Tales from The Trade! - Star Trek: Godshock

During a trip to Nashville back in 2023, I decided to stop by my old comic stomping grounds, The Great Escape, off of Charlette Ave. Even though my comic buying has gone down in the last couple years, I still try to make time for the hobby. Making time to read said comics is another thing altogether. Anyway, I was perusing some of the new stuff, and a recent Star Trek trade popped out to me. The hardcover had a few Trek characters, most notably, Captain Benjamin LaFayette Sisko. You know I had to get this, man!!!

At the end of 2022, IDW started to release a new Star Trek comic that featured a lot of notable characters from the franchise with Captain Sisko being the lead. It even has a sister series called Star Trek: Defiant which features a few other popular characters. Since Trek continuity is pretty busy these days, they had it take place a couple of years after the end of DS9 and before Star Trek: Nemesis. “Godshock” contains the first 6 issues of the series. It’s being written by Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing who I don’t know too much about. The artwork is being done by a few like Ramon Rosanas, Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, and Erik Tamayo. So, what happens when someone is killing “gods?”

 

Star Trek: Godshock

Writers: Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing

Artists: Ramon Rosanas, Oleg Chudakov, Joe Eisma, and Erik Tamayo

Colors: Lee Loughridge

Letters: Clayton Cowles

 

This is Halloween 3! - A Few Non-Mainstream Comic Horror Movies

Comic books and horror go together like oatmeal and sausage… what? It’s a good meal combo! Anyway, we have gotten quite a few horror movies based on comic properties over the years. The first one I can really think of is Swamp Thing the 1980’s. Of course, DC and Marvel have been over this for years with characters like Swamp Thing, Blade, John Constantine, and others characters hitting live-action. Even Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness tried its hand at horror and succeeded in my opinion. Don’t know if it succeeded at the Multiverse aspect though, but that’s another story.

Today’s post is going to be about some comic movies that don’t have that DC bullet nor the Marvel insignia on it. Marvel and DC are not the only ones that have put out good comics, folks. Diversify that shelf or longbox a bit. First, we got The Crow from 1994 starring Brandon Lee, a movie that I have been wanting to see for years. Next, we got Spawn from 1997, a movie that I kinda had to fill out the list with. I am no Spawn fan, but it has Michael Jai White, so it can’t be too horrible… right? Finally, I got a double watch from my recent COVID sit: Hellboy and Hellboy. Yes, I made that confusing on purpose. First, it’s Hellboy from 2004 with Ron Pearlman. Last, it’s Hellboy from 2019 featuring David Harbour.

Movie Talk - The Men in Black Movie Franchise

I’m surprised that I haven’t talked about these movies here. While me and Liz were visiting some family, they were watching the latest Men in Black movie, Men in Black International. I hadn’t made my way around to seeing it yet especially since I knew it wasn’t received well. It turns out that Liz hadn’t seen any of the MIB movies, so we had a bit of a project back in March. All three of the original were on Netflix, so we were able to revisit a bit of childhood nostalgia… well nostalgia for me. I’d seen all three movies though I didn’t remember much of MIB3.

For those who don’t know, Men in Black was based on some comics of the same name, so you can also throw Men in Black in the comic book genre. They were done by Aircel Comics (which got bought out by Malibu Comics) in the 90’s. The series revolves around a secret group of government agents who interact different paranormal and extraterrestrial beings on Earth. They’re either protecting them or making sure they stay in line and don’t go on murder sprees. The movies just revolved around the alien stuff. The first movie was a big success and even spawned a pretty cool animated series that I fondly remember. It gets pretty spotty after that, but that’s how these franchises go. So, what did I think of all four movies?

Tales from the Trade! - Godzilla: The Half-Century War

Well,  this year is coming to an end quick. While I could say good riddance, this year hasn’t actually been as bad as it has been for others. Yes, it wasn’t a good year, but I can also look at the good that’s happened. One of those not-so-good things was that the new Godzilla movie getting pushed back into 2021. At least the WB may be releasing it on HBOMax, which was something that unfortunately needed to happen with COVID still going on. Which reminds me… I was in quarantine. I think my trip to the dentist last week did it. Thankfully, my quarantine has ended.

Anyway, onto the subject of Godzilla. I haven’t really read much of the G-Man in the comics. IDW has been producing comics for years now, but I’ve only read a couple here and there. I think one of them had Godzilla face the Greek Pantheon or something… yeah, I’ll have to search the bins for that. Today’s review is actually one that I ran into on a podcast some years ago. I want to say it was “Hey, Kids! Comics”, but I really don’t remember what podcast it was. All I know is that the review impressed me because I eventually added Godzilla: The Half-Century War, to my collection.

Half-Century War is an oddity with its concept. James Stokoe provided both the story and artwork for this 5-issue miniseries. It was published by IDW in 2013. Stokoe apparently got in with IDW thanks to Godzilla, and he’s also worked on a story called Godzilla in Hell. Yes, Godzilla goes to Hell at some point in the comics… you’d think running into Destroyah would be enough, but nah. The colors were done by Heather Beckel, and editing was done by Bob Curnrow, someone who I’ve ran into with the IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.

Favorites - 12 Favorite Opponents from the Godzilla Franchise

I couldn’t just stop at one post about Godzilla, couldn’t I? I also realized that while I like the big monster, I’ve barely talked about him here, so here we go for a bit of a stint. I could say that it’s RANDOM THOUGHTS’ HALLOWEEN GODZILLATHON or something. There is one story I definitely want to cover here (Godzilla: Half-Century War), but I gotta find the dang book. So, here’s something else for y’all.

Godzilla is one monster that sits in an interesting position. He’s been a villain, a hero, and even something in between. The monster’s still gone up against a variety of adversaries. He’s gone up against other giant monsters, aliens, the environment, and humanity itself. So, who are my favorite Godzilla opponents? I have to go with this wording because the G-Man hasn’t always been the hero of the movie. It’s not in particularly any order, but the best ones will be up at top.

Movie Talk - Avengers: Infinity War

Well, we’re on the precipice of a big event… the release of Ma starring Olivia Spencer. I don’t know where this movie’s gonna go but—oh yeah, there’s that independent movie featuring the Avengers and Grimace’s evil cousin, Thanos, being released on April 26th. That’s the one I might not be able to see that day because I haven’t gotten my ticket yet. I don’t think Liz would even  be into a possibly 3-hour movie either. Anyway, we’re definitely in the endgame now. Before I get there, I wanted to look at the other Marvel movies I haven’t talked about here. So, it’s Avengers: Infinity War for this post. The other two will get their own post.

 I saw Infinity War last year when it was released at Pulaski’s theatre. I also recently re-watched it on Netflix. I did plan on talking about it last year, but I never got the chance to. It’s pretty much what the MCU has been building up to over the last 6 years. Here, Thanos and his Black Order start to form the Infinity Gauntlet, a device made up of six powerful stones. When put together, the wearer has the ability to rewrite reality. Since this is a major threat to the whole universe, the Avengers aren’t the only heroes on deck for this one. We got Doctor Strange, the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Black Panther, and Spider-Man to thwart this threat. Would it be enough to stop Thanos and his reign of terror? Well, since Avengers: Endgame is about to be released, you can kind of guess that unfortunate answer.

Tales from the 50 Cent Bin! - The Master of Kung Fu #100

Next up for the month is a return to the Marvel Universe’s Master of Kung Fu. I’ve already looked at a few things involving Shang-Chi. I thought I’d come back to the guy since I got a random issue from his first series. Word on the street is that there may be a Shang-Chi movie coming one of these days. I don’t know how that’ll pan out, but hopefully that does get some traction. It’d be nice to see some more Marvel kung-fu action since The Immortal Iron Fist Netflix show is gone. More on that next week.

Today’s issue is The Master of Kung Fu #100.  I don’t remember where I found it at. This double-sized issue was written by Doug Moench. I probably remember Moench more for his Batman work, but he’s done some Marvel stuff as well. The artwork is handled by Gene Day and Mike Zeck. Jim Novak handles the letters and Bob Sharen does the colors. So, what happens in the 100^th issue of Shang-Chi’s book? Flashback time!!! (echoes)

Tales from the $3.99 Bin! - Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #10

Next up for the month is a quick look at the Boom Comics' version of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Who knew this series would catch fire the way it did? If someone told me that there would have been a pretty good Power Rangers comic series out there, I would have looked at them a little weird, and then go check it out. Right now, the series (and its spinoff) are doing their own thing after their major crossover, “Shattered Grid.” Which reminds me… How does “Comic Crossover Central” sound? It might be the name for my new blog.

Anyway, I’m not talking about a new blog today. I decided to look at the run and find something to talk about. Since the series is mostly full of story-arcs, I’ll be talking about Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #10, a standalone issue. Kyle Higgins wrote the issue. Johnathan Lam handles the pencils and inks. There is a 2-page mini story at the end that’s done written by Steve Orlando and illustrated by Corin Howell. All I can really say about it is that it was pretty funny. It’s just a mini that has Bulk and Skull get tempted by Rita in being heroes. With all that said, how does one of my favorite Power Rangers deal actually deal with being a Ranger?

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!"

Tales from the $3.99 Bin! - Secret Invasion

Well, it’s about that time of the year again. I’m stuck between what black thing I’ll be wearing Wednesday (got to get plans though), I’m looking at that pesky corn candy, and I’ll probably break out into the "Thriller" dance. I’ll also link that Tim Curry song from The Worst Witch again. That still makes me laugh. Instead of doing something monster-based, I think I’m going to go the sci-fi horror genre. These next two posts will talk about the 2008 Marvel crossover, Secret Invasion. Here, I’ll just be talk about the main series while the other post will be about the event itself.

I was pretty much into Secret Invasion when it first was hinted at in 2007. A lot of stuff had gone on in the Marvel Universe at that point, and I was psyched. I even had the money to keep up with it this time! I got all 8 issues of the crossover and a couple of New Avengers tie-ins. Since then, I really haven’t heard much about this one. Unlike Civil War, this event has kind of been looked over. Now that I’ve reread the main series, I can kind of see why. I’ll get to that later, though. For this and the next post, I decided to go all in on this one. I pulled out the books and perused Marvel Unlimited for all this stuff, so I’m ready!

Brian Michael Bendis wrote the main series. BMB was pretty much the Marvel architect at this point. It’s still weird to see him at DC. Anyway,  Avengers Disassembled, Secret War, and House of M were his babies. Leinil Francis Yu was the penciller. Before this, he was penciling along with Bendis on New Avengers. I also got to mention my favorite Superman origin, Superman: Birthright, since Yu was the artist. Man, even BMB had to get in on Superman. Mark Morales handled the inks and Laura Martin did the colors. So, what happens when the Skrulls’ “secret” invasion ain’t no secret no more?

Secret Invasion

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils: Francis Leinil Francis Yu

Inks: Mark Morales

Colors: Laura Martin

Letters: Chris Eliopoulos

Editor: Tom Breevort

Trade Tales! - Batman: The Cult

Next up on this small Dark Knight post-binge is the story that started the binge. Batman: The Cult was a four-issue miniseries that was released in 1988. It was released in prestige form, so that meant that the issues themselves could be longer. They could also go places where mainstream comics wouldn’t go. Heck, if you read the first few pages, you’ll see that in detail. I think it was even meant for mature readers when it was released.  It’s akin to stories like The Dark Knight Returns. Judging by the artwork and format, you’d think it came from that universe. It was also loosely adapted into The Dark Knight Rises and that was apparent when I read it.

I heard about this story for years but never really got around to finding it. When I saw it for cheap, I thought it was finally time to see what this thing was about. The story was written by Jim Starlin, a pretty cool writer who was already writing Batman’s main series at this point. The artwork was done by Bernie Wrightson, one of the creators for Swamp Thing. Bill Wray handled the colors. This is also another story that gets thrown on those “Greatest Batman Stories” lists. So, is it truly worth it? Do I even need to answer that question? Find out after this probably brief synopsis!

Batman: The Cult

Writer: Jim Starlin

Artist: Bernie Wrightson

Colors: Bill Wray

Letters: John Costanza

Editors: Dennis O’Neil

Random Thoughts On... Star Wars: The Dark Empire Trilogy

So, Solo: A Star Wars Story was released this weekend. Some of my favorite movie reviewers (Jeremy Jahns, Chris Stuckmann) didn’t have great things to say about the movie. Since I'm off work for the weekend, I thought I'd take a bite and go see it for myself. It was okay for the most part and surprising in a couple of places. Today’s post isn’t about the nerf-herding pilot with a nice smile, though. It’s time to, once again, jump back into the original Expanded Universe, aka “Legends.” Today, it’s Tom Veitch’s Dark Empire Trilogy.

Star Wars: Dark Empire, a six-issue miniseries, was released by Dark Horse in 1991. It was originally supposed to be released by Marvel, but things didn’t work out. Also, the writer, Tom Veitch, had to work things out with other writers like Timothy Zahn and Kevin J. Anderson because they were also doing things in the Expanded Universe. Its sequel, Dark Empire II, was released in 1994. The final story, Empire’s End, was released a year later. Tom Veitch wrote all three books. The artwork for the first two was provided by Cam Kennedy while Empire’s End had artwork done by Jim Balkie.

For some reason, this image of Luke in the Vader mask has stuck with me for years.

 It was around 2004 or 2005 when I first heard about Dark Empire. I actually found Dark Empire II at MTSU’s library. I was searching for something Star Wars-related and I found it in the young section. A few years later, I again ran into the Dark Empire Trilogy (which collected Dark Empire, Dark Empire II, and Empire’s End) at Pulaski’s public library. I didn’t finish reading it, though. Over the years, I’ve added the first two entries to my collection. Since Marvel has Star Wars now, all of their Expanded Universe series is on Marvel Unlimited. I was able to finally finish off the trilogy there. Since Empire’s End was only two issues, that was easy to do… a little too easy.

Tales From The Trades! - Iron Man: Armor Wars

I know I've said this, but I think Iron Man’s an alright character. Even with the Iron Man movies out there, I just don’t feel drawn to the character of Tony Stark. I even got one of his most important storylines ("Demon in A Bottle") on the shelf and I still haven’t read it yet. Maybe I’ll finally crack it open after this month’s over. Even though I haven’t been the biggest fan of Stark, I thought Matt Fraction’s run (the parts I read anyway) were pretty good. I’ve even liked his moments in certain Marvel events. Plus, there’s that Robert Downey Jr. dude who’s making the waves. Then, there’s this story.

Iron Man: Armor Wars contains Iron Man #225-232. The actual storyline is called “Stark Wars,” but I guess “Armor Wars” just stuck out or something. I found this at McKay’s  years ago and thought I’d finally check it out. David Michelinie and Bob Layton handled the story. Both of these writers had done a lot with Iron Man during the 70’s and 80’s. M.D. Bright handled the breakdowns while Layton handled the finishes in the main story. Barry Winsdor-Smith handles the art for #332. So, what does happen when Tony Stark finds out IM tech has been pilfered? He becomes a bit of a douchebag as usual.

Iron Man: Armor Wars

Writers: David Michelinie and Bob Layton

Pencils: M.D. Bright and Barry Winsdor-Smith (#232)

Inks: Bob Layton

Colors: Bob Sharen, Nel Yomtov, and Barry Winsdor-Smith (#232)

Letters: Janice Chang and Bill Oakley (#232)

Editor: Mark Gruenwald

Movie Throwdown! - The Raid: Redemption vs. Dredd Part 2

Well, here is the rest of my match-up between The Raid: Redemption and Dredd.

SETTING

Next up is a small one: the setting. The Raid takes in present-day Jakarta. We’re pretty much stuck in a 15-story building. We don’t see much of the outside world other than a couple of stuff at the beginning. After Rama’s intro, we’re thrown right into the mission. We also find out that Jakarta has a pretty bad problem with corruption. As for Dredd, it takes place in a post-apocalyptic United States. It’s a wasteland (insert random Trump joke here) and all that’s left is Mega-City One on the Eastern Coast. Since it’s crap, the Judges are there to do what they can. We also got mutants and sometimes they don’t come out pretty like Judge Anderson.

The setting that appealed to me the most was Dredd’s. Even though we don’t get much, a lot of the city is detailed through dialogue. The city itself looks interesting since you got all of these large towers standing everywhere. Even Peach Trees had some interesting stuff in it. The Raid doesn’t get this since the mission is pretty much the thing in the movie. So, this point is going to Dredd.

The Raid – 1

Dredd – 2

Movie Throwdown! - The Raid: Redemption vs. Dredd Part 1

Today’s two post are about something I’ve had my mind on for a while now. In 2011, The Raid: Redemption was released. It’s about an Indonesian SWAT team that’s trapped in a building run by a dangerous gangster. Butts are kicked, shots are fired aplenty, and a lotta folk die. In 2012, Dredd, based off of 2000AD's Judge Dredd, was released in theatres. The movie is about how two law officers (Judges) get trapped in a district (Mega-Block) ran by a dangerous gangster. Shots are fired aplenty and a lotta folk die.

If these two movies sound familiar, then you’re not the only one who thinks that. It’s kind of unclear if the creators got ideas from each other or if it’s just a coincidence. It’s not like the plots for these movies are original, so it doesn’t really matter in the end. Just know that they are both good films in their respective rights. They’re up there with some of the best in their genres. Still, which one is better? I know there are some folk out there that have done this, but I think it’s time to add my voice to “The Raid vs. Dredd” debate.

Before I get to the match-ups, here is a general overview of both movies:

• The Raid: Redemption – The Raid takes place in Jakarta, Indonesia. It follows a Special Forces unit as they are tasked with conducting a raid on an apartment block. Their goal is to take out Tama, the head gangster over the block. Of course, things go bad when Tama finds out they’re coming and unleashes the whole block which is full of a lot of criminals. Rama, a rookie cop, and the rest of the team do their best to survive in the block and meet their objective. Rama also has a personal reason for being there since his brother is in Tama’s gang.
• Dredd – Dredd takes place in a dystopic, futuristic metropolis called Mega City-One. The Judges are the law of the town and enact swift justice on criminals. We end up following Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and a rookie named Cassandra Anderson (Olivia Thirbly). They’re tasked to find out about a new drug that’s hit the street. When they make it to Peach Trees, a 30-story tower, they run into trouble. Gangster Madeline Mardgril, aka Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), finds out about them, locks down the tower, and sends the lowlifes after them. Dredd and Anderson must use their weapons and abilities (Anderson’s a mutant) in order to survive and enact justice on Ma-Ma.

Trade Tales! - Tekken: Blood Feud

Next up for the month is a return to the comic book world. This time, it’s a look at another Tekken comic book. Tekken has always had trouble with being adapted to other media and comics are no exception. There were comics released in the 90’s and judging by this article, they weren’t good. I didn’t even have a good time with Tekken Forever. Heck, that issue was so bad it pretty much killed the mini-series it was setting up. Anyway, it looks like Namco wanted to try this again, so they gave their license to Titans Comics.

Tekken: Blood Feud was released last year over four issues. I actually found out about the series during Free Comic Book Day.  The first issue of the series was on the stands at that time. I tried to keep up with it but ultimately just got the trade which was recently released. It’s supposed to take place between Tekken 6 and the recently released Tekken 7. It was written by Cavan Scott. The artwork was handled by Andie Tong and the colors were done by Mauricio Wallace. So, what did happen to Jin between games?

Tekken: Blood Feud

Writer: Cavan Scott

Art: Andie Tong

Colors: Mauricio Wallace

Letters: Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt

Design: Russ Seal

Editor: Tom Williams

Tales From the $3.99 Bin! - Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises #1

Next up for the month is a pretty modern comic. Back in 2016, an independent publisher called Darby Pop released a mini-series called Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises. It’s a book for all ages. I don’t remember when I first heard about it, but I was kind of interested in it. It lasted four issues and I own the first two. It’s been released in the trades since then. Today, I’ll just be talking about the first issue to the miniseries.

One of the biggest things about it is that Shannon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter, is actually involved in it. She and Jeff Kline wrote the story. Kline was a producer and writer on some of the recent Transformer shows and Jackie Chan Adventures. Finding that out helps me get this comic. The artwork is handled by Brandon McKinney, the colors are done by Zac Atkinson, and Troy Peteri does the letters. Reginald Hudlin is on here as a consulting producer which sounds weird. I guess that means he’s the editor? Oh well, on to the synopsis!

Bruce Lee: The Dragon Rises #1

Writers: Shannon Lee and Jeff Kline

Art: Brandon McKinney

Colors: Zac Atkinson

Letters: Troy Peteri

Design: Steve Blackwell

Consulting Producer: Reginald Hudlin

Random Thoughts On... The Highlander Franchise

“From the dawn of time we came…moving silently down through the centuries. Living many secret lives, struggling to reach the time of the Gathering, when the few who remain will battle to the last. No one has ever known we were among you…..until now.”

This monologue from Sean Connery started off a franchise that was popular in its time: Highlander. Whether it was a good franchise is a matter of debate, though. A few months ago, I started to wonder if there was a podcast about the Highlander series out there. By the way, thank From Crisis To Crisis: A Superman Podcast for that. Every April Fool’s Day, they do a parody review of something else instead of a Superman comic book. This year, it was an episode from the Highlander TV show. It took some searching, but I found one by the name of Highlander Re-Watched. Since then, I’ve been catching up on all of their episodes about the series and movies.

For those who probably don’t know, Highlander was a 1986 movie about Connor MacLeod, a 16^th century Scotsman born in the Highlands. He belongs to a race of Immortals who battle each other throughout time. When the battle is over, the loser gets beheaded and the winner gains their strength and essence through the Quickening. When the last Immortal on Earth is left, he or she will earn “The Prize,” something that is kind of vague.

The movie was pretty much a standalone, done-in-one thing since Connor wins the prize. Then, four movie sequels, two live-action TV shows, an animated TV show, an anime,  a few comic series, and a few (some cancelled) video games came. Since I’ve been a sword-faring mood (Renaissance Festival and Witcher 3 play), I thought I’d finally share my thoughts on the franchise as a whole.

Favorites - 11 Villainous Characters Gone Good

“Everyone loves a good redemption story.”

I don’t know who said the quote, but it's a true one. While we sometimes like seeing folk be bad, we also like seeing them go good. You can look everywhere for this common trope as well. This list was actually what started the whole thing. I didn’t have to think hard about which heroic figures have gone evil, though. I did have to put a little more thought into this one. While some names popped into my head easily, others took a minute. These aren't necessarily my favorite characters and it’s not in any order, so let’s start off with someone really random.

1. Sami Brady (Days of Our Lives)

I know you’re looking at me weird, so let me explain. When I was younger, my grandmother was an avid watcher of Days of Our Lives. Guess what we more or less had to watch at about 2pm? We didn’t have another TV, so I had to do something with that time! If you’re wondering, no, I’m not a DOOL fan. I haven’t watched the show in years. I do glance at it at the YMCA if it's showing, though. Even though I’m not a fan, I can say I got fond memories of it. Sami wasn’t necessarily one of them.

To put it nicely, she was one… witch. She was usually scheming to get some dude. I think one of them was named Austin. Even when she got the dude, she’d screw it up somehow. She was pretty much the jealous sister of the show. After some time, I do remember her becoming less of a witch and turning into a somewhat nice person. I guess the writers or actress got tired of that constant role of villainess. I don’t know if she stayed that way since soap operas are a lot like comic books. I can say that Alison Sweeney did a good job with that role. The fact that I remember her says something. 

2. Vegeta (Dragonball Z)

I think it’s time to swerve away from the odd and look at “The Prince of all Saiyans!” When Vegeta came onto the scene, he was a straight-up bad guy. No one can doubt that. I don’t think anyone can forget what happened to poor Nappa, aka “Mr. Clean with a ‘Stache.” Even after his time on Namek where he allied with the heroes, he wasn’t a good dude. Vegeta was obsessed with being better than Goku and he even did some really stupid things because of his Sayian pride. When you let the evil android get stronger instead of taking him out earlier, you’re not exactly good, are you?

Even when Goku returned for the World Tournament years later, he was still a douche. He let himself be taken over by Babadi (some green thing?) and went on a rampage. It wasn’t until his own son was in danger that he actually began to look heroic. He sacrificed himself to take out Majin Buu and even though that Pepto Bismal-looking thing didn’t die, it was a noble sacrifice. Like all characters in the DBZ universe, he did come back but he came back different. He even put an end to his rivalry with Goku.

Favorites - 10 Heroic Characters Gone Bad

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.”

This quote from Batman: The Killing Joke says a lot about heroes or good people who go down a dark path. Sometimes, an event will happen in their lives that will irrevocably change them. Mostly, they can find the way to keep their wits and continue to fight the good fight. Heck, how has someone like Spider-Man not gone totally dark after what’s happened to him? Other times, they fall so far off the wagon, you wonder if they were even on the wagon to begin with. You’ll see this trope everywhere in movies, TV, books, and video games. So, here are some good characters that turned dark. They’re not necessarily in order either.

1. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)

That’s right, folks. One of the best villains in movie history was once one of the good guys. It always has to start like that, don’t it? Even though the prequels weren’t perfect, they and Star Wars: Clone Wars showed how a “mostly good” Jedi would go evil. Because of Palpatine’s influence and Anakin’s own fears, he became Darth Vader and helped tighten the Empire’s grip for years. I’ll touch on his ultimate end next time, though.