Welcome Back to another edition of Comic Relief! where I discuss all the goings on in the world of nerd!
For the past two years, Marvel has been on the firing squad of critics and fans alike for the treatment of one particular character: Captain America. Two words: "Hail Hydra" shattered the comic book community, fracturing them into different groups. While no one was exactly crazy about the idea, some were more open to seeing where the story goes than others. I am not going to lie, I found myself on the side of the others, completely infuriated that my favorite super hero had betrayed every single one of the ideas he fought for in his history. However, I would be lying if the series didn't win me over. The title Captain America: Steve Rogers by Nick Spencer delves into this "Hydra Cap," and gives a portrait of the America that we are very scarily turning into. This whole run has led up to the current Marvel event: Secret Empire. Secret Empire has itself been a figure of controversy, from things like the Hydra Cap lifting Mjolnir, and the same Captain killing Black Widow, the arc has attracted a lot of "mixed attention" from people. However, after 10 issues, Marvel undeniably delivers an end to Hydra Cap that could not have been more fitting and could not have been at a better time.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
The issue starts off with the heroes of Marvel truly united for the first time. However, they aren't out of the woods yet, Hydra Cap comes out in a Stark built Cap suit powered by all, save one, of the cosmic cube fragments making him nigh god tear. One would think this all but over for the Avengers, but luckily they had a plan made by Bucky Barnes: to bring the final fragment of the cosmic cube to Hydra Cap and reform Kobik, the form the cosmic cube takes when it gains sentience. Bucky would then attempt to reason with it and bring their Steve back. Sam Wilson, having resumed his place as Captain America, tricks the Supreme Leader of Hydra (Steve) into thinking he is submitting. This allows Sam a chance to get close enough to piece the cube together, then Scott Lang (Ant Man) grows back to full form with cosmic cube in hand and the plan works. Between Bucky and the remaining memory of the old Steve Rogers, they convince Kobik to help defeat this Hydra Cap by bringing Steve back. Back in the real world a blue figure starts to form from nothing. Low and behold a classically costumed Steve Rogers glares into the eyes of his doppelganger clad in the ominous green and yellow of Hydra.
"That Shield does not belong to you" those words ignite a spark and a battle begins to rage. Even with the Iron Man suit, the Hydra Cap is being dominated in the encounter with his classic counterpart, so he reaches for Mjolnir that lays resting near him. His hands grasp firm around the handle and he pulls, but to no avail. The hammer won't budge, and so it is revealed that Madame Hydra had used her cosmic cube fragment earlier to bend causality and shift the words on the hammer to allow this Steve to wield the mighty hammer. Hydra Cap had never been worthy, but the true Steve Rogers was and so he lifts the hammer while simultaneously slamming it across his pretender's jaw and shattering the remainder of the Stark suit he was wearing. Captain America stands victorious and hands the shield to Sam and the hammer to Jane Foster Thor and walks off.
There is technically one more issue left, Secret Empire: Omega that will serve as the epilogue, focusing on Steve Rogers seeing the damage his counterpart had caused in his absence. There will no doubt be some bitterness, wounds to heal, and maybe even some wounds that will stay forever open. Nonetheless, this has proven itself to be an incredible story-line that addresses several sociopolitical issues, ones that especially after the events in Charlottesville, VA needed to be brought to the forefront in comic books. In an America where a fascist presence exists to the degree it does, where people proudly display swastikas and "sieg heil" for their white supremacist cause, we as Americans must do something. We must fight in any way possible, these bigots do not represent us as a nation and they never have. In this time we as a nation find ourselves divided, some point fingers at the past administration, others the current, however, it shouldn't be an issue in the first place. As Americans we have existed peacefully with differentiating opinions for centuries without it killing each other, but now there is a group that genuinely hates enough to want to exterminate people based on their skin color, their religion, the list goes on. America has been a country that has ultimately been about progress. We have had missteps in history, there is no doubt, but where there was uncharted territory we took the first steps into it, it's our way, to push forward through the frontier. That push may not be easy, but I would like to believe that the push has always been with the best intentions, even if there were those of us that failed to uphold that intent. Steve Rogers is back, he is attacking a fascist in the iconic stars and stripes, and while we should be careful in the way we combat them, it's time we stand up in the face of that hate and turn it away.
For the past year or two Nick Spencer has been accused of not understanding Steve Rogers, not respecting the legacy that Jack Kirby and Joe Simon made when they created him, and for sure it's been a rocky journey that has certainly crossed some red tape, however, this has always been the story of Captain America. In a previous post I mention a quote by Jim Steranko:
He was the American Truth. The face unrevealed behind the mask was ours.
These two Captains, the Hydra Cap and the golden age Cap, in a way they represent the division our nation has faced in recent years. The story of Steve Rogers is the struggle of our nation. It's a terrifying thing to look at a mirror sometimes, but we have to if we want to change and push forward. This arc provided us with a mirror and many of us did not like what we saw. The question I pose is this, are you willing to do something about that reflection and push forward, or will you ignore it and walk away from it?
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed this post and we hope to see you again soon!
Welcome Back to another edition of Comic Relief! where I talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!
In a world where comic adaptations are as prevalent as they are on the silver screen, it's no wonder that comic's cousin from the east: Manga, would come next. Making their way across the world from Japan, anime and Manga have caused a culture storm in the West that has been some real headway over the past couple of decades. Unfortunately, however, most of these adaptations have never truly captured the point the series was trying to make. Lack of faith to source material ultimately has led to the downfall of most of these adaptations, however, there was one adaptation that had brought people some hope. Netflix, a few years back, had announced that they were to adapt a live action feature of the critically acclaimed series Death Note.
In the anime/manga world Death Note is widely considered one of the best and serves as a lot of people's starting points for their introduction into the fandom. With Netflix's track record of great adaptations, between the Marvel Projects, Voltron reboot, and Castlevania, there was no reason to expect a "bad product," and what we got wasn't bad, it's a travesty. I have a hard time remembering the last time I have felt physically ill while watching a movie (that's a lie it was when my friends put on the most recent 3 musketeers with Orlando Bloom and Mads Mikelson while at a lake house a few weeks back), and so now it's time to give an overview of what exactly the film did wrong, and even what little it did right. But First, for those that have never read the manga or watched the anime (which I highly suggest at least the latter as it's up on Netflix as well), here's an overview of the show.
Light Yagami is a high-schooler that is at the top of his class, he's considered a prodigy with a bright shiny future. On his way home from school one day he finds a strange notebook on the ground. When Light picks it up and opens it and inside are a list of rules first which being: The human's name that is written in this note shall die. After testing the death note out on a common thug, Light draws the attention of a Shinigami (a Japanese death god) named Ryuk, who had dropped the note on Earth to escape his own world because he was bored. Light then begins a crusade against the criminal class of the world and in doing so draws out a world class detective known only as "L." L and Light enter a battle of wits as each of them lay traps for one another trying to figure out the other's identity. L wants justice to find the murderer known as Kira (the name that the public has adopted for being responsible for these deaths) and Light wants L's name so that he may write it in his note and continue his crusade and ascension to "godhood." It's an intense detective story that is very akin to a Sherlock Holmes book.
What Killed The Movie
It's honestly very hard to choose a good starting point on tearing this movie apart, there was so much wrong with it and so very hard to just narrow down. I realize that most people are going to want to talk about the white washing of characters like Light, however, ultimately (while this is certainly an issue the movie has) it is not the stem of the reason why this movie is utter shit. So speaking of our leading man, let's start there.
Light Reminds Me of Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man 3
Light Yagami (or as he is called in the movie: Light Turner) in the manga and anime is this brilliant, pseudo preppy high-schooler that is the son of a high ranking detective in the Japanese police Detective. He's smart, secretive, and plans everything down to the minor details, and ultimately his characters lends itself very similarly to Sherlock or more fittingly Moriarty in a Conan Doyle book, and then there's how he's portrayed in this adaptation. Light looks like he stepped of the pages of a hot topic catalog (which can literally be said of most things in this god awful movie) and within the first 5 minutes of him using the Death Note he tells his high school crush (another Hot Topic teen named Mia) about it and then we enter a montage of the two going back and forth between boning and writing people's name in the note. Now don't get me wrong, this is an adaptation, so I expected some differences in the character's portrayal to better suit it for marketing, however, this isn't making slight changes, this is taking a wrecking ball to the original concept and turning it into a shitty CW show like Pretty Little Liars (hence the title of my article). Light lacks ANY of the cunning we see in the anime and acts neurotic and unbalanced the entire movie. Any hopes of seeing something akin to the famous Potato chip scene are burned to the ground in the portrayal provided by Nat Wolf. I mean he all but admits he is the Kira to L in a confrontation between them in an ice cream parlor. Honestly it's gut wrenching to watch, and while there is plenty to blame Nat Wolf with for his portrayal, most of this weight is the cross the writers should bare for destroying a great character like Light, however if there was a character even worse than Light, it's his shitty sidekick and love interest Mia.
Burn down, Burn Down Hot Topic- South Park
When they got to the drawing board for this film, I have no idea what compelled them to think: let's give Light a partner in crime. I mean yes Light has allies in the Death Note story, however, none of them have ANY emotional significance to him whatsoever, in fact, they are all just pieces on the chessboard to him. Even the women that he is involved with are people that he uses so that he can best play the game and over come L and the Kira task force. While I realize that having a strong female co lead sounds good in theory as a thing to add, that theory gets blown up when the majority of what they do in the film is provide a montage of pretty people bumping nasties and a contrived subplot that leads to her betraying Light and trying to take the Deathnote for herself. Mia is a cash grab at best and a step back in writing female characters at worst.
The tone of the film is also confused. As I said before the tone of the original Death Note was suspense and mystery. In it's anime form almost every scene carries some weight to it. However, the set up for the Death Note movie is the set up for a horror movie, which could have been interesting had it stuck to it's guns. Rather than make Ryuk Light's "invisible pal" the way he is in the show, Ryuk is the bogeyman of the show. Ryuk constantly threatens Light with the book and this lends to the shitty Mia subplot that was mentioned previously. This would be fine if they didn't ALSO try to make it a detective piece with bringing L in. If they wanted to do a horror movie they should have STUCK to making a horror movie and make Ryuk the direct antagonist and the movie's monster, but instead they also have the L detective bit which is silly because this version of Light can hardly tie his shoes properly let alone go head to head with the "world's greatest detective," and the fact that he does make L look superbly incompetent.
The Few Good Apples
As terrible as this movie was there were some good things about it. Stylistically the film is VERY well made. The music, the use of cinematography, even the effects, are all brilliant, which is all a shame because it shows that despite how talented a director this guy was, there was only so much he could do to gift wrap a pile of shit. However, the director of the film is not the only saving grace of this film.
Without much surprise the BEST part of the movie is Willem Dafoe's Ryuk. It's a far different take than in the original story, but Dafoe takes this performance to a new heights. He is bone chilling and the voice lends itself very well to the Mo-cap Shinigami. Also It wouldn't surprise me if most of the film's budget went into making Ryuk look perfect, especially since Ryuk is only seen in the film for maybe 30 minutes. While this performance was great, what really is a shame is that even this fruit is soured by the fact that they misuse the character grossly and due to the film's lack of tonal consistency Ryuk loses a lot of the weight of his presence. (Below I have posted the meeting between Light and Ryuk which is one of the only 2 REALLY good scenes in the movie, the other is another Ryuk scene where he dares Light to try writing the name Ryuk in the Note)
Character performances that should also be mentioned are L and Light's Father. Despite facing a LOT of flack for being black, the actor who portrays L does an almost perfect job of portraying this detective. The reason I say almost is because the latter half of the film L loses all composure and becomes as neurotic as Light was the entire damn movie. This is ultimately a result of screen writing and direction, so ultimately that is not the actors fault. However, Detective Turner (Light's father) was the most surprising. Of all the character that were shifted a little to make for a more marketable adaptation, Detective Turner was the greatest success. The Detective still holds his by the rules mentality that he has in the original manga, however, he also seems far more human in certain aspects. While I realize this is for sure due to cultural differences, I feel that it was far more realistic to have Detective Turner feel slighted and angry that L was investigating his son. Detective Turner gets outwardly angry and almost leaves the task force because of it.
Overall this movie is a ginormous, heaping pile of crap. It is even more annoying because Netflix hopes to make a sequel and the director claims that the character inconsistencies are due to the fact they were setting up to the real thing, but what exactly are they going to set up at this point? By the end of the film (SPOILERS) L KNOWS that Light is Kira, so does his father, and not only that but L has a page of the note that Mia took, so he can write down Light's name. If you want to watch Death Note, just watch the anime instead. It's already on Netflix as well, and you won't be disappointed or wrongfully misled by this abysmal live action adaptation.
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you have enjoyed and we will see you again next time!
Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where I talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!
One of the things that I would really like to start doing more of is my character appreciation articles. Today I have a particular one that I want to focus on. A year or two ago, a close friend of mine was talking anime with me, and said: "Have you ever heard of Berserk?" to which I said no. In response to this, that friend sat me down and showed me the movie Berserk: The Golden Arc Pt.I Egg of the King. I fell in love, watched the other movies, and despite being significantly creeped out by a very uncomfortable rape sequence, have become a dedicated fan since. However, there is one problem, there is no lasting adaptation of this series. It had a phenomenal run back in the 90's that only made it to the end of the Golden arc (because that was frankly all that was probably written by that point), and then recently (after the movies) Berserk was revived in 2016 with an anime adaptation that relies on a rather poor 3D CG animation (meanwhile taunting us with a beautifully animated opening for both seasons), so over the past few weeks I started to read the manga which brings us here. Today's character appreciation is a double header (because honestly talking about one without the other is impossible): Guts (the legendary black swordsman) and Griffith (the White Hawk leader of the mercenary group: The Band of the Hawk), both of whom are respectively the property's protagonist and antagonist.
Griffith Top Banner, Guts Bottom Banner
Beginnings: Guts
Guts has a VERY graphic and brutal upbringing. Born from the hanged corpse of his dead mother, Guts was found by a mercenary band leader's woman Shisu. Despite the band leader (whose name is Gambino) objecting, Shisu takes in the child as she had just suffered a miscarriage herself and felt that the child filled the void. However, if the sight of his birth wasn't disconcerting enough, after only a few years a plague hit the band, killing Guts' surrogate mother. This would of course start the spread of rumor that Guts was in fact a cursed child, however, this did not stop the band leader Gambino from training Guts in swordplay.
Gambino was a firm believer in the idea that every person pulls their own weight in the band and Guts would pull his, even if he wasn't even ten yet. However, Guts was determined to do Gambino proud, seeing him as a father figure Guts even trained with a sword the size of his own body, a thing that would become a staple of the character's fighting style.
While things seemed to go well for awhile for Guts, his fighting improved and he was improving with each battle, all would not stay that way. Gambino, his band leader and father figure, sold his surrogate son out to be sexually used by another troop in the camp. After the rape occurs, Guts is furious and encounters Gambino, however, the band leader feigns ignorance. Guts hunts down his rapist during the next battle and lights him up with crossbow bolts. However, while Guts was hunting down his assailant, Gambino was wounded in battle, losing a leg.
After having to rely on Guts for incoming pay, Gambino is driven mad. One night he tries to murder Guts for the misfortune the child has brought him, even revealing that he sold Guts out to his rapist. This results in Gambino's death by Guts' sword through his throat. When the rest of the mercenary band discovers the scene, they chase Guts from the camp and so Guts strikes out on his own, and that would be Guts' life for the next few years until the fateful siege that would result in him meeting Griffith and Meeting the Band of the Hawk.
The Warmth By The Fire
During this early time there was a century long conflict going on between the two nations Midland and Chuder. Both sides used mercenary bands frequently as it was quicker and cheaper than levying their own armies. Guts was one of those said mercenaries, and during a siege he distinguished himself by killing a Midland captain of great strength and renown named Bazuso. This fight is of little and great importance, as a fight it's not one of the greatest of the series, but it certainly showcases Guts' strength at such a young age. Most importantly, however, it's the first time he is seen by Griffith and his mercenaries: The Band of the Hawk.
After the battle, a small contingent of the Band of the Hawk make the mistake of trying to attack Guts and take his spoils of war. Guts more than handles himself adequately, killing at least 3 members of the band, and drawing out the Band of the Hawks female captain Casca. However, it's not enough to stand up to Guts, and Griffith comes down and ends Guts' rampage with one stroke of his sword.
Rather than have Guts killed, Griffith keeps him alive and brings him to his camp, ordering Casca to keep him warm throughout his fever. When the fever breaks and Guts wakes, the two start a dialogue during which Griffith states that he wants Guts for the Band of the Hawk (during this dialogue a very jealous Casca listens as she hears him say the words "I want you" for the first time ever). Guts declines and challenges Griffith to a duel, winner takes all essentially. Though Guts gets some good hits in, the duel is fairly one sided and Griffith handily defeats him. With that Guts was a part of the Band of The Hawk and he belonged to Griffith.
Gut's first mission with the Band of the Hawk would put him in charge of the unit's rear guard, a MASSIVE responsibility, but also a test of Guts' trustworthiness as it would put him in a position where he could easily flee. Guts does his duty and does it well, earning the trust and respect of his new comrades: the Band of The Hawk. After the Battle, Guts and Griffith have a conversation where Griffith reveals to his newfound comrade that his ambitions are to have his own kingdom one day, and Guts is swept up in that charisma and for a while it's enough.
FYI Manga is read Right to Left
Three years later, the Band of the Hawk has endured much together, and Guts' strength has grown. With that strength and Griffith's tactics, the Band of the Hawk have become the increasingly more dominant force that the crown of Midland depends on. Serving exclusively to the kingdom, Griffith has begun to even get noticed by the King who raises Griffith to the nobility. After his knighting however, Guts and Griffith encounter a demon named Zodd who only spares the two after recognizing a necklace that Griffith wears called the crimson Behelit, or as Zodd calls it "The Egg of the King."
Zodd leaves with a cryptic warning to Guts that if he considers himself a true friend to Griffith, that he is doomed for a fate worse than death. This of course leaves much for Guts to think about while he and Griffith are brought back to the palace to recover from their wounds from the fight.
While in the palace, a political game begins when the King's brother, Count Julius, hires an assassin to kill Griffith (whose military prowess has become a threat to the Count's claim to the throne). The attempt is unsuccessful and in fact drives Griffith closer to the princess after seemingly "saving her life" (another step closer to his ambition). Griffith then asks Guts to assassinate Julian, and Guts does it gladly. However, things don't exactly go as plan when Guts also ends up killing the Count's adolescent son in his escape. Shell shocked from killing the innocent boy, Guts goes looking for Griffith, and finds him with the Princess. Before he can barge into their conversation, he's stopped by Casca who patches up a wound he sustained during his escape from Count Julian's castle.
While waiting, Guts overhears Griffith's conversation with the Princess, and what he says changes him. Griffith talks about the importance of his own dream and how it is the thing that drives him, but more importantly that The Band of the Hawk, while his comrades, cannot be his friends for they subsist on his dream. A true friend, to Griffith, must have his own dream that drives him, even if that should mean it puts the two at odds, a true friend must be an equal.
Just A Reminder: Right to Left
The words that Griffith tells to the Princess Charlotte echo in Guts' head through the next battle. What was his dream? He struggles throughout it to find his dream. Guts even discovers Casca's dream, the female captain from before, to be Griffith's sword after saving her from a fall off a cliff caused by battle fatigue and her period. With everyone having a purpose to swing their sword, Guts was left wondering what his was besides survival. During the battle he earns the title the hundred man slayer after killing an ambushing force of 100 men all while he pondered what exactly drove him to swing his sword with such viciousness. There is a very big misconception about Guts: that he is one dimensional, dumb, and just a strongman. However, in the aftermath of that battle we get to see just how deep and developed he is. In this moment he talks to Casca about the dreams of his men, of the Band of the Hawk, and how they are all tiny little fires circling around the greater inferno that is Griffith's dream. As great as all that is, Guts' fire isn't there, and that perhaps he needed The Band of the Hawk "to just get warm for a little while." Guts may not have known his dream, but he was going to find it, he was going to leave the Band of the Hawk.
Last time I swear: Right To Left
Beginnings and Rise: Griffith
I realize that many will probably get here and be confused as to why this is here. The reason is because before I get to the next chapter of understanding Guts, you need to understand Griffith better. These two characters are intertwined heavily and I felt that if I went back in forth between the two I couldn't draw you in. So here it is, the beginning of Griffith.
Even at the beginning Griffith was special, born to nothing Griffith was often so penniless that he could sometimes not afford to eat. However, even as this nothing street urchin, Griffith's ambition attracted others. He would play with the other urchins of the city and lead them, winning little trinkets that he considered victories and spoils. Still this wasn't enough to sate the young boy.
In the afternoons where the sunlight was blotted out by brothels and pubs, he would look to the towering castle of his city illuminated by the rays of the star. Griffith knew that having his own kingdom would be his true victory and so he dreamed of it. One day a gypsy merchant foretold his conquest for a kingdom to come true and gifted him the Crimson Behelit. She told him that whomever bears this egg will sit on a kingdom atop the world at the price of his own blood. Needless to say Griffith never takes the Behelit off. An odd bauble, it's a reminder to him of what his drive is.
As a young man, Griffith begins his mercenary band and starts to attract people from all walks of life: Pippin (a miner), Jeudeau (a tumbler), and Corkus (a former thief band leader), all swept up in the ambition of a boy with a powerful dream. Eventually he even helps a 12 year old Casca escape her own rape by throwing his sword down and telling her to take the strength she desires. She kills her assailant and joins Griffith's band so she can become strong and be by Griffith's side. However, mercenary business is a rough one and one that Griffith was not accustomed to yet. He had inspired people, but it was time to ride into battle and carve the reputation that the Hawks would come to have.
During the first missions of the Band of the Hawk, Griffith had allied himself with Chuder nobleman Gennon. Gennon was a man of particular tastes in that he kept very effeminate boy slaves around to sate those appetites. One of those slaves was granted leave to join Griffith's Band of the Hawk and the boy practically worshiped Griffith (not that that was unusual as Griffith was pretty much worshiped by all of his soldiers). However, the boy dies in battle and Griffith comes across the boys body while walking amidst the dead with Casca. He finds that the child had with him a toy of a knight on the battlefield. Without a doubt this reminds Griffith of the trinkets he would treasure as a child that he would win from the other urchins he played with.
Later that night Casca is on a walk and looks to a balcony to see Griffith, shirtless, and behind him is Gennon. Casca is confused, and a little jealous, so she confronts Griffith about it later while he is washing in a stream. Griffith tries to play it off all cool, saying that the two's interests coincided, he needed the money for the Band of The Hawk's continued success and Gennon wanted his body. However, Griffith sees it more of a way of atoning for those who have sacrificed for his dream, he is trying to wash clean and feels forever filthy.
Eventually this path would lead Griffith to Guts. With Guts, Griffith dreams are so close.
The Fall of Doldrey Fortress and Razing of the Hawks
At this point the conflict between Chuder and Midland had tipped heavily in Midland's favor. However, Chuder still held the strongest fortress Midland ever built called Doldrey. By possessing this fort, Chuder could maintain their presence in Midland and hang on. Doldrey, as a fortress, is seemingly impregnable, and despite the Midland war council's protest Griffith says he can take the fortress with just his Band of The Hawk. The King of Midland, who at this point has put his confidence in Griffith, gives Griffith permission to siege the fortress. However, there is a problem, the fortress of Doldrey is commanded by the great Chuder general Boscone, but more importantly the fort itself is governed by a dark spot in Griffith's past: Gennon.
Griffith uses diversionary tactics to draw out General Boscone from Doldrey with all his heavy cavalry, while Casca leads a small team into the fortress and secures the fortress. Gennon has denied Bascgone the right to kill Griffith as he wants to share his bed with the White Hawk once more, and so Gennon has overseen the battle personally as well. Guts and Boscone have a duel of titans, and in the closest fight that Guts has had since Bazuso in that first fight that got him noticed by Griffith. Guts beats Boscone, but not before his sword is split in two. When Boscone is defeated, Chuder's forces lose their heart and retreat, especially when seeing that the fortress now flew the banner of the Hawk from its ramparts. In the midst of the retreat, Griffith finds and kills Gennon, but only after he reveals how he used Gennon's lust against him.
With Midland seemingly victorious in their 100 year conflict, both Griffith and his Band of the Hawk were given incredible honors. Griffith was named a general of the White Phoenix knights and the Band of the Hawk were all given knighthoods, becoming members of the White Phoenix knights as well. A grand party is throne and Griffith's dream seems so close at hand. Guts on the other hand isn't interested in those honors, still haunted by those words Griffith said, Guts packs his things and decides to leave.
While he is approached by Judeau and Corkus about leaving, neither can sway him to stay. Guts is determined to not have Griffith look down at him from his dream. Guts would find a dream of his own and be Griffith's equal. However, Casca brings Griffith to stop Guts and just like their first meeting, what is taken by the sword must be recovered by it, Guts and Griffith fight for the 3rd time. This time Guts breaks Griffith's sword, defeating him in one giant swing and stopping right above Griffith's collarbone so that he does not harm his friend. Guts walks away, Griffith falls to his knees and begins a descent into the dark.
In the storm that was left in the wake of Guts' departure, Griffith climbs up the palace and sleeps with the royal princess Charlotte. Infuriated by this wanton disrespect, the King of Midland throws him in a dungeon and personally tortures him. However, during this exchange Griffith accuses the King of incestuous desires for his own daughter and this enrages the king even more. Griffith is handed over to the royal torturer. The torturer is allowed to do whatever he wants to Griffith except kill him, for the next year. Meanwhile the Band of The Hawk are ambushed by the Midland army and Casca takes command as the once revered mercenary band becomes hunted throughout the kingdom.
After about a year of training Guts has discovered that his dream is to become strong enough to kill the demon Zodd that so easily overpowered both he and Griffith earlier on. However, he is then visited by a shade with the appearance of a Skull Knight that his doom was close at hand, and when he learns of the fate of the Hawks he returns to help his comrades and discover the fate of Griffith. Without Guts, it would seem, Griffith fell apart and so Guts would stay to bring his friend back. However, Casca, hurt by Guts' initial departure, tries to fight him. This fight ends with the two ending up together as man and woman. Guts invites Casca to join him on his journeys afterward. Casca cannot give him an answer, and they are interrupted with news that information on the whereabouts of Griffith has been confirmed. They would embark on a rescue mission.
Betrayal to the God Hand
The rescue mission to save Griffith found a broken man. Griffith's tongue had been cut out, his tendons in his arms and legs severed, severely malnourished, face mutilated beyond recognition even, so that he would remain in his iconic hawk helm. Seeing Griffith this way enraged Guts, and he fights through hundreds of Midland soldiers, paving the way for their escape. They are pursued of course, however, the Band of the Hawk comes to the rescue and they get away. That is where the good news ends.
The Band of the Hawk immediately is disheartened by learning of Griffith's fate, and after closer inspection by Judeau, Griffith's condition is permanent. Griffith watches from a tent flap as he sees Guts kiss Casca (the woman who had been pining for Griffith for years), men from the band of the hawk flock to Guts to start his own mercenary band, and even watches Casca tell Guts he can't stay because of the words Griffith said long ago.
It is all too much for Griffith so he frightens one of the horses that pulls his cart, starting the cart off in an attempt to flee from the Band of the Hawk. He ends up at a river where he wounds himself, but is unable to kill himself. However, the blood finds its way to the recently reclaimed crimson Behelit, and as his comrades race toward him to help him, they are transported to a demon dimension.
5 major demons appear called the Godhand, and offer Griffith their power for a sacrifice (his friends and comrades). Griffith accepts and thus the slaughter begins. All the Band of the Hawk and Guts are marked for sacrifice and demons come out and begin eating and slaughtering the mercenary band.
Guts fights his way through them, as does Casca, but eventually Guts is pinned down and Casca is captured by a newly reborn, demonic Griffith. With Guts watching, the newly Born Griffith begins to rape Casca in front of Guts. Guts struggles to break free, losing an eye and an arm in the process, however he is beaten back by the psychic abilities of the new Griffith. Then out of a wormhole in the sky, the Skull knight that appeared to Guts earlier rides down and rescues both Guts and Casca. When Guts awakens he finds Casca a broken shell of who she was. In order to deal with her trauma her entire mind shut down and now she is mentally a child, and what's worse is that Guts terrifies her.
If that wasn't enough, since Guts was still marked with the brand of sacrifice, at night time dark spirits come forth to try and finish the job that should have been done in that dimension. This is how Guts becomes the Black Swordsman and how he travels to hunt Griffith's apostles and eventually hunt down Griffith.
I know what you're thinking...
So I get what you're probably thinking at this point, what else could I possibly have to say. I am fairly certain that this is the longest post I have written thusfar, so if you made it here: CONGRATULATIONS! I realize there was a lot of content, but in order for me to properly talk about these characters you had to know where they came from and as you can see, it's no small story. I did my best to condense and focus on the more important points so that even this little snap of what I showed you doesn't ruin the greatness that is the Golden Age story of Berserk. I hope you can also see why I felt like this wasn't just something I could do two character appreciations out of, Guts and Griffith are amazing characters that are conjoined. You cannot talk about one without talking about the other, and so I figured might as well do both at the same time. Ultimately I hope that this gets people interested in at least watching, if not reading Berserk. That is after all the entire point of my character appreciation posts. To get people invested so they can build upon the fanbase. This one is especially important because it gets so little love. These two characters are unarguably two of the best villain/hero duos in all of anime and yet they are often overlooked. Berserk is unique, it is not a happy story, it is a story that captures pain, strife, and even the futility in this man's struggle. Every time Guts gets stronger, it's still not powerful enough to take on Griffith, not yet anyways.
(PS Shout out to my bud David Devries who showed me this amazing series in the first place!)
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you enjoyed and we'll see you again soon!
Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where I talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!
Wisdom of Solomon, strength of Hercules, stamina of Atlas, lightning of Zeus, courage of Achilles, and speed of Mercury, together they form SHAZAM. This word brings the power of a champion to it's speaker, and the one who wields it is a ten year old boy Billy Batson. When Billy speaks the word lightning strikes, thunder claps, and he is transformed into the super hero Captain Marvel. Chosen by the Wizard, Billy was made earth's champion for good, and he is also slated to be the next film to start production for the DCEU after Aquaman.
Captain Marvel, or SHAZAM as he is called frequently to avoid confusion with the Marvel character by the same name, is honestly one of, if not my favorite DC hero. Design-wise he is fairly similar to Superman, but in all honesty I think he is the perfected concept of the original idea. Giving all that power to a guy who knows what to do with it can be a bit boring and predictable, but give it to a child who sees the world in platitudes of black and white only during a time where he is starting to be cognoscente of the true complexities of the world, now that's interesting. So with that in mind, I have some pretty big hopes and expectations for this film.
Mentor of Steel
As I had previously stated Captain Marvel is very clearly a Superman archetype character. His powers are damn near identical, except routed in magic. As such, in comics, Superman and Captain Marvel have a very interesting dynamic. In fact the first time I saw Captain Marvel was in an episode of Justice League: Unlimited, called Clash. During which the two characters get into a fight by episodes end.
Most encounters that people remember between the two are rough, Man of Steel and SHAZAM coming to blows for one thing or another, however there is also mentor-ship there, and this leaves open a very rare opportunity. One of the strongest assets to character building, especially for a certain DC hero that is known in particular for brooding and night time activities, is embracing the role of mentor and father figure. Superman is far more difficult to bring to that capacity because after all who could keep up with him well enough for him to train. Billy is, at the end of the day, a child. More importantly, however, is that he is a child who is inspired by the example set by the Man of Steel. While it has not been properly shown in the DCEU so far, the two years before Batman vs Superman were filled with Superman saving the world and being the "Big Blue Boyscout," allowing for him to inspire many people. With Henry Cavill's Superman returning to the big screen in Justice League, it would be nice to get to see the Superman we expect make an appearance in the SHAZAM movie as a mentor. Sure it would be cool to see them come to blows like something straight out of an Alex Ross piece, but I hope that we get to see the Man of Steel in a brighter light than he has been seen previously.
Big Meets Harry Potter
As far as the feel of the film is concerned, the film NEEDS to be light, but most importantly it needs to make you feel like magic is real and raise some serious nostalgia for childhood. In other words it kinda needs to have the set up like Tom Hanks' Big (a movie where a boy makes a wish to be a grown up and wakes up as a 30 year old version of himself) and the effect of the entire Harry Potter franchise. This is a kid who gets the power of essentially Superman when he shouts a word. His first flight should feel like Harry's first time riding a broom, he should be helping his friends confront bullies and sneak into R rated movies, the lightning should command presence, and the overall wonder just has to be there, otherwise a Captain Marvel movie loses it's spirit.
The Power of Hope
So probably one of the most well known SHAZAM stories is one called The Power of Hope by Alex Ross and Paul Dini (in fact most of the artwork I have posted up here is from said story, and all of it is done by Alex Ross). In this story, SHAZAM is tasked with a mission by the Wizard to ensure the flame of hope in the Champion held in the youth is maintained. Specifically that there will be a child in distress that he will need to save. Billy is then sent to a children's hospital where he spends most of the comic.
Now I don't want this to be the focus of the film, however there is a particular moment I want to see. In the story (spoiler alert) the child of whom the Wizard spoke of was a boy named Bobby. Throughout the issue, Bobby is the only child that won't go near the Captain, and upon closer observation he notices bruises on his arms and that Bobby had clearly been scared of the Captain as he reminded him of the very person who inflicted those wounds. So he visits the hospital again as Billy Batson, and befriends Bobby, discovering that Bobby was being abused by his father. Billy pays a visit to Bobby's home first as Billy, and is turned away rudely at the door. When he knocks again he faces down Bobby's father as the Captain Marvel and promises to be Bobby's protector from his father's cruel hands and give his father a bit of his own medicine if the abuse continues. What this scene says speaks for itself, but I just love that even as Billy Batson he was able to be a hero. These characters are just as much without their capes as they are with them. It's probably the most iconic scene in the book (other than the one where Captain Marvel sits with the dying cancer girl), and I think it would work really well in film.
DCEU has had a rather mixed pedigree of movies. Man of Steel was decent, Batman vs Superman was very polarizing, Suicide Squad was all style and no substance, and while Wonder Woman was a great movie that is hopefully an end to the downward trend of DC films, a SHAZAM movie is one that is too close to my heart for me to not be a bit worried. It especially does not give me confidence that David F Sandberg has done only horror films in his previous work (although his internet trolling is certainly a good sign). However, I continue to see SHAZAM as DC's opportunity to continue a trend they started in Wonder Woman about heroes that focus on their compassion and show their lighter side. At the end of the day, Billy is 10 years old getting a dream come true: he can fly, he is strong, he can control lightning, he's super smart and as magical as it would be for any ten year old to have those powers, it should be just as magical for us as an audience to watch. I can only beg that DC do right by this character and I hope they do.
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! I hope you enjoyed and we will see you next time!
Welcome back to another edition of Comic Relief! where I talk about all the goings on in the world of nerd!
A week or so ago I did an overview of the bigger things announced in San Diego Comic Con, and boy was it difficult to write. Honestly it felt like every new announcement made was one worthy of some significant hype, so narrowing it down to what I did was a daunting task indeed. One such announcement I felt was so close that it deserved some shine here in it's own article since it got omitted from the initial round up of news.
This past year Fox's show Legion has blown people away as this trippy super hero show that explores the struggles of being a telepath. The show focuses on a telepath who has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia by society, but in all actuality he is a mutant with telepathy. As a show it really has set a new bar for what a good Super hero TV show should be like. However, as great as Legion is, it's ultimately not what this article is about, merely the tool by which I must build onto this news.
Legion was put together by director Noah Hawley, and this past SDCC he made quite the announcement himself: That he would be partnering with Fox to bring a solo Dr. Doom movie to life. Now there are going to be a lot of groans at this as Dr Doom has been so poorly represented in his past two cinematic iterations, however there is plenty to be excited for here. However, before we get there, I think it's important to talk about who exactly Dr Doom is.
Dr Doom is most notably associated as the arch nemesis of The Fantastic Four, however, his presence has extended throughout the Marvel Universe and he is without a doubt one of the universe's cornerstone villains as he butts heads with super heroes from all over the universe, not just the aforementioned quartet (most recently he obtained the power of a god and created a new universe dubbed "Battleworld" that spurred forward the Secret Wars event). With a very convoluted backstory that involves his gypsy mother, Mephisto, Reed Richards and Ben Grimm, his abilities range from the realm of science and technology to the mystic arts. Malformed due to an accident from a college experiment Doom wheres an iconic mask and he matches his wardrobe to boot. He is on most people's top 100 villain lists and is usually in most people's top 20 if not top 10.
For people who have only experienced Doom through his terrible interpretations, you might be wondering how, if he's such a great character, he has never been adequately portrayed in a movie before. It's certainly a valid question, and the answer is fairly simple: Doom is just too big to be set up as supporting cast in one movie. The advantage of having a solo Doom film is that you can focus solely on him and build a rapport between the character and the audience, get them invested. Doom has plenty of backstory and a presence that can captivate an audience, and in a post Logan world a dark tale focusing on a morally ambiguous character is a very REAL possibility, and that fact has already attracted a fairly big name.
While nothing is set in stone and no contracts have been made, within a week of the announcement of this Dr. Doom feature, acclaimed actor Mads Mikelson has already voiced his interest in playing the titular character. Mikelson is of course known for his roles in Casino Royale, Valhalla Rising, Hannibal (TV Series), Rogue One, and Doctor Strange. As I said, while this is not a done deal the fact that an actor of that caliber has already expressed interest before even Pre Production begins is a very good sign (especially since Mikelson walked on the role before when offered it for the Josh Trank F4ntastic).
All in all it's exciting to see Dr. Doom get the love he deserves. I am personally excited to see what Fox has to offer. While their past treatment of the character has been questionable at best, recent successes such as Logan and even the success of Legion have given me a vote of confidence to expect something great.
This has been another edition of Comic Relief! hope you all enjoyed and we will see you next time!
There is technically one more issue left, Secret Empire: Omega that will serve as the epilogue, focusing on Steve Rogers seeing the damage his counterpart had caused in his absence. There will no doubt be some bitterness, wounds to heal, and maybe even some wounds that will stay forever open. Nonetheless, this has proven itself to be an incredible story-line that addresses several sociopolitical issues, ones that especially after the events in Charlottesville, VA needed to be brought to the forefront in comic books. In an America where a fascist presence exists to the degree it does, where people proudly display swastikas and "sieg heil" for their white supremacist cause, we as Americans must do something. We must fight in any way possible, these bigots do not represent us as a nation and they never have. In this time we as a nation find ourselves divided, some point fingers at the past administration, others the current, however, it shouldn't be an issue in the first place. As Americans we have existed peacefully with differentiating opinions for centuries without it killing each other, but now there is a group that genuinely hates enough to want to exterminate people based on their skin color, their religion, the list goes on. America has been a country that has ultimately been about progress. We have had missteps in history, there is no doubt, but where there was uncharted territory we took the first steps into it, it's our way, to push forward through the frontier. That push may not be easy, but I would like to believe that the push has always been with the best intentions, even if there were those of us that failed to uphold that intent. Steve Rogers is back, he is attacking a fascist in the iconic stars and stripes, and while we should be careful in the way we combat them, it's time we stand up in the face of that hate and turn it away.
