Solo: A Star Wars Story Teaser, My Thoughts

The Star Wars universe is expanding! During the Super Bowl, we got a teaser for the latest side-story Star Wars film, Solo, focusing on a certain Corellian space smuggler. A longer teaser has come out, but I haven't really gotten to it until now. So, let's take a look!

Like the original Big Game teaser, it starts with a man flicking switches. I think that's the same footage.

So, Han Solo has been on his won since the age of 10? No wonder he turned out the way he did.

Boy, many years later, if that flight academy was an Empire one, they are going to kick themselves when they realize what this led to. You know, him clearing the way for Luke to fire the torpedoes that blew up the first Death Star? Yeah.

Boy, it's weird seeing the Millennium Falcon not looking...grimy.

Liking the flashes of Han's crew. I'm guessing Woody Harrelson's character is the one that gets Han into the wild world of space smuggling.

Something very Western about that shot of the gun's holster being opened. Appropriate if it's Han doing it, as I think the character was inspired by Westerns.

Yeah, they're fine, they're fine THEY ARE NOT FINE.

This sounds like it will be rather fun. I like that the films are expanding and exploring backstories and filling in some gaps in the timeline. It's neat to see how Han got to be the cynical smuggler he started out as in the original trilogy.

Lego The Incredibles Annoucement Trailer, My Thoughts

Lego has been a bit of a powerhouse when it comes to video games. Marvel Comics, DC Comics, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, all got Lego games. And now, a new franchise is joining the list: The Incredibles. Yup, the Parr family is getting a new film, and they are getting a Lego game! Let's take a look at the announcement trailer!

The trailer begins with Dash Parr zipping by, building a Lego brick wall at superhuman speed.

Here comes Mrs. Incredible, aka Elasti-Girl! She is swinging by a la Spider-Man with her stretchy arms, and she's got a load of bricks. Some go flying, but Violet has got them handled thanks to her forcefields.

Hey there, Frozone! I hope he's a playable character as well. If this game is an adaptation of the first movie, I'm hoping we get a certain scene kept in. You know, the one with his super-suit? He needed his super-suit!

It's slowly becoming apparent that the Incredible family are building a giant Incredibles logo. And it looks great in Lego. The Incredible family also look pretty good in Lego form.

Aw, come on, Edna! Don't ruin their hard work...oh. They're making it into the logo for the sequel.

Wait, is the game going to adapt both films? Isn't that going to spoil the movie? Oh, they come out on the same day: June 15. That makes sense. Watch the movie, then buy the game.

Well, I enjoyed the Incredibles, and I love Lego games, and I have a Switch, so you bet I will pick this up!

Iron Man #218 (May 1987)

Iron Man. The Armored Avenger. First appearing in Tales of Suspense #39 (March 1963), he was created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Larry Lieber, and Don Heck. The character was inspired by a dare Stan Lee gave himself: Can he create a character that was the antithesis of Marvel's readers at the time, and make the readers like them?

Well, evidently he pulled it off. Over the next 55 years, Iron Man (the alter ego of genius billionaire playboy philanthropist Anthony "Tony" Stark) would become one of Marvel's most stalwart heroes, becoming one of the original Avengers. He would then go on to be part of various teams, including Force Works and the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Iron Man was a stalwart and popular character among comic readers, but never really managed to become one of Marvel's most popular heroes in the mainstream, despite getting animated series in the 1960s and 1990s, until 2008. The live-action adaptation of the comic, Iron Man, was released in theaters in that year. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, the film would get massive critical and box office acclaim, kicking off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and making Iron Man one of Marvel's most profitable and popular characters. Downey Jr would be seen as doing for Tony Stark what Christopher Reeve did for Superman, be the perfect embodiment of the character. On his end, Iron Man also helped his career roar back to life.

One of the things Iron Man is obviously known for is his armor. Over the last half-century, Iron Man's armor has undergone a lot of evolution, from the original bulky gray suit to the modern sleek red-and-gold suit he wears today. In the 1970s and 1980s, Iron Man's creative teams started introducing the idea of specialized suits. Basically, Stark would develop special suits for various situations, like if he needed to go to space, or in the case of the comic we're going to look at here, the depths of the sea. And with that out of the way, let's take a look at Iron Man #218!

I love the cover. You got Iron Man facing off against what looks like a giant robot, which is teased by a big claw. I only have two complaints about the cover. One is that robot's claw is not the same color as in the issue itself, and it does spoil the Hydro Armor. Otherwise, it's a great cover.

"Deep Trouble"
Writer: David Michelinie (Credited as "Plot/Script")
Artist: Bob Layton (Credited as "Plot/Art")
Inker: Bob Layton
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colors: Bob Sharen
Editor: Mark Gruenwald
Editor-In-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with Tony Stark being held up at gunpoint in the back of his car in Jolly Ol' England.

Who is holding him up? Is it a thief? An angry boyfriend? Nope! Just a pair of KGB agents who wish to..."speak" with our hero. They lead him out of the car into a clearing. And here Tony makes a new "friend".

Meet Irina Tarasova, Russian spy and professional 80s femme fatale. She basically tells Tony that her superiors cannot allow him to succeed in his mission here in England. As such, being a fair person, she decides to let Stark off with a warning: Go home, and perhaps they can meet again on friendlier terms. Lady, I think you killed any interest he has in dating you. Tarasova and her men leave Stark on the roadside, saying that he'll find a ride as this road is rather well-traveled. You are probably thinking, "Why doesn't she and her goons just kill Stark there?" Patience. There's a reason.

Stark smirks as he has some transportation right in his briefcase. He opens it up, and puts on his Iron Man suit. The Armored Avenger, or should I say, the Silver Centurion, takes off.

I love this suit. I don't know why, but I just do. Maybe it's the shoulder pads? The Silver Centurion would become one of the more iconic of the various Iron Man armors over the years. It has made appearances in the 1990s Iron Man cartoon (Mainly the second season's iconic opening sequence), and in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Even the live-action Iron Man trilogy paid homage to it. In the second film, Stark dons a "suitcase armor" in red-and-silver, and in the third movie, look who is among the armors in the original Iron Legion.

I was so happy when I saw that armor on screen. However, Bob Layton, the artist who designed the suit, has said that the Silver Centurion is one of the least favorite armors he has designed. He felt that as Iron Man's armors continued to evolve with the advancing of technology, his armor should be sleeker. I'm guessing he felt that the Silver Centurion made Iron Man look "bulkier". Probably the shoulder-pads. I can see where he's coming from. At the time, Marvel wanted Iron Man to have an armor that was more "warrior", hence this. I still love this suit, though.

Tarasova and her men are driving down a road, one of the men showing gratitude that Iron Man isn't being just Stark's personal bodyguard anymore. He then notices that the car appears to be flying. It's become Iron Man Airlines as the Armored Avenger takes the car to a clearing. Tony Stark, being a nice guy, notes that their car appears to have some troubles. He tears out the car's engine, noticing it's loose. One of Tarasova's men fires a gun at him, but yeah, it doesn't. Stark warns Tarasova that the Iron Man is here to protect Stark's interest, including the project here in the UK. There are tons of lives at stake, and if he has to choose between her life and theirs, he will choose theirs. Tarasova responds with "We shall see". Stark flies off, saying that they shall.

While flying over the English countryside, Stark takes the opportunity to recall how he got into this mess. Three days earlier, a man named Kuttner from the State Department had come to visit Stark Enterprises on business. Stark had developed a new low-light photography process for exploration of the wreckage of the Titanic. The equipment preformed splendidly, but it found something that has caused some great concern. Kuttner shows Stark a photograph of a canister. It was traced to pre-World War I.

The canister contains a powerful chemical weapon developed by an team of English and American scientists. Stark notes that the canister is appearing to decompose. Kuttner confirms that yes, the paraffin coating of the canister is eroding away. Nobody knows the contents of the canister, except one man: Carter Hastings, the only surviving member of the team behind it. In his old age, he's become a paranoid recluse, terrified of government. Stark assures Kuttner he can get Hastings to talk. Stark arrives at a small town, and changes out of his suit. He comes to Hastings's home, and the scared old man greets him with both barrels.

Stark is able to smooth things over with Hastings when he shows the old man a document: A personal request from the Queen herself. Hastings invites Stark in for the great English tradition of afternoon tea. The man behind the Iron Man suit notes that Hastings coughed and wheezed quite a bit, so he must not be in the best of health. Hastings explained that the canister contained the strongest death gas ever created, something that promised to make mustard gas look like air freshener. Hastings felt relief when the canister sunk with the Titanic.

Wait, the Titanic was a passenger liner! Wouldn't it have made more sense to transport Hastings and this canister in a military vessel? We had a navy back then! Anyway, Hastings always feared that the canister would come back to bite him in some form. When the Titanic sank, he was taking the canister to America for further testing. He told them the gas was not effective, so it got scrapped. However, Hastings lied. He actually discovered the gas would linger for days, cutting swaths of death wherever the wind took it. Hastings was horrified by this, as the gas could end up literally wiping out lots of civilians in one fell swoop. He begs Stark to stop the gas and get the canister, and Stark assures him he'll do his best.

A van nearby is listening in on this conversation. You wonder why Tarasova and her boys didn't kill Stark earlier? This was why. She planted a bug on him, and now she knows about the canister. As such, she's got herself a little scheme a-going, and tells her men to contact the head of Soviet undersea operations.

A couple days later, Stark is on board a custom-designed boat in the North Atlantic. The millionaire inventor has just sent a submarine drone, and tells the captain of a nearby US frigate that his diver will be sending information via computer to them. The captain assures Stark that the minute the diver detects any toxicity in the water, they are gone. Good luck, Tony. The inventor then heads down below and puts on a new specialized suit of armor he has developed, designed to withstand the depths of the deep blue sea. Meet the Hydro Armor.

I do like the Hydro Armor. Yeah, the gold is not exactly stealthy, but I think it's a nice nod to the second suit of armor Tony wore, which was gold. And I can imagine it's meant for deliberate visibility. And the bulk makes sense here as it's meant to give the impression that it's a high-tech diving suit. So far, the armor's systems are working perfectly. Despite Tony's efforts to keep everything in mind, he still has some nerves about being this deep in the water.

Using the halogen lamp in his suit, Stark finds the wreckage of the Titanic. Up on the surface, the frigate captain notices that there's a Russian trawler nearby. However, there usually no problem with them as long as they keep their distance. The captain still decides to be cautious and alerts Stark to it. After all, this is the Cold War. You never know. Back under the water, Tony is still searching for the canister when he gets attacked by some drone subs.

Luckily, Tony's trademark repulsors still work well in the ocean. He realizes while fighting them they are looking for the canister. As such, he decides to use one of this armor's new tricks, inspired by the octopus.

The suit fires a massive cloud of ink, blinding the drones. You'd think they'd be equipped with sonar or something. And I can imagine the ink used by the armor has a similar chemical composition to actual octopus ink, but considering it's Stark, it'd somehow be "better". Using his own sonar, Stark is able to destroy a couple of the drones. More are coming, however, and the ink cloud is dispersing. So, Stark decides to use another of the armor's weapons, this one inspired by the electric eel.

You know, I think it would have been funny if one of the sea creature-inspired defenses was the ability for the armor to inflate and sprout spikes like a puffer fish. The electric charge fries the remaining drones, but Tony is suspicious. He feels this battle was a bit too easy. The inventor/superhero gets the idea that he's being set up. His suspicions are confirmed as he gets a whack from behind, and sees the perpetrator.

Irina Tarasova's voice erupts from the robotic Leviathan. She's on board the Russian trawler, operating the device by remote. The Leviathan grabs Iron Man. Stark fires a pair of mini-torpedoes at the monsterous machine. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but it does release Tony. He goes for the canister, the Leviathan in hot pursuit. Tarasova announces to Tony that she intends to use the Leviathan to obtain and crush the canister, releasing the gas.

Why? Well, a propaganda victory. With a bit of fudging of the facts, she can make it look like the United States had intended to use the gas on their own allies or people, helping make them look suspect. Stark is understandably horrified. Tarasova wants to create a massive body count just to make the US look bad. Tony knows he can't straight-up fight the Leviathan, but he does have a plan. He grabs the canister, then lets the Leviathan grab him. You see, Tony's Hydro Armor is actually composed of two suits: An outer suit and an inner suit.

He uses another trick he has in case he is trapped under debris during any underwater salvaging operations. The outer suit ejects its dome, and fires away Tony in his inner suit. This action then activates the outer suit's self-destruct sequence.

The outer suit blows up, taking the Leviathan with it. This would also have the additional effect of keeping the armor's tech out of enemy hands (This story was not long before the Armor Wars hit). Tony finds himself near the Russian trawler. He considers just ignoring it and going on his way. But, nah. He decides to be a troll and fires...something at the trawler. The art doesn't make it clear, but I think it's a small torpedo. Whatever Tony fires, it hits the trawler's hull, causing it to sink. As the crew get ready to abandon ship, Tarasova smirks. She vows to one day even the score with the Iron Man. As far as I know, Tarasova and Tony Stark never cross paths again, but considering the dating of this story, maybe that's for the best.

Some days later, Tony goes to a hospital near London. He learns that Hastings has turned for the worse health-wise, and he's not expected to live much longer. The old man asks if Tony managed to get the canister. Tony said that he managed to get it, and the gas will be destroyed safely. Hastings is relieved by this. He then closes his eyes, and passes away. The story ends with Tony wishing him a peaceful rest, and hoping the next world will be a bit less crazy than this one.

This issue was a fun little one-shot adventure. My favorite thing about the issue was the Hydro Armor's capabilities being shown. I really liked that some of the Hydro Armor's weaponry was inspired by actual sea creatures. I think it having abilities and tricks inspired by various sea creatures is a really clever idea, and I do hope that if future Iron Man authors use this armor in comics, they keep this in mind and expand on it. I can imagine that the biosphere of the oceans would be a goldmine of ideas.

My only real complaint about the issue is something that is really not the comic's fault. It is rather dated. It's heavily dipped in the politics of the time, mainly the Cold War. Despite that, the main purpose of the story is to show off Tony's new armor, and the Hydro Armor is really cool. If you ask me, the Michelinie/Layton era of Iron Man is rather underrated and is worth a read.

Bob Layton does some fine work in this issue. To me, he's the artist for the Armored Avenger. I especially like the way he draws the armor. He always makes the armor look like it's shining. I love that so much. If you want to read the story yourself, it can be found in two places: The trade paperbacks The Many Armors of Iron Man (A collection of stories that focused on the various armors Iron Man wore over the years), and Armor Wars Prologue (A collection of issues that set the stage for the famous Armor Wars storyline).

Next time, we go to the DC Universe and join the Justice Society of America, as they have to fight to clear their names thanks to one of their own...

Text Play: Pokemon Mega Adventure #4

Welcome to the fourth entry of my Text Play series on Pokémon Mega Adventure!

Last time, we explored Anomi Town. It's not much of a town, very little there. There was a Gym, but the Leader died a couple years earlier, and either due to incompetence or painfully inefficient Pokémon League bureaucracy, a replacement has not been brought in yet. Hopefully later in the game, somebody gets their butts in gear and gets a new Gym Leader in.

You know, now I am wondering. How does the whole thing with getting Gym started and leaders picked? Is there elections or appointments involved? Do they take tests? Is there regulation for treatment of Pokémon? Are Gyms supported by taxes? I have a ton of questions.

I decided to move on ahead up to the next route: Route 5. However, before I could really go ahead, there is a Trainer I have to battle to pass through. I saved the game, then faced the Trainer. She was packing an Alolan Vulpix. Straight from Sun and Moon. Unlike the standard Vulpix, which is a fire type, its Alolan cousin is an Ice type. To prepare for this, I figured it was time to do some team adjusting and some grinding.

I brought out my Litten (I got it as a Mystery Gift, alongside Rowlet and Popplio), and took it to battle with the Aroma Lady. The Aroma Lady's Vulpix put up a good fight, but Litten was able to burn it with a couple blasts of Ember, and its burn made it faint. She was very nice about it, and gave me a Soothe Bell for it. This was my new team afterwards.

I got all three Alola Starters thanks to the Mystery Gift, so I decided to add Litten and Popplio to my team so I could have a Fire and Water type if I needed it. It drives me nuts a bit because I also got a Rowlet, and I like having all three starters from the same generation on a team. But I have a Bulbasaur, so I have a Grass type already on this team. It drives my brain crazy. But I guess I'm just going to have to endure it. I do wish I could have given them new names, though.

I have to admit, I miss having a Shinx in my Pokémon teams. It's a neat Pokémon.

I decided to explore Route 5 a bit. Not much there, really. Just some more Pokémon to catch. But when I caught a Venipede, well...I got this screen.

I enjoy this game, but I will admit, the game can be a bit buggy at times. Just a bit. I decided to do a bit of grinding in the mean time. The route led to the Pine Forest, a...well, forest area that is raining. A lot. While there, I met Brendan, the Hoenn Champion. We visited his home earlier. He challenged me to a battle. Evidently we are rivals now...because reasons. You know, he's the Hoenn Champion. Shouldn't he be back in Hoenn, defending his title? What're all those trainers in Hoenn's Victory Road doing after they beat the Elite Four there, and they find that Brendan's out here in...whatever this region is called, playing rival to some young Trainer starting out?

Hoenn Trainer: Okay, Brendan! I'm ready to take your title...where'd he go?
Sidney: Something wrong, kid?
Hoenn Trainer: Brendan isn't here. The Champion isn't here. Isn't he supposed to be here to battle me and defend his position?
Sidney: Oh, for the love of Arceus! GUYS! He left again!
Phoebe: Where'd he wander off to THIS time?!
Glacia: He's such a flake! HOW did he beat us and become Champion again?!
Drake: Arrr, me mateys! Me thinks that we should have some...discussions with him about his responsibilities as the Champion!
Glacia: Stop with the pirate thing, Drake. It's so stupid! Your specialty isn't even Water Pokémon!
Phoebe: Let it be, Glacia. It gets us tourist money.

Ah, well. At least he heals up my Pokémon for me. Brendan starts out with a Turtwig, but Litten easily takes care of it. He then sends out Starly, but Thundra the Shinx took it down in one blast of Spark. His final Pokémon, Heracross, was a bit harder to take down. It required the tag team of Slate the Geodude and Betty the Butterfree to take that big ol' blue beetle down. At least Brendan compliments my team before he leaves. I'm going to end up facing him again, aren't I? While in the Pine Forest, I did find TM18 (Rain Dance).

And we have arrived at Koriyama City! It certainly does look a bit more lively than Anomi Town. I'll have to explore it a bit further. I'm guessing this town is the Seattle of the region, as it never stops raining, ha ha. All it needs is a coffee shop.

I think I'll look over the city next time. I think it looks like there'll be more to check out here than in the last town we went to, especially that Pokémon vn-Academy and cave.

Pokémon Obtained:
Route 4:
- Budew
- Shinx
- Pichu

Route 5:
- Yanma
- Sewaddle
- Venipede
- Slowpoke
- Mareep
- Glameow

Pine Forest:
- Wurmple
- Silcoon
- Cascoon
- Luxio (evolved from Shinx)

Cloak and Dagger Trailer, My Thoughts

Cloak and Dagger, the Marvel Universe's protectors of the lost in the New York City streets, is coming to television. I looked at a teaser of their series in the past, and now a new trailer is here!

The trailer begins with a helicopter flying towards an oil rig. Maybe this is the place Cloak and Dagger get their powers?

I think this take on them will take place in New Orleans. I like this idea. It allows them to have a place of their own to maintain some distance from the other heroes, and make their adventures feel a bit more self-contained.

Hmm, it looks like they're generally kept to their origins, but with some changes. For example, in the comics, Cloak grew up in one of the poorer areas of Boston. Here, Tyrone Johnson appears to be a private school student. I wonder if Tandy's origin will stay the same. In the comics, she was a rich girl.

We get to see a little more of their powers in the trailer. That's neat.

That Roxxon sign has got me wondering. In this adaptation, will they be the ones behind Cloak and Dagger's powers? Would give them a Big Bad to fight.

"One will live, one will die?" I don't like the sound of that. Considering Dagger "died" during Maximum Carnage in the comics, there may be a twist to that statement.

Well, this trailer is pretty neat. We got to see a bit more of the future Cloak and Dagger's past and powers, as well as more of them together. It's nice seeing them interact. I hope it's a hit with its target audience.

Mario Tennis Aces Announcement, My Thoughts

A new Nintendo Direct recently hit, and among the announcements it had, was one for a new game in the Mario Tennis series. The series has been around since the days of the Virtual Boy, and is also known for debuting the character Waluigi. The series has had a release on every piece of hardware Nintendo has put out since 1995, both console and handheld. Naturally, the Switch would also get a game, and here is the announcement.

Gotta say, the game looks beautiful.

Over 15 playable characters, huh? I wonder if we'll get more for DLC. And it's kind of funny to me that they made a Chain Chomp a playable character.

I do like that this game allows for up to four players at once. Would make doubles a lot of fun, and allows you to pick the play style you prefer: Joy-cons attached or unattached, Pro Controller, that kind of thing.

Ooh, I can imagine the racket breaking will lead to some Joy-Cons getting thrown in fits of frustration.

Zone Shots seem easy to abuse. Glad they kept that in mind.

The Trick Shot effects are cool. I can imagine them also being accompanied by the sound effect from Six Million Dollar Man when Steve Austin used his bionics.

The Special Shot would be good as a "Finisher", as it were.

Online Multiplayer! Yes!

Basic Rules would be a great way to practice and sharpen skills.

New characters, huh? That's an interesting incentive for playing online, but I can see that backfiring, too. And that is clearly a Koopa Troopa.

Awesome! A story mode! I like story modes!

Wow. They must be confident in this game if they're holding a pre-launch tournament.

Well, this game seems like it will be a ton of fun! I've never really played the Mario sports games, but I'll give this a, well...shot!

Crisis on Infinite Earths #3 (June 1985)

The Crisis on Infinite Earths rages on! That's right, we are returning to the epic 1980s miniseries that defined the modern "event comic"! This month, we're going to take a look at issue #3! We've gotten a look at the sheer scope of this event, covering the ancient past, to the present, to a post-apocalyptic animal-ruled hell, to the shining far future. Now, it's time to grab your helmet and strap on a bandolier, because we're going to World War II! And then it will be time to saddle up, because we're going to hit the Old West! Yee-ha!

The cover is awesome. It's one of those covers that very few artists, George Perez included, could pull off. It's centered around the Monitor seemingly having an Earth in his hands, and the Earth is cracking with bolts of energy. In between bolts are scenes from the comic. The detail is astounding, but that's to be expected from George Perez. God, I love this man's artwork.

"Oblivion Upon Us"
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Penciler: George Perez
Inkers: Dick Giordano, Mike DeCarlo
Colorist: Anthony Tollin
Letterer: John Constanza
Editor: Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Robert Greenberger
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with The Monitor examining the young Alexander Luthor Jr.

The Monitor discovers that Alex Jr. is rather unique. An anomaly, if you will. His body is composed of a mixture of matter and anti-matter. It's something that should be impossible. As fans of Star Trek know, if matter and anti-matter mix, you get explosions that utterly annihilate both. That's how warp drives work.

The Monitor believes Alex ended up this way when he passed through the dimensional barriers between the various Earths. You'd think the same thing would happen to Barry Allen when he first traveled to Earth-2 back in the day. Maybe there was something in the ship? The Monitor cares for him, but worries about his being used as a weapon to stop his enemy. Alex is more worried that he will not be of any help. Lyla the Harbinger calls for the Monitor, but he does not hear her. Lyla worries that maybe the Monitor knows that she has now become a rather unwilling agent of his enemy.

She appears before the enemy, the Psycho-Pirate overjoyed to see her, much to her chagrin. The Pirate rants about the enemy giving him a world of his own to play with the emotions of. The enemy tells him to shut up. He commands Harbinger to destroy the young Luthor, and she heads out to do so. The Psycho-Pirate warns the enemy that she is struggling with the grip he has on her. The enemy is not worried, as she'll do what she's told.

In the 30th century of Earth-1, the Barry Allen Flash is racing across the streets of Central City during a raging storm. He's been living here with his wife Iris for a month after the events of Flash #350 (October 1985), in happy retirement. He's wondering what is causing the storm and the volcanic activity, as there are machines that should correct it. He spots a strange thing in the distance.

The wall of anti-matter is consuming the future, little by little. The scene then shifts again, this time to New York City in the present. Members of the New Teen Titans are doing the best they can to help protect civilians from the wall of anti-matter consuming the city. Metamorpho tries to hold up a building, while Kole uses her crystal-spinning powers to help evacuate civilians and create barriers. One toppling building is about to crush the Donna Troy Wonder Girl, but Superman is able to save her, Batman right behind him. Starfire loses it, futilely trying to blast the anti-matter wall. Superman stops her, telling her her starbolts aren't going to do any good. Starfire breaks into tears, lamenting her failure to save Earth, considering her home of Tamaran was conquered and possibly destroyed. Superman understands her pain and helplessness, as for all his power, he couldn't save his native Krypton.

Katana spots something, and Batman checks it out. Much to his shock, it's the Flash, his body glowing. The speedster yells that in the future, everything is coming apart. Batman tries to go for the Flash, as the Fastest Man Alive states that something weird is happening to him. Jericho senses something wrong, but being mute, he can't yell at Batman. As such, he does the next best thing: He tackles the Dark Knight, and the Flash...well...this.

In a warped mirror of Superman and Batman witnessing the Flash vanish, the Teen Titans and Outsiders witness Flash seemingly being stretched and torn apart. Out in space, another is observing the anti-matter wall.

I love Brainiac's big ol' skull ship. I think it was brought back pre-Flashpoint, but I am not certain. The cybernetic supervillain remarks that to save himself from destruction at the hands of the anti-matter wall, he must aid in saving the universe. And as such, he needs to get to Earth and contact an old compatriot of his: Lex Luthor.

We next cut to Spring 1944. World War II is still raging, and the country of Markovia has fallen to the Third Reich. The crew of the Haunted Tank, alongside Sgt. Rock and Easy Company remark that there shouldn't be any snowfall at this time. They also spot Blue Beetle's Bug and one of the Monitor's towers. Lieutenant Jeb Stuart, the leader of the Haunted Tank's crew, hears the calling of the ghost who haunts the tank: his ancestor, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart. The General warns that some losers will never be seen again, confusing the tank driver. Geo-Force and Dr. Polaris find themselves here. Geo-Force is all too eager to take on the Nazis, as they slaughtered his people. Polaris agrees to help, if only to cause some mayhem. Blue Beetle reminds them that they are there to guard the Monitor's tower, not for Geo-Force to play avenging angel.

One Nazi holds a woman hostage, but a member of Easy Company called "Flower" (who is actually supposed to be called "Farmer Boy". This book had three or four people editing it, and yet this error still managed to occur) is able to snipe the Nazi, saving the woman. He then picks up a flower and puts it on his uniform. Geo-Force tells his fellow Markovians to hide. A group of Nazis are also at the tower, thinking it's some new Allied weapon. The group are watched by the Losers. One of them tosses a grenade, and kaboom. The Haunted Tank contributes a shell to the "Blow Nazis Up Fund", and Easy Company charges.

One of the Losers, Captain Storm, tries to figure out what the tower is. However, a Shadow Demon pops out to say hello. Easy Company and Geo-Force hear a scream, and they check it out. Geo-Force insists on doing it himself, but Sgt. Rock tells him this war is for soldiers, not "mystery men like those All-Star heroes". They see the Losers getting massacred by the Shadow Demons.

Gunner, the youngest of the group. Sarge, a man who gave thirty years of his life to the military. Johnny Cloud, the Native American pilot they called the Navajo Ace. And Captain Storm, the one-eyed one-legged ex-PT boat commander. Nazis feared them, but they were nothing to the Shadow Demons. Easy Company fire at the monsters, but their bullets do no good. One of the demons manages to get Flower, and nearly Sgt. Rock himself. Dr. Polaris and Geo-Force combine their powers to destroy one of the demons.

Blue Beetle wonders why he's even there as he has no superpowers, but figures that he's there because of his scientific expertise. He goes to examine the machine, but a Shadow Demon attacks him. When the Demon grabs his shoulder, Ted Kord screams in pain, but the Demon explodes. Beetle thinks it may have because of the Blue Beetle scarab's magical powers that were used by his predecessor: Dan Garrett. Ted Kord was never able to find a way to access the powers of the Scarab.

Polaris thinks that the Monitor sent them to their deaths, but Geo-Force realizes that the Demons are attacking Markovia itself in an attempt to keep them away from the Monitor's tuning fork tower. Back at the tower, Blue Beetle valiantly dodges the Demons, but eventually falls off the tower. The Monitor observes this and frowns. He was hoping that the Blue Beetle would be helpful because of his scarab, but sees that it would not be so, so he basically sends him home.

We then next go forward to the era of the Great Disaster. The Earth-2 Superman and Dawnstar observe the skies as they guard the Monitor's tower. The skies are turning red, and electrical storms are erupting. Just as the Monitor warned them. Dawnstar remarks that this Superman is married, and he wonders if he'll see his Lois again. Meanwhile, Kamandi is worried about Solovar. Evidently, he got badly injured somehow, presumably saving Kamandi from the Shadow Demons in the last issue. His injuries are taking a toll on the king of Gorilla City, and he's getting weaker. Before he vanishes, he implores Kamandi to be good. The vanishing effect is clearly the Monitor taking him back to Gorilla City. Kamandi believes that Solovar is dead, and he laments that he has lost everyone he loved. Superman reminds him that everything is changing and they have to stay together.

We then next go to the Old West. Particularly, the town of Coyote in the year 1879. A man is getting tossed out of a building.

Meet Bartholomew "Bat" Aloysius Lash, aka Bat Lash. A man who dislikes violence, Lash was more of a devil-may-care character, but always attracted trouble wherever he went. And there was no change here. Evidently, a pretty woman caught his eye, and her mother did not take too kindly to it. Lash rides out, remembering that he also got a telegram from Ke-Woh-No-Tay, aka Scalphunter. Bat Lash spots one of the Monitor's towers, and figures that is what it's about. The gentleman rogue enters a mine and discovers that he is not alone. Alongside him and Scalphunter, are more of DC's Western-era characters: Johnny Thunder, Nighthawk, and Jonah Hex. The four puzzle over what this tower is, and Nighthawk remarks that he felt compelled to come here, the other Western heroes agreeing with him. Nighthawk goes to get some weapons. The Western heroes discover that the tower has defenders.

Bat Lash panics at the sight of Cyborg, Psimon, John Stewart, and Firebrand, and fires a shot at them. The Green Lantern protects himself with an energy bubble, and Firebrand reassures them that they aren't there to fight. Jonah Hex recognizes Stewart's Green Lantern costume, and reminds Lash that they've met a Green Lantern before, but the one they met was white [Bat Lash and Jonah Hex met the Hal Jordan Green Lantern in 1878 during the events of Justice League of America #198 (January 1982)]. The two groups of heroes talk a bit, but then the Shadow Demons attack. The Western heroes and the Harbinger Group members fight them off, but John Stewart discovers his power ring has mysteriously stopped working, despite it having plenty of charge left. The heroes discover the mine is caving in.

Outside, Nighthawk notices the red skies and electrical storms, leaving him incredibly confused. He  rides to a nearby town to check things out, and finds this.

The anti-matter wall is consuming the town. Nighthawk rides either away from the town in terror or rides towards to try and help, the art isn't clear. A lightning bolt spooks his horse, knocking him off. The vigilante helplessly fires at the anti-matter wall, but nothing can stop it. The wall eventually overcomes and consumes him.

But the 1870s is not the only era in time hit by the wall. It's also consuming the 30th century. The Metropolis of that era is slowly getting eaten, and the Legion are helpless to stop it. Dream Girl notes with horror that she did not dream this. Brainiac 5 contacts a Legion reservist named Kid Psycho, who is evacuating people in London. Despite his efforts, Kid Psycho has nowhere to put the people, even if they can evacuate the city. Some rubble falls on the psychokinetic, rendering him unconscious. As the Legion calls for him to respond, the anti-matter wave consumes the fallen Legionnaire, and takes London with him.

The anti-matter wall is everywhere, consuming Earth at several points in time at once. How that works, I have no idea. But they have to show off DC's long in-universe history somehow. The Monitor observes this, noting the enemy is moving faster than anticipated. He laments that he doesn't have enough time to save the various Earths, but his towers are in place. He's got his Harbinger Group where he needs them, so it's time to launch his plan. However, the story ends with Harbinger about to blast the Monitor, her eyes black as night. She states that the only thing that will happen now is his death.

This issue was pretty good. We're starting to see the Crisis majorly affect the heroes, actually taking casualties from the costumed community. Nighthawk, the Losers, and Kid Psycho may not be major heroes, but it is a taste of what is to come. It's also really cool to see WWII-era characters together, as well as the Western heroes being gathered.

Harbinger's turn is very tragic, as the previous two issues have shown that what she is doing is out of her own control. I imagined that Lyla was still in there, watching in horror as she announced to the being she loved like a father that he would die by her hand. It's scary stuff. And George Perez's artwork is awesome, which is par for the course for the man. Seriously.

Next time, we take a trip to the Marvel Universe, as Iron Man pays homage to Thunderball...

Text Play: Pokemon Mega Adventure #3

Welcome to the third entry in my Text Play series of the Pokémon fan game Pokémon Mega Adventure!

Last time, we arrived at Anomi Town. So, let's explore it!

One of the first things I saw here was a police officer wandering around the town. Yeah, an actual police officer. I couldn't believe it, either. He's a pretty dedicated one, too. He gets a bit snippy when you talk to him. He doesn't like to be bothered when he's patrolling.

One of the houses here is rather distinct.

It houses Red and Green. Yeah, Red and Green from Generation One. The original Pokémon games. The Snorlax there is from Red's Champion team. I'm assuming the Poliwrath is probably Green's. I looked her up on Bulbapedia, and she never had a Poliwrath in the manga, so who knows? Maybe creators just liked Poliwrath. I talked to the NPC in that image, and he said they both belonged to Red.

I decided to go inside the house, and...they were not home. Nope. They had a housekeeper, a nice old lady, and she told me they were out. I wonder where they went, considering that in the house, there are Pokéballs containing Red's Venusaur and Green's Charizard. Wherever they're going, they likely do not have their Pokémon with them.

Anomi Town does not have a lot to do. There is a funny thing, though. The shop here is more like an open air market. There are two of these tent-like things there. Funny enough, one of them says this to me.

It's weird, man. Maybe it was meant as a joke as the shopkeeper's price don't seem that strange to me.

Maybe it was a gag or something. I have no idea. And that's really it for this town. I can't prepare for the Gym here because the Leader died two years earlier, and there was no plan for this. I do want to explore beyond, but I have some grinding to do. There's a Trainer blocking the way, so I have to get ready to battle her before I continue ahead.

Before I end this here, I have also been considering doing a Text Play series of another Pokémon fan game I enjoy: Pokémon Insurgence. But I have a bit of a dilemma going here. You see, I have done two Let's Play videos in the past, so go on from there, right? Well, since I last did one of those, the game was completed (The game was unfinished when I made them), and here's the dilemma. The game is now done, and part of me wants to start the game from the very beginning, now that it's finally finished. I'm not sure what to do. Any thoughts would be helpful.

See you next time! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this short little entry!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Hello to all my readers! I want to wish you all a happy St. Patrick's Day today!

This day is about Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. The day celebrates Christianity coming to Ireland (which St. Patrick was credited for), and has also become a celebration of Irish culture in general. Basically, St. Patrick used the shamrock to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity to people there, which is why the shamrock is used as a symbol of this day.

In Ireland, the day is a public holiday. It's celebrated in other countries with Irish populations as well, mainly in the form of parades and wearing green. You can read more about the day here, and you can read more about the man himself here.

Have a happy day, and don't forget to wear something green!

400th Post!

It's happened! I am honestly shocked that I have reached this milestone! That's right, this here is the 400th entry on my blog! Hooray!

This is quite an amazing accomplishment! And I am also celebrating this blog's 4th birthday next month! What a year!

I want to say thank you to everyone who has been reading and enjoying this blog! I have had nothing but fun writing entries for this blog, and I am happy that people have been reading it and enjoying it!

I hope to keep on providing more fun stuff to read on this blog. I have an Iron Man comic review in the works, as well as the third Text Play entry on Pokémon Mega Adventure. I also want to write more random stuff in the future. And I am hoping to be able to write more movie reviews.

I would be so happy if all of you accompanied me on this continued journey of...writing things about things I like on the Internet. I have no intention of stopping this blog any time soon! Here's to one day celebrating entry number 500!

Avengers: Infinity War Trailer #2, My Thoughts

For ten years, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been building up to this. The Avengers are facing the greatest threat they have ever encountered, a monster from their worst nightmares. Of course, I am talking about Thanos. There was one trailer released in the past, but now they have a new one out, and it's got people talking! Let's check it out.

Evidently, Doctor Strange accidentally put the city in a magic washing machine again.

Makes sense Gamora would be the one to explain Thanos. She was raised by him, after all.

Nice to see James Rhodes back in the armor again. I'm guessing his new prothestics from Civil War were modified or upgraded to allow him to use the War Machine suit. I wonder what he, Natasha, and Bruce are looking at, though? Maybe it's a giant donut.

The Sanctum Santorum. Hope Strange was able to fix it up after the events of Thor: Ragnarok.

Gamora unknowingly paying homage to the comics. Thanos did exactly that in the comics, wipe out half of all the life in the universe by snapping his fingers.

Have to say, Thanos looks badass.

...Did Tony incorporate some Cybertronian tech into his suit?

I think the final Infinity Stone is in Wakanda. That would help explain why it's getting such focus here.

Hi, Shuri! The heroes will need all the help they can get on this, and who better than the smartest person in the MCU?

The Guardians and the Avengers meeting up. This is awesome. And Tony may have just met some competition in the snark category.

HE IS THOR, GOD OF THUNDER.

This part here has to be a flashback scene. That little girl's hand is a clearly a young Gamora's. Maybe this film explains how she fell into his...care. I'm guessing here, Thanos was the one who exterminated her people. Well, half of them.

Vice Grip on Thor!

I have to say, the Black Order looks awesome. This part is making me ask a lot of questions. Are the Asgardians alive? Did Loki betray them? Or was he forced to hand over the Tessaract? And considering that we briefly see Thanos crush the cube, maybe he forms the stones that way.

Oh ho, the brawl in Wakanda is going to be so cool!

Strange has a weird idea of acupuncture.

Hulkbuster is getting wrecked.

Yeah, Tony's going to bite it.

CAPTAN AMERICA. HOLDING BACK THANOS'S HAND. LIKE A BOSS. That part is so AWESOME! It reminds me of the comics. In the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, Cap stood up to a fully godlike Thanos on his own, too. Thanos killed him. I think Cap will bite it too in this movie.

Man, this trailer is awesome! I watched it several times today, that's how much I loved it! I loved the first trailer, and the second one has gotten me even more hyped! I can't wait for this movie!

Captain America #400 (May 1992)

Lately, I had come to a bit of a realization. My 400th blog entry was coming up. How was I going to celebrate that? I wasn't sure, but then it hit me. Why not review a comic's 400th issue? And maybe give a shout-out to a storyline I consider underrated? And do a Captain America comic because why not? So, Cap's 400th issue it was.

This issue occurred in the middle of the Operation: Galactic Storm storyline, conceived by Mark Gruenwald, Bob Harras, and Fabian Nicieza. The storyline, named after the real-life Operation: Desert Storm, was about a war between two alien races: The Kree (who the Avengers had encountered in the past, mainly in the classic Kree-Skrull War storyline), and the Shi'ar (A bird-like alien race mainly associated with the X-Men books). The Avengers got involved in the war when they discover that the two races have placed a stargate in their solar system which was negatively affecting the sun. The storyline was in 19 parts, crossing over the two Avengers books at the time (Avengers, Avengers West Coast), and several Avengers-related solo books (Captain America, Iron Man, Wonder Man, Thor, and Quasar).

Also, as I said, my 400th blog entry is coming up. As such, I thought this anniversary issue would be a great way to celebrate it. And it's appropriate that this review is of a Mark Gruenwald-era Cap book, as it was his work that made Cap a favorite of mine. And with that out of the way, let's take a look at Captain America #400!

The cover is neat, albeit a bit basic. We got Cap in full color, fighting what looks like some of his foes that have taken on the form of a bizarre film negative. It does make the cover look kind of cool. And the logo is big. Very big. It seems to take up half the cover. I do wish it was a bit smaller so we could see more of the art.

"Murder by Decree!"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Rik Levins
Inker: Danny Bulanadi
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco (credited as "Editor Supreme")

The story begins with Cap in the Citadel of Judgment, a building in the city of Kree-Lar It's on Hala, the capital world of the Kree Empire. And he is about to be buried by rubble.

The roof is caving in, and Cap is trying to escape it. Despite his best efforts, he ends up buried. In space above Hala, a Quinjet is heading out of the planet. On board are a contingent of Avengers: Iron Man, the Black Knight (Dane Whitman), Sersi, Crystal of the Inhuman Royal Family, and Hawkeye (having retaken the Goliath mantle for this story). The Knight is feeling down, as they had to leave Cap behind due to the events of Iron Man #279 (April 1992). Clint Barton is unconscious, knocked out by Iron Man because he wanted to go back and find him. Crystal goes to check on him, and he's alright.

Knight wants to know how hard Iron Man tasered him, and Tony Stark states that he only hit him with necessary force, just enough to knock him out for a while. Knight wonders if that means they write off Cap for good, but Iron Man reassures him that he'll contact Quasar as soon as possible to retrieve him. Right now the priority is this.

The Nega-Bomb, a Shi'ar weapon meant to be delivered to the heart of the Kree Empire, using the Negative Zone to blow a hole in it. Think of it as an atomic bomb enhanced with advanced alien tech and given a TON of steroids. The Avengers HAVE to stop that bomb from detonating. Clint wakes up, and Tony assures the Black Knight that Cap has gotten out of scrapes like this lots of times in the past. Secretly, he worries that he may have doomed the Star-Spangled Avenger. They may not have always seen eye-to-eye, but Tony does still consider Cap a friend.

Cap himself wakes up in a dark void, unaware of where he is and how he got there. He then takes the opportunity to recap how he got there. Two Kree Accusers, essentially cops, took Cap before the Kree's leader, the Supreme Intelligence. The Intelligence, an advanced AI comprised of the finest minds of the Kree race, wishes to add Captain America's mind to his own, the first human to get the "honor". However, there's a catch. I'll get to that later. The good Captain's trip through memory lane is interrupted when someone ambushes him.

Cap is confused as to how the Cobra got here, as he is on an alien planet. Cobra doesn't care, he just wants some revenge for Cap helping bring down the Serpent Society. Cap then gets a kick in the face.

Batroc the Leaper is here, too. You may know of him from his appearance in the beginning of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Batroc leaps up to stomp on Cap's ribs, but the Sentinel of Liberty is able to twist his body, causing the French mercenary to stomp on the ground and allowing Cap to free himself from Cobra's clutches. But they're not the only villains to show up. Cap is wondering what exactly they are, as they're clearly not illusions. He nearly gets a mace, but his Mighty Shield is able to block it. The mace belongs to another old Cap foe, the Flag-Smasher. He gets a shield to the mug for his trouble. A whip wraps around Cap's arm, revealing that the Viper is also here, with the Red Skull and Crossbones right behind her. It's Cap Villains Night, baby!

Red Skull explains they were spirited away to Kree-Lar, and they have to kill Cap before they can return home. The Nazi demands that Cap tell him everything he knows about the Kree. Cap just tells them they have very good dental hygiene: "They brush after every meal". Skull doesn't find the joke funny and orders the others to kill him. The other villains look at him like, "Wait, you expect US to follow YOUR orders?" Yeah, many other supervillains do not like Red Skull that much. For obvious reasons.

Crossbones mocks the other villains and steps up to face Cap. He tears the ribbons of his mask off, as Cap was able to get past him the last time by using them to yank his mask askew. As they fight, Cap wonders how they got here. It has to be the real deal, as these villains are accurate right down to the fighting styles. Cap tries to whack Crossbones with his shield, but the mercenary is able to grab it, and kick Cap in the gut. The Sentinel of Liberty gets blasted by Cobra, but Batroc smacks him, saying that it was unsporting and he wants to see them fight one-on-one. Cap is able to bring Crossbones down, but Flag-Smasher, Batroc, and Cobra then jump in. They try and grab Cap's limbs, but he fights them off. But eventually, the numbers game catches up with the good Captain.

Red Skull is savoring this. Viper demands they kill him now. Flag-Smasher is only agreeing to help here because he hates Cap more than he hates the Red Skull. Skull prepares to give Cap a faceful of his Dust of Death, but Cap is able to free his arm...well, more like Batroc let it go. He hits Skull with a Mighty Punch, causing him to blast Crossbones in the face with his Dust of Death. This causes him to release Cap's shield arm, and he's able to free himself. Viper wraps her whip around his neck, and Cobra tries to blast him. However, thanks to the Mighty Shield, Cobra's blast ends up hitting the Viper. Cap then uses the handle of the  whip to take down Cobra. The Red Skull starts to stir, but a kick from Cap ensures the Skull stays in dreamland.

Cap wonders why Batroc let go of his arm. Batroc explains that as much of a scoundrel he can be, he felt it would be dishonorable to allow a foe he respects as much as Cap to be tortured. Yeah, the thing about Batroc is that he has his own code of honor. Cap knows that Batroc is acting like the man he knows, but wonders how he got here. Batroc says he's real as far as he knows. Cap then asks Batroc to remove his mask. Batroc agrees, although he wonders why Cap wants him to do it, as he has never seen his face.

Cap realizes that indeed, Batroc and the other villains are illusions. Cap recalls that this is similar to the events of Avengers #97 (March 1972), in which Rick Jones was able to create powerful illusions of various Golden Age superheroes thanks to a hidden power humanity has. A green tentacle grabs Cap, revealing the Supreme Intelligence. The Intelligence remarks about Cap's determination and resourcefulness. You see, the alien AI wanted to integrate Cap's mind and intellect into himself like he has done to many in the past. However, there's a catch. Cap has to be dead before he can do that. He did to Cap what he did to Rick Jones years earlier, stimulate human beings' hidden reality-shaping potential to create the illusions to kill him.

However, Cap's fighting skills, resourcefulness, and his "insufferable desire for freedom and independence" has convinced the Intelligence that his mind would cause too many problems for him, and tosses him aside. He then tosses Cap aside, taunting him that he does not have long to live and he should think about his loss of a chance to be truly immortal. This confuses the super-soldier, as he knows the fall won't kill him. The story ends with a shot of a giant bomb being towed through space.

It's destination: the heart of the Kree Empire. The goal: to kill millions of Kree.

In the interest of full disclosure and honesty, I can only judge this story's quality. You see, this comic had several other stories included, including one that delved into the origins of the then-supporting character Diamondback. I do not have those stories because...I'm looking through the Operation: Galactic Storm Epic Collection. It only collected the Cap #400 material that actually connected to the storyline. Operation: Galactic Storm was reprinted earlier in two trade paperbacks in 2006 which I also own, and the case is the same with them. I do wish that the extra stories were included. Yeah, I get why they weren't reprinted as well, but I would have liked their addition purely for the sake of completeness.

As such, I think the story is...okay. It doesn't feel like a big celebratory event. To be fair, I can imagine that was mainly due to the circumstances of the storyline at the time. It basically is a big ol' fight scene, but it also does do some minor work on advancing the storyline, including hinting something bigger and more sinister going on than a big ol' intergalactic squabble between two alien races.

As I said, I can only judge this based on the main story, and honestly...I don't think it stands up very well on its own. It's really best enjoyed when read as part of the collected Operation: Galactic Storm storyline. If you do find the comic in its original form, I do suggest getting it so you can check out the extra content that was not reprinted.

Next time, we return to the DC Universe, as the Crisis on Infinite Earths rages on!

Mary Poppins Returns Teaser, My Thoughts

In 1964, Walt Disney Studios released Mary Poppins, an adaptation of the P.L. Travers book of the same name. The film was a massive critical hit, nominated for 13 Academy Awards and winning five. It's considered one of Walt Disney's masterpieces, and even is in the National Film Registry. Yeah, it was considered that important. And after five decades, the film is getting a sequel set twenty years after the original: Mary Poppins Returns, starring Emily Blunt in the title role. And here's the teaser!

The trailer begins with us taking a look at the old Cherry Tree Lane. It may be the 1930s, but some things never change. It brings back memories of this film as a kid. I loved the crazy old captain who fired fireworks from his cannon.

Hey look, the old kite from the original. Looks to be in good shape for being in the garbage for twenty years. Off it goes!

Oh hi Lin-Manuel! He's trading in the Hamilton shirts for the chimney sweep cap, as he's taking up the role of Jack, a young lamplighter who is an apprentice of Bert, Dick Van Dyke's character from the original. I wonder if he's going to do a bad Cockney accent like Van Dyke did. I hope he does, if only for the potential hilarity.

Kid better catch that kite. It's clearly taking a beating.

Heh, the clouds part for Mary Poppins. She would be so helpful when bad storms hit.

I have to admit, Emily Blunt looks good as Mary Poppins.

This looks like it will be a fun Christmas movie.

Wreck-It Ralph 2 Teaser, My Thoughts

In 2012, Walt Disney Pictures released Wreck-It Ralph. The movie told the tale of Ralph, the villain of a Donkey Kong-esque arcade game who yearned for more in his digital life. The movie was a critical and financial success, and even got nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature. I loved this movie, and was happy to hear they were making a sequel. And here's a teaser for it!

The teaser begins with the arcade owner, Stan Litwak, getting a router. Bit of an old-fashioned-looking router, but as long as it does the job, I guess.

Computer boards have always fascinated me. I don't know why, maybe it's all the parts and the patterns of the traces. When I was a kid, I lived near Boston, and they had a computer museum. When I went there, my favorite part was this room what made you feel like you got shrunk down and got to walk on a giant computer board. I loved that room. I doubt it's still there, but it was awesome.

Just saw the Internet Movie Database logo. I wonder if Disney had to pay a fee for that, like they did to MGM to use the ruby slippers in the 1985 film Return to Oz.

This take on the Internet is awesome. I like the idea that's like a giant city. Unseen is the Red Light District. It's Disney, that part is not going to be shown...

Yup. Pop-ups and clickbait. The BANE of any Internet user.

And now eBay. Are there fees being paid or are these Internet companies basically asking Disney to put their logos in? And that bit with the kitten painting is nice. How long until that is made into a real picture?

Hey, early mobile game. Mmm, pancakes...

Ralph discovers the appeal of mobile games. They're quick and simple.

...Nice job Ralph, you just scarred that kid for life.

I loved the first Wreck-It Ralph, and I think the sequel is going to be a lot of fun.

Super Smash Bros. Switch Teaser Trailer, My Thoughts

Super Smash Bros. One of Nintendo's most beloved and successful franchises, this epic crossover fighting game has been an important part of every Nintendo console's library since the days of the Nintendo 64. Not to mention the 3DS got to be the first handheld to get a Smash game. The Switch is no exception. And with their latest Direct, Nintendo revealed this trailer for a Switch Smash! Let's take a look at it!

The trailer begins with some paint being splatted on the ground in an area of pure white. Something's moving through the paint...it's Orange Inkling Girl! I'm guessing the inklings will be playable fighters in this new Smash game. That does make sense, Splatoon's sequel is on the Switch, and it has become a quite successful little franchise. The Inklings are just having some fun doing what they do best: trying to blast each other with paint.

PAINT GRENADE!

Everything's getting dark. The Inklings forgot to pay the power bill again, huh? Orange Inkling Girl notices something big and bright in the distance.

And we got a big flaming Smash logo.

That's got to be Breath of the Wild Link. That is the newest Zelda game. I have heard some speculation that this was a port of the Wii U/3DS version, but Link here makes me doubt it. If it was, that Link would be wearing a hat. Breath of the Wild Link's default appearance is hatless.

I do hope all the characters in the last one come to this game. I also hope that Solid Snake and the Ice Climbers come back. I also would like to see Shantae, Shovel Knight, Chun Li, and Simon Belmont join the roster as well. I love playing the last Smash on my 3DS, so Smash on Switch! I am all for it!