Earth X, Universe X, and Paradise X Revisited - Part 1

When I was a kid (a long long time ago) dinosaurs were easy to name and remember.  The reason?  There were only a couple they knew of; Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, Pterodactyl, and a few others.  Now, there are dozens, if not hundreds that they can name, classify and put in Jurassic Park.

Comic books were no different.  You had Action Comics, Superman, Batman, Strange Tales, and a maybe a dozen or so more.  Now there are hundreds and hundreds.

The thing that never changed, though, was the backstory.  Superman was still from Krypton.  Spider-Man was still bitten by a radioactive spider.  Batman's parents were still shot and killed in an alleyway.  Frankly, it was rare that you ever revisited a backstory let alone change it.

Now things change almost weekly.

DC is having yet another rebirth hot on the heels of its Convergence event.

Marvel is talking changes again hot on the heels of their Secret Wars.

But what about a FUTURE story instead of one redefining the past?

This is the classic series that defined them all....Earth X.

If you don't remember, Earth X and it's sequels Universe X and Paradise X, sought to tell the story of a dystopian future of the Marvel Universe.  What made this so different from the rebirths and backstories of today?  It was done as a story told from one being to another and it was done in exquisite detail with no stone unturned or question unanswered.

As a matter of fact it may be the only time such a detailed story was told in such a manner.

For those of you still in the womb when these were released you should know that it was told in 3 parts; Earth X, Universe X, and Paradise X.

Earth X was done in 1997 and involved multiple storylines...none of which will be spoilers if you wish to continue reading.  In the story, Earth X is one of a number of planets that is implanted with something called a Celestial egg.  As with any story of this magnitude one expects the presence of a Watcher and, not to disappoint, Uatu is recruited.  This is where things go astray.  During certain Earth changing events Uatu is blinded and needs to recruit a new Watcher to take his place.  He calls on X-51 (Machine Man) and brings him to the moon to be his eyes.

What does X-51 witness?  Changes that redefined the Marvel Universe in a drastic manner.  (Spoiler alert!)

-Captain America kills the Red Skull and quits the Avengers
-Namor kills Johnny Storm
-The Absorbing Man absorbs Ultron
-Norman Osborn is elected President
-Thor is changed into a woman

And the list goes on and on.  It ends with Galactus consuming the Celestial egg after killing the Celestials and X-51 realizing Uatu's true purpose (to watch over the Celestial egg because one of the other Watchers killed an embryo).  In response he destroys Uatu's ears and decides to destroy all the Celestial eggs.

Here endeth Earth X and the scene is set for Universe X.  Look for my next blog!

I'm Back and the Blog Will Never Be The Same....

Due to health and family issues I was forced to take a hiatus from writing this blog.

The bad thing?  My inbox filled up with the questions I normally answer while writing the blog.

The good thing?  Reading them all at once gave me an idea of where I should be directing the blog.

So, in an effort to please the most people I am taking the blog in a different direction.  In the past I have written about topics that were up to the minute and relevant.  It turns out that what most people wanted were not me pontificating about these things, instead you wanted more of a history and information on comic books and their characters.  I even had a couple of requests to put something together that could be printed or saved that would make a reference guide of some kind.

One suggestion was to put out a bio on a character or metahuman group each day that could be saved or printed in book form.  Another suggestion was to put together a history of comic books, illustrations, and/or important figures in the comic book arena (such as Stan Lee) that could be saved or printed as a reference book.

I aim to oblige everyone I can.  One thing I need to remind everyone before I get started is that all of the characters and material have some sort of trademark or copyright on them and nothing I print or write can be sold for money.  It's for your personal use only.

So, without any further ado, let's get started.  Today we start with the top of the alphabet with the character that is arguably the strongest in the Marvel Universe:

The Abomination:

Real Name:                Emil Blonsky
Occupation:               Criminal
Base:                           Several locations, including the New York City sewer system
Height:                       6 ft. 8 in.
Weight:                      980 lbs.
Eyes:                          Green
Hair:                          None

First appearance:     Tales to Astonish #90, April 1967

Emil Blonsky was born in Zagreb, Yugoslavia.  He trained as, and became, a spy who infiltrated the US Air Force.  Specifically, the base where Bruce Banner was stationed.  (As an aside, it was at this point in Dr. Banner's life where he was attempting to commit suicide.)

Emil broke in to the base and found the equipment being used by Dr. Banner in his gamma radiation experiments.  He then decided, in all of his infinite wisdom, to use the equipment on himself.  I think it was the old, "I'll use it on me and then attach all those who have wronged me" philosophy.  He got it half right becoming the Abomination.

In an effort to take over the world the Abomination wound up fighting the Hulk numerous times with the first fight ending when he was kidnapped by the Stranger.  In a moment of complete lack of thought the crew of the starship Andromeda saved him.  To give his thanks, the Abomination acted as their First Mate until they returned to Earth.

As the Hulk demolished him time and time again the Abomination lost courage and self confidence causing him to make the New York City sewers his new home.  But he would have his own form of vengeance.

As he was envious of the supposed happiness shared by Bruce and his wife Betty Banner (and we all know how happy THEY were) he wanted to bring it to an end.  His solution?  Poison Betty Banner.

In the end, however, everything works it's way out.  If you remember, the Red Hulk would up shooting, and killing, the Abomination with a special gun designed to kill the Hulk.  And who was the Red Hulk?  None other than Betty's dad.

As a dad I would have done the same thing.


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Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens...A Breath of Fresh Water

Frankly, part of me wanted to write an article that featured nothing but the female phenom who was the lead character and part of me wanted a complete refund of my ticket price.

Hence the name of the article...the movie was a breath of fresh water.  Although the water wasn't polluted, I do prefer to breathe air when possible.

So, to do the movie full justice, I've put together 3 reasons that you should/shouldn't see this thrilling disappointment.  (This is FULL of spoilers, by the way, so don't read it if you haven't seen it and don't want to be slammed with spoilers.)

1.)  Did I Just See a Rerun?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this was the movie:

A lead character on a desert-like planet comes into the possession of a key piece of information tucked in a cute droid.

Although she doesn't want to leave the planet, she is forced to by ne'er-do-wells who are after the same information.

The rebel alliance is being, more or less, head up by very familiar, yet older, set of characters.

The bad guys are being, more or less, head up by a black clad guy with a dark helmet who reports to a mysterious wrinkled up manipulator of the dark side.

Dark side meets light side, fathers and grandfathers are revealed (including two "light siders" giving birth to a "dark sider"), and a young hero is revealed.

The "Death Station", for lack of a better term, is larger than it's predecessor, the "Death Star", and has a much larger weak spot to be exploited.

The light side wins, the dark side loses, the "Death Station" has its one weakness exploited, and there are 200 untied loose ends that require another sequel to tie them up.

Other than a couple of small changes, like a Stormtrooper who has a change of heart, wasn't this just a rerun of Episode IV?  Was the largest opening for a movie IN HISTORY nothing more than a rerun with better special effects?

2.)  Was the Casting Director Schizophrenic?

I am not sure I have ever seen a cast so filled with superstars and absolute catastrophes.  Here's a quick overview of a couple of key characters and a "casting grade" of A - F.

Chewbacca:  He was...well...a Wookie.  He seemed on par with his previous movies.
Grade:  A

Han Solo/Harrison Ford:  For some reason they tried to make every line of his funny.  It didn't work.  They took a perfectly good character and forced him into the role of a comedian.  It's not Harrison's fault, he did what they asked of him, it's just that even he couldn't pull it off.
Grade:  B

Leia Organa/Carrie Fisher:  This character was pulled off very well.  She came across as nothing more than an older Princess, which is what she was supposed to do.
Grade:  A

Poe Cameron/Oscar Isaac:  As the lead role in 'Ex Machina' he was superb.  There was not a single flaw in his role or his acting.  The problem is that this wasn't 'Ex Machina'.  He seemed all over the board and, somehow, not ready for this hero type of role.
Grade:  C

Finn/John Boyega:   What a find!  He can go from serious to funny in a heartbeat.  He's good looking.  He played the part of a Stormtrooper with a conscious, which had to be difficult, and he did it well.  I hope to see him in many Star Wars movies to come (because we all know there will be.)
Grade:  A

Kylo Ren/Adam Driver:    EASILY the biggest disappointment in the movie.  I know he was supposed to play a character who was torn between his good and evil side, and that he was supposed to be evil, and that he is supposedly a good actor, but he stank up this movie good and proper.  I know you're supposed to judge the acting, not the person, but how can you make judgement about one without making implications about the other?  So, let me try to be nice.  He could have NEVER fit the role of a bad guy.  His voice was all wrong, he didn't have "the look" (don't pretend you don't know what I mean), and his acting just wasn't good.  He couldn't pass for a good guy because of all of the same reasons.  He was just all around a bad choice for the part.
Grade:  F-

Rey/Daisy Ridley:    How can the same people who picked Adam Driver to be Kylo Ren be the same people who picked Daisy Ridley to be Rey?  This woman is AWESOME!  It's like she was born for the role.  Her acting was SO good, she carried that movie DESPITE the terrible job by Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac.  She is a hero's hero and proves that you don't need a man as your leading character. Daisy, I salute you.  I fully expect to see you, and John Boyega take the Star Wars franchise to a new level.
Grade:  A++

The bottom line here is that the casting crew really hit both ends of the acting spectrum when they picked this crew.  Let's just hope that Kylo Ren stays dead and Poe Cameron gets reassigned to a rebel force we don't see.

3.)  Where Can They Go From Here?  A good friend of mine was quoted as saying, "I waited all these years for this 'deja vu' movie?"  I have to agree.  It's almost like everyone was sitting at a table and said, "We need to put out a Star Wars before we're all lynched.  My idea is to put together a rerun that is marketed as a new movie because it has new actors."

One of my true beliefs in life is that there are 2 people involved in every lousy decision:

1.)  The person who comes up with the idea.
2.)  The person who says, "Yea, that's a great idea!"

I think we know who those two people are in this particular decision.

That being said, where do they go from here?  It took them 10 years to make this questionable film and it had no original concepts in it.  I have little faith that this next gap between movies is going to yield anything wonderful.

For those who don't know it, here is the release schedule for upcoming films:

Sequel Trilogy:

Star Wars Episode VII:        December 18, 2015
Star Wars Episode VIII:      May 26, 2017
Star Wars Episode IX:         May 24, 2019

Anthology Films:

Rogue One:  A Star Wars Story:     December 16, 2016
Untitled Han Solo film:                  May 25, 2018
Untitled Boba Fett film:                 2020

Other Films:

Star Wars:  The Clone Wars:          August 15, 2008

I can't help but blame myself for my feelings on this movie.  It has been so built up, and expectations have been so high,  I'm not sure there could have been any movie that hit my own expectations.  So, I take partial blame for my so-so feelings on the film.

Until next time, May the Farce Be With You.


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