What I Bought Today – Batman & Robin Annual #1 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Yep, that’s right, I’m once again taking a look at…

Thought I’d give this particular comic by Peter J. Tomasi a look all on its own. Here is Batman & Robin Annual #1.

…Technically, we see something close to this happening, so no nitpicking from me over the cover.

First off, I’m gonna go ahead and answer the immediate question raised by the cover: Why is Damian wearing Batman 666’s costume? It’s especially odd since, in Batman Incorporated, we’ve established that Batman 666 isn’t Damian, but rather his clone The Heretic. So why does he wear that costume in this comic? I………….don’t know. 😛 I have no clue, folks. I know he’s supposed to be Batman, but why this costume, I have no idea. Either there’s a lack of communication between Tomasi and Grant Morrison, or it’s supposed to be an irony type thing that’s just over my head. I suppose either one is equally possible, considering.

The book opens up with Batman kicking the snot outta some guy in an armoured suit that spews flames, who turns out to be a major pussy and starts crying and begging that Batman not tell his Dad about this. We then cut to-Oh hai Alfred! You’re looking quite lively today! This tells me that either Alfred does in fact survive the ordeals of Death of the Family, or this story takes place before his kidnapping. Either way, he’s one of the best parts of this comic, with the dialogue between him and Bruce being HILARIOUS. And there’s plenty of these two together, since it seems that Damian’s in London and has set his father up on a scavenger hunt of sorts to reconnect with his family roots, something that Damian has recently been learning the importance of. But it turns out to be a trick of sorts, as while he does have this plan set up, he also has never truly left Gotham and is using this time while Bruce and Alfred are away to patrol solo as Batman, though I personally prefer to refer to him as Batman Jr. in this costume, named after one half of the Super-Sons.

Meanwhile, a member of the GCPD by the name of Detective Pierce is feeling pissy because people keep referring to her as part of the “Bat Backup Brigade”. Batman Jr. doesn’t exactly help matters by pulling a double yoink on some evidence taken from a crime scene. Seems something chewed through the gas lines so that gasoline could be syphoned away with ease. As Bruce and Alfred continue on their scavenger hunt, Damian sending them clues while appearing on a green screen to make them think he’s overseas, Batman Jr. heads out the next night in the Batmobile…and it’s at this point I gotta ask a question that has bugged me for some time regarding Damian: How the fuck can he drive?! Now, I don’t mean how does he know how to drive, I can buy that. What I mean is, how the fuck is he physically able to drive? He’s kinda small. Unless he’s pulling a Short Round from Temple of Doom where he’s got boxes stacked on the pedals, this doesn’t seem physically possible.

Anyway, Batman Jr. delivers a purse snatcher to Commissioner Gordon, who is able to tell from his voice that it’s Robin (he’s kinda obscured by the light of the Bat Signal, otherwise it’d be a bit more obvious), but this backs up my theory that there’s not much communication between Tomasi and Morrison since in Batman Incorporated #7, we see that Damian is able to imitate his father’s voice perfectly to trick the Batcave’s voice recognition security. Whatever, small nitpicking aside, we see more of Bruce going on his scavenger hunt as it becomes clear he’s revisiting some of the locations travelled to that would have sentimental value to them and, by extension, to him. It really is touching to consider how much time and effort Damian had to put in to make all this work.

The next night, Batman Jr. saves some people from a burning building and finds the fanged culprit responsible for biting into the gas lines, as well as his partner. And wouldn’t you know it? It’s pansy man from earlier’s daddy, who also has a giant fire spewing robot. Luckily, he turns out to be as big a pushover as his kid, and Batman Jr. brings him down. The next day, Damian meets his father, who tells him he’s well aware that Damian was patrolling solo and using green screen, but he’s not angry. Rather, he’s proud of his son for what he did for him, and has learned at last that he can trust him. I like this, it kind of reminds me of a situation that came up with Tim a few years ago.

This comic is awesomely entertaining. If I HAD to nitpick one other thing besides what I mentioned, it’s that this again is very clearly a Damian story that is also starring Bruce Wayne, not a story starring Batman and Robin equally. I’m hoping it’s something they work on, otherwise the title becomes too misleading. Otherwise, the story is great, artwork is great, and it had a number of ROFL moments for me while reading, so yeah, definitely a recommended comic, especially for those who aren’t too keen on Damian and want to see the better parts of his personality shine through.

Anyhow, next week we return to Earth-2 to see the début of Dr. Fate, we watch Batman fight the League of Smiles in Detective Comics, and because I’m honestly curious as to what the hell they’re gonna do with this, we’re gonna take a look at Young Romance: A New 52 Valentine’s Day Special #1…Why do I get the feeling this is gonna be one of those hard to forget comics that are either really good or REALLY bad? Ja né!

What I Bought Today – Talon #4, Batman Incorporated #7 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Well, luckily the bad taste of Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 is outta my mouth, thanks in no small part due to…

Oh, and I also bought Batman & Robin Annual #1, but I’m doing a separate blog entry for that so I can give it a proper review. But before I take a look at Talon and Batman Incorporated, I’d like to take a moment to apologize for missing something important in Batman Inc. last time, and as well, I would like to say a fond farewell to a long lasting character in DC since 1950, Cyril Sheldrake, AKA the second Knight, who died at the hands of The Heretic near the end of Batman Incorporated #6. I really have no excuse for not realising he was dead, what with his neck snapping and all. Anyway, Cyril was the second Squire, later taking on the mantle of Knight when his father passed away, and then taking on Beryl Hutchinson as his new Squire. He was a prominent member of the Batmen of All Nations and Batman Incorporated, with he and Squire acting essentially as Batman & Robin’s counterparts in England. Indeed, a legend has fallen within the Bat Family…

Anyway, I suppose I might as well start with Batman Incorporated #7…

The most dangerous army in the world is the kind that can kill you with ease, and you can’t bring yourself to kill them.

Batman is captured by Talia after The Heretic kinda beat the shit out of him. Nightwing looks over the evacuation of the Batman Inc. members that were in the building, and Beryl is a WRECK after what has happened to Knight, blaming herself. They don’t have much time to grieve, though, when all of a sudden a bus full of kids brainwashed into serving Leviathan arrives, attacking with weapons as the police are unable to fight back due to them being children. Wingman, who as you’ll recall is actually Jason Todd, heads to Batcave East when he’s tasered down by The Hood, who declares that Batman Inc. is over and he’s getting out while the getting’s good. Red Robin is nearly blown up, Traktir and Spidra may be about to die, but through all of this, Damian learns the truth about Batman’s visions of the future: The Batman of the future is not Damian. Piecing together what he’s seen and learned over the past few years worth of comics (pre-Flashpoint Batman & Robin and Batman Inc.), he deduces that The Heretic is his clone, created by Talia to replace Batman at the right given time. As Talia puts Batman through a death trap that will either kill him or leave him unable to stop Talia in time, Damian decides enough is enough and becomes Robin to go out and try and save his father, the city, and the world. Overall, great story, though hampered by the death of Cyril, who we hopefully either find out isn’t really dead, gets raised again, or his death serves a higher purpose like turning Beryl into the next Knight.

Again, doesn’t bother me too much that this doesn’t happen since it’s supposed to be symbolic.

Dammit, I love Talon. Seriously, someday I hope to see this guy join either Batman Inc. and/or the Justice League. He’s THAT good. I’m still pretty sure Sebastian Clark is gonna turn heel at some point, Casey and Sarah and their group are all awesome in their own ways, and of course, Calvin Rose remains a badass. Sadly, when a monster of a Talon known as The Gotham Butcher, comes looking for them, Casey has to scramble her networks, but after they give the Gotham Butcher the slip and wash him down the Hudson, Calvin and Casey decide it’s time to go to Gotham and stand against the Court of Owls together like they should have in the first place. However, Calvin makes one mistake: He says the words “We’ll never see him again” in relation to the Gotham Butcher, which of course leads to the last image being the Butcher’s fist emerging from the Hudson in a major WTF moment, since Talons brought back from the dead are vulnerable to the cold, and he got flushed into the Hudson IN JANUARY! This guy really IS a monster! :O

Anyway, that’s it for those two comics. Next up, I give my review of Batman & Robin Annual #1. Ja né!

What I WON’T Be Buying Tomorrow – Injustice: Gods Among Us #1 (WARNING – SPOILERS)

…I feel like crying. Right now. I have been hyped as all heck for Injustice: Gods Among Us for months. Then I found out about the comic, which I found rather odd that they would do a comic book storyline to explain the backstory instead of just telling it in the game, but I let it slide…and then I read mayak46’s blog, and I found THESE images taken from tomorrow’s Injustice: Gods Among Us #1.

…So lemme see if I understand this correctly: In the first issue, the issue that’s supposed to get people on board for this story, get them super excited for these comics and the upcoming game, features Superman accidentally murdering his wife Lois Lane, AND their unborn baby, in a shock death. Allow me to appropriately demonstrate my feelings on the matter.

Also, I will admit to having to fight off the urge to write “nWo 4 Life”.

Seriously, this might be the most disgusting thing I’ve seen in a comic since Lian Harper’s corpse in Cry For Justice! DC can forget about me spending money on this comic, and if the game does not feature an ending that undoes this bullshit, NeatherRealm Studios can forget about me spending my money on this game! If anyone else feels the need to, that’s fine, but this is me putting my foot down, and I can’t think of anyway better to put the final punctuation than to borrow the following line: THIS COMIC SUCKS!

How Would I Do A Pokémon Colosseum/XD Game?

Okay, so I was watching the newest part of Chuggaaconroy’s Let’s Play of Pokémon Colosseum yesterday, and I started to get really nostalgic for Colosseum and XD. I always loved how unique those two games were, how they took Pokémon to a darker territory without getting TOO dark, gave us some unique gameplay physics, and a good story with memorable characters. So I got to thinking, how would I do a game like that if I were to make a third entry in that series? So I thought it over, and ultimately, this is what I decided on. This is How I Would Do A Pokémon Colosseum/XD Game.

#1 – More Emphasis on Triple and Rotational Battles

I think I would want the game to utilize Triple and/or Rotational Battles in the same manner that Colosseum and XD utilized Double Battles. I just don’t feel like they were taken advantage of enough in the main series, and this would be a great way for players to experience it. And that leads me into the next thing I’d do…

#2 – Pansear, Pansage, and Panpour as the Starters

I just feel like if this was a Triple/Rotational Battle game, then Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour would work best as the starters. That said, I would make it so that they could learn Grass Pledge, Fire Pledge, and Water Pledge. That way, can see more usage from those moves, and would make the monkeys a bit more unique.

#3 – Have an late-teens main protagonist again

One of the reasons I prefer Colosseum over XD is the design for the main protagonist. Wes is older and a lot more unique looking than pretty much every other main protagonist in Pokémon games, and I just felt it fit the tone more. I’d wanna bring that sort of design back, but also include a female option, because let’s face it, girls play Pokémon too and it’s not fair to lock them down to the male character only.

#4 – The Return of the Shadow Pokémon

Obviously, I’d want to bring back the Shadow Pokémon, though I think I’d want to create a new team of villains, possibly one born of the CIPHER Admins leaving to form their own group (OBVIOUSLY MIROR B., I would never do a game in this series without Miror B.). Also, I think I’d want most of the Shadow Pokémon to be Unova and Hoenn Pokémon, while also taking care to include plenty of uniquely typed Pokémon, and maybe even doing up some new Shadow type attacks. I’d also want to include a Pokémon like Shadow Lugia in that it’s a massively powerful Shadow Pokémon, differently coloured than its normal form, is a Legendary, and can actually be considered horrifying. I’m thinking either Rayquaza or Kyurem.

#5 – Cameos from the new Pokémon in Pokémon X and Y

Well, it’s the next gen coming up, and XD made sure to include cameos by Pokémon in Diamond and Pearl, so why not include cameos by X and Y Pokémon? Maybe even a Triple Battle where you take on the starters as a way of showcasing what they can do.

So that’s all for now. Comment below if there’s anything you’d include, and if I think of anything more or hear good suggestions, I’ll add them to the list. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Animated Villainesses

This is one I’ve actually been sitting on for a while now. Originally it was gonna be a video, and also it was gonna be contained to anime only, but I eventually decided to change it to include all forms of animation. I guess I just really like evil women as villains in my stories, and of course like to see them in my cartoons too. So let’s go ahead and look at five of my all-time favourites, and keep in mind that these are limited to one entry per franchise.

#1 – Pokémon Hunter J from Pokémon

I always felt like Pokémon needed a villain like Pokémon Hunter J: A villain who is ruthless, takes no nonsense, and because we don’t know her backstory or her motivations, she’s someone that cannot be reasoned with and is therefore more frightening. Now, I know a lot of people would likely say Jessie or Cassidy or Domino is the best villainess from Pokémon, but for me, it’s J. And why? BECAUSE SHE ACTUALLY TRIES TO KILL ASH! Everyone else just tries to get Ash out of the way, kidnap him, or at worst knock him out. J has actually fired Hyper Beams at him, had Drapion try to crush him, and dropped him out the back of her aircraft from super high up. In other words, she is thus guilty of not only poaching like most villains on the show, but also attempted murder…Not that it would matter though, since Ash would just regenerate. Hee-hee, never gets old.

#2 – Queen Beryl from Sailor Moon

Yes, I watched this show, I admit it. I’ll also admit that on the odd occasion that I get nostalgic for it, I have a couple of seasons of the dub. And in the initial season of the show, the big bad was Queen Beryl. Now the thing about Beryl was that she demonstrated a number of times that she had more than enough power to destroy Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts…at least if she’d done so early on. Sadly, as is the case with many evil rulers, she let her generals take care of her dirty work for her, punished them horrifically when they failed, and ultimately allowed her enemies to grow strong enough to take her down in the end. So yeah, not the sharpest tool in the shed, but she was powerful and wicked, and very sadistic to her enemies and to her underlings that fell out of her favour.

Now, I should note that as a kid, Beryl was not my favourite villainess from Sailor Moon. So why am I not counting them now? Well…because it was Zoisite. As you’ve probably noticed from the way I described Beryl, my main exposure to this show was the original English dub, and thus is the main form of it in my mind. This kinda messes with me as not only was Zoisite my favourite villain on the show, I actually had a crush on her…then I found out that Zoisite was really a dude and that they changed him to a girl in the dub because of his romantic affiliation with Malachite…Yeah, I was messed up for a while ‘cuz of that…

#3 Poison Ivy from Batman: The Animated Series

Before you say anything, let me just point out that I’m referring strictly to the version from Batman: The Animated Series, though I’m partial to pretty much any version of her. Hell, even the one from the Batman & Robin movie, despite the sheer amounts of cheese involved. But anyway, what can I say about Poison Ivy? Well, for starters, HUMINA HUMINA HUMINA! That said, do not sleep with this woman, it will NEVER stop itching. Once a brilliant botanist, Pamela Isley turned to a life of crime and became one of Batman’s greatest enemies. And considering she can grow massive man-eating plant monsters, it’s not all that hard to understand why. She also occasionally formed a tag team with Harley Quinn, a major fan favourite who got her start in that show. Though personally, Ivy just edges out over her in my opinion.

#4 – Arukenimon from Digimon

Yeah okay, I just wanted a villainess from Digimon, and…well, Arukenimon is the one that got the most screen time. Okay, I think maybe Lilithmon might’ve gotten as much in Xros Wars, but I haven’t seen much of that, so I can’t count it. I will give Arukenimon this much: She was cunning (for the most part) and had the power to turn Control Spires into evil Digimon with no hearts with just a single one of her hairs for each Spire used. In addition, SHE CREATED BLACKWARGREYMON. However, the truth is she really wasn’t all THAT great a villainess. Now who could’ve been much better if they’d gotten the same amount of screen time? LadyDevimon, of course. I mean she was evil to the core, tried to murder helpless civilians, and best of all, regularly got into cat fights with Angewomon. Now who wouldn’t love to have someone like that as a regular antagonist on a children’s show?!…Wait…

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Is that really the best you can do when it comes to animated villainesses? Well, no. No it isn’t.  Because this last one trumps them all in my opinion…

#5 – Reika Kitami from Bible Black

The victim of a horrific incident as a teenager that led to the creation of arguably the most evil woman walking the Earth, Reika Kitami is LITERALLY a servant to Satan and is imbued with his dark powers, twisting her mind into a sadist, a masochist, and just completely insane in her every goal. I don’t know if there exists someone worse…and honestly, if there is, I don’t think I wanna know. But most horrifying of all is that she has the ability to draw you in, wrap you around her finger, and once she’s got you, not only will she never let go, but a part of you won’t want her to. Now I can’t officially recommend people check this series out, and I won’t be adding links to it. Why? Well, with good reason: It’s pornography, and honestly, it can be morally sick. But because it’s still animated, there is no reason to leave her out of this list, and frankly every reason to include her, as she is quite simply the most evil of all animated villainesses.

So those are my 5 Favourite Animated Villainesses. Hope you enjoyed, and hey, here’s hoping we get to see more great animated villainesses in the future! Ja né!

No “What I Bought Today” Today + The Review Must Go On

Well, there is no “What I Bought Today” today on account of the fact that I didn’t buy anything today. Why? Because I didn’t leave the house. Why? Because it’s FUCKING FREEZING OUT THERE!!! One of the downsides of living in a port city in Canada, you see. It gets really, REALLY cold here in January. Don’t worry though, I WILL eventually pick up Nightwing #16 to give my thoughts on it.

In the meantime, I thought I’d give my thoughts on a little mini-movie released by Doug Walker yesterday called The Review Must Go On. For those who haven’t seen it, The Review Must Go On tells how Doug Walker receives a movie in the mail so horrible that he rants on it, finding himself feeling like he did when he first started writing the Nostalgia Critic. After going back and forth on it in his head, arguing with a subconscious projection of the Critic, he finally admits to himself that he really does want to bring him back and goes through with it. Meanwhile, in the world of Demo Reel, Donnie DuPre finds his friends disappearing one by one until he’s confronted by a bright flash of light, revealing itself to be the Plot Hole. His friends return to tell Donnie that the world he’s been living in is a sort of purgatory and that he needs to return to his former life. The Plot Hole returns his former memories to him, revealing that he is, in fact, the Nostalgia Critic. Critic is furious at first, having been a terrible child actor whose mother was destroyed by the Hollywood system and leaving him to grow up embittered and making horrible movies with no one understanding his intentions. However, the Plot Hole reveals to him that this was all a lesson for him, as now everyone he criticizes from now on has a face, and that while he’s free to criticize, he now knows what it’s like to be on that side. Critic’s friends from Demo Reel see him off as they can’t go with him, but tell him they’ll be there if he needs them, and he finds himself in a room designed to look like his old review table, his old clothes there as he suits up and prepares to start again, a little wiser from his experiences.

So, my thoughts…I will say that I understood why Doug ended the Nostalgia Critic before. However, the points brought up in this movie, that Doug had so many things going on in his life that of course he would get sick of it and that there are ways around it all, they make sense and I can understand why Doug would go back on his decision. I actually really enjoyed Demo Reel, but I’ll be fine with it being gone so long as Doug can keep Nostalgia Critic fresh. My only issue, really, is that Tacoma and Rebecca and the others really grew on me, and I’m hoping that I’ll see them again someday.

The fallout since The Review Must Go On from the fans has been HILARIOUS. No really, I’ve been laughing my ass off. I haven’t seen fan fallout this funny since the first few episodes of Power Rangers Samurai aired. First they were upset that Critic was done, then they were upset about Demo Reel, NOW they’re upset that Demo Reel is done and Critic’s coming back. Okay, I suppose that IS a generalization, but it still sorta feels like that’s what’s happening. This is one of those occasions where I’m kinda glad I’m NOT Doug Walker, because I get the feeling the guy feels like he just can’t win sometimes.

I think my favourite parts of this movie were the cameos by the other producers, from Lewis Lovhaug believing that Pollo and Harvey are real, to Lindsay Ellis sending Nella to stop Doug, only for that to backfire when Nella misunderstands what she wants her to do, to Brad Jones basically not giving a shit one way or the other. It really does show that these guys can do a movie without having to use the characters from their shows and still have it be hilarious. Oh, and one other awesome moment, we see that Douchey McNitpick has taken Critic’s place in the Plot Hole. That is both awesomely hilarious and makes TOTAL sense, given the character. Plus, it creates new ways to get him involved in videos in the future.

Now, I should address that there are gonna be some changes to Nostalgia Critic, as shown in a scene where Doug, after admitting he wants Critic to come back, lays out some ground rules. The first, and probably most important one, is that reviews will come out every two weeks. Perfectly understandable, given that Doug is a married man now and his personal life is more important to him than ever, plus he still wants to do a bunch of other new things like Sibling Rivalry (which has been AWESOME, btw). The second is that there will be no more cut-off dates, though he’s assured that he won’t review anything currently in theatres. Again, makes sense, given that nostalgia and bad movies aren’t limited to a specific time period and that he’s ventured outside of it before. The last condition listed is that Critic will be reviewing the movie that inspired Doug to bring him back: The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Basically, to prove that even something forgettable and horrible can still inspire something creative.

Anyway, that’s my thoughts on the matter. Post a comment to let me know what you think, if you agree, if you disagree, though PLEASE no arguments. Ja né!

RIP Atari + Atari Celebrity Roast? o.O

Well, word went public today that Atari, one of the longest lasting names in video game history, has filed for bankruptcy. And I feel really sad about that, I remember my first video game console was an Atari. And yes, I had E.T., and no, I didn’t have it mailed away to be buried in some landfill that we’re gonna see this summer if it existed or not in the Angry Video Game Nerd movie. Point is, I know a lot of people are likely grieving over the loss of Atari after so many years of it managing to stay in the game, so to help tide over the feeling of sadness and despair, here are some of my Atari jokes that will likely stop being as funny (though still as corny) when Atari does go all the way bankrupt.

How do you know you need to toss out an electronic device in your house? If it’s an Atari Jaguar.

What would one call a port of Jumping Jack to the Atari Jaguar CD? Jumping Jack Flush.

How many good games were there for the Lynx? No one knows, we were all playing the Gameboy…or in some cases the Game Gear, ‘cuz let’s face it, Sonic the Hedgehog in the palm of your hand, know what I mean?

How do you know with 100% certainty your car needs to go to the shop? The Atari Jaguar CD started working before the car did.

If you and your significant other aren’t connecting well, what have you become? The wires in the Atari Jaguar CD.

How did Atari think the world would end last year? Asteroids.

How many technicians does it take to fix an Atari Jaguar CD? None, they tried and then they quit and turned to drugs and alcohol.

…Okay, I’m done. Hope my horrible jokes helped ease the pain of Atari’s passing. Ja né!

RIP ATARI
1972 – 2013

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – My 5 Favourite Megazords

So as people probably know by now, I’m a big Power Rangers fan. I’ve been with it ever since the fourth episode of the original season, and from there, I’ve watched damned near every season from start to finish, as well as several Super Sentai seasons in the past few years. And as I’m sure a lot of people will agree on, one of the best parts of the show are the awesome giant robots, known in Power Rangers as Megazords. So I’m going to talk about 5 of my all-time favourites from Power Rangers and Super Sentai, though some could simply be different Zord/Megazord configurations, and as always, you’re free to list your own in the comments. Oh, and for the convenience of those who have never watched the Sentai, I’ll try to keep to using the English terms like Zords, Megazords, etc.

#1 – GokaiOh from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (has yet to début in Power Rangers)

I thought I’d start off with one that hasn’t appeared in PR yet. GokaiOh is a swashbuckler of a giant robot, highly agile for its size and armed with twin sabres. The compartments on its chest, arms, and legs open to reveal a seemingly unending amount of cannonballs that are fired from the cannon protruding from the chest. But that’s not all it can do, as using the Greater Powers of previous teams allows GokaiOh to combine with Zords of the past to create different formations, occasionally based on said team’s Megazord.

#2 – Dragonzord in Battle Mode from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Gouryuujin from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger)

When the Dragonzord was added to the roster of Dino Zords in the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, they were granted the ability to combine it with the Mastodon, Triceratops, and Saber-Toothed Tiger Zords to create the Dragonzord in Battle Mode (also known as Dragonzord in Fighting Mode and erroneously the MegaDragonzord). While it possesses an attack notorious for never frickin’ working, its primary finisher is a massive drill thrust that has claimed many an enemy, even the dreaded Mechagodzilla…kinda. 😛

#3 – Ninja MegaFalconzord from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Super Kakure Daishogun from Ninja Sentai Kakuranger)

True story: When I was a kid, I used to draw really, REALLY bad comics for myself of the Power Rangers fighting giant monsters, and in them, they piloted the Ninja Zords. I LOVED the Ninja MegaFalconzord, probably because it was the first traditional Megazord capable of flight. And what was its finisher? It flies as fast as it can, channelling all of its power into its fists, and punches the bloody hell outta whatever is in its way, not unlike a move Superman popularised. AWESOME.

#4 – Supertrain Megazord from Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (Grand Liner from Kyukyu Sentai GoGo-V)

Oh my God, I love this thing. To anyone who wonders why I love Lightspeed Rescue, my answers are Carter Grayson and THIS: The Supertrain Megazord. First off, it’s HUGE, and with that size comes a TON of power. Also, this baby be packing some serious artillery, from freeze missiles to an ion turbine weapon. Granted, it is slow as all hell, but a smart Ranger wouldn’t set it against speedier monsters unless absolutely necessary anyway. The only other problem with it was that using its artillery could cause overloads at times when they first used it. Still, love this thing. Anyone ever wants to make me happy, park this thing in front of my house. Sure, it would give me a heart attack at first out of fear, but I’d get over it.

#5 – Isis Megazord Predator Mode from Power Rangers Wild Force (GaoIcarus Another Foot and Arm from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger)

During a battle where nearly every one of the Wild Zords were injured, the Wild Force Rangers were forced to get creative and combined the Falcon, Bison, Wolf, and Hammerhead Zords (along with the Gator Staff) to form the Isis Megazord Predator Mode. I LOVE this formation. Hell, it might just be my all-time favourite Megazord, as it has kicking power that could topple mountains, wings that grant high speed flight as well as an invulnerable shield, the ability to paralyse opponents in their tracks, and a final attack that takes the Gator Staff and flies it into the opponent so hard and with so much power that none can stand against it. Almost like the Ninja MegaFalconzord on steroids in a sense.

And that’s it for my favourite Megazords. Again, feel free to list your own in the comments below. Ja né!

Jyger’s Rant Ad

A short reel on some of the things you can see here on my blog, and my show on Blip.

http://blip.tv/jyger85/jygers-rant-ad-6508317

Special thanks go out to Pink Ranger Wannabe, N. Harmonik, and so-shipsahoy, all of whom can be found at the following…

http://pinkrangerwannabe.deviantart.com/
https://twitter.com/pnkrngrwnnb
http://pinkrangerwannabe.tumblr.com/

http://so-shipsahoy.deviantart.com/
https://twitter.com/morgan_meryl
http://morganmeryl.tumblr.com/

http://nharmonik.deviantart.com/

Power Rangers Megaforce Official Teaser! It’s Evaluating Time!

Well, the first official teaser for Power Rangers Megaforce is out, and that means…

It’s Evaluating Time!!!

So first off, here’s the teaser for anybody who hasn’t seen it yet.

Okay, so obvious stuff out of the way first. This has a very prominent sort of ‘everything old is new again’ type of feel. I already knew ahead of time that the plot would be very similar to Mighty Morphin, what with five teenagers being selected by a giant head and his robot buddy to fight off alien invaders. You can make your own call as to whether or not this is a good idea or not, but considering the timing of this season’s airing and the Sentai footage being used, I don’t really blame them for going this route.

I also kinda figured they’d use Go Go Power Rangers again as the theme, though sadly still no Ron Wasserman. My only problem with reusing the theme here is that they’re reusing it after Samurai did, and…Well, how do I be fair about this? Samurai really should’ve had its own unique theme, one with a Japanese feel to it. There really was no reason for Samurai to use Go Go Power Rangers, other than it being the return of the series after Disney had cancelled it, and I don’t think that was a good enough reason to do it.

One thing I wasn’t really expecting was the old morph call of “It’s Morphin Time!” to return. Oh, I suspected at times, considered it a neat idea…and yet, I also find myself feeling a bit mixed by its presence here. Bare in mind, every season since Zeo has had its own morphing call, uniquely tailored to each one, some of my favourites being “Shift Into Turbo!”, “Wild Access!”, “SPD Emergency!”, and “RPM Get In Gear!”. Still, I can get behind the nostalgic feel to it, and since we already know that in the second half of Megaforce they’ll be calling on the powers of the veteran Rangers, I guess it kinda makes sense they’d use the original? Maybe?

The Megaforce Rangers: Gia, Noah, Troy, Jake, and Emma.

I suppose I should take a sec to talk about the suits. LOVE THEM. While I had mixed feelings toward Goseiger at best, I always loved how classic the suits looked. Oh, and for those who didn’t watch Goseiger, the season that Megaforce is being adapted from, and are among those who felt Samurai followed Shinkenger‘s plot too closely, you can relax here. Tensou Sentai Goseiger was about five angels separated from their world and forced to shack with some kid and his scientist father while protecting the Earth. I think we can safely guess that won’t be a factor here. lol

Speaking of suits, I notice that they’re using the Zord cockpits and footage from Goseiger instead of creating their own, and thankfully we (and the budget) are spared the pointless extra suits used only for when they’re in the Zords and for ONE fight scene in the last episode. Seriously, that always bugged the hell outta me. It just seems unnecessary and damaging to the budget to make the Mega Mode suits. Not only that, it always bugged me how DANGEROUSLY close they got to looking like the suits from the MMPR movie. -_-

Oh, and one last thing I should note, even though I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before: Power Rangers Megaforce is admittedly a stupid frigging name, but I just love how GLORIOUSLY 90’s it is. XD

Anyway, that’s all from me for now. Post your thoughts below, lemme know if you’re pumped for this season or not, and we’ll see how Megaforce does when it débuts next month. Ja né!