Tag Archives: Superman

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These Orc Attacks are Bring Down our Property Value

Image: http://www.geeksofdoom.com/2012/04/10/the-simpsons-creator-matt-groening-finally-reveals-town-of-springfields-real-location
There are many worlds from many stories. Some full of dangerous creatures, others covered in frozen sheets of ice, even a few with little teddy bears with sharp sticks.
But do any of them have a skate park?
If you had to live in one of the worlds from all of those stories that we have all read, seen, and enjoyed which one would it be? If you had to live somewhere what would be the things that were most important? and I really mean live there. Not start on some random moisture farm to be whisked away to join a random old man on some damned fool adventure. If you had to spend the next 50+ years some where, where would that place be?
Let’s look at some options based on 4 key criteria most people would say are important to living some place.
  1. 1. Economic standards: Are there good jobs, is the economy growing, a total lack of goons coming around asking for protection money
  2. 2. Least likely to be attacked by bad guys: Is there an insurrection by the people every Tuesday or some galactic empire that comes a knock’n for new recruits regularly
  3. 3. Good place to raise kids: What kind of schools do they have, places to play that aren’t filled with turrets that fire lasers
  4. 4. Entertainment options and culture: What are their arts districts like, how is the local quidditch team these days, can you get froyo delivered by a unicorn
 Image: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Cloud_City
Cloud City
  1. 1. Economic standards: The gas mining business is pretty much the only game in town. But if that’s your thing, this is your kind of place.
  2. 2. Least likely to be attacked by bad guys: Well, there was this one time…
  3. 3. Good place to raise kids: Not unless you want them to grow up singing “Coal Miner’s Daughter” with a bit of a space cowboy twang to it.
  4. 4. Entertainment options and culture: Friday night is toss the droid parts with the Ugnaughts and there is that one guy with the ice cream maker. He’s really popular there.
 Image: http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/19/the-ultimate-map-to-the-entire-mushroom-kingdom/
Mushroom Kingdom
  1. 1. Economic standards: They live on the gold coin standard. There is always a need for new workers to help build towers, bridges, and pipes. So many pipes.
  2. 2. Least likely to be attacked by bad guys: I recommend moving into Toad’s house until the whole Koopa issue is dealt with
  3. 3. Good place to raise kids: The schools are lacking but the playgrounds are killer
  4. 4. Entertainment options and culture: Do you like shell games and sounds of whistles?
 Image: http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/11/27/friday-in-the-city-of-domes/
The city from Logan’s Run
  1. 1. Economic standards: Now work, no worries. It’s all play all the time.
  2. 2. Least likely to be attacked by bad guys: Just don’t run and you’ll be fine
  3. 3. Good place to raise kids: Not really an issue
  4. 4. Entertainment options and culture: Every kind of entertainment you can imagine, the 18 – 24 demo is king, and you really should check out Carrousel. It’s like a sci-fi Cirque Du Soleil.
 Image: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2014/12/21/films/mysterious-evangelion-short-film-released/#.Vc1WX5NViko
Evangelion – Tokyo-3
Nope.
 
Image: http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/vision-aou-vs-superman-mos-1665789/
Metropolis 
  1. 1. Economic standards: Lex Corp is always hiring and the newspaper industry still exists
  2. 2. Least likely to be attacked by bad guys: Bad stuff happen but as long as big blue is there things should be fine. Well, as long as Zac Snyder isn’t involved.
  3. 3. Good place to raise kids: One hell of a great role model that’s for sure
  4. 4. Entertainment options and culture: Having a dull afternoon? Just look to the sky and wait.
 
Image: http://www.tvacres.com/cities_sunnydale.htm
Sunnydale
  1. 1. Economic standards: Sunny California suburb with all the things you would expect. Your local main street stores, assortment of parks, and a subterranean mystical portal that attracts evil forces.
  2. 2. Least likely to be attacked by bad guys: 50/50 is not the worst odds
  3. 3. Good place to raise kids: A great training ground for some bad ass teens
  4. 4. Entertainment options and culture: Lot’s of choice spots to make new friends. Like dark alleyways, abandoned factories, and a variety of gothic cemeteries.
 
Image: http://www.comicvine.com/forums/battles-7/team-luther-strode-vs-attack-on-titan-1643640/
The Walled City
  1. 1. Economic standards: Trades a bit tight as of late. Might be a bad time to buy a house.
  2. 2. Least likely to be attacked by bad guys: It depends. Which wall are you most behind?
  3. 3. Good place to raise kids: They have this new ‘scared straight’ program that’s all the rage
  4. 4. Entertainment options and culture: Do you like running away from things?
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Rolling 20s with your Role Model

Rolling 20s
 
When I was 8 I wanted to be a truck. Not just any truck but a red Kenworth K100 so bad ass that when it showed up you knew things were going to be alright. Of course I’m speaking of Optimus Prime. After an episode of The Transformers you could find me running out the door with my friends making Transformer noises, jumping over imaginary barriers, shooting the invisible hoards of Decepticons scattered around the backyard.
 
I will add that back then after watching almost any tv show or movie that I thought was amazing I could almost always find some character to bond with. Causing me to run around with the same vigor and boundless imagination as mentioned above.  Swinging around a broom like a lightsaber making whooshing sounds, running from imaginary giant boulders in the woods on a treasure hunt, or looking for ghosts with a PKE meter made from an old remote and some cardboard.  I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences.  
 
Going back to Optimus, there are some characters that stand out more than just an imaginary friend or the toy you always took with you on vacation. Some play a bigger role that you might not have realized back when you were a kid. A role that would help set you on a path to being a better person. The role of a role model.
 
First, I don’t want to discount any real life role models. Family members, friends, public figures, etc. These can of course be an amazing source for finding a role model. Here though we are going to talk about the kind that are not flesh and blood. More like ink and memorable voice acting.
 
A good role model is ‘a person looked to by others as an example to be imitated’ as the internet tells me.  There are many of these kinds of characters in pop culture. Characters to guide us and teach us how to be better than we currently are. Show us how to stand up taller, be stronger, and to care about others more than ourselves.
 
Superman being a badass
 
Role Models Breakdown & Examples
  • Hard working – Peter Parker/Spider-Man
    • Saving NYC from everything under the sun and still able to punch the clock as a photographer for Daily Bugle with only being yelled at by your boss every other day. That takes a work ethic on a level most of us won’t dare attempt on our good days after 5 cups of coffee.
  • Creative problem solver – Sherlock Homes
    • Any version of Sherlock Homes owns at problem solving. From the classic books to Cumberbatch. “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” I’m betting he pre-solves Rubix Cubes in his sleep.
  • Open minded – Samus Aran
    • Samus lead the charge when it came to the extermination of the Metroids. You would think she would never side, let alone protect, a Metroid. If you have played Super Metroid you probably well remember the climactic final boss fight that can be summed up as, ‘Get away from her you bitch: rainbow laser beam edition’.
  • Brave – Kamina
    • Three words: Pierce. The. Heavens.  Determined to always keep moving forward and protect his friends no matter what they were up against. Always the first to run into a fight or push forward to make his goals a reality. “Whether impossible or laughable, we continue to walk the path of men!” Dude was hardcore with a capital H.
  • Have a good conscience – Clark Kent/Superman
    • Truth, justice, and the American way. Do I really need to say more about the ultimate boy scout? There has been some darker storylines in the pantheon of Superman but at the very core of the man of steel he full of absolute goodness.
 
Over all the importance of a role model is generally expected to decrease as one gets older. The lessons and the feelings can still remain but asking yourself ‘What would He-Man do?” during a meeting on quarterly budgets with your boss might not be the best idea. One of those, “When I was a child I thought as a child; but when I grew up I put my childish things on eBay” situations. If you are reading this I’m betting that might not be the case for you. For some reason us in fandom tend to carry our feelings, attachments, and overall love for what others might call ‘kids stuff’ longer than most. The same tends to go for role models.
 
I'm a TRU kid
 
I’m not going to dive too far into the idea of how pop culture has changed the growth patterns of Americans over the past few decades leading us to never really growing up because that’s a much longer topic than we have time for today. I do want to briefly discuss why we choose the role models that stay with us through out the years.  What makes us hold true to Yoda’s teachings and not Snake Eyes? Why find strength from Sailor Moon and not Jem? When does the calming voice in your head sound like Yuna and not Zelda?
 
In my humble opinion it’s because of specific personal moments in your life with a character. These could be as big as your Rainbow Brite blanket was the only thing you could save from a house fire or as small as you ate Nintendo Cereal every morning for a year and preferred the Mario side over the Zelda side.
 
Dreams with in dreams
 
These kind of moments puts a seed in your heart that grows into something much larger. A moment that you go back to when needing comfort, guidance, strength, and whatever other emotions you have tied to it.  The role model becomes a totem for this moment and all your feelings associated with it. A stronger bond is solidified, not to be broken easily.  Not even by Micheal Bay or Joel Schumacher.
 
Oh the humanity!
 
What are the role models you had when you were young that you still hold dear to and what makes them special to you? I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments below or feel free to hit me up on Twitter at @neumaverick.