Salkafar

The 'lion-hearted' 'Man from Hadria'.

Oh. Where do I pre-order it? And vol.29, for that matter? They're not very expensive anyway...

Thrawn was a strategic genius, a blue-skinned humanoid who expertly predicted the behaviour of species based on their art. He was no Sith - instead, he employed a symbiotic alien species to suppress the Force in a limited area, allowing for various applications (rapid cloning, resistance against Jedi powers). He also was allied with a rogue Jedi - or rather, the insane clone of one - and a species of expert assassins who were honor-bound to the Empire. His approach to war was quite different to the Emperor's, mainly because he didn't use the Force, but had to find a way around it. He was rational and even kind of likable. Thing is, we already know his story. And a novel is not a movie.

Me neither. I am dying for a translation...

This could be awesome. Makes sense to have a generational tale... grandpa Anakin, momma Leia, and now... Jacen and Jaina, and Anakin? (The kids of Leia and Han in the novelizations). Probably not. They're going to want to be more original. But what will the conflict be? The Emperor is dead... or... We didn't see him die, did we? Anakin Skywalker could easily be a Force Spirit mentor to the next generation, like Obi-Wan... Hmmm. But the Empire fell. Without Vader and the Emperor, what you have left is an army and a bureaucracy. You could have an ersatz emperor, but he would be no match for the resistance now.

Who, in my mind, are the same person. Also, she wasn't Barcas' assistant - she was a Chronos Japan administrator, quite possibly the highest-ranking Chronos member after Genzo Makashima. And we never learned her name... >>sigh<<

Um... no, we don't know any such thing. We do know it took Barcas about 400 years to find ten individuals who were suitable, at least one of whom wasn't even human to begin with. But Barcas wasn't chosen for his genetic code - otherwise it would have been rather a huge coincidence. If anything, Chronos selects their warriors based on their personality... after all, Lisker was not a Zoanoid and yet he was devoted to the organization. Imagine someone with extremely suitable genes... but with the personality of a lichen. No! You want accomplished soldiers, men (but not, it seems, women) who can perform optimally in a combat situation, yet at the same time remain capable of believing in the higher ideal that Chronos is. Love Aptom or hate him, he is no soldier. Love Zektoll or hate him, but he was.

But I'm not talking about Zoanoids. We already know their battleforms have no genitals, and why would they? Anything that makes you vulnerable would be obsolete. But they are cannon fodder, supposed to breed rapidly (I wonder: do Zoaformed women perhaps have shorter pregnancies, and a higher rate of twins, triplets, quadruplets? Do Zoanoids breed in litters?) and lead short, violent lives. Zoalords, on the other hand, are immortal - and Archanfel was unique. Does that mean he has no genitals? Of course not, he was after all made from human stock, even if he is far beyond it. But it would not surprise me if he is physically asexual, just for the symbolic value.

We have seen him (and other Zoalords) naked and they had no indication of genitals. They looked like mannequins down there. If that doesn't suggest 'no genitals' I don't know what would.

"it doesn't make any sense to think their genitals shrunk into a blank spot. whether they be lost number, normal zoanoid, hyper, or even zoalord. just sayin'." I do not agree. "it doesn't make any sense". In the case of the Zoalords it does. They are ageless. They don't need their genitals. They might even be a hindrance. And Archanfel was never meant to reproduce. He is unique.

1) Maybe the mimicking ability is a function of the armor, not a power of the wearer. 2) We don't know that all Zoalords have reproductive organs. We don't, in fact, know that ANY of them do. Zoalords are selected, not bred, and why would immortal beings need to reproduce?

How so?

Archanfel is unique and immortal, ie, no reproduction, plus he is designed as the supreme commander of an army - and I have never seen him eat or drink. I doubt he has genitals, nudity would mean little to him.

O.M.G.

Bet you it's Pan...

Thank you, unbreakable one.

What do you mean, Spleach?

Hey, I just had a thought! What if that's the Zoanoid mode of Pan? We've seen most of the inhabitants from before (except for the Werewolf) but not him, and he seems pretty much the only other person on the island capable of engaging in a normal conversation apart from the Fairy (Tinkerbell?). Yeah, ok, the mermaids, but they seem kinda dangerous to me. But the only other time we saw Pan, he seemed contemplative and bored. He might be happy of the company. I am betting right now that next month, this armored monster turns into the amicable-looking Pan. Why did he spy on them in Zoanoid mode, and did not attempt to contact them? Well, look at it this way: the only other human-looking beings he is likely to have ever seen are Hamilcar Barcas, Imakarum Mirabilis and Archanfel. But when these two were attacked by the Smilodons, they didn't adopt a fearsome battle mode or simply blast the felines with an energy attack; instead one cowered and the other attempted to fend them off with a pointy stick. They're obviously not a threat. If they're not dangerous, he wants to know more about them.

He's Japanese, Spleach...

I was hoping for a picture. "In the name of the Moon...! BIO-BOOST!"

Hehehe. Tetsuro may have a Manly Beard, but he's still wearing his sweater. Meanwhile, Mizuki's already wrapping stuff up like a loincloth. I am frankly amazed she isn't skimpily-topped and barefoot, Jungle Girl-style. Interesting wildlife. Not a a Guyver in sight, but excitement abounds...

Trees. Hmmm. Yeah. Not what I would have chosen, I think.

My experience with the New 52 is that they tend to drag stories on for way too long. Take Swamp Thing and Animal Man. It's basically all one story from the start since the reboot! That can't be right. Aquaman: This new, cool A-Man is fine, but the stories-are-too-long. Wonder Woman. Month after month after month of the same long story. (But at least now, things are starting to get interesting with the return of the New Gods proper.) Batman, too. The Court of Owls was a pretty good idea, but it went on and on and on, and now with Death of the Family it's the same thing. Even apart from this entirely ridiculous new version of the Joker. Superman is fine, but Justice League - I don't even know that there is a story going on at the moment. What is desperately needed here is a Crisis Event to clear away the dead wood. What's the Anti-Monitor doing these days?

They did an 'Author's Saving Throw' on the very last page of 'Superior Spider-Man':

It depends on where they fight. If they fight in the DC universe, Goku could find himself severely reduced, power-wise. Qi pretty obviously works differently there; there are many martial artists in the DC universe, but none of them have developed super powers based on it. Goku might be no more than an accomplished hand-to-hand fighter, a match for Batman, perhaps, but no more. His alien nature might conceivably give him an edge, but I don't know what edge that is. Wolverine without the claws, unbreakable skeleton and healing factor? Adversely, were Superman to fight in the DB universe, he might be as powerful as ever... or more powerful. He did master Torquasm-Vo, a Kryptonian martial art which leans heavily on mental disciplines. Imagine Superman with a developed ability to channel qi power. Of course, these two would never fight for long, let alone to the death. Goku gave Freezer, a genocidal madman, chance after chance after chance to get out with his tail more or less intact; and Superman doesn't kill as a rule. God, I hate this particular issue.