#kind of a theme in maximum carnage but like

[venom-ass-daily]

From Spider-Man issue #35 (Maximum Carnage Part 4)

[ashlynniis-bracketeers]

E.G.OBLAST {Antonblast/PMoon}

Merry Crisis, have some crossover silliness.

So me (and a few other people I know that are into both PMoon and Antonblast) have been trying to make Antonblast character/Abno E.G.O pairings... because Funny™. I've drawn other E.G.O pairings, but I don't think they're up to the same quality as the ones I'm posting here, so I'll probably redraw those lmao.

I'll put those older ones under the cut, though. Easier to do "indirect" things like that on Tumblr lmao.

This will be a lot of text, so I'll put all of my explanations under a cut. Big ol' thing.

I hope you like it!

Cut time.

Annie: I drew the Annie one today in Krita.

She's an obnoxious hellion (affectionate) at the best of times, only going on the Kick-Satan's-Ass Adventure for the sake of causing carnage, so I felt that Singing Machine for all of its annoyingness (Can't have too low of one stat... but also can't have too high of another! Fuck off) and tendency to cause chaos would fit her. Meat Lantern could probably also fit. Not sure what Limbus Abno/E.G.O could fit her, though...

Decided to give Annie both versions of the Harmony E.G.O weapon (Bazooka from LobCorp, grinder guitar from Ruina), with Ruina's suit (because SM doesn't have a suit in LobCorp) and LobCorp's gift. She deserves both weapons, it'd let her do maximum chaos. Meanwhile, her Corroded form is basically just the Singing Machine itself with eyes, legs, her morningstar in its mouth, and a silly hat. Basically an exited dog made of buzzsaws lmao.

The text reads: How about we made some REAL noise? (Awakening) - Louder, LOUDER! Better, make it better, make it LOUDER, LOUDER, LOUDER!!! (Corrosion)

Satan: I drew this one (and Freako's) in MS Paint lmao.

For his LobCorp/Ruina E.G.O, I decided to give him Sanguine Desire. As for the explanation, well... have you seen the Red Shoes' quotes in Library of Ruina + Corroded Sanguine Desire Rodion's quote? All for a more vivid, luscious shade of red. Honestly, his ass is not Awakening if he gets his hands on that E.G.O, he's Corroding immediately lmao.

I actually do have a Limbus E.G.O in mind for him: Blind Obsession (Dream-Devouring Siltcurrent). His obsession with becoming the Reddest of the Red is all-consuming and does nothing but leave him miserable, as does the DDSC's desire to sink into the dark depths as to "shine brighter than anything in that dark place". I also think that the guy that desperately wants to be red getting a very blue E.G.O (which is also Pride-affinity, also blue) is rather funny lmao.

I don't know what kind of hooved legs he has, so I based his skeletal leg in his Corroded form off of horses.

I didn't write any quotes for it, but I managed to figure some out in Discord chats: C'mon, now. Just a little cut here..." (Awakening) - Red, red, RED! RED, RED, RED, REDDER, REDDER, EVER MORE RED! GIVE IT TO ME, ALL OF IT! (Corrosion)

Freako Dragon: Also drawn in MS Paint.

Dragon with a body made of pachinko balls, and his associated sin is Greed... but Greed isn't a Sin Affinity in Limbus, seemingly absorbed into Gluttony. I felt that Effervescent Corrosion would fit, replacing the pachinko balls with pearls.

For the Corroded form, I put multiple pearls in the clam mouth to look like his body curled up inside it, like a dragon protecting its hoard. I colored the join-circles with the same colors as his eyes when he's charging in his fight.

I'm not really sure what LobCorp/Ruina E.G.O would for him... Old Faith and Promise, the literal gambling-mechanic Abno, doesn't have its own E.G.O rofl.

The text reads: Hah! Sticky. Stuck in your head, huh? (Awakening) - Come here! Come and try to claim my riches! (Corrosion)

Also, here's the other pics

Hex Nail Brulo (because... er, "attachment issues").

Blind Obsession Satan (see above, under Sanguine Desire)

Pleasure Anton (substance abuse themes + red + UR HEAD ASPLODE)

[heyclickadee]

My theory—and the kindest theory I can come up with—is that CX-Tech and a Tech return was the intention in the writers’ minds all the way up through episode 12, maybe even episode 13, and that the last couple scripts weren’t quite finished going into the writers’ strike (or by the studio’s unwillingness to negotiate and pay their people) and had to be completed by either people who didn’t know what was happening or (sigh) by a word generator. That strike started on May 2, 2023, and Michelle Ang didn’t finish recording until June 28. Because it’s not just the CX-2 stuff that got dropped or the complete lack of closure for Tech—everything got dropped.

The buildup of extending forgiveness and brotherhood towards the CXs? Nope, they just killed them all. Crosshair holding on to his guilt and learning that everyone can change and that no one is beyond saving? Nevermind all that, and we’ll also finish his PTSD driven stress tremor by *checks notes* cutting off his hand. The medical records they spent a whole episode getting? What medical records? Omega never actually fires the cool new crossbow that Echo gave her. The Omega force stuff is never actually followed up on despite there being a whole exchange where Hunter and Crosshair flat out say that Ventress is lying about Omega not having force potential—and Ventress doesn’t deny it. The partially successful m-count transfer? Never comes up again. The toxic gas that Hemlock releases doesn’t really have the same effect on the reg backups as it does Crosshair back in season two. The way that the batch usually tries (not always successfully, but usually tries) to not kill fellow clones gets dropped in favor of MAXIMUM CARNAGE when it comes to the CXs and the commandos (I don’t even care about Scorch and even I was like…damn). Every character arc just kind of stops—including Omega needing to get over feeling guilty and responsible for every bad thing that happened to her family. You never really get a family reunion even with the explicitly alive members of the batch. Hunter, Wrecker, and Crosshair didn’t need to be there for Omega to escape, to free the other clones, for Nala Se to destroy the data, or even for Hemlock to get punked because Tarkin was going to show up to grab things anyway. There are even things that come up in the episode that aren’t followed up on; Echo mentions signaling for Rex at one point and theeeennn that never comes back. And, while the scene at the end with Omega and Hunter is sweet and conceptually works, it is also incredibly generic.

Listen, I am glad people are enjoying it, and that most everyone did make it out alive, and there are a few scenes that do work for me (Rampart’s and Nala Se’s confrontation, and Crosshair leaning on Hunter to make the shot to free Omega, even if Hemlock’s actual death was INCREDIBLY unsatisfying for me). But the finale doesn’t work as an ending to this story in anything but a superficial way. It’s serviceable, but it’s also kind of…bad in a weird way when set against the rest of the show. And I actually loved season three up to episode 13! I think that they could have tied every narrative theme, arc, and loose end together in that last little bit, and that it would have made the entire series that much richer. But nothing was tied up that wasn’t already tied up by The Return, and it’s just weird, because I do think this was a phenomenally well written show up episodes 12 and 13 of this season, and that it would have continued to be so if they’d just followed through. I know, the interviews and stakes and whatnot, but just from a writing perspective it feels like something behind the scenes happened very late in the game. And getting wrecked by the strike is the kindest explanation I can come up with.

I keep trying to tell myself that the writers didn't intentionally bait us. Then I remember things like 'domicile' and babes, I'm holding onto the benefit of the doubt by my fucking fingernails over here.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Fixing ‘Maximum Carnage’

It occurs to me that Maximum Carnage could’ve been a much better story if Spidey had been a parent and if the story had made family it’s central theme.

Consider that the story already contains 3 distinct and broken/dysfunctional family units.

The Osborns: Harry’s madness and consequent death traumatized his wife and child.

Venom and Carnage: As Mike Costa, Donny Cates and others have pointed out, Brock and his symbiote are functionally a romantic relationship, through that lens Carnage is their child and there is a mutual disdain between them. Appropriately given Brock’s moniker, they are a toxic family dynamic.

Team Carnage: Carnage and Shriek form a twisted couple and act as ‘parents’ to Doppelganger, Carrion and arguably Demogoblin (I guess you could call him an ‘uncle’). Collectively they form a warped parody of the traditional American nuclear family (and likely an attempt to evoke the Manson Family). 

Of course Carnage and Shriek can be abusive to one another and Carnage eventually kills Doppelganger.Of course another element in this story was Peter’s parents. Whilst they were later revealed as imposters as originally written in Maximum Carnage they were the bona fide articles.

By making Peter a father and tweaking the role his parents play Spidey becomes a potential reflection of the above three families.

If you emphasized the distance and differing ideologies between his parents and himself he becomes a reflection of Carnage and his relationship with Venom and Brock.

He is already something of a reflection of Normie because like him he lost a father at a young age, whether you are talking about Richard or Ben.

If you made him a father then in being Spidey he runs the risk of subjecting MJ and their child to pain and loss just as Harry did to Liz and Normie. A different kind of pain and loss sure, but pain and loss all the same.

And by being a father the Parker family, whilst far from perfect, stands in opposition to Team Carnage’s perverse parody of the ‘all-American nuclear family’. The tension then coming from Peter’s act of being Spidey to fight Carnage risks tearing his family apart. But the story would obviously demonstrate their family as strong enough to weather the storm.

I’m not saying this would fix all the problems with the story automatically. But I see the seeds of what could’ve been if you removed unnecessary stuff, added in this one element and placed the focus in a different place.

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #187, #188, & #189

Thur Aug 22 2019 [02:04 PM] Bocaj: 187 issues later, still fantastic but not necessarily still four [02:05 PM] Wack'd: Eh, they're still pretty Fourish [02:05 PM] Wack'd: Unless you count Franklin I guess [02:05 PM] Wack'd: Sure, Thundra, Greer, and Impy have been around a lot lately, but Greer insists she's not part of the team and Thundra and Impy don't really play well with others [02:06 PM] maxwellelvis: Also, Impossible Man's been KO'd by an unseen assailant. [02:06 PM] Wack'd: Also true [02:07 PM] Wack'd: Anyway, on the plane ride back from New Salem, the team recaps a little [02:07 PM] Wack'd: Agatha left that place in the hopes that others have her kind would be encouraged to join her, and she blames herself for raising Nicholas badly [02:07 PM] Wack'd: These are, again, the kind of details it might've been nice to have during the actual story so we could wring something out of them [02:08 PM] Bocaj: "Thundra and Impy don't really play well with others" I posit that Johnny and Ben historically haven't always played well with others [02:09 PM] Bocaj: Sometimes a family is that cat woman stray you adopted, the woman from an alternate universe where men are considered the weaker gender until you slammed her universe into another, and that annoying alien [02:09 PM] Bocaj: We'll call him the 'urkel' type [02:09 PM] Wack'd: Let me rephrase that to "are openly contemptuous of others and seem hesitant to do even the bare minimum to lend aid" [02:09 PM] maxwellelvis: Yeah, but in a different way from Impossible Man, who literally nobody except other Popuppians can stand to be around. [02:09 PM] Bocaj: Ok well thats different [02:10 PM] Wack'd: The Four discover Impy, knocked out but apparently unharmed. Sue worries that whoever did this might still be in the Baxter [02:11 PM] Wack'd: We can also add to George Pérez to the long list of comics artists who are bad at drawing children but very good at drawing tiny adults

[02:12 PM] Bocaj: George Pérez can draw a lot of things, in terms of range and also in terms of numerical things on a page but children are black magic that eludes him [02:13 PM] Aleph Null: i relate because children are also black magic that eludes me [02:13 PM] Wack'd: So Johnny flies outside to look in all the windows while Ben decides to go floor by floor. Reed is out out because they made a plan without him and Sue has to heal his fragile ego [02:13 PM] Wack'd: “Without my stretching powers, I'm not really good enough to be anything more than a nursemaid!” [02:13 PM] Bocaj: fuck off reed [02:14 PM] Aleph Null: can we retitle the blog to “fuck off reed” [02:14 PM] Wack'd: This is a nice moment

[02:15 PM] Wack'd: Honestly I like how forgiving everyone is being of Agatha. Not that anyone on this team has room to throw stones [02:16 PM] Wack'd: Oh my god Johnny is also like "man, running off on my own like I always do probably hurt Reed's feelings" [02:16 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Ben runs into KLAW! [02:17 PM] Bocaj: Ulysses Klaue Klaw? [02:17 PM] Wack'd: Whose shtick at this point is still being made of sound and also being able to fire sound monsters at people [02:17 PM] Wack'd: And not, you know, having a claw [02:17 PM] maxwellelvis: His artificial hand is his claw. [02:19 PM] Wack'd: Oh hey it's this guy

[02:19 PM] Bocaj: oh thats a bad look [02:20 PM] maxwellelvis: Actually that's not that guy. That's a different guy. [02:20 PM] Wack'd: Back in #20 he got the ability to alter non-organic matter because he was exposed to an atomic incident [02:20 PM] Wack'd: Since then he's had a couple of appearances in the 70s, one in Two in One and one in Iron Man [02:20 PM] Bocaj: The guy I knew as Molecule Man is a multiversal bomb [02:21 PM] maxwellelvis: Wait, I saw that guy shrivel up and disintegrate when separated from his wand for too long. [02:22 PM] Wack'd: Yes [02:22 PM] Wack'd: This got undone in the Iron Man appearance I mentioned [02:22 PM] maxwellelvis: oh [02:22 PM] Wack'd: Where he also gained the ability to possess people [02:23 PM] Bocaj: There was a shitty Avengers Assemble episode about Son of Molecule Man [02:23 PM] Bocaj: It had a stylistic flashback to EMH [02:23 PM] Wack'd: Given how fucking often these books are like "oh, they killed him, he's gone for real" and then in a completely different book he comes back to life and then he returns to his original book with a long winded explanation... [02:23 PM] Wack'd: I'm not sure why you would've assumed that he was actually dead [02:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Because this time he left behind a body. [02:24 PM] Wack'd: That doesn't mean anything! [02:24 PM] maxwellelvis: Well, a pile of dust in a ragged old Molecule Man costume. [02:24 PM] Wack'd: At the end of his first appearance the Watcher aged him into oblivion [02:26 PM] Wack'd: Agatha filling the role of "lady who tells Reed to suck it the fuck up" now that Medusa's gone

[02:28 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Ben gets turned into glass, Johnny is drowned in midair, Sue is...uh...

[02:28 PM] Wack'd: Sure, that's how that works [02:29 PM] Wack'd: And Reed tries to fire on the two but his gun is turned to helium and he's knocked out [02:30 PM] Wack'd: Okay so uh [02:31 PM] Wack'd: In the aftermath of that Iron Man I mentioned, Klaw found Owen's wand, with Owen's mind trapped inside, and gave it to a guy he met on the street so Owen would possess that guy [02:31 PM] Wack'd: The narrative notes that the guy was a boxer so I should probably also note that the guy was a boxer in case it becomes relevant [02:33 PM] Wack'd: So! The Four are incapacitated! Who cam save them now! [02:33 PM] Wack'd: Why, Impossible Man, of course. Not because he cares about the team, but because he's angry that someone defeated him in combat [02:34 PM] Wack'd: Impy can shapeshift so Molecule Man can't really do much to him [02:34 PM] Wack'd: And Impy removes his ears and makes himself into a non-sound-conductive material so he's immune to Klaw [02:34 PM] Wack'd: And then he kicks their asses [02:35 PM] Wack'd: Owen had been planning on using Reed's psi-amplifier (from that time Ben and Hulk switched brains) to make it so he could keep his ass in this body forever [02:35 PM] Wack'd: But Reed manages to cut the cord mid-process, sapping Owen back into his wand [02:36 PM] Wack'd: And undoing all the damage he caused [02:36 PM] Wack'd: AND THEN REED PICKS UP THE WAND WITH HIS BARE HANDS, LIKE AN IDIOT [02:37 PM] Wack'd: W E L P

[02:38 PM] Bocaj: Basically Lunella becoming Smartest was long overdue because Reed is dumb [02:38 PM] Bocaj: Someone needed to explicitly be smarter than him or else it would be very sad [02:39 PM] Wack'd: Don't think it's escaped my attention that this is our second evil Reed storyline in which Reed isn't actually evil [02:39 PM] Bocaj: Hm [02:40 PM] Bocaj: At least it’s not an evil Sue storyline [02:40 PM] Bocaj: Those are bad in many many ways [02:40 PM] Wack'd: If Gerry Conway's read on the Reed/Sue divorce arc was "if they're going to split up it should be because Reed does something truly ghastly", it seems like Wein's was "people seem to really want to make Reed a jerk, so how do I do that without altering the fact that he's genuinely a nice person" [02:42 PM] Wack'd: I loathed Conway's take, but Wein's is even worse because it denies the idea that Reed has anything to be culpable for. It seems like people have been shilling him constantly recently--Sue noticing Counter-Reed is unaffectionate to spot the ruse, Ben assuming Counter-Reed is obsessively watching the Negative Zone because he wants to save his counterpart, Counter-Reed immediately becoming a selfless paragon when his headache wears off [02:43 PM] Wack'd: And this issue, too, with everyone but Agatha assuming Reed is entitled to authority and feeling bad for hurting his feelings by doing their own things [02:44 PM] Wack'd: Maybe I'm being uncharitable because he's the cripple-the-b**** guy, but it does really seem like he sees nothing wrong with Reed's normal pattern of behavior and is mildly baffled anyone would. Which would fit well with his aesthetic of overwhelming nostalgia [02:45 PM] Wack'd: Anyway

Thur Aug 22 2019 [02:46 PM] Wack'd: So Reed's brain is trapped in Owen's wand now [02:47 PM] Wack'd: Ben destroys the Psi-Amplifier so Owen can't take over Reed's body permanently [02:47 PM] Wack'd: Owen, in retaliation, traps Sue, Johnny, Ben and Impy in an adimantium cube [02:48 PM] Wack'd: While he goes to blow off some adimantium rage [02:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Spider-Man and Venom ~ Maximum Carnage (Genesis) - Main Theme [02:49 PM] Wack'd: Johnny uses his heat to expand the air in the box, forcing it open, but it takes basically everything he's got [02:49 PM] Wack'd: You would think everybody in that box would die a million times of heat stroke but I guess not [02:50 PM] maxwellelvis: I was about to question the presence of Adamantium in an FF story, then I remembered that A. it's past 1975 now so Wolverine is a thing, and B. Len Wein is one of Wolverine's co-creators. [02:50 PM] maxwellelvis: And I think he first coined "Adamantium" to describe what his claws are made of. [02:51 PM] Wack'd: Watcher has gone from a white Grey to a fat bald guy to a Tor Johnson character

[02:53 PM] Wack'd: Watcher is still not talking, which Ben takes as a sign of apathy [02:53 PM] Wack'd: "Why don't you go to sell tickets to a funeral," he asks [02:54 PM] Wack'd: Ah yes, my favorite Tom Hanks movie

[02:55 PM] maxwellelvis: "You should make'em bugs!" [02:58 PM] Wack'd: Credit where it's due, I think this is genuinely the coolest monster design we've had in a while! You can see some remnants of the Kirby aping that still, in 1977, has not worn off, but it feels novel applied to brick and mortar, and I love the arrangements of the windows and the way the structures on the roof jut out of it's shoulders

[02:59 PM] Wack'd: Reed agrees to stop resisting, and the building returns to normal [02:59 PM] Wack'd: And then his friends show up and Reed starts resisting again [03:00 PM] Wack'd: Thanks to that resistance, Owen can't do anything to our heroes directly, and has to settle for transforming their surroundings [03:00 PM] Wack'd: This would be a lot simpler if they just kept the "no organic matter" limit from his first appearance [03:01 PM] maxwellelvis: Blame Steve Gerber, I guess. [03:01 PM] Wack'd: Impy tries to hit Owen with a giant mallet but Sue stops him because she doesn't want to hurt Reed [03:02 PM] Wack'd: Impy takes it well

[03:05 PM] Wack'd: Unfortunately, Reed's body gets knocked out anyway [03:06 PM] Wack'd: But while this renders the Reed inside of Owen's wand unconscious, it sends Owen into spasms of pain [03:06 PM] Wack'd: Causing him to release his grip on the wand, dropping it into a nearby factory furnace [03:07 PM] Wack'd: And so normalcy is restored--OR IS IT?! [03:07 PM] Wack'd: Reed's decided to resign from the Four [03:07 PM] Wack'd: And Sue's going to join him because "I already deserted my husband once, I'm not going to do it again" [03:07 PM] Wack'd: *sigh* [03:08 PM] Bocaj: 😐

Thur Aug 22 2019 [03:10 PM] Wack'd: FANTASTIC FOUR VOL 1 #189 [03:10 PM] Wack'd: Is a reprint of Annual ’66 [03:10 PM] Wack'd: Moving on [03:10 PM] Wack'd: As if there weren't enough reasons to hate Wein, it certainly seems like a lot of issues get delayed while he's around [03:11 PM] Wack'd: This is the second in less than ten issues [03:11 PM] maxwellelvis: That might explain why Chris Claremont took over Uncanny X-Men almost immediately after Wein revived it

[hellzyeahwebwieldingreviews]

Untold Tales of Spider-Man 06: The Doctor’s Dilemma – by Danny Fingeroth

An unexpected gem!

Dr. Bromwell grabs Peter by the arm and tells him he must talk to him about "his double life." But Bromwell hasn't stumbled on Pete's secret identity. He's talking about the dangers Pete gets into as a Daily Bugle photographer. He asks Peter, for May's sake, to give up the job. Although Peter has worried about the dangers himself, he stiffs Bromwell, saying "I'd appreciate it if you'd mind your own business, Doctor." Regretting every word, Peter goes into an unfair critique of Bromwell and a defense of his photography work. Taken aback, Bromwell gives Pete a new prescription for May and heads toward the door. Peter calls him back and apologizes. He tells him he has considered the dangers but still thinks the reward is worth the risk. Once Bromwell leaves, Peter changes to Spider-Man, eventually web-swinging to the pharmacy to fill May's prescription.

Back at his office, Bromwell can't stop thinking about Peter. Suddenly, he gets a brainstorm. He wants to give Peter a job in the sciences instead. First he goes to Metro Hospital and talks to Dr. Gordon, who saved May's life after Spider-Man brought in the needed ISO-36 (in Amazing Spider-Man #33, February 1966). Gordon reveals that, shortly after Spidey left, a beaten and bruised Peter appeared. Bromwell doesn't know what kind of deal Peter has with Spider-Man but he suspects the web-slinger is taking advantage of him.

Out web-slinging, Spidey comes upon "an eight-foot tall, four-foot wide gent in the green spandex suit" who is trashing an armored car. He is also "amazingly fast and as strong as the Hulk." When Spidey asks for a name, the giant comes up with "Impact," revealing that he volunteered for an experiment involving radioactive steroids (a combination just asking for trouble) for which he never got paid. Now paying himself in his own way, Impact slams Spidey against a wall and escapes.

The next day, Bromwell makes a house call and finds Peter all battered and bruised. He offers Pete a job in his own office helping with his research and lab work. Peter accepts. Aunt May overhears this conversation and is wracked with guilt for letting Peter risk his life taking pictures simply because they desperately needed the money.

So, Peter goes to work for Bromwell. There he researches steroids and finds out that Impact is Walter Cobb, a family man whose mind was warped by the experiment. As the days go by, Peter works at Bromwell's office, just missing catching up to Impact at his various crime scenes. Finally, Bromwell is called to the ER to help treat some victims of Impact's latest assault. As he leaves, Bromwell asks Peter to not go out for news photos. But Peter has to go out to stop Impact. Arriving at the scene,he finds Impact holding two hostages. The police bring out Impact's wife and kids to plead with him. It appears to work, with Impact releasing his hostages. Peter starts imagining a day when his work with Bromwell will lead to greater things than his web-swinging. Then a shot rings out and Impact goes on the rampage again. Spidey tries to calm him but he is too far gone. After pounding on the wall-crawler for a bit, Impact collapses. Bromwell is on the scene and pronounces the giant dead. As Spidey swings home, he reflects on it all. "Bromwell tells me that I should think about my aunt – like I don't do that enough. Impact shows me that there's a right way and a wrong way to try to help those you love. All these lessons! But...what am I supposed to learn from them? Where's the curriculum? Where's the syllabus?"

A great ending, right? But, oops, there's more! On his way home, Peter realizes that he could be as dead as Impact and decides to give up the webs. But at dinner, Aunt May tells him to keep doing what he's doing if it's what he wants to do. The next day, Bromwell waves the Daily Bugle at Peter, indicating the front page photo Pete took, and tells him he let him down, abandoning his lab work for the very work he begged him to avoid. He tells Peter that he has done all he can and that he's letting him go from his job. Pete can tell that Bromwell is hoping he will ask for another chance but Peter doesn't. He has come to completely understand that he does not become Spidey for thrills but to help people and that Uncle Ben and Aunt May would approve if they knew. Or, as he puts it, "Love the power. Guess I'll just have to live with the responsibility."

Had you told me that a Spidey story (and a prose story at that) about Doc Bromwell witten by Danny Fingeroth was going to be cracking I’d have never believed you.

Fingeroth’s body of Spidey work is a mixed bag to put it kindly. This is the man who wrote arguably the single best page of Mary Jane ever in Web of Spider-Man #6, eloquently summing up her emotional conflict regarding her romantic feelings for Spidey. But this is also the man who editorially mandated the creation of Maximum Carnage.

And yet here he doesn’t make a single misstep.

Okay that isn’t exactly true. His opening narration makes Peter sounds like a goddam psychopath. “Love the power. Hate the responsibility.” Er….that’s not exactly true, Peter has moments of enjoyment of his power and frustrations over the burdens it places upon him. But he doesn’t truly revel in his power and typically treats his responsibilities as simply something that HAS to be done moreso than something he resents doing. But that’s nothing compared to “…to take what I need. And to make anybody who gets in my way real sorry they got there.”

WTF dude! I was half expecting that the twist here was going to be that this wasn’t Peter speaking but it was. Fingeroth nicely bookends these sentiments by the end of the story but that doesn’t change the fact those sentiments shouldn’t be there in the first place.

You can maybe just handwave this as Peter being in a really bad mood and not believing what he is thinking. But I dunno, I suspect the real intent here was to clumsily set up something to BE bookended by the end of the story and more poignantly to smack the readers in the face with the central theme of the story. This lack of subtly rears its head again towards the end of the story when Fingeroth seriously spells out for us that Impact is a dark reflection of Spider-Man and the exact ways how. Everything the dialogue says is correct and Impact is actually a very good reflection of Spidey. But couldn’t Fingeroth have been a tad more subtle about it?

But other than that this story unto itself is pretty much flawless. I say unto itself because through no fault of Fingeroth the story’s placement withint he anthology is kind of weird. It clearly takes place after ASM #33 as there are very direct references and fallout from the Master Planner Trilogy. However the nature of the story also makes it highly unlikely to take place after ASM #39 because in that issue Peter is shaken by Bromwell informing him of just how frail Aunt May is. He pretty much tells Peter that if May learns his secret she will keel over dead. So this happens between ASM #33 and #39 but the Looter story clearly happens after ASM #36. Whilst far from inconceivable that this story could happen afterwards, because the last story with the Goblin was obviously tipping the hat to ASM #39-40 this story would’ve been better placed just before the Looter story. As is it’s oddly the THIRD story in this book to take place in this extremely small and specific gap of time after ASM #36 but before ASM #39.

Enough of the nitpicks though. I said this story was a gem and I stand by that.

What pleasantly surprised me most about this story was that Fingeroth seemed to be able to handle the prose format better than every other writer thus far sans perhaps DeFalco.

He wisely knows to emphasis the inner conflicts within the characters’ heads and play up the soap opera rather than leaning in on the action setpieces.

And yet there are two significant action set pieces in this story. Indeed the crux of the whole story REVOLVES around the physical danger Peter puts himself in by going into action. Fingeroth handled these deftly. The action wasn’t over explained and painted a clear picture in your head but didn’t linger too much. Sure you might feel things would be more interesting if you could actually see things but you aren’t drifting off as the writer belabors the combination of punches and kicks Spidey lands. It’s all very streamlined and designed to support the emotional arc of the story as opposed to the action being the point unto itself or simply the means to REACH a conclusion.

In this regard Fingeroth actually edges out DeFalco. Reading/listening through DeFalco’s story the action scenes can just be boiled down to Spidey fights some thugs, drags out the fight for pictures and then one them accidentally dies the specifics don’t matter even though we do get them.

Here Fingeroth forgoes the specifics to simply give you the broad beats to the fight (Impact throws a car, Spidey webs people to safety, etc) whilst ensuring he returns to Spidey’s inner thoughts and peppering in dialogue that is moving the plot and exploring the themes, even if it is simply lightly.

In a way this is a rare example of an action set piece that works BETTER in prose than it would visually. Sure Mark Bagley or Ron Frenz could embellish the fight scene to make it look cool, but the visions of a possible future Peter imagines are more potent and organic when we simply read his train of thought like this. Were it a comic such dialogue would come off as excessive or (if communicated through art) needlessly existential. Additionally as a villain goes Impact is fairly generic, but having him not have any visual presence mitigates that because his importance is more about what he is doing and why than having a dynamic appearance.

To go back to Bromwell, he’s developed more here than he’s been in over 55 years of Spider-History. Were he written like this in his appearances he might’ve become a more beloved character. What’s great is how organic his personality feels. We learn new stuff about him but it feels like a totally logical extrapolation of what little we saw of him in the 1960s. He is a quintessential doctor and Fingeroth lends him a surprising amount of nuance. He isn’t endlessly caring, he has his limits but even so the fact that he wanted Peter to ask him for a second chance at the end was a brilliant touch. It’s a small moment but it helps make Bromwell feel more multidimensional.

And because of this characterization the story earns the pathos of Peter letting him down. You feel sad for Bromwell and for Peter that things didn’t work out for both of them.

Aunt May is also done very well here. She is in typical Aunt May mode but Fingeroth chooses to make that the central conflict of the story rather than a background element. Refreshingly though the issue isn’t that May is on her deathbed, but rather the impact (if you pardon the pun) upon her if anything happens to Peter.  The story is almost a spiritual cousin to JMS’ opus ‘the Conversation’ in that it comes to a reasonable and positive resolution.

What in particular what holds this all together is the brilliant (yet rarely used) idea of treating Peter’s cover story as Spidey’s photographer as a metaphor for him being Spider-Man. It’s something that’s pretty clever when you think about it because the cover story means his loved ones go into relationships with him knowing he takes risks and potentially endangers them, just as if they knew he was Spidey.

Through treating the cover story as a metaphor Fingeroth is able to have Peter get a lot of feelings about being Spidey off of his chest. This chiefly comes in the form of his bookeneded confrontations with Bromwell, his angry (and highly unjustified) outburst at the start and his quiet resigned acceptance at the end.

Perhaps the best bi of narration in relation to Peter’s character was when Fingeroth spelled out that Peter might enjoy being Spidey but even if he didn’t he’d do it anyway because he was hooked on helping people. It eloquently emphasis the innate heroism and core of the character. And it does so in a nuanced way too as too often writers have Peter outright hate being Spider-Man or else cynically lean on the idea he’s a thrill junkie of some kind. Fingeroth gets that peter DOES like his work but that isn’t the reason he does it.

Nuance is actually the key word here. There is a lovely sequence where the story acknowledges that Peter might subconsciously be avoiding Impact out of a loss of confidence. It plays very realistically. How often in life has one bad moment shaken us up and made us hesitant to do things we previously did without even thinking about it.

Really I don’t know what else to say about this story that isn’t self-evident by just experiencing it for yourself.

Tiny issues aside it’s really quite excellent and highly recommended.

[ashmitrano]

How to Convincingly Write Battle Scenes

Writing Advice | My WiP | Twitter

You guys seemed to really like “How to Convincingly Write Romantic Scenes” so I wanted to continue the series with this one! Battle scenes, in my experience, can usually be broken down into five parts. Each of those five parts serves a critical role in the scene so let’s talk about them!

Part 1: The build up. 

The build up is often a moment of calm followed by slow-burning tension. Say a peaceful little village is just starting to wake in the small hours of the morning when the early-risers hear a distant but growing rumbling noise coming straight for them. Or an unfortunate gang of thieves hold your protagonist up at gunpoint in a quiet alley, demanding money, not knowing that she’s a skilled martial artist. Take this moment to reflect on what the hero has to lose if they don’t win this fight. This gives the reader a stark contrast to the oncoming violence but also lets them anticipate what’s about to happen. 

Part 2: In The Thick of It.

This is where you get your readers blood pumping. There’s swords clashing, bullets flying, fists connecting with flesh, and it’s all probably pretty brutal. The biggest piece of advice I can offer you in this section of the scene is; don’t get too technical. Your hero didn’t pirouette, he spun around. His opponent didn’t perform a balestra, she lunged forward. Getting bogged down with technical talk pulls a reader out of a scene. 

Additionally, try and mimic the flow of battle in your sentence structure and word choices. If the fight is quick and unyielding, use words like blunt, crush, and smash. Keep your sentences short. If the fight is more poised and dignified, then draw out your sentences and put more effort into describing exactly what’s happening.  

This is also where you want to really focus on all five senses. Describe how it feels to plunge a dagger into a chest, or have an arrow pierce your chest. Can you smell the blood? Taste it? Can you see the carnage around you? Do your research on your weapon of choice and make sure you keep things grounded in reality for maximum impact.

Part 3: All Is Lost

The “All is Lost” moment is technically optional but it’s honestly my favourite part. A battle scene can often feel like a video game on god mode if you don’t let your protagonist get a little beaten and bloody. Show the reader that your characters aren’t guaranteed survival (even if they are). 

Part 4: The Deciding Strike.

Be it a triumph or a failure, “The Deciding Strike” is often the emotional pinnacle of a battle scene. Whether your character is killing the main villain, cutting down the last of an expendable army, or being forced to retreat as they’re overrun by enemies, you should focus on how they feel in that moment and what the result of the battle entails for them. Be dramatic and have fun with it. 

Part 5: The Aftermath

Technically not part of the battle scene, “The aftermath” is still extremely important. This is the comedown from the high of battle, where both sides have to face the repercussions of the fight. Keep with the theme of “The Deciding Strike” and draw out the feelings of your characters. Wallow in their misery or revel in their victory so they (and the readers) can have closure. 

And that’s all I have for you today. This one was quite a bit longer than my last post but I hope those of you who stuck around and read it found it helpful. As always, let me know if you want more of these kinds of posts in the future! <3

[loadingvacations146]

Spider Man 2 Game

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 answers that pressing question of “what would it be like to be Spider-Man?” The answer, of course, is ‘kickass.’ Our favorite web-swinger from Queens is back in this edition of the spider story. Get ready to blast around New York City in tight red and blue spandex while beating up the criminally insane in this homage to the web-head. Gear up and let’s swing into it.

Spiderman & Venom: Maximum Carnage. Ultimate Spider-Man. Spider-Man Web Shooter. Spider-Man Rescue Mission. Spide Man Resident Evil. Spider Man Epic Battles. Ultimate Spider Cycle. Hanger 2 Endless Level Pack. Jun 03, 2004 Spider-Man 2: The Game - beta - Game demo - Download. Demo version of Spider-Man 2: The Game, a(n) action game, beta, for PCs and laptops with Windows systems. Free and legal download. File type Game demo. File size 164.6 MB. Bpm analyzer for itunes. Downloads 287359 (last 7 days) 693. Last update Thursday, June 3, 2004. A boom in Spider-Man games being published happened during the 1990s. Video game fans could enjoy fighting, beat ’em up, action releases with the participation of their favorite superhero getting improved graphics and new plot twists. Spider-Man games were accessible for users of Nintendo Game Boy, different Sega consoles, PC and other platforms. Play free online Spider-Man games for kids and families, including exclusive puzzles, action and racing games, and more on Marvel HQ! Power Spider 2: Parody Game. Power Spider was once a police man named Chris Anderson who needed to bite a spider in order to cure his radioactive disease. Little did he know the spider had been kept frozen for countless years. Scientists have told Chris' doctor that before the freeze, the spider had bitten the best Legendary Martial Artist in.

Gameplay

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released in tandem with the Sony Film that was released around the same time. Although it looks pretty rushed in some areas, the game still holds up as a perfectly acceptable web-swinging adventure. The game can be split into three main sections: Traversal, Combat and Peter Parker segments. The traversal comprises of running, jumping and, most importantly, swinging which is done through the left and right triggers that control the respective arm. The web swinging is SO good, it feels fun and natural and incredibly freeing in a way that I’ve never seen before in a video game.

The combat is pretty repetitive but that doesn’t really mean bad, it bares a strong resemblance to Batman: Arkham Asylum or Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor with a series of button bashing with a timed dodge here and there. It’s fluid and feels nice to get a high streak without getting hit.

Lastly, there are the Peter Parker segments. These are the bits where the game slows down and you are given a chance to do some minor investigative work as the mild-mannered youth. It’s offers an interesting change in pace which lets you catch your breath and really see the difference between the two alter-egos. Aside from all this, there are a lot of abilities that really help you feel like Spider-Man.

Story

The story follows a simple theme of Spidey attempting to find the criminal Dennis Carradine. Resuming his search, he tracks him down but something stops him in his tracks. After this point, it’s kind of just a huge game filled with multiple bosses that Peter must stop. The story seems to take something of a backseat to the gameplay and the idea of jamming as many villains into a game as possible, something that I couldn’t really complain about because I love Spider-Man and I found all the boss fights really fun.

Graphics

The graphics are great for their time and they do everything required in displaying all you need to see. Action is easy to follow and whichever of Spidey’s suits that you have equipped, they always look cool and stylish. Something I really liked, which ties in to the gameplay, is that the web swinging must now actually connect to a building above you, as opposed to the clouds.

This means you often find yourself swinging low to the ground, narrowly avoiding taxis and busses as you blast around like a radioactive mad man. This all looks and feels incredible, something that really engages you.

This is a perfectly suitable game for anyone who loves Spider-Man to enjoy. Lots of combat and some super smooth, satisfying web-swinging.

Pros:

Awesome webswinging

Easy to follow combat

Loads of villains

Cons:

Repetitive fighting

Lackluster plot

Overall rating: 7

Originally Published:

Insomniac's Spider-Man has it all — Yuri Lowenthal's Peter Parker, a brand spanking new face, and Insomniac's loving interpretation of New York City. There's much to love in Marvel's Spider-Man. Luckily the loving relationship with Marvel's Spider-Man is far from over. Now that a follow-up has debuted with Spider-Man: Miles Morales, development on Peter Parker's next adventure has likely started development.

Here's all the information that has surfaced about Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

But first:How did gaming get you through the pandemic? We want to hear from you! Take this quick Inverse survey.

When is the Marvel's Spider-Man 2 release date?

Spider-Man PS4 was released in September 2018 and was announced at E3 2016, more than two years before its release. It took Insomniac roughly four years to create, with development beginning in 2014.

However, given the work that Insomniac has already put into retouching New York with Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Spider-Man Remastered, it's likely that the next Spider-Man game will take less time to develop.

Though Spider-Man 2 has yet to be announced – it's inevitable. Following fan assumptions that Peter might have perished between the first Spider-Man game and Miles Morales, Insomniac Creative Director Brian Horton cleared some things up via a PlayStation Blog post.

'Many of you fans have wondered if Peter Parker is OK. Don’t worry, we still have much of Peter’s story left to tell,' said Horton.

This statement assures that Peter's story will continue, inadvertently confirming that more Spider-narratives are on the way. Perhaps we can expect a 2022 release date, with the game launching shortly after the next God of War.

Is there a Marvel's Spider-Man 2 trailer?

This game has yet to be announced, so there isn't a trailer available.

What consoles will Marvel's Spider-Man 2 be released on?

It's not yet clear if the Spidey sequel will launch for PS4 and PS5 like Miles Morales, or if it will be a next-gen exclusive. Sony has yet to say anything conclusive on the matter.

Who are the new heroes in Marvel's Spider-Man 2?

Spoilers for Spider-Man and Miles Morales ahead.

Spider Man 2 Game Ps2

Based on information from Spider-Man: Miles Morales, it appears that Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will have dual protagonists of Peter and Miles. Clearly, Miles has gotten a handle on his abilities, enough that he can easily lead his own narrative.

Spider-Man 2 might feature dual narratives, one for Peter and another for Miles, perhaps overlapping the stories at some point. Aside from Miles, Silver Sable could potentially return as a hero. Peter did mention in Spider-Man: Miles Morales that he spent time with her while in Europe.

One of the big additions in Spider-Man: Miles Morales were the two-person takedowns. We briefly saw these in use when Miles and Phin were working together to take down Roxxon. This takedown style will likely return in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, but between Peter and Miles.

Who are the villains in Marvel's Spider-Man 2?

Between the endings of Spider-Man and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, we have ample clues as to the villains in the next game. We can assume the villains will be Wilson Fisk, Green Goblin (Norman Osborn), Venom (Harry Osborn), and The Lizard (Curt Connors).

Warcraft 3 frozen throne 1.27a patch with version switcher download. Wilson Fisk recently appeared as the coda to a lengthy side quest arc in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. In his appearance, Fisk and Miles came to verbal blows. The encounter concluded with Fisk promising 'Harlem hasn't seen the last of me' and other Scooby-Doo villain esque statements. Assuming his promise can be trusted, Fisk could become a personal foe for Miles in the sequel.

The first game leaves Norman in a dark place, he’s resigned as mayor of New York, and he's growing increasingly desperate to find a cure for his son, Harry Osborn, who has a terminal illness. It becomes increasingly clear that Norman is spiraling into madness. The vast amounts of wealth and lab technology he has access to allow him to pursue more extreme measures to help his son.

When MJ sneaks into his lab, she also discovers a prototype mask, blueprints for a hovercraft, and three purple grenades. The signs are clear as day that Norman is developing the Green Goblin persona, his hoverboard, and his signature Pumpkin Bombs.

While Norman seems to be undergoing a villainous turn to the Green Goblin, Harry could be the sequel’s Venom. Fans were up in arms about the exclusion of Spidey’s alien suit as an alternate skin, but Insomniac Creative Director Bryan Intihar said they had good reason to leave it out.

“I think something like that suit deserves its day in the spotlight and I think just making it an unlockable suit wouldn’t be doing it justice,” he said in September 2018 interview. “I think it’s one of the best stories in Spider-Man. It’s a complex story that story needs to be told and it needs to be told in the way that Insomniac would tell it.”

Harry could be the best character to tell that story with seeing as his and Peter’s relationship is one of the most mysterious in the game and is only really addressed through various journal entries and Easter eggs.

In the first game's conclusion, Harry is in critical condition, prompting his father to place him in a stasis chamber. A black, web-like substance is seen encasing his body. The black goo is extremely similar to the symbiote fans have seen in the Spider-Man comics and films.

To top this off, Sony re-introduced Venom into the cultural conversation with last year’s movie, featuring Tom Hardy as the classic Spidey villain. With a Venom movie sequel in the works, it makes sense to capitalize on that interest by making him a primary villain in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

When we revisited the plot thread (plot web?) in Spider-Man: Miles Morales' post-credits scene, Curt Connors was present. His brief appearance almost definitely sets him up for a larger role in the sequel. From the blood sample found in the first game, it seems that Connors has already transformed into the Lizard once, he'll likely return to his supervillain persona in the next game.

Are there any Marvel's Spider-Man 2 leaks?

Yes! There are leaks up the wazoo for Spider-Man 2, hinting at new playable characters. One prominent leak was initially shared on 4Chan then reposted to Reddit. The leak suggested there would be four new playable characters codenamed Purple Bat, Shadow Cat, Vegeta, and Knight Spider. At least that's the current plan.

The four characters are already written into the game's script, so they'll be available no matter how development goes. However, their playability is allegedly dependant on if Insomniac can get the characters to perform properly.

Spider-man 2 Game Title Screen

Another Reddit post suggests something different. The post says that in addition to Peter, there will only be two playable characters: Knight Spider and Purple Bat. Knight Spider is supposedly code for Miles, while Purple Bat is an unknown entity. The third character will allegedly use lethal attacks like actual guns.

Spider Man 2 Game Psp

The same leak states that Spider-Man 2 has been in active development since Q2 2020.

[mercurialtraveller-blog]

Clear Sky, 20°C

691-14 Gokashōyamamotochō, Higashiōmi-shi, Shiga-ken 529-1431, Japan

Day 5 Fuji-Q Theme Park! We woke late again. Surprise, surprise! Managed to get to the park at about 10:30am. On the way I ate this strange japanese melon roll that I had been saving. It was a green bread roll which was filled with melon flavoured goo. Almost like a doughnut. The green colouring turned out to only cover the top layer. Somewhat tasty, but not something I'd buy again. Upon arriving we were informed that the ride with the fastest acceleration in the world was closed. I was irritated by this as Stealth is one of my favourite rides of all time - the adrenaline rush is amazing! However I soon forgot about this once we ventured forth into the park. First up was Eejinaika 📷 . This was the huge rollercoaster we had seen the day before upon arrival into Fujikyu Highlands. We could see it looming ominously above as we made our way towards it and established that initially it started backwards before somehow flipping forwards. We assumed that when you went over the initial drop you were upside down and backwards and were understandably somewhat apprehensive whilst filing through the hour long queue, complete with warnings against the elderly, disabled, diabetic, epileptic and unsure and accompanied by an irritating soundtrack of 'Eejanaika! Eejanaika!' chants. We potentially fell into the unsure category, but for adrenalines sake pretended that we didn't. Eventually we boarded the ride, after removing our shoes and locking up our belongings. Before long we were climbing a large incline, backwards. Before the main drop, there was a small dip - a taster, if you will. It was at this point that I noticed Maddy screaming 'Oh my god! Oh my god!'; I chuckled to myself before sharply being brought back into focus by the impending carnage that proceeded me. I don't think anything could have prepared me for Eejanaika. The only word I can describe it with is 'intense'. Fortunately you didn't go down the first drop upside-down and backwards (it inverted to forwards as you went over the edge), however it was a ride where you had no idea what direction you would be taken next. If you imagine the arms of Samurai at Thorpe Park, and imagine those arms were attached to the rollercoaster with the world record for most twists... You might get somewhat close to the intensity that is Eejinaika. It was the first rollercoaster that I've ever been on where I've gotten off the ride, legs shaking from adrenaline, and said 'I'm not sure if I can go on that again'. Perhaps I'm getting old, or perhaps that ride is the craziest ride I've ever been on. I'm still unsure. Once we had recovered we moved round the park to a more chilled 'coaster - somewhere between a Sky ride and a rollercoaster, where two people could sit, one in the other's lap and go round at a leisurely pace. In the queue a crazy, happy, old Japanese man arrived on his own, muttering and shouting things in his own language. Ville and Maddy got on the first car that arrived. I was left to get the second on my own. My worst fears were confirmed when the old man tried to get into the car with me! Thankfully I was saved by the park attendant and enjoyed a nice, chilled out ride on my ones (hashtag forever alone). A lucky escape from sharing a ride which Maddy described as 'intimate'! The sun was blazing, so we took a chance (despite knowing the forecast was rain!) and went 'no poncho' when we rode the rubber dinghy rapids, mate. The sun shortly went in thereafter, and our wet feet would haunt us throughout the rest of the day. From there we hit up the free fall tower - complete with Ville shouting 'I regret! I regret!' at the top before we dropped. This became my catch phrase for the rest of the scary rides the park had to offer. The views from the top of it were amazing (even if Fujisan was hidden by the clouds). The suspense when you are held at the top... Not so much! Next, to the Evangelion exhibition. Not an anime I'm particularly into, but along with some awesome models of the cast and mechs of Evangelion, I did find my new bae in there 📷 . Onwards to Fujiyama 📷 . This was a massive 'coaster. Probably the longest in the park. No loops and no twists, but a maximum speed of 80mph awaited us. This was wicked fun; would recommended - you could really feel the Gs with this one! We decided to slow things down a bit due to what lay ahead and went on a mount Fuji flight simulator, which was made amusing by the attendants impression of an air hostess. This decision was also fueled by the fact that for the whole time we had been near mount Fuji we were unable to see it due to the clouds! The simulator was a '4D' kind of deal with motion, smell, breezy wind and mist coupled with a massive screen, and was surprisingly fun. Next up was the coaster with the steepest drop in the world - even steeper than Thorpe Park's Saw ride. Rather than dropping 90 degrees a la Oblivion, you go over-vert. Takabisha 📷. This was a fun, if not a little bit short coaster. Not as intense as Eejanaika, but very smooth, and when you get winched up for the over-vert drop, you're lying totally horizontal. Many cries of 'I regret' rang out whilst we climbed this one, but the actual over-vert drop was reasonably slow/tame. The rest of the coaster was awesome though - just expected more from the drop. Ville and I hit up Eejanaika once more (we made it!) whilst Maddy couldn't hack it again. Once again, it was VERY intense. But glad I went on it again as there's no other coaster like it, and I had the feeling I wouldn't be back here soon. It was near the end of the day and the skies started to open. We headed back to the hotel. I used the toilet and plucked up the courage to use the 'butt spray' and was surprised... As Maddy had informed me previously, it seemed to 'know' *exactly* where to spray. Whilst it was accurate and not cold as I had expected... This defo wasn't something for me - too weird and gross feeling. Won't be using that again! We headed out for food. Once again we set out towards Miyaki and once again we were disappointed that it was closed. At this point it was raining hard, so we stopped at the next restaurant we saw - 55Meat - I popped my head in and looked at the menu to find out it was fairly expensive, so we went on the hunt for some cheap eats, with Trip Advisor our guide. We were lead down a dead end by Trip Advisor and after a discussion including me joking that this would make my blog more interesting describing this detour we ended up heading back to 55Meat with our tails between our legs. In hindsight, it really didn't' make it any more interesting! 55Meat was an amazing little Yakiniku restaurant, where we were brought the finest cuts of Wagyu beef and cooked it over a charcoal grill. I ordered 55 day aged tongue. It was delicious! So glad to have eaten at an authentic Yakiniku restaurant, and once again I was amazed by how helpful the staff were - despite the (large) language barrier they went all out to show us how to cook the meat and make us as informed as possible over what we were ordering and make us feel as at home as possible. Maximum respect, Japan! Very satisfied, we headed back to our hotel and got some rest; with the long journey to Kyoto ahead of us in mind.

Powered by Journey Diary.

[magzier-blog]

Path Of Exile Hideout Competition: The Second Creativity Contest Held By Grinding Gear Games After The Three-Year-Ago Debut

After being suspended for over three years, as one of the oldest and biggest-scale Path of Exile offline competitions, which was hosted by Grinding Gear Games in the game official site, another Hideout Competition was brought out by the company again after its debut and is in the spotlight instantly. Reportedly, the plausible facts that promoted Grinding Gear Games to bring this competition back are the recent hideout changes landing in the game. The Hideout changes were believed and affirmed to be one of the major updates caused by New Betrayal League release, which occurred three weeks ago.

Hideout and its correlative activities, such as unlocking, decoration, visiting, are generally considered as the highest degree of customization for Path of Exile players. In hideouts, players can decorate these places with the items in their own preferences, invite anyone else in the game they urge to show off to pay a visit, they can have their rest no matter how long it takes. It is definitely the sole shed reigned by yourself in the game. Competition among all different kinds of hideouts with different decorations and designs is nothing but an incentive for creativity and a feast for the eyes. However, a batch of physical and virtual awards for this winners still triggered tidal waves of participation with great enthusiasm. The awards include Shaper T-shirts, Brutus prints and lots of hideout decorations. As a matter of fact, there are definitely more than that, all prizes already are categorized by different rankings you're in as winners. Below is the Prize Pool for different prizes in different rankings:

Top Three Winners

Custom avatar of a portion of the hideout

Hideout Competition Winner Forum Badge

Brutus Print

Shaper T-shirt

Choice of an Armour Set from the list below

Hideout Decorations: Arcane Throne Decoration, Infernal Throne Decoration, Malachai Heart Decoration, White Lights x 2, Fire Gale x 2, Rain x 5, Blood Rain x 2, Falling Leaves x 5, Wide Light Beam Decoration x 5, Solaris Throne, Wisp Swarm Decoration x 5, Whale Skeleton, Ice Gale Decoration x 2, Burning Corpse Pile, Automaton Lightning Decoration x 2, Automaton Beam x 2, Sin Cathedral x 2, Innocence Cathedral x 2

Hideout Bundle: Energy Dome Decoration, Fireplace Decoration, Cauldron Decoration, Lightning Coil Decoration, Ice Bricks Decoration x 2, Fire Bricks Decoration x 2, Oriath Citizen, Automaton Decor, Beetle Pet x 3, Cockroach Pet x 3

Top Five Winners

Brutus Print

Shaper T-shirt

Choice of an Armour Set from the list below

Hideout Decorations: Solaris Throne, Wisp Swarm Decoration x 5, Whale Skeleton, Ice Gale Decoration x 2, Burning Corpse Pile, Automaton Lightning Decoration x 2, Automaton Beam x 2, Sin Cathedral x 2, Innocence Cathedral x 2

Hideout Bundle: Energy Dome Decoration, Fireplace Decoration, Cauldron Decoration, Lightning Coil Decoration, Ice Bricks Decoration x 2, Fire Bricks Decoration x 2, Oriath Citizen, Automaton Decor, Beetle Pet x 3, Cockroach Pet x 3

Top Ten Winners

Brutus Print

Choice of an Armour Set from the list below

Hideout Decorations: Automaton Lightning Decoration x 2, Automaton Beam x 2, Sin Cathedral x 2, Innocence Cathedral x 2

Hideout Bundle: Energy Dome Decoration, Fireplace Decoration, Cauldron Decoration, Lightning Coil Decoration, Ice Bricks Decoration x 2, Fire Bricks Decoration x 2, Oriath Citizen, Automaton Decor, Beetle Pet x 3, Cockroach Pet x 3

Top Thirty Winners

Hideout Bundle: Energy Dome Decoration, Fireplace Decoration, Cauldron Decoration, Lightning Coil Decoration, Ice Bricks Decoration x 2, Fire Bricks Decoration x 2, Oriath Citizen, Automaton Decor, Beetle Pet x 3, Cockroach Pet x 3

Players who win an Armour Set will be able to choose from the following list:

Elite Armour Pack

Seraph Armour Pack

Verdant Armour Pack

Arcane Armour Pack

Vampiric Armour Pack

Steam-powered Armour Pack

Necrotic Armour Pack

Gore Armour Pack

Ghostflame Armour Pack

Arctic Armour Pack

Alabaster Seraph Pack

Obsidian Seraph Pack

Radiant Armour Pack

Bear Armour Pack

Lightning Armour Pack

Lunaris Armour Pack

Carnage Armour Pack

Stormcaller Armour Pack

Arcane Lightning Armour Pack

Bleached Demon King Armour Pack

Desert Armour Pack

Raven Armour Pack

Executioner Armour Pack

Warlock Armour Pack

Enough bubbling all the lurings, it's time to talk about the competition participating method. It really is easy to comprehend and implement, from our perspectives: Pick a clear theme and create a hideout around this theme. A theme could be anything and not necessarily related to Path of Exile. Post screenshots or a video in reply to the opening thread to enter. To submit a screenshot, just upload it to an image hosting site like imgur.com, copy the address of the uploaded image and post it in this thread using IMG tags.

Other than the prize pool and participating methods, perhaps the duration and deadline of this hideout competition could still have your attention. Unlike the other type of events usually taking several days or weeks just to warm up, this competition, from its announcement date to deadline, only last for 4 days. That means despite the time between its start point and now, you still have maximum 60 hours to create a new hideout with an impressive theme title and decorate it with all dazzling stickers. Don't get upset at all, try to imagine the narcissists who won't have no knowledge of this competition until two days later!

Find grinding or questing too boring to go on? Doing all the quests and adventures still can't provide you with the desired amount of Path of Exile Currency? Hard to furnish yourself with a bunch of legendary equipment that you have none and stoop to picking up lousy ones? Here is a cure for all of your concerns and anxiety - MMOAH. MMOAH.com now opened up a New POE Currency store and welcome all the gamers have been yearning for POE Orbs, Items, and other POE Currency in new Betrayal League. Take a look at the new store, if you purchase now, you will be given a coupon code - "BETRAYAL" for free, which can save you 6% off for every order on MMOAH.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #3 Thoughts

Subpar I’m afraid to say.

With some tweaks this issue could’ve been fine as could this whole mini-series. Why exactly the decision was made to have the protagonists of this series not show up until well over the halfway point is baffling. If Tieri really wanted to tell a Misty Knight story, then why not just call it ‘Absolute Carnage: Misty Knight’ or ‘Absolute Carnage: Misty Knight & the Lethal protectors’ or include her on the cover of issue #1. The series as billed implied Iron Fist was going to be the lead and he absolutely wasn’t.

Moroever the series used the rest of the Lethal Protectors as action figures with a little dialogue. You could do some interesting things with the premise of this series given the characters we’re using but this book just doesn’t. Instead it’s about John Jameson struggling to not be evil and Misty Knight struggling to not die.

Like couldn’t you have had the characters talk more about what they went through back in Maximum Carnage. Dagger was presumed to be dead in that story. How does that make her or Cloak feel?

Firestar almost murdered Carnage and it sickened her. Surely she’d have SOME kind of emotional reaction to Carnage going back to what he did before but on an even bigger scale. Painful flashbacks to seeing a man roast alive by her hand? Anger and guilt that she didn’t finish the job? It’s just nothing.

Similarly wasn’t Maximum Carnage’s central theme (or what it was trying to make it’s central theme) all about how the heroes SHOULDN’T be violent vigilantes like the Punisher or Venom? I’m not asking them to bust out the Happiness Gun again, but like isn’t it worth at least briefly addressing the fact that these guys are now willing to kill their enemies in this story that’s a direct sequel to one about how they SHOULDN’T be doing that?

Lets go back to Firestar. She felt bad about burning Carnage alive in Maximum Carnage but here she is seemingly blasting away people literally forced against their will to become Carnage’s mindless drones.

I’m not saying we can’t go in this direction but it’s so shallow, so not built up at all. This didn’t need to be Shakespeare but it felt very much like Marvel felt a series like this needed to exist in a Maximum Carnage homage story, Tieri got stuck with the job and he just decided to do whatever he wanted/didn’t care about the story.

The biggest example of this is the ridiculousness of Misty Knight still being alive. Let’s ignore the stuff I brought up in issue #2 and just consider the comic outright states that HOURS have elapsed since the Lethal Protectors began fighting the doppelgangers. So Demagoblin and Man-Wolf were just glaring at Misty Knight for hours on end before finally deciding to kill her?

It’s contrived as shit.

Also how exactly can Demagoblin survive being shot up by 3 people when Demogoblin died from like a pillar crushing him? I get he/she is a demon and more resilient than a human but clearly not THAT resilient. It’s not even like shewas bouncing the bullets off, she clearly took injuries!

Finally I don’t buy John Jameson asserting control over himself. He’s struggled to do that merely as Man-Wolf. He’s been under Carnage’s influence for at least a few weeks. Symbiotes are notoriously difficult to control and these are symbiotes basically broadcasting Carnage’s insane and hyper empowered will to the hosts. John is cool, but I’m sorry but he’s not going to have will power enough to break through ALL that at the same time. It’d have made more sense for him to rejected the symbiote and still been in his Man-Wolf form.

The dialogue, art and action were okay though.

Over all this was a disappointing mini-series that still started out great. It had potential but ultimately just boiled down to an homage of an older story.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Absolute Carnage vs. Deadpool #1, Venom vol. 4 #17, Absolute Carnage: Lethal Protectors #1, Absolute Carnage: Miles Morales #1 Thoughts

I’m trying very hard to both cover Absolute Carnage in reading order and also not bog down said coverage of the tie ins, i’m hoping to give the main book and ASM tie-ins my full attention but for all the other ones handle them less comprehensively. Obviously that depends upon their respective content.

The Deadpool issue had great art, funny dialogue, a brisk pace, some clever moments and a refreshing acknowledgment that the Peter/Wade dynamic is stupid. 

Having Carnage acknowledge Deadpool as the motherload of codexes because of his bonding with the 4 Life Foundation symbiotes (a.k.a. also collectively referred to as the Hybrid symbiote) from Wade and Kasady’s last encounter was a great use of continuity. My hope is the lack of acknowledgement of his time with the Venom symbiote (see Deadpool’s Secret Secret War and Deadpool: Back in Black) confirms that those stories are not to be taken seriously as canon, at least as far as Spidey or Venom continuity is concerned.

The only real problem is that, whilst the start of the story technically precedes Absolute Carnage, when we get to the symbiote stuff it happens during Absolute Carnage #2 and thus really is best read after that comic as it does give a few minor spoilers for it.

Venom #17 was fantastic!

Now, as I said in my Absolute Carnage #2 post, the plotting is out of whack. Venom #17 should be read BEFORE Absolute Carnage #2!

The story itself, whilst basic, is effective. The Maker is as morally grey (or flexible if you like, get it!) as ever. Dylan is characterized well, believable as the son of Eddie Brock. Normie is underserved but this isn’t his story. Something that did bug me though is that the art depicts them as probably about the same age with Dylan dominating their dynamic. But really Dylan should be younger. Dylan was born between Venom Along Came a Spider (1996) and Anne Weying’s death in like 2000 or 2001. Normie meanwhile was born in the mid-1980s!

That’s a small complaint though and easily No. Prized.

Now as for the rest of the comic Cates pulls off a masterstroke in how he’s structured this event, at least in relation to the Venom book.

Absolute Carnage seems set to be the book where all the thrust of the story happens, that’s where you go to see Carnage and I suspect going forward where you will go to follow Brock/Venom. Meanwhile the actual Venom book is going to be following Dylan, who’s been adequately built up by this point. It helps make the Venom book relevant but not demand that you go other the same events twice or ping pong between it and Absolute Carnage to see the next part of the story, it’s happening adjacent  to the main events but it’s also not a meaningless side quest!

There is also a lot of great use of established continuity in this book. Venom himself might not be in it much, but his LEGACY is. Dylan is his son (and remember he’s as much the son of the symbiote as he is Anne and Eddie) and so are the Life Foundation symbiotes. The Sleeper symbiote also shows up.

I confess I’m only vaguely familiar with Sleeper because I didn’t read Venom: First Host but I believe he’s strongly connected to Venom’s past, I think he is maybe literally the first host of the Venom symbiote.

There is also an interesting angle in this story because the lead is Dylan, the sidekick if you will is Normie and the antagonists are the family from Separation Anxiety, 2 of which are also little kids. I hope this factors in somehow as it seems there is a theme of family underlying this corner of the event! You could even extend that to Normie as the theme of family, especially dysfunctional family, is very relevant to the Osborns and is obviously now relevant to Venom/Brock’s immediate ‘family’ as well as the Separation Anxiety nuclear family.

The ar is also stellar. It’s not Stegman good but it’s still beautiful eye candy and looks enough like Stegman that the change isn’t jarring. I’m very happy Coello did the War of the Realms tie-ins as a taster and ‘warm up’ for this in fact.

Just great, I’m loving this one!

Lethal Protectors #1 was one of the tests for me about the strength of this event.

See of all the tie-ins this was the one I was least interested in. I don’t hate Cloak, Dagger, Iron Fist or Morbius, but I’m also fairly indifferent to them. I only liked Morbius in the 1994 cartoon (though I hear his 90s stories were quite good) and to me Iron Fist is dull outside of when he’s hanging out with Luke Cage.

So I checked this out but only out of a desire to be a completist.

I was fully braced for this issue to be what derailed the event’s thus far strong batting average.

Nope.

Even this issue delivered.

Granted it also kind of DIDN’T deliver since the cover characters aren’t even mentioned at all. Instead the closest thing to a protagonist is Misty Knight. Now I have no hate for Misty Knight but to my recollection her connection to the symbiotes began only in the Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage issue that this continues off from. I suppose having a vibranium arm makes her an obvious combatant against symbiotes, but she’s got less connection to the lore. She seems more like the vehicle to introduce the above mentioned ‘lethal protectors’ into the story. And I guess that’s fine but either include her on the cover or feature the title characters in the issue.

That’s mostly a nitpick though, the rest of the issue is great. More fun violent horror stuff with a creepy romance added on for good measure in the form of Carnage and Shriek’s toxic relationship.

The reintroduction of Demo/Demagoblin was interesting. I knew it was coming and I knew it would be a new female version but the fact that it was Shriek took me by surprise, I was sure it was going to be Lily Hollister a.k.a. Menace. Truth be told I’m disappointed it wasn’t as that would’ve been an organic use of a pre-established character and wouldn’t have swapped out Shriek (who is also very interesting) for Demagoblin.

It’s not a BAD direction but I’d have preferred the Carnage family from Maximum Carnage be reassembled differently. But seeing Demagoblin and Carnage make out is delightful in how over the top nuts it is!

They mention reintroducing Carrion and I really, really hope that happens!

The art, whilst not being as good as in other tie-ins is still doing a solid job!

Much like the other tie-ins this series is opening up a new front in this event and exploring it quite well thus far, so I’d recommend this too!

And as a plus they remember to tell you when this happens in relation to the main event book.

Miles Morales sadly...was the first slip up in this event.

Now I’ve made my criticisms of Miles (in the comics) vocal before and I don’t want to sit here and tell you this issue sucked shit or it was bad because Miles was bland in it. To be honest MOST of the protagonists of Absolute Carnage are fairly bland. Miles for instance was a knotch more interesting than Misty Knight.

In fact I wouldn’t call this issue BAD at all.

There were just some things wrong with it.

The most noticeable of these was how the events depicted towards the end don’t quite jive with the end of Absolute Carnage #2. If you just wrote them down on paper they would seem to. Miles and Scorpion are fighting Carnage cultists, Carnage/Osborn is there in charge, Scorpion breaks away from the fray, Venom shows up, Miles stands alone but is overwhelmed, he is taken over by the symbiotes.

However when you compare the art and dialogue of the two comics there are a number of discrepancies which is annoying because up until now you could make everything fit together one way or another.

Among the discrepancies, and this is a nitpick, is that the Carnage cultists are wearing their Ravencroft uniforms, which IIRC they don’t do in any other appearance. A more contrived aspect to them though is Gargan recognizing the tattoo of one of them. How? They are all covered head to toe in symbiote their tattoo’s would be obscured!

I also didn’t like how the Carnage Cultists were treated as so disposable. My impression was they each have a bona fide symbiote bonded to them so would be on a similar power level to Venom at least, so Scorpion impaling them wouldn’t be a big deal, they could heal from that. But they come off more as just super strong zombies, and not even as strong as Venom at that.

Grant that’s an issue perhaps with the event as a whole but it was most noticeable here.

The other problem with this book is that half of it is little more than a standard superhero fights super villain yarn until halfway through when it abruptly becomes an Absolute Carnage tie-in. It even kind of does that at the very start of the issue where the recap page randomly interrupts the story in progress for no reason, putting it ahead of the first page wouldn’t have spoiled anything.

It seems like a waste especially since the cliffhanger is identical to the cliffhanger of Absolute Carnage #2, it doesn’t progress the story at all it simply provides some preamble and not particular plot relevant preamble at that. It’s not that difficult to deduce Miles was probably fighting Scorpion before they were attacked.

What’s even more annoying, but not a problem with this book per se, is that the comic discloses that this should be read after Absolute Carnage #2 but similar disclaimers weren’t made for other tie-in issues. I don’t even think reading this between AC #1 and #2 would make much difference. There aren’t any spoilers for AC #2 because it simply depicts the same events regarding Miles in greater detail.

My final problem with the issue is one that’s more a problem with Miles in general regarding his status in the 616 universe. Let’s put aside how it inherently undermines the character for a moment, the recap page alone shows you how problematic it is to have him migrate to Earth 616. The blurb summarizing Miles’ backstory has to be so ridiculously generalized and use dialogue implying he might be from another universe but could equally be taken as poetic hyperbole. I don’t blame Ahmed, I even sympathize that he kind of HAS to write it that way. It’s just stupid is all and undermines the emotional resonance of Ultimate Venom being associated with the death of Miles’ mother. But then again DID she even die now? See what a mess this is?

I don’t want this to sound like this issue was terrible, it wasn’t it was just okay at best though sans the art. Absolute Carnage has thus far had good to great art and this issue is no exception.

As a standard Spidey v. Scorpion rumble goes this was fine, it was fun and got the job done, standard superheroics so I can’t complain too much. The only contentious part was Miles’ ineffective Venom Blast.

It didn’t work because Scorpion’s suit was insulated.

This is a double edged sword when it comes to analysis.

On the one hand that is inconsistent with the Venom Blast’s established power. It can work against electrical powered foes like Electro AND extremely powerful demonic beings like Blackheart. But you telling me some rubber lining enables Scorpion to just shrug it off? Bullshit.

On the other hand though...Miles having a cheat code power like that has always been reductive to his character.

The final thing I have to say on the comic is that the editors weirdly hype up the issue. In other tie-ins they praise Ahmed for reinvigorating the Scorpion, for even making him scary and a straight up killer. Putting aside how he was a fucking cannibal in Thunderbolts and Dark Avengers, Ahmed honestly didn’t do anything like that.

Scorpion is a standard supervilalin who DGAF about innocent life or killing, he just wants to preserve his own life and make a payday. He lands some effective hits on Miles and is a threat but...there is nothing revolutionary or reinvigorating about it. It’s not tired and bad it’s just standard and effective that’s all.