nate_studio

Not bad, but are we really supposed to believe those cat ears in this dark gritty realistic Gotham?

S1:E21 - Hail, HYDRA! HYDRA and AIM are waging war against one another in the streets of New York, and only one person knows why -- the Black Widow. I'm not sure what you didn't like about this episode, TM2. Sure the animation was a little weird at times, but there's plenty of action - it's everybody against everybody - some great humor, great characterization, and we finally get that Black Widow traitor, double-agent, triple-agent thing resolved. Oh and there were actually two close-up butt shots of her - the one at the end, which you mentioned, and one much much earlier during her flashback explanation of what's going on with HYDRA. You just have to keep a better eye out for the butts, man. And I'm pretty sure she spoke with a Russian accent only when around HYDRA agents. The rest of the time it waas just a typical American accent. Anyway, we finally get the explanation of what she's been up to, who she's working for, and why she framed Hawkeye. She has to let the heroes know so they have some kind of clue what they're up against here. Again, though, the Avengers go in ready for action and not much else. Seriously, do they ever have a strategy when they go for battle? Well, the result is awesome and this episode is just filled with action as everybody scrambles for the Cosmic Cube. Of course, with this show it's never just action. We get plenty of little character moments throughout that keep us loving these guys. Whether it's Cap giving support to his teammates, Iron Man saying bad things about Fury under his breath, Ant-Man opposing violence, Hawkeye being awesome, Hulk flying off the handle, or whatever else, this show does such a great job of giving everyone a solid personality. And that was pretty awesome when Hawkeye shot Ant-Man on an arrow. I know he did it in a comic and it was also one of Hawkeye's accessories in Marvel Legends. In the end, the Avengers win the day, though not without some consequences. Maria Hill wants the heroes to register themselves and isn't going to just let them slide like Fury did. Also there's the whole Cosmic Cube debacle. Both Cap and Strucker touched it at the same time. Did Cap's good cancel out Strucker's evil? Did Cap's guilt bring Bucky back from the dead? Is this what Kang was warning everyone about? What's going on? And where's Nick Fury? Favorite moment: There are a lot of great moments in this one, but the top for me has to be Cap calling Hulk a hero.

It's been a while since I've read Morrison's X-Men, but I don't remember Fantomex being that great. Mostly just confusing. He's part space ship? Or something? I'm with Gambit all the way if it has to be one or the other. Could he use more development? Oui, but he was part of the 90s X-Men cartoon team, so I'll always have a soft spot for him.

S1:E20 - The Casket of Ancient Winters On the hottest day of the year, an ancient artifact is found and a cold wind blows. Ah yes, we finally get to TM2's favorite episode... and I'm sure it's the Norse mythology that really grabbed your attention here and not Ms. Janet Van Bikini. Anyway, this episode gives us two villains - one made of science and the other made of magic. This gives a perfect opportunity to explore the debate between Iron Man and Thor on which is better than the other. This has been touched on pretty lightly in previous episodes... mostly just little comments from Thor about how dangerous science is or from Iron Man about how crazy magic is. Luckily, by the end of the episode (and with some convenient help from Black Panther) they start to understand that the world of science and the world of magic can co-exist and even benefit from each other. Now that all the Kang business is finished, we get back to the bigger plot of Loki being up to something. We're introduced to a new villain who is a freaky dark elf that is half-living and half-dead or whatever. Loki hires this dude to find the Casket of Ancient Winters, but when he's supposed to hand it over, he (gasp) betrays Enchantress! Oh villains. You just cannot trust them. It's funny to me, though, how much of Norse mythology revolves around cold things. Frost Giants, ancient winters, I guess you use what you know. So most of the team stays behind to save New York from the snow monsters (screw the rest of the world) while Thor, Iron Man and Black Panther go track down Malekith (or whatever his name was). A few nice action scenes later and the trio are able to use the powers of teamwork and understanding to defeat the dark elf. Too bad they forgot that Enchantress was still there to steal the Casket away from them. That was pretty funny, actually. The good guys aren't always the ones on top. But more importantly - why does Clint have a farmers tan? Yes, it's funny, but it would have also been funny if it actually matched the costume he wears all the time. Seriously, this guy always has one arm out and one arm covered, but the tan lines we're shown make it look like he always wears a t-shirt. Oh and it was cool getting more Fantastic 4 cameos and a reference to the West Coast Avengers. Favorite moment: Janet, Clint and Hulk totally bailing on the rest of the team to relax by the pool. Least favorite moment: Cap shieldboarding. Really? Does that seem like something he would do?

S1:E19 - The Kang Dynasty Kang the Conqueror's takeover of Earth is well underway, and the Avengers launch a last-ditch offensive to stop the time traveler's plans. Really busy week and lots of late nights. I just now watched this episode. We get the Avengers in their second mission-specific gear- Yay outer space! If that wasn't enough, we get the Avengers space-suited up and walking in slo-mo. A little cheese, but no real complaints. So the team heads to space to fight Kang. I'm pretty sure that's about as intricate as their plan was. They don't really seem equipped for much (other than those snazzy space suits) and really don't know what they are diving head first in to. They fight their way through the atmosphere and into Kang's ship and the loose plan just keeps falling apart. Thor was lost pretty early on and Iron Man and Wasp got separated from the rest of the team. Cap, Hulk, Hawkeye and Ant-Man have the most direct path on the ship and a few fight scenes later get their confrontation with Kang. Ant-Man gets knocked unconscious (maybe just so he wouldn't complain about violence for the next few minutes) and the others are over powered by Kang. That is until Iron Man and Wasp come in with a few game changers. First up is Iron Man. Now, I mentioned that the last episode was him at his worst, but here Tony is back to his old self and has used his brilliant mind to learn Kang's tech well enough to teach it to Ultron who can actually use it. Wasp comes in a few minutes later with some startling news - Kang is really just doing all of this conquering for a girl. Somehow, his damaged timeline caused his love to start dying, so his only hope for her is to repair the timeline. It's a good thing Wasp was the one to discover her because I think she's the only one who would have used that knowledge to stop the invasion (Ant-Man would have just wanted to study her, Hawkeye would try to seduce her, Hulk would smash her, etc). Well, she hoped it would stop the invasion, but when Kang was still too upset, Cap just smashed his face in with his shield. Whatever works, right? At the end we get too really nice scenes. First is Ant-Man and Mr. Fantastic's cameo studying that Princess in her strange state of partial-existance with Ultron lurking forebodingly in the background. It's probably subtle if you're a kid and don't realize that Ultron is about to go nuts in another couple episodes and try to kill everyone. If you do realize the threat, then it's a little haunting. Second is another nice moment between Iron Man and Captain America tying back in to their debate a few episodes ago about past vs future. Oh and Kang mentions that Cap is still responsible for horrible amounts of death and destruction. As always, I'm impressed with the fight sequences and that they are able to highlight each character and give them their turn to shine without making it too obvious. This is really hard to do with such a large cast, but they always pull it off well and each character seems like a real person and has specific reactions to things. Favorite moment: Thor deflecting Kang's super weapon. Awesome.

I ate fiberglass insulation. It wasn't cotton candy like the guy said... my tummy itches.

Maybe there's a Hank Pym cameo and he makes Cap into Giant Man? But seeing the Lego versions always remind me how much cooler 'mates look. Now if only we could get all of the vehicles and playsets that Lego has... Oh and how upset would you guys be if they made up new aliens just for this movie?

You guys talking about the beginning of season 2 really makes me realize I don't remember how season 1 ended. But we'll rewatch it all soon enough. S1:E18 - Come the Conqueror Kang's invasion of Earth begins in earnest! A fleet of ships from the future unleashes war on the planet, and the Avengers are helpless to stop it. One of my favorite things about this episode is how Cap really steps up and starts giving orders. He's also the one who yells "Avengers, assemble!" in this episode and it's awesome. I also like how Cap is the one to declare this a war and say that they need an army. It just shows his character really well. This guy was made from war, and he knows one when he sees one. Unfortunately, the Avengers make a really, really bad call and create their army from Ultrons. Ant-Man teaches them violence and they are good at it. Foreshadowing. I guess the pro and con with this episode is that it's almost entirely action. The last ep was the initial confrontation with Kang, and the next ep is their second confrontation with Kang. This ep was just them fighting Kang's robots and looking for Kang. On the other hand, them fighting Kang's robots was great. The animation was expertly done and every few seconds I'd keep thinking "yeah, that's why Thor is so awesome. Oh man, Hawkeye is so cool. Oh yeah, Ant-Man is so powerful" and that's fun. It just doesn't leave me a whole lot to write about. Every character gets a few chances to shine, whether it's Wasp finding 'bigger stingers' or Giant-Man tackling the giant robot. Well, I guess that's not entirely true... Iron Man is shown at what may be his weakest point. He's unfocused, he's angry, and he can't solve the problem he's trying to solve. Cap has basically taken over command, leaving Tony to focus his energy on finding Kang. Eventually he does, but this really isn't his best episode. Oh and Black Panther (understandably) returns to Wakanda, but before that he was doing pretty good in the fight. Favorite moment: Hawkeye having to save the Hulk.

Wow lots of big grins there. Good to hear season 2 is off to a good start and that Ultimate Spider-Man will be better than MTV Spider-Man. I can't wait to watch those shows. And thank you for not spoiling anything! But could you just tell me if they start off the new season in the new costumes or if that will come later? Any thoughts on episode 17 from anyone? I'll be adding episode 18 tomorrow.

The more I look at the alien on the right the more he looks like a Kree. The one on the left, however, looks completely different. Let us know what you come up with, Miry

Great job with these posters, Zach. I just saw them on Twitter and can't wait to see the rest of them. And these mates look fantastic by the way. You guys perfectly captured Robert Downey Jr. It's uncanny. I am so excited for everything related to this movie

These look amazing. That is exactly the Colossus I've been waiting for and everyone else looks spot on as well. Can't wait for these.

The Japanese trailer is pretty rad. The REDACTED don't immediately look anything like the typical 616 aliens, but I also don't think they look like frost giants. They look too... well... alien. I hope they aren't frost giants. That would be legitimately dissapointing. I mean, I'll be in the theatre May 4th either way, but I'd be more excited for Avengers vs aliens than Avengers vs people Thor already beat by himself in his own movie that we already saw.

I think by now you know that Minimates are nothing like Legos. tell that to everyone that looks at my display ... please. Truth. Truth. And more truth.

I got Aunt May and SHIELD agent yesterday (thanks, Luke!) and I have an JJJ on the way (thanks Mattallica!). After getting the SHIELD agent out of the package, I can see why everyone's going nuts for these guys. Makes me second guess passing up the Dumdum set so many times at TRU, but there's probably still one there. And while we can all cobble together a decent Nick Fury, it would be great if DST gave us an official update - plus it would be another chance to get more agent bodies. Oh and Aunt May is pretty cool too if you're in to older lady mates. :biggrin:

Even if people aren't army building, it can still be impossible to buy the exclusives from TRU. I still haven't had any luck getting a Crossbones that wasn't overpriced. I checked both local TRUs and one not local TRU and they were all gone. TRU's website couldn't keep them in stock and now everyone on ebay wants $20 for him. I wish it was only the army builder packs, but it happens to any cool character, so a pack with MODOK and Akuma might be even tougher to find than Crossbones and Captain-I-wore-this-costume-once.

Are most people buying that pack for the Sentinel or for Ryu? IMO, we got a better Sentinel already and we're getting a better Ryu in MvC3 wave 3. I got my Wolve/Viewtiful Joe pack today from Luke. Joe instantly became one of my favorites (I love the games). Wolvie is nice and has some detailing I hadn't noticed before. I'm glad to have him in his modern costume, but I really wanted this set for Viewtiful Joe.

Hope it heals quickly! I'd ask how you broke it, but that's probably an innapropriate question to ask someone.

Odin is the highlight of these sets for me. Hawkeye would be cool too if he wasn't wearing his Tron suit.

Thanks for the claw info on Wolverine. I was hoping for the more rectangular claws instead of the needles. Oh well.

Haha. Yeah, I figured the two were just together because they both had bird-theme names. Even though I'm not sure "mocking bird" makes any sense for her. She doesn't have any mocking bird-like powers from what I've read. S1:E17 - The Man Who Stole Tomorrow Kang the Conqueror has arrived in the 21st century with two goals: destroy Captain America and take over the world. So here's the man we've all been waiting to get mated. Kang. The conqueror. He's one tough dude, but before we get in to him, we should start back with what our heroes are up to. I've said it before, but I love the way this show handles the various characters. They all have distinct personalities and they all go deeper than "he's the smart one, he's the tough one and that's the fun one". I've been watching some bad 90s cartoons lately to relive my childhood and I'm disappointed in a lot of the characterization. Your favorite character is more based around what animal/color they have instead of who's personality is most appealing to you. This show, thankfully, is different. Perfect example - this episode gives us a semi-philisophical debate between old-timer Cap and futurist Iron Man. They both have goood points of view and it makes for an interesting conversation. More importantly - especially for the kids watching, I suspect (it's interesting watching this show only as an adult. There are so many cartoons that I can rewatch now and have a better apprecation for all the little things than I did as a kid who is more interested in good vs evil than character nuances, but for this show I can only really see it through the eyes of a 25 year old) - it leads to Cap and Iron Man in a boxing match. I feel like this is when Cap really starts second guessing Tony's position as team leader. This really comes in to play once Kang attacks. So Kang is apparently a human (?) from the future who's timeline has been disrupted by something in the present that shouldn't have changed (like Bishop, but with a blue face instead of a mullet). That thing, is Captain America's presence. Kang tells us that there will be a war on Earth between the Kree and the Skrulls and that something Cap does will basically ruin everything for everyone. So he figures the best way to make sure the future isn't ruined is to remove Cap from the timeline. Of course, the Avengers don't like the sound of that so we are treated to another excellent fight. What was really great about this one was how the intensity just keeps going up. Everyone starts out giving it hard, but after a while everyone just starts fighting angry. I love that this show took it there. Kang stops just throwing up force feilds and starts throwing our heroes at each other. Everyone just starts cutting loose. Cap makes it clear that he can give orders just as well as he can take them, but still ultimately differs to the team-leader for the actual decisions. Tony really needs to step up his game or step aside, because Cap is just waiting to take over. But this episode is also a great example of how the team works so well together and why they need to assemble to take down the bigger foes. Favorite moment: The fight between Cap and Iron Man. Sorry, Kang.

My vote : If you have some fun first-round matchups, let's go ahead and start with those.

EDIT: Wait a minute.. we need 64 mates? Wow. I updated my numbers below because I originally was thinking we only needed 16 minimates. Maybe have Spider-Man, Wolverine, Iron Man and Captain America in by default, since they have more iterations by a landslide, and then open the other 60 slots up to election? Or also include Hulk, Cyclops, Thor and Jean Grey by default and just have the final 56 slots for election. Or if you want to cut down on elections, you could even default in Thing and Daredevil, so we only have to start electing for people with 8 and under iterations. Up to you, Hellpop. I don't know anything about baseketball, but this could be fun to see with minimates.

I hope Hawkeye doesn't look too much like Ultimate or Movie Hawkeye in season 2. Ultimate-looking Cap is a big enough adjustment for me, but at least he still has a mask and is still red, white and blue. Hawkeye's mask doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's more iconic than a pair of sunglasses. As for the whole "death" issue, I mostly assume any comic book character's death won't stick. Unless they are... what... Gwen Stacy? Bucky came back. Jason Todd came back. Oh I guess Uncle Ben is still dead too. Tough luck for Spidey.

Can anyone who has the Wolverine / Viewtiful Joe set confirm what type of claws this version of Wolvie has? Thanks!