Top 12 Avengers #12

Tigra

Greer Grant Nelson was an ordinary woman until with a wonderful husband and not many worries int the world until her husband was shot in an off-duty incident. (He was a cop.) While trying to make a living, she started working for a scientist who had developed a way to help a person reach their ultimate potential. That is when Greer became the Cat. (Part of a 1970's attempt by Marvel to gain new female readers.)

As, the Cat, Greer had a special suit that mimicked a cat that included claws that had were attached to a line so she could swing from place to place, or secure her enemies. Later Greer was turned into the Tigra to act as the defender of a secret race of Catpeople.
Tigra has spent time with the Avengers and West Coast Avengers, and her unique skills have often proven to be very valuable. I like Tigra because her partially feline personality is fun to experience.

Sadly, Tigra is often the target for "we need a death syndrome" which is experienced by both Marvel and DC comics. Fortunately, Greer isn't dead at the moment.

Top 12 X-men (part 2)

Cyclops

Sure Wolverine is more popular as a charcter then Wolverine, but that won't change my opinion. Cyclops is a better X-man than Wolverine.

Scott was one of the founding X-men, although shifting continuity may have changed that without me knowing. He has been gifted, and cursed, with the ability to shoot concussive beams from his eyes. The beams are extremely powerful, and after years of training, Scott has gained percision skills. He can shoot wide destructive beams, or tighten the beam to a very narrow diameter. He has also developed a mastery of angles so that he can make nearly impossible richochets.

The thiung that makes Cyclops the man that he is, is the fact that without his visor or his ruby quartz glasses, he cannot stop his beams. Sure he can shut his eyes, but as soon as he does, the beams will come blasting out. This has caused Scott to be a cautious man. He always worries about doing things correctly and having a plan. This Has led some, including Wolverine to doubt his heart, but Scott just doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve. It has also led to Cyclops being a tactical genius. (I will not agree with a recent issue of the X-men where the writer declared the Cyclops had unbeatable plans. I've seen him on the ropes too many times to believe that one.)

So why does Cyclops beat out Wolverine on this list? First, he got the girl, aka Jean. Sure the movie has her using her Pheonix powers to rip him to shreds like she did to Proffessor X, but that doesn't change the facts. Scott won the girl of his dreams. Wolverine came in second.

Scott was the second X-man. He is one of the Twelve (another ruined storyline) and was the host of Apocalypse. Scott faced off against Mastermold alone and won. Scott worked with Banshee to bore a tunnel from Magneto's underground base in the Actric until they reached the Savage Lands. Scott was a founding member of X-factor, and he take on any team of X-men in a game of tag, and still win.

These are just a few of the reasons why he is #2. However, he did leave the X-men to marry a clone of Jean, that ended up becoming the Goblin Queen. He might have lost a one-on-one match with a powerless Storm for the leadership of the X-men. He might not have been able to kill Jean/Pheonix Force when he knew the time was right, but nobody is perfect.

Right now the writers of the X-men are treating Cyclops wrong. I can understand what they are trying to accomplish, but Scott isn't that big of a jerk/moron/power-hungery-maniac/etc. They have lost the core of the man, most of which has come from his relationship with Jean. I guess Emma is a decent replacement, but I've never really cared for the character because of how she has been used over the years.

Well, there's only one possible person left. Sure there are lots of X-men to choose from, but only one person to choose in my book.

Top 12 X-men-Number 3

There are moments where I love Wolverine and moments where I hate him. I love Wolverine when he's doing what he does best, but not when he's doing it the way the fans think he should. I don't know if that makes sense, but Wolverine is supposed to be a loner who still wants to be there for his friends. That's why he works with the X-men-he has a history with them, and he doesn't want to leave them on their own.

He did not have that bond with Alpha Flight. He probably shouldn't have it with the Avengers. That's just my opinion though.

When I think of Wolverine, I think of a guy that's just as likely to snap as he is to sit down. He's got amazing self control, but that isn't enough, and he knows his body and what it can do, but there are times that hes still going to tap into his feral side.

Let's talk about the basics quickly. Wolverine is a mutant with an accelerated healing factor. Because of the healing factor, he was given an adamantium skeleton and razor-sharp claws. He has also developed a hypersensitive sense of smell.

When do I love Wolverine? When he is the "I'm the best there is at what I do, and what I do isn't pretty" kind of guy. He's the one that is facing down hundreds of Hand ninjas or beating a group of X-men in a training exercise. I loved when he would scrap with Rogue and she would always end up pinned to the ground with one of Wolverine's claws on each side of her head.

The Wolverine that I hate is the guy that is cool just because he is trying to be like the character from the movies. Don't get me wrong, I thought that Hugh Jackman did a great job in the role, but why to the comics keep trying to make these established characters like the modified ones from the movies? (Let's be honest. That's why One More Day Happened. Movie goers that started checking out comic books were confused to see Spidey married, so MJ had to go.)

Why does Wolverine rank so high, but not at the top? Sure Wolvie was the Horseman of Death, but Angel was first, and his reveal was much more impressive. Wolvie does run the school now, and a team of X-men, but that doesn't make any sense to me for his character. Also, he's with the Avengers all the time too, so how can I make him the number one guy? Wolverine may be an integral part of the team, but there are still two people that beat him out in my opinion.

Oh and for those of you that want to know, I'm not a fan of the yellow costume or the movie style outfit. I'd much rather seen the brown and black.

My favorite image of Wolverine.

Which color is best for a tabby cat?

My friend Tricia asked me to share my opinion on tabby cats recently, so I figured I should get that done before too long. In particular, she wanted to know which color tabby I thought was best. First I had to do some research on tabbies. I'd heard about them, and seen them, but I didn't really know what made a tabby a tabby.

So I learned that tabbies aren't a breed of cats. Instead they are a category that ignores color or breed. Basically, if you have a cat with stripes or dots or swirls, you're looking at a tabby cat. (Tabbies also typically have an M pattern on their faces.)

So how does color factor into this? It doesn't really change the way tabbies are defined, so it is really just a matter of preference. I've personally always been a fan of black cats, but how would you know that you had a black tabby? The patterns would fade into the black.

There are also several difference patterns that are recognized with tabbies-mackeral, classic, spotted, and ticked. Mackerals have vertical stripes. Look for whirled patterns or bullseyes on Classic tabbies. Spotted tabbies have spots obviously, and Ticked tabbies have a 'sale-and-pepper' appearance.

Now that I've babbled about information for a while, let me just say that orange tabbies are the best. They are the color I typically associate with tabbies, so that makes a big difference in my opinion. However, I also like the idea of orange cats. They may not be as cool as black cats, but they are still cute.



My friend's kitten, Jayne



Top 12 Avengers-Honorable Mentions

There are so many Avengers to choose from, and it seems a shame to leave any of them out, but I do have to keep this list at 12, just because that's what I do. However, I can still list some honorable mentions to help out a little. It won't let me list Team-Leader Era Wasp, or War Machine, but I did squeeze them in here.

Black Panther

T'Challa is the King of Wakanda, a small kingdom in Africa that has the distinction of being the most tribal in appearance and attitude, but also the most technological country in the world. This is because Wakanda is the leading supplier of Vibranium, a rare metal that absorbs vibrations. (Captain America's shield has vibranium in it and that is why he can handle being hit by Thor's hammer in that scene in the movie.)

The king of Wakanda also fills a special role because he is the leader and defender of his country as the Black Panther. The king trains his body to the peak of human perfection, and develops the skills needed to fight the enemies of Wakanda.

The Black Panther was first introduced to bring some diversity to the Avengers, and his characterization in the comics reflected that forced situation. This is a trend, that is a bit of a shame. I already talked about Triathlon, but it also happened with Falcon. Why can't they just become part of the team and that is it?

Panther had an attitude for a bit (and so did some of the Avengers, so I guess he had a right to be upset) but the team eventually managed to get beyond the race issue and get down to the business of saving the world. Panther hasn't been an active member of the Avengers for a while, but he does keep popping up. Most notable in recent events was his marriage to Ororo Monroe (aka Storm). That didn't last very long, and I'm glad it didn't. Storm has too much going on to be tied down to being Queen of Wakanda.

Hercules

Hercules is a bit behind the times. He really only wants one thing out of life, glorious adventures. Unfortunately that means that he isn't always thinking about the repercussions of his actions. Cap might be trying to talk his way out of a dangerous situation, and hen Herc just jumps in and slugs the guy which looks cool, but then starts a major battle.

With that being said, Hercules is strong and faithful. If he considers you a friend, he will face heaven and hell to save you. He is the actual hero that faced the challenges back when Greece was the cradle of civilization and was eventually given immortality.

He does tend to forget that us 'mere mortals' are mortal, but that may have something to do with spending time with heroes that never seem to stay dead.

Starfox

An Eternal from Titan, a moon of Saturn, Eros, aka Starfox didn't have much time for anything that didn't involve having fun or meeting women. That all changed when is brother, Thanos, killed most of their people. Thanos (who is that mysterious purple guy you spotted at the end of the Avengers.) Starfox can stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain and like all Eternals, he is super strong, resistant to harm, can heal quickly, and fly.

Starfox is an on-again-off-again kind of guy, so it is hard for him to make the list.

Antman

Henry Pym helped to start the Avengers as the shrinking Antman, but he's not the guy I want to talk about. Pym was always too worried about his power level even though he had proved his ability to save the world time and time again. Scott Lang, on the other hand, is more than happy to be the man who hangs out with ants.

Scott has been an Avenger, the scientific advisor for the Fantastic Four when Reed went missing, and helped to save the world many times. He is a great character and a great hero too.

Top 12 Avengers (the bottom of my barrel)

For your opinion to be worth anything, you have to have favorites and you have to have things that you do not care for at all. Hence the posting of a few characters that I don't enjoy. I do need to make a clarification here. In two of the three cases, I'm glad that the characters exist. They add to the storyline and serve a purpose, but I wouldn't want to hang out with them, or fight evil with them.

As I write this, I am trying to figure out alternate ways to write "He's a jerk." I'll figure that out down the road, but that phrase really does sum up this category. Remember too, that this category is about the comic book characters and not the movie personas.

Iron Man

I know there are going to be come complaints about this one. Tony Stark is a huge part of the Avengers mythology. He is a Founding Father, but he's also a jerk.

The quality from the movies that I think that people appreciate most about Iron Man is that while he looks out for his own interests first, he is also concerned about making the world a better place. (as long as it makes him look good.) This is not always the Iron Man that we get in the comics.

Here are some of the grievances I have against Tony Stark.

• Armor Wars-Tony realizes that his Iron Man technology is getting into the wrong hands and he decides to take it all back. This isn't such a big deal when he is attacking Hydra or AIM, but then he starts going after SHIELD too. Captain America confronts Tony about the issue and Iron Man tries to blow Cap away.
• Operation Galactic Storm-The Kree and Shi'ar are at war which wouldn't be a big deal except that the war is in our solar system. It's a long 19-part story that covers several titles. At the end of the conflict, there is some conflict between the team about whether or not to kill the Supreme Intelligence, the leader of the Kree people. Cap holds a vote, and the vote is against such a move, and orders the team not to proceed. Iron Man rounds up the dissenters and they proceed to kill the Supreme Intelligence.
• Civil War-Sure Tony didn't pull the trigger of the gun holding the bullet that killed Steve Rogers, but he was the man that made that moment possible. By taking the pro-registrations side in Civil War, he basically made it impossible for heroes to do the work that they wanted to do. Since this rant shouldn't be all about Tony and Steve, let's add the rotten hand he dealt Spider-Man. Spidey is on the pro registration side at first, but he changes his mind as the conflict continues. When that happens, Iron Man publicly announces Peter's identity for everyone to see. The Kingpin tries to have Spidey assassinated, and Aunt May gets shot instead. One Last Day happens. It's all Iron Man's fault.

Triathlon aka 3D Man

Triathlon is a man who was given the strength, speed, and endurance of three men. He also has the ego of three men, and none of the ability to back it up.

There came a time in continuity where people were upset that the Avengers weren't diverse enough. Enter Triathlon. He was foisted on the team, and even though he was never invited by the team or proved his value, he was there.

Even though they tried to accept him and make him a part of the team, Triathlon's attitude made that a difficult prospect. he wouldn't work with the team most of the time, and looked down his nose at most of them too. I think I'd better stop talking about him, because I feel like I'm just being mean now.

Quicksilver

Sure he's the son of Magneto. Sure he is a mutant, hated and feared by the world. Sure his wife took their daughter and left, but does he really have to be a jerk about it?

Quicksilver started out in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with his sister, the Scarlett Witch. When Magneto was sent into exile. At that point, they didn't know who their father was. They decided the Avengers was the best place to show their true nature. Even with this backstory, Pietro was always an arrogant jerk.

That's the bottom of my Avenger's barrel. Next up we will have the honorable mentions.

Excelsior!

Top 12 Avengers

So lots of people have been thinking about the Avengers ever since Joss Whedon's movie came out this summer. It's not surprising to me that the movie did so well. Fans have only been preparing for this for around a decade. Each movie prior to the Avengers was basically like a long trailer. (Iron Man 1 + 2, Thor, Captain America, and both Hulk movies.)

I have some issues with the way the movie came together, but I'll save that for a separate opinion, after all this is just a Top 12 list. However, the Avengers have had a long history (1963-present) Member have come and gone, but several things have been consistent. Let's let Stan Lee take care of that part with the opening heading at the start of most of the 70's era Avengers comics:

"And there came a day, a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. On that day, the Avengers were born—to fight the foes no single super hero could withstand! Through the years, their roster has prospered, changing many times, but their glory has never been denied! Heed the call, then—for now, the Avengers Assemble!"

The Avengers got their start when Loki decided to mess with his brother, Thor. He tried to use the Hulk as a weapon, but all it did was bring together a new team of heroes. That original team consisted of Iron Man, Thor, Ant Man, Wasp, and the Hulk. The Hulk didn't last long, and it didn't take much time for the minds of Marvel to think up a way for Captain America to return from the dead after his disappearance at the end of World War II.

Characters have come and gone since those days, but the team usually consists of seven members. At least one of those members tends to be one of the founding five. (Due to the Hulk's unstable nature, Captain America is generally considered the fifth founding member.)

So now that we have the basic background, I can give you the details on how this list is going to work. The choices will be made on characters that I feel either contributed the most to the team, or to my enjoyment of the Avengers. It won't be a matter of power levels or strength. I may pair up a couple of characters from time to time if I feel they are linked in a special way.

Other than that, it will just be my opinions, and if you don't like them, that's your choice to make. Feel free to argue with me in the comments.

One other thing, I'm not really up to date on what is currently going on in Marvel, and I have some issues with certain people becoming Avengers just because they are popular (Spider-Man and Wolverine come to mind because they don't fit the team profile very well. Besides, Spidey has said "No" on multiple occasions in the past, and the one time he did say "Yes" he quit by the end of the issue.)

Hopefully you will enjoy the list, and it won't take as long to write as the Top 12 X-men one took. (I just realize that I never finished that particular list. Oops)

Excelsior!

Star Trek the Next Generation (Top 12 Episodes-a prologue)

As a kid, there was only one Star Trek-the original series (refered to as TOS from now on.) I knew quite a bit about the adventures of Kirk and his merry band of explorers and the collection of red shirts that died on a regular basis. (My step dad knew more since he had every episode on hand to play on his VCR.)

I was so excited when commercials started talking about a new series, a new crew, and a new Enterprise. There would be a new group "boldly going where no one had gone before." I was not disappointed with that first episode as I met an android named Data, a "blind" pilot, a bald captain (who is French, but with a discernable British accent) and even a Klingon among many others.

The first season had some rough patches since someone decided that TNG (the Next Generation) should be a similar show to TOS. That didn't work out very well, but the writers overcame that issue, and the show took off and inspired Paramount to create several other shows.

I thought it would be interesting to look at the show, and my experiences with it. Since I am prone to doing Top 12 lists, I decided to pick the Top 12 Episodes of the show. I'm still working on the episodes at the moment, but this will get us started at least. Next post will be the worst episodes in my opinion.

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, a book review

Revisionism has always been a part of history. Take the Civil War as an example. Was the war about freeing slaves, state rights, or any of the hundreds of other reasons? That's how history works. The story is always changing to reflect the Now. That is what we have such stories as Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter.

This book is brought to us by the same creative mind that brought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to the world. In this book, the text of Pride and Prejudice is injected with scenes involving Zombies. I haven't read that one, but one of my English professors wrote the introduction to the second edition (now with 30% more zombies.)

The concepts are smart and thought provoking. What would history look like if Abraham Lincoln was a vampire hunter? What if the Civil War was really about stopping vampires from using slave populations to fulfill their blood lust?

So how does the book do in telling its story? I found it lacking in a lot of ways.

First, there is definitely not enough vampire hunting for my tastes. Lincoln only hunts vampires as a young man. It does make sense since he can't have that kind of strength and resilience as a child or older man, but I'm not really interested in seeing an older vampire hunter try to be President. I want to see Honest Abe rolling up his sleeves and fighting.

Second, the book takes itself far too seriously. Am I really going to believe that Lincoln fought vampires? Not with the way this is written. When I first heard about the idea, I was excited about the combination of actual written work by Lincoln and fictional passages. There is so much potential there. Unfortunately those passages tend to be a way out of actually writing. Also, there are fictional writings that make it hard to take any of it seriously.

Third, is the ending. I don't want to give anything away, but I did not feel satisfied with the ending. It was a cop out and took away from the rest of the story. I wish I could tell you exactly what I don't like about the ending, but I do want you to read the book even if it isn't as great as it could be.

There are things that I did enjoy, but they tended to be isolated segments. Here are some of them:

• Lincoln seeing the impact of slavery on the slaves as 10 auctioned slaves are sold to vampires to feast upon.
• Lincoln mistakes Edgar Allen Poe for a vampire.
• Lincoln actually fighting vampires.