Hazmatter

We had the Mr. T and Chuck Norris cartoons when I was a kid. Then again, I never really watched those, either, so...

That would be the Barracuda SF, if I'm not mistaken. The tricky part of that one is that different ATs get different temp powers for the big showdown with Reichsman. One in particular is only granted to Masterminds or Defenders, and is used to break his "Unstoppable" power when it activates.

I hope that helped some.

Currently there is no way to go back and play through the Praetorian mission content again, though the badge description seems to indicate that adding the Praetorian arcs to flashback/Ouroboros is in the cards somewhere down the line. For now, your best bet to earn the badge is to turn off xp and run another mission arc before outleveling.

You can't reestablish your ties with the Resistance or Loyalists later (for the forseeable future), but there are a couple of arcs in the 40-50 range that deal with the Praetorians, and much of the 50+ Incarnate content is focused squarely on pushing back the Praetorian invasion. Specifically the Apex and Tin Mage TFs and the new trials coming in I20.

Since this looks to be a "prequel" season focusing on the agents of Project Freelancer and their machinations behind the scenes, I imagine we'll get to see that famous assault on the HQ to free the Alpha and Tex's attack on Sidewinder. Also, wouldn't it be funny if the simulation troopers apparently responsible for getting the drop on Wash and Maine turns out to be the Blood Gulch boys, including Captain Flowers?

Wouldn't be the first time Stan's done something like this, though...

Here's hoping it really is just an April Fool's prank.

The pants look much better in these pics, and the boots are red, yay! The gold detailing still looks a bit too fakey, but not as bad as the first pic released. Still think they're overdoing it with the extra 'W' details looking like they were glued onto the front of the boots.

/em waitandsee

"Angel on My Shoulder, this is Director Church..."






Ho-lee cow. O_O

You knew it was coming, people.

NSFW



And just for good measure, let's take a look back at how NOT to do a Cap movie.

Looks like they're steering clear of past pitfalls so far!

Part 2 is up. And we open on the NChick and Dr. Tease running in heels and low-cut dresses!

Ahhh, fanservice...

Anyway, more dissecting the disaster movies of Herr Emmerich.

Yeah, I don't usually mind the ads at the beginning or end of the vids, it's just kind of disconcerting when it gets interrupted in the middle. Fortunately, the issue seems to have been resolved.

She makes some good points in this one, of course. And I got a kick out of the cameo appearances relating to Dark Nella's reign of terror. (Not the big ball of twine!!!)

Not to mention the explanation for how Dr. Tease survived getting zapped to death in the Evil Top 10...

"Oh, that wasn't me! That was my robot-clone."
"Wait... robot, or clone?"
"EXACTLY!!"

I've rolled several Praetorians so far, each with the intention of RP in mind.

WARNING! This post may contain spoilers for the ingame arcs if you haven't played them yet!

Officer Byers, my PPD toon was one that I duoed with a friend through the Responsibility arcs (while my friend ran the Power arcs). When I started, he was very much inspired by Judge Dredd in personality; the law is the law and it's there for a reason, and those who break it must be punished. Very hardline, to the point where I had no issue with him going up against some of his fellow PPD officers in certain missions, since they were clearly breaking the law. Man didn't look the other way for nobody!

Toward the middle and end of the Neutropolis Responsibility arcs, however, there was a subtle shift in how I imagined he saw things. He was still very much in support of Praetoria as a whole and believed in law and order, but the preparations to invade Primal Earth made him question whether this course of action was in the best interests of the people, those innocent law-abiding citizens he had sworn to defend. So when Marchand asked that he try to smooth things over on the Primal side, he agreed to go to Paragon city, with the intention of eliminating the "corruption" there that was supposedly spurring Cole's invasion plan. He has since gone Vig, delivering the same level of hard justice to criminals that he's accustomed to back home.

My other Loyalist character is one I'm planning to take redside, and he's simultaneously running through the Power arcs and working undercover in the Resistance. (I still wish there was an option to sell out both sides to each other, since he's just that kind of evil, self-serving *******, heh.) He pays lip service to Cole and the Praetors, but he really doesn't care about any Primal invasion and would have no problem stepping aside. And I have a Praetorian MM whose story is that he's actually working his way up the chain of command within the Syndicate, so he went Resistance to start and is running the Responsibility arcs undercover.

There's plenty of options to be had, if you know where to look!

As for what your Praetorian characters might do in their off hours, we know that Warrant's TV show on TPN is very popular, and there's at least one online computer/video game that a lot of kids seem to like...

Just a warning, the video seems to interrupt halfway through with another ad at times. It can be jarring, but don't worry! It doesn't mean that the video is prematurely over or anything like that. (A mistake I made the first time watching it...)

Los Angeles is destroyed! Minnesota is in shambles! Arizona is burning! Chicago is a wasteland! France is still okay!

Who is to blame??

I recall in the comics Bane briefly tried to replace Batman as the favored successor to Ra's. He might well try to prove his worth to Talia and the League of Shadows by breaking the man responsible for her father's defeat/death.

Outfit's a little too plastic-looking to me, and I wish the blue was a hell of a lot darker, but the general design aesthetic I can live with and the actress looks decent. We'll see...

Alright, the first issues of the CrossGen properties relaunched as a Marvel imprint have started coming out this month, so I figure this is where we can discuss what we've seen thus far...



Sigil #1 - Written by Mike Carey, this new title doesn't feature spacefaring war hero turned mercenary Samandahl Rey, but present-day high school student Samantha Rey. True to the title and her namesake, however, she has a strange birthmark on her chest in the shape of the redesigned "sigil" that seems to have begun affecting her life in odd ways. There's mention of her mother as well, who died a year ago under mysterious circumstances that Sam is still trying to deal with, and what's been happening to Sam since then suggests that the sigil may be somehow connected to it all.

The one major negative in this first issue for me is the band of ridiculous high school girl bullies who torment and threaten Sam. But hopefully the rest of the series will push those elements into the background or at least round them out as it explores the mysteries surrounding Sam and her mark of power, starting with her appearance at the end of the issue on the deck of a certain pirate ship that may be familiar to CrossGen readers from the end of the old era...

So far, probably not the strongest start to a series, but I'm willing to hang in for a couple more issues at least to see where it's all going. But it does seem that this new line will be ditching the cosmic setting of the wider old CGUniverse and setting most of the books on Earth in different eras.



Ruse #1 - Penned by the original series' creator Mark Waid (woot!), this title appears to firmly establish that the rebooted CrossGen line will indeed be taking place on Earth, rather than various Earth-like worlds in the distant future. As such, the more fantastical elements of the old series such as the gargoyles and strange beings gifted with cosmic power playing their own games behind the scenes have been removed. But the good news there is that the supernatural stuff was never the real strong point of the old series.

No, the real focus of Ruse has always been, and thankfully remains, the relationship between master detective Simon Archard and his assistant (partner!) Emma Bishop. Waid has slipped almost seamlessly back into writing these two characters as if they'd never been gone, and it's so very good to have them back. Granted, they're now operating in 19th century England instead of the world of Arcadia, but the city of Partington is still riddled with crime and mysteries for the dysfunctional duo to confront. As always, Emma has made it her thankless mission to help humanize the brilliant but cold Archard, though this time it's of her own volition instead of at the behest of a higher power for reasons unknown. And Simon... well, he's still Simon.

This is a much stronger start to a relaunched title than Sigil thus far, and it gives me some real hope for whatever Marvel has planned with the rest of the line. (However, I REALLY wish they'd kept the Victorian-style title design from the old series; the title fonts for the new books so far just seem a little too bland and unimaginative overall, where the old CrossGen books each had their own distinctive and memorable title designs.)



So. Thoughts? Did anyone else pick these up?

The Baron jackets from the Magic Booster seem somewhat steampunkish to me, at least potentially. And of course there are steampunk pieces in the armored and robotic arm selections.

Considering that earning prestige is pretty closely tied to earning influence, I'm afraid not.