Text Play: Pokémon Zeta #18

Welcome back to the Vesryn region! This is the 18th entry in my Text Play of Pokemon Zeta!

As usual, I must warn you, I will be spoiling the entire game. 

As such, I recommend playing the game for yourself before reading this. You can download it here. And with that, let's go!

Leaving the base, we find ourselves back on Route 310.

Sometimes in life, you have to go backward in order to go forward. If you look carefully, you can see a little square hole in the rock face neat to the base entrance. You may have seen those little holes in various places around Vesryn. Don't worry about it, we can't do anything with them yet. Just go down and walk to the right on the mountain until you reach this point.

You should have gotten the Surf HM (or the even better Instant Lapras) at this point. If you didn't get the Instant Lapras, but got the Surf HM, not to worry. In the last room in the base before you leave, there's a PC. You can use it to bring in a Pokémon that can learn Surf. I like this, a nice little anti-frustration feature. Once you start Surfing, you can go on until you get to a bridge.

This was an opportunity for me to do something I didn't do the last time I visited this route. If you start Surfing below this bridge, you can find this nice little hut.

It's a cute little hut, although I can't help but wonder how the inhabitants get supplies. I don't see a port for a boat . Maybe they train Pokémon for it? That would make sense as a world like this uses Pokémon for everything. Anyway, that item next to the house? It's TM11 (Sunny Day). The little building does have an unusual resident.

It's a Snorlax! Well, not an ordinary Snorlax. This is a Delta Snorlax? What is a Delta Snorlax, you ask? Well, it's from the fangame Pokémon Insurgence. Delta Pokémon can be considered a bit of a precursor to the Alolan variants from Pokémon Sun/Moon/UltraSun/UltraMoon. A Delta Pokémon is a mutation that gives a Pokémon a different type than normal. In Delta Snorlax's case, it's a Grass-type whereas Snorlax is normally a Normal-type. 

With this guy caught, we go back on the bridge and head back to Kivu Town. It kind of makes sense we end up back here. Graham, who helped us start the trek through Team Olympus's base, was the Gym Leader of Kivu Town, after all.

I admit, I am a bit nervous about going through Mt. Press. As I said in the last entry, Mt. Press is very long. It's reminded me of my travails through Mt. Snarlet in Pokemon Mega Adventure. 

That reminds me, I really gotta finish that Text Play one day. Anyway, it's time to trek our way through Mt. Press! Like back through the Team Olympus base, I do recommend you make sure you have plenty of supplies. You're going to need them. You will need plenty of Potions and the like. Also, get Ultra Balls. Lots of them. And I would also recommend bringing along a Pokémon that knows a technique that can put opponents to sleep to help make it a little easier to catch the Pokémon that are native to the area. My Victreebel knows Spore and Butterfree knows Sleep Powder, so I'm covered there. 

Also, you're going to need the HMs Cut, Surf, Strength, and Waterfall to get through the mountain. However, by this point, we got items to replace some of these HMs. By this point, we got the Dolly (which replaces Strength), the Machete (which replaces Cut), and the Instant Lapras (which replaces Surf. So right now, we technically don't need Surf, Strength, and Cut. And thank goodness for that! In Treader Town, we can get HM05 (Waterfall). There is a house that contains a man chasing a Wingull named "Peeko".

If the name sounds familiar, its a cameo of Mr. Briney from Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire. And you talk to him to get the HM. There is an item in this game that replaces it, the Jet Pack, but we can't get it yet. I've done the rant about seeing to use HMs to get the items that can be used as their replacements before, so I won't do it again here. It's the biggest issue I've had with this game, really.

Despite my nerves about Mt. Press, I gathered my courage and entered the big stone doors. Yeah, I thought they were metal because of the sprite, but evidently, they're stone.

Yeah. Learn something new every day.

Thankfully, even though Mt. Press is a long journey, it's a rather straightforward one. There isn't a maze of tunnels and the like. Also, if you want to get a Magnezone or a Probopass in this game, you can get one here. How? Well, just bring a Magneton or a Nosepass and level it up. I'm guessing that Mt. Press has a lot of highly magnetized rocks in it that can trigger such an evolution. I have to admit, I am not a fan of this particular kind of evolution. I mean, it does seem rather inconvenient. 

Mt. Press is a good place to grind up your Pokémon. And I recommend that you do so here. You see, as part of the game's story, we'll be fighting Zeus again, and his Pokémon will be at levels 50-60. So we need to make sure our Pokémon can face them. You can also add some Pokémon to your collection here. 

So how do we get through Mt. Press? Well, from the stone entrance, we make our way to the western wall. We'll encounter a couple of trainers on the way. From there, we go upwards to the highest ledge and follow it eastwards until we reach a dead-end. Wait, it's over already? Nope! We jump down from the ledge, and we find the exit! 

Well, sort of. This tunnel leads to an external ledge of the mountain. There's a couple more trainers to fight, and plenty of tall grass to fight wild Pokémon in. There's also a path to follow that takes you to a line of tall trees. If you have a Pokémon with Cut (or even, the MACHETE), you can Cut your way through them and enter the upper section of Mt. Press's first floor. Yeah, this is all the first floor. It is a mountain, after all. 

One we renter the mountain, you go west to the wall, where there's a Hiker to battle. Go north past him after battling him and you end up in a fork in the road. You can go upwards or east. If you go east, you'll find an item.

It's a Revive. If you ever find a revive anywhere, go grab it. Revives are useful, and they are expensive as heck in shops. Worth it, though. Revives your Pokémon from fainting with half its HP. It does look like you can just go straight up from the exit, right? Well, unfortunately...no. You have to go back to the fork and take the upward path. Yeah, it's annoying, but not as annoying as some other things I've had to deal with in video games. I'm just glad that Mt. Press seems to be less of a pain than...Mt. Snarlet.

God, I hate Mt. Snarlet...

One of the most interesting places I saw on the way through the mountain was this.

What is that? Well, it's a place you can catch Combee. Combee are cute little Pokémon. I would recommend a lower-level Pokémon be used to help catch these, as they're around level 30. We can re-enter the mountain from the cave entrance near the hive. From there, we go westwards, battling a couple of trainers on the way. It's here we run into...a bit of an obstacle.

No problem! We have the Dolly! We can easily move this big ol' rock! Once we get back the big rock, we encounter a little lake. No problem! We got the Instant Lapras! So, let's take a little swim on the lake, and we'll be further on our way...

Oh, you got to be kidding me. Well, this isn't surprising that there's a frickin' waterfall here.

It's never easy. But I think here's a good place to stop for now. I want to prepare my Pokémon for some of those big fights I meantioned earlier coming up...and get a Pokémon that knows Waterfall. Wish me luck! 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 a mask!

Pokemon Obtained:
(Route 310)
- Delta Snorlax
(Mt. Press)
- Krokorok
- Golett
- Drifblim
- Bronzor
- Chimecho
- Klefki
- Mawile (140th Pokemon! Whoo!)
- Combee

The Mighty Thor #433 (June 1991)

Stepping into the mantle of superhero is not always an easy task. Especially if you're taking up the mantle of Thor. Thor didn't just fight supervillains, but got involved in the dramas that came with being part of a godly pantheon. So, naturally, when Eric Masterson found himself taking up the role of Thor, he was going to have some...growing pains. You'll see what I mean when we take a look at The Mighty Thor #443!

The cover is a Ron Frenz/Al Milgrom piece. It's a basic cover, just showing Masterson as the new Thor, promising that there's a new Thunder God in town. I do wish it didn't spoil his new look, but that's my only real complaint about it.

"Whosoever Holds the Hammer!"
Writer: Tom DeFalco
Penciler: Ron Frenz
Inker: Al Milgrom
Colorist: Mike Rockwitz
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with the rock troll Ulik hanging out in the sewers.

You'd think being a troll, he'd hang out under a bridge. Or on the Internet.

Since he and Thor last threw down in Thor #431, the rock troll has been hiding out, stewing in his frustration. He is sick and tired of having his rear end handed to him by the God of Thunder. But he's been gathering his strength. He's got a devious plan to lure Thor out of...wherever he is now, and face him in one final brawl. Ulik will have his revenge! 

Meanwhile, in a hospital, one Eric Masterson is thinking about recent events.

You see, Thor was banished after he killed Loki. It was a thing. Eric is at the hospital visiting Susan Austin, his assistant at the architectural firm Eric works at. She's in a coma after Loki blasted her in the previous issue. This was led Thor to finally end Loki's life. She hasn't regained consciousness. Eric's visit with her is short, with him blaming himself for the whole thing, and vowing to not let anyone else suffer this fate as long as he has Thor's power. After his visit, he's greeted by a couple of friends.

Meet Guido "Jerry" Sapristi and Leena Moran. Sapristi is Eric's boss and Nick Fury's cousin. I am not making that up. Leena is Susan Austin's roommate. Leena flirts with Eric a bit, as she gets why Susan gushed about him so much. Yeah, Susan had a bit of a crush on our new God of Thunder here. Jerry suggests that Eric go home. The two hear a loud crack of thunder, and Jerry notes that it sounds more like an enraged roar.

Outside the hospital, "Jock" Jackson and "Mad Dog" Rassitano of Code: Blue are playing watchdog. They're there because the police believe Susan Austin may still be in danger. They're not wrong on that.

Eric spots Ulik, and realizes why he's there. The rock troll plans to take the comatose woman hostage. Code: Blue engages Ulik, and they seemingly have the rock troll on the ropes thanks to a stasis field. Eric shows up and accidentally overloads the field when he charges Ulik. Oops.

Ulik notices that "Thor's" scent is different, and figures that well...it's not the real Thor. The rock troll lays a beating on our man Eric, and then heads to the subway. Maybe he wants to check out a Broadway show? I dunno. Eric understandably feels lousy about this. It makes sense, he's no warrior god. He has Thor's raw power, but lacks the Thunder God's experience and confidence. He's over his head and he knows it. And as if fate wants to make things worse...

Eric has inherited Thor's Avengers ID. Fearing that Earth's Mightiest will...ask him some questions that he's not comfortable answering. Eric tells them he's out to lunch, leaving Captain America confused. Code: Blue wants to discuss some things with him (likely connected to Thor killing Loki), but Eric flies off. Lt. Marcus Stone, the creator of Code: Blue, notices that "Thor" is acting and talking strange. He also has a beard. Not even a god can grow a beard in a day.

Unfortunately, Thor didn't leave Eric with an instruction manual on operating Mjolnir. As such, Eric's attempt at flight ends with him introducing his back to a chimney. Yeah, at this point, our man has had enough. He's the God of Thunder now, and he's got to get a handle on this. He manages to make his way home, where he notes that his costume's taken a beating from his brawl with Ulik. He takes the opportunity to redesign Thor's look. After all, if he's Thor now, he's going to do it his way. It's also the 90s, radically redesigning costumes was the norm. 

Speaking of Ulik, where did he go? Well, beating up gods can work up quite the appetite, so the rock troll has hit a meat packing plant in the Lower East Side.

Mmmm...delicious meat...

...where was I? Oh yes! At that time, Eric's picked up his order from a tailor's. It's his new Thor suit. A nearby TV announces that Code: Blue has engaged Ulik. Looks like the new suit is going to get a test run sooner than Eric thought. Ulik has engaged the superhuman-spealizing taskforce, and they get soem backup in the form of Mjolnir to Ulik's mug.

It's here we get a full look at Eric's Thor costume.

I actually think it's a great redesign. It feels modern, but respectful of the classic Kirby look. The new look seems to have upped Eric's confidence a bit, as he taunts Ulik into charging at him. Eric then shows how he's different from Thor in another way: He sidesteps Ulik's charge, making him crash through a wall. Eric then dates the comic a bit by talking about how it's the 90s now and Ulik shouldn't expect any mercy and yeah yeah yeah...

Anyway, Eric further shows his smarts by using his cape to blind the rock troll, and then applies some fists to him. The fistic frenzy brings down Ulik, and Code: Blue can take it from here. Lt. Stone knew the original Thor, and he asks Eric what happened to the old Thor. Eric's answer? 

So would I! And I will find out!

One last piece of business. It's been raining during the whole issue. As far as Eric is concerned, it's time for the sun to come out. He taps Mjolnir on the ground, and the rainclouds dissipate. The dawn of a new era. Eric and Code: Blue end the story with a handshake and an agreement to get some lunch.

I enjoyed this issue. It's neat seeing Eric trying to get his legs as the new Thor, as it were. It makes sense that he'd be in a bit over his head, especially since he wasn't left with any real idea of how to handle Thor's hammer. I also liked the concept of Code: Blue. I think this group should have been more of a regular presence in the Marvel New York City mythos like the Daily Bugle gets to be. It makes sense that such a kind of police squad would exist in a superhero universe. Superheroes can't be everywhere at once, so police have to adapt. 

I also liked Ron Frenz's art in this issue. His artwork here is almost reminiscent of Steve Epting's style on the Avengers book in the 90s. I did like how he was able to clearly show the final fight between Eric and Ulik despite it raining cats and dogs in the story. It makes sense that for Eric, he'd move away from the Kirby-esque style he had been doing, as he is a different Thor. It helps give the comic a different tone. 

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback The Mighty Thor: Thunderstrike. 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 a mask! Join me next time, when we continue the Avengers' epic battle against Immortus...

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (1982)

With February being Black History Month, I wanted to review a comic that focused on an African-American character. With the series WandaVision on Disney+, I saw an opportunity to showcase an African-American superheroine who I don't think got to appear here before now: Monica Rambeau, aka the second Captain Marvel, Photon, and most recently, Spectrum.

 Unlike Carol Danvers, Monica has never gotten her own ongoing series. However, that didn't mean she fell into obscurity. She's been a member of the Avengers (even got to lead the team for a period of time and was the team's first Black member), been a part of the more comedic team known as Nextwave, and most recently has been a member of the Ultimates. She's also made many appearances in various other comics over the years, mainly connected to the Avengers. And considering that both Captain Marvel and WandaVision have been making her more of a household name, I figured we should take a look at her origins this week. So let's look at Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16!

The cover is a John Romita Sr./John Romita Jr. piece, and it's pretty awesome, in my opinion. It shows Spider-Man, the Thing, and the Avengers reacting to a figure bursting out of the ground as a blast of light. It gives the impression that whoever this is, this person is a big deal, and we should keep an eye on them. 

"Who's That Lady?"
Writer: Roger Stern
Penciler: John Romita Jr.
Inker: John Romita Sr.
Colorist: Stan Goldberg
Letterer: Jim Novak
Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter 

The story begins with Peter Parker at a bus station. He's waiting for his friends Harry Osborn and Liz Allen-Osborn to arrive when a lady sets off his Spider-Sense.

Peter decides to follow the mysterious woman, who walks into a rough part of New York City. Peter worries about this, as no native New Yorkers spend a lot of time there if they can help it. A pair of hoods try to make off with her purse, but the lady is also a bit of a tiger. She easily dispatches the men with a handy bit of judo.

Spider-Man swings down to compliment her, but she blasts him away.

That's gotta hurt!

The woman looks over the unconscious superhero, and naturally, he'll be alright. The woman then changes into a silver-and-black outfit. Spider-Man wakes up to see the woman blast off in a streak of light. He climbs up a nearby building with his wall-crawling ability and finds that the Empire State Building has lit up like the Fourth of July. 

Monica Rambeau is amazed by the sheer size of New York City. It's so different from her native New Orleans. So, how did our heroine end up like she did? Well, her tale begins at the headquarters of the New Orleans Harbor Patrol. She's been passed over for promotion to captain...again. And she wants to know why.

Her boss claims that he only has so many captain vacancies to fill, but Monica believes that he doesn't want a woman being the captain of a patrol boat. They argue, and she stomps away to her office. It's here she meets up with an old friend of her grandfather's: Professor Andre LeClare. He's a physicist who's considered a bit of a crackpot. His theories did get an audience in a South American dictator named Generalissimo Ernesto Ramirez. Ramirez funded LeClare's research in drawing energy from other dimensions...for the purpose of creating weapons.

When LeClare discovered this, he fled South America. Undaunted, Ramirez hired a former assistant of LeClare's named Felipe Picaro to continue the research. Picaro has been doing so on an old oil rig located off the Gulf of Mexico. LeClare fears that any potential weapon created from his work could make the atom bomb look like, in LeClare's own words, a wet match. LeClare couldn't get anyone in the US government to believe him, so he's come to Monica for help. 

She's unsure what she can do, as she's a harbor patrolman, not a government official. LeClare is hoping she could find a way to get the government's help...and he's aware that Monica has a reputation for being...unorthodox in her work. Monica gets an idea...

The next day, Monica and LeClare are heading to the rig on a speedboat. The plan is a basic one: She'll check things out, and if there's anything fishy, they'll head back and alert the Coast Guard. The speedboat arrives at the rig, and guards from the ne'er-do-well corporation Roxxon are there to greet it. They tell the speedboat to go away, so Monica goes into her "beach-bunny" act, giving the guard boys quite the view.

This gets the attention of Picaro, who lets Monica on board and tries to turn on the charm. The two have a picnic, and an alarm goes off. Turns out LeClare snuck on board the rig in an attempt to shut down whatever Picaro has going on in the rig. Picaro drags Monica with him, as he's convinced she's involved. She comes to the rig and an alarm goes off? Yeah, that's no coincidence, and he realizes that.

Picaro decides to show what his new device can do. He's gonna blow up Fort Benning, Georgia. Because he can. Monica gives him an elbow to the gut and smashes at the machinery with her fists.

This is why you bring a crowbar with you everywhere...

Her attack makes the machine explode, and she is transformed into a streak of light. She makes her way to the New Orleans waterfront, materializing on the docks. A confused Monica makes her way to a warehouse with a radio. She doesn't realize that the radio is unplugged...but that's no problem! She unknowingly powers it up, giving the radio a lot of transmission power, enough to call a Coast Guard ship out in the Gulf of Mexico. 

It's a bit chilly for a bikini and robe, so Monica goes to scare up some clothes. She discovers that she's in a storage shed full of costumes from Mardi Gras. Using some of the clothes, she cobbles together a costume to help keep her identity hidden. 

"So, what should I call myself? Photon? No... Spectrum? No..." 

Monica returns to the oil rig, noticing that the guards are out cold. She runs down and sees Picaro shoot LeClare. She then gives the renegade scientist a kick in the gut. The injured LeClare tells Monica that the machine has created a hole between universes that is getting bigger. If it's not stopped, it'll grow large enough to cause the destruction of the Earth. The newly-empowered heroine then feels herself getting sucked into the hole, but she feels the hole getting smaller. It's as if her body is absorbing the energies that created it.

Picaro wakes up and prepares to give LeClare another bullet, one he hopes will kill the old man this time. Monica is able to free herself form the hole, closing it and giving Picaro a nasty shock. She then gets the injured old man and herself out of there. The authorities will be here soon, and they'll have a lot of questions.

As they leave, one of the guards calls her "Capitan est Maravilla". Basically, Captain Marvel. Two days later, a hale and hartier LeClare comes to visit Monica in her office at Harbor Patrol HQ. He's ran some tests on Monica, and discovered that she now has the power to transform herself into any energy on the electromagnetic spectrum. Infra-red, visible light, X-Rays, ultraviolet radiation, that kind of thing. He's also given her a gift: A version of her makeshift costume from unstable molecules (The substance the Fantastic Four's costumes are made from). Monica is reluctant to take the suit, as she has no desire to be a superhero. LeClare tells her this is her destiny, and she's made the papers, with them giving her the name "Captain Marvel".

Monica goes to her boss's office, and tends her resignation. And all that was a few weeks ago.

She's come New York City for some help. Her energy levels are rising, and she fears that she'll cause an explosion. As such, she heads for the Baxter Building. She finds the building a wreck due to the events of Fantastic Four #242 (May 1982). Basically, a being called Terrax wrecked the place. She meets Ben Grimm, who informs her that the previous Captain Marvel, the Kree superhero Mar-Vell, had passed away months earlier.

"Don't worry, kiddo. You'll get on the superhero gossip grapevine soon enough..."

She needs Reed to help her deal with the energy buildup inside her. Unfortunately, Reed and Sue are on vacation in Martha's Vineyard. Ben uses the computer to call Avengers Mansion. They have some science guys there, maybe they can help. Monica uses her powers to travel to the Mansion, where Iron Man is on duty.

"Tony, did you try and download an emulator on the Avengers' computer again?"

Her arrival unintentionally overloads Iron Man's armor, and triggers the Mansion's security system. Edwin Jarvis, the Avengers' butler spots our heroine over the fallen Golden Avenger. She tries to explain herself, but her body starts to glow. Spider-Man arrives and tries to web her up, but she's able to destroy it. With the help of his Spider-Sense, Spidey KO's her, but Iron Man and Wasp arrive to explain the situation. Spidey and Tony rig a way to leech out Monica's excess energy reserves using Tony's armor, Spidey's webs, and some cables. 

"Tony, this is no time to pretend you are a spooky ghost."

Wasp tells Spidey "You know, she might explode, we better get out of here." No problem, Janet! Spidey whips up a webbing shield. With the help of Spidey's webbing and Iron Man's repulsors, Monica is able to channel out the excess energies she's holding inside her. Ben Grimm finally arrives at Avengers Mansion (even superheroes have a tough time getting cabs in New York City), fearing that the worst may have happened. But he doesn't need to worry.

"Man, you Avengers can party!"

...where were the other Avengers when Monica arrived? Maybe they were all out doing other things? Anyway, Spidey can't stay, he's got a bus to catch. He makes it to the bus station, but it seems that he missed them. The Parker Luck strikes again...NOT.

Yup, they had to take a different bus, and Peter was just in time to meet them. Hey, even the Webhead deserves a break every now and then. The story ends with them going to get some lunch.

I enjoyed this story. Even though this is a Spider-Man comic, Monica is the clear star of the show. We get a great idea of who Monica is. She's a tough-as-nails woman, but her gaining superpowers makes her feel like she's in a bit over her head. I also liked that the story allowed her to sort of get to meet some of the heavy hitters of the MU, mainly the Avengers. Perhaps it was foreshadowing her future membership? Roger Stern did bring her into the Avengers during his time writing the book...

John Romita Jr. turns in some great art here. It's really interesting to see how much his art resembled his father in style at this point. Although I can't help but wonder if that's because Romita Sr. inked the art here.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2018 trade paperback Captain Marvel: Monica Rambeau. 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 a mask! See you next time, when we join a new Thor in his first adventure...