Yearly Archives: 2013
Review: X-Factor #253
The Hell on Earth War continues in this issue of X-Factor and it’s still pretty good. Not great. Not bad. It’s just kind of entertaining and enjoyable to read. And I think that’s good enough. I would like to see something really dramatic or amazing happen, but I’m not expecting it. The best issues of X-Factor are usually the quiet, introspective issues. Hell on Earth War is definitely not that. It’s big. This is probably the biggest storyline X-Factor has ever done, at least in terms of in-comic scale. Hell has come to Earth, and both the Avengers and Fantastic Four make cameo appearances.
X-Factor #253
In terms of scope, this storyline is huge. And it feels like it within the story. That’s a good thing. But something like the Hell on Earth War serves to remind us how little an impact X-Factor has on the rest of the Marvel Universe. And that’s a shame.
Comic Rating: 4/5: Good.
My opinion has wavered up and down a bit on this storyline so far. It has its faults. Few of the characters feel particularly engaged in the actual storyline. Everyone just kind of feels like they’re being dragged along with no real emotional depth. The story revolves around Tier, who we barely know or have any connection to at all. And the story makes it perfectly clear that Tier is the only character who can actually stop the various Hell Lords, so what is there for X-Factor to do?
But beyond those faults, it’s still an entertaining story. The characters are written well, the villains are strong and Tier isn’t so bad. Writer Peter David is keeping a fairly rapid pace, and the stakes are definitely high. It also feels like there might be a twist or two coming up somewhere along the line. I guess we’ll wait and see. I am enjoying the story, and I remain cautiously optimistic that it’s going to be pretty awesome in the end. Though I am slightly annoyed that my favorite character, Multiple Man, has been sidelined for who knows how long.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
I Will Not Give Up The Fight – Injustice for Robin!
Here I am again to share two new videos debuting two new characters for the upcoming video game Injustice: Gods Among Us. Unfortunately, neither character is Robin the Boy Wonder. Why isn’t DC listening to me? Who do I have to reach at Warner Bros. to make this a reality? Why are none of the people at NeatherRealm Studios reading my blog?
First up, we have Doomsday, the villain who killed Superman back in the 90s.
I think Doomsday is a great choice for a fighting game like Injustice. He’s big, he’s burly and he’s got a cool look. If I had to design someone who killed Superman on brute strength alone, Doomsday is a great look. Plus, since I think the plot of the game has Superman as a villain, maybe Doomsday rises to become some kind of secret weapon for the good guys.
Next up is Raven, the black magic magician of the Teen Titans.
Raven is probably also a good choice, if an obscure one. It’s a good idea to diversify and include as many female fighters as possible, plus Raven uses magic, so I’m sure that will help when it comes to special attacks. She also starred in that Teen Titans cartoon a few years ago, so I’m sure she’s got some good street cred.
But she’s not Robin. Neither of them is Robin. How hard is it to put Robin in this game? Why is the concept of Batman vs. Robin so hard to grasp?
There are several more characters to be revealed. So stay tuned as I keep you as up to date as possible. Will my persistence pay off in the end? Or will my dreams be crushed like so many sky blue eggshells?
Thanks to Xavier for the find!
P.S. Did anyone else see that video of one level where Giganta and Atom Smasher are fighting in the background, and will interact with the combatants? I think the developers had more fun coming up with the levels than they are the fighters.
The Ant-Man Test Footage The Studio Doesn’t Want You To See
Marvel recently played the Ant-Man movie test footage at an event in London, and some enterprising person in the audience captured it on their phone. It’s of the typical crummy quality, but honestly, it’s a pretty good video. You can see everything rather well. The video is being scrubbed from the Internet as quickly as Marvel can manage, but some foreign Asian video service still has it up. I’m not going to embed the video, but here’s a link:
The quality may have been bad, but I think that was pretty awesome! I love the costume and the effects are really neat.
I hope I can post the real video soon. I don’t know what Marvel or Disney are waiting for…other than the fact that Ant-Man isn’t scheduled for release until 2015 or so. Maybe they want to wait before they start drumming up hype.
My 6 Most Hated Movies of All Time (This Week)
I am a fan of films. I’m not scholar or academic on the subject, but I love watching movies. I’ve seen good movies, I’ve seen bad movies, I’ve seen poorly made movies and I’ve seen great movies. Some movies are my favorite, but I’ve already done that list. So now it’s time to share with you all the worst movies I have ever seen.
Movies so bad that not even this makes the list
Although first, I need to set the standard. These aren’t necessarily all bad movies. In fact, there are some films on this list that you might love. And some on this list that are veritable works of art. But to me, they are terrible movies. Either they’re poorly made or I just don’t get them, I hated them for one reason or another, and still do. These aren’t the worst, most poorly made movies I’ve ever seen. These are my least favorite, these movies are stinky doo-doo pants. Though the list is subject to change.
And I’d love to hear your least favorite movies of all time in the comments!
Paperman Parody
We here at Henchman-4-Hire are big fans of the Oscar-winning animated short Paperman. So of course we’re going to share this hilarious, kinda raunchy parody by College Humor.
Good times. I’d link you to the original, but you kind of have to pay for it. Sorry.
Henchman-4-Hire 