New Defenders #126 (December 1983)

In Marvel Feature #1 (December 1971), a certain quartet of the "outsider" characters in the Marvel Universe were brought together to form a new team called the Defenders. Those four heroes were Doctor Strange, Namor the Savage Sub-Mariner, the Silver Surfer, and the Incredible Hulk. The next year, they would get their own book, naturally called The Defenders. The Defenders were more of a "non-team" than the likes of the Fantastic Four or the Avengers, a group of outsiders who just happened to hang out together. The series would go on for many years, and like with many team books, the roster would undergo changes. Characters like Valkyrie and Nighthawk would become prominent members of the group.

With issue number 125, the book would be renamed The New Defenders. After the original four Defenders are forced to leave thanks to an alien prophecy, former X-Man Hank "Beast" McCoy would try and reform the team as a more "official" one, similar in vein to the Avengers. J.M. DeMatteis was writing the book at the time (he had been doing so since issue #92) but left the book after six issues of the New Defenders era. Peter Gillis would take over penning duties after him. New Defenders would be a moderately successful book during this time, and I personally think it's an underrated era. Sadly, the book would be cancelled with issue #152 due to Marvel needing space for the New Universe line. 

Despite that, the Defenders would not stay gone, but that's a story for another time. For now, let's take a look at an adventure from the early New Defenders era. This is New Defenders #126!

The cover is a Mike Zeck and John Beatty piece. 

"State of the Union"
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Penciler: Alan Kupperberg
Inker: Alan Kupperberg
Colorist: Paul Becton
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Editors: Carl Potts, Ann Nocenti
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter

The story begins with our heroes at SHIELD headquarters, looking over a bunch of prisoners with Nick Fury.

This odd bunch of villains were working for a revived Secret Empire, after they were presumably smashed by Captain America in Captain America and the Falcon #175 (July 1974). One of the villains there, Buzz "Mad Dog" Baxter, had been employed by a company called the Brand Corporation. However, Brand's been shut down, so he went to the new Empire for work. Iceman points out that there were three other characters there: Harridan, Seraph...and Cloud. Remember that name. That name will be very important to the Defenders in the future.

Fury is unaware who those two are. That makes no sense to the Defenders as they turned the three over to a SHIELD squad after they fought at the home of the Vision two weeks earlier (as shown in Defenders #123). Fury realizes that the Empire has infiltrated SHIELD.

With the New Defenders leaving SHIELD HQ and heading home, we get some character moments here. Both Iceman (he would not be retconned to being a closeted gay man for a few decades) and Angel are shown to be, well...mooning over the arrogant bald telepath called Moondragon (heh heh heh)

Yeah, sorry. Couldn't resist. Angel is crushing a bit on Moondragon...even though he is currently dating Candy Southern. Beast is feeling some doubts about this new team. Bobby gets so lost in his thoughts that he hits a water tower and falls, needing to be saved by Valkyrie. 

Meanwhile, we look in on the Smoky Mountains of Virginia. In the mountains lie a castle. 

Huh. You'd expect this castle to have a thunderstorm brewing behind it.

But this isn't a transition into a medieval fantasy world, this castle contains a modern-day conspiracy. The Secret Empire are meeting there, and the leader orders them to get the captured Mad Dog and Mutant Force out from SHIELD custody. We don't see who this new Number One of the Empire is, but we do know that one of the books on his desk is The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.

Anyway, back to Manhattan! An incident is going down in level "L" of SHIELD headquarters. The electricity and elevators to there are dead, so Fury gathers a group of agents (and some flashlights) and goes down to take a look. This makes Fury a bit nervous. After all, Level "L" is where some...rough stuff is kept. The leftovers of a SHIELD operation in the Caribbean. The scientists there were working on something behind SHIELD's back. The operation was shut down, but not without claiming the lives of fifty agents. And the body count has grown.

The group hears a noise. Fury turns around and is horrified by what he sees.

But let us get away from this scene of death and horror, and come look in on something more wholesome: The New Defenders enjoying some dinner. It's a special occasion, as Hank McCoy, the Beast, has plans. He wants to draw up a charter for the new team and get to work establishing them as a proper superhero team, including a formal headquarters and even talk over who should lead. Valkyrie offers to lead the team. She believes she is perfect for the job as A) Odin chose her to lead the Valkyrior, and B) She had the most experience and time with the Defenders as a group, being associated with the original version of the group. Beast nominates himself to lead, which causes Val to burst into a laughing fit.

Meanwhile, Warren is, well...still mooning over Moondragon. he notes that even though she was forced on to the team by Odin, as well as being forced to wear a mystical headband that limits her psionic powers (as a way of forcing her to learn some humility), she still carries herself like she's in complete control over everything. 

Beast and Val's debate threatens to break out into a brawl. Val thinks Beast is too much of a clown to lead, Iceman stands up for Hank, etc. Gargoyle does try to play peacemaker, though. Warren is driven into a huff, and basically tells them "If this is what the New Defenders will be like, I'm out of here!" The angelic mutant flies off in a huff.

While he soars, he contemplates his life. He thinks about how the New Defenders are acting like a bunch of children, like they were still teenage X-Men...in Hank and Bobby's case, anyway. He also reflects on the time he spent in the Savage Land (as will be shown in the then-upcoming Marvel Fanfare), and how it allowed him to find a real sense of purpose with his life. He also thinks about how despite his love for Candy Southern, he can't help but find himself, well...mooning over Moondragon.

Yeah, sorry. Anyway, Warren nearly gets hit by a flying car.

“Man, the Cybertruck has more problems than I thought!”

He sees other cars are sent flying, too. Naturally, he goes to check it out. Meanwhile, the other New Defenders are going after Warren, realizing how childish they were acting. The group spots what looks like half the NYPD racing down the street. And they find out what all the commotion was all about.

Yup, a giant is on the loose! This giant was once a man. A man named Edward Cobert. He was once the head scientist of the Olympus Project, whose goal was to create superhumans that would loyally serve the United States in response to independent superhumans like members of the Avengers and X-Men. However, Cobert and his team wanted to go one step further. They didn't want to just respond to superheroes and supervillains, they wanted to eliminate them completely. Hmm, I wonder if this could be a precursor to Orchis from the Hickman's X-Men...

Nahhh, Hickman ain't that clever. Anyway, Cobert volunteered for an experiment to create a superhuman. It worked...kind of. He became a powerful giant, but his mind didn't quite survive the empowerment. Despite his being simple-minded, this Leviathan of a man is able to walk through our heroes. He's even able to knock the Asgardian Valkyrie for a loop. With one punch.

Everyone tries to stop him on their own, but that didn't work. Gargoyle yells that everyone needs to get their heads out of their butts and work together. They are a team, it's time to act like one! They can't stop Cobert on their own, but by working together, they can. After all, if the Lilliputians can work together to imprison Gulliver, a group of disparate superheroes can stop Cobert. And work together they do. Beast and Angel distract him. This allows Iceman, Gargoyle, and Moondragon to blast him with a mix of cold, bio-energy, and brainpower. And the Valkyrie finishes it with a Mighty Punch. Cobert goes down like a redwood. TIMBERRRRRRRRRRR!

As SHIELD comes to slap special manacles on the giant, Fury compliments the New Defenders. They did pretty good. The story ends with Fury getting an alert: Mad Dog and the Mutant Force have escaped. Fury finds that quite an interesting coincidence...

I enjoyed this issue, but then again, I think the 80s New Defenders stuff is underrated in general. I do find it interesting that DeMatteis would revive the Secret Empire from Steve Englehart's Captain America run, but I guess you can't keep an evil conspiracy down, especially if someone else decides to pick up the pieces. The real fun of the issue is in the character stuff, Beast trying to turn this bunch of New Defenders into an actual superteam. The conflicts between the characters, Angel's finding a dedication to the team, Valkyrie's desire to lead, Moondragon's arrogance, Gargoyle's being the wise old man, it's classic Marvel character conflict. it's fun stuff. 

One thing I liked about this era is the roster. It links much of the various "corners" of the Marvel Universe. Beast, Angel, and Iceman are veteran superheroes and represent the "mutant" corner, Valkyrie and Moondragon represent the "Asgardian/Cosmic" corner, and Gargoyle represents the "mystical/demonic" corner. I just think that it needed a street-level character to represent that corner. Too bad Hellcat left, she could have fit that. Or maybe Daredevil. 

If you wish to read this for yourself, I highly recommend tracking down the 2011 trade paperback The New Defenders Vol. 1 or the 2018 trade paperback Defenders Epic Collection Vol. 8: The New Defenders. Thanks for reading this blog entry! if you liked ti, show it off! Take care of yourselves, and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, 

September

 Hello, September!

Text Play: Pokémon Xenoverse #20

Hello, and welcome back to the Eldiw region! This is a special occasion! This is entry number twenty in my Text Play of Pokémon Xenoverse!

That's right! The big 2-0. I want to thank everyone who has read and enjoyed these Text Plays. I have had a ton of fun making these things over the last year. It's helped motivate me to keep going through this game. And as usual, I want to warn you, I will be spoiling this game.

I highly recommend you play the game for yourself before reading this Text Play. You can do so here. And now with that out of the way, let's do this!

Last time, we ended up facing an angry X Rapidash thanks to this Cruella DeVil-wannabe named Dahlia. I wonder if that name is a reference to the Black Dahlia. Ah, I can puzzle over that later. We engaged her...and got our butts handed to us. Yeah. Ouch.

If we get knocked out here, we wake up at the Porygon Center we passed by in the last entry. Yeah, I'm going to have to put in quite a bit of work if we're going to have to get past this big ol' obstacle. I had to do something I thought I'd never have to do in this game: consult its wiki. I did look through it in the past (purely out of curiosity), but it was pretty threadbare. Nowadays, it's really grown.

That threadbareness was why I avoided using it until now. I guess more people have been playing this game than I thought. The X Rapidash's wiki entry revealed that it was a Flying-type...well, at least, in its normal form. But in its "Thunderstorm" form, as I like to call it (the wiki calls it the "Storm" form), it also becomes Electric. Which means that we have a problem. 

You see, normally Electric is weak to Ground. But since X Rapidash is also part Flying, Ground-type attacks are useless against it. It never can be easy.

However, there is hope. The Flying-type is weak against Rock. And, it being part-Flying also means that it's potentially vulnerable to Electric-type attacks. A part-Electric Pokemon that is vulnerable to Electric-type attacks. That's irony for you.

It can also be hurt by Ice and Sound-type attacks. Which means, it's time to play every Pokémon trainer's favorite game show: Adjust! Your! Team! 

So, who from my current team stays, and who goes? 

Masgot

I'm going to have to put Masgot on the bench for now. Masgot is a Bug/Fighting-type Pokémon. And X Rapidash is resistant to Bug and Fighting-type attacks. It does know Dig, which is a Ground-type attack. However, since X Rapidash's Thunderstorm Form is part-Flying, it won't be any bit helpful against that angry unicorn.

Phantump

Like Masgot, I'll have to bench Phantump, too. X Rapidash is also resistant to Grass-type attacks. It's a shame. One strategy I like to use in this game is hitting an opposing Pokémon with Phantump's Leech Seed to help constantly wear it down. X Rapidash is fast, and I don't think Phantump will get the chance to give it the Leech Seed treatment before it gets taken to the cleaners. A shame, really.

I mean, thanks to this game, as well as Sun and Moon, I've have grown rather fond of this Pokémon. But sadly, it won't be any help here.  

Pelipper

Yeah, this guy is going to have to be benched, too. Pelipper is Water/Flying, which makes it especially vulnerable to X Rapidash's Electric-type attacks. 

Sandygast

Sandygast is going to have to go, too. It is partially Ground-type, which would allow it to easily handle Electric-type attacks. However, it doesn't know any Rock-type attacks. So, it has to be benched, too. It's a shame, as I've grown rather fond of this little grudge-animated pile of sand. 

I decided to keep Harrowk, as it's Electric/Flying. Might make it more able to withstand X Rapidash's attacks. I also decided to keep Trishout as it's been a real beast on this journey.

Looking through all the Pokémon I have captured over this adventure so far, I have found some options.

 Onix, Bergmite, and Cubchoo may be good choices to fight that X Rapidash. Onix is Rock/Ground, and it knows some Rock-type attacks. I might also bring back Bremand, too. It's Electric/Sound. I did consider bringing in the X Garvantula (It's part-Ice, and it knows Icy Wind), but it's also part-Bug. I also considered Aron. It's Steel/Rock, and it knows Rock Tomb. As well as Roggenrola. After all, it's Rock-type, and it knows Smack Down (a Rock-type move that knocks down Flying-type Pokémon, making them vulnerable to Ground). I would be a good set-up move.

I decided against Roggenrola because of how it reaches its full evolution to Boldore. Shuckle is Bug/Rock. Didn't want to take a chance because of its bug-type. It's also why I decided against using Vroombug. Its attack Rev Up sounds like a handy Sound-type move (60 Damage, 100% accuracy, and the speed increases), but I felt it wasn't worth the risk of bringing in a Bug-type.

Ultimately, I decided to bring in Bremand (the Electric/Sound variant) from Box 1, Bergmite and Onix from Box 2, and Aron from Box 4. And now comes the hard part: the grinding.

While grinding, I discovered something neat. If you battle and defeat Vroombugs, you may get some Spare Parts. What do Spare Parts do? Well...I have no idea. The game's description of them isn't exactly helpful. All the item screen says about them is what they are (a kit of spare parts for racing vehicles), and that a certain Pokémon loves them. Yeah, not really helpful there, guys.

Luckily, the game's wiki came to the rescue. The Spare Parts are basically an evolutionary item, much like the Elemental Stones or the various Upgrades. Man, I have one for Phantump, I've got to use it in the future. I also hope to find an Upgrade for Graveler so I can get a Golem. I like Golems, Golems rule. They're one of my favorite Pokémon. Anyway, Vroombug uses the Spare Parts to evolve into its next form: Skravroom.

Right, right, right. Anyway, I decided to run around the Sunflare Canyon, and battle some wild Pokémon to grind my team up. While there, I encountered this cowgirl named Jessie.

A cowgirl named Jessie. I wonder if this is a Toy Story reference.

1st Pokemon: Rapidash (Lv. 35) - Defeated by Trishout.

We go downwards from her, and there's another cowboy trainer we fight...named Woody.

Okay, this is a deliberate Toy Story reference! He even looks like Woody from the films!

1st Pokemon: Ekans (Lv. 33) - Defeated by Trishout.
2nd Pokemon: Elgyem (Lv. 34) - Defeated by Trishout.

Nearby Woody is an item box.

It contains a Star Piece. You can sell it at a shop if you need some extra cash quickly. Below that is a lake. As you can see, we'd have to cross the lake. However, we don't have the game's equivalent of Surf, so we can't cross the lake yet. But if you remember the last entry, there's a way around, so it's not a major inconvenience. 

And i think that's where we'll stop for this month. I am sorry that not much happened here, but I have a lot of grinding to do, and I did not get as much time to play this game as I had hoped. This was all I could do before reaching my monthly deadline. So, again, I apologize. Hopefully, next time, I'll have my new team up to fighting strength, and ready to whoop Dahlia! 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 your vaccine/booster! See you next time! 

Pokemon Obtained:
(Sunflare Canyon)
- Chikaboo
- Vullaby

Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons Launch Trailer, My Thoughts

Since the 1980s, the Double Dragon franchise has been beloved by fans of beat-em-ups. This is the series that ignited the Golden Age of beat-em-ups. And now, Arc System Works has a new game in the franchise that is...a little different. Let's look at the trailer!

I'm actually surprised the Double Dragon series has not tried a roguelike beat-'em-up like this before. I would like them to try doing a fighting game again. They did in the past with Double Dragon V: The Shadow Falls for the SNES, Genesis, and Atari Jaguar. That game got mixed reviews. I think Arc System Works (the current owners of the IP) could do a good fighting game.

I like the graphics of this game. It's appropriate that a game in a franchise that ushered in a "Golden Age" of beat-em-ups that it have a 16-bit style. I love that style. I can never get tired of it.

This Marian likes her guns. I would not be surprised if she's this game's Tackleberry. 

Hey, Linda Lash is playable! And her appearance is a nod to her NES look! Nice nod there.

Hot Dog KO! Mmm...hot dog...

I like all the different characters. I can imagine that naturally, they would all play differently. Find the one that works for you!

Wait, is that Anubis? Things got so bad in Metro City that of the Helioptians had to intercede?!

A. BO. BO.

I like the idea of earning money by fighting. And using said money to unlock upgrades and stuff. It's a great motivation to keep playing the game.

And the rendition of the iconic theme is A+!

Well, consider this game another addition to my Switch library. This game looks like it will be a ton of fun. I enjoyed Double Dragon Neon, so I think I'll enjoy this game, too. 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 your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

The Saga of the Original Human Torch #2 (May 1990)

The Marvel Universe has a long history of superheroes and supervillains. And one of the earliest of Marvel's superheroes is James Hammond, the Original Human Torch.

Jim Hammond has blazed his way through this blog before. Back in November of last year, I took a look at the first issue of his first mini-series: The Saga of the Original Human Torch. The mini-series was a retelling of his life up until 1990, when he had been revived and joined up with the West Coast Avengers...even though his body had also been used to build the Vision. Yeah, that was confusing. To see how that got cleared up, check out my review of Avengers Forever #8 right here. 

When we last left off in this miniseries, Jim Hammond angrily flew off, unknowingly leaving the home of Phineas Horton to burn. So, where do we go from here? What happened next to the man credited for igniting the Age of Marvels? Let's find out in The Saga of the Original Human Torch #2!

The cover is a Rich Buckler and Danny Bulanadi piece. It basically depicts the Original Human Torch and his partner Toro kicking Nazi butts. And that's always awesome.

"The World on Fire!"
Writer: Roy Thomas
Penciler: Rich Buckler
Inker: Dan Bulanadi
Letterer: Janice Chiang
Colorist: Bob Sharen
Editors: Ralph Macchio, Mike Rockwitz
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with our man Jimmy flying through the sky, like a blazing comet shooting past the stars. It's September 1939, and the press is decrying about this strange "Human Torch". 

“…where did all these newspapers come from?! I am confused and scared!”

The Torch needs to hide. He can shut off his flames, but he still can't walk around in his red bodysuit. He needs some proper threads. As such, he sneaks into a clothing store and steals some clothes.

Thanks to his donning a sharp suit and equally sharp fedora hat, people on the street don't give him a second look. He finds some money on a sidewalk and uses it to buy a newspaper. He learns that Horton survived the fire the Torch unintentionally caused when he left his home.

The Torch is relieved to hear that Horton is alright, but still decides that he doesn't want anything more to do with the man. After all, Horton only saw Jim as a steppingstone to fortune and fame. He then finds himself hungry. 

Yeah, it's funny that a being presumed to be an artificial life form needs to eat. I think it's been explained that Hammond is a being created with artificial organs, but then why make him a stomach? Eh, it's a Golden Age hero, comes with the territory. 

Anyway, Jim has some money left over, so he buys himself a hot dog. Mmmm...hot dog...

Jim's enjoyment of the meat is interrupted by a thief making off with a woman's purse. Jim is about to do his fiery thing, but a cop takes care of it. This gives Jim a bit of inspiration.

Sometime later, he's managed to acquire the human identity of James "Jim" Hammond (he picked the name from a phone book), and has become a rookie cop himself. On his first night on the beat, he encounters some bank robbers. He goes after them, but ends up activating his powers, scaring them into surrendering.

“Oh God, fire! Doctor says I'm not supposed to be on fire!”

Jim flies off, thinking about how the criminals quivered in his presence. It gives him a bit of inspiration as to how to serve man more directly. He goes to visit his boss, Chief John C. Wilson. It's then that a certain female officer walks into the room.

“Call me…Lt. Obvious!”

Yup, it's Betty Dean, a woman who will be an important part of another Golden Age legend: Namor the Sub-Mariner. Anyway, it's then revealed that Wilson had his eye on the android ever since he and Horton met the commissioner in the last issue. Jim wants to continue being a police officer, using his powers to help catch criminals. Amazingly, Wilson is cool with it. A few days later, Jim Hammond flies to Queensboro to the home of a pair of scientists named Fred and Nora Raymond. They are experts on asbestos and radium, respectively. 

“HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAYYYY…and burn down the house. Oops.”

They're being accosted by a villainess known as the Asbestos Lady. The Torch easily takes down her men, but is forced to let her get away to save the Raymonds' home from his own flames. Ahhh, don't worry about her, Jimmy. The mesothelioma will take her out in a few years. The two show Jim their sleeping son Thomas...who, unknown to the Torch, has a strange immunity to heat and fire. At the time, the Torch was unaware they were both dying from exposure to the substances they had expertise in. Not long afterwards, the Torch had his infamous fight with the Sub-Mariner in New York City.

“TORCH HUNGRY! TORCH WANT FISH STICKS!”

His meeting with the Raymonds, as well as his battle with Namor, caused Jim to realize how lonely he truly was. At least Namor had his fellow Atlanteans. As far as Jim knew, he was the only one of his kind, no peers or even family. Well...somewhat. This leads him to reunite with Professor Horton, his creator and "father of sorts". The two talk, and Horton reveals that Fred Raymond was once an associate of his. Raymond left because of failing health, which Horton feared was connected to his experiments with asbestos. Later on, the Raymonds died. Not because of their illnesses, but because of a train wreck the Asbestos Lady caused.

Weeks later, Jim hears on the radio about a fire-eating boy called Toro at a circus. This leads Jim to believe young Thomas may have survived the wreck. And if Jim figured it out, the Asbestos Lady could, too. She tries to kill him with a gas truck filled with water, but he escapes and captures her. The Torch then flies to the circus.

Tommy Raymond learned the hard way that trying to cosplay as the Human Torch is a BAD idea.

Toro finds himself bursting into flame around Jim but isn't sure why. The flames aren't hurting him, though. He can shut the flames off, but it doesn't explain anything. Jim asks the owner of the circus how Toro ended up under his care. His circus had seen the wreck, and two of his workers found and rescued the boy. Jim offers to help Toro understand his powers...and the boy is all for it.

Jim manages to arrange to be Toro's legal guardian, and the two fight crime together. It's eventually discovered that the Torch's presence acted like a catalyst, activating dormant powers within Toro. It would eventually be established in All-New Invaders #8 (2014) that Toro was a dormant Inhuman. Now that I think about it, why was he called Toro? In Spanish and Italian, "toro" means "bull". What does that have to do with fire?

Anyway, the two fought saboteurs, gangsters, and even the Sub-Mariner again. But in the background, the Second World War raged in Europe. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into the war. 

The Torch and Toro would do their part, becoming members of the wartime superteam known as the Invaders. 

“Alright boys, let’s beat up that swastika!”

During those years, Hammond and Toro fought the Nazis, and villains like Master Man, U-Man, and Warrior Woman. On April 1945, the Invaders are summoned to a hidden chamber in Big Ben to hear a sobering announcement.

"Well, that messes up the plans for the pizza party."

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is dead. But there's still a war on, and the Invaders still have jobs to do. The group's British members, Spitfire and Union Jack have been sent to guard Churchill. Roosevelt died a natural death, but the Allies don't want any chances taken. Namor is assigned to the Pacific, to help with dealing with the Kamikaze planes. Cap and Bucky are to watch over a drone plane base...

And the Torch/Toro combo have a very important assignment. The Russians are smashing their way through Berlin, and the two are assigned to grab Hitler so he can be tried as a war criminal. The two fly into Germany, where they blast some Nazi planes out of the sky...and get a nasty surprise.

"Oh, God! The pilot is drunk!"

Yup, they have a jet, presumably a "Salamander". Jim stops the plane by flying into the jet and drawing the flames from it into his body. The tactic succeeds in making the jet plane stall and drop out of the sky like a rock...but it knocks Jimmy himself for a loop.

Thank goodness for Toro! He's able to rescue his partner, and the story ends with the two flying deeper into Berlin. 

I did enjoy this comic, but I frankly don't have a lot to say about it. It's basically a glorified recap episode. It was pretty cool seeing Jim take down the jet plane at the end, though. I do think that it's also cool seeing Hammond's adventures in the 30s and 40s being retold in a more "modern" way. Roy Thomas's love of the character and the era shines, that's for sure. 

I did find one interesting continuity error here. You see, this story claims that Cap and Bucky were sent on that fateful mission to guard the drone plane (the one what would presumably kill Bucky and put Cap in suspended animation for decades), but according to Captain America Annual #13 (1994), at the time that the Torch and Toro were going to grab Hitler, Captain America had underwent a mission alongside the Patriot and the Spirit of '76 into Berlin to find Hitler's strongbox. Now, that story was released about four years later, so maybe Roy forgot, or editorial didn't catch it. I personally would have had Cap and Bucky's mission be set after Cap's in the Annual. 

And then there's Rich Buckler's art. I can't really explain it, but to me, it has this Golden Age vibe that fits the era.

If you want to read this yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2014 trade paperback Sub-Mariner and the Original Human Torch. 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 your vaccine/booster! See you next time!

International Dog Day!

Today is International Dog Day!

I hope you spend this say hugging your beloved woofer!

Ahsoka Trailer, My Thoughts

In 2008, the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars debuted a teenage Jedi Padawan named Ahsoka Tano. She was named in homage to Indian king Ashoka the Great. The padawan to Anakin Skywalker (the future Darth Vader), the character was disliked by fans at first, but eventually became a fan favorite. She would go on to appear in the follow-up animated series, the sequel series Star Wars Rebels, and even make a vocal cameo in The Rise of Skywalker, voiced by Ashley Eckstein. She would even get her own novel. 

She would make the jump to live-action in the second season of The Mandalorian, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Dawson had expressed interest in playing Tano, and would reprise the role in The Book of Boba Fett. And now, Ahsoka is getting her own miniseries on Disney+, with Dawson stepping back into the role. Let's look at the trailer!

🎵 "Flyin' along in mah spaceship!" 🎵

War is inevitable? Well, that'll be true with that attitude!

Aw, come on! Those troopers had two days left before they could retire!

"The Force is drunk again."

Thrawn is back?! As someone who enjoyed Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, this gets me excited!

RIP, Ray Stephenson.

Hera and Chopper! and Sabine! I've got to watch Rebels some time.

Well, this looks like a fun series. I've been enjoying Andor, so I think this will be fun as well. I never watched Rebels, so I hope that this show doesn't leave me too lost about the characters from that show coming here. 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 your vaccine/booster! See you next time!