Category Archives: Reviews

Batman Beyond (2014) Review

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Batman’s 75th Anniversary continues to bring us more animation that is not only cutting edge, but also DCAU styled. Strange Days was a pretty good animation and it even had a plot. This short is much….shorter, but we still get a basic plot and even a villain. There is a cliffhanger which can maybe be wrapped up in a future installment, but probably just in our minds!

The short starts out with Batman Beyond realizing that the Batcave has been infiltrated and Bruce (BATMAN) Wayne has already been dealt with. That’s when Batman appears, but he seems different somehow. Batman Beyond has no time to think about this as the fight begins. He’s on the losing end of the battle for a while and this is probably what fans would expect from a fight between the two. It’s definitely fun to see Batman beat him up, but technically Batman Beyond can definitely fight on par with him thanks to his super suit. Will Batman Beyond live through this experience!?

The ending is probably the best part of the short. We get some pretty epic music that all fans of the original TV show should recognize and we also notice that Batman Beyond is completely doomed. If Bruce Wayne doesn’t get into costume quickly…this will get ugly. The homages to the other versions of Batman were great and the best one would be the original or seeing the classic The Batman get in there.

The animation and color scheme was spot on from the original show. That’s what I want to see when I turn on my TV. 5 Star entertainment. The voice acting was superb as expected and a new season of this show would immediately be one of the best superhero shows around. I doubt that any of DC’s future shorts will be able to defeat this one unless they go ahead and make a Justice League version. (Which will probably happen at some point)

Overall, this was easily the best DC short so far. We got some incredible action and the villain was pretty impressive. Seeing the DCAU back in action is an inspiration to us all and it shows that DC still remembers how to put out an epic show. I highly recommend this short to all DC fans and really to fans of Marvel as well. Agents of Smash and Avengers Assemble could learn a few things from this short. Batman Beyond already looks more impressive than all of Marvel’s current superheroes in animation. Hopefully we get another animation soon!

Overall 9/10

Street Fighter Alpha Review

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I’m sure that we’re all familiar with the Street Fighter video games at this point. I only own Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter X Tekken, but the franchise is so popular that I’m still familiar with several of the characters. Its great to see that Street Fighter got a manga and it’s safe to say that I had some decently high hopes heading in.

The series is only two volumes so they couldn’t really fit everyone in, but that’s all right. Two volumes is better than one and while I do wish that all series could be over 20 volumes; it won’t affect the score. That would be pretty unfair to short, but epic franchises like Zombie Powder and Megaman ZX. There is still a decent amount of plot and the series is very fast paced.

One of the many positives of Street Fighter Alpha is the fact that the story is fast paced, but the author also knows when it’s time for a long fight. Bison vs Rose and Ryu takes up most of the second volume and it’s a great fight. Length is important and it’s one area that Marvel and DC continue to struggle in. I don’t want to see a fight that only lasts for two pages before the rest occurs off screen. I want to see some serious DBZ action and Street Fighter delivers.

One of the reasons why the delivery goes smoothly is thanks to the art. The art is the classic 90’s style so everyone looks pretty tough. The fight scenes are great and you feel the power behind each blow. It’s hard to describe why the 90’s had such awesome art and you really need to view it firsthand to appreciate how well done the drawings are.

The plot involves Ryu, the hero of Street Fighter, as he is not really a fighter anymore. He’s basically a bodyguard for hire at this point and he’s worried about how the Dark Hado may take control of him someday. We don’t get to see all of his previous history first hand, but he mentions his tough fight against Sagat and how it changed him. Ryu isn’t the happy go lucky guy that he used to be.

Unfortunately, the Dark Hado consumes Ryu once again and he’s forced to take on Chun Li and his other friends. Ken is not frightened by the darkness and he still loves to fight. Ken wants Ryu to accept this as well, but will Ryu comply? Meanwhile, the true threat behind the curtains is Bison and wide spread devastation will occur if he is not stopped. Ryu will have to put on his fighting gloves once more and take on this strong opponent as well as shutting down an underground fighting arena. It’s going to be a tough day for this fighter!

Ryu is a good main character. He’s definitely not as cheerful as I had imagined him to be, but I’m sure that it’s temporary. By the end of the series, Ryu is already showing signs of his old self. Ryu’s dark form is pretty fierce and he’s much stronger than his normal form. Ryu doesn’t look very impressive without the dark powers, but he’s still strong enough to defeat most opponents. He’s just not at the high level that other fighters like Bison and Akuma have reached. Naturally, Ryu will likely possess incredible powers once he masters the dark powers and merges them with his natural abilities.
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Ken is one of the bigger supporting characters, but he doesn’t get a lot of action. His big moment is when he has a big confrontation with Ryu. The manga portrays Ryu and Ken as being similar in power and I’m okay with that, but I’m glad that they weren’t dead even. Ryu’s accelerated healing and dark hado powers should definitely give him the edge. Even without those two factors in Ryu’s favor; I would still pick him in a fight. Ken’s heroic, if not a little generic, but he’s a good character as well. He’s not the type of guy that would come close to being my favorite hero, but he’s a good supporting fighter.

Chun Li is pretty high tier as far as cops go, but she’s definitely not as powerful as Ryu or Ken. Her energy blasts seem to be decently powerful and she does know martial arts, but she’s not a master at this point. She’s a good character and she proves it when she goes into the ring to save Cammy. Unfortunately, Chun Li misses most of the climax, but maybe we’ll see her more in a future series.

Guy is definitely the best hero of the series and everything about him is awesome. The manga hints that he could take down Bison and he makes short work of Ryu during their fight. (It should be noted that Ryu was using his dark powers) Guy is definitely a master at hand to hand combat and he doesn’t mind letting his opponent know how the battle is going to end. He gets a pretty small role, but I definitely would have liked to see him appear more. Akuma may have met his match against this fighter!

Cammy is more like an android in this series. Not literally, but she doesn’t have much emotion due to circumstances. She’ll likely learn the values of teamwork and friendship at some point, but she’s still a good character. She does pretty well in her first match, but she definitely lacks experience and she’s not one of the strongest fighters in the ring.

Birdie was all right I suppose. I was really wondering why he was here the whole time. He uses a gun….which isn’t awful, but that’s not going to cut it in Street Fighter world. (Even counting the fact that a pair of bullets nearly took out Ryu) I didn’t recognize him from the games so I just figured that he was made up for the manga. He could have been worse, but I never found him that likable. A decent power boost or fight scene could change that.

Rose is a mysterious character that pops up from time to time. She seems to be on the side of justice or maybe she just wants to defeat Bison. Either way, she’s a pretty fierce fighter and a good character as well. Her paralysis was strong enough to keep Ryu pinned down for a while and she gave Bison a decent fight. The victor was never really in doubt, but Rose was still able to put up a fight. Sakura also gets a small role, but she doesn’t look very impressive. Her heart is in the right place, but she simply doesn’t have the abilities to win the tough fights. She’s too young at this point and Bison takes her down pretty quickly. Sakura actually makes the situation a little dicey for Ryu because of this.

Bison is the big villain in the series and he’s definitely powerful. As mentioned earlier, his fights are quite long and he’s likely in the top 5 strongest characters of the franchise. He’s a solid villain and he can back up his bragging with action. The other villains look pretty bad in comparison since we only got some minor guys like Vega and Adon. Vega doesn’t have his signature mask and he looks downright weak. (Although he was fighting a high tier fighter) Adon just seems petty and not the kind of villain that I could really respect. He underestimated the Dark Hado. Bison definitely makes these guys look bad by being so cool and even his design puts theirs to shame.

Akuma is easily one of the best characters in the series. He only appears for an instant, but it’s an awesome appearance. Ken acknowledges Akuma’s incredible power and they hint that he could have easily defeated Bison. Unfortunately for the heroes, Bison is below someone like Akuma and the latter does not want to bother fighting him. Akuma does want to challenge Ryu and that should be a quick match. Ryu doesn’t seem to be on the same level as of yet, but a little training can go a long way.
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Overall, this was a pretty fun manga. I’d like to see Tekken or Virtua Fighter top this series. The series was definitely short, but we got some great fights, a good cast of characters, and a good plot. You don’t really need much else to be a good manga. The series does end on a pretty epic cliffhanger and you’ll want to make your guesses on who will ultimately win the fight. I recommend this manga to anyone that likes some solid action scenes!

Overall 7/10

Star Wars Volume 1 In the Shadow of Yavin Review

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Star Wars is easily one of the biggest franchises out there and I finally got around to watching the six live action films pretty recently. (Naturally I saw the animated one years ago) It was a pleasant surprise to see the main cast back in action and Dark (Darth may be his name, but I grew up calling him Dark Vader and the name stuck) Vader is impressive as you would expect from the original trilogy. This series is off to a solid start and I always like to see expansions from the main story.

There are several plots happening at the same time in this collection. Princess Leia is told that the rebels have been infiltrated by a spy and the heroes continue to be ambushed by the Federation. In response to this, Leia handpicks a small team of comrades that she can trust so that they can work securely in their task to find a new planet for the Rebels base. Unfortunately, her team isn’t the greatest and Luke definitely isn’t helping matters. The Rebels may be at the end of their rope!

Meanwhile, Han Solo and Chewy were trying to make a deal for the Rebels, but it turns out that the seller was a traitor! Han takes him out, but the two of them are badly outnumbered. Will they really be able to get through this in one piece or are they doomed!? Meanwhile, we also get to see Dark Vader be reassigned and his replacement may turn out to be a big threat!

Luke Skywalker does not look very good in this comic. He allows Prithi to distract him far too much and he abandons protocol. I’m all for abandoning protocol if needed, but he just did it so that he could disintegrate as a character. By association, I also do not like Prithi in this comic. Did she join to fight or flirt? Both of them were definitely irresponsible and it would have been nice if Leia had kicked them off the team. The trend of disliking Luke Skywalker whenever he appears continues…

Princess Leia is much better as she actually gets to fight and she never jeopardizes the mission. She is definitely a little on the shady side since she’s willing to do whatever it takes in order to secure the win against the Republic. She does manage to defeat an alien during a one on one battle, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately, her security protocols were not tight enough and the traitor continues to gain ground. She’s going to be out of the picture for a while and we’ll see how that affects volume 2!

Dark Vader is easily the best character in the comic. This is how he was meant to be portrayed! I would have liked for him to take out the Emperor, but the author can’t go that far since it would completely destroy the continuity. Aside from that inconvenience, Dark Vader definitely makes his presence known. Not only does he take out the opponent who tried to defy him, but he also gets an epic minicomic at the end that shows why he’s so great. Dark Vader is a villain that others to aspire to be like.

I give Han Solo credit for the fact that he’s always ready with a pun or a wisecrack. While I will never be able to seriously believe that someone will still be cracking jokes in the face of certain death; it’s still fun to see. Solo may forever regret that he couldn’t grab the wine, but at least he escaped. It’s easy to root for Han in this collection. Chewy obviously gets some great lines, but we’ll never know what they were. Chewy panics a lot more than Han Solo and he seems inexperienced in comparison, but he’s still a nice ally to have around. His appearances just aren’t the same without his trademark roar.

Colonel Bircher is one of the new villains for this collection and it seems like he will be a recurring villain in the series. I definitely don’t mind since he’s a pretty good opponent for the heroes. He may not wield The Force, but he is a master tactician. If his men had only listened to him, they may have made it through this situation in one piece. Bircher is a serious army veteran and he’s the type of character that you can root for in a fight. His armor is also pretty cool looking.

Wedge gets a lot of hype since he may be the best pilot that the Rebels have. Since I do not recognize the name, I’m definitely suspicious of his motives. If anyone’s the traitor…it would make sense that its him. He’s about as shady as a person can get, but that’s just because of the plot. Otherwise, he’s actually a pretty likable character. If he manages to stay as a hero, then he’s definitely up there with the high tier Star Wars characters. He can’t use the Force…but you can’t win them all.

The art is pretty good for the comic. I wouldn’t say that it’s amazing, but most of the character designs are spot on and the lightsabers still look really cool. Things may get a little dicey when the characters are in their spacesuits and I think that the artist may need to work on that. That’s my only gripe with the art and the rest is definitely solid enough to help make the collection fun.

Overall, this series is off to a great start. It’s pretty modern and volume two isn’t even out yet so this series may last until the film comes out. I can’t wait to see Bircher take down Luke Skywalker and I want to see if I’m right about Wedge being the traitor. None of the plots have ended yet and if they go the Transformers route, we’ll have even more subplots in the next volume. I recommend this to all Star Wars fans and even if you’ve never heard of the franchise (……it could happen) you would still enjoy this comic. It’s a fun space adventure and I’m hoping that Guardians of the Galaxy will use this style for the film.

Overall 7/10

Robocop Review

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Robocop is a name that I’ve been familiar with for a long time, but I had never seen him in action. When I heard that he would be having a new film; I was largely indifferent. I was sure that it would be fun, but I figured that it could be years until I actually saw it. Instead, I ended up seeing it at the theater. It was essentially as good as I thought it would be, which can be seen as a good or a bad thing.

Alex is an ordinary cop and he’s one of the few policeman left who has not turned to the dark side. He’s on the case as per usual when an explosion basically takes him down for the count. To save his life, a medical group quickly puts him inside of a suit that will enable him to live. The main drawback being that the government (Ok, not really the government, but his handlers) can take direct control of him whenever they please. Alex doesn’t like this and he needs to make sure that nobody can stop him from enforcing the law. He’s going to have to use all of his abilities to pull this off!

Alex is a pretty good main character and he’s a hero through and through. Well, he does go all out in the ending which may make his hero status a little murky, but before that he was known as a heroic cop. He got the job done and villains could not mess with him. After he becomes Robocop, he’s still a good character, but he doesn’t really get his will back until the end. I can sympathize with how he doesn’t want anyone to see him in his new form. It’s pretty tough to look at and it could traumatize his kid. Alex was easily the best character in the film, but from here on…I shall call him Robocop!

I’ll admit that the beginning had me a little worried. It starts off in a small village with robots and humans working together in harmony. I didn’t mind the harmony part, but deserts, underwater, and places without a lot of buildings don’t make for great scenery. Luckily, we quickly move to the big city and the scene wasn’t that bad. I’m not sure what the point of the suicide bombers was, but I suppose that they give us a sense of dread and show how against drones America is. Which brings us to another point of the film….

America is actually pretty smart this time around. We decided that we didn’t want a bunch of droids infiltrating America so we put a stop to it. Patrick has a TV show where he tries to convince people to allow droids in America, but it’s tough to stop an American when it comes to politics. The show was one of the better subplots because I always like to see TV scenes. Patrick is a decent character, but his final line is unnecessary. Unfortunately, you know that it’s coming. You can seriously guess what he’s about to say before he even says it thanks to his actor. As with Wolverine, it’s somehow become a part of his character. Until then, Patrick kept his cool at least.

Meanwhile, I actually didn’t mind Alex’s kid that much. Usually I don’t really care the kids in a movie because they can be a little annoying or just add filler to the story. I could sympathize with this kid a lot more because he was actually supportive of Alex’s predicament. He taped all of the sport games and waited to watch them until Alex came home. Unfortunately, Alex wasn’t able to watch it with him and that’s where things got sad for David. (The son) He also has a tough time going to school because of Alex’s image being ruined on public TV. (Alex was forced to ignore him as well since he was hijacked)

Clara is a decent character and she makes the tough call to have Robocop be created since Alex wasn’t in a position to personally agree. The decision may not have been universally appreciated, but she did have to make a choice and the scientists probably would have went along with the process anyway. It’s good that Clara made things hard on the villains for a while, but she does end up underestimating them at the end.

Rick is one of the big antagonists and I can’t say that he’s a likable character. He’s basically there for us to dislike him and he’s also pretty weak. Robocop would have taken him out instantly if not for all of the protocols. Rick talks tough, but he’s one of the many characters who cannot back it up with action.

Dennett is the main scientist and it’s hard to root for him as well. He helps the villains for a while and he definitely doesn’t make it easy for Robocop. At the end he realizes that things may have gone too far, but things went too far a long time ago! Either way I would have been surprised if I had liked the scientist, they usually aren’t my favorite characters.

Raymond is the mastermind behind the whole operation and his power is only matched by his terrible planning skills. He does make sure to have a lot of backups for his plan, but it was doomed to fail. I’m sure that the American citizens were going to realize that something was up. Raymond is the type of guy who will take a hostage, but he won’t fight Robocop one on one. If not for Robocop’s limitations, the final battle would have been a lot quicker. Raymond just wasn’t an interesting villain.

Jack is Robocop’s partner and he’s a pretty tough guy. He may not have looked very good during the detective work at the beginning, but his reflexes were just a little off. He still had his gun at the ready and he did pretty good. Considering how corrupt the police is, it’s good to know that we’ve got another cop on the side of the law. Once Robocop is fully operational, Jack doesn’t really get to appear much. He’s going to need an upgrade for the sequel!

The soundtrack wasn’t really memorable. It may appear that this is the case a lot recently, but it’s not just in recent films. Many films suffer from having a very unmemorable or just downright generic set of themes. This one may not have been very generic, but I just can’t recall any of the themes. This was definitely no Man of Steel or Avengers in that regard!

The battle scenes were fun when they happened, but we didn’t get enough of them. Robocop is great with a gun and they could have stylized the fights like the Terminator films. The best fight scene is probably when Robocop has a test battle against the droids and the trainer. We get some action in the climax, but the robots were very big so it wasn’t a real fight scene. Robocop would shoot them and keep on shooting them until they were down for the count. We need another humanoid in order to make this a fair fight. I’m confident that a sequel would have more fighting.

Overall, this was a good movie. I wouldn’t say that it was great, but it was a decent starting point. I would have liked some more action and I think that Robocop should have snapped away from the mind control a little sooner, but those aren’t huge errors. I would definitely be interested in watching a sequel and the franchise has a lot of potential in it. I recommend this film if you enjoyed the original Iron Man or if you like a good robot story. It’s light on action so you’ll want to be watching it for the emotional values…maybe. Just watch it if you want to see what life could be like in the future with droids all over the place.

Overall 6/10

The All New Batman The Brave and the Bold Small Miracles Review

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Seeing as how this is year is Batman’s 75th Anniversary; it makes sense to check out an old Batman comic. The Brave and the Bold concept is pretty great and I’m always up for a good team up. Batman’s had several of these series over the years and they’ve all been pretty good. There are six comics in the collection and it’s time to see if they were all winners!

The first comic was easily the best one of the batch and that’s definitely a nice way to start the collection. The Phantom Stranger has brought all of the Robins together so that they can save Batman. Batman has been shot and the injury appears to be fatal. Can the Robins find a way to put aside their differences and save the Caped Crusader before all is lost!?

This comic was very fun since all of the Robins got to interact. Who wouldn’t want to see these guys take a swing at each other? Unfortunately they don’t get to fight, but we do get to see them team up. I’m not a huge fan of Nightwing’s costume in this one, but the character was portrayed correctly. Tim Drake and Jason Todd were my favorite Robins in this adventure. Todd even got some free foreshadowing about what would happen to him, but luckily he didn’t piece it together. The plot isn’t very convincing since the Phantom Stranger could have summoned anyone to help, but maybe he just wanted to teach the Robins some teamwork. We get some cameos from a few other heroes at the end, which could have made for a nice adventure as well. The comic also gets some extra points for giving Batman a nice amount of willpower when the going got tough.

The second comic had a Christmas theme and it involved the Ragman. There weren’t any big criminals in this comic, but the Ragman isn’t very happy. In his neighborhood, the people have fallen into tough times and everyone is pretty poor. He can stop the hoodlums from causing trouble, but he can’t give them any money. He lets Batman know about his troubles, but then they realize that the hoodlums may have a boss. It could be time for Batman to show why he’s one of the legendary heroes!

This comic was decently good. It’s supposed to be an emotional comic and emotional stories aren’t as fun as action packed ones. That being said, the Ragman is a better character than I would have thought. He’s basically a second rate Batman, but he’s still a fun hero to root for. He is definitely not that optimistic, but by the end of the comic he remembers why its good to be cheerful. Batman made the right call at the end of the issue and it’s something that you would expect from the Caped Crusader.

The third comic featured Mr Miracle as he becomes trapped along with Batman. They don’t know how they’ve been trapped, but they need to get out as fast as they can. There are numerous traps and they will not only test how physically capable the heroes are, but it will also test how long their minds can hold out against the strain!

I liked the twist at the end of the comic and it was cool to see the heroes try to dodge all of the traps. They squeeze in a pretty big villain at the end of the issue, which makes for a pretty unbelievable ending. However, Mr Miracle is around and he does have that name for a reason. They give him a lot of hype and while I believe that Batman is even better at escaping traps; Mr Miracle can be a decent character as well. He has a little too much fun through the danger parts and that’s something that I can never really find believable, but it’s good to know that he enjoys his job. Batman is naturally the one who suspects that something is up and we also get to see how durable he is.

Every comic collection needs to have one comic that drags down the rest and this is what the fourth comic does. Batmite decides that he needs to have someone that’s more important than a friend to him, but Batman isn’t sure that this is a wise idea. Will Batmite learn that romance is not quite as intense as it appears or will Batman have to take him down!?

There’s not much to say about this comic. Batmite was as unlikable as ever and the comic just wasn’t funny. Romance doesn’t make for a great plot in a comedy adventure like this one and Batman didn’t look so good. He let Batmite verbally defeat him in each of their battles. If only Batmite would learn once and for all that Batman is a great hero who does not need any help. You may just want to skip this comic.

The fifth comic had the biggest guest star. Wally West is in town and he’s determined to prove to Batman that he’s a capable hero. He even takes a shot at the Teen Titans, but Batman lets it slide. When there’s a robbery in the city, Flash decides to challenge Batman to a contest. The winner will find the culprit, stop him, and recover the jewels first. Batman never resists a good challenge so the fight is on!

The plot for the comic was pretty good and I’m always up for a race. Wally may have been a little desperate to beat Batman, but it’s okay since this isn’t Barry Allen. With Flash’s super speed it could even be a little believable that he could find the culprit before Batman. It’s a best of three battle, but I can assure you that we don’t get the usual cop out. They don’t tie in the final round and that would have been sad. We do get a big twist at the end of the comic, but it actually helped the ending and everything suddenly made a lot of sense. Batman is definitely a team player and this comic reminds us of that.

The final comic shows how tough a week can be for someone like Batman. He’s needed by many other superheroes and he’ll be facing some of the toughest villains around. Can Batman really match up against this onslaught of villains? Well, Batman definitely has the last laugh when the comic ends and this is also one of the better ones in the collection.

This issue was basically a montage as we get 2 pages for every day of Batman’s week. One day he’s fighting Mongul and the next he’s dealing with Jonah Hex in the past. Batman’s a busy guy so I’m sure that you’re not surprised to see him taking on all of these threats. As fun as the comic was, the ending is what really made it stand out. One guy asks Batman if he really needs everyone’s help all of the time and Batman quickly clears things up. “They need my help!” is basically Batman’s response and it does ring true. Whenever a situation arises, the heroes tend to run to Batman for help. Who else could they trust to save the world?

Batman appears in each of the comics and they do a good job of making him into a likable character. Batman has several different personalities as you go through the eras and this one focuses on his happy personality from the old days. I love this take on Batman since we don’t get it so often. Seeing Batman crack a few puns can get you a little more interested in who he’s actually fighting. Batman looked incredible in all of the good comics in this batch so I really don’t have any complaints about how he was handled. He’s Batman…and that’s all that needs to be said.

The art is pretty good and it’s easy to read. The artist definitely styled it after the TV show and it works for these comics. I wouldn’t say that the art is very high tier, but it’s good enough to be called a very good piece of art. In a way, it may remind you of the art from the 80’s or 70’s and that was a solid era.

Overall, this is a pretty fun collection of comics. It is pretty short so you don’t want to pay a high price for this trade paperback, but it’s worth a standard price. From the 6 comics, all of them were pretty good except for the Batmite one. The comics have a nice mix of action and comedy with Batman getting all of the best punchlines. I’ve always loved Batman’s portrayal in these stories and it’s easy to see why he’s so popular. If you haven’t already read these comics…..I recommend changing that now!

Overall 7/10

Transcendence Review

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I have to say that I never realized how many horror posters this film got. I definitely would have been disappointed if I went in after just viewing those, but I wasn’t expecting a horror movie when I went in. I was expecting a film with Johnny Depp where he actually looked bearable. That can’t be right…can it? My brother got some advance tickets so I got to see the film before it officially came out and things got intense. Pizza in one hand and a water bottle in the other, I wasn’t leaving until I’d seen the entire film!

The plot involves a man named Will Castor and he’s pretty smart. He is working on building a sentient A.I. that has a will of its own and is capable of making decisions. Things are going pretty well for a while, but then the building where he is in gets infiltrated by a terrorist organization that is against technology. They shoot him and murder some of his associated as they effectively shut down the program. Will now has the only computer that works and he is doomed to die. His only chance is to become the A.I., but will he still be human? Humanity must decide whether they can trust Will or not and the terrorists aren’t going to stop until he’s taken down. Man vs Machines…the war to end all wars has begun. Let’s just hope that we fare better against Will than we did against Skynet!

There actually aren’t a whole bunch of characters in this one. There are only a few important ones that need to be mentioned and who better to start off with than Will? As you can tell from the trailers, Will becomes one with the A.I. and now he has the power! The Government quickly starts to fear him and the terrorists are unnerved. This doesn’t really deter Will and he does a lot of great things with his new abilities. He can help people heal from disease and give them superhuman abilities as well. That’s not a bad deal and he can also keep people safe.

We don’t get to see it much, but with his internet abilities, Will has a lot of control over the planet. Think about what you could do if you completely controlled the internet. It would be pretty incredible. Unfortunately, that’s not something that we really get to see since it’s more about how Will is helping the environment and trying to convince people that he’s an okay guy. Not all of his moves are the right ones, but I’ll get into that later on in the review.

Evelyn is Will’s partner through the film and she tries her hardest to make sure that Will makes it into his A.I. form in decent shape. She was pretty good during the beginning of the film, but I gradually began to dislike her as the film went on. I’ve never liked it when the characters start to distrust the main character because he’s grown too powerful. I expected her to be a lot more understanding towards the end and it just didn’t happen.

At least Evelyn doesn’t fall as far down as Max. Max is basically Will’s best friend, but the instant that Will transcends the limits of the physical body; Max turns against him. He fears what he does not fully understand and he also doesn’t want to understand. Max gets kidnapped by the terrorists and things continue to get worse and worse for him.

Naturally, you’ll understand why I don’t like Joseph. As with Evelyn, he turns against Will pretty quickly. Even before he turned to the “dark” side I didn’t care for him. He was a little too chummy with the FBI and if you’ve watched any film in the last 30 years…you never trust the FBI. They are usually just around to be infiltrated or blown apart by the CIA. Given how big his actor was, I thought that Joseph would get a larger role. Ah well, he didn’t really add much to the plot.

Donald was one of the more likable characters. Why? He’s open about being untrustworthy and he’s basically bad to the bone. He believes in using people to take the fall for him and he doesn’t matter how he solves a case…just as long as he solves it. Donald doesn’t appear for very long, but he was a nice change of pace from the other characters.

Bree is the final character that I should mention. She’s just one of the terrorists, but she seems to be the main one or at least the most important member. She gets Max to exit the bar and get mugged and she’s also the one who continues to talk tough for the duration of the film. I can’t say that she’s a likable villain and I can’t take her seriously as a villain, but at least she had a gun. That automatically made her more prepared than the rest of the terrorists.

We have a pretty colorful cast, but they just weren’t that enjoyable. Will did some shady things, but for the most part he was helping humanity. I can see why they were upset when his cybernetics became capable of possessing people, but why couldn’t Evelyn just tell him that she didn’t approve? Throughout the whole film, she never walks up to Will and directly tells him to stop. It’s a little tough on the viewer because you almost feel bad for Will. He really does his best to make Evelyn feel comfortable in this tough future, but she doesn’t make things easy on him.

Will may have made a few mistakes, but he also did a lot of good through his new knowledge. He could have revolutionized medical treatment and stopped Global hunger. He would have essentially solves all of Earth’s big problems if humanity had let him. Power corrupts, but Will seemed to be strong willed enough to stop that from happening to him. Sure, Will got rich very quickly, but he did it by using advanced logic to place stock, bets, and trades. He didn’t seem to do anything illegal.

As such, it’s hard to sympathize with the other characters. If Will had won, then it would have been a victory for many. An innocent man ends up dying because of the terrorists, but the government doesn’t seem to care and more of Will’s “friends” take it in stride since it’s for the greater good. I’ve never liked traitors like that and these characters were no exception.

The soundtrack for the film is decent. I liked the theme that played during the end credits, but I can’t say that I really remember any of the other tunes. Well, having one memorable tune definitely beats having none and that final piece helped to win back the horror element that we had been waiting for.

The film isn’t very violent, but we do get a few intense scenes. One guy is beaten up very badly and then Will has to use his super science to save him. That scene can be a little disturbing visually since his injuries look so gruesome. We get a few people beat up here and there, but nothing gets any worse than the medical scene. It would have been more of a problem if we got too many scenes like that, but there are only a handful of scenes with violence and the rest is back to the norm. We don’t really get much romance in this film although I’m pretty sure that I remember an unnecessary flashback. It could have been cut out.

Overall, this was an all right film. It’s basically what if story with a lot of drama. The film could have went many different ways with this plot and they went for an emotional route. I believe that the film would have done better if it had gone for horror or action, but I suppose that a film can’t do that every time. It’s not a bad film and you should enjoy it if you like the concept, but there’s also no amazing reason to see it. If you want another take on a what if future involving robots, then it may be time to check out an edited Terminator film.

Overall 5/10

Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations Review

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I have to say that I had been wanting to get this game for years. It was right up there with Dragon Ball Z Raging Blast as the highest game on my list. It took me a few years to finally get it and I can say that it was as good as I expected. This is definitely one of the greatest games out there and now I’ll talk about why it’s so great.

First, I just want to explain why it took so long to get this game. I have loads of games on my list and while this was the highest one, it was also more money than some others. Why get Naruto for 30 dollars when I could buy 4 other games for that same amount of money? It’s the whole quantity vs quality debate. I admit that I usually go for quantity in that case because it’s fun to have a lot of options. Still, I finally got this game for my birthday with a few other games. (You can expect to see reviews for them at some point. I will say that DOA 2 Hardcore was also one of my Birthday games)

This isn’t the first game in the Ninja Storm series so you may already know the gameplay, but I’ll explain it just in case. It’s a 3D battle style, but don’t mistake it for Xmen Legacy or Iron Man 2! This is a deep 3D battle style and each character has a lot of attacks and combos that can be used. When you’re hit by an attack, you have to option to quickly turn into a log and stop the combo. You can’t do this forever as there is a new meter that prevents people from spamming this function.

You can use close combat techniques or launch a projectile jutsu and see how it fares. The gameplay is really fun, thanks in part to the large cast of diverse characters. This is one game where you may not spam final smashes quite as much as in other games because some of them can be pretty easy to dodge, which leaves you vulnerable to attack. You can play 1 on 1 battles or use the team system, which equips you with two other characters that you can summon as backup. It’s essentially the same system as in Marvel vs Capcom in that respect. Some characters also have an Awakening mode, which drastically amplifies their attack power and you sometimes get a whole new moveset. They’re really fun to use and they make sure that you feel every hit while in those forms. I suspect that the sound effects are increased during that time period to really get you ready for some action.

The graphics amplify the gameplay because they are pretty great. The attacks stand out and the colors are very flashy. You’ll notice this a lot if you play as the 4th Hokage since almost all of his attacks have yellow energy around them. This game also has fully animated cutscenes that look really good. You’ll think that you’re watching the TV show when they come on. Each Story episode typically has two big animated cutscenes and you can tell that they put a lot of work into this game.

The soundtrack is pretty good for the game, although it’s definitely not as strong as it could have been. You really won’t be paying much attention to the music while you’re fighting, but I would have liked some more rock themes. In Gaara’s opening, we get an incredible piece of music, but it never appears again and I can’t seem to find it online. Beyond that, Story Mode has a pretty catchy tune, but it basically shows up for every battle so it may get a little repetitive after a while. I would say that the music is average, but that’s still not bad. It definitely could have been a lot worse.

Story Mode is a mixed bag for me. Instead of going through the whole plot like the games usually do, this game decided that a few characters would just get their own story. It’s basically an Arcade Mode with an intro/ending as well as a short cutscene before each fight. The problem is that the story doesn’t really make a lot of sense this way. It’s enjoyable and you’ll still get what’s happening, but I would have preferred the traditional approach. One thing that you will definitely pick up is the fact that Naruto and Sasuke are the two most important characters. They have a big role in just about every story and you’ll realize that they’re basically invincible. Killer Bee gets his own story as well, but it’s basically filler and more of a homage to the character than anything. He doesn’t get any big cutscenes, but we get to see him rap and dance…that’s something I suppose. (Not a Killer Bee fan!)

Unlike some of the other games that I’ve been reviewing lately, this game has a lot of extra content that will keep you playing for a while. There are about a dozen tournaments to enter and completing them all gives you various titles and unlockables as well as a decent amount of money. Next, you’ve also got over a dozen levels of survival mode to play and unlock more content as well. Then we’ve got the traditional two player mode and you can have fun in team battles or standard play.

Replay Value is definitely not something that Generations is lacking. There are many things to buy at the shop and you’ll need to get a lot of money if you really want to buy them all. Getting some things to unlock in the shop requires you to play as all of the characters and use their final smashes. It may seem like a daunting task, but the gameplay is so fun that you probably won’t even mind.

Naturally, this game also has trophies to earn and boost your user profile. I haven’t acquired the Platinum this time, but the trophies don’t seem outrageous. There are some difficult ones in there, but none that I would consider unfair or pointless. Beating all tournaments and survival modes is a reasonable trophy since it’s something that you would be inclined to do anyway. Plus, as a customer, you want to get the maximum value for the game that you just bought right?

I suppose that it’s not a surprise that this game is so great. Naruto’s had an excellent track record as far as video games go. The first Ultimate Ninja Storm was great and the Clash of Ninja series has always been one of the better fighters. Ultimate Ninja is great and those games had a lot of characters and even the Dragon Blade spinoff was decent considering that the controls weren’t the best. Naruto is just one of those franchises that really knows how to make a top of the line game.

Overall, I highly recommend this game! It’s extremely fun and there is a lot to do. The character roster is pretty large so you shouldn’t have a tough time trying to find someone to play with. Story Mode may not be very clear, but you can still experience the story through various characters and its pretty fun. If nothing else, it can help you become a fan and start reading the manga or watching the anime. This is one of the select games that I can confidently call and All Star. There are very few games that beat this one so I would recommend buying it when you have the chance!

Overall 9/10

Iron Man 2 Review

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Aw yeah, it’s Iron Man time! I enjoyed the first game on the DS and the gameplay was pretty unique. This is one of the bigger Marvel movie tie ins and also one of the final ones since they don’t seem to make them anymore. It’s a pretty fun game and while I can’t say that it was great, it was pretty good considering that this game probably didn’t get a huge budget.

The plot is pretty different from the movie and I can’t really say that it was very memorable. You get to fight big names like the Crimson Dynamo and Ultimo while helping SHIELD get through some serious situations. All you need to know is that the villains keep trying to steal Tony Stark’s data and we can’t let that happen. I would have a better picture of the story, but when I played through it the second time around, I decided to skip all cutscenes. The graphics just weren’t worth it and the story is decent if I recall correctly.

The graphics are pretty good for the game. Surprisingly good! It seriously doesn’t feel like a movie tie in game and the animation is pretty good even considering that the PS3 can have some excellent graphics. The cutscenes don’t look quite as smooth, mainly due to the human designs. Still, while you’re blasting away at enemies, it all looks pretty realistic. That’s probably one of the biggest pros for me.

The gameplay is your standard 3D shooting game. It plays out like War For Cybertron, but you have unlimited flight which helps. (Can’t be Starscream all the time in War For Cybertron) Firing your weapons and engaging in hand to hand combat can both be pretty fun and you have a good selection of weapons. Using Ironman’s lasers in combat is a must and everything becomes much easier. Maybe the lasers are overpowered, but they’re still fun!

The gameplay isn’t all fun though as the controls can be a little tricky. It’s very tough to change directions while flying and you’ll wish that you hadn’t flown more times than not. Usually, it’s better to just dash where you want to go. Setting up your weapons system is also a lot more complicated than it should be. There’s a reason why I didn’t even know about the lasers until way after I had completed the game.

The customization can be pretty cool once you get the hang of it. You can unlock various Iron Man suits, which range from Extremis to Ultimate and it’s fun to switch around. The weapons can also make quite the difference in battle. It may not be a very extensive customization, but you get 4 weapons per armor and you can use your exp points from battle to create new gadgets. It’s a decent addition and I’ll take what I can get to make the gameplay deeper and more fun!

The trophies in Iron Man 2 aren’t unreasonable and I managed to secure the Platinum. Basically, you just need to defeat a lot of opponents and be prepared to face the game on hard mode. You’ll be okay if you have the lasers at the ready. Playing as War Machine can be more than a little difficult, but his gameplay isn’t as bad as you may think. Trophies don’t really affect the game’s score, but they’re still nice to have around. I typically give a game a second look if it has some nice trophies.

The game has 8 levels and I admit that this isn’t a good thing. 10 levels is the absolute minimum amount for a video game and anything lower than that is pretty unacceptable. One factor that tries to disguise this is the trophy system and the upgrades that you acquire through the levels. They help the overall replay value, but you should still be warned that the game won’t be lasting very long. You’ll be done with it pretty quickly. Unfortunately, there really isn’t anything to do aside from Story Mode. A few bonus modes would have been nice or at least a wifi option/leaderboard. Story Mode is basically the only thing here so I hope that you enjoy those 8 levels.

Still, in the end, gameplay is what counts the most. I found it to be pretty enjoyable and it does beat the gameplay that we got in the first Iron Man as well as the Thor video game. I doubt that this will help in Marvel’s battle to surpass DC in video games, but it’s a start.

Overall, this was a pretty fun superhero game. It’s definitely on the short side and I wish that we got to have more missions where you don’t have to worry about protecting something. The gameplay is what you’d expect from any movie tie in, but it’s a formula that always works. The soundtrack was above average and the graphics were downright impressive. I recommend this game and it’s a bit of a step up from the first game. (Albeit that I own the first for the DS) It looks like Iron Man 3 won’t be getting a true video game spinoff so that’s more reason to get this one. I wouldn’t recommend it to you if you don’t like games that are too short, but considering the price….I’d say that it’s worth it. 8 levels is under the 10 level standard, but going back for the Platinum helps the overall time right? I say go for it!

Overall 7/10

X Factor The End of X Factor Review

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This collection brings together the final comics of the XForce series. We get to see how each character handles the aftermath of the epic climax that all of the civilians have forgotten. They are scattered now, but they are still ready to deal with whatever comes next. It’s a decent collection and it’s especially intriguing if this is your first XForce comic. At least I can now approach this volume as a member of the general audience!

The first comic deals with Layla Miller and Madrox. Unfortunately, Madox has been turned into a demon and he can’t really talk anymore. He seems to be losing his mind and things aren’t looking so good. Things get worse when a kid steals Madrox and gets someone to help him in using the Dark Arts to bring his mother back to life. Layla must stop these two before Madrox does something that he may regret!

The first comic was all right, but there didn’t seem to be much of a point. The kid brought his mother back, but it was a pretty iffy deal as things didn’t go according to plan. Did Madrox do what he did on purpose to take revenge on the kid? I don’t know and I won’t really give it much more thought.

The next comic involves John Maddox and Wolfsbane. John is attacked from a couple of thugs with guns and they quickly take out most of the congregation in the church. Wolfsbane grabs the gun and stops them before leaving. After having a talk with Wolfsbane, John learns why she has gone over the edge. It’s been a rough trip for her and it’s all thanks to Strong Guy…or at least part of it is thanks to him. John needs to help her get over her troubles and learn that life can be fun again.

Again, this was a decent comic, but it doesn’t have much going for it. John admits that he didn’t care too much when the innocents were destroyed and it makes me doubt him as a character. Wolfsbane was all right as well, but it’s too bad that she went crazy. By the end, it seems like she’ll be back to normal.

This next comic was definitely the most convoluted and I can’t say that it succeeded. Rictor is stuck in a gladitorial arena and he’s forced to beat up whoever he fights. One day, he ends up going against Shatterstar and the latter doesn’t recognize him. Something is definitely wrong, but things get even dicier once the resistance arrives and rescues them. Longshot is part of the team and he also doesn’t know Rictor. It is explained that Rictor is in the past and they don’t know him yet so then they go into a time chamber and get to witness one of the heroes being born. Longshot explains how he’s actually his own father and son and a lot of other plot twists that do nothing except make the story more confusing. This story didn’t really have a plot and it didn’t really have an ending. You’re left shaking your head and just hoping that the next comic is a little more intense.

Quicksilver appears in the next comic, which should make things interesting or completely wreck things. Polaris goes to a bar to drink as much as she can and eventually the bartender tells her to stop. After she proves her power to him, the cops arrive. Unfortunately for them, the cops are quickly blown away and Quicksilver is forced to join the fray. He’s here to take Polaris in and hopes that she’ll come quietly. Polaris decides that now is a good time to take Quicksilver down and they engage in a fight.

This was easily the best comic of the batch and it’s always nice to see a hero vs hero match. Quicksilver has speed on his side so I wasn’t doubting his victory for a second, but it still made for an interesting battle. The bartender was also pretty brave given the circumstances and it’s hard not to like him as a character. He knew the score and he even tried to warn the cops when they went up against Polaris.

Next up was a comic which mainly featured Darwin. He’s mad about what Hela did to him and he wants to find her so that he can become normal again. We are left to assume that she gave him the powers that lets himself turn to jello and other things to survive. It’s actually a pretty useful power, but maybe it has some drawbacks. After Darwin takes out some thugs he meets up with M and they talk about the good ole days.

Well, this definitely wasn’t the best comic of the batch. M and Darwin meet up for a few minutes and quickly decide to be more than friends. That’s comic book life for you! It’s pretty sad and it’s hard to take Darwin’s complaints about his powers seriously. So far, I don’t see any negatives to it and it may as well be an improvement.

Finally, we get to go back and see Layla and Madrox again as they conclude their story arcs. Layla is threatened by one of those hardcore Marvel cosmic entities that we come across once in a while. He explains that he is being destroyed, but before he completely leaves, he’s going to try and make Layla’s future miserable. He quickly blows up, but that sends the cops scrambling and they attack Layla. Layla has a high tech forcefield, but these guys have a large cannon that is extremely powerful. Madrox is going to have to step in, but will it be as a demon…or as a man!?

That comic was one of the more interesting ones and I’d say that it was the second best. It’s always nice to see cosmic entities admit that they’re doomed and we did get a decent action scene. In the end, Madrox decides that it’s time to not save the world anymore and they’ll leave it to the other teams. It may not be the most heroic thing to say, but there are hundreds of heroes already protecting Earth, so maybe they don’t need an extra two.

The art was decent for this collection. It’s definitely not quite as good as the Magik miniseries that I just finished reviewing, but it was all right. The art is definitely a lot more modern, but some of the facial expressions will make you grin or cringe. Hopefully grin because the characters are usually grinning in those panels. The fight scenes look pretty good although we don’t get many opportunities to witness them.

So, this collection was decent. The main drawback is that most of the stories didn’t have much of a plot. It’s expected since this is the aftermath of a big event, but you would expect something a little more epic from the final issues. This series ran for over 250 comics and now I can proudly say that I read the final ones. It’s not a bad ending to the series and fans should be okay with it. I may have enjoyed the comics more if I was familiar with the characters, but that probably wouldn’t have helped a whole lot.

Madrox is a demon for most of his screentime so I didn’t get to see him that much. As a demon, he was pretty shady and he could barely control himself. So far, I can’t really say that I’m a fan of him. Layla is a much better character and she does her best to get through this tough time. It’s rough since the cops aren’t very understanding, but she can get past that. Her barrier is pretty cool and it would be nice to see how it stacks up to some real villains.

Rictor, Longshot, and Shatterstar are hard to talk about since its so convoluted. Shatterstar is basically a clone of the real Shatterstar and Longshot is a figment of their imagination that was produced from a clone of Shatterstar and turned into him. I had to facepalm at all the twists that were happening and the cherry on top was this guy who claims to have created all life on Earth. This guy is apparently a god and I cringed as he talked about creating an army to defeat Mojo. If this guy is so great then Mojo shouldn’t scare him! The base is pretty understaffed as well and Mojo breaks in pretty easily. I can’t say that I like any of the characters in this comic. I want the real deals…let’s forget the clones!

Polaris isn’t at her best in this comic since she just wants to drink as much beer as she can. She also decides to beat up Quicksilver for the fun of it and gets into a fight. She’s a tough fighter even when she’s had too much to drink, but drinking never solves anything. At least she didn’t do anything crazy, but she did take a chance and nearly destroyed Quicksilver. Quicksilver promised to pay for the damages that she caused, but the Avengers won’t be too happy about that. Quicksilver is actually a decent character in this comic…even if he overreacts when Polaris attacks him. She was obviously not in her right mind at the time.

John isn’t really a great character in this collection. He’s not in the best mood to be preaching and he seems to be fake. He doesn’t care when the villains come in and start firing. That immediately meant that I wouldn’t be rooting for him as a character. Wolfsbane was all right at best, but I didn’t really care for her either. She had a pretty sad story coming in, but she didn’t handle it very well. It’s good that she stopped the crooks but I don’t know…I still couldn’t find myself rooting for her.

M seemed to be an all right character at first. She looked around until she could find the X Factor members and she seems to have escaped death. Unfortunately, she meets Darwin and things go downhill. I don’t like Darwin either as he seems to have a “cup is half empty” view on life. He’s basically a downer as far as heroes go.

One problem with the collection is the fact that most of the characters are unlikable. Even if there had been a lot of action, it’s possible that it wouldn’t have saved the comic. It’s like how the Runaways could never become great since I didn’t like the members involved. Characters are key and when the portrayals are unlikable…then it’s game over. The comic didn’t really have any big negatives but it didn’t really have any positives. That is actually the main problem that the collection has aside from the characters.

I hate to say it, but one way to save that would have been to add in some guest stars. Mojo and Spiral were a start and the magician at the end seemed like she had potential. If the collection had thrown in the Avengers then that could have given the comics a pretty big boost. Guest stars are a last resort to get attention but sometimes a comic has to take that chance. It’s an easy way to earn points and this is one of those times where the points are really necessary.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad collection of comics, but it wasn’t very good either. We didn’t really get a sense of danger in any of the comics and we only got a handful of fights. The Rictor story involved too many time loops and the twists are unneeded. Give Longshot a better origin story and then things will be looking up. This is a decent comic to pick up, but it’s not very interesting. Considering that these are the final issues of the series, you can maybe cut it some slack. Instead, I recommend checking out the New 52 Justice League #1. It’s supposed to be pretty intense!

Overall 5/10

Xmen Magik Storm & Illyana Review

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Time for another Xmen related review to keep the hype going for the new film! This one actually does deal with time travel, but I have to admit that I had not counted on that bonus. This collection brings 5 comics, 4 of which are the complete Magik series. Unfortunately, this was before Magik became the epic hero that she is today…(or was)

The first comic starts off in a pretty intense way as the X-Men are thrown into Limbo to save Magik. They had been having a pretty good day, but Magik seemed to go into a trance. Shadowcat quickly followed her, but they were both brought to Limbo. Once the other Xmen arrived, the battle for their lives began! The Xmen had to fight and keep on fighting Belasco and S’ym. Unfortunately, the two villains had homefield advantage and Belasco is basically immortal. Things do not go very well for the heroes and the ending is pretty tragic.

The final four comics of the collection are about Magik and the 7 years that were taken from her in during the ending of the first comic. She was brought back to Limbo and things went from bad to worse as she slowly started to turn to the dark side. The heroes were basically shattered and nobody would be coming to help. Magik would have to learn to channel her powerful abilities and defeat Belasco once and for all. An elderly Storm and a changed Shadowcat are her only allies in this cruel world.

Well, I have to say, you can hardly blame the Xmen for being so mad at their predicament. It really bites to be a mutant and the comics continue to prove it. If you’re not being destroyed for the 10th time or being hated by humanity, then you’re probably getting beaten up on by a villain. Unlike the Avengers and FF, most superheroes won’t be coming to your aid. For whatever reason, The Avengers, Spiderman, and Fantastic Four never seem to be in the area when the Xmen are in trouble. I’m sure that it’s just coincidence but it doesn’t make it any better for the mutants.

This collection will be pretty frustrating if you don’t like it when the villains get away with everything. As with Sword Art Online and any decent slasher film, it’s hard to really leave the collection on a happy note. Magik finds a way to get back to Earth and master her abilities, but it’s almost too late. She was forced to compromise her ideals and destroy both of her friends. Not a very bright outcome for her.

Things were pretty bad for the Xmen as well. All of them were either destroyed or corrupted to the dark side. The comic felt like the Mutant Massacre arc as the Xmen are completely overwhelmed and they know that they don’t stand a chance. Even Wolverine admits that he wouldn’t want to face off against S’ym again and he actually recommends that they retreat even if it means leaving the older Storm stranded and forced to face off with the villains on her own. It was a little uncharacteristic of him, but it shows how terrified Wolverine was. This was something that he had definitely not been expecting.

The comic also falls into one of the big holes. Animal violence! It’s been a while since I’ve had to deduct points for that, but this comic decided to go all the way. It’s always sad to see those innocent creatures go down for the count just because someone wants to prove a point. It was definitely not needed as we already understand that this is a very grim world. If only Cyclops had been around to help…alas, he is apparently having troubles of his own and he did not answer his communicator.

Magik is basically the main character of this series and she goes through a lot. You really feel bad for her since nobody is really there to help at times. She must learn how to make it in this world on her own and the odds are definitely not in her favor. The darkness does tempt her on several occasions, but temptation is something that everyone goes through. The important part is that she ultimately makes the right call and she doesn’t murder the villain when she gets the chance. That definitely wins her points in my book and she can be labeled as a true hero. She made mistakes as she lived through these adventures, but she is trying to correct them. I doubt that many other heroes would have been able to survive in her stead.

Wolverine is still one of the best Xmen in this collection. He may get intimidated at the end, but he definitely has a good reason. S’ym is completely out of his league and Wolverine knows that to fight would only be to die. I’m confident that he would have made the sacrifice needed if he could get the team out. That’s why I was conflicted about him deciding to go on without Storm, but she didn’t want to go with them and attempting to force her along would have only led them all to their doom. It’s rare to see Wolverine completely overpowered by an opponent, but it just showed how high the stakes were.

Colossus is also faced with defeat and even death as he faces S’ym. Due to the fact that they are traveling through time, there are two versions of each character that enter Limbo. The first team was eradicated for the most part and Colossus was personally destroyed by S’ym. The same thing nearly happens to the current version of him, but the timely intervention of Storm and Wolverine saves him. It’s pretty sad for Colossus because he was unable to help Magik, but he definitely gave it his all in the mission. At the end, he considers leaving the Xmen and nobody can really blame him.

Storm has it pretty rough and her adventure may have been as bad as Magik’s. She was unable to escape with the others and she was forced to become Belasco’s minion. She learned the dark magic powers, but they also allowed her to call back the Xmen and help Magik. Naturally, this also meant that we got two versions of Storm. The other version did her best as well, but she got a much smaller role.

Nightcrawler is also with the gang and he does pretty well as he takes on his other form. The other Nightcrawler was turned to the darkness and after their fight…only one would stand. The evil Nightcrawler is pretty fierce and he plays a pretty large role in this arc. In the end, Shadowcat and Magik have to team up against him.

Shadowcat is the third Xmen to have a very difficult time. The original Shadowcat managed to escape to Earth, but the other one wasn’t so lucky and she was changed into a cat creature. She is very adept as using a sword, but Belasco is basically limitless in his own domain and he has absolute control over the situation. Things don’t go well for Shadowcat and her ending is pretty tragic.

Belasco is the main villain of the collection and his powers are very impressive. This is the type of villain that you would expect to fight Dr Strange and not the Xmen. Dr Strange would likely crush Belasco, but the Xmen are not well equipped to deal with sorcery at the moment. Adding to this the fact that Belasco is on his hometurf and the Xmen are completely out of their league. Belasco basically toys with the heroes for the majority of the series and everyone is basically powerless to stop him. He’s the type of villain that you quickly dislike and you really wish that someone powerful would show up to take him down.

S’ym works for Belasco and his physical power is incredible. He proved to be vastly superior to Colossus in super strength and he was powerful enough to rip off Wolverine’s adamantium claw. He really makes things tough on the Xmen in the first comic and he continues to return and make everyone struggle. I definitely didn’t expect to see such a powerful enemy in this collection and it just goes to show why it’s tough to be an Xman.

The art is very good for the collection and it’ll definitely remind you of the good ole days for Marvel. It’s basically at the borderline before “old” art and the newer looks that we get. It really feels like the 90’s Xmen show in its appearance and that’s to be expected. Things get very grim during the second half of the comic, but the art is still pretty cheerful. You would think that this wouldn’t be a good thing, but it makes you really focus on the dialogue.

One other negative would be the fanservice. It’s not extreme and this isn’t a very recent comic so they are careful to keep it safe. That being said, there’s really no reason for it and Storm just likes to become one with nature for no real reason. It’s really just there to be there and that’s always going to shave off some enjoyment.

Overall, this is definitely not an Xmen comic that I would recommend. It is great to see Magik defy the darkness and it makes for a good moral, but the journey was just too much. The first comic was pretty dark as well, but the action helped to balance it out and they escaped with a relatively happy ending. It was scary for the heroes, but in more of a horror way. Unfortunately, whatever bits of the ending that could be called happy are basically destroyed by the miniseries at the end. Belasco essentially wins as he murdered quite a few of the heroes and broke several others. Magik will never be the same after her experience in Limbo and the heroes never really found out about what happened to her. It’s easy to see how she became so messed up in the recent comics. The comic is just pretty dark and depressing by the end and you really hope that Magik quits the Xmen and joins the Avengers. Aside from that, the animal violence and fanservice don’t really help matters. If you want an epic Xmen comic, check out the X-Sanction miniseries. That one was pretty epic!

Overall 4/10