Did Mortal Kombat 11 Ruin Sindel?

     Our favorite scream queen is back! After a long wait and a lot of fan anticipation, Sindel is finally back as Mortal Kombat’s latest DLC. With Sindel’s recent addition to the roster you would hope that fans would be pleased, but alas their not. What is leaving some fans up in arms and disappointed is not how Sindel fairs with other fighters or her gameplay mechanics, but rather a recon to her story and in some cases the a rather huge change to the lore of the entire franchise. Warning, spoilers ahead. If you are interested or this doesn’t concern you or won’t deter from disliking our favorite serial siren, then grab some popcorn and go right ahead.

     Sindel, even though she hasn’t been in a lot of the games, has an equal part interesting and tragic part in Mortal Kombat’s story. She was the reigning queen of a realm called Edenia until the series’s antagonist Shao Kahn invaded it and merged it with his realm Outworld. He kept Sindel and her daughter Kitana to be his bride and daughter and killed their king, and Kitana’s father, Jerrod. Sindel later claimed her own life to free herself from Shao Kahn, or that is how the story goes. The series is going through a reboot period and a lot of revisions in its original lore but Sindel’s backstory is a doozie. In an ending to Sindel’s character in Mortal Kombat 11 we’ve are met with a disturbing revelation. Not everything was what it seems and Sindel’s backstory is a lie as Sindel herself killed Jerrod and took Shao Kahn as her new husband in a scheme to eventually rule all the realms. A lot of fans are upset about how this changes Sindel, who was a good character aside from her debut in Mortal Kombat 3, but that was an evil resurrection and brainwashing (like we haven’t been through that ourselves, big whoop). Some fans, in their disgust have cried that creator of the series, Ed Boon, and the company Netherrealm Studios have reduced her to a “scheming thot.” But have they? Is there a justification for the direction Boon has placed the character?

     I can understand where the people are coming from as they feel. There's an old saying that when you live long, you live long to see yourself become the villain. Well, Sindel has lived twice and I'm sure it does hurt a lot of fans to see Sindel go bad and to them it feels like it does away with a lot of the character, but they do have to keep in mind that MK 11, as well as the last two games were a part of the new reboot and certain characters had revisions and alliances changed. Good guys like the series’ protagonist Liu Kang, along with Kitana and mostly a lot of the heroes were, or at least the reboot versions of those characters, are not evil except for Sonya Blade, Jax, Johnny Cage, and Raiden to say the least. It doesn’t really make sense to complain about good characters going bad or have Sindel being a villain who backstabbed one character to form an alliance with another villain in the pursuit of power. A lot of the series’ villains have aligned and backstabbed each other to get what they wanted, especially the characters Shang Tsung and Quan Chi who both can name former alliances they betrayed like Ariana Grande can make a song about exes. Again, it doesn’t make sense to be mad at a villainous character being deceitful and is all about betrayal. 

  It is a case of how things are now and fans of the old has to learn to be accepting of the change and the now. We learned this from current reboots like Ghostbusters, the 2016 reboot and the new one coming out, as we as continuations of old series like Star Wars where old favorites are dying off, making way for new characters to take their places.

     If anything the fans who are upset of the new Sindel and the recon can be glad about is that the current recon does give her a sort of agency in the series with her being active and a force, and in some ways an actual threat to protagonists and even some villains instead of her being a bystander in the old story with things happening to her like watching her realm be taken over, her husband dying, her dying herself, and her being brought back to life and brainwashed for an evil scheme. It’s not the character growth that we want but it’s more so the character growth that we need, which is a lot better than her growth in the original story where she didn’t do much as a hero other than be a good mother to Kitana. Also, there are probably worse versions of Sindel so we can’t really complain. What are your thoughts?

Is Martin Scorsese Right About Marvel Movies?

   Martin Charles Scorsese. Accomplished filmmaker, beloved director of films like Taxi Drive and Cape Fear, and now shit-stirrer and trash-talker of superhero films. In the past couple of weeks Martin Scorsese has been in the news lately and no he isn’t making another gangster movie. He has some polarizing remarks in regards to comic book movies, more specifically towards Marvel. Scorsese states the following in and interview with Empire Magazine:

“I tried, you know?” Scorsese later added: “But that’s not cinema. Honestly, the closest I can think of them, as well made as they are, with actors doing the best they can under the circumstances, is theme parks. It isn’t the cinema of human beings trying to convey emotional, psychological experiences to another human being.”

    And just like the cocaine flushing scene in Goodfellas this brought a ton of drama with movie buffs, comic book fans, and even celebs that starred in said film ranging to support to to criticism. From actor Samuel L. Jackson has eloquently stated that “Everybody doesn't like his stuff either," to Director Frances Ford Coppola agreeing with Scorsese in France 24, by calling Marvel movies "despicable", and somehow Iron Man’s Robert Downey Jr. being on the fence, saying:

 “I mean it plays in theaters. I appreciate [Scorsese’s] opinion. I think it’s like anything where we need all of the different perspectives so we can come to center and move on.”

     So, Scorsese’s opinion has set people off and made them more angry than Joe Pesci, but is he right? This has been a debate by movie fans and comic book fans on whether comic book movies are great movies or good enough that they can be considered artistically in the league of movies that considered great works of art like Gone with the Wind or To Kill a Mockingbird. Are comic book movies art or just pure dumb entertainment?
     First of all, despite Scorsese's, and Coppola comment of Marvel movies don't create or evoke emotion they actually do.We felt something when Spider-Man died and Wanda having to kill her love, Vision and the seriousness of Endgame. But despite evoking emotion, there is to more and Scorsese is right on the nose about the quality of films Marvel churns out. There's more to film making than just getting the viewer to feel emotion during the scene and what Scorsese is really talking about is the quality and the artistic approach and input. Believe it or not there are rules or conventions that makes a movie good and what makes it great. When we look into the movie we base a movie on how good it is depending on its three part structure, pacing, action, acting and it’s overall cinematography. Conveying emotion is cool in all (I’m looking at you Avengers for making me cry for killing off Spider-Man), but it’s more than that. These conversations are basically what separates the Chicagos from the Grease 2s. The Goodfellas from the whatever that Eddie Murphy heist film was. You can look at films like A Clockwork Orange, and look at current films like Moonlight and A Star is Born, and then look at Deadpool and Captain Marvel and clearly see there's a big artistic difference in film making and techniques director use between both bodies of work. It's almost night and day on the quality of both type of films. Even going back to the topic on Marvel movies evoking emotion, there are films that do it in clever and brilliant ways and techniques that makes Marvel movie approach to getting the audience to react to thing does feel, well kinda basic. It has to be more than "Oh no Spider-Man is dying on screen, y'all." 
     That being said Scorsese’s remark about Marvel films, and other Superhero movies being an “amusement park” shouldn’t be taken in a bad way or as an insult. Nothing is wrong with amusement parks. They are fun and they are made simply for the sake of entertaining people and for fun. It’s only bad when people who don’t respect or don’t have knowledge of other films, or the craft of film making, yet want to put films, that are not in same league and then pout when told that it’s not in the same league, like when fans got really bothered when Endgame wasn’t nominated for last year’s Academy Awards while, better films were and honestly the other comic book movie, Black Panther, was a much better body of work but that’s another story.
    So, is Martin Scorsese right about Marvel films and basically all superhero films in general? Yeah, but it's not a bad thing. They are in a sense dumb entertainment and nothing is wrong with dumb entertainment, as long as you understand these films for what they are and are entertained. I'm sure Marvel is not even concerned about making art or cinema. Just good enough movies to make billions off of people wanting to see them. What are your thoughts?

What Should Be Added in Super Mario Maker 2's DLC (Or Super Mario Maker 3)

Super Mario Maker 2 is the quintessential Mario level simulator. Nintendo has really stepped it up with taking everything that was great in its predecessor and thinking outside the ? Block by improving on certain mechanics and finding new and fun ways we could design Mario levels. What more could we ask for? Well, like Oprah at a Popeye's the answer is more. While Super Mario Maker gave us a lot, there is a lot more to be desired whether in an update, DLC, or in the a Super Mario Maker 3(we know it's coming). Here's some ideas on what they can add.

Add Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Land, or Super Mario Land 2 Themes

Super Mario Maker features some of Mario's most iconic 2-D games (Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros 3, and Super Mario World) as themes for you to create levels too. They've recently featured Super Mario 3D World for Super Mario Maker 2. Something does feel missing as we are missing another iconic game from the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. 2! It does seem a bit sad that even with Super Mario Maker 2, Nintendo still wants to not show it any love, but it could also introduce more gaming mechanics with lifting and throwing veggies and enemies at other enemies. Also considering that Super Mario Maker 2 does have the Super Flower from Super Mario Land as an unlockable, why not stop there. Why not give us the full Super Mario Land and Super Mario Land 2 treatment by featuring enemies, power-ups, and worlds based on those games.

Create Your Own World Map (Playlist)

We all know that Super Mario Maker 2 lets you create stages where you can think outside the box than your traditional Mario levels. While giving you all that creativity, and even giving you a Story Mode this time around, it still does seem a bit limited. Why not expand on not just creating levels but creating your own world as a Playlist you can share online and with friends? You can create a fire or sky world or you can make a challenge world full of insane difficult levels.

Add More Mario Enemies

Super Mario Maker 2 features an array of classic Mario enemies spanning from the entire franchise. Moreso the classic Mario enemies from goombas to koopa troopas, to boos. They've recently added Boom-Boom and Angry Sun to the mix. What more can you ask for? Maybe more enemies or at least more certain enemies from Super Mario World and Super Mario Bros. 3. It would be nice to see Rex and Choco Island dinos from Super Mario World or maybe Spike and Fire Bros and Boomerang Bros from Super Mario Bros 3 in their game themes or better yet mixed in other themes.

Add Specific Character Traits 

Super Mario Maker 2 includes Luigi, Toadette, Blue Toad. Fun? You bet, but what would be funner is if they can do their character traits. Luigi, in most of the games, can jump higher but have less traction. This, and maybe giving this feature to other characters as unlockables, could spice up the gameplay when designing levels as well. Give Toadette a double jump as well.

Add Peach and Daisy

I know what you are saying. Why add the Mushroom Kingdom's residential Monarch in Distress? Who will Mario save? Well, if you must know, Princess Peach has been on a few adventures where she wasn't a kidnappee and actually assisted Mario and co. in saving the day. From Super Mario Bros. 2, to Super Mario 3D World, which is a theme. Peach has been shown to be capable to hold her own. A matter of fact adding her would be almost revenge for all the times Bowser has kidnapped her as well. Daisy in Super Mario Run has shown that she can get the job done. It's all cool. Just don't add Peachette.

Bring Back the Mystery Mushroom

The Mystery Mushroom was a very popular item in the first Super Mario Maker as it allowed Mario to turn into your favorite Nintendo characters. This of course was supported through Amiibo. We are kinda bummed it didn't make a return in Super Mario Maker 2 due to Amiibo sales declining. That shouldn't ruin it for everyone. Just like everyone download it and have a set of characters available each month. Problem solved.

Add Slope Warp Pipes

Slopes were a huge demand for the first Super Mario Maker. They teased slopes for a Super Mario Maker stage in Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U and we thought we would get them in an update. Low and behold we had to wait a whole sequel to enjoy Mario slip sliding away through enemies and levels. No foul. Now let's up the ante with slope warp pipes. They could work just like slopes meanwhile providing a great aesthetic in levels. In Super Mario World some warp pipes also functioned as canons that could launch Mario through courses. Sounds like fun.

Add More Mini-Bosses

Super Mario Maker gave us bosses and mini bosses in the form of Bowser and Bowser Jr. It was a little neat but it got older quick where merely putting wings and making them bigger with the Super Mushroom was a bore. Super Mario Maker 2 did add Boom-Boom and Pom-Pom but it feels like it's still not enough. We need more bosses and mini-bosses that give new life to the level designer. Adding the Koopalings would be a huge step. Birdo from Super Mario Bros. 2 could work as well. Why not stop there? We could see a revival of old long forgotten Mario bosses return in the form of Tatanga. Maybe Wart too?

Is Blade Marvel's Next Oscar Movie?

     Kevin Feig, president of Marvel Studios, recently announced the Phase 4 plans for their Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Endgame at this year's Comic Con. For the next two years we are in for some great movies including a Scarlet Witch and Doctor Strange movie (Wandavision), a What If movie that explores the what if scenarios in the Marvel universe that has become a popular side-series in Marvel comics, and a Thor movie which gave us a pleasant surprise with not only Natalie Portman returning from a long hiatus from the MCU as Thor's love interest Jane Foster, but she will become the new Thor.
     Again, it was like superhero movie Christmas, but that wasn't the only big news we got. As part of their Phase 5 movies, Marvel will be working on a long anticipated Blade movie along with a new Blade, Mahershala Ali. Ali being helmed as Marvel's residential vampire slayer is an interesting choice moreso than your regular news of an actor deciding to don tights for a superhero movie for Marvel and DC. This could be a inkling that Marvel could have their eye on the prize, literally. Oscar gold if you want to be technical.
     Apparently making box office billions is not enough for studios anymore as it seems like any superhero movie comes out will generate a ton of money. It seems that with Black Panther, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, and now with the Oscar buzz behind the upcoming Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix, superhero movies are dipping their toes in the Oscar pool. Ali is a two time Oscar winner, grabbing two awards for Moonlight and last year's The Green Book. Is Marvel's plan is for Ali to not only slay Vampires in the Blade reboot, but to slay the Academy Awards as well? 
     I know what you're probably thinking. How could a movie about a dude slaying vampires be an Oscar contender? Well, if you read the comics you would know that there is a lot of story there and attaching the right directors and producers, along with an amazing team could open up a lot of creative and opportunity for this movie to be the comic book darling of the Oscars, a la Black Panther which got the same treatment with its ensemble in front and behind the camera. It would also be a shame to squander Ali's acting ability by having a two time Academy Award winner doing anything short of masterful work. What are your thoughts?

The Main Villain of Breath of the Wild 2 is Not Ganon (Probably)

     The Legend of Zelda: The Breath of the Wild was arguably one of the best games of 2017. The visuals, the story, the gameplay. It was perfect in everyway and all Zelda fans could ask for. Fans have already put the game in leagues of the series classic games like Ocarina of Time, A Link to the Past, and even the original Zelda. So what do you do when you make a game that everyone loves? You make another one.

     And that is exactly what Nintendo is doing when they announced that we are getting a sequel to Breath of the Wild during their E3 Direct. Aside from the announcement we got a special teaser.

    Not much is happening, everything is cryptic, but it does take place sometime after BOTW and aside from random cuts that from the game, Link and Zelda are in a cave witnessing the mummified remains of what looks like one of the sages from the previous game becoming corrupted and coming back to life. There's not much you can get from it but that isn't stopping fans from forming their own theories about what will happen in the game, more specifically who will be the antagonist. 

     Based on the how corrupting force that is in the teaser, most people are assuming that the villain will be Ganon, again.

*Before you read any further beware. There are spoilers.*

     In the last game Ganon, oops I mean CALAMITY Ganon, looked pretty much the same way for the majority of the game. Ganon evolved into a entity of pure evil and corruption, corrupting the guardians that were designed to destroy him should he ever came back to threaten Hyrule this time around. He actually succeeded in taking over Hyrule by fatally injuring Link enough that he had to be in a stasis in order to heal. Zelda however was able to partially seal Ganon or at least made him dormant so that he couldn't spread, completely corrupting Hyrule. In the end of the game Link was able to defeat him and Zelda was able to fully seal him away.

     Back to the teaser trailer, the corrupting force in the teaser looks very reminiscent of the how Calamity Ganon looked throughout most of BOTW. So, does this mean that Ganon's back this time around? Possibly, but it could be something else. Ganon is unquestionably the main antagonist of The Legend of Zelda series appearing in many titles throughout its history, but so have other villains, often taking his place while he was either sealed away, or killed. It wouldn't really make sense for him to come back and be the main villain in two games in the same era. Both examples of this are Majora's Mask and Spirit Trackers which were direct sequels of Ocarina of Time and Wind Walker, taking place in the same time era and where you had other main antagonists that Link had to defeat right after he just defeated Ganon.
     Story wise it wouldn't make sense either. A large part of BOTW was presented in Zelda's point of view and was in part a story of her growing and becoming this powerful person figuratively and literally as she was going through turmoil of how could she save Hyrule from Calamity Ganon's influence, meeting big obstacle, and overall being able to be strong enough to seal him away. Him coming back would cheapen BOTW's story. We do not know much of who will be the main antagonist and it could be very well be Ganon back again since he does tend to break out of his sealed prison just like a DC villain. This are just my thoughts. What are yours?

Avengers: Endgame and the Future of the MCU: What is Marvel Planning?

    Avengers: Endgame is only a couple of days away, this Friday, and if you haven't been paying attention Marvel has been making this the movie that all comic books fans have to see. If you haven't saw Infinity War, number one: SHAME! Number 2: Infinity War left us at a emotional cliffhanger of some sorts as we were introduced to the villain Thanos.
     Thanos was Marvel's biggest and most powerful threat yet as he not only was able to beat the Hulk and most of Marvel's most powerful heroes with no trouble, but was dead set on a mission to acquire the infinity stones six powerful gems which whoever posses them had to power of time, space, etc, but most importantly could undo half of the life in the universe in one snap. And Thanos did just that. The ending of Infinity War has put the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) in a loop as we lost important heroes and characters setting up the next installment of the Avengers films to be the end all to be all which the remaining Avengers treating this a make or break mission where some will have to risk their own lives in order to defeat Thanos and undo what he did in Infinity War.
     Endgame has not only been hyped up to be the biggest challenge the Avengers have faced, but it will mark the end of one era and the beginning of another. But what will happen next in the MCU? We don't know exactly. Marvel has been very tight lipped about what they plan for the next phase, and it isn't X-Men or Fantastic Four suddenly popping up out of nowhere in a post credit scene in Endgame. But what exactly will happen after Endgame?
     With how Marvel is gearing things up we know that some heroes are not coming back. There have been speculation that some heroes might die while fighting Thanos,but who? Thor and Black Widow have upcoming movies so it won't be them. The biggest guesses would be Captain America since actor Chris Evans has basically said that he is done with the role. My guess is that if Cap's gone than Iron Man, played by Robert Downey Jr., is gonna be killed off too. But things may not be as bad and this era may not end on a bittersweet note after all. We saw a scene in the recent trailer where Hawkeye was training his daughter, Kate Bishop. There is  possibility that we could see the next generation of new heroes taking up classic title in the MCU's future. We do know that there will be a new Hawkeye series on Disney+ where Kate will be trained to become the new Hawkeye. Iron Man may not even die and will retire from the role and become a mentor to Spider-Man or probably Riri Williams, who could come in and become the new Iron Man or Iron Heart. With Captain America Marvel could very well choose to continue the franchise with either Bucky or Falcon taking over the iconic role. Regardless of what happens we know that Endgame will mark the end of an era and will usher in a new one, and we're gonna be waiting awhile for mutants and the X-Men to come in. A LONG while. What do you think?

What Will The Legendary Mascots of Pokemon Sword and Shield Look Like?

     This week we finally got a look at the next generation Pokemon game for the Switch, Pokemon Sword and Shield.

    In the trailer you see new places in the brand new Galar region which is either based on England? Scotland? or maybe it the U.K. We also got a chance to already look at the new starter pokemon, Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. With this being the first trailer we only got to see so much, but knowing Game Freak, the company who makes Pokemon games, there will be over a ton of information that will be revealed later on.
     I'm sure this has led a lot of pokefans to start speculating and making theories on what Game Freak has in store for us this time around. One of these is what will the legendary pokemon look like in the game, or more importantly what will Sword and Shield's legendary mascot pokemon will look like.
     If we want to find any clues, we may have to look no further than the logos for Sword and Shield. Game Freak often leaves indications on what the legendaries look like in the logos. A few examples are in Gold and Silver with Ho-oh and Lugia literally being gold and silver, X and Y where the legendaries Yveltal and Xerneas were X and Y shaped pokemon, and in Sun and Moon where not only were Solgaleo and Lunala were pokemon representing the sun and moon, but had their crests designed in the logo of their games as well. So, what clues are in Sword and Shield's logo?
   In both logos we see a wolf's head on top of a sword and shield. There is a chance that the legendaries can be wolf pokemon based how prominent wolves have been the staple in european mythology. In indo-european mythology, wolves are often associated with the warriors class with people who are said to transform into werewolves and the Celtic goddess Morrighan who sometime appear in the form of a wolf and represents sovereignty, along with being considered a goddess who guides and protects kings. It does make some kind of sense for the Galar region's key legendary pokemon to fit this since it is based on the U.K and there are a couple of castles in Galar's regional map one being in the center of the region and an old castle near the bottom near the lakes.
    Most legendaries have gotten a background story connected to their respected region for sometime now. Solgaleo and Lunala have been the pokemon to ward of ultra beasts in Sun and Moon as well as the Tapus being the pokemon who protect Alola. Groudon and Kyogre shaped Hoenn. How will the wolf legendaries' fit into Sword and Shield? We could get a similar story like Black in White where it's legendary pokemon, Zekrom and Reshiram where the two pokemon belonged to warring brothers. The only difference could be just like Morrighan, one of the wolf legendaries, or both, were responsible for the king of Galar to rule the region. There's a possibility of the legendary wolves to just be like Black and White's other dragon pokemon, Kyruem, and just be one pokemon and it having two forms, an attack form and a defense form, representing shield. This is of course all speculation and none of this is true. We will all have to see when we get further details about word and Shield. What are your thoughts?