Who better than me to make this? NO ONE!! Why? Because I am the best there is. My gift to you Comicvine. A proper Cyclops respect thread.

Wolverine references (in a Cyclops blog?) and jokes aside, let's get down to it.

A brief explanation of his power: Quoted from me in another thread.

Cyclops' optic blasts stem from a separate universe where his eyes are portal to. His body automatically metabolizes solar energy that keeps the apertures open. Cyclops' body generates a psiconic field that helps keep them in check so when his eyes close, no energy leaks out. Cyclops' beams produce no heat, they are purely concussive force. They have been described as light speed in the past and have said so in multiple narrations. It is possible, like the power of his blasts, Cyclops can control the speed or he is seemingly aiming somewhere just near his opponent or his opponents are able to dodge his aim. It has also been stated the mechanics of his visor are much slower than light speed which also gives time for an opponent to dodge. Cyclops cannot access the full power of his blasts, he has an entire universe full of energy he can fire but due to human limitations, he gets tired and has almost killed himself when he was emitting energy at too high of an out put. Cyclops' blasts get weaker the wider they are yet he is perfectly capable of ripping apart trees and he doesn't need to go max to do so when they are wide.

No heat. Just force.

Cyclops has buttons in the palms of his gloves to open his visor.

Optic Blasts

Cyclops blasts have been stated to go lightspeed in a few narrations. Note: Cyclops does not move at light speed and the servos in his visor move much slower. People can aim dodge him and have done so multiple times in the past, just like trying to guess trajectory.

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Cyclops' blasts have pierced the Blob.

Cyclops can decimate entire sentinels...and the area around them.

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On a wide setting (meaning his blasts are weaker) Cyclops has completely obliterated a small portion of a forest to create a landing strip.

Cyclops has ripped through buildings.

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Cyclops has carved paths into mountains.

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Cyclops has decimated entire icebergs to save a ship carrying hundreds of passengers.

He has blasted steel doors off hinges, destroyed tanks, and damage massive sentinels, even from far away.

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Wolverine compares Cyclops' blast to being crushed by a mountain.

Cyclops can also produce large holes in the ground and quickly. Can be used to trap opponents and create escape routes. Note the distance created used to shred through the pavement and earth.

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Speaking of crushing a mountain, Cyclops blasts the top off of one.

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Some more higher powered feats. (Had to condense as comp was spazzing out for indiviual enlarged scans.

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1. Cyclops has managed to further damage Onslaught
2. Max power: Peeled the skin of World War Hulk, which is something even Wolverine said was a bit difficult to cut. (Note that it is a wide blast trying to engulf Hulk. Slimmer the beam, more powerful it is.)
3. Obliterate half a giant Krakoa clone.

Grounds falling debris into powder using an optic blast saving some civilians.

Cyclops has blasted Mjolnir from Thor's hands and into Iron Man. Lol

Just some more visually awesome displays of his powers.

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A mixed bag of a feat.

1. Cyclops manages to dodge some goons shooting at him.
2. He works around their synthetic ruby quartz armor by finding its weaknesses and using the environment to his advantage.
3. This shows his intelligence in a tight circumstance and also the power his blasts have (blowing the ceiling off) and precision (cutting the armor off and using the chemical shelf behind it).

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Cyclops also has very fine control over his blasts with a couple specifics.

1. Melts the ice off Angel's wings use a low intensity beam to generate just enough friction to.
2. Tagging Beast in a training exercise with enough force to knock him over without hurting him.
3. Pushes an elephant back without harming it.
4. Knocks a briefcase out of the Vanisher's hand without harming him or breaking the case.

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After having his powers altered by the Phoenix Force, Cyclops' optic blasts have seemingly been upgraded. His power output has been increased to the point that he can briefly hurt Dormammu. Despite this upgrade in power, Cyclops has lost most of whatever control he originally had over his blasts and gets exhausted much easier if he goes all out.

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Cyclops saves Kitty's team from a group of house sized sentinels and destroys three of them in one blast.

Accuracy+Spatial Awareness Feats

I have a bunch of these but as single scans so I will post them in little groups.

1. Pins Wolverine from a tree.
2. Tags Storm while dodging (a hesitated) hand lightning bolt.
3. Tags Ice Man from reflecting a shot off a mirror.
4. Hits part of a chip.

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1. Spatial Awareness allows Cyclops to perform a ricochet shot; destroying all of the Murderworld cars in a single optic blast.
2. Throws a coin up and its it dead center.
3. Shoots the speedster Northstar.
4. Nails a double ricochet shot to take out 2 guards.
5. Not a real accuracy feat. But I do believe it shows the speed of his optic blast and his intuition in an attempt to hit Quicksilver which proves successful.

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1. Another spatial awareness shot.
2. Uses a low powered beam to sink every ball in a pool table.
3. In the last 2, he manages to disarm people without hurting their hands.

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1. First three scans show Cyclops disarming a room full off guards in one shot.
2. 4th scan shows Cyclops tagging Beast in a reflect shot.
3. 5th scan shows Cyclops taking multiple missiles out of the air in rapid succession.
4. Final scan shows Cyclops hitting multiple machines in quick succession

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1. Another spatial awareness feat, blasting Beast.

2. Cyclops can ricochet blasts off stone too.

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Tags Hulk mid-leap and utilizes the environment to his advantage for a nice bank shot.

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Skill Feats

Cyclops always analyzes his targets which allows him to come up with plans near on the fly.

Cyclops holds his own against the X-Men when they thought he was the Phoenix. This shows him knowing and playing to the strengths and weaknesses of his team and utilizing the environment to his advantage.

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Cyclops beats half a dozen thugs with his eyes clothes.

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Cyclops with his back turned, disarms and beats a gunman before he gets the shot off.

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Cyclops takes on a monster blindfolded and with a sword. He does eventually resort to his optic blasts though.

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Agility

Just a few agility feats.

Mental Defenses

And some mental defense feats to top it off.

Cyclops manages to suppress the void in a mental box.

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And Emma mentions how tough his psychic defenses are, even when he sleeps.

Back again with a crossover edition of 5 fights I would want to see. So let's establish something quickly, this would be pre-52 versions for the most part. Remember the rules here. This is not a debate, this is not who stomps who. This is me explaining the fights I would want to see and done properly.

1. Batman vs Captain America.

The plot belt shield vs the star spangled shield. The Dark Knight vs the Super Soldier.

This is one of comicdom's most heated debates and it is split down the middle on who would win. But let's face it, either side you are on you have to admit this would be fun to watch. Steve and Bruce are incredible physical specimens, both have been incredible martial arts prowess and both are incredible at what they do on the battlefield and with what they do with their weapons/gadgets respectively. The fight will be a long and tough one, and tide can turn in the blink of an eye due to one proper move, one well placed shot, one gadget or shield play and the ball changes court. It would just put any martial art movie to shame. Sorry Shang- I mean Bruce Lee.

Wolverine vs Deathstroke

The Terminator vs The Animal. Prometheum meets adamantium in this bout.

I think this would be my favorite fight to see out of the list. Both of these guys are just the best at what they do. Both are enhanced physically, both incredible fighters, have potent healing factors, DS has a plethora of gear and Logan has his claws. The fight will be fierce between these killer(s). It will be blood and drawn out and I don't see either one of these guys walking out scot-free of injuries. Slade might have his other eye plucked out and an arm missing while Logan has half his face blow off and a sword through his ribcage. In short, this fight will be brutal.

3. Darkseid vs Thanos

Do these guys really need introductions?

Let's just get to the Groot I mean root of this. I just want to see two of the biggest titans in comics go at it, is that so much to ask?

4. Silver Surfer vs Superman

The Korn-fed Kryptonian (see what I did there?) vs the Cosmic Wayfarer.

Another heated debate in comics. On one hand we could just have " SILVER SURFER LIKE UM, DRAINS SUNLIGHT FROM DA ZUPAHMAN!!" or "SURFR GOTZ TAGGED BY THE RHINO, SUPES WINS VIA SPEEDBLITZ!". But I won't count that here. We have 2 of the most morally up right characters in comics and both of them are two of the most powerful beings in their respective universes as far as heroes go. The sheer power and speed of most iconic figure in all of comics vs the versatility and even own stats of one of Marvel's gems. These two may not be the most vicious characters but they don't have to be. They are both just awesome and powerful characters and I would love to see this fight take place.

5. Gambit vs Nightwing

The Ragin Cajun vs DAT ASS Grayson (your welcome ladies).

This is a fight of who can get more fangirls. Kidding. Anyways, I think this would be another fun match to see. The versatility in gear and skill faces off against the mutant that makes thing go "bang, you dead" by touching them. Both of these guys are incredibly agile and I would imagine this fight being well, everywhere. Gambit is superb with that staff and anything is his weapon, but Grayson does have him in skill and more versatility with his gear. This is another fast paced match and with how acrobatic and agile these guys are, it would be one pretty fight to see.

Bonus Round. Deadshot vs General Ross

Who has the stasche that tickles more women when they kiss them? GO!!

Bonus bonus round: It's my blog, I'll do whatever I want. Bane vs Crossbones

The Bat Breaker vs...the Skull Kisser.

Because I omitted it originally and I wanted it to happen, I added a bonus bonus round. Why? BECAUSE I'M GOD SPAWN!!! So we have two of the most iconic superheroes' most awesome and challenging villains. Bane vs Crossbones. Both of these have given great fights to their respective opponents. Bane has always proved to be a formidable opponent to Batman and Crossbones has given Cap good fights. Both of these guys are very powerful. Bane is known to rip limbs of people and Crossbones has physically tested the Super Soldier. Bane has been chained up and had bricks broken against his chest and Crossbones laughed in the face of Wolverine pumping rounds into him while simultaneously getting 3 adamantium claws ripped through his stomach. 2 big badarses that are frighteningly powerful and durable, one has the mind that helped break the bat, the other is armed to the teeth.

And that concludes the crossover edition. It was a tough one picking these fights this time and had to kick out a few options. I hope you enjoy the thought of these fights as much as I had writing them. It's a bit late where I am and with a long day too, I feel like I didn't fill the fights out as much as my last one. But regardless, comment on what you think as I like hearing your guys' opinions.

So I'm deciding to take a page out of my CV blog: Swole Your Role co-creator's book Deranged Midget's playbook doing a video game review. The game in question is called...

Opening vid for your pleasure.

So about 8 years ago, my best friend came over and brought this little, undiscovered gem of a game over to my house. I was about 12 years old at the time and we played it. Non stop for like....2 days. He was about 1/6 inward on the story but the second I picked up the controller and started hacking away at people I was hooked. The game is called Tales of Symphonia (derp, like the title says.) It was an RPG game that came out in 2004 in the U.S.A for the Gamecube. Now, let me clear something up, I'm not a big anime fan. I have always liked specific anime series and anime games. This game blew me away when I got it for myself. I've had it for 8 years and have played through twice with about 300 hours logged onto the first game if it gives you an idea. There is a sequel to the game called Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World and I will also do a blog review of that game as well. So let's get to the actual review of the first game with this.

Game Summary

So the game itself is incredibly long and spans 2 discs so I will make this as brief as possible without spoiling much. About 4000 years before the actual beginning of the series, the world had different races. Elves, humans, dwarfs and half elves. There was this great war between 2 worlds called Sylverant and Tethe'alla with 2 half elf siblings named Martel and Mithos. They had 2 companions named Kratos and Yuan. The group stops the war between the 2 countries by using something called the Eternal Sword which grants the wishes of the wielder. They wished the 2 countries became 2 separate worlds. The worlds feed of mana and apparently there wasn't enough so that is why he did what he did. Mithos was going to reunite the worlds when a special comet came called Dherris Kharlan and use the mana from it to from Great Seed and germinate the seed into the Great Kharlan Tree to sustain both worlds. Anyways, some humans are trying to monopolize the great seed and Martel is killed. Mithos gets pissed and hates humans for killing his sister and for the humans being total racist d-bags to the half elves. So he comes up with this plan by putting his sister's soul in the Great Seed using magic and then wait thousands of years finding ways to become immortal and find her a new body through things called exspheres which are like parasitic orbs that grant superhuman stats and powers. These exspheres eventually turn you into monsters but if you have something called a keycrest, you are basically free of worry.

Fast forward to the beginning of the game, humans are still d-bags, half-elves are even more persecuted. The lands are ravaged by monsters and there are protectors of mana called summon spirits which were apparently always there. There is like one for each element. Martel is now considered a Goddess and creator of all. The goal is to regenerate the world. There is someone from each world called a chosen and they are basically glorified sacrifices to Martel in an attempt to find a body for her in some convoluted plan from Mithos. You're a character named Lloyd Irving and you have a thing for the Chosen (at least at the start of the game and for the true canon ending of the game.) Your best friend is a element controlling half elf who is a super genius and kind of a jerk. Your party starts to fill quickly but eventually becomes a bit more sporadic with a very versatile cast of multi-dimensional characters in personality and battle wise. The game is then set and filled with a very malleable and player driven story with multiple choices that affect the path and ending of the game and a HUGE free roam map with dozens of weapons, armors, powers, spells and abilities. You set the game's path as you see fit, which is why I said the canon ending is for the chosen but you have about 9 different ways to end the story depending on your relationships with your party. You can have them all be best friends, some new love, some not, or even have them hate your guts. The game is also hysterical and filled with tiny skits that pertain to your choices providing a better feel to the game.

So yeah. You have deep characters, an intricate plot and a deranged, genocidal half elf with a justified motive in a world that mixes past with present while adding in some science and magic, you get this game.

Characters

Brief bios of the characters.

Lloyd Irving:

Age: Previously: 17 (ToS). Currently: 19 (DotNW).

Lloyd is the main protagonist. He is a stubborn idealist with a hot head and a good heart. He has a thing for the chosen, Colette, in the canon ending of the game where she reciprocates those feelings. He uses dual swords, preferably katana esque swords. His gameplay style is a fast paced, rapid, capable combo linker that ties in with fast paced special attack followed by a heavy, powerful attack. Lloyd is the quickest character in running and attack speed in any of the ToS games with a medium attack power, a medium defense, and a high level of health. He is essential for any front line character capable of distracting multiple foes at once and with the extra hp, can take a hit and keep on dishing and with a high tp level, he has bountiful use of special attacks for a melee character.

Colette Brunel:

Age: Previously: 16 (ToS). Current: 18 (DotNW).

Colette is the love interest of the main character. She is very clumsy which provides many interesting and comical situations to the game. She is very kind and also likes dogs quite a bit. Colette is also an "angel" which adds a dynamic to her fighting style since she flies er floats. Her weapons are dual wield chakrams. Colette's a solid character if you have the patience to use her. She is kind of slow in speed and doesn't have much finesse like others do. So she kind of has a hard time linking her chains together, but the upside is she has techniques for every range on the field, from short, to mid,to the most powerful spells in the game. She is a decent speed in spell casting and with her mid-range attacks with magic powered special attacks, she is a force when used properly and shines bright on a team rather than by herself.

Genis Sage:

Age: Previously: 12 (ToS) Currently: 14 (DotNW).

Genis is a super genius half elf with a bit of an attitude but that is due to being persecuted all his life and is Lloyd's best friend. He wields kendamas. His fighting style is best suited for team use and for behind the front lines. His physical stats are terrible. He has a 2 hit max combo with no linkable specials and slow attack speed and slow running speed. He has a decent amount of health but a very high amount of TP allowing for his ace. Genis is the most powerful spellcaster in the game. He knows spells that cover all basic elements outside of darkness and light and can decimate entire fields once leveled up enough. He can easily 2-3 shot most enemies with his more powerful spells.

Raine Sage:

Age: Previously: 23 (ToS) Currently: 25 (DotNW).

Raine is Genis' older sister and is incredibly quick tempered and smart herself with a fear of water and a fetish for ruins and old historic things ensuing many shenanigans.Her weapon is a staff. She suffers from the same problems Genis does and makes up for it in spells. Her offensive spells are light based and very powerful but few unlike her brother. Her main goal is that of a healer, removing stat effects, resurrecting dead players, multiple enhancers and field wide healing spells. She is a very useful character when used right, just not one that will be best trying to get kill shots with.

Kratos Aurion:

Age: 28 (ToS) not playable in DotNW: Kratos I won't spoil too much about him. He is a mercenary and is the calm, quiet type but is a machine on the battle field.He uses a sword. His running speed is moderate, his attack speed is slower than Lloyd's but still solid and his attacks reflect his power and skill. He also knows some solid healing spells, low to mid level basic elemental magic and has a higher strength level than Lloyd with a solid defense and solid level of HP and TP but he can burn through TP fast if constant use of special attacks. He can also learn the highest level light spell given the right circumstances.

Sheena Fujibayashi:

Age: Previously: 19 (ToS) Currently: 21 (DotNW).

Sheena is a passionate and impulsive, albeit clumsy, assassin of the Igaguri clan in the game. She has a tough exterior that belies a very insecure woman due to a past mistake. She is also implied to be Zelos' canon love interest but it's the underlying subtleties that give it away. She uses cards and is a summoner. She also is one of the most powerful characters in the game for many reasons. Her attack speed is high as is her running speed maybe even being faster than Lloyd, though I am not sure. She has a solid combo ability and uses quick paced but powerful special attacks that have varying effects from blowing enemies away to reducing various stats on the opponents or stealing HP. She can also employ elemental based magics onto teammates or herself for element attacks. She is also capable of resurrection herself. And her best ability is when you get hit enough and in a short time you go into an overlimit mode which makes you invulnerable for a period and much stronger. In this state Sheena can summon any of the summon spirits you come make pacts with. These spells range are very powerful and some can solo entire fields in one shot. She is fast, has a decent attack strength, is very versatile and has a solid amount of health, defense points and TP for special attacks. Sheena is an easy replacement for Lloyd if it comes down to it and is probably my 2nd favorite character to use.

Presea Combatir:

Age: Previously: 12 (ToS) Currently: 14 (DotNW).

Presea is a pink haired girl little girl and is the strongest physical member of the team. Yes, the 12 year old sweet, pink girl is the tank and physically strongest member in the game rivaled only by Regal. She is very quiet and straightforward but somewhat shy too and is Genis' love interest. She uses massive axes as weapons, she has a high health amount, solid defense, moderate TP, very strong and surprisingly quick in all areas of speed. She isn't much for linking though and has few specials that can link. Her combos are short and can leave her wide open in mid swing if an enemy blocks but she is just a beast and can easily make up for a few hits here and there.

Zelos Wilder:

Age: Previously: 22 (ToS). Currently: 24 (DotNW).

Zelos Wilder is a guy, kind of looks like a girl but is a guy. He is also the flirtatious ladies' man of the group. With him you can talk to any woman in the game and they give you free stuff. Aside from that, Zelos is very intelligent despite acting like an idiot. He is extremely funny, despite having the most f*cked up backstory in the game, and is also implied to be Sheena's love interest. His weapons are swords and daggers, and he is very similar to Kratos being a magic swordsman. Zelos and Kratos are replaceable in the game as you only get either one but I won't spoil how or why. Zelos runs at a similar pace to Kratos and suffers from burning through TP like him but knows the same spells except the angel spell, Judgement. The difference between him and Kratos though they know the same moves is that Zelos attacks faster and more fluidly. His attacks reflect finesse and can combo easier than Kratos and his special moves tend to hit easier than Kratos' versions. (they do different versions of the same titled attacks). He has a solid strength, solid health, knows some moderate spells and is stronger than Lloyd albeit slower. You can give him or Kratos jet boots to increase their speed and they basically become better on the front lines than even Lloyd and have the spells to back up.

Regal Bryant:

Age: Previously: 33 (ToS). Currently: 35 (DotNW).

Regal, like Kratos, I won't spoil much. He is very serious, very quiet, a very good cook and can be funny when he has to but it scares the team due to his naturally stoic nature. He uses his feet to attack only using greaves as weapons. He is the only character than rival Presea in strength. He knows basic healing too and has a decent running speed and attack speed. His combo ability is kind of poor with regular attacks, but his special attacks can link for a solid combo and he has a few evasive moves and is the only one that can do that. He has a decent defense, solid health range and tp range. I don't like using that much but I've seen him used by my friends who like him and he can pretty much take out fields of 4 different enemies without getting hit. This is impressive for being a front line guy.

Gameplay

So much for brief bios...Anyways, the gameplay is pretty simple at first but tends to get pretty strategy oriented later, but I'l explain it after the basics. HP= health points, how much damage you can take. TP= tech points, these allow you to do your special attacks. You go from town to town doing X point of the story. There are dozens of side quests to keep you busy and took me 250+ hours counting my second run through and I still have not completed every task. The side quests range from item hunting that might take you a day or 3 to do to just boss fights for special weapons or abilities like one of Sheena's summon spirits. The game is huge. There are plenty of puzzles to keep things challenging and many different types of enemies. The gameplay allows you to use any 4 characters in a free for all style fight. You have many different items and weaknesses to exploit on enemies to use your advantage. You can program each character to do a specific task like make Raine constantly heal when HP tends to dip. You can make them conservative about special attacks that waste TP and make them only use combos etc. If you don't do anything, each character has a natural AI program that allows them to do their own thing. The fighting is slightly fast paced and the bosses can be pretty hard but not unbeatable. The strongest boss named Abyssion was a side quest boss and he took me over an hour to beat. Almost 2 hours I believe to beat him using a strategy, otherwise, he would kill me in 45 seconds. So each character has strengths and weaknesses and the strategy program allows you to exploit that for your benefits.

Each boss is different, so different strategies might have to be used. You can also stay in hotels to rest up, customize weapons and new armors and accessories. You can also cook meals for after fights and there are at least 20 different recipes and you actually have to grocery shop for ingredients.

Pros n Cons

Pros

1) Gameplay. The gameplay is smooth and fights can be hard at times, but the versatility of all the characters allows different strategies and ways to beat enemies.

2) Art. The art is a cell-shaded type and it is just awesome IMO.

3) Story. I can't explain how deep and intricate the story. It has so many twists and turns that just keep you hooked from beginning til end.

4) Characters. All of the characters are connectable too. They are very deep and complex characters with very different problems and very different growth patterns. They all change from introduction of them to the end of the game. I like the character development and effort they put into it.

5) Voices. Can't have bad voice actors now can we? The game really went out of its way to get great voice actors and none of them seem out of place for their characters.

Scott Menville whom voiced Robin in Teen Titans captures that strong hearted teen character really well and he really shows Lloyd's character, his anger, his love, his passion and growth as a character.

Heather Hogan captures Colette's sweet nature yet twisted and unsure path of being the chosen.

Colleen O' Shaugnessey makes Genis sound smart but you can tell the persecution he has been through.

Same with Kari Walhgren whom did Emma Frost in WATXM and Haruko in FLCL for Raine. She captures that quick to anger, yet spunky and crazy self Raine is.

Shiloh Strong did Zelos' voice and he did an amazing job capturing the cocky, suave, yet flirtatious nature of the character but also gets Zelos' pain and suffering across.

Cam Clarke does a fantastic job showing the stoic nature of Kratos but also shows the deepness the character has.

Jennifer Hale just does awesome showing the strong woman Sheena is but captures that underlying torture the character has. Hale is known for doing Bastila from Knights of the Old Republic, Jean Grey from WATXM, Ms. Marvel in Avengers EMH and Sam from Totally Spies.

Crispin Freeman voices Regal. He captures the character's stoic nature and displays how Regal still bares his sins and search for redemption.Crispin did Tony Stark in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. He has done many voice overs like Alucard from Hellsing, Rude from Final Fantasy 7 and much, much more.

Tara Strong (does she need an introduction?) voices Presea and does an amazing job on the quiet and straightforward girl. She matches the speech of the girl's personality so well.

5) Versatility. The game is just so malleable and has so many funny parts to sad parts to some of the most f*cked up stories these characters have.

6) Something I forgot to add the first time through this. The music. The music is absolutely stunning in the game and fits each town, each skit, each event and just every moment in the game. It ranges from a cheery little melody to a haunting and sad symphony that gives you the chills. There are no wasted songs in this game.

Cons

1) I don't really have any cons. If I had to say, is the puzzles can be pretty challenging and the bosses can be pretty hard so do level up. But the game isn't meant to be easy but doesn't go overbearing like Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.

In Conclusion

The game is gold. Not many people have heard of it and it's one of those games that should be more praised. It also spanned into a manga and anime OVA (neither fo which I have bothered to check out.) If you are an RPG fan, then you will love it. It's kind of old being around for 8 years or so but stores like Gamestop or Disc Replay or online stores like Amazon should have it for cheap and if you still have a gamecube or a wii, I definitely recommend getting it. It's my favorite game and has been for the past 8 years. It's just an all around perfect game.

I will also be doing a blog on the second game when I have the time. It won't be as long as this one, but this one I got out what I needed to for the characters since they return in the 2nd game with some new faces.

Final Rating 10/10.

Out of boredom, I decided to write about 5 battles I want to see happen or done properly. As a huge battle forum buff here on CV I was thinking of battles I want to see. Now, I don't want people going "oh, this is a mismatch, character X wins cause _______ reason." Let's not have this blog turning into a debate about who wins and who doesn't and whether you think some are curbstomps or not, the point is purely about fights I would like to see done or fights that have happened but I want done properly. I will be stating nothing on who wins either if I think said character does win. These are in no order.

1. Daken vs Captain America

The Son of Wolverine vs the Son of Liberty. The CanAsian vs the Captain. The Hidden Blade Clawed Assassin vs The Star Spangled Shield Slinger. Enough of the cheesy nicknames, you get the idea.

The reason I want this fight to happen is purely out of the reason I can't decide who wins. People could go "But GS, Daken has pheromones, Cap loses", yes, but Daken hasn't always used said pheromones. Or people could go "GS, ,Cap will win cause he is Marvel's golden boy so he will." In a comic, true, but I think Daken has enough credentials that will certainly give Steve hell and even win. Daken could make this a curbstomp fight but if these 2 were in character I would expect a bloody and tough match. Daken is incredibly skilled and intelligent and an often overlooked fighter outside of his pheromones and Steve is one of Marvel's best and longest standing and intelligent fighters. And seeing as Cap and Logan have always had solid fights, I think this one would be relatively close and awesome to watch.

2. Daken vs Winter Soldier

"Another Daken fight? Laaaame!!" Oh, silly troll...quiet. I want this fight to happen out of pure cliche in all honesty. Wolverine's son vs Cap's partner. Bucky and Daken to me are worlds apart in things but very similar. Both assassins. Both great at stealth. Both great fighters. And another important note, Bucky killed Itsu.

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If there is one person Daken loved other than himself, it is the thought of Itsu. Daken forces and prides himself on not being his father and hates the comparison but what if Daken has an actual emotional motivation for once in his fight? He is fighting for something other than himself and someone of Bucky's caliber and I think the fight would just be like one with Steve, drawn out and tough and to me would bring out a side we don't so often of him.

3. Cyclops vs Hawkeye

Ok, this fight could be summed up by either "CYCLOPZ WINZ, HE TAKEZ VISOR OFF AND GOES K-CHEWWWWW!! *insert scan of ripping Krakoa in half*" or "HAWKEYE WINZ, HE SHOOTS EXPLODING ARROW IN D*UCHEBAG'S FACE!!" In all seriousness, I think this fight would be an awesome distance fight. These guys wouldn't be fighting to kill each other so Hawkeye isn't shooting explosive arrows left and right and Cyclops isn't looking to level the entire street or topple buildings on him in the first place. You have 2 solid hand-to-hand fighters, Hawkeye is a pretty good acrobat and so is Scott in his own right though I will say Clint has him in that area. Both are incredibly accurate and incredibly skilled with their own respective abilities being power and skill. And while I think Scott has him in spades as far as tactical abilities go, Hawkeye is incredibly smart and has led his own teams before. Hawkeye has his variety of arrows and Scott has the often forgotten about spatial awareness. This fight could turn from a quick draw into a fun long distance fight to watch. I'd make a bag of popcorn to see it. Speaking of which, that sounds pretty good right now.

4. Blade vs Deadpool

Is it just me or does Blade look like Ving Rhames now? Anyways, I'm pretty sure these 2 have never crossed over and I'm kind of surprised by it. I picked it because I think it would be a cool hack 'em up kind of fight. There will be blood and both are good with their weapons and with the healing factors (let's say DP has it and I have heard he has showings of healing in Marvel now once it completely rolls around, don't hold me to it), yes there will be blood. And who doesn't love watching a good sword fight?

5. Thing vs Colossus

It's the gritty, determined heart of the Fantastic 4 vs the Steel Curtain of the X-Men.

Seriously, Marvel, can we just settle this already? I think the only time they have actually fought was in one of the AvX fights but Colossus used his Juggernaut powers which Thing wouldn't last long against. BUT NOW, Colossus is back to his old steely self and the Thing... is still rocky. So, I really, really, really want to see this. Namely because they are so...similar in powerset. Now some people go "THING LOSEZ. MEDUL BEETZ ROCKl" but seriously, that isn't the case. Both have never been the strongest of the class 100's but both have always been pretty freaking durable and pretty skilled (sometimes) and have their edges. Both have been fighting for awhile, both have trained in different styles and have employed different tactics. Sure they can come out swinging like mindless brawlers but they aren't so bad in fights that they just that. Thing has his military experience, boxing, wrestling and self taught judo IIRC backgrounds. Colossus has been stated to be trained in wrestling and judo. I haven't seen much of either from him but he is still trained and has ran numerous danger sessions with the likes of Wolverine, he's done flip kicks to Juggernaut etc. So they both have their own styles, both are durable and both can throw down.

Bonus Round.

Had to include it for shiggles.

Betsy vs Emma: Jello wrestling, no morals. Don't care of the outcome.

Done

I had fun typing this. Tell me what you guys think of the fights. I'll probably be doing a DC version of this too when I have the free time and eventually a crossover between the big 2 companies.

@Jezer : Ectomorphs.

GS: Just posting anyway if someone is an ectomorph and they want to see it. ectomorphs can shy away from clean carbs and carb restriction as tight as endomorphs or mesomorphs. Endomorphs being so skinny can afford to have that excess energy (which in turn helps them grow) and help put on a little bit of fat. There is a certain body fat percentage range that allows for optimum muscle gain. So they can have their white potatoes, white breads, white rice, white pastas and they need to more food. Those kinds of carbs don't keep you as full for as long so you will eat more which is what they should do in the first place. Typically they should be eating around twice their body in grams of carbs and 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body weight. Eventually people will be able to eyeball it and they will realize what their body needs over time.

DM: Mirroring what GS said, ectomorphs have the benefit of a far faster metabolism which allows their body to burn extra calories throughout the day no matter what they're doing and it becomes even greater through exercise. Hence why I recommend for anyone who is an ectomorph to shy away from eating a maintenance level of carbs since you'll most likely end up burning more than you eat. If you simply want to get bigger or gain weight, start eating bigger meals. Raise your protein count, fat count and carb intake for each meal. Remember though, protein contains the least amount of calories so focus on fats and calories. I'd recommend anything from milk, nuts, avocados, or even the fattier meats such as Pork and Steak. As for carbs, allow yourself to eat the "unclean" carbs. Indulge in eating white rice, pasta, bread regularly but don't go overboard as not to over-do it. Basically, what you should be doing is consuming at least 300-500 more calories than the norm to actually put on weight.

@mikethekiller : Killing cravings.

GS: Try this after a workout. You have about an hour window to get your protein and a meal in your system while it is in a prime absorption state, otherwise you go catabolic due to increase cortisol release and your body starts eating muscle tissue if you don't. So take your shake or eat some protein. Also, while you should generally avoid simple carbs, post workouts for gaining is recommended. So eating something like fruit, honey, pb & j sandwich or even an ice cream cone, candy bar or a serving of potato chips is ok and actually helped me out gain some size and recover faster but moderation about it is key. You don't want to eat a tub of ice cream or a whole bag of chips. After a hard workout your body is severely depleted of glycogen and glucose. Glycogen is stored energy and glucose is ready energy. Your body produces insulin as a result of hard workouts so when you eat your pbj sandwich, fruit, handful of chips or cookies or what I do is take a coffee mug and fill it with ice cream or a cone, you aren't really as affected by the sugars and it doesn't store it as useless fat, but just replenishes your glycogen stores faster. This usually helps me kill cravings and I haven't gained an ounce of fat doing it.

Other times say you don't workout, the yogurt is usually a staple. Fruit like berries or oranges. Vitamin C is actually a fat blocker so for me, the sugar never really stored and turned to fat. I eat a spoonful or two or 3...of all natural no stir peanut butter. The no stir all natural is a great food. It is full of fiber, good fats and helps kill cravings for me. Regular all natural is too oily for me but the no stir has all the benefits of it and it looks and tastes like regular peanut butter and it has none of the transfats and hydrogenated oils regular peanut butter has. Popcorn is pretty good, and pop chips. Pop chips are a brand that aren't cooked in any oils and are good for something if you need a crunch craving. And I'll give you a link to a channel on youtube, this guy has snack foods you can make at home that kill cravings and various other foods.

http://www.youtube.com/user/leanbodylifestyle?feature=results_main

DM: My opinion will greatly differ here due to my own personal experiences and how I've taught others and the results they've received. First off, if you're trying to remain lean and/or keep a low body-fat, avoid all junk food, sugars, etc except for your cheat day if you allow yourself one. Post workout, eat a high sugar fruit such as a banana or apple. Your body is craving a fast digesting carb and your best bet is either one of those. Alongside of that, allow yourself a scoop of Whey Protein, but for me, refrain from eating any nuts post workout for at least an hour. Nuts are an extremely slow digesting food and after a workout, your body need a fast digesting food source such as a banana and a protein shake to quickly fuel your muscles. Wait roughly 45-60 minutes before eating your next meal.

As for your snack cravings especially later in the night, there is no better choice than vegetables. If I'm ever craving a snack, I'll cut myself up a pepper or even a small tomato to quench my craving. If you have a sugary craving, then I'd recommend sticking to low sugar fruits such as berries. Blueberries and strawberries are your best bet but keep it all in moderation. If you already aren't, you should be consuming some source of slow digesting protein before you go to sleep, especially if you're trying to build muscle. You're body will go in a catabolic state when you're sleeping due to the fact that you aren't consuming any food at all. Your best bet is to have natural Greek Yogurt, maybe with half a scoop of Protein powder added in, or as I like to do, a teaspoon of All-Natural Peanut Butter with a protein shake before I go to bed.

Butters: Height.

GS: My crazy theory on this is just a theory. Stretch your body enough to make sure you are pretty flexible, nothing super scary, but you need to stretch anyway when lifting. The lengthening of the fibers allows more room for muscles to grow. So if you follow a decent lifting program and adding mass to stretched fibers, when the fibers lose elasticity you have that mass to keep muscle which takes up a bit of room. Also, by lifting in general you release your body's anabolic hormones. So it might be, and I say might that your body being stretched with muscles taking up and the release of hormones allows some growth. I'm not saying massive amounts but maybe if possible, an inch or two over time before you hit a prime age.

DM: I was going to recommend stretching as well, but I didn't know if it'd sound absurd or not. Always stretch post workout, never before. You want your muscles to be tensed up while working out and stretching them out will just loosen them and you want be able to rip them apart as easily. This might no pertain to everyone, but try a lot of core exercises such as jump squats and jumping in general. Try reaching for something such as a basket-ball net.

@texasdeathmatch : Working upper pecs.

GS: Working upper pecs does take a lil bit of time. You want to do 2-4 heavy sets of 6-8 reps. First set also do burn sets so drop the weight 10-15 pounds and do 6-8 reps for each. On any set after you don't need to do burn sets. Do your incline flies and incline presses.Or swap the incline chest press for my personal favorite upper pec exercise, the hip dumbbell presses. You follow the same rep pattern as well. You do this on floor and I'll post a video link explaining the exercise. The video will say use light weight but when trying to build them up a bit, you want the heavy. And you can actually superset the hip press with a regular dumbbell fly so you can kill 2 exercises at once. You can also go on your stomach and do hip pushups which follows the same format as the press and that is my favorite pushup variation and great for a warm up before working chest in general. 2 sets of 15 for the push ups would suffice.

DM: People seem to neglect their upper chest a lot assuming that the mere notion of doing bench press will be suitable enough. You're chest consists of two main components. Upper and as I like to refer to as the "General" chest. Flat bench will focus on building the middle and the majority of your chest while adding mass. Working your upper chest will help to widen your chest and give it that extended look that seems to be touching your deltoids. I'd recommend super-setting incline dumbbell press with incline flies or even push-ups with your feet on the bench. I recommend always lifting heavy due to better gains but if you're a beginner, start off a little lighter and as your progress through your sets, drops the reps and add on weight.

Why I recommend dumbbell incline press over bench is that with dumbbells, they'll allow you a far greater range of motion. Instead of stopping your elbows at a 90 degree angle, allow them to drop slightly lower as represented in the lower picture:

As for the proper sets and reps, I'd recommend 3 sets, 4-8 reps, as heavy as you can.

I'd start off with just a few warm-up reps as not to injure yourself. Then proceed to your first set of 8 reps with whatever weight you're comfortable with. Right after that set, perform 10 of the decline push-ups. Drop your reps throughout the next two sets and raise the weight accordingly. When you feel comfortable with that weight, go heavier the next time you workout your chest, lower the reps to no more than 3-6 and add on an extra set.

@buttersdaman000 : Chest and shoulders.

Give these a shot. If you start getting weary in the shoulders, then don't do it. Protect yourself at all costs.

DM: If you want to stick with push-ups for now, which are still a great chest exercise, I'd recommend performing them like this:

High-intensity intervals: Perform 5 sets of 20 push-ups, take about 15-20 seconds in between each set for a breather and then instantly repeat said push-ups.

Weighted Push-ups: Throw on a back-pack with an additional 15-20 lbs (or whatever you're comfortable with) and attempt 3 sets of as many push-ups as you can.

Variation push-ups: For this, you'll do 5 sets of push-ups but each set being a completely different variation of the push-up. For example:

- 1st set do 20 regular push-ups with perfect form.

- 2nd set perform 20 Spider-Man push-ups

- 3rd set perform 20 clap push-ups

- 4th set perform 20 weighted push-ups

- 5th set perform 20 incline push-ups

Take no more than 30-45 seconds between sets.

Texasdeathmatch: Supersets.

GS: Learn how to superset your workouts. For chest and tricep you can link exercises hand in hand. Try this routine for about 4-6 weeks.

Hip press into a dumbbell fly. Moderate weight to where you can crank about 6-8 reps per movement. So when you press up then execute a dumbbell fly is what I'm getting at and each movement together counts as one rep.

Do your warm up first so if you have to go on a treadmill for 10 minutes or do 20 light reps on a bench or pushups to get the blood flowing do so.

Decline chest or barbell press: 6-8 reps, 3 sets.

Hip Press into fly: 6-8 reps, 3 sets.

Tricep dips (weighted): 4-6 reps. 3 sets. If have no weighted dips or can't do a weighted dip then just rep out for 3 sets. (Tricep dips on a station help with chest).

Xtra tricep exercise (optional). So you can throw in some skull crushers or overhead tricep extensions.

The the first 3 exercises will all work chest and triceps. The hip press gets some triceps in there, benching naturally does and the dip while primarily for triceps does wonders for the chest too. I added in the extra exercise in case you feel like you didn't work your tris hard enough.

DM: Depends on how you want to super-set. If you're newer and less experienced, refer to my first recommendation. If you're advanced enough, I'd like to recommend what I call "Strip sets"

Warm up with some light cardio, elliptical, treadmill, or bike are all fine for roughly 10 minutes. Before starting into your set, do a quick warm-up set to stray away from any possible injuries from your muscles still being cold.

Start off with Incline Dumbbell press : NOTE: This is my Strip set workout coupled with

Start off with the heaviest weight you can do for 6 reps, instantly drop the weight 10 pounds with no break in break and repeat the 6 reps. Repeat this process until you've dropped 60 lbs. Take a 1-2 breather and then repeat the Strip set again this time with a lighter starting weight. And for the last set, simply lift as heavy as you can for 4 reps.

Your next exercise can be Incline flies. Drop the weight if a little drained by the previous exercise.

Last exercise I'd recommend is V-Shaped Dips. If you have access to a dip-station that has a v-handle, it will allow for a fantastic chest exercise to wide your chest. Do this alone or even super set it with decline push-ups. 6 reps max for the dips and as many as you can for the decline push-ups.

This is going to be a relatively short blog and just my two cents on the matter.

So after AvX 8 and a bit of talking with another user, I got to thinking as my original ideas of who dies at the end of this event seem less and less accurate. I've said from the beginning that Emma and Scott won't die but as the event went on it seemed to changed, at least for Emma. Still, I have no bad vibes about either getting shoved into comic limbo so I will stick to it. My first impression was Protector or Iron Fist, Then we get news of a major character passing so there goes Protector. Then I thought Rulk, though he isn't necessarily a major character either. Then I thought Luke Cage, but it just wouldn't "big" enough IMO. Then I thought maybe Black Panther? Well with recent events with him, it shot my idea out of the water. Then someone mentioned a wildcard.

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

With the sudden involvement of good ole Chuck and him telling Cyclops he loves him and he will stop him, I began to think this makes sense. After all the interviews we have gotten we know it is supposed to be a major character. Now I know some of you may be like "Well, GS. Xavier hasn't been relevant for some time." Well, that is true. However, Xavier is a very influential character in the Marvel Universe and mythos and many people respect him and his ideals. Say after this is all done he harnesses the Phoenix Force and or dies. We get Cyclops, who realizes the man who was like a father to him just passed protecting him from a force that also ravaged another one of his students in Jean Grey for some time. After walking in the X-Men's shoes, Cap is supposed to feel like that the Uncanny Avengers will relieve tension of the mutants and everything will be hunky dory. If Xavier dies, Cap will know how mutants felt and what Xavier was exactly fighting for and the unification of both teams could be a symbol of Xavier's dream finally coming to fruition with mutants and humans on the same team (not counting the few like Wolverine, Beast and Storm's brief time drooling on the floor.). People love the Avengers but hate and fear the X-Men despite all that the X-Men do. Putting the two should definitely put the mutants in a new light in the terms of the public and it could be the symbol that after so many years, Xavier's dream was possible.

(None of this blog excludes the possibilities of Rulk, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Hope etc from dying.)

I am so not taking K4tz's idea here. (I am so taking K4tz's idea) Terry is a popular guy. I think a lot of fans like him but there seems to be a lot of misconceptions with the character. I see a lot of TERRY WINZ CUZ HE HAZ DA SUIT DAT GOEZ ZAPPITY ZAP ZAP!!! Yes, his suit goes zap and it is a powerful one, but Terry has lots of things he doesn't regularly use. In fact, Terry's most often employed abilities are his batarangs and jetboots coupled with his suit's enhanced stats. So let's break down the interior of the beyond suit.

Intellect

Pros- Terry is highly intelligent. He is a capable detective and has employed intelligence and mystery solving like capabilities such as finding Dana when she was kidnapped by the Rat Boy and figuring out how to defeat the Joker by using Joker's own admission against him. Terry realized (with a bit of help from Bruce) that Joker talks and that he likes to talk. He fought dirty and employed tactics that the original Batman was not known for. In the end of that fight however, he did win because he was so close to a joy buzzer otherwise he was going to be strangled. He also managed to defeat Stalker when his foot was trapped. He threw Stalker, turned invisible and then when Stalker got up to him he stabbed his spear in the device shocking Stalker and causing his cybernetic enhancements to go wacky.

Cons- As smart as Terry is, his arrogance and reliance on Bruce has gotten the better on him in a few occasions. His relationship with Dana has caused him to jump the gun a few times. His feelings for Melanie (10 of the RFG) have distracted him and allowed her to take advantage of him in fights and his anger at Bruce has caused him to slip up and almost cost him his life like against Hush.

Strength

Pros- Terry's strength has been multiplied by a factor of 10 which should put him just below either the 1 or 2 ton range of strength. This grants him great strength and has allowed him to toss steel girders around, move heavy machinery, punch Stan into a platform of at least 6-12 inches thick of stone and grapple with other strong characters like Chapel, who while on venom patches was able dent cars by simply slapping Terry into them. And Mad Stan, who was able to punch through large machines and even rip Terry through them without much effort.

Cons- Terry does at times rely on the stats of his suit and doesn't always incorporate tech. He has punched people of normal durability without one shotting them so it doesn't seem to play to his morals that every hit will be like the one he delivered to Stan. It hasn't helped him one shot every joker, gain an edge over the Joker, King of the RFG, Curare or Hush Beyond and so on. Not saying that he hasn't cause he actually has one hit KO'd jokers before.

Speed/Agility/Reflexes

Pros- Terry's speed has helped him face and defeat groups of less skilled and or stronger and more durable opponents as he usually does employ some type of acrobatics in his fighting style.

Cons- Sometimes he relies on stats too much and doesn't always employ the best tech.

Durability

Pros- Terry's biggest asset aside from his tech is his durability. This has saved Terry from being pounded into paste by much stronger characters. Looking back on Terry's strength section regarding Chapel and Stan, Terry can take quite some hits. Chapel dented cars by backhanding Terry into them and caved the roof on the car by hitting it and Stan was punching through large machines or metal like blocks with ease and throwing Terry through them. Terry took a sucker punch from a ticked off Big Barda to the face (not a full powered one, but she was still kind of irked at being called pigheaded.) Terry's best durability feat is getting stomped on by Micron (a size shifting character) who left a massive footprint in the street and Terry was making a smart mouthed comment to Bruce while he was under his foot.

Cons- Terry's durability seems to get played up a lot and his other feats are tended to be ignored. He can and has been hurt and dazed by weaker characters. Spellbinder floored him with a punch and he didn't have any enhanced stats. Danton Black's daughter has hurt him, Hush beyond has made him bleed from the mouth with a kick and hurt him with regular hits and so have jokers that have hit him like the Dee Dee twins. Terry isn't immune to being knocked out even if he does have some high durability showings, he has plenty of ones that show the opposite.

Tech

Pros- Terry is a walking plot device at this point. Look up his wiki for the items his suit carries, I regularly update his weaponry. Terry McGinnis

Cons- He doesn't always use his tech in fights.

Skills

Pros- Terry is a competent fighter. He is skilled enough to where he can take on plenty of fodder opponents by himself and he can stand up to some more decently skilled fighters due to skill and his suit's enhancements+tech like against the Royal Flush Gang.

Cons- He is not THAT skilled though considering he was trained by THE BATMAN!!!! and should be placed quite a few notches below Jason based on his performances against Nightwing. Terry in the show and comics had trouble with the more skilled people of his rogue gallery (not that there was that many to begin with). Curare was trouble, the Joker was trouble, and before I get WELLZ DA JOKER KNEW EVERYTHING THE BATZMAN AND TIM DID, it is not true. Joker specifically said he knew all their tricks which Joker arguably does and coupled with Tim's mind, he know Batman's tricks and thoughts, but he did not say he knew all of Batman's skills or he he knew everything that Batman and Tim does. It could be said he knew Tim's skills which is why he did so well against Terry as far as fighting showings go, but he did not show a Batman level of combat. This is furthered expanded on in the comics where Danton Black's daughter, Catwoman Beyond, gave him trouble and a graying crazy clone of Nightwing (Hush Beyond) defeated Terry twice in the comics utilizing his skill in the first fight without a huge amount of effort, then he left Terry for dead in the second fight which lasted 2 pages. And even a few of the Joker's gave Terry trouble and the two that seem to come to mind are the Dee Dee twins. Due to natural agility and dance like moves have given Terry hell on a few occasions despite having no enhanced stats or any known formal training.

Battle Forum Use

Things to Remember

-Camo drains his battery. As said by Terry in issue 7 of his series. So don't assume he will use it in every fight cause he doesn't and for majority of his fights hasn't.

-He doesn't always use all of his tech. If he did, he would have plenty of things to beat most of his gallery easily, but he doesn't always use certain items so it is clearly within his personality to not always rely on his tech. He does like his stun belt and flight but it is very rare (some more often than others), if ever, he uses his camo, suit heating, sleeping gas, energy net batarangs and so on in battle. Even then, he doesn't always use his stun belt and prefers more of his physical aspects, flight and batarangs in fights.

-Bruce on comm. Bruce should not be assumed to be on commlink in battle forums and should be stated only if he is. Terry is Terry. Terry is not a living symbiote comprised of himself and Bruce. Terry can handle himself just fine in a fight. Because people just assume he is and then we get feats of Terry fighting pretty well against the JLA Beyond by himself, which is partly true but people forget to mention it was Bruce ordering commands in his ear on what to do next.

So there you have it. GS' breakdown and guide to Batman Beyond. I plan on doing a respect thread for him in the following weeks so look forward to it if I get the chance.

The Good: Overall, this was a fantastic way to end the season and first half of the series. The deception, the heartache, the DRAMAAAA. Ok but seriously it was awesome. The action in the season finale was great. Tygra really showed his intelligence as an aerial combatant. I still kind of find dues ex machina that he just learned how to pilot the ships but it was awesome nonetheless. Cheetara was a straight up beast and I'm glad she is as powerful as she is. Her blitzing through multiple transport ships with utter ease was awesome. Kit and Kat had a great moment getting all the help so it was good to see even them being used. Most of all, Lion-O was a beast himself. When he was ripping through transport ships with that massive laser blast, I went wide eyed a little bit. Lion-O's fight with Mumm-Ra was great. It's good to see Mumm-Ra being a threat. Him and Lion-O were pretty close matched for once. Mumm-Ra's been a roller coaster in the new series. He's gone from real threat to his 80's jobber self on multiple occasions even when he was amped up. So I'm happy he is back up there. With him being more powerful now I find it great the season ended the way it did. Lion-O's growth as a character has really shined in this series. He isn't the same spoiled, head in the clouds kid or the love struck kitten anymore, or at least as bad as he was in the end of the mid season and beginning of the second part of the 1st season. Obviously he will be down for awhile but he didn't mope and went ahead realizing what is more important. Which gets me to the plot twist. Pumyra's betrayal. I didn't see it coming really and I guess now she is robbing the grave as Mumm-Ra's "beloved". Good twist.

The Bad: Nothing. I think the season ended with a bang and put the characters in place where they needed to be. Mumm-Ra is a threat, Lion-O is on his way to becoming a great king and uniting the animals and we have a Grune-lite replacement.

Final Score: 10/10.

With all the negativity on AvsuX cause of all the theories about Cyclops going evil, Emma splitting up with him for fishstick and the possible joining of Bendis, I decided to look at this in a more optimistic tone. I focused this blog mostly on my two favorite characters and my favorite current book. As I say this with extreme resentment in my heart, it may not be that bad. Now some of my points are based off memory from events or issues that I have read and pieces may have forgotten and some points from word of mouth so just give me the benefit of the doubt on this. So here we go,

We first get this news

Brian Bendis (Possibly) on X-Men AND Uncanny X-Men:

Okay, this filling took a little more loosening. I had to use pliers, a baseball bat and a large camel.

As a result, it’s a bit crumbly. It’s certainly not all there.

See, I’d heard a while ago that Bendis was to take over the two main X-Men books. But I was then told that Jason Aaron was staying onWolverine And The X-Men. How to put an X in that circle?

Apparently, Bendis will write both Uncanny X-Men and relaunch X-Men. Jason Aaron will continue to write Wolverine And The X-Men. And yes, as Bendis wrote, what he is actually doing with Marvel is a whole lot bigger than that. Which tempts me to speculate it will be part of one enormous cosmic story that will see the X-Men go spacewards with the Guardians Of The Galaxy against Thanos or whatnot. Well, they do all live on an asteroid…

Like I said this one is a slightly dodgier filling than the rest. Let’s see how it all pans out…

So I wrote this in response if all the pieces and word of mouth are true.

Every event Marvel has is something going back to square one. In Siege Thor, Iron Man and Cap reunited and the Avengers were basically back. Fear Itself, Bucky became WS, Steve became Cap and Thor was gone but not really. We also get a character death and most of the time he/she isn't a centerpiece. This happened in Civil War (Black Goliath) Siege (Sentry+Ares) and Fear Itself (previously mentioned). I agree with what my friend ApatheticAvenger told me the other day about the solicits for UXM 18 and AvX 11. He said Emma and Cykes are going to fight. Will they split up? I still say no. He told me and I do think this is what will most likely happen, it could very well be a wake up call to Cyclops. We saw what Cyclops did when Emma threatened to leave him. We saw that Scott was more tied to Emma when threatened than his goals. I think this is is basically going to refresh their relationship and thanks to Axel, Marvel is heading into some stability with no events for a time. There will be no X-Men without Emma or Cyclops at this point. With their relationship renewed and the stability we finally get focused on stories. Now what causes the fight is that Scott is so close to his goals finally but he does love Emma more than his goals WHEN IT COUNTS. If Gillen is in jeopardy of leaving and Bendis picks up here is what I say....Fine. Bendis isn't an inherently bad writer and the odds of him screwing this up, even as a team, are against him.

1. No events. This allows for stability and focus.

2. Scott may see that the Earth is better off without them or he protects what little race he has left but can get a breather so he takes the team into space if all his cosmic mumbo jumbo is alright. And remember he wants Extinction sized opponents? His first was a freakin Celestial.

3.Space X-Men may sound weird but they do have alien opponents in the past and this basically is a step up to a near cosmic opportunity for them. Asteroid M can revolve around Earth and they can focus on space things and Scott does have that deal with Abigail Brand so there could be something that goes on with that.

4. X-Men team on Earth. Wolverine can handle Earth stuff unless Cykes gets called down when necessary for food, Emma goes shopping etc.

Bendis has been on Avengers for practically a decade. Maybe a new direction COULD be good for him since no events supposedly. After AvX this could all be possible. So, Emma and Cykes stay together. My gut says so and they always go the opposite of what they hype. If they hype so and so kiss, it doesn't happen. If solicits say they split? The most likely answer will be the opposite. As long as Emma and Scott stay together (which I will say will most likely happen) and he stays away from events, I will buy the books. IT won't be Gillen good, but it may not be terrible. It's not hard to get a bad rep after writing the same book for 10 years.

These are my thoughts on the whole situation. I tend to trust where my gut goes but...I could always be wrong.

Thoughts/Comments/Concerns?

The Good: This episode was definitely a step up from last weeks. Two golden things about this episode. We get the introduction of the Feliner whom Tygra is naturally gifted at piloting, and we get the modern take on Vultureman. The dialogue between all the characters was well done. The first part of the season finale isn't as heavy as the first or mid season finale was (whichever you take it as) but we get some funny moments with Panthro and learn he is afraid of heights. I like that Pumyra is the b*tch of the group and she really trashes Lion-O despite being a couple now. They are really two opposites while Cheetara and Tygra connect pretty well. Pumyra also showed why she is such a bada$$. Taking out a group of guards on her own then taking the King or leader of the Vultures hostage. We get some good moments from Tygra as well since he was treated like dirt (despite in hilarious fashion) the past 2 episodes.

The Bad: I can't really complain about the episode really. The only reason I would rate this episode lower than I normally would was because for the season finale, there was no build up. When they got the Spirit Stone they spent 3-4 episodes episodes getting it. This one they jumped right into getting the tech stone. Other than that, solid all the way through.

Score: 8.5/10.