Salkafar

Kiwi. Not on the list, which is weird. Theyre awesome.

I don't think I agree with that. Sho is absolutely average. That's almost a point of the character. There was nothing special about him at all before 'greatness was foisted upon him'. He got the armor because of a fluke. But the implication is that it could have been anyone. All humans have the potential to become Zoanoids, but a G-unit removes that potential. You could well say that the Guyver represents the rejection of military authority by the common man. Chronos is the very embodiment of a military drafting young men as cannon fodder. ...Takaya-San was born in 1960, so his parents would have lived through the war. It's entirely possible his father was drafted as a young man, or even teenager, by a regime not all Japanese necessarily agreed with. Zoanoids are genetically compelled to obey authority, to go fight and die in battle without questioning. The Japanese culturally were. They fought in the name of the Emperor, an exalted being who was said to have been descended from the gods themselves, but who, himself, played little part in the proceedings. His most aggressive and deadly ally was Nazi Germany, who idolized the Aryan ideal, and wanted to rule the world using a super-weapon. Although it may be going a bit far to equalize the Guyver with the atomic bomb. Anyway, Sho is definitely the ordinary boy who says 'Hell no, I won't go'. Usually such an effort is punished, but he has the power to resist... it is stated repeatedly that the aspect of the Guyver the Creators feared most was the power to refuse orders. "Out of control". If Sho is some kind of chosen one, if he is innately special, that weakens that message. But compare him to some of the others in the story. Murakami was a daring journalist who travelled to the ends of the Earth to pursue a story. Makishima had a tragic and bizarre back story which forged him into a sort of Ãœbermensch who would do anything to reach his goal. The Zoalords are by definition exceptional individuals, otherwise they would never have been chosen. Waferdenos isn't even human, he's a frickin' forest. And Archanfel himself is completely unique. Set against this collection of super-people, the most normal and average person conceivable: a school boy. Not the head of the class, not even the gifted and quirky nerd... no. He even looks average. Sho represents the teeming masses who do not want to rule the world, but who simply want to live a life (with his female equivalent: Mizuki). It would seem all of the others would have wanted the Guyver for themselves... and he never would. But he did, through blind chance: another act of defiance, a test type Zoanoid who disobeyed orders and chose death by his own hand over becoming cannon fodder. I wonder if Takaya considered having Malmud/ Melmoth/ Guinea Pig use the G-unit on himself. That would have been a different story... And Mizuki, too. She was in the area, wasn't she? A mere changing of the angle of the blast could have landed the G-Unit in her lap, so to speak. That would have been a really different story... Of course, there is a higher power that directed events: Takaya himself. But I don't think we should be looking to actual gods in the story. The only gods are the Creators.

A hundred Unuses? Holy cow. That's a lot of possible combinations. And with power increasing geometrically... and new options, like bio-lasers, added as the numbers go up, too... Unus, Dimer, Trima, Quadriga... Quintus?

Wait. Why would you pay so much for a volume 1?

What a cheapskate. I doubt anybody will indulge him.

Thing is, the tone would be radically different from the comic book version. The Marvel comic universe involves thousands of costumed heroes and villains, many of whom have far-reaching super powers and they are a very real factor in every day life in that world (or they were, anyway... but let's not get started on current events). They also almost all have fairly involved background stories, often covering decades of real time.Registration was an immense social issue. In the movie universe, this is simply not the case. I have to wonder how the conflict will work. "Regulating all superhuman activity" - how much is that? What superhuman activity there was so far was already pretty regulated. Captain America, Hawkeye, the Black Widow, the Falcon and War Machine are all US military or SHIELD; Iron Man is closely affiliated with both; and the Hulk, well, he simply can't be regulated, but he was at least contained somewhat. And it's not as if the Avengers - whose ranks contain pretty much all superhumans we have seen thus far - engage in illegal activities or oppose any governments. How are they going to play this? *** 'Civil War' was one of Marvel's most successful, if not the most successful crossover event ever. In terms of impact, in any case. Everything changed, for good; things never really were the same again. The most impact had the rift between Captain America and Iron Man, which never healed, and has now come to a terrible head at the end of everything, now that 'Secret Wars' is here. Still... this is an entirely different medium... I shall be interested to see what they're going to do.

Interesting. Interesting.

Saw it. It's good.

It's actually an art project, not something from the Japanese defense department (or something like that). Although it does work, so you can wonder what the DOD actually has on the shelf by now...

Those are the Atlas mountains (North Africa), we have seen them before. At least I think that's the same hide-out. They're probably worried that Guyot will lead Apollyon to them. Another issue seems to be a definite lack of people. And no people means no Zoanoids. I guess they sent their last personnel with Guyot as Unuses. If something happens they'll have no choice but to fight. Hmmm... I have been watching a lot of Steven Universe, so maybe that influences my thinking... but they have shown to be experts in fusions. They created the Branchai Hyper-Zoanoids, and of course the Unus, and their third member - Cabral Khan - based his entire super-power on biological fusion. Since they apparently have no cannon fodder left to turn into even more powerful Zoanoids to fight for them, and they feel like everybody is breathing down their neck - might they not attempt to fuse together? If two Unuses, relatively speaking weak, can merge into a Dimer which is geometrically more powerful, what would happen if two Zoalords merged together? If their power increased geometrically, could they not be a match for Apollyon?

I could do another rant about this... but I'll spare you all.

Sorry.

Yeah... Zack Snyder...

...I may have read a few too many comics.

Watched it all over the past week. Brilliant. I can only hope this is the start of several of these. Heroes for Hire? Moon Knight? ...the Punisher?

This is not going to work. Batman versus Superman has been an iconic image ever since Frank Miller wrote the scene in The Dark Knight Returns. And it worked because, until that moment, Superman had been unassailable, and Batman always his ally. But that was in 1986, the days of the great changes - the days of the Crisis, the end of the Silver Age and the dawning of the Dark Age of comics - the age we have lived in ever since*. It just doesn't work anymore. The whole "Who would win, Batman or Superman" debate is so played out. Batman can't win; anyone who thinks about the issue for a minute will realize this - but this conclusion is indigestible. The trump card - traditionally Kryptonite, but we haven't seen any of it so far in the new DC movie universe - is a tired plot device (then again, so are Superman's powers, of course), which has no right of being as effective as it is consistently portrayed. And beyond it, Batman has no chance of victory against someone who can do what Superman has already been shown to be capable of doing. And Superman being worshiped as a god? Really? He couldn't handle that by sitting down with these people for a while and explaining he's just a guy? I am going to assume a large part of the movie will center on him failing to do so. I think the main flaw we're looking at is throwing Superman into real-life problems, and that will always fail. You can't have a world like ours and a guy like Superman at the same time. It doesn't work. Just ask Alan Moore: he is highly critical of superheroes because they never change things; they fight to maintain the status quo. And why do they do that? Because the true goal of superheroes is not to save the world, or make it better, but to sell comic books. Action Comics is a monthly, and if Superman were to do what he logically speaking should do, namely take care of all the big problems - for instance, seek out and destroy all weapons of mass destruction anywhere, apprehend terrorist groups and hand them over to the International Crimes Court, clean up pollution, and end world hunger and poverty - then the comic would end. Which is exactly what happened in Alan Moore's Miracle Man. The opposite also happens sometimes: Superman cracks under the pressure of being a superhero, goes on an insane rampage and destroys the world. That's what happened in Mark Waid's Irredeemable (Which has a pretty metafictional happy ending; I recommend it). The 'Superman' there is actually called 'the Plutonian', but it's pretty obvious who we're really looking at. And, of course, we now have the genuine article losing it and turning on the world in DC's Injustice: Gods among us. The 'god' in that title is definitely not worthy of worship. Grant Morrison, for his part, views Superman as a living archetype, who inspires us to be Supermen (and -women) - something which literally happened in his run on JLA. But in his comics, Superman frequently ends up sacrificing himself, taking himself out of the equation, to give us the room and opportunity to rise to his level (See All-Star Superman). Kind of like Christ, really; perhaps appropriate, since Superman was after all created by two boys called Shuster and Siegel, and sent out into a gentile world. But these are all comic books. And comic books are not movies, as we keep learning. A comic book can be read and re-read, at your own pace, giving you time to pick up on hints, clues, indications that more is going on than meets the eye. That is not possible when watching a movie. The audiovisual medium is much more forceful than comic books. I have read - but can't vouch for it - that our ability to critically assess what we see on a screen shuts down ten seconds into a movie or TV-show. That is why movies and TV-shows actually work; we're drawn into the story whether we want to or not, because our subsconscious cannot conceive of the fact that what we are seeing is not real. Our evolution does not account for the concepts of acting, let alone creative editing, special effects and emotive music. Why would the sight of a ridiculously-garbed man whom we know for a fact to be Henry Cavill, a guy who after that day's acting went back to his trailer or whatever, fighting another ridiculously-dressed person (Even if it's Antje Traue) evoke anything in us? But in fact it does. That is why a bad comic is an annoyance, but a bad movie can be a franchise-killer. And that is why you have to tread so carefully when making a movie, and not just clasp on to what you think might be popular because you understand only the glitz, the headlines and the concepts which you think might be cool. I have a deep-set suspicion that there are producers in Hollywood that want a movie that presses the concept of Batman and Superman throwing down merely because they think it would make a cool visual - and have wanted it for years. As some of you may know, a few years ago there was talk of an animated feature with this concept. It never happened. Because what can happen? Either outcome is unacceptable, as in any battle between two heroes. In epics, it was acceptable because the classics were innately tragic; heroes always met a deadly fate. But these are superhero comics. So it will be a compromise at best; they will agree to be allies, or at least to not fight anymore. That didn't work in Godzilla versus King Kong, and that one had two 'anti-heroes' rather than actual heroes. So what are we looking at? Fisticuffs in what should be a hilariously uneven battle anyway, over a meaningless disagreement, with no beneficial outcome; probably a lot of property damage, and apparently the founding of the Justice League. It screams desperation; DC is on a hideous disadvantage compared to Marvel in the movie world, and after considerable success with Arrow and The Flash compared to the somewhat lacklustre Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter, Daredevil blows everything that came before it away without even featuring a single truly super-powered character. Now, it seems, they want to catch up all in one go after the also less-than-stellar Man of Steel by including not only Superman, but also a new Batman (bad move, IMHO, after the Dark Knight trilogy) as well as Wonder Woman and even Aquaman and Cyborg. It's just not going to happen. If you take white truffles, Beluga caviar, Kobe beef, Dom Perignon and saffron, toss it all in a big pan and cook it according to a recipe for risotto, the result will not be the tastiest dish in the world. DC just seems to not be able to juggle super-powers properly. Green Lantern was really not bad, but it really wasn't very good, either. The Wonder Woman vehicle never made it beyond an unscreened pilot. Maybe it's because DC is trying to push their brand of superheroes - who traditionally are above human flaws - as just ordinary guys with their own problems. Hal Jordan was a man without fear. Wonder Woman was a princess from an advanced society of immortal women who fought only for justice. Superman was the man of tomorrow. They were above dumb human foibles. Marvel Heroes usually are not - except Thor - they all emphatically had problems, and they generally weaponized them. Iron Man is a hero because his heart was almost shredded by shrapnel. Spiderman is a hero because he feels guilty. Captain America is a heroic super-soldier because he was a sickly weakling. Bruce Banner is a hero, albeit a problematic one, because his experiment failed. And Daredevil, well, if he wasn't blind, he'd be just another lawyer. But Thor was always a hero, and so are Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and the Green Lantern. Hal Jordan was sought out because he wasn't flawed; Diana became the Wonder Woman because she was the most accomplished Amazon; Superman is a hero because he has the power of a god and the will of a messiah. They are not heroes in spite of their flaws; they have no relevant flaws. True, people keep trying to focus on what they perceive as flaws, but it never works out. These heroes are from a different age. Anyway... if tl/dr: I don't think this movie will be very good. Although it will probably look awesome. * Traditionally superhero-focused comic books are held to have been published during the Golden Age (1938-1954), the Silver Age (1954 - 1985) and the Dark Age (1986 - today). In reality it's of course much more complicated than that, as even individual authors go through considerable changes over the years.

How could there be a Sith...? Did Palpatine have an understudy?

As an Iron Fan, I very much enjoy how the movies, at least, give Tony his due.

At least it looks entertaining. Bald guy = Elihas 'egg-head' Starr?

What I want to know is: since when do Zoanoids leave fossils?

But that would suggest this is the same continuity. It seems more likely they'd want to tie it to Arrow and The Flash.

I like Daredevil. The movie. And it's Daredevil, btw, not 'Dare Devil'.

I don't know, there must have been better options than killing Sho and handing the Control Metal to Chronos. Case in point, they're both able to infiltrate Relic's Point to rescue Sho's dad. Agito could've used a similar strategy to get Sho inside Chronos Japan's HQ. Yes, but again: he was on a clock. Chronos was moving, and moving fast, and he didn't know his capabilities nearly as well as he does now. I mean, this was, what, days? Weeks after he became a Guyver? He couldn't have spent much time bioboosted. Transforming is a pretty explosive process, and he must have assumed that Chronos was keeping a look-out in the area for just that. Plus he was the son of the area manager! He couldn't very well sneak out, bio-boost and work out for a bit in the back yard. And would he have gotten Sho to trust him? Without revealing who he really was? "We must sneak into Chronos Headquarters together, Guyver One." Sho might have gone for it, but maybe not. Better not to give him the option. Say that it would have failed, and Chronos had obtained the control medal. They still did not possess bio-booster organism samples, unless they got some from Guyver-2 (actually I guess they must have, otherwise they could not have created Guyver 2-F's unit - but that success was years away), and Agito did not know about Guyot's plan either. In any event, it would have bought him time. In a pinch, he could have attempted to destroy Chronos Japan from within in under an hour. After all, he was surprised that Guyot was able to resist him in human form... and there were no Zoanoids besides Enzyme who could defeat him. As said, Guyver-1 was expendable... indeed, a possible threat, as he did turn out to be. After Chronos Japan was destroyed, he went out of his way to get Sho as an ally. But not before. So he was really very much playing chess. He must have felt really shocked when the pawn upgraded so fast.

I don't think he knew, I think he just didn't have the choice but to take the gamble.

Well, did he really have that many options? Guyver I really wasn't his ally per se at that time, he was not trusted as Agito... and he did not know whether even the two of them could defeat Enzyme. Chronos was creating an army of Enzymes at the time, too. And he was on a clock: he wasn't the one doing the planning. Much of what he did was reacting, and even he couldn't be everywhere at once...