Persona 5, the Return of Spider-Man, and Underwhelming Comics

Almost back to back, I got two bits of wonderful news that has me very excited for things coming up. Which is good, because I've needed something to look forward to!

Persona 5

First, a gameplay trailer for Persona 5 launched. IT WAS AMAZING. This is already my GOTY (game of the year), and I won't be playing until at least 2016 (Japanese release date is sometime 2015, so I'm HOPING we're sometime 2016). I love the red colors, the cat burgler-esque themes, the grittier characters, the more dynamic dungeons, persona enemies instead of shadows, etc etc... The only thing I'm not seeing in the trailer is a cast that exceeds for playable characters. It's not determined by the trailer, obviously, but I wouldn't even be mad if that was the case.

Oh, and it's coming to PS4 (and PS3), which 100% justifies my purchase of the system. Perfection. Watch it below, the Elder Gods know I have...

Spidey's Return

Next up, we have the "return" of Spider-Man to Marvel, in regards to film rights. Marvel has brokered a deal that allows them to use a new (not Andrew Garfield/ASM series) Spider-Man in their films (which is already impacting upcoming releases -- like May's Captain America: Civil War!). Sony will choose the actor and have final say in regards to character development, but I'm hoping they see reason and more or less follow Marvel's lead.

Doubt they'll go this route, but an important Civil War moment...

Then Sony will continue to produce solo Spider-Man films, which may now see inclusion of MCU characters. While I no longer trust Sony with anything related to my favorite super hero, I'm hoping the cross-pollination with Marvel will produce quality results. And having two studios pumping out related MCU films sounds like a perfect setup to me (though I would prefer Marvel having ownership of all rights back, just to allay the shakes and mental anguish ASM2 still causes).

Apparently the agreement was reached without Marvel actually paying anything, either -- they won't be getting any money from Sony Spidey-films, and Sony won't be getting any money from MCU group films. Honestly, it sounds like Sony got the lesser half of this deal, unless they're expecting the MCU marketing to be worthwhile... Or maybe there's something else there going on.


Now, on to actual comics...

Guardians of the Galaxy

Because... Venom.

I was excited that Guardians of the Galaxy was finally going to the home planet of the symbiotes. We've seen a "Planet of the Symbiotes" in a 90's crossover, featuring Spider-Man, Scarlet Spider, and Venom titles, but never the actual point of origin for the species.

Guardians promised to take us there, and they did... but they didn't exactly deliver anything worthwhile. The arc is mostly taken up by the Venom symbiote jumping from Guardian to Guardian (as if we EVER expected anything else), eventually taking over the ship and directing the group to its home. Upon arrival... well, there's a very short, very anti-climactic stay. I won't even bother spoiling things for you, but the reveal of the species as a whole is unfortunate, white-washes a potentially interesting story, and retcons information offered in the "Planet of the Symbiotes" arc (Planet of the Big Fat Liars is more like it).

All in all, after reading decades of Venom, Carnage, and their extended family, it comes as a real let down that this is the direction Marvel went. I wanted a potential inter-galactic threat, or something menacing in some way that explains all the bullshit abilities and costs the symbiotes seem to offer or impose. Instead... blah. Going back to NOT reading GotG.

Spider-verse

As a whole, Spider-verse hasn't been as inclusive or as interesting as I hoped. "Every Spider-Man ever" isn't actually pulled off, and it's a giant chase scene between an arbitrarily super-powered family hunting Spiders, with limited-to-no logic applied. The Spiders could just as easily get help from the other super powers in their multitude of dimensions, but instead they wait and allow some of my favorite Spiders to get killed off.

GUESS WHO'S AT THE END?!

On that note, I won't even start on how annoyed I am with the "Scarlet Spiders" run ended. The bastards did it again. They. Did. It. Again.



For now... Well, wish me luck in netting a Majora's Mask Edition New 3DS XL. I, like anyone who wasn't a filthy scalper, missed the tiny pre-order window (less than 20 minutes, I believe), and have had to resort to sending The Wife out to flirt with associates of certain stores, in an effort to secure us a copy come Friday. The Wife seems confidant of her success... You'll be seeing a review of the system next week, if she's correct!

The Nerd Reviews EVERYTHING!

Ok, that's a bit over dramatic. But there was a lot I wanted to talk about, and I don't ever seem to be able to set aside them time. Or, when I do, I fall asleep.

... 4 months of fatherhood will do that to you.

So I'm going to give a quick comment on things I've been meaning to touch base on, with the promise of a longer review for the super mysterious last item, that I won't reveal until... well, you've scrolled down the bottom of the page, I guess.

Saga #24

This issue was full of win. It's a story about making The Will better. We learn some things about him, his sister meets up with Lying Cat and Co., and the final panel, featuring Marko and Prince Robot IV, is freaking perfect.

Spider-Verse Event

The event has been going strong. I'm liking it, for the most part. I dislike the villains being stupid strong for no apparent reason, and there are a lot of deus ex machina moments, but the writing is decent and some of the alternate Spiders are really interesting. They have killed off some Spiders that I'd rather they didn't, the pacing in general is so-so, and the fights really inconsistent, but it's entertaining enough on the surface. All the artists have been solid as well, and I'm getting a Ben Reilly kicking around for awhile.

Until they invariably kill him, too :/

New Star Wars Trailer

I dislike the name of the movie, the new lightsaber is dumb, everything else looks pretty damn good. Really hoping Finn's story (the guy in stormtrooper armor in the opening shot) is awesome and actually stormtrooper related -- I'd like to see one of the movies follow characters on both sides of the fence.

TV

I don't have time to watch TV, what is this?

But I have rewatched Firefly... twice... in the past week. Dammit Fox.

Speaking of Firefly...

 

Firefly the Game

I picked this up and was able to play a solo game and a three player game. I've picked up a couple expansions and am looking forward to playing again. When I do, I'll do a full review on the game, with it's own post and everything. Shiny.

Review preview: I'm loving it!