Great Cartoon

This is from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal. Sometimes so so, sometimes hilarious.

And I Thought They Smelled Bad on the Outside...

One of the nerdiest things I've ever seen:



Tauntaun Sleeping Bag

I'd love to have a couple of these. If nothing else, I'd love to have one for Sophia to take with her when the time comes for her to go to Girls Camp. Heh.

Stay warm, friends.

Giant Robots!

Holy crap! I'd love to see a feature film made by this director.

Super Emo Friends!

Stolen, as usual, from the Hero Boards:



Wow, I thought Cyclops had it rough....

Disney buying Marvel

Disney is buying Marvel Comics for 4 billion.

Wow.

This was not something I expected to see this morning. Huge huge news for comics. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, this will do to the comics themselves.. I have some hopes, as I think Marvel has been a cesspool of bad writing (with a very few expections) for years, I hope this will make things better. Others will feel differently of course.

The biggest reason, I'm sure, is to get access to the characters for theme parks, movies and videogames.

I've lamented the "disneyfication" of other source material (Hunchback for example, or the Three Musketeers), but as bad as I feel Marvel is right now, I'd welcome it.

Marvel-DC Dustup (Part 5)

All right, it's been a while, but let's pick up the action right where we left off. Since there are a total of nine pairings left, we'll look at five matchups this time instead of four.

Triathlete vs. Steel
Triathlete? I've never even heard of him. What does he do? I'd better look up his powers and skills and see if he can even give Steel an entertaining fight.
:: looks up info ::
Um, no.
Winner: Steel

Sub-Mariner vs. Aquaman
The 'Meh' fight of the series. Seriously, Fishboy vs. Hook-hand? Hard to get excited about this one. Okay, so you can live underwater and talk to fish. That means you have the same powers as Spongebob Squarepants. Oh, except that Fishboy can't even talk to fish.
Winner: Aquaman

Black Widow vs. Black Canary
This is a hard one to call. Black Widow's espionage skills and combat training (armed and unarmed) make her a formidable enemy. Chances are, she'll take you out before you even know she's looking for you. In a straight-up fight, though, Black Canary's sonic scream gives her a profound advantage.
Winner: Black Canary

Tigra vs. Huntress
Another hard one to call. Huntress is so skilled and so driven that it's hard to pick against her in a fight. But the fact is that Tigra is faster, stronger, and more agile. Huntress keeps it interesting, but Tigra eventually takes the fight.
Winner: Tigra

Vision vs. Martian Manhunter
These two have quite possibly the most bizarre powersets for major heroes in their respective companies. Vision is a phasing energy projecting android flying brick. Manhunter is a phasing shapeshifting telepathic alien flying brick. If you were a GM and one of your players brought either of these concepts to you for a character, would you let them play it? Seriously, though, I think J'onn's wildly varied powers would prove too much for Vision to overcome with his wildly varied powers.
Winner: Martian Manhunter

Tactical Genius!

Borrowed from the Hero Discussion Boards:

Marvel-DC Dustup (Part 4)

All right, it's been a while, but here's the next set of match-ups and the anticipated results.

Crystal vs. Ice
Crystal has the ability to control the four classic Elements: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. Ice has control over cold and, well, ice. Hey, isn't ice just really cold water?
Winner: Crystal

Machine Man vs. Plastic Man
Is Machine Man really even an Avenger? I know he's worked with them before, but I wasn't aware that he'd ever been a formal member. Regardless, I think Plastic Man wins. Machine Man is probably stronger, but Plas can stretch farther and can really soak up the damage.
Winner: Plastic Man

Ms. Marvel vs. Power Girl
Carol is super-strong, can fly, and has energy manipulation powers. Kara is a Kryptonian. That pretty well settles it. Another nice fight for the fanboys where costumes are concerned, incidentally.
Winner: Power Girl
Note: If Carol is Binary rather than Ms. Marvel or Warbird, she wins. Easily.

Wonder Man vs. Captain Marvel
I would rather see Hercules against Captain Marvel, but I understand the reason for this pairing. It has a hero from each company using the other company's trademark (Wonder Man /Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel/Marvel Comics). Ah, Irony. Anyway, Captain Marvel seems to be the stronger combatant here. However, Wonder Man's ionic energy makes him a dangerous and somewhat unpredictable quantity. I'm picking Wonder Man for the upset.
Winner: Wonder Man

Your responses, gentlemen (and ladies, if any)?

Marvel-DC Dustup (Part 3)

Okay, here's the next round of matchups. Starting at the bottom of the picture:

The Wasp vs. The Atom
Ray (this is Ray, right?) is more intelligent and can shrink to a smaller size, both of which are considerable advantages. Janet's powers are more versatile, though (energy blast and flight), and she has years of experience as the leader of the Avengers. These factors tip the balance in her favor.
Winner: The Wasp


Hawkeye vs. Green Arrow
It's hard to pick against either of these two. They are so evenly matched in speed, skill, attitude, and the ability to make snappy patter to distract an opponent. And both of them rarely miss. As Ronin, however, Clint probably has better hand-to-hand fighting skills. Once they both run out of trick arrows, Hawkeye wins.
Winner: Hawkeye


Beast vs. Vixen
Beast is smarter, stronger, and faster. But Vixen's powers give so many different options in combat, I don't think Beast would be able to keep up. Sorry, Hank.
Winner: Vixen


Scarlet Witch vs. Zatanna
Red combat lingerie vs. Magic fishnets. In picking a winner for this fight, the snarky part of me wants to say "Every fanboy who reads the comic". But on to the actual fight. Zatanna typically has to speak to cast her spells, which could be a disadvantage, but not a major one. Wanda probably has more raw power—chaos magic is nasty stuff. But she's just too unstable to rely on in a fight. Zatanna's skill and steadiness wins the day.
Winner: Zatanna

Comments?

DC vs Marvel Dustups part 2a

My responses to Lord Mhoram's post (below):

Quicksilver vs. Flash:
This fight is over quicker than you can say, "This fight is over." Besides, Quicksilver's a jerk. He deserves to get the snot beaten out of him.

Giant-Man vs. Orion:
Giant-Man loses this fight not because Orion is so much stronger, but because, as Dilliwag pointed out over on his blog, he's Hank Pym.

Black Panther vs. Blue Beetle:
I don't know much about Blue Beetle, but I know that Black Panther is no one to be messed with. Panther wins.

Quasar vs. Firestorm:
Hmm, I'm not as convinced on this one. Quasar, to me, always seemed like a weak Green Lantern knock-off. And in all the published stories in which I've seen him, he seemed either underpowered, unimiginative, or just plain boring. I think Firestorm gives him a run for his money. In fact, I pick Firestorm for the win.

DC vs Marvel Dustups part 2

I'm going to list what I figure are the blowouts. :)

Quicksilver vs. Flash:
Speed of Sound vs Speed of Light. Duh.

Giant-Man vs. Orion:
A growth based brick (who has fallen to the Hulk pretty easily) vs a guy that can actually hurt Superman. No contest.

Black Panther vs. Blue Beetle:
As much as I love Ted - T'Challa takes him in any kind of fight.

Quasar vs. Firestorm:
I think the Firetorm here is Ronnie, but no Professor. Quasar is one the biggest energy powerhouses in the Avengers. Firestorm has been overwhelmed by Killer Frost and other energy people. Quasar would toast him.

Technological Terror

I love Star Trek and all, but it certainly isn't Star Wars.

Marvel-DC Dustup (Part 1)

Hey, fellow authors, remember the days when we used to do group participation posts? Where one of us would post a topic, and the others would respond? I miss that. So I've decided to bring it back. Consider this an engraved invitation to share your wisdom and insights, Lord Mhoram and Dilliwag (and anyone else who wants to play along, I suppose).

Today's topic: Marvel Heroes vs. DC Heroes.

I'm sure everyone's familiar with this picture:



This spread features no less than two dozen pairings of some members of the two companies' flagship teams. The matchups, as best I can tell, are as follows:

Wasp vs. Atom
Captain America vs. Batman
Hawkeye vs. Green Arrow
Scarlet Witch vs. Zatanna
Quicksilver vs. Flash
Crystal vs. Ice
Machine Man vs. Plastic Man
Warbird vs. Power Girl
Thor vs. Superman
Giant-Man vs. Orion
Wonder Man vs. Captain Marvel
Iron Man vs. Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
Triathlete vs. Steel
Sub-Mariner vs. Aquaman
Black Widow vs. Black Canary
Black Panther vs. Blue Beetle
Tigra vs. Huntress
Quasar vs. Firestorm
Vision vs. Martian Manhunter
She-Hulk vs. Wonder Woman
Firestar vs. Fire
Hercules vs. Big Barda
Justice vs. Red Tornado
Falcon vs. Hawkman

(Roughly bottom to top. By the way, who's that fighting Red Tornado? Is it Jack of Hearts? Or maybe someone else? I can't tell. Little help here?)

Anyway, pictures like this always make me wonder: Who would win?

My invitation is to pick the winner of each fight. (We'll just do the Big Three from each company, to start with.) Give details. Debate. Speculate. You remember the drill.

I'll begin.

Captain America vs. Batman
The toughest fight to pick, right out of the gate. In the comics, these two fought each other to a standstill over an extended period of time--hours, as I recall. It's hard to single out an advantage in skill, willpower, strategy, endurance, or weaponry for either one. In the end, I have to go with my gut feeling: As a wartime combat veteran, Cap wins. Barely.
(Too bad both of these characters are currently dead.)
Winner: Captain America


Thor vs. Superman
God of Thunder. Man of Steel. The two heaviest hitters (with the possible exception of Hulk) in the two universes. Superman has his Kryptonian heritage and decades of skill as a hero. Thor has his Asgardian physiology, his mighty hammer Mjolnir, and mystical control over lightning and thunder. Is it enough to beat Superman? Sadly, Thor, I say thee nay.
Winner: Superman


Iron Man vs. Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
Conventional wisdom says that Green Lantern wins this fight, pretty much regardless of who the opponent is. And were the two people involved anyone other than Kyle and Tony, I'd agree without hesitation. Kyle is skilled with the ring and possesses an almost limitless imagination. But Tony is a scientific genius, an experienced hero and warrior, a survivor, and as recent events have shown, a ruthless S.O.B. when he feels the need to be. In a straight-up fight, Kyle wins. Tony makes sure this isn't a straight-up fight. This is my dark horse pick of the first round.
Winner: Iron Man


She-Hulk vs. Wonder Woman
She-Hulk is strong, smart, and strangely able to make green and purple look good together. She's a tough fight for almost anyone. But Wonder Woman is an icon. That, and she flies. All other things being equal--and I don't believe all other things are equal, in this case--that gives Diana the win.
(Incidentally, I think Wonder Woman vs. Ms. Marvel would be a much more interesting fight.)
Winner: Wonder Woman

I look forward to seeing your picks--and your reactions to mine.

Liberation

And now for a little alternate history:

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and critically wounded, but survived. When the would-be assassin was revealed to be a communist sympathizer, the Red Scare of the 50's returned to the United States with a vengeance. All the old paranoia returned, matched only by the outcry that something be done to make the country safer. In the midst of this political climate, President Kennedy, now confined to a wheelchair by his injuries, oversaw the transformation of the nation into the single dominant political and military power in the world.

Fueled by outrage in the international community and unprecedented sympathy back home, Kennedy began America's War of Liberation against Communism. Under American military and technical leadership, the New Allied Nations drove the Communists from power in North Korea, North Vietnam, and most of the Warsaw Pact nations. Chairman Mao was forced to abdicate in China, and Chiang Kai-shek was installed as President in a pro-American government. Finally, in 1979, the Soviet Union collapsed and fractured into more than a dozen individual nations, all of them desperately seeking alliances with America.

Enjoying unparalleled prestige and popularity, Kennedy had also moved to consolidate his power base back home. The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution overturned the Twenty-second Amendment in 1967, allowing President Kennedy to run for President in '68 and again in '72. He won both elections easily. By 1976 his newly-formed American Freedom Party had supplanted both the Republicans and the Democrats, and by 1984 he was making his quadrennial run for the Presidency effectively unopposed. In 1992, before cheering crowds, he declared himself President for Life.

Since then, the American Freedom Party has ruled politics in the United States with the proverbial iron fist. The government-sponsored press, the nationalized economy, and the largest military in world history are all answerable directly to President Kennedy. Crime is virtually nonexistent in the United States, as convicted criminals are shipped to prisons overseas and never seen in America again. Unemployment is unheard of; those without jobs are put to work building roads, bridges, power stations, and other projects essential to the nation's infrastructure. Those who will not work are deported.

In 2002, the American Union replaced the outdated United Nations as the world's premiere international organization. Those nations allied with the United States enjoy peace and prosperity. Those that aren't are crushed and left to fend for themselves.

Now well into his nineties, American President for Life John F. Kennedy effectively rules the world. Everyone in America is happy with the state of things—or if they're not happy, they don't say anything.

Late in 2006, a young and idealistic American history student named Marcus Norlander came to a startling conclusion: His country was no longer what he had always been taught that it was. It was not the country that had freed the world from the specter of Communism. It was the country that had supplanted Communism and taken over the world under the leadership of a despot. The Pax Americana was a lie.

That's when the 'accident' occurred. Marcus probably should have been killed in the explosion, but instead he gained superhuman powers: vast strength and resistance to injury, super-speed flight, and the ability to project blasts of pure force with devastating effect. Working with a small group of like-minded renegade heroes, he seeks to restore America to what it once was—and what it should be. Taking his code name from an American heavy bomber from World War II, Marcus now fights for the salvation and restoration of America as ...



The Liberator!

--
Image by me; Story by me based on the "Brave New World" game.

Battle of the imagination

Found this posted at a message-board. Loved it so I have to share.

Yoda Man!

Have You Ever Dreamed of Superpowers?

This is good stuff. Very amusing.

Bail Out Lex Luthor!

"Lex Luthor Bailout" with Jon Hamm - watch more funny videos

Calling All Browncoats!

NASA is running a contest to name the third Node of the International Space Station.

You can vote here.

Fans of Firefly and will be happy to know that as of this post, "Serenity" is leading the vote count.

Shiny!

Star Wars for Dummies?

Star Wars: Retold (by someone that's never seen it) - watch more funny videos

The Physics of Starship Battles

Excellent video regarding the real life physics of starship battles.



Bring on the particle accelerators!