, Crimeboys - Freeform, Bedrock Bros, clingy duo, allium duo, Octopus duo, Physical Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Aftermath of Torture, good ending, Phil is an asshole, Quackity is very nice despite of how he might act at the beggining, Watch this propably flop, I hate tags :(, No beta we die like c!Aimsey, too soon?

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/38223433

[gamebunny-advance]

Confession (Controversial?)

I sometimes forget that the G&W characters being Black is totally just a headcanon I made up and not actually canon, so I get kinda put off when I see other human!Flats that aren’t dark skinned.

Like... it’s not even a diversity thing. I just can’t help but think, “The characters are literally black, so why is your first thought to make them White?”

I dunno. I just remember this one time I saw a post, or response, or something that said something along the lines of, “Yeah we get it, he [Mr. Game & Watch] is black, but you don’t have to make him Black.” Like somehow making him Black was a part of a “joke” or trying to be “clever” instead of just a design choice. (I don’t think this was a response to anything I made. I think it was just a standalone post, but it’s been too long for me to remember).

Like... I feel that way when people humanize characters associated with the color white to be Black. In cases like that, it does feel like a, “Oh it would be SUPER SMART of me to show contrast by making this white themed character Black!” kinda thing, but then the rest of the characters they humanize (if they’re a part of a group) will be light skinned, like they can only fathom a dark skinned character if it’s tied to the aesthetics and the rest are just for diversity points. And that’s not even considering the implications of only considering a Black character “interesting” or “attractive” when they have “light features” like light colored hair. And sure, I can see why someone would do that if you’re just designing a character for the sake of itself rather than exploring the implications of those choices. High contrast is really cool looking, but it’s way too common for people who make humanizations to do that, and I think it’s the result of creative laziness.

Arguably, it could be said that making a character associated with the color black also be Black is just the same thing, but in cases like that (and even in the previous example), I feel like the context matters.

I’ve made comments before about why I hate doll lines where every character has a “theme,”  but the only dark skinned dolls are associated with brown or black items while the lighter skinned dolls will be associated with every other color in the rainbow. I feel like that comes from a similar kind of laziness where making a character a POC only occurs to the designer when the literal color is in front of them.

In the specific case of G&W characters, they’re not literally black because they’re associated with any kind of darkness or other black element: it’s due to the medium that they’re featured in. So the color black doesn’t really inform their character in any meaningful way. But that being the case, it’s possible and easy to project any race onto most of them, except for characters with canonical designs (like Mario and Charlie Brown) or explicitly implied races, but we don’t talk about Fire Attack here.

I dunno, Mr. G&W as a character is pretty special to me, and I have some pretty strong feelings about how I see him and the other Flats. Although the specifics of his design have changed several times over the many years that I’ve drawn him, I have very consistently depicted Mr. G&W as a very short Black man that sometimes dresses like a clown, and has the powers of an eldritch horror, with the same eyes as the octopus from “Octopus” because I believe that is his “ultimate” form. And while I don’t draw the other Flats nearly as much, my Flatland is primarily populated by Black people of all shapes, sizes, and professions. Although it’s not like a constant thought in the back of my mind, it does disappoint  me that most of the fandoms I’m in just don’t have that many POC characters that I find myself actually loving. Part of that is that a lot of my preferred media features “creatures” and “things” so the characters have no assigned race, or is anime (enough said). In the former case though, this usually just leads to me headcanoning those characters as Black or Brown just to make myself feel better.

Semi-related, but when I think about this “problem”, I think about how I was originally gonna keep it more under wraps that Mr. G&W was related to Tabuu in the human!AU, but that becomes super obvious when they’re the only Black characters in the main cast, especially when Tabuu has less of a clear “reason” for him to be Black. But that’s arguably more about the lack of diversity in video games in general. I’ve even drafted a comic pointing it out, but I felt like it would just cause needless arguing with me that I really didn’t want to deal with.

[aggressive-positivity-network]

I saw your infodumping post and I love undertale! I’ve recently gotten back into it during Covid to cope (like watching others play it). I’d love to hear what you have to say!!

I actually haven’t consumed Undertale content in a while, but I love it anyway! Here are a list of things that I like about it:

The fact that, no matter who is voicing Papyrus, they all give him the same Skeletor voice

In some comics and animations, Frisk is depicted as being deaf, and that all of the monsters know what they are saying/are learning ASL for their benefit

Gaster, who in the game is this terrifying being with ultimate knowledge and a melting face, is given this Dadster personality that is just so hilarious

Undyne and Alphys have a canonical relationship

That one random octopus (Onion-chan?) that just shows up with the funniest but also the most cursed faces

You could play Undertale a million times and probably still get a different game experience

The nightmare fuel that the Flowey Boss exudes and watching YouTube Gamer after YouTube Gamer see it for the first time and flip out

There are TWO LGBTQ+ relationships established in the game, and probably more that I can’t remember off the top of my head

PUNNNNNNNS!!!!!!!!

Temmie is like the derpiest character in the world, and I can almost see her in human form

TEMMIE CAN GO TO COLLEGE!!!!!!!1!!!!

Two words: side quests

The music is absolutely brilliant...I can hum four or five off the top of my head

How much emotion is can make you feel without the need for hyper realistic graphics

The marketplace worker that shattered the fourth wall by stating that, unlike most adventure games, you can’t trade useless stuff for useful stuff

The fast food worker...just...I relate so much

There’s so much more, but you would probably have to wait several days for me to list them all!

But, to make up for it, here’s a recommendation! There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is a wonderful, meta game that I am currently obsessed with. It isn’t really like Undertale in its mechanics, but it does have the same hidden humor and sarcasm you would find in UnderTale. Maybe you can play it in between rounds with Sans!

Sorry, that sounded super advertisement-esque, but I do recommend playing it!

[multiverseforger]

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Silver Sable

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Silver Sable (Silver Sablinova) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She is usually depicted as a mercenary, hunter of war criminals, leader of the Wild Pack, and owner of Silver Sable International. While not a criminal, her work as a mercenary has sometimes brought her into conflict with several superheroes. Silver Sable is primarily an ally and sometimes enemy of Spider-Man.

Silver Sable

Silver Sable in Silver Sable and the Wild Pack vol. 1, #36 (November 2017). Art by Mahmud Asrar.

Publication informationPublisherMarvel ComicsFirst appearanceThe Amazing Spider-Man #265 (June 1985)Created byTom DeFalco

Ron FrenzIn-story informationAlter egoSilver SablinovaPlace of originSymkariaTeam affiliationsWild Pack

Intruders

Outlaws

Heroes for HireAbilitiesFormidable hand-to-hand combatant

Skilled martial artist

Expert markswoman, swordswoman and gymnast

Wears synthetic stretch fabric lined with Kevlar

Use of firearms and swords

The character has appeared in several media adaptations over the years, including animated series and video games.

Publication history

Fictional character biographyEdit

The operations of Wild Pack and Silver Sable International drive the national economy of the fictional small European state of Symkaria. The name Wild Pack had been used by the mercenary squad led by Cable for some time, until a legal notice forced them to change it to Six Pack.[11]

The State of Symkaria is adjacent to Latveria, the nation ruled by Doctor Doom. Silver Sable and Victor Von Doom have an annual diplomatic dinner at Castle Doom, situated in Doomstadt. Apparently, the friendship between the two states is deep-rooted and dates back to World War II.[12][4]

The family of Silver Sable is composed of her father Ernst Sablinov,[4] her uncle Morty,[13] and the young cousin Anna, who Silver Sable calls her niece, orphaned daughter of an unnamed uncle.[14][15] Silver's mother, Anastasia Sablinova, was killed in front of her by enemies of her father, who ran a Nazi-hunting group.[16] After this traumatic event, she was trained by her father to become a Nazi-hunting mercenary.[17] After her father's death, she became the leader of the Wild Pack, a team formed by Ernst to apprehend international criminals.[18] She also founded her own company, the Silver Sable International.[4][2] Like her father's, Sable's squad originally focused on bringing Nazi war criminals to justice, but over time they started to accept other type of missions for profit.[19]

Silver was briefly married to the Foreigner,[20] an international assassin and the head of the 1400 Club, but they divorced after she discovered his attempt to kill the President of U.S.[21] After that, their relation varied between non-belligerent and attempts to kill one another.[22][23]

Uncle Morty functions as Sable's assistant, organizing some missions and sometimes trying to influence her sense of judgement.[14][24] Silver supports Anna's boarding school education.[14] When HYDRA agents took over Anna's school, Sable infiltrated it, rescuing the hostages with the help of Spider-Man, Sandman, and the Wild Pack.[14]

While hunting the international criminal Black Fox to recover valuable gems stolen by the thief, she was inadvertently thwarted by Spider-Man.[1] She was later hired by a South African government to neutralize the international terrorist Jack O'Lantern.[19] She enlisted Spider-Man's aid against the Sinister Syndicate,[25] and forms a first alliance with the Sandman.[26] Some time later, she joined forces with Spider-Man, Paladin, Solo, and Captain America to track down Sabretooth and the Red Skull, who masterminded a plot to put the United States against Symkaria.[27][28][29][30][31][32]

She later worked with Spider-Man to steal incriminating documents from a Maggia money launderer; soon after, she formed The Outlaws.[33] An intelligence mission in Iraq resulted in the death of a Wild Pack member, and she denied compensation to the slain man's family due to his negligence.[34] She devised an initiation test for the Prowler to join The Outlaws, while teaching him a lesson in humility in the process.[35] She hired The Outlaws to retrieve a Symkarian nuclear device in England and to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Canadian official.[36][37][38]

Sable's cordial diplomatic relationship with Doctor Doom once proved almost fatal when the annual dinner happened to fall on the time when Doctor Doom's castle had been overtaken by an alien impersonator during the Infinity War crisis. Although Silver noticed that the doppelgänger looked differently, she interpreted it as Doom's desires to change his look.[12] During the dinner, Sable's driver was killed by Doom's robots and a human butler was killed by the doppelgänger himself.[12] Sable protested the brutality and was attacked herself, leading to a chase throughout the castle.[12] The Silver Sable International's soldier came to rescue her, despite Sandman himself also having been replaced by another doppelgänger.[12][39]

Silver has collaborated with various superheroes, including the aforementioned Spider-Man,[4] the Punisher,[40] Daredevil,[2] Luke Cage,[23][41] Venom,[42] and Captain America.[20] Sandman was a mercenary working for Silver Sable as part of her Wild Pack for a long time,[43] heading The Intruders, the squad of superpowered mercenaries employed by Silver Sable International.[21]

Later, Sable was hired to protect Professor Wolfgang Hessler holed up in the Symkarian monastery of St. Eboars. Wolfgang knew of a powerful genetic weapon and, attacked by guilt, was working on a neutralizing agent to give to the world so the weapon would be useless.[44] For this mission, Silver Sable hired a new team formed by The Cat, Paladin, and what she thought was Nomad but turned out to be Madcap. The group fought the Heroes for Hire, who had been hired to take the Professor.[45] Sable's team had the upper hand until Deadpool freed his Heroes allies and Luke Cage turned out to be a traitor, sending the Professor off to the Master of the World.[44]

During the Shadowland storyline, Silver Sable ended up paired up with Misty Knight, Paladin, and Shroud when Daredevil's Hand ninjas secretly targeted members of the mafia.[46]

During the Ends of the Earth storyline involving one of Doctor Octopus' schemes, Silver Sable recovered Spider-Man and Black Widow after the Avengers are defeated by the Sinister Six.[47] She joined them in an attack on a Sahara facility controlled by Doctor Octopus, with the three defeating Sandman after Spider-Man's allies at Horizon Labs helped determine a way to identify the one particle of sand containing Sandman's consciousness.[47] She was apparently drowned by the Rhino in the final battle when Rhino pinned her to the ground in a flooding corridor in Doctor Octopus' base.[48] Even though Doctor Octopus' plan had been stopped, Rhino also decided to kill himself in the process after the loss of his own wife.[48] However, Madame Web later revealed to Spider-Man that Silver Sable did not perish in the fight within Doctor Octopus' underwater base.[49]

She was later seen with other dead people in a Peter Parker's post-mortem experience.[50]

She has later revealed to be alive,[51] as she requested Spider-Man's help in thwarting a recent coup of Symkaria organized by Norman Osborn.[52] Sable explained that she had survived her confrontation with the Rhino by using her suit to cloak herself, distracting him long enough for her to escape, using her apparent death to discreetly hunt down most of her enemies.

[gaminghardwareingames]

Game & Watch Gallery 3 Part 1

Screenshots from https://www.spriters-resource.com/game_boy_gbc/gnwgal3/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gxr8zgidO70&ab_channel=AllNintendoMusic and https://youtu.be/6Nw8Xpnn8_c?si=dyHlgdzaUG3KE7hB

[theirrationalzone]

My Top Ten Games of 2020

Let’s just address the giant elephant in the room from the offset: 2020 has been one giant mess of a year. Every event, every major moment this year just felt like the worst case scenario every time.

For a lot of us though, there was one saving grace: video games.

2020 has been a damn fine year for video games. From the return of certain classic franchises to some amazing new entries and experiences. Gaming really managed to thrive in a year where other entertainment mediums such as films and television struggled.

Let’s dive in and take a look at some of the games that made this year a lot more bearable:

10: Watch Dogs Legion

I’ve had a soft spot for Ubisoft’s hack ‘em up franchise for quite a while. I didn’t think the original was as disappointing as it was made out to be and I thought the second one was an underrated gem. When Legion was first announced, I liked a lot of what the game was setting out to do but I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger on getting it. I decided to give the game a chance in the end and I’m glad I did.

Legion might suffer from the same pitfalls that have plagued other Ubisoft enterprises, but the recruitment mechanic is one of the coolest systems I have seen in any game ever. The fact that you can recruit any NPC that you see on the streets of London and use their unique talents to complete your objectives is just an awesome thing in and of itself. Its depiction of London is also incredibly fun to explore and cause mayhem in. While I found the writing to be pretty subpar, the game quite buggy and the whole PS5 upgrade fiasco a farce, I still found Legion to be a fun open world experience overall.

9: Resident Evil 3

Resident Evil has been on a real hot streak as of late, hasn’t it? Ever since Capcom made a promise to its fans that the Resident Evil series would go back to what made it so popular in the first place, the series has gone from strength to strength. Last year saw the release of the RE2 Remake which was absolutely excellent in that it kept the spirit of the original while also taking a few liberties of its own. It was only a matter of time before RE3 got the same treatment and well... it did.

I’m just going to spit this out. It’s not as good as the RE2 Remake. It didn’t need to be though. I still think this is a good game that provides a satisfying and fun survival horror experience. It carries over a lot of the elements that made the RE2 Remake such an excellent game and in certain areas (especially the writing) it makes a few improvements. Plus the game looks absolutely stunning thanks to the RE Engine. It is quite short. It is missing quite a bit of content from the original game. It definitely isn’t as replayable as the RE2 Remake. I still had a blast with it though overall. If this really is a blip for the Resident Evil series, then it must be in a really good place right now.

8: Tell Me Why

Dontnod Entertainment have fast become one of my favourite developers in the industry right now. When I first played Life is Strange back in 2015, it felt like a revelation. It weaved a fantastic story with characters you genuinely cared for and took you to a place you never wanted to leave. I’ve enjoyed all of their other ventures since then such as the underrated (if quite janky) Vampyr and Life is Strange 2.

Tell Me Why is another venture that fits the Dontnod MO: A grounded emotional story with slight supernatural elements, a degree of player choice and a setting that makes your jaw drop. The major difference here is the game’s attempt to portray a transgender character. That’s nothing new in and of itself. It’s more the fact that it attempts to accurately portray a transgender male character which is a bit of a rarity in all forms of media. Transgender portrayals (from what I’ve seen) tend to focus on male to female rather than female to male.

I’m in no position to comment on whether the portrayal is accurate or not, but I got the impression that Dontnod really went out of their way to get this right. Their FAQ explains that they worked with GLAAD and the voice actor to get it as right as they could. That alone deserves huge praise, but I also loved the Ronan Twins’ story as they dealt with their harsh past and the uncertain future. The game was a delight from beginning to end and it just looks absolutely gorgeous to boot. Dontnod have done it again.

7: Bugsnax

One of the early delights of the last generation was a little ditty known as Octodad: Dadliest Catch. It was a fun little physics based affair which cast you as a octopus masquerading as a human. The game had a terrific sense of humour and it was just bloody fun to play. Young Horses (the developer of the game) kinda went dark after that. They only really resurfaced to release two bonus levels for that game and then they just disappeared again. Now we know why that was the case...

Bugsnax retains some of the qualities that made Octodad such as a memorable game. A great sense of humour and a unique gameplay hook. You play as a reporter sent to the mysterious Snaktooth Island to interview an explorer called Elizabert Megafig who has discovered these unusual creatures known as Bugsnax. After crash landing onto the island, you discover that Elizabert and her significant other have gone missing. It’s up to you to find out what happened while also documenting and capturing Bugsnax for yourself. Capturing the Bugsnax is a big part of what makes this game such a delight to play. As you unlock more tools to play around with, you can come up with different strategies and methods to capture these weird snack based creatures. It’s pretty awesome. Throw in a lovable set of characters to interact with and a beautiful environment to explore, and you’ve got one of the most lovable games released this year.

6: Mafia: Definitive Edition

The last few years haven’t been too kind to the Mafia franchise in my eyes. I really wanted to like Mafia III when it came out back in 2016. It was a sequel I waited years for and it did have some good qualities such as an excellent story that dealt with some pretty heavy topics, solid gameplay mechanics and an amazing licensed soundtrack. Unfortunately the game had one of the most tedious and boring gameplay loops I think I’ve ever seen in an open world game. It just got so dull after the first couple of hours.

This year saw the announcement of the Mafia Trilogy which was to be a celebration of the entire franchise with a remake of the first game, a remaster of the second and a re-release of the third. Half of this was botched with the remaster of II being poorly put together and the re-release of III receiving a broken patch. Things were looking grim for the remake...

As you can see by it being in this list, we were proven wrong. Mafia: DE is a fantastic remake that pays good lip service to the original while also expanding on certain elements. The story which follows the rise and fall of cab driver turned wiseguy Tommy Angelo is more fleshed out with new sequences and character moments that weren’t in the original. Gameplay still retains the solid shooting and cover mechanics of Mafia III and the driving feels absolutely excellent especially when you put it in simulation mode. Lost Heaven is just gorgeous to behold as well with its bustling neighbourhoods and beautiful countryside. I hope this is the beginning of a redemption arc for Hangar 13 and the Mafia franchise. There is a lot of promise to build upon from here.

5: Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise

Anyone who knows me personally or has followed me on social media for a while knows that I’m a big fan of Deadly Premonition. The 2010 cult survival horror hit pretty much encapsulates why I love video games with its lovable hero, an eccentric cast of characters and surprisingly solid mechanics considering the budget it was made for. It was definitely more than the sum of its parts.

When I found out that a sequel was being made exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, my jaw hit the floor pretty hard. I thought any hopes for a sequel were dashed when SWERY left Access Games (the original dev), and yet here we are. A Blessing in Disguise is a brilliant sequel to the zany original. It captures everything that I loved about the original game to a T while also improving in certain aspects. The story is more ambitious this time with it being both prequel and sequel. A lot of the gameplay elements have been improved. The combat benefits from better aiming controls and an upgrade system for both York and his weapon. Getting from A to B is less wonky (and more fun) thanks to the addition of a skateboard rather than a car.

While I do still think the original is better due to the more creative side quests, the more challenging difficulty and the fact that it functions better from a technical perspective, I’m still a big fan of DP2 and it deserves your attention. Here’s hoping that it makes its way to other platforms in the future.

4: Ghost of Tsushima

This last generation has been good for Sony and its Worldwide Studios. In the last five years, they’ve managed to produce hit after hit after hit. A definite far cry from the first year of the PS4 where they produced some dire exclusives. Infamous Second Son was one of these. Sucker Punch’s first effort on the console was very pretty and a good technical showpiece for the console, but as a game, it was boring and dull. I couldn’t even muster the strength to finish it. The standalone expansion First Light was a huge improvement in my eyes. It cut out a lot of the fluff from Second Son. I knew then that Sucker Punch would eventually give us something amazing. They certainly did in the end...

Ghost of Tsushima is honestly one of the best exclusives that Sony has ever produced. Giving us a brutal tale in the vein of a Kurosawa flick where samurai Jin Sakai is forced to betray his code in order to drive out the Mongol force that has enslaved his homeland; we have a story that is genuinely gripping from beginning to end with an incredibly powerful final duel to boot. The combat is incredibly fun with a brilliant combat system that is easy to pick up but challenging to master. Duels especially show the combat system at its finest. Upgrading your abilities genuinely makes you feel incredibly powerful as you begin to decimate enemies left, right and center. Stealth is solid giving you plenty of tools at your disposal and certainly changes up the gameplay a fair bit. Did I mention that Tsushima Island is one of the most aesthetically pleasing locales in any game to date? Well I’m saying it now. It is one of the most beautiful locales in any game to date.

I’m very excited to see where this new IP goes in the future because this first entry is just incredible. A must buy if you own or plan on owning a PlayStation 4 or 5 in the near future.

3: Astro’s Playroom

Memorable pack-in exclusives are a bit of a rarity nowadays. The last one that sticks in my mind is Wii Sports, and that was a long time ago.

Astro’s Playroom serves as the pack-in title for the PlayStation 5 as it is pre-installed on all units. It’s also my favourite exclusive for the console so far. The main reason for this is that Astro’s Playroom evolves past being just a tech demo for the console and its fancy new controller. It actually is a fun little platformer in its own right. It offers something different with every level. In one level you can transform into a giant ball and attempt to navigate some pretty tight platforms, and in the next, you take control of a rocket ship and navigate through corridors while also avoiding bombs. There is great variety here and to be fair, it shows off the potential of the new DualSense controller fantastically.

Plus the game is just one giant love letter to the PlayStation brand and the games that made it what it is today. You’ll see references to obscure PlayStation paraphernalia such as the Multitap and UMD discs, and also games like Final Fantasy VII and Silent Hill. The final boss of the game in particular is one giant callback to something you might remember if you got a PlayStation 1 back in the day. I won’t say any more, but it made me yelp in joy when I saw it. If you plan on getting a PlayStation 5 in the future, make this the first game you play. You won’t regret it.

2: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2

Activision have been on a roll in the last few years with the revitalisation of some of their classic franchises. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon for example have enjoyed newfound success thanks to the excellent N Sane Trilogy and Reignited Trilogy. When it was revealed earlier this year that Vicarious Visions and Beenox would be resurrecting the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise with a remake of Pro Skater 1 and 2, my heart skipped a good few beats.

The Pro Skater franchise means a lot to me personally as I have very fond memories of putting hours into 1 and 2 when I was a kid. Going through the Career mode with each skater, learning the gaps and getting used to doing manuals when they were introduced in 2, it’s all ingrained into me. I’m happy to say that this is probably the best remake I have ever played. It perfectly captures what made those first two entries so special. Each level is beautifully recreated with a ton of new details that serve to enhance these levels. The soundtrack includes all of your old favourites like Goldfinger’s Superman and Rage Against the Machine’s Guerilla Radio along with some fantastic new tracks like Less Than Jake’s Bomb Drop.

The gameplay definitely taps more into Pro Skater 3 and 4 territory with Reverts and Flatland tricks included. These tricks don’t feel out of place and the game does give you the option to play it legacy style if you want. It feels magnificent overall though. The physics are pitch perfect. Creating lines and large combos is still as addicting and rewarding as ever. Online leaderboards certainly tempt you to reach for the stars if you’ve got the ability. Career mode isn’t particularly long, but the pretty robust Create-a-Park editor and solid multiplayer suite should keep you coming back for more. I’ve already put dozens of hours into this and I have no intention of stopping anytime soon.

If my number 1 entry on this list didn’t exist, this would be my Game of the Year. As it stands though, this is a very close second.

1: Doom Eternal

How do you follow up one of the best first person shooters in recent memory? Basically turn everything up to eleven and then some. Doom (2016) was such an eye opener when it launched. It gave everything we could have ever wanted from a new Doom game: a whole planet full of demons to kill and some big guns to help them back to where they belong. It was awesome and an easy choice for my GOTY back in 2016.

I anticipated Doom Eternal with bated breath. The excitement was building but the nerves were building with it. How could it live up to the previous one? What if it makes the same mistakes as Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus? Thankfully my worries were unfounded as soon as I loaded up the game and was thrown straight into the fold with a Combat Shotgun and some entry level demons to destroy with it.

Doom Eternal is the FPS genre at its absolute finest. The levels are much bigger with more secrets to find and loads of demons to kill. Said demons are much more plentiful in their ranks and they move faster too. Fortunately enough, you have a huge arsenal to deal death to these demonic denizens from the depths of Hell such as the starter Combat Shotgun, the Plasma Rifle, the Ballista and even a giant sword known as the Crucible. Enemies now have weak points to exploit as well which can turn the tide of battle and it rewards accuracy. Before you know it, you’ll be entangled in a ballet of bullets, beams, blood and guts (HUGE guts mind you.) This game makes you feel like a hero at the end of every fight. It’s so satisfying.

Toss in a soundtrack that will get your blood pumping and your goosebumps raising along with environments that will make your TV or monitor look like a window to a scorched earth, and you have my Game of the Year for 2020. Well deserved for sure. I really need to get on that DLC.

To those of you who actually took the time to read all that, you have my heartfelt thanks. I really appreciate you reading this and I hope my choices made sense.

To those of you who just glanced at each entry and skimmed through the text, I don’t blame you for doing that. I still appreciate you taking a look anyway.

All that’s left for me to say is that I hope each and every one of you has a safe holiday season and I hope that the New Year will be better for all of us.

I’ll see you all in 2021. Stay safe and well, folks.

[nintendoteuthis]

The artbook for the first game shows that Octoling soldiers also have the green schlera, actually! And fair, while it's /possible/ that those pictures are of a different person, it feels that the narrative frames Octavio as that person-- since he and Craig know each other and are often depicted in contrast (or similarity?) to one another, and also because of the helmet thing. His octopus form is weird, but just seems like a sized-up version of normal Octolings': maybe they get bigger with age.

Apparently the ingame model for the humanoid form has white sclerae. But - just found this out, thank you - the octo form DOES have the green sclerae. And they have the “mask” around the eyes like the playable Octolings. So that would go against what I was suggesting - but then how come the playables have white sclerae?

I could pull a Death of the Author and dismiss the green eyes in the octo form. But after thinking about it for a while I have an idea, probably a very bad one, that could make it work. Watch these mental gymnastics:

After the war, DJ Octavio wanted to combine the loyalty of Octarians with the combat advantage of Octolings - to make soldiers combining the best of both worlds. So Octarian scientists modified the genome of certain female Octolings, splicing in bits of Octarian DNA. The Octoling soldiers that Agents 3 and 4 fought are these genetically modified ones. I’m gonna call them “Octozons” to distinguish them from the playable Octolings (the “wild type”). This could explain why they’re still there in Splatoon 2 after the other Octolings left for Inkopolis: the Octozons don’t have the “Calamari Inkantation gene” anymore and weren’t affected by it. The green eyes are a side effect, and they don’t appear in the humanoid form because Octarians don’t have one.

Not all Octolings in the Octarian military were Octozons; only the “elite” front-line troops, the cream of the crop. Some normal Octolings were also drafted into the military in other roles, Marina and Agent 8 being notable examples. I headcanon that the rest of the Octolings were at the bottom of the Octarian social hierarchy, brainwashed and assigned to low-level resource production until they defected.

…actually, with this headcanon, then there could be a way to keep Octavio an Octoling and explain the weird octopus form. He did this to himself too.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (semi-stream of consciousness) Thoughts Part 3: Spider-Miles and his Amazing Friends/Foes

Apologies for not getting this out sooner. I’ve been/still am unwell so I was physically too energy drained to crank it out.

For this outing we’re going to discuss the characters not named Miles Morales. Spoilers ahead.

 As I have said before, Miles might be the primary protagonist but he is not the sole one.

Alongside him we have the Peter Parker who died (who, in what is surely a Clone Saga reference, is blonde), the older washed up Peter Parker, Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham, Spider-Man Noir and Peni Parker with her SP//dr mech...with a cameo by Spider-Man 2099 and 1960s Spider-Man.

Going up against them are Kingpin, Prowler/Aaron Davis, Doctor Octopus/Olivia Octavius, Tombstone, Scorpion and Green Goblin with cameos by the Lizard/Spider-Gwen’s Peter Parker and some versions of Doc Ock and a reference to Electro. Honestly there were probably more villains too I just missed them because this movie is such a feast for the eyes that you need to see it more than once to take everything in. For example my friend caught a Ditko reference I missed.

I already gushed about how impressive it is that the movie balanced so many characters so lets not go over that again beyond saying that it is honestly mind blowing that us Spidey fans got all THOSE villains (some of whom have never been on film before) in this movie and what is essentially a Carolin Trainer Doc Ock reference rendered as a really cool villainess.

For real Olivia ‘Liv’ Octavius was bad ass. If Kingpin was the Big Bad she was his ‘Dragon’ to use TV Tropes terminology. Her design was unique to Molina’s Doc Ock and her unveiling was one of the movies best twists that I really didn’t see coming. Also Aunt May seemed to know her which means in my headcanon they were like old friends and had tea together sometimes. It is also worth of note she is technically one of the relatively few Marvel movie villainesses.

Sticking with the villains for now Tombstone and Green Goblin were the least interesting. Goblin here existed essentially to serve as reference and honour to the Death of Spider-Man arc from the Ultimate comics as he is very much involved in Blonde Peter’s death and dies himself. Tombstone was just...Tombstone. He was just Fisk’s bodyguard and nothing else. Still the fact that there even exists a Spider-Man movie WITH Tombstone in it is something of a marvel. Scorpion is elevated somewhat beyond Tombstone and Goblin by virtue of his interesting redesign and the quirk that he speaks Spanish, thus connecting him to Miles. Whilst the movie doesn’t use it’s relatively even hero and villain count to just pair the characters off, it should be said that Tombstone and Scorpion do exist specifically to give Noir, Ham and Peni something to do in the second and third act climaxes.

This is not a detriment to the movie though. Although this is an ensemble movie, it is Miles movie primarily, Peter and Gwen’s secondarily and the other Spider-Heroes’ behind them. This point is accentuated when we are given their origins simultaneously in a three panel sequence. It is understood that these three characters are to be regarded somewhat collectively, sort of like the Warriors Three from Thor.

Getting back to the villains though, I have little to say on Prowler I didn’t cover last time. All I will add is that his visuals are very cool. Even though he is based upon Ultimate Prowler his look is more 616 Prowler influenced, but imagine if instead of a misguided antagonist he was a scary slightly Spawn inspired villain. So he was totally bad ass.

However hats must go off to Kingpin. He was the main and best villain of this story. It is funny this year has been oddly Kingpin focused in terms of Marvel content.

He was brought back superbly for Daredevil season 3. He was a notable figure in the PS4 Spidey game. He was the main villain of the PS4 prequel novel. He got a lot of play in Daredevil and Spider-Man comics where he was the mayor and he is now serving as a Marvel movie villain for the second time. For me personally I complimented all this by checking out Daredevil Born Again and Last Rites, two very Kingpin centric stories.

As far as his portrayal here is concerned, the central conceit of the movie again creates a potential get out of jail scenario for any direction the writers want to take with the characters. This is an AU version of Kingpin and so is at liberty to deviate wildly from the 616 version as Liv Octavius did.

How interestingly what we wind up with is an interesting rendition of Kingpin who’s deviations from his canon counterpart’s personality are relatively minor and his overall portrayal is different more in where it places the emphasis as opposed to what the specific traits of his personality are.

Comics Kingpin is defined by his cold controlled and sophisticated demeanour hiding a thuggish, cruel and raging temper beneath the surface. He is the boss of bosses, the biggest criminal ever in more way than one.  

Spider-Verse Kingpin is a little more ‘street’ in his dialogue and vocal performance than we might be used to with classic Kingpin and ever so slightly more prone to making jokes, but beyond that his personality is very similar. Essentially he is Kingpin with a bit more Tony Soprano injected into him. The idea of his calm exterior hiding a cruel raging monster beneath is very well realized though via his gimmick of clicking his pen as a kind of stress ball to maintain his temper and his beating Spider-Man to death with his bare hands. Not to mention his flying into raging bull mode at the climax of the movie when things go all wrong.

Where the key deviation lies for this rendition of Wilson Fisk though lies in his motivation for the movie. Whilst various stories in comics and other media depict Kingpin’s motivation to simply rid his criminal empire of one superhero or another, or else further expand and secure that empire, Spider-Verse Kingpin is all about his family. The entire reason he is investigating parallel universes is in order to find alternate living versions of his dead wife Vanessa and son Richard. They died fleeing him in horror upon witnessing him fighting Blonde Spidey, so Wilson feels guilty and heartbroken over their deaths.

What is ingenious about this take upon Kingpin is that you could entirely see his canon counterpart doing something like this and it serves to add a note of sympathy to him in spite of his directly murdering Spider-Man and Miles’ uncle. Whilst it is perhaps not as nuanced or multilayered as the Netflix Kingpin, it still serves to make him more than a two-dimensional, black and white gangster. So as a villain he is simple, yet effective.

  Kingpin, like all the Spider-Heroes sans Miles, also has a backstory flashback sequence that  explains his history with his family. These are strategically placed throughout the movie and are reminiscent of the origin sequences from the Suicide Squad movie. However what worked so poorly there works magnificently here.

These origin sequences do much more than simply drop exposition for each character. Putting aside how the movie does enough to build up and endear us to most of the characters who get such sequences, the sequences are actually in aid of conveying to the audience the primary conceit of the film, that of alternate realities.

And the best way to convey this idea is to prevent the familiar with deliberate changes.

What I mean by this is that the movie sets up these origin sequences in deliberate contrast to one another and signposts this fact with repeated dialogue and visual cues in each sequence. This even applies for Kingpin as the visuals of his origin sequence are evoked for the climax wherein he briefly does see flashes of his wife and son from other realities.

As far as the Spider-Heroes are concerned though, the first of these sequences is at the top of the movie with the background information for Blonde Spidey.

This helps immediately hint that the world we are watching is both similar to yet different to the ones we might be familiar with, noticeably the world of this Spider-Man is more similar to our own as Blonde Spidey (surely a Ben Reilly reference unto himself) is a beloved and highly merchandised celebrity. Even the iconic upside down kiss with Mary Jane occurs for him with MJ upside down. A fun little in joke for the audience, or sly easing in of the idea that this Spider-Man is not the one we know?

A little of both probably, but that one scene illustrates what I mean because the second origin sequence we get is about the older Spider-Man. Like I said it plays itself in deliberate contrast to the Blonde Spider-Man, retaining the same narrative/dialogue structure within the short vignette to convey for us how this Spidey is different and thus develop his character. E.g. he is older and yet less successful, he is underappreciated and in bad shape and his marriage to MJ (whom he shares a more traditional upside down kiss with, see what I mean, it slyly hints this Spidey is more like the ones we recognize) has ended in sad divorce and he is a wreck.

Further origin sequences repeat for Spider-Gwen (she is similar to her comic counterpart, but her hang up is distancing herself from her friends), Noir, Peni and Ham.

As I said before Noir, Peni and Ham have their origin sequences play out simultaneously on the screen. This cements their lesser status within the movie compared to the other protagonists.

Collectively the sequences not only use the individual Spider-Heroes to mutually develop and build up each character on the most basic level to the audience (Spider-Man but a Looney Tune pig, Spider-Man but if he was a drummer Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man but if he was Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man but if he was an anime girl from a mech anime, etc) but also serves to hold the audiences hand as it gets them to accept the conceit of parallel universes.

Of course the concept is first broached at the start of the movie where Blonde Spider-Man’s origin sequence concludes with him declaring himself the one and only Spider-Man (a sentiment echoed in other origin sequences too) and is then immediately followed by Miles’ introduction. We also have the topic raised in Miles classroom.

When combined with the other origin sequences, this opening obviously challenges the audiences idea that there could only ever be one Spider-Man and that it would have to be Peter Parker (a fair presumption, most audience members would be unaware of any other Spider-Heroes). This I think is part of the ingeniousness (forgive my repetition of the term but it is true) of featuring the two Peters in this movie.

See both Peter Parkers are as much positioned as deliberate deviations from the norm general audiences would expect as Spider-Ham or Spider-Gwen. Whilst one Peter is blonde and a successful married celebrity with essentially his own Spider-Cave, another is the oldest on screen Peter Parker we’ve ever had, pot-bellied and a divorcee. Outside of some video games and two 20 year old cartoons general audiences have never even seen a married Spider-Man so presenting not just one but two, and one of whom is post-marriage to boot, is a brilliant way to sell ‘this isn’t the Spider-Man you know’.

But these Spider-Men ARE Peter Parker. So if there can be versions of the Parker Spidey audiences are familiar with that are so different to what they know, the idea of Peter Parker but an anime girl or a 1930s noir character or a cartoon pig becomes easier to accept as does Gwen Stacy (whom audiences ARE familiar with from the recent Marc Webb movies) as ‘Spider-Man’ becomes yet easier to accept.

All of which build to what is second half of the question the start of the movie raises.

The question is partially ‘Does Peter Parker have to be the one and only Spider-Man’ (obviously not there are alternate versions of him as well as Gwen Stacy in the role) and, perhaps more poignantly, partially ‘Can Miles be Spider-Man’.

And this is the the most important purpose that the origin sequences serve. They are all building towards the climax of the movie which bookeneds the start wherein it is at last Miles turn to relay his own origin, allowing the movie to put to rest the question it raised at the start and cement in the audience’s minds that YES, this kid can and now IS Spider-Man.

As Stan Lee said, part of the appeal of Spider-Man is that under that costume anyone can imagine themselves to be Spider-Man. This movie embodies that message, embeds it into itself and in that sense serves the fundamental ethos of Spider-Man or him being the relatable everyman, even whilst Peter himself is not the heart of this movie.

And it did all that via having comic book style flashback exposition dumps!!!!!!!

I might have said this before or elsewhere but this is the most ‘comic book’ comic book movie I’ve ever seen! As in it is a movie that looks like and plays out like a comic book!

And just like the best comic books and comic book movies it always remembers that these stories are someone’s first so whilst it presumes a certain amount of foreknowledge (like you know who Spider-Man is) it leaves nothing to chance and organically walks you through everything you need to know. Again, those origin sequences by being placed in contrast to one another walks audiences gently through the massive concept of multiverses which no other theatrical comic book film before this to my knowledge has ever touched (sorry DC..).

Sticking with the Spider-Heroes for a moment, what should be understood is that the characterization of them is all geared towards the needs of the specific story being told, which obviously has Miles at the heart of it.

What I mean by this is that whilst the movie doesn’t give you the most detailed or faithful rendition of Spider-Gwen or Spider-Man: Noir ever they are the right takes for the movie’s story, for selling the concept of parallel universes and Miles development.

Blonde Spidey is not just hyper successful in order to contrast with Old Spidey. His success and competency (his brief action scene is incredibly impressive) is designed to also contrast to Miles inexperience and to sell him as almost a Superman/Captain America figure within Miles’ world. His death is mourned as the passing of a great and revered hero, a national day of mourning and even made me tear up a bit. This is done to accentuate the guilt Miles feels and the burden Miles feels to live up to his dying wish and shadow, the latter of which could fuel a potential sequel. His specific death scene itself is played as very different from the Ultimate comics. There his death was the grand finale (we thought) to the saga of a hero we’d been following and gave him a fittingly grand death. In the movie since his death is primarily the launch pad for Miles’ journey it is less grand, even cruel in how quick, blunt and undignified it is.

Old Spidey’s failure is not undertaken because the filmmakers believe Spider-Man is or should be some abject loser or failure, as I and others have feared. It is a direction taken because it gives him an arc for the movie. His hang up is wrapped up with his divorce from Mary Jane. But refreshingly for comic fans their separation occurred because MJ wanted children and he couldn’t bring himself to go there. It is through his tutelage of Miles (and hilarious confession to Blonde Spidey’s widow, a reflection of his student’s poor attempt to woo Gwen earlier) that he works through his issues and gets his happy ending of reuniting with his MJ. He thus has an arc intertwined with Miles even as he serves as his reluctant and somewhat haphazard mentor. If you think about it, having a version of Spider-Man more akin to the ‘default’ version would have made for a boring and underwhelming movie as far as Miles and Peter’s relationship is concerned. In this dynamic though master and student mutually grow.

Moreover his arc is interesting on a meta level as his pot belly somewhat resembled Tobey Maguire in some infamous and unflattering post-Spider-Man 3 images and Peter and MJ having a child and divorcing were in fact concepts toyed with for the aborted Spider-Man 4. All of which lends credence to the idea that Old Spider-man could very well be the actual Maguire Spider-Man. Indeed Maguire was apparently considered to be cast for this Spider-Man.

Between them Blonde and Old Peter represent something of the best and worst case scenarios for the ‘standard’ Spider-Man that broadly exists in the popular consciousness of general audiences.

Also one of these two Peter Parkers is explicitly Jewish. They have a Jewish wedding with Mary Jane which is a lovely touch as both his creators were Jewish and it has often been said the character embodies certain characteristics that recognizable within Jewish culture.

Spider-Gwen is changed into being more snarky than her earliest comics depicted her mostly because she has to be a more in control and experienced counterpoint to the in experienced Miles, serving as the subtextual second-in-command of the team. Her character’s conceit of being distant from her friends was something sort of present in her comics but is played as her central emotional problem in this movie that is also worked out through the course of teaming up with others. Additionally the film, seeking to connect her and Miles romantically (perhaps unnecessarily, but it is a sweet enough young romance nevertheless, helped by their similar age for a change) draws a parallel between how both her and Miles lost a Peter Parker. Parker in her universe was the Lizard as in the comics which further helps sell the idea of ‘Spider-Man’ being flexible.

The other Spider-Heroes are again, bodies to pad out the team and all of them are geared towards comic relief which helps balance out the team and movie over all, even if it goes against how Peni and Noir were originally characterized in their solo outings. But again this isn’t a solo outing, it is a team outing centred around Miles.

And the key thing to note here, as I noted in previous instalments is that all these other Spider-Heroes NEEDED to be in here and (to a lesser or greater extent) needed their own arcs because Miles was not going to hold the movie all on his own.

As for the other characters not much to say really. Miles parents are done well though his Dad gets more focus, a biproduct think of the movie focussing upon his brother Aaron. Aunt May has a small but lovely role as the keeper of Blonde Peter’s legacy. There is a touching scene which adapted Spider-Men better than the actual story. In the comic book 616 Peter meets Ultimate May in the relatively recent aftermath of Ultimate Peter’s death. In the movie, apart from Blonde Peter being older (meaning more years with Peter), Old Peter has also lost his Aunt May meaning the moment is much more emotionally packed as bereaved aunt and nephew reunite.

Then there is Mary Jane. Again a small role and she is somewhat relegated to a motivator than her own character but in a movie this packed where the heart isn’t Peter Parker you can understand why. You do feel bad that every (good) character in this movie got a happy ending or at least a happy final scene except her...well sort of. She is just left as the widow of Blonde Spidey but she gets a nice scene where she reunites with Old Peter. So ONE version of MJ has a happy last scene.

I will say this, the movie treated the character with respect. It is MJ who delivers her husband’s eulogy that prompts Miles into action and sums up the message of anyone being Spider-Man. It is made clear MJ was not the root of her split with Peter because ‘she couldn’t handle it’ or some shit like that. So whilst the movie didn’t give her much to do it also didn’t punch down on her or disrespect her legacy the way Homecoming did. And if nothing else how cool was it that we got not one but TWO Peter/MJ marriages on screen in a major motion picture. Take that Marvel!

But I cannot talk about the characters in this movie without talking about the three best cameos in any comic book movie.

The first was the surprise post-credits sequence where Spider-Man 2099 showed up! Of all Spider-Heroes he was the one I wanted most to show up. I love Mayday of course but I never deluded myself she could show up and in fact Old Peter’s story opens up that possibility for her more down the line.

2099 shocked me (how appropriate) and I thought we were going to get some nice sequel bait. That was until that was subverted for the second cameo that made me and my friend split our sides with laugher.

1960s cartoon Spider-Man, specifically with him and 2099 recalling the ‘Spider-Man pointing at himself meme’!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is how you integrate a meme right!!!!!!

They even paid the 1960s show homage by referring to it as going back to the beginning since the 1960s show was in fact the first time Spider-Man was ever adapted into animation.

The third and best cameo goes to the Stan Lee appearance.

I am not ashamed to tell you dear readers that when I saw Stan Lee, even a cartoon version of him, saying in his own voice that he was friends with Spider-Man and will miss him I genuinely cried a little.

Even seeing the grave of Blonde Spider-Man shortly afterwards, a scene I’d already seen as the after credits scene for Venom, hit me hard and felt very different in a post-Stan Lee world.

And of course there was that ending title card crediting Lee and Ditko. Beautiful, no other word for it.

And given the movie’s fundamental message I can think of no more fitting way to honour the fathers of Spider-Man.

[shadowandblack]

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Undertale (Video Game) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Sans (Undertale)/Reader, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added Characters: Sans (Undertale), Reader, Other Character Tags to Be Added Additional Tags: meroctopus, gosh darn it that tag makes me mh, Alternate Universe - Mermaidtale, ??? Is that a full blown au idk, Sans is half octopus, Predatory Monsters, As in they eat humans, Stalking, from the water, Alternate Universe - Mermaids, Sans is... Creepy, Possessive Sans (Undertale), Obsessive Behavior, IDK OK, You see that relationship tag+character tag, That's going to be important, very important, Female Reader, Tentacles, but not that kind, These tags make me look very questionable..., Kidnapping, Cecaelia Sans, ??? These tags make me go hh Summary:

Sans hates humans. He couldn't care about them less, if they weren't such a nuisance to him. To him, the only good human, is a dead human. And yet... Here he was watching and watching, waiting for that one human to come out from the land and step to the shore. And when she does... ... Sans has to hold himself back from taking you.

But he will. And no one will be there to stop him from getting you.

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Aquaman

My first film of 2019 and oh boy is it a doozy. Here’s the thing - I know it's gonna be bad when people keep telling me, "I can't wait for your review for this one." That does not inspire confidence in quality filmmaking because, I think we can all agree, the reviews are most beloved when I am being a petty bitch. So it’s time for 2018′s last big tentpole superhero adventure, DC’s solo Aquaman movie, starring Human Sex God Jason Momoa and Amber Heard doing shockingly bad Little Mermaid cosplay. See, Momoa plays Arthur Curry, the son of the queen of Atlantis and a mere mortal lighthouse keeper, so he has the heritage and the birthright to take the throne of Atlantis from his scheming brother (Patrick Wilson) and unite the land and the sea, if he wants to that is (he doesn’t.) There’s a lot going on here that could be wildly entertaining if handled right, so the real question is does this movie, ahem, sink or swim? Well...

It’s a tangled mess of yes and no, but honestly the problems DC has making a movie of the caliber we KNOW superhero movies are capable of sinks this whole ship. Call the Heartbreakers, cause I’m about to get Tom Petty up in this bitch.

Our story begins with a voiceover about the hero’s parents because that’s always a good sign. The Queen of Atlantis, Atlanna (Nicole Kidman) washes up on shore and enjoys some light Stockholm Syndrome with Tom, a lighthouse keeper in Maine (Temuera Morrison), leading to the birth of Arthur Curry, aka our main Aqua type Dude (Jason Momoa). Some Atlantisians - Atlantians? That just sounds like they’re from Atlanta. Some sea people come to forcibly take Nicole Kidman home after at least 2 years, like wow are these people bad at tracking their queen, but then suddenly they just know where she is? And she’s like “I have to go back, they will always find me” um well not for at least 2 years they won’t, ma’am. Anyway so she heads back into the sea and Tom is left to raise baby Arthur alone until he’s probably 8 or 9 and then the sea people’s vizier (Willem Defoe) comes to land and starts training Arthur how to do sea people stuff because he’s heir to the throne. But it’s pretty clear Nicole Kidman is no longer in Atlantis and he’s not allowed to see her...and everyone’s really mad at her for having a “half-breed” son with a land-dweller. So why is Willem Defoe here training him like a half-melted wax figurine of Mr. Miyagi? HANDWAVEY DISTRACTION so anyway, now Arthur’s all grown up doing Aquaman shit but like on the DL, cause he doesn’t want to be all obvious about it. His forced love interest Mera (Amber Heard) comes to Maine to tell him that his half-brother King Orm is planning a huge war against the land-dwellers in order to become Ocean Master and the only way to stop him is to find this Sacred Trident and take his rightful place as king. Honestly a bunch of other shit happens too but if you’re as hung up as I am on the Ocean Master thing, I think we can all agree we have enough info to proceed. 

Some thoughts and also questions because this movie demands questions:

As I’m sure you can guess, the script is just....it’s just so bad. Within the first 15 minutes, we got to hear the following exchange - Nicole Kidman, crying and marveling at the wetness on her face: "Our tears are always taken by the sea." Tom: "Not here. Here we feel them." This is meant to be a scene in which a woman is leaving the love of her life and her infant child, presumably forever. And we got sea tears. 

The gravity with which the phrases "ocean master" and "sacred trident" are spoken is just something I was not emotionally prepared to deal with. This makes it sound like I can’t handle Maguffins in comic book movies which I absolutely can! But it helps if they at least sound otherworldly or mysterious. Ocean Master sounds like a game of I Spy you made up at SeaWorld to get your little nephew Caydlen to stop trying to crawl into the touch tank.

Every location is SOMEWHERE IN THE ____ SEA. I understand that the ocean is vast and contains multitudes. But you can’t be any more specific than that? You can’t be any more specific than that ten times?

I like how, at one point, there is scientist on cable news talking about the existence of Atlantis, and he is being depicted as SO crazy that the audience is meant to think he's ridiculous when we literally know he's telling the truth. The conspiracy theories he’s touting are the exact thing that is going on in the movie, but he comes across as a fool because...we’re....meant to feel foolish? For believing in Atlantis? Does no one work in marketing at DC or Warner Brothers? I’m legitimately asking whose choice this was.

This is all coming across as very negative, so let’s focus on some good. 1) Jason Momoa. The man is basically a human god, so the casting is excellent - he’s funny, he’s disarming, he’s cool, he’s the bad boy you wanna take home to mom. He plays the part excellently and even manages to make some of the world’s clunkiest dialogue sound kind of ok. 

2) Some sequences really, really work - the trench sequence was a particular fave, and I think speaks mostly to director James Wan’s horror movie street cred. It was visually rich, atmospheric, and terrifying. 

That’s pretty much it for the positives.

Why the fuck is Dolph Lundgren here?

I don’t think I mentioned this above, but more movies need to have viziers. 

There’s a literal octopus playing the drums during a fight to the death like the filmmakers expected us NOT to immediately mentally sing “Under the Sea”?? During the first climactic battle between our hero and his main nemesis??? Like what tone is this even going for? Is it supposed to be silly? It takes itself too seriously. Is it supposed to be a 60s era Saturday morning cartoon? There’s too much “the land-dwellers are poisoning our oceans and killing our people so we need to start a holy war” for that. Is it supposed to be a wayward manchild finds his raison d’etre origin story? Did you read the thing about the octopus. 

And what the fuck is going on with this soundtrack. The crunchy NUH-NUH-NUHHH guitar chord every time Momoa tosses off a horrible one-liner in his first scene. The techno-battle music that’s aping the far superior Daft Punk soundtrack to Tron: Legacy during a high-speed foot chase in fucking SICILY. And then Pitbull shows up to perform the audio equivalent of a used condom found in the back of a 2003 Hummer, a bafflingly ill-conceived cover of Toto’s “Africa.” Do you know how bad a song has to be for it to be the worst cover of “Africa” in a year where WEEZER covered “Africa”???

I literally don’t even have time to get into the out-of-nowhere secondary villain, Black Manta, who could have had potential if he weren’t playing his scenes like he’s in a 1988 Steven Seagal movie. I’m all for “this is kinda stupid but I’m still having fun” movies. I genuinely enjoyed last year’s The Predator and The Hurricane Heist! But the only person who seems to be having any fun here is Momoa, and even then it’s amidst a bloated, overstuffed mess of a script. I’m not going to say I had a bad time watching this movie, but I certainly don’t think it’s for the reasons any of the filmmakers were intending.

[kyndaris]

Sticking the Landing

When I booted up my PlayStation 4 and slid my new disc into the slot, I was excited for the adventure ahead. As Peter Parker slipped on his iconic mask and headed out into the wider city of New York, I was hyped to see where Insomniac would take our web slinging hero.

Although not as familiar with the world of costumed superheroes that have permeated society since the introduction of comic books, Spider-Man is still something of a household name that rings many bells. Perhaps because in these last two decades, he has penetrated the public conscious by appearing on the silver screen. First, through the films by Sam Raimi, starring Tobey McGuire in the titular role. Then the soft reboots that saw Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland take up the mantle.

In any case, every child and their mother knows about their friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. 

Marvel’s Spider-Man on PlayStation 4 is welcoming to newcomers and the old guard. There’s no need to be overly familiar with the lore that has been established in the hundreds of comic books that have featured the arachnid hero, but there were most likely plenty of Easter Eggs that sailed over my head. 

The story in Spider-Man is not based on any long-running comic story. From the reviews I read that were more familiar with Peter Parker’s backstory and his superhero alter ego, it seems that Insomniac took bits and pieces before cobbling up their own universe to explore. Unlike the stories that we are often familiar with, Spider-Man does not focus on Peter Parker discovering his abilities. Instead, he’s played the role of cleaning up New York for eight long years. And in the first couple hours, manages to secure his victory over Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin.

But it’s not long before the power vacuum left open by the Kingpin’s imprisonment leaves the city wide open to other threats - namely, the Demons under the command of Mister Negative.

Spider-Man introduces all the major players quite quickly. And since this is not an origin story, the enemies are not so much focused on fighting Spider-Man as they are trying to fulfill their own insidious objectives of finally destroying Norman Osborn. Peter Parker is merely an irritating thorn in their quest for vengeance. And as you play, you slowly uncover the terrible experiments Norman was a part of as head of Oscorp Industries.

In fact, both Otto Octavius and Martin Li prove to be sympathetic villains. There was quite a lot to their motivations, even though their methods left much to be desired. Worse still was when the Devil’s Breath was unleashed upon the innocent civilians of New York.

After watching the trailer, I also expected the Sinister Six to play a much larger role in the game. Alas, they only truly appeared in the third act as Doctor Octopus finally puts his plan into motion.

Combat-wise, Spider-Man took several cues from the Arkham series. Those familiar with Batman’s foray into video games will be able to quickly pick up the controls. But Spider-Man is not a brawler. As a much more agile fighter, he is almost always up in the air or slinging manhole covers at the thus that cross his path.

Gameplay also includes several stealth sections where control is passed to two characters that do not have superpowers. Mary Jane Watson and Miles Morales. Mary Jane, in this depiction, is a reporter of the Daily Bugle. And as she likes to repeat to Peter several times, she wants to be her own hero and is sick of being rescued. It’s nice to see this side to her character. There have been several comments I’ve seen on review websites that people where people have said that she isn’t as naturally attractive as she is ‘supposed’ to be in the comics. It’s a sad day where there is so much focus placed on the looks of the character that any developments are left on the wayside.

If we’re also going to look at another strong female character in Spider-Man, Yuri Watanabe is also a stand-out. Just don’t pretend to be a Spider-Cop around her. 

The real star of Spider-Man, though is the setting itself. New York is a vast sprawling city. It was wonderful to see so many of the real life buildings make their way into the game and all in their proper place. I adored running up the side of the Empire State Building, diving off the Chrysler Building and swinging past the Guggenheim Museum. Better yet, the map also gave me a clearer indication of the different districts of New York. Though I watch many of the Marvel shows on Netflix, it was difficult for me to place Harlem and Hell’s Kitchen in comparison to the more iconic sights of the city.

For this lover of video games, Spider-Man was a breath of levity. While it still had its heavy moments, it proved to be much more light-hearted than the Arkham series of games as the titular hero bantered with his foes, hurling quips as much as he threw punches. Spider-Man also gave us glimpses into the struggles that Peter Parker also has to contend with. He might be a brilliant scientist but he is no billionaire playboy.