#Steve Saga Origins spoilers | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

illusion-reality-steve · 2 years ago

Text

Serious update: Why I discontinued the Mite Steve AU and the RRFF Extended AU

(Just to clear any worries I just spawned: don't worry, RRFF will not be discontinued, and Mite isn't gone forever. I just have different plans now.)

This is actually a decision that I made months ago, but it took me a long time to figure out how to explain my reasoning in a way that gave me emotional closure, without leaving it on a sad note. Well, I finally know what to say. I admit that the timing is awkward since I just had to delay the Reverse Rewrite AU, rip. But I don't want to delay this anymore, so here we go.

(Heads up: minor spoilers for RRFF in this explanation. It’s actually a spoiler for a plot point that’ll never be explored, but here’s a little heads up in case someone wanted it)

Why the Mite Steve AU is discontinued

Short explanation: I have drastically different ideas and plans for this AU now. I no longer want Mite’s story to be related to the Galaxy Family or Steve lore in general. Because of my new plans, I want to scrap the AU and start over in a new setting.

Long explanation:

The Mite Steve AU is basically a case of me mulling over a story idea for so long that new plans conflict with old plans. That's the fun thing about working on the same idea for years: current me is looking at past me's work and thinking of different ways to handle it.

For the Mite Steve AU, I actually never had a clear story - just a bunch of ideas around a concept I really liked. If you've been following this blog for years, you probably saw all the ideas I bounced around. Like Mite and Galaxy having an estranged father-son relationship, Void existing in this AU, Proto-Mite, Mite having a bunch of issues to work on (like his arrogance and his inability to relax), and Zero.

I've received some asks about the Mite Steve AU, but the truth is, I never had answers for these questions to begin with. I wanted Mite to defend Steves against a new threat, but I never figured out who or what that new threat was. I never figured out why Mite and Galaxy grew distant. I kept changing my ideas for Mite's origins. The only concrete ideas I had were Mite being a fusion, his personality, and his powers.

However, I enjoyed this messy idea phase without stressing too much, since this AU was just for fun. I figured all the pieces would come together eventually, and I’d figure out which ideas to keep and which ideas to make "uncanon" by then for the official story.

Fast forward to 2022. I stopped posting weekly about the Mite Steve AU because at that point, my ideas were really starting to conflict with each other, and I needed time to process it silently. During that time, one update I made for the revamped replacement of the Blue Straggler AU was taking it out of the Steve Saga world and building an original world. Because of that, I thought, "hey, what if I also take Mite Steve out of the Steve Saga world?" That made me realize something important:

The Mite Steve AU and what it was meant to be has changed, and I realized I'm no longer interested in making Mite’s story centered around the Galaxy Family, or Steve Saga lore in general.

Originally, my plan for this AU was, "hey, I like talking about the Galaxy Family through my fanworks! Let's make Mite’s story explore the Galaxy Family!” Then RRFF became my main focus. It turns out I got everything I wanted to say about the Galaxy Family through RRFF, and I’m content with using just RRFF to express all my love and creativity around the Family. I don’t need the Mite Steve AU to be another huge Galaxy Family fanfic. Since the Galaxy Family is the main thing I focus on in TSS, I realized there is no reason to keep Mite in TSS lore either. I'd rather use Mite’s story to explore different concepts now.

Eventually, I decided this was the route I wanted to take! So, I kept the few ideas that aligned with this new route and left most of the original ideas behind, so that I can focus on delivering these remaining ideas in the most epic way possible. I always knew I'd have to scrap some ideas once I decided on something, but wow, I never expected that I would basically scrap the entire AU and switch the lore!

Ultimately, this is what I mean by discontinuing the AU and starting the story over. I’m really excited with the new direction I have in mind, and I hope you guys enjoy it too once I’m ready to post about Mite again!

Which brings me to my next topic: Why the RRFF Extended AU is discontinued

What does the Mite Steve AU have to do with the RRFF Extended AU being discontinued too?

Here's the thing...the Mite Steve AU and the RRFF Extended AU are the same AU! Yes, this is a spoiler for RRFF, but RRFF and Mite’s story are connected!

While I was editing RRFF years ago, I had a thought to make RRFF connected to the Mite Steve AU, and I went with it, creating the RRFF Extended AU. RRFF became a prequel to the Mite Steve AU. I started planning a spin-off sequel for RRFF, which would connect RRFF to Mite Steve's backstory.

I’m discontinuing the RRFF Extended AU because that AU is the Mite Steve AU - the AU I didn’t have a clear story for and the AU I’m scrapping for new ideas and changed interests. I no longer want to write another multi-chapter Galaxy Family fanfic, so I’m canceling my plan to write RRFF’s spin-off sequel. I just want to focus all of my love and attention on RRFF, Memory, and Illusion.

How these AU's discontinuations will affect RRFF

Short answer: The only effect it will have on RRFF is some unanswered questions. RRFF will continue as is. RRFF will be a stand-alone story now.

Long answer:

Let me make this clear: although the process is slow, I do not plan to discontinue RRFF. The Mite Steve AU/RRFF extended AU may be discontinued, but RRFF is far from over! I still love RRFF and want to finish it and share the remaining chapters!

That said, there will be unanswered questions in RRFF due to the RRFF extended AU being discontinued. I don’t think I’ll ever answer these questions, since I never had solid answers in the first place. I hope the main story with Memory and Illusion is satisfying though, even if the subplots and hints about [Six Bright Eyes] and [the Narrator] will never get closure.

Final notes

Thank you so much for all the love the Mite Steve AU has received in the past ;0; I love Mite, and I'm so happy you guys enjoy him as well. Even though the AU is discontinued, I loved making posts for it while it was active!

Mite will return one day! Just in a completely different premise and setting - one that'll bring his story to his full potential. However, it’ll take some time until I’m ready to post about him again. If you’re interested and ok with waiting, thank you so much!

To everyone who's followed the journey of the Mite Steve AU and read all of this, thank you so so much. Take care!

#update #long post #mite steve au #mite steve #rq!mite steve #my ocs

6 notes · View notes

cirrus-grey · 6 years ago

Text

Avengers: Endgame

I did not think it was possible for me to fall more in love with Carol Danvers than I already was. I was wrong.

(Spoilers in the tags cause I don't want to ruin this for anyone but I also want to rant)

(Also this blog will be spoiler-free other than this post for thirty days - until May 28th - at which point I'm going to consider it free game to post stuff. It'll all have the tag "endgame spoilers" if you want to block it.)

#the continuing saga of my marvel reactions #mcu #avengers: endgame #endgame spoilers #aaaaannndddd big long tag here to make sure it goes under a read-more on mobile #1. steve and thor were ooc - thor particularly in the middle. steve at the very end #2. because of this bucky and loki didn't get the recognition they deserved - seriously steve 'with you till the end of the line' rogers #steve 'telling my younger self bucky's alive is the only thing that'll throw him off' rogers #wouldn't just leave like that #3. despite this i loved the movie - particularly the way lines and camera shots from previous movies were mirrored #4. i am so curious what happened in stark tower in the original 2012. shield showed up immediately??? i need to know more #5. i am very bi for carol danvers and sam wilson #6. this may just be due to carol's short hair and sam's wings. idk but i love them.#like 'heart rate spiked when they showed up' love them #7. also i fuckin knew steve was worthy! and my hands were literally shaking during that scene with worry and adrenaline #8. moving on to just favorite moments:#9. let's go lesbians! let's go!#10. captain steve america rogers?#11. actually everything with antman he's adorable.#12. as is spiderman.#13. all the quips and puns and nicknames.#14. 'on your left.' just that entire scene with the portals opening.#15. and just overall: i'm glad they took the time to focus on character interactions instead of it being all explosions and action.#16. and their timeline is fucked to hell and back. curious how that'll be resolved. if it ever is.#17. (did i mention i'm in love with carol danvers?)#original post #my mcu stuff

2 notes · View notes

3pirouette · 2 years ago

Text

Fic: The Prices We're Willing to Pay (Prologue & 1/?)

Title: The Prices We’re Willing to Pay By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette Spoilers: AU of the Infinity Saga and Phase 4. Disclaimer: They're not mine. Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :)

Story Summary: Inspired by Multiverse of Madness. What if it had all gone differently, and Peggy had nothing left to lose?

A/N: Yes, this may be another WIP. (I KNOW, I know…) For Steggy Week Day 6: What If…? I wrote this right after I saw Multiverse of Madness. I can’t get this idea out of my head. When I do write it, it will be short scenes from each movie/important continuity spots with a lot of space for either the reader to fill in their own thoughts or for me to go back and add scenes in afterwards. “Dates” are signified by what movie in the order we’re looking at an AU of…

~*~

Prologue: What Have you Lost? (Multiverse of Madness)

She turned, livid. “How dare you, Strange!”

“The Peggy Carter I knew…”

She shook her head, eyes wild. “That woman is gone. That life is gone. I have given ev—” Her chest heaved with emotion and she took a deep, shuddering breath. “I have given everything for this universe. My family, my friends. Steve and I fought—”

“And don’t you think he’d—”

“I don’t care!” She bellowed, the blue flare of power rising from her fingers as her feet left the ground. “I don’t care,” she whispered, lowering herself. “You don’t know what it was like, losing our whole lives to try to destroy Hydra only to find out it had never really been gone. To find out the horrors we fought so hard against had taken hold here in the future. To lose everything and still fight and then…” Tears fell from her lashes, her chin wavered but she continued. “You don’t know what it was like, feeling his lips on mine one second then feeling their absence as he ran to the edge of that cliff.” She stepped towards him, her eyes boring into his. When I woke up with that stone in my hand and my husband gone, I had nothing left to lose.”

He stood tall against her. “You enslaved a town!”

“I gave myself what I deserved!” Her anger radiated off of her in waves, crackling through the air like fire. “I gave everything for this universe! And I’ve never gotten a single thing back.” The laugh that fell from her lips surprised them both, but she kept chuckling until she was nearly manic. “How am I supposed to live off of hope and getting a pat on the back for doing good?” She doubled over, tears spilling from her lashes. “How- how was I supposed to stop him?”

“Creating a child, creating a fake life out of thin air—”

“It was real!” She bit out, standing up with a sneer on her face. “I couldn’t throw myself off that cliff because that child was real. Then, there, in that moment I was carrying Steve’s child.” She didn’t stop even though Strange sunk back, surprised and full of sadness for her. “Our baby was real right until the moment Thanos came back and bombarded us with explosions.” Her voice softened. “There was so much blood. I didn’t realize what had happened right away. Not for days, really. I didn’t know the pain wasn’t just from being thrown around trying to save humanity.” Her tears fell heavy now as she stepped back. “I lost everything saving humanity. Everything.”

Strange took a slow breath. “I’m sorry for that, Peggy, I truly am.” He held out a hand. “None of us have gotten through this without loss.”

She looked at him and his hand for a long second, even thought about taking it, but she’d come so far, and she wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass her by. Her smile was twisted as he felt his feet lift off the ground and he struggled against invisible bonds. “And what have you lost, Sorcerer Supreme?”

~*~

Chapter 1: The Hero Origin Story (Captain America: The First Avenger, part 1)

“Perhaps you’d be more comfortable—”

Erskine’s words died on his lips as they noticed the commotion in the viewing area, as MPs rushed the area, and the Generals rallied to fight a man in a suit.

There wasn’t time for a plan or ideas, no time to even think before the shots started to bounce wildly off machinery. By instinct only, Peggy turned, pushing Steve in front of her and to the relative shielding of the pod he was destined for in just a few minutes.

Breathless, he tried to switch their positions so that his back was the one exposed, but he only managed to struggle them sideways in the little pod. “Agent Carter,” he huffed out, unsure what he was going to follow it up with.

“Stay down!” She ordered, pressing his head against the padded bed and turning to pull her gun from her hip.

Before she could pull it out, an explosion rocked the facility, tumbling them back in the pod. They gripped each other tight as the brightness of the explosion faded, the pod closing in on them.

“What’s happening?” Erskine weakly called out.

“It’s damaged!” Stark’s voice was likewise scratchy. “Was there anyone in there?”

Peggy, groggy from the tumble back, shook her head and tried to bang on the glass, the space tight but not unmanageable. “We’re in here!”

“Hold tight,” Stark yelled.

“You ok?” Steve asked, wiggling in her arms.

“Fine. You?”

He didn’t get to answer. Another explosion bounced the whole apparatus and power surged through the cords. Needles that had been meant for Steve’s arms pressed in, preprogrammed to spill their precious elixir the moment the touched flesh. Instead of the meat of the biceps, the rows of needles found their spines and one thigh each of Steve and Peggy as they laid sideways. They both jolted at the sensation, surprised and scared.

Peggy’s breath shook, and she wasn’t sure if she was holding harder to Steve, he was grasping tighter, or they’d both simply latched on for dear life to the other as the bright light of the vita rays started to bounce around in the pod.

“Turn it off!” They heard Erskine shout.

Stark sounded nearly as panicked as they felt. “I can’t. It’s not responding!”

“Pull the plug!”

“That could kill them, too!”

It felt hot, like a million suns burning her skin, like a million needles in every inch of flesh, like her bones wanted to explode from her body. Suddenly, it felt like there wasn’t enough space, like there wasn’t enough air. She held tight to Steve, eyes pressed closed against the light.

She’d been prepared to die in this war, but she never thought it’s be like this.

The light and heat melted away, but it still felt too tight, too small.

She could feel Steve breathing against her, but somehow, they’d shifted and her head was cradled against his chest. She blinked her eyes open and couldn’t see a thing, but felt the rocking and grunting of the men outside trying to pry the doors open.

Steve’s voice was breathy and tired. “Agent Carter?”

“Call me Peggy,” she whispered, realizing this his chest was no longer the bony, frail thing she’d hugged to her to save him, but rather quite large and rumbling under her cheek. “If we manage to survive this, I think you can call me Peggy.”

“We’re… we’re gonna be ok.” He didn’t sound nearly as convinced as he wanted to be, she was sure.

Her hands shifted a little, taking in the muscle at his hips that hadn’t been there before, spanning inches that didn’t exist before. “You’re larger,” she whispered.

His hand ran over her arm, and she flexed under the tickling sensation. “I think we both are.”

Her breaths were finally slowing, and she began to relax in his arms, the yelling of the men outside less and less of a worry. “That why it seems so small in here?”

“Guess so.” He shifted under her. “This… this is going to sound weird.”

She laughed a bit. “Try me. I highly doubt anything you say right now would surprise me.”

“I can smell you.”

“You’ve surprised me.”

“No, no I…” She could feel the heat travel up his skin as he stuttered. “I haven’t been able to smell much of anything since I was ten, and you… you smell nice.” His chest moved against her. “I can take a deep breath, too, without coughing.”

She smiled against his chest. “I’m glad something worked, then.”

Without preamble, the pod tipped again. The doors tilted open with a creek and Peggy and Steve spilled out to the floor. They both looked up, surprised at the fire and ash around them.

Erskine and Stark looked down at them, just as amazed.

“It worked?” Stark asked, pulling off his goggles.

Erskine smiled. “It worked.”

“Peggy…” Steve mumbled, reaching out. She turned and looked at him just as he looked down and saw his own arm.

He was enormous, busting at the seams of his clothes, and as she reached out, she heard the own cloth of her shirt tear. She looked down at where her arm had bust through the fabric, the ripple of her bicep showing through.

“Bloody Nora.”

#SteggyWeek22 #Steggy Fic #AU #What If...? AU #3p's fic

17 notes · View notes

rebelsofshield · 2 years ago

Text

Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi: “Part VI”-Review

Obi-Wan Kenobi closes on a high note in an emotional, satisfying finale that centers character and catharsis.

(Review contains episode spoilers)

With the Empire hot in pursuit, Obi-Wan, Leia, and the members of the Path quickly search for a way to escape to safety. Meanwhile, Reva clings to life and revenge in a desperate search to find Anakin’s son, Luke Skywalker.

Despite its many faults, Obi-Wan Kenobi has always excelled at being a story about characters processing trauma. The climactic events that ended The Clone Wars left our principle cast emotionally and physically scarred. Reva fell down a dark path in the name of vengeance. Vader has become a monstrous amalgam of hatred and self-loathing. Obi-Wan spent the last ten years in a hopeless despair, focused only on the survival of Luke Skywalker. At the end of the day, Obi-Wan becomes a show about who is able to move on and grow from this trauma and who cannot escape the consequences of their actions. Like the best of Star Wars it shows how hope for the future can save those who are most lost and provide a guiding light in dark times.

Obi-Wan’s journey here is particularly cathartic and thematically well realized. Even if the road to this final episode has often been clunky and stop-gap, Obi-Wan’s triumphant final stand against Darth Vader and the quiet and emotional scenes that follow make up for most of the series’ missteps. This confrontation between master and apprentice may more closely meet the expectations of viewers than the brutal trouncing back in “Part III,” and it also looks significantly better. A generic quarry set is swapped out for a haunting, barren moon of towering rocky pillars. While Deborah Chow’s direction at times may be a tad too chaotic for the encounter, the duel between these two manages to capture the flash and spectacle of the prequel trilogy while still feeling like a fight and not an overly choreographed dance.

It also, like the best Star Wars lightsaber clashes, focuses on character just as much as laser swords. I appreciated the push and pull between both opponents and also how Obi-Wan’s escape from Vader’s impromptu tomb mimics the classic Master Planner saga from Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s original Amazing Spider-Man run. But the highlight of this encounter comes from Obi-Wan’s defeat of Vader, not only in its well choreographed spectacle but in the emotionally necessary discussion that follows. In the duel’s final moments, Obi-Wan slices away a portion of Vader’s ebony mask and for the first time in a decade master and apprentice finally meet eye to eye. The result is an emotionally gutting conversation and some of the best acting in the saga from both Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen. In perhaps the best moment of the series, Vader declares that he and not Obi-Wan is responsible for Anakin’s fate. It may come off as typical Vader loathing, but there is a small part of the interaction that reads like a twisted act of mercy. As if Vader is alleviating a weight from Obi-Wan’s shoulders, but only in the name of his own sick satisfaction. The look that Obi-Wan gives Vader in this moment shifts from shame and sadness to pity. The man he loves is truly gone, replaced by a monster.

It is a shame then that this moment is undercut by its almost identical similarity to a similar showdown in Star Wars Rebels. As emotional as McGregor and Christensen’s performance are, their confrontation can’t help but feel like a retread of an existing (and honestly better realized) sequence. The impulse is understandable, but the more Star Wars media tries to inhabit the same narrative ground as other projects, more toe stepping will begin to happen.

Given the climactic battle between Anakin and Vader, I appreciate the almost quiet way that Reva’s story resolves itself. Sure, there is the tense chase through the Lars Homestead, but it is Reva herself that decides to let her path of vengeance go. Her murder of an unconscious Luke does herself no good and doesn’t even come close to avenging her own suffering and the deaths of her friends. Its senseless violence and she finally is able to let go of the dark. And, in a welcome move, she lives. There is a future of this franchise that includes more of this shattered and tormented woman, who has walked both the light and dark. I really hope we don’t have to wait much longer before we see her again.

And while the final minutes of “Chapter VI” may give The Return of the King a run for its money in the number of fade-to-black false ends, the fact that Joby Harold, Hossein Amini, and Andrew Stanton’s script lingers on our protagonist is appreciated. Given that so much of this series has been about its title character finding peace and purpose once again, these moments of Obi-Wan finding direction for his future feel necessary. We get the meaningful goodbye to Leia, the quick first meeting of him and Luke, and the long awaited reappearance of his former master Qui-Gon Jinn as a Force Ghost. It shows a man that was shrouded in despair and cynicism embrace his past and future for a brighter future. It’s beautifully contrasted with a Vader who is only able to let go of his quest due to fearful loyalty to his master.

Thankfully, Obi-Wan closes out on a high note. Despite its sometimes awkward pacing and messy production, this series is among the most emotionally engaging material that the franchise has served up in quite some while. If Star Wars television always focused on emotion and humanity at the expense of spectacle, I think we’d be looking at a hopeful future.

Score: A-

#Star Wars #Obi-Wan Kenobi #Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi #review #reviews #Deborah Chow #Ewan McGregor

7 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years ago

Text

Black Widow Timeline Explained

https://ift.tt/3yH3sEi

This article contains Black Widow spoilers. Read our spoiler-free review here.

Who is Natasha Romanoff? It’s a question Marvel Studios coyly teased for years and then… failed to answer as a full decade and the entire “Infinity Saga” passed us by. Yes, the long overdue Black Widow movie is finally reaching theaters this weekend, but Nat was killed off years ago in the sacred timeline of Marvel Cinematic Universe canon.

Nevertheless, we are happy that the character and Scarlett Johansson received some much deserved closure, and in a film which fills in many of the blindspots in the Black Widow mythos, not least of which includes what she got up to between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.

With her narrative being seemingly closed for good, it’s time to unpack the oft-obscured life story of Natasha and consider whether she at last balanced out all that red in her ledger.

1984

The child who would become Natasha Romanoff is born in Stalingrad to a mother who is forced to give her over to the Soviet government. Despite the mother’s best efforts, she is unable to free Nat from the system. (Fury’s Big Week, Black Widow)

1992

After years of indoctrination and training in the Widow program, which is run out of Soviet Col. Dreykov’s Red Room, eight-year-old Natasha is selected alongside three-year-old Yelena to be part of KGB agents Alexi Shostakov and Melina Vostokoff’s cover story. The quartet of sleeper agents move to Ohio, posing as an all-American family while gathering American state secrets. (Black Widow)

1995

Alexi and Melina succeed in obtaining critical information and escape U.S. soil. Eleven-year-old Natasha and six-year-old Yelena, who’ve become increasingly Americanized and attached to the family identities they assumed, are traumatized. (Black Widow)

2002

Natasha completes her Widow training and graduates from the Red Room, which includes a “ceremony” where she is asked to execute a man bound to a chair. She is then sterilized on an operating table. Dreykov believes robbing ��widows” of the chance to have children makes them more ruthless killers. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

2002 – 2007

Natasha is involved in multiple mysterious and apparently bloody Widow operations, which include incidents of murder in São Paulo and a separate “hospital fire” atrocity she is still haunted by. (The Avengers)

2007 – 2008

Clint Barton recruits Natasha into the West’s international SHIELD organization. Part of her defection comes at the price of assassinating Dreykov in Budapest. However, it is merely Dreykov’s young daughter Antonia who feels the fire of Nat’s explosives. (The Avengers, Black Widow)

2009

Natasha has her first run in with the Winter Soldier when she attempts to extract a defecting nuclear engineer out of Iran. A brainwashed Bucky Barnes steals her prize by running her car off a cliff in Ukraine and then shooting a bullet through Nat’s stomach and into her asset—killing him instantly. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Around this time, Natasha becomes an unofficial member of Clint Barton’s secret family, who live on an idyllic farmhouse. She’s known there as Auntie Nat. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

2010

Natasha infiltrates Stark Industries under the alias of Natalie Rushman, working as a legal assistant who moonlights as a model in order to catch Tony Stark’s lascivious eye. (Iron Man 2)

Natalie becomes Tony’s assistant but is actually spying on him for SHIELD, which has come to realize Tony’s arc reactor—which saved his life in Afghanistan—is now poisoning him. Nat eventually reveals she’s a SHIELD agent and helps prevent an assassination attempt on Stark’s life by rival forces. (Iron Man 2)

Movies

The Black Widow Movie You Never Saw

By Don Kaye

Movies

Florence Pugh’s Best Roles: What to Watch After Black Widow

By Kayti Burt

2012

Nat abandons her infiltration of the Russian underworld to recruit Bruce Banner to SHIELD after Loki arrives on Earth, brainwashing Clint Barton and planning world domination. She later successfully interrogates and manipulates the supposed God of Mischief. (The Avengers)

Natasha becomes one of the founding members of the Avengers after saving the world from an alien invasion alongside Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk in the Battle of New York. (The Avengers)

2014

Still working for SHIELD, Natasha infiltrates a pirate-commandeered SHIELD vessel to protect/steal precious SHIELD secrets while Captain America naively thinks they’re there to save hostages. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

Black Widow goes rogue alongside Cap after an assassination attempt on her mentor, Col. Nick Fury. Fury of course survived and forms an underground operation with Nat and Rogers to root out HYDRA sleeper cells who’ve slowly taken over SHIELD leadership during the past 70 years. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

After saving the world from HYDRA’s latest attempt at world domination, Natasha publicly reprimands the American government at a baffling Capitol Hill hearing where she is being questioned by Pentagon brass. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

… MEANWHILE the Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton from circa 2023—nearly a decade older and sadder—time travel to 2014 in order to undo the damage Thanos caused when he snapped half of life in the universe out of existence with the Infinity Stones. They journey to the planet Vormir where they’re told one will have to die in order to obtain the Soul Stone. Black Widow and Hawkeye fight over who will have the right to sacrifice themselves for the other—Natasha wins and falls to her death, thus ending her tragic timeline in the past. (Avengers: Endgame)

2015

Black Widow becomes a full-time Avenger, joining the team as they dismantle the last HYDRA base in Sokovia. They regain Loki’s powerful scepter with an infinity stone inside. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Black Widow strikes up an intimate and unrequited connection with Bruce Banner. She is the only Avenger able to talk the Hulk down from his rages. The pair consider running off together, but their burgeoning romance is thwarted by the arrival of Ultron—an artificial intelligence that wants to… destroy the world. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

Nat and the Avengers prevent Ultron from killing all organic life on Earth—which involved lifting Sokovia’s capital city into the sky and then dropping it like an asteroid—but in the carnage, Banner/Hulk chooses not to pursue a relationship with Nat, disappearing to parts unknown as she accepts her role as a leader of the growing Avengers roster. (Avengers: Age of Ultron)

2016

Black Widow is part of an Avengers operation in Lagos, Nigeria, which goes horribly wrong when in an attempt to stop terrorist Brock Rumlow from stealing a biological weapon, an entire office floor of civilians is killed. (Captain America: Civil War)

Shortly after the Lagos incident, the Sokovia Accords are signed by the UN, requiring Avengers and other superpowered individuals to register themselves under the jurisdiction of the UN Security Council. Natasha at first accepts this as a reasonable path forward. She changes her mind when pro-Accords Avenger Tony Stark comes to blows with the resident skeptic, Steve Rogers, in Berlin. Romanoff helps Rogers escape and then also goes to ground. (Captain America: Civil War)

As a rogue agent, Natasha is invited back to Budapest and reunites with her faux-little sister Yelena, who reveals Dreykov is still alive and now is literally controlling the minds of the other young women he’s trained to be widows via mind-altering drugs. (Black Widow)

Nat and Yelena decide to track Dreykov down and kill him for real, and do so by freeing their “father” Alexi from Siberia and reconnecting with their “mother” Melina, who is still loyal to the Widow program. Melina nonetheless takes her girls to the Red Room, the hidden air fortress where they were trained as children. Yelena kills Dreykov and Natasha frees all the women under Dreykov’s control, including his daughter who did not actually die in Budapest. (Black Widow)

Natasha reconnects with Steve Rogers and helps him free Wanda Maximoff, Scott Lang, Sam Wilson, and Clint Barton from the government’s “the Raft” prison vessel. (Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow)

2018

As Thanos’ alien forces invade Earth, Rogers, Romanoff, and other renegade Avengers come out of hiding to save the universe. Natasha is reunited with Banner, and all of them converge in an epic battle against the armies of Thanos in Wakanda. (Avengers: Infinity War)

After the Avengers fail to stop Thanos from collecting all the Infinity Stones, Nat watches many of her friends turn to dust, along with half the living creatures in existence. (Avengers: Infinity War)

Black Widow and the Avengers track Thanos down to an uninhabited planet, only to discover he’s destroyed the Infinity Stones they planned to use to resurrect the universe. Thor decapitates Thanos in a pyrrhic attempt at revenge. (Avengers: Endgame)

2023

Natasha has become the top leader of the Avengers, organizing their superheroism throughout the cosmos via intergalactic Zoom sessions with Captain Marvel, Rocket, and others. Yet she and Rogers quietly cling to the hope of reversing Thanos’ victory. (Avengers: Endgame)

When Scott Lang returns from the Quantum Realm, revealing he’s inadvertently discovered time travel, Nat and Steve get the original Avengers lineup back together to travel into the past in order to steal the Infinity Stones. Return to the 2014 section to find out how that ended for Black Widow… (Avengers: Endgame)

2024

After Natasha traveled to her destiny in the past, Yelena visits her grave in Ohio… and is recruited for a new kind of team. (Black Widow)

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post Black Widow Timeline Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3hU0sh4

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

16 notes · View notes

gorogues · 4 years ago

Photo

Spoilers for comics in May!

Pretty sparse again, and it’s really just collected editions which are of interest...though Len appears on the variant cover of the Super Sons issue. I don’t think he’s in any of the stories thus far.

You can see the solicits in full at CBR.

CHALLENGE OF THE SUPER SONS #2 written by PETER J. TOMASI art by MAX RAYNOR and JORGE CORONA cover by SIMONE DI MEO card stock variant cover by NICK BRADSHAW ON SALE 5/11/21 $3.99 US | 32 PAGES | 2 of 7 | FC | DC CARD STOCK VARIANT COVER $4.99 US Okay, Robin and Superboy saved the Flash from certain annihilation...surely the day is saved and everyone can go home and watch TV, right? Wrong! Once the Doom Scroll inscribes a name on its mystical list, the bearer of that name will be imminently killed—and the heroes of the Justice League are being targeted one by one! Next up? Wonder Woman! Plus, see just what happened when the boys were snatched from reality, and how they first encountered the Doom Scroll...in medieval England?

From here, we’ve got a ton of collected editions. The Mark Waid book has some Replicant and Piper. @one-rogue-army

THE FLASH BY MARK WAID BOOK EIGHT TP written by MARK WAID, BRIAN AUGUSTYN, and JOE CASEY art by PAUL PELLETIER, DUNCAN ROULEAU, SCOTT KOLINS, DOUG BRAITHWAITE, and others cover by STEVE LIGHTLE ON SALE 6/15/21 $34.99 US | $45.99 CAN | 368 PAGES | FC | DC Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-77951-010-5 As this latest collection of Flash tales written by Mark Waid begins, meet Walter West, a Flash from a parallel reality where his beloved Linda Park died and the speedster doles out brutal justice to criminals as a response. Can the two Flashes co-exist long enough to stop Replicant, a villain with the combined powers of the Rogues Gallery? Better find out fast—the longer Walter West stays on Wally’s Earth, the more he poses a threat to all of reality! Collects The Flash #151-162, The Flash Annual #12, and pages from The Flash Secret Files #2.

This Justice League trade has a classic Eobard story, from the Secret Society of Super-Villains (he acts like a creep towards Black Canary). There’s also a good Kadabra and Sam story reprinted here.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA: THE BRONZE AGE OMNIBUS VOL. 3 HC written by GERRY CONWAY, PAUL LEVITZ, MARTIN PASKO, and STEVE ENGLEHART art by DICK DILLIN, GEORGE TUSKA, and others cover by KARL KERSCHL ON SALE 7/6/21 $125.00 US | $163.00 CAN | 1,192 PAGES | FC | DC Hardcover 7.0625" x 10.875" ISBN: 978-1-77951-016-7 The JLA moves into the second half of the ’70s with tales guest-starring the Justice Society of America, the Legion of Super-Heroes, and heroes from the long-gone past including Jonah Hex, the Viking Prince, Enemy Ace, and more. Plus, the League’s mascot, Snapper Carr, turns against the team, the Phantom Stranger helps the team battle a returning pantheon of ancient gods, the Martian Manhunter faces Despero for the lives of the League, and the Secret Society of Super-Villains swap bodies with the World’s Greatest Superheroes. Plus, Black Lightning is invited to join the JLA—but turns down the invitation for mysterious reasons. Collects Justice League of America #147-182, Super-Team Family #11-14, DC Special #27, DC Special Series #6, Secret Society of Super-Villains #15, DC Comics Presents #17, and pages from Amazing World of DC comics #14.

If you missed the digital releases, here’s your chance to buy this cool AU Hartley story!

DCEASED: HOPE AT WORLD’S END HC written by TOM TAYLOR art by DUSTIN NGUYEN, RENATO GUEDES, CARMINE DI GIANDOMENICO, MARCO FAILLA, KARL MOSTERT, and DANIELE DI NICUOLO cover by FRANCESCO MATTINA ON SALE 6/15/21 $24.99 US | $33.99 CAN | 176 PAGES | FC | DC HARDCOVER ISBN: 978-1-77951-128-7 In Earth’s darkest hour, heroes will bring hope in this new addition to the DCeased saga, taking place within the timeline of the original epic! DCeased became a smash horror hit in 2019 by offering a twisted version of the DC Universe infected by the Anti-Life Equation, transforming heroes and villains alike into mindless monsters. DCeased: Hope at World’s End, previously only available digitally, expands the world of that original DCeased series by filling in that story’s time jump and focusing on characters including Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Stephanie Brown, Wally West, and Jimmy Olsen. In DCeased: Hope at World’s End, the Anti-Life Equation has infected over a billion people on Earth. Heroes and villains have fallen. In the immediate aftermath of the destruction of Metropolis, Superman and Wonder Woman spearhead an effort to stem the tide of infection, preserve and protect survivors, and plan for what’s next. In the Earth’s darkest hour, heroes will bring hope! The war for Earth has only just begun! This volume collects DCeased: Hope at World’s End Digital Chapters 1-15.

And this is for the AU Eobard story.

TALES FROM THE DC DARK MULTIVERSE II HC stories and art by VARIOUS cover by DAVID MARQUEZ ON SALE 6/8/21 $34.99 US | $45.99 CAN | 368 PAGES | FC | DC Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-77951-007-5 The gateway into the Dark Multiverse has been opened...what stories will emerge? Follow Batman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League as our heroes battle their way through these crumbling and shattered worlds! Collects Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Batman: Hush #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Flashpoint #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Wonder Woman: War of the Gods #1; Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Crisis on Infinite Earths #1; and Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal #1, plus the stories that inspired these tales from Batman #619, Flashpoint #1, Wonder Woman: War of the Gods #4, Crisis on Infinite Earths #12, and Dark Nights: Metal #6.

#Captain Cold #Professor Zoom #Pied Piper #Replicant #the Flash #solicits #spoilers: comics

24 notes · View notes

thejakeformerlyknownasprince · 4 years ago

Note

What if the Avengers were the Animorphs? I'd think it wouldn't go that well, but I'd like ta hear your opinion.

Nonny, I 100% agree. Assuming this is a universe in which the six original MCU Avengers bump into Elfangor in a construction site just before what would otherwise be the events of the Avengers movie, a few thoughts on just how badly that would go:

None of them would morph. It’s a new technology, it’s a technology they don’t trust, and it’s a technology that threatens their sense of autonomy, which for Clint and Natasha especially would be a giant flashing “NOPE!” sign. They’re intelligent adults, and they’d almost certainly talk themselves (and each other) out of using it.

Probably Tony would express an interest in at least giving it a try, in the name of Science! Probably Bruce would, very gently, tell Tony that attempting to transform one’s own body using untested technology does not tend to end well. Probably Tony would take Bruce’s point, and just not morph.

This is also a team of people who have pre-existing weapons with more firepower and fewer drawbacks than morphing affords. If mind-controlling aliens are invading, they’d probably fall back on tried-and-true methods like hammers and arrows.

Steve would immediately tell The Proper Authorities about the invasion. He would not listen to Elfangor’s (or Tony’s, or Bruce’s) warnings about The Proper Authorities. Not because he doesn’t believe them about yeerks, just that he honest-to-bob believes in The System. He’d believe that 15% of cops being controllers isn’t enough to make all cops bad, and would totally believe that if they can just make sure everyone knows about the invasion then they can surely muster a resistance movement from among his fellow Americans.

Steve would not properly estimate just how many casualties this move would result in. The authorities being 15% yeerks is still plenty of yeerks to get 50% of people killed in the crossfire. And The System is not exactly capable of standing up to a strong battering from within the way that Steve might hope.

Not only that, but an open invasion (which Steve would accidentally kick off) gives Visser Three license to do everything in his power to annihilate the 90% of humans they don’t need for host bodies. And given that the yeerks can cook an entire planet from the outer atmosphere (#52), that would not end well.

If Steve would handle the news of the yeerks the worst, Natasha would handle it the best. Can’t trust anyone or anything? Can’t reveal your secrets to the world? Need to protect your identity at all costs? Cool, she was already on that train well before Elfangor arrived.

Honestly, Natasha might pull an Alice* gambit: grab Clint, burn their identities, and run for the hills. They’d still be working on trying to solve the alien thing from within their safe house in the Chilean wilderness, but if their plan didn’t succeed then they’d be well positioned to just... stay put and let their friends do the vainglorious dying for the cause.

Thor would probably take a far more measured approach to the problem. He’d definitely fight anyone who attacked him first, and he’d be more than happy to destroy yeerk pools and ground-based kandrona generators and the like, but he also wouldn’t concern himself too much with the bigger picture the way that especially Steve and Natasha do.

Honestly can’t decide what the most irresponsible thing Tony could possibly do with yeerk and/or andalite technology, but by gum he’d find it and do it. Possibilities include:

Sneaking off in the middle of the night to test the limits of the morphing tech, Bruce’s warnings be damned. Note that he still wouldn’t be weaponizing the morphing; he’d just be doing things like trying to morph plants or trying to acquire DNA samples without living animals attached or trying to demorph after 1 hour 59 minutes.

Using andalite communications technology to hack all yeerk and human lines to everything. Whether or not he’d actually get anything useful from this big BIG data would depend on how distracted he got by trying to find proof that Nick Fury listens to boy bands or Captain America secretly watches porn.

Trying to make his own chee, at home, in his garage, using only what he’s seen of the chee themselves. Obviously this would end in Ultron, who honestly couldn’t really make the situation all that much worse.

Buying the entire Quaker Oats company, and copyrighting their maple-and-ginger instant blend. Again, this one could go really well or really badly, depending on what he does with that copyright once he’s got it.

Also: Loki would get his ass handed to him by Visser One before he was on Earth more than 10 minutes. And none of the Avengimorphs would ever know that they’d dodged that bullet.

* [Twilight saga spoilers]: In Breaking Dawn, Alice foresees that her family’s well-meaning but stupid plan to challenge vampire authorities is likely to get them all killed. Knowing she can’t dissuade any of them from the plan, she settles for packing up her hubby and running for it. They do end up finding a way to save the day while they’re off in Chile, but it’s strongly implied that if they hadn’t then they would’ve just stayed put, poured one out for their dead fam, and carried on with their lives.

#animorphs #avengers #au #animorphs meta #sorry this is not a proper au #i'm retreading ground here #and i'm doing my best to write fewer unhappy endings #anonymous #asks

56 notes · View notes

noisulivone · 3 years ago

Photo

Me había tardado en preparar la reseña pero aquí les voy a compartir mi opinión agrande rasgos de la película Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, la conclusión de la saga de historias de Arcadia de Guillermo del Toro.

La trama en si continua donde se quedo la historia después de la serie de magos, donde los dos grandes hechiceros buscan a su tercera integrante para así levantar tres titanes que regresen la vida de la tierra como en su estado original, pero Jim Lake jr y sus amigos no van a permitirlo. Así inicia una carrera contra el tiempo para evitar un nuevo apocalipsis.

Sin entrar en spoilers puedo comentar que la historia en general se presenta muy apresurada, hay detalles que no parecen ser necesarias para la trama y otras que traicionan el mismo lore de la serie, pero aún así no se queda corta arriesgarse a intentar salirse de lo predecible. La animación es estupenda, pero a comparación de muchas escenas de combate presentes en las series anteriores, realmente le faltó algo de coreografías.

Ahora sí entrando en el terreno de los spoilers me gustaría comentar los detalles más polémicos de la película, lo primero sería el embarazo de Steve. Ante nada, no es la primera y probablemente no será la última vez que se presente en series animadas un embarazo masculino. No sé si se deba que las políticas de género aún causado un rechazo en muchas personas y en su estado de enfrentar tales teorías, llegan a sentirse incómodos con la idea de un embarazo masculino; y para aquellos que los apoyan la política de las personas gestantes, pueden sentirse agredidos a la forma cómica se emplea un embarazo masculino. Ambas formas me parecen que lo están sobre analizando demasiado una situación graciosa en una serie animada.

Ahora sobre la muerte de los personajes, deben de recordar que toda la saga de las historia de Arcadia han muerto personajes importantes y secundarios, buenos y/o malos. No es nada nuevo para sentirse decepcionados de que no todos tuvieron su final feliz.

Ya por último el final, debo de admirar el hecho que se arriesgaron con ese tipo de final, que prácticamente resetea toda la historia, debo de estar de acuerdo con la contradicción que implica que Toby sea el Trollhunter, ya que toda la serie Jim debe de pelear con tal deber desde el punto de vista ser elegido para tal labor, pero al mismo tiempo se consideraba el Trollhunter con o sin el talismán. Era su destino, fue elegido, no era algo que se daba por suerte o casualidad. Así había sido con los Trollhunters anteriores y con aquellos que habían deseado serlo. No tiene sentido que ahora Toby pueda ser simplemente el nuevo Trollhunter por encontrar el talismán por maquinación de Jim. Además, Jim era llamado el joven atlas, porque cargaba con todo el peso del mundo sobre sus hombros, por ello muchas veces fue superado por su responsabilidad. Así que sabiendo lo pesado y los sacrificios que implica ser un Trollhunter, me parece difícil que deje a su mejor amigo pasar por ello, para él tener una vida normal.

En general, el final está bastante decente, original y arriesgado, por ello se le admira; pero no todo los riesgos son recompensados.

#Trollhunters

3 notes · View notes

nomiliy · 4 years ago

Link

Chapters: 11/14 Fandom: Cirque du Freak | The Saga of Darren Shan - Darren Shan Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage Relationships: Steve Leonard/Darren Shan, Steve Leonard & Darren Shan, Steve "Leopard" Leonard/Darren Shan Characters: Steve "Leopard" Leonard, Darren Shan, Angela Shan, Dermot Shan, Annie Shan, Original Characters Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia, Recreational Drug Use, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Drunk Sex, Masturbation, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Timelines, Domestic Violence, Eventual Happy Ending, Book 9 Spoilers, Steve and Darren are 17

Summary:

id·i·ot sa·vant

noun

1. A person who is considered to be mentally handicapped but displays brilliance in a specific area, especially one involving memory.

2. A person displaying great intelligence or aptitude for mental endeavors but completely lacks common sense, particularly social skills.

3. Steve fucking Leonard.

This series is my pride and joy. I’ve been writing it for two years and I’m completing it this year, hopefully by October/November. I’ve become a better writer thanks to this series, and even though there are issues with the series I’m still so proud of what I’ve done so far.

A huge thanks to everyone that reads and supports my work. Comments, kudos, views - every little bit of interaction keeps me going and makes my heart soar. I started writing this fic for myself, but it feels amazing to write for others, too <3

#fanwork appreciation #idiot savant #starren #steve/darren #darren shan #saga of darren shan #steve leonard #steve leopard #fanfic #fanfiction

3 notes · View notes

illusion-reality-steve · 3 years ago

Text

Someone who knows nothing about RQ reacts to the RQ Series Finale

Fun fact, I was actually at the premiere of the series finale. A few (many several) minutes late, but I was there, watching the finale with all the other early-birds on the west side of the Americas.

I honesty don’t know why I did. I don’t have much to say about it, so I’ll just document my reaction to the finale through memes and comments (spoilers ahead, obviously):

Sabre, monologuing: Blah blah, heroism. Blah blah, each hero is better than the last.

Me, who has seen what happened to Void and Orange!Rainbow and doesn’t know what Sabre, Time, and Light did to outshine them: *presses X for doubt*

Hypno: *being all pessimistic and being edgy by looking forward to the end of the world*

Origin: *shows out of nowhere to prove Hypno wrong*

Me:

[ID: A reaction image of the Clickhole article title ”Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point.” End ID.]

Me, waiting for the scene to change because I have no idea what these characters are rambling about:

[ID: A gif of Spiderman from the MCU looking around with a perplexed expression. The gif has the captions “*freaking out,” as well as question marks and exclamation points appearing around Spiderman. End ID.]

Origin Steve: *tells Sabre that he is his creator*

My brain, immediately:

youtube

[ID: A video of the “DA DA” scene from Shrek the Third, where Shrek is in a nightmare and is terrified by Donkey, whose head has been replaced with an ogre baby’s head, and is crying out “DA DA” in a deep voice. End ID.]

---

So Sabre went from a goofy human who’s just trying to do his best, to the anti-hero hot mess that I hear about, to some mythical figure in Steve history.

---

I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but I was hoping that you guys would have a happy ending for this series.

Honestly, how do you guys handle this series? I’m personally not a huge fan of RQ because I heard how dark and pessimistic it can get. Were you guys expecting this pessimistic, kinda cryptic ending? This resolution where we don’t know yet if whatever they’re fighting for can be saved? You guys don’t even know if Time survived or not.

While I am confused by the ending, and have no idea if it’s good or bad, I can appreciate it.

I had a sense that one theme of Rainbow Quest is “a hero’s work is never done.” And Sabre having to start from scratch in the timeline and go on an epic mission ties to that theme well.

Steve Saga had a pretty messy ending with that bedrock and Ender Crystal thing, and then God Steve just fixing it all. As someone who’s more familiar with TSS than RQ, I see the parallels between the endings with an unstoppable natural disaster that can only be stopped by resetting it all. So I appreciate that Sabre offered a cleaner, more organized take on that ending through RQ.

I couldn’t take that beginning monologue seriously, but that ending monologue/pan was beautiful. It moved me.

---

Again, I know nothing about RQ. So any opinions I expressed in this reaction post is probably the most uninformed opinions you’ve ever heard. So don’t take what I said seriously, or just laugh with me or laugh at me.

Anyways, I hope the Rainbow Quest fandom is having a good day today.

I don’t know if I’ll watch Steve Legends, but I hope you guys enjoy that show!

......

.......

........

[ID: An image of Vanya and Five driving past each other in Umbrella Academy. End ID.]

[ID: The Vanya and Five Drive Past Each other meme. Vanya, labelled “RQ finale dropping a huge plot twist/reveal”, drives with a shocked expression while looking at Five, labelled “RRFF AU planning to use a similar twist/reveal.” End ID.]

Shameless plug of my fanfic and its extended AU is shameless

#reaction #rainbow quest #rainbow quest spoilers #favremysabre #rrff spoilers #steve saga

14 notes · View notes

thecomicsnexus · 4 years ago

Photo

LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #37-38 / SUPERMAN #8 / ACTION COMICS #591 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1987 BY JOHN BYRNE, PAUL LEVITZ, GREG LAROCQUE, MIKE DECARLO, KARL KESEL, TOM ZIUKO, CARL GAFFORD, STEVE LIGHTLE AND BILL SIENKIEWICZ

If that is a lot of banners... it’s for a good reason!

The Legion of Super-Heroes, after Cosmic Boy’s return from the present (Legends), decides to go to the end of time and face the Time Trapper. But they quickly realized they went back in time instead, to the Smallville of Superboy. But if history has been modified, and that past never existed... where are they?

SCORE: 8

Boy, this is really hard to do without spoilers, so let’s get technical first.

The story is mostly good, but I still find issues with the Time Trapper’s motivations. This is probably caused by his identity not being known, so it is also hard to understand the character. I did find some interesting contrasts between Superman and Superboy and his town. Silver Age logic still applies to this world, so decisions are made in strange ways, and characters are not completely sincere to the reader until it’s time. My guess is that this was intentional.

This story was meant to provide some clarity around the Legion’s origins post-crisis, but the Crisis itself keeps making things more complicated. I will go through the details in the spoilers section.

The art is quite interesting. I am not sure if breakdowns were provided for LOSH #37 and Superman #8... but we get the same panels, same angles, different artists. That is some amazing pre-internet hard work.

LaRocque doesn’t do a good Superboy. This surprised me, as I assumed Byrne’s Superboy was going to look weird. But he looks really good. You can tell them apart.

Spoilers after the break...

The first two chapters tell the same story from different perspectives, but both episodes mention the Crisis as an actual event. Now, we know the Crisis still happened in New Earth, but we do not know what it was about. Or was it about parallel universes? It is confusing. Especially when Superman remembers Superboy-Prime and the fact that he ended up in limbo. So with all this information, we can assume, that maybe heroes remember other Earths, even if they didn’t exist for the new timeline? It’s confusing.

Seeing Krypto become a regular dog was sad. But the Action Comics chapter added the hidden plot that explains why the Legion teamed-up with a Superboy that never existed. So... the Time Trapper, for unknown reasons, didn’t want the legionnaires finding their way to the past. So he took a snapshot of Earth at a certain time and spun it off, manipulating events in it, conforming what we knew all along as the Superboy’s Earth (or past). So it isn’t an alternate Earth, it’s a pocket universe. And every time the Legion traveled to the past, Time Trapper would send them to this universe instead. So they didn’t interact with the real past until Legends.

The reason why Superboy agrees to the Time Trapper’s plot, is because Time Trapper delayed the effects of the Crisis, referenced here as a galactic storm (not anti-matter), reinforcing my ideas that the Crisis was still not about alternate Earths. So, in order to keep his universe whole, Superboy has to deliver the legionnaires to their deaths. I am not entirely sure why he cannot do it some other way by his own means.

When Superman makes Superboy realize he has to fight back, he takes the fight to the Time Trapper (without Superman) and during the confrontation, Time Trapper lifts whatever was keeping the universe safe from the Crisis. Superboy does what he can to move the Earth away from the storm and then helps the Legion escape the pocket universe. He then dies.

Now, to me pre-crisis Legion was a mess. And any stories involving time-travel and Superboy putting his life in danger in the future made NO SENSE. The Legion was always panels away of undoing their timeline.

Since Superboy didn’t exist, the inspiration they got to become who they are, has more to do with “fake history”. They believed Superboy existed. And the pocket universe provided an extension to that fantasy. This kind of make sense, but then you remember Time Trapper did all this to some day make Superboy kill them... which is a very long con to me.

But if you are a fan of pre-crisis Legion, this story may be an insult to you. I can see people being irritated by this retcon.

If anything, it is inconsistent with the rest of the universe. Batman was retconned after the crisis. Jason Todd changed completely, even Dick Grayson’s achievements changed. So, it wasn’t that hard to just wish Superboy away from Legion canon. A new origin could have been provided, still using Superman.

But for Superman fans... this saga is good. Because it creates the pocket dimension that will give us Supergirl... and one of the most controversial Superman stories of the eighties.

#dc comics #bill sienkiewicz #superman #legion of super heroes #comics #review #1987 #modern age #steve lightle #john byrne #superboy #krypto #legends #action comics #crisis on infinite earths

10 notes · View notes

recentanimenews · 4 years ago

Text

FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with Steve Yurko

I love One Piece and I love talking to people who love One Piece. And with the series going on 23 years now, there is a whole lot to talk about. As the series is about to publish its 1000th chapter, a true feat in and of itself, we thought we should reflect upon the high-seas adventure and sit down with some notable names in the One Piece fan community and chat about the arcs they found to be especially important, or just ones they really, really liked.

Welcome to the next article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

My next guest in this series is Steve Yurko, co-host of The One Piece Podcast, a podcast with a subject you can probably guess. He's also a former storyboard artist for Rick & Morty and is currently working for Netflix Animation. As a ride-or-die Sanji fan, Steve chose the Baratie Arc, where Luffy and the gang run into an East Blue restaurant with a cool chef that loves to cook and kick.

A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Baratie arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Arlong Park arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

Dan Dockery: So a friend tells you, "I'm done with the Syrup Village arc and I'm not sure if I want to watch this next one. I think I might be tapped out on this whole One Piece thing. In one sentence, how do you get them to stay and watch the Baratie arc?

Steve Yurko: The Baratie arc laid down the foundation and created the formula of the One Piece arc as we know it.

That's pretty good!

Yeah, I’d say that, when I first started it, One Piece was my third favorite. I was more of a fan of series like Shaman King and Naruto, but after Baratie, things shifted. It was a turning point for me. I would hope that it would do the same for anyone who’s, say, previously apathetic towards the series.

How old were you when you first read it? Or watched it?

It feels weird to say this, but my introduction to One Piece was Chapter 1. Like Dragon Ball Z, the first episode I can remember watching was, like, Yamcha training on King Kai’s planet, and I’d get Goku and Yamcha confused and stuff, because I had just dived in. So for me to start a story like One Piece from the beginning is kind of rare. I was 15, I think.

So, we're jumping into Baratie, and we first see the guy with the brass knuckles, Fullbody. He's trying to act cool on a date and he's being mean to everyone else. And then we have Sanji being typical Cool Sanji and Fullbody acts up and Sanji just tears through him. How did you react? Did you know immediately that you'd like this waiter?

Well, I don't want to alarm you here, but my first thought was “Sanji’s cool!” I’d seen images of him before, and I saw his black suit and blond hair and I figured, “Oh, another crew member, probably. Looks distinct enough.” So I often have to look back and wonder “Did I like him because of his edgy coolness?” but I think now it’s because there were more layers to him. Like, he definitely stands out from the other Straw Hats, but he also has this distinct fighting style with cool reasoning. He’s a cook and he doesn’t want to bust up his hands trying to punch people in the face, so he uses his feet. So, he does like these cool capoeira kicks, which only gets better as they go along because I feel like so many anime characters, the stronger they get, the more they start to fight the same with fast volleys of punches and laser blasts. So Sanji’s kicks are a great way to differentiate himself from the main cast and other anime heroes.

So, then we have Luffy, he shows up by damaging the Baratie. Enter: Zeff. Full disclosure: In my infinite naivete when I first watched One Piece, I thought Zeff was going to be the new crew member. And then I thought Gin was going to join the Straw Hat crew. And then when Sanji finally joined, I was like, "This guy? Really? Dark horse candidate over here."

You didn’t know yet?

I guess I hadn't watched the first ED yet — when the crew slowly shows up and stands beside one another.

You saw Usopp’s silhouette appear and thought, “Eh, I’ve seen enough.”

"That must be all of them."

It happens.

So, you meet Zeff, and you learn about Sanji and Zeff's relationship, and we get a big One Piece flashback. What do you think of that? Because it would become a staple of the series to kinda pause, see what happened to an important guy, and then come back.

Such an incredible story and so gruesome and terrifying. Sanji’s original flashback is so underrated because it could happen to anyone! Like, you’d have to go out of your way to get stranded on an island, but going days and weeks without food or any real comfort? I think people underestimate how traumatizing that would be. And then Zeff losing his leg because he hacked it off for food, it’s brutal. Just thinkin’ about that, I feel it in my shins. Because that almost happened to me with a minor injury. I let a minor injury get infected, and I could’ve been close to losing a leg.

Wait, what? Gahd.

I was doing box jumps at a gym, and my shin hit the corner of this wooden crate.

Yeah, those things have no give in them.

Absolutely. And at the time, I thought it was just this dark spot on my shin. And I figured it was, ya know a bruise. So I let it be. And then I picked at the scab and I realized “Wow, that’s a little deeper than I thought. I guess I’ll go to the doctor if it gets worse.” And I kept going to the gym, wearing pants over like this open wound. And my left leg is so swollen. So I went to two different doctors, as the first one did tests and then sent me to another one. And when this doctor saw me, the look on her face said “Oh, this is bad.” So I laughed out loud about how dumb I was and the doctor turned to me and said “This isn’t funny. This IS SERIOUS.” It had gotten infected with bacteria and it was spreading, and she just took a sharpie and drew around the infected area, and gave me antibiotics and was like “You have to keep this elevated, and if the redness goes outside of this line, go to the hospital.” But luckily, I recovered, even though the doctors were like “Honestly, we thought you’d go to the hospital.” So when Zeff severs his foot with a rock, how does anyone not feel that?

Do you think that's one of the reasons Luffy is fascinated by Sanji at first? His mentor, Shanks, lost his arm and was cool about it. Zeff lost his leg and was cool about it. Basically twins.

That’d be an interesting conversation that we never got to see. Just two dudes talking about how weird it is that both their father figures did that, with only Luffy thinking it’s cool.

Don Krieg's ship gets blown in half by an incomprehensibly cool character, Mihawk, the first Warlord to appear in the show. You see Mihawk arrive — what is your reaction to him? Because it's not a case of "The villain of the villain is my friend," but rather "Oh, he did that to the villain? I hope he does not do that to us, as that would suck."

It’s almost like the good guys meeting the bad guys, and then a tornado comes in. But here’s the thing: I missed the issue of Jump where Zoro fought Mihawk. So I assumed that Zoro had just won. The greatest swordsman in the world shows up and Zoro beats him. Boom. The climax of his character arc has been achieved. Nothing left for Zoro.

He just did it.

I didn’t find out until so much later that Zoro lost. I wasn’t quite aware of what made for a captivating story yet. At that time, an obstacle appears, an obstacle gets taken out, ya move on. I almost want to apologize to Mihawk.

I love how One Piece does this though. They do it with Smoker and Aokiji and the like. It reminds me of The Witcher III when you go off the path a little bit, and you're at a Level 4 and then a Level 39 Gryphon swoops down and decapitates you. It keeps the "power levels" interesting.

Luffy starts up Breath of the Wild and goes right for Calamity Ganon. But Mihawk is like the analogy for the Grand Line. He represents it, without revealing too much. Mihawk is like a Pizza Hut demo disc of danger.

I really like that. And no one knows, to this day, exactly how powerful he is. Over 20 years later, and we're still wondering how he matches up against Shanks or Blackbeard or whatever. One Piece has so many characters where Oda hasn't shown his full hand in regards to them, yet we're totally emotionally invested in them. That's good storytelling.

He’s doing something right. And I love that Mihawk has a little character arc here, too, where he shows up nonchalantly slicing up Krieg’s ships, probably doesn’t expect much, and then he’s taken aback by Zoro’s gusto, because he hasn’t seen anyone like that in a while. And he slices Zoro down. But he respects him, when in the beginning, he clearly didn’t respect anyone around. Mihawk wants to see him be better and try to take him down one day. For him to willingly build someone up like that is rare. Like Frieza wouldn’t do that.

So, Don Krieg — what were your opinions of him at the time? Because he's a really bad guy surrounded by more morally grey guys like Mihawk and Gin.

What I like about the East Blue saga is that every main villain is an antithesis of Luffy and what makes Luffy a truly great captain. Buggy is all about treasure. Kuro is about ambition and the fortitude to be a pirate. Krieg is about might and strength, and Krieg thinks he has both of those because of his weapons and armor. But Luffy has willpower and ambition and doesn’t let the world change his views. Luffy is incorruptible whereas Krieg is willing to poison his own crew when stuff starts going south. Krieg isn’t fondly remembered, but he really serves his purpose in the story.

So, after Krieg is defeated, Sanji turns down Luffy's offer to join the Straw Hat crew. Now, he knows this is a bad idea. He's not gonna find the All Blue floating around on the Baratie. Why doesn't he go immediately?

Well, he knows it’s a bad idea but he’s completely misinterpreting Zeff’s sacrifice. He feels that since Zeff sacrificed his leg, he has to repay him by working for him indefinitely. But the reason that Zeff did that was because he wants Sanji to live on and chase his dream. That’s why Zeff took pity on him in the first place. He’s an older, worn-down man now, and he stopped chasing his dream. And now he wants to see Sanji or someone get a win. It lifts his spirit to see Sanji and live kinda vicariously through him.

So, the second time I ever cried over One Piece was during Sanji's goodbye and Zeff's "Don't catch a cold." The first time was when that little dog was trying to protect his dead owner's shop in Orange Town, but that's a different story. But this shot of Sanji on his knees thanking Zeff with all the cooks surrounding them is so iconic, and Sanji's acting like it's a gift that Zeff gave him that Sanji could never repay, while as you said, Zeff just wants Sanji to be happy. What did you get out of that? I assume that you're a human with human emotions.

I cry every time I watch that. When I first saw it, I was like “How? How is a series this good?” And there’s so much to that ending sequence. Because the Baratie is built on this rough, angry masculinity. Just these dudes being mean and fighting each other and customers all the time. There’s never a time or a place for lending a shoulder to someone else. No emotional embraces of any kind. Just everyone berating everyone. No one can open up — just stupid man babies. And then you get to this moment where Sanji is leaving and they’re all trying to be cool while playing it off. Especially Zeff, who can’t give a legitimate goodbye, but rather a “Don’t catch a cold.” But there’s so much to that statement and the facade crumbles. All these grown men start bawling.

I've never thought about it that way. There's all these little hints of kindness, like feeding the bad guys, and it's a masculinity powder keg. And then Sanji, in an ultimate display of putting his heart out there, bows to the man who saved him and the keg explodes. That's really cool.

ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

Favorite One Piece character?

Sanji

Favorite One Piece villain?

Enel

Favorite One Piece moment?

March to Arlong Park

Favorite Straw Hat Crew pairing?

Luffy and Zoro

Favorite moment of the new Wano anime arc?

Soba Mask’s debut

If you could eat one Devil Fruit, what would it be?

Whatever Kanjuro’s fruit is

Moment that made you cry the hardest?

Sanji leaving the Baratie

Moment that made you cheer the loudest?

Straw Hats at the Tower of Justice standing across from Robin

One Piece location that you'd like to live in?

Whole Cake Island. Ya eat well, ya know, you can survive Big Mom

Favorite fight scene?

Sanji vs Mr. 2, of course

Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with Botchamania creator Maffew about his favorite One Piece arc: Alabasta!!

Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daniel Dockery

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

1 note · View note