Ask Saren anything

I did this once upon a time, but I didn't have the time to reply so I had the thread deleted. I have time now. I reserve the right to not answer questions. Don't ask me about the essential nature of the human spirit or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.

Also for the people who get the bright idea to ask if I feel bad about Eden Prime, ha ha, very funny, you know how to reference things.

No "Who would win?" questions, that's for the battle forum.

Awh nice, was always hoping you would make an Ask thread. I didn't know you had a former one in your former life.

1. You get to assemble a team of your favorite characters from across any medium. Can be anyone you want as long as its a favorite of some sort, which of your favorite characters from comics, books, movies, video games, gets the honor of being in a Saren All Stars team.

2. Whats your favorite DC/Marvel books right now?

3. I am still new to Mass Effect, still playing through Mass Effect 2 when I get the time. I'll take a wild guess and think your a fan. Who are your favorite characters from that franchise and why.

Cheers!

Are you excited for Guardians of the Galaxy?

Have his fanboys ruined your appreciation for Superman's character?

Who's your favourite Robin?

If you had the opportunity to attack any fictional character of your choosing with any blunt instrument of your choosing, which character and blunt instrument would you choose?

Comicbookmovie you're most excited for in 2014?

If you could get any writer off of any of the comics you're currently pulling, who'd it be?

Why did you change your name to Saren? :P

Favorite Bollywood movie?
BB

Is Indian food not the best thing ever conceived?

@sc: 1. I think the brains of the organization are the most vital aspect of a successful team, so I'd probably go with Reed Richards and Tao for that. Reed provides the scientific acumen and technological mastery, while Tao fills in the blanks with his instinctive grasp for strategy and manipulation, employing his intelligence more in a Frank Underwood-type role. I'd like to pick Martian Manhunter for the leader, but J'onn is more enigmatic than charismatic, so I'd put him in as the experienced advisor with someone like Jenny Sparks in command. Every team needs a warrior, so I'd pick Samara for that role; I think she'd get along well with J'onn too. Toss in Constantine as the magic authority and counterpart to Tao --- they're both opportunistic, manipulative schemers, but John's more on the side of the angels and he'd probably see through Tao's headgames. Finally Animal Man as both the conscience of the team and the wildcard since his powers are contextual, making it hard to predict how they'll play out.

2. X-Men Legacy, Superman Unchained, Deadpool, Red Lanterns, Uncanny Avengers.

3. In order, my 5 favorite ME characters would be Wrex, Miranda, Legion, Mordin and Thane. Mostly because they fall into the category of being more than what they seem (like Miranda being perfect and yet deeply insecure about it or Thane's accumulated guilt over all his killings belying his philosophy of the soul not being responsible for what the body does) in contrast to characters like Liara or Tali who are more or less exactly what they seem.

@comicstooge 1. I'll watch it, but I'm not really excited about it.

2. Appreciation for a character is a personal thing as far as I'm concerned; it doesn't or shouldn't have anything to do with how or why other people appreciate or deride the character.

3. Damian.

4. Jason Todd with a crowbar. It just seems right.

5. Chinese food is objectively superior.

@wolverine08 1. Winter Soldier seems like the best.

2. Nocenti off Catwoman, it's completely unreadable with her writing it.

@theacidskull 1. My favorite hero's Batman. One of the most developed and comprehensive mythoi in comics, probably a direct result of a greater focus on him at the expense of other characters, but I don't really care about that. Favorite heroine is Jenny Sparks, because she was conceptually sketched out very well. Being the living spirit of the 20th century, her mere existence kicked off all the greatest and worst moments of the age, from the Holocaust to the fall of the Berlin Wall, and it was interesting to see how someone comes to terms with the knowledge of that.

2. Hulk. What a rube.

3. X-Men Legacy.

4. Tim Drake. I didn't hate him, I just didn't care much for him.

5. Lemire and J.H. Williams.

@lvenger Too much notoriety attached to the previous name.

@billy_batson Sarkar.

@theacidskull: Avengers.

How many times have you listened to this http://bit.ly/NbfI97 since Tuesday/Wednesday?
BB

@theacidskull: More accurate portrayal of characters.

She-Hulk.

Catwoman/Teen Titans, Wolverine/X-Men.

@billy_batson: That was the first time, actually :|

@theacidskull: Decent start, but Soule needs a better artist.

1. Green Arrow/Red Lanterns.

2. Green Lantern/Green Lantern Corps.

@theacidskull: I don't mean Geoff Johns' GL, I mean Venditti/Van Jensen's.

Superboy. Nobody seems to know what the hell to do with him.

1. I heard your in University/College. What are you studying?

2. Favorite Batman Story Arc?

3. Marvel Now or New 52?

4. Wildstorm or Ultimate Marvel Universe?

5. I find it a fairly common Phenomeon to see once critically acclaimed writers become derided later in thier careers. Why do you think this is?

6. Favorite T.V show?

7. Describe in a word- Supergirl?

8. You recieve a Notification from 1. God_Spawn, 2. Billy_Baston 3. Laflux

What's the first thing that comes into your head and why.

9. You can make any change you wish to Comicvine (within reason). What do you do and why?

10. Have you ever RPG'ed?

1. What is your favorite story from Marvel/DC?
2. What is your favorite Batman story ever?
3. What is your favorite Marvel character?

Worst injury you've ever received?

are you into manga ? what are you reading manga if you are into it ?

Are there any movies you've seen that you know are objectively terrible but you liked them regardless?

Do you have any comics that you really enjoy(ed) that everyone else seems to dislike?

What dialogue choice do you like most for Saren's final confrontation in ME1?

Turns out he wasn't the real Superboy, but a clone of the original, who is evil, and then he died, and now the evil original has taken over the title.

1. Integrated masters in mechanical engineering. Pointless considering I'm writing the LSAT for next fall, but the university is one of the best in the country so I figured the brand value would help with grad school admissions.

2. No Man's Land.

3. Depends on what you're reading.

4. Wildstorm. Everything good about Ultimate Marvel died on Peter Parker's lawn.

5. Sometimes it's because there's a tonal shift in how stories were told in their heyday and how they're told now. Most recently, John Ostrander and Marv Wolfman tried to write some comics, and neither one did particularly well. Writers have to keep pace with changes in popular culture and what modern audiences expect, so stories that are discernibly dated in their telling sink quickly. Other times it may simply be the weight of expectations and an inability to keep pace with those expectations as one ages. To paraphrase Degas, it's harder to have talent at 50 than it is at 25.

6. M.A.S.H.

7. Aimless.

8. GS: Usually confirmation that someone needed to be banned after I report banning them.

Billy: Attempt to be funny.

laflux: Worse attempt to be funny.

9. Shut down Off-Topic.

10. Nope.

Marvel - Born Again. DC - probably the Brief Lives arc of Sandman.

No Man's Land.

Reed Richards.

Fractured my leg once.

I don't read manga.

Plenty. Tron: Legacy springs to mind.

Chuck Austen's X-Men, but that's understandable because I hate the X-Men.

The choice where he wakes up and kills himself is probably best for the character.

@saren:

Who would win in a fight between Rorschach and Earth One Batman?

Favorite Star Wars character?

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Fantastic Four film?

Batman.

Ulic Qel-Droma/Mara Jade.

I don't know, I'll have to wait for more details. Not really feeling Kate Mara as Sue, though.

@saren:

I've noticed there are varying opinions on the quality of Debating now as oppossed to say in the past. As someone who has been on the battle forums in the past, remains active now, and is a moderator for this section of the vine, what are you thoughts on the matter?

And by extension, do you agree with the nominations for the Debating hall of Fame, seeing as you made the thread for the last one?

How pleased were you with the result of Shang-Chi's fight with Gorgon?

Who are your favorite DC characters currently/all-time?
What is your favorite comic book genre?
What's your favorite comic book movie?
Favorite Superman story?

@saren:

Nice. Mara Jade and Ulic are two of my favorites as well. :P

I agree, I don't think she "fits" the Sue roll.

What are your thoughts on the Guardian of the Galaxy film?

Do you think your debating skills grew since the day you arrived on Comicvine?

iPhone or Android?

Do you visit the liabrary frequently?

On a scale from 1-10 how good would you say my debating skills are? =O

What's your favorite Class in Mass Effect Multiplayer?

Mass Effect 4. Thoughts?

What platform do you normally play games in? And do you wish to migrate to a different Platform? If so, what would it be and why?

Favorite LOTR character.

If I were to give you 3000 USD right now, what would you spend it on and why?

Favorite comic book based cartoon

Favorite comic-book direct to DVD animated movie

Thoughts on new Ninja Turtles cartoon.

@saren: Who wins between Kal L and Cyborg Superman?

@saren: Who wins between Earth One Batman (the one from the story Batman: Earth One and trained by Alfred) or Nolan's Batman?

DC asks you to form a new Suicide Squad roster. It can be a max of 6 characters. Who do you pick?

Guess what? Marvel really liked your suggestion for DC, so now they're asking you the exact same question but for the Thunderbolts.

In just one sentence, tell me why I should eventually play Mass Effect 3.

@saren: If you could recommend only one Star wars comic, which would it be?

I think every "generation" of debaters romanticizes their experiences to some degree, but on a whole I do think the quality of debating on the battle forum today is weaker than what it was a year or two ago. Too often threads just turn into who can spit out the most scans, regardless of whether the scans have any influence on the outcome or not. That's always been around to some degree, but it's practically celebrated now.

I agreed with some, which is why I voted for them. Disagreed with others.

I would have been happier if Tomi had just lopped off Shang's head five seconds into the fight, but I'll take it.

Batman, Martian Manhunter, Power Girl, Darkseid.

Science fiction.

The Dark Knight.

Red Son.

I'm not excited for it, but I'll watch it anyway.

Sure.

Android.

Not really. I have eBooks for everything now.

7.5.

The N7 Slayer and Geth Juggernaut.

I'm looking forward to it, and I hope the option to play as other races is included.

PC.

Gandalf.

A new graphic tablet, the current models give control and precision my tablet sorely lacks.

Batman: The Animated Series.

Under the Red Hood.

Haven't seen it, sorry.

Mainly because I have all five collected volumes, and they read really well together.

Henshaw.

E-1 Batman.

I don't really feel like answering vs questions here, there's the battle forum for that.

Deadshot because you can't have the Suicide Squad without Deadshot, it's like a law or something. Voodoo as the shapeshifter/psychic with Mirror Master backing her up for the perfect espionage/infiltration team, Apollo as the powerhouse, T.O. Morrow as the genius inventor guy, Vixen as the wildcard.

SpOck as the leader --- dunno how it happens, maybe he makes such a mess of Spider-Man's legacy that they lock him up and offer him a place on the Thunderbolts. That alone would get me to read it. Arcade for the tech and brains and to butt heads with SpOck over who's the bigger egomaniac, Abomination to punch crap, Absorbing Man, Typhoid Mary and Diablo.

It's one of the most immersive gaming experiences out there, with characters that are hard not to love and dialogue that's sharply written and always entertaining. You should play the previous games to fully appreciate it, though.

Tales of the Jedi or Dark Empire.

@saren: Fair enough, but I don't think E1 Batman ever did anything impressive besides beat up thugs.

Edit: could I have your opinion on ^ this specific battle in PM or the thread itself (it's been made), I'm just curious because I honestly can't see why E1 Batman wins.

How much money have you spent on comics?

Over the years? Somewhere in the thousands, I'd guess.

@saren:

Abomination to punch crap

You should play the previous games to fully appreciate it, though.

Sold.

I have, I just never got around to purchasing the 3rd.

Hrmph. This makes me want to bump my ask thread but I have no idea where it is. It's lost in the sea of threads. Oh well.

Most important question ever: If there's an alternate reality where Batman has always been a Marvel character but nothing else transferred over with him (e.g. he's based in New York, only connected to the 616 characters in his history), who do you think his primary antagonist would have been and who could have been his sidekick/partner?

Do you buy them from the app? Why do you spend so much on them? Are you rich?

Why do you like Power-Girl? Did DC undermine her character? Why was she far below her cousin in Infinite Crisis power levels?