Marvel Character Highlight #14: Spiral

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Administrator

Name: Rita WaywordSpiral

Affiliation: The Sisterhood of Mutants, Mojo, Longshot

Special abilities: Spiral is a master-level magic user who is also a master of sorcery, genetic engineering and robotics. Her magic proficiency is enough that she was considered to be among candidates to succeed Doctor Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth. Spiral is able to open dimensional gateways, travel between dimensions, teleport and time travel. Spiral has an immunity to possession by others, and is also superhumanly acrobatic and strong.

Background: Spiral began life as Rita Wayword, a stuntwoman on Earth. She became involved with the humanoid Longshot after she was attacked by her evil future self in a paradoxial time loop. Within the loop, she, Longshot and another companion traveled to Mojoworld to take on the villain Mojo. While there she was captured by Mojo and subjected to torturous experiments and enhancements that created her extra four arms. She went insane and became loyal to Mojo, who then sent her back in time to find Longshot, completing the loop. She later became involved in the Psylocke/Kwannon mind swap and joined forces with other evil female mutants to create the Sisterhood of Mutants.

Relationships: Mojo (employer), Longshot (lover), Red Queen (ally), Lady Deathstrike (ally), Chimera (ally), Lady Mastermind (ally), Martinique Jason (ally)

First Versus game appearance: X-Men: Children of the Atom

Appearances in other media: X-Men the Animated Series (animated), Wolverine and the X-Men (animated), Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (video game), X-Men 3: Mojo World (video game)

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Property review: God Loves, Man Kills

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Administrator

God Loves, Man Kills scan

God Loves, Man Kills

Marvel Comics, 1982

God loves, but man kills discriminatively

In the dark recesses of the human soul lies a need to persecute. Every being that can afford to call itself human has the potential and inclination to sling labels of acrimony, to breed hatred for the sake of promoting themselves in the hierarchy of life. In the Marvel universe, it’s no different and yet maybe, somehow on a deeper level it’s worse. On a different plane of persecution from the normal homo sapien banter sit mutants. Homo superior knows that minute difference in makeup means jealousy, anger and retaliation. They also know it means the difference between staying alive and using super powers for good and dying a martyr for the cause.

God Loves, Man Kills is the culmination of Marvel’s attempt at framing the differences in mutant-human relations. The chilling murder of children, racism and classism — all for the sake of someone else being different — are effectively told through the eyes of the X-Men and various mutants who come into contact with the group and the antagonist, William Stryker. If you’ve seen the excellent X2 film, this is the main arc that makes up the bulk of the story. The movie, for all of its interweaving of characters and plot elements from various other arcs, is merely the entry point to the source material. But, what’s depicted is far worse. Stryker’s violent and horrific past that led to his crusade against mutants is the backbone for the present-day acts of brutality. Where the story succeeds is showing the genesis of Stryker’s cause and his means of achieving his goal: The eradication of the mutant population.

The excellent storytelling is obvious through the purposeful exposition and writing. It may not always be clear through the prose of characters like Professor Charles Xavier or Cyclops, but the main goal of all of the characters in the arc is nicely made bare in what is relatively short work. The art has a vintage ’80s inking and coloring to it, and the level of detail is outstanding.

The X-Men arcs have always had a story to tell, and God Loves, Man Kills is no different. The quality of the storytelling, the way it deftly weaves violently opposed viewpoints and the well-paced action make a powerful combination. The most interesting part of it all, however? How it so closely parallels the ills of today’s real society. This is another notch in Marvel’s favor toward its ability to relate to the real world at hand.

 

Plot: 10

Art quality: 10

Writing: 10

Overall score: 10

 

How we grade

We score the properties in three categories: Casting (or voice acting in the case of animated), plot and similarities to its source material. Each category receives points out of maximum of 10 per category, and 30 overall. The percentage is the final score.

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Top 5 on The Strip: The Super family

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Administrator

 Superman

Superman — The Man of Steel himself is probably the best incarnation of the super family. He was the originator of the series and thus carries the name on when other incarnations drop in and out of the DC continuity, like Supergirl. The others in the lineup are literally just watching the throne.

Superboy Superboy — There have been several versions of Superboy but the most prominent is the little boy who would become Superman. DC has since stated that Superman didn’t have adventures until he became an adult but that hasn’t stopped the multitude of other versions, such as the post-Crisis on Infinite Earths being.

Supergirl - Kara Zor-El Supergirl — Supposedly, the story goes that the daughter of Zor-El — Superman’s uncle — survived the explosion of Krypton since she was living in Argo City, which was cast off into space when the planet exploded. Kara Zor-El was the last survivor, giving Superman one of his only living clansmen known to have survived the catastrophic event that created the lore. Her existence is removed during and restored after the 1985 arc Crisis on Infinite Earths.

KryptoKrypto the Superdog — Superman might have godlike powers on Earth, but on Krypton he had decidedly human emotions and that extended to having a pet. Krypto was used as a test subject to experiment with rocket flight. Jor-El — Superman’s father — realized Krypton was going to explode and wanted to test a way to get himself and his family off the doomed planet. Krypto was sent out into space, but the rocket was knocked off course. Drifting through space for years, the dog was found and rejoined Superman during his Superboy years.

BizarroBizarro  — The ultimate in “the evil clone/twin did it” storyline, Bizarro exists only because Lex Luthor, as usual, was messing around with things he didn’t understand. Luthor recreated the duplicating ray that was used previously on Krypton by Gen. Dru-Zod and on Earth to accidentally create a duplicate version of Superboy. Luthor also creates a version of Bizarro after the Crisis on Infinite Earths arc while trying to create a clone of Superman.

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Strip Talk #15: I’ve learned a few lessons from cosplaying

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Administrator

Lyndsey-101612-cutoutI had a reason to cosplay once again. I usually only have the urge to dress up and take on different characters once a year, and that’s because I’m going to NashiCon. My first and only anime convention to date, I popped my NashiCon cherry in 2009 with an attempt to dress up as Akuma. The next year, I went as Afro from Afro Samurai. I managed to miss 2011 and 2012 for various reasons, but I made a special trip to the convention this year. NashiCon is held every year in my hometown of Columbia, S.C., so I have every reason to go and celebrate anime.

For reasons known only to myself, I decided that I would attempt to cover NashiCon 2013 for GI. You may have even seen our coverage on the front page of GI.com. Next year will be different, I promise, because I’ve got a mission to uphold. Next year involves a new character to cosplay from any of the various anime that I’ve finished and all-day photography from the minute the doors open on both days.

This year, as I wandered through the halls of the convention and escaped outside for a little while, I took note of the elaborate work needed to pull off some characters. Cosplaying is hard work, something to put dedication and efficiency into to make complete. And to my surprise, there were so many different series represented that I knew. I have never regarded myself as particularly knowledgeable about anime, but this year I recognized so many characters from series new and old that I finally felt anime smart. That has always been step No. 1 in improving my cosplay technique and efficiency.

Step No. 2 will come in the form of preparation. This year taught me a good lesson: Having a plan in place if you’re going to cosplay is a good idea. Also, it’s fine to cosplay by yourself. You don’t have to cosplay in a group and trying to coordinate costumes is all fine and well, but it’s not always feasible. One of the pitfalls of the weekend was the fact that I couldn’t attend both days with fellow GI member Brandon. Add to that the problem that when we did make it there the second day, it was near the end. I also ran into the problem of not being able to visit more of the panels that I had planned to see. If I’d stuck to my original plan, things might have turned out better. Planning is everyone’s friend.

The final step is dedication. I have realized that in recreating a character there has to be a high level of dedication to seeing it through until the end, the end being when I walk out of the convention hall for the final time. There were people who were completely in character, perfect down to the strands of hair placed correctly. That takes work folks. A lot of work. But if you’re going to do something such as dress as a completely ridiculous character, be prepared to go all the way or go home.

So, with my steps in mind, next year’s issue will be ready well ahead of time, and I’ll have all the time in the world to enjoy dressing up as some inane comic book or anime character I’ve only dreamed of being.

Lyndsey Hicks is the editor-in-chief of Gaming Insurrection. She can be reached at gicomics@gaminginsurrection.com

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Otaku Corner: Death Note Vol. 6

Posted on July 6, 2013 by Administrator

Light learns a few lessons while wheeling and dealing in Death Note Vol. 6

Brandon-2012-cutoutWelcome back for another edition of Otaku Corner! As all of you know, this is my little corner of GI where I bring you the best in manga and anime that will keep you entertained and free from having reader’s remorse in time and money spent.

I’m continuing the most epic battle of wits mixed with a splash of ethics and a good pinch of the supernatural. We’re following up with Death Note, written by Tsugumi Ohba and drawn by Takeshi Obata.

Death Note volume six continues the story of Light Yagami, a high school genius who obtains a Death Note, a notebook belong to the death god Ryuk. With the Death Note and Ryuk, Light vows to rid the world of crime. However, when criminals worldwide began to die in record time, the ICPO calls in L, a legendary detective to bring in the serial killer. With L closing in each day, how long will Light be able to retain his noble goal and his life?

In volume six subtitled “Give and Take,” the task force was able to determine that Death Note Vol 6 coverthe new “Kira” has been working to commit murders among the Japanese business community that not only benefit himself, but also the Yosuba Group. However, there is debate among the task force members about the methods of capture, which causes a brief rift. Light and Ryuzaki decide to use Misa to further gain information on the current Kira and the seven Yosuba members’ plans. During an interview to become a Yosuba spokesperson, Misa was briefly reunited with her Death Note’s shinigami, Rem, who tells Misa not only about Light being the real Kira, but also reveals the current Kira: Higuchi.

Upon learning that Higuchi was the third Kira, Misa pretends to go on date with Higuchi while secretly recording him stating that he was behind the recent killings of Yosuba’s rivals and regular criminals. As a result, Ryuzaki plans to use Sakura TV to trap Higuchi using Matsuda as bait. When Higuchi discovers that Matsuda is still alive, he sets off a high-speed chase throughout Tokyo, while at the same time trying to kill Mastuda. In the end, Higuchi fails miserably as the task force and a small contingent of police officers led by Aizawa and Ide trap Higuchi, which leads to major changes for all of the main characters in the next volume.

Brandon Beatty is editor-at-large for Gaming Insurrection. He can be reached by email atbrandonb@gaminginsurrection.com

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Marvel Character Highlight #13: Silver Samurai

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Administrator

Name: Kenuichio Haradasilversamurai

Affiliation: HYDRA, Big Hero Six, Viper, Mandrill, Yashida Clan

Special abilities: Silver Samurai has the ability to generate a tachyon field through himself, though he can project the energy through anything he chooses. Frequently, he chooses a katana, which can cut through virtually any substance known to man (excluding adamantium). Silver Samurai is also a master of Kenjutsu — the art of wielding a katana — and Bushido.

Background: Kenuichio Harada began life as the illegitimate son of Yashida clan boss Shingen Harada. He began his criminal career with the Mandrill then moved on to working with HYDRA’s Viper as her bodyguard. Harada then looked to take over the Yashida clan after the death of his father but came into conflict with his half-sister, Mariko Yashida, and Wolverine. When Mariko was killed, he did claim leadership of the clan but lost it to a Mongolian warlord. After losing his leadership position, he returned to criminal activity and was brainwashed by the mutant Blindspot to forget his dalliance into super hero activities. Harada then returned to HYDRA and fought Elektra. He was thought to be killed but survived and turned up again trying to take over the Yakuza. He worked briefly as the head of security for the prime minister of Japan and then fought Wolverine after the events of M-Day. The two fought until Wolverine cut off his hand at the wrist. Silver Samurai was later killed by ninjas in an attack on his home. His son, Shingen Harada, later took up the mantle.

Relationships: Shingen Harada (father), Mariko Yashida (half-sister), Wolverine (James Howlett, former brother-in-law), second Silver Samurai (Shingen “Shin” Harada, son)

First Versus game appearance: X-Men: Children of the Atom

Appearances in other media: X-Men (animated, 1996), Wolverine and the X-Men (animated, 2009), X-Men: The Official Game (multiplatform, 2006), Marvel vs. Capcom 2 (2000, multiplatform)

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Property review: Afro Samurai

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Administrator

Afro Samurai screengrabAfro Samurai

Funimation Entertainment, 2007

Afro Samurai is a concerto of high-quality hack and slash

There were never that many black samurai in history. Save for their fictional counterparts, let’s just say diversity wasn’t the thing in ancient Japan. But for all of that lack of attention to historical detail, Afro Samurai manages to evoke sympathy and more than enough interest with its protagonist and story.

One of the things we’ve come to love about Afro Samurai in the years since its first release and airing are the characters.

True, Afro doesn’t say too much but Ninja Ninja more than makes up for that. Afro is your Afro Samurai coverclassically stoic protagonist who doesn’t say much and chooses to let his actions speak louder than his words ever could. Ninja Ninja is — spoiler alert! — his consciousness, saying the things he wishes he could say out loud and looking like a smaller, more cool version of himself. The dynamic between the two characters, both voiced by the incomparable Samuel L. Jackson, is the meat of the plot and carries the story, though Afro’s quest to own the No. 1 headband and be the No. 1 fighter in the world is important as well.

Make no mistake, though, the duo roaming around chopping people to death in that quest is the draw of the story.

And while the characters are interesting, it’s their stories and history that make the show. How exactly Afro comes into possession of the No. 2 headband and his quest to run from his past of violence and death is riveting. Within five episodes the Empty Seven Clan is introduced and the fights for the No. 2 headband are detailed. The art style of the fights is gorgeous and the soundtrack, composed by the RZA, is worth replaying. Though everything isn’t wrapped up nicely and neatly, the five episodes tell the story at a nice pace and put the action at the forefront where it should be.

We even appreciate the naturally developed ending, which leads to Afro Samurai Resurrection, though it isn’t quite as good as the original. But with a stellar voice cast, beautiful animation and a pretty good plot and soundtrack, Afro Samurai is worth starting from the beginning.

Plot: 10

Animation quality: 10

Casting: 10

Score: 30 out of 30 or 10

HOW WE GRADE

We score the prop­er­ties in three cat­e­gories: Cast­ing (or voice act­ing in cases of ani­mated), plot and sim­i­lar­i­ties to its source mate­r­ial. Each cat­e­gory receives points out of the max­i­mum of 10 and 30 overall.

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Otaku Corner: Tenjho Tenge Vol. 1

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Administrator

Don’t miss a great fighter anime in Tenjho Tenge

Brandon-2012-cutoutWelcome back, readers, to another edition of Otaku Corner. I know that most of you wanted to get back to the battle between Ryuzaki and Light in “Death Note,” but in this edition, I think we all need to take a mental nap from that EPIC battle. For now, let’s take a break from an EPIC game of cat and mouse and enjoy a nice high school anime filled with romance, comedy, and yes, my fellow fighting otaku, plenty of beat downs. Grab some popcorn, get your other favorite anime-viewing snacks and refreshments together and kick back for the first volume of Tenjho Tenge (Heaven and Earth).

Based on the worldwide smash manga series originally appearing in Shuiesha’s V Jump”comics by Oh! Great, and produced by Geneon Entertainment, Tenjho Tenge focuses on 15-year olds Souichiro Nagi and “Bob” Makihara (aka the Knuckle Bombs) who are newly enrolled students at Todou Academy with plans of conquest as they did with their previous schools. However they soon discover that Todou is not some ordinary Japanese high school, but is really a school that was founded to teach and preserve various martial arts. After DESTROYING the senior class, Souichiro and Bob are single-handedly defeated by Maya Natsume, captain of the Juken club and her second-in-command Masataka Takayanagi. Souichiro is then hunted down by Maya’s sister, Aya, Tenjho Tenge dvd coverwho instantly falls in love with Souichiro because of a Natsume woman’s tradition. This sets off events in which the Juken Club is involved in a decades-old feud.

The first four episodes have a strong background story, especially with Souichiro after he was defeated by Masataka Takayanagi that reminds him that losing is never an option. In between the romance and chase of Souichiro by Aya, we learn more about the sisters Natsume who are strong willed but have their own unique abilities. Here’s a heads up: Tenjho Tenge nearly goes beyond the standards of fan service with the panty shots, views of the Natsume sisters’ breasts and the usual tough guy talk and battles that will make its viewers think it’s a cross of Fist of the North Star and Battle Royale but in an acceptable viewing format.

Besides the four episodes, the DVD includes, in addition to upcoming Geneon titles, clean openings and closings with the two main songs. I especially enjoyed having Lyndsey listen to TT’s opening song EVERY episode (yes, my evil plan did work. Editor’s note: No, it didn’t. He thinks it did. That opening — Bomb-a-Head — is one of the worst songs I have ever heard). I want to commend Geneon Entertainment’s U.S. branch for producing and dubbing alongside BangZoom! Entertainment and for choosing the great cast that included Johnny Yong Bosch, Stephanie Sheh (Bleach) and Wendee Lee (Cowboy Bebop) playing their respective roles. In short, Tenjho Tenge Volume 1 gets a 4.

Tenjho Tenge is, without doubt, a mix of all anime high school dramas , but with more kick. I’m very excited that this series will re-release its awesomeness soon thanks to the good folks of Discotek Media since Geneon USA is no longer in business. But for good laughs, martial arts action, high school romance (minus the overused clichés) and fan service, TT is good for you. Now to give the HBJ group their new official theme song, Bomb-a-Head.

Brandon Beatty is editor-at-large for Gaming Insurrection. He can be reached by email at brandonb@gaminginsurrection.com

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Top 5 on The Strip: Asian superheroes

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Administrator

Psylocke

Psylocke

Betsy Braddock wasn’t born Japanese. No, that didn’t happen until she switched bodies with Kwannon, a Japanese assassin. Braddock’s original body was compromised by the Legacy Virus, and Kwannon died. The six-armed mutant Spiral the cause of the mind switch to start with, and whenever Spiral is involved, things never end the way they’re supposed to.

Doctor Light-Kimiyo Hoshi

Doctor Light

Kimiyo Hoshi was an astronomer who happened to be observing a subtle battle between the Monitor and Anti-Monitor. The Monitor activated her as part of his plan to keep the positive universe ahead. Bright, sexy and a doctor? Sign us up for positive sexual healing.

Silver Samurai

Silver Samurai

Keniuchio Harada is the illegitimate son of a Japanese crime boss. He learned he was a mutant and then applied his skills to further his crime aspirations. You can’t say he didn’t put them to good use as a criminal because he later managed to turn over a new leaf and stay on the straight and narrow. Well, until Blindspot forced him to forget that he was a superhero.

Naiad

Naiad

In her human life, Naiad was a protestor in Alaska that was set on fire and killed. After that, she became a powerful elemental force in the DC universe. Not too much can be said about someone who’s basically a part of nature itself. She makes waves wherever she wants. Sea what we did there?

Sunfire

Sunfire

Shiro Yashida comes from the same clan as the Silver Samurai, but is significantly less criminally inclined. He’s neutral, though the fact that he can generate plasma from his body and was listed as one of the “Legendary Twelve” mutants (as an elemental) is important enough that his presence is necessary in quite a few fights. Most of the time, however, he chooses not to get involved in the X-Men’s affairs despite being a member.

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Strip Talk #14: My love of anime began with comics

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Administrator

Lyndsey-101612-cutoutMany a time, my origins as a comic book nerd has come up in this column. And it’s no surprise, given that I spend a lot of time researching my favorite franchises and characters as well as playing various video games involving superheroes and villains teaming up. But what’s a little less well-known about me is my love for anime.

True, you can see some of that fervor spilling over in the Anime Lounge, the newest addition to The Strip. As I’ve pointed out before, I watched a lot of anime when I was in college and didn’t really pick it up again until after the end of my marriage. But, my love for anime really began with comic books. I loved to imagine my favorite characters in cartoon form and what better way than to read manga or watch anime? As it turns out, I preferred my adventures in animated motion form so I stuck with anime mostly, but I have been known to read a little manga in my day.

Comic books paved the way for my love, though, because it was printed material and I loved to read. I still do. Believe it or not, I parlayed my love for samurai and their history into a love for the X-Men that still stands today. That love of the X-Men turned into a need to watch the legendary Fox animated series, which in turn lead me to other series that became anime in the form of Cartoon Network’s Toonami. The long, convoluted chain of like breeding love actually got its start even further back because I originally got into comic books through Archie Comics and the printed tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

So you see, this relationship with comics and roundabout relationship with anime merely began with a simple exposure to mutated amphibians, mutated people with special powers and kids living in Riverdale. How I managed to move from samurai to the X-Men, I’m not sure, but I do know that I equated the group with samurai being farmed out on retainer from a lord — that’d be Charles Xavier — who wanted his interests respected and protected in the world. My fondness of the romance between Archie, Betty and Veronica led directly to my preference for romantic comedy anime and just about any anime dealing with the start of relationships.

It’s amazing how young love can shape future viewing habits.

Lyndsey Hicks is editor-in-chief of Gaming Insurrection. She can be reached by email at gicomics@gaminginsurrection.com

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