Not So New Comic Review: Universe X #3

                We start this issue with a brief overview of the Savage Land (for those not in the know, that is a spot in Antarctica that was untouched by the ravages of time and still contains dinosaurs and prehistoric beasts).  It is also stated that the savage land is kind of a gateway to Limbo, you know, that place between heaven and hell.  We then get a brief history of Belasco and Limbo, including Magik’s involvement in the realm. 

                Back in New York, the mysterious bookbinder continues to do his job, and we quickly transition to Britain, where it is revealed that Cap and Marv are off to the Savage Land next (hence the opening sequence).   Cap and Marv enter the cloak and teleport to the Savage Land where they are met by Ka-Zar and Shanna, who are now cat-people.  Cap and Marv are not carrying the books they picked up from the Omniverse last issue, so it is interesting to wonder where all of these artifacts are going.  Do they have a specific vault where they are storing all these, away from the masses?  Does the cloak have a shit-ton of pockets, like cargo pants?

                Sorry, I got carried away.  Back in the Savage Land, Cap and Marv come upon Sentinel City and enter the ruins, only to find that Toad is now the master of magnetism and Magneto is his dancing court jester.  Apparently, when the polarities were shifted, Magneto’s powers vanished and…went to Toad?  Anyway, Toad, as with any petulant child that now has a tiny modicum of responsibility, is kind of a dick.  However, Cap appeals to his superiority complex and asks for his help, to which Toad agrees to allow them access to the door to Limbo.  Marv, Cap and Ka-Zar enter Limbo to pick up anti-metal and are immediately met with Wraiths.  They fight the adversary, with the help of one of the greatest Space-Knights and his laser guns until Mephisto shows up, which is never a good sign.

                In the realm of the dead, Marv and the dead who know they are dead are looking for the Kree, so Marv can convince them of their death and draft them into his army, but they are nowhere to be found.  They are then met by Thanos who, true to form, is still holding a torch for Death.  Marv puts him in his place by saying that Death does not care for him, but Thanos is in love, and he doesn’t believe it. 

                We quickly cut to New York to see that the Tong of Creel have almost completely reassembled the Absorbing Man (you know, that guy that killed the Avengers and was then split into multiple pieces and hid around the world….that guy).  We are then in a different part of New York, where Immortus seems to have a handler known as Mr. Church who plays him like Dick Cheney played GW Bush. 

               

                Back in Limbo, Mephisto wants to warn Cap and Marv that Death is following them.  Way to be late to the party, Mephisto.  Of course then he holds a glowing orb that he calls the “key to Limbo”, that is until Cap knocks it out of his hands and into the “frozen in carbonite” visage of Belasco.  This sends Belasco back in time, to start his cycle over again, which is kind of a recurring theme in this series.  Cap and Marv receive the gun from the Greatest SpaceKnight and leave Limbo.  As Cap looks over his shoulder, he sees Death silently following him.

Next Issue: Will Death finally claim her victim?  Will Cap get to use the big gun first?  Will Mr. Church shoot someone in the face?

Know Your Enemy

Week Sixteen- (The Playoffs round 2-A)

Standings:

Shrimp:		Assorted Freaks:
The Masked Shrimp	7-6	The Slugomatic	7-6
Fred	9-4	The Wormy Guy	5-8
The Masked Shrimpette	6-7	Mr. Happee	5-8

Schedule: Round 1                                          Round 2

Fred

Shrimpette

                                                                             Fred

Sluggy                                                                 Sluggy

Shrimpy

Loser Bracket:

Happee                                                                 Happee

Wormy                                                                 Wormy

                                                                             Shrimpette

                                                                             Shrimpy

It's last call somewhere!

Late to the Party Video Game Review: Captain Toad, Treasure Tracker

                I have never played Super Mario 3D World, the game where Captain Toad got its start, but I can understand the idea behind making this a game all its own.  Captain Toad is incredibly addicting.  The graphics are great, the gameplay mechanics are relatively easy, though having to rotate the world you are on while trying to walk can be difficult at times, and the difficulty level is perfect.  This is a great puzzle game with short enough levels that you can start and stop whenever you want.  I continuously find myself say “okay, one more level, okay, just one more” and on and on. 

                The premise behind the game is simple, you collect stars to advance in the storybook (each page is a new level) until you reach the end and rescue your companion (Toad or Toadette, depending on which book you’re in).  There are also other collectibles in each level, such as the three diamonds you need to gather to advance in the book (certain pages are only accessible when you have gathered the requisite number of diamonds – kind of like the stars in Super Mario Galaxy).  There are also coins to be collected, and the always illusive Gold Mushroom.  The game starts off simply enough, and honestly, the first book, where you’re Toad rescuing Toadette, is fairly simple.  As you go along though, the difficulty ratchets up, not just in the gathering of collectibles, but the completion of the stages themselves.  This makes for a better experience because, while I was able to breeze through the first book, the second book (where you play as Toadette) and the third book (where you play as both) push the difficulty up quite a few notches.  There is a fourth "bonus book" which includes missions that you can unlock by gathering the gems that are hidden throughout the main levels, just to keep the replayability, which is already fairly high, at a maximum rate.

                This is a great game if you love the Mario Bros. Franchise but are a little tired of the side-scrolling, jump on Goombas and save the Princess kind of adventure.  It’s a nice change of pace, much like the Luigi’s Mansion games, a new twist on a popular character.  I hope to see more of this kind of stuff from Nintendo in the future instead of the same old rehashing of a tired plot and gameplay mechanic that has become many of their Mario games of late.

Comfort

It's hard being a girl in a "man's world".  

That being said, this storyline in particular helped me develop a better understanding and relationship with Shrimpette.  So while it was long and drawn out and ran at the completely wrong time of the year, it is still a pretty important tale in the grand scheme of things for Shrimpy and the gang.

Gronked

Shrimpy's poor choice of quarterbacks all season basically mirrored my own.  

Let that be a lesson to you, future Fantasy Football players.

Not so New Comic Review: Universe X #2

                Issue two starts with a brief retelling of the origin of Captain Britain, which involves a lot of magic and resurrection.  Really, Superheroes are modern day myths, that are all built upon the myths of yesteryear, which would explain why Thor, Hercules, and even Merlin are fixtures in superhero comics.  Captain Britain was created by choosing the amulet of life instead of the sword of death, and he went on to be Britain’s greatest champion, forming Excalibur with Nightcrawler.  Unfortunately, Excalibur was turned to stone by the Grey Gargoyle, who was then killed by Captain Britain before he could force the villain to change them back.

 

                That brings us to the present day as Cap and Marv arrive in Britain on the next part of their “fetch quest”, the books of Darkhold and Vishanti.  Captain Britain asks Marv to bring Meggan, a member of Excalibur who was also Captain Britain’s girlfriend back to life much like he did with Sue Richards.  Marv explains how impossible that is based on all the circumstances that led to Sue’s return.  We find out that Nightcrawler actually escaped being turned to stone as he teleported out of there, unfortunately leaving his arm behind.  Marv explains that Nightcrawler is still alive, because Marv knows who is dead, because he is actually in the realm of the dead.  Sounds odd and kind of creepy, right?  Now imagine it coming from the mouth of a toddler.  Yeah, even worse. 

                Speaking of the realm of the dead, it’s time to check in on those individuals that are stuck there, led by Marv and Dr. Strange, who is only sort of dead, which is why he’s a ghost.  The individuals in the realm of the dead that know they are dead are involved in their own fetch quest so to speak.  Their quest is to gather an army, not objects, as they are fighting death herself.  They start by gathering the best and the brightest in the Marvel Universe, such as Iron Man.  They need everyone they can, as they are not only fighting Death, but all of her minions as well.  In Latveria, as is the case all around the world, masses are forming to destroy the “Human Torches”, to prevent the mutated populace from reverting back to their more docile, human selves.  Unfortunately for them, the last remaining vestiges of superheroes in the world are massing against them, to prevent the destruction of all Reed worked to build. 

 

                In Britain, Marv and Cap visit the Omniverse, where Roma and Merlin are residing to grab the books they seek.  Merlin tells Marv that he has a piece of the cosmic consciousness in him, not the whole thing as he once thought.  They then exit the Omniverse to see that death is following Cap and Marv. 

Next Issue: Does Death want Cap or Marv, or both!? Will Marv ever get all of the cosmic consciousness?  Does Dr. Strange the ghost know Casper?

Spoke Too Soon

They have a strong relationship, made stronger by Fantasy Football.