Superhero Media: Infamous Iron Man

In a world were Tony Stark has sacrificed himself to save the Earth from an alien menace, who will fill the role of Iron Man? The answer is, of course, Victor Von Doom. After the events of Secret War (the other one), Doom is returned to Earth, Latveria is in ruins and he has had the epiphany that being a "villain" has not turned out they way he wanted. The natural conclusion that Doom reaches? Become the new Iron Man. As a big fan of Doom, I like seeing him in the hero role, even if the concept is a little trite. Doom 2099 was great, and I should probably read it again at some stage, but Infamous Iron Man hits all of the right notes and goes about as far as you can in the 616 continuity. Seeing Doom work through his emotional baggage, and struggle to interact like a human sometimes makes from some great quiet moments, and some exceptional character scenes when other characters interact with the "new" Doom. 

The artwork, by Alex Maleev, has an impressionistic look, which suits the theme of Doom's disassociation from his former self, but the action scenes are pretty ugly and hard to follow as a result. And that's when the art doesn't cop-out by cutting away, or just not really showing the climatic fight, a magical battle between Doom and Mephisto with Doctor Strange helping out Doom. That could have been really visually interesting in the hands of a better artist, but really lets down the epic conclusion of the mini-series. Of course, it doesn't help that Brian Michael Bendis barely writes a finale, but I'm willing to cut him a little more slack given how many comics Marvel has him writing every month. Again, the smaller moments, like Doom talking to Ben Grimm or exchanges with Ironheart, are where Infamous Iron Man is strongest, as Doom is one of the smartest people on the planet, making excellent points, while all anyone can remember is the several times he nearly destroyed the planet and/or killed a bunch of people. 

Although this is just a mini-series, Victor Von Doom, the Iron Man, continues on in some Avengers comics, but all things being as they are in comics, by the time you're reading this, Doom has likely long-since returned to his old ways. As much as retcons and reboots are something comics fans like to complain about, returns to the status quo are how we get fun little diversions like Infamous Iron Man. Of course Stark will return to the suit at some point, but the comics where Doctor Doom is a hero and everyone is blindsided will sit on my shelves for years to come. Currently there isn't a Heroclix version of the character, but as soon as one isn't a silly price on the secondary market, I'll be sure to be grabbing one for my collection of Dooms. Also certainly a consideration for my "AvengerZ" articles down the track, if I ever get back to them.

Soopha Dewper Super Sayians - Part 7

In attempting to get more of my friends to play the Dragon Ball Z Collectable Card Game (FuZion Format), I've had to start approaching it from a more Magic the Gathering-based perspective. You see, most of the people I play cards with only play Commander, a MtG multiplayer variant, so framing FuZion through that lens could well help me bring some of them across. Something card players like pretty much more than anything else is shiny cards with nice art, especially foiled versions if they can get them. So if I were to make a deck that was full of foiled cards that had a play-style analogous to a popular Magic deck, well maybe that'd give me a way in, right? So anyway, that's why I built Blue Ginyu.

For those that never played the Dragon Ball Z games, especially the Panini version, and are only familiar with the anime, building Captain Ginyu may seem like an odd choice, however, Ginyu was once the best decks going around. Each turn in FuZion, you start by powering up and then drawing three cards, with some clever deck building, you can probably get more cards in your hand, but having more than three attacks and/or blocks is pretty rare. What makes Ginyu different is that he can pull out his Allies (the rest of the Ginyu force) and they can do the fighting for him. When the format had a limited card pool, Allies could be very deadly, and there's still room there for good decks. In fact, I had a Ginyu Force Orange Allies deck before FuZion came along and have considered bringing it back as Freestlye Beats.

I also decided to jump in on the My Hero Academia CCG, because a few people at work were giving it a go and it looked cool. I've only played with the intro decks so far, but the mechanics are fun and there are almost no dead cards in the entire game. I'm going to start building an All Might deck, mostly because I pulled good cards for him and he looks easy to play, but also because my other option is the short guy who throws his balls at people. Not going to cover everything about the game and my deck building here like FuZion unless I start playing it a lot, but it's another Superhero card game, so of course I had to take a look, even if I'm not a huge fan of the programme. Interestingly, this game is based on the UniVerses system by Jasco, so, in theory, I could play my My Hero Academia characters against the old Megaman card game characters? I'll look more into that, even if I'm also not a big Megaman fan.

Superhero Media: Indestructible Man (1956)

My extended Golden Age kick continues with this supernatural Noir thriller starring none other than Lon Chaney Jr! Notorious criminal Charles "The Butcher" Benton is executed for a violent robbery, taking the secret of the stolen cash to his grave, but the intervention of a well-meaning scientist brings him back to life, stronger, tougher and completely Indestructible! More of a detective story, and a riff on Frankenstein, Indestructible Man has plenty of great fodder for pulp and Golden Age supers games. A mute, bulletproof, revenant criminal is a brilliant antagonist for just about any hero, as he looks like anyone else, but can't be stopped. Probably the best element of The Bucther's character is that he isn't on a rampage, he wants his money, his girl and to get revenge on the three people who turned States' Evidence against him, but the only people that get hurt are the ones that get in his way. It reminds me of classic monster villains like the Glob or Missing Link; there's a pathos and tragedy to the character that is endearing. 

Facing down The Butcher is police Lieutenant Dick Chasen (no, really), the kind of no-nonsense detective Noir is famous for, with a drinking problem and high-waisted trousers. Not all that distant from, say, The Spirit, The Shadow, Phantom Reporter or even early Batman, when you get down to it. A mute, bulletproof criminal bent on revenge would make for a challenging antagonist for any character without a lot of powers, and opens the door for scientific and/or magical solution, as well as mundane ones; in the film, The Butcher is taken out by a massive electrical current. Perhaps "evil Luke Cage" isn't the best concept for a recurring or ongoing villain, but various takes on Frankenstein's Monster are already prevalent in comics, so one more can't really hurt. Man, I really want to run a Golden Age campaign now, I should finally buy that copy of Pulp Alley. 

If you're not a regular viewer of classic films, Indestructible Man may be a tad difficult to digest, not just with the acting and cheap camera work typical of this kind of matinee fare, but in some of the ways they tend to date. For example, the film ends with Chasen proposing to his girlfriend, after having gotten her fired from her job so that she has to say 'yes' or lose housing; yikes. Seeing Police arm themselves up with BARs and Flame throwers is fun, but in this age of militarised police, there is an undercurrent of discomfort, especially as the plan from the beginning is to kill a man. The idea of a character's only power being invulnerability to harm is pretty interesting to me, I have such a character in my Equalisers team, and I'll explore it more down the track with a book I'll talk about here, but it's interesting to think that it's usually a secondary power, or part of a suite.

Drokk the Law!! - Part XVI

Two weeks in a row? My goodness, what a treat! Well, this wasn't so much planned as it was just how I wrapped up some miniatures that were lying around. This time, the long-promised Yakuza (Mobsters), that never quite came together before now somehow. 

Again with the Necromunda tile sorry, distracted by Halo and MESBG terrain for work. From the left, Juve (Stargrave), Mobster (Heroclix), Mobster (Urban War), Mobster (Heroclix), Punk (Urban War) and Blitzer (Urban War). Mobsters offer an interesting alternative to the Street Gang for just having a group of normal humans with guns. Whilst Punks and Juves are available, Mobsters are Heroes by default and other options like Blitzers and Assassins are more expensive and specialised. Doing a gang mostly made up of heroes is possible and can make for a characterful project. I have more Urban War models for this gang to come as well as a few more Juves to expand it a little. 

Superhero Media: Dragon Ball Z - Battle of Gods

How do you relaunch one of the most popular Anime franchises in history for a new century and a new generation? By adding a couple of new toyetic characters and giving Goku a new form, apparently. I really want to like Battle of Gods, there's a lot going on that I like to see in DB, such as the characters enjoying downtime, the "Otherworld" and Goku losing a fight. The animation is sharp, some of the best in the history of the franchise, with plenty of great fluid movement that isn't traditionally associated with Anime. In terms of the narrative, however, Battle of Gods leaves me cold. I like Beerus and Whis, and their role[s] later on in DBS are excellent, but here their only purpose seems to be to propel Goku to the next stage, "Super Sayian God". As much as people complain that the story of Battle of Gods was re-run in DBS, but, to me, this feels more like an introductory Saga to a new status quo, like the Trunks or Great Sayiaman Sagas before it. 

The Goku/Beerus fight is very cool to watch, and the bigger budget of the film format allows for a great spectacle, but I just cannot engage with it as much as I want to. There is almost no threat to the fight, with Beerus being unable to lose and the "Destruction of the Earth" never feeling like a real possibility with all of the godlike beings that hang around the main cast by this point. There are no stakes, as the Hollywood people would say, so there's no tension and I can't get invested. I do like that Whis and Beerus are just part of the cast from this point on, but the fact that the "Destroyer God" doesn't do anything other than eat and sleep wears thin as a joke pretty fast. Because, you know, he's a cat. Do the Destroyers in the other universes do the same? It's hard to imagine the clown guy just napping all the time, but maybe it works differently now. Oh, and the film ends with Beerus pointing out that there are more universes, because Goku needs to have stronger guys to fight. 

Again, I really want to like Battle of Gods, but I just can't get there with it; there's too many little things that bug me about it. Like, is this the first DB outing where Bulma is just stupid rich? I mean, she's always had money, but now she can give away a literal castle and a pile of gold at her birthday party? Ok, so it's good for some jokes and it's great to have the Pilaf gang back, but does Bulma really let her oldest friends rot in poverty when she has so much money? That's cold, Bulma. The Pilaf gang being back is amazing, 10 out of 10, would watch these guys as their own spin-off, especially with the Trunks/Mai pairing that pays off later in DBS. I know that sexuality is barely a thing in DB, but boy is Trunks in for a shock, given that Mai is technically in her forties and has a lifetime of "experience". As a jumping-on point, Battle of Gods is pretty lore-heavy, but it still looks great and I know some people who got their start here, so maybe check it out if older, clunky Anime tends to turn you off.

Drokk the Law!! - Part XV

Staring down a handful of weeks until my next gaming session with Andy, I have finally managed to finish another one of my "starter" gangs for Judge Dredd. This time, my Street Gang, The Miameg Dolphins.

Excuse the in-progess Necromunda tile, I'm preparing for several campaigns and tournaments at the same time. The majority of the models are converted Blood Bowl plastics, with various Necromunda and other bits, the little Juve at the back is Stargrave and Wargames Atlantic parts. Gangs in JDMG can purchase "Sports Armour", basically gridiron gear, as one of the better options and when I remembered I had some Blood Bowl models lying around gathering dust, it seemed like a fun project. I will be adding more models to this gang once I finish up another couple of things for other teams first.

Superhero Media: Fantastic 4 Rise of the Silver Surfer

Ok, so this one took so long because my DVD copy of Fantastic 4 Rise of the Silver Surfer was corrupted and I wanted to finish up some other stuff on Disney+ before I forced myself through this again. Much like the previous film, Rise of the Silver Surfer has an excellent cast, now expanded with Doug Jones, Laurence Fishburne and Andre Braugher, but fails to do anything interesting with the embarrassment of riches available. Unlike the later, and much worse, Fant4stic, the crew of Rise of the Silver Surfer seem to have at least read some FF comics, as elements like the Fantasticar are present, as well as lines lifted directly from classic and newer comics. I don't believe that the cast and crew didn't care about the material, or not want to make a good film, I just think it fell apart with a few poor choices, and no, not just making Galactus a cloud for some reason. 

Actually, Galactus being a cloud is not my major bugbear with Rise of the Silver Surfer; I'll admit that it's dumb, but I can see how a studio ended up there by not wanting to have the giant purple guy on-screen. My take has always been that the cloud is just hiding Galactus' ship, and we get a glimpse in the climax, rather than the cloud actually being Galactus, but that's me. Doom is back, and up to his tricks in attempting to steal the power of the Silver Surfer, one of his more memorable Silver Age jaunts, but most of the story is sidelined for Reed and Sue having wedding jitters, because that's less expensive to film. If the adaptation of Fantastic Four was a television series rather than a motion picture, this approach to the family drama would actually be pretty good, especially with the smaller moments like Ben and Johnny talking about how they want to ride out the end of the world, but here it just reads as padding for the most part. 

All in, Rise of the Silver Surfer was a fun watch, in the same way the Ang Lee Hulk is fun; it's not the best, but there's enough there for me to enjoy that I don't feel my time has been wasted. Sometimes a crummy but fun film is just what you want for a slow afternoon, and, for all its flaws, Rise of the Silver Surfer is at least competently acted and reasonably funny. Doctor Doom may be a pale imitation of the real thing, but he still does Doom things and chews the scenery like a pro. Until we get the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the Fantastic Four, this is likely to be the second best live action film featuring the characters, so my advice is to enjoy it for what it is, rather than waste time pointlessly wishing it was something else. Hell, pop this in halfway through your latest Brooklyn 99 re-watch for a bit of a laugh if that's what it takes. And maybe just bite on a belt or something when the Galactus cloud is on the screen?

Ultimate Alliance China: Part VI

One of the workshops in the Engineering department had been hastily converted by the student protestors into something of an iron monger's; building barricades, shields and other weapons intended to fend off police incursions. A bench was quickly cleared and a sextet of students dragged the damaged and soiled body of Inframan off the floor and pulled a spotlight over the workspace. Almost immediately, an argument started in both English and Cantonese over how to approach the, seemingly-impossible, task of repairing a bionic superhero built in the 1970s. The tools at hand in the workshop were reasonable, especially given the many student hands they had passed through over the years, but none were of a Super Science Team quality, even going back forty years. Vice-grips and pliers removed wedged bullets and knife-tips while ratchet-straps from someone's car kept Inframan from thrashing too badly, but it took an enterprising handyman with a grinder and an old screwdriver to finally make a tool that could unfasten the chest-plate.

The insides of Inframan were shockingly sleek and chrome, even with the years of storage and the recent battle. A collection of esoteric pumps, pistons, tubes and circuits kept the robotic and human elements of Inframan running and in sync. A few probings and measurements were made gingerly, no one wanting to risk damaging the apparatus, but each feeling that doing nothing may actually be worse. A medical student produced a stethoscope and confirmed something reminiscent of a heartbeat, though what that meant remained a mystery to everyone present.

The bustle and jabber of the room fell silent with the entry of Cassandra Cain, a Criminology/Psychology student whose fierce intellect and general intensity gave her a palpable aura of "don't fuck with me". In a personally unique combination of English, Mandarin and at least two forms of sign language, Cain cleared the room in seconds. Flipping open a custom-built communication device a few years ahead of consumer electronics, Cain made contact with Oracle, another former holder of the Batgirl mantle, and technical advisor for the Justice League as well as what Nightwing jokingly called the "Bat-Family", of which she was a part. Typically Oracle was represented on-screen by a cryptic symbol, but as she and Cassandra had become close friends during the "No Man's Land" debacle, so she could see Barbara's bespectacled face. She signed "I'm in." in American Sign Language at the screen and awaited instruction.

Oracle quickly ran Cain through the process of connecting her device to Inframan's archaic Coaxial Network port, which required some quick soldering with whatever in the USB family Cassie could find lying around and a small amount of swearing. The data stream was patchy, but enough that Oracle could pull out the pertinent bytes and get them running on her hyper-advanced system. For all the leaps and bounds which computing had taken since Inframan was constructed, the process of converting from archaic programming languages intended for Mandarin speakers into something that could run now in something appropriating English (though both Oracle and Cassandra spoke multiple languages) took time. So that precious moments weren't wasted, Cassandra finished up the work of removing foreign objects and any obvious damage she could with the available tools.

Oracle grumbled something about data corruption and magnetic tape, Cassandra suppressing a smile; Barbara wouldn't bat an eyelid facing a horde or armed bikers, but mess with her system and the griping would never stop. The code-name Oracle was not factitious however, and soon a facsimile of Inframan's personality was running on a virtual clone of the famous Bat-Computer like any other program.

"Where am I?" even through the synthesizer, the voice was clearly of a scared and confused man, "I can't see."

"You're in an engineering lab in Hong Kong," Cassie didn't have the most soothing voice, having not learned to talk until nearly an adult, "what is the last thing you remember Officer Hayama?"

The cyborg did his best to look around with his limited movement, shaking violently as ancient servos ground together. Instinctively, Cassie put Inframan's hand in her own and squeezed, taking a moment to recall that the appendage was entirely metal and plastic.

"I had just helped the police halt a riot in Hong Kong," Hayama ceased trying to turn his head, "I needed repairs, so they put me under, it was 1992."

"It's 2018," Cassie had been raised to favour directness, time spent with other Bat-heroes had not softened this edge, "you have been warehoused for decades because there was not the funding to repair you."

Two sounds filled the space, one was the low electronic buzzing that Cassie had come to associate with Oracle exhaling through her nostrils in lieu of sighing, and a kind of popping like old mobile phone signals interfering with a speaker. In a moment of clarity, she realised that Inframan was sobbing as best as his vocal synthesizer allowed.

"Officer Hayama," Oracle's voice cut into the reverie, "do you recall the man you fought tonight? The reason you were damaged and why you were brought here?"

With the sound of a physical drive starting up, Inframan's eyes began to flicker like an antique pinball machine and his body became rigidly still. Cassie's laptop screen opened a new window that Oracle sent, showing the fight between Inframan and the Masked Warrior from a first-person perspective. An analysis of the Masked Warrior's movements began and soon his Bat-Computer file was scrolling next to the playing footage. Cassie noticed that even Batman hadn't confirmed his identity, having instead a list of around four suspects of varying likelihood.

"Masked Warrior, vigilante, Shanghai based, likely legacy title," Inframan recited the information as he received it, "typically battles organised crime, why was he fighting me?"

"A lot has changed since you were last awake," Cassie's directness was occasionally a boon, "Hong Kong is Chinese territory again and the People's Army is attempting to occupy the city. The people of Hong Kong are resisting, but have no international support and the elections are rigged. They need a champion again."

A series of drive noises and flashing lights accompanied a very robotic twitching as Inframan processed the new data. The screen now showed a rapid series of images of the Hong Kong riots interposed with monster battles and representations of the British occupation. The robotic hands began to flex and Cassie withdrew hers before it was crushed. All a sudden, the lights and movement stopped.

"Fix me," Inframan demanded, "I need to defend my city."

Superhero Media: Kings Watch

Ever wonder what a potential, big-budget, Hollywood Defenders of the Earth would look like? Wonder no more, as Dynamite Comics has given us Kings Watch, a thoroughly modern take on a Flash Gordon/Mandrake/Phantom team up that is... pretty good, I guess? Look, the problem with comparing smaller comic production houses like Dynamite to the "big boys" of Marvel and DC is that they don't have the same deep pockets and pools of artists and writers to work with, so rarely deliver work of the same level. For example, whilst Kings Watch has a great plot and decent art, the character dialogue is patchy and the art doesn't always match what the characters are saying. The first time I read the trade, the flaws didn't bother me that much, but each time I go back to it, they're a little more pronounced and spoil my enjoyment that touch more. Ok, so maybe I shouldn't have read Kings Watch right after Invincible, but my point still stands. 

Flash Gordon, Hans Zarkhov, Dale Arden, The Phantom and Lothar are separately investigating strange occurrences across the world when fate brings them together to combat Cobra, a doomsday cult intent on summoning the great god Ming from the nether-realm of Mongo using an ancient device known as the Kings Watch. Even with the help of, possibly immortal, master wizard Mandrake, these impromptu "Defenders of the Earth" are unable to prevent the opening of the portal and the Armies of Mongo invade the world. A war erupts across the face of the planet, with Mandrake, The Phantom and Flash Gordon leading the charge. After some success battling the invaders, our heroes learn that this is only the beginning and that they must go to Mongo and confront Ming themselves. Kings Watch is pretty decent, despite the flaws that hurt the readability, there's some odd plot twists towards the end that I won't spoil, but the real sticking point for me is how this just kind of reads like a script for a film. 

Yes, I admit, I'd nerd-out pretty hard for a big-budget Hollywood Defenders of the Earth film, and I spent way too much time and effort on this blog discussing that very idea in the past, but this kind of "soft-pitch" comic, as a phenomenon, is starting to get on my nerves. Elements like the presentation of The Phantom, Mandrake being played like Doctor Strange and the "epic destiny" of the characters comes across as someone who knows about the characters, but not what makes them beloved, so has fit them to popular film archetypes instead. The adventures of Jungle Batman, Doctor Strange and Batman but just the rich guy part is not what I want from this franchise, I want Mandrake's "Fast Hypnotism", The Phantom calling on the power of ten tigers and Flash Gordon killing bad guys with a spaceship to the heart. Kings Watch is still a good read and worth it for those interested in the characters, but I wonder if it's a sign of things to come for this franchise.

Danton - Part VI

At last! The final installment of this nonsense! I promise that I won't be revisiting any of my ideas from high school again soon, even the "good" ones that still exist in my broader Equalisers setting somewhere. Honestly, I only really wanted to preserve this for some kind of posterity and this blog is just obscure enough to suit my purposes there. So here we go, Danton, for the last time anywhere.

Danton - Lord of the Ring

After establishing democracy in France, Doctor Strange has retired and Schama has retreated to his empire in Russia. One day, Zorro comes to Doctor Strange and presents him with the One Ring. Doctor Strange realises what it is and collects a group of warriors to take it to Mount Vesuvius and destroy it. Zorro, Link, Dr Colossus, Mister Staypuff and Dobbie depart from Paris among much fanfare and travel for days before remembering that they could just used the Chronosphere. Returning to Paris, the fellowship find that the Chronosphere compound is occupied by a team of all-star terrorists from Canada known as "The Furious Maple Leaf".


...and that's where it all ends, mid-adventure. I'm not sure when and why I left off, but I have to guess I was either too busy or just got sick of the whole enterprise. In retrospect, it was all pretty stupid and whilst I remember having fun with it, the fact that I never really did anything with it was probably for the best. Hopefully, this has been at least a fun diversion for a few entries and we can get back to our normal nonsense.

Superhero Media: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

I remember seeing a few reviews of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power in which the author seemed to not be sure just how queer the programme was in the early seasons; myself, less than three episodes in, I was like "yep, this is gay alright". For once, I am using "gay" as a prerogative, though not to be at all insulting or dismissive, She-Ra is just super gay and that's part of what makes it amazing. For me there was a moment very early on, possibly even in the first episode (the issue with binging a programme being that individual episodes tend to blend together), where Catra is seen to not actually have her own bunk in the barracks, but habitually sleeps curled up at Adora's feet. I know that's also a visual gag about Catra being a cat, but their whole relationship and how Catra has been shaped by it, is super gay. So yes, She-Ra is just as woke, queer, technicolor and Hopepunk as you've probably heard, all whilst being well written, pretty damn smart and having a great cast. Sure, the last season feels a little rushed, but overall the programme is solid and well worth a watch. 

What I liked most about She-Ra is that it answered a question I'd had in the back of my mind for a few years; how do you do superheroes in a fantasy setting? Most fantasy settings already have beings with more-than-human powers, so is there a need for anything like a costumed hero? I've seen a few attempts in roleplaying games over the years, the Grey Guardian[s] in Pathfinder, a friend's Exalted campaign and even a recurring character in my own early Dungeons & Dragons with something of an Immortus vibe. It works in She-Ra because the titular Princesses have access to greater magical powers than the general populous of Etheria and the Horde primarily relies on technology that is weak to most forms of magic. In contrast, Bow and Entrapta use technology and are (mostly) on the hero team (I could write a whole essay about Entrapta's neurodiversity and her political agnosticism inadvertently enabling fascism), so there is a role for technology, when used harmoniously with nature and the magic native to Etheria. The whole setting is reasonably rich and deep for this kind of programming, and could make for some fun gaming. 

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power is pretty amazing, but much like Adventure Time or Big Hero 6 - The Series, the drawbacks come from being a programme for children and tweens. It's great that the world presented has queer, genderqueer and ACE representation, but I suspect in hindsight, that will just become the norm and it won't stand out as much any more. I'm getting a big cult vibe from She-Ra, like I'll be hearing about it for years from a handful of people and my liking, but not loving, the series will cause some friction with die-hard fans. And look, that's fine, my love of Tron is more than enough of a fanboy obsession that I'll forgive it in others, especially when the love is driven by hopepunk inclusive wokeness. I'm not going to be chasing down any miniatures of these characters for my own games, though I would consider Entrapta if I found one, but I would 100% be behind someone dropping models down for SuperSystem or Frostgrave if that's what they wanted to do.

Miniatures Finished: The Harvestmen

This is going to sound more "creepypasta" than this blog tends to be, but I had the idea for these robots once whilst going through my bits box and it just wouldn't leave my head. I actually dreamed about them a couple of times, so I decided to actually put them together. I mean, I dream about a lot of strange things, so this wasn't so bad, more like an idea that I had to get done so it left me alone.

The Harvestmen

From a dark and tormented city known only as The Basilisk, where nightmares are made in fused machinery and flesh, the Harvestmen come crawling, seeing new parts to make more of their number. Bladed fingers test the air, blind masks turn towards hiding places with unerring accuracy as their victims flee in vain.

Primarily made from Games Workshop parts, with the leader built around a Knight Models Scarecrow I had.

I guess I've had techno-horror on the brain for a while and this was the result?

Although these models have already appeared in a Bush Wars game (of all things), they're probably set to appear in my next lot of Multiverse shenanigans and some other supers games where I want more horror-based antagonists.

Superhero Media: Tron Legacy

I remember when I first saw Tron Legacy at the cinema; it was opening day, I went to the first showing and I don't remember more than one other person being in the cinema. It was magic. I have a bit of a soft spot for Tron to begin with, but Tron Legacy was everything I could have asked for. When the Daft Punk soundtrack started up, when the Recogniser landed, when Flynn's Arcade lit up, I was transported. A few days later, I took my then girlfriend to see the film, she hadn't seen Tron and was a few years younger than me, but I thought she would enjoy it. She did not. When I asked around as to who among my friends had seen Tron Legacy and what they thought about it, the response was also pretty negative. Not to be "that guy", but I really think most people don't get Tron Legacy; it's a story of gods and mortals, of faith and religion, of fathers and sons, and, perhaps most of all, about the power of belief in dictatorships. Tron Legacy is a masterwork of Science Fiction, but it seems no one will ever know. 

Years after the disappearance of Flynn, his son, Sam receives a clue to to his possible whereabouts which leads him to an old Tron machine at Flynn's Arcade. Before you can say "iconic sequence", Sam is sucked into The Grid and is soon fighting for his life in a nightmare dystopia ruled over by Clu, the dark, digital reflection of Flynn. The Grid is beautiful, in high-contrast gloss colours like a neo-noir fever dream, with sleek edges and hard lines to evoke the look of the original Tron whilst still remaining something entirely new; visually, Tron Legacy is a feast, better even that Avatar in my opinion. Then there's the overarching narrative, whilst Sam isn't all that interesting in of himself, the ongoing conflict between Flynn and Clu holds deep meaning. The most obvious comparison would be Paradise Lost, with Clu in the Lucifer role, but it is Flynn who is cast into the wilderness and the Isos are spawned from nowhere, so the text I'd be inclined to consider would be William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. Clu is the Urizen aspect of God, measuring out the world and not accepting of chaos and emotion interfering with his good works. 

Flynn, the true creator, retreats from his creation, while his greatest champion, Tron, is slain and resurrected to serve the Antagonist, not dissimilar to Blake's take on the Archangel Michael. Am I saying Tron Legacy is a postmodernist, digitalist take on the works of William Blake? Probably not, especially when the writer's other works are considered in the context, but the reading is there to be made and there's a decent Thesis in it for anyone who cares to try. Oh and the conflict between the spontaneously-generating Isos and the Programs made by Flynn is a whole other thing that we'll have to discuss in the next one of these. Yes, there will be a next one, as I've found one more piece of Tron media, and it explores the Isos better, so watch out for that somewhere down the track. Tron Legacy is amazing, and with any justice and a sliver of hope, it will become a cult classic for future generations. 

Danton - Part V

Ok, second-to-last one of these, but somehow the longest. Still we're almost done with this jaunt into my first youthful foray into multiverse superhero-ish writing. I can't say it hasn't been pretty awkward going over this for me, but at least I've seen the origins of some of my broader concepts and tropes, which is pretty cool for a writer.

Prelude to Bonaparte - A Danton Adventure

A young General, Napoleon Bonaparte, has risen to prominence under Dracula's regime. He is raised to the rank of General after the Schama War, being before the reunification of France a mercenary, continuing to lead his same force independently of Chewbaca in the Zombie Jesus War. During the final battle with Zombie Jesus, Napoleon discovers his ability to fire energy blasts. As a reward for his service in both the Schama and Zombie Jesus campaigns, Chewbaca grants Napoleon stewardship of Brittany.

This position makes Napoleon hunger for power, he stages a coup, killing Chewbaca and taking control of the French Lawyer army, adding it to his mercenary force. Napoleon embarks upon a naval voyage to the Middle East; upon arriving, he leads his army to victory in Jerusalem and takes for himself the Lance of Longinus, thereby becoming nigh-invincible. Upon returning to France, Napoleon discovers that it has been taken over and is ruled by a Decepticon who can transform into a Guillotine. The armies of Napoleon easily conquer France again, but are unable to penetrate the walls of Paris. Napoleon commissions Einstein to build a chronosphere.

After the chronosphere is completed, Napoleon shifts into Paris and confronts Guillotron. The battle between Guillotron and Napoleon carries on for days, much of Paris is leveled between Napoleon's Gallic Gun and Guillotron's Blaster Canon. In desperation, Napoleon uses the chronosphere on Guillotron, while he is stunned, Napoleon uses his Final Flash, which raises almost of that is left standing in Paris and destroys Guillotron. In the wreckage of Guillotron, Napoleon finds the first Dragon Ball...

Superhero Media: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Century

I was originally intending to review each of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Century volumes (1910, 1969 and 2009) individually, but, truth be told, I only really like 2009, and didn't feel like doing separate reviews of the two I didn't enjoy. Not that I feel Century is a bad read, just that if I don't follow through to the final volume, the first two are dissatisfying. Returning from their travels around the world, the, now-immortal, trio of Alan, Mina and Orlando return to the service of Mycroft Holmes, defending England from the impossible threats that haunt the shadows of the world. Joined, at first, by Carnaki the Ghost Hunter and and A.J. Raffles, the team must, across a century of action, prevent the creation and rise of the Antichrist. Friends have told me that Century is hard to read, and that they find it pretentious, as parts are essentially extended references to things Moore has watched, read and written. There is a truth to that criticism, but as a Literature nerd, I love it. 

Much of the story of Century may not make sense if you haven't also read Black Dossier, as that story comes between 1910 and 1969 in the broader narrative, and is referenced heavily in 2009. The through-line of fighting the Antichrist, however, is centred in Century, culminating with Mary Poppins (aka GOD) descending from the sky to turn the Beast into chalk. Oh, and the Antichrist is Harry Potter, feel like I may have buried the lead on that one. In Century, Harry is the "Moonchild" brought into the world to force the next cycle into darkness by Oliver Haddo, a semi-immortal occultist, whose adventures peel off from the books at some point, ending with Harry becoming aware of his nature and going on a murdering rampage through Hogwarts. If you're a diehard Potter fan, I'm sure it's pretty disgusting, but again, still way less offensive than JKR at this point. The heroes are not the best, they lose and fail repeatedly, but win out in the end despite their failings as individuals; it is certainly an interesting read. 

The prose story in Century is "Minions of the Moon" in which Mina (in her superhero guise of Vull the Invisible), the Galley-wag and his Dutch Dolls travel to the Moon to prevent a war between the Selenites and the Amazon Women on the Moon. I love comics. I'm not as enamoured with "Minions of the Moon" as I was "Alan and the Sundered Veil", but the brief interlude where Mina as Vull discusses the death of Stardust the Super Wizard with Captain Universe (probably not the one you're thinking of) is amazing in all the ways that make the comic nerd in me happy. I'd love a story expanding on Mina's team of superheroes, but we'll get to that soon enough. As a continuation to the first two volumes of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Century may leave some fans wanting, with even less heroics and fewer iconic characters, but the series remains ripe with brilliant ideas for superhero games of all kinds. If you can stomach the deep-dive into the mind of Alan Moore, the series is very rewarding, even if it never quite gets back to the levels of the first two volumes.

Danton - Part IV

You know, when I started writing these up again, I really had no idea just how much of it there was. I mean, I wrote this all in a few dull History lessons in 2004, that's long enough ago that it's pretty fuzzy for me, so I guess I suspected I didn't do all that much of this? And we're only halfway, well halfway-ish, so I hope you're not as sick of this as I'm getting.


Danton 4: Napoleon Ball Z

While Danton and company were defeating Robespierre in Otherworld, France was conquered by Napoleon, through an alliance with Chewbacca and his army of lawyers. Napoleon became Emperor by finding the Lance of Longinus and forging a series of rings. Now he seeks to become immortal by finding the Dragon Balls; to achieve this he dispatches Inspector Clouseau. Meanwhile Blanka/Danton returns from Otherworld, when he sees what has happened to France, he travels to Paris and challenges Napoleon to single combat, be prize being leadership of France. With the powers of the Lance of Longinus and the One Ring, Napoleon could easily defeat Blanka/Danton, but instead prolongs the combat, making a fool of Blanka/Danton before blasting him to Russia with the Kamehameha technique.

Burning for revenge, Blanka/Danton seeks out allies to fight Napoleon; he stumbles upon Simon Schama, who has led the Mongolians to victory across Asia, forging a massive empire. After striking a deal, Schama dispatches Sniper Wolf to assassinate Clouseau; he fails miserably and is killed by Link. Schama's army marches across Europe, making allies against France. In fear, Napoleon visits a coven of witches, who tell him that "No man of a woman born" can kill him. Now over-confident, Napoleon leaves his army to its own devices, awaiting the final battle in his Volcano Death Fortress.

Without their leader, the French army is quickly defeated by Schama's hardened veterans. Blanka/Danton and Schama confront Napoleon, unfortunately Clouseau has returned with all of the Dragon Balls. Napoleon wishes himself immortal and proceeds to brutally kill Blanka/Danton. Despite his advanced battle-armour, Schama looks doomed, until, at the last minute, Doctor Strange returns from the Hell Dimension in which he was trapped. Strange opens a Dead Zone into which Napoleon is drawn and sealed forever. Schama and Doctor Strange establish democratic rule in France.

Superhero Media: The Shadow

I picked up a DVD of The Shadow on a whim after being reminded that the film existed by an internet video. I had seen the film many years previously, but didn't really remember much except the living dagger and invisible hotel, so when I put it on one afternoon I was in for a big surprise. The Shadow is pretty goofy and very Golden Age in it's approach, but with that comes all the violence, moral ambiguity and mix of magic and science that made Golden Age comics such a trip. Before becoming The Shadow, Lamont Cranston is a warlord in the badlands of rural China, having slipped into violence and unrelenting rage during the Great War and just walked until he found a place where those things led to profit. Encountering a holy man in the mountains, Lamont learns to harness the evil side of his nature and use it to fight for good, to become, The Shadow! With powers of suggestion, mesmerism and two massive guns, The Shadow brings justice to the dark corners of New York City. 

Yes, The Shadow stars Alec Baldwin, from when he was young and sexy, if you can believe that, but the rest of the cast is pretty awesome to behold; Tim Curry, Peter Boyle and Ian McKellen all have roles, as well as a bunch of great Asian-American actors from your favouite Cult films. David Lo Pan anyone? Oddly, the main antagonist, Shiwan Khan, is played by John Lone, never did too many films in the West, Rush Hour being the only other of his that I have seen. Oh, and "Magical Descendant of Genghis Khan" is a brilliant bad guy and now I'm eyeing off some 28mm Mongols as antagonists; but why not long-lost sons of other dictators like Norman Bonaparte, Caligula Jr or Albert Hitler? Throw in an anachronistic nuclear bomb, some brilliant Art Deco sets and a couple of classic pulpy death-traps and The Shadow is a heck of a lot of fun, if nothing else. Yes, the '90s CGI is pretty terrible now and the film is dated in other ways, but for its time, The Shadow is one of the better examples of the genre. 

I know I keep saying this, but I really need to get around to doing some more Pulp Gaming. I already have The Shadow, Green Hornet, Mandrake and The Phantom painted, and I have The Woman in Red and The Spirit somewhere undercoated. Also I just picked up some plastic WWII Germans in greatcoats for baddies, so I'm pretty much set if I just get my arse into gear. Many of the Golden Age and Pulp comics are pretty dated, being very racist, sexist and homophobic by current standards, but the settings and adventures can be tweaked to suit quite easily, just look at Atomic Robo or The Marvels Project. I find pulp can be a great way to use more of your miniatures collection for Supers as well, some Fantasy Undead at a a creepy temple, WWII tanks and infantry as antagonists, even your sci-fi aliens as "invaders from Mars"; anything goes, so just throw it in and see what works. And if you have the chance to check out The Shadow while you're prepping games, all the better. 

Miniatures Finished: Comrade Dinosaurs

I have been slowly expanding my collection of Bot War miniatures, focusing mainly on my Red Star dinoborgs, because who doesn't love communist dinosaurs? I'm yet to really crack winning with them on the table, but one of my regular Bot War opponents is pretty cutthroat, so maybe it's not all me?

Glorious revolutionary dinosaurs march forth to expand the Warsaw Pact!

Pacheoborgs, hard-headed and tough, but sadly not great in the game. From Trader's Galaxy, of course, but with machine guns from an Osprey sprue.

TREX and the Stegoborg are the backbones of the force, though Rex is a little slow, it is a new army and I have more to figure out.

Superhero Media: Tron Uprising

I had heard a lot of good things about Tron Uprising, an animated series set before Tron Legacy expanding on the backstory, but I was in for a serious shock when I finally got around to watching it on Disney+. Created by Adam Horowitz (sadly not Ad-Rock), known for Lost, Once Upon A Time and other cult programmes, the cast includes Elijah Wood, Mandy Moore, Paul Reubens, Lance Henriksen, Reginald VelJohnson and Bruce Boxleitner (the original Tron), making for quite a creative team. In Ar-Con city, a major hub on the Grid, Clu's forces move in and Blake, a young mechanic program, finds himself fighting back against the occupation, soon attracting the attention of none other than Tron. Despite being billed as a bridging series between Tron and Tron Legacy, Tron Uprising is heavily weighted towards the latter, in terms of design, tone and even in using a poorly-processed version of the Daft Punk soundtrack. The animation is also a little odd, with characters having slightly askew proportions, which takes a little getting used to. 

Quibbles aside, along with the typical limitations of animated television for children, Tron Uprising is at times transcendentally good, crafting a world at once truly alien but very real. Although I'm not fond of the exaggerated character models, the landscapes of Ar-Con and the surrounding wilderness can be breathtaking, a neon-noir dreamscape in contrasting blue and red palettes. Due to the smaller budget, the beauty of the scenes never reaches Into the Spider-Verse levels, but as someone trying to keep up their enthusiasm for making cyberpunk miniatures and terrain, Tron Uprising was an inspiration. More so than other entries of the series, Tron Uprising is a superhero series, with Blake taking on the mantle of Tron while the original heals from grievous wounds suffered when rebelling against Clu. Later on it is revealed that Blake is not the first program that Tron has tried to train, and there is a trail of bodies and regrets behind him. The fight is almost impossible to win, but giving up is not an option. 

Sadly, there isn't any closure to Tron Uprising, with the season finale merely bridging to the next season, which never came. The growth and change that characters undergo is comparable to efforts like Gravity Falls, with a several episode arc dedicated to antagonist Paige and her journey from medical professional to willing participant in the Occupation. To say I would have liked more of Tron Uprising is an understatement, though probably not all that much more, perhaps only a second season to tie up events and lead into the main narrative of Tron Legacy. As much as they're not truly deep characters for the most part, I want to see what happens to Blake and Paige and how Tron becomes Rinzler, but it seems I never will get that story. There is also precious little new information of the Isos and how their appearance drove Clu to despotism, which would have hopefully have come up more in the second season that never was. If you have Disney+, this one is well worth the 19-episode watch between other things.

Drokk the Law!! - Part XIV

The quarterly game with Andy rolled around last weekend, and whilst I didn't quite get the painting done I wanted, it didn't really matter, as playing fun games with a friend is much more important that what is and isn't painted to my usual standard. It still bugs me though. We got two games in, Scrawl War and Demolition, and whilst I did win both, it was usually pretty close and both games had a good narrative flow. 

Andy's terrain on my new mat, plus some NWA club stuff for low-level cover. I'm not a huge fan of how "bitsy" it looks currently, especially when compared to my Necromunda, SuperSystem or Nocturnal tables, but hopefully it comes together in leaps and bounds if we're only playing every few months. I'm also hoping that next time Brutal Cities is doing a print run, I'm doing better work-wise and can justify a bundle. 

The first game saw Andy's Brian Ansell Blockers (Street Gang) versus my Yakuza (Mobsters) in a Scrawl War, a scenario where gangs have to spray tags on certain places. It's a fun and objective-based mission that requires movement and cleverly punishes just rolling over your opponent with gunfire. I won't transcribe the entire mission here, but basically there's four Scawls and whoever controls the most at the end of the game wins. So even a gang that runs off due to casualties can win if they got more Scawls done. 

I was up against it from the start, as Andy's Blockers had a Heavy Spit Gun (basically a LMG) and more long-range firepower than my Yakuza, who are more built for close and medium range fights. My gang pushed up through cover as best as possible, but my Blitzer went down the second he poked a toe out, and I didn't do a lot with return fire. Andy had two Scawls before I could get my gang into position to take even one.

The game turned around for me when I actually gave up and did something silly. My gang leader is armed only with a Katana, and often doesn't get to do a lot, so when I had nothing left to use, he broke cover to slice an enemy Scrawler in half. Andy loves a good scrap, so his leader leapt out of a window to clash blades with mine, but my rolling won out and I claimed my second scalp for the game. Of course, his spree was ended on the next turn by the Heavy Spit Gun, but it was a fun run while it lasted.

Emboldened, I pushed forward with my remaining gangers, taking out the Heavy Spit gun with a lucky shot throw the window with a pistol, so that my Punk could run out on the balcony for the last unclaimed Scawl. At this point, Andy was down to one model, and would have won if he had failed a Will To Fight (morale) roll, but the stubborn bastard just stuck it out, enabling the Yakuza to convert a third Scawl for the win. 

Game two was Demolition, with the City-Def trying to prevent known robot terrorists, Blood in the Machine, from destroying a statue. In order to complete the mission, the robots have to perform a total of 8 Special Actions in contact with the statue, which can be done by any number of models across different turns. Though they're outnumbered and out-gunned, all the City-Def have to do is drive the Robots off to win. 

My initial plan was to have Vendi and Call-Me-Kermit cover Haro2-Goodbye while he completed the mission, relying on his armour and 7 Hits to get the job done as fast as possible. However, I underestimated the City-Def's spit guns and trigger-happy tendencies, and Haro2 was low on Hits after just two lucky shots. 

In order to get the City-Def out of cover, I sent Haro2 straight across the plaza and into melee, where he's pretty much unstoppable, and picked off any City-Def he could get his claws on. Meanwhile, the other Robots converged on the objective, alternating between laying down covering fire and planting the bombs. With three robots on the statue, I won pretty quick, especially with Haro2 taking down all but one of the City-Def members.

This gaming day was mostly about just catching up and seeing where projects were at, next time we'll put in a little more planning and try a few new things, maybe even do the campaign stuff. I have a few more models on the painting table for Dredd, so expect to see another one of these before too long.