I might have to check that series out. Thank you.

It actually reminds me a bit of Babylon Berlin, a German noir show which was based off the Gereon Rath series by Volker Kutscher.

Wow, a lot happened. As a whole, I think this is a very solid episode. I like how organically this Nightcrawler fits in with the cast of 97 and it is nice to see him in action—tri-wielding swords! It is a shame, however, that his addition to the team comes at the cost of losing Gambit.

I like that we got some backstory with Bastion.

The continued cameos are fun but I hope they'll serve more of a purpose. That being said, I did grin uncontrollably upon seeing Rachel and 90s Spider-Man. There's so much potential for X-Men 97 to create its own MCU (XCU?)

I like the moral implication of Magneto's declaration of war at the end and I hope they won't shy away from all the millions of lives likely lost as a result. I can see and partially agree with his mindset, but it's a very morally gray area, which honestly fits with his characterization.

I'm a little disappointed we didn't get any Storm this episode, I feel like her character has been shafted this whole season in favor of other stories but there are still two episodes left.

Much like Lifedeath Pt. 1, I found this episode severely lacking. As someone who is reading the comics for the first time and is nearing the end of the Claremont Run, I loved the Lifedeath stories and was excited to see a proper adaption for this season. The end result, however, was two rushed, half-stories that were more an homage to the conclusion of The Fall of the Mutants. We didn’t get a chance to see Storm and Forge’s relationship blossom and their proclamations of love felt entirely unearned. For me, these points only serve to engender underlying pacing issues and a sense of confusion relating to the characters—including the Adversary—and their motivations. I think if both story lines were given full, dedicated episodes, they would have been much stronger.

Also, maybe I’m in the minority, but I wanted to see Storm struggle with and accept herself for who she is while being without powers, and returning to the X-Men to lead—or at the very least co-lead—the team. I was interested in seeing an adaptation of the famous duel between Cyclops and Storm for leadership, with Storm claiming victory despite being ‘powerless’ and the team welcoming her back with open arms. I wanted her to get her powers back, but I wanted that moment to feel more meaningful and to have happened at the end of the season at the earliest.

As for Xavier and Lilandra’s story, I liked it, but I think it happened too soon. Personally, I would have preferred a season or two of X-Men 97 without Xavier, giving the team a chance to cope and grow without their mentor/father-figure present.

So as not to be completely negative, I’d like to add that I loved last week’s episode and am excited to see what happens next. I’m glad to see Nightcrawler in the intro and now I wonder if Forge is also joining the cast.

Yeah I'm reading through the Claremont run for the first time and I can't think of an issue where he hasn't been depicted with a darker skin tone. That coupled with the fact his African-Brazillian heritage is referenced on numerous occasions leads me to seriously question the motivation for subsequent creatives (including Beau) to erase that aspect of Sunspot's character.

He was amazing in The Wire and Treme. Looking forward to seeing his take on a character like Perry White.

Too soon: Counterpart. A truly marvelous science fiction thriller that explored the concept of a parallel universe and starred J. K. Simmons. I'm still fuming that Starz cancelled it after two seasons. It's not even available to stream anymore...

I've never seen it before so I can't personally say how competent she is in the role, but Ashly Burch is a cast member on Mythic Quest, a live action sitcom on Apple

That's a really tough question that can change based on the writer or my own whims!

Right now I would have to say Mirage: There's something I love about a character who starts out as an insecure outcast that's angsty, distrusting, and even resentful to those around her, only to grow into a strong and compassionate leader who's always looking out for her team.

As a sociology major who is also a fan of the humanities, I totally agree with you. While I've always been much more of a lurker than a regular poster--even while I was on Reddit--it still seems like there isn't a lot of content here that I feel I can really contribute to or engage with. The most prevalent posts all seem to be tech related or are just doom and gloom stories. It makes this place feel cold and bleak.

And yeah, the casual and even blatant misogyny from some of the users is appalling (I still remember that post about the career fair for women months back that got overrun with angry men).

1. Baldur's Gate 3
2. Hades
3. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
4. Bioshock
5. Hypnospace Outlaw
6. Dead Rising
7. Disco Elysium
8. Prey
9. Dishonored
10. Borderlands
11. Final Fantasy VIII
12. Mass Effect
13. Half-Life 2
14. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
15. Red Faction
16. Psychonauts
17. Spelunky
18. Primordia
19. Strangeland
20. Alan Wake
21. Telltale's The Walking Dead
22. F.E.A.R.
23. Heavy Rain
24. Dragon Age: Origins
25. Jade Empire
26. Fire Emblem: Awakening
27. Life Is Strange
28. The Longest Journey
29. Metro 2033
30. The Punisher

And I could keep going because I've spent far too much time playing video games

They were a year apart. the mohawk and costume change debuted first in #173 (1983) and Storm lost her powers in #185 (1984).

Nah. It's more of a general allegory encompassing all forms of minority groups and social outcasts. Different writers and editors choose which ones to highlight. For example, while the original Lee, Kirby 60s run--and Chris Claremont during the 70s--might have emphasized disabilities, through numerous stories like Days of Future Past, God Loves Man Kills, and New Mutants #45, Claremont during the 80s prioritized race and sexual orientation.

This is a great cover, but I'll always be partial to the original by Klaatu

But how would NBC's decision to renew Chuck impact ABC's decision to cancel Better Off Ted?

I still agree with you, however, in that Chuck (as much as I enjoyed it) probably should have ended after season 4, and Better Off Ted was still in it's prime and could have lasted a couple more seasons.

The omnibus would probably be my preferred way to read comics, but given how expensive they are, I have to go with Marvel Unlimited.

Thanks for the reminder to delete my Instagram account. Though I've never posted anything there, I've used it to follow some people.

Is it too much to hope that all of Meta crashes and burns? It's infuriating seeing Meta, and corporations like them, harvest all of our information...

I recently joined in on the MCU Crew's watch-along for Iron Man 3. It was marginally better than I remembered but I still have issues with the one reveal, all the fake out deaths, as well as the entirety of the final action scene.