Text Play: Pokemon Zeta #22

 Welcome back to the Vesryn region! This is entry number 22 in my Text Play of Pokémon Zeta!

As usual, I want to warn you, this game will be spoiled here.

As such, before you play this game, I recommend you download the game at its wiki here. And with that, let's continue!

It's time. It's finally time. 

It's time to face Zeus, and kick his butt. I have been grinding and working with my Pokemon to get them ready for this. Looking back, though...I have to admit something. I should have brought along a Poliwhirl instead of a Tentacool/Tentacruel. Poliwhirl can learn Hypnosis, and it's a Water-type, so it can likely learn Surf.

To be fair, Tentacruel can poison opponents, so it's not a bad trade off. And I have used Poliwhirl in teams in the past. In my experience, Hypnosis is not the most...reliable thing. Anyway, we head up and get to the peak of Mt. Press. We have to take a loooooooooong stairway to get there.

Seriously! Can we get one of those chair lifts they have at those ski resorts? That would be nice. Just sitting in the chair, riding our way up, thinking about what strategy to use against Zeus. The man himself is standing there. Just standing there, right on top of Mt. Press.

When Zeus spots me, he starts ranting about how I wrecked his plans and his commanders, yada yada yada. 

Villain teams never take it well when they get their butts handed to them, ha ha. You'd think at some point, they'd just give up. I mean, this is a world where children training monsters that can level mountains can save the world. Zeus is hoping that our battle will wake up Jirachi, the Wish Pokemon. My guess is it's like a Dragon Ball type situation. Summon Jirachi, and wish to take over the world. Well, let's get this battle over with.

1st Pokemon: Jolteon (Lv. 57) - Switched out.
2nd Pokemon: Salamance (Lv. 58) - Defeated by Garchomp
3rd Pokemon: Shaymin (Lv. 59) - Defeated by Magmortar
4th Pokemon: Dusknoir (Lv. 58) - Defeated Volton. Bite hurt Dusknoi bad due to being Dark-type. Defeated by Butterfree.
1st Pokemon: Jolteon (Lv. 57) - Switched out.
5th Pokemon: Escavalier (Lv. 57) - Defeated by Magmortar
1st Pokemon: Jolteon (Lv. 57) - Defeated by Garchomp.

...I...I did it. I did it. I DID IT! I BEAT ZEUS! I RULE! 

Looking back, I should have sent out Volton to take on Dusknoir first. Volton knew Bite, which is a Dark-type move. Dusknoir is a Ghost-type, and Dark-type attacks are supereffective against it. Ah well, at least a lesson was learned for next time we take on a Ghost-type.

Zeus is left confused. That battle was supposed to cause Jirachi to show up...and hopefully with an Earth-shattering kaboom. I doubt Jirachi would want to make that much of an entrance. If the world is destroyed, who would it grant wishes for? Ah, well. We don't always get what we want, Mr. Wannabe-King-of-the-Greek-Gods. That's life for ya. 

...but then the ground starts to shake and quake like someone is shaking an Etch-A-Sketch. Uh-oh.

Well, evidently Jirachi did show up after all. Why? Well, evidently, Jirachi has shown up in response to a wish. Not to Zeus's wish...but to mine. You see, I wished to stop him from summoning Jirachi, and I succeeded in making that happen...which ended up summoning Jirachi. The irony.

Zeus basically is like "You summoned it, you catch it". Dude, you were after this Pokemon! It's right here! You're the bad guy! You should be trying to snatch this star-headed little genie! You know what?! Fine. Whatever. I'll try and catch it. Thing is, my team's pretty beat up. Zeus's Pokemon did a number on them, and they're in no shape to weaken this thing. Also, this is Pokemon Zeta. In this game, Jirachi knows an attack called Double Edge, which can cause it to take itself out.

Luckily, I got this Master Ball with me!

For those new to Pokemon lore, the Master Ball is the ultimate Pokeball. It can capture any Pokemon instantly, no fighting needed. However, in Pokemon games, you normally can only get one...for obvious reasons. And it's not like I have other options. As such, I used my Master Ball to catch Jirachi. In this game, I can get another Master Ball when I start up a Secret Base. It's not easy (you'd need a lot of luck), but getting another one is possible. I'll talk more about it if I get around to starting a Secret Base.

Zeus takes my capturing of Jirachi very well. If by "very well", I mean flying into an insane rage. He starts grumbling about how it seems that only children can catch legendary Pokemon like Jirachi. Dude, the whole point of these games is to "Catch them all"! And it's not my fault the protagonists of these games are kids! Besides, I don't want to use Jirachi to take over the world like you do, ya jerk! Zeus then decides to whip out a gun.

Yeah, he just pulls out a gun! Now I know how Ash felt in that one banned Pokemon episode with the Dratini. But thankfully, before we end up eating some lead, someone comes to stop this madness.

Yup. We just got saved by Arceus. Arceus. Who is basically the Pokemon world's version of God. We've basically been saved by the Pokemon equivalent of God. Which makes a bizarre bit of sense. Team Olympus is after legendary Pokemon. They're big deals in the Pokemon world, so it makes sense that Arceus would be interested in this.

Arceus points out that Zeus was once a great hero. But he was not just any hero. The man was once known as...Gold.

Yeah. Gold. As in one of the protagonists of Gold and Silver. It's a rather genuinely surprising moment. At this point, we already saw Ash Ketchum in the game (back in ), but finding out one of the villains of this game was once one of the heroes of the original official games? That's a shock. I wonder how he ended up like this? Something like Team Olympus can't spring up overnight. It also seems to imply that this game takes place in a possible future, years after the events of the mainline official Pokemon games.

Anyway, Zeus gives the whole "that man is dead" rant about his past self. He then notices that Arceus is wearing a Gray Plate. Plates were introduced in Generation IV (Pokemon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, as well as HeartGold and SoulSilver), and they're special held items that can increase the power of the moves of a certain type. For example, if you give a Pokemon that knows Fire Punch the Flame Plate, the power of Fire Punch is boosted, as it's a Fire-type move. 

If these plates are given to Arceus, it changes the type of its signature move: Judgment. Normally, it's a Normal-type move. But if, again, Arceus is given a Flame Plate, Judgment is changed to a Fire-type move. Zeus then points out that Arceus is missing its Divine Plate. That's new. You see, in the official games, plates correspond to the 16 types of Pokemon. There is no Divine Plate. 

Well, Arceus evidently did have such a Plate...and the reason it no longer has one is that, well...it became sentient. It not only became sentient, it became that Divaevus thing that the former Gold was after. So, why is Zeus after this Pokemon? Well, it has a little ability called Tesseract. Jirachi can grant wishes, but once every thousand years. If Zeus gets Divaevus, he can use its Tesseract ability to get around that little rule. You know, Arceus, you can...nuke this guy now if you want.

Well, it can't. Because that's not Arceus. 

Yeah, it turns out that "Arceus" was actually a Zoroark doing a bit of illusion-casting. The Zoroark belongs to a member of the Elite Four. In particular, it belongs to Tobias. He specializes in Dark-type Pokemon. He also happens to be the older brother of Graham, the Ghost-type gym Leader. And with that, Zeus just flees. I think. I have no idea.

Either way, I think we won't be seeing much of him for a while. Tobias points out that with all the damage we've done to Team Olympus over the course of this game, the former Gold will be spending plenty of time licking his wounds, as it were. As such, we can concentrate on completing our run through the Gym Leaders of this game. Six down, two to go, baby! Whoo!

Tobias encourages us to go take on the remaining two Gym Leaders, then challenge the Elite Four. Toby my friend, I did not go this far to stop here! I'm going all the way, baby! I'll see you at the Quasar League! But first, we gotta get out of this friggin' mountain. We head out to go the long way down Mt. Press back to Treader Town when we encounter a group of people who want to meet with us.

...is this an intervention? Listen, I can quite drinking those Chesto Berry Shakes any time I want to! I just don't want to! I don't have a problem YOU HAVE A PROBLEM...oh, they want to thank us for stopping Zeus and catching Jirachi. And now I feel stupid.

I recognize Mom, Professor Oak, and N from Black and White. They want to congratulate us for beating the former Gold. Well, that's real nice of them. It was not easy to do so, but I had faith in my team. It's here that Mom decides to drop a bombshell that I admittedly found not that surprising: She was a former Champion of the Vesryn region.

Yeah, it was not hard to deduce that. Well, it turns out the reason she isn't the Champion anymore is because she was defeated by Gold. And it also turns out that "Gold" wasn't his actual name. It was Ethan. I'm not sure what the point of that was. Yeah, I get that it's not that realistic to give someone the name "Gold", but it could have just been a nickname. Or maybe it's just a Pokemon game, just let it go.

The big question is...what happened to him? Evidently something happened to Gold that caused him to transform himself into Zeus. And it must have been pretty big. 

And it turns out his real name wasn't Gold, it was Ethan. Anyway, something happened and Gold disappeared...the big question is, what happened to him? What caused him to become Zeus, leader of Team Olympus? It must have been something really significant. It's here that we get another revelation. Since Gold vanished...the Vesryn region has had no Pokemon Champion.

(Will Smith whut)

...wait, what?! ...How?! Did...did nobody challenge the Elite Four since Gold vanished? 

That was a Zoroark pulling an illusion. The Zoroark belongs to Tobias. Like , he's an Elite Four member, his specialty being Dark-types. He's the older brother of Graham, the Ghost-type Gym Leader. Tobais assures us that Zeus will lie low for a while. After all, he needs Jirachi, and we have it. Tobias encourages us to complete our run through the Gym Leaders, and then challege the Elite Four at the Quasar League. We head back to get healed up, and find that there are some people waiting for us. 

(screenshot here) 

I recognize Professor Oak, Mom, and N. They congratluate us for stopping Zeus and catching Jirachi. Mom revelas she was a former Pokemon Champion herself. I kind of figured this.

(I knew it)

She then reveals she was succeeded by Gold. And it's not his real name. He was a Johto native named Ethan. He had disappeared...well we know now where he is! And as such, there's no Champion for us to beat after defeating the Elite Four. ...why not just include the next challenger? Oak is going to try and find Team Olympus while they're still licking their wounds. He tells me to go hit Route 312 and Blackfist City. And we're back in Treader Town.

Pokemon Obtained:
(Mt. Press)
- Jirachi
(Route 315)
- Illumise
- Volbeat

Alex Kidd in Miracle World DX Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

Before there was Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega had Alex Kidd as their mascot. Alex Kidd was an alien martial artist that resembled a human teenager. Kidd was created when Sega had lost the license to create a game based on Dragon Ball. He would appear in several games on Sega's Master System and Mega Drive/Genesis consoles. However, he would end up seemingly fading into obscurity when the popularity of Super Mario inspired Sega to create a new mascot to compete with Nintendo's plumber.

However, Kidd would make cameos in various games, and his games would be included in various compilations. Last month, it was announced that Merge Games and Janken Team were working on a remake of his first game: 1986's Alex Kidd in Miracle World. Well, here it is! Let's look at the launch trailer!

I love the graphical style. It feels like a 16-bit game on steroids.

I can respect any video game character that uses scooters and jetskis.

I like the nostalgia mode. Something for the retrogamers that will insist in playing the game in the original Master System style.

I wonder if you can switch back and forth between the new and nostalgic looks like you can in R-Type Dimensions. That game is fun, even though I admittedly suck at it.

I will be taking full advantage of the unlimited lives mode.

Like Boss Rushes? Here you go!

This looks spectacular!

It really does! This looks like a fantastic way to create new fans of a seemingly forgotten game character. I hope this does well. Maybe other Alex Kidd games can get the remake treatment, and maybe we can get some new ones in the future! I know I'll be giving it a shot! 

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 get vaccinated! See you next time!

Marvel Team-Up #8 (April 1973)

Let's look at Marvel Team-Up #8!

The cover is a Jim Mooney and Morrie Kuramoto piece. It's pretty cool. I got a chuckle out of Cat threatening to team up with Man-Killer to beat up Spidey if he jumps into their fight.

"The Man-Killer Moves at Midnight!"
Writer: Jerry Conway
Penciler: Jim Mooney
Inker: Jim Mooney
Colorist: Stan Goldberg
Letterer Gaspar Saladino, Charlotte Jetter
Editor: Roy Thomas
Editor-in-Chief: Roy Thomas
Peacemaker: Irving Forbush

The story begins with Spider-Man doing what he does best: Wall-Crawling! Yup, our man Spidey is patrolling the streets of his native New York City, not realizing that a figure is stalking him. The figure is a mysterious woman in yellow and blue. Spider-Man's trademark Spider-Sense alerts him of the woman as she leaps at him. The two scuffle, and Mr. Parker makes a discovery.

Yeah, because the skintight suit didn't make that obvious. Peter Parker, Master Detective.

The lady introduces herself as The Cat, knocking him away. Spidey is able to save himself with his webbing. The Cat wanted to demonstrate her skills as she felt that Spidey would have found it hard to believe that a woman could have superpowers. Yeah, more on that later. The Cat wants Spidey's help. Back in her stomping grounds of Chicago, a politician was killed by an assassin known as...the Man-Killer. 

Back in Chicago, the Cat had been watching a rally held by the politician, a Mayor No-First-Name Samuels. One of his platforms was being hardcore anti-Women's Lib. Someone had thrown a spinning blade at the Mayor. It hit his chest, killing him almost immediately. The Cat had spotted the killer on a rooftop. The feline heroine made her way there, and discovered the assassin.

The two scuffled, but the Man-Killer was able to KO the Cat with one blow. The Cat tracked the assassin to Manhattan, and we're here. Spidey is wondering why she wants his help. After all, it's not like he's the only superhero in town. She explains that she sees Spider-Man as a fellow outsider, but the Wall-Crawler's like "Yeah yeah, let's just get this team-up going". Meanwhile, the Man-Killer makes an entrance.

The meeting involves a group of women, one of whom implies this group trained and financed the Man-Killer. The villain spots a man in the group and gets very angry. The group try to explain that the man is a professional they hired. It doesn't help that the man, only known as Drake, has a big mouth that makes him rant about how he won't take trash talk, especially from a woman.

(uh-oh)

He gets a beating for his trouble. We then get a flashback of the origins of the Man-Killer. Before she was an assassin, Katrina Luisa Van Horn was a skier. A good skier. Good enough to ski in the Winter Olympics. One night, Van Horn overhears a male skier named Karl Lubbings guffaw at the idea of women competing in the Olympics.

Van Horn understandably takes offense to the statement. Instead of showing him up at the actual games, she challenges him to a ski race "off-hours", as it were. The race heads towards a rock formation that resembles a ski jump. The egomanical Lubbings tries to cut Van Horn off.

Lubbings' ego causes the two skiers to fall off a cliff. Lubbings was killed, but Van Horn...was arguably not so lucky. Van Horn did survive, but her body ended up scarred and crippled, only able to even move thanks to a lot of rehabilitation and the exoskeleton in her costume. The costume itself was provided by a militant group. So, what is Van Horn in New York for? Well, she and the group plan to attack the Manhattan-Harlem Power Plant.

The Cat and Spider-Man wall-crawl through the city, and we get a quick recap of The Cat's origins. Basically, Greer Grant-Nelson was a widow, and ended up working on a project with a Dr. Joanne Tumolo whos purpose was to realize a human's physical potential. Other stuff happened, Greer got her Cat powers. Keep in mind, she's not quite Tigra yet. that comes later. Spidey and Cat's conversation is interrupted by the Man-Killer's attack.

Yeah.

More like a Mad Max-ified Volkswagen Beetle. The vehicle is a glorified battering ram, which smashes its way into the power plant. The Man-Killer and her all-girl goon squad attack the plant, but are taken down by Spidey and the Cat. Spidey webs up the goons, but the Man-Killer gets away. The owner of the plant reveals she made off with a prototype of a new generator. 

Spidey takes off searching for the Man-Killer. The Wall-Crawler spent until dawn searching the whole island. The Man-Killer ambushes him. The Cat finds the two and reveals that her rehab and training was actually funded by AIM, not the radical militant group she thought had funded her. This somehow makes Katrina's brain go blue-screen. The story ends with Spidey and Cat getting back the generator...while leaving Katrina Van Horn just standing there catatonic. Hopefully, one of the heroes called the cops to pick her up.

This comic was...not that great. The Man-Killer is admittedly a rather flat villain. Very one-note. The story does also have one big hole in it, and that's The Cat discovering AIM's involvement. How did she find that out? The story never indicated AIM was involved in any way. The story is an interesting in that it can be seen as a bit of snapshot of 1970s culture. Women's Lib and the feminist movement was a big theme of the Cat's stories at the time, and it does show here as well, with Man-Killer being seen as a more militant feminist. Her dialogue and actions show that. 

If you really want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2019 trade paperback Tigra: The Complete Collection. 

Shang-Chi Trailer #2, My Thoughts

Back in April, I gave my thoughts on the teaser for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It will be the MCU's 25th movie, and the first Marvel Studios film with an Asian lead. 25 movies. At the rate they're going, the MCU is going to overtake the James Bond franchise with number of films by 2025. Anyway, a new trailer is out, so let's take a look!

Obviously, the Mandarin's ten rings are not like they are in the comics, but I'm wondering if they work the same way they did in the comics? I'm thinking that maybe here, the rings just are focuses for the powers of their comic counterparts. Linking it to the magic of Doctor Strange? 

It's pretty clear here that, much like in the comics, it's a story of Shang-Chi trying to be his own man. he's trying to escape the shadow of his evil father. 

Is Michelle Yeoh playing Shang-Chi's mother? That's awesome.

I think that is something our man is going to realize. He has to accept that he is the Mandarin's son...but that doesn't mean he has to follow his old man's footsteps.

Who wants to go on a helicopter ride?

That'll hurt.

"I brought you into this world, son. Don't make me kick you out of it."

Got some Avatar: The Last Airbender vibes there.

"Hi, I'm a water dragon. Do you wanna be mah friend?" 

YES. THAT WAS AWESOME.

Wait, was that...was that the Abomination?! And he looks more like the comics?! THAT IS SO COOL! YEAH, BABY! Incredible Hulk is a criminally-underrated MCU movie, in my opinion. I've heard he'll be in the She-Hulk show, and maybe that's how he gets his new look. Getting another dose of gamma...

That'll hurt.

For the love of God! Somebody stop the cage fight! That sorcerer has a family!

The first trailer got me hyped. This trailer only got me more hyped! I can't wait to watch this movie! This film feels like something truly unique, and I enjoy a good martial-arts flick, so...yeah. I'm watching this! Hoping for the theaters to open up!

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!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, everyone!

This is a day to say thank you to everyone who has ever stepped up to be a father. To all those people, I say thank you and you are appreciated and loved.

Superman: The Man of Steel #9 (March 1992)

It's been a while since the Man of Steel graced this blog. It's also been a while since I looked at a DC book here, so I figured why not

The cover is a piece, and it's pretty cool.

The story begins at Cadmus. The psychic being known as Dubbilex is having a bit of a headache. The Guardian asks what's up, but the collapsing ceiling answers the question for him. Meanwhile, Lois Lane and Clark Kent are enjoying some breakfast together. Clark receives a psychic cry for help from Dubbilex, and the sound of an explosion is heard. Naturally, Superman flies into action to check it out.

Once the Man of Steel takes to the air, he finds the source of the ruckus.

It's the distinctive head-shaped ship of the notorious computerized supervillain known as Brainiac. I'm going to call it the Brainship because that sounds nice to me. In a nearby grill, Superman's ally and future supervillain Emil Hamilton is about to have some breakfast himself, but the waitress encourages him to go and help the Metropolis Marvel. She gives him some donuts to fuel himself up. Mmmm...donuts...

Anyway, Superman engages the Brainship, paying homage to the Fleischer cartoons in the process, in particular, "The Mad Scientist".

Heh. I loved those old cartoons. Punchin' a laser! We get a scene with Jimmy Olsen and Bibbo Bibbowski, and then we focus back on Superman fighting the Brainship. Superman manages to fight off the Brainship's tentacles and force his way inside. We then check in on Perry White at the Metropolis fairgrounds. He was having a Power Breakfast, negotiating the terms of his new contract as editor of the Daily Planet. When Brainiac attacks, White is able to take charge and keep people safe. 

Back in the Brainship, Superman encounters some robots.

I think it's another nod to the Fleischer cartoons, as the robots here kind of resemble the ones from the episode "The Mechanical Monsters". Superman finds the monstrous robots more annoying than fearsome. 

Back in Metropolis, the local vigilante Gangbuster saves a worker at a local orphanage (and some children, of course) from a collapsing wall. In the Brainship, Superman uses the robots to damage the Brainship's stabilizer systems. We then get to peek in on Lex Luthor as he's having a meeting with Colin Thorton of Newstime Magazine and Mayor Berkowitz.  

You may be asking yourself, "Wait, isn't Lex bald?" Well, that red-maned man there is supposedly his long-lost Australian son, Lex Luthor Junior. But in reality, it is Lex, just his brain transplanted into a clone body. It's a whole story for another time. Superman makes his way to the Brainship's control center and finds...nothing.

He then gets subjected to a mental assault. 

We briefly next see Maggie Sawyer and Dan Turpin, two prominent members of Metropolis's finest. Jimmy Olsen and Colin Thornton run into each other, and Thornton offers him a job.

Back to the Brainship! Superman endures a mental assault by Brainiac. The mad mentalist is softening the Man of Steel up for an unrevealed reason. The Brainship starts to head towards the ground. Emil Hamilton and Bibbo Bibbowski try to alert the Man of Steel about it, while Dubbilex also tries to do the same thing. Their mental cries allow the Man of Steel to fight off Brainiac's mind attack, and is able to shunt the falling Brainship into the sea. 

Brainiac taunts Superman with another mental attack, saying that the Warworld is coming as Superman tumbles into the ocean. Lois finds Superman and helps him out of the water with a ladder. Superman alerts her of Warworld. It's a giant artificial world filled with an army of alien warriors and advanced weaponry. This is a job too big for Superman to handle alone. 

Brainiac is not worried about it, as he's got allies of his own. Some powerful ones.

Page 

The alien monarch Maxima, the warrior Draaga, and the Matrix Supergirl. 

I enjoyed this issue. It's a nice little snapshot into the Superman mythos at the time. I will admit, if you were new to comics and you read this, you might feel a little lost. However, if you watched Superman: The Animated Series, you might recognize Maggie Sawyer, Dan Turpin, Emil Hamilton, and Bibbo Bibbowski. It's neat seeing each of these characters react to Brainiac's initial attack in their own way. 

Jon Bogdanove provided the layouts, with Dennis Janke providing the finished art. And I think it looks pretty neat. It's got some good storytelling in it, and there's some good "acting" in it as well. 

If you want to read this comic for yourself, I suggest tracking down the 1993 trade paperback Superman: Panic in the Sky! Thanks for reading this blog entry!