#i always say this but if people cared more about mike’s arc and understood what he needs and wants

[paintingformike]

i think a big reason why there’s always this back and forth debate on which is the better relationship between byler and mileven is because the arguments are always based on who mike treats better, who he cares more about and how el or will benefits from their relationship with mike. like it’s always just about who mike was more dedicated to and the arguments never end because mike has had instances where he has treated both el and will badly and people make use of those moments to prove their point. but all of these points are just one side of the relationship, and people rarely ever stop to think and consider that...what about the love and support mike receives in either relationship? what about the person mike feels the most comfortable with? instead of just considering how mike makes the both of them feel, what about how will makes mike feel vs how el makes mike feel? this is what i always try to emphasize in my analyses because i don’t see enough people actually talk about this factor and people don’t realize how much it actually supports byler endgame more so than they think. i do see more bylers on tumblr that talk about how much mike receives more love and support from will than el but barely any bylers on twt, people there are always fighting over who mike cares more about (because they’re also either just bylers who only care about will’s happiness and hate on mike or mlevens that mostly gravitate to el and don’t care about mike’s development as much as they claim to lmfao) and they just keep going in circles that it’s sad and pathetic to watch tbvh...

because evidently if we look at the show and actually think about it in this context, then it’s obvious who he’s meant to end up with, it’s literally a no brainer. we get little to no moments of mike receiving emotional support and comfort from el but we get a whole season’s worth of will making mike feel loved, heard and important. mike has expressed that he feels insecure and unneeded with el, but will made him feel like he isn’t just some random loser, that people look to him for guidance and inspiration and that he acts as a leader and protector. this is why i get so annoyed when the only takeaway people have from their storyline in s4 is that will was “used” purely to give mike relationship advice, because you missed the whole point. s4 was literally them showing how much will had all the love and support mike needed and wanted in a relationship, and that he was the one person who made mike feel better about himself, not el. he was able to get to mike and understood him in ways el was never able to. also, let’s face it...there’s countless shows where the person who seemingly harbors unrequited feelings for the other, actually ends up getting rewarded and has their feelings reciprocated precisely because of how much they selflessly tried to push the person they love to someone else.

tbh i can tell that this bitterness from self proclaimed bylers who only care about will’s happiness while simultaneously hating on mike, are a lot less confident in byler endgame because...they only ever consider will’s feelings in the equation but not mike’s lmfao. like if you want to understand why byler endgame is literally inevitable you HAVE to care about mike’s arc and which relationship makes him feel happier and loved too, you can’t just ignore his feelings because he’s one half of the relationship and you have to acknowledge how they’ve also been setting up the right person for him, the one who understands him better than anyone else, and not just the right person for will, if you actually had mike’s sake in mind then you’d undoubtly see this while watching byler scenes. as much as they did contrast who mike handled his issues with better and how he made both el and will feel about themselves, they also highlighted who was able to make mike feel better and who supports his character more, and with this perspective in mind the outcome of this love triangle is a lot clearer and evident.

[darkwolfgoddess]

Hey, everyone!

So, FNAF movie's finally out, huh? After the original plan to go watch it on 31th October cos HALLOWEEN was ruined by Corona, I went to watch it this week. And seeing it after waiting for months, I'd say it was worth it. Was it the best movie I've ever seen? No. Where were some flaws that could've been easily fixed with a better script. But you know what? The movie's still awesome and I get why fans went crazy for it.

Similarly to Paw Patrol movie review I did some years ago, here are some of my thoughts put together more clearly:

My goodness, the animatronics looked PHENOMENAL

Mike and Abby's story is honestly a tragedy if you think about it: Garrett got kidnapped when Mike was still a kid and Abby was most likely meant to be the "replacement kid" his parents decided to have as a way to "make up" for what happened. But when Abby didn't manage to "fill" that hole, their father killed himself, adding even more to the tragedy that happened.

Adding onto that, Abby's "odd" behavior of not talking to anyone, being mean to Mike and drawing all day is definetly a coping mechanism. Because while her parents provide her with food, a room, art supplies etc, they don't engage with her enough. As such, she's learned not to trust her older brother, doesn't engage with others likely due to distrust and fear and buries her sadness and anger into her drawings(kinda like me during high school due to bullying hehehe....moving on). While she still loves her older brother, provided by the drawings around her room, she prefers to be distant because that's how her family has been, so she is distant as well cos she's learned that's how she's safe.

This could also be the reason Abby liked the animatronics so much and called them her friends: they were nice to her and engaged with her in her games.

Mike was also a good character. He's really, REALLY trying to take care of his sister, but is also stuck in the past trying so hard to figure out what happened that he unwillingly neglects his sister, who needs him to be there, but he doesn't understand it. I'm glad he understood his mistakes in the end and became more apparent in Abby's life. While some writing choices in his arc were a bit weird(such as inviting Aunt Jane to babysit Abby while he could've maybe ringed up someone else knowing Abby doesn't like Jane, as well as accepting giving Abby to the animatronics in exchange for being killed so he can stay with Garrett in the afterlife or something(like, dude, didn't you realize Golden Freddy kid was manipulating with you?!)), it was still a satisfying arc and I'm glad he and Abby are on better terms now.

Fort scene was honestly adorable and, in my opinion, introduced more tragedy to the whole possessed animatronic situation: in FNAF games there's more focus in the horror and anxiety of animatronics finding a way to you and stuffing you in a deadly springlock suit. But in here we get to see a more sad note to it. Yeah, kid soul possessed animatronics are creepy, but at the same time they're still KIDS. While under Afton's control and pissed about their situation so much they murder people, they still retain their playful side and want to do fun things. And so when Abby came to Freddy's and wanted to build a fort, they got to be kids again. Yeah, they still planned on offing her, but you get the point.

Speaking of kids, those child actors, especially the blonde boy, did a PHENOMENAL job. If anyone who worked on the movie production sees this, please buy them the biggest sundaes possible.

Before this movie came out I had zero idea who Matthew Hillard was. And honestly I feel sad about it cos he also did a PHENOMENAL job. Upon seeing the first trailer the way the office scene played out with him sitting there, hands under his chin, it already gave me bad vibes. And later on when he's at the pizzeria and removes his mask, the way he tried to make Afton look with those wide, crazed eyes and that small smirk was so good.

The "I always come back" scene was FINE. Like, had Afton said anything else, the fans would've been disappointed.

Also, maybe Afton knows something we don't? With the second movie coming, we could get more info about his backstory and learn something new. ALSO ALSO, it was a genuine threat. That even if Spring Bonnie suit gets destroyed, he'll never stop trying to find ways to return.

Vanessa was another good character. Yeah, maybe a bit too secretive at times which, as said before, could've been fixed with a better writing, but still good. The idea of her being Afton's daughter was, in my opinion, quite a surprise, but welcomed nonetheless. If you think about it, her being Afton's daughter as well as an police officer helps Afton cover up anything that could lead the law to him. And since he's an asshole of a "father" who abuses and shelters her(Headcanon that he's threatened her with Torture Freddy and/or exposing her as his daughter and a second hand at covering up murders every day since the Original Kid Murders), she doesn't really have anything she can do.

Not that many scares? Honestly not such a big problem people make it up to be. FNAF mostly relies on the terrifying envinorment and jumpscares for the horror. Balloon Boy was still a bastard though and I swear I'll burn him one day and not feel sorry about it.

And I guess that's everything. So, in final conclusion, the FNAF movie is FINE. Yeah, some rough edges could've smoothed out a bit more, but otherwise had a pretty well thought out plot, cool animatronics and a satisfying ending. It's clear they wanted to tell a different story we've grown used to from the video games and comics, which isn't bad cos let's be honest, had it been more similar to the video games, people would've complained about it being "too similar". Will definetly be an experience FNAF fans won't ever forget.

Aaaand that's all. Hope you enjoyed and if you've read the whole thing though, congrats! See you on the flipside!

[balillee]

i wanna talk about will byers being gay for a hot minute

the way they portray will being gay feels very 80's, and i definitely do appreciate that his sexuality is portrayed differently than robin's. robin confessed to steve that she liked girls while they were both high off their asses after steve confessed to her that he liked her. both of them weren't thinking straight, and it was a culmination of their arc that season, and that charisma that they shared, and the way robin's sexuality was dealt with (considering she's a side character who isn't exactly going to get her own fully fleshed out romance subplot anyway) is decent to me. steve keeping that secret is important, but what's also important is the disappointment robin felt when she saw vickie with her boyfriend. it felt expected, even if it did come back later that vickie's boyfriend had broken up with her (and she's kinda bi coded, so)

i probably don't know what i'm talking about. i'm a bit of a baby gay - born in 2003, i've been out since i was nine, i'm not exactly mx. nostalgia.

will byers, before anything else, is a good friend. that to me seems to be his most prominent part of his character. he's a good friend, he loves his homies and he wants to hang out with his homies, and he puts that above most things. he just wants to hang out with the homies.

but he very obviously has a crush on mike, and perhaps if this was the modern day, will would at least have had the courage to come out to mike as queer, let alone confess that he likes mike (in the middle of discussing a problem with his girlfriend, which would have been a ballsy move, but i digress). but this isn't the modern day, this is the 80's, and unlucky for him he's completely sober and hasn't spent his day getting tortured for information by a bunch of russians. will knows he's different in that way, and there's no way he can just ask mike if he's okay with gay people. that's risky. he's in small town america in the 80's and knows that he's gay - he already knows what it feels like to be the social pariah, once when he was bullied in middle school, and then later on when he became 'zombie boy'. i doubt he wants to relive that.

so that talk with him and mike in the van to me doesn't seem queerbaity. it seems realistic. not all queer people get their happy endings with the people they have a crush on. that's okay, they'll move on.

i think people do have to be careful talking about queer representation in period pieces because we're always looking at things through a modern lens, especially my generation. we need to remember that these kids from 40 years ago now did not have the privilege to come out at all, and so writing representation can be tricky unless it's a show that focuses on queer people and queer culture from that time (for example, POSE).

i also appreciated how jonathan knew and understood. he didn't explicitly say it and to be honest he didn't need to - he understood will and used that moment of vulnerability to connect with him in a way that we haven't really seen since the first couple of seasons. i genuinely actually missed the byers brothers and i had no idea.

i do think that, going forward, they need to be less vague about it. considering that there will be a season five, it would be very fucking difficult (writing wise and in terms of criticism) about going three seasons of queer-coding will byers without him ever explicitly saying he's gay, or without that part of him never being brought up. i think in general will is a very underutilised character and he's incredibly interesting to look at analytically, and now that he's back in hawkins i want to see more of him, and i specifically want to see him with the other members of the party to further explore that dynamic. and also the fact that he's psychically connected to vecna. that seems like an ever-important detail.

the way they've built up their queer characters in subtle ways, robin by having her blossoming and unexpected friendship with steve get misinterpreted, will being selfless enough to understand that mike is in a relationship of his own with a girl and helping him through their issues despite his own internal struggle with his sexuality and his feelings, seems unique to the modern era. but i think we often forget that this show takes place in small town america in the 80's. there's very likely no accessible queer scene in hawkins. there's no widespread acceptance in the way that we have today, so when you're creating stories in this time you do have to be mindful of the time's politics.

now, the same cannot be said for how they treat the sinclair's - especially the fact that the whole 'billy is a racist' thing got dropped and kind of forgotten about in season 3 (probably because they got scared to touch it) even though it was done pretty decently in season 2, but i think i've come to a point where i understand now that no representation for anyone is ever going to be perfect. will and robin's representation isn't perfect, the sinclair's representation isn't perfect, dustin's representation as a disabled person isn't perfect, even the representation of people like eddie who have unconventional interests and fit into sidelined subcultures - it isn't perfect either. i think the show could do better, but it's not the worst in the world.

[facepalming-since-chernobyl]

Debunking lies haters spread about Mon-El – misogynist

Misogyny is a wide definitions and includes prejudice against women, social exclusion, sex discrimination, hostility, patriarchy, male privilege, belittling of women, violence against women, and sexual objectification – so it’s not “just” typical hate.

And yes, Mon-El said/did some questionable things. Aka about Eve “She wanted to please me. On Daxam, when a woman wishes to please a man...” and the fact he had no problems with moving the copying machine with her (Crossfire ep) and the line “things was easier on Daxam when I objectified women and didn’t care about anyone“ (the Mxy ep) and didn’t do what Kara said or how SCs like to say, he didn’t respect her.

But here we have few problems here.

First of all Mon-El is from a planet, where people behaved this way. And I write people, not men, because Daxam was a place when all of them where doing things like this. Do we have evidences that women were treated only like sexual objects and exist only to please men? No. Why? Because after all, Rhea - a woman, was the most powerful person on that planet and held true power, not Lar Gand, who was murdered by her and there were no consequences. No patriarchy here. No male privilege here.

But his haters love to forget the line: “on Daxam we drugged themselves to feel nothing“. We aka all people. That was the toxic culture that promoted the system where people were not dealing with feelings, but suppressing them with drugs. What caused not carrying about anything and objectifying was a part of the system.

“The more the merrier“ line, that some people say was lesbophobic and Mon-El wanted to have a threesome with Alex and Maggie is simply stupid. He was talking about having a PARTY, not having sex. Also in that bar scene he showed he was not  prejudiced against homosexuals. Daxam was a horrible place but every sexuality was seen as normal and accepted. Also, no sex discrimination.

Next, “On Daxam, when a woman wishes to please a man.” WISHES. When a woman doesn’t want to please a man, she doesn’t. SIMPLE AND OBVIOUS. What also means he never sexually harassed anyone and there are no evidences for that. I will write another piece about how some really gross people accuse him of rape and other things that didn’t happen, but that will appear in the future.

Also, friendly reminder that Eve WANTED to hook up with him. She was a woman who knew  what she wanted and did what she wanted. Making her some a clueless victim is a disrespectful for HER.

Secondly, when haters talk about his relationship with Kara is how he disrespected her as a woman.

The problem is they both clashed not because of their sexes but because of their races. They clashed because she was a Kryptonian and he was a Daxamite. They clashed because of their absolutely different upbringing.

 He didn’t listen to her?

Kara Danvers : I am trying to help you fit in and you keep messing it up.

Mon-El : Okay, I'm trying very hard to be Mike, okay? But it is not as easy as you make it sound, Kara. I'm used to doing my own thing.

Kara Danvers : Well, you don't do your own thing here. You do my thing.

Mon-El : Um, okay. And if I don't want to do your thing?

Kara Danvers : Then find another mentor.

We talk about an alien who was on Earth like for two weeks and was brought to a CatCo to start a job. I repeat, an alien from totally different culture was brought to a totally new environment to behave like a human and work. Ever heard about cultural shock? And he TRIED. But was not ready. And Kara admitted it herself, later in the ep:

“When I was younger, I had no idea what I wanted to be here on Earth. And I had a family to help me and guide me, but... ultimately I had to make my own choices. And I was trying to impose those choices on you because when you landed, I was-I was just so excited to have someone to take under my wing. To look after. I never got to do that with my cousin. But you are your own man. And your life here on Earth is going to be very different from mine, and that's fine. That's great.”

Because guess what, he was not a dog and not doing what someone else asked is not always disrespectful. It’s you know, not being a slave and having your own mind :) Also, saying someone should do what you want is not mentoring or teaching and Kara explained that herself.

When they clashed after he beat Brian, once again, it was not about her being a woman, it was about how they were using their powers and how they both seen it differently. And it once again, in the end, was about the differences between a Daxam and Krypton.

So what, he was misogynist because he was jealous of Mxy? Because he didn’t do what she asked him to? Because he was arguing with her? Because he was overprotective? Yep, we can all agree it was a shitty behavior. Once again, I understand why he behaved like that – his upbringing in Daxamite culture, ignoring the feelings and getting drugged instead of dealing with them – but his behavior was NOT PORTRAYED AS SOMETHING GOOD. And Kara CALLED HIS SHIT OUT. And after some thinking HE ADMITTED and what is more important, UNDERSTOOD HE WAS WRONG.EXPLAINED himself in a way that made sense. APOLOGIZED. And didn’t repeat this mistake.

Because you know, this was his character arc from being a problematic frat boy of the universe, to finally understanding his character issues and fixing them. That was his story. And I’m kinda surprised how people can admit the tv shows are full of macho idiotic males and how out culture is teaching them how to act wrongly and mistreat women and then when they have an actual arc of man who grasped his shit and become better, they hate on him like no tomorrow. I guess males should stay shitty for their whole lives???

And lastly - look how many times he praised her, how many times he said how awesome she was when she kicked Mxy and other idiots’ asses and how proud he was, how he has learnt to respect her decisions, how he tried to please her, how he walked away when she asked him without a word, how he was able to say how worthless he was, how he played the role of a housewife when she was dealing with criminals, how many times he gave her emotional support and simply was there when she needed it, how he took her side and could admit he was wrong - like, misogynists do stuff like that? Since when?

Yes, he was a jerk and he didn’t have any idea how to treat women, but he has learnt. Keeping things he has done in the past and ignoring his development is like depriving humans of the ability of making mistakes and learning on them. And this is a base of whole damned humanity.

[laora-inn]

Supernatural - 15x19. Why it’s a good ep considering Destiel

As all of my SPN metas, it’s Destiel positive and happy end positive, don’t like - don’t read.

I wasn’t disappointed of this ep’s outgoing, in fact, I’ve been waiting for something like that.  Here in September I wrote my specs for the last 7 eps, and for 15x19 there was one: “they will not talk about Cas’s saving. And he will be dead in this episode for sure”. I was especially sure about this spec after 15x18. ‘Cause THE INTRIGUE guys. 

There is no intrigue at all - only Cas’s returning/saving in 15x20 could SAVE THE SHOW. Other way - it’s never too late to rebel :) Though I don’t think it will be necessary, not in this case.  So I liked the 15x19 outcome and my hopes for the DeanCas happy end are strong as ever. 15x19 made them stronger. 

I liked a lot of things in the ep - so, so many of them. Jack and Dean’s grieving. Blood mark on Dean’s jacket. Sam and Dean’s readiness to surrender. Dean’s demand for Chuck, to return Cas - though ONLY CAS AND DEAN THEMSELVES COULD DO IT. Luci’s comeback as a fact - I speculated about it a bit here, though I thought more of Nick calling to Luci. But Nick was also Chuck’s puppet, why not?  Luci’s playing Cas - “let me in”. We saw Dean’s weakness, so clear that it hurts and could be even uncomfortable to watch. We ALL understood that was a coy the moment Luci called I suppose - but not Dean. And THIS FACT alone is nice - not the details though.  Michael’s tragedy, though hidden and not well-played - but it was there.  Chuck’s inability to love. The whole metaness of his character - “I’m cancelling your show” again. His death wish. Sam and Dean’s revenge neglect. “That’s not who I am. That’s not who we are”. Chuck as a human, without his strength. It’s strange, but I think he could be happy now! If he’ll change something in himself, of course.  Chuck’s empty Book of Death. His book is empty now, there will be no new Death... and he can start from the beginning. He can write his own story now and be redeemed - despite all the things he had done. It’s a new page for him as well. Chuck finally could be free himself.  The way Jack became the new Almighty AFTER exploding in the Empty. THE EMPTY IS THE ONE THAT GAVE HIM THE STRENGTH, it’s not the enemy. I wrote about it here.   Amara’s mentioning - and it was Sam who asked about her, she was important for both Sam and Dean all the way.  Beautiful acting - they certainly did their best with the script given. 

The way how the children should be free of their parents - Michael and Luci from Chuck, Sam and Dean from Chuck - and their dad, his name even wasn’t curved on the table by the end of the ep and despite the kind words to John in 14x13 we saw in 15x16 and 15x17 how destructive was John’s impact on Dean - not at Sam, ‘cause Dean was protecting Sam all along. Jack from Sam and Dean - this freedom is blurred though ‘cause of Cas’s absence in the episode structure. But his freedom is a good thing itself - for Jack it’s impossible to be a human, Kelly believed that. Cas believed that. Cas saw paradise on earth - so Jack’s chosen fate was in being a Child who is everywhere, in all of us, who doesn’t play with us, but lets us act ourselves. He isn’t the God as we understand him in strict norms, he isn’t cruel and abusive.  And he should be free of any expectations from Sam and Dean - Cas said it in 15x18 to him. Jack is a grown-up in his own manner. He is independent now, and that’s a good thing. 

Also, there is a promise in these shots:

We see these shots 3 times - before Jack returns all the humans, in the process of returning (see the girl whose bike was abandoned at the road at the end of 15x18 and at 15x19 beginning?) and when he talks about him being everywhere.  One More. The One.  Is Jack the One now? Is he the one more One?  Is it ONE MORE EPISODE? One more story? One more thing? One more... You can continue the thought if you want. All I want to say - these shots are visually important and I find them hopeful :)

I liked Sam and Dean in the end. I’m a Destiel shipper but I’ve never hated Sam and Sam and Dean’s relationship. I just think it’s not good for this relationship to be romantic - it’s not good for both of Sam and Dean. But I respect them and their bond and don’t see anything bad for DeanCas ship in it. In fact, it’s quite the opposite - Sam was helping both Cas and Dean all the time. I’m afraid of thinking what will happen without him. Nothing good I suppose. I liked the way this scene was filmed. It’s also hopeful for me - though the double reading here is possible.  But I think “just us” is not the end.  I liked the names curved on the table as the fact. Now it’s confirmed - they ARE a family. All of them.

I liked the choice of the song - Running on Empty. Wow. Symbolically - ‘cause the Empty in the story is the separate character AND the place, you know. I liked a clip-show at the end. It’s nostalgic and sweet, and it has Cas in it - he IS the part of that, not only as Dean’s love interest, hey. He has his own party.  Here the story of blood ends.  What’s next?

We’ll wait and see. 

And now - some things in 15x19 which left me disappointed. 

I must confess that I’ve always loved SPN myth-arcs and wasn’t noticing Destiel as a thing for a while because my interests weren’t in the field of shipping. This show wasn’t about shipping for me - and the weirdest, it isn’t about shipping for me now. It’s a DAMN GOOD STORY WITH THE SENSE. And the sense is love. Yep. 

So this episode didn’t do well with the myth-arc.  

You see, I kinda enjoyed some of Buckleming eps. For instance, 15x13 - I love it, and there are some more. I’ve even appreciated their lack of subtext, parallels, allusions sometimes. They could be very specific. One more example - when Dean in 11x03 cupped Cas’s face, it was very easy to understand the ROMANTIC nature of their relationship and stuff.

But this ep?! 

Pandemic situation added some stress I suppose. Nevertheless, all the story with Lucifer and Michael is just catastrophic. The only strong part was Lucifer telling Michael how Chuck can’t love - and the fact that his words were confirmed by the plot, and Chuck’s inability to love finally ended him. We’ve known that. We’ve predicted that. I’ve written about it here. 

“You’ve killed your own son” (c) Dean, who didn’t do that.   

But the rest part of this story---ugh. Killing Luci so easily? Michael is so plain as a character? Are you f*cking kidding me?!! Even AU!Michael was more interesting, I swear. I had a feeling that I myself could write this part of story better. And it’s not about lack of Cas as Dean’s love interest or hope for his returning, or for DeanCas whatever, I’m pretty sure we will get all of that. It’s about the myth-arc only! One of the main ones from season 4! 

All this epic story of Luci and Mike could be done much more better. Like WAY MORE BETTER. With the same convo, you know,with the same outcome, which is absolutely correct - we are not supposed to serve our parents. But different details, WTF! And that’s my main point here. 

There are some other things that I’m disappointed about, though less:   1) Betty the Reaper was a total WTF either despite of her eager lines. 2) I need more explanations about how exactly Jack gained his new power, how is he reunited with Amara, how he returned all the people BUT NOT Donna, Bobbie, Charlie, Jody, Eileen, Cas - not the people HE cares about. Or they are not important for him now? This thing could be resolved in 15x20 though. 3) I didn’t like physical violence from Chuck. A) I have some doubts if he can properly do it, he like to watch. What’s changed? I’m not convinced. B) I felt physical pain from that scene. It was awful. It all could be showed for us in a different way, but they didn’t want that. 4) I didn’t like how Chuck’s mind changes every second. I don’t kill you, I don’t care about you, you’ll live and suffer, no, I’ll kill you. It could be written more properly, but hey. This part is much more harder to fix that Luci and Mike’s. 5) I didn’t like the dog move. Like AT ALL. I loved Jensen’s kind voice and his acting, but: A) all these doggy parallels are not for me, I didn’t like how Cas was called a dog before - in Buckleming eps specifically (and that terrible parallel in 8x15!), but not only there. I didn’t like when Atropos called Sam and Dean Cas’s pets either. Not my kink, sorry - and it’s JUST TOO THICK; B) it’s classic move. So classic that it’s dumb! The Bad Guy always hurts some cute pets. Kitties, doggies, birds whatever. That’s how we are supposed to understand that he is Bad. Hey, we all know that Chuck is bad. Why to add something? To mess with Destihellers? Not helping here. 6) The moment with Luci instead of Cas (for Dean, for Jack) could be less “haha gays” and more proper either I guess. It feels more like a mocking to me the way it is, whether the idea was good. Luci played Cas for Dean before (11x11, 11x14), as he played Jess for Sam and Sarah for Nick, and he played a father for Jack. He was in his place there - a mock from Chuck. But you can’t blame Chuck on the poor writing ALL THE TIME. 7)  Also the music. It just didn’t feel right.

8) The end for Jack is right... but also somehow confusing, like something is omitted. Or SOMEONE. You know whom.

Someone whose absence also made Michael so plain, I suppose. 

Jack’s story started with Cas, I think it couldn’t end without him. Jack was so devastated to hear about his death - and all is OK in the finale? ‘Cause he is the Almighty now? And Michael - he was also connected to Cas, we saw it in 14x10, in 15x08 - all the way actually. There should be some mentioning of Cas from Michael I think. Not from the DeanCas point of view - it’s Adam who noticed something in 15x08, not Michael, Michael was angry with Cas. But somehow their connection made Michael stronger as a character. Okay, he is not strong enough to rebel. But that’s Cas who said that! He said that he felt sorry for Michael, that it’s Lucifer who was always the smart one. 

Without this context Michael isn’t easy to understand - though we heard that Adam is erased and I liked that. That’s a hint - Michael had a strong will when he had Adam, without Adam he is lost, just like AU!Michael was. 

I think he is lost because he killed his Lucifer - in both cases. He gave Chuck his ending - and Chuck can’t respect that, he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like to win.  So Michael couldn’t rebel though he’d known about Chuck’s motives from Cas, and not because of love, but because him being a cuck.  And all this will be much more easier to understand with Cas’s mentioning. But NO. We had a dog instead. Like WTF again??? 

The Jack’s part could be fixed in 15x20 I suppose. But not Michael’s part.  Well, sorry for him.  Now I must add the myth-arc was also connected with Cas all along. He is not just the main hero’s love interest - well, HE IS, but he has also his role in the plot. HE IS A REAL TRICKSTER of the show, the rebellious one, the rule-breaker - at all levels. So without even MENTIONING him in the main myth-arc all this arc looks like a card house, and not as proper as Luci’s card house from this ep was. 

This arc deserved much more better. It deserved Cas as a trickster. Don’t like him even mentioned ‘cause he’s also Dean’s love interest? Well, say good-bye to a proper myth story. And that’s a shame, in my opinion. 

‘Cause 15x20 could be 15x19 and vice versa and both eps could win ‘cause of that. 

Well, that’s the reality we live in. And we’ve got so much goodness already. We should be thankful for that. 

9) Who the hell is curved Jack and Cas’s names on the table? Sam and Dean? Jack? With Mary, it had sense, with all these flashbacks. I understood she curved her name herself. What’s for Cas and Jack? What’s the point? Dead for good? I know that’s NOT the point. So what is it? I can’t understand it here. 

We need continuation, guys! :)

[yaboylevi]

hey vivi how are you? hopefully you’re doing good ! question in your personal opinion do you think that we stopped seeing eren’s caring side towards levi bc of what happened in RtS arc? do u think like in a way he resents? or feels betrayed by levi’s actions? i mean eren trusted levi kinda blindly i would say so maybe he felt a little deceived by levi ? anyways i’m just curious on ur thoughts on this, have a good day! :D

Okay hi, so…I got this question once in the past already and I decided to not reply for various reasons. I didn’t really feel like replying to this either, as you could guess by how long it took me to actually reply (I actually typed a full answer 3 times in these 2 months but deleted all of them aahh). But I have a question for y'all I would really love hearing an answer to: Is this a common interpretation/headcanon in the ereri fandom recently?

So, anyway… if they were real people experiencing such a development, based on MY feelings and how I’d react, I would say yes, it would be normal for Eren to have developed a sort of resentment once things calmed down a little and he thought back on how absolutely unfairly Levi treated him back then: he agreed to give Eren the serum only to take back the offer at the last moment; he basically told him to shut down his own feelings, dismissing them, when Levi himself couldn’t do the same; he lost his patience and punched him in the face with such strength that he made Eren lose half of his teeth. I understand why it happened: Levi is not emotionally mature at times, imo, and it was a charged development with important lives at stakes and they were all mentally and physically drained. But he didn’t even apologize.

Granted, no one apologized. However, Eren and Mikasa were made to feel responsible for everything that went down by a number of people (Hange, Floch, the other military in Paradis), and were punished for it. I don’t feel Levi held them responsible because I think at one point he realized he acted worse than them and also understood why they all behaved that way.

Either way, Levi never apologized, even though we could argue that Levi telling them to never regret their choice (as if they even had a say in the matter…) and ruffling their hair was a sort of double apology (i.e: I forgive you and I hope you can forgive me). If it was real life, it wouldn’t be enough, in my opinion.

So long story short, I would feel betrayed alright, if I were Eren. Because Eren has always believed Levi was the better man, someone he could count on to be fair and mature. Levi was none of those things during their altercation on the rooftop.

But if I were to look at the whole situation through the lenses of what is ACTUALLY portrayed in canon, I feel the answer to your questions is no, as it isn’t given the proper depth, for 3 reasons:

1. It seems like there were no grudges left amongst all of them. Especially in chapter 108, they all behave naturally, as they used to do before the timeskip, before the Shiganshina fiasco happened (Isayama would’ve shown it to us if it wasn’t the case). I feel there is tension only between Eren and Armin. Also, there aren’t many instances where the 104th need to rely on Levi’s mentorship as before because they aren’t at war, and international matters are in Hange’s hands so they all rely on Hange when searching for an opinion. But I would like to believe that, when Eren couldn’t see eye to eye with his friends, he consulted with Levi, because they often talked about “feelings” rather than “actions” (so it doesn’t matter if they’re at war or not in their case), they have very similar opinions and went through similar experiences in the past. But so far there’s nothing that supports this in the manga. There’s just that tiny panel of Levi saying that they’ll talk later, but I feel it was forgotten/unimportant. Anyway, no grudges mean they have all forgiven one another because they all understood the others’ actions in Serumbowl…or Isayama simply didn’t care about exploring such conflict amongst them because he had other, more important things he needed to tackle in the story, so he made all of them forgive each other off-screen, with no repercussion whatsoever on their relationships.

2. Eren and Levi barely interact during and post-timeskip, and what we see of their relationship is a shadow and/or a copy-paste of what has already happened in the past (Levi kicking Eren, Levi thinking back only to their first encounter as if everything that happened later on had no weight, Levi acting as Eren’s bodyguard, Levi thinking of Eren as hope). Nothing new, whereas Eren’s relationship with other characters has changed quite a bit.

If we consider it from Eren’s point of view, he stopped opening up to his friends after talking with Yelena, but before that, he was quite open about his opinions with both his friends and Hange and Levi. Levi, though, during these moments, felt distant, opinionless, almost like a background character. And it’s true, Eren kept secrets from his friends and comrades, but he was justified, considering the military’s and Hange’s treatment of Eren himself when it came to his titan’s powers. He always spoke his mind in every other instance. We don’t see Eren and Levi talking, because…I don’t know. But I don’t see resentment from Eren, nor from Levi. And Levi, oh, he should have a lot to talk about. Not only with Eren. With Mikasa, too, about their shared family. With Hange, about Erwin. But he’s just…there.

So the fact that two characters who used to share so much screen time together, who shared such a relationship where one of them used to guide the other, and the other used to open up to the mentor in private in the past, and who both used to play into the same themes of the story, now share close to no screentime, conversations, and themes, makes me think that it is either just to show Levi’s distance to their cause as a whole and Eren’s frustration with everyone in general, OR Isayama simply has no intention of keeping their relationship relevant anymore. And this last point brings me to number 3.

3. Isayama has dropped a significant amount of relationships or characters throughout the series, and sometimes it was very disappointing (Annie, Bertolt, Historia, Ymir, Mike come to mind). I didn’t think it could happen with the series’ most popular character and the protagonist, as they had consistent importance together throughout the whole series until the change of POV in the Marley arc (so for 80 chapters), but it may have as well happened for real.

With Levi dead or out of commission most probably until the end of the story - and so he will never meet with Eren again to have one of their usual talks - and with Eren in the middle of probably the last fight of the story where he will almost certainly die, I can see closure for Eren only in regards to his friends of the 104th. That’s also where the main focus of this whole arc has been. No closure for Levi re:most of his “bonds”. And again, in Eren’s memories in ch120, we see a shot of Levi from the Female Titan Arc, even though Eren and Levi had other relevant conversations down the road. Couple this with Levi’s flashback of an Eren from their first meeting in volume 2 (?), and I get the feeling Isayama has no intention of making them relevant to each other ever again. He decided to 1. make Levi’s character about revenge - and I’m curious to see what he will do with Levi, because he has already punished him for it so I’m waiting for a conclusion - and to emotionally separate him from the main cast, and 2. to make Eren a solo player who may have absorbed Levi’s teachings in (maybe) the wrong way, but his mentor won’t ever be there to confront him about it, because it’s not important as long as Armin, or someone else among the 104th, will act as Eren’s moral compass.

And it is kind of disappointing. It feels like wasted potential and abandoned character development. But I’m also biased about it.

–

tl;dr:

1. Eren has stopped talking to everyone in his group of friends after talking with Yelena. Levi is the one who feels the most distant in such group prior to that.

2. The fact that Eren hasn’t opened up to Levi about certain things could be: a. because we still haven’t been shown this (but I gave up on it, as new important memories were highlighted in ch120 and Levi’s not part of them); b. Eren doesn’t believe Levi has answers for him anymore or that his opinion is valid, as following the Serumbowl fiasco (but there is nothing that supports this in canon); c. Isayama just doesn’t feel their relationship is important to the story anymore.

3. My personal opinion is that Isayama just decided to take a different route with them singularly, in particular axing Levi’s character, and they will never be relevant to each other ever again.

[timingmatters]

Opinions on ST S3 (I’m on mobile so I can’t do a cut below im sorry shdjdj)

I loved mileven and think this season explored very well Mike’s abandonment issues with El ( a product of s2) and how overprotective he was of her. He definitely had a point over people being careless with her powers and treating her like a machine. Max wasn’t right saying he treated her like a pet, because he really doesn’t, but she was right on him not trusting her knowing her limits. She knows how to take care of herself and Mike had to understand that. I loved that although their break up was over a dumb misunderstanding thanks to Hopper pressuring Mike and Max misunderstanding him, it ultimately helped them grow stronger as individuals and a couple. And Max also gave El the opportunity to explore herself as an individual outside just her powers or boyfriend. I def think Mike wanted to be sort of like an anchor to her, and El thought so too, but she had to learn to be her own anchor and Mike had to learn that although he wants to protect her, she also has to be on her own. Love when the issues relationships have are to make them stronger as a couple and not cheap love triangles. Which I felt the same with Jancy. He has always understood her, but for the first time he learned that he also has to speak up when OTHERS underestimate her. He has always just let her do her thing but theybare learning to work as a team not only during missions but throughout life in general. Overall i loved mileven and jancy and think their development was realistically done and they still had their cute moments (their moments at the last minutes of the season were incredibly cute and heartwarming). Lots of people didn’t like this season so much but i loved it. However I still got things that I disliked or would at least like to see on s4 because we didn’t get to see during this season.

Things I would have liked to see and hope s4 brings:

- Will was pushed to the side, and while I’ve seen people that hated it, I sort of enjoyed it?? I love Will but both previous seasons have focused soso much on him so it was nice for him not to be the main point suffering and just sitting bck and having a normal teen (gay) boy crisis and helping his friends.

- HOWEVER I did think friendships were pushed to the side. It wasn’t for no reason, it was a storyline that had a climax and even a resolution, but even so friendships had little time to shine and they are the heart of the show so I’m hoping for more next season. Especially Mike and Will, I’m not a byler shipper but they definitely have a very very strong bond and I wanted more. S4 has a lot of potential on that because clearly Mike knows Will is gay (if we are going down that path which it genuinely looks like it!!!) and I think him being a support for Will when coming to terms with it could be such an amazing storyline. Hell, they have (what for me is as friendship) AMAZING chemistry together, one of the ultimate best scenes on s2 was Mike recalling when they became friends to get Will back. Hope we see more of that in s4.

- some people said this season had too much Eleven. Sadly, I agree. I won’t complain bc like I said I get it and enjoy it. Also understand she’s sort of the main character, but truly a lot of characters didn’t get much of an arc and Eleven was given tons of screen time. Characters like Lucas barely had a storyline apart from just being there and I would have enjoyed for of them, especially considering his little sister almost died by the hands of the russian gov, like I can’t believe he didn’t at least have a big brother moment where he freaked out for her safety

- Max and Mike. I think they could be such friends. I understand, again with the abandonment issues Mike had where he came from being harsh to her, and obviously her not standing for that bs. But they could be such good friends and I thought they would at least have a talk towards the end to get a redemption arc on their friendship. If I was truly disappointed by something on this season it was probably that, I hope next season they become better friends and we get to see it

- On the same note, I wished we had seen El bonding with also thei other boys not just Max. On s1 she had developed strong friendships with Dustin and Lucas, and her friendship especially with Lucas had a rocky start so it would have been good to see them bond more. And Will who is lowkey her brother. Will had a rage moment and called her dumb and that’s just?? Only solved thro the friendship moment with the boys?? But he never attempted to actually bond with her and like shdhdj she saved his ass a lot and I hope s4 brings siblings moments with them (and Jonathan).

- Karen being a pedophile sucked ass and I’m disappointed I honestly wanted so much for her shdhhdhd. I CRAVED for her to be as involved as Joyce but they just made her a pedo with bad taste :/

- I understand how Max still sort of loves Billy even though he was her abuser. When the abuser comes from family is complicated like that. Still, I don’t think the redemption arc he had was enough to make me truly care for him. The moment with El and his mom’s memories at the end was a beautiful directing work and incredibly well acted, sadly, because as a viewer I don’t care much for him it wasn’t as impactful and emotional as I think they aimed for. Had he at least TRIED to touch on his past abusive and racist behavior, apologizing, blaming his dad, literally anything, I would have felt A LITTLE bad for him. But just because he lost his mom in a sad way doesn’t mean I will care for him lmao. And I can’t believe after making a point of his dad abusing him with homophobic slurs and showing those had an impact on him, the idea of him being gay was never explored. That honestly kinda shocked me.

- Hopper was an ass to Mike point blank lmao. I always find it creepy when dads in prom pics take pictures with their daughters’ dates and their guns as a “threatening” moment. I got the same vibe from Hopper during the first episodes which sort of ruined how I viewed him. ESPECIALLY after s2 when he holds Mike as he is having a breakdown over Hopper not telling him El was alive, he should be a lot more understanding towards Mike. Hopefully when he gets rescued from the russians in s4 Mike will be there to help him and they will bond

- again, MORE FRIENDSHIP PARTY MOMENTS. I truly loved the Dustin/Erica dynamic and Dustin/Steve, but the heart of the show will always be the party and I was sort of sad to see how little screen time Dustin had with the other kids.

- lastly, s2 went on a whole thing over other people like Eleven that were experimented on, and the promos for this s3 had a whole thing over Will having powers/being a key (which never happened all he did was feel a cold on his neck shdhdj). So I’m hoping s4 explores more on the power origins while El tries to get them back, and perhaps Will gains powers. And thus also introducing other people who were experimented on, not like in s2 where that storyline never merged, but also having the others involved.

Despite all the things I complained about, I understand the choices that were made with storylines and screen times for each character, and I did truly loved the season. I think Mileven’s issues were realistic regarding what they have been through and I loved them still seeking for each other and holding on to each other the moment things go badly. I did loved Mileven this season and hope they have learned and will be more stable on s4 and give us more cute moments. I feel the same with Jancy. I hope if there’s any relationship that gets more focus next season is lumax and jopper and hope they get drama and development while jancy and mileven just chill and have cute moments asjdjdjdj. Also hope Will gets a boy love interest!!!!! I loved Robin and her dynamic with Steve. They have an amazing friendship dynamic but i also understand not wanting to leave Steve forever single and alone unless s4 introduces him a new love interest and Robin remains as his bestie. On the same note, since s1 all I want is for Jonathan and Steve to be besties. Shhdhdjd still gonna hope for it for s4. I HOPE THE EVERYONE GOES TO RUSSIA TO SAVE HOPPER THAT WOULD BE COOL.

[lovelytonys]

The Official Lovelytonys Guide to Iron Man Comics

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m about to save some lives. Buckle up.

Six months ago, I was asked for comic recs. I’m posting those recs today. Why so long? Because I couldn’t just make a rec list, no, I’m too extra for that. I had to go and make, to the best of my ability and knowledge, my own entire personal guide to Iron Man comics. I also have a tendency to start projects and not do them. But I did this one! And now I share it with you.

For your assistance, I’m going to link this Comic Book Herald article which is a full Iron Man reading order (LIFESAVER) and has links to amazon to buy the collections & arcs being talked about if you are so inclined.

You can find comics on amazon, ebay, the marvel website or Marvel Digital Comics Store (you can buy digital versions of comics), or just find a local comic shop and see what they have. You can easily find any comic you want free to read online, but the websites are a little shady. I’ll leave it to your discretion.

Disclaimer: Remember that these are all my personal opinions. Often, they will not line up with popular opinions. You might really like stuff that I didn’t care for. You might dislike my favorites. You might agree with my opinions. If any comic fans read this and are offended by any of my opinions, please don’t be!! Opinions on comics are SO subjective, just find out what you like and stick to it. I just figured I’d lend my own personal helping hand for you get started, because doing so can be intimidating.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, let’s begin under the cut! (If you are on mobile...I am so, so sorry about this)

Short version (the recommendation-y part)

Recs because I like them:

Iron Man Volume 3 (1998)- #1-25 (my actual absolute FAVORITE RUN of all time and my number one recommendation. It’s by Kurt Busiek, Roger Stern, and Sean Chen), #26-30, #62-63, #73-78. Iron Man Volume 4 (2005) #1-35.  Invincible Iron Man (2008) spanned many years so you should read at least some, and it has many fans, but I am not one of them, so I’m not gonna rec too much. Issues #1-6 and its epilogue, #7, are worth a read and the arc spanning #8-19 is probably the best from the era, I would say that I enjoyed that arc. Next is Brian Michael Bendis’ stuff, which has a pretty bad rep and while I don’t hate it as much as others do, I wouldn’t say I love it. It is, however, the most recent completed run & important stuff happens, and there’s some good stuff here and there, so yeah. I don’t really have any specific recs from here...just read the whole thing and see what you get out of it or scroll down to the guide section and see the highlights I picked out. Invincible Iron Man (2015) #1-25, and Invincible Iron Man (2016) #1-600 (they changed the numbering halfway through, it’s not 600 issues it’s only I think 19).

Recs because important stuff happens even if I don’t necessarily like them:

Civil War I (occurs during the Iron Man run starting in 2005), Civil War II (occurs during Brian Michael Bendis era), Iron Man (2012) #9-17 “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark.”

Long version (the guide-y part)

First off, I’m going to tell you that my suggested starting points are Invincible Iron Man (1998) which was my starting point, and Invincible Iron Man (2005). Much more on those below.

I haven’t read Mr. Stark’s classic adventures yet because there’s a daunting number of them and I still need to find a starting point, so we’re gonna start with...

Volume 3 (1998):

Okay I have SO MUCH to say here because I’d die for this volume!! It’s considered by many to be nothing special but there’s a lot to appreciate if you’re a fan of Tony in the way that many are here on tumblr- caring about character development & character moments first and foremost. I’ll break down my favorites for ya

#1- does a good job of setting the tone for Tony and this era of Invincible Iron Man. Some nice Tony character details are in there. Volume 3 is started with Kurt Busiek writing (later joined by Roger Stern) and Sean Chen on pencils. I LOVED this team, this is my FAVORITE run of Iron Man that I’ve read, PLEASE read all 25 issues. I thought Busiek understood Tony really well and I just loved the way Chen drew Tony (and everything else), and their first issue is surprisingly enjoyable for mostly existing to set the groundwork for a fresh start.

#4-5- I think this is where the run starts to kick into gear. Tony’s on-and-off girlfriend for the era, Rumiko, is introduced and she’s fun (but as the years went on, deserved much better writing). Tony kicks some butt & is a hero.

#6- an awesome Iron Man/Black Widow team up. It shows a really nice friendship between Tony & Nat. Also, Nat kicks butt & it’s great

I’m recommending every issue that builds Tony’s relationship with Carol Danvers (at this time, she was Warbird, not Captain Marvel). #7, #11-12, #18, #19, #21, and #23-25. Their storyline details Tony’s endeavors to help Carol overcome alcoholism. At least read the Carol parts of the issues she’s only in a few panels of. Major highlight of the Iron Man comics I’ve read. Also- knowing this background will definitely make Civil War II have more weight

#8-12- Tony gets the actual daylights beaten out of him and then some, leading into a compelling 2-issue Mandarin arc, this then leads into an interesting 2-issue team up with Warbird that gives us an answer as to why his injuries were so bad. It hurts but it’s good

#13- an actually really compelling single-issue story that involves some trippy, creepy mind control stuff and takes a look into Tony’s head- specifically questioning whether or not being Iron Man has become an addiction. You can’t tell yet but I’m trying my hardest to not recommend every single issue

#26-30- The Mask in the Iron Man arc. This is the first issue without Busiek writing- Joe Quesada steps in and it’s good stuff. It’s also Sean Chen’s last arc. It starts with Tony punching a guy in the face to protect Rumiko but getting punched back and having to wear a nose splint- it’s really cute. Then Tony and Ru run into relationship problems. Then the Iron Man armor becomes sentient, basically falls in love with Tony, and kidnaps him on a remote island. Wait-what? Yeah, it’s really weird in hindsight, but while you’re reading it, it sure does pull you in. One of the biggest standouts of the whole era and something of an instant classic. Also, the first few pages of #31 give you a little aftermath.

#37-40- this wasn’t my favorite arc but I’m recommending it just because of how wild it ends up being. These were the days when IIM wasn’t afraid to have a big imagination. And I mean big, like, who thought of this? Well, Frank Tieri is writing at this point (he’s okay, not my favorite of the volume), and Alitha Martinez & Paul Ryan are on pencils (it’s fine, but you’ll miss Sean Chen) (you’ll always miss Sean Chen). Also, a major player in this arc is Tiberius Stone so maybe read it to know who he is.

#50- “Tinman”. Issue 50 was meant to be a place for new readers to jump in. Mike Grell & Michael Ryan are at the reigns as writer and artist. Grell’s characterization was fairly solid, my favorite next to Busiek in this era. His version of Tony is more in touch with his emotions, I guess, than some like to characterize him. Sometimes he gets aggressive when he’s angry but there’s also a lot of really sweet moments and they portray him as doing a lot of good, like funding a rehab/safehouse for kids on the street. Grell’s stories are generally grittier and more violent but Tony himself doesn’t really take a dark turn. Issue #50 has both action and a VERY SOFT Tony, definitely recommend it

#53-55- “Book of the Ten Rings”. Again, it’s grittier than the stuff that came before it, but it’s good. Once the main story wraps up, something really important happens at the end. Also, it’s important to note here for people that weren’t previously into comics that at this point, Pepper and Happy are a thing, not Pepper and Tony as seen in the MCU

#59-61- “In Shining Armor”. Tony travels back to Medieval times and it’s not exactly a good time for him but it’s a wild time for us. Gotta love a good old fashioned time travel arc

#62-63- “You Can’t Always Get”. Oh god PLEASE read this one, if you only listen to one of my post-Busiek & Chen recs this is the one, the Tony content is so precious

#73-78- “The Best Defense”. The arc detailing Tony’s journey to becoming Secretary of Defense because yes, that happened. A very interesting concept to watch Tony go through and one of the most notable stories in this era.

Volume 4 (2005):

This is the last of what I consider the Really Good Stuff (except for Civil War, but we’ll get there). These comics defined Tony Stark as we know him today, and you’ll notice that MCU Tony was definitely influenced by them. If you’re starting here, it’ll be Iron Man as you basically already know it. If you’re coming here off of Volume 3, then you’ll notice the tone of not just the stories but of Tony himself get darker. For whatever reason, writers looked at Tony and said “let’s find ways to bring his morals into question bc that’s Interesting!” It’s not bad (the Iron Man title, that is- Civil War is bad) but it doesn’t really reflect what came before it, I guess. I’m recommending all 35 issues bc why not but I’ll break it down for ya & make sure to point out my favorites

#1-6- “Extremis”. A must read. One of the most iconic Iron Man stories in 21st century comic history. It’s on everyone’s list. You are, as an Iron Man fan looking to get into IM comics, legally obligated to read this. This would also be the arc where I believe the MCU looked for inspiration for Tony characterization. Also Extremis obviously ended up in the MCU but it’s like way different in the MCU than in the source material

#7-12- “Execute Program”- Basically, Tony is screwed up post-Extremis. Poor guy. Please read this. Directly leads to Civil War…

Civil War (2006) #1-7- Ugh. So. Civil War. In my personal opinion- not a fan. I actually like the movie MUCH better and imo the movie is the way this should have been written. Unfortunately, you’ve gotta read it because it’s an important event. You’ll see people calling it “Tony Stark characterization murder” and THAT’S VALID. Like. Tony suddenly became...a villain?? literally the worst?? under the poorly written guise of “just doing what I have to do” but the stuff that happens….it just can’t be explained with “doing what I have to do”. Honestly it reads like the writers just wanted to pit Tony against Steve and didn’t care about keeping him in character. Tony basically had to be turned into a villain to make the story work because In-Character Tony would not have fit their needs. It sucks and I don’t want to recommend it but you have to read it because it affects so much that comes after it.

THE ONLY CIVIL WAR ANYTHING YOU SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER are tie ins and oneshots and I will tell you a couple

Invincible Iron Man #13-14- IIM’s CW tie ins. Issue 13 comes after CW #2, issue 14 after CW #5. Read these 

Captain America/Iron Man: Casualties of War- oneshot to be read after Civil War #4. Tony offers Steve the chance to try and talk it out. Both explain their positions and a lot of comic history between them is brought up.

Civil War: The Confession: SO after CW, SPOILER SPOILER poor Steve is assassinated in Captain America #25 (it’s actually more wild than that bc superheroes don’t just die but whatever) and this is a oneshot with two halves, the first takes place after Steve is dead and is Tony-centric and I LITERALLY CRIED and the second takes place when Steve is imprisoned before he is killed. PLEASE read this

There’s more tie ins involving Tony that you should read but I’m sick of talking abt CW

BACK TO THE IRON MAN SOLO TITLE

Sooooo the title now changes from Invincible Iron Man to Iron Man: Director of SHIELD but it’s the same book

#15-18- It’s Tony’s first story arc as Director and it ends up being kind of wild actually

#21-28- ‘Haunted’. Starts out as a sort of murder mystery thing, spirals into something much bigger. Also, poor Tony is so screwed up in the head but what’s new. Definitely read this one

#29-32- ‘With Iron Hands’. Basically, an entire arc of Tony feeling guilty about his past?? Pretty much. There’s also a terrorist and a giant weapon and more fun stuff. The last you’ll see of Tony for the volume bc stuff goes down in the Secret Invasion event and War Machine takes over for the last 3 issues of the title. Wish I could be of help in regards to Secret Invasion, but I haven’t actually read it because I haven’t been able to find it. Just, idk, google search the plot of Secret Invasion like I did and you should be able to get by

Invincible Iron Man (2008) AKA Other Volume 4:

Okay lots of comics fans think this is one of the best Iron Man runs in history and I respect their opinions and perhaps you will share them but I’m gonna cut to the chase here: I am not one of those people. Look, I read all 62 issues so I have a fair opinion, and I’m just not a huge fan. Matt Fraction is writing and Salvador Larroca is drawing. In my experience, the stories drag on and it gets to the point where you’re just bored. I think I read the 89 issues of volume 3 faster than I read the 62 issues of this because I was just so bored with it. Also, I’m really not a fan of Larroca’s work on the book. I really disliked the way he drew Tony and the more I looked at it, it almost made me...uncomfortable? Some of his art is kind of gross imo. Plus, I didn’t love Fraction’s Tony characterization. I can’t quite articulate why, it just didn’t sit nicely w me. There were some moments where I thought “oh yeah that’s Correct” but many other moments where I thought “No Why Did You Write That”. He was good at writing some wild and intricate stories but sometimes I felt that character got lost in the midst of the action. That’s just me though, you might really like Fraction’s run, and there is some stuff worth pointing out.

#1-6- ‘The Five Nightmares’. A fairly iconic modern Iron Man story. Tony’s worst nightmare comes true when the son of Obadiah Stane uses Stark tech to cause absolutely horrific acts of terrorism. It gets pretty serious, but it sets the groundwork for this entire era of Iron Man. As far as Fraction stories go for me, it’s one of the better ones.

#7- Five Nightmares Epilogue. A team-up of sorts with Spider-Man that I actually genuinely think you should read, especially for the ending (and because Peter & Tony clearly wish they could be buddies again in this post-Civil War world).

#8-19- Okay it’s really long but I remember it stood out to me, all I remember is that it’s basically Tony Stark Brain Annihilation over the course of 12 issues and it hurts like heecckkk. Actually I’m gonna say definitely read this one. Also Rescue happens and that’s A Thing you should know about. Stuff gets fixed in the next arc, #20-24, but it’s not worth recommending imo so don’t read this if you’re gonna read it but if you’re not just know that SPOILER SPOILER Tony is fine except he accidentally erased Civil War from his memory (god I wish I could do that). SPOILER OVER

I think I’m gonna end it there for Fraction issues of interest. There’s probably more in there I should be recommending but I just. Can’t be bothered to comb through Fraction’s volume sorryyyyy I’m just not a fan

Iron Man (2012):

So this run is by Kieron Gillen and I don’t really want to recommend anything from it. I didn’t love it as a whole. Gillen laid way too heavily into the idea of “Tony Stark is a walking ego”. The stories were kind of interesting in theory but I thought the execution was mediocre for some reason. Although, not necessarily the art but specifically the coloring was nice- very vibrant. The actual art was by Greg Land who comic fans really seem to hate. I didn’t think his work on this was too bad idk. Again I don’t really want to recommend anything so there’s only one thing I’m putting on here and it’s:

#9-17- “The Secret Origin of Tony Stark”. So here’s the thing. Kieron Gillen said to himself “I need to do something that turns Tony Stark’s identity on its head. I need to redefine him”. And he actually kind of succeeded in that. And it’s actually annoying and it actually feels like something that should be retconned…. but hasn’t been?? And since it hasn’t been, it’s going to be important going forward so you should probably know about it. You could also just google it.

Invincible Iron (2015) by Man-Brian Michael Bendis

Yes, the infamous BMB. So, what’s the truth about his run on Iron Man? Is the amount of hate warranted? Well…that’ll be for you to decide. Personally, I think it was generally...meh. Not necessarily terrible just. Meh. Many fanboys act like this run is the bane of their existence and I don’t think I dislike it to that extent at all. I mean, it gets boring after a while, but the good moments are really enjoyable and I think it’s worth reading. Bendis’ characterization was sometimes weird because it felt notably inconsistent. However, the moments when he nailed it, he really did nail it. His Tony is a bit of a dork, a bit of a hot mess, a little vulnerable, and the moments when that’s at the forefront are great. There’s also some notable stuff going on here- Civil War 2 falls under this era (I hate it less than the first one but Marvel could do 50 Civil War events and I will probably not like any of them), and so does Riri Williams (who I love, just to get that opinion over with). Finding recs for this era is kind of weird for me because the things that stood out were almost never actual issues or stories, but rather specific character moments, so like, the volume is only 14 issues so tbh you can just trudge through them all and savor the good moments, but I’ll try to pull some recs out for ya

#2, #3- just for some character moments. These two are a part of a larger arc so it might be a little confusing to read them on their own but who cares

#4, #5- Tony fights ninjas and visits kids at a hospital and MJ Watson & Doctor Strange make appearances so it’s kinda cool idk

#9-11- only because you meet Miss Riri Williams, the other parts won’t make sense since it’s in the middle of an arc but eh. Honestly the actual story didn’t strike me as being very special so like unless you’re into it you can just skim for the parts that Riri is in since she’ll be important later

Aaaand CIVIL WAR 2

Civil War II #0-8- okay I don’t dislike it as strongly as I dislike the first CW but I still?? Don’t like it?? Like at all? But something really important to Tony’s stories happens at the end and Tony is one of the main characters in the event so like. You should read it. The main problem I remember is that the pace felt so slow. This event is Iron Man vs Captain Marvel which kinda hurt me bc of how much I loved them from 1998’s volume but it’s fine!! They never address their past in the actual event but there’s a tie-in that does so that’s good I guess. Just get through it idk what to tell you

Back to Invincible Iron Man

#12, #13, #14- tie-ins to Civil War II. #12 and #13 I think come after CW2 #2?? Maybe?? And I think #14 comes after CW2 #6?? Anyway #14 actually acknowledges Tony & Carol’s past so you should give that a read while going through the event.

Invincible Iron Man (2016)

Sooo some Serious Stuff happened in Civil War II that’s going to have an effect that lasts a while. I don’t wanna spoil it, though. When you do get to the end of CW2, you can rest assured that Tony will still have a major presence as a character in this title, but Riri Williams takes the spotlight. Opinions on her are mixed, I personally love her. This, like its 2015 sister, can honestly just be read all the way through, it’s only 19 issues, but I’ll try to find stuff. Also, Tony & Riri’s banter is ALWAYS golden so just read to enjoy it tbh. On we go!

#1, #2- gives you the background on Riri now that she’s taking center stage. She’s just so darn endearing.

#11- It’s basically an issue about everyone reflecting on how Tony is a good person and different from how the public perceives him. He holds orphaned babies from around the world. It’s good stuff.

#593-600- the numbering changed, there’s obviously not actually 600 issues lol. So yes this is kind of long for an arc, but it’s important because it resolves what happened to Tony in Civil War 2. I remember getting bored with it after a few issues, like it wasn’t bad I just remember it feeling slow. Idk. It’s important. Just read it.

Stuff that I don’t think is worth your time:

Invincible Iron Man volume 2 (1996)- I think Marvel was doing some kind of reboot or something because Iron Man’s origin was redone as well as The Hulk’s. It’s amazing how a run that was only 13 issues felt like such a large waste of my time. I didn’t think there was anything of note. I basically don’t even remember what happened in it. Also the sexualization of women was so casual and constant on top of the run not being particularly remarkable so yeah don’t waste your time  

Superior Iron Man (2015)- I dislike the idea of this so much that I don’t even want to explain it ugh it’s a spin off of an event called Axis that involved some psychic type stuff that altered the personalities of those involved, boosting Tony’s worst qualities and making him evil. Marvel then decided to make a series about it and it’s only 9 issues but wow it’s amazing how hard it can be for me to get through 9 issues. I could barely read it I just so strongly dislike this idea ok so basically Evil Tony creates Extremis 3.0 which is an app that lets a person make themselves physically into the person they wish they were (In the pages of Axis, Tony personally made himself not an alcoholic because that’s not disrespecting an incredibly important character detail and there was one particularly awful panel of him drinking alcohol in front of a crowd of cheering people and saying “I missed you, sweetheart”). He is testing this app on San Francisco and effectively creates two classes of people- the “perfect” people who could access the app and the “imperfect” people who can’t and that goes about as well as you’d think. Then he makes it obscenely expensive to use which also goes about as well as you’d think. And more stuff happens. Here’s the thing. I’m sure many people thought the concept of a villainous Tony Stark was cool, but I just don’t like the implications of it. The way it’s written kind of gives the idea that, with his personality, Tony could easily become a villain. Given that some people already think of Tony Stark as a villain, reading it just made me cringe. And the WORST thing about it is that, while this is a result of Axis, it’s still Tony himself. According to the writers, he has “surrendered to his id and his legendary ego” (god I’m about to gag) after the mind-altering events of Axis brought those things out in him. Despite my qualms, was the book well-written? I will never be able to read it that objectively, so I can’t say. But clearly, as you can see by the size of this here rant (sorry), I dislike the very idea of it enough to put it on my “do not touch” list.

Okay. Wow. I finally did it. Wow. Six months and it’s done.

I am simply the mentor figure in your hero’s journey. As you get used to navigating comics and reading orders, you’ll find it easier to venture out, and there’s so many ways to go. A character crossed over into something you read and you liked them a lot? Look up their reading order. A writer or artist really impressed you? Do a google search and find what else they’ve worked on. There’s a whole world of comics out there. Go have some fun.

I leave you with 3 rules of being a comic fan:

1. No one hates comics more than comic book readers. We’re bitter because we care. You’ll be like a jaded war veteran who writes a thousand word rant about why a certain author’s mischaracterization of your fave offended you personally way faster than you’d think.

2. Follow the trail of what interests you and, while acknowledging what may be widely believed, proudly own your personal opinions.

3. It’s addictive. Embrace it. You start with one issue, and before you know it, you’ve read 200 issues and know 20 years of history on one character in less than a year. That might be how it goes for you. Just go with it.

Happy reading!

[alexsmitposts]

Without the I Word, Beware B and P As Nancy Pelosi struggles to contain increasing demands for the Congress to impeach President Trump, his Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo ratchets up tensions in the Gulf of Oman, as it has done in countless other historical circumstances, making war with Iran look imminent. Now more than ever, Americans need to know that beyond oil, the Middle East, like the rest of the world, is divided between right and left. Iran is the leader of the left-oriented Shia version of Islam, while Saudi Arabia leads the right oriented Arab world. Meanwhile, Israel, as it continues to occupy Palestinian territory for over seventy years, has gone from being a left-oriented society in which the kibbutz played a central role, so far to the right that it often agrees with fascists. Across the Middle East as elsewhere,“Follow the money”, corresponds to the left-right divide. Unlike American ignorance of current foreign affairs, few people across the world have a false idea of the French Revolution of 1789: driven by popular hardship, the sans culottes got rid of a monarch, opening the way for an organized left that carried out the Russian Revolution of 1917, followed, in due course, by the Chinese Revolution of 1949. These three revolutions duly claimed their place in history and in the popular imagination, however, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, the US installed ‘liberal’ parties in Western Europe, Eastern Europe modernized under a Soviet controlled authoritarian form of social democracy, while Iran was still a relatively poor country whose population was in need of everything from health care to education and housing. In 1953, when Iranians elected a lawyer named Mohammed Mossadegh to lead the country, the nationalization of their oil bonanza was a no-brainer. Alas, this coincided with the growing realization by the US of the crucial role of ‘black gold’, as American automobile ownership tripled, and petroleum became the magic fluid that generated prodigious development in the West. In what was to become a pattern, the CIA and M16 worked in tandem to overthrow the Iranian popular government and put the exiled Shah back in power. Twenty-six years later, in 1979, popular forces carried out a revolution against the Shah’s iron rule that has never been understood by the West, which saw the new leaders exclusively as religious fanatics. In reality, when Ayatollah Khomeini returned from exile in France, he was accompanied by a socialist theoretician. Ali Shariati had been in and out of jail while teaching high school and campaigning for change. Eventually, he was allowed to accept a scholarship to France, where he studied with Islamic scholars, earning a PhD in sociology and the history of religions in 1964, while discovering the third world political theologist Frantz Fanon, collaborating with the Algerian National Liberation Front and campaigning alongside Jean-Paul Sartre for an end to French colonialism. Returning to Iran, Shariati founded the Freedom Movement of Iran, gathering followers throughout \society. His sin was to have revived Shiism’s revolutionary claim that a good society would embrace religious values. He taught that the role of a government under a learned clergy, was to guide society according to Islamic values rather than managing it, allowing human beings to reach their highest potential rather than encouraging the West’s hedonistic individualism. Believing that Shia Muslims should not await the return of a mysterious 12th Imam, (as the Jews await ‘the Messiah’) but hasten it by fighting for social justice, even to the point of martyrdom, Shariati criticized the Shah’s clerics and translated the claims of Iranian Marxists that revolution would bring about a just, classless society into religious symbols that ordinary people could relate to. Seeing a direct link between liberal democracy and the plundering of pre-modern societies based on spirituality, unlike Fanon, he believed that people could only fight imperialism by recovering their cultural identity, including their religious beliefs, which he called ‘returning to ourselves’. (Like a growing number of contemporary leaders — such as Vladimir Putin — Shariati called religious government ‘commitment democracy’, as opposed to Western demagogy based on advertising and money. The panic that gripped the West in 1979 when 52 American diplomats were locked-into the Embassy for 444 days, was heightened by Israel’s victory in the Six Day War a few years earlier. Since that time, while continuing to deny the Palestinians a state of their own, Israel has moved closer to the most powerful Sunni (i.e., conservative) Arab nation, Saudi Arabia, which supports ISIS and its offshoot terrorist organizations worldwide, and wages an unrelenting campaign against the tiny country of Yemen, whose revolutionary Houthis are also supported by Iran, in the millennial battle between Sunni and Shia. Few Americans know that these two are strongly correlated to the left-right divide. Western media correctly attributes the conflict to attitudes toward Ali, the Prophet’s designated successor, but it features Shiites lashing themselves with chains in solidarity, without mentioning that the reason for Ali’s murder was his defense of the lower classes. In turn, that attitude was based on a disagreement over whether God had attributes, such as ‘justice’ and hence could demand that humans treat each other with respect and dignity. Arising after the Prophet’s death, the argument centered around whether the Quran was an emanation of God, or had always existed. In turn, the answer to that question depended on whether God simply ‘is’ or whether, like humans, he has attributes, one of which would be ‘justice’, or solidarity, which would imply the existence of free will. At one point, a free will defender who got up and left the discussion was labelled a Mutazilla, or ‘one who has left’. During the following centuries, and mainly under the Abbasid rulers centered in Persia, the Mutazilla movement lead to the development of Shia Islam, with a different set of laws from those of the Sunnis, who still believe that individual lives are foreordained by a God who is neither ‘good’ nor ‘evil’, but simply ‘is’, and that men must obey Him without question. Under the cleric Wahhab, that conviction led to the extreme of Sunni Islam, in whose name terrorism is carried out to this day. The notion of a ‘Shia arc’ suggests an equally threatening military entity, when in reality it is an ideological one. Although nothing could be further from the minds of those who hold Trump’s foreign policy in their hands, Ali Shariati and the Iranian revolution revived Shia Islam’s original message that men must treat each other with dignity and respect. The original seat of the Mutazilla movement was the city of Basra, located on the Persian Gulf Shat al Arab waterway, and the Shiite learning center of Najaf, near the southern Iraq/Iran border, was the headquarters of Iran’s exiled revolutionary leader, Imam Khomeini. After spreading from Iran to Iraq, Shia Islam reached Syria and Lebanon on the strength of its commitment to justice. In Syria, the life values of Islam had already led to the creation of the Baaʿth Party, which in 1953 merged with the Syrian Socialist Party to form the Saddam Hussein’s Arab Socialist Baaʿth (Renaissance) Party. Although both countries belonged to the non-aligned, anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist movement, the merger failed. (The US suffered the Baath being the party of Saddam Hussein as long as he was waging an eight-year war against socialist Iran.) Syrian Shiism continues to be represented by the small Alawite sect headed by the Assad family. Reaching back to the ninth century, the Alawites, who pray sitting rather than prostrate, and celebrate some Christian holidays, had been rejected by the Shiite hierarchy until Assad’s father, Hafez al Assad, came to power in 1964. Though accused by the US of “killing its own citizens”, Assad’s son, Bashar, heads the only secular government in the Middle East (including Israel), and retains the educational system and Western social customs that prevailed under the French mandate (1923-1964). In neighboring Lebanon, the Shiite militia known as Hezbollah represents a powerful political force in a tiny nation whose population is divided among half a dozen religions and sects, including the Christian Druze and Maronites. The picture painted for Westerners is of a rabble acting on orders from Iran, while Hezbollah is allied with the Shia militia Hamas in the struggle for an independent Palestine, making Syria ‘the frontline state’. (Alastair Crooke’s book Resistance: The Essence of the Islamist Revolution, attributes Hezbollah’s victories over the Israeli army to ‘horizontal’ organization, which encourages a high level of individual initiative, and is part of the surprisingly sophisticated knowledge of Western political thought by its leader Hassan Nasrallah.) This makes the fact that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,” all the more ironic. America is the only modern nation whose citizens have almost automatic access to guns, resulting in thousands of murders every year, while its leaders insist that foreign national militias must be punished by a so-called ‘rules-based’ international community. Last but not least, in this saga, like the cherry on the cake, the American public is oblivious to the decades-long ties between Iran and its neighbor, Russia, based on both a shared revolutionary commitment to ‘dignity and respect’, and to religious values. It is disquieting, to say the last, that when the two B’s threaten Iran, they are threatening Russia outside the narrative familiar to American voters.

[lokgifsandmusings]

Do you think that if we get a new set of Korra comics, someone other than Mike should write it? (Irene's alluded to doing personal work after, so new artist) I think in order to get more than 1 comic per series out every 6 months, Bryke needs to delegate. But then we might run into a situation like with Gene and writing inconsistencies. What's the ideal situation?

Yeah I actually do. It’s not so much about time constraints, though that’s an aspect. Mike is just very…Mike. Bryan always felt like the half of the pair the breathed the life into everything, while Mike grounded him and kept him structured. You need both, but I don’t think solo stories are quite Mike’s strength. And yeah, I know he’s the one credited with killer episodes like “Korra Alone,” but with LoK and ATLA, we’re talking about a writers’ room dynamic. Even when people take leads, things are crafted and plotted and outlined collaboratively. 

Gene Yang won a damn Eisner and is a very capable writer. I just don’t think this was the best fit for him. Really at the end of the day, the best fit comes down to someone with something to say. And that something needs to be born out of the characters already established. Gene seemed to have a good idea of what to say for Zuko, and he had one (ONE) story for Aang that he used three times and then recycled for Katara in North & South. (I’m talking character arc-wise, not plot things, which always matter less.)

Rucka was the one who breathed the life into modern Kate Kane honestly, but Bennett and Tynion both clearly wanted to continue her story, and fully got the way to push her character. I think Mike understood how to push Korra’s character in her development on the show, but where she came out at the end…it needs to look different, you know? There’s still plenty to explore with her, and she’s always going to be a phenomenal protagonist, but we can still do that without retreading.

And yeah, I don’t think Bryke are the be-all end-all for stories to tell in this universe, especially given that Korra’s intersectionality lends her narratives that may be more outside of their comfort zone. Hell, LoK was outside their comfort zone, and what made it so special was that they just followed where the characters were leading, as backwards as that sounds.

I’d enjoy Tim Hedrick taking a swing at it because I’m a sucker for good taxidermy visual gags, but really I’d be open to any new writer. I also think comics like…don’t need an action set-piece? In fact I think this medium is the worst for bending action, including long-form fiction. So it really needs to justify itself. Really, we just need a writer who understands both the show and the medium well. 

In terms of artist, I’m much less fussed in that department. As long as there’s internal consistency, the lettering and paneling is easy to follow, and there’s a diversity in backgrounds (I’m not asking for Martinez level or anything, though that is always awesome), I’m a happy camper. My dream pick would be Heather, mostly because I’ve wasted more time than I care to admit in her Lin Beifong tag, but talk about time constraints… 

[redtutel]

Rewatching Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Or as Gen X calls it, Star Wars. But I was born in 1997, so it’s a New Hope to me.

I watched bits and pieces of the original trilogy on TV when I was a kid, but I never saw them all the way through until Middle School.

Can I even say anything about these movies that haven’t already been said? I’m not sure, but I’ll try.

Star Wars lore used to be as simple as Rebels good, Empire bad. And despite all the complexity that’s been added to it since, that’s still the core of this franchise, and I honestly think that’s for the best.

The opening action sequence is one of the greatest in film history. It does a fantastic job of establishing the stakes, as well as showing just how powerful the heroes are in comparison to the villains. Darth Vader looks awesome, and is a fantastic threat.

Rogue One is ending right now. That’s so crazy to think about. Since it’s not a part of the main Skywalker saga, I’m not revisiting it, but I might some other time.

Leia’s such a cool character. She gets captured sure, but she goes down swinging, and she’s just as capable a fighter as the others when she does get rescued. 

There are things that infamously don’t make sense with this movie, like “Why didn’t the Imperial Officers take droids into account” or  “Why is there a small hole that destroys the Death Star.” (although that last one was explained in Rogue One), or “How come nobody remembers the Jedi and the Force?” But back then, people understood that those little things don’t matter, or at the very least they didn't care. Why can’t nerd culture go back to those days?

I remember being so surprised that the Senate was in the original movie, although it was only mentioned and never seen. Same with the Clone Wars

The retconned in CGI is odd, but at the same time, I kind of understand where Lucas was coming from. He had a lot of ideas he wanted to use, but couldn’t because of the limitations at the time. And now with CGI, he can finally puts those ideas into the movie. Although it’s very anacronistic. I agree re-adding deleted scenes was a mistake. Delete scenes are cool, but a majority of them are not in the movie for a reason, or the final product made them redundant. 

17 minutes before we meet Luke. That’s a lot better than the hour spent to meet Anakin, and the events that happen beforehand are much more coherent as well. 

Did R2-D2 kill another droid for the sake of the rebellion. That’s...troubling.

Luke is a likable bright eyed dreamer that wants more out of life. There are many like them, but to be fair, he did inspire a lot of them. Leia being Luke’s sister is very, very clearly not the original plan.

The acting is a little hockey, although the Darth Vader and C-3PO’s acting is still fantastic. And its overall a lot better than the prequels.

It is troubling to see the continuity errors the prequels had. Owen and Buru only met Anakin once, so it’s a bit weird how they talk about him. Obi Wan and R2-D2 should remember each other, but don’t seem to know each other (although Obi-Wan could be faking it. He does tend to lie. Then again, there isn’t really  a reason for him to lie about R2). As well as Darth being a name and not a title.

The twin sun shot. It’s one of the greatest moments in film history. There’s a reason it’s refrecened again and again.

I never noticed how often Obi Wan says “Hello There.”

On the subject of Obi Wan, I love how well he conveys his friendship with Anakin with just he acting. Although he probably wasn’t indeed to be a liar, it's still really sad seeing him lie to Luke to spare his feelings. And he’s one of the definitive mentor characters for a reason.

Tarkin is a character I never thought much about, just another guy in an Imperial Officer's uniform. Which is odd seeing how he blew up a planet. Which is odd because technically, he has superiority over Darth Vader, and is the actual main villain of the movie. Although he was an amazing villain in the few episodes he was in in Rebels.

The Force was pretty simple early one. Fast reflexes and choking people, I guess they didn’t have the ability to do more advanced things with the force back then.

The fact that Owen and Buru were killed so brutally is seriously dark. Although they’re forgettable characters, I feel bad for Luke.

The interrogation machine is super creepy, especially since we don’t see how it actually works.

The brainwashing with the force scene is amusing to this day. Some other great jokes include “She’s Rich” (a favorite of my cousins'), Chewie scaring away the mouse droid and the scene where Han gives up bluffing and just shoots the communicator. Star Wars is allowed to be funny people.

I love all the alien spices in the cantina. It’s a great source of world building. I imagine it must’ve been very difficult, given the low budget of this first movie.

I saw a red eyed, blue skinned alien. Is Thrawn’s species in the first movie?

I do find it funny all of Han Solo’s big accomplishments happened in one day. It doesn’t bother me, though. Anyway, Han’s another good character. He’s your classic rouge archetype, and a good foil to naive farmboy Luke.

...I honestly don’t care who shot first. I’m watching the Blu Ray, so I didn't get to see “Marlarky.”

The movie has a ton of worldbuilding for something meant to be one stand alone story. That’s probably one of the best and worst things about it.

Although it’s definitely overused, the Death Star really is that good a concept. A space station the size of a moon, that can shoot a beam that can destroy a planet. It’s a very intimidating concept, and an excellent obstacle to overcome.

Although we never see Alderan, the fact Leia comes from there helps give the scene the emotional weight it needs. Obi Wan’s iconic line definitely helps as well.

I love how despite advancing technology, that chess game is always designed so that it move like stop motion. 

Of all the Star Wars protagonists, Luke is the weakest in the force at first. Part of me wonders if it’s because they were very limited in what they could show about the force back then. Although it mike be possible Uncle Owen prevented him from experimenting with it, while Anaking got to practice with Pod racing, and Rey got to practice with scavenging. 

The beginnings of the Leia/Han relationship. Two very strong willed people. It’s a good dynamic that only gets better in the next movie.

The trash compactor scene. Again, one of the greatest action scenes of all time. There’s a monster in the water and the walls are closing in. It’s a classic.

...you know if a character like Leia came out today, the dark side of geek culture would despise her for being an “SJW Mary Sue.” Screw those guys.

The bridge scene is another classic, although the rope swing kind of portrays Luke and Leia in a different light than the rest of the movie.

Darth Vader vs Obi Wan. As a child of the prequels I found this battle...underwhelming. I’m warmed up to it since, but I couldn’t help but miss the crazy choreography of the prequels. Later Star Wars works found the proper balance, thankfully. And I love how Obi Wan knows full well death won’t be the end for him.

Poor Luke lost his aunt and uncle and his mentor on the same day. That definitely gives him a reason to despite Darth Vader personally, especially seeing how Vader allegedly killed Luke’s father too.

“There wasn’t anything you could do.” I never noticed those arc words. Much like his father, Luke just keeps losing and losing family. But he also gains family during his adventure as well. I guess that’s one of the unifying themes of all three trilogies. Dealing with the loss of family, and learning to accept new family. 

Although he denies it, Han is torn between collecting the money and living another day, or staying and helping his new friends. And in the end, he chooses his friends. It’s a nice character arc.

Was Wedge in the original cut? I honestly don’t know. And there’s the Roge One “Woomp”

I know I’ve said this a million times, but the death star battle is another one of the greatest actions sequences of all time. I’ve heard that the ticking clock aspect was actually something George Lucus’s wife at the time, Marcia Lucas. So good on her for making this action sequence as great as it is.

Overall, this is one of the greatest movies of all time for a reason.

[thenthdimension]

My Top Ten Comics of the Year List because the one from Vice Sucked

So vice has released a list of its top ten comics of the year that was only eight entries long because apparently comics were so bad this year that eight was as many as they could manage. This really frustrated me, mainly because their problem was with the quality of comics (which I thought was great) and not the behaviour of individuals and organisations within the industry (a lot of which was very bad). I am not going to link to the article because if you want to find it you can but I am not going to help you. I am however going to give my top ten list which I realise a lot of other people have done in reaction to the article but I’m just too annoyed to do nothing.

Some caveats before I start, firstly I am just someone who likes comics and I have not read 90% of the stuff that has come out because I am not a) rich or b) someone who receives comics to review. Secondly I am a white/cis/het man and my comics reading is not as diverse as I would like but I do want to work on that this year. Thirdly some of these will be graphic novels, some individual issues and some on-goings. Finally this is in no particular order, feel free to skip past entries you have not interest in and please check to the end of the list to see if something catches your interest. If one person reads one comic because I did this that is a huge win.

Aliens Dead Orbit by James Stokoe

James Stokoe is one of the best cartoonists working in comics today. Most of the books he works on are top to bottom his work, writing, pencils, inks, colouring, lettering the whole bag and that is the case here. The details in his panels is incredible as you can see here but only when it needs to be. When he needs the readers eye to move quickly across a page to show speed or to make show a lot happening in a short space of time the detail drops without losing any of the skill. Also I just love his colouring the warm lighting contrasting with the cold metal of the ship and dark blacks of space and the aliens themselves. This is not a complicated or deep story that going to tell anything new about this universe its just excellently told and looks fab.

Kaijumax: Season 3 by Zander Cannon with colour assists by Jason Fischer

This is a prison comic where the prisoners are giant monsters, I really don’t know what else you want me to say about this. At its best it can be disturbing, funny, exciting and you will never know how much you could care about a giant satanic Goat. That goat is the Creature from Devils Creek and his is the best story line this season, I was honestly upset and some of the things he had to go through. I obviously recommend going back and reading the previous two seasons but this is the best Kaijumax has been and I cannot wait for season 4.

Doom Patrol Written by Gerard Way, Pencils by Nick Derington, Inks by Tom Fowler, Colours by Tamara Bonvillian and Letters by Todd Klien

The lead singer of My Chemical Romance writes one of my favourite comics. That’s a weird thing to say but then comics are weird and this comic if full bore weird. Coming from DC’s Young Animal line which is basically Way’s baby this is technically a book about a team of superheros but really its well developed characters dealing with whatever mad thing happens that month. But as much as I enjoy the madness and Ways writing Nick Derington is the best thing about this book. There was an issue that had guest art by Mike Allred, who I love, and all I wanted was for Derington to come back. Plus that madcap writing means he gets to draw some incredible looking stuff. Also one of the main characters has sex with their anthropomorphised cat.

The Wicked + The Divine Written by Kieron Gillen, Art by Jamie McKelvie, Colours by Matthew Wilson and Letters by Clayton Cowles

It was never going to be ok. That’s basically the motto of this book and this year has shown you how true that is. Every 90 years the cycle repeats normal people become gods and will not live past 2 years, this time they also became pop stars. Wic Div has been going for a couple of years now and it just keeps getting better, the characters are so real and who they are is brilliantly reflected in the art. It will break your heart but it will also have dying to read the next issue. Plus they have started doing specials which show glimpses of the past pantheons. Its currently on issue 34 so its something of a commitment but it rewards that commitments and the collections come out with a decent regularity. Oh if you are a tumblr person do not look at the Wic Div tag unless you want SPOILERS.

Copra #31 by Michel Fiffe

Fiffe is another top to bottom cartoonist and he also self publishes Copra, so this is proper indie comics. Copra is a Suicide Squad fan comic that’s almost consistently better than the actual Suicide Squad comic. A team of mercenaries and criminals do the jobs no one can admit to and treated as expendable by those who put them in harms way. Its art and action comics all at once. This issue focuses on Castillo who as you may be able to tell is somewhat like the Punisher and its just a great example of what makes Copra great. I could see Fiffes art not being for everybody but its 100% for me.

Southern Cross written by Becky Cloonan, Art by Andy Belanger, Colours by Lee Loughride and Letters by Serge LaPointe

Southern Cross is like an Aliens movie directed by John Carpenter filtered through H.P. Lovecreaft. Put on some synth-wave, prog rock or cosmic metal and enjoy a horror comic that’s also a huge amount of fun. The first arc was Alex Braith booking passage aboard the Southern Cross to find out what happened to her sister. This years second arc takes us to the rigs on Titan where the mystery of whats going on deepens and we find out more about the life in this universe. Can’t recommend it highly enough, plus some of the space suits have Jason masks, which makes me very happy.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl # 26 The Zine Issue by Ryan North, Erica Henderson, Rico Renzi and many, many more

I cannot list all the creators please go look them up. Squirrel Girl (she has the powers of both Squirrel and Girl) is a comic that is always a huge amount of fun and this issue is the zine that Squirrel Girl has put together with her friends to raise money for all the public buildings superheroes destroy. It features a feel good inspiration comic written by a nihilistic brain in a jar, Cat Loki, a quite touching story about Wolverine and a sentinel and a Galactus comic written and drawn by Jim Davis the creator of Garfield. You can read this all by itself and still enjoy it so its a great place to find out if Squirrel Girl is for you which it probably is because Squirrel Girl rules. Eat nuts, kick butts. 

Mister Miracle #4 Written by Tom King, Art by Mitch Gerads and letters by Clayton Cowles

Mister Miracle is one of the New Gods. Mister Miracle can escape any trap. Mister Miracle is depressed and recently tried to kill himself. This twelve issue mini series is going to show up on a lot of best of lists this year and that’s totally justified. But of the five issues released so far I believe this, The Trial of Mister Miracle, is the best. Every great about this series is crystallised here, the 9 panel grids, the quite unflinching look at depression, the art that expertly mixes the fantastic and the mundane and the incredibly sharp writing. I haven’t seen a better example of a character who is entirely correct but also completely wrong.

Savage Town written by Declan Shalvey, Art by Philip Barrett, Colours by Jordie Bellaire and Letters by Clayton Cowles

Cartoonists get a lot of props for being able to handle every aspect of creating a comic book and there are some great examples on this list. This comic I believe is the best example of how a great team on a book can be just as effective as a great cartoonist. Its Limerick near the turn of 2000, Jimmy Savage is the leader of a small gang and trouble is heading his way. I love that one of the best crime comics this year is about an Irish city and comes from a majority Irish team. Its also great to see a comics writer writing Irish accented dialogue that doesn’t read like its out of Darby O’Gil and the Little people. And its a great story too, I really hope there is some kind of follow up as I’d really love to come back to this town and these characters again.

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Nagata Kabi

This year I decided to start reading more manga (Japanese comics) and I decided to start with this which was a bit of an odd choice but one I do not regret. This true story can be difficult to read because it is true. Nagata was this lonely, this isolated, this depressed and the really had this struggle with their sexuality. The depression they felt was crippling and while a lot of things I could relate to, especially berating yourself which I used to do a lot, I really had no idea. I have always considered myself as decent person who understood that depression was something that could paralyse a person but until I read this I don’t think I truly considered what that meant. The sense of isolation and loneliness is so strong I honestly don’t know how they got through it. And then they recounted it with such a great sense of humour and didn’t shy away at all. I feel like I am not explaining this well, I don’t read lot of things like this and maybe I don’t have quite the right vocabulary. Just know that this is the most affecting piece of media I came across this year. If I know you IRL please ask to borrow it because I would love to hear what other people think of it.

And that’s it, those are the ten best comics I read this year. You can find all of these on comixology, amazon and good comic book stores. If there is something you’d be interesting in reading and you don’t know how to get a hold of it ask me and I’ll see if I can help you find it. Comics a great and anyone who kind find ten great ones in a year is not looking hard enough or is a pretentious prick. I know for a fact there is stacks of great stuff I didn’t get to read this year. Its all out there, you just have to look.