Author: Dr. K

Movie Night [PokéMonth]: Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon

Dr. K1 Comment

Upon the release of Pokémon: Blue Version and Pokémon: Red Version (Game Freak, 1996), a new craze swept through playgrounds across the world. Entire generations have grown up with Pokémon as clever marketing saw Nintendo’s newest franchise become a massively lucrative and popular multimedia powerhouse that endures to this day. Accordingly, February 27th is now internationally recognised as “National Pokémon Day”, which I’m expanding to an entire month of Pokémon every Tuesday in February, which is even more fitting given that February 6 is the day that Mew successfully gave birth to my favourite Pokémon, Mewtwo!

Released: 29 April 2006
Director: Kunihiko Yuyama and Masamitsu Hidaka
Distributor: Shogakukan Productions / Pokémon USA, Inc.
Budget: Unknown
Stars: Sarah Natochenny, Bill Rogers, Michele Knotz, Jamie Peacock, Billy Regan, Katsuyuki Konishi, and Ikue Ōtani

The Plot:
Ash Ketchum (Natochenny) and his friends are invited to the mansion of Doctor Yung (Regan), a Pokémon scientist who has developed a machine to create holographic mirage Pokémon. However, he is kidnapped by the mysterious “Mirage Master” who wishes to use the system to produce Pokémon with absolutely no weaknesses, and it’s up to Ash and friends to preserve the natural balance of the Pokémon world.

The Background:
I’ve discussed in detail before about how influential Pokémon (Nintendo/Creatures/Game Freak, 1995 to present) was when it was first released, though the videogames were only one part of the multimedia franchise as kids became engrossed in every piece of Pokémon merchandise available, including the still-ongoing anime series (1997 to present). Accordingly, the aptly-titled Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back (Yuyama, 1998) proved to be a massive financial success despite the many changes made in the translation process. With Mewtwo being one of Pokémon’s most popular characters, and considering the movie’s success, it was perhaps inevitable that Mewtwo became the focal point of the anime’s tenth anniversary special, which chief director Kunihiko Yuyama aimed to be a celebration of the evolution of Pokémon over the last ten years. Premiering on Kids’ WB and made widely available as a DVD extra, the one-hour special received crticism for replacing the long-running English language voice cast and is generally regard as the worst Pokémon special ever made.

The Review:
The tenth anniversary special opens with Ash, Pikachu (Ōtani), May (Knotz) and her little brother Max (Peacock), and former Pewter City gym leader Brock (Rogers) travelling through a forest in Ash’s home region of Kanto. Ash is feeling particularly smug because he has received an invitation from Dr. Yung to test his “amazing Pokémon training skills” against the doctor’s new battle system, and the group quickly arrived at Dr. Yung’s laboratory, which is housed within an elaborate castle known as the Mirage Mansion. There, Ash is surprised to find that his mentor and neighbour, Professor Samuel Oak (Billy Beach), and his old travelling companion and former Cerulean City gym leader, Misty (Knotz), have also been invited to attend; Ash is disappointed to find that his invitation wasn’t unique and that Dr. Yung has been passing his compliments out to other notably Pokémon trainers. Their mysterious host soon arrives, and the group do that blood annoying thing where they waste time introducing themselves to him, as though anyone really needs such an introduction, but it’s notable that Dr. Yung and Professor Oak are already familiar with each and have a previous professional relationship.

Ash and his friends are excited at pitting their skills against Dr. Yung’s Mirage Pokémon.

Ever the eager beaver, Ash asks to see the doctor’s vaulted new battle system and the group are stunned to find that the entire floor of the Mirage Mansion has been converted into a “mirage field”. Using this holographic technology, Dr. Yung is able to conjure up a variety of Pokémon based on their Pokémon data; Dr. Yung’s Mirage Pokémon are realistic down to the smallest detail, save for an obvious glow, and Dr. Yung is extremely proud of having perfected his technology, which is even capable of recreating extinct and Legendary Pokémon in order to better understand their capabilities. Naturally, Ash immediately volunteers to pit his skills against these Mirage Pokémon, but Misty overrules him on the basis of chivalry. Misty and Dr. Yung engage in a simple, one-on-one, knockout battle that pits his Mirage Aggron (Unknown) against Misty’s Staryu (Shin-ichiro Miki). This is another of those horrible mismatches that could only take place in the anime; seriously I have no idea why Misty, a former gym leader, wouldn’t send her Starmie (Ōtani) out against an Aggron, and we’ll never know if Staryu’s more powerful and competent form would have stood a better chance against the Mirage Aggron. Still, the point of the battle is to showcase not only how powerful and fast Dr. Yung’s Mirage Pokémon are, but also that he’s fully capable of programming them to use any movies he wishes; in this case, the Mirage Aggron was given an additional edge because it was able to use Bullet Seed and Thunder Wave, two moves that are super effective against Water-types like Staryu.

While Team Rocket are no threat, Mirage Master is a heinous villain who cares little for Pokémon.

Despite this, Ash remains as excited as ever (if not more excited) to pit his Pikachu against the Mirage Aggron, but their battle is interrupted before it can begin when the Mirage System is suddenly hijacked by the malevolent Mirage Master, who turns Dr. Yung’s Mirage Pokémon against the heroes. Unfortunately for the mysterious, masked villain, all of the heroes are able to escape from the Mirage Mansion by running away, leaving only Professor Oak behind, and the Mirage Pokémon are unable to leave the confines of the mansion due to the limitations of the Mirage System. The Mirage Master holds Professor Oak hostage deep within Dr. Yung’s laboratory and demands to know the access password for the professor’s laboratory database so that the masked villain can put Oak’s research towards creating better, and even more powerful Mirage Pokémon that will be super effective against all types of Pokémon. Professor Oak is disgusted at the villain’s disrespect for the strengths, weaknesses, and individuality that comes from natural Pokémon. Determined to rescue Professor Oak, the heroes decide to split up: May and Max watch over the Mirage Mansion, Brock goes to contact Officer Jenny (Peacock) for help, and Ash, Pikachu, and Misty sneak into the Mirage Mansion using their Water-type Pokémon. As if the Mirage Pokémon wasn’t bad enough, Ash and Misty soon bump into regular buffoons and would-be Poké-nappers Jessie (Knotz), James (Billy Beach), and wise-cracking Meowth (ibid) of Team Rocket have followed our heroes to the Mirage Mansion with designs to finally get their hands on Ash’s Pikachu. However, their goals immediately shift to stealing or repurposing Dr. Yung’s technology for their own nefarious ends to create powerful Pokémon for themselves, win the favour of their boss, and become rich either through using or selling the Mirage System. However, Team Rocket are hopelessly outmatched by the Mirage Pokémon and quickly sent packing before they can influence the plot in any meaningful way, and Ash and Misty are separated while battling Mirage Pokémon. Cut off from his friends, Ash is assisted by a Mirage Mew (Satomi Koorogi), a gentle Mirage Pokémon and the victim of constant attacks and ridicule from the Mirage Master, who considers it a “flawed specimen”. Mirage Mew leads Ash to where Professor Oak and Pikachu are being held captive, but he’s too late to stop the Mirage Master from forcibly downloading data of all the Legendary Pokémon Pikachu has encountered from its memories.

Thanks to having access to near-unlimited power, the Mirage Mewtwo proves to be a ruthless foe.

Horrified at Pikachu’s suffering, Oak reluctantly gives over his password, allowing the Mirage Master to hijack every Pokémon database around the world and giving birth to his ultimate Mirage Pokémon: Mirage Mewtwo (Katsuyuki Konishi). Rather than being the same Pokémon Ash encountered before, Mirage Mewtwo is an all-powerful creation of the Mirage System, one incapable of telepathic communication but boasting every Pokémon attack available. Not only is the Mirage Master revealed to be Dr. Yung in disguise and out for revenge after his research was disregarded due to his immoral attitude towards Pokémon, he also extends the Mirage System outside of the Mirage Mansion using a series of missiles and recreates Mirage versions of Entei, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. Naturally, the heroes’ Pokémon are no match for the Mirage Legendary Pokémon, much less Mirage Mewtwo; not only can it destroy other Mirage Pokémon in a single attack, it makes short work of even Professor Oak’s Dragonite (Unknown) by unleashing powerful attacks such as Flamethrower and Hyper Beam. Mirage Mew comes to their aid, shielding them from Mirage Mewtwo’s attack, but is ultimately overwhelmed and disintegrated by Mirage Mewtwo’s attack. Dr. Yung then downloads all of the Mirage Pokémon data into his Mirage Mewtwo, causing tumorous lumps to pop up all over its body and a range of powerful attacks to be unleashed all at once. Right as Mirage Mewtwo is poised to finish off the heroes, Mirage Mew remerges from the Mirage System (and within Mirage Mewtwo’s body) and exerts its control over Mirage Mewtwo, holding it in place so that Pikachu can destroy it with a Volt Tackle. Sadly, Mirage Mew is also destroyed along with its malevolent counterpart, and the entire Mirage System; Dr. Yung refuses to surrender, however, and disappears into the flaming rubble and explosions of his Mirage Mansion and is presumed to have perished alongside his research. In the aftermath, Ash and his friends thank the efforts of the Mirage Mew and condemn Dr. Yung’s immoral nature, before resolving to continue on their journeys.

The Nitty-Gritty:
One thing I’ll give The Master of Mirage Pokémon is that it sure doesn’t waste any time; the opening title sequence is painfully short, even shorter than the one in a regular Pokémon episode, and the credits play over the group’s arrival at the Mirage Mansion. There’s also little to no real build-up and no big Pokémon battle sequence to open the special; it simply begins with Ash re-reading Dr. Yung’s letter for the umpteenth time and then boom, they’re at the Mirage Mansion right away. Being that it’s only an hour long, this is necessary to get us to the main plot of the Mirage Pokémon as quickly as possible, but it’s not as if the special is full of non-stop action, returning faces, or Legendary Pokémon from there. In fact, it actually slows down for quite a chunk and more time is spent showcasing the Mirage Aggron than any of the more powerful, popular, and alluring creations Dr. Yung brings forth. It was great seeing Misty make a comeback and briefly revisiting her friendly rivalry with Ash, but you could have easily taken her out of the special and it wouldn’t have made any difference at all. May, Max, and Brock were all notably side-lined as well, acting as mere support characters going through their usual motions rather than actually having an impact on the plot, and as a celebration of the first ten years of Pokémon ends up falling a little flat as it just doesn’t do enough with the potential of its premise.

A fun enough, poignant special that sadly doesn’t realise the full potential of its premise.

There’s a great deal of anticipation surrounding the reveal of Dr. Yung’s ultimate Mirage Pokémon, which of course turns out to by Mirage Mewtwo and ultimately ends up falling very flat because, by the time Mirage Mewtwo finally shows up, the special is almost over and we don’t really get to see much from it. To make matters worse, Dr. Yung is awestruck at the amount of Legendary Pokémon contained within Pikachu’s memory and yet he doesn’t create Mirage versions of Pokémon like Lugia; instead, he limits himself to the Legendary Birds and Entei, who mostly just stand around and overpower the heroes’ Pokémon before they are absorbed into Mirage Mewtwo (something that didn’t really need to happen as Mirage Mewtwo could already utilise all of their attacks and abilities, and more). This means that the one time we get to see Mewtwo and the Legendary Birds onscreen in an actual episode amounts to a whole lot of nothing, and we don’t get to see Lugia, Latias, and Latios flying alongside the Legendary Birds or Ho-Oh or anything. Instead, the focus is all on Mirage Mewtwo being this dominating holographic Pokémon, which is certainly is, but without the morality and personality of the original Mewtwo, it’s little more than just a mindless beast or machine to put the heroes in peril. Things are even more confused by the fact that Mirage Mew inexplicably exhibits an independent personality; there’s an attempt to explain that this is because even Dr. Yung can’t destroy the natural spirit of Pokémon and that Mew is an aberration compared to the other Mirage Pokémon, but this doesn’t really hold up under close scrutiny. Indeed, if any Mirage Pokémon were to break free from Dr. Yung’s control, I’d expect it to be Mewtwo, and I wonder if the story might have been better serviced by Mirage Mewtwo going berserk and Dr. Yung being forced to team up with the heroes and turn the Legendary Mirage Pokémon against it in order to shut it down and realise the error of his ways.

The Summary:
I don’t think that I would agree that The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon is necessarily the worst Pokémon special I’ve ever seen, or even the worst product to come out of the anime, but it can’t be denied that it is quite disappointing. I am a big fan of Mew, Mewtwo, and the other Legendary Pokémon and I love seeing them crop up in the anime, specials, and movies, but a major gripe I have about their appearances is that they have to count for something. Here, they really don’t count for anything; Dr. Yung observes footage of some of the other Pokémon movies through Pikachu’s memories, reminding us of better times and more accurate representations of these creatures, and makes a big production of showcasing his Mirage Mewtwo and condemning his Mirage Mew, but simply having versions of these creatures appear onscreen doesn’t necessarily equate to them actually being meaningful or interesting. It’s great seeing Mirage Mewtwo busting out all these wacky attacks and overwhelming the heroes, and it was suitably heart-breaking to witness the Mirage Mew sacrifice itself to destroy its ruthless counterpart, but there was so much more potential to be had here. Why not merge the Legendary Birds into one being? Why not team Mirage Mewtwo with a Mirage Lugia? Why not have Mirage Mewtwo break free and go on a rampage and see it battle against Mirage versions of the other Legendary Pokémon? None of that happens, and it results in The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon playing things very safe and dull, and only saving itself from a one-star rating because of the nostalgia surrounding the tenth anniversary and the Pokémon anime and the fact that I am a sucker for Mewtwo and the Legendary Pokémon, even when they barely do anything remotely interesting or entertaining.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think of Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon? Did you enjoy seeing Mewtwo in action again or did you feel the feature was a missed opportunity to do more with the character? What did you think to Dr. Yung and the concept of Mirage Pokémon? Did you enjoy seeing Misty make a return and the cameos from the other Legendary Pokémon? How are you celebrating Mewtwo’s birthday this year? Whatever you think about Pokémon: The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon, Mewtwo, and Pokémon in general, sign up to leave your thoughts in the comments below or leave a reply on my social media.

Back Issues: Tales to Astonish #27

Dr. K4 Comments

Story Title: “The Man in the Ant Hill!”
Published: 28 September 1961 (cover-dated January 1962)
Writers: Stan Lee and Karry Lieber
Artist: Jack Kirby

The Background:
Although Hank Pym debuted in this story, he wouldn’t actually assume the identity of Ant-Man until eight issues later; the story’s premise of a man being shrunk down and hounded by insects did so well that the legendary Stan Lee thought it would be fun to return to the character, now in a more traditionally superheroic guise, and he soon became the focal point of the Tales to Astonish publication, gaining an attractive female partner and eventually helping to found Marvel’s premiere superhero team, the Avengers. All-too-soon, Pym’s mental and emotional stability began to be questioned; he rapidly switched between identities, such as Giant-Man, Goliath, and the ridiculously-named Yellowjacket, created one of the Avenger’s deadliest enemies in the sentient murder machine Ultron, and gained infamy for being abusive and hostile towards his wife. For such an obscure Marvel character, Ant-Man has often been a pivotal component to some of Marvel’s biggest stories and has featured fairly prominently in their animated ventures, while other characters have also assumed Pym’s mantle, especially during his periods of instability or death. Although the character was unable to appear in the MCU’s first big crossover movie, Ant-Man finally came to the big screen in 2015, with veteran actor Michael Douglas portraying Hank Pym as a volatile and flawed mentor figure while Paul Rudd took on the Ant-Man identity as his successor, Scott Lang.

The Review:
“The Man in the Ant Hill” doesn’t waste any time and begins with Dr. Hank Pym marvelling at the success of his mysterious chemical serum (now widely known as Pym Particles) which can shrink and grow any object at will. Pym marvels at his success and bitterly thinks back to how he was mocked and ridiculed by his peers in the scientific community, who saw his methods as little more than flights of fancy that distracted from more practical and realistic projects. Undeterred and resentful of their scorn, Pym refused to deviate from “things that appeal to [his] imagination” and vowed to show them up by becoming the greatest scientist ever with his incredible serum, which he believes will be a “boon […] for mankind” as any object, from food to even armies,  could be reduced in size to save on shipping costs and for rapid transport of vast quantities. So proud of his crowning glory is Pym that he doesn’t waste any time and jumps straight into human trials, dousing himself with his shrinking serum, but his elation quickly turns to horror as he realises that he’s shrinking too small too fast…and that he has no way of returning to normal!

Pym recklessly reduces himself in stature and narrowly escapes become dinner for some ants!

Reduced to the size of less than an ant and stumbling into the garden outside of his laboratory in a frantic state, Pym is further horrified when he’s spotted by an army of ants and chased into their vast network of dirt tunnels. Stuck in a pool of sticky honey, Pym faces certain death but is unexpectedly freed by an ant, only to be faced with a hoard of hungry insects eager to eat him up! Luckily for the misguided scientist, a lone matchstick sits in the cave and, with a well-timed throw of a rock-sized pebble, Pym is able to light a fire to keep his pursuers at bay. As he scrambles to safety using a make-shift lasso (which appears out of nowhere and with no explanation), Pym is attacked by another ant, which clamps him in its vice-like pincers. Thankfully, Pym has learned “the art of judo” and handily tosses the ant aside but, by the time he finally gets out of the dirt tunnel, he’s far too weal to climb up to his enlarging serum, much less fend off the ants. Luckily for him, the friendly ant carries him up to the window ledge and he leaps into the test tube, growing to full size once more. Relieved and elated to be normal again, Pym immediately dumps his serum down the drain, realising that it’s far too dangerous to be used ever again, and humbly agrees to turn his attentions to more practical projects in the future, leaving him to ponder the fate of that random ant that saved his life.

The Summary:
“The Man in the Ant Hill” is an exceptionally brief cautionary tale on the dangers of science and the foolish recklessness of man. Pym has very little characterisation beyond being a bit of an egomaniac; he’s ridiculed by his peers for his wild theories and so desperate to prove them wrong that he develops a serum that he fully believes will benefit the world for good, but doesn’t bother to test its success beyond the first few trials and thoughtlessly douses himself in it without a second’s hesitation. Shrunk to a fraction of his size, Pym doesn’t even allow his scientific reasoning or logic to keep him inside his laboratory, where his only hope of salvation lies, and stumbles outside where he’s easy prey to the ants that life in his garden.

A bizarre story full of conveniences and clichés about the dangers of scientific curiosity.

The artwork is simple and inoffensive; there’s a decent sense of scale at work here and  Pym is constantly portrayed as being smaller and weaker than the insects that hound him (at least until he’s actually caught by one, and then he’s somehow able to overpower it simply because the script says so and “judo”). Where the story falls apart for me, though, is in the random instance of one helpful ant; why is this one helping him when all the others want his blood? How did it understand that he wanted to be carried up to his window ledge? It’s awfully convenient to the story, for sure; about as convenient as a matchstick randomly being down in the tunnel and Pym’s uncanny throwing accuracy, but it’s a convenience that probably has to happen to allow Pym to safely return to full size and learn a valuable lesson in humility. Overall, it’s not a story that’s really going to blow your socks off with innovative art or complex themes; Pym suffers for his ignorance and arrogance as all reckless scientists must and the twist of an ant-sized man is fun, but it’s very much a product of its time and easily forgotten in the grand scheme of Ant-Man stories.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to Ant-Man’s first tentative appearance in Marvel Comics? Did Hank Pym’s plight strike a chord with you or were you unimpressed by his recklessness and stupidity? Why do you think that one ant helped him out? What are some of your favourite Ant-Man stories and moments, and who is your favourite Ant-Man? Sign up to leave your thoughts on Ant-Man below, or drop a comment on my social media, and be sure to check back next Friday for more Ant-Man content!

Back Issues & Knuckles [Sonic 3’s Day]: StC & Knuckles

Dr. K4 Comments

Following a highly anticipated release, bolstered by an extravagant marketing and release schedule, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (SEGA Technical Institute, 1992) not only improved on every aspect of its influential predecessor but also went on to become the second best-selling SEGA Mega Drive game of all time. Expectations were high for the equally-anticipated third entry, a game that ended up being so big that SEGA made the decision to split it into two, birthing perhaps the greatest 2D Sonic adventure in the process.

Story Title: “Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds“
Published: 18 June 1994
Writer and Artist: Nigel Kitching

Story Titles: “Enter Knuckles” (Part 1 and 2), “Power of the Chaos Emeralds“ (Part 1 and 2), and “Robotnik’s Revenge” (Part 1 and 2)
Published: 20 August 1994 to 29 October 1994
Writer: Nigel Kitching
Artist: Richard Elson

The Background:
After allowing SEGA to knock Nintendo from the top of the videogame industry, the company almost immediately set about transforming Sonic’s popularity into mainstream success through a slew of ancillary media and merchandise, most notably cartoon sand comic books. About six months after the first of Sonic’s Archie Comics adventures, United Kingdom publisher Fleetway Editions Limited began their own series with “Britain’s Official SEGA Comic”, Sonic the Comic (StC), a fortnightly publication that I collected diligently until its unfortunate end. Heavily influenced by the now defunct Mobius and Doctor Ovi Kintobor storyline that was popular outside of Japan, StC quickly veered away from the source material to portray Sonic the a mean-spirited leader of a gang of Freedom Fighters comprised of both videogame characters and anthropomorphic characters adapted from the videogames. Like the Archie comics, StC included some very loose adaptations of the videogames that were often truncated or heavily altered to fit with its noticeably different lore. Their adaptation of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (SEGA Technical Institute. 1993; 1994) was no different, though it was framed as a lengthy ongoing storyline told over several issues. Additionally, though he was first teased in a one-off story in the 1994 Sonic Summer Special, these stories also stand as some of the most prominent storylines as they introduced Knuckles the Echidna to the comic, a character who would be at the forefront of his own solo series within StC and some of StC’s most important stories.

The Review:
Sonic the Comic readers first met Knuckles in Sonic: The Summer Special, the first of many bumper publications from Fleetway that contained additional stories and content not seen in the main issues. In his first appearance, Knuckles looked notably different, appearing squatter and more of a plum colour than his traditional red. Still, “Guardian of the Chaos Emeralds” introduces the legend of what was then called the Floating Island, a mysterious island floating above the clouds and which is so rarely glimpsed by those below that it’s thought to be a myth. However, this myth is actually true and the island, held aloft by the power of the Chaos Emeralds, is home to Knuckles, the last of the Echidna people, who is duty bound to safeguard the island while waiting for his people to return. One day, a meteor comes crashing down in the Ice Cap Zone, caching Knuckles’ attention. Knuckles easily travels the distance using a zoom tube and finds it’s not a meteor, but a large spherical craft. Knuckles is stunned when a remote probe emerges and, though cautious, ventures inside to help the “humble inventor” trapped within. Finding the interior to be a mess, Knuckles follows the probe, whose operator expresses surprise to learn they’ve crashed on the Floating Island and that Knuckles has all the Chaos Emeralds there with him. This is all the information the devious Doctor Ivo Robotnik needs to warn the naïve guardian of a pending threat from Sonic the Hedgehog, and therefore dupe Knuckles into aligning with him. A few months later, concerned over Dr. Robotnik’s disappearance after the Death Egg II fell from orbit, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters scoff at the notion that it landed on the mythical Floating Island. Sonic, already irritated at having to go on what he sees as a wild goose chase, is thus stunned when he and Miles “Tails” Prower find the Floating Island based on Kintobor’s hypothesis. Sonic and Tails land in a loose approximation of the Marble Garden Zone and are instantly attacked by an arrow-spitting totem pole, just one of many hazards and traps littering the mythical island. Thankfully, the sarcastic Sonic is saved from falling to his death by the much-abused Tails, and even demonstrates a secret new ability of his, a forcefield he creates by vibrating the air molecules in front of him at super speed.

Sonic meets his match in Knuckles, but ends the fight by finally capturing Dr. Robotnik!

The presence of a Badnik is all the proof Sonic needs that Dr. Robotnik is on the island, but the egg-shaped tyrant makes a physical appearance at the story’s end and Sonic learns the hard way that his hated enemy as a new ally: Knuckles, guardian of the Floating Island and last of the echidnas, who lays Sonic out with a single punch. Sonic recovers pretty quickly but learns that Dr. Robotnik has duped the isolated echidna into thinking that Sonic and Tails are petty thieves and despots looking to steal his island’s Chaos Emeralds; naïve and trusting that Dr. Robotnik is a kind-hearted soul, Knuckles has pledged to defend his island and its Chaos Emeralds, and a fight ensues. While Sonic has the speed advantage, Knuckles exhibits extraordinary superhuman (superanthro?) strength, walloping Sonic over the head and causing a significant tremor by punching the ground. When Sonic sends Knuckles flying with a whirlwind-like Spin Attack, the echidna surprises him by tunnelling under the dirt and the two battle so fiercely while underground that the landscape cracks apart. Sonic gains the upper hand but, although he’s taken a beating, Knuckles is still more raring for more; however, Sonic manages to outsmart his new rival by thinking of the big picture and has Tails literally capture Dr. Robotnik in a net and fly them away from the island.

Dr. Robotnik reveals his true nature, but his lofty ambitions are immediately undone by Knuckles.

Although Sonic exudes his usual brash arrogance, he admits to himself the Knuckles was tougher than he looked, and his troubles with the misguided echidna are soon revisited when Knuckles burrows into Dr. Robotnik’s cell at Sonic’s space thanks to a homing device the mad scientist implanted at the base of Knuckles’ skull! Dr. Robotnik takes Porker Lewis hostage and demands that Sonic hand over the six Chaos Emeralds in his possession; left with little choice, Sonic reluctantly hands over the gems and tries to appeal to Knuckles, but to no avail, so he and Tails quickly pursue the duo back to the Floating Island to retrieve the jewels. Sonic and Knuckles get back into it, but while Sonic is able to pummel the dreadlocked echidna, he’s at a disadvantage due to Knuckles’ knowledge of the island and all its secrets; Sonic feigns being crushed by two giant stone hands in order to get a better idea of Dr. Robotnik’s endgame, much to Tails’s chagrin, and the two follow their enemies to the Temple of Chaos. These stone runes seem to be acting as a temporary stand-in for the Hidden Palace Zone, and are home to the Floating Island’s six Chaos Emeralds; Knuckles is delighted to have the twelve Chaos Emeralds finally reunited after being split apart untold aeons ago, explaining how there are two sets of Chaos Emeralds in StC lore. However, at this point, the Chaos Emeralds are emerald cut and resemble the 2D sprites from the first two Sonic games rather than the diamond cut design of Sonic 3 and more commonly associated with them, and the Master Emerald is noticeably missing. Instead, the “Control Emerald” is the long-lost Grey Emerald, but Dr. Robotnik utilises a device of his own creation to replicate the Grey Emerald’s power, merge the twelve gems back into six, and then surprise Knuckles by absorbing the Emerald’s energy into himself! Nigh-invincible and grown to gigantic proportions, Dr. Robotnik easily turns Tails to glass and reveals his true nature as a manipulative, malicious dictator with designs of using the Chaos Energy to dominate and destroy everything in his path. However, Knuckles easily turns the tables by revealing not only that he’s not as gullible as Dr. Robotnik thought but also that he’s been in possession of the Grey Emerald all along; he easily saps the Chaos Energy from the would-be God, restoring Tails in the process, and teleports him away from the Floating Island, ending his threat before it can really begin.

Knuckles comes to Sonic’s aid to atone for leading Dr. Robotnik to his secret base.

With the truth revealed to Knuckles, Sonic offers him a place among the Freedom Fighters, but he refuses; not only is Sonic’s war none of his business, but he’s patiently waiting for his people to return from the stars, and the three part was amicably…but far from friends. Although Dr. Robotnik’s dreams of Godhood have been dashed, he poses an even more significant threat than ever as he now knows the location of Sonic’s hidden base and he launches an all-out assault against the Freedom Fighters with a legion of his Badniks and piloting the “Squeeze Tag Machine” (basically the Big Arms from Sonic 3). Tails and Amy have already abandoned the base, but Sonic and Johnny Lightfoot are forced to engage with Dr. Robotnik to buy Porker the time to download Kintobor’s program to the Golden Ring he came from to preserve his personality. The maniacal megalomaniac isn’t messing around this time, though, and the Squeeze Tag Machine proves too tough for even Sonic’s patented Spin Attack, but he’s able to buy them just enough time by burying the machine under a cave-in. While this is going on, Knuckles is working his way across the Floating Island, removing every trace of Dr. Robotnik’s influence; his first target is the Death Egg II, which is under repair at the tyrant’s man-made Launch Base Zone and under the supervision of the doctor’s slimy little assistant, Grimer. Knuckles coerces Grimer into delivering a false message of his death, simply to make a dramatic last-minute save right as Dr. Robotnik is closing in for the kill; with his incredible strength, he smashes open the Squeeze Tag Machine and allows Sonic to deliver the final blow, but there’s still the issue of the doctor’s Badnik army. Knuckles busts them out into the open and the two begrudgingly join forces to fend them  off, trading barbs and making a competition out of the combat. Although they clearly have no love for each other, there’s no denying that Sonic and Knuckles make a formidable team and (with some help from Johnny) and it isn’t long before they’re surrounded by a mess of broken mechanical parts. However, this is enough of a distraction for Dr. Robotnik to make a hasty retreat, and the status quo for Sonic and his friends has forever changed as they’re forced to go on the run, and in disguise, as “Bob Beaky’s Travelling Circus”. As for Knuckles, he commandeers one of Dr. Robotnik’s Egg-O-Matic’s and returns to his island for his first solo run, parting on amicable but strained terms with his newfound rival.

The Summary:
I was super hyped for Knuckles’ big debut in StC; the character had really captured my imagination and fascination at the time and I was eagerly anticipating his first story arc after his brief introductory story. Thankfully, StC definitely delivered in these stories; thanks to the unparalleled art of Richard Elson, Knuckles is at his absolute best here, appearing intimidating and confident and strong and he never comes across as a gullible, sheltered fool. Instead, he’s simply misguided; he has no reason not to trust Dr. Robotnik and is focused only on protecting his island and reuniting the Chaos Emeralds. Sure, it’s a bit weird how his chest fur is imagined as a necklace, but the character brings probably the most physical challenge to Sonic since Metallix. Though outmatched by Sonic’s speed, Knuckles more than holds his own with his superior strength, durability, and unrivalled knowledge of the Floating Island and all its secrets. He also ends up proving himself to be a wily and honourable warrior, deceiving Dr. Robotnik about the Grey Emerald and even helping Sonic out despite having no interest in the troubles of the surface world.

Very few locations and elements from the source material make it into the story.

It’s a shame, then, that the story really doesn’t explore the Floating Island all that much; the only location the story visits from the game is the Marble Garden Zone and the Temple of Chaos (which doesn’t appear in the game) and, as always, simply cherry-picks elements from the games such as Badniks, hazards, and Dr. Robotnik’s battle craft. However, it’s important to note that Knuckles’ story didn’t end here; far from it, in fact. Through his own solo run, and a subsequent story arc, we would see much more of the Floating Island and adaptations of Sandopolis Zone, Carnival Night Zone, and Sky Sanctuary Zone in a loose adaptation of Sonic & Knuckles that served as a conclusion to this arc. Here, though, there’s very little pulled from the source material and more of the story takes place in the Emerald Hill Zone thanks to the amount of time spent in Sonic’s base. Despite this, Knuckles’ big debut did shake things up in StC for quite some time; Sonic and his friends no longer had a hidden base to operate out of, and had gained a tentative ally in the reclusive echidna, who would reluctantly help Sonic out in future stories as well as have both solo adventures and team-based stories with the Chaotix Crew.

Richard Elson’s art, and the fights between Sonic and Knuckles, are the best parts of this story arc.

Overall, this is a fun story that is given a lot of time to breathe across its six issues, and yet is still primarily more focused on adding to the original lore of the comics rather than delivering a faithful adaptation of Sonic 3. I often wonder just how much material, context, and gameplay the writers and artists of these comics were given access to as there’s rarely an attempt to directly represent the events of the videogames, or maybe it was simply just easier to spend the time introducing and familiarising readers to this new, bad-ass character rather than dwell on the specifics. The general thrust of Sonic 3 is (Dr. Robotnik tricks Knuckles in The Summer Special, steals the Chaos Emeralds, and has Sonic fight Knuckles while he works to repair his Death Egg) but the lack of representation from the Zones is disappointing. It would’ve been nice, for example, if Sonic and Knuckles had had their rematch in Angel Island Zone rather than crash-landing in Marble Garden Zone, and the paper-thin explanation for Sonic’s new forcefield ability seemed forced to me (I don’t recall this ability ever appearing again in the comics, either). Ignoring Knuckles’ off-model appearance in The Summer Special, the best part of this story arc are the fights between Sonic and Knuckles, which are wonderfully brought to life by the amazing Richard Elson. Sonic’s biting wit and abusive attitude are a fantastic counterpart to the proud Knuckles, and this arc really expanded the world of StC into new arenas thanks to the mystery and lore surrounding the last guardian and his Floating Island and went a long way to bringing the comic a little more in line with the source material.

My Rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Pretty Good

Have you ever read Knuckles’ debut story arc from Sonic the Comic? If so, what did you think of it and which of the six parts was your favourite? Did you enjoy the artwork and Sonic’s abrasive attitude? What did you think to the way certain aspects of Sonic 3 were adapted into StC’s lore and would you have preferred a more faithful rendition? Which of Knuckles’ StC stories was your favourite and what did you think to the changes they made to his character and backstory? How are you celebrating the anniversary of Sonic 3’s release today? Please feel free to share your memories of StC and Sonic 3 & Knuckles below by signing up, or on my social media.

January 2023 Drabble Challenge: Whoosh

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Horror Prompts’ Gillian Church is hosting a horror drabble challenge this January: 31 prompts for 31 creepy tales throughout January that clock in at around 100 words.

The Prompt:
Whoosh

The Submission:
“Quickly now, down to the basement,” Fran ushered her two boys down the rickety wooden steps.

Just moments early, she’d heard the whoosh of the bombers as they flew by overhead and knew that they had run out of time.

“What’re we doin’, Mama?” Billy asked.

“Oh, is it hide-and-seek?!” Jimmy cried excitedly.

Fran looked down at them sadly, a forced smile plastered to her face. “Yes, boys, whatever you want now come on, hurry along.”

It was fruitless, of course. Once the bombs dropped, there would be no saving them no matter how hard they tried.

What did you think to the prompt for today’s drabble challenge? Did you submit anything for it? Have you ever written any flash fiction before? I’d love to know what you think to my snippets and writing prompts, so feel free to sign up and let me know what you think below or leave a comment on my Instagram page. You can also follow Gillian Church to take part in her Weekly Writing Prompt challenge.

January 2023 Drabble Challenge: Maggot

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Horror Prompts’ Gillian Church is hosting a horror drabble challenge this January: 31 prompts for 31 creepy tales throughout January that clock in at around 100 words.

The Prompt:
Maggot

The Submission:
All day long, the chocolate chip muffin had been calling to me… I could almost hear it whispering… It was in the staff fridge, just a few steps away, and beckoned me like a siren at sea. Where was it from? Who’s was it? I had no idea… but I meant to have it.

Finders keepers, after all.

Surreptitiously, I swiped it as I swept from the building, stuffing it into my satchel like a criminal and almost sweating as I dashed outside as casually as possible. I drove away in the fading light of dusk and, sat innocently in a supermarket car park, devoured the glorious chocolate treat.

It was everything I thought it would be! Chunky chocolate chips, a light dusting of icing sugar, soft and spongey cake, a gooey, syrupy centre. Ugh… I just about blew my load, it was so good! I took care to eat it in sensible bites, wanting to savour every last morsel. Crumbles dropped from my thick lips and, as I moved to sweep them away, I noticed something that made my skin crawl.

It was small, yellowish brown, and curled into a spiral. As I stared at it, horrified, the maggot squirmed on my top. I felt bile rising at the back of my throat as I looked again at the delicious muffin in the palm of my hand and saw more of the writhing little larva squirming in the mushy centre.

What did you think to the prompt for today’s drabble challenge? Did you submit anything for it? Have you ever written any flash fiction before? I’d love to know what you think to my snippets and writing prompts, so feel free to sign up and let me know what you think below or leave a comment on my Instagram page. You can also follow Gillian Church to take part in her Weekly Writing Prompt challenge.

January 2023 Drabble Challenge: Spurt

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Horror Prompts’ Gillian Church is hosting a horror drabble challenge this January: 31 prompts for 31 creepy tales throughout January that clock in at around 100 words.

The Prompt:
Spurt

The Submission:
“Where the fuck’re you goin’ dressed like that?”

Ellie looked herself over. She was dressed in faded jeans, a casual blouse, and simple boots. There was nothing provocative about her outfit in the slightest.

“It’s Lisa’s baby shower.”

Guy scowled; behind his stubble, he wore the face of disdain.

“First I’m hearing about it!”

Ellie licked her lips and swallowed.

“I did tell you last week, remember?”

More scowling.

“I-it’s on the calendar… and I told you l-last night…”

“Oh!” Guy’s eyes darkened.

“So I’m an idiot, is that it?”

“What? N-no…”

“No, no,” he held a hand up to silence her.

“I’m an idiot and you’re right, as always.”

Ellie kneaded her keys nervously between her hands.

“I… I’m sure I did tell you…”

Guy rose from the couch and grabbed Ellie’s wrist tightly.

“Who’s gonna be there, hm?” he glared.

“That piece of ass you’re always lookin’ at, maybe?”

Ellie’s mind whirled in a blur as she struggled to picture who her husband was describing.

“Y-you mean Joel? Lisa’s husband? No… No, babe, he won’t be there. It’s just us girls…”

“Sure it is,” he scoffed. “And I’m sure afterwards you’ll all go out and you can bitch about what an asshole I am, hm?”

“I… I don’t… I wouldn’t…!”

“No, of course not,” his grip tightened. “You’re not fuckin’ goin’ anywhere…” his eyes blazed and he looked Ellie up and down with devious intent. “At least… not until after I’ve made you remember who you belong to!”

Guy reached for her, yanking at her blouse. Ellie heard a small rip and shrieked and, entirely on instinct, lashed out to slap him away. The tip of her door key disappeared into the gooey mess of Guy’s eye; blood, and a putrid puss, spurted from the gaping black/red mess and he howled, hand clamped to his face, as she pushed past him and out the door.

What did you think to the prompt for today’s drabble challenge? Did you submit anything for it? Have you ever written any flash fiction before? I’d love to know what you think to my snippets and writing prompts, so feel free to sign up and let me know what you think below or leave a comment on my Instagram page. You can also follow Gillian Church to take part in her Weekly Writing Prompt challenge.

Screen Time [Sci-Fanuary]: The Outer Limits (1995): “Quality of Mercy” (S1: E13)

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January sees the celebration of two notable dates in science-fiction history, with January 2 christened “National Science Fiction Day” to coincide with the birth date of the world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov, and HAL 9000, the sophisticated artificial intelligence of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), being created on 12 January. Accordingly, I’ve been dedicated every Sunday of January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.

Season One, Episode 13:
“Quality of Mercy”

Air Date: 16 June 1995
Director: Brad Turner
US Network: Showtime
UK Network: BBC 2
Stars: Robert Patrick, Nicole de Boer, and Mark McCracken

The Background:
The Twilight Zone (1959 to 1964; 1985 to 1989) wasn’t on when I was a kid; growing up, I only had the then-four channels of terrestrial television available to me so my sci-fi/horror anthology series of choice was The Outer Limits (1995 to 2002). A revival of the original 1960s show, The Outer Limits was an award-winning anthology series originally broadcast here in the United Kingdom on BBC 2; every week, a new tale would unfold, usually revolving around aliens, artificial intelligence, or other sci-fi, horror, or fantastical stories, though there were also a number of recurring themes, characters, and even semi-sequential stories to be found in the show’s long history. Considering my nostalgia and affection for the series, it’s great to see others also have a fondness for the show, and I’m always happy to revisit it when I get the opportunity.

The Plot:
Mankind is fighting a losing battle against an aggressive alien race; at the height of the conflict, Major John Skokes (Patrick) is captured and imprisoned alongside a young cadet, Bree Tristan (de Boer). While Stokes is determined to escape and return to the fight, his defiance is rattled when he discovers that the alien jailers have begun experimenting with grafting samples of their own skin onto Bree in an effort to make her one of them!

The Review:
“Quality of Mercy” begins with Major John Skokes being forcibly dragged and manhandled into a prison cell on an alien world but a physically superior, war-like race of aliens who have been locked in a one-sided battle against Earth’s United Nations Defense Forces (UNDF) for some time. An abrasive, proud, and stubborn military man, John’s first instinct in all things is to fight back, even when he’s clearly outmatched by his alien captors. This instinct extends not just to his defiance at being thrown into a cell, right when he’s at the peak of the war no less, but also to his determination to find a way out of the cell and to his initial militant attitude towards his cell-mate, the timid and terrified Bree Tristan. While John is a combat veteran who has fought on the front lines of the war for so long that he hasn’t actually been back to Earth in years, Brie is a cadet (second class) from Europa base who has only ever flown and fought in training missions. Captured during the “second Europa raid”, Brie estimates that she has been imprisoned and tortured for about three months and has been by herself for some time after her commander, Hartley, a much older and physically impaired man, died some time ago. She’s been kept there, in the dark and alone, ever since; forced to scavenge for food by chasing after the odd little rubbery parasites her captors toss to her and having lost all track of time and hope, Brie’s state of mind is only further fractured by the horrific experiments the aliens have been conducting on her as they have been routinely grafting their skin and DNA onto her body into an effort to physically transform her into one of them!

While John is determined to escape back to the fight, Brie is overcome by the futility of it all.

While Brie is off getting tortured, John busies himself exploring every inch of their cell, which is home to a pool of acid-like liquid and a curious red vegetation that seems more than a little inspired by the works of H. G. Wells. Although the diamond-hard walls cannot be breached, John is able to climb them to a barred ventilation shaft in the ceiling, through which he can hear the screams and desperate cries of Brie (and other humans) being tortured. After fashioning a cutting tool from a shard of the rock, John sets to work using all of his strength and free time trying to cut through the bars in the ceiling; although Brie is wracked by pain and despair at her condition, John offers her hope not only in his discovery but in giving her physical comfort. Having been caught up in the conflict, Brie has lived without love and passion or the touch of another, and derives much solace and comfort from even John’s hesitant attempts to console her. While Brie desperately tries to cling on the love and believes it’s what separates humanity from their enemy, John has been consumed by hatred; he is so resolute in his determination to escape that he’s even willing to go down fighting, if need be, but considers this a worst-case scenario. Feeling sympathy for her plight and virginity, having been so caught up in conflict that he has lost touch with the simple pleasures of life, John takes his sexual urges towards Brie and uses them as more motivation to cut through the bars, and pays the price for his stubbornness when his leg is shredded by a ravenous little creature in the vent and his hand is cut off at the wrist when he foolishly tries to keep Brie from being harmed further.

Brie is distraught as she loses more and more of her humanity and identity to the aliens’ experiments.

John’s determination stems from a deep-rooted need to get back into the fight because the future of humanity depends upon it; he was excited to deal a decisive blow against the enemy for the first time and to prove that they could be bested, and is angered at being captured right when he’s needed the most. John’s mindset contrasts heavily with Brie’s and both characters provide not only different perspectives on the conflict but to the world-building of this episode; John apparently embodies the single-minded, militaristic focus of those in the thick of the fight, while Brie seems very much against the war. Since John has been fighting pretty much non-stop for the last four years, he hasn’t seen what’s become of the Earth; Brie has however, and horror stories of a world turned into a police state, churning out munitions and training soldiers in a constant cycle to feed the war effort. John, however, remains adamant that humanity will come out of the war stronger than ever; he believes that the conflict will unite humankind, ending their petty squabbles and political and racial differences, to come together as one unified race. Forced into service by a standardised test and lacking John’s passion for the fight, Brie is ashamed to admit that she caved under torture and spilled everything she knew to spare herself further pain (though, as a mere cadet and a trainer, neither she nor Hartley had no information of real value) and she doesn’t share John’s fighting attitude or confidence that their enemy can be defeated. Of course, her will is only further sapped by the continual experiments and violations she suffers at the hands of their captors; the alien skin grafts cause her incredible physical pain and cannot be forcibly removed, despite John’s best efforts. Brie is taken away again and again, changing a little more each time, and her sense of identity and humanity degrade a little more each time she returns. At first, the graft is simply a leathery, reptilian wound on her arm but, soon, her entire back is converted into a sickening alien flesh and part of her face is lost to the aliens’ appalling visage.

John’s determination sees him gravely injured, but his resolve is shattered by Brie’s devastating revelation.

With Brie’s transformations becoming more and more severe, and John’s injuries effectively crippling any minor chance they had at escape, the two begin to realise that their options have become severely limited. With a heavy heart, John admits that he can’t fulfil his promise; earlier, Brie talked about how she and Hartley had planned to commit suicide but he was too weak to go through with it and she was too scared, and sadly John is unable to bring himself to put her out of his misery due to how attached to her he has become. Still, Brie is grateful that John was able to give her a brief, shining moment of hope for herself and for humanity and, with the end in sight, John tries one last time to comfort her with the knowledge that, although it may be the end for them, humanity will live on. John reveals that the UNDF has been feigning defeat and have held back a massive armada of their strongest fighters on the far side of the Sun, which were due to launch a devastating attack on the alien home world thirty days before John was captured. He fully believes that this desperate military strike will be a turning point in the war, and enough to strike a crippling blow against the enemy even though the two of them won’t live to see it, but he is left screaming in despair when Brie drops a bombshell of her own. When the alien jailer (McCracken) returns once more, Brie willingly goes to it and reveals that she was being changed back into one of them, thus exposing herself as a sleeper agent who has manipulated John into revealing humanity’s greatest military secret and assumedly dooming the human race to destruction.

The Summary:
“Quality of Mercy” is one of a handful (something like six to eight) episodes of The Outer Limits that really stuck with me, both as a kid when I first watched it and now, later in life. I remember enjoying this episode so much, being so influenced by it, that I plagiarised it for a short story assignment at secondary school! Although the episode is pretty much confined to one rather uninspiring location (an alien prison cell that looks to have taken a leaf out of Star Trek’s (1966 to 1969) playbook) and only really feature three character’s, its themes of human determination, and naivety, beautifully summed up as always by the narrator (or “Control Voice”; Kevin Conway): “Men of war have long known that warriors must often abandon those verities they defend. Peace, human kindness, love…for they hold no meaning to the enemy. And so, to win, do we become what we despise…and despise what we become? In the darkest of hours…in the greatest of battles…we must never forget who, or what, we are.“

The aliens are mysterious, physically imposing, and sadistic war-like race who have humanity endangered.

Although they’re not given a name, we are told quite a few things about the alien force that has imprisoned our main characters. They are a war-like race with little compassion and, though they can apparently understand human language and speak it through a machine, they have no understanding of concepts like “mercy”; they treat their prisoners like rats to be observed, forcibly experimented on, and dissected to learn more about their ways and their enemy. They seem oddly curious about human beings; they left Commander Hartley’s body in the cell with Brie for some time as if expecting her to do something with it (and John suspects that they eat their dead) and were fascinated by the differences between male and female bodies and sexual organs. Brie recounts with disgust and dismay how they forced her to strip down and violated her with probes and instruments, and of course she is horrified at the continued alterations being made to her body by their experiments. The aliens are depicted as huge, armoured creatures that tower over and physically dominate their captors, despite John’s best efforts to fight them back and, though we don’t see their forces in this episode, we do here many a horror story from John about how the alien’s ships have decimated humanity’s forces and proved to be a high-unconquerable enemy. And yet, despite Brie trying to encourage John to partake of the limited sustenance the aliens provide and talk him out of the futility of trying to escape or discover some weakness in their captors, John’s resolve remains absolute and steadfast His immediate focus is on learning the layout of their cell, figuring out how observed they are, and gathering as much information as he possibly can about where they are and what options are available to him, and he continually shouts defiance to his captors, taunting them with the revelation that he personally destroyed on of their capital ships and remaining adamant that they aren’t as indestructible as they immediately seem.

John’s desperation to give Brie hope may very well have doomed humanity to total destruction.

In the end, “Quality of Mercy” is a harrowing tale of desperation, deceit, and determination; John and Brie couldn’t be two more different, contrasting characters and they react to their hopeless situation in wildly different ways that both define and alter their characters and add to the intriguing lore of this world. Set in a future where humanity has been locked in an interstellar war for so long that Earth’s entire society has changed to become entirely focused on producing weapons, soldiers, and ships for the conflict and hatred for their aggressive, uncompromising alien enemy has become the norm, over-riding compassion, love, and the simple pleasures of life. John embodies this perfectly, being a good soldier who is frothing at the mouth to get back out there and fight, whether it means his death or not, and is defiant right up until the moment where he realises that the only way out is suicide. Of course, the most memorable moment of this episode is the shocking twist ending; this blew my mind as a kid, and I really think the episode does a great job of building up to this reveal as Brie is so timid and frightened and clinging to her humanity with everything she has and is positioned as an innocent victim of horrendous torture. The slow degradation of her body is juxtaposed with her failing hope for the future of humanity, and every action John takes is geared towards restoring that hope and finding a way out, and a way to fight! Ultimately, however, he is just another pawn manipulated by a superior alien force; the final shot of him screaming in hopeless defiance is extremely powerful and has stuck with me for decades. I’ve always enjoyed the bleak twist endings that closed out many episodes of The Outer Limits, and “Quality of Mercy” is easily one of the best for that thanks to how strong the two lead’s performances are and how well the episode uses every bit of its limited budget and run time.

My Rating:

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Fantastic

Have you ever seen “Quality of Mercy” or the 1995 revival of The Outer Limits? If so, what did you think to it and what were some of your favourite episodes? Did you see the twist coming or were you as shocked as I was when I first saw this episode? What are some other stories of alien transformation and conflict that you enjoy? Whatever your thoughts, feel free to sign up and leave a comment below or leave a reply on my social media, and be sure to check back in next week for the conclusion of Sci-Fi Sunday.

Wrestling Recap: Royal Rumble 1988

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The Date: 24 January 1988
The Venue: Copps Coliseum; Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
The Commentary: Vince McMahon and Jesse “The Body” Ventura
The Stipulation: Twenty man over the top rope battle royale
Notable Competitors: “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan (Winner), Bret “Hitman” Hart (#1), The Junkyard Dog (#20), and The One Man Gang (Most Eliminations)

The Build-Up:
Considering how dominating the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has been in the industry, it should be no surprise that the company has been at the forefront of creativity; from their celebrated Superstars, impact on pay-per-view entertainment, to the creation of genre-defining match types. By 1988, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, as it was known then) had already stepped into the mainstream after taking a massive gamble with their inaugural WrestleMania event and added the annual Survivor Series event to their calendar. To see in the new year, WWF chairman Vince McMahon produced the first edition of another annual event, the Royal Rumble, which was headlined by the titular over-the-top-rope battle royale. The match concept was the creation of the legendary Pat Patterson and has since become a trademark event of the organisation, with winners now going on to challenge for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania, though this aspect wouldn’t be introduced until the 1993 event. After trialling the concept at an untelevised house show, which was won by the Junkyard Dog, there was little rhyme or reason for the match’s debut beyond producing another pay-per-view and showcasing a bunch of WWF’s superstars in one big brawl and, as such, no real storylines leading into the titular match.

The Match:
Generally speaking, I quite enjoy a good Royal Rumble match; it’s a great excuse to debut or bring back wrestlers and can be a lot of fun with the right people in there. They can be difficult to book, however, and often the middle part can get bogged down with tag teams of B- or even C-list lower-card wrestlers who no one’s ever going to believe will win the match. For me, winning the Royal Rumble should be an accolade reserved for the company’s biggest star, preferably their biggest fan favourite; the event itself marks the first step on the Road to WrestleMania and should therefore represent a significant step up in quality. That’s not always the case, of course, and sometimes it feels like the event just takes place because it’s January and that’s what’s supposed to happen. Consequently, I was intrigued to go back to the Rock ‘n’ Wrestling era and see what the inaugural Royal Rumble was like considering this period of wrestling can be a bit hit and miss in terms of match and wrestler quality and that the event didn’t have the WrestleMania stipulation tied to it. Legendary ring announcer Howard Finkel ran down the rules of the match (competitors enter the ring in two minute intervals, are eliminated after being thrown over the top rope, and the last man standing is the winner) while Bret Hart and Tito Santana were in the ring, who were introduced as though it was a one-on-one match rather than simply running to the ring and getting into it like these days.

Bret, Neidhart, Santana, and the Snake all got the match off to a pretty hot start.

Additionally, when the bell rang, the two went at it like it was a single match, pulling off actual wrestling moves as though wearing each other down for the pin fall rather than trying to heave each other over the ropes. Butch Reed came in at number three and initially targeted Bret before teaming up with him to put a beating on Santana; at least, until Butch accidentally nailed Bret. Luckily for him, fellow Hart Foundation member Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart came in next and the three of them desperately tried to force Santana out of the ring but he maintained a death grip on the ropes and refused to go over. Thankfully, Jake “The Snake” Roberts came out at number five to even the odds, dumping Butch for the first elimination of the match and attacking both Bret and Neidhart with a flurry of punches to the absolute delight of the crowd. Neidhart was able to interrupt a double DDT attempt on Bret by Jake and Santana and the former took the brunt of the Hart Foundation’s retribution thanks to a jumping piledriver from Bret. Harley Race was in next and also got in on the action against Jake, dropping a couple of elbows while Neidhart held the Snake helpless on the mat. Jim Brunzell was out next as Neidhart sold a beard pull from Jake (!); things slowed down a little as the guys tried to heff their opponents out of the ring but picked up considerably when Sam Houston sprinted to the ring and went right for the Hart Foundation but, unfortunately, Santana’s time in the match came to an end with the boys in pink tossing him out.

Things slowed and became less exciting as the ring filled up, despite Bret’s stand-out performance.

The ring really started to fill up as Danny Davis and Boris Zhukov came to the ring; slow, plodding, confused offense was the order of the day here as guys half-heartedly went at it in the corner, against the ropes, or wandered around aimlessly trying to catch their breath. There was a bit of excitement as Don “The Rock” Muraco and Nikolai Volkoff argued at ringside over the number eleven spot; Muraco simply nailed Volkoff and took to the ring to attack the Hart Foundation and, by the time Volkoff was allowed into the ring, his tag team partner, Zhukov, had been muscled out by Jake and Brunzell. Harley Race was next to be dumped and, as he was leaving and the others paired off again, the crowd exploded to life when “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan came to the ring (carrying his trademark 2×4) at number thirteen, having a brief altercation with Race along the way. More miscellaneous brawling, striking, and grappling in the corners and against the ropes followed, however, and the excitement took a nosedive as Ron Bass lumbered to the ring. Brunzell was thrown out shortly after thanks to Volkoff. B. Brian Blair, Hillbilly Jim, and Dino Bravo all joined the fray and, in the process, both Neidhart and Houston were sent packing, with the latter being muscled out by Ron Bass. The Ultimate Warrior raced to the ring and immediately started throwing chops and, in the chaos, Muraco was able to toss Bret from the ring, ending his run at almost twenty-six minutes.

In the end, Duggan outsmarted the One Man Gang to win the first ever Royal Rumble.

Again, the action slowed down and only got slowed as the One Man Gang plodded his way to the ring; the big man made an immediate impression, however, by tossing out not just Blair but also Jake Roberts with a surprising and disappointing amount of ease. The final entrant in his twenty man version of the match was the Junkyard Dog; shortly after he got into the ring, Volkoff was tossed and then the One Man Gang struck again by getting rid of Hillbilly Jim while Bravo took out the Ultimate Warrior with no fuss or fanfare. The Junkyard Dog didn’t last too long either before he was taken out by Bass, who was himself eliminated by Muraco, meaning the final four were Muraco, Duggan, Bravo, and the One Man Gang, an odd selection considering the likes of Bret Hart, Jake Roberts, and the Ultimate Warrior had been in the match. The Rock and the Gang squared off while Bravo and Duggan fought on the other side of the ring; Brave and the One Man Gang worked together to attack both men, with Muraco desperately using his speed to hold them off but a distraction from Frenchy Martin saw him on the back foot and then nudged over the top rope from a weak-ass One Man Gang clothesline that looked as though it would miss and/or take Bravo out as well, but it didn’t. Left alone in a two-on-one situation, Duggan fought back valiantly but looked to be overwhelmed following a double clothesline; however, as he was held helplessly by Brave, he managed to slip away and cause the One Man Gang to accidentally take out Bravo at the last second. Duggan and the One Man Gang brawled for a bit, with Duggan taking a beating against the ropes but, in the end, brains got the better of brawn as Duggan ducked and yanked on the ring ropes as One Man Gang charged him, sending the big man spilled to the outside and becoming the first-ever Royal Rumble winner to an explosive reaction. It may seem like an odd choice to have Hacksaw win the Royal Rumble considering some of the star power featured in the match, but the crowd were absolutely into his win and it’s not like he ended up headlining WrestleMania for winning so it was just a nice feather in the enthusiastic big man’s cap.

The Aftermath:
The main story heading into The Main Event that came out of this event was the WWF Championship rematch between Hulk Hogan and André the Giant but there was some fallout for Duggan following his big win. He and the One Man Gang went at it in a singles match at the same event, with Duggan coming out on top, though he ended up battling Bad News Brown to a double disqualification by the time WrestleMania V rolled around later that year. The Royal Rumble event ended up setting a record as the highest-viewed wrestling program on cable television and would go on to become a yearly event for the company; by the next year, the match was expanded to include the now traditional thirty men and, by 1993, the WrestleMania championship shot had been added and the match has since become one of the WWE’s most anticipated annual events.

My Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Could Be Better

What did you think to the inaugural Royal Rumble match? Did you like that Hacksaw Jim Duggan won the match or would you have liked to see someone else take the win? Which of the competitors was your favourite? Were there any competitors you would’ve liked to see included? What’s your favourite Royal Rumble match? Whatever your thoughts on the Royal Rumble, share them below or leave a comment on my social media.

January 2023 Drabble Challenge: Twist

Dr. K2 Comments

Horror Prompts’ Gillian Church is hosting a horror drabble challenge this January: 31 prompts for 31 creepy tales throughout January that clock in at around 100 words.

The Prompt:
Twist

The Submission:
Julia chugged back the last of her wine; her head was fuzzy and her vision a little blurry, but she was determined to get her story finished, even if it took her all night and another glass of wine.

Her fingers clacked at the keys, determined to force the story out of her very pores, to get that last twist on the screen so she could finally put it — and herself — to bed. Her deadline was tomorrow, at midnight, and she cursed herself for having fallen behind in her writing.

Her concentration was broken, her train of thought derailed, by her printer suddenly whirring to life. Confused, exhausted, she checked her screen to see if she’d accidentally hit ‘Print’ but there was nothing in the queue…

Curious, Julia watched as two sheets of paper fed through the machine. The first was blank, if a little smudged; the second bore only two words typed haphazardly in the middle of the sheet:

keep writing

What did you think to the prompt for today’s drabble challenge? Did you submit anything for it? Have you ever written any flash fiction before? I’d love to know what you think to my snippets and writing prompts, so feel free to sign up and let me know what you think below or leave a comment on my Instagram page. You can also follow Gillian Church to take part in her Weekly Writing Prompt challenge.

January 2023 Drabble Challenge: Goblin

Dr. K1 Comment

Horror Prompts’ Gillian Church is hosting a horror drabble challenge this January: 31 prompts for 31 creepy tales throughout January that clock in at around 100 words.

The Prompt:
Goblin

The Submission:
“I can make this all go away,” the snivelling little goblin had whispered from the corner. “For a small fee…”

I was standing over Doris’s limp body. Her skin was so smooth and clean; almost like porcelain. But her head… her pretty red hair hung in clumps, matted to what was left of her skull by thick blood and fragments of bone. The claw hammer was stick sticking out from the back of her head and one bloodshot eyeball stared up at me vacantly, accusingly.

Cole had told me earlier. Casually, like it was nothing. Like ringing your best friend and admitting that you’ve fucked his girlfriend was something you did every day. I’m ashamed to say that a red mist had descended; I barely even remember what happened next. I’d gone down to the basement to confront Doris, there’d been shouting, crying, and then…

“Just a small fee,” it sneered, the dirty, jagged claws of its hand reached out expectantly.

After I’d struck her and she’d crumpled to the dirty stone floor in a heap, this… thing, this diminutive, cackling goblin with its fang-like teeth and squinted, pearlescent eyes, had hobbled out from the dark. Bells jangled from its dishevelled tunic; its long, crooked notes sported a sickening boil on one side, and its voice was like the crackling of brittle twigs.

Swallowing, struggling for breath, I turned to it. “What’s your price…?”

What did you think to the prompt for today’s drabble challenge? Did you submit anything for it? Have you ever written any flash fiction before? I’d love to know what you think to my snippets and writing prompts, so feel free to sign up and let me know what you think below or leave a comment on my Instagram page. You can also follow Gillian Church to take part in her Weekly Writing Prompt challenge.