"Is That Tough Enough?"

TGIF!!!!!!

Okay so I was reading a random Wizard from back in the day, #70 to be exact, and re-read an interesting Top Ten list. This list was all about the top ten toughest characters around back then.

Here's who they listed as their top 10 and why:

10). The Incredible Hulk

-Despite being the strongest there is, Wizard felt that compared to the rest of the combatants on the list, the Hulk would be easily out-matched and out-powered. I'm not saying I agree, because I don't. That's just how they felt at the time.

9). Firestorm

-Yeah they really put ol' Ronnie ahead of the Hulk. The reasoning was that due to the nature of his powers, all Ronnie would really have to do is whip up an Adamantium cage out of nowhere and imprison the Hulk in it.

8). Professor X


-Apparently the Wizard staffers felt that despite arguably being the most powerful telepathic mutant alive, those same powers would not help him out once it got into dealing with Spawn's fucked up mind, magic, and a super-speed/super-strength combo.

7). Spawn


-Al was pretty powerful in his own right, but also had a very finite limit to those powers. Up against super-speed, more powerful magic than his, and the rest of the top, Al didn't rank too-too high. And I agree with that.

6). Dr. Strange

- He's up a good ways, as it should be considering his power and experience level. I just don't agree with Wally beating him, even with his considerable super-speed.

5).The Flash(Wally West)

- I'm kinda' surprised they placed Wally ahead of Dr. Strange, but otherwise I have to agree with his placing. Well I'd probably have him trade slots with Strange, but Wally did good.

4). Wonder Woman

-No surprise here that Diana ranked this high. I totally agree, as I'm sure would Karl;)

3). Superman

-No doubt this was the main hotly contested debates amongst the Wizard staffers that put this list together. You could easily make a case for why he's ranked behind Thor, as much as you could that he should be ahead of him.

2). Thor

-They said he edged out the rest due to his sheer power and combat experience. I have to agree. He is a god after all.

1). Silver Surfer

-Yeah I know. The friggin' Silver Surfer got the number one spot. I was surprised too, but once they laid out their case and explained what his powers would do to the rest of the combatants on this list, I came around to their way of thinking.

So that was how it stood back in 1997. Kyle Rayner was the Green Lantern back then, and considered too green to rank. The Thing and She-Hulk were considered a step below the Hulk, and he wind up in the #10 spot. And so on.

Now, thanks to the miracle of non-time-travel, here's my revised list, 2014-style.

10). Spawn
-It's probably because I don't think as highly of him as I did back then, but I just don't see Al beating anybody on this list. Maybe Firestorm if he can capitalize on a moment of weakness, but not likely. And I don't buy the rationale of Spawn beating Xavier due to the professor being fucked up from reading Al's mind. This is Prof. X we're talking about; he's seen war and unimaginable horrors. I just don't see Al getting he drop on him at all.

9). Firestorm
-Ronnie's got the powers and skills to be a major player. But against the rest of the guys(and gal) on this list? I don't see him getting any father in the rankings than where he is now. Sorry Firestorm.

8). Professor X
- He's the world's most powerful telepath, and yet he only ranks 8th overall. I guess if Xavier really was the heartless and cold bastard later writers have tried to portray him as, he'd rank higher. Certainly you'd think so given the range and depth of his powers. Maybe he could really put most of these guys to sleep via the power of his mind. If so, then he'd move up the ranks super-fast. Maybe he'd edge out the Hulk and Wally; maybe he wouldn't. I think I'll keep him here for now.

7). The Hulk
- Yeah I know; I normally wouldn't think of ranking Hulk this low either, but if you're ranking them in order, I don't see The Hulk getting past Wally. WW, yes. Dr. Strange? Not if the good doctor simply banishes him away. Superman? Interesting fight, but I have to give it to Supes. Thor too if Thor was played up as an actual god who kills. Poor Bruce.

6). The Flash(Wally West)
-I think this is a pretty good spot for Wally. True, he was probably destined to surpass his mentor Barry, and I believe he did speed-wise until Barry came back. Still, as powerful as he was in manipulating the Speed Force, I just don't see him getting past the rest of the pack on this list from Dr. Strange on.

5). Dr. Strange
- Like I said earlier, I'm good with the Doc placing 5th overall. Unlike Wizard that thought Dr. Strange couldn't undue the magic of the Gods, I think he could give Diana a hell of a fight. I just see his human stamina being his downfall. His body would give up before he did, thus giving WW the win. But it would't be easy, and the battle insanely long.

4). Wonder Woman
- Despite really wanting to move Dr. Strange up, I think in the end, Diana just edges him out. She's a god/part-god, so I imagine her god-like stamina(along with her other famous powers and lasso) helps her out enough in these battles to justify taking the #4 spot.

3). Superman
-I have to agree with his #3 ranking. I know a lot of his fans and supporters will be like "oh bullshit", but I betting that  JLA/AVENGERS aside, Thor just edges out the son of Krypton in combat.

2). Thor
-He's a god. A true, living, breathing god. Not just mere mortal , Thor's had millenia upon millenia of combat experience. Not to mention all of the powers and tools/weapons that were bestowed upon him by his father Odin. You're not taking him out very easily.

1). Silver Surfer
-Despite not having the strength level of the Hulk, Superman, WW, or Thor, Surfer does have the power cosmic and and nigh-indestructible body, He can play the long game long no one's business, and that's what will help him in the end; even gods can tire out, but not the Surfer.

That's my list based off Wizard's. I'd have definitely used different characters for my own tough top ten(What no Wolverine? Lobo? Captain America?)
Maybe later on someday....

Let me know what you guys think, and who you're top ten would be based of the same list of characters.

Have a good weekend guys and gals;)

Look at what I found!

TGIT!!!!!!

So not too long ago, while finishing up reading Action Comics#589 from John Byrne's run on Superman,
I went to go put it up on my comic book shelf. Well I just happened to notice the back of the comic, and I saw this:

Yep. American Defense. One of many truly cheap knock-offs of the popular GI Joe brand. What makes this one of, if not The ultimate rip-off of the Joes I think, is the advertising effort put forth by K-Mart. The dollar stores sure as hell don't advertise their knock-offs, but but then retail giant, K-Mart does. Huh. And I'm sure at the same time they were selling the real deal right next to each other on the store pegs. Crazy world we live I tell ya.

I never saw or played with these at the time, but I'm sure there's some you , ahem, older readers(coughRandomnerd, Shlomo, and Googumcough) that probably had or played with these.

Here's some examples of just how far the rip-off line went as far as went in copying the whole GI Joe experience:

Why there's even an archive site devoted specifically to these knock-off American heroes. Just crazy.

Finally, while I was browsing through my back issues of Wizard Magazine looking for an article, I picked up #101, and thumbed through it. To my surprise, on page 72, Some Wizard staffer mentioned that even back in February 2000(3 years before Daredevil, and 5 before Nolan re-energized the then broken franchise) Warner Bros were considering Affleck for the role as Batman. Take in account this was fresh off Affleck's performance in the blockbuster(wasn't it) movie Armageddon. 

Wow. So I guess knowing that, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Affleck was always on Warner Bros. radar, just more know considering his roles and directorial performances in The Town and Argo. Damn.

Alright, that's me for this week.

Peace and chicken grease muthafuckasssssssssssssssss:)

"You say hello, and I say goodbye"

Continuing on with the unofficial Batman theme @ the House this week, I'll be providing some scans from an interview with Grant Morrison and Neal Adams featured in Wizard Magazine#194.

But first,
if you checked in over @ bleedingcool.com, then you'll know that Morrison's planning or has planned to leave DC and possibly comics in general in 2013. It seems he's ready to do other stuff away from comics that doesn't include ignoring continuity and writing President Obama as Superman. I kid, I kid. I'm glad he chose to willfully ignore the reboot and do things his way; face it folks, he's one of the very few comic writers around to be able to do it and get away it. No Mr. Morrison's ready to spread his wings and write for movies, and what not. Here's the link to get the skinny on the whole thing:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/07/24/tuesday-runaround-grant-morrison-to-leave-superhero-comic-behind-in-2013/

Now he is supposed to finish up that long-delayed, long-talked about Multiversity mini by next year, so here's hoping because I and countless others have been waiting or that thing to come out since what, 2008?

And since the project doesn't have to be connected or rooted to the current DCU continuity, it stands a much better chance of being a success. Well at least it does to me. Who doesn't want to Morrison's take on The Watchmen? Or a whole world devoted to the Captain Marvel family? Throw in 6 other worlds, and call me sold!

Then following that, Rob Liefield announces he too is leaving in 2013. And no one cares.........
Seriously, who's buying Hawkman, Grifter, and Deathstroke right now? Anybody? He twitted(oh brother) all three titles sold out, which is nice and all, maybe for fans of those titles/characters. But what he didn't mention was that he was probably the one that bought 'em all in the first place. Oh you........

Anyhoo,
Here's the scans from that Wizard interview. This was wayyyy back in Dec '07 when Morrison was really  starting to get into the grove of his Batman saga. He was tasked with bringing Ra's Al Guhl back from the dead after writer Greg Rucka killed him off, or rather had Ra's daughter Nylissa do the deed.

This was a way too short interview that should have been at least 4-5 pages long, instead of the short 2 we got, as you can tell how much Morrison just loved talking about Batman with Adams. In the short space provided, we get a small glimpse of the wide range ot topics they go into; such as discussing how Ra's should be drawn, the dueling ideologies between Batman and Ra's, how hot Talia is, and how Batman should be portrayed. All good stuff, and no doubt they talked about a lot more stuff than that. Shame really, but that was how Wizard Magazine rolled in its later years. High on fluff, and a lot of the good stuff. Oh well, I'll still miss you Wizard.

So here they are in case you didn't see them the first time.....

Enjoy!

Finally, here's some parting music with who else, The Beatles! And yes if you didn't know already, this is their hit, and a personal favorite of mine, "Hello, Goodbye"