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#oh actually no- danny does end up jason's knight
cosmicgesture · 1 year
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DP x DC Idea
ok hear me out- Ghost King Jason Todd. Bear with me a tick.
At the end of the first millennium of his rule, Pariah Dark was required and compelled by Zone Law to name an heir should he retire or shatter. (Not that anyone expected him to do either.) Still, it was a law of the zone itself, and it needled at his core worse than the Observants and their constant prattling.\
So, eventually, he grew annoyed enough by it that he declared his heir to be a liminal being. If that wasn’t controversial enough, he picked a random name that had yet to popularize in the mortal world, specified that the death was a violent one, and the death date? The death date was just numbers he happened to glance at in the moment, with the year set thousands of years away from the time the heir was named.
Pariah Dark figured, what are the chances someone with this name, of liminal nature, will die on this random date? Well, he knew of Clockwork (maybe knew him well, even), and knew there was always some slim chance. Still, he figured he could simply find his presumed heir and destroy him before he could try to claim the throne.
He didn’t expect to be locked up in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep.
When he’s freed during Reign Storm and notices the date, it’s one of his priorities to send a lookout for the random kid who would happen to be his heir. Danny and co. lock him up before he receives any information, and that ends up being kind of that.
There’s discussion in the Zone after that, about a potential ruler. Some think right-by-conquest applies, but others argue the technicalities of the matter - Danny did not act alone, did not beat Pariah Dark without help. Thus, it doesn’t count as Conquest (though it does put him in the high recommendations for the next king’s knight). There begins the questioning then: did Pariah Dark ever declare an heir? Few were left who remembered such a thing, but it was confirmed that he had indeed, though the information about said heir was scant and somewhat inconsistent. One story said the heir’s name was Jackson, and that he died tragically; another called him Jensen and claimed he still lived. So the search began, with inconsistent clues. Any place in the mortal realm with enough ectoplasm to sustain a ghost was a potential hiding place for the heir. They started in Amity Park and spread to other towns and cities. Some ghosts sought out newly dead that had died the day Pariah was locked back up again.
But who’d’ve thought to connect that the same day the sarcophagus locked again, a boy named Jason Todd rose from his grave?
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vln-vibes · 2 years
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Fics in the works
 Updated 04/2023
Hey I know its been a while since I’ve properly published new fics. Honestly  keep coming up with ideas but actually finishing them is the kicker.
Ngl I honestly feel like I need some betas for the works I’ve got going on and if any of these interest you then by all means feel free to message me! And yes some of these are still Maribat 
The Winner Takes The Crown (Princess)
Got into DPxDC and decided to take a crack at it. As usual this thing was supposed to be a one-shot but is 18.9k words so far and counting so three-shot is more likely.
Tags: Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Kon-El | Conner Kent & Danielle "Dani" Phantom, Danielle "Dani" Phantom/Kon-El | Conner Kent, Danny Fenton/Jason Todd
Summary: When members of the Team get sent out to scout an inconspicuous town in Indonesia with supposed hauntings and missing teens on the night of an eclipse surely nothing could go wrong, right?Meanwhile the Ghost King got tired of every old timey ghost royalty trying to get their hands on his little sister/cousin/clone and got an idea. Why not have them duke it out amongst each other for once. It'd be entertaining at the very least or a disaster waiting to happen at most--- at least that's what his newly appointed Fright Knight thought anyway
Chapters out so far: 1/3 AO3  Part 1
Who The Wayne Are You?!
Why not do a fusion of two crossover fandoms??? (Not sure if I’ll include any romantic ships)
Tags: Marinette Dupain-Cheng & Danny Fenton, Marinette Dupain-Cheng & Bruce Wayne, Danny Fenton & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Tim Drake & Danny Fenton, Danny Fenton & Jason Todd, Marinette Dupain-Cheng & Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain & Danny Fenton, Cassandra Cain & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Misunderstandings, Mistaken Identities
Summary: Its just her luck that on her first day in Gotham City, the literally cursed crime capital of the world that she gets kidnapped. To make matters worst her kidnappers must be blind because they think she’s Cass Wayne, Bruce Wayne’s only daughter, who doesn’t even have blue eyes! Fortunately or unfortunately she’s not the only one in this dilemma--- He was sure that the spirit of Gotham had it out for him; the moment his sister left to go on the tour to Gotham U he gets pushed into a white van (cliché much?). On the bright side it wasn’t the Guys In White, down side the idiots can’t seem to agree if he’s Tim Drake, co-CEO of Wayne Enterprises, or Jason Todd, supposedly dead son of Bruce Wayne (he’s not sure if that’s quite true). Well at least he’s got company. “Ugh just my luck that I get kidnapped literally on my first day in Gotham” “Oh samesie”
Chapter count: Unknown
Tales of Ladyluck and Jinx: Twins Extraordinaire (Wrk ttl)
I mean c’mon the potential for bio siblings Tim and Mari is right there.
Tags: Tim Drake & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Tim Drake & Bridgette Dupain-Cheng, Bridgette Dupain-Cheng & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Tim Drake & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Dick Grayson, Jack Drake & Tim Drake, Jack Drake & Marinette-Dupain-Cheng, Sabine Cheng/Tom Dupain, Sabine Cheng & Tim Drake, Sabine Cheng & Jack Drake, Jack Drake/Janet Drake, Bad Parents Jack/Janet Drake, Dead Janet Drake, Jack Drake Knows Tim is Robin, Does Not Approve, Surrogate Sabine, Fraternal Twins Tim and Mari, Jack Drake tries to be better, in the end, Bridgette Dupain-Cheng/ Felix Culpa, Quantic Kids
Summary: Tim Drake’s 12 year old, almost but not yet 13, life was falling apart right before his very eyes and there was nothing he could do to stop it. His mother was dead and his father was paralyzed. To make matters worse his father found out about Robin and was vehemently against it; so much so that he was sending Tim away. Turns out Janet Drake wasn’t his biological mother, his parents had used a surrogate. A woman named Sabine Cheng who lived in Paris alongside her husband and daughters. Turns out Tim was a twin; his parents only wanted the son.
As much as he wants to hate this new family he can’t help but crave the affection they provide, the warmth and comfort , that his parents never could. As much as Tim would miss being Robin he had Mari and that was enough. Who knows maybe he’d go back to the Life later on in life?
Chapter count: Unknown
Royal Flush 
(Paused)
I’ve been really loving these HBIC Marinette stories and decided to try my own out with a fun Maribat twist!
Tags: Marinette Dupain-Cheng & Chloe Bourgeois & Nathaniel Kutzberg, Damian Wayne & Jon Kent, Jessica Keynes & Aeon Hill
Summary: For this year’s French-American Friendship Day it was the American's turn to visit and what a lucky coincidence and totally not tampered with by any of the Bats that Gotham Academy was chosen with newly re-enrolled Damian Wayne and recent transfers Jonathan Kent, Jessica Keynes and Aeon Hill. Jess was excited to reunite with her fellow Guardian only... things were different with the Parisians? She couldn’t really explain it but it seemed strange that the students were adorned with symbols; Red Hearts, Yellow Diamonds, Green Clovers and Blue Spades. What did this all mean and why were those without them ostracized? Was this also why Marinette seemed to have a whole wardrobe change and was now friends with mean girl Chloe?
Well it was up to Jess and reluctantly Damian to find out what was the root of the problem alongside sunshine duo Jon and Aeon, also known as the Seasonal Court while also trying to figure out how to offer their help with the Hawkmoth situation.
Chapter count; Unknown
Violet Gold (Working Title)
(Still working on it)
Tags: Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Luka Couffaine/Tim Drake, Adrien Agreste/Conner Kent, Juleka Couffaine/Stephanie Brown, Bart Allen/Jaime Reyes, Kagami Tsurugi & Cassie Sandsmark, Miraculous Team, Young Justice, Soulmate AU
Summary: After a heartbroken meta akuma unleashes her untapped power on all of Paris the citizens all get scatter across the world--- heroes included! While Tygress finds herself mildly concussed and not so alone in a technologically advanced cave with a shadow like girl who intimidating the ever-loving hell out of her and a beautiful amazon who looked badass and like she could kick her ass, even after her recent heartbreak with Rose she felt her heart skip a beat. That’s when she noticed the glowing red band around both their arms. It turns out her fellow heroes were teleported to the same location, each bonding with different teen heroes; Ladybug and Viperion with a red caped black haired hero she didn’t know. As they’d learn the Akuma took them to their soulmates. Journey as these teen caped and non-caped crusaders learn about their ‘soulmates’ and about themselves. All in the name of Love.
Chapter count: 7 (Chapter 1 partially complete)
War (Working Title)
(Still Working on it)
Tags: Bio dad Bruce Wayne, Bruce Wayne & Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Miraculous Team, Bat Boys, Bat Girls, Marinette stopped taking shit, salt fic
Summary; Not a Dupain. Not Wanted. Those two phrases echoed in Marinette’s head as she robotically made her way up the stairs after having her world turned. Marinette was not Thomas Dupain’s biological daughter, not only that but her parent’s had enough of her ‘problematic’ behavior and were sending her away to live with her actual father, a man who, after looking him up online, turned out to be billionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprise. Now she must leave her friends behind and move in with complete strangers while juggling her Guardian duties and hero life. Well one thing was for sure; she was done being a pushover. Done being a perfect example and ready to start anew. Gone was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, here comes Marinette Wayne!
Chapter count; 1 (its gonna be a long one-shot)
C’est la vie
(Paused)
Tags; Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Dick Grayson, Dick Grayson & Wally West, Dick Grayson & Kor’iander, Dick Grayson/Kor’iander, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Tim Drake & Conner Kent, Conner Kent/Adrien Agreste, Felix Graham de Venily & Adrien Agreste, Bart Allen & Alix Kubdel, Mal Duncan & Alix Kubdel (more to come)
Summary; (Continuation of Staying Whelmed & Erable AU) Its been two years since the cease of the Parisian heroes. Everyone still  mourns their loss but its time to move on. At least that’s what Dick keeps telling himself, he’s put off being on the team long enough and missed enough family dinners. Honestly he can’t even remember the last time he properly talked to some of his friends, the kwami doing a well enough job of keeping him from completely going off the deep end. With the help of the recently rescued princess Kor’iander of Tamarand he think he’s getting there. Tim on the other hand notices the imbalance of the world; the way certain creatures’ populations have significantly dwindled down, the way the magic users have been losing power, the increase of natural disasters and sudden reappearance of what they believed to be Trixx’s original temple... He can’t help but hope. Hope to regain his brother and fellow heroes, to bring back hope and restore the world’s balance.  After encounters with others in the community he realizes that he’s not the only one that noticed. Now all he needs to do is convince the others that he’s not in denial and isn’t embarking some fruitless endeavor. Well no one said it’d be easy to enter the In-Between
Chapter count: unknown
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popculturebuffet · 5 years
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Analysis of X: Uncanny X-Men #159 “Night Screams!”
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Happy Halloween! For our Halloween special, I take my first dive into Claremont’s classic X-Men Run proper, as Claremont’s future New Mutants partner Bill Sienkiewicz drops by just in time for the X-Men to battle Dracula for the soul of Storm! Get your stakes ready and join me after the cut.
Welcome everyone to my special Halloween Edition of Analysis of X. I love this holliday: Scary movies, adorable children in costume, more sugar than I probably need… it’s the best. And it’s on this sacred day I’ve decided to take a second look at one of my faviorite X-Men stories and see if it still holds up to me the second time around. I first heard about this story in the back of Wizard Magzine in this old beatup issue I got from my brother,  and was blown away by the descrption of an event we’ll get to towards the end. When I finally read the issue years later thanks to an issue of Classic X-Men, it exceded my expectations, and hence here I am to see if it still holds up. And since the few bits of exposition needed can just be done as we go, let’s sink our teeth into “Night Screams”
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We open on the Uncanny, the powerful, the misunderstood, the brave X-Men!... barging into someone’s apartment and being confused by the occupant. Naturally both parties are confused: The young lady because it’s her damn apartment and suddenly a blue elf, a smelly hairy Canadian, a metallic Russian, an African goddess and a masked teenager come rushing into her place. The X-Men are confused because this apartment belongs to their friend Misty Knight. Those of you who watched Netflix’s excellent Luke Cage series probably remember her from that. In the comics she’s not far off from where she ended up by the end of the Netflix/MCU partnership: a private eye who used to be a cop and has a robot arm, in the comics provided by Tony Stark because back in the 70’s and 80’s tony would make some sorta gadget for anyone who pulled a dump truck of money up to his house. As I mentioned in Excalibur, Chris Claremont never really forgot any character he ever had anything to do with, and since she was a major supporting character during his run on iron fist along with her partner in asskicking Colieen Wing, who you may remember as the best part of Iron Fist’s own Netflix series, he had the two pop up in his X-Men run during a time when they thought the professor and jean were dead, because no one bothered to pick up a fucking phone. As such Misty had apparently offered her place to the X-Men any time they were in the city proper… but herself didn’t pick up the damn phone and tell her in the past few months she got a roommate, so said roommate is understandably pissed off to find a bunch of strangers in her place.
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As the above should make obvious, the young lady is Harmony Young, famous model and misty’s new roommate. At this time Mary Jo Duffy had taken over Luke Cage, at the time Power Man,’s book and, in an attempt to keep the book from being canceled, brought Iron Fist in as a second protagonist and made the book into a buddy picture with the two’s contrasting personalites and backgrounds playing off each other. Having read this run, it’s fantastic and well worth a read and is the backbone of later runs of Luke and Danny while creating one of the best friendships in all of Marvel.  As for how the hell this relates to this story, Harmony is a supporting character from that run and at the time, Luke’s Girlfriend and thus moved in with Misty when Misty needed a roommate.
With the confusion cleared up the X-Men try to smooth things over, minus Logan who, now knowing he dosen’t have a fight on his hands is going to get drunk because logan frankly has three states: boning, drinking and killin, and Kurt’s already swooping in there, and while you’d think hitting on Luke Cage’s girlfriend would be dumb, Luke is not above a three way. I mean why do you think danny sleeps at his and jess’s place every other Sunday? Storm being the leader she is offers to leave, but Harmony, seeing three handsome young men and likely having an open relationship with Luke, decides what the hell and lets the X-Men stay. Kitty scoffs at her and.. oh god I’m going to have to talk about the Colossus and Kitty thing aren’t I? Fuck me…. Yeah for those of you who weren’t aware, Kitty had a crush on Colossus.. a grown man at the very least 6 years older than her. They eventually DID enter a relationsip, that THANK CHRIST, wasn’t sexual till Jim Shooter, in one of the few times he actually made sense as Marvel’s Editor in Chief outright told Chris to cut it out and broke the couple up himself by having Pitor fall for someone else. And while that whole romance was forced and rushed, it both ended an annoying subplot and gave us a DAMN good issue of Uncanny I’ll get to some day. We soon find out WHY the X-Men are in town in the first place:
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I do like the story progression so far: it feels organic and the opening of the X-Men barging in on an apartment is a nice hook and the following pages quickly explain the situation without feeling too clunky about it. But yeah Kitty’s Parents want to see her and while as Ororo notes she dosen’t have anything to wear, Harmony being a true friend to this person she just met offers up her vast wardrobe which Kitty herself quickly gets herself a piece of. The two get dressed and head off to meet the Prydes. We then get a short scene of Cyclops, whose on vacation visitng his brother Alex alongside his space pirate dad. As you can tell i’m not really going that much into it as it’s only one page of the isssue and has nothing to do with the rest of the plot other than informing us Professor Xavier’s in a coma, which tells me why he wasn’t with the rest of the team.  Back in NYC, Kurt is still flirting with Harmony when the team gets a call from Kitty... who wonders if Ororo got home okay. Kurt’s instantly put on alert because she’d told kitty she was heading straight back.. hours ago. And as we see bellow, she’s been attacked with two marks left on her neck... which can only mean one thing.. NEIL BREEN HAS KILLED AGAIN.. or you know vampires. 
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Storm is rushed to the hospital and Logan and PItor soon get the call thanks to Storm’s wallet to come get her. While the doctor wants to keep her overnight Storm is.. oddly calm, finding the night realixing and getting the feeling something’s watching her, but shaking it off. The fact she’s not CONCERNED about that or seems chipper after having her throat torn open just screams red flag don’t’ it? Storm returns home to rest , shooing the rest of the X-Men away and well. if you were wondering when the hell this turned into a vampire story besides the whole neck bites thing... 
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The scene is haunting and well done and Bill, since his last name is hard to spell and I’ve mangled enough names as is on this blog, does a fine job with it, portraying the horror of it as well as how entrhaled Ororo is well. IT’s this sort of moody atmospheric stuff that would serve him well when he became artist on New Mutants and thare’s damn good reason his run is where the book really starts to pick up steam. Kitty returns home.. and is greeted with the news Storm has turned ill. When kitty tries visting storm is afraid of the sunlight, has a mysterious scarf from an admierer with a large D on it, and flinches when Kitty’s star of david brushes up against her. Kitty, sensing the obvious heads off to do some errands. Later that night Ororo lets her her “lover” and the one behind all this...
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Yup. I wasn’t lying or exaggerating in the teaser: The one behind all this is DRACULA. That Dracula, not some alien or some other vampire. The prince of Darkness himself has designs on Ororo. And if your wondering if this is just some one issue weirdness… NOPE. Around this time, Dracula had his own ongoing started in the 70’s, Tomb of Dracula and what I’ve read is excellent. As a result Dracula was a part of the Marvel Universe, had his own backstory and enimies, and fought the likes of Dr. Strange and Spider-Man and earlier this year was the center of a major plot in Jason Aaron’s Avengers run. But before he can turn her, help arrives..
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IT’s kitty who got a nifty Van Helsing getup and a cross.. but in an intresting twist on the mythos the cross does nothing. But not for the by this point cliché reason of “we’re just not using that old chesnut”, no in the Marvel Universe one needs genuine faith for the religious symbols weakness to work… and as the star of david showed earlier, Kitty is Jewish .. but when Dracula tries to choke a bitch, it’s said star of David that saves her. Tragically, Storm is too brainwashed to run and leaves with Dracula, begging Kitty to forget her and leaving the poor child in tears as her surrogate older sister leaves with a monster, possibly forever and there’s nothing she can do to stop it. On a side note though nice entrance line. While it’s no “Begone monster you do not belong in this world!” it’s still pretty sweet. 
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The rest of the team burst in and Kitty explains what’s going on: that while she didn’t know it was DRACULA till now, she was supscious but rightly suspected the others wouldn’t belive her and Logan dosen’t, trying to write off the scarf as Harmony or Misty’s.. but Kurt shoots it down, stating that Kitty is no child and her word means as much as Logan’s own, with his own time in Bavaria telling him to not take vampires lightly.. ESPECIALLY Dracula. Even if Logan still isn’t buying it, Kitty does point out that wether she’s right or not, Ororo is too injured to leave out in the wild, let alone with some strange man who may or may not be Dracula. Given this is a superhero comic, a fight naturally breaks out, with Dracula summoning his wolves, where’d he purchase those, to fight while Kurt tries fighting the big man himself.. and quickly gets his fuzzy blue ass handed to him. Colossus and WOlverine take the wolves out and prepare for the big man himself. 
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As you can see Dracula is handing them their asses.. which is no surprise: not only are the X-Men two members short, and even if they weren’t Dracula would still be able to take them. It also helps ease him into this shared universe: the reason why he hasn’t been beaten for good with so many heroes out there is simple:  besides having the cover of being so famous that most wouldn’t belive he’s real, he’s also really damn powerful and only one vampire hunter after him has any sort of powers, that being Blade who was introduced in Tomb of Dracula. And while he’s a vampire, he dosen’t have Drac’s broken number of extra powers.
With it now being clear given he fuck slammed Colossus that Dracula is out of their league Kurt suggests a straight up fight won’t work and they need plan B.. and with that we get the best scene in the issue, the one that made me want to read it in the first place. 
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Just as a recap, in a brilliant callback to a few pages ago, Wolverine tries, cleverly, to use his claws as a cross.. but as Dracula mocks him, it won’t work. Like Parappa the Rapper says you gotta belivie.. and unfortunately for Dracula, Kurt does in what is, to my suprise, the first time his religion comes up but it works well and adds a sizeable amount to his character. Sadly as fucking epic as this is, it only holds him off for a second and he soon sendds lightning after him because.. apparently he can do that now? I dunno.  While this goes on Kitty runs into the castle which Dracula has morphed into his own kinda castle, and while Kitty dosen’t find dracula she does find an almost turned storm and readies a stake, though Ororo points out it won’t do much good.. and we get another powerful scene as Kitty decides she’s right. 
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While that goes on, the rest of the team presses on but have no more luck and soon Dracula has them beat and Storm arrives seemingly having slain kitty.. only to shed her Dracula outfit for her uniform and start kicking Dracula’s ass, kicking off an awesome fight between the two.
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She ends up slamming him into a party where Drac, being a sore looser, tries to force her to submit.. but she stays her ground and he gets desperat holding a hostage to try and get her to submit
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But as seen she will not and refuses to.. and Dracula admits defeat, realizing he was genuinely attracted to her and he’d have to snuff out what made her worthy of being his queen to do so. Granted he’s still a creepy mind rapist, but it’s still a nice character touch. He books it out of there, and being good at evading people as his solo would show, tells Ororo following would be a fools errand and givne how beaten down her team is , even with her back to give them the edge, he’s right. So for now he escapes, but the X-Men have one the night and Ororo is free and back to being just a mutant again and tearfully reunited with kitty at misty’s place.
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With that touching scene done, our heroes runite with Harmony, with Misty and Coleen now present and celebrate their narrow victory. There’s also a quick stinger with Moira MacTaggert telling the X-Men xavier’s condition has gotten worse, but for the most part, it’s a happy ending as our heroes, however narrowly have won the day and I thankfully got this done before Halloween ended.
Final Thoughts: This issue is every bit as good the second time around, if not more so now I know who Harmony is and have read some of Dracula’s own title, though it’s not a necessity as none of the stuff from Tomb is important here, and Harmony is introduced well enough. This issue is a masterpiece, having atompsheric moody horror, the drawings well done and there’s so much I didn’t show that’s just awesome and Bill would only get better from here. The character work is also great as most of the X-Men get moments to shine. While wolverine is mostly there for his usaul schtick as is Colosus, how easily dracula manhandles them shows just how strong he is without feeling forced. But the real stars are Kurt, who gets one of his finest moments here and even after that fails still presses on anyway, Storm whose transformation is truly horrifying and whose ultimate victory is made all the sweeter and Kitty, whose at her best with: her youthful naivity matching well with her refusal to give up as she stares down both Dracula and her big sister in equal amounts. The issue is a must read for what’s left of this Halloween and every one after it and a great little done in one. Even with the btis of other storylines, it’s still easy to read and understand on it’s own and is one of the best one and done issues i’ve ever read and still holds it’s position in my eyes as one of the best X-Men stories period, taking what should be a rediculous premise and owning the hell out of it. A must read if i’ve ever read one. 
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cbilluminati · 7 years
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Netflix and Marvel have revealed the final member of The Defenders in the form of the new series IRON FIST. It’s been met with a variety of opinions – some scathing, some glowing – but here’s our take on Marvel latest addition.
Story
After years of learning martial arts in the Far East, scruffy faced son of a slain billionaire comes back to the city of his birthplace that considered him dead. He has no interest in running his father’s company, but he does plan to use it as a front to beat up criminals at night (instead of using his newfound wealth and influence to build jobs in low income areas of course). Oh I’m sorry, I think I just copied and pasted my review of Batman Begins…or was that Arrow…?  Wait…did Tony Stark also learn martial arts?
Thoughts
DISCLAIMER: Don’t worry, I’m not even going to discuss the controversy over the race of Danny Rand. Several others have already done that, even on this site. I’m going to strictly discuss the actual show and whether or not it works.
That being said, it’s not going to get any points for originally, but when you think about it there’s really only a handful of superhero origins anyway. Just pick one out of a hat and start drawing.
So how does Iron Fist stack up to as the last piece of the puzzle to The Defenders? Sorry to say, but definitely last place. Like Danny Rand this show struggle to find its identity. Daredevil was definitely a noir crime drama. Jessica Jones was in that vein as well but also a personal story of an all too touchy subject network TV shies away from. Luke Cage was a blaxploitation love letter that was also a social commentary on our current racial climate. Iron Fist was…a show.  It wasn’t trying to say anything important, nor did it capture the Kung Fu movie aspect as well as one would think it would. There’s also the lack of a memorable villain that all the other shows delivered (even to the point of outshining the hero).
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This actually could have been forgiven if it delivered on the action. As spectacular as Daredevil’s fight scenes were (which Season 2 somehow even manage to top), you expect the self proclaimed best fighter to have the best fight scenes. Not only do the fight scenes fail to be as good as Daredevil…they fail to be even as good as Arrow…
Which brings me to maybe the main problem of this show: Finn Jones. He’s just not convincing as Iron Fist. If he didn’t repeatedly tell you that he’s the greatest martial artist, you’d never believe it because his actual fighting won’t convince you at all. When he’s speaking Bhuddist quotes and Mandarin, it’s pretty laughable. On top of that he lacks the charisma as a lead to carry a show. Let me repeat myself, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM BEING WHITE. Yes white guys can learn martial arts, or at least enough to look convincing. Chuck Norris, Jason Statham, even Keanu Reeves prove you can be a convincing white martial artist. This show would have benefited from an actual accomplished martial artist, regardless of race.
Since the show doesn’t have same strengths as the other Marvel Netflix shows, the problems that those other shows have stand out even more here. First off 13 episodes are just too long for these types of shows. The storyline feels like it’s being padded out at times. Not only that, but having each episode at 51 minutes is rather problematic. The episodes are so long that it’s hard to gauge a first, second, and third act of each episode because they feel like they drag. Keep in mind all of the other shows suffered from the same problem, so it’s not just Iron Fist.
Now to the good things: Colleen Wing. She single-handedly saved this show. She’s a better actor than the lead, fight scenes are more convincing, and what’s most shocking of all even her backstory is more interesting than Danny Rand. When she’s on screen the show works. When she’s not it doesn’t.
The show also actually kicks into another gear when Rosario Dawson’s reprises her role as Claire Temple…or the Night Nurse…or whatever Marvel has the rights to this week. Some comic purists will be upset that Claire is basically filling in as half of the Daughters of the Dragon besides Misty Knight, but it was the smart choice. Rosario is the linchpin of all these shows, plus she’s the bigger name. Also, as much as I hate to admit it…she’s a better actress than the Misty Knight actress too.
Verdict
Marvel Netflix has set a pretty high bar, so if we’re heading on a curve Iron Fist has failed to reach that bar and some may even consider it as Marvel Studios first major misstep. However if you’re looking for a new series on Netflix to pass the time over a weekend, you can do worse than Iron Fist. At the end of the day it does serve its purpose as passable entertainment.
Overall: 3/5
Marvel’s IRON FIST – TV Review
Netflix and Marvel have revealed the final member of The Defenders in the form of the new series IRON FIST.
Marvel’s IRON FIST – TV Review Netflix and Marvel have revealed the final member of The Defenders in the form of the new series IRON FIST.
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aion-rsa · 4 years
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The Teleprompter Interview: Daniel Mays ‘I’d jump at an Ashes to Ashes Return’
https://ift.tt/3dZSoaJ
‘He pops up absolutely everywhere doesn’t he?’ says Daniel Mays about his Code 404 co-star Stephen Graham. You could say the same of Mays. A draw on any cast list, between them in the last year alone they’ve appeared in almost 20 major titles – 1917, Good Omens, White Lines (Mays), The Irishman, The Virtues, Line of Duty, Save Me (Graham) to name just a handful.
Why Mays and Graham are in such high and regular demand is no mystery; they’re two of our best. Mays has an instant affability on screen that he’s able to turn to tragedy or comedy or both at once. Graham’s characters are often the reverse, unknowable and dangerous before he lays their vulnerabilities bare.
In sci-fi comedy Code 404, they play detectives with a tangled personal history. Mays is a DI unexpectedly brought back from the dead via some bug-ridden experimental AI tech. Graham is the trusty partner who’s been keeping his colleague’s wife (Anna Maxwell Martin) company during his absence.
Already renewed for a second run, Mays tells Den of Geek it’s the most binge-watched show on Sky in eight years. “We’re all buzzing about doing another series.” As the first is released on DVD, he talks us through his TV memories…
Which TV show inspired you to start your acting career?
Robbie Coltrane in the Jimmy McGovern drama Cracker. I find his stuff heart-breaking at times but it’s astounding social realist television. Any script written by Jimmy is nuanced and powerful. He’s one of this country’s most amazing writers.
More than anything though, it was Robbie Coltrane’s performance. I remember all the incredible performances, Robert Carlyle as the skinhead with those fantastic interrogation scenes, Christopher Eccleston… but Coltrane as this antihero, a gambler and a womaniser and a drinker, a maverick copper, he was amazing.
That and Prime Suspect.I could go further back, but in terms of when I was really getting serious about becoming an actor, those were the two that were compulsive viewing. I’ve subsequently gone on to work with Jimmy McGovern so it feels like it’s gone full circle.
Which TV character did you want to be when you were younger?
As a kid I was really into The A Team and whassisname, David Hasselhoff! Michael Knight from Knight Rider. As a kid I was obsessed with that show. I had all the action figures. That car was so cool wasn’t it? And when he did the turbo boost and jumped over everything!
In The A Team I probably wanted to be Face, but in reality, if I was to be cast as anyone now it wouldn’t be Face [laughs], it would be Murdoch wouldn’t it?
And which TV character would you like to be now?
When I was working, I didn’t really watch much telly at all but obviously that’s all changed now we’re in lockdown. Before, I hadn’t ever delved into The Sopranos, and I love that character, Tony Soprano. If I could pick one TV character I’d like to have a go at now, that’s the one.
Has any TV programme ever given you nightmares?
Oh man, I’m telling you! There was an ITV adaptation of Jekyll & Hyde with Michael Caine. I’m going back years and years, I must have been about 10 or 11. The make-up that they used in this show when he changed from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde, the Hyde make-up was absolutely terrifying, to the point where it really affected me.
I was far too young to watch it and I even had to sleep in between my mum and dad at 10 years old, I was absolutely petrified of that character. Even in preparation for these questions, I went on YouTube and typed it in and there he was again, petrifying, even today!
When did you last laugh out loud watching TV?
The new Alan Partridge when he’s doing the talk show with Susannah Fielding, that particular sketch when he was attempting to use the toilet on the train without using his hands, when he went into that whole routine of opening the door with his knee. Anything with Alan Partridge I find absolutely hysterical.
I’m an absolute sucker for Only Fools and Horses as well. I’m such a die-hard fan of that show and whenever that pops up on UK TV or Gold, if I end up watching five minutes, I have to sit down and watch the whole episode. I’m such a lover of that relationship between David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, I think it’s absolute gold, all of those characters, John Sullivan’s writing, it’s part of my fabric growing up. It’s probably my favourite ever TV show.
Name an iconic TV moment for your generation
The opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics was an amazing moment of television isn’t it? It started out in like a farmyard [laughs] and I remember thinking, ‘what have we got going on here? We’ve got the eyes of the world watching us…!’ But it then proceeded to be the most engaging and emotional extravaganza. In terms of Olympics opening ceremonies, nothing comes close to that, even in Beijing when you had that huge number of people. It was so brilliantly British. I don’t know why I ever doubted Danny Boyle. He hit it out of the park.
What was the last TV show you recommended to someone?
I recommended Save Me, the Lennie James show. I watched the second series of that in lockdown and the second series was even better than the first, and I absolutely adored the first series. I thought that was an absolute breath of fresh air, I think it was really amazing that Lennie had written this piece set on a sink estate and yet it felt vibrant and I loved the characters. It was just a wonderful piece of television. They’ve got to do another series. I definitely recommend that.
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Starring your Code 404 co-star Stephen Graham
Yes! He pops up absolutely everywhere doesn’t he?
Which TV show does everybody keep nagging you to watch that you haven’t yet seen?
Ozark and Succession. They’re two shows I’m yet to delve into really. They’re two on my list I’ve got to tick off, along with everything else!
Which TV show would you like to bring back from the dead?
There’s all this talk that there’s going to be a final instalment of Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, which I keep hearing rumours about. From what I’ve read, it’s more based around what happens to John Simm’s character Sam Tyler. I don’t know if it’s going to be a modern-day thing but I always wanted to see Gene Hunt in the 90s. It’s difficult to make that happen because Ashes to Ashes was sewn up brilliantly. I’m sort of hesitant to say it should come back but Gene Hunt is such an iconic character and Phil Glenister was so incredible in that role.
I’ve always gone on record and said that Jim Keats – the character I played, the devil – was one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done so if there’s an opportunity to play that role again, I’d jump at that. Is it egotistical of me to pick a show that I’ve been in myself?!
Which show do you wish more people would watch? If you were forced to pick another one of yours?
I did a single drama on BBC Two called Mother’s Day about the Warrington bombing. That’s a really important moment in history and it’s such a heart-felt drama. If anyone’s not seen it, that would be something I would recommend to people to watch. It’s not for the faint-hearted.
Have you ever done fancy dress as a TV character?
[Laughs] I went to an EastEnders fancy dress party dressed up as Frank Butcher! My then-girlfriend went as Pat so we were Pat and Frank. Then when I got there, there was another guy dressed up as Frank Butcher but he was gangster-Frank so he had all the bling on. We had a bit of a Frank Butcher-off.
Tell me you were the Frank Butcher with the spinning bow-tie?!
[Laughs] I didn’t go that far! Actually, scrap the Olympics opening ceremony, do the Frank Butcher bow-tie as the most iconic moment of my generation [laughs].
Which TV theme song do you know all the words to?
I know all the words to Friends and I have to say, Only Fools and Horses again, whenever that comes on I always end up singing all over it.
Which TV character would you like to beat in a fight?
What’s the TV show that The Rock does? It’s set in LA, Russell Brand’s been in it as well. I wouldn’t mind beating up the Rock, because my wife loves a bit of the Rock! So I could beat him up in a TV drama. Who wouldn’t want to beat The Rock up?!
What is the most fun you’ve had making television?
White Lines for Netflix, without a shadow of a doubt. That’s a complete no-brainer. The locations, the character I was playing, the actors I was working with and the scripts were just absolutely brilliant and bonkers. Fingers crossed we get a second series.
If you get a second series, your character Marcus has quite a different role set out for him, doesn’t he?
Yeah! He’s going to become the drug baron of the Calafat family. It’s all to play for isn’t it, especially for Marcus, the whole thing’s been left wide open for him to get into all sorts of mishaps and scrapes.
That character was probably the most enjoyable character I’ve played, him and Jim Keats. I just had such a ball, he was so funny and he had this sort of tragedy to him as well. He’s just so hapless. The thought of Marcus in Colombia or Bolivia or wherever just makes me howl even thinking about it.
And when else do you get to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dog?
That’s true! I forgot I did that scene. That’s mad isn’t it. Though I actually only punched the dog’s chest. At one point I did say ‘Shall I give the dog actual mouth-to-mouth?’ and the director Nick Hamm said ‘I think that’s too much Danny, even for this show.’
Code 404 is out on DVD & digital 6 July.
The post The Teleprompter Interview: Daniel Mays ‘I’d jump at an Ashes to Ashes Return’ appeared first on Den of Geek.
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outright-geekery · 7 years
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Netflix and Marvel have revealed the final member of The Defenders in the form of the new series IRON FIST. It’s been met with a variety of opinions – some scathing, some glowing – but here’s our take on Marvel latest addition.
Story
After years of learning martial arts in the Far East, scruffy faced son of a slain billionaire comes back to the city of his birthplace that considered him dead. He has no interest in running his father’s company, but he does plan to use it as a front to beat up criminals at night (instead of using his newfound wealth and influence to build jobs in low income areas of course). Oh I’m sorry, I think I just copied and pasted my review of Batman Begins…or was that Arrow…?  Wait…did Tony Stark also learn martial arts?
Thoughts
DISCLAIMER: Don’t worry, I’m not even going to discuss the controversy over the race of Danny Rand. Several others have already done that, even on this site. I’m going to strictly discuss the actual show and whether or not it works.
That being said, it’s not going to get any points for originally, but when you think about it there’s really only a handful of superhero origins anyway. Just pick one out of a hat and start drawing.
So how does Iron Fist stack up to as the last piece of the puzzle to The Defenders? Sorry to say, but definitely last place. Like Danny Rand this show struggle to find its identity. Daredevil was definitely a noir crime drama. Jessica Jones was in that vein as well but also a personal story of an all too touchy subject network TV shies away from. Luke Cage was a blaxploitation love letter that was also a social commentary on our current racial climate. Iron Fist was…a show.  It wasn’t trying to say anything important, nor did it capture the Kung Fu movie aspect as well as one would think it would. There’s also the lack of a memorable villain that all the other shows delivered (even to the point of outshining the hero).
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This actually could have been forgiven if it delivered on the action. As spectacular as Daredevil’s fight scenes were (which Season 2 somehow even manage to top), you expect the self proclaimed best fighter to have the best fight scenes. Not only do the fight scenes fail to be as good as Daredevil…they fail to be even as good as Arrow…
Which brings me to maybe the main problem of this show: Finn Jones. He’s just not convincing as Iron Fist. If he didn’t repeatedly tell you that he’s the greatest martial artist, you’d never believe it because his actual fighting won’t convince you at all. When he’s speaking Bhuddist quotes and Mandarin, it’s pretty laughable. On top of that he lacks the charisma as a lead to carry a show. Let me repeat myself, THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HIM BEING WHITE. Yes white guys can learn martial arts, or at least enough to look convincing. Chuck Norris, Jason Statham, even Keanu Reeves prove you can be a convincing white martial artist. This show would have benefited from an actual accomplished martial artist, regardless of race.
Since the show doesn’t have same strengths as the other Marvel Netflix shows, the problems that those other shows have stand out even more here. First off 13 episodes are just too long for these types of shows. The storyline feels like it’s being padded out at times. Not only that, but having each episode at 51 minutes is rather problematic. The episodes are so long that it’s hard to gauge a first, second, and third act of each episode because they feel like they drag. Keep in mind all of the other shows suffered from the same problem, so it’s not just Iron Fist.
Now to the good things: Colleen Wing. She single-handedly saved this show. She’s a better actor than the lead, fight scenes are more convincing, and what’s most shocking of all even her backstory is more interesting than Danny Rand. When she’s on screen the show works. When she’s not it doesn’t.
The show also actually kicks into another gear when Rosario Dawson’s reprises her role as Claire Temple…or the Night Nurse…or whatever Marvel has the rights to this week. Some comic purists will be upset that Claire is basically filling in as half of the Daughters of the Dragon besides Misty Knight, but it was the smart choice. Rosario is the linchpin of all these shows, plus she’s the bigger name. Also, as much as I hate to admit it…she’s a better actress than the Misty Knight actress too.
Verdict
Marvel Netflix has set a pretty high bar, so if we’re heading on a curve Iron Fist has failed to reach that bar and some may even consider it as Marvel Studios first major misstep. However if you’re looking for a new series on Netflix to pass the time over a weekend, you can do worse than Iron Fist. At the end of the day it does serve its purpose as passable entertainment.
Overall: 3/5
Marvel’s IRON FIST – TV Review Netflix and Marvel have revealed the final member of The Defenders in the form of the new series IRON FIST.
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