Guest characters in fighting games:The rant

If you have played fighting games in the past 20 years, you have seen them: Akuma on X-Men: Children of the Atom, Yoshimitsu, Spawn, Link in Soulcalibur, Gon in Tekken, Hellboy, TMNT, Scorpion on Injustice,  etc.

Well, that's what I want to rant about. Sometimes, these can bring life to a stale game. Other times, they ARE the reason to buy certain games (sc2 on the cube comes to mind). Others make you scratch your head thinking "why?"...

So, I was sleeping earlier today (graveyard shift means sleep during the day like a vampire...) and I had the weirdest dream:
John Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso in Street Fighter V.
Yes, the protagonist and antagonist of the original Karate Kid movie... and the YouTube Red series I can't see, Cobra Kai.
It was awesome. The All Valley Tournament was Johnny's stage and he was fighting Ken while using his Skeleton outfit. (And yes, he sweeped the leg.)
Daniel was on Okinawa during the storm fighting Akuma and crane kicked his way out of a Shun Goku Satsu. Daniel was in his karate uniform.

Then I saw an intro scene between Daniel and Johnny on Ryu's stage. They acknowledged their past encounters before fighting. All this while a cover of this song was on the background:


Then I woke up. Sadly, there are no Karate Kid guest characters on Street Fighter V...
But that got me thinking. I would love to see Dracula and a Belmont on a theoretical Darkstalkers 4. Not sure if I had mentioned this before. I know that Injustice 2 has a completwd roster and no more guest characters, but if not in two, then injustice 3 NEEDS TO HAVE

We KNOW there is a MOTU/Injustice crossover so, perfect synergy would mean to have an appearance by He-Man  (and Skeletor) on an Injustice game... or even better if Injustice 3 has the core MOTU crew as a hint to an official MOTU Fighting game... but Mattel might be the biggest hurdle here. Their "higher ups" aren't the smartest tools in the shed based on comments by Scott Neitlich when he was the fandom's champion of all things He-Man. (While he didn't flat out say it, his remarks on how he had to fight for every little thing puts them in an unfavorable light... and it doesn't take a genius to add 1+1)

Hell, Right now I would take the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on SFV... (second team, because Thuy Trang is dead and we can't get new voicework from her.)
They lend themselves for that. Special and super moves would use their power weapons...
Alternate outfits would be:
Civilian, Ninjeti, movie hard armor.
Of course Tommy would get 3 extra outfits:
Green, Civilian green, Super Power Beatdown green. (Maybe different attack animations and taunt while green)

But nothing will ever be as creepy as the Camel Chocobo in an Ass.Creed title.

Top 5 game "collections" that I'd like to have

Megaman Legacy Collection is testing my patience...  My vintage platforming skills are not up to par. Damn that simple Gutsman jump. Tested 9 and it made me its bitch... need to channel my childhood rival, who was a freak at MegaMan. But I'm not here to talk MegaMan. Just anthologies that I'd like to see... MMX and SF do not count since THEY ARE COMING.

Castlevania:
This one is rather obvious, seeing that 2D Castlevania are a staple in classic gaming.
Castlevania, Castlevania 2 with a proper translation, Castlevania 3, rondo of blood, symphony of the night, both arcade games (Haunted Castle and the recent Light gun sryle game)

Ninja Gaiden:
This one is rather simple: the NES Trilogy, the arcade game, and the first "next gen" Ninja Gaiden (the second half of the collection is next gen Ninja Gaiden 2 and 3)
I'd  probably make it a 2 cart game on the switch, with the old school games being digital downloads.
Worst case svenario, the old school ninja gaiden games and as a bonus the original DoA because Hayabusa is in it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Konami Kollection:
Borh arcade games, Tournament fighters, Hyperstone Heist, and the 3 NES Games... pizza hut ads removed.

Mortal Kombat Klassic Kollection:
MK, MKII, UMK3, MKT,MK4, Deception, Deadly Alliance, and Armageddon. MK9 is a new timeline, so let's have the klassics on a kollection.


 Fatal Fury:
This would include the 3 fatal fury games, fatal fury special, the 3 real bout games, garou mark of wolves.


These are the top 5 game collections that can be made multi console, that I'd like. I shied away from Metal Gears and Grand theft autos because, I wanted to keep them mosrly 2D

This is truly truly truly outrageous!

A Jem fan film that actually feels like a somewhat modern take on Jem and the Holograms?
I mocked the Chu Jem for not beimg Jem-like.

This is truly truly truly outrageous!
This is a fan film that actually feels like a Jem episode. It has a lot of cheese but in an 80s cartoon kind of cheese. In this case that's a good thing. The essence of Jem, which is not on the Chu movie, is here.

This project basically makes the Blumhouse Jem look like a flamimg turd. These folks truly truly understand Jem.
Imagine if they could get a budget and make a Jem web series. It would keep the brand alive for old fans amd maybe even bring new ones... Hasbro, what are you waiting for?

Top 11 Photo Ops that I want to assist to that aren't Mark Hamill

C'mon, Mark Hamill is the Holy Grail of cons... Luke Skywalker, The voice of The Joker, The Trickster, the Detective that turned into a roach zoanoid in Guyver... and Cock-Knocker.  I KNOW what you're thinking:
Stan Lee is the Holy Grail,noit LukeSkywalker...
Yes, but Stan is in frail health and asking him to go to cons when he should be at home with his friemds (or with Silent Bob, who offered his place to Stansit)
So here are the Top 11 people I'd like to add to my celeb pic collection... who aren't Mark Hamill.

11: Johnny Yong Bosch:
This one is a triple whammy. First is a Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger. Second, he's creepy esper Itsuki Koizumi... so Haruhi's SOS Brigade gets some loving... Last but not keast he's  the voice of Renton Thurston from Eureka Seven... and this is a bit petty of me, but I would get my E7 box set signed with a personal joke regardong the person who got me into the anime. But the pic with Black Ranger #2 (I'm a frog) would be priceless.

10: Jason David Frank:
How dare I mention Power Rangers and not him? The guy has becpme synonymous with the brand. There is not much to explain here. It's freaking Tommy Oliver.

9: Cole Sprouse:
Yes, Jughead from Archie's Creek... and Cidy Maryin from the Suite Life of Zack and Cody... you got me, it's all about Zack and Cody and to... wait a minute did everyone forget about big daddy? I'd wear a Scuba Steve T-shirt as an obscure reference... also I'd ask him if he's the evil twin.

8:Ralph Macchio:
Need I explain this? And obviously the pic would have to be in a Cobra Kai Skeleton outfit. Going as Miyagi can be considered racially insensitive. I mean, it's freaking Daniel LaRusso. (And this choice isn't as random as Mr. SUITE LIFE)

7: Stephen Amell:
I was hugged by Malcolm Merlyn and skipped a photo op with Black Canary 3 (don't mention the not ponying up cash for Diggle last year)... I have failed this city!

6:David Hasselhoff:
Baywatch, Knight Rider, Spongebob the movie and the Original Nick Fury! But mostly Knight Rider...

5: Paul Eiding:
This is mostly because of voice acting,  but it's not Grandpa Max Tennyson... if ypu follow the House of rants, then

This makes ALL THE SENSE

4:Jennifer Hale:
Before she was in cahoots with that plaid wearing scam artist... the one with the giant hoop earrings, she was Black Cat... also, she makes me tremble when speaking about anti-freezing peptides while using a faux British voice.

3: Christopher Daniel Barnes:

Which also happens to be Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid and Spidey in Marvel Superheroes!

2: David Hayter:

No, it's not a mistake... Paul Eiding is simply explaining WHY I want a pic with Hayter...

Well, now it's time for el numero uno... What Voice actor could encompass all what the House of Rants is all about... OK, not all of it, but a lot of what makes me rant:
Marvel, Videogames, Ninja Turtles, He-Man, etc.

1: Cam Clarke:

It was rather obvious that Cam Clarke, my favorite Male Voice Actor woild top the list... he has dabbked in pretty much EVERYTHING I LOVE TO RANT ABOUT!!

Spawn movie reboot has a Spawn?

I can't believe it!? It's happening? Jamie Foxx is the new Spawn... nice! Wait, this is the Blumhouse Spawn movie where Spawn will barely be in it...

Why am I reacting like this?
Blumhouse...

I know it's outrageous... truly, truly, truly outrageous!

If Blumhouse was able to screw up Jem, they can easily screw up Spawn... but shiet, first Shenmue 3, now the Spawn movie... What can I ise now as an alternative to when Pigs fly?
I know Blumhouse does horror OK... but I'm reasonably worried.

Really, Mattel? Really?

 Check this new Imaginext Batman playset.

Does it look familiar to you? Because it totally does to me.

Another "homage" to MOTU By the Imaginext team...
Seriously, Mattel should just make MOTU an Imaginext sub-line.
I think I've said this before, bit it NEEDS repeating, especially every time that Imaginext is screaming at them: "Let us make a He-Man sub-line!" But it seems that Mattel is not interested in promoting their brands and making them relevant... it's no wonder why Hasbro is kicking their asses.

Megaman Legacy Collection for the switch: first thoughts

I must confess, that I got into Mega Man thanks to my childhood rival. The original Mega Man was one of my worst nightmares as a kid... damn you Gutsman and your stupid ass moving platforms... They are way easier in Mega Man Powered Up. I'm talking the original MM becaise it's the only one I played for now... While I'm dpwnloading the second half of the collection... yeah, Crapcom went lazy and made the second half of the gameseries a DLC. I don't get it... How can BOTW, a WiiU game  FIT in a Switch cart, but somehow 6 NES Games, 1 SNES game, 1 PS1 or Saturn game and 2 faux NES games can't fit on a switch cart!?
I call shenanigans!

But this plus BOTW will keep me satiated until the SF collection shows up.

SOLO: A red cup's story; The Rant. Spoilers

No, that kid is not my Han Solo... but he is not the worst part of the movie...

Incredibly, no... she is NOT the worst part of the movie...
Third wave Feminist propaganda spewing Robot? Close but no cigar.
Donald Glover as Robosexual Lando?
Nope...
The forced Cameo? Which one Darth...oops! or Last Jedi Gambling small creature played by Mark Hamill?
None of those, though TLJ creature triggered a bunch of people.
Paul Bettany being wasted as a talent here... that's the movie's biggest sin, but not the worst, because I lied. The answer is one of the options above, except Paul Bettany. He deserves mad props.


So, Solo... what were my thoughts on it?
It was good... not great, but good.
I'm not a fan of the kid as Han. Doesn't feel Han Solo-ish enougb.
My biggest issue with the movie is that it's playing it TOO SAFE. I'd almost say it felt like a pilot episode for a TV show than a movie. If I were to use Candy to describe the movie, it would be a Three Musketeers bar. Mostly fluff with a bit of chocolate. Compared to Rogue One which would be a Milky Way bar, and the Normal Star Wars movies being a Snickers.

 But then again, I'm more interested in an Obi-Wan movie or one between 6 and 7 with Sebastian Stan as Luke.

Go watch it, it's enjoyable, but don't expect it to be groundbreaking.

Yet anothwr Thundercats groan rant...

I night be going overboard with this, but it's either this or talking about Jared Leto's alleged pedophillia, brought to you by one of the Sprouse twins... I think it's Zack, not Cody. Or the accusations of Morgan Freeman: Sexual Harasser with the voice of a god.
Then again, I could comment on the sad passing of Margot Kidder, and Dean Stefan, writer for the 200X MOTU... but Thundercats is the  lowest hanging fruit.

This time, the rant will focus on the comedy direction and why it's wrong.

Let's look at Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go! As a reference.
First let's start with the Leader of the buncb, Robin:
He's a bit too serious, a bit demanding, prone to go on solo missions, due to his upbringing with Batman. His partial distrust on his teammates stems from Batman's paranoia. His desire to excel as a leader, stems from the fact that he was Batman's sidekick.

TTG has these same characteristics, but ramped up to an insane level.
He's neurotic to the point of caricature (can hear the uh duh's since TTG is a parody of TT) problem is that he spends 98% of his time screaming like a moron. He's power hungry, greedy, paranoid and whenever he has to do something to batman, he turns into a little bitch who is afraid of the God Damn Batman.

We could mention how Raven is forced to control her emotions on TT in order to not awaken tbe demon within. She seems to act like she simply doesn't care about things/people because she's  somewhat detached.

On TTG she simply doesn't care about mostly anything. Her demonic side is played for laughs and we get the Tara Strong voices Raven, so Raven is a Brony because Tara Strong is the main character of My Little Pony FIM. The point is that the characters are devolved to a point that they are mockeries of themselves.

Being self-aware doesn't make the show good.
But, if One were to reduce the chsracters to their defining trait ot would be like this:

Robin: neurotic boss

Starfire: dumb foreigner

Beast Boy: Slacker

Cyborg: Black token.

So, how does this lead into Thundercats?
Let's  reduce the cast into the most One-dimensional versions, shall we?
Lion-O: based on what littleshown, we know he's dumb as bricks and is likely going to be a man-child.
Tygra seems to be the straight man character and the butt of many jokes.
Panthro: Token black guy... if samoflange becomes his catchphrase, Fruity Pebbles deserves a thousand kicks in the dick.
Thunderkittens:ADHD kids.
Cheetara: Token female. Possibly OP because of third wave crap and probably hates the Patriarchy.
So, reducing characters to a one nite parody is doing a disservice t5i them. 

Revisiting the Wild's breath...

I have finally cleared MOST of the BotW DLC. Trial of the sword is raping Link's ass.
Here are my thoughts about it...
The Champion's Ballad is REALLY worth it as a DLC due to the extra story stuff revealed on it. Especially for Zelda, who needed a bit more exposition.
The gameplay ekements added are a couple of shrines, a small mini quest with a one-hit obliterator... fighting one of the dead shrine dudes, reliving the Calamity battles with crappier equipment... all for Link's divine beast Motorycle Unicorn... and shorter recharge times for Daruk's protection, Urbosa's fury, Regali's gale, and Mipha's grace.

All those chuchu jellies gathering dust in your inventory will become useful as fuel for your bike.

Trial of the Sword is a way to power up the Master Sword by doing sets of trials that are Eventide Island on steroids.

The last part of the DLC is literally different outfits from other games. Some are good, due to the added effects like the turd locator mask, others are a waste of space.

All in all, the DLC is a mixed bag, there are a few good things, buuut they're only available when you're "near the end of the game"... the rest is a bit blah.

The one thing we need is a "100 years ago DLC". With maybe a slightly limited version of the world to play a series of flashbacks on Zelda's quest to awaken her power.
Let's say that the Ancient Book of Mudora had its pages scattered across Hyrule. Impa gives Link a quest to find all the pages. If you find all the pieces from a region, then you can unlock a playable flashback at Impa's. Maybe the Yiga are also looking for the Book of Mudora as well in order to ensure Calamity Ganon's victory. But a guy could dream...

Superhero girls is being rebooted...

I have commented that I'm not that excited for that show's original take. Mostly because it's a DCU reskin of Monster High. Not to to mention that the show itself feels incredibly girly... yes, I KNOW THAT THE TARGWT AUDIENCE IS IN FACT,  LITTLE GIRLS. And that doesn't mean that the show has to be as cringy as MLP Gen 3.

Well, the reboot art reminded me of This:


And that's because Lauren Freaking Faust will be in charge of the New DC Superhero Girls.

While, yes, I prefer the previous version's art style; the fact that Faust is helming this is GREAT NEWS!!
Y'all KNOW that I love how Faust reinvigorated My Little Pony. Based on her work on MLP and SBFF, I believe she can do great with DC's SHG.

Spider-Prompto: the series: the rant

Marvel's Spider-Man is Disney XD's replacement to Ultimate Spider-Man. The art style is a bit too Spectacular Spider-Man for my tastes... Luckily, the show is decent. Not great, decent...
Let me get the negatives out the way.

I HATEHATEHATEHATE!  The Horizon Academy/Oscorp Academy crap.
The idea that Pete has one super mega lab at his fingertips diminishes PART of what makes Spidey special. He makes do with what little resources he has because he isn't freaking Tony Stark or Reed Richards.

I hate that pretty much EVERYONE IS SOMEHOW CONNECTED TO the schools. Rhe villains are either students or teachers at any of the schools.

This brings me to the next point:
Spider-Man, Araña, Miles Morales are all classmates... and betting that Gwen won't die but will become Spider-Gwen...

Telwgraphing Harry-Goblin wayy too hard...

Other than that, it's a really great show...

And no, I cant stop thinking of Prompto whenever Peter or Spidey talk.

It came from the Toy Chest: Grimace has Jewelry

I had this on the back burner for some time and while I haven't seen muh of the DP wave, I still need to review a Josh Brolin in honor of Deadpool2.

Yes, it's Thanos, which isn't that hard to guess.  I won't explain Thanos and his obsession to please Death by axing half the Universe, or how he has a beef with  Deadpool because of Death.

Articulation 
The Mad Titan has standard articulation. Aside the elbows, which are single joint.
3.5

Paint and sculpt
The sculpt captures the movie Thanos rather well. The colors are slightly dull, a bit of slop on his torso and that s my only complaint.
4.5

Accessories
N/A

Overall
4.0 for Thanos. Kinda wish he had gotten an alternate hwad with the helmet and a removable armor overlay  to have a real Thanos instead of farmer Grimace.

A clarification on my hatred of nu nu Thundercats

Now that cooler heads are in control, I can comment better on why this bad Tumblr take on Thundercats is bad and why this bitch should feel bad.

Pictured: Bitch that ruined Thundercats

The fact that he sees "comedy" in Thundercats and is using THAT as the main focus, shows how disconnected he is from Thundercats.
Yed, there are some quirky things about Thundercats that you could poke fun at, such as Lion-O being YOUNGER than the Thunderkittens but is trapped in a grown man's body... Like Tom Hanks in Big. Or Mumm-Ra being a crotchety old man who wants those pesky cats off od his lawn... That works great on a parody sketch like say, something out of Robot Chicken...


The problem here is that this bitch is trying to make the official representation Of the Thundercats a parody of their 1980s selves. It doesn't work that wauy.

This is the premise of the Thundercats:
Lion-O, a child trapped in an adult's body; must man up and lead the last of his people, the Thundercats in order to survive in an alien planet ruled by an ancient evil overlord known as Mumm-Ra the Everliving.

That's some dark shit right there. Lion-O is how you connect with the children as he learns lessons on responsibility. While he is basically a King, he still has to look up to his subjects, because he is still a child and he needs guidance in order to become a fair and just ruler.

You can have comedic elements to add levity, especially if you use characters like Snarf, the Thunderkittens, and to an extent Lion-O. The one thing you shouldn't do is overuse comedy, but the goofy stylized art is an early indicator that they will.

On a side note: did anyone notice that Lion-O now wears Daisy Dukes, also Panthro is wearing them with studded suspenders. Also if Cheetara and Tygra are wearinf tights under their leotards, why add short pant legs? They look stupid (and obviously pandering to neopuritan social justice whiners)

But back to the main issue. I feel the story WILL SUFFER due to the art. They have an inclination for going towards absurdity. And yes, I DID SEE A FEW EPS. Of OK KO Let's be heroes, which cemented my fears. And I know some idiots will try to use the argument thst stylized shows can lend themselves for action and mention the DCAU, Spectacular Spider-Man and such. To which I say, uh duh!

Look at both Panthros, one is a badass and the 2019 is not.
Do you see a no nonsense badass warrior with an affinity for mechanics on the 2019 one? No because he looks like a mouth breathing mentally challenged Cartoon Network generic show character. He kinda looks like Steven Universe crossed with Darwin from Gumball with Mr Gus's arms. (From Uncle Grandpa)

Some people are claimimg that we need this in order to get a good reboot...
That's like going to a restaurant and ordering a steaming plate of shit as an appetizer in order to eat a succulent meal. (In my case it would be a nice steak with a side of wild rice... you pick whatever you like )
Desiring a quality reboot that respects Thundercats is NOT offensive.

On the other hand, we Could have a Wind Waker situation here...  Of we do, that would be great. Sadly the clip is making me want to cover the show in kitty litter.

A tale of two reboots *language warning*

I have been very wary of the She-Ra reboot.
The cast was revealed and it looks decent.

This pic inspires a LITTLE BIT OF HOPE, despite the pants.
But, so far it seems WAY MORE RESPECTFUL than the following:

Take Teen Titans go (to Hell, hopefully) and combine it with an art style that's like a bad crossover between Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and MAD.
You got that visual abomination in your head...
Now mix that unholy thing with this:


I'm not joking.



I know what a Thundercat is and you ain't one. Thou art a Thundercrap.

Picrured here: The Moron who is taking
A massive shit on The legacy of Thundercats 

What the hell is this moron talking about Comedy on a show about an honorable clan of aliens who crash landed on a planet trying to live peacefully, while a cranky old mummy tries to kill them because they aren't evil?
He calls the intro of the original series Animation Gold, and THIS PIECE OF EXCREMENT is how he pays respects to it?

If I were a hyper angry videogame or nostalgic movie reviewer I'd say something like: "If this fucking shit is why we can't  have a complete roster of Classic Thundercats, Soyboy there needs to have his dickhole filled with bamboo skewers!!" But I am not... O am a more mellow individual... (Though I completely agree with the sentiment)
My thoughts are: "Less TTG, more Voltron... fucking moron. You probably work for Mumm-Ra!"

This dumpster fire is making She-Ra reboot look good

Things I learned on PRCC 2018...

My camera decided to act up and behave worse than Caillou Ren and I couldn't take pics... Like a moron, I forgot about the little fact that my Cellphone HAS A CAMERA...
In all fairness, I had finished my shift at 8 AM and jad to wake up at 11:30 in order to shower, shave and put on my Japanese Schoolboy islookimg for a Chinese assassin but gets distracted by SEGA games and capsule toy machines... outfit.

I was disappointed that only ONE person got the reference.

I refused to take picturws of Deadpools, Harleys, Jokers... That inclused Bob Rosspool, Gwen Poole, Deathstroke... (to be fair it was a Slade and Wade couple. And as mucj as it pained me, this meant that the Wade running around with an Infinity Gauntlet had to be culled.

He was looking for Mr. Yost.
Sadly, we couldn't record the encounter.

There was a Kirito and Asuna cosplay, but I kinda blew my chance for a pic when they overheard my remark on a Kirito hat.

It fits Kirito to a T.

I saw part of the Voltron Force. Allura, Lance and Hunk were MIA so the remaining Paladins were looking for them.

I was disappointed in the lack of Sailors at the Con.

It was OK... I even got to see a half-assed WB Booth.
All the good stuff and the TTG would be on Saturday... Shame, because the whole being put into The Meg sounded cool.

But this is the part where you ask about Billy and Captain Jack Harkness.

Let me start by saying this... I am WELL AWARE that I'm  fat. Also, I'm 5'7", which is kinda short... Well, Mr. Yost is 5'6"... So, he looks super small next to me. I wasn't Photoshopped into the pic.

Now with that said, let me weave a tale, so you can almost feel what it was being me at that moment.
We were in the line to take pics with the Blue Ranger. I wore my Communicator for obvious reasons (blue bands, of course...) tons of people with the Blue Ranger shirt... Madeline  (well a girl cosplaying as Madeline) was freaking out about touching his helmet. Then everybody  freaked out, cause everyone there grew up watching Power Rangers (and most of them left on the second half of Turbo). Nearly everyone went for the Helmet. I chose the Morpher. Did I mention that he was wearing a Blue Polo shirt? Now I womder if that was a coincidence or a Zordon mandate.
So, I was fumbling with the Morpher until he helped me perfect my Morphin' Time pose.
He complimented my Communicator for obvious reasons.
Also, I touched his Morpher, as in one of the actual props used on the show...

But at least with the Blue Ranger I didn't mess up like I did with Tara Strong (who is real) last year... Oh no, the fangirl within came out with John Barrowman... cause let's face it... John Barrowman must be a mutant, cause he can make straight guys and lesbians crave for the D.
So, this girl was cosplaying as Donna Noble... I had seen her on the floor a few times, but it all clicked while waiting for Captain Jack Harkness.
So, we began chatting, along with Storm and other folks about fangirling about John Barrowman. A small Whovians vs DC fans discussion began to form and it switched to everyone getting too nervous to go first.
JB is generating suspense by arriving fashionably late.
Guess what Al'ahmaq (my League of Assassins name) said:

A: Oh my God he's real!!!
B: Ohmygoshohmygoshohmyoshohmygoshomygooossshh!
C: He's like a pretty version of Tom Cruise!

He then went by his photo op rules... Main rule: no kissing while his arm was on my shoulders. I squealed Oh my God he's touching me!! The girls were a bit jealous... I could see it in their eyes... I started giggling  as I walked to photo area and he was all: "Are you OK, Buddy?"
"I'm nervous" I replied. He then offers a hug and my brain was like: The leader of the League of Assassins is a Hugger? How can I see him as a villain, when Now I know he's like a real life Danny Tanner? So, as we hug, the Photographer takes the pic.  As we break off the hug he says that I smell real nice and hugs me again. (CH for men... it can make Malcolm Merlyn want to hug you.) So the Photographer snaps another pic. I left the photoarea giggling like a schoolgirl... and doubtimg my heterosexuality for a few minutes... I guess that's the Captain Jack Harkness charm at work.

Not sure who was higging harder, Captain Jack or Me...

Alas, I had to return home and sleep in order to go to work. But, I won a free bag of rice just for knowing that Henry and Nora Allen are Barry Allen's parents.

Well that was my PRCC experiemce in a nutshell...

The House of rants will be hitting the PRCC in a few hours...

I am beyond nervicited. Today, I had to assist in the setting up of an exhibitor booth at PRCC... it was a favor to a friend. Well, I overheard some of the staff and a few spots for photo ops with Captain Jack Harkness were available...
Sure, it cost me like $57 bucks, but I now have a chance to have a picture with John Freaking Barrowman!!! That's in addition to David OG Blue Ranger Yost... Also, I will be cosplaying as the guy who is looking for Sailors...

Like Last year, I'll make a quick recap of whatever catches ny eye...

Street Fighter vs Power Rangers is real

But it's for mobile...

This is very disappointing,  since the whole premise of an all era Power Rangers brawler sounds amazing in itself, but when you add members from the granddaddy od the 2D fighting genre,  you expect greatness...

All you get is a crappy RPS game with sloppily added fighting game elements.

Do NOT BE TEMPTED BY IT!!

If this had been a true console brawler, like say, Injustice, or MVC, it would've been amazeballs.

It came from the Toy Chest: This woman may be a wonder...

Get it? Woman of Wonder...

I promised the review of DC Collectibles Wonder Woman.
This figure cost me $25+ so, it better be up to par with modern figures, because last DC items have sucked donkey balls.

Do I need to explain Wonder Woman?
Demi Goddess from Paradise Island... Don't make me write Themyscira too much cause I will screw it up... The other day Autocorrect called Ralph Macchio "Ralph Macchiato". So Wonder Woman... The mightiest Amazon goes into the world of man to defend it in the name of love or something.

Articulation:
Oh look, Diana is articulated like a modern figure! This type of articulation should be the standard for Adult collectibles. Not that 90s kid toy articulation bullshit that the Essentials have. Her left leg is a little lopse though.
4.0

Paint and sculpt
The sculpt is really great. It's based on NU52 with the duller colors and excess of silver and looks like Wonder Woman... (obviously she fills her outfit better than Gal Gadot...) Sadly, the hands suffer from sloppy paint application.
3.5

Accessories 
2 lassos of Hestia
2 extra hands
Sword
Shield
Removable wrist straps for shield.
By amount alone, it should get a flawless victory here, but the accessories have issues.
The shield won't attach to the wrist peg or back peg securely.
She can't really hold her sword well
The "loose lasso" is way too short to actually use in cool poses.
The coiled lasso keeps fallimg off her soft "horn" to hold the lasso.
Due to these issues her score is lowered to 2.5

Overall
3.33 is Diana's final score. The paint issues and accessory problems hurt her a lot more than expected.

Gotham is totally NOT LIKE SMALLVILLE!!

Remember how Smallville padded the Superboy story due to the legal issues between DC and Siegel/Shuster? (Among other issues that "shidted the focus" of the Superboy Origins show into a prequel of the prequel to Superman) Remember akl the BS they went througb to keep the show on WITHOUT actually doing a Supermab show while doing a Superman Show?

Something similar happened with Batman but woth much less legal litigation... but plenty of WB interference to avoid confusing people by having two Jokers... (but totally OK with two different Barry Allen)
Well, Brucie is wearing the cowl on the FINALseason...
I still can't believe they lasted 4 seasons... especially since they were doing Batman minus Batman...

Odds and ends May 13, 2018...

Happy Mother's day to any of my readers who happen to be mothers. If you're not a mother and have one still alive, go hug her and tell her how much you love her. Go... I'll wait!


You're back! Good! Let me start by saying that I'm jealous of you right now.
But, enough about that... let's figure out a rant for Mother's Day...

Is it nice? That's a 1:1 reproduction of the vintage art by Earl Norem. Normally I don't care for art prints, but THIS ONE I NEEDED TO OWN for nostalgia reasons.
Mainly this:

That video, I used to watch as a kid many many times and that pic brings a lot of nostalgic feelings. While my actual copy was lost in my last move, the print makes up for it.

This Friday, guess who I'll be meeting...
(Assuming no unforseen circumstances ruin it... because I already bought the tickets. Unlike last year where the Hurricane ruined my chamces of meeting JDF)


Sadly, there were no spots for John Barrowman on Friday and that's the only time I can Assist PRCC 2018.

Grimace's jewelry obsession: An Infinity War rant

I got to see Avengers: Infinity War and it was awesome. This movie was everything that Justice League should have been. While thw roater is enormous, very lityle of the mpvie is wasted on backstories for characters. Except maybe Thanos who needed some backstory (and no reference to his love of Death)

If you are aware of the comics, you know what to expect from the plot.

The plan paid off. All the build-up with the Infinity Gems being set up led up to this "Final Showdown". We already know there's  a follow-up to the movie, so I won't play coy with the sequel being set up.


So, that's all I can say without spoilers. I will leave a yuuuge gap right after the page break to spare you the spoilers if you haven't seen it.

Karate Kid: The animated rant

Well, since I can't watch Cobra Kai, I've been getting my Karate Kid fix by watching the movies... the ones involving Daniel LaRusso, of course... I even played the NES game... it's worse than I remembered.

But there is a small often forgotten Karate Kid media... The Cartoon. We follow Daniel-san, Mr. Miyagi, and some girl looking for a shrine statue... A magical statue. They travel across the world searching and failing. Sufring torpedoes, giving each other thumbs up, and winking at each other...
Because it's animated, you can see some crazy  bullshit that would have been massively cringy in live action.
Miyagi chopping trees with his bare hands, wrestling a crocodile, and Daniel LaRusso running around in a loincloth... now Picture 1980s Ralph Macchiato dressed up as He-Man... Then this dude turned into a Jaguar and stuff... all from a single episodr and I'm here scratching my head wondering: What the Hell did I just watch?

Whatever it was, I can say it was NOT The Karate Kid... it makes the NES game feel more canonical. Miyagi, Daniel, and some girl following a magical item... what part of that feels like the story of a bullied boy who learns martial arts and defeats his tormentors in a tournament and earns the respect of his peers... Hell Sidekicks is more Karate Kid than this.

To be fair, this was an 80s problem. Take a property, keep the star of the properry (and some sode characters)  make a show completely different from the source material and you have a kids cartoon.
Like Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos, Rambo the Force of Freedom, Mr.T, Hulk Hogan Rock n Roll Wrestling...

I could be watching the far superior series Cobra Kai, but nooo! Youtube betrayed me... one day... I WILL watch it, hopefully before the new Season 2 begins. Hell, even the flamimg Will Smith turd of a spawn helmed reboot is better than this. Holy shit! The little Chinese girl from this reboot is in her 20s now!


Wait... first Miyagi was telling Daniel-san to whack-off... Now Jackie Chan wants Jaden to Jack it off?

Seriously, a Karate Kid game would be great on Switch... Wax on, Wax off, sando floor, painto fence, painto house...

How did I end up back in the Marvel Legends game?

I could've sworn I wasn't getting anymore figures... aside maybe an occasional Spidey or X-Men figure... shame I never saw 90s Jean, nor the Jubilee wave... I regret not buying the Jim Lee Cyclops from the Warlock (phalanx alien, not Adam Warlock, keeper of the Soul Gem)
Now I've gotten a few too many MLs thay normally I would've skipped...
I have Gwen Poole and SJW Spider-woman... There's also a Kamala Khan and two of the GotG that haven't been out the Toy Chest.

I guess I could easily blame Super7 for this.
The dry spells between MOTUC releases (or throwing down surprise preorders of the faux vintage stuff without a warning) can make one look for some instant collecting gratification... Marvel Legends, DCUC... I mean DC Multiverse deliver that... I could mention DC Collectibles, but so far they have brought disappointment.

I can't rely on Storm Collectibles, because they have an odd time table. The toys are super nice, but still waiting for the Shao Kahn figure...

But Hasbro has been knocking it out the park with most of their releases.
And some of their figures are making their  ToyBiz counterparts look bad... Hell, even Hasbro is out doing Hasbro...

Seems like I might need to bring back the Marvel Legends shelves...

It came from the toy chest: This Batgirl is almost an Oracle...

And yes, I mean Oracle as in the wheelchair bound version of Barbara Gordon.

Do I need to explain Batgirl?

Articulation:
Wait, her gloves have a rotating point? Her ankles have vestiges of articulation and she can spread her legs for semi wide kixk poses? It almost feels like a late 90s ToyBiz figure...
3.0

Paint and sculpt
Here she has a lot of love. The vibrant colors, the details pretty much everything that would make me love a figure (when it isn't ruined by piss poor articulation).
5.0

Accessories 
Grappling gun with really short rope... bonus fact, gun is a pain in the ass to keep on her hand.
1.5

And a preview for the next ICFtTC.

Overall 
3.17 is the score she needs, not the one she deserves. While MARGINALLY BETTER  than Aquaman, she's still underwhelming. Aside the sculpt of course... these figures are making me appreciate Mattel a lot more.

Comcast is evil!!

Y'know the famous Disney/Fox merger?
Well, Comcast is trying as hard to 🐓block it as hard as they can. Cause they're EVIL! They want Fox's  properties and they're willing to throw more money at Fox.

Thing is Disney and Fox are in the middle of working out this deal, which theoretically would be completed by 2019. If Comcast throws a wrench at it, we could say goodbye to the Prodigal Children returning home.

It came from the Toy Chest: Disappointment, your name is Arthur Curry

And talking to fishes isn't cool. So I got a DC essentials Aquaman... he was one of the victims of the massive backlog.

Let's get cracking.
Articulation 
This figure has early 90s articulation and it sucks. He is barely able to stand up on his own and that stinks. I can't even put him in cool poses with the trident for cfying outloud.
2.5

Paint and sculpt 
Here the figure shines... he has shading on his legs and his orange armor hasan odd effect where it shimmers in orange with a hint of golden glimmer. The sculpt is really great. I wish he was either ML sized or MOTUC sizedjust to buy a third party cast of that head for customs.
5.0

Accessories:
Chained Trident...
2.0

Overall
Aquaman gets a 3.17, despite his abysmally bad articulation... which is unacceptable in 2018!

It came from the Toy Chest: My mom's name is Martha. Mine too! Are we Superfriends now?

DC direct or whatever name they're using now, has released a couple of figures and my Ollie Queen was lonely, so I got him some companions... Batman and Superman... What, were you expecting Diggle and Felicity?

Not going to explain Batman  Superman. So let's get cracking.

Articulation:
Right out of the bat, these figures already are a failure. Early 1990s articulation?
No ab crunch, no wrist cut, no waist cut, no ankle articulation? No wonder they were under $15.
2.5

Paint and sculpt:
At least they don't  suck in this department.
Don't get me wrong, there are more paint hits on a Mattel-made DCUC than on these figures. The sculpts have tons of details that extra paint application would've made it pop.
3.5

Accessories:
Zip, zilch, nada, the big goose egg.

Overall:
I feel that these figures have failed. Now I regret buying Aquaman. They get a 2.0 as their final score. I really wanted to like them, but in the age of superarticulation, these figures are unacceptable!

YouTube's betrayal with Cobra Kai...

I mentiined that I recently saw the first two episodes of Cobra Kai... Well, I had my credit card ready to pay for the service and watch the whole series when...

So, no YouTube red for me... the help FAQ says that if YouTube Red is not available, you can buy it with the Google Play movies app...

Aaand...

You gave me a taste of a supremely awesome series that has been the best thing that eber happened to The Karate Kid since the original movie and you block md from getting it adter you got me hooked?

Not cool YouTube...

Cobra Kai is way better than I thought...

I only saw two episodes and I have to say...
It's way better than the Jaden Smith reboot, better than the Animated series, and the Fourth movie without Daniel-san.

It is basically "Sweep the leg Johnny" the series. We follow a defeated Johnny Lawrence whose life is really bad. Divorced, hasn't seen his son in ages, treated like dirt by everyone around him. Meanwhile, his bully is one successful businessman with his dealership, autoshop, and hands out little Bonsai trees to his customers. Did I mention that LaRusso is a total douche here?

Well... not really.  Yes, he is a bit of a jerk, who has let success go ocer his head. At the same time, not everything is hunky dory at Casa LaRusso. All I know is that I'm hooked on this series and want to see more of it!
And yes, Miyagi is officially dead. Daniel-san goes to his grave for advice... wonder if Daniel and Julie will meet.

RDR 2 is coming in October

I also saw a young John Marston in the trailer.

So far the trailer is 98% cutscenes. There seems to be a few seconds of actual gameplay hidden in there, but I'm not 100% sure.

We knew it'd be a prequel. We saw and heard Dutch. Now we saw Marston.
I'm curious on the new mechanics.

I dread a bare ones single player campaign while the focus is on online. But I can't deny that I'm not excited for it... I  have gone beyond excited...

Adding the X-Men and F4 in the MCU... How?

With Infinity War and the cosmic conflict that was filmed without Disney owning the rights for the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, which means no sign of the first family and the Mutant Rights Advocates that happen to be a sort of superhero team... But now that Disney has the right to use them; how do we add them to the mix.
Some people say add them "later". Me? I say they have always kinda been there...

For example, let's say that The Fantastic expedition happened around the time of say, Thor. Something something, the cosmic storm causes the crew of the Fantastic to end up in Skrull space. Captured by the Skrulls, who begin studying them in order to ensure perfect disguises of humans for their invasion of Earth, the 4 discover their powers. With the aid of Capt. Marvel, they escape and return to Earth shortly after the Aftermath of the attack on New York.

They decide to keep their powers secret from the world. Nick Fury swears secrecy thanks to something Capt. Marvel gave Reed. Fury gives the F4 full control of the Baxter Building, a S.H.I.E.L.D research facility whose former research lead was assassinated  (Mary Teresa Parker) alomg with her Husband (Captain Richard Parker)

Reed's research uncovers a rare mutagenic material that could revert Ben's mutation, but is located deep within the Atlantic Ocean. After discovering Atlantis, and getting involved in an Atlantean Civil War, the Fantastic Four help the Amnesiac King Namor regain his spot as the Ruler of Atlantis. (Between Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron.)

After the events of Age of Ultron, the Latverian Emperor, Viktor Von Doom begins fortifying his small nation from attacks. Reverse engineering the Ultrons, he creates his army of Doombots to protect his city from attacks. As he delves into the arcane arts, he finds a way into the quantum realm and is trapped there.

Reed decides to visit an old Mentor of his, Hank Pym, in order to bounce back ideas on how to cure Ben from his affliction. (Adter Civil War, but before Infinity War.) Instead, Pym, suggests that maybe the cure for Ben's mutation may be within the Quantum realm, not to mention that an expedition to that realm would be charting a map into the unknown... and to find some closure for Janet.

The Four enter the Quantum realm and end up in a pocket dimension where Von Doom has recreated a New Latveria where he is a sort of God Emperor Doom. At first, Doom acts friendly towards his former classmate and his companions. He even "cures" Ben from his condition. Eventually, the F4 discover that not everything is what it seems. This pocket dimension was enslaved by Doom and turned into something it was not. A small rebellion led by Janet van Dyne enlists the help of Reed, Sue and Johnny. Ben wanted to stay out of the fight, since he's no longer The Thing. Since time doesn't operate normally in the Microverse, Sue's pregnancy has been accelerated when Thanos snaps his fingers. As Doom, Ben, Sue and Johnny begin to fade away, a small bubnle shields  the Four and Doom. This is being done by the Baby, Franklin as he begins to force his way into the world. Agreeing to a truce, Doom helps Reed to deliver the baby. Usong the last vestiges of his power Doom seals Franklin's powers and escapes. Swearing revenge on the F4 for ruining his plans of Multidimensional conquest.
The F4 would be able to return home after endgame, where the new Illuminati invite Reed to join their group.

For the X-Men, well that's  a bit tougher.
I would start with a series of webisodes starring our favorite angry and stabby Canadian before becoming an X-Man.
Have a WWII short where Corporal Logan from Canada is given a mission to aid Captain Rogers on Captain America: First Avenger. Maybe even have a scene where Logan walks past Cap (back turned to the camera in order to hide the fact that it's not Chris Evans) who seems to be chatting up with some soldiers.

The next short could deal with Logan's distraction mission, which involves rescuing some prisoners from a concentration camp. He even saves a young child named Max Eisenhardt (better known as Erik Lehnsherr) from death.

The following short involves Logan traveling Japan to pay a debt to a Mysterious man known as Ogun. He is trained by Ogun in the ways of the shadow warriors. Logan betrays Ogun, when he discovers that the latter is uaing him as a dog of war to wreak terror in Japan.

The next short involves Logan returning to his homeland Canada, where he stumbles into the Wendigo and stops the creature using the Muramasa blade. He gets captured by Dept. H and some of Logan's former contacta from the CIA.

The next short is a hyper summary of Logam becoming the tenth attempt to make a Super soldier to surpass the (believed to be) dead Captain America. Logan escapes into the Wilderness but is being followed by a tracker named Victor Creed.

The next short is in the nineties, where Logan, now infused with adamantium and his memories scrambled is working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to protect a young scientist named Mary Teresa Fitzpatrick from the Mercenary known as Sabretooth. His S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison is Lt. Richard Parker. After defending Fitzpatrick, he suggests that Parker should ask her out. Logan finds a suitcase with the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia, the Wolverine suit, and a brickphone. Fury calls to get him into the Avengers Initiative,  but Logan refuses. Fury tells him to keep the sneaking suit.  (Tan and brown)

The final short is in the mid 00s where Logan is living on a cabin in the middle of nowhere near the Alaskan frontier, where he's visited by Charles Xavier (with Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler) to be recruited into the X-Men. Logan suits up after saying: If I'm gonna join your circus, might as well dress up like a clown)

Now for the X-Men movies. First one takes place in 2006 Xavier has his first class of students: Jean, Scott, Hank, Bobby, and Warren. Their Baptism by fire comes in the form of Cain Marko, a man imbued by the Ancient powers of Cyttorak. The Unstoppable Juggernaut is hellbent on killing his stepbrother who abandoned him in an ancient temple in the Mythical Savage Land of Antartica. The budding X-Men have to take the fight to the Savage Land, where not all Members are able to return home.

The second movie takes place  in 2009 with Xavier recruiting more mutants to Return to the Savage Land after Xavier receives a telepathic message from Jean telling him that Lehnsherr is alive and has taken her and Hank prisoner.
The X-Men face Magneto in the Savage Land, when aliens show up and kidnap the X-Men due to the Phoenix force manifesting within Jean.

Third movie takes place around 2012. The Shi'ar allow Jean to live and send the X-Men home. In reality, the Shi'ar simply sent them to Mojoworld, an intergalactic prison world, where prisoners live "normal lives" as the equivalent of television shows. The Phoenix allows Jean to be the first to see through the illusion and she awalens the X-Men and other Earthling Homo Superior that Mojo had kidnapped through the ages. (Mojo has an obsession with Earth culture)
As the X-Men begin to free Mojoworld's prisoners, the phoenix begins to warp Jean's mind and she becomes Dark. The X-Men are forced to fight Jean. In the end, Jean sacrifices herself to send her teammates home safely. The X-Men arrive to Earth on 2018 when Thanos snaps his fingers.

I know it's a bit of a cop out to have them off-Earth but it's the only plausible way to have their adventures. As a bonus, we could say that the Fox movies WERE canonical as "a couple of Mojoworld's shows. The characters looking different could be chalked as "alternative art style" for the show. Also, the whole Mojowprld could allow nods to other weird X-stuff like Arcade, the Brood, Sentinels, etc.

Goyer is hellbent on ruining He-Man!!

Skeletor is Adam's

Yes it sounds stupid as hell. Assuming that this is true, of course.

I hate the idea. We already have a familial bond between Skeletor and Adam. Pitting them as brothers diminishes Skeletor... Not to mention it makes Randor a dick for abandoning his son. Then we have Duncan demoted from Mentor to simply a weaponeer and plot explamatory device. The mysterious Zodac is now Adam's  mentor. (No mention of  the Sorceress of Grayskull)

Stratos is what now? A glorified jailer?

Yikes!
Now Beastman is an orange Beastboy...
This reeks of failure. Luckily this all will be scrapped... Kinda wish I had an Infinity Gauntlet to fix this shit.