Text Play: Pokémon Zeta #20

Hello, and welcome back to the Vesryn region! This is entry number 20 in my Text Play of Pokemon Zeta!

Wow. The big 2-0. I never imagined that this Text Play to actually get this far. I want to thank everyone who's been reading, enjoying and supporting me on this journey through this game. I have had a ton of fun doing this, and I hope you all continue to enjoy this Text Play, and other ones I may do in the future. After all, there is another Pokémon fangame I want to tackle in the future...

Yes, yes, I know. I still have to complete Mega Adventure. I know. Believe me, I know. Anyway, I do want to, as usual, issue a warning. I will be spoiling this game. Kind of unavoidable with something like this, unfortunately.

As such, I recommend that you play the game for yourself if you don't want to get spoiled on anything here. You can download the game at its wiki here. And with that, let's go!

I have been grinding and working towards getting ready for a very big battle in Mt. Press. Surprisingly, getting Tentacruel up to a level near the rest of my regular team has not been as hard as I feared. In fact, it's been surprisingly breezy, ha ha. During my grinding sessions, I always tried to stay near the nurse that stands near the exit to the exterior of Level 2 of the mountain.

I do kind of find it funny that she just...stands there, waiting for trainers to come by who need their Pokemon fixed up. Don't get me wrong, I do like that there's a nurse here. It's a nice little anti-frustration feature and it does allow you to save your Potions and other healing items for the big battles ahead. Because you will need those items. It's just...it's funny that she's just...standing there.

Seriously! When you use her to heal your Pokemon, the sprite uses the standard Pokemon Center animation and you even hear the healing jingle. But where does she put the Pokemon? There's no machine near her! It's weird.

It would also be nice if there was a little shop somewhere in this mountain. I mean, I can imagine that a lot of travelers make their way through this mountain in their journey through Vesryn. Having a little shop to resupply would be only too convenient for Trainers. Of course, I can imagine it would lead some to ask how the store gets supplied, but that's thinking too much. It's a Pokémon game, some things you just...have to let go.

Anyway, it's time to push forward and hit the peak. After all, we can't dawdle in the mountain forever. When you arrive at the snowy areas, go right, upwards, then all the way right.

Don't worry about this item. We can't get it right now. Continuing on the mountain, we fight some more trainers, and there's something really special here.

This is a very special rock. You see, this is an Ice Rock. Ice Rocks have appeared in various regions in Pokemon games since Generation III (Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald). This rock is mainly for evolving one Pokemon: Eevee. You level it up near this rock, it evolves into Glaceon. So, if you want a Glaceon, well...here you go. You can get one by going right here. I have to admit, I am...not a fan of the Ice Rock. It seems so...well, I don't know the word for it, but look at it like this. This rock can only evolve one Pokemon, and you have to take this Pokemon all the way there to use the rock to evolve it. It seems so silly to me. Why just use an evolutionary stone? That seems more convenient to me.

Yeah, this journey through the mountain is a rather long one. It can wear on the patience if you're someone like me, someone who always returns to a Pokemon Center to heal after battles out of fear they'll run out of healing items. It's a thing with me. Thankfully, it's not as long or as annoying as Mt. Snarlet in Pokemon Mega Adventure. God, I hate Mt. Snarlet. I really oughta finish that Text Play one day.

Anyway, the entrance to the fourth floor is right near the Ice Rock. Once we reach the entrance, we meet another Team Olympus Grunt.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I swear to Arceus, these people are the cockroaches of the Pokemon world. Take out one, and a bunch more appear in their place. Sheesh. It's here we have to go through a gauntlet of Team Olympus goons. Thankfully, after getting through it, there's another nurse nearby.

Man, it's great that she is here. SAVE YOUR GAME HERE. I am totally serious. Save your game here. This is basically the last "rest stop" before you end up having to battle Thor and Loki. And then you'll have to battle Zeus himself. Thor and Loki's Pokemon are around level 50-53 in strength. And Zeus's are around level 57-59. I am not kidding. If you are even the slightest bit uncertain about being ready to face them, then save the game here. Save the game here and grind as much as you have to in order to be ready. That is what I plan to do. I want to be ready. 

And that's where I think we'll stop for now. Next time, I hopefully will be ready to face the big thunder-throwing boss of Team Olympus! Thanks for reading this blog entry! See you next time! 

Pokemon Obtained:
(Mt. Press)
- Sableye

Action Comics #241 (June 1958)

We all have times in our lives when we just want to be alone for a little while. Where we can take a break from the insanity of the world around us. Well, for Superman, just chilling in his apartment isn't enough. When he needs to relax, he needs...a Fortress of Solitude.

The original idea of a Fortress of Solitude actually came from the pulp stories of Doc Savage. The Man of Bronze had built a special complex in the Arctic as a place he could store items that were potentially very dangerous to humanity. In Superman #17 (1942), a precursor to the more famous version of the Fortress was introduced, described as a "mountain sanctuary" in a mountain range outside of Metropolis. The Golden Age-era Superman used this sanctuary just like Doc Savage did. This sanctuary would be first referred to as the Fortress of Solitude in Superman #58 (May-June 1949).

The comic we're looking at here is the first appearance of the Silver Age version of the Fortress. The Fortress would be a part of the Superman mythos for decades, even after Superman being constantly rebooted. The Fortress itself would undergo many changes over the years. The Silver Age version was in a mountain like in its Golden Age counterpart, for example. But over the years, it's been relocated to its traditional place in the Arctic (a nod to ol' Doc Savage), the Andes Mountains, Antarctica, and even the Amazon rainforest. 

The Fortress has appeared in other media outside of comics, like the Super Friends cartoon series, the various DC Animated Universe shows, the Legion of Super-Heroes animated series, Smallville, the Arrowverse, and even in video games like Lego Batman 3 and Mortal Kombat vs. the DC Universe. So with that, let's look at Action Comics #241!

The cover is a Curt Swan and Stan Kaye piece, and it's pretty awesome. It depicts Superman using the giant key to unlock the door to his Fortress of Solitude. He's thinking that someone has managed to use the key

"The Super-Key to Fort Superman!"
Writer: Jerry Coleman
Penciler: Wayne Boring
Inker: Stan Kaye
Editor: Mort Weisinger
Executive Editor: Whitney Ellsworth

The story begins with, in typical style of the era, Superman using his heat vision to write in a giant metal diary.

You know Supes, just buying a notebook full of blank pages at at Metropolis pharmacy or office supply store will be a lot easier. And it's not like anyone would find you buying notebooks strange, being a reporter in your civilian identity and all.

Not to mention, Doug Ramsey could figure out Kryptonian in no time. The story really beings with Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen heading out for lunch together. Lois spies a nice necklace in the window of presumably a jewelry shop and laments that she can't afford to buy it. Jimmy feels the same way about a car he sees at a dealership. At the end of the day, Clark switches to his Superman togs and goes out flying. The Man of Steel finds some pearls for a necklace for Lois. It would be heartwarming if Lois and Clark were actually a couple at this point. 

Superman then heads out to a little iconic area he likes to go to when he wants to get away from the world, his Fortress of Solitude. But the Fortress is more than that. It's also a place where Superman can perform dangerous experiments with his superpowers away from people. It also has a little museum of sorts where he keeps memorabilia honoring both his civilian friends and crime-fighting allies like Batman.

He spends his time in the Fortress engaging in a bit of super-painting and working on ways to make himself immune to Kryptonite. 

The next day, Superman is summoned by a famous scientist. The science whiz has come up with a metal that he believes that is so strong, even Superman himself can't break it. He wants the Metropolis Marvel to test this claim, and Superman thinks his Fortress of Solitude is the perfect place to do so. Superman takes the metal there, only to find a surprise.

Someone left a little dare for the Man of Tomorrow.

Prepare for the greatest puzzle of your career, Superman! I can enter and leave at will! Who am I? How can I do it? I dare you to find out!

Superman looks around his Fortress, hoping to find some clues. The search is rather fruitless. Superman decides to turn his attention to trying to break the scientist's new super-metal. The Man of Steel is able to break the metal, which I'm sure will disappoint the creator. He writes a few entries in his metal super-diary, and then heads out for the day...after using his X-Ray vision to melt the door so no one else can enter his Fortress. I'm sure the writer meant to have Superman use his heat vision.

The next day, Superman puts out a fire in Metropolis. He then returns to his Fortress. So, how's he going to get in now that he melted the door? Easy. He's Superman. He can just bust his way in through the mountain like the Kool-Aid Man. HEY KOOL-AID!

He bursts in and notices that someone has completed that painting of the Martian landscape he was working on. He relaxes by playing chess with a giant robot. In another chamber, Superman experiments with special glasses that will hopefully allow him to see through lead. It's here that he finds another message, written in invisible ink activated by his X-Ray vision.

I told you I couldn't be kept out! You like puzzles! Can you guess who I am? I know who you are...and I'll reveal my knowledge in 24 hours!

This really doesn't help Superman figure out who this mysterious intruder is, so he'll have to wait until tomorrow. That night, the sleeping Superman has a nightmare about this mystery. The next say, the Man of Steel rescues a boat. However, he unintentionally rocks the boat because of his being distracted by the intruder. He returns to his Fortress and finds another message, this one on a statue of Clark Kent.

Kent is Superman! I told you I knew! Now I have proved it! Tonight is your last chance to act!

Superman recombs the Fortress, and finds an odd clue.

A blob of blue and grey wax on the ground in front of a statue of Batman. How odd indeed.

Meanwhile, a figure waits for the opportune moment to reveal themselves. The figure's plan is interrupted by a sudden earthquake, and Superman ends up trapped under some rocks. He can't bust out because a piece of green Kryptonite is nearby. The figure then runs over to help.

Yup, it's Batman! He was the one responsible for the secret messages. He moves to remove the Kryptonite, but Superman tells him they are trapped in the room, and there's nowhere Bats can put the Kryptonite where it won't poison Superman. The only way out is through Superman's super strength...and that's not an option. 

Superman's basically "Well, we're both gonna die, so you can at least tell me what was with the messages?" Batman agrees. Bats was able to sneak in by hiding in the Fortress's giant key. He also hid in one of Superman's trophies, a giant hollow penny that bears the Joker's face. The penny is made of lead, so Superman can't see inside it with his X-Ray vision. He then melted the Batman statue...and replaced it without removing the wax. You'd think the Dark Knight had something better to do. Maybe his Rogues Gallery was on vacation that week. 

That was the clue Superman was looking for, and he bursts out laughing. You see, he realized the Bat was playing a joke, so the Man of Tomorrow decided to play a prank on him. Superman used his powers to create a small localized earthquake. A bit of fake Kryptonite, and some Christopher Reeve-level acting, and voila!

There's still one question left: Why did Batman do this? Well, it was the Caped Crusader's way of celebrating a special holiday: The anniversary of the arrival of Superman on Earth from Krypton. Batman struggled to figure out what to get him. You know, Bats, you could have just gotten him a gift card. Let him get himself something nice on your dime.

Anyway, the story ends with Batman inviting Superman to the Batcave for another present.

By "baking the cake myself", he likely meant "I had Alfred make it."

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to point out that Action Comics is an anthology title. One focused on Congo Bill, and the other on Tommy Tomorrow. As such, it had multiple stories. I would have looked at them as well for the sake of completeness, but I do not have those stories. They were not collected in the trade I got the scans from. Therefore, this review is only for the Superman story.

This story was...well, I have to admit, I was not too fond of it. I did think it was neat that we got to explore the Fortress of Solitude, though. I also admit, I got a chuckle out of Superman getting the Dark Knight with a prank. However, the story to me came off as rather...stupid. It didn't bother me that Batman knew when Superman's rocket crashed to Earth, as since this story established that since he and Superman knew each other's secret identities, it can easily be assumed that Superman told him about his coming to Earth in a rocket. 

It is also neat to see Superman and Batman talking to each other like they're actually friends. Modern depictions of the World's Finest and their relationship tend to be rather tense, emphasizing their differences in crime-fighting methods and the like. It's nice to see them actually portrayed as friends.

What bothers me about this story was that...well, the story seemed a slight bit mean-spirited to me. I mean, I do get that it was the Silver Age, and I very much doubt that was what the creators intended. I do get that they wanted to tell a silly little mystery story. That's fine. But it does come off as someone trying to blackmail Superman. Couldn't Batman have come up with less...creepy messages? 

Boring's depiction of Superman is a fascinating one when compared to modern depictions of the character. His take on the character is more barrel-chested and broad than modern portrayals of the Man of Steel tend to make him look. Modern depictions of Superman tend to give him the physique of a bodybuilder. Boring's Superman is not as muscular, but no less powerful-looking. You can believe that this man can lift an airliner with his pinky finger. The art does its job. Not much else to say about it, really.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend hunting down the 2012 trade paperback Superman: The Secrets of the Fortress of Solitude. 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, wear a mask, an get vaccinated! Join me next time when we return to the War of the Realms, and look in on another makeshift team of heroes...

Captain America #341 (May 1988)

Before we begin here, I would like to apologize for the delay in posting this. I got my 2nd COVID vaccine last Friday, and it knocked me for a loop. But I’m all better now, so here we go!

For the past few weeks, Marvel Studios has been releasing installments of the mini-series Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+. It's an awesome show, and I highly recommend it. One of the things I love about the series is that it uses elements from one of my favorite runs of Captain America's comic: The Mark Gruenwald run. For ten years, Gruenwald wrote what is in my opinion, some of the most underrated Cap stories of all time. We've entered into Gruenwald's run before with my reviews of Captain America #332, and #333. And since elements of his run are being used in Falcon and the Winter Soldier, I thought I’d return to it. So let’s look at Captain America #341!

The cover is a Ron Frenz piece. I am a bit of a fan of his artwork, but I have to admit, I think the figures do look a bit...wonky here. It's like they're overly bulky. I do get that Frenz is going for something Kirby-esque here. After all, he's been known to imitate Kirby in his Thor work.

"Break-In"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Kieron Dwyer
Inker: Al Milgrom
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Editors: Ralph Macchio, Marc Siry
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The first story begins with Tony Stark, aka the Invincible Iron Man, coming home with a date. But he has company waiting for him.

"Oh Tonyyyyy! Stevie's home!"

Cap wants to speak to the genius billionaire playboy philanthropist in private. Tony sends his date home, and the two get to talking. Tony figures that Steve Rogers is not happy with their clash at the Vault (a prison for supervillains), in Iron Man #228 (March 1988). But that's not the only reason. He's also here to return a new shield that Tony made for him.

He also wants to turn Tony in to the authorities. Tony tosses the shield as a distraction and switches to his Iron Man suit. But Steve Rogers is not intimidated by the Silver Centurion armor or any of Stark's techno-tricks. Steve feels he has the advantage because Tony's not going to go all out and wreck his own home in the process. The two brawl, the entire time debating. 

The debate is argualbly the most interesting part of this story. 

Time to look at the second story!

"Free Speech"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Kieron Dwyer
Inker: Al Milgrom
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Editors: Ralph Macchio, Marc Siry
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

This one begins at Fort George M. Meade Army Base. Lemar Hoskins, who had previously been operatiing as the new Bucky, has got himself a new look.

"John, I look good!"

John thinks Lemar looks great. He does wonder how he was able to convince the Commission on Superhuman Activities to give him his new costume, as they wouldn't let John make even one minor alteration to his Captain America uniform. 

You see, the two government heroes had helped deal with a breakout at the Vault the week earlier. One of the guards approached Lemar and wanted to speak to him. The guard was a Black man, but asked why he went by the codename "Bucky". The guard felt the name was a bit insulting. After all, the original Bucky was a white teenager, and Lemar is presumably Cap's age himself. Lemar is also as tough as Cap, and is a bigger man, to boot. 

Also, the word "Buck" is an offensive term for Black men. That's because it was used as a term for male slaves before the America Civil War. Lemar discussed this with the Commission, and they were very reasonable about it. As such, he's now got a new look and a new name: Battlestar.

In real life, Mark Gruenwald was unaware of the racial connotations of giving a Black character the codename of "Bucky". Gruenwald grew up in Wisconsin, which is...very white. It was Dwayne McDuffie who made him aware of this. The two tried to come up with a new codename for Lemar, and it was Kieron Dwyer who came up with the name Battlestar.

In front of the Washington Monument, Walker and Hoskins announce themselves as the new Captain America and Battlestar. The two of them make speeches for the crowd, but then John notices that a news copter is flying a bit low. Two men climb down and leap on the stage.

Meet Left-Winger and Right-Winger. Yes, those are their names. I am not making this up. They do come off more as villains for a parody of Cap than an actual Cap story. Anyway, the two are revealed to be two of John's old BUCkies from his Super-Patriot days. They expose Walker's identity to the crowd, and a fight breaks out. 

The two villains are arrested and carted away, but as far as they're concerned, they already won. They managed to upstage the new Cap and Battlestar, and John hopes that the public will be understanding.

"In Our Midst!"
Writer: Mark Gruenwald
Penciler: Kieron Dwyer
Inker: Al Milgrom
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Letterer: Jack Morelli
Editors: Ralph Macchio, Marc Siry
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The third story begins with a meeting of the Serpent Society.

I have always liked the concept of the Serpent Society. Imagine that if a bunch of supervillains got together and basically formed a labor union. Yeah, imagine if you got to have things like medical benefits by being part of a supervillain team. 

Anyway, the Serpents are doing some business. Mainly, they're nominating three new snake-themed villains for membership: the super-strong blade-wielding Fer-de-Lance, the technological suit-packing Copperhead, and the speedster Black Racer.

No, not that one.

That one! You may be thinking, wait, Black Racer? How's that fit the snake theme? Well, the black racer (or the eastern racer) is a species of non-venomous snake native to North and Central America. Their range goes from Canada to Belize. The black racer is also the state reptile of Ohio.

Thanks to a heist in Las Vegas in Captain America #338 (February 1988), these four new recruits demonstrated skills and qualities that showed that they should be considered full members of the Society. As such, they'll spend the next three months as probationary members, doing assignments for the Society and the like. Rachel Leighton, aka Diamondback, shows Fer-de-Lance to her quarters in the Society's HQ. However, the snake-themed villainess has a secret of her own.

Yes, Fer-de-Lance (as well as the other three Serpent Society newbies) is actually an agent for the vicious villainess known as the Viper. The green-haired terrorist heads towards Black Mamba's room. She knocks out the woman, and slips into her maid outfit.

It's here that she enters Sidewinder's room. Sidewinder and Mamba have a little thing going on between them at the time. Viper takes advantage of Sidewinder's being distracted by looking over some papers to bite and inject him with venom.

And Viper wonders why people make vampire jokes...

That's gonna hurt. And rather unhygenic. Despite his being weakened by the poison, Sidewinder is able to reach his teleporter cloak and flee. He teleports into Diamondback's room, and she saves his life thanks to having some universal anti-toxin. The two teleport to the communications room just as Puff Adder bursts in doing his best Kool-Aid Man impression.

“Hey, Puff Adder!” “OH YEAH!”

Looking over the security cameras, there's chaos erupting. Viper's agents are causing a ruckus, and Diamondback is unsure who to call for help...until she gets an idea.

There is one person to call that anyone can trust. Even crooks like the Serpent Society. She grabs the phone and dials for Captain America's hotline. Yeah, at the time, Steve Rogers had a hotline that people could call if they needed help. I imagine it got regularly swamped with calls. 

This comic was really good. Gruenwald does a great job with giving fair space to all three stories. The three stories are all short, but they do push plotlines forward. Being a continuity man, Gruenwald manages to smoothly tie in the events of the Armor Wars that was going on in Iron Man's book at the time in the story focusing on Tony and Steve. We also get a bit of a look at the inner workings of the Serpent Society. As I have said, I like these guys. 

Join me next time when we look at an adventure of Superman when the Man of Steel discovers that he's got an invader in his Fortress...

Shang-Chi Teaser, My Thoughts

We all have problems in some life. For some, it's worrying about things like money. For Shang-Chi, his big problem basically involves his family. He was raised to be an assassin and warrior for his warlord father. But Shang-Chi has a couple of tools that are all he needs to solve this problem. Those tools are his hands. The Deadly Hands of Kung-Fu.

First appearing in Special Marvel Edition #15 (December 1973), Shang-Chi was created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Jim Starlin. Shang-Chi would be quite popular, and he debuted in the midst of a marital arts craze in America. The title of the book would be retitled Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu, and last until 1983 with issue #125.

In the years since, our deadly man would appear in mini-series and one-shots. He would also appear in other characters' books. Most notably, he was a member of an incarnation of the Agents of Atlas, and he's getting a new on-going series.

Despite this, he's never really appeared in media outside of comics. Until now. Chinese-Canadian actor Simu Liu will be portraying the character in the upcoming film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Let's look at the trailer!

"So...we meet again, wooden beam. I see you bear the scars of our last battle."

I love those kind of deceptive shots.

Oh, I don't know. Shang-Chi got an honest job, he's made some friends. I think he hasn't done half bad for himself in ten years. As long as he's happy, I guess.

I get the feeling that Shang-Chi and X-23 would find common ground over the whole "raised to be a weapon" thing.

Yeah, The Mandarin's idea of "take your son to work day" is...unconventional, at best.

Huh. That purple energy. Agatha Harkness's magical energies are purple as shown in WandaVision. Could Mandy's men possibly be bulking up their fighting skills with a bit of magic?

I'd love to ride in a helicopter.

Personally, I can imagine that Iron Man no longer worried about the Ten Rings after the events of Iron Man 3. I wonder if the Iron Man movies will be alluded to here. After all, if it weren't for the Ten Rings, Tony Stark would not have built his first suit.

I love the idea of the Mandarin's trademark ten rings being basically arm wraps. I've seen people compare them to the metal arm rings used by the character of Tailor in Kung Fu Hustle. Watch Kung Fu Hustle. It's a great movie. 

I do hope we get to see that the movie Mandarin's rings get to do the same stuff his comic counterpart's rings do. For those not in the know, the Mandarin's ten rings grant him the following powers:

• Cryokinesis (Ice generation)
• Black Light (Darkness creation. In the comics, it's connected to the Darkforce)
• Mind control
• Disintegration beam (This ring requires twenty minutes of recharging between uses)
• Electrokinesis 
• Air manipulation
• Pyrokinesis
• Impact beam (concussive force generation)
• White Light (energy abilities)
• Molecular rearrangement

Yeah, with his rings, Mandarin is pretty OP, as they say.

Holy Raya! 

Was that a Fu Dog?! Is Shang-Chi going to have a Fu Dog with him?! 

RAZOR FIST, BABY!

Wait, are there Mongols in this movie, too?! 

Don't you just hate it when a brawl breaks out on the bus while you're riding it?

That's his martial arts pose. That's how martial artists identify each other.

Everybody is okay!

...that was awesome! This felt so unique from anything else from the MCU. I think this film will be a ton of fun, and I can't wait to watch. 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, wear a mask, and get vaccinated! See you next time!

Loki Trailer #2, My Thoughts

Back in December of last year, I gave my thoughts on the teaser for the upcoming Disney+ miniseries focused on Loki. I remember find it quite interesting, especially since it's a version of Loki that never underwent the character development of the events of Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. So, without that, this Loki could develop in a different direction. And why is he being recruited to help save the timeline? Maybe we can get an idea how by looking at the trailer!

Welcome to the Time Variance Authority, Loki! We hope you survive.

I knew it! I knew it was the Time Keepers!

That woman next to him. Is that the MCU version of Justice Peace?

I get the feeling that I'm going to enjoy the banter between Hiddleston and Wilson.

KITTY! I SEE A KITTY!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Loki is going to have a very long day. Also, I love that the TVA uses seemingly old-school computers. It makes...a bizarre form of sense.

Well, there ya go, Loki. You broke it, you help fix it. And yeah, they aren't going to trust you with a weapon, pal.

Loki is so going to get utterly owned by Mobius, isn't he?

"Okay, I'll work with you guys, but only because I got this friggin' sweet jacket." I love that it says "VARIANT" right on the back. 

In case you are wondering, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is playing Ravonna Lexus Renslayer. In the comics, Ravonna is mainly known as Kang the Conqueror's main squeeze. She has been a thorn in the side of the Avengers as well, as Terminatrix. It is interesting to see her here, but it makes sense considering her history in the comics. It's neat that the MCU is making her more than just Kang's girlfriend.

It looks like we'll be seeing Loki visiting alternate timelines and the like. Perhaps a tie-in to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness?

"Whoops, I caused an explosion. Silly me."

Yeah, I think it would be so hilarious if Loki can't get one up on Mobius.

Yeah, I think I'm going to like this show. It has the vibe of Doctor Who on acid. A ton of acid. And I admit, I like the cast. I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait to see what mishaps and mayhem Loki is going to cause throughout time.

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, wear a mask, and get vaccinated! See you next time!

Avengers Forever #4 (March 1999)

It's that time again! It's time to join Earth's Mightiest Heroes in their epic battle against the evil Immortus! Last issue, we saw the destruction of Chronopolis. What is Chronopolis? Well, if you read the last issue, then you'd know that Chronopolis was the home and main headquarters of long-time Avengers villain Kang the Conqueror...who was also Immortus's past self. With the destruction of the City that Touches All Times, Immortus was able to obtain the Forever Crystal, a powerful artifact that would allow the temporal tyrant to alter and twist the time-stream as he wished. 

He also planned to kill long-time Avengers and Hulk buddy Rick Jones as Jones's ability to access an energy called the Destiny Force would seemingly bring humanity down a path to a future of destructive conquest. But Kang the Conquerer has fought to stop his future self, and Rick Jones has used the Destiny Force to summon members of the Avengers from various points in time to protect him. So, how will things go down here? Let's find out by looking at Avengers Forever #4!

The cover is a Carlos Pacheco and Jesus Merino piece and it's pretty cool. The only complaint I have about it is that it spoils the future Avengers team that we meet in this timeline. It is a basic "team reveal" cover, but I've never seen this combination of characters advertised as an Avengers team before. As such, it makes me interested.

 "Running Out of Time"
Writers: Kurt Busiek and Roger Stern
Penciler: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterers: Richard Starkings and Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins with the time-tossed Avengers traveling through the timestream in Kang's big ol' Time-Sphinx.

This makeshift group of Earth's Mightiest Heroes (alongside Libra) are convalesing after the destruction of Chronopolis in the last issue. The situation seems...a bit hopeless. Immortus now has the Forever Crystal. This means that he can now literally change the timeline to whatever he wants it to be. But Rick Jones tries to get some hope back into this bunch. After all, he can walk again thanks to the Destiny Force, and the Avengers are still alive. Where there is life, there is hope, that kind of thing. 

Libra also tries to assure the Avengers that Immortus can still be defeated. However, Hawkeye is fed up with the supervillain-turned-balance monk, and tries to take a swing at him with his bow. The two briefly scuffle, and Libra decides to take a powder.

(I'm out of here)

Nice work, Clint. Thanks to you, the Avengers don't even have a guide to what's going on. Luckily, Yellowjacket and Giant-Man are able to figure out the Time-Sphinx's controls (Remember, both these men are Hank Pym, just at different points in time). 

Giant-Man discovers that the destruction of Chronopolis left a big ol' chronal anomaly behind. It's something the Time-Sphinx's instruments can measure and analyze. The time machine's instruments detect imbalances in the time stream at three points in history. Wasp puts together three teams to check out these chronal imbalances:

• Hawkeye, Yellowjacket, and Songbird
• Giant-Man and Captain America
• Wasp and Captain Marvel

Rick Jones will stay behind, much to his chagrin. After all, he'll be safer in the Time-Sphinx. Since it's currently outside the timestream, Immortus can't find it. The three teams head out. The first to arrive in their location is Giant-Man and Captain America. They find themselves in the future, and a war has broken out.

The two heroes leap into action, fighting valiantly to protect the humans from the Martian Tripods. But thankfully, there are still heroes in this time.

Killraven! Jocasta! Crimson Dynamo! Living Lightning! Thundra! Black Panther! The Last Avengers! The aged Wakandan king is overjoyed to see his old comrades and friends. He tells them they have arrived in time for what seems to be Earth's last stand against the Martians.

We go next from the dark future of the Martian Invasion to the wild past of the Old West. Tombstone, Arizona in 1873, to be exact. Funny enough, the real life Tombstone would be founded in 1877. With the help of the Time-Sphinx, Hawkeye, Yellowjacket, and Songbird get into some appropriate clothes.

Hawkeye is as happy as a clam. He's a bit of an Old West fanboy, so he's in heaven right now. The three heroes witness two of the Marvel Universe's Old West heroes, the Rawhide Kid and Kid Colt, emerge from a saloon. They're met with another Old West hero and future Avenger himself: The Two-Gun Kid. The three encounter Kang, the man who has seemingly got Tombstone under his power. And he sends a nasty surprise at the three gunfighters.

Don't you just hate it when dinosaurs rampage into your standoffs? Hawkeye leaps into help, but Songbird stops her compatriots. The three gunslingers manage to escape Kang's dinosaur. So, why did Songbird stop Clint and Hank from helping the gunslingers? Well, it turns out that the events we saw here will lead up into the events of Avengers # (). Kang had tried to conquer the 20th century by conquering the 19th. Eventually, the Western heroes will get help from Thor, Moondragon...and Hawkeye to stop the temporal tyrant. 

They believe that this is not one of the anomalies. As such, they decide to take their time-craft and return to the sphinx. Only one problem. The time-craft is gone. As such, they're stuck in the past.

But enough about the Old West! Let's go the California coast of 1959! Captain Marvel and Wasp arrive, and get all dressed up for the occasion.

The two heroes find a newsstand and learned that there's going to be a 4th of July celebration at the local fairgrounds. And some bigwig muckamucks himself will be there, including one Richard Milhouse Nixon himself. Wasp figures that the anomaly may wind up involving him. The two head to the fairgrounds.

It does make sense that Nixon would be a target for something like this. In 1959, he was Vice President under Dwight D. Eisenhower, and preventing him from eventually becoming president would cause plenty of problems. For example, say he did not get to make his 1972 trip to China, which helped build diplomatic relations between the two nations. Or the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Someone overhears Wasp and mistakenly believes that she plans to kidnap Nixon to take him to China. The two Avengers make their way to the fairground where Nixon is at. Genis-Vell's Cosmic Awareness goes off, revealing that ol' Tricky Dick is actually a Skrull. The two come to a tent and slip into their costumes. And they have some company.

Meet the Avengers of the 1950s. Or as modern Marvel fans may know them as...the original Agents of Atlas. They actually are not in the past of the mainline Marvel Universe. They are in an alternate timeline, particularly in What If #9 (June 1978). That comic asked, "What if a group of 1950s-era heroes were the original Avengers?"

This was a pretty good issue. There's a nice balance of action and character stuff. Clint being a hothead, Yellowjacket being a philandering jerk, that kind of thing. I especially loved the story tying into actual Avengers history, continuity and history buff that I am. I got a good chuckle seeing Hawkeye geek out over being in the Old West. I was a fun little relatable moment. Another favorite bit of mine was seeing the future Avengers fighting the Martian Skorpsmen. It showed that even in this grim future, there were still Avengers fighting the good fight and trying to save what was left of humanity and Earth.

I do like Pacheco's art, but I will admit, something about his faces comes off a bit...off to me. I'm not sure why. But his faces are rather expressive.

If you want to read this yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback Avengers Forever. 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, wear a mask, and get vaccinated! Join me next time when we look at the beginnings of a Battlestar...