Ultimate Spider-Man #200 Review

---Spoiler Warning---

It's almost been Three Years since The Death of Ultimate Spider-Man. I remember it well since it came out on my last day of Highschool. Time really does fly, and Spider-Man has been through a lot in the last couple of years. We got a new Ultimate Spider-Man named Miles Morales who was very controversial in the beginning but most people grew to like him. Thanks to Bendis' we finally got a crossover between the Main and Ultimate Marvel Universes in Spider-Men. Then the original Peter Parker followed the Ultimate Universe's example and died as well. Replaced by a surprisingly "Heroic" Doc Ock, in Superior Spider-Man. Thankfully though they've undone that with the recent Superior Spider-Man #30 and the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #1.By the way someone get a phone because I Called It!

But I'm sure your not here to read my thoughts about that. So let's get started on Ultimate Spider-Man #200. As to be expected this is an milestone issue for the series, however it kinda feels like an Epilogue to me. The story takes place Two Years after Peter Parker's death, Aunt May is having a get-together at there house to commemorate the anniversary. Various characters from the old and new Ultimate Spider-man series' show up like Mary Jane, Miles, Ganke, Jameson, and Kitty Pryde. Just to name a few, and (in Ultimate Spider-Man tradition) they just talk. Mostly about how they all think Peter would be like if he was still alive. Some are really touching especially Kitty Pryde's:

Plus I'm pretty sure Iceman's is just the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon. They then decide the best way to honor him is to do something nice for someone, and since they have plenty of food (thanks to a generous donation from Tony Stark as an apology for not being able to be there) they decide to give it to some homeless people at a shelter. The comic ends with everyone parting ways with new friendships formed, and old one rekindled as a mysterious person watches from the distance.

This has got be one of my favorite issue of a comic ever. Which is crazy because if I did a Top Five of my favorite single issues, 3 of them would be Ultimate Spider-Man. As for this issue I think the art is great, and like I said before the story is really touching. If your an Ultimate Spider-Man fan you probably already have this but if you don't It's a must buy.

As I mentioned earlier this feels like an epilogue to me, however that might be because I recently read through all of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man as well as various other Spider-Man books like Maximum Carnage, and Hobgoblin Lives. This was finally the comic that made me realize how much I actually missed Peter Parker, and if this was the last issue of  Spider-Man I ever read. I couldn't ask for a better one. But that doesn't mean I'm not excited for "Amazing Spider-Man #1" and let's not forget "Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man #1". Until next time, keep on swinging.

Rating: 5/5

((Final Note: Wow It's been  9 month's since I talked about a Superhero Comic, and over a year since I reviewed one! I really got to work on that.))

Comic Panel of the Week: Gwen Stacy is the Best

Zelda Week: The Adventure of Link Review

---SPOILER WARNING---

I know what your thinking. Of all the Zelda games to play before the release of A Link Between Worlds why did I chose this one. Well it's complicated. Back when I was a kid my friend brought over his copy of Zelda Collections, at the time I only played Ocarina of Time so It was cool that I was finally going to play some more Zelda games. However since I was still a kid I obviously preferred to play the much more current games so I play Majora's Mask and the Wind Waker Demo.

I eventually got my own copy of the Zelda collections and played through Zelda 1. However everytime I tried to play the second game I just couldn't get into it. Around last week I saw that some Zelda games were on sale to commemorate the release of a Link Between Worlds on the Nintendo Eshop. One of them was Zelda 2. I decided then and there that it was finally time to play trough it, and so I did. So is it really a bad game? Let's find out.

The story of this game takes place after the first game. Impa tells Link that there is another Princess Zelda who is trapped in never ending sleep until someone gains the 3 pieces of the Triforce and uses them to wake her. This Zelda is actually the first Princess of Hyrule named Zelda, after her brother and a mysterious Wizard tried to gain the secrets of the Triforce from her the Wizard cast a sleeping spell which also costed him his life. Distraught the Brother locks her in the highest tower in Hyrule, and declares that every Princess born to the Royal family must be named Zelda in remembrance.

In the timeline the events of the Tragedy of Zelda I must take place somewhere between Skyward Sword and Minish Cap. Although Skyloft had a Zelda, but she wasn't a Princess and at that point there was no Hyrule. This also makes me think the Zelda in this game isn't one of the reincarnations of the Goddess Hylia since I don't think you can continue to reincarnate if your previous life didn't die, and she's been alive for the majority of the Timeline as well as every alternate one. Plus she is a red head, and the majority of the alternate Zeldas which are also reincarnations of Hlyia are blond. Although I do have to wonder why she keeps reincarnating herself as members of the Royal family was she just nostalgic for the name Zelda?

Anyway I got way off topic. In order to break the spell Link must travel far and wide to find the 6 Palaces, and put the special crystals back into there pedestals. Meanwhile some of Ganon's Servants are still around trying to resurrect their Master by using Link's blood, but it's weirdly not that important to the overall plot. After Link put's all the crystals back he goes to the Great Palace  where he faces the Thunderbird who can be really difficult especially if you don't know you have to use the Thunder Spell to even damage him. After defeating the Thunderbird you find an old man who has the Third Piece of the Triforce but before you can get it you have to face Dark Link who is really easy if you know how to exploit him. That's it you beat the game, you use the Triforce to wake up Zelda, and she gives you a kiss as the curtains go down.

The difference between Zelda 1 and 2 is obvious at the first glance. The first game is a top down adventure/dungeon-crawler and the second is a side-scrolling Action RPG. That right you actually have Exp Points and Leveling up in this game. This is why Zelda 2 get's so much hate, it changed up the formula and people didn't like it. However I find it plays fine so I'm all for it. The gameplay feels good for the most part, however it sometimes feels like there's a bit of a delay when your attacking and sometimes Link can be a little bit slippery. This game also get's rid of the items from the first game so no bow, however you do get spells which can be useful like the Shield and Life Spells.

Where this game shines is the presentation. The world is much better designed then in Zelda 1. I didn't get lost nearly as much as I did in Zelda 1, and I only need to look up where to go once or twice. The sprites are pretty good, and very detailed in some places. The townsfolk while still suffering from a bit of NES era dialogue are actually helpful to you, at least more so then the Old Men in the first Game.













The biggest problem however is the difficulty. This game is the definition of Nintendo Hard. Plus new to the Zelda series is lives.Which is good and bad at the same time. If you lose a life you usually start back at the beginning of the room you were in with full health and magic. However if you lose all your lives you get a game over, and you have to start off at the room Zelda is in at the beginning of the game. Meaning you have to back track all the way back to were you left off just to try again. You can get 1-Up's which are scattered across secret areas on the World Map but there very few, and far between.

Overall it's a pretty good game. It changes up the formula, and fix some of the problems the first game had. Sadly the new formula and the overall difficulty of the game will turn a lot of people off, which I think is a shame. In all seriousness if not for the difficulty I would consider this a better game then the first game. But it's still a bit to hard for my tastes.

Zelda Week: Comic Panel of the Week

 

"Find a deep cave to hide in
In a million years they'll find me
Only dust and a plaque
That reads, "Here Lies Poor Old Jack""

Zelda Week: Skyward Sword Prequel Manga Review

---SPOILER WARNING---

I haven't done something like this since Batman Week a year and a half ago. The reason I decided to do this is because Zelda A Link Between Worlds is about to come out, and I'm pretty excited. So to start things off I'm going to the very beginning of the very complicated Zelda Timeline.

This is a 32-page Manga prequel to the Zelda game Skyward Sword that was included in the Hyrule Historia, a encyclopedia/art book of sorts that was released to commemorate Zelda's 25th Anniversary.. It tell's the story of the original Link, a Hylian Knight who the people of Hylia turn to in order to stop the invading forces of the Demon King Demise. They are aided by the Goddess that the land takes it's name from, Hylia, who gives Link the Master Sword.
























They fight back against the Demon Tribe however it is no use once Demise himself shows up. Link try's to ward him off but he is critically hurt in the battle. With his remaining strength he climbs on to the Goddess Hyila's Loftwing, and uses the Master Sword's power to send the Land of Hylia into the sky where it is safe from Demise. However Link didn't make it, and succumbs to his wounds.

Heartbroken the Goddess Hylia sends Demise back from whence he came. She then uses her powers to make Link's spirit live on eternally explaining the various Link's of the series. She then sheds her divinity so she can be reborn as a human like him, meaning that she will be reborn as the various Princess Zeldas. The comic ends Thousands of years later with the Link from Skyward Sword meeting his Loftwing for the first time.

This is pretty good. It gives a good explanation to the various Links and Zeldas, and what the world was like before Hyrule. It also set's up a bunch of things from Skyward Sword that I won't get into right now. The art work is very detailed, and the quality of the the paper is very high. I don't think the Hyrule Historia is worth the price if your just buying it for this short comic but if your a hardcore Zelda fan the Hyrule Historia is a must read! Zelda week is just beginning and I got a couple more things to cover before were through.

Comic Panel of the Week: Let's do the Time Warp Again!

Everyone should go out and read Batman '66. At least it will give you something to read while Deadpool is trapped in the '70's
.

"Attack on Titan (Manga)" First Thoughts

So, Attack on Titan. A series that went under my radar for a really long time. After hearing about how good it was from everyone I decided to check it out. However due to computer problems, and my general dislike of watching things on a computer I kinda delayed it. So instead I just got the manga, which is a good thing since It will allow me to catch up to everyone else in less time then it would take to watch the episodes. However I've only read the first three volumes so far so that's what I going to base my first thoughts off. (For those who only watched the anime from what I can gather the first three volumes of the Manga end around Episode 12)

Attack on Titan is about the last remnants of humanity who are forced to live inside cities surrounded by enormous walls due to the mysterious monsters known as Titans. The Titans resemble humans but they are (obviously) huge, can regenerate, and have the urge to devour humans despite the fact that they do not need to eat anything to survive. Despite the inherent weirdness of the Titans, they are actually very horrifying. Turning what could of been your generic Shonen into a dark Horror series. Especially in Volume 2. The part when Hannah was trying to resuscitate Franz was...just wow. I mean I barely knew anything about the majority of the characters but I really feel sorry that there being slaughtered like this. I mean every time you think things are looking up they drag you back down just to show us how doomed these people are.



But that's what makes the Manga good. The unpredictability of it. I don't know where the plots going, the series could have a happy ending or it could pull an End of Evangelion and kill everyone. But I really hope that it doesn't because once again I care about the characters, there not the teenagers from a slasher movie. But if it's one thing I think the Anime has on the Manga though It's the art. In the Manga the art isn't bad but it isn't really great either. Especially on some of the Titans. However the anime is, well I'll just let the opening speak for itself.

So in closing I think you should all watch/read this. Whatever works for you. But if you even have a mild interest in it you should definitely check it out. The Manga is currently available in English by Kodansha Comics although it is a bit hard to find since (at least where I live) it sells out pretty quickly. But if Manga isn't your thing I believe the Anime is currently streaming on Crunchyroll but I think you might need a membership to watch it on that site. Anyway that's all I have to say about Attack on Titan, I'll hopfully be back with a review of Trinity War later this week but I am having computer issues. So I guess I'll see you then, maybe.

(Authors note: Does anyone else think it's weird that the Manga has praise for the Anime instead of praise for the book itself. It would be like Knightfall having praises for the Dark Knight Rises on the back. Also why does everyone think that this is like the Japanese equivalent of the Walking Dead.)