Correction: Cinder is in the RWBY volume 5 opening. I just didn't think I saw her because she is on the same side of the screen and has the same color scheme as Raven. Tyrian doesn't appear in it and hasn't appeared yet, but he's supposed to be getting a new tail. As of this writing, Nick Landis (Lanipator) has appeared about three times, and this latest appearance as a barkeep was glorious, as he uses his well-known Piccolo voice. He'd previously voiced an angry businessman at Weiss's dad's party and the assassin sent to kill Blake's dad's messenger. This is especially impressive since Chris Sabat voices Dr. Watts, and I couldn't tell which one of the two actors it was at first.
Telltale Guardians of the Galaxy finished strong. The last two installments were better than the rest of the series. I especially like Drax's characterization, even though this character model doesn't look much like Dave Batista. Since I don't read the comics, I don't know how he's supposed to feel about Mantis. In the promos for the second movie, he seemed not to like her, but that might not be accurate. In Telltale, he notices that everyone's arguing is physically hurting her so yells at them to stop until he passes out. I also liked thepart where he says "I am the leader? Then I order all of you to kneel before me!" after they praise him for not being materialistic as opposed to Peter, their actual leader. The fourth episode was all Drax, and that probably would've made it the best one if the finale wasn't so good. I like this version of Mantis, at least. I like she can do with her powers in this and how she feels about using them. Her character model is cuter than her movie counterpart too, in my opinion. As for Minecraft Story Mode, Ivor's a ninja now. Great. Another episode of Batman came out also, so that's a lot in a short period of time. I can't really say anything about it without spoiling it, though. Maybe next time.
Teen Titans Go did another Thanksgiving episode, and it was not as good as the other one (which I don't remember being all that good either, but it had Trigon as an earlier episode had promised). Some parts made me smile, but overall it was kind of a train wreck. Why why why why why would they do such an episode with these characters?!
Friday, November 24, 2017
Tuesday, November 21, 2017
5 Times the Power Rangers were Dicks
As much as some of us hate to admit, our heroes aren't always the good guys we hold them up to be. Sometimes they slip up - badly. A few examples stand out in my mind, either as habitual behavior or isolated incidents. These do not include spells or substances that affected their behavior. Whether or not they learned a lesson from it as part of a character arc or plot point, here are the things that didn't sit right with me even after they were resolved.
1. Mighty Morphin: Either at the time or viewed with Nostalgia Goggles, Bulk and Skull were fan favorite characters. As such, some would say the Ranger Team didn't give them the respect they deserved. I disagree, as they were introduced as bullies and didn't really improve until later on when they became the genuine comedy relief and heroes in their own right. However, there may have been some moments in MMPR where the Rangers said or did some things that were unfair to them. An example that features prominently in my mind is when they're on the Island of Illusion and Kimberly's hallucination has to do with Bulk and Skull (still bullies at this point) being good guys. Mind you, everyone is supposed to be seeing something they're afraid of to make them doubt themselves. I blame the writers just as much as Kimberly on this one, as it makes no goddamn sense.
2. Mystic Force: In that same vein, there was that time the Mystic Force team had to leave work to take care of a problem, and the only other employee left was Leelee, who used to be their enemy. Their boss isn't in on the whole Ranger business, so he chews them out upon their return (part of the reason for hiring Leelee was their repeated absence). On the one hand, they had to go regardless, and they weren't exactly happy that Leelee was working with them as they weren't sure if they could trust her or not. On the other hand, poor Leelee. They warm up to her after they see her genuine hard work.
3. Jungle Fury: Leaving your former enemy to run the business while you're out is one thing, but what about your friend? The Jungle Fury team left Fran in charge of the pizzeria while they were out fighting evil, and she wasn't pleased with them taking advantage of her like that time and again. Even when they were there, without RJ to lead them, they would argue and push their work onto her. She's happy to help, but there's only so much one person can do to run a pizza shop on her own, especially during a rush...which makes me wonder what RJ did before the team showed up. This is before Fran found out about the Ranger thing, though. She got a raise out of it, at least.
4. Mystic Force (again): The Mystic Force Rangers find themselves in hot water when they have to face the Tribunal of Magic. Basically, if the teens hadn't been a bunch of lazy sh*t-heads, Imperious wouldn't have gotten his Dark Wish. They have to prove themselves worthy in order for the Tribunal to reverse the Wish, and it wasn't easy. Usually a storyline will be written around one team member slacking off and dealing with the consequences, but the entire team f*cked up and we got a three-parter out of it.
5. Super Samurai: Negligence is one thing, but actively shunning and bad-mouthing someone is worse. Jayden leaves so his sister can lead the team as she was always intended to. He didn't need to leave, and his departure causes the rest of the team to revolt. They do not accept Lauren as their leader or a member of the team after this. Lauren didn't do anything to deserve this, as Linkara pointed out in his review of Samurai. They got Jayden back and reinstated him as leader. At least when Alex tried to take over again in Time Force, he was unlikeable by that point.
1. Mighty Morphin: Either at the time or viewed with Nostalgia Goggles, Bulk and Skull were fan favorite characters. As such, some would say the Ranger Team didn't give them the respect they deserved. I disagree, as they were introduced as bullies and didn't really improve until later on when they became the genuine comedy relief and heroes in their own right. However, there may have been some moments in MMPR where the Rangers said or did some things that were unfair to them. An example that features prominently in my mind is when they're on the Island of Illusion and Kimberly's hallucination has to do with Bulk and Skull (still bullies at this point) being good guys. Mind you, everyone is supposed to be seeing something they're afraid of to make them doubt themselves. I blame the writers just as much as Kimberly on this one, as it makes no goddamn sense.
2. Mystic Force: In that same vein, there was that time the Mystic Force team had to leave work to take care of a problem, and the only other employee left was Leelee, who used to be their enemy. Their boss isn't in on the whole Ranger business, so he chews them out upon their return (part of the reason for hiring Leelee was their repeated absence). On the one hand, they had to go regardless, and they weren't exactly happy that Leelee was working with them as they weren't sure if they could trust her or not. On the other hand, poor Leelee. They warm up to her after they see her genuine hard work.
3. Jungle Fury: Leaving your former enemy to run the business while you're out is one thing, but what about your friend? The Jungle Fury team left Fran in charge of the pizzeria while they were out fighting evil, and she wasn't pleased with them taking advantage of her like that time and again. Even when they were there, without RJ to lead them, they would argue and push their work onto her. She's happy to help, but there's only so much one person can do to run a pizza shop on her own, especially during a rush...which makes me wonder what RJ did before the team showed up. This is before Fran found out about the Ranger thing, though. She got a raise out of it, at least.
4. Mystic Force (again): The Mystic Force Rangers find themselves in hot water when they have to face the Tribunal of Magic. Basically, if the teens hadn't been a bunch of lazy sh*t-heads, Imperious wouldn't have gotten his Dark Wish. They have to prove themselves worthy in order for the Tribunal to reverse the Wish, and it wasn't easy. Usually a storyline will be written around one team member slacking off and dealing with the consequences, but the entire team f*cked up and we got a three-parter out of it.
5. Super Samurai: Negligence is one thing, but actively shunning and bad-mouthing someone is worse. Jayden leaves so his sister can lead the team as she was always intended to. He didn't need to leave, and his departure causes the rest of the team to revolt. They do not accept Lauren as their leader or a member of the team after this. Lauren didn't do anything to deserve this, as Linkara pointed out in his review of Samurai. They got Jayden back and reinstated him as leader. At least when Alex tried to take over again in Time Force, he was unlikeable by that point.
Monday, November 13, 2017
Let's Talk about Emerald Sustrai
The villains of RWBY are quite the cast of characters. My favorite out of Salem's henchmen is Hazel because he helped Oscar get a ticket and didn't want Sienna Khan to be killed. However, someone seems to be missing from the overall line-up as of late - Emerald. In season 4, Mercury and Emerald were still at Cinder's side but realized they were nothing compared to the rest of Salem's henchmen, to say nothing of Neo being missing/presumed dead and Torchwick having been devoured by a Grimm in season 3. During season 4, Cinder couldn't talk and would whisper to Emerald in order for her to communicate; in season 5, Cinder seems to have gotten a little better and no longer needs her to do so. We still see Yang fighting with Mercury in the season 5 OP, but Emerald is nowhere to be seen. Assuming this means anything and Yang will get a rematch with Mercury, what happened to Emerald? We saw her smiling when she tricked Pyrrha into killing Penny, but during the fall of Beacon, she had a "What have I done?" moment as the Grimm overran the academy and surrounding area. No longer needed and wanting nothing to do with the Grimm, she might just leave the group and go off on her own. Mercury is at least on board with everything and is able to fight even though he's less important than the likes of Tyrian and others. Cinder isn't in the OP, but we've seen her, so maybe we just haven't seen Emerald yet. If she stays, what would they use her for, if anything? The last thing we've seen her do with her semblance is help Cinder train to get revenge on Ruby. Fighting and stealing seem to be lower on the group's list of priorities at this time.
We've seen that Salem is helping Cinder recover and become stronger, and we've recently heard her give orders to have Tyrian's tail replaced. If nothing else, she takes care of her followers. In a sense, they're no use to her crippled, but she seems to at least have an investment in Cinder, who has acquired the powers of the Fall Maiden. Is Cinder going to absorb the Spring Maiden's powers as the OP suggests (it's Vernal, in case that wasn't obvious)? If in fact she can only harness the power of one Maiden, would Emerald be the next choice? Some people are suggesting that Neo, who has been rumored to return, will be the Spring Maiden. Will the fate of the Spring Maiden be the crux of season 5 as the Fall Maiden was in season 3? Will future seasons deal with the Winter and Summer Maidens? I doubt that Team RWBY will face off against Salem at the end of this season like the end of the OP, but I believe they will be reunited as the fate of Haven hangs in the balance.
We've seen that Salem is helping Cinder recover and become stronger, and we've recently heard her give orders to have Tyrian's tail replaced. If nothing else, she takes care of her followers. In a sense, they're no use to her crippled, but she seems to at least have an investment in Cinder, who has acquired the powers of the Fall Maiden. Is Cinder going to absorb the Spring Maiden's powers as the OP suggests (it's Vernal, in case that wasn't obvious)? If in fact she can only harness the power of one Maiden, would Emerald be the next choice? Some people are suggesting that Neo, who has been rumored to return, will be the Spring Maiden. Will the fate of the Spring Maiden be the crux of season 5 as the Fall Maiden was in season 3? Will future seasons deal with the Winter and Summer Maidens? I doubt that Team RWBY will face off against Salem at the end of this season like the end of the OP, but I believe they will be reunited as the fate of Haven hangs in the balance.
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