Forager Announcement Trailer, My Thoughts

Ever since Minecraft became a big thing, there have been a fair share of clone games out there. Makes sense, gotta get some of that sweet sweet Minecraft money, after all. However, this one looks like it could a bit fun! Let's take a look at Forager!

Break that rock, break that rock. I'll use it to build a nice new house. Let's see the Big Bad Wolf blow that down!

Heyyy, look at the happy smiling...vegetable...things? What are those?

Hey, thanks for the compliment! That really brightened up my day!

Well...THAT went dark quick!

Hey, I like the combat.

Spooky Scary Skeletons...

Yup, the Switch has touchscreen features! Bet you all didn't know that, huh?

Oh my gosh, EVE from Wall-E went evil.

Heh heh, fertilizer.

Got a ton of resource providers? Go Bomberman on them!

Sounds like you can create all kinds of things in this game.

And of course, the more you build, the more room you need for your stuff. I wish you could build a house, though...

Crafting, combat, and puzzles! Nice!

Man, that Rotom is maaaaad...

Well, this looks rather fun! I have to admit, I am a bit of a sucker for games like this, so it looks right up my alley. I'll have to see if there's a demo for it. Thanks for reading! If you liked this blog entry, spread it around! And if you want to give my blog some additional support, please feel free to drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar!

Birds of Prey Teaser, My Thoughts

In 1995, DC Comics put out a one-shot comic called Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey. This one-shot brought together the former Batgirl and the Sonic-Screaming Siren for the first of many adventures as their partnership would expand to becoming a full-on team over the years over several ongoing series. The group was unique as the big draw was that the membership was composed solely of female superheroes for much of its existence (Hawk did briefly join the group post-Brightest Day).

The title was also known for propelling writer Gail Simone to fame, as her run on the book became very popular and established the "iconic" roster of the team: Oracle, Black Canary, Huntress, and Lady Blackhawk. The Birds would be homaged in various media, including a TV show, cartoons, the Arrow television series, but now the Birds are flying into their own live-action movie!

Yes, the DCEU's eighth film will be focusing on the Birds, and Harley Quinn will be joining them for the ride. A teaser is out, so let's take a look!

It makes sense Harley would be shown first. The full title of this movie is Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of Harley Quinn). Yeah, it's a mouthful. And it makes me think this film will just be a Harley solo with the Birds cameoing in a scene.

They...raced by everyone rather fast. Some teaser this was. Hey, you can slow it down a bit! Let us see these characters! Alright, I'm going to have to do some pausing to see them, and that is a bit annoying. Why did they do this?

I did see some of the stills of some of the characters in the movie on Twitter, and I...was not impressed.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA! What is Harley wearing?! She looks like a drunken mutant peacock!

See you soon? Unlikely, Miss Quinn. That seems unlikely I will see you soon.

I know that it's a very short teaser, but watching it...it doesn't make me excited for this movie. It looks like a step backwards. I really enjoyed Aquaman and Wonder Woman. With them, especially Aquaman, it seemed like the DCEU finally got over the fact they're adapting comic books to film, and started to embrace it. I know it's only a thirty-second teaser, but it doesn't make me hyped.

Thank you for reading this blog entry! If you enjoyed it, please spread it around! And if you want to give this blog a bit more support, please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar!

Text Play: Pokemon Mega Adventure #18

Hello, hello! Welcome back to the Akiba Region! That's right, it's entry number 18 in my Text Play of Pokémon Mega Adventure!

Last time, yours truly played his way through the Descent Tower, kicked the butt of Team Prime's boss, and evidently got my sixth badge. I think. Yeah, turns out the boss of Team Prime was this game's version of Giovanni. It's weird. The save screen tells me I have six badges, but my Trainer ID only displays five badges. Is this another bug?

Anyway, after all that craziness at Descent Tower, I found myself back at Event Hall, near Misty Island. It's the area of the island that has the statues of Rayquaza, Latios, and Latias. Speaking of Latios, he's evidently decided to stick with me. Neat. I also can't seem to get into Misty Island itself for some reason. Since Tsukachiga City is nearby, I decided to head there and stock up on some supplies. Once that was done, I went back to the Event Hall. There's this guy there.

He can't take care of his Shuckle anymore, and he wants someone to take care of it for him. So, I agreed to do so myself. I have a Shuckle now. Nice.

Shuckle are funny Pokémon. They look funny, their name is funny. I don't mean funny in the insulting way. I mean funny in the likable way. They're funny Pokémon, and I can't help but like Shuckle because they are funny. I don't think I pointed this out here before, but there's a lady here who literally sells Mega Stones. They're pretty expensive, though. Mega Stones are supposedly pretty rare, which justifies the expense. You see, they're brought about by exposing an evolution stone to the power of Kalos's legendary Pokémon Xerneas and Yveltal. Kalos is the region you explore in Pokémon X and Y. So, Mega Stones come from Kalos. Makes sense, as they were introduced in Pokémon X and Y.

I can imagine they're pretty rare. Well, enough dawdling, time to meet the guy with the Unfezant (Yeah, I spelled it wrong in the last entry. My bad, sorry. To be fair, there are nearly a thousand species of Pokémon in the games now, it's hard to keep track). The Unfezant transported me right back to Okimira Town! After I arrived, the Unfezant is sticking around, in case I want to head back. I hope it's cared for here. I don't think that should be a problem. Professor Oak has a lab here, so I think it'll be well-cared for in the meantime.

And we got Red in front of my house.

Dude, can't we do this in front of Oak's lab? Anyway, he said that my dad had already left...wait, didn't Red tell him that I was coming home?! Red said he had a gift for me, so why didn't he wait so he could give it to me in person? Also, my character has a dad?! Either way, we have our battle.

He starts out with Pikachu, but my Gabite is able to take it down with one Dig. However, it ended up paralyzed thanks to Pikachu's Static ability. Next was Snorlax. I countered with Venusaur, using the Leech Seed/Poison Powder combination. I switched out with Incineroar, and Darkest Lariat finished it off. Next was Blastoise, and my Luxray stepped up. Blastoise was able to beat it, despite Luxray having the type advantage, but she managed to do some damage. Venusaur was able to finish it off. Charizard was next.

Red had Charizardite X, so it Mega Evolved into Mega Charizard X. However, Primarina was still able to beat it with two blasts of Sparkling Aria. Next was Venusaur, and I brought out Incineroar. Easy win for one of the newest Smash Brothers. Finally, there was Lapras. Since Luxray was out, I brought out Venusaur again. Lapras had Blizzard, so it was able to bring the flower-frog-dino Pokémon down. Lapras still got Leech Seeded, though. I brought out Butterfree, who sent it to dreamland with Sleep Powder. It woke up quick, but Leech Seed finished the Lapras off.

With that, I beat Red. As such, he gave me the gift my dad intended to give me: HM04, Strength. Now, I can go to the next town, whatever that place is called. I'm going blind on this as I have no guide. There is a wiki, but it's not very helpful. I saved the game (always save often, kids!), and discovered something interesting. I had put sixty hours into this game so far. I have literally played this game for nearly three days' worth of time. Crazy. It really does add up.

I decided to go back to the Event Hall, as I have no idea what to do next or where to go. I also had a battle with a beachgoer outside of Misty Village. He mostly used Water-type Pokémon, so I saw an opportunity to give Thundra a bit of a workout. I felt bad for her after the clobbering she took at the water cannons of Red's Blastoise, so I figured letting her knock around some Pokémon in a battle would cheer her up a bit.

Thundra hopefully is feeling a little better, but I'm still stuck. I went back to Tsukschiga City, looking for something to do. I could do the Bug Catching Contest again, but I'm still a bit bitter over that Scyther escaping me. Screw you, Scyther. I did some exploring to help me think, and I found this.

Evidently, that's what I'm going to need the Strength HM for. I am a moron.

Ugggggggh. Anyway, I used my HM to teach Moguera the Gabite Strength.  What's at the other end of the rocks. This cave!

I don't think it was named. Anyway, a Hiker there says he's going to Insester City. What a name. Another Hiker talks about a Mysterious Beldam Clan in this cave. Yes, the "Mysterious" was capitalized. I'm guessing they just think it makes them look "cool" or something. This guy keeps talking about Beldam, so I'm going to call this cave "Beldam Cave". I found a Metal Coat here.

There's a ladder in this cave that takes you to the top of a mountain. Nearby, there's a rock that needs to be Rock Smashed that leads to another entrance. That entrance leads here.

Those two items? Well, the gold-and-silver one is Old Amber. The other, the one that looks like purple/pink stars, is actually a Mega Stone. Metacrossite, to be exact. Even though it's supposed to be called Metagrossite. So, I can now Mega Evolve a Metagross. With nowhere else to go, I head back down. The real way out of the cave is south of the ladder. Just go straight down, and try to avoid the Aggron if you don't want to battle it. There's a Heart Scale near the exit.

When leaving the Beldam Cave, I found TM17 (Protect) nearby in a grass patch. Welcome to Route 7! I passed down the Route until...well, look who it is.

It's Ash! What is he up to? Well, he was waiting to meet me on this route. I would ask how he knew I'd be here, but I realized something. Pokémon Regions tend to be rather...direct with their routes. There's usually only one route you have to take to get somewhere. And since I don't have any Pokémon that can use Fly (you still have to have been where you intend to go anyway), I presumably have to take this route to get to Insester City. So, yeah.

Ash explained that he wants a bit of payback for his losing to me when we last battled. Huh. Ash never seemed like the revenge-seeking type to me, from what I saw of him in the anime. One thing I am thankful for in this game is that Ash heals up my Pokémon for me before we fight. On this Route, I had encountered Linoone, Bibarel, Lopunny and Watchog. I admittedly didn't catch any of them, as I had their pre-evolutions, and I can always raise them.

Ash's first Pokémon was a Hawlucha. My Butterfree easily took care of it with Sleep Powder and Psybeam. Next, he brought out his trademark Pokémon: Pikachu. And it fell like a domino against my Gabite. Ash then brought out his Greninja, which became Ash-Greninja. It was able to wreck my Luxray and Venusaur, despite them having type advantages. Greninja was able to beat most of my Pokémon easily, but they were able to wear it down enough for Primarina to finish it off. It was also able to easily take down Ash's Talonflame and Noivern.

Ash is frustrated, but decided to head to Insester City and face the Gym there. He does seem a bit out of character to me. I figured I might as well head there myself. But on the way, I encountered an obstacle.

This is not a problem. I got the Surf HM! Yay! So, off to Insester City! On the way, I ended up in Flomola Town, a small town for fishermen. Not much here, except for the Fatial Ship.

I can ride on it if I have a ticket. The Surf ride was rather uneventful. Not really any wild Pokémon. There were swimming trainers and some wild Pokémon, but they were easy to avoid. And with that, I arrive at Insester City. When I got there, there were a couple of houses. And one of them contains a Bug-Catching Club.

One of them gives me a gift because why not?

I have no idea if the name is supposed to be a reference to something. Yeah, you can bet why this place is called Insester City. There are tons of bugs here. There's a Gym in town, and I'm betting it's a Bug-themed gym. I decide to do a little exploring. Get the lay of the land, as it were. And I ended up finding something that shocked me.

Yeah, more Team Prime grunts. I should have known that beating their crazy Giovanni-looking boss at the Descent Tower wouldn't be the end of this. These guys are like cockroaches! What're they up to now?! But there is something more positive here. This city has a Safari Zone!

I've always had rather mixed feelings about the Safari Zone. On one hand, I like the Zone because there's always such a wide variety of Pokémon to catch. It's fun exploring the Zone and seeing what is there. On the other hand, you can't bring a Pokémon with you to weaken the wild ones to make them easier to catch. You literally need luck on your side there.

Despite my mixed feelings, I went into the Safari Zone. The first Pokémon I encountered there was a Nidoking. I couldn't catch it.

Caught a Nidoqueen, Wormadam, Audino, Gloom, Vigoroth, Volbeat, and Carnivine. Encountered Pinsir, Liepard, Munchlax, Vespiquen, Watchog, male Nidoran, Gravele, Ninjask, and Nidoking (the very first Pokémon I met here). Encountered 16 wild Pokémon, caught 7. I think that's pretty good. I'll try it again some time.

I thought I'd check out the Gym. The thing about the Gym is it's likely one that specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. I only have one Fire-type to counter it, my Incineroar. But I do have some Flying-types. And Flying is strong against Bug, so time for some team adjustments and grinding!

...A lot of grinding. Hoo boy...Man, I wish my Exp. Share was in the Sun/Moon style. Would make this a LOT easier. Maybe I can make some further adjustments...

I decided to explore the gym a bit. I wanted to get the lay of the land, as it were. Have an idea what I'm in for.

Not much there...except for those signs. I do like the forest theme. It fits a Gym that work with Bug-types. Let's take a look!

Hey, puzzles! I like puzzles! Well, this kind of puzzle. In this case, you take the tiles and arrange them in a way that forms a picture of a Pokémon. This one is a Kabuto. One of the trainers here has an Armaldo, and is surprisingly tough.

And I think that's going to be it for now. I have a lot of grinding to do to prepare for this gym. I wish I had more Fire-types to aid my Flying-types. Maybe the Safari Zone has some. A Litleo and Pansear would be helpful right now. So would a Charmander. I do have a Pidgeotto, though...

Anyway, I hope you all wish me luck! Thanks for reading! If you liked reading the blog, spread it around! If you want to give this blog a little extra support, please feel free to drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar!

Pokémon Obtained:
- Route 8
Krabby
Stunfisk
Pidgeot (evolved from Pidgeotto)
- Safari Zone
Nidoqueen
Wormadam
Audino
Gloom
Vigoroth
Volbeat
Carnivine
Krabby (Shiny)

The Punisher #1 (January 1986)

At one time, Francis Castiglione was an ordinary man. A war veteran, a loving husband and father. But when his family is caught in the crossfire of a mob war, he vowed to devote his life to exterminating criminals. He would become Frank Castle, the Punisher. Over the last 45 years, Frank has fought every form of criminal known to man, and even some more...exotic threats. He does live in the Marvel Universe, after all.

First appearing in Amazing Spider-Man #129 (February 1974), Castle was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists Ross Andru and John Romita Jr. Conway found inspiration in the character of Mack Bolan (aka The Executioner), the protagonist of a series of novels by Don Pendleton. Bolan was a popular character at the time, and Conway wanted to make Spider-Man's life a little more miserable while he was dealing with the Jackal at the time, hence Frank Castle came about.

The character was originally meant to be called "The Assassin", but Stan Lee (who was editor-in-chief at the time) nixed it as he thought that "The Assassin" sounded too villainous for a character intended to be a hero later on. He recalled an earlier story he wrote in which Galactus had a robot called the Punisher. He suggested that name to Conway, and he went with it.

The character would become rather popular, much to Conway's surprise. Frank would go on to regularly meet and team up with various other superheroes, like Captain America and the X-Men's Nightcrawler. In the mid-1980s, writer Steven Grant, who was a fan of the Punisher, had pitched a miniseries story for the Punisher. Marvel management was reluctant to greenlight the idea, but editor Carl Potts, who was looking for some projects, accepted it. Mike Zeck was put on the job because his profile was increased thanks to his work on the Secret Wars miniseries in 1984. I looked at the first issue of that here.

We're going to be looking at the first issue of that very miniseries here. The final product did diverge from Steven Grant's initial pitch, but the story is basically the same. The miniseries would help make Frank Castle a rather popular character with Marvel readers, and his own ongoing would be launched in 1987. The character would become so popular that he would helm four books for a while: His own title, Punisher War Zone, Punisher War Journal, and The Punisher Armory. All these books would end up cancelled in 1995 due to poor sales.

Still, Frank would endure. He's gotten his own book again on and off, he's appeared in other books, and also in other media. He's gotten three live-action films, appeared in cartoons, and most recently, his own Netflix series that spun off of Daredevil's. Just shows, you can knock down Frank Castle, but you can't keep him down.

And with that out of the way, let's take a look at Punisher #1!

The cover, a Mike Zeck piece, is a bit basic, but still pretty neat. It's Frank Castle in a gunfight with some unknown targets. The look on his face makes me think he's fighting monsters or something. Hey, he lives in the Marvel Universe, it's certainly plausible. It does work, as it basically tells who Frank is. He's a guy who shoots people. That's what he does. Look at the text on the top: "#1 in a Four-Issue Miniseries". That's a big goof. The miniseries is five issues long. It always was. It didn't start out as a four-issue mini that got extended to five, it was always intended to be five. It's never been corrected in reprint, as far as I know. Also, I like Phil Zimelman's paints over the pencils. It almost looks like it was CGI. It's neat.

"Circle of Blood"
Writer: Steven Grant
Penciler: Mike Zeck
Inker: John Beatty
Colorist: Mike Zeck
Letterer: Ken Bruzenak
Editor: Carl Potts
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with what look like our resident Punisher...going to a cell.

If you liked Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, you will love Mr. Castle Goes to Jail.

Yup, Frank Castle has ended up on Ryker's Island. It's the fictionalized version of the real life Rikers Island prison. The warden and his assistant are looking at a slideshow of the Punisher in action, and the warden, a man named Gerty, is quite impressed with him. His assistant gives a bit of a recap of Frank's origins. The warden then recalls that the Punisher had seemingly gone insane. Yeah, in events before this, the Punisher had seemingly gone to a whole new extreme, attacking those who had even committed minor crimes like littering. However, it turned out that someone had poisoned him, and now he's de-toxed out and sane again...well, as sane as Frank can get. Gerty thinks he is the man they're after, and since it's a couple days before Frank is due in court, they're just going to sit back and see how things go for him.

That night, Frank's cellmate, a man called the Mule, is bothering a sleeping Frank. Yeah, that's not smart. The Mule claims he has clout, and if Frank gives him his desserts and money, he'll protect the Punisher. Frank turns down his offer.

Frank wants some information about a man. A man named Frisky Martin. Martin was the man who poisoned Frank the last time he was at Ryker's. And there was only one way that he could have done it. Martin is a prison chef. You do the math. At the prison cafeteria, Frank taunts Martin, giving him a good scare. When rec time comes, a freaked-out Martin heads to another part of the jail, followed by Frank. But Mr. Castle ends up with some troubles of his own when he arrives at D Block.

Frank isn't interested in joining their private club, so he fights his way through the men. Three of them are left standing, but decide to pull an Eric Cartman and be all, "Screw you guys, I'm going home." Frank notices the nearby guard didn't try to break up the fight, making Frank suspicious. The guard is likely on the take. Frank arrives at D Block, where he discovers he's expected. And it turns out D Block is home to an old enemy of Frank's.

Yup, ol' Billy Russo, formerly "The Beaut", now known as Jigsaw. Frank figured Jigsaw was the one who poisoned him and made him go crazy. Jigsaw sends a whole bunch of men to beat Castle down, Jigsaw wanting them to not damage his face. The puzzle-faced criminal wants Frank conscious. He breaks a bottle and plans to scar up the vigilante's face. A face for a face.

But Frank is able to fight off the men holding him down and grab Jigsaw's hand, the hand holding the bottle. He's able to squeeze the hand until the bones break. Jigsaw screams for the guards to kill Castle, but is stopped by another prisoner.

Meet Don Cervello, the man who could be considered the "king" of Ryker's Island. He addresses the Punisher, because his presence causes...problems. Frank remembers he heard about some big escape going down. After all, gossip and word can fly around prison faster than the Concorde could cross the Atlantic. Also, if Frank dies in prison, the warden would start a crackdown, ruining the escape plan. Cervello needs Frank alive. So, Cervello has a problem on his hands: What to do with our punishing friend here? Well, Frank offers a solution.

He'll join in on the escape plan. After all, Frank and Cervello are no fans of the big house, so why not work together to get out? Jigsaw objects, but is told to shut up. Cervello agrees to a truce with the vigilante, until they reach freedom. However, the plan must still remain a secret. Frank accepts the truce offer, and heads out. However, Cervello plans to have his big bodyguard Gregario kill Castle.

Frank puzzles over the plan. You see, Cervello was known as "The Brain" on the outside for his big plans. All he can do is wait.

On day 48 of his stay in Ryker's (Guessing he was tried and sentenced during the time skip), the night of the escape has come. Time to bust out! That night, a corrupt guard checks the prisoners, and reports to Cervello that a lot of guards called in "sick", so the guard force has been reduced. Cervello smacks the guard in the head with a pipe. And there's one last loose end to tie up. Gregario gets the guard's gun, and prepares an improvised silencer with a soda bottle. He heads to the cell of Frank Castle.

So much for the truce. The Mule taunts Frank, and finds that the Punisher...is dead. He leaves the cell with the other prisoners. However, Frank is far from dead. His inner monologue talks about how silencers can slow a bullet down. And a homemade one probably would slow down a bullet enough that a mattress can stop it...which Frank used as improvised body armor.

Castle puts on his pants and notices the other prisoners have fled. Punisher figures that Cervello can't have every guard on the take, so who's left will be shooting at the prisoners. Which is fine by Frank, as it gives him less work. Castle then notices there's no alarms, and it's unnaturally quiet. The prison's systems are down. He can use that...because he can escape, too. But he finds he has a problem. He could deal with the prisoners on the outside in his own fashion. However, what havoc could they cause before he could get to them on the outside? He's got to stop them here. Gregario notices him and wonders how he's alive.

Frank heads towards the guard tower. It has its own generator and air supply, and there's only one way inside: an electronic lock that can only be opened from the guard tower. And it can see everything. The guard inside, who is on the take, sees Frank coming and decides now would be the time to leave, as he does not want to be anywhere within 500 miles of an angry Punisher. Frank doffs his shoes and climbs up the tower a la Spider-Man.

Another tower guard, who was knocked out thanks to poisoned coffee, wakes up, much to the dirty guard's surprise. Frank bursts in through the window.

"Welcome to the party, pal!"

Gotta give credit to Frank, man know how to make an entrance. Gregario races in, and holds up the honest guard as a hostage. Frank grabs the dirty guard's gun and shoots Gregario in the shoulder. Frank tells the honest guard to reactivate the security system. This seems to foil Cervello's plan, but he has a backup...for himself and Jigsaw alone. The two flee, leaving the other prisoners to be slaughtered.

Frank gives the honest guard a gun, telling him backup is on the way. He heads out, leaving the honest guard to watch over his corrupt comrade and Gregario. Cervello and Jigsaw head to the warden's office, where they take him hostage.

Jigsaw convinces Frank to surrender by reminding him of his wife and children's deaths. Frank tosses his gun into the room, and comes in with his hands up. Jigsaw grabs the gun, as his was out of bullets. He tries to shoot Frank, but the gun blows up in his face. Frank grabs another gun he had hidden in his pants. He and Cervello have a stand off. Cervello tries to convince Frank to surrender, saying warden Gerty is innocent, and Frank always tries to protect innocents. Frank wants to kill Cervello anyway, so killing Gerty just gives him another excuse. A shocked Cervello drops his gun.

Cervello tries to convince Frank to make a deal, but gets pistol-whipped for his effort. Gerty tries to get to Frank, but the Punisher demands Gerty drive him out of prison as the police arrive. Gerty is able to convince the police to stand down, saying the Punisher is here at his behest. When the police leave, Gerty tells Frank a story.

You see, Gerty is a member of The Trust. The Trust are a group of people from a variety of walks of life. Powerful people. People with connections. People who feel crime is getting out of control (It was the 1980s after all), and they have to take matters into their own hands to deal with it. They think the Punisher, with his desire to eliminate criminals, would work with the Trust on this goal. Think is, Frank is not generally a joiner. He prefers to work alone, so naturally, he's a bit reluctant.

Gerty's assistant brings in a box, containing the Punisher's uniform and equipment. The Trust wants to provide Frank with whatever he needs for his war on crime. Money, weapons, technical support, hamburgers, that kind of thing. No strings attached. Normally, one would find that a bit suspicious, but ol' Frank's got a hankerin' for some criminal killin'.

The scene shifts next to a restaurant in Manhattan. A mobster named Charlie Siciliano is enjoying some food when another man walks in: one Tony Massera. Charlie tells the young Massera about his father, who had died months ago. Siciliano explains that he knows who killed his dad: Frank Castle. And Tony must avenge his death.

Tony is...naturally not into the idea. He wants to be a doctor. He has no desire to kill anybody. Also, messing with Frank Castle tends to result in death, so yeah. Siciliano convinces him to do it by playing with his emotions. His father's body was so brutalized that they couldn't hold an open-coffin funeral. Tony's mother couldn't look at her husband one last time. He taunts Tony by saying that if he did love his dad, he'd avenge him. A teary-eyed Tony tells the old man to shut up. The story ends with him picking up a gun, and vowing to kill the Punisher.

"I'll cry when I'm done killin'!"

This issue was pretty darn good. It's interesting seeing Frank Castle dealing with being in jail. It makes sense that amongst the inmates, he'd be seen as a terrifying figure. After all, some of these men may have been lucky enough to escape Frank during one of his "missions", so the idea of seeing him again...and in a prison...yeah, that's terrifying right there. I do think Frank should be a bit suspicious of The Trust. After all, they say they'll supply him and let him continue his work with no strings attached...there's got to be something funny going down. There usually is in stories like this.

I admit, I had trouble describing Mike Zeck's art in my Secret Wars #1 review. However, having also seen it here, I think I have a better idea of what to say about it. I think his style does have some rather "cartoony" aspects to it, and his characters are expressive. I do like his take on Frank. He makes him look very intense.

If you want to read this yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback The Punisher: Circle of Blood, or the 2018 trade Punisher Epic Collection Vol. 2: Circle of Blood. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you really enjoyed it, spread it around! And if you want to give this blog a little extra support, please feel free to drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar!

Next time, in honor of the retirement of George Perez, I'm going to take a look at some classic Avengers action...

CrossCode Announcement Trailer, My Thoughts

I love RPGs. I've been a fan of them ever since I first played the original Pokémon Red/Blue twenty years ago. I've played quite a few in my time as a gamer, and this one caught my eye.

Published by German game developer Deck13 and made by Radical Fish Games, CrossCode is an action-RPG telling the tale of a mysterious girl named Lea that plays the titular MMORPG in an attempt to solve a mystery. What is the mystery? The mystery is...who is she?

Why did this little RPG catch my eye? Let's look at the announcement trailer, and you'll see!

I see we're starting with a bang.

That is one big, ugly, crab monster.

AVOID THE DESTRUCTO-DISK! ICE SKATE YOUR WAY TO FREEDOM!

BOOM!

I love that the game is using a retro 16-bit style. I get the popularity of the 8-bit style, but as someone who started gaming during the Console Wars, 16-bit games hold a special place in my heart.

That city is neat.

Man, Lea is bringing the pain!

DEATH FROM ABOOOOOVE!

Wow, that forest/clearing looks like it could come out of a Final Fantasy game.

So, hedgehogs, or hedgehags as they're called, in this world are part helicopter. I can dig it.

...Lea, why are you punching the hedgehags? That's likely why they had the helicopter rotors put in so you wouldn't punch them all the time.

Well, this game sounds right up my alley. An action RPG? With a futuristic setting? And puzzle elements? That sounds like a ton of fun to me! I cannot wait for this game! Thanks for reading! Be sure to spread this blog around, and if you want to give it a little extra support, please feel free to drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar!

Xenon Racer Release Date Trailer, My Thoughts

In the year 2030, racing technology has made leaps and bounds. Cars now can run at insane speeds thanks to new electrical engines powered by the noble gas xenon. The cars are ready to race, but they need drivers. All over the world, the makers of these cars are looking for the best drivers around to race them. The toughest drivers. The drivers with nerves of steel. And perhaps, anyone who is just plain out of their mind.

SOEDESCO and 3Dclouds present to you, the world of Xenon Racer!

I could have sworn that black car was the Batmobile there. That would be awesome DLC for this game. The 1989 Batmobile would be a perfect fit or a game like this.

That's one of my favorite Batmobiles.

Wow. Look at that airplane. Maybe it needs to cut back on the donuts.

We're doing a world Grand Prix! China, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, France, Japan, and the US of A! I hope there will be more countries as DLC. Great Britain should get some love. Britain has its own history when it comes to car racing. Heck, it even has its own shade of green for racing!

If you like synthwave, this game looks like it is a perfect game to play while listening to it.

I love the cars. They look so cool to me. I feel like some of them could be great alt-modes for Autobots. Hey, there's an idea! Hasbro, get involved in this! Make some Transformers based on these cars! I would so buy them!

At least one of these cars has the British flag on it! Why is there no Great Britain course again?!

Hey, car customization! Make your car unique! You know what I hope this game has? Upgrading. Earn some money from the races, invest it in improving your car. Better engines. Would be a great incentive to keep on paying. Your car eventually will be powerful enough to win.

Checkpoint Attack. Is that like time attack?

And naturally, a racing game these days would have online multiplayer.

Racing through an airport...while it's working. What could possibly go wrong?

I will admit, the courses look cool.

Well, this game looks like a ton of fun. I have been wanting to play more racing games lately, and this looks right up my alley. I do hope we get more countries in DLC, though. Mainly Great Britain and Monaco. Yeah, Monaco is a principality, but it has a famous Grand Prix. But we'll see. Thanks for reading! If you want to give this blog a little extra support, please put a little tip jar! See you around!

Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars #1 (May 1984)

"This is going to be the biggest battle of all time. And I'm going to use this to keep a diary. I'll record whatever happens, so that the greatest war ever fought isn't...a Secret War."
- Spider-Man, Spider-Man: The Animated Series

In 1984, Marvel Comics's then Editor-in-Chief Jim Shooter, had a bit of a conundrum on his hands. You see, the toy company Kenner had some success with a toyline they had based on DC's superheroes. Mattel wanted in on that superhero toy action, in case the cape-and-cowl type became the next big fad. As such, they came to Marvel.

Thing was, they wanted a hook. They wanted something to build the toyline around. DC had the long-running Superfriends series that was still going in various incarnations. Shooter had been aware of fan demand, especially among younger fans, for a big story featuring Marvel's heroes and villains all together. He proposed that to Mattel, and was given the okay.

The story was originally intended to be called Cosmic Champions. So, how did Secret Wars get its name? Focus groups. Yeah. No joke. Mattel found that kids liked the words "secret" and "wars". Shooter himself ended up writing the story as he felt he was the only one who could do the job. According to Shooter himself, Marvel's writers were rather...possessive of characters they were writing, which could lead to troubles over guest appearances an crossovers. As Editor-in-Chief, he could do whatever he wanted. He did work with the other editors and writers, to maintain continuity. Man, I wish current Marvel was like this with continuity. As such, Secret Wars does have some continuity stuff to consider. More on that later.

Secret Wars would leave behind quite a legacy in its wake. It was regarded as one of the first "event comics", including tie-in issues...of sorts. You see, in the ending of certain issues of some of Marvel's ongoing books at the time, an unusual construct appeared in Central Park. The device would then lure various heroes into it. The next issue of those books, they would return, having undergone change, and you'd have to read the mini-series to find out how they changed.

So, which books did the heroes get summoned in? Well, Spider-Man got summoned in Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #89, Captain America and the Avengers in Captain America #292 and Avengers #242, the Fantastic Four were taken in Thing #10 (Yes, Ben Grimm had his own solo series at the time), the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #180, Iron Man in Iron Man #181, and the Incredible Hulk in Incredible Hulk #294. All these comics are cover-dated April 1984, by the way.

It led to major changes for many characters, some of which still had effects on the Marvel Universe to this day. It would get a sequel in 1985: Secret Wars II. It tied into almost every book Marvel was publishing at the time. Writer Steve Englehart and artist Keith Pollard would produce a second sequel: Secret Wars III, in the pages of Fantastic Four #318-#319 (September-October 1988). In 2015, Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic would write a nine-issue spiritual successor called simply Secret Wars.

With that out of the way, let's take a look at the first issue of Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars!

The cover is really awesome! Yeah, it's just a bunch of heroes all charging towards an unknown threat, but it's become iconic. It gives the idea that there's this great threat, so great that it requires all these heroes to join together to stop it. It's a cover that promises excitement.

"The War Begins"
Writer: Jim Shooter
Penciler: Mike Zeck
Inker: John Beatty
Colorist: Christie Scheele
Letterer: Joe Rosen
Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins out in an unknown region of space. Near an uninhabited galaxy, a strange construct appears.

Man, every sports team on the planet would kill to have a stadium like that. But this construct is hardly empty. It does have occupants. But who are these occupants?

Some of the Marvel Universe's mightiest heroes! Spider-Man (Peter Benjamin Parker), three of the Fantastic Four [Mr. Fantastic, Human Torch (Johnny Storm), The Thing (Benjamin Grimm)], the Incredible Hulk (Bruce Banner), the Avengers [Captain America (Steve Rogers), Iron Man (James Rhodes), Hawkeye (Clint Barton), Thor (Thor Odinson), the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)], and the X-Men [Cyclops, Professor X, Storm, Wolverine (James "Logan" Howlett), Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Lockheed the Dragon]. Surprisingly, the X-Men's old nemesis Magneto is with them as well.

Yeah, as I said, there is some continuity stuff to consider. Sue Richards isn't here because of her pregnancy with her and Reed's daughter Valeria at the time. James Rhodes was using the Iron Man suit at the time because Tony Stark had been dealing with his alcohol troubles since Iron Man #169 (April 1983). Most of the Avengers are unaware of this change as they didn't know Tony and Iron Man were the same guy. In Avengers #168 (February 1978), Stark had left active duty as an Avenger.

Professor X is shown in a wheelchair...despite regaining his ability to walk in Uncanny X-Men #167 (March 1963). Next issue explains that. Cyclops had left the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men #176 (December 1983) after marrying Madelyne Pryor in the previous issue. You may know of her from my X-Factor #1 (February 1986) review. And finally, starting in Incredible Hulk #272 (June 1982), the Hulk had Bruce Banner's mind. It's a lot, I know. And I LOVE IT.

The heroes are confused, but they decide to take a roll call just to get an idea of who they are. This scene is kind of funny to me as you'd think all these heroes would know each other at this point, considering the many team-ups they had, especially Spider-Man. They spot another such construct nearby, but this one contains villains.

Much like the Marvel Universe's greatest heroes got gathered together, so did its vilest villains! Ultron. the Enchantress, Doctor Octopus (Otto Octavius), Doctor Doom, the Molecule Man, the Lizard, the Absorbing Man, the Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Thunderball, Piledriver, and Bulldozer), Kang the Conqueror...and Galactus. Galactus just ignores everybody. Doom theorizes that they're being gathered to fight a war. Well, the storyline is called "Secret Wars", after all.

Much like for the heroes, there are some continuity notes for the villains, too. Ultron's clearly been rebuilt, as he was destroyed fighting the Thing, Machine Man, and Jocasta in Marvel Two-In-One #93 (November 1982). Curt Conners had last been seen in Amazing Spider-Man #243 (August 1983), cured of his transformations into the Lizard. And as for Doctor Doom...that's a bit more complicated. Like, X-Men complicated so bear with me here. At the time, Doom was believed to have been dead thanks to the events of Fantastic Four #260 (November 1983). In Fantastic Four #288 (March 1986), which was a tie-in to Secret Wars II (I warned you), Doom used an alien mind trick to occupy another man's body. Then, the Beyonder (I'm going ahead a bit here) restored Doom to normal and sent him back in time to participate in this story with no memory of the future. Yeah. It's complicated.

The heroes then notice that Magneto is with them...and they are none too happy about it. Captain Marvel calls him a "murderer" in reference of the events of Uncanny X-Men #150 (October 1981), in which  Magneto explains that he is hardly a villain, as everything he has done was in defense of his fellow mutants. He has no idea how he ended up in the construct, nor why he was among the "good guys". Professor Xavier senses something is about to happen, and the occupants of the constructs witness not a wall of white, but a wall of black consuming a galaxy. They then witness a new planet being formed from pieces of various worlds.

While this awe-inspiring event is going down, Absorbing Man and Doctor Octopus are more interested in picking a fight with each other. Ultron, the homicidal robot, finally realizes that he's among humans. And since he likes killing humans, he attacks his fellow villains. Doom realizes that Ultron is a big threat, as he as an indestructible adamantium body and a powerful fusion reactor inside of him. Luckily, one of the villains there can help with that: Owen Reece, the Molecule Man.

You see, Reese has the power to manipulate molecules, which is not far away from full-on reality warping. He could literally turn Ultron into water if he wanted to. However, he refuses. See, since the events of Avengers #216 (February 1982), the Molecule Man has been going to therapy to work out his mental issues. As such, he wants to be a normal man, live a normal life. You know, get a house, work a regular job, that kind of thing. He doesn't want to hurt anyone...even if that "anyone" was a homicidal robot who would try to kill him.

Doom convinces him to just simply use his power to toss him onto Galactus's leg. He does so, and the World-Eater notices the mad mechanoid. Using his own power, he brings up Ultron (who is trying to blast him), and absorbs his energy. The cybernetic murderer's lifeless body falls to the ground.

A big rift opens in the starless void, and a voice announces he is from "beyond". He wants the heroes and villains to fight each other. And to the victors? He will grant their fondest desire. Nothing is beyond his power.

Galactus demands that the "Beyonder" take away his endless hunger for planetary life-energy. He flies off towards the rift, Dr. Doom in pursuit. No doubt the Latverian tyrant wants to study the Beyonder's power...and to figure out how to obtain it for himself. The Beyonder puts up a barrier, and it knocks Doom back.

Galactus seemingly powers through, but even the Eater of Worlds is no match for the Beyonder.

The two constructs land on the artificial planet. The heroes disembark from theirs and Captain America naturally takes charge, ordering the heroes to keep their eyes peeled for any of the gathered villains. They don't see any, but Wasp points out Magneto is right here. She brings up the events of Uncanny X-Men #150 again, but Magneto counters that the sub fired on him first, and as far as he was concerned, it was an act of war.

Professor Xavier tries to calm everyone down, as the heroes may need Magneto's power to aid them against the villains. Cyclops agrees, pointing out the X-Men are not exactly fans of Magneto themselves. However, Hawkeye gets into Scott Summers's face, thinking that the X-Men are siding with Magneto because, in his own words, "You mutants stick together, huh?" Uh, Clint? Where have you been? Scott and Xavier are being practical right now.

The Human Torch decides to take on the Master of Magnetism. You know, using a pyrokinetic against Magneto is actually a clever idea. Heat can weaken magnets. Magneto responds by conjuring a metal rock from the ground and giving some of the heroes a faceful of it. Cyclops tries to stop the fight, but the non-mutant heroes are not in the mood to hear it. Magneto has no desire to see mutant blood spilled on his behalf, so he pulls a "screw you guys, I'm going home", and flies away with help from the artificial world's magnetic field.

With him gone, the heroes need to pick a leader. Reed Richards is suggested, but he thinks he's not up to it, as his thoughts are on Sue and her pregnancy with Valeria right now. He suggests the Hulk, but he's not interested. Ol' Jade Jaws suggests Cap do it, as he likes giving orders. Wasp agrees. She may be the leader of the Avengers right now, but they need a leader that has no doubts about it. Okay. Professor Xavier agrees, as he can sense that Cap has the courage they need. Amusingly, Wolverine grumbles that he won't follow Cap, as he "can't do anything". This is hilarious, because it would be eventually retconned that he and Cap met and fought together during World War II. Thor also vouches for Cap to lead.

Meanwhile, Doom had woken up.

Man, I bet Galactus really regrets eating that tequila planet right now. Doom finds a strange complex, where he thinks the other villains have ended up. True to Doom's deduction, the other villains are there, and they're checking out some of the tech and weapons inside. They have discussed things, and have decided that Doom should lead them. After all, with him in charge, there's no way they cannot get the prize. Doom is shocked by this. They have the potential power of gods at their hands, and Doom believes many of these villains want petty things like riches. The other villains don't take very kindly to that, and challenge Doom, but he blasts them.

He flies off in an aircraft, planning to converse with his most hated enemy: Reed Richards. Kang spots this, and blasts him out of the sky with an alien cannon. The heroes discover the explosion and go check it out.

They find Doom, possibly injured, but alive. Cap offers his hand to the mad Latverian, but Doctor Doom angrily refuses and blasts them. However, the heroes also have another problem.

The story ends with the villains charging towards the heroes. Kang is packing some futuristic heat, and the Wrecking Crew found themselves a mech. I'm guessing they were meant to be accessories for the toyline.

This was pretty enjoyable. It does a good job setting up the basic situation, including some other agendas. Magneto being brought among the heroes is an interesting twist, as he certainly does see himself as one, despite his actions more often than not being seen as villainous to people. Same with Galactus. It's easy to see him as a villain because...he eats planets. Planets that can have life on them. It gives a hint as to the "Beyonder"'s true reason for this whole thing.

I kind of found the way the other heroes interacting with the X-Men a bit...off-putting. I get what Shooter was going for. He was clearly going for the whole 'X-Men are outcasts, they're feared and hated', but it's hard to pull off in a gathering of heroes like this, in my opinion. Especially if they had met each other in the past. I liked the cliffhanger at the end. Very exciting.

Mike Zeck's art is rather interesting. His faces are very expressive, especially in close-up. Although I did notice something. Now I think this might be something from the reprinting process (Most of my scans come from the 2005 Secret Wars trade), but a lot of the details in the art seem to be lost. I have no idea.

All in all, I like this issue. Thanks for reading this, and if you want to give this blog a little more support, please share it around and drop a little tip in my Digital Tip Jar! Next time, in honor of the Punisher returning to Netflix for his show's second season, we'll take a look at when he first stepped in the Circle of Blood...

John Wick 3 Trailer, My Thoughts

In 2014, a Chad Stahelski-directed neo-noir film called John Wick arrived in theaters. It told the tale of...John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves. A former hitman for the Russian mob codenamed "Baba Yaga", he had recently lost his wife to a terminal illness, but got a puppy to help him cope. Things seemed well...until the moronic son of a Russian mob boss beats him up and kills his puppy. You can guess what happens next.

The film would receive great critical praise, with much of it going to Keanu Reeves' performance as the title character. It also was a big box office smash. In February 2017, the sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2 was released. Like the first film, it was given much critical praise, and made a ton of money at the box office. So, yup...a third film is on the way. Let's take a look at the teaser trailer for the new chapter in the John Wick trilogy: John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum!

What did John Wick do?! They killed his dog! What'd they think he'd do?!

This is how John Wick exercises. Running with his pit bull in the neon glow of a rainy city. We call it the "80s-Cybernoir Workout". Really effective at burning calories...despite the pneumonia risk.

Is that...is that Anjelica Huston?!

Geez, John! Get a cab! I know you want to get to the new gun shop before it opens and all, but seriously! Get a cab!

Heh. John Wick vs. The World. I would not bet on the world winning this one.

GUN TO THE FACE. That would hurt.

I love the usage of that music to contrast the blinding violence.

Hey, Mark Dacascos! I loved him on Iron Chef! 

John killed a man with a book. Seriously, why is he not in a Mortal Kombat game? Can we get Netherrealm Studios on this?

Wick on a horse. That has to be a nod to True Lies! I love that movie.

John Wick of Arabia!

Halle Berry is right. Conversations with John tend to end in massacres.

Well, this sounds like a fun bit of action right here. I have seen a bit of the first one on TV, and I enjoyed it. Really got to see the whole first movie and the second one sometime. This film sounds like a ton of fun, and I hope it does well.

600th Post!

Hello to all my readers out there! It's a very special occasion here on this blog, as this...is my 600th post!

Yup. Nearly five years and 600 posts on this blog. I'm just as surprised about it as you all are. I never imagined I would still be writing on this thing after this length of time. But I am very glad I have. I have had so much fun writing about things I like on my blog, and I hope everyone who has read the blog has enjoyed my goofy scribblings.

I haven't done a lot on this blog...well, as much as I wanted to do, anyway. But I have managed to accomplish quite a bit. I spent two years looking over two of my favorite maxi-series: Squadron Supreme in 2017 and Crisis on Infinite Earths in 2018. This year, I am going to look at another maxi-series. Which one? Well, that's a Secret...and it's coming this week.

What do I want to do in the future? Well, I want to write more movie reviews. I have a big ol' collection of DVDs, and would give me more content for this little ol' blog. I kept meaning to do that, but I tend to be a bit of a procrastinator, and I get distracted easily.

I still have been writing my weekly comic reviews. I really enjoy doing them. I remember when I started writing my first comic review: New Warriors #1 (April 2014), nearly five years ago. It took me forever to write it, and it was a nightmare to scan panels for it. I am amazed by how much I've grown since then.

So, what am I up to on this blog? Well, as I said, I am working on looking at another big maxi-series this year. I am really looking forward to showing it to you. I am continuing my Text Play of Pokémon Mega Adventure. Once I am done with that game, I plan to look at Pokémon Zeta next, another fangame I enjoy. I do intend to keep the comic reviews coming, and maybe I'll finally get up off my butt and write a few more of my thoughts on movies I get off my butt and watch.

This year, I also joined Digital Tip Jar, so please drop in a tip, if you'd like.

I do want to say simply this: Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you to everyone who has ever given my blog love and read what I wrote. I hope you continue to enjoy my wacky scribblings on this blog in the future.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Trailer, My Thoughts

In 2017, Marvel Studios released its 16th film: Spider-Man: Homecoming. It focused on the young Peter Parker as he dealt with the menace of the Vulture. I gave my thoughts on the movie here. Well, considering the critical and box-office success of the movie, it was a no-brainer that a sequel would be in the works. Well, here's the trailer for said upcoming sequel, the MCU's 23rd film: Spider-Man: Far From Home!

It's nice to see Spidey hailed as a hero. Eat it, Jameson! EAT IT JAMESON.

Aunt May discovering Peter was Spidey was so hilarious in Homecoming, so it's nice to see her supporting her nephew. I imagine that must've been quite the conversation.

Hey, wait? Is that F.E.A.S.T.? That would make sense. Aunt May worked there for a while in the comics. Does that mean Mister Negative could exist in the MCU, too? After all, in the comics, he did use F.E.A.S.T. as a front for his own criminal activities?

Peter's all like, "You better not be flirting with my Aunt, Happy."

Love that the Ramones are being used.

Peter's going to Europe! Hey, maybe he'll meet with the S.H.E. That'd be neat.

BFP on the suitcase. Aww, nod to Uncle Ben. I know some didn't like that his death was shown or mentioned in Homecoming, but I look at it like this. We've seen it before in many other adaptations. It's practically common knowledge by this point. It wasn't needed.

Welcome to Venice, Spidey!

Aww, Peter and MJ.

Yeah, I'm no expert at darts, but I know you're not supposed to throw them at other people's necks.

I get that you're a spy, Nick. But if you know Peter is Spidey, then you should know that Ned knew that as well. Nick does look tired. Like he's really had enough of this mess.

FLYING SPIDEY! Well, gliding Spidey, but great to see the web-wings in action.

Nod to Sandman there.

And the fire monster is likely a nod to the Molten Man.

And there's a nod to Hydro-Man.

I have to admit, I like Spidey's red-and-black suit there. The all-black suit also pays nice homage to Spider-Man Noir.

Oh. My. God. Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio suit. IT LOOKS SO GOOD.

THE FISHBOWL! HE HAS THE FISHBOWL ON HIS HEAD! YES!

The epic orchestra remix of the 60s Spider-Man theme is wonderful.

I'm guessing the blonde is Gwen Stacy. Protect Ya Neck, Gwen.

I am so happy for the detail of Flash being a big ol' fanboy over Spidey. Just like in the comics.

I have heard this film was set after the upcoming Avengers: Endgame, and it's led some to complain that it's spoiled that movie. Well, here's the thing. Infinity War and Endgame...are based on the original 1991 Infinity Gauntlet comic storyline. I reviewed the first issue of it here. In both comic and movie, Thanos did wipe out half the universe, including lots of heroes. And at the end of the comic version of the story, they were restored to life. So, based on that, it's not so unreasonable to assume that in Endgame, the heroes Thanos dusted would be restored to life. So yeah, not as big a deal as you'd think.

Basically, I am excited for this movie. As a big Spider-Man fan, I loved Homecoming, and I am so excited for Far From Home! I love the idea of Peter Parker having to stop a villain in an unfamiliar place, and Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio looks INCREDIBLE. I cannot wait for this movie!

Thanks for reading! And if you really like what I writer and want to give some extra support, feel free to please drop a tip in my Digital Tip Jar!

Movie Review: Aquaman (2018)

In 2017, the King of the Seven Seas, Aquaman, made his big debut in the film Justice League. I gave my thoughts on it back in November 2017...and there was a lot more I wanted to say, but I couldn't out of a desire to keep my review as spoiler-free as I could. I thought it was an alright film. Could've been better.

But one of my favorite parts of the movie was Jason Momoa was Aquaman. He was the 'fun guy', and I enjoyed him in the movie. Well, his solo film has arrived, helmed by one James Wan...although I think they should have done this before Justice League. But I'd better stay on topic. Did I enjoy Aquaman's solo debut, or did I think that it should be buried in Davy Jones's locker? Let's find out!

Aquaman stars Jason Momoa as the titular character, reprising the role from Justice League. Basically, there's trouble brewin' in Atlantis. His half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) is in the mood to kick the surface world's butt, and only Arthur Curry can stop him, by retrieving a sword from the stone, I mean, a trident from the ocean. And he's going to need the help of Mera (Amber Heard, also returning from her cameo in Justice League) to find it.

I loved that this film did subvert certain tropes that we often do see in adventure movies like this. I also thought it was great seeing Amber Heard's Mera actually doing things and being awesome. I admit, I was a bit annoyed with her cameo in Justice League, as I kind of felt it was just there just to basically, for a lack of any better term I can think of, provide some cleavage. But here, Mera is important. And that is awesome.

I also liked the visuals of the movie. They were incredible. Seriously, they are spectacular. Kudos to the effects people working on this movie. They were a joy to see. There was one effect that made me tear up. The final battle was incredible, one of the coolest final battles I had ever seen. It helped that it was underwater, which is something we don't see very often...at least, in my experience as a film watcher.

The film has a strong theme of family and love throughout. In a way, love helped save the world. No spoilers. I thought the performances in the movie were really well-done. I enjoyed seeing Willem Dafoe as Vulko, and it was a surprise seeing Dolph Lundgren in a superhero movie. There was a real tone of them trying to move away from the forced darkness of Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman. Zack Snyder was one of the executive producers of this film, but I like to think James Wan and the cast locked him up in a footlocker during the duration of the film's production.

I have heard this film get criticism for it's length. I do agree, I think it felt a bit long, but at the same time, it wasn't bothering me. I did feel the romance between her and Arthur did develop a bit quickly, but it wasn't a big deal for me.

All in all, I really liked Aquaman. It was fun, intense, and very heartwarming in places. Give it a watch. I think the DCEU is finally on track.