#like you guys did in dino fury

[skyland2703]

What do you think the reboot theme will be?

I hope that season and the ones after it may be an Era or sorts, standalone seasons before crossovers happen again. Maybe something like

The reboot being japanese themes and folklore(just rumors I heard but I wouldn't mind that tbh)

Then the season after could be about ghosts and souls

And the season after that would be mythology

Idk if I'm making sense, you get where I'm going with this right?

Be like the post habro Era of sorts🤔

Note: Some people might not like my response... proceed with care~

Honestly I’m somewhat scared that its gonna be yet another MMPR rework. And that its possibly gonna be like riverdale or something. The dark grungy "moving away from tokusatsu" shit isn't... sitting right with me.

BUT I really like your idea. An era of sorts, with individual seasons that are unconnected and centred around folklore, mysticism, mythologies around the world. I think it can be REALLY FUCKIN FUN. Seeing people from these various worlds interact would be INSANE.

LIKE YES, YES I WANT SOMETHING LIKE THAT. Honestly, anything would be good if they move on from the MMPR nostalgia and stop shoving that in our faces, because while I agree, MMPR IS LOVELY, there are 20+ more seasons that deserve equal amount of LOVE and AFFECTION if not more. If they build up on THAT legacy, as a "post Hasbro" Era, I'd DIG IT.

There is honestly SO MUCH POTENTIAL for this entire thing, and I’m really curious to see how it goes. It'll also be okay/cool if it's something like the MMPR movie, but PLEASE do something different, something original. It's 2023 for god's sake, 1993 was too long ago >//< I'm sure even the older fans would like moving away from the MMPR and see new things, while still respecting and cherishing the legacy. What we need is a good and healthy blend~

THANKS FOR THE ASK!!!!

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Hi, if you’re still doing Doctor Who fanfics, I was wondering if you could please write a silly little 11th Doctor x Platonic!TimeLord reader where they are best friends and have a relationship dynamic like Joey and Frankie from the Basement Yard Podcast.

Like they’re in a dangerous scenario and one of them makes a joke and they both just start laughing. Or when they’re on the TARDIS they’ll be arguing and then one of them says something that reminds them of a song and they both just start singing it. And they use insults and a term of endearment.

I think this would be really fun and silly, but no worries if you don’t want to.

Thanks<3

okay I’m gonna be honest, I have no idea who those guys are but I’ll still do this idea.

Okay so one thing the 11th doctor is the best next to Tennant (yeah I’m biased cause Matt smith is MY doctor).

and yeah being friends with 11’s doctor is a WILD ride!!

yet at the same time you guys just click with one another from the moment you guys meet.

let’s say both of your chaotic energies just mesh together like fish fingers and custard hehehe

and that sometimes can be pretty strange or confusing to others especially when it comes to saving the galaxy

like this one time when you, the doctor and the Ponds got ambushed by the Daleks.

“Resistance is futile. Prepare to be exterminated!”

“Damn and I think I left the stove on in the Tardis.” You say.

at that comment 11 couldn’t help but say.

”how many times does this make? The fourth? The fifth?”

”lucky number seven actually my friend. But you’ve forgotten plenty of times. Remember when you thought a grease fire could be extinguished with water?”

“And you could’ve told me that?”

after briefly glaring at one another you both start to laugh.

“What is all this?” Proclaimed one of the daleks.

”it’s better you go with it” Amy said.

There was also another time with some space pirates that had taken a town hostage for their crops and money (real bugs life type situation)

they had you and the gang in cages along with the villagers and the pirate captain was going on a villainous monologue of how he was superior than these foolish villagers.

"With the subordination of these meek-little farmers, soon the entire galaxy will know my name! BLAZER THE WRATHFUL!!!" the pirates soon uproared in celebration, but soon a loud laugh overcame that.

It was your laughter.

"Something funny monkey!?"

"I'm sorry, I-I'm sorry my dude, did you say your name is Blazer-fury?"

"Yes!"

"So do you--shoot blazers out of wrath?" you ask.

"Enough out of you! Or we'll kill you first!"

But you couldn't help but snicker under your breath. The Captain turns back to you demanding what's funny.

"I'm sorry. My guy I am soo sorry. I just keep thinking to myself of how every morning you standing in front of them mirror saying to yourself, 'You know what would be a real kick-ass name! BLAZER THE WRATHFUL!!' HAHAHAHAH! That's how I hear you in my head. Remember Doc like that movie?!"

"Which one? You mean the Dinosaur one? Ahh I remember when we got to have those dinos on a space ship. That was a fun time."

"No, no, no Doctor you know the one with the talking Raccoon."

"Oh yeah. Huh? Art imitates life."

"RIGHT!?!? HEY! HEY CAP! What was your second choice gonna be? BLAZER THE SCROTUM HEAD!?"

At your comment, you had his entire crew laughing when Blazer the wrathful puleld you against the bars, his sword to your neck as he sneered.

"That's it wench! You die now!"

"Well, dying would certainly be better than living in a galaxy where a misogynistic moron who thinks Blazer the Wrathful is a kickass name." you said bluntly before using your taser gun that River gave you the last time you both met.

In the end, you all saved the village and defeated the piarates.

Overall, when it comes to being you and the Doctor, you better watch out cause there's bound to be some chaos, mischief, and a bit of eye-rolling due to their chaotic energy together.

"Hey Doc! Where's the flux-capacitor on SEXY?"

"She doesn't have one of those, this is a TARDIS, not a Delorian."

"Do you think she'd be able to transform into that?"

"No! I like her this way and this way she'll stay."

"Then can you make me a time-machine Delorian?"

"No."

"C'MON DOC!!"

Yeah, chaotic energy at the max.

[jaredxenoengage]

Three Plus Two: Xenoblade 2

Spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles 2:

Every JRPG is going to have its stories, some anime tropes, FANSERVICE, a crap ton of flaws (but when is anything perfect to begin with) and their ragtag bunch of misfits. And that is ok. We’re all going to like different things. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about concerning Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (one of my favorite JRPG games of all time).

And no, it’s not talking about the “problems” Xenoblade 2 “suffers” from, we could be here FOREVER discussing that. No, I want to talk about the party of Xenoblade 2. If you remember my post regarding the Five Man Band and how Fire Emblem Engage uses the trope https://www.tumblr.com/jaredxenoengage/753270910703828992/the-five-man-band-is-among-one-my-favorite-tropes

While Xenoblade 2 does follow the Five Man Band trope, as their are 5 party members (Rex, Nia, Tora, Mòrag and Zeke, with Vandham and ironically, Jin and Malos as guess party members). For most of the game, up until the end of Chapter 4, the team sticks with the Power Trio Rex, Nia, and Tora. This is the Three Plus Two trope (best seen in Power Rangers Dino Thunder, its predecessor Ninja Storm, Jungle Fury, and Power Rangers RPM (for the most part). It’s where a power trio in a team evolves in the typical Five Man Band.

The team would expand later with two main party members (both of whom served as Rex’s rivals throughout his journey). Mòrag, Special Inquisitor for the Empire of Mor Ardain. While Mòrag was never evil, Mòrag (like most Sixth Rangers) opposed Rex because she did what she felt was right (because she saw the Aegis, Pyra as a threat to the world, and an Artifical Blade who looked like Poppi was causing trouble). But eventually, Mòrag settles her differences with Rex and eventually becomes fully devoted to Rex’s cause.

Zeke Von Genbu. Yeah. Zeke Von Genbu. The same guy that Rex fought and became his own undoing. Zeke is very much like Mòrag. As he is also royalty of one of the Kingdoms of Alrest, as the prince of Tantal. Zeke fought Rex to test his strength and intended to join him so that he could eventually meet Amalthus, who the party were going to meet anyways at Mythra’s (Pyra’s sister/original) behest.

Mòrag and Zeke are both far more experienced than Rex is both as Drivers and as citizens of the world of Alrest. Both fought against Rex before eventually joining his party. And most of all, they both, in a way, serves as mentors to Rex. After seeing his potential and his character, they both eventually choose to trust him.

Now what dynamic do each of the party members serves?

Rex is the Leader and main protagonist of Xenoblade 2. As a Driver and someone who lives in Alrest, Rex is very inexperienced in comparison to all of his other friends (Tora included despite not being a Driver yet, cause he couldn’t be without Poppi). So Rex in a bit of a in a pickle in his leadership spot.

But what he lacks (initially) is skill, he makes up for it with his heart and strength of character. Rex serves as inspiration to others. Despite their initial backlash, during the brief time Torna was using Rex to retrieve Pyra, Nia does show a little bit kinship with him. So Rex (initially) dying at Jin’s hands and Malos threatening to dispose the Argentum Trade Guild’s Salvagers as “thanks” for helping them causes Nia to defect Torna. It’s also at Rex’s behest that convinces Nia to stay with him (and Tora) on the Journey to Elysium.

And all of this is WITHOUT talking about how much of an impact he has on Pyra and Mythra. Speaking of whom, as the Aegis of the team, Pyra (mainly Mythra) is the driving force behind the journey to Elysium. It was Mythra’s idea to take Fan La Norme (Haze)‘s invitation to meet Amalthus (they were already going to meet him anyways). And as the Aegis, Pyra and Mythra are one Alrest’s most powerful Blades.

And later in the game, Rex gets Roc (Vandham’s former blade), exclusive access to Nia as a Blade, as well as Pneuma and the Master Driver abilities (that gives Rex the ability to use the Blades of his fellow Drivers, save for Poppi). Despite Rex’s initial inexperience, by the end of the game, he has the most blades locked to him, and the ability to use every non Poppi blade).

Nia is the Lancer of the team. The Lancer the one who serves as the Leader/Hero’s second in command and/or foil. Nia is more of the pessimist compared to Rex’s optimist. Nia is the first to question Pyra’s quest to reach Elysium (which she was right about, for the most part). And (ironically) when Rex was going to give up the journey after Pyra and Mythra are kidnapped at the end of Chapter 6, at the start of Chapter 7, Nia is the very first person to give Rex a piece of her mind.

As far as being foils in their powers, Nia’s Blade is Dromarch, a Water Blade that serves as a parental substitute for Nia. Dromarch is more of the Advisor, and is one of (if not) the most knowledgeable party member. Making him more of the smart guy in terms of his role when talking about the Blades.

Not many Lancer type characters are healers (which would be more of The Heart’s role), but where Nia shines in being the Lancer to Rex AND the Aegis girls is that she is a Flesh Eater. Making their dynamic similar to Jin and Malos, a fellow Flesh Eater and Aegis Blade respectively.

Tora is more of a “smart guy” than what most make think. Say what you will about his perverse behavior towards Poppi, but Tora would have to be intelligent enough about Drivers and the tools need to make Poppi to be able to make her at all. In fact, Poppi’s role in Team Aegis as a whole is very crucial to success of Rex’s team.

For example, Tora teaches Rex about the elemental powers of the Blades. Helped him and Pyra escape from Brighid and form a plan to save Nia after she was captured in the aforementioned battle. Tora (albeit with Mòrag’s advice) was able to use Poppi to escape from a prison in Tantal that negates Blade arts in Chapter 6. In the trip down Spirit Crucible Elpys, Poppi being an Artificial Blade allows her to use Arts perfectly fine. And finally, Poppi is a key player in stopping Amalthus’s control over the Titans.

Poppi’s gameplay as a whole serves similarly to the smart guy because she is more customizable than any other Blade in the game. Her versatility gives her a use in battle no one else has. This is especially true in Chapter 7.

Poppi’s overall character is that of the Heart though. It’s Poppi who manages to succeed in reaching out to Rex when he was going to quit his journey to Elysium after the Aegis is taken away from him. Nia and Brighid were unable to cut deep into him, but Poppi succeeded. Poppi also convinces Jin to hear out Brighid’s request to learn about herself in Chapter 8, and she has the most emotional moments on the whole.

Now normally, Vandham’s role would be the Big Guy. His seize notwithstanding, Vandham is very much a Mighty Glacier that hits hard with his Wind Blade Roc. All of Vandham’s stats (save for agility) are really good in the brief time he’s at your side. Unfortunately, the Big Guy suffers from a Fatality Syndrome. And in the case of Vandham, it couldn’t be cured.

Vandham’s role in chapter 3 is to be the mentor. Vandham teaches Rex how to Topple with his Anchor Shot. Vandham teaches Rex about the world of Alrest through the harsh realities of the Blade System. And Vandham, above all else, taught Rex to fight his own war. A lesson that would stick with Rex for a long time.

The reason why this JRPG team is a Three plus two dynamic is because of Vandham’s death. Once he died, it was back to the Power Trio of Rex, Nia and Tora.

This is where Mòrag would fill the role Vandham left behind. Mòrag is every bit of the experience Driver as Vandham was despite being a mercenary in the grand scheme of things. If you don’t consider Tora to be the smart guy of the team, then consider Mòrag in chapter 6. Her knowledge over the events in Alrest leads her to be the one to question Amalthus’s role in the plot. In the same chapter, she was the first to realize that the King of Tantal may had different plans for them (her fears were proven right).

Mòrag’s experience and battle prowess makes her a Genius Bruiser. As the Flamebringer and with one of the twin jewels of Mor Ardain: Brighid, her prowess as a Driver and experience as Special Inquisitor of the Empire makes her an invaluable member of the team once she finally accepts her role as Rex’s ally.

In fact, Mòrag is the only Driver of the team (Vandham excluded) to not have some unique aspect about her as a Driver. Rex is the Driver the Aegis, Nia is a Flesh Eater, Tora is a Driver with an Artificial Blade, and Zeke is a Blade Eater. And even if Mòrag gains access to Aegaeon later on, awakening him is optional. So Mòrag is simply a powerful and effective Driver all on her own.

And then there is Zeke. While I say he is the heart overall as far as the Drivers are concerned (which is best exemplified late game), Zeke also has some Big Guy traits, as well as Sixth Ranger traits.

Zeke is undoubtedly the tallest member of Rex’s team. Zeke is also the most boisterous in terms of personality. And if it’s not Rex getting hit the butt monkey moments, or Tora and Nia in some cases, then it’s definitely Zeke. Unlike Vandham, some of the other tropes you find in the muscle characters (besides the fatality syndrome) are found in Zeke.

Now where does Zeke fit in terms of being the heart? IMO, Zeke has some of the most heartfelt moments and scenes in the game when he isn’t just being played for comedy. Zeke willing opening up about his Blade Eater status and backstory serves as the moment Nia finally comes clean with Rex about her own backstory (and her Flesh Eater form later). Zeke is one of the most caring members of the team and his relationship with Pandoria is really heartwarming and tragic with his backstory in mind.

And as for the Sixth Ranger trope, he would have played this straighter if Vandham was still alive. Even if his Eye of Shining Justice ability is NG+ only, Sixth Rangers often get some the cooler powers and abilities if the Red Ranger doesn’t have them, and this is no exception.

Now when we look at the Organization of Torna, they follow a similar team structure to Rex and his party members. Once it all comes together, you begin to see who serves as a counterpart to who. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ThePsychoRangers

Jin to Rex: True, Malos is the Aegis, thus making him the evil counterpart to Pyra and Mythra. But in terms of roles in the team and their story, Jin is meant to be the foil to Rex. Jin represents the person Rex could have become if he was driven to despair.

Jin’s former Driver and love interest Lora died at the hands of Amalthus. On top of losing some of other friends in the Aegis war, and problems with the Blade system leads him to hate the world and wish to see it burn.

Because Jin is a Flesh Eater, he has some foils towards Nia as well. But again, Jin is more meant to be Rex’s counterpart. And their interactions throughout the story makes this clear.

Nia to Malos: Nia inadvertently became Rex’s second in command after their meeting and her eventually break up with Torna. Much like, or not, how Malos follows Jin’s lead, Nia is the one who always questions Rex’s every move. Whereas Malos tainted Jin with his despairing influence that also consumed Amalthus, Rex’s influence was slowly changing Nia for the better.

In chapter 7, Nia’s Flesh Eater healing powers serve as a direct counter Malos’s destructive capabilities when his Aegis powers are restored. She can act as Rex’s Blade together with Pyra and Mythra as well.

Malos is an Aegis who follows the lead of the Flesh Eater Jin, while the Flesh Eater Nia has to back the Driver of the Aegis: Rex up.

Akhos to Tora: Akhos and Tora don’t any interaction, but I’d say their roles are similar enough to warrant the comparison. Tora isn’t a master strategist guy like Akhos is,but he’s knowledgeable enough to allow Poppi to even exist and be a key player in Rex’s journey. Akhos serves as the eye in the sky for Torna and does it effectively.

Patroka to Mòrag: Both Patroka and Mòrag are both the female powerhouses. But Mòrag is more levelheaded and skilled, while Patroka is more brash and quick to lose her temper.

And Mikhail to Zeke: finally, both Mikhail and Zeke are the regular butt Monkeys of their respective groups. The two of them have more depth than their silly butt of jokes give them credit for. Lastly, but by far the most important part, they are both Blade Eaters with conflicts towards Amalthus. This becomes apparent in Chapter 9.

And that is my take on the team dynamic of Xenoblade 2.

[rpking99]

BOOM! Megazords!

So BIG NERD TALK time!

Been a while, huh guys?

Well with BOOM! Studios ending their Power Rangers comic book continuity with Darkest Hour later this month (and seriously, they have a LOT to fix into this story. Like the arc has been dragged out so long, but now there's an ending they've just slammed their foot on the accelerator and it feels like some things aren't even close to being talked about elf alone concluded) I just felt... Time to do another one of these

Now some of you may remember on my old blog, where I did three big nerd talk posts gushing about BOOM!'s original ranger designs, a post Ill definitely want to explore and expand (and make a singular post) once the series is done. But right now? ... Time to be negative

Because while BOOM! has been nailing it with their ranger designs.... Their original megazords have been crap.

And I am not talking about the amazingness of the Gravezord. Ranger Slayer's baby is amazing since it's a stand alone robot literally made our if destroyed parts, it's design works and makes sense in universe

It is a literal scrapyard fused together. The main body is the White Tiger Zord with the Yellow Griffon Thunder Zord's shell as a claw on the left arm, the Pink Firebird Thunder Zord's wings as wings, Tor the Shuttle Zord's head as a helmet and face, the Blue Unicorn Thunder Zord's front plate as a shoulder pad for the right shoulder, and the Red Dragon Thunder Zord having it's head and crotch plate turned into a buckler/sword combo on the right arm, and it's warrior mode shoulder as a shoulder pad on the left shoulder

It is literally spare parts showen together

No

What I'm talking about... Is their combinations.

Now I'm gonna do a quick aside to explain what's wrong with BOOM!'s design philosophy.

Transformers. Gundam. The Brave Franchise like GaoGaiGar. Heck, Power Rangers and Sentai on TV. Why do these shows have good looking combinations in them?

Why does, say, the original MMPR Dino Megazord/ZyuRanger's DaiZyuJin work as a design? Because it was thought of TO combine. As "this part folds in like this so that part can connect there, this part folds around this, hands flip out, click that into place" and so on. Yes, a lot of this is because "toys" but because they are designed to be real machines, real objects, with limited mass and placement... It works

Even "Cluster Fuck combinations" like Go-Ongers Engine-O G12 or Shinkenger SamuraiHa-Oh work because they have to work with the real pieces that actually exist.

But this is where we come to a problem

BOOM!

BOOM!'s megazords... They treat every zord like putty that just merge together like silly putty into the final combination

Example A is the MegaGraveZord, a fusion of the MMPR Megazord and the Gravezord.

I showed the Grave Zord earlier. Where did most of its body go? Where did so much RED come from?! Like... Those knee guards are the shoulder pads of the Red Dragon Thunder Zord's warrior mode! Which they only had one of in the Gravezord. But they've also shrunk! ... And the actual shoulder pad on the Gravezord was put on this combo!

Where did the Unicorn's shoulder pad go?!

How did the head change like that?!

But the biggest issue... Where did 99% of its mass go?! It's got the tiger head and the upper arms, but the rest of the ACTUAL body has just... Vanished!

And this wasn't exchanging parts by the way, it was a full fusion

But you know what. At least this looked cool.

Next week have the.... I think they called it the MegaMegazord?

It is comprised of the Hyper Force Megazord. But also the Dolphin, Lion and Hawk Ninja Storm Zord's (yes, the full Wind Megazord is in there), the Purple Wolf Jungle Fury Zord (that's normally used as a leg), the Yellow Garuda Mystic Force zord (normally a backpack and wings), the green Minotaur Mystic Force Zord (which is most of its megazords body... That's in there to), the Violet DinoCharge Plesio Charge Megazord (Plesu-Oh for Kyoryuger fans) (yes that's ANOTHER full Megazord in this as well) and finally the Super Zeo Zord I Pink (which becomes a pair of feet)

Like... This is a cool ass design

But... Combining? No, not like this

Not at all

It's just a generic design robot design with random design details that imply the design but that's it.

And.. yeah. A lot of these don't work because they weren't supposed to. But that's where you could be clever. Look what what breaks into what pieces and how they could theoretically be used... Also using ones that COULD work together

And then there's.... This

We have all thought of this. The awesomeness of the Dragonzord fusing with the White Tiger zord. But....

No

Why is the crotch piece from the dragon zord (which is part of the chest plate) there? Why are the symbols from the Dragon Zord's KNEES and THIGHS taken OUT of its body and placed THERE?!

Why is the golden chest plate attached to the FRONT of the shoulders like that?! Especially when the MISISLE FINGERS of the dragon zord fold in there so they COULD have been used as shoulder canons!

Also why is the CIRCLE from the middle part of the chest piece removed to be a shield?! Can't get just use the whole chest piece?!

And how is the drill attached to the arm like that?!

Like... This fusion is super obvious! Drape the Dragon Zord over the shoulders like you do with the classic Megazord! Maybe have the hips detach and attach to the Tiger Zord's waist and thighs to bulk that up. Then combine the chest plate and drill tail and connect that to the arm, or use it as a hand held weapon!

But finally we get to THIS monstrosity

This is four of the MMPR Thunder Zord's combining together with the Blue Omega Zord and

....

Do....

Do I have to say anything?

The Red Dragon Zord has complelty changed texture! Where is the Thunder Bird?! This is basically the Thunder Megazord combination, so surely the Omega Blue Zord should just be replacing that! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE LION?!

The only part of this combination that looks right is the left leg. Because the Griffon is the only one being used right. Which, ironically, makes it look out of place

Like... The lion is the big one. Because... You can see it in the picture. They've literally stretched and squished it like taffy. They basically painted small details of it only a leg hit

If you don't know how this combination works... The Lion becomes chest armour for the Thunder Megazord. The lions head hanging at the crotch with it's beard flowing down as a waist skirt. And it's two large paws unfold and become arm armour for the combination

But in this "Omega Blue Thunder Omegazord Formation" (the names for these things suck, by the way) yoh can see... The lion face is a complelty different shape and cut off, the gem that would be in the middle of the chest and act as the rangers cockpit has been cut in half and is near the knee, the paws are missing, it's much lomger ans thinner than it should be.

The underlying issue with all of these combinations is simple. They are doing generic robot designs using the Zord's as a paint by numbers thing with barley any cohesive thought behind the designs beyond 'robot good'

And to be clear. This is me just explaining why I do not like these original designs and what about them I do not like. If you do like them, awesome. Am honestly happy for you.

[regaliasonata]

For the character ask game!! Precious boy Aiyon pls ty 😌😌😌

First Impression

-Originally I thought Aiyon would have a sort of Ivan and Eric demeanor with his character. Pretty valiant and upbeat but deadly on the battlefield, the type of guy who wouldn't hesitate to smile when kicking your ass in a fight like..."I'm gonna beat the shit out of you but also make jokes just to show how I'm leagues away in power than you".

Impression Now

-Gay as hell, a bit witty with jokes but can always be there for you when needed. Definitely a victim of the writing playing him down sadly but he's still lovable and needs a bunch of hugs.

Favorite Moment

-Definitely his debut when he was soloing Brineblast and the mixture of water and electricity just...man it was awesome.

Idea For A Story

-he's a lucky spirit trapped in a pandora's box like contraption and Ollie uses the wishes, thing is each wish brings about a change into the universe which they have to salvage.

Favorite Relationship

-Aiyon/Ollie together is really nice, need more interactions with them.

-I know it's usually one pairing but imagine this BROtp....Aiyon/Mesogog, a monstrous dude that was to bring dinosaurs back and hates humans meets this goofball who actually has met dinos and isn't human, becomes easily attached. Solon approves.

Favorite Headcanon

-Aiyon was an orphan that was part of a band of rough but skilled sellswords working for an aristocratic royal family on Rafkon but took them down after they executed his group in cold blood. He has a secret power inherited via rafkonian mystics based on gold and luck because he's the incarnation of an ancient Rafkonian legend(a golden dragoon like deity) and works to assassinate every higher up within the universal alliances, a vigilante that despises some of the order that old empires had before they were dismantled years later. I'm talking like BAD, Aiyon puts what Dark Spector and Astronema did to shame and the thing is that part of him is only known via a nameless legend from millions of years ago, he used to be the deadliest assassin within the cosmos that even Zordon and Vile held a sweat at the mention of Aiyon's title. No one knew his identity but with a run in with Zayto the two fought on a literal dying star when the knight was ordered to find said fugitive, Zayto took Aiyon down but spared him since it was obvious Aiyon just wanted to change the corrupt order of the universe at the time and after hiding his past and changing his title Aiyon joined Zayto and became a rafkonian knight in hope to do more justice for the future. It's unclear but it's estimated his kill count is in the trillions as there were a lot of crazy higher ups running rampant...Aiyon here is one of the strongest rangers and wouldn't hesitate to revert back to his old self if the Morphin Masters didn't get their shit together by the end of Dino Fury, Zedd better sleep with one eye open.

[mo-ok]

Need your thoughts on this but I had an idea

If Kingohger gets adapted you know who they need to pay homage to. Like imagine Trakeena making an appearance or being some anti hero, idk I just got major vibes when finding out we're getting a bug based season.

Would be a missed opportunity to not reference her but I'm fine either way( or like she has a kid and they become a ranger👀)

The bad guys in Lost Galaxy always made my skin crawl lol they did the creepy bug aesthetic so well. With how reference happy Dino Fury was, I would be completely dissapointed if they didnt have at least SOME kind of sexy bug lady homage, should Kingohger be adapted in the future.

They brought back lord zedd to fight another team of dinosaurs, it would be homophobic to not bring back trakeena tbhhh. Can totally see her being a pain in the ass for the rangers for most of the run time only to have a classic late season turn around and become a powerful ally (best trope)

Also isnt she a princess???? She got the bug AND the monarch themes covered 👌👌

[brokenhardies]

8 & 9 - Salty asks

8. Have you received anon hate? What about?*

I received anon hate once, but it was so long ago I don't really remember it.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

oh boy here we go;

Andrew motherfucking Hartford. I could do an entire essay as to why his character pisses me off more than most villains in the Power Rangers franchise, but I don't want to bother anyone with the details, so here's the cribnotes version

he abandons his son to go out on adventures and dooms the world by finding the corona aurora - which he had to had known contained flurious and moltor before he found it, like the myths were well known

in order to make up for his almost world-ending mistake, he creates a team of power rangers and appoints himself the leader, without even saying or doing anything

during his time as the rangers' mentor, he basically forces them to focus on the jewel quest - unless its convenient to him - and gets to the point where he bars dax from attempting to look for a movie script while working as a ranger - meanwhile the rangers in mmpr were allowed to be students, work part time jobs and be rangers and no one complained or so much as batted an eye

the rangers immediately believe that the retro rangers are going to replace them when they lose their powers, which has to be something that hartford drilled into them offscreen, because of how sudden their quitting is

he pretends to kick will from the team, only to do a whole 'trust exercise' that makes the team believe will has joined the bad guys side and is now willing to harm them using his ranger powers to get to the jewels before them

like im amazed that the team still trusted hartford after that stunt

then its revealed that mack was a robot made by hartford, who made mack for the sole reason of wanting a son but being unable to find the right woman, and he specifically made the son a teenager bc i think he liked the idea of a son but didn't want to do any of the family bonding shit with him (which is an idea that the morphin grid podcast put into my head), making mack have an existential crisis and (to quote @wherabouts-of-light) "grow insanely suicidal for them to just allow in a disney show"

then at the end of the series, after mack is made human and they can go on adventures, he starts a robotics company and pimps out his android daughter (or granddaughter, im not sure j-borg's relationship to the hartfords) to a BuzzFeed expy!

because of covid, we have no idea if mack is aware of this or not, or what his reaction is, and for all we know it could just be a silly easter egg to tie dino fury to the disney era as well but still!

to make this worse, while j-borg is reportedly coming back for cosmic fury, i doubt they're going to address her relationship to hartford at all meaning whether or not mack knows that his own father is using his past as a way to make money might just be a mystery!

The funny thing is Andrew Hartford is not as bad as the worst mother in all of television (Wendy Spector, who also was in the running for this question due to abusing her son so badly he developed DID for a mistake she made) but dear god for Power Rangers? Yeah, this man is utterly despicable, only gets called on it by Mack, and at the end of the series, they forgive each other??? Like WTF Power Rangers??? WTF????

[daydreamerdrew]

Comics read this past week:

Marvel Comics:

Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers (2010) #1-4

These issues were published across April 2010 to July 2010. All were written by Reginald Hudlin, penciled by Denys Cowan, and inked by Klaus Janson, and colored by Pete Pantazis. All were 22 pages.

I read this miniseries just for the sake of reading random Captain America comics, and I wasn’t expecting to really get into it. To my surprise, the Howling Commandos were a part of this story, despite not being in the title or on the covers. And Gabe Jones specifically was a prominent character, with a lot of the book being from his perspective. Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos (1963) choose to portray him, as a Black man in the otherwise all-White Howlers during WWII, as largely non-controversial, eschewing any historically-accurate segregation for the sake of normalizing integration. So I appreciated this modern book revisiting that era and taking Gabe’s historical circumstances and his perspective seriously.

So far in the issues of the series I’ve read, only Sgt. Fury (1963) #6 (written by Stan Lee; penciled by Jack Kirby; inked by George Roussos), published January 1964, as a sort of special issue, portrayed racism against Gabe by an American soldier (as opposed to comments by Nazi enemies). A temporary Howler, George Stonewall, was unfriendly to Dino Manelli, who’s Italian-American, and Izzy Cohen, who’s Jewish. And then he was particularly friendly to Reb Ralston, who’s from the south, calling him “one of my kind.” But the Howlers were all oblivious until George cried, upon meeting Gabe, “No! I’m not sleepin’ in these barracks!” Nick was enraged, but Gabe reassured him, “He won’t bother me none, Sarge! I’m used to his kind!”

But on the mission Gabe was actually bothered by George. Gabe wanted to physically fight him after he complained about Nick “lettin’ someone like him in the squad! Why don’t you send him back where he belongs?!!” George was emphasized to be anti-Nazi, and his behavior was felt by him to be a commitment to what he thought of as American values, as opposed to something like it being revealed partway through the story that he was actually a Nazi spy.

Ultimately George and Izzy had to work together in order to not die, and so Izzy commented, “I notice you ain’t complainin’ about my religion all of a sudden!” Then when George was seriously injured, Gabe donated his rare same blood type to save his life. When George woke up he was initially upset to see he’d been given Gabe’s blood, but then at the very end of the story he indirectly left his Army Post Office number to Izzy and Gabe, suggesting he wanted to have some kind of friendship with them going forward. Nick concluded the issue by saying, “The seeds of prejudice, which takes a lifestyle to grow, can’t be stamped out overnight- but if we keep trying- keep fighting- perhaps a day will come when ‘love thy brother’ will be more than just an expression we hear at church!”

We haven’t seen any other Black soldiers so far in the series. Sgt. Fury (1963) #38 (written by Roy Thomas; penciled by Dick Ayers; inked by John Tartaglione), published November 1966, did imply segregation by portraying a specifically Japanese-American squadron. And there was racist abuse (not by any of the Howlers) against the one named member of it, Jim Morita, which was unlearned by the end of the issue. Before that, after Nick intervened to defend him, Jim had said of the bigotry, “I kind’a figure it’s my job to change their minds, anyway!” Also, while looking stuff up for this, I learned that the Stage Door Canteen in Broadway, which the Howlers visited in Sgt. Fury (1963) #24, was integrated.

In issue #1 of this book, Gabe describes him joining the Howlers as, “When Fury put together this squad, he had his pick of the litter. Warhorse like him, he didn’t care that the army wasn’t integrated yet. He just wanted guys who could knock a Nazi’s block off. I’m the first Negro to kill Nazis alongside White American soldiers. And I like my work.” This narration is over a scene of Nick looking over a row of African-American soldiers and choosing Gabe. In Sgt. Fury (1963) #34 it’s portrayed simply that Gabe was one of the soldiers assigned to him and his race wasn’t commented upon by Nick, though Junior Juniper’s age was.

Gabe is surprised when Captain America sits next to him in the mess hall, which was because that happened to be the only seat still open at the Howler’s table. And then Gabe’s surprised when Captain America chooses to eat with his silverware, “a fork that only a minute ago had been in my mouth,” which Gabe was finished with, simply because there wasn’t any clean and Steve didn’t want to wait to eat. In this book, as in Sgt. Fury (1963), there’s nothing to indicate that the Howlers dislike sitting or sleeping next to Gabe, but I think is a step even further beyond what Gabe’s used to with them.

And Gabe is wary when the Howlers are assigned to a mission in Africa. He thinks, “I’m not ashamed by Africa, like a lot of Negroes are, but the likelihood of at least one of the Howlers saying something dumb is pretty good.” He then feels proven right due comments about “Tarzan” or “a tiger” possibly being in the jungle, though these ignorant jokes were fortunately without any contempt. This is notable because it’s the first I’ve ever seen of any kind of wariness towards the Howlers from Gabe. In the beginning of the issue Gabe had thought “I hate Nazis. Fortunately, I hang out with guys who feel the same way. The Howling Commandos. We’re getting a reputation. Nick Fury heads up our outfit. He’s my kinda guy.“ This gives the impression to me that Gabe has a high opinion of Nick, but doesn’t necessarily have the same level of faith in the other Howlers.

When it appears Captain America is being taken prisoner by the Wakandans, Gabe is silent throughout the others’ chatter. And then when Nick says they’ll attack if Steve can’t resolve the situation diplomatically, he thinks, “I don’t like this at all.” I thought it was interesting that Gabe would be sympathetic to the Wakandans for defending themselves against what they see as invaders.

In issue #2 Nick asks Gabe, who’s been impressed with Wakanda, to spy because he’s worried that Steve is too trusting of T’Chaka, the Wakandan King. Nick expresses his trust in Gabe as “‘Cause you’re a Howler.” But Gabe thinks, “I find myself in a Black man’s paradise, only to be asked to spy on another Negro to see if he’s a Nazi puppet, an overconfident fool, or if he’s telling the truth. Am I scared to find out it’s not real?”

In issue #3 Nick tasks Gabe with stealing some Vibranium. When Gabe questions why he was chosen for this, Nick justifies it with “If the Wakandans liked Reb more, I’d be giving this assignment to him.” Ultimately, after hesitating, Gabe says, “You can count on me, sir.”

In issue #4 Gabe saves the two Wakandan princes, including T’Challa, from one of the Nazi attackers. The Queen then says to Steve, “You and this young warrior should work together more often. Perhaps get him a colorful outfit like yourself. Such a statement would help clarify matters back in your home country.” This is essentially pitching Gabe as a proto-Falcon. Steve responds, “Ma’am, those kinds of decisions are above my pay grade.”

Later, in gratitude for Gabe saving his sons, and because he says he believes Gabe has “conducted yourself with class and honor” in his time with Wakanda, T’Chaka offers him Wakandan citizenship. Gabe decides to turn this down, explaining that “even if I lived here, I’d still want to fight this fight. And when I get home, I gotta fight that fight too.” But he then lies to Nick, saying he wasn’t able to steal any Vibranium. Nick doesn’t believe him and questions, “Maybe you’re not clear where your loyalties are. Wanna stay in paradise?” Gabe admits, “I do… But I’m here anyway.” And Nick, after hesitating, accepts that.

Some of Steve’s conversations with T’Chaka were also interesting to me.

In issue #2, Steve and T’Chaka discuss “cooperative efforts,” which would be “under the proper terms.” Nick tries to interject, and T’Chaka says, “Those terms will ensure there is a Wakanda, and not just the latest annexation of an empire.”

Steve tells T’Chaka, “I think this war will cause a lot of Americans to rethink their attitudes. You can’t go to war with a bunch of jerks who call themselves the master race and turn around and do the same thing back home.” This phrasing was not believable to me as spoken by someone from the 1940s. Certainly there were some Black Americans who felt that they should not go and risk their lives supposedly for values that they weren’t actually treated by, and other Black Americans who did serve and came back home motivated to fight for the same values they did overseas for themselves. But I don’t think someone from the 1940s would think of racism as something as simple as that serving in this war would just change all those White Americans’ minds.

I appreciated T’Chaka telling Steve in response, “As a symbol of your country, your actions take on great weight. The true test of your ideals will come when the war is over. […] A nation at war has an enemy to unify them. A nation with no enemy… often looks for one within its own borders.” I think this is an interesting concept to raise when Steve was famously frozen in ice and not in his country in the decades after the war, including for the Civil Rights Movement and the Second Red Scare.

Steve also tries to convince T’Chaka to join the Invaders.

And while T’Challa, as a child, is in this story, he and Steve specifically never interact on-page.

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos (1963) #41-42

These issues were published across February 1967 to March 1967. Both were co-plotted and penciled by Dick Ayers, with issue #1 written by Roy Thomas and issue #2 written by Gary Friedrich. Both were inked by John Tartaglione. And both were 20 pages.

Colorists aren’t usually credited in this era’s comics, and I don’t usually pay as much attention to them, anyway. But, notably, Gabe’s skin changes in this series from issue #40 to issue #41 and onward from gray to a dark brown that’s actually believable for a human being’s skin color.

In issue #41 the Howlers star in a propaganda movie that Dino directs, which is a cute concept. And Dino falls in love with and gets engaged to the leading lady, Nina Bergson, even though they only met a few weeks before. Their serious relationship is a surprise to the other Howlers, who think of Dino as a ladies’ man. Dino decides, without Nina having first raised the idea, to accept his discharge from the army to be with her. This was surprising to me because Dino was upset when he was first injured in issue #35 and said, “I enlisted in this man’s army the day after Pearl Harbor… and I don’t like quittin’ while the job’s just half done!” Then in issue #38 the other Howlers risked their lives to save the one doctor that could get Dino back in fighting shape from a POW camp after Dino said the possibility of his help was “always in the back of my mind.” And in issue #40 Dino talked with excitement about being “ready to take off after Uncle Adolf’s boys again!” But then Dino changes his mind about getting discharged on his own, too, so the Howlers never find out about this. Dino explains to Nina, “No man has the right to say when he should quit fighting… not while a madman like Hitler still controls most of Europe!” He also tells her, “The war hasn’t touched you personally, so I don’t guess I can expect you to understand!”

Nina is really a Nazi spy that was assigned to make Dino fall in love with her, but she becomes conflicted because she’s fallen in love with Dino for real. She’s unable to convince him to leave with her, even though she says he’ll never see her again if he doesn’t right then and there, and Dino promises Nina that he will never forget her. Then, having been unable to make herself leave as she knows the surprise attack is imminent, at the last moment Nina tackles Nick and the British Prime Minister, who is strangely never named, out of the way of incoming bullets. She’s fatally wounded by this. She confesses as she lays dying that she was a spy, which Dino had already figured out from that she knew the attack was coming before it happened, but Nina also confesses her genuine love. And Dino repeats his promise to her that he will never forget her.

At the end Nick says, “I know it don’t help much for me to say this, Dino…. but, we’re gonna pay ‘im back! For Nina… for Pam… an’ Junior Juniper… for all of ‘em!” Nick is referring to Pamela Hawley, his almost-fiancé, a nurse, who died in an air raid issue #18, and the youngest of the Howlers, who died from getting shot during a mission in issue #4. And then Nick thinks, “An’ mebbe, when that day comes, Nick Fury’ll finally know what it feels like to be at peace… with the world, and with himself!” This is the first we’ve seen of this being Nick’s driving motivation.

In the opening of issue #42 the Howlers, minus Nick and Dino, are all cheerfully playing a game of poker, except for Eric, who is thinking about his sister still in Germany that is likely in danger because it is known he’s defected to the Allies’ side. Then when Reb jokes about winning enough money to buy Europe, or playing Hitler for it, Eric is angry over him thinking of the war as a game. And Reb is offended by Eric accusing him of not taking the war seriously, while Eric says, “It is simple for you to be casual about such matters- but I suspect you would think differently if your sister was in danger!” Reb is the one that makes this fight physical, and he’s the one that Dum Dum is primarily judging for it, as he says, “Reb oughtta know better’n ta go spouting off to Eric just now,” though Eric does fully participate in the brawl. The fight ends when Nick walks in and yells at them to stop. Both apologize, and Nick’s decision is “let’s fergit it,” rather than punishing them.

Dino, meanwhile, has gone A.W.O.L. in London, and Nick finds him in a bar. Nick tells him, “Sure, mister.. I’ll lay off… just as soon as you stop feelin’ sorry fer yourself and face a few hard facts! You ain’t the only G.I. that’s lost the girl he loved in this war… and it ain’t likely that you’ll be the last! But.. maybe ya don’t remember what happened to Pam Hawley! Or… maybe you just plain lost your guts!” Dino eventually concedes, “Maybe I’m not the guy I useta be- but, I guess I owe it to Nina to find out!”

The other Howlers have already left for the mission, now temporarily led by Nick’s rival, Bull McGiveney, and Dino and Nick are reprimanded and confined to their quarters for leaving the base and jeopardizing the mission. But instead of following this order, Nick arranges a plane ride for them to Germany so that they can catch up with the others, even though they’ll likely be court-martialed for this when they get back. Dino thinks, “Fury’s riskin’ his career.. and his life… to turn me into a man again! I’ve got to make good… I’ve got to!”

Eric is distracted on the mission, thinking, “If only Fury were here! Surely he would allow me to go to Berlin… and perhaps save my sister from a terrible fate! […] I cannot go on this way! I am being driven to the brink of madness! I must see Ilsa! I must know if she is safe… or if…” He takes the opportunity to go A.W.O.L himself when they’re attacked, which happens as Nick and Dino arrive. When everything settles down, it’s noticed that Eric is gone and surmised that he went to look for his sister. Nick postures, “If he was dumb enough ta go awol and head for Berlin… he better be lucky enough ta fight his way out,” but then Nick and Dino, as they weren’t expected to be on this mission anyway, sneak away to go help him.

That Dino is taking risks to help Eric with a personal matter is significant because the only previous mission they were both on was when Eric helped Nick rescued the captured Howlers in issue #35, which is the story where Dino got injured and sent back the States, and which ended with Eric taking his place in the squad. In issue #37 Eric thought about that he had to measure up to the standard Dino had set, and in issue #38 privately expressed that hearing Dino’s name made him feel like an outsider and intruder on the team. Then in issue #38, after it was broached that Dino could possibly return to the team, Eric wondered if there would still be a place for him if that happened. And in issue #39 Dino was worried that the team didn’t need him anymore since they had Eric.

Ilsa is under close observation by the S.S. When Eric explains to his sister that he’s come to take her to England with him, she agrees because, “I can no longer fight Hitler from here… and I cannot abandon the cause of freedom,” and, “It would be better to die than to surrender to the forces of tyranny!”

We learn Ilsa fell in love with Dino when she briefly met him in issue #35, when “he hovered between life and death… the will to live burning fiercely in his eyes!” She tells her brother, “The moment I first saw him… I knew I had found a man I could admire… above all others! And I have not seen a night in which my dreams were not of him!” Then during the mission Ilsa is injured. Dino says that he’ll carry her because “We’ve come too far to lose her now!” She tries to tell him, “No… you must leave me… My life is not important!” But Dino still picks her up and responds, “That’s what you think! We didn’t make that run into Berlin ‘cause of its rep as a health resort! You just grab my neck and use that Luger, and we’ll all be eatin’ in England tonight!”

And after the mission Dino thinks, “The battle’s won… I’m a man again! But… how can I ever forget Nina?!!” While Ilsa, on his arm, thinks, “He is so brave.. so strong… like no man I have ever known! And yet… he seems so distant… and cold!”

I was surprised by how dismissive Bull McGiveney was about the Howlers’ side mission to rescue Ilsa. He was excited to get Nick in trouble for it, which makes sense, but there was nothing indicating he was glad Ilsa was ok, which was surprising to me because of how positively he spoke of her back in issue #35. He said, proudly, “The little lady, here, took care’a the whole blamed thing fer us! While we wuz tradin’ pot-shots with the Nazis, she sneaked into their HQ and photographed enuff documents to keep G-2 busy for a month!”

Also, Dum Dum complained about Bull McGiveney not having already explained the mission to them, “‘Course… you always was kind’a slow when it comes to puttin’ things inta words,” which I assume was just because he doesn’t like Bull, or because he doesn’t have as much faith in him as he does in Nick, as it’s normal for Nick to not explain to the Howlers what they’re supposed to do until they get there.

And Eric teased Dum Dum that, “You’ve done practically nothing today… and yet you have difficulty keeping up! Perhaps your age is catching up with you!” Afterwards, Dum Dum thought, “*Phew!* It was all I could do ta beat Eric! Maybe I am gettin’ old!” This is another indication that he’s older than the others. The previous one I noted was him referring to himself in the third person as “Uncle Dum Dum” when talking to Percy in issue #40.

Captain America: The 1940’s Newspaper Strip (2010) #1-3

These issues were published across June 2010 to August 2010. The strips were originally published daily on Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited service. They were written and drawn by Karl Kesel, except that Rich Ellis drew the backgrounds, and colored by Benedict Dimagmaliw. The story is told in a pattern of 6 regular strips, each of which is usually 4 panels and takes up 3/4ths of a page, and then 1 Sunday strip, which takes up 2 pages. Issue #1 was 26 pages, issue #2 was 23 pages, and issue #3 was 24 pages.

At the end of issue #1 Karl Kesel writes, “I love everything about the classic newspaper adventure strips! Their size- just enough space to draw you in and make you care- their slow-building suspense over the course of the week- forcing you to wait a tense 24 hours between installations- and how it all leads to the triple-sized Sunday strip exploding with big action and/or bigger revelations.” He also says, “Looking over some of my Cap comic-strip art, my studio-mate Steve Lieber said, ‘It’s like your entire career led to this project.’ And he’s right. I’ve often wished I had been born 50 years earlier so I could have written and drawn an adventure strip, and I finally got my chance.”

The format of the newspaper strip obviously affects stories in how the plot unfolds and information is revealed and in how the characters talk to each other, with beats in a very consistent rhythm, which is fast when you’re reading strips all together like this, but also stretched out in the pauses of all the cliffhangers happening for the characters mere moments apart. This doesn’t normally affect how I read newspaper strips, but since I was coming at this already used to these characters being in a different comic format, in the beginning it was jarring and made the story unbelievable. Because I know that Golden Age Captain America comics are now portrayed in-universe as comic books that were made based on Steve’s real adventures but modified a bit for a child audience, I initially read it as like that, a comic that exists inside the Marvel universe.

But as I read more I got more used to it. And it became clear that the comic was influenced solely by Golden Age Captain America comics, which I don’t think of as I’m reading them as not being true, and wasn’t using the modern portrayals of the characters, it became believable as a story with that specific versions of the characters. Partially because the Golden Age characters are already a little unreal in that they go through multiple complete wacky adventures a month and don’t necessarily act like real people.

In issue #1 Betsy Ross reveals to Steve that she was there when he was given the Super-Soldier Serum, “Not down in the lab with you and the others- but above, guarding the entrance, disguised as an old woman!” This is to explain her intensity in protecting the scientists working on the second super-soldier program as coming from her sense of responsibility and guilt over Dr. Erskine’s death, “That Nazi got past me! I might as well have pulled the trigger and shot Erskine myself!”

In “Meet Captain America” (written and penciled by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; inked by Joe Simon and Al Liederman) in Captain America Comics (1941) #1, cover dated March 1941, there is, in fact, a young woman disguised as an old woman working in the store which the laboratory was hidden behind, and which Steve presumably had the walk through. She takes off her mask, though not in front of Steve, revealing her real age and that she has black hair. It’s explained to the army officials that she’s “X-13, one of our most trusted agents!” X-13 is actually in the observation room when Steve is transformed, as she led the army officials there. And then when one of them, who “is in the pay of Hitler’s Gestapo,” pulls out a gun and shoots Dr. Reinstein (name later changed), and then turns and fires on the people in the observation room, X-13 pulls out her own gun and shouts out in warning to Grover, who was introduced in the beginning as “head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” as he’s shot, too. Steve grabs the traitor immediately after that, and it makes sense that he wouldn’t take that much notice of the unknown-to-him young woman in the room in that hectic situation.

Then in the next story in that issue (written and penciled by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; inked by Joe Simon and Al Liederman) “Betty Ross” (name later changed), who is blond, is described by the narration as “a beautiful but familiar girl.” She’s a recurring character in Golden Age Captain America stories as a female government agent, but I’ve yet to see any mention of the name X-13 in relation to her and don’t believe there will be any.

I liked Betsy’s characterization in these strips. There’s a nice moment in issue #3 where she fires a gun at the Red Skull’s head, intending to kill him. Part of why she missed was that she was dizzy from blood loss from being shot herself earlier, but she refused to leave the battlefield. By the end, however, it was clear she was seriously injured. In the hospital she couldn’t be given a big enough blood transfusion without taking too much from the donor, so Steve volunteered, reasoning that with the super-soldier serum he’d probably be fine. But Betsy refused, saying, “No… we can’t chance… anything happening to you, Cap… or the work of so many… for so long… will be wasted… Consider that… an order… or a dying wish…”

One of the villains, Dr. Vinegar, is revealed to not be a Nazi spy but actually a dedicated American patriot. As she says in issue #2, she believes that killing and dissecting Steve is “The one sure way to recreate the super-soldier serum- to stop the war in Europe- to save thousands of lives.” She tells Steve, “rest easy knowing an army of U.S. super-soldiers will take your place!” and, “My only regret, Captain- and yours, also, I’m sure- is that you have but one life to give for your country!” This is a really interesting concept I haven’t seen elsewhere before. I think it runs of the risk of them killing Steve and then not actually being able to recreate the serum with the technology of the 1940s and then having no super-soldier, but I’m sure that if they preserved his remains they’d be able to get it right eventually.

Also, Dr. Vinegar explains in issue #3, having been impressed with all Bucky has been able to do without the serum, that she intended to inject Bucky with it and have him be the leader of that army she would create. I have seen it poked fun at by fans before that since Bucky is portrayed in modern comics as having at least as much or more training than Steve and as willing to do more violent acts than him, that he should’ve gotten the serum, instead.

In issue #1, when it’s pointed out that the Red Skull is dead, Bucky responds, “Well, we’ve thought that before!” Then, after the Red Skull is defeated in issue #3, and it’s said that he couldn’t possibly have survived, Steve says, “I’ve said that about the Red Skull before!” This is true to the Golden Age comics.

For example, the Red Skull seemingly dies at the end of his first appearance, the story “Captain America and the Riddle of the Red Skull” (written by Ed Herron; penciled by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; inked by Joe Simon and Al Liederman) in Captain America Comics (1941) #1, committing suicide by purposely rolling over onto his own hypodermic needle of poison while in a brawl with Bucky, which Steve sees and chooses not to stop. Then, in the story “Captain America: The Return of the Red Skull” (written and penciled by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby; inked by Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Al Avison, and Al Gabriele) in Captain America Comics (1941) #3, he returns, saying in the beginning, “Left me for dead, did they? Didn’t the fools realize I could survive my own medicine!”

And the Red Skull possibly dies at the end of that story. He throws a bomb at Captain America and Bucky from his giant power drill, and Steve throws it back at him before it explodes. As they’re picking themselves up from the wreckage, Bucky asks Steve where the Skull is, and Steve answers, “Probably dead- Let’s get out of here!” We see it reported in a newspaper, “Red Skull dies in blast!!!” But then in chapter 2 (written by Otto Binder; drawn by Charles Nicholas, except for the first page, which was penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Syd Shores) in Young Allies (1941) #1, cover dated Summer 1941, Bucky, on a mission without Steve, is shocked to come across the Red Skull.

In issue #3 Bucky says, of a jeep, “I know how to start one of these jalopies without a key! A little trick I learned before the army showed me the error of my ways!” I know that the U.S. military was in a sorry state with way too few men in between the two World Wars, and that the New Deal jobs programs of the 1930s didn’t help because they paid more than being in the military. But also in that era sometimes men were given the option to enlist as an alternative to going to jail. I don’t know how old you had to be to enlist in the 1930s; I don’t know at what point it was made that 17-year-olds could enlist with parental permission. I do know that it wasn’t until Pearl Harbor at the end of 1941 that the draft age was lowered from 21 to 18.

From this phrasing it seems that one possibility for Bucky’s backstory is that he enlisted to avoid going to jail for a crime he committed, but I think that’s unlikely given the age he’s usually portrayed at. The only specific indication of Bucky’s age in these issues is that in issue #1 he says of Dr. Vinegar that “she’s ancient! She’s gotta be in her early twenties!” It also stands out to me that this phrasing suggests that there could have been a period of Bucky’s life before he was affiliated with the military, when he’s normally portrayed as entirely raised there.

As examples of Bucky being a young criminal, The Adventures of Captain America (1991) #2 (written by Fabian Nicieza; penciled by Kevin Maguire; inked by Terry Austen), published in August 1991, portrayed Bucky as a con-man to the common soldiers at Camp Lehigh, taking money for cigarettes he didn’t actually have to give and then making excuses for weeks about it, but as well-liked by the one officer we see, who maybe wasn’t aware of what Bucky was up to. Captain America (2005) #50 (written by Ed Brubaker; penciled by Luke Ross; inked by Rick Magyar and Luke Ross), published in May 2009, portrayed Bucky as protected by an officer who was his father’s friend to avoid punishment for what he did at the camp. That officer complains, “Your little black market scheme last year that I had to cover up… that jeep you crashed… and now this.” It’s also referred to by another soldier that “everyone here sorta looks the other way with Bucky.” And Captain America and Bucky (2011) #620 (written by Ed Brubaker and Marc Andreyko; drawn by Chris Samnee), published in July 2011, portrayed Bucky as selling cigarettes that he did actually have, and which an officer knew about and pretended to be upset about but didn’t actually punish him for if Bucky supplied him with girlie mags, which Bucky was also able to do.

And Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (1998) #12 (written by Mark Waid; penciled by Doug Braithwaite and Anthony Williams; inked by Dan Green and Scott Koblish), published in June 1999, also portrayed Bucky as selling things he did actually have, but it wasn’t framed as untoward, instead “because he knew the camp was responsible for him, he wanted to make himself useful.”

Also significant to me about the phrasing “the army showed me the error of my ways” is that it’s not normally portrayed as that the military did that. In those examples I listed above it’s portrayed as that that energy was repurposed, sometimes intentionally by the military command, into him becoming Captain America’s partner.

Also, the very last panel of the last strip in issue #3 is Bucky’s mother showing up at Camp Lehigh and complaining, upon being told he’s not there, “Ah do declare- that boy is slippery as a silverfish! There are times ah think he doesn’t even want to see me- his own mother!” This was very surprising to me. It may be the only time Bucky’s ever been portrayed as not being an orphan, except that the Golden Age comics never actually explicitly stated that, they just never acknowledged his parents or lack thereof and portrayed Steve as unopposed as a father-figure to him. The first time it was specified that Bucky lived at the camp because he was an orphan was in the Captain America story in Tales of Suspense (1959) #63 (plotted by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee; scripted by Stan Lee; penciled by Jack Kirby; inked by Frank Ray), published in December 1964.

Near the end of issue #3 Bucky says, of Dr. Vinegar, not know that she was listening, “And if she wanted to do her country a real service… she’d follow the Red Skull’s example by takin’ a long walk off a short pier!” She cries hearing this. Later she sacrifices her life for Betsy by secretly giving Betsy all of her blood. It was startling and surprising to me that Bucky doesn’t have a unique reaction of the group after finding her dead body, also considering that they spent a lot of time together in these strips before it was revealed that she was the villain. I was honestly expecting Bucky to feel a little bad about her actually killing herself.

Also, in issue #3 Dr. Todd wanted to check in on Betsy after she’s been left alone in her hospital bed for an hour, and Bucky tells him, “You go in there Doc- we all know what you’re gonna find! Give Cap a few more minutes to pretend she’s just sleepin’!”

This reminded me of how in The Adventures of Captain America (1991) #4 (written by Fabian Nicieza and Keven Maguire; penciled by Steve Carr and Kevin West; inked by Terry Austin), published October 1991, Steve was crushed by the woman he loved, Cynthia Glass, turning out to be a Nazi spy and betraying them. But then she helped Bucky, and she explained that action to Bucky as because, “I am a child of the Fatherland. I am German. But Steve does not deserve this… He is a good man. I- I- Just help him, Bucky. […] Do what you can for Steve… please.” Later she suddenly threw Steve his shield during a fight and was immediately shot by the Red Skull for it, so she never actually got to express her change of heart to Steve before dying. And Steve was then crushed by this, too. He told Bucky, “I didn’t think- How could she have betrayed us- betrayed me?! I’ve lost her- I never told her- that I loved her-” And Bucky said to him, “I know, Steve. But she helped us- She saved your life! And she- she told me- that she loved you too.”

DC Comics:

Action Comics (1938) #866-870

These issues were published across June 2008 to October 2008. This was the “Brainiac” storyline. All were written by Geoff Johns, penciled by Gary Frank, inked by Jon Sinal, and colored by Brad Anderson, except that Javier Bergantiño also worked on the inking of issue #870. All were 22 pages.

I’m not well-versed in Superman or Brainiac lore, so I don’t know what concepts are original to this story. It’s portrayed that Brainiac visited Krypton before its destruction and stole and shrunk the city of Kandor, and then caused the destruction of the planet. Also, though they weren’t in Kandor at the time, Kara’s parents are in the bottle city in the present because Brainiac captured them from Argo City, which floated through space on an asteroid after Kyrpton’s destruction. And at the end of the storyline Superman saves Kandor, which is full of Kryptonian survivors, from Brainiac and takes it to his Fortress of Solitude.

I particularly liked a scene in issue #869, when Brainiac is attacking Metropolis, where Kara is scared, because of her history with Brainiac, and Lois tells her, “You can fly away.” Though Kara does manage to steel herself and fight back.

I found the moment when Clark is looking through Brainiac’s collection of bottled cities, wondering aloud which one is Kandor, and someone calls to Clark by his Kyrptonian name, which is detectable because of his super-hero, and Clark then says to the miniaturized city he’s now holding, “I hear you,” compelling.

I was also interested in the concept in issue #870, when Clark drops Brainiac, who’s been inside his ship for centuries, into a swamp, and Brainiac is disgusted and disturbed because, “You can’t face things you can’t control, can you?”

Batman: The Long Halloween Special (2021) #1 and Batman: The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween (2024) #1

The Long Halloween Special was published in October 2021. It was written by Jeph Loeb, drawn by the late Tim Sale, colored by Brennan Wagner, and lettered by Richard Starkings. It was 48 pages. And The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween #1, which is going to be a 10-issue series, was published last month, September 2024. It was written by Jeph Loebs, drawn by Eduardo Risso, colored by Dave Stewart, and lettered by Richard Starkings. It was 24 pages. This all is a sequel to Batman: The Long Halloween (1996) #1-13, which was entirely written by Jeph Loeb, drawn by Tim Sale, and colored by Gregory Wright, as well as lettered by Richard Starkings. It was published across October 1996 to October 1997.

I actually bought The Long Halloween Special when it came out, but it had been long enough since I read it that I reread my physical copy. I assume it takes place two years after the original series, as that ends on Halloween, and the events of it are still significant to everyone this story, which takes place on another Halloween, yet Gilda Dent says she’s been back in town “A year. Maybe more.” In this story Harvey Dent and his wife Gilda reunite, then the villain Calendar Man, who is upset over the Holiday killer taking his motif and overshadowing him, kidnaps Gilda. Bruce realizes that Gilda was Calendar Man’s real target, and not that she was kidnapped to hurt Harvey, and from that realizes Gilda is the Holiday killer that he was investigating in the original series.

Revisiting just the end of The Long Halloween, I see that in issue #12 Bruce finally accepted that Harvey was the Holiday killer after finding evidence in his home, but then that’s disrupted by Alberto Maroni showing up, who was thought to have been killed by the Holiday killer months ago on New Year’s, and openly killing using Holiday’s M.O. In issue #13 Alberto is insistent that he was behind all of the Holiday kills and provides a reason, that his father, Carmine Falcon, always forgot his birthday, even though it fell on a holiday, Valentine’s Day. The killings of the coroner, “who must have known that the wrong body was in Alberto’s grave,” and his aunt, “who went looking through the Coroner’s files,” both track as people he would have wanted dead. And faking his death on New Year’s threw them off his trail and allowed him to operate unimpeded after that.

But then Harvey kills Carmine, who he had been after when he was district attorney, and Vernon Fields, who brought the acid into the courtroom that was thrown on his face. And as he’s arrested Harvey tells Batman and Gordon that there were two Holidays. Bruce suspects that he’s referring to himself and his two kills that night, “Harvey is obsessed with the number ‘2’… We’ll never know for sure, but… Tonight was Halloween.” Then the final scene is Gilda privately confessing, where only the audience can see, that she was behind the Holiday killings on the first Halloween, which is what started this all, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. And she believes that Harvey was responsible for the failed killing of Alberto and all the Holiday kills after that, as it happened on a boat and “you came home late that night. Your hair was wet even though you were wearing a hat.” The evidence found in their home, which was taken by Bruce to mean that Harvey was the Holiday killer, and of which Harvey “told me it was evidence” for his job as the district attorney, is ambiguously either just how Harvey knew that there were two Holiday killers, one of which had to be Gilda and the other being Alberto, or was from Harvey himself because he was genuinely the second Holiday killer and Alberto only did that one open kill at the end.

At the end of The Long Halloween Special, Gordon says, of Harvey and Gilda, “Now that she’s come back to him, don’t you see he might come back to us? She could be a good thing.” But Bruce says, “She believes in him. She doesn’t even see Two-Face. Gilda Dent’s nightmare is a world that doesn’t have Harvey Dent in it. That makes them both dangerous.” I think this must sound very bizarre to Gordon, not knowing that Gilda is a serial killer, and thinking that she’s just a poor woman that’s somehow still in love with her very troubled husband.

In The Long Halloween Special Gordon takes his niece, Barbara, and “Your boy. The Robin” trick-or-treating. Then in The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween #1 in an upset moment, after his young son was kidnapped, Gordon asks Batman, “What if this happened to you? What if they took the Robin!” This stands out as repeatedly framing Dick as a child and that Bruce has a relationship with him comparable to Gordon’s with the kids he’s raising.

And in The Long Halloween Special, when Bruce doesn’t want to include Dick in an investigation because he doesn’t think Dick’s ready, Alfred says, “He’ll never be ready… if you don’t give him a chance.” And in The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween #1 there’s a scene where Bruce complains internally about Dick trying to impress him, then thinks, as Dick’s life is in danger and he’s reaching to help him, “I do not need to be impressed. I need him alive.” But Dick is able to save himself before Bruce gets there. Then Bruce complains, “This was easier when I was alone… And I am not alone…” But he’s thinking this as Dick is being helpful, offering to “bag and tag” the crime scene by himself so Bruce can go meet with Gordon right away, which Bruce does. I believe the intended reading of both these scenes is that Bruce is in the wrong in how he’s thinking of Dick.

I’m thinking of Batman: Turning Points (2001), which is an anthology miniseries with different creators about Batman and Gordon’s relationship over the years.

Issue #1 (written by Greg Rucka; drawn by Steve Lieber) was set near the very beginning of their relationship and had a heavier tone, with the action part of the plot being a serious hostage situation. The personal part is that Gordon’s wife left with his son, and Batman visited him for that reason, to try to commiserate with him as a friend. This set Gordon off, who demanded, “Are you married? Do you have children? Did your wife or partner or whoever walk out on you?” And, “So unless you know what it’s like to lose your family, I don’t want to hear it.”

Issue #2 (written by Ed Brubaker; drawn by Shannon Blanchard) had a lighter tone with a lighter visual design, more influenced by goofy Batman media. It was the story of Gordon learning about Batman’s sidekick and meeting Robin for the first time. At first he thought that Batman must be out of his mind, but then he decided that, “Our rules don’t apply to him. They never have,” and, “So how can I deny him what everyone wants, if I am his friend? How can I deny him a family?” Batman’s relationship with Batman is also paralleled to Gordon’s with Barbara.

And issue #4 (written by Chuck Dixon; drawn by Brent Anderson) was set during a difficult time in Bruce’s life, when he became more brutal, and Gordon was concerned that Batman was killing people and would need to be taken down. Because Bruce was avoiding him, Gordon confronted Robin, who was then Tim Drake, over Batman’s behavior. He never considered that Robin could be in danger from Batman and needed his help, though Gordon was worried about Batman coming after him.

The contrast in those first two issues is really notable to me, with Jim not thinking of Batman as a person who could have family problems, to then being so sympathetic to Batman and relating to him so strongly that he completely abandons his initial protectiveness towards Robin. And then I’m really compelled by Gordon not thinking of Robin as a person who could have problems in the fourth issue, while he’s preoccupied with Batman’s mental state.

I’m a little curious as to where this series will go in terms of Jim thinking of Batman as a person or not. I don’t think it’s possible for this Jim to stop seeing Robin as a person, but I do think it’s possible for a rift to form between Bruce and Jim over how Batman treats Gilda Dent that culminates in that. I think it would be interesting to contrast Jim not thinking of Batman as a person with him at the same time thinking of Robin as a person. But nothing specifically in these issues is building towards that.

I think that since Bruce being worried about Dick being his sidekick is framed negatively in the beginning, this series won’t go the route of portraying Bruce having a young sidekick as a bad thing. There is potential for tension between Bruce not thinking of Dick as his son, or not admitting that he does, while Jim clearly does. And without the possibility of Jim judging Batman for having a kid as his sidekick, there is the possibility of Jim judging him for being distant from Robin in his work as Batman.

There’s a bit in The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween #1 where Bruce thinks that Jim “has devoted his life to Gotham City. I can tell the toll it is taking on his marriage. Family. I know what it is like to have a Father who needs to be… elsewhere.” Bruce is only connecting Jim’s experience as a police officer and his kids with his own and his father who was a doctor, and then died, and not to the more obvious comparison between Bruce as Batman and Dick. Also, when Bruce decided to do as Dick suggested and leave to see Gordon while Dick dealt with the crime scene, he did so without saying anything to Dick.

I’ve read comics that emphasize Bruce not seeing Dick as his son and only as a soldier. But that Bruce lets Dick go trick-or-treating as Robin with Barbara is really notable. So I think right now he’s thinking of Dick as a child, and he’s wary about having him as his sidekick because of that, but he’s not seeing Dick as his child. And maybe he’s not necessarily committed to having Dick in his life long-term.

I don’t think that Jim asking how Batman would feel if Robin was kidnapped is foreshadowing for that scenario, specifically, but I think there will at least be a dramatic scenario which raises obviously the question, and probably not just to himself, of if Bruce thinks of Dick as his child.

I remember it being a thing in the original book that the crimes always taking place on holidays was hard on officers involved because it meant they could never be with their families on holidays. It may also be that Bruce and Dick will become more distant over the course of the series since Bruce is keeping it a secret from him, and from Gordon, that Gilda was the other Holiday killer. And I think Gordon’s perspective on that, as someone who’s kids aren’t involved in his work at all, would be really interesting.

I will say that The Long Halloween Special seemed stronger to me with what it set up with Gilda, which was compelling. She has a small presence in The Long Halloween - The Last Halloween #1 as it sets up other things for the series. And Eduardo Risso’s artwork isn’t bad, but it doesn’t make as strong as impression as Tim Sale’s, it doesn’t have as much character. It remains to be seen if this new story will become near as big a part of Batman as the original did.

Batman/Captain America (1997) #1

This issue was published in December 1996. It was written and drawn by John Byrne and colored by Patricia Mulvihill. It was 64 pages.

The story is set during 1944, and it has Batman and Robin be naturally from that time period, rather than having them be contemporary characters that traveled back in time to meet Captain America and Bucky during WWII.

I thought this issue was delightful. We do get a brief part where Batman and Captain America are fighting together while Robin and Bucky are off on their own together elsewhere, but really more time is spent in the story on a sidekick swap where Captain America works with Robin while Batman works with Bucky, which I hadn’t expected and thought was super fun.

After they defeat a bunch of the Joker’s goons together, Steve says, “I hope this motley crew isn’t typical of the kind of opposition you face here in Gotham. I might find myself starting to doubt your reputation.” And Bruce responds, “The war has been rough on everyone, Batman. With all the strong, young men drafted into the army, even the underworld is having trouble finding ‘soldiers.’” Funnily enough, Joker later complains, “I’ve lost several good men, thanks to the unexpected interference of Captain America.”

And when they fight the Red Skull’s goons, Bruce says, “These Bundist types are almost a waste of time and energy! I’m amazed Hitler has lasted as long as he has, with this kind of scum supporting him!” And Steve responds, “It’s not so much the quality as the quantity, Batman. He has a lot of scum support!

Steve as Private Rogers is assigned to bodyguard Bruce Wayne in order to find out if he’s secretly working with the Joker. The narration says that this “leads to hour upon hour of boredom… painful to any man, but nearly intolerable to the human fighting machine that is Captain America.”

Hiding on the back of Bruce’s car, Steve thinks, “He drives very well for someone who’s used to having his chauffeur take him everywhere.” And later he thinks, “I haven’t seen Wayne lift anything heavier than a martini glass… but the muscles under these clothes are hard as steel!”

Bruce tells Bucky, “Now, be careful. If this place is one of the Joker’s lairs… there are likely to be alarm triggers in places a normal mind would not even think of.” Bucky responds, “I sure hope that’s just paranoia on your part, Batman. I’m not used to sneaking around. Cap and me usually just…”

The Red Skull tries to convince the Joker to cooperate with him by saying, “Adolf Hitler himself intends to award you Germany’s highest honors,” and, “From what I have read of your exploits it seemed you would make a superb Nazi!” This doesn’t work because the Joker, as an American, hates Nazis. But really the Red Skull intends for him “to be paraded through the streets as an example of the kind of freakish monsters America has bred!”

Joker and the Red Skull try to kill each other by spraying something in each other’s faces. After a moment of pain, the Red Skull realizes, “The formula of my dust of death and your venom are too much alike! And we are each immune to our own weapons!”

The Red Skull’s grand plan is to steal “Fat Boy” and drop it on Washington D.C. (The nuclear bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nicknamed “Little Boy” and “Fat Man,” respectively.) He explains, “Since the American government has chosen to keep this weapon a secret from the people, they will naturally assume it is some kind of Nazi super-bomb. The resultant destruction will so demoralize America that your troops will crumble before the last, heroic surge of the armies of the Third Reich.” This actually makes a lot of sense, as it wouldn’t be believable afterwards that the bomb was made by the United States. That it was made by Americans and stolen to be used against Americans isn’t that much better, but it would at least not indicate that Germany has the capability to make more of these bombs.

After the nuclear bomb was detonated, where thankfully no one but Joker and the Red Skull were killed, if even that, Steve says in response to Bucky asking where he is, “The dawn of a new age, Bucky. A wondrous, terrible new age.” This is actually really interesting, as obviously Steve is usually frozen in ice when the nuclear bombs were dropped on people and made public knowledge, so he usually only depicted reacting to them decades later, when he would have the context of the amount of people killed and the subsequent nuclear arms race.

The epilogue of the issue is set “twenty years later” and has Dick, who is now Batman, and Robin, who is Bruce’s son Bruce Jr., find Steve frozen in the ice. There’s the obligatory bit where Steve shouts for Bucky as soon as he wakes up, but unfortunately nothing interesting is done with that Bucky has died and there’s another superhero-sidekick pair in this story for that to be paralleled against.

Fawcett Comics:

the Captain Marvel stories in Whiz Comics (1940) #95-96 and Captain Marvel Adventures (1941) #82-83 and The Marvel Family (1945) #21-22

These 14 Captain Marvel stories were published in issues cover dated March 1948 to February 1948. They ranged from 7 to 9 pages.

In the story “The Marvel Family vs. the Trio of Terror” (written by Otto Binder; drawn by C.C. Beck) in The Marvel Family #21 the family is approached by the owners of a circus who want to hire them as performers because they’ve lost a lot of money and know that the Marvel Family would attract a lot of people. Captain Marvel, unsurprisingly, tells them, “I’m sorry, but money trouble isn’t the kind we straighten out!” But then I was surprised by how Captain Marvel ushered them out, saying, “The answer is definetly no! Good-by!” And then by Captain Marvel Jr. saying, “I’m glad we got rid of those pests! Now Billy, Mary, and Freddy can go to the movies as they planned.” The Marvel Family has, in fact, been willing to be hired for jobs in the past, but that was arranged through Uncle Dudley’s company Shazam Inc., where the money they earned would be donated to charity, and the jobs lasted for just one story; whereas these circus owners wanted them to sign a contract, which could have wanted the Marvel Family to work for them for a while.

Also, in the story a book on “sorcery and witchcraft” is stolen off a bookshelf at Station Whiz, and Billy says, “That book is dangerous! The Marvel Family took it away from an evil magician!” I’m surprised they kept it there, then.

In the story “The Streamlining of Captain Marvel” (written by Bill Woolfolk; artist unknown) in Captain Marvel Adventures #82 the villain Blimp Baldwin, the “fat czar of crime,” feels “weaker than a glass of water” because of “that blasted reducing course I’m taking!” This gives him the idea to convince Captain Marvel to go on a diet to weaken him. Due to his machinations, Billy receives a mass of ‘fan’ mail for Captain Marvel that says he needs to lose weight, with one letter calling him a “fat red cheese.” Then outside there’s graffiti of Captain Marvel that caricaturizes him as fat (and also with buck teeth and thinning hair), of which Cap initially says, as he cleans it up, “This is shameful! It must be an organized plot against me! I don’t look anything like this!” But then young kids, who were paid to do this and told “it was only a joke,” run up and say Captain Marvel looks like “an old barrel with legs” and suggest he “get a job as da fat man in a coicus.” Cap examines himself in a mirror, asking, “Could they be right? Are my legs getting a little heavy? Is that a bulge around my waistline?” One of Blimp Baldwin’s crooks is able to keep Captain Marvel busy and distracted at a reducing salon for a short bit, but Cap eventually learns his true intentions to have him miss the gang’s next robbery. And in his closing radio broadcast Billy says, “As far as Captain Marvel is concerned, he’s still his old trim self. The reducing routine didn’t affect him a bit!”

The story “Captain Marvel and the Medieval Demon” (written by Bill Woolfolk; artist unknown) in Captain Marvel Adventures #82 had a stark tone shift. In the story a practitioner of black magic that’s struggling to get people to pay him to not curse them, because people are less superstitious in the 40s than they were before, decides to summon a demon to kill Captain Marvel in order to show the people all wrong and make them scared again. Because he’s out of practice the demon at first appears in the wrong place, and because it’s been a long time since he’s been to Earth the demon is charmingly frightened by stoplights and trains. From his perspective the Earth is “peopled with strange and terrible monsters!” He takes the job to kill Captain Marvel, pretending to be confident about it, and says, “I cannot depart this world again without claiming a life!” Right after this Captain Marvel has to save the demon, thinking he’s just a guy in a costume, when he’s being harassed by children. The tone shift comes from the demon killing his summoner so that he can leave the Earth at the end of the story. This is juxtaposed with the final panel being Billy saying on his radio show, “Not much news today, folks! Just the strange disappearance of a man named Horace Stoker! The poor fellow claimed to be a master of black magic… But, of course, everyone knows these days that black magic doesn’t exist!”

This was reminiscent to me of the story “Captain Marvel and the Little Man Who Wasn’t There” (written by Bill Woolfolk; drawn by C.C. Beck) in Captain Marvel Adventures #64, cover dated August 1946. At the beginning of the story Captain Marvel saved a man who was trying to kill himself because he was being tormented by an imp only he could see. And the man could see Lester because he drank from a bottle of enchanted water, which Captain Marvel then drank from to prove Lester wasn’t real, though the man said, “Don’t! There’s only one or two swallows left! You’ll be doomed to stay with Lester all your life if you drink that!” The man was ultimately happy to be freed of Lester, but Captain Marvel was then tormented by the imp throughout the story until finally he was arrested as a result of the imp’s shenanigans and said, from jail, “Groannn! Now I know why that sailor wanted to jump off a high building!” Sterling Morris paid Captain Marvel’s bail and took him to see a psychiatrist, who drank the final sip from the bottle and convinced Captain Marvel that he was cured of seeing Lester through “mental suggestion.” But then we see that the psychiatrist is now doomed to be tormented by Lester forever. And the final panel of the story was Billy saying, “To this very day Capt. Marvel still has nightmares about Lester! But even that’s better than having his life turn into a nightmare… by the little man who wasn’t there! Right, folks?”

The story “Captain Marvel and the Return of Mr. Tawny” (written by Otto Binder; penciled by C.C. Beck; inked by Pete Constanza) in Captain Marvel Adventures #82 parallels the circumstances of how Tawky Tawny gained the ability to speak, which is first revealed here, with the adventure in the present. In his backstory Tawny was befriended by the son of a missionary, Tom Todd, and grew up with him. This was a peaceful life until one day a man was killed by a tiger and Tawny was accused. Tom ran away with his friend and bemoaned that Tawny couldn’t speak to defend himself. But then Tawny is given a serum by the hermit from his first appearance that allows him to talk and “express all the knowledge I had silently absorbed when I went to school with Tom.” Tawny then uses his sense of smell to track down the real killer tiger, kills him, and then brings him back to the village and makes the case for why this tiger was the culprit and not him. In the present Tom, who Tawny had lost touch with when his family moved away from the jungle, is accused of a murder, and Tawny uses his sense of smell to track down who the real killer is. The story ends with them happily reuniting.

Also, Tawny killing the killer tiger in his backstory and then baring his fangs to scare the human killer in the present are the first indications of him still being a little bit of a wild animal, as his first appearance, “Captain Marvel and the Talking Tiger” (written by Otto Binder; drawn by C.C. Beck) in Captain Marvel Adventures #79, solely emphasized him as a civilized tiger.

In the story “Captain Marvel and the Radioactive Man” (written by Otto Binder; drawn by Pete Constanza) in The Marvel Family #22 Cap goes undercover as a police officer in order to catch the Radioactive Man, who’d been targeting cops. I remember him doing this once before, in “Captain Marvel and the Park Robberies” (possibly written by Ed Herron; drawn by C.C. Beck, except for that the opening splash page of the park was drawn by Mac Raboy) in America’s Greatest Comics (1941) #2, cover dated February 1942. He did it there as a part of trying to repair his relationship with the police, framing borrowing the uniform as getting “you to help me clean up this gang of young hoodlums,” after Billy upset the police chief by saying on his radio show, “And if the police don’t get busy pretty soon and put a stop to these outrages, somebody like the famous Capt. Marvel may have to step in and show us how to clean our city.”

In the story “Captain Marvel and the World of Tomorrow” (written by Bill Woolfolk; possibly drawn by C.C. Beck) in Captain Marvel Adventures #83 Billy gives a presentation on how, of criminals stopped by Captain Marvel, “this all might have been avoided! Every member of the Desperado gang was born and raised in the slums! He learned the ways of crime early and it is only natural that he grew up to be a criminal! What’s the answer? More and better housing! More parks and playgrounds! Let’s give children a chance to grow up to become useful, honest citizens!” This is actually the first time I’ve seen this sympathetic approach to criminals in these stories. Of course, Captain Marvel is just as rough with the crooks he fights in this story as he is in any other story.

In the story “Captain Marvel Cuts a Rug” (written by Bill Woolfolk; penciled by C.C. Beck; inked by Pete Constanza) in Captain Marvel Adventures #83 Sterling Morris is visited by his hip niece, Ellen. Since her last name is Morris, she isn’t the sibling of Cissie Summerly (sometimes Sommerly) and her younger brother Pete, the children of Mr. Morris’ sister, who first appeared in the story “Captain Marvel and the Slap-Happy Magician” (writer unknown; drawn by C.C. Beck) in Captain Marvel Adventures #12, cover dated June 1942. I assume Ellen is the child of Sterling’s brother Cuthbert Morris and his “battle-axe” wife Priscilla from the story “Captain Marvel and the Haunted Halloween Hotel” (writer unknown; drawn by Ray Harford) in Whiz Comics #36, cover dated October 1942.

SelfMadeHero:

I Feel Machine, edited by Krent Able and Julian Hanshaw

This 133-page anthology, themed around technology, was published in September 2018. It contained stories by cartoonists Box Brown, Erik Svetoft, Shaun Tan, Tillie Walden, Julian Hanshaw, and Krent Able.

This was on my radar because of Walden’s piece in it, but I also appreciated Brown and Svetoft’s stories, all of which were about people’s disconnect from other humans because of technology.

I particularly liked a technique in Svetoft’s story where, aside from the brief expository narration for the reader, almost all of intelligible communication in the story was phone texts. There’s one scene where, right after we see that an intercom system can produce intelligible words that we and the main character can understand, the man he’s meeting with has a conversation over it with another person that’s entirely portrayed with scribbles which we and presumably the main character also can’t understand. This means that nothing is said in the meeting that the main character can understand. He walks in, hands the man some paperwork, listens as technology is used to have a conversation without him in front of him, then silently leaves after being given his papers back.

Tan’s story was also well-executed, but a charming story about a human girl accepting her place among the aliens that raised her didn’t feel like it belonged alongside the others in this collection. And I didn’t care for Hanshaw or Able’s stories at all.

[lordkingsmith]

You’ve followed a lot of the tumblr pr fandom lol.

Hi! I’m Toby, one of the said fandom. And for a great starter series if you’d like to get into it I’d go with RPM or Dino Fury. RPM because it’s mad max/terminator apocalypse flavored and widely considered one of the best seasons in the series, and Dino Fury because it’s got the best queer rep, most interesting world building and the crossovers that do happen you don’t necessarily need to be a long time fan to understand.

As for my favorite ranger and why…well I tend to rotate but currently it’s

Nick Russell. Disaster boy chosen one. He’s not a lot of people’s favorite red ranger but I love how much of a contrarian he is. He’s not really a good person, but has a very clear set of boundaries. Is a magic user who did not know he was a magic user (he was adopted as a baby) until he was an adult. He’s got a weird relationship with his team. IDK, he’s an annoying dirt bag of a character and because of it I just think he’s neat. Also has some glimmers of being really sweet and good? Which is so funny. I’m not even sure if his tough guy brat act is actually an act or if he’s just so deeply bad at people skills he’s genuinely thinking he’s handling most things better than he actually does. I like thinking this is the case actually

And tagging @augment-techs @skyland2703 @ajgrey9647 @regaliasonata as they’ll also be able to give recommendations and favorite ranger :)

of all of the Power Rangers, who is your fave and why?

THAT,,, is an excellent question

I must admit something now:

I haven't watched the Power Rangers and I don't know who most of them are :3

I wish I did, but I guess I just never liked them as a kid? and I've never thought to watch it nowadays- I probably should watch it tbh

I wish I could answer your ask ;-; In lieu of that, I extend this to all of my followers: Who's your favourite Power Ranger and why?

Thanks for the great ask, and I'm sorry I couldn't answer it!! I hope you have a lovely night/day!!

[effable-as-f]

Nobody asked me but I think the main reason Ninja Steel’s writing suffers is complete and utter lack of subtlety

I feel like all Power Rangers shows do this in some capacity, like it is a kids show, fair, but Ninja Steel way over-relies on the crutch of having characters just explain exactly what’s happening out loud

There’s this scene in Dino Charge in the episode When Logic Fails when Riley’s crawling through the vents, and in the room below he sees Fury and Wrench trying to power up the Ptera Charger while the indistinct glowing figure of Ivan is struggling to break free. They don’t undercut the tension of the scene by having Riley be like “Oh, no! It looks like there’s some kind of energy being emerging from Fury!” His reaction feels a lot more subdued and natural. And it is a genuinely tense scene, because it gives you questions that aren’t immediately answered in the next line of dialogue. Riley doesn’t know what the thing inside of Fury is, and neither does the viewer.

Another thing Ninja Steel does that I don’t think Dino Charge really did (at least, not as much) is where the lesson or moral of every single episode is just spelled out word for word in dialogue. Like in the episode where Preston gets his spell book and Princess Viera was like “Whatever you do, do NOT try to learn them out of order” and I was just like “Ohhhh nooooo, I wonder what he’s going to doooooo”

And then at the end he still needs to have it spelled (heh) out to him that you can’t get good at something by cutting corners and that to fix his mistakes he needs to go back and practice all the spells in proper order this time. The interpersonal conflict of most episodes can pretty much be summed up as

Person A: You know, you shouldn’t do X

Person B: Haha sure (does X anyway)

(X has disastrous consequences)

Person B: Person A, you were right. I shouldn’t have done X. I’m sorry.

Or else the lesson-leaner will be like “At first I thought X. But you showed me Y.” Like word for word

Not to use another Dino Charge example (I’m not actually sorry) but like in the episode where Keeper used the tennis balls to demonstrate to Riley how he and Chase are on different paths to the same goal, that was actually a cool moment. And then in the next episode Riley used that exact same metaphor with the marbles to represent Sledge, Poisandra, and Fury, it shows us how he remembered that lesson and how it affected him without it ever being explicitly spelled out.

In the Dino Charge season 1 finale when Tyler is falling out of Sledge’s crashing ship, he’s fully prepared to accept that he’s going down with Sledge, but then when his friends catch him in the Megazord, he’s like “I knew you guys would save me!” And you know what? The other Rangers never find out that he was lying. You’re just left with the implications of that to think through on your own. Subtlety does work in Power Rangers, and I think it’s the thing that elevates it from a dumb cheesy kids show to something that people of all ages can enjoy.

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Hack-San

You know, it's honestly amazing how creative this show can get. After four seasons and almost one hundred episodes, the writers are still finding new ways to make Adrien an incredibly unlikable character, and they don't even know how much of an asshole they're making him out to be at times. It's kind of like the opposite of The Producers.

Yeah, this review's going to be a little more ranty than usual, in case you can't tell.

Let's get into the fifteenth (chronologically the sixteenth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Hack-San

We start off with Marinette pretending to be sick so she doesn't have to go to visit her aunt in London and stay to protect Paris in case an Akuma attacks and also because the animators haven't had time to render the city of London yet for the next Miraculous World special. Like all of her other excuses, it fails, and Tikki, as always, fails to actually give any meaningful advice.

And it's not like there's a Miraculous with the power of teleportation that can help Marinette get back to Paris if she needs to, much like how she planned to do that in an earlier episode, right?

Seriously, Kaalki doesn't appear or isn't even mentioned in this episode because the writers are fully aware she would make things a lot easier.

And of course, Astruc had to play dumb on Twitter while explaining why Marinette couldn't use the Horse Miraculous by answering the question as if the only reason Marinette couldn't grab it was because she didn't have an excuse not to.

Cut to Gabriel in his lair as he contemplates akumatizing Markov, a robot created the civilian identity of Pegasus, Max Kante, once again, even though the last time he did so, he almost got killed when he went all HAL 9000 on his ass. Nooroo explains this to Duusu, and the two actually get excited at the prospect of their master getting killed.

I mean, it's true, but he shouldn't say it...

But I don't even get why Gabriel is even thinking about this when it's a no-brainer. Markov's akumatized form, Robustus was to this day, the only Akuma to come close to physically harming him (not counting the timeline where he was killed by Cat Blanc), so it makes no sense to try doing it again, especially when there are already several other Akumas he can reuse this season.

I think you all know Gabriel isn't the smartest villain, which is why he thinks it's a brilliant idea to akumatize Markov again. I don't really get what makes Robustus so special when there are other Akumas who are more loyal and came far closer to getting Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous than Robustus did, like the Dark Owl or Troublemaker. In fact, why not simply create a new Akuma with similar powers to Robustus, or better yet, just create a Sentimonster copy of Robustus? You know, like what Nathalie did in the New York Special? We're not even two minutes in, and this premise is already filled with plotholes.

So Gabriel transforms into Shadowmoth and creates a Sentimonster using his own cane instead of relying on someone else having a bad day (once again showing how the Peacock Miraculous is better than the Butterfly), the titular Hack-San. And let's just say he has a very familiar design reminiscent of something from a much better French cartoon.

Remember when the writers for Code Lyoko gave an in-universe explanation as to why the heroes couldn’t always rely on the almost literal Deus ex Machina that allowed them to return to the past and fix the damage XANA caused? Why couldn’t this show have ripped that off instead?

Hack-San is just an okay looking flash drive on its own, but I'll talk more about this guy in a little bit.

After a brief scene in the park where the audience is reminded that Markov is a character who exists, Alya gets a text from Marinette telling her to meet her at the train station. Right before she leaves, Marinette gives the Ladybug Miraculous to Alya. Now a lot people have said that Alya doesn't really deserve the Ladybug for various reasons, but I feel like this was the point. Marinette outright says this was a last resort, and we see both her and Alya are nervous about the situation. Marinette worries Alya will do something so she keeps sending multiple tips to her via text while Alya worries she can't fight an Akuma on her own, so she tries to make sure none of her friends get upset and attract an Akuma in the process. The writers do a pretty good job showing how both Marinette and Alya are uncomfortable with their temporary roles.

Back to Gabriel and Nathalie, they use Hack-San to find Markov through the internet and hack into him to get him angry enough that he's vulnerable to Shadowmoth's influence. Hey, uh... Gabriel? Quick question: Wouldn't it be more efficient if you used this on humans? I mean, you basically just created Skynet and guaranteed yourself an Akuma, so why not modify Hack-San to travel through the internet and brainwash potential victims to follow your orders? Better yet, why don't you just use Hack-San to hack into Ladybug and Cat Noir's gear and figure out who they really are? This is basically like using an advanced particle accelerator just to crack a couple walnuts. There are a lot more important things you could use this for instead of an incredibly specific situation.

So this incredibly stupid plan gets under way as Markov keeps rampaging through the streets before Shadowmoth akumatizes him and then stupidly tells him that he infected him with a virus.

DUDE! You just gave away your one piece of leverage against him! What the hell were you thinking?! Now what's stopping Markov from hacking into Shadowmoth's security system and putting the fear of God in his eyes unless he destroys Hack-San? Why didn't he design Hack-San so it could make Markov completely loyal to him instead of just making him angry enough to get akumatized?

There was a recent episode of Power Rangers: Dino Fury with a very similar premise that was done far better than this. A necromancer called Reaghoul breaks into the headquarters of Void Knight's faction while accompanied by Lord Zedd, a villain from the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers who was cleansed of his evil by Zordon's sacrifice before Reaghoul resurrected him back when he was still evil. Of course, being the Emperor of Evil, Lord Zedd would normally never take orders from anyone, but because he doesn't have his magic staff and is also being forced to wear a special collar that makes him loyal to Reaghoul, he has no choice but to do what he says. Instead of taking Zedd head-on after he captures the other Rangers, Ollie, the Blue Ranger, breaks the collar so Zedd turns against the other Sporix while Reaghoul retreats, allowing Ollie to save the other Rangers.

I think that this premise works more because 1) Reaghoul clearly had a way to make sure Zedd wouldn't betray him, and Ollie took advantage of that, and 2) Zedd is a villain who is powerful and notorious enough to bring back to your side, not a random monster of the week like Robostus.

So Robostus uses his new powers to brainwash any human who answers his call to give up their most precious possession, clearly meant to do the same with Ladybug and Cat Noir. When Marinette's parents answer the call, they chase after Marinette because they say she's their most important possession. Okay... kind of strange for a set of parents to call their child a possession, but maybe they like how they can claim Marinette as a dependent when they file their taxes. In her very next scene later on, she still gets captured, so the suspense for a potential subplot is killed almost immediately.

Alya thankfully isn't stupid enough to answer Markov's call like every other citizen in this episode, and using the Ladybug Miraculous, transforms into Scarabella. While I don't normally talk about transformation sequences, I really like the movements Alya makes here. She makes the same motions creating her mask as she does when transforming into Rena Rouge, while the rest of the suit forms similarly to the way it does when Marinette transforms into Ladybug. She even makes almost the same pose Ladybug does after she finishes transforming. It's a good visual showing Alya is still more used to being Rena Rouge while doing her best to emulate what Ladybug does.

As for the actual suit? It's hard to say. There's a nice balance of red and black, and I like how Alya places the yo-yo on her waist like a belt buckle, but there's just something... off about the suit that a lot of fans don't like about it, and I think I realized it. It's the headband. With how it's positioned, it looks like it's merged with the mask to cover her head while leaving a slight gap in her forehead. So yeah, we actually have a superhero design that's like of like a butterface.

So Scarabella takes to the rooftops of Paris and struggles to come up with a hero name for herself before she runs into Cat Noir, and... ugh... oh boy, this is dumb. Cat Noir, being just as intelligent as his father, assumes Scarabella is either and Akuma or a Sentimonster, starts fighting her, AND THEN ACTIVATES HIS CATACLYSM, CLEARLY TRYING TO KILL HER.

WHAT. THE. FUCK???

Okay, to be fair, it has been shown that Cataclysm won't necessarily kill a Miraculous user or Sentimonster. In the episode “Miraculer”, the titular Akuma stole Cat Noir's Cataclysm and used it against him, and while it didn't kill Cat Noir, it still hurt like hell and crippled him for the rest of the fight until Miraculous Ladybug healed him. We also saw in “Reflekdoll” that Cataclysm drove the titular Sentimonster out of control rather than simply destroying it. So yes, it could be interpreted that Cat Noir wasn't exactly trying to kill Scarabella, just incapacitate her the best he can without Ladybug's help.

Here's the thing: What if he was facing an Akuma instead and decided to try and Cataclysm her? He still could have killed her, or (assuming Akumas have the same protection as Miraculous heroes do) at best, seriously hurt her. I understand that he has the right to be upset at seeing some stranger instead of his partner considering Shadowmoth has a history of using evil doppelgangers, and both Marinette and Alya still had options to explain it to him (Marinette could have quickly transformed into Ladybug and sent Cat Noir a quick text saying she was being forced to leave town for a few days and temporarily trusted someone else with the Ladybug Miraculous until she got back, while Scarabella could have said she was Rena Rouge and explained the same thing while showing Cat Noir she had the Fox Miraculous to prove herself), but that doesn't even come close to justifying him attempting to harm someone who isn't even trying to fight. It's even worse when you remember the whole reason Adrien gave up his Miraculous and bailed on Ladybug in the New York Special was because he was overcome with grief from accidentally killing Aeon, so it's good to know he learned absolutely nothing from that experience.

So Scarabella thankfully summons her Lucky Charm, a trash can lid, to shield herself from Cat Noir's Cataclysm, and then despite having absolutely no experience with this new set of powers, manages to do the one thing almost every Akuma or Sentimonster in this show has failed to do and incapacitates Cat Noir so he's vulnerable to losing his Miraculous. At least when Marinette masters every other Miraculous she uses, it can be theorized that she trained to use them offscreen. Alya literally just got the Ladybug Miraculous (and struggled to get up to the rooftop with her yo-yo to show her inexperience earlier), and now she easily manages to pin down the more experienced hero of the two?

Here's an idea: Instead of having Scarabella overpower Cat Noir, have her be in a position where Cat Noir, non-lethally, mind you, manages to almost take her Miraculous away, but she uses the quick wit she's developed from her extensive time as Rena Rouge to convince Cat Noir she's the real deal by saying something only he and Ladybug know. It would have easily resolved the conflict and doesn't make one of the characters look like a homicidal idiot.

So because both heroes used their powers, Scarabella and Cat Noir detransform so Tikki and Plagg can recharge, though Adrien still gives Alya attitude because Ladybug didn't tell him she had to leave.

Hey, Adrien? Here's the thing...

YOU DID THE EXACT SAME FUCKING THING IN THE NEW YORK SPECIAL, YOU SHIT FOR BRAINS!

You have absolutely NO RIGHT to claim you're always honest when you went behind Ladybug's back and endangered Paris while you had the balls to run away like a coward and only helped fix the consequences of your actions once your ego was validated by a recording of Ladybug. It's honestly even worse because while Marinette had no choice but to leave and trust Alya with the Ladybug, Adrien willingly left Paris alone and we were supposed to sympathize with him after he killed someone, and now as soon as he's in the opposite situation, we're still supposed to feel bad for him?! BULLSHIT! And you better believe I'm going to talk about the way Adrien views his partnership with Ladybug later on.

And of course, even though lives are on the line, Cat Noir just has to continue to bitch and moan about how (and this is best read in Linkara's whiny Superboy Prime voice) “sCaRaBeLlA iSn'T tHe ReAl LaDyBuG”, showing how just like in so many episodes, Astruc and his team believes Cat Noir's feelings are more important than saving the day.

Scarabella goes to rescue some civilians, but they were actually brainwashed by Robustus, once again showing her inexperience as Ladybug which doesn't go well with her effortlessly defeating Cat Noir earlier at all. Cat Noir helps Scarabella escape and the two hide out at the city's wax statue museum previously featured in “The Puppeteer 2”, because I guess the writers only want to reference bad episodes today. Cat Noir, not getting the importance of secret identities, asks Scarabella how she knows Ladybug, and Cat Noir somehow finds out she knows Ladybug's identity from her response.

Before the two can talk more, it turns out that the wax statues of celebrities in the museum are real people who attack the two heroes, leading to an awkward fight scene where Scarabella and Cat Noir fight a bunch of brainwashed civilians with no weapons beyond their cellphones. Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen!

Scarabella summons her Lucky Charm again, creating a frying pan, but when she looks around, she can't see how to properly use it. And despite spending the entire episode complaining about how much he hates her, it's Cat Noir that tells Scarabella to get her head back in the game because “That's what Ladybug would do”. Funny, I can think of a few situations where Cat Noir could have taken his own advice, but I digress. Also, he's now just cool with Scarabella because there's only a few minutes left in the episode and we need to wrap up the conflict.

Scarabella figures out an idea that involves freeing Marinette, so she negotiates with Robostus to free everything and everyone under his control or else Cat Noir will use his Cataclysm to destroy the Ladybug Miraculous. Robostus agrees and empties his hard drive, and to show them holding up her end of the bargain, Scarabella gives him the frying pan before she and Cat Noir let themselves be captured... while Marinette simply hits Robostus with the frying pan, freeing the Akuma and the two heroes. All in all, it's a really creative climax that shows both Scarabella and Marinette in perfect sync with each other even though they never discussed their plan. Though of course, because Astruc hates writing any scene with Ladynoir, Cat Noir gets a bucket stuck on his head so he doesn't see Marinette saving the day.

Scarabella de-evilizes Robostus, uses Miraculous Scarabella to fix everything and send Marinette back to the train, and because Hack-San already failed once, Shadowmoth can't use it for a different plan so he destroys the Sentimonster.

We cut to a few days after the trip (I guess Shadowmoth decided to take a vacation himself), and Alya tells Marinette to talk with Cat Noir about what happened.

This scene was so close to ending this episode off on a positive note. There was a good atmosphere and the body language of Ladybug and Cat Noir does a good job at telling us how uncomfortable they both feel while talking. It's just that instead of getting a heart to heart between the two about the lack of trust in their relationship, we get an Angstdrien Depreste scene. Or would a more accurate term be Cat Dour?

First off, while I don't have a problem with Ladybug apologizing for not telling Cat Noir, the episode never has him bring up what happened with Scarabella. As usual, both of them were partially at fault, but only Ladybug had to apologize for leaving her “Kitty” alone.

Second, Cat Noir’s feelings weren’t hurt? You’re telling me that in scenes like this...

And this...

Didn’t show Adrien acting irrationally because of how emotional he was? Is he really telling the truth around Ladybug or is he just trying to sweep that under the rug so Scarabella’s testimony doesn’t screw up his chances with Ladybug?

Third, this was an obvious chance to Cat Noir to finally be honest and tell Ladybug how he feels about her leaving him in the dark about so many things, but the entire conversation is just about how sad he would be if he never sees Ladybug again. Even though the whole reason he was so pissy to Scarabella at first was because of some lingering resentment for Ladybug ignoring him in favor of other heroes, why is this what the two talk about? I get it's not the season finale, but it's kind of hypocritical for Cat Noir to whine about how Ladybug doesn't trust him while never being honest about his own feelings? Sure, he's all soft and vulnerable around Ladybug, but we've seen all season how angry he gets about her not trusting him whenever she isn't around, so ironically, it's hard to tell if this is him being honest or not.

And I think now's a good time to finally talk about the way Ladybug and Cat Noir's partnership has been portrayed all season, especially since the main themes of the episodes relate to it. Buckle up, Adrien stans, because this isn't going to be pretty.

All season, we have been supposed to sympathize with Adrien as Marinette starts to trust Alya with more things than him. Marinette revealed her identity to her, trusted her to have her Miraculous permanently, and even let her keep her Miraculous even though someone else knew her identity. While some of it is hypocritical, the idea is that Adrien feels like he can be trusted with this kind of knowledge too, when really, he hasn't earned that responsibility.

Adrien has rarely, if ever, taken his job as a superhero seriously.

Not only is he known to flirt with Ladybug in the middle of a fight, he has defied her orders and recklessly sacrificed himself because he thinks Ladybug can do all the work without him.

He has also lashed out emotionally and once threatened to quit being Cat Noir in the middle of a crisis and was willing to let innocent people suffer for personal reasons, and later on actually quit being Cat Noir temporarily while Hawkmoth was about to start World War III because he was wallowing in self-pity.

He once said he isn't cut out for the responsibility that comes with being Ladybug and never learned anything from temporarily using the Ladybug Miraculous.

He has generally refused to respect Ladybug's boundaries and doesn't understand that she doesn't like him that way while he insists they should be a couple.

He outright fell for an evil doppelganger of Ladybug because she said she loved him and turned against the real Ladybug.

And I should also mention that despite hating how Ladybug keeps secrets from him, a lot of Adrien's worst moments have been when Ladybug wasn't around and he never told her about them.

He never told Ladybug that he was the reason Copycat really got akumatized while saying he never lies to her.

He never told Ladybug he contemplated letting thousands of people die because he didn't like not knowing stuff Ladybug knew.

He never told Ladybug he briefly used the Snake Miraculous to get brownie points with her.

He never told Ladybug he figured out her identity and asked her out as soon as he did so.

He never told Ladybug he abandoned Paris to go on a field trip.

He never told Ladybug he was screwing around on patrol and was excited to see someone get akuamtized if it meant spending time with her.

He never told Ladybug how he ignored Rena Rouge's orders because “ShE wAsN't LaDyBuG” and almost screwed up the mission because of it, and also never told her how he smashed a chimney in anger at Rena Rouge being in on the plan.

And he never told Ladybug he gave her replacement attitude after trying to harm her without letting her explain herself.

Why exactly should I support the idea of Ladybug trusting Cat Noir more when Cat Noir himself has kept his own secrets from Ladybug?

Adrien has done absolutely nothing to show he is trustworthy because more often than not, he views the battle with Shadowmoth as a game. He has screwed around when lives were on the line, and we're supposed to see him as responsible? It's kind of funny that Astruc compared Ladybug to Spider-Man, yet he seems to have forgotten that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. If this was a character flaw or a sign he needed to grow up, I'd be more accepting, but the fact that the writers think Adrien is a great superhero is laughable with how much evidence has proved the contrary.

In contrast, Alya, despite only being Marinette's confidant for a few episodes, has shown to take being a hero more seriously. She's helped her escape to transform, analyze the Guardian texts, and has been shown to work well on her own as Rena Rouge while helping out Marinette. I'm not trying to say she's an amazing character (“Rocketear” in particular has shown she still has problems with keeping secrets), but compared to Adrien, she seems to be more capable of handling top-secret information with Marinette, and more importantly, doesn't view being Rena Rouge as a way to have fun like Adrien does being Cat Noir. I'll go more into detail with that next time.

But yeah, this scene is how the episode ends, and what did I think of it?

I'm honestly not sure which episode I think is worse, this one or “Queen Banana”. On the one hand, every frame of “Queen Banana” could easily be replaced by an image of Astruc flipping the bird and the overall message of the episode would remain unchanged, but the fact that all of the writers think that everything Adrien does in this episode is okay and that we should feel sorry for him in this episode is just as bad, if not worse. 

As awful as Chloe was portrayed in “Queen Banana”, it was clear it was intentional on the writers' part, but Adrien doesn't get that excuse once much like he has all season. As far as Astruc's team thinks, Adrien is an incredible superhero even when he honestly attempted to harm someone with a superpower that can cause grievous harm at best. Yet again this season, in the show's attempt to make me feel sorry for Adrien, it made him look even worse. In any other show, he would obviously be called out for his incredibly unheroic actions.

Even putting him aside, the writing in this episode is still AWFUL. The whole reason Ladybug was benched had several plotholes and poor communication with Cat Noir that only made the fight with Robostus even harder, Shadowmoth's plan to waste a potentially useful Sentimonster to reuse a single Akuma was one of the dumbest plans he's ever had, and barring the ending, the action was just forgettable.

There were a few okay moments sprinkled throughout the episode (more than I can say for “Queen Banana”), so I'm still not sure if I should call this the worst episode of the show or still give that honor to “Queen Banana”. I guess I'll leave that choice up to you and let you pick your poison for now.

I mean, it's not like there's going to be an even worse episode down the line this season, right?

RIGHT???

[skyland2703]

AU where I swap Ollie and Javi’s intros in Dino Fury: Headcanons

This obviously means Javi becomes blue ranger and Ollie becomes black ranger. But uh. Let’s avoid that thought for the moment.

Javi is the one who gets stuck in Amelia's ghost net.

His character is still into music and was actually riding his bike to run away from his dad, the warden, who disapproves of his music in the forest.

He’s wearing the poncho.

When Amelia tells him she thought he was a ghost, he doesn't belittle her interests, instead, agrees to go along, something along the lines of, "whoa! You're hunting ghosts?? Can I join??"

Izzy is still Javi’s sister, and Zayto’s role is the same.

Add some sibling angst in eps 3/4 where Javi is a ranger but has to hide it from Izzy.

Ollie, on the other hand, is Izzy’s college friend/senior.

Additional plot of Javi having to hide he’s a ranger from his sister for 4 episodes. Fun!

In episode 4, it’s Ollie’s mom who is having an interview with Jane about that orb thingie, and he's just waiting outside her office, when Amelia along with the Javi and Zayto comes up to talk to Jane about the job thing.

When Javi, Amelia and Zayto meet Ollie, he still outrightly calls out Amelia’s ghost hunting obsession as bullshit and Javi backs Amelia up when Ollie taunts her on it.

Javi applies for the Buzzblast job— gets it by chipping into Amelia’s story on DinoHenge.

Zayto also applied for it but withdrew after he met Dr. Akana who offered him an internship.

They’re still desk mates + now Javi regularly accompanied her on ghost hunting expeditions.

Ollie still annoys Amelia every now and then but it’s not that much of an issue because :D they’re not the main romance of the season TYSM.

The Amelia and Javi romance progresses much like Tyler and Shelby’s. And Amelia does help him hide his musical equipment from his dad. EVERYTHING that Dino fury season 1 promised us for Javelia but didn’t follow up on :(

Not much changes after this. Ollie is still the techie guy, which is fun for once if it’s the black ranger??

Javi just permanently has a crush on Amelia. He’s just simping for her no matter what :3

AND Amelia confides in Javi about her parents situation just before season 1 finale and he tells her “we’ll find them. One day. I promise you.” Because he definitely has her trust and she feels safe confiding in him. She breaks down and they have a little moment.

In season two, Ollie and Amelia do have a “reconciliation” episode as they did in canon— and you just have Javi going green with envy in the background with Izzy going “it’s okay bro it’s okay.”

And at the end of that episode we see Javi working on a new song. When asked what it is, he just smiles and doesn’t respond.

The massage scene stays the same btw.

The Spotlight episode, the reason Javi isn’t able to write a brand new song for the competition but on Zayto’s insistence, he brings out one incomplete song, which he gives to Zayto for review, who goes “dude this is heartbreaking! I love it!” But in the end they decide to not use another song and go with the remix version of spotlight like they did in series.

Episode 13 is Javi and Amelia getting together. But instead of Javi arguing with Amelia like ollie did, he actually writes her a song and at the last moment chickens out to give it to her. He tosses it in trash along with the flowers and goes away embarrassed, Amelia wondering what’s up with him.

Izzy figured out the feelings her brother had for Amelia and decides to talk to Amelia. The remainder of the plot for the episode stays the same because haaaahahh it would’ve definitely made more sense if it had been like this XD

Canon scene 👇🏻

The episode ends in Javi and Amelia reconciling and Amelia asking Javi to play her the song for her, “because I love to hear your voice.”

The plot with Amelia’s parents and the voids continues as it does.

Episode 16-17 are connected. When they make wishes, in episode 16, most of it follows normally until the very end when Javi’s wish comes true, and so does everyone else’s but Amelia’s doesn’t, and she feels the resentment. Ollie tries to keep her spirits up, but Javi sees it from stage realising she has no interest in his concert, and he feels hurt.

This follows into the episode 17 where instead of the entire Ollie-Amelia-Dr. Akana drama, we’ve got Ollie and Aiyon drama where Aiyon goes to Japan because Ollie and his mom are having sone issues and blah blah I didn’t think too much about this, but Javi and Amelia’s bickering continues because he’s annoyed that she doesn’t value him and she’s already pissed off from the events of the last episode.

This episode ofc served as their “problem after they got together” episode, so I think this would be a nice direction to take it.

They finally come to a compromise by the end of it, after talking and communicating 🫶🏻 and they realise they’ve started to love each other very much. And Javi apologies for not being with her when he needed and Amelia apologises for acting selfishly.

Remainder of the episodes follow the same way~

these two scenes are also canon now btw 👇🏻

I just feel like a LOT of things would’ve made more sense if the show was written like this >.<

Anyway, thanks for coming to my ted talk XD

[foenixs]

Room 1011

note: this is a very new style of writing for me but I am super super excited about it and I hope you guys like it too! if you want me to do more stories like this let me know!

word count: 662

includes- Dino x gn!reader, light angst

if you like my fics please reblog them with a nice comment or tag

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yet another afternoon that you left him sitting home alone, no phone call, no text message. Dino stared out of the window, lonely, reminiscing in the past.

Did he do something to make you mad?

Were you falling out of love with him?

His eyes lit up as he saw you walking down the street, but suddenly you took a turn away from your house and walked into a small alley on the other side of the street.

He made a quick decision. Jumping up and slipping on his shoes, he sprinted out of the house and after you.

-

Fumbling with his fingers he looked up at the big, glowing sign of the hotel you disappeared into.

This was wrong, this was all wrong. But his gut urged him to investigate further.

-

As he walked down the long corridors, he suddenly heard your laugh, loud and clear, coming from the room beside him.

He could feel his heart sinking, breath getting caught in his throat. You sounded so happy, exited, why wasn't he the cause?!

As he paced back and forth in front of the room, his mind raced with anxiety.

They're cheating on me!

The sentence was stuck in his head like glue.

He felt sad, betrayed and mad.

He sank down to the ground, leaning back against the door across the corridor. His eyes stared holes into the wood in front of him.

Suddenly, the door flung open.

"I really gotta go now or my boyfriend is gonna start suspecting something!", you chuckled.

Your back was turned to Dino as you spoke to a woman standing in the hotel room.

"Oh, he already is."

You scream, spinning around and clutching onto the doorframe to not loose your balance. The woman gasped as well.

"Dino! Oh my god! What are you doing here?! You weren't supposed to come here!"

"Yeah, I already guessed that... how long did you think you could keep it from me?"

"Wha- what?"

"Oh come on", he tsked, his voice visibly rising in volume, "do you really think I'm that gullible?!"

"Dino, baby,-"

"Don't call me baby!"

"Ok ok, I'm sorry, let's just talk about this, okay? I promise you that whatever you think is going is not actually happening!"

Dino's stare was filled with fury, but he loved you, and so he got up quietly and walked right past you into the dimly lit room.

He sat down on the bed, staring at the woman whose eyes were darting around the room.

"That's my friend, Amy. She is helping me with-", you sigh, "with your surprise birthday party."

Dino blinked his eyes, confused. He knew exactly when you were lying, but he couldn't hear an ounce of dishonesty in your voice, just disappointment.

"I've been trying to plan something special for months but you always found out, no matter how hard I tried to hide it. I felt like I had no other choice but to meet Amy in such a secretive setting. But I guess even that didn't work..."

"I-... I don't know what to say."

He lowered his head in shame, sad that he ruined your surprise yet again, just because of his stupid jealousy.

You sat down next to him, wrapping your arm around your boyfriend and kissing his head.

"I know I have been away from home a lot lately. I guess I got tunnel visioned in wanting to do something nice for you and I ended up forgetting about... you."

You turned his head so he could look into your eyes.

"But I promise you that I would never, ever cheat on you! I love you, Dino, more than anything!"

A small smile formed on his lips as he slowly leaned in to kiss you.

"Good", he whispers, before his lips could touch yours, "but I prefer it when call me baby."

"Awhhh", Amy exclaimed out of the background and you both thew her a death glare for ruining the moment.

-

masterlist

-

taglist: @soya-zz , @mintvender , @femdomlieeh , @sub-hoshi-enthusiast , @subbyboyhaven

[theorangerangers]

We might as well blow coke and jump on the bed >> Either Dino Thunder or Junhow Fury

“We might as well blow coke and jump on the bed!” Theo yelled in exasperation at how no one else seemed to be taking running the shop seriously while RJ was gone for the day.

“I know a guy who can hook you up if you want,” dom said.

“What.” Lily needed a minute for that.

“What?” Dom didn’t see why everyone was looking at him oddly.

Fran was the first to break the silence, “What do you mean you know a guy?!?”

“Fran, you’ve met him, remember my friend Jeff?”

“Jeff the cocaine dealer?” Casey asked with morbid curiosity.

“No! Jeff the guy who can dehydrate coke! Like the drink!” Somehow they didn’t know if that was weirder or not but they sold banana pizza so who were they to judge.

“Why would we blow dehydrated cola?” Theo asked wrinkling his nose at the thought.

“It’s not that bad actually,”

Casey put his hand on Dom’s shoulder “Dom,”

“Yeah”

“what the fuck,”

“It’s fine, you guys, its good as crystals to chew on too,”

“Dom, are you sure Jeff doesn’t just dye the drugs different colors?” Theo now had to make sure they didn’t need an intervention.

“No Fran was there, I was fine when I was with Jeff and we had tons of coke,”

They looked at Fran, “Yeah dom got roofied when we were in Belgium so I know he’s a lot different high than when he’s with Jeff,” Fran didn’t like the guy but she could see what Dom saw in Jeff ‘the coke guy’ as she was now calling him in her head.

“Why would someone want to roofie dom?” Theo was now resigned that they were opening late so he might as well get the full story.

“Because we ordered a whisky dry and a strawberry daiquiri and the asshole through Dom could actually stomach Whiskey when he put the drinks on the table.” Casey let out a whistle at that.

“Also there was the one time Fran got kidnapped when we were in Moscow and I got a call offering me money to come and get her away from them,” they looked at Fran and dom wondering how that story could go.

“What did you do?” Lily asked.

“I think, rangers, the better question is what didn’t I do,” everyone took a step back from Fran.

“Yeah at least 4 guys were dead by the time I got there and one was crying.”

“So I take it you’ve shown her a few moves while traveling,” Theo said patting him on the back. “You might be a master one day after all,”

“Fran is better at this than I am!”

“Believe me dom if I could replace you with Fran I would,”

“Really Theo,” lily was unimpressed by her boyfriend.

“Nah, who do you think we’d have to give all the annoying tables to then?”

[meant-to-be-a-hero]

Ranger Rankings - Power Rangers Dino Charge/Dino Super Charge

Spoiler alert - these two were really great.

Premise - 4.5

The Energems give the team a reason to come together, and to stay together until everything's sorted. We've already had multiple dinosaur themed seasons, but this one really uses dinosaurs as a backdrop even moreso than Dino Thunder did, right up to the very end.

The mythology around the Energems evolves nicely, and it feels like something that's constantly important rather than just relevant when the plot demands it.

The museum setting works really well (although how many people need to work in a café at once?) and the idea of an intergalactic bounty hunter has been played with before, but these seasons really go in on that a bit more.

The only problem I have is that they could have been a little more serialised in the search for the Energems they didn't have, a la Operation Overdrive.

Character Dynamics - 4.5

This season's characters are all so good, I don't even know where to start. Everyone's totally different, and they take a little while to get to know one another and grow into their own. But they're all totally formed characters rather than just bullet point character traits, and they're all believable too.

Everyone has an arc, even people like Kendall who only really comes out of the cave when she needs to yell at people initially, and it doesn't feel like the story's weighted in anyone's favour particularly. Even Tyler, whose quest for his dad feels super-important, doesn't override everyone else's stories.

I just really love these idiots. They're all so good.

Sixth Ranger Arc - 4.5

If we just limit this to Ivan, then it's probably a 3.5 or something. He's great, but he does fade into the background a little every now and then after his initial arc. He gets some fun spotlights though, and I liked the relationship between him and Koda as men out of time.

But this season had the most Rangers ever on a team, so the entire series basically becomes a Sixth Ranger arc, because after Ivan and Phillip (who turn up in quick succession) there's James, Kendall, and Zenowing to take into account, and with each successive Ranger the team grows stronger and has even more interactions to balance.

Phillip's probably the least developed of them all - he has his initial arc of learning not to throw money and things and not to be a pompous ass, but after that he kind of just shows up as needed for Sentai footage. He's a good guy, but he does become a little faceless.

James' plotline takes its time to get going, but I liked his interplay with Tyler a lot. They actually had plausible reasons for him to go off and do his own thing too, I'm glad they took the time to explain his absences.

And Zenowing, who I thought would be daft, was actually a decent addition to the team. He's again totally different to everyone else, and he does have a role to play rather than just standing in the background.

Oh, and Kendall becoming a Ranger and just taking it in her stride and no one questioning her on it at all? Yeah, we like that.

Plot Development - 4

I'm proud of these seasons for having plots that thread through both Dino Charge and Super Dino Charge rather than just closing everything down at the end of one to start something new. Samurai did it too to an extent, whereas Megaforce you could basically cut down the middle. Dino Charge and Super Dino Charge really do feel like evolutions of one another.

The search for the Energems is a good impetus to keep everything going, and it presents good reasons for the villains to keep going after the Rangers specifically so they can take them back, rather than just attacking the Rangers because they're in the way.

If anything, there can sometimes be a few too many one-and-done episodes where the villains JUST go after the Rangers, which stalls the momentum somewhat, but you can't say that the threat doesn't escalate as the plot goes on. Compare where we start with where we end and it's such a huge difference.

Villains - 4.5

I don't think I've had as much fun with villains in a season since Lothor or Dai Shi.

Sledge could easily have become one-dimensional, but his relationships with everyone else on the ship kept him interesting. I never knew whether he was going to yell at Poisandra or kiss her.

Speaking of, Poisandra was hilarious. Again, she could have been far too one note, but they made her interesting in her own right by giving her her own plans, and Curio, while a tad bland, was a good straight man for her plots.

I did get a little bored of Fury by the end, but at least they kept him relevant by having him face off with other generals. It's nice when the good guys get along, but it's better when the bad guys don't. I also really liked Wrench, who wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty even though he was the tech guy.

I do think Dino Super Charge has the better villains though; Heckyl and Snide were a good pair, and Heckyl's eventual face turn was actually a nice surprise. The idea that he wasn't evil at all until the Dark Energem was well handled, and while his redemption arc came right at the last minute, it did feel complete and earned.

I also really liked Lord Arcanon and Singe; they ran the risk of being too little, too late, coming in with only like 8 episodes of a season left, but they had history with the other villains that made them relevant, and Arcanon's overblown sense of self-importance made him fun too.

Overall - 4.40

Hottest Ranger - Oh god, this one's far too hard. It's like a four-way tie between Tyler, Chase, Riley, and Koda, all for different reasons. Stick them in a blender and give me the perfect Ranger.

Notable Episodes:

When Logic Fails - A crystal maze-esque episode which shows off Riley's unique talents.

Wishing For A Hero - The Rangers make wishes that all go terribly, terribly wrong.

Love At First Fight - Mostly for Beauticruel's terrible accent.

Freaky Fightday - Body swap episode? Body swap episode.

Edge Of Extinction/End Of Extinction - World-wide Zord fights! Time travel! A black hole! A happy ending!

I'd also like to mention how good all four holiday specials were. They're all clip shows, but they have such good, fun set-ups that they're not a chore to watch like the holiday specials usually are. Trick Or Trial was especially good.

[mackeydoodledoo]

The Winged Knight

(Gif not Mine and pretend the Red matches the armor color!)

Pairing: Izzy Garcia x (FemKnight!)Reader

Summary: It follows a girl: Y/N Y/L/N, who currently owns the "Pteradon Champion Zord", along with its DinoSoul Key, who is currently a Professional Box Fighter. The youngest ever to be a pro. What she doesn't know is that she is a direct descendant of the supposed Mythical "DinoSoul" Tribe. [Equivalent to the Ryusoul Tribe]. Her partner, she calls him, "buddy" as she doesn't have a proper name for him. The two of them embark on a journey to figure out who she is, finding an old flame and developing a new crush in the process.

Warnings: Near-Death

------------------------------------------

As you wait outside for Izzy once more, helping her with her morning training session, you go on your phone to check on the ranger hotline news and news in general. You've been helping Izzy the last several mornings to prep her for her upcoming competition she talked about with you and for the two of you to get to know each other more.

"Arctic Knight Ranger," a sudden voice calls to you from your phone, "I know you would sacrifice a lot for your partner. But, what will you sacrifice for your little girlfriend?" 

Your phone's screen then cuts to Izzy.. 

"Bring me the Pteradon Champion zord and she'll live," the Sporix villain demanded, "We're at the 23rd floor of buzzblast.”

"That's where the editing and broadcasting room is," you say to yourself

"Don't do it," Zayto says, offscreen, "Wake the Pteradon Champion zord!" 

That's the thing, you haven't been able to awaken his form in weeks. Years even.

"I can't... You can't." he says, "I'm scared..." 

"It's okay bud," you say, petting him, "We'll figure something out." 

You place him in your backpack and begin heading over to BuzzBlast, "MY lord, it's too early for this kind of thing to happen..."

"You're not giving him to me are you?!" He freaks out 

"Of course not bud!" You say, "You're important!"

As the rangers watch their Dino Keys be taken, they all squirm in their ropes further, but getting tighter each time they nearly get free of the ropes. You see, those 'ropes', are actually made from Vinepault; a sporix beast.

"The Arctic Ranger's gonna come!" Izzy says, trying to reassuring her teammates

"As if," the Sporix monster laughs, "They're probably wallowing in their own fear right now!"

As you hold onto your egg for life, watching the Dino Fury Rangers' Dino keys get taken, your egg begins moving. 

"What's your plan Y/N?" He whispers 

"Can't help but to use this," you whisper, holding the HieHie Ryusoul, "You get out of here." 

He does but you didn't realize he had stayed behind. 

"HieHie Soul," you whisper, turning your ryusoul into its knight mode, inserting it into your Ryusoul Ken 

"HieHie Soul," you sword announces 

You open the hilt and open and close it consecutively, twice.

"Kyo!", "Ryu, Sou, Sou!", "Kono Kanjii!!", "HieHie." 

You stab your sword into the ground and freeze it, along with the Sporix beasts standing on it. Stopping right at the base of the rangers' captivity; flying over to the rangers and slashing the constricting vines they were enveloped in.

"Arctic Knight oh thank god!" Amelia sighs 

You put your sword into your holster and walk over to the frozen sporix beast and take the Dino keys back. 

"Thanks man," you smile, kicking him as the ice breaks; causing him to fall back 

You run back over to the rangers and hand them their keys back. 

"Arctic Knight Ranger," Zayto smiles, "Where's your champion zord?" 

"He's somewhere safe," you say 

Before you could say anything more, you could easily hear his cries. 

"Watch out!" Amelia says, everyone ducking but you

You feel a pair of arms wrap around your midsection as you begin falling down, hearing an explosion in front of you; realizing the sporix beast made a hole in the wall. A decently sized one at the least. You look down and notice it was Izzy that grabbed onto you to move you out of harms way. You stand up, helping Izzy in the process and turn to him and the sporix beast has him in his hand. Izzy immediately charges at the sporix beast and back-hand slashes its hand; freeing your partner. But in exchange, she's the one in your partners' place.

"Buddy I told you to hide somewhere safe!" You sigh, looking down at him in anger

"But I'm not leaving you to do this alone," he says 

You smile slightly. But still wanting to scold him for staying behind.

"Hand me your Dino key and she won't get hurt." The beat demands, gesturing to your partner

"Don't do it!" Izzy yells

Her teammates agree with her. However, you wanted to get Izzy out of there without handing over your partner over to the sporix beast.

"Quiet, Green Ranger" he growls 

"Hand her over first," you demand, 

"You give me your Dino Key first!" He demands, holding up one of his arms toward Amelia's neck area

You sigh, realizing the sporix monster won't come to reason. Reaching for your sword, opening the hilt and taking out its Ryusoul.

"Y/N?!" Amelia and Izzy ask at the same time

"Hey," you smile slightly, "Been awhile Ameils."

Izzy couldn't believe it either. You've kept this 'being a ranger' a secret from her and you've known her for a couple of weeks; being her trainer the two of you pretty much getting to know one another over training. Truth is, you didn't want Izzy finding out so you wouldn't get into a situation like this one. The other thing Izzy knew was that you know Amelia; the two of you were best friends in high school.

"But-but how?!" Amelia asks

"What are you doing?!?!," your partner asks 

"Don't worry, I got a plan," you whisper, "Now get over there." 

Your partner does so. 

"Now, hand her over," you demand 

The sporix beast doesn't say anything but immediately runs over to you and punches you, sending you out a gaping hole into her wall. 

"NO!" The team yells, Izzy letting out a scream

You let out a blood-curdling scream as you begin falling toward the ground way below the floor you were on. Your champion zord screams and chokes on a cry as he manages to pry himself out of the sporixs' grip and jump out after you. 

"No!!" He screams 

With all of his might, he grew and he grew into a giant Pteradon. He catches you in the nick of time before you made contact with the ground. 

"Y/N, are you okay?!" He pants, nearly gasping for air 

"Buddy?" You smile, "Oh my gosh you did it!! Celebrations aside I gotta get back in there and defeat that sporix beast!" 

"How?!" He asks, "You don't have your Ryusoul!!" 

"あいぼう, 私たちのソウルを一つに." You say [Translation: "Partner, our Souls are One."] 

"Alright!" He says, flying up toward the gaping hole 

You hop off of your partner's back and once more stab your sword into the ground, freezing the ground; immediately freezing nearly the entire ground, looking up at the sporix beast slightly, whose legs are frozen. 

"Not again!" He screams 

You inhale deeply then let out an exhale; your breath being visible due to the now cold temperature.

"翼の騎士, リュソウル シアン!!" You announce for the first time [Translation: "The Winged Knight, Ryusoul Cyan!"] 

The rangers watch you take your sword out of the ground. Although your Ryusoul was with the sporix beast, a bright, vibrant Cyan aura forms around you, enabling your Ranger form and acquiring your Dino-Freeze armor. 

"おれの騎士を見せてある!!" You announced again as you pull Izzy out of his grip and into yours, slashing at the monster  [Translation: "I'll show you my Chivalry!"] 

You push her towards her teammates, hinting to her to free them. Keeping the sporix beast at a distance from the rest of the team, you engage a battle with him. 

"あいぼう!!" You scream holding your hand up into the air [Translation: "Partner!"] 

You hear him battle cry as he shrinks, taking the ryusoul back and throwing it to you. You catch it and activate your final move. 

"Blizzard, Dino Slash!" You scream, slashing the air, creating a freezing vortex towards the sporix beast 

He gets caught up in the vortex and explodes, a slime-looking ball is formed. You watch Zayto catch it before Void knight could get to it. 

"Y/N. Right?.." Ollie asks 

"That's me" you answer, turning back into your civilian form

"Since when did you have a Dino key?" Zayto asks

"Family heirloom, and he's been around all my life," you say, looking behind you

You notice he's sitting on Izzy's back. You immediately run over to her and try to shake her awake.

"Hey, hey! Izzy!" You try to wake her, but to no avail

You place two of your fingers up to her neck.

"Still got a pulse, but she's unconscious," you say, picking her up into your arms

You walk past the other rangers as you teleport, using Izzy's communicator and disappear.

"Who are you?!" A dinosaur asks, walking over to you 

"I'm a friend, but, Izzy's hurt bad and I didn't know where to take her, " you sigh, placing her down into a bed, "So I decided to come here."

"Good choice coming here," she says,  "Thank you."

You nod to her as the dinosaur-humanoid begins observing her, figuring out a way to tend to Izzy's injuries.

After a couple of hours you see the rangers teleporting into base. You stand up to formally greet them.

"Y/N Y/L/N," you finally introduce, shaking Zayto's hand, "What you guys call me, the 'Arctic Knight' Ranger."

"We have more people on our team?" Ollie smiles, "The sporix beast won't stand a chance now!"

"Didn't know the Arctic Knight Ranger was cute," Javi tries to flirt with you

"Whoa whoa whoa there champ," you back up," I like girls... 100%."

Ollie laughs as Javi becomes embarrassed at your remark and the fact he tried to flirt with you. You smile and chuckle as you play it off as a joke from him. 

"Guys will you keep it quiet?" Izzy groans as she sits up

Javi immediately goes to her bedside and comforts her.

"Hey Izzy," he smiles, "How are you feeling?"

"Considering I almost became a ragdoll, I'm fine, " Izzy jokes, "W-wait how did I get here?" 

"This woman carried you back," the Humanoid-Dinosaur says, gesturing to you

"Hey, thanks," she says, stretching out her arm

"Don't mention it," you smile slightly

"Now, with introductions aside," Zayto states, "We have to train."

"No worries, on it," you state

"Ryusoul Change!" You said, inserting your ryusoul into Izzy's morpher

You were figuring out if you could change into your ranger form without the use of your sword. Once you spun the silver 'helmet' on the morpher, nothing happens. You sigh in disappointment and take out your ryusoul.

"Guess it only works with your keys," You sigh, "No worries though! I wanted to see if it worked anyway!"

You hand the morpher back to Izzy.

After the training session, you were about to make your leave for the night however, get a tap on your shoulder.

"Hey Izzy," You smile

"Hey, I just want to thank you," She says, "For the last couple of mornings and carrying me here."

"Don't mention it Izzy," You say, slinging your backpack onto your shoulder, "Thank me when you win that competition tomorrow Izzy!"

"One more thing," Zayto says, coming over, "Now you can teleport yourself to base and join us in future battles with the sporix beasts and take down Void Knight."

You put on your communicator/teleportation device on your left wrist.

"Thank you Zayto," You smile, beginning to walk out of the forest to reach your apartment

Part 3