Random Thoughts #51 - This Post probably should have been Labelled #50!

Well, I'm right on the cusp of a new year. I just got back from church and my sister's house. Before I go to bed or catch up on some reading, here are a few Random Thoughts. I think I'll make this one a short one this time.

2018
2018 was a fine year. It brought the good and bad as most years do. God blessed me and my family this year as He's done for many other years. It wasn't perfect, but I'm here at the end, so that definitely counts for something. Work was good this year and I think I've finally settled in on my new shift at work. Now, I just got to get back to the weight loss grind again. Last I checked, I was around 228 pounds. That is good since I'm now able to fit in pants I haven't been able to wear in years. Still, I'm not done just yet.Things are good in the love life too, but not perfect. I believe that's how it goes, so it's taking me a while to learn that.

Plans for 2019
Since Resolutions are meant to be broken, here are my plans for 2019. Hopefully, I can actually carry these out this time:

• Be a better person (throw son, boyfriend, friend, and all that fits under that)
• Continue to get out of Debt (almost got some stuff paid off!!!)
• Lose some more weight and eat better
• Actually run that 5K (I think my dad and sister may join in)
• Fix some stuff around the house (I still need to get that bathroom done!)
• Live life to the fullest

Movies/TV/Books

I'll keep this short. I've really only been to see Aquaman and that was last weekend. I'll go into more detail later, but it was pretty good. I was hoping it would live up to expectations and it did for me. I really want to see Into the Spider-Verse soon, so I may do that tomorrow if possible. There's a lot of stuff I want to catch up on (DC Universe's Titans, Daredevil, and a few others), so I'll try to do that in the new year. I also want to get back to reading novels again. I put that on the backburner. I might talk about some of them in the new year.

........................................

Well, I need to end this somewhere. May 2019 bring good things for you and your people. My next post will definitely be about something geared toward butt-kicking. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and be careful out there in the new year. Who knows what it'll bring.

COMING IN 2019: A LOT OF THE USUAL STUFF, YO! ALSO, MAYBE YO' MOMMA WILL COME ALONG AND FINALLY MAKE THAT DELICIOUS CAKE!

Favorites? - 10 Things I'm Not a Fan of in Star Wars

Well, it’s the end of the year and I got a couple of more posts in me. Since I haven’t really talked about Star Wars much and since it’s raining cats and dogs outside, I wanted to touch on something Star Wars-related. I’ve really only had one post dedicated to the franchise this year. Unfortunately (for you probably), it’s not for the stuff I like. Today’s list is going to about the stuff I’m not too keen on in Star Wars. I’m only limiting this to the movies since I’d be here all day. Also, there is one thing about the franchise that I would put on the main list, but it doesn’t fit the criteria. Besides, fans of anything can be annoying at times. So, let’s start with the incest!

Tales From the $2.99 Bin! - The Flash: Rebirth

Well, this was seven years in the making. A few years ago, I was going to talk about The Flash: Rebirth. I was in the midst of looking at different events and stories back then. Then, for some reason, I decided to hold it off. Instead, I started to look at Geoff Johns’ run on Teen Titans. Then, a bunch of other stuff got in the way and this unfinished post stayed in the drafts for quite a few years. That could be a hint on how I regard this story now, but I’ll get to that later.

For the uninformed, I’m going to quickly spiel about Barry Allen, the second Flash. As most folk know, Barry died in Crisis on Infinite Earths after saving the universe from the Anti-Monitor. It was revealed that he disappeared into the Speed Force, the source that fuels speedsters. It also serves as a bit of a Purgatory for speedsters as well. Of course, death, Geoff Johns, and Dan Didio couldn't keep him down. It took over 20 years, but in Final Crisis, the Flash was brought back to the land of the living.

From what I can guess, DC wanted to recreate the buzz that Green Lantern: Rebirth had for Hal Jordan and do this for The Flash and his world. DC had been bringing back the older Silver Age folk, and Barry was really the only one who hadn’t come back yet. The Flash: Rebirth was released in six parts between April 2009 and February 2010. I was able to get them all as they were released. Geoff Johns (writer) and Ethan Van Sciver (artist) reunited to usher in this brief era for the Flash family. Rob Leigh handles the letters while  Alex Sinclair and Brian Miller did the colors. So, what does a previously dead guy do when he comes back to life?

"It's a Video Game!" - Assassin's Creed: The Ezio Trilogy

Well, Christmas has come and gone. I got some good gifts though there are some pants that are a little tight. It could be the Christmas dinner or the fact that I’ve never been able to fit into regular jeans well. Anyway, this may be the last Assassin’s Creed post for a bit. I’m in the midst of playing Assassin’s Creed 3 which is one game I haven’t played in years. I’m beginning to see why, but that’s for later. Besides, January is saved for a lotta love toward butt-kicking.

Next up for this Assassin’s Creed binge I’m on is a series of games that feature the Assassin known as Ezio Auditore da Frienze. I’m not going to toot this horn much, but if want to know when the AC series gets good, just look at Ezio. He appeared in three games: Assassin’s Creed II, Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed: Revelations. They  were all eventually collected together under The Ezio Trilogy. As for me, I bought them all separately years ago.  I know that I’ve replayed the second game and Brotherhood a couple of times as well as just recently. As for Revelations, I only did that once but I’ve recently done a replay on that as well. So, have these games held up over time?

TV Talk - Batman: The Brave and the Bold - "Invasion of the Secret Santas!"

Well, it’s almost Christmas Day and I still didn’t wrap that one present. The thing’s too dang big. Since I did it last year, I thought I would visit another episode that involves Batman and Christmas. I was going to look at “Holiday Knights” from The New Batman Adventures. Unfortunately, it’s not on the DC Universe app. So, instead of that, I’ll actually talk about “Invasion of the Secret Santas!” from Batman: The Brave and the Bold. This was actually the fifth episode of the first season which feels weird. I guess you gotta get those X-Mas episodes out of the way somehow. By the way, I ain’t rhyming this one. I bet all English teachers will be glad on that front!

“Invasion of the Secret Santas!”

Before we get to the slamming theme song (yes, it is a good theme song, you anti-fun snobs!!!), we get Batman and Blue Beetle teaming up to fight the Sportsmaster. I guess he decided to ruin sports events instead of poisoning his daughters’ minds in this universe. He’s also being voiced by Thomas Wilson, Biff from Back to the Future. It takes a couple of minutes (literally), but he is then defeated by the Blue team. We also find out that Batman’s not a big fan of Christmas.

Movie Talk - Assassin's Creed (2016)

And now… it’s time to talk about this possible piece of “felderkarb.” I was going to talk about this along with the first game, but I wanted to re-watch it and give it a fresh watch. Also, I needed to do something while wrapping presents. I got one more left to wrap, but I might hold off since it’s a little big. Anyway, this movie has the special distinction of also taking place within the AC universe. I actually saw some references to the movie characters in Assassin’s Creed: Origins. While it was released during December of 2016, I didn’t see it until much later. I just re-watched it today, so what do I think of this movie now?

The movie follows Callum Lynch, a convict who’s taken by Abstergo to be put into the Animus. Their plan is to find an Apple of Eden, a great source of power. They put Callum into his ancestor, Aguilar de Nerha, during the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. While Callum is captured, he’s able to gain the skills of his ancestor and help other captured Assassins strike back against the Templars. He and the rest of the folk also almost put me to sleep. In the past, Aguilar does action stuff and interacts with the Apple for a bit. That’s all with  that guy since we only spend about 30 minutes in the past… eh.

Angilar: Man, all those other assassins get a crapton of time! Heck, even that Haytham  $%*#* got more time than me and he ain't... wait, that'd be spoiling stuff!

"It's a Video Game!" - Assassin's Creed (2007)

So, what does one get when they mix parkour, Quantum Leap, the Knights Templar, the Matrix, and a Doomsday prophecy together? I don’t know, but Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise sounds like the closest fit. I feel like this has been a long time coming. I consider myself to be a fan of the franchise or at least a casual fan. I haven’t read any of the tie-in comics nor have I played any of the other non-PS3/PS4 games out there. I did see that 2016 movie, unfortunately, and that will be talked about here soon. I do need to answer one question first: what is Assassin’s Creed?

At its core, Assassin’s Creed is about the centuries-long battle between the Assassins and the Knights Templar. The Templars created a machine called the Animus that allows its user to experience the life of an ancestor. In the first game’s case, it’s Desmond Miles. He gets captured by the Templars so they can find something called the Apple of Eden. While you have the modern storyline, you also get a lot more in the past with the Assassin you’re playing. I could get more into detail, but I don’t want to chase you off. This franchise gets pretty confusing.

The concept for Assassin’s Creed came from a few of places. The first is Alamut, a novel from Slovenia. It’s basically about an order of assassins and its leader. The biggest inspiration and one I’m personally familiar with is The Prince of Persia series which was also published by Ubisoft. I’ve revisited The Sands of Time a lot on the PlayStation 2. Unfortunately, that game series has pretty much been forgotten about by Ubisoft.  When Ubisoft was looking to create another game and possibly another franchise, they took Alamut’s concept and the Prince of Persia’s gameplay to come up with Assassin’s Creed.

Today, I’ll be talking about the first game in the franchise, Assassin’s Creed.  It was what first introduced me to the franchise in 2011. It’s also one that I didn’t beat until a few weeks ago. Yes, this game can get frickin’ grating in places especially at the end. I’ll get to that later, though. I was also going to quickly go over the 2016 movie, but this post is going to be long enough. Besides, it means I have to watch the dang thing.

Favorites - Best Superhero Video Games

Soon, I'll be playing this game... 2020 sounds like a good year to start!

Since it is the end of the year and I’m working on setting up a new blog, I thought I’d finally do something with the drafts I got over here. I got some I recently put in and a few that have been drafts for years. It was about time to let these unfinished posts get their light of day. I even got one from like 2010 I haven’t even finished yet! I’ll get to that soon, but right now, I’m going to talk about some games.

Since I’ll be in an Assassin’s Creed binge for a bit, I haven’t gotten a chance to touch the latest Spider-Man game. Yeah, I said it. It sounds quite horrible, doesn’t it? I wasn’t too worried about this game since its publisher, Insomniac, does good stuff. In fact, most superhero games have been pretty good lately. I couldn’t say that years ago, though. I still haven’t gotten a good Superman game yet, but I’m praying for it, dang it! Yeah, folk pray about sport teams, so I might as well pray about something that is pretty inconsequential to life but fun.

Years ago, an idea popped into my head: what are my favorite superhero video games? I know that I have a least played more than ten games based on superheroes. So, here is the list that’ll  cover games from all over the spectrum: old consoles, current-gen consoles,  arcade games, movie tie-ins, and independent stuff as well. I originally was going to only put 8 games on here since I’m not the most varied gamer, but I can thankfully put more on here these days. If they’re good and part of a series, I’m mentioning them too. This also isn’t in any order, but I will put my favorites at the top. First, here are some honorable mentions. These are ones I liked but never got to finish:

• Spider-Man 2 (PS2) – Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Spider-Man 2 is a good game, but I never finished the dang thing. That Mysterio boss battle always messed me up. It did do a lot of things right, though. it served as a good movie tie-in, it had the actors from the movie (Tobey MacGuire wasn’t too good if I remember), and it really made you feel like Spider-Man for the first time. Previous games did what they could, but this one surpassed them with the open-world aspect. Besides, I got a couple of other SM games for the actual list.
• Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2) – I didn’t get to finished this one either, folks. I don’t know what happened. I know I rented it but this was around the time where time was scarce and I had no job. A man’s got to eat! Anyway, while my time with this game was short, this was fun. You got to run around as Hulk and cause a lot of destruction in your way. Heck, it’s in the title.
• Capcom’s Marvel series (PS1, PS3, etc) – Yeah, yeah, I know. While I don’t play many fighting games these days, I got Marvel vs. Capcom 3 around the house somewhere. Unfortunately, I’ve only put in about an hour of gameplay on it. Even though I haven’t finished that one, I still remember some of the others from the arcades and consoles. X-Men: Children of the Atom was a fun one as well Marvel Super Heroes. The one I remember the most and actually beat was X-Men vs: Street Fighter for the PS1. I may need to revisit some of these one day.

Random Thoughts On... Superhero Costumes and The State of Superman's Trunks

Before I get to the main stuff, here are some alternate titles:

• "Random Thoughts On… When Superhero Costumes Change and why Superman’s Trunks Need to Die!!!"
• "Random Thoughts On…  Superhero Costumes and the Coolness of Superman’s Trunks"
• "Random Thoughts On… Superhero Costumes Redesigns and Why Superman Still Has Trunks"
• "Random Thoughts On… Why No one loses their #^$^ over Batman’s Trunks as well as other heroes"
• "Random Thoughts On… When Superhero Costumes Go Wrong!"
• "Random Thoughts On… Yo Momma!"

I was just kidding about that last one. Yes, it’s 2018 and saying “yo momma” will never go out of style.

So, a random question recently entered my mind: why do folk get so bent out of shape over Superman’s trunks? They also do this over Batman, but I’m focusing on Supes more. Folk were shocked when they were removed for the New 52 and the DCEU. Recently, as of Action Comics #1000, they’re back for some reason. You pretty much have folk on both sides clamoring for the return of the trunks and folk wondering what the heck DC is thinking. So, what is my opinion on the whole #TheTrunksAreBack “controversy”? Do I think Clark should be out and proud with the trunks or should he put them back in the briefs section at the Fortress? Yes, that’ll be my only jab at my favorite superhero’s fashion… I think.

Before I get to that probably quick answer, I thought I’d talk about costumes in general. Now, I’m not some connoisseur on fashion or some even a rank amateur in the subject. I just know what I like and what I don’t like. Also, with fashion, you turn to the left, turn to the right, and hope the Goon Squad doesn’t find you in town. Hopefully, all of this doesn’t come out as the ramblings of a mostly sane man. With all that said, "Beep-beep!"