#makes the idea of the reboot characters going back and interacting with the og guys ... very spicy indeed ..

[scattered-winter]

just had an idea for an insanely fucked up au

[moxielynx]

@whatudottu hihihihiiiii so ur ramblings about tetrax has me wanting to talk about tetrax cause i will take any opportunity to talk about him

d-23 tetrax is cool even if he didnt speak much in the episode, honestly d-23 ben deserved to be smacked around a little (/J /J that kid is like 13 😭), the twist that they were actually the good guys this whole time was great, especially since sixsix was also working with azmuth, which was a nice perspective

i like to imagine that d-23 tetrax is actually a total sweetheart and didnt actually like fighting ben since ben is just a dumb kid who doesnt know any better (even if he is a stubborn brat)

im pretty certain that petropia in the reboot is perfectly fine because for a while Vilgax wasnt. Vilgax, so he couldn't have hired Tetrax to steal whatever that crystal was from petropia then destroy it, so reboot tetrax is just what happens as a result of Tetrax not facing the consequences of his actions so now he's a MEANIE!!! but the dad instinct is still there judging from the way he interacts with Ben in "Mutiny for the Bounty"

as much as i prefer classic tetrax i really like that they went with a completely different approach with reboot tetrax, and like it makes sense too considering theres no way petropia would be destroyed in the reboot as well if vilgax couldnt do it (if petropia were to also get destroyed in the reboot then that would be so funny cause that basically means the planet is fucked no matter what 💀💀), its really cool to see that this might be what tetrax was like before working for vilgax and makes me really think about how different each version of tetrax is, and only makes me even more depressed that we never got prime tetrax in Omniverse, especially since there could've been so many moments where tetrax could've showed up

classic tetrax obviously isnt as cruel and uncaring as we see in the reboot or as he said when he was telling ben about his backstory because if he really didn't care as much but was like "okay this is fucked up i need to get my act together" then he wouldn't have looked so distraught watching his planet fall

i refuse to acknowledge the change in reaction in uaf tho cause it fucking SUCKED they cant just turn him into this stoic fucking guy after he literally shows up and shakes ben like a rattle, that and also they obviously didnt gaf about his backstory cause in the og backstory you can tell petropia's destruction was YEARS, probably decades ago cause he had those back spikes and even a different outfit but in the uaf version its just the same exact model THEY DONT CARE ABOUT TETRAX LIKE I DO!!!!!!

uaf tetrax made me so sad because i was already insane about the idea of dadtrax because of Secret of the Omnitrix, but when tetrax first showed up in uaf he picked up ben and for some reason my first thought was "omg is he going in for a hug" only to have that ripped away from me when he just straight up starts shaking ben around like a ragdoll 😭like imagine you dont see a guy for like 6 years, last time you saw him he helped you save the world/galaxy, and the first thing he does is fucking shatter you for no reason (or at least appears to be no reason), and all you get from it is a "sorry but i had no time to explain", like thats crazy, the REAL tetrax would never harm ben that is his SON !!!!!!!! and then after the single episode we had of tetrax and even petropia we just. never see him or the planet ever again. like we could've had so much world building for petropia and they decided to just throw it out like it was nothing

tetrax is genuinely such a cool character and its horrible how underutilized he is in every show, like yeah he was in 2 (technically 3 counting the reboot) movies but that doesnt really make up for how little we really saw him, especially since like i mentioned earlier prime tetrax wasnt even in OV which is probably the biggest missed opportunity in history, and the strangest part about it is that we got plenty of episodes exploring different planets and even a whole other system (galactic monsters special) so it was literally the perfect opportunity to write an episode about petropia and how its holding up

also never apologize 2 me about rambles, especially rambles about tetrax, i fucking LOVE reading people's silly little thoughts on things they like :3

[writebackatya]

DuckTales (2017) Discussion Time!

Let’s say one day Disney decided “Hey we should make a video game based off the 2017 reboot of DuckTales!” What type of video game would YOU want that DuckTales video game to be?

Feel free to be in-depth as you want! Or if you want answer along the lines of “Mario Kart but with ducks” that’s also acceptable! Feel free to respond or reblog with your own answers!

If you want my ideas, check below the break!

Aw. How sweet, you wanna hear my ideas

Game Idea 1: Platformer

Well I’m sure all the older fans of DuckTales or anyone who is familiar with retro gaming should already know that the ducks have had plenty of adventures in gaming: Including two NES platformers based of the OG DuckTales as well as a remastered version of the first game!

Fun Fact! The remastered version is where the Gyro’s black licorice oxychew came from!

So I wouldn’t mind if we got a platformer starring the modern cast! Personally I’d love to play more than just Scrooge. The playable characters in my mind would be the main five: Scrooge, Webby, Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Oh and instead of a 2D platformer, I think this should be a 3D platformer

Donald has been in one of those before!

Like the NES game there will be different levels and you can select which one you want to go first! The world’s would be pretty big with certain areas only accessible to certain characters through their own respected skills

Game Idea 2: Fighting Game

DuckTales (2017) has the perfect cast of characters for a fighting game! They’re all adventurers that know how to fight! And they have their own distinct costumes, personalities, and fighting styles! Also can you imagine the different fighting stages?! That casino Gladstone got stuck in, Gyro’s lab, Darkwing’s lair, the Cloudslayer/Sunchaser (both the garage and on the plane), the dream world(s), the list goes on! Also Bradford in that armor from the finale in front of the The Solego Vortex would make for a GREAT final boss stage

Also besides the heroes I want the villains to be playable characters, this roster would be stacked! Also characters like Fenton and Drake can switch between their regular identities and their superhero identity

But most importantly, I want more character interactions! One thing I love in modern fighting games is their character specific dialogue between two fighters! It’s always fun and the characters from DuckTales would be perfect for that!

Yo Disney! If you need someone to come up with ideas for that, I’m your guy! I’m already coming up with some in my head

You know what? I want Huey, Dewey, and Louie as a team to count as one playable character kinda like how the Turtles are in Injustice. Same with May and June

Game Idea 3: RPG

I admit I ain’t the biggest RPG guy, the ones I really played through are stuff like the Mario themed ones, Pokémon, and Kingdom Hearts but I really think the DuckTales world would be perfect for this kind of game

I actually talked about this idea with @tokuvivor awhile back. We kinda imagined a turn based RPG with timed hits and party members like you’d see in Super Mario RPG and the early Paper Mario games (also Mario & Luigi but just for timed hits)

Since DuckTales has such a huge cast we thought it’d be fun if in the game you could meet different characters throughout the game and have them join your party. We were thinking about having 3-5 members for the player’s party and the only requirement would be one of the main characters (one of the triplets, Webby, or Scrooge) has to be in that group at all times. Kinda like the Mario ones require Mario to always be present in the team

Like I said about the fighting game, DuckTales has such a wide range of characters with their own unique skills, I think it’d be cool building your team to your liking

Game Idea 4: Mario Kart but with Ducks

Okay. Now I know that there have been a lot of Disney racing games some of which have featured some of these characters already. But come on, a Mario Kart type game in the DuckTales world would be so cool!!

Imagining driving around Scrooge’s Mansion in a go-kart! He’d be pissed but it’d be cool! Or in the streets of St. Canard! Or any of the places where the family has adventured!

But what would be REALLY cool is if Funso’s Fun Zone was a track! Just imagine this! You drive around Funso’s then all of sudden you find path leading down to F.O.WL.’s Lair!! That’d be so cool!

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

There's this rumors about the midnight suns movie (idk it it's confirmed) and they say moon knight is going to be in it? How do you think it would Work?

How do you think is he gonna interact with the rumoured members?? (According to am article and post in Twitter that I read) Since their different from the comics: dr.strange, wong, Elsa Bloodstone, Blade, Dane Whitman, Wanda,Agatha harkness,ghost rider, man-thing

Now I'll tell you what I think, but there's always the chance that it does happen and I'm completely wrong. So to the future people out there that find this, I'm more than happy to be wrong.

I think the Midnight suns as a movie is going to be a clusterfuck and perform terribly. The issue is that we are taking characters that have gotten shows and haven't been introduced yet to the MCU. And a movie is expecting you to come in with this knowledge. So there is the chance for a lot of people go come in and go "Why do I care about any of this?"

There's also the problem that they are anticipating this and making it more friendly to new audiences by watering down the characters. So you get Moon Knight standing in the background not saying much or you get cheap shots at his DID with no explanation and he comes across as quirky insane violent guy.

This happens in big team up comics too. Which is partly why I dislike them greatly. When you put together a large group from all over, you are either expected to know their background already and be thrilled to see them together, or they become just another figure standing vaguely in the background giving reaction shots to things that more popular characters say or do.

If they are going to do Midnight Suns, they need to give it a series with multiple episodes to cover all the characters properly. But even then... You'll notice that their other series on Netflix that did this didn't perform well at all. It had decent writing, excellent acting, and gave voice to the other characters, but the audience really didn't connect and it just kind of went bottom of the barrel in ratings.

This gives Marvel the idea that people just aren't interested in these lesser B rated characters (characters that aren't Captain America and Iron Man and Spider-man) and then they devote less time and money to them.

I mean, Marvel is already giving less time and money to their shows and even their movies. The CGI has dropped quality significantly. And with them putting everything into CGI and less practical effects, it just means that everything looks terrible. (Werewolf by Night my beloved you were beautiful and people need to devote more time and money into practical).

My fear with Moon Knight going into ANY big time movie that is not strictly about Moon Knight is what has happened to him in all the comics in the past that did this. He becomes a shape in the background and cheap pot shots about his mental health become gag worthy. He becomes that crazy guy that no one trusts because he is unpredictable and violent.

I WANT to see a show that brings in characters that are more on his level. I want to see a show with Jack Russel, Elsa Bloodstone, and Moon Knight. These are the OG of the Marvel Monster phase in comics. They started out together. They deserve to meet up.

Heck, Blade needs his own stuff first. I'd love to see Ghost Rider get a GOOD reboot and start to pal around with Frank Castel because those two love JUSTICE. (Though they are on different levels and there is the lack of development that would happen in that capacity).

I think the best thing Marvel has done so far in shows is having Frank show up in DD. Their diametrically opposed forces go SO well together and always have.

So on the line of who would go best with meeting up and working with Moon Knight? I'm back to Jack Russel and Elsa Bloodstone.

The MCU potential there is BEAUTIFUL. We have two comic book legends that have been given knew life through the MCU and are different than their comic book origins.

We have Jack Russel who understands what it is to be monstrous but also know that to be a monster is not to be evil. That often times the evil comes with being human.

Then we have Elsa who learned that of all the humans and life she has known, only the monster was the one who deserved pity and care.

Then we have Moon Knight... Well... You know what I think about Moon Knight because I could go on and on into another essay here.

SO ANYWAYS. I think Jumping into Midnight Suns is the wrong step. I think they need to work smaller and perhaps give back the Marvel Monster series. Get back to the start.

Give Werewolf by Night a series that explores the monsters and lesser liked characters. Get Man Thing back in here. Get Brother Voodoo and his zombies (though that has the potential in today's age to become Problematic if not handled with care, but amazing if done RIGHT)... Heck! Get Blade involved through this. Introduce the Vampires. (Reese in the MCU????? Yes Please).

SO yeah... I could be wrong. I'd love to be wrong and see how they do it and see it done well.... But I have concerns and honestly, I think Marvel has concerns too. They obviously WANT to do it. But two years in tells me that they still haven't figured out HOW to do it. And Oscar taking on more and more outside projects tells me that he also doesn't think they are doing it well either. (He said he'd only come back if he liked the script. That man has the right to be picky, bless him).

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #442

Top Ten Transformers Gimmicks

There was a time when I felt that this blog was pretty much wall-to-wall Robots in Disguise. Seems I couldn’t go more than two or three weeks without some list or another ranking my favourite Autobots, Decepticons, issues of the Marvel UK comic, issues of the IDW comic, my favourite artists, my favourite alternate modes, my favourite ways Optimus Prime came back from the dead… basically, what I’m saying is I used to write about Transformers quite a lot.

Recently, though? The last year or two? Not so much in the way of sentient mechanoids round these parts. I think partly this is a result of the ending of the original IDW continuity; whilst the rebooted Transformers comic is good, I must confess it hasn’t grabbed me the way the (for want of a better term) More Than Meets the Eye era did. I don’t think it possibly could; the interweaving continuity, the shared universe, the multi-layered world-building and puzzle-box writing, all combined to form a perfect storm around my most beloved of franchises. Did it go too deep, too dense? Occasionally. Did it end too soon, rushing into a climactic conclusion without the room to allow every plot twist and character death to sufficiently breathe? Yeah, a little. But on the whole it stuck the landing, not too shabby a feat for a galaxy-spanning epic that, under various creators, had managed to tell a more-or-less consistent story (papering over the cracks of several soft reboots) for over a decade at that point. As I’ve written before, I loved that Transformers so hard, it was almost inevitable that whatever came next would suffer by comparison, because by definition it could no longer be my Transformers.

So, yeah, that’s one reason. But another is, it’s been harder to think of things to write about. I’ve talked about favourite characters and stories; where else do I go but the increasingly obscure? However, I wanted to give it a try. Last weekend should have been TF Nation, the delightful Transformers convention held each year in Birmingham. I usually go; I gave last year a miss, but I’d been fully intending to make the trip again this year. And then 2020 happened, being all 2020 in our faces. This is a weekend where I might have shared my favourite moments from TFN! Pictures of cosplay! Of friends and creatives I admire! Of toys I can’t afford! But no; instead I’m watching my wife play Stardew Valley and writing this blog (which, I’ll be honest, is actually quite a pleasant way to spend the time, but let’s not get too deep into the weeds over here). Anyway, to celebrate TF Nation, and the stay-at-home “Big Broadcast of 2020” online show that they put on, I’m returning to the Nucleon Well once again with another Transformers-themed Top Ten.

This week: my favourite Transformers toy gimmicks!

Transformers, of course, are cars and whatnot that turn into robots or what-have-you, but across the years Hasbro has experimented with different modes and features to keep the toys fresh and unique, and also to sell a bunch of new ones to impressionable kids. Some of these are sublime; some, frankly, ridiculous. So this week I will explore my ten favourite ones; my ten favourite sub-brands of the franchise, so to speak. Some of these I think are genuinely fantastic as a concept; some, I just liked because it seemed cool, or was made cool by the fiction; and some are just daft crap that I enjoy. Make of it what you will! I’ve decided, incidentally, to focus on “gimmicks” here as being different modes of transformation, or other associated features, rather than define them by what they turn into. So there are no Insecticons or Dinobots, because whilst bugs and beasts are cool, really those are both normal types of Transformer that turn from one thing into another thing. Make sense?

Good. Now roll the eff out.

Combiners (1985): what’s better than one robot? How about, like, five or six, and they all clip together to form another massive robot? Clipping machines together to make bigger machines seems like a cornerstone of any sufficiently advanced civilisation, and whether we’re talking the complexity of OG combiner Devastator, the hot-swappable fun of the likes of the Aerialbots or Stunticons, or even Dreadwind and Darkwing combining in vehicle mode to form Dreadwing, it’s always great. Plus it makes you want to buy all the toys so you can make the big robot! Everyone’s a winner!

Headmasters (1987): robots whose heads – get this – come off and turn into little robots. What’s not to love? And the little robots (what are the heads) then can sit inside the big robots’ vehicle modes, and, like “drive” them and stuff. Although they had some plot gymnastics to perform to make sense of the fiction (quite why the heads had to be Nebulons and not just other Transformers I don’t know), but as a toy gimmick, they were fab. And that’s before you get to most-wanted Fortress Maximus, whose head turned into a robot whose head turned into a robot.

Pretenders (1988): man, I loved Pretenders, even if the concept outstripped the toys a lot of the time. Basically humanoid shells that hide Transformers, later iterations also allowed for animal shells, vehicle shells, even transforming shells; we got new versions of classic Transformers, and one of the all-time great villains in Thunderwing. All this despite the first lot of toys being bulky and awkward, and the whole idea of “disguising yourself as a thirty-foot human” being somewhat suspect in the first place.

Triple (and more!) Changers (1985): if a robot turning into a thing is cool, then turning into two things must be twice as cool, right? Right! Boggling the mind as to how this chunky figure could also be a car and a helicopter, Triple Changers were great, even if you ended up with a helicopter that really, really looked a lot like a car. Of course, they got bigger and better, with Six Changers, who turned into six different things that all looked a lot like each other.

Powermasters (1988): back to the “Masters” concept of little robots that interact with bigger robots (it’s such a shame Pretenders couldn’t have been “Disguise Masters” or something), the idea that the toys transformation – the big gimmick behind the whole range, remember – is unlocked by an “engine” robot is very cool, the smaller toy acting as a key. A tad clunkier than that, in real life, but still great fun, and of course it brought us one of the best toys of the eighties in Powermaster Optimus Prime.

Targetmasters (1987): robots turning into guns is quite cool, but for me the Targetmasters aren’t quite as successful as their other “Masters” siblings, probably because the guns aren’t quite that exciting to transform or play with. But the concept still rocks, and some of the toys were really good, and it was nice to see the Movie characters get folded into the line too.

Jumpstarters (1985): I loved the original Jumpstarters (Top Spin and Twintwist) because they were weird, with their sci-fi alien designs amidst a sea of Earth vehicles. But their gimmick was they transformed themselves. Pull ‘em back and they jump – literally – from vehicle to robot. Self-transforming Transformers are always cool, even if usually it means that their robot modes end up blocky and simple (Jumpstarters are the opposite, pretty cool robots with chunky and unreal vehicles). Also want to shout out other pull-back-and-go Transformers such as the Battlechargers (never had them, sadly) and the utterly, utterly fantastic Throttlebots. God, I love the Throttlebots. I had all six! How much did I rock.

Cities (1986): I guess now these guys are all called “Titans” aren’t they, and they have their own carved-out portion of the TF mythos. But back in the eighties, they were just big burly dudes, the biggest you could get; Transformers that turned into actual cities, playsets that the smaller Transformers could actually interact with. Metroplex was the OG city-bot, and we’d squint and pretend that he really was Autobot City from The Transformers: The Movie. Huge toys are always fun, of course, as are playsets for your other toys, so these ticket loads of boxes. Fortress Maximus, the later Autobot Headmaster base, was ginormous and never came out in the UK, giving him a mythic status few toys ever had; as I said above his head turned into a robot which had a head that turned into a robot, a sort of Babushka doll of robotic head-swapping. Shout-out too for any bot who had some kind of “base mode”, such as Powermaster Optimus Prime and his funky trailer.

Sparkabots/Firecons (1988): these were not necessarily the most fun toys to transform (the Sparkabots, anyway, I never had a Firecon), but their gimmick was cool – or rather hot. They breathed fire! Well, not really, of course; they sort of shot sparks, in what I thought was a slightly underwhelming fashion even as a seven-year-old. But having a Transformer that could, in some way, fire for real was a huge thrill. Also, Guzzle was always just legitimately cool.

Action Masters (1990): yep, I’m going there. What, did you think I’d have Micromasters on here?! Yeah, okay, the very concept of Transformers that don’t transform is inherently silly and counter-intuitive, but the toys themselves were cool, finally offering cartoon-accurate renditions of classic favourites, with nice articulation and fun vehicle playsets. There was definitely a sad sense of a brand in decline about them, but taken on their own, they were good, fun toys, full of character, and I’ve always thought they’d still be cool as a side-line to the main (actually transforming) toys.

I feel bad for slagging off Micromasters up there. They were good, I suppose, but their small fiddly nature and basic transformation just wasn’t as fun as some other toys. Plus there were so many, and they usually came in sets, so I never really had that same bond with individual characters that I got from other Transformers; they were probably the first toys I owned whose names I forgot. And they felt, even at the time, like such a response to Micro Machines that it was almost embarrassing. Action Masters were probably a response to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but at least, y’know, Soundwave didn’t come with nunchucks and a skateboard.

Anyway, I think we can all agree, Transformers are cool, and I should write about them even more.

[m00nslippers]

Titans S2E2: Rose, a review, I guess.

Here, have another bullet-pointed, kinda-review. Spoilers ahead!

This episode has awesome stuff, but it’s kind of choppy. We flash pretty quickly from scene to scene between pretty much all the Titans. We get Dick with the kiddos at the tower, Kori and Donna going after Shimmer, Hank and Dawn at their ranch in Wyoming. And then there’s the occasional jump to Rose or Dr. Light. It didn’t jump so much that it was confusing but it gave me the feeling that as soon as I was really into what was happening the scene moved on to something else and that left me disappointed. Luckily everyone seems to be coming together by the end of the episode so hopefully this won’t be an issue going forward.

Dick is getting super into the Big-Bro/Dad/Mentor thing and it’s kind of hilarious. After spending all last season trying to get rid of as much responsibility as possible he’s gone all-in on the mentorship thing to the point that it’s funny to me. He’s over here being super serious with his “Even your eyes can be taken from you!” sensei-thing, and having them read Sun Tzu, and making them food that is apparently terrible. No wonder he goes to that coffee shop all the time, his food is inedible I guess. Like, he’s trying so hard it’s a little manic, but endearing.

Dick is actually pretty great with Jason. Sending Jason with Dick was probably the best thing Bruce could have done because it’s clear that Dick is starting to get Jason where Bruce seemingly didn’t. Jason is complaining about being stuck in Cali and wants to go home to Gotham and Dick’s like, “Me and Bruce don’t think you’re ready, you were joyriding in the batmobile and the thing with the motorcycle and using the batcomputer inappropriately (seems like a porn reference), yada yada,” And Jason seems a bit dejected and upset. And you can see Dick looking at him, seeing how disheartened he is and he seems to get an idea and is like, “and besides, I could really use your help around here, you’re more skilled than the others, they don’t have your experience, everyone looks up to you, etc.” And like, yeah the first part is true, but it’s clear by the others reaction that they really don’t like Jason much or look up to him, Dick is just trying to cheer him up. Jason wants praise and recognition so bad. Even when he’s obviously being manipulated he just wants to believe it so much. That leads me to think this Bruce has been doing typical Bruce-things and maybe not giving Jason much positive reinforcement, which is probably contributing to Jason acting out.

I like Jason but it’s clear the Titans don’t. Last episode we saw bits of Donna and Hank and Dawn not exactly giving Jason a warm reception even though he really didn’t do anything to deserve it. And now in this one Gar and Rachel are icing him out a bit (referring to how he basically adopted Gar and Rachel, Dick says, “but I didn’t help Jason,” and Rachel rolls her eyes and says, “can anyone help Jason?”). Dick said they look up to Jay but that doesn’t seem like the case, I felt like he was just handling Jason. Do they defer to him when it comes to vigilante things, well yeah, maybe, but that’s not quite the same thing. I’m really hoping this isn’t the comics all over again, where everyone was said to pretty much universally dislike him outside of Donna and Eddie (after Jason’s character was rebooted). I know I’m a Jay-fan so I might be biased but aside from being a little cocky and mischievous there’s nothing we’ve seen him do to anyone that really warrants this kind of dislike, IMO. I’m hoping over the course of the season he proves himself to Gar and Rachel at least and they get along better. I want everyone to like Jason but even if they didn’t I would be fine with it if they at least disliked him for good reasons, and right now I haven’t seen anything to suggest their reasons are anything but shallow.

Kori and Donna interacting are a treasure. Kori and Donna clearly bonded over being badass chick who like to beat people up and have the same sassy sense of humor. They are constantly bickering but you get the impression they are loving every second of their verbal repartee. They are so hilarious. It’s interesting to see Kori interact with someone who is an ‘adult’ and isn’t Dick. I feel like with Donna more of that zest that Kori has in the comics but didn’t really last season, comes out. Before she was so focused on her mission she didn’t have time for herself and now she does and it’s great seeing her do Earth-things and finding them fun or interesting and enjoying herself. Kori loving Disco and Donna liking Madonna is so damn appropriate.

Roy foreshadowing!!! Donna’s contact that sent her after Shimmer is shown to be Roy Harper from her phone call. I have to wonder what version of Roy we are getting here. OG Roy-fans and Titans purists are probably going to hate me for this but hear me out...I want it to be the new version of Roy, in terms of personality and looks. Goofy genius-dumbass hillbilly with a heart of gold Roy. Look, I just feel like the other version of his character overlaps way too much with characters we already have, especially Donna. Say what you will about New 52 Roy, but he’s got character and personality, he stands out in a way I feel the other Roy didn’t, especially alongside Wally and Dick, who had very similar personalities, I feel. I’ll be happy with either version because it’s Roy but I think it would be interesting to see the New 52 alongside these characters, with his trucker hat and gadgets. Or maybe they could do a fusion, at least have his aesthetic. Everyone in this show kind of has a sameness that could be shaken up. We could use some comic relief, honestly. I hope we actually do see him this season though and it isn’t just foreshadowing something for next season.

The stuff with Hawk and Dawn was...fine. Basically after getting that ranch, Hank getting clean and presumably getting his surgery and retiring from heroing like they always dreamed/planned it all went up in smoke. I guess it was probably inevitable, to be honest. But there was this whole thing where Hank caught Dawn going out as Dove behind his back after they’d decided to stop and they were having a big important fight about it--and then it’s all rendered moot when Dr. Light destroys their whole life and they have to go to Cali and meet up with Dick. It just kind of seems like too easy of a way for the writers to resolve the situation. I hope this isn’t the end of Hank and Dawn’s argument because it was a really big deal. Hank was giving Dawn a break-up ultimatum if it’s never brought up again I’m going to be annoyed.

Rose has potential. I felt like the actress’s acting was a little stiff but that might have just been the choppiness of the scenes she was in, the sections were too small to get a real feel for her. I like her looks, she’s awesome in the action scenes and she has her powers/healing factor and all her comic abilities which is great. I feel like her writing is good though, and I’m interested to see is she’s actually on her own like she seems or if she’s a mole for her dad (I kind of feel like she’s a mole...). I hope we see JayRose though. I think him being interested in her is just a given, he called her a badass from seeing her fight. Whether she will have any interest in him back is more of a question, but I’m hopeful.

I wanted more Deathstroke. Not gonna lie, I wanted more Deathstroke. We saw a scene at the end where Jason found the connection between Rose and Slade, but that’s it. I have a feeling he’ll be in the next episode though.

Seriously, Ian Glenn is an awesome Batman. We got another great conversation between Bruce and Dick and I loved it so much, you guys. Give Ian Glenn a chance, people. I’m telling you the writing for Bruce is on point and the acting is great. He feels a lot like the DCAU-version to me, the one voiced by Kevin Conroy. I actually really like his voice in particular because it’s sort of deep like Conroy’s is, and he manages to put a lot of buried emotion into more or less flatly spoken words. The writing and the acting absolutely has that Bruce-thing where gives you answers in the most concise but cryptic way possible, acts all dramatic and he’ll seem unhelpful and kind of like a jerk and then he’ll say something profound and meaningful to let Dick know he actually does care about him a lot and it’s like...yeah, that’s the Bruce I’ve wanted, guys. he’s an asshole without really meaning to be but his intentions are good. It’s just so nice to have Titans!Bruce when comics!Bruce is such a nightmare right now...I really hope people who don’t like or doubt him will give Ian Glenn’s Bruce another chance, because I love him so much already. Yeah, his looks aren’t quite right but I’m getting used to it. The core of Bruce is there and that’s what’s really important.

And those were my main thoughts watching this episode. I loved it and it left me wanting more. It had some issues but nothing deal-breaking.

[botslayer]

The questions raised in MK11′s story mode:

So here's everything as it came up in order, in my mind just as I was thinking of things, SUPER heavy spoilers ahead, I just want the fan consensus, please help a confused fan get his bearings, why does everyone praise this story mode when I'm just seeing more holes than a cheese grater? 1. If Gods are immune to Kronika's time tampering, How does she stop Shinnok's blood, which was still pouring from his neck, from flowing on that table? I know this one may be a bit nitpicky but that's just a little one that sticks out and is very visually present. 2. Where do the Kollector's people come from? Probably Outworld but pulling yet another species from thin air for that realm is kinda cheap, okay? 3. Why does everyone from the past look so different from how they did in MK9? It's like jarringly different, especially when Kung Lao JUST supposedly beat down the deadly alliance, something that is only established to happen in the reboot timeline. So what happened there? (Other cosmetic changes would take too long to point out individually, so I won't.) 4. Follow up, there must be a pretty big time gap for Johnny, Sonya, and Jax, because Jax has his mech arms but in the MK2 ark of MK9, he had to be rushed out of Outworld because Ermac blew his real arms off. 5. Follow up 2, why does Jax seem to have deaged? In MK9 he looked to be about thirty+ Whereas here he looks like a really big Twenty-something, his arms are even different. So what happened there? 6. Why does Dark Raiden vanish? The game throws out the explanation that "Immortals" operate on a different timescale, more or less, but if he's unaffected by other time distortions, how was he pulled forward in the first place? 7. Why aren't more people from either side, including Smoke, Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, Reptile, Ermac, Goro, Mileena, and Kintaro, ALL OF WHOM (Save for Smoke) are Loyal to Shao Kahn, not also summoned into the arena? And "She can only summon people who are still alive" isn't a workable answer because of Baraka, Skarlet and Shao Kahn himself. She later says that she's finding people not happy with the course of history, but I doubt two of the most ambitious characters in the series (The Deadly alliance) would be all that happy about being dead. Nor, I'd wager, would Kintaro or Goro, form the prideful warrior race of dragon people? 8. Why is future Erron Black completely mute? Yeah. In every scene he's in (a few different ones in the coliseum) he never says anything but past Erron has loads of dialogue. 9. How does Raiden know about there being other Temporal nonsense going on elsewhere in not just the realm he's in, but Earthrealm? I know he's Earthrealm's protector but how in the high heaven does he know? 10.As a Little one: How is it that past Johnny is sitting on the other side of the room looking at his nails and then is immediately walking by Sonya and Jax with future Johnny? She was looking in kind of the same direction but how quickly did this guy get up to pull that off? 11.Raiden says he's been getting the premonitions for "MONTHS" But MK9 established pretty roundly that he only got them night one of the 10th tournament. Now, by the time of the MK2 ark in MK9, no more than a week or two could have passed, at least as presented, so how does that make any sense? (I will elaborate if asked but this is already long enough) 12. Why does past Jade have an English accent and why does Revenant Jade not? (Other voice inconsistencies from within this trilogy would take to long to point out, so again, this is just persistent for all of them.) 13. The Cyber Lin Kuei (Who I will call "Tekunin" from here on out because I just like that better) are still a thing, Kronika pulled Sektor into the present too, I can buy that. But why not also try and recruit another realm like Seido? Imagine having Hotaru and the help of his forces. It'd make for some cool scenes, especially at the end when all the Oni are fighting Raiden's army, it'd make things a lot more chaotic, which would look cooler. Why not Chaos realmers? Zaterrans? Vampires? Centaurs? Kytinn? She brought the Tarkatans back completely so how hard would any of these other virtually extinct armies be harder to bring back and sway to her side in comparison? What about the Red Dragon? 14. Raiden apparently knows some of the history of this altered timeline which just makes me wonder how much he could realistically be briefed on, especially when he reacts with shock when he finds out that Sub-zero is friends with Hanzo Hasashi. And yes, the Cyber Initiative was a thing in MK9 but Sektor wasn't the grandmaster when that was going on or when Raiden and co were pulled from time. So what does he know and not know? And why did no one think "That crazy fire ninja is on our side" Was worthwhile info? 15. Why isn't Noob just the past one? He straight up says that he survived the soulnado, not that he's a different version. He never showed up live in the comics so it makes zero sense for him to have full stop survived. 16. How does ripping out two bundles of wire "Reformat" anything? 17. Future Kano references the idea of the Black Dragon being on top of "Not just the black market, Every market." What does that even mean? Is there gonna be a black dragon funded super corporation? That'd be cool, TBH. Shame that's never elaborated on. 18. When Kronika freezes time, is it only local? Or does it hit an entire Realm? Because in the scene where she's talking with Future Jax, and come to think of it, the one with Shinnok's head, What the hell is her bubble of influence? 19. Jade mentions Sheeva "Respecting Kitana's opinion more than anyone else's." Where, At all, in either timeline was that ever represented? Because up to now, if memory serves, their only real interactions were Sheeva telling Kitana to suck it up and die with honor in MK9. 20. What up with Jade's Retcon into being Kotal's girl? It's just kinda weird. 21. When and how did Revenant jade learn to control giant bugs? 22. What is Cetrion even the god of? Raiden, and later Kitana, mention she's a god of Virtue but why then is she able to control the Earth? "Elder god" Maybe but Raiden in the OG timeline got that title at the end of MK 4, then stepped down and he was no more powerful for it but that seems to be what happened with Cetrion, IDK. 23. How far back did Kronika have to pull Past Kano and Kabal from? Because Kabal is still apparently working for the black dragon, whatever age she got him from, but he still has his post-burn super speed. 24. What was the point of blowing Sektor up other than to just lose a major power player for your own side? 25. (Ultimate nitpick on this one) Why is Skarlet and one line from Baraka speaking Tarkatan the only ones that get subtitles? Why not just either A. Say it in English, which they seem to understand enough of, or B. Just not add these translations if they aren't translating the rest of the Tarkatan speech we see? What is the point? "So we understand it." I think you're underestimating people's ability to get the concept of "They said a thing, they did a thing, that must be what was said." 26. In the fight with the Tarkatans, How did Liu Kang and Kung Lao have the time to change back into monk clothes? Where was Kung Lao keeping his hat? 27. What the hell was Shao's last name? at a time "Kahn" was probably just the answer until it became retconned to mean "Emperor of Outworld." But what was his full name? I'm honestly curious, less of a nitpick, more of a "Hm." 28. Why does Future Kano feel a hit to the gut? I understand Johnny's Scar in one way or another, but a hit to the gut, painful as it is, especially when he's showing no sign of feeling any of Past Kano's minor injuries, shouldn't feel like anything after 25ish years. 29. Why does Future Kano have a delayed reaction to "Death by Missing hunk of brain?" The wound instantly manifests but he stands and seems to try to talk for a few seconds before collapsing into sand. Wouldn't it make more sense for him to rot into nothing really fast? Then again, Time travel is always a nightmare in any media that attempts to talk about it. 30. How does Revenant Kabal mistake Past Jax for Future Jax? 31. When Scorpion saves Hanzo, why didn't he just split D'vorah's skull with one strike? Two in a pinch? If he's putting enough force behind it to cut her stabby limbs off, or just generally be a useful assassin, why not just go for the neck even? (This one was answered on a reddit post I made, so whatever) 32. Why doesn't Scorpion just surrender when he goes to the Fire Gardens? Wouldn't it be best to just sit down inoffensively and wait for people to show up? Even if Sub-Zero wants to fight, he could just put his hands up and start disarming himself, Not beat the Holy Snot out of Sub-Zero. 33. If Kronika can just appear out of thin air, freeze all the humans in a given location, and pluck one from the ground, why not just use one of her minions like Geras or Cetrion to help kill them all while they're frozen? 34. Kronika mentions "Playing out all possible Scenarios." How many resets have you done, lady? Millions, I'd wager. How has your utter defeat not come up at least one other time? 35. Where are revenant Nightwolf, Sindel, Smoke, and Stryker during all of this? I find it deathly strange that Kronika couldn't find a use for FOUR undead super warriors. At least three and a bloke with military and police backgrounds that make things like strategy a bit easier, probably. 36.Kronika just MAKES a massive battleship or two, so what was the point of Cetrion building the bridge or asking Kharon to help in the first place? Just make a boat. Barring that, D'vorah mentioned that all she had to do was render Kharon unable to help Raiden's forces during Kharon's introduction. Why not just kidnap him, load him onto a boat, tie him to an anchor, and then just drop him in the blood sea? Rather than this "Slowly torture" BS. 37. How does Future Jax yeet himself onto the upper deck of one of the ferries? 38. Frost says that Raiden "Ignored her, her entire life." Since when is she the Tsundere of the MK universe? Or more seriously: Is this a line that only makes sense when you read the comics? 39. Why would the Tekunin be rigged to Frost's brainwaves? One good conk upside the noggin, or stab, shot, what have you, and what? Do they all drop dead? 40. Why does Past Kang live through having his own soul stolen, something that is always instantly fatal throughout the series? 41. How does Revenant Liu Kang yeet himself off a small boat and onto one of the ferries full stop?

And that's everything, any answers are appreciated. Am I being nitpicky with a few of these? Probably, Do I care? Not so much. I’m just getting sick of people praising this story when THIS MANY holes are present. 

[idkimdepressed]

The worst thing about this is that it’s ALMOST something decent. Like in a different context the idea of Buttercup picking up bicurious townies as some kind of butch lesbian/pansexual has potential; she was very rowdy as a girl and I know a lot of LGBT+ woman who were like her when they were younger. I can almost imagine an adult her being like a tamer Bakugo — someone whose very confident on the outside and intense, but obviously less cruel and disconnected from reality. Having her try to flirt and getting into wacky hijinks like the original show because her more competitive/rowdy side keeps getting in the way sounds like it has legs. The hate boner part of the dialogue where she says life is one big hate boner seems like it would fit this type of iteration, and if she was referring to something else with it I’d almost say that it sounds like an adult version of the jokey back and for the from the OG PPG. The idea of the girls having a dating history with their colored male counterparts but not with the one that directly matched them — Bubbles with Butch instead of Butch with Buttercup — is also interesting. Seeing Blossom date someone as bubbly and sort of innocent/air headed as her sister Bubbles like Boomer sounds really funny.

But then there’s this injection of generic young adult show gunk that completely wrecks it. You can tell because they’re trying to make it so “fresh and edgy” that they haven’t even realized how out of character the girls are. I don’t think anyone needs me to tell them what’s wrong with Bubbles, but like the idea of her sisters letting her investigate what seems like a crime on her own but showing up anyway because they have other stuff going on sounds so weird. It seems like they don’t fight crime right anymore, okay I guess. (I mean it’s not okay but we’ll get to that.) But why do they need it as an excuse to not talk to someone and to flirt with other people? A regular person in these situations would because if they ran into the person they were avoiding they would be forced to interact with them, or because they need a ride to a certain location to flirt respectively. But the girls can fly???? Just fly away??? You two don’t need an excuse to execute your goals you have superpowers! I don’t believe that Blossom would ever plan her day around avoiding an ex or whatever either; she’s incredibly upfront with people to the point of being referred to as bossy multiple times in the original series. I think if an ex tried to harass her she’d immediately reinforce her boundaries. I said earlier a version of this Buttercup could work, but once again, the context in which she is displaying these traits is weird. Imagine there being bad guys to track down and Buttercup opting out. You can tell that the writers thought of a bunch of generic plot lines and covered them with a coat of PPG paint without thinking about if they made sense.

I’m sorry for the essay length post but I’m so tired of people rebooting shows with an edgy twist and making them uncreative and boring in the process. Stop trying to make Pretty Little Gilmore Gossip Girl Liar a thing with every new reboot. Darker doesn’t automatically mean better.

the rest of the script is so bad