Aero #1 (September 2019)

For AAPI month, I thought it would be neat to showcase a comic focusing on an Asian superhero. As a fan of obscure and lesser-known characters, I thought it would be appropriate to give some spotlight to a character that is likely not well-known to the mainstream. I would like to introduce you to Lei Ling, aka Aero. 

Aero, like her codename indicates, is aerokinetic. A Chinese architect by trade, she has the power to manipulate wind thanks to her chi. Created by writer Zhou Leifen and artist known as Keng, she was born out of a collaboration between Marvel Comics and the Chinese internet company NetEase. She debuted in Aero #1 (September 2018). But she would get some brief prominence thanks to the event known as the War of the Realms. From there, she would go on to be a member of a revamped version of the Agents of Atlas. She most recently appeared in The Marvels (the comic-book series, not the movie) in 2021. 

The cover is by Keng, and it's pretty good, if a bit basic. It's a pinup of Aero herself.

"Aero & Wave: Origins and Destinies - Part One"
Writer: Greg Pak
Penciler: Pop Mhan
Inker: Pop Mhan
Colorist: Frederico Blee
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Editors: Mark Paniccia, Tom Groneman
Editor-in-Chief: C.B. Cebulski

The story begins with our heroine being celebrated alongside a Philippines-based superhero team known as the Triumph Division for their defending of Asia during the events of War of the Realms. The Division are pre-established characters, first appearing in Invincible Iron Man #2 (June 2008), created by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca. They are the Philippines' main superhero team. Think of them as counterparts to Alpha Flight in Canada, Big Hero 6 in Japan, or the Winter Guard of Russia. They also have a rather unique gimmick: The members are all from families of superheroes. 

Aero notices one of the members of the Division is missing: Pearl Pangan, aka the water-manipulating Wave. Aero goes looking for her and finds her fellow Agent of Atlas at the Philippine Sea.

Page 2, Panel 2

Aero shows her medal to Wave and tries to get her to come back with her. Wave refuses, saying that she got kicked out of Triumph Division, as she abandoned her post.

Lei thinks that's ridiculous. It's not hard to see why. After all, it wasn't like Pearl ran away out of cowardice or betrayed the group. She was helping fight the Queen of Cinders alongside Jimmy Woo's Agents of Atlas. She suggests they go to tell Woo about this, as he can help clear this mess up. Pearl refuses, as she thinks the Division won't believe her. After all, she never fit in with the group. In fact, she never fit in anywhere. It's here she recaps her origins.

Pearl Pangan grew up in Cebu, a province of the Philippines. The heroine grew up on the beaches and loved to swim. In fact, she was a natural-born swimmer. Put Pearl in the water, and she was lightning. She could swim faster than anyone around and was potentially on her way to become an Olympian. However, her life took a different path. 

Page 4, Panels 3-5

Hey, people may look down on fast-food joint workers, but it's an honest job and honest work. It was here she found herself being recruited by a woman from a company known as Alontek. The company was doing studies, and they needed swimmers. Since Pearl was quite a talented swimmer, she was perfect for the job.

Pearl really enjoyed the job at first. She got paid well, and believed she was part of a real team. Hey, it seemed like she was living the dream, right?

At least, she felt that way. One day, a bunch of mysterious figures burst into her workplace, and attacked her and her coworkers. During the fracas, the attackers fired on a device, causing Pearl to be exposed to strange energies. She discovered the energies gave her the power to manipulate water. She used her new powers to fight back, but then it's revealed who exactly had attacked.

Page 7, Panel 1

Yup, the Triumph Division. Turns out that Alontek were not exactly on the up and up. Luckily, the Division understood that Pearl was unaware of what they were really like. They took the young woman in and helped her understand her powers, but wave never truly felt like she was a full member of the team. She always felt they never truly trusted her, that they were always suspicious of her. It's here that the leader of the Division, Red Feather arrives. He wants Wave's swords and armor, as he sees them as property of the Division. Wave wants to fight him, and the story ends with Aero standing with her Agents of Atlas comrade. 

The big criticism I have of this comic is that even though Aero is the titular character, it's pretty clear that Wave is the focus. 

Text Play: Pokémon Xenoverse #29

Hello, and welcome back to the Eldiw Region! this is entry number 29 in my Text Play of Pokémon Xenoverse!

Now, as usual, I wish to warn you, I will be spoiling this game.

As such, I strongly recommend you play the game for yourself before reading these Text Plays. You can download it here. Now, with that out of the way, let's do this!

Last time, we finally, finally, FINALLY defeated Caspar, the sheriff of Westar City in his gym/prison El Purgatorio.

As a result, we earned the game's fifth badge: The Despair Badge.

With that done and over with, it's time to move on. Which I am quite happy with as Westar is a creepy place.

Still, I am going to miss the GEIST gang. Hope to see them again. They were a fun bunch. With Caspar defeated, I noticed something interesting. Remember those Team Dimension guys blocking one of the city's exits? We first saw them in entry #22. Well, with Caspar beaten, they're gone.

It's like they were never even there. Come to think of it, why were they there? Eh, I'm sure we'll find out at some point. It turns out that Westar is bigger than I thought, as this path takes us to the city's railway station. 

It makes sense. This place is a Western-themed town, why wouldn't it have a train station? The grassy areas here appear to have different Pokemon than the ones in the main section of the city. At least, I've never seen Magnemites in the main city section's grassy areas. We can go inside the train station. If we talk to the people inside the station, we can learn some neat stuff. Mainly, Westar's train is called the Quasar Express. That's a cool name for a train. And it also fits the space theme of this game. You see, a quasar is an active galactic nucleus (basically, an area of space that puts out a lot of energy), and they're powered by black holes.

 It seems like a vintage train, but it's actually got a very powerful engine, which basically makes it into a bullet train, capable of going up to 180 mph. I've got this mental image right now of an 1800s-style locomotive racing down a track like a cheetah on speed, ha ha.

Despite this train's speed, it still is being held up for some reason. Who knows why?

Anyway, in the station, you can find an Item Box.

If you open it, you get a Hyper Potion. That's handy. Nearby the station is this woman. 

You can battle her if you wish. 

1st Pokemon: Gengar (Lv. 37) - Defeated by Trishout with Boomburst. Gengar has the ability Cursed Body, which disabled Trishout.

When we first come to this area, though, we learn exactly why there was some Team Dimension robo-goons blocking the path to this train station.

Oh, it's this woman. Daliah. The Team Dimension fangirl. I hate Dahlia. I hate this woman so much. If you've forgotten about her, I don't blame you. I want to forget her too. We first met her all the way back in entry #19, when she forced that X Rapidash to battle us to protect its baby at Sunflare Canyon, I believe. God, I still have flashbacks about fighting that X Pokémon.

So, Team Dimension has taken over the train. From them, we learn that they want the Quasar Express to take them to some temple. Well, looks like it's up to us to stop them. Again. 

We can battle the woman that I mentioned earlier, but that's optional. However, you'll likely have to face this dude on the way to the train.

...his field?! Yeah, this dude is on drugs or something. Or drunk. Or maybe both. He's a redneck, who knows?

1st Pokemon: Scaracluo (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Phantump. 
2nd Pokemon: Cacturne (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Trishout.

After we beat him, he says he'll turn a blind eye to us being in his field...this time. Yeah buddy, I think you need to spend some time in a drunk tank. Near the entryway to the train platform are these guys.

Yeah, they're hard to see in the screenshot, but there are two Team Dimension robo-goons blocking the entrance. There's also an Item Box that is behind the Team Dimension goon that is at the bottom of the screenshot. The robot guy there won't move. So, yeah. Why is that Item Box there?

Well, there's nothing we can do about that. Maybe we can do something about the two Team Dimension robo-goons blocking the way. 

The sign there reveals that the Quasar Express make multiple stops, including the temple that Dahlia was blabbing about. Their route is called the Westar-Hypelion route. Hypelion. I wonder if that's a misspelling of Hyperion. Which would make sense. Hyperion fits the stellar/space name theming. One of Saturn's moons is called Hyperion, which was named after the Titan from Greek myth. Fun fact, in Greek myth, Hyperion is the father of the Greek sun god Helios, and Hyperion is also considered the god of observation and a personification of the sun.

The two guards tell us to buzz off until they realize who we are. Yup, we thrashed these guys before. Time for a double battle!

Team Dimension Duo DX3 & DX4
1st Pokemon: Trevenant (lv. 38) and Muk (Lv. 38). Trevenant defeated by Trishout with Flamethrower. Muk defeated by Trishout with Flamethrower.

With their defeat, we can get past them. The train platform has a second level to it.

Those three Team Dimension robots are presumably blocking another path. We can't get past them now, so let's not worry about it. If we talk to the conductor (the guy in the hat at the bottom of the screenshot), he pleads for help. We can then battle the Team Dimension cyborg standing next to him.

1st Pokemon: Magneton (Lv. 36). Defeated by Trishout with Flamethrower.
2nd Pokemon: Eelektrik (Lv. 38). Defeated by Palossand with Giga Drain. Ground-type moves don't work on this Pokémon thanks to it having the ability Levitate.
3rd Pokemon: Klang (Lv. 36). Defeated by Trishout with Flamethrower.

Another grunt spots us defeating his comrade and calls to inform Dahlia. With that, the robots vanish.

We're left alone with the conductor, so naturally, we should untie the guy. The conductor warns us that Dahlia is not alone. She has another comrade with her. A man with a very scary gaze. The way he spoke gave the conductor the impression he outranks Dahlia. He wishes us luck, then vanishes. Weird. Was that conductor a ninja in his younger years?

Anyway, if we board the train, we can't leave it until we clear out the Team Dimension infection. As such, we should make sure we are plenty prepared. Have lots of supplies beforehand. If you want, you can do a bit of grinding beforehand if you want to make sure your Pokémon are powerful enough to do lots of battles. I would recommend doing that just in case. 

Once we have supplies and powerful enough Pokémon, we can board the Quasar Express.

Once we get in there, there is something obviously up. 

It's friggin' dark in here! Does this train have no blasted lights or anything like that? What little can be seen seems to imply that we're in an area of the train meant to carry cargo, not passengers. Still, you'd think there would be lights in here so that security guards can inspect the cargo and make sure there are no thieves or stowaways or anything like that. And speaking of stowaways...

Yeah, Alice is here with us! Remember her? We last met her all the way back in entry #4, I believe. My goodness, it's been a long time. She came here when she heard that Team Dimension hijacked the Quasar Express. She wants to help us bring down Team Dimension's plans for this train. Sure, why not? The more, the merrier.

Getting through this cargo hold is going to be a bit difficult, as my PokéWes's HM Service has nothing like the old Flash HM. The door can be found at the northernmost wall of the train car, but there is naturally a problem.

The door is locked. It never can be easy, can it? We're going to have to find a way to unlock this door or bring it down. I couldn't find a key or anything like that wandering around this dark room...but I did encounter this Team Dimension hench-cyborg.

Getting around here has gotten me frustrated, and I need to vent. He just volunteered to be my punching bag.

1st Pokemon: Magneton (Lv. 39) - Defeated by Trishout. 

Defeating this robot reveals him to be a bit of a wimp, and he allows us to leave through the door by deactivating himself.

Yeah. That was...weird. So, again, here's the door.

Once we go through it, we end up in a thankfully better-lit car.

What are those things there, bookshelves? At least, I thought they were bookshelves at first. Took me a while to realize those were chairs. Boy, do I feel stupid. 

Anyway, Alice is with us, and she suggests we have a better chance of getting rid of these guys if we split up. Alice, you didn't do jack against the first guy we fought! Gimme a break!

You can sneak past the Team Dimension Grunt walking to and fro in the screenshot, but I'm going to fight him. I could use the money and my Pokemon could always use the experience points.

1st Pokemon: Peckabone (Lv. 38) - Defeated by Trishout.
2nd Pokemon: Blingrimm (Lv. 38) - Defeated by Harrowk.

Funny enough, after you beat him, the grunt laments that he'll try to forget this by drinking some Mental Herb tea, which "the Colonel" (presuming Dahlia) is fond of. Once we get past him, we end up here. 

The guard in front of the Item Box there is an optional fight, but the other guard there is one you're going to have to battle to get past. I'll start with the guard in front of the Item Box. Besides, I'll get a little extra money, and my Pokemon will get a little extra XP.

1st Pokemon: Beldum (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Trishout.
2nd Pokemon: Magnemite (Lv. 36) - Defeated by Trishout.
3rd Pokemon: Magneton (Lv. 37) - Defeated by Trishout.

The Item Box below this guard contains a Big Pearl. Which can be sold for big bucks. Now we can fight the third guard in this car.

1st Pokemon: Blingrudge (Lv. 40) - Defeated by Harrowk.

Once he's beaten, we can head out of the car.

You may notice that Item Box over there, and a wastebasket next to the door. Don't worry about the wastebasket, there's nothing in it. We can get to the Item Box thanks to the next car.

This appears to be a dining car. It makes sense. I mean, trains can have dining cars, especially if they're meant to go on long journeys. My guess is this train must have quite a long route. In that waste basket, you can find...waste paper. Yup, when it comes to useful items, there is...

From the door on the right, we can get to that Item Box in the previous car. It contains Carbos. With that out of the way, we can head back inside the Dining Car. 

It's kind of amusing to see these Team Dimension grunts sitting here. After all, it's easy to write these folks off as just a bunch of mindless robots. The wastebasket in the screenshot contains Iron.

And that's where we'll stop for the month. Join me next time as we rampage through the Quasar Express! Thanks for reading this blog entry! See you next time!

Pokemon Obtained:
(Westar City Train Station)
- Magnemite
- Joltik
- Palossand (evolved from Sandygast)
- Bouffalant
- Electabuzz (Took THREE ULTRA BALLS to catch this thing)
- Klink
- Tauros
- Eelektrik

World Otter Day

Today is World Otter Day!

What is World Otter Day, you may ask yourself? Well, World Otter Day is celebrated on the last Wednesday of May. Its purpose is to raise awareness about the importance of otters. 

Otters can be found almost all over the world, living in freshwater lakes and rivers. 

Star Wars: The Acolyte Trailer, My Thoughts

When it comes to the Jedi, they had been described as many things. Priests. Peacekeepers. Defenders. Intellectuals. In the dying days of the Star Wars universe's High Republic era, a Jedi knight is going to have to take on another role: detective.

Production on The Acolyte, an upcoming Star Wars television miniseries for Disney+, was announced on May 4, 2020 by Lucasfilm. The show was created and will be showrun by Leslye Headland, who had started work on it after finishing work on the TV show Russian Doll. This show would be the earliest-set live-action Star Wars series at this point. 

What is The Acolyte about, you may ask? Well, as I said earlier, it's about a Jedi having to play detective. A Jedi Master having to investigate a series of crimes which unveils dark forces. Let's look at the trailer!

"Your eyes can deceive. But your mind should also be...Korlan, stop dreaming about pizza." Mmm...pizza...

Yeah, if my eyes see a giant monster about to bite my head off, I'm not going to question it.

I'm thinking food. And video games. And a good comic book.

Ooh, force ninja. Makes sense, one of Lucas's inspirations behind Star Wars was samurai movies. 

At some point, the Jedi are just going to have to admit nothing makes sense.

I like the Force ninja. I want to see more of her. 

Well, I like this teaser. It doesn't reveal too much, just enough to whet the appetite. I have been enjoying Andor and The Bad Batch, so I will give this a shot. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it around! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

Furiosa Trailer, My Thoughts

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day.

Here in the United States, the last Monday in May is spent honoring those who had made the ultimate sacrifice, giving their life in service to this country.

Memorial Day as we know it had evolved from many ceremonies done to honor soldiers in the American Civil War. In 1882, the holiday got the familiar "Memorial Day" name over the previous "Decoration Day", but it wouldn't really grow in popularity until WWII. However, it would not be until 1967 that the American federal government law would declare "Memorial Day" be the official name. On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved the holiday from May 30 to the late Monday of May, creating a three-day weekend.

On this day, like we have in various forms over the last century plus, we honor those who have given their lives for this country, and ensure they have not been forgotten. Their sacrifice will not be forgotten.

Africa Day

Legion of Super-Heroes #297 (March 1983)

The Legion of Super-Heroes may be regarded as the greatest heroes of the far future, but like everyone else, the Legion are only human...well, human in the metaphorical sense as the Legion have many a member of the extraterrestrial persuasion. The members of the Legion, like many of us, have highs and lows in their lives, and are just as receptive of fate's kindnesses...and cruelties. They have their moments of triumph and tragedy. For Legion founder Cosmic Boy, that is especially true. The comic I'm looking at here focuses on him as he deals with one of the hardest moments of his life. This is Legion of Super-Heroes #297!

The cover is a Keith Giffen and Larry Mahlstedt piece. It shows our man Cosmic Boy front and center using his powers, and he seemingly is under great strain. It's certainly an eye-catcher. 

"Mettle"
Writer: Paul Levitz
Penciler: Keith Giffen
Inker: Larry Mahlstedt 
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Karen Berger
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins with Rokk "Cosmic Boy" Krinn pulling a shuttle back to Earth with his magnetic powers, because he felt like reminding everyone how awesome he can be today.

The Science Police try to stop him, but the future's resident Master of Magnetism can easily fight them off while pulling at the shuttle thanks to his raw power and skill. He yanks out of the shuttle the people he was looking for. 

Page 9, Panel 1

For context, these prisoners detonated a nuclear device in a neighborhood that Krinn's parents lived in in the last issue. And naturally, he wants to make them pay. Thankfully, before he can play executioner, his beau Lydda Jath, the Legion of Substitute Heroes member known as Night Girl, knocks him cold.

She reveals that Cosmic Boy also had witnessed what Darkseid did to the people of planet Daxam during the events of The Great Darkness Saga, and now with his family getting nuked...yeah. No wonder he lost it.

Elsewhere in the spaceport, Brainiac 5 is talking with fellow Legionnaire Tenzil "Matter-Eater Lad" Kem. Kem had gone insane after eating a device called the Miracle Machine. However, Brainiac 5 was able to cure him in issue #251. He's on his way to his homeworld of Bismoll (Get it?) to return to his life as a politician. 

Later on, Krinn wakes up in a nice comfy bed. The little involuntary nap that Night Girl gave him seems to have done his mind a bit of good.

Lydda is with him, and gives him a nice hug, assuring him she's here for him. Aww.

It's at this point that we get a recap of the life of this Legion founder. Rokk Krinn is a native of the planet Braal. This world is known for having a very powerful natural magnetic field, and is also infested with metallic monsters. This allowed the people to evolve magnetokinetic powers. Naturally, the Krinn family also had those powers: Father Hu, mother Ewa, and their sons Rokk and Pol. 

Page 13, Panel 3

Rokk reveals to Lydda that he was actually born on Earth, thanks to his parents emigrating to Earth to make a better life for themselves. But the work ran out on Earth, so they headed back to Braal. However, the planet also had its fair share of economic troubles. Rokk's childhood was a tough one as a result. Despite that, he showed himself to be a talented athlete in the sport of Magno-Ball. At the age of 14, Rokk was now a legal adult on Braal. As such, he left the planet to find work to help support his family. This reminds him he has to check on his folks. Lydda comes with him.

Elsewhere, Timber Wolf is in a foul mood. His girl Light Lass resigned and left the Legion, and it has left in a state. He decides to take an airbus to Boston and have some fun. He ends up missing the airbus.

He isn't in the mood to wait for another one, as it will take two hours. He leaps on the bus and rides it to Boston. At the hospital, Cosmic Boy heads to the ward his family is being treated in. The doctor tries to convince him to let the specialists inside do their work, but the Legionnaire basically tells her to shut her doctor face. He uses his magnetic powers to reprogram the systems that have the door locked, allowing him to come in, and locking the doctor and Lydda out. Lydda fixes that problem. 

Page 18, Panels 7-10

Lydda tells the doctor more of Cosmic Boy's early history. The ship that took Cosmic Boy to Earth picked up some more passengers on the way to our little Pale Blue Dot: Garth Ranzz, who was looking for his missing brother. Imra Ardeen, who was on her way to the Science Police Academy. R.J. Brande, the supposed Richest Man in the Universe. This meeting would end up changing the universe. 

Upon arrival to Earth, Imra telepathically picked up the thoughts of two men who planned to assassinate Brande. She tried to warn him, but he didn't hear it. Garth and Rokk used their electrokinetic and magnetokinetic powers to deal with the men and their guns. Brande was impressed by the three youths' bravery.

He convinced them they should use their powers to help combat criminals and injustice, bankrolling them with his fortune. And the Legion of Super-Heroes was born.

Page 21, Panel 5

At this point, Cosmic Boy has made his way to a databank, looking for information on his family's condition...and there is good and bad news. The good news is his little brother Pol and father Hu are being decontaminated. Pol is serious, but so far, he's staying stable. Hu's prognosis is guarded, but it's likely he'll recover as well. However, his mother Ewa has already died. Rokk blames himself for this, as he brought his family to Earth thanks to R.J. Brande paying for the Legion's expenses, and presumably giving the members generous allowances. At the time, Rokk couldn't spend a lot of time with his family due to the Legion expanding from three members to eighteen. And then there was his romance with Night Girl. 

Lydda asks Rokk if there is anything she can do to help, and he tells her there is one thing. 

Page 24, Panel 1

Yeah, that'll hurt.

Using magnetic currents, Cosmic Boy is on the hunt, and he wants blood. At the Metropolis Spaceport, Chameleon Boy arrives on a shuttlecraft, with Sun Boy, Phantom Girl, and Ultra Boy waiting to greet him. He thanks them for supporting him through his trial, imprisonment, and his being pardoned. He reveals he plans to visit his father, and that he has lost his shapeshifting powers. He has no idea how. 

He should have realized that game of Drunk Poker with that Khund would come back to bite him. But that issue will have to be tabled for now, as the sounds of screams are heard from the shuttle. The Legionnaires discover that Cosmic Boy has rampaged his way through the Science Police guarding the shuttle because he wants the heads of the criminals who nuked his family. The magnetokinetic finds and tortures the criminals. He intends to use his powers to kill them. They beg him for mercy, but it falls on deaf ears. He stops when he seemingly hears a woman yell "NO". I think it's intended to be Ewa, considering the story, but it's unclear. Cosmic Boy stops, asking what he's doing. He walks away, saying that he will not kill them in his mother's name, as it makes him no better than them. 

The Legion sees this, and are grateful they didn't have to step in. Phantom Girl says she never saw Cosmic Boy so violent, nor him displaying such power. She never imagined that she had it in him. Chameleon Boy bets he didn't either. Cosmic Boy flies off, but not before he gives the criminals a last bit of pain.

Page 29, Panels 4-7

After all, he said he wouldn't kill the men. He never said he wouldn't hurt them. 

I did enjoy this issue. The Legion of Super-Heroes can be a very large team, so it can be quite difficult to give the members all a fair share of spotlight. It's why this spotlight issue is such a nice surprise. Cosmic Boy is, more often than not, considered one of the more level-headed members of the team, but his actions in this issue are rather understandable. He's grieving. And lashing out. I would have preferred seeing the Legionnaires try to stop him and he goes through them, that helping him realize that what he's doing will only make things worse. 

If you want to read this story for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2014 trade paperback Legion of Super-Heroes: The Curse. Thanks for reading this blog entry!