Created by Masahiro Sakurai, the disgustingly cute, ever-ravenous Kirby is one of Nintendo’s most popular characters. Accordingly, I’m dedicating most of July to celebrating the pink puff-ball.
Air Dates: 6 October 2001 (Japan)/14 September 2002 (USA) to 20 October 2001 (Japan)/21 September 2002
Networks: CBC TV (Japan), Fox Box (USA), Pop (UK)
Quick Facts: After spearheading Kirby’s illustriousvideogame career, Masahiro Sakurai supervised this anime adaptation of the franchise, which aimed to appeal to viewers of all ages. Supervising director Sōji Yoshikawa faced challenges dealing with a mute protagonist in a fantasy world but believed in the concept, which was purposely edited for Western audiences and has a mixedreputation amongst critics.
The Review: While the amusing earworm that accompanies the colourful, action-packed open titles helps set the scene for Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, the basic standard of the anime is established in “Kirby Comes to Cappy Town” (Kusakabe, 2001), which depicts Kirby (Amy Birnbaum) as a young “Star Warrior” sleeping soundly in his (literal) starship before being awakened when his ship detects a giant monster on Planet Popstar. I’ve played many Kirby videogames, and they pretty much never have a deeper plot than “Dream Land/Planet Popstar threatened by evil”, so it’s interesting to see the additional lore is tacked onto Kirby here. For example, Kirby isn’t from Planet Popstar; he’s a fledgling Star Warrior who crash lands and is stranded there in the first episode. Dream Land (if not the entire planet) is ruled by the bombastic King Dedede (Ted Lewis), a greedy, selfish monarch who craves power. He’s not an anti-hero or even a reluctant ally of Kirby’s here; he’s a bumbling bad guy, no question. However, while King Dedede is aided by underlings, his right-hand snail, Escargoon (Ted Lewis), and enjoys the loyalty and protection of the mysterious Meta Knight (Eric Stuart), he orders monsters from the shady N.M.E. organisation. When King Dedede wants to cause a ruckus or spawn an enemy to destroy Kirby, he calls N.M.E.’s customer services representative (Dan Green) and orders a familiar mini boss or big boss from the games to be the “Monster of the Week”, racking up quite a debt that N.M.E’s head (Andrew Rannells) is sure to want to cash in later. This quickly becomes the formulaic premise for the show: King Dedede orders a monster, the monster challenges Kirby, Kirby learns how to beat it (usually with a new copy ability), and everyone laughs about it afterwards.
Angered at Kirby’s presence, King Dedede conspires to destroy him to secure his rule over Dream Land.
Although there appears to be no organised resistance against King Dedede, the residents of Cappy Town – including Mayor Len Blustergas (Mike Pollock) and siblings Tiff (Kerry Williams) and Tuff (Kayzie Rogers) – strongly dislike the king. For one thing, they’re forced to work in his palace and cater to him; for another, King Dedede and Escargoon are notorious liars and manipulators. King Dedede swears blind that he’s not sending monsters into the neighbourhood to devour sheep or kill Kirby, yet he’s constantly rolling around in his tank and observing and commenting upon these events, barely even pretending to not be the cause. Cappy Town’s prayers for a hero are seemingly answered when the wise old Kabu (Jim Napolitano) foretells the arrival of a mighty Star Warrior, only for Tiff and Tuff to be disappointed that Kirby is little more than a “baby” barely capable of speech. Young and naïve, Kirby is an inquisitive and enthusiastic little puffball, but the Cappies are unconvinced of his abilities, especially after witnessing his incredible “inhale” power, voracious appetite, and when King Dedede sabotages his efforts to assist Chef Kawasaki (Maddie Blaustein) in “A Blockbuster Battle” (Kusakabe, 2001). While he’s untested and still has much to learn, Kirby is extremely formidable. His rubbery body helps make him durable (though his powers wane when separated from his “Warp Star”), he can puff himself up to float, he exhibits incredible strength, and he can copy the abilities of his enemies to change form. This occurs after being humbled by King Dedede’s latest monster or minion and Kirby undergoing training, either from Tiff and Tuff or receiving cryptic instructions from Meta Knight. While Cappy Town applauds his efforts and rallies behind him, they prefer Kirby to stay out of town due to his appetite and clumsy nature, eventually building him a house (one promptly claimed by Tokkori (Kevin Kolack), who trades Kirby his nest).
Kirby masters various copy abilities to defeat King Dedede’s rented monsters and prove himself a Star Warrior.
Although he’s also dismissive of Kirby, King Dedede immediately attacks and hates Kirby on sight, worried that even an immature Star Warrior threatens him. King Dedede initially sics Octagon on Kirby, surprised to find what was initially a small and unimpressive monster becomes a mindless kaiju that wrecks his castle. Thanks to Meta Knight, Tiff, and Tuff, Kirby recovers and becomes Fire Kirby, destroying the beast and causing King Dedede to total his starship and vow to destroy Kirby. He then ruins Kirby’s reputation in Cappy Town and orders a new monster from N.M.E. This turns out to be Blocky, a massive sumo wrestler-esque stone so dense that it’s immune to Kirby’s inhale ability. Blocky destroys Kirby’s treehouse home and seems unstoppable, until Meta Knight suggests using its weight and power against it. Thus, Kirby lures Blocky to an incline, turning into smaller duplicates that he promptly crushes with his Stone ability foiling King Dedede once more. In “Kirby’s Duel Role” (Yokoyama, 2001), King Dedede orders Meta Knight to challenge Kirby to a duel, something the mysterious conquistador is reluctant to pursue. However, he’s duty bound to follow the king’s orders and quickly proves Kirby’s superior. Meta Knight turns the duel into a training exercise, however, mentoring Kirby on finding his inner calm and strength and mastering the Sword ability, surreptitiously obeying his master while also aiding Kirby. This training comes in handy when King Dedede unleashes an expert swordsman, Bugzzy, to finish the job, only for it to be sliced in two by Kirby’s Sword Beam. Enraged, King Dedede tries to take matters into his own hands only to be toppled by Meta Knight, who refuses to elaborate on his true allegiance and seems destined to walk the line between enemy and ally.
This colourful, fun-packed show challenges Kirby to showcase the full extent of his potential.
I felt a little bad for Kirby, here. It’s interesting that the anime depicts him as immature when he’s always so forthright and proactive in the games. He still is here, to be fair, never backing down from a fight or a challenge, and he always triumphs thanks to encouragement, training, perseverance, and his copy abilities. It’s strange, then, that he’s depicted as a clumsy, disruptive child who Cappy Town finds annoying yet inspirational. I feel it might’ve been just the same, if not better, to depict him as childish and simple but still formidable and reliable, since he is all those things anyway. It’s a strange dichotomy as Kirby naturally rises to the occasion and isn’t really hampered by being awoken two-hundred years too early. It does create a bit of drama, though, as Kirby’s often on the backfoot or must use more than brute strength to win. “Kirby’s Duel Role” excellently shows that Kirby is outclassed against Meta Knight’s swordplay and it’s therefore more meaningful when he masters the Sword ability. Still, it was weird seeing people shun and doubt Kirby, especially as he’s always so friendly and so damn cute. While the episodes quickly adopt a recognisable formula, I never found myself bored, mainly because the animation is so good and it was fun seeing Kirby get into scrapes and learn new powers. N.M.E’s monsters are presented as intimidating obstacles for Kirby to overcome and I got a real sense that Dream Land has suffered under the whims of King Dedede, who seemed to previously unleash monsters just for a lark.
Final Thoughts: The anime really captures the vibrant and surreal nature of the videogames, mixing traditional animation with CGI to bring Kirby and King Dedede to life. While it was a strange decision to have Kirby be an alien visitor and these episodes don’t pull any locations from the games except King Dedede’s castle and Planet Popstar, the visual appeal is undeniable as characters are very expressive. The CGI elements added a cinematic quality and emphasised how goofy Kirby and King Dedede are, which only made the cartoonish fun more enjoyable. I loved how the amine incorporates Kirby’s inhale and copy abilities, translating the former into his insatiable appetite and the latter into one-time power-ups that show his growth as a character. Kirby is adorable here, mimicking voices and taking pleasure in the simple things and always happy to help and stand against any enemy, no matter how big or skilled they are. I enjoyed the mystery surrounding him as a Star Warrior, which was only exacerbated by Meta Knight, who constantly talks in riddles, aura farms, and is presented as an elusive (and incredibly powerful) warrior. I loved Meta Knight’s Spanish accent and accompanying theme, elements I never imagined for him, but which really worked to give him some spice. Similarly, it was strange hearing King Dedede using a Southern accent, but it quickly grew on me and surprisingly suited his pompous character.
A couple of standout characters and vibrant, enjoyable visuals make this a fun time all around.
I loved how Kirby’s mere presence upset King Dedede, like he knows his rule is threatened by this seemingly harmless pink marshmallow and it’s driving him mad (and into debt) ordering monsters to get rid of him. I thought it was pretty funny how King Dedede is seen as a liar and a dick, yet people begrudgingly tolerated him because he’s their ruler. The Cappies seemed unable to do anything but complain about him before Kirby showed up and hardly rally behind him once he’s there due to his age. Tiff and Tuff were okay supporting characters but it’s Escargoon who stood out amongst the new characters. Unlike other animated underlings, he’s not an abused, spineless lackey. He offers his opinion, enforces King Dedede’s will, and even questions his king, being fiercely loyal while also recognising when things aren’t going there way. I’m biased but Meta Knight stole the show for me with his mysterious demeanour and undeniable screen presence, which are both backed up by his reputation as a master swordsman. I also enjoyed that the episodes used enemies from the videogames. That may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how often adaptations don’t use characters and elements from the videogames. It was admittedly odd to have them teleported to King Dedede from N.M.E. but that aspect was a fun way to build that shadowy organisation up as a greater threat than King Dedede. Ultimately, I had a lot of fun with these episodes. They’ve bright, colourful, harmless fun that tweak the lore in interesting ways, depict Kirby’s abilities and enemies in entertaining ways, and the animation and visuals were top notch. I would definite be happy to watch more of this anime and would recommend it to fans of the character, or anyone needing a quirky anime to pass the time with.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Are you a fan of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!? What did you think to these first three episodes and the way the anime depicted Kirby? Did you like the formula of the anime or would you have preferred to see King Dedede be more proactive? Were you also a fan of Meta Knight’s portrayal? Which episodes were your favourite? Let me know your thoughts on Kirby: Right Back at Ya! in the comments and donate to my Ko-Fi if you want me to review more episodes of the anime.
Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. Thus, in keeping with tradition, I’m dedicating some time to celebrate SEGA’s supersonic mascot.
Story Title: “Doomsday” (Part 1 to 3) Published: 5 February 1997 (cover dated: 18 February 1997) to 5 March 1997 (18 March 1997) Writer: Nigel Kitching Artist: Richard Elson
Story Title: “The Final Victory” (Part 1 to 4) Published: 18 March 1997 (cover-dated: 1 April 1997) Writers: Nigel Kitching and Lew Stringer, Artists: Richard Elson, Nigel Dobbyn, Roberto Corona, and Nigel Kitching
The Review: “Doomsday” and “The Final Victory” marked not just the historic 100th issue of StC, but also the culmination of a months-long story arc that saw pig-headed freedom fighter Sonic the Hedgehog trapped in the Special Zone. This happened after he went on a rampage as Super Sonic, his demonic, Chaos-powered alter ego. Using a Star Post, Sonic’s allies – namely Miles “Tails” Prower and Amy Rose – separated Sonic and Super Sonic into separate beings. Sonic then ventured into the Special Zone (a chaotic alternate dimension guarded by the Chaotix Crew) to keep his destructive alter ego from hurting anyone, eventually being stranded when Super Sonic was time locked within the Omni-Viewer, a benevolent, sentient television screen that was Sonic’s only way home. This meant Tails, Amy, and the other Freedom Fighters faced an uphill battle against Doctor Ivo Robotnik, who had conquered Mobius some years prior, without their point man and Sonic embarked on many strange adventures in the Special Zone trying to find a way home. This brought him into conflict with devious crime boss Lord Sidewinder and his gang, who seek to harness Super Sonic’s power for their own nefarious ends in part one of “Doomsday”. This story also sees Sonic and the Chaotix Crew (fresh off being framed as criminals) stopping Doctor Plague from unleashing a deadly virus upon New Tek City. Even when Dr. Plague launches a bunch of vials into the air, Sonic quickly retrieves them with a flourish. His gloating is interrupted by a desperate call from Porker Lewis, his neurotic childhood friend, and the sudden appearance of two suns in the sky. Super strong Mighty the Armadillo states such an occurrence is said to herald the end of the world, an event more likely than ever as the damaged and panicked Omni-Viewer soon appears.
Sonic is torn between battling his demonic double in the Special Zone or helping his friends on Mobius.
The Omni-Viewer reveals that he was unable to trap Super Sonic within his interdimensional vortex since the demon was far too powerful. Instead, he slowed time to a crawl, meaning it should’ve taken years for Super Sonic to escape. Instead, he somehow retained his consciousness and slowly built his power, turning the Black Asteroid he was imprisoned in into an electron bomb, hence the “second sun”. Although Sonic demands that the Omni-Viewer transport him back to Mobius to help Porker, team leader Vector the Crocodile begs him to stay to combat Super Sonic. It’s all moot anyway, though, as the Omni-Viewer is too weak to help and Lord Sidewinder’s mage, Lightmare, suddenly appears. Naturally, Sonic and the Chaotix Crew attack Lightmare before she can explain, forcing her to trap them in living nightmares using her Pandora’s box. After being surprised by Espio the Chameleon’s invisibility, Lightmare reveals she’s Lord Sidewinder’s daughter and begs them to stop to her father’s plot before it kills him and their gang. While Sonic and the others go to stop Lord Sidewinder, who loads himself and his gang into a rocket to head to the Black Asteroid, Vector stays behind to help the Omni-Viewer think up a plan to deal with Super Sonic. Vector restores the Omni-Viewer at the Equinox laboratory, where a scientist also reveals that an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) will be generated when the Black Asteroid explodes, causing chaos as every computerised system will immediately fail. Apparently driven mad by his ambition, Lord Sidewinder scoffs at any danger posed by the Black Asteroid, causing the oafish Bio-Hazard and Mister Fry to question his sanity and logic. This, as much as the pressing threat, allows Sonic and Mighty to easily rough up Lord Sidewinder’s goons, though Sonic remains conflicted between his duty to protect Mobius and the imminent destruction of the Black Asteroid.
An EMP knocks out Dr. Robotnik’s machines, finally ending his rule over Mobius.
However, upon learning of the EMP, Sonic has a genius brainwave and demands that the Omni-Viewer transport the Black Asteroid into the skies above Mobius, where it promptly explodes. As Dr. Robotnik’s entire army and operation consists of or is run by machines, this effectively disables all his Badniks and systems, releasing all the woodland critters from their mechanical prisons, shutting down the biological computer Dr. Robontik hooked the Emerald Hill residents up to on the Floating Island, and disabling Vermin the Cybernik, thus saving Sonic’s allies and allowing Knuckles the Echidna to rescue the Emerald Hill folk. Naturally, the demonic Super Sonic immediately goes on a warpath, desperate to destroy Metropolis City and attacking Sonic right as he reunites with Tails, Amy, and Johnny Lightfoot. Initially toying with his prey, Super Sonic unleashes a barrage of energy beams, cackling maniacally and overwhelming his more benevolent doppelgänger. However, right as Super Sonic is poised to deliver the killing blow, his energy suddenly drains and he’s forced to flee, with the Omni-Viewer revealing that the explosion somehow changed Super Sonic’s biology. With no time to ponder this or celebrate, Sonic has the Omni-Viewer transport him to the Floating Island, where a confused and troubled Dr. Robotnik orders his ally, turncoat, semi-cybernetic echidna Doctor Zachary, to destroy Knuckles. Although Dr. Zachary can’t use the ancient Guardian robots due to the EMP, he’s somehow still able to use his cybernetic weapons, though he’s quickly blasted by Sonic right as Knuckles was playing possum and summarily trapped in a gorge courtesy of the super strong echidna. Despite the two realising they’ve been so distracted with their rivalry and battling Dr. Zachary that they’ve forgotten about Dr. Robotnik, they’re amazed to find Porker has apprehended the tyrant.
Sonic stops Dr. Robotnik’s attempts to get back online and finally liberates the planet from his rule.
While a confused, powerless, and amnesiac Super Sonic wanders Metropolis City and is taken in by a kindly resident, Sonic wastes no time in parading the fallen despot through the city, gleefully proclaiming the end of his rule to the cheering masses and delivering him to the city courthouse so he can be locked up and eventually tried for his crimes. Though humiliated, Dr. Robotnik remains defiant, even more so when his long-abused assistant, Grimer, suddenly shows up riding an antique, steam-powered robot and promptly rescues his master. Although Sonic easily smashes the machine, the confusion allows Grimer to get Dr. Robotnik to safety. As they know every inch of the city, the two promptly vanish, frustrating Sonic so much that he chastises Tails for distracting himself with Vermin. Prompted by Johnny, Sonic realises that Dr. Robotnik and Grimer must’ve fled back to their ominous citadel using the city’s sewer system and promptly gives chase, crashing in right as Dr. Robotnik is ordering Grimer to start up the clunky emergency generator. Desperate to keep Dr. Robotnik from getting his machines back online, Sonic knocks Grimer aside and speeds around the generator, which overloads the power core and causes the ostentatious citadel to dramatically explode. With the immediate threat ended and the symbol of Dr. Robotnik’s rule in flames, Sonic finally celebrates their victory alongside his friends and the liberated inhabitants of Metropolis City. However, Dr. Robotnik and Grimer escaped the explosion using the sewers and retreat to the outskirts of the city. Although Grimer wallows in despair, Dr. Robotnik is practically frothing at the mouth at the indignity and vows to take a terrible revenge upon his enemies for ousting him from power.
Final Thoughts: As an avid collector of Sonic the Comic back in the day, I was beyond hyped for these four issues and StC’s big 100th issue release. The months leading up to “Doomsday” had seen all the Sonic-related back-up stories deal with his exile to the Special Zone and Dr. Robotnik’s plot to use the Emerald Hill folk to power his giant supercomputer, meaning “The Final Victory” was the culmination of not just years of the dictator’s stranglehold over Mobius but months of semi-connected storytelling. It’s therefore fitting that “The Final Victory” takes up the entirety of issue 100 and showcases many of StC’s artists, though Richard Elson remains the gold standard and I do wish he’d illustrated the entire story as it’s very jarring to go from his beautiful, epic artwork to the comparatively basic and cartoonish illustrations of Nigel Kitching. Although you could argue that using an EMP was a contrived and convenient way to defeat Dr. Robotnik in one fell swoop, it was also the best and most efficient way. For years, Sonic and his friends settled for scoring minor victories, liberating the odd Zone or taking out garrisons, battleships, or Dr. Robotnik’s commanders, but were unable to strike a decisive blow against the tyrant. As Dr. Robotnik is all about machines and robots, an EMP is the perfect way to knock out his army and end his rule, ushering in a new age of StC as Sonic struggles to define his role in a world without war and conflict and Dr. Robotnik schemes to return to power. This story also saw the Emerald Hill folk return home after being given sanctuary on the Floating Island, Super Sonic have a few side adventures as a distinct character, and marked the beginning of Amy’s journey into an independent character.
A cathartic end and start of a new era that would’ve been made even better by Richard Elson.
The timeline of events are a bit strange, however. Super Sonic apparently frees himself, or the Omni-Viewer decides to abandon him to get help for the impending explosion, and is seemingly unable or unwilling to stop charging his power for his dramatic escape. Given how powerful Super Sonic is, it’s strange that he wouldn’t just burst free of the Black Asteroid as soon as possible. This threat is also subdued very quickly, which is a shame as it might’ve been fun to somehow involve him in Dr. Robotnik’s scheme to restart his systems (perhaps he could’ve taken Super Sonic’s unconscious body and used it as a battery?) Knuckles also gets a bit side-lined, though it’s clear his focus is on helping the Emerald Hill folk since Dr. Zachary’s been taken care of and Dr. Robotnik’s in custody. I liked that Sonic never broke character here: he still gives Tails shit, mocks Knuckles, and acts like a jackass even though he’s won the day. I also liked how conflicted he was between helping the Special Zone and getting back to Mobius. StC-Sonic might be an insufferable prick most of the time, but he’s dedication to defeating Dr. Robotnik and saving lives is never in question, even if he does alienate those closest to him. I also enjoyed seeing Dr. Robotnik humiliated and aggravated by Sonic’s taunting and the cheers of the Mobians, and that he still had a few tricks up his sleeve despite his machines being knocked out. I’m not sure why Dr. Zachary’s weapons were unaffected by the EMP, but the steam powered robot was a nice touch, so much so that I kind of wish Dr. Robotnik had hopped in a steam-powered mech for one more brutal fight with Sonic. Still, this as a satisfying conclusion to years and months of storylines. It was great to finally have Sonic back home and to see Dr. Robotnik so utterly defeated so quickly, and to finally give the good guys a decisive victory after years of simply chipping away at Dr. Robotnik’s rule.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Were you impressed by Sonic’s final victory over Dr. Robotnik? Were you a little confused about how Super Sonic escaped from the Omni-Viewer? Would you have liked to see Super Sonic play a greater role as a villain in the end? Do you agree that Richard Elson should’ve illustrated the entire final story? What are some of your favourite StC stories and how are you celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog this year? Whatever your thoughts on Sonic the Comic, or Sonic in general, drop a comment below and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest other Sonic comic stories for me to review.
Sonic the Hedgehog was first introduced to gamers worldwide on June 23 1991 and, since then, has become not only SEGA’s most enduring and popular character but also a beloved videogame icon. Thus, in keeping with tradition, I’m dedicating some time to celebrate SEGA’s supersonic mascot.
Writer: Ian Flynn –Artists: Patrick “Spaz” Spaziante and Tracy Yardley
Story Title: “Part One: In the Beginning…” Published: 29 June 2011 (cover-dated: August 2011)
Story Title: “Part Two: Fate and Friends” Published: 3 August 2011 (cover-dated: September 2011)
Story Title: “Part Three: Divide and Conquer” Published: 31 August 2011 (cover-dated: October 2011)
Story Title: “Part Four: Reset” Published: 5 October 2011 (cover-dated: November 2011)
Quick Facts: SEGA quickly capitalised on Sonic’s mainstream popularity by commissioning two concurrent cartoons for their famous mascot. Sonic the Hedgehog (1993 to 1994), or “SatAM”, was the clear favourite compared to ita slapstick counterpart, though Archie Comics awkwardly mashed both together for a four-part miniseries. Unfortunately, the longest-running videogame comic book hit a road block when a former writer filed a ridiculous lawsuit that eventually saw the license acquired by IDW. Before then, Archie Comics scrambled to retool their continuity to bring it closer to the source material for Sonic’s 20th anniversary.
The Review: This back-to-basics celebration of Sonic’s history arguably echoes the videogames closer than Archie’s previous efforts, which were always an odd amalgamation of the cartoons, videogames, and convoluted original lore. Accordingly, the event is kick-started by the startling revelation that Doctor Ivo Robotnik (initially a semi-cybernetic dictator but now a flesh-and-blood “Overlander” referred to as and physically resembling Doctor Eggman) has rebuilt his horrifying space station, the Death Egg. This leads to a temporary truce between the Knothole Freedom Fighters and bizarre mage Ixis Naugus and a desperate assault against the heavily fortified space station, which saw Sonic and fearless leader Princess Sally infiltrate the Death Egg. Unfortunately, Sonic gets distracted fighting a bigger, fiercer version of Silver Sonic and is both unable to save Sally from being gunned down or stop Dr. Eggman activating the “Genesis Wave”, a Chaos Emerald-powered, reality altering shockwave that creates a new timeline. Thus, Sonic finds himself racing through Green Hill Zone with no memory of his friends or previous complicated dramas and simply investigating recent disappearances. Accordingly, Sonic is surprised to find Green Hill Zone populated by Motobugs, bug-themed Badniks powered by the missing woodland critters. Sonic commandeers a nearby Newtron and orders it to take him to its leader, meeting not Dr. Eggman but his nephew, Snively, who’s fiercely loyal to his uncle’s dream of conquering the planet with machinery and technology. Snively attacks in the Egg Wrecker, succeeding only in damaging the natural environment with his giant wrecking ball as Sonic is too fast to hit. A couple of hits to Snively’s craft sends the little weasel packing and Sonic rescues a bunch of animals from the capsule Snively was defending, three of whom are well known to Archie’s readers but are just meeting Sonic for the first time.
Though Dr. Eggman resets reality, Sonic’s fated to fall in with his old friends and oppose his schemes.
Sally Acorn, Boomer Walrus, and Antoine Depardieu reveal they’ve been actively investigating both the mysterious earthquakes ravaging the land and Dr. Eggman, and have even pinpointed a direct route to his stronghold, convincing Sonic to join their efforts. Their first stop is the ruins of the Marble Zone, where Sonic is surprised when the name “Caterkiller” mysteriously comes to mind upon seeing the Badnik. Although Boomer trashes it, Antoine is so terrified that he disturbs a flock of Batbrains, leading Sonic to scoff when Sally praises Antoine for alerting them to an ambush. Boomer reprograms a smashed Buzz Bomber and Sally convinces a passing Flicky to power it, giving them some additional firepower as they traverse the hazardous ruins, which are wracked by an earthquake. Thanks to Sonic’s speed and the friendly Buzz Bomber, the group avoids falling into boiling hot magma, only to be confronted by Dr. Eggman (in his classic attire, no less). Eager to test his speed against this new foe, Sonic races off, deftly dodging fireballs from the Egg Scorcher and giving Sally the strangest sense of déjà vu. Distracted by breaking his turncoat Badnik, Dr. Eggman gets wrecked by Sonic and flees to prepare his master plan, though even he is unsure of what that is due to memory lapses. Victorious, Sonic leads the group into the flooded, cavernous Labyrinth Zone, where Sonic’s concerns about Sally’s relationship with Antoine are quickly superseded by his fear of water. Encouraged by Sally, Sonic dives in and even blasts them clear of an Orbinaut swarm, though an earthquake seemingly spells doom for Antoine. As they emerge in the Starlight Zone, Sonic’s amazed at how nonplussed his new friends are about Antoine’s death but agrees that something’s definitely not right as they keep sharing the same thoughts and feeling the same things. Determined to avenge Antoine, they quickly push past the Zone’s Badniks and hazards to reach the Scrap Brain Zone, though Sonic thinks “Robotropolis” sounds far better.
Although they all suffer from amnesia, the characters are naturally drawn into conflict with each other.
Zapped by electricity, Sonic is almost too slow to save Boomer from also plummeting to his death and the three stumble into another confrontation with Dr. Eggman, who states his hatred of that nickname and traps Sonic in a forcefield. Dr. Eggman then tries to fry and crush Sonic with the piston-like Egg Crusher, only to be surprised when Antoine comes flushing down his pipe and frantically swats Dr. Eggman, giving Sonic the opening to trash his machine. Sonic then busts Dr. Eggman’s craft and sends him packing, sure to return. Sonic then introduces his new friends to his little buddy, Miles “Tails” Prower, who immediately hits it off with the equally scientific and mechanically minded Boomer. Although Sally’s sceptical about Tails due to his age, Sonic vouches for him and the three set off to tackle Dr. Eggman’s Westside Island facilities, unaware that Dr. Eggman has already launched his Death Egg. Although neither Dr. Eggman or Snively remember firing the Genesis Wave, they console themselves with the knowledge that the seven Chaos Emeralds will soon recharge the Death Egg to robotize Mobius in one shot. While Snively thinks his uncle should focus more on the interdimensional disturbances ravaging Mobius, Dr. Eggman is obsessed with destroying his newfound foe, whose unpredictability represents a significant risk. Disgusted by the pollution pumped out by the maze-like Chemical Plant Zone, Sonic and Tails still find time to have fun racing around and through the pipes, though the threat of drowning in toxic mega muck sees them air lift their friends to safety. After flirting with Sally, Sonic’s hit by a distorted memory of her death while debating their next move and opts to split from the group with Tails to tackle the source of the problem while they shut down the facility.
Super Sonic’s climatic showdown with Dr. Eggman sees him resetting reality…for better or worse.
Sonic and Tails take the Tornado biplane to Metropolis Zone, where Sonic immediately regrets his decision when he sees how heavily guarded the mechanical hellhole is. Sally expresses similar regrets over not trying harder to convince Sonic to stick around as they’re attacked in the hazardous Oil Ocean Zone, where a near-death experience suddenly triggers brief memories of the old world, where her and Sonic were an item, before the trio successfully shut down the facility. After besting Dr. Eggman’s traps, Sonic faces the rotund madman in his Egg Bouncer craft. Sonic also experiences déjà vu when Dr. Eggman calls him “rodent”, though he easily bounces past the villain and hitches a ride on the Tornado, bypassing the Wing Fortress Zone to leap to Dr. Eggman’s shuttle and reach the Death Egg. There, Sonic sees the devastating extent of the earthquakes and learns they’re caused by reality trying to force itself back together. When Dr. Eggman boasts that his roboticizer will cement the dimensional shift and ensure his victory, Sonic’s again bombarded by vague memories of their past conflicts and rushes to stop him, only to be attacked by the gigantic Death Egg Robot. As Sonic desperately dodges the mech’s detachable, spiked arms and stomps, Dr. Eggman reveals that he’s remembered enough to know that he reshaped reality to try and keep Sonic from interfering with his plans and lets slip that the Chaos Emeralds power the battle station. This allows Sonic to power-up into Super Sonic, much to Dr. Eggman’s disbelief, and he easily overpowers the mech. After overhearing from Snively that their battle is making the situation worse for Mobius, Sonic desperately initiates Chaos Control, another reality-altering shockwave that restores the world and everyone’s memories. However, while this allows Sonic to rescue Sally and bring down the Death Egg, it does result in Sally being roboticized.
Final Thoughts: Despite part three this arc featuring a beautiful recreation of the North American box art of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (SEGA, 1994), no elements from this videogame or its add-on are featured here and Knuckles the Echidna is entirely absent. Instead, “Genesis” is more of a homage to and recreation of the first two games and does what I’ve longed hoped for from Archie Comics, which is to stick closer to the action-packed adventure of the source material rather than short-changing recognisable locations and elements. “Genesis” also impresses by featuring gorgeous artwork from Spaz and Tracy Yardley, Archie’s best artists by a country mile, whose work shines in this much more focused, back-to-basics story. While I admit sticking closely to the plot of the videogames isn’t sustainable for hundreds of issues, there’s something to be said about the simplicity of avoiding all the interpersonal drama, slapstick, and dark and gritty atmosphere for a fun, action-packed story. “Genesis” still includes humorous moments, mainly involving Antoine or Sonic and Tails having fun, and has reasonably high stakes as Dr. Eggman is polluting the world, enslaving its inhabitants, and threatens to cement his rule once more with the Death Egg. There’s also the greater concern of the earthquakes rocking Mobius, which split apart the Marble Zone and almost kill Antoine. These are the direct result of Dr. Eggman’s Genesis Wave, which alters reality to create an all-new world much closer to the videogames but one that’s unstable and desperately trying to return to normal. This also alters everyone’s memories and even returns Rotor to his original name, causing even Dr. Eggman to have no idea what he did to the world, just that he must fire the Death Egg again to be victorious.
The soft reboot gives us a chance to refamiliarise ourselves with these characters and their relationships.
I really enjoyed seeing Sonic bashing Badniks, rescuing critters, and racing through recognisable Zones from the first two games. In many ways, “Genesis” reminds me of the Sonic the Hedgehog Story Comic(Unknown, 1991) in how it quickly blasts through the hazards, Badniks, and bosses of the first game, uniquely replacing Dr. Eggman with Snively for the Egg Wrecker encounter and having Sally and the others accompany Sonic to Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone, where various pitfalls await. Boomer’s side plot where he reprograms a Buzz Bomber was a fun way to show his mechanical prowess, though it didn’t really lead to much beyond this and showing that Sally can speak “Flicky”. Antoine doesn’t get much to do either and is reduced back to being a snivelling little coward and French stereotype, but I did like him having a much closer relationship with Sally, to the point where Sonic’s jealous of their connection and she must clarify that they’re just “close friends”. More of a nuisance than anything, Antoine is the butt of Sonic’s pranks and ridicule but his apparent death hits Sonic so hard that he’s baffled that his newfound friends aren’t more upset. This was an odd moment. I think the implication was supposed to be that Sally and Boomer sensed the death wasn’t real or permanent, implying that Antoine would come back if the world returned to normal, or perhaps it was a metacommentary on how characters never (or rarely) die. Either way, it was a strange moment rendered completely moot as Antoine shows up alive anyway. It was fun seeing the characters be confused by their déjà vu and remembering events from past issues, though it might’ve been nice to see these solidified across the story to more explicitly change their interactions. Sure, Boomer and Tails immediately click and Sonic and Sally naturally flirt and Dr. Eggman is immediately incensed by Sonic, but they’re all largely acting on blind instinct rather than piecing their true personalities together across the four issues.
The back-to-basics approach does wonders for the action and is a fitting homage to the videogames.
Still, the artwork is impeccable here and it was fun seeing this alternative first meeting between Sonic and the Freedom Fighters. I liked that Sonic just goes where he pleases and rescues the critters because it’s the right thing to do, but was convinced to team with Sally and the others since they’ve already made headway in tracking Dr. Eggman and because he feels he knows them. The relationship between Sonic and Tails was also super adorable, with Tails being closer to how he appears in the videogames while still being a capable pilot and avid mechanic. I loved seeing Dr. Eggman in his classic outfit and the classic Egg-O-Matics being put to use, and watching Sonic and the others deal with familiar hazards like spikes, pits, and crumbling platforms in locations lifted directly from the games to fit this world rather than being magically created, temporary Zones that make little narrative sense. I really enjoyed seeing how the Zones fitted together in a coherent way and that they group split up to tackle Oil Ocean Zone and Metropolis Zone separately, with each lamenting the decision since it feels right for them to be together. It’s a shame that Wing Fortress Zone got shafted but it was a neat touch bookending the arc with battles against Silver Sonic and finally seeing Sonic battle the Death Egg Robot (which I don’t think had appeared in Archie’s comics). I also liked the twist that the battle between Super Sonic and the Death Egg Robot was exacerbating the threat to Mobius and that Sonic took a gamble on Chaos Control to set things right, though it might’ve been nice to spread this arc out over a few more issues just to help usher in the new era. Overall, though, “Genesis” was a perfect soft reset to attract new readers and a fun way to reset Archie’s convoluted lore into a narrative that is closer to the videogames, recontextualising characters and elements to make them accessible while also being a fitting homage to the Blue Blur’s storied career.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Did you enjoy the “Genesis” arc? Were you happy to see a more back-to-basics approach for a change or did you enjoy all the drama of Archie’s comics? Do you think Archie should’ve gone all-in and just rebooted the comics here? Which of Archie’s original characters was your favourite and what did you think to their award-winning run? How are you celebrating Sonic the Hedgehog this year? Share your memories of Archie’s Soniccomics below and donate to my Ko-Fi and suggest more Archie Sonic stories for me to review.
Story Titles: “Duel: Book One” and “Duel: Book One” Published: March 1995 to April 1995
Writer: Randy Stradley Artist: Javier Saltares
Quick Facts: As Dark Horse Comics achieved mainstream success with licensed adaptations of horror and science-fiction films, it made sense to pit the Alien (Various, 1977 to present) and Predator (Various, 1987 to present) franchises against each other. The initial mini series spawned numerous follow-ups and eventually debuted the Xenomorph/Alien “Predalien” hybrid in this two-part story.
The Review: “Duel” is a follow-up to the five-issue “Aliens vs. Predator” story arc that followed the first three-issue clash between the two species and set the foundation for the sub-franchise that followed. Like in that story, “Duel” is set on the planet Ryushi, a desolate wasteland where Xenomorphs roam freely amongst the remains of Prosperity Wells and other outposts. The story begins thirty-odd hours after a squad of United States Marine Corps (USMC) respond to a distress beacon, only to be caught between the Aliens and Predators, who slaughter anyone who either crosses their path or interferes with the sanctity of the “hunt”. There’s some uncertainty when the only human inhabitant of the planet, Colony Administrator Machiko Noguchi, doesn’t respond to their communication attempts and the planet, formally controlled by the Chigusa Corporation, is a known dead zone (though the USMC aren’t privy to the slaughter that occurred there). Led by Captain Glass, the Marines explore the abandoned settlement and conclude that Noguchi is a “write-off”. It’s revealed that Weyland-Yutani were forced to share information about the Aliens for their own protection, meaning the Marines are far more knowledgeable than their Aliens(Cameron, 1986) counterparts and they’re understandably stunned when the alien craft they stumble upon is nothing like the Engineer’s crescent ship they expected. Unaware they’re being watched and sweltering in the intense heat, they instinctively open fire upon a monstrous Briar Wolf, a native of Ryushi, when it attacks.
While investigating Ryushi, a group of Marines are attacked by Aliens, Predator, and a monstrous hybrid!
As the Marines explore, they find an unconscious Yautja warrior. After making preparations to transport the bizarre creature back to their ship, the Marines find a chained-up Xenomorph Queen. Though they arrogantly believe she’s dead, Lieutenant Sali is splattered by the bitch’s extendable mouth when she suddenly revives and attacks, leading the Marines to blast her to corrosive chunks. As the Marines carry the Predator outside, they’re suddenly ambushed by Alien drones, who leap from the sands and quickly surround them. When a group of semi-cloaked Yautja appear to join the fray, Captain Glass orders his men to stand down, identifying the creatures as “survivors” from the wreckage, though he later notes that this was a mistake, despite the Predators seemingly helping them by dicing the Xenomorphs with axe-like spears. While the aliens renew their rivalry, the Marines race to their All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), where they’re confronted by one-armed Predator veteran “Light-Stepper”, who appeared in previous Dark Horse publications. Though apprehensive, the Marines attempt to make contact, only for Private Cogeletti to get speared through the chest! Naturally, the Marines open fire and, though Light-Stepper easily evades them, one of his cohorts isn’t so lucky and the Marines learn that, despite the Predator’s technology, they are as vulnerable as any other creature. The Marines quickly prepare to evacuate, with Captain Glass insisting they keep their survivor alive so the species can be further studied, a decision that also backfires when the Yautja violently spasms and births a particularly gruesome Chestburster! Although the Marines try to blast the scurrying little hybrid, it’s too quick and Sergeant Lesser is picked off by a Predator’s plasma cannon during the fracas. Spooked and sure that the Yautja have them surrounded, the Marines lay down crossfire against their invisible foes, though their hopes are quickly raised when they see their pilot, Murphy, flying in to pick them up in a “Cheyenne” class Utility Dropship.
With his squad dead, Captain Glass is forced to help Light-Stepper defeat the Predalien.
However, just as they’re scrambling to reach the rendezvous point, the Marines are stunned when Light-Stepper hefts a massive shoulder cannon and blows the dropship to smithereens! With no choice but to flee and try to think of an alternative escape plan, the Marines frantically race off in the ATV, shredding another Yautja with the vehicle’s blaster cannons and desperately trying to keep from being overwhelmed by their need for revenge. Spotting the remains of Prosperity Wells, Captain Glass heads to the ruins and has the Marines set up defenses to fend off their assailants. As night falls and his men take turns resting, Captain Glass remains vigilant, determined to make the creatures pay for murdering his troops, though they’re caught completely off-guard when the fully grown Predalien sneaks in and massacres two of his men! Bigger, more aggressive and uglier than either species, easily capable of crushing heads with one malformed claw, Captain Glass theorises that the Predators are pursuing them for allowing such an abomination to be born. After the Predalien gives them the slip and another plasma cannon shot offs one of his squad, Captain Glass detonates the mines they placed around the perimeter and kills two Predators, eventually leaving himself and Light-Stepper the only survivors. Thus, an unlikely alliance is forged when the Predalien reappears, with Captain Glass distracting the abomination long enough for his one-armed ally to cut the creature’s throat and stab it to death. With both warriors exhausted, neither has the strength or will to fight, with Captain Glass hypothesising that they’ve developed a mutual respect. Thus, the two simply sit and wait and are left to wonder which of their allies will arrive first, and what will happen when they do.
Final Thoughts: “Aliens vs. Predator: Duel” was a decent enough continuation of the dual narrative first thought up by Dark Horse Comics in 1990, and certainly influenced both franchises, but I was left a bit disappointed by the overall presentation. While some lauded the artwork, I found things were overly simplistic, with the environment barely standing out and the Marines being largely interchangeable. I had a hard time telling who was who or even caring about them since none of them receive any characterisation beyond being “Oorah!” meatheads except for Captain Glass, a man so bland and forgettable that he pales in comparison to even the most one-dimensional Marines from Cameron’s sci-fi classic. Ryushi has never made for a compelling location, being mostly a barren wasteland, and it’s even more difficult to connect with it now that the few bastions of civilisation have been abandoned or destroyed. Thus, I’m glad “Duel” was only a two-part tale as it could jump into the action a lot faster, but it does feel oddly paced despite its short length. There is barely any conventional Alien action here and, when the Xenomorphs do appear, they’re slaughtered like “bugs” and don’t even factor into the finale. Captain Glass theorises that the Predalien is some kind of affront to the Yautja, but we never see how the Aliens react to it. Would they obey it as a superior creature or turn against it? Either scenario would’ve added to the gore, action, and intrigue but, instead, the Aliens disappear from the narrative, despite the presence of a prisoner Queen indicating that Ryushi should probably be overrun by them. Returning to the artwork, Javier Saltares seems to be going for a stylised, minimalist approach but it comes across as amateurish to me. Aliens, Predators, and Marines alike lack detail, most of the gore is obscured in shadows, and it’s difficult to make out what’s happening in some panels.
A disappointing debut for the Predalien that doesn’t live up to its full potential.
Captain Glass is defined as the quintessential Marine. A tough, no-nonsense leader who’s simply following orders but is very protective of his troops, meaning he takes it very personally when they’re killed and actively organises them to dig in and fight back against their aggressive alien enemies. He admittedly makes numerous mistakes throughout, ultimately hedging his bets on aiding Light-Stepper simply to try and survive. Light-Stepper (who should be familiar to long-time Dark Horse Comics readers) is depicted as a wily and hostile Yautja, one far more experienced, durable, and capable than his peers despite only having one arm. He seems to have a personal, perhaps even religious obsession with slaughtering the Marines after they take the infected body of one of his kin, leading to him systematically picking off Captain Glass’s troops to recover the body and contain the situation. That being, of course, the Predalien, which is honestly the only saving grace of this story and, even then, it’s so poorly brought to life that, at first, I mistook it for a regular Xenomorph! The Predalien is a bastardised hybrid of the two species, sporting the iconic Yautja dreadlocks and greater bulk, and showcases augmented strength and speed, but is otherwise indistinguishable from a drone. The battle between it and Light-Stepper is short and violent and the creature is killed with relative ease, with Captain Glass barely contributing. This is a shame as it would’ve been cool to see a long, violent battle between the three, with man and Yautja setting aside their differences against a common enemy to showcase what makes the Predalien truly unique. Instead, it’s a few indistinct panels and then that’s it, with Light-Stepper not even injured by the abomination’s acidic blood. So, yeah, “Duel” may be important to the Aliens vs. Predator canon, but it left a lot to be desired in terms of its visuals, narrative, and action. I would’ve preferred to see the Predalien already fully grown, perhaps having slaughtered a hive and battling a Queen for dominance, and to see the Predators actively hunting it, with the Marines caught in the crossfire. Instead, I was left with a bit of a mess that didn’t quite live up to its potential.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Have you ever read “Aliens vs. Predator: Duel”? If so, what did you think to it and how it continued this spin-off canon? Were you also disappointed by the artwork and the narrative or were you impressed by the fidelity to the source material? What did you think the this batch of Marines, specifically Captain Glass, and their lack of characterisation? Were you impressed by the Predalien or do you agree that it should’ve had a bigger role in the story? Which of the Aliens vs. Predator stories or adaptations was your favourite and how are you celebrating the Predator franchise this month? Whatever your thoughts onAliens vs. Predator, drop a comment down below, send me some love on Ko-Fi, and go check out my other Predator (and Aliens) content.
The Review: While it may seem odd to review the eleventh episode of the first series of this classic cartoon, there are a few good reasons for it. Firstly, “Citizen Ghost” acts as a direct follow-up to Ghostbusters, with the main plot a flashback narrated by Doctor Peter Venkman (Lorenzo Music) to reporter Cynthia Crawford (Julie Bennett). Secondly, the episode explains how and why the Ghostbusters adopted the ravenous, mischievous ghost Slimer (Frank Welker). Thirdly, it explains why the Ghostbusters wear distinctly “toyetic” uniforms. And, finally, it explains why they refer to themselves as the “real” Ghostbusters, so there’s a lot of important stuff here. “Citizen Ghost” sees Cynthia navigating the bizarre day-to-day operations of the Ghostbusters’ firehouse to interview Peter regarding the team, who are still quite a mystery to New York City. Eager to understand more about them, and why they keep a ghost as a pet despite dedicating their lives to bustin’ spirits and trapping them within their ecto containment unit, Cynthia presses the besotted Peter and he happily tells her about what happened right after they defeated Gozer the Gozerian and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. The exhausted Ghostbusters returned to find their firehouse a shambles from the containment unit breach and their uniforms splattered in psychokinetic energy from the destroyed Mister Stay Puft. While Doctor Egon Spengler (Maurice La Marche), Doctor Raymond “Ray” Stantz (Frank Welker), and Winston Zeddemore (Arsenio Hall) rebuild the fire station and the ecto containment unit, Peter is given the simple task of disposing of the contaminated uniforms. However, he’s too tired and lazy to do so and leaves them by the ecto containment unit, unaware that they’re dosed in spirit energy leaking from the storage facility.
When spirits possess the Ghostbusters’ uniforms, Slimer helps the team to win them over.
Once the firehouse is fixed up, the team celebrates with Janine Melnitz (Laura Summer), only for the ravenous Slimer to burst in and steal their meal. Recognising the “little spud” as the one who slimed him in the Sedgewick Hotel, Peter leads the Ghostbusters in pursuing the ghost, only to be frustrated by failure. Over the next few days, Slimer reappeared again and again and each of the team reacted differently to him: Egon attempted to study Slimer, Winston was friendly to him, and Ray tried to teach him tricks. Peter, however, attacked Slimer on sight, leading the others to shelter the ghost and unofficially adopt him to annoy Peter. Peter’s issues with Slimer take a backseat, however, when the excess spirit energy brings the Ghostbusters’ old uniforms to life, birthing “spectral” doppelgängers made of ectoplasm who immediately try to replace their originals. The spectral Ghostbusters vanish for several days, then attack as the Ghostbusters are working in the city, firing blasts of ectoplasm from their warped proton packs and forcing the Ghostbusters to race back to base. Theorising that the spectres will be weakened if they can be tricked into firing more than necessary, the Ghostbusters attempt to defeat their doppelgängers, only to have their equipment stolen when their ghostly counterparts boost Ecto-1. With only one spare proton pack, Ray prepares to potentially sacrifice himself to distract the spectres but Slimer, having grown fond of Ray, eagerly swoops in to take his place. Cheered on by the Ghostbusters, Slimer flies rings around the spectres, goading them into literally blowing their loads, weakening them so the Ghostbusters can reclaim their proton packs, entrap the spectres, and assert themselves as the “real” Ghostbusters. Impressed by Slimer’s bravery, Peter begrudgingly accepted him onto the team, though he was left mildly annoyed when Cynthia turned her news report into an exposé on Slimer rather than him.
Final Thoughts: Despite being a big fan of the films, I was only a fair-weather fan of The Real Ghostbusters. I had a lot of the comics, a handful of toys, and maybe one VHS tape but that was about it. I don’t really remember watching it on television at the time, but I’ve always enjoyed what I have seen. I find “Citizen Ghost” fascinating as it’s one of the few episodes to explicitly reference the movie, thereby establishing the cartoon as a direct spin-off from the films (or, at least, an animated alternative). There’s something really enjoyable about seeing the Real Ghostbusters wearing the film uniforms, covered in residual goo from Mr. Stay Puft, and repairing the damage caused by Walter Peck (William Atherton). Considering the cartoon didn’t follow a serial format, meaning it was perfect for syndication, it makes sense that “Citizen Ghost” (or a version of it) wasn’t used as the pilot or first episode of the cartoon and the flashback framing narrative means you can watch it at any point and it makes perfect sense. While the animation can be a bit wonky and cheap, The Real Ghostbusters has always been a colourful and visually engaging show. We don’t see many wacky ghosts in this episode but the spectral Ghostbusters were impressive enough and fittingly spooky, with their wispy heads and distorted voices and violent desire to displace their organic counterparts.
An important episode that ties directly into the first movie and establishes the style for the cartoon.
“Citizen Ghost” is a great episode at showing just how arrogant, self-absorbed, and lazy Peter is. The spectral Ghostbusters only appear because he’s too lazy to burn the uniforms and he routinely avoids taking responsibility for his mistakes. He also spins the entire narrative into a heroic moment for him, so it’s fun seeing him be denied the spotlight by the end. As would become increasingly evident, this is a Slimer-centric episode that shows how Slimer was adopted by the Ghostbusters. Clearly lonely and eager for company, Slimer is a mischievous and troublesome spirit, but one who’s good-natured and just wants to help and be accepted. He gladly goes along with Egon’s experiments (even if his breath is too much for the curious scientist) and happily helps Ray fix Ecto-1 but is relentlessly hounded by Peter despite showing great affection for him (and the others). It’s this appreciation for the Ghostbusters that drives Slimer to risk his existence against their ghostly doubles and sees him hurt by their ectoplasmic blasts. Surprisingly, even Peter rallies behind Slimer in this moment, showing that he does begrudgingly care for the little spud, which becomes a running joke throughout the cartoon. Ultimately, while you can’t really go wrong with most episodes of The Real Ghostbusters, especially in the first series, “Citizen Ghost” is a great one for those (like me) who were curious to see how the film versions transitioned to their animated counterparts.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Is “Citizen Ghost” one of your favourite episodes of The Real Ghostbusters? Were you an avid fan of the show as a kid? Did you like seeing how Slimer was adopted by the team? What did you think to the spectral Ghostbusters and the way the episode follows on from the movie? Which Ghostbuster was your favourite and how are you celebrating Ghostbusters Day today? Whatever your thoughts and memories of Ghostbusters, share them below and donate to my Ko-Fi to fund other Ghostbusters reviews on the site.
Sixty-five million years ago, dinosaurs ruled the Earth. These massive beasts existed for about 180 million years before a cataclysmic event left them mere fossils. Fittingly, “Dinosaur Day” gives dino fans an ample opportunity to pay homage to these near-mythical titans.
Released: 28 February 2021 Originally Released: 4 March 1997 Developer: Nightdive Studios Original Developer: Iguana Entertainment
Metacritic Scores: 85 / 8.0 Also Available For: Nintendo 64, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Original Release); Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S (Remaster)
Gameplay and Power-Ups: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter is an early FPS title for the generation-defining Nintendo 64, actually the first FPS game developed for the system and, as such, set the bar for future FPS games released for the console (to the point where Turok’s control scheme was often a default or alternative for other shooters). Naturally, Turok takes a lot of inspiration from Doom(id Software, 1993) for its gameplay and controls, with players assuming control of Tal’Set, the titular Turok (despite the original Nintendo 64 version depicting his successor, Joshua Fireseed), and journeying across eight levels (nine, if you include the hub world) to oppose the mysterious Campaigner’s plot to tear apart reality with his techno-organic army of dinosaurs and other minions. The game’s controls are entirely customisable, and I’d recommend tweaking them to your liking. For example, I set the “bindings” to have the Right Trigger attack with Turok’s current weapon, A to jump, and the Left and Right Bumpers switch weapons. I had X toggle between ammo types (where available), Y bring up the surprisingly useful wireframe map, and set the run toggle to the right directional pad. There’s no reloading in Turok, though you can tweak the settings to set whether or not you automatically switch weapons upon acquiring new ones, change the colour of the blood, toggle Turok’s head bob, and toggle various sound and graphic effects (such as draw distance and fog). Turok offers a “Training” mode for you to get accustomed to the gameplay, which mainly sees you exploring levels cutting down respawning enemies, collecting various keys, and tackling one of the worst affronts to FPS gameplay ever conceived: first-person platforming! Although this is a remaster of the classic Nintendo 64 game, Nightdive Studios haven’t implemented modern quality of life features like save states or rewinds, so you’ll still be relying on extra lives (acquired by collecting 100 Life Force points) and rare checkpoints and manual save points scattered across each level.
Shoot, jump, and explore to track down elusive keys in the classic but clunky FPS title.
Turok’s reasonably durable and can partially or fully recover his health with various pickups and can even permanently extend it by collecting “Mortal Wounds” that randomly drop when you kill enemies with your knife or basic arrows. “Spiritual Invincibility” temporarily makes you invincible and slows enemies, “Tek Armour” grant additional armour points, and backpacks increase how much ammo you can carry. Turok can (awkwardly) swim and climb vine walls and ladders; while he doesn’t take fall damage, he will be hurt by lava or boiling tar pits, and you lose a life if you plummet down a pit. This respawns you from your last checkpoint, though any collectibles and non-respawning enemies helpfully stay gone. Turok utilises a wide array of weapons, starting with a simple knife and a bow that fires regular and “Tek Arrows” that explode on contact. You quickly grab a pistol, a shotgun, and a fairly useless assault rifle. The automatic shotgun later became my default weapon, especially when you acquire explosive shells, while the minigun is great for shredding larger enemies. The rapid-fire pulse rifle is a far better alternative to the assault rifle, the grenade launcher is decent for blowing up enemies from a distance, and you even get a heavy-duty quad rocket launcher that’s best saved for bosses. Search around enough and you’ll find an alien weapon that fires explosive energy bursts, a shockwave cannon, and the ridiculously powerful particle cannon, though these all have very limited ammunition. Every level also hides part of the legendary “Chronoscepter”, the ultimate weapon that you’ll only complete right before the final boss and which decimates anything caught in its blast radius. Although ammo is plentiful, it’s usually best not to kill most enemies as they quickly respawn and most can just be avoided. However, there are times when you’re forced to defeat all enemies in a given area to lower barriers or raise platforms. It’s also worth noting that hazards like falls, falling boulders, and even some enemy attacks hurt your enemies, and also that some areas are rigged with flame bursts, spike pits and traps, wall lasers, and heavy cannons.
As if hazards and tough enemies weren’t bad enough, platforming becomes challenging as you progress.
Although things start fairly linear, later levels become much larger or more maze-like, which can leave you running in circles frantically searching for the right path. The map helps but it can be difficult following it when dealing with the respawning enemies. Each level contains several keys that must be found to unlock levels from the hub and these can be easily missed, meaning you must replay previous levels to hunt them down. The pause menu tracks which ones you’re missing and they’re fairly easy to spot, either being out in the open, across short jumps, or accessed via obvious alternative paths. Teleporters transport you across levels, pressure switches lower gates, raise paths, or open doors, and you must occasionally race from a switch to a door before it closes. Turok is littered with aggravating platforming challenges that start relatively safe (you’ll drop to water or a lower level if you fall and must climb back up to try again) but quickly become very tricky as you’re jumping to moving or extremely narrow platforms over lava or bottomless pits. The longer you hold the jump button, the further Turok jumps, and it can help to look down before you jump, but these platforms and columns eventually become so small that it’s very anxiety-inducing jumping to them. When on the Ruins level, you must jump to ledges so narrow they’re barely distinguishable from the rest of the environment or you must take running jumps from tiny platforms and will be frustrated by failure. The Lost Land sees you hopping to stone columns that rise and fall, making jumps difficult to judge while the Ancient City are more labyrinthine, offering higher paths and tunnels to goodies or shortcuts, and containing various doors and narrow corridors where enemies skulk around every corner. Blue portals also spawn all over, transporting you to relatively safe bonus areas where you must hop to or cross various platforms to stock up on ammo or Life Force points, though these are entirely optional.
Presentation: I remember the original Turok. I think everyone had a copy on Nintendo 64 back in the day. It was a foggy mess whose environments popped in from the murk and your vision was largely obscured when underwater. Thankfully, this remaster fixes most of that but there’s still a lot of fog. The Treetop Village employs it as a gameplay mechanic, however, as you’re high up in villages built around giant trees, watching as gigantic Brontosauruses stomp around you. Fog also obscures much of the Ruins level to make jumps to narrow ledges or wooden platforms even more troublesome and there’s a murky haze in the Lost Land that’s explained by the volcanic activity. Surprisingly, and disappointingly, there’s no story in Turok, not even some text setting the stage. You get no in-game context behind anything, no ending beyond watching Tal’Set escape the Campaigner’s exploding citadel, and no introductory sequence beyond Tal’Set dramatically shooting an arrow at the title screen. Even the old instruction manual was light on context, which is a shame as even Doom had some text to set the scene. You rarely see Tal’Set during gameplay unless you mess up, then you’re treated to various fun death animations (if enabled), but you do hear him grunt and scream when attacked and loudly proclaim “I am Turok!” when you earn an extra life. Turok’s music is a largely forgettable mixture of tribal sounds, ambient noises, and thumping bass. I did like the growls and screeches of unseen animals lurking in the jungle and appreciated the sounds of enemies teleporting in, which kept me moving at a steady (if often frantic) pace. You’ll often see wild boar, deer, and monkeys wandering levels that can be attacked for extra health, fish in the water, and blood will splatter with each attack. Enemies have some fun death animations, like slowly choking to death as arterial spray juts from the necks or blowing to pieces when you fire grenades at their bodies.
Sadly, the lack of story and visual variety drags the game down and the visuals remain as murky as ever.
Sadly, there’s not much visual variety to Turok. You start in the hub, which is a dense, linear jungle area consisting of various crumbling ruins, water pools, narrow canyons, and bottomless spits. This leads directly into the first level, the Jungle, which is mostly the same and establishes that you must find keys, press switches, and defeat waves of respawning enemies. The Jungle introduces log bridges, abandoned settlements, and that the Tek Arrows can blow up certain areas. You’ll venture into narrow, twisting caverns, wade or dive into water, and hop across some simple gaps as a taste for things to come. The Ancient City takes the jungle assets and muddies them up, placing more emphasis on vaguely Aztec ruins, temples, and structures made from dilapidated stone. The Ruins up the emphasis on platform as the level is based almost entirely around a cliffside area, with twisting log platforms winding around stone columns, narrow rope bridges threaten to drop you to your death, a maze of pillars, and various waterfalls and flooded areas. When in the Catacombs, things become more restrictive and maze-like as you avoid boiling tar and press switches to open various doors, dodging blade gears, raiding tombs, and being surprised when the brutish Pur-Lins burst through the stone walls. This ancient tomb also sees stone panels breathe fire at you, has you climbing blocky walls, and sees you pressing a specific switch to drain water and open a new area. The Treetop Village was surprisingly impressive, despite the fog, as you’re suspended high above, fighting past wooden huts, making numerous jumps to narrow cliff ledges, and battling waves of enemies against a thunderstorm backdrop. The Lost Land is a largely barren hellscape full of volcanos, lava pits, and the Campaigner’s heavily guarded, futuristic citadel. This level features some of the trickiest platforming as you hop to floating platforms and to extremely narrow columns, and narrow corridors within the highly advanced citadel that represents the game’s busiest location. It all gets a bit samey, however, as the same jungle environments, caverns, cliffsides, and ruins and recycled across each area, meaning many levels lack a strong visual identity.
Enemies and Bosses: The Campaigner’s forces are many and varied, ranging from humanoid to dinosaur to alien warriors. You’ll encounter aggressive natives who wield knifes, pistols, spears, and shotguns, with some tossing grenades or unloading with assault rifles. These are upgraded to cyborgs in the Final Confrontation, with their shotgun-wielding commanders being notably durable. Demonic humanoids also appear, with their priests being particularly annoying as they launch fireballs and lightning and can take a lot of shots to put down, while their skeleton-painted minions spit darts. Acid-spitting, man-eating plants later appear, extremely annoying beetles and gremlin-like Lurkers hop around the various caverns, and giant prehistoric dragonflies flitter about in the skies of the Lost Land. You’ll also encounter giant grabs in the fetid sewers of the Campaigner’s citadel, giant burrowing sandworms, and heavily armoured battle robots who boast minigun arms and quad rocket launchers. The hulking Pur-Lins are smartly positioned like mini bosses, dropping in to guard keys, switches, or gates. They also produce a shockwave, launch fireballs, and tumble into you when downed so it’s best to keep your distance, especially if you’re near a pit. Various cybernetically enhanced, frog-like aliens also appear, firing plasma shots, flying with a jetpack, and occasionally initiating a self-destruct. You’ll also encounter voracious Utahraptors who bite, swipe, and jump kick you, slower Dimetrodons wander about snapping at your heels, and enemies will ride Triceratopses in the Lost Land. Like later Dimetrodons and Utahraptors, these are cybernetically enhanced, boasting miniguns and grenade launchers, which can make these usually simple (if annoying) enemies much more formidable as they’re packing serious heat!
The gigantic and powerful bosses are impressive but sadly in short number.
Although Turok boasts eight levels, there are only five bosses to contend with so the battle robots, Pur-Lins, and Triceratopses often act as mid- or end guardians. When you do fight bosses, they boast a health bar and you respawn in the boss arena if you die, which is super helpful. You may encounter some bosses out of order depending on what keys you have, but you’ll most likely fight the Longhunter first. This is a two-stage battle that first sees you attacked by two Humvees that race around firing machine guns and rockets and ram into you if you get too close. Once they’re gone, the Longhunter rolls about firing plasma shots and tossing a boomerang-like razor blade that’s tricky to avoid. Oddly, the gigantic Mantis was a far easier fight despite it being much larger and having better attacks. The Mantis leaps about, destroying walls and spitting corrosive acid that lingers for a short time. It also swipes with its bladed arms and eventually flies about dropping gunk or scrambling about on the ceiling and firing explosive shots, though I did pretty good with the minigun and pulse rifle. After clearing out the aliens, cyborgs, and hulking robots littered throughout the Campaigner’s futuristic citadel, players area teleported to a circular arena and fight a titanic, cybernetically enhanced Tyrannosaurs rex named “Thunder”. A fast, huge enemy, Thunder quickly stomps towards you and will decimate your health if it bites you. If you stay back, Thunder produces a shockwave off a leap and breathes fire, eventually sweeping the arena with is laser eye as your attacks destroy its mechanical parts. Thankfully, you’re given a save point and loads of gear prior to battling the Campaigner, who frantically teleports about, hides behind an energy shield, and unleashes a barrage of enemy projectiles. He also attacks with an axe-like club and can restrict your more powerful weapons if they’re used, though the Chronoscepter drains huge chunk of his help if you have it and if you can get a clear shot.
Additional Features: There are a paltry ten Achievements up for grabs in this remaster of Turok, with one being awarded each time you defeat a boss and when you complete the game on any difficulty. You’ll get another if you collect enough Mortal Wounds, another for killing three enemies at once with the knife (I recommended doing this against the beetles), and another for clearing the “Training” mode and assembling the Chronoscepter. Although the game has four difficulty modes, you’re better off sticking to “Easy” unless you really need a greater challenge, and there’s little point in jumping into the blue bonus portals unless you’re really low on resources. There are a bunch of secret areas to discover, which generally yield additional health or weapons, and finding them all grants you another Achievement. Though there’s no multiplayer option, there is a time trial mode that gifts another Achievement if you beat it fast enough. You can input a bunch of cheat codes to gain infinite lives, all weapons and keys, big head mode, invincibility, and more, however they disable the Achievements.
Final Thoughts: Like I said, it seemed as though everyone owned Turok: Dinosaur Hunter back in the day, and that includes me. However, this is the first time I’ve ever legitimately beaten the game much less played through it from start to finish. I used to just mess around with cheats, blowing enemies up with the Chronoscepter and skipping to the bosses, so it was nice to finally sit down and play it. Sadly, Turok hasn’t aged well, despite the graphical and performance enhancements made to this remaster. It’s a very barebones FPS, even with the emphasis on exploration to find all the keys and Chronoscepter pieces. You’ll mostly see the same enemies in every level, the same assets recycled into tougher challenges, and repeat the same gameplay loop of shooting, pressing switches, and teleporting about until you reach the end. The game is disappointingly light on story, even for an FPS title or an early Nintendo 64 release, and I found myself holding back from using most of the heavier weapons as I wanted to save them for the bosses, only for bosses to be extremely rare and such bullet sponges that you quickly exhaust your best ammo. I really liked the cybernetic dinosaurs and wish these had been more prominent, with less humanoid enemies and more prehistoric or alien enemies to lean into the game’s unique setting. The environments also really needed more visual variety. The jungle setting and Aztec ruins are fine for the first two levels, and I loved the atmosphere of the Treetop Village, but the futuristic, alien aesthetic should’ve been incorporated more prominently, perhaps with crashed alien craft or outposts set up by the Campaigner in each area. The lack of multiplayer is a surprising omission given how popular “Deathmatches” were back then and the focus on FPS platforming really drags Turok down. It’s a fairly unique gimmick, for sure, but FPS platforming is never fun and some of the jumps are ridiculously finnicky and frustrating. Therefore, while Turok: Dinosaur Hunter may be a Nintendo 64 classic and have a place in the history books, it’s largely inferior to other FPS titles from yesteryear even with its bizarre enemies and setting.
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Did you own Turok: Dinosaur Hunter on the Nintendo 64 back in the day or was this your first time discovering it? Did you ever read the Valiant comics? Were you also annoyed by the finnicky, first-person platforming? Did you also find the levels lacking in visual variety? Did you ever construct the Chronoscepter and defeat the Campaigner? Which Turok videogame is your favourite and how are you celebrating Dinosaur Day this year? Whatever your thoughts on Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and dinosaurs in general, leave them below and donate to my Ko-Fi if you want to see more Turok content.
Since Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) first appeared in May 1984, they’ve achieved worldwide success thanks to many influential cartoons, videogames, and action figures.
Gameplay and Power-Ups: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed is a direct follow-up to the surprisingly energetic and entertaining 2023 animated movie of a similar name and directly follows the events of that film, with mutants like the TMNT living freely in New York City. However, when the malevolent Techno Cosmic Research Institute (TCRI) sends mutants into a frenzy with a pheromone harvested from anthropomorphic chameleon Cammy, players must journey through the sewers, subways, and rooftops to subdue the threat and find a cure. Unlike most TMNT videogames, Mutants Unleashed only offers single or two-player co-op and, as far as I can see, there are no team-based attacks on offer (though you can compete for letter grades). The TMNT all share the same basic controls and are somewhat differentiated by their weapons and gameplay. Raphael, for example, seems slower and has a shorter reach, Michelangelo seems much faster, Donatello has great reach, and Leonardo seems like an all-rounder. Combat is extremely simple, with players unleashing basic combos by tapping X (or holding it for a stronger attack) and performing a stronger dash attack with Y. You can string these buttons together for more elaborate combos, but mashing X or Y generally does the job. Players jump with A, double jumping by pressing it twice, and run by holding the Right Trigger. This allows you to wall run, hop to pipes to skate across gaps or areas, and perform additional attacks. You hold B to block or tap it when indicated to dodge roll from enemy attacks, unleashing a powerful counter with either X or Y (though these can leave you vulnerable). As ever, pizza restores your health, though you must restart the mission if you fall in battle as there’s only ever a checkpoint before a boss battle, which can get aggravating.
Mindless combat, aggravating controls, and frustrating hit detection drag this game down.
Pizza and other temporary power-ups, like fizzy drinks that increase your attack power, are dropped by enemies or found in destructible objects. You can hit explosive barrels to damage enemies (though these also blow up in your face!), knock them off rooftops and into water (both of which damage you as the TMNT can’t swim!), and use environmental hazards like speeding subway trains to hurt enemies. As you complete missions and collect VHS tapes, you’ll earn experience points (XP) to spend upgrading characters in their sewer lair, adding additional moves to their arsenal. You can also increase their maximum health, their damage, and how fast and long the assist gauge raises by finding hidden ooze canisters. You can also find arcade tokens to spend on single-use items that, for example, refill your health when it’s drained but, to get the most out of each character, you must chat to various non-playable characters (NPCs) to offer encouragement, guest star on podcasts, and complete combat and time trial missions for additional XP and rewards. As you dish out damage, the assist gauge fills and allows you to call in another character to assist you using the Left Bumper, either by attacking enemies or spawning pizza and fizzy drinks. I found these extremely temperamental as most have a short range, cutscenes cancel them out, and you must smash crates to get the power-ups rather than them just appearing. Donnie, Mikey, and Raph also have unique special abilities: Donnie stuns enemies with a camera flash, Mikey automatically twirls his nunchaku, and Raph briefly enters “Rage Mode” after a successful dodge and counterattack. Again, I had trouble with these, and they weren’t as intuitive as I’d like. The game is also extremely finnicky with its lock-on and camera, which makes platforming a chore, combat a hectic mess at times, and often sees you taking a plummet or being bashed about and forced to frantically mash B to get up before you’re stun locked.
Alongside the endless combat, you’ll be exploring the same locations helping NPCs with their troubles.
Mutants Unleashed uses an odd time-based mechanic where some missions must be completed within a certain number of days. Time passes as you chat with NPCs and complete tasks, like running obstacles courses to deliver pizzas for Bebop, Rocksteady, and Ray Fillet, battling enemy waves as part of Splinter’s training regime, and hunting down “contagious” enemies. I’m not sure what the penalty is if you miss the deadline for a mission as I completed them all on time, but it was frustrating being limited by this mechanic. Most of these sub-missions involve revisiting the same areas and battling the same enemies but in different configurations and contexts, though you do unlock additional apps for your smartphone, such as a monster finding game and fun stickers to virtually place on people’s heads! When in story-based missions, you quickly see everything Mutants Unleashed has to offer as you visit the same locations over and over, sometimes at night or in reverse, with little variation beyond tougher enemies. You can make enemies more manageable by passing time on the world map and even run past most of them unless you’re forced into a fight. Environmental hazards like electrical pylons and live wires, giant fans, sticky oil, and moving or bouncy platforms can really mess up your combat especially as it’s easy to get snagged on the environment. Occasionally, the mindless action is broken up by the odd zip wire or autoscrolling section, with you often battling through (and on the roof of) subway trains or hopping to various vehicles on a busy highway (extra dangerous given the janky camera and controls!) You’ll hop to submerged shipping containers (some of which sink), run across collapsible wooden planks, jump to rooftops and giant fans over dangerous sewer water, and occasionally chase the TMNT’s infected mutant allies (though this is merely a ploy to lead you to the same platforming and combat sections). Mutants Unleashed can be surprisingly frustrating even when you’re at full power. The TMNT can be pummelled to death quite easily if you’re not careful and the lack of checkpoints gets especially frustrating in the late game, where enemies are naturally more formidable.
Presentation: Mutants Unleashed does a fantastic job of mirroring the art style and action of Mutant Mayhem, a fact helped by the four leads being voiced by the same teenage voice actors from the movie. The graphics adopt a sketchbook-like, cel-shaded style that mimics the unique presentation of the film and adds some interesting touches to the action, such as scribbles for shadows and character outlines when they’re obscured. This comes to a head in the endgame when Cammy riles the “Mewbies” into a mob, with the rioting crowd represented by shifting, distorted, potentially 2D art, which is a nice touch. Comic book style sound effects and cutaways add to the combat, though the voice samples do get quite repetitive. I did like that the TMNT chat with each other and their allies to progress the plot, though I wasn’t expecting the game to focus so heavily on NPC interaction. Each character has an NPC they interact with alongside the team helping their other allies in various ways. Leo gets leadership and self-confidence pointers from shifty influencer Toby, Raph helps a disabled swimmer get back on form, Mikey guests on a podcast, and Donnie helps a young, drone enthusiast. You also snap pictures of graffiti and learn about art from Mondo Gecko, help budding reporter April O’Neil chase leads, watch movies with Splinter, and play dance rhythm games (in cutscenes…) with Wingnut. Each area changes as you progress and explore, with different NPCs in the background or changing entirely, such as scientist Sai Modi being forced from his laboratory and Bebop and the others temporarily relocating their pizza business. The TMNT have some fun banter with each other, with Raph surprising the others with his knowledge of various animals after binge-watching nature documentaries and the others mocking Leo for his crush on April. Mutants Unleashed is surprisingly long, too, with a lot of cutscenes to sit through (which you can thankfully skip), which is very unusual for a videogame tie-in to a movie.
Although the game captures the aesthetic of the movie, its locations are extremely repetitive.
Sadly, as good as the presentation is, it’s very visually repetitive. Between missions, you wander about the TMNT’s cramped sewer lair, upgrading characters or engaging with Splinter, before choosing your next mission from the world map. Almost every mission has you venturing to the city streets from either the sewers or the subway, hopping across various rooftops, or visiting the docks. These areas have many variations, with the subways tunnels sometimes being active, flooded, or you fighting through moving trains and the rooftops being at different times of the day, but it all gets very old very quickly. Sometimes, you revisit an area backwards (meaning you start at where you exited before and head right instead of left) or at different times of the day, or tougher enemies and new hazards appear. These are usually giant fans that blow you into the water, bouncing washing lines, or more water and bottomless pits. Areas are pretty well detailed, for the most part, with the city streets being an obvious standout. You’ll see businesses, graffiti, alleyways, overground trains, and sewer pipes all around and it can be fun veering off the painfully linear path to explore or wasting time in the skate park. Some missions see you stuck in claustrophobic interiors, such as the abandoned movie theatre, the cramped shopping mall, or the hazardous TCRI facility, where pistons threaten to crush you or push you into spiked walls. Other times, you’re attacking generators to briefly disable electrical hazards around construction sites, desperately avoiding the rushing tarmac on the highway, or clambering to piles of shipping containers or disused boats. Mutants Unleashed eventually adds a bit more variety, such as snow or you battling across the wreckage of the Brooklyn Bridge. In the endgame, you venture into TCRI airships, grinding around the wings and smashing consoles inside, before storming their main facility, battling hordes of the game’s worst enemies and smashing power nodes to stop them pumping out the madness-inducing pheromone.
Enemies and Bosses: Mutants Unleashed has you striking down waves of Mewbies, bizarre anthropomorphic animals driven crazy by TCRI’s pheromone. While you are forced to fight waves of them, as indicated by the anime-like cutaways and annoying focus on nearby groups, others can simply be avoided (which I would recommend). Although the same Mewbies pop up all throughout the game, each has different variants and they’re all aggravating in different ways. Crabapults are the most common, weakest enemy and even they can protect against your attacks by hiding in the bins strapped to their backs and toss rubbish from a distance that always seems to hit! Later, defeating them sees a smaller variant linger about, which was very frustrating as they also always seemed to do damage. Rumblebees are also very common and can be tricky to hit with your mid-air attacks. They swoop at you, attack with their boxing gloves, and later swing chainsaws or emit a damaging gas cloud and even explode upon defeat! The luchador-like El Hippo takes quite a pounding before going down and charges up a punch or especially annoying charge that send you flying, or performs a belly drop that homes in on you to make dodging it even more frustrating. Fin Harris attack with tridents, charging a dash and sometimes protecting themselves with an electrical field, while the bulky Eel-A-Watts also employ a body slam alongside a devastating laser cannon! Zebrakens can be ridiculously annoying as they can snag you with their extendable, crab-like pincer; Rock N Moles pop up from below, sometimes sporting drill-like noses or unleashing a soundwave; and Roller Blade mantises quickly dash about on roller skates. I found the worst enemies were the Roaster Fish and Maul Tusks. Roaster Fish weild flamethrower-like blowtorches and nail guns that constantly knocked me out of the air, sent me flying, or hit no matter where I was; and they teleport, too! Maul Tusks are mutant snails that swing massive mallets to decimate your health bar or unleash a barrage of rockets, sometimes being protected by forcefields and fought in small areas where you either can’t dodge or get snagged on the environment!
Bosses can be an uphill battle thanks to some odd perspectives and cheap exploits.
Despite Mutants Unleashed featuring a world map and many side missions, the story follows a linear path, and you battle the TMNT’s crazed mutant friends in a set order, often after chasing them or cleaning up their messes. As is common in TMNT videogames, your first boss battle is against the duo of Bebop and Rocksteady, who take it in turns battling you in a mosh pit. Rocksteady tries to gore you, though gets stunned if you trick him into running into the walls, as Bebop tosses grenades from the DJ deck, while Bebop fires a laser from his ghetto blaster and tosses those same grenades as Rocksteady fires flames. After besting both, they attack together, which can be a tough fight even with pizzas being flung into the arena (I recommend focusing on Rocksteady first). The first fight against Genghis Frog is merely a teaser as he quickly flees after a short battle. When you fight him in the water treatment facility, his axe game is much improved, with him swinging it wildly and in an overhead arc. When he hops to the background, you must trick him into snagging explosive barrels with his tongue and pummel him when he’s stunned. Leatherhead was a much trickier boss as you must sneak around her lair from a quasi-overhead perspective, avoiding making noise or being spotted or she basically immediately kills you with her shotgun. Instead, you must follow glowing cables to a generator that must be attacked to temporarily blind her, and then do this again but without visual indicators. When you finally confront Wingnut at the cinema, she’s fought on a 2.5D plane before the movie screen and attacks from above, swooping low before landing and firing energy waves both high and low. After enough hits, she adds a bombardment of flaming projectiles to her arsenal, but her attacks are easily telegraphed so she’s not too difficult to beat if you time your jumps properly.
Turbo Cammy represents the game’s toughest, cheapest boss challenge due to some awful mechanics.
When Mikey also turns feral, he’s temporarily removed from the playable roster and you must track him to the city streets. Although he’s fast and seems to boast all his regular attacks, Mikey was the easiest boss battle and went down in no time. At first, this is true for Cammy, who you fight a few times amidst the rioting Mewbies. Each time, I hit her enough for her to flee and tag in her minions, so I never saw her use a single attack. After she joins the TMNT in opposing TCRI, Cammy’s mutated into the far more monstrous and formidable “Turbo Cammy”, who’s fought in three phases (with no checkpoints). Turbo Cammy first attacks with claw swipes, a big stomp, and turns invisible, which is pretty manageable. She then uses her extendable tongue, adds a charge attack, and leaps across the wrecked bridge to crush you. Finally, she spews ooze, spitting at you, and adds faster combos to her arsenal. Luckily, your allies toss pizza to help, but this was a gruelling boss battle as I kept getting stun locked, caught on the environment, or tossed about due to the dodgy lock-on gimmick! After Cammy seemingly dies, Leo’s ally Toby is revealed to be a traitor and is fought in a giant, distinctly Krang-like mech aboard a TCRI airship. This was a much easier boss battle as it’s ridiculously easy to avoid his missile barrage, sweeping lasers, and jet powered drop. Even when Toby regenerates his health for the second phase and adds more lasers, a flying attack, and a punch combo, it’s super easy to get behind him and pummel him into submission, especially if your TMNT are fully upgraded.
Additional Features: Twenty-seven Achievements are up for grabs in Mutants Unleashed, with one awarded every time you defeat a boss, upgrade a character, or reach maximum friendship with each NPC. You’ll snag another if you find all the “DigiMutants” using the smartphone app, photograph every piece of graffiti, and locate all the ooze cannisters to max out your health, damage, and assist gauge. Even playing casually, you should manage to complete all these Achievements on a single playthrough, though it was surprising to not see extra Achievements for playing with a friend or defeating thousands of enemies. Beating the game unlocks “New Game+”, which carries over all your skills and makes the enemies even tougher, though I wouldn’t recommend playing this game more than once (specially as there’s no Achievement for clearing New Game+). By inputting codes into the TMNT’s computer, you unlock additional skins that see the characters transformed into action figures or wear their casual clothes, and extra skins can be bought as DLC to turn them into Metalheads or their counterparts from the 1980s cartoon and original comics. The “Fresh Meat Mission Pack” offers additional missions, featuring three new enemies, a “Horde Mode”, and a new boss battle against Scumbug, though there also aren’t any Achievements tied to the DLC so you’re probably better off saving your cash.
Final Thoughts: I was expecting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed to be another arcade-style beat-‘em-up that simply saw one to four players battling waves of mutants through the sewers and streets of New York City. Instead, the mission-based narrative and focus on side missions and upgrading the TMNT has more in common with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan (PlatinumGames, 2016) than the simple, mindless simplicity of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time (Konami, 1991). On the one hand, the game is thus far longer and more involved than I would expect from a videogame based on a movie, cramming in so much story and so many character interactions that it starts to become tedious. It feels unfair to criticise this as it’s clearly not a cheap cash-in like other tie-in videogames, but Mutants Unleashed wears out its welcome very quickly. The basic combat is fine, but it’s thrown all out of whack when you sprinkle in platforming or precarious environments to fight in. It’s especially aggravating that the TMNT take damage when they fall in water, that they can easily get caught on the environment and pummelled by enemy hordes, and that the game’s so stingy with checkpoints. I didn’t mind the NPC side missions, but most are just cutscenes or reskinned areas you’ve already visited a dozen times. The deadline gimmick seemed an arbitrary way to extend the game’s life, as was forcing you to repeatedly do the same tasks for basically the same rewards. While the game faithfully captures the look, humour, and atmosphere of the movie, I felt no sense of accomplishment from upgrading the characters, barely cared about the NPCs, and was extremely disappointed that the 16-bit titles have more variety in their environments. The bosses could be fun but were also extremely cheap at times due to the dodgy controls, janky camera, and awful collision detection. With little incentive to replay the game and no collectibles or unlockables worth shouting about, I’d definitely say you’re better off avoiding Mutants Unleashed and sticking to the classic TMNT videogames as they might be short, but at last they’re fun!
My Rating:
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Could Be Better
Were you also disappointed by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants Unleashed despite how long the story mode was? Did you enjoy how it mimicked the presentation and continued the story of the movie? How invested were you in the NPC’s problems? Which of the bosses was your favourite? Did you also get frustrated by the controls and collision detection? Which TMNT videogame is your favourite and how are you celebrating the TMNT this month? Tell me what you think in the comments and go donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest another TMNT videogame for me to review.
Since Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) first appeared in May 1984, they’ve achieved worldwide success thanks to many influential cartoons, videogames, and action figures!
Released: 23 April 2024 Originally Released: November 2017 Developer: Cradle Games and Raw Thrills Original Developer: Raw Thrills
Metacritic Scores: 53 / 5.4 Also Available For: Arcade (Original Release), Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S (Port)
Quick Facts: Despite the TMNT being dramatically redesigned for new animated and big-screen adventures in 2019 and 2023, developer Raw Thrills released an expanded port of their 2017 arcade game, which was based on the popular all-CGI 2012 cartoon. While Wrath of the Mutants perfectly captured the visual and humour of the cartoon, it was criticised for being a short, unfulfilling title that coasted on nostalgia.
Gameplay and Power-Ups: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants, besides being a mouthful, is a 2.5D sidescrolling beat-‘em-up based on the all-CGI 2012 cartoon (which, I’ll be honest, I’ve never watched and am not very familiar with). The game supports up to four players both on- and offline, though only the titular TMNT are playable. While they all play the same and don’t appear to have any unique stats, Raphael obviously has a harder time in combat as his sai have a shorter range than Leonardo’s swords, though it also felt like Michelangelo was faster. Wrath of the Mutants uses a simple four-button control scheme where you attack with X (executing some basic combos with repeated taps), jump with A (jumping higher the longer you hold it), grab and throw stuff with X, and unleash your character’s “Turtle Power” with Y when the gauge is full (either by defeating enemies or grabbing power-ups). You can bash enemies on the ground and toss them at the screen, perform jumping attacks and dive kicks by double tapping A or pressing A and X in mid-air, or do a spinning attack on the ground with A and X for crowd control. Each character has a different Turtle Power attack, with Donatello summoning electricity through his staff and Mikey raining pizza slices and can grab additional temporary power-ups as they play. These see you performing a breakdance-like spin move, toss smoke bombs to stun enemies, chuck a limited supply of shuriken, or hurl the Ice Cream Kitty to ricochet off enemies. You can also toss trash cans and rocks and such, hit explosive barrels, and use fire hydrants to even the odds, and restore your character’s health with some “Pizza Power!”
Batter ninja robots with ninja power and alongside some friends in this fun, if mindless, throwback brawler.
You can also ride surfboards in the “Sewer” stage and summon aid from Leatherhead and Metalhead when their icons appear, with the former performing a screen-clearing roll attack and the latter unleashing a missile barrage. Wrath of the Mutants pays homage to the classic TMNT arcade titles by featuring various Foot Soldier robots who burst from the background or up from the sewers and various hazards to watch out for. You can drop down holes, get blown up by dynamite and spiked mines, and battle waves of enemies on elevators. Each stage has different interactive elements: the “Amusement Park” stage, for example, has you dodging runaway rollercoasters, cars will barrel at you in “New York City”, and Krang’s gigantic mech suit zaps you with a weird, gigantic eye in “Dimension X”. You won’t have to worry about falling to your death at any point, which is good, but your lives and continues appear to be more limited on the harder difficulty settings. Enemies sometimes hide offscreen and stages are surprisingly long, with your performance being tallied up at the end to award additional points. You can pick from any stage but the final one right from the start, but there’s no story to link the levels together (though this is beneficial as your lives and continues are reset with each stage, making it easier to tackle the game’s “Hard” mode). There isn’t much variety to the stages, however, with even the aforementioned autoscrolling sewer surfin’ section only lasting for the beginning of the “Sewer” stage.
Presentation: Fittingly, Wrath of the Mutants mirrors the 2012 animated series almost perfectly, with all the voice actors returning to deliver fun voice samples. While these clips do get repetitive, I liked that each character reacted to events and bosses differently and there are some fun call-backs to previous TMNT videogames. Since I never watched the show, I have no idea if the music is ripped from it or even similar. To me, the soundtrack was just a fun, if forgettable, series of rockin’ tunes to beat baddies to. While characters only assume a “ready” stance when left idle, each animates a little differently, with Mikey having a fun little jog, for example, and sports a victory pose upon completing the stage. When electrocuted, you’ll see your character’s skeleton and when they’re knocked down, stars spin around their heads like in the old arcade game. Sadly, Wrath of the Mutants doesn’t really feature a story and there are no cutscenes linking the stages together, though characters do interact with the bosses when they burst onto the screen and the game ends with a motion comic-like cutscene of April punching out Oroku Saki/The Shredder. The game’s graphics, gameplay, and overall feel reminded me of the Turtles in Time (Konami, 1991) remaster, though the controls are a bit more responsive and things are much brighter and detailed here. There’s a fair bit happening in the backgrounds, such as traffic in the distance in “New York City”, subway trains speeding past in “Sewer” (where you also battle in the TMNT’s ransacked/untidy lair), and bizarre, crystalline formations in “Dimension X”. The game doesn’t get too crazy with its environments, though, saving most of the weirdness for the hyper-futuristic labs in the Techno Cosmic Research Institute (T.C.R.I.) building and the warped Dimension X. Enemies teleport in, enter from elevators, or float across energy bridges. They toss explosive barrels from vans, attack in haunted house rides, and await in ominous, gothic castles in areas that marry the classic arcade titles with the all-CGI show to give the best of both worlds.
Enemies and Bosses: I you’ve ever played a TMNT videogame before, you know exactly what to expect here. Foot Soldiers, in all the colours of the rainbow, pour from everywhere and attack with various weapons. You’ve got the standard purple-clad grunts who attack with punches and kicks or toss manhole covers, sword-wielding black ones, yellow variants who toss shuriken from afar, and annoying orange ones who rush across the screen carrying a spear! Blue-hued Foot Soldiers fire lightning blasts from cannons, red ones chuck explosive barrels or dynamite, and some (or all, I couldn’t quite tell) can grab and hold you. While there are no flying variants, they do ride surfboards in the “Sewer” stage and most mini bosses and regular bosses are accompanied by a few of these minions. Mousers also spew from sewer tunnels and chew up from the floor, alongside the distinctly Xenomorph-like Pizza Monsters (who pounce from the water, swipe with their claws, and spew acid), T.C.R.I. agents in black suits, and the brain-like Kraangs in android bodies. Each stage sees you battling a mini boss halfway through and, while each has unique attacks, they all emit shockwaves after landing a jump. A distinctly slimmer version of Bebop is fought in “New York City”, with him teleporting about and tossing either his mohawk or firing a spread shot, and breakdancing when knocked down rather than relying on brute strength. I fought the samurai android Chrome Dome next, who charges about using a rocket pack and attacks with lightsaber-like blades, an energy whip, and eye lasers. You fight Fish Face Midway through “T.C.R.I.” with him stunning you with acid spit and executing a spinning attack like you (though he’s easy to batter from behind) and the Creep in the “Amusement Park” (an intriguing horror-themed glob monster who doesn’t use his pitchfork enough for my liking).
Fans of the 2012 cartoon may get a thrill out of battling these largely repetitive bosses.
Like the mini bosses, all the regular bosses share a shockwave attack, are bolstered by minions, and can send you flying. The brutish Rocksteady guards the end of “New York City”, goring you with his massive horn, tossing pipe bombs, and going ham with his chunky flamethrower. Doctor Baxter Stockman attacks in the “Sewer” stage in his mutated fly form, hovering overhead and spewing acid while taking pot-shots from his unreliable laser cannon and performing a spinning attack. Tiger Claw is a bit nimbler, swiping with his katana and showcasing martial arts skills that rival the TMNT. The 2012’s horrifically redesigned Rahzar is fought in “Amusement Park”, dashing across the screen to slash with his claws and seemingly firing spines from afar. When in Dimension X, the TMNT fight the 1980s Krang as a mini boss in a fight that largely resembles those of the classic arcade games. Krang hovers around in his mech suit, raining missiles stomping the ground, and knocking you away with punches and kicks but isn’t much of a threat. He’s superseded by Kraang Sub Prime, a decidedly more lethal mech suit that spins its bladed arms, fires a targeted missile, and zaps you with its eye laser. When fighting through the Shredder’s heavily guarded, gothic castle, the TMNT encounter his adopted daughter, Karai, who uses smoke bombs to teleport about, tosses a shuriken spread, and attacks with blades up close in one of the more challenging encounters. After you dispatch his minions, the Shredder attacks in a two-stage boss battle, fittingly being the toughest foe in the game. At first, the Shredder utilises Karai’s smoke teleport and attacks with a plasma shot and his signature blades but, after being defeated, transforms into the monstrous Super Shredder! His basic attacks remain the same, however, though he can regenerate some health with his aura and whip up a tornado to be slightly more troublesome.
Additional Features: There are twenty Achievements up for grabs in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants, with players getting one each time they beat a stage on any difficulty and three more for beating the game on each difficult mode. As each difficulty must be tackled on a separate save file, these cannot be stacked so it’s probably better to start on “Normal” as that’s the only way to unlock “Hard” mode. Additional Achievements pop when you defeat 1000 enemies, enter or beat a high score on the leaderboard, and go repetitive tasks like eating 100 pizzas or summoning allies thirty times. Sadly, the Achievements aren’t very creative and there’s nothing else on offer here. There are no additional characters or skins to unlock, no other game modes (like time trial or boss rush), and no collectibles, making for an unfortunately barebones package.
Final Thoughts: I was excited when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants was first announced as I thought it was a remake of the original arcade game, but oddly using the 2012 cartoon aesthetic. Even when I discovered it was an expanded port of a different arcade game, I was up for the challenge as I enjoy a good, old-school beat-‘em-up and have always had fun with the TMNT’s efforts in this genre. While I never watched the 2012 show so I have no idea who many of the enemy characters are, I liked how closely the game matches the cartoon’s visuals and energy; it’s just a shame the developers didn’t splice in a bit more story to link everything together. Gameplay wise, Wrath of the Mutants is as basic as it gets, but no less enjoyable. Everything feels very familiar to the classic arcade titles, from the TMNT’s attacks to the level layouts, which position the game more as another remake of Turtles in Time than anything else. I enjoyed the many boss battles, though it was disappointing that they all shared the same shockwave attack and could be easily battered into submission by looping behind them. I also liked the power-ups and the assist characters, though it would’ve been nice to see Splinter and Casey Jones added to the roster, and the lengthy, generally enjoyable levels. Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of meat on the bones here and Wrath of the Mutants is probably best experienced as a budget digital download than a full priced game. Even for me, a die-hard fan of these games, Wrath of the Mutants is pretty lacklustre as there’s little incentive to come back to it once you’ve beaten it a few times (except to mop up the Achievements) unless you’re nostalgic for the 2012 cartoon. Since I’m more a fan of the classic TMNT, I’d take Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge(Tribute Games, 2022) over this one any day.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Did you enjoy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade: Wrath of the Mutants? How do you think it compares to other TMNT arcade brawlers? Were you a fan of the 2012 cartoon? Which character was your go-to and which of the many bosses was your favourite? Were you disappointed at how barebones the game was? Which TMNT videogame is your favourite and how are you celebrated the TMNT today? Whatever your thoughts, leave them below, check out my other TMNT content, and donate to my Ko-Fi to suggest another TMNT videogame for me to review.
Although May 4th is Star Wars Day, many also celebrate on May 5th as a play on the word “Sith”, extending Star Wars Day into three day celebration.
Writer: Tom Veitch – Artist: Cam Kennedy
Story Title: “The Destiny of a Jedi” Published: 12 December 1991
Story Title: “Devastator of Worlds” Published: 18 February 1992
Story Title: “The Battle for Calamari” Published: 21 April 1992
Story Title: “Confrontation on the Smugglers’ Moon” Published: 23 June 1992
Story Title: “Emperor Reborn” Published: 18 August 1992
Story Title: “The Fate of a Galaxy” Published: 20 October 1992
Quick Facts: Following his Original Trilogy, George Lucas licensed Star Wars to continue in novels (later dubbed “Legends”) and comics initially published by Marvel Comics before being picked up by Dark Horse Comics. Although Lucas apparently shot down Tom Veitch’s pitch of having someone else don Darth Vader’s armour and approved Emperor Sheev Palpatine to return in a clone body, later reports stated approval came from Lucasfilm contact Lucy Autrey Wilson. The well–regarded metaseries sold over 100,00 copies and helped sustainStar Wars in the 1990s, was followed by two sequels, and was even referenced in some Star Wars videogames.
The Review: According to the very fitting opening scroll that opens the story, Dark Empire takes place “long years” after Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi(Marquand, 1983) where, after defeating the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance reformed into the New Republic. However, without the legendary Jedi Knights, the New Republic struggled to police the galaxy. Civil war erupted as Imperial remnants retook key worlds, leading Jedi Master Luke Skywalker and former smuggler turned General Lando Calrissian crashing their captured Star Destroyer somewhere near the Imperial City. General Han Solo and his wife, Princess Leia Organa-Solo, Chewbacca, and C-3PO/Threepio take the Millennium Falcon to look for them, finding only debris and the mutinous Imperials battling the Emperor’s loyalists. Han bypasses the conflict, hoping both sides will destroy each other, and heads for the crash site, Leia using Luke’s Force teachings to clear the way to Lando, R2-D2/Artoo, and the other survivors, only to learn that Luke went to investigate nearby remnants of the Dark Side. However, Luke shows up a few panels later to turn the tide when the group is attacked by scavengers and weapons droids, defeating both as easily as he tears apart an Imperial Walker with the Force. As Luke senses that “someone…or something” is using the Dark Side somewhere in the galaxy, he insists that Han and Leia flee so he can investigate further. While they wish to stay close, he orders them to flee when an energy storm emerges from a hyperspace wormhole and sweeps the planet. They reluctantly comply to protect the next generation of Jedi, though Artoo stays with his master as he approaches and is consumed by the raging storm, apparently a manifestation of the Dark Side generated as a reaction to Luke’s presence.
The revived Emperor tempts Luke to the Dark Side and unleashes his latest doomsday weapons.
The Falcon returns to the Rebel fleet stationed around the fifth moon of Da Soocha, where Fleet Admiral Gial Ackbar shares his concerns of the Imperials who have vanished into the “uninhabited regions of the galactic core” with Mon Mothma. Upon learning of Luke’s fate, Mon Mothma calls an emergency meeting to discuss the “World Devastators” emerging from the galactic core and threatening New Republic allies. A fleet of these Dark Side-engineered destroyers ravage Admiral Ackbar’s home world, Mon Calamari, sucking up everything in their path and converting it into fuel and energy and posing a threat far greater than the Death Star due to their sheer number and awesome power. After Admiral Ackbar orders immediate retaliation, Han and Leia share a rare quiet moment where they discuss Luke, who’s been taken to Byss, a Dark Side-infested world deep in the galactic core, via an Imperial Dungeon Ship. Imprisoned within an energy cage, Luke and Artoo are taken to a grand citadel by ominous, cloaked figures and only somewhat amazed to meet Emperor Palpatine. Emperor Palpatine reveals that he maintained his stranglehold over the galaxy and avoided death, even as his body withered and decayed, thanks to cloning, painfully transferring his consciousness into a new body and offers Luke the chance to join him. Emperor Palpatine mocks the New Republic’s attempts to usurp his Empire and proposes Luke command the World Devastators. Emperor Palpatine is impressed by Luke’s resolve but points out that killing him “in anger” would only cause him to return in a new body and offers to train him in the Dark Side to give Luke the power and knowledge to truly defeat him. Thus, though conflicted, Luke submits to the Emperor like his father did decades ago. Although Han’s elated to find that other worlds have joined their efforts against the World Devastators, he’s as troubled as Leia when his wife shares that Luke has turned to the Dark Side, having sensed the change through the Force, but resolves to help his friend however possible.
The looming crisis sees Han call in some old favours to get to the dark world of Byss.
Commander Wedge Antilles and Lando lead the assault against the Mon Calamari World Devastators using a captured Star Destroyer, the Emancipator, surprising the orbiting Imperial fleet. However, the World Devastators are heavily advanced, armed, armoured, and shielded, and spew Twin Ion Engine Drone (TIE/D) fighters to overwhelm the Rebels. To make matters worse, a World Devastator turns its main vacuum weapon against the Emancipator, tearing it apart and forcing Lando and the others to abandon ship. Across the galaxy, Leia is suddenly confronted by a vision of Luke, garbed in Darth Vader’s shadow, who warns her not to look for him or interfere with his actions. Though he claims to have willingly followed in his father’s footsteps to destroy the Dark Side, Leia’s unconvinced, especially when Emperor Palpatine speaks through Luke’s visage and the strain causes her to collapse. As Han preps the new recruits and introduces the new E-Wing, Mon Mothma alerts him to Leia’s condition and he visits her in the infirmary. Though sceptical, Han agrees to accompany Leia to the galactic core to rescue Luke before he’s lost to the Dark Side, taking Threepio and the Falcon to Nal Hutta to get help from the devious Hutts. Although there’s a hefty bounty for Han and Leia after their run-ins with Jabba the Hutt, Han’s contact, Mako Spince, welcomes them in, only for the Falcon to be damaged by bounty hunters looking to cash in on the bounty. Han is sheltered by another of his unscrupulous contacts, Shug Ninx, who reveals that the Empire has been moving a lot of military hardware lately. Still, Han’s old flame, Salla Zend, offers them the Starlight Intruder, a deep core freighter that’ll suit their purposes, in exchange for cash. As the Starlight Intruder still needs some work, Han takes Leia to his old homestead to get a few parts, unnerved by how awful the neighbourhood has become and being gifted an ancient lightsaber by remorseful, wizened, and destitute former Jedi Vima-Da-Boda.
Han and Leia are horrified to see how far Luke’s fallen under Palpatine’s sway.
When they reach Han’s old home, they’re stunned to find Mako has betrayed them to Boba Fett (having proven “indigestible” to the Sarlaac) and Denga, forcing them to flee through the crowded spaceport. As clumsy as ever, one of Boba Fett’s wrist rockets knocks a passing Hutt crime boss from on his floater and to his death, allowing Han and Leia to flee in the Starlight Intruder. Unaware that Boba Fett and Dengar are in hot pursuit in Slave II, Han and the others head to Byss. During the trip, Leia inspects Vima’s lightsaber and receives a horrifying vision of Luke commanding the Imperial forces on Mon Calamari. Despite receiving backup from the E-Wings, the Republic fleet suffers massive losses before the world smasher suddenly shuts down when improper signals are sent from Byss, causing the massive ship to self-destruct and making Lando question the strategy of their commander. Upon arriving at Byss, Salla’s codes allow the Starlight Interceptor to beach the planetary shield, though Slave II is blasted when it tries to sneak in behind them. Concerned for Luke’s welfare on such a dark and foreboding world, Leia convinces Han to let her pilot the Falcon to his location, an ominous, gleaming black tower in the heart of the city, easily using the Force to fool the guards and sensors. Upon docking, Leia and the others are instantly apprehended to be taken to “Lord Skywalker”, though Salla and Ninx blast to safety, as planned. Astonished to learn that Emperor Palpatine is alive and that Luke’s erased Artoo’s main programming Leia, Han, and Threepio, meet Luke in the clone laboratories, where Han admonishes Luke’s fall from grace and Luke reveals his artificial hand has been replaced by an energy blaster! When Emperor Palpatine arrives, Leia immediately lashes out with her lightsaber, much to his glee, though he easily disintegrates it and punishes her with his lightning.
Though Luke shakes off the Dark Side, a restored Palpatine plots to possess Leia’s unborn child.
When Han flies into a rage, Luke easily subdues him, insisting he’s doing what’s best for the galaxy and leaving Han vowing to kill him for what he’s done. Although Han sends a distress all to Salla and Ninx, they (and the Falcon) are apprehended by an Imperial Hunter-Killer droid. Meanwhile, Emperor Palpatine reveals he knows Luke’s been surreptitiously sabotaging him and shows Leia an ancient Jedi holocron that contains a warning from Boda-Baas regarding the Dark Side. Emperor Palpatine then plays the “helpless old man” card to prey upon Leia’s compassion before revealing his plans to transfer his essence into the child growing within her, driving her into a rage. She tips over Emperor Palpatine’s bed, swipes the holocron, and heads to Luke, who dismisses a commander’s concerns about sabotage and reveals that he’s fully aware of what he’s doing and has loaded Artoo with the Emperor’s battle plans and master codes. Though reluctant, Leia defends Luke when they reconvene with Han as the data is invaluable to stopping the World Devastators, and they all escape aboard the Hunter-Killer (which Ninx successfully hacked) and in the Falcon. However, once they’re safely away, Luke reveals that he’s been a Force projection the entire time and has remained on Byss to confront Emperor Palpatine. Having learned the Emperor’s secrets and freed himself from his control, Luke goes to prevent Palpatine’s latest mind transference, vehemently rejecting the Emperor’s suggestion that he become Palpatine’s willing host and frantically destroying all the gestating clones when the Emperor dies in a burst of Dark Side energy. Despite Luke’s efforts, Emperor Palpatine is reborn in a younger clone body who quickly grabs a nearby lightsaber, mocks and disarms Luke, and demands that he accompany him to retrieve the holocron…and Leia’s unborn child!
Thanks to the Skywalker’s bond, the Emperor’s malicious plot is foiled.
Chewbacca accesses the data Luke stored in Artoo to disable the World Devastators on Mon Calamari, which Artoo turns against each other to end their threat. The victory sees Han begrudgingly apologise to Leia for doubting Luke (and her), though it’s just the beginning of their counterattack against the Empire. Reviewing the holocron, Leia learns of a prophecy of two siblings who “walk the sky”; while the brother would fall to the Dark Side, the sister’s unborn child could save him. Just then, Emperor Palpatine’s gargantuan flagship delivers an ultimatum: hand over Leia and he’ll discuss a truce. When Han refuses to let Leia go, she’s forced to manipulate him with the Force to hand herself over, intent on rescuing Luke, who’s been brainwashed back to the Dark Side. When Leia (and her unborn child) refuses the Emperor’s demands, he sets a reluctant Luke against her. As they clash lightsabers, Leia pleads with Luke to see into her child’s future with the Force, revealing that he will train the boy to be a great Jedi, and Luke begs her to help him break free from the Dark Side. Having learned why and how his father was so seduced by the Dark Side’s power, Luke rejects the darkness, enraging the Emperor, who curses their bloodline, mocks Darth Vader’s impotence, and strikes Luke with lightning. Drawing strength from his bond with Leia, Luke battles the Emperor, literally disarming him and preparing to arrest him. Defiant to the end, Emperor Palpatine wills another cataclysmic storm to tear through the Republic fleet, though Luke and Leia combine their powers to turn this raging force against the Emperor’s flagship, escaping as it and the Emperor are consumed. Having learned a valuable lesson and avoided the same fate as his father, Luke resolves to restore the Jedi Order alongside his family.
Final Thoughts: I can’t remember if I’ve read Dark Empire before. I feel like I have, or at least read about it, and I know elements of it (specifically the World Devastator attack on Mon Calamari) from Star Ways: Rogue Squadron (Factor 5/LucasArts, 1998). Regardless, I knew the basic plot and specifically chose to revisit it based on my dislike for how poorly Emperor Palpatine’s (Ian McDiarmid) resurrection was handled in Star Wars: Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (Abrams, 2019). Elements of Dark Empire are echoed in The Rise of Skywalker, by accident or design, such as the Empire having a hidden, devastating fleet and the Emperor returning (…“somehow”…) through “Dark science! Cloning! Secrets only the Sith knew!” but it was horribly executed. Here, it’s the focal point of the story, with it explicitly said that the Emperor has repeatedly cheated death by transferring his power and consciousness into fresh clone bodies, which rapidly deteriorate due to the Dark Side. Also, but the revived Emperor is the linchpin for a fascinating story arc for Luke Skywalker, one denied his film counterpart, as he willingly follows the Dark Path to learn its secrets and understand why his father turned to the Dark Side. This sees Luke adopt a darker, imposing demeanour that echoes Darth Vader’s, commanding the World Devastators from afar and seemingly turning against his allies. Sadly, this aspect is somewhat confused. It’s said that Luke is sabotaging the world crushers, but they still inflict cataclysmic death and damage, and Luke also says that Leia’s influence helped him shake off the Emperor’s power, suggesting he wasn’t in full control of himself. Paradoxically, he had the wherewithal to download the kill codes for the machines and to use Palpatine’s teachings against him yet also fell under the Emperor’s sway in the finale.
Luke’s questionable and nonsensical turn to the Dark Side sadly fails to live up to its full potential.
Things would’ve been far more coherent if we’d learned that Luke was troubled about his father from the start, that he’d been pondering the Dark Side and wanted to learn of its allure to better understand and fight it. Or, if Luke had fully turned to the Dark Side, losing himself to the Emperor’s influence and only escaping his grasp due to Leia’s intervention in the finale, thus meaning he would be devastated by the destruction he caused and determined to regain the trust of his allies. Some of this is here, with Han being especially suspicious and mad at Luke, launching himself at him, vowing to kill him, and constantly questioning his loyalties despite Leia’s unwavering faith in her brother. It’s kind of amazing how quickly Han turns on Luke, but completely understandable given how devastating the world crushers are and everything Han experienced at Darth Vader’s hands. Leia acts very holier-than-thou about it all, considering herself a learned Jedi and trusting that Luke either has a plan, however flawed, or can be saved. Luckily, there’s a convenient prophecy that spells out how the crisis will be averted, with Luke and Leia realising that they (and the Jedi) are stronger united and overcoming the Dark Side through sheer willpower. This is somewhat ironic considering it’s widely accepted that the Jedi’s vast numbers led to corruption and complacency, but also a lovely way to reinforce the bond between the Skywalkers. Leia never gives up on Luke, just as he never gave up on his father, and he constantly warns her not to pursue him to keep her and her baby safe. It’s not immediately clear what Luke intended to do without Leia or what insight he gained from the Emperor’s teachings. We never see him do anything with the Dark Side and it’s pure-hearted Jedi power that saves the day, so his turn was simply to get the kill codes, it seems. Something I’d wager Artoo could’ve just downloaded with a bit of hacking rather than risking Luke’s soul.
Some questionable art and lacklustre executions drag this otherwise intriguing story down.
Still, as half-assed as some of that is, I do like the concept. Emperor Palpatine is the ultimate manipulator, preying upon Luke and Leia’s compassion and insecurities, while berating how weak Darth Vader was. I’m not sure why he was so obsessed with the holocron as it only contained the Skywalker prophecy, but I liked his sinister plot to possess Leia’s baby and seeing him reborn as in a young, strong body. Sadly, the art is dreadful. Ships look pretty good (the World Devastators look especially…devastating…) and the likenesses are largely on point, but there’s a strange, washed-out colour scheme that makes things seem blurry and amateurish. At times, I had trouble telling Luke and the young Palpatine apart, the youthful Emperor appeared to have lizard skin thanks to some odd lighting, and everything just feels very rushed and basic at times. It was weird seeing Boba Fett shoe-horned in, with the explanation of his survival being handwaved away and him being as ineffectual as ever. In fact, the entire side plot to Nal Hutta could’ve been excised completely to just have Han and the others use a stolen Imperial craft. That could’ve placed more focus on Luke’s turn, or possibly shortened the story by an issue or two, or allowed for some bigger battle sequences between the new-fangled E-Wings (whose capabilities I’m still unclear of) and the World Devastators. Indeed, as terrifying as the World Devastators are, their destruction is disappointingly limited to one world and kept offscreen to focus on the main plot, which somewhat reduced the stakes. Still, this was a decent enough story with some interesting elements, and I’d still rather read it than watch The Rise of Skywalker, but there’s no denying that it fails to live up to its full potential – and the potential of Dark Jedi Luke Skywalker – in many ways.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Pretty Good
Did you enjoy Star Wars: Dark Empire? Were you excited by the concept of Luke turning to the Dark Side? Did you like that the Emperor survived through cloning? What did you think of the World Devastators and the Imperial civil war? Do you agree that Luke’s plan was flawed and sloppily executed? Which Star Wars comic was your favourite and how are you celebrating Star Wars Day today? Whatever your thoughts and memories of Dark Empire, leave a comment below and donate to my Ko-Fi if you’d like me to cover the other Dark Empire comics in the future.
The Review: Frank Miller’s Sin City is one of the most faithful big screen adaptations of a comic book property ever made, not just because the writer and artist of the acclaimed series was directly involved in the directing and production of the film, but because the movie rips its visuals directly from Miller’s books. The stories are direct adaptations of the Sin City comics, with the shortest – “The Customer is Always Right” – serving as a bookend for the theatrical version. The first part of this segment part was produced by co-director Robert Rodriguez as a proof-of-concept to gain Miller’s blessing for the project. The short sees a mysterious and attractive hitman known only as the “Salesman” (Josh Hartnett) approach a gorgeous young woman (Marley Shelton) at a party. He’s captivated by her looks and her scent and immediately professes his love for her, giving her affection and comfort right before fulfilling his contract and murdering her. The Salesman then pops up in the theatrical film’s coda, approaching misguided prostitute Becky (Alexis Bledel), presumably to execute her after the events of “The Big Fat Kill”. This is just one instance of Sin City’s interconnectivity. All the stories overlap, with characters appearing in the background in one story before taking the lead in another. Basin City is one of the most corrupted, violent, and seediest places in all of comicdom. It seems 90% of the police force are on the take and there’s little that conniving, controlling Senator Ethan Roark (played with delicious relish by the late, great Powers Booth) doesn’t own or control. This is an overlapping theme throughout the film, with Roark directly impacting the lives of Detective John Hartigan (Bruce Willis) and Marv (Mickey Rourke), and “The Big Fat Kill” exploring how ineffectual the police are in “Old Town”, where a shaky truce with the resident prostitutes – led by Gail (Rosario Dawson) – keeps the cops out. As this is essentially an anthology film, I’ll delve into each story separately before discussing some overarching themes and such.
Veteran cop Hartigan endures years in prison to save a little girl from a pervert’s wrath.
“That Yellow Bastard” is one of two segments I find the most enjoyable in this film. The story follows Hartigan, a thirty-year veteran who’s spent his entire career doing things “by the book”. Whereas his partner, Bob (Michael Madsen), reluctantly turns a blind eye to Roark’s corruption, Hartigan refuses, especially with his retirement literally hours away when we first meet him. Hartigan’s one loose end is Roark’s son, Ethan Roark Jr. (Nick Stahl), a sick little paedophile who likes to toy with, rape, and mutilate young girls. Rather than simply walking away, Hartigan defies his partner and the Roarks by pursuing Junior to a warehouse, arriving just in time to save young Nancy Callahan (Makenzie Vega) all while battling angina. Determined to “go out with a bang”, Hartigan’s crusade sees him literally and figuratively disarm Junior. leaving him a mangled and comatose wreck. Unfortunately, that’s not how justice works in Sin City and Hartigan’s betrayed by Bob, arrested, and framed for Junior’s crimes. As Roark puts it, Hartigan learns the true meaning of power as witnesses and evidence are all bought or tampered with to paint Hartigan as a bent cop with a taste for kids. His reputation and marriage are left as tattered as his body, which Roark pays to restore so he can get off on seeing Hartigan disgraced and stuck in solitary confinement. Hartigan accepts this, unwilling to endanger young Nancy, who remains indebted and besotted with him. Due to his stubborn refusal to speak up, Hartigan spends eight years alone in prison, with only letters from Nancy (using a pseudonym) to keep him going. He comes to see Nancy as a dear friend and daughter (though it’s clear his feelings run deeper and he’s just in denial) and thus falls into despair when the letters suddenly stop, a nineteen-year-old girl’s severed finger arrives in his cell, and a strange, disgusting, yellow-colouring imp attacks him.
You know a film’s doing something right when even Nick Sthal puts in a captivating performance!
Fearing for Nancy’s life, Hartigan begrudgingly swallows his pride and confesses, which is enough to have him released due to “time served”. Rather than dwell on his losses, Hartigan returns to his mission to keep Nancy safe, only to find she’s grown into Jessica fuckin’ Alba and works at a strip bar! Blinded by his love for Nancy and his obsession with saving her, Hartigan realises all-too late that he’s been tricked and is soon struggled with his lust for Nancy and keeping her safe from the titular “Yellow Bastard”, an unnerving lunatic who really pops thanks to his yellow complexion. It turns Junior was radically altered by experimental surgery as Roark was desperate for a grandchild. While it scuppered Junior’s Presidential prospects, he continued to abuse, rape, and torture children while Hartigan rotted in his cell, and is determined to avenge himself on Hartigan and Nancy. I was surprised by how good Nick Stahl is here, especially once he’s under all the prosthetics and make-up. Junior’s a pathetic little man at the best of times, a spoiled rich boy brat who enjoys the immunity offered him by his father’s power and is so pathetic that he can’t get it up unless his victims scream. Hartigan knows this secret and tells it to Nancy, who frustrates Junior with her defiance and proves that she grew up strong after all. Similarly, Bruce Willis was the perfect choice for grizzled veteran cop Hartigan, despite Bruce obviously not matching Miller’s hulking, exaggerating artwork and the somewhat controversial nature of his relationship with the much-younger Nancy. Hartigan tries to resist her, but he can’t deny that he’s also in love with her and it’s only due to Junior’s interference that we’re spared a love scene between them. It’s a little disturbing, for sure, though it’s explicitly said and shown that Hartigan doesn’t think of Nancy in that way until she’s nineteen, at least. Plus, like…it is Jessica Alba so it’s understandable he’d have the hots for her.
Despite triumphing, Hartigan can’t fight Roark’s corruption and makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect Nancy.
Hartigan is much more durable than the average man, basically telling his heart attack to sit the fuck down, surviving multiple gun shots and beatings, and besting most foes with a single punch. Hartigan’s aware of his limitations and regularly chastises himself for being reckless, allowing him to keep his cool even during a high-speed chase with Junior firing at him. Hartigan never wastes his time or his bullets, firing accurately and blasting off limbs and sending yellow blood spraying. He also proves driven and strong enough to pound the Yellow Bastard’s head into bloody mush by the end, showing he’s not your average cynical old man. There’s a tragedy to Hartigan that I’ve always felt palpable. Of all the characters and narrators of Sin City, I gravitate to him the most as he’s cynical, self-deprecating, and honest in a way that makes him extremely relatable. He’s clearly proud of his work and sees his retirement as bittersweet. It means leaving behind the violence and corruption, but also means he can’t help people, something he feels so strongly about that he happily takes the fall to protect Nancy, enduring beatings, slander, and solitude all to keep her safe. Hartigan knows that Roark is beyond the law. Roark even demonstrates that when he visits the hospital and boasts about how he could simply shoot Hartigan without repercussion. Hartigan consoles himself with the small victory that killing Junior ends Roark’s bloodline, which he frames as an absolute win to reassure Nancy. Hartigan sends her away, promising to follow her after clearing his name and bringing down Roark. Maybe that’s something John McClane might do, but not John Hartigan. Instead, he lies to Nancy to give her hope and keep her safe, then does the only thing he can do to ensure her safety by killing himself. It’s a startling ending, especially consider Bruce’s action credentials, but really sums up Hartigan’s commitment to shouldering the burden for others.
When his hooker love is killed, simple-minded brute Marv embarks on a brutal investigation.
My second favourite segment, “The Hard Goodbye” represented Mickey Rourke’s big Hollywood comeback and casts the former heartthrob as the brutish and disfigured Marv, a well-meaning but borderline psychotic bruiser who suffers from an unspecified medical condition that often leaves him confused, paranoid, and imagining things. Since he’s so badly disfigured, Marv is overjoyed when voluptuous prostitute Goldie (Jaime King) hooks up with him, throwing herself at him and giving him the affection and tenderness he’s craved his whole miserable life. Marv’s joy is short-lived, however, as he wakes to find Goldie dead and heavily-army cops ready to pounce. Thanks to his unexplained superhuman strength and durability, Marv easily brutalises the cops and escapes, patching up his minor wounds and beginning a vendetta to figure out who killed the only woman he’s ever loved (besides his doting, blind mother (Lucina Paquet)). Determined to kill his way to the truth, but still conscious of his medical condition, Marv goes to his parole officer, Lucille (Carla Gugino), for a fresh batch of pills and some insight into Goldie. While Lucille tries to warn Marv off his killing spree, not wanting to see him locked up for the rest of his life, Marv relishes a return to the “all-or-nothin’ days” of old, employing what little intelligence he has in weeding out small time thugs and torturing them in creative ways for leads, before killing them. Marv’s methods might be brutal, but they’re incredibly efficient and lead him to a crooked priest (Frank Miller), who reveals that Roark’s brother, Cardinal Patrick Henry Roark (Rutger Hauer), was behind Goldie’s murder. This throws Marv and sees him questioning reality as even he is shocked at the idea that someone so powerful he could’ve become the Pope or the President would go to the trouble of framing a meathead like him for a hooker’s murder.
Silent cannibal sadistic Kevin forces Marv to rethink his strategy.
Still, Marv investigates the Roark family farm on the outskirts of town and finds a creepy, silent man-child living there. Silent, agile, and deadly, Kevin (Elijah Wood) easily bests the unsuspecting Marv and he wakes to find Lucille missing an arm and to learn that Kevin killed and ate Goldie’s fellow hookers. Kevin also chopped off and ate Lucille’s arm and forced her to watch, briefly shattering her hard-ass demeanour before she composes herself. Though grateful to Marv for saving her, Lucille turns him in when the cops arrive and gets gunned down for her troubles, compelling Marv to go on hatchet-wielding killing spree. Marv’s confusion only doubles when he’s attacked by what he assumes to be a hallucination of Goldie, but which turns out to be her twin sister, Wendy (Jaime King). Bewildered, overwhelmed, and exhausted, Marv is easily subdued by Wendy and taken to Gail and their fellow prostitutes in Old Town. While Wendy initially blames Marv for her sister’s death and plans to beat and kill him, they quickly realise that it’s all a setup and Wendy confirms Cardinal Roark’s involvement since Goldie “worked the clergy”. Wendy helps Marv gather supplies to return to the farm, though he only tolerates her help for so long. He refuses to let her finish Kevin off and cold clocks her to keep her from seeing what he does to Kevin since he doesn’t want to scar her for life. Thanks to his amazing durability, Marv weathers Kevin’s swift attack and talon-like nails and handcuffs him, dropping him with a single punch and using a hacksaw to saw off his arms and legs. Still, while Marv delights in watching Kevin’s dog feed upon him and hacking off the psycho’s head, he’s left unfulfilled since Kevin refuses to scream, or make any sound at all, through the whole ordeal.
After avenging Goldie for himself and Wendy, Marv willingly meets his end.
Luckily for Marv, Cardinal Roark is a much more willing participant. Cardinal Roark is horrified when Marv brings him Kevin’s severed head and reveals that he not only encouraged Kevin’s cannibalism, but joined in, targeting “whores” since no one would miss them and feeling the touch of God almighty upon consuming human meat. Unimpressed and disgusted, Marv brutalises Cardinal Roark with his bare hands, giving him the “hard goodbye” he promised Goldie on her death bed. Unfortunately, Marv is subdued by the cops shortly after and spends months in hospital recovering from his wounds, initially convinced Roark’s men will come to finish the job before realising they plan to besmirch him, too. Though he refuses to co-operate, he’s coerced into taking the fall for Kevin and Cardinal Roark’s crimes and is branded a “psycho killer”. Regardless, Marv is largely nonplussed at his impending execution, believing the world would be a better place without him in it, and is eager to get it all over with. Out of gratitude for his actions and sacrifice, Wendy visits him one last time and allows Marv to have her, thinking of her as Goldie. Ever the stubborn meathead, Marv forgoes the obligatory Bible verses and hastens his execution, amusingly shrugging off the first round of electricity before finally breathing his last, consoling himself with memories of Goldie. Rourke shines as Marv, a simple-minded brute with a clear-cut code of honour who feels no remorse at roughing up or killing anyone who’s wronged him or his friends, especially dames. Marv is a very tragic figure, one constantly on the brink of a psychotic breakdown, who’s determined to bring down “gods” like Cardinal Roark even if it means his death. I loved the running gag of him acquiring new coats and offing his victims in increasingly bonkers ways, and how vicious his mean streak was.
When unstable cop Jackie runs afoul of Old Town, self-righteous Dwight desperately tries to protect his friends.
Finally, there’s “The Big Fat Kill”, which is enjoyable but probably the weakest segment for me, mainly because it has far more “Millerisms” than the other stories (that is, repetitive, childish, and stupid dialogue). This story explores Old Town in more detail, depicting it as Sin City’s seedy red-light district where the ladies are the law. The cops don’t patrol there and, in return, they get sent home alive if they accidentally cross the border and get to unwind with the girls when off duty. The women are therefore free to police themselves, dishing out brutal and efficient vigilante justice whenever their clients get too full of themselves, with Gail leading the charge and silent, deadly little Miho (Devon Aoki) slicing guys up with her katana. The story follows Dwight McCarthy (Clive Owen), a mysterious and grizzled man with a “new face” who’s back in town and hooking up with Shellie (Brittany Murphy), a rambunctious waitress. When Shellie’s accosted by her drunken, obsessively aggressive ex, Jack Rafferty (Benicio del Toro), Dwight stands up for her without hesitation, shrugging off her protests and determined to teach “Jackie Boy” a lesson about respecting women. Concerned for the ladies of Old Town, Dwight pursues Jack and his drunken friends to the red-light district, where they attract Gail’s wrath after accosting Becky. Gail, angry at Dwight for ditching her in the past, immediately takes charge and orders Jack’s death, refusing to listen to Dwight’s sudden feeling that something’s off. Sure enough, Dwight discovers a bombshell on Jackie Boy’s corpse: he was Lieutenant “Iron Jack” Rafferty, a “goddamn hero cop”, and his death would mean an end to the shaky truce and a return to all-out war in Old Town. Thanks to her ill-will towards Dwight, Gail’s reluctant to go along with his plan to ditch Jackie Boy’s corpse in the tar pit across town but he convinces her with his conviction, passion, and quick hands, determined to safeguard the women and avoid any bloodshed.
Dwight and his sultry allies must set aside their grievances toavoid bloodshed in Old Town.
Still, the experience rattles Dwight and sees him hallucinating conversations with Jackie Boy’s mangled corpse. Dwight’s right to be on edge as some previous actions mean he’s one fingerprint away from execution and he’s risking a lot to protect his friends, but he follows through since he can’t help but protect those he cares about. Unfortunately, Dwight’s plan hits a snag when the car the ladies give him conks out and he’s attacked by Irish mercenaries led by Brian (Tommy Flanagan). Despite Brian’s penchant for grenades being largely ineffective (it’s seriously laughable how characters shrug off explosions even when they’re right at their feet!), Dwight ends up in the tar and Brian escapes with Jack’s severed head. Luckily, Miho rescues Dwight and they retrieve the head, then concoct a desperate plan to trade it for Gail, who’s held hostage by eloquent and imposing man-mountain Manute (Michael Clarke Duncan). Sporting a golden eye and holding a grudge against prostitutes, Manute certainly cuts an intimidating figure, with his slightest touch causing Gail agony. He works for unseen mob boss Wallenquist, who’s keen to expedite the war between Old Town and the cops so he can regain control of the red-light district. Manute, much like Junior, is joined by an eclectic bunch of underlings, from loquacious minions to Neo-Nazis, who add a splash of (metaphorical) colour to Sin City’s underworld. Manute also seems to have a grudge against Dwight, though it’s not expanded upon in this story. In fact, pretty much nothing is known of Dwight’s past life; you’d have to read A Dame to Kill For (Miller, 1993 to 1994) or watch the sequel to find out more about that.
Though visually striking, Miller’s quirky dialogue makes “The Big Fat Kill” the least enjoyable segment.
Anyway, Dwight’s plan echoes a famous strategy employed by the Spartans and depicted (in Miller’s typical exaggerated fashion) in 300 (ibid, 1998). He forces Manute and his goons into a dark, narrow alleyway where their numbers are less effective and demands a simple trade: Jack’s severed head for Gail. Despite Becky questioning why Jackie Boy’s head has tape around its mouth, Manute agrees and Gail initially despairs of Dwight, before he reveals he stuffed one of Brian’s grenades into Jackie Boy’s head. The explosion scars Manute and takes out some of his minions before Miho and the other ladies emerge from the rooftops and join Dwight and Gail in slaughtering “every last rat-bastard one of them” to send a message to Wallenquist. The act sees Dwight and Gail rediscover their passion for each other, though they each lament that they’re seemingly doomed to never truly be together. It’s not that I don’t like “The Big fat Kill”, but I do find it the weakest segment in Sin City. Clive Owen is great as the gritty, gruff Dwight, a man trying to keep his head down and move on from his mysterious past and yet caught up in a potential war because he can’t help but defend women. He’s depicted as being a bit unpredictable and unstable, talking to himself (while hallucinating talking to Jackie Boy’s corpse) and happily ready to engage with multiple foes at once. He has a bloodlust and a sexual passion he’s quick to indulge, despite trying to deny both, and a deep-rooted respect for the ladies of Old Town. He knows how dangerous Miho is, for example, and doesn’t want to step on their toes, but he’ll slap Gail and make demands if it means avoiding a war. Dwight’s comically as invulnerable as Hartigan and Marv, despite being much smaller, and equally determined to achieve his goals. I really liked Benicio del Toro’s slurring, madcap performance as the erratic Jackie Boy, a guy so obviously off his rocker that it’s laughable that he’s what Sin City designates a “hero cop”.
A masterful use of green screens, gritty noir atmos, and sporadic colour make this a faithful adaptation.
I actually studied Sin City years ago at university as an example of fidelity in film adaptations. The film remains one of the best examples of a one-to-one adaptation of a text largely because the production literally used Frank Miller’s comic books as the storyboards. However, this is a bit of a double-edged sword for me as I’m not a huge fan of Frank Miller’s writing or his art. There are obvious exceptions. I enjoyed his work on Daredevil, for example; Batman: Year One (Miller, et al, 1987) is still the definitive Bruce Wayne/Batman origin story for me; and I do like the Sin City comics I’ve read. However, his art is often quite ungainly and ugly and his writing, and especially his dialogue, can be atrocious. I often cite his work on a Batman/Spawn crossover, where his “Millerisms” depicted Batman as a mardy youth and completely ruined Todd McFarlane’s gorgeous art. However, Sin City is an exception. This is Miller’s world, his toy box, and this is really where he shines, with his own original characters and narratives, all rendered in a startling noir colour palette that heavily emphasises shadows and silhouettes. The movie captures that aesthetic perfectly, using colour (mainly blue, red, and yellow) sparingly as a contrast to the noir presentation. I really like the stylistic way the film is shot, the use of black-and-white and shadows, and the way the few examples of colour pop, and how gritty and dirty and moody everything is. There are times when it’s obvious the film is being shot on a green screen set, but it perfectly fits Miller’s hyper-stylised world. Sin City is a drab, depressing, and dangerous town where it’s almost constantly raining, gangs and perverts roam, and the corrupt control everything. This is a world where we’re forced to rely on anti-heroes or where straight arrows like Hartigan are disgraced for daring to oppose Senator Roark’s rule, and where surviving the day is seen as a happy ending.
A few extra scenes bring this film even closer to the source material and emphasise its anthology roots.
This Recut & Extended version of the film is technically the best way to watch it as it adds in a few extra scenes, primarily to “That Yellow Bastard”, but oddly presents each segment like a mini movie, with its own opening titles and closing credits, which is a bit annoying when trying to watch it as one movie. Similarly, while the additions to “That Yellow Bastard” are scenes from the comics, I can understand why they were cut as they’re pretty redundant. For example, Roark comes into the hospital to gloat over Hartigan’s bed-ridden form and tells us everything we need to know without Eileen Hartigan (Babs George) and other visitors repeating the same information. These visitors also come to Hartigan before Roark in the film, rather than after Roark as in the comics, which doesn’t make much sense narratively. I did like the inclusion of Lucille to further tie the segment into “The Hard Goodbye”. Her scenes also add a bit of extra context as to why Hartigan is released after he confesses. Without them, it views like this perverted old man finally confessed to being a child rapist and murderer and was let out because of “time served”. “The Hard Goodbye” adds a scene where Marv sneaks into his mother’s home to retrieve his beloved pistol, Gladys, restoring a heartwarming interaction between the two that shows that Marv actively hides his violent nature from his mother. Otherwise, there’s not much else added to the film as Rodriguez and Miller were extremely faithful to the source material the first go around. I prefer the extended version of “That Yellow bastard”, though, as it means more Bruce Willis, but it does annoy me that there’s no option to watch it as a continuous film without skipping past the end credits each time.
Final Thoughts: I’ve always enjoyed Frank Miller’s Sin City. I’d never read the comics when I first saw the trailers or when I went to see it upon release, but I was captivated by the black-and-white visuals and stylistic presentation. I really enjoy how the film brings Miller’s neo-noir world to life using green screens and sparse sets. It all feels very gritty and almost like a stage play at times and makes me nostalgic for the noir thrillers of old. Despite the actors having to growl out Miller’s often painful dialogue and often acting against stand-ins or thin air, the performances were captivating throughout. Bruce Willis and Mickey Rourke especially shined in their roles, with Willis perfectly capturing Hartigan’s grizzled nature and Rourke channelling a great deal of emotion into the brutish Marv. Clive Owen was equally impressive as Dwight, though I still find “The Big Fat Kill” the weakest segment because of Miller’s writing and some of the deliveries. Still, the visual appeal of Sin City cannot be denied, the stark use of shadows, blacks and whites, the sparing use of colour, and the exaggerated violence all pop off the screen. It really is like the comic book panels have come to life and it amazes me that more movies didn’t opt for this aesthetic for other pulp characters (or even Batman and the Crow). I enjoyed the film so much that I sought out The Hard Goodbye and That Yellow Bastard to read and I eagerly anticipated the follow-up, and I would’ve loved to see an ongoing television series adapting more of Miller’s Sin City stories as it’s such a vivid and intriguing cesspool of corruption and violence.
My Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Great Stuff
Did you enjoy Frank Miller’s Sin City? Which segment was your favourite? Were there other Sin City stories you would’ve liked to see in the film? Did you enjoy the hyper-stylised presentation? Do you think Hartigan made the right decision sacrificing himself? Were you interested to learn more about Dwight? Why do you think Marv was so unstoppable? Whatever your thoughts on Sin City, drop a comment below, support me on Ko-Fi if you’d like me to cover more of this world.
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