#one punch man a hero nobody knows review
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Everything Is Liked Nowadays
In the past 2 years, while trying to figure out if a new video game is worth playing, I've noticed something. Almost every game, good or just okay, are rated highly by users. I usually use Steam user reviews to judge a game, and it worked really well before 2020 or so. When the reviews are positive, I'm pretty much guaranteed to enjoy the game. Nowadays? It's a gamble.
I've also noticed that the exact same thing happens for anime. For anime, I use MyAnimeList ratings. The criteria for me to decide whether or not to watch an anime is if it has a score above 8. This didn't guarantee that I would like the anime, but it was pretty accurate most of the time. Again, this method of filtering seems to have stopped working since 2020.
I've been wondering why this is the case, and I've come to the conclusion that video games and anime have become a lot more mainstream in the recent years, and the lockdown period during Covid has fueled their path towards mainstream status. These two hobbies were definitely not mainstream before 2010, and it only started growing after that. It used to be the nerd thing. The thing the skinny boy with glasses does after school. It used to be something you only share with others when you knew that they were into it as well. Back then, whenever I said I played video games as a hobby, people would reply "Dota?". Nobody ever heard of Company of Heroes, Red Alert, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect, or even Warcraft. Nowadays, while people still gravitate towards certain titles such as Fortnite, Valorant, Among Us, or Call of Duty, at least the titles are more varied, and people would have heard of Warcraft or Elden Ring.
Now, why would becoming mainstream cause this issue? Here's why:
Mainstream consumers are newbies or casuals.
Now put down your pitchforks, this is not an insult.
I say this as a definition of how they consume content, and the level of enjoyment they would gain from it. I simply mean that they only consume what's being hyped up, what's popular, and what has the best ratings. They are also possibly but not necessarily new in the space, with little to no experience with older content and content beyond what's popular. Think of a moviegoer who only watches Marvel movies. Something like that.
When you live in a bubble like that, the level of exposure to the medium as a whole is really small. So what happens is that these people begin to think that Spy × Family is the best anime released in the recent years, despite it having nothing much interesting going for it other than Anya being cute and funny. They think Stray is a potential game of the year, despite it being just a cat walking simulator. Don't get me wrong - these two examples are good, polished, and well made pieces of content, but ultimately they bring nothing amazing to the table. A solid 7/10 at most.
I'll use Spy × Family to make comparisons here, since MyAnimeList has scores and a top anime list which will make comparison easier.
Currently, Spy × Family has a score of 8.7/10. This puts the anime above classics such as Code Geass, Great Teacher Onizuka, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, and Death Note. And it's above newer hits such as Your Lie In April, One Punch Man, Made in Abyss, Kimetsu no Yaiba, and Haikyuu. I don't know how anyone who has watched any of the listed anime above can look at me with a straight face and tell me that Spy × Family is better.
Coincidentally, all of the anime I listed came out before 2020, and Spy × Family came out after 2020. I have a strong feeling that Spy × Family was a lot of people's first, second, or third anime (and Kimetsu no Yaiba probably also being one of them), leaving them with nothing solid to benchmark against.
Think back to the point when you first stepped into gaming, anime, movies, or any sort of hobby. You were looking at content for the first time, and it just seemed that nothing could be better than what you just experienced. You would probably have rated lots of things higher back then, compared to now. I myself am guilty of this, and it's perfectly normal behaviour. As a result, a lot of popular content that newbies consume ends up being rated positively as it's designed to appeal to the masses.
Then there's the effect of social media, Youtubers, Twitch streamers, etc. Followers would naturally all have the same tastes towards certain types of content, and if the person they're following likes a certain game or anime, then it drives their followers to consume said content, which in turn brings up the ratings once more since they have a high likelihood of enjoying it. A point could be made about how these followers would be on the hardcore side of things, and you might be right. However I do think that people following Youtubers is also becoming pretty mainstream nowadays, especially among the younger folks.
Put together these two factors (and I believe that these are not the only two), and then apply it to how mainstream consumers are far more populous than the hardcore population, and this would then affect a lot of content. Out of a group of 1000 people, 200 might be hardcore, and 800 might be casual. And to make the ratings exaggerated, if the hardcores gives 0/10 ratings and the casuals give 10/10, you end up with an 8/10. More realistically, the hardcores would give it anywhere between a 6-7/10, and the casuals giving it a 9-10/10, resulting in a score of about 8.5-9.5/10. Apply this to every single piece of content out there, and you end up with everything being rated positively.
So now I have to read the reviews instead of just relying on scores. And even that is starting to become a problem, especially on Steam. The reviews on the store's front page are starting to become absolutely useless and meme-ish, since people are trying to get upvotes and funny votes. Sigh.
Finally, take everything I wrote with a pinch of salt. This is just my speculation and opinion. There's no actual research or statistics backing this up. It's just my guess as to why this has been happening. Am I right or wrong, who knows? I just know that the problem exists.
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Anime review:
The Devil is a part-timer season 3
(or s2 part 2, or possibly just 2, the numbering is quite broken).
Apparently this just kinda came out and nobody talked about it. The first half of season 2 turned a lot of people off.
Tl;dr. in quantum superposition of 9 and 7 out of 10. State will collapse in accordance with viewer's subjective reading of Maou's possible aromanticism in light of alleged manga spoilers. I shan't burden you with those but there is stuff that happens under the cut.
So the central contradiction of this show has always been that Satan is the Demon King (the original season translated it as Devil but even in light of the show's heavy Christian imagery this doesn't make sense - his title is 魔王 which in everything else I've seen is translated Demon King (when there's only 1 at a time) or Demon Lord (such as in Slime where there's multiple). In season 2 we got hints from the dialog between Gabriel and Lucifer that our Satan is not the biblical Satan, just someone with the same name (while Lucifer is the original lucifer who served the original satan and has just been hanging around ever since).) and yet he's just this quite decent guy.
This season finally answers that contradiction. I don't see how else you could reconcile his history with his personality, and it dovetails shockingly well into the McDonald's thing. Maou isn't really a dynamic character this time, it's more that everyone else's arc is catching up to him. Which brings me to
Emilia (the Hero)
Her arc progresses quite a bit. I like the relationship between her and Maou, it's in a good place, but words must not describe it. Of course it helps that the grudge she held was based on false information...
Crestia Bell (the Inquisitor)
If you didn't remember, she's the one with the giant hammer. Always wears a kimono. Autistic coded. Best Girl. The way she overcomes having been a religious enforcer really spoke to me, and right at the end her simple logic just cuts right thru the conflict and it's so badass.
Chiyo (the coworker)
ngl she's kind of too normie for this show. Her arc is being brave and useful as more than just a hostage, and that's fine I guess. My problem is with how seriously the show treats her crush on Maou. She's literally a high school student and he's an alien warrior king who can't be younger than 25. If he weren't completely oblivious he would be seriously at fault for leading her on - I say this as a former crush bearer. Let us down quickly please. Speaking of which.
Sariel (the archangel, season 1 antagonist)
Apparently he was still working at KFC and gets fired. He is now totally devoted to the manager of McDonald's and a neutral party otherwise. Kind of pathetic but mans knows what he wants.
I don't have anything to say about the plot. It's a plot that makes the characters have arcs.
Overall this one is better than the previous season - more stuff happens, arcs progress, the mystery is closer to being revealed. It's still not what fans of the first season were expecting, and I suspect the next bit will start strong with revelations and fizzle out with too much slice of life.
I should clarify that I enjoyed season 2 just fine. It's not to be watched weekly, you have to binge it then it's fine. Same thing one punch man s2 - a Pretty Good sequel to a Godly pilot will be slandered as garbage due to overhype.
But this season was good again.
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The Fantastic Thing About Design In Architecture
Buying One Punch Man A Hero Nobody Knows Crack to design the garden for you could be costly mistake when you purchase the wrong thing for your wishes. To begin with, let's take a review of your needs and expectations of any garden design software you may would like to purchase.
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Opera To Drive Fast On Android
The Android phone and the iPhone 4 are both great phones. They both have seemingly limitless options but, they are both very dissimilar. The iPhone 4 has a much great battery of 7 hours of talk time for the 3g. The Android only has 5.2 moments. Yet, the camera on the Android is much better and takes higher quality pictures when compared with camera about the iPhone nearly four.
>> Associated with other "spy" options. The most expensive apps go way beyond complex to monitor. These apps, sometimes referred to as "spy apps" enable you to not track your spouse, likewise read their text messages, view their call records, view photos snapped to the cell, or simply listen to their calls.
Android is Google's mobile phone and potential tablet and netbook computer system. One Punch Man A Hero Nobody Knows Codex will become one of the most popular phones and is soon to one within the choice os's for other devices like these new tablet computers. One Punch Man A Hero Nobody Knows torrent offers a appealing factor to you as a user. You have could have large community of developers for your gadget. It is not to state that Apple does not, but without user approved applications in the longer term Android will win by helping cover their more applications as developers won't fear being told no.
This a truly great free Android lifestyle app if such as dining out and trying new websites. OpenTable can help you look for a restaurants near you. You can even use the app to book reservations and look at restaurant's menu (as well as access reviews may help decide where to eat).
A ten years ago, such high-tech tracking systems hold been the stuff of science imagination. But with for you to use, affordable Android GPS apps, having it . an Android phone maintain a track on his/her phone actual time. You might be amazed at the accuracy of those apps because can pinpoint the location in the phone specially. If you are anxious where your phone (or rather, its user) is, these apps basically wonderful.
I've have been told by a large amount of people that possibly they are basically paralyzed because within the vastness in the Android Sell. My advice within and simply about everyone else: when have got a 30 minute of free time, download a couple free Android apps and look them out of the house. If you like 'em, keep 'em; ought to you don't, well there's plenty more that you'll like. The secret to success is narrowing the tens of thousands of Android apps into chunks you works with. In fact, that's my goal with all these articles.
What operating One Punch Man A Hero Nobody Knows Crack will ultimately come on top? Android or iOS? If Android can approach to tackle Apple and the touch screen tablet market, will it stop there? Knowing Google, probably don't you. Since 1998, Google has been effectively taking charge of internet. Android moving on phones and it is now utilized for tablets. Where will we find Android a future?
Is that convenient and super awesome, or is it just plain creepy that Google has the potential to poke and pry into every aspect of your life-time? Is it just an Android tablet or is this world domination?
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A Proposal They Can't Refuse by Natalie Caña
Book Description
“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” but make it Latinx when a Puerto Rican chef and an Irish American whiskey distiller are blackmailed into a fake relationship by their scheming octogenarian grandfathers.
Ain’t nobody got time for octogenarian blackmail, especially Kamilah Vega. Convincing her parents to update the family’s Puerto Rican restaurant and enter it into The Fall Foodie Tour is quite enough on her plate, muchas gracias. And with the gentrification of their Chicago neighborhood, the tour looks like the only way to save the place. Too bad her abuelo made himself very clear; if she wants to change anything in his restaurant, she must marry the one man she can't stand: his best friend’s grandson.
Liam Kane spent a decade working his ass off to turn his family’s distillery into a contender. Now he and his grandfather are on the verge of winning a national competition. Then Granda hits him with a one-two punch: he has cancer and has his heart set on seeing Liam married before it’s too late. And his Granda knows just the girl... yup, you guessed it, Kamilah Vega.
If they refuse, their grandfathers will sell the building that houses their businesses, ruining all their well-laid plans. With their legacies and futures on the line, Kamilah and Liam plan to outfox the devious duo, faking an engagement until they both get what they want. But the more time they spend together, the more they realize how much there is to love. Soon, they find themselves tangled up in more than either of them bargained for.
My Review (5*)
I chose to review this novel as something told I was going to love it. Let's call it intuition or gut feeling or X but it was right, I loved this novel.
It made me laugh out loud, root for the characters, love the mischievous grandpas, and cry buckets.
There's a lot of classic tropes and there's a well plotted and compelling story about two person and their lovely families.
I loved Kamilah and Liam: the well developed and relatable characters. They are multifaceted and their story is sweet and realistic.
My favorite were the terrible grandfathers: a couple of terrific senior that are amongst the most interesting character I read in a contemporary romance.
I strongly recommend this story as the author is a talented storyteller.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to MIRA and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
THE AUTHOR:
Natalie Caña writes contemporary romances that allow her to incorporate her witty sense of humor and her love for her culture (Puertominican whoop whoop!) for heroines and heroes like her. A PROPOSAL THEY CAN'T REFUSE is her debut novel.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Author website: http://nataliecana.com/services-and-pricing
Twitter: @NatCanaWrites
Tik Tok: @nataliecwrites
BUY LINKS:
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/books/a-proposal-they-can-t-refuse/9780778386094
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-proposal-they-cant-refuse-natalie-ca-a/1140141713
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Proposal-They-Cant-Refuse-Novel/dp/0778386090/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2B8MKU9GHF3XE&keywords=A+Proposal+They+Can%27t+Refuse&qid=1652299850&sprefix=a+proposal+they+can%27t+refuse%2Caps%2C573&sr=8-1
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The Throne (2015)
Summary
In the year of 1762, when King Yeong Jo of the Joseon dynasty's been ruling for 35 years already, Crown prince Sa Do is accused of plotting treason by his biological mother lady Yi. King Yeong Jo falls into a dilemma since he could not penalize his own son as a traitor as it would mean that he would become the father of a traitor threatening his throne, and ends up ordering Sa Do to take his own life. As Sa Do’s lieges oppose King Yeong Jo’s decision by putting their own lives at risk, King Yeong Jo locks Sa Do in a wooden rice chest to kill him.
Review
I almost didn’t want to write anything about this movie because I felt that I couldn’t possibly explain in words all that it made me feel but, to be honest, I feel like the current reviews on here are a major disservice to its beauty. So with my lacking self, I’ll try as much as I can to properly explain to you why this film is an absolute masterpiece and more.
If you’ve read the real history of Prince Sado, you would know that he was a horrible monster of a man. The tales are filled with his brutality. He’s one of the most controversial figures in history. A man so scarred by his father that he lost his mind along with his humanity. But this film is not about the atrocities he commited. It’s about what made him that way. What turned a bright, warm-hearted and full of life man into a madman starved of affection, who wreaked havoc wherever he went. It’s an entirely different interpretation and considerably more heart breaking. For this movie, do away with all your past knowledge of history and shatter all the preconceived notions. Because if you let it, it will move you to an extent you didn’t know was possible.
Kings cannot be fathers. Sado is essentially a story about how a King driven by his own fears and inferiority complex, destroys his son’s life. It’s about a filial son who could never win his father’s favor no matter the extent of loyalty and affection he showed. It’s about little sacrifices and huge betrayals. But most of all, it’s about how love holds no meaning when there is no understanding.
This film isn’t an easy watch. The emotional and physical abuse of such a pure--hearted man breaks your soul. There are a lot of gray areas. No concrete villains or heroes. No absolute goodness or evil. Even when you want to detest some characters, you can’t. Because the tragedy of it all is just too great.
The moment I started this film, I knew I won’t be coming out unscathed. I had a tight ball of dread firmly lodged in the back of my throat and as I continued watching, that ball quickly transformed into liquid misery and came running down my cheeks. As soon as I wiped my tears, they were replaced by more. So much so, that I just stopped wiping them at all. Halfway through, I could literally feel my cheeks burning. And my heart? I felt as if there were a thousand hammers crushing it to dust.
The funny thing is, I didn’t even watch this in one go. During one of the most intense scenes of the film, something urgent came up and unfortunately I had to put a stop to it. The only time I had, to pick it back up was an hour before I had to go somewhere. I was dressed up and had my makeup on. Only 30 minutes of the film was left and because so much time had passed since I first started watching it, I thought “oh well, now the tempo is broken, I won’t be as affected anymore. Let’s get done with it and lay my curiosity to bed”. I was wrong of course, because the moment I pressed play I was back in that horrible world- as if no time had passed at all.
I remember just staring at the screen for at least 5 minutes even after the ending credits had rolled and needless to say, my makeup was a mess. I had to do it all over again.
I know that this is an acquired taste. Nobody likes too much sad shit- excessive sobbing and you lose the emotional appeal entirely. But the thing with Sado is, even when it is over the top, it somehow feels justified and doesn’t fail to pack jarring punches one after the other. It’s disturbing and yet, simple in its execution.
After this movie was released, people invented the term “ Yoo Ah In Shi Dae” which means “Time of Yoo Ah In” or “Yoo Ah In’s Golden Age” and I honestly cannot refute it. There are no words, no expressions in which I can describe the brilliance that was his acting. This, in my opinion, is his best work ever. You can see him go the extra mile and portray an extremely controversial character in such a heart-wrenchingly sincere way that it makes you weep.
The rest of the cast hold their own. They are all spectacular. The women, The King and especially the child actors.
It’s been 11
months since I last gave out a ten rating. Usually, when I rate something I deliberate a lot about it but surprisingly whenever I give out my 10’s, I don’t think or fuss at all. It’s always spontaneous and absolute. I know there could be flaws but my heart completely overcomes any critical thinking I could have done and I have no regrets.
The soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful, both manic and melancholic; perfectly embodying the Prince’s life. The fusion of past and present is impeccably done. The movie caters to small details, for example: the resemblance between the the actors playing the past and present of a character is remarkable, thus increasing authenticity.
I will re-watch this. There’s no doubt about that, but only when I’m feeling particularly masochistic.
Watch this if you want to experience the cream of Korean Cinema.
Enjoy!
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One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows Review
One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows Review
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One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows reviewed by Kyle Hilliard on Xbox One X. Also available on PlayStation 4 and PC. Narration by Max Scoville.
“The premise of One Punch Man shouldn’t work. If the main protagonist has infinite power and can defeat any enemy in one punch, how can that create a compelling story with stakes and danger? Where is the drama? And how can…
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My review for One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is up on Rice Digital UK right now!
I actually had a really fun time playing the game despite the performance hitches and the game being clunky in a few spots. The game did a few neat things that I detail in the review.
Link to the review
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Grab-it Novels: Hulk #768
Well, second installment of this new blog...and this is probably the one that’s gonna make people want to roast my ass on a stick. Anyway, welcome to Grab-it Novels, a weekly review blog where I talk about one of the awesome comics I’ve read this week. And this is a book I’ve been really excited for!
Ladies and gentlemen, the first issue of the newest Hulk run by Donny Cates with art by Ryan Ottley and colors by Frank Martin. So let’s dive into Hulk #768!
(Yes, I use the legacy numbering instead of the relaunch numbering.)
Solicitations:
IMMORTAL NO LONGER! CATES & OTTLEY DELIVER A NEW, COLOSSAL-SIZED ERA! “MAD SCIENTIST” Part 1 of 6 The uncontrollable rage of the Hulk has reached an all-new level, and nobody – including the Avengers – is prepared to handle it. But is it really the Hulk that people should be afraid of, or is there something missing to this puzzle? Join the superstar creative team of Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley as they look to the stars for the next era of HULK!
The Cover:
Holy shit. I love this cover! Everything about it conveys the raw rage and destructive power of the Jade Giant. A giant image of the Hulk smashing the city with the destruction of an atom bomb! The shockwaves that stretch out. Banner standing on top of the building, as if he’s reveling in the destructive power his gamma-powered alter ego is unleashing. And just look at that logo!
I’m a sucker for when stuff happening on a cover affects the logo/title. The Hulk is so powerful not even the logo can stay stable! And the cherry on top is the in-comic quote:
“What if the Hulk exists to protect us from Banner?”
This is the definition of an eye-catching cover. This is something that I can imagine someone seeing on the comic rack and saying, “This looks metal as fuck! I’m definitely buying this!”
Synopsis:
The issue starts with the Hulk punching a massive sci-fi door in the middle of a desert. We can tell that by the sweat on the Green Goliath’s brow and the number of dents in the door that he’s been doing this for awhile. As the Hulk’s trying to break down the door, punching it until his hands bleed green, we get a narration talking about a theory they’ve had about him, and that they’ve never discussed it before because it terrifies them.
On the other side of the door is Dr. Bruce Banner, putting his signature lab coat and glasses away in a locker. He then starts talking to ‘Betty’. ‘Betty’ tells Banner that he’s being cruel to the Hulk, and that he shouldn’t blame himself for what happened in El Paso. But then Bruce snaps.
I’ll just post the pages, since they do a better job showing Bruce’s anger than I could by explaining it.
‘Betty’ then tells Banner that whatever he has planned next, it’s going to blow up in his face. And we get one of my favorite lines in the book.
“Well, you were there. Things blowing up in my face is how I got here. It might as well be how it ends.”
And then ‘Betty’ vanishes, possibly a manifestation of Bruce’s conscience. As Bruce sits a high-tech chair, we cut to the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and other Marvel heroes wondering what’s going on with Bruce and the Hulk, with Doctor Strange filling them in (clearly taking place before The Death of Doctor Strange). They reference an event in El Paso that’s got the superhero community on edge, and has driven Banner to this point. We don’t know what it is yet, but it'll probably be revealed later. But we do know that there’s a death count, so whatever happened certainly wasn’t pretty.
We then get an intersperse of events, in which Hulk (in a kickass new costume) is trying to beat Iron Man to gain access to a Stark Tech Armory, all while Strange narrates his findings to the heroes about the state of Bruce’s mind. According to Steven, Bruce has somehow purposefully fractured his mind in three separate parts. And that more specifically, he’s structured his mental world to resemble a starship. And used stolen AIM tech to enhance the technology inside this ‘mind starship’. Bruce’s captain chair sits in the center where the Hulk’s psyche should be, meaning that once more, Bruce is the one driving the Hulk’s actions.
At first, the battle between Iron Man and the Hulk seems one-sided, until Tony summons three more Hulkbuster armors and hits the Jade Giant with Adamantium Nanoparticle Shrapnel, burrowing into the Hulk’s skin in an attempt to restrain him. But as anyone should know, the madder the Hulk is, the stronger he is.
It’s here we learn that the desert from before is the ‘Engine Room’, where Hulk’s psyche is kept. And with the push of a throttle, he feeds the Hulk psyche combat scenarios designed to increase his rage, thus powering up his body in the real world.
What happens next is an absolutely brutal smackdown where Bruce/Hulk RIPS HIS OWN HAND OFF to get rid of the Adamantium Shrapnel, and then proceeds to absolutely destroy the three remote-controlled Hulkbusters to pieces. And then we get this chilling page:
So what was Bruce after? Project: A.R.K., something Tony’s working on since the King in Black event. The idea was to use the Celestial Armor Tony used for that event to create a pocket dimension that could be used to evacuate civilians in case of another big crisis.
The reason Tony was fighting so hard to keep Bruce away from it was because it’s nowhere near finished; the portal could either end up killing him, or send him someplace where he’ll have no idea where he is. But then again, neither will any of the Marvel Heroes. So it looks like Banner will finally be left alone.
As Starship Hulk heads into the threshold, Bruce sends out a final transmission to the heroes. He’s leaving because he knows they won’t be able to deal with what he’s going to become. That Bruce Banner isn’t controlled by his rage anymore; he’s fueled by it.
And with one final shot of the Hulk attempting to break out of the engine room from the other side, the issue ends.
Thoughts:
Let’s address the elephant in the room; no matter what, the Hulk run following Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk was going to have a lot to live up to. Many people are already saying that it’s destined to become a genre-defining run. There are going to be people who hate this book on the principle that it's not Al Ewing writing the book anymore. So do I, one of the biggest Al Ewing fans who loved the Immortal Hulk, think of this first issue?
THIS. WAS. AWESOME!!!!
Don’t get me wrong, Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk was great...but it bugged me that Bruce became nearly a non-entity at the end of that book that needed to be rescued. And like any comic book fan, I have my own opinions and preference for certain books and characters. Personally, this is how I’ve always seen the Hulk and Banner:
As scary and destructive as the Hulk is, he had a child-like mind. He can be tricked, manipulated, and pacified. But Bruce Banner has that rage, that knack for destruction, coupled with an ambition and intelligence that rivals other big brains like Reed Richards and Tony Stark.
While the Hulk is a rampaging engine of destruction, Bruce is even more dangerous because of his mind.
This new run by Donny Cates’ everything I want in a Hulk book. The line between man and monster is blurred, and Bruce Banner is at the helm, willing to take down anyone in his way. Cates has done an excellent job in writing Banner, capturing the anger and madness that was always there. Yes, that anger was born out of an abusive childhood, but that doesn’t mean that all of Bruce’s actions are justified.
This issue brought up the question of whether or not the Hulk truly exists to keep the world safe from Banner. Jason Aaron played with that idea in his short-lived run, and it seems like Cates is doing something similar. Let us not forget that Bruce’s first appearance had him building a gamma bomb for the U.S. army. Hell, in Immortal Hulk, he declared war on all of society. Whether it was for the right reasons or not, Bruce had shown that he’s willing to hurt people to accomplish his goal. It’s how I’ve always seen Banner, and I’m excited that Cates brought this aspect of him to the forefront.
And of course, this first issue raises a lot of questions. What happened in El Paso? How did Bruce alter his body and mind in such an extreme way? Where will Project: A.R.K. take him? And what does Bruce plan on doing next?
But as good as the writing is, the real selling point is the artwork: even if you don’t like the story being told, this artwork is top-tier and brutal!! Then again, it is drawn by Ryan Ottley, the artist of Invincible, so that’s to be expected. The battle between the Hulk and Iron Man was absolutely stunning, with all the green blood and mechanical bits flying as the Jade Giant smashed the Hulkbusters apart. And the facial expressions of the characters also do a great job convening the emotions. I especially love how deranged Bruce looks in this issue.
And hats off to Frank Martin, one of the best colorists in comics. Colorists don’t tend to get that much credit, with most reviews focusing on the writer and artist. But they do an important job, and Martin, as always, does an amazing job with the colors in this issue. The red color for the ‘interior’ of Starship Hulk conveys Bruce’s inner rage all throughout it, giving those scenes a feeling of constant tension. The color scheme always matches with its environment; from the snow-filled battle, to the mechanical details. It’s a pure visual treat.
Rating: 5 out of 5
This is a MUST GRAB. If you were turned off by the supernatural, horror bend of Immortal Hulk, pick this up! If you’re a fan of the Hulk and have wanted to jump into the book, pick this up! If just like seeing bombastic and unhinged artwork and fight scenes, pick this up!
Kudos to you, Cates, Ottley, and Martin. You got me interested, gentlemen. Now lets see where this wild and crazy ride goes from here!
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FATWS: Episode 1 Recap, "New World Order" (1/3)
Okay, I promised an in-depth review of Falcon and the Winter Soldier so here we go:
Episode 1: "New World Order"
So the opening sequence for FATWS is not necessarily the most original. Pick up the bad guys (this time they seem to be Tunisian/French base-jumping terrorists, which for some reason amused the hell out of me) and save the day. Generic hero stuff, although it does set up Sam Wilson as a) being very competent at what he does and b) agile in his maneuvering of Beggar's Canyon, making him super-eligible for the Boonta Eve Classic (uh, I mean...I'll try spinning, that's a good trick?)
Anyway. My favorite part of this whole scene was the three layers of French (read: international, aka non-English) communication, as per the subtitles - you can translate French (understandable), speak in French, or swear in French
Speaking of (ha! that's a pun) linguistics, I feel not enough attention is paid to Sam's Arabic abilities (I have no idea if he does this well, however. Arabic tumblr, feel free to weigh in on this):
Torres is all over this, however. (And check out Torres filming Sam on his phone. This is a theme that will repeat again and again in this series, with Bucky being caught kicking the shit out of people on Madripoor and Walker (aka Dollar Store Captain America) being caught murdering a guy at high noon. Which is...a fascinating social commentary on the ubiquitous nature of our cell phone cameras, which can be used for both good and ill. And are we defined by those few extemporaneous moments captured in the small square of a phone and what does this say about the surveillance state? Anyway, I have no answer for this except to move to the desert and become a hobo, which is a long-standing career goal of mine.)
Torres asks Sam if he took Steve Rogers to the moon and honestly, the only thing I could think of was an Umbrella Academy crossover with Luther and Steve doing "moon stuff" and how awkward would that be?
That scene at the Smithsonian? With Sam giving up the shield that had its origins in Wakandan materials and was intended for him, as per Steve? Anyway, I got some massive Killmonger vibes from that sequence.
Rhodey: "People are looking for someone to fix the world."
Sam: "Ain't gonna happen."
Rhodey's a little older, from a different time. The Blip happened (Covid happened) and nothing is going back to the way it was. Steve couldn't save the world, the Avengers couldn't fix the world, they could mitigate as best they could (when they could, which didn't always turn out so well, as Zemo will point out later.) Sam might not be able to fix everything (and as a counselor, he should know that) but he can help and try to do the right thing. Which, I think, will become his defining feature later on.
MEANWHILE. ON A SMALL FARM IN KANSAS. (10 points to anyone who gets that reference.) Bucky is in therapy and LYING HIS CYBORG BUTT OFF.
Rule #1: Don't do anything illegal
Bucky, no. You hijacked the Senator'ss car through likely illicit technology and then gave them the hellride of the century. First strike.
Rule #2: Nobody gets hurt.
That dude's nose (whoever the Senator was with) you just punched begs to differ.
Rule #3: "I am no longer the Winter Solider. I am James Bucky Barnes."
Do you really want this man "smiling" at you after he's co-opted your car and pushed the shit out of your compatriot? (Yes, she's corrupt as hell and likely deserves all of it, but...if we're going by the rules of therapy...)
Mind you, this is how Bucky's reintegration campaign is going before all this Walker/Sam/Zemo nonsense goes down. He's lying to his therapist from Day 1. And I mean, yeah, compared to his Winter Soldier persona, this is an obvious upgrade (no one is dead) but holy hell, Bucky, you are playing fast and loose with the rules here, and no wonder you are spiraling by Episode 4.
(continued in next post as apparently tumblr is restricting the number of images I can upload in a text post)
#fatws#review#episode 1#sam wilson#bucky barnes#james rhodes#hello there#legobiwan watches a tv show#(1/3)
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Invasion of the Star Creatures
I promised you guys something truly awful this week, didn’t I? Well, how about a space invasion ‘comedy’ (big emphasis on the air quotes there) produced by Samuel Zarkoff to be a double-bill with The Brain that Wouldn’t Die? The closest thing it has to a star is Frankie Ray, whom MSTies might know as the writer of Laserblast. He also wrote Zoltan, Hound of Dracula, which I really, really need to see one of these days. Film Historian Bill Warren described Invasion of the Star Creatures as ‘so helplessly bad it’s almost unwatchable’. Let’s find out if he was right.
Fort Nicholson is the world’s center for atomic research, despite apparently being staffed entirely by idiots. The two biggest idiots are, unfortunately, our main characters. Their names are Philbrick and Penn. No, I don’t know which is which. No, I don’t care. I’m gonna call them Rick and Rick With The Squeaky Voice. The first ‘comedic’ sequence involves Rick With The Squeaky Voice sitting in a barrel pretending he’s going to space, and getting his ass set on fire.
That sets the tone for the whole movie quite nicely. It’s stupid and it’s not funny, and it never gets any better. In fact, as we shall see, it gets significantly worse.
For some reason, Rick and Rick With The Squeaky Voice are assigned to a mission to explore a cave recently exposed by a nuclear test. This turns out to be the base for two seven-foot space women, Tanga and Pona, and their tuberous minions, the Vege-Men, and the entire party is soon in their clutches. The aliens say that they have come to save humanity from destroying ourselves through nuclear war, but naturally the army isn’t into that. Rick With The Squeaky Voice discovers that kissing the women puts them into a daze, allowing the two idiots to escape, but of course nobody back at Fort Nicholson believes their story. Is it really up to these two to stop Tanga and Pona from heading back to their home planet with their report? We’re doomed.
I don’t remember which review it was, but I once invited you to imagine a movie in which every character is Dropo or Watney Smith. This is that movie. This is proud of being that movie. The aliens try to read the two Ricks’ minds and one is completely empty while the other is full of superhero fantasies. Pona calls what she sees ‘completely illogical and infantile’, which is a fair description of the whole movie.
There’s a sequence where one of the army men shoots a rattlesnake that was about to bite one of the Ricks, and then cries because ‘he might have had a family’. They try to lampoon the thing in old movies where the characters walk through the same set from different angles by doing it without cutting away or changing the camera angle, but it just looks dumb. The Colonel gives a long-winded speech about the merits of getting straight to the point. A forced march stops for a lovely picnic and wine tasting. A guy gets his ass kicked by a Vege-Man and declares, “that’s the first time a salad ever tossed me.” There’s a running ‘gag’ about fans of ‘Space Commander Connors’ recognizing each other’s secret decoder rings and immediately going into a full-on geek-out.
None of this is funny, much of it is downright embarrassing, and the worst part is that the writers have no idea how to include their attempts at comedy in the story. Rather than the hijinks advancing the plot, every time something that’s supposed to be funny happens, the whole thing comes to a dead halt. This gives the impression that the movie is stumbling around in the dark with no idea where it’s going. It finally seems to settle on a plot when we find out that the spaceship is about to leave and must be stopped. After some bullshit the Ricks convince the Colonel (and only the Colonel) to help them take on the aliens. At this point I was thinking that this movie was pretty terrible but it hadn’t actually pushed me to the point of being tempted to turn it off…
And then it got racist.
The last ten minutes or so of Invasion of the Star Creatures are a downward spiral in which it seems like they gave up trying to be funny in favour of being actively offensive. First, they encounter what’s supposed to be a group of Native Americans on horseback. Rick With The Squeaky Voice tries to get their attention by saying “hey, Kemosabe, I wanna buy some blankets!” The Natives don’t speak much English but they do a lot of grunting, and threaten to kill the Colonel because they think he’s General Custer (?!). Then they kidnap everybody and force them to smoke the peace pipe and drink firewater and the white guys only escape once the Natives have passed out.
Holy shit. Not only is this repulsive, it is, as previously noted, irrelevant. It has no effect on the plot other than to waste time. The Natives do not help them defeat the aliens and neither does the Colonel, who is also in a drunken stupor. And then, just when we think this can’t possibly get any worse, the defeated alien women declare that they must throw themselves on the mercy of the Earth Men. This turns out to mean marrying them, and the dialogue specifically likens marriage to slavery, which Tanga and Pona seem to consider a point in its favour! The end of this movie left my head spinning. It’s like I watched a guy get ‘comedically’ knocked over by a punching bag for forty-five minutes and then he suddenly turned around and punched me in the face.
(Hey, I just realized… remember how I said the cave was exposed by a nuclear test? The dialogue emphasizes how this whole area is irradiated and dangerous – and then totally forgets about it. It’s never mentioned again and the characters take off their protective gear and never put it back on. So… that was useless, too.)
There is stuff in this movie that could have been funny. The secret decoder ring stuff almost got a smile out of me once or twice, because the characters seemed so earnest in their love for ‘Space Commander Connors’ and his lore. The ‘Vege-Men’ also had potential. We get to see a greenhouse room where they’re grown to be the women’s slaves, and the seedlings are hands or feet sticking out of flowerpots with a few leaves around them. This is fairly amusing and I could see it being the juvenile form of a sentient plant on Star Trek TOS. Adult Vege-Men are actors in stupid carrot costumes that they obviously can’t see out of very well, which should have been funny just because it’s so terrible, but Invasion of the Star Creatures is so bad you can’t even laugh at it ironically.
The idea of using a bumbling idiot as your main character, let alone two bumbling idiots, frankly baffles me. Rick and Rick With The Squeaky Voice are supposed to be the guys we, the audience, identify with. We’re supposed to like and root for them and to perhaps be able to imagine ourselves in their places, but the only thing I feel for them is contempt. Why would anyone want to see themselves in these guys? Perhaps it’s an attempt to say that anybody can be a hero, but the two Ricks don’t even qualify as that. When they save the world, it’s basically by accident. The ending, which rewards them with promotions, medals, and beautiful wives from outer space, actively makes me angry because they didn’t earn any of that!
Invasion of the Star Creatures works very hard at being pointless, and there’s very little in it that comes anywhere near a theme. If any such thing exists, its in Tanga and Pona’s insistence that they’re here to save humanity whether we like it or not, and how the humans react to that idea. The women say it would be a shame to see a young civilization destroy itself because nations were too stupid to work together. Rick and Rick With The Squeaky Voice reject this entirely, which is supposed to be a joke: these guys are in the army, so if humanity transcends the need for conflict they’d be out of a job. The rest of the plot then seems at pain to emphasize that humans cannot work together, and do not want to.
After all, the two Ricks’ attempts to summon help come to nothing. The Native Americans never understand that these men want assistance, and the Colonel thinks it’s all a Space Commander Connors game before sliding under the metaphorical table, having never done anything useful. The Ricks themselves spent most of their time arguing and complaining and in the end succeed only through good luck on their part and poor timing on that of the invaders. Usually a story that begins with ‘aliens want to save primitive humans from ourselves’ would end with ‘the aliens were wrong about us’. Invasion of the Star Creatures seems to want to say the aliens were right the whole time!
So there you have it – Invasion of the Star Creatures. It started off kinda bad and not funny, then swirled down the cinematic toilet into outright offensive, racist, sexist drivel. I’m trying to think of some small thing I can say about it that’s nice, but I’m having a very hard time. I guess I kinda liked the rumbly noises that represent the alien language – that was more fun than just having the actresses spout random gobbledygook. Other than that, I’m at a loss. The actors suck, the sets suck, the effects suck, the costumes suck, and everybody involved was a bigoted dickweed. Fuck this movie.
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Apad Android Mobile Phone Pc Tablet Making Waves In The Ipad Neighborhood
About two years ago, in the midst of all the rumors that Google was on the verge of releasing its Google Phone, the world's biggest Internet company let's down by releasing instead an OS for mobile cellphones. It's called Android. And since then, phones that utilize Android as their OS have been well-coveted.
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But can you get your hands on a mobile phone without spending money for it? The answer is, yes, if you win a free android phone from any of the websites that offer them. Some companies do cost-free Motorola droid, the newest Android phone to hit the industry. It is for you to find will be high in of websites, and will be fairly simple to get a chance to win. So off you go, and grab that for you to get an Android mobile phone.
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Review/Reaction of IT Chapter Two
Let’s just start right off the bat and let me just say that Bill Hader better get a fucking award for his performance.
Alright. Here we go y’all. im trying to stay in order with what happened but so much happened in the movie that my brain is just all over the place so excuse me while i try to form words
UNDER THE CUT CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS
• first opening scene is a fucking LOT okay like i sobbed my eyes out and it was just not cool. adrian and his boyfriend? CUTE AF. Him getting brutally beat up and then killed by Pennywise while Don just watches? NOT CUTE AF
• Mike is a precious boy and I love him so. He cares about his friends so much holy shit. they all get mad at him for lying to them tho.But he only did it to protect them. Mike knew some SHIT(tm) our boy is so smart?? I’m glad they kept to his original storyline
• Older Bill gave himself so much shit this film and i just felt so bad. like we know it isnt ur fault okay?? We know you loved your brother, stop putting yourself down. also?? him becoming protective over dean? please stop my aching heart.
• Jessica Chastain owns my whole heart and she can kick my ass anyday. She plays Bev so well and captures young bev’s personality so well. her scene with mrs kersh was very weird. i knew the second she ran naked in the hall i’d be seeing some weird fucking shit okay
• Jay Ryan could kick me and I would personally thank him like?? wow what a man. He immediately recognizes bev when he first sees her and im just?? im happy. so many hidden new kids on the block reference and it had me fucking rolling in my grave
• JAMES FUCKING RANSONE MY DUDE OH LORD okay listen. he gives off young eddie’s panic and chaotic energy so perfectly i felt like i was watching him as an adult, who just never grew up. I think thats what he was going for honestly. He played eddie SO FUCKING WELL
• I’m so sad about stan. THats all you need to know okay. I’ll talk about his letter later on in this. Stan deserved better. that’s all.
• if you are not a fan of vomit you’re not gonna enjoy richie tozier. literally any time something bad happens hes just like ah shit here we go again *vomits* and honestly? that made me laugh. like hes just like oh shit something is happening let.. let me just.. no no its fine guys ill catch up.. EHBWFIJHDFSIJ no okay but bill hader stole the fucking show. his acting was phenomenal and,, again,, i’ll add more onto that later.
• richie scares the shit out of dean. because he thinks hes pennywise. but can you blame him? the kid just. stared at him all creepy and shit. but its so funny. the losers make fun of him bc he doesnt know his own lines from his acts and richies just like “I dont write my own material” and eddies just like “I KNEW IT! I FUCKING KNEW IT” dead. goodbye.
• Young losers were still my favorite part honestly. Eddie kept bouncing that stupid ball in stan’s face in the clubhouse and i was waiting for him to get punched in the face tbh. That didn’t even seem like eddie, that was Jack’s energy bursting through the seams lmfao
• young eddie runs into a fucking box and shrieks and if that isn’t me idk ewhdfiajksjdoi
• THE FUCKING. HAMMOCK. SCENE. okay listen to me. thats gay. hammocks are now gay. gays only. gay interacts only. the bickering between reddie had me in TEARS. eddie kept kicking at his face and just?? casually??? lays on him when richie wont move??
• stan’s fucking shower cap ehfdiujasdiosa and then richie being like “nobodys afraid of spiders stanley okay” and eddie slowly removes his because he cares what richie thinks more than spiders ok
• a flashback from after they defeated IT in the first move with reddie “eddie youve been gone for 24 hours your face is most likely on a milk carton by now” “shut up richie”
• yong Richie has me weak af this whole movie, like always. just getting on Eddie’s case. HE PINES SO HARD OH Y GOD Like wow my sweet boy is so fucking in love ouch. which?? BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT POINT??
• THE ARCADE SCENE?? he checks out the kid standing next to him and tries to get him to hang out more and then the other kid tells him to stop being weird because he’s not gay, too, and then uses the F slur. richie was just so hurt. paul bunyun scene happens after that and hes just like “I just shit my pants” and i cried.
• pennywise screaming “lets play truth or dare, you wouldnt pick truth! you dont want them to know your secret” gave off the same energy as eddie’s leper blowjob scene from the book. same energy. do with that as you will.
• they had some flashbacks that included pennywise and im not sure if this was before or after they had defeated IT in the first movie but i interpreted it as after and if thats the case... hes supposed to be dead. but now thinking back on it, it was probably just more scenes before they put pennywise to rest for 27 years.
• young richie went to the kissing bridge after that and we ALL KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THERE. fucking.. r + e :((( although we don’t see him carving the E. but reddie is canon so suck toes antis
• stephen king pretty much being like “I know u and ur endings really do suck” to bill when he comes to buy his bike was so fucking funny. it almost felt like a self insert lmfao. ALSO HIM MAKING BILL PAY 300 BUCKS FOR THE BIKE BC HE KNEW HE COULD AFFORD IT? iconic.
• richie and eddie opening the door to the dog had me laughing. pennywise was just mocking them at that point. they’d be such good dog dads and now im sad
• i was really confused because they added part of stan’s bar mitzvah?? like it wasn’t even the same from the first movie. like they should’ve just put the deleted scene in from ch. 1 and then added that part. thats one of my very few complaints. im slowly hiding them in here.
• henry bowers was kinda irrelevant in this honestly but thank you eddie for stabbing him and richie for killing him for trying to kill mike yall heroes
• BEVS BLOOD SCENE ?? CORRESPONDING WITH BENS BURIED ALIVE SCENE? poetic cinema. 10/10
• the big fight really disappointed me in all honesty. but i think thats because andy said he cut so much from there. i expect it to be better with the director’s cut
• eddie saving richie and then immediately being stabbed by pennywise’s claw? IM DEPRESSED.
• “Rich! rich, i did it! i think i killed him!” Our boy was so happy with himself :(
• eddie’s last words WERE NOT “i fucked your mom”. he was talking to richie and you can hear them talking while the rest are preparing to end pennywise. so im hoping we get that as a deleted scene.
• richie goes back to help finish pennywise but when he goes to check on eddie.. he’s dead. ://// and bev is like “richie, come on, honey.. im sorry” and richie does not want to believe him. he grabs and hugs eddie so tight i swear i could feel that hug from the audience.
• another thing im disappointed in and am sliding in is some of the animations? Like. fucking weird. but okay. luckily i didn’t care too much.
• THE SOB that richie lets out when he holds eddie really hurt my fucking soul jesus christ just kill me
• the losers try cheering him up after and like. thats their friend too but you can just totally tell he’s crying in a different type of grief. THAT WAS HIS FIRST FUCKING LOVE.
• they all remember after and thats really important to me okay
• stan writes letters and its spoken outloud while the other losers get little montages of what theyre doing with their life after the battle. Richie goes back to the kissing bridge and recarves- YES RECARVES AND YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE THE E BEFORE HE DOES- he recarves the E and while doing it, stan’s voice says “be proud of who you are” and im fucking cry ibg okay
• in the end, i give this movie a 7/10 rating. although some of the animations were weird and some of the flashbacks had pennywise in it (like hes supposed to be currently dead but ok... maybe nightmares??) the actors were PHENOMENAL and the chemistry between older richie and older eddie made me so happy. my ship is canon. but im still sad about stan and eddies death.
• ignoring canon in 3.. 2.. 1.. now
#it chapter 2#it chapter two spoilers#IT CHAPTER TWO#it chapter 2 spoilers#IT SPOILERS#reddie#richie tozier#eddie kaspbrak#bill denbrough#mike hanlon#beverly marsh#ben hanscom#stanley uris
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Goodnight, Chris McQueen
A NOS4A2 Review
By: Allyssa J. Watkins
I love you, Brat
I hope you know that.......
My biggest fear was becoming my old man
Drinkin', philanderin', livin' for nothin'
I wanted so much more for my little girl
But Babe, I'm just like him
A haunted soldier
That never came back from the war
I tried so hard to make you laugh
Just so you didn't see me cryin'
Funny names, and stupid jokes
I guess, don't band-aid the holes
Punched through the walls and in
Your mother's heart
Jesus, maybe this dad thing
Was a cosmic hoax right from the start
I love you like a big dog
I'd die twice just to give you a hug
Before I go, I want you to know
I'm proud of my kid
I could never do what you did
It's like you told your ma
You're made of steel, Vic
You threw the bottle away
You sure as hell didn't need me
But you let your broken down dad save the day
I ain't half the hero to you though
As you are to Wayne
Give 'em HELL, Babe
Fight the good fight
Don't cry over me
I won't die as I lived
A good for nothin'
It's gonna mean somethin'
I gotta believe
Don't stay here, Brat, trapped in my death scene
Remember the good stuff, when they say
"Goodnight, Chris McQueen."
In the words of the illustrious Linda McQueen........ "Holy HELL." It's been days, and I've been in a morose fog, only just now emerging, shaking and fighting the tears, even as I write this, half numb, and half agony. I'm shocked, dismayed, and altogether fragile. The second I saw that this episode was going to be called, "Chris McQueen," I couldn't have been more thrilled, and my heart soared, excited! Chris McQueen has SHINED this season, our own resident white knight, slaying Vic's demons, both of the vice, and supernatural variety. It was no mistake, or random shuffle of fate, that her magic bridge led her back to her dad. He's been a gun-wielding, bomb-making, godsend!!! He helped her quit drinking, heartbroken that his little girl had inherited his disastrous coping mechanisms, refusing to let it drown her the way it did him. He's fought at her side, let her lean on him, he's become her safe place. He's given her the best advice about fighting for Lou, choosing her family, and oh yeah, he SINGLEHANDEDLY took on Bing Partridge, not just once, but TWICE!!!
If NOS4A2 has a CHAMPION, a dark horse in the game, it's hands down Chris McQueen. If anyone is deserving of their own personal, entitled episode, it's the vindicated father who did the work, fought like HELL for his redemption, made himself a better person for his daughter. That rush of flooding joy, cooled to wary concern, and hesitant dread, however, when I realized....... This honour could be his final tribute.......
Don't kill Chris McQueen........ I pleaded over and over in my mind, the frantic cry, resounding, even as I pressed play. I hadn't been able to shake that sinister, creeping feeling all day, and when we opened onto Chris at a funeral, my relief flooded in, graciously thankful to see him alive!!! Wait, he looked younger, like WAY younger, even younger than the first season, and oh my god, hold on, whose funeral is this!? Someone died........ my stomach knotting again, trying to figure out who, and we realize that this is Chris, decades ago, speaking at his Dad's funeral.
I loved, and I mean LOVED this opener. It's just so beautifully real, and one hundred percent Chris McQueen, as he muses about his father's life, and his own, and how the two came to mirror each other. He's funny, irreverent, vulnerable, and by the end, absolutely heartbreaking. It's a searing portrait of a broken man, and everything that caused his life to fracture, every death, that made him wish he was never born.
"When I came back from the gulf, I finally understood why he was pissed off all the time, because he knew there was no reason for him to born, and that nobody was going to give a shit when he died."
Chris' voice cracks, and my eyes sting, because I feel it, his greatest fear, and I know he's not just talking about his father, he's talking about himself, effectually delivering his own eulogy, and again I implored the fates...... Don't kill Chris McQueen.
Aaaaaaaaah, and HELLO Baby Vic!!! Oh my gosh, she's so precious, about eight years old, frowning as her father speaks, huddled close to her mother, and then when Chris becomes too overwhelmed with his anger and emotions to go on, tearing out of the church, she frantically chases after him, calling for him!!! Even then, she was her daddy's girl!!! Once again, I must COMMEND NOS4A2 for choosing the perfect miniature of our badass leading lady, because this girl is the very IMAGE of Ashleigh, and it was such a joy to see her fierce features, and resolve, in a dear little face!!! More Baby Vic, PLEASE!!!
Flashforward to the present day, and Team McQueen is ready and raring to hit the road. I loved this entire scene. The love between her and Lou as she tells him goodbye, and says, "I'm going to go get our boy." An achingly beautiful moment, these two give me life, and have become my FAVOURITE couple on the show!!! I may have been purely Team Drew Butler, Season One, but now I can't imagine our beautiful badass without her Teddy Bear Man, and I ship McCarmody so freaking hard!!! Vic revs the Triumph's engine, testing it, gearing up with her Dad, and it hits me....... She doesn't have to hide it, sneak away to go do her Creative Hero thing, he accepts her for exactly who she is, believes in her gift enough to go with her. For the first time..... Vic McQueen isn't riding alone........
Linda is an absolute rollicking delight, emphatic in her protest, and I have just come to LOVE her so much!!! "I don't know about this Vicki, taking explosives across a magical bridge IN THE RAIN!!!!" God BLESS this woman, she's so maternal here, and I love it, I see how much she's changed, becoming this mother and ex wife even, that isn't afraid to express her feelings and doubts, no longer shackled by the fear that she's destined to be alone.
"You're my only kid, Vicki, My Baby."
"You know me, Ma, made of steel, remember?"
Awwwwww oh my gosh, so freaking CUTE, and for the first time, they feel like a real family, The McQueen Clan on a Mission, slaying psychotic kidnappers, and rescuing lost children, becoming the family business. Linda's still unsure, hurrying after Chris and Vic, still thinking they're both CRAZY, when she sees it for the first time....... Her eyes widen impossibly, as a rickety, wooden, covered bridge, appears on the street in front of them, and her reaction is EVERYTHING we've been waiting for, I found myself, leaping off the couch, cheering as she says it. "Holy HELL!!!"
Chris' childlike wonder, as he looks up into the dark eves, and watches the bats flutter, the Triumph roaring through the beams of breaking light, weaving in and out of shadow, is such a joy to behold. He believed in it, believed in her, even without seeing, and it means that much more to Vic, you can tell. It's also symbolic, Vic sharing her world with her father, bringing him into her inscape, fighting the good fight TOGETHER, both soldiers. I loved it, every second.
Surprise, surprise, when they roll up to the junkyard, Bing Partridge isn't dead, because some cockroaches just won't DIE!!!! Like an AVENGING ANGEL, Chris McQueen is all of us, flying off that bike, and assailing Bing with murderous fury, backhanding his stupid face with the gun, over and over, impaling him deeper with the protruding rod, and I swear, I wanted to run to him, and HUG him so tightly, so freaking PROUD!!!! THANK YOU, CHRIS MCQUEEN!!!
"Where is he, you SICK, Son of a BITCH!?!?"
"HE CAN'T HELP US IF HE'S DEAD!!!!!"
Vic screams at her father, angrily chastising this good and proper beating that has been a LONG time coming!!!! I'm sorry, isn't that how ANY sane person would react to a sadistic, murdering, rapist whose made their life a LIVING HELL!? What gives, Victoria!? Chris falls back, as confused as I was, and then shakes his head, as he apologizes vehemently, which Vic is having none of. She's AWFUL to her father from this moment forward, rude and spiteful, blaming him for everything, and as much as I love the girl, in this unjust punishment, she REALLY lives up to her nickname, Brat.
This Kids Glove approach to Bing Partridge is MADDENING enough to make me PSYCHOTIC!!! BING. IS. EVIL. Say it with me, NOS4A2!!!! It's like they are hellbent on redeeming the ONE character that is beyond saving, a man that even God, himself, would look at reviled, and say, "Get thee behind me, SATAN!!!" Last week they failed, first through the deus ex machina epiphany, and then through the attempted murder/suicide, so they tried even harder, using a meeker approach, making him say manipulative propaganda like, "I wish I'd never met Mr. Manx, because then Vic McQueen would still be my friend." and "I'm all alone in here, and it's really scary." Ughhhh somebody, anybody, put us out of our misery, and put one right between his beady little rat bastard eyes.
I almost understand Tabitha's need to keep things professional, and speak to Bing, in a reassuring way that reaches his simple, monosyllabic mind. I get that beating the living hell out of him like he so obviously deserves isn't an option for her, but this man is a HEINOUS criminal, who's kidnapped kids, drugged and raped their mothers, KILLED both of his parents, not to mention TORTURED Charlie within an inch of his life, only just last week!!!! But by ALL MEANS, Vic, go HOLD HANDS WITH HIM, and see if that will help get your son back!!!! Cringe.
I HATED this, so, so, SO much!!! Bing was her friend, he betrayed her, violated the trust between them, became her worst nightmare, shot at her, traumatized her, duct-taping her to a chair, she should HATE him, despise the sight of him far more than Charlie Manx!!! I CRAVED a reckoning, even if it was just a verbal assault. But no, instead, Vic decides to play nice, and I get that most of it was an act to convince him to help her get her son back, but I could also feel NOS4A2's misguided hand in her actions. Look, see, even Vic can find the good in Bing!!!! Sigh. Not gonna lie, I was going to scream bloody murder if she said she forgives him!!!
Good Cop pays off, however, and Bing, desperate for Vic's forgiveness, reveals there is one more stop before Christmasland, one last chance to grab Wayne, when he gets out of the Wraith at Sleigh House to hang his ornament. It's a dawning revelation, intel quintessential to their success, and for once they know where Charlie is going to be, before he gets there, and can lay a trap for him and his indestructible car. I hate the way they arrived at the information though, I'd have much preferred to see Bing suffer for his sins, and the whole interaction is just so laughably implausible. I will say this however, there was a rather BEAUTIFUL line in this scene that Bing couldn't begin to deserve, but I LOVED it all the same. "I miss the person I thought you were." My god, that's powerful.
"Chris McQueen," is a STELLAR episode, full of beautiful lines like this, including my FAVOURITE thing that Maggie has EVER said to Vic, which perfectly exemplifies their eccentric friendship!!! "I'd shank a thousand assholes for your mopey ass!!!" YES!!! I LOVE THAT SO MUCH!!! I will say though, that I was SHOCKED at how cool Vic was with Maggie's scary new trick of hurting herself to use her powers, sans seizures. I thought she was going to kick her butt for that!!! I'm really worried, Guys, this is a dangerous addiction, that's going to be the hardest one yet for Mags to quit!!! The break-up with Tabitha was bittersweet, but it did not come as a shock to me. They'd been drifting apart for awhile now, and I feel like Maggie was so scared of losing her, that she was afraid to be herself. "I want to live in the real world all the time." For me, that was the nail in the coffin, having only heard it about a thousand times myself. Maggie will always be living in two worlds, and whoever she's with MUST accept that. They love each other, yes, but they just want different things. I do respect Tabitha so much for not demanding that Maggie give up her tiles, threatening to leave her if she didn't. She'd rather let Maggie go be herself, be happy, than try to stifle her, shove her into that hateful, constricting little box called normal.
Vic continues to be petty, and spiteful towards her father, treating him WAY too harshly, punishing him, when he's done nothing but fight for her, a literal action HERO, avenging Wayne, and kicking ASS!!! It hurt my soul, and I could see the pain in his eyes, thinking he'd failed her, apologizing again, just wanting her forgiveness. The second scene at the McQueen house is a far less fuzzy one, as she forbids her father to come with her, placing all the blame of every bad thing that's happened thus far on his shoulders, and she cuts him with razor edged words, saying the worst thing that she could have possibly said in that moment, something truly unforgivable, that I already know she will spend the rest of her life, regretting.
"I lived eight years of my life without you, Dad, and I can just as easily do it again." She sneers, and even Linda stares, aghast. "Vicki, no, you don't mean that!!!"
I felt the pangs in my heart, stunned that she could be that vicious to her own father, after all he's done for her, getting sober, changing his whole life, hell, getting HER sober!!! Linda is again so adorable, insisting she take Chris with her, like "Vicki let your father play on your magical bridge, if he wants!!!" not wanting him to feel left out, and while I want more father/daughter explosive awesomeness, I'm conflicted whether or not he should go. If he stays here...... he's safe. Eventually Linda's persuasion wins out. "Don't let your anger towards your father, keep you from getting back Wayne." With a frustrated sigh, Vic shoves a black helmet in Chris' hands, and we're off to the races again. "Bring them home," Linda whispers sweetly, embracing him tight, and as they hug, I get the most sinking feeling that it's for the last time. Dont...... Don't kill, Chris Mcqueen.
Vic and Chris work in silence, once they get to the charred foundation of Sleigh House in Colorado, burying the handmade bombs, and finally Chris can't take it anymore. "Is this how you want it, Brat?" He asks her, heartbroken, and Ashleigh's acting is PHENOMENAL, as she breaks down and reveals the truth behind her unprovoked animosity.
"It's easier to be mad at you, than to blame myself."
"None of this is your fault. Charlie Manx is not your fault."
"I want to forgive you, because if I don't, how can Wayne ever forgive me. But I can't just let myself off the hook!!!"
It's not entirely a make-up, but it's an important conversation, something she's been wrestling with for a long time. Chris is again AMAZING, consoling her, easing her guilt, even while she's the one that's been impossible. Again Vic, I love you, but your father did the absolute RIGHT thing, and he's the only one that did right by Bing, as far as I'm concerned.
Maggie and Lou join the dynamite father/daughter duo in Colorado, and I LOVED all of their scenes together, the two people in this world that Vic McQueen loves most, and there's something magical about it, something iconic, seeing all three of them together, the Creative Dream Team, united in their crusade against Charlie Manx.
"Every one of these ornaments represents a kid in Christmasland, lost forever. Do you think there's a way to get them back? The other kids?"
WHEN SOULS FALL.
Maggie stares down, perplexed at the tiles, as she arranges them, revealing to the oracle this cryptic, mysticism, and I myself, could NOT breathe. Holy SMASH. Ever since the end of, "Gunbarrel," where Vic wanders through the trees outside Sleigh House, frowning at them, the hundreds of glittering ornaments, swaying in the wind, glowing as she drew near, I just knew...... I KNEW the souls of the Lost Children, were trapped inside each and every one of them, and this suspicion was ever further confirmed, when she found Bradley's canoe ornament, broken open on the ground, after he burnt up in the Wraith. My prediction? To turn the kids back, they have to smash every single one of these ornaments, and only then can the escaped souls return to their vampire shells, and make them human again. The minute a child hangs an ornament, the transformation is complete.
I also LOVED the transcendent scene between Vic and Millie, a scared little girl, in over her head, calling, pleading through the static, and I couldn't help but MARVEL at how much has changed between them. Last Season Millie Manx was very much her father's daughter, cruelly taunting Vic, on her father's behalf, even appearing to her while she was awake, stabbing her with an invisible sword. Now, she calls out to her to be her saviour, her father's greatest enemy, the iron wrought armour of her inherited hatred falling away, and Vic sees her as she always was, not a hollowed out demon spawn, but just a frightened little girl that needs to be set free. I was also THRILLED that dear little Millie imparted the knowledge that Charlie CANNOT die, else all the children, including his daughter, will die with him. Vic abhors Charlie with a screaming vengeance, but now that she knows his death comes at the cost of every child he's ever taken, she won't kill him, she CAN'T kill him, because then all of this, everything she's fought so hard for, bled for, would be for nothing.
The final act is both the thrilling BEST and the incoherent WORST of the episode, as the chaotic music ominously heralds our man's arrival. Charlie Manx, cutting a dashing, imposing silhouette, dark against the hazy dusk, exits the Wraith, turning every which way, striking in profile, floating smoothly across the front of the car, to let Wayne out. I loved this aesthetic, Charlie moving swiftly through the mist and dying light, rising as the threatened dark, enclosing. It's beautiful, and serves two clever purposes. One, to shroud our debonair dark menace in all the more intrigue and mystery, and the other, to conceal just how bad Wayne's gotten. Charlie clasps his hands around Wayne's shoulders lovingly, the picture of paternal pride, and my heart caught, seeing Wayne in the cast light, his boyish curls, frayed and almost white, his skin covered in white blue veins, every one of his teeth, coming to a sharp point.
"Go on, My Boy, it's time to hang your ornament," Charlie chortles handing Wayne the CUTEST little gray, baby bat ornament, I have ever seen, urging him forward. "Choose any branch you like, just make sure it's a SPECIAL branch," Charlie crows, and my heart melts, so in love with both of them, and the way Charlie dotes on him, knowing that while this began as a revenge plot, Charlie has come to love and favour Wayne, like the son he never had. "Don't dilly dally," He warns adorably, with an eyebrow raise, and even this mild scold is too precious for words.
Charlie waits by the Wraith, already nervous, as little Wayne disappears into the grove of trees. I LOVED the Wraith's ADORABLE warning system, as it flashes danger, the car horn honking, and even more I loved Charlie's distressed reaction to it, hurrying over, brow knit, like a father racing to tend to and protect his frightened child. Can I just have this impossibly PERFECT man, that darling little curly-haired boy, and this pretty, shiny car, PLEASE!?!?
"Smart Car," I whisper to myself, as the Wraith senses Vic's presence, and the waiting bombs beneath the ground. Charlie, alarmed, jumps back into his car, to seek out what's got the Wraith in such a tizzy, racing away, and leaving young Wayne behind. If there was ever a time, to save Wayne, it is NOW!!! NOW, Maggie, grab him NOW!!!! Here's where things start to unravel for me as far as character motivation and realistic ability is concerned. Yes, I get that Wayne's appearance is terrifying for her, that she doesn't know what she's walking into as she approaches him, but there is NO WAY Margaret Leigh, Oracle Extraordinaire, Hourglass SLAYER, would just cower, and watch as Wayne hangs his ornament. Nope, sorry. Wayne isn't even all the way a vampire yet, he's in transition, and the FEARLESS girl that I know and love, would have grabbed him, reassured him, while she wrested the ornament from his hands, and SMASHED it!!! Wayne's soul flies back into his body, crying as he clings to his Aunt Mags, Charlie is thwarted, and everybody lives happily ever after. End Scene.
But no, Maggie, in an uncharacteristic move, waits until Wayne has ALREADY hung his ornament, and then approaches him fearfully. I will admit I was a little nervous too..... Wayne, Darling, NO BITING Aunt Maggie!!! Wayne bares his vampire teeth, and raises his vampire claws in an adorable scare, with the cutest little growl ever, laughing cheerfully as he chases Maggie through the trees, clearly thinking it's a game.
Meanwhile, Charlie bristles as he sees the glowing headlights of Vic's motorcycle up ahead, piercing through the descended dark. His annoyance is obvious, but you can almost sense his secret excitement, at having one last chance to kill her.
"Gunning for Mother of the Year?" Charlie scoffs, amused, looking hot as hell behind the Wraith, clenching the steering wheel, his head down, eyes narrowed and full of smouldering, black intent. It's a FANTASTIC face-off, as the Wraith screams down into the open field, Chris pressing HARD on the detonator, and the first bomb goes off in a spray of dirt and billowing smoke. Again here's where I found myself more than a little bit incredulous, wondering WHAT THE HELL IS THE WRAITH MADE OF!?!? I even giggled to myself, remembering what Chris had said. "I don't care if he's in a GOD DAMNED tank!!!" The Wraith remains unscathed, the gleaming black paint, not so much as scratched, as a second bomb, and then a third go off beneath it, to no detriment. Really!? The Wraith is NOT a tank, it's not even armoured, and while yes, it's a supernatural entity, it CANNOT DEFY THE LAWS OF PHYSICS!!! Baby, I'm sorry, I'm so don't want to see you harmed, but you put a blast beneath that undercarriage, it is going to send that car FLYING, flipping it over at the very least!!!
Back in the grove of trees, Wayne, still chasing Maggie, stops cold when Lou calls out to him.
"Dad..... is that you?" THANK GOD, I cry out tearfully, as Wayne recognizes him, and in a very human moment, runs and hugs his father so tight, snuggling his little head to his shoulder, Lou sighing relieved, as he holds his son at last. Happy tears become angry ones, however, and at first I was LIVID with Wayne, horrified as he sinks his tiny little fangs into Lou's shoulder, biting him hard. DON'T BITE YOUR FATHER!!!!! Why, Wayne, WHY!? But the second time I watched this episode, I noticed something soooo very important. Wayne doesn't show any signs of hostility, poses NO threat, UNTIL the first bomb goes off. This is NO coincidence. Charlie, you're too clever for your own good!!! I suspect, that once the transformation is complete, and the kids are connected to Father Christmas, they can sense when he's in danger, and their innate attack instinct takes over!!! Freaking brilliant, and yet also terrifying!!!
Vic curses under her breath, her foot slamming on the gas, helplessly, as the Triumph won't start, her knife failing her, as the Wraith, screams at her like a shot bullet, promising vengeance, and Charlie smirks, sadistic, knowing he's about to end this....... "Say Goodnight, Vic McQueen."
My heart clenches in my chest, barely breathing, the tears flooding my vision, watching through blurry eyes, knowing what he's going to do, before he even does it. Chris McQueen hurtles himself in front of Vic, selflessly sacrificing his life for hers, and the Wraith runs him over, crushing the back of his legs. as he collides with it. I screamed, I sobbed, and shook violently, stunned because my prayers had been answered....... Chris McQueen, has miraculously SURVIVED. He's alive...... he's alive...... I whisper, reassuring myself. While he's far from okay, surely suffering two crushed legs, unable to move, I'm just so happy to see him still breathing, still fighting.
"Perfect timing, Wayne," Charlie snickers, Vic screaming, "NO!" as Wayne hops back into the car. This is it, this is the moment, where it all goes so wrong. Charlie's holding all the cards, he's got Wayne in the car, he's subdued Vic and her father, neither of them can so much as move, and he listens, drinking in their anguished cries. All he had to do was drive away....... It was over. It was SUPPOSED to be over.
"Chris McQueen, a disappointment of a man, just like your father," Charles snarls, and I AM BEGGING him to stop, bawling, pleading frantic, my terrified voice shrill. "BABY NO!!!! BABY STOP!!! DON'T KILL CHRIS, PLEASE GOD, CHARLIE!!!!!" Tapping into a darkness, donning a heartlessness, unbecoming of our gentleman villain, Charlie looks Vic in the eye, as he does it, snapping Chris' neck with lethal force, killing him purely out of spite. The episode ends with her broken, mournful sob, and Chris' slain gaze, his eyes still full of tears, staring blankly at the camera.
My pain is deafening, my sorrow beyond all hope of any coherent expression as NOS4A2 suffers its greatest loss to date. It's an empty gesture, a callous act, uncharacteristic of the man that I love with all my heart, but who has hurt me something profound with this senseless murder. In what kind of CRUEL world, does an innocent man, who sacrifices himself for his daughter, who fought for eight years to be the kind of father she deserved, have to die, while an indecent evil like Bing Partridge gets to live!? Charlie, HOW could you!? This...... There's no honour in this. Charlie kills only as a last resort, and only in defense, he has a strict moral code, and is vehemently against violence without cause. This was unfeeling, unnecessary, and soulless. Yes, he knew Chris was a bad father from before, but surely in witnessing the valiant manner in which he'd flung himself in front of the car, with no thought for his own life, Charlie would have found him redeemed, he would have seen a father who'd do anything to protect his daughter, not so different from himself, and he would have felt SOMETHING!!!
Goodnight, Chris McQueen. You fought the good fight, you changed and made things right, and now at last you can find peace....... My heart is so heavy, I can't hold it, and crying here, I want him to know how wrong he was, thinking nobody would mourn him when he died. A thousand cry out, stricken with grief. Husband, Father, White Knight Redeemed, here lies Chris McQueen, a HERO who didn't die for nothing.........
#nos4a2#nos4a2 review#chris mcqueen#vic mcqueen#linda mcqueen#wayne mcqueen#charlie manx#maggie leigh#bing partridge
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Road to Dystopia Pt. 3
@sunbeameyes @kiddangers @bitchmilsky @adorkable-blackgirl @chenoahchantel @daintyurbanprincess @ciara-knightly @famousflowermagazine @imma-sensitive-btch @junknstu1f @grymrayven @supercasperprincesslove-blog
The author’s notes were cute the first time. Idk if I can recreate it. Smh. Accidentally deleted the first time. I know that I wanted to thank everyone who read, those who reviewed and those who enjoyed this fic. I’m sorry to anybody to didn’t enjoy, or anybody mad that this is the end, because you enjoyed it that much. And now the conclusion.
Goodbye Swellview
Ray was exhausted, but knew that he needed to address the public and also work on damage control for the incidents that Drex created and there no longer was a line to the Man Cave for the concerned citizens. He had to let them know that the system would return soon, that all of the known criminals were locked away, that jobs would be created in order to fix all of the various damages all over the city, from the majestic mountain of Mount Swellview, to the lowly old junk store, caught up in the wake of destruction. He had to assure the parents of at least four missing children that their children were probably going on Goonies-like adventures to try to search for Kid Danger and would each be returned home as soon as they were found… He had a lot of responsibilities to handle that the Kid would’ve smoothed over. So, he would do it for him.
Getting Henry into the new space and immediately tending to his medical needs, Charlotte and Schwoz worked to make sure that he was stable, giving the others instructions whenever they needed, until he was settled. Once he was hooked up to an IV and resting, Charlotte addressed all of his other injuries as he slept, and Schwoz and Piper went to retrieve the helicopter. Jasper wondered, “Is there anything that I can help with?”
“You can keep me company, if you want.”
He smiled, “Just try and get rid of me.” She smiled and continued. Henry had gotten pretty beaten up by Drex before the crash, because she knew that none of these injuries were likely related to that. Those would have been more serious, but these were pretty ugly, still. “Honestly, I may eff around and just blow off Harberd for a minute to roam Dystopia with you,” he said nonchalantly, but when she looked up at him, he seemed completely serious and pretty expectant.
“Well, a lot of people cancelled their flights after Drex attacked Swellview, so I’ll bet there’s an empty seat on mine, if you’re serious.”
He clenched his fists in excitement and wondered, “You’d really take me with you?”
She looked at him like she immediately regretted it, but he could tell that she was purposefully making that face. There was a little smile in her eyes as she furrowed her eyebrows at him. “I can’t believe that we all have superpowers,” Jasper said. Now, her facial expression was genuinely judgmental. “Don’t look at me like that! You said it yourself that I’m a superhero.”
“I said hero,” she corrected.
“Exactly, and now I’ve joined the ranks of the supers, along with Henry and Ray… and I guess you too, with your… roboticizing brain chip, but turning into a robot isn’t really the same thing as having a superpower.”
“I didn’t turn into a robot. The nanotechnology just goes through my body to where it’s needed to make the chip work properly with my brain. The chip isn’t even in my brain, it’s just in my head, and the technology can travel through my blood stream because there is organic material in the…” She saw from his face that he had no idea what she was talking about, so she concluded, “I’m not a robot. I’m still Charlotte, just… like a Super Charlotte.”
“Super Charlotte,” he repeated. She nodded. “But, not a robot.” She nodded. “Can you control other machines?”
“I can… communicate with other technology. Not so much control as to kind of get in tune with them, maybe jump on their network and sometimes hack effortlessly. I’ve still got a lot of testing out to do with this thing.”
“I don’t understand why you don’t just take it out, now. We’ve found Henry. That’s what you told me that you put it in for.” She didn’t respond to that and when she glanced at him she realized that he was waiting for a response. She still didn’t. He continued, “It’s just dangerous and it’s scary.”
“It’ll be really helpful when I get to Dystopia. It’ll be like a computer that nobody can steal from me on the train! You know that I got one of those robot hand gloves for protection? You can like attach it to the sleeve of your coat and it makes for someone stealing out of your hand very difficult. I was gonna wear it AND latch my computer to it while traveling. This is way safer!”
“For your computer, I guess,” he mumbled. She sighed. In too loud of a voice, he asked, “Well, what about that super strength, then? If you aren’t a robot now?”
Henry’s eyes blinked and she gave Jasper a look. They waited a moment, then she quietly said, “Some years ago, before you were on the team, I was kidnapped and altered to exterminate Ray and Henry.”
“I’ve heard this story. They turned you into a little, tiny Terminator, with a rap song.”
“Right. Well, Schwoz changed the signal and undid the mind control, but apparently there was still some kind of mechanism in me that could still be that way and the cyberchip was able to tap into it because the nanotechnology goes through my bloodstream. Simple explanation.” He opened his mouth and she said, “Still not a robot.”
“But robot enough,” he said.
She rolled her eyes and touched Henry’s hand, “All set.” Charlotte began to go put away the medical supplies and Jasper kept an eye on her. “This new lair is horribly positioned. It’s out in the open, like… everybody who passes by will be able to see it…”
“That’s a power move!” Jasper said. “It’s like, Yeah, I’m Captain Man and this is where I be. And what you gonna do about it?”
She sighed and said, “Captain Man didn’t make the move, but I guess. Of course, that’s awful risky for those of us who are NOT Captain Man. At least with the Man Cave, it was… hidden.”
Jasper shrugged his shoulders, “Is your assignment in Dystopia gonna be hidden?” It was a fair point. She shook her head, then he looked worried. “What exactly is your charity work? I forgot to ask.”
“Well, I actually told you a few times, but I guess it wasn’t that important to you,” she said, semi playfully. It was really frustrating to have to repeat stuff to her friends because they didn’t care enough about her life to retain anything.
“One more time, please, and I promise it won’t happen again,” Jasper said.
She nodded. He’d been pretty attentive all day, so she believed that promise from him. “In Dystopia, there are a lot of oppressive laws. The charity that I’m going to be working with is one that moves to try to educate little girls, in order to help them to not have to be child brides, or be obtained for human trafficking by Dystopia’s crime lords. There is a base of operations, which is kind of like a camp, and there is a settlement nearby - it has a shelter for some of the girls that they don’t necessarily have the resources to teach, but still have had to rescue from one of the terrible fates that happen to little girls there.”
“It is complete and utter bullshit that I didn’t remember you telling me this!” Jasper said, disgusted with himself.
“Yeah,” she agreed.
“Well… I mean… I’m not good at teaching, so is there other stuff I can do? Like… I don’t know… punch somebody if they try to steal our girls and sell them?”
“Yes, you can do that… OR… You know, you’ve got that fancy camera that I bought you for Christmas last year… You could document some of the conditions to share with the world.” She felt pretty bad for sicking a swarm of moths on him, so she made sure that she got him a really good gift. It killed her guilt whenever he opened it up.
“See? You are really great with ideas!” Jasper cheered. “Man, I’m gonna definitely start listening to you again.”
She was going to ask him when did he ever listen to her, but someone cut into their conversation with, “And what the heck am I gonna do in Dystopia?” Charlotte and Jasper both gasped and rushed to give Henry a triple hug. They both spoke at the same time about how they thought he was dead and they couldn’t believe he was alive, they were so glad, etc. He smiled in their arms and they all stayed there for a long time, eventually quieting down and just… resting, for the first time in the past few days, really.
After they were able to finally let go, Henry noted that Jasper and Charlotte were holding hands. He was just about to ask what was up with that, but each of them took one of his free hands and they sort of… were just chilling, just like that. “Are we friends that hold hands, now?” Henry asked, laughing a little.
“SUPER friends that hold hands!” Jasper corrected him. “We’ve got superpowers! I can fight and speak Spanish, ‘That’s not a-’(Henry tried, but Jasper kept going), Charlotte turns into a robot, ‘Not a robot…’ (She also attempted), and YOU HAVE A FORCEFIELD!”
Henry nodded, “Yeah, I DO have a forcefield… Wait, Charlotte, you turned into a robot? How long was I trapped in that crash site?”
“I am not a robot,” she said. They were quiet for a little bit longer and then she wondered, “Do… do you really wanna come with us to Dystopia?”
“Like he has a choice!” Jasper said.
“He does. He has plenty of choices. He could go to Neighborville as their hero. He could stay in Swellview with Ray and help him with the fallout of what happened. He could resign from hero life, hide his power and finish his high school education…” She listed.
Henry nodded at all of those unsavory ideas. Well, they were okay, but… they would include him being too far away from his two best friends, who he didn’t even want to leave before he had a severely traumatic near death experience. “Yeah… But… What could I do in Dystopia?” He asked her. He and Jasper looked at her attentively, actually waiting for her advice.
“You… could… work on your GED online, or even probably sit in on some higher level classes at the charity base, work in the community garden, maybe even do security for the shelter… You could… be a hero there. Rebrand yourself and become a new hero and a new kind of hope for Dystopia…”
“Can… I do all of that, or I gotta choose one? Because the community garden sounds awesome, but I feel like with a superpower, I should probably say that last one, or at least security…”
“You can do whatever you want, Henry. You’ll have backup,” she said and she and Jasper smiled at each other and then at him.
“I want to take a shower. I am super musty.” They all acknowledged the same. Nobody had washed up. But, also… Nobody knew where a shower might be in this place, either.
.
After they found it, Charlotte told them that they could go first, she was going to try to get them something to change into. She’d seen the gumball maker and she knew how to work it. Hell, she knew how to make an Omega weapon.. She looked up and Jasper was in the doorway while Henry showered, but keeping an eye on her. “Jasper, what are you…?”
“I’m just… leery about leaving either of you alone right now. Is that dumb?” he asked.
She shook her head. It wasn’t. She got it.
.
Captain Man announced that Kid Danger died saving a baby hospital, and if Henry wanted to remain a hero, he could always just be someone else. He had a different power, and everything. But… also… He knew that Henry didn’t want to stick around. While he was out working on getting the city calmed down, Schwoz made sure that the kids got home. And, he didn’t really hear from them while they were recovering. He could guess why.
To keep up appearances, they kept their social media active. Charlotte and Jasper replaced their phones and were posting hella photos of them mourning Kid Danger, but grateful for the chance to graduate and move on. Henry was with Piper a lot, showing up in her social media - mostly because SHE was so grateful that he actually wasn’t dead, but she was never going to admit that. Instead, she said stuff like, “Spending my last Swellview days with my biggest fan, my reckless brother” or some other version. “This idiot” and so on.
But, they were together, mostly. Piper had several graduation parties to attend and was requested at every Kid Danger memorial, as President of the Man Fans, so whenever she did those things, she left Henry at Charlotte’s. Jasper had only been home to grab his things and spent the rest of the time there, too. Charlotte was working on building a portable gumball maker, because it would be so much easier for them if they DIDN’T have to pack a lot of clothes, and also, Henry would need something for hero stuff. Then, Jasper wondered if she could make him something for hero stuff too, “Since I have superpowers now,” he said. She put it on her list.
Henry came in while she was working on that and Jasper was playing on his phone with his head in her lap. “Yo, yo, yiggety yo yo yo!” Henry cheered.
Jasper gasped and said, “BOOK CHECK!” He picked up one of Charlotte’s books from the workstation and threw it at Henry, who reflexively and defensively blocked it with a forcefield. “Amazing,” Jasper observed.
While Charlotte yelled, “Hey!” Because he threw one of her books. Henry picked it up and set it back where it went. “Hey, how are you, Hen?” Charlotte asked.
“Not as good as Jasper, with the best seat in the house,” he teased, then took his own seat, next to Jasper and leaned back onto Charlotte’s lap, as well.
“I’m not furniture,” she reminded them.
“We’re idiot doggies. We don’t know the difference,” Henry said. She rolled her eyes and continued working. “Are we sitting together at the city wide service?”
“Don’t you think you should sit with your family, after what happened to you and what almost happened to you?” Charlotte asked.
“You… two… are my family,” Henry said. Jasper reached over and took his hand. Charlotte strummed his hair. They continued with their plan of action for attending the service and making it to the airport…
.
Henry was confused whenever the bird hurt itself flying into him, but that was short lived. It was short lived, because the moment that he saw the blimp connecting with the mountain, and he watched in slow motion as what he believed to be his last few moments alive took place, he wished for something else. He tried to focus on why he did this. It was because he loved Ray, but also… because Swellview did need Captain Man. But Kid Danger?
Swellview couldn’t have needed him. His friends didn’t even need him. They had planned futures. They had decided to move on without him. But… Charlotte’s last cry. Hearing her scream his name, then all of the noise of the Man Cave crumbling… Did they make it out? Would they be free to leave Swellview? Would they… still want to… after this? Because the fire, the wreckage and the explosions that he was witnessing… there was no way that he was going to be alive for much longer. He jumped off of the blimp, hoping that at least if he wasn’t incinerated in the explosion, they would have something to confirm what happened to him. The babies were safe, so he no longer had to steer the blimp. A Swellview block was safe. Swellview was safe, thanks to him. Ray was safe. Knowing how dedicated Jasper was to doing what he said, Jasper and Charlotte were safe. He could die, knowing that the people that he loved were able to live on.
Whenever he landed, back first, he braced himself, but he bounced, then stopped moving. Was it so painful that he couldn’t feel it? Was it so bad that he had dissociated? He checked himself. He was still glowing green and he appeared unharmed… But… wreckage from the mountain and the blimp soon came tumbling down and he braced himself yet again to be killed… He wasn’t, though. Just… trapped. “Okay, so it’s slow starvation instead of instantaneous impact or at least a torturous few moments of burning?” He sighed and tried to shove the flaming wreckage off of himself. Not only was it not working, but more and more kept falling onto him. “Or suffocation?” He said, noting that it was very difficult to breathe under all of this. He started to try to see if this… protective glow could maybe push off some of this stuff like it deflected that bird and like it padded his fall. He was able to get himself a little more breathing room, but he was pretty buried. All that was left to do now was wait - either for this forcefield to fail and these rocks to crush him to death, to succumb to hunger, or maybe something else horrific could happen.
He tried to see if his phone was still on him. Maybe he could call someone. Maybe he could call Charlotte or Jasper… He recalled her voice screaming his name as presumably, she got out of the Man Cave? But… what if she didn’t? What if she and Jasper only made it as far as the elevator and everything collapsed, making it plunge right back down into the explosions? He shouldn’t think like that! He should try to have some hope… But… that was enough to scare him away from trying to call either of them. He tried to press the buttons by memory. Maybe he could contact Piper. She was out of dodge, so she was definitely safe and sound, somewhere… But his phone must’ve had bad coverage, because nothing happened. No connection… He was on his own, just the way that he figured he’d be whenever Team Danger left him in Swellview. “I’m gonna die here, in this place,” he announced miserably, to himself. “Alone…” He whispered and shut his eyes. Nobody was around, so it was okay for him to cry.
Time was lost on him. He almost passed out a few times, but immediately jumped awake whenever he felt the force field slip and the wreckage get heavier against him. His jump scare wake ups always push it out a little more, but not enough to free himself.
He thought about Jasper. The way he used to always try to be affectionate and it would make Henry slightly uncomfortable and try to avoid him for a moment… If he had Jasper here right now, he would hug him so tightly and apologize and tell him that he loved him and kiss him right on the lips. As friends, or whatever. It didn’t matter. He didn’t tell Jasper how much he appreciated him and his love and now, he was going to die alone and Jasper was going to maybe light a candle before he left for college, hopefully mourn accordingly and then move on with his life.
Charlotte… she was gonna go… what was she doing out there? Dystopia… was she working in one of their food deserts? If he had Charlotte here right now, he’d tell her to start from the beginning and tell him EVERYTHING on her mind. He wouldn’t cut her off, or tune her out, or make fun of her for how boring or nerdy whatever she was talking about was… Had he been that person? A person that doesn’t show his friends that he cared? A person who didn’t let his best friend love him? Didn’t listen to his other best friend? Would they even care to lose him? Kid Danger, sure… but… had he been a good enough Henry to them?
His brain was exhausted. His muscles hurt from the strain of staying alive inside of that force field, and his heart was broken by all of the regrets of being the kind of friend that friends and even his sister could just move on and leave behind. Maybe they were somewhere beating themselves up too. I mean… they WERE just gonna graduate and leave me… He felt bad for even thinking that way about them. They shouldn’t put their lives on hold just because HE had wasted his, and now, he had sacrificed it. He was probably always meant to be here. To fall, a hero, but die alone. He hated his mindset right now. He had been so sure whenever he sent Ray away. He had been so sure when the babies were safe. But, now, in this aftermath… He just wanted the death he deserved, a hero’s death… not this hell that he was putting himself through while he fought to stay alive, for what? Because starving, dehydration, and exhaustion were better than rock crushing?
.
He heard helicopters nearby and he tried to move. Maybe if he shifted a rock and knocked some down, they’d at least check this pile of rubbish. Rubbish? Weird. I must be delirious… One thing he wasn’t… moving those rocks. And it was hours before they began to move. He was about ready to throw in the towel. He was so out of it, he could’ve sworn that he heard Ray’s voice ask where he was. He answered. He’d been talking to himself and his ghosts all of this time. Might as well continue… Then, the rocks began to move and he saw their faces. Charlotte and Jasper! FINALLY. The death he deserved. Peaceful, with images that brought him joy and not anguish. He dropped the forcefield and he let himself find rest.
He hadn’t expected to wake up to find them there. He hadn’t expected to wake up at all, but he heard chatter about Dystopia and he knew those voices and he simply followed them until he was conscious again… and there they were - his friends. His loves. Of course, he wanted to be with them. He never wanted to have to be alone again, hero or not…
.
After a little bit, it became clear that they were going to have to do a little more than just help and watch after the girls in the program - people were always in need of help in Dystopia. They would wake up in the morning. Charlotte, wrapped up in two dudes and squirm her way out of them. She got better and better at putting their arms on each other so that she could stretch and have some tea before they got up. If Henry woke up first, he left a paper flower that he folded and a note that he went for a jog - he could do that, because he had a force field. Whenever Jasper woke up first, he would either stay where he was until somebody else got up, just cuddled up and watching them sleep.
No matter the order, they got up, took the train to the base. Charlotte taught classes, Jasper took photos and did maintenance work, and Henry helped with the community garden and security.
Any time that there was an alert for them to spring into action, Jasper and Henry were able to go more easily than she was, but the times when she DID get to go, those criminals had better watch out. She had a tap on mask programmed into her cyberchip, so she didn’t need to blow a bubble… she wasn’t big on gum, anyway, and she made sure that she kept Henry and Jasper’s gum supplied. Jasper needed two, they soon found out, after watching him be thrown around like a ragdoll, because he had not been able to sleep as easily with a pill. Charlotte’s sleeping gum recipe though? Put him right out and he was up and fighting in no time.
Henry had a hero complex with them. He still jumped in front of them and potential danger with his force fields, despite that they probably would be fine 9 times out of 10 if he hadn’t. He still asked Charlotte if she was going to go back to the base. He still felt like he was the one who had to protect them, sometimes. They were slowly getting him out of that habit every time they had to get out there and fight. Charlotte with her extensive gifts from the cyberchip. Jasper with his unique fighting style. And now, for however long they wanted to, the three of them would be as close… no… they were definitely already closer, than he and Ray had been when they were a team. Things worked out just as they were meant to! He wasn’t going to die alone. He smiled to himself as he popped the gumball into his mouth and rushed to catch up with his friends.
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