The Last Days of the Justice Society (July 1986)

In the DC Universe, the Justice Society of America were the first generation of costumed superheroes. At a time when unfathomable evil encircled the Earth, this group of costumed champions stood up against it, and continued to fight crime and villainy in the years afterward. But even the World's First Super-Team's adventures have to come to an end one day. In 1986, it seemed like we'd see the last of the JSA forever. 

When the Crisis on Infinite Earths hit, the remains of the original DC Multiverse were consolidated into one unified Earth. This included the JSA's original home in the Multiverse: Earth-Two. With that, DC Comics had felt that there was no more need for any more adventures of the World's First Super-Team. Roy Thomas (who had essentially been the main chronicler of the JSA's adventures during the 1980s) came up with the story that would "retire" the JSA. It was a story he was very sad to write. 

So, was the Justice Society's final adventure allow the team to end their time together with a bang or a whimper? Let's find out in my look at The Last Days of the Justice Society!

The cover is a Dave Ross and Mike Gustovich piece, and I think it's pretty neat. It depicts the heads of Hawkman, Power Girl, Spectre, Star-Spangled Kid, and Dr. Fate looking down at a destroyed city and the presumably dead bodies of their comrades. Hawkman looks really furious as he is seemingly staring at his own dead body. No idea what Fate is thinking. And it's pretty funny to see the Earth-Two versions of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman among the bodies as this came out not long after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, which removed them from DC canon.

"Last Days of the Justice Society"
Writers: Roy Thomas, Dann Thomas
Penciler: Dave Ross
Inker: Mike Gustovich
Colorist: Carl Gafford
Letterer: David Cody Weiss
Editor: Roy Thomas
Executive Editor: Dick Giordano

The story begins in Berlin on Thursday, April 12, 1945. The Second World War is winding down in the European theater. The German capital city is burning from the bombs. A Reichminister Speer has come to the bunker of Adolf Hitler, on the orders of the Fuhrer himself. 

Hitler has heard about the death of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt over the BBC, and he sees it as a miracle. Twelve years earlier, Heinrich Himmler had drawn up Hitler's horoscope on the day he became chancellor. Hitler sees the death of Roosevelt as a repeat of the Miracle of the House of Brandenberg. Basically, with Roosevelt dead, Hitler believes the Allies will fall apart and the Nazis will win the war. But even if that doesn't happen, well...the madman has a way to ensure that the world will burn.

We next jump forward about 40 years into the future, in the United States. We join the JSA as they are holding a funeral. 

They're mourning those they have lost over the years. The Earth-2 Batman, dying in 1977. They also honor his wife, the Earth-2 Catwoman. She wasn't a JSA member, but she had given up her life of crime and changed her ways. They honor Terry Sloane, the original Mr. Terrific. They also say goodbye to the Earth-2 Superman and Wonder Woman. As Crisis on Infinite Earths #12 showed, Superman went off to a "paradise dimension" with his wife Lois Lane-Kent and Superboy-Prime, and Wonder Woman went to Olympus with her Earth's Steve Trevor. The funeral is for the most recent losses the JSA suffered: The Earth-2 Robin and Huntress (Helena Wayne, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman). They died in Crisis #12. 

The JSA have come to a decision. They now live on a merged Earth full of heroes. Their children are active as the superteam Infinity Inc. They also still have other legacies in the Beth Chapel Dr. Midnight, the Yolanda Montez Wildcat, and the Rick Tyler Hourman.

If you ever watched the Stargirl TV series, you may be familiar with them. And I can understand why the show just gave Beth and Rick Charles and Rex's costumes. As such, the JSA feel that well...their time is over. There's no need for them as active superheroes anymore. So, they're going to disband and retire. Hawkman, the group's chairman, asks if there are any objections. And it just so happens one JSAer does object.

Who is this lone standout? 

It's the Spectre, last seen during the Crisis. And he looks like he'd been through six Hell in a Cell matches back to back. The ghostly hero claims he is dying, and collapses into his arms. The original Dr. Midnite, Charles McNider, looks him over. Thing is, McNider is a really good doctor, but the Spectre is the ghost of a decades-dead man. He's also the literal Wrath of God. He wasn't trained for THAT in medical school. Spectre grabs Dr. Fate, and gives him a message.

Man, that message must've blown a mind or two.

With his delivery complete, the Spectre seemingly dissipates, becoming mist in the wind. The sorcerer got the message in the form of a series of images. The JSA gather around Fate, and he shows them the events of April 15, 1945...the day the entire JSA attended the funeral of Franklin Roosevelt. As they leave the funeral, they notice that the sky...has seemingly gone mad.

"Oh God, Heimdall got drunk again."

The Earth is shaking, and it's got everyone quaking. All of the JSA members that can fly go up to take a look, but get repelled back. Hawkman points out that this...never happened that day. Fate explains that...it did. Back to the flashback! The JSA is visited by the new President, Harry S. Truman. Truman alerts the JSA that the weirdness with the sky...it's far from local. It's happening all over the world. The Spectre has used his higher powers to determine that whatever this is, it came from Berlin. 

The JSA head out to Germany, despite one big issue. You see, at the time, the comics established that Hitler had gotten his grubby paws on the Spear of Destiny. The Spear, aka the Holy Lance or the Lance of Longinus, was used to pierce Jesus's side when he was crucified. It gave the Lance immense magical power, and Hitler used it to make sure the JSA couldn't attack Germany directly. If they tried, the Spear would make some of their most powerful members (like the Spectre and Superman) into Hitler's thralls. 

As a result, due to their vulnerability to magic, Wonder Woman, Dr. Fate, Superman, and the Spectre have to stay back. The rest of the JSA fly deeper into Berlin. Starman's Gravity Rod detects a massive energy source...and it's coming from a bunker. He flies to scout the area...

Yeah, superhero costumes at the time tended to not be bulletproof. Flash tries to zip him to a hospital, but ends up getting a bullet to the back. The rest of the JSA rush in. Dr. Midnite uses a pair of his "blackout bombs" to make the soldiers retreat, but not before Atom and Mr. Terrific get some lead. Sandman gets grazed. Batman tries to use an explosive to break down the door, but it doesn't help much.

Hourman uses his strength to wrench the door open, but there's a machine gun nest waiting for him. The Man of the Hour gives the Nazi soldiers the door, but also gets a fatal dose of lead for his trouble. The injured Sandman stays behind to man the machine gun. The sky starts raining fireballs all over the world. The JSA go deeper into the bunker...and another member bites the dust as Dr. Mid-Nite gets shot. The surviving JSAers make their way to a heavily-guarded chamber.

Hawkman, Batman, and Wildcat charge in, but they're too late. Hitler completes his spell, and the Spear of Destiny unleashes a wave of destruction that destroys the Earth. "But wait!" You may ask. "If the world was destroyed in 1945, why are the JSA still alive in 1986? Heck, why does the world still exist in 1986?!" Well the energy wave Hitler unleashed is kind of like the anti-matter wall from Crisis on Infinite Earths. It's been making its way to the 1980s, destroying everything in its wake. The present-day JSA see cracks in the sky, and Dr. Fate transports them back in time. Back to 1945! Cue the Huey Lewis!

The present-day JSA find themselves back in the bombed-out Berlin, a few minutes before Hitler unleashed the full power of the Spear of Destiny. The heroes witness Hitler completing the ritual. Now again, if Hitler did destroy the world in 1945, the Earth should have no longer existed since then. So how did this whole temporal mess end up happening? Well, it obviously should not have. This was the fault of the Crisis on Infinite Earths. In issue #10 (January 1986), the Spectre struggled with the Anti-Monitor, and he ended up out like a light from it.

With the Spectre KO'd, his magical energies went wild, going all over space and time. Some of that magical power went into the Spear, and basically hypercharged it. They can't stop the Spear's destruction on Earth. The JSA has to go to the realm of the Gods. They have to go to Asgard. It's kind of funny that the Spear of Destiny, an artifact of Judeo-Christian mythology, is connected to the Norse pantheon.

It's here our heroes spot a ship.

It's Naglfar, a ship made of the fingernails of the dead. Hey, Justice Society! Just call in Skurge the Executioner! He'll wreck it for ya! He's done it before! Accompanying the ship is the wolf Fenrir and the Midgard Serpent. And the ship is followed by Surtur, the fire-giant. Ragnarok is here, and it can't be stopped. But the JSA are determined to fight to stop it.

However, they can't directly step in, as this is not their realm, but the realm of Asgard. So how can they help? Well, Green Lantern and Dr. Fate have that covered. They combine their mystical powers (Alan Scott's ring is magical in nature), and the JSA merge with the gods. Starman merges with Heimdall, Flash with Frey, Green Lantern with Thor, and so on. The World's First Super-Team naturally races into battle. Fash takes on Surtur, but the fire monster easily disaptches him. Permanently.

Went out in a hot Flash. Get it? Yeah, I'll shut up...

As a certain video game series would say: "Surtur Wins. Fatality."

The battle on the plain of Vigrid begins. Back on Midgard/Earth, Hitler tries to activate the Spear's power, but finds he can't get the magic to work. The JSA continue battling the hordes of Ragnarok, their fates tying into the Eddas. Wildcat dies facing Gorm the watchdog, like Tyr (Norse God of War) does in the myths.

Starman and the Star-Spangled Kid engage Loki. Ted blasts his head off, but Loki's sharp-haired head is able to fatally stab him. Green Lantern and Johnny Thunder engage the Midgard Serpent. The Serpent is able to easily kill Johnny thanks to a venom blast. The original Lantern is able to beat down the Serpent with a giant Thor construct. With its dying breath, the Midgard Serpent blasts Green Lantern with venom...and Alan Scott dies after staggering nine steps, like Thor in the Eddas. Hawkman and Hawkgirl engage Fenrir and get consumed. It seems you can't fight fate.

The battle ends, with most of the JSA dead, and still there's Surtur left. However, Dr. Fate has another surprise. Here in Asgard, death doesn't quite stick. As such, he's able to revive the JSA to engage the monstrous fire being.

Out on Earth, WWII comes to an end as normal. The Allies win, and Hitler takes his own life, his last plan to scorch the Earth with the Spear of Destiny utterly failing. The Star-Spangled Kid and Power Girl try to leap in to help, but Dr. Fate sends them away, saying that they're still young. Yeah, ol' Sylvester Pemberton isn't exactly a spring chicken. Fate prepares to join in the battle himself, but gets a visit from...the Spectre?!

But isn't he dead? Well, not really. The Spectre is the Wrath of God. And as such, he can't "die" in the way people think of dying. But the Spectre's day, like the JSA's, is done. He will stay and help vanquish Surtur. This sacrifice will help ensure that the Earth isn't destroyed. As such, he sends Fate back to Earth. Star-Spangled Kid, Power Girl, and Dr. Fate find themselves back at the funeral site from earlier, in front of a confused Infinity Inc. 

Infinity Inc. is comprised of the JSA's children and legacies. As such, they're naturally hit hard when they learn of the heroes' fate. But Fate assures them that they will overcome this loss, as they sacrificed themselves to ensure that the universe still continues on. The story ends with Dr. Fate looking down at a group of chess pieces that resemble the JSA. Who knows where they came from.

This comic was...kind of alright. The whole story does come off as a bit convoluted to me to be honest with you. The big final battle is the best part of the entire comic. It was rare to see a team of superheroes be slaughtered like this in comics at the time. 

When you think about it, what the JSA go through here is pretty horrific. They get killed, revived to fight Surtur...and they have to repeat it. Over and over again. All to make sure the universe doesn't get wrecked. And it's likely that the other superheroes (including their own children) are completely unaware of it. It's very tragic, in the vein of an opera. 

It's also neat seeing the Earth-Two Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman in one last story before the changes to the DCU's history in Crisis on Infinite Earths removed them in favor of their younger former Earth-One counterparts...even though they don't really do much. Yeah, their presence felt superfluous.

As for the art, well...the word "rushed" is the word I'd best use to describe it myself. It does feel like it was churned out rather quickly in places, like the artist had no time to really make some spectacular art. It does have a good sense of storytelling to it at times, so that's something going for it.

Naturally, you couldn't keep a group of old heroes like this away for long. In the 1992 miniseries Armageddon: Inferno (Part of the Armageddon 2001 event), the JSA are brought back from the never-ending Ragnarok they were trapped in. In The Sandman #26 (May 1991), it was revealed that the JSA were actually trapped in a simulation of Ragnarok created by Odin to prevent the real thing from going down. Their return led to a short-lived early-90s series that was cancelled due to editor Mike Carlin's dislike of the idea of DC publishing a comic about old superheroes. 

However, it would still not be the end for them. They would get another series in 1999, which lasted to 2006. This series dealt heavily with the theme of legacy. They would get another series from 2006-2011. And then the New 52 hit, and well...I have no idea anymore.

If you want to read this for yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2017 trade paperback The Last Days of the Justice of America. 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, get vaccinated, and wear a mask! Join me next time when we take a look at the birth of a brand-new X-Men team...

Mortal Kombat Trailer, My Thoughts

In 1995, the Mortal Kombat fighting game series made its live-action big-screen debut. This film would be a box office success, earning $124.7 million on an $18 million budget. However, it would be given a mixed reception by critics at the time. It was praised for its visuals and fighting sequences, but the acting and dialogue would be panned. Over the years, the film would become a cult classic, and regarded as one of the best cinematic video game adaptions ever made.

The film was followed up by a sequel film in 1997. This film was so poorly received by critics and fans, that pans for a third Mortal Kombat film ended up getting shelved. But now, a film reboot is on the way! Written by Oren Uziel and directed by Simon McQuoid (making his feature film debut), the new film tells the tale of an MMA fighter named Cole Young. 

Young has seen better days. But then he ends up with Sub-Zero and the rest of the Lin Kuei after him. Maybe he owes them money, maybe he drunkenly insulted Sub-Zero's mother (Sub-Zero loves his mother), who knows why they're after him. But he's got help! He's become part of a group of warriors that are fated to defend Earthrealm against the forces of Outworld. 

I do want to warn you all, this is a red band trailer for an R-Rated film. That means this trailer is likely not going to be very safe to watch around kids. So please keep that in mind before playing it. And with that, let's watch this thing! 

Evidently Sub-Zero held one heck of a party in Brazil. Because getting a half-frozen building is what you get if you let him get really drunk.

Holy Toledo, that was cool! Well, pun not intended, of course.

Well, at least we learn how Jax lost his arms here. And is it me, or does Mechad Brooks look a little like Steve Harvey?

I don't know why Sonya finds that so weird. She met superheroes from the DCU.

"We need you to rip out a few spines for us, Mr. Young."

Yeah, you never go to Scorpion's house unless he invites you. He's very protective of his privacy. Unless you're the pizza guy. He likes the pizza guy.

I bet Raiden's going to run off on everyone muttering about having to consult the Elder Gods or some bull like that. Dude, if you don't wanna help, just say so!

Cool to see Mileena and Goro here. I wonder if he'll end up getting punched in the nards by Johnny Cage again.

That had to hurt.

Ooh, he said it! Scorpion said it!

"I am so gonna keep this 'eart, mate! I'm gonna put it on me mantle and call it Mr. Hearty!" 

I have to admit, this trailer got me hyped. It got exactly why people liked the Mortal Kombat games: Brutal bloody brawling. This looks like it will be a fun time at the theater...if theaters ever open up again. Ah well, I can wait for the DVD. I'm a patient man. 

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!

TMNT: Shredder's Revenge Reveal Trailer, My Thoughts

If you grew up in the late 80s and 90s like I did, you may be familiar with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the early 90s, Turtle-Mania was a thing. Their 1987 cartoon series and video games became rather iconic. And now, this classic era of the Heroes in a Half-Shell is being revisited in a brand-new beat-em-up game: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge!  Let's look at the trailer!

Heh, homaging the original 80s series intro. Nice.

I love that theme. This cover isn't bad at all. The rhythm of the singing does feel a bit "off" at moments, though.

I like the animation here. It feels like a modernized version of the 80s show. Thumbs up! 

I wonder if Splinter and April will be playable. Maybe as hidden unlockables? I do like the idea of 80s-era April O'Neil kicking butt.

Hey, a Triceraton! I don't remember them in the 80s series, but they are from the original TMNT comics, and have appeared in other series. Nice to see this version is giving a nod to the original comic material. 

Surf's up, dude! 

Yeah, you guys are going to need some heavier weaponry to take own that big ol' Technodrome.

And we get to see some gameplay! I love the sprite art they're using here. And I also like that each Turtle has a unique running animation. It helps give them a bit more personality.

You know Bebop, if you don't like a TV show, you can just watch something else. No need to wreck the studio!

If The Office was about a bunch of Foot Clan robots, I would totally watch it.

The gameplay reminds me of Turtles in Time. I played the remake of it for my X-Box 360. I enjoyed it.

Oh man, I've heard of getting in your face, but that Foot-bot took it to a new level!

I want this game! I want this game! I want this game in my hands! I want to play this right now! Give me this game! I hope it comes to the Nintendo Switch! As you can tell, I am hyped for this. I love everything about this trailer, and I am so excited for this game! It looks like it will be tons of fun! I hope it contains lots of nods to previous TMNT games.

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!

Happy Mario Day!

Happy Mario Day, everyone!

Why is March 10 Mario Day? Well, it's a bit of a pun. When March 10th is written as "Mar10", it looks like "Mario", hence March 10 being Mario Day. 

The day was an unofficial day of celebration for fans of the Super Mario franchise for years. In 2016, Nintendo officially recognized Mario Day, by creating special events around the day every year. Usually, these events revolved around sales of Mario games.

Last year's Mario Day was a very special one as it was also the 35th Anniversary of the Super Mario series, with the original Super Mario Bros. game being released in 1985. That event triggered a massive celebration that will conclude next month. As such, this year's Mario Day is also part of that celebration. 

So fire up the Nintendo handheld of your choice, and enjoy a Mario game today! I hope your Mario Day was a good one!

Avengers Forever #3 (February 1999)

It's that time again! It's time to rejoin the Avengers as they face off against the time-twisting villain Immortus in a battle to prevent him from killing long-time Avengers associate Rick Jones. Immortus saw the man as a threat to the future of humanity due to the power he can access. The power over destiny. The power to take the human race to a dangerous level. The man tried to kill him, but Rick was able to summon a group of disparate Avengers from different points in time to protect him. They fled to Chronopolis, the home of Kang the Conqueror. So, what happens next? Let's find out in Avengers Forever #3!

The cover is a Carlos Pacheco, Jesus Merino, Steve Oliff, and Tony Kelly piece. It's pretty neat. It depicts Kang and Immortus grappling in the ruins of Chronopolis, Kang's home/stronghold. Talk about struggling with yourself, heh heh. What I like about the cover is the use of color. The background buildings and stone are solid white, forcing attention on the figures of Kang and Immortus. I also like that the cover forms a letter "A". It's nice design quirk that makes it stand out.

"City at the Heart of Forever"
Writers: Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern
Penciler: Carlos Pacheco
Inker: Jesus Merino
Colorist: Steve Oliff
Letterers: Richard Starkings, Albert Deschesne
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Editor-in-Chief: Bob Harras

The story begins with this mismatched Avengers charging into battle against Immortus's forces. 

This is a point where we get a couple of nice character moments. Hawkeye is struggling due to not having any of his trick arrows at this point, and Captain America is dealing with self-doubt. Speaking of Hawkeye, he manage to foil what he thinks is an ambush.

This is Wildrun. He's a member of the Anachronauts, a group of elite warriors from throughout history. He is also the first in the line of Native American superheroes who've used the "Red Wolf" mantle, having originally hailed from the 18th century. He's the only surviving Anachronaut, the others having been killed by a "time-twisting" explosion. So, where is Kang himself?

Yup, the time-traveling conqueror is getting his personal sphinx ready for something. Remember, one of his aliases was the Ancient Egypt-era ruler Rama-Tut. The Avengers demand to know why Immortus is attacking Chronopolis. Heck, they don't even know why he's still mobile. As far as they knew, Immortus was trapped in a sort of stasis, a "Living Statue" by a group called the "Time-Keepers". This happened in Avengers West Coast #62 (September 1990). Kang basically reveals that was just Immortus tricking the heroes.

As for why Immortus wants to attack Chronopolis? Well, remember in the last issue that it was established that this city touches all points in time? It's able to do that thanks to the Heart of Forever, a trans-chronal engine that allows Chronopolis to touch every point in time at once. 

The Heart would also allow Immortus to circumvent a rule of time-travel in the Marvel Universe. In the MU, if you try to change the past via time-travel, you only end up creating an alternate timeline. With the Heart, Immortus can actually change the past...which he'll use to wipe his failure to kill Rick Jones out. Kang is disgusted by this. He sees using the Heart in this manner as a sign of weakness. To him, conquering timelines should be done not through guile. It should be done through combat, through brute force, yada yada yada.

He asks the Avengers to stand with him, and they reluctantly agree. Rick Jones wonders if maybe they're making the wrong choice. After all, Immortus has said Rick having the Destiny Force would lead to a dark future for mankind. However, Hank Pym points out that Immortus has lied to the Avengers a lot. They've battled Kang quite a few times over the years, so they're not blindly trusting him either. It's basically them working with the less worse option here.

It's here we get some nice character interaction between our misfit team of Avengers. Rick tries to grill Genis on what will happen, as he's from the future. Genis's answer isn't satisfactory to Rick as he's not sure if he's from the future that's going to happen. Remember, trying to change history in the Marvel Universe creates alternate realities and all. 

Wasp tries to pull Captain America out of his depression, but Hawkeye isn't too worried. As far as he's concerned, Cap managed to get through being "on ice" for decades, he'll get through this. Hank is just hoping they'll get through this whole thing alive. But the quiet can't last forever. Immortus's massive army is attacking Chronopolis, and the Avengers leap into action alongside Kang's army.

The Avengers and Kang's forces fight bravely, but this battle is doomed to end in a loss for them. During the battle, Rick's battle chair is blasted and wrecked. However, he figures out how to access the Destiny Force to heal his legs so he can walk again. They retreat to Kang's citadel. The time-traveler tells the Avengers to take his sphinx time machine and get Rick out of here. 

The group make their way to the sphinx, while Kang and his forces hold off Immortus's army as best they can. The conqueror seals off his citadel while he plans to destroy the Heart of Forever. Kang finds himself feeling old. Real old. I imagine that for him, this is a scenario he never imagined. Facing a massive defeat in basically his own home. But before he can do any more rumination, he gets ambushed by Tempus, and Immortus makes his way to the Heart of Forever.

As far as Immortus is concerned, this battle was always meant to end this way. After all, this was all in his past. He takes the Heart, and it causes Chronopolis to literally collapse in on itself like a star becoming a black hole. The Heart, the city, and everyone in it is transformed.

Now that Immortus has the Forever Crystal, he can achieve his goals of not only preventing Rick Jones from fully accessing the Destiny Force, but also keep any alternate timelines from forming due to his efforts. He does not sense the Avengers in the crystal, but that's no problem. They can't stop him, even in their little sphinx...which is now cruising the timestream.

I liked this issue. The strongest part of the issue is the character work that's done here, especially keeping in mind these characters come from different points in their histories. You see it best with Yellowjacket. He is a cocky jerk, which unnerves the then-current Hank Pym. Remember, they're the same man, and Yellowjacket is from a time before Hank's most notorious moments occurred in the early 80s (His smacking Wasp and being jailed for treason thanks to Egghead). 

Yellowjacket's reaction to the current Wasp being able to wreck a ship with her stings was pretty funny. I did feel like not a lot happened in this issue, but that's kind of the downside of a miniseries. Some individual issues are going to feel "slower" than others. But we got some character stuff, so I don't mind.

Carlos Pacheco turns in some good artwork, but I still wish someone like George Perez was drawing this. I think a story like this was made for his pencils. It's big and epic in scope, just the kind of thing that would fit him. Still, I like Pacheco's art. Have no complaints.

If you want to read this for 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, and wear a mask! Join me next time when we look at the last days of the World's First Super-Team...

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl Trailer, My Thoughts

Like many video game series over the years, the Pokemon series has undergone many a remake. The most recent example was Let's Go, Pikachu/Eevee for the Nintendo Switch. These games were remakes of the original Pokemon Yellow for the original Game Boy. The remake tradition continues on as it has been announced that Pokemon Diamond and Pearl are finally getting a long-demanded update! Let's look at the trailer for Pokemon Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl!

I don't have a Nintendo DS that looks like that. I got the mini version. Much more handy to carry in the pocket.

Believe it or not, I never got the original Diamond and Pearl. I got Pokémon Platinum instead. I did end up getting a hacked version of Pearl on eBay, though. You know, one of those hacked cartridges that had all the Pokémon and tons of items? Man, those were the days.

I've heard complaints that the graphics make it look like a mobile game. Well, I don't see the issue. I think it looks rather cute. It's sort of a upscaled take on the original DS graphics.

Shinx! I love Shinx! If you've been following my Text Play of Pokémon Zeta, then you'd know I have a Luxray in my standard team. Shinx are awesome.

I also used Shinx in my teams in Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver. Handy little guy.

Is it just me, because I keep getting the feeling the games should be called Shining Diamond and Brilliant Pearl? I mean, people often associate diamonds with shining. Shine on, you crazy diamond, that kind of thing.

Well, there's only one thing I can say about this announcement!

This is awesome! I've heard complaints about the graphics, but I personally don't mind them. I think the game looks very cute, and it's based on the original sprites. I can't wait to see how Sinnoh is updated for Generation 8! And now I know that this will lead people to scream for Unova to get the remake treatment next...

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!

Cruella Trailer, My Thoughts

They say she's brilliant, they say she's bad, they say she's a little bit mad. I am talking about, of course, the mad Miss Cruella De Vil. Get it? De Vil? Anyway, the character actually first appeared in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmations. The villainess would gain a major following when the novel was adapted into the 17th film in the Disney Animated Canon: 1961's 101 Dalmations. The late Betty Lou Gerson provided her voice.

The character would go on to be one of Disney's most popular villainesses, being portrayed by Glenn Close in the 1996 live-action remake of 101 Dalmations and its sequel (she's also producing this movie), and would be portrayed in live-action again by Victoria Smurfit in Once Upon a Time. And now Emma Stone will be donning Cruella's black-and-white hair for this take on Cruella's origins! Let's look at the trailer!

Huh. I never figured Cruella to be a redhead. Looks good on her.

USE A ZEBRA CROSSING! THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE FOR!

I think this is supposed to be set in the 60s, I think? Would make a lot of sense.

Lady there looks kind of like Diana Rigg from On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Heh heh, Hell Hall. Get it? I think that's from the original novel.

Well, to be fair Cruella, you're famous for trying to make a bunch of puppies into a fur coat, so...understandable?

Hey, Dalmations! Figures we'd see some here.

Well, kudos to Cruella, she can make an entrance.

...she lost her keys again.

WELCOME TO CRUELLA DE VIL'S MAGICAL DRUG JOURNEY! They really ended up regretting slipping her that LSD.

Don't you just hate it when you try and crack a safe and it ends up unleashing a ton of insects all over the place? Could be worse. Could be these guys.

...you know, I just had a scary thought. If Cruella ever met the Maximals, she'd try and make suits of armor out of them! 

Well, this looks...interesting. I can get why some have joked that this film seems to be Disney's take on Joker, but I think this trailer is trying to make this film look more...darkly humorous, or at least not trying to be as "serious" as Joker's trailer tried to show. I will admit, I never really thought much of Disney doing villain origin films. I just figured "Hey, people like the Disney villains, so of course they're going to do thing with them". I will admit, though, this has got me curious to see how Cruella became the villainess we know and love to hate.

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!