Dark Horse Brings Karlach Back

The comic was unveiled during San Diego Comic-Con, with fan-favorite companion Karlach front and center in the first promotional image and cover art from acclaimed artist Becky Cloonan. The series is being produced in partnership with Wizards of the Coast, the company that owns the Dungeons & Dragons and Baldur’s Gate intellectual property. For fans desperate for any excuse to spend more time with the game’s cast, a printed continuation featuring one of its most adored characters is an easy sell.

What the announcement did not do, at least clearly enough, was spell out exactly who was making it. That ambiguity is where the trouble started, because a Baldur’s Gate 3 project without an explicit creative lead invites everyone to assume the obvious name is attached.

Larian Sets the Record Straight

Larian moved quickly to shut that assumption down. The studio publicly reiterated that it is not part of the comic or any other BG3 spin-off, dispelling any doubt that its writers or designers were shaping the new story. It is not the first time the developer has had to make this point, and the repetition is telling: fans so strongly associate Baldur’s Gate 3 with Larian that they instinctively credit the studio for anything carrying the name.

The reality is more straightforward once you follow the rights. Wizards of the Coast, and parent company Hasbro, own the franchise. Larian built the acclaimed video game under license, but the broader Baldur’s Gate and D&D universe belongs to Wizards, which is free to greenlight comics, novels, and other adaptations with whatever partners it chooses.

What It Means for the Franchise’s Future

Larian has already said it is done with the series, confirming it will not make Baldur’s Gate 4 and choosing to move on to new original worlds. The studio has described that split from Wizards as amicable rather than a falling-out, but the practical result is the same: the future of Baldur’s Gate as a brand will be steered by Wizards and its chosen collaborators, not the team that made the last game a phenomenon.

For fans, that is a bittersweet reality. More Baldur’s Gate content is clearly coming, and a Dark Horse comic is a promising start. But the specific magic Larian brought — its writing, its tone, its obsessive attention to player choice — is not guaranteed to carry over to projects the studio has no hand in. Managing that expectation gap is exactly why Larian keeps issuing these clarifications.

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The Bottom Line

The new Karlach comic is good news for anyone who wasn’t ready to leave Baldur’s Gate 3 behind — just don’t mistake it for a Larian production. With Wizards of the Coast holding the IP and steering its future, expansions of this world will increasingly come from other hands. Larian’s repeated reminders aren’t about distancing itself from the fans; they’re about making sure the credit, and the expectations, land in the right place.

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1. The Void Lords

The Void Lords are cosmic entities deeply embedded within the lore of World of Warcraft. These unfathomable beings reside within the void, a dark and chaotic dimension, and their ultimate goal is to consume all of reality. To achieve this sinister aim, the Void Lords seek to corrupt and harness the power of the Old Gods, ancient and corrupted creatures that once roamed Azeroth. The relationship between the Void Lords and the Old Gods is symbiotic, as the Old Gods’ presence in Azeroth serves as a gateway for the Void’s influence.
We put them at first place because up until recently the Titans (basically the gods of the WoW universe) didn’t even notice their existence proving they are more powerful than the Titans themselves. However, so far there hasn’t been much information about them. It is expected more will be revealed in the next expansion.

2. Sargeras

Sargeras, the leader of the Burning Legion in the World of Warcraft lore, is widely regarded as the second strongest character in the game’s universe, second only to the Void Lords themselves. His immense power stems from several key factors. First, Sargeras was originally a noble and powerful Titan, one of the cosmic beings responsible for shaping and maintaining the universe. So, we can basically call him a god. Secondly, Sargeras commands the mightiest demonic army in existence, the Burning Legion. Plus, we know that he can wipe out a planet from existence with one single touch. Sargeras and Lucifer are similar in a lot of things, they’re both deities that are considered ”fallen” and are also at least lore-wise considered the masterminds behind most evil in the world.

3. The Pantheon (Aman’Thul, Eonar, Norgannon, Golganneth, Khaz’goroth, Aggramar)

In the vast and intricate universe of World of Warcraft, the Titans are ancient and awe-inspiring cosmic beings. These colossal, god-like entities are the architects of worlds, responsible for shaping and ordering the chaotic cosmos. Their unrivaled power is rooted in their unique ability to manipulate the very fabric of reality, crafting planets and imbuing them with life. The Titans are so strong because they possess an unparalleled mastery over arcane forces, allowing them to reshape entire worlds.

4. The Old Gods (C’Thun, Yogg-Saron, N’Zoth, Y’Shaarj)

In the expansive World of Warcraft universe, the Old Gods are ancient, malevolent entities. They dwell deep beneath Azeroth’s surface, spreading corruption. These beings are immensely powerful, their tendrils reaching into mortal minds, sowing madness. Their origins used to be shrouded in mystery. However, in recent lore expansions, it has been revealed that they are a creation of the void lord. Their purpose is to corrupt the Titan who is inside of a plant thus adding it to the void. Despite their confinement, they continue to manipulate events in Azeroth. The Old Gods are a source of constant dread, their dark influence a shadow that lingers over the world, making them enduring and ominous figures in Warcraft lore.

5. Elune

Elune, a revered goddess in the World of Warcraft universe, wields incredible powers. She’s known for her radiant light, healing, and life-giving abilities. So, it comes as no surprise that Elune’s divine influence empowers her followers, granting them strength and guidance. Her presence in the night sky is said to inspire hope and wonder among the night elves. However, Elune’s exact origins and nature remain mysterious. Her powers shape the destiny of Azeroth, making her a revered and potent force in the Warcraft lore.

6. Naaru

The Naaru are another celestial beings within the World of Warcraft universe. These benevolent entities actively combat the forces of darkness, offering guidance and wisdom to those who seek their aid. The Naaru’s radiant presence can purify and heal, and they’re often called upon in times of great peril. These beings are revered by the draenei, who share a close bond with them. Similar to the one of Elune and the Night Elves. Their strength derives from their ability to harness and manipulate this divine energy, allowing them to heal, purify, and combat the forces of darkness effectively. Additionally, their unwavering dedication to the cause of goodness and their commitment to fighting against the Void and the Burning Legion further amplifies their strength.

7. Medivh

Medivh is a significant character in the Warcraft universe. He is the son of Aegwynn, the Guardian of Tirisfal, and was born with innate magical talent. Medivh eventually became a Guardian himself, a position bestowed with tremendous magical power and the duty to protect Azeroth from demonic threats.

However, Medivh’s life took a dark turn when he was cursed by the dark titan Sargeras while still in his mother’s womb. This curse granted him vast knowledge but also led to his corruption and madness. Under Sargeras’s influence, Medivh opened the Dark Portal, allowing the orcish Horde to invade Azeroth, an event that triggered the First War.

8. Kil’jaeden/Archimonde

Kil’jaeden, a cunning and manipulative eredar, wields potent demonic magic, and he plays a key role in the Burning Legion’s relentless crusade to destroy worlds. Archimonde, on the other hand, is a colossal and fearsome eredar who leads the Legion’s armies with an iron fist. Both are architects of chaos and destruction, driven by a relentless desire to spread the corruption of the Burning Legion across the universe. Their immense power, strategic brilliance, and ruthless determination make them formidable adversaries in the ongoing battle for Azeroth’s survival.

9. Queen Azshara

Azshara was once the queen of the night elves. Her beauty was legendary, and her reign marked an era of prosperity in the ancient city of Zin-Azshari. Azshara’s thirst for power, however, led her down a treacherous path as she became enamored with dark forces. Particularly, her obsession with the Old Gods. It led to the catastrophic Sundering, which shattered the world of Azeroth. Transformed into a powerful naga sorceress, Azshara continues to scheme and plot, seeking to reclaim her lost glory and unleash unspeakable horrors upon the world. Her charisma, mastery of arcane magic, and ruthless ambition make her a captivating yet dangerous figure in the Warcraft lore.

10. Cenarius

Cenarius is a demigod who has a deep connection to nature and the Emerald Dream. As the son of the moon goddess Elune and the forest lord Malorne, Cenarius possesses a unique blend of celestial and natural powers. His presence in Azeroth brings life and vitality to the land, and he serves as a guardian of the natural world. Cenarius plays a crucial role in teaching and guiding mortal races, particularly night elves and tauren, in the ways of druidism and respecting the balance of nature. With his antlered crown and immense strength, Cenarius embodies the harmony between the mortal realm and the wilds.

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Today we’re counting down the 10 best video games based on comics that offer an amazing gaming experience with all the excitement of your favorite comic book heroes. 

From iconic characters like Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk to lesser-known ones like Hellboy and Spawn, these are some of the most entertaining superhero adventures you can find! Be sure to check them out if you’re looking for something fun and different this weekend!

1. Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) 

This PlayStation exclusive is the most recent title of this list, and it definitely earns its spot at number one. Combining fluid web-swinging mechanics with a deep combat system and an engaging story, this game puts you in the shoes of everyone’s favorite wall-crawler. 

What’s more, the open-world NYC setting allows for tons of exploration and plenty of side missions to keep you occupied. With plenty of side activities, optional objectives and rewards to keep you entertained, this is an absolute must-play for any superhero fan.

2. Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) 

The original Batman game that sparked one of the greatest trilogies in gaming history, Arkham Asylum set a new standard for comic book video games. Its combination of stealth, combat and exploration makes it a classic to this day. The best thing about this game is the attention to detail that goes into every aspect of the Dark Knight’s world. 

From gadgets, special moves and villains, this game offers a faithful adaptation of the Caped Crusader’s universe. With plenty of secrets to discover, as well as an unforgettable cast of villains, Batman: Arkham Asylum is definitely a must-play for any fan of the Dark Knight.

3. X-Men Origins Wolverine (2009) 

This action-packed title allows you to take control of one of the most iconic X-Men characters. With a plethora of claws, blades and special abilities at your disposal, you’ll be able to brawl through hordes of enemies as you uncover the secrets behind Wolverine’s past. 

Get a glimpse into  the mind of Logan and experience his rage firsthand. With plenty of special moves, amazing combos and a compelling story, this is an action-packed adventure that any X-Men fan will enjoy.

4. The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (2005)

This classic action-adventure title allows you to unleash the destructive power of the Hulk in a fully-realized 3D world. 

The animation and visuals are excellent and the combat is satisfyingly over-the-top. From smashing enemies and cars to leaping tall buildings in a single bound, this game lets you experience what it’s like to be the strongest one there is!

What makes it truly special is the enormous amount of freedom it provides. With no limitations on how you can use your Hulk’s power, you’re free to explore and fight however you want. 

5. Hellboy: The Science of Evil (2008) 

Based on the popular comics and movie franchise, this game puts you in the shoes of everyone’s favorite demon-fighting hero. 

Combining intense third-person combat with a deep storyline, Hellboy: The Science of Evil offers an exciting and unique superhero experience. The story focuses on the enigmatic character of Hellboy and the mysteries surrounding his origin, as he battles against the forces of evil. 

With plenty of action-packed levels, as well as a variety of upgradable weapons and abilities, this game is sure to please any fan of the franchise. 

6. Biowars: Invisible War (2015)

This exciting game offers a unique mix of real-time strategy and comic book action. With an expansive universe to explore and plenty of challenging missions, this game will keep you entertained for hours on end. Its unique story mode also allows you to customize your own superhero team and take on an array of dangerous enemies. 

This epic story covers a wide range of themes and offers plenty of strategic options.

Biowars might not be as well-known as some other titles on this list, but it is definitely worth a look if you’re looking for something familiar yet unique. The best part? You can get the mobile app and play wherever you are!

7. Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 (2011)

This classic fighting game features an all-star cast of characters from both the Marvel and Capcom universes. With a fast-paced and intense combat system, as well as an enormous selection of characters to choose from, this game is sure to keep you entertained for hours on end. 

Whether you’re a fan of Marvel or Capcom, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 has something for everyone. 

8. LEGO Marvel Super Heroes (2013)

This charming title puts an adorable twist on the classic comic book heroes and villains. LEGO is known for its fun and creative takes on beloved franchises, and this game is no exception. 

With an expansive world to explore, plenty of humorous quests to undertake and a plethora of unlockable characters, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes will keep any comic book fan entertained for hours on end. In addition to that, it is great for younger gamers as well, providing a safe and enjoyable experience. 

9. Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013)

Who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman? You can find out with this epic fighting game. Injustice: Gods Among Us allows you to take control of your favorite DC Comics characters as they battle it out in an action-packed arena. 

With plenty of special moves, interactive environments and unlockable content, this is sure to be an addicting experience for any fan of the DC universe. 

You can get this game on various platforms, so no matter which device you have at your disposal, you can join the fight! 

10. Marvel: Avengers Alliance (2012)

If you’re looking for a more tactical experience, then look no further than Marvel: Avengers Alliance. This turn-based strategy game allows you to assemble a team of superheroes and take on a variety of missions in an effort to save the world. With a deep character progression system, plenty of unlockable content and a vibrant presentation, this game is sure to keep you entertained for hours on end. Plus, it has a great mobile version as well! 

The one thing you should pay attention to in this game is the team composition – some characters are better suited for certain tasks than others. Make sure to read up on your heroes and villains before jumping into battle!

Conclusion

As you can see, there is no shortage of awesome comic book video games out there. Whether you’re a fan of Marvel or DC, or something unrelated, there is something for everyone. So grab your controller, brush up on your comic book knowledge and dive into one of these amazing games! You won’t regret it. 

Happy gaming!

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The 10-episode Sandman series is now available on Netflix thanks to a contract negotiated by Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer (Foundation), and showrunner Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman). The show ended up being well worth the wait. Of course, though, certain people will never be happy. This is undoubtedly one of the best small-screen comic adaptations ever created. For that, we can thank clever acting, solid writing, and breathtakingly creepy noir-meets-horror production design that makes judicious use of digital effects.

What’s the story of Sandman about?

Dream (a touchingly vulnerable Tom Sturridge, most recently seen in HBO’s Irma Vep) is introduced to us in both the comic books and the television series on what must be the worst day of his everlasting life. In order to capture Death in an orb and make her follow their commands, members of an occult organization assembled in an English manor in 1916. Dream is the Endless they arrest instead because he has entered the waking world in search of a “rogue nightmare”. The nightmare is Corinthian (Boyd Holbrook), who amuses himself by wreaking havoc among humanity. So, Dream endures a torturous century in his cell. He is unable to give gifts to his captor for his release.

You threatened, cajoled and pleaded for gifts are neither mankind’s to receive nor mine to give. You had no thought for the harm you have brought to your world…

Lord, what fools these mortals be.

All of this basically serves as a prelude to Dream’s escape and return to his collapsing kingdom. He must reclaim three looted items which will help him reconstruct it. His aids are the most devoted deputy, dream librarian Lucienne (Vivienne Acheampong), and chirpy raven sidekick Matthew (voiced by Patton Oswalt). The first six episodes, which largely follow Preludes and Nocturnes, the first book of the comics, will literally take him through the gates of hell and back to Earth.

What this adaptation of Sandman has done right?

Casting!!!

This project has always required excellent casting, and Netflix’s The Sandman does not disappoint. Finding actors that resemble comic book characters the most isn’t always the best option. David Bowie’s big-haired, late-’60s folk singer phase was famously depicted to resemble Lucifer Morningstar, the mythical fallen angel who rules over hell. Here, the role is filled by the statuesque Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones, who, despite being a woman, perfectly captures Lucifer’s charming smugness. A very knowledgeable and peaceful interpretation of Death, who consoles the recently deceased and leads them on a route to the hereafter, is provided by Kirby Howell-Baptiste.

Bonus points go to whoever had the brilliant idea to portray John Cameron Mitchell, the creator of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, as the proprietor of a drag cabaret in Florida. In the midst of all the strangeness, Dream serves as something of a straight guy, yet Sturridge has just the right amount of baby face and scowl. It makes sense that he got the role above 200 other performers for the part.

Also, we must not forget Charles Dance (Tywin in GOT) once again plays the role of a ruthless father.

Masters of CGI

Theoretically, it should be simpler than ever to make a CGI-heavy genre program seem nice. However, even studios with enormous pockets of Marvel have had repeated failures in this area. Gary Steele, the production designer for Outlander, uses visual effects far more skillfully in The Sandman. In Dream’s realm, hell, and other supernatural locations, there are numerous landscapes that are obviously computer-created. For the most part, these parts appear purposefully animated, like incredibly detailed renditions of comic book art. While the waking world resembles our planet quite closely. This includes a greater density of bars, fast-food restaurants, and gloomy alleys.

Closing thoughts about the Sandman Netflix show

This first season has done everything that was expected of it. Clever writing, faithfulness to the original content, amazing CGI, and wonderful casting have all led to people being delighted with watching the show. Hopefully, in its progress, Sandman will only get better and better.

The post Sandman – a comic book adaptation that’s actually good appeared first on Bizznerd.

Why was Gorr different from other tribe members?

Well, unfortunately, we don’t have much information regarding his tribe. If there ever existed a doubt about the existence of gods, they never disclaimed it. However, with Gorr, it was a different story.

Since their planet was quite brutal, losing your loved ones was almost an everyday thing. Gorr lost his wife to an earthquake and his kids to starvation/thirst. Those situations led to him being quite fed up. Who can blame him though? Because of all this, Gorr cursed the gods and developed a sort of atheistic philosophy regarding them.

Gorr meeting the gods

After his ‘’clash’’ with his tribe, Gorr ended up in exile. Ironically, during his exile, he met two gods that he was so sure didn’t exist. He witnessed a god called Knull and the golden gods fight. Finally realizing that yes gods were real, he vowed to basically kill them all. After acquiring the All-Black Necrosword from Knull, that task was sure made a lot easier. However, we didn’t get a definite time frame for all of this happening. It is estimated to have begun 1000 years before the actual task on Earth.

But, where’s Thor?

During the 9th century, on his journey to find and kill gods, Gorr the Godbutcher came to Earth, specifically North America. Then, he got busy with some god butchering. Much to his surprise, all of the bodies of the butchered gods washed ashore in Iceland where coincidentally Thor noticed them. Now, this is where things get quite interesting. For the first time ever in Marvel Comics, we are heavily introduced to whole pantheons of gods that come from different worlds which was never really the case before. Jason Aaron really brought this incredibly complex mythos into the entire comic series.

However, Thor was still the main focus of the story. We see him fight Gorr and lose miserably since Thor didn’t yet have the ability to wield his hammer. After yet another thousand years, Gorr returned again, having done some more god butchering and acquiring power. Much like Knull, he used the Abyss in order to create a sort of army for himself and fought Thor yet again. To the reader’s surprise, even with his hammer, Thor lost. Badly.

What Gorr’s win led to

Thor’s confrontation with Gorr led to Jason Aaron introducing All-Father Thor. If you don’t know what that is, Thor’s father, Odin, granted him that power upon his return to Asgard. During this part of the story, we also see Loki. This is where the storyline gets a bit complicated… We see a foreshadowing of Loki killing everyone on Earth in the future. Coincidentally, even though the Asgardians weren’t affected, this foreshadowing coincided with Gorr and his plan to take over the world with his Abyss minions and descend onto Asgard. Those that weren’t killed were put into service of Gorr and only All-Father Thor was left.

What was his intention all along?

His intention seems pretty simple at first, killing all of the gods. However, things don’t play out exactly how you want them to most of the time. Because the story about Gorr butchering gods has spread across the universe, god refugees became a thing. This meant that he couldn’t satisfy his intention.

His way around it was to build the so-called God Bomb. The plan behind it was when you detonate it, all gods would simply die, no matter where they were hiding. This all led to three generations of Thor teaming up in a fight versus Gorr. However, even now, they weren’t really successful in their goal.

Jason Aaron and his genius

Jason Aaron really outdid himself during the Thor run by introducing a lot of unexplored material into Marvel. After the fight with Gorr, the idea of prayers being powerful finally saw light. The comic talked about Odin’s and Thor’s power and how they stem from people believing/praying to them. That’s one of the things Jason Aaron took his time on which other Marvel comics just left unexplored.

Regarding Gorr, even though the believers gave the gods their power, he never went out of his way to kill them. Of course, he believed that collateral damage is sometimes necessary, but his vengeance was directed toward the gods themselves.

Gorr’s defeat

Further down in the story, a manifestation of Gorr’s son showed up to him and basically scolded Gorr, telling him he has become what he wanted to destroy. Because of that, Gorr’s son and other gods started praying to Thor which boosted his power immensely. All of this resulted in Thor finally killing Gorr. However, this wasn’t the end.

A lot of people loved Gorr the Godbutcher. He was definitely one of the most fan-favorite comic villains of all time. People loved how he was written, his backstory, and his intentions. So, it was natural that they wanted him back which did end up happening.

Loki and Gorr

As we previously mentioned, Loki eradicated all life on Earth at some point after Gorr’s ”death”. However, that life started returning to Earth thanks to All-father Thor. In order to defeat Thor, Loki acquired the well-known Necrosword. However, that sword was still possessed by Gorr’s consciousness. When he seized it, he also resurrected Gorr within himself. With this event happening in the future, both Thor and Gorr had massive amounts of power, and their conflict basically destroyed entire star systems.

Was the Godbutcher right all along?

Another thing Jason Aaron expanded on was the God tempest. Regarding Thor’s hammer and gods being worthy, it wasn’t actually Odin who put the enchantment, but rather the tempest. During another story arc, Nick Fury whispered something to Thor, but it wasn’t shown to the reader. After years of being left without an answer, Jason finally revealed that Nick told Thor that Gorr was right and that gods are truly unworthy.

Closing thoughts

Even though Gorr seems totally dead, we still don’t know if he ever will come back. The force of the God tempest that All-father Thor unleashed seems a bit too drastic if they ever planned to bring Gorr back. However, there is no doubt that the Godbutcher was an amazing character and he will forever stay in the heart of many Marvel fans.

The post Gorr The Godbutcher: Deadliest Marvel villain? appeared first on Bizznerd.

When he first appeared in the Dark Nights: Metal comic books, he was part of a larger existential threat to the entire DC universe. Since then, we have seen his footprints in all DC titles. He was even featured directly in front of his original DC counterpart in his exclusive series.

Now, in this article, we are going to take a look at the history of the character “Batman Who Laughs” and find out his role in the DC universe.

Who is “Batman Who Laughs”?

The character “Batman Who Laughs” was introduced in 2017. in comic number one of “Dark Days: The Casting” by Scott Snyder and Greg Campolo. He is a terrifying shape of Bruce Wayne in one of the many Dark Multiverse worlds.

In Earth-22, the Joker successfully identifies Batman and kills Gordon. He also caused many children to be orphaned by the horrific attacks on Gotham. Batman then clashes with the Joker. This battle ends with the death of the Joker. When the Joker dies, the poison leaves his body and enters the body of the Dark Knight.

When this poison penetrates Bruce Wayne’s body, it distracts his mind and soul. Under the influence of this poison, Bruce finds a Joker-like temperament and has an infinite desire to kill. He brutally kills all his allies (including most of the Batman family and members of the Justice League group) before they know what has happened to him.

He even corrupts his son Damian and several of Gotham’s new orphans.

Dark Nights: Metal

In this crossover, “Batman Who Laughs ” leads the Dark Knights (other evil versions of Bruce Wayne, who have changed to look like members of the Justice League). In the Dark Multiverse, he quickly defeats the original DC Batman and Superman and takes control of Gotham City. He then uses the legendary metals of the DC world, such as Nth Metal, to build his headquarters on Mount Challengers.

In this comic, we first see the complete reign of Batman’s greatest enemies. But then batman who laughs fans are systematically defeated by their Justice League counterparts, while Batman and Superman return to DC. Bruce decides to enlist the help of the Joker. The two make peace with each other for a while to thwart the plans of this villain.

After defeating the villain, Batman takes him as a security prisoner under the supervision of the Justice League headquarters in Washington D.C.

Year of the Villain

Despite the Joker’s warnings, Lex Luthor decided to use the character “Batman Who Laughs” to carry out his evil plans. He wanted to defeat the members of the Justice League group forever. When the evil Batman finds a new opportunity for revenge, he decides to bring different injuries to Bruce and his relatives. Batman also has to take different measures to confront him. But batman who laughs corrupts Commissioner Gordon and uses poison to turn him into one of his allies. The villain’s plans do not end here. He continues to corrupt characters such as Billy Batson (Shazam) and Donna Troy with the poison of the Dark Multiverse.

“Batman Who Laughs” does not stop trying to form his Justice League group. To achieve his goals, he constantly corrupts other familiar faces and adds them to his group.

This villain shows what a terrible thing he can do if Batman breaks his moral rules in the DC world and approaches the Joker character.

The post The Batman Who Laughs – The evil version of Batman in the DC world appeared first on Bizznerd.

Batman as a human

“What if he was real?” was the premise behind this under-explored part of Batman’s past. He is, after all, a man. It looks deeply into how Bruce Wayne’s past led to the existence of the Bat and paints it more realistically as a mental health issue (acting out unresolved traumas) as opposed to the romanticized heroic story.

A mental health issue created Batman. The tale kicks off with a wounded Batman crashing into Dr. Leslie Tompkins’ office. As she pulls off the vigilante’s mask, she discovers his true identity. This leaves her with two options, reveal Bruce Wayne to be the masked vigilante who’s garnered a lot of enemies in the year he’s been active, or treat a wounded patient?

Batman and therapy

Either way, both choices would have made for an interesting story, but she opts for the latter of the two. On condition that the man behind the mask, Bruce Wayne attends nightly therapy sessions or she calls the authorities. Being a fan himself, writer Tomlin is quite aware that deeply rooted Batman’s persona is a childhood trauma that is integral to his character. It defines him.

He bravely casts a spotlight on the dark way Batman depends on the psychological damage the trauma did to Bruce Wayne to exist. It depicts a rather precarious beginning for the Dark Knight, as Bruce battles to come to terms with his past, the Batman persona spawns a murderous persona who goes after some of the Bat’s enemies, likely to frame him.

In the past, while Andrea Sorrentino and Jordie Bellaire deliver the gritty art and colorwork.

“As a lifelong Batman fan, putting my spin on Gotham City has been a dream come true,” commented Tomlin “Taking the question of ‘What if Batman was real?’ as far as narratively possible conjured incredible potential that hasn’t recently been explored in the comics. Batman: The Imposter treats Bruce Wayne and the people around him as tragically flawed and vividly real, with the obstacles Batman faces coming from a reality show that closely mirrors our own.” – Mattson Tomlin, the writer behind Batman: The Imposter.ž

Closing

Exploring the part of Batman’s past, which we know so well, is never explored from this site is he and the direction that Tomlinson, and the team, have taken. It is quite an interesting read, one that connects fans, more deeply, to the Dark Knight, as they get to know Bruce Wayne as more than just the man behind the Batman persona.

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Black Widow

Black Widow has graced the pages of comic book lore since the 1960s. The female superhero is so proficient with firearms that she has been named one of the Marvel Universe’s top assassins. She’s been known to fight alongside super-powered beings, in defense of the planet.

An agent of SHIELD, as well as the first female Avenger, Black Widow was trained by the Russian government, under a Top Secret training operation known as the Black Widow training program. Her expert use of hand-to-hand combat and weapons has made her one of the most formidable heroes in the Marvel Universe. 

Daredevil

Daredevil doesn’t have superpowers, per se, but relies on heightened hearing, a sense of smell, and other senses, except sight. He lost his ability to see when he encountered a strange serum/toxin that left all his other senses sharp. 

His inability to see puts him at no disadvantage against villains of all manner.  Superpowered or not, he usually comes out on top when facing off against his foes. 

Green Arrow

First, of the billionaire vigilantes on our list of heroes without powers is Green Lantern, a human being who wields the bow and arrow as though he were an Elven prince on a quest to destroy a ring. The only thing Green Arrow has, in the way of superpowers, is near-unlimited funds, which he uses to equip himself with combat ability augmenting technology. 

Green Lantern

Green Lantern may seem to have superpowers, but his near-limitless abilities are the product of the Green Lantern ring he wears, which is a tool. Without the ring, he is much like Tony Stark outside of the suit. Not a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, but an ordinary human being. 

Well, not ordinary-ordinary, but as ordinary as a fighter pilot can get. Extraordinary bravery and willpower could be classified as his only powers.

Bat Girl

Daughter of Gotham City’s commissioner of police, Barbara Gordon or Bat-Girl, just like her caped trainer, Batman, is just an exceptionally trained human being wearing a cape. She does possess a high degree of intelligence, however, which she uses to best her enemies. 

Cassandra Cain

The daughter of David Cain, and Lady Shiva, Cassandra possesses no superpowers. Her abilities are the result of extensive training from her parents, the League of Assassins, and Batman himself. 

Due to her long list of trainers, Cassandra has developed the ability to sense an opponent’s moves before they know what they’ll do next. Making her quite a formidable person to go up against. You may get your larynx ripped out of your throat if you lose against her. Even The Batman has admitted that she could take him out. 

Dick Greyson (Nightwing)

The first of Batman’s recruits and leader of the Teen Titans corps of the Justice League, Dick Greyson grew up being mentored by Batman. With access to state-of-the-art tech and weaponry, along with his acrobatic skills, Nightwing can go against the worst of baddies, with or without backup.

Iron Man

The second entry on our list who could count money as a superpower is billionaire, playboy, philanthropist himself, Tony Stark, or Iron Man – as he is best known. The genius inventor built himself an artificial heart that powered a suit he used to get himself out of a pinch one time. 

He has been perfecting that suit ever since. In the suit, Tony Stark can fly, project beams from his palms, fire miniature missiles, and has super strength.  

Captain America

No, he doesn’t have superpowers. Captain America was injected with a serum that put him at human physical ability. He’s just really fit. If he has any superpowers to speak of, it’s his sense of justice, and ability to lead.  

Batman

The Dark Knight makes the first place as the best of our list of superheroes who have no powers, and also as the 3rd billionaire superhero to be mentioned. The Bat is just a highly skilled and intelligent, rich human in a suit. He has, however, gone up against super-powered beings, and even leads a team of heroes with powers. 

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Since the 1970s brought us the Bruce Lee-inspired Green Hornet franchise, which spanned television, film, and comic book media, and Marvel’s Bruce Lee homage, The Hands Of Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, martial arts have played a bigger and bigger role in comic book lore. As a result of the decade-by-decade growing acceptance of martial arts in modern-day popular culture, many comic book heroes have had one or the other martial discipline incorporated into their repertoires.

There are a lot of characters who have been created by comic book artists and writers, and plenty more have had their abilities reimagined, with martial arts as their ”almost” superpower. Without any further explanation, here is a list of comics with martial arts, from boxing to ninjutsu.

Shaolin Cowboy

Shaolin Cowboy follows the exploits of an excommunicated Shaolin Monk, who travels with a talking donkey. The Eisner Award-nominated comic series, published by Burleyman Entertainment, was created by artist Geoff Darrow. 

Seeing as relations between monk and monetary were less than friendly upon the unnamed protagonist’s departure, there is a very large bounty on his head with many a man trying to collect it. He doesn’t make it easy for his attackers, thanks to his combat skill. This makes for some stunningly violent, vividly drawn imagery.

Master of Kung Fu

This is a classic. Hands of Shang-Chi is a Marvel comic book title that was first published in 1972. The Steve Engelhardt creation featured Shang-Chi, a formidable Kung Fu fighter. The lesser-known partner to Iron-Fist has even joined the Avengers.

One-Punch Man

Created by mysterious graphic novelist the One, One Punch Man tale follows an overpowered superhero who has grown bored with not being able to find an opponent who challenges his abilities. Capable of ending his foes with a single punch Saitama travels from battle to battle, dealing with baddies.  Though martial arts aren’t the main theme here, they are part of the furniture. 

Cimmaronin

The year is 1632, the place, Manila, Philippines. A disgraced samurai sits in his home getting ready to commit ritual suicide, then an old friend, who happens to be a priest, walks in and stops him. The mission? Escort a Manchurian princess to South America. What ensues is a story that sees the warrior pulled into something bigger than he could have anticipated, while also getting a shot at redemption.

The Mask of Fudo

Izuna and Legend of the Scarlet Blades spin-off, The Mask of Fudo follows a young Nobu Fudo, when he was still known as Shinsuke. As a lad, he dreamed of growing up and becoming powerful samurai. Having worn a white mask since boyhood. The warrior within him is awakened when his younger sister is attacked, but that is not the only thing that has awoken. 

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Though DC and rivals Marvel dominate the comic book space, the hottest new title releases, in recent times, have not come from either of the comic stables. In fact, many have come from smaller, independent brands, while others have come from companies that could rival Marvel or DC.

The Truth Department

In light of recent global socio-political events,  the global Covid-19 economic crisis, the QAnon nuts, flat Earthers, and what-have-you – the public appetite for conspiracy theories is high. which is probably why Image Comics’ The Department of Truth doesn’t seem too out of place in these harrowing times.

The tale follows a conspiracy nut who comes to the discovery that every conspiracy theory ever existed – from the JFK (John F Kennedy) assassination to the Easter Bunny. The organization responsible for concealing the truth from all of society is the Truth Department.

Hellboy

A fan favorite that even got an excellent film adaptation, Hellboy is one of the most recognizable non-Marvel, nor DC, superheroes. Hell of, as his name suggests, is one of the most unique heroes one could ever come across in the world of comics. Neither human, not alien, Hellboy is a demon raised by humanity.

Hellboy and his squad of – equally unique – characters go about protecting the world from paranormal phenomena that threaten the people who fear and hate him. Mike Mignola’s take on the superhero genre was rather fresh, with the creation of this character, as it subverts the stereotypical take on heroes, putting a band of misfits together, and having them go against impossible odds for the greater good – protecting people who hate them.

Stillwater

Small towns, for all their peaceful, away-from-everything appeal, usually harbor stories and mysteries you couldn’t discover without spending some time there and interacting with the locals. Stillwater, the fictional town that the comic is based on, holds a bizarre set of cards close to its chest.

No one seems to die in Stillwater, as though the grim reaper has no idea the place exists. As the world grows more technological, the risk of discovery grows by the day. Eisner award-winning comic book writer Chip Zdarsky’s latest work can be gripping, as one reads on and discovers what other secrets this town holds.

Spawn

One of the most iconic, and highlight-grossing-DC, non-Marvel heroes in the comic book world, Spawn has been a fan-favorite for years now. Though waning in popularity in recent years, there was a time one couldn’t list favorite outright Superheroes without dropping Spawn into the conversation.

Spawn is a grim reaper of sorts, given power by the devil himself to exact revenge on those who had wronged him. He has, since, grown to the point where he at one point even overthrew the god of his universe.

Home Sick Pilots

Homesick Pilots is a strange one, and that’s what makes it so great. Touted as a cross between Power Rangers and The Shining, the story involves a haunted house. A pop singer is trapped inside a house by a ghostly spirit. This tale ensues that is like nothing else out there, though it borrows some familiar elements from other tales, it throws them together in a completely different way.

Man Goat and Bunny Man

Like urban legends? Well, this one is based on them. The title characters, Man Goat and Bunny Man are inspired by urban legends that sprung up on the internet a few years ago. The duo goes around doing bloody battles with other urban legends, in a satisfyingly gruesome fashion.

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Badly conceptualized, that is. These villains are so ridiculously disastrous that one could not be faulted for wondering why they didn’t join a circus Instead of taking to villainy. I mean absolutely disastrous characters who, most times, prove to be little more than an annoyance (pun intended) as opposed to being anything close to a worthy foe to the superheroes they accost.

Asbestos Lady

This character probably made a lot of sense in the context of the time that she came into, so to speak, existence (circa 1947). It was a more gung-ho time of discovery and asbestos was a bot commodity, owing to its heat-resistant properties.

So Asbestos Lady, as well as her minions, wore an asbestos-lined bodysuit to avoid being burned to a crisp by superhero heat blast. She ran about carrying fire weapons of her own, all to satiate her expensive tastes.

She died of cancer in the early ’90s though.’90s comic books were stable books to deliver a cautionary tale regarding the dangers of asbestos use (also newly discovered.)

Codpiece

This is a character in a power suit that has a crotch appendage that extends and fires a beam. Innuendos aside, I don’t think we need to say more. The corniness alone means this overcompensating baddy gets no nod of approval from us.

Stilt-Man

You read it right, stilts. Perhaps DareDevil’s adversaries built their arsenal trying to outdo an anomalously skilled blind dude, but some of them can be quite ridiculous. Take Stilt-Man, for instance, he uses a power suit with extending legs to commit crimes in high-rise buildings. You defeat the guy by knocking him down…no real challenge there.

Critical Mass

An explosive mate of Peter Parker’s, Arnie Gunderson grew up and developed explosive powers of his own. Aside from new powers, he also developed quite the gut. Except he didn’t use any of his power and bulk for any good except his own. Arnie went villain.

He’s a villain who can fire explosive energy from his body and has the brains of a high school bully. Need we say more?

White Rabbit

So white rabbit grew up a spoiled little girl who read too much Alice In Wonderland. She grew up and married a rich, older man, but because of the entitlement issues, she developed as a result of her coddled upbringing, she killed him.

Following that she uses the funds she’s inherited from dear old hubby, to purchase a ton of high-tech gadgetry and goes on a crime spree to act out her weird Alice fantasy/obsession. Mental health people! Keep tabs on it!

50% Chad and Cellphone Sylvia

We searched far and wide and could not find any, more fitting, characters for the number one spot than these two. Hopelessly awful, they belong in the WTF category, on anyone’s list. They are Cellphone Sylvia, and, not quite complete, 50% Chad.

Cellphone Sylvia is a member of the League of Annoyance (which probably explains a lot.) Not an actual villain, not by comic book standards anyway, has a cellphone that has a projector on it, which teleports people to the Phantom Zone. Where Zod, and his Kryptonian gang, were once imprisoned. That’s it.

DC seems to try to explore every angle of the existential question. At least that’s what they appear to have been doing by creating a villain who is no more than a pair of zombie legs attached to an equally undead waist. 50% of Chad’s special ability is knocking people out with the stench that half a corpse ought to have. Imagine that.

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There are a good number of female superheroes out there, aside from the box office heavy hitters, who do their part in the name of justice. Some are powerful enough to save galaxies, others go out there armed with nothing but a sense of justice. All heroic, in their own right.

Here is our pick of the 6 best female Superheroes:

Batwoman

As the maternal figure of the Bat-Family, Batwoman is strong-willed and is quite convicted in her sense of justice. She’s incredibly intelligent and resourceful, a decent counterpart to Batman

Storm

The movies underplay just how powerful Storm is. This Wakandan superhero is second, only to Jean Gray (In The X-Men) in terms of power.

Storm can bend the weather to her will. It could snow one second, hail the next, and before you know it, she is dropping lightning bolts on you. Gentle and noble, Storm has incredible control over her power and uses it to pursue her convictions that humanity and mutant-kind could live together in peace.

She-Hulk

The Hulk’s female counterpart, She-Hulk is a version of the mean, green, giant we all know and love, but she’s quite comfortable. Badass lawyer by day, even more, badass superhero all the time.

Before Deadpool used the breaking the fourth wall trope, She-Hulk had one-sided conversations with readers of her comic. Her taking comfort in her condition and owning it offered another perspective on the Hulk condition and the possibilities that accepting it opens. There’s probably a message somewhere in there.

Invisible Woman

The sole female member of the fantastic four, Suzan Storm, better known as The Invisible woman is the quintessential team player. She is sister to the hyper-confident Human Torch (who behaves as though his powers are exactly what he’s always wanted,) a devoted wife too, extra stretchy Mr. Fantastic, and a person that The Thing can always talk to.

She is essentially the glue that holds the team together, without her, during the Civil War event, the team virtually disintegrated. Though her powers startup virtually useless, with writers assigning her to a more motherly role within the team. Invisibleble woman’s character has since been revamped to be a more hardcore personality, able to form force fields and with telekinetic abilities.

SuperGirl

Cousin to, and another Kryptonian to hang out with, The Man of Steel, Superman, Super Girl is every bit as ultra-durable super-breath-having, hyper-strong, able to shoot laser beams from her eyes, and up-up-and-away as her male counterpart. She has a heart of gold to boot, capable of sacrificing herself for a greater cause. This proved this quite well in the Crisis of Many Earths comic book event.

Wonder Woman

Daughter of the Greek god Zeus, and sworn defender of the human race, Diana Prince, who goes by the costume name, Wonder Woman is an incredibly powerful female superhero. Super intelligent, and, pretty much, on par with Superman in durability, and strength, Wonder Woman makes a great leader and even better warrior.

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Developing in Japan, the shinobi art was crafted for a lateral form of warfare; information gathering, spreading of misinformation, the odd poisoning, etc. Very rarely would one carry out an application at the rate at which popular culture would have one believed. A true shinobi would need to be able to hide in plain sight, and only sometimes employ martial arts or specialized weaponry on missions.

The specter of the shinobi referred to as the ninja in popular culture lives on in Japan as well. There are a decent number of Japanese Manga comics dedicated to the ninjas. Here are a few ninja-based Japanese manga comics that we’ve picked out.

Basilisk

Based on a Tokugawa era event, which saw two rival ninja clans dueling to the death to determine the next shogun. Two clans, the Iga Tsubagakure and Kouga Manjidani have been locked in a rivalry for 400 years. Only a truce orchestrated by the great Hanzo kept it from erupting into an all-out blood bath. Now the aging Tokugawa needs to select an heir, and he leverages the rivalry between the clans. Each to represent one of the potential heirs.

That’s not all, there is a love story mixed into it all. Gennosuke of the Iga, and Oboro of the Kouga are madly in love, and you can imagine how inconvenient it would be for them if their respective clans were to go to war against one another. The tension is especially heightened by the fact that Oboro is the only Iga clan member who can kill the formidable Gennosuke.

Makai Tenshou (Ninja Resurrection)

This Action Thriller, with supernatural elements heavily pumped into the story,follows the plight of the legendary swordsman, Yagyu Jubei, who returns to his namesake home village after a time serving in feudal conflicts. Life back home is as peaceful as it can be for a war veteran. That is until rumors of four dead warriors returning from the grave to wreak havoc on forces that the tired warrior back into battle.

A Bat in a Blue Sky (Souten no Koumori)

This is a once-off,63-page manga that tells a whole story at a frantic pace. The story revolves around a shinobi who wakes up in a mansion and is promptly introduced to a fellow who is next in line to run things. The circumstances behind his arrival at the mansion, and a good amount of other details, are left out as there is no time and a lot has to happen now. That’s the feel this manga offers, in a brilliantly told, Tarantino-esque style that is supported by detailed art that makes the sparse sword fight look quite epic.

Path of The Assassin (Hanzou no Mon)

Path of The Assassin follows, in panel form,the life of Hattori Hanzo, the man charged with protecting a young Iyeyasu Tokugawa. As the protector of someone who would go on to unite Japan, the shinobi had to be adept in a vast array of skills. The manga even touches on the close friendship formed by the two, in all the time they spent together.

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From Superman to Wonder Woman and numerous other heroes and villains, the DC Universe is in no shortage of imaginatively constructed characters. Each with unique talents that are beyond the reach of the mere mortals they either work to destroy or protect. This multitude of powerful individuals could make it a little tricky to compile a list but alas, we have, and here it is – in no particular order.

Dr. Manhattan

Birth name Jon Osterman, Dr. Manhattan’s journey to superhuman status started out with him being a celebrated nuclear scientist. However, after a particle test went wrong – or right depending on how you look at it, he gained his Godlike abilities.

Dr. Manhattan is easily one of the most powerful comic book characters. He can see the future and is able to bend reality to his will. The best examples of Dr. Manhattan’s can be seen in the DC Comics event Doomsday Clock.

Dr. Fate

Another superhuman “Doctor”, Dr. Fate is one of the more unique characters in the DC Universe. This is because “magic” is not a common power among the characters of the DC Universe.

That said, Dr. Fate was originally known as Kent Nelson and is one of the founding members of the Justice Society of America. In his role as Dr. Fate, Nelson has the power to fly, cast spells, become invulnerable to damage, teleport, heal, put up force fields and take on a metaphysical state of being.

Darkseid

In terms of raw “power”, Darkseid can easily be outdone by many characters in the DC Universe. However, the mere fact that it takes a combined effort from the entire Justice League to handle him, it would be unfair for him not to make the list.

As for his abilities, Darkseid the ruler of Apokolips leads a legion of minions and fires beams from his eyes.

Superman

A list of DC Comics’ most powerful characters would not be complete without one of the most famous superheroes of all time, Superman. Most of us are well aware of the awesome powers that he uses to save the world.

On the other hand, we are also aware of how the man of steel is solar-powered and that he is particularly vulnerable to kryptonite. Nonetheless, he is still the most powerful comic book character ever conceived.

Elaine Belloc

This lady is set to become the successor to the throne of heaven. This alone should be a hint of how insanely powerful Elaine Belloc is. She is omnipresent, omnipotent and immortal. She is able to manipulate atoms and is a master of magic. Elaine Belloc may very well be in the running to be the DC Universe’s single most powerful character.

Lucifer Morningstar

Yes, that’s right, a list of DC’s most powerful characters would be empty if it excluded the devil himself. After getting his marching orders from heaven and moving to his own domain – hell, Lucifer relocated to earth to ply his trade.

He has the power to bend any and everything to his will. His only Achilles heel is his inability to create things from nothing – well he isn’t God after all.

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Both possess abilities that argue a strong case against Superman’s seeming dominance of the ‘who’s most powerful’ topic. Moreover, each one of them is capable of giving the benevolent Kryptonian a run for his money in a full-contact encounter. However, the question still lingers. Who among these three of us is the most powerful?

To answer that question, we have to take a closer look at these three characters, comparing their strengths and weaknesses against one another. This approach ought to get us to the conclusion that we are looking for. So without further ado, let’s begin.

Superman

Superman, one of DC Comics’ most commercially successful superheroes and undoubtedly the most familiar of our three characters is first up. The Man of Steel is oftentimes considered the most powerful character in the DC Universe. However, his amazing strengths have accompanying weaknesses.

Superman’s Strengths

Superman’s powers include the ability to fly, superhuman strength, vulnerability to earthling weapons, and sensory perception that far exceeds that of the average human.

Weaknesses

As mist us already know, as powerful as Superman and the rest of the Kryptonians are, they are anything but invincible. Their first and most commonly known weakness is Kryptonite exposure.

Then there are the other deficiencies that some of Clark Kent’s fans might not be aware of like, his weakness against psychical attacks – evidenced during his encounter with Roger Hayden. Aside from that, the Last Son of Krypton is also valuable to Red Sun radiation, electricity, and viruses.

*Superman’s powers have gone through vast changes since the 1930s and have been toned down somewhat in recent times*

Omni-Man

Image Comics’ Omni-Man is another super powerful alien who finds himself a resident of Earth, disguised as a best-selling author named Nolan Grayson. Just as with the Kryptonians, he comes from a mighty race known as the Viltrumites.

Omni-Man’s Abilities

Being one of the strongest of the Viltrumites, Omni-Man is able to effortlessly topple large structures, flying many times faster than the speed of sound, and to top things off, he is pretty much invulnerable.

Weaknesses

However, the Omni-Man and his Viltrumite kin are not completely indestructible. The race of high-powered aliens happens to have a weakness in the inner ear.  It plays a major role in how they fly and can be manipulated in order to destabilize them – or even cause direct injury.

Furthermore, The Viltrumites are also not impervious to the teeth of the Ragnar aliens, which can easily shred even their strongest individuals. Lastly, Omni-Man and all other Viltrumites are susceptible to the “Scourge Virus”, a bio-weapon that is tailored to target the race of super-beings.

Saitama

Lastly, we have Saitama from the Anime series, One Punch Man. This time our insanely powerful character is not a wandering being from another galaxy. Instead, Saitama is a “Superhero for fun” who is said to have gained his immense strength through a rigorous training schedule. However, there are constant hints to how that might not be all there is to it.

Saitama’s Strengths

Saitama possesses a level of physical fitness and confounding strength that makes him the strongest individual in his universe. To put this into perspective, Saitama is able to beat most of his opponents with a single punch. In terms of his speed, he passed a physical examination by clearing 1500m in an instant.

Saitama is also quite resilient. He has survived the vacuum of space a few times and completed atmospheric re-entry unscathed. To add to this, Saitama’s grueling training regime somehow gave him resistance to psychical attacks.

Weaknesses

To date, Saitama has never fought using the full potential of his strength and he generally just seems godlike. That said, this man has no known weaknesses.

The showdown of Superman, Omni-Man, and Saitama

All our characters have their set of strengths and weaknesses, making them questionable. Especially in the cases of Superman and Omni-Man.

However, when it comes to Saitama, the absence of known weaknesses tips the scale awkwardly in his favor. Nevertheless, that is not to say that an encounter with either one of the superbeings from space would push him to the limits of his abilities and possibly expose one of his unknown weaknesses. For now, though, Saitama seems to be the strongest contender.

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However, when considering character deaths in the comic book world, one should always remember that creativity is in no shortage here. So in most instances where a significant character finds him or herself succumbing to overwhelming odds and dies, they don’t stay dead for too long.

There have been many instances where a popular character is ‘killed off, only to be written back in by means of some unusual circumstances. Most of the time they were never really dead. However, there have been those standout examples where a notable personality is terminated indefinitely – much like our first example.

The Character of Uncle Ben

For those who might have forgotten him or possibly never even heard of him, Uncle Ben is Peter Parker’s beloved uncle. To date, he is one among a very short list of important comic book characters who haven’t found their way back to an active role in the story.

That said, Uncle Ben’s death, written out of the story in 1962, was the root of Peter Parker’s unwavering morality and gave him the impetus to take up the role of Spiderman.

Superman

Yes, that’s right, the Man of Steel. In 1992, D.C Comics caused the biggest pop-culture craze in comic book history when The Death of Superman series’ 75th issue saw Superman dying from his encounter with Doomsday, who also perished due to the injuries he’d sustained during the clash with Superman.

The stunt was so big it even made it to mainstream media reports. Nonetheless, D.C.’s creative team wrote our hero back in with The Reign of Superman.

Barry Allan

Another character from the D.C universe. Barry Allen was the original Flash. After ushering in the ‘Silver Age’, his death in 1985 steered us into the Post Crisis DC universe.

Right in the wake of Supergirl’s demise, The Flash was obliterated by anti-matter during a selfless act that saved a multitude of planets from the Anti-Monitor. A sacrifice that not only added weight to Crisis on Infinite Earths but also had other notable effects. The most notable of them was the rise of Wally West as the Flash.

Captain Marvel

The Death of Captain Marvel, which was published in 1982, was one of the most impactful and captivating character deaths in the history of the genre. This is because it struck very close to home.

It was and still is, somewhat unimaginable that the same superhero who survived a brush with the Hulk, has had extraterrestrial expeditions, and gone into battle in the Dark Dimension would surrender to cancer – an illness that preys on mortal beings.

The Character of Bucky Barnes

Bucky Barns makes our list because he met his end sometime in the closing moments of World War 2

 – as per Captain America’s flashbacks – and remained deceased for many years.

However, that was until writer, Ed Brubaker found a way to bring him back. Doing quite a good job of it too, Bucky has grown into an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a true comeback kid.

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Of course, this is not all, and during the video above, conceptual or artistic images of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series can also be seen, without a doubt the most important of which is the confirmation of Darth Vader’s duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi, which can excite Star Wars fans. This video was supposed to be released tomorrow, but it has been revealed today.

Of course, McGregor can be seen in a robe in these pictures, and the clothes of this popular separation cannot be seen. Also in these pictures is no news of Hayden Christensen playing Darth Vader in the new Star Wars series, but you can see Empire Soldiers and Stormtroopers. Most of the people on the scene are not recognizable, but Indria Varma is one of the few actors who can be identified as wearing the clothes of the imperial forces.

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hayden Christensen as Darth Vader, Moses Ingram, Joel Egerton, Bonnie Piesse, Kumail Nanjiani, Indira Varma, Rupert Friend, O’shea Jackson Jr., Sung Kang, Simon Kessel, are among the actors who have appeared in the series Obi-Wan Kenobi and have played roles. The events of the Kenobi series are set to take place 10 years after the events of Revenge of the Sith.

The Obi-Wan Kenobi series, which is produced in 6 episodes, is scheduled to air in 2022 on the Disney Plus network. Joby Harold, better known as the author of Army of the Dead, wrote the screenplay for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. Deborah Chao, director of the first two episodes of The Mandalorian, has directed Obi-Wan Kenobi.

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From Darkseid to Superman, to the mischievous Mr. MXYZPTLK to the Czarnian Bastich himself, The Main Man, Lobo! The DC universe is crammed with beings who possess god-like powers, heck some of them actually are gods.

This is a subject we are revisiting, as we have examined it in a tad more detail in a previous article. However, this time around, we will be concentrating our focus on the DC character who came out top of this list of the 6 most powerful beings in the DC cosmos.

While others are veritable gods, he is the god. The reason the DC Universe exists in the first place, apart from the artists and writers of course Mr. Let There Be Light himself, The Presence (known, on this side of existence, as God.)

Origins of The Presence

According to the DC narrative, The Presence is the all-powerful being who began it all. Modeled after The God of the Abrahamic religions, reigning over a hodgepodge of pantheons derived from various religions, and mythologies, The Presence, also known as The Voice, first made appearance on DC pages in 1940 in the original The Spectre comic.

However, according to the DC narrative (which borrows heavily from the Christian Bible), in the beginning, was The Presence and only The Presence. As The Voice, he created the word, along with the DC Multiverse which contained heaven and Earth.

He then created the first order of beings, The Celestials. Among whom was The First Of The Fallen (Satan) who was meant to embody The Presence’s consciousness. After which, he created other beings, deities, and demons who would go on to rule their own sections of the multiverse.

Plans Go Awry

That didn’t happen, as his creations had wills of their own. The First Of The Fallen goes and decides that God is mad, and is banished to Hell. A Guardian that The Presence had created, Kronus, then went rogue, and looked back in time and witnessed something he probably shouldn’t have. A). A secret manifestation of The Presence, known as The Hand, who shaped the Multiverse, and B). The creation of a female who was a companion to Adam She rebelled against The Presence and found herself being banished to hell.

Rebellion against The Presence

The Presence then took the form of The Presence, speaking to his creation, only in voice, which led many to doubt his judgment. Samael then decided that all of creation should write their own destiny, and not follow God’s plan. He then leads a rebellion against The Presence.

The Archangel, Michael, and his cohorts eventually defeat Samael. He and his fellow rebels are thrown into hell. The Presence, believing that Samael would do better being away from him, gives him command of hell (knowing what that would lead to.) Samael assumes the name Lucifer and goes on to ruin humanity’s relationship with The Presence.

Ultimately, the fall of humanity was also part of The Presence’s plan, as he desired all of creation to write their own destinies. To choose for themselves, what is right, and what is wrong. The story that plays out throughout all the comics in the DC Universe is The Presence’s plan, in motion. If that isn’t power, we don’t know what is.

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First published in 2003, the comic book, now turned into a cartoon series, by the same comic book house that brought us titles like The Walking Dead, LightHouse, Sweet Paprika, and Killadelphia, Image Comics‘s adult theme Superhero title, Invincible. The story follows the growing pains of a teen who discovers that he has superpowers shortly after his 17th birthday.

Invincible Comic book

Mark Grayson, the protagonist, takes on the pseudonym Invincible and joins the ranks of Earth’s, and the galaxy’s superheroes following his discovery of the fact that he is the half-human son of the Earth’s most powerful superhero, Omni-Man. Going by the name Nolan Grayson, his father is from the planet Viltrum.

The Viltrumite are super-powered beings who are on a mission to guide the galaxy’s development, through benevolence, and enlightenment. Under the mentorship of Omni-Man, Invincible meets and joins forces with Atom Eve, Dupli-Kate, Rex Splode, and Robot as a member of the Teen Team.

The comic book series, although drawn and colored in a style that gives the impression of a lighthearted tale, is rather graphically violent. The Invincible comic book title was written by Robert Kirkman, and drawn by Robert Ottley, and Corey Walker.

Ottley provided the title’s art from issue 1 to 7 and from issue 117-132. Walker was responsible for the issues between Ottley’s run as the title’s artist, as well as later issues. The Invincible comic book series reached the end of its lifespan in February of 2018 with the double-sided final issue, having run since 2003.

The TV Series

Available for streaming over Amazon Prime Video, the animated television series, which is now in its second season, remains true, in terms of style and theme, to the original comic series. The 8 episode-long first season of the animated series covers Mark’s discovery of his powers under his father’s wing, as a crusader for good.

Though the television adaptation of the Invincible franchise is handled by Skybound, the title’s creator, Robert Kirkman is still involved as one of the executive producers of the animated adaptation of the story. Other notable names attached to the series are Sandra Oh, and Seth Rogan, among other stars.

Differences between the show and the comic book

As with any book-to-screen adaptation of a tale, there are some differences between how certain events and characters are depicted differently. Mark’s (Invincible’s) love interest, Amber, is depicted as a person of color in the animated adaptation, offering a more diverse set of characters.

Some gender-swapping also takes place, as Shrinking Rae, and Green Ghost, are of different genders, between the comic books, and animated shows. The funeral of Guardians is also carried out differently in the animated series, which alters chunks of the overall storylines. Only time will tell how the show’s developers aim to fill the plot holes that are created by the different takes on events.

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Our list is populated with characters spanning various titles, and universes. They may differ in shape, size, power, and medium of presentation. Some are animated, some belong in comic book frames, others exist (so, to speak) as playable video game characters. However, they all possess power enough to alter reality.

10. The Mask

The Mask – a green jade mask of obscure origin. Apparently stolen from a remote tribe by an unnamed explorer during a ritual in honor of the object. Inhabited by a nameless entity that needs a host to do its thing. It has been worn by various individuals and has drawn out a darker side in its hosts.

The mask grants the wearer reality-warping powers that are pretty cartoon-like. The mask enables the wearer the ability to alter their shape, size, and produce weapons from thin air. The Mask’s powers seem to only be limited by the wearer’s imagination.

The only reason the Mask isn’t number one is that no wearer has ever tested the relic’s limits. Potential-wise, it may have the world-breaking ability. A drawback to the item is that it is incredibly evil.

9. Broly (Dragon Ball Universe)

When the topic of the strongest Super Saiyan in the DragonBall universe comes up, Goku – the protagonist of the Dragon Ball narrative – is usually the first on everyone’s list. There is, however, another vegetable-themed member of the extraterrestrial ape race, Broly (a play on Broccoli,) whose power is so great that he may rival the most powerful being yet to be revealed, Beerus.

The Character’s appearance in the DragonBall series has mostly been restricted to movies and OVA’s. Broly’s appearance and origin story have also been reworked since first seeing the light of day, back in 1993.

Broly, in his current iteration, is more mild-mannered, and naive from growing up on a remote planet. He and his father, Paragus, were banished there by Vegeta’s father. Though he is, generally, a gentle giant, the Legendary super sayian is prone to fits of rage – states in which he cannot control his immense power.

He has bested, both Goku, and Vegeta. As well as all most known surviving members of the Saiyan race. It has always taken a concerted effort, and a bit of luck, to defeat him.

8. Asura (Asura’s Wrath)

The lead character in the gaming title, Asura’s Wrath, Asura ‘exists’ in a fictional realm, that is very Dragon-Ball-meets-God-Of-War. Asura is a rage-powered deity who reigns, along with seven other Cyborg-like gods over a Hindu/Buddhist/Sci-Fi-themed world.

As with God of War, Asura’s journey begins with a betrayal by his fellow gods which see him raging through the millennia to enact revenge. The character can draw power from mantra without the aid of a conduit, which other members of the pantheon thought is impossible.

Aided by rage, the fellow goes to fight his way in a duel with the creator of the universe. Whom he dispatches, rip apart the fabric of space and time in the process.

7. Saitama (One Punch Man)

Though not a deity, Saitama, better known as One Punch Man, possesses the ability to knock an opponent into the next world with a single punch. He claims to have grown that strong from a strict workout routine.

However, there appears to be more to the character’s strength as he has walked away from blasts that would have disintegrated a regular human being, and withstood shots from powerful extraterrestrial beings. Saitama spends his time frustrated by the fact that all his challengers end up underwhelming him.

As a result, he has never used his full potential. Which suggests that he has near-limitless potential.

6. Kratos (God of War)

Kratos is the main character of the God of War series of games. The ‘Ghost of Sparta’ – following a betrayal at the hands of the Greek god of War – Aries, Kratos kills a deity and takes its place in the pantheon.

In subsequent games, Kratos goes on to take on and defeat the entire pantheon. Even going as far as killing Zeus. He doesn’t stop there, the parents of the gods, the Titans, eventually also get a taste of the new gold of war’s rage.

5. The Hulk

Representing the comic book sphere, Marvel’s green rage beast, The Hulk is so powerful it has taken out literal gods. The Hulk, in its ultimate form, is powerful enough to break worlds.

The product of scientist Bruce Banner’s broken psyche, the Hulk is a Gamma-powered personification of the man’s rage. He has single-handedly taken out all the superheroes on Marvel Earth. The Beyonder has even declared the Hulk’s power potentially limitless.

4. Arceus (Pokemon)

The first legendary Pokemon, Arceus, is said to be the reason any Pokemon exists at all. He possesses an assortment of powers, and can apparently bring forth life in addition to creating whole worlds. That’s legitimately powerful.

3. The Presence

The DC Universe’s version of the Judaic God, The Presence is a powerful being with an obscure plan. The Presence is an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent being. The reason time dawned in the first place – DC time, that is.

The first position ought to be a tie, however, what sets the top 3 most powerful entities in fictional existence, is their weaknesses. The Presence, unlike his counterparts, can be harmed, and even killed (though he returns.)

2. One-Above-All

The One-Above-All is the being behind the Marvel Omniverse. This cosmic entity is the most powerful being in all of Marvel’s creation. Unlike his DC counterpart, he is a benevolent being; as opposed to the helicopter-parenting style observed by the Presence.

What also sets the two entities apart is the fact that, although they are similar beings, omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, One-Above-All has no known weaknesses. He is yet to be harmed or murdered, although Thanos did manage to absorb him once.

1. Dr. Manhattan

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Not a god, but a man with god-like abilities. Named after the Manhattan project, DC character Dr. Manhattan (Jonathan Osterman) had a run-in with radiation, which killed him. However, he managed to put himself back together as a being of energy, with god-like abilities.

He’s hyper-intelligent, able to control time, manipulate matter at a subatomic level, and have the ability to perceive the past, present, and future, all at the same time. This guy takes the number one spot because he’s unharmable. In fact, he even reversed and altered his timeline to his existence.

We decided to take into consideration all characters across all fiction universes. However, if you think that there are stronger heroes or beings that we excluded from the list – please let us know.

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Marvel’s comic universe plays host to some ultra-powerful beings, some of whom can – arguably – rival their DC counterparts. We counted the ones that are mostly constant across the different universes.

From Galactus to Gene Grey, to Franklin Richards, the Marvel multiverse is undeniably packed with some powerful characters. However, they pale in comparison to the cosmic beings who exist with the pages of Marvel comics. As a result, the top 6 characters in the Marvel universe are all capable of influencing large-scale events within the Marvel narrative.

6. Phoenix Force

The Phoenix Force is an entity that has existed since the dawn of time. Said to be forged from the very passion of creation, and a sentient embodiment of the creative & destructive power of the universe, the Phoenix Force holds a great deal of power within it.

This energy-based being has the power to destroy, and recreate, the universe at will. The Phoenix force also possesses the ability to draw energy from stars, or generations of beings who don’t exist yet. This creature can, very literally, reach into the future and sap the life forces of billions of beings who have not been born yet, in order to fuel its attack, in the present.

The living energy that is the Phoenix Force rarely acts as a single entity. It usually possesses a host, thus augmenting the chosen vessel’s power. Jean Grey, Rachel Grey, Emma Frost as well as Professor X have – at some point – played host to the cosmic entity capable of dropping Galactus.

5. Eternity/Infinity

Eternity and Infinity are both beings who have existed since the birth of the Marvel comic world. They are siblings who possess a power that can only be described as pure omnipotence.

They are the living embodiment of time and their abilities are topped by a scant few. When the Universe was split into the Multiverse, a rival entity, Abraxx (the living embodiment of destruction) was created. The only entity who could possibly call their match.

Other entities who possibly fall into their league are siblings, Death, and Oblivion. The twin entities have the ability to manipulate space, time, and reality itself. One would want an ally, that powerful, in their camp in a high-stakes battle.

4. Living Tribunal

The Living Tribunal is one of the highest level beings in the multiverse. Being a living embodiment of the multiverse as well as the sum of all abstract beings in the Marvel multiverse, Living Tribunal acts as the guardian of all multidimensional realities. Omniscient in his reality-bending abilities, this character has no alternate copy. It exists as a single entity across the various realities of the multiverse.

Able to obliterate entire star systems, and/or erect protective barriers at will, the Living Tribunal keeps watch over the multiple realities of the multiverse. Analyzing a vast amount of information, and maintaining order over it all. The Living Tribunal is powerful enough to nullify the Infinity Gems, and pretty much warp reality as it pleases.

The herald of the most powerful being in the Marvel Multiverse, One-Above-All, Living Tribunal possesses three heads, which must come to a consensus before it acts. Powerful enough to make Thanos break a sweat, the Beyonder beat Living Tribunal in a fight.

3. The Beyonder

Then we have the Beyonder, whose immense power far outstrips that of The One-Above-All’s very own herald. In fact, he has kicked the Living Tribunal, as well as Galactus’s but.

The Beyonder also possesses a reality-bending power, discovered by Dr. Doom – when he stole it. It requires a high degree of concentration, or the power will manifest all that the wielder desires, whether they speak it or not.

This cosmic being first showed his ability in the late 80s, when he destroyed a system to create the arena where he would force all of Earth’s supers to fight each other in the first Secret Wars. The Beyonder’s powers are only second to the One-Above-All.

2. The One-Above-All

The One-Above-All, usually depicted as an obscured being, exuding a lot of light. He is the Marvel universe’s equivalent of God. This being is responsible for all that exists in the Marvel Universe, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

The One-Above-All has, in the past, resembled Jack Kirby, but these days the all-powerful being seemed to have taken in the appearance of the late Stan Lee.

1. Protege

By right, the One-Above-All should be the most powerful being in the Marvel multiverse, however, there is another who has the potential to outdo the greater of the Marvel comic book world.

Protege is a child-like deity who possesses the ability to mimic any other being’s ability. The Living Tribunal had to absorb the entity to prevent it from causing further destruction after it declared itself the new One-Above-All.

The living embodiment of time, Eternity once declared that when the being matures, it will no longer need to mimic, and will have omnipotence rivaling that of the One-Above-All. The Living Tribunal even once declared that all realities rest upon the shoulders of Protege.

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Omni Man’s first appearance was in issue 1 of Invincible. Nolan Grayson is the husband to Debrah Grayson and father to Mark Grayson who would go on to become Invincible. The entire planet is aware that Omni Man is their most powerful superhero. Sometimes, he is a member of Guardians of the Globe. They are a team that closely resembles the Justice League.

Origin of the legendary Omni Man

Nolan Grayson aka Omni man is an alien. A member of the viltrumite race who came from the planet Viltrum. As Nolan’s son Mark approaches his 18th birthday, Nolan plans on to start training Mark who is half-alien and half earthling. He told Mark all about his life and the Viltrumite people. Viltrumites stationed Nolan on Earth where he met Mark’s mother and became Earth’s greatest champion.

Viltrumites

They are a benevolent race of beings who evolved through a form of Darwinism. After breeding the strongest of their people, they go out to the stars and begin to defend the universe for other weaker planets. Viltrumites also live to be 1000s of years old and their speed and strength are one of the highest in the universe. Additionally, they get more powerful as they age. So it is rare for a young Viltrumite to be stronger than a more mature or even elderly one.

Biggest early twist of the Invincible show

Omni Man is not exactly who he says he is. One day he summons the entire guardians of the globe team to their main base where he systematically dismantles all of them. He kills all of them easily. After slaughtering the entire team, he makes the rest of the planet believe that an unknown enemy attacked them. The remaining superheroes are obviously shocked to learn of their passing. Especially Mark, who looked up to the team and wanted to be a part of it one day. One of the team members, Immortal, survived. Well not exactly survived. He was resurrected by the Mauler twins so they can use him for manipulation.

Omni Man is a horrible father (SURPRISE!)

Nolan had to admit to Mark about killing the Guardians of the Globe. Then he went on to explain the truth about the Viltrumite people and their empire. Omni Man’s true purpose on earth was to conquer it. Mark’s shocked when learning all of this. He refuses to help his dad in his quest and then Omni Man attacks him. The fight is brutal and Nolan drastically overpowers him. After beating him nearly to death he leaves Earth.

In many other instances, Omni man completely destroyed his son. He knocked him through a mountain, punched him so hard he broke a mountain, knocked him through a cruise liner, destroyed a whole metropolitan city with him, and murdered an entire train of people with his head. One time when he knocked out Mark’s teeth in a fight, it made him have flashbacks of when Mark was a kid missing his front teeth. That flashback is the only reason Nolan didn’t kill his son.

Possibly one of the best villains ever made

Often switching back and forth between being a hero and a villain, Omni man is definitely one of the most interesting characters ever written. Being very similar to Superman’s powers he is the strongest hero on Earth. With a hate-love relationship with his son, it keeps the viewer waiting to see how Nolan and Mark will end up. Amazon confirmed that there will be a second and third season of Invincible, but the release date has not yet been confirmed.

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Religion in Japan and its media

The media often uses mentions of Japanese religion and folklore as metaphors. In many famous animated feature films, series, and comics, elements are drawn from Shintoism and Buddhism play an important role in the main story.

Most audiences may recognize some of the storytelling mediums. However, other metaphors designed to connect with Japanese audiences can fly over the minds of audiences that have grown up in other cultures. You can find subtle religious hints in your favorite anime; Perhaps the protagonists visit the shrine on New Year’s Day, obtain charms or amulets, or offer incense to the deceased.

Difference between the portrayal of western and eastern religions in manga/anime

An interesting occurrence is that the majority of slice-of-life manga/anime often has elements of Shinto religion incorporated. Examples of that are a New Years’ episode where characters go to a shrine and pay respects to the local gods. However, dark and mysterious anime such as Hellsing or Neon Genesis Evangelion have plenty of Christian symbolism within them.

Western religions, particularly Christianity, are used for a sense of exoticness. Evangelion relied heavily on it because the Japanese audience wouldn’t be too familiar with certain terms such as the Dead sea scrolls. Another way Christianity is incorporated is because of the sentiment of absolute evil and absolute good. That sentiment doesn’t exist in the Japanese variations of Buddhism and Shintoism. Anime and manga do tend to make ideas thematic and religion is subjected to this process more often than anything else.

Portrayal of Church

Even the most religious places aren’t safe from evil. Corrupted Church is often perceived worse than a simple supervillain or League of Evil, because when even the holy priests turn to the dark side, what hope is there for humanity. In anime and manga, the Corrupt Church trope can be seen in many of them. Fullmetal Alchemist shows the Letoist church led by Father Cornelio. He is a pastor who uses the philosopher’s stone ring to create “miracles’ ‘ and induce Leo’s citizens to believe in a fabricated religion So that he can use them as soldiers to help him take over the Nation.

The Wall cult of Attack on Titan started as a group of zealots who worshipped the walls as a gift from god. After the fall of the wall, Maria gained rapid influence. One of the most dominant ones is the corrupt Church in the Fate series, where particularly the entire anime revolves around it. These are just one of the many examples.

Religion shown in Western Comics

A popular theory is that Superman is actually a re-written Moses. In the Superman comics, you have a story where his parents put an alien baby on a shuttle. They sent him to the land where he grew up, named Clark Kent. In the myth of Moses, his parents put him in a basket and then he became the liberator of his people. Superman, later, is named Kal-El, which is Hebrew and means “voice of God”. Superman is often portrayed as an image of Jesus as well. If you watch the trailer for the Batman vs Superman movie, there will be a picture of a superman statue with “false god” written on it, and Superman in the sky with the sun setting. He is just a shadow, giving people an angel-like or Christ image.

In addition to the mythical and sometimes even saviour image of Superman, religion, and comics are intertwined in different ways in several different titles, subtle or more obvious. For example, the superhero Thor himself is a god. If we even go beyond the characters, some comics try to address the meaning of religion, such as the popular series “Evil Men and Gods”, which compares celebrities to reincarnated ancient gods.

Catholic symbolism

Even Western comics rely on Christian symbolism, just in more of a friendlier manner than the Japanese manga. In the comics or recent Netflix series Daredevil, Matt Murdoch’s Catholic faith is part of the story. Sometimes he struggled with faith, sometimes he trusted it, but no matter what, he often appeared in the church. The most recent arc in the comic tells the entire story from Daredevil’s perspective. An interesting one from the confessional, telling the events to the priest. In this regard, the image of Catholicism often appears traditional churches, clerical costumes, and statues of saints.

A topic that has been a discussion by Batman fans is Batman’s religion. His parents’ graves have crosses on them, and he was a holder of the Holy Grail for a while. So, it is speculated that he might be Catholic. Throughout entertainment, the Knights Templars and The Holy Grail have been often covered in both eastern and western media. The Fate franchise features the Holy Grail in all of the shows and novels.

Why is Japan much more critical of the Church in comparison to the West?

It is no secret that the Church has done some shady stuff in the past. While Japanese society is extremely secularised and Christians make 1% of their population, they don’t have to fear losing sales because of the critical viewpoint of the Church. With the West, that is not the case. In the USA Christians make up 65% of the population as of 2020. It would simply be too risky to criticize it.

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The drawings are extremely crude, especially for Japanese manga standards. But something resonated with people. By 2012 One Punch Man had over 7.9 million hits. Later that year the comic was reillustrated by the spectacularly talented Yusuke Murata and in 2015 it was turned into a 12 episode anime. But why? How did this seemingly satire webcomic attract a talent such as Yusuke Murata and how did it get picked up by a high-profile studio called Madhouse?

Have you ever tried to recommend One Punch Man to a person who has never heard of it? It is extremely hard to convince them to watch it. It is difficult to get across how funny or daring the show can be. How is anyone meant to relate to a hero who never really struggled to achieve his goals? If there is no risk or a villain to push a hero to his limits, the show should get boring. And yet, with One Punch Man this isn’t the case.

Main Character of One Punch Man

Early on, the show establishes two rules: this is a world of superheroes and supervillains and no one comes close to Saitama’s powers. He crushes all competition with little to no effort to the point that it’s actually comical. The concept of an overpowered main character isn’t new or interesting. It is the way the show grounds Saitama that separates him from other heroes. The world doesn’t care about him or acknowledge his good deeds. The viewer is aware of Saitama’s greatness, but the people around Saitama aren’t. From that comes sympathy for the main character.

Fighting scenes

One punch man fights are different. They are not tactical or subtle in the way most battle animes are. There are little to no mind games going on throughout any fights. That is because One Punch Man isn’t about long battles. It is an explosion of intense action. The animation in fights is one of the best in the industry and they end with brutal finality. All of the characters got their unique traits and approaches to combat which keeps things feeling fresh and interesting.

Animation of One Punch Man

One of the best things about One Punch man is how it lets Studio Madhouse let loose with the animation. In particular with the action scenes. The show is chaotic with characters having insane powers which lets the animators go wild. Skys split, buildings fall, cities explode and all of it is gloriously animated. The camera angle changes a lot both in the anime and in the manga. Saitama in different situations is drawn very differently. In some, he’s a glorious superhero with big muscles, and in the other, he is drawn almost exactly like in the webcomic. It gives the show a comic feel and depicts how Saitama is feeling and what he thinks of himself in that given moment.

Conclusion

Saitama’s struggle for acceptance mirrors the one of One’s. Neither one of them ever stopped believing in themselves. This story comes from a very real place. One Punch Man aside from all of the jokes, bombastic action, and colossal fight scenes has real depth to it. Together with the amazing animation and soundtrack, it creates a staple masterpiece of the anime industry that is definitely worth watching,

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The TV anime is produced by Studio Pierrot based on manga of the same name. The Director of the show is Shuhei Morita. During the surge of vampire anime, Tokyo Ghoul managed to stand out and leave a footprint in the industry choosing a less popular mythological creature. The opening of the first season (Unravel) is arguably the most popular opening of all time. Like many similar anime, Tokyo Ghoul took supernatural beings and made them look sympathetic despite their violent tendencies.

The main focus of the show was on two things: how the main character deals with his internal dilemma and his life being drastically changed practically overnight and the ongoing ‘’war’’ between ghouls and humans. The CCG is an organization designated to hunt down and kill ghouls. However, some ghouls eat already dead people, meaning not all of them are essentially bad. CCG’s denial of this part about them can be transferred into a lot of real-life situations with government organizations.

Main Critique of Tokyo Ghoul

The anime started pretty strong when the first season aired. A lot of hype surrounded the release and Tokyo Ghoul gained immense popularity. Season 2 upset a lot of people since it strayed from the manga material. It had a few plot holes and a bit of bad pacing. The third and fourth seasons were fully based on the sequel manga, Tokyo Ghoul: re. This is when Tokyo Ghoul became quite infamous. The anime rushed the whole story, cramming even 10 books (120 chapters) into 12 episodes and skipping the middle of the story. This was a disservice to the anime watchers since season 3 starts with absolutely no regard to what happened in season 2, which makes it hard for people who haven’t read the manga to follow.

Animation

Overall the animation was pretty good. At least for the part that we could see. Due to the gore nature of the anime, some TV channels censored a lot of the blood and ultimately disabled viewers to see the most interesting fight scenes. That is because the censoring was done horribly. Black blurry spots cover bloody or dismembered body parts and beams of light obscure wounds. During some battle scenes that were a bit more bloody than the rest, the colors were inverted causing the blood to appear a light shade of neon blue. The change from the original colors to the inverted ones was done drastically, making it seem distasteful.

The famous soundtrack of both Tokyo Ghoul and Tokyo Ghoul:re

The tracks in this show are very beautifully made. The main thing I like about them is that they are longer than the majority of tracks in other anime. Because of that, one track or song was often split up so no individual song is playing for an extended amount of time. This created a nostalgic feel whenever a part of a song that played earlier in the show reappears.

Conclusion

Despite the most confusing, unexplained time-skips, I enjoyed the anime. There are a lot of interesting characters and good developments. However, as the show progressed, they left out characters quite often which can be infuriating if you started to like them. The music is amazing and the themes of ambiguous morality are prominent. There are a lot of lessons that we could take from this fantasy anime.

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Marvel never fails to amaze readers with their creativity, especially when it comes to mutant super powers. This time, the X of Swords saga brings an interesting addition to the already thrilling built up to a massive showdown.

In what looks to be the X-Men’s toughest challenge yet, as the team’s most competent fighters against a formidable group of opponents in the Champions of Akkaro. However, as fierce as they may be, none is without a fighting deficiency that could prove to be a pernicious liability if detected by the X-Men.

Regardless of the X-Men’s ability to size up their opponents, the task at hand was rendered even more complicated by the introduction of a mutant with a power like no other.

In a conversation Apocalypse has with his wife Genesis in X-Men #14, a lot of details about Arakko and the events that led to her becoming Annihilation. She also told Apocalypse about her sister, Isca The Unbeaten, and how she had betrayed Arakko during the battles against Anenthi by joining the other side.

As Genesis continues, one quickly comes to understand how Isca’s choice to defect the other side might be deeply intertwined with her mutant powers. Isca’s power is to NEVER lose.

Isca The Unbeatable

Isca The Unbeatable is – like her sister Genesis – a millenia old mutant with an interesting special ability. Referred to in the comics as Tychokenises, Isca’s power is to win, regardless of the circumstances encompassing the given situation – alone or otherwise.

In situations that require special skill sets to win, her body will adapt itself according to the necessities. In a situation that is dependent on chance, the odds of success will be adjusted to suit her.

When doing battle in larger groups, things can get a little more complicated for Isca. In a situation where victory does not hinge on her alone, her powers may force her to instinctively change sides in order to stay on the winning side of the conflict. Because of her instinctive drive to win, Isca has very little concept of loyalty and will readily sacrifice others in order to secure a victory.

Preparing for Battle

At the dinner event that precedes the showdown, the X-Men team take the time to discretely measure up the opposition, trying to spot any exploitable shortcomings the other fighters might have.

It isn’t long before Gorgon and Magik come to a shocking conclusion about Isca’s potential weakness, she might not have one that they could immediately take advantage of. This leaves Gorgon with only one basic plan of action, and that is to play the numbers game.

Gordon’s plan is to make quick work of all the other opponents, leaving Isca for last. The hope is that they might be able to use numerical superiority to beat her. However, Gorgon himself seems a little thoughtful of their chances of success.

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The joker’s true identity has been a mystery since the character existed. It has come to form part of the Clown Prince of Crime’s appeal as, due to his anonymity, his obsession with The Bat also remains a puzzle. 30 years after Batman: The Killing Joke first explored the possibility of discovering the purple clad ne’er do wells true identity, Three Jokers picks up where that story arc left off. 

Johns, and Fabok teamed up once again, since Justice League’s DarkSeid War. This time, they come closer to resolving the mysteries that underpin the years-long dance between Batman and the Joker. Three Jokers, draws  Batman’s from copping a squat on the Möbius Chair, in DarkSeid War revealed about the Joker’s identity, there are three of the buggers. 

Meet The Jokers

The first book, in to three book miniseries hits the ground running, with the Jokers simultaneously running around Gotham, causing havoc. This means the team of Batman, Bad-Girl, & Red Hood (formerly, Robin) have their hands full, dealing with Joker related ghosts. The Joker’s, who now seem quite intent on making their existence known to the Bat, are three very distinct characters. 

The Comedian is a version of the Joker, who is more a prankster who has taken a liking to Batman. His main objective is to bug the Bat, till one of the dies. Nothing more

The Criminal is a more brooding Joker, he presents the image of an incredibly serious mobster, with a slightly psychotic bent. This is the Joker that masterminds an operation to create the perfect Joker. One that will really mess with the Batman’s psyche.

The Clown is an all-out nut, sadistic. The Joker character has been reinvented repeatedly throughout the life of the Batman story, but he seems to be the Joker from  Death In The Family. Violent, and twisted.

All three Jokers represent different era’s in the character’s life, with the Comedian being the original Joker from The Killing Joke, while the Criminal appears to be the brooding Joker who appears in the standalone Joker series. 

The Story 

We find our heroes still licking their wounds, after all these years, from their respective close encounters with the Joker.  Jason Todd, or Red Hood, actually bit the dust at the hands of one of the Jokers in Batman: Death In The Family. He’s out for revenge this time, so the Bat must restrain Todd, while dealing with the three Jokers, suddenly making themselves very known. 

The Jokers soon reveal their plan to create a perfect Joker, one that will keep the Bat extremely busy – or drive him mad. Their recent spate of killings – it is revealed – have been geared towards that end, all candidates have just not been good enough, up to this point. So the Jokers break into prison to kidnap someone linked to the childhood trauma that led to the existence of the Batman persona in the first place. 

The protagonists’ emotions run high as the story unfolds, bickering among themselves –  there are some heated exchanges between Red Hood and Batman – as they come to grips with the Joker’s role in their pain. There are some – long overdue – resolutions to some of these ghosts, especially on the part of the Bat, which may set the scene for a different kind of Batman, going forward. At least, one who isn’t so haunted by his past. 

The brief romance between Red Hood, and Bat-Girl – on the other hand – takes a different turn. Red Hood, however, ends up on the path towards healing from his tragedy. Expect behavioral changes on that front as well. 

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Following his life being spared by Maggie (the late Glenn’s window), and a brief appearance in the finale. It seemed that fans would never get to enjoy his antics ever again.

However, Kirkman and Adlard decided to give the fans a once off – insightful – view into the life of our charismatic anti- hero.

The Negan Lives story opens with him laying down flowers over the grave of his trusty baseball bat as a tribute to his wife, who he believes is still shuffling out there with the others who fell victim to Kirkman’s zombie apocalypse.

This view of Negan in this special is quite different from the once heavy handed leader. He’s tired of being alive, but simply won’t take his own life. He suffers from depression, while having to survive on mostly palty veggies.

Upon returning to his hideout, he is shocked to find an intruder in his kitchen. A woman, she seems sociable and introduces herself to him as Lucy. A name similar enough to his late wife’s to make him doubtful.

However, Negan and Lucy sit down for some grilled rabbit and a conversation about life in a world full of zombies and how easily the “new normal” became the norm. There were very few options.

Time passes and the two become more comfortable around each other. However, Negan grows suspicious of the girl’s true intentions and believes she might be part of a bigger group looking to trap him. Upon confronting this possibility, he is immediately attacked by her accomplices who spring from the darkness.

*Not going to spoil the rest*

The book closes with a little tease regarding Negan’s future. Unfortunately for fans though, Kirkman confirmed at Comicon @ home 2020 that the Negan Lives series would not see a continuation.

Even though he himself admits that the issue “ends in a way that pretty much tells you that it is not a one-shot” , he justifies not continuing the series by explaining that in Walking Dead #193, Negan places flowers over a grave that is not the same one he places flowers over in Negan Lives. This shows that he eventually finds, and properly buries his wife. Following him on this journey would not be the best thing, because we know he finds her and doesn’t die trying to.

Conclusion

This is a great book for all fans of The Walking Dead comic book series and fans of comic  books in general. This I say because Kirkman and crew have opted to channel all their proceeds from this release back to the comic book stores. This makes it one of the most entertaining fundraisers one could ever participate in.

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The Jerry Frisser written anthology comic series was published Image Comics, for the US market in 2007. Interestingly, the comic was first published by French outfit Humanoids for the  European market.

These colourfully told stories that reflect real-life struggles are delivered to the reader in five issues and a covers run that depicts our heros in their more glorious years.

Luchadores 5

The first and probably the most popular, follows the five middle aged luchador wrestlers as they do battle with Tiki warriors, trigger happy/potty mouthed red-necks and werewolves that steal stereos out of innocent people’s cars. As much as these men who never take off their mask see themselves as superheroes, some of society seems to think they have a little bit of growing up to do.

Luchadoritos 

Grammar to intentionally incorrect (Luchadoristo in proper grammar), follows the misadventures of  Melindez. A young boy obsessed with the life of Lucha libre wrestlers, while his friends appear to be indifferent.

The Tikitis

This installation follows a group of retirement age superheroes on a South Pacific island as the battle to keep its most powerful resident, King Katch, from escaping the island.

Tequila

Follows a character of the same name as he navigates the day to day struggles of marriage. However, his life takes an abrupt turn after being framed for his friends murder.

Professor Furia

This follows the life of an unsavory and inept wrestling coach as he takes advantage of his students.

So,,,, Who Exactly Are Our heros?

Our heros are really just regular

people who decided to fight crime. They have moments of fear, moments of courage. Their stories are lined with inspiration, but you’ll also find cowardice. They, and the concepts covered, are as real as this kind of comic entertainment can get.

El Gladiator

Is the Luchadores 5 team leader. He is a bit of a show off who tends to exaggerate his romantic successes and is critical towards his teammates about what he regards as a lack of dedication to the crime fighting cause. However, he tends to forget that he is supported by his parents and can devote more time to the cause.

Doctor Pantera

He happens to be the only married crew member and has a lot of trouble explaining his superhero life to his wife.

Red Demon

The resident lady’s man, he is the most stylish and claims to have a secret technique for dating 3 women without raising any suspicion.

Diablo Loco

A lively cigar smoking party animal.

King Karateca

Considered the strongest in the Luchadores 5 team, he is the only one who has martial arts training.

The list goes on to Tequila, El Panda, Cheryl Goldstein, Stacy K, Paquito Furioso and Walter Van Krrh.

Though the five issues tell separate stories, once read one noticed how the stories all blend into each other to form a modern masterpiece of sorts.

As for the inspiration, Frisser credits that to the city of Angeles.

“I see a lot of things that make me want to write. For example, one day I got my CD player stolen from my car and at night I was so pissed (mainly because of the Ramones CDs they took), I was having this fantasy about being a superhero and getting my revenge. I realized how pathetic that was and it inspired me to create the main characters of the Luchadores Five.”  Said Frisser.

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The comic book stable’s flagship hero, Superman, being as powerful as he is, would need formidable foes to tussle with. Not to mention allies, to lend him a hand when he’s bitten off more than he can chew. It goes without saying that a being with god-like abilities would have to pit himself against beings of equal, or greater power to be a decent hero.

Without any further platitude, we have prepared a short descending list of some of the most powerful beings that the human mind can conceive. Brace yourself, because we don’t see spiderman taking these guys on and walking out alive.

6. Lobo

Besides being ultra powerful, the Czarnian Bastich is also an archetype of badassery. A law unto himself, Lobo is the last of his kind – routinely making sure of the fact by wacking any of his species he encounters.

The Czarnian enjoys the advantage of being nearly indestructible, he’s even regenerated his entire head after it was blown off. Lobo has pummeled the Caped Wonder on numerous occasions.

5. Darkseid

Darkseid has probably kicked Superman’s but more times than any other villain in the DC universe. Darkseid’s class of being is New God. With that, comes an array of abilities; immortality, invulnerability, superhuman strength, and the Omega Effect which makes him even tougher to defeat.

All anyone ever sees of Darkseid, is an avatar, projected onto any universe through the Omega Effect which is why he keeps coming back from the dead. In fact the Justice League came into being because the world was in danger of having a great evil befall it, that evil, was Darkseid.

4. Dr. Manhattan

Although existing in a separate universe to the main DC universe, and therefore never coexisting with other powerful beings, Manhattan deserves a mention because internet chatter often compares him to Superman.

The energy based member of the Watchmen, is the result of a freak lab experiment (sound familiar?). He was disintegrated in the explosion, but – get this – he managed to put himself together in the following days. He is now so powerful he can perceive and manipulate matter on an atomic level (you know, make himself into a giant, take whole humans apart – molecule by molecule – with a single thought).

There are characters who dwarf him in ability, but the guy’s perception of time is weird. He can sees the past, present, and future simultaneously. One would think such an ability would make him formidable but he’s rather nihilistic.

3. Mr. Mxyzptlk

The number 3 spot could just as easily go to Anti-Monitor, who once bested The Spectre, The Decreator, a destructive force which can’t be reasoned with or stopped, or The Endless, seven nigh-omnipotent siblings who are named after complex emotions. However, due to tenure, Mr. Mxyzptik gets the spot as Mxyzptik has been tormenting the man of steel since the ’40’s

Mr. Mxyzptik does not adhere to any physical laws and can warp reality as he pleases. Unlike the characters he beat out of the 3rd spot, the impish being from the 5th dimension never harnesses his power for destruction, instead he uses his power to annoy his victims for his own amusement (particularly Superman). The only way to “defeat” him is to solve one of his convoluted puzzles.

2. The Spectre

The Spectre takes second place, and is a cosmic being who embodies the vengeance of the creator of the universe. The character came into being after an angel who had taken part in the rebellion against heaven, Aztar, repented for his sins,was subsequently stripped of his memories and became a vessel for the Creator’s wrath.

The Spectre is near omnipotent and capable of bending reality to its will; turning characters to ice for cold-hearted behavior, and wiping nations out of existence for genocidal violence. It wasn’t until the archangel, Michael, informed the entity that it couldn’t roam the earth without being bound to a human soul, that the Spectre took human form (so to speak). Michael Corrigan, and Green Lantern Corps member, Hal Jordan are notable names that have played host to the ancient one.

1.The Presence

The Presence gets first place because this character, aside from the writers and artists, is the reason the endless worlds of the DC universe exist in the first place. The Presence is practically DC’s version of God. From The Spectre, right down to Aqua Man, this is who they would pray to.

Imagined by Jerry Siegel and Bernard Bailey, The Presence first appeared in More Fun In Comics #52 in 1940 and has often been referred to, by other characters, as Yahweh (incidentally the original name of the Abrahamic God), The Hand, The Source, or The Voice. This character is seldom depicted, but has taken many forms throughout the years.

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