#and because it's an homage to the iron giant

[cantsayidont]

Another dilemma with centering stories around the idea of Superman-as-immigrant is that while Superman is certainly an immigrant, and there is a substantial body of older Superman stories (mostly from 1958–1986) that present his homeworld and its culture as generally noble (and frequently Jewish-coded), it has become very common since the 1986 reboot for Superman media to treat Kryptonian culture as either decadent and corrupt (as in most of the post-Crisis comics) or actively invasive and evil (as in MAN OF STEEL or MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN).

In these stories, Superman has avoided this decadence or evil mostly by virtue of having been raised by white Americans in Kansas, and his nobility lies in his express rejection of his evil/corrupt heritage in favor of (white) American culture. These are intrinsically anti-immigrant narratives (and sometimes antisemitic as well), regardless of how much feel-good gloss the story may attempt to apply to it.

The first season of the current SUPERMAN AND LOIS TV show, for instance, plays out an alarmingly literal "Great Replacement" plot in which Superman's half-brother Tal-Rho attempts to carry out a genocidal scheme devised by Superman's eugenicist mother to resurrect Kryptonians in the bodies of living humans, while MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN presents Kryptonians as brutal invaders who have attempted to militarily conquer the Earth more than once. Neither of these series departs from the general details of Superman's origin, but they assert unequivocally that Superman being an immigrant from Krypton is of moral value only because it gives him super-powers that enable him to defend the American Way from others of his kind, and to uphold white culture in ways other Kryptonians do not or would not.

[blueikeproductions]

A cancelled comic I was doing to experiment a bit more with what I wanted to do with Energon in this AU, with Optimus getting unique Combiner Modes besides Wing Optimus and Optimus Supreme.

The Rust Giants are a race evolved into a Viking/barbarian stage when Unicron originally attacked. They settle things with a good old fashioned rumble but in matters like dealing with the Terrorcons, these fights take a little too long to resolve while the Terrorcons do their thing.

The general plot for Iron Planet I had in mind is the Terrorcons run into a problem harvesting Energon here due to the carnivorous Morphobots eating any Terrorcon drone within reach, leading Galvatron to halt operations until they can figure out a solution as the plants were impervious to weapon fire.

They settled on using their green Energon as it was toxic to the Morphobots, especially in gas form.

Meanwhile the Autobots were exploring Iron Planet with their new ally Kranix from the neighboring Rock Planet, getting caught up in one earlier Terrorcon shenanigans before finding out the Morphobots REALLY liked Terrorcons to snack on. Ironhide and Kicker got caught up in a tribe of Rust Giants who became enamored by Ironhide when he (in self defense) beat up and befriended a young Rust Giant about his size that was the offspring of the tribe’s leader. JD and Braverman jokingly call Ironhide “Ironhide the Barbarian” especially when he’s Powerlinxed with his new friend.

The head honcho of the Rust tribe still wasn’t happy about the Autobots hanging around and got into a fight with Optimus, as might makes right, to solve problems.

The reason this is cancelled is I changed my mind on it being Optimus in his Igneous Prime configuration because it doesn’t make much sense in hindsight why it’d be that form specifically. It makes more sense that it’d be Iron Optimus instead:

Also I’m not sure on Igneous Prime’s design here, as the combined form I originally thought would be in homage to Go-Bot Staks and Max Gridman, but I never had a clear idea on what Metamorphosis Prime from Rock Planet would look like just yet.

[beazlerat]

the thing about Deadpool and Wolverine is that it does what Marvel hasn't seemed to do well in ages: build off of + reference other Marvel movies.

(spoilers under cut)

Before Endgame, movies were connected all the time! Fury made the Avengers because of what happened in Thor's movie, the arc reactor from Iron Man 1 was a main plot point as well. Captain America and the Winter soldier + Age of Ultron was the pushing point behind Civil War. Antman and the Wasp directly influenced Endgame. (insert a dozen other examples)

I'll admit, it can get exhausting keeping track of everything, (especially with over 24 hours of movies and shows.) but it made everything feel connected!

After Endgame, it still happened, but there are glaring issues. My biggest gripe is Eternals, in which (as far as I can tell) no one is talking about the giant hand that came out of the ocean. No one! Wandvision had huge impacts on all the characters, completely ignored in Multiverse of Madness. I love Loki, but it stars 2012 Loki and therefore ignored the years of character growth from Sacred Timeline Loki. There are still a lot of references/influences (the spiderman movies, shang-chi, etc) but the movies and shows still feel isolated.

Deadpool and Wolverine didn't have that! You have the fourth wall breaks to make meta jokes, the TVA's TV footage for references, Deadpool and the X-men universes are heavily incorporated, and so are multiple others. Loki directly influenced it, and Fantastic 4.

Is it cheating a bit to have this all due to multiverse shenanigans? Maybe. I don't care, the movie was fun. It felt like it was part of a broader world, and like an homage to dozens of other media as well. It was full of what I miss most: connection to the rest of Marvel.

[blue-mint-winter]

Reading TWOIAF - the regions section:

Each region has a description with some legends and history from before the Conquest, so it feels like they could have been placed earlier in the book. The history is in general rather repetitive, first the settling by First Men, some mentions of children of the forest and giants, then Andal invasion and recorded history. The wars are also very repetitive and it could be to show how they were done normally, perhaps to contrast with what happens in the main series.

My favourite regional sections were the Vale and Iron Islands in Westeros, then Free Cities - Qohor, Lorath and Braavos sound interesting.

There's a lot about marriage alliances and mixing blood between different species, like mentions of humans having children with giants or children of the forest or even sea creatures (Deep Ones). Interestingly, humans are unable to crossbreed with Ibbenese and natives of Sothoryos, which could mean they're completely different species. By A 1000 Worlds' logic First Men and then Andals were in the beginning base humans, then started mixing with other human mutations and that's how they gained psychic abilities. Btw, human/children of the forest hybrids could explain why the histories speak about kings that ruled for hundreds of years, they'd inherit longevity from children of the forest. Valyrian dragonriders were defiitely another mutation, bred selectively. Maybe this is the true explanation of Maegor, he was too Valyrian and not enough human and lost the ability to have children with humans.

The main mystery of the book seems to be the ancient race that built various old structures all around the world, like Seastone Chair, fortress at the base of Hightower, mazes in Lorath, cities of Yeen and Asshai. The widespread locations and lack of equally ancient roads suggest either a spacefaring civilization, human or alien (and the parts about worshipping a stone that fell from the sky could support this theory, as well as the legends of Yi-Ti and the emperor going back to the sky) or an ancient dragonriding civilization. Both of those would have the ability to fly around the world without needing any roads and to make the indestructible structures from black oily stone.

It's also interesting that the practice of voting and electing a leader is ancient and crops up all around the world, but fell out of use in most places. But it hints that it originated with the mysterious ancient race (human space colonists?).

From the description it seems the Free Cities and Essos in general are more advanced than Westeros, bigger, more populous, wealthier. They develop various crafts. Economically, Westeros just doesn't compete, they have raw resources - food, timber, mines... and people. Essos runs on slave trade with Dothraki supplying the slaves they catch, however that resource is drying up as those terrains are getting depopulated. The Essosi invasion in Westeros seems imminent if they want to catch more slaves. Then when you look at Dany's marriage to Drogo, the whole puzzle comes together - in exchange for his crown, Viserys was selling his subjects into slavery.

Braavos is probably the best place to live in freedom, but Pentos is a good choice because weather is better.

Ice dragons above the Shivering Sea - that sounds really cool.

Asshai and Yeen - both ancient cities, made from black oily stone, nothing can grow there, no one can be born there. It's clear that they're toxic and polluted, even after thousands of years. The ancient wars were hardcore or it's the stone itself that's toxic.

Sarnor rhymes with Arnor, looks like another homage to Tolkien - a northern, ruined kingdom.

[mercutio-the-velaryon]

Hello stranger, I saw you asking about gen v supe names so I come bearing offerings:

For Marie, the best I've heard so far is Heartstring (which I think would work especially well if we're imagining vought's influence, and trying to push Marie as the new Starlight) I also like Heartstopper and Queen of Hearts, but I think those lean more towards villain names

For Emma, she could keep Cricket, but I like the idea of her picking something to do with her giant form, so: Giantess, or Colossa, or Titania

For Jordan, (now realistically vought would chew them up and give them the most cliche, cringy name possible, but ignoring that) my personal favorite is Pulse or Pulsar.

For Cate, I've seen Push as a good option, but I also like Siren, Whisper, or Piper (as in like the pied piper)

For Andre, I hate to say it but I think he'd just take up Polaris. Though I also think Magneta, (I know it sounds like magneto but TB universe doesn't know that) or Steel would work, I could also see Vulcan (the Roman god of metal) being cool but that might be too niche. (Metallo would be my first choice but it's been used sadly)

For Sam, tbh Sam's powers are pretty stock, so he could probably pick anything he wants. I could see him taking up something that follows the same format as his brother, so: _____ boy (ironically the first choice that I think would come to Sam's mind is superboy, but that is of course off limits, though personally, I'd find it hilarious) maybe Ultra Boy or Power Boy, or the Strong Man (who am I kidding these are all terrible, I've got nothing for Sam... Super Sam?)

Really though when you look at naming conventions (both in the boys and in superhero tradition overall) a lot of heroes' names don't have a ton to do with their powers and are either: highly generic (Superman, Mr. Fantastic, Captain Marvel, Wondee Woman etc) or have to do with a gimic that isn't necessarily related to their powers, so there's actually quite a bit of wiggle room, to just pick whatever sounds good.

Omggg these are great, I wanted to write an au set in the near future, where the cast had their superhero names so thank you for this if you would kindly allow me to steal these names for that purpose 👀👀

Heartstring is so good, it fits Marie so perfectly I gasped because yes exactly. I was thinking Emma should have a name change to kind of symbolise her regaining her autonomy from her mother with how she was forced to portray herself, I'm feeling Titania tbh. I really really like Pulse for Jordan simple effective love love love. Siren for Cate is insane cause not only does it encompass the nature of her powers but it also speaks to how she's used them, how she's lulled her friends into a false sense of security then caused them harm (wiped their memories) like yesssssssss. Ugh this is such a good listttt. Andre I think would change his name from the one he'd inherit from his dad, I was workshopping something like Silver Bandit, Heavy Metal or Ironclad (already in marvel lmao fml) or Steel Knight to pay homage to his rebel without a cause energy. I wanted just Steele but that's already a version of superman I think, John Irons I believe holds that mantle. I think even just Ultra would work as a name for Sam. Or maybe just The Boy like how Kimiko's The Female idk.

Thank you this is so helpful!!!!!

[toskarin]

I'm a casual mecha anime fan who hasn't really had a chance to get into the genre. What mecha series would you recommend, preferably things that I might not have been exposed to already? I can put up with bad stuff too as long as it's entertaining

a couple rambling recommendations below the break

Getter Robo. Getter Robo is so incredibly good. it's stupid and violent and gloriously over-the-top. I highly recommend experiencing it before watching series that take a lot of influence, like Gurren Lagann, just so you can fully appreciate the homage (also, watch Gurren Lagann)

IBO gets a lot of hate as an entrypoint into the franchise because, being completely honest, its fans can be absolutely insufferable and refuse to engage with the rest of gundam. that said, I really really enjoy Iron Blooded Orphans and have to recommend it

if you want a slightly more respectable entrypoint (by broad consensus) you can also check out the original Gundam series and War in the Pocket. you might have already watched those though? who knows.

The Five Star Stories is wonderful, but it only got an OVA adaptation and is otherwise manga exclusive. if you're fine with reading, I highly recommend it. FSS is approximately 75% infodumping, so the OVA misses out on enough to where I wouldn't even consider it a spoiler for the chapters it covers

Aura Battler Dunbine is like a broad-spectrum test for how much stupid kino you can handle. if you like giant bugs and mecha in a fantasy setting, you've gotta check it out

here comes a recommendation with big caveats: Bokurano is a beautiful series about the despair of inescapable death and how the terminal are forced to come to terms with walking into its arms. it feels weird to include it in a list of mecha recommendations on a level that it doesn't feel weird to recommend...

Neon Genesis Evangelion! you've probably watched this one. I don't know. maybe you haven't. you should probably watch it, either way

I'll probably think of more series as soon as I send this answer, such is the peril of trying to remember anime series off the top of your head. this is a pretty good quick list of recommendations, though, I think

[worldismyne]

More greatest hits from the Neoworld Timeloop AU, this time starting Himiko. For Himiko, part of me just wanted to reference different styles of magical girls. So these outfits have elements from Ojamajo Doremi, Sugar Rune, Shugo Chara, and Tokyo Mewmew.

Season 11 was the Ace Attourney homage, and the vibe is pure unadulterated cringe. Her and Kokichi bickered a lot this season, with them 'ironically' spending time together to debate over kids shows. She's the vicitm of the fifth trial, having triggered a trap set in chapter two by Kokichi. He ends up not being the killer, but the guilt she got caught because of him throws off the final trial.

Season 15 Himiko spends most of this season quietly working on her trilogy, with many gags revolving around how she never sleeps. After she finishes it, she has nothing to channel her anxiety into and the stress of the killing game gets to her. Able to sleep peacefully after, she barely remembers what happened, and is abel to bluff through most of the trial before getting pinned by a lack of alabi. It takes the group a while to realize the murder weapon was a pencil she was still wearing in her hair during the trail. Her trial has her sacraficed to a robotic dragon.

Season 52 Himiko's the mastermind, leaning heavily on the idea the killing game is one giant LARP session with an emphasis on 'live'. Card suit and card games were heavily utalized as a theme, and Himiko's end dress is inspired by the Queen of Hearts. Right before the vote, she preforms a basic card trick, pulling opposite colored 'matching' cards. Her patter, revolves around balance, opposites. The vote is cast and the group realises too late, the two survivors left behind will take the roles of Mastermind and Ultamite Survivor for the next game. Himiko's bombastic 'final show' execution ends with her declaring that she will take the last bow. Some of her 'tricks' were left behind after the reset for S53, including trap doors and secret exits.

(Amino's been janky for me, so I can't upload anything atm)

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers West Coast #54: THE TROUBLED EARTH

January, 1990

Wasp: "My stings are useless against the Mole Man's creature, Hank!" Dr Pym: "Torch, help us!" Robot Human Torch: "Don't worry, Dr Pym, the Avengers have only begun to fight!" US Agent: "All of you, shut up and fight!" Wonder Man: "The five of you can't do it alone! It's time for Wonder Man to take a hand!" Iron Man: "It'll take more than rubble to keep Iron Man out of action!"

Hah.

Fantastic Four #1 homage.

With the Human Torch playing the role of the Human Torch.

And look at US Agent criticizing everyone else's performance when he's never around.

I guess the Avengers West Coast are fighting Mole Man for Acts of Vengeance. If the Avengers ever have, I don't really remember it.

Good job, Acts of Vengeance! Finally an Avengers matchup that hasn't happened yet!

Last times in Avengers West Coast: Everything keeps happening to Wanda so now she's catatonic. I don't blame her. She's had her husband disassembled and then put back together different. She's been stuffed with racism goo. Her children were eaten by a devil-worshipping Hollywood phony and then turned out to be devil chunks. And she keeps having to participate in bad event comics.

Also, a secret conspiracy of top villains and the Wizard have schemed a scheme but actually it's Definitely Loki's scheme to destroy the Avengers and other heroes by wearing them down fighting fights they don't usually fight.

Doom robots sank Avengers Island. The U-Foes attacked the Avengers West Coast Compound. Freedom Force Attacked Avengers Park (the original location of Avengers Mansion before it was moved to an island). And now the Avengers are being confronted with a rogue Fantastic Four homage.

Stuff just keeps happening.

For example, this.

Wonder Man and Iron Man happen to be flying above the city when this happens.

Actually, they're looking for the U-Foes from last time. So that plot line gets carried at least this far before the Avengers get side-tracked by giant monster attack.

Honestly, when a giant monster starts smashing things up, you do have to put some stuff on the backburner.

Iron Man flies up at the monster. Since knocking it over with repulsors could cause more damage, Iron Man instead zips underneath the monster and lifts it into the air.

Why, yes, the Iron Man armor can lift that much.

You're pretty cool, Iron Man.

Although, one hopes he's lifting by the stomach and not by the monster junk.

US Agent shows up, for once, and asks why Iron Man doesn't just kill the monster.

Iron Man: "That might be a trifle rash, don't you think? We've both read enough science fiction stories, I'm sure, to know this might be a confused alien... even an extraterrestrial child."

I legitimately like this moment. It's a good point to make.

And it's a good contrast between both Iron Man and US Agent and US Agent and the real Captain America.

Iron Man decides to dump the giant monster in the off-shore shallows. And he has to use his repulsors to quickly make a wall of sand to keep the resulting tidal wave from flooding the area.

Another good moment of thinking the situation through.

Meanwhile, Wonder Man has found the giant hole the monster clawed its way out of and decides to follow the tunnel to find its origin.

The robot Human Torch shows up to join him.

Wonder Man asks if he's okay from last issue, where he got irradiated pretty badly. But Jim Hammond repeats his claim from last issue that radiation doesn't do much to his robot body.

It's actually lucky that robot Human Torch showed up. Because it gets pretty dark pretty quickly as they fly down the giant tunnel.

While they go, Wonder Man muses on the differences between the Vision and the robot Human Torch. They're made out of similar stuff but Jim Hammond is so lifelike it's hard to believe that he's a robot man. While Vision always sounded so cold and robotic, even when his brain worked good.

Huh. In Byrne's grand new vision for, uh, Vision, I wonder why that is.

Arguably, Dr Horton was just better at programming brains than Ultron. Heck, in Vision's original backstory, that was true. Ultron had to bring in Professor Horton to work on the Human Torch body since Ultron wasn't up to snuff.

It's funny that Hank Pym will later become known as the god of robotics, for creating Ultron, which led to Vision and Jocasta and others. When Hank Pym's method "cheats" by using human brain patterns while back during World War II Professor Horton was just able to create a robot brain that behaves indistinguishably from a human.

Ain't it sad, Hank?

Anyway, once Wonder Man and Human Torch hit about a mile down, they start seeing beasties.

Who immediately start attacking.

Because Mole Man told them to.

Hi, Mole Man.

Meanwhile, above the Rocky Mountains, an Avengers quinjet on autopilot flies Dr Pym, Wasp, and Scarlet Witch back to the west to rejoin the rest of the team.

Annnnnnd.

Scarlet Witch is catatonic again.

She came out of it in West Coast Avengers #53 when Dr Pym lied that Vision was in danger. And she was fine(ish) during Avengers #312. But after they left Vision behind in New York, Wanda just went catatonic again.

I WONDER WHAT THE COMMON CONNECTION IS?

Anyway.

Unpacking what's wrong with Wanda has to wait.

The Quinjet just got into a traffic accident.

Geez. They lose so many Quinjets.

Tricephalous really just appears out of nowhere. The autopilot tries to dodge but the Quinjet still gets clipped by the back toes of the giant beastie.

And by clipped I mean half of the Quinjet gets sheared off.

Geez.

I sorta wonder how Tricephalous knew to find them out here. It's not like the Giganto Iron Man just dumped into the sea knew where the Avengers were specifically. It just emerged into the city and started smashing stuff.

That's a huge difference from a flying monster intercepting the Avengers' exact flight plan in miles of open air.

And if it wasn't intentional, what was Tricephalous doing all the way out there?

Hopefully questions to be answered later.

The Quinjet crashes because that's what happens when it loses its top half.

Dr Pym tells Wasp he'll shrink Wanda so Wasp can carry her to safety. But Hank can't safely shrink anymore so he's planning on dying, I guess.

But then the Quinjet gently floats above the ground instead of impacting in a giant explosion.

Hank speculates some kind of magnetic field just. Set the Quinjet down.

He's not going to question it.

HE SHOULD BUT HE'S NOT GOING TO RIGHT NOW.

BIGGER PROBLEMS TO DEAL WITH.

Dr Pym: "Quick! Take Wanda! Get her to cover! There's one last chance we may have against this monster!" Wasp: "Hank... What are you going to do...??" Dr Pym: "Don't ask questions, Janet. And for god's sake don't distract me!"

Sigh.

Remember how I complained that Wasp, a veteran Avenger and proven leader in her own right, has been jammed back into the role of Hank Pym's sidekick?

Anyway.

Hank shrinks Tricephalous.

Just makes him a tiny li'l monster.

With that taken care of, Hank instructs Wasps to go over to a ranger station they can spot about a mile away and arrange transport.

Meanwhile, Magneto lurks in the woods.

Because, duh. Was it going to be anyone else once the Quinjet was gently set down with magnets?

Magneto muses that his daughter and Dr Pym will be perfectly safe in Magneto's care.

I don't know whether that means he's going to magnet them away someplace or whether he's just magnetically keeping bears away.

How did Magneto know to be here?

Magneto also thinks he's the true mastermind of Acts of Vengeance, just like how every one of the top villains and Wizard think they're the mastermind but really Definitely Loki is the real mastermind.

Meanwhile, back underground in California, Wonder Man asks why the heck is Mole Man hassling the Avengers. Doesn't he usually just bother the Fantastic Four?

Look, just because we have a Human Torch and almost hired the Thing once and just because Mr Fantastic and Invisible Woman were Avengers once doesn't mean we are the Fantastic Four!

Is what Wonder Man would have said if he were cool.

But it's none of those things. Mole Man is mad because Wonder Man and Iron Man attacked Monster Island!

Mole Man: "I had returned once again to my former home, seeking peace in this troubled world. But you so-called superheroes were not about to let me find the tranquility I craved. Miraculously, I survived your assault. I chose, then, to strike back with the mightiest creatures of my subterranean realm. With Giganto, the largest creature ever to walk the land. With the flying Tricephalous, dispatched to attack your comrades in the east."

Okay. So Tricephalous was just flying cross-country to attack the East Coast Avengers and happened to cross paths with Hank, Wasp, and Wanda.

And then they happened to crash near Magneto.

Pretty contrived.

Jim Hammond, robot Human Torch speaks up to vouch that the Avengers definitely haven't attacked Monster Island.

Humorously, this whole time Mole Man was assuming he was Johnny Storm until Jim spoke up and didn't sound like him. Now he's thinking its a weird, not very good imposter. But he doesn't particularly care either.

Back above ground, Giganto starts walking back towards the beach.

Iron Man tries to think of a new plan while US Agent ignores Iron Man's request that he show some restraint.

So US Agent wheels around his sky-cycle and then hits the accelerator to blast the Giganto in the eye with the rocket exhaust. Then he wheels back around and flares the engine again to do the monster a startle.

While narrating everything he's doing just so we know what it is.

Very kind of you, US Agent, talking to no one.

Then the monster smacks him out of the air and it is

So

CATHARTIC.

I'm sad that Iron Man saves him from plummeting to his death. But Iron Man is a nice guy like that.

US Agent: "Ugnn! Didn't even see it start to move! How..." Iron Man: "I'll make you a deal, Agent. If you don't say 'how can anything so big be so fast'... I won't say, 'I told you so!'"

Ha.

Meanwhile, underground.

Wonder Man and the robot Human Torch have been fighting Mole Man's smaller monsters for a while. Long enough that Wonder Man's costume gets torn in that leading man way.

You know, to show off his chest but still over one shoulder like he's Tarzan.

But now Wonder Man decides "enough is too much!" and declares that the Avengers had nothing to do with the attack on Monster Island and to prove it, he's going to let Mole Man murder him!

He's really just going to stand still, not defend himself at all, and let Mole Man do whatever.

And this will prove he doesn't mean Mole Man any harm, right?

Although after blasting Wonder Man repeatedly, Mole Man stops. Why would the guy take so much punishment if he's not telling the truth?

He doesn't necessarily believe Wonder Man but there's a shred of doubt now that someone is playing him for a fool. And he doesn't like that.

So Mole Man blows a whistle and up top the Giganto retreats back to the ocean like Godzilla.

Iron Man is able to detect the signal with his fancy suit sensors and figures big guy has been called home.

So he drops US Agent into the ocean so can follow the Giganto under the water and sees a giant hole where the guy must have burrowed back underground.

Well, that solves that.

Later, back at the Avengers West Coast Compound, the Avengers listen to a news report about Congress debating a super powers registration act with one ear while also discussing the happenings with Captain America with the other.

Hank has looked at all the supposed isolated incidents plaguing superheroes and connected the dots.

Someone is out to destroy the Avengers.

There have been attacks on other heroes but those attacks have been less organized compared to the ones on the Avengers which seem to keep targeting their headquarters.

The attack that sank Avengers Island, the U-Foes attack on the Avengers West Coast Mansion, the attack on Avengers Park (although that one wasn't actually part of the conspiracy so never mind).

Dun dun dun!

I mean, we already knew this but I'm glad the Avengers have caught up to the audience.

Next time, Avengers #313, where the conspiracy starts to unravel with barely any effort from the Avengers.

Follow @essential-avengers for more words arranged in sentences and paragraphs that talk about Avengers and Avengers but in California. Like and reblog maybe.

[percyjacksonscookies]

dude imma say it

the percy jackson tv show sucks so bad

and I have a lot of time to think at work when im not busy with my little tasks so imma rant about it

because my little brain likes to look for connections i guess

anyway

IT SUCKS SOOOOOO BAAAAAAD HOLY

S H I T

its a giant mix of things because of where we are in time

every major piece of media is a huge reflection of the times we live in so uh

it makes sense that this would suck too like every single other piece of media disney has released in the past decadeish (it comes down to taste so if u like a Disney thing, whatever)

but like?!?!

because of the times we live in where writers had to strike for better wages and a semblance of recognition (i dont know the terms exactly) it makes sense that they gave ol' Ricky boy a shot at screen writing cause they didn't really have to take a chance with a new writer. cause u know disney! wherever there are corners to be cut they will! gotta think of the poor ol' bottom line!!

BUT ALSO RICK RIORDAN'S QUALITY IN WRITING WENT DOWN S O HARD AFTER HIS FIRST SERIES WITH PERCY

heroes of Olympus and trials of Apollo do not have the same flavor as the original series and I know plenty of people will agree with me

and thats cause ol' ricky boy (might call him uncle rick ironically cause I have a big family so its in character of me to have beef with an uncle plus like.... cmon its for the bit, an homage to my cringey younger self, and to help me avoid stupid autocorrect on my phone, it works on so many levels, if u must, cringe away) lost the fucking heart of the original series

lost the whole point and charm of the 1st series

it started out as a fucking bed time story for his son for fucks sake!!!!!! so obviously it was going to be a story built on so much love you could feel it in every word he carefully knit together for his son to feel less alone in the world

and thats why I looked up to him for so many years!!!!

he inspired me to start writing!!! so that maybe some day I could also write stories that helped people feel less alone

because the best fucking stories are the ones with the most heart and genuine emotions you feel like you could be there

but uncle rick fucking lost it because i think after the massive success of his first series he saw it as a way to make money for his family instead of a way to lovingly craft something for the sake of it just existing

yet another thing capitalism has taken from us

I have yet to read his other work, as an adult, because percy jackson is such a comfort book for me and I've obsessively done so much research on it I remember him doing an interview once where he said his students found his other works and they were teasing him about the cuss words in the book because of course they were he taught middle schoolers and that is where he is stronger than I

but thats also another thing

since I haven't read his other works, I dont know if they're going to speak to me like percy jackson has, but probably not from the looks of his other series (ive read all of heroes of Olympus and some of trials of Apollo but thats just cause I adore nico)

but I can definitely say for sure without a shadow of a doubt

dude

uncle rick is NOT a screen writer

he SUCKS at it so bad

he definitely doesn't know how to build suspense in film or write around the obstacles that come with live acting

which is embarrassing man

ive been there

did a senior directed play in high school, wrote the script myself

and it sucked pretty bad

because I was a story teller not a script writer!!!! I didnt know what the fuck i was doing!!!!! whenever I wanted a new character I would just invent one out of thin air, what do you mean I had to have an actor for every new character I have?!?!?!?!

soooo grateful i tried that for the first time in high school cause its not that embarrassing when u suck at something as a teenager cause hey!!! ur learning new shit everyday!!

but this ties back into my point of this show reflecting the times

I will say, I prefer the movie of percy jackson over this weird show

and thats cause it had charm! zest! a screenwriter and people that knew how to make movies!

were at such a weird place in cinema

at least in the mainstream american/western media

I saw everything everywhere all at once last year and it blew my tits clean off

but thats because it was made by people who wanted to make art for arts sake!!!! for the love of creation!!!!!

thats why those movies are so successful now

cause there's really no formula to follow anymore so anything that seems original and made with love is so fucking insanely successful and big corporations can't fucking replicate that without taking chances and letting people tell honest earnest stories

which is why every Disney villain sucks now cause they have to also secretly maybe sometimes be a good person

oh no the circumstances they were given made them a villain

hmmm I wonder who helped with the capitalism of it all?? hmmmm such a mystery

I know we all miss when villains were just evil for fun and that was it

like Ursula, they didn't explain shit about her backstory she was just a woman in a cave that had a reputation and had a sick as hell design and that was all people needed to like her (shout out to divine) (also I don't remember much about the little mermaid I am basing this off of vibes)

where was i going with this.....

anyways the pjo TV show sucks

let Rick Riordan cook longer as a screen writer or let him be a co author of the script my god he sucks at this

get an expert screen writer in there asap phew!!!

today's adhd rant has been brought to you by:

this thing

[animatedminds]

Catching up on "My Adventures With Superman"

I've been watching this one but doing it in the stints thing where I take a break for a couple weeks and then binge a few episodes at once. Just did one of those to catch up to the present and thought I'd share my reactions to the latest episode... seeing as it features my favorite of all of Superman's villains: the illustrious Mr. Mxyzptlk.

I know I'm Super late on this (ha), given that this is six episodes in, but I think I'll just give my thoughts on the two-parters coming up as they come/conclude and then my final thoughts on the show as a whole when its over. You can already get a bit of that towards the end of this, though. Episode 6: "Kiss, Kiss, Fall in Portal." So, this one reminded me of Spider-Verse. Not the movie. The original comic. And not in a good way. It has that same "we'll introduce the multiverse to give every bit of continuity ever made an established place so that we can homage everything... but actually devalue everything by forcing it to fit into a very rigid and contrived paradigm" feel.

For a while I've been starting to think the people who make this show don't actually see Superman's world and characters as especially interesting, which is why they've mostly been turning them into imitations of other things. The Legion of Lois'es, especially, really brought that feeling out: so the ultimate evolution of every prominent Lois Lane in every previous Superman property we've ever seen is... to cease to be Lois Lane and become Flash Gordon instead? It's such a jarring contrast for the primary Lois in this series to be someone whose main motivation is to become a reporter and help people by getting answers, only for the show to say "once you become the best you can be you won't even need to be a reporter anymore - then you'll be a cool sci-fi hero and do cool sci-fi hero stuff!" - and it then feels like Lois feeling insecure falls flat because none of these characters even do the things she or any other Lois we've ever seen cares about. I think it mostly hit me this way because this doesn't really get a resolution. The characters give the Multiverse Police the slip (which I do love, see below), but there isn't really a "I'm going to be the best I am because that's who I am, not what you think I'm worth" moment from Lois. She (and thus, the show) just kind of internalizes it.

I might be being harsh on it, I think. But it's comes off an idea that was intended as a homage on paper but ceased to work as one in execution - and instead maybe felt a bit like the opposite. On top of that "we love these characters and put them on a pedestal through nostalgia, so what if characters in-universe actually had the same reactions to those same characters and treated them the same way" is pretty much an idea I've never seen work out - it always just ends up turning characters into reflections of fan reactions, instead of allowing them to be... well... characters.

I'm explicitly not getting into the Clark implications, firstly because everyone overreacts the hell out any time an evil Clark or Clark-like character shows up in anything these days, second because the issues with the concept are evident even before Clark comes into it, and third because - due to the first - I think people are focusing too much on Clark specifically and not enough on how the concept as a whole wasn't great to characters involved (except Jimmy / Jalana because this show's versions of any Olsen continue to be a treasure).

And fourth because the "the characters discover some versions of their friend went bad" does actually line perfectly well up with the season's overall plot about Lois' dad being a paranoid nutter, but the Kryptonians maybe being evil and Clark being an unclear cog in the gears of this strange mystery. It's a plot decision I really liked in this show: I'm suspecting we might end up with something Iron Giant-esque, where all evidence points to the hero being a monster, but the hero refuses to fall into expectation as their friends refuse to fall victim to the fearmongering.

But... overall, all that is why I really liked how the main characters' ultimate response to the judgmental multiversal police squad was a "screw you guys, we're going home" without even a goodbye. Screw that noise. Presumably the Lois'es from other continuities who pointedly aren't among the Lois'es actually in the judgmental multiverse police squad did something similar. Live your life as yourself. Good message, though I think show could've been more overt about delivering it.

On the flipside, Mxy was fun. He was a tread to Lois & Clark's "more malevolent Mxy who wants to be a god" idea, which is... hate to repeat myself... fun. But being fun it what's most important where Mxy is concerned. It's a little less interesting to have a Mxy who needs power because he wants to be a god vs a Mxy who already has power and finds concepts like godhood boring, but I don't think traditional Mxy is in line with how this show envisions threats, and regardless he was delightfully tricky and - let's face it - is one of the two big things absolutely carrying the episode (the other being Clark and Lois' relationship, as usual).

All in all, the show continues to hit me two ways at once: I really love the way it's interpreting the characters and their relationships - again, Jimmy is fantastic and Lois and Clark's relationship is nuanced, adorable and continually keeps me invested - but the plot decisions that surround those great characterizations keep missing, often feeling like they're wasting good concepts.

I hope I'm wrong about the feeling I'm getting that the writers maybe have some overall apathy for Superman's world and characters, but bit by bit the show keeps making me wonder - I just wish the show would start feeling excited to reinterpret these characters rather than flippant.

Either way, though, fun episode. More Mxy is always a treasure.

[spideysexist]

...when Spider-Man treated Carol Danvers like a piece of meat in her own book! [Ms Marvel (vol 2) Annual #1, Nov 2008]

A quick note before we dive in: There's a great blog to be made on another (preferably more serious) blog about misogyny in comics on the covers for this series alone, particularly those from artist Greg Horn, who draws women the way most 14-year-old boys do but without the realism. I've added a few particularly tasteless examples to the end of this post to prove my point.

Horn provides the cover for this issue as well. Little know fact: Kree/human hybrids like Ms. Marvel have bodies consisting only of a face, hair, arms, and giant boobs. Who knew?

Ironically, the story begins with Carol attempting to fight Spider-Man before he starts treating her like a side of beef.

If you weren't around in those days, this is the period between Civil War and Dark Reign, where "registered" heroes like Carol were duty-bound to arrest "unregistered" heroes like Spider-Man. If nothing else, it gave the cliche of heroes fighting each other before teaming up new life, not to mention a bit of logic for once.

Like any good creep, Spidey opens with a tame reference to Carol's butt.

Calling Carol "sister" is a bit off, and the "personality" line kind of alludes to the clichè about an unattractive woman ("she has such a great personality") But even with the mention of her butt, I'd say this line is forgivable, given that she's hurling deadly energy blasts at him.

Spidey follows with a fairly standard quip that has possible sexist undertones, but again, I think it's ok given the scenario. I also find it (oddly?) unsexist that he pops her in the jaw just as he would any super-powered threat, male or female. Equality!

Nothing misogynistic about Spidey's next jab, I only include it because, well, it's a pretty good one! Although it's a little strange to read such a stark critique of Carol's actions in her own book, but hey, act like a fascist, get called fascist.

Here we have what I'll refer to as: Spidey's odd fixation with Carol's feet, part one. That's right, making weird comments about her attire isn't a one-off gag, it's a running "joke" we'll get to enjoy again and again!

Aaaaaand here's part two! It just keeps getting funnier!

At this point, you're probably thinking some version of, "Come on now, he's not being THAT creepy. What are you, some kind of ________" (fill in the blank with the pejorative for overly sensitive people du jour.)

But don't fret. You came here for some true Spidey creepiness, and I plan to deliver. Starting with this gem right here:

.....good one?

At the risk of giving writer Brian Reed waaaaaay too much credit, this seeming non sequitur may have the makings of an actual, y'know, joke. In early issues of Ms. Marvel (vol 1, 1977) Carol is hired by none other than J. Jonah Jameson to head up a new publication from the Daily Bugle focused on women's issues--the oh-so-creatively titled Woman Magazine. Given her chosen superhero name, I don't think much of leap to infer that Woman is an homage to Ms., the feminist magazine founded in 1971 by, you guessed it, Gloria Steinem.

Of course, none of this information is in the issue, and it's way too subtle a reference for all but the most hardcore fans to understand. So, for 99.9% of the audience, Spidey just comes off as a sexist prick. And, for the other 0.1%, he comes off as a sexist prick who's trying way too hard to make a dumb joke about Carol's previous career.

Regardless, Spidey's comment here is the equivalent of telling Luke Cage, "Pipe down, Martin Luther King!" And if Peter ever tried that, he'd have a lot more than Carol's foot sweat to worry about.

At least he apologizes for it, kind of--something that, unfortunately, can't be said about his next foray into creepsville.

Ew. But, believe it or not, that's just the wind-up. Here comes the pitch:

Steeeeeeeeeeerike 874, yer out!

It should be noted, this issue was published less than a year after Peter and MJ's marriage ended (AND THAT'S ALL WE'RE GOING TO SAY ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW.) After writing Spidey as a happily married man for the last two decades, Marvel definitely went through some awkwardness in the transition to a newly single Peter, as this panel clearly illustrates.

Ah, but right when you think we're through, Spidey has one final zinger to send us home. And, like any good macho jackass, he's saved the worst for last.

What a guy, right? Finally, Spidey changes back to Peter Parker and, safely hidden from the human being he's repeatedly confused for a walking side of beef, offers the perfect summary of the encounter:

I guess that shit-eating grin is supposed to tell us that Peter got the best of Carol in this encounter. All it does for me is make me wish for an alternate ending where Ms. Marvel forces Spider-Man's smug mug to chow down on a massive pile of horse turds.

More Spidey creeping on Ms. Marvel to come. But first, as promised, a look at some of the cheesiest of cheesecake Ms. Marvel covers by Greg Horn.

[aboutzatanna]

Still annoyed by how the latter half of JLD portrayed Zee as an incompetent leader who made some  outright dumbass decisions while in charge.   

As a palate cleanser, here are some tidbits from Justice League of America Vol 1  Annual #1 written by Paul Levitz and Len Wein and pencilled by Rick Hoberg and her decisions weren’t disastrous.

This was from the period where Zee was elected chairwoman of the League: 

Oh hey look, it’s Commissioner Gordon on the Watchtower, you don’t see that every day. What could he be there for?   

(This is from the period where Batman left the League to form the Outsiders but given that he formed the Outsiders to do *more* crime fighting, the fact that Gordon had to go to the League because he couldn’t get in touch with Batman is doubly ironic.)  

Also, pretty cool how Gordon is known and respected even by the JLA.   

So Zee splits the team into groups and they go investigate the missing artists. Not everyone is too keen on her calling the shots though:  

Why Ollie? Why? Sadly, Ollie doesn’t do much in this annual besides whining and being a jerk.  

But turns out she was right and it turns out Destiny is pulling out nightmares from artists brain and materializing them in to the real world.   

Diana on the other hand, is more supportive Zee’s decisions:  

Oh hey look! It’s John Stewart!   

John teaming up with the League during the Satellite era was rare but always welcome. As a DCAU fan, he will always by *my* Green Lantern.      

After confirming Destiny’s involvement, Zatanna, Red Tornado and Elongated Man chase him into the Dreaming (a much less exciting place before Neil Gaiman joined DC):    

One of the main sub plots of the annual is Zee’s sometimes mentor/detective Ralph having a crisis of confidence:    

Zatanna summons the rest of the League and they head to confront Destiny at his HQ:  

Also shout out to penciller Rick Hoberg here; the League is flying or running towards their target but he gives each member a distinct pose that reflects their personality. Zatanna and the Hawks are soaring through the air while John and Red Tornado are darting through the air laser focused on their target while Firestorm’s pose falls somewhere in the middle.  (Also it’s funny how the Atom is on Firestorm’s shoulder seemingly rooting for him to go faster.)  Even the running poses are different from each other; Flash’s pose looks like a homage to his debut comic cover, Diana is more casual while Aquaman looks more determined whilst Ollie looks like he is oogling Dinah who seems to be doing her best to ignore him.   

The League takes the fight to Dr Destiny’s HQ but it doesn’t go as planned:  

He defeats the League in a way that makes me think the League all probably collectively agreed to never speak of again:  

 “So how did Destiny take down all of you again?”

“Yep, giant monster.” 

“Giant monster.”

“He had big fangs.”

“Don’t forget the horns.”

“And the spikes.”

“Practically untouchable.” 

“It was too powerful for us to even comprehend!”

(I’m also going to head canon this as Destiny having more power in the Dreaming.)

Unbeknownst to him however, Ralph has managed to free the original Jack Kirby Sandman, Garret Sanford.  Side note: He is the guy who passed the mantle to Hector Hall who was the Sandman who was being manipulated by Brute and Glob before being “freed” by Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.    

Destiny’s characterization here; his hatred for the League, unable to dream which in turn turned him into a withering husk because of it and usurping the power of Sandman has echoes of his story arc in Gaiman’s Sandman. The latter was more impactful but I wonder if he drew inspiration from this annual?   

Sandman calls in the cavalry in the form of Superman

and takes on Dr Destiny again and in probably one of the funniest moment of this annual:   

So how did they escape?  

Ralph: The MVP.   

Later, the League offers membership to Sandman who turns it down.  Also, turns out Superman’s dreams are special:   

So there you have it; Zee was a competent chairman, Ralph got his confidence back by being the MVP, John Stewart finally got some lime light  and Superman dreams about ~peace~.    

Honestly, wouldn’t mind a variation of this story but with the League meeting Morpheus.    

[adamwatchesmovies]

Escape from New York (1981)

Escape From New York is a man’s movie. It makes you want to grow up and become the same kind of tough, play-by-your-own-rules, get-it-done kind of man as Snake Plissken. If your brain tells you this isn’t possible, you can still gather enjoyment from the terrific premise, memorable characters, dialogue and imagery.

In 1988, a 400% increase in crime has pushed the U.S. government to transform Manhattan into a giant maximum-security prison. Walls surround the coasts. The waters are patrolled. Ways out have been destroyed or mined. Criminals are sent in and allowed to do as they please but can never leave.

Nine years later, the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) is forced to land inside Manhattan after terrorists hijack Air Force One. Taken hostage by the Duke of New York (Isaac Hayes), the only viable tactic is to use a man who will fit right in: former Special Forces soldier Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell).

The premise is wild but the film knows it. There’s a cynical and ironic sense of humor throughout, such as intercom messages that announce that, should they choose to, prisoners can choose suicide rather than be sent to Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty overseeing the world’s biggest and most inhumane prison is not a coincidence. It allows us to accept the wild setup and move on. You can see the film’s influence everywhere from video games such as Batman: Arkham City to thinly-veiled homages like Neil Marshall’s Doomsday. There’s a certain joy that makes you mutter “… yeah!” after every one of Kurt Russel’s lines. He’s so cool with his one-liners and remarks about how crappy the situation is you can’t wait to see more. Watch this picture and you’ll never see an eyepatch the same way again.

Made on a shoestring budget, the picture feels authentic. Had it been filmed today, it would feature big stars in cameo roles and elaborate set pieces. Instead, the prisoners living in New York have crude weapons whose simplicity is brutal. They try to glamorize their world as best they can with the resources available, but you never forget the hell they’re living in. The gladiatorial ring Plissken ends up fighting in looks like something you’d see in some middle-of-nowhere American town whose name you only hear about because the locals went too far and got somebody killed. Instead of going for spectacle, the film focuses on its characters and the ticking clock: if Snake can’t get the president out of there within the time limit, the world will be plunged into nuclear war. With a hero like Snake, you can’t be sure of the outcome. The man lives 60 seconds at a time. He’s only doing the mission because it’s his way to a presidential pardon. Even so, our antihero is so bitter he may botch the mission just to stick to police commissioner Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef).

Multiple viewings of Escape from New York bring to your attention the details that make it a special picture. It makes an immediate impact but the film’s climax, its willingness to go all the way with its premise, and its iconic moments give it lasting power. (On Blu-ray, August 4, 2018)

[cosmic-nonconstant]

1990s Stranger Things Sequel Please

I have been fantasizing about a stranger things sequel series that takes place in the 90s…

All the young ones are in their 20s and in different stages of “moving on” (or totally not moving on) from the events of the first series

Hopper’s entire personality is “I’m getting too old for this shit.” Joyce has gone full Terminator 2 Sarah Connor

The homages to iconic 90s horror/thriller… Scream, Blair Witch, The Ring, The Sixth Sense, From Dusk Til Dawn, Speed, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Independence Day, THE CRAFT. THE CROW.

(They cheated and already gave us Jurassic Park and Silence of the Lambs but STILL)

And non-horror - CLUELESS, EMPIRE RECORDS, The Iron Giant, Ghost, Men in Black, You’ve Got Mail, Forrest Gump, Titanic, Groundhog Day. Seinfeld 💀

THE X-FILES

You know what else happened in the 90s? More mainstream queer media

Gay. Gay is in. Gay is hot. I want some gay. Gay it’s gonna be. (with 100% more actually talking about it with everyone!!!)

The overall tone of the show shifts to my true joy of the 90s - campy, soapy supernatural TV

We’re talking Charmed. We’re talking *Buffy the dang Vampire Slayer*

Found family, found family, found familyyyy

SNAPPY, sassy dialogue!

Soap-opera quality melodrama (yes, I mean even more of this) played 100% seriously

A villain-turned-friend/love-interest! (but hopefully not any villain we’ve already met - I got absolutely nothing for Billy, sorry not sorry)

Vecna is up for consideration tho LMAO

Someone in the Party owns a bar now that inexplicably has too-famous 90s musical artists performing there all the time

and Corroded Coffin, of course

Just, the music. Grunge. Gangsta rap. Riot grrrl 😩

Someone probably has kids now but please not Steve and Nancy

Also, teen Holly Wheeler?

Y2K-prepping (you know Murray would be all over this) ((and fight with Suzie about it because of course she knew it was going to be fine)) (((OR WAS IT??)))

I just… I’m old and I want to see my friends dealing with more shit when they grow up 😭

[chernobog13]

Erin Go ROAR!!!!!!

Ta-ta ta-ta ta-ta!  On this. the highest of high holy days, whilst ya hoist a pint o’ Guiness at the pub, lemme regale ya of the exploits of the one and only Irish kaiju--

That’s right, Gorgo!  A cute little tyke from the Emerald Isle.  Or more specifically, the depths of the Atlantic off the coast of Eire.

Of course, circumstances being what they were, he didn’t stay in the depths very long.

Especially when some idjit shoves a harpoon in his noggin!

Turns out Gorgo doesn’t like these guys because they’re always after his Lucky Charms.

“Where can a man get a pint in this burg?”

“I’ll just follow these blokes to the pub.”

“Saints preserve us!  They’re tryin’ t’roast me alive they are!”

Unfortunately, Gorgo goes and gets himself captured and hauled off to London where he becomes the main attraction at a circus.

That doesn’t sit too well with his ma.

For those of you who’ve never been on the receiving end of an Irish mother’s wrath, well lemme just tell you:  hell hath no fury to even compare!  I mean, just look at them eyes!

Oh yeah, London’s in for it now!

Believe me when I tell ya, nothing in Mom’s path is safe!

That’s right: Gorgo’s mom goes full Godzilla on London.  She may not have the Big G’ atomic breath, but she doesn’t need it.  The entire might of the British military is brought to bear against her.  Their weapons might as well be soap bubbles for all the damage they do.

While the special effects might not be up to Eiji Tsuburaya’s standard, the filmmakers make the most of what they have, to make what is, in effect, a British Godzilla film.  Ironically, according to some sources, the film was originally going to be set in Japan as an homage to Godzilla.

Gorgo has the distinction of appearing one year before Godzilla would appear on screen in color for the first time.

Director Eugene Lourie, who by this time was an old hand at giant monster films (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Giant Behemoth), added very effective, frightening scenes of the protagonists caught in mindless mobs fleeing from Gorgo’s mom. 

Unfortunately, Gorgo would be the last film Lourie would direct.  He felt he had become typecast ever since The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (which was also his directorial debut), and didn’t want to make monster movies any longer.

Luckily, mother and child are reunited.  Gorgo follows mom to the Thames and they make their way back to the ocean depths, never to be seen by man again. Unless you read the Gorgo comic book from Charlton (with art in many of the issues by legendary artist Steve Ditko).

Far from being the typical rampaging giant monster, Gorgo’s mom had a solid reason for attacking London.  Many members of the audience actually sided with her and Gorgo.  That, and the fact that both monsters survive - which was extremely rare (the 1925 lent version of The Lost World and Mighty Joe Young are the only other examples that come to mind) - make Gorgo stand out in the giant monster genre.

Of course, this story was borrowed/reccycled/ripped-off for 1967′s Gappa the Triphibian (aka Monster from a Prehistoric Planet).  The only difference there is both mom AND dad come looking for their little tyke.

So this fine St. Patrick’s Day forego the usual viewing of The Quiet Man (a fine film it is, to be sure) and watch another film about a different Irishman and his ma.  Gorgo is available in full on Youtube.  Pour yourself a Guinness, put your fish-n-chips on the side table, sit back and enjoy!

[tsuki-sennin]

Uekara takakitsukeru rakuin Aw yeah!

You'll never run from run from cheap na ranking!

Image senko regulation

Sokode nani o handan?! Soko ni nani ga?! Aw yeah! So uh... THE FULL VERSION OF LIVEDEVIL IS ABSOLUTELY THE SOUND I'M ENDING 2021 ON. Shit's running circles around me! I hope you all had a lovely holiday season! I've been busy these past couple days for pretty obvious reasons, and also playing Pok��mon Brilliant Diamond. A bit too faithful a remake, but otherwise a very fun nostalgia trip! Now, back to your regularly scheduled Spoilers, I guess...

-Oh yeah, Ikki destroyed the giant cyst UFO that was apparently Gifu.

-Man, I have to hand it to Kinoshita. He really knows how to make Olteca as punchable as possible.

-Speaking of villainous squid guys, as a minor addendum for a previous entry in this series of liveblogs, I recently skimmed through the original series again, and I'd like to retract my comment about Dr. Shinigami being "some guy", because he's honestly such a great villain who deserves to be homaged with the (apparent as of this writing) acting main antagonist of this season. He's charming, intimidating, and the events leading up to his death is a spectacular bit of early Rider storytelling. While I maintain that Colonel Zol is infinitely more evil than Shinigami, I found him kinda underwhelming, since he doesn't really bounce off of anyone not named Taki or Hayato all that much. That's kinda my problem with a lot of the "executive" villains in the franchise's early days, they don't feel all that connected as villains.

-Now, to bring myself fifty years forward in time back to the present and away from that tangent, I'd like to say that Julio's a pretty keen-o character. It's easy to see him as only a sadistic thug like Zooous or Rook or Kitazaki before him, but he was a pretty fun and charming presence all through Revice's first quarter. His devotion to Aguilera gives him a lot more definition than I thought it would, and gives him a lot of dramatic weight. ...SO KICK SQUID MAN'S ASS WOLF BOY DO IT DO IT DO IT

-You say she "saved" you, huh buddy? Given what I know about the Deadmans' practices, I can't help but wonder if they manipulated those events too.

-OH FUUUUUCK AGUILERA'S TRANSFORMING

-Queen Bee! I was kinda hoping she'd be a snake or an eagle, but this fits well too! The first female Rider monster was a bee, after all.

-Damn, girl! You punch good!

-Conglaturation!!! You have completed a great game. And prooved the justice of our culture! Now go and rest our heroes!

-At least we won one thing today.

-Oh no, we're bringing the Gifu vagina statue back?

-I can only assume smashing it is a horrible idea, so I think maybe we should just lock it the fuck up.

-I guess even if Kudou was a bastard, he was still a human being. Ironically, he got much swifter and fairer justice from the Igarashi siblings than he likely ever witnessed in court, so I guess that's fittingly tragic. I have no such nuanced thoughts for Amahiko though, he's just a straight up creep and he had what was coming to him.

-P... Papa Jeanne-

-C'mon Hiromicchi, get this man to a doctor!

-This show is so fucking good you guys oh my god

-So, it doesn't seem like Aguilera's using the Vistamp to transform between Queen Bee and human form. That... brings up a lot of questions. Are Vistamps even necessary for Aguilera to transform?

-Since Julio says "Gifu-sama is safe" and that Aguilera says that having her human form is enough, does this mean Giftex transformations are permanent?

-Seems like she's out for blood now.

-At least Julio respects her privacy.

-I can understand having a poor image of your own body and wanting to change that, but I don't think identity theft is the way to go about it.

-OH THAT'S A WHOLEASS HEARTBEAT THAT'S CREEPY

-THAT'S FROM THE OPENING

-M e a t

-Back pain sucks, don't joke about it :c /lh

-Oh, here's the Sussy Baka himself! ...I'm just gonna end up calling him that all the time, since I don't think we're ever gonna get a name for him aside from Wakabayashi or Chameleon.

-Man, instantly finding good deals like that, I wish I had that kinda power.

-Oh yep, immediately trying something stupid.

-Ikki-nii, now you're *really* gonna have to pay for that!

-Man, having your one trick exposed like that must suck lmao

-Wow, Hiromicchi's the real MVP. We stan.

-Kick that bitch to the curb, kids!

-OH? IS THIS FINALLY OUR FIRST INSERT SONG!?

-OH FUCK YEAH

-This is some killer choreography btw. I don't really talk about a lot of the technicals, but the shot composition, the impacts, the creative use of our abilities, it's just... chef's kiss.

-DON'T HIT THE SNEK SHE IS FRIEND

-YOU TRIED TO EAT HER DON'T BE SO SURPRISED

-LIVE JACKAL YESSSSS GAMER TIME

-God, I LOVE THIS GODDAMN SHOW SO MUCH

-Aw c'mon, you ain't gonna pay attention to that awesome ice egg shield with the beautiful color palette? You have no eye for detail, I swear...

-Fuck man, he knows exactly what Ikki was hoping to do.

-...that's who he was, huh? He's not some big shot lawyer man or respected counselor guy or cult leader, or a government commander... he was just some guy who got more power than he deserved.

-Well, Ikki did kinda rob him of revenge, so I can't really blame him for being out of it. ...oh, he's sick, that's not nice :(

-Demons Die, I Riot. Just throwing that out there.

-Hey, Georgie, what're ya doin' with that Vistamp? I don't think I've seen that one before, it looks important.

-...WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT

-Oh

-I guess "what the fuck ISN'T that is a bit more appropriate".

-WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE

-Earlier in this very episode, we've established that the Gifu effigy has a heartbeat, and since Papa has no heart, then THAT MEANS-

-That's some good meat right there, I want it so bad...

-Oh yeah, the Ushijima family. I forgot they were characters for a moment.

-Thaaaaaat's creepy.

-Oh c'mon Sakura, don't do it!

-Well... our Vistamp 50 collection is complete, I guess!

-Oh boy, preview! ...I mean, I kinda figured his real name wasn't Julio, so that's not especially "trailer worthy", but THAT AGITO REVI THO-

-IS THAT BARID GENOME VICE TOO???? Is George done being a little bitch (affectionate)?

-Ok, I did a little research, and apparently that's the Volcano Rex Genome for Revi. It looks very cool, I really wanna see it in action soon.