Oh, there was one more plot hole that needed raging over. If the robot had only decided to kill the Scarlet Witch that moment when he saw her with Quicksilver on the street, why on Earth did he have a DNA-seeking bullet solely designed to kill her with him?
He clearly planned her death way in advance to have gone to all the trouble of designing such a complicated weapon.
Calling it a "crime of passion" not only pointless, but insulting to the reader's intelligence.
Oooh, that was quite a twist. I was getting a little concerned about the lack of Mechakara in the more recent reviews (aside from the "He's counting down from (insert number divisible by 7 here)" at the end), but this made up for it. Sounds like Mechakara doesn't like the fans and reviews in general. I suspect the "Special Double Feature" is going to be a review-off between you and Mechakara, likely with a comic two-parter based on robots.
It's time. 7 months of suspense, chills, excitement and crazyness. (Seriously the theard on TGWTG's forum is creeping me out.(Nah! just kidding, it's charming with all the theories they are thinking of.)) Next week everything is finally being revealed in most action-packed episode of (Termintor theme music is playing.) AT4W!!!!!! But seriously though, my guess is that loud music is going to be played in the next episode and this episodes ending was a litte hard to hear you because of the music so next episode try to tone it down a bit.
So, this was me: "Ow, he burned his hands? That su- HEY WAAAAIIIT. :O "
Then the review progressed and I thought I was wrong and then WOW. It's a good thing no one else is home; my mother would not appreciate the words I shouted... XD
Great video; I can't wait for next week! :)
(Also: You need a better security system, man... Pollo makes a crappy guard. :P )
Not much of a series Ultimates 3 was. Oh well, at least it is over. However, another problem is on the rise! Linrobo or Mecha-Kara is coming! Save yourself Linkara!
Wait? What was the point of Spiderman? He appeared in issue 1 than they left him paralysed in the snow. He was even in the main cover of issue 1.
I choose to believe all events occuring after that were Spiderman's drug induced hallucinations, and that none of that really happened.
But in all seriousness, at what point did Marvel interprut maturity to be titties and blood? They took away Hawk-Eyes bows and arrows. Marvel Marvel Marvel, what would Stan Lee say if he saw you now.
I officially don't care anymore about the reviews I want to know what MechaLinkara is up to NOW!!!
On a site note: Wasn't it awfully nice of him to finish your review for you, so that you didn't have to? I bet that vacation was a lot better than reading/reviewing this ;)
Seriously, the Ultimate writers need to stop lying to themselves and have Hawkeye change his moniker to "Punisher". Or maybe "Bullseye".
And apparently there WAS a real Black Panther, but prior to Ultimates 3 Cap helped cover for him so he could escape and go home (apparently Nick Fury, being a total prick in Ultimate Marvel, wouldn't let him). That still doesn't explain how we saw Cap and BP standing together earlier in the series.
(Also: You need a better security system, man... Pollo makes a crappy guard. :P )"
Or maybe Pollo IS Mechakara, or at least in league with him. The ominous messages he's been spouting in the more recent reviews certainly seems like he's eager to see some sort of retribution mete out to Linkara by his evil robotic doppelganger.
Okay there are two sides to this review so two replies are required.
First Ultimates. This demonstrates to me why the British comic book industry is better than the senseless rambling Marvel and DC are coming up with these days. They read like sub standard fanfiction, with no editor and no real direction other than "hey this would be SO cool if..." We might be about as sane as an M. C. Esher painting but there is method in our madness.
On that note Mecha-Linkara has made his move. I suspect it wasn't his plan to reveal his existence just yet but he's more than able to make good his position. While I wasn't fooled by the gloves (which are great by the way) I thought he'd have captured our reviewing hero and begin a campaign of miss-information. Reviewing horrendous comics as good, his ultimate goal to ruin Linkara's reputation.
I guess my puny mind was far too limited to grasp the edges of his diabolical genius (it's best to suck up to our robotic overlords now while they still need us for the small things, best of all they have no concept of just how corny this plan is!)
Thomas
Special kudos for the use of Battlestar Galactica, both the classic Cylons and the theme at the end. That last bit fitted perfectly, did you have it in mind all the time?
Can I change my comment to BloodySharpie's? Because that's pretty much what I said XD
Also, I had a question about the comic itself. For whoever knows the continuity - which of the main characters turned out to actually be themselves? Seriously? And how much influence did this end up having on the continuity of other comics?
As soon as he/you showed the gloves I knew what was going to go down. And it was somehow even cooler than I thought it would be.
It's really amazing how you planned the Mecha-kara arc out so well over a period of about a year. Not many writers/producers have that sort of patience and willingness to execute this sort of long standing plot line. You really got people hooked and guessing what's going to happen next. It's been extremely well done. My hat off to you sir.
Pretty surprising ending Linkara! Yeah, I figured out it was you coming up the stairs. The idea of Doom being the main villian is almost as stupid as the "Promethem Exchange" from Excalibur a few years ago. Doom shows up at Excalibur's lighthouse and tricks Kitty into taking him to Magik's Limbo so he can gain control over the demons therein. I really hate Hawkeye! I mean I really, really hate him!
Wow, and I thought the series couldn't get any more crappier. This is why I only read Ultimate Spider-Man. The Ultimates are just knockoffs of Yougbloods.
Wait a minute... robot world conquest was the general plot of the Ultimates... and the Superman vs. Terminator comic had a similar concept... dear god... Linkara's been planning this out all this time!
Minute 3: nah maybe not... actually it would be very interesting to NOT be him and full us, besides to dont have and big clustereff cliffhanger thats probably why Linkara's doing a double feature on the 15th
During the review... nah its definetely him
Near end: epic rant/demanding questions in 30 second right there, he can really show emotions besides evil tones of voice (that where pretty obvious during the review)
Near reveal: mmm... so the reason of all this is coming almost clear
End: DAMN YOU CLIFFHANGER WITHOUT EVEN A SINGLE CREDIT!!!!
sorry to dont comment about the review itself but since i was hyped for the Mechakara finale i was more interested in that, thougth the review overall was really nice :D
When I saw Juggernaut's mono-eye, the first thing I thought was "Zaku."
But I can't wait to see the showdown between Linkara and Mecha-kara. Ties in pretty well with the "robot replacements" storyline in Ultimates 3 if you ask me.
Ahhh! Mechakara! You fiend! You fiend with awesome, awesome gloves!
On another note, I really liked the way Mech's dialogue was subtly different then Linkara's. It's hard to pick up on unless you're looking for it, but it really made the whole thing more fun. Also, am I the only one hoping for a Mechakara and Dr. Insano team-up?
Knew it was Mechakara right from the start, but I didn't expect that ending. O.O
All my theories about his motives may be out the window, but I still think I'm on to something. Guess we'll find out next week.
Also, being completely honest, when I saw the gloves and knew it was Mechakara, I just skipped right to the end. I was that excited to see what was going to happen next.
Wow . . . great use of the "Kara Remembers" music from Battlestar Galactica Season 4. . . It really creeped me out then . . . and again today but in a different way.
That ending was pure perfection. I was raising my hands in innocence. "But I'm not a comic fan! I just fell in love with the show!...Wait...oh...I'm an idiot." I CANNOT wait until next week!
Yo linkara With all this valkyrie in this comic it sums up to one question.
Why the hell is that name so prevelent in media?
Also here's a series that might lead to a few jokes
UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie
The manga isn't good but it's beautifully drawn, has likeable characters, and the plot is simple, fun, and entertainig. You can scans of the series on mangahelper.com but you might need someone to translate the damn thing.
I would love to hear what you think.
Your Liefeld hating fan, Anonymous
PS I recomend the anime. It's free for your viewing pleasure at veoh.com
Have you ever thought about talking about Malibu Comics, a now defunct comic brand that produced some of the best stuff in the Dark Ages when Liefeld's style was still popular? They weren't usually in the same style, but they were in that general era. Despite being ripoffs of existing properties at their core, the characters managed to maintain some originality. Also they make some of the most classically cheeseball (in a good way most of the time) stuff imaginable.
There was even a short-lived TV show called Ultraforce.
Marvel bought the company and all their characters and proceed to try and use them, but ended up screwing everything up and retiring them all to the ranks of the forgotten.
Ceramics have made great strides of late. (Chobham armor, for example.) Still, Magneto should have been able to interfere with their functioning...not because of their structural and armoring materials, but because his abilities can't be shielded against. Otherwise the dreaded tinfoil and TEMPEST combination would render him powerless, but he doesn't have to project through things, he can simply project on the other side of any effort to shield their circuitry. (At least, as far as I know.) Maybe optical computers? But then it's a power source and magnetize messes with it and oh screw this. It's plotholed.
MFlorian already made the other point I wanted to.
The Mechakara bit was extremely well-played. I wouldn't exactly call it subtle, it was fairly obvious something was different. But the difference was not something that you could easily nail down; you could not point to a specific action or phrase and go "that's not right" either. Even when the speech was going on at the end, you have on occasion gone to blame the readers jokingly or not-quite-jokingly before (Blue Beetle tribute) so I was still sitting here going "nah, it could STILL be really him, he'll say so in a moment..." I typically chuckle a little the whole amateur actor bit, but you laid out the episode to be just long enough and just enough like other performances that one can't nail down a specific wrongness before the end. That, sir, is the work of a master.
It's a good wrap-up. I thought the "One fish, two fish" joke was a little weak, but the--shall we say?--Chekovian reference to the DNA bullets as well as the drunken Stark impression brought everything right back up to speed. I'd like to see more "deep breath" stream of questionings at the end of videos; pure brilliance.
Also, you honestly had me fooled about Granny Goodness for a moment. Like you said, it wouldn't have surprised anyone.
LOL! Gotta admit, you had me going there with the 'burned hands' bit; I was actually thinking "Damn, he's really good to go on with the review like that" (having scorched my own fingers on a plate long ago, I know how bad even a little burn can hurt on the fingertips).
Also loved the long breath before listing the many problems with the comic :-)
Can't wait now for the "Ultimatum" review (sorry, had to say it ^_^).
I'm such an idiot. The part of my brain that enjoys "Two and a Half Men" literally thought to itself at the end of this episode "but... hey... what did the REAL Linkara think about Ultimates 3 #5?!"
Then I realized that's beyond "not the point", and I felt stupid.
For most of the review I was bordering between suspicion of the gloves and wondering whether I should be genuinely concerned for you. In the end, I'm glad you're okay and it really made for a wonderful sense of tension throughout the review. I also hope you realize how unlikely that whole sentence is, and what that says about your skills as an entertainer (i.e. you've done a fantastic job with this).
I am now addicted to that song at the end, by the way. Great pick.
Since when was Pyro a good guy? I mean, he was originally a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the comics AND the original cartoon AND X-Men Evolution, and yes, he was a good guy in the movies... or at least, MOST of X2, and then he did a face-heel turn! OK, yeah, he died a heroic death saving Senator Kelly in the comics, but the only reason it had any weight is BECAUSE he had spent most of his mutant career being EVIL!
... sorry about that. Just bugged me, was all. But hey, I'll notice gaffes like that, but completely miss the whole "gloves" thing until Mecha-Kara starts calling the audience jerks. So, take that as you will. Love the show! Keep it up!
I love the Mechakara plot, it's great to see you're taking the time to make your reviews something special! :D You're doing a great job, can't wait for the next installment...
Oh, and is there any explanation in the comic why Quicksilver couldn't just catch the bullets shot at his father like he tried with the one fired at the Scarlet Witch? Or why Magneto of all mutants would be susceptible to being shot with metallic bullets in the first place?
Although I'm pretty sure you've long ceased to care,the whole Captain America/Black Panther switcharoo was explained in the Ultimates annual #3 (or it might've been #2-- it was a oretty forgettable comic).
Er... So Doctor Doom is behind robots achieving sentience because Hank Pym couldn't possibly make robots who went out of control with overly complex, stupid, and consistently self-defeating arrogant plans? Because that really sounds EXACTLY like what Pym kept doing in Ultimates 1 and 2, so they sure seem like his robots. Although, admittedly, Ultimate Doom is a lot more of a loser than normal Doom, so I guess it seems like him, too. Or it would if they were Reed Richard's robots (has Ultimate Doom ever interacted with the Ultimates before now?).
What's really sad? They could have cleared up a bunch of plot holes by changing the robot's monologue towards the end. If he'd say killed Wanda on purpose because her reality warping powers were dangerous and couldn't be duplicated by robots then that'd clear at least three items (including one flashback) off of your list of things that needed questioning.
And Ultimate Thor pretty much is the only good thing in the Ultimates universe, you've got that right.
Only thing is - as soon as the gloves were mentioned the twist was given away - but it was carried out well regardless. Great work, and i'm envious of your ability to broadcast these - I've got a great collection of source material myself, and can be put into great impromptu conversations - but cant be bothered to edit or scriptwrite
Gloves kind of put me a little off. The voice during the comic review made me even more suspicious when you sound darker than usual. Your rant made me 100% sure that it was Mechakara, so you left for a vacation after Ultimates 3 #3 and 4? Or did Mechakara ran the whole comic series?
I know why they had the wolvie flash back. This is just a theory maybe they where hinting that the Scarlet Witch might have been wolvies daughter making quick silvers and scarlets relationship less ickey
If not then Loeb was just copy that one epp of lost in the first season, when you found out that brother and sister shared some passion together. During a flash back scene
If anyone's theorized this before, my apologies. I have not read any other Mechakara theories. My Mechakara theory is as follows:
Linkara's fanbase sometime in the future drove him to insanity and he attempted to commit suicide. He saved by way of advanced cybernetics, but still steaming with insane anger and a bit of remorse, he hijacked a time machine to go to the past and kill his former self before the time of his disillusionment came.
Or:
Linkara went insane for the same reasons as above, but instead of committing suicide he became a Doctor Insano-like mad scientist and sent a robot duplicate back in time to kill himself for the same reasons as in version 1 of this theory.
--Please forward: You didn't fool me for one second, Mechakara! You're going down! You hear me? DOWN!--
My God, you know this story's a winner when I've got my first Saturday off in three or four months, and I can't wait until it's over! You can take him, Lewis! We're all rooting for you!
I think it's fairly obvious what's going on here. Mechakara is a robot dublicate created by Dr. Insano to replace Linkara. But Dr. Insano is not the true mastermind behind this plot. No he's just another pawn the true villain, the greatest evil the world has ever known is
Wow. A lot of completely trivial things were given air time (and screaming) in the main body of the review, with the legitimate problems glossed over in the end... huh.
Does anyone else feel like Mechakara has a point with his rant at the end?
Think about it: even without the extreme trolls that bitch and complain about virtually ANYTHING that is said about a particular object, person, or medium, there are lots of people who blindly and willfully accept the opinions of a professional or popular authority - even if it's an unofficial authority like an internet reviewer - as the truth and take it to heart without question; or, if that individual likes the franchise being discussed, would consider the negative review to be blasphemy and demand an apology from the reviewer or leave altogether.
Take the AVGN, for example; despite later admitting that he didn't think the game was that bad, and that the video was more to poke fun at Castlevania fanboys, most people still took his review of Simon's Quest as his honest opinion on the game, and accepted it as an accurate portrayal of the quality of the game, many I'm betting without even playing the game or knowing what it was.
Or how about Film Brain? He got a lot of flak for his negative review of Equilibrium, just because he had dared to voice his dislike for a movie that had a cult following. They didn't care that it was just his opinion, and he wasn't trying to berate anyone who likes it. He even acknowledges that the review was controversial, and tried to request for some leniency from the fans.
I myself have come across this phenomenon when I tried my hand at amateur text reviews, the most memorable to me - a review of the original Fable for X-Box, and a review of Star Wars Episode III - being criticized with little evidence for following the "hype" more than being an honest to goodness review...even though the former review I hadn't learned about the negative hype surrounding it until I was halfway through the game, and had already formed an opinion of it based on hands-on experience, and the latter I had seen before it even came out in theaters thanks to some sneaky torrenting on a friend's part, and walked into the movie with opimism, both points I tried in vain to explain to the criticizers.
What ultimately drives this mentality home that opinions are rendered stone-cold irrefutable and must be taken at face value, ignoring any concept of "irony", "humor" or "sarcasm"? What makes the diehard fans cling so tightly to the empty promises of the creators of a franchise, when it's been clear for quite a while that the quality of said franchise either is in major decline or was never there to begin with, and is not going to improve, anytime soon? Who really is to blame for so many bad comics, movies, TV shows, books, and games to come out: the people who worked on it, for not putting in the effort needed to make it good, or the fans for gobbling it up regardless of the quality, encouraging the dev. team to continue to pump out the same garbage over and over again without change? It really makes you stop to think about how much fan feedback actually impacts the future content we get.
Great review. though i totally saw the ending, the gloves gave it away. was very subtle though. great job.
perhaps it was coincidence, but i think a certain other reviewer is dropping (a) subtle hint(s) in regaurds to the situation. *cough*spoony*cough*
also to the guy above me, you are right. mechakara is on to somthing in regaurds to that last commentary he did. though he is still EVIL so therefore he is wrong, and we should blindly listen to reviews and follow the commands of our internet masters.
(i wisj to apologise for my poor grammer and spelling, never was my best subject, and my keyboard is wearing out.)
Aran, that's a cliche that I'm sure Linkara hates as much as the next comic fan. The concept that, because he's evil, we should not believe anything the villain says or sympathize with him is as old as the Bible, and I don't think Linkara would want to use such an obvious cliche in his skits.
Villains can be just as valid in their arguments and sympathetic as heroes can be, and that's what makes intriguing villains so memorable: that moral complexity gives them a depth that they might not have had if they were Snidely Whiplash. Take, for example, the Sonic comics: recently, its current head writer, Ian Flynn, wrote a subplot involving Eggman where, after being beaten by Sonic for the umpteenth time, goes cripplingly insane instead of merely retreating to swear the hedgehog's defeat, another day. It stunned both audiences and Sonic, as Sonic himself had admitted there was nothing different he did to beat Eggman, this time, that he did, every other time; it got worse when Snively explained that Eggman was still a brilliant inventor and strategist, and his insanity came about through his inability to figure out why he couldn't defeat Sonic (which makes more sense when you consider this Eggman is actually from another dimension where he handily defeated his version of Sonic, and except for some personality differences, every version of a character from every "Zone" in the Sonic multiverse all have similar powers, strengths, weaknesses, and lives, meaning there wouldn't be much alteration to the strategies used to beat one version of a character when facing off against another). As a result of this revelation, Sonic went into a funk and started treating Eggman with more sympathy and gentleness. If written by a good writer, it could've been an awesome bit of character development for both Sonic and Eggman, and made a poignant example of Nietzsche's theory of "he who fights monsters". However, since it was written by Ian Flynn, nothing came of it, and whatever poignancy could've come from it is immediately undercut by the fact that every OTHER person Sonic talked to - including his ex Sally and his best friend Tails - falls into the "he's evil, so he's bad and wrong and not to be sympathized with" cliche, and attempts to push that philosophy on Sonic, despite the obvious turmoil he's in over it.
Strawman villains just don't make the best reading material; being a one-note bad guy with little personal backstory or purpose beyond "commit evil", doesn't hook the readers or make them care about the heroes defeating him. The reason I think the Mechakara storyline is so popular, is because - while we won't fully know his purpose or plans until next week - we're given little hints throughout the way that suggests connections between him, Linkara, and other characters, and allow us to speculate on them. it's like the noodle incident in Calvin and Hobbes; we're given just enough information to intrigue us with what's really going on, but not enough to get the full impact of it until it's time. And I think the argument Mechakara gave in this review is a big hint to his plans or mentality; there's been various hints that he wants to replace Linkara, that he hates Linkara for the abuse of his machines like Pollo and the continuity alarm, etc. but it's always been speculated as to why this is, with most of the theories I've heard being about Linkara's or Mechakara's hatred/insanity over all of the bad comics they had to review, and how fan ignorance and willful blind following of corporate press continues to pump out those bad comics at the expense of the good ones, and this rant seems to at least partially confirm that. Anyone remember his frustration over the continuous cancellations of the Blue Beetle comics during his review of them? Or his irritation of having to do a "holiday shopper's guide", when he didn't feel he needed to? There seems to be a very thick undercurrent of rage and resentment over stuff like this, and Mechakara seems to be expressing that rage and resentment here.
So, yeah, just because he's the villain, doesn't mean he doesn't have a point.
"Or how about Film Brain? He got a lot of flak for his negative review of Equilibrium, just because he had dared to voice his dislike for a movie that had a cult following. They didn't care that it was just his opinion, and he wasn't trying to berate anyone who likes it. He even acknowledges that the review was controversial, and tried to request for some leniency from the fans."
I see your point but still, it seems a tiny bit hypocritical for Film Brain (or any critic really) to bash on something a lot of people like and then get upset when those same people get mad at him for it.
Sure his review was just his opinion, but then again, aren't those negative emails and comments he got for it just someone else's opinion? It seems a bit disingenuous for a critic to expect his fans to respect his opinion but then get bent out of shape because of someone else's opinion.
And really, the only reason (IMO) that Film Brain got so much flak for the Equilibrium review is because of how he framed it. The tone of his review went something like this: "Why the Hell does anyone actually LIKE this movie?! IT'S CRAP!!" The way he said it, it made it sound like he was specifically dumping on the fans of Equilibrium. Like he was taking them to task for having opinions that differ from his own. I'm sure that wasn't his intention, but speaking as a fan of Equilibrium (though NOT one of the ones who wrote nasty emails about the review) that is what it sounded like.
Yeah i agree in regaurds to the complexity, and stability of villains. I was mainly just makeing a joke. Though i'm not a comic reader, I think the most complex villain i know of at the moment would be johan, From a manga series called monster.
Most villains i find interesting have the mentality that what they are doing is right, Justified and Heroic. The devil himself sees God as a tyrant, And himself as the truely pure one, If you want a blunt example.
Hey Linkara can I ask something? In the near future will you do any videos about Todd McFarlene particulary Spawn? You can't talk about 90's comics without mentioning Spawn.
"Seriously though why did captin America dress as Black Panther does BP even exist in ultimate cannon?"
According to Wikipedia, yes, Ultimate Black Panther does exist. He was scouted by the Ultimates and mentored by Captain America for a while, but then he decides he wants to come home so Cap puts on the Black Panther disguise so no one will realize he's gone.
And no I don't know why that was at all necessary.
Linkara, I was just watching a few of your old videos on TGWTG and I was wondering if you could for an episode, go through the defining moments of the Ages of Comic books.
I am not a big comic reader (Sadly all the action, text and images causes my head and OCD to implode) but I am interested in what makes each comic age distinct and good/bad. . . .
I feel kinda bad in that I immediately knew it was Mechkara. Why? Because just after you talked about your sensitive hands, you tapped your fingers together pretty strongly - too strongly for someone claiming to be suffering plate-induced burns. I knew something was up. It also seemed a bit weird to call attention to it as you did, rather than address it in the credits so as not to distract too much from the review.
OR... it was an incredibly subtle way to show that, no, things weren't all they seemed after all, planting the seeds of doubt early on! Yeah, that must be it...
"Ya know, you coulda just shot him."
I laughed out loud at that part.
"Open File: You Are An Idiot"
FILE. NOT. FOUND.
There's something else I'd like to address: the idea of "non-Metallic Alloys". Either they meant non-MAGNETIC alloys, or non-metallic PARTS. There's no way they could be non-metallic alloys, because YOU CANNOT GET NON-METALLIC ALLOYS! By its very definition, an alloy is a composite of two or more METALS! Don't these idiots know anything about science!?!
What's hilarious is the robots could easily have been made of non-MAGNETIC alloys, since there are metals out there that could feasibly be used in the construction of robots: aluminium, lead, tungsten, platinum, silver, gold. Would have been THAT difficult to use some of those metals, instead of coming up with this "non-metal alloy" nonsense?
Also, in the Big Diatribe of Unanswered Questions, you missed out one thing: what was the point of Quickwitch anyway? The robot could've realised that SW would never be with it because it was a robot as opposed to being in love with Quickie, and the story would've been no different! In fact, it makes it MORE stupid, since it could've killed Quicksilver instead! Again, absolutely no reason to turn Quicksilver and Witch into incestuous creeps other than "shock value."
...Wait, the robot Pym said his murder of the Scarlet Witch was a "crime of passion". Crimes of passion happen spontaneously, with little forethought or premeditation to them. The designer bullet he used and the long diatribe he went on about how long he had waited to get it done clearly shows he had premeditated the murder. You'd think that, being a robot designed for military use by a superhero team, he'd have a better idea of what the legal definitions for crimes are.
In a couple of panels in this comic you can see the f word obscured as a bunch of symbols. I have to admit I'm kind of stick in the mud myself and I am not a huge fan of the f word, but having accidentally found the panel that explains Linkara's horrified expression way back in the review of Issues 1 and 2 when Blob tells Wasp he's gonna "eat her up" ... all I can say is, "Really, comic? Really?!" Did anyone honestly think that there were people in the world who could handle that bit of horrific, detailed depravity, complete with sick joke, but would be offended by the f word?
Two notes: 1. I'm actually going to defend Jeff Loeb in exactly ONE instance: I agree that it makes more sense for the robot to shoot the Scarlet Witch rather than Quicksilver. I've studied criminology and criminal behavior for a few years, and for a certain type of offender, the mentality becomes "If I can't have her, no one can." Basically, agression isn't directed at the rival, but at the object of affection; it's a question of control and dominance. You can still raise the question of "why would the robot have this mentality," but it does make sense to me from a psychology perspective. The comic is still crap, but that one tiny bit works for me.
2. Your acting in this episode was absolutely superb. You managed to be your usual Linkara self, but there were these very subtle moments when Mechakara shone through just a bit. Initially I was put off by the gloves, wondering whether this was a ploy or whether you'd actually hurt yourself, but really--the fact that I wasn't sure just points to your strengths. This was a great end to the Ultimates 3 arc as well as a great setup to the big Mechakara confrontation. Bravo, sir.
After reading that one guy's post, and remembering the rant I realized Mechakara does have a point with the some people tending to follow popular opinion and take things at face value part
Loved your review/beatdown on Ultimates 3. As much as I liked the first two Ultimates series, I think I agree that Ultimates 3 was one of the worst Marvel comics ever. Of course, Ultimates 3 is nowhere as bad and completely horrible as the comic it would lead to: ULTIMATUM. We await the inevitable beatdown on Ultimatum.
Wait a sec, let me see if I've got this straight. A scientist creates a robot that turns against him and kills him, and then decides to replace mankind with robot versions of the exact same people?
You know it's bad when something has to rip-off "Pokemon The First Movie" for story ideas. >__>
I know it's kind of a long time in the past to be asking a trivial question like this, but I need to sate my curiosity: Since there's no credits at the end of this video like in your others, what is that final bit of music playing during your run in with Mechakara? It's awesome, and I'd like to find it for myself once I've got a name.
"I know it's kind of a long time in the past to be asking a trivial question like this, but I need to sate my curiosity: Since there's no credits at the end of this video like in your others, what is that final bit of music playing during your run in with Mechakara? It's awesome, and I'd like to find it for myself once I've got a name."
The credits are actually included at the end of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #1 review, but since you asked, it's "March of the Cybermen." ^_^
""I know it's kind of a long time in the past to be asking a trivial question like this, but I need to sate my curiosity: Since there's no credits at the end of this video like in your others, what is that final bit of music playing during your run in with Mechakara? It's awesome, and I'd like to find it for myself once I've got a name."
Oops! Confused this one with the next one. XD The song is called "Kara Remembers" from Battlestar Galactica.
I just thought of something today. What if the reason Ultron killed the Scarlet Witch was because he knew that since she was in love with someone else, she cold never love him, and ths killed her in a 'i I can't have her, no one can' type thing. Why he didn't also kill Quicksilver while he could, or even kill him first in then try to sway her before resorting to murdering her, I'm not sure. I sudn flare of the synopces just found some logic in his action, I don't think we can ask for any more than that.
ultimatum, the ultiamte failure. the ultiamte universe was created in order to lure people into the comic book world, and this probably has kept a lot of people outside of it.
i would still support the idea of a new variation of the marvel or dc universe, so long as it was actually.... well, good. planned out at least, and avoided just killing a hcaracter for no god damned reason. like this series.
i would lvoe to see a different story for the teen titans personally, with some things added to it a bit. new, actually thought out, factors that give way to new possible storylines. sighs, if only.
cool cover. Like I realize it's just the Avengers standing there all grimacing, but I can't help but like the dynamic and layout of it. They look united and strong.
Does anyone remember when Doctor Doom used to be a cool villain?
ReplyDeleteOH MY GOD, MECHA-KARA! I officially can't wait until next week!
Awesome job.
ReplyDeleteOh, there was one more plot hole that needed raging over. If the robot had only decided to kill the Scarlet Witch that moment when he saw her with Quicksilver on the street, why on Earth did he have a DNA-seeking bullet solely designed to kill her with him?
He clearly planned her death way in advance to have gone to all the trouble of designing such a complicated weapon.
Calling it a "crime of passion" not only pointless, but insulting to the reader's intelligence.
Oooh, that was quite a twist. I was getting a little concerned about the lack of Mechakara in the more recent reviews (aside from the "He's counting down from (insert number divisible by 7 here)" at the end), but this made up for it. Sounds like Mechakara doesn't like the fans and reviews in general. I suspect the "Special Double Feature" is going to be a review-off between you and Mechakara, likely with a comic two-parter based on robots.
ReplyDeleteIt's time. 7 months of suspense, chills, excitement and crazyness. (Seriously the theard on TGWTG's forum is creeping me out.(Nah! just kidding, it's charming with all the theories they are thinking of.)) Next week everything is finally being revealed in most action-packed episode of (Termintor theme music is playing.) AT4W!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteBut seriously though, my guess is that loud music is going to be played in the next episode and this episodes ending was a litte hard to hear you because of the music so next episode try to tone it down a bit.
So If Captain America was Black Panther then how are they both on the cover?
ReplyDeleteI've got to ask, which movie or tv show is the end music from?
ReplyDeleteSo, this was me: "Ow, he burned his hands? That su- HEY WAAAAIIIT. :O "
ReplyDeleteThen the review progressed and I thought I was wrong and then WOW. It's a good thing no one else is home; my mother would not appreciate the words I shouted... XD
Great video; I can't wait for next week! :)
(Also: You need a better security system, man... Pollo makes a crappy guard. :P )
Remember when Marvel writers used to portray Dr. Doom as, y'know, a VILLAIN? Because everyone seems to be siding with Doom over Richards nowadays
ReplyDeleteI am disappointed in comic fans.
Mecha-kara. It's not us that's responsible for Ultimates 3. It's.....Granny Goodness! :0
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the next episode.
That rant in one breath was fantastic!
ReplyDeleteNot much of a series Ultimates 3 was. Oh well, at least it is over. However, another problem is on the rise! Linrobo or Mecha-Kara is coming! Save yourself Linkara!
ReplyDeleteWait? What was the point of Spiderman? He appeared in issue 1 than they left him paralysed in the snow. He was even in the main cover of issue 1.
ReplyDeleteI choose to believe all events occuring after that were Spiderman's drug induced hallucinations, and that none of that really happened.
But in all seriousness, at what point did Marvel interprut maturity to be titties and blood? They took away Hawk-Eyes bows and arrows. Marvel Marvel Marvel, what would Stan Lee say if he saw you now.
I officially don't care anymore about the reviews I want to know what MechaLinkara is up to NOW!!!
ReplyDeleteOn a site note: Wasn't it awfully nice of him to finish your review for you, so that you didn't have to?
I bet that vacation was a lot better than reading/reviewing this ;)
And yet Jeph Loeb is still writing at Marvel after Ultimatum. Why!!! He probably blackmailing Joe Quesada to continue writing his garbage at Marvel.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, the Ultimate writers need to stop lying to themselves and have Hawkeye change his moniker to "Punisher". Or maybe "Bullseye".
ReplyDeleteAnd apparently there WAS a real Black Panther, but prior to Ultimates 3 Cap helped cover for him so he could escape and go home (apparently Nick Fury, being a total prick in Ultimate Marvel, wouldn't let him). That still doesn't explain how we saw Cap and BP standing together earlier in the series.
BEST. ENDING. EVER!!
ReplyDeleteYou somehow managed to make me laugh my head off and also get seriously creeped out at the same time.
Next week had better be epic good sir, so don't let us down!
"JeanJacket said...
ReplyDelete(Also: You need a better security system, man... Pollo makes a crappy guard. :P )"
Or maybe Pollo IS Mechakara, or at least in league with him. The ominous messages he's been spouting in the more recent reviews certainly seems like he's eager to see some sort of retribution mete out to Linkara by his evil robotic doppelganger.
@SynjoDeonecros
ReplyDeleteI'll bet Burton is secretly in on it, too.
I think this is one of your best episodes
ReplyDeleteVery nicely done with the ending.
ReplyDeleteWas that the Battlestar, All Along the Watchtower at the end? Or was that just me wanting to hear it?
Can't wait till next week!!
Dun Dun DUH!!!!!! So wait a sec, they're saying that "Ultron" was made to be sentient by Dr. Doom? Even though he was no where in sight? The hell?
ReplyDeleteHOLYSHITYESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete*cough cough* I'm calm now. :D
Okay there are two sides to this review so two replies are required.
ReplyDeleteFirst Ultimates. This demonstrates to me why the British comic book industry is better than the senseless rambling Marvel and DC are coming up with these days. They read like sub standard fanfiction, with no editor and no real direction other than "hey this would be SO cool if..." We might be about as sane as an M. C. Esher painting but there is method in our madness.
On that note Mecha-Linkara has made his move. I suspect it wasn't his plan to reveal his existence just yet but he's more than able to make good his position. While I wasn't fooled by the gloves (which are great by the way) I thought he'd have captured our reviewing hero and begin a campaign of miss-information. Reviewing horrendous comics as good, his ultimate goal to ruin Linkara's reputation.
I guess my puny mind was far too limited to grasp the edges of his diabolical genius (it's best to suck up to our robotic overlords now while they still need us for the small things, best of all they have no concept of just how corny this plan is!)
Thomas
Special kudos for the use of Battlestar Galactica, both the classic Cylons and the theme at the end. That last bit fitted perfectly, did you have it in mind all the time?
Can I change my comment to BloodySharpie's? Because that's pretty much what I said XD
ReplyDeleteAlso, I had a question about the comic itself. For whoever knows the continuity - which of the main characters turned out to actually be themselves? Seriously? And how much influence did this end up having on the continuity of other comics?
As soon as he/you showed the gloves I knew what was going to go down. And it was somehow even cooler than I thought it would be.
ReplyDeleteIt's really amazing how you planned the Mecha-kara arc out so well over a period of about a year. Not many writers/producers have that sort of patience and willingness to execute this sort of long standing plot line. You really got people hooked and guessing what's going to happen next. It's been extremely well done. My hat off to you sir.
No wonder he knew what a drunken robot sounded like
ReplyDeletePretty surprising ending Linkara! Yeah, I figured out it was you coming up the stairs. The idea of Doom being the main villian is almost as stupid as the "Promethem Exchange" from Excalibur a few years ago. Doom shows up at Excalibur's lighthouse and tricks Kitty into taking him to Magik's Limbo so he can gain control over the demons therein. I really hate Hawkeye! I mean I really, really hate him!
ReplyDeleteWow, and I thought the series couldn't get any more crappier. This is why I only read Ultimate Spider-Man. The Ultimates are just knockoffs of Yougbloods.
ReplyDeleteHawkeye=Shaft
Is it a coincidence that Spoony was wearing his black lantern ring today in his review of Captain America?
ReplyDeleteWait a minute... robot world conquest was the general plot of the Ultimates... and the Superman vs. Terminator comic had a similar concept... dear god... Linkara's been planning this out all this time!
ReplyDeleteMinute one: OMG ITS HIM!!!
ReplyDeleteMinute 3: nah maybe not... actually it would be very interesting to NOT be him and full us, besides to dont have and big clustereff cliffhanger thats probably why Linkara's doing a double feature on the 15th
During the review... nah its definetely him
Near end: epic rant/demanding questions in 30 second right there, he can really show emotions besides evil tones of voice (that where pretty obvious during the review)
Near reveal: mmm... so the reason of all this is coming almost clear
End: DAMN YOU CLIFFHANGER WITHOUT EVEN A SINGLE CREDIT!!!!
sorry to dont comment about the review itself but since i was hyped for the Mechakara finale i was more interested in that, thougth the review overall was really nice :D
DAMN YOU 1 WEEK CLIFFHANGER!!!!!!!!!!
...Can't sleep, evil robot doppelganger will get me...Can't sleep, evil robot doppelganger will get me...
ReplyDeleteNo seriously, that speech at the end sent chills down my spine. I'm gonna go hide now...
When I saw Juggernaut's mono-eye, the first thing I thought was "Zaku."
ReplyDeleteBut I can't wait to see the showdown between Linkara and Mecha-kara. Ties in pretty well with the "robot replacements" storyline in Ultimates 3 if you ask me.
Ahhh! Mechakara! You fiend! You fiend with awesome, awesome gloves!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, I really liked the way Mech's dialogue was subtly different then Linkara's. It's hard to pick up on unless you're looking for it, but it really made the whole thing more fun. Also, am I the only one hoping for a Mechakara and Dr. Insano team-up?
@Chelsea
ReplyDeleteNo. No, you are not... :D
Two words regarding non-metallic materials for the robots:
ReplyDelete"Carbon-fiber"
@JeanJacket
ReplyDeleteIt would be fantastic. Mechakara's evil and competence combined with Dr. Insano's insanity means they'll easily take over the world...with SCIENCE!
Saw Mecha-Kara from a mile away. Awesome usage of All Along the Watchtower Reprise.
ReplyDeleteKnew it was Mechakara right from the start, but I didn't expect that ending. O.O
ReplyDeleteAll my theories about his motives may be out the window, but I still think I'm on to something. Guess we'll find out next week.
Also, being completely honest, when I saw the gloves and knew it was Mechakara, I just skipped right to the end. I was that excited to see what was going to happen next.
@Chelsea
ReplyDeleteNot by a longshot.
I fucking knew it was Mechakara! I am good at this.
ReplyDeleteLewis, you clever bastard, you've been planning this shit all along.
I'll be sad when the arc is over. But then again, any episode that promises a Lewis vs. Lewis fight scene is hardly a disappointment.
I'll need to stock up on popcorn for next week.
I don't usually post but I had to today!
ReplyDeleteWow . . . great use of the "Kara Remembers" music from Battlestar Galactica Season 4. . . It really creeped me out then . . . and again today but in a different way.
Great job, Linkara!
That ending was pure perfection. I was raising my hands in innocence. "But I'm not a comic fan! I just fell in love with the show!...Wait...oh...I'm an idiot." I CANNOT wait until next week!
ReplyDeleteI knew something was up when I saw you with gloves on :P
ReplyDeleteGreat review, man.
Yo linkara
ReplyDeleteWith all this valkyrie in this comic it sums up to one question.
Why the hell is that name so prevelent in media?
Also here's a series that might lead to a few jokes
UFO Ultramaiden Valkyrie
The manga isn't good but it's beautifully drawn, has
likeable characters, and the plot is simple, fun, and entertainig. You can scans of the series on mangahelper.com but you might need someone to translate the damn thing.
I would love to hear what you think.
Your Liefeld hating fan,
Anonymous
PS I recomend the anime. It's free for your viewing pleasure at veoh.com
God bless Kira Vincent-Davis
You gave me a heart attack after you mentioned Granny Goodness!
ReplyDeleteohh and I knew you couldn't have burnt yourself with the oven I hope...
Have you ever thought about talking about Malibu Comics, a now defunct comic brand that produced some of the best stuff in the Dark Ages when Liefeld's style was still popular? They weren't usually in the same style, but they were in that general era. Despite being ripoffs of existing properties at their core, the characters managed to maintain some originality. Also they make some of the most classically cheeseball (in a good way most of the time) stuff imaginable.
ReplyDeleteThere was even a short-lived TV show called Ultraforce.
Marvel bought the company and all their characters and proceed to try and use them, but ended up screwing everything up and retiring them all to the ranks of the forgotten.
You can get the comics pretty cheap on ebay.
Nice BSG reference at the end!
ReplyDeleteCeramics have made great strides of late. (Chobham armor, for example.) Still, Magneto should have been able to interfere with their functioning...not because of their structural and armoring materials, but because his abilities can't be shielded against. Otherwise the dreaded tinfoil and TEMPEST combination would render him powerless, but he doesn't have to project through things, he can simply project on the other side of any effort to shield their circuitry. (At least, as far as I know.) Maybe optical computers? But then it's a power source and magnetize messes with it and oh screw this. It's plotholed.
ReplyDeleteMFlorian already made the other point I wanted to.
The Mechakara bit was extremely well-played. I wouldn't exactly call it subtle, it was fairly obvious something was different. But the difference was not something that you could easily nail down; you could not point to a specific action or phrase and go "that's not right" either. Even when the speech was going on at the end, you have on occasion gone to blame the readers jokingly or not-quite-jokingly before (Blue Beetle tribute) so I was still sitting here going "nah, it could STILL be really him, he'll say so in a moment..." I typically chuckle a little the whole amateur actor bit, but you laid out the episode to be just long enough and just enough like other performances that one can't nail down a specific wrongness before the end. That, sir, is the work of a master.
Bravo.
Best jokes this episode:
ReplyDelete"Stumpy the Mutant" and "I'm the Motherf@#$%%!"
It's sad that the Ultimates fell apart like this. I remember liking the first one but this? it's just one confusing mess.
It's a good wrap-up. I thought the "One fish, two fish" joke was a little weak, but the--shall we say?--Chekovian reference to the DNA bullets as well as the drunken Stark impression brought everything right back up to speed. I'd like to see more "deep breath" stream of questionings at the end of videos; pure brilliance.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you honestly had me fooled about Granny Goodness for a moment. Like you said, it wouldn't have surprised anyone.
LOL!
ReplyDeleteGotta admit, you had me going there with the 'burned hands' bit; I was actually thinking "Damn, he's really good to go on with the review like that" (having scorched my own fingers on a plate long ago, I know how bad even a little burn can hurt on the fingertips).
Also loved the long breath before listing the many problems with the comic :-)
Can't wait now for the "Ultimatum" review (sorry, had to say it ^_^).
GREAT REVIEW
ReplyDeleteit was funny throughout.
and the ends fan abuse was classic.
i agree thors badass hes like a dc character at marvel.
whens miller time?
I'm such an idiot. The part of my brain that enjoys "Two and a Half Men" literally thought to itself at the end of this episode "but... hey... what did the REAL Linkara think about Ultimates 3 #5?!"
ReplyDeleteThen I realized that's beyond "not the point", and I felt stupid.
Awesome review man. I love your stuff.
For most of the review I was bordering between suspicion of the gloves and wondering whether I should be genuinely concerned for you. In the end, I'm glad you're okay and it really made for a wonderful sense of tension throughout the review. I also hope you realize how unlikely that whole sentence is, and what that says about your skills as an entertainer (i.e. you've done a fantastic job with this).
ReplyDeleteI am now addicted to that song at the end, by the way. Great pick.
Linkara, you evil, cliff-hanger-dangling, magnificent son of a bitch.
ReplyDeleteUm... can I just mention something?
ReplyDeleteSince when was Pyro a good guy? I mean, he was originally a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants in the comics AND the original cartoon AND X-Men Evolution, and yes, he was a good guy in the movies... or at least, MOST of X2, and then he did a face-heel turn! OK, yeah, he died a heroic death saving Senator Kelly in the comics, but the only reason it had any weight is BECAUSE he had spent most of his mutant career being EVIL!
... sorry about that. Just bugged me, was all. But hey, I'll notice gaffes like that, but completely miss the whole "gloves" thing until Mecha-Kara starts calling the audience jerks. So, take that as you will. Love the show! Keep it up!
It was certainly a nice spinoff Can't wait for the next week
ReplyDeleteI love the Mechakara plot, it's great to see you're taking the time to make your reviews something special! :D
ReplyDeleteYou're doing a great job, can't wait for the next installment...
Oh, and is there any explanation in the comic why Quicksilver couldn't just catch the bullets shot at his father like he tried with the one fired at the Scarlet Witch? Or why Magneto of all mutants would be susceptible to being shot with metallic bullets in the first place?
"Since when was Pyro a good guy? "
ReplyDeleteAs numerous people pointed out to me in the comments of the previous one, Pyro in Ultimate X-Men is a good guy through and through.
So are this music credits 'n such going to be in the next video?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm pretty sure you've long ceased to care,the whole Captain America/Black Panther switcharoo was explained in the Ultimates annual #3 (or it might've been #2-- it was a oretty forgettable comic).
ReplyDeleteUltimately funny review ! Ultimately awesome cliffhanger ! Ultimately creepy robot laugh !
ReplyDeleteAlso, that ending music sounds familiar...is it the same LittleKuriboh used for the episode where Melvin appears ? If so, kudos for the reference.
@Lewis Lovhaug
ReplyDeletePyro also reformed shortly before his death in the comics. Humorously, he died shortly after saving Senator Kelly.
What're you doing taking a vacation in the middle of a three-part review?
ReplyDeleteI must admit that you tricked me with the glove thing. And the ending gave me the goosebumps, so good job.
Hahahaha, "Stumpy." Love it!
ReplyDeleteEr... So Doctor Doom is behind robots achieving sentience because Hank Pym couldn't possibly make robots who went out of control with overly complex, stupid, and consistently self-defeating arrogant plans?
ReplyDeleteBecause that really sounds EXACTLY like what Pym kept doing in Ultimates 1 and 2, so they sure seem like his robots. Although, admittedly, Ultimate Doom is a lot more of a loser than normal Doom, so I guess it seems like him, too. Or it would if they were Reed Richard's robots (has Ultimate Doom ever interacted with the Ultimates before now?).
What's really sad? They could have cleared up a bunch of plot holes by changing the robot's monologue towards the end. If he'd say killed Wanda on purpose because her reality warping powers were dangerous and couldn't be duplicated by robots then that'd clear at least three items (including one flashback) off of your list of things that needed questioning.
And Ultimate Thor pretty much is the only good thing in the Ultimates universe, you've got that right.
Only thing is - as soon as the gloves were mentioned the twist was given away - but it was carried out well regardless. Great work, and i'm envious of your ability to broadcast these - I've got a great collection of source material myself, and can be put into great impromptu conversations - but cant be bothered to edit or scriptwrite
ReplyDeleteGloves kind of put me a little off. The voice during the comic review made me even more suspicious when you sound darker than usual. Your rant made me 100% sure that it was Mechakara, so you left for a vacation after Ultimates 3 #3 and 4? Or did Mechakara ran the whole comic series?
ReplyDeleteI know why they had the wolvie flash back. This is just a theory maybe they where hinting that the Scarlet Witch might have been wolvies daughter making quick silvers and scarlets relationship less ickey
ReplyDeleteIf not then Loeb was just copy that one epp of lost in the first season, when you found out that brother and sister shared some passion together. During a flash back scene
great video!! cant wait to see this battle of the linkaras!!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone's theorized this before, my apologies. I have not read any other Mechakara theories. My Mechakara theory is as follows:
ReplyDeleteLinkara's fanbase sometime in the future drove him to insanity and he attempted to commit suicide. He saved by way of advanced cybernetics, but still steaming with insane anger and a bit of remorse, he hijacked a time machine to go to the past and kill his former self before the time of his disillusionment came.
Or:
Linkara went insane for the same reasons as above, but instead of committing suicide he became a Doctor Insano-like mad scientist and sent a robot duplicate back in time to kill himself for the same reasons as in version 1 of this theory.
I don't think you did it right....there is a severe lack of trolls linkara.
ReplyDelete--Please forward: You didn't fool me for one second, Mechakara! You're going down! You hear me? DOWN!--
ReplyDeleteMy God, you know this story's a winner when I've got my first Saturday off in three or four months, and I can't wait until it's over! You can take him, Lewis! We're all rooting for you!
--Please forward: EAT DRAGON DAGGER, MECHAKARA!--
So, who's taking the bets?
@Elzarynn
ReplyDeleteI'm betting he uses the Power Rangers Morphing toy to transform into one (or all) of the following:
1. 90's Kid.
2. Harvey Finevoice.
3. Ensign Munroe.
4. His BEAAAAAR... with a hat a cape!
5. Someone in his family.
I can't wait! :D
I think it's fairly obvious what's going on here. Mechakara is a robot dublicate created by Dr. Insano to replace Linkara. But Dr. Insano is not the true mastermind behind this plot. No he's just another pawn the true villain, the greatest evil the world has ever known is
ReplyDeleteBEAR!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. A lot of completely trivial things were given air time (and screaming) in the main body of the review, with the legitimate problems glossed over in the end... huh.
ReplyDelete@ BloodySharpie
ReplyDeleteam I the only one wanting Lewis to use the Power Morpher to turn into Lightbringer?
Anyways, can't wait for Monday.
@Webbman 76
ReplyDeleteFirstly, Bear would be an awesome villain and secondly, you wouldn't happen to be a Colbert fan would you?
Does anyone else feel like Mechakara has a point with his rant at the end?
ReplyDeleteThink about it: even without the extreme trolls that bitch and complain about virtually ANYTHING that is said about a particular object, person, or medium, there are lots of people who blindly and willfully accept the opinions of a professional or popular authority - even if it's an unofficial authority like an internet reviewer - as the truth and take it to heart without question; or, if that individual likes the franchise being discussed, would consider the negative review to be blasphemy and demand an apology from the reviewer or leave altogether.
Take the AVGN, for example; despite later admitting that he didn't think the game was that bad, and that the video was more to poke fun at Castlevania fanboys, most people still took his review of Simon's Quest as his honest opinion on the game, and accepted it as an accurate portrayal of the quality of the game, many I'm betting without even playing the game or knowing what it was.
Or how about Film Brain? He got a lot of flak for his negative review of Equilibrium, just because he had dared to voice his dislike for a movie that had a cult following. They didn't care that it was just his opinion, and he wasn't trying to berate anyone who likes it. He even acknowledges that the review was controversial, and tried to request for some leniency from the fans.
I myself have come across this phenomenon when I tried my hand at amateur text reviews, the most memorable to me - a review of the original Fable for X-Box, and a review of Star Wars Episode III - being criticized with little evidence for following the "hype" more than being an honest to goodness review...even though the former review I hadn't learned about the negative hype surrounding it until I was halfway through the game, and had already formed an opinion of it based on hands-on experience, and the latter I had seen before it even came out in theaters thanks to some sneaky torrenting on a friend's part, and walked into the movie with opimism, both points I tried in vain to explain to the criticizers.
What ultimately drives this mentality home that opinions are rendered stone-cold irrefutable and must be taken at face value, ignoring any concept of "irony", "humor" or "sarcasm"? What makes the diehard fans cling so tightly to the empty promises of the creators of a franchise, when it's been clear for quite a while that the quality of said franchise either is in major decline or was never there to begin with, and is not going to improve, anytime soon? Who really is to blame for so many bad comics, movies, TV shows, books, and games to come out: the people who worked on it, for not putting in the effort needed to make it good, or the fans for gobbling it up regardless of the quality, encouraging the dev. team to continue to pump out the same garbage over and over again without change? It really makes you stop to think about how much fan feedback actually impacts the future content we get.
Great review.
ReplyDeletethough i totally saw the ending, the gloves gave it away.
was very subtle though. great job.
perhaps it was coincidence, but i think a certain other reviewer is dropping (a) subtle hint(s) in regaurds to the situation. *cough*spoony*cough*
also to the guy above me, you are right. mechakara is on to somthing in regaurds to that last commentary he did.
though he is still EVIL so therefore he is wrong, and we should blindly listen to reviews and follow the commands of our internet masters.
(i wisj to apologise for my poor grammer and spelling, never was my best subject, and my keyboard is wearing out.)
@shikome kido mi
ReplyDeleteNot really, I don't have saterlite or cable. :( But I've seen one or two episodes and I liked it.
Aran, that's a cliche that I'm sure Linkara hates as much as the next comic fan. The concept that, because he's evil, we should not believe anything the villain says or sympathize with him is as old as the Bible, and I don't think Linkara would want to use such an obvious cliche in his skits.
ReplyDeleteVillains can be just as valid in their arguments and sympathetic as heroes can be, and that's what makes intriguing villains so memorable: that moral complexity gives them a depth that they might not have had if they were Snidely Whiplash. Take, for example, the Sonic comics: recently, its current head writer, Ian Flynn, wrote a subplot involving Eggman where, after being beaten by Sonic for the umpteenth time, goes cripplingly insane instead of merely retreating to swear the hedgehog's defeat, another day. It stunned both audiences and Sonic, as Sonic himself had admitted there was nothing different he did to beat Eggman, this time, that he did, every other time; it got worse when Snively explained that Eggman was still a brilliant inventor and strategist, and his insanity came about through his inability to figure out why he couldn't defeat Sonic (which makes more sense when you consider this Eggman is actually from another dimension where he handily defeated his version of Sonic, and except for some personality differences, every version of a character from every "Zone" in the Sonic multiverse all have similar powers, strengths, weaknesses, and lives, meaning there wouldn't be much alteration to the strategies used to beat one version of a character when facing off against another). As a result of this revelation, Sonic went into a funk and started treating Eggman with more sympathy and gentleness. If written by a good writer, it could've been an awesome bit of character development for both Sonic and Eggman, and made a poignant example of Nietzsche's theory of "he who fights monsters". However, since it was written by Ian Flynn, nothing came of it, and whatever poignancy could've come from it is immediately undercut by the fact that every OTHER person Sonic talked to - including his ex Sally and his best friend Tails - falls into the "he's evil, so he's bad and wrong and not to be sympathized with" cliche, and attempts to push that philosophy on Sonic, despite the obvious turmoil he's in over it.
Strawman villains just don't make the best reading material; being a one-note bad guy with little personal backstory or purpose beyond "commit evil", doesn't hook the readers or make them care about the heroes defeating him. The reason I think the Mechakara storyline is so popular, is because - while we won't fully know his purpose or plans until next week - we're given little hints throughout the way that suggests connections between him, Linkara, and other characters, and allow us to speculate on them. it's like the noodle incident in Calvin and Hobbes; we're given just enough information to intrigue us with what's really going on, but not enough to get the full impact of it until it's time. And I think the argument Mechakara gave in this review is a big hint to his plans or mentality; there's been various hints that he wants to replace Linkara, that he hates Linkara for the abuse of his machines like Pollo and the continuity alarm, etc. but it's always been speculated as to why this is, with most of the theories I've heard being about Linkara's or Mechakara's hatred/insanity over all of the bad comics they had to review, and how fan ignorance and willful blind following of corporate press continues to pump out those bad comics at the expense of the good ones, and this rant seems to at least partially confirm that. Anyone remember his frustration over the continuous cancellations of the Blue Beetle comics during his review of them? Or his irritation of having to do a "holiday shopper's guide", when he didn't feel he needed to? There seems to be a very thick undercurrent of rage and resentment over stuff like this, and Mechakara seems to be expressing that rage and resentment here.
ReplyDeleteSo, yeah, just because he's the villain, doesn't mean he doesn't have a point.
"Or how about Film Brain? He got a lot of flak for his negative review of Equilibrium, just because he had dared to voice his dislike for a movie that had a cult following. They didn't care that it was just his opinion, and he wasn't trying to berate anyone who likes it. He even acknowledges that the review was controversial, and tried to request for some leniency from the fans."
ReplyDeleteI see your point but still, it seems a tiny bit hypocritical for Film Brain (or any critic really) to bash on something a lot of people like and then get upset when those same people get mad at him for it.
Sure his review was just his opinion, but then again, aren't those negative emails and comments he got for it just someone else's opinion? It seems a bit disingenuous for a critic to expect his fans to respect his opinion but then get bent out of shape because of someone else's opinion.
And really, the only reason (IMO) that Film Brain got so much flak for the Equilibrium review is because of how he framed it. The tone of his review went something like this: "Why the Hell does anyone actually LIKE this movie?! IT'S CRAP!!" The way he said it, it made it sound like he was specifically dumping on the fans of Equilibrium. Like he was taking them to task for having opinions that differ from his own. I'm sure that wasn't his intention, but speaking as a fan of Equilibrium (though NOT one of the ones who wrote nasty emails about the review) that is what it sounded like.
Linkara nice use of Battlestars "Kara remembers" version of all along the watchtower :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously though why did captin America dress as Black Panther does BP even exist in ultimate cannon?
Heh heh.
ReplyDeleteYeah i agree in regaurds to the complexity, and stability of villains. I was mainly just makeing a joke.
Though i'm not a comic reader, I think the most complex villain i know of at the moment would be johan, From a manga series called monster.
Most villains i find interesting have the mentality that what they are doing is right, Justified and Heroic.
The devil himself sees God as a tyrant, And himself as the truely pure one, If you want a blunt example.
Nice fill someone in on and this post helped me alot in my college assignement. Thank you for your information.
ReplyDeleteHey Linkara can I ask something? In the near future will you do any videos about Todd McFarlene particulary Spawn? You can't talk about 90's comics without mentioning Spawn.
ReplyDelete"Seriously though why did captin America dress as Black Panther does BP even exist in ultimate cannon?"
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia, yes, Ultimate Black Panther does exist. He was scouted by the Ultimates and mentored by Captain America for a while, but then he decides he wants to come home so Cap puts on the Black Panther disguise so no one will realize he's gone.
And no I don't know why that was at all necessary.
Linkara, I was just watching a few of your old videos on TGWTG and I was wondering if you could for an episode, go through the defining moments of the Ages of Comic books.
ReplyDeleteI am not a big comic reader (Sadly all the action, text and images causes my head and OCD to implode) but I am interested in what makes each comic age distinct and good/bad. . . .
Thanks for all your hard work!!
I feel kinda bad in that I immediately knew it was Mechkara. Why? Because just after you talked about your sensitive hands, you tapped your fingers together pretty strongly - too strongly for someone claiming to be suffering plate-induced burns. I knew something was up. It also seemed a bit weird to call attention to it as you did, rather than address it in the credits so as not to distract too much from the review.
ReplyDeleteOR... it was an incredibly subtle way to show that, no, things weren't all they seemed after all, planting the seeds of doubt early on! Yeah, that must be it...
"Ya know, you coulda just shot him."
I laughed out loud at that part.
"Open File: You Are An Idiot"
FILE. NOT. FOUND.
There's something else I'd like to address: the idea of "non-Metallic Alloys". Either they meant non-MAGNETIC alloys, or non-metallic PARTS. There's no way they could be non-metallic alloys, because YOU CANNOT GET NON-METALLIC ALLOYS! By its very definition, an alloy is a composite of two or more METALS! Don't these idiots know anything about science!?!
What's hilarious is the robots could easily have been made of non-MAGNETIC alloys, since there are metals out there that could feasibly be used in the construction of robots: aluminium, lead, tungsten, platinum, silver, gold. Would have been THAT difficult to use some of those metals, instead of coming up with this "non-metal alloy" nonsense?
Also, in the Big Diatribe of Unanswered Questions, you missed out one thing: what was the point of Quickwitch anyway? The robot could've realised that SW would never be with it because it was a robot as opposed to being in love with Quickie, and the story would've been no different! In fact, it makes it MORE stupid, since it could've killed Quicksilver instead! Again, absolutely no reason to turn Quicksilver and Witch into incestuous creeps other than "shock value."
Wow, never thought I would hear of an ID-10T error in a robot, but then again Robo-Stark still is a drunk somehow so its not that implausible.
ReplyDelete...Wait, the robot Pym said his murder of the Scarlet Witch was a "crime of passion". Crimes of passion happen spontaneously, with little forethought or premeditation to them. The designer bullet he used and the long diatribe he went on about how long he had waited to get it done clearly shows he had premeditated the murder. You'd think that, being a robot designed for military use by a superhero team, he'd have a better idea of what the legal definitions for crimes are.
ReplyDeleteThat toy line joke kills me every time.
ReplyDeleteIn a couple of panels in this comic you can see the f word obscured as a bunch of symbols. I have to admit I'm kind of stick in the mud myself and I am not a huge fan of the f word, but having accidentally found the panel that explains Linkara's horrified expression way back in the review of Issues 1 and 2 when Blob tells Wasp he's gonna "eat her up" ... all I can say is, "Really, comic? Really?!" Did anyone honestly think that there were people in the world who could handle that bit of horrific, detailed depravity, complete with sick joke, but would be offended by the f word?
ReplyDeleteI know I'm late to this party, but what the hell.
ReplyDeleteTwo notes:
1. I'm actually going to defend Jeff Loeb in exactly ONE instance: I agree that it makes more sense for the robot to shoot the Scarlet Witch rather than Quicksilver. I've studied criminology and criminal behavior for a few years, and for a certain type of offender, the mentality becomes "If I can't have her, no one can." Basically, agression isn't directed at the rival, but at the object of affection; it's a question of control and dominance. You can still raise the question of "why would the robot have this mentality," but it does make sense to me from a psychology perspective. The comic is still crap, but that one tiny bit works for me.
2. Your acting in this episode was absolutely superb. You managed to be your usual Linkara self, but there were these very subtle moments when Mechakara shone through just a bit. Initially I was put off by the gloves, wondering whether this was a ploy or whether you'd actually hurt yourself, but really--the fact that I wasn't sure just points to your strengths. This was a great end to the Ultimates 3 arc as well as a great setup to the big Mechakara confrontation. Bravo, sir.
After reading that one guy's post, and remembering the rant I realized Mechakara does have a point with the some people tending to follow popular opinion and take things at face value part
ReplyDeleteLoved your review/beatdown on Ultimates 3. As much as I liked the first two Ultimates series, I think I agree that Ultimates 3 was one of the worst Marvel comics ever. Of course, Ultimates 3 is nowhere as bad and completely horrible as the comic it would lead to: ULTIMATUM. We await the inevitable beatdown on Ultimatum.
ReplyDeleteWait a sec, let me see if I've got this straight. A scientist creates a robot that turns against him and kills him, and then decides to replace mankind with robot versions of the exact same people?
ReplyDeleteYou know it's bad when something has to rip-off "Pokemon The First Movie" for story ideas. >__>
I know it's kind of a long time in the past to be asking a trivial question like this, but I need to sate my curiosity: Since there's no credits at the end of this video like in your others, what is that final bit of music playing during your run in with Mechakara? It's awesome, and I'd like to find it for myself once I've got a name.
ReplyDelete"I know it's kind of a long time in the past to be asking a trivial question like this, but I need to sate my curiosity: Since there's no credits at the end of this video like in your others, what is that final bit of music playing during your run in with Mechakara? It's awesome, and I'd like to find it for myself once I've got a name."
ReplyDeleteThe credits are actually included at the end of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #1 review, but since you asked, it's "March of the Cybermen." ^_^
""I know it's kind of a long time in the past to be asking a trivial question like this, but I need to sate my curiosity: Since there's no credits at the end of this video like in your others, what is that final bit of music playing during your run in with Mechakara? It's awesome, and I'd like to find it for myself once I've got a name."
ReplyDeleteOops! Confused this one with the next one. XD The song is called "Kara Remembers" from Battlestar Galactica.
I just thought of something today. What if the reason Ultron killed the Scarlet Witch was because he knew that since she was in love with someone else, she cold never love him, and ths killed her in a 'i I can't have her, no one can' type thing. Why he didn't also kill Quicksilver while he could, or even kill him first in then try to sway her before resorting to murdering her, I'm not sure. I sudn flare of the synopces just found some logic in his action, I don't think we can ask for any more than that.
ReplyDeleteultimatum, the ultiamte failure. the ultiamte universe was created in order to lure people into the comic book world, and this probably has kept a lot of people outside of it.
ReplyDeletei would still support the idea of a new variation of the marvel or dc universe, so long as it was actually.... well, good. planned out at least, and avoided just killing a hcaracter for no god damned reason. like this series.
i would lvoe to see a different story for the teen titans personally, with some things added to it a bit. new, actually thought out, factors that give way to new possible storylines. sighs, if only.
cool cover. Like I realize it's just the Avengers standing there all grimacing, but I can't help but like the dynamic and layout of it. They look united and strong.
ReplyDelete