So I got to say as I’m sure many of us are, but I’m tired of Batman and Joker stories. When I heard there was 0 Joker in The Batman I was pretty glad. That being said, I love this scene. I’m not really familiar with Barry Keoghan’s work but holy shit I love his portrayal as Joker; him and Pattinson have great chemistry in this scene and I like the Hannibal Lector callback. His design is very unsettling, and I love how degraded and ghoulish he looks. I hope we get some more of the duo in future films. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Category: Comic review
Godzilla: Cataclysm
Where does the line between god and monster lie? For those that still survive in ruin, the line has blurred. The kaiju, the monsters of the world have turned their fury towards humanity, especially that of the legendary Godzilla. There is no reason, only death and despair in the titan’s wakes. Have the massive beasts finally decided to retake the world for themselves or has mankind pushed the boundaries of science and greed too far? When a small family comes upon something that can potentially begin regrowing life, their village is in desperate peril as Godzilla reemerged, angry, and with a vengeance.
So to begin, this review goes out to a longtime friend of the blog, Autobot who requested I cover this comic. Cataclysm is a really cool book I think Godzilla fans will really enjoy. I love the gritty, war-torn look of this little village inside of one of Godzilla’s footprints. The monsters look great and there is a good variety between well-knowns like Mothra and Destroyah but also a few lesser-known ones that look pretty kick-ass. It’s a really quick read that feels pretty self-contained which is nice. In the end, I had a lot of fun with this book and it’s well worth a read for Godzilla fans new and old. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Batman: Earth One (V1)
With The Batman finally hitting theaters soon, I thought I’d visit a series that seems to have been a big inspiration for the movie. While I was against this rendition at first, even damn near hating it at first, I cooled off and gave it a fresh chance. Was I wrong or simply proved right?
A new figure has emerged in the dismal city of Gotham, overrun with mob violence and crime on every street. This figure we know as the Batman, Bruce Wayne but far from the legendary detective and badass. Batman is a brawler in a costume with a lot of anger and not much else. His longtime guardian, butler, and trainer Alfred warn him he’s on the path to suicide as a nonlethal soldier in an impractical costume that relies on brute force instead of guns or weapons. Looking for revenge for his parents’s murders, the rising bat follows a train of clues, running parallel to broken detective Jim Gordan and superstar Harvey Bullock that bring him to the corrupt and sadistic mayor of Gotham: Oswald Cobblepot.
So I was pretty wrong in this case. After years and years of perfect Batman, this was a pretty refreshing if not really flawed look at Batman. I mean REALLY flawed. Alfred was a huge standout in this book; I love how he harbors resentment for Bruce and he’s bitter being strung along by duty and his own morality but he’s tired and he’s watching someone he ultimately cares about toss his life away fighting a war he isn’t even trying to win. I do love Penquin in this book and Colin Farrel is a spot on in The Batman so far as the Earth One version. I will saythe story itself is pretty standard and runs awfully close to Batman: Year One and Batman Begins so there is nothing really special there. While I love the reversing arcs of Gordan and Bullock, Gordan does come off as a sap in this book who just gave up which bugs me but at the end he sees the light a bit. The book ends with a nice cliff hanger that teases Riddler as the next big foe. In the end, it’s definitely a good Bat story that delivers on the characters and meh on the story but well worth looking into. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, both best friends of the now former Captain America are having a rough time adjusting to the world since Thanos and the blip. Sam refused the mantle of Captain America, leading the government to choose military darling John Walker as his successor; Bucky is trying to heal after decades of trauma as the Winter Soldier trying to make amends. Things go South when a radical terrorist cell called the Flag Smashers rises, armed and formed by rogue super soldiers. Its up to Sam and Bucky to uncover the mystery of these new super soldiers as well as uncover sins of the past if they plan on making a better future.
This one is tricky. The first few episodes didn’t grab me at first and it wasn’t until the later half I really got invested in. The action scenes are well done and overall the actors did a great job. US Agent was always one of my favorite Caps so I was happy to see him debuted in the MCU; I also loved Isiah Bradley from the comics as well and I loved his story arc in this as well. Baron Zemo’s return maybe my favorite in the show, he’s way more clever and has way more character than he did in Civil War. Sam’s Cap outfit at the end is spot on and looks really badass. There are some problems though. I felt like the pace of the show was somehow slow, despite the fact there wasn’t much down time. I also respect the themes the show was addressing but I feel a few times it got heavy handed and preachy. In the earlier episodes, some of the banter felt forced and while I loved Sam and Bucky til this point, I found them pretty unlikable for the first few episodes. In the end, the show was fine- maybe would have been better as a movie instead- but still worth watching. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Wandavision
The picturesque town of Westview just got a new whacky couple comes to town, Wanda and Vision. As we join the newlywed Avengers in their shenanigans, all may not be as it seems. A suspicious neighbor, an impossible pregnancy, and reality-bending to Wanda’s shattering psyche as we discover how far Wanda will go to hide the pain of her losses and the true depth of her mysterious powers as she becomes the fabled Scarlet Witch.
Fun Fact, Wanda was my first big Marvel crush as a kid and seeing her in full costume at the end was a huge treat. Wandavision is a great character study of Wanda Maximoff and a look at a shattered woman coping with a life of loss and tragedy. Olsen, Bettany, and Hahn steal the show as Wanda, Vision, and Agatha. I loved Agatha as a villain and I can’t wait to see more of her in the MCU. I loved the visuals and how well the sitcom spoofs were done. Going in I didn’t know what to expect but I can say Wandavision is a unique way to begin the 4th phase of the MCU and I can’t wait to catch up with the Scarlet Witch in Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness trailer 1
Staying all the way to the end of Spider-man: No Way Home was well worth the wait for the first look at the Master of the Mystic Art’s return. As to be expected it looks beautiful and I’m happy to see Wanda and Mordo’s return; Scarlet Witch’s new outfit looks badass and I’m glad they finally gave her a real costume. I’ve seriously been waiting for this movie and I’m ultra pumped for it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
The Batman trailer 3
Ok, I know I’m a bit to later on this trailer but holy shit I’m excited for this movie. I love the way Pattinson carries himself so far as the Dark Knight, and I really like what I’ve seen of Riddler and Catwoman so far as well. Visually I love the style and I’m glad it’s coming soon. May the gaming god bring you glory.
Marvel’s Avengers (game)
It’s been a while, hasn’t it, folks? Well, Torsten’s tales are for another post but for now: new year, and let’s start talking soul-crushing boredom. That’s right, let’s talk about the Avengers game.
Kamala Khan is a normal girl and super fan of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes: Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and the Hulk. During a grand expo on A-Day, celebrating the heroes, they are called into action during an attack that presumes Cap dead, injures hundreds, and unleashes the Terrigen Mists which causes an outbreak of people to get superpowers, becoming Inhumans, including Kamala herself. With the Avengers disbanded, an organization called AIM has risen to fix the Inhuman problem by any means necessary. Kamala, desperate, sets out to reunite the Avengers and beat the sinister head of AIM.
Ok, whatever you heard about this game is basically true. This game is a bland, boring slog. The game starts off promising but damn it gets repetitive fast. Hell, two out of three of the game’s bosses are in the opening hour pretty much. Most of the game is a out of date beatum up that doesn’t even feel right; Hulk and Iron Man feel nerfed hard while Black Panther feels damn near unstoppable; Hawkeye and Spider-man feel like absolute jokes. After two hours in, you pretty much saw what the game has to offer in terms of gameplay all around. As for the characters, the only one I actually liked was Kamala, everyone else feels like dimestore MCU knockoffs. The gear you get throughout the game doesn’t affect your appearance, the costumes are basically microtransactions that this game goes out of it’s way to try to sell you. In the end, unless you find it ultra cheap like I did and even that’s a stretch, don’t waste your money. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Spider-man: No Way Home
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Peter Parker has come a long way in the MCU, hasn’t he? Becoming an Avenger, beating Vulture in Spider-man: Homecoming as well as Mysterio in Spider-man: Far From Home ; well now the world knows after Mysterio reveals not only Parker’s secret identity but also frames him for his death. Suddenly the young wallcrawler’s life is not only in shambles but also the lives of May, Happy, Ned and MJ. Desperate he visits Dr. Strange for a favor but unbeknownst to both heroes, Parker made a grave mistake that rippled across worlds, bringing 5 villains from multiple dimensions into his world, each with a bone to pick: Doc Ock, Sandman, Lizard, Electro, and the Green Goblin. If dealing with 5 enemies and a crumbled reality isn’t enough, Peter learns they all will perish fighting Spider-man in their own universes; can Peter pay the ultimate price for the greater good and how far will he go to save a life?
Ok, I’m not going to spoil anything but I’m not going to sugarcoat it: No Way Home is fucking amazing (pun intended). Not only does this movie give a damn powerful conclusion to the Home trilogy but to Spider-man in general by contunining stories left off by Mcguire and Garfield’s timelines as well. There is plenty of fan service and you can tell this movie is hardcore for Spidey fans; seeing the classics return was not only rewarding but also a huge threat seeing them interact and face a younger Spider-man. This is Tom Holland’s best portrayal as Spider-man hands down and I loved seeing a story with him and Strange butting heads and playing off each other. The acting all around is great but Holland and Dafoe steal the show; Goblin is still a legend almost 20 years later. Admittedly tears were shed and this is a very heartwrenching movie but it completely pays off. Honestly, I recommend this movie not only to superhero fans but especially Spidey fans in general; you will cheer. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Batman: Hush (animated)
![Amazon.com: Batman: Hush [DVD] [2019] : Movies & TV](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91CFWS-lygL._SL1500_.jpg)
Batman’s foes are some of the most legendary of all time: Joker, Bane, Scarecrow, Riddler, and Mr. Freeze to name a few. Bruce has been the Bat for a while but despite Alfred, Gordon, and his sidekicks, it’s a lonely life. He finds himself falling for Selina Kyle, allegedly reformed Catwoman, and well as vowing to reconnect with his childhood friend and now famous surgeon Thomas Elliot. But things are escalating in Gotham as Batman is lead through a gauntlet of villains interwoven in a unknown plan by a mysterious, bandaged figure named Hush, determined to bring a end to the Dark Knight once and for all.
So I have to this classic was handled really damn well, just about perfect but for a raging flaw. The voice acting is really good and the animation is great. The story features a lot of friends and foes, including a pretty badass fight against a possessed Superman. I love the relationship between Batman and Catwoman and I like the friction Nightwing and Batgirl have towards her; Catwoman’s story arc is one of my favorite parts of the movie. So the flaw I mentioned, what kills the story dead? The twist on Hush’s identity. The book had a great twist, revealing Hush’s identity which screws with Batman on a mental level, which is what I really enjoy about Hush as a villain- he attacks on a intellectual and mental level rather than brute force. The twist is the movie sucks and hurts the value of the story overall. In the end, its a damn good watch but definitely read the book. May the gaming gods bring you glory.
Savior Gaming 