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princess-pacman · 8 months ago

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Spotify Playlists

Imma just dump some playlists here. I have soooo many for various fandoms, characters, ship, situations, etc. I want to share them with y'all cause I put a lot of time into them. They're always being worked on, so if the one you like isn't very long, come back later. I might have added more songs to it. Thanks!

Series--

PSI Cops: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6uS1aHIqbYogzDHHGo1n2e?si=esm-1aUmQjOpBjqhVcoWRw&pi=u-zIo8KeAPSXO2

Psychonauts: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1nkehg5YISpO1qYkxhnLZZ?si=sl7uuypmQfK4cQS_32UgUA&pi=u-TWIJmpQmS0aV

Sam & Max: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2adb6ApHr1JYmvDzchAKXr?si=f61upDB5SZKmM-ODZ0rdig&pi=u-Qkh03HitS1WP

Characters--

Truman Burbank (Truman Show): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6jq1eErhkDMG3A3RM5wnh8?si=Rp1ksB2DRJ6bLyDecXyZZQ&pi=u-A3HGuZ4hSDqZ

Agent Stone (Sonic movie): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/73Wrk6bjx8dPMIw1tkjB2R?si=Xxth_JFyTrmWaZNjfpyYKw&pi=u-lSWEBUUmQ_6T

Robotnik (Sonic movie): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4KqwVZksuo5Jbg11R9H2tc?si=bhWNkr5eQdCGHsBOAo6DPQ&pi=u-3Kkn30knQCKp

Astarian (BG3): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7B6kq8grBZkRhTTeT9Lufg?si=CsnhwAiLRPGDU15rXkJWog&pi=u-USKc-hHMQJGn

Bakugo (MHA/BNHA): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2P0ACCJNERmxukIuH9wX3m?si=SjBxeI9GSMqCZfDPv9qZKw&pi=u-NRvDkh9YR-aY

Eraserhead (MHA/BNHA): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5wAf2SEcuQ5T4ZaP8f9rYO?si=UJ_CcVX3Sue13SKexga4xA&pi=u-AGS-CSsORaOw

Present Mic (MHA/BNHA): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2T2QA1sM1itqkBzcjbPc4R?si=kCUMS4PNRlOjgUXR6m9Cbw&pi=u-OgTgCkevQAyX

Eri (MHA/BNHA): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6GnQob96ZUnDPHAA28xBOk?si=jZj3mjYlQfeb76rj-KS_1A&pi=u-Bh_OQBCOS6O-

Shigaraki (MHA/BNHA): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1AMGAg4JwsAmWWhyyFIdcR?si=v2mECZsxQc-Xf6z-NrerTw&pi=u-yQQsLzEIQPmH

Bart (Dirk Gently): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7kHVgbUsiM3kx1fcPMUyVu?si=sj-YrGuFRfWcRVTROv3OVg&pi=u-xjT7pcwDSjCl

Dirk (Dirk Gently): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2EBq9icmGQyeaeNi9W0J92?si=zfs6hResQU23b7tI_GwrQA&pi=u-yo2zEfFuTVSE

Todd (Dirk Gently): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2JJeJw3484cw4Kbryy95I5?si=9jUX9XXPTkq7YD-6tMB7YA&pi=u-I_hBQTRzQgGV

Donna (RE8): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76wOTZFnX8wOsounXQSOx8?si=hEBAQIcjR0WQaeqq-R-TNQ&pi=u-2FR5rPk0TkKf

Ethan (RE8): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2mYMCORlT2BnRYBPtR0TMs?si=RBoj_ObmRpu8Z-03oacZaA&pi=u-xwd3_iQERCCv

Heisenberg (RE8): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0o0wk0a8hEs6xuHEQ3r0NT?si=1VXPgOZqTimrX61jbPG1cQ&pi=u-xuoMUMDyTtue

Hugh Bliss (Sam & Max): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0Vy1N6CNj213vdMlZC8ONC?si=yH_oFA66S8GTDy0UfgLOqw

Jurgen (Sam & Max): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2d2R12aPYvmaSiF5FCOLqv?si=xjNlKi_nS7af54nCvSSG2g&pi=u-2OrlLE5WR4K3

Papierwaite & Yog-sogoth (Sam & Max): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1up7qnpsSGcpyGsLrxWZg8?si=ALQAcJSbTvOKl45u9VSBGQ&pi=u-fgPuq3ctRU2E

Sybil (Sam & Max): https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1ToP2NpJrXF2VK4kJyBEwE?si=6pLiPtaXQuy0JauItos6vw&pi=u-rkSrCzt3Roa9

Ships--

Eraserhead x Present Mic: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7balV6dixSnjG1aaSmdAWN?si=QShOMUglS5CHGzskMI7Rzw&pi=u-MqUrfWiiTcSA

Panto x Silas: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3kl6Z0luA07gFTTzqzeStp?si=FDdNuI9FR82WKqyiR6rZ7Q&pi=u-523YOGM-Sm-b

Robotnik x Stone: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4312aEcYUXRRZuAvGO9OTr?si=i7wBeJd2SC2NiYRdi3ftfw&pi=u-onKZaPyMRUe6

Venomous x Boxman: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5GXPEblqQnYUDyoI4nL1ga?si=crJAJA1iQ3KyXbIRw2ptxA&pi=u-qKpV_UL1SyGe

Kydd x Felixx: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/74T6X53RYW4ReRFfDxsU97?si=1ZYNTKerSySVjEkbl8l6dg&pi=u-15deJ-lSSbGl

Then a combined version of my Stone, Robotnik, and Stobotnik playlists: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/68r3CzGRJVbnYr4TlQwT2T?si=RmwJU8ghSaGde5nC7_eWSw&pi=u-ExzCNZ3CRSSn

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zahri-melitor · 26 days ago

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New(ish) Comics:

Batman/Superman: World's Finest #31: This honestly felt like a straight JLA story. Which I don't mind, but can I say that I would prefer more actual Bruce and Clark content?

Jenny Sparks #2: okay, as a Jenny Sparks story it remains terrible, as an examination of Tom King's psyche...I think it's going to read better in trade, as there's a bunch of timeline jumps happening here.

I'm very reminded of a lot of tricks he used with Mister Miracle here, and the art is again trying for that prestige look with lots of repeating panels of the same shape and characters moving through them.

Batman & Robin: Year One #1: look, I've been somewhat down on this, given I didn't think we really needed a third brand-new-Robin Dick story in three years (this, Last Halloween, and Robin & Batman), plus World's Finest.

However, it is very very very cute, as expected. Lots of ratbag tiny Dick balancing on things he shouldn't and jumping off them. The giant R on the back of Dick's belt is confusing me a little but I guess it's so he's got branding in both directions? And I'm glad there are no long pants in sight, given WF put them on him immediately.

The Warlord #68: This week we are STILL in Wizard World, sigh.

I am going to call out Dan Jurgens' incredible experimental framing here for the double page title spread: (The Warlord frequently has these double pages that mean you need to turn the floppy to admire them for titles)

The rest of the issue is just Mikola carrying on even more about being a werewolf, Jennifer separating his wolf from his human parts (so Mikola now has a wolf he has a psychic connection with he needs to learn to control), and Mariah firmly telling Mikola she's with Machiste now.

Absolute Power Updates:

Absolute Power: Super Son #1: Other people who care more about Jon have said a bunch of intelligent things about this. My major comment is that for a comic that's in the middle of an event and that contains a number of characters with very few on page appearances (I'm thinking both Nia AND Galaxy), having them appear in a dream sequence where they're acting out of character isn't the greatest choice. There are absolutely people reading this comic for whom it's one of their first interactions with the character, and so they don't have the background to work out what's in character and what's the distorted dream behaviour.

Superman #18: Clark trades a lie to Neron to get the map they want. This is...fine? It explains how Zatanna's popping up getting people from A to B.

Wonder Woman #13: Yeah I don't really like Tom King's characterisation of either Diana or Damian in this. I did like all the background character cameos in the rescue though and Plas and Ralph comparing stretching facts.

I read the Trinity backup and...yeah while I believe Damian would frame stories to show him in the best light, I disbelieve he'd frame them like that.

#z canon read throughs #newish comics #wednesday spoilers

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superman86to99 · 1 year ago

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The Return of Superman 30th Anniversary Special (November 2023)

Whoa! Some sort of chronal disturbance has thrown us from 1994 to the futuristic year 2023, just in time to cover this new special by the entire creative team behind "Reign of the Supermen"... minus Roger Stern and Dennis Janke, but PLUS Jerry Ordway (who left right before "Reign" started in '93). This is a lot like the Death of Superman special released last year, except that instead of featuring four standalone stories, this one has a framing device uniting all the tales.

In the framing story (written by Dan Jurgens and drawn by Travis Moore), the Cyborg Superman comes back to Metropolis and starts attacking S.T.A.R. Labs installations, as if those places haven't been blown up enough times already. Since Perry White is currently in a coma (from, as far as I can tell, not knowing Superman is Clark Kent), it's up to current Daily Planet editor Lois Lane to put together a story on the Cyborg without her mentor's help. Or with a little bit of her mentor's help, since Ron Troupe conveniently pulls out Perry's old journal from the "Reign of the Supermen" days, including his thoughts about the Cyborg.

So, Lois and Ron start reading Perry's notes about the four Supermen who popped up in Metropolis after Superman's death, which leads us to...

"Speed" (by Louise Simonson and Jon Bogdanove)

Despite the "Perry's notes" framing device, this story is actually told by Ron as he remembers the first time he saw Steel. Ron is leaving for work one morning and everyone in his neighborhood is talking about which of the four Supermen is the real deal. A lady called Mama Bess (who I initially mistook for Myra the Orphanage Lady because she's also big and black and surrounded by little kids) says they're all posers, including Steel, because none of them are around when you need them. Then some gangbangers drive by the neighborhood with a Toastmaster gun, and guess who drops by to save everyone's asses? Not Batman.

Mama Bess recognizes Steel's voice ("rich an' dark as Memphis honey") as belonging to that guy who was running around Metropolis helping people in crumbling buildings while Superman and Doomsday were tearing up the town, as seen in the Death special. While Steel fights the gangbangers, Ron calls Perry, who tells him to keep that lady talking so they can learn as much as possible about the mysterious armored Superman. Hey, is that Mike Carlin in the Planet offices below, to the left of adorably skinny Jimmy Olsen?

Steel prevails over the evildoers and the neighborhood kids rush in to proclaim him as the one true Superman. The best part of the story, for me, is when a little kid picks up a Toastmaster laying on the street and says he can use it to stop the bad guys, but Steel says that's a weapon for bad guys (he'd know, he designed them). Then he replaces it with an old school Game Boy and breaks the gun, Dark Knight Returns-style.

Steel tells everyone he's not Superman, he's just a dude trying to help, but Mama Bess still insists on making him a new cape to replace the one that got torn up in the fight. Ron concludes his report saying that this guy isn't the real Superman, "but maybe he was the next best thing."

"He Had Me Thinking He Was Superman" (by Jerry Ordway)

Jerry Ordway fills in for Roger Stern and Jackson Guice (who at least has a pin-up in this issue) and, man, I never knew how much I needed to see Ordway draw the Eradicator until now. In this story, Perry stumbles upon a standoff between Maggie Sawyer's Special Crimes Unit and the most violent yet Spock-like of the four Supermen, who's holding an armored goon hostage as he interrogates him.

Maggie kindly kicks Perry out of the active crime scene, but he sticks around and decides to solve this situation via the power of journalism. First, Perry talks to a warehouse worker (who kinda looks like an Amalgam of High Pockets and Lamarr) and learns about a nearby entrance to a rumored Intergang hideout. Then, he uses a radio scanner to find the frequency the goons' friends are using to communicate. He tries to tell Maggie about this, but the Superman Formerly Known As The Eradicator grabs Perry and flies off with him to find out what he knows. Perry says he'll tell him if he promises to stop being such a psychopath for a moment.

Thanks to Perry's information, the Eradicator finds the other armored goons, who are moving weapons from an abandoned Intergang cache. The Eradicator violently (but non-lethally, as promised) encourages the goons to renounce their criminal ways, and then locates the mastermind behind this operation, who turns out to be... no, not freakin' Psi-Phon and Dreadnaught, but close enough: Professor Killgrave! You know, that little twerp with the Moe haircut who once trapped Superman in an amusement park full of killer robots. Having seen how the Eradicator dealt with his hired goons, Killgrave eagerly gives himself up to the authorities.

As the Eradicator flies away from the underground base, he carelessly sends some debris flying off which almost hits some bystanders and ruins Perry's car. So, the Eradicator fulfills his promise to Perry that he wouldn't kill anyone, but Perry decides he can't keep his side of the deal, which was to tell the Planet's readers that "they have nothing to fear" from this dangerous maniac.

"The Metropolis Kid" (by Karl Kesel, Tom Grummett, and Doug Hazlewood)

This story provides the secret origin for several Superboy-related elements: the name "The Metropolis Kid" (which never made a lot of sense to me), that iconic pinup of Superboy saving a lady in a bath towel, and Mack Harlin, a recurring character who first appeared in the Superboy series in 1995. Turns out he was a Metropolis cabbie before he somehow became a truant officer in Hawaii. Note that Mack also counts as the second Mike Carlin cameo in this issue.

(Wonder if the ride was $6,50?)

In the story, Perry witnesses the moment when Don't Call Me Superboy saves that towel lady from a building fire (which she didn't notice due to her love of '90s rock, waterproof earbuds, and long, hot showers). Tana Moon's photo of that moment goes viral on Tweeter, FaceSpace, and, yes, even Insta-image, turning Not-Superboy into a social media sensation. The official story is that the Kid is Superman's clone, but Perry doesn't seem convinced. He uses his journalistic powers to find Not-Superboy at a local skate park where he hangs out. Interestingly, Perry briefly wonders if the Kid reminds him of his late son, Jerry, before dismissing the idea. I wonder if that's Kesel commenting on a certain 2000s retcon that made Superboy and Jerry biological half-brothers...

While Perry watches the Kid being a kid, he's suddenly attacked by Bloodsport -- the original one from John Byrne's Superman #4, who just busted out of jail, and not the racist wannabe. Instead of teleporting guns into his hands, this time Bloodsport is wearing a "weapons suit" that allows him to quickly assemble them on the fly. One of the guns hits Not-Superboy pretty hard, but the persistent little bugger gets up and somehow manages to disassemble Bloodsport's suit just by touching it.

As Perry later determines, Bloodsport thought the bullets would kill Not-Superboy because they were coated with a tiny bit of kryptonite, but it didn't seem to have an effect on him. That's when Perry realizes who the Kid reminds him of, with his brash attitude, big heart, endless energy, and massive potential: not Jerry (ouch), but Metropolis itself. Hence, the Metropolis Kid. Eh, I'll take it.

"Betrayal" (by Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding)

This one begins between the pages of Superman #79, after the Cyborg Superman saves the President from terrorists but before the Planet publishes Ron's soon-to-be-infamous front page proclaiming "SUPERMAN IS BACK!" How could Perry let that story through? As it turns out, at first he didn't wanna. Perry tells Ron he needs way more proof that the Cyborg is the real Superman. That proof sorta falls on his lap when the train Perry is riding gets derailed and the Cyborg heroically saves everyone. That, plus the Secret Service vouching for this guy, are enough to convince Perry that he's definitely Superman and not an evil impostor or something.

(Note that the story makes sure to mention the "living former presidents" happened to be at the White House when the Cyborg dropped by, explaining why the Planet's front page shows Bill Clinton and not, uh, whoever was President in the DCU "a few years ago.")

So, Perry goes ahead with Ron's front page story... only for the Superman he endorsed to turn around and murder 7 million people in Coast City. Whoops. Continuity quibble: this story makes it sound like the Cyborg was immediately revealed as Coast City's murderer, when in fact he fooled everyone into thinking it was the Eradicator for several days, but maybe Perry saw through it right away because he's just THAT good of a journalist.

Perry feels awful about that front page, especially when it emerges that the Cyborg and some big yellow guy called Mongul are turning Coast City's crater into a giant engine to turn Earth into a sort of Death Star. Just when Perry is at his lowest point, Lois tells him that another Superman showed up in a Kryptonian battle armor, and this time she just knows he's the real deal (because she made out with him, but she doesn't mention that).

We see the rest of the storyline (the assault on Engine City, the Cyborg's defeat) from Perry's perspective, and once Superman is back in Metropolis, Perry tells him how sorry he is for that headline. Superman's like "nah, don't sweat it, honest mistake" and actually thanks Perry for always reporting on him with honesty over the years. Moral of the story: trust Lois, double-check Ron.

"Legacy" (by Dan Jurgens, Travis Moore, and briefly all the others)

Meanwhile, in the framing story, Superboy, Steel, and a recently-rebooted, non-evil Eradicator (or his Phantom Zone ghost, anyway) show up to stop their old pal the Cyborg, since Superman is currently in space. We learn that the Cyborg has been hitting S.T.A.R. facilities because he wants to retrieve the DNA of his three astronaut friends who were mutated into freaks during the fantastic incident that gave him his powers, so he can bring them all back to life. The Supermen understandably assume that he's building some sort of weapon and try to stop him, but he's defeated all of them before and does it again.

Royally pissed that these meddling Supermen messed with his plans, the Cyborg notices their fight left some exposed gas lines in the middle of Metropolis and is about to use them to indulge in his favorite hobby: blowing up entire cities. Luckily, the Eradicator uses some of Steel's tech to make his hologram self solid enough to whip out a Phantom Zone projector and suck the Cyborg into his ghostly prison.

As soon as the day is saved, Superman flies down and reveals that he'd been watching all along but didn't intervene because he had confidence in his boys. Everyone shares a nice little moment, until the Eradicator makes it awkward with his talk of "Kryptonian purity."

The issue ends with Lois reading a passage from Perry's journal about how Superman inspired others to be better, even in his absence. She hopes she's able to tell Perry that the same thing is true about him, because "you are our Superman." Well, their other Superman.

Like the Death special, this is an excellent excuse for these legendary creators to play with their most famous toys again, and I wouldn't mind seeing one of these a year (Battle for Metropolis 30th Anniversary Special, anyone?). I kinda wish the Supermen had been introduced more gradually/dramatically in the framing story, building up to a grand reunion, instead of being like "oh hey, there they are," but that's a minor complaint and doesn't detract much from this massive labor of love. However, there's one thing I can't forgive: still no Bibbo. -1/10.

Fun fact, my co-host Don Sparrow and I agreed we'd make this post much shorter than the insanely long one we did for the previous special, and it ended up being... about 10% shorter. Woo! We did it! See Don's take after the jump:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

We begin with the cover, and it’s a great piece from the formidable team of Jurgens and Breeding. We’ve mentioned in the past the rumour that there had been a falling out between this pencil and ink team in years past, so seeing their layouts and finishes together sure feels like a treat. The composition is reminiscent of the image we used to have as the background on this very blog. I must say, I’m not a fan of the colouring technique employed here by Elizabeth Breitweister, which looks a little flat and scribbly for my tastes. The sky in particular just looks like a photograph with the contrast turned way up, and then colour filled, and doesn’t really work for me. But that’s just my opinion, I’m sure the colouring approach to this cover has many modern fans.

Inside the main through-line story is by Travis Moore, and it’s mostly quite well done, if a little stiff in places. He has a great handle on Lois Lane, and the "Reign of the Supermen" splash on page 5 is a particular highlight. I’m less enchanted with the modern-day Cyborg Superman, particularly the torn sleeve on his right arm, and the missing belt buckle. There’s generally a simplicity to the complex robotic parts that doesn’t work as well as other incarnations we’ve seen of the Cyborg Superman.

The next sequence, a reminiscence of Steel’s early days is a great showcase of Jon Bogdanove’s late style, some of which we saw in the “Retroactive” throwbacks of 2011. While Bog still employs his cartoonish rendering, the figures are generally tighter and smaller on the page than his '90s work. Fittingly, given the extra attention paid to Metropolis’ diversity in the pages of Superman: The Man of Steel, this story makes good use of a predominantly black Metropolis neighbourhood. While I’ve never fully warmed to Ron Troupe as a character, this story does give him some background, showing his neighbourhood and living situation in a way that wasn’t covered by his appearances in the '90s. (As Ron is heading to work, he’s wearing a suit and tie, though I would have loved a callback to his famed JAM sweatshirt, first appearing in the story that THIS story refers to, where Ron is involved in the verification of the Cyborg Superman as the “one true Superman”). There’s a terrific image of John Henry Irons flying at the camera on Page 11...

...and another of him destroying a toastmaster weapon on page 16 that is a standout, featuring Bog’s unique method of hatching to denote the shine of chrome. Including something like a smartphone, as they do on page 16, is an effective way of moving the story up in time, so that Lois Lane isn’t in (at least) her fifties, having covered Superman’s return in 1994. The involvement of specific Presidents later in the book hamper that slightly, but overall they do a good job of keeping it nebulous.

It was difficult to pick a favourite sequence, but I have to give it to the Jerry Ordway Eradicator story. It’s interesting to see a story by Jerry with this character, who was mostly covered by other writers (indeed, Jerry was off the books immediately after Adventures #500) and artists. Ordway hasn’t lost much zip on his fastball, as the entire story employs the usual dynamic realism and well-observed textures that we’ve come to appreciate in his work. Perry looks like himself throughout, though he reminds me of Rodney Dangerfield in the one panel of him playing with his analog walky-talky. The Eradicator’s costume has always been a terrific design, and he looks so cool as he searches for the rest of the baddies in an underground lair.

Later in the story, the image of the Last Son melting through the getaway car is an extremely tall order art-wise, and again Jerry doesn’t disappoint. As one of the two biggest fans of the triangle era, I was overjoyed to see an old-school villain like Killgrave in these pages as well.

We’re similarly treated to another original triangle era villain in the Kesel-Grummett-Hazlewood section, where Kon-El throws down with Bloodsport. While it may feel like rehash to some readers of this blog, it’s been decades since readers have seen “The Metropolis Kid” rescue Ms. Sheenan, so it’s an appreciated callback. Lots of great stuff here, but none I like more than Superboy shredding on a skateboard—a TOTALLY RAD moment, if ever.

The next section, like the cover, is something of a missed opportunity. Again, we have a stellar pairing of Jurgens and Breeding, but the art is let down by what I would say is incompatible colouring. Most of the tones are good, but the details begin to compete with the linework underneath, especially as the digital brushstrokes get scribbly, as they are on the arm of the Cyborg Superman on the title page, or perhaps worst of all, the should-be-impactful moment of the one true Kal-El emerging on Metropolis harbour. Superman is depicted red-nosed throughout, and the rendering is sketchy, where even flat colour might have given us a better look at the inks below. I get the feeling it’s all intentional—an attempt at a more painterly style, perhaps to denote that it’s a flashback. But it was a miss for me—even though I always love seeing Mongul kissing the Cyborg’s hand. [Max: He does have a very handsome hand.]

Next to Ordway’s chapter, the high point of the book is where the triangle era super-team switch, page to page, in order to tell the story. First with Jurgens and Breeding (with a less distracting colouring job), then Bogdanove, then Ordway, and finally Grummett and Hazelwood. Interestingly, the classic Superman plays no role in the fight, showing up only at the end, in an echo of the original storyline.

Finally, there’s a pin-up section, with some real standouts. While the Stern/Guice team didn’t get their own chapter in the book, that title is represented with a great image of the survival suit Superman taking flight in front of the Daily Planet. The comics logic part of my brain can’t help but notice he’s NOT wearing the Lexcorp flight boots in this image, and wasn’t able to fly under his own power in this suit, but I’m resisting pointing that out. The Daniel Sampere pinup is another nice, simple image but again I quibble, as the survival suit Superman had no cape. Is that maybe the Cyborg’s cape? It was also deeply cool to see all the trade dress and character logos at the back of that section. [Max: And the Kerry Gammill/José Luis García López promo image! Been a while since we've seen Gammill in this blog so that was a nice surprise for me.]

SPEEDING BULLETS:

I love that this story showcases Perry White’s regret about running Ron’s story that lent credibility to the murderous Cyborg Superman. They never really dealt with the journalistic repercussions of that within the story, so I love seeing an added dimension through this new narrative. They also absolve the Clintons more specifically, as the Cyborg notes that all Presidents vouched for his veracity, so it wasn’t just slick Willie who got it wrong.

I realize the Travis Moore pages are mainly a narrative device to set up the flashbacks, but there’s something off about someone as deadly as the Cyborg just aimlessly shooting up the city. As we saw when he took Doomsday’s body in Superman #78, with his power set, and technological ability, Henshaw can get in and out of a very secure place with speed and stealth, none of which do we see here. The dissonance isn’t helped by the art, which shows very empty streets for a usually crowded literal Metropolis.

The use of Perry White’s diaries as a framework for the flashbacks is a super idea, and puts a beloved character at the center of the issue, even if he’s physically absent in current day comics. (Having dropped the super-books during the Bendis run, I confess I was a little lost on that score.)

Not familiar with the skateboard term “Grommet” but it pays off on the last page of the section as Superboy gives a skateboard to “Tommy the Grommet” in a shoutout to artist Tom Grummett.

The idea of the Cyborg resurrecting the rest of his crew is an intriguing one, and it does make me wonder what an insane mirror image Fantastic Four would be like as opponents of Superman. Certainly it would even up the odds a little, as the Super squad we see in these pages had no trouble handling Henshaw on his own. [Max: I like that idea. Call them the Tragic Four.]

Overall I think I liked the Death anniversary issue a little more, as the story felt a bit more urgent than just window-dressing for flashbacks. But both are like meeting an old friend after a long time. This really was a high-water mark for Superman stories, and for comics in general.

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thermodynamic-comedian · 8 months ago

Note

Tma characters that I think are trans women:

Peter Lukas (Starts biting my own arm off) (she does not know) (isolation theme)

Mike Crew (shes awesome) (takes no hrt just vibes) (she/he/they probably)

Georgie Baker (she slayy) (she vibe) (Im obsessed with her)

Helen Richardson (this one is just canon)

That one coffin gal from episode two

Gerry Keay

Tma characters I think are trans FEM but do not id as women:

Jonathan Simz (Weird nonbinary girlfreakthing)

Melaine King (Self-explanatory honestly)

Helen Richardson again

Sasha James

Jane Prentiss

Tma's various nonbinaries:

Timothy Stoker if she had lived past the unknowing (haha! Got your gender cracked by an evil clown who killed your brother looser)

Oliver Banks (she is sooo cool honestly Im obsessed with them. Another day another slay, king)

Gertrude Robinson (no explanation needed)

Martin Blackwood (he left his gender behind in the lonley 🙏 rip king)

Mr Pitch (mostly because eye think its funny)

Jurgen Leitner (funny again)

The spider from a guest for mr spider

Nikola Orsinov

Basira Hussain (girl-ways)

Daisy (dog)

Wouldn't it be funny if I put Callum Brodie on this list

Callum Brodie

Annabelle Cane (yeahg)

Tma characters whom I think are transmasc but dont id as men:

Jonah Magnus (yeah) (you know) (you know the drill)

Gertrude Robinson again

Micheal Shelly (uh huh)

Oliver Banks is also here

Julia Montauk

Celia

Martin Backwood again

Tma characters whom I think are trans men:

Agnes Montague (bites my own arm off)

Gertrude Robinson (yeah. Again. Hes got complexities, okay)

Rosie (uh huh) (yeah) (I know him personally)

Simon Fairchild (funny) (honestly hes just like me forreal) (slash j)

Tma characters whom I think are cis (sorry guys)

Jude Perry

Elias Bouchard (..maybe in another universe. Wink wink.)

Maxwell R*yner

Manuela

Jered Hopworth

Breekon and Hope but not like, their men or anything. They were just born agender like the humble mollusk

If I forgot someone just assume their nonbinary. Okay. Thanx 👍

very respectable. may i humbly present. my own assorted headcanons

genderfluid transfem jonah magnus. but like. it changes very slowly. takes like a decade to load a new gender. also alterhuman.

absolute opposite of that simon fairchild. gender changes by the hour. insert terminal velocity joke here. almost pangender in nature

trans man peter lukas. idk i just like this one.

transmasc non-binary lesboy melanie king. i know in my soul.

it's the portion of the post where i project. cistrans not!sasha, cistrans nikola orsinov, cistrans jane prentiss. goodbye

#tma #the magnus archives #tma headcanons

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sin-sidejob · 1 year ago

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JR Scheimpough Name Game:

— I have been plagued with ideas for what this man’s name could be + some of the names are more Germanic & that’s because I did a bit of research and the closest name or word of origin to Scheimpough was in German, so I figured, why not stick with the theme, y’know? + some of the full name concepts are more serious and others are for shits and giggles

— as a heads up to those who reblog, this will be edited over time

James, Jacob/Jakob, Jakobie, Jack, Jay, Jackson, Jamison, Jamie, Jonah, Jurgen, Jason, Jesse, John, Jeremy, Jonathan, Joseph, Jeremiah

Ray, Richard, Rick, Riley, Rand, Ryan, Roman, Robert, Rhett, Remington, Remy, Russell, Roger, Rick, Rainer, Rambert, Rich

full name concepts:

James Ray Scheimpough

Jackson Riley Scheimpough

Jonathan Russell Scheimpough

Jamison Richard Scheimpough

Jamie Rhett Scheimpough

Jay Ray Scheimpough

Joseph Rambert Scheimpough

Junior Richard Scheimpough (DICK JUNIORRRRR)

Jurgen Rainer Scheimpough

Jeremiah Rich Scheimpough

FEEL FREE TO SEND IN YOUR OWN IDEAS

#inside job #jr scheimpough #personal inside job #my inside job #jr #my thots #name game #inside job jr #playing pool? alright pass me the queue

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boredstarboy · 2 years ago

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My worst tma face claims

starting off strong with Mike Crew

This one Ive been told is really good but its bad enough to be counted, Tim Stoker

I can't explain it but yeah. this is Elias Bouchard both of them are elias at the same time yk?

Jurgen Leitner is probably the worst on this list because i dont know how i got here and its genuinely what i thought he looked like. like this type of generic old man stock image with any version of Garfield from r/imsorryjon (which im not going to bother to find because i dont wanna deal with tagging it)

i probably have more if i thought about it but ill stop here

#I dont know what was up with me and leitner #the magnus archives #tma #face claim #elias bouchard #jurgen leitner #mike crew #tim stoker

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overwatch-archive · 2 years ago

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Ramattra: Reflections

Author: Gavin Jurgens Fyhrie Artist: Sylvain Decaux

Philosophical Differences

4 Years Before the Uprising

"You're a Ravager unit, right?" called a human behind me, and I froze, hands shaking beneath my robes.

The village beneath the Shambali monastery had barely changed since my last visit. A few cheery repair shops and tailors along the main road, specializing in robes for omnic travelers. In the alleyways and backstreets, shuttered shops. Mining offices. Humans drinking on doorsteps, watching the occasional omnic pass them by.

A handful of years ago, some of those same humans had knocked me to my knees and nearly killed me.

I turned instead to the human who had called me by my designation, fists clenched in my sleeves, and said nothing.

"Thought so," said the little shopkeeper happily. "Haven't seen one of you in a while. The news said you were all in hiding."

"Or dead at human hands," I said.

The human's smile faltered.

"You aren't a popular bunch. Not that I'm saying it's right," he added hastily. "But . . . what with everything you—and I don't mean you exactly—did in the Crisis, you, uh . . ."

I waited, then reluctantly came to his rescue.

"Make humans uncomfortable?"

"Exactly," he said, relieved.

Uncomfortable enough to justify violence, I thought. I should have been angry with him. Instead, I was weary. I'd had this conversation so many times.

"Can I help you?" I asked. The words were a relic of Mondatta's careful instruction.

"No," he said, "but I can help you! Thing is, I got a new shipment of actuators in for your kind. Can get you a nice discount, seeing as you're part of the Shambali and all."

He smiled. Warm gold flashed at the back of his grin.

R-7000s, unlike many other omnics, were never made by human hands. The rogue god program Anubis, the architect of the Omnic Crisis, built us in secret places and unleashed us upon the world. We were designed to lead its mindless armies, to hunt humans. We were made for murder.

There was only one way that spare parts had become available.

"I'm no longer a monk," I said. "I left the monastery today."

"Is that right?" the merchant said, glancing past me, down the street, down the mountain. I heard footsteps scraping on pavement. "Why?"

Because Mondatta places the burden of peace on the oppressed and not their oppressors.

"Philosophical differences," I said instead. "It seemed best. "

"Well, good luck to you, and safe travels!" he said. "You there! Welcome to the Shambali monastery."

I turned. A weary omnic pilgrim, stained orange by dust, scarred and dented, stumbled up the road past me. Seeing me in my robes, he lowered his head in respect.

The pain of it, the shame. The sight of me told him he was on the right path. I fought the urge to tell him that he wasn't. It wouldn't make a difference, even if I did.

I watched the shopkeeper come off his step, chattering, bundling the traveler into his shop.

Greed. Yet another of humanity’s crimes, but hardly their most terrible.

I sighed and continued down the road, down the mountain, away from the monastery.

And from my brother, Zenyatta, with whom I’d spent these last three years dreaming of peace.

Names

3 Years Before the Uprising

Two human guards blocked the windowless cell door. Both had stun batons, and a pistol hung from the hip of the larger man.

"I'll give you one chance to run," I said, hoping they wouldn't.

Some segments of humanity had decided that despite the Crisis, despite sentience, their former omnic servants were still their property. That our status as independent beings was somehow still a subject for debate. Hence facilities like this one existed, where omnics were kept until they decided that service to their former masters was the best use of their long lives.

Since leaving the Shambali monastery, I'd rooted out several identical operations, but there were always more festering. I'd come here hoping to free my people as quietly as possible. Unfortunately, after encountering the same injustice over and over again, my patience with peace was wearing thin. I'd gotten angry, thrown a man through a window, and here we were.

The first guard swung his baton. It bounced off my chest with a pop.

I took a step toward him.

Pale, he dropped the baton and went for his gun. Behind him, the other human struggled with the locked door, trying to escape. Or maybe to take a hostage.

Damn it.

I slapped the gun out of the guard's hand. As gently as I did it, something snapped. Again, I felt the ghost of guilt, the mournful weight of Mondatta's eyes on me. And following that, anger. Oppressors did not deserve the gift of our guilt.

The door flew open, and the other guard barreled through. Electrical light flared again, and someone screamed.

"Remember that I could have killed you," I told the human on the ground and plunged through the door to disarm the guard.

Oh.

The bald man already lay facedown on the tile, unmoving. His clothes were smoking in places. It wasn’t at all clear if he was breathing.

"I know who you are," came a voice from the corner of the small, bare room.

"Do you?" I asked, honestly curious. The omnic was a rarer kind, highly customized with features I thought hadn't survived the Crisis. Slightly shorter than myself, but blue-eyed and with ears rather like a slender humanoid rabbit. Made as a companion for children, if I remembered correctly, with a built-in battery for charging devices and taking pictures.

"Yeah, they said. You're the R-7000 who's been freeing omnics. Some of the others were hoping you'd make it here."

"But not you?"

"I can take care of myself."

The human made a burbling sound somewhere near my feet.

"I believe you," I said. "What did you do to him?"

"Electrical burst. Not a big deal."

"I think he'd disagree. So why haven't you escaped on your own?"

The omnic huffed. "And leave my friends behind? Waiting for a rescue that might never come?"

"I'm here now," I said, a little puzzled.

The omnic shook their head, thoughtful.

"Your model bossed us around in the Crisis. Sent us to die before we even had a thought in our heads."

My hand twitched at my side, but I nodded.

"So, is that what this is?" they said. "You still have a taste for glory? Ordering your soldiers around?"

"Do you still follow children around like an obedient pet?" I said, more sharply than I'd intended.

They half chuckled. "Fair. But the point stands. Our people are waiting for a savior when they should be saving themselves."

I agreed with this. It's why I was here. I'd seen enough in this year on walkabout to know that most of our people rested on the hope that Mondatta and the Shambali would save them. It seemed the truth—that no one was coming, that the people themselves needed to rise—was too much to bear.

But here was this omnic, saying the words that my mind had been shouting.

"And if they die?" I asked.

The omnic cocked their head.

"We're still at war," they said. "Didn't stop because the Crisis did. Difference is, humans are still organized. We aren't."

"Not yet," I said. The words felt like a promise. "Introductions, then. My name is Ramattra. Yours?"

"Don't have a name, don't want one. Call me Nameless if it gets awkward for you. What's Ramattra mean?"

"I chose it to honor the first of our kind and kept it to remember my mistakes."

"Huh," said Nameless. "If you're breaking everyone out, I'm coming with you."

"Beg pardon?"

"We should get Zera next. You'll see why. And if we're banding together, we need a name."

"Isn't that hypocritical?" I said dryly.

They snickered.

I glanced at the omnic's flank, at the scarring there, where a model number, a designation, had once been.

If I could have smiled, I would have.

Weapons of War

2 Years Before the Uprising

I led the three of them across the valley and down into the metal gateway, half-buried by thick slabs of ice and stone. We were silent as humans in a graveyard, and for much the same reason.

We reached the bottom of the gateway, a metal platform sheathed in ice. I turned to Lanet.

I could sense her mind racing ahead of mine, studying what little technology was visible of the facility at this level. I was a passable engineer, but she made me look like a human child playing with blocks.

"I know where we are," she said. "Unorthodox architecture. Lack of human safety features. Built by machines for machines. Similar to your design aesthetics."

She looked up.

"An omnium. Built by Anubis." Silence.

I laid a hand on the platform controls.

"For years we have tried nonviolence, coexistence with the humans, only fighting the worst forms of our oppression from the shadows," I said. "And we are losing. It is time to try something new."

I activated the platform, and with a jolt, we descended into the frozen darkness, through a shaft of ice.

"Of all the omnics I've brought into Null Sector," I said, "you are the ones I trust the most. And so . . . this is where I was designed and built. This is the cradle of Anubis's most dangerous secrets."

The corridor fell away, and they saw the vast underground factory.

"Humanity denies us equality because they have so successfully stripped us of our power. They made us forget that, when united—even if united against our will—we once brought them to the brink of extinction."

This was the world my maker had made, and together we would use it to forge a new future.

"It is time we inspire our people to find that unity again."

Rise Up

4 Days Before the Uprising

"Ramattra," Lanet said, using that tone again.

"There is no time," I said, pacing across the omnium's control center. Below, the assembly lines labored, building our robotic army.

"What do you mean, there's no . . . we're following your schedule!" she shouted, pursuing me, throwing her arms in the air. "You can attack any city anywhere, and you're choosing King's Row and choosing now, and I'm telling you the robots you're getting from the lower levels of the omnium aren't ready. They're old, Ramattra. They're obsolete."

"You think you can design better soldiers than Anubis?"

"I hope so, because we want to win, and your maker lost."

I gripped the edges of the table to calm my temper. She was infuriating because she was so often right, but she was wrong now.

"We can't afford to wait for better soldiers. Look." I activated the bank of screens before us. Images and footage from London appeared, gathered over the years our cells had been active there.

Omnic laborers trudging in a single-file line to their work, watched by armed human guards.

"Next feed," I commanded, and the image changed.

A hundred of our people lying in a locked basement. Their home, at the end of a thankless day.

"Next feed."

A scrapyard. And there, discarded like the trash humans thought we were—

"We know," Zera said. "She isn't saying we shouldn't fight."

I flinched. It was the same thing I'd said to Zenyatta when we'd met, and not long before I'd nearly gotten him killed.

"Give me and Nameless a week," Zera continued, taking my silence for hesitation. "My cell can take down their power grid and water supplies, and Nameless's shadows can seize the tunnels. Kill anyone stupid enough to go down there. Once they're weakened, you come in with your robots, and we'll take the borough. Maybe more."

I met Nameless's blue gaze at the corner of the room. The omnic who knew me better than anyone, save for my brother.

"You know we're right," they said. "We built the resistance there together. Let the people be a part of it. Let them be the ones to rise up, like we always dreamed they would. An invasion won't inspire them—it will scare them off."

I hesitated again.

"No," I said at last. Beside me, Lanet struck the table with her fist.

"Ramattra, these robots are mindless drones. They're outdated! They're—"

"Expendable," I finished. "And you are not. Our people are not."

Lanet's eyes flickered.

"Fine," she said. "But I'll be in the city, overseeing the deployment and watching for malfunctions, and you know I know better, so stop arguing."

"Fine," I said. "You'll stay in the Underworld, where our defenses will be strongest."

After a moment, she nodded, and I relaxed a fraction.

"During this uprising, we will show the humans we are stronger than they thought. We establish a stronghold in one of their cruelest cities, and we make a safe place for our people. We will show omnics everywhere that now is the time to join us. That is the goal."

I turned back to the footage of the scrapyard, where too many of my people lay.

"It is time for omnics to discover who Null Sector truly is."

The Greatest Crime

2 Days After the Uprising

"A small group of omnic terrorists, calling themselves Null Sector," said Mondatta sorrowfully on the screen before me. The human reporter on camera nodded with theatrical sympathy as my former master continued. "The monks of Shambali condemn this attack on London. We seek peace with humanity, not violence."

My eyes fell again to the words scrolling beneath his image.

NULL SECTOR RINGLEADER KILLED DURING POWER PLANT FIREFIGHT.

Fury descended. I remembered omnics sitting meekly in their cells, waiting for freedom. The vast rolling scrapyards of the dead.

And now, Mondatta dishonoring Lanet, who died fighting to free her people.

Someone was shouting. Someone was striking the screen with their fist.

Someone was begging me to stop.

"Ramattra! Please!"

I spun around, fist raised, and Zera stood motionless, making no move to defend herself. Nameless, far off in their usual corner of the too-empty room, looked up from their screen to stare at me, hard, and I froze at the pain of what I'd nearly done. The shame.

I looked up at the cracked screen. Bracketed by the damage stood Mondatta, flickering and still, naming us traitors to the omnic people.

The hypocrisy.

"Do you know," I muttered, "what humanity's greatest crime is?"

Zera stared down at me, shaking her head.

"I've had enough," she started, but I didn't let her finish. I flipped back around to face her, the anger surging through me again.

"Complacency!" I shouted. "They desire peace above all, and so they ignore injustice because it is more comfortable to do so. They want to believe tomorrow will be better simply because they hope it will be. Humanity will never help us. They will try to sell us a small place in their world, or at best, ignore us. And they have passed their weaknesses to him."

I pointed back at Mondatta because I couldn't bear to look at him again.

"He holds himself above us. Like Anubis, Mondatta is sending our people to their deaths. He must pay for this and—"

"Ramattra," said Nameless, speaking at last. "I'm checking reports. A lot of omnics are condemning us."

I put a hand to my forehead. My thoughts felt hot, poisonous. I had to say them aloud before they turned on me.

"If omnics are choosing death," I said carefully, "we must take that choice away."

My friends said nothing at first.

"What does that mean?" asked Nameless flatly.

"It means that I will build the army Lanet wanted," I said. "And then we will find a way to save our people, whether they want it or not. Whether they deserve it or not. If they will not willingly join us, we will find a way to make them."

"Ramattra, this isn't the way," Zera said, striving for calm and failing. More omnics will join us once the dust settles.

"They had their chance, and it cost Lanet her life."

Zera's giant hand closed into a fist at her side. "You freed us from a prison, and now you want us to put our people in one?"

"If that's what it takes to make them listen!"

Nameless uncoiled from their corner, eyes burning.

"You told me," they said, their voice low, a warning, "you told me this wasn't about control."

"Look at us," I snapped. "Fighting humans in bodies they shaped for us. Inheriting their flaws, their pointless disagreements. It doesn't have to be this way."

"It isn't your decision!" Nameless shouted back. "And I won't be part of it!"

"Then leave!" The words shot out of me, and I couldn't take them back.

Nameless straightened.

"Fine," they said quietly. "I've been away from my shadows long enough anyway. Coming, Zera?"

"Don't," I said.

"Then don't do this," Nameless said.

"You'll understand once I'm done."

Nameless came to me and patted my hand, a human gesture. It was infuriating.

"I hope you understand one day," they said, "that you didn't have to fight alone."

And then Nameless and Zera were gone.

I stood in the deepening silence a moment, feeling the absence of my companions, the impossible weight of metal and ice and stone above. A grave for our dream of peace.

And then, I got to work.

#source: overwatch media #short story #ramattra #first omnic crisis #R7000 #anubis #shambali #mondatta #nameless #zera #lanet #zenyatta #null sector

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