#heroes for hire (1997)

[616toro]

CEO Jim Hammond in the 90s was such a serve 🔥

[butchstrife]

okay quick question: what the fuck is ff7 actually like, about. what’s the goal? also why does everyone i see just look like a person who could potentially have something magic abt them and then there’s just an unironic talking cat. what are the rules in this universe? (i don’t need to know about all the other ff games unless it’s necessary setup, i’m mostly just curious abt the story of 7)

Starts vibrating. This is gonna get so long.

First things first I feel it necessary to clarify that no game in the mainline Final Fantasy series takes place in the same world. FFVII is a completely different world from say FFXIV and so on. Some games have sequels and spin offs, like FFVII having Crisis Core and (groan) Dirge of Cerberus, or FFX and FFX-2. But other than that, no relation between games.

Final Fantasy VII is a more sci-fi fantasy take on the FF series, keeping the themes of magic and adventure, but adding a dieselpunk/cyberpunk twist to it. Overall the main themes of FFVII is environmentalism and identity.

The characters are pretty consistent with the themes and designs of the entire FF franchise, it’s meant to be a little silly. So stuff like Moogles, Chocobo, talking cat, all falls under that silliness of FF.

Now the fucking story, there’s so much going on in this game. For simplicity (and personal preference) I will be ignoring the FFVII Compilation in favor of ONLY explaining the original 1997 game. There’s already so much going on, no need to complicate things.

The story of FFVII follows nine heroes who all have their own beef with the Shinra Electric Power Company, the company who rules over many cities and villages throughout the world by use of their private military. Over the roughly 40 years (iirc) the company has been around, they’ve committed several atrocities against humanity and the planet itself, which is a living thing in FFVII!! It’s very very important to note the planet it ALIVE!!

Shinra has several parts of the company that are important to the story, I won’t go over the company’s entire hierarchy, but there’s important parts of the company that I absolutely have to explain.

The R&D department is arguably the most antagonistic, led currently by Professor Hojo. The bitch is this prick who is over enthusiastic about human experimentation, eugenics being a motivator behind that (not as obviously as say Albert Wesker, but you cannot ignore Hojo is largely a eugenicist)

Then we have SOLDIER, Shinra’s super-soldiers created by Hojo. These guys are experimented on and enhanced with Mako, which is well put by Barret the “Lifeblood of the planet.” Among their ranks are Sephiroth, the most famous and powerful of the SOLDIERs, and (allegedly) Cloud Strife. Plus another guy, we’ll get to him.

Then there’s the Power Company part of this power company. Shinra built reactors that pump Mako out of the planet and convert it into energy. This process depletes the planet of Mako, a resource that IS finite and that the planet needs to survive. The company markets Mako as a clean and safe energy source, in a world that previously largely depended on coal mining. However Mako energy is anything but, where the reactors are built, the native flora and fauna eventually die out, and allows monsters to thrive. Plus, exposure to refined Mako is notably very dangerous to humans, as overexposure leads to “Mako poisoning” which meddles the mind and weakens the body. (So how do SOLDIERs work then? Great question! I’ll get to that!)

The story kicks off with a group in Shinra’s crowning accomplishment, the city of Midgar, called Avalanche. Avalanche is a group of “Ecoterrorists” who are set out to take Shinra down to save the planet. The group is led by our beloved Barret Wallace alongside a colorful cast of lovable characters, Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, and Tifa Lockhart! Plus, the newly hired ex-SOLDIER mercenary (and Tifa’s childhood friend), Cloud Strife.

The group conducts several missions to bomb the Mako reactors in Midgar, the first bombing going off without a hitch, the second mission… not so much. After one (really easy) boss fight, Cloud ends up falling off the upper city plate down into the under city, directly through the roof of a church where he meets our mysterious Aeris Gainsborough!! Aeris hires Cloud as a bodyguard (with the payment of one date with her), as she escapes Shinra’s Turks. I’d explain what the Turks do, but just know they’re all kinda John Wick types.

Now I’m gonna speed through the rest of the game since we’ve met all four of the most important protagonists.

The rest of the game kicks off after Aeris decides to help Cloud and Tifa after they learn Shinra plans on destroying part of the city just to take out Avalanche. During their mission to save the city, Aeris is kidnapped by Shinra. Reason being, Aeris is an Ancient (later clarified to actually be called Cetra), a people who were able to speak directly to the planet, and she’s the very last one at that. The mission fails and many innocent people are killed in the fallout, as well as the other members of Avalanche. After all Aeris did to help, including saving Barret’s daughter Marlene, our heroes are determined to save her. During their mission to save Aeris, it’s revealed that the long thought dead General Sephiroth is somehow still alive, a fact Cloud insists should be impossible.

After that, Cloud is determined to track down Sephiroth and take him down for good, as revenge for Sephiroth destroying Cloud and Tifa’s hometown, Nibelheim. All of our heroes agree to help Cloud pursue Sephiroth after learning what he did to Nibelheim. Along the way we meet lots of other characters.

Nanaki aka Red XIII, a funny little talking animal who was being held prisoner alongside Aeris, rescued at the same time she was. He agrees to follow the group until he can return to his home, as thanks for them rescuing him from Professor Hojo.

Yuffie Kisarsgi (my beloved daughter), a teenage ninja and thief from Wutai, who is on the hunt for Materia (magical gems that allow people to cast magic). She joins the group after she steals their materia and promptly is defeated, deciding she might have more opportunities to get materia if she doesn’t go it alone.

The journey continues as the group heads out to find Sephiroth. Their first encounter with him being on a boat to Costa del Sol. Where Sephiroth leaves behind a limb (I think an arm? I never remember which limb is which) of his “mother” Jenova, and flees by doing a backflip and flying away. This limb transforms into a large monster that then attacks the group. After she’s defeated, the quest to find Sephiroth continues.

They travel across the world, landing in all sorts of unique locations, all in search of Sephiroth and how to truly defeat him. We meet more guys.

Cait Sith (look up how to pronounce this in Scottish Gaelic, NOT English) is a little toy cat the group meets at the theme park the Gold Saucer. He receives a fortune that the group is in trouble and cue my favorite “joined the party” moment in any video game:

Vincent Valentine, an ex-Turk who reveals Jenova is not truly Sephiroth’s mother, but instead a woman named Lucrecia, whom he was in love with. Vincent was experimented on by Hojo and gained the ability to turn into monsters. He chose to sleep in a coffin for the rest of his life as atonement for not being able to stop Lucrecia from experimenting on herself and her son. After he learns Sephiroth is a threat to the planet, he joins the group to stop him.

Cid Highwind is a skilled pilot and SHOULD have been one of the first men to go to space, unfortunately one of his crew members put herself at risk during the spaceship’s launch and he chose to cancel the launch to save her. After that, Shinra defunded his space program which he resented them for. The group attempts to steal his plane before Shinra can and he joins them mainly because he wants to stick it to Shinra, plus they broke his plane and he needs to fix it.

That’s the whole gang! Finally, crazy how many playable characters there are in this game.

Eventually the group learns of the Black Materia, an extremely powerful weapon that was created by the Cetra (shhhh don’t listen to Rebirth they lied to you) as a result of them creating Holy, an equally powerful materia that was created to rid the world of Jenova, the Cetra’s greatest enemy. They continue on a quest to find the Black Materia before Sephiroth can use it to destroy the world. (It’s kinda a Fullmetal Alchemist equivalent exchange thing, to create the ultimate protective materia, the ultimate destructive materia had to be created in return)

All the while, Shinra pursues the group hoping Aeris will lead them to the “Promised Land” a land foretold by the Cetra to be a paradise (it’s the Cetra’s afterlife lmfao, Shinra’s stupid).

Upon finding the Black Materia, Sephiroth finally busts out his ability to control Cloud, forcing Cloud to hand over the materia to him. Aaaand now I can explain how SOLDIERs work. All SOLDIERs have Jenova’s cells in them, which is what allows them to survive Mako exposure AND is also how Cloud was able to keep finding Sephiroth! Jenova, and Sephiroth, can exert control over anyone with her cells and is currently trying to create a “Reunion”, drawing in everyone who contains Jenova’s cells so she can be whole again. Which is why Cloud is inexplicably drawn to following Sephiroth (hahahaha bitch fell for the classic thinking it’s about revenge but actually just being alien mind control).

Right after losing the Black Materia to Sephiroth, Aeris heads out on her own. The group manages to follow her to the lost city of the Cetra, where she attempts to summon Holy to defeat Jenova and Sephiroth.

The group arrives too late to rescue Aeris before Sephiroth arrives and kills her. Jenova appears once again and the group defeats her. They all mourn the loss of their beloved friend, then become reinvigorated to stop Sephiroth.

They go snowboarding literally immediately after this, funniest tonal shift of all time, as they head to the northern crater. They gets their hands back on the Black Materia before they make it to a cavern in which the REAL Sephiroth has been sealed this ENTIRE TIME!!!!

Cloud leaves the Black Materia with [enter ally of the player’s choice] so Sephiroth can’t take control of him to steal it back again.

Shinra also makes their way to this cavern, Professor Hojo then reveals that Cloud was never in SOLDIER, but instead is an experiment created by him, a “Sephiroth Clone”. Cloud is led to believe that he isn’t the real Cloud Strife, and only took on that appearance from Jenova’s ability to read minds (she can do so many things) and take the appearance of others based off memory, in this case, Tifa’s memory of her childhood friend. Cloud reacts super normally to this information (he has a meltdown). Sephiroth manages to trick [whoever the player left the Black Materia with] into bringing the Black Materia to Cloud. Who ONCE AGAIN is compelled to give it to Sephiroth.

Sephiroth is back for real now, and summons Meteor with the Black Materia. It’s a meteor, exactly what it sounds like.

Then literally so much happens. I can speedrun the disc three explanation sooo well. Cloud falls into the soup (the Lifestream, think of it like the veins of the planet) and goes missing. The group decides Cid’s in charge in his place since he’s a ship captain. Giant monsters emerge out of the plant, called Weapons (creative naming all around in this game, probably sounded cooler in Japanese). The Weapons were created as a defense mechanism of the planet against Jenova. But now they’re just kinda freaking out and blowing shit up.

Cloud is found completely unresponsive in a town called Mideel, Tifa elects to stay with him in hopes he’ll get better. The rest of the group heads forward on a mission to find the Huge Materia (literally just materia but big) before Shinra. Hoping maybe they’ll be able to use it to stop Meteor somehow.

Wacky adventures ensue. A weapon shows up in Mideel and causes an earthquake that opens up to the Lifestream, Cloud and Tifa both fall into the soup.

In the Lifestream, Tifa explores Cloud’s memories. She slowly tries to piece together the real story of what happened to Cloud, and to prove that he IS the real Cloud Strife.

We learn about Zack, an actual SOLDIER, who came to Nibelheim with Sephiroth before he destroyed the village. And how in Cloud’s memories, he placed himself in Zack’s shoes. (This is who Zack is and this is one of two parts of the entire game he shows up in)

As they go on and explore Cloud’s memories, they learn that he might never have been in SOLDIER, but he WAS in Nibelheim when it was destroyed, but as an infantryman, not a SOLDIER. He wore a helmet the entire time literally only because he was embarrassed about potentially running into Tifa (he was 16 back then, typical teenager behavior).

Cloud and Tifa wash up back in Mideel, found by their friends. This happens:

(Kidding, this is just the joke I made about this scene)

They go kill Sephiroth. Free Holy, which gets rid of Jenova once and for all and with the helpful of the Lifestream (again the planet is very alive) Meteor is stopped and the day is saved!! The only question that remains is, did Holy decide humanity was part of the threat to the planet? Do they remain after Meteor is stopped? It’s up to interpretation!!! We know Nanaki lived tho! He lived on for another 500 years!!!

Anyways that’s the gist of it, there’s like, way more. You would not believe how much story is packed into this game. And I loveeee it, it’s really good :) the characters are my everythings <3

[nickfuryagentofsword]

Heroes For Hire 3 (1997) by John Ostrander & Pasqual Ferry

[kmp78]

GUESS WHO? His father left him when he was 3, his daughter died at 8 months, his wife died in a car accident, his best friend died of an overdose. And through it all, he never lost his shine, his world never fell apart. While filming the movie “The Lake House”, he overheard the conversation between two costume assistants, and one woman cried because she would lose her house if she didn’t pay $20,000 He transferred the money to her account. On his birthday in 2010 he went to a bakery alone and bought himself a cupcake with a single candle. While he was eating out, he offered free coffee and bread to all customers. This was his lavish birthday. With what he made from the Matrix trilogy, he distributed $50 million to the special effects team because he believed they were the real heroes of the movies. He almost never used stuntmen, except for very special things like stunts, and that’s why he recognized the work of his stuntmen by gifting each of them a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. To this day he regularly uses the subway and other public transport like the bus when necessary because it is the most practical thing, and he is never ashamed. A large number of hospitals claim to have received tens of millions of dollars from him. He donated 90% of his salary to some movies so the production could hire other stars. In 1997, a paparazzi found him on the street, sitting next to a homeless man, listening to the homeless man’s story and having breakfast with him. All the good we know about Keanu Reeves, he didn’t tell us himself but those who benefited from him. He never said anything about it. For all that he’s been through, he could have had a sadder and more pessimistic outlook on life, but despite everything, he’s chosen to be some good out of all the bad. Great role model for many wealthy people🙏

A man too pure for this wretched world. 🫶

[thecrofttomb]

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Has Been Announced!

The classics are back, and they look better than ever! Relive—or experience for the very first time—the original adventures of our iconic Lara Croft lovingly remastered for a new generation.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered: Starring Lara Croft is a definitive collection of the trilogy started by Core Design over 27 years ago, which includes Tomb Raider, Tomb Raider II, Tomb Raider III, and all of their respective secret levels and expansions previously available on PC only. This game bundle has been carefully restored with upgraded graphics and many other enhancements by the skilled hands of developer Aspyr, who was responsible for bringing the classics to the Mac back in the day.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered lets long-time fans and newcomers alike step into the boots of the iconic hero in her first three adventures like never before. Experience the classic action and innovative gameplay that helped pioneer 3D gaming, spawned a beloved franchise which has sold more than 95 million copies worldwide since its debut in 1996, and made Lara Croft one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world. From the treacherous tombs of Peru in the original Tomb Raider to the awe-inspiring sights of Venice in Tomb Raider II and the mystical realm of India in Tomb Raider III, players will embark on a nostalgic journey filled with breathtaking landscapes and ingenious puzzles. Dust off your gear, sharpen your wits and prepare to step into Lara Croft's adventurous shoes once again as we accompany Lara on her original globe-trotting expeditions.

🦖 Tomb Raider (1996)

In the game that started it all, adventurer Lara Croft has been hired to recover the pieces of an ancient artefact known as the Scion. With her fearless acrobatic style, she runs, jumps, swims and climbs her way towards the truth of its origins and powers—leaving only a trail of empty tombs and gun cartridges in her wake.

Tomb Raider comes complete with the "Unfinished Business" (1998) expansion, which adds four new bonus levels spread into two extra chapters:

In Shadow of the Cat, several months after the events of Tomb Raider, Lara returns to the city of Khamoon, where she must investigate a hidden temple dedicated to the feline goddess Bastet.

In Unfinished Business, directly after the ending of the original game, Lara discovers a ruined segment in Atlantis, allegedly containing an alien hatchery. She must destroy the remnants of the Atlantean race before they infest the world.

🐉 Tomb Raider II: Starring Lara Croft (1997)

In the sequel, Lara travels around the globe on a quest to retrieve the legendary Dagger of Xian, fabled to grant the powers of a fire-breathing dragon to its holder. During her journey, she finds she's not the only one in search of danger! Warrior Monks and crazed cult members plot against her as she travels from the canals of Venice, to the bottom of the sea, and even to the remote mountain peaks of Tibet.

Tomb Raider II includes the "Golden Mask" (1999) expansion, which adds five new levels in a separate mini-adventure.

In Golden Mask, Lara explores an abandoned Soviet military base and mine shaft somewhere in Alaska and discovers a strange and hidden world within. Many surprises await as she uncovers its secrets.

In the bonus level Nightmare in Vegas, while on holiday, Lara is taken by surprise when the hotel she resides in is taken over by baddies. After receiving an ominous vision of her butler Winston, our heroine sets off to rescue him.

☄️ Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft (1998)

In the third and last game of the original trilogy, Lara Croft follows the clues to a mystery that defies any earthly explanation as she tries to lay hands on four powerful artefacts fashioned from the heart of an ancient meteorite. From the jungles of India to the icy wastes of Antarctica, across the rooftops of London and into the depths of Nevada's mysterious Area 51, Lara is ready for anything that comes her way.

Tomb Raider III includes "The Lost Artefact" (2000) expansion, which adds six new levels to explore.

In The Lost Artefact, after receiving a strange invitation to the Scottish Highlands, Lara now learns of the existence of a fifth artefact, the Hand of Rathmore. Lost for many years, this final piece will complete the set and unlock the secret of the ancient meteor's powers. A hazardous trail riddled with traps and enemies takes her from a Scottish castle's subterranean laboratory to the Parisian Catacombs.

As previously stated, in addition to a visual makeover, various enhancements were made to improve gameplay and performance. Along the three adventures, you'll be able to toggle between updated and original graphics and switch between modern and classic control schemes instantly. Furthermore, there are numerous quality-of-life improvements, including a camera lock-on and achievement/trophy support.

The game is now available to pre-order for 29,99€ with special savings opportunities for each platform:

Console players can pre-order with a 10% discount (some restrictions apply).

PC players can pre-order with a 20% loyalty discount if they currently own the original games on Steam or GOG.

Tomb Raider I-III Remastered: Starring Lara Croft releases on February 14th, 2024, on Nintendo Switch, PC via Steam and GOG, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.

[coverpanelarchive]

Heroes For Hire #5 (1997)

[bibliokinetic]

Jim Hammond: Reading Guide

A lot of the comics listed are no longer considered canon, they’re canon AS comics in the universe. I’ll be breaking this list up to Pre-Timely Retcon and Post-Timely Retcon.

General warning for Nazis & World War Two for almost ALL of these comics.

PRE-TIMELY RETCON

Marvel Comics (1939) Marvel Mystery Comics (1939) The Human Torch (1940) Invaders (1975) The Saga of the Sub-Mariner (1988) Saga of the Original Human Torch (1990) The Invaders (1993) MARVELS (1994) #1 Heroes for Hire (1997) Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty (1998)

POST-TIMELY RETCON

New Invaders (2004) Captain America (2004) Winter Soldier: Winter Kills (2006) Avengers/Invaders (2008) * All-Winners 70th Anniversary Special Marvel Mystery Comics 70th Anniversary Special (2009) The Marvels Project (2009) The Torch (2009) Invaders Now! (2010) Captain America & Bucky (2011)** #622, #625 All-New Invaders (2014) Squadron Supreme (2015) (#06 - 08, 15) Invaders (2019)

* This comic is very weird in its treatment of Jewish characters, they give Robots serial numbers on their wrist to get Jim Hammond upset and equate that to the treatment of Jewish people in the holocaust ** this comic shows depictions of a concentration camp

[phantom-le6]

Ramble of the month February 2024: 90’s MCU phase 5 – transitioning from Secret Wars to Infinity Wars

Having spent much of last month and a fair bit of this one working on submissions to literary agencies for my autism book, this month’s ramble and the one for next month took a bit of a back seat, and as such I’ve still not been able to vary myself away from delving further into my hypothetical Marvel and DC film universes.  Apologies to anyone who, like me, were hoping to vary things more.  However, hopefully what we cover in this ramble and the next will make up for it, and as April will be Autism Awareness time, I can guarantee something different for then.

By this point, I’m sure readers don’t need as much of a recap on what these posts to do with my 90’s-based MCU are about.  Long story short, I’ve done what the meme makers don’t; looked at the comic book and real-world history of Marvel from that era to create an actual 90’s based MCU instead of putting 90’s actors into a present-day MCU.  However, as we’re into a fifth phase and well past the 1990’s, we should at least quickly review phases 1-4 first.

Phase 1:

1992: Fantastic Four, Hulk, Iron Man

1993: Thor, Spider-Man, Ant-Man & The Wasp

1994: Captain America: Fantastic Four 2, Iron Man 2

1995: X-Men, Avengers, Daredevil

Phase 2:

1996: Spider-Man 2, Thor: Land of Enchantment, Silver Surfer

1997: Hulk vs Wolverine, Fantastic Four: Doomsday, Iron Man 3

1998: Captain America: Society of Serpents, Daredevil 2, X-Men 2

1999: Avenger 2, Spider-Man 3, Doctor Strange

Phase 3:

2000: Fantastic Four: World War III, Thor: Ragnarök, Daredevil 3

2001: Hulk: Rise of the Leader, X-Men: Fall of the Mutants, Avengers: Under Siege

2002: Doctor Strange 2, The Captain, Spider-Man 4

2003: Captain Britain, Fantastic Four: Enter the Negative Zone, Ghost Rider

Phase 4:

2004: Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Secret Wars: Part I

2005: Excalibur, Defenders, Ghost Rider 2

2006: X-Factor, Secret Wars: Part II, Heroes For Hire

2007: Namor the Submariner, Doctor Strange 3, Iron Man: Enter The Mandarin

As discussed in previous rambles, phase 1 was all about establishing the MCU and its characters, phase 2 was about the expansion and development of the continuity, while phase 3 was mostly about many characters and teams losing, being put on the back foot and so on.  Phase 4 then covered Secret Wars, which temporarily deprived Earth of some major MCU heroes to put them through a real alien war, and in the process also allowed some other heroes to come to the fore.  Phase 5 then becomes about following on from some of those plot threads while beginning the set-up for this MCU’s version of the Infinity War.  So, let’s quickly show you the phase 5 slate and then get right into the details of these would-be films.

Phase 5:

2008: Spider-Man 5, Fantastic Four: Unthinkable, Ms Marvel

2009: Elektra, Black Panther 2, Defenders 2

2010: X-Men: Proteus, Spider-Man 6, Ant-Man 2

2011: Silver Surfer 2, Avengers vs X-Men, Ghost Rider 3

Spider-Man 5 (2008) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

May Parker = Marg Helgenberger

Flash Thompson = Ben Affleck

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Joseph "Robbie" Robertson = Denzel Washington

Betty Brant = Parker Posey

Ned Leeds = John Barrowman

Eddie Brock = Wentworth Miller

Randy Robertson = Taye Diggs

Harry Osborn = Ryan Phillipe

Mary-Jane Watson = Alison Hannigan

Herman Schultz/Shocker = Patrick Muldoon

Felicia Hardy/The Black Cat = Elisha Cuthbert

Roderick Kingsley/Hobgoblin = Michael Keaton

Quentin Beck/Mysterio = Nathan Fillion

Captain Jean DeWolff = Jessica Biel

Detective Stanley Carter/”Sin Eater” = James Marsden

In the first three Spider-Man films, we built up to Peter befriending the Osborns and dating Gwen, only for the Green Goblin/Death of Gwen story arcs to play out in Spider-Man 3.  The fourth film then gave Peter a clash with the Sinister Six as he struggles to come to terms with Gwen’s death.  Following Secret Wars, Peter now has the alien costume, and so film 5 is basically the alien costume story arc.  Sounding a little too much like the Raimi/Maguire Spider-Man 3?  Trust me, it’s not like that and for two key reasons.  Firstly, I’m not trying to shoe-horn Venom in for the third act, just set him up for another film.  Second, I’ve chosen Wentworth Miller of Prison Break and The Flash fame to play Eddie Brock, and that’s far from being our only change.

In this film, Peter’s occupied trying to stop a series of illusion thefts being committed on behalf of a new “kingpin”, who turns out to be the Hobgoblin, while also having to track down a notorious serial killer called the “Sin Eater”.  As the alien costume influences Peter ever more, the question becomes less will he stop all the criminals, but rather will he become one.  Matters are further complicated when costume thief Black Cat begins seducing Spider-Man and the alien costume pushes Peter to accept this despite his relationship with Mary-Jane.  The film culminates with a chance clash with the Shocker revealing the alien nature of Peter’s costume, forcing him to finally fight it off.  Eddie Brock gaining the symbiote is then handled in a credit’s scene.

Direction-wise, I picked Matthew Vaughan as he’s a proven superhero film director due to his work on X-Men: First Class.  He’s the fourth director to take a hand on Spider-Man solo film in this hypothetical MCU, with John Hughes having directed the first two, and 3 and 4 being handled by Frank Darabont and Martin Campbell, respectively.

Fantastic Four: Unthinkable (2008) Directed by Roland Emmerich

Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic = Tom Hanks

Susan Storm (Richards)/Invisible Woman = Meg Ryan

Johnny Storm/Human Torch = David Spade

Ben Grimm/Thing = Bryan Cranston

Alicia Masters = Heather Graham

Agatha Harkness = Angela Lansbury

Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom = Goran Višnjić

Hauptmann = Ronald Guttman

Nick Fury = Tommy Lee Jones

Black Bolt = Pierce Brosnan

Medusa = Elizabeth Hurley

Crystal = Dina Meyer

Gorgon = J.G. Hertzler

Karnak = Alexander Siddig

Triton = Orlando Bloom

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Namor McKenzie/The Submariner = Christian Bale

Barbara "Bobbi" Morse/Mockingbird = Rebecca Romijn-Stamos

Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo = Doug E. Doug

Having had the Fantastic Four directed by Leonard Nemoy (films 1-2), Steven Spielberg (films 3-4) and Ridley Scott (film 5), this MCU closes out their share of films under the stewardship of Roland Emmerich, notable for such films as Independence Day, White House Down and Midway.  This film adapts the events of the storylines ‘Unthinkable’ and ‘Authoritative Action’, but leaves the events of ‘Hereafter’ to the comics and begins introducing the Infinity Stones.  Since non-comics fans and fans who haven’t read those stories won’t get those references, let’s do a quick summary.

In the comics, Doctor Doom turned to magic for an attack on the Fantastic Four, which resulted in Reed and Sue’s son Franklin being taken to hell, and the team having to storm Latveria to get him back.  During the incident, Doom scarred Reed before being dragged into hell.  Afterwards, Reed seized control of Latveria to dismantle Doom’s arsenal and craft a permanent prison for Doom, one in which Reed would serve as warden.  However, when the rest of the team tried to stop Reed, Doom somehow began to possess each in turn, ultimately forcing Reed to kill Ben Grimm just to stop Doom.  The events of the Hereafter arc involved a trip into the afterlife to bring Ben back, in the process healing Reed’s scars.

In this film, Franklin is kidnapped and taken to a demon dimension, and Sue leads a rescue team comprised of her, Ben Grimm, Brother Voodoo and the Black Panther to save Franklin while Reed and Johnny attack Doom, aided by the Inhumans and Namor the Submariner.  The attack seemingly defeats Doom, after which Reed leads the F4 to Latveria, seizing control of the nation.  Fearing Doom is somehow influencing Reed, Nick Fury of SHIELD intervenes along with Mockingbird, Voodoo, Namor and T’Challa, only for the seemingly captured Doom to begin telepathically controlling the other F4 members.  Ultimately, Reed manages to force a feedback that wipes Doom’s mind, but in the process, Ben Grimm dies as he does in the comics.  With Ben’s death, the Fantastic Four decide to step back from hero work, becoming a think tank called the Future Foundation.

The bulk of the film’s cast is from past films, with the only new addition being mystical nanny Agatha Harkness, played by Angela Lansbury in better keeping with the comics version of the character.  As for the Infinity Stone I mentioned, that would be the mind stone, which Doom uses to control the various F4 members until Reed works out Doom is channelling the stone’s power and creates the feedback.

Ms Marvel (2008) Directed by Gates McFadden

Carol Danvers/Ms Marvel = Melissa Joan Hart

Michael Barnett = Brian Krause

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Frank Gianelli = Rory Cochrane

Tracey Burke = Kate Mulgrew

Tabitha Townsend = Kyla Pratt

Lynn Andersen = Amanda Seyfried

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

When it comes to trying to tackle Carol Danvers in films, one story that’s yet to hit the big screen is the story of her downfall against the X-Man Rogue back when Rogue was part of Mystique’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  Indeed, the 90’s animated series of the X-Men is the only adaptation to handle this, and they did it by neatly sidestepping some disturbing backstory.  Long story short, there was a story arc in the Avengers comics around the late 70’s/early 80’s where Carol (then codenamed Ms Marvel) was mind-controlled and raped by an extra-dimensional being so he could be reborn in a body compatible with Earth, then after fast-growing to adulthood, his presence caused a bunch of time disruptions.  When Carol then agreed to go with this being, the Avengers made no effort to prevent this.

When Chris Claremont wrote Rogue into Avengers Annual 10 and showed Rogue rocking Carol’s powers, the question that came to be asked was why Carol hadn’t sought out the Avengers upon returning to Earth, and the answer was made clear.  The team hadn’t shown any real concern for Carol during her strange accelerated pregnancy, and then let her go off with a blatantly mind-controlling rapist from another dimension.  As such, telling the story of Carol clashing with Rogue and the Brotherhood should never be an exact re-telling.  Claremont’s story in Avengers Annual 10 was as much about correcting what the writer of the main comics at that time had written, and with film adaptations, you’re better off just taking a different path entirely.

In this case, we’re showing Carol working as an investigative journalist for a Daily Bugle-owned women’s magazine, who uses the Ms Marvel identity to tackle crime where needed.  This is based on her original run in the comics, so we have Jameson borrowed from the Spider-Man films while using the magazine staff from the comics for supporting roles.  As for the villains, roles from past films like Mystique and Pyro are combined with newly cast actors to give us our second MCU Brotherhood.  The film draws in a mix of acting talent, with Melissa Joan Hart reprising the role of Carol Danvers, and Trek alumni Gates McFadden directing the film.  McFadden has played the mutant Plague/Pestilence for three X-films before this and has some directing experience, making her a good choice for this project.

Elektra (2009) Directed by Roxann Dawson

Elektra Natchios = Leonor Varela

Stick = Scott Glenn

Stone = Sigourney Weaver

Kirigi = Daniel Henney

Frank Simpson/Nuke = John Cena

Matsu'o Tsurayaba = Hiroyuki Sanada

Kwannon = Kelly Hu

Turk Barrett = Gary Dourdan

The story of Elektra following her death in Daredevil is one Fox didn’t quite get right, in large part because they tried to incorporate plot elements and tropes that didn’t tonally fit with the character.  Having used two Daredevil films to set her up before giving the character a one-shot solo film, I think the best thing is taking those bits out.  Instead, we get the Hand going after the Chaste with Elektra in the middle, and when Elektra proves more than they can handle, they bring in the pill-popping assassin known as Nuke.  It’s a straight-up martial arts action film initially, but then becomes a more Punisher-like action film when Nuke comes on the scene.

Trek alumni Roxann Dawson takes the helm because she’s one of the few women I know of that would be directing anything back around this time.  Considering that films with female leads are often better handled by female directors, it makes sense to try and make this the case wherever possible.  The cast is either retained from past films of picked to be more comic-accurate.  Case-in-point, picking American actor Scott Glenn to play Stick rather than English actor Terrence Stamp.

Black Panther 2 (2009) Directed by Tim Burton

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Shuri = Tatyana Ali

Ramonda = Alfre Woodard

T'Chaka = Courtney B. Vance

W'Kabi = Chiwetel Ejiofor

Okoye = Nia Long

Zuri = Joseph Marcell

M'Baku = Idris Elba

Nakia = Lupita Nyong'o

Monica Lynne = Kerry Washington

Baron Macabre = Sterling K Brown

Jerome Beechman/Mandrill = Joaquin Phoenix

Nekra Sinclair = Toks Olagundoye

Kevin Plundarr/Ka-Zar = Chris Hemsworth

Shanna O'Hara = Scarlett Johansson

Zaladane = Jolene Blalock

Everett Ross = Martin Freeman

In Black Panther 2, T’Challa becomes allied with Ka-Zar of the Savage Land when it turns out his hidden jungle in Antarctica houses a cache of Vibranium to rival Wakanda’s.  Most would-be Vibranium hunters baulk at trying to gain the Antarctic variety due to the dinosaurs, but soon both nations are threatened when the woman-controlling mutant Mandrill, his adoptive sister Nekra, the Savage Land priestess Zaladane and Wakandan criminal Baron Macabre team up.  Due to the inclusion of some of these villains, I opted to switch from Tim Story to Tim Burton from a directing stand-point.  This film also features a change of role for a couple of real-world MCU alumni.

Defenders 2 (2009) Directed by Stephen Sommers

Dr Stephen Strange = Johnny Depp

Namor McKenzie/The Submariner = Christian Bale

Bruce Banner/Hulk = John Cusack

Silver Surfer = David Wenham

Valkyrie = Diane Kruger

Kyle Richmond/Nighthawk = Josh Duhamel

Patsy Walker/Hellcat = Mena Suvari

Wong = Will Yun Lee

Clea = Keira Knightley

Jericho Drumm/Brother Voodoo = Doug E. Doug

Dr Anthony Druid = Mark Strong

Daimon Hellstrom = James Van Der Beek

Dr Tania Belinsky (Belinskaya)/Red Guardian = Beatrice Rosen

Dr Arthur Nagan = Julian McMahon

Dr Jerold "Jerry" Morgan = Stellan Skarsgård

Ruby Thursday = Alyssa Milano

Harvey Schlemerman/Chondu the Mystic = Stanley Tucci

Shuma-Gorath = Geoffrey Rush

The Defenders, Marvel’s superhero non-team, return for a second instalment at this point, and I’ve picked Stephen Sommers as director based on him directing a live-action GI Joe film around the same time.  In this film, the few routinely active Defenders learn via immigrant Russian doctor and superhero Red Guardian that a team of scientists called the Headmen have stolen the Reality Stone from AIM in an effort to seize world power for themselves.  Allying with Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Defenders seek to stop the Headmen while Clea joins with Brother Voodoo, Dr Druid and Daimon Hellstrom to try and bring back Doctor Strange from the extra-dimensional limbo he sacrificed himself to in Doctor Strange 3.  At the same time, the Silver Surfer seeks the Hulk.  The whole team then comes together when the Headmen open a portal for Shuma-Gorath, in the process transforming into their strange comic-style appearances.

Everyone from Dr Druid on down in the cast list is new.  As for why we’re skipping over the original male Red Guardian and focusing on the second female iteration for this MCU, there’s two reasons.  First, the second female iteration served as a Defender in the original comics, and second, these MCU rambles are focused on the main film continuity, which in this version of the MCU is strictly cinematic.  TV shows, while allowed as tie-ins, are optional content, and while I’d happily allow a TV show to dive in on Black Widow and some other characters, I think a film was and is a bit much for a character with so little solo comics content.

X-Men: Proteus (2010) Directed by LeVar Burton

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Polaris/Lorna Dane = Jeri Ryan

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Peter Rasputin/Colossus = Henry Cavill

Remi LeBeau/Gambit = Zachary Levi

Cyclops/Scott Summers = Patrick Swayze

Jean Grey = Milla Jovovich

Warren Worthington III/Archangel = Neil Patrick Harris

Beast/Hank McCoy = Alec Baldwin

Robert Drake/Iceman = Michael Weatherley

Banshee/Sean Cassidy = Liam Neeson

Dr Moira Mactaggert = Olivia Williams

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

Professor Charles Xavier = Patrick Stewart

Kevin Mactaggert/Proteus = Iain De Caestecker

Joseph Mactaggert = John Hannah

Rahne Sinclair/Wolfsbane = Bonnie Wright

Danielle Moonstar = Selena Gomez

Jubilee = Chloe Bennett

Everett Thomas/Synch = Christopher Massey

Douglas Ramsey/Cypher = Devon Bostick

With the third X-Men film Fall of the Mutants having split the X-Men up, and a combination of the Secret Wars duology, Excalibur and X-Factor films following events for the divided team, this fourth X-Men film is intended to reunite some of the scattered team into a new whole.  It also gives Rogue her defection from the Brotherhood following the events of Ms Marvel.  In this film, Moira Mactaggert’s son Proteus emerges as a dangerous mutant and begins a rampage across to Scotland.  With Excalibur unavailable, X-Factor is summoned while the X-Men pursue Mystique’s Brotherhood to Scotland.  The two teams meet up and reunite when they find Professor X is also with Moira, having been recuperating on Muir Island since being released from a SHIELD hospital (this is set-up over end-credit scenes for Fall of the Mutants and X-Factor).

Direction-wise, the X-Men have been handled initially by Jonathan Demme and then Jonathan Frakes in films bearing their team’s name, while Excalibur was helmed by Christopher Nolan and X-Factor by LeVar Burton.  For this film, I’ve put Burton back in the director’s chair.  Casting-wise, I imagine same fans will be perplexed by my choice of Chloe Bennett for Jubilee.  This is because Bennett is of a mixed ancestry that includes having a Chinese mother, and while the ideal is always to try for exact representation from the comics, there aren’t many actresses active in Hollywood around the time of this film with even one parent of Chinese descent, let alone two.

As such, the question becomes which do you compromise; Jubilee’s racial background or her nationality?  My choice, compromise slightly on racial background and bring in some plot threads relating to prejudice against people of mixed race.  Quite honestly, characters of mixed race are among those groups under-represented in film and TV, so if I have to compromise, let me at least try and do so in a positive way.

Spider-Man 6 (2010) Directed by Matthew Vaughan

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

May Parker = Marg Helgenberger

J. Jonah Jameson = J.K. Simmons

Joseph "Robbie" Robertson = Denzel Washington

Betty Brant = Parker Posey

Ned Leeds = John Barrowman

Eddie Brock/Venom = Wentworth Miller

Randy Robertson = Taye Diggs

Mary-Jane Watson-Parker = Alison Hannigan

Flash Thompson = Ben Affleck

Felicia Hardy/The Black Cat = Elisha Cuthbert

Sha Shan Nguyen = Grace Park

Captain Jean DeWolff = Jessica Biel

Anne Weying = Michelle Williams

Principal Harrington = Viggo Mortensen

Lance Bannon = Hayden Christensen

Gloria "Glory" Grant = Candice Patton

In the sixth of our Spider-Man films, and the last to both start and end with Peter Parker wearing the webs, we showcase Peter and MJ preparing for their upcoming wedding, but the pair are stalked by Eddie Brock, who has now joined with the Venom symbiote and seeks to make Peter’s life hell.  He attempts to manipulate the Black Cat into being his co-conspirator as well, preying on her jealousy after the symbiote-free Spider-Man resists her seduction.  The story ultimately culminates in Venom trying to force Peter into a no-win situation where he has to choose who to save; Mary-Jane or Felicia.  Matthew Vaughan returns to direct, and we get a few extra supporting cast members in lieu of the various villains of Spider-Man 5.

Ant-Man 2 (2010) Directed by Peyton Reed

Hank Pym/Ant-Man = Michael Douglas

Scott Lang/Ant-Man II = Paul Rudd

Maggie Lang = Judy Greer

Cassie Lang = Joey King

William Cross/Crossfire = Ethan Hawke

Taskmaster = Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Alex Gentry/Porcupine = Nick Offerman

Janice Lincoln/Beetle = Naya Rivera

Having left Ant-Man alone in terms of solo films since phase 1, phase 2 marks a return for Hank Pym, who by this point has been out of action since a mental break-down forced him to retire.  Now of sound mind again, he tries to deal with tech thief Crossfire, who steals the prototype for a new, more aggressive variant of the Ant-Man suit, the Yellowjacket.  However, Hank’s old suit is not safe to use as it clashes with his neuro-chemistry, risking more mental break-down.  Even worse, it’s been stolen.  In tracking down the Ant-Man suit, Hank encounters desperate divorced father Scott Lang, who stole the suit to get money to cover his daughter’s medical treatment.

With this film, the aim is to pass the mantle of Ant-Man to Scott Lang in a more comics-accurate manner, while at the same time preserving certain casting that the MCU got right, hence why Pym, Scott and Maggie are all retained from the real MCU.  In terms of Cassie, I switched to Joey King as she’s had a remarkably steady record of employment for a non-Disney child actress, and I think she’s a great choice to take up this role for the remainder of this hypothetical MCU.  Direction-wise, I figured it best to stick with the choices of the real MCU and go for Peyton Reed, having had to go with Sam Raimi on the 90’s-made first Ant-Man of this MCU.

Silver Surfer 2 (2011) Directed by JJ Abrams

Silver Surfer = David Wenham

Thanos = Josh Brolin

Mentor = Michael McKean

Eros/Starfox = Joel McHale

Gamora = Zoe Saldana

Drax the Destroyer = Dean Cain

Adam Warlock = Chris Pine

Pip the Troll = Peter Dinklage

Nebula = Emma Stone

Mar-Vell/Captain Marvel = Jude Law

Following the events of Defenders 2, the Silver Surfer finds himself drawn into yet more Infinity Stone adventures when Kree hero Captain Marvel and the android Drax the Destroyer come to Earth with Adam Warlock, keeper of the Soul Gem.  Hot on their heels are Thanos and Nebula, each of whom has begun to seek the Infinity Stones.  Worse still, Mar-Vell is dying of cancer.  The film is meant to advance the Infinity Stones plot while also adapting the death of Mar-Vell from the comics, not to mention setting up for the Guardians of the Galaxy to appear in the next phase.

For direction, I’ve picked JJ Abrams based on his Star Trek and Star Wars work making him a decent choice for a space-based hero like the Silver Surfer.  In terms of casting, we have a few reprises from past films in this 90’s MCU and from the real MCU.  However, some shifts have also occurred, most notably with Drax due to wanting to use his original comics origins over the revised MCU/later comics version.  The would-be autistic representation of Bautista and Gunn’s Drax quickly become so much farce, so as an autistic person, I’d just as soon avoid that and go down the android route, thanks very much.

Avengers vs X-Men (2011) Directed by Jonathan Frakes

Cyclops/Scott Summers = Patrick Swayze

Jean Grey = Milla Jovovich

Storm/Ororo Monroe = Halle Berry

Wolverine/Logan = Tom Cruise

Peter Rasputin/Colossus = Henry Cavill

Remi LeBeau/Gambit = Zachary Levi

Warren Worthington III/Archangel = Neil Patrick Harris

Rogue = Anna Paquin

Steve Rogers/Captain America = Brad Pitt

Thor = Dolph Lundgren

Janet Van Dyne/Wasp = Catherine Zeta Jones

Iron Man/Tony Stark = Tom Selleck

Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk = Lucy Lawless

T'Challa/Black Panther = Chadwick Boseman

Sam Wilson/Falcon = Will Smith

Peter Parker/Spider-Man = Wil Weaton

Professor Charles Xavier = Patrick Stewart

Carol Danvers = Melissa Joan Hart

Mystique/Raven Darkholme = Connie Nielsen

Avalanche = Alessandro Gassmann

Fred J Dukes/Blob = Vince Vaughan

Pyro = Hugh Jackman

Irene Adler/Destiny = Sally Field

Frank Bohannan/Crimson Commando = Harrison Ford

Louis Hamilton/Stonewall = James Brolin

Martin Fletcher/Super-Sabre = Peter Fonda

Dr Valerie Cooper = Malin Åkerman

Sebastian Gilbreti/Bastion = Bruce Greenwood

Congressman Rev. William Stryker = Eric Roberts

Forge = Jimmy Smits

There have been two occasions in Marvel comics where the X-Men and Avengers have been drawn into direct conflict, at least using multiple issues of a comic and to my knowledge.  The first is the 1980’s mini-series X-Men versus Avengers, where the Avengers attempted to arrest Magneto to resume his trial before the world court, while the Soviet Super-Soldiers sought to arrest Magneto for his actions in X-Men #150.  As Magneto was part of the X-Men at the time, this naturally put all three teams at odds with each other.  The second occasion was the AvX storyline in which Cyclops, Emma Frost, Namor, Colossus and Magik became possessed by the Phoenix Force, something the Avengers tried to prevent and later combat.

While this film draws on the basic concept of both series, that something sets the Avengers and the X-Men at odds with each other, it’s not about arresting Magneto or issues with the Phoenix force.  Instead, the issue is Rogue; her status as a mutant terrorist is used to convince the Avengers to apprehend the X-Men.  This is bad timing, as the X-Men are working with Rogue to help restore the mind of Carol Danvers.  The masterminds of the plot are rabid anti-mutant politician William Stryker and government advisor Sebastian, who in reality is a new form of sentinel in disguise.  Luckily, government advisor and secret mutant Forge is suspicious of Bastion and convinces NSA director Dr Valerie Cooper to set up a contingency plan.

As a result, the film builds to a climax where, after the intervention of Spider-Man ends a major fight between the two teams, Bastion unleashes his prime sentinels.  Enter Mystique’s expanded Brotherhood in their guise as community service government heroes Freedom Force, and the stage is set for a truly epic battle.  Direction-wise, I opted for Jonathan Frakes to helm this entry, and while many actors are reprising roles from past films, everyone from Crimson Commando on down is new to the MCU as of this film.

Ghost Rider 3 (2011) Directed by Mark Steven Johnson

Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider = Connor Trinneer

Roxanne Simpson = Jessica Alba

Eric Brooks/Blade = Jamie Foxx

Rachel Van Helsing = Cote De Pablo

Daimon Hellstrom = James Van Der Beek

Vlad Tepish/Dracula = Mads Mikkelsen

Lilith = Felicity Jones

Mephistopheles = Jeffery Combs

Phase 5 of our 90’s MCU closes out by bringing Johnny Blaze’s time as Ghost Rider to its conclusion, in a story where Johnny teams up with Blade, Rachel Van Helsing and Daimon Hellstrom against Dracula and his daughter Lilith, who are secretly in league with Mephistopheles.  The film is partly an original plot and partly an adaptation of the end of the original Ghost Rider run of comics, though it’s far from being the last Ghost Rider film of this MCU.  Just as the comics would have others take up the Ghost Rider curse after Blaze, so too will this MCU move onto those later riders in turn.  Having used Tim Burton on the first two Ghost Rider films in this MCU, I’ve picked Mark Steven Johnson who handled the 2007 Nicholas Cage Ghost Rider film to take on this third instalment of 90’s MCU Ghost Rider.

This wraps up our look into phase 5 of this 90’s-based MCU; next month, we’ll cover phase 5 of our alternate DC movie universe.  Until then, ta-ta for now.

[beardedmrbean]

A judge who was shot to death at home was "targeted" by a suspect in a divorce case, authorities in Maryland said Friday.

Washington County Sheriff Brian Albert said authorities are "actively working" to apprehend 49-year-old Pedro Argote in the shooting of Maryland Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson.

Wilkinson, 52, was found with gunshot wounds around 8 p.m. Thursday in the driveway of his home in Hagerstown, authorities said. Wilkinson was taken to Meritus Medical Center, where he died of his injuries.

Albert said at a news conference Friday that the judge's wife and son were also home at the time of the shooting.

Authorities are "actively looking" for Argote, who is considered "armed and dangerous." Albert said Argote legally owned a handgun.

Wilkinson had presided over a divorce proceeding involving Argote earlier Thursday, but Argote was not present for the hearing.

Albert said that the judge gave custody of Argote's children to his wife at the hearing and that was the motive for the killing.

State troopers were deployed overnight as a precaution to protect judges who live in Washington County, state police spokesperson Elena Russo said.

In a statement, the Maryland Judiciary said it is mourning Wilkinson's death and that it is working with law enforcement to help resolve the matter and ensure the safety of judges, staff and visitors.

Wilkinson was sworn in as a circuit court judge in 2020. The 1994 University of North Carolina graduate received his law degree from Emory University School of Law in 1997 and then became a circuit court law clerk in Washington County.

At his swearing-in, Wilkinson said he wanted to become a judge to serve the community, The Herald-Mail reported.

"It's an honor and it's humbling, and I'm happy to serve," he said.

Wilkinson thanked retired Judge Frederick C. Wright III for guiding his career. Wilkinson's military family had moved around, but when Wright hired his mother as a law clerk in 1983, Hagerstown became his home.

In Maryland, circuit courts in each county handle serious criminal and civil cases, including many that are appealed from the lower-level district courts, according to the state courts website.

Court records list Pedro Argote as the plaintiff who brought the divorce case in June 2022. Attorneys on both sides of the case didn't immediately respond to emails and calls seeking comment.

However, the attorney representing the children in the divorce case had words of praise for the late jurist.

"Judge Wilkinson was an amazing man, father, husband and judge and I am blessed to have known and worked with him," attorney Ashley Wilburn wrote in an email. "He is a hero."

The city of nearly 44,000 lies about 75 miles northwest of Baltimore in the panhandle of Maryland, near the state lines of West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

[shylightqueen]

A VERY WORTHY READ! Keanu Reeves was abandoned by his father at 3 years old and grew up with 3 different stepfathers. He is dyslexic. His dream of becoming a hockey player was shattered by a serious accident. His daughter died at birth. His wife died in a car accident. His best friend, River Phoenix, died of an overdose. His sister has leukaemia. And with everything that has happened, Keanu Reeves never misses an opportunity to help people in need. When he was filming the movie "The Lake House," he overheard the conversation of two costume assistants; One cried because he would lose his house if he did not pay $20,000 and on the same day Keanu deposited the necessary amount in the woman's bank account; He also donated stratospheric sums to hospitals. In 2010, on his birthday, Keanu walked into a bakery and bought a brioche with a single candle, ate it in front of the bakery, and offered coffee to people who stopped to talk to him. After winning astronomical sums for the Matrix trilogy, the actor donated more than $50 million to the staff who handled the costumes and special effects - the true heroes of the trilogy, as he called them. He also gave a Harley-Davidson to each of the stunt doubles. A total expense of several million dollars. And for many successful films, he has even given up 90% of his salary to allow the production to hire other stars. In 1997 some paparazzi found him walking one morning in the company of a homeless man in Los Angeles, listening to him and sharing his life for a few hours. Most stars when they make a charitable gesture they declare it to all the media. He has never claimed to be doing charity, he simply does it as a matter of moral principles and not to look better in the eyes of others. This man could buy everything, and instead every day he gets up and chooses one thing that cannot be bought: To be a good person. Keanu Reeves’ father is of Native Hawaiian descent

[ao3feed-izuku-midoriya]

A Need for Help

A Need for Help by crystaljemms

Words: 1997, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 5 of Parental Figure For Hire

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Other

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Iida Tensei | Ingenium, Iida Tenya, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Kayama Nemuri | Midnight, Yamada Hizashi | Present Mic

Relationships: Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Aizawa Shouta & Iida Tensei & Kayama Nemuri & Yamada Hizashi, Iida Tensei | Ingenium & Iida Tenya, Iida Tensei | Ingenium/Kayama Nemuri | Midnight, Iida Tenya & Midoriya Izuku

Additional Tags: Soft Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Parental Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead | Dadzawa, Quirkless Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku Needs A Hug, Sick Midoriya Izuku, Cute Midoriya Izuku

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47824564

[anotherbuskitten]

Heroes For Hire #6 (1997)

[lboogie1906]

William Henderson Graham (July 1, 1935 – April 4, 1997) was a comics artist known for his work on the Marvel Comics series Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, and the Jungle Action feature “Black Panther”.

A graduate of New York City’s Music & Art High School, he was influenced artistically by the work of Al Williamson, Frank Frazetta, Burne Hogarth, and George Tuska.

One of his earliest comics projects was illustrating “Death Boat!” in Vampirella #1, one of Warren Publishing’s influential Black-and-white horror-comics magazines. He would pencil and self-ink a story in nearly each of the first dozen issues of Vampirella, and an additional tale in issue #32 of its brethren’s publication Creepy.

He left Warren and joined the creative team that launched Marvel’s Luke Cage, Hero for Hire, inking the premiere issue (June 1972). He either inked or penciled every issue of the book’s 16–issue run under its original title, and the first as the retitled Luke Cage, Power Man (Feb. 1974). He is credited as co-writer of issues #14-15.

He collaborated on the critically lauded “Black Panther” series that ran in Jungle Action #6–24 (Sept. 1973–Nov. 1976) becoming the series’ regular penciler with issue #11 (Sept. 1974) and leaving after penciling the first five pages of issue #22 (July 1976). In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked McGregor and Graham’s run on Jungle Action third on its list of the “Top 10 1970s Marvels”.

He illustrated issues #3–9 of the Eclipse Comics series Sabre, a spin-off of one of the first graphic novels. He illustrated a story each by McGregor in Marvel’s Black-and-white horror-comics magazine Monsters Unleashed #11, an issue of the 1980s anthology Eclipse Monthly; and two issues of the black-and-white Eclipse Magazine. He was both the writer and artist of the six-page story “The Hitchhiker” in Eclipse Magazine #5.

He appeared as an extra in TV commercials for products including beer and chewing gum and played the artist father of one of the lead characters in McGregor’s unreleased, Detectives Inc. graphic novels. He wrote several plays and received awards for his set design work as well. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[smashedpages]

On this day in 1997, John Ostrander, Roger Stern and Pasqual Ferry revived the Heroes for Hire at Marvel. A new team led by Iron Fist would assemble to fill the gap left by Onslaught and the Heroes Reborn event, which sent the Avengers and Fantastic Four to a different Earth. The team eventually included heroes like Hercules, Black Knight, a new White Tiger, Iron Fist's old friend Luke Cage, Ant-Man and more.

[theratking20]

Zejo Smith

Zejo is the CEO of Mystery Wings, he created the company in 1997 after meeting Tabando, they started to build their company as a small time computer company...as they grew they decided to hire some more staff members. They met Eric and they managed to get their hands on Uphill School and they used the schools funding as a buisness profit. after Zejo completely finished his building his company was known for its brilliant computers. However...this corruption will not last for four heroes will rise and stand up to him.

[shutterlens]

Some characters for a new concept that my brain is currently hyperfixating on called "Super Cyber Action Kids!"

The Characters (Left to Right):

The Hacker: Webster Brain, "Webster" (he/him) -He was originally from suburban Long Island (think neighborhoods like Massapequa or Hicksville) and he's actually really insecure about this background of his (he thinks that it's boring) and about the fact that his special talent isn't related to physical activity like Dazey Duke's and Krown's is, which he tries to mask with a confident demeanor but ends up eventually not being able to hide.

The Rollerskater: Dazey Bell Netkid, "Dazey Duke" (she/her) -She and Krown are the leaders of the SCAKs. -She is from Los Angeles. -Dazey Duke is bolder, though a bit reckless in her leadership style.

The Skateboarder: Kasper Flipp, "Krown" (he/him) -He and Dazey Duke are the leaders of the SCAKs. -Krown, like Dazey Duke, is from Los Angeles. -I imagined Krown to be a bit more cautious and hesitant in his leadership of the SCAKs.

The Scientist: Professor Kassidy Radikal, "Dr. Rad" (he/him for now) -His job requires him to have to stay behind from the SCAKs' adventures for the sake of his own safety. -The "1997" on his pants is meant to be a reference to Spamton from Deltarune. -Dr. Rad is from New York City.

-

The Concept: Dr. Rad sends the Super Cyber Action Kids, a set of specifically-designated teenage heroes for hire, into the Cyber World so the SCAKs can solve any problems happening there.

Some episodes of SCAKs! revolve entirely around Cyber World issues and some focus more so on resolving interpersonal conflict among the SCAKs.