Thrawn: Alliances #2 Review!

Thrawn: Alliances #2 centers around the mastermind villain, Thrawn, working with Darth Vader in the present and Anakin in the past! #2 Re:cap - Thrawn: Alliances #1; Thrawn is teamed up by the Emperor with Darth Vader and investigates Black Spire Outpost. They are looking for a disturbance in the Force. Thrawn and Vader has reached the outpost on speeder bikes. The duo are searching for what happened to Padme Amidala. The grand admiral wonders if the bartender will remember him from his earlier appearance. This was with Anakin Skywalker! Vader finds the disturbance to be elusive. He also sees unknown aliens, pale and thin, in face masks. Thrawn identifies them as Darshi who travel in Wild Space and the Unknown Regions. A connection with Thrawn’s people, Chiss, and a new alien race! They enter Oga’s Cantina filled with aliens like the Star Wars cantina. 

The bartender, Nodlia, recognizes Thrawn and notes that the Darshi are taking up buisness at the outpost. Nodlia is suspicious about this group of Darshi who arrived ten days ago with ten coffins! At the side of the cantina, Thrawn gets a message from his Star Destroyer Chimaera of freighters and ships heading towards them. He orders Commodore Faro to only observe. Vader orders an attack, but Thrawn counters his order, and has the first legion to be ready. Their dispute has to be delayed since they are surrounded by the Darshi! In the past, Anakin is about to order mercenaries to stop, but they open fire with blasters. This is deflected by Anakin’s lightsaber. This connects with the present in a splash page, Thrawn fights a Darshi as Vader uses The Force and his lightsaber hilt to club a Darshi! I like that Vader doesn’t quickly use his lightsaber, but instead uses it as a club! 

In the past, Commander Thrawn halts the mercenaries and starts discussion with them. Thrawn tells Anakin that they are smugglers who discovered Padme’s ship. Thrawn is checking signs of another ship that he suspects Padme left in. They go to check Black Spire Outpost and to the cantina. The Gamorrean bartender is shown a hologram of Padme and her handmaiden Duja. Anakin says their father is dying and wants to see his daughters. Closeup of Thawn’s hand sliding over credits, but there is an explosion! Anakin knows it is gas and ignites his lightsaber. Thrawn leaps to the bar and starts blasting as if fades to black! The cover of Thrawn: Alliances #2 by Rod Reis has Thrawn turning as we see the reflection of Darth Vader with his lightsaber in the bridge window of the Chimaera! 

The creative team of Timothy Zahn and Jody Houser, writers, and Pat Olffie and Andrea Di Vito, artists, continues the comic adaptation! At the cantina, Vader faces the Darshi, Thrawn at his side notices that they are coordinating through click codes. He says they are looking for prisoners. Thrawn uses a bottle and club to attack. We see the Darshi reflected in Vader’s lenses. Then, the Darshi about to strike with their clubs. Vader shatters their clubs with his lightsaber hilt. Thrawn is also efficient in his attacks. This shifts to the cantina after the gas attack. Artoo’s whirring wakes Anakin. He should be able to control his breathing to a point, but maybe was surprised. Anakin thanks Thrawn who is casually sitting with his blaster.

The commander says that the gas would go downwards and went to the bar to be safe. Thrawn recognizes Anakin as a Jedi and has analyzed the attackers as trying to manuever to attack a Jedi. We see this in the closeup of Thrawn’s eyes. He has also determined that another stayed outside to report. Anakin says that he wants the messenger to report, I like the contrast of Anakin to Vader, and has Artoo jam the fighter’s transmission. Back in the present, the Darshi have their blasters on Vader, but he has the Force. He throws a table at them and then forces a Darshi to shoot at the floor. He starts to run and Vader reaches out, but then is struck with the disturbance in the Force. This is seen as anguished, red faces in the dark, surreal. Trapped Force spirits? There is a thunderous sound and now the faces gasp in fear! 

Then, another, Vader tells Thrawn that the houses of the Darshi are the source of the disturbance! Thrawn has noted that the houses are to the east. I really like the two villains working together. There is a waves of grey headed towards them, Vader uses his lightsaber, Thrawn blasts at it. Vader says the waves are too much for them! The time of the Clone Wars, Anakin is using the Force to puppet the surviving mercenary, he has an eyepatch and bandolier. Anakin checks on Thrawn who says his armor “dispersed” the blaster attacks, but not entirely. Anakin takes the survivor in his ship with Thrawn determining that he should go back to Padme’s ship. We see a closeup of Anakin as he wonders if Thrawn can find the spotter. Suddenly, his ship’s engines are struck!, the prisoner falls, and Anakin finds out that they have to return to Black Spire Outpost. 

In the present, Vader finds that the waves of the attack is a permacrete, trying to trap them! Thawn says that it is being controlled with someone with a personal cloaking shield. He blasts one of the controllers! Thrawn fires up at the ceiling, they are being sealed by the permacrete except their heads! The three controllers deactivate their cloaking shields. In the past, Anakin heads to the landing field, he sees Thrawn pinned down by an enemy. Anakin pulls up his fighter to leap away! He is freefalling igniting his lightsaber! An awesome action scene! The droid blasts at Anakin who deflects the blasterfire! The blasterfire rains down on the droid as Anakin lands! This leads closer to a mystery to who is behind Padme’s disappearance! This story convinced me that the only Thrawn canon story is by Timothy Zahn, others are Thrawn canon 2! Thrawn: Alliances #2 brings us a mismatched duo of characters we know as villains, new aliens, and some more clues to the mystery of Padme!  

Five Lightsabers out of Five! 

#ThrawnAlliances, #TimothyZahn, #JodyHouser, #PatOliffe, #AndreaDiVito, #Darshi, #Thrawn, #DarthVader, #AnakinSkywalker, #PadmeAmidala, #Nodlia 

Avatar: The Last Airbender, “Aang”, Review!

Avatar: The Last Airbender is a dramatic live action adaptation that feels fresh with its incredible cast! The series debuted on the cable channel, Nickelodeon, in 2005. Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, the popular show ran for three seasons. A film, The Last Airbender (2010) was made after the show finished in 2008. Fan appeal just increased though and moved onto the sequel series, The Legend of Kora, with DiMartino and Konietzko from 2012 to 2014. Albert Kim is the showrunner for the live action show, he was the producer fo the animated series, Pantheon. The series currently streams on Netflix along with the three seasons of the animated original! We see a comet falling through a night sky. We move to Caldera, the capital of the Fire Nation, the name refers to the rounded part of a volcano after an eruption. It is refered to just as “Capital City.” 

Fires burn in massive cauldrons around the city. We drop to a street where there is a chase as alarms clang! A man races into alleys trying to lose the soldiers chasing after him. He runs with a scroll. A Fire Nation soldier blocks the way in front of him and start to bend fire! The Earthbender swings the scroll sending up the street to knock away the soldiers. He also uses it to bend a rocky edge to run up and leap to the street! The Earthbender man has reached another alley, at the end is his fellow Earthbender waiting with ostritch horses, riding creatures. A fireball is flung from behind and strikes the man! I don’t know why the rider didn’t bend a wall to protect them. The Earthbender slams his fist to the street and twists it, sending a flurry of bricks at the soldiers. The bending effects look great, not just the look of the elemental powers, but how it is used. 

He hears the sounds of more soldiers and bends the Earth again sending the scroll flying over to the hand of the rider. The Earthbender warns the rider to give the scroll to the Earth King, who is Kuei, about the Fire Nation’s war! He uses his power to lift up a wall, the struggle really feels like he is pulling it up physically, then turns to face the soldiers! The man is a warrior using a flying kick to take down two soldiers, he is formidable, but taken down by the mass of Firebending soldiers! He coughs, now in front of the Fire Lord, Sozin (Hiro Kanagawa), who likes the outcome! Kanagawa played the Headmaster in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The Earthbender says they will be prepared. Sozin says that the attention of all of the nations will be focused on protecting Earth Nation. 

He says he has sights are “much higher”! Sozin grasps the messenger’s hand and incinerates him! An advistor says that the Avatar is not revealed by the Air Nomads. Sozin says he wants to destroy them all. Kyoshi (Yvonne Chapman) explains all of the elements all bended by members of the four nations. We see a map of the Four Nations. She says there is peace made by the Avatar, we see Kyoshi with her fans. Her eyes blow as we see her bending all of the elements finishing with a spin in the air and shattering all of the elements! We see a stairway with all of the other Avatars, Kyoshi explains that the Avatar spirit is reborn in another body, but the new Avatar has not appeared. Sozin is taking this advantage of this time to stop the one person in his way, an Airbender! We see the rocky spires right out of Thailand and flying over them, Aang (Gordon Cormier), on his kite. On a cliff edge, he folds it into his Airbender staff. This is a great intro, different from the original, setting up the threat and Aang's role as the promised Avatar! 

#AvatarTheLastAirbender, #AlbertKim, #GordonCormier, #Kiawentiio, #IanOusley, #DallasLiu, #PaulSunHyungLee, #DanielDaeKim 

Finding Traces of Former Disneyland Rides - Mine Train!

I always wondered walking from Big Thunder Mountain Railroad about the mysterious tunnel across the bridge. It is from the former Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland which opened in  1960 at Frontierland. It closed in 1977 making way for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad which opened in 1979! 

This is from a look at the model at Walt’s Carolwood Barn (which started the path) and map that was at Great Moments With Mr. Lincoln. The ride featured sections based on the True-Life Adventures films from Walt Disney Productions; In Beaver Valley (1950), The Olympic Elk (1952), Bear Country (1953), and The Living Desert (1953). 

Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland model, Walt’s Carolwood Barn, author’s photo.

Artwork of the attraction at Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, also author’s photo. 

First, the town of Rainbow Ridge, Big Thunder was down at the time, but it is always fascinating to see a Western town at the edge of the adventures. Big Thunder makes a turn past the town coming to the loading/unloading area. The Mine Train loading area would be just to the other side of the tracks and train here. 

Closeup of Walt’s Carolwood Barn model, photo by the author. 

Rainbow Ridge facades from Rancho Del Zocalo, author’s photo. 

The other big hint was this curved part of the track which was around Cascade Mountain in Nature's Wonderland. I remembered it and took this pic from the Sailing Ship Columbia. 

The track will become more clear in the following pics. It is impressive that the mountain with the waterfalls are replaced by a hill with trees!

A view of the Mine Train tracks from the Sailing Ship Columbia, author’s photo. 

Another closeup of the Mine Train model, photo by the author. 

So this brings us to the tunnel that is another part remaining from the ride. This curves into the long track seen in the model. Its kinda dark in the next shot from Columbia. The reverse angle from the Big Thunder bridge can be easily seen! 

A closeup of the Mine Train model, author’s photo.

 

Another shot from Columbia, photo by the author.

There is a large forested area behind Rancho del Zocalo (I like the Casa de Fritos name more) and the castle. This must be the area that was Rainbow Caverns, Living Desert, and Beaver Valley, most of the ride. So Big Thunder would take up the lake, Beaver Valley, and Pack Mule Trail. It is stunning that at one time at Disneyland there was another mountain, a desert, and the mine train ride going through it all! 

#MineTrainThroughNaturesWonderland, #BigThunderMountainRailroad, #WaltsCarolwoodBarn, #GreatMomentsWithMrLincoln, #TrueLifeAdventures #InBeaverValley, #TheOlympicElk 

#BearCountry, #TheLivingDesert, #CascadeMountain, #SailingShipColumbia, #RanchoDelZocalo, #CasaDeFritos, #RainbowCaverns, #PackMuleTrail.  

Strolling Through the (Theme) Park One Day - Disneyland!

A typical day at Disneyland, no special events, but there were a few tasks that I wanted to accomplish. First task was that it was the release day of Lorcana’s third set, Into the Inklands, at least for Disney parks and hobby stores. The mass retailers release date is March 8th. From what I could gather, Lorcana was not sold inside the parks. The second was to get more Lorcana cards signed by Disney characters. This was more likely with the number of characters at Disneyland. By the way, the park was very crowded, sometimes with very little elbow room. The other task was to get coverage for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle Walkthrough. This was always a charming experience that features the beautiful artwork of the 1959 film. It is of course one of the distinctive features of Disneyland’s castle. 

Cinderella in fencing pose just like Cinderella: Knight in Training!, author’s photo.

The castle looks repainted in some parts, the gold is sparkly, but there is two shades of pink, and one spire has light blue with the other turrets a dark blue. The sides of the castle has two paintings showing scenes from the story. Walking into Fantasyland and to the left, past the Sleeping Beauty water fountain, is the door to the attraction. Just inside the doorway is a small archway with the book that has medieval-style illustrations. Some of the guests took the time to read them. The stairs wind increasingly up to the castle, a little steep for me, but there are handrails. The windows showing the scenes are very colorful, with 3D like cutouts like cels in a diorama, but showing the burning spinning wheels.

The story is good, but needs more about the Good Fairies facing Maleficent and changing he curse. Next it moves to the sleeping court so again the fairies are minimized who are a large part of the Disney film. Plus, cutting out “Once Upon a Dream.” Of course, the challenge is telling the story with a few scenes and limited space. One of the stunning scenes is Aurora asleep with a ray of light falling on her. There is a dark corridor of doors, this could have eerie green light peeking from below, grunting from Maleficent’s goons, but the interactivity is that you can rattle a chain and knock on the doors. There is another great scene with Maleficent in her tower, the lightning illuminates her if you wait for it. 

Aurora asleep, Sleeping Beauty Castle WalkThrough, photo by the author. 

Then, the scene with spinning wheels, difficult to see, they should be painted or lit to capture them better. Another great scene is Prince Phillip ready to cut through the forest of thorns while Maleficent in dragon form breathes fire down on him! Finally, we have Phillip about to kiss Aurora and awaken her. I would say to walk through it just once. I walked out and then saw Gaston. Always a funny guy. He signed Gaston: Scheming Suitor. I didn’t get him to sign Gaston: Intellectual Powerhouse! It was interesting to see Bert and Mary Poppins on King Arthur’s Carousel waiting for it to start. I followed Aladdin and Genie to a meet and greet area with It’s A Small World a bit of a distance away. 

Aladdin was a little surprised to see the cards and signed Aladdin: Street Rat. Genie signed Genie: On the Job. I  think others have gotten Lorcana cards signed, but I haven’t seen which ones. I was on my way to Rise of the Resistance and saw Chopper, “Get to da choppah!”, it’s great to see well known droids rolling around Galaxy’s Edge. First time I was at the back of the shuttle. It launched from Batuu, you see the three X-Wings follow you, and then engage in the TIE fighter battle. Very impressive though you lose most of the story with Lt. Bek. It was also new to have the front and see R5-J2 and have him in the frame of pictures.

 

X-Wings escort the Resistance shuttle, Rise of the Resistance, photo by the author. 

Across from Big Thunder, which was down that day, over the water with the fish leaping, is the tunnel that was part of Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland. The train ride opened in 1960 and clsoed for Big Thunder. I was interested in looking at what parts remain from seeing the diorama model at Walt’s Carolwood Barn. I think it took up of most of Big Thunder with a new path bisecting the former ride area. I also took the Sailing Ship Columbia and a cast member was helpful pointing out the former area of the mine train. The Big Thunder train was parked right by Rainbow Ridge which was formerly part of the Mine Train Through Nature’s Wonderland attraction. The roller coaster usually passes by it, but it was the load area for the original ride. 

I saw the Meet Disney Princesses at Royal Hall which would mean that I could get more cards signed. Cinderella was impressed by Cinderella: Knight at Training. It is one of my favorite changes for the characters also Cindrella: Stouthearted, fully dressed in armor with sword and shield! Ariel signed Ariel: On Human Legs, I still have to get a Lorcana version of Ariel as mermaid card.  I went on from there to see the Disneyland Band play a Star Wars melody. Brass and drums moving in perfect synch, I wonder about a band at Galaxy’s Edge, “Impressive. Most impressive.” I still had enough energy left to wait in the queue to Meet Tinker Bell at Pixie Hollow. So this time it was the Tinker Bell: Peter Pan’s Ally card. 

Lorcana at Pin Traders, photo by the author. 

After leaving Pixie’s Hollow, there was Captain Hook, so it was time to get Captain Hook: Forceful Duelist signed. There was still Pooh Corner, but I decided to take the Monorail to Downtown Disney and check Pin Traders. I was stunned that not only did they have the Into the Inklands cards, but it was an entire wall of product! They had the two starter decks; Plenty of Pluck, Duck Tales defenders (Ruby/Sapphire), and Dogged and Dynamic, Dalmatians and Pirates (Amber/Emerald). The deal was five of any series (starter decks and booster packs). For the first time, I saw Deck Boxes (for Into the Inklands), and also the Lorebook card portfolio.     

Next to Pin Traders is a new mural for Celebrate Soulfully featuring a girl posing with Princess Tiana in front of the Rivers of America. There was work on some chalk art for the occassion by Marcella Swett. A side note about the Monorail, across the way is the former People Mover track which was a rusty color, but has been painted gold.  I also noticed a large Grogu drink container holding a cup with a blue frog popping up. Finishing off the day, I went for a meal, one that I had first tried and remembered for a month afterwards - Muffuletta Sandwich, $14.99. This was at Tiana’s Palace. I think I guess describe it as a cold cut sandwich with a thousand flavors and a slight burn at the end! 

The menu description is mortadella, salami, rosemary ham with cheddar, provolone, and house-made olive relish. It has red beans & rice on the side. Any meal of course requires Buttermilk Cornbread, $3.99, and the House-filled Beignet, $4.49, the beignet has lemon pie filling oozing out of it, delicious! The highlight, though, was the Jamabalaya Jazz Band. The former restaurant, French Market, was my usual eating place, just to enjoy the Slow-roased Half Chicken and some jazz. They were joined on stage by lead singer, Queenie, who sang, “Pennies from Heaven.” Later, they head off to a raft on the river to perform. I will say that the band and the food are not to be missed! 

I also walked to the Adventureland Treehouse which had opened last year on November 10th. I liked Tarzan’s Treehouse and also the former Swiss Family Treehouse. The new attraction is a slight upgrade from the original treehouse. It winds from Pirates of the Caribbean to a kitchen area. A sign says Father is the chef of their meals. This leads up some steep stairs, a little more challenging than I remembered, and I used the rope at the side to help several times. There is a bamboo fence labeled Jane with a ostrich who pops up every now and then. Some paintings display the work of the family at the Studio. Mother’s room has the self-playing musical organ which has a bit of a face. 

#Disneyland, #Lorcana, #IntoTheInklands, #SleepingBeautysCastleWalkthrough, #Gaston, #Aladdin, #Genie, #Chopper, #RiseOfTheResistance, #MineTrainThroughNaturesWonderland, #SailingShipColumbia, #MeetDisneyPrincessesAtRoyalHall, #DisneylandBand, #MeetTinkerBellAtPixieHollow     

Some New Film Award Categories (for fun)!

 Let’s add some categories to the film award shows! Entertaining films and their artistry should be recognized as well as the great dramas. A must is Best Stunts, the noms for Stunts are; Creed III, John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1, Pathaan, and Sisu. The SAG Awards nommed; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, ok, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and Barbie? How about a little nod to the international films? 

Let’s go to Best Voice Actor which would go to a voice performance like Scarlett Johansson in her (2013) and of course animated films like Wish. You know the winner in 1983 would be Erik Bauersfeld (Return of the Jedi), “It’s a trap!”, iconic, Frank Oz is the winner in 1980 for The Empire Strikes Back. Andy Serkis is the winner for voicing Gollum in The Two Towers in 2002! 

Note: films like anime have the dubbed artist. The noms; Jack Black (The Super Mario Bros Movie), Gemma Chan (The Boy and the Heron), Ariana DeBose (Wish), Josh Keaton (Suzume), and Chloe Grace Moretz (Nimona). Black and Moretz come from the Annie Awards. Next, Best Soundtrack (this is compilations or re-recordings of songs unlike Best Score), popular scores can also win like Saturday Night Fever (1977). 

We also have movie musicals like Grease (1978) which was based on the 1971 stage musical. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs was nommed for Best Score and lost to One Hundred Men and a Girl? No noms for Best Song for Snow White, it was “Sweet Leilani.” Still, “Someday My Prince Will Come” outlasted those songs and is timeless as is “Heigh Ho.” This award and voice actor would give recognition for animated movies outside of their narrow categories. 

So let’s look at last year’s noms for Best Soundtrack!; Barbie, The Color Purple, The Little Mermaid, Wish, and Wonka. Grease leads us to Best Musical, in the theater’s Tony Awards they give awards to revivals so this will be original musicals like The Greatest Showman (2017), animated films such as The Lion King (1994), and filmed musical remakes like West Side Story (2021). 

So here are the noms; The Color Purple, The Little Mermaid, The Magic Flute, Wish, and Wonka. This award would really open music with a new category and wouldn’t slight movie musicals. What awards would you add and what noms would you want to win? 

#BestStunts, #CreedIII, #JohnWickChapter4, #MissionImpossibleDeadReckoningPart1, #Pathaan,  #Sisu, #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3, #IndianaJonesAndTheDialOfDestiny, #BestVoiceActor, 

#ScarlettJohansson, #her, #ErikBauersfeld, #ReturnOfTheJedi #FrankOz, #EmpireStrikesBaack, #AndySerkis, #TheTwoTowers, #JackBlack, #TheSuperMarioBrosMovie, #GemmaChan, #TheBoyAndTheHeron, #ArianaDeBose, #WishMovie, #JoshKeaton, #Suzume, 

#ChloeGraceMoretz, #Nimona, #BestSoundtrack, #SaturdayNightFever, #Grease, #SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs, #OneHundredMenAndAGirl, #Barbie, #BestMusical, #TheColorPurple, #TheLittleMermaid, #Wonka, #TheGreatestShowman,#TheMagicFlute  

Re:tro Re:view - Captain America #4!

 Re:Cap - “Stand”, the serial killer, Cavanaugh who calls himself The Emissary, is now involved in the sinister Shadow Equations. Cap with the help of Misty Knight and Doctor Strange try to uncover the mystery. He is the next target of The Emissary! In the past, Steve Rogers finds an ally in the gangster, Meyer Lansky, who needs him to investigate Operation Garden. It rolls back to six weeks ago at A.I.M. Island where Cavanaugh is given injections like Captain America, gamma ray exposure like the Hulk, and “supernatural force” to make him The Emissary! Travis Lane then speaks with the demonic Asmoday in a mirrored wall. It says it has to be personally involved to stop the change agents. Asmoday says it has to merge with The Emissary. 

It rips free violently from Lane’s body which burns until he is dissolved. Then, enters Cavanaugh’s body giving him control until he neeeds to “step forth.” Misty and Doctor Strange leave and Cap is suddenly confronted by The Emissary standing on a car in a black and red suit. There is a demonic symbol on his chest and his eyes blaze. He says what is inside of him let Cap live “decades ago.” The Emissary leaps from the car crushing it as Captain America faces him with his shield! The cover by Jesus Saiz has The Emissary attacking with two blades as Cap holds him back with his shield to the side, both falling with a white background! “A Series of Unexpected Attacks” is by J. Michael Straczynski and Lan Medina. 

The comic immediately picks up with Cap readying his shield as The Emissary leaps off of the car. He throws his shield in a maneuver he calls the Ham Sandwich to determine the threat level of his opponent. This is a nod to the first issue where Steve was going to a rally for the sandwich. The shield ricochets off corners and a lamppost as Cap does a flying kick at the villain! The Emissary catches the shield, difficult to believe this, and Cap is suprised that his kick didn’t move him at all! His shield is dropped and Cap assesses the situation determining that The Emissary’s suit is new to him and not used to his powers. The villain taunts him and Cap just says, “Let’s go.” 

He leaps away from The Emissary’s punch, strikes one knee and then hits the other with his shield! Very cool. The Emissary snaps his bones into place and turns demonic. It sends a blast from its mouth and Cap sees an opening in a brick wall from another blast. He leaps through the opening and uses his shield to deflect the blast. His shield’s Vibranium can send the blast back and the explosion hurtles him back! This glows a window orange and the explosion sends Cap flying to the harbor, his shield glowing with heat as he fades unconscious! Round One - A draw. This shifts to “New York Harbor, 1939” where Baron Zemo and Baron Strucker watch the unloading of a spherical weapon. 

Zemo says it will destroy Madison Square Garden where the American Bund rally takes place. It will kill twenty thousand of their members whom we see at the rally. Their plan, from last issue, is to spark conflict to bring America into the war!  The speaker at the rally and leader of the American Bund, unknowingly, will have the bomb set off at his speech. The plan is visualized, but we haven’t gotten to that part. They drive away and we see behind a container, Steve listening to them! At a consturction site in the day, Steve struggles to drag a bag of bricks. He is told by his boss that Mr. Lansky will pay him even if the doesn’t work. Steve sees the boss in almost blacked out vision, but still persists. 

He walks across a street counting steps before falling unconscious!  Steve revives in bed surrounded by Tiffany and the other women in the building. Emily says he is dehydrated and needs to drink a gallon of water. She sends out Tiffany to get a straight list of Steve’s medical problems, several life threating conditions, and she worries that if he had an asthma attack, he would be dead. Emily says she visits on Thursday and Steve is his new paitent. I really like this cast to support Steve because he can’t live by his own means. He falls asleep. This moves to Steve Rogers waking up in a hospital bed in the present. Sharon Carter is there and notes that he cancelled their three dates. She goes over his list of injuries from The Emissary battle. I really like the time shifts and the connection that was missing for the most part last issue. 

Steve brings up his battle and Sharon is surprised that he was beaten. He tells her that it was a demon. Sharon holds him and Steve notes that it is not the first time he was in the river. We see the younger Steve swimming out of the broken window of a sunken truck! He apologizes to Sharon and says he needs her cell phone. One of the members of the group, Rolf enters his apartment, in 1939. He throws off a rug with mystic symbols and cuts his finger with a knife to drop blood to summon Asmoday. He says the pieces are in place and the demon promises the fall of humanity!

It mentions something called the Pale City that the Maker of All Things created humans. Then, Asmoday and others were “cast aside” and hated humankind. The supernatural part reminds me of Straczynski's series, Midnight Nation. Asmoday promises a thousand years of suffering except for its followers and thinks that there is one tiny “aberration” to its plans. Steve is listening to a radio program and gives off the musical “Bum-Bum-Bummm” to its promise of danger. Captain America #4 steps up the battle with Cap’s first encounter with The Emissary and Asmoday’s plans!  

Five Shields out of Five! 

#CaptainAmerica, #ASeriesOfUnexpectedAttacks, #JMichaelStraczynski, #LanMedina, #TheEmissary, #Asmoday, #BaronZemo, #BaronStrucker, #Tiffany, #Emily, #SharonCarter

Bob Marley: One Love Review!

Bob Marley: One Love captures some of the life and music of Bob Marley in dramatic form! It is directed and co-written by Reinaldo Marcus Green who also directed bio drama, King Richard (2021). The film has a story by Terence Winter, the writer of The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), and Frank E. Flowers, the showrunner for the series, The Ropes. They are part of the screenwriting team with Green and Zach Baylin, the writer of King Richard. There is an intro by Ziggy Marley, Bob Marley’s son, he mentons being on the set everyday. Marley is producer. It opens with some humming as we see a family waiting for a bus. This is at Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, 1976. 

There is an explanation of the Jamaican political conflict which was between two political parties, the Jamaican Labour Party and the People’s National Party, they have shattered the country that it is explained was leading toward a civil war. There is a closeup of Bob’s face who is played by Kingsley Ben-Adir. He of course played the Ken who was the right hand Ken to Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Barbie (2023). Ben-Adir does a great performance especially reflecting Marley’s movements while singing and dancing. The songs which just make the film brilliant use Bob Marley’s singing with some of Ben-Adir’s vocals. There are flashes of violence, guns and tanks, which we see during the press conference announcing the Smile concert. 

It is Kingston, Jamaica, 1976 where we see and his band, The Wailers, including Peter Tosh (Alexx A-Game) and Bunny Livingston (Abijah Livingston). They jog to a waterfall, a beach, and then a football field. Soccer in the U.S. They have a game of football with Bob’s two boys, Ziggy (Xavier Woolry) and Stephen (Mekhai Newell) watching. A drive-by has a gunman opening fire with a machine gun at them. Everyone takes cover and no one is hurt. Later, Bob is driving with Stephen and Ziggy and asked about the shooting. He consoles his sons telling them, “Don’t worry”, which of course is inspiration for his song. There is a military blockade, an officer asks Bob to get out of the car, but another recognizes him and sends Bob on his way. 

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