Pseudo Random Noise

Being Human: Eve of the War (s4 e1)

2012-02-05T22:40:00.001Z

Well, I almost forgot Being Human was on. Luckily I spotted it was on in time. Although, I have to say that this show has evolved over time, and I'm not sure it's for the best.At the beginning, this was a little show about three people, each struggling with their own unusual condition, living together and trying to fit in and "be human". But now we have prophecies, wars, apocalyptic futures - its like some pulp fantasy novel.And we've lost Mitchell, Nina (off camera), and now George as well. Bang goes the original core to be replaced by a new setup. It's like it's a whole new show.Still, the setup has the potential to be interesting and it's still good TV. Just a same most of the folk we cared about have stepped through their door.

Merry Christmas Internet!

2011-12-25T21:00:00.001Z

The JLI...

Merry Waspmas!

2011-12-21T21:43:00.001Z

Plus some partying friends...

Anyway, here's Superman with a more serious message:

You said it, Supes! Merry Christmas, one and all.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #46

2011-12-07T11:00:00.003Z

art by Bob Hall and Brett Breeding again (from Avengers #221 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #45

2011-11-30T11:00:00.001Z

art by Bob Hall and Brett Breeding (from Avengers #221 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #44

2011-11-23T11:00:00.001Z

art by Bob Hall and Brett Breeding (from Avengers #221 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #43

2011-11-16T11:00:00.002Z

art by Al Milgrom and Jack Abel (from Avengers Annual #11 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #42

2011-11-09T10:00:00.001Z

art by Bob Hall and Dan Green (from Avengers #220 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #41

2011-11-02T09:06:00.001Z

art by Bob Hall (from Avengers #219 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #40

2011-10-26T09:04:00.000Z

art by Bob Hall and others (from Avengers #219 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #39

2011-10-19T09:02:00.001Z

art by Bob Hall and others (from Avengers #219 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #38

2011-10-12T09:00:00.001Z

art by Bob Hall and Dan Green (from Avengers #217 1982)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #37

2011-10-05T08:58:00.001Z

art by Bob Hall and Dan Green (from Avengers #213 1981)

Doctor Who: The Wedding of River Song

2011-10-01T19:32:00.001Z

Hmmm...

I was expecting answers galore - answers to everything - and we got some, I guess, but not everything.

We still don't know who or what tried to destroy the TARDIS at the end of the last series. Or why the Silents had a ship that looked like the cloaked timeship above Craig's flat. Or what the purpose of the Silents were/are.

Plus, are we to assume that the Teselecta starts to regenerate when shot? Or that anyone survives inside it even when it is burnt?

And considering time froze and began to disintegrate if the Doctor lived at that fixed point in time then, considering the Doctor actually didn't die, wouldn't things all go screwy again? Or is Moffat trying to say that the Doctor fooled Time itself?

So, yeah, not entirely satisfied.

Still, the episode was pacey and thrilling. It was also nice to see that the death of the Brigadier was officially recognised in the show. And it all sets things up for a more mysterious, unknown Doctor - one that people don't recognise and perhaps isn't so angst-ridden.

It's just that I'm not entirely happy with the answers we got. It means the Doctor has been travelling around the Universe for nearly 200 years without any other companions, notable adventures and has had lots of meetings with River (I'm not sure why he had to be 200 years older to be honest).

And I'd guessed the Question which should not be answered a little while ago. It's the 'question' that's been there since the beginning - it was the title of the show, after all.

So, an exciting episode but ultimately unfulfilling. Though "Pond. Amelia Pond" and Rory's last stand were kinda cool. ;-)

EDIT: I've now watched this episode again, and on second viewing it seemed a lot more enjoyable. It still doesn't answer all the questions I was expecting to be covered but, knowing this, I could enjoy the episode for what it was. There were a number of spine-tingly, goose-bumpy moments in this which obviously means, emotionally, I found it to be an enjoyable episode.

It's just, as the final ep of the series, the big bad appeared to be the Doctor's death which is a bit nebulous as a threat. And that only gets addressed in the last three minutes. And, although I love alternate realities where you find the characters in different situations, this seemed to be just a throwaway idea and, after the resolution of this story, now never happened.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #36

2011-09-28T08:55:00.002Z

art by Bob Hall and Dan Green (from Avengers #213 1981)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #35

2011-09-21T08:53:00.001Z

art by Bob Hall and Dan Green (from Avengers #213 1981)

Doctor Who thoughts

2011-09-18T13:04:00.001Z

Trying out Blogger's new app ( unfortunately not an iPad one).

So, at the end of the God Complex (clever title that) the Doctor takes Amy and Rory to a house on a road that looks very familiar (also whatever happened to their home in Leadworth?). Its very similar to the road seen in the Lodger, where one house had 3 stories. The third story was actually a ship in disguise - a special TARDIS-like ship that could only be piloted by Timelordy people. And at the end of this week's episode, Amy asks the Doctor to get her daughter, River, to visit sometime. And River is sort of Timelordy.

So was the ship in the Lodger River's perhaps?

Anyway, lets see if this works...

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #34

2011-09-14T09:00:00.001Z

art by Alan Kupperberg and Dan Green (from Avengers #212 1981)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #33

2011-09-07T09:00:00.001Z

art by Alan Kupperberg and Dan Green (from Avengers #212 1981)

Just testing...

2011-09-03T18:01:00.001Z

Just testing out Blogger's new user interface on my iPad. Seems to work okay. Now let's see if I can post images from it.

Unfortunately, no, I can't upload from an iPad. :( So I had to post a link to the above image.Which reminds me - Doctor Who is on next!

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #32

2011-08-31T09:00:00.001Z

art by Gene Colan and Dan Green (from Avengers #206 1981)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #31

2011-08-24T09:00:00.001Z

art by Don Newton and Dan Green (from Avengers #204 1981)

Torchwood: Miracle Day - The Middle Men

2011-08-23T10:00:00.002Z

Again, another week of mostly padding.

I know I keep missing out every other week with these Torchwood reviews but mainly it's because half of each episode feels unnecessary. I get the feeling this all would've made a marvellous 5-part mini-series whereas instead we get something that's... okay, I guess.

for instance, this week we found out that, yes, they do cremate the Category 1s - which we already knew about the week before. Meanwhile Mr. "Bad-mitten" and his rather short, puny-looking marine sidekick tried to cover things up whilst getting more and more depressed/mental.

Oh and Gwen's family got kidnapped (off screen, I might add). That was after Gwen somehow found some explosives just lying around (as you do!) and blew up the facility containing all the Welsh Category 1s. Which, I guess, saves PhiCorp from transporting them to the incinerators!

I suppose the team did put their recordings of everything that happened on the 'net so now everyone knows what's happening to the Cat 1s. This doesn't seem to be PhiCorp's fault though - it's the government that decided this.

Meanwhile, what's happened to poor old omni-sexual (not gay!) Captain Jack? I know he's now mortal and therefore vulnerable but you'd think he'd do a bit more than just sit behind a keyboard or slap waiters' bottoms.

Another things that bugs me is how 'death' is inconsistently portrayed. We've seen one guy burnt and blown to bits, his head cut off, with no lungs and yet he was still conscious. We've seen a woman's neck snapped and turned 180 degrees but she's still able to walk. And yet lately we've had people strangled and then fall unconscious, or shot and then left for dead, or have a heart attack and be considered "brain dead".

Anyway, next week's episode looks a little more interesting as we see a bit more of Jack's past. And Gwen decides to use Jack to get her family back.

Me, I'm just waiting to find out who's behind all this and what they've got against Jack.

Where's Wall-E?

2011-08-22T17:28:00.000Z

(click to enlarge)

Transmute!

2011-08-20T19:14:00.001Z

Today I've been thinking about how I used to spend my Saturdays with my parents when I was a young 'un. We used to go to my grandparents in Winsford and do the weekly shop - and we'd also go into a Quality Save / TK Maxx -like shop which sold loads of different things. Including toys.

And from there I remember buying some Battle of the Planets toys that I'd never seen anywhere else (including other toy shops).

Back in the late '70s or early '80s I loved BotP, the Americanised version of Japan's Gatchaman. It was a fantastic cartoon with one of the best theme tunes ever. So of course I was eager to buy these things.

And yet, to be honest, these were nothing like the vehicles on BotP.

Now I didn't have all of these. All I remember having is the GodPhenix (first on the left in the first and second images), the Skyplane (second from the left in the first image), and the Helisky (on the right in the second picture). I may have also had the Skycar - I vaguely remember it so maybe I had it??

So although they mention "Battle of the Planets" and "BBC tv" on the box they were actually based on the Gatchaman II vehicles - which we never saw in the UK on the BBC. Still, these were some wonderfully colourful and detailed part-diecast toys with lots of moving bits and things that fired off.

Here's some more piccies.

The Skyplane:

The Helisky:

(which is missing its sort of batshaped rotors that used to fire off when you pressed that red crescent thing on the top).

(hmmm, perhaps my best mate had this and that's why I remember it?)

I still have my (battered and damaged) Skyplane, but goodness knows where the rest are.

Also, a few years ago I bought the complete DVD box set of the BotP cartoons. To be honest, they haven't aged well. I think I've only watched the first couple of DVDs and then got a bit bored. That 7-Zark-7 doesn't help - I wished they'd just kept the Japanese Gatchaman version and, perhaps, dubbed it.

At various times there's been talk of producing a new version - be a TV show, live action film or CGI film - of the original Gatchaman series. There are a number of trailers to be found on the web and on YouTube. Just last year for instance, a CGI version was being produced but now even that has been stopped.

Pity really, I'd love to see an updated version.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #30

2011-08-17T13:00:00.003Z

art by George Perez and Mike Esposito (from Avengers #202 1980)

Vampires are amongst us!

2011-08-13T10:20:00.000Z

A man has died after being bitten by a vampire bat in the US.

So in three days time will he rise as one of the soulless undead to prey on young women in their nightgowns?

Captain America - The First Avenger

2011-08-11T12:33:00.000Z

I finally got around to seeing the latest Marvel film last night and, yeah, they did a good job. It's a very enjoyable film with a definite Marvel comic-book feel whilst being set (for the most part) during WW2.

Captain America himself was pretty much spot on. Chris Evans did a fantastic job of selling the honourable little guy who just wants to do the right thing and stop bullies. Although, perhaps at times, he was a little too understated and needed a little more presence. The skinny Steve Rogers effects were generally good although there were a couple of times when Evans' head looked a little too big for his body (plus his voice sounded too deep for such a small chest).

The other actors in the film were also excellent. I particularly liked Stanley Tucci's Dr Erskine and Tommy Lee Jones as the gruff general.

As well as being a great pulpy, action film it was also quite amusing, with a number of pithy one-liners from the supporting cast (especially Jones' general).

It was also good to see the Howling Commandos (here led by Captain America, not Fury), sniper Bucky, Cap's original costume and shield, Cap 'punching' Hitler, and even a brief shot of the original Human Torch. A pity we didn't see anything more of the Invaders - perhaps that'll come in a future film.

Regarding Cap's Shield I thought it worked extremely well and didn't seem clunky. I loved seeing Cap throwing it around. I also thought it's introduction was refreshing - no big reveal, no convoluted explanation of its abilities, just "it's made of Vibranium that can absorb vibrations. And that's all the material we've got so we can't make any more". Simple.

My only complaint would be that they tried to fit too much into the movie. As well as introducing Steve Rogers, his super soldier transformation in Cap, his initial time as the war bond poster guy, a montage of his various fights against Hydra and then taking on the Red Skull, they also had to fit in the modern day stuff showing SHIELD finding Cap's shield in the frozen north and then Cap waking up in Times Square (why the heck was he kept in a facility just off of Times Square of all places?!?). The beginning and end bits felt a little tacked on - although I would say these were the only parts that made this film feel like an extended prequel to next year's Avengers film.

So, a very entertaining film though not as great as Iron Man and perhaps not quite as good as X-Men: First class. But better than Green Lantern. I hope future Captain America movies expand on the WW2 setting, leaving Cap's modern day adventures to the Avengers film(s) - which, based on what I've seen of the preceding individual movies, is bound to be amazing.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #29

2011-08-10T13:00:00.003Z

art by John Byrne and Dan Green (from Avengers #201 1980)

Monster Monday

2011-08-08T11:00:00.001Z

Torchwood: Miracle Day - Escape to L.A.

2011-08-07T15:02:00.001Z

You know what's missing from this series of Torchwood? Aliens.

Okay, so there have been vague hints of aliens but we haven't actually seen any. In the past, the aliens have been pretty upfront - even in the Children of Earth miniseries the 456 aliens were quickly introduced. Here though all we have is a mystery and some sort of conspiracy. Its just not very Torchwoody.

As my parents-in-law pointed out, this series seems somewhat padded out. Yeah, there's a story there but it's 5 episodes stretched out to 10. For most of this week's episode, things seemed to drag somewhat. They introduced the "Dead is Dead" thing just for this episode it seems as its leader was killed at the end (erm, spoiler!). It was looking a little mediocre until the bit in the server room with the assassin. Then things looked up, as it seemed we were about to discover who was behind everything. Of course, it was all just a fake out - but we did find out that whatever it is it has something to do with Jack and his past. Perhaps all this is just to get at Jack after all?

It'll probably be someone or somethings that we, the viewers, haven't seen before. But it would be cool if they were the Daleks, eh? I mean, its not like Moffat has done much with them over in DW.

There were a couple of little 'mistakes'. How did Rex and Jack get back into the secure server room when they realised Gwen was in trouble? Why did Rex get on Esther's case for going to see her sister when he went to see his father? Why did the hired assassin have so much information about what was going on?

So, yeah, if it wasn't for the last part of this episode, this wouldn't have been much of an episode. Torchwood is proving to be a little disappointing for me. Not bad but not CoE good either. Unfortunately, it's not making me desperate to watch the next episode.

Fishy Friday

2011-08-05T13:00:00.001Z

Marine Man

Strength: 5
Toughness: 3
Special Powers: 2
Status: 1

Finally, there's Marine Man, a created by Ian Churchill. A mix of the Big Two's premier fishy heroes, Steve Ocean is a marine biologist with his own TV show - a sort of superpowered Jacques Cousteau. Or something like that.

...And that's a-trout enough for Fishy Friday, a trawl through the watery world of undersea comic book heroes (not including fishy villains and aquatic supporting characters, of course)!

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #28

2011-08-03T13:00:00.001Z

art by George Perez and Dan Green (from Avengers #201 1980)

Monster Monday

2011-08-01T12:00:00.001Z

Fishy Friday

2011-07-29T13:00:00.001Z

Andromeda

Strength: 6
Toughness: 7
Special Powers: 3
Status: 2

Andromeda Attumasen is the daughter of Attuma, a nemesis of Namor. Inspired by Namor, she joined the (New) Defenders and fought against her father. Together with Tamara Rahn, Stingray, Triton, Tiger Shark and Namor himself, she was one of the Deep Six - a team of underwater characters.

Game Of Thrones

2011-07-28T10:22:00.000Z

Still jetting off the Glasgow each week but, due to a generous work colleague who also shares these trips, I've now watched the first series of Game of Thrones. And it was excellent!

Sure, things sort of meandered a little in the middle, but episode 7 turned things around and from then on it was a wonderful sprint to the finish. In fact, I was somewhat surprised I'd reached the last episode (I hadn't realised there were only 10 episodes) and so felt a bit 'robbed' when the end came. I want more!

Like the books, I think the first half of this season suffered a little from having lots and lots of different characters split across a variety of locations. It took a while to get a hang of who was who and where events were happening. But, as mentioned, by about two-thirds of the way through things started to click into place.

And, like the books, no character is safe from the chop!

All the actors are great in their roles and none let the side down (although, perhaps, Lena Headey's Cersei does not come across as well as the others). The locations look wonderfully lavish and there's a real sense of suspense and intrigue.

Let's hope the second season arrives sooner rather than later.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #27

2011-07-27T13:00:00.001Z

art by George Perez and Dan Green (from Avengers #200 1980)

Torchwood: Miracle Day - Rendition

2011-07-26T14:54:00.000Z

This second episode wasn't quite as explosively entertaining as the first episode but was reasonable enough, I guess. Most of the action took place on board a plane with Gwen and Jack taken prisoner by the CIA. I guess it served as a way to show the viewers and Rex that there are some shady people in his organisation who are out to kill, rather than question, Torchwood. Otherwise though, it felt a little like padding. At times I couldn't tell whether the artificially-frantic treatment of Jack's poisoning was supposed to be amusing or serious or both. It just seemed a little silly.

Again, I felt that the acting from a number of the actors was, well, okay I suppose. I like Rex and Jack is always fun to watch. But even Gwen seemed a little off this time. Esther still doesn't convince though.

I guess this episode was setting a few things into motion - Rex's and Esther's split from the corrupt CIA, Oswald's rise to fame (and eventual cult status), Jack's mortality, the introduction of PhiCorp - whilst continuing to ask how the world would cope.

And who is Jilly Kitzinger? She appears to be touting herself differently to different people - first as a PR guru to Oswald then as an employee of PhiCorp. Red seems to be her colour - she's not supposed to be some sort of devil figure, is she?

So, not a bad episode and I'll continue to watch Torchwood until the end, but nothing incredibly exciting either. And although the mini-series format seems to suit Torchwood, I do sometimes mourn the loss of standalone episodes.

Monster Monday

2011-07-25T12:00:00.001Z

Fishy Friday

2011-07-22T13:00:00.001Z

Tamara Rahn

Strength: 6
Toughness: 5
Special Powers: 2
Status: 2

Marvel's funky red-skinned Tamara Rahn is an alien of the water-breathing extraterrestrial Banari race from the planet Laab. As with many comic book meetings, she originally fought Namor the Sub-Mariner but then turned to the side of good (although she was involved with Tiger Shark for a while). She has the usual run-of-the-mill aquatic powers.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #26

2011-07-20T13:00:00.001Z

art by George Perez and Josef Rubinstein (from Avengers #194 1980)

Torchwood: Miracle Day - Episode #1

2011-07-18T17:24:00.000Z

Well, you can tell it's now American.

The first half of this new episode of Torchwood seemed a bit like a tacky, CSI-like thriller. The pace and cutting was faster than before and there were a fair number of explosions. And, again, annoying zoom shoots of the mouths of multiple newsreaders were used near the beginning to highlight the shock of 'Miracle Day'. So thank goodness for the earmuff-wearing baby as Gwen shot at a helicopter outside her window after being reintroduced to Captain Jack!

It was at the point about half way through when Rex, the injured CIA agent, travelled across to Wales when things picked up for me. In fact, if it wasn't for Rex's tough, gruff, get-stuck-in attitude together with his dry wit then all of the American newcomers would've been somewhat bland and forgettable.

By the end of the episode though, I found I was quite enjoying the show. I have no idea how they'll run with the same mystery for another 9 episodes (mind you, other US shows have extended single mysteries over longer seasons in the past) but I reckon it'll be pretty entertaining. And I'll be interested in discovering why Jack is now vulnerable whilst everyone else is unkillable, why he came back to Earth after leaving at the end of the last series, who sent the Torchwood email that seemed to start this thing off and why some group is sending helicopters and suicide bombers to kill Jack and Gwen. Plus, it looks like we'll get to see more of Bill Pullman's creepy character Oswald the child killer.

Let's hope they stop using the "456" designation for almost everything though.

Monster Monday

2011-07-18T17:13:00.000Z

Eek! Almost forgot...

(though not as good as ~~Heropress'~~ "I'd Rather Be Killing Monsters" post on Sunday)

Fishy Friday

2011-07-15T13:00:00.002Z

Undersea Agent

Strength: 3
Toughness: 4
Special Powers: 4
Status: 1

An agent of U.N.D.E.R.S.E.A - standing for the United Nations Department of Experiment and Research Systems Established at Atlantis - Davy Jones (!) was a government operative with the usual minor aquatic powers (heightened strength, endurance, etc) but also had access to a number of high-tech weapons. Later on, he became a member of the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents but other than his dubious name, he's pretty forgettable.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #25

2011-07-13T13:00:00.001Z

art by John Byrne and Klaus Janson (from Avengers #183 1979)

Aviator #6: "Who Knows What Evil Lurks?"

2011-07-12T12:26:00.000Z

Previously...

The chilling wind whistled past Aviator as he hurtled through the air. The words and images from Bag Lady's newspaper still tumbled around his head, their shock still stinging within him. How could Kath be a villain...?

His trajectory took him straight to his apartment in Devil Heights and, as he neared, he slowed his flight. The window to his bedroom was still open and so he quickly darted inside. Even before his feet had touched down on the floor inside, he noticed that Kathleen was also in the room with an almost-full suitcase near her on the table in the corner.

"Kath, what...?" Rob began, looking from the woman to the things strewn across his bed.

Kathleen did not seem surprised, but turned in a graceful movement, shutting the suitcase as she did.

"Ah, the flying boy has returned", Kath purred, a slight smile playing on her lips. "And a little earlier than expected. A pity. I'd hoped to have been gone before you came back, to save any goodbyes".

She lifted up the case and began to make her way towards the door. Rob moved to the side to intercept her.

"Kath, I know who you are. That you're Fallen Angel. What are you doing? Where are you going?"

He was confused and a little angry, both with himself and the woman before him. Kath stopped and glanced up at Rob, her eyes blazing with harsh red light.

"So, Aviator", she said, stressing her knowledge of her companion's identity, "you've finally woken up and seen the news. Took you long enough. As to where I'm going, I would've thought it was obvious. I am leaving this place and rejoining my... other companions".

She took a step closer to the door but Rob stood his ground, blocking her. They were now no more than a foot from one another, each facing the other.

"You're Fallen Angel. You broke out of Dunwich. You're a goddamned supervillain, Kath!"

Kath tutted and waved a pale finger in the air.

"Kathleen Pendergast hasn't been around these parts for some time, my poor lovesick Robbie. Whereas my existence is eternal. Yes, I escaped from that confining dungeon you call Dunwich and away from that disgusting wretch of a man Dr Liefhouse. Just like I escaped an eternity before from Him above and his restrictive Commandments".

"But how can you be evil? Why did you do the things you've done? You were so lovely back at University. And I love you Ka..."

Kathleen's eyes blazed again as what appeared to be anger - or perhaps some other veiled emotion - boiled inside her.

"No, am I not evil. I am freedom and power. But Dr Liefhouse told me I was just Kathleen Pendergast. He said I was just some sort of mutant with meta-genetic abilities pretending to be what I was, deluding myself. He said I had psychological problems and that he could help me. But he was the deluded one. He restrained me, isolated me and tried to hurt me to get me to utter his petty lies. He was wrong. For I am one of the Fallen, using this woman's essence and form, here to free you mortals from the Almighty's unholy dictatorship".

"What are you on about?" Rob pleaded. What she was saying seemed like madness but all Rob wanted to do was hold and comfort her.

"You are controlled by the One above, Rob. You have no more freedom than an actor in one of your movies, following a preordained script. That is what you call ‘goodness’. And now Kathleen Pendergast is free from those chains. Instead, this body is mine. Being here was a pleasant distraction, my dear, but now darkness is coming and it is time for me to leave".

She took another small step closer to the doorway, now only inches from Rob, but Rob just held up his hand.

"I know that's you in there, Kath. You can't leave me. And you're wanted by the police. I won't let you leave. You need help".

He reached across to put his reassuring hand on her gentle shoulder. Just as he was about to touch her, Kathleen's eyes again glowed red as eternal fires flashed deep within them. A corona of suffocating, painful heat suddenly surrounded the woman. Rob quickly withdrew his hand.

"You are as bad as him. Get out of my way!" she sneered.

And, absently, she backhanded Rob across his surprised face.

If an express train had slammed into Rob, it would have hurt less. The slap hit Rob with so much force that he flew sidewards and smashed into the large refrigerator in the nearby kitchen area. With a groan, he tried to get up but his head was ringing and his body didn't seem to want to respond. Through blurred vision, he watched as Kathleen opened the door and began to head outside.

With what little strength he had, Rob stood up and called out weakly. "Kath...!", was all he could utter before the woman turned to face him.

"Goodbye Rob" she replied in return, her glowing eyes gazing deep into his soul.

Shapes seemed to spring up from the corners of his blurry vision - monstrous entities of darkness and fire. He tried to breathe, tried to move, but his mind felt separated from the rest of his body, which was held in some sort of stasis. His feeble heart inside the chest he could no longer feel flickered and then stopped.

For that long moment, all Rob could do was stare into those red, inhuman eyes. And as he gazed, he was sure he could see flaming wings grow behind his ex-lover's back and a fiery halo materialise above her head.

Then he blinked and she was gone.

Rob’s chilled blood began to beat again around his returned body. Crippling pain resurfaced, surging like an unstoppable tidal wave across the ocean of his fragile nervous system. Finally, the darkness that hovered around his sight's periphery took him as his eyes rolled back and he slumped to the floor unconscious.

Fishy Friday

2011-07-08T13:00:00.001Z

Nia Noble

Strength: 5

Toughness: 4

Special Powers: 6

Status: 1

Member of the New Invaders, Nia Noble was actually married to the Fin. She has the usual underwater powers of strength and swimming but also has some cool telepathic powers too. Other than that, I've never heard of her - probably because she was in the New Invaders.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #24

2011-07-06T13:00:00.003Z

art by Jim Mooney and Al Gordon (from Avengers #179 1979)

Monster Monday

2011-07-04T09:00:00.001Z

Fishy Friday

2011-07-01T13:00:00.001Z

The Duck

Strength: 2

Toughness: 3

Special Powers: 6

Status: 2

Not exactly the best name for a superhero, eh? This is one of Stan Lee's NHL-based superheroes in his Guardian Project. Rich and highly intelligent, he apparently makes all the high-tech gear for the Guardians. And has a surf board. And looks a bit daffy.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #23

2011-06-29T13:00:00.002Z

art by George Perez and Pablo Marcos (from Avengers Annual #8 1978)

When is Miracle Day?

2011-06-28T12:29:00.000Z

Very quickly, it looks like we have a confirmed date when the BBC is going to show Torchwood: Miracle Day. The first episode will be on Thursday 14th July (3 days after my birthday). Hoorah!

Also, the Daily Blam has an 11 minute behind-the-scenes featurette.

That is all.

Green Lantern

2011-06-27T12:23:00.000Z

The spring/summer of superhero movies is well and truly underway. First there was Thor (which I missed), then X-Men: First Class (which was excellent) and now DC try to muscle in with Green Lantern, before Marvel can hit back with Captain America. Unfortunately it looks like Marvel has won this round.

Not that Green Lantern was bad. It was an entertaining, colourful film with some very impressive outer space CGI effects - if somewhat in-your-face and reminiscent of video game cut-scenes. Many of the cast were decent too - Ryan Reynolds does a fine Hal Jordan, I really liked Blake Lively as Carol Ferris and Mark Strong gave an excellent performance as (the somewhat underused) Sinestro.

It's just that, this felt like an average American superhero movie: introduce hero and supporting cast, hero gets powers, hero learns about powers, then he learns about threat, hero stops threat even though he has little experience. Other than the SFX, there was nothing to elevate this above - or bring it up to the level of - other action films out there. Iron Man (f'instance) had the wonderful Robert Downey Jnr as Tony Stark as well as the set up for the forthcoming Avengers film. X-Men: First Class tied in with the earlier X-Men films, exploring the fascinating relationship between Prof X and Magneto whilst utilising a sort of 60s James Bond theme as a backdrop. This just had pretty SFX.

Even the various aliens in the Green Lantern Corp weren't really examined much. Tomar Re was pretty much just a narrator there to introduce Hal (and the viewer) to the whole GL Corps thing, Kilowog was used to give us a very brief and slightly disappointing training exercise, and Abin Sur made a quick discovery of the threat and then crashed on Earth in the beginning third of the film. The only other alien we were introduced to was Sinestro who, coming across as the overly tough, uncompromising, strict, stuck-up leader, was merely there to set up the villain in the sequel. Probably a good idea - the last thing this introductory film needed was another villain on top of Hector Hammond and Parallax - but it did mean that Sinestro didn't get much to do other than preach about how perfect "his" Green Lantern Corp was.

I do wonder whether those not familiar with the comic books wondered what the point of the newly-created yellow ring was. There was a reasonable amount of time spent creating the thing and then nothing (other than a post-credits scene, which I missed!).

I liked the scene on the balcony with Carol seeing through Hal's flimsy disguise - because, seriously, a little domino mask around the eyes is going to do nothing to hide one's identity - and it was good to see that Green Lantern created objects (such as boxing gloves, ramps, and the like) with his ring rather than just blasting at things with green lasers.

Not sure about the use of Amanda Waller in the film though. For starters, she was far too slim but also she appeared to have been killed in the battle with Hector Hammond. Or maybe not? Seems a shame to get rid of her so lets hope she somehow recovered. It would be interesting if she appeared in all of the forthcoming DC movies, doing things behind the scenes, and perhaps setting up a Suicide Squad film sometime in the future.

All in all though, Green Lantern was an average film - not great but far from terrible - which should set things up nicely for a half decent sequel with Sinestro as the bad guy. Going off Mark Strong's performance, that should be pretty interesting!

Monster Monday

2011-06-27T09:00:00.002Z

Fishy Friday

2011-06-24T13:00:00.001Z

Amphibian

Strength: 7

Toughness: 7

Special Powers: 4

Status: 3

Amphibian is Marvel's Squadron Supreme version of Aquaman, just as Hyperion and Power Princess are the Marvel version's of Superman and Wonder Woman, respectively. However, although originally a man the character was brought back as a woman in the Supreme Power series. Note the ironic similarities between Amphibian's and Aquaman's secret identities - Kingsley Rice and Arthur Curry ("King Arthur" and "Curry and Rice").

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #22

2011-06-22T13:00:00.001Z

art by George Perez and Pablo Marcos (from Avengers #170 1978)

Monster Monday

2011-06-20T09:00:00.006Z

Fishy Friday

2011-06-17T13:00:00.001Z

Shark-Man

Strength: 7

Toughness: 6

Special Powers: 3

Status: 1

As well as the excellent Stingray, Shark-Man is one of the very few other aquatic heroes who wears a super-suit to give him superstrength, partial invulnerability and the ability to fly.

X-Men: First Class

2011-06-16T11:18:00.000Z

Although I missed Thor at the cinema (I'll catch it on DVD later in the year), last night I managed to get to see X-Men: First Class whilst here in Glasgow. And, in summary, it was very good. I wouldn't say I was absolutely wowed by it but it was certainly an excellent story, had great SFX, was well-acted and fit in well with the other X-Men films (even X-Men 3: The Last Stand though not so much with Wolverine - which was probably a wise choice).

Telling the early tale of Erik/Magneto and Prof Xavier, this film concentrated on showing us how the two of them came together and how they subsequently fell apart. Both were played extremely effectively by Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy - for me, McAvoy was the standout as the affable, empathic professor who has a way of displaying a little dry humour.

What was refreshing about this film was that it didn't try to overload the viewer with the back histories and 'origins' of all the characters. It was only really Magneto's and Prof X's backgrounds that were revealed - with a little of Sebastian Shaw's and Mystique's, I guess - but someone like Emma Frost was simply introduced with hints that she'd had a bit of a history with Shaw. Heck, I think poor old Riptide didn't even get to say anything, let alone an origin!

Thankfully, Azazel (supposedly Nightcrawler's father from the Draco storyline) was kept as a background lackey and a generic mutant with very little to say.

There were also some very amusing cameos in there as well!

Of course, things weren't perfect. Shaw's power was played a little loosely for my liking - he could absorb any energy and seemed to be able to release that energy in a variety of ways (small balls of energy, slamming a foot into the ground, etc). Though one wonders why couldn't absorb the kinetic energy of a moving coin near the end? Why would a CIA agent hire a young, very recent Oxford graduate in genetics as an expert on 'mutants' and not, say, his lecturers or some scientist in America (or is Xavier supposed to be the only genetics expert there is?). Also, I assume Xavier is English, and that his family's mansion-like home is in England - does this mean he starts his first school for mutants in England? The CIA let Hank/Beast construct these wonderful inventions (including a VTOL Blackbird) but, I assume, didn't keep the designs for them?

Anyway these were tiny, minor issues in an otherwise very enjoyable film - and one that, in many ways, is actually better than it's predecessors.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #21

2011-06-15T13:00:00.003Z

art by George Perez and Pablo Marcos (from Avengers #167 1978)

Monster Monday

2011-06-13T09:00:00.002Z

Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes To War

2011-06-12T18:16:00.000Z

I'm back - and of course one of the first things I did after getting back off holiday (other than putting on a load of washing) was to watch the midseason cliffhanger to Doctor Who. Better late than ever! And, wow, was it a good one.

Right from the brilliant pre-title sequence with a very authoritive Rory and the re-introduction of the Cybermen, this was a rollercoaster ride with the Doctor - plus a few helpful aides - at war with those who took Amy and her baby. There were some fantastic Star Wars -esque effects with spaceships docking during this beginning sequence but it was a pity we didn't see more of the Cybermen. Bit of a wasted opportunity there.

In fact, because there seemed to be so much packed into this episode, there was much that was just glossed over. It was chock full of genius ideas but some characters were introduced and then far too quickly killed off. For most, it didn't really matter but it's a pity we won't see any more of Sontaran nurse Commander Strax. Newcomer Madame Vastra and sidekick Jenny seem to have gone down well with the fans though (and quite right too). Loved the little nod to Thunderbirds with her coachman Parker - "Yes, m'lady".

The revelation Of River Song's identity wasn't too surprising once we'd learnt the name of Amy's baby although for a moment I was flummoxed when River supposedly revealed all to the Doctor and yet it didn't seem clear to the viewer. I wondered whether I had missed something - I just had to be a little patient.

I thought Moffat wanted a break in the series to give us a wonderful cliffhanger to fret over but, I have to say, this wasn't much of a cliffhanger. The one at the end of the last episode was better.

Also I wonder how the eye-patch woman knew Amy was pregnant before she kidnapped her at a point before the beginning of this series? No-one else knew at that point. And why were the Clerics the bad guys here but the good guys in the Time of the Angels?

So, little Melody was taken to Earth where she was brought up in a spacesuit by the Silence until she escaped and may (or may not) have killed an older Doctor and then went on to regenerate. How do the Silence fit in with eye-patch woman? How is Melody/River supposed to help fight against the Doctor (I suppose if she was the one in the spacesuit that killed the Doctor then I guess she did the job)? How does this all fit in with the TARDIS exploding?

So, great episode but still lots of questions. And complex but in a good way (although both my wife and 9year old daughter were confused by what was happening during this episode). The next episode after the break sounds pretty awesome though - "Lets Kill Hitler".

Fishy Friday

2011-06-10T13:00:00.002Z

The Pirana

Strength: 3

Toughness: 2

Special Powers: 2

Status: 1

Apparently published by Harvey Comics, goodness knows who this guy is. He never even got his own title. But he could communicate with his two "piranapets" called Bara and Cuda. Brilliant!

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #20

2011-06-08T13:00:00.001Z

art by George Perez and Pablo Marcos (from Avengers #161 1977)

Monster Monday

2011-06-06T09:00:00.001Z

Holiday!

2011-06-04T08:00:00.002Z

It's time for another family holiday - this time to sunny Menorca! Mind you, the weather here in England looks better than over there right now.

Anyway, I'll be back in a week (when the first thing I'll do is watch the midseason cliffhanger of Doctor Who). Hasta la vista!

Fishy Friday

2011-06-03T13:00:00.001Z

The Fin

Strength: 4

Toughness: 4

Special Powers: 3

Status: 2

Okay, now we're starting to scrape the bottom of the barrel. I have no idea who this guy is but apparently he's a golden age hero and an ally of Marvel's Invaders. Of course, he has the usual list of aquatic powers (strong, tough, swims fast, can breathe underwater, yawn) plus a magic cutlass!

Aviator #5: "By the Hoary Hosts...!"

2011-06-03T08:44:00.000Z

Walking the long way back home from his first day as an official librarian, albeit a trainee assistant librarian, Rob was puzzled. Not by his new job, which he'd finally obtained after rescheduling his interview with Dr Armitage at the Lovecraft Library. And not by the state of Alyson Rosenberg's health, because she had bounced back quite admirably. No, his puzzlement was due to an email he'd received just before he'd left.

It had been from a friend of his, Ryan Marston, who still worked at Knight City Pharmaceuticals - the place where Rob used to work. He'd asked Ryan to run an analysis of the liquid he'd found at the warehouse, back when he'd encountered Feuerkraft. Doing it in his spare time, it had taken his old work colleague a few days to get around to it, but finally he'd emailed him the results. They had been somewhat intriguing.

At first pass the compound appeared to be a derivative of methamphetamine but there was an additional component that Ryan couldn't recognise. Rob did though; it was very similar to the chemical he'd been working on just before he'd been sacked from his old job. It was the chemical that had been due to be shipped to something called KRAKEN. It was also the chemical that had somehow given him superpowers.

The weird thing was that Ryan had run the analysis three times and each time that experimental chemical appeared to change composition. Ryan thought it was unstable or perhaps a glitch in the analysis software. Whereas to Rob it appeared like the formula was mutating.

Whatever it was, it puzzled Rob to distraction. So much so that, as he walked by an alleyway, he almost collided with someone.

Rob looked up to apologise and continue on his way. But then he realised that he recognised the rather scruffy person in front of him. It was the bag lady he'd saved from the collapsing building right at the start of his adventures.

"Oh, erm, sorry..." he began, but the old woman stopped him by waving a wrinkled hand in front of his face.

"Y' don't have t'be sorry, 'Aviator'. Was meant to be. I need t'ave a chat wit' ya", she said, moving into the shadows of the alleyway and beckoning Rob to follow her with a gnarly finger.

"Aviator? I don't know who you mean..." he began, stepping into the alley after the woman.

"I knows who y'are, 'Aviator'. I wuz there, remember? Ya saved me. I woz a bit… fuzzy at the time but it were you. It's important ya listen to wot I 'ave to say. Ya 'ave to help stop 'em!" she implored.

It seemed to Rob there was no point in arguing; she was adamant he was Aviator. So instead he took a moment to study this old woman who seemed to know him. His gaze gained him little in the dim light though. She wore a long, scruffy, patchwork coat that covered most of her short body. On her head, a stained headscarf covered her long silver-white hair and shaded her weathered features which, as Rob watched, appeared to flow and subtly alter. Intrigued, Rob walked a little further into the gloomy depths of the alley.

"Stop who?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low.

"Doesn't matter who”, the strange woman replied. “Call 'em the Black Sun. Yeah, it's as good as any. Y'see it's 'bout that book that was stolen. The one by Baum. That an' other thingies".

"The one from the library?" Rob asked incredulously. "What about it? And what other things?"

“Shuush!” The old woman held a finger to her lips whilst raising her other withered hand. This she moved above her head in a complicated gesture and then quietly incanted some unusual, complicated words. Suddenly, the noise from beyond the entrance of the alleyway cut off whilst the shadows surrounding them appeared to thicken.

“That’s betta”, the woman spoke into the strange silence that now loomed around them. She gazed towards Rob with a withering look in her cloudy eyes.

"Ya don't follow the news much, does ya? That's not the only things' been stolen recently. There were that wardrobe shipped o’er from England and some gateway to the stars in Egypt, t’ name but two. They're pathways to the other places. The book itself were 'bout twisters to other planes and Baum's theories concernin' 'em".

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Rod asked, after a moment of puzzlement.

"Ya can call me Bag Lady. On account that I 'ave a bag, see? And I'm gifted. Able to see wha' others can't and lift veils t’other places. And it's comin', ya hear. Darkness. But before then, they need t'understand".

"I'm sorry but I don't know who 'they' are and I don't understand," pleaded Rob, taking a step back, wondering what this old woman was going on about. She was obviously somewhat crazy or perhaps still drunk (though Rob could not smell alcohol on her breath this time). However, as Rob moved backwards he felt resistance behind him.

"The Black Sun. Kraken. They're studying t’ hieroglyphics on cave walls in Rhudjistan and in pyramid tombs in Egypt. They've a plan t’ merge all the worlds, force ‘em into one. And in the chaos, they'll bring forth t'eternal Reich an’ rule over us all".

At the mention of Kraken, Rob's interest rose. He leaned closer.

"Kraken! You mentioned Kraken" he exclaimed. Perhaps this woman wasn't truly mad after all. "They, or he, were receiving some chemicals from..."

"I know. That'd be the Elixir", Bag Lady interrupted. "T' strengthen 'n' stabilise their legions during the crisis. It holds great power, y'see? 'Course ya do, it's in ya veins. That’s why they haveta be stopped. And you’ve gotta help stop 'em, Aviator".

Rob squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his head. This all seemed somewhat surreal to him.

"Stop them? How?"

"They'll be afta the cross-time configurator next. It’s sorta like a pocket watch. It's... somewhere else right now. But I'll find it, don’tya worry. It’ll jus’ take me a day or two an’ then I’ll be back in touch. First tho’ ya 'ave to deal wit something closer ta home".

The old woman could see that Rob looked confused. She tutted, shook her head, and sighed.

"Like I said, ya don't follows the news much, d'ya? Here..."

The old woman plunged her thin arm into the large, patchwork bag that hung from her shoulder. Scrabbling around she eventually pulled out an old and creased copy of the Herald and threw it at Rob's feet. He looked down and stared at it.

On the front page were three photographs, side by side. The first was what appeared to be a picture of Kathleen Pendergast, his current roommate and lover, whilst next to this was an image of a man and another woman Rob didn't recognise. In the dim light of the alley the man’s features and neck looked oddly-shaped whilst the other woman looked, well, crazy. Turning back to the photograph of Kath, Rob noticed that it didn't do her justice at all. In fact, it made her look very unwell and almost ghostly.

Above the photographs were thick, black words claiming "CRIMINALS ESCAPE DUNWICH". Below this Rob could read the sub-heading that read "Fallen Angel, The Human Snake and Dizz-E Elude Police".

Bending down, Rob hesitantly picked up the paper and read the first few sentences of the article. His hands began to shake by the time he’d finished the second paragraph and realisation began to hit him.

"Dear God, no!" he whispered to himself.

TO BE CONTINUED

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #19

2011-06-01T13:00:00.001Z

art by George Tuska and Vince Colletta (from Avengers #137 1975)

Monster Monday

2011-05-30T09:00:00.003Z

Doctor Who: The Almost People

2011-05-29T19:25:00.001Z

Spoilers ahoy!!!

So, did the Doctor's shoes dissolve when he sonicked fake Amy? Because he'd swapped them with the fake Doctor's earlier and as far as I could see he didn't swap back.

More importantly why did he sonic fake Amy? After an episode which tried to show that flesh versions of people were really no different to the regular people - so much so that a couple of flesh versions took over the lives of the regular humans at the end - the Doctor's melting of fake Amy seemed a little... harsh.

Anyway, I guess this episode of Doctor Who - the second part of the Rebel Flesh - will mostly be remembered for the last five minutes or so which was something of a game changer for this season (and which I've already spoiled above). Yet the rest of the episode was pretty decent too. Nothing wonderful, and it felt a little padded out, but reasonably thrilling, scary with a intriguing delve into what makes a human. The physical effects were pretty good although some of the CGI, such as when fake Jennifer turned into her monstrous form, were a little iffy. Some great characters and acting too - I especially like Cleaves, the leader of the group.

Still, it's that last little revelation concerning Amy that really ramped this up from an above average episode to an excellent one. It also means this "filler" episode was actually strongly linked to the series long storyline. So when was real Amy swapped for the ganger? When the Silence captured her? Or prior to that when Amy and Rory were on Earth sans Doctor? And why has the Eye Patch Lady taken Amy and so interested in her baby?

Next week it's the mid season cliffhanger and then a break over the summer. Unfortunately (well, sort of) I'll be on holiday so I won't see it until the week after. Eeek! I may have to steer away from spoilers until then.

Who - SNES style

2011-05-28T20:04:00.001Z

(Click to see the vid. Hopefully)

By DoctorOctoroc.

Fishy Friday

2011-05-27T14:00:00.001Z

Hydroman

Strength: 3

Toughness: 5

Special Powers: 7

Status: 2

A forgotten Golden Age hero who could turn himself into water, he's now been revived in the pages of Project Superpowers (where he's simply called Hydro so as not to be confused with that well-known Spidey villain Hydro-Man). Like Seaguy, one of the best things about him is his sidekick - Rainbow Boy! - who can fly at the speed of light leaving a rainbow trail behind him.

Aviator #4: "Superstitious, Cowardly Lot"

2011-05-27T09:25:00.000Z

"I'm here for the interview. For the librarian position", Rob answered the young but slightly dowdy looking woman who stood behind the desk. Other younger people milled around them, heading this way and that, and one or two glanced at Rob in his cheap suit and tie. Rob shuffled his feet a little and tried to smile in a polite but studious way.

"Oh yes. You must be Robert Tomlin, right?" The woman smiled back, her eyes a sparkling green behind functional glasses, Rob noticed.

"I'm Alyson Rosenberg. I'm also one of the librarians here. Well, I suppose you guessed that. And I guess you're not technically a librarian here yet either. But you know what I mean".

The small, brown-haired, squirrely woman called Alyson giggled nervously for a moment and then removed her reading glasses.

"Eh, I haven't been here long myself" she said in explanation and, after briefly looking around, continued. "I can't seem to see Dr. Armitage at the moment - he's the head librarian here - so if you'll just wait a moment I'll go and find him. He's probably in the stacks somewhere, erm, stacking books".

She started to giggle a little again, stopped herself, and feeling a little embarrassed walked around from behind the desk before heading towards the deeper parts of the Lovecraft Library. Rob began to say something along the lines that it was alright, he could wait a while (it wasn't as if he had anything else on), but he sort of just mumbled his thanks whilst he was left standing there musing about his recent change of fortune.

Ever since discovering he could fly, things seemed to be turning around for Rob. Well, sure, he'd tackled that armoured guy Feuerkraft and gotten a fair number of bruises plus a broken rib for his interference. And he had tried to stop some sort of intelligent ape called General Ursus from letting his fellow hominids out of the Knight City Zoo just the other day but that hadn't quite gone to plan.

On the other hand though, Kath had come back and had now been staying with him for the last couple of days. She tended to stay in all day and then they'd go out at night - to bars and clubs generally - before returning in the early hours to the bed they shared. And now he had his first job interview - at the library of Miskatonic University.

It wasn't a job as a chemical engineer or a lab assistant or something similar but right now Rob was glad of anything that paid a bit of money. And, at least, this beat selling greasy slabs of meat at MacDonalds. Back as a student, he'd spent many hours here in the library so he knew his way around the place. Plus he was intelligent, a graduate from the university and he liked books so he had a good feeling about this job opportunity.

That good feeling vanished as Rob looked around, wondering where Alyson the giggly librarian had got to, and saw a guy dressed in a blue and white spandex costume barge in through the front entrance.

"Where is it, eh?" the man called out. "Where's the book!?"

One of the other librarians, an older man called Mr Giles that Rob recognized from his time here, approached the brightly-dressed man.

"Excuse me sir", he said in his courtly English accent, "but please keep your voice down. This is a library".

"Yeah, I know that. What d'you take me for, stoopid?" The costumed man stopped for a moment, raised his right hand and then snapped his fingers together like a cool beatnik from the sixties. Instantly, the temperature inside the library dropped. Ice crystals suddenly formed around Mr Giles and quickly grew until, less than a second later, the man was completely encased in a gleaming, transparent block of solid ice.

Someone nearby screamed.

"Shush", the supervillain admonished. "Keep quiet like the man said". Laughing he sauntered over towards the main desk.

Now Rob recognised the man from news reports. He was a one of Knight City's lesser supervillains; a man named Howard Lyon who called himself Coldsnap. A mercenary by trade, the man sold his talents to whoever would pay, as long as the job wasn't too difficult nor too dangerous. The police considered him a coward but still a threat to civilians due to his ability to freeze people and objects just by clicking his fingers together.

"Right, so who can tell me where the book is, eh? How 'bout you, missy?"

Coldsnap had stopped near the desk where Rob stood and was now pointing those threatening fingers towards Alyson, who had just returned. She quivered a little as the man questioned her but did not back away or faint.

"I... I don't know. If y...you mean the Necronomicon it... isn't here", she answered bravely, her voice stuttering but strong, although she didn't look directly at Coldsnap.

"Not that, you bitch! The one by Baum or whatever his name is. The one on display that's been in all the papers".

"Oh, that. Th...that's over there," Alyson blurted, pointing to an area at the side of the building. A number of rare and unusual books were on display there, some on loan from other libraries whilst others were part of this library's collection. One of those items taking pride of place in the centre of the display was Lyman Frank Baum's own handwritten manuscript which supposedly contained his notes and story ideas concerning his many Oz books.

As Coldsnap turned away and walked towards the display, Rob decided he had to do something. He was still wearing his suit and tie but in his pocket Rob kept his Aviator goggles from the leather flying helmet. Earlier he'd put them in his pocket as a sort of good luck charm but now it appeared he'd actually need to use them. Donning the goggles, Rob rose a few inches into the air (the strange sense of vertigo washed over him still - though not as strong as it used to be) and then shot towards the supercriminal.

"What the f...?!?" Coldsnap cried as Aviator slammed into him, driving him smashing into the display. Shaking his head as he sat on the floor around the bits of broken glass cabinets, Coldsnap looked up. There above him floated a man in a dark suit with goggles over his eyes.

"Who the hell are you?" the villain cried, shuffling his legs and bottom, trying to crawl away.

"The name's Aviator" Rob called out. "I'm here to stop you villain".

"Yeah? Well buddy, you need to chill" Coldsnap replied, and bringing his hand up he snapped his fingers.

The air around Aviator suddenly became colder - a lot colder. His breath caught in his throat as the sudden chill shocked his lungs. His arms and legs began to stiffen as he felt his skin start to freeze. Aviator began to rise up away from Coldsnap but it was too late - a thick layer of ice formed around his body, trapping him and holding him immobile.

"Thought you could take me, fly boy?" Coldsnap sneered. Still backing away, his hand brushed against a thick, old book and he looked down.

"Hey, whatya know! Just what I was looking for..."

But then gravity decided enough was enough and Aviator fell to the ground.

As he hit the marble floor, the smothering block of ice smashed into hundreds of sharp, glittering pieces that slid across the library. In the middle knelt Aviator, startled, shocked, somewhat chilly and a little short of breath but otherwise unharmed. He took a deep lungful of sweet air, shook some warmth into his body, and stood up.

Meanwhile, Coldsnap had grabbed the book and was backing away towards the exit.

"Damned lucky bastard" he cursed. "But I'll put you on ice again soon enough".

Again he clicked his fingers together but this time Aviator was ready for him. Lifting up into the air, he dodged to the left. Particles of ice formed in the air where he'd been just a split second before and, with nothing to latch onto, they fell tinkling to the ground. Coldsnap snappeded his fingers together again and this time Aviator dodged right missing the icy blast once more.

"Stay still ya flying freak!" shouted the villain as Aviator floated forwards towards him.

"Well, I can't say I approve of your frosty reception", the hero replied, preparing to launch himself at Coldsnap.

The cold-hearted criminal sneered and was about to try to freeze the hero again when another idea struck him. Instead, he turned to face Ms Rosenberg who was approaching from the left, and grinned. Snapping his fingers together, he turned and ran for the exit.

Aviator followed the villain's gaze and watched in horror as a white sheen of ice started to surround the startled librarian. Leaving Coldsnap for now, he flew over to Alyson, who was now covered from foot to neck in a block of bone-chilling ice.

"H..h...help m...m...me!" the small woman stammered. The lips on her pale, unblemished face were beginning to turn blue and her sparkling eyes were wide in terror.

For a moment, Aviator was at a loss regarding how to get her out. Then he remembered that as well as being able to fly, the chemicals that had somehow empowered him a few months ago had also increased his strength to superhuman levels. He drew back his fist and looked Alyson directly in her frightened eyes.

"Hold on. And keep still" he uttered, before bringing his fist forward to smash into the ice. There was a crack but nothing more. Aviator's now bloodied fist felt incredibly cold and numb but he tried again. And then again.

On the third mighty punch, there was a much louder crack and the block of ice shattered. Alyson came tumbling out of the crumbling remains and fell into Aviator's arms. olding her close, he quickly wrapped his suit jacket about her shoulders before someone nearby rushed up with a warm blanket.

Leaving her to the administrations of others, Aviator zipped out of the library after Coldsnap but by now the cold-hearted criminal had vanished - taking Baum's notebook with him. The aerial avenger flew upwards to get a better view of the surrounding area and university quadrangles but the villain was nowhere to be seen. Cursing himself, Aviator flew back into the library to check up on Alyson.

He was glad to see that the little librarian appeared to be getting some of her colour back. He approached her and asked if she was okay. Alyson nodded, shivering. Although still somewhat shocked, Rob could tell by the look on her face that she recognised him behind the goggles and, of course, knew who he was.

Before he could say anything another woman, this one in a crisp-looking business suit with what looked like a small voice recorder in her hand, strode forwards and stopped directly in front of him. She had a stern look on her business-like face.

"Lucy Harvey of the Herald", she stated abruptly. "So, 'masked' avenger, can you tell me who you are? Are you another of those Agents of C.O.M.P.A.S.S? What did Coldsnap want in this quiet university library?"

Her questions were snapped off so quickly, Aviator was somewhat taken aback. His mouth opened and closed a couple of times as he tried to engage his brain to answer. Thankfully, Alyson answered for him.

"He's c...called Aviator and he j...just tried to stop that villain from taking a valuable b...book that was on loan to us," she said, her eyes cutting into the reporter in front of her. "And he just saved my life!"

"Well, one could argue that if he hadn't intervened Coldsnap would not have attacked you...", Ms Harvey started before Alyson interrupted.

"He was trying to stop a w...wanted criminal. Not poking his nose into other people's business like some...", the librarian tutted and turned away to look at Aviator.

Aviator said a quiet 'thank you' and smiled at Alyson before turning back towards the reporter. "No comment Miss Harvey other than to say that no, I am not one of those Agents. And given the current situation I think it's best that I go and leave things to the proper authorities".

Then he turned towards Alyson.

"Tell your boss that I'll be back in touch later. I hope he'll understand," he explained as he began to levitate upwards. Then, with a smile and a wave, he was off out of the main doors.

Behind him Lucy's eyes narrowed, her reporter's nose twitching, as she watched Aviator fly away. "I'll get your story", she muttered to herself whilst people around her started to tidy up the mess.

(Another short piece of fiction set in the Acrobatic Flea's Knight City Chronicles Universe)

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #18

2011-05-25T13:00:00.001Z

art by Barry Smith (Avengers #100 1972)

Damn volcano!

2011-05-24T12:49:00.000Z

Another year, another Icelandic volcano erupts and disrupts flights!

Last year this didn't affect me but this time I'm flying up to Glasgow each week during my secondment (yes, the company I work for is mad enough to fly me up/down. And put me up in a decent hotel during the week). Currently many of the flights to Glasgow are cancelled. The Grimsvotn ash cloud may mean that instead of flying back later in the week, I'll be driving back home to just south of Manchester (not a huge distance, I know).

Thankfully the Met Office's current prediction is for the ash cloud to thin out from tomorrow. So, fingers crossed...

Monster Monday

2011-05-23T10:00:00.001Z

from the Zombie Nation

Doctor Who: The Rebel Flesh

2011-05-22T17:59:00.001Z

Part way through this week's episode of Doctor Who I thought we were going to see Rory die. Again. It was when the woman with the electric taser thingy was threatening to zap the Gangers and Rory tackled her to the ground. I thought he'd get zapped, die, but then we'd discover he was actually a Ganger all along.

But no, amazingly Rory remained unharmed this week. Although he has gone wandering off to save Jennifer (leaving his wife to the other Gangers) so who knows how he'll fare.

This weeks episode was good but not wonderful or exciting like last weeks or the first two weeks. Though it was better than the pirate episode. The pace seemed somewhat slower than previously and the story was given room to breathe. That also meant that occasionally things moved a little too slowly for me. Still it was enjoyable and suitably scary - it was the first episode my daughter had watched since the Christmas episode and it'll probably be the last for a while. She found it a bit too "freaky" (as she called it).

Quite a bit was made of the fact that the Doctor and the rest were unconscious for an hour or more but we haven't really seen the effect of that. Are Amy and Rory gangers? Perhaps even the 'original' people are actually gangers and the originals are elsewhere?

We'll just have to wait until next week for the second part. And then the week after it's the midseason cliffhanger. Already!

More Glasgow

2011-05-21T19:05:00.000Z

Another week, a different hotel in Glasgow. Here was the view out of my (grimy) window...

The fly-over to the M8 is visible to the left and the tall Hilton hotel is on the right. 'Nice' view, eh? And here's some more of Glasgow's architecture...

At the top is Glasgow's City Chambers and at the bottom is the Gallery of Modern Art. It was very cloudy when I took these so they look a bit dull.

iTunes hacked

2011-05-20T18:10:00.001Z

When I came back from Glasgow I unfortunately found that my iTunes account had been "hacked". I had a couple of email receipts from Apple telling me that most of the money in my account (from a gift card) had been used to purchase poker chips for a Texas Poker game by some company called Kamagames Ltd.

Seems I'm not the only one and this has happened before to others.

This is just a warning to anyone else out there with an iTunes account. Hopefully Apple will sort things out (they haven't yet).

Fishy Friday

2011-05-20T14:00:00.001Z

Seaguy

Strength: 2

Toughness: 3

Special Powers: 1

Status: 4

Grant Morrison's weird and wacky, scuba suit wearing hero who exists in a world where all evil has been defeated. And of course, Seaguy has to have a sidekick called Chubby, a talking, cigar-smoking tuna fish. Because it's Morrison.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #17

2011-05-18T13:00:00.002Z

art by Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger (from Avengers #72 1970)

Q&A with Neil Gaiman

2011-05-17T13:01:00.000Z

Over on The Guardian website, Neil Gaiman has answered a number of questions about his Doctor Who episode The Doctor's Wife.

It explains a number of those niggling questions about that episode, such as why we didn't see more rooms inside the TARDIS or learn more about Idris (a lot of it boils down to limited running time and money).

Monster Monday

2011-05-16T10:00:00.001Z

Doctor Who: The Doctor's Wife

2011-05-15T18:41:00.001Z

So that's where the Tenth's control room appears. We'd seen pictures of Amy and Rory in the old control room and here it appears as an archived room in the TARDIS. A back-up, as it were.

This week's episode was all about the Doctor's relationship with the TARDIS as 'she' finally found her voice. And what a fantastic episode it was. Just brilliant.

When the only complaint I can make was that the only bit of the TARDIS we saw (other than that old control room) was lots of the same corridor then it can't be bad. Well, sometimes it went a bit too fast to keep up as well I suppose...

Still all I can say is marvellous!

Then there was that little prediction at the end: "the only water in the forest is the river". What with a river, a forest and the silence this all sort of points towards the Silence In The Library/Forest Of the Dead episodes from a couple of series ago. Are they still in the library then? Perhaps saved in the computer like River?

And, of course, a pond is made of water. So does this mean River is Amy Pond? Or that Amy doesn't really exist, only River?

Yet another mystery to add to the rather large list.

Next week there's another two parter and it looks pretty spooky!

Glasgow

2011-05-14T09:00:00.005Z

...or at least a little part of it with some modern architecture.

Fishy Friday

2011-05-13T14:00:00.001Z

Fathom

Strength: 3

Toughness: 6

Special Powers: 8

Status: 5

Yet another superhero called Fathom, this one by Michael Turner. She also has water manipulation powers. And looks sort of similar to the Comico version of Fathom (except that Fathom had green skin and more clothes). Hmm. Maybe it was all just a big coincidence on Turner's part...?

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #16

2011-05-11T13:00:00.001Z

art by Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger (from Avengers #69 1969)

Aviator #3: "In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night..."

2011-05-10T12:00:00.003Z

Returning to the open window of his apartment after tackling Feuerkraft, Rob stumbled into the bathroom to see to his wounds. His side ached enormously and vicious pain shot down his torso whenever he turned but, after a careful examination, he appeared otherwise intact.

After showering, dressing his wounds and then fixing himself up with a quick sandwich and a beer, he sat down on his couch and turned on the TV. He watched the end of an episode of American Hero - the latest reality/talent show - before the nightly news bulletin. There was a piece about kids going missing across Knight City and then Rob smiled as coverage of the police raid on the warehouse was shown, recorded just a short while ago. Feuerkraft was being hauled out, his wrists fixed in thick restraints and bundled into the back of a large armoured police van.

The news then flicked to something about a breakout at Dunwich Asylum, when there was a knock at the door to his apartment. Putting down the remains of his beer, Rob sauntered over to answer it.

"Yeah, who is it?" he asked lazily, opening the door a fraction.

"Rob? Hi it's, erm, me. I tried to call earlier so I don't know whether you got my message...?" A woman's voice called furtively from the corridor beyond his door. The attractive- though somewhat gothy and dishevelled-looking - owner of the voice kept looking around and behind her anxiously and, for a moment, Rob didn't recognise her.

"Who...?" he wondered aloud until he looked up into her eyes. Briefly, they glimmered a deep flaming red before turning to a sparkling emerald green. How could he forget those eyes?

"Kath? Is that you?" he breathed, his eyes opening wide.

He looked her over again, realising now that she appeared scared and distracted. He closed his open mouth and blinked a few times.

"My god, it is you!" he exclaimed.

The woman outside the door winced slightly and nodded. "Yes, of course it's me. Can I come in Rob?"

"Sure, sure" he quickly replied and, closing the door slightly, he removed the security chain and let the woman inside.

"Thanks, Rob", Kath, said, a little relief breaking across her features as she stepped through the open doorway. She quickly scanned the living area beyond before turning back to Rob.

"Sorry to just drop in on you like this it's just, well, I had nowhere else to go".

"Hey, that's okay", Rob replied, closing the door. "It's good to see you again. Really good. I mean, I haven't seen you since... well, for about 7 years now. How are you?"

She smiled and shrugged but didn't answer. Instead she looked across at the almost empty bottle of beer and asked, "Is there anything to drink in this place?"

"Sure", Rob replied, trying to smooth down his hair. "Do you want a coffee, water, a coke, a...".

"I was thinking of a beer". She pointed towards Rob's bottle and turned to look at him, winking. Smiling, she lowered herself onto the couch, tucked her legs underneath her, and gazed towards the TV.

"Hmmm... okay, yeah".

Still a little shocked, Rob walked over to the kitchen area and opened the fridge. Kathleen Pendergast was back in his apartment. Well, a different apartment now, but still - it was her. He never thought he'd see her again but here she was, looking as gorgeous and wonderful as she did back when they were both at university.

He'd been in his final year when he'd met Kath, a freshman just starting her time at Miskatonic University. She had been so full of energy and vitality on that day, laughing and smiling, that Rob had immediately become smitten with her. And she was beautiful, in a sort of gothic way, with her black hair and dark clothes and make-up. Somehow, he'd managed to overcome his usual reticence in asking out a girl and soon they'd been an item. It was, Rob reflected, one of the brightest times of his life.

They'd been together around 18 months when Kath suddenly changed. She'd sort of disappeared for a few days, probably out travelling or doing some sort of charity work, but when she returned she was different - quiet, sullen, pale. Soon after they'd had an argument and, well, that had been the last he'd seen of her. By that time, he was working at Knight City Pharmaceuticals and when he got back one night he'd found that she'd packed up her things and left.

That had been one of the blackest nights in his life.

Grabbing a cool bottle of beer, Rob closed the fridge and turned to look at his ex-girlfriend sat on the couch. She hardly looked any different than she had that day she had left him. Why was she back? What had she been doing? Did he really care?

Rob walked back into the living area and handed Kath the bottle, noticing that she'd switched off the TV. Kath smiled her thanks and then took a long gulp.

"That's better" she sighed, her eyes momentarily closing in pleasure. She patted the seat of the couch next to her.

Rob sat down, picked up his own bottle and took a sip.

"I'll glad you're back Kath but, erm, what brings you back to Knight City?" He asked the question cautiously, unsure of where to start the conversion and not wanting to upset the woman beside him nor give her any reason to leave.

"Oh, I've actually been back for a while now. But the last place I was in... wasn't right. So wrong". She shuddered and hung her head at this, her dark hair falling over her face. To Rob, she seemed scared.

"And now, me and some friends of mine are out and about", she continued after a moment. "I don't really know anyone else in this city, so I came here. I hope you don't mind, Rob?"

She tilted her head up to look at Rob, her eyes almost hidden by her hair. The red gleam was back in her eyes. Strangely it reminded Rob a little of Feuerkraft's fiery blasts.

"No, of course I don't mind", he stammered. "You said something about some friends?"

"Oh, they're off doing their own things. They won't disturb us". She took another mouthful of beer, her tongue gently licking the lip of the bottle as she finished, and sighed in delight.

"Rob, can I ask a favour? I need somewhere to stay, somewhere... quiet. Can I stay here for a few nights? Please?"

Rob almost choked on the last of his beer but managed to recover. Kath was back and she wanted to stay. With him. Here. Together.

He smiled and nodded eagerly.

Monster Monday

2011-05-09T10:00:00.002Z

by LeightonNoyes

Doctor Who: The Curse of the Black Spot

2011-05-08T09:12:00.000Z

I thought the sonic screwdriver didn't work against bolts? Hmmm....

So, the first of the "filler" episodes in the sixth series of Doctor Who aired yesterday and although it wasn't terrible (I don't think any episode of New Who has been rubbish) it wasn't very good either. It didn't help that - as Heropress pointed out - it was just a rehash of The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances story (though not as good by a long way).

The problem with the Moff's plan to have a fascinating and complicated series long mystery, one that even stretches back to the beginning of Series 5, is that he hasn't written every episode. Some of them will be written by others and, although they may be competent, they feel a little jarring because they don't advance the series plot. Russell T Davies' didn't really do this sort of things - his "Bad Wolf" and Harold Saxon running themes were merely hints pointing towards the final episode(s) - and so different individual stories written by others (though often rewritten by Davies which helped give them some consistency) weren't a problem.

Of course, individual episodes not written by the head writer can sometimes produce some wonderful results. Take Blink for example. But the Curse of the Black spot wasn't one of those.

Whereas last week there seemed to be too much crammed into 45 minutes for my liking, here there seemed to be too little. A Siren who "attacks" a pirate ship and apparently "kills" anyone who has injured themselves turns out to be a holographic doctor from an alien, alternate-dimension spaceship which has somehow 'fused' with the pirate ship. There wasn't enough to fill a whole episode so let's throw in the captain's son and a long drawn-out sequence where one of the companions appears to die, shall we? And, y'know, I thought travelling from one parallel dimension to another wasn't generally possible...?

The idea that the 'siren' appeared from reflections seemed somewhat inconsistant as well. Was it only when a reflection of an injured person occurred that the siren appeared? If so, how did the Doctor and Amy (neither of whom had any injuries at that point) summon the siren to go and save a drowning Rory? It all seemed a bit vague.

Oh and why were all the others strapped onto beds in the 'sickbay' when the siren brought them to the alien ship whereas the Doctor, Amy and the Captain were just left unattended in a corridor somewhere? And why did the Doctor run out of the TARDIS when it started dematerialising? Why not stay in it to see where it went?

I could go on. There were a number of niggling things that didn't really work.

And throwing in a few bits linking to the main mysteries of this series - the Doctor looking at a TARDIS monitor of Amy's quantum pregnancy *again* and the strange woman with an eyepatch at a little window - didn't really raise this above just okay. In fact, all it probably did was remind people how much better the last two episodes were.

Next week though, it's Neil Gaiman's episode which hopefully means we'll get something a little better. The trailer certainly looked interesting!

Fishy Friday

2011-05-06T14:00:00.005Z

Fathom

Strength: 4

Toughness: 6

Special Powers: 7

Status: 2

Looking a little like She-Hulk, Fathom was a member of the Elementals - a group of four heroes each with (as you might guess) power over one of the elements. Created by Bill Willingham, Fathom could convert her body into water, shoot jets of liquid from her arms as well as all the usual aquatic powers.

Winsome Wasp's Wardrobe #15

2011-05-04T13:00:00.001Z

art by Sal Buscema and Sam Grainger (from Avengers #68 1969)

Things are quiet 'round these parts...

2011-05-03T18:01:00.000Z

For the forseeable future, I suspect we'll be seeing a lot of tumbleweed 'round these 'ere parts and not so many posts. I've just started a secondment up in Glasgow for at least 3 months (probably 6) and, due to travelling and stuff, won't have as much time to ~~waste~~ spend on this blog. :(

Doctor Who: Day of the Moon

2011-05-02T20:32:00.001Z

WTF?

Well, the ending of last Saturday's exciting episode of Doctor Who - Day of the Moon - was a bit of a shock and pretty much added yet another question into the mix. Is the girl a Time Lord? Or, perhaps, she was the one in the spaceman suit who shot the Future Doctor, stole his regeneration energy and is now using it. Maybe...?

Can't say I was keen on the old 3 months later start. It seemed a bit of a cheat after last weeks cliffhanger ending and meant things were a bit messy at the beginning of this episode. Amy shot the girl but it seems they did check on her, or ask her who she was or take her with them. And the Doctor didn't investigate the tunnels or the Silence. Instead they just seemed to run. But surely as soon as they looked away from the Silence they would have forgot about them?

And why was Canton pretending to hunt down the Doctor and his companions? It wasn't because the Silence made him do it. Nor was it because they were interested in the Doctor - he's been on Earth a lot of times before and they've not bothered. It just seemed to be because the whole subterfuge thing would be cool.

The forgetting the Silence thing came and went as well. Sometimes as soon as they looked away they'd forget everything whereas later, in the TARDIS, they were talking about them (but this time just couldn't remember what they looked like). A bit inconsistent.

Anyway, after a shaky start, things improved. It was a very action-packed, fascinating episode and the time just flew by. But I felt it tried to pack too much into 45 minutes. This storyline could've been used for a 13 episode series in some shows.

Then there was that wonderful ending (after the Doctor had turned everyone who watches the moon landing into a murderer!) with the girl that came as a bit of a wonderful shock. Slightly ruined by the bit beforehand where the Doctor said that maybe they'd go on a few adventures for a while. Why isn't he investigating Amy's quantum pregnancy? Or the Silence and where they got that makeshift TARDIS? Or find the girl? No, instead let's suspend the series story line for 4 episodes of "filler" - thoroughly entertaining and wonderful episode (no doubt) - but filler nonetheless. Ah well.

So a good episode but not perfect. And there's still lots of questions left to be answered (i hope they'll be answered). Roll on Saturday and y'aaaahhh - pirates!

A few pseudo random thoughts

2011-04-30T16:00:00.003Z

A couple of things just before the second episode of this series of Doctor Who ("Day of the Moon").

Wouldn't it be interesting if River Song turned out to be an evil villain?

In her past (the Doctor's, and our, future), she worked out that the both she and the Doctor were meeting in opposite temporal directions. And so now, before the Doctor finds out she's evil, she's playing all nice and flirting with him. And when we find out she is a villain, that's when it all changes.

Also, how did that spaceman appear and then disappear from that lake in America? No one had seen him beforehand and then he/she was just standing there. Did he, maybe, have a vortex manipulator? Who do we know with one of those?

Aviator #0: Background

2011-04-29T14:00:00.006Z

History

Robert Tomlin had not had an easy life. When he was younger, he hadn't seen much of his father, who worked for a secretive branch of the military and therefore was often away for long periods. His mother, who ruled their home with an iron hand, had to look after Rob and his younger sister Julie whilst also holding down various part-time jobs. Still, they managed - at least until Rob's father was pronounced "missing in action" when Rob was 10 years old.

His mother didn't take the loss of her husband well and Rob was often left to look after things at home. In spite of this, he managed to do well at high school, pass his exams and get a place at Miskatonic University where he studied chemical engineering.

Eventually, Rob got a job at Knight City Pharmaceuticals as a lab assistant. The pay was reasonable and everything seemed to be going alright for once. That was until around 4 months ago.

Whilst working on some experimental chemicals for his new boss, Dr Stein, Rob happened to stumble across some information implying that the chemicals were not actually being sent to the expected manufacturing company across town. Instead, they had been diverted to something - or somebody - called "KRAKEN". Unfortunately, Rob was caught in his little act of espionage, and whilst trying to quickly get away and cover up his snooping he stumbled into the new batch of the chemicals, spilling them all over himself.

The next day, Rob Tomlin was fired from his job under incompetence charges. After a month or so, any money he'd managed to save began to run out. In order to keep himself afloat, he sold his apartment in Arkdale and moved into a smaller place in Devil Heights, one of the rougher parts of the city. Still, even then, the money wasn't going to last long. With no references and no one wanting to offer him a job, Rob became depressed, feeling that there was no point in going on. So, he decided to end it all by jumping off the top of his apartment building.

However, that's when Rob's life changed. Because Rob found he couldn't fall.

Instead, from that point on, Rob began to fly...

Powers

The strange chemicals that soaked into Rob's skin somehow reacted with his DNA to give Rob the superhuman power of flight. He can soar into the air travelling at speeds of Mach 1 or more if he pushed himself. He can also hover in place, almost instantly accelerate, and is incredibly manoeuvrable whilst flying.

In addition, the chemical reaction has made Rob much stronger and more resilient. He can lift over one ton without too much trouble and has incredible willpower. This helps him survive at high altitudes and resist the potentially damaging effects of high-speed travel.

Rob himself is an talented chemistry and biology student and an accomplished engineer. He's bright and agile, though unfortunately is a little plain looking and can be slightly introverted.

Aviator's Character Sheet

Fishy Friday

2011-04-29T14:00:00.001Z

Abe Sapien

Strength: 3

Toughness: 5

Special Powers: 5

Status: 6

Time to start fishing for aquatic heroes from outside the Marvel and DC universes. Member of the BPRD and associate of Hellboy, Abe Sapien was a scientist transformed into an icthyo sapien during a magical ritual in Mike Mignola's excellent comicbooks.

Happy Geeky Wedding

2011-04-29T11:00:00.001Z

Apparently, there's some sort of wedding on today...?

X-Men: First Class

2011-04-28T16:39:00.001Z

A first class trailer for the X-Men prequel due out in just over a months time.