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The Lone Ranger Review

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Ah, the Lone Ranger…..this was a franchise that I could never get into. Despite the fact that the comics tend to get good reviews, they always looked pretty bad to me. The movie didn’t really look any better as it mixes the things that I don’t like in films together. The fact that it’s a wild west film and that there are no likable characters (Yes, I can tell when there were no likable characters from the trailers!) were not signs of hope for me. The only viewable entertainment that was able to pull off the whole “Wild West” aspect was Trigon and the best parts of that show don’t even take place in that setting. (Ex: Final battle is in a garden…a Garden!!!!!)

Anyway, back to the movie. Before I reveal that Spoiler Alert the whole thing is actually a fairy tale told by an old man who hangs out at a museum, I need to mention that the Lone Ranger is fake in this film. The real main character is a little kid who buys peanuts for sale and then goes to the museum to check out the exhibits. Sooooooo…….the whole movie is a story that may or may not be real, but let’s ignore that and just enjoy the story for what it is. End Spoiler

The Lone Ranger starts off his “epic” film debut by throwing a poor girl’s toy out the window. It’s not the greatest start and was probably the tipping point of the film. It all went downhill from there as he ran after the crooks while a lot of happenstance took place. Believe it or not….but the cops had arrested a villain for a change, but they tied him up right over a gun and his hands are barely cuffed so he was able to put it in his coat. Now, we know that there are traitors everywhere because according to this movie, everyone is basically evil until proven innocent. The army is able to be bought off with silver. I can’t even….

Even if you consider the fact that the traitor put the gun there and set him up, how did they manage to put him right over it? That’s some serious coincidence and the traitor putting him on that seat is still a little iffy. If the cops weren’t so drunk on power and beer, they would have stopped him as he was opening the floorboard. Still, we mustn’t get distracted just yet! I’ve barely mentioned the plot within the plot. One thing leads to another and the Lone Ranger dies. Tonto saves him and they decide to have a blast and beat people up as they head off to their destiny and avenge the Lone Ranger’s bro.

It’s not much of a plot description, but I hadn’t the heart to keep on going. Just think of a really generic plot and you’ll have figured this movie out. Honestly, I’d compare it to the likes or Pirates of the Carrabean and Sucker Punch which is a really (really) sad thing. This is probably Disney’s worst film of all time and easily one of the worst films that I’ve seen. It made the mistake of having the three big Vs. Animal Violence, (Every other minute it felt like. Horses, Rabbits, and a lot of other animals die as the film goes on) Gross Violence, (One of the characters is a cannibal….yeah, Disney went there) and Excessive Violence. (Back to the cannibal and every other fighting scene. Nearly every fight would have a scene or two that is not necessary and just makes the whole scene a lot more violent and unwatchable. Seriously, the film has absolutely no replay value and I deeply hope that they don’t make a sequel)

It’s hard to think of the film without wincing. It’s like the film was mocking the very essence of my being as I sat there and winced through the 2+ hour film that was incinerating every piece of morale that films had. I can’t think of anything that it did right. The main character is pretty weak, generic, and unheroic. The girl that he likes was married to his brother and he basically starts flirting with her (Right in front of his bro btw) as soon as he sees her. I knew that he would be an unlikable character right at that moment.

Let’s not forget his partner, Tonto. Tonto is pretty annoying as well and he has quite a few moments that will make you grimace. The “steralized” arrow comes to mind and you may need a barf bag for this film. The film isn’t as gross as the humor in Pirates, but there are times when it comes very close. There is also a lot of jumping in this film as we go to the “future” and the “past” and then back to the “present” Quotations must be used because we must remember that this is not as it appears. (See, spoiler paragraph for details)

Writing about this film is easy since everything is a negative, but that’s also why it’s tough for me to stay on one topic for long. My review may seem a little scattered as I jump from one point to another, but there’s so much to cover that I just don’t want to miss anything. Needless to say, there isn’t anything redeemable about this film.

Need I go on? The characters are all bad, the film is excessively violent, this film is not suitable for…anyone since I highly do not recommend the film. If you want to see something even remotely cool or fun, go watch an episode of Blues Clues. At least you’ll likely learn something in the process. All that you can learn in this film is what not to do. Seriously, someone jumps off of a very fast train at least 10+ feet to another train and he lands on a bunch of Silver Rocks. Not only is the character okay, but he’s not hurt in the slightest. I usually would have taken a step back for something like that, but I expected no less from the film.

I’m not sure how much more I can really say. Just…do not watch it. Spare yourself and just watch anything else. Maybe take a stroll in your backyard and play with your Dog. You can also go check out the 1 star reviews for the film on various sites and you can have a good laugh. It’s something that I enjoy doing as well! I hope that I’ve reached you all in time before you got to see the film. Who knows, maybe some of you would like it….but don’t count on it! This is the worst film that I’ve seen since Sucker Punch and that’s saying something. Hollywood is truly going downhill. (I refer to any Live Action Film as a “Hollywood” product if it’s from America…just saiyan)

Overall 1/10

Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones Review

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It’s time for the much awaited sequel to Star Wars Episode I. We are getting closer to the original trilogy since 10 years have passed in the story. With Anakin as the main character (Or at least one of the main characters) this would have to be a success…right? Unfortunately, this is easily the weakest Star Wars film to date and it’s about time that we see why!

As is the norm with films in the Star Wars series, there is more than one plot going on in this movie. Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are hired to protect Senator Padme since there are those that would wish to defeat her once and for all. She does not want to be terminated, but she does want to know who’s behind all of this and suspects Dooku. The Jedi laugh this off since Dooku was a Jedi and thus, he cannot be evil. The Jedi seemed to be pretty proud of themselves for coming up with this fact and brushed the notion aside. If only they could use The Force to find out!

Later on, Obi Wan is called away to locate the bounty hunter who is after Senator Padme so he is forced to leave his post. Anakin and Padme head off on their own adventure to find out what has happened to Anakin’s mother. There are a lot of plots that happen within the movie, but since they all continue from each other, it’s hard to go into more depth with them. Needless to say, a big war could occur if things do not stop very quickly!

So, what went wrong with this film? The plot sounds like it has potential and Anakin gets a big role! Well, let’s start off with Anakin’s portrayal. He looks awful in this film and you just want him to stop appearing after his first few scenes. He’s one of the worst main heroes of a movie that I’ve seen in a while and he’s as annoying as Russio. He may not be quite as bad as someone like James T Kirk, but he is definitely pretty low. He constantly pesters Padme about how they should be together and he can never stay professional. He’s always talking back to Obi Wan and even disagrees with Padme when they are in front of a lot of important people. He also basically admits that he prefers a dictatorship to democracy and starts his way to becoming a villain. It’s inevitable that he turns evil, but he does so in a very bad way. He comes off as more of a throwaway villain who talks a good game, but is really desperate and not really that tough.

An example of this is during the climax when he attacks someone and is quickly defeated in a single blow. After a long time, Anakin wakes up and is quickly dispatched by another blow. He looks so awful that you are likely to cheer in the theater when he is defeated, but it doesn’t do wonders for the character. He was definitely not handled well in this film and if not for the expanded universe he would be a pretty awful character right now. (He looked bad in Episodes V and VI as well)

The next big flaw in the film is that it does not live up to its name. For starters, what happened to Star Wars being about battles in space? We don’t really get any of that anymore and I miss the days of fighting in space. It was so much fun back in the day and now we only have ground fights. They’re pretty good, but it’s still inexcusable. Also, the title is Attack of the Clones, but they do not fight until the end of the movie, during the climax. That can definitely be disappointing if you are looking forward to seeing the Clone/Storm Troopers in action.

Another negative would be the excessive romance in the film. It’s handled poorly and the writing was just terrible and the plot for the scenes was even worse. Padme and Anakin were just friends back in the day, but Anakin has become a very twisted person who is not satisfied anymore. She constantly tells him that they can never be together, but he keeps pestering her until they are. That’s definitely not a good romance and it was sad that she weakened in the end. Instead of a happy moment, it was just a wince worthy scene that will make you cringe inside. As you can guess, I do not like Anakin at all in this film and the same goes for Padme.

The scene where Anakin finds his mother and finally rescues her also should have been cut out. She was kidnapped days ago and she’s still alive. Sure, this gives Anakin more of a sad back story so that he’ll have more reason to turn evil, but he was already clearly on the path to becoming a Sith anyway. If we needed another sad element, they just could have had her be destroyed by the Sand people and then Anakin saves her. That would have been a lot better than having her still be alive to quickly die right when he arrives. The scene was definitely a little too gruesome and also hurts the replay value of the story.

Not everyone looked bad as Yoda finally backed up all of his tough talk and he got to fight. It is definitely more than a little hard to take him seriously at this point, but he proved that he is a skilled combatant. He is fast, but his lack of strength could be a bit of an issue. He definitely looked more impressive than the other Jedi, who are reduced to cannon fodder in this film.

That’s another problem that I have with the Jedi. I do not like any of them in this film and while Yoda and Obi Wan may not be bad characters, I don’t really care for them either. The Jedi actually lose to random blasts and Jango Fett took one of them down for the count. The Jedi have never looked very impressive in the films, but they looked even worse than usual in this film. At least half of them were slaughtered by random droids and it would appear that the Force did not find favor with them. The Jedi appear to be stronger than average Cops, but they’re still only at about Chitauri level. Average humans could feasibly defeat them if they’re good with a gun. The Jedi could use the Force in much better ways, but they do not seem to comprehend this.

At least Jango Fett was a cool character. He is a solid fighter in his jetpack and he effortlessly defeated a Jedi. That’s a pretty solid feat and he also managed to defeat Obi Wan Kenobi. The way that he lost at the end was pure plot hax and just an excuse to finish up the movie. After seeing him in the Bounty Hunter game, I can definitely say that he wouldn’t have died like that.

Emperor Dooku was a pretty sharp fighter and definitely tougher than I would have guessed. He made the Jedi look like kids as he was completely annihilating them without effort. It was a sad day for the Jedi, but a pretty happy day for Dooku. Maybe he could take on Darth Vader or Darth Maul in a fair fight. C-3PO, R2D2, and Jar Jar Binks all make cameos. They’re about the same as usual, but C-3PO is pretty intense as he actually betrays the Jedi at one point and probably took a few of them down with his lasers.

The fight scenes in the film are pretty intense which is always a good thing. The effects hold up well and we are in the 2000’s so I should expect no less. The Lightsabers still seem to be easily breakable, but it’s fun to see them clash. We also got a brief hand to hand fight scene with Obi Wan and Jango Fett. The effects for Jango’s booster are also pretty good.

Finally, we do have another big negative and it is the excessive animal violence. At one point, the “heroes” are thrown into an arena with three giant monsters. You can probably guess what happens to the animals and it isn’t pretty. It was really unneeded, but a lot of films tend to make this mistake nowadays. It is pretty disappointing to see and I will always have to take away points for such awful scenes.

Overall, I did not care for this Star Wars film. Not only was it the worst one in the series, but it was not even close. This film was a lot more negative than positive so the low rating should not come as a huge surprise by the end. The film had potential for great things, thanks to the action and Jango Fett, but it was not to be. I can’t say that this helps my hopes for the next film in the series, but it can’t get any worse I suppose. I do not recommend this film and if you want a real space adventure, check out Gurren Lagann!

Overall 3/10

Heroman Review

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After watching the anime, it’s easier to appreciate the manga and look at the differences. Was the anime a straight adaption? Yes, for the most part although it does change some things from the manga. It’s time to see if the original is truly superior and how far it will go in the grand scheme of things. Let’s find out!

The plot involves Joey Jones as he has always wanted to be a Hero, but he lacks the power. His friends try to tell him that heart is what matters, but he won’t have any of that. Instead, he finds a toy that one of the bullies from school threw away and using his determination and a bolt of lightning, turns it into a superhero…Heroman, to be precise! With Heroman at his side, Joey now has the courage to stand up to his foes and the determination to do the right things when it counts. After defeating supernatural samurai and other threats….there is an alien invasion! Can Joey stop the Aliens in time to stop the next threats that arise or will it prove too much for him? He has other adventures along the way and the final plot deals with the remnants of the invasion as they attempt to destroy the planet. This manga is definitely full of excitement!

The art is pretty good for the series and it’s very clear. The art reminds me of Bleach and that’s always a good thing. It’s nice and simple so you can usually tell what is going on right away. When the fight scenes occur, it can get a little tough at times, but for the most part it’s solid. The fight scenes still do have good art, but they just might not be as easy to decipher at times. There aren’t any really long fight scenes in the manga, but the first battle between Heroman and Gogorr is definitely the highlight of the series in that regard. The artist does a good job showing off Joey’s super speed, although I believe that speed lines would be more effective than the use of after images. Both ways are effective so it still works, but it’s a lot harder to gauge his speed using the latter. (Luckily we have the anime for that) The way that the manga is translated is interesting since they use quotation marks for certain words. It makes you picture the character saying the word in a strange accent, which can be slightly distracting, but it’s nothing major.

The manga is a little weaker than the anime in the fact that we do get a filler plot involving a little kid in a wheelchair which isn’t very entertaining. You also can’t really root for him since he skates a little too quickly which makes things a little embarrassing for one character and the kid doesn’t seem to regret his actions in the slightest. Maybe he didn’t notice, but he just didn’t seem to care. The manga does have a little more fanservice than the anime since Lina’s outfit is not that resistant to wind in this version. There aren’t too many scenes of this and it’s one of the lightest types of fanservice that you will find, but it’s still a negative since it’s not necessary. I’m glad that the anime took that out.

Joey is still a solid protagonist and he’s a lot more heroic than most main characters. He does what he needs too and he never crosses any of the big lines. He doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself for the greater good and went out of his way to help out his enemies as well. He’s basically a good kid and he will go far. He doesn’t make any big mistakes like using a telephone while on the run in the manga (As opposed to the anime) and he typically has a plan in mind.

The Professor got a much smaller role in the manga or at least it felt that way. He’s still not very likable, but he’s a lot more polite when he ditches Joey and Psy on his way to being kidnapped. It’s still hard to take him seriously and even more so when he fails in his big plan. In the anime, he didn’t make any mistake on the final device, but in the manga he makes one that could have been fatal. It makes the character more believable, but also not quite as professional.

Lina is still the main heroine and her role is similar to that of the anime. It is still a little questionable how quickly she stopped talking to Joey when Will told her some choice words. It’s a little tough to swallow that she would betray Joey so easily. Still, she’s better than the average co-lead although I hope that she can start to fight at some point. (Sequel Series one day…maybe)

Will is one of the major players in the manga and he always wanted to be a hero. It’s sad for him because he is too weak to stop the aliens and he always has to watch as Joey ends up saving Lina. He gets alien powers during the later part of the series, but it also mutates his body and now he doesn’t want to show himself to anyone. He leaves and goes on a quest to destroy the alien artifacts that around and also beat up people that he doesn’t like. His ultimate goal is still to protect Lina, but beyond that he is a little confused at the moment. His abilities are definitely impressive and he can hold his own against Heroman.

Heroman is still as expressionless as ever. He actually participates with the others and has more fun than in the anime, (Getting burned at the barbecue) but he still seems to have trouble replicating mortal emotions. He does believe in justice and he will always try to defend a person in need. His abilities are pretty sound and one good punch can take care of many threats. His only real equals in the manga would be Will and Gogorr. Heroman has his Blast Mode and Rage Mode to keep things interesting and he won’t lose when the chips are down. He’s a fine hero, but I would like to see some more emotion.

Psy is still Joey’s best friend and he comes complete with a sob story. It’s a little iffy since he claims that he was a little too reckless and let the tackle cripple him, but how could he have avoided it? Even if he had dropped the ball, he couldn’t have maneuvered away. Plus, he had no reason to think that such a hit would end his career. He’s a decent friend and he means well, but he doesn’t add a whole lot to the manga. That being said, he still shouldn’t be called a bad character and just could have used more development.

Gogorr is the big mastermind of the whole operation and he has the skills to back it up. He’s definitely one of the cooler characters and his speed is definitely formidable. Joey is able to speedblitz him as first, but Gogorr quickly adapts and turns the tables, which shows just how quick he is. His raw power is also enough to hold Heroman at bay and he’s easily the strongest character in the series aside from Heroman.

Agent Hughes and The President appear, but both of them are out of their leagues. Agent Hughes gets a much smaller role in the manga than in the anime, but it’s essentially the same effect. He does his job, but he’s completely outmatched. He’s all right though and better than the average army grunt. The President never panics, but he doesn’t get much character in the manga.

The manga may not be quite as good as the anime, but it gives it a fair shot. The manga is only 5 volumes compared to the anime’s 20+ episodes and they are different enough that you can enjoy them both. The manga adds a Samurai and gives Will a better role, but also has more day to day adventures while the anime launches off with the alien invasion immediately. The animation was not excellent, but it was still pretty good and the manga’s art was pretty good as well so they’re about equal in that respect. Unlike the anime, the manga doesn’t end with an after credits scene and it’s probably for the best. I love after credits scenes, but the one in the anime wasn’t terribly interesting because it was about a mad scientist who isn’t a great character. (I even skipped him in the review. Just know that he is pretty boring and hard to root for)

Overall, this was a solid manga. It won’t rise up to be one of the all time greats, but it is pretty solid. It’s a fun miniseries to check out and it’s basically light hearted fun. It has a lot of replay value considering its size because it’s just fun to read. Stan Lee did a good job on this series and it would be nice if he could give it a sequel. It would be fun to see more of Joey and Stan (The Man) Lee was also in the manga as a solid supporting member. He knows what it takes to make a good coffee and he’s a very dependable customer. The only negative to the manga would be the slight fanservice and as I said, it is very slight so it shouldn’t destroy the experience for you. The rest of the manga is just too fun and the characters are pretty likable for the most part. I dare say that Joey is a better main character than Kite or Ginta. I recommend giving this manga a shot and you should enjoy it. It’s an underrated gem.

Overall 7/10

Xmen Mutant Massacre Review

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The Xmen have been through many big events and they typically get to show everyone who’s boss. In AVX, Cyclops proved that he was a pretty powerful force to be reckoned with and in World War Hulk, he managed to take on the Hulk. The Xmen have definitely endured through many events, but this may be their toughest challenge yet!

Well, basically all of the comics in the collection deal with the Mutant Massacre event where the mutants started to be hunted on all corners. The Freedom Fighters led by Mystique are after the mutants to stay on the human’s good side while the mutants go extinct. The Marauders want to destroy all mutants because they aren’t apart of Sinister’s big plan. (I doubt that they’re part of his plan either and will probably be terminated) The X-Factor/X-Terminators (Same group) focus on pretending to destroy mutants while secretly helping them to safety. There are a lot of players involved, but this is all pretty bad news for the Xmen.

Most of the comics take place in the Morlock Tunnels because that is the first target of the Marauders. They destroy one of the mutants and then follow his partner into the tunnels where they begin exterminating all of them. There are only about 5 Marauders and none of them are actually that powerful. C-D rank fighters against a few hundred Morlocks. This should be easy right? Well, it’s easy all right…for the Marauders! The battle stretches my mind as far as disbelief goes and I can’t really buy all of this, but more on that later. It’s time to elaborate on what’s happening.

The X-Factor/X-Terminators are actually the original 5 X-Men as they’ve made their own group. They help two mutants escape from the Freedom Force and then two of them head into the sewers. The original 5 X-Men head after them, but the sewers apparently run through the whole city and there are a lot of miles down there. Meanwhile, the X-Men find out that dozens upon dozens of mutants are dying in the tunnels and they quickly go to help. Calisto and her Morlocks may have the number advantage, but they appear to be weaker than New York’s Finest. Franklin Richards also realizes that something is up and he rounds up the Power Pack as they head into the sewers to help.

The X-Men groups and the Power Pack aren’t the only people to go into the sewers on this occasion as The Mighty Thor enters as well when the local inhabitants let him know what the situation is. Unfortunately, this is Thor after the Surtur incident and Hela is currently weakening him. Not to mention that this was during one of his weaker periods. Finally, we’ve also got Daredevil who is attacked by Sabretooth so Daredevil chases him into the sewers. The New Mutants also go in the sewers, but they don’t stay for very long and that may be a good thing for them.

The Heroes are not the only people to have a stake in this as Apocalypse comes as well so that he can start recruiting people to become his Horsemen. Even the Magus appears as he wants to take the New Mutants down for the count. The Freedom Force also goes underground so that they can take away the two mutants. As you can see….this is a lot of people down here. So, how are the Marauders doing so much damage? Let’s do a headcount of how many people entered the tunnels.

Thor, Daredevil, Apocalypse, Cyclops, Iceman, Angel, Jean Grey, Storm, Wolverine, Colossus, Beast, Shadow Cat, Calisto, The Power Pack, Franklin Richards, Other Jean Grey, The New Mutants, The Magus, hundreds of Morlocks, Hela, Mystique, Pyro, Avalanche, Destiny, etc. The only opposition are the few members of the Marauders and the part that will really get you is the fact that they aren’t even so tough. Vertigo can make you feel faint, but she’s not much of a fighter. We’ve got a girl who can throw shruikens, a guy who can throw an energy spear, a spirit who can possess people, and a guy who has super strength. Oh yes….the leader is a human with a gun. Sabretooth is also with the team and he ends up doing a lot of damage as well.

This collection is all about the first battle. There is an upcoming sense of war as the casualties increase. What you need to remember is that all of these comics take place at around the same time and the action is all happening in different parts of the sewers. The Marauders came to annihilate the Morlocks and they basically succeed. With them out of the way, the next target is the X-Men. They haven’t struck yet and that would likely be in the next graphic novel. All I can say is…the battle should be interesting. I’m not sure how they can pull it off without plot hax.

The Marauders do get a lot of hype, but it’s not very believable. Blockbuster actually holds his own against Thor and nearly destroys him. Thor is weakened and he had to fight the whole group of Marauders, but there’s no way that they should have escaped. This isn’t an amateur or a random hero, but Thor, The Warrior of legend. This takes place a little after the battles with Surtur and I must say that he did not look like the same guy. The old Thor could fight for long periods of time and really take a hit. Blockbuster felled him in a few hits and I don’t believe that Thor would be caught by surprise like that. Thor still accomplished more than most of the other fighters and he put one of the Marauders down…permanently. Thor has never minded crossing that line as much as the other heroes, but I would have preferred that he captured them all instead of only destroying one of them. I was definitely unsure about his portrayal in this comic power-wise, but character-wise he was still solid.

Sabretooth gets a big role and he claims that he would have destroyed Thor if he had been there. I hope that you don’t take those words seriously because if he had beaten Thor….I would have had to facepalm. Sabretooth does a little too well in this comic as he has the upper hand against Wolverine two times and he also manages to defeat Rogue with minimal effort. Psylocke is unable to sense his presence as he quickly enters the mansion and the fighters just don’t look very good against him. Magneto would have ended the fight when he entered, but by then Psylocke and Wolverine were doing fine.

One of the more frustrating encounters was probably when the X-Men were face to face with the Marauders. That should be the end of it…just take them down. Unfortunately, the X-Men do not do so good and they are actually losing pretty badly. Colossus destroys one of them, but the others escape and Colossus also suffered extreme injuries and barely lives through the experience. Most of the X-Men are very injured and head back to the Mansion as they attempt to save as many injured Morlocks as they can. They do not seem ready for another encounter with the Marauders so it will be tricky for them if they get attacked again.

Nothing will be more frustrating than Thor’s encounter with the Marauders because he really should have defeated them. At least warn the Avengers, but instead they all get away. Thor also unleashes a thunder blast that incinerates anything/anyone who was still in the sewers with a large blast. Thor said that he could not see anyone in the sewers as he checked the whole place out, but it’s still overly risky to unleash such a large blast. The X-Men almost perish in it and they believe that the New Mutants also died. Luckily nobody was hurt, but Thor could have caused a lot of casualties.

The Avengers also do not look good because they do not appear. Several times, the action takes place a few blocks from the mansion, but they do not intervene. When hundreds of Morlocks are perishing in the tunnels, they do not seem to notice. It’s as if the Avengers do not watch the news or have any way of getting intel. At least Daredevil did his part since he saved Sabretooth’s prisoner and also gave him a good fight. Getting Sabretooth to leave the sewers was a solid move and it meant that Daredevil helped out more than most of the other heroes in this collection.

Wolverine was a good character although he talked very tough, but couldn’t seem to fully back it up. He arrived too late to actually fight the Marauders and he didn’t look very good against Sabretooth when they fought. Still, personality-wise he was a good character and he isn’t very injured so he should be ready for the Marauders when they attack. The rest of the X-Men aren’t in great shape since Storm may have lost her powers and Psylocke has a few broken ribs. Shadow Cat is stuck in her phased out form and she may die while Colossus is completely paralyzed. It seems like it’s going to be up to Wolverine, Magneto, and Rogue to fend off an attack. They should be able to defeat the Marauders if it comes down to that, but we shall see.

Overall, this is a solid X-Men comic, but very hard to actually believe. You’ll keep on asking yourself how the Marauders can defeat the Morlocks despite the big difference in numbers and how the Avengers don’t know about this. It’s pretty public on what’s happening and their absence is not cool. (It’s easy to see why AVX happened) Captain America of all people should be doing something about this since he’s against such measures. There are definitely a lot of plots around and Apocalypse probably has the most interesting one. Hopefully the X-Men put up a better fight against the Marauders when they strike again. After all, they are down two members so the group is even smaller. I recommend this comic slightly, but if you are an X-Men fan. If not, you may not find yourself very interested and it’s definitely one of the sadder X-Men comics. A lot of casualties and the villains get away scot free for the most part. The next battle would probably be more satisfying…I hope!

Overall 7/10

Ratchet and Clank Size Matters Review

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Ratchet and Clank is easily one of Sony’s best game series and I have to admit that it does defeat the other two big ones. (Sly and Jak) Don’t get me wrong, Sly and Jak are solid gaming series, but Ratchet and Clank is just so much fun. I love the whole weapon leveling up system and the plot is always a lot of fun. This game was also on the PSP so it’s a lot shorter than the average game in the series, but was it still able to live up to the older games?

The plot is pretty simple as a little girl asks Ratchet to do “Heroic stuff” so that she can take pics and show them to her friends. It’s such a noble request that Ratchet takes her up on it and he takes on a lot of robots. Unfortunately, the little girl isn’t actually human and she is prepared to take over the world with an army. Ratchet and Clank must embark on their most dangerous quest yet as they quickly go into action. It’s too bad for Ratchet since he had been enjoying such a nice vacation. Captain Quark also has a subplot where he wants to find out the truth about his parents! Get ready for an “I’m your FATHER!” plot twist coming up!

The game is very easy to get into and you’ll find yourself hooked immediately. I ended up playing it for much longer than I had planned when I first played the game because I could not tear myself away. (I had received other games and wanted to beat some of them first which is why I didn’t have time for this one) Even if you have not played a Ratchet and Clank game for a while, you will quickly remember how epic Ratchet can be. He’s still one of the better main characters out there.

He starts out the game in an epic fashion as he is relaxing on the beach. He quickly goes into hero mode when the little girl appears and he proves that he hasn’t lost any of his skill. He has a “Rage” moment once he finds out that he’s been cloned and the scene is pretty epic. It reminded me of Jak’s big change from game 1 to game 2. Ratchet goes back to his lighthearted nature again, but the moment is not something that he will forget. Ratchet doesn’t seem to mind “Crossing the line” as much as other protagonists, but perhaps he is kidding at times. He definitely loves to mess with Captain Quark and his methods usually lead to the galaxy being saved.

Of course, Ratchet does have help from Clank. I’ve always found Clank to be a much better sidekick than Daxter, but Bentley may still be the best. Clank has his cool mecha titan mode which enables him to fight some pretty tough customers. His boss battle on land is fun because it definitely has a Godzilla feeling to it. He always speaks in a monotone voice which makes Clank easy to root for and he always gives the job his best. He may have had an epic fail moment when he short circuited due to a virus, but he looks pretty good beyond that scene. He’s a good companion for Ratchet on his adventures.

Captain Quark is the third main character and while he is not playable, he has a big impact on the game. The plot twist about who is parents were may be pretty emotional for fans and you almost feel bad for him as he keeps on falling for the villain’s tricks. His character design also makes his scenes pretty funny and he’s definitely one of the better characters in the franchise. I dare say that this may have been his best appearance yet.

I won’t go too in depth about the little girl because her plot twist is intriguing. Ratchet takes a shot at her when she first shows her true colors, but beyond that..she seemed to have the edge. In a true fight, Ratchet would definitely win, but they never get to have that match. The true main villain shows up at the very end and he’s intense. He can be a little generic, but he admits this and doesn’t try to hide it. He just wants to beat people up and take names. Soon, he will conquer the galaxy!

One of the big positives of the Ratchet and Clank series is how original it can be. In one level, we get to go into Ratchet’s dream world and it’s very intense. Captain Quark’s have buzz saws and they aren’t afraid to use them. We also see a flower that grows Quark’s head and you can use it as a bomb. The whole level is very trippy and also very awesome. The whole game could have been on that level and it still would have been awesome.

Now, let’s not mistake gimmicks for talent. The levels may have had their quirks, but they were not a walk in the park. The game shouldn’t be too challenging because you have a solid array of weapons and gadgets at one’s disposal, but the final boss’s final phase is pretty tricky. He has a barrier that protects him for about half of his life bar and it keeps on regenerating after you break it. That’s why the first half of the fight is a lot tougher than the second half. During the second half, he has no barriers so you can just keep on firing at him. The main reason why the boss fight can be tricky is the fact that you’ll definitely run out of ammo. I tried to keep on refilling it, but that costs a lot of money for the rockets and laser tracer so I just had to keep on upgrading and leveling up until I could win. The boss battle took me several tries and a lot of play time. I would have beaten the game at least 1-2 hours sooner if not for that fight. Still, it is great to see the game make a tough final boss. Final bosses should always be challenging so that you can truly feel at peace when you defeat it.

The animation holds up pretty well on the PS2. It may not be spectacular, but it’s very good and will suffice. Captain Quark is awesome to behold with the animation and they did a great job on the dream sequence. I definitely give the animation a thumbs up and it does not hold the game back.

The array of weapons may be pretty small in this game, but they are fun to use. I obtained 9 of them and they were mostly cool. The Laser Blaster is my favorite weapon and while it does not deal a great amount of damage, it’s really fun to spam. The Incinerator is also a solid weapon and easily one of the most deadly. The Shock Rockets are a lot of fun since they home in on the enemy and also deal a lot of damage. The Suck Cannon lives up to its name and it’s the worst weapon in the game. There’s no point to it and I definitely wouldn’t use it. The Stealth Scope Gun (Close to the name anyway) is good, but hard to use in actual combat. There’s a long range cannon that is good once you have fully upgraded it, but the damage output is pretty low. The Laser weapon is pretty good, but also hard to use in a fight and you get it right before the end of the game so you won’t have much time to use it. One weapon lets you send out mini Clanks to get the opponent, but I didn’t find those to be very useful. There is also an Acid Grenade attack, but I don’t see why you would use it. All in all, the weapons are solid for the most part and I highly recommend the Laser Blasters and the Rockets!

Overall, this was a very good addition to the Ratchet and Clank series. It may not have been quite a match for Deadlocked, but it’s still an incredible game. The fact that you can beat it in a few hours may be a little disappointing, but these games always have a substantial amount of replay value. Collecting weapons, skill points, gadgets, etc. There will be plenty for you to do after Story Mode. There is also a very solid multiplayer mode where you can fight others with the incredible battle style. It’s like playing Star Fox Assault. You are definitely getting a lot of bang for your buck! Ratchet was portrayed perfectly and he also made sure to mention the R.Y.N.O. when the villain claimed that nothing could beat intelligence. Ratchet sure showed him eh? Nothing can stop the R.Y.N.O.! I look forward to playing the next game in the series and finally starting its PS3 run. I highly recommend this game and you will greatly enjoy it. There aren’t any real flaws in this game.

Overall 8/10

Star Wars Jedi Starfighter Review

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After playing the first Starfighter game, I knew that I needed to play the sequel right away. The first one was better than expected and I expected more of the same in the sequel. This game is mostly the same as the first, but they have improved it in one key area. That would be the plot! Let’s see how the game fared in the other areas as well!

It is good to be able to have a paragraph for the plot once more! This game also has 15 levels for Story Mode and it goes up until the climax of Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones. First of all, a Jedi is assigned to help out a group of Pirates because we’ve finally realized that they were correct and the Trade Federation is up to no good. The Jedi helps them fight a lot of battles and eventually we are the last stand against the Trade’s big assault. They have hex equipment and are going to incinerate the Jedi Warriors who are fighting on the planet. (AKA, Anakin, Obi Wan, and many other fighters) The main villain of the game would definitely be Captain Toth.

Captain Toth is a pretty menacing figure and he succeeds in destroying three key officials in one shot. That’s definitely not something that should be overlooked and he makes for a nice final boss. He may not have any Force Abilities, but it’s good to see humans try to fight once in a while. The main Jedi is named Adi Gallia. She is strong in the ways of the Force and she can make large shockwaves that can destroy a number of ships at once. It is really up to her to save the day as her allies also play critical roles. She’s a solid protagonist, although she may come across as a little generic. Yoda makes a cameo as you can hear him giving advice during the climax missions of the game.

The gameplay is mostly unchanged from the first Starfighter game, but there are definitely additions. Since Adi is a Jefi, we can use Force abilities in her levels. She has 4 Force abilities, but only two of them I have found to be useful. One ability is that she can make a barrier around the fighter. This can definitely come in handy, but you most likely won’t need the shield as your ship is very sturdy and will not be destroyed so easily.

Force Lightning is another ability and it’s one that I used for a while until the Shockwave came into play. It’s good for hitting a number of opponents, but it never seemed to finish the job. I did skip the tutorials for the game so it’s possible that I’m not using it correctly, but the lightning definitely wasn’t my favorite force ability. There was another ability that would slow down the opponents and increase the player’s reflexes, but I could never get that ability to work. Finally, we got the Shockwave which is easily the best ability. The Shockwave can defeat a number of opponents in a single shot and while you may not always hit the target that you were aiming for, you’ll likely take a few other enemies down. The Force gauge recovers very quickly so you don’t always have to defeat them all in a single shot.

The regular ships also get more abilities as you can fire Super Rockets, Mines, and quick rockets. The Super Rocket is a very good attack for hitting large vessels. It may be slow, but it can completely rip apart barriers and nearly take down the ship’s whole health bar in one shot. It’s a great weapon to use as long as the target is immobile. For moving targets, you’ll want to use the quick rockets. They are able to go right through a barrier and directly impact the target’s health bar. It’s definitely a useful way to save time if you have a lot of targets that you need to bring down. One shot turns into a flurry of many shots that deal some solid damage and spread over a decently large area. I can’t really say that the Mines are useful for anything and I just didn’t use them. There was really no need to do so at that point.

The rest of the gameplay remains unaltered from the first game. The ship that the Jedi uses can be difficult to navigate at first as he can turn much quicker than the ships in the first game. After a few minutes you’ll have adjusted and may find this to be pretty useful. It’s tougher for the minions to escape your field of vision with such speed. The gameplay is still very fun and definitely one of the definitive space shooters out there. You can do 360’s and hit opponents from very far away. I went into the gameplay a little more in depth in the previous game’s review. It’s essentially one of the ultimate shooting games and is definitely better than you may have suspected upon first glance.

The graphics are slightly better than the first game, but the change is barely noticeable. The humans on the ground still look like dots unless you zoom in while you are very close to them. Beyond that, the graphics are pretty solid and everything looks pretty good. This game has more actual cutscenes than the first one and they’re not bad. There is definitely more of a sense of danger in them than the previous installment in the series.

Overall, if you liked the first Starfighter, you should definitely enjoy this one. It’s essentially the same as the original game. There are things to unlock in this one which should help the replay value. That’s a good thing since the story mode is only 15 levels like the first game. The game was a slight improvement over Starfighter since it didn’t make anything worse and only made things better by adding new abilities/weapons and making the actual story a lot more memorable. If you like the shooter genre, then you will likely enjoy this game. It’s one of the best in the shooter genre so I highly recommend it! (Also, hopefully it gets a sequel because the game ends on a total cliffhanger. Someone may be in trouble!)

Overall 7/10

Star Wars Starfighter Review

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Star Wars has had many games in the past and they have all been decently good to great in the past. This one plays out like the Rebel Strike Star Wars game for Gamecube, but the gameplay is more refined. Could this game keep up the solid reputation of the Star Wars games or would it end up crushing out hopes? Only one way to find out!

Well, usually I would go into the plot right away, but that’s tougher than expected. There is definitely a plot, but you continue to switch characters are you go through the levels and while I do like the main, main character the most, the others are still cool. It’s just hard to follow the story and you’re really just focusing on the action. I’m sure that the story is very engaging and epic, but you won’t remember it by the time that you complete the game. Instead, we shall spend our time focusing on the gameplay and graphics.

The graphics hold up pretty well for the most part. The ships look good and the energy attacks are also solid. It reminds me of the retro N64 (Awesome) days while also throwing in some modern Gamecube action into it. The graphics are definitely a + and the only parts that don’t look very good are the humans. Still, they play a very small role in this and what really counts are the battles.

One of the reasons why I like the Starfighter series so much is that it finally takes Star Wars back to its roots. Originally, the whole concept of Star Wars was about how there would be climatic battles in space and how it would be awesome. After the first few Star Wars films, they started to diverge from that. In this game, fighting in space is all that you will do and it’s definitely a great experience.

The gameplay is essentially a 3D shooter. You can play it in first person mode or seeing from behind the ship. In this game, I find it a lot more convenient to use first person mode and you can attack foes that are incredibly far away. The game was definitely designed well because in most other shooters, you simply cannot attack from that far away. The blasts would just fade away into nothingness and you would have to wait until you are closer. There are usually dozens of enemies that continue to attack while you have to try and fend them off. You are able to lead your comrades into battle, but I never really used the function. By the time you tell your comrades to destroy an object, you will have basically finished the job.

Most of the missions involve destroying a lot of enemies and protecting your allies. There are 15 missions in Story Mode and it doesn’t drag on. The game could definitely be considered to be on the short side and it could have used some more levels. I’m not sure that 15 levels would have really cut it for me if I had bought the game at retail price, but for the bargain of 4 dollars, I’m all right with it. It’s still no excuse to be such a short game, but there is a decent amount of replay value through bonus missions.

You only have a few weapons to use in the game, but they’re all that you truly need. You have rockets which do heavy damage, but they do run out of ammo quickly and you cannot reload. There are energy grenades that automatically replenish and also deal great damage, but they are harder to aim as they cannot travel great distances. They are best used from a high point to drop on unsuspecting enemies. Of course, nothing beats the classic machine gun style energy bullets that you can fire to take down any enemy given enough time. You have complete control over your vehicle and you can turn it around as you dodge enemy attacks and counter. By turning it around, I mean that you can make your vehicle fly sideways or even upside down as you do 180s and 360s. Yes, this is one of the best pure shooters out there and the gameplay would usually make the game an 8/10.

The only reason that this game does not crack an 8 is because the gameplay does not have enough support from the other modes. As I’ve mentioned, the game is pretty short and the story is completely forgettable. If the game had been longer and if the story had been more memorable, then I likely would have given the game an 8. It was just lacking something. Maybe an epic 2 player showdown mode would have added to the score and likely would have made the game an 8.

Overall, this is a fun Star Wars game. It’s not going to be hailed as one of the all time greats and you may not even remember it after a while, but it’s very fun and is that not the main function of a video game? Ultimately, having fun is the most important part of playing a video game and this one definitely succeeds. I highly recommend this game as long as you don’t mind the lack of length and you definitely need to like the shooting genre. If you didn’t like Star Fox Assault or Robotech’s aerial combat system, then this is not the game for you. This game only features aerial combat, but it’s some of the best space fighting that I’ve encountered. You will not want to miss out on this game!

Overall 7/10

The Mighty Thor Volume 2 Review

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It’s time to continue the Walter Simonson era with this collection! The plots start to come to a close with only one big plot continuing. The others have wrapped up nicely and this seems to be the end of an era for Thor. Could this comic surpass the first one thanks to the abundance of action or did Thor’s underwhelming portrayal destroy its chances? Time to find out!

Well, the first part of the collection deals with Malekith as his plan goes into motion. He realizes that he cannot hope to defeat Thor in a battle of power so he decides to resort to trickery instead. After tricking Thor into drinking of the golden mead; it would seem that Malekith may have the upper hand in the battles to come as Thor starts to act irrationally. With only Roger Willis at his side, Thor infiltrates Malekith’s home base and they begin their assault on the castle. Outnumbered hundreds to 2, Thor and Roger fight on and may get more than they bargained for when Algrim appears to join the fight.

The rest of the collection (excluding the final issue) deals with the threat of Surtur as he seeks to burn away the 9 Realms and destroy everything. It’s a very ambitious goal, but now that he has the Twilight Sword, it would seem that the goal is not unreachable. All Surtur has to do is light the sword with the giant fire that is in Asgard and then he will be able to burn away the 9 Realms. The climax is a large one as Surtur heads to Earth to find the Rainbow Bridge and must content with the (3rd string) Avengers and Fantastic Four. The X-Men are evidently too busy to deal with a being who will incinerate the universe.

Surtur has brought a legion of fire demons with him and their sheer numbers bring the heroes to a halt. Unfortunately for them, none of the S Rank Heroes like Spiderman, Cyclops, Ironman, or even the Incredible Hulk are around to help. The heroes quickly start to get overwhelmed and that’s considering that they get a lot of reinforcements. The Army, Knights of Valhalla, Beta Ray Bill, The Asgardians, and many more heroes are around to help, but they’re still being crushed. Thor is forced to let Earth fend for itself as he goes to aid Odin against Surtur himself. Can they defeat this being of immense power?

There are other plots about as well like Lorelei’s plot to get Thor, Loki’s plot to rule Asgard, and Thor’s mission to free the souls in Hela’s domain which he has had to put on hold. Roger Willis gets a pretty big role during the Malekith arc which could have been considered as a slightly different plot from Thor’s, but they ultimately merged and concluded. Balder’s plot was also concluded in the end, but not in a cool way.

Thor did not look quite as good as in the first volume. While he still does show glimpses of his former glory from the first volume, the golden mead tricks him a little too easily. I would hope that such a thing would not affect Thor The Thunderer. Aside from that, Thor is still a solid character, but the effects of the Golden Mead do affect him greatly for the first few comics. Thor does give it his all against Surtur, but he ends up succumbing to sadness after the battle because he regrets his lack of power. This will likely lead into the Hela plot, but is he ready for such a battle? Only time will tell, but he did look pretty good when he fought Hela towards the end, so I wouldn’t count him out.

Odin has a big role in this volume and he’s a lot better than usual. It is regrettable that he did not let Thor know that he was being deceived by Melodi, but that’s his only negative scene. Odin has a lot of good dialogue and he usually says “Well met” if someone addresses him correctly. Odin puts up a good fight against Surtur and while he may not have been a match for the fire tyrant, he still put up a valiant effort. If the battle had been a fair one, perhaps Odin would have had the upper hand.

Surtur makes for a great villain and he’s easily one of Thor’s most impressive ones. He fears no being and even Odin does not seem to be at the same level of power. Surtur is good with a sword and also pretty fast as he was able to land some good hits on Thor when even Hela could not. Surtur essentially fought Thor, Odin, and Loki back to back which is not a bad feat. He’s a likable fighter and you almost want to root for him as he doesn’t seem to hold a grudge against the heroes. No, he wants to destroy everything, but it’s not personal and it’s hard to root against him.

Roger Willis is a pretty likable character and he gets a big role in this collection. It’s too bad that his reflexes were too slow and he could not warn Thor about the Golden Mead, but he still took matters into his own hands and got rid of the rest. He put up a solid fight against the Dark Elves and he’s handy with a gun. He even admits that he could have beaten the rest of them if he had his platoon from back in the day. I can’t say that I doubt him as he put up a solid fight. He almost destroyed Malekith when they fought because he knows that iron is their weakness and exploited it. He mildly helps against the fire demons and proves that humans can still be tough. It would be nice to see him appear in more comics in the future.

Loki also gets in on the action to further his own agenda. Using trickery, he does manage to last for a little while against Surtur which is impressive. He could have done even better if he had used his abilities to the fullest and not stayed so close to the monster, but Surtur would have eventually wiped him out anyway. I can’t say that Loki is very likable in this comic since his other plans are hard to root for, but at least he got to fight.

The art is solid for the comics and they look really good. The art definitely amplifies the intensity of the fight scenes and makes them look even better than usual. It helps to capture the dramatic tension that fills the characters as they fight Surtur. There seems to be no hope, but still they fight on. After all, if they always believe in the Three Fates, then they would basically be doomed. This is definitely some nice art!

I do have to say that the fight scenes are very well done. Nowadays in the comics, we rarely get such large fight scenes and they tend to only be a few pages at the most. In this battle, we get some nice/long fights that keep on going for a while and the fights are also very dramatic. You feel the blows as the characters make dramatic speeches while going in for the win. It definitely helps to remind me that Surtur is a very real threat and someone who should not be taken lightly.

Overall, this is a solid collection of comics and continues Simonson’s solid run. Some parts like the Lorelei plot still drag on, but it has a much grander feel than the first collection. I still don’t care for Balder the Brave and his subplot ends on a pretty low note. Still, I am glad that it is now over! Surtur is definitely a big threat and it’s nice to see how the rest of the Marvel universe responds. Human Torch and Reed Richards play a critical role in the comic and it makes sense if you’ve read their comics. They always perform well during crunch time! It’ll be very hard to top the Surtur saga as far as Thor comics go, but we shall see. If they use Kurse, then it is always possible! I highly recommend this Thor collection as with the previous one. All Marvel fans should appreciate the drama and the action!

Overall 7/10

The Mighty Thor Volume 1 Review

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Thor is one of the original Avengers and he has had hundreds of comics over the years. This is the start of the Walter Simonson run so it’s a solid way for the graphic novel to begin. Thor is a character that can be difficult to write properly since writers make sometimes make him appear to be a slow minded thinker who just punches until his opponent goes down while others make him out to be a solid thinker, but with strength that cannot come close to matching that of the Hulk’s. I am glad to say that Thor looks very good in this collection and it’s the best incarnation of him that I’ve seen in quite a while. (The pre Bendis days after all)

This comic has a lot of plots that occur within its pages and also starts a lot of plots that do not conclude in this volume. The collection definitely has undertones of despair and dread in it as you know that something sinister is about to befall Asgard, but there is nothing that the heroes can do about it. They do not know who the ultimate adversary is and they can only wait for him to strike. Thor is essentially on his own because the rest of the heroes on the planet are basically absent the entire time with only Jarvis making a cameo.

The first part of the collection deals with the debut of Beta Ray Bill. This arc is pretty famous and for good reason. Beta Ray Bill has become a fan favorite character in the Thor comics and while I don’t usually care for him that much, he was a solid character in this arc. After he defeats Thor, (Or should I say, Donald Blake?) Beta Ray Bill is taken to Asgard where he has to deal with Odin. Odin decides that Thor and Beta Ray Bill will have a duel to the death and the winner will claim Mjolnir as his own. This begins the epic battle of the two titans.

After the shocking conclusion and the even more shocking decision that Odin makes, Thor and Beta Ray Bill decide to take out the demons that are attacking Bill’s species. Lady Sif decides to come and help the two of them as they fight against all odds. The demons are not powerful, but they have sheer numbers on their side. Can the three warriors stop the demons before they destroy the innocents aboard the spaceships?

Next up, Fafnir decides to attack Earth and wreck vengeance on Thor for what Thor had done to him ages ago. His powers have increased considerably and not even Mighty Mjolnir is really a match for him. Thor enlists the help of a senior citizen whom Thor fortifies with the power of youth and together they launch an attack on Fafnir. It’s a bold move on their part since Fafnir is one of the strongest monsters (Aside from Godzilla) to attack the Earth. Unfortunately for Fafnir, there isn’t a real sense of danger because he picked the wrong city to attack. See, earlier in the comic, we had a shocking pair of guest stars. Clark Kent and Lois Lane were on the scene…yes, the famous DC characters successfully infiltrated the Marvel collection and made it 20% cooler. It was the highlight of the collection since Superman got his classic smirk in and even though he only appeared for a page or two, he instantly saw through Thor’s disguise. Here I thought Batman was the world’s greatest detective! It’s always good to see Superman get his props.

The last few comics mainly deal with Balder The Brave as he attempts to deliver a letter that Odin has entrusted him with. He has to deliver it to Loki, but it’s definitely a bad time for him. He has sworn never again to destroy an enemy since he has been to Hela’s domain and he found out what happened to them. You can’t help but feel for the poor guy since the fate of those in Hela is pretty grim. More on that later, since it’s something that you really need to think about. Loki has never been the nicest person, so will he accept the letter or turn to the dark side with Malekith?

That’s definitely a good amount of plot lines in the comic! There are also many other things happening at the same time and I will get into most of them while talking about the characters. Thor is a solid protagonist in this collection and his character is portrayed well. He’s a man of honor who talks dramatically, but unlike most of the other Marvel heroes, he can back it all up. Fans may not appreciate the fact that Beta Ray Bill beats him pretty easily in their first round and that the second round may be closer than it should have been. Regardless, Thor does a good job of protecting humanity and fighting the Kaiju that are around. At one point, Thor decides to get a secret identity which leads into him meeting Superman and Lorelei so it’s a mixed bag. I’m not sure that it was a good move having him get a secret identity, but at least he keeps his abilities this time.

Beta Ray Bill is a fighter who debuts in this collection and he’s decently cool. When he first appears, he has the aura of an epic opponent around him as he quickly moves in to take Thor down for the count. This guy has fought a lot of powerful adversaries in the past and it’s a wonder that he has not already defeated the demons. He even tries to land a hit on Odin, but it does not work. He was a very solid character through and through. While I do not like his humanoid form as much as his real one, it’s all right I suppose.

Superman was one of the highlights of the collection and while his appearance was short, it was powerful. The author definitely knew who Superman was since he made sure to keep him in character. Superman smirked at Thor when he fell because he quickly found out his true identity. One could even say that he may have helped Thor behind the scenes during the big fights because with his super speed, it would be a simple matter. Adding him to the comic was definitely a good move.

Odin is back as per usual and he’s definitely a lot more reasonable than he used to be. He still has his moments where he will make people fight to the death for no reason, but he has made some progress. He’s pretty terrified of the villains that are to come, but at least he makes a (slight) effort not to show it. You have to admire his bravery for such a feat. In the end, he was a decent character this time which is better than usual.

Loki is still one of the big villains of the collection along with Lorelei. They have a subplot where they try to wreck Thor’s life and alienate Lady Sif. The plots start to separate as Loki makes a deal with Malekith and Lorelei goes to the human world to trick Thor into drinking the magical elixir. Loki does a good job of messing with Balder The Brave and you can’t help feeling bad for the hero. Loki is not someone to be trifled with and he will likely do more in the next volume. He’s definitely an intense villain, but his plans can go too far so he’s still not really likable. Lorelei ‘s plans last throughout the whole collection and she is still plotting to get Thor. So far, Thor has unwittingly outsmarted her at every turn, but she has not given up yet. Her plot isn’t really interesting and can only be endured while we wait for it to end.

Fafnir is a pretty cool dragon and he’s someone that can be admired. His rivalry with Thor is legendary in his eyes and his hypnotic abilities are pretty good. They definitely shouldn’t be underestimated and you have to admire his raw power. He was a solid example of how a monster should be portrayed if he wants to be remembered as a powerful opponent. It’ll be nice to see him again in the future and how the heroes could possibly defeat him. The way that he lost in this collection was basically plot hax.

There was another plot line involving Hamburgers and French Fries that was pretty interesting. A guy is on the run from these mysterious beings who are chasing him, but they die when they eat human food. This person realizes this somehow and he manages to take down two of the agents. Now, he’s got to make sure that he saves the world in time. Unfortunately, it may be too late as one of his associates runs into Malekith and may not stand a chance. There’s also another plot with a mysterious fire being creating a sword. He calls it the Twilight Sword and when he smashes his hammer into the ground, the shockwave can be heard through a billion billion planets. This being was powerful enough to fight Odin’s two ravens and he shouldn’t be underestimated. Odin seems to think that this being will be the end of Asgard….and he may be right!

The art for this comic was very good. This was during the modern classic days of Marvel and everyone is in their signature designs for the most part. The art doesn’t really have any faults and everything is just fun to read. I read the whole collection in one sitting and I like to think that the art had a part in that. If the art was worse, then that may have been tough.

One part of the comic that can be sad to think about is the Hela plot. According to the Asgardian rules, warriors who die in combat go to Valhalla while people who die of regular deaths go to Hela’s Domain. This doesn’t really seem fair as many good Asgardians would end up going to Hela’s Domain. Balder went there himself when he died and saw the many horrors that it contained. It’s essentially Marvel’s version of Hell and it’s a scary thing to think about. Knowing this, Balder decided to stop destroying people because they would go into a fate much worse than Death. Could Odin and pals stop this if they wanted too? The sad truth is that they probably could, which makes Asgard look as sketchy as ever. I’m definitely not a fan of this twist since it’s something that can’t really be solved. Now, we know what happens to the villains that die and it’s pretty sad for them. Marvel has quite a few hells already and there doesn’t seem to be quite as many happy places for the heroes. I definitely can’t blame Balder for his vow, but naturally he was forced to break it, in part because of Odin. Maybe the plot will come back and they’ll find a way to resolve it, but I doubt that they could think of such a way unless the place was obliterated by Surtur the fire demon.

Overall this was a pretty solid collection of Thor comics. I’m not sure about Thor essentially leading the Viking into his doom, but since Hela’s domain was the only other option; It makes the whole thing a little harder to blame on Thor. The comic had its share of downer moments when Loreli’s plot would enter and Beta Ray Bill’s true origin, (Which I recommend skipping. It’s only a few panels and completely unnecessary. His life was already tragic so we didn’t need to go and make it even worse. It won’t destroy the comic, but those panels could greatly hurt your enjoyment so I do recommend bypassing them) but for the most part we got a lot of action and solid writing. It’ll be nice to see the plots start to conclude in the next volume which I will be reviewing soon. Will all of the plots end or only some of them? All I know is that we will find out soon enough! I recommend this comic and it should be a fun read for all comic book fans.

Overall 7/10

Fantastic Four Crusaders and Titans Review

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The Fantastic Four have never gotten the same amount of recognition that the Avengers and the Xmen have received. They were once Marvel’s first superhero group and now they have faded away. They are still very popular, but the fact that their films didn’t really hit it off did not help matters. I’ve always enjoyed the team and in the old comics, I dare say that they’re more fun to read than the other teams. Once things started to progress in the 80s to 90s, I definitely preferred the Avengers and Xmen comics, but the Fantastic Four will always be a fun group. Could this comic capture their greatness?

This collection has many comics in it, but most of the plots extend through several comics so their are only a few big story arcs in this collection. The first comics deal with the Crusader as he attempts to judge the humans for their transgressions. There is a plot twist that makes the whole thing seem a little more personal on the Crusader’s part and he has a pretty tragic back story. He’s a pretty decent villain and he put up quite the fight!

Next up, The Hulk came into town and the Fantastic Four would need to subdue him. Reed Richards had created a device that could turn him back into Banner, but then the Government got involved. They figured that they could step in and quickly kidnap Bruce Banner, but the Thing wouldn’t have any of that and he quickly broke the device which turned Banner back into the Hulk. Turning his back on humanity, the Thing joins forced with the Hulk to fight the Fantastic Three! Could this be the end?

Later on, a mighty punch from a powerful foe managed to completely break away the Thing’s outer shell and he was now a mere mortal once again. This wasn’t totally because of the punch, but it’s really cool to think of it that way. The Thing is happy at first, but then he realizes that he is no longer popular. Making matters worse is the fact that Luke Cage has replaced him on the Fantastic Four. Things keep on getting worse and worse for the Thing and he doesn’t help matters either as he doesn’t take the whole experience very well. Reed builds him a suit that will let him gain a pretty good degree of super strength while he is inside of it, but then Luke Cage begins his assault. Can Ben Grimm defeat Luke Cage while in his new suit? Also, why is Luke Cage evil!?

Finally, the largest chunk of the collection is the plot that involves Galactus! A golden ape appears in the city and warns the Fantastic Four of this grave threat. They head to the High Evolutionary who tells them that Galactus seeks to destroy Counter Earth. The Fantastic Four head for other worlds which would sacrifice themselves for Counter Earth and the High Evolutionary does battle with Galactus himself.

The collection has a pretty solid array of comics and they remind me why I always found the Fantastic Four comics fun. Reed Richards is a solid leader and while he doesn’t actually do much leading in this collection, he proves why he deserves the title. He comes up with plans as they arise and he does what he can to help the others. His powers start to fade during the second half of the arc, but he still keeps it together and manages to save the day. He can be pretty blunt with the Thing and even admits that he’s happy that the Thing doesn’t make a lot of wisecracks. He’s basically just a great superhero and he’s Marvel’s Batman. How cool he is definitely depends on the writer, but this collection really did a good job. He keeps his smarts while also showing that he can use his intelligence to be a good fighter.

The Human Torch is decently cool, but he has his ups and downs as the comics go on. At one point, he almost decides not to help everyone out because it might hurt his social life. Last time I checked, superheroes should rise against such things when the time is at hand to fight. On the other hand, the Torch did a really good job when he was fighting. He consistently gave it his all and his attacks definitely dealt some decent damage to everyone but Galactus. He may not be my favorite member of the Fantastic Four anymore, but he’s still a fun character to root for. At least, he was during this era of Marvel.

Invisible Woman is still known as Invisible Girl in this collection. She can definitely change her name, but she has decided not too at the moment. Her abilities are definitely potent and she proves that the Thing isn’t able to shatter it and she makes pretty good use of her abilities. A lot of the comics deal with a situation where the FF wouldn’t stand a chance without her. It’s nice to see her get some props because her abilities are definitely very dangerous. She’s another solid member of the Fantastic Four and her abilities will only get stronger as time goes by.

The Thing is the final member of the Fantastic Four and he’s the most sketchy. On one hand, it’s easy to root for him and he gets a lot of the best lines. On the other hand, he has a tendency to feel bad for himself a lot and he always looks at the negative side of things. He is never satisfied when he has his powers or when he’s human. It’s a lose-lose situation either way and he can get a little unbearable to watch. When he’s in a good mood, then the Thing is a great character. When he’s feeling bad for himself, then he’s a pretty bad character. Overall, I’d still say that he’s a fun character, but I can’t wait until he just accepts his situation. The comic with the Hulk definitely made him look bad (Along with the other FF members) and he should have been able to find a way to stop the Government without breaking the device. Definitely not his best move.

Galactus is in this comic and he’s as likable as ever. I mean that in a good way as he’s always been a fun character to read. He talks in a very scientific way, but in a way that makes sense. You do have to respect his power and the fact that he is an honorable person. I wouldn’t call him a hero and he would definitely rank as a villain, but he does keep his promises. His end is actually pretty tragic and I wonder where he goes from here. His herald at the moment is Destroyer, who still doesn’t really have a soul. At least now he can travel through the cosmos!

Luke Cage is around for a few issues, but I wouldn’t call him the greatest character out there. He’s all right, but I definitely wouldn’t want him on the Fantastic Four. I just don’t really find him interesting. There’s nothing wrong with him, but he’s just a little on the generic side. The High Evolutionary is around and he makes it hard to root for him. He doesn’t mind when his allies are all in lethal situations and decides not to help them when a flick of the switch will possibly save them. He didn’t even want anyone to go and rescue them which is pretty sinister. He talked a good game when he fought Galactus which was his highlight, but I’m guessing that everyone was rooting for Galactus. I know that I was! The Golden Ape was a fun character although he made some pretty rash decisions. He reminded me of the Beast and he even talked like the Xman.

The art for the comics is really good and you could say that this is basically Marvel’s prime. The newer comics look really good for some of the Marvel comics as well, but this one just has a really natural feel to it. They did the comics by hand and you really have to marvel at the effort that it must have taken. The art is definitely very good and with solid writing as well, this collection is basically complete.

Overall, this is a great Fantastic Four collection and maybe the best one that I’ve read. I really can’t think of any negatives in the comic. I’m sure that there is some minor stuff if I squint hard enough like parts of the Thing and Human Torch’s portrayals, but nothing that’s really big. So, why isn’t this comic a 10? There’s nothing really wrong with the comic, but also nothing outstanding enough to warrant such a high rating. As I see it, the comic did everything right and the score is what most comics should aim for. It would take some thought to see if this really was the best, but I can certainly say that its the best Fantastic Four (Strictly Fantastic Four) comic reviewed on the blog thus far. I look forward to reading more of this team and I actually have another Fantastic Four comic on the back burner that I’ll be checking out. It’ll definitely be fun to see their adventures. I highly recommend this comic and it’s fun for all comic audiences. Drama, Action, Humor, this comic has it all!

Overall 7/10 (Close to an 8, but not quite)