The Metal Maniac

I've been watching. Last week's episode was much better then this weeks. I find it's kinda unlike Lost though, in the sense that even though there's weird stuff going on, you KNOW that it's aliens and stuff, whereas with Lost, I still have no fucking clue what's really going on.

And even though there's been legends about them for centuries, this is the first time anyone has ever actually seen one live. Except the sailors on the boats that got attacked. I mean, come on; of all the stories, some had to be true, right?

Which means that it isn't totally cut-and-dried. There are different ways to look at it, thus, it is left to the imagination. Not many ways, true, but all I was originally trying to say is that not everything in the Star Wars movies is made exceptionally painfully obvious (though I do agree that a fair bit of stuff is). As for the Windu bit, I dunno; while I do see how it could have been part of his scheme, it seems like it was a bit too risky; he need to rely on Anakin deciding to disobey Mace Windu and go there in the first place, Mace Windu not killing him until Anakin arrived, and Anakin making the right choice, again, before Windu decided to kill him. That's a fair bit left to chance, even if you can forsee the future somewhat. I mean, it just seems to me like planning to be unarmed, at the business end of the lightsaber blade of one of the most powerful Jedi, is pretty damned silly. I think it makes more sense that he planned to battle the Jedi and have Anakin bust in *before* he was put in such a risky position. But hey, that's just my opinion.

He's at Windu's mercy, Windu being one of the most powerful Jedi ever. Also, I don't really get this: I don't see how not explaining the how and why of Anakin's virgin birth ISN'T leaving things to the imagination.

He does leave some stuff to the imagination though. Like, Anakin's birth. It's never really explained how a virgin birth took place, but Palpatine does state that Darth Plageuis was able to create life - but he never says that was the cause of Anakin's birth. And besides, he could be lying.

They make an ass out of you and...uh....umptions?

Would you not say that the original Looney Tunes cartoons were timeless?

Yeah, X-Factor is probably the best of the Blaze albums (which isn't saying much, I know) and I'd rank it above No Prayer for the Dying, hell, *maybe* even over Fear of the Dark. That said, I'd also say that Somewhere in Time, as well as some of Maiden's golden-era albums (Powerslave, Piece of Mind) are better then Dance of Death. That is a damned good album though.

Did you try stretch pants?

If you wore the jeans you were going to return when you went to the store... What would you wear when you left the store?

I only ever read one Elseworlds comic, but it was easily one of the best comics I'd ever read. Basically, Earth was invaded by aliens. The aliens quickly realized that super-humans posed a huge threat to their invasion, so they decreed that anytime a super-human was seen, 10,000 people would be killed. Any time a super-human so much as made a fist, 50,000 would die. This leads to the people of Earth turning against the heros, and most of them retire/die. The comic picks up about ten years after this occurs. Aliens are in controland everything is peachy, but then the heros obviously make their comeback. They gathered up as many heros as they could find (which was like, 7) and then the story continues in the second comic, which I never read. There was just a lot of really interesting stuff going on. Like, the Flash is crippled. He has weird leg support things so he can walk, but he can't run. A number of no-super heros (like Robin) amade a last-stand against the aliens, but got slaughtered - Lex Luthor was there though, and not only did he survive, but his brain ended up in Metallo, and he changed his name to Metallex. Best of all, there was only ONE hero who never, ever gave up. Fucking BATMAN. Since it's in the future, his gadgets are now much more intricate, and he's able to destroy an entire refinery by himself, without leaving any witnesses. The aliens can't even prove that Batman exists, so they don't kill anyone over it. Oh, and when they asked Batman to join their last stand, he told Superman to fuck off. Not in those words, but close enough.

Me and a buddy theorized last night that Desmond could possibly have the same sort of powers that Walt does, only since he's older, he has more control. Like, maybe he somehow made that girl able to walk again to fuck with Jack. That could also explain why the Others know about/want Walt. Perhaps Desmond alerted them to his presence and powers, for reasons unknown. Hell, maybe that's part of the reason that he's inside the Hatch in the first place. Perhaps some higher-ups wanted someone who had those types of powers running the island in the first place (perhaps so he could mentally manipulate events - like making planes crash?) and maybe they now want Walt to be his replacement. But that's a lot of theorizing with little basis; I cannot wait for the next few episodes.

Those are his natural abilities. I forget the title, but some years back Marvel did publish a four-issue miniseries detailing Apocalypse's origin. He was born thousands of years ago in Egypt as "En Sabah Nur", and was, basically, the first mutant born on Earth. He was considered cursed because of his appearance (his greyish skin color and the markings on his face are apparently from birth), but was raised by a tribe of nomads who followed a "only the strong survive" philosophy, which sort of shaped his later Darwinian mindset. If memory serves me, once he was grown into adulthood, he rose up and used his abilities to overthrow the Pharaoh of Egypt, who I believe was, at that time, the time-traveller Kang. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> There is a link to nearly anything you could ever want to know about Apocalypse. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> According to that link, Apocylpse's shape-shifting powers are the result of the alien technology, with his only birth ability seeming to be his immortality.

You know, I'm not the least bit surprised that this video appears to be Japanese.

That's a great thing to assume about someone you not only don't know, but who already threatened to do exactly that.

Wait a second...it's really sensitive to movements, movements which control whatever you happen to be playing...and the damned thing SHAKES? Anyone else think that's a little silly?

Looking at these pics, it seems that it's designed to be held in one hand, like a remote. So how do you use the buttons at the bottom of the thing?

I have no idea if he could actually do the acting part, but Brock Lesnar might make for a good Captain America, at least from a visual standpoint. I mean, he's huge, he's blone, he's athletic - I think that's all you need.

This is one thing that really bugs me about the Simpsons these days: Re-using jokes. I mean, I know it's been 17 years, but still.

Interesting point...I suppose it would have been hard to keep Banner as a character you want to see when he's busy committing genocide. That said though, I have low standards for movies and am easily entertained by special effects. I wanna see HULK SMASH! Also, since we're talking about Marvel movies anyway: What are the chances of Marvel cross-over movies? I think Spider-Man and the X-Men are used by different studios, so does that mean it's impossible, or is it the kind of thing they could get around if they really tried? Also, are the other heros all owned by different studios, or what? I dunno, I just think they could do a lot of neat stuff if they started doing cross-overs. I mean, I may not have the desire to see another Hulk movie, but if you told me that Spider-Man had to try and stop a Hulk rampage in the next movie, I'd be all over that.

I thought it was funny when John K. complained that Family Guy sets a low standard for animators, because it can be drawn when you're ten. Who the fuck DRAWS cartoons anymore? So many of them are done with computers these days, it's sad.

I dunno about that...the thing that bugged me about the Hulk was that it was the one Marvel movie that should have been nothing but chaos and killing for 2 hours. I mean, he mutates into a big monster when he gets mad. There's not as much depth to the character to play around with as there is in say, Spider-Man or X-Men. I think that was part of the reason that Hulk didn't do so well...people expected lots more smashing (and who could blame them? It's the HULK!) and instead we get some guy sitting in a chair with the shakes. The hell?

Oh, I'm a fan of the film myself (how can you hate bits like "Who brings a knife to a gun fight?"), it's just that most people seemed to dislike it.

Wow, other people liked the Punisher? What's that bring the total up to now, 7?

Okay, yes, Wizard of Id is pretty bad (not just because it's not funny, but because the drawings are just plain bad), but I used Blondie as my example because it has, literally, been around for 75 years. 75 years worth of jokes about eating sandwiches, having a jerk for a boss, and sleeping on the couch. That's not a strip, that's a normal person's life. I mean, I understand why Blondie is still around and Calvin and Hobbes isn't, but that doesn't mean I can't get mad about it. Also, I don't understand this: It lasted a long time because it lasted a long time?