WEDNESDAY WHIMSY

By @hmsbeefnuts

Hello, welcome back. This week I am going to focus on books, comic books and the normal type. I don’t usually have a lot of time for reading, but recently, I have found myself reaching for a few books, and even finishing them! I know, how exciting. It is true, the majority of these books have been graphic novels, but still, they count, they definitely count. So without too much fuss, lets just get on with this blog shall we?

BATMAN THE BLACK MIRROR

This was the first time I had read a Batman story that didn’t involve Bruce Wayne, apart from the Knightfall saga. Dick Grayson is our Batman in this tale of serial murder, crime bosses, dead whales, villain auctions and sons gone bad. I would not want to spoil anything for you, it really is that good. At first I wasn’t sure if Batman would be as compelling without Bruce Wayne, but I needn’t have worried. Dick Grayson is a different kind of character, but no less compelling as the Dark Knight. His past as Robin, Nightwing and a police officer in Bludhaven all come in to play in some sublime story telling by Scott Snyder. In many ways this is the first comic since Batman: Year One that features the Gordon character in such a brilliant way. His story is just as compelling as Batman’s and sometimes even more so. This is one of the best Batman graphic novels I have ever read, and I really didn’t think I would be saying that about a Batman comic that didn’t have Bruce Wayne in it. I urge everyone with an interest in Batman to seek this out, it really is rather special.

OLD MAN LOGAN

In the world of the future, there are no heroes anymore. Most of them have died, and the few who are left aren’t in the hero business anymore. Logan AKA Wolverine, is older, has a family, and hasn’t popped his claws since the supervillains took over. He works a farm that is under the control of The Hulks, and he owes them a lot of rent money. When Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye comes to him with a proposition, Logan takes the seemingly easy job, so he can get the Hulks off his back. Basically a futuristic western, this has The Man With No Name flavour all over it. It is a fantastic tale, which I will not spoil here, that shows us the end of the Marvel heroes as we know them, and an adventure with Logan and Hawkeye. the first of which refuses to release his anger and claws, but you just know that at some point, someone is going to push him too far, he is Wolverine after all. I loved this book, and I would recommend it to anyone. As it doesn’t take place in comic continuity, you don’t need to know loads about the Marvel Universe but a basic knowledge will serve you well.

THE INFINITY GAUNTLET

As soon as I saw The Avengers (I refuse to call it Marvel’s Avengers Assemble), I knew I had to find out who that purple dude with a massive jaw line was. Well turns out he is Thanos, the Mad God, and this was the most recognisable Thanos book out there. Basic story is, after collecting all the Infinity Gems, and placing them in the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos tries to impress his lady love Death. The gauntlet and gems give him ultimate power over everything and everyone in the universe and beyond, a power he uses to try to get the attention of the afore-mentioned Death. Of course this causes many problems for the heroes of Earth and beyond, so it’s time for a huge super hero smack down to stop Thanos before he destroys everything. This was my first proper taste of intergalactic Marvelness, and I have to say, it was pretty amazing. I love a good hero team up, and when all of Earths mightiest heroes team up with the galaxies strongest, fun is sure to be had. I will admit to not knowing a few of the characters back stories, but as I have been reading some classic Marvel recently, I knew most of the characters featured. I think that sometimes, diving in to a graphic novel fresh, can be a bit daunting, but it pays off often, and leads you on to discover more amazing adventures featuring characters you may never have thought about before. The Infinity Gauntlet is well worth checking out, particularly if you have an interest in the possible future direction of Marvel Phase Two movies.

That’s just about it for this week, I’ll see you again next week for more Whimsy of a Wednesday variety.

Summer Knights: Bat-A-Thon Part 2

By Geeky Gem

Well as we all know the Dark Knight will soon be leaving us again. As a way of honoring him I thought I would sit through all six movies so far and report back to you.  On this journey so far I have watched Batman, Batman Returns and Batman Forever. In this second part of my epic Bat-A-Thon I shall watch Batman and Robin, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.  Shall we begin?

Batman And Robin – 1997

This was a harder watch than Batman Forever, as I am not a huge fan of these to movies but they are worth a sit through if just to refresh my mind in perpetration for the awesomeness to come. Joel Schumacher again was at the helm for this one, along with another new Batman in George Clooney. The debate for the best Batman rages on.

The story line for this one is much the same for all of them so far. Batman comes across an enemy that he must take on with loyal sidekick Robin, in order to save Gotham. This time Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy have their eyes on Gotham. Along with Ivy’s sidekick a very comic and less like himself than he should be Bane. Although Bane is pumped up with Venom he is a mere shadow of the scary man he should be. This Bane could not break the bat.

The main part of the story is that Alfred is dying and there is no known cure apart from that of a cure that Dr Victor Freeze was working on before his accident. Can Batman reason with him and save his friend? Along with is a new sidekick in Batgirl, who in this version of events is related to Alfred not Commissioner Gordon, not sure why but she is. Anyway she joins Batman and Robin in their fight to save Gotham and Alfred, will they succeeded? Well that would be telling wouldn’t it.

Batman Begins – 2005

Now we move on to the good stuff, 8 years after Batman last graced our screens, it was time for a new direction for the Dark Knight, gone was Burton and Schumacher a new age was coming. Christopher Nolan walked in and a new Batman was born. The question on every ones lips was who shall be the Bat? The answer came in the form of little know Welsh actor called Christian Bale. Many people thought, could this guy pull off Batman? We all waited to see.

It would appear that yes, yes he can. I think is helped in part by the script which is pure genius, which was written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. This thing doesn’t give up, instead of using flash backs to tell the story of Batman we are there with Bruce as he trains with Ra’s Al Ghul and the League of Assassin’s not knowing what they really want. On his return to Gotham Bruce has to keep up his playboy life style with that of the Batman. What exactly is Dr. Jonathan Crane up to?   The Batman must find out with the help from Jim Gordon.

The cast in this movie in unbelievable, Bale is joined by the likes of Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Michael Cane, Morgan Freeman and Cillian Murphy. All of who bring a darkness and edginess to Nolan and Goyer’s screenplay which leaves the comedy camp stuff behind and hits it hard with a much darker Batman. Don’t believe me then go watch it.

 

The Dark Knight – 2008

Somehow it doesn’t feel like four years has passed since I sat in a cinema with Kirkie Chick and enjoyed this movie in such a way that it will stay with me for a long time to come. This time Chris Nolan was joined by his brother Jonathan Nolan in writing, I think, an even darker screenplay than Batman Begins. David S Goyer helped write the story and it grew from there.

Many of the same cast returned for this outing with some frankly brilliant new additions. One of which it saddens me to say is no longer with us. Taken way before his time Heath Ledger’s Joker will go down in history as one of the best role’s in movie history. There was something in Ledger’s Joker that wasn’t in Nicolson’s Joker. Ledger took the Joker to that very dark place; where he should have been all along and frankly out shines in this movie. Aaron Eckhart joins the team as Harvey Dent the DA hell bent on saving Gotham from the inside and from the Batman. But what does the future hold for this humble but hard hitting white knight?

As the Joker plans the down fall of Gotham and that of Batman, Bruce is forced to use a technology that both Lucius Fox and Alfred are not too happy about. Can they pull Bruce and Batman back from the edge of crossing the line? Only time will tell. In the mean time poor Harvey Dent must come to terms with his new face and it’s time for Batman to run as he is now a marked man. Gotham will need him one day, so he will watch and wait for the day that Gotham will need their Dark Knight again.

 

That Brings us to the end of our epic Bat-A-Thon, I for one have enjoyed watching all the movies again in order to bring this too you. I will no doubt be seeing The Dark Knight Rises a number of times. As Nolan’s time is over as the man that bought back the Batman we have to thank him for these truly fantastic movies and for showing the world that Batman can be dark.

SUMMER KNIGHTS: BEST BAT VILLIANS

By @hmsbeefnuts

 Summer Knights continues here at All Geek To Me, and I hope you are enjoying it? Today we are going to have a look at some of The Dark Knights greatest enemies, the most maniacal members of his rogues gallery. In my opinion, Batman has some of the greatest super villains to fight of any superhero. Some of the sickest bastards to ever spout a speech bubble. So lets see who makes the list shall we?

JOKER

Obvious really isn’t it? But how could I not choose the Clown Prince of Crime on this list? He is the Yin to Batman’s Yan. The smiling faced psychopath to Batman Dark Avenger. He has been responsible for causing more pain in Batman’s life than any other person, killing friends, and crippling allies. He is the sickest, most sadistic super villain who has ever been written, and is Batman’s nemesis. Joker has to be number 1 on any list of the super evil.

RAS AL GHUL

I tend to like villains in this mould, like Vandal Savage. A man who has lived for centuries, thanks to his Lazarus Pits, that allow him to maintain his youth and vigour. Ras Al Ghul is a villain that both admires and hates The Detective, even considering him worthy of marrying his daughter Talia. Ghul is a global threat, his League of Shadows organisation is just a stones throw away from Batman, but crucially, Batman will never cross the line and join them. Grandfather to Batman’s son Damien, Ras Al Ghul is a dangerous and complicated addition to the rogues gallery.

TWO FACE

Gotham used to believe in Harvey Dent, but a horrific attack with some acid in court, or a fire, depending on who you believe, turned Gotham’s White Knight, into one of it’s greatest threats. Obsessed with his injury, Two Face took his anger out on a city that was already drowning in crime. With his lucky coin deciding many a fate, Two Face is almost a match for Batman both physically and mentally, but being deranged, well, he doesn’t always think straight, depends what mood he is in.

THE MAD HATTER

At first glance, the Mad Hatter is a childish and ridiculous enemy, and certainly, that’s how he started. However, in more modern times, The Mad Hatter has been re imagined as a dangerous, deranged criminal, with a penchant for small children and mind control. The Dark nature of Mad Hatter’s crimes make him perfect punching material for The Caped Crusader.

SCARECROW

Batman uses fear as a weapon on the criminal element of Gotham City. How cool is it then that Dr Jonathon Crane, uses it against The Dark Knight? Scarecrow is one of the most striking enemies that Batman faces. Posing no real physical threat, Scarecrow is all about psychological fear. His weaponised fear gas is a powerful advantage for Dr Crane. I tend to love classical villain archetypes, and Scarecrow goes right back to Sleepy Hollow.

BANE

Bane is the equal of Batman, both physically and mentally. He is the man who broke the bat, but things aren’t quite so clear cut. At times, Batman has worked with Bane, but usually, they are working against each other. Bane has had a tough life, growing up in South American prisons, and killing to survive. His reliance on the drug Venom can cause increased pain resistance, and increased strength. Bane is a very dangerous enemy, that Batman does not take lightly.

CATWOMAN

A complicated relationship with The Dark Knight, does not even begin to explain Catwoman’s interactions with Batman. At times deadly enemy, lover and ally, Catwoman is everything to everyone. Sexy, devious, loyal, tough, vulnerable, Selena Kyle is a fantastic addition to Gotham City. You can’t really argue with an outfit like that can you? I’m sure Batman doesn’t mind running into Selena on a nightly patrol, she may be deadly, but she is also a hell of a lot of fun.

POISON IVY

Oh Poison Ivy, I don’t care if you are green, unhinged, deadly and can control plants, you are sexy as hell. I’m a sucker for red heads, and Dr Pamela Isely is one of the very sexiest. An environmentalist, literally, Ivy prefers plants to humans, something I can see the advantage of, at least with certain people. One of Batman’s most deadly enemies, Poison Ivy should not be judged on her beauty alone, and should not be taken lightly. She is damn sexy though….

SUMMER KNIGHTS: BEST BATMAN GRAPHIC NOVELS: PART TWO

By @hmsbeefnuts

Hello Bat fans and welcome to part two of my look at the greatest Batman stories ever told. Last time we looked at the beginnings of The Caped Crusader, this time, we shall look at his end, at least for a time, and his return after a few years in retirement. The Bat fun continues here at All Geek To Me, as we build up to The most exciting film of the Summer, The Dark Knight Rises.

THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS

This was truly a line in the sand for not only Batman, but comics as a whole. Frank Miller wrote a story set in the future, where Gotham has once more been dragged into a crime spree, with criminal gangs and worse, making things hard for the good people of Gotham City. Time then for Batman to come out of retirement, older, thicker around the middle, but still the hardest and most dangerous man in the city. Add a female Robin, shades of ‘the god-damn Batman’ and this dark comic master piece is an absolute must read. Along with Watchmen, this transformed the comics landscape. It was the prime reason that the dark Batman Movie was made by Tim Burton in 1989, and the better Nolan ones in more recent times. This is the Batman we all know and love. Don’t bother with The Dark Knight Strikes Back though, I wish I hadn’t.

KNIGHTFALL/KNIGHTS END

This is the first Batman Story I ever read, thanks to my best friend, and regular commenter, Greeny. He was into comics long before I was, and lent me the Knighfall Saga. Very much in a similar vein as The Death and Return of Superman, this is the story of the Bane, a new threat to Batman, who comes to Gotham to challenge Batman, and succeeds in a devious scheme. He tires Batman out, using almost the entire rogues gallery, before finally facing off against the Dark Knight himself, and breaking his back. Batman retires, a new Batman replaces him, a more violent Batman, not afraid to maim or kill. Bruce rehabilitates himself, and eventually comes back, but who will rule the night?. Kinghtfall is not really considered a classic story, in the same way that The Long Halloween, or Batman: Year One is, but will always have a special place on my shelf as my first graphic novel.

BATMAN/DRACULA

Another Elseworlds tale, this time, what would happen if The Dark Knight came into contact with The King of Vampires, Dracula himself? A dark Gothic tale that fits in with the Batman mythos perfectly. Blood Reign is a great read.

ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN

Frank Miller is not the talent he used to be, I think we can all agree on that, however, whilst most people hated his new take on Batman and Robin, I quite liked it. It was different, and wasn’t classic Batman, but I did like the new take on a Dark Knight who enjoyed his job. The God-damned Batman isn’t for everyone, but I laughed all the way through, especially his way of keeping Hal Jordan out of his business. The art work helps a lot too, absolutely beautiful. The story will probably never be finished now, but the first part was an enjoyable, if different take on the Caped Crusader.

ARKHAM ASYLUM: A SERIOUS HOUSE ON SERIOUS EARTH

A dark and disturbed journey into the heart of madness, with art work to match. This is an interesting and demanding graphic novel, and I will admit, I didn’t much like it on my first read through, but I gave it another go, and over time, I have grown to appreciate it and like it. It is unlike the other books on this list, but is defiantly worth your time.

BATMAN: A DEATH IN THE FAMILY

An important turning point in Batman’s history, and a change in tone from the fluffier camper 60’s and 70’s Batman, to a more serious and darker Dark Knight of the 80’s. What starts as a bit of a ridiculous story, The Joker becoming important in the government of a Middle Eastern State, becomes deadly serious, with The Joker killing and important member of The Bat Family. One that was killed by fans vote. I’m trying my best not to spoil things here, just read it.

SUMMER KNIGHTS: MY FAVOURITE BATMAN GRAPHIC NOVELS: PART 1

By @hmsbeefnuts

I am kicking my Summer Knights series off today, and have decided to give you a run down of my personal favourite Bat based graphic novels. There are quite a few, so I shall not procrastinate here, except to say, Batman is my favourite super hero, and as such, I read more of his comics/graphic novels, than any other character.

BATMAN: YEAR ONE

Frank Miller tells the tale of the first year of Batman’s war on crime, and also Gordon’s first year in the GCPD. A gritty, dark, more realistic tale, this is the story of a man’s war for revenge on the criminal underworld that took his parents. The art work is stark and bold, but fits the tone perfectly. Any body looking to jump into the Batman mythos, would do well to look at this first, it is the perfect introduction to the character.

THE LONG HALLOWEEN

My personal favourite Bat story, this is set chronologically after Year One. Batman is now established, and his war on crime continues, with a serial killer on the loose who kills on holidays. The Holiday Killer is not The Dark Knights only problem, his continuing war on Gotham’s Mob families and super villians is also a large part of the story, and Harvey Dent is also becoming a problem. The Long Halloween has great artwork and is a great read, I urge you to check it out.

DARK VICTORY

Dark Victory picks up where The Long Halloween left off. The Holiday Killer has been put away, but Gotham’s problems aren’t so easily solved. This is also a Robin origin story, and is probably the best one I have read. Usually I’m not a fan of Robin, but Jeph Loeb manages to create a narrative that fits in very well with Year One and Long Halloween, and doesn’t make the character of Robin too ridiculous. Great art again, this book is well worth a read.

GOTHAM BY GASLIGHT

The first Else-world book I ever read, Gotham By Gaslight is set in Victorian era Gotham City. A city that has been visited by the most notorious serial killer of them all, Jack the Ripper. Batman, in a vintage awesome costume, must face the Ripper and protect the ladies of the night that populate Gotham. This really opened my eyes to what Batman could be when I first read it. The Batman mythos is so strong, he can be placed in different eras and situations, and still work, and still be awesome. The fact I’m kind of fascinated by the mystery of Jack the Ripper was the cherry on top of the Batman sundae.

HUSH

I was drawn to Hush by Jim Lee’s outstanding amazing art work. It’s been said time and time again, but Jim Lee is the best at what he does, I simply love his art work. Hush is a story about a character from Bruce Wayne’s past coming back to cause Bruce, and Batman problems. To be honest the story isn’t that great, it’s not bad, but there are better Bat stories out there. But when you turn each page and are faced with art work of this awesomeness, sometimes, the story doesn’t matter so much. Hush is a work of art.

THE KILLING JOKE

I’ve always been more of a fan of Frank Miller than Alan Moore, but it must be said, The Killing Joke is phenomenal. At it’s heart it is an origin story for the Joker, but is so much more. We get to see a glimpse at the complicated relationship between the greatest hero and villain in comic books, and a surprising last few panels. The Killing Joke is an important book in the Bat library, that I don’t want to spoil here, just check it out, you won’t be sorry.

So that’s it for part one, I will be concluding my look at the best Bat Graphic Novels later this week, I hope you will come back and check them out.

MOVIE OF THE MONTH JULY

By @hmsbeefnuts & @geekygem

Hello fans of film, as it is the beginning of the month, it once again falls to us here at AGTM, to tell you all about what film we will be picking as our movie of the month, this month. People, I’m not going to mess you around. We all know what movie is out this month, we all know what I’m going to pick, and sorry The Amazing Spider-man, it ain’t you.

Another superhero must take the title this month, The Caped Crusader, The Batman, in The Dark Knight Rises. It is no secret that I love Batman, and am a particular fan of Chris Nolan’s cinematic take on Gotham’s protector. Batman Begins is my favourite Bat film, with The Dark Knight coming in a very close second. The last time we saw Batman, he was on the run from Gotham’s Finest and so we join him in his latest adventure in a very interesting place. 8 years after the Joker went wild with gasoline, and Harvey Dent’s image was both ruined, by the Joker, and saved, metaphorically, by The Bat, what state are Batman and Gotham in?

Things won’t be happy for very long if Bane has anything to do with it. Tom Hardy looks great in the role of the man who broke The Bat, and from the trailer, it looks like Bane is causing Gotham more trouble than ever before. Add in Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, and Batman has his hands full. Will Bruce Wayne survive the film? Will Batman? All I know is this film looks absolutely amazing, if in a slightly grim way.

Just before we show you the trailer, as if you haven’t watched it countless times already, and Geekgem tells you about her pick, I would like to announce an AGTM summer event. In celebration of our favourite Dark Knight’s return to cinema screens, July here at AGTM will be having a knightly theme. Summer Knights, (see what we did there?), will be a bit of a celebration, not only f our beloved Dark Knight, but of Knights in general. Expect to see stuff on Game of Thrones, sword fights, noble steeds, and of course, more than a few Bat related articles. This follows on from our Avenging April series that was very successful, so hopefully, we shall continue with Summer Knights. Now, here is the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, and below that Geekygem, enjoy.

Hmsbeefnuts

Hello everyone, gosh is it that time of month already. Wow that went fast., my guess is just above me Hmsbeefnuts has been bigging up The Dark Knight Rises, not that it needs it. Which makes what I am about to tell you feel like treason as I love the Bat almost as much as Beefnuts does.

In the world of geek you are either a DC fan or Marvel fan, however there is a special camp for those who cant choose and just love comics in general, this is the camp I think I fall in. Seeing as I cant pick The Dark Knight Rises for my Movie for July, I had to have little think but then I recalled a reboot of a Marvel comic was due out, The Amazing Spider-man, that’s right folks I said reboot and it happens only five years after the the final part of Sam Raimi’s trilogy came out.

Peter Parker has been recast into the frankly lovely looking Andrew Garfield he’s just so pretty, sorry my thoughts got away from me there, did I mention he can act? He is joined by Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans. That’s right this month we see Brits taking over Hollywood and two of them are Welsh. Anyway back to the matter at hand, Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father’s former partner. I will say no more as I feel the rest is best told on the big screen. Below is the trailer which I think looks fantastic. Why not just go see both movies this month as they are so going to be awesome.

Geeky Gem

Gaming for Girls: Part 4

 By Kirkie Chick 

SPOILER WARNING: If you not yet completed the game please be advised this article has some spoilers in it.

I have travelled from the depths of Arkham City to bring you this report of how I am getting on there. Readers may remember my encounter with a Dinosaur in the Museum, on my hunt for the Penguin, I managed to find him, only to be fired at with Mr Freeze’s gun which the Penguin stole. I had to go looking for a chip from Mr Freeze’s suit to jam the gun. I took great pleasure in fighting Penguin, only to have a fight with his pet. I got through that, and then I went looking for Mr Freeze again. I found him but he wasn’t able to help me straight away with a cure for the toxin from the Joker in my blood. It turned out that I would have to have a chase across roof tops for an assassin to sample the blood of an immortal man. An enzyme within the blood would help with finding the cure.

 After several attempts I was able to have it out with the assassin and got the sample. I met Robin. This was a pleasant surprise. Robin hadn’t appeared in Batman Arkham Asylum. He came to bring me a present, the Line Launcher gadget. I was able to give him the sample of blood to get analysed then I was on the hunt for the assassin’s hideout. I travelled across rooftops to the Subway. Once down in the Subway I did get stuck. Once again my boyfriend had to help me out. Turned out I could have worked it out for myself if I had been a bit more patient. After fighting some goons I managed to have it out with the leader of the assassins to get a sample of his blood. Ra’s al Ghul is his name and he tested me because he believes my destiny is to join them and become Immortal and be with his daughter, Talya al Ghul. I tricked him to get his blood and I fled again to take the sample back to Mr Freeze. I got a bit lost and I had travelled through the subway tunnel before as well.

 

Mr Freeze had made an antidote, but he turned on me and didn’t want to give it to me. I fought him. He was a tricky bugger but I defeated him. It turned out while we were fighting Harley Quinn had stolen the sample of the antidote to take back to the Joker. Who had also taken Mr Freeze’s wife Nora. As a side mission I was to rescue Nora, but for the time being I didn’t want to deter from my main mission, to go and infiltrate the Saw Mill where the Joker was hiding out to get the antidote sample back. I travelled to the Saw Mill; I got a little side tracked by rescuing a reporter who had been shot down in the City. After that I got back on track. The goons patrolling the perimeter of the Saw Mill were a little tricky but I was able to eventually get in. I had acquired a gadget from Mr Freeze so I could freeze burst pipes that had steam coming out of them.

 I travelled through the Saw Mill, killing goons, using sheets of ice to travel through tunnels of water and I found Harley Quinn, bound and gagged. She told me some information about weapons hidden by Joker. I had more important things to think about at the time. I continued to look for Joker. I found him and I fought him. He fought nasty, bringing in goons and two mean adversaries who packed a punch. I defeated them, but then Batman collapsed. The game then continues to go back to pick up the storyline with Catwoman and Poison Ivy. I’m currently trying to get into a weapons store for Poison Ivy. I have completed 26% of the overall game. 72% of that is the story mode. So I am getting there.

 

I have also been playing LA Noire. I haven’t played any Lost since starting it. In LA Noire, I managed to solve a couple of cases I was working on. I like the continuing storyline about the deaths of the girls being similar to the case of the Black Dahlia. The Dahlia Case is a true murder mystery which was never solved, from the 1940s, around the time and place of L.A. Noire. The Case involved the body of a woman, which was found battered and cut in half, with ghastly gashes cut on the victims face. Letters were sent to the police from the supposed murderer, but they never sent down anyone for the murder. At the moment I am currently going to have to restart a case because I think I took a wrong turn on questioning.

 

So until next time happy gaming!

Avenging April: 5 Badass Supervillians,That Aren’t Super Famous

By @hmsbeefnuts

Avenging April continues here at All Geek To Me, and the excitement is palpable. Not long now, not long. At this point, I am waist deep in comic books, superhero films, and Wikipedia articles about comic book characters I have never heard of before, and I’m loving it. Later this month I should have written an Avengers marathon piece, just have to find time to watch all the recent Marvel films, in order, and then write something amusing about the experience. It’s not easy you know, quite time consuming really. So you may have already read  out first Avenging April Article, 5 Super Stupid Supervillians, and I thought that a companion piece should be written to highlight some of the super badass villains that aren’t as famous as your Jokers, Lex Luthors, Green Goblins and Riddlers. The following super criminals are all some of my favourite characters that have come up against some of my favourite heroes. You may notice that this list is DC heavy, and that is because I am going through a bit of  DC period right now. Many of the great heroes have a vast Rogues Gallery, and it is only fair that these guys get their chance to shine, as they are some of the baddest ass villains ever.

Vandal Savage

Vandal Savage is just completely and utterly badass. A  Cro-Magnon man, a chance encounter with a mysterious meteorite granted him immortality, super strength and enhanced intellect. Throughout the ages Vandal Savage has been involved in numerous great historical events, and has tried to take over the world numerous times. He has fought all the great and the good superheroes, including Green Lantern, The Flash and Superman, as well as The Justice League, The Justice Society and The Titans. He is one of the most evil men alive, and is a great villain, and what a name!

Solomon Grundy

Solomon Grundy started life as Cyrus Gold, born sometime during the 1800’s. Living in Gotham City, he carried on an affair with a prostitute who fell pregnant. After a meeting in Slaughter Swamp, Cyrus was murdered by the hookers pimp and buried in the swamp. That was 1895, a bad year for Cyrus Gold. Due to an unknown process, the vegetation in the swamp zombified Cyrus body. He would resurrect and become known as Solomon Grundy. Grundy possesses superhuman strength, sometimes to the level of Superman himself, super stamina, energy absorption, the ability to redresser himself and also has a mystical invulnerability, making him impervious to almost everything. Having fought everyone of importance, I do prefer him as a Batman villain.

Black Mask

Black Mask is one of the coolest crime lords in Gotham City. Born Roman Sionis, Mask’s parents were wealthy and important, although they cared little for their son. He was given a position in the family Cosmetics business, falling in love with a ‘lowly’ secretary. His parents didn’t approve, and after a huge argument, Roman burnt his family estate down, with his parents inside. He inherited the business, but it failed, and he was bailed out by family friend Bruce Wayne. Not dealing with these turn of events in a positive manner, Roman tried to break into his Fathers crypt, but was struck by lightening, opening the crypt and smashing the Ebony sarcophagus. Roman took this as a sign, as well you might, and carved a mask out of a broken piece of his Fathers coffin. He then took on the mantel Black Mask. I love this guy, and sadly it doesn’t look like he will be in a Batman movie any time soon, a damn shame.

Star Sapphire

Basically Star Sapphire is a pink lantern, but bad, and confusingly her powers don’t come from will, but love. A formidable opponent for any hero, they have a special hatred for men. I’m gona be honest here, I have become slightly obsessed with Star Sapphire, and in particular, Star Sapphire cos-players. She is included in this list for no other reason than her outfit is quite simply amazingly sexy, yep, that’s this section done.

Omega Red

Our lone Marvelite on this list, but I have liked Omega Red for along time, ever since the X-Men cartoon in fact. Not really sure why, he just always looked really cool to me. As with seemingly most mutants, Omega Red has, superhuman strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, agility and durability, a regenerative healing factor (obviously) carbonadium retractable tentacles within each arm, he can secrete sickness and death causing pheromones, absorb life force, and is quite good at beating people up. I just liked the look of Omega Red, even from a young age, he seemed like a badass, on Wolverine levels.

Gaming for Girls: Part 3

By Kirkie Chick 

                Since I last had the pleasure of talking to you lovely people, I have travelled far (well North Wales for the SFX Weekender) and I went to the Cardiff Comic Con but now I am stuck on Arkham City. I was doing so well without hardly any help from a walkthrough. My downfall an electric charge and a giant hook attempting to smash a door in. It took me several attempts to realise that I had succeeded to smash the door. The angle was deceiving but I also bashed a giant grate to get a Riddler Trophy so my swinging the hook aimlessly a few times was not in vain.

I then encountered another problem. A one armed man with a giant hammer, Mr Hammer and goons to fight off. He was a tricky adversary and it took me about three attempts to defeat him. Then I fell into a trap as Joker pretended to be dying, only for Batman to be bashed over the head. I am now playing as Catwoman. Meowh! I have got stuck with her, trying to find her apartment to take some of her equipment. I got into fighting these goons then I couldn’t see where I was meant to be going after defeating them. I died in the fight in the first attempt. Not so good. My boyfriend played on the game and progressed me past the fight and got the equipment out of the apartment. You then meet up with Poison Ivy for a little chat. Then you revert back to playing as Batman. Who has been infected with the Titan virus. Apparently Mr Freeze has the antidote so I set about trying to find him only to discover he had been kidnapped by the Penguin. I think I am enjoying the story better on Arkham City than I did on Asylum. There seems more twists in different directions of the plot going on in Arkham City. I had to spend ages trying to find the coldest point in the City where Mr Freeze would be; the temperature gauge goes up and down as you move around. Then just as you are on the lookout for the Penguin you have to go smash up the signal blockers that are blocking out the signal for you to find him. I found the first two easy. Then the third one I kept flying around the same area and the distance tracker kept going up and down then I realised I had to go under the Subway where I found it. I have now travelled back to the Museum looking for the Penguin. I got surprised by a Dinosaur!

                To take a break from Arkham City I started to play the game version of Lost:  the television show. The game has started off slow. The plane crashed on the island and I am now wandering around trying to find other survivors. From first impressions the game is a mystery one, along the lines of LA Noire (which I will eventually complete!) When I did find a survivor this prompted a memory flashback. I had to take a picture; it was a bit tricky to get the hang of the controls. I am now following a dog to the crash site. I think it may take some time for this game to grow on me. I will keep you posted.

                That is it for now. Hopefully next time I will have played more Arkham City. I am now 6% complete. Plus I will have played more Lost and more LA Noire. Until next time, happy gaming to all!