A Brief Background: The Alien franchise (Various, 1979 to present) has certainly had a long and complicated history with videogame adaptations that includes real-time strategies, crossover titles, survival/horror experiences, and a fair number of first-person shooters. Similar to how director James Cameron more thanmet the challenge of delivering a sequel to Ridley Scott’s commercial and highly influentialAlien (ibid, 1976), Konami produced a popular arcade port of Aliens(Cameron, 1984) that came to be regarded as one of the best games in the franchise. However, Konami lost the rights to the Aliens license by the time the divisive third film was released; hampered by production woes, delays, and script problems, it took some time forAlien³ (Fincher, 1992) to become a cult favourite for many fans. It was, however, accompanied by two videogame adaptations, the first being a decent, if confusing, run-and-gun adventure, and the second being this arcade-exclusive rail shooter. In many ways a precursor to SEGA’s later success with the House of the Dead series (SEGA/Wow Entertainment, 1996 to 2022), Alien³: The Gun was lauded as one of the best light gun shooters around at the time, one that successfully merged the atmospheric horror elements of the film with the action-packed enjoyment of a rail shooter.
The Review: I’m tackling my review of Alien³: The Gun a little differently to my other game reviews; it’s still going to be a shorter review because of how short the game is, but I did finish it so I want to go over my thoughts in a little more detail and give it a proper rating. The first thing I need to say is that the game’s title is pretty ridiculous; yes, Alien³: The Gun tells you everything you need to know but could they really not have come up with something a little more interesting and exciting for a subtitle than just The Gun? Secondly, I emulated this game and the ROM I played was a little buggy; elements like the heads-up display (HUD), aiming reticule, foreground, and background would often be invisible or appear corrupted, which was a bit of an issue but I was still able to power through the game thanks to the gift of unlimited credits. Finally, Alien³: The Gun is an Alien³ game only in the sense that it takes place on Fiorina “Fury” 161 and contains locations and Xenomorphs that mirror the film, but it’s actually more like a sequel to the movie and has far more in common with Aliens than the third movie. Rather than playing as Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, you and a friend take on the role of two United States Colonial Marines charged with investigating the Sulaco and cleaning up the rampant Xenomorph infestation on Fury 161, though movie stills are used at certain points to convey story beats like the Alien’s demise from the end of the film. Your standard issue pulse rifle has two basic fire modes; the first is a rapid-fire function tied to a firepower meter and the second sees you tossing out a limited supply of grenades (or “bombs”) to clear all onscreen enemies. If you simply hold down the trigger, you’ll run out of firepower and be left vulnerable as the game automatically moves you through the various corridors and locations; when you input a coin to continue, your bombs will clear a path for you and you acquire a flamethrower to mix things up or restore your health by shooting supplements.
You’ll gun down swarms of Aliens in a game whose action is closer to Aliens than Alien³.
Your main objective is to survive each stage of the game, wipe out any Xenomorphs, robots, or androids in your path, and take out the boss waiting at the end of the stage. There are five stages but, at various points, you’re asked to pick a floor or door or need to shoot through a door to reach a different area, which leads to different routes, thus adding a bit of replay value to the game. You start off on the Sulaco, which is now infested with Alien eggs; Facehuggers leap at the screen and Xenomorph warriors scuttle about on the floors, walls, and ceilings, slashing at you and being left a quivering mess of green goo as you blast off their limbs. Sentry turrets also take shots at you, dead bodies are everywhere, and you’ll be treated to the familiar squeals of defeated Aliens and a few voice samples as you progress. While the Sulaco is obviously based on the location seen in Aliens, right down to the cryo-sleep chamber, the rest of the game’s stages take place either on the storm-swept surface of Fury 161 or in the prison and refinery on the planet. You’ll blast through the mess hall, infirmary, tunnels, and furnace as you go but watch out for the prisoners; not only do you need to avoid shooting them, but you’ll also have to try and save them when Aliens grab them from the vents. Other memorable moments from Alien³ are also surprisingly recreated, such as the scene where the inmates use themselves as bait to trap the Alien in the corridors (they even explode like in the movie), you encountering a Xenomorph in the bowels of the prison, and a final confrontation with the Alien in the lead works. The amount of enemies or prisoners you killed and the damage you took is tallied up at the end of each stage; do well and you’ll gain a higher rank and score higher on the high score table, though this is mainly for bragging rights.
Alien variety is a bit lacking, and nowhere is this clearer than in the final, unimpressive boss.
Although Alien³: The Gun doesn’t feature any of the recognisable music from any of the films, the action comes thick and fast; since it’s a rail shooter, you’re given very little time to breathe and, unlike other light gun games, there’s no cover or reload options so you’re left ploughing ahead into the claws of swarms of Aliens. Weyland-Yutani androids and robots pad out the enemies you’ll encounter, and you’ll see other Alien variants, such as bipedal ones like in Alien³ and “warrior” Aliens like those from Aliens and even Chestbursters (with some even exploding out of the chests of the prisoners!) Each stage ends with a boss battle that basically amounts to you being guided around an enclosed space and blasting at a larger foe until their health bar is depleted; the first boss you’ll face is the “Super Face-Hugger”, a bigger variant that scuttles about, pops back up time and time again no matter how much it appears to be dead, and spits acid at you. After escaping the flaming wreckage of your shuttle and braving the harsh landscape of Fury 161, which is swarming with Aliens and salvage robots, you’ll battle a massive tank-like vehicle. Target its cannons and turrets and it’ll eventually detach and hover in the sky shooting missiles at you! After passing through a pitch-black area with your infrared goggles, you’ll fight a larger Alien drone at the prison entrance. This critter is pretty fast and agile for such a big bugger; it also slashes at you, whips you with its tail, and charges at you with a headbutt and basically sets the standard for the subsequent Alien boss fights. You’ll battle Alien³’s bipedal creature, the “Super Dogburster”, in the bowels of the prison; this one also charges at you and likes to hide behind the many pillars but has the added threat of spitting purple goop from afar to damage you and briefly obscure your vision. After surviving the tunnels, you fight another large Alien by the lead works; this time, you’re stuck in place but it’s pretty simple to stun-lock the Alien until it flees. You catch up to it at the blast furnace and must unload everything you have to force it into the lead works; though it appears defeated, it’ll claw its way back out and you’ll need to shoot the pipes overhead to rapidly cool it and finish it off. After that, you have one last challenge to beat and, thankfully, it’s not a Xenomorph Queen! Instead, you’re confronted by an “unidentified man” (who I assume is Bishop II from the movie) who unloads on you with a flamethrower after learning that you destroyed all the Aliens; simply shoot at him until he stops getting up and you’ll earn yourself a bit of text to wrap things up and a place on the high score table.
The Summary: I love a good, action-packed light gun game; they’re mindless fun but, sometimes, that’s exactly what you want and Alien³: The Gun certain delivers in this regard. Unfortunately, like its home console cousin, Alien³: The Gun is a little restricted by being associated with the Alien³ movie. It’s pretty obvious that this is an Aliens game dressed up to resemble Alien³; you have all the same weapons, sound effects, and even a few locations from Aliens featuring prominently against the background of Fury 161 to bolster Alien³’s far more subdued and bleak narrative. I can understand that, as it’s hardly exciting to make an action-shooter based on a movie with only one Alien in it, but it begs the question of why anyone thought a videogame adaptation of the slower, more contemplative Alien³ was a good idea. Still, that aside, this is a really fun game; it’s painfully short and light on additional weapons and such, but there’s some great attention to detail sprinkled throughout. You can blast off Alien limbs, destroy many parts of the environment (both for fun and to damage foes), and it’s interesting that the developers added in a limited branching path system; it doesn’t change the game that much, but it adds replay value, if nothing else. The Aliens are fun to blast into smithereens, the weather effects on the planet’s surface add a bit of atmosphere, and I enjoyed how aspects of the film were recreated, especially in the mess hall and candle-lit corridors. The bosses could’ve had a little more variety, for sure; as much as I applaud the game for not wheeling out an Alien Queen, it feels like Alien³: The Gun has less Alien variety than other Alien videogames from around this time and plays things a little too safe by just offering bigger, scarier versions of the Xenomorph. In the end, there are obviously better rail shooters out there, but you could do a lot worse than giving Alien³: The Gun a shot; of all the Alien³ videogame adaptations, it’s the best (though not the most faithful) simply for its brevity and the fast-paced, explosive action it offers.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Have you ever played Alien³: The Gun? If so, how do you think it compares to the home console adaptation of Alien³? Were you disappointed to see the bleak, atmospheric Alien³ adapted into an all-action shooter? Which of the branching paths did you take and what did you think to the boss variety on offer here? Are you a fan of Alien³? While Alien videogame is your favourite and how are you celebrating Alien Day this year? Whatever you think about Alien³: The Gun, or Alien³ in general, share your thoughts below or drop a comment on my social media, and go check out my other Alien reviews across the site.
In April 1985, the first issue of the ground-breaking Crisis on Infinite Earths(Wolfman, et al, 1986) released and saw the temporary destruction of the “Multiverse”. To celebrate this momentous event, I’m discussing multiversal crossovers all throughout April in an event I dubbed “Crossover Crisis”.
Published: November 2007 to March 2008 Writers: James Kuhoric and Jeff Katz Artist: Jason Craig
The Background: Despite being regarded as one of the best slasher franchises, Paramount Pictures became embarrassed with their association with the Friday the 13th films (Various, 1980 to present) and eventually sold (some of) the rights to rival studio New Line Cinema. This meant that the long-awaited showdown between Friday’s iconic killer, Jason Voorhees (Various), and New Line’s Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) could finally emerge from yearsof Development Hell. Freddy vs. Jason (Yu, 2003) received mixed reviews but its nearly $117 million box office gross made it the most profitable entry in eitherfranchise and talks of a sequel inevitably came up. Unfortunately, no follow-up emerged on the silver screen, primarily because the main idea involved including horror icon Ashley “Ash” Williams (Bruce Campbell) and no deal could be reached. We did, however, see these three horror heavyweights tangle in not one but two limited edition comic books published by WildStorm and Dynamite Entertainment, who had been regularly publishing Ash’s comic book adventures for some time. Based on Jeff Katz’s film treatment, Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash was praised for its covers and artwork and for its incorporation and expansion of all three franchises, though it was criticised for being somewhat predictable. Nevertheless, as alluded to, it was followed up by another clash between the three some two years later, one that sought to weave in even more lore from the franchises but was also met with somewhat mixedreviews.
The Review: Our story begins five years after the events of Freddy vs. Jason and is narrated by the loquacious wit of Deadite-slaying, S-Mart employee Ash Williams, who not only relates that Crystal Lake has once again reverted back to its “Forest Green” moniker but is also now home to “Super Mega Ultra S-Mart”. Ash recaps what happened in the movie (unstoppable, undead killer Jason Voorhees was resurrected by dream demon Freddy Kruger and the two battled to the death at Camp Crystal Lake when Jason’s murderous ways defied Freddy’s wishes), and then reintroduces us to the two survivors of that epic showdown, Will Rollins and Lori Campbell (referred to as “Laurie”, for some reason), who have inexplicably returned to Forest Green because Laurie can’t shake the feeling that Freddy and Jason are still alive. Of course, basic horror movie odds state that this is a bad idea; both Will and Ash point out that it’s a bad idea, but Laurie won’t be dissuaded and, with snow caking the landscape, they investigate the remains of Camp Crystal Lake. Naturally, Laurie finds blood at the site and, moments later, is horrified to see Will’s eviscerated corpse strung up from the rafters, his entrails spilling to the floor. Hysterical and panicked, Laurie desperately tries to channel her survivor’s instinct, the special qualities that Ash bitterly remarks make such individuals special, attacking Jason with a buzzsaw and chastising his mindless killing, only to end up with a machete to the face as Ash sadly comments that, for better or for worse, the only true “chosen one” is him. Jason takes his newest victims back to his shack, where his beloved mother’s severed head has been joined by Freddy’s, a memento of his victory in Freddy vs. Jason. As we saw at the end of the film, Freddy’s spirit survived and, once Jason enters the shack, he’s immediately forced into a lucid dream state where he relives his childhood torment. He’s enraged when he finds Freddy nailing his mother, but Pamela soothes him, as ever, and convinces Jason that his new “daddy” not only wants to protect him from bullies but can also make him a “normal little boy” like he’s always wanted; all Jason has to do is go back to his childhood home and dig up the Necronomicon Ex Mortis that’s buried there.
With our survivors unceremoniously offed, a similar plot begins that sees Ash thrown into the mix.
With our returning characters summarily killed off, the story jumps over to the Forest Green S-Mart to introduce a new batch of horny, cliché teens; four slackers more interested in making crude dick jokes, pulling pranks on their supervisor, and giving oddball customers the brushoff. The four – Jarvis, Raoul, Davey, and Caroline (or “Carrie”) – are unimpressed to learn that a “senior housewares domestic engineer” is coming in to whip them, and the entire store, into shape for the holiday season. Of course, this is the “Chosen One” himself, Ash Williams, still sporting his robotic hand and embittered by both the influence the Necronomicon has over his life and the losses he’s suffered because of it. Still, he finds solace in kicking Deadite ass whenever they show up and the hope that he’ll one day get to destroy the book once and for all. Ash immediately puts the moves on some teens hanging around outside the S-Mart; as he’s reprimanded for his tardiness and shown around by the manager, the teens wander into the path of the lurking Jason, his vision twisted by Freddy’s influence and driving him into a killing frenzy. The screams attract Ash, and the cops, who immediately target Ash for being an out-of-towner but are forced to release him when the manager vouches for his innocence. Despite the event, Ash gets to work, unimpressed by the store’s presentation and the kids’ lethargic attitude and naivety regarding the dark forces lurking in the shadows. Naturally, Raoul and Jarvis mock his doomsaying demeanour, but Carrie is intrigued by his stories of cursed books and demons; just as he shares more of his experiences, she also clues him in on the local legend of Jason Voorhees, unaware that Jarvis and Raoul are listening in. When Raoul jumps in wearing a hockey mask and brandishing a tomato sauce-splattered hockey stick, Ash nearly kills him before Jarvis intervenes, further increasing the animosity between them and the unimpressed Ash. His mood lifts, however, when he not only sees the S-Mart sells the impressive “Chain Lightning” chainsaw but also when sultry Bree strokes his ego, convincing him to buy supplies for her camping trip, only to ditch him once he’s finished loading up her fancy sports car.
Ash searches for the Necronomicon, unaware that Freddy and Jason are also hunting it.
Meanwhile, Freddy urges Jason to continue towards his goal but the hulking killer can’t help but slaughter a group of carollers he spots in the forest along the way. Wouldn’t you know it, though, Bree and her shit-kicking friends are spending the night in the old Voorhees mansion, unaware that Jason is prowling outside. Ash rolls up soon after on the trail of the Necronomicon and immediately heads to the fruit cellar, ignoring the commotion upstairs as he assumes it’s just the kids getting laid (though it’s actually Jason ripping them to bloody pieces), and finally locating the book just before realising there’s a madman on the loose inside. Ash races upstairs and finds Bree, half naked and in shock, and uncomfortably slaps a kiss on her before delaying Jason with a shotgun blast and making a run for his Oldsmobile. With Bree in hysterics and the car refusing the start, Ash deflects Jason’s machete with his robot hand and is forced to bail when the monster wrecks his beloved car. Thankfully, Carrie suddenly runs Jason down as he’s throttling our hero and all three of them get to safety, much to Freddy’s anger. In Jason’s subconscious, where the hulking killer is little more than a terrified child, Freddy reiterates his mission to retrieve the book and gives Jason license to kill anyone who gets in his way, learning Ash’s name from the depths of Jason’s admittedly empty mind. Ash, Bree, and Carrie head to S-Mart, where Raoul and Jarvis are getting high, and Ash again chews the kids out for being macho assclowns. As Ash desperately searches for a solution in the pages of the Necronomicon, Jason waltzes through the front door and goes on a delightfully gory killing spree, forcing Ash to reload and rearm himself with his trademark chainsaw.
With Freddy’s threat now apparent, Ash comes up with a plan to destroy both undead killers.
Round two between Jason and Ash goes slightly more in Jason’s favour, with Ash being comically battered around the shop, incapacitating him enough for Jason to tear out Bree’s throat and retrieve the book. While the survivors regroup, now convinced of Jason’s threat and Ash’s abilities, Jason brings the book back to his shack and Freddy reads those immortal words – “Klaatu! Verata! Nikto!” – and returns to the waking world once more. Ready to spread a new kind of nightmare with the book’s power, Freddy leaves, considering the two even, but surprisingly makes good on his promise to “fix” Jason. Ash and the others head to Carrie’s place where they take stock of the situation, with Ash even referring to Jason as a Deadite and the group agreeing that “someone” must be manipulating him; but, with little else to go on, they turn in for the night. Thus, Ash finds himself dreaming of being back in the cabin; he even has his old hand for all of five panels before Freddy’s claws burst from it. As before, he races to the work shed and severs the razor-fingered limb with a chainsaw and wry commentary, only to be stunned when his blood forms into tiny, mocking Freddys and then a full-size Freddy, who introduces himself to Ash and then, strangely, states his plan to have Ash and the kids bring him the Necronomicon despite the fact that he already has it. Regardless, Ash fights Freddy off and forces himself awake, discovering that whatever happens in a dream happens in the real world, which is bad news for Davey as he’s pummelled to death by dodgeballs in his nightmare. Relishing his returning strength, Freddy orders Jason (now little more than his obedient lackey) to go kill them so he (as in Freddy) can properly read the book, while Ash has the kids round up some supplies from the S-Mart before heading back to the Voorhees estate. Ash’s plan is for them to stay awake, lure out Jason, and bury him under his own house using explosives; he arms himself with Chain Lightning, steals “some sugar” from Carrie, and heads inside, leaving the others to carry out their part of the plan.
Although supposedly smarter, Jason chooses to defy Freddy, who’s obsessed with the Necronomicon.
Unfortunately for the dumbstruck Raoul and Jarvis, Jason is a bit smarter now and doesn’t fall for their trap; he even taunts them with a finger wag before advancing on them. In the house, Ash is surprised to find Freddy manifested in the real world, suffering a shoulder wound for his arrogance, and even more stunned to find Freddy has already read from the book and enacted his plan to dominate both the waking and the dream worlds. Transforming to his demonic form and conjuring both ethereal Dream Demon spirits and miniature claws, Freddy prepares to cut Ash down but is surprisingly – and bafflingly – interrupted by Jason, now wielding two machetes, who randomly decides to turn against Freddy for no reason. Still, Freddy’s more than willing to oblige and conjures the demonic corpses of Jason’s many victims to swarm the hockey masked killer, with many familiar faces (even some who weren’t Jason’s prey) making a welcome return. Despite their numbers, and Freddy running him through with his own machete, Jason refuses to go down without a fight, but Freddy’s attention is soon turned to Ash when he finds the “Chosen One” has swiped the book during the commotion and made a run for it. In the forest, Ash is attacked by demonic trees and crows but quickly asserts himself with his chainsaw and shotgun, stumbling upon the bludgeoned remains of Raoul and Davey soon after. He’s relieved to find Carrie survived, however, but they’re forced to take shelter in the Voorhees house when the enraged Dream Demon looms over them from the clouds in an awesome visual. Ash frantically searches through the Necronomicon for the passage that will banish Freddy and Jason to the Deadite realm and discovers sketches of the two in the book’s pages, lending more credence to the “Jason is a Deadite” philosophy and only exacerbating Ash’s anger towards the book and all the suffering it’s caused. Ash entrusts the book, and the scared words, to Carrie and prepares to hold the two killers off, only to wind up tangling with Freddy’s nursery rhyme kids and watching, helplessly, as Carrie is taken away by Freddy in a recreation of the end of the original Nightmare on Elm Street (Craven, 1984).
After a long and bloody battle, Freddy and Jason are seemingly defeated once more…
Of course, Ash easily fights these apparitions off but, more surprisingly, Carrie is inadvertently saved from Freddy’s leering lusts by Jason. While he’s no match for Freddy’s God-like power, Jason is still switched on enough to snatch the book from Carrie before she can read the magic words, forcing Ash to blow his hockey mask (and half his rotten face) off to protect her. Ash then literally disarms Jason to retrieve the book, but Jason simply jams his machete blade into the stump and swats Ash out of the house, through a window and into unconsciousness, as the estate collapses on him and Freddy, leaving Carrie to run for her life when the demonic Freddy bursts forth demanding his book. After savouring the chase, Freddy gleefully mocks her by cutting himself in a perversion of the Holy Communion and reclaims the book, only for Jason to suddenly return and, despite Freddy’s taunts and impressive light show, splits his head in two with his machete. Naturally, Freddy quickly recovers, freezes Jason with a puff of bloody air, and prepares to use the Necronomicon to send him far away. Just then, Ash comes barrelling in in his bizarrely repaired Oldsmobile and runs Freddy down before beating the piss out of him and blowing his nuts off with his shotgun. Ash’s bravado is nullified when a recovered Jason enters the fray and causes Ash to slip into the icy waters of the frozen Crystal Lake. Freddy duplicates himself to momentarily overwhelm Jason and their fight is interrupted (…again…) by Ash, who breaks free from the ice and blows a hole in Jason’s chest and takes a swipe at Freddy with his chainsaw, only to be quickly overpowered and manhandled by their supernatural strength and powers. Luckily, Carrie finally gets her shit together and reads the passages, opening a vortex that sucks Freddy into the Deadite realm. Although Jason manages to resist the vacuum, he’s forced back to the depths of Crystal Lake by Ash’s Oldsmobile but, regardless, the threat is summarily ended. However, while he revels in this victory, Ash expresses scepticism that the two – and the Evil Dead – can ever truly by defeated and, indeed, the final panels not only show that Jason is alive in the frozen Crystal Lake but that the Necronomicon also foreshadows a future confrontation between the three!
The Summary: Oh my, is this story quite the glorious mess! First of all, I have to say, while the covers are indeed striking, the interior artwork widely fluctuates between issues and is often almost incomprehensible. Although Will and Lori barely resemble their film counterparts, Ash, Freddy, and Jason are all rendered exactly as they appear in their films, almost to a fault as Jason Craig blatantly copies poses and images from Freddy vs. Jason in some panels. Sometimes, characters are depicted in a quirky, exaggerated manner almost on the verge of caricature; others, they’re a mass of angles and colours and blobs and things appear very rushed. You can guess which style works best for the story. Second, there’s the writing; Ash’s narration is a nice touch and is a unique way to fill in any blanks and to convey his overriding character arc of being this cursed “Chosen One”, but the narrative is kinda all over the place at times. Will and “Laurie” return only to be killed off right away, the new characters are dull and simply there to add to the body count, and a lot of the writing annoyingly pokes fun at the tropes of the Friday the 13th franchise rather than embracing them. I can’t help but feel the story might’ve been better served by having Will and Lori survive; maybe they also work at the S-Mart and they could’ve delivered some of the exposition, and died due to the power boost Freddy and Jason receive here. Instead, we’re left with a couple of jock dickheads and some slutty girls who mock Ash at first and then fall for his charms as soon as the bodies start piling up.
Ash’s bravado sees him underestimate his foes, and their connection to the Necronomicon.
Speaking of which, Ash is depicted quite fittingly here; he’s both bitter and tortured and snarky and proactive, openly telling his horror stories to anyone who’ll listen even when there’s no context or reason for him to and immediately jumping into action whenever a threat emerges. He’s never short of a quip or biting remark and bombards both his undead enemies and his smarmy teenage cohorts with snappy insults whenever he can; he also makes sure to spout all his familiar catchphrases, often when slicing and dicing, and comes up with a decent enough plan to get rid of the two monsters, even if he does underestimate their abilities. Yet, he’s also a complete moron; he easily falls for Bree’s deception, arrogantly assumes he can best Freddy and Jason since he’s killed Deadites before, and is easily distracted by whichever shapely piece of ass is in his view at that moment. The best parts of the story are when he’s matching wits with Freddy, with the two trading more barbs than blows, and going toe to toe with Jason, with Ash’s unique abilities giving him just enough edge to at least hold his own against Jason’s superior strength. Similar to Freddy vs. Jason, Freddy is more of a manipulative presence here; weakened, he must manipulate Jason once again, often using the form of his beloved mother, to restore his power and, consequently, claims only one victim in the entire story. Yet, his threat is constantly emphasised; the Necronomicon promises to increase his power a thousandfold and enables him to bring his dream powers to the real world, and nowhere is this more apparent than in him assuming his demonic visage about halfway through the story. Unfortunately, only the reader is truly aware of Freddy’s threat for the majority of the book; characters are naturally only aware of Jason since he’s a local legend, though this doesn’t diminish Freddy’s importance since he constantly pops up to chastise Jason or make lewd advances towards the characters before enacting his diabolical plan.
Despite some gruesome kills and seeing the three go at it, the story is lacking in key areas.
Of the three, Jason kinda gets a little shafted. Sure, he builds up an impressive kill count here and delivers the story’s most gruesome moments (his wholesale slaughter of the S-Mart customers and employees is a notable highlight), but I didn’t like that he was reduced to Freddy’s pawn once he delivered the Necronomicon. Freddy supposedly reenergised Jason’s brain cells with the book, but we see little evidence of this; sure, he’s a bit smarter and seems a little more aware of what’s happening, but it’s not enough for me to say he’s never shown that level of intelligence before. It’s also incredibly baffling to me that Jason just randomly turns on Freddy; there’s no explanation for this and it just comes across as a bit forced and a way to avoid coming up with a good reason to have them fight again. The fights between the two, and three, characters are pretty good; they’re surprisingly evenly matched despite Jason’s supernatural strength and Freddy’s increased powers and their battles are generally interrupted by characters waking up or interjecting themselves, but there was some meaty, bloody action whenever they got into it. Sadly, I’m not sure it’s enough to really elevate this story; it’s a fun glimpse at what could’ve been in a potential Freddy vs. Jason sequel, but I definitely think another pass was needed at the script and a few of the issues needed addressing. Primarily that the story really is just a retread of Freddy vs. Jason but with elements from the original Evil Dead films (Raimi, 1981 to 1992) thrown in, but also…Freddy has the Necronomicon so why does he need Ash the others to get it? Why does the story flip-flop between calling it Forest Green and Crystal Lake? How did Ash know the Necronomicon was at the Voorhees house? Still, I liked the visual of Crystal Lake covered in snow, the callbacks and references to each film and certain events from each franchise, and the visual of the three going at it, I just think it needed a little bit more to really elevate it to must-read territory.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Did you enjoy Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash? What did you think to the artwork and the characterisations? Were you disappointed that Will and Lori were offed so quickly? Did you like the connection between the Necronomicon and Jason’s origin? Would you have liked to see these three horror icons tangle on the big screen? Which film in the three franchises is your favourite? What other horror crossovers would you like to see? Drop a comment below to share your thoughts and feel free to check out my other reviews of both franchises, and the rest of my Crossover Crisis content!
15 April has been designated National Anime Day to celebrate the stylistic genre, which achieved mainstream success thanks to animators like Osamu Tezuka.
Released: 31 August 2007 Director: Tetsurō Araki Distributor: Madhouse Budget: Unknown Stars: Brad Swaile, Alessandro Juliani, Brian Drummond, Shannon Chan Kent, and Chris Britton
The Plot: In the Shinigami realm, the mischievous Ryuk (Drummond) regales his fellow Death Gods with tales of his time in the human world, specifically the complex game of cat-and-mouse between Light Yagami (Swaile), who used Ryuk’s killer notebook to punish criminals, and the eccentric “L” (Juliani), a detective determined to bring Light’s alter ego, “Kira”, to justice.
The Background: Death Note (stylised as “DEATH NOTE”) was a manga created by author Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata that began as a very broad and basic concept regarding Shinigami and a series of strict rules. Ohba and Obata developed a system where they would draft storyboards alongside their editor; Ohba visualised the panels during his downtime and Obata was apparently afforded a great deal of creative freedom for his artwork. Published in Weekly Shōnen Jump between 1 December 2003 and 15 May 2006, Death Note was incredibly successful and widely praised for its art, compelling characters, and complex plots and was so popular that it received an equally well-regarded thirty-seven episode anime between 3 October 2006 and 26 June 2007 and two highly praised live-action, Japaneseadaptations. To coincide with the end of the anime, two feature-length specials were produced that retold the story, with new footage linking the condensed format. Many have criticised the films for simply existing as a recap of the anime and a shameless cash-grab, ones that might do a good job of telling a more concise story but ultimately have little appeal for those that have already watched the entire anime series.
The Review: If you’re familiar with the anime version of Death Note, then Death Note Relight may hold few surprises for you; the bulk of the special’s runtime is made up of re-edited scenes and sequences from the anime, recontextualised into a condensed version of the story that acts as both a celebration of the anime and a fantastic way to digest its first twenty-six episodes or so. Death Note Relight is framed as a flashback, of sorts, a tale told by Ryuk to another, unnamed Shinigami (Unknown) who is bored of their realm and wishes to hear stories of Ryuk’s time on Earth before heading there himself. Although unimpressed by the Shinigami’s gift of a rotten apple, Ryuk agrees to share his tale and the story quickly introduces us to budding criminologist Light Yagami who, angered by the various injustices sweeping the world, vowed to stamp out crime and change society for the better using the titular Death Note, a notebook from the Shinigami world that allows the writer to kill and alter the lives of any names written in its pages, in order to become a God of a new world order.
Using Ryuk’s Death Note, Light executes criminals in order to establish a new world order as “Kira”.
A genius prodigy, Light found himself easily bored in classes and by his academic success; although his curiosity was aroused when the Death Note randomly fell from the sky to the campus grounds, he believed the notebook to be a sick prank but couldn’t help himself from trying it out based on the helpful instructions written inside. Realising that the notebook was legitimate, Light soon found himself consumed by a murderous need to punish evildoers everywhere, and quickly overcame his horror at Ryuk’s appearance, apparently ready to face the consequences of his actions with a blasé arrogance. However, even Light was stunned to find that Ryuk approached him not to punish him, but to enjoy the show, with the only consequences of using the notebook being that Ryuk himself would take Light’s life when the time came and the would-be God would be trapped in purgatory afterwards. Despite these warnings, Light continues to use the Death Note to punish those he deems guilty and quickly becomes renowned as a bringer of justice, with his followers dubbing him “Kira” and praising his actions and swift brutality. Although he isn’t happy with the pseudonym, Light can’t help but be pleased by the following he builds and the influence he’s already having, but his joy is short-lived when he’s publicly challenged by the secretive and equally intelligent private detective “L”. Slighted by accusations of his methods, Light doesn’t hesitate to try and kill L, switching from a twisted sense of moral justice to a manic desire to prove his superiority over his newfound rival, even if it means murdering lawmen or those who dare to speak out against his divine actions.
The eccentric L’s suspicions about Light are accurate but he’s frustrated by a lack of evidence.
Naturally, Kira’s actions quickly attract the attention of the International Criminal Police Organisation (ICPO), who were so confused and frustrated by the random series of heart attacks and murders of criminals that they quickly embrace L’s input despite his controversial methods and odd behaviour. An enigmatic figure whose deductive skills are as legendary as his arrogance, L both shocks his colleagues, including Light’s father, detective superintendent Soichiro Yagami (Britton), and impresses Ryuk with his ability to outsmart Light using body doubles, aliases, and distorted voices. Soichiro and his staff are stunned to find that L (who allows them to address him as “Ryuzaki”) is an emaciated, pale, soft-spoken young man with a penchant for sweet treats provided by his handler, Watari (French Tickner). Regardless, L exhibits near-superhuman insight into the Kira murders; simply by observing Kira’s methods, L accurately deduces Kira’s personality and basically everything about him except for how he executes his victims and his true identity. Naturally, volunteers are few and far between since many quit the case to avoid being targeted by Kira, leaving L with Soichiro and a handful of his most loyal officers at his disposal and L somewhat alienates even these men when he proposes closely monitoring them and their families since he suspects that Kira is closely linked to the police department. This leads to surveillance cameras being placed around the Yagami house and public messages being broadcast to try and flush Kira out but, thanks to Ryuk, Light is fully aware of this and goes to great lengths to continue his studies and his vigilante actions while appearing to be just a fastidious student. Though impressed by this, L remains convinced that there’s more to Light but is frustrated by a lack of evidence, and ultimately agrees to officially bring Light into the investigation when the even more dangerous “Kira II” appears.
Guided by Rem, Kira fanatic Misa will do anything, even kill and shorten her life, to earn Light’s love.
At first, Light is fairly routine in his approach to the Death Note and is content to allow his victims to die of simple heart attacks; however, once he learns of the police investigation into Kira, he starts to become more elaborate and complex in his methods. He threatens Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent Raye Penbar (Michael Adamthwaite) and his family with death to learn the names of every FBI agent assigned to the case (and then kills him anyway), which sets his fiancée, Naomi Misora (Tabitha St Germain), on a path of vengeance against Kira. A coincidence of fate sees Light cross paths with Naomi, whose attempts to protect herself with a fake name fail spectacularly when Light emotionally manipulates her into trusting him with her true name, thereby allowing him to compel her to kill herself through the Death Note’s power. Thanks to the Death Note’s ability to alter the lives and destinies of those written in it, Light covers his tracks and picks off both criminals and police officers alike to continue operating as Kira, but even he lacks the “Shinigami Eyes” that Kira II, beloved celebrity Misa Amane/Misa-Misa (Kent), possesses. A Kira fanatic who believes so strongly in his work that she’s willing to indiscriminately murder police officers and anyone who dares to speak against Kira, Misa owes her life to the diminutive Shingami Gelus (Michael Dobson), who broke a cardinal rule of his kind and saved her life at the cost of his own; out of loyalty to Gelus, Rem (Colleen Wheeler) guides and protects Misa on her quest to join forces with Kira. Thanks to the Shinigami Eyes, she’s able to seek out Light and pledges to follow his every word if he agrees to be her boyfriend, even entrusting him with her Death Note and happy for him to use her however he sees fit out of appreciation for him, as Kira, unwittingly punishing the man who killed her parents.
The Nitty-Gritty: The Death Note Relight films are, so far, my only exposure to the anime version of the manga and, from what I’ve seen, there’s certainly enough visual impetus to check out the anime; in fact, the only reason I haven’t yet is simply due to lack of time. The animation and level of detail in Death Note Relight is truly astounding, however; the Shinigami realm, in particular, is a notable highlight. A realm of desolate darkness, gothic architecture, and a veritable bone graveyard as far as the broiling grey clouds allow you to see, the realm is a bleak, nightmarish landscape where the Shinigami sit around, toiling with boredom and unable to find a decent meal. The human world is equally impressive; there’s a fantastic use of lighting and shadows, especially whenever Ryuk appears or Light’s obsessive demeanour is explored, which effectively showcases that Light is seeping further and further into the darkness of the Shinigami world he more he experiments with the Death Note’s capabilities and the more his morality deteriorates. This is also emphasised in the constant framing of eyes; L’s are always half-open and shrouded in shadow, either due to poor natural light or his mop of hair, while Light’s dramatically change colour to an ominous purple-red whenever he’s conspiring to kill to revelling in his sadistic form of justice.
Even the impressive and aloof Shinigami end up subjected to Light’s malicious machinations…
As ever, the most visually impressive and thematically intriguing aspect of Death Note, for me anyway, are the Shinigami; Ryuk appears as a towering, gaunt, gothic figure, never blinking and with a permanent shark’s grin on his face. He observes and comments upon Light’s actions with an unbiased glee, delighting in Light’s murderous actions, and becomes deeply invested in the game of cat-and-mouse between him and L simply because it provides him with a source of amusement for the first time in ages. However, while Ryuk follows Light about, hovering over his shoulder unseen by anyone who hasn’t touched the Death Note, he certainly doesn’t play favourites; he can see the names and life span of others with his Shinigami Eyes but only offers to share this gift in exchange for half Light’s natural life, and rarely offers Light any assistance simply because he finds it amusing to see how Light deals with each obstacle in his path towards Godhood. However, Light coerces the omniscient Shinigami’s assistance in locating the surveillance devices placed throughout his house by threatening to deny Ryuk his beloved apples, which have the same addictive properties to Shinigami as alcohol and cigarettes, showcasing that even a God of Death isn’t beyond Light’s scheming. Ryuk is contrasted by Rem, the skeletal, androgynous (but clearly more recognisably female) Shinigami who has vowed to protect Misa in Gelus’s place. Unlike Ryuk, Rem is far more protective of her Death Note handler; she reluctantly wipes Misa’s memory when she’s held in captivity, threatens to kill Light if he doesn’t find a way to rescue her, actively intervenes to protect her when she infiltrates the Yotsuba Group, and reveals to L and the other officers that Light has been fooling them with fake rules. Rem is horrified both when Misa further shortens her lifespan by dealing with Ryuk and when she realises that Light has manipulated events to take her out of the equation, forcing Rem to kill to keep Misa alive, destroying herself as a result and galvanising Light’s sense of superiority over even the Shinigami.
The intriguing dynamic between Light and L remains despite the special rushing through certain events.
Due to Death Note Relight being comprised of snippets and key moments from the first twenty-six episodes of the anime, there are some issues with the special’s pacing; while I’m familiar with the general story thanks to the live-action films and anyone who’s watched the anime would be able to follow along without much issue, the uninitiated may be put off by how the special breezes through certain aspects of the story, jumping from beat to beat to recap the most narratively important aspects of the anime. Consequently, there’s a disconnect regarding Light’s character, for example; we don’t really get to see him before he acquires the Death Note, which means he appears far more malevolent and self-centered rather than tragic and morally corrupt. A lot of L’s initial mystery is quickly swept aside when Ryuzaki reveals himself so he can work more effectively with Soichiro’s task force, and even Misa’s introduction feels a little rushed considering how important she is to the second half of the story. Regardless, the essential intrigue of Light’s descent into egomaniacal obsession and his tense back and forth with L remain in Death Note Relight; both know so much about each other and yet so little, specifically their true identities, either of which would result in ultimate victory for the other. Light gains a significant advantage when he agrees to team with Misa, but his attempts to manipulate events so he can discover L’s real name are compounded by L’s suspicions about him, which means Light can’t just arrange L’s death without incriminating himself, and L’s incarceration of Misa since she’s far less adept at covering her tracks than Light.
Light’s manipulations put him on track to becoming the God of the new world.
This would spell victory for L if Misa didn’t willingly forfeit her ownership and memories of the Death Note in order to protect Light; however, L is baffled when Light willingly allows himself to be incarcerated and briefly succumbs to despair after his deductions seem incorrect. When Light suddenly changes his demeanour after giving up his own memories as part of a complex plot to manipulate events in his favour, a brief scuffle breaks out between the two that ends with Light being chained to L and uncovering a link between Kira and the Yotsuba Group, which has profited from the killings perpetrated by Light’s patsy, Kyosuke Higuchi (Andrew Kavadas). Higuchi plots to use the Death Note to take over Yotsuba and coerce Misa into marrying him and, when he’s apprehended following an action-packed car chase, L and the others finally learn about the Death Note and the presence of the Shinigami. L is so stunned by this that he completely misses that Light has undergone another dramatic change after reacquiring the Death Note; regaining all of his memories, Light revels in his victory and intellectual superiority, though his plot to murder L stumbles when Misa’s unable to recall L’s true name, forcing her to reduce her lifespan even further to earn Light’s love and respect. Just as L attempts to test the rules of the Death Note, he’s aghast when Watari suddenly dies of a heart attack and all their data is deleted thanks to Rem, who sacrificed her existence to ensure Misa’s safety. Rem also writes L’s name in the Death Note, killing the eccentric and tragic detective and awarding Light ultimate victory. Light plays the part of an enraged, grieving victim well but, once the mourners disperse from L’s grave, Light descends into maniacal laughter; he boasts of his triumph and superiority over his rival and promises to entertain Ryuk further with the creation of his new world. The special comes to an end with Ryuk ruminating over Light’s perceived Godhood and wishing the unnamed Shinigami well in his search for excitement on Earth after all his experiences with Light.
The Summary: As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I just don’t have the time or motivation to sit down and watch every episode of the Death Note anime, especially if I was to put together an in-depth review. So, for me, Death Note Relight 1: Visions of a God is a fantastic way to experience the general sense of the anime’s story in a relatively painless two hour stint. I make this distinction only because it can’t be denied that the story suffers a bit from the re-edit; if I were to go into this completely blind, I might find some of the characters a bit one-dimensional, the lore of the world a little undercooked, and the pacing a bit suspect as the story jumps between a series of barely-connected events without much cohesion. However, I am initiated so this isn’t a massive issue for me and all the things I love about Death Note are here, from Light’s unbearable smugness, L’s quirky demeanour, and the always impressive Shinigami. The moral implications of the Death Note and Kira’s actions aren’t delved into too deeply (he’s simply seen as a murderer who needs to be stopped, regardless of who he’s targeting), robbing Visions of a God of some of Death Note’s normal nuance, but the character study and dynamic between Light and L is still fascinating to watch. The sequences are all gorgeously animated as well, with fantastic use of atmosphere and a hard rock soundtrack to give even tense dialogue a bit of a punch, and it ends on a cliff-hanger that’s just enticing enough to encourage a watch of the second part. Overall, I think there’s a lot to like here for die-hard and casual Death Note fans alike but Visions of a God is a must-have for anyone who’s a fan of the series but doesn’t want to waste an entire weekend binge-watching the anime.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
What did you think to Death Note Relight 1: Visions of a God? Did you think it was a bit pointless considering the entire story was told in the anime series or did you enjoy the condensed story? What did you think to Light, his campaign against crime, and his tense rivalry with L? Which of the Shinigami is your favourite and how would you use a Death Note? What was your introduction to anime and how are you celebrating National Anime Day today? Whatever your thoughts on Death Note, or anime in general, feel free to share them in the comments or on my social media.
The Date: 13 April 1997 The Venue: ECW Arena; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The Commentary: Joey Styles The Referee: John Finegan The Stakes: No disqualification singles match for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship
The Build-Up: Back in the nineties, the then-World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) were the undisputed “Big Boys”of the professional wrestling scene, vying for television ratings and poaching talent on a weekly basis, but Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) stood out as an alterative product to its mainstream rivals. Initially founded as Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1992, the company was re-branded by wrestling guru Paul Heyman in 1993 and soon established a cult following with the rabid Philadelphia crowd at the ECW Arena. While best known for its violent and controversial matches and content, ECW also delivered pure wrestling and was instrumental in inspiring the WWF’s “Attitude Era” and giving future wrestling stars a stage to hone their craft. Prior to 1997, ECW primarily hosted non-televised supercard events from the ECW Arena but that all changed when Heyman negotiated a deal to air their first pay-per-view, Barely Legal, on this day in 1997. Easily one of ECW’s biggest stars was Raven, a morose manipulator who was seemingly the embodiment of grunge, whose later rivalry with Tommy Dreamer delivered some of the company’s most intense storylines. At the time, Raven was reigning as the ECW Champion and had been embroiled in a deeply personal feud with the Sandman over the belt, while also dealing with issues with his stablemate, Stevie Richards. Richards had faced Raven’s wrath after costing him the ECW Championship at Ultimate Jeopardy the previous year; though Raven had regained the belt from the Sandman, tensions continued to brew between he and Richards until the latter finally snapped, turned on his leader, and broke away from Raven’s “Nest” of followers. Although Richards had previously come up short against Raven in a championship bout, he and the Sandman got another chance to face Raven for the belt at Barely Legal when they tangled in a triple threat match with the legendary hardcore icon Terry Funk, with the winner of that contest getting to face Raven in the main event of ECW’s first-ever pay-per-view event.
The Match: As difficult as it was for to watch even WWF and WCW programming as a kid, it was pretty much impossible for me to watch ECW as I have no idea if it was even shown on Sky TV back in the day. So my exposure to the product has always been through their competitors showing up in the WWF and from videogames and documentaries produced around this time, but I distinctly remember watching the bout between Tazz and Jerry “The King” Lawler from Unforgiven 2000 and being shocked when a raggedy guy interjected himself into the match, hit Lawler with a DDT, and helped Tazz secure the victory. Of course, years later I would find out that Raven’s time in the WWF paled in comparison to his runs in ECW and even WCW, but Raven was always one of my favourite wrestlers simply because of his look. Before getting into the match that’s the subject of this review, I think it’s only fair to talk a little bit about the three-way dance that preceded it. This was a triple threat elimination-style match between the Sandman, Terry Funk (who found himself in that match thanks to his protégé, Tommy Dreamer, graciously stepping aside to allow his mentor the chance to challenge for the championship), and “Big Stevie Cool” Stevie Richards (who was accompanied by his newfound friends, the “Blue World Order” (bWo), one of wrestling’s most successful parody groups). After the Sandman’s ridiculously long entrance and shenanigans with alcohol, the match started with the three exchanging chops and a short-lived alliance between Funk and the Sandman that ended in emphatic fashion when the Sandman randomly brought a ladder into the match. Not only did Funk get blasted in the face by the ladder, he also clambered up it for a Moonsault, the damn thing was sent catapulting into the audience courtesy of the Sandman(!), and Funk used the ladder to repeatedly knock down both his opponents with an airplane spin.
Following a grueling three-way dance, a bloody and battered Funk was easy prey for Raven.
The three brawled viciously, though it was the elderly Funk and the upstart Stevie who took the brunt of the damage, with the latter eating a nasty-looking piledriver, getting buried under the ladder, and finally eliminated from the match following a double powerbomb from Funk and the Sandman. This was the Sandman’s cue to whip out a length of barbed wire that had reams of streamers from a previous match stuck to it, but Funk quickly used the weapon against the Sandman, lashing his bare back repeatedly. Undeterred, the Sandman wrapped the barbed wire around his body and repeatedly splashed into Funk, tearing both of them up in the process, but ultimately it was Stevie who was the deciding factor in the match’s end as he returned to the ring, hit a Superkick on the Sandman (who was blinded by a garbage can) and allowing Funk to get the victory off a Moonsault. Battered and exhausted, Funk was given exactly zero time to prepare for his championship match as Raven immediately entered the ring and clobbered Funk with the ECW Championship. Raven then set up a chair in the ring and smacked Funk head-first into it with a drop toehold before delivering a massive chair shot to the downed Funker’s head, turning his face into the literal crimson mask. Raven continued to dominate his helpless challenger, ramming his face into the canvas and pummelling the punch-drunk hardcore legend before awkwardly suplexing a table onto him on the outside of the ring. After a brief struggle, Raven then set another table up between the ring and the metal barricade; he laid Funk over it and then crashed himself through his opponent, and the table, with a running dive from the inside of the ring to the outside!
Thanks to the timely intervention of Tommy Dreamer, the elderly Terry Funk dethroned Raven.
Although a doctor continuously tried to see to Funk’s injuries, Raven simply knocked him down with a punch, rolled Funk back into the ring, and called for his followers. Reggie Bennett attacked Funk with a terrible sit-out powerbomb and Raven took to the microphone to taunt his long-time rival Tommy Dreamer, who had been doing guest commentary; although Dreamer had refused to get involved since he wanted his mentor to win through his own efforts, the interference and Raven’s words were enough to trigger Dreamer. Despite a sneak attack from Big Dick Dudley, Dreamer reversed a chokeslam into one of his own and sent the tie-dyed terror crashing through a stack of tables piled up near the commentary area. Dreamer then took out the rest of Raven’s Nest and nailed Raven with a jumping DDT off an Irish whip attempt, whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Although Raven kicked out of the subsequent pin attempt, Funk immediately caught the champion with an inside cradle, which was enough to keep the champion down for the three count, awarding Funk the victory and the ECW Championship. Exhausted and covered in blood, the fifty-three-year-old hardcore icon celebrated in the braying crowd alongside an emotional Tommy Dreamer, and the strained elation of Joey Styles. Even for ECW, this match was cluttered and chaotic; Funk was clearly gassed after the previous match and got basically zero offense in on Raven, only winning because Dreamer made the save. This did play into the story being told, that being that Raven’s arrogance and mind games saw him dismiss Funk’s threat and be more focused on riling up Dreamer, which ultimately cost him despite him dominating the entire match. The ending seemed to be a bit of a botch as the bell rang when Funk covered Raven off the Dreamer DDT but the crowd didn’t seem to care; they were too busy losing their minds over Funk’s big victory, so I’d say it was a mess, but a reasonably enjoyable mess.
The Aftermath: Despite all the rigmarole of even getting a network to air the event, Barely Legal 1997 proved to be successful enough that pay-per-views became a regular occurrence for the upstart ECW. A few months later, in August, they aired Hardcore Heaven but, by that point, much of the landscape had changed. Although Terry Funk successfully defended the ECW Championship against the likes of Raven, the Sandman, and “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, he was ultimately defeated by the “The Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal, Death–Defying Maniac” Sabu in a brutal barbed wire match at the Born to be Wired supercard event. He challenged for the belt again at Hardcore Heaven in another three-way dance but ultimately came up short and later left the company, celebrated for his achievements, in one of his many infamous “retirement” matches. Raven’s issues with Funk, Dreamer, and Richards would continue up until June, where Dreamer defeated his rival and banished him to WCW for about three years. Although Raven never quite reached the same level of main event status in WCW, he made a considerable impact as a mid-card player with his newest stable, the Flock. He briefly returned to ECW in 1999 to team up with Dreamer before jumping ship to the WWF; after the WWF rebranded to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), all three men would eventually be involved in the WWE’s various revivals of the ECW brand in some form or another and Raven would continue to cross paths with both Dreamer and Funk during his stints in Total Nonstop Action (TNA) and various independent promotions.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
What did you think to the ECW Championship match between Raven and Terry Funk? Who did you want to see win the match at the time? Were you a fan of Raven’s time in ECW? What did you think to Terry Funk being the ECW Champion? Were you invested in the ongoing issues between Raven and Tommy Dreamer? Did you watch ECW back in the day and, if so, who were some of your favourite wrestlers and what were some of your favourite matches and moments? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to leave them below or drop a comment on my social media and be sure to check out my other ECW content across the site!
Released: October 1992 Developer: Probe Software Also Available For: Amiga, Commodore 64, Game Boy, Game Gear, Master System, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)
First Impressions: At first glance, Alien³ seems to share many similarities with the Aliens (Konami, 1990) arcade game; the visuals, especially the sprites, onscreen text, and environments, are strikingly similar and Ripley even wields many of the weapons featured in that game. However, the moment you actually start playing the game, you realise that it’s an entirely different beast, one that has a bit of an identity crisis. For starters, as mentioned, Ripley is armed to the teeth; she’s got the iconic Aliens pulse rifle, a flamethrower, a grenade launcher, and regular grenades, making her decidedly more formidable than she was in the source material, where the entire point was that she and the inmates had to come up with out the box solutions to deal with the resident Xenomorph. Secondly, and most crucially, the game isn’t just a mindless run-and-gun; instead, you’re given a strict time limit to complete a specific objective in each stage and reach the exit, and the game’s locations take on a far less linear, much more labyrinthine structure that closely mirrors the panic and claustrophobia of the movie. Ripley is tasked with rescuing inmates and destroying the Xenomorph infestation, objectives that are somewhat aided by the onscreen Aliens-style motion tracker and the various vents and ladders that help her to get around each location.
Although heavily armed, Ripley’s greatest challenges are the timer and maze-like levels.
Alien³ utilises a simple control scheme, but one I had to shuffle about a bit; by default, A switches your weapon, B jumps, and C fires, but I swapped fire to A and switch to C as that was more comfortable for me. You can pick between one and nine continues, but these are actually how many lives you have, and whether you want to play on Easy, Normal, or Hard mode. I chose nine lives and the Easy difficulty and still found the game to be quite challenging; the timer is a constant headache, meaning you need a lot of trial and error to find the optimal route around each stage, something that is hampered by dead ends, hazards (such as fans and my pet hate, fall damage), and the Xenomorphs. Aliens will crawl out of the ground and along the ceilings and walls, dropping on you and charging at you, though you thankfully don’t have to worry about them constantly respawning or acid damage. Later, Facehuggers apparently also show up and you have to shake them off with the directional pad, though I never saw any in my playthrough. You’ll occasionally have to make some blind jumps to avoid slippery slopes or make use of moving platforms to reach new areas, as well as activating consoles to open doors (or simply blowing them open with a grenade). If you fail to rescue all of the prisoners in time, a gory scene plays out showing them, and Ripley, succumbing to their Chestbursters, and you’ll have to replay the entire stage from the start all over again, which is a real pain in the ass.
My Progression: As I said, Alien³ has a bit of an identity crisis. Judging by Ripley’s weaponry and the way the Aliens are presented, it seems like the developers wanted to make something more akin to the action-orientated Aliens but were stuck adapting the most recent movie. The game impresses quite well with its arcade-style graphics; Fury 161 is recreated nicely, including a wasteland up top and different layers within, and Ripley has a basic alternative pose when left idle. Each stage is preceded by a drooling Alien face and the music is quite jaunty, which is at odds with the bleak source material but helps keep you engaged in the action. Sadly, the gameplay and steep difficulty curve are where Alien³ falls apart; the time limit is way too tight and health and ammo pickups are so scarce that it’s a chore just getting through even the first stage. I was just about able to tank my way through to the third stage, where the layout just became too confusing to continue and I was forced to quit.
Sadly, the game’s difficulty, stringent timer, and lack of passwords make progression a chore.
This wouldn’t be a problem if Alien³ incorporated a password system, but it doesn’t; there are cheats out there, but I couldn’t get any of them to work so I’m not sure if I’ll ever progress further into the game, especially as you can’t seem to earn extra lives or continues. Looking ahead, the game sees Ripley venturing into the blood-stained medical wing, a cargo area and butchery also feature, and the game even includes an Alien nest that is, again, visually ripped straight out of Aliens. Xenomorph eggs pop out Facehuggers, slime drools from above, and various ridge-headed versions of the Xenomorph act as “Level Guardians”, spitting acid, jumping about the place, making use of higher platforms, and players will need to fend off two at once in a large industrial area in order to get their final score tally and earn the extremely lacklustre text ending in with Ripley simply leaves the prison without any repercussions. I’m surprised that the developers resisted the urge to have Ripley fight an Alien Queen, as is often standard for Alien videogames, though these boss battles seem to increase in difficulty simply because the area you battle them in increases in size, giving them more places to hide and surprise you with some acid projectiles from behind the prominent foreground images.
Alien³ is a strange entry in the franchise to adapt into a videogame, and it seems like the developers shared this philosophy; there’s a reason why the game has more in common, in terms of action and gameplay, with the Aliens arcade game than the actual movie on which it’s based and that’s the fact that Alien³ would work much better as a point-and-click adventure or a survival-horror style title, two genres that probably wouldn’t have been successful at the time or on the Mega Drive. It’s not a bad game, really, it’s just the difficulty curve is way too steep; either the game needed a password system or the timer needed to go, but without either it’s a real test of your skill and patience to get anywhere beyond the first few stages. I liked the level of detail, even though things were a bit stiff and janky at times (Ripley sometimes struggled to go down ladders), and the use of gore when you inevitably mess up. The lack of enemy variety was a bit of an issue, though; Alien games, especially around this time, tended to go a bit bonkers with Alien variants but Alien³ plays things way too safe. In the end, it was a largely forgettable and disappointing experience for me, especially as it could’ve been so much more if the Aliens arcade game had simply been ported instead. Still, maybe I just suck; maybe you actually really enjoyed this game. Maybe you had no issue rescuing all the prisoners and navigating the maze-like levels. Or, maybe, you prefer a different Alien³ videogame, or a different Alien game entirely. Whatever your thoughts and feedback, feel free to drop a comment below or on my social media and be sure to check out my other Alien content on the site.
In April 1985, the first issue of the ground-breaking Crisis on Infinite Earths(Wolfman, et al, 1986) released and saw the temporary destruction of the “Multiverse”. To celebrate this momentous event, I’m discussing multiversal crossovers all throughout April in an event I dubbed “Crossover Crisis”.
Released: 15 August 2003 Director: Ronny Yu Distributor: New Line Cinema Budget: $30 million Stars: Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland, Chris Marquette, and Katharine Isabelle
The Plot: Trapped in Hell and forgotten by the townsfolk of Elm Street, dream demon Freddy Krueger (Englund) resurrects the hulking, immortal killer Jason Voorhees (Kirzinger) to spread fear amongst Elm Street’s youngsters. However, Jason is not so easily controlled and the two supernatural mass murderers come into conflict, with a group of clueless teenagers caught in the middle!
The Background: Hot on the heels of the forefather of the “slasher” genre, John Carpenter’s Halloween(Carpenter, 1978), Friday the 13th(Cunningham, 1980) proved to be an unexpected box office success despite its negative reviews. What followed was a slew of sequels, of varying critical and commercial success, and one of the best slasher franchises of all horror. However, Paramount executives became embarrassed with the films and eventually sold (some of) the rights to rival film company New Line Cinema, meaning the long-term hopes of seeing Friday’s iconic killer, Jason Voorhees (Various) go toe-to-toe with New Line’s Freddy Krueger could finally be realised. Production of such a crossover had been stuck in Development Hell for the better part of ten years; attempts to get the film off the ground stalled in 1988 and numerous proposals were submitted over the years before writers Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, with input from David S. Goyer, finally drafted a filmable concept. Horror alum Ronnie Yu was hired to direct, despite his unfamiliarity with either franchise; although Freddy actor Robert Englund signed on, long-time Jason actor Kane Hodder was recast in order to fit Yu’s vision for the silent killer and former Pamela Voorhees actress Betsy Palmer refused to cameo due to salary disputes. Special make-up effects designer Bill Terezakis designed a new demonic visage for Freddy, while a mixture of practical and digital effects were employed to bring to life Freddy’s nightmare environments and the bloody brawl between the two killers, though the heavier use of CGI drew some criticism. Reviews were generally split down the middle (no pun intended); some enjoyed the mindless smackdown and gory violence, while others criticised the brainless plot and uninspired performances. Still, with a box off gross of nearly $117 million, Freddy vs. Jason became the most profitable entry in eitherfranchise, though plans for a sequel pitting horror icon Ashley “Ash” Williams (Bruce Campbell) against the two never came to pass except in comicbooks and the decision was made to reboot both franchises rather than bring them together again on film.
The Review: It’s hard even for me to believe, but there was a time when I couldn’t stand horror movies; I was terrified of them and regularly left the room or hid behind a comic whenever we watched them as kids, and, even now, one of the scariest movies for me was A Nightmare on Elm Street(Craven, 1984). By 2003, I was still a reluctant horror fan but I distinctly remember Freddy vs. Jason helping to finally break through that mental block because of the sheer spectacle of seeing these two horror icons go at it. The premise is simplicity in itself (Freddy raises Jason from the grave to help inspire fear and return him to power) so you wouldn’t think that there would be much need for exposition but, oddly, you’d be wrong. Not only does the movie open with a demonic Freddy, trapped in Hell, directly addressing the audience, and talking us through a montage of his greatest hits and misses, there are at least two other points where the movie grinds to a halt so Freddy can repeat the plot to the audience. At one point, he randomly spits out his motivation to a victim, which would be fine if Mark Davis (Brendan Fletcher) shared this knowledge with his friends and they used it to aid with their later plan, but Freddy kills him moments later, making these constant reminders of the dead simple plot stand out like a sore thumb.
Wide-eyed Lori faces some shocking truths about her past when Freddy tries to regain his power.
Freddy vs. Jason sits in an awkward place within both franchises’ canon. The last time we saw Springwood, it was a traumatised town where no children lived thanks to Freddy’s escapades, and the last time we saw Jason he was being dragged to Hell by demons and Freddy himself. Now, Springwood is once again a prosperous suburb full of foolish and horny twenty-somethings teenagers; main character and “Final Girl” Lori Campbell (Keena) even lives in Nancy Thompson’s (Heather Langenkamp) house, which has since become closely associated with Freddy, though neither she nor her friends – borderline alcoholic tomboy Gibb Smith (Isabelle) and shallow, conceited Kia Waterson (Rowland) – and fellow teens know of Freddy. Thanks to a town-wide mandate and widespread use of the once-controversial dream-suppressant “Hypnocil”, Freddy has been effectively stamped out across Springwood; all records of him have been censored and the adults take his threat so seriously that they don’t dare to speak his name aloud, causing much confusion for Kia and the others when Gibb’s arrogant and demanding boyfriend Trey Cooper (Jesse Hutch) is brutalised in bed. Throughout the film, Lori learns that she has a closer connection to Freddy than she first thought; her mother was slaughtered by the Dream Demon years ago, her father, Doctor Campbell (Tom Butler), not only covered up the death but has been administering Hypnocil to Freddy’s victims at the nearby Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital, and her childhood sweetheart Will Rollins (Ritter) was locked up after witnessing the murder, for which he was also made a patsy. Thus, the events of the film are doubly traumatic for Lori, who’s forced to realise everything she’s been told about her mother was a lie and that her father isn’t the man she thinks he is, to say nothing of her being eyed as Freddy’s latest target simply for living in the house of his former nemesis.
Unfortunately, most of the cast is pretty forgettable and painfully one-dimensonal.
Unlike the purehearted, virginial Lori, Kia is an outspoken and promiscuous young woman who is eager to push Lori out of the rut she’s been in since her mother’s death, party down and meet a guy instead of hiding herself away. Oddly concerned with her looks and never far from a harsh word, Kia’s bullish ways are quickly called out by perennial loser Charlie Linderman (Marquette), a shy and awkward high schooler who has a crush on Lori but inexplicably ends up earning Kia’s affections when he stands up to her. Despite Trey being a complete asshole, Gibb is rattled by his death, especially after finding him literally folded in half in bed, and turns to alcohol for solace; unfortunately, this makes her easy prey for Freddy, who toys with her in the dream world and ends up enraged when Jason beats him to his prey, effectively setting the stage for their inevitable clash. Rounding out the group is Jason Mewes knock off Bill Freeburg (Kyle Labine), a carefree stoner who joins the group after Jason cuts his way through a late-night rave and exists largely to offer some pretty genuine comic relief. This “Scooby Gang” of main characters is aided by Deputy Scott Stubbs (Lochlyn Munro), a newcomer to Springwood who’s also clueless about Freddy and whose claims that they’re dealing with a Jason copycat go unheeded by his superior, Sheriff Williams (Garry Chalk), to avoid unnecessary fear and panic. While Stubbs helps the kids break into Westin Hills to discover the horrifying fate of the kids who wouldn’t stop dreaming, and pick up more Hypnocil, he’s ultimately there to add to Jason’s body count and not much else.
Skeptical Will soon becomes a believer but puts in a questionable performance.
Far more significant to the plot are the aforementioned Will and his best friend Mark, two former Elm Street kids locked up in Westin Hills as patsys for Freddy’s kills. Regularly dosed up on Hypnocil and driven stir crazy by the unstable inmates, the two escape the high security with a ridiculous amount of ease after Will sees the news report of Trey’s death and rushes to check on his former flame. Although both are overjoyed to finally be reunited, Will’s time in the hospital has left him an eccentric, anxiety-ridden ball of impulsiveness; Ritter plays the role with a bizarre flair that sees him smirking even when faced with the two killers and whatever he was going for ultimately fails due to him lacking onscreen charisma. Unlike Mark, Will is completely sold on the story drip-fed by the hospital; he believes Lori’s father killed her mother and has no time for Mark’s tall tales of a Dream Demon. Mark, however, knows all-too-well that Freddy is real since his older brother, Bobby (Zack Ward), regularly spoke of him and his nightmares and was so terrified of both that he was driven to suicide. For much of the early going, Mark openly rants about Freddy, only to inadvertently cause more fear and panic that gives Freddy the strength to cut him up and burn an ominous message into him. Having witnessed this first-hand, Will instantly becomes convinced and works with the group to figure a way out of their predicament; however, his primary concern is protecting Lori, even in the face of supernatural killers, which leaves him bloody and injured and all their friends dead when Lori insists on making Freddy pay for all the pain he’s caused them.
Despite raking up an impressive kill count, Jason’s tragic past casts him as the lesser of two evils.
Of course, all these characters can be as forgettable and one-dimensional as necessary since no one is watching Freddy vs. Jason for anything other than the two killers, and none of these kids is as compelling a main protagonist as Jason! Thanks to his traumatic backstory and the abuse he suffered as a boy (Spencer Stump), Jason is positioned as the lesser of two evils; a rage-filled engine of destruction, he’s portrayed as a “big stupid dog who won’t stop eating” who is easily placated by the voice and appearance of his beloved mother, Pamela (Paula Shaw), and returning to the familiar hunting grounds of Camp Crystal Lake. At the start of the film, Jason is dead and buried and trapped in a never-ending cycle of violence in the darkest corners of his mind, but Freddy assumes Pamela’s form and gives Jason the motivation to regenerate and return to unlife to wreak havoc on Elm Street. However, as polite as it is of Jason to simply walk into Lori’s house and murder one victim before mindfully closing the door on his way out, Jason is more efficient and ruthless than Freddy expected. He builds up a hell of a kill count here, slicing and dicing anyone who gets in his way and pissing Freddy off since all the victims and fear Jason is stirring up are denied him. Thus, Freddy possesses Freeburg and renders Jason unconscious so he can put him down in the dream world; however, even though Freddy is functionally unstoppable in this realm, Jason remains cursed with immortality, forcing Freddy to probe his mind for an edge. This gives us the deepest glimpse into Jason’s fractured psyche than we’ve ever seen before; his thoughts dwell on Crystal Lake and the victims he’s claimed, and on his childhood, where he was left to drown in the lake. This is all the information Freddy needs to torment Jason, preying upon his hitherto-unknown fear of water to almost do the killer in before the teens intervene, setting the stage of their final showdown in the real world.
Freddy’s vicious, spiteful nature perfectly positions him as the clear antagonist.
Thus, Freddy is positioned clearly as the antagonist of the film. Jason may indeed get the blood, being responsible for every kill in the movie save for a couple perpetrated by Freddy, but it’s Freddy who is pulling the strings and targeting his victims with a spiteful purpose. Frustrated at being forgotten, Freddy finds himself powerless and unable to influence the real world; even when Jason’s actions spread fear of Freddy, the Dream Demon struggles to attack his victims in their dreams, but effectively regains much of his lost power simply through the teens’ fear of the unknown. This allows him to go through some of his greatest hits, such as drawing kids into his boiler room, leering through walls, and assuming a variety of outlandish forms to possess and torment his victims. Freddy’s power in the dream world is absolute, allowing him to easily regrow limbs and toy with Jason, who is confused and outmatched by Freddy’s dream powers, but even Freddy can’t kill Jason there and his influence on the real world is severely limited. Given that Jason is a mindless mute, Freddy taunts him and his other victims at every turn, mugging for the camera far too much for my tastes his overall presentation is much more in-line with his earliest incarnations, returning him to his darker and scarier roots but still allowing him to drop “bitch” lines and one-liners to terrify his victims. He is also more malicious; Jason may kill indiscriminately, but only Freddy would torment a terrified mongoloid boy by parading his mother’s severed head on a stick! Freddy also has an all-new form when in Hell or enraged; this is a far more demonic appearance that really emphasises how frustrated and angered he is at being forgotten, but all the scary forms and fancy dream powers in the world can’t help him when he’s forced into the real world and to go toe-to-toe with Jason to put the hulking killer down for good.
The Nitty-Gritty: There’s a strange disparity at work in Freddy vs. Jason; the two franchise’s iconic themes are only heard once in the opening scene, replaced with an admittedly kick-ass metal soundtrack and soundalike score, and while Freddy gets a montage of clips from his previous films, Jason has to settle for recreating his modus operandi in a dream sequence. Still, to its credit, the film does make the effort of placing Jason on Elm Street and bringing Freddy to Camp Crystal Lake…it’s just a shame that the shot on Jason on the street doesn’t linger long enough and that the script ludicrously places Camp Crystal Lake within driving distance of Springwood despite them obviously being miles apart. Long-time Jason fans may also be baffled by his sudden fear of water; there’s a clear attempt here to associate Freddy with red and fire and Jason with blue and water, a thematic parallel that actually think works pretty well. Yes, neither has shown fear of either element before (Jason is constantly seen wading through or existing underwater, even in this film), but I think it gets a pass as we’re clearly seeing Freddy extract Jason’s deepest, darkest fear in a heightened, nightmare environment and turn it against him. Ultimately, though, neither element plays a big role in their destruction, rendering it an interesting concept that’s sadly not explored too deeply, probably because it might detract from Freddy screaming the plot at the audience!
Despite some awful CGI, many of the gory effects are enjoyable thanks to some fun brutality.
Sadly, these are the things we must suffer through to get to the good stuff in Freddy vs. Jason. For every scene showing Englund out of the make-up, grinning as he sticks pictures of his victims to a scrapbook with his own saliva, we have shit like the God-awful “Freddypillar”, a bong-smoking, worm-like monstrosity that looked terrible back then and looks even worse today. Thankfully, shoddy CGI isn’t a commonplace in Freddy vs. Jason and much of the effects are achieved practically, though they’re no less comical; after Blake (David Kopp) is spooked by Freddy, he’s horrified when his father’s (Brent Chapman) head pops off his shoulders courtesy of Jason, and he then attempts to shield himself from the same fate using his father’s severed head! There are also some odd moments of slowdown and blurry, shaky cam during the otherwise impressive rave scene and, as mentioned, some atrocious performances not just by Ritter and Keena, but even veteran actors Garry Chalk and Tom Butler seem to be hamming it up, though this doesn’t detract from how creepy that little eyeless girl (Joelle Antonissen) is or the comatose patients whisper to Freeburg. Indeed, it’s worth braving the film’s more frustrating elements and forgettable characters to get to the nightmare sequences and the kills. Freddy vs. Jason doesn’t try anything particularly ground-breaking with its nightmare scenes, preferring to largely return the horror to Freddy’s character outside of him comically bouncing Jason around like a pinball, but it certainly brings its A-game when it comes to gore. Things get off to a strong start when Jason bludgeons Trey with his trademark machete (which Jason not only carries on him at all times but almost constantly has in his hand, even when opening doors!) before folding him in two with the bed, and things only escalate from there. Jason gate-crashes a rave in a cornfield, snapping one dude’s neck in the blink of an eye and then splashing arterial spray even when set on fire in easily one of the best sequences of the movie. While Stubbs is simply electrocuted to death, poor Freeburg gets sliced clean in two, Kia gets swatted aside like she was nothing after giving Freddy some lip, and even Linderman goes out a hero as he downplays the seriousness of his injury before promptly bleeding to death.
Although their throwdown seems to end ambiguously, Jason was clearly the winner!
Indeed, the raw brutality of Freddy vs. Jason is almost as entertaining as seeing these two icons finally share the screen; there’s blood squibs and spray abound here, especially once Lori uses herself as bait to force Freddy into the real world and he goes one-on-one with Jason. Despite not having any of his supernatural powers in the real world, Freddy still puts up a hell of a fight, utilising speed and his wiles to dodge Jason’s wild swings. As fun as it was to see the two tangle in the dream world, the finale is really where all that nonsense really pays off; it’s a lot of fun seeing the two trade blows, Freddy take advantage of the various tools and toys at the construction site, and Jason grow more and more frustrated at his rival’s tenacity. Thanks to having mocked him with his mother’s form and forced him to relive his childhood trauma, Freddy faces a suitably enraged Jason; however, Freddy’s brains allow him to stay out of reach, rain pipes onto Jason, and even relieve him of his machete after slicing off his fingers. Momentarily helpless, Jason is mashed up by Freddy’s two-pronged assault and even ends up having his eyes gouged out by Freddy’s trademark glove, but Jason’s relentlessness sees him endure this assault, plunge his hand through Freddy’s torso, and even rip Freddy’s arm off before both are blown into the lake by Lori and Will. Freddy comes back, armless and half dead, ready to make Lori pay only to wind up impaled through the back by his own severed, razor-fingered glove. Sadly, this means that the final blow comes from Lori, who promptly hacks off Freddy’s head while Jason sinks into the lake, his rage and energy apparently spent from the battle. However, Jason rises again not long after, emerging from the lake and palming Freddy’s severed head, though Freddy does deliver a wink to the audience to basically lead the ultimate victor ambiguous (though Jason clearly won!)
The Summary: I was so excited for Freddy vs. Jason back in the day; even as a tentative horror fan, I knew what a big deal this throwdown was and I remember glancing at some of the proposed scripts online in the years before it was officially announced and thinking how cool it would be to see the two finally go at it. The end result is, honestly, a bit of a mixed bag; on the one hand, Freddy vs. Jason spends way too much time with its teens, many of whom just aren’t that interesting, and endlessly repeating the plot to the audience like we can’t understand the simple concept of Freddy fighting Jason! On the other hand, you need victims for the killers to torment and slice up, so of course you expect them in a slasher movie and, while many of their performances are questionable and the characteristics are shallow, they’re serviceable enough in this regard, even if Monica Keena doesn’t quite fit the bill of the virginal Final Girl. Still, even if these were the greatest teen characters, the selling point is seeing the two killers go at it and, certainly, Freddy vs. Jason delivers. We have to sit through a lot of nonsense to get to it, but the film does a serviceable job of merging these two franchises into one without any major alterations of continuity, and it’s so worth it once the two throw down. While, yes, it is disappointing that the iconic Kane Hodder wasn’t involved, this is one of my favourite versions of Jason; he’s been slowed down a bit and his physicality accentuated, but the portrayal of him as this mindless killing machine who doesn’t know any better and is driven by rage really makes for a surprisingly tragic anti-hero to root for when faced with the more spiteful and malicious Freddy, thankfully returned to his darker roots and played with manic glee by Robert Englund. In the end, it’s Freddy vs. Jason; if you’re expecting something deeper and life-changing then you’re obviously in the wrong room. I paid to see these two chop the shit out of each other and slice up some hapless teens, and the film definitely meets this criteria with some fun and brutal gore, especially once the two start trading blows, ad the film is, overall, far better than it had any right to be given the premise and lengthy development period.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Did you enjoy Freddy vs. Jason? Which slasher were you rooting for and were you satisfied with the ending? What did you think to the merging of these two franchises and the constant repetition of the main plot? Which of the teens was your favourite and how important do you think these characters are in a slasher movie? What were your favourite kills in the film and did you enjoy seeing Freddy and Jason go at it? Would you like to see other horror icons have a showdown like this and, if so, who? Whatever you thought about Freddy vs. Jason and horror crossovers, leave a comment below or on my social media and check back my other Freddy vs. Jason content across the site!
The Date: 17 March 2002 The Venue: SkyDome; Toronto, Ontario, Canada The Commentary: Jim “J.R.” Ross and Jerry “The King” Lawler The Referee: Mike Chioda The Stakes: “Icon vs Icon” grudge match
The Build-Up: On 31st March 1985, Vince McMahon forever changed the face of the wrestling world with the very first WrestleMania, an elaborate pay-per-view event that became the hottest event of the calendar year for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and what better way to celebrate than by looking back at one of the event’s most historic matches! For nearly two years, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) went head-to-head with rival World Championship Wrestling’s (WCW) Monday Nitro but, in 2001, WCW was crippled by bankruptcy and shockingly purchased by McMahon, bringing the “Monday Night Wars” to a surprising end. When McMahon’s attempts to keep WCW alive fell through, the WWF began a storyline where WCW “invaded” the WWF; unfortunately, since WCW’s top names sat out their high-paying contracts, the WWF was forced to rely on lesser names, resulting in one of the biggest missed opportunities in wrestling. Ironically, within months of the Invasion ending, WCW stalwarts debuted in the WWF, including the dreaded New World Order (nWo). First teased when Scott Hall gatecrashed Nitro, the rechristened “Hollywood” Hogan led the nWo in hijacked WCW’s programming, recruiting numerous allies, capturing the top WCW titles, and even to their own ill-fated pay-per-view before ultimately outstaying their welcome and unofficially dissolving when WCW folded. When the original trio came to the WWF, it was as a “lethal dose of poison” McMahon planned to use to kill his company in a bid to push his rival, “Nature Boy” Ric Flair, out of the WWF. The nWo soon ran afoul of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the Rock; when Austin quashed a feud with Hogan due to backstage politics, Hogan and the Rock began a rivalry that saw Hogan and the nWo brutalise the Rock and even attempt to kill him by crashing a truck into an ambulance that the People’s Champion was trapped inside, thus setting the stage not just for a clash of icons but also a blood feud that spanned generations.
The Match: Everyone knew Hulk Hogan back in the day; hell, I’d wager everyone is aware of him now, for better or worse, but even I knew he was a big multimedia star back when I was a kid and barely able to watch wrestling outside of a few choice matches and segments. It was the WCW/nWo videogames that introduced me to the nWo and the despicable “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan but, while I was vaguely aware of the group during my early years as a wrestling fan, I wasn’t able to watch WCW back then, so it was quite the moment when Hogan, Hall, and Nash showed up at No Way Out in 2002. I was a keen watcher of wrestling by then, especially the SmackDown! brand, and was excited to see what these much-hyped interlopers would bring to the table, but even I was immediately disappointed when they downplayed their threat and made it more about their egos than actually taking over the WWF. Still, the hype was real for Hogan vs. The Rock; while, in hindsight, a six-man tag pitting Rock, Austin, and the Undertaker against the nWo might’ve been the bigger, better match for WrestleMania X8, it ultimately worked out all the better for the fans and wrestling history given how rare it was (and still is) to see generational stars clash like this. The first hint that the match wasn’t going to go exactly as planned can be heard the moment that god awful nWo music hits and Hogan saunters down to the ring playing air guitar and pandering, with his usual smug bravado, to a chorus of cheers. Yes, despite Hogan literally trying to murder the Rock in the build up to the match, the Toronto crowd were absolutely unashamed Hulkamaniacs and cheered Hogan all the way down that ridiculously long entrance ramp. It was so obvious that that J.R. had to point out that Hogan’s legacy and star power have almost superseded his more heinous actions and even Hogan seemed confused by the barrage of “Hogan! Hogan! Hogan!” chants coming from the nostalgia-drunk audience. To be fair, it’s not like the Rock was met by anything less than a rapturous reception, but was pretty clear that the fans had altered the execution of the match the moment the two went face-to-face, eye-to-eye in the ring and were met with duelling chants and, after exchanging sly looks with each other and the audience, the two clearly agreed to toss out the plan and give the people what they wanted.
Right as the match started, the crowd insisted on a double turn and both men readily accepted!
The two locked up in a test of strength that Hogan won to the adulation of the crowd; a second lockup saw the Rock caught in a side headlock and then blasted to the canvas by a shoulder tackle. In between each move, the Rock’s facial expressions told the whole story; he was stunned, livid, at Hogan’s power and the crowd’s reaction to his foe’s signature posing, and he flailed like a ragdoll as Hogan chopped at him and cut him down with a clothesline. Although many in the crowd cheered when the Rock floored Hogan with a flying shot of his own and got in his face, these were quickly drowned out by a chorus of boos that the two men milked to the nth degree. A bit of schoolyard shoving led to a flurry of punches from the Rock that caught Hogan off-guard and saw him catching his breath on the outside. The Rock followed, attacking from behind and rolling Hogan into the ring for a few more shots to the face and another explosive clothesline. Dazed, Hogan seemed primed for a Rock Bottom but he fought out of it, much to the delight of the crowd, and regained control with a bionic elbow off an Irish whip. Hogan dropped a few elbows and stamped on the Rock’s face, but the crowd didn’t care (if anything, they encouraged it!), they just kept chanting Hogan’s name as he whipped the Rock from one corner to another and pummelled him with big haymakers and clotheslines. The Rock got himself back in the game with an awkward-looking tackle, however, spitting barbs at the rapturous crowd after they jeered his attempts at a comeback. The audience leapt to their feet when Hogan planted the Rock with a back body drop for the first near fall and they even cheered when Hogan tied the Rock up in an abdominal stretch and attacked his ribs, raked his back a couple of times, went to work smacking him with the old school ten punches, and even biting the Rock’s forehead!
The fans refused to boo Hogan; no matter what he did, they were firmly behind the wrestling icon.
The Rock turned the tables and chopped Hogan, mocking him and the crowd between moves, but found his momentum shut down with a surprising chokeslam-like manoeuvre from Hogan. Even when Hogan blatantly choked the Rock, the crowd wouldn’t be dissuaded from cheering the Hulkster and this only became more apparent as the two exchanged punches and Hogan launched the Rock from the ring to a thunderous ovation! Hogan pressed his advantage by slamming the Rock into the steel steps and the barricade; then they cleared out the announce table, only for the Rock to try to smash his head in with a steel chair. The referee intervened, however, which allowed Hogan to floor the Rock with a stiff clothesline, but poor Mike Chioda got blasted by the Rock after Hogan countered an Irish whip. The Rock got back into it with a spinebuster and his patented sharpshooter; no stranger to the leg lock and operating on pure instinct, Hogan powered to the ropes but the Rock simply dragged him away, giving the Hulkster no choice but to tap out. However, Mike Chioda was still out, robbing the Rock of an early victory, so the People’s Champion roughly tried to bring the referee to his senses (to chants of “Rocky sucks!”), only to walk right into a low blow from Hogan. Hogan followed up with a Rock Bottom but only scored a two count thanks to the referee struggling to make the count. Frustrated, with Mike Chioda still somewhat out of it, Hogan took off his belt and whipped it across the Rock’s back but ended up being planted by the Rock’s super-slick DDT. The Rock then grabbed Hogan’s belt and got a measure of revenge, lashing Hogan over and over and even spitting on it to add insult to injury, but his attempt to finish Hogan off with a Rock Bottom led to the Immortal One powering out of the pin!
Although the Rock won, Hogan won back his fans and embarked on an unexpected nostalgia run.
The crowd leapt to their feet as Hogan “Hulked Up” in the ring; fists clenched, teeth gritted, he shrugged off blow after blow and answered with clubbing blows to the Rock’s face. Hogan whipped the Rock off the ropes and floored him with his signature Big Boot and the crowd were literally frothing as Hogan came crashing down with his patented Atomic Leg Drop. Mike Chioda fell to the mat but the crowd, Hogan, basically everyone lost their damn minds when the Rock kicked out at two! With Toronto at a fever pitch, Hogan went for his finishing combination again, but the Rock rolled out of the way and scored with another Rock Bottom. Rather than go for the cover, the Rock purposely hoisted Hogan up and hit a third Rock Bottom before springing to his feet and earning himself the three count off a People’s Elbow! While the crowd might have been torn, if not against the Rock, throughout the match, they were unanimously elated with this outcome and showered both men with a standing ovation. This only escalated when the clearly exhausted and wounded Hogan sheepishly offered his hand in a show of respect; still milking the electricity of his impromptu heel turn, the Rock hesitated but ultimately shook the Hulkster’s hand and the two briefly embraced before Hogan humbly stepped aside for his better. Unimpressed, Hall and Nash attacked their nWo teammate until the Rock made the save and, together, Hogan and the Rock fought off Hall and Nash to effectively (if unofficially) disband the nWo. Fatigued, Hogan then tried to leave the ring but the Rock couldn’t help himself; he stopped Hogan and all-but begged him to perform one last pose down and, despite his obvious pain and discomfort, Hogan conceded and basked in the unanimous show of respect and adulation from the uproarious Toronto crowd, much to the Rock’s obvious glee!
The Aftermath: This match has been heralded as one of the best wrestling clashes of all time, and for good reason; both men worked extremely well together and played to each other’s strengths and the Rock did a masterful job of working around Hogan’s limitations. What really makes this match, though, is the crowd; they are as big a part of the proceedings as the in-ring action and, without them causing an impromptu double-turn, I don’t know if this would’ve been as memorable as it was. However, the stars aligned perfectly, allowing Hogan to redeem years of wicked deeds during his time in the nWo with this one match and embark on an unexpected nostalgia tour over the next few years. Indeed, if it wasn’t obvious from the ending to this match, Hollywood Hogan turned face for the first time in years after WrestleMania X8. He would team up with the Rock (and Kane) to battle his former nWo teammates and found himself drafted to the SmackDown! brand, where he donned a new version of his classic red and yellow attire and rode his renewed fame all the way to a title shot, and victory, over Triple H the very next month at Backlash. The Rock was pivotal in securing Hogan this match as he gave up his own championship opportunity to film The Scorpion King (Russell, 2002); by the time he returned to the ring, not only was the WWF now known as WWE but Hogan had lost the Undisputed Championship to the Undertaker and was busy feuding with the likes of Kurt Angle and defending the WWE Tag Team Championship alongside Edge. Hogan and the Rock would, of course, face each other again a little under a year after this match. By this time, the Rock was firmly in the midst of his own “Hollywood” heel turn as an abrasive egomaniac and Hogan was embroiled in a feud with Vince McMahon. Before the two faced off at WrestleMania XIX, however, Hogan was forced to battle the Rock again at the 2003 No Way Out pay-per-view to the same result, but with the caveat that the Rock’s victory came after assistance from McMahon and a crooked referee. While both men would go on to have numerous other matches, their next biggest in-ring encounter came during the opening segment of WrestleMania XXX where Hogan, Rock, and Steve Austin shared the ring in an iconic (and hilarious) WrestleMania moment.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Fantastic
What did you think to the Icon vs. Icon clash between the Rock and Hollywood Hulk Hogan? Do you think the match would be as memorable without the rampant Toronto crowd? Who was your pick to win this match at the time? Were you a fan of the nWo’s brief stint in the WWF? Would you have preferred to see Hogan face off against Steve Austin? Which generational wrestling icons would you like to see go one-on-one? How are you celebrating WrestleMania’s anniversary this year and what’s your favourite WrestleMania moment? Drop your thoughts below or leave a comment on my social media to let me know what you think about WrestleMania X8 and be sure to check out my other wrestling content across the site.
In April 1985, the first issue of the ground-breaking Crisis on Infinite Earths(Wolfman, et al, 1986) released and saw the temporary destruction of the “Multiverse”. To celebrate this momentous event, I’m discussing multiversal crossovers all throughout April in an event I dubbed “Crossover Crisis”.
Writers: Nancy A. Collins and David Imhoff – Artist: Jeff Butler
Story Title: “Goin’ South” Published: October 1995
Story Title: “A Day in the Life…” Published: November 1995
Story Title: “Face Off” Published: January 1996
The Background: Following on the heels of John Carpenter’s Halloween(Carpenter, 1978), which popularised the “slasher” sub-genre of horror cinema, Friday the 13th(Cunningham, 1980) proved to be a box office success, justifying the release of numerous sequels. Immediately, the slasher franchise became synonymous with its unstoppable, machete-wielding, hockey mask-wearing killer, Jason Voorhees (Various), a horror icon who has transcended the genre, becoming a mainstream figure who has branched out into videogames, toys, and various comic books. These would explore Jason’s complex mythology and pit him against other horror icons and, in fact, this latter gimmick was used in his very first comic book appearance as Jason ended up befriending Jedidiah Sawyer/Leatherface and his cannibalistic family in this curious and oft-forgotten three-issue series. Leatherface, of course, first appeared in the highly controversial and influentialTexas Chain Saw Massacre (Hooper, 1974), to which all masked slashers owe a great debt. Thanks to a myriad of sequels, remakes, and requels, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has suffered from the law of diminishing returns at times, though Leatherface and his iconic chainsaw remains a prominent horror figure. Given their childlike demeanours, violent bloodlust, and their unsettling family relationships, I guess it made sense for Topps Comics to have the two square off in this limited series, especially as the legal issues surrounding the long-awaited clash between Jason and Freddy Kruger (Robert Englund) wouldn’t be resolved for some time.
The Review: Our story begins as most Friday the 13thfilms do: with a bit of context about Crystal Lake, affectionately known to the locals as “Camp Blood” thanks to the actions of Pamela Voorhees and her zombie-like killer of a son, Jason. Given that this comic was published in 1995, the most recent film was Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday(Marcus, 1993), one of two ultimately unsuccessful attempts to finally do Jason in for good, which explains Jason’s somewhat odd-looking appearance. He’s kind of a mixture of his look from Friday the 13thPart VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan(Hedden, 1989) and Jason Goes to Hell, meaning his bulbous head is kind of eating into his mask. He also starts the story still chained to the bottom of Crystal Lake, indicating that this comic book takes place sometime after Friday the 13thPart VI: Jason Lives(McLoughlin, 1986) rather than after Friday the 13thPart VII: The New Blood (Buechler, 1988) since he hasn’t decayed enough to resemble his look in that film. Honestly, trying to figure out where or even if this comic fits into the already spotty Friday the 13thtimeline (or with that of the equally troublesomeTexas Chainsaw Massacre films) is a fool’s errand; it’s better to just say it’s an alternative tale that takes place after Jason Lives and the original Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Anyway, the story sees Crystal Lake abandoned due to Jason’s many rampages; in its place is a big industrial factory that pumps its waste into the lake, contaminating it so badly that its owners, Linhart Amalgamated, decide to cut their losses and ditch the lake entirely so they can build a fancy business district on its foundations. Naturally, they do this on the cheap, but the dredging is successful and sees the polluted water and its toxic waste loaded onto containers and transported across the country via barge, truck, and train.
When Jason finds himself in Texas, he’s welcomed into the grotesque Sawyer family.
This sees Jason forcibly extracted from his underwater prison and reanimates him, just as the local crazy warned, and he bursts out of his confinement in such a rage that he chops up a train-hopping hobo and his doggy! Jason then barges into the control carriage and kills the relaxing train conductors, splitting the head of one right down the middle with his machete! The train consequently derails and dramatically explodes, leaving Jason lost in the woods of “Sawyerville” in Texas, where he’s just about to hack up some poor randomer when he’s interrupted by Nubbins Sawyer/The Hitchhiker and Leatherface, who are also chasing the terrified man. Encouraged by the Hitchhiker, Leatherface and Jason immediately go at it, with Jason somehow able to deflect Leatherface’s chainsaw with his machete and knock it from his hands. However, the two brutish killers share an intense look as they clash weapons and Jason chooses to behead the victim and peacefully hand Leatherface his chainsaw, earning him the admiration of the Hitchhiker. Against his very nature, Jason is compelled to follow the two back to their humble abode, which is adorned with decorations made from the flesh and bones of their victims, which are also cooked up for the family to eat by Drayton Sawyer/The Cook. When the Hitchhiker and the Cook applaud Jason’s killing skills and berate Leatherface, the hockey masked killer wanders upstairs to find the unmasked Leatherface blubbering. Sensing a kindred spirit in the hulking cannibal, Jason silently invites him downstairs to join the family for dinner, specifically the Cook, the Hitchhiker, the bloated corpse of Aunt Amelia, and decrepit former butcher Grandpa Sawyer. Though struggling with the alien emotions bubbling within his enraged mind, Jason feels so comfortable and accepted with the cannibalistic misfits that he communicates his name to them by writing on the wall with “Kool-Aid” (that’s most likely just blood) and being welcomed to the family.
When Jason sees the way the Hitchhiker treats Leatherface, it unearths some bad memories.
Jason stays with the family, even resting in his own bedroom, where his dreams are dominated by flashbacks to when he drifted out to sea and almost drowned as a child. Tensions quickly rise as the Hitchhiker insults Jason by demanding he take off his mask and eat some scrambled brains, and then attacks Leatherface after being reprimanded by the Cook, which gives Jason a flashback to the violence he suffered at the hands of his abusive father. The Cook briefly placates Jason with a tour of the house, showing off the macabre kitchen, where fresh bodies hang on meat hooks, human meat is stored in the freezer, and more bodies are cooked up in the smokehouse. The Cook takes an immediate shine to Jason, approving of his friendship with Leatherface and sharing his dreams to one day serve his unique food to the social elite. After showing off his long-dead dog to Jason, the Hitchhiker is ordered to the family gas station, where he creeps out a travelling couple. He then rushes back to recruit Leatherface to pick up the “groceries”, but the Cook suggests he take Jason out instead to show him their ways. The Hitchhiker attacks the man with a hammer, bashing his brains in, and admonishes Jason for throttling the woman to death too quickly as the Sawyers enjoy hearing them squeal and, while the Cook is disappointed that the dead bodies aren’t younger, it’s a successful trip for the cannibals. The Hitchhiker then excitedly shows off his art collection to Jason, a room full of dead bodies that have been turned into chairs and other furniture. He delights in showing off a lamp, plant pot, and chair all made from skulls and bones and his pride and joy: a corpse dressed up as Santa Claus with a red lightbulb for a nose! When Leatherface sneaks in and accidentally destroys the Hitchhiker’s chair, the maniacal Sawyer beats his dim-witted sibling mercilessly, berating him the entire time and again causing Jason to remember how his own father routinely beat and demeaned him before his mother (strangely called “Doris” here) cleaved his head in with a machete. Accordingly, Jason defends Leatherface, though the Hitchhiker is less than impressed since he can’t actually feel pain.
When the relationship breaks down, Jason finds himself ostracised and longing for home.
When Jason moves to stab the Hitchhiker with a bone, Leatherface steps in and Jason retires to the house, troubled by his hesitation and recent behaviour. He ends up in the attic, longing for simpler times at Camp Crystal Lake, and the Cook comes to find him and apologise for the Hitchhiker’s behaviour. He also reveals that he set aside his dreams to look after the family as a promise to their mother, his sister, Velma, suggesting a degree of inbreeding in the family, and asks Jason to help him get Grandpa downstairs for dinner. The Hitchhiker continues to scold Leatherface, however; after accusing the mongoloid of reading his comic books, the Hitchhiker beats him in a rage, again compelling Jason to defend his friend. This time, it earns him a switchblade to the chest, which naturally doesn’t faze the hulking murderer, and Jason tears the house apart in pursuit of the maniacal Hitchhiker. Angered at Jason’s outburst, which sees Aunt Amelia beheaded, the Cook tries to stop him with a meat cleaver and a chase ensues, with Jason smashing into the kitchen and preparing to eviscerate the two before Leatherface bursts in with his chainsaw whirring. After a moment’s hesitation, Leatherface strikes, slicing Jason’s stomach and rekindling his rage; incensed at the betrayal, Jason buries his machete in Leatherface’s shoulder and the two go at it. Leatherface suffers a deep cut to the wrist but fails to land a blow of his own before the Hitchhiker bashes Jason’s head in with a hammer. Although the Hitchhiker is eager to treat Jason the same as anyone else, the Cook doesn’t feel right about eating him; not only did he genuinely like Jason, he suspects his meat wouldn’t be too appetising so he decides that he deserves a decent send off. Despite their differences, Leatherface angrily insists that Jason keep his mask on and the family drive Jason’s brained body to the nearby lake, where they tie cinder blocks to his angles, put his machete in his lifeless hand, and dump him in with a ceremonial kick. This is enough to spark Jason back to life; he cuts through his bonds and rises from the lake, briefly tempted to slaughter the Sawyers for their betrayal, but deciding that he’s had enough of strange people and strange places and begins the long walk back to Crystal Lake and the comfort of the familiar.
The Summary: This was an interesting anomaly of a comic; there’s definitely some crossover appeal between Jason and Leatherface and I think the story did a decent job of painting the two as kindred spirits, but I don’t think it fully lived up to this potential. This was more like Jason Meets the Sawyers since, while he does fight Leatherface very briefly twice throughout the story, he’s more touring their house and being welcomed into their family. I think one thing that’s kind of crucial for any crossover is seeing each character in the other’s location, but we don’t get that here as Jason spends the entire story in Texas, mostly in the Sawyer house, and I think it might have benefitted from having Jason and Leatherface spend more time together, killing randomers, and then demonstrating their differences in their methods. Leatherface is, essentially, a butcher, artist, and child-like figure but the comic only really delves into the last aspect of his personality. While this works in creating parallels between the way the Hitchhiker treats him and the way Jason’s father abused him, it doesn’t always land as the comic is understandably more interested in pairing Jason with characters who can actually talk beyond animalistic grunts.
While the two don’t fight much, they’re positioned as thematic parallels and the art’s suitably gory.
The artwork is pretty good; very exaggerated and stylised, but suitably gory and I really enjoyed the depiction of the Sawyer house, though it does seem like the story suffers from padding a bit as it stops to explore the Cook’s unrealised dreams and the Hitchhiker’s art collection. Because of this, I wonder if it might’ve been better as two thirty-page issues rather than being a three-issue arc as then we could’ve gotten to the titular fight a little faster. When Jason and Leatherface do fight, it’s very brief and not very bloody; neither really inflict much damage on each other and it just suddenly and anti-climatically ends when the Hitchhiker bashes Jason’s brains in. I enjoyed the text boxes that tried to explore Jason’s mindset and conflict over why he’s spared the family and chosen to stay with them, but at times it seems to be openly criticising the paper thin plot and the nonsensical reason behind why he would choose to stay with them. The narrative also suffers from repetition and constant flip-flopping; one minute Leatherface and Jason are buddies, sharing an unspoken bond, and the next Leatherface is attacking Jason with a chainsaw since he dared to raise a hand to the Hitchhiker. Similarly, the story repeats the same thread of Jason stepping in to defend Leatherface from the Hitchhiker more than once and it’s not really clear why the second time leads to a bigger falling out other than the story needing to end. Consequently, things get a bit muddled and boring considering it’s only three issues long, which is again why I think a two issue special would’ve been better. Still, it’s a fun little curio; the artwork is good, the gore is enjoyable, and the attempt to shed some light on Jason’s childhood and somewhat humanise him through Leatherface was admirable, if flawed. I’d actually like to see this done again, perhaps with a painted, gritty art style and a tighter plot, but it was inoffensive enough, if a bit forgettable.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
What did you think to the showdown between Jason and Leatherface? Were you disappointed that they only fought a couple of times and that it was rather brief? Did you enjoy seeing Jason interact and bond with the Sawyer family? What did you think to the Hitchhiker and the focus on exploring the family’s…unique lifestyle? Which horror icons would you like to see clash in a comic or movie? What’s your favourite Friday the 13th and Texas Chainsaw Massacre film? Whatever your thoughts on this horror crossover, feel free to leave them in the comments or on my social media.
In February 1991, readers of The New Mutants were introduced to Wade W. Wilson, AKA the wise-cracking, fourth-wall-breaking Merc With a Mouth himself, Deadpool. Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza’s sword-swinging immortal went on to become one of Marvel’s most popular anti-heroes thanks to his metatextual humour, violent nature, and massively successfullive-actionfilms. It’s perhaps no surprise that Sideshow rechristened April 1st as “Deadpool Day” to give fans of the chimichanga-chomping mercenary an excuse to celebrate all things Deadpool.
Story Title: “A Kiss, A Curse, A Cure” Published: 13 May 1998 (cover-dated July 1998) Writer: Joe Kelly Artist: Steve Harris
The Background: By the 1980s, the X-Men were established as a successful cornerstone of Marvel Comics; they were so popular that then-chief editor Jim Shooter ordered a number of X-Men spin-off books, one of which was Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod’s The New Mutants. These Mutant youngsters were eventually tutored by the time travelling Mutant Nathan Summers/Cable and rechristened as X-Force, and famously went up against Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld’s Deadpool in The New Mutants #98 (ibid, 1991). Heavily inspired by James Howlett/Logan/Wolverine and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (and with numerous similarities to DC Comics’ Slade Wilson/Deathstroke the Terminator), the self-styled “Merc With a Mouth” was initially introduced as an antagonist for the Mutant team. However, Deadpool proved popular and soon made guest appearances in other Marvel Comics before receiving his own four-issue miniseries, a precursor to his ongoing solo title and his own influx of popularity once he began breaking the fourth wall. One of the character’s other defining traits is his relationship with Lady (or Mistress) Death, a cosmic, reaper-like entity whom Wade is desperately in love with. Created by Mike Friedrich and Jim Starlin, Death is most prominently known for also being the object of Thanos’s affections; his motivation for gathering the Infinity Gems and eradicating half the life in the universe was to win her love. Thanos and Deadpool clashed over their love for death more than once; in fact, it was the Mad Titan who cursed Deadpool with immortality when Lady Death chose Wade over him.
The Review: This bumper annual opens with the super chatty Deadpool unexpectedly teleporting right into the path of a closed fist; the punch sends him careening over a cliff edge where, despite this best efforts, he plummets to the ground with a sickening impact. Just moments before, Deadpool had been working to make amends for his past deeds in San Francisco, and now he finds himself literally dead of a broken neck thanks to his mysterious assailant. Deadpool’s spirit initially balks at the idea of the fall killing him, or the sudden attack being real, but is forced to confront the truth when Lady Death greets him with a passionate kiss. Despite Deadpool asking to skip the flashbacks and cosy up to Death, she silently insists on forcing him to relive his traumatic origins and the story regularly shifts between the present and the past, where mercenary for hire Wade Wilson is given a tour of the Weapon X facility, a special weapons development branch of Department K, the superhuman arm of the Canadian government. At this point, Wade is a strapping young man with a head full of blonde hair and the potential to be a valuable asset to his government, but also riddled with terminal cancer. Since Weapon X has already made a veritable Captain Canada out of James Hudson/Vindicator, the general is confident that even trash like Wade can be moulded into a superhero with their program. Wade readily agrees, awestruck by the Vindicator and with little to lose from his prognosis. However, he fails to pass the grade and, with his conditioning worsening, he’s locked up in a hospice where his fellow outcasts have such a low life expectancy that they regularly take bets on how long they will survive from their horrific and invasive experiments.
After being killed, Deadpool relives his traumatic origins and first encounter with Lady Death.
This “deadpool” carries high stakes and is championed by the semi-cybernetic Worm Cunningham; however, when Worm tries to pull that shit on Wade, the heavily scarred and slowly dying mercenary pulls a gun on him and demands to be left alone before turning the gun on himself. Before he can pull the trigger, though, the gun (and Wade’s wrist) is crushed by the sadistic, super strong Francis Fanny/A-Man, who mocks Wade and the knocks him out to deliver him to the resident doctor, Emrys Killebrew, for further experimentation. Dr. Killebrew and the A-Man are amused by Wade’s torture, especially when he begs for death, and both delight in subjecting him to unspeakable torment to make the most of his raw materials. The experience is so traumatic for Wade that his mind breaks and he grows cynical, scorns his misfortunes, and finds his body further ravaged by cancerous tumours. His mind becomes so warped that he perceives Lady Death, who lingers in his cell, intrigued by his unique imagination, and is stunned to find that he can see her. After invasively confirming that he’s not suffering from some kind of aneurysm, Death postulates that Wade is a unique being who longs to die but is being artificially kept alive against his will. Frankly, she finds the entire thing quite the turn on, as does he since Death assumes an alluring form given the amount of times he’s begged for it; thus, she promises they can be together if he finds a way to die but, despite his best efforts, he’s thwarted at every turn. He’s constantly stopped from killing himself and subjected to nightmarish experiments that bring him to the brink of death and cause him agony, yet he remains alive thanks to Dr. Killebrew’s machinations. He’s become so unkillable that his odds in the Deadpool have risen to three thousand to one, and such a risk to himself that he’s confined to a high-tech wheelchair. However, he remains determined to reunite with Death and to get the A-Man out of his way; Worm, however, doesn’t fancy his odds since the A-Man boasts enhanced strength, instincts, speed, and durability.
Wade’s defiance causes the A-Man to kill his friend just for the chance to murder the mouthy mercenary.
Worm lets slip that the A-Man hates his real name and is psychotically triggered by the merest mention of it, which is all Wade needs to rile up the brutal guard. Wade’s taunting works, sending Francis into a violent frenzy and condemning him to endure electroshock therapy. The experience is so intense and extreme that it briefly allows Wade to speak with Death once more. While he’s not truly dead, he crosses over long enough to share a dance with her, and Wade’s mockery of the A-Man not only improves his standing in the Deadpool but also offers a glimmer of hope to the other inmates. There’s a defiant fire there that wasn’t there before, but Wade angrily denies that he’s a hero; he sees the world as cruel and unfair and hope as a waste of energy, much to Worm’s disappointment. Even Death wonders if he was a little hard on the semi-cyborg but Wade insists that the only thing he cares about is being with her; others can play the role of hero, after all. Still, Wade’s attitude and the rising insubordination sees the A-Man voice his grievances to Dr. Killebrew; despite the A-Man protesting that he’s less effective if the patients don’t fear him, Dr. Killebrew is unwilling to simply dispose of Wade since his body contains information vital to his research. To get around this, and teach Wade some respect, the A-Man threatens to subject Worm to violent torture unless Wade falls in line. While Wade is torn between saving his friend and standing up to the A-Man, he ultimately chooses the latter, berating the A-Man with a tirade of insults after Worm begs him to stay defiant. This results in Worm being viciously lobotomised, giving Wade no choice to end his suffering and consequently forcing Dr. Killebrew to order Wade’s execution for killing one of his test subjects.
Wade’s desire for revenge sees him live on as Deadpool and drives him to confront his tormentor.
As the A-Man gleefully takes the controls of Dr. Killebrew’s elaborate murder machine, Wade vows to make them pay for what they’ve done to him, the other patients, and to Worm even as the A-Man rips his heart from his chest. Death comes to him, eager to consummate their love and begging him to let go and be with him; however, while he wishes to finally be with her, his stubborn nature and desperate need for vengeance kick-start his Mutant healing factor and force his body to repair the damage. The experience further damages his psyche but also shuts Death off from him as he drives himself forward to get revenge on his tormentors. Wade relieves some guards of their weapons and goes on a killing spree, much to the A-Man’s surprise and anger. The A-Man crushes Wade’s spine (his entire abdomen, in fact) in a rage and is left stunned when Wade painfully and sickeningly heals from the damage right before his eyes. Wade then christens himself “Deadpool” and unloads two assault rifles into his abuser but, even as he lies dying on the floor amidst the chaos of a full-blown riot, the A-Man can’t help but mock Deadpool’s heavily scarred visage, which somehow remains despite his advanced healing factor. With the A-Man dead, Deadpool calls to Death to take him but she doesn’t answer, leaving him distraught and heartbroken, which in the present he assumes is her way of causing him pain for choosing revenge over her. A silent point from Death reveals that Deadpool’s killer was none other than the A-Man, now calling himself “Ajax”, resurrected and sent to hunt down all the escapees from the hospice, The ghosts of his victims implore Deadpool to finish the job so they can move on to the afterlife and, with one last regretful kiss to Death, Deadpool spontaneously returns to life and heads out to make Ajax pay once and for all.
The Summary: This was quite the surreal story. I believe this was the first real extended dive into Deadpool’s origins, and I recognise a lot of the elements from his first live-action movie, so that was kind of cool. While we don’t learn much about Wade’s life before Weapon X, and nothing about his time with the program since he dropped out of “hero school”, he has a reputation as being a mercenary and has a bit of sympathy to him because of his terminal disease. The main thrust of the story is to showcase just how horrific and traumatic Wade’s time at the hospice was. Wade’s unique speech patterns and manic thought boxes can be traced back to his time there, where the experiments and abuse fractured his mind and drove him to the point where he exists in this kind of limbo between life and death. That alone is alluring to Lady Death, but Wade’s crazed perspective on life also draws her attention, as does her desire to tease him with her affections. Naturally, since he longs for death, Wade finds her impossibly alluring and is desperate to be with her but he’s forever denied that thanks to a throwaway line from Dr. Killebrew about transplanting a healing factor into his ravaged body. When he finally is on the brink of death, Wade’s normally cold-hearted resolve has been replaced by a burning desire for revenge, spurning Death and close that door to him seemingly forever.
The story goes to great pains to examine the tragedy and torture that made Deadpool the man he is.
I do find this concept a little convoluted, similar to the idea that Wolverine has to literally fight off death every time he suffers a mortal injury. I think it clouds things a little and it’s simpler to just say he has a super-superhuman healing factor, but it only muddies the water if you think about it too much. While the concept of Death as a cosmic entity is proven to be real in Marvel Comics, it’s just as likely that Wade’s fracted mind is imagining her as this alluring skeleton woman and that he’s too stubborn, too powerful, and too stupid to die, despite wanting to deep down. Still, the story does a great job of humanising Deadpool and peeling back the layers behind his demented bravado; his experiences left him hating the world, cursing fate and the Gods alike, and wanting nothing more than to die, but the kindness of others and the brutality of his captors shifted him towards a different path. Dr. Killebrew and the A-Man are understandably one-dimensional characters; one’s a cackling mad scientist with no regard for his patients’ welfare and the other’s a superhuman sadist who delights in throwing his weight around and the suffering of others. I liked how Wade riled the A-Man up with insults and repeatedly calling him Francis, and that Wade became this revolutionary figure amongst the populace as a result, so the conflict was more about physical embodiments of oppression and freedom rather than an actual fist fight, which is fitting considering this extends to the physical and metaphysical aspect of Death. Ultimately, this was a decent and surprisingly tragic story designed to explain how awful Deadpool’s life has been and why he is the way he is. In that respect it worked well, and the art was serviceable enough most of the time, so it’s a good choice for anyone who’s just getting into Deadpool and wants to learn a bit more about his background and character.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Have you ever read Deadpool and Death Annual ’98? If so, what did you think about Deadpool’s trip down memory lane? Do you like the idea of him falling for Lady Death or do you find that aspect a bit convoluted? What did you think to the agonising torture Deadpool had to suffer and the characterisation of Dr. Killeshaw and the A-Man? Do you enjoy Deadpool’s manic sense of humour or do you find it a bit grating? What are some of your favourite Deadpool stories and moments and how are you celebrating Deadpool Day today? Whatever your thoughts on Deadpool, feel free to share them below or drop a comment on my social media.
Anthony “Tony” Stark/Iron Man first lived, walked, and conquered in Tales of Suspense #39, published in March 1963 and brought to life by Marvel mastermind Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Don Heck. Since then, ol’ shellhead has gone through numerous different armours, had many amazing adventures, featured in numerous videogames and cartoons, and shot into mainstream superstardom thanks to an iconic, career-defining portrayal by Robert Downey Jr.
Story Title: “Demon in a Bottle” Published: November 1979 Writers: David Michelinie and Bob Layton Artist: John Romita, Jr.
The Background: Long before Robert Downey Jr. uttered the unforgettable words “I am Iron Man”, Stan Lee sought to take a character his readers would hate (a rich, military industrialist), mix in some inspiration from Howard Hughes alongside some vulnerability and personal tragedy, and make him someone they could root for. When mounting deadlines kept Lee from writing Iron Man’s debut, he turned to younger brother Larry Lieber, while artist Don Heck and the legendary Jack Kirby handled the artwork. Although Iron Man is very much a mainstream superhero these days, that wasn’t always the case, which is surprising given his prominence in cartoons and Marvel Comics. Alongside a colourful collection of villains, Iron Man has served on Marvel’s premier super team, the Avengers, swapped places with his teenaged younger self, fought against and imprisoned his fellow heroes, and even battled a sentient version of his armour! But one of Stark’s most harrowing battles came in his addiction to alcoholism; as plotted by writers David Michelinie and Bob Layton, Stark was wracked with guilt after an armour malfunction caused him to accidentally kill a foreign ambassador. Following this, Stark’s drinking increased and this is only exacerbated by the ensuing investigation and the machinations of Justin Hammer, who was behind his armour’s troubles, and caused Stark to drunkenly lash out at friend and foe alike. Considering how important and influential the “Demon in a Bottle” arc was for Iron Man’s characterisation (it’s frequently cited as one of the top Iron Man stories), it’s ironic that Layton would later state that it was never the writers’ intention to raft anything more than a new personal drama for Stark to conquer and that they had no idea how pivotal it would be to the character for years to come.
The Review: The issue begins with Stark wallowing in his office. Although he was publicly exonerated and cleared of all charges, public opinion of the Armoured Avenger (who was still believed to be Stark’s bodyguard at the time) has been shaken, as has confidence in Stark International. Already haunted by the memory of the life he took, Stark indulged in a wild night of drinking that saw him spur his love interest, Bethany Cabe, and insult his faithful butler, Edwin Jarvis, so badly that the courteous footman resigned from his employ. Sat alone, surrounded by glasses and bottles of half-finished whiskey and headlines branding his alter ego a murderer, Stark can’t help but ruminate on the status of his armoured persona. Usually, Iron Man was the perfect scapegoat for Stark’s more illicit actions but he’s forced to accept the fact that he, not Iron Man, killed a man, is causing his company to go down the drain, and scared off his loyal manservant. Terrified of losing everything he’s spent a lifetime building up, and still necking back the whiskey, Stark decides that the only solution is to give up being Tony Stark completely and devote himself to Iron Man full-time. Thus, he gulps back another shot of liquid courage and takes to the skies, drunkenly crashing through the window of his office and heading out for some action.
When his drinking starts to impact his heroics, Stark desperately asks for help to overcome it.
It’s not long before he finds it, either. A train has conveniently derailed nearby; while there are no casualties, a tanker full of chlorine gas needs getting back on track, something Iron Man decides to handle personally. However, in his inebriated state, he neglects to account for the weight ratio and the tanker plummets to the ground, spewing toxic gas into the air and causing the Armoured Avenger to be labelled a nuisance by the on-site cops. Ashamed, Iron Man flies away, angry at himself for being so careless and admonishing himself for not having designed any new armours in weeks thanks to his responsibilities to Stark International. In despair, he returns to his office to pour a fresh drink and is startled to find Bethany waiting to confront him about his addiction. Bethany can see the signs as clear as day thanks to her previous experiences with her now-ex-husband, Alexander Van Tilberg, once a charming and successful diplomat who became withdrawn and angry after becoming addicted to pills. This addiction not only caused a rift between them but also cost Alexander his life, so she’s perfectly positioned to warn Stark about the self-destructive nature of his drinking. She hits him with just the right mixture of tough love and sympathy, pleading with him to admit he has a problem and to open up to her and the few friends he has left before it’s too late. Incredibly, her words get through to him and he drops his glass to the floor and timidly asks, practically begs, for her to help him.
Despite the temptation, Stark goes cold turkey, makes amends, and is resolved to win back his company.
What follows is a harrowing montage in which Stark goes cold turkey; rather than attend meetings or seek professional help, Stark is minded by the incredibly patient Bethany, who endures his mood swings and despair over the course of several painful days. In time, Stark rediscovers his love for designing, and Bethany’s support helps him to realise that he has a lot of bridges to mend. His first port of call is the Avenger’s mansion, where Jarvis has set up home since leaving. Stark’s initial relief, and elevation, to have made amends with his faithful butler soon hits rocky shores when Jarvis reveals that he was forced to sell his shares in Stark International to pay for his mother’s medical bills; it turns out that he was scammed by a loan shark and now Stark is in danger of losing control of his company to the Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage and Law-Enforcement Division (S.H.I.E.L.D.) Although extremely tempted to turn to the bottle, Stark pushes through with all the resolve and willpower he can muster to don his armour once more and confront Mr. Benchley, the lender to whom Jarvis sold his stock. When cash fails to convince the Mr. Benchley, Iron Man trashes his office and threatens to expose his shady business ethics to the authorities, only to learn that the loan shark has already sold the stock to S.H.I.E.L.D. Returning despondent to his office, Tony moves to pour himself a fresh glass and, despite the immense urge to drown his sorrows in alcohol, Bethany’s appeal and the support of his friends ultimately wins through. The issue ends with Stark having turned his back on the booze and determined to win back control of his company with a newfound resolve, supported by Bethany and Jarvis and on the road to recovery.
The Summary: The first thing that strikes me about this issue is the artwork; I didn’t read a lot of Iron Man as a kid as he didn’t tend to show up very often over here in the UK but what I did read was from the 1970s so I’m a bit biased towards John Romita Jr.’s rendition of Iron Man. While I prefer some of his other armours, particularly the “Silver Centurion” look or those that are more angular, Romita Jr. does a great job of updating Jack Kirby’s original design and making it seem like armour and not just flimsy fabric. Tony Stark also sports one of his best looks here outside of his later mullet, with a mop of dark hair, a sexy little moustache, and some outrageous bellbottoms, but it’s his facial expressions that win the day. Obviously, this is an extremely harrowing time for Stark; he’s at his lowest point, lost in depression, guilt, and self-doubt, and struggling to keep it all together and you really see this in the gamut of emotions etched into his features. He’s despondent, lost to a drunken joy, depressed, enraged, and literally bathed in sweat as he struggles, hands trembling, to resist taking another shot or reaching for that bottle. The text boxes do an equally masterful job of conveying, with trademark Marvel eloquence, the turmoil with Stark but a lot of these panels could’ve been left without any text and still been just as powerful, if not more so.
The story wonderfully showd the destructive effects of alcohol on Stark’s life.
Taken in a bubble, Stark’s battle with alcoholism seems to be very cut and dry; it’s important to remember that he was regularly swigging down the booze over a number of prior issues and, while this issue ends with him determined to turn his life around, it is by no means the end of his struggle and is instead the first step towards recovery. Still, I would have liked to see a little more of drunken Iron Man; the previous issues did a great job of showing drunk Tony lashing out at those closest to him and how his drinking has affected his social life, but seeing Iron Man stumble through heroics while tanked up is a startling visual. The issue plays it safe, with Iron Man’s mishap escalating an issue but one that is more inconveniently dangerous than life-threatening. Those who want to se ol’ shellhead go toe-to-toe in a fist fight while puking in his suit will be disappointed as this issue is very much an internal battle for Stark. Shaken by Bethany’s heart-breaking loss and moved by her persistent (if blunt) attempts to help him, Stark resolves to quit drinking altogether. As I touched upon, these days this would probably be rendered in a more realistic way but it’s certainly dramatic to see Stark suffering through withdrawal and sheepishly making amends with Jarvis. It’s a powerful issue, one that remains as prominent today as it did decades ago; it helps show a different vulnerability to Stark and portray him as a flawed hero, and man, as well as tackling the destructive nature of alcoholism in a way that isn’t as ham-fisted or cringe-worthy as some stories that touch upon similar issues. While it’s probably not the greatest Iron Man story ever told, it’s certainly significant and emotionally relevant to the character so it’s well worth checking out if only to experience one of the quintessential turning points in Iron Man’s long history.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Have you ever read “Demon in a Bottle”? What did you think to Stark’s descent into alcoholism and the way the disease was portrayed here? Would you have liked to see more of Iron Man under the influence or do you think focusing on his social life was a better idea? Do you think Stark’s alcoholism has become a bit of a cliché at this point or do you enjoy how it makes him a flawed character? Have you ever struggled with addiction? What are some of your favourite Iron Man characters or stories? Where does Iron Man rank in your hierarchy of comic book characters? Are you doing anything to commemorate Iron Man’s debut appearance and, if so, what is it? Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Iron Man so leave a comment below or on my social media.
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