One year ago today (May 25th, 2016) DC Entertainment released “DC Rebirth #1” and launched the Rebirth line. It was an engaging renaissance for the company that garnered immensely positive feedback from both fans and critics. And it doesn’t look like DC is slowing down anytime soon.
Still a tear jerker.
But, let’s give a quick recap of what DC’s past year was like post its inaugural Rebirth issue. Many of their title were put on a twice-monthly schedule, which had very few delays. (Side note: some of those titles are pas their 20th issue now and are still selling like hotcakes). DC also released the Hana-Barbera line, which gave us some surprising hits like The Flintstones and Future Quest. My Chemical Romance lead Gerard Way ventured into comics as the head of the new “Young Animal” imprint that introduced some more psychedelic and unique comics like Cave Carson has a Cybernetic Eye and the reintroduction of Doom Patrol.
It’s been an eventful year for them to say the least. And we at Monkeys Fighting Robots cannot wait to see where the company is going from here. (Anyone else excited for Dark Matter?)
So, here’s to you DC! Congratulations on a phenomenal year of superhero storytelling and great comics. We hope you have many more years like this one.
During E3 of 2016 Ubisoft aired a trailer for a Virtual Reality Star Trek game called Star Trek: Bridge Crew. This VR game would be playable on Oculus Rift and compatible with HTC Vive as well as on the PlayStation VR platform. Originally set for a late November 2016 release, then a mid-March 2017 release, it looks like the game will finally surface at the end of this month for a May 30th release.
Captain’s Log
Set in the Kelvin timeline specific to the J.J. Abrams 2009 reboot, the game focuses on role playing as the main component of interaction. As a crew member of the U.S.S. Aegis, players are put into a co-op situation after choosing a team member role on the ‘starship’. Players can choose to be captain, helm, tactical or engineering. As expected game play is designed around the specific duties of the role.
Star Trek Bridge Crew Role Focus
While the story remains consistent regardless of platform, the ability to change roles creates diversity in the game play atmosphere. In addition to that it is in Virtual Reality placing the gamer as close to an actual Star Trek experience as possible. As noted by Brian Drew from a September post on Trekmovie.com, this sounds like an exciting and engrossing experience.
Team Spirit Needed
One of the main focal points of gameplay is team interaction. Gameplay features the player working in tandem with the other three roles which can be live players. With online access even if a player does not have three other friends nearby, they will be able to find other game players to interact with. However in the case no one else is engaged, non-player characters (NPC) will be assigned to play the needed roles.
Yes THE Enterprise
Bonus content includes playing as a member of the original U.S.S. Enterprise. Also the game will be playable cross-platforms. As long as VR gear is compatible with the game, players can engage each other. This means gamers can play with friends with different VR set-ups. Something Ubisoft made possible late last year with their VR game push.
The game seems to mesh the interests of virtual reality enthusiast, online gamers, role playing gamers and tactical strategic gamers in a world that is familiar and extraordinary at the same time. Is there a universe better suited for VR than the Star Trek one? Star Trek Bridge Crew is hopefully an opening foray into a brave new space.
The title is currently still available for pre-order.
Does a Star Trek VR game sound like the best of both worlds? Comment below with your thoughts.
Last night, the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin announced an all-female screening for Wonder Woman. It’s a fun idea, especially since the ratio of male-centric superhero movies to female-centric is about 200 to 1. Literally 1.
Here’s the official announcement from the Drafthouse Facebook page:
Apologies, gentlemen, but we’re embracing our girl power and saying “No Guys Allowed” for one special night at the Alamo Ritz. And when we say “Women (and People Who Identify As Women) Only,” we mean it. Everyone working at this screening — venue staff, projectionist, and culinary team — will be female.
But the announcement, which meant all the well in the word, ruffled the fragile feathers of all the angry men out there on The Internet Dot Com, and they took time out of their busy day to let Alamo Drafthouse know just how Mad Online they were:
These are merely grains of sand on a beach of angry bros. And you gotta feel for them, right? I mean, how will they ever get a chance to see Wonder Woman now that a single theater on a single night has been completely filled up with cootie-ridden girls? I guess they’ll have to wait until it comes out on Bluray or something… at least then they won’t be surrounded by all these girls and their skirts.
Oh, and speaking of that single night… Alamo has announced a second all-female screening since the first one was sold out, despite this bros rock-solid prediction:
Whoops.
This wasn’t an event about inclusion, it was an event created to have some fun with an iconic female superhero, one of only a handful of female superheroes among a sea of male superheroes. What sort of angry, sexually-frustrated little boy do you need to be to get up in a twit about this? Go back in our treehouse and spray-paint “No Girls Allowed” on the door if you want, but give up this flaccid “my man feelings are hurt” sentiment about movies.
First Ghostbusters, now this?! Men have all the bad luck!
In the past two years, two of the best crime dramas to come out of Hollywood were Sicario and Hell or High Water, both written by Taylor Sheridan. Now, Sheridan has his directorial debut, Wind River, and this first trailer is simply magnificent.
Check it out:
https://youtu.be/TjqHn6_LhGo
An FBI agent teams with the town’s veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.
There are echoes of a dozen movies in here. I see a little Thunderheart, Shoot to Kill, Fargo… the list goes on and on. But it’s written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, which adds another element of anticipation.
Wind River stars Jeremy Runner and Elizabeth Olsen, the great Graham Greene, and the great Jon Bernthal. The reunion of Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch is intriguing, and the setting makes for plenty of tension. Looks cold AF there…
Wind River is currently at Cannes, and will hit theaters stateside August 4. About the same time Hell or High Water released.
It’s virtually impossible to keep up with the Netflix original programming these days. Ozark, their new crime thriller series starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, is the most recent example.
Check out this excellent trailer:
The Byrdes, husband and wife Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney), their teenage kids Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) and Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) — are for all intents and purposes an ordinary family. Ordinary save for Marty’s job: The top money launderer for the second largest drug cartel in Mexico.
That synopsis barely scratches the surface, judging from this tense, shockingly violent teaser. Ozark will be a 10-part series for Netflix, and it starts July 21.
The business model over at Netflix is certainly odd, or maybe it’s just new. The company churns out original programming faster than the entirety of the Hollywood studio system, and they have an incredible rate of success. Ozark looks to be right in my wheelhouse.
As much as I enjoy the sardonic Jason Bateman sense of humor, it’s always great to see him pop up in a serious role. He was aces in The Gift, and joining forces with the great Laura Linney only makes this better.
Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams are the creators of Ozark, and I am here for their show.
A part of modern gaming includes downloadable content (DLC) and Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) just released on big, bad addition called Morrowind. Of course, not all DLC is the same. Gamers have complained of companies selling half a game only to DLC players to death. While another DLC is lauded as an addition to the game that elevated the original to new heights. Where does Morrowind fall?
Morrowind isn’t easy on the wallet, but for the price, there is an enormous amount of content.
The easiest answer to this question complicates the discussion even more. Bethesda, publishers of the ESO, doesn’t call Morrowind a DLC but a “chapter.” Old school gamers might remember the days before DLCs when the best of the best games released “expansions.” Morrowind is an expansive addition to an already massive game. In modern terms, it’s a DLC, and it’s the kind of DLC that’s done right.
Most DLC add one particular significant aspect to the game; a new class, zone, or game mode. Morrowind does all three, plus a little more. And while the initial look at the price tag might turn your face into an emoji, always remember to weigh cost versus content.
If you only look at Morrowind as a $40 DLC, it’ll put a little fear into your wallet. However, this new chapter adds, at a minimum, 30 hours of story content in the form of new quests. Those quests take place around a new zone that’s bigger than any previous area before it. Exploring areas in Elder Scrolls is a few hours worth of gameplay in itself.
Morrowind doesn’t leave the PvP crowd out of the mix.
A new game mode called Battlegrounds creates fast-paced, FPS-style matches. Smaller, focused maps allow for three teams of four to wage war in Deathmatch and Capture the Flag games.
To explore this new zone and fight in the new game mode Morrowind introduces a new class: the Warden. As with the other classes of ESO, the Warden can play a variety of roles in a party. It all depends on how you build it and equip the character. But the class brings some fresh mechanics and effects to unleash fantasy chaos.
Layered into this DLC is the new sugar of the 21st century: nostalgia. Morrowind was the third solo Elder Scrolls game and one of the most loved. Morrowind for Elder Scrolls Online is a faithful recreation of that game with a twist. The lands in the original game are covered in ash after the Red Mountain erupted. Here, it’s centuries prior, and the mountain still sleeps. All the familiar places of the third game are there, but different.
Bad DLC will cost a lot and give little. Morrowind isn’t easy on the wallet, but for the price, there is an enormous amount of content. As with the rest of the acclaimed MMO, the quality of the product is also top-notch including the spot-on voice acting and lush graphics that’s a staple of the game.
Morrowind officially releases for PC, Mac, PS4 and Xbox on June 6th. Fans of the series and the MMO should not hesitate. And for new players, there’s no better time to transport yourself to the world of Nirn and begin looting and leveling until your heart’s content.
Baywatch does enough to overcome its flaws to deliver an action-rich laugh filled experience.
Summary
The film starts off on the beach during tryouts for the new Baywatch recruits. The leader of the squad, Mitch (Dwayne Johnson) is hell bent on putting this crew through the ringer. However, one of the recruits appears to be getting special treatment from Mitch’s boss. Matt Brody (Zac Efron) is a two-time Olympic gold medalist whose mere presence could mean great publicity for a program the county commission believe is antiquated. Mitch eventually gets the commission to agree to Brody having to go through the same tryouts as everyone else (one that involves some highly unorthodox events). Predictably, Brody makes it as well as two other lifeguards recruits played by Alexandra Daddario and Jon Bass. The narrative quickly pivots from tryouts to finding out why drugs keep washing up on the beach. It appears that the deeper they dig into the drug issue, the more dead bodies begin to appear. Mitch suspects that real estate mogul Victoria Leeds (Priyanka Chopra) is behind all of this. Matt thinks that this whole mess is best settled by the police.
What Worked
Damian Shannon and Mark Swift developed a narrative with a good sense of tone. If anyone (including critics) expected this picture to be anything other than a silly adaptation of a cheesy show from the 90’s, they obviously haven’t seen an episode of Baywatch.
Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson are oozing with chemistry on screen. Both actors appear to understand that their respective characters are extremely similar to their TV counterparts, with each interpretation being so over the top it’s hilarious.
When the narrative ventures into “R” rated territory, Baywatch is at its most hilarious. The scene in the morgue may be the funniest sequence in the film.
Elements in the production design added to the overall comedic value of Baywatch. Through a sequence of events, Matt ends having to sleep over at Mitch’s house on a cot right next to the fish tank. Mitch warns him that he’s always watching and as you are leaving we get a shot of a miniature fish tank version of Mitch watching Matt with binoculars.
What Didn’t Work
Why didn’t Seth Gordon go all in on making Baywatch the “R” Rated comedy we all anticipated seeing? The reason why Ted and Deadpool work so well is there is no ambiguity in the type of film it wanted to be. Watching the end credits, you just got the feeling that some of the more funnier moments of the film didn’t even make the final cut.
While it seemed the movie had plenty for Efron and Johnson’s characters to do, the rest of the supporting cast was severely ignored. Part of the storyline involves the hiring of three new lifeguards, two of which clearly belong on the squad and one named Ronnie (Jon Bass). It’s not hard to see that they were shooting for the punchline when writing in Ronnie making it on the squad. He’s goofy, pudgy, and manages to get his privates stuck in a beach chair. After we go through the first quarter of the film and Ronnie makes it as a trainee, he disappears into the background of the film. Why? Don’t ignore the guy who is generating as many laughs as Dwayne Johnson.
Priyanka Chopra should not have been cast as the main villain for the film. She looks amazing in the film but does nothing on screen that convinced me even 1% that she was the right pick.
Cameos! Why the need for Cameos?
Overall
Baywatch is the type of release that some critics will mercilessly bash because everyone is doing it. What baffles me is that these are the same people who, as I sat in the theater with them, were laughing hysterically at the film. How can you bash something that apparently you found entertaining enough to laugh? Are you really going to tell me something is the worst film of the summer when you clearly seemed to be enjoying yourself?
What did I think of Baywatch? While the film has its share of issues, I enjoyed watching it. Zac Efron and Dwayne Johnson were a hell of a lot of fun on screen. When the film went into that “R” rated realm, it was hysterical. This film is a great date night film that will require little thought from the audience but will provide maximum enjoyment for all in the theater.
With E3 2017 right around the corner, I’ve decided to compile my predictions into an article filled with speculation, educated guesses, and anticipation. It should be noted that I’ve only chose to discuss developers that I am educated on or interested in. Apologies if your favorite dev isn’t on here, but feel free to talk about them in the comments section.
Microsoft
With Xbox launching Project Scorpio this year, I’m very interested to see what they show off. Considering that E3’s best moments come from game announcements, will Phil Spencer take note and put the emphasis on graphically intense multiplatform titles and exclusives, or will Scorpio steal the show?
To put it simply, both. I think Xbox will take too much time with Scorpio, however, the games will get spotlight as well. I expect focus to be on Sea of Thieves, Forza, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, and other 3rd party titles. With this said, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if Spencer surprises fans with an exclusive new IP. Oh, and can we finally get a release date for Cuphead? That’s not a game you’d want to show off alongside Scorpio, but it has been in the works for years and fans are losing interest…fast.
Nintendo
2017 is Nintendo’s year to shine at E3. The Switch is off to a hot start, the games are on their way, and the future is bright, However, what games will actually be shown off?
Mario Odyssey will be the focal point of their show, with Splatoon 2, Xenoblade 2, and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle also getting some attention.
In terms of 3rd party announcements, I fully expect COD: WW2, this year’s Assassin’s Creed game, and some other sports titles to be announced for the system.
Now comes the fun discussion – what games will Nintendo reveal at E3? There are five franchise candidates, in my eyes, and I believe two or three of them will receive announcements: Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Pikmin, Metroid, Super Smash Bros. A deluxe version of SSB4 is a given at this point, but Metroid and Animal Crossing would also make a splash in the current gaming market.
Lastly on the Nintendo side of things, Virtual Console will be detailed, along with the company’s online service. I expect these features to be released at some point in July, to complement Splatoon 2.
Sony
Sony is gearing up for an extremely important E3. The company is winning the “console war” right now, but both competitors are making moves. Sony must keep the focus on games, and not Virtual Reality. If they do this, E3 2017 will be a success for them; however, if the mistake of talking too much about VR is made, this could be a blunder.
Games I expect to see shown off and playable include, but are not limited to, God of War, Days Gone, Spider-Man, and The Last of Us Part 2. Additionally, Death Stranding and Final Fantasy 7’s remake will be shown, but not playable or detailed.
An important aspect of Sony’s 2017 E3 is release dates. The Playstation 4 has a stacked lineup of games that have no release date, and this is the company’s chance to change that.
EA
Sports games, sports games, and more sports games. Fifa, NBA Live, and Madden will all get their annual installments. However, alongside these sports titles will be the titan known as Star Wars Battlefront 2, which is sure to be a controversial topic among gamers at E3.
Rockstar
With Rockstar’s recent delay of Red Dead Redemption 2, I am genuinely confused as to what their E3 plans are. Obviously the game will be there, but what other titles could we see? Only time will tell.
Activision
Activision is all about Destiny 2 this year, and for good reason. The game was announced recently and made a splash on the web almost immediately. The company seemingly fixed mistakes from the first game, ensuring that Destiny’s sequel will be sought out and anticipated among gamers that felt burned by the first title.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft’s show this year will have an emphasis on supporting Switch. The company has stated they want to be the lead 3rd party publisher on the hybrid console, and this will show through their E3 announcements. They’ll likely talk more about Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, but South Park, Assassin’s Creed, and Far Cry 5 will get attention too. Additionally, I have a feeling that the Beyond Good and Evil 2 rumor is true, and will be confirmed at this year’s show.
And the winner is…
This year’s E3 will likely go down as one of the best in years. With all three major companies bringing a slew of announcements, hardware, and other features to the table, who will come out as the winner? Ultimately, I think it’s between Nintendo and Sony. If both companies stick to their software and don’t waste time on other features, it will be a coin flip as to who “won”. However, given Nintendo’s marketing strategy over the last year, I feel that they understand their audience better and will deliver a better performance in 2017.
What predictions do you have for this year’s E3? Be sure to sound off in the comments section below.
E3 2017 takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 12-15.
You know that anxious feeling you get when you send an important text message or email? As you anxiously await a response, whether it be the one you wanted or bad news, your stomach slowly becomes the inside of a washing machine on spin cycle. Your chest gets tighter the longer you sit and assume the worst is on its way back to you.
Then all of a sudden, a response is waiting in your inbox. You’re so happy you got it that you don’t even want to open it right away. Waiting a little prolongs the wave of relief you feel that your time waiting is now over. No matter what you’re about to open, at least the wait is over, you can absorb it’s contents and carry it with you as you move forward in life.
That pretty much sums up the experience that takes place in between issues of Deadly Class. It’s so goddamned good.
***SPOILERS LIE AHEAD***
Writer Rick Remender puts readers through an emotional adventure that continues to pay off the deeper into the series you get. Deadly Class #28 is a monumental payoff for fans with any semblance of a soul. Killing off the main cast almost entirely and replacing them with a new crop of freshman was bold, initially striking a harsher blow to readers than a well executed katana strike by Saya.
This dynamic creative duo shares the long-term chemistry that Marvel and DC are desperate for in the age of revolving creative teams.
This series started off simple enough, but the concept sucks you in right out of the gate and doesn’t let go. By the end of the first arc, Remender has readers eating out of the palm of his hand. Every relationship feels real, every conversation felt familiar, every action scene burned into your brain like a gruesome horror movie sequence you’ll never forget.
Artist Wes Craig deserves just as much credit, he breathes life into these characters. Even if you didn’t grow up in the 80s, these books serve as memories of your youth in an era you’ve only experienced through movies and stories from older folk. Taking the fondest years of your life and drenching them in glorious teenage assassin chaos. Every expression, environment, and movement in these panels deserves another moment of admiration before turning the page.
This dynamic creative duo shares the long-term chemistry that Marvel and DC are desperate for in the age of revolving creative teams. Deadly Class is a comic like no other, yet somehow feels like home from the very first issue. Not because we’ve been here before, but because this is an amalgamation of everything you want in an ongoing comic book.
In Deadly Class #28, we catch up with our favorite assassin couple that we long thought dead. Marcus and Maria are alive and well on a beach far from the school. Saya saved them, but finds herself in a deadly situation. She’s been betrayed and now finds herself held captive by her power hungry brother in Tokyo. Meanwhile at Kings Dominion, Shabnam and Grogda (our least favorite assassin couple) are meeting some resistance within the student council. Shab and Grog put the two “asses” in “assassin”.
Marcus is the most relatable teenage punk to ever grace the world of comic books for any reader who grew up in a tough spot. Remender made us think we had lost him, then once we’re all settled in to this new crop of kids he throws Marcus and Maria back into the mix. That’s a big pile of positivity and a healthy serving of joyous relief. Things are about to get complicated, the pulse of this book is picking back up in a hurry.
Willie also makes a comeback appearance as Marcus is apparently seeing him in his head. Another layer of juicy complexity wrapped around this already intricate character. Remender has also managed to completely redeem Saya, who was previously the ultimate betrayer.
This cast of characters is so well crafted that any and all growth they experience cannot simply be analyzed only during one’s time reading the issue. Dramatic narrative shifts warrant excessive diagnosis that takes place after having closed the issue.
Even the moment where Remender is clearly taking a shot at Marvel earns a reader smile and nod and not an eye roll. The man can do no wrong, it’s news to no one that he is one of the most brilliant writers in modern comic books.
Deadly Class is the kind of book that we all deserve, you just need to do yourself a favor and dive in. This creative team (Jordan Boyd’s colors as well) is firing on all cylinders in every issue.
Everything you could want in a series is present and so much more. As the series approaches 30 issues, let’s hope there’s no end in sight. Keep this book alive and share it with your friends. The comic book community deserves it.
Are you reading Deadly Class? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
With the Junkion invasion resolved peacefully, Optimus Prime takes a moment to plan the Autobots’ next move on Earth.
Writing
In the wake of an multi-issue storyline, it’s important to utilize a cool down issue. What’s a cool down issue you may be asking yourself? A cool down issue is when there isn’t much actions but instead there is a lot of drama as characters deal with recent events. Considering the last few issues had a global invasion, this is the perfect type of story to have here.
The issue shows how tension is high and a lot will be happening in the future. It’s nice to see Optimus Prime talking with the president of the United States in a calm and civil manner. There is a great chemistry as the two talk and comparing their pasts. Frankly, there has been too much of him having to act as a warrior instead a diplomat working towards peace. The entire purpose of this new series should be focusing more on Optimus and his new role with trying to keep the peace between the worlds and having actual meetings with leaders. It hasn’t happened in a few issues so it’s good to see them come back to this ideal. John Barber, the writer for the series, seems to have a plan and is preparing for what’s to come in the next arc.
Artwork
The artwork by Priscilla Tramontano is perfect in this issue. She has a very crisp style compared to previous issues which seems to help increase the relatively calm atmosphere which is taking place. This is the style of story she is ideal to work on. Though, not the ideal candidate for an action heavy issue, when the book calls for emotion and style, look Tramontano is the perfect article to call upon.
Conclusion
This is a good issue but the tease for the next one looks to top it. Jazz is set to address the world in a live interview and answer questions regarding how his actions resulted in the death of a cop. It could be very emotional comic and set how humans will view Transformers for years to come. Good luck Jazz, you’ll need it.
