#than trying to measure up against the legacy of big supers whom he has very little in common with and the power imbalance is so huge

[thevalleyisjolly]

Society if instead of tying MCU Spider-Man to the Avengers, they had him connect with the Defenders instead.

[hellyeahheroes]

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales story and character review

So let’s state a disclaimer, I didn’t like the PS4 Miles character as it was blatantly clear that they never read a Miles story with the actual mistakes they made(Miles going to the wrong school, Rio being a science teacher, Jefferson loving vigilantes/supers, using MJ as an origin for Miles, the skin lightening of both Miles and Rio). It was insulting because they clearly researched and had a fidelity to Peter Parker as they had references from both of the 616 and Ultimate Universes but with Miles, they somehow missed the first thing about Miles: he doesn’t want to be Spider-Man. I didn’t like this version. Notice the past tense.

Miles Morales PS5 redeemed him. I am half-way as I’ve done all of the side quests and pretty much half of the main story. And I also seen the whole main story on YouTube. So yeah.

First off, the first thing I noticed about Miles was his fresh-cut. It was, to quote my brother, “a hot mess” in the first game. I was delighted to hear that the first thing the “black” consultant told the Insomniac developers. His edge was fucked up. Second thing was how social Miles was. Third thing is that they retconned Miles going to Midtown. Yes, in the first thing they did actually have kid in Brooklyn attend a public school in Queens. I am pretty sure in the remaster the changed it to Brooklyn Visions.

These changes along with the fidelity of the relationship between Miles and Ganke were what sold me on this version of the character. I get it. No one wants Peter to die and honestly, they probably should have just used Anya, but Miles is popular now and it’d be stupid to just not capitalize.

So let’s talk about a few characters starting with the actual main character of the game: The Tinkerer.

Let me tell you that at first I thought she was redundant. I am not going to spoil it, but it was obvious the moment she is introduced in the game and Miles mentioned her twice before she is formally introduced. It’s clear that she was the focus. I felt that she was redundant because there is a literal harem of morally dubious women who Miles has a close connection to that she takes aspects from. Tinkerer is an amalgamation of all of them. She is a girl leading a gang(Diamondback/Tomoe) who is a genius inventor(Ceres). She wants revenge against a company that is poisoning the city and killed her brother so she becomes a ruthless vigilante(Tiana). Her powers or devices are that she manipulates a metal to form any shape she wants(Tomoe). Her relationship of Miles is one that is really platonic with some romantic undertones(literally every single person that I mentioned) but it is torn apart because Miles lies and keeps secrets from her(Katie Bishop).

What sold me on her character is the work they did in her collectibles which I implore you to collect because they provide so much depth to her character and also, it doesn’t really bother to explain Miles’ character in this world but hers. This girl is hurt because her loved one was killed and she saw Miles as family or a second brother. They hung out together and as soon as Miles went to Visions, they drifted apart. I’ve always wondered about the kids Miles left in his whole transfer situation and Tinkerer was one of them. Her pathos and identity is very much tied to Miles. And I love her.

Look, at first, I was reluctant to want her in the main comic, but someone put in too much work to not include her in Miles’ main rogues gallery. I hope that Saladin sees it and implements a version of her in the MM: Spider-Man comic. She also reminds me of Gear from Static Shock except she is not a gay white man.

Ganke was spot on. This is the best adaptation of Ganke I’ve seen.

Yes even better than Homecoming.

Ganke is part of Miles’ Spider-Man. He is not just the fat Asian kid providing tech support. He is the motivation and is apart of it too unlike the thing they tried to do with MJ and Peter in the first game. This also shows the clear contrast of Peter and Miles. Peter never trusted anyone enough to be that involved in his being of Spider-Man. Miles knows that he can’t do it alone and relies on Ganke for information gathering and webs. Ganke is important and this game nailed it.

Aaron Davis is in this game and no one is surprised. This version of Aaron...is different. Okay in the comics, he is a foil to Miles in that while Miles is becoming more heroic, Aaron is becoming more villainous. It’s no coincidence that Spider-Man and the Prowler look similar but the gist is that if Miles didn’t get bit by the spider, Miles would have become Prowler 2.0. The game eschews this dynamic because it is hard to pull that off after the mangled Miles’ origin so they opted for the Prowler to foil Miles in a different way: keeping secrets from family and friends and being protective of family because fear of loss. Aaron, after losing his brother and never getting a chance to reconcile with him, is hurt and wants to protect Miles and subsequently Rio. Miles, throughout the game, is becoming increasingly worried about his mom running for city council and painting a target on his back. He shows his frustration and distances himself from his mother in his work as Spider-Man. Aaron does the same to Miles when he finds out that he Spider-Man. There comes a point where the two collide and Aaron goes further into the extreme which I won’t spoil. You get it.

This change, while different, isn’t terrible. It’s actually really well thought out. It accomplishes the same thing in that Aaron is not a good role model but he is a good person to Miles. It allows Miles to reflect on his own behavior towards his mother. So I’m with it.

Oh and before I forget, Danika being in this game sold me that they actually started actually researching Miles. They ignored the weird racial commentary that she became enamores and she became a foil to JJJ. A voice of youthful and helpful positivity vs Randian cynicism and skepticism. A social justice activist vs an arrogant self important commentator. And it was fun listening to her. Hopefully Saladin brings her back. I am currently on Underground base liberation missions where she teams up with Ganke and Miles in putting them down. Just started, but there was already some mild hint that Ganke is crushing on her(they are a couple in the comics). So yeah.

The cons because like Ganke, I love pros and cons list. Two things about this game annoys me. First, the move to Harlem and this forced narrative of Miles being Harlem’s Spider-Man made no sense because just look at the map. Harlem is part of Manhattan. There is nothing stopping Peter from visiting Harlem regularly. Brooklyn, however, would justify having their own Spider-Man. As, if you didn’t know, Brooklyn is emerging into becoming the next big city as the area is thriving. Also, gentrification. Point is there is a reason why Miles connection to Brooklyn is important. It is foil to Peter who is from Queens and wanted to move into Manhattan island because part of it was he saw it as a measure of success to get out of the old neighborhood and make it big. Miles loves Brooklyn and doesn’t want to move out. Trying to replicate his love for his city in Harlem just because it’s predominantly black and brown is lazy and honestly if they included Brooklyn in the game, it would have justified the price of this game. Which brings me to the second point.

This game is too short on content to be costing $50 dollars. Just to point out something, all of the DLC from the first game cost 10 bucks a pop and you had as much content in those three expansions as you do this game. Infamous First Light was the same exact thing in relation to Infamous Second Sons and it cost 30 bucks. Uncharted Lost Legacy cost 30 dollars. I could go on. Point is that it shouldn’t have costed nearly the price of a full game when in comparison to the previous iteration, it wasn’t. Now I’ve seen people say that hating because it’s short isn’t warranted or pull up this quoted fact that video games are too long. Anti-consumerist bullshit aside, the difference between the main storyline of the previous game and this one is not repetition. It’s the lack of variety in enemies and deesculating storylines. In the first game, there were a variety of enemies that had their own AI and attacks. And you adjusted accordingly to whom you were facing. There were classes of enemies within the variety. You had the rudimentary common criminal which had 4 classes and how to deal with them and from that point, each enemy afterwards were variations of those four classes and each provided a different challenge. The repetition wasn’t boring because it provided a new challenge. This game only gives you three types of enemies and while 2 are vastly different from anything in the previous game or it’s expansions, the need to limit the series to focus on narrative becomes unwarranted because you are still getting less for nearly the same price.

That’s all. Have a great day. It was a fun game. Really.

@ubernegro

[novelconcepts]

The Last Jedi was far from a perfect movie; the pacing was questionable, and a lot of it just didn't line up with TFA. That said, I actually really enjoyed it for what it is. My highlights under the cut:

REY!:

Literally everything about Rey. I love her Jedi training costume, I love her being dressed in gray shades, I love her boots. I love her training on her own when Luke refuses. I love the fact that she's still using her staff, and I love that she isn't afraid of the lightsaber--but that she doesn't hold it like most Jedi. She holds it like a girl who's learned to fight with a staff first. I love it. 

Rey's Murder Face (™). I love that she is so consistently brutal, that she's all gritted teeth and furious stalk. The grace in her fight scenes is nothing like what we’ve come to expect from a lightsaber; it’s what you’d expect from a cornered tiger. I fucking adore that she has a totally different fighting style

Really, this whole breakdown could be (and is) a love letter to Rey. Rey is my Absolute Fave, and while I spent a lot of the first watch-through nervous for what they'd do with her, it all played out well in the end.

Rey coming at Kylo Ren with so much malice. Rey, even so, trying to see both sides of a miserable story. Rey pulling a whole-ass Luke Skywalker in her "there is still good in him, I sense it, I can help him back"--and Rey, faced with a power-hungry boy who does not want to be saved, who only wants to burn the world down, slamming the door in his face.  

Because, see, this is what I wanted. No romance, none of that "she can save him and erase his terrible decisions" narrative, but a compassionate Rey--a Rey who, like Finn, did not grow up with friendship or love or family in her life, and still craves these things, and still gives these things freely. A Rey who could have grown up into a shuttered, broken human being, and chooses forgiveness first. Chooses the benefit of the doubt. Chooses faith in the best possible option...

...but is not so naive as to think she ought to stick around for a man who slaps down her offer for help. Rey sees his classic abuse tactics--telling her she is nobody, that nobody cares except for him--and walks away, and when he tries to get at her again, she closes that door tight. Rey is a compassionate soul...but it is not her job to save a man who does not want to be better. This is exactly what I would have hoped for her character.

Also, how much do I love that she sees Finn with Rose and does not narrow her eyes in anger, does not seem to view Rose as a threat. Her body language is soft. She is, despite all the gray space in her, soft. 

Poe!:

His jacket. I want Poe's new jacket so bad. 

Poe being a hotheaded idiot. Switching off the comms to keep doing what he perceives to be the right thing? SUCH a Leia move! How could she even be pissed? 

(Because she's got so many of those moves under her belt, and she knows better these days, that's why. Leia don't take no shit. Not from Poe. Not from the Void of Space. Not from nobody.)

Poe learning how to be a hero. Learning that heroes are not all sassing the bad guys and blowing shit up. Learning that your X-Wing is super cool, dude, but maybe the true measure of a hero--and a leader--is knowing how to sit back and listen and make the hard choices with no glory whatsoever. 

Luke!:

Speaking of taking no shit: Luke "Theater Is My Middle Name" Skywalker, looking at that lightsaber and just pitching it over his shoulder. Luke "Drama School Has Nothing On Me” Skywalker just going about his old-ass business of fishing and farming and leaping around this island like Rey isn't there. 

Luke, who admittedly had two less-than-stellar teachers, and manages to hold-my-beer them both. Luke. How do you manage these things, you beautiful grumpy bastard.

Luke's sassy half-assed attempts at teaching. Rey's Fight-Club determination. They are so perfectly matched for each other. I'm sorry we never got him leaping onto her back and forcing her to climb vines, but I guess you can't have everything.

Rey's Murder-Sunshine butting up against Luke's Former Innocence-Turned-Grizzled Guilt is just so...satisfying to me somehow. I know Mark Hamill wasn't thrilled with the road these movies put Luke on, but frankly, it works for me.

Also soft: Luke interacting with his sister after so long, after so much guilt and shame and running away. Luke and Leia, a bond stronger than all the distance in the galaxy. I loved that little moment between them.

As much as I loved Luke's entire third-act charade. His outfit, his not even bothering with the illusion of his green lightsaber--and why would he? Ben Solo saw that saber as a murder weapon--his perfect hair. His little wink, his sassy one-liners, his whole demeanor. I don't love losing Luke, but I do think the way he went out was clean. It was Ben Kenobi. It was Yoda. It was Classic Jedi of the highest order.

(And Yoda was a great little touch. I wasn't...a hundred percent sure about the puppet they used, but it was worlds better than the prequels!Yoda. And I always enjoy him sassily smacking Luke upside the head. Never gets old.)

Leia!:

I don’t have a ton to say about Leia--not because I didn’t love her, but because seeing her onscreen, larger than life and so, so wonderful, hurt my heart. Knowing that the finale was going to belong to Leia, knowing that she was going to have the light shining on her in the end, carves out such a loss. Leia was the first powerful woman I got to see on-screen. Carrie was incredible. I was so glad to see her in this movie, and I am so terribly sad we will not be seeing her again.

But: Force-user Leia? So here for it. So fucking here for it. Anti-mutiny Leia? So here for it. Leia telling Poe to get his head out of his ass? Give me more. 

And we’re all in agreement that she had a thing with Holdo, right? Right? ‘Cuz. Yes. 

(I also really loved Holdo, and I wish we could have seen more of her. Laura Dern is always a delight.)

Finn!:

Finn still trying to run away--but for a totally selfless reason this time. Finn waking up and thinking of literally nothing but Rey for the longest time. Finn, who has only just figured out what friendship and family and love are, and is holding on for dear life. 

In related news: how much do I love that every major character who runs across Finn—Poe, Rey, Rose--immediately wants to protect him with everything they have. This kid who was stolen from his family and brainwashed into Stormtrooper life is so loved by everyone he meets. My heart.

Finn and Phasma! Lowkey showdown of the movie. Him being so goddamn proud of being Rebel Scum after all the running of TFA is just so perfect.

Rose!:

Rose fits in so beautifully with the new kids. She's so clever, and has such a big heart. Her not even hesitating to hand over the last piece of her sister if it meant saving everyone. I mean. Really. Rose, you are a glorious delight. 

Not to mention the tongue-tied good cheer followed immediately by tazing the hero you were just so excited to meet. Talk about mood.

Domhnall Gleeson:

Not Hux; I don't particularly care for Hux in all his one-dimensional glory, although I do love how not-having-it he was about Kylo Ren announcing himself the new leader of the First Order. That moment where he's 100% ready to shoot him? Glorious. But other than that, I just love the way Domhnall carries the character. He manages to be so different than I expect.  

Honorable mention to that classic banter with Poe over the speaker system. Simple comedy is perfection sometimes.

Misc thoughts:

An unpopular opinion, I'm sure: I like that Snoke was taken out. I like that Kylo Ren rose to hold the mantle of Worst Dude in the Galaxy. I like that we got a character who, like Vader, was a boy to whom Bad Things Happened--and who decided to respond in the worst possible way.  

To me, everything about this movie was rooted in choice, in the power of choosing your path. Rey chooses to look into the dark, but still lean light. Finn and Poe choose to risk everything for the chance to save the Resistance. Rose chooses to give up her last tie to her sister for a cause she believes in. And Kylo? Kylo chooses to forsake Ben Solo. Kylo chooses the path of murder. The path of absolute darkness. Kylo looks redemption full in the face and raises his middle finger at it. He chooses not to be Anakin Skywalker--who overthrew his master to save his son--but to be his own man. Which is not to say he is a good man. He actively chooses not to be a good man. It makes him a very human villain. There is no universe in which a unilaterally evil character is more interesting than one with layers.

I like that this movie recognizes that moral grayscale is where the world exists. The Jedi failed because they pretended they were above human darkness. Rey represents genuine balance. I appreciate this about her. I appreciate that they let her do exactly what Luke did in Empire: go into the cave. Face your darkness. But, unlike Luke, Rey hasn't learned to fear her darkness. She simply uses it like a tool, and sets it back on the shelf until it's needed  again. She does not shy from a fight, but she does not recklessly murder, either. She is the middle ground.

Another possibly unpopular opinion: I like the idea that Rey comes from no special legacy. Now, it's very true that Kylo may have been lying to her about this, trying to coax her to his side; his playbook is full of abusive tactics, and this is a classic one. Personally, I like the idea that the Force was so desperate for finally achieving balance after all those ridiculous Skywalkers failed in the journey, and just went, "Fuck it. I'm making my own." Rey: Daughter of the Fed-Up Force.

That said, if he was telling the truth, and she did come from people who truly are not part  of the bigger story, people who really do not care about her...doesn't that make Rey being a strong, self-sufficient, incredibly big-hearted human so much more impressive? Rey did not come from parents who loved her, like Ben Solo did. She did not grow up with a Jedi Master uncle believing in her. She did not come from a long line of power and legacy. Rey was self-taught in every way. Rey was alone. Rey made dolls and scrounged helmets and learned to be a whole person all by herself. She's an excellent example of how you do not need a bloodline or a legacy to be an interesting, powerful person.

Chewie with the Porgs. Okay, listen. Listen. I know they're everywhere right now. I knoweveryone burned out on Porgs. But look: Chewbacca in the aftermath of his lifelong best friend dying, adopting these little bird creatures like a widower adopting a therapy animal to offset his grief? I am not made of stone, people.