Superhero Media: Godzilla II King of the Monsters

Oh my God-zilla, but this came out of nowhere! The 2014 Godzilla was alright and Kong Skull Island was a hell of a lot of fun, but King of the Monsters pushed everything to a new level; being a really good action film even without Godzilla or grading on a curve for being an American Godzilla film. No longer bothering with easing Western audiences into the whole Kaiju concept, King of the Monsters has Godzilla on-screen in the first minute and throws out a heady mix of Mothra, Rodan, King Gidorah, the Hollow Earth and Aliens as it smashes it's way to greatness. Every part of this film is finely crafted in a way most genre action films don't bother to be, from the soundtrack, to the cast and especially the Kaiju, King of the Monsters had the potential to be a great hit. Sadly, it did poorly at the box office and that's all Hollywood executives care about right now. I can only hope that Godzilla vs. Kong performs well and I finally get that Kaiju Cinematic Universe I want, complete with all the weird monsters Toho has the rights to, but with American money behind it. 

Unlike the previous attempts to adapt the King to a Western audience, King of the Monsters embraces what has worked in the Japanese films for decades, even down to Bear McCreary using the classic "Godzilla" theme as the basis for his score, giving longtime fans like me a thrill as the big brass horns start up. And don't get me started on the version of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla" done with Serj Tankian, a Buddhist Monastic choir and full orchestra, still my favourite new song of 2019. How good is this film, when you get down to it? I saw it in the cinema with my then-girlfriend, who had only seen the 1998 and 2014 versions and thought the whole premise was laughable, but she was cheering with me when Mothra comes back into the Boston fight to take out Rodan and kept talking about how amazing the whole thing was through dinner later. King of the Monsters takes us to the Hollow Earth to detonate a nuclear bomb in Godzilla's face, which heals him, of course, as a preamble to the third act, but none of it feels out of place or forced, it's that well crafted. How this wasn't the start of something bigger just baffles me, more people have seen Gidorah memes than they have this film. 

Even the sounds the kaiju make are pumped-up versions of their classic calls from the Japanese films, such is the fidelity on display here; it's astonishing. And for all the loyalty to the history of the franchise, King of the Monsters is still a beautifully crafted film, with scenes like Godzilla approaching the underwater base frankly better lit than many entire films I've seen of the same era. Hell, I didn't even get to the cast yet! Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe, Bradley Whitford and Sally Hawkins are just a few of the names that grace this motion picture, that's a hell of a cast and they deliver, from the shock and awe of the opening, to the final "Long live the King" drop. King of the Monsters is one of my favouirte "rainy day" movies, something I'm always up to watch, even if I only saw it again a few days ago, because it's a lot of fun and always thrilling. What the cast and crew of this film did right is the same thing the Marvel Cinematic Universe does right, they trusted that something that had been around for decades already "worked" and build a solid film around those concepts, rather than trying to reinvent it from the ground up. I hope this isn't the end for the "Monsterverse", I want to stay and see where it goes. Long live the King.

Drokk the Law!! - Part XII

Taking a break from my usual Mega City 1 AARs to focus instead on how my gangs are progressing. As any wargamer will tell you, there hits a certain point in any project where you have to start keeping accurate books on everything so that you don't miss something or double-up on stuff. For me, the Judge Dredd Miniatures Game has hit that point, given that my Renegade Robots number around 20, but I don't have a street gang that's not bits from other games pushed together. To avoid getting too carried away just yet (though it may already be too late), I'm going to focus on the handful of gangs I've been playing with, leaving some other ideas and collections to the side for the moment. These gangs are;

Renegade Robots (Blood in the Machine)
Street Gang (Flo Rida Block Porpoises)
Mobsters (Inagawa-Jones Syndicate)
Demonic Cabal (Cult of the Outer Gods)
Lone Vigilante (Bubba Feet/The Justness Legion)

This probably doesn't seem like a small amount of models, especially for a game I currently barely play, but I'm hoping to build a broader a community if I can loan out gangs to potential players to learn on. Once these are done, or at least done enough, I can look at some Judges, another Street Gang, Apes and perhaps even some Outlaws and Mutants. By the time this article is published, I'll probably have finished the last of the Renegade Robots, so expect some pictures of them soon as well, then I'll likely be focusing on the Inagawa-Jones Syndicate, as I just got some cool minis for them from the old Urban War range.

A major part of any JDMG campaign involves Mercenaries, which serve as the balancing mechanic between gangs at different levels. For example, if your gang has a total cost of 700 and your opponent's is 800, you would get a free 100 Credits to use on a Mercenary for the game. I really like this as an idea, because it makes up for difference directly, allows the use of models from outside of your normal gang and saves any fiddly catch-up mechanics. Just which Mercs are available varies from Gang to Gang, but there is also plenty of crossover. Because I'm wired that way, I compiled a list of all the Mercs available to my five main gangs and included their approximate Credit value.

Bat Burglar (80)
Fattie (60-100)
Futsie (10ish)
Juve (10-60)
Juve Jimp (90)
Klegg (190+)
Klegghounds (100)
Lone Vigilante (500)
Punk (~95)
Pyrokinetic (225)
Robodoc (50)
Robodog (30)
Sky Surfer (100)
Vid Reporter (25)
Agent (95-300)
Combat Droid (~500)
Gorilla Gangster (125)
Street Judge (150-300)
Chimp (50-75)
Citi-Def Soldier (100-200)
Mutant (20-110)
Wally Squad Judge (100-200)
Assassination Droid (195)

Now this seems like quite a lot of minis to collect and add to the lead mountain, but some of them are already going to be in some of my gangs, from the obvious Juves and Punks through to Agents and Assassination Droids actually being an option for Mobsters, so I'll have some anyway (in fact, the Kabuki Robot from Urban War is my intended Assassination Droid model currently, has a nice Ghost in the Shell vibe). I can pull some Robodogs from my Necromunda extras, and I actually already have some Sky Surfers, Apes and Mutants waiting for paint, so filling out this list won't actually be that arduous a task for the most part. The only real struggle will be the more iconic 2000AD characters, like Judges, Fatties and the Bat Burglar, as they only really look the one particular way.

One of the reasons I love miniatures agnostic gaming so much is that I get to hunt around for just the right mini for the character I'm trying to make. I already had some Urban War minis to start my Mobsters with, getting more was a pleasure, and many of my incidental Punks, Juves and Cultists are getting put together from Stargrave plastics, which I picked up cheap. I have my eye on some Eureka Apes to get my Chimps and am looking into some 3D printing options for some items. I may consider the Warlord range if I can get it cheap, but that also won't be as fun as turning old Blood Bowl models into a Street Gang or finding something unique at a swap meet. Alright, I'll leave off there for now and hopefully go finish the last robot so I can post that Gang up next time we're in the Meg.

Superhero Media: Dragon Ball Z - The History of Trunks

Ok, I swear I'm going to talk about how great The History of Trunks is and its importance in the Dragon Ball Z series, but there's something else I need to get to first; Dream Theatre, Bootsy Collins and Buckethead are all on the soundtrack of this film. Really. I have the Remastered Collection on DVD, so maybe it's different for other copies, and I have to watch the dub to hear the tracks, but holy shit Bootsy teamed up with Buckethead at some point to soundtrack Dragon Ball Z and I only just found out about it! In an alternate timeline, Goku is felled by a "heart virus" and the world moves on for a few months until a pair of evil Androids attack, killing most of the Z Fighters and forever altering the history of the planet. Years later, a tween named Trunks wants to battle the Androids like his father did, despite being too weak to make a difference, thankfully he is saved by one of the greatest characters in the entire Dragon Ball franchise, Future Gohan! Ok, so the name is silly, but the future alternate to Gohan is a fascinating character who warrants some serious unpacking. 

Most of The History of Trunks you probably know if you're a fan, as huge sections of it are lifted into Dragon Ball Z, and the story has been told again and again; so I'm not covering it too much here. Let's start with Gohan first, now I'm normally not fond of adult Gohan in anything but the Piccolo or navy blue gi (Sayiaman aside), as it provides some visual difference for the character apart from Goku that the group tends to need for colour balance if nothing else. Future Gohan is the one exception for me, not just because of the lack of other characters, but because it is really only in this one timeline that Gohan has willingly taken on the role of planetary defender left to him by his father. This Gohan hasn't forged his own path, like he does in DBS, he's driven by duty and destiny, perhaps even aware that his end may not be a happy one, but he carries on because that is what expected of him. In many ways, The History of Trunks is a film about Gohan, and just how good he has it in the main timeline, making his decision to return to fighting in DBS all the more poignant. 

As I've discussed before, The History of Trunks was the first piece of media where I became aware of the "Villain Apocalypse" concept which would come to be something of a fixation for me. Androids 17 and 18 are walking engines of destruction, slowly eradicating the human race merely for something to do, and no one can stop them. Hell, The History of Trunks doesn't even really have a happy ending, as Trunks cannot defeat the Androids and has to travel back in time to make the Trunks Saga happen. There is a depth and pathos to The History of Trunks that is pretty rare in the DBZ films, truly being a character piece more so than just an excuse for a series of fights strung together. True, Androids 17 and 18 don't get even a sliver of the development that they would in the continuing series, but their role in this outing is more akin to a force of nature with a face. For a long time, The History of Trunks was the one piece of DBZ that I owned a copy of, so I must have seen it a least a dozen times, but it's still enjoyable and one of the better written parts of the overall series.

Thinking Out Loud: Anarchist Super Heroes

So having covered some of the quagmire of what politics superheroes tend to represent previously, let's take a look at something closer to my home; Anarchist Superheroes. Are there any? Well, that's a little tricky, if I'm being honest, because Anarchism, as an ethos and political stance, can be a bit nebulous. Part of that is the "Left" just not being super intersectional, in that two people can call themselves Anarchists, but have different views on a couple of things and end up fighting. So let's consider the broader implications of contemporary Anarchism on this one, rather than breaking out the Bakunin. If I limit myself to wanting to eliminate nations and abolish government as we know it, I can actually find a character or two that fits the bill. First of all, characters that are merely anti-police or pro-socialism, like Alison Green or Invincible, are clearly not Anarchists, despite their Leftness, as they wish to reform the system, not demolish it. No we need someone who likes to smash, some kind of Hulk, perhaps?

Yeah, Immortal Hulk is our first stop, as he's probably the best example of both a character and a comic with a radical bent to it. Hell, Devil Hulk's (love the irony) main antagonist is the Roxxon corporation, run by a literal inhuman monster capitalist, like, it's not even subtext, it's just text that this billionaire is a monster that eats people and wants to destroy the world. And Hulk openly states that he wants to end human civilisation, though not humanity, to save the planet before it's too late; it's a far cry from Iron Man thinking that getting cell phones into Africa will solve any of the world's problems. Of course, the other name everyone is going to think of is V, the masked revolutionary of V for Vendetta, an avowed anarchist who's sign is an inverted Anarchy symbol. V is actually a great example of the problems with contemporary Anarchism, especially in the graphic novel, where V undertakes his crusade with no consideration for how the people of England will react or be affected by his actions. Certainly not an intersectional Leftist.

V is problematic because he is also out for specific revenge and isn't really particularly humanist whilst he's going about destroying the system. Even in the film, V performs some pretty dark acts in order to achieve his goals which are, arguably, not redeemed by his death. My favouite at the moment is Karli Morganthau and the Flag-Smashers from The Falcon and The Winter Solider, who are not only intersectional Anarchists, but, during "The Blip", actually got to live in a border-less society with universal housing, healthcare and support; no wonder they're prepared to fight to get that back. And the programme doesn't frame them as outright villains! That's amazing, given that a good 150+ years of propaganda has made the word Anarchy synonymous with 'lawlessness', which, you know, it just isn't, Anarchism just has different methods of law-keeping. Yes, Karli turns to violence and murder as she escalates, but that is responsive behaviour to the arrival of Captain America and her friends being attacked. She's not perfect, but just seeing an Anarchist be presented as a reasonable and logical person is pretty unique, and I really enjoyed it.

Superhero Media: Avengers Endgame

Whilst not the greatest superhero film ever made by a wide margin, Avengers Endgame may well represent one of the greatest achievements in the genre, being as it is the culmination of more than a decade of buildup and 21 previous films. Simultaneously a victory lap, celebration of the franchise and farewell to several prominent cast members, Avengers Endgame is like no other film I'm ever likely to review here. A send off for Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow and Hawkeye (despite the fact several of those will stick around in some form), Avengers Endgame also finds time to tell stories about Ant-Man and Nebula, who are somehow the emotional centres of the film. I really could just gush about this film for pages, but the internet hates positivity, so I guess I'll cover the bad points of Endgame first; they're really aren't any. Sure, there are parts you can nit-pick if that's your thing, but most of the major criticisms that I've come across are invalidated by the film itself. Wanted more Captain Marvel or Doctor Strange? Sorry, Endgame is for the original seven to say goodbye. Wanted closure on specific lore elements? What series do you think you're watching? 

I'm usually reluctant when it comes to "for the fans" entries in series, but there is such a joy to Endgame that I can't help but be swept up in flow, just enjoying how fun the whole thing is. I already covered the cultural impact of Endgame way back in 2019 with my "Why the Endgame Matters" article, so I won't repeat myself here, but some moments in the film really do take me back to the first time I saw it, opening night and had the whole cinema reacting with me. I must have watched the film at least a dozen times, and I find something I've missed each time, most recently it was that Cap tightens the straps on his broken shield to close a gaping arm wound. Seriously never noticed that before, and it's such a great moment. Another one is that Black Dwarf dies when Giant Man steps on him, I love that he's such a non-threat this time out.  Hell, it's just great to see Scott Lang interacting with the other heroes again, he's such a good fit for the team, never quite believing that he deserves to be there, despite being the reason that they all get to go on the Time Heist in the first place. 

And the Time Heist! Sure, it's a narrative excuse to show clips of previous films, but if that was it, Endgame wouldn't be so great. The juxtaposition between 2012 Cap and 2019 Cap alone is amazing, from dropping bombs about Hydra and Bucky to "That is America's ass", punctuating the scene, but I loved seeing more of the post-The Avengers cleanup, including poor Hulk having to take the stairs. It's pretty rare that we get to see this kind of achievement, this kind of moment in cinema, especially genre cinema, and this genre, which had only really been popular for 20 years when this was made. I'm honestly not sure that the Marvel Cinematic Universe will reach these heights again, but even if they don't, Endgame is a high watermark that will be there for future generations to discover and enjoy. A friend of mine's 7 year-old boy is watching through the MCU films right now, he was up to The Avengers last time I checked in, but I can't wait to see how someone that young reacts to Endgame, I kind of want to watch it with him just to see his reaction. Well done to all involved, Endgame is amazing and I was glad to be a part of it. 

Avengers Assemble

Yet more Superhero Online Comics to read (if you like that sort of thing)

Lately, I've gotten back into reading some more indy comics, as I found I was hitting the Marvel pretty hard and little else. The great thing about the internet age is that independent producers can do their own thing with minimal overhead, which can lead to some unique voices getting out in a crowded market. Not everything below is perfect, but there is more than enough good there to make it at least checking out for a few pages. Best of all, these are free, so you can get your supers fix guilt and cash free.

Empowered (Ongoing)

Created by Adam Warren (of Marvel and DC fame), Empowered is the story of Empowered ("Emp" to her friends), and this Dark Horse indy darling is available to read for free at empoweredcomic.com Sold as "a sexy superhero comic" the art and content of Empowered do tend more towards the adult and erotic, but there is a lot of really smart content beneath all the bondage and semi-nudity. Emp may be the holder of incredible power, but the suit which grants her power is linked to her self-esteem, which is usually pretty fragile. Add in some great supporting characters like Ninjette and Thugboy and Empowered treads the same line as Invincible in making the setting feel huge without a lot of extra continuity to follow. Just a warning that some of the sexual and violent content (as well as some sexual violence, sadly) can get reasonably intense on occasion, so maybe don't go reading this one at work?

Edison Rex (On Hiatus)

Essentially based entirely on the premise "what if Lex Luthor was right?", Edison Rex is still a pretty interesting read, even if the opening chapter is in too much of a rush to get there. I'll admit that I was a little disinterested at first, with every character and beat feeling like a "not brand-x" version of DC Comics, but as the comic goes on and finds its voice, I became interested in the protagonist and his world. Nothing I read in Edison Rex was all that brilliant on its own, but everything was at least competent and well-presented, which kept me engaged and let the unique ideas stand out. It's like how Irredeemable works when it plays things a little generic, but gets bogged down in characters, so becomes something more than a basic Superman riff. Edison is interesting enough that I enjoy the clever metafiction that is happening, rather than being a brilliant comic universe of its own. That said, I will 100% be adding the villain "Maul Santa" (something of a Joker/Green Goblin riff) to my collection and Ultimate Alliance games.

Spinnerette (Ongoing)

Man, I'm getting old, I remember reading Krazy Krow's webcomics in high school, now I discover he's been doing this for years? Ok, I read 8 Bit Theater and then went on to Atomic Robo, but I knew about that one for a while before I started reading it. Spinnerette is one of those internet-born entities that has a huge and devoted fanbase that I wouldn't want to piss off, and I do get why. Whilst I, personally, only enjoy Spinnerette as an occasional distraction to binge out a few issues of, it has a delightfully silly charm that really draws the reader in. Sadly, unlike Empowered, not everything is on the website, with some stories only in the print comics which can be limited run, so I'm not completely up on ever aspect of Spinnerette and don't think I'll be bothering with it as anything more than a distraction. That said, should 3D printing facilitate my getting a Spinnerette and Mecha Maid, I won't say no to adding them to my Ultimate Alliance roster.


Magellan (On Hiatus)

A long-running comic that I only recently discovered by accident, Magellan takes place at the titular superhero academy and reads something like a cross between X-Men and the old Star Fleet Academy books (or maybe Harry Potter? Not sure, never really got into them). Although there are broader superhero teams, drama and action, everything tends to come back to the cadets and how they're navigating the world of becoming a professional superhero. Having started way back in 2004, Magellan does seem a little "of its time" to begin with, but like many internet productions, picks up in quality once the writer and artist have had time to develop skills. Much like Edison Rex, there's not too many characters here that I'm keen enough on to want miniatures of, as many are a tad generic, but it is nice to see more Australian superheroes than you normally do, even if far too many of them are still Australian "themed" for no real reason. Seriously, we have culture beyond native animals and famous tropes, no reason we can't just have an Iron Man or Martian Manhunter, you know?

Superhero Media: Logan

Before we get too far into this, people know that Logan is a take on the classic Western Shane right? I mean, there are clips of Shane during the hotel sequence of Logan, no one doesn't know this, surely? Go watch Shane, it's on a bunch of streaming services and is a true classic of the genre. If Days of Future Past was the ending that the best films in the X-Men series deserved, Logan is the bookend to the bad ones. I don't mean that Logan is a bad film, or even a bad X-Men film, it's easily the best solo outing, but it is the downbeat take on the ending and works best as a counterpoint to the positive finish of Days of Future Past. For all the fighting he has done, and the sacrifices he as made, Logan doesn't get a happy ending, he gets to die in the woods, a mess of blood and scars, the only positive being that he may have saved another life for another day of living. Logan is tragic, heart wrenching and full of feeling, and I never need to see this film made again with another character. 

The true magic of Logan isn't just that it's very well made, with a strong cast working a brilliant script, but that it comes at the end of a run of films stretching back over fifteen years. Logan is an epitaph, a requiem mass for the series, and only because Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart have put in the hard yards for years does it pay off as well as it does. Think about the moment just before Charles is killed, when he finally remembers that it was he who killed the other X-Men and apologizes to Logan for being a burden, it's so devastating to watch because we've watched Professor X nurture Logan, Rogue, Jean and countless others for years. That Charles has, even accidentally, been the reason that so many of his beloved charges have died, that's some Euripides level ironic divine punishment right there. Add in the metafictional element that Logan would also be the last truly great (non-Deadpool) X-Men film before the series petered out and went to the welcoming bosom of Marvel Studios, and the film is an amazing epilogue to the mixed-bag body of work that came before it. 

Originally, I was going to do my review of the comic Old Man Logan before posting this one, but as I watched Logan again, I realised that only a handful of elements of the comic made it into the film, and doing so would be about as necessary as reviewing Extremis before Iron Man 3. As I've said before, adaptation is a funny game, you can't just shoot comic panels and put them up on the screen, it doesn't work that way. The best superhero films take the iconography of the character and use that to tell a good story, which Logan does, though not using comics, but the early X-Men films instead. Logan is a dark mirror of the X-Men franchise, to be sure, but it's the woke, proto-hopepunk early films that it draws upon, which have, in-setting, been boiled down into four colour comics for youthful consumption. I almost wish I'd done more film academia, because there is so much to unpack in Logan that I could honestly do a thesis on it. For now, I'll settle for this article and maybe watching it again sooner rather than later; not leaving it three years this time.