#Hero wars best team combinations

[lilmissnatcat24]

We all know who we rush to recruit in Mass Effect 2 the second we can. But can we talk about how good that reunion would be if we save the Archangel mission for last?

Tali's rejection has had likely around a month to settle in. So far our team is 1. Unavailable super model genius, 2. Weird merc/terrorist who can't decide who he's loyal to, 3. Even weirder merc that is somehow every combination of every space folk hero legend out there, 4. International super thief who enjoys following people around invisibly, 5. Former war criminal turned doctor who will not shut the fuck up, 6. Actual terrorist with a body count in the thousands, and 7. Large child warrior.

And then Shepard sees that Archangel is not some freaky turian criminal, but her friend, and she just like. collapses on the ground. like holy shit finally someone NORMAL. it's my BUDDY. Garry my BEST FRIEND. who is MUCH HOTTER THAN I REMEMBERED.

[artsy-hobbitses]

Do you perhaps have any headcanons on the miscreant Starscream??

DO I EVER.

I'm gonna assume you're new here or at least have not seen all headcanons, so I'll collated into one document. RIP you're getting sandblasted with a horrible sky gremlin who has hidden heart of a hero (DON'T LET THEM HEAR YOU SAY THAT, HE HAS STREET CRED TO MAINTAIN).

Starscream/Stefan Scavarro got his codename from the shriek that his suit's engines made when he would divebomb opponents from the heavens. Combined with them seeing literal stars when he blindsided them and how much of a 'sky devil' he was with his red armor, a terrified senate guard described him as the rebellion's "(Azrael) Morningstar, screaming bloody vengeance as he swoops down from the heavens to hunt the wicked". Hence, 'Starscream' was born.

He wears his hair long to cover the Cold Construct barcode on the nape of his neck. Touch him there without his permission, and he will break your fingers.

He's the best cook on the team, and he'll say it's because he's rather eat barb wire (the taste of his blood would at least add some flavour) than be subjected to the military slop he lived with for twenty years. It's never too late to learn how to how to cook and eat well, though if you substitute fresh garlic for powdered garlic in something you're serving him, he's going to fight you across the dining room table after he's done eating it. Food should be respected, even if they were the product of a culinary crime.

He learned to tailor his own clothes during his college days, and has since become very proficient at it. He make most of his formal garments, and is considered the most fashion-centric member of the team.

He was very close to Senator Shockwave/Sharifuddin Waseem as a young politician, to the point of having an unrequited crush. Sharif accepted him as a part of the senate despite his status as a (freed) Cold Construct driving others away from him, and both spent most of their time together in the senate researching and drafting bills pushing for more rights and protections for the Manual Class and Cold Constructs

He has a personal dislike of Optimus Prime/Omar Parvez, and blames Omar for what happened to Sharif, as Sharif surrendered to Proteus on Omar's watch. He had earlier requested that Omar not leave Sharif's side before their mission began and he was assigned to another post, because he had a bad feeling about Proteus' plans for Sharif, and accused Omar of being too spineless to stop it. That Omar had to choose between saving Sharif or the men Sharif told him to keep safe was something he refused to consider. However, in time they do come to an understanding when he accepts that Omar was given a impossible choice and made the one that respected Sharif's last request and sacrifice.

While he can't bring himself to keep pets (he doesn't want to get attached amid a war), he does have a fondness for cats! He admires their beauty, grace, independence and low tolerance for bullshit. He eventually adopts an old and ornery female cat named Graymalkin post-war to keep him company while Windblade/Wariko Baisho is out at work

Stefan has a ridiculously high pain tolerance due to the abuse he was put through from childhood at the air base he grew up in. His eardrums have ruptured more times than he can recall from flight test chambers and high altitude barotrauma, and if he didn't stop crying, his handlers would give him something to really cry about before they dragged him off to the medics. He has an accelerated healing factor, they saw no issue with letting out their frustrations on him, as he was simply an asset in their eyes, even as a seven-year-old.

As such, he has very warped idea of what constitutes a 'major' injury on him---he can be running around cradling his disemboweled intestines in one arm without breaking a sweat. He offhandedly tells people that an injury doesn't register as 'major' to him unless it's a skull fracture where he can feel a section of his head caved in, or a direct shot to the heart.

Because of this, he also has a very skewed idea of what 'hurt' means to him personally and how he's meant to react to it. He's internalised his handlers' assertion that because he can heal, his pain does not matter. So what if people hurt him? It's what he was built to withstand. There is a weird sense of pride he has about this, he sees it as a mark of strength, and it's partly why he's as defiantly blasé as he is about Megatron's abuse when they get in each other's faces. At the same time, it's also deeply lonely for him and he oscillates wildly between shying away from physical contact and being starved for 'good' touch at the same time.

To add to this, while he grows to harbour unspoken attraction towards Wariko which he attempted to throttle multiple times in their early says interacting with each other, he stops icing her out when she becomes the first person to acknowledge his pain, and that him being able to heal and bearing no scars from his abuse doesn't make that pain any less real. She's also his first experience with 'good' touch, which he quickly finds he cannot get enough of.

He adores musicals. In particular are The Greatest Showman, Moulin Rouge and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

When he and Morgan are in one of their more civil moods, they play chess together in a weirdly companionable silence, as despite their mutual disdain, they understand each other the most. They're equally matched, and it's the only time where Morgan will sincerely compliment him about something, and he'd accept it without sneering or boasting. (He used to play with Sharif, who doesn't do so now as Shockwave, while Morgan used to play with Omar, so it also feels like a moment of bonding over shared loss)

He's an excellent dancer! Mostly ballroom-based which he picked up during his days as a young politician for big senate events, but he enjoys mixing things up a bit with tango or freestyle.

Has mastered walking in high heels.

He alternates between having a soft spot for Thundercracker/Teo Cortez, who he sometimes sees as a younger brother, and calling Teo out as being the 'weak link' of the Trine. He can one day be planning a heartfelt birthday party and baking a cake for Teo since Teo can no longer celebrate it with family, and the next day be screaming at Teo for messing up at target practice. He justifies this hot and cold by saying that someone like Teo isn't made for war, but since Teo insists on being here, he would rather have Teo sad or angry at him for being harsh over the work they have to do, than to have Teo dead from softness and carelessness. He was genuinely relieved when Teo finally left the Decepticons, and they do reconcile post-war.

Openly calls Tarn out for being a fanboy simp in bad Decepticon cosplay.

He never really takes Bumblebee/Benjamin Bane seriously as a fellow combatant and is constantly breaking into Omar's comm signal on the field to yell at Omar to send "your son" back home, this is NO PLACE for a child playing DRESS-UP. (Ben's "I'M 18 YOU POMPOUS PRAT" is immediately met with Stefan's "DON'T YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT, STOP KICKING ME IS PRIME RAISING YOU IN A BARN")

That said, despite being on opposite sides of the fence, when Ben becomes a discorporated soul, he is drawn to Stefan, who can hear him because it is Stefan, rather than Omar or even Memo and Charlie, who unknowingly first truly heard him. This goes back to when Ben was nine, and had a chance to visit the Quintesson War Museum on his birthday; his father and mother however, had no interest in exploring the exhibits with him and left him to do so on alone. On a whim, he asked a passing man, a young politician Stefan who was visiting before a conference, to help him take a picture. Stefan wanted this to be a one and done, but after asking Ben about his parents and finding out they left him to celebrate his birthday alone, he decided to chaperone Ben through the entire time that Ben was there and listened to this boy talk about everything under the sun. He didn't put much thought into this after he left, it was just a few hours of making a child happy/feel less lonely on on their birthday (he's never celebrated one! what a novelty that is), he didn't even have the presence of mind to ask for the boy's name since he himself was not given one until he was 18, but Ben never forgot.

As vain as he is, Stefan hates seeing old pictures of himself, especially those taken of him during his old senate days. He hates the boyish way he used to smile, he hates the hopeful light in his eyes, he hates coming to terms with the part of himself he felt he had sacrificed to hate over humanity on the day they razed the Senate… and how he barely recognizes the man he used to be. Wariko eventually makes him see the truth; that the man he was is the man he still is deep down.

He loves collecting plane models. He does not love putting them together, however, and it's a task he often bribes Skywarp into with offerings of muttabaq fresh off the gridle.

Sharif's old nickname for him is "Pretty Bird", Wariko calls him "Uguisu" (Japanese Bush Warbler).

Extremely protective of his armored flight suit. It was a prototype made by Sharif years ago for him--it was his first taste of flying without a helmet or within a cockpit, and he's never been able to forget that feeling. He also sees it as the last gift Sharif ever gave him before becoming 'Shockwave'. He refuses to let Morgan touch it, and the one time he did approach Shockwave to make some amendments, Shockwave told him to rubbish it for a better upgrade. He declined, and has since learned how to fix and programme the suit on his own. He won't admit it, but it feels like keeping the last physical bit of Sharif's memory alive.

Deeply in love with sky and flying in general; he embraces it as the most free he ever feels. He's up early for morning flights to catch the sunrise, and when he feels like he needs to get away from it all, he flies up high enough that ice gnaws at his face and he can't breath before freefalling through the clouds. It helps him gain a sense of perspective.

Stefan and Wariko do eventually get married, and he settles into a Way Of The Househusband role to her Lady First Delegate. They end up adopting two Cold Construct kids, Suzume and Gabriele.

If you'd like more Winblade/Starscream headcanons (because they are my power couple!), you can find them here and here!

[thr0wnawayy]

Who would the 10-13 1A members that died in the MLA be, if MHA had any actual stakes? I really liked your Kaminari idea, so I just wanted to explore it with you. It would have realistically made UA/the heroes look a hell of a lot worse and the villains look a hell of a lot smarter if they went for the angle of "the best heroics school in Japan is using child soldiers!"

I know for the heroes, it should have been Pixie Bob and Gran Torino in addition to Crust. Endeavor also should have died because it would have actually given the story actual stakes - Japan is now in shambles and the new #1 hero/heavy hitter is dead. Oh shit, what are they going to do?

Firstly I feel I should clarify that both 1A and B would lose some team members as both classes were thrust into war with basically no real training. Although for the sake of plot 1A would lose vastly more.

With that stated, let us begin.

I know for a fact that Koda is dead.

Truthfully, there is no way someone as bulky as him (with the addition of his poorly designed costume) would be even marginally capable of outrunning Shigaraki's Decay.

His quirk (Anivoice) gives him zero advantages and being in Jaku (a city under evacuation) would only add to this.

We also mustn't forget that the rubble by itself was also capable of disintegrating anything it touched. Putting all that together and given how close he was to "ground zero", his chances of survival are slim to none.

Additionally, everyone who found Midnight's corpse is either dead or brutally injured.

Midnight's body is isolated in a decently foliage heavy area, with plenty of hiding spots and vantage points making it all too easy to set an ambush.

Our merry band of MLA/PLF mercenaries simply have to bide their time, wait for the shock and horror to settle in and then strike.

Sero, Kirishima and Setsuna are easy targets (with Setsuna being the farthest from the bait) their backs are turned and mentally are either distant or "vacant".

If Momo didn't recover from her grief and get off the floor, it's game over.

However. She would likely manage to fend them off long enough to escape (thanks to her intelligence and dexterity), although not without some scars. (eyepatch momo, anyone?)

Mina might be able to hold them off due to her acid but will eventually falter because (as you mentioned) Aizawa's a shitheel.

That brings us up to 5 students so far (if we include Kaminari's death) that have died due to UA's (and the HPSC's) crippling negligence.

I'm a tad hesitant to add Tsu here but it's unlikely she'd survive. (even if she does survive the wave, she'd likely die in the crossfire)

Comicman, because yeah he's unimportant.

For the Villa Raid team it's important that we cut some heroes in order for this scenario to work.

Edgeshot is dead, likely fried to death by Electro-lite.

This would cause the raiding heroes to become discouraged and overwhelmed.

the MLA's gear is more than a match and combined with their years of fighting and tactical prowess. It's not even close.

Simply put; divide and conquer.

Mineta's dying for sure. His costume restricts his (torso and leg) movements and makes him standout like a traffic cone. That guy with holes all over his body is likely the one to snuff him out.

Ojiro is dead the moment the MLA members use numbers to overwhelm him, no amount of martial arts will save you from getting jumped.

Mines dies because his quirk (Twin Impact) suffers from the Flect Fallacy.(Overwhelming the quirk will break it). So pretty much any MLA member could be the one to kill him

That sets the score to 11 total student deaths (8 for 1A, 3 for 1B), not a good look.

We know the rest, Dabi kills Enji for good.

Skeptic publishes a video along with Dabi's exposé that reveals UA is using child soldiers and that the HPSC forged paperwork to allow this.

And the crowd goes wild!

The reactions would be brutal, national if not global criticism from every angle.

The entire raid and evacuation effort would be considered an immense failure, the villains remain at large to gather their numbers and most civilians would be left homeless and displaced.

The hero that everybody placed their bets on turned out be a child/wife beating eugenicist who bought (and later assaulted) his wife when she was only 17. Only to be killed off by the very child he left to burn.

The (global) outrage partially stems from the fact that if it weren't for Dabi, no one would have known otherwise .

The number 2 hero is an (attempted) murderer and seems almost irritated at Enji being outed, the world stage takes this the wrong way and opts not to aid Japan.* What pisses them off the most is his uncaring attitude.

Considering them a lost cause when Shigaraki not only breaks everyone out of Tartarus but also manges to kill AFO by sheer force of will (and wanting to see his friends live as they please)

Rei's speech/conference serves as the final nail. Going into immense detail of the pain she and her children suffered at the hands of Enji. (If their were any doubts Touya was her son, they were killed here)

When asked if anyone knew, she finishes her speech off with revealing that some heroes and staff knew about the abuse and chose to look the other way. Causing the room to burst into an uproar.

*(explaining why Japan was allowed to fester for as long as it did without intervention, something Hori failed to explain)

Parents begin pulling out their children in droves, not wanting to risk their kids getting drafted, others quit by choice.

Shiketsu and Ketsubutsu don't put their students on the front lines (they aren't stupid). The commission is unable to force them due to their, "unique" situation.

The heroes that quit are harshly criticized by the public and media (and usually fairly too), pointing out how shitty it looks (and is) for heroes to suddenly abandon them as soon as things get serious.

Class 1A is left to pickup the pieces with 8 classmates killed (+ Bakugo) the events of the last week have shocked them to their cores but perhaps there is hope.

Of course they're left to pick up their predecessors mistakes, again.

Midoriya would still go rouge, albiet he would stick to his principals. He's made a disturbing connection between Bakugo and Endeavor and it haunts him.

(I should add that Bakugo's death is portrayed for the selfish play it was)

Midoriya likely driven by the need to ensure that he doesn't lose anyone else. His anger at AM would probably stem from the fact that he is putting himself in danger for someone as "expendable" as himself.

I could see the two having a heart to heart that Midoriya is more than his quirk once he willingly returns.

Some additional information:

Bakugo dies permanently, because Edgeshot was killed by "Electro" earlier (even then I'm not doing the writing atrocity that is the "Jeart".)

For heroes I'd like to add Jeanist to the roster. Gigantomachia should have swatted him and his airship like a fly. This means the top 3 are dead, adding to the chaos. This also prevents the old-gen from taking up space.

The High-End Nomu beat the tar out of Miriko, leaving crippled at best and a paraplegic at worst. (That is assuming they don't kill her).

Fourth Kind is killed when, like Ojiro, he is overwhelmed.

Your absolutely correct, Gran Torino and Pixiebob are eliminated, joining Crust.

Twice actually lives, though I would keep that ambiguous until later, he wouldn't get out unscathed of course and would probably need to be put into a coma while his injuries heal.

Himiko's revenge plot now has additional stakes as she promises Twice that she will return to him. (before he's medically put under)

This also fuels the PLF + Spinner, vowing to do right by their ally and friend.

Dabi would have disfigured Hawks upon discovery of his attempt on Twice's life, no more cosmetic scars. Just good old fashioned brutality.

(The fear of losing Twice may have dug up the past memory of losing his mother after Enji drove her to the brink. As Dabi cares deeply for both [even if he won't admit it] ontop of the fact that it's a "hero" that's trying to take them and he betrayed them).

Overall this world is going to be one wild ride with a very different ending to what Hori gave us.

It is a story not of heroes and villains, but of ideals and goals. It asks the question:

What is it to save?

A few additional notes:

Momo would likely have a revenge arc as a sort of parallel between Izuku and Himiko. However it wouldn't be as bland as what we got in canon with Mina.

The mercenaries aren't mustache twirling supremacists, no. Here they're cold, calculated soldiers who are strictly tactical. Midnight was "nothing personal, just business" to them.

They serve as a dark mirror to Momo's shift in personality during the war, as Momo reverts to her initial cold confidant personality and kicks it up to 20 as she hunts them down.

Midnight's killer even points out midbattle on how Momo was sexualized and she doesn't even know it. Telling her at one point: "You may see them as an equal, they see you as a display"

The battle isnt treated as a victory either, while the Momo and her squadron win, the gravity of the situation isn't ignored and Momo actually listens to her opponent's critique.

[bulkyphrase]

Avengers in Space - a fic rec list

I love the Avengers and I love outer space, and these are a few of my favorite stories that combine the two.

What do you mean we left Clint on Mars? by sara_holmes (@captn-sara-holmes) (WinterHawk, Teen And Up Audiences, 24,537 words)

Summary: “What do you mean we left Clint on Mars?” Cap’s incredulous voice cuts through the stunned silence of the cockpit, loud and shocked. He’s standing there with his cowl in hand, gaping at the holo-screen at the front of the jet. Next to him, Tony is standing with his hands on his head, mouth hanging open in a similar fashion. Over on the other side of the cockpit is Jane, who has both palms clapped across her mouth like she’s trying to hold back hysterical giggles. For his part, Bucky is just staring at the screen like he can’t quite believe what’s going on.

Straight on till Morning by @sineala (Stony, Explicit, 109,848 words)

Summary: Tony Stark resigned his commission in Starfleet five years ago, after a disastrous away mission, and he swore he'd never go back. He just wants to be left alone to build warp engines in peace. But the universe has more in store for him than that, as he discovers when Admiral Fury comes to him with an offer he could never have expected and cannot possibly refuse: first officer and chief engineer aboard the all-new USS Avenger, a starship of Tony's own design. What's more, the Avenger's captain is Steve Rogers, hero of the Earth-Romulan War. Believed dead for over a century, Steve is miraculously alive... and very, very attractive. But nothing is ever easy for Tony. As he wrestles with his secret desire for his new captain and his not-so-dormant fears, another mission starts to go wrong, and Tony becomes aware that Steve has secrets of his own -- and the truth could change everything. Also available as a podfic read by M_Samro (@msamro)

More below the cut!

A Far Better Thing I Do by @brighteyedjill (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 5,333 words)

Summary: A mysterious man with no paper trail was involved in a bloody attack on a meeting of Starfleet admirals. James T. Kirk and the crew of the starship Enterprise have tracked him to the Klingon home wold, Kronos, where they have threatened to unleash the experimental torpedoes Admiral Marcus sent with them unless the man surrenders. That man, Steve Rogers, has other ideas.

Into That Good Night by Nonymos (Stucky, Explicit, 73,540 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers has lived for entirely too long—long enough to see the world's end. The heroes are gone, and the Earth is pushing what's left of mankind towards the exit. But when a makeshift team rises from the ashes, when a mysterious presence all but drags Steve there, he begins to think there may be hope yet. As they shoot for the stars one last time, Steve will get proof yet again that the future is nothing if not an echo of the past.

Wandering Stars by @sabrecmc (Stony, Explicit, 24,470 words)

Summary: Alien Steve/Astronaut Tony (oviposition)

Cold Space, Warm Welcome by Annie D (@no-gorms) (Stony, Teen And Up Audiences, 15,572 words)

Summary: Tony’s spent a couple of years flying around the galaxy in his best friend Rhodey’s spaceship the Iron Advance, doing what could perhaps be counted as ‘hero’ work. Among their allies is Steve Rogers, captain of his own crew, with whom Tony has a… potentially friendly relationship. When Steve’s ship is irreparably damaged, Rhodey takes him and his whole crew onto the Iron Advance to recover. Tony’s not at all nervous about this, because so what if this is the first time Steve will see him without the Iron Man armor?

Space Between by NachoDiablo (Samsteve, Teen And Up Audiences, 9,157 words)

Summary: Sam has a quiet life on a newly inhabited planet. He spends his days tending the garden plots and avoiding his past. But right before an impending storm, a fugitive crash lands in his space and upsets his solitude.

The Truth When Captains Meet by Kimra (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 2,303 words)

Summary: Steve Rogers wakes up on an alien’s space ship being carried bridal style by Carol Danvers. As far as first meetings go, it’s memorable.

Brisingr by @ironychan (Gen, Teen And Up Audiences, 155,649 words)

Summary: When Jane Foster discovers an object on a course for the inner solar system, it looks like a job for the Avengers. But when what looked like a comet turns out to be a refugee ship from another galaxy, it's not clear whose job this is anymore. Tony Stark and the Vision find they have an uncomfortable amount in common with the creatures called the Brisings, while Jane learns that the aliens are being followed by something they thought they'd left behind five million years ago. Set post-AOU, pre-CW.

Liberate Tutemet Ex Inferis (Save yourself from hell) by Terrenis, with art by @kaiwrites (James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson, Explicit, 55,989 words)

Summary: In the Year 2060, Stark Aeronautics and Space Administration's prestige project, the “Event Horizon”, was on its maiden voyage with the newly developed Arc Reactor Gravity Drive, only to disappear beyond Neptune’s orbit without a trace. Now, seven years later, a transmission from the eighth planet is received, along with a very disturbing audio record. Tony Stark, who not only wants to redeem his reputation, but also needs to know what happened on the ship, goes on a mission with the enhanced Inhuman ragtag crew of the Singularity to salvage his baby. Little do they know that this is literally going to be a trip to hell… Or that totally unnecessary Event Horizon AU that no one asked for. But I’m going to write it anyway.

Catch a Falling Star by tsukinofaerii (Stony, Explicit, 42,741 words)

Summary: When Tony was sixteen, he got to meet his hero, Captain Steve Rogers, the Empire's not-literally-golden boy from the Continuity Wars. When he was twenty-seven, the aforementioned Captain turned Pirate picked him up at the outer edges of space. It would have been a good time to appreciate the abundant nudity that came from spending too much time with space colonists, but Tony had bigger worries than even Rogers' amazing hip-to-shoulder ratio. Something was sending the star-encircling computers that power the galaxy into a tailspin, and it was going to take a lot more than luck and skill to clean the mess up.

Luminosity by CSHfic, VSfic (Stony, Mature, 60,922 words)

Summary: The Avengers organize a two month mission to investigate an anomaly in space that appears to be engulfing planets, Steve is worried about leaving Tony alone, and Hawkeye is just worried about being left behind. But then something goes wrong. Steve drags himself out of the wreckage of their ship, on a planet that shouldn’t exist, the Avengers are missing, Iron Man is torn to scraps, and Tony has a lot of explaining to do. Or, in which Steve has no clue that Tony is Iron Man, and it takes crash-landing on an alien planet for him to find out.

Gravitational Pull by @antigrav-vector (Stony, Explicit, 29,718 words)

Summary: A strange temple floating in space is discovered, and Steve and Tony are the logical choices to go investigate. What they find is going to make or break their relationship...

Inquiries into Orbital Dynamics (The Mission Controllers' Remix) by Muccamukk (Stony, Teen And Up Audiences, 5,591 words)

Summary: When a mysterious object appears in orbit around the Moon, NASA teams up with the Avengers to investigate it. This is NASA's story. Inspired by Gravitational Pull

everybody needs a reason why they run by napricot (Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers, Explicit, 77,888 words)

Summary: Pepper doesn’t often regret the improbable circumstances and choices that brought her, Tony, and Jim to the SGC and then to Atlantis. After all, being an intergalactic explorer is way cooler than being the right hand woman of Stark Industries’ heir Tony Stark. But when strangers show up during her Gate team’s milk run of a trading mission, she’s got a bad feeling she knows better than to ignore. Which is how Pepper’s Gate team ends up picking up a stray in the form of a metal-armed runner with a mysterious past and learning about a dangerous new sect of Wraith worshippers called Hydrans. But the Atlanteans aren’t the only ones interested in the Hydrans: there are stories spreading throughout the Pegasus Galaxy about the Nomad and the Widows, three maybe-heroes who have set their sights on the Hydrans and the Wraith. Meanwhile, Tony’s trying to figure out if there’s something more to Atlantis’s helpful new hospitality-oriented subroutines, and Master Sergeant Sam Wilson is trying to have just one offworld mission where shit doesn’t get weird.

a war could be our only hope by @aceofwands (Stony, Explicit, 62,817 words)

Summary: Steve emerges in the future, where the Federation is fighting a war against the totalitarian Dominion. Traumatised from his experience with the Borg, Tony already has enough trouble coping without Steve's return bringing up unexpected feelings.

[crascet]

Honest Thoughts: Gunn's Superman Teaser (Poster, Theme, and Trailer)

So, after its announcement from Gunn last year for the new DCU slate for the DCU'S first chapter: Gods and Monsters, we finally get a glimpse of the upcoming first film for the rebooted film universe and believe me when I say that it became my most anticipated film of 2025.

I can also plainly tell you just from looking at the poster and listening to the theme last week, I thought only one thing: "It's... Superman."

Now I know what you're thinking, "Well yeah, he's right there." Of course he's there on the poster, but that's not what I meant. The feeling they give off is Superman, like authentically Superman in the way that it best represents what the character is about.

I mean look at it.

Just this magical, hopeful feeling it gives off is just fantastic, just like Superman. Even the picture and the subtitle, "Look Up," adds to it as if it's the first time someone is seeing him fly; an astonishing view of seeing something unbelievable that you're entranced by it. The music done by John Murphy is excellent in how it combines the Williams theme for the '78 film and from Zimmer's Man of Steel theme to showcase the heroic triumph the character brings with its uplifting tone.

And then the trailer, oh my god the trailer! It just tells you everything about Clark not just as Superman, but as himself during his civilian life. An awkward yet kindhearted individual during his time as Clark and his compassionate, brave side to him as Superman with him saving people, like in that great shot of him protecting a little girl from a kaiju attack. We even see the impact Superman has in this world with a little kid holding up a flag in a war-torn country and praying for Superman, showing how much of a symbol of hope he is.

As for the story, Gunn has stated that its simply about showing kindness in a world that sees this kindness as old school, sort of like the real world now. So, from that, it's essentially about Superman showing everyone why this sort of compassion and love is more important than ever, despite the obstacles stacked against him from either the government, the public, or even from Lex as there could be a plot with Lex teaming up with a rumored appearance of Brainiac. The other heroes seen in the trailer: Mr. terrific, Green Lantern Guy Gardner, and Hawkgirl could be here trying to convince Supes to just work for the government or some other rich boss since those three are rumored to apparently work for Maxwell Lord, being played by James Gunn's brother Sean Gunn in his 4th role in a DC project, which is just crazy to think about.

David Corenswet looks fantastic in the role, and I just love how he looks different between Clark and Supes, which makes sense in hiding an identity with just mannerisms and glasses. Nicholas Hoult looks amazing as Lex simply by how mad he is at Supes by simply looking at him. Nathan Fillion as Guy looks good here too, especially with the bowl cut. I know people are against this, but I always liked his bowl cut look as that's the version I think of, like in JLI, and the hair pretty much tells you his personality: just a jerk that always thinks he's better than everyone. Hell, I'm pretty sure Guy has defended his hair multiple times to the other heroes in how it "makes him look cool" or something like that.

Anyways, KRYPTOKRYPTOKRYTOKRYPTOKRYPTOKRYPTOKRYPTO OH MY GOD ITS KRYPTO!!!!

This is just a fantastic trailer to see and I'm currently rewatching it every day for when I need a motivation boost for the day or when I'm drawing. This trailer just adds up to how I felt with the poster and theme: it's Superman.

I know it sounds like an exaggeration, but this movie will not just mean something to me, but to others as well. A movie telling everyone why we need heroes, especially Superman, in how they teach us to be better not for us, but to each other as well in making a better tomorrow for our world and we need that more than ever! James, I know you won't mess up and July can't come fast enough for quite possibly my favorite movie of 2025.

[prismaticpichu]

FF7 Crisis Core Characters & Their Pokémon Partners!~ 💛 🗡️

Why howdy!! Welcome back to another glorious edition of “Pichu combines her hyperfixations like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!” <3 Yeeeehaw!

I tried to be as creative as I could with the move references 😂 Kudos if you can spot ‘em all!

Warning for Angst <3 :,3c

~~~

Angeal

Samurott ~ A bladed warrior Pokémon known for its strict and formidable discipline, as well as drawing obvious inspirations from Samurai/their honorable Bushido code! The fella was an Oshawott for most of Angeal’s life—belonging to the entire family as a whole, considering that they unfortunately didn’t have enough money to buy many Pokeballs/food to take care of more than one. It was only when Angeal decided he wanted to join SOLDIER that his father officially gave him Oshawott’s Pokéball, leading Angeal to spend officially numerous hours training with his buddy. By the time he joined SOLDIER, he had a worthy Samurott by his side—the strongest Pokémon out of all the three elite Firsts. When he eventually took Zack under his proverbial wing some handful of years later, the boy quickly bonded with Samurott: training, playing, and often feeding his aquatic friend when Angeal was unable to. When Angeal deserted ShinRa’s forces, however, Samurott still clung to those memories and tried to convince his trainer to do the right thing, ultimately becoming wishy-washy with its own morales as result. And, in the end, nothing hurt its rended soul more than being forced to battle Zack under Angeal’s command. It was also the last battle it ever fought.

Moves:

Aqua Cutter

X-Scissor

Double Team

Take Down

Genesis

Flapple ~ An apple—obviously!—and a red, winged apple that housed a little (book)worm-dragonsnake thing on top of it! With Crisis Core taking some inspiration from the Garden of Eden story, it seemed like the most appropriate choice. Let’s also not forget that apples rot. Anywho—able to afford Pokeballs at a young age, Genesis caught the little guy when it was just an Applin, which subsequently catalyzed his affinity for the fruit + prompted him to start a small Banora White juice stand as a kid. Growing up, Genesis loved to battle—always pushing to be the best he could be, to emulate the heroes in his stories and the silver-haired superstar he saw in the papers. But he was also a kind boy, with a kind heart—good ambitions—and spent many days helping training with Angeal’s Dewott. He was able to get his hands on a Tart Apple rather young, and ultimately went on to serve as viable asset to ShinRa’s military with the aid of his aerial Pokémon. But it was the times after the war that were sweetest to Genesis—where he and his best friends hung out together, where they used Flapple’s attacks as props and projectiles, with one of their favorite games including knocking apples of off each other’s heads. They were childish games, yes—but harmless games. Harmless competition. Harmless rivalry. Simple rivalry. Fiery rivalry. Intense rivalry. Jealous rivalry. Burning rivalry. Dangerous rivalry. And, one day, it was just too much—it was taken too far. One training incident, one battle between friends. A pepper of metal; a spur of blood; a cry of pain; and a trip to the infirmary. And it was after this day that Genesis was never really the same. When the man felt himself growing ill, Flapple was the only one he confided it—was the only one he told his plans of desertion to. And when the day came for him to abandon his past, Flapple was hesitant. Hesitant—but loyal. He remained by Genesis’s side and watched his trainer degrade, watched him rot like the fruit of his own etymology. And he wanted to cure. And he would help his trainer find that cure—that “gift”—no matter the cost. He would do anything. He would do anything, even if it meant helping destroy the reality of his old friends.

Moves:

Wing Attack

Grav Apple

Trailblaze

Outrage

Zack

Arcanine ~ Yes—pupper for life! <3 But just like the game Zack hails from, NEVER underestimate the power of a fiery pup!! One of the most loyal Pokémon to exist, Zack took in an injured Growlithe from the wild when he was just a little kid, immediately sparking a friendship that would last him for years upon years to come. Zack loves his partner more than anything in the world—training to become the best SOLDIER he can possibly be since the day their dreams were together. Together, from vigorous and unwavering training, they climb through the ranks of ShinRa. It’s only at Fort Tamblin where, alongside receiving a Fire Armlet from Lazard, he receives a Fire Stone—and it’s all Arcanine adventures from there! Unfortunately, however, this is also when Angeal deserts, and Zack relies more than ever on the comfort of his best friend. Arcanine helps him stay positive, but even the dog itself begins to grow jaded, losing some of the blazing spirit that used to surge through its veins. Modeoheim is one of the worst tolls on the two of them—one of the most spiritually-shattering incidents of their ShinRa career. One that is only trumped by Nibelheim, where its life comes to end upon being crushed by fiery debris. It was trying to save Claudia.

Moves:

Close Combat

Play Rough

Protect

Flame Charge

Cloud

Riolu: A little baby-waby Pokémon that grows into something truly incredible and iconic. Riolu was a gift from Cloud’s mother when he was turning 14 years old—a little something to keep him safe as he went away to ShinRa. Cloud was always a little hesitant about raising Pokémon, but bonded rather well with Riolu once he opened up—albeit after an admittedly awkward start. Riolu was always there to comfort Cloud after SOLDIER-exams, always there to cheer him up and keep him going until the next one. When it’s time to go on a mission with the Great Sephiroth, Riolu is there to keep him chill—sitting in his lap in the truck, affectionally nuzzling his chin to keep him level-headed. Cloud wanted to keep Riolu in his Pokeball as to keep his identity hidden—a decision that would go on to save the small Pokémon’s life when the town was horrifically set ablaze, sheltered from Sephiroth’s wrath and madness while other Pokémon made the fatal mistake of trying to stop him. Following the incident, he doesn’t remember much—unaware of when Zack broke him out of the lab and carried him and his poisoned Riolu to the edge of Midgar. There’s flashes of something in his memory—serrated shards of a bloody face and bloody body that slash into his psyche beyond his own understanding. He doesn’t remember the moment his Riolu evolved—evolving into a Lucario under the pouring rain and the pearls of crimson that had stained its paws. In fact, he doesn’t even remember ever having a Riolu. All he could seem to remember is having an Arcanine—an Arcanine who perished before his eyes—and taking custody of a Lucario who originally belonged to his friend.

Moves:

Endure

Bullet Punch

Reversal

Copycat

Sephiroth

Pichu ~ Yep! That’s it, you heard it right: no legendary Pokémon, no mythical—just a small little lab rat that Sephiroth cherished more than anything on the planet. He first met Pichu when he was just a little boy, finding it trapped in a too-tight cage among Hojo’s numerous experiments. Bruises and scratches marred its yellow fur, coiled into itself as it quivered and shook amid the pulsing darkness. And Sephiroth, at his tender age, could hardly stand the sight. He couldn’t stand it—not when he could feel every scratch laddering its body, every injection that must have pierced its fragile form. He knew it was a risk, he knew he could be punished—but at that moment, meeting those pained and teary eyes, none of that seemed to matter. When Hojo found Sephiroth with Pichu the next day, he of course tried to take it away—only to be met by a tempest of threats and snarls, kicks and hisses. In the end, Hojo conceded, but forcefully fed it an Everstone when Sephiroth was asleep. In the following years, the duo were inseparable—every surgery, every training session, every trial… they were together. And when Sephiroth went on to Wutai, you bet Pichu was there with him. It wasn’t much of a battler—often hurting itself with its own electricity—but what the Pokémon lacked in strength it more than made up for in loyalty and spirit. As Sephiroth’s fame and influence burgeoned, he did everything in his power to keep his treasured friend out of the limelight—often keeping him sheltered in his Pokeball until the man was able to return to his quarters in peace. This lead to several people fantasizing about what Pokémon the Great Silver Warrior could possibly have—what kind of mythical beast he kept stashed away. Only very few people have ever seen Pichu at all: Glenn, Matt, Lucia, Genesis, Angeal, and Zack—all of whom were shocked at first, but developed a newfound respect for Sephiroth after learning of its origins. Angeal and Genesis, in particular, even had the honor of babysitting for the little guy during press meetings. When the latter two deserted, Sephiroth was crushed, but Pichu did wonders to keep his spirit afloat: curling into his lap at night, falling asleep on his shoulder… Anything it can possibly do to assure Sephiroth that he wasn’t alone, it did. When it came time to leave for Nibelheim, however, when the inevitable tragedies spiraled, that’s where things started to splinter. Zack awoke one night to Pichu pawing at his face—a small and desperate gesture to get someone to help it. Agreeing to help his friend’s partner out, Zack followed Pichu to the basement of ShinRa manor, where he found Sephiroth in the heart of an eerie, candlelit library. He told them to leave—both of them. Zack tried to gently talk things out; Sephiroth told him to leave even louder. Disheartened, but thinking his friend needs space, Zack took Pichu and leaves. In the following days, he tried to comfort the anxious Pichu, telling it that Seph just needs some time to breathe and digest everything he learned. He told it that Seph will snap out of it soon—that he will return for his best friend. He promises it. Assures it. And yet, when that seventh day arrives, the town went up in flames. Villagers were killed, slaughtered, as well as every Pokémon in his wake. All the man could think about was her. Mother. His birthright. His planet. Revenge. Humans. The urge to destroy—the need to kill… The bleary shapes that he cuts down are nothing—meaningless little insects in the greater design of his world. His blade slashed through them all, cut them open and left them to burn in the hellish flames engulfing the village. They were all irrelevant—every single one of them. Meaningless. Worthless. Just kill time. Just kill them, She whispers. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

“SEPHIROTH, DON’T—“

It’s too late.

Masamune had already struck, deaf to the young SOLDIER’s horrified plea.

And blind to the sight of Pichu staked through it.

Moves:

Nuzzle

Nasty Plot

Facade

Wish

[crazylittlejester]

DAILY BRAINROT

I greatly appreciate our brainrot time because otherwise I think I would go bonkers and I don't think my IRL friends can handle this level of brainrot. If any of them find my Ao3 or Tumblr by some miracle, I would perish on the spot. They don't need to know.

Anyway, I am obsessed with Legend's little brother vibes. He's like the older middle child. Can be responsible when he needs/wants to, but otherwise prefers being a thorn in the oldest's side. He's a stupid little goofball and I love that for him. I need him to team up with Time for a dumb prank because who would expect The Hero of Legend and The Hero of Time to do something like that??

Slightly related to that, I love it when he's a twin in modern AUs. LOVE IT. But what I want is for him to be Warriors' twin and Hyrule to be Wind's twin (or something close to that). I think it would be a good combination, especially if it's something like a mixed family dynamic where Legend and Warriors end up being brothers with Hyrule and Wind for some random reason so it goes from your regular older brother and younger brother dynamic to the younger brother suddenly dealing with his own younger brothers pestering him. Less accidental baby acquisition, more accidental younger brother acquisition.

(I will end up writing this because I'm crazy, we all know it, there's no point in denying it at this point.)

I also keep thinking about the War of Eras stuff and like... it's always a time paradox. It's always a time paradox. I can't get the idea of the guys teaching each other things, it's too sweet. Like, don't you have to wonder if Warriors teaches Wind how to do first aid because Tune taught him first? It's probably more likely he learned from someone else, but it's a thought. I'm slowly dying on the inside thinking about how much Tune would do for the captain because he wants to return the favor and ldjkgdfgjdirjgdlgrijgdlirjfdrijtelkjfd--

I genuinely appreciate the daily brainrots so much too 😭 like i come home at the end of a long day and i get excited to see it come in my inbox aslkgkjhg. i got a few people irl who know im bat shit on tumblr and on ao3, my fuckin fiancee literally follows this blog and i know they don’t check it often but i do live in the fear of the day i get a text or call about some super specific odd ass shit post i made🧍‍♂️and then one of my best friends reads Fierce Hero 9, which is honestly fucking hilarious to me because she knew NOTHING about LU when she started reading it (i only recently convinced her to join the dark side /j), she just heavily fucks with big hero 6, and yknow what i respect that. but if my COLLEGE friends ever found this blog?? killing myself immediately. killing myself, deleting the blog, and moving to the other side of the planet actually. and my family knows I write fanfiction but if they ever read or found it?? theres not a group of people on this earth who would be able to find me, my ass would be GONE.

I LOVE LEGEND AND HIS STUPID LITTLE BROTHER ENERGY IT’S SO EVERYTHING TO ME. he’s a little shit and we need to all talk about that more 😔 LEGEND AND TIME WORKING TOGETHER ON A PRANK?? OH MY GOD. IT’D BE FUCKING OVER FOR EVERYONE ELSE. THEY’D GET AWAY WITH IT AND POOR HYRULE, WILD, OR WIND WOULD END UP GETTING BLAMED 😭

oh my god i never not once even thought of Legend and Wars being twins. I guess part of it is cos i headcanon they got like a literal decade between em, and i never thought about making them that close in age, let alone the SAME age. Even in my modern au’s, Wars is 2-3 years older. Them as twins would be SO fucking funny though oh my GOD. ACCIDENTAL BROTHER ACQUISITION, IM GONNA BE FUCKIN USING THAT OH MY GOD AKNSKJSNKJSN

(write it and my life is yours /ref)

oh my god i love war of eras trio time paradoxes so fucking much. SOOOO fucking much. Just the idea of Wars teaching Wind some little thing and then Tune having that knowledge to help Captain Link?? EATING IT UP. Or Wind being the world’s biggest shit to Time and him absolutely RUTHLESSLY clapping back, just for Tune to pull the EXACT same soul destroying comeback seemingly out of his ass to hit Mask with when Mask decides to be a snarky little shit. Who started it? We’ll never know

[washipink]

A Beginner’s Guide to Tokusatsu

Hey, I know some of you are probably wondering about all these hero shows I’m constantly posting about. Maybe you want to try watching them too, but don’t know where to start? Well, look no further. I’m here to go over some accessible, and legal, means of checking out some of my favorite things!

for the OTHER means, you’ll have to DM me or send me an ask. I’m not getting my favorite sites shut down. You know the drill.

This guide will mainly focus on the big 3 Toku franchises, Toei’s Kamen Rider and Super Sentai as well as Tsuburaya’s Ultraman.

What Is Tokusatsu?

Tokusatsu is a genre of Japanese shows and movies that literally translates to “Special Effects”. Usually using a combination of monster or hero suits, practical effects like explosions, and light CGI.

That’s a REALLY wide net, so we’re just gonna focus on 3 shows today.

Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, and Ultraman. Thanks to @urotandersentai​ for drawing this neat little guide to the Visual Design of each of these 3 shows.

With that out of the way, let’s look at some individual seasons of these shows. Each one has a link to where you can watch it!

Please remember that at the end of the day, the best way to pick a show to watch is “Whatever looks coolest to you”. As such, I’ve included pictures!!!

Super Sentai

You might be saying, “This looks like Power Rangers!” And you’d be right!

Super Sentai, created by Shotaro Ishinomori and produced by Toei Productions, is kinda like Power Rangers’ Dad. PR has been using suits and even fight footage from Super Sentai to tell its own stories for 30 years. All this time, though, Sentai has been creating lovable and memorable casts of colorful heroes.

Generally, Super Sentai is about a team of heroes in colorful costumes that fight monsters every week to protect people.

There’s tons of shows in this series that are available FOR FREE.

CHOUJIN SENTAI JETMAN (1991)

The Earth is under siege from the Dimensional War Party Vyram. A special squadron is selected for an experiment to turn them into Super Humans with the powers of Birds, the Birdman Squadron Jetman. Vyram interferes with the experiment and kills all but one of the Jetman recruits. Instead, civilians are transformed and tasked with defending the Earth. The surviving recruit, Ryu Tendo, must convince 4 normal people with drastically different backgrounds to fight with him.

Jetman has the typical monster of the week format for Super Sentai, but when the team isn’t battling monsters, there’s some serious drama going on. The five of them are all drastically different individuals. It can make it hard to work as a team. Especially when it comes Black Condor. Dude’s a loose canon and an absolute bastard of a man.

KYORYU SENTAI ZYURANGER (1992)

“From hundreds of millions of years ago, in the age of the dinosaurs, five warriors revive in the present time!”

When the Evil Witch Bandora awakens from her slumber, intent on terrorizing the Children of Earth, Five warriors from Dinosaur Times are unsealed to undo her schemes!

This one is where the suits for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers came from, which might tempt you to watch it first. I kinda recommend against that, though. It’s a fine show but I personally found it a bit boring. The characterization of the main cast didn’t stick out as much compared to other Sentai.

GOSEI SENTAI DAIRANGER (1993)

I haven’t seen this one, but it’s focused on martial arts and one of their mechs is a cool dragon? so uhhh? Check them out? Their theme song fucks

NINJA SENTAI KAKURANGER (1994)

Ok listen I didn’t watch this one either. HOWEVER, I know that it’s about the descendants of 5 legendary ninja who have been fighting yokai for 400 years.

CHOURIKI SENTAI OHRANGER (1995)

This is the last sentai in the “I didn’t watch it” category. uhhh, watch it if the suits look cool. Sorry.

GEKISOU SENTAI CARRANGER (1996)

Five Mechanics use the power of Car Magic to protect the earth from the Universal Reckless Driving Tribe and teach children about Traffic Safety. This one’s a tad bit goofier compared to some of the others, but it’s a good time.

Also There’s a Yoda.

DENJI SENTAI MEGARANGER (1997)

Five High School Students are friends and pals! Together they investigate the mysterious goings on of a technologically advanced evil empire. They literally surf the net in order to bring peace to their city and the world!

SEIJUU SENTAI GINGAMAN (1998)

The warriors of Ginga Forest, the Gingamen, have protected nature for 132 Generations. This series follows the 133rd Generation of Gingamen, who battle alongside Starbeasts to stop the resurrection of the Demon Beast Ditanix!

KYUKYU SENTAI GOGOFIVE (1999)

This time, the rangers are an experienced team of rescue workers given super human power! They fight back Literal Demons From Hell that endanger the public. There’s a lot of focus specifically on rescuing civilians in this one, so if you’re an especially big fan of watching heroes... SAVE people, this is a great choice.

MIRAI SENTAI TIMERANGER (2000)

In the 30th Century, a gang of super criminals escapes to the year 2000. They are tracked down by the Future Sentai Timeranger, agents of the Time Defense Force. There, they encounter the Great(s) Grandfather of their departed leader and must convince him to fight alongside them for the sake of humanity.

HYAKUJU SENTAI GAORANGER (2001)

Veterinarian Kakeru Shishi can hear the hearts of every animal! He swiftly becomes enraptured in the adventures of the Gaorangers, who battle living embodiment of pollution. Also they live on a flying turtle! How cool is that?

NINPUU SENTAI HURRICANNEGER (2002)

What if there was a polycule of ninjas SO BAD at being Ninjas, they showed up to Ninja Class Late and were the only survivors of an attack on their school? These guys are the silliest little slackers, but they’ve got hearts of gold. Check them out? For me? :)

KAMEN RIDER

If Super Sentai is Power Rangers’ Dad, Kamen Rider is Power Rangers’ Uncle.

Kamen Rider was ALSO created by Shotaro Ishinomori.

Usually focused in on a smaller cast of heroes. A common theme in Rider is that the heroes are created by their villains and choose to rebel against them for the greater good, or will use the villain’s own powers against them.

Most Riders have a signature attack where they leap into the air and do a flying kick. These get INCREDIBLY flashy over the years.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot less Kamen Rider legally available than there are of the other two shows here. Don’t fret, it’s Easy Enough To Find Anyway.

As for the shows I can link you to, there’s

KAMEN RIDER (1971)

This is the original series.

Takeshi Hongo is an augmented human being created by the evil organization Shocker. Escaping before his brainwashing can be completed, battles for humanity’s freedom as Kamen Rider.

Being such an old show, the effects can be dated and cheesy. It’s a bit of an acquired taste, but if you stick with it, I’m sure you’ll love it. You can watch most of the show in almost any order. The only really confusing part is that eventually, Hongo tags out with fellow escaped cyborg Ichimonji Hayato as Kamen Rider. (This was due to a real world injury to Hongo’s actor during filming. Don’t worry, he’s still kicking and he comes back later in the show!)

It’s also the longest Kamen Rider show, so I don’t fault you if you decide not to watch ALL of it. Even I haven’t yet.

If reading is more your thing, it’s based on a manga that you can find a DELIGHTFULLY well crafted omnibus of here

KAMEN RIDER KUUGA (2000)

Kuuga was the first season of Rider after about a 5 year break on TV. It’s something of a return to form.

It follows Yusuke Godai, a world traveler with 2000 skills, visiting his home town for the first time in years. He finds himself in the middle of an ancient civilization’s ritualistic murder game. Donning the mantle of Kuuga, Godai fights to protect the smiles of the city. He has a wonderful supporting cast around him including Detective Ichijou, who he goes on to share a rather homoerotic bond with.

Kuuga was my first Rider Series and to this day, it represents the Bread and Butter of Kamen Rider to me. This one’s a bit of a slow-paced Drama, but its focus is on what it means to help others. Every episode, I felt like I was actively being encouraged to be a better person. Godai’s got this infectious positivity that can’t help but make you grin.

KAMEN RIDER RYUKI (2002)

Ryuki takes a rather different direction from the other shows on this list. Instead of being about a single hero battling monsters, it’s about Plucky Young Journalist Shinji Kido being wrapped up in an all-out war between Kamen Riders. Donning the mask of Ryuki, he seeks to put an end to the bloodshed. The other Kamen Riders aren’t nearly as cooperative, though.

Don’t think that this plot means these characters don’t get tons of humanizing moments though. They’re all delightful to watch in action and you’ll end up truly questioning who will win? Is it possible to end the Riders’ battle? Will Shinji have to take a life after all?

I cannot recommend Ryuki enough. A lot of the Rider series from the early 2000s are Dramas that feature super heroes and Ryuki takes that drama up to a 10. (Plus, if you wanna ask where to find it, there’s plentiful side content for this show.)

KAMEN RIDER ZERO-ONE (2019)

In the far-flung year of 2019, Hiden Intelligence has revolutionized AI technology. The company manufactures Robot Assistants called Humagears. People in all walks of life and profession benefit from their aid. Unfortunately, something is causing Humagears to go berserk and attack humans.

With the death of Hiden Intelligence’s president, Failed Comedian Aruto Hiden inherits the company. He’s given the Zero-One Driver, which allows him to fight the corrupted Humagears as Kamen Rider Zero-One. With this new power in hand, Aruto seeks a way forward where Humankind and AI can exist in harmony.

Come to think of it, this one’s kinda topical. “AI” is a subject we really aren’t gonna be getting rid of any time soon. This show is one of the more recent rider productions you can find legally and it SHOWS. Every suit is sleek and clean, the visuals are striking and flashy. If nothing else, Zero-One LOOKS incredible.

KAMEN RIDER GEATS (2022)

Kamen Riders compete in a game called the Desire Grand Prix. By fighting monsters and saving people for points, the winner can have their greatest desire granted. Ukiyo Ace, the titular Kamen Rider Geats, looks to unravel the mysteries behind the Grand Prix and reunite with his long-lost mother.

Things get a bit more complicated than that, but I think you should see it for yourself. I can’t recommend Geats enough. its visual style is a direct evolution of Zero One’s sleekness and flashiness. It’s main 4 characters are some of my favorites in recent years.

SHIN KAMEN RIDER (2023) (Paid)

Takeshi Hongo is an augmented human being created by the evil organization Shocker. Escaping before his brainwashing can be completed, battles for humanity’s freedom as Kamen Rider. 

Wait, that sounds really familiar. That’s because this is the latest in a series of Tokusatsu Reimaginings by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. This is a new take on the story of Kamen Rider 1971, modernized complete with sleeker suits and stunning music all wrapped up in a 2-hour movie. It also has plenty of Easter Eggs for those of us who are fans of the 1971 series or the Manga it’s based on!

Be warned, this one’s gorier than the other stuff on the list. It’s mostly exaggerated blood splatters, though. I hate that kind of stuff and I’m able to rewatch this movie.

KAMEN RIDER AMAZONS (2016) (Paid)

Amazons is another adult reimagining of a classic Kamen Rider show, but it’s so far removed you don’t really need to know much about the original to enjoy it.

Amazons follows a group of exterminators who have been tasked with eradicating escaped cannibalistic experiments called, well, Amazons. The catch is that they work together with 2 Amazons, Momoru the Mole Amazon, and Haruka, the titular Kamen Rider Amazons. Both of them are tasked with asking themselves ethical questions. Is it so wrong for Amazons to exist? Is it possible to avoid eating people? If it isn’t, then is it WRONG to eat people to survive?

ULTRAMAN

Ok, look, I’m gonna have to make a separate post covering all the free Ultraman stuff there is. Theres SO MUCH OF IT available that I don’t know where to start. We’re about to hit the image limit. If that post is done, it will be linked HERE.

But for a basic idea, there’s tons of stuff on Tubi and the official Ultraman Youtube Channel posts new episodes of the currently airing show.

[pebblesandpotatos]

Just want to throw my prediction for the teams out there!

Group 1: Twilight and Hyrule

I think it's safe to say Twilight is gonna be with Hyrule but I think he's gonna fight against being in the group of 3. Assuring he's fine and probably calling Time out of the coddling himself (Good for Wild!!). If he gets through to them Wars is actually gonna go with my next group

Group 2: Legend and Four and Wars

With Legend's dungeon experience it really does make sense for at least one of the non dungeon experienced heroes to go with him. Four would be a good balance between them to keep them on track and focused without bickering too much

Group 3: Sky and Wild

I think the others can tell that pairing Wild and a legend together wouldn't be the best option for Wilds first dungeon since they go about things very differently. I think he'll pair with Sky since he will give Wild space to figure it out while also knowing that Wild will listen to him if/when he speaks up.

Group 4: Wind and Time

They have paired off before and seem to do really well together. Plus Time is gonna be insistent on at least having their youngest in his sight since he isn't getting a whole lot of his way in any other aspect.

Honestly I'm gonna be happy with any combination and I'm just SO excited to finally see how they will split!

[laurarolla]

SRW Y Wishlist Part 5

Eh, here's six more things it'd be neat to see in SRW Y. Some returning, some new, one very unusual but could definitely work if handled well.

Tekkaman Blade (TV Series): An anime tokusatsu style show mixing power armored characters with transforming super heroes and villains, Tekkaman Blade has been in some handheld entries of SRW before, but it would be great to see it in a modern game. It would be especially cool to see alongside the newer ULTRAMAN series or, if it ever happened somehow, a Super Sentai series inclusion. It's a fairly dark series with an often sad tone to it, but Tekkaman Blade is a very good show that is well worth checking out. Just make sure to stick to the original Japanese version and not the Saban dub/re-edit version titled Teknoman.

Macross Zero (OVA): I have generally mixed feelings about the overall quality of Macross Zero as a series, but there are some solid elements that could definitely work as part of a larger SRW story. Additionally, this would allow the use of Variable Fighters that are closer to the ones in the original Macross without necessarily stepping on Harmony Gold's toes, along with featuring Roy Fokker as a character. My biggest reason for this comes from a frankly impossible idea where the tech from this series could be combined with a bit of narrative and character from the next series on the list.

Area 88 (Manga, OVA): This would be the wildest series I've mentioned in all of these to actually include. A 1980's manga centered around a young man who gets tricked into signing up for a three year tour of duty as a mercenary, Area 88 is a likely inspiration for Cross Ange, among a very good number of other stories centered on the cruelty of war and its destructive results on all those involved in it. It would be facinating to see the characters of Area 88 end up using unique Variable Fighters to combat earthly and otherworldly threats while contracted by the heroes in SRW, but oddly I think the lack of a really clear and obvious big bad for the introspective story would be the biggest hurdle of all to a satisfying inclusion in an SRW title.

GEAR Fighter Dendoh (TV Series): Technically something of a "we have a Brave series at home" option, Dendoh was directed and written by the same husband and wife team behind Gundam Seed. Dendoh is a standalone anime directed more at younger audiences, and centers on Ginga and Hokuto, two boys who are nearly nothing alike in personality and interests, being forced by circumstance to work in sync to pilot the GEAR Fighter Dendoh to combat an alien invasion. If you like the synchronized dual pilot concept from Pacific Rim, then you might be interested to know that Dendoh did it first (just without the drift concept). It would be a nice option to include, especially if there aren't any Brave series already included.

Aquarion EVOL (TV Series): Hey look, it's the best Aquarion series (unless Myth of Emotions is better, IDK). Honestly at this point, there's probably a bit more of a chance of either Genesis or Logos getting in over EVOL, but I would much prefer this one. I had a lot of issues with Genesis, most of which can be ascribed to my issues with Shoji Kawamori as a writer. His biggest problem is sudden and unexpected swerves in the plot that come out of seemingly nowhere and often undercut elements or moments that came before. He's also really not a subtle man, as his writing in Arjuna will clearly demonstrate. Subtlety isn't always good, though, and his surprising turns in the plot can sometimes be truly amazing. EVOL actually uses a scrapped plot twist from Genesis to recontextualize so much of that story that it manages to actually fix multiple problems I had with Genesis in one fell swoop. I also very much prefer the characters and mechanical designs from EVOL over Genesis and Logos, making it my go to series for an Aquarion inclusion.

Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise (TV Series): Hey, did you know Gundam did a virtual world isekai series? Did you know it was really, really good? It was so good, in fact, that it elevated the woefully disappointing Build Divers simply by building on that series most interesting narrative element. Re:Rise has all the character development, emotional turmoil, and concrete stakes that were completely absent from a lot of Build Divers (until the last arc). Additonally, it has the incredible Core Gundam and its modular weapons and armor systems, really taking advantage of the potential of plastic model kit bashing. If the Build subseries gets an entry in SRW Y, I really hope it's this one.

And that's it, hopefully for real this time. I had a few ideas on this list before starting but struggled to find a closing option, so here we with 30-ish different series that would all be interesting inclusions to the newest game in this long running franchise.

[edenprime]

In my opinion, the best combinations for Shepard's backstories + the moral alignment that fits them best would be as follows:

Earthborn + War Hero. Paragon. My personal favorite. A troubled kid from a harsh world, who grasped at the redemption they saw in the Alliance and never let it go. Their whole childhood was spent under an ugly umbrella of violence. Growing up in that environment, they knew how to navigate the darker paths of life with ease. They hated it, though. As soon as they were able to, they took their chance to escape by joining the Alliance, swearing that they would never become like the adults that sorrounded them growing up, that they would make up for it. Their actions in Ellysium, brave to the point of recklessness, was the first time this shone through in their carreer, and it illustrated just how far they'd go to do the right thing. This trend shoots them career to the stars, but the pressure gets more and more to them the more the stakes are raised, and they struggle with their moral ideals vs the need to do whatever needs to be done to save the galaxy. Finding the balance is hard, and their idea of an absolute good becomes more and more like a childish dream the longer the war goes on. Still, they refuse to compromise.

Colonist + Sole Survivor. Paragon. The angst route. Shepard's life and pre-Normandy career record are littered in tragedy. They try so hard, though. Their struggle with survivor's guilt is an ongoing issue, and I feel like this Shepard would have the hardest time confronting the consequences of their actions. ME2, in particular, would be hard: knowingly sending their team to what everyone's labelling as a suicide mission. They'd do their best to make sure their team is as comfortable as possible, every last loyalty mission would be completed respecting the wishes of the entire crew (except Zaeed's and Garrus' - they won't sacrifice innocent lives for the sake of a 20 year old grudge, and they won't allow their most loyal friend to go down the path of senseless revenge). Bahak felt like a cruel cosmic joke. A chance at a retribution they never wanted and never asked for. The six months on Earth feel fair to them, despite their frustration with the brass. They were responsible for over three hundred thousand deaths, but there were billions who would die if the rest of the galaxy didn't wake up and face the Reaper threat.

Spacer + Ruthless. Renegade. A child of two career Alliance soldiers, Shepard grew up sorrounded by soldiers, a lot of them veterans of the First Contact War, a lot of them distrustful of aliens. This Shepard has seen the good and the bad of the human military, and while their parents were overall cool people, their job meant that sometimes, some of the lessons that should've been taught to them were not taught, and some others might not have been the correct ones. Shepard sees the world in black and white, good and evil, with humanity firmly on the side of "good" and everyone else "evil until proven otherwise". They don't stop until a mission is done - at any cost. Torfan was the prime example of this. There is no price too high for victory. They are harsh on their squad, but it doesn't mean that they don't care: they do care, a lot, in their own way, and for someone who has only been around soldiers their entire life, this means falling in line. Discipline. Following the orders of your commander. This Shepard knows they are good at what they do, and if their friends and allies want to live, they'll have to listen to them. This Shepard will defeat Saren and Sovereign and the Collectors and the Reapers. At any cost.

[popculturebuffet]

More than Meets the Eye Retrospective: Dark Cybertron Part 1

Hello all you happy autobots and welcome back to my long look at Transformers More Than Meets The Eye. When we last left I looked at the sister comic, Robots in Disguise.

But a necessary one for Today's review: Dark Cybertron, a crossover between both books.

Dark Cybertron is the cumilation of a plot that had been slowly building in the background of Robots in Disguise while Bumblebee dithered, Prowl tried to install a dictatorship long before he got a bug in his brain telling him to keep going with that, and Starscream was awesome. Shockwave has been up to SOMETHING over the issues, working with his mentor Jhiaxus.

Chasing Jhiaxus in the best part of RiD was Optimus Prime, redubbing himself Orion Pax out of disgust with the legacy of the primes, alongside his friends Hardhead, Wheelie and Garnak, who soon found themselves chasing Jhiaxus. Mr J eventually lured them to a dead planet, where he and Waspinator, yes the boy himself, ignited a titan and made tracks for cybertron while leaving our heroes to their deaths as Shockwave held back Soundwave and his decepticons , igniting his final plan.

It's here that mystery plan comes to fruition as the lost lighters split up gang to help save the unvierse, while Bumblebee and his Cavlcade of Fuckups, and also Arcee try to stop the apocalypse and Starscream gets a new paint job as he tries to hold on for dear life to his throne with a big ole event.

This crossover's notable for a few reasons: it's the first proper event comic for the transfomers: While there had been previous event style arcs with All Hail Megatron and Chaos and crossovers with the IDW wide Infestation and the marvel crossover Transformers/New Avengers, which also means the new avengers and likely all of marvel exisit in this unvierse.

But this is the first crossover between books within the line, something that would become a tradition as IDW liked money and Hasbro liked free advertising for whatever they were doing in the toys at the time, either threading in designs from their current lines or in the case of combiner wars and titans return, just straight up having IDW model their events to match the toyline. . This lead to the ambitious and failed Hasbro Universe with Revolution, and the universe even ends on one with Unicron.

Ironically though.. this is the ONLY one to loop in more than meets the eye. And thank Primus for that. Look i'm not anti-event comic, sometimes an event can be a total banger. For a recent example see Marvel's Judgement Day. But the big two tend to do events and crossovers EVERY damn year, not giving books a chance to rest or status quos to breathe for a bit. So having More than Meets the Eye sit that shit out is a fucking relief.

It's also from a practical standpoint as this crossover shows both creative teams had trouble meshing the two together: the narrative splits into four plot threads, one in the dead universe with Optimus, Rodimus and CO, one with the rest of the lost light , one with the cavlcade of fuckups and one with god emperor starscream. the latter two evnetually intersect and the two casts DO interact towards the end of the crossover.. but in the six issues i'm covering today the only ones to interact with the lost lighters are Starscream in a brief video call and Optimus in one of the main plots. It's clear that while the two writers liked each other.. they may not of known entirely how to make the two casts function together, and thus kept them to their corners.

The result isn't a bad story but a fractured one. I will say upfront I won't be able to judge the story as a whole till next time, but I needed to do it in two parts as it's a big boy and there's a lot to go over. So join me under the cut as darkness falls over cybertron, titans rise, and rodimus gets a new toy so stupid it will bite him in the ass for the rest of the comic. IT's Dark Cybertron and it's under the cut.

We open with Nova Prime's crew. Nova Prime was a prime who was seen as a great one.. but in reality was an supremacist piece of scrap who wanted to conquer all other forms of life. He will not be missed. Among him are our boy Cyclonus and Jhiaxus, who tells Shockwave to FINISH MY WORK.

In the present.. Shockwave almost has, having seeded ores aroudn the galaxy and experimenting on a titan, both the same one that declared Starscream chosen one and then vanished.. and that Waspinator just brought home. It starts screaming in terror and bleeding out it's eyes

Elsewhere on Cybertron, Starscream woke up from a nap to find a few hours ago the sun rose.. and hasn't gone down. He also has a new all red everything paintjob, a familiar one

As i've been told and found out.. this is Starscream's look from Transformers Armada, which I did watch when it was coming out but entirely forgot this is what Starscream looked like because my memory is quicksand and only few things escape it like X-men trivia.

It's.. not my faviorite. It's almost ENTIRELY red and whlie it does look better in later shots, it's just not as fun to look at as his classic look and while he'll keep this look for the windblade mini series, i'ts telling the artists reverted to his old standby as soon as they could. The Armada look isn't bad and looking at stills from teh anime it loks GREAT there.. but it's a bit too one note for the page, at least these pages.

Starscream decides to call the autobots for help.. not the ones he exiled, an I told you so from prowl is death in it's purest form, no OUR autobots.

For now though we cut back to Optimus. Since we last left him he and his crew are trying to escape.. and luckily run into some old friends

I love this so much. Unsuprisingly Swerve made it his ring tone. Naturally Rodimus dove in anyway to save his old friend/boss/dad.

Rodimus shows his dad around, which really feels like a teenager accidently exposing his dad to all the stuff his dumbass friends do while trying to be respectible. The wind's taken out of his sails by Ultra Magnus who asks if Optimus is taking command with all the tact and grace he's known for.

Optimus isn't, he's only here for the guest spot , he's got his own leading roll to play in the other books, but he is happy to get the tour. .until Starscream calls. Screamer of course can't help but passively agressively brag about how he was elected in by popular demand after bumblbee fucked up hard

Then asks Cyclonus for help since he knows the dead universe better than anyone. The Dead Universe is a parasite, a universe that should fucntion right but is instead both sentient and EVILLLL. And it's hungies.

Back on Cybertron, Team Fuckup is starring in horror and the Dinobots want to punch the fuck out of the sun. Bumblbee tells them to wait for it... and granted he's telling them not to punch a bright light on the horizon, something even prowl can tell is stupid which tells you something, but honestly after the last two years worth of comics, the bar for Bumlebee's competence is low.

He ends up being right as the necrotitan lands. Meanwhile Shockwave goes into a whole rant about hwo this is all ineveitible that has a bunch of vauge images and two optimus primes about ot throw hands for some reason. none of this is relevant to the rest of the crossover, it's a clear misdirect and it sure does exist. The real point is who he's talking to: Nova Prime and Galvatron, who somehow returned. Also Galvatron and Megatron are two seperate people in this continuity, happens a lot, moving on.

Onto chapter 2 and Team Fuckup's strategy is now suns out guns out.. though Bumblebee's redemption arc continues as when the Autobots want to punch the giant, Bumlebee tells them no and tells them to either get in line or fuck righ toff, which actually gets them to listen. Seems Bee got a spine with his new form and I like it. After 20 some issues of him listening to whoever yelled the loudest while ignoring the people he's supposed to be serving, this is nice. It's clear field command fits him better.

He does have a bit of an exestial crisis wondering if this is the titan that choose starscream and I THINk it is. I'm not sure. But either way it's here and i'ts big.

Back with Team Rodimus, Brainstorm tells Optimus the dead unvierse is alive and that's why going into the dead universe is tricky: it'll kill anything it senses shouldn't be there. Luckily he has a plan.. and a weird creepy parsite in a jar. It's also so fun seeing the straightlaced optimus interact with the lost lighters. So dang good seeing Chromedome resisit the urge to condescend to Optimus.

Back with Starscream he's doing what any sensible cybertronian would do in this situation: GET HIS GUN. Or a lot of them hidden in a closet Rattrap is telling him to come out of. Please everyone knows Starscream as pansexual as fuck. Rattrap urges caution.. which is like saying it's tuesday but still when Starscream is whiffing it you know it's .. also tuesday but also probably an issue.

Back on the lost light we get a great scene as Rodimus, Magnus and Optimus hit swerves. Magnus is curious if they should be having command discussions in a bar but Rodimus for once isn't snippy, which tells us deep shit is a comin: he simply wants to be by his men.. granted he regrets that when he finds Swerve taking photos but for once Swerve is also not as flip: it's three of the greatest autobots of all time, on the preciipce of SOMETHING happening, something they call feel.. that shared feeling of dread. Something's coming and it ain't good.

The trio get a text from brainstorm: He's ready. This being brainstorm the most he has is a palm thing that keeps the dead universe from killing you using the venom of a monster from there he keeps in a jar. Granted this is only because it's short notice.

So our heroes come up with a plan: split up. Rodimus, Optimus, Hardhead and Cyclonus (Since he has experince) will go into the dead universe to plug whatever stygian hole is leaking. Wheelie and Garnak will stay by in Optimus' ship to pick them up after. Meanwhile the Lost LIght will head after Jhiaxus. Magnus is doubtful he can lead.. but Rodimus perks him up, assuring him he can do this: he may of been thorugh a lot.. but this is his comfort zone: "You're chasing a war criminal and i'm leaping into the unknown"

Back on cybertron Starscream talks with Scoops, a cybertronian ratrap framed for him and who belivies in screamer's prophecy. And as it turns out Screamer REALLY shoudl've payed attention to what that prophecy was or asked or.. anything other than accept it as face value as it turns out he's pegged as a "false leader" one who will bring on the coming darkness... "The stars shall scream and the symbol of the uncreator shall become clear" and said symbol is.. not encouraging to screamer or us

Anyways back to Shockwave: he's talking to Nova, and reveals the space bridge in the Necrotitan isn't working.. but luckily he has a backup plan: megatron.

We end the issue with two more cut tos: in the dead unvierse, Team Rodtimus fight some parasites hoping to snack on them since the signal their using reads "FOOD' to them and while they get away from them fine.. someone else notices. more on him soon. Back with Team Fuckup, the Calvary arrives: SOUNDWAVE BABY.

Part 3 begins with Starscream, whose assuring his adoring public.. only for a meteor to apparnetly land near the titan.

Speaking of shooting the Autobots wage a war to destroy the not so evil forces of Soundwave, only for the metor thing ot distract them too.

Before our next plot point let's talk about this series pacing as you might of noticed the last paragraph or two was just "this plot point, now this". And that's because the series likes to jump around, jump around, get up get up and get down. It has FOUR plots it's juggling and rarely do the issues just.. focus on one or two, especially early on. So each issue is bouncing around several subplots often for just two pages at a time. I don't mind a big story having to move around, but you have to let things settle for a minute. Let a plot point marinate a bit. I shouldn't feel rushed in a 12 issue crossover. 12 issues is a LOT for a story, again why this is a two parter. We do get some good character stuff like Bee growing a spine, a lot of it feels like a reahash. For instance did we need the starscrema going to get his gun scene? no we coudl've had rattrap suggest talking to scoops earlier. None of this is bad and some of the character stuff is necessary: Rodimus showing optimus around both moves the plot along with starscream's call and is objectively hilaroius. But a lot of it feels like thumb twiddling to get to the next plot point. We probably coudl've compacted most of team fuckups scenes into half an issue, if that. It feels like their cutting to each plot to make it seem important instead of carring how a story should progress. It feels like the writers took turns with scenes instead of truly colaberating on the crossover an das a result we just jump jump jump.

So we jump! Jump for the plot to our next point: the lost light where their being pushed off course... turns out Metroplex's thumb what got embedded in the ship after the annual is alive again.. and Getaway knows why: Tyrest, for all his madness, once said you can find a titan with a titan.. and figures Metroplex is trying to reunite with itself.

At the Necrotitan, Team Fuckup sadly gets back to buisness as usual.. arguing with each other. Fortuantely this time, Bumblebee.. is still a compitent leader. He's still on "wait for it" mode.. because they really CAN'T do anything and attacking a giant statue is a death warrant, and he's taken Team Soundwave's help as while they aren't on great terms, they have the same goal: Stop Shockwave. Prowl takes this with the grace, dignity and cool he's known for

God it's good to hear ANYONE, especially Bumblebee, tell Prowl to "shut up for once". And Bee's not wrong. While wait and hope things go well was a TERRIBLE strategy when Bee was running the planet and all it did was get starscream on the throne and all of them exiled, in this case.. their facing a giant cybertronian with weird glowing eyes who they can't really understand. As we'll learn shortly titans function SORT'VE like regular transformers, but are so giant, massive and ancient their hard to parse. A small band of semi-reformed fuckups, an asshole, and a bunch of casette tapes and their player/dad isn't REMOTELY enough to stop that thing and interacting with it might just piss it off.

And sure enough Starscream seemingly prooves that hypothesis as he tries to manipulate it by talking to it.. only for it to explode into 2 or 3 pages of purple light. And This.. I like> it lets the MAGNITUDE of this thing's power play out, it's sudden, and it's shocking, and the effects afterwords aren't good as Arcee is out, the death wave having taken down their forces. once again Prowl won't shut the fuck up, wanting them to attack... and bee brushes him off essentially asking

He points out the death wave, his words not mine, is heading towards the city and despite Starscream's efforts.. it goes off. Shooting the titan would've eithe rdone nothing or set this off SOONER. There is NOTHING they can do and that.. works for me. As douchey as Prowl's being which, par for the course and all that aside, you understand his want to do SOMETHIGN.. but their in a situation where all they can do is just sit, wait, and HOPE they can figure something out. Shockwave said it best as Starscream tried talking to the titan. "We were all too late from the beginning". Unlike the bulk of the comic thus far sitting and reacting is all they have. .because they don't know the full scope of what's going on here. WE as an audience don't know what the hell the necrotitan just did: I only have it's name thanks to the wiki.

The wave not only hurt the living.. but wakes the dead as Metalhawk is back, on the bad guy's side now.. and pisssssseeed. Starscream to his credit reacts more with "Oh goody another cherry on the shit sundae that is today." but he still gets stabbed and Metalhawk is taking Megatron, bye. While Scoops goes to help people, the citzens surround starscream, his star falling.

On the lost light thei rleft with a decision: follow Jhiaxus.. or follow the severed thumb. Ratchet dosen't wanna as he feels their back in the "autobots mainstream" again... but Brainstorm disagrees.. and Perciptor shockingly AGREES: an ancient god has asked them to come find him, and given the end of days is going on back at home, an ancient god could REALLY come in handy right now. Magnus agrees and they head to a planet full of blood red water. At least I hope it's water. THey go deep into planet danzig, and find a horde of microbots ready to tear them apart. These are the amonites from the 25th issue adn they aren't happy.

Closing out the issue Shockwave prepares to make Megatron into a spacebridge. It's very impressive and not at all healthy.

Chapter 4 begins back with the lost light and with good art for those portions again! Yeah while i've glossed over it because this is a LOT of comics to go over and i'm already behind, the art for the lost light sections of parts 2 and 3 is once again by James Raiz, who has a very sketcyhy lifeldian style.. and not bein ga fan of those styles in general, I like it even lest on the quippy, weird lost light. It dosen't fit at all and the lack of expresssion dosen't really work with characters who thrive on expression even when they got no mouths.

It also works as we get bits like Brainstorm trying to hop onto Perciptor's exposition and Magnus announcing himself as "duly apointed enforcer of the tyrest accord" before remembering "Oh yeah the horrifying events of the last arc right. Just an autobot now". I'ts a bit funny but also very sad. All it gets is the super combinining amonites blowing up their window.

Back on cybertron the mob turns on starscream, with Scoops rightfully calling him out for dooming them and pointing out the black mark on him as a sign.. whne really he just tried to schmooze an elder god of a robot, but semantics. poitn is time is running out for our faviorite boy.

Back on planet Danzig, Skids remembers the amonites and wonders why their pissed.. forgetting they you know, ended their forever war and one of them tried to kill thunderclash, something the lost light prevented. Take your pick.

With the Lost Light too big a target the crew decides to split up: they have a few water vechiles and half of the aquabots, so they should be fine, but they still need more... so Magnus gets an idea: they'll take the rodpod. Like the audience Getaway wonders "what the fuck is that" before we gaze on it in all ti's glory.. or as glorious as it is as for some reason we're suddenly back to raiz art.

Yes the rodpod, which Magnus was worried about as naturally Rodimus loves this stupid fucking thing as mucha s I do. But Skids is banking on Rodimus' short attention span.

The important thing here, besides this very hilariously stupid thing happened in a major crossover and that's awesome, is Getaway's reaction. His disguist, his sheer confusion.. for now it just comes off as most people's reaction to this ego piece who aren't used to Rodimus shit by now. But true to roberts.. this bit is one of the MAIN REASONS why we still had to cover this crossover. It's not the only one but this one small character moment.. ends up changing the entire course of this entire comic and our heroes lives forever. Yes the RODPOD is so rediculous and breaks a man's brain so bad, it has deep lasting conseqeunces that will last to the finale of this comic. I love that more than words.

Our heroes take the rodpod out for a spin, and while Rung kills a guy, and it's awesome, our heroes blow up a giant super combined amonite as they apparently have no upper limit but no upper limit dosen't mean "can't blow up real good"

Back to the dead Universe where Optimus deals with some squabbling from the kids

See this.. really shows the contrast between the two styles: the bickering over with Team Fuckup is annoying at times, bette rin this series but still annoying. The banter between the lost light on the other hand feels both more genuine and funnier. And I get the quippy style isn't for everyone: The MCU has gotten some fatigue fo rthat.. but I like a bit of back and forth. it shoudln't be the whole thing, and MTMTE succeeds largley because the characters are deeply made as well as deeply hilaroius, but a little humor helps. It breaks up the dark exesntial terror of everything to occasoinally have things like Rodimus' stupid headship he built for his own amusment or Optimus being about 5 mintues from turning this dead universe around so help me god.

Yet the questions he brings up .. arne't unfair as his next cuts deep: if Optimus had asked him to stay, would he have? And the answer.. is yes. Yet what cuts deeper.. is optimus response: He has the utmost faith in Rodimus and the progress he's made.. and it's clear form his silence he both regrets he's hardly made any and the choices he HAS made. He saved the world, something he rightfully rubbe din Hardhead's face as he was one of the many who nearly died thanks to Tyrest's attmepted genocide, but it's clear the thigns he's done weigh on rodimus: Would staying have helped? Could he have made a bette cybertron?

And the hard answer is.... no. Him staying wouldn't of been a good thing: he didn't want to be there, none of the bots who left really had ideas for a new better cybertron and MORE autobots wasn't going to fix a situation where autobots being there at all was causing tension with the nails. The sad truth is Bumblebee failed not because Rodimus left, but because he didn't have any plan other than "We want to retain power" , and with a throng of people crying for a better government and something NEW that was never going to happen.

The ironic thing is while Rodimus is on a quest for the old... his going out, exploring, doing daring due war or no war.. IS something new. He's letting his bots be who they are, having down time, movie nights, open bars. Sure he's also shoved some of them into very bad situations, the whole overlord mess was a waking nightmare and should never have happened and swerve shooting rung is ENTIRELY his fault. Rodimus, like Bee, often tries to lead like this is war time instead of a shaky peace. Yet despite also operating from that style.. he's casual enough and caring enough deep down that his bots.. get to have lives. Be who they want to be. He's not yelling tat them for daring to want to not shoot people or trying to create infastructure, he's just like "when I need you, do your fucking job bro". He may be embarassed around optimus.. but his letting his crew be people instead of weapons is better than Bee trying to lead like this is a war of attrition and not "what comes after" or Prowl acting like the war neve rended and a shiny new police state is better and not what caused the war in the first place.

OUr heroes soo seen Cyclonus is bleeding.. and soon have bigger issues as Nightbeat has arrived.

Back on cybertron Prowl sucks suprising no one wanting AGAIN to attack the giant robot that just wiped out hal fof them despite having no plan other than "shoot it REAL hard" Bee once again calls him out

He brused Prowl's ego enough to actually get him to pause.. well huff like a child but Prowl does have soundwave scan the city, which picks up something bad: Megatron SCREAMING as Shockwave both turn shim into a bridge and tries to get him to join. He naturallyr efuses ESPECAILLY since the primes are involved, so instead of joining in the new world order.. he gets prime coming out of his chest.

We end the issue on Team Magnus as they find Metroplex.. and end up in his eye socket.. which is hollowed out. Which is impressive but horrifying. And also not very healthy.

Onto part 5, and Shockwave is helping his pawns out of a screaming megatron's chest

When Team Fuckup arrives... Bumblebee has no idea what Shockwav'es doing but it end snow.

It dosen't though because Metalhawk is here, and Bumblbee's attempts to pull an "I know your in there somewhere fight", failed as Metalhawk is consumed by vengance and purple stuff. Skywarp attempts to just free megatron but his teleporting fails.

Prowl questions WHY Shockwave is helping nova.. not getting that maybe, just maybe the One Eyed Two Horned Grounded Purple Plotter whose already manuvered you all like chess pieces.. is using them as pawns for something much worse. Either way he gives Nova time to escape and his best buddy Waspinator time to bring him the staff Waspinator used to awaken the titan and summons it as if it were one of his x-men.. and has it crush them as if it were his juggernaught.

Back to the dead universe, let's talk about Nightbeat: Nightbeat is an autobot detective. During Nova Prime's previous plot, he had a thing installed in Nightbeat's head to turn the poor guy into his sleeper agent. Unfortunately for him he again picked a detective and one of the best at that so while he coudln't do much, Beat at least figured out he was being brainwashed and after shooting Hardhead had enough will to beg heardhead to shoot him.

So naturally his sudden return is a lot for everyone to process. As for how the shore he died on WAS connected to the dead unvierse, Optimus correctly guesses he got swept in with the tide. We get a sense of Nightbeat's personality too, as doing a simple look at Cyclonus tells him about Tailgate's near injury: he has facial scars, they were self inflicted, and they were patched recently. Cyclonus responds to this invasion of privacy mixed with genuine sympathy by trying to choke a bitch.

Back with team fuckup they TRY to count up their wounded.. but they hav ebigger issues: Megatron is craddling Ironhide crisis on infinite earth's style, before Galvatron rips him the fuck in half, starting his streak at one and declaring WHOS NEXT.. and somehow that's not their biggest issue as the titan is still active and shockwave is now in control.

Back in the dead universe, we find out how Nightbeat survivied: he was dead going through the portal and sense dead equals alive in this universe, he's spared. Sorta like how a healing spell usually hurts a zombie in an rpg just reversed.

At any rate he has some bad news for cyclonus: his hand generator thingy broke nad the Dead Universe has reclaimed him.. and he also has time to ominously say "your all home now" before triggering a giant force field around them. Turns out his death didn't undo his sleeper agent brain thing and Nova has come for them.

Before we move on to our final chapter for this batch, let's look at this cover. Which I rarely do for tim's sake but this one well

It looks like Nova Prime is playing with his dolls again.

At any rate we're back with what's left of Team Fuckup: bumblbee' smissing while what's left is running from the titan. The Dinobots plan to lead it away.. but it was already going this way they just were running away from it and are only pulling a prometheus because their genuinely not fast enough to get out the side, especially with some of them carrying wounded.

Back with Team Magnus, they notice Metroplex is decaying... partly due to age as getting spare parts is hard for titans and partly due to the weird blood water all around Planet Danzig. Theya lso find that Metro's BRAIN is missing: he's still alive but without that he's clearly dying. Getaway notices something in the water and calls Swerve for help but h'es a bit busy getting his groove on

They do however find a place to drydock. Back in the dead universe, Hardhead tells his friend he's going to rekill him while Optimus fakes a fight with rodimus to tell him there's a hidden barrier. While Hardhead tries to reach him Nova arrives.

Back on cybertron Starscream's no good horrible very bad day continues as he finds not only is his mark of shame spreading, but he's not the only one dying. After getting yelled at by his second tankor today he finds the titan heading right for him and the wounded

Back on Planet Danzig, our heroes find some arrows in the dry dock.. but it takes them around in circles.. then an Amonite blows up the ship, leaving them stranded.

We end this issue and the first half of dark cybertron with Nova Prime megomanically gloating... Hardhead escapes to shut him up.. only for it not to go well> Turns out PRime is not only crazy strong, but he CRUSHES Hardheads fist in his hands and then watches the poor guy desintgrate. He has plans for those left though: he's taking them to see a new friend he's made: bumlbee whose the shiny new space bridge.

So that's where we end it? Can Team Fuckup somehow save cybertron? Did any of team magnus survivie? Can Optimus shut this dude the fuck up. Find out in april folks! Thanks for reading

[emerald-might]

New AU: Head of Might Tower/Time Skip

Based on this post

Eight years passed since the end of the war and Izuku continued his life as a hero until the embers of One For All gave out. When they did he continued his life as a teacher for UA to help the next generation. For a time he was happy just being quirkless again despite missing being a hero from time to time. That was when All-Might had arrived and gave him a new suit, a new state of the art power suit based on the one All-Might used during the war. Not only that, but All-Might did plan to fully retire from his agency soon and he wanted to give it to him, so that he could be the one to help those that are quirkless or had weak quirks to find their true potential.

Izuku couldn’t refuse this opportunity, to be a hero again, a mentor, and visionary for change to grant everyone the chance to be super. It would certainly make his life busy, but he was more than happy to do it with some help of course. When he isn’t being a hero or running a business, he is teaching with the selected sidekicks to help him out. When he isn’t doing all three, he is spending time with friends and family while thinking about the next support item to make in the back of his mind. His intellect would help those understand their quirks more and how to best use them. It’s not the suit, nor the quirk, that makes you a hero, but the man behind it.

The Omega suit is made to emulate One For All as closely as possible, coming with a car called Loki that matches Izuku’s tricky nature and his color scheme. The car would be a green and gold color similar in ways to his suit.

Omega Suit: Features

Nitro-Booster: Gear Shift- Similar to how street racing cars have Nitro boosts, Deku's OFA suit will come built with a special device that works just like an actual gear shift embedded into his gauntlets. Like before Deku can shift between different gears but they are now renamed: 1st Gear, 2nd Gear, 3rd Gear, Top Gear & Overdrive. Each gear changes the aura/color of the suit when used and increases Deku's speed by 1 Mach per gear.

Kinetic Stockpiler: Fajin- A device based on Bakugo's grenade gauntlets, Deku's gauntlets and iron soles are built with a kinetic energy stockpiling device that charges as Deku moves around and the faster and more often Deku moves the more the gauge on his gauntlets fills up. He can release the energy at any time however the gauge can reach maximum and once it does Deku can activate Fajin Zenkai(full power) which when combined with Gear shift puts his speed and strength on par with Prime All Might with no recoil.

Adaptive Combat Entity(ACE): Danger Sense- An AI computer programmed to help Deku and assist him in analyzing danger and alerts him to any incoming threats. It can also scan a person and determine their threat level, if they are lying, etc.

Hard-Light Laser Cables: Black Whip- Using cutting edge laser technology, these beams of light fire off as fast as real lasers but don't burn or destroy anything. They do come equipped with a high voltage stun feature used for capturing villains and great for mobility.

Tactical Smoke Utility Belt: Smokescreen- Deku's belt is now equipped with an built in smoke machine that emits thick clouds of dense purple smoke that is laced with a powerful sleeping agent that Deku is protected from while using his cowl/mask.

Hyper Sonic Jetpack: Float- Built into the back of his suit, this jetpack is capable of reaching flight speeds faster than any of the jets used by Star & Stripes fighter Ace team.

Jet Force boots: Inspired by the now retired Gran Torino, Deku's iron soles/boots now function like the old man's jet quirk allowing Deku to zip around and also launch air pressure kicks.

Air Force Gauntlets: The perfected version of Deku's air force gloves, these gauntlets can suck in surrounding air, build it up to a high pressure and then Deku can release it by using Delaware smash or Texas Smash.

SMASH Knuckle: The right fist of Deku's suit is outfitted with a shockwave emitter into the knuckles so when Deku punches something it hits the same way he would have hit it if he was using OFA at 100%

Dynamight Knuckle: The left fist of Deku's suit is outfitted with a device that can essentially mimic Bakugo's explosions whenever Deku hits a really hard punch.

Additional Weapons provided by Loki based on class 1-A:

Gravity Beam: Ochako

Flamethrower & Freeze Ray: Shoto

Turbo Booster: Tenya

Sparkle Sabers(lightsabers): Aoyama

Photon Cannon: Momo & kaminari

Sticky acid bombs: Mineta & Mina

Crimson Shields: Kirishima

Smash Gauntlets: Sato

Cloaking: Toru

Soundwave cannon: Jiro

Cement tape: Sero

Asura: Shoji

Mecha Wings: Hawks & Koda

Iron Tail: Ojiro

Reenforced black cloak: Tokoyami

Frog tongue whip: Tsu

Confusion ray: Shinso

And if all else fails, Loki can morph into a mech suit for large threats.

[autisticsupervillain]

It's Fictional Throwdown Friday!

This Week's Fighters....

Captain America vs Soldier Boy!

Conditions:

MCU Cap. TV Show Soldier Boy. Cap does not have Mjolnir.

Scenario:

Vought International has gotten its hands on the Tesseract, so the Avengers have been sent in to retrieve it. The Boys had the same idea and go in with Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy and Cap meet up and fight over who gets the Tesseract.

Analysis: Captain America

Steve Rogers was once a normal man living in Brooklyn during the dawn of World War 2, desperate to join the army because "I don't like bullies, I don't care where they're from". Unfortunately, his plethora of health conditions kept him from qualifying. Realizing the boy had a pure heart, Abraham Erskine subjected him to an experimental super soldier serum to turn him into Captain America, The First Avenger.

In his final mission, Captain America seeming sacrificed his life by crashing a plane full suoer charged nukes into the arctic, only to be dug up years later and brought to the 21st Century. Now stuck desperately searching for a purpose in a world that seemingly left him behind, Cap joined the Avengers to protect the world from all sorts of threats, ranging from aliens to robots to even SHIELD itself, before leaving to rescue his mind controlled best friend and dividing the Avengers into Civil War. All throughout, Cap proves himself to be nothing less than the perfect soldier.

Even on a team full of gods, geniuses, and master assassins, Cap manages to keep up with his mastery of hand to hand combat, photographic memory, and excellent tactical mind. Steve led the team to victory against the otherworldly alien invaders the Chitauri, fought hand to hand against the God Loki and the master assassin the Winter Soldier, and unearthed a plot by neo nazi organization Hydra to take over SHIELD from within. Moreover, Cap's healing factor allows him to power through gun shots to the gut, survive being frozen alive, and drink Asgardian beer that Thor claimed wasn't safe for mortals.

Steve is strong enough to pull down a helicopter with one arm, skilled enough to fist fight an air craft and win, and tough enough to contend with Iron Man's Mark 46 armor. This armor would be much tougher than the suit Tony wore in Iron Man 2, which could create a massive explosion between him and War Machine. Dividing the result to account for the combined effort and each suit would be generating and tanking energy equivalent to 171 tons of TNT.

Source:

He's even fast enough to take down MCU Spider-Man, whose fast enough to compete with The Amazing Spider-Man verse Spider-Man, who can dodge lighting traveling at Mach 1514.

Source:

But none of that competes with the Captain's strongest weapon - his shield. This vibranium metal disk can absorb and reflect almost any attack thrown at it and bounce off of anything. Cao uses it as a super frisbee to knock targets out of the air, cakculating its velocity in his head so that it always ends up right back in his hand. It can even take hits from Thor's hammer, reflecting a blast that completely leveled the forest around them. A 6 kiloton yield feat.

Source:

Finally, Captain America would take up Thor's hammer himself to lead the final charge against Thanos and his army, saving the universe from completely annihilation. Though the Avengers may go on, Cap will always be the remembered as the First Avenger.

Analysis: Soldier Boy

Before there was the Seven, before there was Homelander, before there were even Supes, there was Soldier Boy and his team of legendary Freedom Fighters, Payback. America's very first Superhero and one of the strongest Supes who ever lived, Soldier Boy was a beloved national icon and a war hero of World War 2.

Behind closed doors, Soldier Boy only became a hero to impress his abusive father and when that didn't work, he nursed his wounded pride by doing whatever it took to ensure he remained Vought's most popular superhero. This included keeping his team under his thumb, brutally beating them in sparring matches to remind them who was top dog, and crippling them when they dared to show any ambition. In one instance, he brutally beat Black Noir so badly, he was left scarred and crippled for the rest of his life, forcing him to wear a full body suit to cover his injuries, leaving him unable to speak, and giving him lifelong schizophrenia from the trauma of the event.

The abuse got so bad, Payback sold him out to Russia the first chance they got, setting him up to get captured in an undercover mission and allowing the Soviets to experiment on him for years. It wasn't until 2022 that Soldier Boy was found snd rescued by the superhero hunting group called The Boys for his help in taking down the most powerful superhero in the world: Homelander. Soldier Boy agreed, on the condition that The Boys help him get revenge on his old team for abandoning him.

Soldier Boy is an absolute juggernaut of a Supe. Although he's over a hundred years old, he hasn't aged a day past his thirties, thanks to the Russian's experiments giving him a whole new slew of powers. Years of torture have made him completely immune to fire, radiation, acids, and poisons, with only the deadliest substances on Earth being able to knock him out. And that's on top of being an expert combatant trained in military combat and hand to hand techniques. Soldier Boy carries a knife, a pistol, and a large titanium shield, each of which he uses proficiently in hand to hand combat to beat down his foes. While most of Soldier Boy's supposed war valor was faked, he was still skilled enough to go toe to toe with Billy Butcher, himself a war veteran and proficient superhero hunter. He heals from scarring injuries with superhuman speed and is tough enough to take on Homelander, the most powerful Supe who ever lived.

Soldier Boy's greatest power, however, is his radiation. Soldier Boy can charge up and shoot powerful radiation out of his body, usually by unleashing it as a massive explosion to obliterate everything around him. His radiation even burns hot enough nullify the powers of Supes. All Supes get their powers from the super soldier serum known as Compound V, with Soldier Boy's radiation vaporizing it in their bloodstream and leaving them an ordinary human.... provided they survive the blast.

Soldier Boy's explosions are so powerful, they can obliterate city blocks, with his biggest blast being big emough to be worth 69 tons of TNT. Nice.

Source:

Soldier Boy has even sent Homelander running with some help and he's fast enough to catch nuclear missiles, outrun planes, and outrun explosions at Mach 18.

Source:

For all his power and projected badassery, Soldier Boy is not invincible. He's as much of a misogynist as you'd expect someone from the 1940s to be and his internalized toxic masculinity and ego makes him refuse to acknowledge his flaws. His torture at the hands of the Russians has left him with severe PTSD that he refuses to acknowledge, with particularly bad episodes reducing him to a big walking bomb.

Eventually, he was deemed so unstable that the Boys turned against him, forcing Queen Maeve to nearly sacrifice herself to bring him down.

Soldier Boy is one of the most powerful, and most dangerous, Supes on the planet.

Throwdown Theme:

Throwdown Breakdown:

I think this one is pretty clear cut.

Soldier Boy's power nullification, by all rights, would be effective against Captain America due to his powers coming from a super soldier serum just like Vought's Supes. However, that relies on Soldier Boy getting a clear enough shot with his radiation to nullify him, where Cap has all the tools to keep that from happening.

Steve has both a considerable strength and speed advantage against Soldier Boy, being twice as strong and nearly 83x faster than the old war dog. Soldier Boy may have fought in World War 2, but Steve has gone in to fight planetary conquerors since then, and Cap's shield is so durable that Soldier Boy's will sooner snap in half than put a dent in it. This gives Steve all the room he needs to avoid Soldier Boy's destructive blasts and beat him down with superior skill, striking him from outside his range with shield throws and out maneuvering him at various ranges.

As Soldier Boy's frustration mounts, he'll become more explosive and more dangerous, bringing the battlefield down in top of them. This will be a footsy battle for Steve just for that alone... but Cap's solid foothold in every other field gives him all the advantages he needs to break Soldier Boy down.

Captain America is the First Avenger. Soldier Boy is just a cheap fucking knockoff.

This Throwdown's Winner is....

Captain America!

[tobiasdrake]

Spider-Man vs. Dr. Strange

These kinds of fights are the most fun you can have with Spider-Man. Putting him in some sort of brand new context and watching him think his way around a solution, using a combination of his formidable powerset, precognitive reflexes, and super-intelligence.

Despite being far from the peak in any one category, Spider-Man is one of the most formidable characters in Marvel canon. A guy who can hold his own and find some path to victory against most of the actual Marvel titans. Capable of outfighting entire teams of other heroes when his back's against the wall. And it's fights like this that really show you why.

This is my favorite fight in the movie.

The ironic thing is, it kind of feels like all that time fighting Mysterio sort of trained Peter for fighting a real wizard. The Mirror Dimension is trippy and bizarre but he navigates it expertly, and I can't help but wonder how much he's drawing on his experience navigating Mysterio's illusions from Far From Home.

When Spider-Man can't outpunch his opponent, he has to think around them. We saw that in Civil War when he defeated Giant-Man. And those are the best Spidey fights, the ones that use his powers as a vector to showcase his brilliance.

Facing Dr. Strange within the eldritch Mirror Dimension where his power is unfathomable is a seemingly insurmountable task. But factoring out the fractalizing physics underlying the nature of the Mirror Dimension to ultimately defeat Strange with geometry is such a Spider-Man way to punch above his weight class and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. It reinforces why this character is so formidable.

And all for the lives of four vicious supervillains guys he just met five minutes ago, no less. And also Flint Marko, who just has bad luck.

[doamarierose-honoka]

Starting in 1982, Marvel Comics began a line of graphic novels and trade paperbacks aimed at adults. This venture vanished in 1993, but Marvel resurrected it 20 years later in in 2013. While DC is better known for its mature comic collections, both the first and the second generation of Marvel Graphic Novels have some gems shining in their vaults.

Marvel Graphic Novels feature dozens of different characters, from obscure figures, like Marada the She-Wolf, to some Marvel fan favorites like Thanos. To their credit, they encompass nearly every genre, from fantasy to noir crime thrillers to pure superhero fiction. These graphic novels are inarguably the best of Marvel's bunch.

10: Marada the She-Wolf Is Underrated

The daughter of Caesar's firstborn daughter and a princess turned slave, Marada Starhair is a legendary warrior with arcane powers and weaponry expertise. A collection of stories from Marvel's Epic Illustrated, Marada the She-Wolf follows her adventures throughout the Roman Empire, combining the sensibilities of Conan stories with a Heavy Metal art style that still holds up today.

Marada is one of Marvel's most obscure heroes but Marada the She-Wolf is one of the greatest graphic novels of its era. John Bolton's art is truly marvelous and it goes great with Claremont's fantastic take on this character. While Marvel has a long history with sword-and-sorcery characters like Conan and Red Sonja, Marada is their long-neglected sibling and this book shows off her many merits.

9: The Pitt Is Weirdly Realistic

By focusing on three different characters -- Nelson Kohler, Colonel Browning, and Professor Jenny Swensen -- Byrne and Gruenwald did a terrific job at conveying the powerlessness of this kind of disaster in The Pitt. This graphic novel is a gruesome story with emotional dialogues and plenty of dark panels. The Pitt is perfect for those who want to read something serious with a true-to-life take on superheroes' actions.

8: Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir Is a Great Thriller

Starlin's Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir is a noir crime graphic novel featuring two of the darkest Marvel superheroes. When Black Widow disappears during a serial killer investigation that put her on the radar of a sadistic telepath. Daredevil will have to find her before she becomes their next victim.

Daredevil/Black Widow: Abattoir has great art, a story full of epic twists and turns, and an incredible team-up. This story takes the reader by the hand into a full thriller from Daredevil's perspective and his thoughts only make things darker. Chiodo's blurry lines and soft colors add to its cinematography. Daredevil and Black Widow make for an uncommon pairing -- especially post-MCU. However, Abattoir proves that they deserve more projects together.

7: Fans Will Love Kingpin in Daredevil: Love and War

In order to save Vanessa from a mysterious illness, Wilson Fisk kidnaps the wife of a doctor, forcing him to work for him. In the meanwhile, Daredevil tries to find them. Daredevil: Love and War follows this race from the perspective of Kingpin, offering readers an interesting insight into the villain's mind, turning him into a sympathetic villain.

By focusing on Fisk's perspective, Miller paints the pathetic picture of a desperate man in love, which almost makes readers believe that Daredevil is in the wrong for trying to stop him. This kind of emotional complexity in a villain is exactly what graphic novel readers want to see.

6: Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment Features a Rare but Interesting Team-Up

Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment follows an uncommon team-up. Doctor Doom and Doctor Strange join forces to free the former's mother from the most diabolic Hell forces. The first step of their quest is to travel to Mephisto's Infernal realm, where their souls will change forever -- including a tear-jerking ending.

Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment is basically a Marvel buddy film plus pumped full of a spooky atmosphere and heavy lore -- especially since Doctor Strange, Doctor Doom, and Mephisto are all lore-heavy characters. Its unique premise makes it stand out from other graphic novels, as well as the masterful way in which it interconnects the three characters' backgrounds.

5: Amazing Spider-Man: Hooky Is Great for All Ages

Amazing Spider-Man: Hooky pits Spider-Man against a monstrous villain, Tordenkakerlakk. This beast, created by Kurudred the Blood Drinker, only gets stronger each time Spidey defeats it. Given this, it slowly and steadily becomes one of his biggest challenges yet.

For Amazing Spider-Man: Hooky, Spider-Man travels to a fantasy realm. This makes Hooky very different from most of Spidey's stories. However, that's exactly what makes it great. It's quirky, it's full of magic, and it's quite unpredictable. Since Spider-Man teams up with Marandi Sjorokker, a 12-year-old sorcerer, this novel is a great option for kids too.

4: Claremont Did a Terrific Job With X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills follows the fight between Reverend William Stryker, a mutant-hating preacher who killed his own son, and Magneto, who is investigating Stryker's crime. After Stryker kidnaps Professor X to use him as a catalyst for a mutant massacre, Magneto teams up with the X-Men to save him. Since X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills was written in the '80s, amidst the rise of televangelists, this comic delves into some uncomfortable truths.

X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills premise is simple, but it's a great tale about anti-mutant prejudice. Stryker is a terrific villain and the Magneto/X-Men team-up opens the door for any possible plot twist. Claremont understands his X-Men perfectly. Originally an outside-of-canon graphic novel, X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills became canon following 2003's X-2. Since then, it's been a central story for X-Men at least in popular culture.

3: Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business Has Great Pace

One of the most iconic Spider-Man stories ever, Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business sees Spider-Man learn about his own past at the same time as the reader. When he becomes the target of Kingpin's most recent plan, CIA agent Teresa Parker, aka his own sister, will become Peter's most important ally.

Amazing Spider-Man: Family Business stands out from other Spidey graphic novels because it has great cinematographic quality. It basically puts Spidey into a Bond-like mission, which is a change of pace for this character. Regardless, it works perfectly. Gabriel Dell' Otto and Werther Dell'Edera's art is amazing too, as it definitely keeps up with the narrative dynamic vibe.

2: Avengers: Rage of Ultron Explores Serious Topics

Titan falls and Ultron rises by taking control of the whole planet. In order to fix this, Starfox contacts the Avengers. When Starfox seeks the Avengers' help, he finds them in the middle of an ethical conflict due to Hank Pym's use of AI in his experiments.

Ultron as a whole planet -- possessing its inhabitants, even -- puts the Avengers in a true problem due to the scale of the villain. The battle against Planet Ultron makes for a thrilling story. By combining it with the complex discourse of the novel -- fatherhood, artificial intelligence, ethics --, Remender offers one of the best Avengers storylines ever.

1: The Death of Captain Marvel Is Incredibly Emotional

The Death of Captain Marvel follows Captain Marvel's fight against Nitro, a battle in which he gets cancer. The comic features this fight, as well as the aftermath, in which Mar-Vell dies due to this illness, surrounded by all his friends and allies, such as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and the Avengers.

Marvel's first graphic novel ever is also its best work. The Death of Captain Marvel is an emotional ride. It starts as an action-packed romp, allowing Mar-Vell to showcase all his abilities. However, it soon turns into a sad, realistic take on a terrible illness. Captain Marvel's death was such an important milestone, so much so that -- contrary to most heroes in this universe -- Mar-Vell hasn't returned from the death yet.