My Favorite Christmas Movies

'Tis the season! One thing I love to do at Christmas is watch movies. I'm a bit of a film buff, and I get Christmas Day off from work, so I like to take the day to enjoy my presents and watch movies. And these are my favorite films to watch during the season:

 

Gremlins (1984)



Gremlins at first is a strange choice for a Christmas film. It's a film that combines elements of horror and comedy, released at a time when such a thing was popular in film (keep in mind, Ghostbusters was released the same year).

The film is about an inventor's son named Billy Peltzer who gets a creature known as a mogwai, which he names Gizmo. However, mogwai come with three rules of care: Do not expose to light (because light can kill mogwai), do not feed after midnight (because mogwai turn into monsterous gremlins), and do not get a mogwai wet (because it makes them reproduce and create more mogwai). You can guess what happens next. Yup, gremlins wreak havoc all over a small town at Christmas time.

Why do I consider this a Christmas film? Well, mainly because it's set on Christmas. As for why I like to watch it on Christmas, because it's one of the only "horror" films I can stand to watch, and I have to admit, I sometimes do get a chuckle out of the gremlins' destructive antics. I like to laugh on Christmas, and Gremlins gets a chuckle out of me. Also, check out the sequel, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. It's a great sequel. It's much lighter in tone, more humor than horror, but the new variations of gremlins that appear are awesome.

 

A Christmas Story (1983)

 

 

Based on Jean Shepherd's book In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash, the film is actually narrated by Shepherd himself. It tells the story of a young boy named Ralphie Parker, who only wants one thing for Christmas: A Red Ryder BB gun, and the misadventures of his family during the Christmas season.

 

The film, to me, is required Christmas viewing. Heck, on Christmas day, TNT plays the film for 24 hours straight. It's a sweet funny film with many memorable scenes and moments, from the father's feuding with the neighborhood dogs and his lusting over his 'special award' (a lamp in the shape of a lady's leg), to Ralphie's fantasies regarding his one desired gift, and of course, his getting the bunny suit.

 

Funny thing about this film, I always thought it was set in the 1950s, but according to director Bob Clark's commentary on the DVD, the film is set in a nebulous time period in the 1930s-1940s. Huh.

 

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

 

 

 

Much like A Christmas Story, this film focuses on a family's misadventures during the holiday season. In this film's case, it focuses on the Griswolds, especially their mishap-prone patriarch Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase.

 

The film was written by John Hughes, who based it on a short story he wrote for the National Lampoon magazine called "Christmas '59". In the years since its release, it has become a Christmas classic.

 

Clark Griswold desires to have a "good old fashioned family Christmas", but as typical for the Griswolds, disaster erupts. Everything goes wrong, from bickering family members to Christmas lights refusing to cooperate, even a rampaging squirrel. Through all of this, Clark learns what Christmas means to him.

 

This was my favorite Christmas movie as a kid, mainly for an epic tirade Clark spits out near the end. There are many scenes like this that I still remember perfectly, and have for years.

 



Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)

 

 

 

You know how many superheroes have origin tales? Superman, rocketed to earth from the doomed planet Krypton. Batman, death of parents leads him to take of the life of a crime fighter. Spider-Man, bitten by radioactive spider and learns a lesson about power and responsibility from a tragedy. This film was an attempt to tell the origins of Santa Claus, produced by the team of Alexander and Ilya Salkind, who also produced the 1977 Superman film.

 

The film tells how a peasant named Claus ends up becoming the Santa Claus we know of today, and also tries to explain other aspects of the Santa Claus mythos, like how his reindeer fly, and how he manages to ascend chimneys. The film also focuses on an elf named Patch, played by the late, great Dudley Moore. An inventive elf, and feeling unappreciated, Patch goes out on his own, and falls under the wing of an evil toymaker named B.Z., the step-uncle of a rich girl Santa befriends. B.Z., played by John Lithgow, seeks to displace Santa as the provider of children's toys on Christmas, and with Patch as his pawn, he just may do it.

 

Critics blasted the film, but I personally consider it a cheesy guilty pleasure movie. And personally, I liked the ides of exploring the origins of one of pop culture's most well-known icons.

 

Die Hard (1988)

 

 

 

This is admittedly, the most unusual choice for Christmas viewing, but I consider it a Christmas film because it's set on Christmas.

 

Starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman, the film is based on Roderick Thorp's 1979 film Nothing Lasts Forever. NYPD cop John McClane comes to Los Angeles to visit his wife Holly, only to find himself being the only man that can stop a team of terrorists who attack the building they are on. However, the terrorists' true motives are actually not about politics...

 

This film showed that Bruce Willis, who was mainly known for comedic performances on TV (One word: Moonlighting), could not only be an action star, but be a bankable one. Die Hard was a critical and box office smash, creating a franchise that has encompassed five films, with a sixth in preproduction. Yeah, it's about ready to start competing with Star Trek for amount of sequels.

 

This is one of my favorite films. Willis's McClane is hilarious and awesome, and the film is very cleverly-done, playing with a lot of action film tropes. If you're looking for an action-packed film to watch on Christmas, Die Hard is for you.

 

And that's the list of my favorite Christmas films. Turns out they're all from the 80s, ha ha. I guess that decade was a good one for that kind of film. Anyway, I wish you all a Happy Holidays, and happy viewing!



Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 5: Route 4 and Lumiose City

With the Santalune Gym conquered, there really isn't a whole lot to do left in Santalune City. As such, my journey must go on...after picking up some supplies, of course.

When attempting to leave the city to go to Route 4, a girl remarked to me that I was one of the trainers to get a badge from the Professor. Turns out her name is Alexa, and she is the older sister of Viola, the gym leader I beat. She's a journalist. She was very impressed with my victory over her sister, so she gives me this item called the Exp. Share. This could be a useful item in training Pokémon. She also told me that she works at a publishing house in Lumiose City, and if I have a big story for her, I can stop by. That was...interesting. At least I managed to get a useful item out of the exchange.

After getting some supplies, I went to Route 4, aka Parterre Way. The Route is one of the more beautiful routes I have seen. It essentially is a giant garden, with a huge fountain halfway through the route, and several hedge mazes in the corners of the route. It's quite a beautiful sight. The Route also has its fair share of Trainers to battle and wild Pokémon to catch.

During my exploration of the Route, I encountered a Flabebe (I knowit's missing the accents, but have no idea how to type them), and captured it. What was interesting about this little Pokémon was she was of a new type: Fairy. Yup, much like Generation II, which introduced the Dark and Steel types, X and Y have introduced Fairy. I'll have to look up its strengths and weaknesses before I do anything with it. Maybe in the next new games, they will have a Fairy-type-based Gym.

I had also found a Poison Barb. Neat. I'll maybe give to my Butterfree after it gets Poison Powder.

At the end of the Route, I encountered these two people, a man and a woman. They explained to me that Flabebe, one of the Pokémon I got, was a Fairy-type. The woman is acting bonkers, screaming the new Type turns the entire match-up system on its head. She introduces herself as Sina, who might need to cut down on the caffeine. The man reveals his name is Dexio...yeah. Dexio. That's his name.

...Where do these names come from?

Anyway, they want to show me the way to Professor Sycamore's lab. On the way there, Dexio gives me a TM, Return. He explains that it's a move that works better the more I walk around a Pokémon. That makes sense, actually. You keep a Pokémon in your team for long periods of time, they start to bond with the trainer, and over time, that bond grows. I have heard that friendship has benefits for Pokémon's stats. I'll have to look into that.

I go through a tunnel, and I find myself in Lumiose City. And this place is HUGE. I think it might be even bigger than Castelia City in Black/White. I have heard that this city is modeled on Paris, which makes sense considering the BIG HONKING TOWER in the center of the city, and the fact that Kalos is modeled on France.

I don't know what to make of this place. There's just so much to see and do, and I have no idea what to do next. So for now, I'm just going to follow Sina to the Pokémon Lab. On the way there, I spotted this poodle-like Pokémon walking around. Heh heh, I caught one of those in Pokémon X. I had also overheard this couple talking about the many cafes in town. I did check one out on the way to the Lab, called the Café Introversion, so I'll have to look around to find the rest.

However, exploring the town isn't quite as easy as one thinks. Turns out quite a bit of the city is suffering a blackout. As a result, most of the city is off-limits. I wonder how they lost power. According to Bulbapedia, the Gym Leader here, Clemont, specializes in Electric-type Pokémon, so I'm guessing that he's got something to do with it. Maybe he's the cause. Would be interesting to see a villainous Gym Leader in a Pokémon game.

Anyway, I'd better get to the lab. I wonder what the Professor wants there for me...

Pokémon Obtained:
Garfield (Skitty)
Bebe (Flabebe, Yellow Flower variant)
Rosie (Budew)
Buzz-Off (Combee)
Mothra (Vivillion) - Evolved from Spewpa

Lack of Posts

My apologies for the lack of posting lately. Something funny is going on here. The site says that the web browser I use is not detected, and I can't fix it.


As a result, I can't seem to post videos and pictures on here without lots of problems, and I want to use those to spice up my posts, so they are not boring walls of text. My apologies to anyone this inconveniences.

My Thoughts on the Jurassic World Trailer

Today, I stumbled across this trailer for the newest Jurassic Park film: Jurassic World.

Honestly, the first thing I thought after discovering this trailer on YouTube was "They're making another Jurassic Park movie"? I was genuinely surprised to see that there was another movie in the works, much less it is going to be released. Keep in mind, it has been MANY years since the last film.

As I watched the trailer, I couldn't help but wonder one thing, after the disaster that occurred with the original Jurassic Park, why in the name of everything holy would anyone try to create a theme park with living dinosaurs AGAIN?! If they're really going to try this again, they'd better have some better freakin' security. I mean, can you imagine some family going to this park, thinking that it'll be fun and totally unlike twenty years earlier.

After learning about this film from a friend, we had discussed this film's possible plot. What we both agreed on is that the film's story does keep in mind what went wrong in the first film, and have the characters keep those events in mind and something new makes the dinosaurs rampage. Like maybe sabotage by an environmentalist/animal rights group who operate under the misguided ideal that the dinosaurs should be allowed to run free.

Another plot point is that the scientists there are developing a super-hybrid dinosaur to increase park attendance. You can guess how well that'll go.

In all seriousness, this hopefully will become a big fun monster movie. Some of the plot seemingly makes no sense to me, but when it comes to these kind of movies, the plot doesn't really matter, people come to see the dinosaurs. So, I hope we get lots of dinosaur action.

The cast looks cool, too. You got Bryce Dallas Howard of Spider-Man 3, Vincent D'Onofrio from Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and Chris Pratt from Guardians of the Galaxy. Most of the cast are unknown to me, though, so I'll have to watch the film to see how they fare in this film.

All in all, I want to see this movie, if only for the dinosaur rampaging action.

Big Hero 6 Review

Today, I got to do something that was a lot of fun. I got to go to my local theatre, and I watched a fantastic film: Big Hero 6.

Greetings. I am Baymax, and you will be quoting me quite a bit.

Big Hero 6 was the first film done by Disney using characters from Marvel Comics, which they acquired in 2009. The team in the comics themselves are pretty obscure, so they had a lot of freedom to tell a story, and perhaps give some spotlight to some lesser-known characters.

I have to be honest, I was very excited about this film. Had been since I saw the first trailer. So, when I finally had the chance to go the theatre and see it, I had high hopes.

I was not disappointed. The film was preceded by a short called Feast. Feast focused on a dog named Winston who was fond of food. It was a sweet little short, and very adorable. Big Hero 6 focuses on Hiro Hamada (He was actually named Hiro Takachiho in the comics, I guess his name was changed because "Hamada" was easier to pronounce), a teenage genius and his sidekick, a robot named Baymax. He and his friends, a group of science whizzes with their own talents, become superheroes to stop a menace armed with nanotechnology.

The film's setting, a merging of San Francisco and Tokyo called San Fransokyo (Yup), was amazing to see, a futuristic world that was bright and colorful, a great setting for a colorful group of heroes like Big Hero 6. The group never calls themselves that by name, but I can imagine it would be hard to come up with a reason why the group would call themselves "Big Hero 6".

This film had something for everyone: action, humor, and touching moments. Disney was wise to focus on Baymax for their advertising, as he definitely was a breakout character. Scott Adsit's delivery was robotic, but also allowed Baymax to show a surprising amount of emotion and humanity.

The rest of the voice cast did fine work, too. Ryan Potter made Hiro Hamada a likable kid. T.J. Miller's Fred was goofy, laid back, and fit his design very well. Jamie Chung made GoGo Tomago tough and awesome. Genesis Rodriguez's Honey Lemon was incredibly sweet. Damian Wayans Jr.'s Wasabi was a voice of reason who was funny in his own right.

The one thing I really loved about this film's story was that the main villain and Hiro became parallels of each other in motivation. I'll leave you to watch the movie to see exactly what I mean.

The only real critique I have with this film was that it was a bit short, about an hour and fifteen minutes. However, it's a minor critique. The story went along at a good pace, and accomplished all it set out to do. And to be honest, I'd rather sit through a short film than a long film that drags on and on. Animated films are rarely longer than two full hours anyway, so again, the short time is not something that really bothers me.

Go see this film. It's a lot of fun.

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 4: Santalune Gym

Okay, I've done some further training of my Pokémon, especially my three Fire-types (Vulcan the Fennekin, Bunsen the Pansear, and Firemane the Litleo), so now...it's time to hit the Gym, and try out for the first badge in Kalos: The Bug Badge. Bug Badge. Pretty obvious what kind of Pokémon the Gym Leader hands out, huh? Well, time to take on the Gym.

As I said earlier, when I first entered the Gym, it looked like an art gallery. It's appropriate. Evidently, when Viola isn't working as a video game boss, she's an avid photographer, and uses her Gym as a gallery to show off her work. I can't help but wonder if the Pokémon League in Kalos is cool with this. Wouldn't this be technically moonlighting? I'm guessing they're fine with it, because nobody in the Gym charged me for looking at the photos.

When I enter the Gym, the guy inside greets me and welcomes me to the Gym. How nice. He asks me if I'm thrilled with my first Gym challenge. You bet! I got three Fire Pokémon that wants to meet Viola's bugs. He shows me a pole in the center of the gallery, and tells me to challenge Viola, I have to go down it. Evidently, Viola was also once a firefighter, or she is a big Ghostbusters fan. Or of the 1966 Batman series. He also reminds me that Viola and the trainers inside specialize in Bug Pokémon. Yeah, thanks for telling me. I didn't go to the trouble to catch and train Bunsen and Firemane just for the fun of it...okay, maybe a little bit for the fun of training Pokémon.

I go down the pole, and find myself in the middle of a spider web. A big freakin' spider web. What is this thing made of? I know spider silk is supposed to be really strong, but geez! A spider web in a Bug-themed Gym. Yes, spiders are not insects, they are arachnids. Arachnids are a different class of creature. However, quite a few Bug-type Pokémon have been modeled on spiders, so I'm not surprised to see this.

The Trainers in the Gym weren't any real challenge, I was able to plow through them easily. Viola herself was surprisingly tough, though. She had a Surskit, which is partially Water. It was frustrating, but I also actually liked that. It showed that the Gym Leaders are smart enough to know that overspecialization is NOT good. And since it appears that Viola's liking of Bug Pokémon is well-known to the public, she's smart enough to realize Trainers will bring Fire-types against her (and considering the Santalune Forest and Route 22 are where a Trainer can find wild Pansears and Litleos), she knows she's going to need something to counter the Fire-types Trainers will be bringing against her. It does bring a bit of frustration, but it's nice to see a little savvy on the Gym Leader's part.

Anyway, I managed to beat her and get my Bug Badge.

This badge will stare into your soul...

The Bug Badge allows Trainers to command Pokémon up to level 30, even ones obtained in trades. This is handy, as I can now add my Chespin and Froakie to my team. I wanted them in my main team, now I can keep them on the team for a while. I never thought about it much in previous games I played, but now I can't help but wonder, how exactly does that work in-universe? Game mechanics-wise, I understand the reason for this, it prevents the game from being beaten too easily, but how does it work in the actual world within in the games? The anime has hinted that Badges are a sign that a Trainer is powerful and is to be regarded with respect by a Pokémon.

I also got a load of money and a TM, which is typical for a Gym. This TM is for a move called Infestation, a move that prevents Pokémon from fleeing for four to five turns. This'll be helpful in catching wild Pokémon, especially Abra. Abra is in this game, and I have caught one in previous games. They are a pain to catch and train, but having an Alakazam on your team is worth it.

Upon leaving Viola, the guy hanging out in the gallery area congratulates me on winning the first Kalos badge. They also engraved my name on the statues there. That's pretty cool. It's nice to know that there are still some traditions that don't change in the Pokémon world.

I've done pretty much everything there is to do here in Santalune City, so time for me to grab some supplies in the Poké Mart, make some adjustments to my Pokémon team, and then head out to the next Route and Town to collect some more Pokémon, train my team, and find more adventure!

Pokémon Obtained: None

Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, First Impressions

I have recently managed to obtain a game I had been eagerly anticipating for some time: Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. I didn't get the Wii U version because I do not own a Wii U.


I've been a fan of the Smash Bros. series, playing it since the first game on the N64 all those years ago. The concept was so simple, beautiful, and awesome: The stars of Nintendo's various games all facing off against each other a la Street Fighter or Tekken. This simple idea has evolved into a series that has become one of Nintendo's best and most fun series, the games paying homage to Nintendo history.


As such, I had to get the latest one. In short, I love it. The first thing I love is the roster. It's got a great roster of characters from a variety of series. One addition I liked was Little Mac from the Punch-Out series. When I thought about it, I thought it was strange he wasn't an actual fighter in the game series from the beginning. Little Mac is a boxer, he would've been a perfect fighter for Smash Bros. Ah well, I guess it was since his series didn't get any games for the N64 as far as I know. But then again, as far as I know, the Metroid series also skipped over the N64 as well, and Samus Aran got to be a playable fighter. Ah, well.


It was also really neat seeing Pac-Man as a fighter. It wasn't surprising, really, as Namco helped develop the game. What is also nice was his attacks also pay homage to other Namco games, like Mappy and Galaga.


Anyway, the game was huge! There's so much to do besides straight-up fights. There's the Home Run contest, the All-Star and Classic modes make their return. The game has no Story mode like in Brawl. I wish it did, but I didn't find myself missing it when playing. One of the neatest features was that you could take your little Mii character and put it in the game and have it Brawl alongside and against the gaming legends.


So far, the only issue I had with the game is the control. It does take some getting used to. However, you can change which buttons do what, so it's not a big deal. I also tend to lose track of what is going on slightly because of my 2DS's screen, but it's not a game-breaker to me.


I'm going to keep playing this game and see what else I can unlock. I've already unlocked Wario, so I can't wait to see what other hidden characters are there!

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 3: Santalune City

Alright! We're here in Santalune City, the first real city the player visits in Pokémon X/Y. The first place I decide to visit is the local Pokémon Center to check it out. When there, I ran into Tierno. He's here to get his Pokémon healed up. I wonder what he has in his team...

Anyway, he explains what the Center is for, for all the rookie players (Every Pokémon game is someone's first, so it doesn't bother me that much). He also shows that the Centers now have Poké Marts built into them. In previous games, they were separate buildings. I actually like the idea of the Pokémon Center and the Poké Mart being one building. It's much more convenient. You can get your team healed up and stocked up in one place. Very nice.

There was also an area where a Trainer could adjust their outfits. I had noticed that there was a clothing store nearby. Upon entering the clothing store, I found it was a place that sold hats. I have to admit, this is an interesting new feature for the Pokémon games. I have to admit, it's a cool idea. I'm sure that there are players that would like to customize their trainers' outfits, and shops like this are a great idea to help players make their avatars look unique. Now to my understanding, shops have different items available every day. Personally, I'd prefer all the choices available all at once, but I can see how this can be used as incentive to get people to play the game daily, like rewards on some iOS games.

I had decided to make an adjustment to my team. I decided to switch out Chevy (my Fletchling), for Stingerette (my Weedle). Yeah, it means I now have three bug Pokémon on my team, but I want to build up Stingerette's power levels and evolve her into a Beedrill. Route 3 also is a great opportunity to add some more Pokémon to my collection. Route 22 is also nearby, so that'll be nice to see what Pokémon reside there. I've managed to get my hands on a Litleo on Route 22 (Cute little Pokémon. If I didn't have a Fennekin, I'd use one in my regular team) and I got a Pansear in Santalune Forest. With my Fennekin, that means I have THREE Fire-type Pokémon. Viola is a Gym Leader in specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fire beats Bug. All I have to do is train them a bit, and she'll go down faster than a building rigged by an expert demolition crew.

The Gym's front door was guarded by a roller skater named Rinka. I had to beat her in order to get inside. When you win, she gives a nice reward: special attachments to your shoes that'll make them into roller skates. As an idea, the roller skates are awesome. They allow you to move real fast, which cuts down on time it takes to get places (at least until you can get a Pokémon to learn Fly). The thing is, it can be hard to control with the stick.

One of the centerpieces of the City, besides the Gym itself, is the Trainers' School. This place is mainly here to explain to players about the various status changes Pokémon can endure in battle, like Paralysis, Poisoned, and Frozen. Now, I have played many a Pokémon main series game. When it comes to status changes, I can remember my Pokémon getting paralyzed, poisoned, or being put to sleep quite a few times, but I didn't encounter them getting burned or frozen that much. And keep in mind, I've battled and captured quite a few Fire and Ice-type Pokémon in my time. I'm guessing those two are rarer inflictions.

As for the Gym itself, it's quite a beautiful little Gym. The first room is essentially an art gallery. Turns out Viola, when she's not making life miserable for rookie Trainers, is a photographer. She hangs up her photos of Bug Pokémon on the walls. I can imagine that in this world, she lets people visit the Gallery, and sells prints and souvenirs in order to bring a little extra income into the Gym.

Well, time to get ready. Gotta train my Pokémon some more, and then...I'll battle Viola for my first badge. Wish me luck!

Pokémon Obtained:
Neptune (Froakie)
Chestnut (Chespin)
Gnaw (Bidoof)
Stingerette (Kakuna) - evolved from Weedle
Spiral (Dunsparce)
Church (Frillish) - Obtained via Wonder Trade
Honedge (Honedge) - Obtained via Wonder Trade
Tula (Azurill)
Spewpa (Mothra) - evolved from Scatterbug
Butterfree (Kojima) - evolved from Metapod
Beedrill (Stingerette) - evolved from Kakuna
Shada (Burmy)
Firemane (Litleo)
Daffy (Psyduck)
Hanzo (Farfetch'd)

Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3

Marvel's Cinematic Universe has grown. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy. And it is continuing to grow. The Avengers' sequel, Age of Ultron, is coming. And Marvel Studios has announced Phase Three is coming over the next six years. As such, I thought I'd give my thoughts on them. Now keep in mind, I may not say much about some of these films, as all there is about them are release dates. So, not much to work with here.


Ant-Man - July 2015
I have talked about this film already, but I have found that I some more to say on it. I want to be excited about this one. I really did. After all, all the Marvel movies before this one got me excited. I liked and enjoyed every one of them. However, this one will definitely be the big stumbling block. I think this one may be a misfire. With all the liberties taken with the mythos in this film, and the controversies regarding the production, and the exclusion of the founding Avenger Janet Van Dyne/The Wasp, I sadly think this one will be Marvel Studios' first disaster. Hank Pym deserved better. Scott Lang deserved better. Janet Van Dyne DEFINITELY deserves better.




Captain America: Civil War - May 2016
To be honest, I winced a bit when I saw this title. I hated Civil War in the comic books. Well, to be fair, I thought it was an interesting idea, just the execution stunk. I'm guessing this film will involve a conflict between Captain America and Iron Man. I'm just hoping that this film just involves an issue between them and it doesn't drag every other superhero into it. One thing for sure, this film probably will be better than the mini-series.




Doctor Strange: Serpent Society - November 2016
I was surprised to hear him being mentioned in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and now he's getting his own film. I've never read much of his solo stuff, just his Defenders and New Avengers adventures, so for me, this is new territory. I'm curious how they will incorporate the Master of Mystic Arts into the MCU, as that universe is more science and real world-themed. I have read that MCU's magic and mysticism will involve quantum physics and string theory and stuff like that. I will be honest, it'll be...well...strange hearing Doctor Strange quote Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr instead of yelling "By the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!"




Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - May 2017
OH, YEAH! I LOVED the Guardians' big film debut! I wrote my thoughts on it here. When it was announced a sequel will be made, I was so happy! I cannot WAIT to see Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Groot, and Rocket back on the big screen! I'm hoping this one will be as good as the first!


Thor: Ragnarok - July 2017
This one will be interesting. Ragnarok was the final end for the Norse Gods in the myths, so I'm fearing that this will spell the end for the God of Thunder and his family and friends in Asgard. I am hoping we get to see Balder appear in this movie. Or at least Amora the Enchantress. After all, her sister Lorelei appeared in Agents of SHIELD.


Black Panther - November 2017
Much like The Winter Soldier, I can see this film going to political thriller territory as T'Challa is the King of Wakanda. They've cast Chadwick Boseman for the role. I'm not familiar with his work, so I'm hoping he's good. I can't wait to see how Wakanda is going to look.


Captain Marvel - July 2018
Carol Danvers is making her MCU debut! The first MCU film with a female superhero in the lead! Awesome! Can't wait for this one! Hopefully this'll lead to Black Widow getting her own movie as well.


Inhumans - November 2018
MCU's X-Men movie. 'Nuff Said. I do wonder how they are going to adapt Black Bolt, Medusa, Karnak, Triton, Gorgon, and Crystal into the MCU, though.


Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 - May 2018
Avengers: Infinty War Part 2 - May 2019
This is it. The big one. The Main Event. Every MCU film has built towards this in some way. Avengers vs. Thanos. I can't WAIT five years! I want this NOWWWW! NOW NOW NOW NOW! I'm hoping we get a big epic super-team-up! Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Inhumans, all teaming up to fight Thanos! If this is what it'll be...the epicness will make Marvel fans' heads explode with joy.

My Thoughts on Ghostbusters 3

Well, it has been confirmed. Ghostbusters 3 is coming. Now, not much has been revealed about the new film, whether it's going to be a sequel or a reboot of the franchise. As such, I don't have a whole lot to say about it.



To be honest, I'm hoping that the new film is a continuation of the series rather than a reboot. To me, a reboot is something that to me the Ghostbusters franchise does not really need. It's a franchise that really doesn't need rejuvenation like the Star Trek franchise did. Not to mention that recent attempts at reboots and remakes, like Robocop, didn't exactly work out very well.


Another thing that has seemed to cause a lot of anger for some reason as far as I understand is that the new Ghostbusters will all be female. I don't really see a problem with this myself. It's not like we haven't seen women wear the proton packs before. In The Real Ghostbusters, Janine Melnitz herself donned the proton pack herself. In the sequel cartoon Extreme Ghostbusters, one of the "next generation" 'Busters was a Goth teen named Kylie Griffin, who is also now appearing in the IDW comics. The game Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime (a game I enjoyed personally) had a female Ghostbuster named Bridget Gibbons. There are a lot of genuinely great funny women out there, so I can see an all-female team working out on film. I would be genuinely disappointed if Tina Fey wasn't in this movie, though. She'd be a great Egon-type.


I would love to see the third film have more of a "passing-the-torch" theme to it, which a continuation would allow. Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore (Since Murray won't get involved, I'll say that he's not available, and since Harold Ramis is sadly no longer with us, I'll have to say that Egon is also deceased), realize that age is catching up to them, and decide to recruit a new team of Ghostbusters to do the actual legwork. However, only four applicants show up: four women with their own quirks and wacky personalities. You can get the humor from the surviving Original 'Busters training the rookies, and after one big epic adventure saving the city once again, Ray and Winston hang up the proton packs for good, letting the ladies be the defenders of New York against the supernatural.


Yup, that's how I'd do it.

Adventures in Pokemon Y Part 2: Santalune Forest

So here I am in Santalune Forest. It's a big ol' forest. I kinda wish that my Zigzagoon, Rocket, had the Pickup ability because he could pick up plenty of free potions and Poké Balls.

I'm not going to traverse through this big ol' forest alone, though. Shauna is going to be joining me on my trek through the forest. She is real handy. The girl is a living Pokémon Center, healing your Pokémon up for you when you need to. How does she do that? Does she magically conjure up Potions and Ethers or something? Is she a witch? Ah, it doesn't matter, she's going to be handy exploring this forest. Can I have her with me throughout the whole game?

While I'm here, I might as well take a shot at training some of my Pokémon, and prepare them for the first Gym. During my training, I'm adding on to my collection. One of the Pokémon you can encounter in the Forest is Pikachu. A neat little detail the game designers put in is when you encounter Pikachu, his cry is not the standard-style Pokémon cry. It's the speech Pikachu does from the anime series. I thought that was a really nice touch the game designers did. Kudos to them.

One thing I do like about the Santalune Forest is that there is a wide variety of Pokémon to catch here. Bug, Flying, Electric, Fire, Water, Grass, it's really diverse. You could build a diverse beginner team out of Pokémon here alone.

A ways into the forest, I encounter my new friends. Serena just rushes off, saying something about beginning training. Nice to see you too, pal. -_-(). Trevor remarks that he has observations to perform. Okay... To be honest, I don't get Trevor's purpose at this point. At least with Shauna, she heals my Pokémon here in the Forest, and Serena is probably going to be in the role of the traditional rival in these games. Tierno says he was challenged to a battle, and he and the youngster he's battling are just standing there, staring at each other. Okay...

Anyway, after further traveling, I got to battle a couple trainers for the first time. One tried to fight me with a Pikachu, but my Scatterbug Mothra easily dispatched it. Speaking of Scatterbug, the other Trainer there had one, but fell in one blast of Ember thanks to Vulcan, my Fennekin. His Fletchling also fell to Rocket.

I also encountered Serena again, who gave me a Poké Ball. Hey, you can never have too many of those. I also noticed that Tierno had finished his stare-off, I mean battle, and he's found in a grassy area, looking for Pokémon to dance with. To be honest, I find the image of him dancing with the Elemental Monkeys hilarious.

The Santalune Forest is a wonderful little place. Has a couple trainers so you can get some money, a diverse array of Pokémon to add to the collection, and you can get your Trainer some exercise with all the running around. The amount of wild Pokémon running around also means that your Pokémon team will get some much-needed experience. Not to mention that with Shauna by your side, you can keep your Pokémon in fighting shape.

As much as Santalune Forest is beautiful, it's time to leave the forest and hit the next town. Besides, towns have Pokémon Centers, which have PCs. I need one to make some adjustments to my team.

Upon leaving, Serena runs up and says I'm the first to arrive. Well duh, you were just standing in a grass patch when I was running around grabbing items and training my Pokémon! She does tell me I have potential, which is awful nice of her. Tierno and Trevor catch up, Tierno remarking how much he loves seeing Pokémon move and he's hoping his dancing has that much spirit. Yeah. Good luck to you on that, buddy. Trevor admonishes Tierno for this, make me like him more. Anyway, Shauna expresses her excitement on going to Santalune City.

Upon leaving the forest, Serena asks what the group's plans are. Trevor says he's out to complete the Pokedex. Tierno wants to observe how different Pokémon move, so to improve his dancing. Okay. Serena plans to take on the Gym Leader there. She gives me a book of tips called "Adventure Rules", for all the rookie Trainers out there. Serena says she's going to spend some time getting to know her Chespin. I hope she trains it well. She asks me what I'm going to do.

What am I going to do? Go to Santalune, kick some Gym Leader butt, and then keep it up until I become Champion! ...But first, I gotta get through Route 3...where I got nearly ran over by a rollerblader! HEY!

Pokémon Obtained:
Panpour (Kappa)
Pansear (Bunsen)
Metapod (Kojima) - Evolved from Caterpie
Pansage (Shrub)
Pikachu (Amperage)
Weedle (Stingerette)

My thoughts on Ant-Man: The Movie, and the Wasp

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is continuing to grow every year. Guardians of the Galaxy has been released to critical and fan acclaim (and a sequel has been announced), the Avengers will return to the big screen with Age of Ultron, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier has hinted at the existence of Doctor Strange (Wonder how they'll handle him, considering the more sci-fi milieu the MCU has).

It has also continued to grow thanks to television. Agents of SHIELD is returning for another season, and Netflix has announced series based on Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and even Agent Sharon Carter from Captain America: The First Avenger is getting her own series. Pretty cool time to be a Marvel fan.

Now, I'm probably going to sound rambling and unfocused for the rest of this blog entry, so my apologies. I'm more used to talking about my thoughts instead of writing them down.

One Marvel character that will be appearing on the big screen is Ant-Man. Henry Pym is hitting the big screen, albeit altered.

When it was announced Michael Douglas was going to portray Hank Pym, I have to be honest. My feelings were mixed on the subject. On one hand, I like Michael Douglas. He's an incredible actor, who has appeared in many great films, and having him in the cast of a Marvel movie is a boon. It's really cool seeing that these movies are getting some great actors and actresses in them. On the other hand, the man is pushing 70, which means we won't get to see Hank Pym kick some butt alongside the other Avengers in the third movie, which is really sad as Hank Pym was one of the original founding Avengers in the comics.

The film will instead focus on Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man. I can see why the film will focus on his origin instead of Henry Pym's. Scott Lang's origin, in a way has more drama than Pym's. Lang stole Pym's Ant-Man costume and technology to try and save the life of his ill daughter Cassie. Pym's origin story is really a misadventure after fooling around his lab. Still, I think Hank Pym's origin could've made a great adventure movie, maybe with a tinge of horror in it. Think about it, ants are small, but to a man smaller than them, ants are big scary monsters.

A Hank Pym film could've gone like this: Henry Pym was an idealistic scientist working in a civilian capacity for SHIELD, and in that time, he discovers the Pym Particle, a subatomic particle that allows an object to change size, without ill effects. However, HYDRA is after the Pym Particle, seeing its potential as a weapon. While protecting his discovery from HYDRA, Pym catches the eye of a beautiful thrill-seeking fashionista named Janet Van Dyne. During the adventure, Pym, thanks to his hobby of entomology, empowers Janet as the Wasp, and they kick HYDRA butt, and save the day. I'll admit, that was just from the top of my head. I'll have to think more on this.

The film has been having a troubled production, with Edgar Wright departing the director's chair and cast  and crew changes. But one big controversy has been coming from this whole thing.

The film does not have Janet Van Dyne.

No Wasp.

Yep. That's right. The first female Avenger, another founder, is not in the movie.

According to Michael Douglas, Hank Pym's wife will already have been dead by the time of the film. However, I can't help but think something. Hank Pym was a widower when he met Jan in the comics. It's true. His first wife in the comics was a Hungarian woman named Maria Trovaya.

A short-lived character, she was. In fact, in the comics, the reason Hank was attracted to Jan was because she resembled Maria. And Michael Douglas did not say the name Jan. He might have been referring to Maria.

But if it DOES turn out to be Jan, then that's sad. That's really sad. I mean, what do they have against the Wasp? I think I can figure out what.

When it comes to Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, there is one moment that comes to mind for many fans, one moment that would define the two, well Hank in particular, for the next three decades. At the time this panel was first shown to the world, Hank Pym was struggling with a massive inferiority complex, leading to a breakdown and...

Yup. In 1981, Hank Pym underwent his big downfall. After this, further storylines would have Hank kicked out of the Avengers, end up falsely imprisoned for treason, and forced to work alongside an incarnation of the Masters of Evil led by the villainous Egghead. Since then, though, Hank has fought very hard to rebuild his life since those dark days. Interestingly enough, Jim Shooter himself has written about this storyline, and stated this panel occurred because of artist Bob Hall's mistake. So I can understand why they wanted to emphasize Scott Lang over Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne in this movie. I don't have to like them removing Jan, and I don't, but I can understand their fears. Still do not see why they had to remove Jan, though. Why not just say they had some issues, they divorced, and she's living happily in New Jersey or something like that?

Anyway, what do I think of Janet Van Dyne? Well, to be honest, I never thought much of the character for a long time. I didn't hate the character, but I wasn't the president of her fan club either. She did make me chuckle on occasion, but to me, she was just another character. However, one thing did make me really grow to love her: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The cartoon was short-lived, but I had to admit, I grew to love Jan thanks to the show. Her character design made her look incredibly cute, and Colleen O'Shaughnessey's voice work was fantastic. Her Jan was funny, flighty, flirty, and she was not the least bit annoying. I miss that show.

Anyway, the film will have at least one woman in the cast: Evangeline Lilly, who will be portraying Hank Pym's daughter Hope Van Dyne. I have found that funny a little bit, because there is a Hope Pym in the comics. She is a character from Marvel's short-lived MC2 line (a line that focused on the "next generation" of Marvel Super Heroes, aka their sons and daughters and legacies), and she was a villain (known as "Red Queen") who hated the Avengers in her reality because she felt they were an insult to her parents' memory.



Looks of her mother, madness of her father. The Red Queen, everybody!

I have to admit, I love the Red Queen's suit. It's reminiscent of her mother's first Avengers suit, with a darker edge to it, appropriate considering her more crazed and hate-filled nature. Anyway, there was another rumor concerning the Wasp in this film, and that is the Wasp is going to be Hope. In essence, Hank's daughter is the Wasp in the MCU (and Hope is just Jan by another name). I would've preferred Jan, but if this is the best we're gonna get, I'll take it. If she has the attitude and fun personality of EMH Jan, I'll be fine with it. Although I can't help but wonder, if Hope is meant to be Wasp, why change her name?

Something tells me the troubles with Ant-Man will be far from over...

Adventures in Pokemon Y, Part 1: The Beginning

Alongside Pokémon X, I also managed to obtain Pokémon Y, its "twin", I guess you can call it. The latest games in the main series of the Pokémon franchise, X and Y combines classic Pokémon gameplay with new features.

Upon firing it up, I found the first option the game gives is the language, as in the language you want to play the game in. Naturally, I chose English. Afterwards, Professor Augustine, your mentor professor in Kalos, introduces himself and giving another speech about how Pokémon and humans live together in harmony and peace, and make each other better and all that wonderful stuff.

Next, the game tells you to pick what your trainer character will look like. This time, a new feature is added. In addition to gender, you can now pick your trainer's skin tone/hair color. This is a neat new feature, as it gives you more control of your game character's appearance, and allow a player to create an avatar that can resemble the actual player a bit more...or give an avatar with an appearance the player desires. Unfortunately, the options are rather limited on it, and it doesn't let you pick out eye and hair color you want. Hopefully, something in the game later on will give you the option of doing more customization.

After a new bird-like Pokémon flies into a bedroom, your avatar wakes up, and is in pajamas. After changing into the standard outfit, you leave your house and encounter two pretty girls. The blonde introduces herself as Serena, and the perky brunette is named Shauna. They reveal that they were sent to pick up the player alongside four other children, and ask you to meet them in the next town, Aquacorde Town. After making a short trip, we arrive in the town, where we meet up with the two girls again, and also with two boys: the dance-crazy Tierno, and the shy bookworm Trevor. After choosing a nickname for yourself, you get to choose a starter Pokémon.

My choice was Fennekin, which I decided to name Vulcan. Shauna picked Chespin (she tends to pick the Pokémon whose type is weak to yours), and Serena picked out Froakie (she picks the Pokémon whose type yours is weak to). Trevor then hands you a Pokedex, and reveals the five of you have been charged to travel around and complete the Pokedex, by, well...catching Pokémon. You're also given a letter to give to your character's mother. Hmm, I wonder what Professor Sycamore is writing to the trainer's mother about...

Anyway, afterwards, Shauna challenges you to a battle...easy win. This battle is really just so new players can get the basics of Pokémon battles. Anyway, as I said earlier, Shauna will pick the starter your Pokémon has the elemental advantage over. The battle graphics are gorgeous. The backgrounds reflect the place you are battling in, like a town or forest, and even reflect the time of day you are battling in (if you're battling at night, the sky is dark, for example).

After battling Shauna (and giving the letter to the player character's mother, who will give you a Town Map), you can head out into the wider world of Kalos. Here's a little tip: In Aquacorde Town, before you leave, there is a shop that sells Poké Balls. Pick up a couple. When you leave, the first wild Pokémon you encounter will be a Pidgey. This is the one opportunity to easily catch a Pidgey, as they are VERY hard to find afterwards.

After that, I went ahead, and found the girls. This is really for new players, as Serena shows how to catch a Pokémon. Some veteran players may be annoyed by this, but I didn't mind. Besides, Serena gives you some free Poké Balls for your trouble. Now, the game begins proper! My goals here: Collect some Pokémon, train them, and prepare for the first Gym...

Pokémon Obtained:
Fennekin (Vulcan)
Pidgey (Wildwing)
Zigzagoon (Rocket)
Caterpie (Kojima)
Fletchling (Chevy)
Scatterbug (Mothra)
Bunnelby (Lola)

Marvel Preview #4 (January 1976)

Guardians of the Galaxy is on the fast track to being the biggest box office hit of the summer, if it wasn't already. It was a pleasant surprise to me, as many of the characters in the film are hardly well-known outside of comic book readers, the members of the Guardians themselves first appearing in Marvel titles from the 1960s and the 1970s.

In fact, in honor of the film, I decided to do a review of one of the first appearances of one of the central characters of the film: Peter Jason Quill, aka the Star-Lord.

They messed with my Walkman. They shouldn't have messed with my Walkman...

Star-Lord in the comics is surprisingly different, yet similar to his film origin in many ways. He's also an older character than one might think. His first appearance was in Marvel Preview #4 (January, 1976). Marvel Preview was a black-and-white magazine that lasted from 1975 to 1983 and had 34 issues released (issues 25 to 34 were released under the name Bizarre Adventures). Interestingly, Star-Lord's fellow Guardian, Rocket Raccoon, also debuted in issue seven of Marvel Preview.

Here I come to save the galaxyyyyyy...

Co-created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Steve Gan, Englehart's inspiration behind the character by the interest Englehart had in astrology at the time (it was the 1970s). The issue has an introduction by the man on how Star-Lord came to be. It's...trippy. Again, it was the 1970s. The story, being in magazine-format, is quite a long one.

In this original story, Star-Lord comes off as well...a jerk obsessed with revenge. As a boy, he witnessed his mother murdered by aliens, and he swore revenge on them. He made it his lifelong goal to go to space and get his vengeance. As a result, he spent his youth hitting the books and eventually becoming an astronaut at NASA. However, he struggles with interacting with others, as his obsession with space and revenge prevents him from forming friendships and romances.

Despite his angry and solitary nature, a spark of heroism does exist in Quill, as he leaps to save the life of a fellow astronaut from a centrifuge accident. However, his jerk nature comes back to bite him in the butt when he is not picked to go on a space mission, as being in space for long periods of time will require people to get along with each other, and Quill has not exactly been making friends. After a night of drinking, he gets melancholy about not being able to get into space.

The kicking off seems to have had an effect, as later, he is given a chance to work in a space station, Quill's commander noting that ol' Petey seems to have gotten better in his behavior and attitude. Over the next couple months, Quill finds peace on board the station. One day, a spaceman appears and tells the inhabitants that during the next lunar eclipse, one human shall be recruited to become the Star-Lord. Quill suggests that someone volunteer to be the next Star-Lord, meaning himself.

The head council of the station agrees to the idea, but tells them they want someone more experienced in space operations. Quill. FLIPS. OUT. I mean, he flips out. He goes tossing-a-chair-at-the-screen nuts. Bananas, cuckoo, crazy, wacky, shama-lama-ding-dong. The astronaut they chose is Greg Harrelson, the astronaut that Quill once saved from the centrifuge. Enraged, Quill rampages through Cape Canaveral, attacking people and stealing a rocket. Yup, this is our hero, the man who will become a film star and source of hilarity and awesomeness about forty years later.

He makes it to the space station, where he continues his rampage and attacks Harrelson, hell-bent on becoming the Star-Lord. Luck is on Quill's side as the eclipse hits...and he is taken.

Quill finds himself on an alien world where he meets a bearded man and is given a uniform and a gun. Quill discovers that the suit allows him to fly and the gun is an Element Gun, able to shoot fire, water, wind, and earth. I think the Element Gun is pretty cool. Shame he didn't have that in the film, because the Element Gun is awesome. The old man asks him what Star-Lord will use his new power for...and Quill admits he is unsure. The old man reminds him of his desire for revenge against the aliens who killed his mother, and Quill finds himself out in space...and he encounters the aliens. Quill leaps into action and gets his vengeance.

He finds himself back on the old man's planet, where he realizes it was an illusion. The old man explains that he did this to get Quill's desire for revenge out of his system. The comic ends with the statement that the Star-Lord's adventures have just begun.

The comic is not a BAD story, per se. However, there are a couple big flaws. Mainly, the character of Peter Quill himself. He is a major jerkwad in this story. However, this was intentional on the part of Englehart. You see, his intention was for the character to grow over his adventures to become more of a heroic and cosmic character. Unfortunately, Englehart left Marvel before this evolution could unfold (This comic is the only Star-Lord story he'd write), so Star-Lord was left as a major-league jerk here.

The other major flaw I have is, I never really got any idea of what Star-Lord is from the story itself. Star-Lord was actually supposed to be an intergalactic policeman, but I didn't quite pick that up from the story. And being your typical 1970s Marvel cosmic story, there's a lot of flowery narration, making the story a bit hard to get through at times.

On the other hand, I loved Steve Gan's artwork. It's detailed, and plain gorgeous to look at. I wonder if he did any other work for comics. His work here makes me think of John Byrne a little bit.

All in all, Star-Lord's debut is a flawed story, but it's still a fun read with beautiful art.

Guardians of the Galaxy Review

Yesterday, I went out to a theater and got to see a film I had been eagerly anticipating for quite some time: The newest Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Guardians of the Galaxy.

I'm Hooked on a Feeling...

In short, I loved it. The film was genuinely fun, with great action and awesome characters. It was a bit silly at times, but that only made it a nice breather after the MCU's last offering, the darker Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and the upcoming Avengers: Age of Ultron.

The film centers around Peter Jason Quill, the self-proclaimed Star-Lord, an intergalactic thief who finds himself having to join forces with the beautiful and deadly Gamora (Zoe Saldana), the revenge-crazed Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), the good-hearted tree-like Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), and the angry loudmouthed Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), to take on Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), who is after a powerful stone that would give him the power to destroy planets for his own monstrous agenda.

One of the best aspects of the film is, in my mind, the soundtrack. I'm a huge fan of old-school pop culture, including music, so the film's soundtrack was right up my alley. It was neat hearing such classic songs like David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream", Rupert Holmes's "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)", and the Runaways' "Cherry Bomb" in a film set deep in space.

As for performances, the most surprising to me was Dave Bautista as Drax. His Drax was surprisingly funny, being a bit of a, as TV Tropes would call it, Cloud Cuckoolander, yet also being a violent maniac obsessed with revenge. He had some surprisingly funny lines. I expected Rocket to be the source of some laughs, and he was, but Drax was funny as well. Chris Pratt's Star-Lord was reminiscent of Han Solo, which I thought was awesome. Zoe Saldana's Gamora was focused, intense, and awesome. Bradley Cooper's Rocket was cynical, angry, and sarcastic, but also hinted at deeper issues. Vin Diesel's Groot was, despite only saying generally "I am Groot", expressive, and amazingly understandable. Lee Pace's Ronan went into ham territory at times, but it only made him more amusing, and really helped show how crazy and monstrous he really was.

The effects and fight scenes were also fun to watch, and the film had lots of fun nods to the mythos of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the post-credits scene gave a few seconds of glory to a character I never thought would be seen on the big screen.

Do I recommend this film? Oh yeah, I recommend it. I cannot wait for the sequel!

My thoughts on the Gal Gadot Wonder Woman

As it is known, Gal Gadot has been cast to portray the Amazing Amazon herself, Wonder Woman, in what will be the character's live-action feature-film debut: The upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Upon release of the photo, I heard critiques of everything from how Ms. Gadot looks in the suit to her pose in the photo, to the costume itself.

As for me, I don't really mind the suit itself, to be honest. I understand that when it comes to many superheroes, it's hard to make their costumes work on film. I actually kind of like the suit itself. My only critiques would be to make the red and blue a bit brighter in color (I don't know if it's the lighting of the photo, but it looks like Wonder Woman is in brown and black), and make the skirt a bit longer. This outfit, the way it is now, gives me the impression that Wonder Woman is trying to do her own take on Xena: Warrior Princess's costume.

As for Gal Gadot herself, I think she looks great as Wonder Woman. I've heard complaints that she doesn't LOOK like an Amazon, that she lacks the musculature. To be honest, I've seen my fair share of Wonder Woman covers and artistic interpretations of Wonder Woman. To me, she doesn't look that much skinnier than she's often drawn as by artists working for DC.

As for Gadot's actual performance as Wonder Woman, well, we'll have to wait and see. I haven't seen her in anything before, so I can't fairly comment on her skills as an actress. However, I am an optimist, so I'm hoping she will do a good job.

And as for the pose in the photo, I've heard complaints saying it portrays this Wonder Woman as overly aggressive. I can see why. I'm not exactly sure of the circumstances of the photo being taken, so I'm going to wait and see until we learn more about how Wonder Woman will be portrayed, as well as the general plotline of the movie and Wonder Woman's role.

All in all, I have to say, I think so far, we're doing okay here. Wonder Woman's costume could use some brighter colors, but otherwise that, I think we're on the right track...or at least a decent track.

My thoughts on Lady Thor

It has come to my attention that Marvel Comics is introducing a new lady to take up Thor's weapon, Mjolnir, and with it, his fight against evil.

 

 

Yup. She looks pretty cool in design, and I am glad they're at least not killing off Thor Odinson. He'll still be around, which I appreciate.

 

Of course, if you look back on Thor's history in the Marvel Universe, new people taking up the identity of Thor isn't exactly a new thing. In Thor #273 (July 1978), Roger "Red" Norvell took up the mantle of God of Thunder. Norvell was a member of a film crew who was given the power of Thor by Loki, taking advantage of Norvell's crush on Sif.

 

 

 

I can't help but feel that Red was intended to more closely resemble the Thor of the actual myths. Unlike the Marvel Thor, who was typically portrayed as a clean-shaven blonde, the mythical Thor was redheaded and had a beard. Anyway, Norvell goes insane with power, but after accidentally killing a friend of his, Sif is able to help him see what a monster he had become. He would eventually die fighting Jormungand, the World Serpent, in Thor's place. It turns out Red's empowerment and death were, unbeknownst to even Loki, was all part of a plan by Odin to save Thor's life from his prophesized death fighting the World Serpent in Ragnarok.

 

He would eventually return to life, and be the protector of Asgard for a while, even getting his own hammer, Crusher. No one knows what he's been up to lately, so he'd be a neat character to bring back.

 

Norvell would be the first, but not the last person to replace Thor for a while. The next would not be a mortal cameraman, but a monstrous-looking, yet noble cyborg alien. His name: Beta Ray Bill.

 

 

Big guy kind of looks a little like a demonic horse in the face, doesn't he? Anyway, Bill first  appeared in Thor #337 (November 1983), the first issue of the epic Walter Simonson run. Beta Ray Bill was an alien chosen by his people, the Korbinites, to lead his people to a new homeworld. When his ship, the Skuttlebutt, approaches Earth, Thor is sent by SHIELD to investigate. Thor battles Skuttlebutt's automatic defenses, and then encounters Bill himself. The two fight, and Skuttlebutt crashes to Earth. When Bill picks up Don Blake's walking stick and strikes it on the ground in frustration, he becomes an alien-looking version of Thor, and is then brought to Asgard by Odin alongside Thor.

 

Bill pleads his case to Odin, claiming Mjolnir as spoils of battle, and needing its power to help him protect his people. Odin decides to have Bill and Thor fight to the death for the right to wield Mjolnir. Bill wins, but refuses to kill Thor. In the end, a compromise is made: Thor gets back Mjolnir, and Bill is given his own Uru hammer: Stormbreaker.

 

Bill has had many adventures in the past thirty years, and has stood as a staunch ally to the Asgardians and good friend of Thor.

 

In the 90s, the idea of making a new Thor persisted, and the next Thor was an architect named Eric Masterson. He first appeared in Thor #391 (May, 1988).

 

 

 

Masterson was a divorced single father, working as an architect in New York City, and raising his son Kevin. Kevin himself would become a legacy hero in TWO Marvel timelines, but that's a different story. Anyway, he proved himself worthy of lifting Mjolnir by helping a wounded Thor. After getting injured taking a blast meant for Thor himself, the Thunder God bonded himself to Masterson.

 

He became Thor for a while when the original killed Loki, and was punished for it by Odin. Masterson had a difficult time in the role, especially when it came to interacting with other heroes, who knew the original well. When Thor came back, he continued to be a hero, this time with a mace known as Thunderstrike. He would even get his own series, something Red Norvell nor Beta Ray Bill never got (To be fair, Bill did get a couple mini-series). Sadly, Masterson died purging himself of the curse of the Bloodaxe.

 

In my honest opinion, I have to say that I consider it not a big deal that someone else is taking up the hammer. As I have shown, it has been done before. In the cases of Bill and Eric, there were great stories involved in their taking up Mjolnir, and they became great characters and heroes in their own right.

 

So, I have to say I am honestly excited with the idea of a female Thor. I only wished it was a character that was more connected to Thor's mythos like Jane Foster or Sif. Heck, I'd accept Valkyrie or a resurrected Kelda (Kelda would make sense to me, as she is the Goddess of the Storm, as established in JMS's run). Having an established supporting character, especially a long-running one, take up the mantle of a hero to me is a respectful thing. It's to me why Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson both deserve to take up the mantle of Captain America. They were good friends of Cap, and had worked with him many times.

 

But to be fair, Marvel has been willing to show in recent years that they have become more willing to take risks, and I feel it's been more hit than miss on their part. It has been shown that new characters taking up old names, who have no real connection to the original or last holder, CAN work. Kamala Khan, for example, had no real connection to Carol Danvers before taking up her old codename of Ms. Marvel, and it's been very well-done so far.

 

Essentially, I am very curious about this new Thor. I hope she does well, and I do hope the story that brings her in is a good one. I also hope she is a good character. I think she should've been introduced earlier, so we could get to know her a bit pre-Thor, though. Ah, well. Thor will get his hammer back one day. He lost it and got it back before. Until then, let's just enjoy the ride.

Adventures in Pokemon X, Part 1

A few days ago, I decided to pick up Pokémon X, one of the latest games in the long-running Pokémon franchise.

The first Pokémon I chose was a Fennekin. It was the very first time I chose a Fire-type starter for a Pokémon game. I chose Fennekin because I thought it was cool and I had a clever nickname for him: Eastwood. It's a bit of a pun. Fennekin is a Fire-type Pokémon modeled on foxes, and Clint Eastwood starred in a film in 1982 called Firefox.

One of the first Pokémon I captured was an old classic: a Pidgey. Capturing a Pidgey was a nightmare in this game, mainly because Pidgeys DO NOT come around often.

Not very long after you start the game, you travel through the Santalune Forest. The Forest is an amazing place, where a trainer can catch a variety of Pokémon. They're enough to build an entire team of Pokémon right from the start, and then some. In the forest alone, I was able to capture all three of the elemental monkeys (Grass-type Pansage, Water-type Panpour, and Fire-type Pansear), Pikachu, Caterpie, and Weedle alone. Essentially, the forest is a great place to start building a Pokémon collection, as well as many great choices to build a team around.

To make a long story short, I've been training my Pokémon team for getting ready for the first Gym in X, the Santalune Gym in Santalune City. Thanks to Bulbapedia, I was able to get some info on what I'd be facing in the Gym, so I decided to train up my Pokémon team for the big battle. My goal is to get up to Level 10, and then battle the Gym trainers, and finally, face Viola herself.

With Viola specializing in Bug-type Pokémon, I decided to train up the two Fire-type Pokémon I have in my possession: my Fennekin (Eastwood), and my Pansear (Blazer). Blazer is going to need to really level up, as he learns his first Fire-type move, Incineration, at Level 10. Pansear NEEDS this move, but which of his other moves do I give up, Leer or Play Nice?

One of the fun things I had going on during my grinding was my Zigzagoon, Bandita. She had the ability Pickup, which basically meant that when walking, she would suddenly hold an item at random. I got some free Potions and Antidotes this way, even got a couple Great Balls this way.

I also used the opportunity to add more to my Pokémon collection. One Pokémon available in the area around Santalune City has eluded me so far: Dunsparce. I did encounter one once, but I couldn't catch it, and I haven't encountered another since. It's Pidgey all over again!

Another Pokémon that really annoyed me was Burmy. You see, Burmy evolves into different Pokémon based on the gender: females become Wormadam, and males become Mothim. So I had to capture a female Burmy and a male Burmy. Another problem is that Burmy has only one attack prior to reaching Level 10: Protect. Protect is an annoying attack. And worse, if you manage to paralyze, poison, or put Burmy to sleep, the Shed Skin ability it has allows it to recover almost immediately.

Anyway, I managed to evolve my Metapod into a Butterfree (Bonus, it learned Confusion. This'll be hopefully helpful), as well as evolve my Kakuna into a Beedrill. I also explored a bit of Route 22 and managed to add a Litleo to my collection. Since it's a Fire-type, I now have a THIRD Fire Pokémon in my collection. That's swell, because now I have another little weapon in my arsenal to use against Viola and her Bug-types. Once I train her up, I'll be ready for Viola. Wish me luck!

Spider-Man 2099 #1 (September 2014)

Miguel O'Hara, the Spider-Man of the cyberpunk dystopia known as 2099 A.D., has found himself stuck in the early 21st Century thanks to a temporal distortion. Now, he has to adjust to a life and world far away (and far less advanced in some ways) than the world he knows.

Peter David returns to the character after writing the original Spider-Man 2099 twenty years earlier. I have to say, this was a smart move on Marvel's part, not only because David co-created the character, but also, he is still a great writer.

The first page is a recap page. I like recap pages. I think more comics should have these, so that readers who are picking things up in the middle of a storyline can get caught up without wasting a lot of time and page space. Rather cleverly, Miguel's holographic assistant, Lyla, takes up this role here, giving us a little bit about Miguel, how he became the Spider-Man of 2099, and how he got stuck in the 21st Century.

This issue does a little bit of establishing Miguel's new life in the 21st Century. We see him getting a new apartment, and keeping an eye on things in Alchemax by working under an assumed name. As part of this mission, he has to deal with the rather weasel-esque head of Alchemax, Tiberius Stone, who is also Miguel's future grandfather. Yup. Time Travel.

We also see him deal with his first super-powered threat: A time-traveling law enforcement agent with future knowledge and a ray that can kill people. He doesn't get a lot of development, but he's a one-offer, so that's okay. I don't know why, but the guy kind of resembles the Destroyer armor from the Thor mythos, given a sci-fi makeover. I get a feeling we'll be seeing other agents from this guy's agency in the future.

The fight between Miguel and the Temporal Secret Agent Man takes them through the Alchemax building. It's an action-packed fight, with a funny moment involving Miguel's holographic clothes. They end up in the office of Liz Allen, where Miguel is able to trick the agent into destroying himself. The comic ends with Liz Allen wanting to know who Spidey 2099 is, hoping she can get him to work for her personally.

This is a fun first issue. I was excited to read this comic, having read and enjoyed the original Spidey 2099 series in trade form. It did what a first issue should, and it did it well. The issue also planted seeds for future storylines that I cannot wait to see pan out. It also even had a little hidden nod to X-Factor. Mr. David, you hit the ball right out of the park. Cannot wait for more! If you're looking for a good series to get into, try this one out.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July, everyone! I hope you all have fun and be safe celebrating America's 238th Birthday.

For those not in the know, the Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day, is essentially America's birthday. On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, which was their stating that the Thirteen Colonies, which would become America's first 13 states, were breaking off from Great Britain. Congress would make it a federal holiday in 1938.

The holiday is traditionally celebrated with parades, barbecues, baseball games, concerts, and carnivals. And at night, beautiful displays of fireworks are shown all over the country, from major cities to small towns. All for saying "Happy Birthday" to the nation.

I hope you all enjoy this day! Enjoy the hot dogs and the parades, and don't forget to watch the fireworks! And most importantly, be safe.