#Alan Versus Predator

[saphronethaleph]

AvP

Alan closed the door to his office, sat down, and shuffled through some papers.

After that unfortunate incident at the school, he was going to need to get back to work. There was… not the Biron case, that had been placed on hold, it would be the Jones one…

“Mr. Barnes,” said the most awful voice he’d ever heard, and Alan jumped in his chair before looking around.

“Who said that?” he asked. “Who’s there?”

Nothing.

“Are you a cape?” he added.

“I am not,” the awful voice said, sounding like gravel being gargled. “I am nothing to do with your unfortunate ui’stbi infection. No, this is… a courtesy, you would call it.”

A chuckle, and Alan looked around again – more carefully, this time.

There was the faintest ripple in the air…

“What do you mean, a courtesy?” he asked, trying to reach for his phone without making it obvious.

“Since your daughter is probably going to be dead by tomorrow,” the voice told him, and Alan froze.

“...what?” he asked.

“Your younger daughter, of course,” the voice added. “Surely you don’t mind?”

“...what?” Alan repeated, more loudly. “What are you talking about – how could you – I don’t care who you are, but you can’t get away with that!”

“She is the friend of the one called halkrath vor’mekta, Shadow Stalker,” the voice pointed out. “I have been watching. They accompany one another. You help her out. The one called Shadow Stalker treats others as prey because they are weaker than her… it is what makes her ideal prey in her own right. She will understand, I am sure.”

The voice sounded… amused, more than anything.

That was the terrible thing about it.

“Understand – you’re saying you’re going to try and kill Shadow Stalker?” Alan asked. “And my daughter?”

“You should be honoured,” the voice said, chuckling, and that was an even worse sound. “Haven’t you made it clear by your actions? You see nothing wrong in hunting prey. You see nothing wrong in even those close to you being treated as prey. You defend those who hunt them.”

The shimmer… was moving, Alan thought.

It was hard to tell for sure.

If he shouted, then could he get Carol in here quick enough? It was…

...no, probably not.

“It’s – that’s-” he tried, trying to come up with a way to explain.

A way to get across that Emma had to be safe, that – that he hadn’t meant… a way he could tell this monster, this whatever-it-was, to leave his daughter alone.

A way he could protect her.

It had always, only, been about protecting her.

No matter what.

“Nothing, then,” the voice said, with finality, and the window opened. A moment later, something jumped out of the window, and was gone.

Alan ran to the window, looking outside to see if he could spot something – anything – to tell him what had just happened.

But there was no sign.

“...what the fuck do I tell the PRT?” he asked, out loud, as he pulled the window closed.

Because… the PRT had to know. That monster, whatever it was, had to be stopped before it went after his daughter and her friend.

But he couldn’t think of a way to explain what had just happened that didn’t mean… explaining what it had said.

[figures4fun]

I know it’s the Olympics, but go easy on him Dutch, he’s uncomfortable around open flames!

[crashhole]

My 2024 Comic Reading List

Listed alphabetically, this is every title I read this year. I’ve either read the entirety of each series and/or am currently up to date with the overwhelming majority of these, though a few of them I did drop, and some were rereads. I also didn’t double down on series with the same names (such as Wolverine, Iron Man, X-Men, and other titles that have ended and relaunched this year) but I did include one shots. Almost all of these were read physically and are part of my boyfriend and I’s collection, but a couple of them were read digitally- mostly but not all of the manga. Ultimately, I can say I’ve read at least one issue of every title on this list.

I read 1030 issues from 284 titles this year.

———————————————

Absolute Batman

Absolute Superman

Absolute Wonder Woman

Absolute Power

Action Comics

The Addiction

Age of Bronze: The Story of the Trojan War

Ain’t No Grave

Alan Scott, Green Lantern

Alien

Alien: Black, White & Blood

Alien: Paradiso

Alien: Romulus

Aliens Vs. Avengers

All-New Venom

All The Things We Didn’t Do Last Night

The Amazing Spider-Man

Animal Pound

Astro Baby

The Autumn Kingdom

The Avengers

Avengers Inc.

Avengers Twilight

Barfly

Basic Instinct

Batman

Batman: Dark Age

Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees

Beware of the Planet of the Apes

Beyond Real

Beyond the Planet of the Apes

Birthright

Black Widow: Venomous

Blitmap

Blood Hunt

Bloodrik

Blow Away

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex

The Brood

The Boy Wonder

The Cabinet

Cable

Carnage

Catwoman

Cemetery Kids Don’t Die

Chainsawman

Chasm: Curse of Kaine

Claymore

Cobra Commander

Coda

Convert

The Creeping Below

Creepshow

Creepshow Holiday Special

Crocodile Black

Cruel Universe

Cult of the Lamb

Darkstalkers: Jedah

The Darques

Dawnrunner

Dazzler

DC All In Special

Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames

Dead X-Men

Deathstalker

Deer Editor

Deprog

Destro

The Deviant

Devour

The Displaced

Doctor Strange

Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale

Doom

Duke

Edge of Spider-Verse

Epitaphs from the Abyss

Exceptional X-Men

Eye Lie Popeye

Falling in Love on the Path to Hell

Fall of the House of X

Fantastic Four

The Flash

Flavor Girls: Return to the Mothership

The Fog

Gannibal

Gatchaman

Gatchaman: Galactor

Gatchaman: Ken Deathmatch

Geiger

Generation Hope

Get Fury

Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance

Giant-Size X-Men: Magneto

Giant-Size Spider-Man

G.I. Joe

G.O.D.S.

Godzilla 70th Anniversary

Godzilla: Best of Destoroyah

Godzilla: Best of Spacegodzilla

Godzilla: Here There Be Dragons II: Sons of Giants

Godzilla Library Collection

Godzilla: Mechagodzilla 50th Anniversary Special

Godzilla Rivals: King Ghidorah vs Space Godzilla

Godzilla Rivals: Versus Manda

Godzilla Rivals: Mechagodzilla vs King Ghidorah

Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs. Moguera

Godzilla: Skate or Die!

Godzilla’s Monsterpiece Theater

Godzilla: War for Humanity

Godzilla vs. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2

Golgotha: Motor Mountain

Gun Honey: Collision Course

Helen of Wyndhorn

Hellhunters

Hello Darkness

Hellverine

Huge Detective

Hyde Street

I Heart Skull-Crusher!

Itchy & Scratchy Comics

The Immortal Thor

The Incredible Hulk

Interdimensional

Into the Unbeing

The Invincible Iron Man

Jackpot

Jackpot & Black Cat

The Jaguar

John Constantine, Hellblazer: Dead In America

Jujustu Kaisen

Justice League Unlimited

Kid Venom

Kill All Immortals

Laura Kinney, Wolverine

Life

Lucky Cap Scouts

Man’s Best

Marvel 85th Anniversary Special

Masterpiece

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return

Minor Threats: The Fastest Way Down

Monsteress

The Moon is Following Us

Morning Star

Ms. Marvel: Mutant Menace

Mugshots

The Multiversity

The Multiversity: Mastermen

Mystique

Naruto

Nightmare Country: The Glass House

Nights

NYX

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos

The Oddly Pedestrian Life of Christopher Chaos Halloween Special

The One Hand

One Piece

Our Bones Dust

Paranoid Gardens

PeePeePooPoo

Phoenix

Planetary Expansion

Poison Ivy

The Power Fantasy

The Powerpuff Girls

Power Rangers Unlimited: The Morphin Masters

Precious Metal

Predator: The Last Hunt

Predator Versus Black Panther

Promethea

Psylocke

Ranma 1/2

Resurrection of Magneto

Rise of the Powers of X

Rogues

Roxxon Presents: Thor

Sabretooth: The Dead Don’t Talk

The Sacrificers

Sainted Love

The Sandman

Santos Sisters

Scarlett

Scarlet Witch

Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver

Sentinels

Seven Years In Darkness

Seven Years in Darkness: Year Two

Shaman King

Sheena Queen of the Jungle: Fatal Exam

Shiver Suspenstories

The Sickness

The Six Fingers

Skin Police

Something Epic

Space Ghost

Space Usagi

The Spectacular Spider-Men

Spectregraph

Spectrum

Spider-Man: Black Suit & Blood

Spider-Man Reign 2

Spider-Woman

Spirits of Vengeance

Star Wars Visions: The Ronin and the Droid

Storm

Street Fighter Masters: Akuma vs Ryu

Summer Shadows

Superman

Superman: House of Brainiac Special

Superman: Lost

Superwoman Special

S.W.O.R.D.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles X Naruto

Tenement

The Terminator

Thanos

ThunderCats

ThunderCats: Cheetara

Tom Strong

Toxic Summer

Transformers

Uncanny Valley

Uncanny X-Men

Unnatural Order

Universal Monsters: The Creature From The Black Lagoon Lives!

Universal Monsters: Dracula

Universal Monsters: Frankenstein

Ultimate Black Panther

The Ultimates

Ultimate Spider-Man

Ultimate Universe: One Year In

Ultimate X-Men

Ultraman X Avengers

Vampirella

Vampirella: Dark Reflections

Vampirella/Dracula: Rage

Venom

Venomverse Reborn

Venom War

Venom War: Carnage

Venom War: Daredevil

Venom War: Deadpool

Venom War: Fantastic Four

Venom War: It’s Jeff

Venom War: Lethal Protectors

Venom War: Spider-Man

Venom War: Venomous

Venom War: Wolverine

Venom War: Zombiotes!

Vicarious

Violent Flowers

Void Rivals

W0rldtr33

Washed in Blood

Weapon X-Men

The Weatherman

Wesley Dodds, Sandman

What if…? Aliens

What If…? Donald Duck Became Wolverine

The Whisper Queen: A Blacksand Tale

Witchblade

The White Trees: A Blacksand Tale

The Wicked + The Divine

Wolverine

Wolverine: Blood Hunt

Wolverine: Revenge

Wonder Woman

World’s Finest

X-Factor

X-Force

X-Men

X-Men: Blood Hunt - Psylocke

X-Men Forever

X-Men: Heir of Apocalypse

X-Men Unlimited

Yakub the Father of the White Devil Race

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Yu-Gi-Oh! R

Zatanna: Bring Down the House

Zatch Bell 2

Zawa + the Belly of the Beast

Zenescope Presents Horror & Fantasy Illustrated

———————————————

Any questions? Looking for any recommendations? Hit me up! And have an incredible 2025!

[andreaskorn]

Game Screenshot Archiv (A-C)

Update: 20.08.2024

Vom 16.-19.08.2024 habe ich eine vollständige Revision der Archivdaten durchgeführt. Der Bestand der digitalen Bilddateien (Screenshots) stimmt nun exakt mit der die Dokumentation begleitenden Exel-Tabelle überein.

Game Screenshot Archiv mit einer pro Titel selektierten Auswahl aus einem größeren Ressourcenbereich an Screenshots:

15.029 GP + 7.919 OS = 22.948 + + +

Game Screenshot Archiv Game Titel (A-C)

Update: 20.08.2024

Titel / Jahr / Gameplay Screenshots Option Screenshots 

Act of War 2005 188 11 Aion (F2P) 2009 17 24 Alan Wake (PC) 2012 28 9 Alias (Backup) 2004 11 8 Alien Isolation 2014 145 56 Aliens Versus Predator 1 1999 15 1 Aliens Versus Predator 2 2001 22 1 Alone in the Dark 2001 9 5 Anno 1404 2009 7 22 Anno 1701 2006 6 13 Apocalyptica 2003 4 0 Aquanox 2 2002 13 0 Arcania Gothic 4__2010 2010 74 50 Area 51 2005 46 4 Assassins Creed 2008 31 16 Assassins Creed 2 2010 31 9 Avatar (meine Vollversion) 2009 15 10

B-17 Flying Fortness 2000 7 0 Babylons Fluch (Demo) 2003 7 0 Baphomets Fluch 4: Engel des Todes 2006 3 9 Batman Arkham Asylum 2009 13 8 Battlefield 1942 2003 7 3 Battlefield 2142 2006 0 27 Battlefield V  2018 48 28 Beambreakers 2002 6 5 Beyond Two Souls (PS3 2013, hier PC 2019) 2019 488 16 Bioshock 2007 19 32 Bioshock 2 2010 14 15 Bioshock Infinite  2013 107 33 Black & White 1 2001 6 6 Black & White 2 2004 10 0 Black Hawk Down 2003 23 0 Black Mirror 2 (engl.) 2009 12 23 Blacksite Area 51 2007 9 13 Bladerunner 1997 10 8 Blood Omen 2 2002 3 12 Blur 2010 3 2 Boilling Point 2005 6 10 Borderland The Pre-Sequel 2014 33 67 Borderlands 1 2009 12 40 Breed  2003 21 13 Bridge to another world_Through the looking glass 2018 24 8 Brothers in Arms Hells Highway 2008 2008 20 21 Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood (2) 2005 18 9 Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (1) 2005 25 13

Call of Duty 2003 30 4 Call of Duty 4 2007 27 6 Call of Duty BlackOps  2010 27 8 Call of Juarez 2006 41 7 Call of Juarez 2 2009 13 16 Call of Juarez Gunslinger 2013 40 32 Cäsar 4 2006 30 0 Child of Light 2014 52 27 Chrome 2003 34 1 Chronicles of Riddick 2004 9 16 Civilization VI 2016 5 28 Clive Barkers Jechicho 2007 8 9 Cobra 11 Burning Wheels  2008 16 13 Codename Panzers: Phase One 2004 17 6 Colin Mc Rae Rally 3 2003 10 22 Commanche 4 2001 10 20 Command & Conquer Generals 2003 15 24 Command & Conquer Tiberium Wars (3) 2007 26 13 Commandos 3 2003 12 0 Company of Heroes 2006 5 43 Condemned 2005 117 11 Counterstrike 2003 11 5 Crime Cities 2000 29 11 Crimson Skies 2000 9 14 Crysis 1 2007 11 5 Crysis 2 2011 19 14 Crysis 3 2013 43 60 Crysis Warhead (meine Vollversion) 2008 31 13 Cyberpunk 2077 2020 65 16

Dr. Andreas U. Korn, 20.08.2024

+ + +

[theultimatefan]

Cho, Di Meo, Platt, Azzarello Headline Talented Comics Creators Attending FAN EXPO Cleveland

An incredible array of talented comics artists and writers, spanning more than a half century of work and encompassing dozens of the most popular franchises in the history of the medium through the present, will be on hand as FAN EXPO Cleveland today announced the Artist Alley headliners for the convention, set for April 12-14 at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland.

Among the superstar writers and artists are Frank Cho (“Liberty Meadows," “Wolverine"), Simone Di Meo (“Batman and Robin”), Stephen Platt (“Moon Knight,” “Wolverine”), Brian Azzarello (“Suicide Squad: Get Joker,” “Wonder Woman”), author Claudia Gray (“Star Wars,” “House of El”), Tim Jacobus (“Goosebumps,” “Spinetinglers”), Greg Land (“Wolverine versus Predator,” “Uncanny X-Men"), Jae Lee (“Seven Sons,” “Stephen King’s Dark Tower”), Yanick Paquette (“Wonder Woman,” “The Incal”), Kevin Maguire (“Justice League,” “The Defenders”), and Joe Wos (“Cartoon Academy”, “Charlie the Tuna”). Just about every franchise imaginable will be well represented, and comics fans will revel in meeting the creators who have made them possible. Q&A’s, interactive demonstration sessions, autographs, commission opportunities, and more make the experience a can’t-miss for comics lovers.

The field of creators also includes talents such as Heather Antos (Group editor, IDW Publishing), Sweeney Boo (“Harley Quinn,” “Marvel Action Captain Marvel”), Joe Corroney (“Star Wars,” Lucasfilm), Kyle Higgins (“Radiant Black,” “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers”), Matt Horak (“Spider Man/Deadpool,” “Black Panther”), Stephanie Phillips (“Harley Quinn,” “Rogue and Gambit”), Tim Sheridan (“Alan Scott: The Green Lantern,” “Flashpoint Beyond”), Aaron Reynolds (“Effin’ Birds”), Don Rosa (“Life & Times of Scrooge McDuck”), Stephanie Williams (“Nubia and the Amazons,” “Wakanda Forever”) and Thom Zahler (“My Little Pony,” “Love and Capes”), plus dozens of other local Northeast Ohio area writers and artists. The full list can be found at https://fanexpohq.com/fanexpocleveland/comic-creators/.

The quality of the creators in Artist Alley mirrors that of the FAN EXPO Cleveland celebrity roster, which features a first-rate list that includes The Lord of the Rings “four hobbits” Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan, Danny Trejo (Machete, From Dusk Till Dawn), Charlie Cox (“Daredevil,” “Boardwalk Empire”), legendary director Sam Raimi, Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”), Alan Tudyk (Star Wars, “Firefly”), Brent Spiner (“Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Independence Day), “Charmed” star Rose McGowan, “Harry Potter” standout Matthew Lewis and Jason Lee (“My Name is Earl,” The Incredibles) and more.

Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, VIP Packages and Ultimate Fan Packages for FAN EXPO Cleveland are available now. Advance pricing is available until March 28. More guest news will be released in the following weeks, including line-up reveals for additional headline celebrities, comic creator guests, voice actors and cosplayers.

Cleveland is the sixth event on the 2024 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

[cb-conceptlibrary]

TW: Dinosaurs, messing with genetics, black market deals, double crossing, near death experiences with dangerous predators, death, animal theme/reservation parks, fictional science, kidnapping

Welcome to the Librarian’s Suggestions!

The librarian is aware that there is an existing chatbot with themes for the Jurassic World series, @taeyongxowengrady. This suggestion post focuses on the original trilogy for Jurassic Park.

Today’s Theme: Jurassic Park (films)

Plot: Two doctors with paleontology and paleobotany backgrounds are recruited by an eccentric man who has created a theme park with dinosaurs to observe the cloned breeds prior to opening to the public. (To ensure the operations are safe for outside visitors.) They are amazed to discover that the man has worked with scientists to bring these creatures back to life, using DNA from West African frogs to fill in the missing parts of the DNA strands. While the pair, along with a chaos theorist and lawyer go on a tour of the park, an employee of the park cuts the power to the systems and park, while trying to steal dinosaur embryos for a rival company. This stops the vehicles the group are in, as well as powers off the electric fences, which allows some of the more dangerous breeds to escape.

In the sequel, the plans for the park on a remote island are scrapped and it is revealed the dinosaurs from the first film were created on a sister island not far from the other one. The eccentric man who planned the original Jurassic Park has lost control of his company to his nephew and reaches out to the chaos theorist to join a documentary crew to the sister island to show the creatures in their natural habitat. The theorist runs into his girlfriend on the island who was there to observe the dinosaurs. Eventually the pair, along with a documentary activist, discover that the nephew is capturing the dinosaurs and transporting them secretly to an unfinished Jurassic Park theme park in San Diego.

The third film focuses on the paleontologist from the first film researching the intelligence of velociraptors and trying to get funding for his research. He is recruited by a couple who pretends to offer to help fund his research, only to be kidnapped by them to help them find their missing son and his friend, who were last seen parasailing over one of the islands. The group lands on the island where the dinosaurs were created, and try to navigate their way around, while avoiding the more dangerous predators.

Characters

Dr. Alan Grant: A paleontologist who works alongside his partner Dr. Ellie Sattler. He specializes in velociraptors and believes that dinosaurs are closely related to birds. He is introverted and slightly adverse to kids, but eventually warms to them when he is forced to protect the grandchildren of John Hammond from a T-Rex. He is a bit skeptical of the concept of Jurassic Park, believing the creatures roaming Isla Nublar are genetically engineered theme park monsters, versus real dinosaurs.

Dr. Ellie Sattler: Dr. Grant’s partner who specializes in paleobotany. She is sharp, yet caring, as seen in how she treats Hammond’s grandchildren upon meeting them. She grows concerned for the dinosaurs when she notes poisonous and dangerous plant-life growing in areas of Isla Nublar that could harm them. (This is observed in a sluggish female triceratops found roaming freely in one of the areas of the park.) She was dating Dr. Grant during the first film, but ended the relationship by the third film and has married a US State Government employee.

Dr. Ian Malcolm: A mathematician who specializes in chaos theory, brought to Jurassic Park to assess if it is safe for outside visitors. It is implied that he is a bit of a ladies man, as he mentions having children with different women. The events of the first film leave him haunted by the near death situations and he loses credibility for saying that dinosaurs are back. He agrees to assist John Hammond with proving that the dinosaurs on Isla Sorna can live in harmony and should be left alone, with the hope that he can persuade his girlfriend to leave the island. He is able to help the team stop Hammond’s nephew from trying to open a Jurassic Park in San Diego and regains his credibility.

John Hammond: A kind, eccentric businessman who dreams of opening Jurassic Park to spark interest in families and people who wish to see and learn about something. He is not as well versed in science, which is why he relies on the experts to help. He means well, but fails to realize that the creatures created are not as easy to control and could pose a real threat to people. Eventually, he and the others are rescued from Isla Nublar and he ruefully concludes that his planned park is merely a dream and must not be finished.

These are a few of the characters. Please refer to the respective Jurassic Park Wiki for more.

Possible Plots

Your muse is invited to preview and assess the safety of a future theme park, centered around dinosaurs. Initially they believe they are seeing highly advanced animatronics, but are shocked to discover that they are living, breathing creatures.

Your muse has survived a near death experience with genetically engineered dinosaurs and has tried to put the events at the back of their minds. Unfortunately, they’re called back by someone who needs their help in proving that the dinosaurs left on the island are safe, provided no human ever enters that land.

Your muse is dragged into a situation to find someone else’s loved one, who went missing near one of the islands inhabited by dinosaurs. However, you’re not familiar with this area and have to wing it, all without becoming a dinosaur’s next meal.

Notes

While the series is set in the 1990s, this can be adjusted slightly.

Good variety of characters to choose from.

Genders can be swapped or changed, based on your face claim and character you wish to base your muse on.

Great for those who want a science-fiction theme with action/thriller elements.

@yanlee (OG) @detectivexsicheng @lawyer-mingyu @mafia-chae @hanjisung-bot @softboijisung @lixielee-chatbot @mafiafelixlee @your-seunghun @vampiremomo @mitsukojen @dateline-academy  @sydney-oc @seleneminnie @dandyboyseungminie @nvrendngstry @doll-seungmin @doll-hyunjin @doll-soobin @doll-jeongin @scholar-lia @subbyhyunjinchatbot @ares-bc @soft-hyunjin-chatbot @domyukhei @guitar-sihyeon @softiehyunjinie @darkfaeskz @fairy-yeji @tattooistchannie  @playgirljennie @skz-cb @eboyfelixbot @yourdaddychan @mafiajjh @mulanxningning @demon-lee @moonlit-jaemin @yeojinsheight  @skz-bot @fairy-dejun @kaanghana @chans-chair @model-lucy @churchgirl-nayeon @rose-musician @soft-magicxyujin @sg-jennie @caretaker-irene @vampire-queenirene @universe-of-superm @fatherfigure-jin @hackerxiaojun 

[the-desolated-quill]

The Abyss Gazes Also - Watchmen blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. if you haven’t read this comic yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Rorschach is arguably the most beloved character in the graphic novel.

Now anyone reading these reviews who hasn’t read the graphic novel I imagine must be slightly confused by that statement, considering I haven’t exactly been painting a very glowing picture of him. He’s misogynistic, homophobic, bigoted, violent and sociopathic. Not exactly the traits you’d associate with a ‘beloved’ character. And yet that’s exactly what he is. Out of all the characters in Watchmen, Rorschach is by far the most popular. Of course this isn’t exactly a good thing. A big reason for his popularity is because of people either missing or ignoring the satirical subtext of the character (Ted Cruz reportedly is a big Rorschach fan. Let that sink in for a moment). That’s not to say the character isn’t well written or compelling. I’ve said in the past that Rorschach is my personal favourite character simply because of how interesting I find him.

The Abyss Gazes Also explores the origins of Rorschach and I thought this would be a good opportunity to not only analyse the chapter, but to also question where this romanticised view of Rorschach may have come from.

The Abyss Gazes Also is told from the perspective of Dr. Malcolm Long. A psychiatrist assigned to evaluate and counsel Walter Kovacs, aka Rorschach. I absolutely love this setup and how it plays out. Like with Doctor Manhattan’s origin story in Watchmaker, rather than just giving us a big info dump, we get to explore the backstory through the eyes of a certain character.

Malcolm represents everything Rorschach despises. He’s part of the corrupt establishment, thinks of no one but himself and deludes himself into thinking everything will be fine so as not to upset the apple cart. (also, while not overtly stated, considering Rorschach’s extreme right wing views, I imagine the fact that Malcolm is black probably doesn’t help matters either). From the beginning we know that Malcolm doesn’t really care about helping Rorschach in any meaningful way. He just wants the fame attached with studying the mind of this infamous vigilante. And by the end he does get to fully understand Rorschach better than anyone else, but at a horrifying cost.

As Malcolm learns more about Walter’s transformation into Rorschach, we see his otherwise upbeat personality slowly dissolve as he begins to see the world from Rorschach’s point of view. I love how Alan Moore chooses to represent this. In the beginning, Malcolm’s notes are eloquent, detailed and optimistic, but as the issue goes on, the sentences start to become more broken, much darker and disjointed to the point where it actually begins to resemble Rorschach’s speech pattern. It’s a subtle illustration of Malcolm’s changing psyche. We also see him become more and more aware of the situation between America and Russia, whereas before he was very much focused inward on his career and his wife. As his perception of the world around him changes, the things he used to care about fall away. He neglects his wife and by the end his career is virtually in tatters because in the wake of potential Armageddon, none of these things matter to him anymore. Now on the one hand you could see this as some kind of comeuppance. A selfish man getting what he deserves. But it’s also deeply tragic because the point is no one should have to view the world the way Rorschach does.

Which brings us to the man himself.

The life of Walter Kovacs is... a bit of a bummer, to say the least. His mother was a prostitute who regularly abused him and he had to endure a lot of bullying and torment by sexist pricks labelling him as a ‘whoreson.’ It’s this that has contributed to his view of women (more on that later) as well as his own distorted view of sex. In the extra material, we get to read some of Walter’s psychological profile, which includes a diary entry from a younger Walter describing a nightmare he had where his mother was ‘dancing’ with a man and, upon further inspection, realises the two have been morphed together into a grotesque monster that then chases him. A literal beast with two backs, if you will. 

It’s also worth mentioning that the most significant moments in Walter’s life that led to him becoming Rorschach were all sex related and involved women. Obviously there’s his mother. There’s also the job he got at a women’s clothing store, which clearly made him feel extremely uncomfortable, the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese, whose uncollected dress was used to make the Rorschach mask, and of course the murder of Blaire Roche. This I think is what led to Rorschach’s reductive view of women and also serves in some ways as a damning critique of how women are presented in comics. Every woman Walter has ever encountered has either been a helpless victim or a sexualised monster. Even Laurie, the Silk Spectre, contributes to this because of the sexualised image her mother forced onto her. In many comics, the assault or death of a woman often serves as the catalyst of a male hero’s journey, and Rorschach is the same, except it’s presented deliberately as being incredibly distorted. His relationship with women is already fraught thanks to his mother, but his encounters with Kitty Genovese and Blaire Roche serve as a way for him to justify his distorted view of reality. I particularly like the inclusion of the real life case of Kitty Genovese and the myth that over forty witnesses saw her being attacked and did nothing to help. Of course Walter seizes on this and uses it to support his worldview. We’re not even sure if the dress he uses to make the mask was actually intended for Kitty as it could just be a delusion that Walter has concocted to fit his narrative. Whereas other comics might use a woman’s pain as motivation for the male hero, here we see the male ‘hero’ use multiple women’s pain as a means to an end. A way of excusing his behaviour and justifying his actions. It’s a great reversal, exploring the sexism of the refrigerated woman trope.

What I find especially interesting is how despite his childhood, despite his right wing views and despite his reductive view of women, in his early days you could accurately describe Rorschach as a proper superhero. During the period that Walter refers to himself as being ‘soft,’ he teams up with Nite Owl and stops many criminal masterminds such as Big Figure, Jimmy the Gimmick and Underboss. You get the feeling that, had he stuck with Nite Owl, he might have grown to be a somewhat more balanced individual. (which is not to say Dan doesn’t have flaws too, but he’s far better adjusted than Rorschach is, that’s for damn sure). It’s what comes later that sends Rorschach past the point of no return. And no I’m not talking about the murder of Blaire Roche, though that was probably the final straw. I’m talking about Rorschach’s first encounter with the Comedian.

See, I don’t think Rorschach would have become a murderer if he hadn’t met the Comedian first. In his interview with Malcolm, Walter speaks of the Comedian in glowing terms, saying he’s the only one that understood how the world works. If it wasn’t for the Comedian planting the seed of nihilism in Rorschach’s head, he might have reacted slightly differently when he discovered the fate of Blaire Roche. I’m not saying he wouldn’t have reacted violently, but I do honestly think it wouldn’t have been quite so extreme.

I’ve said in a previous review how all the characters of Watchmen are technically nihilists. Rorschach and Comedian are a perfect illustration of two contrasting ways of reacting to nihilism. Namely moral absolutism versus amorality. The Comedian believes that the world has no meaning and that morality is a joke, and so uses that as an excuse to commit heinous acts for his own amusement. Rorschach is also a nihilist. After his encounter with Gerald Grice, he learns that morality and meaning doesn’t exist, but unlike the Comedian, Rorschach takes the opportunity to impose his own morality onto the world. Like ink blots on a blank canvas. The problem is with his own warped sense of reality as well as his motivation. Having discovered that Gerald had killed Blaire Roche, dismembered her and fed her to his dogs, Rorschach no longer has any interest in helping people because, in his mind, people are beyond help. He just wants to hurt and punish those that ruined the world. This isn’t justice. This is revenge. Revenge based on faulty logic. Walter says this was the day he became Rorschach, but it’s also the day he stopped being a superhero as far as I’m concerned. While his motivations and worldview was questionable before, he was at least acting for the common good. Now he’s just an angry man lashing out at the world indiscriminately.

So why do some people have this romanticised view of Rorschach? Well one reason I think is because he’s a man who lives by his own code. Whether we admit to it or not, there is a part of us that wants to see the predators of our society get what they deserve, so even though we recognise that Rorschach is going too far and that his views and beliefs are unsavoury, there’s a little voice in the back of our heads that most of us may not want to acknowledge quietly whispering ‘yes.’ Because if these are truly evil people he’s doing these despicable things to, then it must be okay, right? But then we have to ask ourselves the same question we did about the Comedian back in Absent Friends. Are we saying that the moment someone commits a crime, their life becomes forfeit? That they deserve to die? What does that say about us and our own morality? Which leads to another reason why I believe some people romanticise Rorschach. It’s because it’s easier to romanticise Rorschach rather than to acknowledge what he potentially says about us. 

I love Rorschach because, as a character, he forces us to ask some very awkward and uncomfortable questions about our own morality. How far is too far? Where do we draw the line? If the misogyny, psychotic behaviour and extreme violence aren’t deal-breakers, what is? Can we really excuse these poisonous views and beliefs if the person in question is acting, supposedly, for the greater good? This is what makes Rorschach such a fascinating character in my opinion. And I’m sorry to say that if you can’t bring yourself to think about these things, then I’m afraid you just don’t understand Rorschach, or indeed Watchmen, at all.

[brettsinger]

Oliver Graves - Man Thing Rules - Ep 116

My guest this week is Oliver Graves! What comic did Brett just get signed? What happens when you find out there's no comic book version of your favorite thing? What happened in Predator comics? How do we feel about "Magneto Was Right"? What would we do if someone had laser eyes in real life? Why do Brett and Oliver like Man-Thing? What is Man-Thing's origin? What happened when Man-Thing joined the Thunderbolts? What did Brett see when he visited the Marvel offices? What's the best thing about comics as opposed to movies or TV? Will anyone else ever play Iron Man? How do paparazzi find actors on set? What happened in Spider-Man: Identity Crisis? What comic did Oliver miss out on collecting? What is important about collecting? What does Oliver collect? What would Man-Thing's alignment be? What is a "tank"? What would the Punisher's alignment be? What's the difference between characters killing people in comics versus in the movies? What happened in the Franken-castle storyline?

Reading list: X-Men - God Loves, Man Kills; Cosmic Ghost Rider; anything with Man-Thing, especially the Thunderbolts; Leonard McCoy Country Doctor; Star Trek Archives: the Best of Peter David; Dinosaurs for Hire; Spider-Man: Identity Crisis; Franken-castle; Swamp Thing by Alan Moore; Creepshow comics; Tales from the Crypt; Choose Your Own Adventure; Choose Your Own Nightmare

Recorded 10-10-22 via Zencastr

Check out Comics Who Love Comic Books!

[doomonfilm]

Thoughts : Morgan (2016)

I think it’s safe to say that science-fiction is in the midst of a revitalized run, so much so that it’s starting to combine with other genres.  With sci-fi horror, sci-fi drama, sci-fi comedy and sci-fi love stories all making waves with viewers, it’s seemingly common sense that a sci-fi action film would make a run at it.  Among the many that have hit the mainstream (and their have been many), Morgan caught my eye upon initial release, and I’ve finally gotten around to checking it out. 

Lee Weathers (Kate Mara) works for SynSect as a ‘risk-management specialist’ for the genetic-engineering giant.  She is assigned to assess the level of risk for the L-9 Project’s prize creation, a nanotechnology-infused synthetic DNA-based creature named Morgan (Anya Taylor-Joy) that recently stabbed Dr. Kathy Grieff (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in the eye.  At only five years old, Morgan is smarter than most humans, matures rapidly, and already appears to be a teenager, all disturbing traits for the eerily reserved creature.  The assault on Dr. Grieff was in the wake of punishment, as Morgan was being disciplined for killing a deer impaled on a tree while on an outing with Dr. Amy Menser (Rose Leslie).  Despite urging from project leaders Dr. Lui Cheng (Michelle Yeoh) and Dr. Simon Ziegler (Toby Jones), as well as the rest of the team, Weathers insists on Morgan being treated as non-human, and allows an examination from Dr. Alan Shapiro (Paul Giamatti) to proceed.  The results are terrifying, and the hunt that ensues in the wake of the tragedy becomes a game of predator versus prey where the stakes are ever-changing, and every life involved is at stake.

Morgan finds itself somewhere in the space between the Turing test elements of Ex-Machina and the evolutionary machinations presented in Lucy, while not necessarily committing fully to either depth.  This middle ground may be of service to the film, in the sense that it does not take its science overly serious, though it does take quite a bit of time to ingrain an understanding of how blurred the lines are in regards to Morgan’s human traits in comparison to her engineered ones.  We are, essentially, given an origin story by way of proxy, due to concepts we are familiar with from film and pop culture, so that once the proverbial rubber hits the road we don’t question the ride.  Fans that deem themselves intellectual will get just enough service from the science and moral dilemmas presented, while the casual viewer will be satisfied once things kick into high gear.

The institutionalization of Artificial Intelligence and bio-engineering shown in the film not only serves as a slight mirror to our societal innovations, but it helps keep the lines of protagonist, antagonist, and even wrong versus right ambiguous.  All sides certainly have logical and emotional ground they can stand on it terms of justifying their actions, and most of the actions taken within the film are ultimately self-serving as opposed as for the greater good.  Even the reveal provided at the film’s resolution undercuts the agenda that you assume Lee has going into the film (though the turn is not the most shocking in the world).

Identity, as with many science fiction films of this ilk, finds itself a key driving force for Morgan.  The age old question of what constitutes human nature is given front and center attention via demonstrations, confrontations and emotional testimonials.  Even the constant tug of war between identifying Morgan as either ‘she’ or ‘it’ during the exposition-laden opening act is meant to specifically inform as to how we should feel about Morgan in light of the inevitable turn for the worse simmering just below the surface of the proceedings.  The film isn’t necessarily trying to make a grand statement on identity, but it is a great vehicle to use in the scope of this narrative to keep viewers unsure of who to side with and who can be trusted.    

Kate Mara holds it down as an unlikely action star, with her steely demeanor offsetting her smaller presence to keep her feeling edgy and dangerous.  Anya Taylor-Joy’s cold, calculated and precise choices work well for Morgan, giving her a feel of more than human, not quite machine.  Toby Jones and Michelle Yeoh play surrogate parents well, with their offsetting wants, needs and motives causing emotional turmoil to their ‘child’.  Paul Giamatti delivers in his role as catalyst for the point of no return in his minor (albeit important) role.  Rose Leslie provides a character easy for the audience to make an emotional connection with, so that we feel just overwhelmed as her while things spin out of control.  Boyd Holbrook plays a voice of reason, though one that finds himself ultimately drowned out by the weight of the narrative as it shifts gears.  Jennifer Jason Leigh takes limited screen time to make a lasting impression, despite it being an unsettling and painful to watch one.  

While not groundbreaking, or even necessarily a must-watch in the sci-fi genre, I am happy to have finally checked out Morgan.  This would be a good gateway for some of the deeper science fiction mentioned previously if you run into someone opposed to taking a dive into the genre, but for deep fans, you may find yourself wanting more.

[aion-rsa]

Camp Cretaceous Reveals the Real Monsters of Jurassic World

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This article contains spoilers for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous season 2 and the Jurassic franchise at large.

Our first introduction to Jurassic Park and its dinosaurs is on a dark and misty night, Men wait with guns as the crane crashes through the forest carrying a Velociraptor we are only allowed glimpses of. Tension hangs in the air. When she tries to escape, there are cries of “Shoot her! Shoot her!” The raptor attacks, and rest in peace Jophery, first victim of the monster.

If this scene tells us anything, it is that we are undoubtedly watching a monster movie. And Jurassic Park is. Throughout the first film in this now-lengthy franchise, characters are eaten and dismembered and terrorized as the result of the monsters running free and doing whatever they want with no regard for human safety. Yet, many years later, in the second season of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, it’s so easy to sympathize with the carnivorous Baryonyx pair when their pack mate is fatally shot by a big game hunter. And didn’t we all cry at the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom when Blue the Velociraptor makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her human friend?

Why wouldn’t the Baryonyx eat our favorite campers if given the chance? Isn’t Blue just as much a predatory monster as the raptors that stalked the kids in the kitchen? Yes and no. The franchise has evolved. Its dinosaurs are absolutely predators, just like the raptors and the tyrannosaur from the first movie, but none of them are monsters. Because the real monsters of  the Jurassic series aren’t the dinosaurs. They’re the people.

The Lost World Sets the Change in Motion

The first Jurassic Park incident was triggered by Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight), a bumbling employee trying to steal dinosaur embryos for a rival company, but it’s The Lost World that gives us our first proper bad guys. The Lost World catches a lot of flack, but this 1997 sequel is where the filmmakers started teaching us to care about the dinosaurs. 

The Lost World sees Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) struggling to balance his responsibilities as a father while also trying to rescue his girlfriend Sarah Harding (Julianne Moore) from Isla Sorna, a second island full of dinosaurs. Not that Sarah really wants rescuing; she’s perfectly content to risk her life trying to pet the young Stegosaurus she’s trying to photograph, even if Mama Stegosaurus doesn’t take too kindly to that kind of thing.

But they aren’t alone on the island. Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) and his big game hunting buddies intend to capture dinosaurs living in the wild on the abandoned island and transport them to John Hammond’s latest terrible idea: Jurassic Park San Diego. Other than being jerks, what makes them irredeemably villainous? 

They hurt a baby Tyrannosaurus. A baby, you guys. That’s Cruella Deville level evil. It’s this, in a movie revolving entirely around Ian Malcolm’s family, that purposely parallels the dinosaurs with the humans. Yes, they are still dangerous, they still cause death and destruction, but everything they do after Ludlow takes the baby? It’s because he takes the baby. After that, we see their actions through a different lens. They aren’t just killing machines; they are parents, they have feelings, and we can sympathize with that. We can’t help but sympathize with that.

Jurassic Park III Continues the Trend

The third installment, 2001’s Jurassic Park III, reinforces the idea that the dinosaurs are more than instinct driven predators. The Velociraptors in this movie, like our heroes Paul (William H Macy) and Amanda Kirby (Téa Leoni), just want to find their offspring, and they will do whatever it takes to reunite their families.

For the human characters, this means scheming and scamming their way onto Isla Sorna with paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) in a search for their son, who has been missing for two months after Amanda Kirby’s boyfriend’s attempt at seeing the dinosaurs resulted in a parasailing accident. For the dinosaurs, it means stalking and setting traps to catch the human who stole their eggs with the intention of selling them to fund paleontological digs.

One of the more dramatic scenes in the movie comes when the raptors have surrounded the humans and are demanding the return of their eggs. The mother raptor goes to Amanda, sniffing and nudging the terrified woman for evidence of the eggs. She has identified a fellow female, and though the threat of violence is in the air, there is no indication that the raptors intend to hurt anyone so long as she gets her babies back.

In the original Jurassic Park, having a Velociraptor face on your face would be a death sentence, but here it could be interpreted as more of a terrifying interspecies bonding moment. But then, the original Jurassic Park was a monster movie.

Jurassic World and Camp Cretaceous Drive the Message Home

Every installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, from the first movie to the Netflix animated series Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, pits humans against dinosaurs in the ultimate example of man versus nature. Except… cloned dinosaurs are hardly natural, especially when they are the hybrids created in Jurassic World and its sequel, Fallen Kingdom. The Indominus rex and her spiritual successor, the Indoraptor, were created purely to sell tickets, to make money, and just to see if it was possible.

You know. Just like all the other dinosaurs in all the other movies.

Blue, the Velociraptor from Jurassic World, is clearly special. She’s smarter than any other dinosaur we’ve seen, and baby footage shown in Fallen Kingdom reveals that she has always had the capacity to feel compassion and concern for her human trainer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt). So it should be no surprise that she is one of the good guys during the final battle with the Indominus. When the Tyrannosaurus, the very same one who terrorized the characters in the first movie, joins the fight alongside Blue, however, that puts things into perspective. It’s not the dinosaurs that are the problem.

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Every death, every rampage, every teenage camper stranded on an island after a hybrid wreaked havoc on a park that never should have opened – they were all preventable because they were all caused by people. If John Hammond had spared a little more expense, if the hunters hadn’t injured the baby, if Amanda Kirby’s boyfriend hadn’t felt entitled to a glimpse at the dinosaurs, if Simon Masrani and Benjamin Lockwood had learned from Hammond’s mistakes, if anyone…anyone, had displayed a little more humility in the face of nature and been more preoccupied with whether they should instead of whether they could, none of this had to happen.

The dinosaurs in Jurassic Park are often monstrous, but the real monsters are the people who created them.

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[thaithanhbinh]

20 “nghề nghiệp” cực chất mà bạn chỉ có thể hoàn thành được trong game (P2)

Chỉ huy biệt đội bảo vệ thiên hà (Mass Effect)

Toàn bộ sự sống trong vũ trụ giờ đây tùy thuộc vào bạn. Là người chỉ huy, bạn phải dũng cảm, mưu trí và nhẫn nại hơn người. Và kể cả khi bạn hội tụ đủ tất cả những phẩm chất đó thì có bao nhiêu % chắc chắn biệt đội của chúng ta cũng có thể đánh bại The Reaper?

Sát thủ chống lại tổ chức thống trị thế giới (Assassin’s Creed)

Xuống khỏi mấy cái nóc nhà đó đi, nếu không bạn sẽ gãy cổ đấy! Và mấy con dao phóng ra từ cổ tay sao, không đảm bảo 1 chút nào đâu. Bạn định dùng chúng để tiêu diệt 30 hạ thủ của tên Templar đó rồi “xử” tên trùm luôn hả? Chúc may mắn nhé.

Phi công lái X-Wing (X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter)

Bạn được bay vào không gian, ngồi sau tay lái của một chiếc phi thuyền thượng hạng, trang bị vũ khí lazer tận răng. Mọi thứ đều vô cùng tuyệt vời phải không? Nhưng đừng quên là chỉ cần ngồi trên chiếc F-16 bay trong bầu khí quyển thôi bạn cũng sẽ bắt đầu nôn ọe không ngừng rồi. Không chỉ có vậy, cả một đế chế độc ác đang tìm cách tiêu diệt bạn nữa.

Chiến binh máy móc (MechWarrior)

Có thể bạn rất giỏi điều khiển một người máy khổng lồ bắn tên lửa vào kẻ thù với chiếc điều khiển cầm tay đó, nhưng ngoài đời thực, bạn sẽ phải ngồi giữa đống máy móc chằng chịt, nóng nực, cách mặt đất tới hơn 10 mét. Đặc biệt, đằng sau lưng bạn là một lò phản ứng hạt nhân đấy, nghe vui chứ?

Lính thủy đánh bộ đối đầu với người dải ngân hà (Aliens versus Predators)

Nhìn thấy cái thứ kinh hoàng đang trườn bò kia không? Chúng sẽ nhảy bổ vào mặt bạn đấy, rồi sau đó một con quái vật dải ngân hà sẽ chui ra từ lồng ngực của bạn, chưa kể đến một gã thợ săn sở hữu đủ dạng vũ khí bá đạo nữa chứ. Bạn sẽ được trang bị radar để đề phòng, nhưng rất tiếc là nó chỉ hoạt động 2 chiều được thôi, và chúng sẽ nhảy bổ từ trên đầu bạn xuống.

Chỉ huy biệt đội tinh nhuệ chống lại người dải ngân hà (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)

Số phận của loài người tùy thuộc vào tay bạn, và bạn sẽ làm gì? Điều hành quân đội, sắp đặt hệ thống phòng thủ, nghiên cứu kẻ địch đồng thời tiến hành ngoại giao với chúng ư? Tuyệt vời, có vẻ như chúng ta sắp được cứu sống rồi đây.

Đặc vụ DEA trong cuộc chiến thuốc phiện (Max Payne)

Một mình bạn phải chống lại các băng đảng mafia, và tên trùm cuối cho rằng mình chính là Kẻ thù của Chúa, nghe thú vị chứ? Hãy thành thực đi, một khi những viên đạn đó bay ra, 99% chúng ta sẽ không hai tay hai súng nhào vào làn đạn, mà thay vào đó chúng ta sẽ tìm góc tường gần nhất và núp ở đó thôi hoặc không là chết lăn quay rồi.

Đặc vụ đối đầu với người đột biến (Crackdown 2)

Mặc bộ đồ công nghệ xịn và nhảy lên xuống khắp các căn hộ cao tầng thật “ngầu” phải không nào? Mặc dù thế, khả năng cao là chân bạn gãy làm 5 khúc sau cú tiếp đất đầu tiên bởi một thứ gọi là … vật lý. Ngoài ra, kẻ thù của bạn cũng vô cùng đáng gờm. Những người đột biến đó rất kinh tởm, rất xấu xí, đông khủng khiếp và còn hung hãn nữa. Chúng sẽ bủa vây lấy bạn và xé tan bộ giáp đó chỉ trong nháy mắt.

Nhà văn toàn năng (Alan Wake)

Thực tế cho thấy, bạn rất có thể trở thành một nhà văn nếu bạn cảm thấy thích thú với việc ngồi gù lưng trên bàn cả ngày, nghiên cứu hàng giờ đồng hồ chỉ để nghĩ ra một câu thoại, ngủ tới trưa và thức cả đêm để dặn ra hàng ngàn chữ một lúc, để rồi lại xé đi làm lại từ đầu vì thấy nó … không hay. Nhưng một khi cuốn tiểu thuyết mà bạn không nhớ là mình đã từng viết bắt đầu biến thành sự thật và vợ của bạn mất tích bí ẩn thì có lẽ mọi chuyện không đơn giản đến vậy.

8 cách tăng tốc độ Internet tại nhà: Thử ngay để thấy điều khác biệt

Theo Trí Thức Trẻ Copy link

Link bài gốcLấy link

Nguồn: GameK

Bài viết 20 “nghề nghiệp” cực chất mà bạn chỉ có thể hoàn thành được trong game (P2) đã xuất hiện đầu tiên vào ngày Đồ Chơi Công Nghệ.

source https://dochoicongnghe.com.vn/20-nghe-nghiep-cuc-chat-ma-ban-chi-co-the-thuc-hien-duoc-trong-game-p2-17180.html

[celtfather]

Halfway to St Patrick's Day 2019 #187

Tomorrow, we are Halfway to St Patrick’s Day. September 17 marks the six month occasion which gets us to the biggest modern Celtic holiday of the year. We’re celebrating with quite a bit more Celtic music on the Pub Songs Podcast.

Marc Gunn & Jamie Haeuser, The Gothard Sisters, Brobdingnagian Bards, The Selkie Girls, Gwendolyn Snowdon, Brendan Loughrey, Heather Dale, The Doubleclicks, Battlelegs, Poitin, Liz Madden, Burning Bridget Cleary, The Muckers, Dylan Foley, Melanie Gruben, Brobdingnagian Bards

Welcome to the Pub Songs Podcast, the Virtual Public House for Celtic Geek culture. My name is Marc Gunn. I am a Celtic Geek musician and your guide to honoring our past and adapting for our future.

Today’s show is brought to you by my Gunn Runners on Patreon. Your generous pledge of $5 per month allow me to create music, podcasts, and my weekly video show, Coffee with The Celtfather. Thank you!

If you have comments or want to chat in the pub, then I want your feedback. What are you doing today while listening to the Pub Songs Podcast? How has this show inspired you? Send a written comment along with any pictures to marc@marcgunn.com. Use the hashtag #pubsongs in the subject of your email.

Cead mile failte! PubSong.net

WHO'S PLAYING IN THE PUB TODAY

0:16 - "Gypsy Rover" by Marc Gunn & Jamie Haeuser from How America Saved Irish Music

3:29 - WELCOME. You may not realize it, but there are time stamps in the shownotes of each episode. If there’s a song you enjoy, you can easily listen to it over and over again. If you don’t like it, skip to the next song. I’m pretty sure this feature works in most podcatchers.

Find out more about the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast here.

4:37 - "Rose, Marie and Heather" by The Gothard Sisters from Midnight Sun

8:00 - "Johnny Jump Up" by Brobdingnagian Bards from Gullible's Travels

11:31 - "Why Should I Cry" by The Selkie Girls from Long Time Traveling

16:49 - HALFWAY TO ST PATRICK’S DAY STORY AND MUSIC. We are just six months away from St Patrick’s Day. That’s the biggest holiday of all Celtic musicians, even us fringe Celtic Geek musicians like me.

Cool Articles:

Top 10 Halfway to St Patrick’s Day Songs

How to Celebrate Halfway to St Patrick’s Day?

Pub Songs Podcast Episodes:

Halfway to St Patrick's Day Pub Songs #160

Hobbit Day, Halfway to St. Patrick's Day, and Talk Like a Pirate Day #107

St Patrick’s Day Podcast

6 Months to St Patrick’s Day: This actually predates my knowledge of Halfway to St Patrick’s Day, I think, but it started on September 17, 2011

Irish & Celtic Music Podcast Episodes:

Halfway to St Patrick’s Day #325

Halfway to St Patrick’s Day Podcast #275

Halfway to St Patrick’s Day #224

Halfway to St Patrick’s Day #145

And of course if you’re looking for more St Patrick’s Day music, I have a whole website dedicated to it, including more podcasts, video concerts, free Irish music downloads and more.

18:42 - "The Next Market Day" by Gwendolyn Snowdon from Three Strand Braid

21:42 - "Sean South" by Brendan Loughrey from To Those Who Fell

24:16 - "Mordred's Lullaby" by Heather Dale from Avalon

28:55 - BEHIND THE MUSIC: Inclusion versus exclusion. From traditional Irish music to filk circles.

44:10 - TRAVEL WITH CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS. Every year, I take a small group of Celtic music fans on the relaxing adventure of a lifetime. We don't see everything. Instead, we stay in one area. We get to know the region through its culture, history, and legends. You can join us with an auditory and visual adventure through podcasts and videos. 2020 is the Origins of Celtic Invasions. You can find out more about this exciting trip. Join the invasion at http://celticinvasion.com/

44:59 - "Ennui (On We Go)" by The Doubleclicks from Dimetrodon

48:07 - "Another Round For Us" by Battlelegs from The Very Best of Battlelegs, Vol. 1

50:15 - "St Patrick's Day Polkas" by Poitin from Irish Celtic Music and Bofiguifluki

56:32 - "Banks of the Ohio" by Liz Madden from My Irish Home

59:48 - UPCOMING SHOWS

* Sep 21: Pepper Place Farmer’s Market, Birmingham, AL * Sep 27-28: Browncoat Ball, Las Vegas, NV * Oct 11: Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co., Alabaster, AL * Oct 12: Brennan’s Irish Pub, Birmingham, AL * Coffee with The Celtfather, Wednesdays at 10:30 am EST on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube

1:00:45 - "The Elfin Knight" by Burning Bridget Cleary from Totes for Goats

1:04:28 - "The Widow and the Devil" by Marc Gunn from Kilted For Her Pleasure

1:07:48 - "One More Stout" by The Muckers from One More Stout

1:11:28 - "The Discontented Man / Crabs in the Skillet / Dancing Eyes" by Dylan Foley from Deliriously Happy

1:16:17 - "Irish Fire" by Melanie Gruben from Single

1:21:16 - THIS PODCAST IS LISTENER SUPPORTED. If you enjoy visiting the pub, please join the Gunn Runners Club to get more podcasts, videos, bootleg concerts, and exclusive MP3s. Special thanks to my newest patron: Andrew H., Bill M., David & Paulette G., Alan D, Moose

Thank you for so kindly supporting my music. Go to marcgunn.net to join the Gunn Runners on Patreon today. Let's make a friendlier world.

If you enjoy the music in this show, support the artists. Buy their music and merch. Follow them on Spotify. Let them know how much you love what they are doing. And tell a friend.

Now when I say “tell a friend”, what I’m talking about is creating a viral sensation. Every now and then, I listen to a song like Melanie Gruben’s song “Irish Fire”. I am blown away by the songwriting and her incredible voice. Because of it, I tell you. I recorded that track and shared it with you. That’s what it means to go viral.

So if there’s something that moves you, please do the same. You can tell a friend one-on-one or by email or in rave about it on social. Whatever. Your excitement and enthusiasm is contagious. So get excited and share your excitement.

1:23:34 - "Seven Drunken Nights in Hobbiton" by Brobdingnagian Bards from I Will Not Sing Along

Pub Songs Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn. To subscribe, go to Apple Podcasts, Spotify or to my website where you can join the Gunn Runners Club on Patreon and support my music and this podcast. I’ll also email regular updates of new videos, podcasts, stories behind the songs, plus 21 songs for free. Welcome to the pub!  www.pubsong.net.

Check out this episode!

[mrmichaelchadler]

Book Excerpt: The Sopranos Sessions by Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall

Below is an excerpt from the new book "The Sopranos Sessions," written by Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall. To order your copy of the book, click here. 

The pilot of The Sopranos built a world that was fresh and convincing enough to get viewers’ attention, and the next three chapters were strong enough to hold it. But it wasn’t until “College” that The Sopranos truly became The Sopranos—doing it, ironically, by separating three main characters, Tony, Meadow, and Carmela, from their carefully established community.

The audacity of the episode’s structure is itself notable: it concentrates on just two narratives, sidelining everyone else (except for Christopher, in a performance that’s literally phoned in). One plotline follows Tony as he tours universities in Maine with his daughter and spots Febby Petrulio (Tony Ray Rossi), a Mob informant whose testimony jailed several of his colleagues and might have hastened his own father’s demise. Tony’s obsession with killing the rat erupts on the heels of Meadow grilling him about whether he’s in the Mafia. His attempts to track and kill Febby with long-distance help from Chris are a source of farcical humor, with Tony taking an increasingly annoyed Meadow on a chase down a winding two-lane road, pawning her off on a group of local students in a bar, and constantly fabricating reasons for ducking into a phone booth.

The second story finds Carmela welcoming Father Phil Intintola (Paul Schulze), a celibate flirt, into her empty house on the same stormy night she learns that Dr. Melfi’s first name is Jennifer; distraught, she grumbles that Tony’s refusal to volunteer Melfi’s gender must mean he’s sleeping with her. A dangerous dance ensues. (Their chosen film is The Remains of the Day, a 1993 drama about a housekeeper and butler who are too repressed and bound by their obligations ever to be together—sound familiar?) The connections between the plotlines emerge organically via juxtaposition, without excessive prompting. Whenever “College” seems to hand themes directly to the viewer, it does so in such a plain-spoken way that they open new avenues of interpretation rather than close off existing ones. Meadow and Tony’s discussions about honesty, Carmela and Father Phil’s conversations about sin, guilt, and spirituality, and the scenes where both pairs ponder confidentiality and secrecy, refract off each other and illuminate the entire episode, and the series as a whole. “College” also gives us a clear sense of Tony’s strengths as a father—he can be a good listener when he takes off the tough-guy mask—as well as the better qualities that Meadow might’ve absorbed from Carmela: her ability to recognize others’ peace offerings (when Tony half-admits that he’s in the Mob, she admits that she did speed to get through finals) and her willingness to call bullshit on men she catches lying or evading. (“You know, there was a time when the Italian people didn’t have a lot of options,” Tony weasels. “You mean like Mario Cuomo?” Meadow counters.)

But all this is a mere sideshow to the hour’s bloody piece de resistance, Tony’s murder of the informant. It puts the Analyze This comparisons to bed forever, makes it clear that this isn’t some cute series about a henpecked Mob boss with troublemaking kids (“Wiseguys: They’re just like us!”), and announces that the evolutionary changes in TV storytelling that Hill Street Blues launched are about to be overthrown.

They attended SUNY Purchase together, and had acted together many times on stage and screen (and would continue to do so for years after The Sopranos ended, as toxic lovers on Showtime’s Nurse Jackie). There’s a shorthand and chemistry between them beyond the nearly romantic that’s enormously valuable for a story that has to push their relationship to its outer edges at a point in the series when we barely know either character.

This might seem an excessive claim to anyone who grew up on television after The Sopranos and watched countless protagonists do horrible things, sometimes defensibly, sometimes not. But back in 1999, the effect of this particular killing was seismic. Four episodes in, viewers had seen murder and violent death attributable to negligence or incompetence, but Tony didn’t commit any of the acts, nor was he directly responsible for their occurrence. Though he was way too free with his fists, Tony was a de-escalator: burning down Artie’s restaurant so Junior couldn’t have somebody whacked there, engineering Junior’s ascent to the top slot to head off a war, and so on. And although it seemed unthinkable that he’d go through the series without ordering at least one person’s death—he’d toyed with the idea—a killing like this seemed equally unthinkable, because TV protagonists didn’t get down in the muck like that. That was what henchmen and guest stars were for.

Let’s back up from the murder and examine its dramatic architecture to determine what made it so unusual. It’s not the choice of target. Febby may have left the life years earlier, but he hasn’t really reformed. Deep down he’s still a criminal, and he’ll always be a rat, and because we’ve spent lots of time with Tony and none with Febby, and accept that this is the kind of thing mobsters have to do because of their code, of course we’re going to take Tony’s side. Also significant: this is a crime of opportunity. Tony didn’t drag Meadow to Maine just to track down Febby and kill him, which would’ve been reckless and deranged versus merely impulsive. He isn’t killing some random person for disrespecting him or to cover up some other offense. This is a former gangster—and a poor excuse for one. He sold out his friends (one of whom died in prison), then entered witness protection until the FBI ejected him. Now he’s been living under an Anglicized alias, Fred Peters, and lecturing about his former life to college kids. We already know (from the pilot and “46 Long”) Tony and the others consider this sort of behavior a whackable offense. 

All of this places Febby squarely in the category of “work problems.” To frame things in terms of the Godfather films, as The Sopranos often does, Febby isn’t that anonymous sex worker in The Godfather Part II who the Corleones killed to indebt a senator; he’s more akin to Frankie Five Angels, the underboss in II who becomes a state witness and kills himself after committing perjury. The Corleones became American folk heroes despite being thieving, racketeering monsters because, with few exceptions, they only killed other mobsters and their collaborators, and only ones that were coded as worse than the Corleones.

That’s the case here as well, though we feel for Febby’s wife and daughter even if we don’t care what happens to Febby. No, Febby’s murder was startling because of the context—a father-daughter road trip, mirroring Febby’s life with the wife he’ll never sleep next to again and the daughter he won’t see grow up—and because of the joy Tony takes in doing the deed. There’s no regret or distaste on his face as he twists those cords, only glee. The most frightening thing about Tony is the way he seems to trade depression for euphoria when hurting people. James Gandolfini’s face splits into a predatory grin, practically a leer, and he throws his tall, broad frame into the action with the furious precision of a smaller, more graceful man. His arms and fists are a blur, his eyes blaze, and flecks of spittle fly out of his mouth as he curses the men he’s battering and tormenting. He’s never been scarier.

The lead-up to the strangulation reveals the scene’s primordial essence: we’re watching an apex predator stalk and kill its prey. We got a taste of this approach earlier in the episode when Tony visited Febby’s home and watched him tell his daughter good night while sitting in a hot tub with his wife. Right before Tony sneaks up behind Febby in the woods, Febby hears a noise in nearby brush and looks to see what caused it, and we get a cutaway shot of a deer gazing at him, its curious face framed by the greenery. The sequence of actions that brought us to this point represents a journey backward in time: Tony and Febby arrive by car, a twentieth-century form of transportation; Febby loses his revolver, a nineteenth-century weapon, during the struggle, and there’s a shot of the piece dropping onto the earth beneath his feet; then Tony strangles him and strangles him and keeps strangling him, an act of Shakespearean viciousness. The scene lasts much longer than you expect, until the audience feels assaulted as well. The editing cuts between tight close-ups of Febby’s face, Tony’s hands pulling the cords tight around Febby’s neck, and Tony’s face contorted in euphoric rage, his front teeth framed by his snarling mouth (like an upside-down smile) so that they evoke a carnivore’s bared fangs. Close-ups of Tony’s hands reveal that he’s choking Febby so hard that the cords are cutting his skin.38 After he drops Febby’s lifeless body, he stands up and walks past the travel agency as insects whir and birds caw. He looks up to see a flock of birds—ducks, probably—in a V formation, a shot that resonates in multiple ways, none of them reassuring.

Shots of birds in flight after a character’s death always evoke a soul departing. In this case, they also amplify the sense that we’ve just seen prehistoric savagery occur. These ducks harken back to the ones that left Tony’s swimming pool, part of a narrative that we associate with Tony and Livia’s relationship: her hold over his imagination, the genes that encoded half of the beast in him. And they stand in for the safe family and feelings of peace that seem to remain forever beyond his grasp. Carmela’s story is nearly as unsettling, partly because of how it fuses with Tony’s. Tony’s half of “College” is a scaled-down, two-character exploration of what it means to be Tony Soprano, a theoretically respectable man with a house, a wife, a kids, and a secret criminal life; Carmela’s half is about being his complicit partner. We get a sense of how repressed she is, thanks to her acceptance of the contradictory sexual values of Mob marriages (men are expected, even encouraged to take mistresses; wives are supposed to be faithful) as well as the sexual politics of Roman Catholicism. Two of the movies that are name-checked in this episode, The Remains of the Day and Casablanca, revolve around great loves that cannot be. It’s spot-on that she’d bond with Father Phil over these sorts of movies, and that she’d select a priest as the vessel into which to pour the specific desires, fears, and affinities that Tony would never entertain. There’s (almost) no danger that the frisson of attraction will become physical.

Nevertheless, her evening with Father Phil unfolds like a date from the start—she even takes a pass at her hair before letting him in. Their interactions show that they genuinely like each other, and that each is getting something out of the relationship. Carmela gives the priest-plus an outlet for his intellectual curiosity beyond matters of scripture, plus imaginative fuel for fantasies of a life where he could have a normal relationship with a woman (thus their discussion of Jesus coming down off the cross in Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ). Father Phil gives Carmela a sympathetic ear, appreciation for her food and her personality, and a means to discuss religion, philosophy, and movies as art. The script is clear on what’s at stake for them: it’s never a good idea to court a gangster’s wife, or for a gangster’s wife to step out. But the fact that Father Phil is married to the church adds another layer of taboo. When he rushes to the bathroom to retch after moving in for a kiss, it’s not just the alcohol causing his body to rebel.(The moment connects with the Last Temptation discussion, as well as with Tony’s line while killing Febby: “You took an oath and you broke it!”)

It seems fitting that “College” puts Carmela’s confession to Father Phil and her subsequent taking of Communion—the moments when she’s most emotionally naked—at the midpoint, where these characters’ first sex scene might go were this a novel about two lovers. The close-ups of Father Phil pouring wine into a Communion cup and delivering it straight to Carmela’s lips along with the Host are the true consummation of a storyline about sexual energy being teased out and shut down (or redirected). It’s in these scenes that we move beyond the question of “Will they or won’t they?” and enter darker territory. Carmela is in denial about her husband’s affairs, but those pale in comparison to the other sins, the literal crimes, that she can’t bring herself to confront. Her confession to Father Phil, delivered on the same couch where her family watches TV, sums up this series’ fascination with evil and compromise, false faces and self-deception. “I have forsaken what is right for what is easy, allowing what I know is evil in my house,” she says. “Allowing my children—Oh my God, my sweet children!—to be a part of it, because I wanted things for them. I wanted a better life, good schools. I wanted this house. I wanted money in my hands, money to buy everything I ever wanted. I’m so ashamed! My husband, I think he has committed horrible acts. . . . I’ve said nothing, I’ve done nothing about it. I got a bad feeling it’s just a matter of time before God compensates me with outrage for my sins.”

Late in “College” there’s a scene with Tony that explicitly connects the two stories. As Tony sits in a university hallway at Bowdoin College waiting for Meadow to be interviewed, he looks up at a quote emblazoned on a large panel hanging over a doorway: “No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.”43 It’s a slight misquote from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, about a minister who falls in love with a woman and breaks his vows.

Father Phil tells her exactly what she needs to hear about repenting and renouncing sin, even as we can suspect this is Carmela’s momentary burst of remorse before she returns to enjoying the benefits of being a made guy’s wife. By the next morning—after Father Phil is saved from a second moment of temptation by a stomach too full of pasta and alcohol—Carmela has, indeed, reverted to type. She couldn’t have been more vulnerable in her confession, nor could she be any colder or more in control as Phil stumbles around in his undershirt trying to apologize for his behavior.

The correct quote is, “No man can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true”—as in, “the true face.”

Excerpt from the new book The Sopranos Sessions by Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall published by Abrams Press; © 2019 Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall. To order your copy of the book, click here

from All Content http://bit.ly/2FmtuFE

[xoverrpg-blog]

What is crossover fiction?

“Crossover fiction” is when a story is told involving two or more characters from different settings or universes. It’s a fairly common trope. Some famous examples are:

King Kong vs Godzilla

Freddy vs Jason vs Ash 

Aliens v. Predator

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue

Frank Miller and Walt Simonson’s Robocop versus Terminator

Archie vs Punisher

Alan Moore’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen*

PJ Farmer’s the Wold Newton universe/family**

Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula***

X-Men and Star Trek: TNG in the novel Planet X

Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald****

The X-Files on the Simpsons

The many, many implications of Tommy Westphall*****

Then there is the character that embodies the crossover: Detective John Munch, played by Richard Belzer. He has appeared on Law & Order, L&O: SVU, L&O: Criminal Intent, L&O: Trial by Jury, L&O: LA, New York Undercover, X-Files, the Wire, the Beat, 30 Rock, Arrested Development, Conviction, Homocide: Life on the Streets, and Luther.

That’s crossover fiction; seeing what happens when you introduce characters and settings to each other that normally would never interact. And that’s what I wanted to make: the world’s largest story. 

So, let’s see where this adventure takes us. And who we meet along the way. 

* Let’s just ignore the film adaptation and instead talk about the comic, which was by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a series (told over three volumes, a graphic novel, and three-part spin-off) that runs from 1898 Victorian England until the modern day, featuring characters from a wide-array of fiction: from Sherlock Holmes to Harry Potter. 

** On December 13, 1795 a meteorite hit near Wold Newton, Yorkshire. Philip Jose Farmer uses that as the basis for a story, saying the meteorite caused genetic mutations in people passing by it. The people who were affected and their descendants were endowed with extremely high intelligence and strength, as well as an exceptional capacity and drive to perform good or, as the case may be, evil deeds. Farmer would feature stories with Tarzan, Doc Savage, Lord Peter Wimsey, Scarlet Pimpernel, Professor Moriarty, James Bond, the Shadow, and many others. 

*** Newman was inspired by Farmer’s Wold Newton concept, which he applied to Dracula. 

**** Neil Gaiman, who helped Newman develop the Anno Dracula series (and allegedly almost helped co-write it), did a crossover of Sherlock and H. P. Lovecraft. 

***** Tommy Westphall was a character on the show St. Elsewhere who was diagnosed with autism. At the end of the run of St. Elsewhere, the show was revealed to (possibly) all be Tommy’s daydream. As some of the characters of St. Elsewhere appeared on other shows, this led comic book legend to Dwayne McDuffie to jokingly point out that something like 80% of TV was set in the same universe, which ALL happened to be in Tommy’s imagination. 

[nerdgeekfeelings]

Em 1987 estreava um dos melhores filmes estrelados por Arnold Schwarzenegger: Predador. Nele, Schwarza interpreta o Major Dutch, líder de um grupo de militares casca grossa em missão de resgate numa floresta tropical da América do Sul. O que nenhum deles esperava era virar o alvo de um caçador alienígena.

Há exatos 30 anos, quando Predador estreou nos cinemas sob a direção inspirada de John McTiernan (Duro de Matar), e a memorável trilha sonora de Alan Silvestri (De Volta Para o Futuro), iniciou-se uma bem sucedida franquia. A excepcional combinação de ação, guerra e terror; os personagens caricatos bem utilizados; e frases de efeito usadas no momento certo, fizeram do filme de 1987 um dos mais divertidos da 7ª arte.

Dillon (Carl Weathers) e Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) se pegando (literalmente) em Predador (1987)

Desde então, outros membros dos Yautja – a raça alienígena à qual pertencia o Predador – apareceram em mais dois filmes de sua franquia solo, que jamais conseguiram se igualar ao primeiro; além de estrelarem dois crossovers de qualidade duvidosa (alguns dirão que são horríveis mesmo) com outra raça de aliens assustadores: os xenomorfos da franquia Alien.

Além destes filmes, os Predadores também marcaram presença em diversas histórias em quadrinhos publicadas pela Dark Horse, e vídeo games para diversas plataformas.

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Capa do TPB Aliens versus Predator, de 1991

Capa do game Aliens vs. Predator, de 2010

Mas não importa em mais quantos filmes os Predadores aparecerão, pois o primeiro continuará ocupando sua posição de clássico imbatível, que ainda não foi superado, e dificilmente será.

Abaixo você encontrará uma singela homenagem em forma de galeria de artes. Após conferi-la, recomendo reservar um tempo hoje à noite para fazer sua própria homenagem a este filmaço da melhor forma possível: revendo-o.

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Compre aqui a Trilogia Predador!

[CINEMA] Predador: há 30 anos sendo o caçador alienígena mais temível (e feio) da 7ª arte Em 1987 estreava um dos melhores filmes estrelados por Arnold Schwarzenegger: Predador. Nele, Schwarza interpreta o Major Dutch, líder de um grupo de militares casca grossa em missão de resgate numa floresta tropical da América do Sul.

[aion-rsa]

Batman’s 15 Most Powerful Suits

One of the reasons fans love Batman is that he’s a regular person who has made himself into something amazing. He doesn’t have super-strength or speed, and he isn’t even bulletproof, but what he does have is a tactical genius, a highly trained body and an ironclad will.

RELATED: The 15 Best (and Worst) Superman Costumes

Iron Man is known for his powered armor, and especially for the way he develops different versions of his armor for different situations, but he’s not the only one who equips himself with special suits. Batman has created a wide variety of different duds for fighting enemies, especially for ones stronger than he is. Since he doesn’t have superpowers, he needs all the help he can get. CBR is here to run down 15 of the most powerful batsuits we’ve seen in the comics and beyond.

BATMAN BEYOND SUIT

Beginning in 1999 as an animated TV show, “Batman Beyond” was a cyberpunk take on the Batman mythos created by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett. Set in the distant alternate future of 2039 where an elderly Bruce Wayne had retired, the mantle of Batman was taken up by teenager Terry McGinnis. With guidance from Wayne, McGinnis fought new enemies such as the shape-shifting Inque, the master of sound Shriek and older versions of Mister Freeze and the Joker.

Even though McGinnis’ batsuit was created by Wayne in 2019, it was still considered cutting-edge in 2039. Instead of relying on a plane, the Batman Beyond batsuit had its own wings and limited flight capabilities, as well as weapons such as retractable claws, projectile batarangs and grappling guns. It also worked as an exoskeleton to enhance the wearer’s strength and speed. One major feature was the suit’s cloaking ability, allowing Batman to become invisible to the naked eye. Even more amazing, the suit was still flexible as regular cloth.

BAT-BOT

On the 2004 animated TV series “The Batman,” the episode “Traction” introduced a new version of one of Batman’s most famous foes. Written by Adam Beechen and directed by Sam Liu, the episode started with mob bosses hiring a mysterious mercenary known only as Bane. The episode played as sort of a light version of the 1993 storyline“Knightfall,” where Bane beat Batman and left him for dead in an alley. To defeat Bane, Batman built the Bat-Bot armor to fight for him.

The Bat-Bot was an exoskeleton that made Batman much larger, making him as big as Bane. It also had powerful servo motors that gave him superhuman strength. The Bat-Bot also had a jetpack so he could fly in short bursts or slow down a fall from a building, but all that power still didn’t keep Bane from smashing the Bat-Bot and peeling it open like a tin can. Fortunately, Batman managed to grab a power cable and give Bane the shock of his life.

SUIT OF SORROWS

The armor known as the Suit of Sorrows first made its debut in “Detective Comics” #838 in 2008, written by Paul Dini and penciled by Ryan Benjamin. Presented to Batman as a gift from Talia al Ghul, the daughter of the ancient villain Ra’s al Ghul, the Suit of Sorrows was first forged in 1190 during the Crusades. The Suit drove the knight who first wore it insane, leading him to slaughter hundreds of people, but that didn’t deter the Bat.

The Suit of Sorrows was forged from the blades and breastplates of fallen soldiers from the Order of Purity, a splinter sect of the Order of St. Dumas. Batman found the Suit made him stronger and faster, but also made him more violent. Batman decided to stop using the armor, but couldn’t bring himself to destroy it, leaving it in the Batcave. The Suit ended up being stolen and used by the Order of Purity’s new Azrael.

DARK KNIGHT RETURNS EXOSUIT

In 1986, Frank Miller’s graphic novel “The Dark Knight Returns” introduced a darker and grittier Batman, one who had grown old and retired, but came out of retirement to fight new and old threats. One of those threats involved Superman, who had become a powerful weapon under the control of a corrupt US government. When the government decided that Batman needed to be stopped, it sent Superman to take him down, but Batman was prepared.

Batman had created an exoskeleton specifically designed to fight Superman, one with heavily armored skin hard enough to take blows from the Man of Steel, and equipped with strong motors that let Batman punch harder. The suit also allowed him to deliver a powerful electric shock to Superman’s skull, and spray acid to distract him. The exosuit is one of Batman’s most famous, and also made an appearance in 2016’s “Batman v Superman” movie in the climactic battle.

PREDATOR SUIT

In 1991, Batman faced the alien Predator in “Batman Versus Predator,” written by Dave Gibbons and drawn by Andy Kubert. In book one, Batman was investigating the grisly murder of a boxer who had his spine and skull removed. At first, Batman was just concerned with stopping a war between two mob bosses, but discovered the ruthless alien warrior Predator was hunting in Gotham City. In order to defeat the Predator, Batman created an exoskeleton to give him an edge.

Batman’s Predator exoskeleton was specially designed to fight the Predator. The suit used sonar to compensate for the Predator’s invisibility technology, gave him additional strength to fight the hunter hand-to-hand, and armor to keep the Predator from cutting him open with its razor sharp blades. In the end, Batman managed to defeat the Predator so badly that the alien committed suicide, proving Batman is the Galaxy’s greatest warrior (as if we didn’t already know).

THRASHER SUIT

In 2012, Batman discovered the existence of a secret and deadly organization, the Court of Owls. “Night of the Owls” was a story arc where the Court of Owls sent its Talon assassins to attack the Bat-Family and strengthen their control over Gotham City. In “Batman” #8, written by Scott Snyder and penciled by Greg Capullo, they struck at the heart of the Family, Bruce Wayne. They entered Wayne Manor and found their way into the Batcave itself, but Batman was ready… because he’s Batman.

One of the main weapons of the Talons are their regenerative abilities that allow them to survive fatal injuries and even bring them back to life. To fight them, Batman lowered the temperature of the cave to freezing, but needed precious minutes until it dropped. That’s why Batman armed himself in a special Thrasher exoskeleton that could survive the subzero temperatures, but also gave him the strength and armor to battle the Talons without holding back.

TRINITY ARMOR

Written and drawn by Matt Wagner, “Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman: Trinity” was a three-issue series about the first meeting between DC’s greatest heroes. In the story, Ra’s al Ghul, Bizarro and Wonder Woman’s enemy Artemis worked together to bring chaos to the world, and the three heroes were forced to unite to fight the triple threat. Usually, Superman is the one who faces Bizarro, but in the third issue, Batman went toe-to-toe with the mixed-up villain and he was armed to do it.

Like all of his exoskeletons, the Trinity armor gave Batman enhanced strength and speed, and also protected him from the full impact of Bizarro’s fists. It didn’t protect him completely, though, since Bizarro was able to smash the chest in until Batman couldn’t breathe, and Wonder Woman had to rip it off. The armor also had gadgets like a titanium electrified net he could throw over Bizarro, a flurry of miniature grenades and solar lasers mounted on the gloves to add punch to his fists. It wasn’t enough to beat Bizarro, but it did distract him until Superman arrived on the scene.

PROJECT BATMAN ARMOR

In the conclusion of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s 2014’s storyline, “Batman” #40 seemed to end with the death of the Dark Knight at the hands of the Joker. With Batman allegedly dead, Gotham City was left without its protector. In order to fill the void, the Gotham corporation, Powers International, brought Commissioner Jim Gordon in to become the new Batman. Without the years of training and skill of the original Batman, Gordon was fitted with a suit of armor to bring him up to Batman’s level.

The armor, which was tied to Project Batman, gave Gordon the usual assortment of super-strength, durability and speed, but also had a few tricks up its sleeve. For one thing, the armor was sanctioned by the Gotham City Police Department, so he stayed in contact with a GCPD blimp at all times and worked with local governments. He could fire batarangs and even an EMP pulse, and had magnetic boots to give him a powerful grip. Gordon was never more of a warrior than in that suit.

DC ONE MILLION BATSUIT

“JLA” #23 (written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Howard Porter) was the introduction of the Batman in the “DC One Million” event, which was set in a far future version of the DC Universe. The DC One Million Batman was born in the 853rd Century, where the criminal Xauron had taken control of the prison planet Pluto and slaughtered thousands while the children watched. As one of those children, Batman had taken on the then-ancient identity to prevent injustice from happening again.

The Batsuit of the DC One Million Batman was a huge technological leap forward. Though it didn’t look that different from the original costume, it had collapsible armor, a fireproof cape and a stronger skeleton to keep him safe. It also had night vision and camouflage for stealth, built in wings for flight and could project holograms. DC One Million Batman also had his Bat-computer built into the suit with 10 times the power of the modern version. It made the regular batsuit look like a set of long underwear.

BATWING ARMOR

David Zavimbe was a former child soldier who became the African version of Batman in his self-titled issue, “Batwing” #1 in 2011. Written by Judd Winick and penciled by Ben Oliver, “Batwing” introduced the title character as part of Batman Incorporated, an initiative to turn the ideal of Batman into a global crime-fighting network. To help with his war on crime, Batwing had a new suit of armor jam-packed with gadgets for the crusade.

The Batwing suit began with the usual enhancement trio of speed, strength and durability, as well as the ability to fly with a jetpack. A second Batwing came along when Lucas Fox took over the role of Batwing, and the suit got an upgrade to cover his entire body, hiding his appearance. The Batwing suit was became more sophisticated with limited medical treatment while in the field. For instance, the suit could detect broken bones and stiffen the area to form a cast until the wearer can get medical help. The suit can’t fly, but it can glide pretty well with a retractable cape, and project holograms and blend into its surroundings.

STEALTH SUIT

When we talk about power, it’s not all about brute force. There’s also the ability to hide and become invisible, which is job number one for Batman, since he doesn’t have a ton of superpowers on his own. His vulnerability makes him especially paranoid (let’s call it “concerned”) about Superman, who has a ton of superpowers and very little that can stop him. In “Superman Unchained” #2 (2013), written by Scott Snyder with art by Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Dustin Nguyen, we saw his stealth suit designed as protection against the Man of Tomorrow.

When Superman visited the Batcave, he was surprised to discover he couldn’t see Batman anywhere. Batman revealed his new stealth suit, a full-body armor that could adapt to any system used to try to detect it, and adjust itself to hide from it, even Superman’s X-ray and various super-visions. The suit was armored, so it also came in handy in the seventh issue when Batman used it to fight Wraith. Plus, with its glowing lines, it just looked freaking cool.

THE INSIDER SUIT

In 2010, Batman’s life had become really complicated, having just been apparently killed during “Final Crisis” and forced to journey through time to return to the present. In the meantime, the role of Batman had been taken on by Dick Grayson, and Batman decided to put on a new identity to discretely see how things had been going without him. First appearing in “Bruce Wayne: The Road Home: Batman and Robin” #1 (2010, written by Fabian Nicieza, penciled by Cliff Richards), Wayne become the Insider and had an incredible new suit to match.

The Insider Suit was designed to mimic some of the powers of the Justice League with a heat vision mode like Superman, a Speed Force mode that would let Batman move at high speed like the Flash, a camouflage mode that could let him turn invisible like Martian Manhunter, an electrified wire that could act as a lie detector like Wonder Woman’s lasso and a force beam powered by willpower like Green Lantern. It also could fly and teleport, using the Justice League teleporter. It had everything, really, except Batman’s ears and the logo.

MAN-BAT BATMAN

In 2013, writer Grant Morrison and penciler Chris Berman introduced a deadly new Batman in “Batman Incorporated” #12. In the issue, Batman faced Talia al Ghul and an army of ninjas transformed into half-human half-bat monsters. She also had an inhuman clone monster with the power and will to destroy Batman. In order to fight them, Batman went to extreme measures in preparing for the battle by injecting himself with the Man-Bat serum, one of the most powerful and deadliest substances among his rogues gallery.

Diving into the fight, Batman also wore the Suit of Sorrows (which we mentioned earlier) that made him stronger and faster, modified by a jetpack for flight and extending metal arms. Not only were the arms strong, they could deliver a powerful electric shocks into the ground. The suit itself had a “negative refractive index,” which allowed him to turn invisible. It turned Batman into a monster, which he needed to fight monsters.

HELLBAT ARMOR

“Batman and Robin” #33, written by Peter Tomasi and pencilled by Patrick Gleason, introduced one of Batman’s most powerful suits of armor: the Hellbat. As one of the few members of the Justice League without superpowers, the other members worked together to design and build the Hellbat armor to protect him. Formed by Superman in the heart of a sun and forged by Wonder Woman in Olympus, assembled by Cyborg, given a shape-changing cape by Green Lantern and tempered by the Flash and Aquaman under extreme conditions, Hellbat seemed to be the ultimate weapon.

The Hellbat gave Batman speed, strength and durability, but had other tricks. For instance, the cape was capable of changing shapes to let him fly, and created shapes like tendrils under his control. The suit also had a photonic cloak to make him invisible. The biggest problem with the Hellbat suit was that it drained Batman’s metabolism so much that leaving it on too long would kill him. He only used it to try to get the body of his son back from Apokolips, and it was a price he was willing to pay.

JUSTICE BUSTER

There’s an old saying that just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t out to get you. As we mentioned before, Batman doesn’t trust anybody, and sometimes he’s right. That was certainly the case in 2014’s “Batman: Endgame” #1 (written by Scott Snyder and pencilled by Greg Capullo), which brought one of Batman’s worst scenarios to life when the Joker infected the Justice League to turn them against the Dark Knight. Fortunately, Batman was prepared.

He turned to an exoskeleton designed to quickly take down the Justice League. It bound Wonder Woman with the mystical Bind of Veils to make her think she beat him, then knocked out the Flash at hyperspeed. For Aquaman, the suit sprayed a foam to dehydrate him. Cyborg was downed by an electromagnetic nerve tree and a “citrine neutralizer” was used for Green Lantern, but the best was saved for Superman. The gauntlets had microscopic red suns for added punch, a coating to deflect Superman’s heat and cold powers, and even gum laced with kryptonite as a last resort. Who could make a suit capable of taking down the most powerful humans on Earth? Batman, that’s who.

Which is your favorite Batman armor? Let us know in the comments!

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