#lois martin

[beartrice-inn-unnir]

10. What is your favorite genre book to recommend to someone who doesn’t usually like that genre?

Usually when people ask me for a rec for a genre they don’t usually like, they are asking for sci-fi, and I start by trying to figure out different access points based on what they already like. I’m not much of a hard sci-fi person, tending more to the space opera and political thrillers, so here’s a few “if you like x, maybe try y”:

If you like romance, give Everina Maxwell’s Winter’s Orbit a try. It’s definitely sci-fi in setting and plot, but it also hits nicely in the formulaic patterns of a arranged-marriage, strangers-to-lovers story that will help you through it even if the sci-fi elements are throwing you off. The author has another similar book that increases the sci-fi elements and is enemies-to-lovers as well, so if you like Winter’s Orbit, Ocean’s Echo is a good next step.

If you like non-fiction, The Martian by Andy Weir is a great pick. I have multiple friends who got into reading again as adults via The Martian. It’s well-written, well-grounded, funny, and very sci-fi. If you’ve already read it, then maybe give To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers a try. It can be described with all the same adjectives, plus it’s a short novella, so if you’re hesitant, it’s less intimidating.

If you like mysteries or political thrillers, boy is there a lot of great sci-fi out there for you. The crux of a lot of sci-fi is space or high-tech settings with a plot that asks questions about personhood, and that mixes really well with detectives and spies wandering around trying to solve problems and find truths. Try Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (it’s partway through a series of great books and novellas, but that one’s the most traditional mystery plot) or A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (ambassador solving her predecessor’s mysterious death while trying to do his job)(I’d also recommend this one if you read a lot of classics) EDIT: just realized I mistyped - book 1 by Arkady Martine is A Memory Called Empire.

If YA/ Bildungsromanen/ New Adult figuring the world out through trial and error is often your jam, try Provenance by Ann Leckie (for the kid who really wants to do things right) or The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (for another kid who wants to do things right, but is also a high-energy chaos gremlin).

If you like fantasy, you probably already have read some sci-fi; it’s all under the speculative fiction umbrella and genres are vague anyway. All the same, I know this is the Locked Tomb Website, but give Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir a shot (it’s got magic and mayhem and an epic locked-room whodunnit mystery). The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord is also good - it has a team of people traveling together and thinking about morals and discovering new abilities, plus some romance.

I’m sure there’s lots of genres I’m forgetting right now, but feel free to send me another ask for any specific one!

[longwuzhere]

My Adventures with Superman Season 2 Easter Eggs

Welcome back everyone! Here we are season 2 of My Adventures with Superman! What a fantastic first two episodes and as usual they're full of fun Easter eggs which I will point out and explain to those who aren't familiar so you can be in the know with the comics book readers! My Easter eggs lists for season 1 is here if you haven't seen it!

My season 2 episode 1 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman comic issue 1 post is here

My season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 5 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 6 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 7 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 2 post is here

My season 2 episode 8 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 9 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 10 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

Spoilers if you haven't seen it

I might be reading too much into it but maybe this is a subtle reference to the Adventures with Superman comic title or it could just be a complimentary episode title to My Adventures with Superman. Who knows.

The episode starts with Waller waking up getting ready for her day (shout out to Waller's daily affirmations btw) and she goes down to meet Sam Lane, Lois's father who I talked about here.

Nice call back to Season 1 Episode 3 when Lois and Clark break into Stryker's Island again and entering into Siobhan McDougal's cell again but this time going under the island's jail to Task Force X secret operations. I talked about Siobhan McDougal aka Silver Banshee and Stryker's Island here.

Later on we see Clark and Lois infiltrating the Task Force X hideout and Clark uses his X-Ray vision but can't seem to see through the walls here. If you know your Superman lore, these walls are made of lead.

Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster, Superman's creators, first introduced X-Ray vision to Superman in Action Comics #11 (1939) where Clark is investigating some shady dealing involving oil and the death of someone involved in this deal. It wasn't until later in Action Comics #69 nice (1944) [W: Jerry Seigel, P&I: Ed Dobrotka] that we see there is a limit to Clark's X-Ray vision.

Superman rescues Lois from the Prankster and his henchmen after surveying the area with his X-Ray vision and seeing that one of the buildings is made of lead and can't see inside it and he goes in to save her.

Later as Sam, Lois and Superman escape the compound Waller sics one of her soldiers after them, a green skull-faced, radioactive soldier aka Atomic Skull.

MAwS Waller calls Atomic Skull as Agent Martin, so we can assume this is a reference to Joseph Martin, the second Atomic Skull who first appeared in Adventures of Superman #383 (1991) [W: Jerry Ordway, P: Jim Fern, I: Doug Hazelwood, C: Glenn Whitmore, L: Albert DeGuzman]. In the comics Joseph Martin was a student. Later in Action Comics #670 (1991) Joseph, at a S.T.A.R. Labs for a check up, gets struck by a grounding cable and that triggers his Metagenes as the building collapsed. He was able to escape but stumbles back to his apartment and begins to lose his hair. Trying to figure out what is wrong Joseph gets jumped by some muggers and Joseph murders them and walks into the theater that is playing an Atomic Skull movie (yes in the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity Atomic Skull is a movie character). Superman investigating the muggers murder discovers Joseph Martin at the movies and sees that he has changed and takes up the name the Atomic Skull as seen below in Action Comics #670 (1991) [W: Roger Stern, P: Bob McLeod, I: Denis Rodier, C: Glenn Whitmore, L: Bill Oakley].

The original Atomic Skull, Albert Michaels, first appeared in Superman #303 (1976) as a piece-of-shit but smart AF scientist for S.T.A.R. Labs. Twenty issues later in Superman #323 (1978) [Cover art by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez] , Albert Michaels dons the Atomic Skull costume after siding with SKULL and is given a radium implant in his brain that would grant him the ability to harness bioelectricity from his cranium and convert it to energy to shoot out from his visor.

Back at the Daily Planet, Jimmy is called out by Perry for not giving him a video and we see that the Flamebird team is composed of the Newkid Legion and Steve Lombard. I talked more about them here and here.

We get one Wilhelm scream as as Task Force X soldier gets carried back into the dark hallway by Parasite/Ivo who I talked more about here.

And finally after stopping Parasite from attack Waller, Lex Luthor shows up finally giving his name to Waller striking up a new partnership.

Lex Luthor first appeared in Action Comics #23 (1940) [W: Jerry Seigel, P: Joe Shuster, I: Paul Cassidy] where he was exploiting European countries in WWII. This iteration of Lex goes by Alexei Luthor. Still smart like his other Lex Luthor counterparts with a knack for machinery technology. He apparently dies in his debut issue.

In Action Comics #125 (1948) [P&I: Al Plastino] we see the debut of silver age Lex Luthor . In the comic Alexis Luthor here, uses his scientific genius to manipulate a hermit who's making prediction come true. This Lex Luthor has beef with Superboy back when he and Clark were kids. He swore revenge on Superboy for ruining his research after a fire broke out at his laboratory causing his hair to fall out thanks to the chemical fumes. This iteration of Lex is the one who creates the famous warsuit that Lex Luthor is usually depicted in.

Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths Lex Luthor makes his first appearance in Swamp Thing #52 (1986) [W: Alan Moore, P: Rick Veitch, I: Alfredo Alcala, C: Tatjana Wood, L: John Costanza]. This version of Lex is the scientist and business man that pop culture knows and he goes by Alexander Luthor. His origins is rewritten so that instead of Lex being from Smallville and having met Superboy back then, he meets Superman in Metropolis where he created Lexcorp and almost everyone is under his employ whether they know it or not (see the Man of Steel miniseries from 1986). In that miniseries, he also has the red hair and eventually he goes bald. This version of Lex was also a former President of the United States.

Post-New52/DC Rebirth, because of some comic book shenanigans and retcons, some of Lex's origins pre-New 52 blends in this this current continuity now where Lex Luthor joined the Justice League as shown on the cover of Justice League #30 (2014) [Cover art by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, and Rod Reis], was Superman when New 52 Superman died as shown in the variant cover of Action Comics #967 (2017) [Cover art by Gary Frank and Brad Simpson], and started the Legion of Doom seen on the cover of Justice League #5 (2018) [Cover art by Doug Mahnke, Jaime Mendoza, and Wil Quintana].

And with that episode 2 is done! Come back next week for episode 3's references and Easter eggs! My Easter eggs lists for season 1 is here if you haven't seen it!

My season 2 episode 1 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman comic issue 1 post is here

My season 2 episode 4 Easter eggs and refereces in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 5 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 6 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 7 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My Easter eggs and references for My Adventures with Superman comic issue 2 post is here

My season 2 episode 8 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 9 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

My season 2 episode 10 Easter eggs and references in My Adventures with Superman post is here

[blackbrownfamily]

[starryjanewatson]

Went to a Con yesterday that featured Supernatural, Smallville, and Cobra Kai 🥰

[harrietvane]

Well this is embarrassing. For everyone.

[meganwhalenturner]

2023 booklist for Small Business Saturday

Middle Grade

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow

I am going to pat myself on the back forever because I hosted the writing retreat where Erin started work on this book. Not many people say, "I'm going to write a middle grade novel that will shine the light of a white hot sun on gun violence and I'm going to make it funny." But Erin did. And it is amazing.

Teen

The Luminaries and The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard

At the launch for The Hunting Moon at Schuler's Books in Grand Rapids, they asked me to describe The Hunting Moon in six words and I said, Magic, Monsters, Witches, Impossible Family Expectations.

This unabashedly teen book was a breath of fresh air for me. Return to a simpler time when teenagers just had to risk their lives killing monsters in enchanted forests while struggling to win approval from people they are beginning to think have really questionable values.

Summer in Orcus by T Kingfisher

Ursula Vernon writes books for younger readers under her own name and everything from YA up to adult under the name T Kingfisher. I could recommend any of her books, but Summer in Orcus has a special place in my heart. Summer's mother wants to keep her safe, so safe that when Baba Yaga offers Summer a portal to the magical realm of Orcus, Summer is through it like a shot.

Adult SF and Fantasy

The Adventures of Amina Al Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

A retired pirate! Who happens to be a mother! Who is torn between her desire to live a nice safe life with her daughter and, you know, piracy.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

When the new Ambassador from tiny Lesl Station arrives at the capital of the far flung galactic empire, her first job is to figure out who murdered her predecessor. I loved the convolutions in Martine's world building and story telling.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Lorena Garcia

It's the Jazz Age in Mexico. Someone's been keeping the Mayan God of Death trapped in a trunk at the foot of the bed. And that someone's granddaughter, who is utterly sick and tired of her horrible relatives, has just opened that trunk.

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm

This is an old one. This book was published in 1976 and has recently been republished. I read it thirty years or more ago and have never forgotten it. It's a thoughtful, brutal, beautiful book about the decay of civilization and the importance of individuals, individuality, and the preservation of diversity.

Warrior's Apprentice by Bujold

If you like Gen, I think you'll love Miles. 😁

[celticcatgirl2]

Get His Ass Lois!!!

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

The Superman Logs: MAWS Season 2 - Episodes 1 - 3

Well, hey, it's me again! My Legion of Super-Heroes DCU essay series has been more difficult than expected to put together (for a whole buncha reasons, I won't get into it), but I also haven't written much on this blog in a while. So, may as well get back into the swing of things, which I've been planning to do regardless. Just needed an excuse, and oh look! My Adventures with Superman just released their long awaited second season! And hell, better now than ever!

Since three episodes have released, with some new characters introduced, I may as well jump in. I'll also say that, from now on, I'll be posting actual character retrospectives and concepts on here, in a style similar to what I've done before, but looking at my headcanon versions of characters, as well as already existent versions and adaptations of characters. Spoilers ahead, by the way. Not gonna go crazy with spoilers, but they'll be there, so, you've been warned! And so, without further ado...

Episode 2.1: More Things on Heaven and Earth

This episode focuses on some of the fallout from the first season, but most importantly gives us and Clark a few answers about his origins. It also throws a pretty major change to Clark's origin our way, but I won't get ahead of myself. The purpose of this post is to look at these episodes from a fan's eye (or an overly picky nerd's eye, but whatever) and inspect them for what happened, and what may be coming. And I have a theory here, so hang tight with me.

As I said, amongst the smaller revelations about Jimmy's quickly decaying fortune and Task Force X discovering Kryptonite (fuck), and the normal shojo stuff between Clark and Lois that is genuinely cute, one of the first big things we get is Clark and Jor-El finally having a conversation. And I gotta say...I really like this version of Jor-El.

Now, I've done a retrospective on Clark's parents before, in my DCCU essay series that you're more than welcome to check out, but at the time of writing that essay, I hadn't yet seen MAWS' version of Jor-El. And I hope we get to see more of Krypton in this universe as well, because I appreciate what they've done so far! We've gone back to the origin of Krypton as a conquering empire, destroying itself by war and inner conflict. Classic, nice. Jor-El, once again a voice of calm scientific reason amidst the chaos, sees fit to send his son to another world as the planet of Krypton is being destroyed. Again, classic stuff. But this version of Jor-El is different from most for one reason: he seems more caring than most.

Don't get me wrong, we've seen kinder versions of Jor-El in adaptations and original source material (although recent comics have COMPLETELY fucked his character into straight-up villainy; thanks a lot, Brian Michael Bendis, GODDAMN IT). And most versions of the character want and support Kal-El being a hero to the down-trodden. But the vast majority of them are a bit cold and clinical from beyond the grave. Obviously, part of that is the fact that the Jor-El that interacts with Clark is basically always a computerized duplication of his personality, but still. We rarely ever get a Jor-El that expressed emotion towards his son, or even acts like...well, like a father.

But this Jor-El simulation? In a short period of time, he gives advice to his son about his love life, he tells his son about his origin story without dicking him around constantly (lookin' at you, Smallville), helps his son as best as he can from the grave, and expresses how proud he is, while addressing him by his Earth name! And most importantly, he does something I have NEVER seen a version of Jor-El do in any of his incarnations.

He...hugs Clark. Maybe that sounds like the exact opposite of a big deal, but it kind of is. This is somebody who Clark can miss. Somebody who, were he to live, Clark could've had real connections with. Somebody who is...well...a dad. And come on, have you ever seen a version of Kal-El who feels like a caring dad? Not a father, a dad. Somebody you can talk to, somebody who can give you fatherly advice, somebody who would give you the world if they could, and is proud of you and your accomplishments. A dad. Sure, an idealized version of one, but still. It's something I've never seen in Jor-El, and I honestly love this version of the character. Hopefully, we get to see more. Especially because of the...OTHER big revelation to happen in this episode. But BEFORE getting to that, I wanna touch on the smaller-but-important stuff.

The crashed Kryptonian ship from last season becomes the classic Fortress of Solitude in this episode! Now, I've barely talked about the Fortress of Solitude, but it's one of the most classic of superhero headquarters in comics. Usually composed of either ice or crystal, and on one of the two poles (Antarctica, in this case), this is typically a Kryptonian repository of knowledge for Clark to visit. There's a bit of a trend that says the more alien Superman is, the more he spends time in the Fortress. That is to say, it's a symbol of his Kryptonian heritage, and he uses it as his knowledge of the past increases.

Now, based on the events of this episode, the usage of the Fortress is something yet to be seen. Jor-El, who's traditionally the guardian of the place, appears to be gone for the time being. He may come back yet, though, especially as we see if the effects of the Kryptonite are long-lasting. In either case, this floating temple of ice is here to stay for the time being, and we'll see if this version proves as useful and seminal to the Superman story as others have. Oh, and for the record, by favorite version of the Fortress is from Smallville, but this has my favorite design for the Fortress thus far, from the outside.

But Jor-El isn't the only thing in this Fortress during the episode. Task Force X shows up with a new member, whom I can't find in GOF form outside of this one above. But yeah, this is also a comic book character, a little-known Rebirth-era one named Damage AKA Ethan Avery. Now frankly, Damage is...a choice to use, especially considering that he was an attempt at a popular character that nobody's really bit into, and is also basically DCs version of the Hulk. MAWS decided to tone down his appearance significantly, but he's presumably kept his army origins, and added Kryptonian technology to augment himself here. Arguably, there were other characters that could've filled this role, but I do get the feeling that we're not quite done with Damage yet. We'll see what becomes of him in the future.

That said, we also get a far more interesting character reveal in the form of Hank Henshaw, an employee of STAR Labs (who also makes their first appearance in this series), former classmate of Lois Lane, budding astronaut, and potentially the future Cyborg Superman! Which is...kind of a big deal, especially considering that I have a hunch that Damage may turn into this series' version of Doomsday. Oh, did I not mention that? Pet theory, and I don't want it to happen, but we'll see. We'll see. In any case, are we hinting at a Death of Superman arc down the line? It'd be too soon for it now, but who knows how far this series is going to go? But continuing with the villain talk...

We get yet another glimpse of those familiar three circles, and confirmation that this technology is indeed Brainiac! Looks like we're taking from the Superman: The Animated Series version of this character, making Brainiac affiliated with Krypton and Kryptonian technology before the fall of the planet, as well as getting hints from last season that Brainiac is involved with the current remaining vestiges of the empire and their conquering forces. And that reminds me...there is one more little hint that we've gotten about something. And I have a hunch about it.

So, the other big villain revealed in the end of last season was a bruiser in a Kryptonian battle suit, speaking with Brainiac. The symbol on their chest was roughly Z-shaped, leading most people (me included) to assume that this was classic Kryptonian villain General Dru-Zod. But, uh...another likely suspect just reared their head. One who may have been raised by Brainiac technology their entire life up until now, in the tradition of the Kryptonian conquerors of old. One who has a last name starting with Z. And I think you know where I'm going with this. Because, in this episode, we (and Clark) found out about...

Clark has a surviving cousin, Kara Zor-El. Yeah. I realize that she's a part of the House of El, and their naming conventions mean that the girls take the name on their father, BUT...last name starting with Z. Just saying, I think the bruiser in the armor very well COULD be Kara Zor-El, wearing a new crest, rather than that of the House of El. We know for a fact that Supergirl appears in this series, but who's to say she starts as an ally of Clark's? Especially considering that she has no actually familial memories of him. Which reminds me!

That's a hell of a change, huh? No older cousin turned younger cousin this time; Kara and Clark are the same age! Who knows, maybe we will get time-dilation or suspended-animation shenanigans, because we still haven't been introduced to the idea of the Phantom Zone or such folderol in this universe, but as it stands now, Clark and Kara are age contemporaries! A very different take that I'm not sure we've ever actually seen before in media adaptations of Supergirl. And this Kara hasn't been raised by her parents AT ALL, as far as we know. Meaning, we're going to see a VERY different version of this character. Exciting!

There was some other stuff seen here too, like more Cat Grant, and the hinting at another major antagonist that I'll talk about with the next episode, but still, this was a good amount of set-up for what's to come! With that in mind, time for episode 2!

Episode 2.2: Adventures with My Girlfriend

OK, before I bring up anything about this episode, I have only one real comment: a REAL Superman villain, baby! WHOO! Up until now, we've had pretty bastardized versions of Superman villains, for the most part. Mr. Mxyzptlk was even a drastically different version of the character, while still being faithful to the original. But no, we now have the best adaptation of a major Superman villain in this series in the form of Joseph Martin, AKA Atomic Skull! And damn, this dude is a bruiser, and a great looking one at that!

There are a few versions of Atomic Skull, with a few different identities, but the Joseph Martin is the most iconic in terms of appearance and ability. In the comics, he's the second Atomic Skull, and a human college student whose metahuman genes are activated via a Parasite-related explosion, triggering an absorption and generation of radiation, as well as a mental break that makes him think he's a character from one of his favorite movies. Comics are weird. Anyway, Martin's continued to be a foil of Superman's, mostly acting as a mook or powerful obstacle, rather than a mastermind of plotter of any kind. It's still awesome to see the character, and this is a somewhat faithful version of him as a result. Hell, him working for another organization that gave him these powers is sort of a reference to the first Atomic Skull (whom some of you would recognize from Young Justice), Albert Michaels, who worked for STAR Labs until joining up with a terrorist group that wanted to take out Superman.

And of course, we get yet another villain FINALLY confirming his appearance: Lex Luthor. Yeah, a lot of us figured this out last season, and it's nice to see him FINALLY making his fully red-headed appearance. Interesting...very interesting. And he's partnered up with Checkmate and Amanda Waller, a winning combination when it comes to villains. This is, of course, not the first time this has happened in media, comics and otherwise. The two famously teamed up when Lex became president for a minute there, and had an incredible joining of forces in Justice League Unlimited. So, not an unprecedented combo by any means!

Other than this, we get confirmation of Amanda's pure villainy (even worse than a lot of other versions, scarily enough), the rivals to her position in Checkmate, Clark and Lois' first argument, Clark getting the Beacon that'll help find Kara, and the official hiring of the Newsboy Legion working under Jimmy Olsen alongside Steve Lombard for Flamebird! Lots of stuff, not to mention setting up tensions between Clark and Sam Lane. But not much else for me to report on here. SO, moving on to episode 3!

Episode 2.3: Fullmetal Scientist

Hoo boy, THIS is a hell of an episode when it comes to references! We start off with a literal bang with the scientist that Superman saves, Silas Stone! You may know this guy better because of his son, who's referenced briefly as being 9 or 10. This is, of course, Victor Stone, AKA Cyborg! If this series gets a future lasting into the Teen Titans era, we have a contender for a member! Only time will tell, but this is a neat name drop! Plus, who knows where Silas is gonna go from here...

Then, right after that (and a cameo of The Flying Newsroom, a Daily Planet helicopter in the comics reduced to a toy helicopter owned by Flip), we meet AmerTek Industries, CEO Thomas Weston, and the most important character spotlight in this one...

Vicki Vale is back! OK, obviously, not the most important character in this episode, but lemme milk this a little. Vicki (who is VERY tall, by the way, holy SHIT) made her appearance as sort of a heel at the end of last season, and has now apparently become a rival for the Daily Planet this season, reporting for the Gotham Gazette. I can't wait for this to inevitably lead us to our Gotham cameos, which may hopefully include you-know-who, but her rivalry with Lois here is pretty fun, and sets up some new conflicts down the line for our central couple!

As for Amertek, I should talk about Thomas Weston and the...other cameo made in this episode. Weston is straight out of the comics, as the CEO of AmerTek Industries, a weapons manufacturer based in Baltimore and Washington D.C.. They're important to the comics of one character in particular, who I'll obviously get to, but I want to mention the OTHER thing introduced in this episode...considering how...upset it makes me. Because once again, this series completely RUINS a major Superman villain by turning them purely technological. And if you've read my previous essays, in which I develop a cinematic universe Superman, as well as my desired villains...you'll know why I'm upset.

LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY BOY

Seriously? THIS is Metallo in this universe? God...DAMN IT! Look, I can already tell that Lex is going to use Kryptonite to stabilize the power core in the chest, giving us a Kryptonite beam that fires from their chest like the REAL Metallo, but GODDAMNIT AGAIN! The point of Metallo is that he's humanity corrupted! He's not JUST a goddamn ROBOT! Seriously? This was a slam dunk character for this show; should've been an easy one! But...I dunno, maybe the real version of the character will appear. I just...really hope that this isn't it. But that said, Metallo is sadly not the real highlight of this episode. Still...dammit. Dammit dammit dammit.

One of the other highlights of this episode, before I forget to bring it up, is the extension of Superman's bioelectric field as one of his powers. This is a recent comic book expansion, which has been hinted at as a possibility since the '90s. Basically, Superman generates a bioelectric field of invulnerability which, with enough focus or external energy input, he can extend past his bodily boundaries and around others. It's the reason bullets bounce off his suit without rupturing the fabric itself; they're actually bouncing off his microscopic bioelectric field. Comic books, what can I tell ya? Anyway, it's a very anime power, which is this series vibe, and I can't help but think he'll figure out how to focus that into some kind of energy blast by the end of the season. Time will tell!

But the REAL big feature of this episode is, of course, John Henry Irons, AKA Steel, one of the most prominent supporting characters in the Superman family. His role is extremely important to the Superman mythos, and this is already a fantastic version of the character. It also does something with him I rarely see with the character, and makes him TALLER than Superman, considerably so! He's also a bigger guy, and as a bigger black man myself (well, not vertically), I appreciate the representation quite a bit!

Of course, even though we get to see him in the suit with the hammer, it's obviously soured when Lex Luthor and Checkmate buy Amertek and the Steel suit, as well as all the Metallos. Like I said, Lex'll stabilize the Metallo units with Kryptonite, but it's NOT THE GODDAMN SAME, NOW IS IT? In any case, what we're likely to get is John creating his own Steel suit, closer to the classic suit we usually see in comics and adaptations. I may actually do a full retrospective of Steel, since he is one of my favorite characters. I feel like I'm short-changing him here, but understand, Steel is one of the best supporting characters in DC, who became a major hero in his own right. Hell, his niece Natasha Irons, who's also name dropped in this episode, is a major hero herself! With her and Victor Stone confirmed to exist in this universe, I can't help but think that we're setting up something special in the future.

With all of that said, that's the summary for these three episodes. I'm actually a bit inspired to do some character retrospectives now, but please let me know if you have any requests for retrospectives. Thank you to the (probably 3 max) people who read this essay, and I'll probably see you after the next three episodes! Unless, of course, something massive happens that requires my prompt response after episode 4 or 5. Honestly, we'll see what happens! In any case, see you later!

See also:

[rocketboots564]

Teen Wolf Season 1 (from a first time watcher)

Okay, I did this for another series (Red vs. Blue) and I DESPERATELY want to do it for this.

This is basically my thoughts/notes/critiques of Teen Wolf season 1 as someone watching it for the first time. Please enjoy and take it with a grain of salt:

I could tell this show EXUDED 2010’s energy when I witnessed with my very own eyes and ears a DUBSTEP WEREWOLF BATTLE

Guys, if you had told me there’d be dubstep werewolf battles I would’ve watched it YEARS ago… OPEN UP WITH THAT! (Note: I am not the biggest fan of dubstep, however watching Derek and Scott beat the hell out of each other while it blares is an experience I never knew I needed)

Its music is so nostalgically 2010’s it comes off as “so bad it’s good” in a way.

I love it even though I occasionally cringe

Don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion, but Scott McCall was kinda boring in this season.

NOW BEFORE YOU JUMP ME! Scott has insane highs and simmering lows, but the highs are mostly in the beginning of s1 and the last 4-5 episodes where he SHINES.

I mean it, he went from a B to an A-tier character those last few episodes

But, the other characters were just so much more… flavorful. Like Stiles?! I LOVED every second Stiles is on screen.

On the topic of Stiles… I will be talking about how much bisexual energy this show has. Because it’s A LOT. You guys were NOT kidding about that.

It’ll probably be a repost of this or its own thing.

Honestly, and you’re gonna hate me for this, but Scott and Derek kinda act like love interests in a smutty, poorly written YA novel–BUT! It’s a bit endearing.

But also tell me you can’t see it.

I mean like, Scott’s answer to suppressing his transformation ends up being “his love for Allison” like a good 60-70% of the time.

Time to talk about Lydia. I started off HATING Lydia for like the first 1.5 episodes. I hated her snarky, mean-girl, wannabe Regina George ass at first… at first…

But, I took a step back and thought to myself:

“The pipeline from Supernatural to this show is surprisingly close… which means one of many things: they’re gonna give her massive character development and make me not only feel bad for her, but make me love her so much she becomes a favorite of mine.”

Lo and behold… you’ll never guess who my second favorite character is?

Lydia… right under Stiles where she belongs. He’s just that good

Can we please PLEASE talk about how unprofessional the Teachers are in this school! LIKE WHAT THE HELL?!

First of all, there’s the coach, which sure, he cuts corners, and can be a very questionable motivator (please don’t reward your students with an A for doing something that has nothing to do with their educational prowess. Nor should you tease them thinking it’ll motivate them. Positive reinforcement works people.)

HOWEVER… the Chemistry teacher? OOOHHH IF THERES ANY BITCH I WANNA SMACK ITS HIS ASS

How are you gonna sit there, and actively berate and insult your students, and expect good things from them.

And then, on top of all of that, YOU HAVE TO AUDACITY, to withhold information that connects you to the Hale fire?! OOOOH PETER I’LL JUMP HIS ASS WITH YOU.

Adrian Harris, you are an unprofessional, ignorant, arrogant slob unfit to teach goddamn preschoolers. (Granted, I’m while watching season 2 right now… and my hate for him has only swelled)

Speaking of Peter, I don’t think he’s the real villain of this season. He definitely is a villain, and a main one at that. But the biggest bad here?

That title goes to the woman I wanna see get the electric chair: MOTHERFUCKING KATE ARGENT

I will make my own post on Kunt Argent, analyzing this VILE woman, and why Jill Wagner plays her PERFECTLY. (Seriously she made a villain that makes my blood boil. 10/10 acting and writing)

I’ll also probably talk about Allison and what I love about her in that too because it’s important.

[dalekofchaos]

My alternate Ghostfaces

Did a post like this before, but thought I'd go more in depth.

Scream 1. I would never trade Billy and Stu for the world, but I do have some scenarios.

Randy and Tatum.

Randy Meeks' motive: He's obsessed with horror movies and was in love with but Sidney wasn't in him. He wanted to make Sidney suffer and get revenge. Also he was planning to blame Billy and Stu.

Tatum Riley's motive:She just wants to kill her cheating boyfriend and all the girls he slept with and to her NO ONE is good enough for Sidney. She doesn't want to kill Sidney, she wants her all to herself. aka Yandere Tatum.

Scream 2.

Nancy is the mastermind. Murphy and Lois the sorority sisters are the people who get their hands dirty. They were OBSESSED with Sidney in all their scenes and they did nothing with them. Their motives would be wanting the famous Sidney Prescott in their Sorority House and for her to die in their Sorority House.

Scream 3.

Milton as the mastermind and Roman and Angelina as the killers.

So here's my little pitch for the Milton story,

Milton is the mastermind. He essentially wants to tie up loose ends. If the story of Maureen gets out, his studio and the Stab franchise is finished. So Milton decides to use his son Roman and his new actress for Sidney to kill all ties to Maureen Prescott, finally ending with Sidney's death. Roman's motive remains the same and Angelina's motive is her cut motive was her being obsessed with Sidney, taking the role of Sidney and wanting to become Sidney.

So I thought of giving Roman a redemption arc. Milton keeping Roman in the dark about how he raped Maureen and when Sidney tells him, Roman is conflicted. Sidney kills Angelina and then Milton has Sidney where he wants her and remarks. That this is like when he took her mother and before anything gross can happen, Roman shoots him dead.

Roman turns himself in and down the line Roman would be the key to helping them in future Ghostface cases while also having Sidney and Roman grow closer as real siblings, almost akin to what Sam and Tara are. Speaking of. Roman could've been what Sam and Tara needed. He knows what they're going through, that inner darkness and especially being related to a monster. He could've also helped resolve any issues between the sisters.

Scream 4.

Jill and Rebecca Walters.

Jill's motive remains the same.

Rebecca’s motivation would be she wants a juicer and more willing victim star to sell out and make significantly more bank while possibly cashing in herself with her story of being “close” to Sidney and the heart break of losing her.

To Jill Rebecca is the mother she never had and the perfect agent any star could ever have. To Rebecca, Jill is the daughter she always wanted and someone who could easily replace Sidney.

Imagine this. She brings Sidney back to Woodsboro. She’s a shady publicist and her motive is to make a profit off of Sidney’s death and make Jill into the perfect victim that will make them both famous.

Now we could have Charlie or even Trevor as killers just to give us 4 killers since Scream 4 lol Jill strings them along, Charlie is obsessed with Jill while Trevor is doing this to be forgiven for cheating. Charlie and Trevor kills the teens while Rebecca kills the heavy adults. In the end Rebecca and Jill kills them and frames them as the killers. Jill would do her self-injury while Rebecca would rush out the door as the screaming witness telling everyone what happened.

Jill doesn’t kill Rebecca. When Jill learns that Sidney survived. Rebecca insists that she lets her handle this.

Much of the same happens but with Rebecca in the Jill in the hospital role. When Sidney hits her with the MRI Sidney says “Rebecca, you’re fired”

The final scene would be for Sidney, Gale and Dewey coming for Jill. Only to see that the bed is empty. Jill is on the run with a promise that she could return to hunt Sidney.

Scream 5. Three scenarios. Either Vince Schneider and Amber, Judy & Wes Hicks or Tara and Amber

Vince and Amber.

Vince's Motive. Embracing his uncle’s legacy and attempting to turn Sam into his partner for her to embrace her father’s legacy. This time, the Macher is the mastermind and groomed Amber to be his partner like Richie did. Amber's motive remains the same.

Making Vince the mastermind could have added an extra layer onto the lambasting of toxic fandom.

Like, Amber could still have 100% been the toxic fan, but you could add on a commentary about how her being as entitled and angry as she was about the Stab movies not doing exactly what she wanted was what allowed Vince to take advantage and groom her into doing what he wanted.

Which is what Richie did too, but adding in a little twist that Vince didn’t actually give a fuck about the Stab movies would have been a nice bit of frosting on top of things.

Sort of like what Mrs Loomis did with Mickey, with how truly terrible people can and do manipulate impressionable kids into doing horrendous things.

The one thing I would change is I would save Dewey’s death for Scream 6 and the big death would be Richie is killed instead of Dewey. We get one moment of Sidney, Dewey and Gale together. Dewey is with the Carpenter sisters. The Vince reveal happens and Vince mortally wounds/knocks Dewey out. Sid & Gale kill Amber while Sam kills Vince.

And Scream 6, same movie but the motives is Ethan and Quinn are Vince’s siblings and Bailey is Vince’s father and we see one more Ghostface, Leslie Macher and it’s the Macher’s revenge against the Carpenters.

And as for Dewey’s death in Scream 6. Bailey kills Dewey. I feel like one cop killing the other would’ve worked better, especially since Bailey is a dark reflection of Dewey.

Judy and Wes Hicks

In Scream 4, we were introduced to Judy. Judy had a past with Sidney back in Woodsboro High. Something about Judy, always seemed off to me. But you know who also had a past with SIdney? Angelina and her cut plotline was Roman’s partner. So imagine this. Richie isn’t the killer, and Amber isn’t the killer. It’s the mother-son duo of Judy and Wes.

Motive. What would their motive be?

Judy is the one who was in love with Billy and wants revenge on Sidney for taking him away. You could still have Sam as Billy’s daughter, because let’s face it that boy was a slut.

Wes could be the second Ghostface instead of Amber. I read a reddit post that suggested that Wes was a bit obsessed with Tara, let’s work with that. Wes is a psycho stalker killing everyone close to Tara so he can have her for himself and plans to blame it all on Sam. Judy killed Dewey to lure out SIdney and Gale after Wes’ killings were not working.

Sidney and Gale kill Judy together while Sam and Tara kills Wes together

Sidenote. If Amber isn’t the killer. She could either sacrifice herself to save Tara or live, the choice is up to you. But if she lives, we get the Core Five!

As for what happens in Scream 6, this video had this idea of Jason being this True Crime esque killer, so yeah do that instead of Richie’s family.

Tara and Amber.

Amber’s motive is a mix of her original motive and Richie’s motive mixed into one. . Tara’s motive would be Sam left her. Her father left her. Her mother is the town pariah who constantly leaves her for work, Wes was obsessed with her and the only guy she liked was stolen from her. Her life was shit and it started the moment that Sam left her. All she had was Amber. They became best friends, shared their love of horror and became girlfriends.

See the rest of my Tamber au for more

Scream 6. Either go with Jason and Greg or even better. Make Sam and Tara the killers.

Jason and Greg was the most interesting thing about Scream 6, SO OF COURSE THEY KILLED THEM IN THE BEGINNING AND REPLACING A TRUE CRIME GHOSTFACE STORY FOR REDOING SCREAM 2, BECAUSE OF FUCKING COURSE! Yeah, I am STILL pissed about Jason, Greg and the Woodsboro subreddit's lost potential.

Sam and Tara.

Fuck it. Melissa wanted to do it and Jenna can do evil good!

Imagine all the attacks on Sam's character and Sam being framed for Richie's murders are all a result of Gale's book. Gale changed the actual story because it would sell more. So Sam decides to get revenge.

Sam does the New York murders and believes she's alone. She's not. Tara is there to make sure Sam succeeds. What Sam and Tara do not realize is their friends are helping them. Mindy helps cover their tracks and Chad is the muscle.

Yes The Core Four are the Ghostfaces in this alternate Scream 6.

One by one Gale's life falls apart. The lies and slander are revealed to all. Sidney outright abandons her and refuses to talk to her. Kirby refuses to help her. "You made your own bed, you're on your own, Gale." And anyone that could possibly help her is dead.

Gale is alone in the Ghostface shrine to confront the consequences of her actions and the monster she created.

One by one, the four of them corner her and then they all mask off.

Sam wears Billy's mask

Tara wears Amber's mask

Mindy wears Jill's mask

Chad wear's Mickey's mask

"You had to know this was coming Gale. All you had to do was write that book about Dewey, but no, you couldn't let Ghostface go, could you? You had to destroy our lives and now you'll pay for it and all the lives you profited off of."

Sam and Tara draw their knife and gut Gale.

They pinned the blame on Quinn Bailey and Ethan Landry.

[genevieveetguy]

. Things go wrong. You can't explain it, you can't predict it. 

Twister, Jan de Bont (1996)

[laderniereseancedecedrique]

GOLDFINGER (1964)

James Bond enquête sur un milliardaire, Auric Goldfinger, pour une simple mission de surveillance. Mais l'adversaire va être cruellement sous-estimé et rien ne va se passer comme prévu.

[letterboxd-loggd]

When Ladies Meet (1933) Harry Beaumont

April 3rd 2024

[giveamadeuschohisownmovie]

Ideas for future episodes of “Epic Rap Battles of History”:

1) Philomena Cunk vs. Borat Sagdiyev (theme: cringe comedy icons who have been frequently compared to each other

2) Al Gore vs. Greta Thunberg (theme: climate change activists)

3) Cheech and Chong vs. Martin and Lewis (theme: famous comedy duos)

4) Monkey D. Luffy vs. Jack Sparrow (theme: fictional pirates)

5) Franklin D. Roosevelt vs. Aragorn (theme: leaders who guided their people in a war against pure evil, one fictional and the other real)

6) Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein vs. Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen (theme: famous journalists against fictional journalists)

7) Giacomo Casanova vs. Barney Stinson (theme: the original womanizer against one of the most famous fictional womanizers)

[kpopandbookschild]

Book poll round 1 #10

[monathedefiant]

i get genuinely excited every time i see someone posting about their favorite blorbos, meow meows, and baby gurls.

then i hit that read more and it's just the same white boy in different fonts. so here's my melanated contribution!

blorbo

meow meow

baby gurl