#random comic book review

[randomcomicbookreading]

Ka-Zar #5 (1981)

Auto-conclusive flashback episode where Ka-Zar tells Shanna a sad story of his past, involving the native Savage Land settlement, his sabretooth "friend" Zabu and a rabies outbreak.

Clearly because an editorial mistake, the artistic credits are missing in this issue. A quick search in Google solves the mistery: written by Bruce Jones and pencilled by Brent Anderson. In 1981, Jones already had a long experience on writting for Warren magazines, free of infamous Comics Code Authority restrictions, and it is noted in the inherent maturity of his script for this Ka-Zar episode. While Zabu remains missing, a crazed specimen of sabretooth is attacking people of the settlement, resulting in deaths from direct aggression as well as deadly infections from a mysterious contagious disease that Ka-Zar soon identifies as rabies. Ka-Zar fears the infected animal is Zabu, anyway he joins the expedition to hunt the beast. Conclusion: the raged tiger (who finished eaten by a t-rex) was not Zabu, but Tongah, the hunting partner of Ka-Zar gets infected and he has to accept his upcoming death.

The story is narrated in a melancholic mood, where Brent Anderson's dramatic style of drawing bodies (with a touch of homoerotic sensuality) has an inportant role. A good handful of relevant subjects are touched in very few pages: the relationship hierarchy between a person, his beloved pet (kinda…) and other humans, the confrontation between beauty and cruelty present on virgin nature, the conveniences and inconveniences about renouncing to civilized world…

This adult tone makes exteme contrast with tons of advertisment pages oriented to kids. The dissonance between the "supossed vs. actual" readers of comic-books was already strong in 1981. Specially funny and idiosyncratic the ad/mini-comic where Fantastic Four advertise candies.

Purchased at Comic-Book Exchange (Notting Hill, London) for 50p

[nerdby]

Captain America: Brave New World is a great movie with a powerful message about technology, the dangers of propaganda and subliminal messaging, and second chances. This is one of the MCU's most political films ever made, and the metaphors aren't subtle. The movie features an Israeli antihero who had to be heavily retconned because in the comics Ruth Bat-Saraph was originally an Israeli hero and ex-Mossad agent. The character was first introduced to the Marvelverse in the 1980s and hopefully, I am not overstepping too much by pointing out

That Marvel Comics was built by Jewish progressives who all had their own sometimes very wrong opinions regarding Zionism. The people writing these books are just that -- people. They are only human and sometimes humans fuck up, and this won't be the first or the last time Marvel has put out some cringey shit.

It turns out, though, that Marvel does have a Palestinian character called Navid Hashim AKA the Arabian Knight. So maybe there is a chance we will see him on the big screen one day. We can always campaign for that because Marvel has always been pretty good at listening to their fans for the most part.

All that aside, the movie is extremely left-leaning and there were some fantastic fight scenes. Marvel seems to have finally found the right balance of fun and gore. Because there was a surprising amount of bloodshed in this movie, although not so much that it looked like a horror film. Its just that we got to see our heroes bleed for once. It is easy to tell, though, that the filmmakers wanted the film to be intense but not so much that it would frighten away younger viewers. And I think they nailed it.

Anthony Mackie also did a great job as Sam Wilson. The character felt way more three-dimensional, and I think the movie touched on the racial politics in a way that won't alienate centrist audiences. It was also great to see some of the characters from Falcon & The Winter Soldier return because they are some of the most interesting characters to have debuted in a while. I was hoping for more from Giancarlo Esposito's character, but it's still great to see him in the MCU.

Taking these things into consideration, I think Brave New World is a solid eight of ten stars. That's just because it was a great movie, a very fun movie, but I am not sure that I love the ending. Even though it does sort of drive home the point that Sam is just a human being who happens to be the epitome of Black excellence and it does help to keep the story going and expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Still part of me is just like, really, is this a good idea?

Hey, though, this is still good news because the next phase of the MCU is off to a solid start and after watching Brave New World, I am feeling a lot better about Thunderbolts* coming out in May.

[unpopularly-opinionated]

In the spirit of posting things nobody asked for, as I mentioned in my previous post, I recently rewatched the entire MCU franchise (except Spider-Man: No Way Home) so I could review and rank them against each other. So here's my ranked list of the entire MCU:

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Iron Man

Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Endgame

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Iron Man 3

Iron Man 2

The Avengers

Thor: Ragnarok

Guardians of the Galaxy

Captain America: Civil War

Deadpool & Wolverine

Black Panther

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Ant-Man

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Captain America: The First Avenger

Black Widow

Ant-Man & The Wasp

Thor

Eternals

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Doctor Strange

Thor: The Dark World

The Marvels

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Captain Marvel

Thor: Love and Thunder

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

The Incredible Hulk

[fallenangels1987]

wait PAUL DANO was the one who wrote the battinson tie-in comic... help

[bookrabbit]

Embrace the magic within the Pascha Pumpkin

The Pascha Pumpkin Challenge is a delightful tradition in the world of Noam the Easter Bunny and Moriah Hallow. Let me share some insights about it:

What Is the Pascha Pumpkin Challenge?

The Pascha Pumpkin Challenge revolves around the mystical Pascha Pumpkins. These pumpkins are no ordinary gourds; they hold magical properties and are bestowed upon good-hearted individuals by Bunnies and Forest Friends.

The challenge lies in finding or receiving a Pascha Pumpkin, as they are rare and coveted.

How Does It Work?

Bunnies and Forest Friends gift Pascha Pumpkins to people who demonstrate kindness, compassion, and generosity.

The pumpkins are said to bring blessings, protection, and joy to those who receive them.

The Story Behind Pascha Pumpkins

The enchanting tale of Pascha Pumpkins can be found in the book “Noam Fall Garden.” It’s a heartwarming story that reveals the origins and significance of these magical pumpkins

In this whimsical world, Noam the Easter Bunny and his friends celebrate the picking of Pascha Pumpkins, spreading goodwill and magic throughout their realm2.

Where Can I Learn More?

If you’re curious to dive deeper into this enchanting tradition, consider exploring the book “Noam Fall Garden” by Emile B. LaCerte Jr.

Additionally, there are YouTube videos that touch upon the Pascha Pumpkin Challenge, such as “Getting a Pascha Pumpkin” and "Witch and Pascha Pumpkin"12. These videos provide visual glimpses into the magical world of Noam and Moriah Hallow.

Remember, the Pascha Pumpkin Challenge isn’t just about pumpkins; it’s a celebration of kindness, friendship, and wonder

[eleu22]

just some random task force 141 headcanons

tw: drugs, dead baby jokes?

gaz

- has been approached by model scouts on nights out with the 141 and is so gassed by it but pretends not to be

- got holding onto his tactical vest straps from price because he thought it looked cool

- popular as fuck in school

- side eye king (canon)

- used to do ket when he was younger and is now paranoid price will find out somehow and be disappointed in him

- highlights during briefings and soap calls him a neek

- deleted tiktok because he got addicted to those ingrown hair removal videos

- borderline illegible handwriting

- type to laugh when hes really mad (its lowkey scary)

- has once described himself as a “thought daughter”

- paces when hes stressed

- terrys chocolate orange enjoyer

- tried to grow out a beard but it was weird and kind of patchy

soap

- will be looking at a nice view and will always say how a huge explosion would make it look so much cooler

- does that thing where he tells you to straighten your legs and then kicks the back of your knee

- cannot stay still in his sleep and has once woken up with half is body off the bed horizontally

- has a comic book collection and if you touch it he will kick you out

- goes to life drawing classes sometimes in his free time

- all of his exam papers had doodles on them

- the type of guy to draw a penis in ur notebook

- all of his socks have holes in them but refuses to buy new ones, some are literally the concept of a sock at this point

- smells his armpits unabashedly to see if he smells or not

- will ask to tell you a secret and burp in your ear

- when someone drops like a plate or a cup is the type to scream “wheey!!” and clap and he did that at a pub once and got them kicked out

- will make a fart noise and loudly blame it on you (especially in packed elevators)

-booger flicker

ghost

- makes zero noise when sneezing but still acts it out and he looks like hes bugging

- nose bridge pincher

- doesn’t clip off his fingernails he literally just bites them off and spits it into the bin

- type to say “well done.” sarcastically

- casual dead baby joke enjoyer

“how many babies does it take to paint a wall?”

“depends on how hard you throw them.”

(silence)

- really enjoys solitaire mobile is on level 177

- he once made a recruit run laps for microwaving tea

- off duty he has terrible posture

- chapped lips 24/7

- favourite takeout is chinese food and always get the vegetable spring rolls - he will buy takeout in bulk and then live off of leftovers instead of actually buying groceries

- has 3 forks one knife and one spoon

- has literally no sense of rhythm what so ever , cannot dance to save his life

- loves making social situations awkward in purpose but would never admit that so he just comes off as slightly off putting a lot of the time

price

- sneezes and coughs ridiculously loudly

- weirdly territorial about his hat (i find it so funny he has a waterproof version of it)

- has a weird mole on his back he refuses to get checked out - his reasoning is if he dies via mole it was natural selection

- has extensive knowledge on art history and hates conceptual art (has a tate membership card)

- licks his finger before turning a page

- casual moomin enjoyer

- cuts his cuticles - likes his maintenance has a beard grooming kit

- says he doesnt watch tiktoks but he watches tiktok dog video complications in youtube and they have the most npc ass audios

- is on the “cigar society” on facebook and gives reviews for them

- does the head tilt of disappointment (if its thrown at gaz he literally will not get over it for days)

- slaps his knee when laughing really hard

- also nose bridge pincher

- is the type of make those hiking comments to people who walk by

- really enjoyed the lego batman movie

- unabashedly itches himself

- takes fish oil supplements

- always puts his hand up to say thank you when cars stop for him

- flirts with baristas

- had a brief midlife crisis where he wanted to become a mystery novelist (still has the drafts hidden somewhere but you couldn’t waterboard that information out of him)

thank you

[randomcomicbookreading]

Underwater #3 (1995)

Underwater is one of the few unfinished Chester Brown's works, hence it has never been compiled in graphic novel format. The only phisical evidence for its existence is the original comic book series where it was periodically published by chapters.

Neither plot nor author's aims are easy to understand starting with chapter three. Underwater is deliberately surrealist, its dialogue is written in a bizarrely distorted version of English, and a single chapter is too few pages long to draw any kind of conclusion.

In fact, the Underwarter episode is so short because it only fills half of the book. The second half belongs to another legendary unfinished work by Brown, nothing less than the Christian Gospels comic adaptation!. Particularly, these 13 pages adapt the "fedding the multitude" miracle according Gospel of Matthew.

It's known that Brown's graphic translation of Jesus' life has a very special feature among others in any medium: The mood and look of Jesus changes depending on the particular gospel writer he is adapting. Clearly, the chosen depiction for Matthew's part is quite uncommon: semi-bald, older than usual, serious (almost angry) face... I am tremendously curious about the other alternative versions and the autor's reasons to choose those characterizations. I'll look for more chapters of Underwater and Yummy Fur on the Internet, hoping that Chester Brown take the decision to finish any of those works in order to see it reprinted .

Purchased at Gosh! (Soho, London) for  £3.50

[supernova41st]

this is a stupid request 😭😭

how about Scout x Reader where the reader finds out that Scout can’t read and is just like “…Wait you actually can’t..?” and then just starts teaching him how to read LMAO i just think that be funny, like he’s just reading some easy kids book and the readers just like “Yes! You’re doing so good!”

Smell of books 📔

Scout x reader

A/n: I KNOW I keep using the ladybird soundtrack but I always listen to it whenever working on fics, give it a listen/watch it’s so cute 🙏

Warnings: Overworking, slight spoilers for the outsiders

He thought you were a straight up loser cuz you read books. I mean the last time he ever picked up a book was in 4th grade, hasn’t stepped in a school ever since cuz he had to take care of his siblings.

His comments were always eye rolling, they never really bothered you because it wasn’t anything you haven’t heard from a middle school boys

You always assumed he was able to read since you often catch him laughing at random comic books his brothers mailed to him.

It wasn’t until he was trying to read a sign while you and him were taking a drive back to the base

“Raw-ad work ahead?”

“Babe that says road.”

“Yeah I can’t read my bad”

“But you read comic books all the time??”

“Nuh uh, I just stare at the pictures”

“..scout”

As soon as you got back to the base you dragged him to a desk to teach him

He prefers to study on your bunk bed, reviewing flash cards and notes listening to music

Every time he gets 5 flash cards right that’s a kiss from you, this man is DESPERATE so he’ll learn pretty fast

“Okay now what is detach?”

“To like-leave or something”

“Yes! Omg my little student I’m so proud of you muah”

For the most part he was uninterested because you introduced him to mainstreamed books that was a snooze fest to him, gone with the wind Harry Potter etc.

That was until you read him the outsiders, he got so invested because of course he did

You both took turns reading it to each other, whenever it was one persons turn that person would lay on the others chest

“‘If we don’t have each other, we don’t have anything..’”

“Fuckk, I just got goosebumps toots”

He cries when in THAT part of the book, we all know which

The mercs got creeped out when they caught him re-reading it by himself randomly, it was rare to see him read a book, not a comic book a honest to god book!!

“Bloody hell, you readin’ mate?”

“Uhh yeah, guess I am. What you got something to say aussie??”

Loves it when you praise him for all his hard work, but he does overwork himself. Since he easily listens to you it was easy to get him to stop

“Jer please just take a breather, you’ve been reviewing those things for hours”

“Sorry sorry, I just wanna make ya proud of me Yknow..”

“Aww Jer, I already am. Cmon it’s cease-day, let’s get the rest we deserved”

Ughh 🙁 he loves you so much

[moonyardz]

SUNRISE ON THE REAPING SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!!!!

-

-

welcome to my ramble out-of-order thoughts from reading bc i just finished and am in tears and can't think of a genuine review but it's fine ! i'm fine ! everything is so fine !

• haymitch specifically mentioned as not being a drinker on several occasions oh this book is gonna kill me isn't it

• him and lenore dove are so cute !! can't wait for their happily ever after !!!

• oh my GOD all the characters i love you mags i love you wiress and beetee and effie and the covey and heyyy katniss' parents names

• an everdeen saving a mellark hell yeah

• LMFAO NOT ONE MENTION OF A HAWTHORNE

• oh my god haymitch not even being one of the original ones reaped??? but as a punishment for helping lenore dove????

• ^ and with luella dying before the games oh suzanne collins you are sick and twisted but so good at diverting what are meant to be obvious expectations in this book

• the katniss/prim parallels with haymitch/sid and the parallels of both of them in the games, especially with rearranging the bodies bsj,#(@£hdmfejfkdam,#,#*£

• TAM AMBER MADE THE MOCKINGJAY PIN

• lucy gray as maysilee's grandmother ?? or maybe maude ivory ??

• every time i look at a gumdrop i am going to fall to my knees and get violently ill

• coriolanus snow you are going to rot in hell and not even tom blyth can save you

• the fact his family died in a fire too so he couldn't even see their bodies one last time

• that last chapter took it out of me i need a year off

• AND THE EPILOGUE EVERLARK 🗣🗣🗣 AND THE GEESE AND THE BOOK AND HAYMITCH CALLING THEM HIS FAMILY AND REMEMBERING KATNISS AS A BABY IM GONNA KMS

• i actually think they can keep this movie i don't want it (i need it tomorrow)

• anyways ! on a less miserable note here are some random specific phrasings that made me blink bc they felt out of place lmao

- "a loose cannon vibe"

- "but he keeps yapping"

- "quaking in their boots"

- "a comic side-eye"

- "catching any zzz's"

okay anyway i'm going to go lie down and cry some more now

[leafypaws2]

More (Random) Ninjago Headcanons

⚡️ Jay watches Bluey and has plushies of Bluey and Bingo on his bed (he's just like me, fr)

🌊 Nya is vegetarian

🔥 Kai listens to Ariana Grande

🔥 Kai's favourite holiday is Christmas

🪨 Cole listens to Lady Gaga while he works out

⚡️Jay is a Hazbin Hotel fan

💚 Lloyd has an irrational fear of the Grinch (I stole this from TaraYummy's new video)

🔥🌊 Kai and Nya get edited to the song "Diva" on social media (Kai loves it) *bonus headcanon*- ⚡️Jay saves any edits of Nya that come up on his social media feed (she thinks it's cute)

🌊 Nya was many girls gay awakening

🌊⚡️Nya is actually taller than Jay (he loves his tall wife)

💚 Lloyd loves the song "so this is love" from the original Disney Cinderella movie. He sings it while he does his chores

❄️ Zane can play the piano and violin

💚 Lloyd has been teaching himself how to play the acoustic guitar when he has free time

💚🔥 Kai cuts/styles Lloyd's hair. Lloyd refuses to go to an actual hairstylist.

🪨🌊⚡️❄️💚🔥 All the ninja have social media 👇🏻

🔥 Public account/his personal blog, hes verified, has the most followers out of all the ninja, he's kinda obsessed with his Instagram looking aesthetic, posts every day, pictures of friends/family + Skylor + Any Jay slander memes, cute outfits, ninja events (TV appearances), he follows all of his team members + Pixal/Skylor/Darreth, (cruelty free)beauty/hair/alt clothing brands+ NGTV news, ninja fan pages

⚡️Public account, spam posts stupid shit on his story, mainly posts memes + the other ninja + NYA LOTS OF NYA, video game clips, Star fairer, follows all his team mates/Pixal/Darreth + let's play youtubers, meme pages

🌊 Public account, she posts workout videos + Jay/the team + after mission pictures/videos, follows her teammates/Pixal/Skylor/Tox/Sora + local gyms

❄️ Public account, only has 4 posts- 1. Him and the team after the final battle 2. A picture of him and his father for Day of the departed 3. His falcon 4. Gf (pixal) appreciation post for girlfriend day, follows his teammates/Pixal- that's it.

🪨 Public account, posts pictures (and reviews) of different sweet pastries + gym selfies and the current playlist he's working out to (he also posts links to his Spotify) + lots of selfies of him and Jay being silly/his teammates + himself on nature walks, he follows his teammates/Pixal/Geo/Vania + all of the bakerys in New Ninjago City + the gym he works out at + WWE

💚 Private account, also barely posts, when he does post it's beautiful landscapes he's seen on his solo missons + drawings he did + animals + his team (mainly him and Kai or him and Arin) + inspirational quotes and comic books, he follows his teammates/Pixal/Darreth/Skylor/Arin/Sora that's it

That's it for now

This is the only gif I could find with all of them in it. also- Gif isn't mine <33

I just realised Jay's not in it smh😒😒

[createwithintent]

Journaling ideas for beginners

From a person who's been doing it for over 5 years 🤍

What you hope Your day will look like , and then an eventual reflection on what went well/or could improve

Lists: wishlists, desires, hopes, whatever you can think off

You could keep random trinkets, wrappers, tickets in a separate pouch

You can't really go wrong with stickers and pressed flowers

tiny comics about funny encounters you had

Specific songs and what they mean to you

Write in your target language! (Mine is French)

You could practice calligraphy if you're wanting to improve your handwriting

Scripting: write your future as if it's the present to manifest it into your reality

Swatches of your fave makeup (might do this with my lipstick collection sometime 🎀)

Countdowns, progress checkers, calendars to track certain things (maybe like a sober counter?)

Research fun essays about whatever (e.g. philosophy, crocheting, psychologyplsnts, crystals, etc.)

Nice quotes and/or compliments you heard or received throughout the day

Things you're grateful for

Recipes

Bad poetry you wrote

Conversation starters

Love letters

Ur current interests

Write haikus

Acrylic paintings on random pages

Tarot readings

Tea tabs

Make up your own aesthetic

Plan out your dream home!

Beauty tips you wanna pass on one day

Study tips (on another note: I'll make another post with my tips for exam prep)

Make a map with your favorite locations in your area

I'd be a fool if i didn't add Shadow work to this list, it's a way to access your deepest and confront yourself with your past. I totally recommend this for anyone (fair warning: it'll get intense)

Collages with random stuff or pics (or with a specific intention)

Lyrics that you hold dear

Cute notes for yourself to rediscover again

Dreams you've had

Signs from the universe (numerology, animals, angel numbers...)

Letters you won't ever send

Extensive book reviews (or fanfics, i wont judge)

Money (seriously, it always improves my mood to find a random bill of 20 in my old journals but just be careful!!!)

Write your own stories! (Make an oc that lives your dream life or something 🩷)

Mantras, affirmations, etc..

Your daily routines

Pictures: magazine cutouts or Polaroids

Happy journaling!

Also my asks are open!

So feel free to submit a question 🤍🤍🤍🫶🏾

With love,

Elle 🤍

[hkthatgffan]

Having finished watching your review of The Art of Amphibia, I wondered, have you done any sorta review or shared your thoughts on Marcy's Journal from 2022? What about the DuckTales or OTGW artbooks? Also, any thoughts or expectations for the upcoming Strange Voyages miniseries?

Amazon took so long to ship my copy of Marcy's Journal that it eventually was far too long after it came out to make any video or review of it. I haven't actually finished reading it all yet so, not really much of a video I could make, lol.

As for Art of Over the Garden Wall, that was years back in 2018 when I got it. So, well before I made commentary or such videos. At most I might have made a post on OTGW Amino about it, if I was on it, but I was primarily a GF Amino person back in those days.

I did make an unboxing of the Art of DuckTales in 2022, but that was still early on in the commentary phase of the channel, so I was still learning my way around with that format and given that, it's not really my best work in retrospect.

As for the new Amphibia comics, I'm super hyped. It's everything I was hoping we'd get with it. Unlike Gravity Falls: Lost Legends, which was an anthology type book with just 4 random Gravity Falls stories that you could regard as canon or not if you wanted (given they did not overall affect or change the plot of the show or do major retcons), Amphibia's new content was literally set up in the show to be a possibility and now because of that, we'll be getting new books that continue to the story of Amphibia itself; a world that needs more content and to be given more love by fans!

I mean, you never see anyone in the Amphibia fandom talk about the literal Amphibia world. It's always, Anne, Sasha and/or Marcy stuff. I mean, I get that probably those 3 are where many have interest for making content about, but come on?! Matt Braly gave us this beautiful world to explore, and all fans wanna do is talk about the only 3 humans who don't even reside there now, lmao? Why explore the girl's lives that we know more or less how they'll be, when we can see cool new and unexpected Frog escapades and learn new lore and secrets about the Amphibia world itself. Maybe where the Calamity Box originated from, new lore on Sprig and Polly's parents, how the world is healing post Core, etc.

I hope fans give this series the love it deserves. The adventures Sprig and his friends may embark on and discover are beyond exciting and something that we should be super excited for, as it allows the Amphibia story and world to live on long after the show has ended.

I said this before and I'll say it again; The Owl House may have won short term in the Owlphibia rivalry when it comes to mainstream and popularity amongst most in the cartoon community...but Amphibia has won the overall war in the long run! I mean comparably, TOH fandom just has some Funko pops and one kids oriented book that retells the 2nd season 1 episode and another discontinued chapter book that I've seen go on eBay for way too much. Hell, SVTFOE got more lore expanding books than TOH has (Star and Marco's Guide book and the spell book respectively) and that show comparably deserved it far less IMO given how little fans gave AF, meanwhile I know TOH fans would eat that up if they had an equivalent!

Meanwhile Amphibia fans are eating super well. We got Marcy's Journal, an art book that not even Gravity Falls has gotten and now a 10 part comic series that hopefully will make it to the finish line unlike that SVTFOE comic series from years back that no Star fan remembers cause they all had Starco brainrot, lol (My Star vs critique is a hard habit to break).

Amphibia is catching so many W's, and I'm All in (pun intended) for it.

Hopefully it won't be too long a wait for issue one and also new issues won't take too long to release, but regardless, if I'm still around making videos by then, I'll for sure try to do something with it. Amphibia means so much to me and I'm always there for whatever Matt Braly does next with it!

[rivensdefenseattorney]

The Friend(ships) Part 1

I'm not even sure what to title this, but I wanted to ease my way back into world building and just type some headcanons I have for the friend pairings in the AU. Decided to do Bloom and her 3 older brothers to start out, so we'll see where this goes 😅

__

Bloom x Brandon

These two are chaos together. Brandon is the ultimate bad influence. If he ever wants to do something on a whim, Bloom is the one to ask to do it with him because she'll always say yes. They're always on some kind of adventure or sidequest together. Brandon definitely views Bloom as the little sister he's never had. Bloom explained the concept of a friendship bracelet to him once, and he immediately dropped everything to make one together with her. He definitely bragged about it to Sky later. Bloom enjoys reviewing movies with Brandon. They get very serious when it comes to applying their very specific criteria of judgment. She gets embarrassed whenever he says he wants to read her writing, but she always gives in whenever he asks. The two of them are definitely like firecrackers whenever they're together.

-🧨💥

Bloom x Riven

Bloom and Riven have a natural unspoken understanding of one another. Although they started off on the wrong foot, Riven has grown a soft spot for her. He let's her vent to him, even if he's not able to give her any advice. She just likes having him lend his ear. The two have formed a book club together, and often spend time reading together in silence. Riven also encourages her to assist him while cooking, so she can improve. Bloom thinks he's nagging, but he insists she needs to have more home cooked meals. Her skills still leave a lot to be desired, so he sometimes just packs her a lunch instead. He often warns her not to share it with Sky. Bloom is one of the few people who have open access to his apartment, and she fully treats it like her own personal library. He sometimes comes home and finds her asleep on his couch with her book still open. The two go on rides together whenever they need to clear their head. Whenever Bloom wins a fight using a move he taught her, Riven can always be seen smiling like the proud older brother he is. He's definitely Bloom's #1 cheerleader, although Sky and Brandon would definitely object to that. These two are like two sides of the moon.

-🌗

Bloom x Timmy

These two are nerds through and through. Bloom introduces Timmy to comic books and various sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero movies. He always finds the inaccuracy of the sci-fi films very humorous and enjoys telling Bloom about how interdimensional travel actually works. However, Bloom never seems to be able to remember any of it. Timmy often plays various games from Zenith and Earth with her. She's not very good at any of them, despite what she may claim, but he often allows her to win by giving himself handicaps. He also spends time working on repairs with her, and teaches her all of the differences between earth's technology and the magic dimension. Bloom sometimes comes to the garage just to info dumps random pop culture facts onto him. The two often get into debates over it once Timmy's knowledge starts to catch up. He's even started to picking up on her vocabulary and subconsciously repeats it. Bloom and Timmy have a lot of inside jokes that the others often do not understand. They are each other's partner in crime.

-🦹‍♀️🦸

[sparklingelectricblue]

X-Men #10

Random thoughts about the issue that came out last week!

There's a lot that I like about X-Men #10. I like that Magneto got featured for a little bit even though he's nonexistent after the first few pages. I'll take the crumbs for now. Hopefully, Magneto will be featured more in the future. And Jed MacKay is right in that Magneto would totally want to go out in a blaze of glory.

I also liked that Cyclops told Magneto that he's not allowed to die. Cyclops and Magneto have been developing this respect and friendship with each other for the past decade or so. However, I've always felt like Magneto has displayed more respect and affection for Scott than vice versa.

Image totally stolen from @rei-ismyname's review of X-Men #10. You can read Rei's review here.

But that's okay! It made sense that it would be that way since Magneto has terrorized Scott since Scott was a teenager. However, when there is the smallest showing of respect or affection from Scott to Magneto, it makes me happy.

It was great to see that there were consequences to the "Raid on Graymalkin" crossover, even if it did lead to a rehashing of previous conversations between Scott and Agent Lundqvist. As was pretty much stated, it's a cold war right now between the Alaskan X-Men and O.N.E. A lot of what makes a cold war is maintaining a status quo until de-escalation is possible. De-escalation does not seem likely at the moment.

Scott got to execute some tactics and that is nice to see. A lot of lip service is paid by past writers about Scott's tactical and strategic abilities but then we hardly see it. So this also made me happy.

Like I said, I'll take the crumbs for now.

Things that I'm not fond of? Nothing really happened this issue. The Hellions were great to see but it really didn't progress the plot at all. In fact, their purpose was to stall anything from happening.

R-LDS gets another mentioned. "Not fond of" is an understatement, honestly. I hate it. Even the acronym is clunky to say.

It has been confirmed in interviews by other From the Ashes creators that they weren't told how Krakoa Era was going to end and what was going to happen to specific characters. Apparently, creators only found out after they had initially wrote or illustrated issues and had to scramble to fix them. So I can understand Jed MacKay needing time to adjust. But we're at issue # 10 now. We're almost at a year of the run. I want to see the main story progress.

Jed MacKay is writing 2 other comic books (Avengers and Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu). I'm wondering if perhaps he's stretched a little thin.

I also found out from Marvel.Fandom.com's Jed MacKay page that he works as a middle school teacher as well. It doesn't have anything to do with this issue but if true, I really respect that.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things (1x01): "The Vanishing of Will Byers" Review

NOTE: Two years ago, I announced plans for reviews for each of the Stranger Things episodes before S5 premiered. Because of multiple obligations that came up in those years, from work, to training for a marathon, to plans with family and friends, to dealing with other personal issues, this kept getting pushed back multiple times. Now that I have the opportunity this year, I'm aiming to do a full in-depth analysis of each episode, along with analysis of the characters and story arcs present in each season, while also speculating on how the Duffer Brothers plan to end the show.

I will admit that I did a semi-review of the first episode (split into two posts) back in November 2023 in honor of Stranger Things Day. However, at the time, that was me experimenting with a different review style rather than the in-depth analysis I want to aim for with these reviews (though I will be taking certain quotes from that particular semi-review for this specific episode as it does contain some interesting observations I took note of at the time). I have also done reviews for the tie-in materials Netflix, Random House Publishing, and Dark Horse Comics have put out, and given my thoughts on characters, arcs, and potential theories there (you can see my pinned page for links to those), but I also recognize not all fans will have read those materials, and the episodes hold more importance in terms of continuity and canon.

On top of that, another reason for the delay was researching multiple sources of media (books, movies, other TV shows, comics, etc) that the Duffer Brothers have cited as inspiration for how they wrote and structured Stranger Things, as well as how they crafted certain arcs and characters. These reviews will be citing those sources, and even doing a compare/contrast at times to understand why the Duffer Brothers went the direction they did, and whether (IMO) it made things better or worse. I also plan to do a deep dive into the themes the show presents, how those themes continue to be relevant to today's culture, and how the show acts as both a homage to the 80s as well as a deconstruction of it.

Before I begin though, there are a few points that need to be made:

1.) These will be long reviews because there's a lot to discuss. I will try my best NOT to split each episode into two or three posts and contain them to just one per episode. There will be no TL;DR however.

2.) I am writing these for my own interest and for the 4-5 mutuals who follow me (they know who they are). I'm okay if these get liked or reblogged by others, or if people want to leave comments, but I'm not writing these for a wider audience. This is my passion project for 2025, and I intend to enjoy it, regardless of others opinions. Which brings me to number 3.......

3.) I am fine with people disagreeing with my takes, or having dissenting opinions, but if you come on here being rude, condescending, belittling, or behave like an asshole, you're getting blocked. I will not indulge that behavior, and I won't even respond to you if you pull that.

With that out the way......let's get started:

In terms of a Pilot episode, not only do I think this is one of the best I've seen on TV, but it's one that's improved over time and has great rewatch value. There's a lot of subtext and foreshadowing planted in the first episode that not only comes to fruition later in S1, but also sets up aspects that are paid off in future seasons. I know the Duffer Brothers have said that season 1 was originally conceived as an anthology/miniseries (based on the original pitch and whether the show would get renewed), and given how nervous they were about whether Stranger Things would be a success, I can see why they would play it safe with Netflix at the time. However, there is evidence suggesting they had certain story elements and ideas ready to go if they were allowed to continue past season 1. At the time though, this season was "make it or break it" and if it hadn't gotten the audience and appeal that it did, it probably would have gone the way of Freaks and Geeks (a show also set in the 80s that the Duffer Brothers have cited as an inspiration for Stranger Things) in being cancelled before it could reach its potential.

Thankfully, that didn't happen, and not only did the show continue, but it also went forward with the same cast and crew that we would grow to love.

Part 1: Montauk vs. The Vanishing of Will Byers (and why changes aren't necessary a bad thing):

George R.R. Martin once said there are two types of writers: Architects and Gardeners. Architect writers are usually the ones who plan everything in advance to know what the structure is and how everything in a story is going to fit together. Gardeners are more spontaneous in that they will plant something and see whether it develops into anything. Obviously, they will tend to the seed (or in this case, the idea/story/character the writers has introduced), but it's more of a mystery how it will grow, or if it will blossom at all. Some plants/ideas grow into something beautiful. Others fall short. And some don't even make it out of the ground.

If I were to make an educated guess on which one the Duffer Brothers were, based on what their original script was (Montauk) vs what it evolved into (Stranger Things), I would argue they're the rare breed of writers/directors who fall in the middle of being both Architects AND Gardeners. Looking at the way they pitched Montauk in its original form, it's pretty clear they did have a general story planned out (like an architect), and even the original script contained planted ideas/seeds (like a gardener) that may or may not have panned out.

But just like any architect or gardener, that doesn't mean things are set in stone. If an architect discovers flaws in the blueprints (or realizes that the building plan isn't practical with how it's originally designed), they're going to go back and make changes. Same with a gardener: If a plant doesn't spring up or ripen, it doesn't mean they give up and abandon the project. Any good gardener will prune that which isn't working, or figure out why the plant didn't grow the first time and start again in a better environment.

And in the case of how Montauk evolved into this episode, and how they structured the rest of season 1, I would argue most of these changes were for the better.

Let's look at the original setting for instance: Montauk's premise is centered around the infamous mystery regarding The Montauk Project. These were a series of alleged experiments that took place at Camp Hero, a base owned and operated by the United States Air Force, in the town of Montauk, New York, between 1971 and 1983.

These experiments are chronicled in several books written by Preston B. Nichols, an alleged scientist who worked on the Montauk Project and claimed to have been witness to bizarre and inhumane experiments centered on mind control, time travel, alternate realities, psychics, and the apparent aid of aliens from the distant stars.

Having read the first book, Experiments in Time, and watched the documentary Montauk Chronicles (which is two hours of my life I'm never getting back), I can attest to this being a huge rabbit hole of conspiracy theories that have no solid evidence or concrete proof, other than the word of the author and the people in the documentary who claim they either worked at Camp Hero or were used as experiments in the Montauk Project. As a science fiction story, it's a mind-trip wrapped in a mystery, and I can understand why the Duffer Brothers would find it fascinating enough to write a show around. However, outside of that, the whole idea taken as fact (which is what Preston and the documentary aims for) is outlandish and even self-indulgent at times. Maybe this is just my cynicism talking, but after so many years of seeing people on both the Right and the Left fall into QAnon levels of thinking, or having moron politicians like Marjorie Taylor Greene and organizations like Code Pink spewing garbage conspiracies, I find that my patience is pretty thin in regards to topics like this.

All of this factors into why I'm not bothered that the show changed the setting from Montauk, New York to Hawkins, Indiana, as well as creating an original mythology for Stranger Things centered around Hawkins Lab as opposed to basing the entire show on a real-life conspiracy that some people would have swallowed wholeheartedly and claim was actual truth. The Duffer Brothers have admitted that the change in location was based on practicality, weather (Long Island is freezing cold during winter and it would have been miserable trying to film there during the season), budget, and having more flexibility with what they could do with a fictional town vs setting the story in a real town to correlate with specific events in the past and NOT have that break suspension of disbelief.

In spite of moving away from the premise of the Montauk Project, there are certain elements the Duffer Brothers kept:

1.) The Philadelphia Experiment (Project Rainbow). A.K.A The fate of the USS Eldridge in 1943. This was the precursor for why and how The Montauk Project got off the ground. While "The Vanishing of Will Byers" doesn't specifically mention this particular incident, it is brought up in the play Stranger Things: The First Shadow, and anyone who's seen the play can tell you that it is a MAJOR PLOT POINT central to the show's mythology regarding the Upside Down, and the characters of Dr. Brenner, Vecna, and El. If you haven't yet, be sure to check out the play, or even read my review if you're looking for a quick summary.

2.) The connection between someone with special powers and the monster that's unleashed as a result of their actions. In the book Experiments in Time, there was a psychic named Duncan Cameron who had worked on the project for years and, through the use of a transmitter connected to a chair that he sat in during sessions, was able to create physical objects with his mind. After Preston and several of his colleagues expressed misgivings about their work, due to how it was messing with the space-time continuum and the number of people they were callously sacrificing for the project, they formulated a plan with Duncan to have him use his subconscious to form a monster that would destroy Camp Hero. In 1983 (the same year the first season of Stranger Things takes place), Duncan unleashed the monster to cause chaos.

While the beast eventually dissolved into the Ether after power to the transmitter was cut, it resulted in the base being permanently shut down.

As evident by Stranger Things, there are parallels between Duncan and Eleven in that both have special powers and worked in a top-secret government facility. The difference is that Duncan was psychic whereas El is psychokinetic. Duncan willingly worked on this project whereas El was a prisoner for years manipulated into working on behalf of Dr. Brenner. Unlike Duncan, her release of the Demogorgon and opening the Gate to a different dimension was an accident and not premeditated, in contrast to Duncan knowingly opening a vortex in time for people to travel to different time periods. And while the monster unleashed on Camp Hero was a creation of Duncan, that turns out not to be the case with the Demogrogon, with El having nothing to do with its creation.

The Montauk script implies that the Duffer Brothers were originally planning to recreate the same story beats as Experiments In Time, even right down to the last scene:

I am curious is this was supposed to be the first appearance of the Mind Flayer before they moved it to season 2. If it was, 1.) I'm glad they waited for that reveal and didn't tip their hand too early (especially since they had planned for 4-5 seasons) and adhered to the rule of "Less is Better." And 2.) It gives the impression that characters like the Mind Flayer (and even Vecna) had been planned out from the beginning, and were eventually going to be introduced, regardless of whether they stuck to the Montauk mythology or not.

Alternatively, there is the possibility this may have been meant to reference the Radiosondes from The Montauk Project. Long story short, this was an alleged device created by the government that manipulated the amount of DOR (i.e. energy in a descending spiral) and orgone energy (i.e. orgasmic or life energy, similar to Isaac Newton's idea of Ether) in a weather-related storm. It's the idea that the government has a device that can control the weather.

Yeah.......it's easy to see why this didn't age well, and why I'm glad the Duffer Brothers went a different direction. Even this would have been too much, and sounds like something that belongs on a show like The X Files as opposed to Stranger Things.

Speaking of different directions, the original script was a lot gorier than this episode. We're talking about mutilated and burnt bodies once the monster is unleashed:

Even Will's encounter with the monster plays out differently:

It's interesting that the original idea behind the Demogorgon was that it acted as a disruptive metaphysical force that could cause a person to start bleeding profusely. As if its mere presence was something that mere mortals couldn't handle being around, or even looking at without suffering some sort of physical or mental breakdown. The Duffer Brothers have cited Lovecraftian horror as an inspiration for how the Upside Down and its inhabitants were structured, and that is shown in this episode with the slime, vines and rotting mold growing out of the Gate, as well as how the Gate itself breathes like it's a mouth sucking air:

In regards to the change with the Demogorgon, where they got rid of the "humans start bleeding if they're anywhere near it" aspect, it hearkens back to the principle of "Less is Better." One of the brilliant things the Duffer Brothers did was introduce the horror gradually, with season 1 paying homage heavily to Steven Spielberg and movies like Poltergeist, as opposed to immediately going for gory shock value the same way shows like Elfen Lied, True Blood, Game of Thrones, and The Boys did. It was inevitable this show would eventually introduce bloodier aspects, like the Flayed in S3 and Vecna's mutilation of his victims in S4, but those instances felt earned as the show progressed and moved away from lighter aspects in order to explore darker and more mature themes.

Part 2: Will getting dragged to the Upside Down

Parallels between Will's disappearance and Carol Anne's situation in Poltergeist (which is referenced in this very episode) have been drawn before, but there is another reference that often isn't brought up, which Poltergeist owes acknowledgment to for its story: The episode "Little Girl Lost" from The Twilight Zone.

Similar to Poltergeist, "Little Girl Lost" features a girl named Bettina Miller who disappears one night into another dimension. Unlike Carol Anne or even Will, this happens on accident when she falls through a portal at the wall of her bed. The main premise is still the same though: The parents of the disappeared kid desperately attempt to find where this portal leads and rescue them before it's too late. Like "Little Girl Lost," a dog is featured that's aware of the alternate dimension, but the big difference is that the dog in said episode (whose name is Mack) was able to follow Bettina into the other dimension and help lead her back to her parents whereas Chester, the dog in Stranger Things does clue Hopper into the area where Will disappeared, but isn't able to follow him into the Upside Down:

(Side Tangent: I think there was a story opportunity missed here with the dog. It's made ambiguous if its barking at the shed is because it was Will's last known location, or because it can sense Will's presence despite being in the Upside Down, or it's somehow aware of the Upside Down, but the idea of animals having some kind of sense regarding the Upside Down and the eldritch abominations that exist there and are hostile to it (similar to how living creatures flee the presence of the Nazgul in The Lord of the Rings) was ripe for potential. However, I am aware that the reason Chester disappears after season 1 is because David Harbour had problems working with the dog, so any potential for that story arc likely went out the window. Though if UD monsters start appearing frequently in the woods during season 5, maybe they might explore that arc again. Who knows?)

Carol Anne's disappearance in Poltergeist initially appears as a random accident, especially with the revelation at the end of the movie regarding where the Freeling family lives, but it's implied in the movie (and later confirmed by its sequels) that she was intentionally targeted by a monster called "The Beast" (who's later revealed to be a malevolent spirit named Henry Kane) for his own nefarious purposes. Interestingly (and something I'll discuss more when I review "Holly Jolly") the BTS photos of S5 that they've revealed of Holly and Vecna together (with Vecna even wearing an old-fashioned suit like Henry Kane did as a preacher) implies they might actually use aspects of the Poltergeist trilogy for what they do with Holly's story in season 5.

Getting back to Will, I've talked about this before in my review of The Other Side (which chronicled the events of season 1 from Will's perspective in the Upside Down, and is a comic I highly recommend reading), but given the revelations in season 4 regarding Vecna and the UD freezing in place on November 6th, 1983 (the same night Will disappeared), it changes the context regarding what happens to Will in this episode. Instead of it just being the Demogorgon randomly stumbling onto Will (the way season 1 initially frames it), it comes off like Will's disappearance was planned by either Vecna or The Mind Flayer (or both) for a yet unrevealed reason. I've held to the theory that Will somehow had to do with the Upside Down freezing in time. Or at the very least, there is something Vecna wants from Will. The fact that Jamie Campbell Bower has stated in interviews that Will is central to this whole conflict (something that was confirmed by the Duffer Brothers when Bower went to talk to them), as well as how both Noah Schnapp and Bower have talked about there's unfinished business between the two of them (Vecna and Will), only confirms that.

Part 3: Changes to Characters (and why it works better in the final product):

Just like the changes to location and story beats helped improve the show and allowed the Duffer Brothers more creativity in constructing the show's mythology, the same can be said for changes made to the characters that helped improve them and the story.

Take Dustin's arc for instance. In the Montauk screenplay, and the original outline the Duffer Brothers drafted before revising it, there was a great deal of emphasis placed on Dustin's weight and how would impact his character going forward:

I'm sure there are fans who have accused the Duffer Brothers of engaging in fat shaming, and while the original script is iffy on this (the line from the original script about how Dustin will be fat later as an adult doesn't help) the way the outline frames the fat shaming itself is in a negative light. It's portrayed as detrimental for Dustin, with him being made the target of bullying because of it, and having to work to gain self-confidence to overcome his insecurities surrounding it.

However, the way Dustin was originally written may have also been a callback to certain 80s characters who were the butt of jokes about their weight and eating habits, such as Vern Tessio from Stephen King's Stand By Me and Lawrence "Chunk" Cohen from The Goonies, and I can understand why fans would have a major problem with this, especially if the Duffer Brothers blurred the lines between calling out the fat shaming Dustin would've experienced vs indulging in it. Look at F.R.I.E.N.D.S for instance in its portrayal of Monica Geller and how the writers alternated between showing the negative impact fat shaming had on Monica vs the constant jokes made at her expense, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Or even Avengers Endgame and what they did to Thor's character in that movie.

So for me, I'm fine with the Duffer Brothers not going that direction because I'm wary about whether they would have stumbled into that pitfall. I also think the decision to write in Gaten Matarazzo's condition of cleidocranial dysostosis (CCD) works better and even helps raise awareness regarding genetic birth defects people have while also humanizing them, similar to the Eric Stoltz film Mask (1985) (another movie the Duffer Brothers cited as an inspiration for Stranger Things) and the way Rocky Dennis's condition was portrayed and how he dealt with it.

Likewise, the way they rewrote Lucas for the show, from an angry loudmouthed kid whose parents were getting a divorce (and was set to cause problems for the group later on), to a kid who's blunt about his opinions, undergoes positive character development, has a stable family and loving parents (Charles Sinclair is one of the few characters who doesn't fall into the "Deadbeat and/or Abusive Dads" club), and maintains his loyalty to the Party despite his disagreements with them works a helluva lot better. I also think the decision to reverse Lucas's crush on Nancy and giving it to Dustin was a good choice in hindsight since it freed Lucas for his future relationship with Max.

Mike also has some minor changes made to his character. The original screenplay talks about him having a birthmark on his cheek, making him a target for bullies, as well as a possible crush on another girl named Jennifer Hayes before he meets Eleven.

It's similar to the character of Sam Weir from Freaks and Geeks, who had a crush on another girl in school named Cindy Sanders (before Cindy revealed herself to be a jerk) and was also initially bullied for his physical appearance. I can see why they cut Jennifer from the script since she was superfluous as they intended for Mike to fall in love with El and have her be his first crush. As for removing the birthmark, that may have had to do with casting, the decision to write Gaten's CCD into Dustin's character and have that be the reason he's targeted by bullies like Troy and James, or they simply figured that having Mike get bullied for being a nerd was enough. In either case, one thing that they kept consistent with Mike in both the original script and the final product (which unfortunately carries over to season 4) is his passivity to bullies (though he certainly becomes a lot snarkier than he is here).

Interestingly, Will is the one character that remains consistent with both the original script and this episode. Aside from tweaking his encounter with the Demogorgon so he isn't pleading with the monster (and being horrified when it appears behind him despite having locked the shed door), his characterization remains the same. Just look at how he was described in the Montauk pitch:

This also carries over to the conversation in Joyce has with Hopper at the police station about Will's clothes and being referred to as 'queer.' The implication here is that, even if they had gone with the original screenplay, there was always the intention of eventually revealing that Will was gay. Maybe the revelation wouldn't have happened in the first season of Montauk, and they would have dropped subtle hints beforehand (just like the first 3 seasons did), but, contrary to the homophobic idiots out there who want to pretend LGBT+ people didn't exist in the 80s, this was the direction they intended to go with Will's character from the beginning.

There are other minor changes that work better:

Hopper's establishing character moment of waking up, smoking, and downing pills with beer is the same, but unlike in the original screenplay, this is the first image we see before we pan over to Hopper:

It's a small scene, but it makes a huge difference (especially on rewatch) in how the show quietly foreshadows WHY Hopper has become like this as opposed to in the Montauk Pilot (which doesn't mention this scene at all in the screenplay), helps make his initial apathetic behavior more understandable, and cues the audience in quicker to his depression.

Joyce's swearing and casual use of F-Bombs is absent in this episode, and the 1982 flashback of her entering Castle Byers to give Will tickets to Poltergeist is added in as a way of emphasizing her, caring, motherly side while toning down her impatient outbursts.

Jonathan's character also remains the same, albeit some minor changes, from how he was written in the original version: He still acts as both a loving brother and a parental figure to Will, as well as supportive of his mom. The difference is his reason for not catching that Will wasn't home the night before: In the Montauk script, it's because he was busy getting photographs developed and didn't come home until later. In this episode, it's because he picked up another shift to help his mom. It's a change that does a better job showing how Jonathan is forced to shoulder a lot of responsibilities for the family since Lonnie left. It also makes Joyce's frustration with Jonathan overworking himself more understandable, as opposed to the Montauk script where their exchange comes off like she's lashing out at him:

Mr. Clarke goes from a handsome teacher the girls fawn over to a more traditional science teacher with the same passion for his subject. The scene with him showing Mike, Lucas, and Dustin the Heathkit Hamshack Radio is also a new addition, which does a good job highlighting why the boys like him so much as a teacher, and also avoids them being publicly drawn out of their class to speak to the principal and Hopper over Will's disappearance. They also cut parts of the conversation with Mr. Clarke and Hopper in the woods that would have revealed when they both graduated. This was definitely for the best because the date of Hopper's graduation in the original script (1958) would have been a major continuity error when they wrote Hopper still being in high school for The First Shadow.

El's age is changed to 12 instead of 10, likely as a means of keeping El and Mike the same age for their relationship, and so they could later have El attend public school in S4 in the same grade as her friends, which the Duffer Brothers have admitted was an arc they'd wanted to explore with El for a while. There's also a reference to a Tommy that El calls her "little brother," which may have initially been a subtle nod to James Cameron's Aliens with the character of Newt and how she had a brother named Timmy who fell prey to the Xenomorphs. Considering that the Duffer Brothers have mentioned that all of the other special kids, with the exception of Eight, were dead when they initially conceived the story for Hawkins Lab, it's likely Tommy was meant to be Eight before they rewrote the character to be El's older sister Kali Prasad once season 2 was underway.

Dr. Brenner is noticeably not named in the Pilot script, and his dialogue is spoken by someone called "Agent One." The way he's described, along with the other two Agents, reminds me strongly Agent Smith from The Matrix. Furthermore, the script implies he has some kind of relationship with Eleven, and considering he's already calling the shots in regards to the investigation, it's clear Dr. Brenner evolved from Agent One, with the addition of having him be in charge of Hawkins Lab.

The biggest change in regards to characters (and one that the fanbase tends to fixate on) is how Steve's character is written here vs in the Montauk script, and by extension how that impacts the way Nancy and Barbara were written. I will go more in-depth about these three characters in the next episode, but there are important things to note here:

1.) Contrary to how the Montauk script killed Barbara off in the first episode, I prefer how they did it on the show where her role was expanded for two more episodes after this one, and we at least got the chance to know her better before her death. #JusticeForBarb wouldn't have the momentum it did after season 1 if it hadn't been for the Duffer Brothers keeping her around longer than intended and fleshing out her character.

2.) I hold that the conflict brought up between Nancy and Barbara about her interest in Steve, and how much of this is based on the two actually liking one another vs social status and how this relationship would be perceived by others, is a lot more nuanced than its been made out to be by the fandom. It also makes the motivations behind all three characters complex as opposed to shallow and simplistic. Had the show gone with the original Montauk script, it would have removed that complexity regarding Nancy's reasons for liking Steve, Steve's reasons for being interested in her, and Barb's ambivalence about the two of them getting together. That's not even getting into how "Popular Douchebag wanting to get into another girl's pants" is a trope that's been done to death way before Stranger Things was ever written, so it's nice to see this trope subverted instead of taking the cliche route of playing it straight.

3.) I will talk more about this in future episodes, but ironically enough, by rewriting Steve's character, they actually manage to improve Nancy's character. Rather than coming off as a shallow brat pining for the rich popular dude (while referring to Mike's friends as "losers" in the process) and ignoring all the warning signs that Montauk!Steve couldn't care less about her, she comes off as someone who is trying something new with her relationship with Steve, but also establishes boundaries and isn't shy about calling out Steve if she thinks Steve is behaving badly. We see this even before her make-out session in the bathroom when both she and Barbara express their disdain for becoming friends with Tommy and Carol (Tommy is still as shitty in the Montauk script as he is in the final product), indicating that while they might tolerate Tommy and Carol for the sake of Nancy's relationship with Steve, they do not like them (rightfully so), nor have any intention of becoming friends with them. Same thing goes for how she deals with preparing for Mrs. Kaminsky's test (whose named Mrs. Krietzberg in the Montauk script): In the original screenplay, she basically blows off studying, sneaks out of the house to go to a bonfire, and gets put in an extremely horrific situation as a result. In this episode: While she does flirt with Steve, she is pretty firm in telling him her priority is studying for the test, and even brings up the question of whether Steve actually cares about her, or if this is just "another notch under his belt." It makes Nancy look a lot more responsible and intelligent than she was in the Montauk script. Which brings me to Steve.........

4.) Again, I will discuss the difference between the sex scene between Nancy and Steve on the show vs how it was originally supposed to go in the next episode, but in regards to how they wrote Steve.......I will always maintain the direction they took his character was a better choice, not just because they cast Joe Keery in the role, but for the story as a whole. It's easy to write hateful characters who have no depth to them (looking at Troy, James, Tommy, Carol, Angela, and Jake to name a few 😒), but it's a whole different ballpark when you have to write characters who have unlikable qualities (or in Steve's case, start out with unlikable qualities), but also have hidden depths to them that show they have potential to be decent people and get the audience to invest in them. Steve is one such character, and a far more interesting one than the Montauk version.

Take for instance the difference between Montauk!Steve vs Stranger Things Steve: In the show, it's stated in dialogue to Barbara that Nancy and Steve made out a couple of times, establishing this relationship had been ongoing for a while, and leading to speculation about where they take things from here. Furthermore, the way Nancy and Steve's make-out session in the bathroom is filmed comes off as a lot more consensual (helped by the immediate jump-cut to Steve and Nancy in the bathroom following her conversation with Barbara) compared to the original draft where Nancy has NOT been in a relationship with Steve at this point, and Steve just comes out of nowhere and starts kissing her when she doesn't expect it. It doesn't help that the Montauk script already spells out what his motivations are:

The problem with this is it takes away any mystery regarding Steve's motivations. It also makes it hard to invest in Nancy's decision to sneak out of the house to meet up with Steve because we already know it's going to end badly for her.

By contrast, Nancy commitment in this episode to study for her test and Steve's volunteering to help her raises an intriguing question: Is he actually doing this because he cares about her, or is he doing this for selfish reasons? It's a question that drives part of the episode, and helps keep the drama fresh instead of one-note.

In regards to Steve climbing through Nancy's window (and making such a hash of it that even Mike is rolling his eyes while he leaves the house with his bike), I always took this as a homage to A Nightmare on Elm Street (and even watched the movie three months before bingeing the first season of Stranger Things) where the main character (who's also named Nancy) had a consenting arrangement with her boyfriend Glen where he would show up at her bedroom window to avoid her parents and she would let him in and later help him sneak out once they were done talking. Considering that Steve informed her about coming to her house around 8:00pm and Nancy let him stay to study, I'm not remotely interested in doing the hysterical pearl-clutching about the ethics of this like Steve-Antis on Reddit and Tumblr want to. 🙄

Finally, with the way the study session goes, it hearkens back to my previous points: Steve is being challenged by Nancy about his reasons for coming over, and unlike the original script that spells out Steve's sleazy motivation (and kills any interest in that version of the character as a result), this Steve shows a different side: He projects the cool, popular, IDGAF image that might have made other girls attracted to him, but when Nancy makes it clear she isn't really interested in doing anything sexual, he lays off and continues to help her prepare for her test, showing he DOES actually care about what she thinks. Add on the clumsy way he sneaks into Nancy's bedroom, combined with his "stealthy like a ninja line" (which wasn't in the original script), and the Duffer Brothers are already setting the groundwork of the image Steve projects to others vs who he actually is on the inside. I will happily take that kind of character study any day of the week.

Part 4: Subtext and Foreshadowing:

Like I said before, there's a lot that's set up in this episode, and it's fun going back and picking up on tibits that not only foreshadow what will happen in season 1, but also foreshadows later seasons and contains multiple 80s references.

The opening with the scientist attempting to escape the Demogorgon, only to be pulled through the roof of the elevator by it is not just a homage to Ridley Scott's Alien, but specifically to Brett's death scene in the movie:

The main difference is, unlike with the Xenomorph, we don't see the Demogorgon yet since the Duffer Brothers are adhering to the principle established in Steven Spielberg's Jaws: Waiting for a certain amount of time (in this case, a few episodes) before revealing what the monster looks like, and build anticipation and dread in the audience as a result.

In regards to the D&D campaign that introduces Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas, one thing I failed to notice first time around was the poster of John Carpenter's The Thing in the background. It can be assumed the movie is one of Mike's favorites since I seriously doubt anyone else in his family would have been fans of it. Even though it's likely meant as just a reference (and the whole idea of body horror and assimilation from a monster will play a bigger role in S3 with the Flayed), it does foreshadow the conflict that will erupt between Mike and Lucas in future episodes.

For those who haven't seen the movie, John Carpenter's The Thing centers around an alien threat being brought unintentionally into a research facility on Antarctica that has the ability to assimilate and imitate creatures and people, which it uses to kill off the human crew in gory detail. The two main characters are R.J. MacReady (played by Kurt Russell) and Childs (played by Keith David), and the main drama of the movie centers on their conflict over how to deal with this "Thing" as tensions grow and hostiles threaten to turn everyone against each other. Both characters have parallels to Mike and Lucas in that they both have the Party's best interests in mind, but disagree over how to handle it, and it eventually comes to a boiling point where trust is shattered. Childs is (rightfully) suspicious of everyone around him in the movie, similar to how Lucas is suspicious of Eleven when she's first introduced, and even clashes with Mike over his leadership and decision-making in regards over how this helps Will, similar to Childs's antagonism towards MacReady's leadership and how his actions are impacting the research crew. Likewise, MacReady and Mike act as the unofficial leaders of the Party, make decisions with the consent of everyone, but also take stances that put them at odds with the people around them. Both Mike and MacReady also share stubbornness as a trait, which becomes a problem later on when they're trying to rally their respective groups.

As for everything else in this scene (including both Will and Dustin), the semi-review I did over a year ago which talked about that scene in detail sums it up best, and I'm going to quote it here:

"They do a good job with the establishing character moments for both Dustin and Lucas in Mike’s D&D campaign: Dustin telling Will to use caution and cast a protective spell while Lucas insists Will fireballs the Demogorgon while he has the chance. Lucas’s strategy is to go on the offense while Dustin’s is to go on the defense. Specifically with Lucas, he uses that strategy in other situations he’s in: Like when Lucas kicks Billy in the groin in S2 after being pinned to the wall by him, or gets an axe to chop at the Meat Flayer’s tendril to save El in S3, or even how Lucas is the one who later convinces everyone to take the fireworks from the store to use as ammunition (which helps turn the tide at the Battle of Starcourt). By contrast, Dustin prioritizes the safety of the Party, from pointing out to Mike and Lucas that they might be walking into the same danger Will encountered when they later look for him in the woods, to telling Mike NOT to jump off a cliff when Troy threatens Dustin, to enlisting Steve’s help in S2 because he knows Steve will be able to protect them due to his size and skill with the bat, to rescuing Steve and Robin from the Russians in S3. This isn’t to say that Lucas is wrong and Dustin is right, or even that Dustin is wrong and Lucas is right. It’s merely noting they have opposite approaches. Each situation they encounter is different, and sometimes (just like with Will’s dice role) it’s really up to chance. Also (as noted later in the episode by Mike), Will took Lucas’s advice and used fireball as a means of protecting the Party instead of trying to save himself. He puts other people’s safety before his own. The comic book “The Other Side” (which focuses on Will’s perspective during the events of S1 while trapped in the UD) expands on this aspect of his personality by including several moments of him coming to the aid of others (including Nancy) while in the UD, despite knowing it would put him in danger. Also, regardless of Lucas insisting the role doesn’t count because Mike didn’t see it, Will still chooses to be honest with Mike. He knows there are situations you can’t cheat your way out of, or pretend didn’t happen (as he’s about to find out with the real Demogorgon)."

In regards to mythology related to the Upside Down, there are some references that could come into play in season 5:

First is the mention of monsters like the Troglodytes in this episode. While they may be a simple D&D monster reference, considering the final season is implying there will be an invasion of monsters from the Upside Down, the Duffer Brothers could choose to introduce new creatures that the Party could give these names to. Troglodytes in D&D are a reptilian-humanoid species that's known for their stench, their bloodthirst, their desire to prey on innocent travelers, their short-sited stupidity, and their inability to plan in the long run.

Their characteristics have similarities to the goblins in the Artemis Fowl series, especially in their ability to be manipulated by the antagonists in those books to creating general chaos and kill as many people as they can get their hands on. Since Vecna and the Mind Flayer have long since abandoned the stealth approach they used in the first two seasons, if they're looking for a direct brutal attack that will rake up a high body count and happen to have creatures in the UD similar to troglodytes, they will inevitably be throwing these at the military stationed in Hawkins.

Same goes for the Thessalhydra that's mentioned in the S1 finale:

Considering that the vision Vecna showed Nancy in S4 involved a creature with a "big gaping mouth," we will likely be seeing a version of the Thessalhydra appear in the final season.

Adding on to this, there's a reference made to Mirkwood from The Lord of the Rings, which is one of the places inhabited by giant malicious spiders. Originally, they had planned to introduce a new creature on top of the Demobats in S4 called the Demospiders:

Even though those plans got scrapped in favor of the Demobats, there's nothing stopping the Duffer Brothers from formally introducing them in S5. And considering that the BTS photos for S5 have emphasized Castle Byers and Mirkwood, I wouldn't be surprised if Demospiders made their appearance there. Just like with D&D, references and even parallels to LOTR have been dropped, and it wouldn't be remiss to use Tolkien's books as a blueprint for the direction they could go in S5.

Speaking of references, comics like X-Men and Fantastic Four are brought up in this episode. When Will races Dustin for instance, the prize is the X-Men #134 comic, which features the X-Men against the Hellfire Club (Wonder if that's where the Duffer Brothers got the name for Eddie's D&D club? 🤔) and contains foreshadowing for the S1 finale regarding the Demogorgon's eventual fate, as well as a direct parallel between how Jean Grey/Phoenix deals with Mastermind:

BTW, I actually bought the comic and now own it! 😁

Additionally, after Troy and James get done with making fun of Dustin for his CCD, Mike tries to make Dustin feel better by comparing him to Mr. Fantastic and trying to get Dustin to see his CCD as a cool superpower. This is a general theme that will persist on this show: That being an outsider or a nerd isn't a bad thing, and can even be a "superpower" if the characters choose to see it as such and use it. The fact these characters also go to the lengths to support and uplift each other in spite of the world putting them down (similar to the constant discrimination the X-Men face, which forces them to rely on one another for support) also strengthens this theme.

Speaking of uplifting others, let's talk about Benny and his encounter with El.

I didn't appreciate the significance of this interaction the first time I saw this scene, but given what's revealed in El's flashbacks to the Lab, the way she was bullied and abused by the other kids (with the possible exception of Kali/Eight who later escaped), and how she was groomed and manipulated by both Dr. Brenner and Vecna........El's interaction with Benny is probably the first time she's experienced any type of kindness and human decency with no malicious motivations behind it. I mentioned in my previous semi-review that I wouldn't be surprised if Dr. Brenner deprived her of food either as a means of getting results (which was the same reason he allowed the kids at the lab to repeatedly bully El) or as a means of punishment. That man was a monster, and one thing y'all are about to find out real fast is I don't have a lot of patience for him, or for the fans out there who make abuse apologies on his behalf.

In any case, Benny is an example not just of a decent person, but a perfect example of how to write a character for such a small role and still have them leave enough of an impact that the audience will miss them and be upset when they're gone. For all the flaws the Duffer Brothers have, they excel at this. Benny was one of them. Chrissy and Barbara were also great examples. All of them deserved better than the fates they were subjected to.

Speaking of which, there's nothing like human cruelty and stupidity to quickly snuff out compassion and decency, is there? 😒

I still hold the same opinion about Connie Frazier as I did before: Not only was her murder of Benny evil, it was downright moronic and caused so many unnecessary problems for Brenner and the government. Granted, I don't feel sympathy for Brenner or his goons, and I'm hard pressed to care they all suffered horrific consequences down the line, but damn! I pretty much summed it up best once before:

"I’ve questioned the logic of Connie killing Benny, especially because of how it drew unwanted attention (especially from Hopper of all people) when that’s likely the last thing Brenner and Hawkins Lab wanted. At this point, Benny was fully cooperating with Connie, and was about to give El to her since he believed Connie was from social services. There’s nothing in his conversation with Connie prior to his death that would’ve made her suspicious that Benny saw something he shouldn’t have, or that he believed there was something abnormal about El. It’s also notable that El doesn’t run when she first sees Connie at the door with Benny. She runs AFTER Connie shoots Benny. That implies that Connie was someone El hadn’t seen before, meaning Connie could have gotten El to come with her without fuss (and without arousing Benny’s suspicions) and then later hand her over to Brenner before El realized what was happening. If Connie had been ordered to kill Benny just for seeing El and wanting to keep her existence a secret, then at the very least, she should have waited until after they had El in their custody so that she wouldn’t be able to run away. Connie really screwed up here."

There seems to be an uneven ratio between decent people vs vile human beings. For every Benny, there's a Connie Frazier or Dr. Brenner or Colonel Sullivan in the wings. For every Chrissy, there are multiple Angelas. And for every Steve, there are multiple Billys and Jasons. 😒 I'm not just talking about on the show, but in real life as well. This past year alone has been eye-opening in that regard.

Part 5: Song Choices

It goes without saying I'm a big fan of 80s songs, and part of the anticipation I've had with the release of each season was based on what 80s songs would be featured in a given episode, and what context they'd be used in. Because of the sheer variety though, my aim will be focusing on songs that either are plot-relevant, are used to foreshadow certain story or character elements, or are connected to a character and what that says about them.

Two specific songs in this episode stand out: "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane, and "Africa" by Toto. The first song plays when Benny is murdered by Connie, and El is forced to escape Brenner and his cronies. The second is played when Steve is helping Nancy study for her science test.

Like I've said, with the semi-reviews, in spite of their experimental nature, I did aim for analysis, especially in regards to the songs, and it's for that reason I'll let my quotes speak for themselves:

I love the song choice of “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane for the scene where El escapes Benny’s restaurant. The lyrics to the song were inspired by the book Alice in Wonderland, and the natural curiosity Alice has when she explores Wonderland (similar to El’s curiosity about the world outside of the lab). However, it was also about the type of drug-induced “trips” you take when you get high on psychedelics. Grace Slick, front-woman for Jefferson Airplane, argued Alice in Wonderland contained metaphorical drug references, like the caterpillar on a psychedelic mushroom smoking opium, or Alice eating something that causes her to become “too big for the room.” The song itself was written and released in the 60s when psychedelics like LSD were being used, and those same psychedelics were taken by El’s mom, Terry Ives, during the experiments she did at Hawkins Lab while pregnant with El.

I would like to take this time to amend and add on to a comment I made in that previous semi-review about the way El was created: While she was conceived during the time Terry was being experimented on with psychedelics, we know from S4, as well as the events of The First Shadow, that Vecna's blood was an important factor in Brenner replicating these kids, and that said blood was transfused into Terry while she was pregnant, resulting in El having her powers.

Finally, there's "Africa" by Toto:

Another song choice I liked was “Africa” by Toto for the Steve and Nancy scene. There’s always been a debate about what the lyrics mean (and from what I’ve heard, the band meant for the song to actually be about the continent of Africa rather than just a metaphor), but when I first heard the song years ago, I interpreted it as about a man being enamored by a woman, anticipating the moment when they get together, and wanting it to be a special moment. Given Steve’s interest (and flirtation) with Nancy in this scene, as well as his insistence to her that he doesn’t just see her as another notch under his belt and is truly invested in her, both he (and Nancy) want it to be a special moment as well.

All I'll add to this is the choice of song acts as a paradox in that it's oddly comforting, but also highlights the conflicting feelings in both Steve and Nancy about where their relationship goes from here.

Final Thoughts:

I know this review has ballooned, but there is (and always will be) a lot to talk about, not just in terms of characters and story arcs, or even homages to 80s trivia and media, but also in regards to real-life themes and how the issues that are brought up in Stranger Things continue to be relevant to today's culture. It's a big reason I'm passionate about this show, and why I want to discuss it.

On top of that, one thing I'm grateful that the Duffer Brothers carried over from the original Montauk pitch is this:

This, more than anything, is why I value this show, why I defend it against accusations that it's just "popcorn entertainment," why I argue there's more depth and intelligence to this show than people (especially on Reddit and Tumblr) give it credit for, and why I'm willing to go to bat for it (even in regards to writing choices I disagree with).

1 episode down. 33 more to go! 👍

[puffin-smoke]

puffin is incredibly anxious right now, I have my college review day tommorow, SO-

Random Facts About Everyone's Favourite Reporter!

Their full name is Maxwell Burt Dyer.

if anyone finds that out they're fleeing the country

They have an excessively thorough hair care routine, just about every surface in their bathroom is covered in bottles and serums ect ect

Their nose is kinda crooked, due to how many times they've broken their nose. Three of these times were their own fault, two were from getting punched in the face.

Maxwell isn't the Reporter in the Imperium.

They have kinda shittily dyed blonde hair. They did it by themself in their bathroom-and didn't read the instructions that well- so it doesn't look particularly professional. You can see their roots, and certain parts are somewhat streaky.

Other than that I have nearly no idea what I want them to look like. Cannot figure it out.

Caffeine addiction. It is a PROBLEM, and one they'll never fix.

Really good at finding deals! Coupons, sales, ect ect, and they're pretty good at haggling.

Favourite song? 360 by Charli xcx.

Song they cry to in the shower? Go The Distance from Hercules.

Funfact! Before the Inversion, the News account used to be on Twitter instead of Tumblr!

Comic book GEEK.

Has about a dozen latches on their door, and usually shoves a chair infront of it aswell every night. They can't sleep otherwise. UNLESS, they have people over, so they'll think "I don't want to seem weird" so they won't do any of that, and they just. Won't sleep. Unless it's someone they trust and they'll try and explain why they need the security.

Ya know that script I was writing for them a while back? Their Listener is called Headliner :DD yes I'm very proud of myself for thinking it up

Cannot fight to save their life. Anytime they've threatened to beat someone up? They're bluffing. They're scared. Their sister tried to teach them some techniques to take someone down, but nothing ever really stuck. So now if it looks like they might get into a scrap, their only strategy is to try and intimidate the other person into running off. It works surprisingly often.

Imp!Maxwell though? Haha, yeah, no they were just as bad. Maybe that's why things ended the way they did. Hm.

Favourite ice cream flavour is rocky road :D