Iron Man vs Mega Man - Who Would Win

Iron Man vs Mega Man – Who Would Win

Some might say the battles I do in these posts aren’t very nice. Well this time I take it to a whole new level, I put a fully grown man against a robot with the A.I. of a ten year old boy. Yes it’s Iron Man, a man who doesn’t have a suit made or iron vs Mega Man, someone who isn’t a man at all. In a battle with no outside assistance who would win. Let’s find out.

 

Billionaire playboy Tony Stark was kidnapped and his captors tried to force him to create a weapon of mass destruction. Suffering from a severe chest injury he instead built a suit of power armour to escape. He later upgraded the armour with more weapons and tech and as they say the rest was history.

 

Tony Stark is incredibly smart and one of the most intelligent characters in the Marvel universe. He is an expert in Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Computer Science, A.I. and quantum mechanics which is far more impressive than my A’s in A-Level Maths and Chemistry. His expertise in engineering make him a valuable ally by himself so add in a power suit and you’ve got a truly formidable super hero.

 

The armour takes an ordinary man and makes him superhuman. Being made of a gold titanium alloy, it give Stark super human durability and can take huge amounts of punishments. The armour can stand up to the godlike power of Thor and being Titanium and gold rather than actual iron makes it light allowing Iron Man to move quickly and with agile.

 

The suit also grants him super human strength as well as flight for easy travel and manoeuvrability. He can fly at immense speeds and has shown he can manoeuvre around battle fields. He has a vast array of weaponry, his most famous being his repulsor rays fired from the palms of his gauntlets. He has a uni beam from his chest, a freeze beam and pulse bolts that gather more kinetic energy the further they travel. He can create and manipulate magnetic fields, create 3D holograms to use as distraction and a plethora of explosives.

 

Iron Man has also received combat training from Captain America meaning he is good in a fight even without the suit. However despite this he is reliant on the suit in a battle and definitely will be in his battle with Mega Man. Without the suit he would certainly lose this fight. He can also be arrogant which could lead to his downfall. His strengths vastly out weight his weaknesses however and Iron Man is a force to be reckoned with.

 

Mega Man is a super fighting robot created as a lab assistant by Dr Thomas Light in the futuristic year 200X with the name Rock along with his sister robot Roll. Yes Rock and Roll, Capcom’s genius writing aside when the evil Dr. Wily tried to take over the world Rock underwent a procedure in order to become a fighting robot known as Mega Man.

 

Despite being converted into a fighting robot, Rock was designed to be like a 10 year old boy and thus he has a wide range of emotions similar to a pre-pubescent boy. He does however have a high sense of justice and is very courageous. Despite this he does prefer not to use violence, however he does appear to have independent thoughts despite being a robot as he has decided himself at times to kill Dr. Wily.

 

Being a robot gives Mega Man enhanced physical attributes beyond a normal human despite having the A.I. of a ten year old boy. He therefore has superhuman strength, reflexes, stamina and durability. A good example of his enhanced physicality is the Mega Kick, a kick that does more damage than a shot from his mega buster. He also can perform a powerful upper cut move called the Mega Upper to inflict big damage to his enemies. He also has his slide move used for dodging and attacking close up enemies.

 

Mega Man’s main weapon is his mega buster, the arm cannon on his left arm. It fires a stream of solar bullets at his foes and gained the ability to charge up into one powerful shot in Mega Man 4. Mega Man’s greatest strength is arguably his weapon copy system. Mega Man can replicate the weapon system of Robot Masters giving him a wide variety of weaponry at his disposal. According to Wikipedia there are 127 special weapons in total so I won’t list them all but Mega Man has access to multiple fire arms, explosives, elemental attacks and shields and many more.

 

Mega Man is strong but not invincible. He has a strange weakness to spikes and will instantly die if he touches them. He is also is very small. Being a tiny 4 foot 4 inches tall does make him a difficult target to hit however his small body would likely mean he would take more damage from an attack due to him receiving the full impact of the attack. He is tough however being made of Ceramic Titanium, a metal more durable than normal titanium and able to flex and bend under impact before returning to its original shape. Mega Man is a tough match for anyone and has truly earned the right to be referred to as mega.

 

I must admit after doing the research I did find this quite a difficult fight to call. I went back and forth inside my head on who would win but I think I finally have an answer. Mega Man is certainly more versatile than Iron Man with his huge variety of special weapons and is almost certainly able to take the brunt of any of Iron Man’s individual attacks. I doubt Starks engineering genius would be of much help in a battle situation and Mega Man does have the arsenal to take him down. However …

 

The key is while Mega Man does have the arsenal to kill Iron Man I don’t see him being able to land a killing blow. Iron Man’s flight would allow him to keep his distance and evade any assault Mega Man may launch. His manoeuvrability is key and while Mega Man is very durable, Iron Man is from the marvel universe, a place full of metals stronger than titanium. Mega Man fits this category and while it may be a long fight Iron Mans Weaponry should have enough kick behind it to eventually take the little blue guy down. Maybe Mega Man could land a hit or two but he would struggle to hit the flying Iron Man and the Iron Man armour has shown itself to be able to take some severe punishment in the past. Mega Man may have more advanced weaponry being from the futuristic 200X but that’s no good if you can’t land enough blows. The winner is Iron Man.

Sporting Superstition

Sporting Superstition

Superstition is a strange and illogical thing. Really there’s no proof that superstition exist, hell I imagine most of us don’t believe in superstition at all. I certainly don’t but then why do we all have strange little things we do?

 

What is the strangest sporting superstition you’ve ever heard? For me personally it is from South African cricketer Neil McKenzie. Apparently he taped his bat to the dressing room ceiling. He scored a hundred so did it again. Any cricketers out there, do you tape your bat to the ceiling. I certainly never did when I used to play so what would make someone possibly think this was a good idea?

 

There are thousands of other cases I could mention but the thing here is why do we do it? I have a strange superstition, before I play badminton I untie and the re tie my shoe laces. I don’t believe it makes a difference, I only did it the first time because I had to wait for someone to knock up with and I wanted to keep myself occupied but that was months ago and I’m still doing it. Does it make a difference? No. Do I win more games now? Unfortunately no. So why the superstition.

 

A big thing is that sports men and women for obvious reason are competitive types. The mind is a powerful thing, it can easily trick us into thinking something will give us an edge. Even something as strange as taping a bat to the ceiling can seem like a good idea if it made a difference last time even if logically we know it has nothing to do with what’s happening. Maybe we also think that it appeared to do well and it certainly isn’t harming our chances. Perhaps it is a placebo effect here, the mind tricks us into thinking doing a strange action gives us the edge.

 

The issue with this is most of us would obviously view these actions as silly afterwards. Why then do we continue doing it? Why do I continue re tying my shoes? For me personally I’m not really sure. It’s sort of like a routine, as in I tie my laces then knock up then warm up. It’s not that it improves my game, it helps me feel secure and in my own little zone before playing. I play in a bubble, I don’t say much, I keep focussed. My routine helps me get into that and the strange superstition is part of that.

 

Obviously some people do believe in superstition and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, for all we know some of these superstition could exist for a reason. For the rest I think it’s a routine thing to feel comfortable and ready for the intense battle ahead. It’ll help us be ready to win and as we all know winning is the most important thing.

Was Giovanni Really the Villain - All is Revealed

Was Giovanni Really the Villain – All is Revealed

Pokémon is not a franchise known for its complex story arcs and characters. However if you had to pick one character with an interesting story behind him then it would have to be Giovanni, the leader of team Rocket. He was part of that famous twist where he turned out to be the Viridian City gym leader and was the big bad from the first ever Pokémon games, or at least that’s what we thought. There are a lot of Pokémon fan theories from Gengar being Clefairy’s shadow to the great Pokémon war (Which I did about myself, check the January posts on this blog). But shameless self-promotion aside one theory people have speculated about is Giovanni being a good guy all along. Of course in the anime he was definitely a villain but the games could be a completely different story. It is speculated everything he did was to stop the violent Mewtwo from unleashing havoc on the Kanto region. Today I find out the truth behind Giovanni’s intentions.

 

I thought the best place to start would be a little back story behind Giovanni. Unfortunately very little is known about this mysterious man. We do not even know his age in fact, all we do know is he’s the Viridian City gym leader as well as leader of the notorious team Rocket. We know he has a son, Sliver the rival trainer in generation 2 and he is unique in that he is the boss of the only villainous team who’s overall plan does not involve a legendary Pokémon. In fact what even is his overall plan, his actions seem random and unrelated.

 

I thought it best to analyse each team Rocket evil action. We first see team Rocket in Mount Moon trying to steal some fossils. I’m not really sure what to say about this one. You could argue they just wanted the fossils like you and the scientists did I guess but there’s not really much to say about it. After this they steal the tm for dig. This does seem like a petty little crime but there could be more to it. Claiming Giovanni is a good guy all boils down to him wanting to stop Mewtwo. While the tm for dig doesn’t seem like something worth stealing for a ground type gym leader of all people we should remember Mewtwo lives deep in a cave, a place you may have to dig through to get to. This could be pushing things but it’s important to remember both these events do not involve Giovanni directly. It is perfectly possible that lower level members could’ve made these orders. The next few actions are what really start posing questions.

 

Most of what Giovanni does involves Silph Co. He tries to steal the Master Ball and the SIlph Scope. The theory goes that the Silph Scope is to catch a ghost type Pokémon to fight the psychic type Mewtwo and the Master Ball is to catch him. They also take Mr. Fuji, a supposed nice old man. This theory is nice but it does have flaws. None of this makes Giovanni a good guy, none of this is even proven to be related to Mewtwo. He also does sell Pokémon in his casino too. Maybe we should look into Mewtwo.

 

Mewtow as we all know is a clone of Mew. It is also well known that he was created in the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island. According to the journals in the Mansion scientists performed horrific gene splicing experiments which drove Mewtwo to great rage. According to the Pokédex he’s vicious, has a savage heart and only ever thinks of winning his battles.

 

While Mewtwo is a clone, Mew actually gave birth to Mewtwo. This is strange as Pokémon lay eggs. Mewtwo becomes so enraged he escapes, burns down Pokémon Mansion and presumably kills most of the scientists. It is pretty much confirmed that Mr. Fuji was part of the team that created Mewtwo along with the Cinnabar Gym Leader Blaine. Blaine still wears a lab coat to act as a reminder to his days as a scientist and in the fame checker a portrait of Blaine and Mr. Fuji is mentioned. In Pokémon Emerald there is an event in a place called Faraway Island where you find Mew. In the Japanese version there is a name smudged on a sign that says … ji. Subtle yeah but it does confirm Mewtwo’s origin however. Being engineered to be the ultimate in battle he left for Cerulean cave, a place full of high level Pokémon.

 

Mr. Fuji seems to be crucial in what happened and it is speculated he went to Lavender Town to look after abandoned Pokémon to cope with his own guilt. Lavender Town is also a long way from Cinnabar Island. Despite all this he obviously knows a lot more about Mewtwo than most do and this would surely make sense to Team Rocket’s interest in him. Giovanni is a gym leader, he could’ve heard things from Blaine and it does make sense.

 

I feel like I should dispel the selling Pokémon in the casino pure evil. In real life we sell animals as pets and you can win things like fish, especially considering this game came out nearly twenty years ago. I don’t think there’s much wrong with it, especially for the time period. I should mention it is never mentioned that team Rocket steal Pokémon in the games. This is a good explanation for team Rocket grunts possessing a very small variety of Pokémon, if they were stealing where’s the variety and why steal so many Koffing. The Anime is different but that’s an adaptation, it doesn’t follow the games as cannon and let’s face it the anime isn’t the smartest show you’ll ever watch.

 

My biggest issue with this theory is normally people like to paint Giovanni as the white knight and Red as the villain. Things aren’t this simple, Red isn’t a villain he’s a kid on a journey stopping what he thinks is an evil team. Giovanni is a complex character and not necessarily a villain. This doesn’t mean he’s a complete hero however. Giovanni’s intentions do appear to be less than noble but it is certainly possible he is trying to do the right thing.

 

If Giovanni’s overall goal doesn’t involve Mewtwo then there are certainly a lot of coincidence in play here. If it does involve Mewtwo the question is why he wants to capture Mewtwo. If he has heard of Mewtwo’s power from Blaine then it does certainly seem possible at least he would want to stop him going on a rampage, especially considering the state of Pokémon mansion. However Giovanni wanting to use Mewtwo for his own gain could me more likely, like he did in the anime. According to Pokemon the Origins there are still good intentions in there, he does disband team Rocket just so Red will take the badge after experiencing the thrill of battle once again.

 

Here’s the thing, Giovanni is a smart man. He is already a powerful man, he is a successful businessman, a gym leader and head of a powerful criminal organisation. I said all is revealed in the title, I think it’s safe to say the ultimate goal of team Rocket involved Mewtwo. After all if there’s one thing we’ve learnt playing Pokémon it’s that all villains have their goals tied to Legends. Unfortunately after looking over everything this is all I can reveal. What was Giovanni’s intentions with the 150^th Pokémon? Maybe one day we’ll find out.

Captain America vs Big Boss - Who Would Win

Captain America vs Big Boss – Who Would Win

Today an epic battle of the military in a super soldier showdown. Captain America, the first Avenger takes on Big Boss, the greatest solider the world has ever seen. In a battle of epic proportions with no outside assistance who would win? We’ll start with the star spangled solider.

 

Captain America is one of Marvels most recognisable figures. He started life out as Steve Rodgers, a wimpy guy who proved that size doesn’t matter … except when in a fight. Then it matters a lot. However his high sense or justice and morality made him an ideal subject for the super soldier program. He was injected with sup serum and was transformed into the peak of Human condition. Now he’s proved that drugs are the answer to every problem he went on to fight crime and become a great American Hero.

 

Captain America has peak in physical condition far beyond what a normal human ever could. His physical strength is insane, he can bench press 545 Kg, nearly twice what the current world record is on Earth. He has also run a mile in 73 seconds, far quicker than the record 3 minutes 43 seconds world record and would mean he averaged 47 miles per hour. Thanks to the super Serum he also has durability and endurance as well as having a brain that can process information quicker than a normal human.

 

His brain processing information quickly means he has extremely fast reflexes as well as great agility and speed. These traits aid in his excellent hand to hand fighting ability. Cap is regarded as one of the best hand to hand fighters in the entire Marvel universe, limited by only his lack of super powers. He has a unique fighting style where he combines Judo, Western Boxing and kickboxing. He also is good with gymnastics adding to his already good agility. This makes the Captain an excellent brawler who has achieved some incredible feats, including winning a boxing bout against Thor.

 

The Captain isn’t all about punching things of course. His most iconic object is his mighty shield. It is made of a steel and made up vibranium alloy making it almost indestructible and certainly indestructible to anything Big Boss has to throw at it. The shield He doesn’t just use it for defence however. The Captain enjoys playing Frisbee with his one of a kind, priceless shield and throw it at the villains. The shield however acts more like a boomerang than a Frisbee as it always seems to return to the Captain after he throws it. The shield can ricochet off multiple targets without losing velocity making it an ideal throwing weapon.

 

The Captains uniform is fire retardant and underneath he wears a light weight bullet proof uniform to protect him from bullets. Captain America is far from invincible however and has pretty much the same weaknesses as a normal human being. Standard weaponry can take him down and his costume does leave his head exposed to attack from bullets. On top of this knives should be able to easily penetrate his uniform. Despite these weaknesses however he is a force to be reckoned with and a match for any man on the planet.

 

Big Boss, otherwise known as Naked Snake, otherwise known as Punished Snake, otherwise known as some other Snakes, otherwise known as Jack, even though his name is John is a legendary soldier and focal point of the Metal Gear universe. I am not Japanese enough to understand what’s going on for most of Metal Gear but Big Boss’s life has been filled with war and conflict. Because of this Big Boss is an experienced warrior and was trained by the great soldier, The Boss.

 

The Boss taught Big Boss everything he could ever need to know about combat. Together they developed the CQC fighting style. Standing for close quarter’s combat, CQC if a fighting style designed to quickly disable and disarm an opponent. It is designed so the user can rapidly alternate between armed and hand to hand combat. This allows the combatant to maintain the advantage in a fight against any type of opponent. CQC closely resembles Judo and consists of a number of grabs, choke holds, strikes, throws and a slam into the ground that instantly knocks out an enemy soldier.

 

CQC requires manoeuvrable weapons, thus making rifles and shotguns almost impossible to use. A pistol and knife combination is preferable and thus this is what Big Boss will have access to in this fight. The M1911A1 he used in snake eater is probably his most recognisable gun so he will be using that. Having a pistol allows him to easily switch to hand to hand combat with his knife. CQC is a highly advanced combat style, far more advanced than anything else being used. This makes an expert like Big Boss a skilful and tricky combatant.

 

Big Boss is also highly skilled in survival, espionage and destruction. At some point he also became a master marksman. He is also very intelligent while in combat or survival situation as well as immensely determined as shown by his resistance to torture. These traits make him one of the greatest soldiers earth has ever seen.

 

Despite all this he is still just a man and has the same weaknesses as any other. Bullets, stab wounds etc are fatal and while he did survive being thrown off a bridge he is still just a man. He does also seem to believe in Santa. This isn’t necessarily a weakness in combat but it seemed worth mentioning.

 

So who would win a fight here? I think it’s pretty obvious if Big Boss can remove the shield from the equation he shouldn’t have much trouble winning this fight. Big Boss does not know what the shield is made of or how he cannot destroy it but he would be intelligent enough to think to aim for the head or body of the Captain with his gun.

 

I’m sure you’re thinking that Captain America could just simply throw his shield at Big Boss, knock him out and win. This is not the case however as to throw the shield the Captain would have to expose his head for long enough for Big Boss to take a shot. A marksmen of Big Boss’s skill would have no problem taking him out and even the Captain cannot dodge a bullet from such a precise shot.

 

The Captain could use his shield as a defence to get close to Big Boss as negate the long range advantage of having a gun. I have mentioned that Captain America is one of the best hand to hand combatants in the marvel universe and while this is true he is really a simple brawler. Boxing is all well and good but CQC is advanced far beyond what a simple boxer can accomplish. Big Boss has fought opponents far more powerful than a normal human being. The Captain shield is still an issue in close quarters and he could use it as a bashing weapon but someone with the skill of Big Boss should not have an issue surviving this. The Captain would have to open up to attack where his lesser combat skills would allow Big Boss to disarm him of his shield. This would leave the Captain defenceless for the kill. The winner is Big Boss.

Top 6 Favourite Television Shows

Top 6 Favourite Television Shows

Ahh the humble television, a staple in every living room. Its big black screen stares at us and we all enjoy its wonders and delight. Sometimes we use it for movies but more often than not we watch television shows. These are my personal top 6 of all time.

 

Number 6. Friends

It was difficult to pick my favourite sitcom. It was between Friends and Two and a Half Men. I went for Friends because it’s a very easy watch pretty much all the time. It’s that show I like on in the background or when I’m feeling a bit like wasting time. It’s fun and light-hearted with enough character to make you want to come back.

 

The show simply resolves around the lives of six friends who live in New York. It’s as simple as that. Perhaps the biggest positive is each member of the cast has a unique and definable personality. Despite this however they were quite unique in both their personality and interactions. Each friends interacts with each friend differently and it is highly enjoyable to watch.

 

Being a Sitcom it wouldn’t be very good it the com bit didn’t hold up. Fortunately though there are plenty of chuckles and laughs to go around and while the studio audience is a little enthusiastic, it still is a funny show.

 

That’s not to say it doesn’t have its conflict and drama and it does done well most of the time. Whether it’s the smallest little thing or something quite crucial in their lives I am usually interested to see how they deal with it and figure things out. With five of the characters I do genuinely find them likeable enough to want them to be happy.

 

This leads me onto my biggest issue. I don’t like Phoebe. I get she has quite a tragic history and all but I just don’t think she’s a likeable character, hell sometimes she seems almost spiteful to her apparent friends. Her random outbursts and comments I usually don’t find funny, they’re not witty or clever, just random. Of all the Friends she’s the one I wouldn’t feel like I could rely on and that’s completely missing the point of the show. It wants you to feel like you know these people, except with Phoebe I wouldn’t want to.

 

The other little thing is I do think they can overdo the drama at times. Usually they have enough comedy to balance it out but some episodes are a bit devoid of humour and they do drag. This is a nit-pick however as over all 10 series these episodes are few and far between.

 

Okay, Friends isn’t perfect but it wasn’t really supposed to be. To me at least it’s just a happy feel good show and one I’m happy to stick on while browsing through the channels.

 

5. SpongeBob SquarePants

This was a weird show. I always described watching SpongeBob as showing you what it’d be like to be high and with some of the strange lines and visuals this show had to offer it is not difficult to see why.

 

SpongeBob SquarePants was a show about … SpongeBob SquarePants as he went about sometimes crazy adventures or sometimes just his daily routine. He was joined by his friends in what I thought was a delightful kids show.

 

SpongeBob was supposed to be funny. I watched some recently and I genuinely thought it was. It wasn’t even like it was a bunch of dumb humour either, there was some surprisingly smart comedy in here. A mixture of the funny dialogue, unique characters and outright strangeness made a funny show that still I can still watch to this day.

 

The characters in the show were great, each one was individual and had a fun and interesting personality. While not the most complex characters you’ll ever see, with SpongeBob being happy, Patrick being dumb etc they were never one dimensional characters and each one had their own individual charm, even the grumpy Squidward and the evil genius Plankton.

 

I think the thing SpongeBob does so well is be strange and random but heart-warming and endearing with it. This world makes no sense, the stories make no sense and the characters are mad and don’t make sense but at the same time the characters are likeable enough and the jokes funny enough to make it a genuine joy to watch.

 

The show also has a unique visual charm. It doesn’t look like underwater at all but again the visuals are strange and colourful and a very good compliment to the humour. The animation isn’t the best you’ll ever see but it’s certainly good and the colours are fun to see. It is a fun show and while I don’t exactly watch it very often these days it is definitely worth a look if you want some fun comedy and want to see what it would be like to be high.

 

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

To be specific the series that aired between 2003 and 2009. Like many kids I grew up watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were cool, they had cool ninja fights. They were funny and clever, what more could a kid want.

 

In my mind nothing. I watched the show, had the comics and had the action figures and the video game. What made the turtles so popular? A huge part of it was obviously the turtles themselves. The four turtles were all very different and thus I think every kid had at least one they could relate to. On top of this you genuinely believed in the connection between these brothers. They worked well together as a team but they still had their conflicts, just like real brothers do. Despite being turtles you could see the human connection between them.

 

Emotions are all well and good but let’s be honest, the best thing was the action and comedy. The turtles kicked ass, as we all know ninjas are cool. The show was never boring, it knew just how much discussion to have before going to the action packed or funny scenes.

 

The side characters were also great. Master Splinter was a brilliant wise mentor, Casey Jones was a cool and enjoyable character and as a young boy April O’Neil was probably the first female character who I thought was completely awesome. 

 

The villains were also really good. Naturally, The Shredder stands out as the best villain. He was just what I want in The Shredder. He was a badass fighter, he could easily take on anyone in a fist fight but he was also incredibly smart and cunning. He wasn’t just a big dumb oaf with no motivations like in the new film. This Shredder was interesting and he was part of a plot twist that left my young mind completely gobsmacked.

 

The foot clan looked cool, the purple dragon gang were an interesting foil for the turtles and Casey Jones and Hun I remember as a decent villain. I also like the animation, it almost looked like an anime but the sharp lines and colours I though served the action scenes well.

 

Throw in some interesting stories, excellent actions scenes and some fairly intense moments this silly concept of turtles that somehow mutated into humanoids and learned ninjitsu became a worldwide phenomenon and I sit here now wanting to find the series and watch it again.

 

3. Arrow

Hey look a show that is still on. Good for me! Arrow is about the DC character Green Arrow and his crusade to save his city. We also get flashback of his time stranded on an island in the Pacific that turned him into the warrior he is today.

 

Arrows biggest positive for me has always been the core characters of the team. They’re all very well developed, have interesting backstories and bounce off each other extremely well. Oliver Queen is a brilliant character, acted well by Stephen Amell we really feel his internal conflict and determination to do the right thing. John Diggle is like our eyes into this world. He’s from a world without super heroes and see’s the madness in what’s going on. He is also reliable and like a brother to Oliver and has become a fan favourite for good reason. Finally there’s Felicity, a quirky and clever character who is slightly more positive than the other. She’s funny and comedic but also the one person every character can turn to when they need help or are struggling with their many burdens. She’s great and I think I love her.

 

The side characters are also interesting and the show has done a great job at taking the ones I didn’t like and making them relevant and interesting such as Thea and Laurel. On top of this there are some great villains. The big bad of each series has always been a hugely memorable villain, my personal favourite of course being Slade Wilson.

 

I write a review for Arrow every week so I won’t go on any longer. It’s got a great dark atmosphere, some cool stunts and characters who are believable and interesting. Go and watch it … now.

 

2. Robot Wars

Robot Wars was a fantastic show, another show I had the merchandise for. It was a very unique concept at the time, teams built their very own fighting robots and battled them in a gruelling knock out competition.

 

The great thing about the show was its unpredictability and action packed battles. It was great to sit down and watch the two machines battle. It was also enjoyable to see the individuality and creativity that went into each machine. Furthermore the camaraderie and entertainment from the teams in the pits was a joy to watch.

 

Robot Wars was action packed. It bought out a real primal enjoyment watching these machines smash each other to bit, almost like how the Romans may have felt watching gladiators. It was simple but it was just really good entertainment. It had some iconic house robots, a good presenter in Craig Charles and some of my favourite commentary ever by Johnathan Pearce. There’s not much else to say, I’ve done a whole post on Robot Wars. If nothing else it’s a lot of fun.

 

1. Top Gear

I’m really going to miss Top Gear. This show did something that no other show I’ve seen did. Despite starting out as a humble car show it transcended its motoring audience and became a true television giant. What made Top Gear so great?

 

The chemistry between the hosts is what really made Top Gear. Most of its viewers didn’t watch it for the cars and facts, rather because Clarkson, Hammond and May were extremely fun to watch. It was never forced, they were clearly mates and always bantered back and forth as such. It was watching three big kids messing about in fast cars and I couldn’t help but enjoy it.

 

Even the individual films were great. It wasn’t serious enough to be dull but each presenter got enough passion across to make basic cars tests enjoyable and interesting. A lot of credit also has to go to the creator and producers, they came up with a lot of creative challenges for the three to partake in and while it was always a variation of buy a cheap car each challenge felt unique and thus hilarity would also ensue.

 

Another big part of the show’s popularity was obviously The Stig. A funny little idea became such an icon to television. How just a silent man in white suit could be so iconic is beyond me but there was something oddly surreal and funny about watching him. Whether it was Clarkson’s facts or Stig’s strange choices of music he was great addition to the show.

 

There were so many memorable moments in Top Gear that I couldn’t even begin to list them. To me Top Gear was the epitome of entertainment. There was never a single episode I didn’t enjoy and it’s such a shame to see it go. It really was the best tv show … in the world!!!

Arrow Season 3 Episode 18 - Public Enemies Review

Arrow Season 3 Episode 18 - Public Enemies Review

Well that’s what I’m talking about.

 

Public enemy was primarily about Captain Lances Manhunt for the Arrow as he goes mad in his pursuit in his grief for his daughter. Meanwhile Ray Palmer is hit with an arrow from Maseo disguised as the Arrow and needs lifesaving surgery to save his life.

 

If you couldn’t already tell by my opening line I really enjoyed this episode. Not that Arrow hasn’t been good, it has but it hasn’t quite lived up to the brilliant climax to season 2 with Deathstroke. This episode however felt to me at least just as good as last season.

 

The overall atmosphere of this episode was great. With the Police closing in you could feel the tension and how desperate the situation got for Oliver. Especially while he was cornered in Diggle’s apartment Oliver was like a cornered rat with little chance of survival. It was great seeing the tide of power turn.

 

It seems obvious to say but I enjoyed Captain Lance in this episode. Laurel at one point commented on how he was going mad and in a way this really came across. He is obviously enraged and incredibly determined to get his man. He is an enjoyable character, I like seeing his conflict between doing the right thing and keeping everything within the law. He is feeling very betrayed by everyone he thought cared about him. He is still mourning the loss of his daughter and its eating him up inside and while he obviously isn’t thinking straight his  situation is so tragic that you can sort of understand why he’s doing what he is, especially considering he saw someone who looks a lot like the Arrow fire an arrow into the Mayor. On top of this his seen in the prison truck with Oliver was great, it was like seeing Oliver’s greatest fears and regrets manifest in front of him.

 

I loved the chase scene with team Arrow escaping the police. The battle against the assassins was cool, Ra’s al Ghul was great, appearing as calm and in control as ever. The escape from the police was intense and I thought it was very fitting how each team Arrow member escaped.

 

Roy having to shoot police officers was a great way to resurface the guilt he was feeling over the cop he killed in his Mirakuru induced rage. It set up the guilt he was racked with later on and his sacrifice in place of Oliver. Of all the characters it makes most sense he would get himself arrested to protect Oliver, not just to protect Oliver but he thinks he deserves to be locked up.

 

Laurel being cornered by her Father while expected was a sad situation to watch. Laurel wants to re connect with her Father, he is hell bent on bringing the Arrow to justice. As she says, he is in all kinds of pain and I liked that Nyssa came to her aid. I’ve mentioned before how I really like Nyssa and the budding friendship between her and Laurel. It makes sense and with all the craziness and difficulty of being a vigilantly it seems likely that Laurel would be pleased to have a friend who wasn’t lying about Sara.

 

Finally Oliver’s escaped proved one thing. You can always rely of Diggle. In all seriousness when it all got serious I was glad to see Diggle come to the rescue. Similarly I liked they hid in his apartment. It shows how reliable he is and the trust you can always confide in him. I also liked how Oliver was said to be the origin of all the people in masks. With all the spin offs and the Flash show (Which is awesome by the way) it’s good to know that he is almost like the Batman of the DC television universe. He may not have super powers but he’s the big player and the main man in it all.

 

Slightly different to the tone of everything else but Ray and Felicity’s scenes in the hospital were very enjoyable. Slightly lighter in tone yes but Ray’s attitude to being in hospital and facing death was a lot of fun to watch. He made me chuckle multiple times and his chemistry with Felicity is bubbly and fun to watch. It’s good that he is very different to Oliver, he’s new to all this and his positive outlook reflects that.

 

Finally I really like Felicty’s mum. She is such a fun character, she’s funny but at the same time she has heart and you can see she genuinely cares about her daughter and tries to do what’s best for her. I also like how she clearly isn’t meant to be as bright as Felicity (Who is) but you have similar reactions to her that Felicity does, as in wait what? Or a massive face palm. The best example was “At least you have a boyfriend”. She is trying to help and trying to make her daughter feel better and in a way I’m sure her strange comments helped Felicity cope as she knew she has her support but it was still a really odd thing to say and I found it really funny. Hopefully she’ll still be in the show next episode.

 

The flashbacks were okay. I’m glad Katana’s back, she’s great and I enjoy the scenes with Oliver and Akio, it’s an endearing older brother type relationship and I am starting to care about the kid and I want him to be okay. They are setting up for something bad to happen and I will be sad if he is harmed in some way. However while I like the character interactions I’m not so keen on where the flashbacks are going. Last season they held real purpose with the history of Slade and setting up the plot in the present, in Hong Kong they’ve just been on the run for a while. I think they are setting something up which is going to be big but for now it does feel just like that, set up. I did like Shado’s sister though and I enjoyed her reaction to the news of her family’s death.

 

The other negative I have is a bit of a nit-pick but worth mentioning. I didn’t like Felicity’s reaction to Ray saying he loved her. Yes nit-picky and I sound like a girl watching a chic flick but I don’t see what the point of going through all the fun scenes was if she’s just going to awkwardly scuttle off. I mean damn it women is nothing good enough for you! All joking aside it did seem a little odd, she just saved his life, you’d think they’d be even closer now than before and last week she wanted to be his partner though his ATOM stuff or whatever it was.

 

Next episode will likely see what happens to Roy in prison. Supposedly someone is supposed to die and it seems like it will either be Roy or Quentin. It’s sad because both these characters are great but I still think Roy is more likely. Either way I loved this episode and cannot wait for next week. 

 

Pretentious and Proud

Pretentious and Proud

Last night I watched Oscar winning, classic Disney animation Beauty and the Beast for the first time. I had been told of this masterpiece and how I needed to view it now. So I sat down, I watched it and what did I think? A resounding meh. At first I thought I was just watching an overrated film but then I realised it may be my own pretentious nature setting in. Feeling very pretentious and pleased with myself that my standards are far more refined than Oscar winning animation I went with a friend today to watch SpongeBob Square Pants a Sponge out of Water. My refined standards spontaneously combusted as I not only enjoyed but laughed out loud multiple times throughout the film. Sure nostalgia played a role but why was I so pretentious about a high quality film but loved a random kid’s film that showed me what it would be like to be stoned?

 

The definition of the word pretentious is attempting to impress by affecting greater importance or merit than is actually possessed. Here’s the problem. I was not attempting to impress anyone with my opinions of these films, if I was my opinions would surely be switched around. But these are just two films, a very small sample. Maybe I should look deeper.

 

When you meet a new person and you hear them speak what kind of thoughts are going through your mind. What are the first few things you will often say after the typical greeting? I am a very dry individual so I often can’t help myself but use a bunch of witty and sarcastic humour. My friend meanwhile will be incredibly happy and bubbly and try to be as enjoyable as humanly possible. While all the happy makes me very sad it does point out that one of us is very accepting and friendly while the other is more reserved and pretentious.

 

Yes I am admitting I am pretty pretentious at times. When I sit with my large group of friends I interact in a witty and sarcastic way. Sarcasm in itself can be pretty damn pretentious. All comedy is based of misery, sarcasm in many ways simply put’s the user slightly above the victim for a brief moment in highlighting something they’ve done. To me it’s funny but many dislike it for being too pretentious which is understandable.

 

Being pretentious is kind of similar to pride. At times it seems both are necessary, just not too much. When you call someone pretentious you mean they are pretending to be more important than they are. Isn’t being more important one of life’s great goals for some of us. Some of us are happy being in the background but some of us want to be the very best (like no one ever was). Some of us want to be recognised, to be remembered. Some of us just want are born to strive to be better.

 

We all have that one friend. They’re a massive idiot and let’s face it … a bit of a cock. We know who they are and we know what they’re like but they’re our friends anyway. Why exactly? Because they’re the type of idiot who is very likeable along with it. The likeable idiot amongst us isn’t an idiot because they’re not smart, rather they’re an idiot for being pretentious. They’re pretentious because they became like that from their surroundings and they’re pretentious because they enjoy it. They see themselves as societies elite and why? I don’t know but who cares, they’re still a cock but your friend anyway!

 

Fellow pretentious people don’t let anyone stifle your natural ways. You carry on using unnecessarily long words, you carry on speaking metaphorically for no apparent reason. You carry on using wit and claiming you’re the comedic genius of the group and carry on claiming you’re the intelligent one of the family! Why? Because it’s who you are and what you are and if you’re like me you’re probably right anyway. After all, I am the genius of the family.