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Saturday, October 24, 2015

KRONOS=ULTRON=DOOMSDAY

Good morning- I took a trip down the rabbit hole last night into Pixar Theories



I watches some interesting videos by SuperCarlinBrothers, all very worth a look, but this one got me thinking about Creations...the ones who destroy their creators


     If you remember The Incredibles, Mr Incredible rejects Buddy as a sidekick. Buddy then chooses to turn himself into Syndrome, to destroy his obsession and all other Supers, even down to the idea of Superior powered people. What connects for me here is the fact that he decides to do it by pulling a Hank Pym-more on that anon. Syndrome/Buddy builds the Omnibot- a nigh unstoppable automaton that gets more unstoppable with every iteration/upgrade. test against a super, improve, retest, until you test it against your ultimate nemesis-Mr Incredible. Here is the self defeating part of Syndomes plan. if you build a bot smart enough to overcome and adapt to anything...what makes you so sure YOU can stop it? Because he can't. It takes away his remote control, and his ability to shut it down, leaving the Incredibles to stop it.

     I promised you Hank Pym. not the movie Pym, but the Comics Pym, with all his brilliance and F-ed up mindset. He was the creator of Ultron, who rose to try to destroy his "father" through a series of upgrades. Pym also created a robot to battle the Avengers and make himself a hero by stopping it. This was after he got in trouble and was facing a court martial, so the robot was sort of his get out of jail free card. When I started this post I had the two events crossed up in my mind, but I got muh dern facts straight, pilgrim. Pym also suffered from a severe inferiority complex, leading to multiple personalities and impulsive behavior. If the Hulk, as Stan Lee suggested was the Hyde to Banners Jekyll, Pym might be our Frankenstein.

     So...Doomsday. Nietzsche said what doesn't kill you strengthens you. With Doomsday, whatever kills you makes you  immune to being killed that way when you come back. A scientist named Bertron set a cloned child loose in the harsh prehistoric Kryptonian environment, where he sank into the swamp. (sorry- monty python moment) The child was killed, but his remains were used to clone a stronger version. That one burned down,fell over, then sank into the swamp.(ditto). Lather, rinse,repeat, over and over, until you have a lifeform that can be killed, but never twice by the same thing. Evolved immunity, evolved invulnerability, and hates everything. He is best known for killing Superman in a knockdown, drag out fistfight.

     And this all made me think of the modern Prometheus, Frankenstein. He built a man intended to be a new Adam out of stolen corpses, and found that when he succeeded in instilling life, he couldn't stand the sight of his creation. He hated what he had wrought, and the monster turned against him as well. I connected Pym to him above, as I believe may have been intended by the Ultron storyline. 

     It's the oft-told tale of man's hubris, daring to steal fire from the gods. Daring to meddle in things science shouldn't touch. It's an old morality story.


     There is a quote bouncing around, I am unsure of the original attribution.

It goes something like this:

"Intelligence is knowing Frankenstein wasn't the monster; Wisdom is knowing he was."

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Arcee- Count My Wheels: The E! true Hollywood Story




      It's a little known fact that Arcee was one of the first autobots active on earth, even before the reactivation of the Ark in 1984. She partnered with a Human girl named Penelope, who never knew of her true nature


Arcee: "That was a fun time- just tooling around the world with P. She was trouble-Prone, however, and I couldn't break cover all the time to help her. I also think she Dug that 'Hooded Claw' Fellow more than she let on...he was a weirdo, he definitely had a few loose cogs rolling around his Spark chamber."

     Arcee, is there any truth to the rumor that you were once called "the Mach 5"?

Arcee: "It's a good question, and it wasn't me, but I'm pretty sure it was an autobot. I'm not 100% sure what Drift was doing around that time. I can tell you that when anyone shows him either bad dubbing, or a kid with a monkey he gets depressed for about 6 hours. And very not-talkative, just sits and folds origami cranes, over and over. Oh, and Cosmos was ferrying around some family named...Jettison or something "

Hook, is that you? or is it Scavenger?

      So where did you go from there, Arcee?

Arcee: "There wasn't a lot of work for a futuristic looking car for a while. The seventies and early eighties were dominated by 'Muscle cars' on the big screen. I mainly tried to stay inconspicuous for a while, not easy to do if you are sleek, and pink and white. I almost got to drive around a private detective but they went with the red Ferrari instead. He had a mustache and I think his name was ...Magnet."

     When did you next get work?

Arcee: "Transformers the movie. They introduced me, Hot Rod, Springer, Blurr, and Ultra Magnus. Oh, and they all got toys. Even the damn Sharkticon got a toy. There was a prototype, but when it came down it was: 'I'm sorry Arcee', they said 'Boys won't buy a girl toy'."

     So you were frustrated.

Arcee: "If by 'frustrated' you mean 'livid' or 'furious', yep. I had to act nice for the camera, but it was no picnic. Season 3, and what there was of season 4...what a nightmare"


     You were one of the first "headmasters"

Arcee: "Oh yeah. you try running around with Daniel Witwicky in your head. Literally in my head. That kid had some...lets say 'mature' thoughts. Less PG-13, more NC-17. It was a relief when the headmasters thing took a dive in the US. Even though that meant I was out of work for a while."

     A long while. Until Transformers Animated

Arcee: "You are missing some information. I got another gig in there...well, it was modeling work. I did a cover for an album by a group named Asia in '85, and that got me some stuff with a guy named Sorayama. And Penny left me with a little nest-egg that kept me in energon and maintenance during the lean times.


Arcee goes for the big hair look
robot paintings by hajime sorayama
and then small hair

     Hmm. Nice. And then Transformers Animated?

Arcee: "For all the lines I got in there, yeah. I hate playing Damsel in distress. Ratchet was a real gentleman to work with though. And right on the heels of Transformers Animated, Michael Bay wanted me for Revenge of the Fallen"

     He wanted three of you.
I count 6 wheels total
Arcee: "Somehow things got confused and I had two Stunt-doubles on screen at the same time as me. And Mike...well, Mike can't tell one female autobot from another. It was hot, uncomfortable work, and I had to reconfigure myself to conceal two wheels and one leg. And somehow I got let go at the same time as Megan Fox did. But the good news was that Ratchet got me an audition for Transformers Prime"

     The new cartoon

Arcee: "I stayed a two-wheeler, and they told me they weren't looking for a pink bike. But they asked if I minded going blue? I told them that change is good. And they let me keep my highlights. I also have had a recurring role in the IDW Comics, although that's more on the lines of a modeling gig again. They draw me in poses."

     How is that going?

Arcee: "I asked them...how many wheels? they said 'none'. I'm a hovercar there, but I get to portray a real bad-ass attitude. I'm very concerned about the whole 'gender-swapped abomination created by Jhiaxus' aspect of the role, but... a gig is a gig."

     So it looks like despite the lean times, you are here to stay?

Arcee: "I sure am. I'm so glad I kept my head straight and didn't go for drinking fermented energon like the insecticons. Those guys show up wasted like 70% of the time on set. I'm happy to be here, happy to be me, four wheels or none at all."

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

It Was Over Way Too Fast

     Please pause for my fanboy geek-out moment. I will be right with you.


SQQUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

     Thank you. So I got up this morning and watched the season Premiere of the Flash on my tablet. (thank you, CW App) See my quick review above. Spoilers below, so be ye warn-ed, matey.

     Rather than picking up right after season 1's cliffhanger, they pick up six months later. Barry is alone, having pushed his team away for their protection. He is debating whether to go to the celebration in his name, where the Flash would be given the key to the city. He is mourning both Eddie Thawne and Ronnie Raymond, who perished while stopping Eobard Thawne, and feeling that he failed, because while he saved the city, he lost two friends. Joe, Cisco, Iris are hovering around him, but giving him Space.

     Barry decides to attend the ceremony, and who else should attend but a new metahuman, Atom Smasher- A hero most times in DC continuity, but not here- here he has come to destroy the Flash, for a Mysterious reason. With the help of his team, who decide Barry has had enough space, and Joe, who decides to stop taking "no" for an answer, they defeat the "meta of the week"

     And with his dying word, Atom Smasher identifies the Big Bad of the Season..."Zoom..."

Who could it be?
 could it be  
?
 
probably not- probably this guy.

there is more than one reverse flash, you see. and we have seen this one, so far, and he may not be dead everywhere, it turns out.


     But that's not the payout on this episode. "Harrison Wells" leaves S.T.A.R. labs to Barry, and a confession that frees Henry Allen from prison. Henry rides off into the sunset so Barry can be all he needs to become, promising to return if needed

Still not the payout.

this

is the payout


SQUEEE indeed. looking forward to next week.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Everything I Need to Know About Life...

    ..... I Learned from Optimus Prime



First- there are a ton of these lists out there- I can't believe this one wasn't.
Second- some of these life lessons I am still learning. I am still an imperfect being.

  • Don't be afraid to make big changes to adapt to new circumstances
  • Admit your errors and move on to fixing them
  • Always act decisively to confront a danger
  • When something is necessary, do it, no matter the cost.
  • Lead by example, and from the front line, but trust in your comrades to shine with their own light
  • Be ready for anything- fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing
  • There is a thin line between being a hero and being a memory
  • Wisdom can conquer madness
  • Preserve life where you can-where there is life, there is still hope
  • Be strong enough to be gentle and kind
  • There is no true evil-just sentients who have lost their way
  • Always be willing to grant forgiveness and understanding for those who seek a better way
  • Be mindful of all lives, even those that seem insignificant-there may be more to them than meets the eye.
  • No power ever comes to you that doesn't bear it's own inherent burden
  • Freedom is the right of all sentient beings
  • Never lose faith in yourself 


For some other takes of a similar nature