Sidekick Battle: War Machine vs. Winter Soldier

Duels, Marvel, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Weapons: Lieutenant James Rhodes uses his somewhat-legally acquired Iron Man suit. It has various lasers, missiles, projectiles and guns, the most prominent of which is the machine gun/repeating cannon on his shoulder. Bucky Barnes also carries a remarkable amount of guns on various body-parts, as well as grenades, knives and the sniper rifle. And that brings us to the arm. Yeah, that arm. The one that withstood a repulsor blast a point blank range, held it’s ground against Cap’s shield and has beaten the crap out of a lot of unfortunate people over the years. It’s a cybernetic prosthetic with increased strength and reaction speed, near indestructibility and an electric shock feature. As cool as that sounds, War Machine has more firepower, and is better in this category.

Defenses/weakness: The Iron Patriot has a suit that’s *almost* as good as Tony Stark’s. It protects him from virtually anything anyone can throw at him, and saved his life in a thousand-foot free-fall. His weakness is his suit’s heart. Bucky can use his arm as a shield, but it really doesn’t compare. His weakness is his Winter Soldier activation code. War Machine wins again.

Skill: Iron Man’s renegade sidekick is not kidding around with the suit. He has effortless control over it that translates to deadly accuracy on the battlefield. His weakness is that he isn’t good at hand-to-hand combat. Bucky has the cold precision of a Nazi super-soldier. Combined with Russian sniper accuracy and martial arts skill that rival Bruce Lee, he is a force to be reckoned with. The Winter Soldier wins here.

Mindset/intentions: War Machine is a dedicated patriot, and does everything for his country. The Winter Soldier has been a spy, assassin, sniper, commando, and has done every other unsavory job the Nazis had to offer. Even now that he is free of the mind-control, that mindset stuck, and there is nothing Rhodes can do about it. Rhodes has no intention of taking Barnes alive, as he was a Nazi spy. After seeing Bucky fight, I doubt he intends to spare Rhodes. This is a tie, because it’s basically the same mindset with different motives.

Use of Surroundings: War Machine usually stays focused on his armor, and gives little thought to his surroundings. The Winter Soldier on the other hand not only uses the location as a tool, but manipulates it to fit his style.

If we give back Bucky his left arm and Rhodes the use of his legs, or have this battle before the events of Civil War, this is not an easy win for either. War Machine has more firepower, but lacks the close quarters skills. Bucky could evade and block his fire for a while, and would probably make some sort of leap-of-faith onto War Machine’s back, where he wouldn’t be able shoot him. He would probably go for the guns, so he is forced to land and face him hand to hand. This would not slow War Machine down, but Barnes might be able to throw him on the ground long enough to rip off the mask part of the suit, giving him a target to shoot for. War Machine would fly away, then fly straight at Bucky. Bucky wouldn’t miss–he never misses–and he would kill War Machine.

But whether Bucky survives or not is a completely different problem. His main guns may be damaged, but Rhodes still has plenty firepower, not to mention force of impact. Unless Cap shows up to save the day, this fight may be a double-death, and the last we see of the Winter Soldier.

Gurlanins

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Gurlanins originally appeared in Karen Traviss’s increasingly famous Republic Commando novels, set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. They are the only native sentient species of the planet Quilura. They are best known for their neat little feature: shapeshifting. Their natural form resembles a large, black canine, but they can morph into not only other living beings, but even inorganic substances. If they choose to, they can become invisible to infrared and thermal sensors, and can mask their Force signatures. How do they manage this? I have an idea.

As you know if you’ve read the books, Gurlanins can communicate telepathically from different sides of the galaxy. Their minds are somehow linked. When they morph into nonliving objects, they have no organs to keep them alive, but if my theory is correct, then they can use the fact that their minds are linked, and keep each other’s minds alive when their bodies are unable to support them. You can think of individual Gurlanins as cells, and the species as a whole as a multicellular being. Any one cell would die on its own, but relying on each other, they can all stay alive.

It sounds unlikely, but I can’t think of a better explanation. What do you think?

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The Best Ralph Mcquarrie Star Wars Concept Art

Star Wars, Top 10s, , , ,

Ralph McQuarrie was hired by George Lucas to create concept art for Star Wars. He is responsible for the look and feel of A New Hope, but his influence didn’t stop there. The Force Awakens used many of the pieces left over from the original trilogy, and even the prequels, though Doug Chang was hired for The Phantom Menace.

Here are the 12 best pieces of Ralph McQuarrie concept art:

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12: Ewok village (I’m making these names up. McQuarrie didn’t name them).

Apparently this…monster…inspired Yoda’s look. It’s hard to tell whether the ewoks are small or the monster is big, but it’s cool either way.

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11: Imperial Walkers

This is not the first drawing McQuarrie made of ATAT walkers, and probably not the most iconic either, but it really captures the feel of the walkers. The unused creature is a bonus. The rocks to the right are in a shadow–maybe there is a cave. It would make sense to run into a cave where the walkers can’t follow.

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10: Original Millennium Falcon

The cockpit was the only part used in the film. The design may have inspired the Tantive IV.

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9: Cloud City

Despite what they did to it in the movie, this picture makes it seem like a architectural wonder and a really expensive high-security capitol building. Maybe it would be if Vader and his sadistic thugs hadn’t holed up there.

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8: Millennium Falcon 2

this is the version McQuarrie made after Lucas told him what he liked and didn’t like about the old one. It really captures the feel of the scene where it’s introduced.

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7: Snowspeeder

This was before the harpoon idea, apparently. The AT-AT looks even more menacing now that there is nothing else in sight.

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6: Luke vs. Vader, version 2

This is easily the most iconic Star Wars scene. It’s also a pretty convincing futuristic alien cityscape given that it was made in the ’70s. And it’s just as dizzying as it was in the movie.

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5: Mos Eisley Cantina

C-3PO and a short version of R2 (inspiration for Chopper?) can be seen at the far left, along with a Tatooine sandtrooper. In the center, what would later become Han Solo is facing an idea for Greedo with Nightcrawler’s triangle shaped* tail, holding Padme’s gun. There is also a creepy owl sitting at a table.*

*   /\ Illuminati confirmed. Whoever they are, McQuarrie knows something.

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4: C-3PO

It’s hard to imagine that 3PO was ever this graceful, or that R2 walked instead of rolling (look at the footprints. They’re not continuous). But apparently Tatooine has two moons as well as two suns.

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3: Mos Eisley Lookout

This drawing inspired the landspeeder, C-3pO, Zam Wessel’s sniper rifle, the dual sunset scene and the Mos Eisley spaceport, while setting an empty, desolate scene with seemingly little of interest. It makes a good desktop wallpaper on a computer.

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2: X-wing vs TIE fighter

In one picture, McQuarrie invented the two most iconic starfighters and the Death Star trench run. The design for the original X-wings were slightly altered because of the limited budget for the film, but The Force Awakens incorporated it for the new T-70 X-wing.

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1: Starkiller vs Vader

This is one of the first drawings McQuarrie made for Star Wars. It’s also one of the most famous, as it inspired Darth Vader’s look and invented the lightsaber.

Based on the pictures above, can you tell which one of these is from Ralph McQuarrie?

The answer will be in next week’s post.

Comment if you think you know!

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Wolverine vs. Black Panther

Duels, Marvel, , , ,

Weapons: Wolverine has his claws and that’s it. Black Panther also only has his claws. Because of their different types of claws, they have very different fighting styles, but neither has a clear advantage.

Defenses: Wolverine has an adamantium skeleton and nearly unlimited regeneration–in the comics, he regenerated from a drop of blood. Black Panther has a nearly indestructible vibranium suit. Adamantium claws probably couldn’t do much damage to vibranium, and Black Panther’s claws couldn’t do too much damage to Wolverine’s adamantium skeleton.

Skill: Both are very skilled fighters, trained in countless forms of combat. As of yet, Black Panther only has one movie, so he hasn’t had a real chance to prove himself yet. We don’t know the full extent of his skill, but he can definitely rival Wolverine.

Mindset: Wolverine knows no limits when it comes to fighting. Black Panther will stop at nothing to avenge his father. Both are passionate about what they believe. Both “use the dark side”–they use their anger to make them stronger.

Use of surroundings: In the finale of X2: X-Men United Wolverine proves that he can use almost any environment to his advantage. Black Panther has the right stuff, and in future movies there is no doubt he will demonstrate similar ingenuity.

These are two excellently matched heroes, but there is a winner. While neither’s weapons can harm the other, Wolverine is immortal. Black Panther can be killed. Wolverine can keep fighting forever, but eventually Black Panther will die. To top it off, Wolverine has been around for a while, and Black Panther is relatively new and inexperienced. The fight would be long and bloody (as all of Wolverine’s fights are), but eventually Wolverine would come out on top, with brute force if nothing else.

How Much Did Jango Know?!

Star Wars, , , , , , ,

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I recently finished reading Karen Traviss’s famous Republic Commando novels, and the fourth book, Order 66, raised an interesting question: how much did Jango know about what was behind the war when he sold his genes to the Kaminoans?

Attack of the Clones fooled fans into thinking that Jango sold his gene template solely to collect his five million credits and Boba Fett, then betrayed the Republic by working for the Seperatists. We all thought that he was a money-motivated rascal who valued cash over culture (the correct Mando’a term would be dikutla shabuir, I think. Comment if you know what that means…) But did he know something more? More precisely: did he know who Palpatine was?

Mandalorians and Jedi don’t have a very good history together. They worked better with Sith, and regarded Jedi as arrogant scumbags. Jedi slaughtered True Mandalorians in the Battle of Galidraan, leaving only Jango alive, so he has plenty of personal hate for the Jedi as well. So he wouldn’t even have flinched when he discovered that the Republic had a Sith mastermind at its head.

If Jango had known the whole story all along–Palpatine arranging the war and controlling both sides anonymously–he probably wouldn’t have had any objection to selling his genes for a low price. He would have known that Palpatine would use the army to get rid of the Jedi at some point, and being a Mandalorian, that gave them a common enemy. Thus, it would be his interest to help create an army powerful enough to take down the Jedi Order.

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The death of the Jedi by a Mandalorian army, even if they are only clones of a Mandalorian, would the ultimate way for Jango and the entire Mandalorian culture to get its revenge on the Jedi for what they did on Galidraan. In fact, that may have been another reason he trained the original one hundred Alpha ARCs–the most lethally trained men in the entire army–himself, and hired 90% Mandalorians as Cuy’val  Dar (“those who no longer exist,” the Mandalorians who trained the clone army). We don’t know a lot about most Cuy’val Dar, but Jango, Kal Skirata, Walon Vau and Rav Bralor trained their men as Mandalorians, and the others probably did, too.

So Jango walks away with a bit of cash and a cloned heir, after single-handedly catalyzing a war and producing an army to kill the Jedi. He was patient–even after he died at the hands of a Jedi.

Boba was furious when Mace killed Jango, but he after Order 66, he must have realized that his father didn’t fail, but instead had had his vengeance and achieved what no other Mandalorian had ever done.

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What If Grievous Killed Obi-Wan?

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Many people complain about Boba Fett or Jango Fett dying too easily, but General Grievous died when Obi-Wan shot him with a standard blaster. It makes sense that after Obi-Wan cut his hands off, depriving him of his lightsabers, a blaster finished him off, but he was carrying a MagnaGuard staff when he got shot. Was he really taken off guard that much, and how could he be killed by a blaster if he’s a cyborg and can modify himself to be indestructible? Instead of explaining that, which a bit of research could probably do, I will just point out that Obi-Wan’s lightsaber wasn’t that far from becoming just another trophy in the clash of the generals. Which brings up the question:

What would have happened if General Grievous had killed Obi-Wan Kenobi in their duel in Revenge of the Sith?

Obi-Wan couldn’t have gone to Mustafar, and Anakin would have strangled Padme on the spot. Luke wouldn’t have been born, so Vader would have ruled unchallenged for a while (below the Emperor). Leia wasn’t born, so 3P0 and R2 wouldn’t have escaped with the Death Star Plans, and all those people in Rogue One would have died for nothing. Grand Moff Tarkin wouldn’t have died, and would blow up many more rebel planets with his Death Star that didn’t get destroyed.

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Han and Chewie would remain smugglers and never become rebel heroes. Jabba would hire Boba to catch them and Han would become a decoration–permanently. Boba wouldn’t die in the Sarlacc pit.

Darth Vader would have no need for prosthetics as no one cut all his limbs off and burned him alive and would have become an even more powerful Sith. Since Luke wouldn’t thwart him and Obi-Wan is already dead, Yoda would have to come out of hiding and challenge him openly.

Yoda would kill Vader, because even with natural limbs Vader isn’t powerful or experienced enough to win, and from this point on there are a few ways the timeline could go:

Yoda might challenge the Emperor and lose, in which case the Emperor would find a new apprentice and the Sith would rule supreme over the Galaxy. Or, Yoda wins and helps the Alliance defeat the remaining bad guys and create a New Republic and New Jedi Order. The third possibility is that he doesn’t challenge the Emperor in the first place, but instead tries to raise more youngling Jedi and take on the Emperor with a team (maybe Ezra and Kanan, if they survive, or Ahsoka–we didn’t see her die, so she might be back).

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If the timeline goes the third (and most likely) way, the New Jedi Order would probably not win if they attacked right away–we all saw the Emperor slaughter experienced Jedi Masters like Kit Fisto and Saesee Tinn. Yoda would need highly skilled Jedi, and that would take time. In the meanwhile, the Emperor would destroy the Alliance with the Death Star and hunt Yoda down, bringing the fight to him. In addition, he would probably train more Sith, bring Grievous along (he never died!), and recruit Maul (assuming he survives Star Wars: Rebels). That would give him a huge boost and make the fight fair.

So the final fight is Yoda, Ezra, Kanan and the New Jedi Order vs. the Emperor, Maul, Grievous and the New Sith Order. Who would win? Decide for yourself.

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Marvel vs DC

DC, Marvel, , , ,

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Since the twenty-first century began, movies started getting more fuss than comics. Marvel adapted to the change quicker than DC, and thus got more attention and popularity. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is far more popular than either the DC Extended Universe or the Arrowverse. This is mostly due to Marvel taking the risk of making The Avengers in 2012. It was a big risk–there were a lot of kinda-popular movies to watch first–but it payed off. DC was left in the dust, and it still hasn’t made Justice League, which is the DC equivalent of The Avengers. While it’s true that it was necessary to kill Superman and introduce Wonder Woman, doing the same only a few years earlier would have been more effective. Nonetheless, DC is still immensely popular among fans, and the fight is on:

Which is better–Marvel or DC?

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The Movies:

The MCU kicked off with ten blockbuster movies and will continue. Outside of the MCU Marvel made eight X-men films, five Spider-Man films, and Hulk 2003. All of them were successes, though a few do have some issues. Meanwhile, DC made only Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad, all of which got pretty bad reviews. DC also made the immensely popular Dark Night trilogy and a countless older Superman and Batman movies outside of the DCEU. Marvel has a huge lead in terms of having a common universe for various heroes, but that doesn’t mean that DC can’t be better than Marvel. However in this case it just isn’t. DC’s movie ratings are just plain bad, especially B v S and Suicide Squad. RIP Superman.

Note: Justice League might change this.

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The TV Shows:

DC’s Arrowverse with Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow is great, but it’s not in the DCEU. Marvel’s Agents of Shield, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and so much more are good but really? Arrow and his pals are better. This is just my personal opinion, but then, this whole post is just my opinion.

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The Heroes:

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…Superman!!! You’ve probably heard that a lot. And it’s because DC’s heroes are so iconic–more so then Marvel. Marvel’s heroes in the MCU wear colorful costumes (except the X-Men in their boring black jumpsuits…) and are somewhat idealistic. That’s not to say that Marvel characters don’t have a darker side to them, but take any of them and compare it to Batman, and you’ll see what I mean. Marvel tends to keep dark characters like Daredevil and Punisher in the background, never bringing them into the shared universe, thus keeping the MCU suitable for kids–most of the time (I’m looking at you, Deadpool). Meanwhile DC is not afraid to keep the darkness up front, letting it define movies like The Dark Night, and thus making the movies interesting for older viewers, while keeping them PG-13 (I’m not saying that Marvel is for toddlers; only that it is more so than DC). Nonetheless, Marvel has so many good heroes (Bucky, Black Panther, Spidey…) and they are much more popular than DC’s that I’ll make this one a tie.

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The Universe:

Marvel assembled it’s heroes in a shared universe in 2012, and has introduced so many new heroes to the Avengers, X-Men, and Guardians of the Galaxy. DC has just started putting together the DCEU, and has two completely different universes that overlap. Marvel is easily better in this category.

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The Legacy:

DC’s movies are scraps of what they could have been. On the other hand, Marvel has tons of long-lost teams of superheroes in the comics that they are yet to bring into the MCU. Marvel will always have an edge with the movies, and DC is yet to shine on the silver screen, but the two are head to head with fans.

So who’s better? The billionare playboy, the idealistic super-soldier, the god of thunder and the big green rage monster, or the last son of Krypton, the Caped Crusader, the Amazonian demigod, the Scarlet Speedster and the King of the Seven Seas? That’s for you to decide.

The Disneyfication of Star Wars

Star Wars, ,

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Disney owns Marvel. Marvel has made over thirty films, with fourteen in the shared universe, and it won’t stop. It works out. Disney gets an insane amount of income, and the fans get a diverse, unpredictable, never-ending universe.

Now Disney owns Star Wars. Until now, Star Wars was a finite series beginning with the return of the Sith and ending with the return of balance. But their never really is balance without darkness. Disney brought about it’s own darkness, and not only in the plot. Predictably, it’s started Marvelifying/Disnifying Star Wars by turning it into an ongoing universe with an untold number of sequels, prequels and anthology films.

Is that a bad thing? Probably not. In the following years, Disney will make a Han Solo solo movie, a Boba Fett spin-off and a Yoda anthology film–and those are only the ones we know about. The crew of The Force Awakens knew it would happen for thirty years prior to its release, so we can only speculate what else there is in stock. People may doubt Disney, but when there’s a new Star Wars movie, they watch it, and Disney will not stop making more.

Both The Force Awakens and Rogue One were hits, but they can’t keep it up for every movie they make. There will be bad movies. But as a whole, Disney can’t harm Star Wars. They know what fans want, and they give it to them (although we’re still waiting for a Mandalorian movie…). Fans have more power over Star Wars than Disney does. Disney is on a short leash, expected to be perfect, and it’s only getting shorter. In the meantime, Star Wars is expanding. So in a way, Star Wars owns Disney.

Lightsaber Colors and Meanings

Uncategorized

Red, blue and green lightsabers are popping up in the hands of all sorts of characters from a galaxy far, far away with the occasional purple. But what can these colors tell you about the wielder? And how many colors are there? That’s what I’m going to answer.

Note: by the time of the New Republic Force-sensitive individuals chose crystal colors by personal preference rather than moral value.

SidiousVaderPromoRed: Red lightsabers are used by individuals deep in the Dark Side, such as Sith and Dark Jedi, though not all Dark-Side users have them. Red lightsaber crystals are synthetic; so they are more compatible with Dark Side energy. Occasionally, they may even shatter the opponents blade, overloading the matrix, but that is rare. Famous users: Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, Darth Maul, Count Dooku…

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi.Blue: Blue is the color of a Jedi Guardian, Jedi Warriors who use force on a very physical level. The first branch of Jedi (Consular and Sentinel are the other two), they are possibly the most skilled swordsmen in the Jedi Order, and the Galaxy. Blue lightsaber crystals, like most other naturally occurring ones are found on the planet Ilum. Famous users: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Plo Koon, Ki-Adi Mundi, General Grievous…

yoda-star-wars-vii (1)Green: Green is used by Consulars, the second branch of Jedi, who prefer to study the mysteries of the Force, fight evil in their minds, and concentrate on Force abilities rather than combat skills. Consulars try to not use their weapons, however will not hesitate to do so if necessary. Famous users: Yoda, Qui-Gon Jinn, Luke Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, Luminara Unduli…

Jaden_KorrYellow: This is the color of Jedi Sentinels. Sentinels, the third and least known branch of Jedi, seek to keep balance between the other two branches, and to destroy all traces of the Dark Side, going undercover for months at a time.They also concentrate on tech, distraction and surveillance. Here’s an analogy: When faced with a sealed door, a Guardian will slice it open, a Consular will knock, and a Sentinel will pick the lock. Famous users: Plo Koon, Yeareal Poof, Bastilla Shan.

HD-1080p-Mace-Windu-vs-Darth-Sidious-n-Anakin-Skywalkerwww.savevid.com.mp4Purple: These lightsabers are used by individuals who combine both sides of the Force into an aggressive fighting style, sometimes having mixed loyalties. Gray Jedi also use these sabers. They are Force-users who openly use both sides of the Force, and strive to keep balance between the Jedi and Sith. Famous users: Mace Windu, Revan, Mara Jade.

Orange_lightsaber_by_nerfavari-d51snn6Orange: Orange tends to be used by Jedi who focus on negotiation as well as combat. Wielders of this color often operate in the Sentinel class. Famous users: Yaddle, Plo Koon (again!)

Rahn_fightingGold: Gold lightsabers are generally associated with strong Light Side abilities. Famous users: Qu Rahn.

e1e3783fec872f9e19fbe9a2e9fdd454Bronze: Bronze sabers were used mostly by Jedi who used physical strength as well as Force abilities. They are possibly the rarest color there is. Famous users: Lowbacca.

Master_Tera_Sinube_by_raikoh14Silver: Used by Jedi who are very calm and focused on the living Force as a whole. Silver wielders sometimes operate in the Consular class. Famous users: Tera Sinube.

ImperialknightsWhite: Wielded openly and arrogantly by the Imperial Knights, and not many others, white lightsabers are used by those with extremely narrow-minded philosophy. Note: Imperial Knights have nothing to do with the Galactic Empire or Sith Empire. They have their own Empire Famous users: All Imperial Knights.

databank_darksaber_01_169_0bab10aaDarksaber: Black, like white, is used by Sith with a very narrow view on the Force. However, instead of serving a master, wielders of the one known darksaber (“stolen from the heart of the Jedi Temple”) are the master. Famous users: Darth Maul, Pre Visla, Sabine Wren.

What kind of lightsaber would you have? Write about it in the comments. Here’s mine: Two sabers, a red and a blue, which can be joined together into a double-blade. When joined, the crystals’ colors mix, giving both blades a uniform purple hue. The core would be black instead of white.