Is THIS The Coming Storm?

City of Heroes is getting ready to release Issue 19: Alpha Strike, the first post-Going Rogue update in the City of Heroes universe.

With it, we see the debut of a character that was previously only seen in the comics: Apex.

Yes, the star of the original "City of Heroes" comic series is back, and just in time as Tyrant has launched his new campaign to take over the Paraverse!



Will the evil version of Statesman succeed? That's up to the heroes. And is THIS what Mender Silos warned was the "Coming Storm"? We'll just have to find out.

There will be a few more things with the update... such as the merging of transport systems, so you can use one subway or one ferry to go anywhere. Speaking of transports, if you have Going Rogue, your non-Praetorian characters WILL be able to access that universe through Pocket D.

Plus, the Fitness Power Pool will now become an inherent power pool. SO if you've already loaded up on heath, stamina, speed, and leaping, you'll probably have to shuffle things around again. Good thing you have those Respecs, right?

AND Issue 19 will be the start of a new level of play... with the first step in becoming an INCARNATE!

Oh, and should I also mention that Halloween is approaching? Get your days in the sun out of the way, because on October 21st, it'll go dark and stay dark until November 1st.

New Party Pack

Normally I'm pretty excited about new add-ons for City of Heroes/Villains/Going Rogue.

Normally I am... but not this time.

Okay, here's the skinny... NCSoft/Paragon Studios/the people behind City of Heroes/Villains/Going Rogue have released a special add-on pack called the PARTY PACK.

Here's the trailer.



Now with previous add-ons, there are a few additional features such as costume pieces, emotes, special weapons or objects, transformation sequences, and then that little "extra" feature that really makes it worth the purchase.

But... what you see in the trailer is really what you get with this add-on. Eight emotion (emote) commands; three involving dancing, three dealing with sports, one that involves opening an exploding gift box (which is the same as the holiday gifts you get), and one where you're doing air guitar. THAT'S IT!

No additional costumes, no extra items... just eight emotes that can keep you busy.

Not too much of a quality of life improvement there, guys.

Oh, and by sports, I don't mean your characters actually PLAY the sports in question. Sure you can dribble the basketball, but you're not PLAYING basketball. You can kick the soccer ball, but you're not PLAYING soccer. You're chalking the pool cue, but you're not PLAYING pool, even if you're in front of the pool table.

And then there's the price... $7.99. When normal booster packs with even MORE stuff to use costs $9.99, charging $7.99 is just way too much. $3.99 maybe. Or better still they should have just included it in Issue 18 that was just released to coincide with Going Rogue, or held off until Issue 19.

In fact it would have been BETTER to include it in Issue 18 because as a standalone upgrade without Going Rogue, it was pretty weak.

In short, folks, I really can't say that you should get this feature. It's just not worth the price they want for eight idle emotes. If you have the money to spend and if you REALLY NEED those emotes, then maybe. But it's not really an earth-shattering gimme feature like other add-ons.

Sorry NCSoft/Paragon Studios, but you dropped the ball on this one.

I HATE CAVES!

Okay, I have to say it...

I
HATE
CAVE
MISSIONS!

I don't just mean dislike... I mean HATE, with all of the passion and fury that the word is connected to.

I DREAD getting a mission that requires me to go into a cave. As soon as I see that cavern entrance or mineshaft door, I have to cringe because that means going into a hell that I would just as soon eliminate.

Now bear in mind there are all sorts of different underground missions to deal with. There are snake holes, there are caverns that lead into Rikti bases, there are sewers, and there are the various caverns of Oranbega. There are even SNOW caves during the holidays. But even those don't compare to the overall frustration of a regular straightforward mineshaft CAVE mission.

So why do I hate them? I have five ways right off-the-bat.

5. Much like Chickenman, THEY'RE EVERYWHERE, THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!

I can understand the reason for Oranbega caverns... Paragon City is supposed to be built on top of the remains of this very ancient city. But why come up with all sort of mineshaft caves on top of that? At least Sharkhead Isle has a reason for all those mineshafts. They have an actual MINE. Why waste our time with mineshafts in Perez Park, Steel Canyon, Atlas Park, Galaxy City, and anyplace that are clearly CITY settings?

4. They're the WORST places for gang activity!

Who was the genius who came up with the idea that street gangs would be having a turf war in a mineshaft? You don't have turf wars or make drug deals or weapon deals in caves. You make them in alleyways and abandoned warehouses, and you battle in the STREETS so everyone knows there's a power play going on! If the Trolls can go on a rave in the middle of Skyway City, then the Skulls and Hellions should be able to have shoot-outs in the middle of the street as well.

3. They're structurally UNSOUND!

Okay, it's bad enough that Paragon City has Oranbega and the Rikti AND the Minions of Igneous AND the Trolls AND Devouring Earth... but do they really have to have even MORE mineshaft caves on top of all of that? What is keeping the rest of Paragon City from sinking into the ground? Fairy dust?

Forget the Trolls, I think what REALLY hollowed out Eastgate were the geniuses with a cave fetish.

2. They're easy to get STUCK in!

With all of the crevices and corners in a standard mineshaft cave, it's hard to maneuver around in, even IF you have flight, and that's BEFORE they throw in crystalline formations and little pockets of nowhere that you have to backtrack to get out of.

And finally...

1. They are the WORST PLACES EVER for a rescue or "defeat all" mission!

Whoever came up with the idea that you should have a "defeat all" mission in a mineshaft cave needs to be keel-hauled repeatedly and then have salt poured over their wounds. There is nothing more frustrating than having to go through an ENTIRE mineshaft cave, complete with dead-ends, pitfalls, rock platforms, to find that ONE bad guy that is hiding in a corner just so you can complete your mission.

And while a rescue mission would be okay if your objective was to just REACH that person, having to then LEAD that person back out is made even more problematic when you're in a mineshaft cave, where you have a hard enough time getting TO that person, never mind getting them back out. At least a snake cave or a Rikti cavern or even some Oranbega caverns are all on the same level. Oh, and guess what happens if the person you're leading out is stuck in a corner? Yeah, you have to try to backtrack to find them.

I know some of the newer missions have more realistic goals, such as "eliminate five baddies" and then completing the main objective instead of the burdensome "eliminate all". That's a start, but a better way to make these missions tolerable would be to simply get rid of at least half (and I'd even say ninety percent) of the mineshaft cave entrances. This is supposed to be "City of Heroes" and "City of Villains"... not "City of Lara Croft" or "City of Mineshafts".

Let's leave the caves for something that would be really NEED one! I, for one, am SICK TO DEATH of them!

Paragon Pundit Hero Movie Review #20

Paragon Pundit Hero Movie Review

#20: The Justice League of America TV Movie

A hero in Paragon City recently wondered what my review would be of the live-action Justice League movie.

Well, you asked for it…

I’m sure some of you are scratching your heads when the words “live-action” and “Justice League” come about. Most people know of the Justice League - the all-star superhero team of DC Comics - only through the animated groups, either in the “Justice League” animated series, the direct-to-video movies (which I will get to later), “Super Friends”, or the 1967 episodes of “The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure”. But, yes, there WERE live-action incarnations as well, much to the regret and overall embarrassment of the hero community.

The first live-action incarnation of the “Justice League” was the “Legends of the Superheroes” specials that were known best for reuniting the campy “Batman” characters headed by Adam West, Burt Ward, and Frank Gorshin. It was super-campy and super-lame, and it made you want to burn your Spandex outfit just for even knowing it exists.

The second incarnation was a 1997 TV movie that was supposed to be a back-door pilot to a future TV series, but thankfully that series never materialized, and the TV movie never EVER aired on American television.

So how did anyone know it even existed? Well, it never aired on any AMERICAN television station. But it aired in a few countries, and a few of those folks taped it and sold the footage in bootleg markets along with the X-rated “Supergirl” parody, the pre-released Roger Corman “Fantastic Four” movie, and a few others.

This movie starred Kimberly Oja, John Kassir, Matthew Settle, Michelle Hurd, Kenny Johnston, David Ogden Stiers, and Miguel Ferrer. It takes place in the fictional city of New Metro. Why they chose to make up a name like “New Metro” instead of taking from already-established cities in the DC Comics universe like Star City, Keystone City, Coast City, Empire City, Gateway City, Happy Harbor, Park City, or even Dairyland (that’s an old “Super Friends” reference), is probably one of a million things that shouldn’t matter.

We start with a bunch of heroes in their civilian attire struggling to live day-by-day. Shy and awkward Tori Olafsdotter (Oja) works at the local weather institute, who, along with her boss, Dr. Eno (Ferrer) observes a huge storm spawning in the middle of the city. Barry Allen (Johnston) is a slacker who got kicked out of his apartment but was called away while his now-ex-landlord was trashing his stuff. Guy Gardner (Settle) is trying to impress his girlfriend, but obviously his plans are ruined by the developing storm. B.B. Da Costa (Hurd) is auditioning for a fruit-themed commercial when the storm forces her to leave. Ray Palmer’s (Kassir) class is interrupted by a mysterious call as well as the sudden storm. Tori and Eno watch as a tornado appears in the city after watching video footage of “The Weatherman” laying claim to the damage and destruction that was to come.

As the city is trashed, we see the heroes save the day in their own unique ways. Guy, as Green Lantern, saves a boy from a downed power line. B.B., as Fire, cuts through a metal wall with her flames to save trapped construction workers. Barry, as The Flash, uses his super-speed to counter the winds and bring the storm to a quick end. And Ray, as The Atom, shrinks down… to rescue a trapped cat. Yes, that is his great contribution to this crisis.

Crisis averted, and later on Tori discovers a mysterious machine in a locked room at the institute, which she spills some water on and it hits her with some strange electricity. She seems okay, but afterward random things around her just freeze. She tries to rescue a drowning man, but the water freezes around him when she comes in contact with it. Later she is abducted and interrogated by the heroes about what she knows of The Weatherman. She’s released and is convinced that the whole abduction and interrogation thing was just a bad dream.

The Weatherman soon strikes again, this time with a hailstorm in the heart of New Metro, and a threat to the city to pay him $20 million “or else”. The hail ruins Guy’s date (again) and this time around he has to save his girlfriend as Green Lantern long enough for Fire to melt the hailstones above them.

Later at the institute’s fundraiser, the League members infiltrate themsevles in the crowd, allowing Ray to befriend Tori in his civilian guise. Ray then sneaks himself into the computer system (with a really BAD version of laser limbo) to discover the devices that The Weatherman used to manipulate the weather. Tori finds out that her boss is really The Weatherman and goes to Ray looking for help. The League takes her (blindfolded) to their underwater headquarters, which is a crashed alien ship. There Tori meets J’onn J’onzz (Stiers). J’onn asks Tori to join the League, promising to help train her in using her powers, which mostly consists of the Leaguers walking around shivering as Tori tries to freeze a simple drop of water in front of her.

Eno tricks Tori into bringing a tracking device to the League’s headquarters, and then Eno threatens to destroy New Metro with a tidal wave and sends a heat ray to the underwater ship. The League (except for J’onn, who thinks that 300 degrees is a “summer day”) escape to “deal” with the impending disaster, which consists of Flash running around scurrying abandoned children to safety, Atom riding on Fire’s shoulders looking around like idiots, and Lantern finding Eno and not being able to stop the tidal wave even though HE HAS A POWER RING! That leaves dazed-and-confused Tori, who somehow manages to stop the tidal wave by freezing it solid, even though she couldn’t freeze a drop of water earlier.

Later, Tori ponders over joining the League, and is finally convinced to join when Atom removes his mask and reveals himself to her as Ray Palmer. At that point she takes the unspoken pledge and J’onn welcomes her to the Justice League. We end the movie with a quick recap cast list of the “public” heroes, followed by them doing the “Buckaroo Banzai Strut” down the city. If you don’t know what that is, you need to see the end credits to “The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension”, or the opening credits to Joss Wheaton’s “Angel” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, or the opening to the “Justice League” animated series. I just think of it as the “Buckaroo Banzai Strut” and start whistling the theme song.

There… I just saved you guys some bootleg video money.

Of course, all through this movie are little “human” troubles… such as Barry not being able to keep a job, Guy losing his girlfriend, Ray not being able to fix anything, and B.B. with a stalker-like suitor who accidentally discovers her secret identity. Oh, and did I mention they all (except for Tori) live in the same house? Well they have to now because Barry lost his apartment.

Let’s see… where do I begin with this abomination?

Right off the bat… a Justice League WITHOUT “The World’s Greatest Super-Heroes” sucks. No Batman, no Superman, and no Wonder Woman means that it SUCKS. There is no way around it. It SUCKS. Period.

Of course I can understand why they wouldn’t want to include Superman after the whole Nuclear Man shtick. And the Batman franchise had JUST tanked with “Batman and Robin”. Bringing in Wonder Woman at that point would… well it would result in plenty of Freudian jokes and references about her chest. Plus it would be hard to see anyone play the most famous star-spangled Amazon after Lynda Carter did it so well.

About the only things missing from this “Super-Buddies” group are Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Oberon, and either Doctor Light or Power Girl, although with the latter you would again deal with Freudian jokes about chests. But even that would be a step above the banter they do give.

With the exception of Guy Gardner, the costumes SUCK. Atom and Flash both have masks that look like the ridges of J’onn’s brow. Atom looks like a linebacker in his costume. And Flash… I’m sorry, but for a man with supposedly a hyper-accelerated metabolism, he looks like he wolfed down fifty pizzas before squeezing into his Spandex. Fire and Tori (who is only referred to as “Ice” in the credits and is only seen in-costume then) use colored mascara and a shock of color in their hair as their disguise. And people aren’t supposed to know who they are? And for a shape-shifter, J’onn seems to emulate less like a hero and more like Orson Wells, but I suppose that is understandable given the casting.

That brings us to the characters… which also SUCK. Guy Gardner as a sensitive and understanding software salesman? Guy Gardner is a special needs coach and a major league d-bag who wanted EVERYONE from day one to know that he was a Green Lantern. Barry Allen is a police scientist… not to mention - at that time - very, very DEAD. Wally West would have been a better fit for the comedic slacker role. Ray Palmer is a physicist and noted expert in nanotechnology, not a goofy high school teacher who can’t even fix a TV set. Fire and Ice are international fashion models who used their hero status to further their careers. The people seen in this movie are NOTHING AT ALL like the comic book characters they are supposed to be. It’s almost as though the producers told a bunch of clueless writers who have never read a comic book in their lives “Here are a bunch of names and costumes - go make something up that doesn’t look too much like a rip-off of a certain popular NBC sitcom.”

The story… or what little there is of it… also SUCKS. We’re talking “Justice League Antarctica” sucks. We’re talking Bat-Credit-Card SUCKS. We’re talking Superman God-Gaze with amnesia kiss SUCKS.

Guy Gardner has the most powerful ring in the universe, capable of moving whole planets, and he can’t save the Weather Device from being thrown off a tower, block a heat ray, open an elevator door, or stop a tidal wave? Fire couldn’t evaporate the rushing water? Flash couldn’t set up a counter-wave with his vibrations? No it’s all up to Tori, who couldn’t even freeze a drop of water in a Petri dish, who somehow manages to freeze the WHOLE wave right before it falls on her head.

I haven’t been this disappointed with a hero-themed movie since Cathy Lee Crosby did a blonde non-powered flat-chested covered-up Wonder Woman in 1974. CBS actually did their viewers a huge favor by not airing it on US networks. It’s just a pity that SOMEONE still saw it and started spreading it around for the rest of us to watch, much to our later regret.

I’d say that this was all a Nemesis plot, but I doubt even Nemesis would want to put his name on something as miserable as this.

Capes:	One out of five, and I’m being generous.
Cheese:	Full-bore smelly rotted limburger (5) cheese all around.
Books:	One out of five, and, again, I’m being generous.

Going Rogue IS LIVE!

After all of the hype, it's finally here...

CITY OF HEROES: GOING ROGUE



The world of online gaming has now gone beyond "good" and "evil". The lines from here on in become blurred as a whole new universe is opened up for you to explore!

No more will good guys stay in Paragon City and bad guys stay in the Rogue Isles. Now good guys can go bad, and bad guys can redeem themselves.

Be a hero, be a villain, or be a PRAETORIAN!

Paragon Pundit Hero Movie Review #19

Paragon Pundit Hero Movie Review

#19: Superman Returns

After the abysmal failure that was “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace”, the whole Superman franchise was thankfully sent to movie limbo. Superman was relegated to the “Superboy” TV series, a brief Saturday Morning cartoon series on CBS, a romantic comedy series “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” on ABC, and back to the world of cartoons with “Superman: The Animated Series” and “Justice League”, and then in the anti-Superboy series “Smallville”. In the comics, he was killed by Doomsday, he came back to life, he finally married Lois Lane, and he finally brought down Lex Luthor.

The call went out to bring Superman back to the big screens, especially after Marvel proved with “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” that big-budget superhero movies still worked.

Warner Brothers considered several approaches. Directors Tim Burton, McG, Kevin Smith, and JJ Abrams each took a shot at trying to come up with something. Superman was going to be played by Ben Affleck, Nicholas Cage, Tom Welling (who already plays anti-Superman Clark in “Smallville”), Ashton Kutcher, Brendan Fraser… well pretty much anyone who was young and had a leading role someplace was approached to play Superman. The “Doomsday” story was going to be re-created. Then it was “Batman vs. Superman”. Then it was Superman versus Brainiac.

Finally it fell to “X-Men” director Bryan Singer, who said that he was a huge fan of the original Richard Donner movie, and he managed to bring Superman back to the big screen.

“Superman Returns” was released by Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures in 2006, and it starred Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey, Parker Posey, James Marsden, Frank Langella, Sam Huntingon, Eva Marie Saint, Tristian Lake Leabu, and - thanks to the magic of modern technology - the late Marlon Brando. The film also brings back brief appearances by Noel Neill and Jack Larson.

The film starts with a text introduction of Superman’s brief origin and mentions that scientists had discovered the possible remains of the Planet Krypton. We then see Krypton as the voice of Jor-El (Brando) gives an important speech from father-to-son. This is the same speech made in the original “Superman” film. As we pull away from Krypton, we see the massive red sun as it collapses into a nova. The shockwave of the destroyed sun then tears Krypton apart, scattering its remains outward. (This is similar to way Krypton was destroyed in the original movie, albeit not as realistic-looking.)

As the credits roll in the same manner as the original film, we travel through space seeing all sorts of cosmic wonders. We finally arrive on Earth, where Martha Kent (Saint) is cleaning up after a night of Scrabble. Suddenly a huge object crashes into the field. She drives out to find a crashed Kryptonian ship, and Clark Kent/Superman (Routh) wearing a grey-and-black Kryptonian bodysuit.

Elsewhere, an elderly woman (Neill) is on her last breath as she praises the man she loved and helped to make her last days special. As her relatives pound on the door begging to be let in, she uses the last of her strength to sign away everything she has to Lex Luthor (Spacey). Luthor pulls off his toupee and tells the family he owns everything, and then leaves with the maid (Posey) who was working for him all along.

The next morning, Clark reflects on his childhood in Kansas, remembering when he could first fly and no longer needing glasses. He tells his adopted mother that he buried the crashed ship so nobody would find it, and that, despite what the scientists originally suggested, there was nothing left of Krypton. He notes that the world had gotten worse since he left and wonders if there is a place for him as well.

Luthor and Kitty travel by yacht north as he lectures her on the story of Prometheus, the god who shared fire with the humans. Kitty says that he’s no god, to which Luthor says that gods are people in capes (Superman) who fly around and don’t “share” their power with the people. He doesn’t want to be a god, he just wants to share “the fire”… and get his cut. Wait, I thought he wanted LAND.

We discover that Luthor has found Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, and activated the crystal control panel, where the spirit of Jor-El (using footage from the first movie digitally remastered) mistakes him for Kal-El. Kitty comments that Lex acts like he’s been there before (a subtle hint to “Superman II”). Then Lex asks the spirit of Jor-El to tell him everything, starting with the crystals.

Clark returns to the Daily Planet, where his return is largely ignored by everyone except Jimmy Olson (Huntington). Perry White (Langella) comments that he only got his job back because another reporter had the audacity to die. Jimmy gets Clark caught up on what had happened, including how Lois Lane is engaged, has a son, and has finally won her much-sought Pulitzer Prize… for an article entitled “Why the World Doesn’t Need Superman”. How’s that for a kick in the codpiece?

Back at Lex’s new home (which is now missing one pet dog), his henchmen shave off a sliver of one of the Fortress crystals and then drops it into the miniature lake of a railroad set. At first nothing happens. Then the ground beings to shake and all electricity is shut off.

As Clark and Jimmy have a lunchtime drink and tell their sorrows to the bartender (Larson), they watch Lois Lane (Bosworth) on board the launch jet of an experimental shuttle as it ascends. Suddenly the power goes out in the bar. This is followed by the power going out at NASA. This is followed by the power going out on the shuttle and the jet. Power is quickly restored, but both the jet and the space plane are locked in launch mode, hurling into the upper reaches of space.

News of the runaway space plane and airline cuts across all networks. Clark runs into a nearby alley and rips open his shirt to show the legendary “S” shield. Superman is then seen racing into space to catch up with the jet and the shuttle. He uses his heat vision to separate the shuttle from the jet and guides it into a safe orbit, then races down to catch the jet, which is now in a free-fall. He catches the jet and brings it safely down in the middle of a ballfield. Lois is shocked to discover he has returned and, in a scene reminiscent of the first movie, tells everyone flying is still the safest way to travel. As he leaves the plane, his face is shown on cameras all around the world and everyone cheers at his return as he flies off into the skies… and as Lois faints down the emergency slide.

Later Clark catches up with Lois, who is also introduced to her fiancé Richard White (Marsten) and their son Jason (Leabu), who suffers from asthma. Richard is Perry’s nephew, which probably explains how he somehow managed to get an editor’s position. Clark is also shocked to learn that Luthor was acquitted of all charges after Superman wasn’t on Earth to testify in the appeal of his conviction. Feeling rejected after peeping into the White Family life, Superman spends his time saving the world from all sorts of problems, and Lex is busy getting his new master plan in motion.

I don’t want to ruin the whole story for those who haven’t seen it, so I’m going to leave it there. Sufficient to say, Lex’s old ambitions from the first movie will come back to the forefront, and we discover another reason for us to hear Jor-El’s speech from father-to-son.

First, this hero reviewer has to thank Director Singer for doing what twenty years could not… and that is to get us to FORGET about “Superman III”, “Supergirl”, and especially “Superman IV”. And it did it from the first few minutes on in by bringing us back to the original movie, with Jor-El and the score from John Williams.

Brandon Routh looks like he was born to inherit the cape from the late Christopher Reeve. He plays both Superman and Clark Kent in the same way as Reeve once did, and I would dare say that at times he does Clark one step better than Reeve did. This Clark Kent isn’t a total bumbling buffoon. The only disturbing part about his Superman character is when he uses his powers to peep into the White household. Understandable, given his abilities, but still somewhat disturbing.

Kate Bosworth did an okay job as Lois Lane, although somewhat detached. She looks great as a brunette… far better than her natural blonde color… but she doesn’t really fit into the role as did Margot Kidder, or even as Erica Durance does in “Smallville”.

On the other hand, Kevin Spacey does an EXCELLENT Lex Luthor, and he outdoes Gene Hackman’s comedic approach to the character from the original movie. He does make wisecracks, but he is also very, VERY dangerous, and he lets the audience know just how dangerous he really is after getting out of prison.

Parker Posey as Kitty, Luthor’s girl-of-the-moment, is also one step above Valerie Perrine’s Eve Tessmacher. She’s not there to be eye candy. She’s there to be Luthor’s assistant, and she’s not an idiot, even though she is often treated as one.

And then there’s Eva Marie Saint as Martha Kent. Though she only has a limited role in this movie, she still lives up the part of Clark’s adopted mother in both the beginning and near the end of the film.

As for the movie itself, the special effects are mind-blowing! From Krypton’s destruction, to Superman catching the falling plane, to the various ways he stops bullets and saves Metropolis, to just watching him hover over Metropolis listening in for problems, they all make you feel like he’s really doing these things.

Sadly, though, the story is just a bit off in a few places. Superman blowing out a natural gas fire like it was a candle is one of them. A sonic wave by clapping his hands would have resolved that. The effect of the Kryptonian crystals shutting down power EVERYWHERE, even in the upper reaches of the atmosphere, didn’t make sense either. On land, okay. But in the air too? And how is it that the SLIVER of the crystal could cause far more of an effect EVERYWHERE opposed to the whole crystal itself?

Although this movie doesn’t really fit in with the whole Superman series (and I’ll have more on that in a future special comment), it certainly should have been. Singer, Routh, and company brought the Superman series back from cinema limbo. Now it is up to Warner Brothers to make sure they don’t squander the second chance they were given.

Capes:	Clearly earned all five capes.
Cheese:	Although there is some cheese, it’s only Swiss (1), and a far improvement from the full-blown limburger of the previous films.
Books:	Sadly, I could only give it four books out of five. There’s a good story in there, but not a GREAT story.

Ask Captain Catastrophe #15: Influence

The legendary team-killer is BACK with a new YouTube video! And stay tuned to the very end for the special announcement regarding the Captain!

NEW COMIC! "Tales from Paragon City" #1

It's HERE!

(Click on the image to download the PDF file.)

"Tales from Paragon City" takes a look at some of the heroes (and even villains) in the City of Heroes universe.

The first issue focuses on KDave, a member of Battlerock X's Omega 2 supergroup. Other members of Omega 2, including Battlerock X, and some of the other groups seen here in the Chronicles will be featured in future issues.

Due to the author's work with his other project ("Guardians of the Dawn Spotlight"), this will be an infrequent series, so stay tuned to the Chronicles for details of when the next issue will be available. In the meantime, feel free to leave your comments and feedback here.

City of Heroes Issue 18 Details

NCSoft/Paragon Studios have just released the details about the next update issue for the City of Heroes MMO.

Issue 18: Shades of Gray is the issue that will not only herald the launch of the Going Rogue expansion but will also bring back a much-requested challenge and an old supervillain.

The Cathedral of Pain was the one and only mission that supergroups could take part in together. Located in the Shadow Shard universe, this was the dimensional prison of the demigod Rularuu the Ravager and his minions. Rularuu had attempted to pierce the barriers and enter our universe, but had been turned back first by the Midnight Squad, and then in 2006 by various hero groups that could have the devices needed to pierce the dimensions.

Paragon City may have forgotten about the threat of Rularuu... but Rularuu hasn't forgotten.

In Issue 18, Rularuu tries once again to cross over. And if he succeeds, then our world is destroyed!

But that's not all going on.

Previously the merchant accounts of Wentworth's Fine Consignment and the Black Markets were completely separate, even though the same items were for sale. What could be considered cheap in Paragon City could be expensive in the Rogue Isles. With Issue 18, that ends. Both marketplace systems will be merged into one, so you will get a fair market value ANYPLACE in the City of Heroes Universe. Plus, you know how bad guys and good guys can get together in places like the Shadow Shard, Pocket D, Ouroboros, and the PvP zones? Well, now you will be able to TRADE with them. You may not be able to trust them, but you WILL be able to trade inspirations

What else is in store? A new Tip System will be created. When you take on adversaries that are at a threat level 20 or higher, they will give you certain tips for other storylines and contacts. This will allow you to take on new challenges, and will set the stage (for those with Going Rogue expansion) to change their alignment. More and more "morally challenging" opportunities will be presented, which means a hero could fall into a vigilante, or a villain could become a rogue.

Shades of Gray indeed.

That's only just skimming the surface, and of course that isn't covering all of the things that will be going live with Going Rogue, including four new powersets and a whole UNIVERSE where the heroes you THOUGHT you knew are the RULERS of the world.

Got your interest yet? You'll just have to wait until August to see it all plays out.

Comic updates

Things have been progressing pretty fast here at the Chronicles.

First, from the Guardians of the Dawn... we have the release of Issue 13, which concludes the storyline from the previous issue. It also includes a custom cover by "He Who Chronicles", also based on the previous issue.



Second, we have the release of City of Comics Compendium #5, featuring a custom cover by "He Who Chronicles" and an exclusive story also featuring the Guardians of the Dawn. We've also had ads running on EU-based Rogues Radio.


Third, there is a NEW comic series being developed called "Tales from Paragon City", which will be an infrequent series dedicated to the lives of heroes in Paragon City (and a few villains from the Rogue Isles). The first issue will features KDave, one of the members of the Omega 2 supergroup.

Details on that new series will be forthcoming. Future issues will highlight other Omega 2 members, including Battlerock X.

Plus there are some more tactical files to release as well as hero reviews.

Oh, and you can get regular updates courtesy of the Get Brutal Productions page on Facebook! Be sure to "Like" so you can get the updates when they are available.