Earlier this year, I reviewed the film reboot of Power Rangers. Revamping the original Mighty Morphin' days, the film took a more grounded and realistic approach, dealing with some mature and modern themes. For what it was, I thought it was good even if the actual Ranger parts seemed rushed in the end. In broader terms, I think the film got more of a mixed reaction. For one reason or another, some fans liked it, some didn't.
What some may not have been aware of though is that the film had a short aftermath graphic novel released just a few days after the movie intended as sort of a sequel. I didn't pick it up when it came out back in March as I wanted to wait until the movie came out on Blu-Ray so I could read the book after rewatching the movie.
To call this a sequel is a bit of a stretch and makes it sound grander than it actually is. If this story was actually put to film, it would probably be the length of a traditional Power Rangers episode, and maybe a two-parter at that. While I did expect more, that doesn't mean the story was actually bad.
Set shortly after the film, the book follows the Rangers literally picking up the pieces from their first battle, as remnants of Goldar have spread out across Angel Grove with residual energy reviving the Putties Rita had made. But eventually, this "Goldar Dust" eventually infects a teenage brother and sister living on the streets.
Where the book succeeds is capturing the tone that the film set, and on two fronts. The first is the voice of the characters. Reading the dialogue with voices of the movie cast in mind felt natural in my mind. Like an actual episode of the show though, it only gives real focus on two Rangers, Jason and Zack. While it didn't show during the final battle in the movie, Jason is still coming to grips about being the leader of the team and worries about making a mistake that could hurt the others. Zack wants to be as strong a Ranger as he can be and make sure nobody has to lose a loved one on his watch, a feeling believe stems from his own fear of one day losing his mother. All that said though, the other Rangers do have their own character moments though.
Besides that though, there's another instance that hints to build up of a romance between Jason and Kimberly. If you followed the show like I did, you know there was never anything between the two, as Kimberly was immediately attracted to Tommy when he debuted. At first I was okay with the idea of a Jason/Kimberly romance, but after watching the deleted scene of the two making out after their conversation in Jason's room, it just seemed off, like the kiss was forced. Plus, it makes me worried it would make an eventual battle between Jason and Tommy seem like it's over a girl.
The second front is how the film continues its grounded and realistic take. It turns out the damage to Angel Grove after the Goldar fight was more extensive, with relief camps having to be set up. And as it turns out, the police aren't too happy that all these crazy things have been happening to the city once the Power Rangers showed up. I kind of like this take, that the people aren't just accepting of the Power Rangers right away like in the show. It makes me think of the escalation theory that applies to Batman and his villains. But besides that, there is some government involvement here too, which makes a lot of damn sense. I mean, when there's a giant monster and robot fight, someone higher up has to get involved.
When I was a kid, I didn't really care for what little Power Rangers comics I read. They just didn't wow me, especially when what made the show itself such a hit was the action, from the martial arts to the Megazord fights. In comic form, the same impact isn't made. Unfortunately, the same can still be said here. If I didn't like the movie as much as I did, I might not have wanted to pick up this book to see what happened next.
All in all, "Power Rangers: Aftershock" is a nice little follow up to the film. Nothing great, but enjoyable. If you liked the movie, I can kind of recommend it, but it's not necessary.
At the time of this writing, an actual sequel to the movie doesn't seem likely as the film didn't make enough money at the box office. I know I said back in my review that I wouldn't mind if there was a sequel or not, rewatching the movie a couple more times kind of made me hope for another one. It was said though that good sales on DVD and Blu-Ray could lead to another movie, but only time will tell. So as it stands, "Aftershock" may be the end of these Rangers' story, but it's not a bad note to go out on.
When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most characters that have been introduced have either never appeared in film or TV before or at least had a prior version that wasn't well received. Spider-Man is a different case obviously. He's had two different movie series this century alone that have had their share of both success and failure. So when it came time to bring the webhead to the MCU, there were a lot of expectations. It had to be a good Spider-Man movie and a good Marvel movie, but it still had to be above all, Spider-Man's movie. The result is that it is the movie people wanted and does much to break the mold from past Spider-Man films.
If his appearance in Civil War wasn't enough to bring you around, this film shows that Tom Holland is both the Peter Parker and Spider-Man that fans deserve and worthy enough to stand alongside the Avengers. I think a lot of what makes this version so great is the approach Marvel took with the character. While the previous film series depicted the character ranging from high school senior to college student, this is the youngest we've seen the character, being a 15 year old high school sophomore. Holland said he read a lot of Ultimate Spider-Man to prepare for the role, and I definitely see the influence. They make it very clear he's still just a kid who doesn't have a big idea of what he's doing and can get in way over his head. And also like Ultimate Spider-Man, specifically the 2005 video game, this Spidey's fighting style seems focused much more on acrobatics than strength. Besides that though, when you think about it, Spider-Man should be a character on the same level as Daredevil. But now he's had a taste of the big time superhero life and wants to prove that he belongs there. And besides that, I got the sense that Peter feels he needs to be there so that all the hardships he's faced in his life were worth it to make it to the top. It makes for a good character journey that it doesn't matter how you're a hero, but that you are one.
The film does get points that we don't get the origin again since most people know it by now, but I still wished they would have done what Incredible Hulk did and recap the origin in the opening credits. A reference to Uncle Ben at least would have been nice, and there was a perfect opportunity for one.
While I thought the suit in Amazing Spider-Man 2 couldn't be topped, the suit in Homecoming really impressed me more than I thought. Besides the level of faithfulness to the source, a lot of it had to do with the eyes, which as we've seen have lens that change based on Peter's reactions. They actually moved around more than I thought they would, doing a great job at displaying Peter's emotions through the mask without having to take it off all the time like we've seen in past films.
For those worried that Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark was going to hog the spotlight and that this was going to be "Iron Man 4", guess what: he's only in like 10% of the film. He doesn't even help fight Vulture. For what portion he is in the film, I do like his interaction with Holland. But that said, he's not that good of a mentor. Any mistakes Peter makes in the film I think can be partially placed on Tony as well since he doesn't keep Peter in the loop on things. And I think if Tony's the father figure, Jon Favreu's Happy Hogan is more like a big brother, keeping the link between the mentor and mentee and being annoyed by him, only to be impressed by the end.
One of the things I really enjoyed about the Spectacular Spider-Man animated series was Peter's large supporting cast, especially in his school life. This is something that is also prominent in Homecoming, and the characters that really stood out to me were Ned Lee, Liz Allan, and Flash Thompson.
Ned, portrayed by Jacob Batalon, is Peter's best friend and discovers he's Spider-Man, wanting to be his "guy in the chair". While we've usually seen Harry Osborn as Peter's best friend, it was always a matter of time before they became enemies. But with Ned, there's no real sense of danger and it's kind of nice for Peter to have a male confidant with his activities.
Liz, portrayed by Laura Harrier, is Peter's crush and later Homecoming date. It's actually a nice change of pace that the romance isn't a vital part of the film's plot. Unlike the previous films, the relationship here doesn't go anywhere so there's not much to get invested, but I do think she and Holland had good chemistry together. Plus, it's still a better love story than Peter and Mary Jane in the original trilogy since Peter didn't pussy foot around for two movies here.
Tony Revolori plays Peter's well known bully, Flash Thompson. It's a very different version of Flash than we've seen before, more smug and mocking than a physically imposing jock. Despite this change though, he still does what you expect by picking on Peter all the time, so it is in character, which makes for an enjoyable moment later when karma comes calling. That said, Flash is supposed to be a character that despite his treatment of Peter, does have some redeeming factors. Right now, he is clearly selfish, but this basically leaves room for sequels for the character to develop more.
In my opinion, Michael Keaton as the Vulture is the best villain to appear in a Spider-Man movie yet. He doesn't have a split personality, a direct connection to Peter Parker, or portrayed as over the top. He's a character who's doing what he believes is justice and doing so to provide for his family, no matter the cost. Just before the film's climax, there's a good chunk of time where I really felt afraid of the character, and he wasn't even in his suit.
This film also displays how efficient Marvel is at handling multiple characters in a film, in this case the villains, where we also have two Shockers and the Tinkerer as part of Vulture's crew. Sony has attempted multiple villains in two previous Spider-Man movies, and both were the lowest rated of the franchise. We have multiple villains again in Homecoming, but their connection and partnership is there from the start. It's not "Oh no, it's the New Goblin!", followed by "Oh no, it's the Sandman!", followed by "Oh no, it's Venom!". At least with Amazing Spider-Man 2 though, you can say there was more of a definite link between the three villains that appeared.
I'm going to do something different now and put up a SPOILER area, because I have a lot to say in that regard so if you want to skip ahead to the end, go ahead.
SPOILERS DISCUSSION BEGINS
Remember those rumors that Zendaya was playing Mary Jane? Well, they were true...sort of. Technically her character is named Michelle Jones, but she says at the end to call her "MJ." So at the moment, it's safe to assume that this is a new version of Mary Jane. I don't necessarily have a problem with her essentially being Mary Jane, but it's definitely not what I expected when it comes to my idea of the character, whether 616 or Ultimate. Plus, I think it makes sense for her to be MJ because I get this feeling that she knows Peter is Spider-Man, and in the comics, Mary Jane knew Peter was Spider-Man from the start because she saw him sneaking out of his house in suit one night.
But whatever character she played though, she had absolutely no bearing on the film's plot. You could have cut her out and nothing would change. The owner of the deli Peter goes to felt more important than her. Anytime she's on screen, it's basically "Here I am, I'm funny, bye." I mean, I don't get it. She's obviously playing an important character, she's a big Disney star, and she's part of the headlining cast, yet I kept asking myself "Why is she here?". It's Jared Leto all over again.
Around the middle of the film, we are introduced to Mac Gargan, who in the comics becomes the Scorpion (who even has a scorpion tattoo on his neck). In the mid-credits scene, we see Gargan and Vulture in the same prison together, and Gargan says he has some guys on the outside who want to take down Spider-Man too. I believe this is setting up for Gargan to become the Scorpion for the sequel, but more than that, I believe that "Spider-Man 3" will bring together the Sinister Six. Besides Scorpion, I believe there will at least be two other villains along with him in the second film. I get the feeling that the Six will be more tech based, especially if the line-up we have so far would be Vulture, Shocker, and Scorpion. One thing for sure though is that Doctor Octopus needs to be the one to bring the group together, because you can't have a Sinister Six without Doc Ock. Right now, the only other two I can see rounding things out are Rhino and Mysterio.
On a related note, I believe this film is the first crossover between the Marvel films and Netflix series, as it appears that Vulture and Gargan were sent to the same prison Kingpin and Punisher were sent to during season two of Daredevil.
At the end of the film, Tony attempts to give Peter another updated version of his suit (and an awesome one at that). To give you an idea, it kind of looks like the suit in the upcoming PS4 game, but more shiny and the spider being black.
I'm willing to bet that not only will this suit actually be used next year for Infinity War, but that it's essentially the Iron Spider suit. I know it's not like the one in the comics, but I get the feeling that this version of Tony, while still vain to some degree, appreciates the design Peter had with his homemade suit and incorporated that into the suits he made for him. Otherwise, we would have had the proper red and gold Iron Spider in Civil War.
One thing that stood out to me was the big spider on the chest. You know what other famous Spider-Man suit has a big spider? Ahem...
I've always had a feeling that if the symbiote were to debut in the MCU, it would be in Infinity War. I think the design of the "Spider-Man 3.0" suit is another sign we're heading into that direction.
SPOILER DISCUSSION ENDS
While it is another reboot, any worries you have are understandable, but you can rest assure that this is a new Spider-Man that is worth seeing. Even though he is now part of the larger MCU picture, this nearly perfect film is still very much about Peter Parker in what is essentially the true beginning of his superhero career. I really look forward to where the character and his relationships go in the future.
When it comes to the Dragon Ball franchise, there's a particular sore spot some fans don't like to think about: Dragon Ball GT. While the original Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z anime ran concurrent with the Dragon Ball manga, GT was an anime exclusive story that had very little involvement from series creator Akira Toriyama. Because of this, many fans regards GT as non-canon and treat it like it doesn't exist, even considering it the worst thing to come from the franchise...until the live action Dragon Ball Evolution film from America at least.
Now I haven't watched GT in probably 15 years and I kind of remember it not being that bad; of course I was a kid at the time and my mind wasn't at critical as it is now. After a recent conversation with a friend about whether GT was really that bad, it brought up quite a few moments from the series that kind of made me feel infuriated. So I decided given the large gap in time since I originally watched the series, I decided to begin watching it again and see how I feel about it now.
So for the next four months, I will be rewatching and analyzing each saga from GT. This month, we begin the series with the Black Star Dragon Ball Saga. Now, I'll only be going through what I feel are the important parts so it might seem like I'm rushing through it. Also, since I will be going through the entire series, there will definitely be spoilers, so there's your last warning before we jump in.
At the conclusion of Dragon Ball Z, Goku had met Uub, the ten year old reincarnation of Kid Buu. Realizing his potential and wanting to help him hone his power, Goku and Uub went off who knows where to train. GT picks up seven years later, as we see Goku and Uub finishing up their training on the Lookout. Uub heads back to his village and Goku is about to head back home himself until he comes across some uninvited guests. The Pilaf gang from the original Dragon Ball series, who hadn't been seen at all during Z and are now elderly, have snuck into the lookout to retrieve the Black Star Dragon Balls, which her hidden deep in the mausoleum. According to Pilaf, they were created before Kami and Piccolo separated and are twice as strong. They summon the dragon, and it's a gigantic red version of Shenron, who is so huge, he looks like he could eat the lookout.
After a brief skirmish with Goku, an irate Pilaf speaks out loud that he wishes Goku was a little kid again so he could teach him some manners. But uh oh, Shenron heard him, and turns Goku back into his 12 year old self (I assume that age because that old he was when Dragon Ball began). I guess Pilaf should have high tailed it from the Lookout and made his wish later.
Behind the scenes, the reason for turning Goku back into a kid was that they wanted GT to recreate the spirit of the original Dragon Ball since DBZ was so heavy in action by comparison. As we see as the show goes on though, it appears that Goku's intelligence has reverted back to his younger self as well, which can get annoying considering he didn't seem as dumb during DBZ.
As we find out, Goku can only be returned to normal by gathering up the Black Star Dragon Balls again. The problem though is that these Balls spread out across the galaxy, meaning it could be impossible to find them. Since he seems stuck as a kid, Goku takes it well and heads off home to break the news to everyone. Chi-Chi seems to take it the hardest, given that she is now married to a child...now physically as well as mentally. They are then contacted by King Kai who, after doing some research, discovers that if a wish is made with the Black Star Dragon Balls, they create a negative effect on the planet they're used on, and if they aren't returned to that planet within a year of the wish, the planet will explode.
Let's talk about the Black Star Dragon Balls for a second. I'll admit I don't know much about what goes into making Dragon Balls, but I can only assume that a Namekian has to be pure of heart for the process to be perfect, and any hint of evil can taint them. I can only assume that Kami attempted to create the balls before and ended up with the black star one, realized something wasn't right and hid them away. After separating from Piccolo, the black ones were inert and Kami created the proper balls. But since Piccolo and Kami refused during the Cell saga, the Black Star balls reenergized and just waiting for a wish to be made. It just seems odd that the shred of evil in Kami could taint the balls to essentially a cosmic scale.
Also, how exactly did Pilaf know about the balls or that they were from before Kami and Piccolo separated? He says he did research, but I don't how much there could be on the Black Star balls since clearly no one made a wish with them before. King Kai says he did research too, but I find that more believable. He could have at least contacted Piccolo, who probably knew about them before and would have Kami's knowledge of them as well.
With a year to gather the balls, a ship is made for Goku and two others to travel through space to find them. Gohan offers to go and so does Pan, Goku's granddaughter and Gohan's daughter, but everyone says she's too young and treats her like a child. I guess in the time since Buu, common sense affected everyone, considering how young Goku, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were during their battles. Hell, they were even younger than Pan, who is 11 at this point and Gohan was 4 when he began his training.
In the end though, a newly mustachioed Vegeta drafts Goten and Trunks to accompany Goku as he feels they have gotten soft after nearly 20 years of peace.
Whether you hate or love the moustache, you have to admit, it's funny to see Vegeta have one.
Anyway, Goten and Trunks don't really want to go. Goten has a date with his girlfriend Valese (who we meet in the next saga but she's not really an important character). Trunks' excuse is that he has to run Capsule Corp. as he is the CEO, but as we see earlier, he flies out of his office to escape the job any chance he gets; in short, his excuse is bullcrap. Seriously though, what's wrong with these kids? Didn't they have dreams of going to space? Vegeta was right, they do need to get out more.
As they're about to take off, Goten gets a call from Elise. Goku and Trunks board the ship and find Pan, who hits the button and the ship blasts off, taking the three into space and leaving Goten behind. Unfortunately, the ship was fully prepared to take off and one of its stabilizers was loose, which causes the ship to crash land on the planet Imecka. During the crash, Pan, who was talking a big game before, starts crying for her mommy. Like I said before, it's been awhile since I've watched GT, so I may have forgotten how annoying Pan can be in the series. There are many instances where I find myself saying "Shut up, Pan."
The ship needs to be repaired, but Trunks suggests they find a hotel to stay in and find parts in the morning. However, the hotel they're staying it has money meters on everything, from the bathroom to the bed and everything else. Needless to say, they skip out on the bill. Though truth be told, did anyone of them actually bring money with them? Hell, I don't expect them to have any kind of alien currency obviously. While walking through the rain, the three meets a family who take them in, only to have their home repossessed (literally piece by piece). It's here we learn that the planet is ruled by Don Kee, who is obsessed with money and wants as much as he can get, and doesn't care if his people live in squalor. Hmm, a money obsessed leader named Don who only thinks of himself...can't imagine how that would be relevant today.
When the GT gang (that's what I'm going to refer to them now) head back to their ship, Trunks drops the Dragon Radar, when it's eaten by a little robot. For some time, they keep the robot in Trunks' backpack until they figure out what to do with him. They then see their ship being carried off and follow it to Don Kee's palace. The GT gang take it back with a fight, which leads to them being plastered on wanted posters and hunted by police. Eventually, the GT gang surrender themselves, but it's all a ploy so they can take down Don Kee and free the people of Imecka. But before then, they have to face Don Kee's most powerful warrior, Ledgic, who scares even his master. It must be the voice; it's pretty cool.
This leads to our first real fight of the series between Ledgic and Goku. Unfortunately, it's short lived after Goku goes Super Saiyan defeats him. However, it appears there is some honor among fighters as Ledgic lets them do with Don Kee as they please, and Goku hopes they can fight again someday (spoiler alert: they never meet again). I really felt like there was a lot of potential in Ledgic and wish his fight with Goku had gone longer. I would have liked to know his history as well; he knew right away that the three were Saiyans, so maybe he's the last of his kind from a planet that the Saiyans destroyed long ago.
In the end, they threaten Don Kee to change his ways and be a man of the people. The results are everyone is given free housing and ships are returned to everyone who had theirs taken. After the GT gang repair their ship and are about to take off, they realize the robot, who they later name Giru, has assimilated the Dragon Radar into his being, and essentially becomes part of the team. And so the search for the Black Star Dragon Balls finally begins.
They find the first ball, the four star one, on a planet where everything is giant. Before they can get the ball, Goku and Trunks have to save Pan when she is kidnapped by giant bees.
(Sorry, I had to.) Eventually, the find a giant who took a bite of an apple that had the Dragon Ball stuck in it. The ball becomes stuck in the giant's tooth, causing him pain. Goku is able to remove the tooth and retrieve the ball. One down, six to go.
They track the six star ball on another planet to a village that's being threatened by a monster called Sunama, who can apparently create earthquakes with his whiskers. He'll leave the village alone, if they give him one of the women of the village, Lane, as his wife. The village will give the Dragon Ball to the GT gang if they help them stop Sunama. Pan comes up with a plan to disguise Goku as Lane to infiltrate Sunama's lair and defeat him there away from the village. But since Goku is too small for Lane's wedding dress, that means Trunks has to be the one to go undercover. Why Pan wasn't willing to do the deed is anyone's guess.
You know, before we go any further, I think we need a moment to remember how badass Future Trunks was and think about what could have been.
Anyway, the rest of the plan is that once Sunama takes Trunks to his lair, Goku, Pan, and Lane's fiancé Doma follow them, and after Trunks gets Sunama drunk and pass out, they cut off his whiskers and take away his power. The plan almost goes awry when Trunks' wig falls off. While Sunama realizes he's not Lane, he still thinks he's a girl and still wants "Trunksette". I'm assuming it's the purple hair that can give someone the idea Trunks is a girl. So everything goes as planned at first, but they're only able to cut off one whisker before Sunama awakens to find he's been played. He appears to still have power even with one whisker as one quake happens, but since he's still drunk, he thinks he's causing quakes even when he's not. They realize that Sunama's whiskers don't create quakes, but predict them, and he's been fooling the villagers the whole time. Shortly after, a huge quake occurs that causes a volcanic reaction. They all escape Sunama's lair, but the village is still under threat until Goku destroys the whole volcano with a Kamehameha.
With the village saved, the GT gang is given the Dragon Ball, and even Sunama lives among the village now after feeling regret for his actions. However, the ball is then stolen by another alien who takes off in his own ship. Of course, the GT gang chase after in their own ship.
We find out that the other ship is piloted by the Para Para Brothers, who are a pretty annoying bunch, and as we see later, they get worse. The Paras lead the GT gang into an asteroid maze filled with giant worm monsters and make their escape while the GT gang try to navigate and fight their way out. The Paras make their way to a planet where a cult resides and present the Dragon Ball to Cardinal Muchi Muchi, who sends them back out to get the other ball the GT gang has under threat of sacrifice to Lord Luud. The Paras go back to the asteroid and confront the GT gang after they defeat some of the worms. The Paras apparently have the power to compel others to dance through their own little hip hop musical number, which they use on the GT gang and beat them up at intervals.
This is probably one of the strangest moments in all of Dragon Ball. It's annoying, but the more it goes on, it gets catchy damn it. Besides that, considering GT aired in Japan during the 90's and it didn't air in the U.S. until the early 00's, their little routine seems a bit dated to me.
Eventually, more worms show up, which distracts the Paras and causes them to stop dancing (thank Gamikai for that) which allows Pan to break free and knock them all out. When Pan and Giru search the Paras' ship for the Dragon Ball they took, the autopilot takes the ship back to Cardinal Muchi Muchi with the two on board. Goku and Trunks chase after once the Paras tell them where their ship went.
Pan finds the cult's lair and goes inside, but Giru is too scared to follow. Pan listens on while Cardinal Muchi Muchi talking to his congregation about how they'll use the Dragon Balls to revive Lord Luud to take over the universe, until she's discovered and turned into a doll. Goku, Trunks, and the Paras arrive once Giru leads them in. Enraged at the Paras's failure, Muchi Muchi turns them into dolls as well and sacrifices them to Luud. Goku and Trunks battle Muchi Muchi who transforms into his true form, but he's eventually defeated after the two go Super Saiyan.
Elsewhere, Master Daltaki, the true leader of the cult, meets with his followers and tells them to sacrifice themselves to Lord Luud. However, when they notice Daltaki's mechanical device, they realize he's a fraud and that Luud is just a machine. This doesn't stop Daltaki though from turning them all into dolls and sacrificing them to fuel Luud. As it turns out though, Daltaki does keep some of the dolls for himself, including Pan, and I'm not gonna lie, I sense some creepy shades of pedophilia during these parts.
Soon enough, Daltaki activates Luud (bottom left) to battle Goku and Trunks, and he kind of looks like a mechanical baby version of Janemba from the Fusion Reborn movie.
As they battle, Daltaki is contacted by his true master, Dr. Myuu (above right), who wants a progress report on Luud. Myuu watches the battle, but since it appears Luud isn't strong enough to defeat Goku and Trunks, he orders Daltaki to sacrifice Pan. When Daltaki refuses, Myuu turns him into a doll as well sacrifices both of them to Luud, who turns red from the power boost...either that or he's just overheating. Probably both.
As it turns out though, the inside of Luud is a bit of a pocket dimension where everyone sacrificed to him is floating around, including Pan, Daltaki, and the Paras. The Paras use their dance powers again to force Daltaki to reveal Luud's weakness. He reveals that Luud was a bionic mutation created by Myuu from one of his cells, which hangs above everyone in the dimension. If someone hits the cell simultaneously from the inside and outside of Luud, he'll be destroyed and everyone is free. The Paras telepathically contact Goku to inform him of this and he and Pan succeed in the task. Once everyone's free, Daltaki escapes in his own ship.
With that, the GT gang are now in possession of two Dragon Balls. But with the threat of Myuu, who is also after the balls, Trunks considers taking Pan back to Earth to keep her safe. While this of course doesn't happen, I really disagree with Trunks on that idea alone. They still have less than a year to find all seven balls, and considering all the unintended detours they've been taking, it really wouldn't be smart to backtrack so they should just soldier on with what they have and face whatever comes their way head on.
The GT gang then arrives on a desert planet and retrieves the five star ball, leaving four remaining. Elsewhere though, Daltaki tries to meet up with Myuu and get back in his good graces, only to be confronted by General Rildo, who kills him.
Myuu then contacts Rildo and tells him to bring him the GT gang alive, wanting to use their power for his experiments.
While flying through space, the GT gang pass over Giru's home planet, M2. When Pan notices Giru appearing homesick, she suggests that they pay a quick visit. Trunks objects at first but relents to staying there one day. When they touch down, they find a seemingly abandoned city until they're attacked by the Sigma Force, who reveal that Giru has been acting as a spy for Dr. Myuu since the GT gang picked him up on Imecka. The Sigmas capture Goku and Trunks, but leave Pan after Giru tells them to spare her and that the other two were more important. The Sigmas fly off to bring Goku and Trunks to Rildo and Myuu, leaving Pan alone and feeling betrayed as the saga ends.
Let's talk about Dr. Myuu's plan. After somehow finding out about the Black Star Dragon Balls, he sends Giru to Imecka, where he apparently knew the GT gang would crash land and make sure Giru becomes part of their team, gang their trust, and eventually lead them to M2. I have to say that at the moment, Myuu's plan seemed to depend on highly specific circumstances to occur, although maybe it's elaborated more in the next saga.
For the beginning of the series, it's a bit of a mixed bag for me. I've always enjoyed the more action based Dragon Ball Z over the comedic adventures of the original Dragon Ball. So when it comes to GT and the Black Star Dragon Ball Saga, I enjoyed some of the action parts, what little there was anyway. As for the comedy, half of the time it hit the mark and I did find it funny, but the other half of the time it was just cringey. Besides that though, I did find some of the plotlines to run a little too long, especially the Don Kee and Luud stories. Overall nothing great, but I do see where the creators' heart was and their intentions during this point in the series, and the latter half of the saga showed some potential for the next one.
Next month, we'll continue Dragon Ball GT as we carry on the search for the Black Star Dragon Balls, discover Myuu's master plan, meet our first main villain of the series, and witness the next evolution of Super Saiyan in the Baby Saga. And if you think this post is long, the next saga is the longest of the series. Until then, here's an ominous image of what's to come.
Recently, I was reading the first issue of the new "Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man" series. There's a part in that issue where after Spidey saves a lady from being mugged, they have a bit of a back and forth, and the lady actually asks Spidey out. Spidey, not Peter Parker. Later on in the issue, he does actually call her and they set up a date, with him promising not to be late...but if you've been reading Spider-Man as long as I have, you know he will be. At first I thought, what's Peter's plan here? Is he that desperate for a date lately that he'll take one as Spider-Man? He's obviously not thinking that far ahead, but then I thought to myself, what's it even matter? It's not like anything important will happen with this girl. And that's something really depressing hit me.
Last year in my "Batman: Lovers and Madmen" review, I made a similar crack about how Bruce has an endless line of love interests that are completely forgettable and they don't really have a chance of being a mainstay like Talia or Catwoman. And what's happening right now with Batman in the comics? Bruce just proposed to Selina; she hasn't answered yet, but at this moment, there's the possibility of a big change coming for Batman's world. It's amazing how much can change from ten years ago, when Spider-Man was happily married and Batman was the loner who didn't need a relationship. Bruce has shown to grow as a person, where Peter, despite how much he's been through, doesn't seem to have grown as a person and is basically not allowed to. It's actually made me hate "One More Day" even more.
For those unaware, "One More Day" was the controversial and poorly received storyline where Peter and Mary Jane sold their marriage to the demon Mephisto to save Aunt May's life after she was caught in the crossfire of an assassin hired by Kingpin to take out Peter. The marriage was retconned out of history, and it was stated all the stories that happened over the years still happened, only that the two were not married. This had been the latest, and unfortunately successful, attempt by the heads of Marvel to make Peter single again because they felt him being married aged the character and made him less relatable to young readers. Previous attempts were replacing Peter with his clone Ben Reilly as Spider-Man and even killing Mary Jane, both being undone due to negative fan reaction. Despite negative fan reaction to "One More Day" though, Peter and MJ are still separated as of this writing.
Spider-Man is seen as the everyman's superhero that anyone can relate to, especially the geeks and outcasts like Peter was as a teenager. The thing is though, those types of people do grow up. Peter marrying Mary Jane was a moment of him maturing, and it was nice to see him have someone by his side through it all. By removing the marriage is to take Peter backwards instead of forwards.
But let's play devil's advocate here. Let's say Peter Parker and Spider-Man only works as a character when he's a lovable loser struggling to make ends meet and can never keep a relationship...oh wait, right now in the comics, Peter is a successful CEO of his own tech company with headquarters set up across the world.
During the Superior Spider-Man run where Doc Ock had placed his mind in Peter's body, he started up his own company, Parker Industries. When Peter got his body back, he kept the company going and took it in the direction he wanted. After an eight month time skip, he's shown to have more enhanced tech and is having adventures all over the world as Spider-Man. Essentially, he's the new Iron Man.
Regardless of how you feel about this current state in Spider-Man comics, it shows Marvel's giving Peter a chance to move forward with his life instead of being stuck in the same rut he has been in for decades. And from a reader's standpoint, if people want to read about a young Spider-Man coming into his own, there's Miles Morales, thus allowing Peter to grow up. All that said, Marvel should go all in in that regard, by giving Mary Jane back to Peter.
The basis of "One More Day" and the removal of the marriage was because it was believed a married Spider-Man wasn't as relatable as a single one. If we take into account the general comic book audience, I kind of fail to see how a CEO Spider-Man is more relatable than a married one. Now, that's not to say comic readers can't enjoy rich heroes like Batman, Iron Man, or Green Arrow, but character relatability hasn't factored greatly in their histories compared to Spider-Man. I know not everyone has worked at a newspaper or science lab like Peter has over the years, but the job he had didn't play that big of a factor in his adventures as Spider-Man like being head of Parker Industries has. Not everyone can be a CEO, but anybody can get married.
At the moment, it seems they want Peter to mature but not all the way. If Marvel's going to allow CEO Peter to be the status quo for now and allow him to grow up, then let him have a sustainable relationship as well, preferably with Mary Jane. I wouldn't care if they brought up "One More Day" or not in the process, as long as they got back together. Even DC's learned that splitting up characters' long standing relationships was a mistake. Relationships lost in the New 52 were brought back through Rebirth: Clark Kent and Lois Lane, Barry Allen and Iris West, and Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance. Even Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are finally letting their relationship flourish after all these decades. When it comes to fiction, some characters are just meant to be together. Why should Peter and Mary Jane, whose marriage lasted 20 years of publishing and to the public were a couple as famous as Lois and Clark, be any different? And in what way could them being together affect what's happening with Spider-Man comics now?
While the struggles of Spider-Man will never end, maybe it's time Peter Parker finally got everything he ever wanted in both life and love.
