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raimispiderman · 3 years

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From the booklet which comes with the Spider-Man Trilogy Limited Edition Collection blu-ray!

This talks about the making of Spider-Man 2, here’s the bit about the first Spider-Man movie.

Click for a transcript:

THE EVOLUTION OF A SUPERHERO

“It was truly gratifying and even a bit overwhelming to witness how strongly moviegoers around the world reacted to Spider-Man,” said director Sam Raimi. “As a filmmaker, I always want people to really enjoy my movies, and on that level, Spider-Man exceeded my expectations.”

After the triumph of the first Spider-Man, Raimi knew he had a responsibility to follow it up with a story that justified the fans’ enthusiasm and their built-in expectations for the next adventure. “There’s great interest in this movie, following the success of the first one,” he acknowledged. “For the kids who come to see it, Spider-Man is their hero. So while the job of making this movie is to provide entertainment, it is also to create a story that shows them a moral character, someone who has to make tough choices and the right decisions in order to continue to be worthy of their admiration.”

The wealth of detailed stories and characters in the Spider-Man comic book series provided a mother lode from which to cull the plot for Spider-Man 2. “The Marvel artists and writers have done a great job through the decades – I know, because I’m a big fan myself – so there’s a tremendous amount of good material to draw upon,” noted Raimi. “Finding a storyline wasn’t that difficult. It was finding the right story, the one that made for a proper follow-up installment, and provided a logical progression for the audience and a logical growth for the character. For the, I relied on the terrific storytelling instincts of my very fine producers Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad. Together with the contributions of our great writers, we found a plot line with ideas that reverberated.”

With the storyline of the new adventure locked, Arad looked forward to the reunion of the Spider-Man filmmaking family, not the least of which was Tobey Maguire. “Tobey was so happy to be Spider-Man again and to be Peter Parker,” said Arad. “As an actor Tobey relished deepening the audience’s understanding of who Peter Parker is and who is becoming,” added Ziskin. “Peter’s a man who is transition, someone who’s struggling with the choices he is making.”

Maguire added, “The theme ‘with great power comes great responsibility’ is never lost on Peter. It’s difficult to be a young man and have to sacrifice as much as he has – presumably for the greater good – and to neglect his personal desires. The struggle continues here and it’s quite complicated, because Peter’s searching desperately for a way to achieve some balance in his life.”

As Peter becomes more immersed in his dilemma, it creates a rift between him and the important people in his life. Though his love for MJ is stronger than ever, she has moved on with her life, pursuing an acting career, living in Manhattan and moving in new social circles. “In this film, Peter is off in his own world and not a reliable presence in MJ’s life,” explained Kirsten Dunst. “She still loves him a great deal, so it has become painful for her to be around him. Though they’ve both done a lot of growing up in the past two years, at the same time, they’ve drifted apart.”

Then, as if Peter’s life were not complicated enough, the situation moves from bad to worse – much worse. Enter Doc Ock.

Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) is a brilliant scientist whose life work has been dedicated to experiments utilizing fusion as a new source of energy. Charming, vibrant and energetic, Dr. Octavius is introduced to Peter by Harry Osborn.

“This movie is the story of Peter’s life, which is out of balance, and Dr. Octavius who, for Peter, represents someone who has achieved that balance,” explained Raimi.

“Peter sees Octavius as somebody who has mastered both his gifts – in this case science, through which he can serve the good of mankind, while also maintaining a personal life, a loving relationship with his wife Rosie (Donna Murphy). This leads Peter to the conclusion that it’s possible to have both.” Dr. Octavius, with the support of his wife, has been working diligently in his home laboratory, trying to perfect his groundbreaking fusion theory. But when a demonstration of his creation goes horribly wrong, Dr. Octavius undergoes a terrible transformation – evolving into the powerful, multi-tentacled Doc Ock.

In Spider-Man 2, the talented and versatile Molina brings this powerful adversary to terrifying life. “He is a formidable enemy for Spider-Man,” said Arad. “He can climb walls faster and better than Spider-Man. In fact, there’s nothing Spider-Man can do that Ock cannot counteract.”

Doc Ock, one of the most popular villains of the Spider-Man comic book series, first appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man #3,” which was published in 1963. He immediately became one of Spider-Man’s most formidable foes. According to comic lore, each of Ock’s limbs can move at speeds of up to 90 feet per second and strike with the force of a jackhammer. The extremely powerful tentacles enable him to lift a vehicle off the ground, pulverize bricks, claw through concrete walls and hover above his victims by rising into the air.

The filmmakers were eager to attract Molina for the central role. “We needed someone who brought a palpable reality to the part, and who was also sincere, had a great sense of humor and personal warmth,” said Raimi. “Alfred is a brilliant actor, and what he’s brought so effectively to the character of Doc Ock is the sense of him as a misunderstood man who has turned into a beast.”

Molina confessed, “I’ve always been a Marvel Comic fan because their characters are so interesting. They have problems. They’re very realistic.” From him, the mechanics behind the role of Doc Ock was a true education. “It was mind-boggling, the breadth and the imagination that went into how each of my character’s actions – flying across the room, crashing through a plate glass window, smashing a taxicab – was to be executed. It’s a unique way of filming that’s not like anything most of us get to do really. It’s a very particular way of working, and absolutely fascinating.”

J.K. Simmons also returns in Spider-Man 2 as Peter’s gruff boss at the Daily Bugle, J Jonah Jameson. “I fire Peter several times in this movie. Every time I see him, I fire him,” laughed Simmons. “And then I re-hire him because there’s always some pressing need for his services.”

Principal photography on Spider-Man 2 began on April 12, 2003, in New York City, where the production spent approximately three weeks shooting at various locations in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, as well as on a Yonkers stage. From ground-level street shots to rooftops high above the city, the filmmakers efficiently utilized the time they spent in New York, giving them the opportunity to expand on the city’s unique environment, which had lent such vibrancy to the first Spider-Man.

“In the first film we established New York as a character in the movie. With Spider-Man 2, we went even further,” said production designer Neil Spisak. “We used a lot more of the city, including [photographic] plates of real buildings and real streets. Improvements in technology over the past three years enabled [visual effects designer] John Dykstra and I to marry existing buildings to scenery buildings to CG buildings even better than the first time around. It’s a much more complete experience.”

“We got more of a feeling of New York in this movie,” added Ziskin. “The movie is being shot in widescreen, which is appropriate because this is a different story, so it required a different approach.”

Production began on the campus of Columbia University in uptown Manhattan, which served as the university Peter Parker attends while he struggles with the responsibilities of his academic workload and his superhero duties. The rooftop of the Hotel Intercontinental, across from the Waldorf Astoria, was the location where Spider-Man contemplates his next move, while downtown, in the Wall Street area, another rooftop served as the “launch-pad” for the Spydercam camera, as it dipped and swooped over several blocks to replicate one of Spider-Man’s high-stakes aerial journeys through the city.

“We executed one of the longest wire shots the Spydercam has ever done,” said executive producer Joseph M. Maracciolo. “The Wall Street shot was around 2,400 feet. I’m an ex New Yorker, so I didn’t find the location shoot particularly daunting. But there are always difficulties when you’re doing wire work in New York, including the placement of the cranes on the buildings, the movement of the cast, crew and equipment, and of course, the crowds.”

“It was a challenge for us to move our production to the tops of buildings, but we couldn’t have been happier, because rooftops are Spider-Man’s world and that is his view of the city as he swings through it,” noted co-producer Grant Curtis. “It was breathtaking to see the world from 70 stories up – a world unto itself. You can’t fully really appreciate the beautiful architecture of New York’s skyscrapers from ground level. We showed some of that in the first film, but we wanted to show more of Spider-Man’s vertiginous world, and I think we really captured that with this film.”

In Spider-Man 2, Doc Ock sweeps Aunt May off her feet – literally – and takes her up several stories of a tall building. Rosemary Harris performed her stunts in a variety of harnesses, but only after she had managed to talk the filmmakers into letting her give her stunt double a rest. “I was a bit miffed at first, because my wonderful stunt double was going to do a lot of these harness maneuvers,” recalled Harris. “So I asked Sam and Laura, ‘Why not let me have a go at it?’ At first they were reluctant. But I begged them to at least let me try and they finally relented.”

Returning to Los Angeles, Spider-Man 2 shot on several stages on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City. Stage 15 was home to the Daily Bugle offices, as well as Peter’s tiny apartment and Dr. Octavius’ elaborate home laboratory. On Stage 29, the Osborn mansion, where Harry Osborn now lives, was recreated. Stage 27 housed MJ’s apartment set, a giant spider web, the interior of the Planetarium, the massive clock tower set as well as various other set pieces. A series of elevated trains were built on Stage 14, where Spider-Man and Doc Ock match wits.

One of the most elaborate sets for Spider-Man 2 was the pier set, designed by Spisak and built over the course of 15 weeks on Soundstage 30. “In contrast to Dr. Octavius’ lab, which was part of his apartment – a streamlined, organized and clean space – the pier is a maniacal, decaying, decrepit space,” explained Spisak. “It follows his character development in terms of his becoming a wilder, more dangerous and more formidable adversary for Spider-Man.”

The set, approximately 60 feet wide by 120 feet long and 40 feet tall, was constructed over a water tank and enhanced by several different components, including CG/plate work and miniatures.

“Before we built the set, we created an exact ¾ scale model of it, about 7 feet long and 4 feet wide, from drawings and blueprints. The model was extremely useful to the carpenters, who could take measurements to help them construct the full-sized pier, as well as for the miniatures team, so they could ascertain the dimensions, textures and materials that were used,” explained art director Tom Wilkins. “We shot plates down in San Pedro, where we panned from a real pier to the water. In post-production a New York background was added. We also built a miniature pier – interiors and exteriors – to complete the composition on the East River.” The art department team designed a 136 foot by 40 foot-high vinyl backing to represent Ock’s view of Manhattan through a large window at the end of the pier set. Wave machines were rigged in the water to create movement under the pier.

The production then moved to the Universal backlot for two weeks of shooting. Several city streets were transformed into a variety of New York neighborhoods including the exterior of the Lyric Theatre where MJ performances in an off-Broadway production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. Ari’s Village Deli and Bakery became the site of an extremely complex scene involving a quiet conversation between Peter and MJ, which is interrupted by Peter’s “spider sense” – and a car careening through the plate glass window, followed by the arrival of Doc Ock.

“It was a great luxury to be able to build that set from every aspect, so that we could do everything we needed for the scene,” said Spisak. “The walls were made of french plate so that when the car smashed through it, the buildings around it were protected. We were able to design what we thought it should look like visually, then as tricks, gags and stunts became clearer, we were able to add them to the set before it was completely finished.”

“The deli was a full, 360 degree set, with a kitchen, deli counters, pastries, ceiling fans and chandeliers,” added art director Steve Saklad, who worked closely with Spisak. “We dressed the exterior streets so that you could look out of the window and see the intersection of Lafayette Street and Astor Place. It required an enormous amount of signage, billboards, street dressing, trees and traffic lights.”

For Raimi, “The diner was a complex technical scene, because it brought together so many different departments, each relying on the other to fulfil their function and communicate with each other so that each individual shot would work. We utilized mechanical effects and the stunt department had to take an automobile, spin it and flip it through the deli window, with the prop department providing the breakaway items. What made it even more complex was that we had to fly Doc Ock in, using something we dubbed the “walk rig.”

The “walk rig” was created for Doc Ock, because the character not only moves himself, but his tentacles move him around as well. When he walks on the tentacles, they support his weight, so a device was constructed to harness him and move him through space as if the tentacles were supporting him. The visual effects department also created “virtual” tentacles where practical ones weren’t feasible.

When he was in full costume, Molina’s tentacles weighed between 75 to 100 pounds, depending upon the action required for the scene. Each of the tentacles was fully articulated. In their expanded, 13-foot length, each upper tentacle consisted of approximately 76 individual pieces Each vertabra was handmade, hand molded, sanded, individually hand painted, chromed, then painted again and assembled by hand. The entire collection of Doc Ock tentacles, bases, heads and wrists, if laid end to end, would be taller than a 20-story building.

Academy Award winning costume designer James Acheson welcomed the opportunity to further explore and improve upon the already classic Spider-Man costume for Spider-Man 2. “Creating the Spider-Man suit for the first film was a real challenge since we were designing for a kind of Cirque du Soleil acrobat, someone who had a unbelievable kinetic spiraling ability,” he said. “So the suit had to be extremely flexible. For the new installment we made several improvements, though you’d have to be a real enthusiast to spot them. The colors are slightly different, and we have made subtle changes in terms of the movement inside the costume’s hood. We also adjusted the eyepieces of Spider-Man’s mask as well as certain aspects of the spider design on the front and the back of the suit.”

For Spider-Man 2’s Doc Ock, Acheson and Raimi spent close to a year collaborating with Spisak and visual effects designer John Dykstra and working with Edge FX in what began as a series of “group think” sessions, according to Raimi. “I needed John Dykstra’s input, because it was John who was going to have to handle Doc Ock’s movements in CG, so he had to be involved in designing the character, along with Jim, who was going to determine the look of the character,” recalled Raimi. “Part of the look determined the movement, and what the arms look like began to govern how it functioned. Neil was involved because Ock had to be a part of Neil’s world in the film. A great interdependence developed among the department heads in order to achieve the complex nature and physicality of the character,”

“The challenge with Doc Ock is to visually create a believable world, focusing on a man with four tentacles growing out of his back,” said Spisak. “Now, that can be a tough swallow. So, in creating Ock and his world, we needed to design and play it so that everything was credible. Ove the course of several months, it became clear what was physically possible for Ock and what would have to be achieved via CG. We conceptualized the look and only then did we deal with the physical limitations, rather than letting them stop us at the beginning.”

Added Dykstra: “It was a huge challenge to make Doc Ock come to life. His tentacles had to meet several criteria. They had to be appropriate with regard to the world Neil had created for Spider-Man and Ock. The components of the costume – the texture and the weight – had to bed something an actor could actually wear. Since using the tentacles wasn’t always practical, we had to create ‘virtual’ versions with Edge FX. In the end, integrating the tentacles into the story was a marriage of all those components and the collaboration of everyone involved.”

Spisak and his team designed and dressed more than 100 sets and locations for Spider-Man 2. “There are probably 10 enormous sets, while some are simply street corners. We covered eleven blocks in downtown Los Angeles and used many rooftops, streets and buildings in New Yorj City,” noted Spisak. “This is certainly the biggest film I’ve ever done.”

Spisak worked with director of photography Bill Pope on the color palette for the sets, and they pored over research and location pictures to inspire them for the story’s lighting requirements. “In the first film, Peter Parker was younger, less aware and just beginning to discover his new powers. That was reflected in the overall look of the movie,” said Spisak. “With this film, he has been Spider-Man for a while, so his frustration over how to deal with his life versus his duty is more complex. That’s reflected in the color palette and the tone of this film – it’s a little more sophisticated, more complicated and deeper, in terms of color and look.”

Among the tools Dykstra and his team utilized to achieve the shots presenting Spider-Man’s point-of-view, while he is soaring over the city, was Earl Wiggins’ Spydercam. During the New York portion of the shoot, the specialized camera was launched using a remote-controlled computer suspended on a cable from a Wall Street-area rooftop more than 30 stories in the air, which recorded what DSpider-Man saw as he swung over the city. The camera traveled along a line suspended over four blocks, dipping down into the street and over the tops of several blocks of vehicles and background art that had been placed for the sequence.

“We were dropping the camera and moving it up and down over the course of the shot to follow Spider-Man’s trajectory as he swings through the arch, releasing a web, and shooting a new web as he swings into the traffic below,” explained Dykstra.

“One of the successes of the first film was the empathy the audience had for the main character. He was very sympathetic,” Dykstra said, “This movie explores the character in greater depth, and in terms of the visual effects, we’re hoping to give audiences an event more intimate sense of what it’s like to be Spider-Man. In the first film, we get to fly with him. The idea here is to make the flying sequences poetic enough and evocative enough that you will get an even stronger sense of what it’s like to fly like Spider-Man.”

That approach is reinforced by Raimi, said Ziskin, “One of the really striking aspects about Sam is that he is the audience for this film. He makes the movie for the audience, identifies with the characters and is always aware of the rhythms and how each sequence will play – both to him and the other members of the audience. That makes him the perfect director for this kind of material. Also, he’s at a point in his directing career where he’s at the top of his game. He is brilliant technically, but also works extraordinarily well with the actors. Ultimately, his personal connection to Peter Parker and the other main characters is a great gift to the audience.”

“These are tough, scary times and during such periods we look to heroic stories to give us hope,” noted Raimi. “Maybe that has something to do with why the audience was so taken with Spider-Man when he first appeared two years ago. With Spider-Man 2, I truly hope that audiences will feel that they’re seeing a love story, that they’re participating in another episode of Peter Parker’s life and are seeing the challenges and conflicts he faces and how he overcomes them. I hope it will leave them feeling uplifted and exhilarated.”

#spider-man #spider-man 2 #sam raimi #avi arad #laura ziskin #tobey maguire #kirsten dunst #alfred molina #rosemary harris #jk simmons #interviews #behind the scenes #concept art #peter parker #aunt may parker #mary jane watson #doc ock #j jonah jameson #set design

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kabira · 4 years

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01 | first period biology

pairing — spider-man!vernon x ofc

word count — 3k

genres — spider-man au, marvel au, fluff, action, angst, humor

warnings — violence, mentions of school tests

summary — vernon doesn’t entertain bad guys on monday mornings, but the villain of the day apparently didn’t seem to have gotten the memo.

note — first chapter woohoo! in celebration of comeback day, i present to you: my first actual tumblr multi-part series. send me an ask or dm if you want to be in the taglist! masterlist coming soon <3

go to fic masterlist | main masterlist

I do not have time for this.

Vernon swung through the air, landing nimbly on the road just a few feet behind the newest menace that had decided to grace his neighborhood with its presence. The self-proclaimed Rhino—basically a guy in a rhinoceros suit, as the name suggested—was tearing down 108th street at breakneck speed, which was almost as fast as Vernon mid-swing. Almost.

“Hey, slow down!” he called as he launched himself towards the suited man, and a little kid with a lollipop gaped as Spider-Man swung right towards the Rhino, legs stretched straight before him. “Tsk, how are we supposed to tango if I can’t even keep up?”

Rhino roared when Vernon dropkicked him right in the middle of his back, but the kick didn’t put him out of commission like Vernon had hoped it would. The villain (and Vernon used the term loosely) swung his fist towards him, but he flipped backwards, landing on top of a car, which dented under the force.

“Why is it always Queens?” Vernon asked, annoyed, as Rhino charged towards him. He pushed off the car to avoid Rhino, who crashed headfirst into the vehicle, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. Right next to it, a yellow Kia’s alarm went off. Vernon, now hanging from the building behind it, huffed. “And why is it always right before school?”

And a Monday, too. Vernon usually allowed for supervillains busting down his metaphorical door on mornings, but Mondays were usually off-limits. Honestly, what kind of villain gets up at seven a.m. on a Monday?

Vernon scaled the brick wall of the building, looking for a high vantage point he could drop down from, but even the little effort seemed to tire him out more than usual. Having studied until late night the day before, right after stopping a third try at a robbery on seventy-third (honestly, do these people never learn?), he had only managed to catch about three hours of sleep. It was normal by Spidey standards, but not by Vernon standards. Especially when he was supposed to have a test in first period biology.

“Spider-Man!” Rhino bellowed from three storeys below, snapping Vernon back to the present. He sighed as man demolished another car, no doubt to show off his might or strength or whatever it was villains loved to show off these days. “Face me!”

Vernon looked down. In the morning, everything was awash with sunlight, including Rhino. The suit was a dark gray but didn’t seem to be made of metal, looking about three to four inches thick like some kind of hide-like body armor, and light glinted off the visor that only half-showed his adversary’s face. If he hadn’t been about to be pummeled to death by the guy in rhinoceros suit, he would have appreciated the beautiful workmanship more. The horn was a nice touch.

“If you just wanted to see me, an email would have been fine!” Vernon called, letting go of the wall and righting himself in free-fall as he hurtled towards the Rhino. “No need to put on a show for little ol’ me—”

Okay. Maybe he had miscalculated the distance or maybe Rhino was less distracted than he thought, because instead of him dropping in on the villain like a ton of bricks, Rhino swung his suited arm, catching Vernon in the chest with bone-shattering force, and sent him flying.

Vernon hit the sidewalk with enough force for his body to skid a few feet before coming to a rest. His backpack (which had somehow not been torn to shreds) absorbed most of the blow, but the impact had knocked the wind out of him, and he lay there for a few seconds, wondering if he should just stay down. His head was already pounding, and a sleepy spider was a grumpy spider.

He changed his mind at the last moment as Rhino’s fist swung towards his face, and he flipped onto his back, jumping out of the way just as the fist came down where he had been lying milliseconds ago. Beneath the mask, Vernon’s eyes widened as he saw the blow break the asphalt.

I really do not have time for this.

“What the heck is that suit even made of?” he muttered as he dodged another blow, trying to work out a way to subdue Rhino as fast as possible. The suit was big and heavy, which usually made for slower reactions, and a good old webbing-down would have been the perfect way to wrap up the show, but if the suit was strong enough, even his web fluid wouldn’t hold. Vernon had to knock him out somehow.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Rhino made a throaty, hacking sound like could have been laughter. “Unfortunately, you will be dead before you can even get close enough.”

“You know, it doesn’t have to be this way,” Vernon said, dodging yet another attack, resulting in Rhino’s head getting stuck in the cracked windshield of a car for a moment. God, that guy was like a battering ram. He couldn’t keep this up forever. “We can always sit down and talk about this.”

“Spider-Man, I’ll kill you!”

“I’ll take that as a no, then.” Vernon raised his wrists, aiming at the car. Thwip-thwip, went the fluid from his web shooters, trapping the Rhino against the side of the vehicle. “Shame,” he said, as the man thrashed against his web restraints. “I know a really good taco place around here.”

The Rhino yelled, lifting the entire car bodily. Vernon watched as he raised the car over his head, the webbing breaking from the strain of the suit against them, and threw it directly at him.

Ah, crap.

Vernon would like to think he would have managed to get away from there in time even if someone hadn’t snatched him up into the air, but he doubted it. There was something majestic about watching a villain he’d underestimated lift a whole car up to throw at him.

The person caught him under the arms and lifted him into the air, away from the enraged roar of the Rhino that resounded throughout the street. Vernon’s first reaction to being picked cleanly off the road would be fear, but his spider sense hadn’t gone off yet. He tried to look up at his captor/savior, but the back of his head collided with something hard. “Ow,” he mumbled. “Who the hell are you?”

“The guy who just saved your ass, webhead,” the boy replied derisively. Or at least it sounded like a boy, very much like those guys in the cafeteria who used to drop snide remarks behind Vernon’s back pre-spider bite. The guy dropped him on the roof of a shorter building, and Vernon rolled out of the way, getting to his feet. The boy was dressed in a metallic-looking dark blue-and-gold suit, a bucket-like helmet over his head. The lower of his face was uncovered, exposing lips twisted into a scowl. “I’m not even getting a thank-you?”

“…thanks,” Vernon muttered after scrutinizing the guy for a moment. “Uh, who are you actually?”

“I’m Nova, creep.”

“Nova Creep.” He considered this. “Interesting.”

“Just Nova!” the boy snapped, sounding even more displeased than before. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get back to my team and save the frickin’ neighborhood.”

Saying this, he turned and took off again, no doubt heading for wherever the action was. Vernon watched him go, choosing to take a breather instead of following him back down.

New superheroes in town? It wasn’t unheard of, and Vernon had had his fair share of newbies and oldies both to deal with in his year-long career as Queens’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

He looked down over the edge of the roof. Sure enough, there were three of them—a girl in a white suit, moving around the wreckage like an acrobat and slashing at the Rhino’s suit, Nova Creep shooting fist lasers (Flight powers and fist lasers? Unfair.) at him, and—was that Iceman?

Vernon hesitated. He could join the fight and help finish it more quickly, but if Iceman was here, the X-Men couldn’t be farther away. He could leave the three to it and get to school in time to catch forty winks before class, no harm done. Was he even needed?

Unfortunately, he knew he was only giving himself the illusion of choice. Spider-Man never walked away from a fight, even if someone more capable was dealing with it.

He shot webs at the metal post hanging out from the opposing building and swung back down, joining the fight just as Rhino caught the girl around the middle like he had Vernon, sending her flying back into an already wrecked car. Vernon cushioned her landing with webs, managing to protect her body from the broken metal chassis, and she was back on her feet in seconds, joining his side.

“Thanks,” she said, which surprised him. Most superheroes didn’t take the time out to thank him, but that was usually unnecessary, since they evened out the score by saving his life. “You know this guy?”

“Nah, he’s new in town,” he replied, watching Nova and Iceman fight the Rhino. Iceman froze him from the legs to his waist, but it didn’t hold for long before Rhino broke through the ice. “Strong, though, I’ll give him that.”

“It’s the suit,” the girl told him. Now that they were up close, Vernon could see that her costume somewhat resembled a white tiger, with the pointed ears and yellow eyes. He wondered if she’d been bitten by a radioactive white tiger. “It’s made of some kind of polymer.”

“Polymer?” he echoed, even more surprised. He’d assumed metal.

“Self-regenerating,” she affirmed. “It’s not indestructible—I slashed through the hide with my claws, but—”

“Your claws?”

She raised her hand. Under the white glove, her nails extended into wicked, claw-like tips. “Cool,” he said, voice cracking halfway through the word. He cleared his throat. “Very Woverine-ish.”

“He’s a mutant,” she said dismissively. What was he supposed to call her? Tigerwoman? Tigergirl? “Rhino’s suit regenerates. We have to knock him out.”

“Yeah, I figured that one out,” Vernon muttered.

“A little help here?!” Nova yelled, zipping through the air in a zigzag manner to avoid the Rhino’s hits. “Or are you two going to stand around and chat all day?”

Vernon’s lips twitched into an unintentional smile. “I’ll web him up,” he told tiger lady. “You think Nova can pull him up?”

Tiger inclined her head. “Not on his own, but with a little frosty boost…”

“Great.” He sprinted towards the group, shooting webs at the Rhino’s head to get his attention and distract him from the others. “Hey, Hippo! Over here!”

The Rhino ripped off the webbing from his visor, not wasting a moment before charging him. Vernon lunged, wrapping the Rhino suit up in webs as he scaled the wall, trapping him in the web fluid. It wouldn’t hold for long, he knew—but he only needed a few seconds. And some blind faith.

The excessive webbing wrapped around Rhino like a net trap, and Vernon pulled, lifting him into the air with as much strength as he could muster. Below him, Iceman froze a column of ice under the Rhino’s butt, giving him a little extra height. Ten feet…twenty feet…

“Tiger!” Vernon yelled.

She lunged, pushing off the hood of a dented car to give her extra height, and ripped through the thin web holding him up with her claws. Rhino plummeted to the ground, crashing into a car and through it, the fall only broken by the ground, the asphalt cracking beneath the force.

Vernon watched him anxiously. The suit should have been heavy enough to render the man inside unconscious, unless he had a really good cushioning system in place.

He counted to ten in his head. Rhino didn’t move.

Thank god for bad cushioning, Vernon thought, swinging back down to the ground. “You guys think you could carry him?” he asked the three. Iceman didn’t even look over, broodily watching the unconscious villain’s body. Oh well. “He’s a heavy hitter.”

“We could make it back to S.H.I.E.L.D. with him,” Tiger said. Then she glanced at him, cocking her head in a perplexed manner. “Wait, why do you—”

“I gotta run.” He shrugged sheepishly, adjusting the straps of his bag, which had only undergone minimal damage. The wonders never ceased. “You see, I’m late to first period biology.”

Vernon crashed through the doors of his school so fast he almost ploughed down Joshua, who had been standing just before the entrance, probably waiting for him.

The journey hadn’t taken more than a few minutes—he tried not to change clothes in suspicious-smelling service alleys as much as possible, but some situations left him no choice—but he only had a few minutes to get to class, and detention was something he couldn’t afford to get. He hated disappointing Aunt May more than he hated getting his ass beat by some B-list villain.

“Hey, hey, hey, relax,” Joshua said, righting him. The hallways were almost empty, but not quite, indicating that he wasn’t too late to the not-party. The boy fixed his glasses, giving Vernon a look. “Did you get into a fight?”

Vernon blinked at him. “What? No. This guy called Rhino—”

“Shh.” Joshua dragged him to one side, away from earshot of the general populace of Midtown High, and gave him a concerned look. “Dude, your face is bleeding.”

Joshua was one of the only few individuals in the world who knew about Vernon’s identity as Spider-Man, which was just as well, because if it hadn’t been for his blue-haired best friend he would have walked into a test with his nose gushing like a bloody geyser. “Thanks,” he mumbled, when Joshua handed him a clean-looking handkerchief. He raised it to his face. “Did you wipe your nose on this?”

Joshua made a face. “Not that I remember.”

“Good enough.” He cleaned off the blood as well as he could, which was hard, because he was feeling jittery and apparently his hands agreed. “Do I look fine?”

“You never look fine, my friend,” his friend said sagely. “But you look like you always do, so I guess, yes.”

Vernon shot him a grim smile, and started down the corridor towards 12-B, which was where he was supposed to be in ten minutes. He wasn’t even late, actually, but Mr. Malkin didn’t need a big excuse to give someone a C+ for a tardy warning. Joshua followed close behind. “So, which guy beat you up this time?”

“I didn’t get beat up.” Vernon rolled his eyes. “Well, not entirely—”

“Vernon Parker, report to room 10-A.” Both the boys’ heads whipped up towards the source of the sound, which came as an announcement from the speakers. “Vernon Parker, room 10-A, please.”

“What?” Vernon whirled on Joshua, panicked. The blue-haired boy’s eyes were wide behind his glasses, but he only shrugged in response. “But the test!”

He tried to think back to anything wrong he might have done in the past few weeks to get called aside like this, but he couldn’t think of anything. Plus, he hadn’t been summoned to the principal’s office, which confused him even more. Why room 10-A?

“Now you’ve had it, Parker,” Flash Thompson said as he passed them, grinning.

Vernon scowled at his retreating back, his grip tightening around the bag strap. “Whatever,” he muttered, then threw Joshua his bag. “Take it to the class, won’t you? I’ll try to get back as soon as I can.”

Without waiting for affirmation, he jogged off to find room 10-A, wanting to get whatever it was over with so he would get back on time. When he got there, the room was empty except for a lady in a pencil skirt and jacket, holding a clipboard in her hand. Upon his entry, she smiled at him in a friendly way, which only served to tick him off further.

“Whatever this is, couldn’t I do it some other time?” he pleaded. He hadn’t seen this staff member before, but he didn’t seem to be in trouble, and his grades had enough pull to get him out of some random appointment before classes. “I have a test in like, five minutes.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already talked to your teacher about this,” the woman said, continuing to smile. She gestured to one of the seats. “Take a seat.”

Reluctantly, he obliged, not really having an excuse not to now. “What is this, exactly?” he asked. Now that panic had taken a backseat, doubt was beginning to creep in. Why only him? And how had he never seen this woman before?

“In light of recent events, the school has decided to start counselling sessions for all of the students to help them cope,” she said. She had a really nice smile, her skin tan and unblemished, cheeks dimpled. “I’m Melia Fox,” she said. “I just need to ask you a few questions, and you can be on your way.”

He stared back at her, miffed. A year of incidents, and they suddenly decided to have counselling sessions now? “Why just me?” he asked slowly. “I’m sorry, but isn’t there some kind of rule or protocol for—”

“There is,” said a new voice. Vernon whipped around, and there at the end of the classroom, where moments ago had been nothing but air, stood a tall black man with an eyepatch. “And Agent Fox is following it.”

Vernon gaped. “I—what?”

“Spider-Man,” Nicky Fury said, with a note of muted resolution in his voice, “we need to have a little chat.”

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superherotiger · 4 years

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I’ve Got You, Little Bug (Villain Irondad AU)

Whumptober Day 7: Enemy to Caretaker

Hey everyone!

I've always wanted to write a Villain Tony/Irondad AU, so I'm really excited to be sharing this one with all of you today! Warnings for torture and of course, lots of angst ahead, so beware! I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think! I really appreciate your support, and I hope you have a great day!

-Superherotiger

Ao3 Link

~~~~~~~~~~

Tony awoke with a groan, forcing his eyelids open to be met with nothing but darkness and the dim glow of the arc reactor in his chest. The ground beneath him was cold, harsh cement, and when he reached out into the shadows his fingertips brushed over something metal and solid. A pole, he quickly realised, and running his hand further along the wall, he found many more lined up in an orderly pattern. Prison bars. A cage. Whatever word you picked, they all meant the same thing.

Tony was trapped. Kidnapped probably, if the throb in his skull was any indication. In the back of his mind, Tony couldn’t help but admire whatever dumbass had made that decision, considering he and captivity had not exactly blended well in the past.

Oh well, they’d learn soon enough.

So forcing himself onto his knees, the man tried to remember how he ended up in this dark, damp cell and sat against the bars to ease the nausea swirling around his stomach. Like a computer that was rebooting after abruptly getting shut down, images and voices lazily began to piece themselves together to fill the gaps in his memories. By the time the ache in his neck had faded, he could recall what had happened with painful clarity.

He’d been in Queens one night taking down a local mafia family when the Spiderling had appeared. Tony refused to call him Spider-Man, because there was absolutely no way that squeaky-voiced, awkwardly rambling kid could be an adult. Not in a million years. It was amusing however to watch him try -and fail horribly- to guard his identity. He tried to deepen his voice at the beginning, and once or twice he’d tried to put on an accent, but it was fairly obvious to both of them that he wasn’t fooling anyone.

Once the kid had started to ease up a little, their fights became a hell of a lot more entertaining.

Spider-Man versus the Merchant of Death.

It was a rare, but, enjoyable battle whenever they crossed paths. The Spider wasn’t like other heroes. He was witty and dorky and quick on his feet, giving Tony’s advanced weaponry a real challenge for once to keep up. Battles with him felt more like a game than a fight for life and death, and while he never exactly went easy on the kid, he always left him in a survivable condition so they could go a few rounds again next time. Tony got the feeling he knew that as well, because once when he had taken an awfully powerful swing of the gauntlet to his chest, the spider had tapped on his boot twice like it were some kind of friendly wrestling match. Like they weren’t superhero and super villain duking it out on a bustling New York street.

Tony had let him catch his breath anyway, and they’d gone back to the fight as if nothing had happened.

That night, the battle had been fairly on par for the two rivals, banter flying back and forth alongside the repulsor beams and spider webs shooting through the air. It had been light-hearted, fun even. It seemed neither of them were taking it very seriously as they tore up the mafia-owned restaurant through their haze of adrenaline, throwing quips at each other that they had been crafting and saving since their last encounter.

Then the lights had gone out, and there had been footsteps. A lot of them. And then before either of them had a chance to blink, something attached to the suit and fried both its circuits and its creator within it, Tony’s cry and the Spider’s scream ringing out at the same time before everything went dark.

Now Tony was here, locked up, without the chatty kid that had been ambushed alongside him.

“Bug?” he asked into the darkness, his voice unusually coarse. “Hey Bug? You here?”

“M ‘n ara-hnid…”

Tony smirked at the slurred mumble from behind him, turning around so his arc reactor faced the bars and shone just brightly enough to outline the figure lying in the other cell. Deep brown eyes narrowed at the new source of light before blinking up at the man sluggishly. “Hey man…” he murmured with that same dorky smile of his. “Funny seein’ you here, am I right?”

Tony rolled his eyes dramatically. “You’re such a pest, you know that?”

The boy’s face screwed up in pain suddenly as he pressed a hand to his face, pushing himself up with his other arm with a groan. Tony stared at him curiously as he tried to regain his bearings, and he realised after a few moments that the reason he looked so different was because he wasn’t wearing his mask. Instead of staring into those ridiculous home-made and surprisingly expressive goggles, he was instead staring at a kid with soft, curly hair and wide, young eyes. He’d always known that Spider-Man wasn’t actually a man, but seeing him like this… it just felt different.

“You right Bug?” Tony found himself asking without quite understanding why.

The boy just hummed though and massaged the back of his neck, seeming not to notice the villain’s odd behaviour. “Yeah -yeah I’m good, just… I think they gave me some sort of drugs on the way over,” he grumbled. “You know, to keep me quiet and all that.”

“Very understandable,” Tony mused, earning a huff from the teen without any real heat behind it.

“So, when are you getting us out of here Tin Man?”

“And why exactly is it my responsibility to get us out of here?” Tony said while knowing full well that JARVIS would already be tracking his location from the moment he’d disappeared.

“I don’t know, maybe because you chose to fight the mafia alone.”

“Firstly, it’s your fault for interfering-“

The boy rolled his eyes with that signature spider sarcasm.

“-And secondly, it’s not the mafia behind this.”

Now that caught the insect’s attention, his spine straightening as he asked, “It’s not?”

“Those goons? No way,” Tony scoffed. “This has to be some other group. Organised enough to get us both, but not smart enough to realise that kidnapping me will be their biggest mistake.”

“So… you can get us out right?” he asked, a little nervously.

“Yeah, easily.” Tony glanced away for a moment before turning back to the teen with another mischievous smirk. “I might leave you here though Bug. You’re pretty annoying.”

“Ha, ha. Very funny.”

“I mean it.”

“No you don’t,” the Spider laughed.

“Keep snarking and I will,” Tony retorted, feeling the constant pressure in his chest ease like it always did when he bantered with the vigilante. “Just watch kid. I’ll parade right out of this cell and make you watch.”

Instead of pointing out that neither of them had the means or even the knowledge to escape right now, the boy played along and said “How about this? I’ll web you to the wall and you can watch me parade out to my freedom instead.”

“Good luck,” Tony replied dryly, but it made the kid smile, and for some reason that made his own lips tilt up in amusement.

Before the teen could shoot out another word though -because there was always something he had to say- their cells were suddenly flooded with harsh, white light, and a metal door swung open from the wall on the Spider’s side of the cell. The two inmates blinked rapidly to sooth the fire in their vision, and when they could finally open their eyes without seeing spots, they realised there was a figure standing in the doorway with a sick kind of gleam in his pale eyes. His blond hair was gelled back into waves and he wore a lab coat like some kind of cheesy horror villain, but as much as Tony wanted to dismiss him as a weakling, he couldn’t help but notice the way he was staring at the kid.

Piercingly. Hungrily.

Tony was on his feet with his hands clenched on the bars between them before he even knew what he was doing. Thankfully the kid’s instincts must have agreed with Tony’s though as he quickly shifted into a familiar fighting crouch, fists balled up and at the ready to punch this stranger’s lights out if he so needed to.

“Now, now there,” the doctor chuckled gleefully. “I haven’t even introduced myself yet.”

“I don’t care,” the boy snapped, and Tony watched from his side of the cell with sharp, calculating eyes.

“And here I thought Spider-Man loved to talk,” he smiled. Not warm like the kid’s smile, but twisted and sick in a way that Tony couldn’t describe.

The boy shifted back slightly as those grey eyes scanned over him meticulously, before the man tilted his head and said with a sigh “No matter. We’ll have you singing like a canary in no time.”

“W-What?”

Tony could hear the fear in the Spider’s voice as clear as day, and judging by the pleased shimmer in the stranger’s eye, he’d heard it too.

“I-… I don’t know anything,” the Spider tried to defend when he didn’t answer.

“Oh, but you do! Your entire DNA is just a book waiting to be cracked open! And I, for one, can’t wait to read it.”

Something about that statement made Tony’s stomach flip, and he stared with wide eyes as two burly soldiers suddenly entered the room and began advancing on the kid with surprising speed. Tony could only watch on in shock as they pounced on the teen and wrestled him to the ground, feeling his fists clench against the bars when the boy tried valiantly to fight the guards away. But he was only a kid, and after a few painful sounding punches, the Spider could only moan as they dragged his half-conscious body out of the cell, blood smearing against their white, stiff uniforms.

Finally seeming to find his voice at the sight of the doctor leaving though, Tony snapped “Hey you! Shithead!”

The man turned to the prisoner with an almost curious gaze, the emblem of what looked like a skull-octopus hybrid flashing over his chest. “Yes?”

“Why don’t you take on someone your own size, huh? He’s got nothing of value to you.”

The doctor’s lips tilted into a smirk that Tony wished he could blast right off, saying “Don’t worry Stark. We have plans for you too, but I prefer not to waste time with my live subjects.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as the doctor grinned and closed the door behind him, enveloping the cell back into darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~

It felt like hours until the doors opened again, but the moment the metal creaked, Tony was back at the bars and flinching at the intruding light. His focus wasn’t on his burning vision however, but on the kid getting shoved through the doorway and stumbling onto the cement. Tony didn’t even have a chance to get a good look at the teen’s face before the door slammed shut and they were back in shadows again.

“Hey Bug, you alright?” Tony asked cautiously, the words feeling strange on his tongue.

“U-Uh… yeah, yeah…” he answered, though his voice sounded shaky with tears.

“What’d they do to you?”

A grunt, and then the sound of shifting as the kid probably lowered himself to the floor. “Um… needles, and, and knives and-“ his words cut off abruptly, and Tony felt his brow crease with something like concern.

“Are you hurt?”

Drawing in a sharp breath and letting it out in a wheeze, the kid answered “I- I’ll be fine. Heal… heal quick…”

For a moment, Tony considered asking further. Considered trying to assess the damage in the light of his arc reactor that the kid was currently hiding outside of. But instead, he just nodded his head and sat back against the bars, muttering “You’ll be fine kid.”

He was surprised when he got a light-hearted hum in return, followed by the shuddering words “Got to- got to be awake so you can w-watch me leave, right?”

“More like when I leave,” Tony shot back quickly.

“Hm… w-we’ll see ‘bout that…”

Tony smirked a little, warmed from the banter, before something heavy and cold settled in his gut like a stone falling into the ocean. It was such a strange sensation, one that felt foreign but oddly familiar all at once. It continued to weigh down on him long into the day as he teased the kid and reminisced on their past encounters, wondering the whole time what that cold feeling could possibly mean.

Only hours later, when they dragged the kid out again and he was left to the darkness and the silence, Tony realised that that feeling inside of him was guilt.

~~~~~~~~~~

Despite Tony’s increasing aggravation and shouts of protest every time the kid’s door opened on the other side of the bars, they never laid a hand on Tony.

It was like some kind of cruel joke. He was a billionaire, a genius -a super powered villain for Christ’s sake! And yet they left him there to rot every single time.

Maybe this was his torture? Maybe growing insane inside this cage with nothing to do was exactly what they wanted. Or maybe, and this was almost worse, it had nothing to do with him. Maybe it was all about the Spider, and the fact that Tony had to watch this kid so filled with hope and light and life get pummelled and hauled out of the room every day was just an unintentional horror they were forcing him to witness.

Tony hated it, and he hated them. Every day the kid was dragged back into the cell, sometimes unconscious, sometimes sobbing, and every day he wanted to kill every single one of them. When the kid retreated to a corner and tried to muffle his cries Tony was engulfed with rage, and the only way he could restrain himself from punching out a wall with his bare hands was imagining a metal one tearing through the skulls of those bastards once JARVIS tracked him down. Surely the AI would find him soon, surely…

“You awake kid?” Tony whispered through the bars.

He’d fallen flat on his face when the guards shoved him back in today, and from what Tony had heard, he hadn’t gotten back up either. “Bug?” Tony tried again, his voice growing softer. “Just making sure you’re not, you know… not dead or anything over there.”

There was no reply from the other side of the cell, but he could hear the kid’s laboured breathing. He took that as a good sign considering the circumstances.

“It’s alright kid, you rest up for now. It’s gonna be fine…”

The words felt bitter on Tony’s tongue, but he wanted the kid to know that it was alright. That it was going to be alright, hopefully sooner rather than later.

I’m going to fix this, just you wait.

~~~~~~~~~~

The boy was wailing when he was dragged back into the cell this time, and Tony spat profanities at the guards that threw him to the ground and left him there, alone, trembling, covering in blood. The doors shut and the darkness returned, but Tony couldn’t erase the horrors from his vision.

“Shit kid, what happened?” he asked.

This was obviously no time for words though, painful sobs tearing out of his chest as he curled up on the ground inside of the light of Tony’s arc reactor this time. The blue washed over the teen’s tear-stained cheeks and trembling body and crimson stained shirt like some kind of haunting nightmare.

Slowly, Tony crouched on his side of the bars and found himself at a loss for words. What could he possibly say that could make any of this better?

In an instinct the man couldn’t describe, he reached his hand through the space between the bars and brushed his fingers over the teen’s forearm, causing him to shudder at first, before shuffling closer a moment later.

“It’s okay kid, it’s gonna be okay.”

With a little bit more encouragement, the kid was soon laid out just beside the bars separating them, his cries lessening over what felt like hours while Tony kept his hand gripped firmly over his shoulder. Grounding him. Giving him something to focus on through the pain.

The boy still whimpered, but for a moment, Tony felt like he could actually help instead of destroy.

~~~~~~~~~~

“They’ve stopped u-using anaesthetic…”

It was said through a rasp, but Tony felt his fingers clench with unbridled strength.

“I’m going to kill them. All of them.”

A beat of silence, and then “They might kill me first…”

“No they won’t. I won’t allow it.”

The kid scoffed, but it was weak and strained. “Don’t think that’s how it works…”

“Then I’ll make it work like that. I’m a billionaire kid. I can do whatever I want.”

His reply was lost in a mumble, and Tony felt his expression soften again as he settled his hand over the kid’s shoulder once more, easing his troubled mind into sleep.

“Just hold on Bug. It’ll be okay soon.”

~~~~~~~~~~

“It was easier today.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, the guard hit me too hard in the head and I got to be unconscious for the first part.”

“Shit kid…”

“Sorry, too morbid?”

“No I just… I’m sorry.”

“Why?”

“Because I should be able to stop this.”

The silence was back, the one that seemed to haunt Tony whenever the kid wasn’t there. But then, Tony felt something warm brush against his arm, jumping a little as the Spider reached through the bars and gave his hand a brief squeeze. It was the first time he had reached through the bars and not Tony since they’d arrived in this hell hole, a Tony didn’t know why his eyes stung as he did so.

“It’s alright Mr Stark. It’s not your fault.”

“…I’m going to fix it anyway.”

The boy smiled at him shakily through the light of the reactor, hope somehow still flickering in his eyes.

“I know you will…”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Why do you do it? The killing, I mean?” the Spider asked meekly as they chewed on their stale portion of bread for the night.

“Why do you dress up in a onesie to fight me?”

“Asshole,” he scoffed, though Tony knew it was just teasing.

“Big words coming from a twelve-year-old.”

“I’m fifteen.”

“Not really helping your case Bug.”

“My name’s Peter.”

Tony blinked in surprise at the fierce declaration, turning towards his cellmate and recognising the pain in his gaze. He hadn’t been called his name for weeks. Not by their captors. Not by Tony. Certainly not by anyone that actually mattered in his life.

Suddenly, Tony felt a stab of remorse in his chest and said quickly “Sorry kid- I mean, Peter.”

Tension filled the air as he seemed to process the villain’s concern, thinking, deciding whether to trust him. Then, with the heaviness passing from his expression, Peter replied jokingly “Sounds weird when you say it.”

“Would you like to go back to insect? How about pest?”

“Don’t you dare.”

“I think I’ll keep it.”

“Shut up!”

Tony smiled at the mocking scowl the teen was shooting at him, and he thought he liked the sound of the kid -of Peter- laughing above everything else in this damn nightmare.

~~~~~~~~~~

Peter screamed when they brought him in next.

Within seconds Tony was at the bars and shouting at the guards, knowing it wouldn’t do anything, but feeling useless -so damn useless- on the other side of the room. There were surgery cuts all across Peter’s back as they dumped him onto the floor, the cement digging into the already inflamed wounds and making him cry out that much harder, before the room fell back into that familiar darkness.

“Kid? Kid!”

Peter tried to muffle the sobbing into his jacket, but Tony was familiar with his pain by now. Felt like it had begun to pierce his own body with each passing day.

“I know- I know it hurts kid, but can you move closer? I might be able to help,” he said, his voice wavering on a plea. “I can’t see you from here bud, so I need you to get a little closer.”

The crying continued for a few passing moments, before with a sharp inhale and a heart-breaking groan, Peter began to drag himself over to the bars and the blue light pouring out of Tony’s chest. Once he was within reach Tony helped pull him along until the were both pressed up against the metal separating them, the position awkward but necessary for the man to assess the damage on Peter’s back. He knew it was useless. He knew he couldn’t really help him. But it seemed to comfort them both by checking, by having the other close.

“It h-hurts,” Peter whined, leaning heavily to the side. “Hurts s’ bad…”

“I know kid, I’m sorry,” Tony muttered and pulled away enough to see the kid’s face. “You want to sleep? It might speed up the healing.”

Lacking both energy and stamina, Peter just nodded along with tears pouring down his cheeks and allowed Tony to guide him into a sleeping position against the bars, his butchered back facing towards the other wall where neither of them could see it. Unlike the many of other times Peter had fallen asleep like this and Tony had sat awake to keep watch over him, the man found himself laying down beside him, his hand still resting on his forearm like the anchor they both desperately needed.

“I’m so sorry kid,” he whispered after watching Peter’s entire body shudder with agony. “I wish I could help, I really do…”

Through gritted teeth, the kid somehow managed to say “You do- do help… help me…”

“It doesn’t feel like it. Quite the opposite actually,” Tony muttered.

“B-Better… with you- you here…”

Features softening, Tony pressed closer against the metal and lifted his hand from Peter’s shoulder to his cheek in an almost instinctual manner, saying “I’m sorry I can’t do more, kid…”

A strained hum filled the air and the teen leant into Tony’s touch like an adorable puppy, though it was followed by a whimper that immediately shattered the illusion. “Wanna go… I wanna go home- please,” he whispered furiously under his breath.

“I know Little Bug. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

The tears came back with a vengeance, and feeling his own chest constricting, Tony did something unexpected. He took Peter’s blood-stained hand in his own and pulled it to his side of the cell, pressing it just beside his arc reactor where his heart was beating steadily. Peter, who seemed equally surprised by the motion, blinked up at the man in surprise before turning his attention to the light beneath his fingertips.

“Focus on that kid, alright? Focus on me,” Tony soothed as he raised his other hand back to the boy’s head and ran his fingers through Peter’s greasy, blood-encrusted hair. If this were anyone else, Tony would be absolutely repulsed. But he was traversing through hell with this kid, and after days and weeks of anger and regret boiling inside of him, he realised he would do anything for this kid.

“I’ve got you Little Bug,” Tony hummed, watching as Peter’s eyes began to flutter shut in both relief and agony. “I’ve got you Peter…”

~~~~~~~~~~

The explosion that rocked the cell had both Tony and Peter on their feet and staring at each other with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“Is… Is this it?” Peter asked, his whole-body trembling with hope. God, hope never looked so amazing before.

The familiar whine of repulsors echoed through the halls and Tony laughed through unbidden tears. “Yeah Bug, this is it.”

Screams and shouts filled the air, and it was so liberating for it to not be Tony and Peter’s voices for once. Chaos was completely tearing the outside world apart and Tony savoured every pained cry and panicked whimper that reached his ears. He wanted them to suffer. He wanted them all to suffer as much as Peter had- more even. Death wasn’t good enough for them, and the part of him that had created the Merchant of Death wanted to exact his slow, agonising revenge.

But then something new overpowered that hunger in his gut, something light and warm and powerful. And when he glanced over at Peter’s face, streaked with tears and a smile of relief, Tony knew there was only one thing he wanted to do. He wanted to see this kid without metal bars in the way. He wanted to hold him and make true to the promises of safety that he hadn’t been able to keep while locked up.

And when Peter met his gaze with an equally joyful shudder, he knew he felt the same way.

So when the remotely piloted suits tore open the doors, both villain and hero sprinted out of the shadowed cells and straight into each other’s arms, sobs melding into laughter as they relished in their freedom. Their freedom. It was beautiful, and warm, and the biggest relief he’d ever felt in his life. And it was all thanks to the amazing kid wrapped tightly in his embrace.

“It’s over now, it’s finally over,” Tony laughed tearfully into his mop of hair. “You did it, Pete. You made it.”

Smiling into his shoulder, Peter proclaimed “I knew you’d save us… knew you weren’t… a bad guy…”

The teen was sagging against Tony’s chest now, overcome with exhaustion, but Tony just glanced up at the roof and allowed the tears to fall down his cheeks in silent victory.

“You can rest now, Little bug,” he breathed out, leaning his head against Peter’s own with a smile.

“I’ve got you now… I’ve got you…”

#whumptober2020 #no.7 #enemy to caretaker #irondad #spiderson #peter parker #tony stark #villain Tony Stark #fanfiction #tw: torture #Enjoy!#villain irondad au

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whichpercydoyouthink · 3 years

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The one where Qing Ming is kind of like Robin Hood but is also the adopted father of numourous children and Bo Ya just wanted his job back... or something

So it’s been brought to my attention that The Yin Yang Master (2021) is based on the video game and The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity (2020) is based on the novel which makes sense now that I’ve watched the former and seen how different they are. I wasn’t aware of this before I watched it, though, and as a result, I couldn’t help comparing it a lot. Which was a mistake because despite sharing the characters Qing Ming and Bo Ya as well as their fictional universe, they are very very different movies with different strengths and weaknesses (apart from their shared beautiful visuals and soundtrack, ofc). During this rant/rave unfortunately I won’t be able to stop myself in the comparisons as that is how I experienced the movie but I will try my best to separate them as much as possible.

BUT, before I do anything else, a summary: we start with a glimpse in the past in which Qing Ming is caught betraying the Yin Yang Bureau (yeah, so apparently there’s an entire BUREAU which explains a lot) and after killing some guy called Ci Mu, and escapes using a Thor-worthy teleportation spell. Skip some years and we have Capital Guard Bo Ya who encounters the rogue Qing Ming when he hijacks the transportation of some tributes and generally annoys the heck out of Bo Ya. When Bo Ya is suspended as a result, he goes on a journey to find Qing Ming in the Monster Realm and arrest him. Along the way he meets a girl called Shen Le equally eager to find Qing Ming. As they find Qing Ming, the pair get caught in a conflict between Qing Ming and literally everyone else, eventually being swept up in a battle to save both the human and monster worlds from the clutches of the great evil wanting to take over the world. Feat: Qing Ming’s dark past and a boss lady called Bai Ni.

One of the things that really stood out in this movie (for me at least) was the rich and colourful world it explored. Seriously, it’s like something out of Star Warsor Guardians of the Galaxy except without the space, and magic instead of guns/lightsabres. There were so many interesting monsters and places to see. I loved Qing Ming’s home and the little world it contained with all his familiars. I also loved the monster city and the Spirited Away-esque bridge thing, that was really cool. It was just so entertaining to see the characters interact with this world even some of them were also discovering with us and it felt big and detailed and creative. This world-building is something I feel this movie did better than Dream of Eternity, if only for the fact that the world felt bigger, and we got a lot more information on things that weren’t necessarily needed for the plot but were still cool to see.

I also enjoyed the fresh characters this movie presented around Bo Ya and Qing Ming. It was kind of like watching an alternate universe but that was also an awesome experience in itself because I got to see Bo Ya and Qing Ming in a different way, in different situations and I got to fall in love with more characters. I thought Shen Le was cool and I loved the sibling-like squabbling she and Bo Ya shared as it filled the Bo Ya and Qing Ming partnership-shaped hole in my heart. Same goes for badass Bai Ni and her more mature old friends-turned-enemies relationship with Qing Ming. The character who became my new favourite was the Red Ghost, though, like seriously, that ability of his was freaking awesome and made him practically indestructible. He also, like, ditched his bully captors and saw Bo Ya as worthy of being his master so he obviously has good taste. In addition, despite what I’m gonna say about the movie’s villains later, I will say that the Snow Lady/Queen was interesting. Her airy voice-thing was slightly annoying, but her powers were cool and it was awesome to see her in a fight scene. She was all swish swish, bendy bendy, ‘join my master’. I definitely liked her better than he-who-shall-not-be-named-but-will-later-be-described (I hope others who have watched are able to guess who).

I gotta say, I really mourned the loss of Bo Ya and Qing Ming’s chance to properly work as a team and bond. I mean, they did reach a place where Qing Ming was amused by the angry child chasing him and Bo Ya grudgingly respected the mischievous Yin Yang Master, but I wanted more scenes where they worked together. I felt they barely had any moments where it was just them. Oh well. That’s just me comparing it to Dream of Eternity too much, I guess.

To be fair, in pushing away Dream of Eternity from my mind, I did really like the new take on both Qing Ming and Bo Ya’s characters. Qing Ming definitely had more of a rule-breaking outcast vibe, and I thought the actor did a fantastic job. Bo Ya was adorable but in a younger, less experienced way. To that end, the relationship between Qing Ming and Bo Ya was less as equals and more of an older/ younger friendship. Which, I guess, isn’t too strange considering in this one, Qing Ming was undoubtably the main character, with less of a chance for them to share the spotlight.

Ok, so, I don’t like to complain, and I don’t say this to warn people away from the movie BUT I can’t deny that (to me) the first half of the movie definitely felt better than the second half. I don’t know, maybe that’s just when the plot really starts to kick in and for me, the plot kind of felt like the let down of the movie. It just didn’t captivate me as much and with kind of terrible villains, it just wasn’t as good for me. I love movies with a good antagonist, particularly one that doesn’t look quite so… ridiculous. Maybe it was just me but the flowing red hair, reindeer horns and giant spider hand-thing didn’t really impress me as much as an immortal snake man who actually has an emotionally driven motivation. The bridge battle didn’t really feel as high stakes as they tried to make it, I don’t know, maybe that was just me. And the way Qing Ming took down the bad guys and the way it ended? Wasn’t really satisfying to me. I guess it leaves room for a second movie? I’m not really sure. (I’m trying really hard not to spoil anything if you can tell.)

No but don’t let that dissuade anyone. Seriously, it’s still a good movie in my eyes and I enjoyed it, especially as it definitely answered a lot of the questions Dream of Eternity left me with. Yes, the plot kind of sucked but the worldbuilding was fantastic and the different realms were interesting to explore. Maybe if you plan to watch both movies, watch this one before Dream of Eternity. That way you will be able to enjoy it without comparing the plot/characters so much AND you’ll be able to go into Dream of Eternity with some knowledge of the world already and maybe come out with less questions. But seriously, they’re good movies separately. So, give it a go, I guess. If you want, that is.

Completely irrelevant side note here (screenshot below) but did Qing Ming in that scene make anyone briefly think of Inuyasha or was I the only one who was reminded my that while watched? No? Just me? Ok. I haven't even watched the anime wth why did I think of this.

#I started this with far too many expectations #and was pleasantly surprised #i forgot to mention the soundtrack #the soundtrack rocks #also all of these characters could start their own hair conditioner or shampoo add i'm being serious #the LOCKS #the GLOSS #the yin yang master #qing ming #bo ya #bai ni #red ghost #the childhood friends tragic past is strong with this one #also like why does bo ya not have one constant weapon the entire time #what kind of guard is he #idk how he randomly manifests a spear at the end #the snakes scenes were intense tho

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middleinthenight21 · 4 years

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DamiRae Week 2020- Day 1

Costumes

His disguise is horrible, he knows that. Damian Wayne spends most of the night strolling among the guests carrying a glass of champagne and a grimace under the black band that covered his mouth.

He was glad that he chose a costume as little revealing as it is, it fits the uniform he used to wear in the league of the shadows, being a pair of pants, jacket and black hood, in conjunction with a band that only left his eyes on view; he was not interested in being recognized. His brothers would have complained about bringing a replica of a uniform and his father would not be happy with the association, however, he bought wings in a small costume store whose wings simulated bone, joined by a porous plastic that gave the impression of being cartilage. When the owner of the store offers him the wings, he thinks they are small, that a structure like this could never support the weight of an adult, but he says nothing.

He can be anonymous.

His father had dragged them to an event commemorating the Wayne companies anniversary, Damian thinks his father is anticipating that some Gotham villain would attack the tower, but he hasn't said anything and it's not as if Bruce Wayne was very communicative with the information he shares in the family. Sometimes he understands it, most of the time he doesn´t, because he hates walking blindfolded.

He had been taught since he was a child that preparation is a prerequisite for victory and that faith is a waste fools allow themselves. He definitely hates it.

He glances at his older brother, flirting with a red-haired woman, she's attractive in a revealing pastel dress and there's a white mask holding up a chin. He rolls his eyes when his hands come dangerously close.

He does not understand what women see in Richard Grayson, the man can be a complete idiot.

"Don't look so angry" Emiko Queen appears next to him. He is surprised that she managed to recognize him. "Tim Drake tagged you in his photo. "

Growls.

He had hoped to go unnoticed. He observed her out of the corner of his eye, the young woman was dressed in a shirt that read "I wore a costume" and some casual jeans, she looked disinterested as if she did not want to come and her statement on the shirt was a sign of rebellion.

"Are you here for your brother?"

She growls.

"Yes. He likes to attend these elegant parties, he left me no choice" Emiko reaches for a glass of champagne as a waiter passes by with a tray. "A toast to the fun? "

Damian looked at her.

A few months ago, they had been dating, nothing formal, since neither of them liked the idea of romantic relationships, everything was casual. He thought Emiko was great, someone who proved to be more than what was seen with the naked eye. They are both people who had a strict upbringing and gave themselves to protect the innocent, however, the similarities are just that and it did not mean that two people worked together.

They are still friends.

He bumps his glass with hers.

"My God, could you smile, even once?"

He rolled his eyes.

The night flows slowly, although Damian stays next to his friend, he does not get the fun and he does not feel entirely comfortable around all these wealthy people; The laughter echoed throughout the room and is as elegant as it is empty. He is used to formality, but if he is sincere expecting a villain to break in, then he would have something more interesting to do.

Emiko is not happy either, but she pretends and when she is with her brother a smile slips over her lips, the weight disappears from her shoulders and she moves lightly. Now, they dance around the dance floor and he thinks Oliver Queen's archer angel costume is too revealing, it leaves his torso visible through a maya and his feathered wings take up a lot of space.

Both siblings move lightly.

He looks around him, Tim and Stephanie are talking to their group of friends, Jason talks to Roy, his best friend and can see how malicious smiles are born on their faces. The two of them act like it´s their private club.

Cass is talking to her father.

Emiko ran to her side, a smile on her face and she seemed illuminated by a new aura. Rarely had he seen her so excited, she carries a camera that hangs in her hands and waves it at him, like a flag.

Damian frowns, he does not understand his emotion.

"We have to take a picture of ourselves!"

He was going to reply, but she quickly requested help from someone who was passing, it is a girl; She is disguised as a witch, her bluish black dress falls to the ground and her pointed cap covers her hair revealing short dark strands that caress her shoulders. A mask over her eyes, the patterns are like a black spider web and it has an elongated shape.

Damian nicknames her on his head as "Witch Girl."

"Please take a picture of us."

Witch girl opens her mouth to answer, but the camera was already in her hands and Emiko would not accept a denial, she stands next to him and gets close to him. He tenses up when he feels pressured by Emiko to take this photograph. He doesn't like to see himself in photos, he had grown up differently, although he knows everything he needs and more, he still finds it strange to use technology for entertainment.

"It is for my brother."

As if that clarifies something.

Emiko straightens up next to him, a smile slipping across her face and he seems more like a soldier than a casual civilian who wants to capture a moment. Damian doesn't know where to put his hands, so he laces them behind his back and squares his shoulders, lifts his chin and ignores the smell of champagne in his mouth. The murmur and the sound of the orchestra shouting in the room, along with the knock on his friend's foot.

He focuses his gaze on the girl who points the camera at them. The device falls from her hands a few centimeters and she murmurs:

"He looks sad."

She says it to him, he is sure of that. He wouldn't have heard a thing will all the loud sounds, but he learned to lip read a few years ago, a skill that he found useful especially when you have to spy undetected. He wants to tell the witch girl that it's not true, and he's fine, everything is very good in his life. There is nothing he wants, he can snap his fingers and have what he wants, he surrounds himself with the most powerful people in the world, he observes things many would only dream of and found a family. She does not know anything.

A smile glides across his lips, the muscles in his cheeks tighten, unaccustomed to smiling, and he can feel his eyes take on small lines of expression.

The camera snaps back into place. It is as if the witch girl knew that he was smiling, despite not seeing the smile she feels he exhibited, but she had not given him the reason and that makes him happy for some reason. The witch girl was not right.

He doesn't look sad.

He can feel her eyes piercing him behind the contact lens, he distinguishes a dark color, like a purple beta, he has never seen a tone like this and he remembers that his father spoke of an actress with violet eyes, but that she had already died.

Elizabeth Taylor is the only person in the world with violet eyes, he had said, but he was wrong.

Now they look like wise eyes, like a rare diamond. Damian cocks his head trying to make out the face behind the device, only to have a piece of information to brag about in front of his father.

The flash blinks and the photo is captured.

"They look great together." The witch girl approaches and places the camera in Emiko's hands with a small smile. She leaves with her head down without looking back, the cloak of her dress rushes in midair and for the first time she notices, it catches the light in small flashes, in shiny blue stones.

Emiko speaks, but Damian barely hears what she is saying, because he still wants to see her face.

He does not like to remain in doubt.

"Do you think I look sad to you?"

She gasps, looks at him as if a horn had grown "I don't understand what you want ... "

He was no longer with her.

She does not see him for the rest of the night, so she simply shrugs and takes the opportunity to take photos with her brother and her fiancée. She would enjoy the night with or without Damian.

***

Later, Emiko would wonder what his eyes see when she looks at the photograph in the gallery, she and Damian are standing behind that old painting next to a plant, smiling happily for the moment. However, the attitude of friend distracted he shows signs of a smile and observes a point as if it were very interesting, a topic to talk about for hours, it seems that he is treading on another planet.

Damian could smile?

She had never seen him roll his eyes.

What had he seen?

"Oh no," Dinah leans on the sofa, looking at the photograph. She realizes she had zoomed in on the photo framing Damian's face. "I know that look. "

"What look?" She asks, interested.

Dinah Lance sits down on the sofa seat and smiles "He's in love. I know that look because I see it every day. "

Damian in love? That's ridiculous. It is impossible, there is much doubt in that equation, since their relationship ended a long time ago and they split quite well. Besides, he had never had those eyes for her.

"From who? "

The blonde laughs "From your brother. "

And Oliver is an idiot now.

***

Extra.

Damian walked around the room. He ignores the callers, including his brothers who want him to meet their groups of friends. Dick calls him as he wants to introduce him to his new conquest, Jason probably wants to annoy him, Stephanie wants to show him something (He wasn't going to talk about Tim Drake, because he doesn't count) and Cass frowns when she sees him walking through the crowd aimlessly.

He is looking for someone with a pointed hat, it is impossible to have more than one people like that.

Finally, there is a figure nearby having a glass of champagne, he only sees her back, but he would recognize that costume anywhere. His feet stop on a small slip on the polished ceramic floor and his heart hammers anxiously in his chest. He would have his answers.

He gives her a better look.

The witch girl has a costume in bluish tones, it´s smooth and hugs her slim figure. Gloves of the same color reach her elbows, and there is a small bracelet around her wrist in gold tones. What stands out the most is the pointed hat with a brim that brings shadows to her face.

Other girls had chosen mind-blowing costumes, elaborate hairstyles, and elegant outfits that were made to attract attention, but this girl is not flashy or flamboyant, she is simple. Damian finds something puzzling in her aura of mystery, but he has never been someone who will leave the mysteries unsolved.

He gulps and walks to her side.

She pretends to be interested in the snack table. Her eyes sweep over the food and he can see how she struggles to decide if she is going to eat those canapes or the miniature cakes, finally she chooses the cakes.

She has a sweet tooth.

He looks askance at her. He notices new details about the witch girl. Like she has a small red crystal on her forehead and gold star-shaped earrings falling down the sides of her face.

She has a smooth profile, as if she had been sculpted by delicate hands: A rounded chin, an upturned nose and soft skin, perhaps it she too pale, she probably does not like the sun very much.

She reaches for a chocolate bar and bites it "Chocolate makes me feel better."

Damian gulps again. He is not sure why; he does not like it.

He wants to end it all at once.

"Why do I look sad?"

She opens her eyes, turns to look at him and is amazed. Now, they are face to face, even with the mask on, you can see her surprised expression and the witch girl has more violet eyes than he had seen, and now she looks embarrassed.

"Sorry." Her voice is soft with a scratchy note. It´s unusual "It was just a thought that crossed my mind. "

He raised an eyebrow.

"You said I looked sad." He crosses his arms. "Why? "

She looks like she's about to run away, but she does something more puzzling to him, squares her shoulders and takes a firm stance. She is proud.

"You weren't smiling."

That's why?

He had looked for someone in an entire room where there are more than two hundred guests, only to be answered in this way. He wants to hit his forehead criticizing himself, but not everything is so bad. The witch girl watches him with attentive eyes, waiting for a sharp response, but instead a smile of amusement appears on Damian's face.

He slides the band that covers half of his face. They look at each other face to face, she decides to slide up the mask and they smile, because both are aware that this is ridiculous.

"I'm Raven." She extends her hand and he reciprocate.

Her nickname as "Witch Girl" slips into her name. He observes her eyes fascinated by the color of violet so rare. Despite the abnormality of the tone and her fresh face, he can feel as if he had met her at another time. He is aware that he has never seen her before, he does not believe in good first impressions, but he had the feeling that there was nothing to fear.

"Damian."

Not everything is so bad. He has the impression that his night can improve, he did not wear this costume anymore.

´´With you I feel alright

It´s been a long night´´

(THANK YOU @ravenfan1242 ❤❤ )

#damirae week 2020 #damirae #Damian Wayne #raven #raven x damian

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kathyprior4200 · 4 years

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Hazbin Hotel: Summary of the Future

If Hazbin Hotel had a happy ending and the series continued...here’s how I idealize it...

Not too long ago, the blonde, white-faced Princess Charlie decided to propose an idea that was downright ridiculous and outlandish to everyone else. She created the Happy Hotel as a place where sinners could learn how to be better people and hopefully, complete their own unique journeys toward redemption. Though Charlie was mocked and ridiculed, she wasn’t going to give up. A gray moth-like demon named Vaggie was her girlfriend and tough with a deadly spear. Angel Dust, a white porn-loving spider demon had been involved with drugs, turf wars, and was Hell’s number one porn star. Despite his sins, he had volunteered to help Charlie with her hotel and became her first client.

Alastor had arrived to the hotel as well, and offered to help Charlie run her hotel so he could be entertained for a while. He summoned other demons for assistance: a little hyperactive neat-freak cyclops named Niffty, and a grumpy gambling cat named Husk who always had a bottle of alcohol in his paws. Charlie was immediately enraptured with Alastor, even dancing and singing with him whenever the occasion arose. Vaggie, of course, was suspicious of him, even more so when he appeared to hinder Vaggie and Charlie’s relationship.

Charlie’s hope was that demons would be redeemed enough to be eligible to go to Heaven. This way, there would be less demons lost to the annual slaughter by the Archangels. Soon, she had hoped, there would only be happiness and a second chance given to everyone. In her own words and in her song, “Inside of every demon is a rainbow.” Lilith was often too busy with modeling and concerts to pay much attention to Charlie, but supported her the best she could. For obvious reasons, her father had disapproved of her idea. Having been banished from Heaven for rebelling against God, Lucifer gained his position by implementing fear and using his destructive powers. The Archangels spared the royal family in return for Lucifer letting them kill off the “common scum folk.” If demons were to leave, it could lead to a war between Heaven and Hell if the circumstances did not go well.

Indeed, things had gone from bad to worse. It started off with Alastor causing mischief barely noticed by anyone, save for Vaggie and Husk. He had changed the hotel name to the Hazbin Hotel. It was the little things he did: igniting a brawl here, encourage a bad rating there, all while keeping up appearances and encouraging the princess to work harder toward her goal.

It was speculated by many that Alastor actually wanted Charlie to succeed. The pretty blonde demon/angel hybrid had caught his eye when he first saw her on TV. Although he wasn’t interested in sex or romance, he did enjoy fun affectionate friendships…provided they benefited him and his goals. In fact, he was friends with many individuals, particularly Charlie, Rosie, Mimzy, Husk, and Niffty.

After many months of hard work, battles with evil overlords, parental brawls, and drama, many demons had been successfully rehabilitated, including Vaggie, Angel Dust and his twin sister, Molly. They had defeated/humiliated the maniac snake villain Sir Pentious, outsmarted the evil fish scientist Baxter, bested the evil Vs, (Valentino, Vox, and Velvet), along with saving themselves from more angels. Angel, Molly, Crymini, and Cherri Bomb had been active fighters when they weren’t hooked on meth or doing pole dancing for the lustful crowds. Husk slowly got out of his dark shell, made amends with his past and slowly started to warm up to everyone. Niffty got delusional in her fantasies of romance, men and power as she cooked, sewed, and cleaned. Whether she was redeemed and remained cute or turned psychotic…no one really knows. Charlie and the others were ready to reach the golden heavenly gates and change their afterlives…

Unfortunately, the angels in Heaven weren’t so keen to let any sinners enter Heaven so easily. They told Molly that she could enter as she wasn’t a demon, and Vaggie could enter if she took on penance and renounced her sins. Elite and entitled, the angels shooed Charlie, Niffty, Husk, Alastor, Angel and several others away, even sending some Archangels after them. Charlie and Lucifer blasted the angels back with their powers, saving the demon group and escaping back to Hell. But her actions caused inner mental concerns for her parents, God and the angels. God suspected that Charlie and Lucifer were trying to upstage Heaven’s duties and traditions. No matter what, Hell’s population would continue to grow, and surely the angels would be outnumbered if a war were to begin.

Charlie’s parents were not happy that Charlie had broken up with Seviathan Von Eldritch (like Leviathan the sea monster), Helsa’s brother and member of a wealthy rival family. She and Helsa were already fierce rivals, both families competing to be the most influential in Hell. In addition, they were getting tired of Charlie’s pursuit and wanted her to conform to Hell’s standards. Being a fearsome leader was, according to her father, Charlie’s destiny. After arguing with her parents and refusing to give up, Charlie had gone to Vaggie and Alastor for comfort. Vaggie comforted her and told her the harsh reality of the situation. Still, she refused to give up, despite feeling like a failure. Charlie decided to figure out a way to negotiate with her parents and the angels. Before she could proceed further however, Alastor comforted her with his velvety announcer voice and took her arm in arm for a walk.

The two of them sang, and danced, and even shared a kiss. Charlie felt like Alastor was redeeming himself and that things would be alright in the end.

It was at that optimal moment, that the predatory Radio Demon pounced upon his gullible prey.

Taken by surprise by surrounding voodoo spirits and black tentacles, Charlie fought back as much as she could. But a Creole lullaby sung by Alastor soon rendered her helpless. Charlie was kidnapped and briefly held hostage in Alastor’s lair. No rape or beating was involved, just a bunch of creepy touching and mind manipulating. He didn’t possess her but did manage to get her on his side when they were face to face with the king and queen. Alastor’s evil shadow held an angel’s spear to Charlie’s throat, a weapon capable of killing any demon. Alastor knew that his powers would not be enough against Lucifer. So he did the one thing to catch him off-guard: go for his child.

Alastor soon proposed a deal with Lucifer and Lilith: Charlie and her hotel would be spared…in exchange for the throne. Lucifer accepted…and soon found his dark powers depleted, traveling into Alastor’s microphone staff. He and the dark spirits were now free to take over Hell, cause chaos and feast on innocent demon bodies and souls.

It was at this moment that Alastor had a choice to make…one that could determine the fate of Hell itself. His mother was currently in Heaven, and he hadn’t seen her for decades. For a brief moment, Alastor saw Charlie and her friends struggling against the Exterminators…even Lucifer and Lilith were having a hard time. He could either give into his evil carnal desires; claiming Hell and its denizens as his own. Or he could step in, save Charlie and the others (while giving back Lucifer’s power and everyone’s free will.) He could free Husk and Niffty from their servitude to him, deeply apologize and help save the day.

If Alastor followed the good path, Charlie would be successful at last. A negotiation would be made: sinners could go to Heaven after proving themselves worthy in different ways. Some would go into rehabilitation at the hotel. Others would have to go through punishments in the other circles of Hell. Some would even be tested and “relive” their lives as humans in simulated scenarios of their former past. God also stated that all his subjects would have the choice to die a second time in the void…and that second death was still possible and unpredictable. Aside from God, and the long-living angels and deities, no one is truly immortal.

If Charlie’s plan succeeded, then the rewards would all be worth it.

Charlie and Vaggie would be happily married in Heaven, with their friends beside them in different forms as angels. Were they animal? Or human? Or a fusion of both? Vaggie transformed into a black-haired human women she had been before, save for her one eye and new black glistening moth wings from her back. Her human voice had returned to her and she discovered her human name: Vagatha. Husk remained a cat but with black angel wings instead of red wings with card suits on them. He found love in Heaven and discovered his human name: Hustle. If Niffty turned good, she, too would be happy and cheerful, resembling her human form more. If Baxter turned good, he would use his intelligence to make inventions and heal others with science. Alastor’s suit became light blue, white and brown, his human voice returned, and his head was now that of a red male deer. He and his dark-skinned mother embraced for a long time, bringing Charlie and the others to happy tears. Angel Dust discovered his true name; Anthony, and his face turned more human, though his hair was still white and he still had jumping/fighting abilities. He agreed to do porn/drugs outside of Heaven and only on occasion. Vaggie reunited with her family, while Angel, Molly and Aracknis spend time with their mother, Aranea (Latin for spider). (Their father Henroin was abusive).

Charlie served as a mediator between Heaven and Hell, she was half Angel and half Demon, after all. Her parents stayed and ruled Hell but the royal family could visit each other every other month. Vaggie advocated for women and Hispanic souls…and violent souls who had been wronged in life.

Angel Dust and his siblings were still very much troublemakers, but they started to mend old wounds from their times of being Italian mafia members and drug abusers. Both Husk and Angel were mentors for kids who came into Heaven, and also took care of pets and animals that died on Earth.

Alastor hosted new radio shows complete with dad jokes, New Orleans’ jazz and listings of Creole food recipes. (He still has to be reminded not to announce gruesome murders nor to perform any…he had to get used to not having dark powers anymore.) He ate pork and meat in replacement of demon/human flesh, for despite having the head and features of a deer, his new teeth were human and fairly sharp. In Heaven, his friendship with Charlie was finally genuine and they bonded deeper than ever before. Alastor not only became her close friend, but also her protector (along with Razzle and Dazzle) and even a loving father figure (Lucifer still doesn’t approve very much).

Yes, there were tons of bad people who still went to Hell, did bad things and lost their lives into the void. But for every bad action, there was a sliver of hope for good to prevail.

For their final act, everyone would join hands together, singing in harmony, Charlie leading the chorus with a song about making it to the end of the rainbow of happiness. So one could say they lived happily ever after…but with more chaos and unpredictability thrown in.

#hazbin hotel theory

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annes-andromeda · 4 years

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GOT Virtues AU: Not Enough to Understand

N/: So, I’ve finally written a chapter for Tyrion. I’m mostly gonna go by his arc in ADWD, but take out things like Young Griff and Jon Connington. As much as I believe those characters to be very vital to the books, this AU goes mostly by showverse with hints of the books and my own additions. However, some characters from ASOIAF will be incorporated here, just maybe not the same as the books. Tyrion has never really been my favorite character, but he’s definitely an interesting one. It sucks that the show turned him into a Dany cultist that licked her boots and kissed her ass. So, hopefully I’m writing Tyrion and Varys correctly. Also, please don’t think that I’m trying to villainize Tyrion (even if that may be the route GRRM is taking. But I’m not him sooo...), I’m just trying to show that he’s currently in a dark state of mind.

Somehow for Tyrion, the soils of Essos were more frustrating than the pile of shit that was the Seven Kingdoms. Ever since he strangled his lover with his bare hands and shot his father with a crossbow, somehow he’s never been the same. And yet somehow, the minute his brother opened his mouth and spoke of his first wife, of Tysha... somehow that hurt more than any slurs Tywin Lannister could ever reprise.

I trusted him, Tyrion thought hatefully. My big brother who was my protector, was no more than a liar.

The walls of Pentos where Varys had sneaked him away were beautiful no less. A perfect grave for a drunken lion. To drink himself to death seemed far sweeter than returning to Westeros where Cersei would surely want his head. But the Spider gave him another alternative.

“You have a choice, my friend” Varys had said, “You can stay here at Ilyrio’s palace and drink yourself to death, or you can ride with me to Meereen, meet Daenerys Targaryen, and decide if the world is worth fighting for”

The Dragon Queen. Tyrion had heard stories of her. How she liberated the city of Meereen and its slaves, ending the practice for good. But he had heard other stories as well. How she crucified the masters and burned men alive with her dragons. Common folk told of the Queen Across the Sea, a woman who walked with fire and left nothing but ruin wherever she trailed.

Tyrion didn’t know what to believe. So many tales, so many rumors. The people of Kings Landing spread whatever words they spoke to entertain themselves from the early graves that awaited some of them. Such as naming Tyrion the Demon Monkey. Or Sansa the Traitors Daughter. He hoped she was safe. Wherever his lady wife had gone to escape her fate. And to escape him.

But the one he thought of most was his oldest companion: Cira. His dear lioness that mewled sadly as she was taken away from his cell the day of his trial. She had been left in the Red Keep, wandering alone. Tyrion no longer seemed to care of hope, but he prayed to all the Gods that she was safe. That neither Cersei or anyone else had gotten hold of her. If he were to ever find out of her death or much worse... may the Gods help them.

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Once leaving Pentos, Tyrion and Varys began their journey to the so called free city of Meereen. Before doing so, they had to go through the streets of Volantis, as Varys stated that the road to Meereen was in Volantis. Bored of the confinement their carriage brought, Tyrion decided to take a walk. If anyone were to ask his name, he’d be no more than Hugor Hill, a bastard of the Westerlands who wished to see the known world alongside his companion Rugen, a former servant of the Red Keep. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Long Bridge was filled with many people. Builders, merchants, and many, many whores. All were marked by their masters, their cheek defining who they were.

“Strange that the Mother of Dragons hasn’t stepped foot in this city, as many have claimed she is a liberator” Tyrion acknowledged

“Meereen has had its run of slavery since the beginning of its construction” Varys began “If Daenerys were to leave the city as it is, the masters would simply take it back, sending the slaves into their chains once again”

“Hasn’t Astapor already done the same?” The dwarf noted “From what my ears have heard, the city is in ruin while children are sold like cattle and slavery runs rampant. I would’ve been certain the dragon queen would ensure the freedom of the people she liberates. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The Spider simply remained silent, and Tyrion gave a look as if he’d won a great victory. As they walked the pavement, they heard the booming voice of a woman who spoke to the slaves almost as if she had cast a spell upon them. A red priestess of R’hllor, whose cheek was branded with the mark of a former whore, preached her teachings to the lowly slaves of Volantis.

“Lord, cast your light upon us” she spoke in Valyrian, as the crowd followed “For the night is dark and full of terrors”

Tyrion didn’t hear what Varys had said to him, as he’d moved closer to see and hear the Priestess’s words “I was once as you are now” she said “Bought and sold. Scourged and branded” She pointed to the mark on her cheek, the mark of a slave. A former slave now.

“The only red priest we had in King’s Landing was Thoros of Myr. This one’s much better looking...” Tyrion boasted. He had heard that Stannis’s red priestess was beautiful, with blood red hair and eyes that glowed like the ruby around her neck. Granted, he’d seen and heard of many beautiful women in his days: the Mother of Dragons was said to have flowing silver hair and eyes of amethyst, whilst he remembered Shae’s curves and her full lips that kissed him once. But yet, they were not the most beautiful of women. For Tyrion gave that achievement to a maid with sunset in her hair and whose gaze held the waters.

“The Lord of Light hears your voice. He hears the king as he hears the slave; he hears the Stone Men in their misery...” The red priestess continued

Tyrion could only scoff “Stone Men. Good luck stopping this spread of grayscale with prayer. You’d have better luck dancing away the plague” Varys shushed him before he could say anything else.

“He has sent you a savior!” The red priestess proclaimed “From the fire she was reborn to remake the world! The Dragon Queen!”

Tyrion looked over to Varys, putting on a false smile “We’re going to meet the savior! You should have told me. Who doesn’t want to meet the savior?” His voice reeked of sarcasm, and the Spider was not impressed by it. As he spoke, he could feel eyes looking directly at him, shooting daggers from their post. The red priestess had turned to gaze at Tyrion, and the dwarf hid his face from her.

“Let’s go” He warned, as he and Varys left the gathering. The atmosphere had turned casual once again, with only the chatter of the slaves being heard. Tyrion turned to look up at Varys “Tell me, Varys” he began “Do you believe in the prophecy of The Prince That Was Promised?”

Varys cocked an eyebrow at him “It’s a legend derived from the red priests of R’hllor, of how a great hero shall be born of salt and smoke to save the world from a terrible threat. Mere superstition created by fanatics who haven’t a mind of their own”

“And I suppose these ‘fanatics’, as you call them, believe that Daenerys Targaryen is this prophesied savior, yes?” He saw Varys nod his head, but then cock it back once he spoke again “Seems rather curious, does it not? I thought Stannis was this great hero the Lord of Light had gifted upon us. In the words of the priests, I mean”

“If every fanatic claimed that every person in the world were this great prince, then the whole world would be engulfed in flames of proclaimed freedom” Varys stated “Who is to trust the words of druid priests that worship a god who only ever wishes upon the sacrifices of his kin?”

“Apparently the kneelers gladly hold their faith in the hands of merciless gods and these ‘druid priests’” Tyrion insisted, his mind wandering to the different tales that lied across the Narrow Sea “It just seems rather interesting. I myself have read of the legends of Westeros so many times that they’ve grown rather boring and repetitive. Aegon the Conqueror, Bran the Builder, even my own house’s ancestor, Lann the Clever; their stories have be so overheard that even their graves must hear them”

Varys let out a chuckle of mockery and agreement. His own experience with sorcery and religious views have left him skeptical of such practices, along with the hatred of all that used magic. Tyrion wondered if the former Master of Whisperers ever despised the great houses due to their holding of the mysterious Virtues, whose power traced back to even the ages of the Children.

As the two walked through the streets of Volantis, Tyrion’s mind wandered to a brothel where Varys and him could not be noticed by any wandering eyes. But he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. He could only think of his wife. Of Tysha. Somehow, Tyrion’s first thought wasn’t Shae, as she was a true whore compared to his first wife. A brothel wouldn’t ease his pain, no matter how many women he brought upon his bed.

Perhaps a mere book with a glass of wine will calm my suffering, Tyrion thought. Question was, where was he going to find a library in the mists of such a large city? The Temple of the Lord of Light could hold some scrolls for him to read through, but they’d mostly be filled with the teachings of the priests. And as if Varys would ever agree to going to such a place.

“You wouldn’t happen to know if there’s an inn in these parts, would you?” Tyrion asked, looking up to Varys

The man raised his eyebrows “I figured you’d rather be more interested in the confinements of a brothel?”

“No” Tyrion said abruptly “After everything that has happened, I’ve made the conscious decision to stay out of the whore house for a time”

“Well then, we can continue down this trail to a nearby atheneum where we’ll be able to blend in with the small folk”

“Perhaps I can indulge myself in some wine there”

“I thought you said you no longer wanted to take part in fornication. ‘For a time’, as you said”

“I never said I’d give up drinking”

Once reaching the atheneum Varys had mentioned, Tyrion could hardly believe his eyes. He had heard that the library of the Citadel were home to many knowledge and tales, so he didn’t expect much from the atheneum in Volantis, which only held two stories yet books upon thousands of shelves.

Entering the establishment, Tyrion and Varys took their seats all the way in the back where no one would disturb them. The only people that walked trough there were the workers sorting the books into shelves or customers looking for a more interesting read. Either way, no one would ask them of their reasons to coming into the place, as they did not speak the common tongue.

Tyrion flipped through the pages of a dusty old book that read ‘The Blood Betrayal: Fall of the Great Empire’ in High Valyrian. He didn’t know much of the language, but enough to understand what some of the sentences said.

He turned to Varys, who scoured through the rippling parchments and scrolls that smelled like old leather “It says here that according to the people of Yi Ti, the Blood Emperor slewed his older sister, the Amethyst Empress, and his rule ushered in the Long Night. Apparently he slept with a tiger woman, feasted upon human flesh, and enslaved his people. And I thought the myths of Westeros were too theatrical”

“The YiTish also speak of the Maiden-Made-Of-Light, who turned her back upon the world whilst her husband, the Lion of Night, punished the wickedness of men” Varys added. Tyrion wasn’t really surprised of his response, as the man had grown up in Essos himself “The Essosi paint their gods in the forms of animals and great beasts, as they’ve never seen the deities with their own eyes. Perhaps their gods forms gives them some sort of pride in their religion”

Tyrion simply shrugged, and before he could come up with a witty remark, he noticed a librarian sorting some used books that were left by previous visitors. He raised his hand to get the attention of the man. Thankfully he noticed him or else he’d have to resort to introducing himself In Valyrian, which was not his strong suit.

Getting the attention of Varys so as to translate for him, Tyrion began “Hello” he said, as his companion repeated the greeting in the local tongue “I was wondering, if you could tell me what this creature is?” He pointed down to the page he’d stopped on, which held an illustration of a winged creature. Its wings looked as if they were burning, and it was emerging from a pit of flames.

“I can speak some of common tongue, if you’d wish” the librarian said

Tyrion raised his eyebrows and sighed “Well... that’s a relief. I don’t think my companion here would’ve been able to handle doing all of the work for me” Though he didn’t clearly see it, he could tell that Varys was rolling his eyes and quietly scoffing.

The librarian carefully took the book from Tyrion’s hands, almost as if he grabbed it forcefully, the whole thing would fall apart. He examined the drawing, and his face crinkled “Their presence lost to history, I’m afraid. But people of Essos spoke of them as ‘The Devils Daughters’”

“How come?” Tyrion asked

“Essosi believe that daughters were born in home of evil spirits” The man said, his voice frail and his common language quite broken, but still understandable “They thrived in times of dragons, some even believe that two were foes who battled for fires hearth”

Varys leaned towards Tyrion “Many strayed far from the Fourteen Flames because it is believed that The Devils Daughters made their homes within the pits of the volcanoes. It was also thought that the creatures cursed the pits if their common enemy were to ever return”

As much as Tyrion wished to speak on more vital matters, such as whether this Dragon Queen truly was worth his troubles, he couldn’t help but be intrigued “Where did the daughters come from?” He asked the librarian

The old man sat down and fidgeted in his place to get comfortable “The oldest legend is that seamstress from Yi Ti sewed gold string for Opal Emperor in days of the Great Empire. According to scrolls and writing, the monarch adorned silks with golden string, and payed seamstress for more. So seamstress worked days on needle, so much so that the string shined in sunlight and her talent spoken of across all Yi Ti ”

“Sounds a bit exaggerated” Tyrion muttered to himself

“However, Opal Emperor wanted more than gold. He was so impressed of seamstress’s work that he gave her the challenge of creating embroidery and turning it into jewels”

Varys looked as if he didn’t want to listen to the mans story. Tyrion could only guess that it was either he had heard it a thousand times or of the great distances himself kept from religious practices and fables.

“Now, seamstress argued that what the Emperor proposed was impossible, but Opal Emperor granted her a seat in his court if she were to complete his task. So, she stayed in her shop for days, and the days turned into weeks. Finally, the seamstress stepped into Emperors palace, where she presented embroidery to him and his council. Seamstress had created a bird, whose wings shined with not golden, but silver string and encrusted with what many believed to be sundrops and starlight. The Opal Emperor, impressed he was. Yet, he asked more of seamstress. He ordered her to take embroidery on the fourteenth day of her time within the palace and burn it in a pyre of all the spices her expenses could buy. On the day of burning, seamstress took embroidery upon fire and...”

He paused for a moment, his face showing an expression of wonderment and perhaps, even pure bliss. The old man looked to the ceiling as if he’d been envisioning the story while he spoke.

“And?” Varys cut the silence, stopping Tyrion from shaking the man out of his delusion.

“When the seamstress placed her creation upon pyre, the embroidery burst into flames, leaving nothing but ashes and cinders. But then, without tamper, a great miracle happened. Embroidery of creature, had become real. Embroidery, became Devils Daughter. No larger than her teat, the baby was frail, yet soon would be powerful. Upon third setting of sun and second rising of moon, Daughter had disappeared from seamstress’s shop. Never seen again, until Old Valyria found dragon”

The man got up from his seat, continuing with his previous action of sorting books upon shelves. Varys had little to no reaction, clearly thinking of the fable as nothing more than that.

Tyrion furrowed his eyebrows, not understanding why the man had decided to end the story so abruptly, with hardly any payoff “You wouldn’t happen to know the creatures diets, by any chance?” He joked “Whether they ate, just out of curiosity: lions? Preferably lionesses, on my end”

The image of his sister being devoured by this creature, every inch of her destroyed by its jaws as she joins their father in a place where their every sin haunts them, was something Tyrion gladly wished to see.

“I’m afraid not, good sir” The librarian answered, his voice hinting at slight annoyance. Almost as if he knew what Tyrion was truly asking “Lions we’re not perceived as good by Yi Ti because of Lion of Night. They saw beasts as omens of misfortune, and even death”

“Well” Tyrion exasperated “That’s rather disappointing” His eyed widened in delight when he saw that Varys had called for a serving girl to bring them two glasses along with some red wine. Pouring the drink into his glass, Tyrion took a sip, savoring the rich, sweet taste it produced inside his mouth.

Varys joined him in the pleasurable drink, taking a long sip from his cup “With the Daughters gone, the dragons are the rulers of fire. However, it seems that not even the flames wished to stay in their grasp. The Doom definitely is an example of that”

Tyrion looked at him in somber silence “You truly believe that the Mother of Dragons is the one to bring upon a new age of Westeros?” He asked

“Are the freed slaves not enough proof for you?”

“Neither of us were there when she liberated those cities, so how can you expect me to just join her cause and serve her blindly instead of believing that she chose to break chains for another reason?” Tyrion took another drink of his wine “From what’s been heard about Meereen, she nailed men to wooden posts where they roasted about the heated sun. I distinctly remember someone else doing something similar with the corpses of their enemies. And that someone just happened to be my father. Tell me, does House Reyne not ring any bells to you?”

“All leaders must inspire a level of fear upon their enemies. If not, it’ll make them appear weak. Too much kindness does not bode well in a world as cruel as this one” Varys circled his glass, making his wine move about the cup.

Tyrion raised an eyebrow at him “Come now, my friend, we both know you’re not that naive. What monarch who has inflicted pain to everything they touch has had their following last?”

“Would you rather have stayed in Pentos to drink yourself away?” Varys raised his voice “Would you have liked it if I’d denied your brothers request to set you free?”

“Don’t talk about Jaime” Tyrion sneered, his eyes darkening. Despite his outburst, Varys was not fazed.

“You may not like it, my friend,” Varys began “But the truth is that your brother is the reason you’re still living. Even after he had lied to you, think of why he did it. We both know you cannot truly spite him. Not after everything you’ve been through. And certainly not after all the people who are much more deserving of your hatred”

Tyrion didn’t speak. I want to hate Jaime, he thought. I have to hate him

“What’s the point of love and trust if the people closest to you just end up hurting you?” He got up from his seat to pour more wine, until the cup was filled to the brim “Love is pointless. It’s a disease that spreads more pain that any sword or poison in the known world. And to trust is to be willfully blind to the truth, all while everyone breaks a chunk off of you until your left with only the remaining pieces of your heart. I’ve loved and trusted for too long, and I’ve lost too much of my heart already. I’ll not loose my mind to foolishness such as love nor trust any longer”

Varys could only stare emotionless at him, then averted his gaze to his cup “So what will you do know? Replace love and trust with hate and deceit?”

“I’d settle for knowledge and revenge” Tyrion said simply “After all, it has a better ring to it”

“The Dragon Queen will not accept those who will hatch plots and schemes under her nose” Varys warned “Do you truly think that what you’re doing is wise?”

Tyrion turned to him, his stance wobbly due to the increase of alcohol consumption “Tell me Varys: you said that Daenerys Targaryen has three dragons under her control, yes?”

“Those are what my little birds and I report” His companion replied

“Dragons have scorn for their enemies. Raw and untamed scorn. The largest of them had teeth the size of swords. While a lion may not control the skies, it is the king of all beasts, who commands respect and fear upon its subjects. After all, ‘In a coat of gold or a coat of red, a lion still has claws’. Imagine Cersei’s terror when there comes a dragon and lion knocking at her door”

“Are you implying that your allegiance to the Dragon Queen is purely to spite your sister?” Varys asked

I never meant to imply it, is what Tyrion wished to say, but instead, his mind changed to another response “If that’s what you wish to think, go right ahead”

He put down his wine glass, which nearly tipped over and spilled “Now then” Tyrion began “I believe we should find an inn to stay. All this drinking has left my head reeling and my body tipsy” Varys seemed to want to argue, but he pursed his lips tightly that they seemed to disappear.

He didn’t even speak a word when Tyrion grabbed the book he was reading (among others) and sneak them into his tunic for future use.

On the road to the inn, Tyrion spoke more about the Devils Daughters, and if they were real, he wondered what horrors he’d inflict on his Cersei and even his father if he were still alive. He could see that Varys was growing mildly concerned, but Tyrion assumed that he had heard worse.

What neither could have predicted, was that the halfman would be stolen away as a gift for the Dragon Queen herself.

#game of thrones #virtues au #my writing #tyrion lannister #varys the spider #anti daenerys #i mean #some might take it that way #but im just pointing out things shes legit done #so really its just criticism...

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zatyrlucy · 5 years

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Hi guys. I start this post by saying the latest Live video was one of the best!!! (At least for me xD) Despite Ashley being sick and Ed Bosco didn’t get to the stream (that’s why there is not much facts about Alastor) I felt it was very funny and also Vivz gave a lot of hella good information. Fans are getting better and better on making questions and I love that.

1. OCs made by fans can’t appear on Hazbin Hotel unless they won some kind of contest or something like that in the future. (That’s because there could be copyright problems for including content that don’t belong to Vivzpop or the artists of the crew. If I am not wrong, at the moment a fan won a contest or something and their OCs get to be in the show as a reward, that person has to give up the owning of that specific character to make everything legal…I guess. Also that’s why Vivz and the crew can’t make background characters similar to yours because it can be a copyright infringement too).

2. There are concepts of fallen angels for HH that might be in the show in the future.

3. There probably will be angels in the show but their concept is not what fans are expecting to be, so until angels show up in the show, vivz don’t mind any headcanon fans come up with.

4. Alastor and Charlie’s relationship is a big plot point of the show, then, Vivz can’t say much about them without telling spoilers. The only thing that is already known by many is that both of them share the same sense of humor. There is seriously nothing else that can be said because the development of their relationship is going to happen in the pilot because they didn’t know each other before.

5. Alastor doesn’t like dogs. He is not afraid of them anymore, he just doesn’t like them at all.

6. Molly and Angel are siblings and…there are not much to say besides that.

7. Alastor is able to have a friendship with someone but that person have to be funny and entertain to be with (In my opinion that explains his friendship with Rosie, because she probably sings so they can entertain themselves by singing together).

8. Angel doesn’t like watermelon jolly ranchers (wth are those?)

9. Angel likes sweets, especially strawberries with chocolate. He also likes apples (then everybody laughed because Ashley said if those facts have something to do with the strawberry pimp and the apple daddy xD)

10. Angel indeed is a masochist

11. How the main characters of the show died is totally plot point and can’t be explained.

12. There is cold areas in hell and there also can be snow in hell. This is because HH is based in Dante’s Inferno and in that story, there is a circle of hell made of ice.

13. !!!!! “Angel Dust” is just a nickname, not an actual name. The spider demon chose the name of that drug to be his porn star and his drag queen nickname. Only Vivz know the real name of our dear kinky demon. (I wonder if there are other main characters being called by their nicknames instead of their real names. Now I doubt everythingggggg @_@)

14. Angel Dust’s real name is not Martin. That was a fan theory because that’s how Angel was called loooong time ago, like, the first years of HH, but this is not canon anymore.

15. Vivz did choose the name “Martin” because of Martin Scorsesee. But I repeat, this is not canon anymore.

16. !!!!! THE PILOT IS GOING TO BE 30 MINUTES LONG !!!! It will consist of two parts, both of approximately 15 minutes each, Act 1 and act 2. (wow...just wow, that’s the longest pilot in history, because even the pilots for Tv shows are like, 20 or 23 minutes long, because they have to make time for commercials, but this case is different because is going to be an internet show without commercials, holy cow).

17. The normal episodes are probably going to be 15 minutes long.

18. Hazbin Hotel inspiration is based in demonology, villains and adult animations/shows.

19. Vivz love villains but she didn’t want to make the show about villains vs heroes and instead she made it more real with bad vs good people. That’s why there is a big difference between Charlie (aka the Disney princess of hell) and the other demons (aka complete assholes) because she wanted the main focus of the story to be the contrast between good and bad on people.

20. Vivz and the crew like the Country western AU. She even confirmed there is a country western area in hell.

21. All the characters in zoophobia that might appear in HH are just a cameo, it doesn’t mean that those characters are part of hell now, no, they are just a cameo.

22. The only exception is Hatchet whose character and personality is going to be changed by Vivz so he will become canonically part of the Hazbin Hotel world from now on instead of zoophobia.

Also, as a bonus, go check min 3:10:30 to laugh your as** off for almost 10 minutes because that’s the moment when Vivz and Ahsley start to talk very funny topics and I had a really good time listening to those two talking crazy things (Is the first time I hear vivz said “fuck” so many times xD) while Michael in the background is like “ok I just will be quiet” xdxd

#Hazbin Hotel #Ashley's Live videos

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lorewytch · 5 years

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A 80′s Gushing Rant

Sorry I just spammed everyone with 80s cartoons XD (Well.. sorry, not sorry?) As a child born in the 80s, I have a special attachment to these cartoons. I mean doesn’t everyone? Nostalgia sells for a reason after all. We all at least have one fond memory of one cartoon or TV show or book that touched us. I was born a only child so often I only could play with myself. I was shy and much different than my other classmates. I was awkward a lot and often did my own thing. But one thing I loved was my parents giving me VHS’ to play which I would watch over and over until the tapes warped. I had many favorites over the years. And the 80s and early 90s were a peek time for several different companies to open their doors and unleash a barrage of toys, videos and books at young kids. I of course loved the popular shows. Shows like TMNT, Tiny Toons, Care Bears, My Little Pony, etc. I had a special spot in my heart for them all. But there were a few that were widely unknown. Most of these were popular but only really had one animated episode created. I kinda just wanted to gush about them a bit. Because these were underrated and I felt needed more recognition. A few of these did have a few episodes out on VHS but most only had one or two episodes. Some you may recognize, some not. Granted I didn’t watch everything that aired in the late 80s and early 90s. But these are some I just remembered.

Rose Petal Place

This one had only one episode, several dolls and apparently a board game XD. Rose Petal Place was about a group of flowers. They were given life when a little girl cried over them, wishing to stay with her flower garden forever. But the family was forced to move and she had to leave her poor garden behind. The magic behind those tears transformed the flowers into real magical beings whose sole duty it was to protect the garden per the young girls wishes. Rose’s voice is the only thing that can keep the flowers blooming in the garden. Her singing brings life back and her spunky and upbeat personality kept me intrigued as a child. I loved girl heroes fighting bad guys as a child. It inspired me and showed me I could be as strong as her. Rose never backed down even when her voice was stolen from her by Nastina the classic spider villain in the series. She still tried to sing even without her voice. One of the very first lines we hear from Rose Petal perfectly defines what kind of character she is. Nastina: Rose Petal. You think you can restore the rose garden with your singing? Rose Petal: You know I can. (hands on hips) She was pretty classy too for a cartoon character. I loved her voice and singing was very on point. The episode itself was rather cliche and dated by todays standards. But the voice acting I felt was mostly on point. It did struggle a bit, but it kept it entertaining even as I watched it a few months ago. Sadly it didn’t really define the characters all that well. But I think given the chance it could have been a nice series. Maybe even with more colorful villains. It was very similar to Strawberry Shortcake and Rainbow Brite. I think also with the limited setting and semi unbelievable background story was probably a few of the reasons it didn’t do so well. However, the character designs were pretty cute and I loved the creative concept. “Friends, would you like to be friends? Would you like to share the day with me? We can be anything we want to be!” -Rose Petal Pound Puppies (1980s)

Okay this one is a bit more popular than the others on this list. But honestly, I forgot about it until recently. The series itself is nice, but the one thing I remembered most about it was the movie.

I think the best part of it was the music. While some songs were meh, Songs like “All In your Mind” and “At the Pound” were pretty good and I found myself singing along. Also it was pretty dark for a kids movie. If you really think about it, the villain was creepy and him turning those puppies into those vicious dogs reminded me a bit of dog fighting and how people turned dogs into killing machines. Plus the background design on these were pretty impressive as well. At least for me anyways. This is really all subjective anyways. But I liked the concept. Who wouldn’t love singing Dogs and cats going on adventures? XD But I feel like a lot of that vanished in the TV series. I got to say I don’t remember the TV series that well. And while it was popular, I think if you think of the 80s cartoons, this one takes a while to come up. It’s not forgotten totally but its not one of the first ones you remember. I certainly didn’t. I remembered the movie more than the TV show. But I also think it was a important show/movie. Because it was the show to bring more awareness about Pounds and shelters. Adopting kitties and dogs from shelters seems common now. But it wasn’t so back then. And a lot of animals were treated very badly at these places. I feel like this had more promise. And I’ll always remember Cooler and his gang from back then. The voice acting was meh most of the time. But some of the characters were pretty interesting and I loved the movie. Also, can I say I love the whole 50s/60′s theme they got going on?! Poodle skirts! YES!

Lady Lovely Locks

Okay for this one, I only remember two episodes in particular off the top of my head. The Dragon Tree, which I loved because of the creative way dragons were born in this world. (Born from flowers the dragon tree bore) and the cute little baby dragons that emerged from them. Plus you got to see Lady Lovely Locks in black of all colors. The second episode being the first one. We get to see first hand at how Lady Lovely Locks can make her kingdom beautiful. Its literally in her hair. Magical girl hair. She was also rocking colored hair before it was popular. The voice acting can be cringe worthy and there’s not much music in this series, which is probably why it never got SUPER popular. It was semi known enough. Again, not one of the first ones I would think of. But I loved the character designs. I think in the 80s there were a lot of creative people wanting to create new and prettier dolls that stood out in one way or another to sell the toys to girls. But the world itself was very creative too and I appreciated that. So yeah the writing and stories kind of fell flat, especially by today’s standards.

But it was a series that doesn’t get nearly enough credit. It was one of the first American magical girls we had really. Lady Lovely Locks was a lady true to every word and not afraid to get her hands dirty to stop Ravenwaves. Also those Pixie Tails were so cute! Peppermint Rose

“Listen... to the legend... of Peppermint Rose...” Can I just say how much love I have to this lesser known cartoon girl? Okay, I admit, this girl at the beginning of her one episode debut was a bit of a brat. Hey they even admit it in the cartoon! Rose is the typical spoiled teen. She has a bit of a attitude problem and is more the hesitant hero than anything. But she has personality!

The writing on this episode is some of the better writing I feel on this list. Not to mention the music in this animated episode was pretty, flowery and I fell in love with many of the lyrics. Here’s the title song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEy536JeVEc “ Sunshine, Rainbows A breeze that gently blows A garden filled with magic The home of Peppermint Rose Daydreams, Laughter A sweet and Fragrant Glow As Four enchanted Maidens Help their gardens grow. There’s lemon Drop Lily So pretty and frilly Miss Vanilla Daisy Kind of Cute And kind of crazy And Dreaming ‘neath a sky of blue Merry Mint Violet dreams here too Someone Special And so the story goes A rose whose a rose Who’s much more than a rose And we call her Peppermint Rose Listen to the Legend Of Peppermint Rose..” Yeah no I had that stuck in my head for weeks.. couldn’t get it out. Despite Rose’s sour personality, she manages to cross a dangerous river, out wit the Bubba Beetle and magically sing the evil Queen turning her good as well as her henchmen because.. y’know...magic! XDDD The ending did seem rushed and the bad guys were very typical bad guys of the time. But I loved that Rose had a lot of negative traits. It goes to show people can change and her transformation into Peppermint Rose only proved that she could be stronger, braver and kinder. I admit the story does not age well. But I loved the music and character designs of them all. The story was also very cute. This was a decent cartoon for the time honestly and I was sad that there was only one episode of this. It had potential to be more. Again, another one like Rainbow Brite. “What’s that Smell?” “Begonia!”

Now I didn’t put Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, Jem and the Holograms or any of the other more popular 80s cartoons here because while I did love them to death.. this list is for lesser known cartoons that others may not be familiar with. Granted the 80s and 90s were quite the decades themselves with a ton of cartoons. Both good and ehhh. But these always stuck out to me as a kid. Yes, I was a very girly girl. Still am in a few aspects. But each of these had something I appreciated and carried with me. And all had really cool designs for characters. I just wanted to show how much I appreciated them even as a adult. Even if they are dated and slightly cringe worthy today. I just appreciated the magic they brought with them, the music and the characters. I would love to see great remakes of any one of these. (The new pound puppies is kind of meh to me honestly) But I’d also love a great revival of Rainbow Brite and Jem and the Holograms too. Sorry this got so long. Whew... I think I will wrap this up. If I think of any more I may post something separate. Now remember, keep singing to bring life to those around you, never lose your bone of scone, let down your hair and let it shine and remember this beyond all else: A rose, whose a rose, who’s much more than a rose... And we call her.. Peppermint Rose.

#80s #Peppermint Rose #Pound Puppies #Rose petal Place #Lady Lovely Locks #lesser known cartoons #my childhood #I loved these #SO MUCH NOSTALGIA!

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eddycurrents · 4 years

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For the week of 11 November 2019

Quick Bits:

Batman & The Outsiders #7 throws some further ramifications of Ra’s al Ghul and his minions meddling with Duke and Sofia. Some particularly disturbing transformations going on with Duke that should be interesting. The level of intrigue that Bryan Hill is keeping in the story is gripping.

| Published by DC Comics

The Batman’s Grave #2 is another excellent issue. A little more packed with action than the first one, allowing Bryan Hitch to cut loose with some of the sequences. Also, I’m loving the humour that Warren Ellis is giving us between Alfred and Bruce. That acerbic wit is something we’ve seen from Alfred a lot and Ellis just nails the voice.

| Published by DC Comics

Battlepug #3 is more fun from Mike Norton, Allen Passalaqua, and Crank! Some really nice stuff here as Bryony cuts loose on Nobody’s Ponies. I absolutely love the mix of traditional sword and sorcery storytelling with rather over-the-top humour that basically lampoons it at the same time.

| Published by Image

Black Cat Annual #1 is a fun tale of a heist on the Maggia by Black Cat and Spider-Man from Jed MacKay, Joey Vazquez, Natacha Bustos, Juan Gedeon, Brian Reber, and Ferran Delgado. It features the usual humour and action that we see in the series and I quite like how the artists are broken up each following one particular aspect of the story. Though it’s all one narrative, it gives a nice differing feel to each part.

| Published by Marvel

Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice #5 concludes what has been an excellent series from Jeff Lemire, Michael Walsh, and Nate Piekos. Ultimately, this has reminded me of the old JLA/JSA crossovers of old, and just feels great as an overall story. Plus the possibility of seeing a sequel.

| Published by Dark Horse & DC Comics

Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #3 begins “God Loves, Moon Kills”, another two-parter for this series, from Jim Zub, Lan Medina, Craig Yeung, Marcio Menyz, Federico Blee, and Joe Sabino. I love this story format, giving us essentially quick-hit missions dealing with a problem and then moving on. It’s yielded some pretty tight storytelling and some fascinating situations.

| Published by Marvel

Black Stars Above #1 is another incredible debut for Vault, with Lonnie Nadler, Jenna Cha, Brad Simpson, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou delivering an incredibly deep and unique horror story. It centres around a young woman in a family of fur traders, as the trade itself begins to die in Canada, and it’s impressive as to how real the characters and their struggle feels. The artwork from Cha and Simpson is exquisite.

| Published by Vault

Buffy + Angel: Hellmouth #2 continues Buffy and Angel’s descent through hell. It’s much more cerebral than you’d expect, with the demons trying to get into Buffy and Angel’s respective heads in order to manipulate and destroy them. Plus, a rather interesting surprise. Jordie Bellaire, Jeremy Lambert, Eleonora Carlini, Cris Peter, and Ed Dukeshire are doing some great work with the core of this event.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Collapser #5 somehow gets even stranger in this penultimate issue as Liam creates a “perfect” world to run away from the problems he’s having in the real world. The real world bleeding through and a revelation of his girlfriend’s true intentions just ratchet up the strangeness further. Mikey Way, Shaun Simon, Ilias Kyriazis, Cris Peter, and Simon Bowland are just doing amazing work here.

| Published by DC Comics / Young Animal

Detective Comics #1015 takes an interesting turn as Nora decides that she likes being a villain. Through this, Peter J. Tomasi is definitely showing an interesting side to Mr. Freeze, emphasizing again that he’s a rather conflicted villain, only doing the various heinous actions to save his wife. Who now doesn’t need him.

| Published by DC Comics

Doctor Mirage #4 features more incredibly beautiful, inventive artwork from Nick Robles and Jordie Bellaire. The visual storytelling as Shan faces the Embalmer is just incredible. Magdalene Visaggio, Robles, Bellaire, and Dave Sharpe continue to deliver magic with this penultimate issue.

| Published by Valiant

Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror: Season Two #2 is another entertaining issue. The lead tale from Tom Peyer, Greg Scott, Lee Loughridge, and Rob Steen has traditional EC Comics horror vibes, as a scientist tries to communicate with our worm overlords. In one of the comics back-ups Mark Russell, Peter Snejbjerg, and Steen revisit the world of the breakfast cereal monsters. And there’s the usual prose pieces, poetry, and Hunt Emerson’s Black Cat.

| Published by Ahoy

Event Leviathan #6 concludes this series from Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Josh Reed. How much you enjoy it will hinge on how much you enjoy Maleev’s art and the realization that most of this tale is about moving one person off the board and the reveal of Leviathan to set up further stories. Also, Bendis paints a Batman who is ridiculously terrible at hiding his secret identity.

| Published by DC Comics

Fallen Angels #1 is the final new first issue of this first wave of “Dawn of X” titles and in many ways it’s more personal than the other X-titles, even Excalibur, delving into Psylocke (the former Kwannon, not Betsy Braddock) and her past. Bryan Hill, Szymon Kudranski, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Sabino deliver an interesting story with hooks on the darker side of the X-world, including some ominous bits from Magneto and Sinister, but I question the inclusion of X-23 and Cable. They don’t exactly seem to fit the roles they’ve been put into here.

| Published by Marvel

Family Tree #1 is a phenomenal debut from Jeff Lemire, Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur, Ryan Cody, and Steve Wands. This first issue perfectly captures that insidious nature of family drama mixed with creeping terror and body horror as a bizarre plague begins spreading across America.

| Published by Image

Far Sector #1 is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve read in a long time. NK Jemisin, Jamal Campbell, and Deron Bennett create a rich new world in the City Enduring and a compelling character in the new Green Lantern, Sojourner Mullein. The murder mystery that ties everything together is just the icing on the cake. Incredible world-building here and drop dead gorgeous artwork. Do not miss this.

| Published by DC Comics / Young Animal

The Flash #82 is part one of “Rogues’ Reign” from Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Arif Prianto, and Steve Wands. It features a Central City taken over by the Rogues, transformed into their own personal playgrounds, as the Flash is nowhere to be found. It’s not bad, but the amount you’re going to like it may be relative to how much you’re also enjoying “City of Bane” and the recently concluded similar arc involving the Trickster.

| Published by DC Comics

Folklords #1 is off to a fantastic start from Matt Kindt, Matt Smith, Chris O’Halloran, and Jim Campbell. It starts off with a precocious kid in a fantasy world who’s been having visions of what essentially amounts to our world, whose quest sets out a rather draconian lockdown on their society when the Librarians rein in everyone from illicit action, like finding the Folklords. Highly recommended.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Forgotten Home #2 reveals more about Jannada, its history and society, and how an unjust queen was brought to rule through racial warfare. Love the artwork from Marika Cresta and Matt Emmons.

| Published by Vices Press

Gideon Falls #18 unleashes the Laughing Man on reality in part two of “The Pentoculus”. Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, Dave Stewart, and Steve Wands are beautifully unfolding this twisted and horrific flower of a story.

| Published by Image

Gotham City Monsters #3 adds another element of DC lore to the series as Melmoth claims a particular prize. I really quite like how Steve Orlando, Amancay Nahuelpan, Trish Mulvihill, and Tom Napolitano are pulling together disparate bits of Gotham and beyond to craft this story.

| Published by DC Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy #11 is the penultimate issue of this series from Donny Cate, Cory Smith, Victor Olazaba, David Curiel, and Cory Petit. It’s basically a big fight between the remaining Guardians and everyone else. It doesn’t go so well.

| Published by Marvel

Hawkman #18 takes a somewhat different approach to Hawkman’s infection than what we’ve seen of the others so far. Rather than being a dark reflection of Hawkman’s own desires, he’s taken over by an Earth-3 incarnation in Sky Tyrant. Robert Venditti, Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Jeremiah Skipper, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft instead use that to play the spirit of our Hawkman against.

| Published by DC Comics

Hit-Girl: Season Two #10 is part two of “India”. The artwork from Alison Sampson and Tríona Farrell is impressive, given an amazing level of detail to bringing Mumbai to life. Brutal and rich in colour.

| Published by Image

House of Whispers #15 takes a new twist as the Corinthian finds the House of Watchers, takes over, and everything changes. Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters, Dominike “Dono” Stanton, Zac Atkinson, and AndWorld Design kick off some new terrors as even Erzulie’s status quo is upended, and we get another guest appearance of John Constantine’s homecoming.

| Published by DC Comics - Black Label / The Sandman Universe

Invaders #11 pushes deeper into Steve and Namor’s history and relationship, as Steve refuses to give up on his old friend. There’s some very heavy, very good character work here as we head into the final issue. Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Butch Guice, Alex Guimarães, and Travis Lanham continue to astonish at the incredibly high bar they’ve set for this story.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League Odyssey #15 is a fun tale from Dan Abnett, Will Conrad, Rain Beredo, Pete Pantazis, and AndWorld Design. Jessica Cruz leading a rag tag band of villains (and Orion) against Darkseid and the previous JLO turned evil is unfolding as a very entertaining story with some interesting twists. Also, Dex-Starr is awesome.

| Published by DC Comics

Morbius #1 isn’t a bad start from Vita Ayala, Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Clayton Cowles. This first issue is largely just action as Morbius sets out on his quest to cure himself, again, but it’s not bad. The art from Ferreira, Poggi, and Sánchez-Almara is very nice.

| Published by Marvel

Oblivion Song #21 continues the slowburn investigation and reconnaissance of the Faceless Men’s base, as Marco tries to map it out and discover where they’re holding all of the people who decided to stay in Oblivion. Gorgeous artwork from Lorenzo De Felici and Annalisa Leoni as we see more of the Faceless Men’s technology.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Psi-Lords #6 does a bit more world-building as we find out more about the Psi-Lords and the Starwatchers, even as the four Earthers are beset by the other Marked in a bizarre farce of a trial. Fred Van Lente, Renato Guedes, and Dave Sharpe are telling a pretty great sci-fi adventure tale here. It largely stands alone in the greater Valiant universe framework and deserves more attention than its getting.

| Published by Valiant

Punisher: Soviet #1 is another welcome return to the Punisher by Garth Ennis, stepping back into Frank’s adventures like he never left. Ennis, Jacen Burrows, Guillermo Ortego, Nolan Woodard, and Rob Steen deliver a brutal and bloody beginning as Frank chases down someone who everyone seems to think is him.

| Published by Marvel / MAX

Reaver #5 is a fairly impressive spotlight for Breaker as he does what he really didn’t want to do again in order to help his “friends”. Justin Jordan, Rebekah Isaacs, Alex Guimarães, and Clayton Cowles present a number of twists and surprises in one of the most brutal issues yet.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Ronin Island #8 sees the remaining islanders largely stand together as they try to both stand up to and flee from the Shogun’s soldiers and madness. With a terrible occurrence that looks like it’s going to cause even more problems for the survivors. Giannis Milonogiannis and Irma Kniivila’s art continues to be everything.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Sea of Stars #5 very nicely puts the pieces together as a disconsolate Gil has been captured and basically given up thinking Kadyn dead is brought to the world where his son is about to be gutted. Jason Aaron, Dennis Hallum, Stephen Green, Rico Renzi, and Jared K. Fletcher are telling an incredible story here and this issue throws even more twists at the reader.

| Published by Image

Seven Days #2 unfolds some of the fallout of people learning that they only have seven days left, as the superhero community is enlisted to try to stop whatever the shiny harbinger things are. Gail Simone, José Luís, Jonas Trinidade, Michelle Madsen, and Saida Temofonte are continuing to build an intriguing story here as we get more and more of the breadth of the Catalyst Prime universe.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Superman #17 is kind of a housekeeping issue from Brian Michael Bendis, Kevin Maguire, Paul Mounts, and Dave Sharpe, acting as a prologue to “The Truth”. A bit of reflection on the Unity Saga, Event Leviathan, and Year of the Villain.

| Published by DC Comics

Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Blackest Night #1 might well be the best of these one-shots yet. Tim Seeley, Kyle Hotz, Dexter Vines, Walden Wong, Danny Miki, David Baron, Allen Passalaqua, and Tom Napolitano give us a bleak look at a world where Sinestro chose not to share the power of the White Lantern light and essentially everything fell to Nekron and the Black Lanterns. It’s a very unique take on the zombie apocalypse on its own, made more interesting as a fallen Sinestro, Lobo, and Dove try to save this universe. The art from Hotz, Vines, Wong, Miki, Baron, and Passalaqua is perfect.

| Published by DC Comics

Trees: Three Fates #3 continues to build up the weird atmosphere from last issue, then turns around and focuses on more of the gritty aspects of Oleg, Mik, and Nina. Gorgeous artwork all throughout from Jason Howard and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Image

Triage #3 shifts to Commander Marco’s reality as the group flee from the Hunter. I really like what Phillip Sevy and Frank Cvetkovic have been doing with this story. Great high concept, but the interpersonal relationships are where it’s really at.

| Published by Dark Horse

Usagi Yojimbo #6 is a beautiful updating and embellishment of the very first story of Usagi from Albedo by Stan Sakai and Tom Luth. This single issue story really captures the spirit and magic of all of Sakai’s stories, wonderfully portraying his mix of action and folklore.

| Published by IDW

Vampirella/Red Sonja #3 explores more of what the Russians were doing in regards to Drakulon and more. More very nice humour from Jordie Bellaire in the interactions between Vampirella and Sonja.

| Published by Dynamite

Wonder Woman #82 begins “The Wild Hunt” from the new creative team of Steve Orlando, Kieran McKeown, Scott Hanna, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Pat Brosseau. It very much continues on from the plot threads and elements of the previous run, continuing to build on the current conflict between Wonder Woman and Cheetah.

| Published by DC Comics

X-Men #2 is pretty damn great, going back to the big and wild ideas bringing new elements into the X-universe, all while Cyclops gives some of the strangest parenting. Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, Garry Alanguilan, Sunny Gho, and Clayton Cowles give us a new mystery with the arrival of Arakko and the first of -|A|-’s missing original horsemen.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Age of Conan: Valeria #4, Agents of Atlas #4, Catwoman #17, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Holiday Special #1, The Dollhouse Family #1, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #10, Firefly: The Sting, Future Foundation #4, Ghosted in LA #5, GI Joe: A Real American Hero #268, Girl on Film, Go Go Power Rangers #25, Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #3, History of the Marvel Universe #5, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #11, Midnight Vista #3, Moonshine #13, Runaways #27, RWBY (print) #2, RWBY (digital) #6, Savage Sword of Conan #11, Star Wars #74, Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order: Dark Temple #4, Star Wars: Target Vader #5, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #50

Recommended Collections: Babyteeth - Volume 3, Dark Red - Volume 1, Fallen World, GLOW - Volume 1: Versus the Star Primas, Justice League - Volume 4: The Sixth Dimension, Savage Avengers - Volume 1: City of Sickles, Star Wars: Age of Resistance - Heroes, Star Wars Adventures - Volume 7: Pomp and Circumstance, Wonder Twins - Volume 1: Activate

d. emerson eddy can hear the scratching at the walls of reality.

#This Week in Comics

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grigori77 · 5 years

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2018 in Movies - My Top 30 Fave Movies (Part 3)

10. BLACK PANTHER – remember back in 1998, when Marvel had their first real cinematic success with Blade? It was a big deal on two fronts, not just because they’d finally made a (sort of) superhero movie to be proud of, but also because it was, technically, the first ever truly successful superhero movie starring a black protagonist (the less said about the atrocious Steel movie the better, I say). I find it telling that it took them almost twenty years to repeat the exercise – there have been plenty of great black superheroes on-screen since Wesley Snipes rocked the fangs and black leather, especially in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but they’ve always been in supporting roles to the main (so far universally WHITE) stars (the now-cancelled Luke Cage was a notable exception, but that’s on-demand TV on Netflix). All of this makes the latest feature to glide smoothly out of the MCU mould so significant – the standalone star vehicle for Civil War’s OTHER major new success story (after 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming), Prince T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) of Wakanda, finally redresses the balance … and then some. Picking up pretty much RIGHT where the third Captain America film left off, we see T’Challa return to the secretive, highly-advanced African kingdom of Wakanda to officially take up his new role as king and fully accept the mantle of protector of his people that his role as the Black Panther entails. Needless to say, just as he’s finally brought peace and unity to his homeland, an old threat reappears in the form of thuggish arms dealer and fugitive-from-Wakandan-justice Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis, gleefully returning to his blissful scenery-chewing Avengers: Age of Ultron role), leading T’Challa to travel to Busan, South Korea to bring him back for judgement, but this is merely a precursor to the arrival of the TRUE threat, Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan), a mysterious former Special Forces assassin with a deeply personal agenda that threatens Wakanda’s future. This marks the first major blockbuster feature for writer/director Ryan Coogler (co-penning the script with The People V. O.J. Simpson writer Joe Robert Cole), who won massive acclaim for his feature debut Fruitvale Station, but also has good form after sneaky little sleeper hit Rocky-saga spinoff Creed, so this progression ultimately just proves to be another one of those characteristic smart moves Marvel keeps making these days. Coogler’s command of the big budget, heavy-expectation material is certainly impressive, displaying impressive talent for spectacular action sequences (the Busan car chase is MAGNIFICENT, while the punishing fight sequences are as impressively staged and executed as anything we saw in the Captain America movies), wrangling the demanding visual effects work and getting the very best out of a top-notch ensemble cast of some of the finest black acting talent around. Boseman brings more of that peerless class and charisma he showed in Civil War, but adds a humanising dose of self-doubt and vulnerability to the mix, making it even easier for us to invest in him, while Coogler’s regular collaborator, Jordan, is absolutely spell-binding, his ferociously focused, far-beyond-driven Killmonger proving to be one of the MCU’s most impressive villains to date, as well as its most sympathetic; Oscar darling Lupita Nyong’o is far more than a simple love interest as tough and resourceful Wakandan intelligence agent Nakia, The Walking Dead’s Danai Gurira is a veritable force of nature as Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje, Wakanda’s elite all-female Special Forces, Get Out’s Daniel Kaluuya muddies the waters as T’Challa’s straight-talking best friend W’Kabi, and powerhouse veteran actors Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker and John Kani provide integrity and gravitas as, respectively, T’Challa’s mother Ramonda, Wakandan religious leader Zuri and T’Challa’s late father T’Chaka. Martin Freeman and Andy Serkis have joked that they’re essentially the “Tolkien white guys” of the cast, but their presence is far from cosmetic – Freeman’s return as Civil War’s bureaucratic CIA agent Everett Ross is integral to the plot and also helps provide the audience with an accessible outsider’s POV into the unique and stunning land of Wakanda, while Serkis is clearly having the time of his life … and then there are the film’s TRUE scene-stealers – Letitia Wright is a brilliant bright ray of sunlight as T’Challa’s little sister Shuri, the curator of Wakanda’s massively advanced technology and OFFICIALLY the most intelligent person in the MCU, whose towering intellect is tempered by her cheeky sense of humour and sheer adorability, while Winston Duke is a towering presence throughout the film as M’Baku, the mighty chief of the reclusive Jabari mountain tribe, despite his relatively brief screen time, his larger-than-life performance making every appearance a joy. This has been lauded as a true landmark film for its positive depiction of African culture and presentation of a whole raft of strong black role models, and it certainly feels like a major step forward both culturally and creatively – it’s so rewarding to see a positively-charged black intellectual property enjoying the almost ridiculous amount of success this film has so far enjoyed, both critically and financially, and it’s something I hope we see far more of in the future. Like its predecessors, this is a fantastic superhero movie, but under the surface there are some very serious, challenging questions being asked and inherently powerful themes being addressed, making for a deeper, more intellectual film than we usually receive even from a big studio that’s grown so sophisticated as Marvel. That said, this IS another major hit for the MCU, and a further example of how consistently reliable they’ve become at delivering great cinema. Very nearly the best of the Phase 3 standalone films (that honour still belongs to Captain America: Civil War), and it was certainly a spectacular kickoff for the year’s blockbusters.

9. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY – I’ve been waiting for this movie for YEARS. Even before I knew this was actually going to happen I’d been hoping it would someday – Queen were my introduction to rock music, way back when I was wee, so they’ve been one of my very favourite bands FOREVER, and Freddie Mercury is one of my idols, the definition of sheer awesomeness and pure talent in music and an inspiration in life. Needless to say I was RIDICULOUSLY excited once this finally lurched into view, and I’m so unbelievably happy it turned out to be a proper corker of a film, I could even tentatively consider it to be my new favourite musical biopic. Sure, it plays fast-and-loose with the historical facts, but remains true to the SPIRIT of the story, and you know what they say about biographical movies and their ilk: “if it’s a choice between the truth and the legend, print the legend.” That’s a pretty good word to describe the man at the centre of this story – Queen frontman Freddie Mercury truly was a legend in his own lifetime, and watching the tale of his rise to fame alongside fellow musical geniuses Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon is a fascinating, intoxicating and deeply affecting experience, truthful or not, making the film an emotional rollercoaster from the humble beginnings with the formation of the band, through the trials and tribulations of life on the road and in the studio, the controversies of Mercury’s personal life and the volatile personal dynamics between the group themselves, to the astonishing, show-stopping climax of their near-mythic twenty-minute performance slot at 1985’s Live Aid charity concert at Wembley Stadium. Needless to say it takes a truly astounding performance to capture the man that I consider to be the greatest singer, showman and stage-performer of all time, but Mr Robot star Rami Malek was equal to the task, not so much embodying the role as genuinely channelling Mercury’s spirit, perfectly recreating his every movement, quirk and mannerism to perfection, right down to his famously precise, deliberate diction, and he even LOOKS a hell of a lot like Mercury. Sure, he’s come under fire for merely lip-syncing when it comes to the music, but seriously, there’s no other way he could have done it – Freddie had the greatest singing voice of all time, there’s NO WAY anyone could possibly recreate it, so better he didn’t even try. (Honestly, if he doesn’t get an Oscar for this there’s no justice in the world.) Malek’s not the only master-mimic in the cast, either – the rest of the band are perfectly portrayed, too, by Gwilym Lee as May, X-Men: Apocalypse’s Ben Hardy as Taylor and Joe Mazzello (yup, that kid from Jurassic Park, now all grown up) as Deacon, while there are equally strong supporting turns from Sing Street’s Lucy Boynton as Mercury’s lover and lifelong friend Mary Austin, Aiden Gillen as the band’s first manager John Reid, Tom Hollander as their lawyer and eventual manager Jim “Miami” Beach, Allen Leech as the Freddie’s scheming, toxic personal manager Paul Prenter, and New Street Law star Ace Bhatti as his stoic but proud father, Bomi Bulsara. This is an enthralling film from start to finish, and while those new to Queen will find plenty fo enjoy and entertain, this is an absolute JOY for fans and geeks who actually know their stuff, factual niggles notwithstanding; it’s also frequently laugh-out-loud HILARIOUS, the sparky, quick-fire script from The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour writer Anthony McCarten brimming with slick one-liners, splendid put-downs and precision-crafted character observation which perfectly captures the real life banter the band were famous for. ��The film had a troubled production (original director Bryan Singer was replaced late in the shoot by Dexter Fletcher after clashes of personality and other difficulties) and has come in for plenty of stick, receiving mixed reviews from some quarters, but for me this is pretty close to a perfect film, chock-full of heart, emotional heft, laughter, fun and what was, for me, the best soundtrack of 2018, positively overflowing with some of the band’s very best material, making this one of the very best times I had at the cinema all year. They were, indeed, the champions …

8. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT – while Bond may remain king of the spy movie, and Jason Bourne still casts a long shadow from the darker post 9-11 age of harder, grittier espionage shenanigans, I’ve always been a BIG fan of the Mission: Impossible movies. This love became strong indeed when JJ Abrams established a kind of unifying blueprint with the third film, and the series has gone from strength to strength since, reaching new, thrilling heights when Jack Reacher writer-director Christopher McQuarrie crafted the pretty much PERFECT Rogue Nation. He’s the first filmmaker to return for a second gig in the big chair, but he’s a good fit – he and star Tom Cruise have already proven they work EXTREMELY well together, and McQuarrie really is one of the very best screenwriters working in Hollywood today (well respected across the board since his early days co-writing The Usual Suspects), an undeniable MASTER at both crafting consistently surprising, thoroughly involving and razor-sharp thriller plots and engineering truly JAW-DROPPING action sequences (adrenaline-fuelled chases, bruising fight scenes, intense shootouts and a breathless dash across the rooftops of London all culminate in this film’s standout sequence, a death-defying helicopter dogfight that took the prize as the year’s BEST action beat), as well as penning some wonderful, wry dialogue. Anything beyond the very simplest synopsis would drop some criminal spoilers – I’ll simply say that Ethan Hunt is faced with his deadliest mission to date after a botched op leaves three plutonium cores in the hands of some very bad people, leading CIA honcho Erica Sloane (a typically sophisticated turn from Angela Bassett) to attach her pet assassin, August Walker (current big-screen Superman Henry Cavill), to the team to make sure it all runs smoothly – a prospect made trickier by the resurfacing of Rogue Nation’s cracking villain Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). Tom Cruise is, of course an old hand at this sort of thing by now, but even so I don’t think he’s EVER been more impressive at the physical stuff, and he delivers equally well in the more dramatic moments, taking superspy Ethan Hunt to darker, more desperate extremes than ever before. Cavill similarly impresses in what’s easily his meatiest role to date, initially coming across as a rough, brutal thug but revealing deeper layers of complexity and sophistication as the film progresses, while Rebecca Ferguson makes a welcome return from RN as slippery, sexy and very complex former MI6 agent Ilsa Faust, and it’s great to see Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg back as series keystones Luther Stickell and Benji Dunn, who both get stuck into the action far more than in previous outings (Benji FINALLY gets to wear a mask!); Jeremy Renner’s absence this time could disappoint, but the balance is maintained because the effortlessly suave Alec Baldwin’s new IMF Secretary Alan Hunley gets a far more substantial role this time round, while Sean Harris tears things up with brutal relish as he expands on one of the series’ strongest villains – Lane is a thoroughly nasty piece of work, a monstrous zealot with a deeply twisted but strangely relatable agenda, and method man Harris mesmerises in every scene. McQuarrie has cut another gem here, definitely his best film to date and likewise the best in the franchise so far, and strong arguments could be made for him staying on for a third stint – this is the best shape Mission: Impossible has been in for some time, an essentially PERFECT textbook example of an action-packed spy thriller that constantly surprises and never disappoints, from the atmospheric opening to the unbearably tense climax, and if ever there was a film to threaten the supremacy of Bond, it’s this one.

7. THE SHAPE OF WATER – one of the most important things you have to remember about my own personal mythology (by which I mean the mishmash of 40 years of influences, genre-love and pure and simple COOL SHIT that’s informed and moulded the geek I am today) is that when it comes to my fictional heroes, I have a tendency to fall in love with the monsters. It’s a philosophy shared by one of my very favourite directors, Guillermo Del Toro, whose own love affair with the weird, the freakish and the outcast has informed so much of his spectacular work, particularly the Hellboy movies – the monster as a tragic hero, and also the women who love them despite their appearance or origins. Del Toro’s latest feature returns to this fascinating and compelling trope in magnificent style, and the end result is his best work since what remains his VERY BEST film, 2007’s exquisite grown-up fairytale Pan’s Labyrinth. Comparisons with that masterpiece are not only welcome but also fitting – TSOW is definitely cut from the same cloth, a frequently dream-like cinematic allegory that takes place in something resembling the real world, but is never quite part of it. It’s a beautiful, lyrical, sensual and deeply seductive film, but there’s brooding darkness and bitter tragedy that counters the sweet, Del Toro’s rich and exotic script – co-authored with Hope Springs writer Vanessa Taylor – mining precious ore from the fairytale ideas but also deeply invested with his own overwhelming love for the Golden Age of cinema itself. This makes for what must be his most deeply personal film to date, so it’s fitting that it finally won him his first, LONG OVERDUE Best Director Oscar. Happy Go-Lucky’s Sally Hawkins thoroughly deserves her Oscar nomination for her turn as Elisa Esposito, a mute cleaning woman working in a top secret aerospace laboratory in Baltimore at the height of the Cold War, a sweet-natured dreamer who likes movies, music and her closeted artist neighbour Giles (the incomparable Richard Jenkins, delivering a performance of real sweetness and integrity). One night she discovers a new project in the facility, a strange, almost mythic amphibious humanoid (Del Toro regular Doug Jones) who has been captured for study and eventual vivisection to help create a means for men to survive in space. In spite of his monstrous appearance and seemingly feral nature, Elisa feels a kinship to the creature, and as she begins to earn his trust she develops stronger feeling for him – feelings which are reciprocated. So she hatches a plan to break him out and return him to the sea, enlisting the help of Giles, her only other real friend, fellow cleaner Zelda (The Help and Hidden Figures’ Octavia Spencer, as lovably prickly and sassy as ever), and sympathetic scientist (and secret Soviet agent) Dr. Robert Hoffstetler (a typically excellent and deeply complex performance from Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Stuhlbarg) to effect a desperate escape. The biggest obstacle in their path, however, is Colonel Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon), the man in charge of security on the project – the rest of the cast are uniformly excellent, but the true, unstoppable scene-stealer here is Shannon, giving us 2018’s BEST screen villain in a man so amorally repellent, brutally focused and downright TERRIFYING it’s absolutely impossible to take your eyes off him – who has a personal hatred for the creature and would love nothing more than to kill it himself. He’s the TRUE monster of the film, Jones’ creature proving to be a noble being who, despite his (admittedly rather bloody) animal instincts, has a kind and gentle soul that mirrors Elisa’s own, which makes the seemingly bizarre love story that unfolds so easy to accept and fulfilling to witness. This is a film of aching beauty and immense emotional power, the bittersweet and ultimately tragic romance sweeping you up in its warm embrace, resulting in the year’s most powerful and compelling fantasy, very nearly the finest work of a writer/director at the height of his considerable powers, and EASILY justifying its much-deserved Best Picture Oscar. Love the monster? Yes indeed …

6. DEADPOOL 2 – just as his first standalone finally banished the memory of his shameful treatment in the first X-Men Origins film, Marvel’s Merc With a Mouth had a new frustration to contend with – Wolverine riding his coattails into the R-rated superhero scene and outdoing his newfound success with the critically acclaimed and, frankly, f£$%ing AWESOME Logan. It’s a fresh balance for him to redress, and bless him, he’s done it within the first five minutes of his own very first sequel … then again, Deadpool’s always at his best when dealing with adversity. There’s plenty of that here – 2016’s original was a spectacular film, a true game-changer for both Marvel and the genre itself, unleashing a genuinely bankable non-PC superhero on the unsuspecting masses (and, of course, all us proper loyal fans) and earning one of their biggest hits in the process. A sequel was inevitable, but the first film was a VERY tough act to follow – thankfully everyone involved proved equal to the task, not least the star, Ryan Reynolds, who was BORN to play former special forces operative-turned invulnerable but hideously scarred mutant antihero Wade Wilson, returning with even greater enthusiasm for the material and sheer determination to do things JUST RIGHT. Working with returning co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, he’s suitably upped the ante while staying true to the source and doing right by the fans – the script’s another blinder, a side-splitting rib-tickler liberally peppered with copious swearing, rampant sexual and toilet humour, genuinely inspired bizarreness (a grown man with baby balls!) and an unapologetically irreverent tone nonetheless complimented by a f£$%load of heart. Original director Tim Miller jumped ship early in development, but the perfect replacement was found in the form of David Leitch, co-director of the first John Wick movie, who preceded this with a truly magnificent solo debut on summer 2017’s standout actioner Atomic Blonde. Leitch is a perfect fit, a former stuntman with innate flair for top-notch action who also has plenty of stylistic flair and strong talents for engaging storytelling and handling a cast of strong personalities. Reynolds is certainly one of those, again letting rip with gleeful comic abandon as Deadpool fights to overcome personal tragedy by trying to become a bona fide X-Man, at which he of course fails SPECTACULARLY, winding up in a special prison for super-powered individuals and becoming the unlikely and definitely unwilling protector of teenage mutant Russell Collins, aka Firefist (Hunt for the Wilderpeople’s Julian Dennison), who’s been targeted for assassination by time-travelling future warrior Cable (Josh Brolin) because he’s destined to become a monstrous supervillain when he grows up. Deciding to listen to his “better” angel, Wade puts together his own superhero team in order to defeat Cable and start his own future franchise … yup, this is as much a platform to set up X-Force, the Marvel X-Verse’s next big money-maker, as it is a Deadpool sequel, but the film plays along to full comic effect, and the results are funny, explosive, blood-soaked and a magnificently anarchic joy. Brolin is every inch the Cable we deserve, a world-weary, battered and utterly single-minded force of nature, entirely lacking a sense of humour but still managing to drive some of the film’s most side-splitting moments, while Atlanta star Zazie Beets, originally something of an outsider choice, proves similarly perfect for the role of fan favourite Domino, a wise-cracking mutant arse-kicker whose ability to manipulate luck in order to get the better of any situation makes her a kind of super-ninja; Dennison, meanwhile, is just as impressive as he was in HFTWP, turning in a performance of such irreverent charm he frequently steals the film, and the return of Stefan Kapicic and Briana Hildebrand as stoic metal-man Colossus and the world’s moodiest teen superhero, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, mean that the original X-Men get another loving (if also slightly middle-fingery) nod too. But once again, this really is Reynolds’ movie, and he’s clearly having just as much fun as before, helping to make this the same kind of gut-busting riot the first was with his trademark twinkle, self-deprecating charm and shit-eating grin. He’s the heart and soul of another great big fist up the backside of superhero cinema, blasting tropes with scattergun abandon but hitting every target lined up against him, and like everything else he helps make this some of the most fun I had at the pictures all year. I honestly couldn’t think of ANYTHING that could make me piss myself laughing more than this … the future of the franchise may be up in the air until the first X-Force movie gets its time in the spotlight, but Reynolds, Leitch, Reese and Wernick are all game to return, so there’s plenty of life in the un-killable old lady yet ...

5. BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE – my Number One thriller of 2018 is a cult classic in the making and the best work yet from Drew Goddard, co-writer/director (with Joss Whedon) of Cabin in the Woods (one of the best horror movies ever made, in my opinion) and screenwriter of Cloverfield and The Martian. It’s an intoxicating, engrossing and somewhat unsettling experience (but in a very good way indeed), a gripping, slippery and absolutely FIENDISH suspense thriller to rival the heady best of Hitchcock or Kubrick, and, as his first completely original, personal creation, Goddard’s best opportunity to show us JUST what he’s truly capable of. Wrapped up in multi-layered mystery and deftly paying with timelines and perspective, it artfully unveils the stories of four disparate strangers who book a night’s stay at the El Royale, a “bi-state” hotel (located on the California/Nevada border) that was once grand but, by the film’s setting of 1969, has fallen on hard times. Each has a secret, some of which are genuinely deadly, and before the night’s through they’ll all come to light as a fateful chain of events brings them all crashing together. Giving away any more is to invite criminal spoilers – suffice to say that it’s an unforgettable film, fully-laden with ingenious twists and consistently wrong-footing the viewer right up to the stirring, thought-provoking ending. The small but potent ensemble cast are, to a man, absolutely perfect – Jeff Bridges delivers one of the best performances of his already illustrious career as seemingly harmless Catholic priest Father Daniel Flynn, Widows’ Cynthia Erivo makes a truly stunning impression as down-on-her-luck soul singer Darlene Sweet, John Hamm is garrulously sleazy as shifty travelling salesman Seymour Sullivan, Dakota Johnson is surly but also VERY sexy (certainly MUCH MORE than she EVER was in the 50 Shades movies) as “dirty hippy” Emily, Lewis Pullman (set to explode as the co-star of the incoming Top Gun sequel) is fantastically twitchy as the hotel’s troubled concierge Miles, and Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising) delivers a creepy, haunting turn as Emily’s fundamentally broken runaway sister Rose. The film is thoroughly and entirely stolen, however, by the arrival in the second half of Goddard’s Cabin leading man Chris Hemsworth as earthy, charismatic and darkly, dangerously seductive Charles Manson-esque cult leader Billy Lee, Thor himself thoroughly mesmerising as he swaggers into the heart of the story (particularly in a masterful moment where he cavorts, snake-hipped, to the strains of Deep Purple’s Rush in the lead-up to a brutal execution). This is thriller-cinema at its most inspired and insidious, a flawless genre gem that’s sure to be held in high regard by connoisseurs for years to come, and an ELECTRIFYING statement of intent by one of the best creative minds working in Hollywood today. One of 2018’s biggest and best surprises, it’s a bona fide MUST-SEE …

4. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR – is it possible there might be TOO MUCH coming out all at once in the Marvel Cinematic Universe right now? What with THREE movies a year now becoming the norm, not to mention the ongoing saga of Agents of SHIELD and various other affiliated TV shows (it seems that Netflix are culling their Marvel shows but there’s still the likes of Runaways and the incoming Cloak & Dagger on other services, along with fresh, in-development stuff), could we be reaching saturation? My head says … mmmmm … maybe … but my heart says HELL NO! Not when those guys at Marvel have gotten so good at this job they could PROBABLY do it with their eyes closed. That said, there were times in the run-up to this particular release that I couldn’t help wondering if, just maybe, they might have bitten off more than they could chew … thankfully, fraternal directing double act Antony and Joe Russo, putting in their THIRD MCU-helming gig after their enormous success on the second and third Captain America films, have pulled off one hell of a cinematic hat trick, presenting us with a third Avengers film that’s MORE than the equal of Joss Whedon’s offerings. It’s also a painfully tricky film to properly review – the potential for spoilers is SO heavy I can’t say much of ANYTHING about the plot without giving away some MAJOR twists and turns (even if there’s surely hardly ANYONE who hasn’t already seen the film by now) – but I’ll try my best. This is the film every die-hard fan has been waiting for, because the MCU’s Biggest Bad EVER, Thanos the Mad Titan (Josh Brolin), has finally come looking for those pesky Infinity Stones so he can Balance The Universe by killing half of its population and enslaving the rest, and the only ones standing in his way are the Avengers (both old and new) and the Guardians of the Galaxy, finally brought together after a decade and 18 movies. Needless to say this is another precision-engineered product refined to near perfection, delivering on all the expected fronts – breathtaking visuals and environments, thrilling action, the now pre-requisite snarky, sassy sense of humour and TONS OF FEELS – but given the truly galactic scale of the adventure on offer this time the stakes have been raised to truly EPIC heights, so the rewards are as great as the potential pitfalls. It’s not perfect – given the sheer size of the cast and the fact that there are THREE main storylines going on at once, it was INEVITABLE that some of our favourite characters would be handed frustratingly short shrift (or, in two notable cases, simply written out of the film altogether), while there are times when the mechanics of fate do seem to be getting stretched a little TOO far for credibility – but the niggles are largely overshadowed by the rich rewards of yet another MCU film done very well indeed. The cast (even those who drew the short straw on screen time) are all, as we’ve come to expect, excellent, the veterans – particularly Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man/Tony Stark), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/the Hulk), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Stephen Strange), Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Bradley Cooper (Rocket Racoon), and, of course, Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man) – all falling back into their well-established roles and universally winning our hearts all over again, while two characters in particular, who have always been reduced to supporting duties until now, finally get to REALLY shine – Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen, as the Vision and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, finally get to explore that comic-canon romance that was so prevalently teased in Civil War, with events lending their mutual character arcs particularly tragic resonance as the story progresses … and then there’s the new characters, interestingly this time ALL bad guys. The Children of Thanos (Gamora and Nebula’s adopted siblings, basically) are showcased throughout the action, although only two really make an impression here – Tom Vaughan-Lawlor is magnificently creepy as Ebony Maw, while Carrie Coon (and stuntwoman Monique Ganderton) is darkly sensual as Proxima Midnight … but of course the REAL new star here is Brolin, thoroughly inhabiting his motion capture role so Thanos GENUINELY lives up to his title as the greatest villain of the MCU, an unstoppable megalomaniac who’s nonetheless doing these monstrous things for what he perceives to be genuinely right and moral reasons, although he’s not above taking some deeply perverse pleasure from his most despicable actions. Finishing up with a painfully powerful climax that’s as shocking as it is audacious, this sets things up for an even more epic conclusion in 2019’s closer, and has already left even the most jaded viewers shell-shocked and baying for more, while the post-credits sting in particular had me drooling in anticipation for the long-awaited arrival of my own favourite Avenger, but in the meantime this is an immensely rewarding, massively entertaining and thoroughly exhausting cinematic adventure. Summer can’t come fast enough …

3. UPGRADE – in a summer packed with sequels (many of them pretty damn awesome even so), it was a great pleasure my VERY FAVOURITE movie was something wholly original, an unaffiliated standalone that had nothing to follow or measure up to. But Blumhouse’s best film of 2018 still had a lot riding on it – they’re a studio best known for creating bare-bones but effectively primal horror (even The Purge series is really more survival horror than dystopian thriller), so they’re not really known for branching out into science-fiction. Going with one of their most trusted creative talents, then, was the kind of savvy move we’d expect from Jason Blum and co – Leigh Whannell is best known as the writer of the first three Saw movies (a fully-developed trilogy which I, along with several others, consider to be the series’ TRUE canon), the film phenomenon that truly kicked off the whole “torture porn” sub-genre, but he’s become one of Blumhouse’s most well-regarded writers thanks to his creation of Insidious, still one of their biggest earners. Once again he wrote (and co-starred in) the first three films, even making his directorial debut on the third – admittedly that film wasn’t particularly spectacular, but there was nonetheless something about it, a real X-factor that definitely showed Whannell could do more than just write (and, act, of course). Second time out he’s definitely made good on that potential promise – this is a proper f£$%ing masterpiece, not just the best thing I saw all summer but one of THE TOP movies of my cinematic year. It’s also an interesting throwback to a once popular sci-fi trope that’s been overdue for a makeover – body horror, originally made popular by the cult-friendly likes of David Cronenberg and Paul Verhoeven, and the biggest influence on this film must to be the original Robocop. Prometheus’ Logan Marshall-Green is an actor I’ve long considered to be criminally overlooked and underused, so I’m thrilled he finally found a role worthy of his underappreciated talents - Grey Trace, an unapologetically analogue blue-collar Joe living in an increasingly digital near future, a mechanic making his living restoring vintage muscle cars who doesn’t trust automated technology to run ANYTHING, so his life takes a particularly ironic turn when a tragic chain of events leads to his wife’s brutal murder while he’s left paralysed from the neck down. Faced with a future dependent on computerised care-robots, he jumps at the chance offered by technological pioneer Eron Keen (Need For Speed’s Harrison Gilbertson), creator of a revolutionary biochip called STEM that, once implanted into his central nervous system, can help him regain COMPLETE control of his body, but in true body horror style things quickly take a dark and decidedly twisted turn. STEM has a mind of its own (and a voice that only Trace can hear), and an agenda, convincing him to use newfound superhuman abilities to hunt down his wife’s killers and exact terrible, brutal vengeance upon them. There are really strong performances from the supporting cast – Gilbertson is great as a twitchy, socially awkward genius only capable of finding real connection with his technology, Get Out’s Bettie Gabriel is subtly brilliant as Detective Cortez, the cop doggedly pursuing Trace’s case and, eventually, him too, and there’s a cracking villainous turn from relative unknown Benedict Hardie as sadistic but charismatic cybernetically-enhanced contract killer Fisk – but this is very much Marhall-Green’s film; he’s an absolute revelation here, his effortlessly sympathetic hangdog demeanour dominating a fantastically nuanced and impressively physical performance that displays truly exceptional dramatic AND comedic talent. Indeed, while it’s a VERY dark film, there’s a big streak of jet black humour shot right through it, Whannell amusing us in particularly uncomfortable ways whenever STEM takes control and wreaks appropriately inhuman havoc (it helps no end that voice-actor Simon Malden has basically turned STEM into a kind of sociopathic version of Big Hero 6’s Baymax, which is as hilariously twisted as it sounds), and he delivers in spades on the action front too, crafting the year’s most wince-inducing, downright SAVAGE fight sequences and a very exciting car chase. Altogether this is a simply astonishing achievement – at times weirdly beautiful in a scuzzy, decrepit kind of way, it’s visually arresting and fiendishly intelligent, but also, much as we’d expect from the creator of Saw and Hollywood’s PREMIER horror studio, dark, edgy and, at times, weirdly disturbing – in other words, it’s CLASSIC body horror. Whannell is a talent I’ve been watching for a while now, and it’s SO GOOD to finally see him deliver on all that wonderful promise. Needless to say it was another runaway hit for Blumhouse, so there are already plans for a sequel, but for now I’m just happy to revel in the wonderful originality of what was the very peak of my cinematic summer …

2. SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE – oh man, if ever there was a contender that could have ousted this year’s Number One, it’s this, it was SUCH a close-run thing. Sure, with THREE major incarnations of Marvel’s most iconic superhero already hitting the big screen since the Millennium, we could AGAIN ask if we really need another Spider-Man “reboot”, but I must say his first ever blockbuster animated appearance leaves virtually all other versions in the dust – only Sam Raimi’s masterpiece second Spider-feature remains unbeaten, but I’ve certainly never seen another film that just totally GETS Stan Lee’s original web-slinger better than this one. It’s directed by the motley but perfectly synced trio of Bob Perischetti (a veteran digital artist making his directorial debut here), Peter Ramsay (Rise of the Guardians) and Rodney Rothman (writer on 22 Jump Street), but the influence of producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (creators of The Lego Movie) is writ large across the entire film (then again, Lord did co-write the script with Rothman) – it’s a magnificent, majestic feast for the eyes, ears and soul, visually arresting and overflowing with effervescent, geeky charm and a deep, fundamental LOVE for the source material in all its varied guises. Taking its lead from the recent Marvel comics crossover event from which the film gets its name, it revolves around an unprecedented collision of various incarnations of Spider-Man from across the varying alternate versions of Earth across the Marvel Multiverse, brought together though the dastardly machinations of criminal mastermind Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin (a typically excellent vocal turn from Liev Schreiber) and his secret supercollider. There are two, equally brilliant, “old school” takes on the original web-slinger Peter Parker on offer here – Chris Pine impresses in his early scenes as the “perfect” version, youthful, dashing and thoroughly brilliant but never ruining it by being smug or full of himself, but the story is dominated by New Girl’s Jake Johnson as a more world-weary and self-deprecating blue-collar version, who can still do the job just as well but has never really been as comfortable a fit, and he’s all the more endearing because he’s SUCH a lovable slacker underdog. The main “hero” of the film, however, is Dope’s Shameik Moore as Miles Morales, a teenager who’s literally JUST acquired his powers but must learn FAST if he’s to become this universe’s new Spider-Man, and he’s a perfect lead for the film, unsure of himself and struggling to bring his newfound abilities to bear, but determined to find his footing all the same. There are other brilliant takes on the core character here – Nicolas Cage’s wonderfully overblown monochrome Spider-Man Noir is an absolute hoot, as is anthropomorphised fan-favourite Spider-Ham (voiced by popular stand-up comic John Mulaney) – and a variety of interesting, skewed twists on classic Spider-Man villains (particularly Liv, a gender-bent take on Doctor Octopus played by Bad Moms’ Kathryn Hahn), but my favourite character in this is, tellingly, also my very favourite Marvel web-slinger PERIOD – Earth-65’s Spider-Woman, aka Gwen Stacy (more commonly known as Spider Gwen), an alternative version where SHE got bit by the radioactive arachnid instead of Peter, very faithfully brought to life by a perfectly cast Hailee Steinfeld. It may sound overblown but this is about as close to perfect as a superhero movie can get – the script is an ASTONISHING piece of work, tight as a drum with everything lined up with clockwork precision, and instead of getting bogged down in exposition it turns the whole origin story trope into a brilliant running joke that keeps getting funnier each time a new character gets introduced; it’s also INSANELY inventive and a completely unique visual experience, specifically designed to look like old school comic book art brought to vivid but intriguingly stylised life, right down to the ingenious use of word-bubbles and textured printing dots that add to the pop art feel. This is a truly SPECTACULAR film, a gloriously appointed thrill-ride with all the adventure, excitement, humour and bountiful, powerful, heartbreaking emotional heft you could ever want from a superhero movie – this is (sorry MCU) the VERY BEST film Marvel made in 2018, and maybe one of their very best EVER. There’s already sequel talk in the air (no surprise there, of course), and I can’t wait to see where it goes. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give me a Spider Gwen spinoff. I’ll be good, I swear …

1. A QUIET PLACE – the most unique and original film of 2018 was a true masterpiece of horror cinema and, for me, one of the best scary movies I’ve seen in A VERY LONG TIME INDEED. It’s a deceptively simply high-concept thriller built around a dynamite idea, one that writer/director/star John Krasinski (co-writing with up-and-coming creative duo Bryan Woods and Scott Beck) has mined for maximum effect … Krasinski (still probably best known for the US version of The Office but now also gaining fresh traction for killer Amazon Original series Jack Ryan) and his real life wife Emily Blunt are Lee and Evelyn Abbott, a mother and father who must protect their children and find a way to survive on an isolated farm in a world which has been decimated by an inexplicable invasion/infestation/whatever of mysterious and thoroughly lethal creatures that, while blind, use their incredibly sensitive hearing to hunt and kill ANYTHING that makes a sound. As a result, the Abbotts have had to develop an intricately ordered lifestyle in order to gather, scavenge and rebuild while remaining completely silent, a discipline soon to be threatened by Evelyn’s very advanced pregnancy … there’s a truly fiendish level of genius to the way this film has been planned out and executed, the exquisitely thought-out mechanics of the Abbotts’ daily routines, survival methods and emergency procedures proving to be works of pure, unfettered genius – from communication through sign language and slow-dancing to music on shared headphones to walking on pathways created with heaped sand and painted spots to mark floorboards that don’t squeak, playing board games with soft fruit instead of plastic pieces and signalling danger with coloured light-bulbs – while the near total absence of spoken dialogue makes the use of sound and music essential and, here, almost revolutionary, with supervising sound editors Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn becoming as important as the director himself, while composer Marco Beltrami delivers some of his finest work to date with a score of insidious subtlety and brazen power in equal measure. The small but potent cast are all excellent – Blunt has rarely been better in a performance of impressive honesty and a lack of vanity comparable to her work on The Girl On the Train, affecting and compelling as a fierce lioness of a mother, while Krasinski radiates both strength and vulnerability as he fights tooth and nail to keep his family alive, regardless of his own survival, and their real-life chemistry is a genuine boon to their performances, bringing a winning warmth to their relationship; elsewhere, deaf actress Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck) effortlessly captures our hearts as troubled, rebellious daughter Regan, delivering a performance of raw, heartbreaking honesty, while Suberbicon’s Noah Jupe impresses as awkward son Marcus, cripplingly unsure of himself and awfully scared of having to grow up in this terrifying new world. There’s great power and heart in the family dynamic, which makes us even more invested in their survival as the screws tighten in what is a SERIOUSLY scary film, an exquisitely crafted exercise in sustained tension that deserves to be remembered alongside the true greats of horror cinema. Krasinski displays a rare level of skill as a director, his grasp of atmosphere, pace and performance hinting at great things to come in the future, definitely making him one to watch – this is an astonishing film, a true gem I’m going to cherish for a long time to come.

#black panther #bohemian rhapsody #mission impossible fallout #The Shape of Water #deadpool 2 #bad times at the el royale #Avengers infinity war #upgrade movie #spiderman into the spiderverse #a quiet place #2018 in movies

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marvel-munchkin · 6 years

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Feelings Unmasked

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Requested by the lovely @itsanonymouschick - P.P he has a crush on y/n and he's been trying to confess his feelings towards her but he can't until one day he has to save her from a villain and the bad guy takes his mask off but he knocks out the villain before he finds out who it is and forgets that she's there and while he's looking for his mask she hands it to him and shocked then she promises to keep his secret then he confesses his love 4 her and when he takes her home they do the Spiderman kiss

Word Count: 2.1k (I can’t believe it either lmao)

A/N: I’m sooo sorry this request took forever!! But I really hope you like it 💖 also thank you to @hazzyhollander for helping me out with the secrets 😂

Warnings: both Peter and the reader get a little bit hurt but nothing too serious (also one or two swear words)

Peter Parker had a lot of secrets. He knew that Ned had those Yoda slippers that he always wore around the house. He knew that MJ secretly knew all of the words to every single High School Musical song, though she would rather die than admit it. And of course, there was the small fact that he spent his nights protecting the city as Queens' very own friendly neighbourhood Spiderman. Yeah, he had a lot of secrets, but as he walked into his sixth-period physics class one in particular was weighing on his mind. His lab partner looked up and waved across the room to him, and he smiled as he took his seat. "Hey Peter," you said, your eyes lighting up as you looked at the boy you had sort of liked ever since you'd been partnered for the class. He returned your greeting, a slight blush colouring his cheeks - because right now, the most important secret he was keeping was that he had the world's biggest crush on (Y/N) (L/N).

Time had never seemed to move so slowly as it did during that lesson. You did honestly like the subject, but it was the end of the day and you couldn't stand your teacher groaning on about quantum mechanics any longer. So, you decided you would entertain yourself. You tore a sheet of paper out of your notebook and scribbled a message on it, leaving it sitting between your desk and Peter's. He glanced down at the paper. Wanna play truths?, you had written. Of course, he wrote back. Suddenly, the lesson had gotten a lot more interesting.

Several questions later, you had almost burst out laughing twice and you were genuinely surprised that your teacher hadn't noticed that the two of you hadn't been paying attention in the slightest for the last half hour. About five minutes before the bell was due to ring, you decided to spice the game up a little. You picked up your pen and wrote, hate to bring out the cliché question - but do you have a crush on anyone right now? Peter read your question and went bright red. You're evil, he wrote back. The colour of your face is totally giving away your answer right now, so who is it? You pushed the paper back towards him with a smirk on your face. Someone's perceptive, he replied, attempting to keep his cool but internally freaking out. He watched as you read his response and struggled to contain your laughter, and suddenly he was captivated by you. All of a sudden, he didn't want his secret to be a secret any more. He wanted to tell her more than anything. He felt the paper brush against his wrist and looked down to read the words so are you going to tell me?, written in her familiar handwriting. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves and just tell her, when he was jolted out of his reverie by the bell. The class began to pack their things away, relieved it was finally time to go home. "So?" you teased him. "Who's the lucky girl?" God, he looked so adorable when he was blushing. You didn't really know why you wanted the answer anyway - it was bound to be some other girl, bound to result in your heart being broken. The two of you walked out into the corridor, and Peter stared at the floor with his face burning, trying to work up the courage.

"I- she's- well, she's-" he faltered, struggling to get the words out. Your heart leapt with nerves as the poor boy tried to answer your question. Then, with perfect timing as ever, your friend yelled across the corridor.

"(Y/N)! Hurry up, or we'll miss the bus!" Annoyingly, she was right, and so your curiosity would have to wait. You waved goodbye and hurried off, leaving Peter standing alone by your locker, mentally kicking himself for not being able to give you the answer he so desperately wanted to.

Later that night Peter found himself perched on a rooftop surveying the city below. Tonight had been relatively quiet - he'd stopped one or two minor thefts, helped a guy with a flat tyre, and retrieved a balloon for a distressed little kid. So far, it had been a particularly easy night for Spiderman, but not for Peter Parker. He could not stop thinking about her, how he had gotten so close to finally telling her how he felt, only to chicken out at the last second. What must she think of him now? Suddenly, he was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud scream a few blocks away. He took a deep breath and swung towards the source of the danger. Peter Parker and his struggles would have to wait - right now, the city needed Spiderman.

Peter drew closer to the scene and silently scaled the side of a building to get a better vantage point. He didn't recognise the villain before him. He was a tall man, clearly very physically strong, wearing a black helmet obscuring most of his face. In one hand he held a weapon, a black curved blade which seemed to softly glow with some kind of dark energy. In the other hand, he held the source of the screaming - a young girl, seemingly about Peter's age. She had a blossoming bruise on her face and tears in her eyes as the man twisted his fingers deeper into her hair, causing her to cry out in pain. Peter's brain went into auto-pilot. A civilian was in danger, and he wouldn't let that happen on his watch. He dropped down from the side of the building, landing a kick square in the villain's face. The shock of it caused him to let go of the girl, and out of the corner of his eye Peter saw her running to safety. He breathed a sigh of relief and continued to fight. In his determination to keep her safe, he had failed to recognise who she was - none other than the girl who had been occupying his thoughts, and his heart, all night.

(Y/N) watched from a safe distance, completely mesmerised by the sight. Spiderman was moving so quickly that he was merely a blur of red and blue, almost impossible to keep track of. You could hear his voice, but not his words, yet you could tell from its pitch that he was a mere child - probably not much older than you were. Suddenly, the blur became solid again, as your assailant grabbed him by his neck. Your heart leapt in fear for the young hero as he struggled against the villain's grasp. He managed to escape his hold, but his mask was left behind in the man's closed fist. Your mouth dropped open and you could hardly believe the sight before you. Because surely, surely, that was not Peter Parker. But it had to be - he had the same hair and the same eyes and, you realised, the same voice. You were totally dumbstruck, and then you felt a piece of material land at your feet. Evidently, the villain had discarded Spiderman's - Peter's - mask. You picked it up and continued to watch on in awe.

Great, Peter thought to himself. Without his mask, he had lost his AI and his identity was at risk. But for now, the priority was taking care of this guy before he had the chance to hurt anyone else. Peter hissed as he felt the blade connect with his side, stumbling backwards in pain. He shot a web towards the villain's wrist, pinning him to the wall and causing him to drop the weapon. Quickly, he kicked the weapon out of his reach and shot more webs, securing him to the side of the building. Peter wasn't usually a vengeful person, but this guy had taken off his mask, plus the wound in his side really hurt - so he knocked him out with a well-placed blow to the head. He felt guilty for it, but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't enjoyed it just a little bit. He spun round to retrieve his mask from wherever it had been thrown to, and he gasped in shock when he saw you standing there, holding it out to him with a similar shocked expression on your face. As if this night couldn't get any worse, he thought.

"Shit," he said as you walked towards him. "Are you alright?", he asked. You handed him the mask wordlessly and nodded your head, still a little shaken from both your ordeal and the revelation of Spiderman's identity. Peter muttered his thanks as he took the mask from you, shaking his head. "As if being unmasked isn't bad enough, of course it had to happen in front of the girl I'm crushing on," he said before he could think about it.

"Wait a second, what did you just say?", you asked, barely believing what you'd heard. Did Peter Parker really just tell you he liked you? This night was just one surprise after the other. His eyes went wide as he realised what he'd said.

"Shit, I didn't - I mean that's not how I was going to - I just," he stammered, and then sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I like you. I wanted to tell you but I just -" you cut him off with a finger to his lips.

"Is that what you were trying to tell me at the end of physics?" He nodded, resigned. He closed his eyes, preparing himself for the inevitable rejection. You gently shook his shoulders. "Come on, Peter, you're really telling me that you haven't noticed me flirting with you for, like, the past year?" His eyes flew open in shock. "You're a genius, spider-boy, but my God you're such an idiot sometimes," you laughed as his face broke out into a stupid grin. He wrapped his arm around your waist and smiled down at you.

"Come on, let's get you home," he said as he pulled his mask back over his face and swept you up off the ground.

Peter usually found swinging through the streets of Queens to be quite exhilarating anyway, but with you holding onto him the feeling increased tenfold. He could hardly even feel the wound in his side anymore, because your being so close to him was that distracting. The two of you reached your apartment far too soon for his liking. He set you down gently as you tried to compose yourself - much as you liked Peter, you had decided that you definitely did not like swinging around like that. "I still can't believe you're really Spiderman," you told him. In response, he did a backflip off the ground and attached a web to a nearby lamppost, hanging upside-down in front of your face.

"Believe me now?" he teased, and you could practically hear the grin on his face.

"Shut up, Parker," you laughed, reaching for the edge of his mask.

"What are you doi-" he began to ask, but was cut off by your lips on his. He was frozen in surprise for a moment, but quickly began to kiss you back. You pulled away, smiling shyly.

"Thanking you for saving me, of course," you murmured, noticing the faint blush on the half of his face that you could see. He smirked with a sudden burst of confidence.

"Well I hope I'm not going to have to save your life every time I want you to do that," he teased. You rolled your eyes and laughed as he readjusted the mask to cover his face once more.

"I'll see you tomorrow, spider-boy," you joked as you started to make your way inside.

"Don't call me spider-boy," he complained. "It's demeaning!" You turned on your heel to face him, one eyebrow raised.

"What would you rather I called you?" you questioned him. He jumped down from the web and leaned one hand against the lamppost.

"How about your boyfriend?" You could practically see the smirk on his face through the mask.

"That was pretty smooth, I'll admit," you chuckled.

"That a yes, then?" he asked, trying to keep the nerves out of his voice.

"Totally, spider-boy."

"Don't call me that!" he yelled, swinging off into the distance. You smiled to yourself as you walked up the front steps of your building, pulling your phone out of your pocket. When Peter got home from his patrol later that night, he grinned as he saw the message from you light up his screen.

Love ya, spider-boy ;) (Y/N) xx

Tags: @oliolioxiclean @hazzyhollander @lowkey-writes @minnie-marvel @e-ms-world @cynicallymarvel @being-kind-is-free @secondsineternity @the-amazing-ata @itsanonymouschick

(Hope I didn’t miss anyone!! And if you’d like to be tagged just let me know 💖)

#peter parker #peter parker x reader #spiderman #spider man x reader #Spider-Man: Homecoming #marvel #fanfic #reader insert #My writing #marvel-munchkin #tw: injury

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ljones41 · 6 years

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"THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" (2012) Review

"THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" (2012) Review Five years after the release of 2007's "SPIDER-MAN 3", Sony Pictures and Marvel Films decided to release a new SPIDER-MAN movie. The latter proved not to be a third sequel to the 2002 movie, "SPIDER-MAN". Instead, it turned out to be a franchise re-boot featuring a new actor in the lead and the first of two films:

With Andrew Garfield in the role of Peter Parker aka Spider-Man and Marc Webb directing, "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" commenced upon an entirely new saga about the web-slinger. In this film, Peter is a geeky high school student and science major who lives with his Uncle Ben and Aunt May in a suburb of Queens, New York. At least a decade earlier, he had witnessed the mysterious disappearance of his father and mother, scientist Richard Parker and his wife, Mary. After discovering his father's old briefcase, Peter makes the acquaintance of the latter's former lab partner, Dr. Curt Connors, who is now working as a geneticist at Oscorp. Dr. Connors is working on cross-breeding experiments in order to discover a formula based on lizard DNA in order to regenerate missing limbs. During his first trip to Oscorp's Manhattan offices, he discovers that the fellow Midtown High School student that he loves, Gwen Stacy, is working there as the chief intern. Peter is also bitten by a genetically engineered spider. During the subway ride home, Peter becomes aware of his new abilities. He also continues his visits to Dr. Connors at Oscorp. His new powers and visits to Oscorp lead to his growing neglect of his household duties. Peter also manages to help Dr. Connors by giving the latter Richard Parker's "decay rate algorithm", the missing piece in the scientist's experiments. After a quarrel with Uncle Ben, Peter storms out of the house and the latter hit the streets looking for him. Unfortunately for Uncle Ben, he encounters a thief who had just robbed a convenience store and is shot dead. Determined to find his uncle's murderer, Peter decides to assume the identity of the costumed vigilante, Spider-Man. When Oscorp executive Dr. Rajit Ratha decides to fire Dr. Connors and use the latter's formula at a VA hospital under the guise of a flue shot, Connors tries the formula on himself and becomes the human/lizard hybrid, the Lizard. Many Marvel and Spider-Man fans had complained about the lack of need for a Spider-Man re-boot so soon after the last Sam Rami film. What many did not know was that Sony Pictures had signed a deal, guaranteeing major control over the Spider-Man franchise as long as the studio releases a movie every five years or less. Sony originally had plans for a fourth Spider-Man movie with both Rami and actor Tobey Maguire. But the plans fell through and the studio decided to re-boot the franchise with a new actor, a new director and a new trilogy. Some fans and critics claimed that "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" was a lot closer to the original comics tale than the Rami films. I found this claim ironic, considering that the movie proved to be no more faithful to the comics than the films made between 2002-2007. Comic book fans know that Peter Parker's first love was Betty Brandt, whom he dated in high school and who eventually became J. Jonah Jamerson's secretary at The Daily Bugle. Peter met both Gwen Stacy (of this movie) and Mary Jane Watson (from the 2002-2007 films) in college, not high school. He was a lot younger when his parents died. But hey . . . I managed to enjoy both the Rami/Maguire trilogy and this film. That is correct. I enjoyed "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN". It had plenty of well choreographed action. The special effects team from the Pixomundo company did an excellent job with the action sequences featuring Spider-Man's battles with the Lizard. The company's efforts were ably supported by Marc Webb's direction and the three cinematographers - Alan Edward Bell, Michael McCusker and Pietro Scalia. One of my few complaints about "SPIDER-MAN" was that the film almost seemed like two separate stories. I could never accuse "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" of that flaw. Screenwriters James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves made sure that Peter's transformation into Spider-Man and Dr. Connors' transformation into the Lizard were connected plot-wise. After all, Peter's visit to Connor at the Oscorp labs led to his painful encounter with a genetically altered spider. And the visit, along with Peter's discovery of his father's notes, led to the creation of the formula that enabled Connors to become the Lizard. The movie also boasted some excellent performances by the cast. Andrew Garfield was outstanding as Peter Parker aka Spider-Man. He did an excellent job of portraying a fatherless boy in search of a father figure, who is forced to grow up on his own. Emma Stone portrayed Gwen Stacy, the girl whom Peter dated during his early years in college. Stone's Gwen was a smart, witty and earthy young woman who found herself torn between Peter and her father's opinion of Spider-Man and vigilantism. Another excellent performance came from Rhys Ifan, who did an excellent job in revealing the complex man whose disappointments in life led him to utilize the formula that transformed him into the Lizard. He also managed to convey Connor's darker personality through the CGI figure of the Lizard. Other first-rate performances came from Denis Leary, who portrayed Gwen's father - NYPD Captain George Stacy. The latter role seemed a slight cry from Leary's usual roles. Although he managed to utilize his usual rapid fire wit, Leary also conveyed the image of a stern and responsible man, who harbored concerns not only for his daughter, but also the citizens of New York City. Martin Sheen and Sally Field created excellent chemistry as Ben and May Parker, the couple left to raise Peter after his parents' death. It is a crime that the pair never worked together before, because I thought they really crackled with chemistry. I could say that both had great chemistry with Garfield, as well. But I feel that Sheen had more interesting scenes with the young actor than Field. Irrfan Khan had to be convinced by his children to take the role of Oscorp executive, Dr. Rajit Ratha (a character created for the movie). I am glad they did, for he proved to be very effective as a shadowy representative for the corporation's reclusive CEO, Norman Oscorp. The movie also boasted solid performances from Chris Zylka as Flash Thompson; and from Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz as Richard and Mary Parker, Peter's parents. I will not deny that "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" was a very entertaining movie for me. But it had its flaws. One, there seemed to be a minor lack of originality in the script. A good deal of the story seemed to be borrowed from the previous SPIDER-MAN movies. As with Maguire's Peter, Garfield's Peter started out with an unrequited crush with the leading female character. And Dr. Connors' career faced extinction, just as Dr. Otto Octavius did in "SPIDER-MAN 2". However, the movie also borrowed a subplot from the 2000 movie, "X-MEN". Just as Erik Lensherr plotted to transform the world's population into mutants via a machine, the Lizard in this movie, plotted to transform New York City's population into reptilian/human hybrids. In fact, his scheme struck me as lame. The main problem for me laid in the fact that Connors did not transform into the Lizard, until the second half of the movie. Speaking of the Lizard, as much as I had admired Ifans' performance, I was not that impressed by the villain's role as Spider-Man's foe. I mean, honestly . . . the idea of Spider-Man facing a giant lizard rampaging all over Manhattan did not do anything for me. Frankly, I saw dealing with the problem of the Lizard as a job for the Men in Black, not Spider-Man. Everyone seemed to be filled with praise for Emma Stone's portrayal of Gwen Stacy . . . including me. However, I had a problem with the screenwriters' portrayal of Gwen in this movie. Frankly, she seemed too perfect . . . too ideal. She lacked any real personal demons that could have made her interesting to me. I could never say the same about the comic book Gwen - even if she had a tendency to be a crybaby. Could someone explain why Peter suddenly decided to end his search for the thief who had killed his Uncle Ben? It seemed as if the entire subplot had been dropped. And what happened to Dr. Ratha after Peter saved him on the Williamsburg Bridge? I have one last complaint . . . and it has to do with C. Thomas Howell's character, a construction worker named Ray. In the Williamsburg Bridge sequence, Spider-Man saved Ray's son from falling into the East River. Ray reciprocated Spider-Man's actions during the latter's final battle with the Lizard by using several cranes to help convey the web slinger (who had been shot in the leg by the NYPD) to Oscorp's tower, in order to stop the Lizard from using the formula on New Yorkers. I found that minor scene so incredibly cheesy that I practically cringed with embarrassment. It seemed as if the screenwriters were trying to re-create those moments from two of Sam Rami's films in which New Yorkers came to Spider-Man's aid. Only in this movie, I found Ray's actions embarrassing, not inspirational. "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" had much for me to admire. It had excellent performances from the cast led by Andrew Garfield. Marc Webb's direction in the action sequences and intimate scenes was first-rate. And the screenwriters managed to avoid the mistake from the Sam Rami 2002 film of creating a fragmented plot. Unfortunately, I believe that "THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN" had some flaws - including a lack of originality - that made it difficult for me to embrace the idea that it was the best SPIDER-MAN movie ever made.

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kathyprior4200 · 4 years

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BlueRaven666 and Gray: Arrival of Adina fanfiction

(Hazbin Hotel and Zoophobia)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXaxReyJNiKDJQ6g75jigxg

Main Characters:

BlueRaven666:

The main protagonist (besides protagonist Charlie and antihero Alastor in Hazbin Hotel). He is a dragon demon OC (made by a real life YouTuber who is known for his fan made theories for Hazbin Hotel). Blue Raven appears as a blonde haired man with blue eyes, white curved horns from his head and white skin. He is LGBTQ+ and transgender. He wears a blue shirt with 666 on it.

Gray:

Another protagonist. A gender neutral Exterminator who was left behind in Hell after the other Exterminators thought he was dead. Blue Raven decided to take them in and rescue Gray. This led to a temporary truce between an angel and a demon. Blue Raven and Gray each tell their stories, from roommate shenanigans to lore of Heaven and Hell to theories about other characters (See Blue Raven’s YouTube videos and collab with inSaiyans).

Fitch:

Neutral antihero. Fitch is a dragon demon with glasses, green eyes, a pale face and dark green hair with light green tips on his tufts. After Fitch lost a battle with an Exterminator, Adina noticed his skill in fighting and using a bladed weapon. She took him in and manipulated him into joining her. He is stern and analytical, but has a good heart deep down. Fitch would only disobey Adina if she threatened to kill his brothers…which is what he eventually did. With the help of Hatchet, Gray, and Blue Raven talking to him, Fitch gradually decides to join them to protect his brethren.

He can transform into a large dark green dragon, the largest one out of his brothers.

Quotes: “I have three younger brothers.”

Quotes: “Do you feel like being more talkative…”

“I’m getting impatient. Killing you would be simple. But I refuse to do so without the information on the whereabouts of your fellow filth. I know your beasts have a safe haven…”

“Stop talking! Tell me where I can find the others. Or I break it.” (holds a pendant with a spider on it)

“You have been most unhelpful.”

(Fitch holds a dead moth in his hand)

(Flashback) “I’m so sorry little one. I promise I will never hurt one of you again.”

“Take your wretched friend. I’m allowing you to live simply out of a respect to a promise. Pray our paths don’t cross again…demons…” (Fitch spares Vaggie and Angel Dust)

Adina: “You let them live. I am disappointed in you.”

Fitch: “So am I.”

Malcom:

Malcom, appears as a crazed dragon with large milky eyes, messy black hair and light green wings.

Like his brothers, he can transform into a dragon.

Quotes: “Malcom…I rarely think about, actually…” - Fitch describing his brother.

Marx:

A dragon who wears a black tuxedo suit. He has a pale face, dark purple hair and yellow tips on his tufts. Marx prefers to be more civilized to fit into demon society, while his brothers are off either messing around or in Fitch’s case helping to kill demons. Like Carl Marx, he questions everything and believes in conspiracy theories.

Like his brothers, Marx has the ability to turn into a dragon. His scales are dark indigo and his horns and tops of his wings are yellow.

Quotes: “My brother Marx and I are no longer in contact due to disagreeing on certain life choices we have made. He makes me sick.” - Fitch describing his brother.

Hatchet:

A dragon demon with a white face, orange eyes with red irises and bright orange hair and tufts. His arms have markings on them. Tattoos cover his entire body. His saliva is acidic and he drools when he’s excited. He can form images by breathing fire. He is always in a good mood and doesn’t mind physical affection. (unlike strict Marx). He loves eating small creatures, especially rabbits. He has instinctual control over his fire but he often plays with it, using batons to do tricks.

Like his brothers, he can transform into a dragon. His scales are dark orange/brown.

Quotes: “Hatchet and I see each other often. He is a handful, but admittedly, he is my closest family.” - Fitch describing his brother.

Adina:

Adina is an antagonist and an evil white angel with teal glowing eyes and long white hair. She wears a dress decorated with blue borders decorated with white crosses on them. She is zealous and manipulative. Leeson, the God preaching cat works for her as do Exterminators. Her goal consists of killing and torturing demons…ironically she employees a dragon demon Fitch to do her dirty work. She hired Fitch to find demon hideouts so more demons could be killed during the year. This would also make it easier for the Exterminators every year as well since they cannot go into demons’ hidden hiding places. She appeared in the deleted comic “Angels and Demons” by Vivziepop.

Adina Quotes: “There is no mercy for the damned...” –torturing a demon

Adina Quotes: “Just remember…it’s for the greater good.” Adina to Fitch.

“I’m very disappointed in you.” Adina to Fitch after he let Angel Dust get away.

“Such is the will of the Lord…so shall it be…” Adina with Fitch.

“Goodbye, Fitch.” Adina to Fitch.

Charlie:

Charlie is a protagonist and the blonde-haired musical princess of Hell. She is the founder of the Hazbin Hotel, a place intended for the rehabilitation of demons to combat the yearly exterminations. Her girlfriend is Vaggie, a moth demon. Her goal is to have demons, angels, and humans live in harmony, and she hopes for more demons to go to Heaven (even though Heaven is elitist).

Vaggie:

Vaggie is a gray-haired moth demon who is Charlie’s girlfriend. Though pure at heart, she swears and gets aggressive often whenever someone tries to hurt Charlie. She was formerly a Latina human named Vagatha who died due to gang rape and a hate crime (she was a tomboy and lesbian). She used to be an Exterminator but she refused to kill Charlie and follow orders, thus she fell to Hell. She and Charlie bonded and fell in love.

Lucifer:

Charlie’s father, a fallen angel, and the king of Hell.

Lilith:

Charlie’s busy mother and queen of Hell. She is a singer for the Resist band and a model.

Alastor:

Alastor is an antihero who arrives at the Hazbin Hotel to help out (though only for his own enjoyment). Alastor is a powerful demon with Eldritch powers and dark magic. He wears a red dress coat and clothing from the 1900s. He was a former radio host, cannibal, and serial killer in New Orleans. He is part French and part Creole. He died in 1933 due to being mauled by dogs and shot in the head. Malicious and pompous, he toppled powerful overlords and took over much of Hell, while broadcasting his murders. Alastor enjoys seeing others fail because it’s entertaining for him and makes him think of his higher status. Many suspect he wants to use Charlie to try and take over Hell, dethroning Lucifer and spreading chaos everywhere. Despite his evil side, he is also a gentleman who loves jambalaya, singing, dancing and telling jokes.

Husk:

Husk is a grumpy black and white cat demon with a small top hat and red wings with card suits on them. He drinks alcohol and booze and loves to gamble. Alastor summoned him from a casino, where Husk reluctantly agreed to be the bartender after Alastor bribed him with a bottle of booze. He is a loner and is sometimes violent.

Niffty:

Niffty is a magenta/red haired small cyclops demon. She works as the housekeeper of Hazbin Hotel, cleaning up rooms, cooking, and sewing. She is hyperactive and is obsessed with men. She enjoys reading and writing in her spare time. Alastor summoned her from a fireplace in episode one.

Angel Dust:

Angel Dust is a white spider demon, who wears white and pink clothing and often carries weapons and drugs. Formerly an Italian named Anthony, he was a member of an Italian mafia like his family. He died from a drug overdose…presumably Angel Dust. He is gay and has six arms to aide him in turf wars. He has a brother, Arackniss, a father, Henroin, and a white spider mother Aranea (Latin for spider). He is the Hazbin Hotel’s first client, though a deviant, he has a good heart and shows some concern for others.

Molly:

Angel Dust’s wild twin sister, also a white/pink spider. She and her brother share a strong bond, despite both of them doing drugs, being violent and getting into sexual situations with other demons. She and Angel are friends with the 80’s rebel and punk Cherri Bomb (Formerly Isabella from Australia).

In a twist of fate, there are also a few angels who help the demons. Charlie, the princess of Hell is part angel. Molly, Angel Dust’s twin sister is not a demon but perhaps an angel in another form, but she protects her brother and fights off Fitch with Vaggie’s help after he is interrogated and tortured by Fitch and Adina.

In addition, one Exterminator, Gray, was taken in by a (OC) demon named Blue Raven, another dragon demon. They had formed a temporary truce after Gray had been left behind during the last Extermination.

The final battle results in the dragon demons teaming up with the other demons, Lucifer leading the fight against Adina.

Adina tries to manipulate Fitch and Gray into working for her…and she even briefly possessed Mirage (a Zoophobia villain), Gray, Fitch, and even Alastor (who also wants to see demons fail but for his own fulfillment). Charlie frees Alastor while Blue Raven helps Gray and Fitch break free from Adina’s influence. Vaggie unlocks her super moth demon form…and it is revealed that she is a former fallen angel/Exterminator. With nothing but an angel harpoon in her hands, she had been banished to Hell after refusing to kill Charlie, thus they fell in love. (See “Falling From Grace Landing Into Love” fanfiction and Vaggie theories.) Adina sends Exterminators after the demons, but Lucifer effectively holds them off, reminding them of their original role of killing demons once per year. Charlie knows this is not right and she’s determined to redeem sinners at the hotel even more than before.

Charlie, Alastor, Vaggie, Angel Dust, Husk, Niffty, Mimzy, and Crymini all join the fight, Lucifer battling Adina and breaking free from her possession. Baxter, Vox, and Sir Pentious (The Techno Trio) make inventions and technology to aid the demons in the fight. Lilith helps other demons get to safer hiding places, including the second Circle of Hell where Tom, Tam, and Lolly Gag (Zoophobia incubus and family) appear. Adina vows revenge and eventually retreats. Fitch reunites with his brothers and thanks Blue Raven for his help.

But Fitch is still haunted by what Adina did to him…and it takes a while for him to recover. The remaining Exterminators order Gray to kill Blue Raven…but they do not. The angels close the portal before Gray has a chance of returning. Gray sighs and is willing to tolerate Blue Raven a little longer.

#zoophobia #hazbinhotel #blueraven666 #gray #hazbinhoteltheories #youtubers

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zibizuba · 4 years

Link

Celebrities Entertainment

Black Actors Who Played White Characters

2019-12-212019-12-21 ViraLuck

Celebrity Facts, Entertainment

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Color blind casting, or non-traditional casting, has opened up opportunities for black actors, albeit slowly. There have been many black actors who played white characters, but there’s still room for more diversity in Hollywood overall.

White characters played by black actors have paid off at the box office because audiences appreciate an excellent performance – regardless of race. While many fans reacted negatively the casting of black actress Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, others were excited that such an accomplished actress was stepping into the role. Even Potter creator J.K. Rowling defended the casting choice.

In many cases, black actors who have taken on white roles have changed the way a character was seen forever. Red has been portrayed as black ever since Morgan Freeman played the part in the film adaptation of The Shawshank Redemption. We will always think of Agent J in Men in Black as Will Smith. Michael Clarke Duncan was so perfect for The Kingpin in Daredevil, that Marvel wrote a tribute to the actor when he passed.

This list looks at some of the top black actors who played traditionally white characters. And while we’re talking about non-traditional casting, which role would you like to see a black actor take on? Let everyone know in the comments

Zendaya Coleman as Mary Jane Watson

In August 2016, it was announced that African American actress Zendaya Coleman will play Mary Jane Watson, Spider-Man’s love interest, in the 2017 Marvel reboot Spider-Man: Homecoming. Zendaya previously appeared in a number of Disney Channel shows, including KC Undercover and Shake It Up!, starring as the title character in the former.

Mary Jane (who, according to IMBb, will be called Michelle in the reboot) was played by Kirsten Dunst in the original Sony Spider-Man film series and by Shailene Woodley in scenes that were deleted from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. In the comics, Mary Jane is a pale redhead. Survey says? Change is good.

The casting decision ignited a mini-furor in fan communities, as such decisions have done in the past(and also this). James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy, took to Facebook to address these concerns, writing:

I can’t respond to the racists �� I’m not ever going to change their minds. But for the thoughtful majority of you out there:

For me, if a character’s primary attribute – the thing that makes them iconic – is the color of their skin, or their hair color, frankly, that character is shallow and sucks. For me, what makes MJ MJ is her alpha female playfulness, and if the actress captures that, then she’ll work. And, for the record, I think Zendaya even matches what I think of as MJ’s primary physical characteristics – she’s a tall, thin model – much more so than actresses have in the past.

Noma Dumezweni as Hermione Granger

Play: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Despite her accomplishments as an actor, there was backlash over Dumezweni’s casting as Hermione in the play. J. K. Rowling, the queen of having none of it, squashed the criticism, tweeting, “Canon: brown eyes, frizzy hair and very clever. White skin was never specified Rowling loves black Hermione.” Other Harry Potter cast members supported Dumezweni in the role. Matthew Lewis tweeted, “And Neville Longbottom was blonde. I really don’t care. Good luck to her.”

Dumezweni said to the haters, “It stems from ignorance. They don’t want to be a part of the creative act. To say it’s not as it was intended is so unimaginative. I don’t think they understand how theater works. We’re here to heal you, make you smile and whisk you away.”

Will Smith as Robert Neville

Film: I Am Legend

Neville is the last man in New York City, or so he thinks. There have been many adaptations of Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel, but this was the first time a black actor played the virologist.

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Films: The Avengers franchise

David Hasselhoff played Fury in a 1998 TV movie, but it’s Jackson who conjures a special kind of Fury.

Morgan Freeman as Red

Film: The Shawshank Redemption

In the book, Stephen King describes Red as white and Irish. The line “Maybe It’s because I’m Irish” was left in the movie as a nod to the book. Stage versions of the book now cast Red as black, thanks to Freeman’s iconic performance (which earned him an Oscar nomination).

Idris Elba as Heimdall

Films: Thor, Thor: The Dark World

In the Marvel comic series, Heimdall is a Norse god, but he’s just as mighty in the hands of Elba on screen.

Denzel Washington as Bennett Marco

Film: The Manchurian Candidate

Richard Condon’s 1959 novel was made into a film in 1962, with Frank Sinatra asBennett Marco. Washington, who lends something to every role he takes on, played Marco well enough in a so-so remake in 2004.

Quvenzhané Wallis as Annie

Film: Annie

Many actors have take on the role since 1982, most notably Aileen Quinn. But Wallis was a refreshing update to the white, freckled redhead. Wallis’s performance received a 2014 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.

Brandy Norwood as Cinderella & Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother

Film: Cinderella

The 1997 ABC TV special was the first time Cinderella and other characters were played by black actors. Besides Norwood and Houston, Veanne Cox and Natalie Desselle played Cinderella’s stepsisters, and Whoopi Goldberg was Queen Constantina. Filipino-American Paolo Montalban played Prince Christopher.

Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm

Film: The Fantastic Four

Say what you will about the 2015 film, but Jordan was a refreshing update to Storm. Chris Evans, who played Storm in 2005, thought Jordan was a fine choice as well.

Will Smith as Agent J

Films: Men in Black franchise

In the Aircel comics, Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers depicted both agents as white. Smith, being a huge star (especially in 1997), was an easy choice as Agent J alongside Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K.

Michael Clarke Duncan as The Kingpin

Film: Daredevil

Duncan played the villain to perfection in 2003, and left his mark on the character. So much so that Marvelhailed him after his passing in 2012.

Pam Grier as Jackie Brown

Film: Jackie Brown

In Elmore Leonard’s book Rum Punch, Jackie Brown is a blonde flight attendant. Tarantino saw the character as black and specifically wanted Pam Grier for the role in his 1997 film.

Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent

Film: Batman

The Batman comic series portrayed Dent as white. Williams added his own special qualities to the villain onscreen in Tim Burton’s 1989 film. He also revealed that he was on course to play Two-Face in the sequel, but producers went another way, choosing Tommy Lee Jones.

Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, Ted Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Richard Pryor

Film: The Wiz

One of the first black casts to take on the beloved 1939 The Wizard of Oz, the 1978musical was an instant hit with audiences and continues to be produced and toured worldwide.

Alfre Woodard, Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, and Others

Film: Steel Magnolias

The all black cast – rounded out by Jill Scott, Adepero Oduye, and Condola Rashad – appeared in the 2012 Lifetime remake, but faced a tough reception from the diehards of the 1989 movie.

Dwayne Johnson as Hercules

Film: Hercules (2014)

Hercules is Greek; The Rock is not. However, that didn’t stop him from being an awesome Hercules. Steve Reeves, who played Hercules in two different movies in the late ‘50s, would pull down some columns in approval. Kevin Korbo’s popular portrayal in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ran from 1995 to 1999 and he was irked when producers turned him down for a cameo in the Dwayne Johnson film.

Eartha Kitt and Halle Berry as Catwoman

Film & TV Series: Catwoman & Batman

On the page of the comics, Catwoman is white and many fine actresses from Julie Newmar to Michelle Pfeiffer have played the character. But Eartha Kitt made Catwoman iconic with her famous growly voice in the late-’60s TV series and Halle Berry brought Catwoman back to black in the 2004 film.

Bernie Casey and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter

Films: James Bond franchise

Several white actors have played Leiter over the years in the Bond franchise, most notably Jack Lord. Casey took on the role in 1983 in Never Say Never Again; Wright brought weight and realness to the character in 2006’s Casino Royale and 2008’s Quantum of Solace.

Will Smith as Jim West

Film: Wild Wild West

Robert Conrad played James T. West in the popular 1960s TV series, with Will Smith portraying the character in the 1999 film.

David Oyelowo as Henry VI

Play: Henry VI

In 2000, David Oyelowo was the first black actor to play the English king for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Sam Jones III as Pete Ross

TV Series: Smallville

In the comics, Clark Kent’s friend is white. Ross became a fan favorite when he stepped into the role in 2001 on the TV series.

Mos Def as Ford Prefect

Film: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy When fans saw 2005’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, they were delighted and puzzled to find Mos Def in the role of Ford Prefect opposite Martin Freeman’s Arthur Dent. Prefect is a red head in Douglas Adams’s book. Def’s version is significantly more cool than David Dixon’s Prefect on the BBC TV series, but both work in their own way.

Colin McFarlane as Gillian B. Loeb

Film: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight

Loeb was a corrupted baddie in the comics. McFarlane’s Loeb played him with complicated motivations in both films.

Naomie Harris as Miss Moneypenny

Film: Skyfall

Lois Maxwell played Miss Moneypenny for 23 years. Then four other actresses (Barbara Bouchet, Pamela Salem, Caroline Bliss, Samantha Bond) took on the role. Producers and cast kept the secret until Skyfall’srelease in 2012, as Naomie Harris became the first black Miss Moneypenny.

Laurence Fishburne as Perry White

Film: Man of Steel

Fishburne portrayed the first black the Editor in Chief at the Daily Planet in 2013’s Man of Steel. Several white actors, including John Hamilton, had portrayed the character up until then.

Laurence Fishburne as Jack Crawford

TV Series: Hannibal

Crawford has been played by Scott Glenn, Harvey Keitel, and Dennis Farina. Fishburne was tapped for the role of the FBI agent in the NBC series from 2013 to 2015.

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