Text Play: Pokemon Zeta #11

Hello, and welcome back to the Vesryn region! This is the 11th entry in my Text Play of Pokémon Zeta!

As always, I want to warn you, I will be spoiling the game here. As such, if you want to play this game for yourself, I recommend downloading the game at its wiki right here. No emulator needed! Let's go!

Last time, I ended with preparing to run the gauntlet of Team Olympus members as part of my first assignment with the Ranger Club. I had tried to do it once, but despite my buying plenty of supplies for it, I got my butt handed to me. Yeah. That sucked.

As such, I felt the need to do some grinding. And I spent quite a bit of time doing so. Weepinbell was surprisingly easy to train up a bit on Route 310. There's plenty of Grass-type Pokémon there, and Weepinbell knows Acid. Acid is a Poison-type attack, and Poison-type attacks are super-effective against Grass Pokémon. It's also a good Route for training up my Magmar, it being a Fire-type and all.

However, it's not a great Route for training up my Seadra or Gabite. Seadra is Water and Gabite is Dragon/Ground. Grass is strong against Water and Ground. That's a pain. There are wild Charmeleons on Route 310 though, so it's not all bad. They do know Dragon Rage, though. Dragon Rage always does 40 HP of damage, and my Pokémon are at the mid-30s in power level right now, so that can hurt.

And admittedly, the grinding did start to wear on me a little bit. I got no issue with grinding in an RPG, but even I have my limits.

As such, I figured that maybe if I go a bit forward with this game's main story, I can make my Pokémon stronger and more ready to face the Team Olympus Gauntlet. So, where do we go next? We've beaten the Gym, and collected this town's Ancient Tome (Reminder: it was hidden in the bookcase in the house that had the Smeargle running around). There's also a hidden item near the beach.

It's a bit hard to see with the tree in the way, but it's there. It's a Max Ether. Can't go wrong with stocking up Ethers. Never understood why they were so darned expensive... Anyway, let's hit the beach! And we reunite with an old friend!

We've encountered Jeremy in the past. One of Professor Oak's assistants, we first met him way back in the Escape Route. He basically helped provide the tutorial for battling to new players and was the first person you battled in the game. We met him again in Zarivar Town. And now, he's here. Probably on a mission from Oak or something. He wants to engage in a friendly battle with me. If I win, I get HM03 (Surf). I'll need that thing, so let's do this!

1st Pokémon: Granbull (Lv. 32) - Defeated by Butterfree.

2nd Pokémon: Swablu (Lv. 30) - Defeated by Luxray

3rd Pokémon: Nidorino (Lv. 31) - Defeated by Gabite

4th Pokémon: Weepinbell (Lv. 30) - Defeated by Magmar

Jeremy's Pokémon team differs slightly depending on which Pokémon you pick at the start of the game. He always ends up with the Pokémon starter that's weak against your chosen starter. Since I started with Magby (Fire), he ended up with Bellsprout (Grass).

Not only do I get HM03, but I got some info. Turns out that Team Olympus is infesting Ladoga Town, which is eastwards of Kivu. Wonderful. Considering the Ranger Club has also been dealing with these guys, it's no surprise they're become like cockroaches. But then again, the game is not over yet, so it makes sense that they're still around.

I admit, I'm still very reluctant to use the HM despite its necessity here. I have ranted about how I'd prefer items like the Dolly and the Machete to HMs. I just wish instead of this HM, I had gotten an item, like a boat or a raft. Or even something like...this.

That's a real thing. That's a real thing, it's awesome, and I want it. Anyway, I picked up some Pokéballs, and taught Surf to Swirla, my Poliwhirl. And away we go!

Heh heh, you become a Lapras. This waterway is Route 311. There are plenty of swimmers floating around who want to fight. There's also lots of little "islands" all over the route. One had an item.

It's TM18 (Rain Dance). I kept going forward, and there was another little island with an item on it.

It's a Full Restore. You should get it. Route 311 leads right to Ladoga Town. And yes, it continues the lake theme. Ladoga Town is named after Lake Ladoga in Russia. It's the largest lake in Europe.

One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in town was this closed-off entryway here.

The purpose of this bicycle path is supposed to provide a shortcut to another town called Yangtze Town. I looked in the game's wiki about it, and I have some unfortunate spoilers. It doesn't open. It never does. Seriously. 

That's insane. What's the point of this Cycling Road entrance, then?! When you see something like this in a Pokémon game, you naturally assume that it will be opened at some point. This seems like a cruel joke! Why put this there if it's never going to be used?! I'd love to see a Cycling Road here! Cycling Roads are awesome! This is cruel.

But it's not important right now. Since we're in a new town, we have to uphold the old RPG tradition: Talk to everyone. And when I did so, I heard this interesting thing.

Yeah, this appears to possibly be Team Olympus's endgame: summoning a Pokémon called "Divaevus". Thing is...there's no such Pokémon. There really is not. It's a bit surprising to see as this game has pretty much used only "official" Pokémon so far. There are fangames out there that use original Pokémon, called "Fakémon" among fans. This, however, seemed to want to imitate an "official" fangame. I don't hate the addition of new original Pokémon, it's just a surprise. And if you want a laugh, talk to this dude.

He really loves the Luvdiscs. You get the same answer with all three choices, and I don't think it affects anything, so it's some harmless silly thing. But there is something interesting here. You know those Ancient Tomes that we have been finding all over the region? Well, there's a man living in a house above the Pokémon Center here. He's a bit of a rare book collector. And he says he'll take those Tomes off my hands in exchange for something special. Thing is, he wants the complete set. All 12 tomes, and I have only...4 or 5 right now, I think? I don't know, the game does not keep much track. But there are some cool things here. One is...you can get a Pokémon here.

I recommend leaving a spot open in your party before you come here. He gives you an Egg, one that he's been desperately trying to get rid of for some reason. It hatches into a Happiny.

And I think we'll stop here for right now. I want to maintain a monthly schedule on this Text Play, and I apologize if this sentry seemed a bit short and sudden in the end. My job has been taking up more of my time lately, and ending it here was the only way to keep the monthly schedule.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear your mask! See you next time!

Pokémon Obtained:
(Route 311)
- Wingull

(Ladoga Town)

- Happiny

Justice League of America #196 (November 1981)

Back in November 2018, I reviewed Justice League of America #195 (October 1981). It was a multiversal adventure in which the Secret Society of Super-Villains captured some the members of the main superhero teams of two worlds: Earths One and Two. But there still some left to catch. So, how does tha go down? Let's find out in Justice League of America #196!

The cover is a George Perez piece, and naturally, it's quite awesome. It shows the Ultra-Humanite standing triumphant over the heroes. A nice detail I like is that he's standing right over Kal-L, the Earth-Two Superman. It does make sense, as the two were enemies for years. But then again, that's Perez for you. He's good with little details like that.

"Countdown to Crisis!"

Writer: Gerry Conway

Penciler: George Perez

Inker: Romeo Tanghal

Colorist: Carl Gafford

Letterer: Ben Oda

Editor: Len Wein

Executive Editor: Joe Orlando

The story begins with the Secret Society gloating over their success in capturing some of the target heroes of Earths One and Two.

It's here we get a bit of a recap of the previous issue. Basically, the Ultra-Humanite discovered that if ten particular superheroes from Earths One and Two were removed from the space-time continuum, the cosmos would get unbalanced. And the cosmos would rebalance itself by removing all the superheroes of one of these Earths. Ultra-Humanite claims to his villainous compatriots that he is unsure which of the Earths will lose their defenders. In actuality, he does know: his native Earth-Two.

"Gotta make sure everyone is caught up. That's common courtesy!"

This new Secret Society has managed to capture Wonder Woman and Black Canary of Earth-One, and the Hawkman of Earth-Two. Three down, seven to go. We check in on the Psycho-Pirate (You may remember him from my Crisis on Infinite Earths reviews) is on the Gotham City of Earth-Two. It's here that Hourman in his regular identity of chemist/businessman Rex Tyler is attending a dinner.

"Am I really...that boring?"

Rex announces a little film to promote his company's environmental initiative. The Psycho-Pirate knocks out the film projectionist and puts his face on the screen. Using his power to manipulate emotions, the Pirate causes the audience to laugh, and then flee in terror. Rex is unaffected, because he's not looking at the screen. He switches to Hourman.

"Prepare for an hour of pure, unadulterated American-made PAIN!"

Hourman easily beats down the Pirate, until the emotion-manipulator uses a small crystal device to make his face appear everywhere.

"Aw, no! His ugliness is on EVERYTHING!"

With nowhere to flee, Hourman is forced to gaze upon the Psycho-Pirate's tired expression...and off to dreamland he goes. Night night, Rex. Pleasant dreams. Four down, six to go. One detail about this fight I really liked was that there were captions telling the time. It makes sense for Hourman as thanks to his Miraclo, he has superpowers for one hour. Clever bit there. We then switch to Gotham City's Earth-One counterpart. The Dark Knight swings over the night skies, when he spots a bright light erupting from the top of the tallest building in the Midtown area.

"Aww, Bullock got drunk and broke the Bat-Signal again, didn't he?"

The light erupts in intensity, causing Batman to fall. The Signalman has struck! However, the Caped Crusader was able to save himself by swinging into a movie marquee in front of a crowd of people. He then notices flashes of light blinking around him like they're trying to communicate in Morse code or something. It's the Signalman's newest trick: strobe lights that affect people's nervous systems, allowing him to take control of people's minds. His order to the crowd? Clip Batman's wings.

"Hey hey HEY! It wasn't MY fault Batman v Superman was so terrible!"

The crowd overwhelms the Gotham Guardian. Five down, five to go. We jump to Keystone City on Earth-Two. Jay Garrick, this Earth's Flash, races to the docks for a meeting. He got a call that a tipster wants to give him some information. The tipster tells the Original Scarlet Speedster that the Rag Doll is hiding out on a ship called the Lazy Sue. The tipster is actually a disguised Monocle, and the trap is set.

Jay searches the ship, and can't seem to find the limber malefactor...until he realizes that since the Rag Doll is a contortionist, he can hide in places most people can't. The vile villain tries to ambush Jay from within a pipe, but Jay dodges it. He pursues the villain until he gets hit with an explosion, knocking the old hero into unconsciousness. Six down, four to go.

Back to Earth-One! In particular, Ivy Town in New England. The police call on the Atom to help deal with the Floronic Man. He's holding hostages in, naturally, the Ivy Town Arboretum. The Mighty Mite and the former human horticulturalist fight, but the former Jason Woodrue is able to get the win thanks to some mutated vines and special knockout pollen. Seven down, three to go.

And we jump to Earth-Two! Yeah, we're doing a little Earth ping-pong in this story. One Jonathan "Johnny" Thunder has won a little prize, and he's come to pick it up.

"I feel like I'm being tricked, but hey! Free suit!"

Aberhombie and Fitch. Was that the Earth-Two version of Abercrombie and Fitch? When coming to collect, he accidentally summons his genie, the Thunderbolt. You see, Johnny can summon the Thunderbolt by saying the phrase "Cei-U". However, it's pronounced "say you", so he can end up literally summoning the Thunderbolt just by having a casual conversation. The Thunderbolt notices that everyone else in the store seems still. Quiet. Like they were mannequins. The genie realizes that everyone is under a hypnotic spell. Johnny didn't notice because he...is not very bright. You see, despite his being a member of the JSA, Johnny's solo adventures tend to be more comedic because of this.

The Thunderbolt discovers the villain Brainwave, but gets torn apart by his mental powers. With the Thunderbolt out of the way, Brainwave then tries to fry Johnny Thunder himself. Thunder is able to find his Thunderbolt seemingly trapped in a bottle of cleaning fluid.  The man tries to flee his genie, but it's an illusion created by Brainwave. And with that, another hero is captured. Eight down, two to go.

We next go back to Earth-1, all this multiverse hopping is giving me a headache. One Ronnie Raymond is preparing to enjoy some TV at his home with his best gal, Doreen Day. The tube puts out a special bulletin from Plot Convenience News: Killer Frost has escaped jail, and she's rampaging in Manhattan. Ronnie heads outside and transforms into Firestorm (dragging Dr. Martin Stein out of the first decent meal he had in months). The two-in-one hero engage the ice maiden. She keeps trying to blast Firestorm, but she seemingly can't hit him...or can she?

"Agh, my buttbone!"

Yup, she was icing up the ceiling to make it collapse on the matter manipulator's head. Nine down, one to go. Back on Earth-Two's Metropolis, Kal-L, aka the Original Man of Steel, is investigating vandals at the zoo, when he gets attacked by the Ultra-Humanite.

Before his eventual battle against Godzilla, King Kong got a warmup against Superman.

The two fight, the brain-swapping mad scientist using gorillas and elephants against the elder Kryptonian. Ultra-Humanite gets one up on Supes by using Kryptonite spray. And with that, it's done. All ten heroes are collected. At the new Injustice Society's headquarters, the heroes are placed into special stasis tubes. Cheetah wants to tear out their throats, but they have to be alive when they're sent to limbo. The tubes are part of a centrifuge-like device. The story ends with the Ultra-Humanite activating the device. It spins faster and faster, until it activates a space-time warp, and the trapped heroes are sent to limbo.

When being transported into Limbo, please remember to keep your limbs inside the capsule at all times.

This story was enjoyable...despite not much seemingly happening. Seriously. All that really happened in this story was a bunch of heroes got captured. Perez does make the fight scenes really look spectacular, with nice storytelling and flashes of character. I did admittedly get a bit annoyed with the constant going back-and-forth between the two Earths. It's just something that bugged me personally, it's not hurting the story. I don't know why. I would have also liked to see some more interaction between the villains. Would have helped with foreshadowing to maybe hint that the Earth-One villains didn't really trust the Ultra-Humanite. After all, he was lying about which Earth would lose their heroes...

It's worth the price of admission alone, but this comic is really best when read as part of a trade than on its own. Luckily, you can find it if you track down the 2013 trade paperback Crisis on Multiple Earths Vol. 6. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other. Stay safe, stay home, stay healthy, wash your hands often, and wear a mask! Join me next time, when we join the Dark Knight as he has some trouble with...the night...

Nintendo Switch Online July Game Updates, My Thoughts

The Nintendo Switch Online service is growing! We got three old-school games coming on board to take their place in the mighty library! Let's take a look!

Donkey Kong Country - Hey, DKC! Developed by Rare and published by Nintendo for the SNES in 1994, there's not much I can say about this game that so many people already have. I was one of the first console games to have pre-rendered graphics, and it was the first Donkey Kong game that Shigeru Miyamoto did not direct or produce. It would be the third best-selling game for the SNES, and help keep the SNES popular when more advanced consoles like the PlayStation came out.

I'm surprised this didn't come to the Nintendo Switch Online Service sooner! It's a classic game, and I think it's one everyone should play. I believe I own the Game Boy Advance port of it. Play it, it's a great game!

Natsume Championship Wrestling - Developed and published by Natsume for the Super Nintendo in 1994. This was a conversion of a Japanese video game for the Super Famicom (The Japanese SNES), the original was based on a video game that used wresters from All-Japan Pro Wrestling.

This game was given mixed reception by critics. I've never heard of this game before, and it looks neat.

Ooh, that clothesline looked like it hurt!

The Immortal - Developed by Will Harvey and published by Electronic Arts, this game was ported from the Apple IIGS to the NES in 1990. The game has been praised for its graphics and controls, but criticized for its linear gameplay and lack of replay value. It also had a surprising amount of graphic violence for a game of the time. In the game, you play as a wizard that is searching through a labyrinth to find their mentor.

I first learned of this game thanks to the Angry Video Game Nerd. He did an episode on it. It looked kind of "meh" to me. As much as I love seeing lesser-known games get some exposure, this really doesn't do anything for me personally. If you remember it, I'm sure you'd like to play it again.

I do wish that the updates had more than only three games at a time. I can't help but wonder why they bring out such a low number. Still it is nice to see the Switch Online game library growing, and they're giving lesser-known games some love in the updates.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask. See you next time!

Wonder Woman #218 (July 1975) - Part 1

It's that time again! It's time to join Wonder Woman on her Twelve Labors. This time, though...we're getting a double feature! That's right! This issue covers two Labors! Which kind of threw off my plan to do one issue a month this year, so...yeah. As such, I decided to do something...a little different here. Since here are two stories, I'm going to do a two-part review. That's right! This month, I'm going to review the first story in the issue, and the next month is going to be the second part. I did do this once before, wayyyyy back in my review of Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961) in 2015 (Part 1, Part 2) .

I did that at the time because I had underestimated the length of the comic. Also, I had not developed the speed when it comes to writing blog entries I have now. I would love to revisit that review one day. Maybe I will. But for now, let's take a look a the first Labor in Wonder Woman #218!

The cover is a Nick Cardy piece, and it's pretty cool. It depicts the Phantom Stranger and the Red Tornado standing next to a giant crystal ball. The ball depicts Wonder Woman getting smacked in the mouth by the Statue of Liberty, showing she has one heck of a right arm.

I'm most amused by the expression on Wondy's face. It's like she's so utterly dumbstruck that this happened to her.

"Revolt of the Wonder Weapons"
Writer: Martin Pasko
Penciler: Kurt Schaffenberger
Inker: Kurt Schaffenberger
Letterer: Unknown
Colorist: Unknown
Editor: Julius Schwartz

The story begins with the robotic Red Tornado getting ready to record the Labor he observed. So, how did it go down? Well, one day at the U.N. Crisis Bureau, Diana Prince was getting ready to have some lunch when she sees some smoke at 59th Street. It's presumably a fire. She changes into Wonder Woman and summons her invisible plane...only for it to have a problem.

"Aw, darn! I knew I should have downloaded those updates to the plane's OS."

That's a whoopsie. But Wondy can't worry about the plane now, there's a fire to stop. So, she takes a page from Spider-Man's book and uses her lasso to swing over to the fire. She then uses the lasso to create an updraft that sweeps the flames upward, and allows her to lasso the flames and douse them in the East River. You may be wondering what happened to the plane? Why did it not follow Wondy's mental command? Well, because of this man.

"Observation: This man resembles a dork."

Meet Damon Celestris, astrologer of the stars. His horoscopes have allowed powerful people in industry and government to succeed, and it's allowed him to have quite a bit of influence. Of course, it's all a lie. Celestris has access to a powerful machine known as a "mento-amplifier". What it does is allow him to steal the willpower from an unknown donor and intensify it. Celestris then channels that power to the people he gives the horoscopes to, allowing them to achieve their desires.

Celestris has no idea whose willpower is being drawn on, and he doesn't really care. His little horoscope scheme has allowed him to become very rich and powerful. He hears an explosion and checks it out.

Yeah. He ain't getting that deposit back. Unfortunately for him, his machine tends to explode a lot. He then notices Wonder Woman flying by on her Invisible Jet. Celestris notes that the machine tends to explode whenever she uses any of her Amazon equipment. He theorizes that when she uses her devices, she creates an interference that causes the machine to explode. As such, the horoscope scammer decides to do something about it. He's going to use his machine to make Wonder Woman leave New York City. Weeks resumably pass (he needed to repair the machine), then he uses his device to mess with Wondy's head, causing the plane to crash into the East River earlier in the story.

Hoping to find some answers, Diana heads back home to Paradise Island. She spots an Amazon falling off a mountain she tried to climb. Diana tries to rescue her with the lasso, but it ends up wrapping itself around her. Forced to improvise, the Amazing Amazon rolls her body to where her falling compatriot will land, and stops her falling with her feet.

Hippolyta suggests Diana use the Deus ex Mach-I mean, the Magic Sphere to figure out why Diana's plane and lasso don't seem to work right. The Sphere shows an image of Celestris, but Diana has no idea who he is.

"...who is this guy?! He looks like a dork!"

Diana continues to fight crime, but Celestris's little mental whammy keeps causing her problems. She throws her tiara, it smacks her in the face. Even her trademark blocking bullets trick causes her to nearly get innocents caught in the ricochet. She finally learns of Celestris's name in the newspaper, as he's hosting a convention in Central Park.

The stage starts to collapse. Celestris really should haven't tried to get it done cheap. Diana is abel to rescue him, though. He laments that this happened, blabbing out to her that he's the reason her Amazon equipment is acting all screwed up. She demands to know why, but Celestris is just all "Ha ha, I made your lasso useless." This infuriates Diana, and she's able to use pure willpower to overcome her mental block and lasso Celestris.

I have to admit, that's pretty awesome. Under the lasso's power, Celestris confesses everything to Diana and leads her to the his mento-amplifier...which explodes again. Diana deduces that she was the reason for it. Evidently, when Wonder Woman uses one of her trademark items, like her lasso or invisible plane, her concentration overloaded the machine. The story ends with Red Tornado filing his report, recommending Wonder Woman rejoin the League.

This story was, in my opinion, not so great. The main flaw with the story is basically Celestris's scheme. Why couldn't he use his own willpower to power his mento-amplifier instead of Wonder Woman's? I mean, it would make a lot more sense. This story feels like a first draft, if that makes any sense. It's a shame because there was a better idea here. Why not show Celestris using the machine, fueled by his own willpower, to turn people against her? That would have made more sense, in my opinion.

The saving grace of this story is the art. Kurt Schaffenberger is mostly known for his art on Lois Lane's comic (Yes, Lois Lane had her own comic for a while), but it was that this time we saw him branch out to other titles. His art is wonderful to look at, and it helps tell the story very well. Some of his facial expressions are rather amusing, especially when Wonder Woman breaks the mental block Celestris put on her. His art is very clean and sharp. Highly recommended.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2012 trade paperback Wonder Woman: The Twelve Labors. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear a mask. See you next time, where we join the JLA and JSA in a multiversal crisis...

Project Power Trailer, My Thoughts

If you could get superpowers...would you? Well, in the world of the upcoming Netflix film Project Power, it's possible. Directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, the film stars Jamie Foxx as a man who's out to rescue his daughter from the people behind this super-drug. The film also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fischback, Amy Landecker, Rodrigo Santoro, and Machine Gun Kelly. He's a rapper who's been involved with Netflix movies before: 2018's Bird Box and 2019's The Dirt, which was a biopic about the 80s glam metal band Motley Crue. Let's take a look at the trailer!

Nighttime in the city. When things traditionally get wild.

Is that a prayer you're supposed to say before you take the pill?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt found a hockey puck. Truly a great piece of detective work.

Wait, these pills give you powers...for five minutes. Man, Rex Tyler would be laughing at these people! His Miraclo can give you powers for one whole hour!

"If your Miraclo powers last over an hour...you'd better call a doctor. Right away."

So...how do these pills work? Are the powers you get from them random? Is it dependent on the person? Are there different variations on the pills that give different abilities?

For those who take cosplaying as Iceman and the Human Torch very seriously.

That fire dude may have been bulletproof, Jamie Foxx.

Step one: Make the drug. Step two: Distribute the drug. Step three: Profit.

Rex Tyler's Miraclo wouldn't make people explode, either.

That effects shot was awesome.

I get the feeling "that's your power" will be said often.

Well, Batman and Robin traditionally don't have superpowers, guys...

Well, I admit, I am kind of mixed on this movie. On one hand, it does look rather appealing. But on the other, it kind of looks like your standard superhero deconstruction. I'm sure they'll try to be different, but I don't see what angle they could go with this. The idea of a drug giving superpowers is nothing new. Heck, Hourman did it. But I do hope this film is entertaining none the less.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself and each other. Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear your mask. See you next time!

Neon Abyss Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

Run-and-gun shooters are awesome. Rogue-likes are awesome. So, you would expect that if they were combined, they'd create something doubly awesome, right? Well, this new game for the Nintendo Switch looks like it will be exactly that. What is this genre-mixing game? Neon Abyss. Let's look at the launch trailer!

Duke Nukem and John Wick meet in a bar...

Mmm...revenge drink...

Tastes very vengeance-y.

"Aww, man...what was in that drink? Klingon LSD?"

Boom boom, baby!

Oh man, this looked so awesome! I got the demo of it, and it's just fantastic.

Let's get funky!

Fishing time!

Some of those bosses look really cool. I like the cake one.

As I said earlier, I got the demo for this game, and it was awesome! Gloriously addicting, and I loved everything about it. Well, the jump button took a bit of getting used to, but I adapted to it. I recommend getting this game if you like roguelikes with a bit of 16-bit 80s-style cyberpunk and neon.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself, and each other! Stay safe, stay home, stay healthy, and wash your hands often. Also, don't forget to wear your masks! See you next time!

Captain America #333 (September 1987)

Back in November 2018, I took a look at Captain America #332 (August 1987). In it, Steve Rogers decided he'd rather quit being the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan than be forced back into an old role he felt that Captain America had long ago outgrown. Well, with the mantle of Captain America now vacant, we need someone new to fill it. So, to find the new Cap, let's take a look at Captain America #333!

The cover is pretty cool. A Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod piece, it depicts Cap's empty cowl, surrounded by faces. It cleverly incorporates Captain America's masthead logo to ask one question: "Who will be the next Captain America?" Most of the faces are of people whom Steve has encountered and known over the years, like Tony Stark and Sam Wilson. You can also see a (badly-disguised) Hulk and Thing. Funny enough, the two women on the cover were Marvel staffers at the time. The dark-haired one was "Liltin'" Laura Hitchcock, who was assistant editor of the Star Comics line. And the blonde was "Devastating" Dawn Geiger, a designer for the Marvel Bullpen. And naturally, there's a Stan Lee cameo. Lee had been making cameos cool for decades. Rest in peace, Stan The Man.

"The Replacement"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Tom Morgan
Inker: Dave Hunt
Letterers: Ken Lopez, Bill Oakley
Colorist: Ken Feduniewicz
Editor: Don Daley
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter.

The story begins with Steve Rogers' Captain America uniform and shield.

The Commission on Superhuman Activities is furious. How dare that All-American Ingrate say 'no'? The government made him what he was! The Commission is left to wonder what to do next. A military man suggests court-martialing Rogers, but Henry Peter Gyrich points out that that may not be possible as Rogers is technically no longer in the military. They can sanction him though, basically force him to not operate as Captain America anymore.

Gyrich also suggests that the Avengers be forced to terminate Rogers' membership, or else they'll be forbidden to operate on U.S. soil. That's shot down as the Avengers would help people out anyway, and turning them into outlaws may not be the best of ideas. Valerie Cooper would rather discuss options to replace Rogers. There were two attempts: Nuke and G.I. Max. However, both ended in disaster. You may remember nuke from my review of Daredevil #233. G.I. Max was a super-soldier that was forty times stronger than a normal human. But he was likely not forty times more durable, as he ended up getting accidentally shot and killed by a superior officer in Captain America #331.

Yup, that was a whoopsie there. They suggest recruiting Jack Monroe, who was the second Nomad. However, Monroe would not likely be willing to don the costume and shield. Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon is also rejected as it's feared that America is not ready for a Black Captain America yet. This was in 1987. People flipped out over Sam becoming Cap in 2015! Yeah, not ready for a Black Cap indeed.

The Commission then decides that they need someone truly new to take up the job. Valerie may just have the man for it: One John Walker, the Super-Patriot. Remember him from last issue? Sure you do. We join him recapping the events of last issue on a talk show.

After the interview, Walker is approached by a pair of G-Men. They want to speak to him. Ethan Thurm, John's manager, says he should come along. After all, it's his job to manage Walker's business affairs. Public appearances, and the like. However, he's not on the guest list. Walker meets with Valerie Cooper, and we get to learn more about the his life pre-Super-Patriot.

John Walker was a Southern boy. Hailing from the fictional town Custer's Grove, Georgia, John was the son of farmers. Considering it's Georgia we're talking about here, they likely farmed pecans (Georgia is famous for those), but also likely soybeans, corn, peanuts, or blueberries. He had an older sister and an older brother named Mike.

Mike served his country as a chopper pilot during the Vietnam War (remember, this is 1987). Sadly, Michael Walker would be killed in combat in the summer of 1974. John wanted to live up to his brother's memory and joined the service. It was not said here which branch he served in, but it would be later established he served at Fort Bragg, which means he was likely an Army man. Since it was peacetime, John never really got a chance to be the hero that he saw his brother as.

After he served his hitch, a friend from the service recommended him to the Power Broker, a mysterious man who could make men into supermen. John signed up and gained superhuman strength from him in the process. John was in debt to the Broker now (superpowers do not come for free), so he had planned to join the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation to work off the debt.

Oh hi, Captain Lou! The UCWF was a promotion for superhuman pro wrestlers. It was there he met Ethan Thurm. Thurm had a better idea for him. Thurm made Walker into a new hero for the 1980s: The Super-Patriot. As the Super-Patriot, Walker toured the country, holding rallies and doing community service projects. He wants to know what this is all about. Valerie Cooper shows him Captain America's mighty shield. She explains that Rogers was stripped of his shield and uniform for refusing to serve his country.

Yeah, Cooper's lying. Remember, Rogers quit. She basically tells him, "Mr. Walker, we need a new Captain America, and we want you to be him." Walker is amused by this, as he's been rather outspoken regarding his beliefs that Steve Rogers is old news. He is willing to take the job (Walker feels a good patriot always answers the country's call to action), but he's reluctant to give up the Super-Patriot moniker as he's invested plenty of time and work into it. Not to mention that there's money in it. Thurm got financial backers behind him. Ultimately, Walker accepts. What's Ethan's reaction?

After recovering from the shock, the business-minded Thurm sees an opportunity. The government needs a Captain America? Fine, but they'll have to agree to some demands. Like health insurance for John (with Ethan being the beneficiary of course), a release option, his friends as backup Caps, and for Ethan himself? Put on the federal payroll and a nice big office. Purely for Walker's benefit, of course.

Walker then goes out for a jog. As he's jogging, his brain is working. He doubts Val Cooper will agree with all of Ethan's demands, and he wondered why Rogers gave up being Cap. He realizes, "Hey, I can just ask him!" At the time, Steve Rogers had a hotline people could call if they needed his help. So, Walker calls him up. He wants to talk to Steve at the Lincoln Memorial. Wednesday Night. Midnight. When the time comes, Rogers doesn't show. A disappointed Walker gets ready to leave, but then he gets seemingly ambushed.

Looks like Steve Rogers showed up...for a fight. Not really. You see, this man was one of the Bold Urban Commandoes, or BUCkies. Get it? Bucky? They were fellow enhanced men who worked with Walker, staging fights with him. Think a mix of pro wrestling with superheroing. They want to know if it's true that Walker's been tapped to be the new Captain America. And he confirms it.

A couple of days later, Walker meets the Commission on Superhuman Activities, and he accepts the job offer...and gives them Thurm's list of demands. Cooper then takes him to try on the uniform.

Gotta admit, Walker doesn't look half bad in the suit. Cooper then tells him it's time to start training...and he gets introduced to his sparring partners.

You may know Pyro, Blob, and Avalanche from being members of the Brotherhood of Mutants in the X-Men comics. Heck, you may be familiar with Blob and Avalanche being Brotherhood members from the X-Men: Evolution cartoon series. Pyro in the cartoon as well, but not in the Brotherhood. However, at this time in the comic books, they had been made into government agents by their leader Mystique in exchange for full pardons. They use their powers to give Walker a whuppin', the point being to get Walker to understand the usefulness of Cap's shield. He's also got a further quiz going...after he studies footage of Cap in action.

That night, Walker announces to his friends and Thurm that he has got the job, and they're looking into Thurm's demands. Three days later, Walker is brought before the commission. They've looked into his requests, and they say Walker's going to have to drop Thurm as his manager, as well as two of his BUCkie partners. It's likely due to their background checks revealing some possible past criminal activity. Walker is asked if he has any issue with it, and after some thought...he tells the Commission that he's good with that.

This issue was pretty darn good. I like the fact that Gruenwald in this issue makes an effort to try and distinguish Walker from Rogers. In contrast to Steve being a Depression-era New Yorker, John is a Southern farm boy. Steve is seasoned and experienced, and John is a young eager hero. Basically, he's Steve's opposite, and that'll make his attempt to be the new Cap rather interesting. I also really liked the "battle" with Freedom Force. If you're going to be Captain America, you're going to face superpowered threats. Good thing Walker has super-strength...

Tom Morgan's art is rather...interesting. It has a bit of a cartoony vibe about it. It does do a very competent job of storytelling, and the faces are rather expressive. I like very much.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Captain America: The Captain. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourself, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, and wear your mask! Join me next time, when we meet up with Wonder Woman as she continues her twelve labors...

Shadow Warrior 3 Teaser, My Thoughts

In 1997, the first-person shooter game Shadow Warrior debuted. Developed by 3D Realms and published by GT Software, the game used the legendary Build engine. In the game, the player was Lo Wang...yes, I know. He was a bodyguard for Zilla Enterprises, a powerful zaibatsu that controlled every major industry in Japan. However, the head of the zaibatsu, Master Zilla, craved more power. In his quest for such, he summoned creatures from the "dark side" to conquer the world. A horrified Lo Wang quits and faces his former boss to save the world.

The game was rather innovative for its time. It was the first FPS to include sticky bombs. The game also modified the Build engine to allow things like transparent water, climbable ladders, and drivable vehicles. The game was given average to positive reviews by critics, and it sold over 100,000 units. In 2013, Flying Wild Hog developed and Digital Devolver released a remake. They would put out a sequel in 2016. And now, here comes the third game in the series. Let's take a look at the trailer!

Wow, the game looks beautiful. The scene is so serene, so peaceful. I could take a nap here, oh.

Is that Lo Wang?

Heh heh. Fourth wall breaking. ...Deadpool's going to sue, isn't he?

Those forearms are rather freakin' stunning.

Thanks, Verne.

Aww, don't you just hate it when a bunch of monsters ruin your fun swing through the forest?

"Ha ha, you mussed!"
"No, I didn't."

That'll hurt.

Wow. Even the BUNNY is amazed.

Oh, that will hurt.

FATALITY. And killing a demon without even glancing at him is always awesome.

Yeah, those demon monster things now they're dead. RIP demon monster things. We hardly knew ye...and hardly cared.

We'll see you there too, man!

I think this game is going to be pretty cool. I first learned of the original Shadow Warrior from Lazy Game Reviews, and it seemed fascinating. I am curious as to how this game will go, considering the ending of the last game. I hope this game is tons of fun.

Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay home, stay healthy, wash your hands often, and wear your mask! See you next time!