Star Wars Rebels: The Last Battle -- Thoughts

Episode 5 of the third season of Star Wars Rebels aired this past Saturday night. In this episode fans see Captain Rex team up with Ezra and Kanan to fight one last battle of The Clone Wars against Tactical Droid Kalani and his droid army. 

I really, really enjoyed this episode. While it was very much a Rebels story, in spirit if really felt like a The Clone Wars story. This episode was incredibly fun, but it had a few gut-punch lines from Rex. The first was Rex calling out for Cody after waking up from being stunned. The other was when Rex chewed out Ezra, he said, “GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS”. And I got choked up. Oh, man. That line is the most gut wrenching line in all of Star Wars. Anyone who watched season 6 of TCW remembers how tragic the ending of that story was and to have it recalled in a single line during Rebels certainly hurt emotionally. 

Kalani mentioned reviewing 132 battles of The Clone Wars, which is a nod to the 132 production episodes of the show Star Wars: The Clone Wars. That includes every episode from all 6 seasons, the 8 unfinished episodes found on starwars.com, plus the 3 production episodes that make up the feature film. 132. I love that “Easter egg”.

It is cool that Kalani and the Battle Droids technically beat Rex and the Jedi. Seeing the Rebels then team-up with the Separatist droids to take on the Empire was pretty sweet, if highly contrived. But, come one, seeing Stormtroopers fighting Battle Droids was something we could only do with our toys and a few video games, now it’s really happened.

At the end of the episode, Kalani and some droids are left out in the galaxy somewhere.  I think that Kalani will be back to battle against Grand Admiral Thrawn since it would be harder for Thrawn to anticipate a Tactical Droid since they don't create art. If Kalani is sacrificed to defeat Thrawn it will be less of a blow to the Rebels because droids have consistently been the enemy and they are not alive.

And, finally, having the show end with a TCW style title card with that show's closing credits music was like the cherry on top of a favorite sundae.

Hope everyone enjoyed the episode.

Star Wars: Ahsoka - Novel and Audiobook

Last week the newest Star Wars Young Adult novel, Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston, was released. For many fans (myself included) this book was highly anticipated. When Ahsoka Tano debuted in the animated feature of The Clone Wars back in the summer of 2008, most fans didn't take too kindly to the young Padawan. Many fans couldn't handle that Anakin Skywalker had a Jedi Padawan that had never been brought up in any of the films or expanded universe. Other fans found Ahsoka to be annoying. As fans watched Ahsoka grow up over the course of five seasons of the show Star Wars: The Clone Wars, she quickly became one of the most loved characters of the entire saga.

When the show was canceled at the end of season 5, fans were desperate to know the fate of Ahsoka. When Netflix picked up the show for one more season, we were hoping to get some answers as to what happened to Ahsoka at the end of the Clone War. If she lived, why was she no in Revenge of the Sith? If she had died, how? But season 6 of The Clone Wars only featured Ahsoka in a very dark Force-vision of Master Yoda as he was learning the deeper secrets of the Force. When Ahsoka made a surprise appearance (for some) at the end of the first season of Star Wars Rebels as the mysterious Rebel operative Fulcrum, the fandom was very ecstatic.

But what happened between her departure from the Jedi Order and her joining the Rebellion?

This YA novel by E.K. Johnston delves into a lot of that. But not all of it. It is widely known that Supervising Director of The Clone Wars and Rebels had planned the final story of The Clone Wars to show an event known in the SW galaxy as The Siege of Mandalore. In this final story arc of the show, Ahsoka would have her final encounter with Obi-Wan and Anakin before the had to rush off to save the Chancellor at the beginning of Episode III. Anakin would give half of the 501st to Ahsoka's command, along with Captain Rex, to fight the former Darth Maul (now just Maul) and his "Maul-dalorians", who have taken over Mandalore. Ahsoka and Maul would have a duel, in which Ahsoka would best Maul. Then Order 66 would be executed by the Clone Troopers, and all hell breaks loose. This series finale would have been amazing!!!

The book covers almost none of those events but picks up about a year after the events of Order 66. Ahsoka is in hiding, broken and alone. She is unsure of herself and her purpose in the galaxy. Her relationship with the Force is still tenuous after she walked away from the Jedi Order and the later events of Order 66 and the Siege of Mandalore. She has been more or less taken in by a large family on the planet Thabeska. It's another Empire Day celebration and the heavy presence of Imperial officials makes staying on the planet too dangerous.

What follows is a light, fun adventure in which Ahsoka begins to live in a farming community on the moon of Raada. When the Empire comes to take over the harvest, Ahsoka disastrously leads the locals in rebellion against the Empire's efforts to destroy their home. Ahsoka must come to terms with her new role in the galaxy and her new relationship with the Force. She learns that she doesn't have to be a Jedi to do what she used to do, save people.

The book has many great cameos from well-loved characters. Throughout the book are interludes, much like in the Aftermath novels. These jump around the timeline a bit and are from many different character's perspectives. The book talks about another unused story that Filoni wanted to tell, although not in much detail, which is how Ahsoka was discovered by Jedi Master Plo Koon when she was just a few years old. The climax of the story has one of the most bad ass moments in which Ahsoka faces off against the Sixth Brother and gets her new lightsaber crystals. A must-not-miss moment to be sure.

I read the novel, then had to get the audiobook because it was read by Ashley Eckstein, the voice of Ahsoka Tano herself. I have wanted more audiobooks like this, where the actors from the movies, games, and TV shows read the audiobooks that feature the characters they play. Doctor Who does this sometimes with their audio dramas and occasionally the audiobooks; I would love there to more of this in Star Wars. Ashley Eckstein adds an authenticity to the book as she brings fans into the thoughts and emotions of Ahsoka in a way we have never done for any other character in Star Wars. The emotions portrayed by Ashley Eckstein are Ahsoka's emotions, no one has a better authority on that than Ashley.

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the main supporting character, Kaeden Larte. Kaeden is a girl about Ahsoka's age and she is a lesbian. She has a huge crush on Ahsoka. While I know that there is going to be a lot of fanfic written about these two, I have to say that I actually felt bad for this girl by the end of the book. Ahsoka seemed rather off-put by this girl's crush. The author went out of her way to make sure the reader knew that Ahsoka was uncomfortable with Kaeden's not-so-subtle feelings towards her. While I applaud the addition of another lesbian to the Star Wars universe, I thought that it was handled wrong. Ahsoka is fine with Kaeden in every scene where they just act as friends, but the moment Kaeden's feelings toward Ahsoka come up Ahsoka gets a little cold.  (I will have to write about Star Wars and LGBTQ representation another day.)

Overall, I liked this story in both forms. I have minor quibbles with the writing, especially since this is a YA novel and we should not teach our youth bad writing habits. I think most people would miss any of my quibbles because you just simply get lost in the story. I think fans are going to eat this story up. We are ravenous for any Ahsoka material that we can get our hands on. While the book is fun to read, the audiobook might be the better way to go if you only have time to check out this story once. Go out there a check it out!

Remember:
All will be well
and
The Force will be with you... Always.

King Buck

UFOs Over Yellowstone

Update: October 18, 2016
             OF COURSE THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN REMOVED!!!

DC Rebirth - A change will do you good

Greetings to the Geekdom,

Hoping this post finds all of the geek royalty well and good health.

About a year ago, DC Comics did a mild reset to their line of comics. Each member of the Justice League was sporting a new costume and were taken in very different creative directions. DC also launched a bunch of new series and mini-series, experimenting with characters and creative teams and story tones.

And I walked away from reading comics.

I wasn't angry or upset or anything like that. While I have been very vocal of my dislike on Robert Venditti's control of The Flash and Green Lantern books, I was not upset with DC. I just needed a break. It was the final year of college for me and I was not wanting to spend so much money on comics. I figured the DC You, as that relaunch was dubbed, was a good place to take a break. I had read every New 52 book (with the exception of finishing Klarion because that book just took too much effort to read). I have been a DC fan all my life with a mild love of Marvel's X-Men, Spider-man, and Deadpool. I have been a fervent comic buyer since spring of 2006.

When DC Universe Rebirth was announced, I responded like most of the fandom: "Really? Another reboot? Another Crisis? Another relaunch?" DC had just done this a year before, so it seemed a bit desperate. It was no surprise that sales numbers were dwindling, so any such move is smart, even if it smacks of the corporate control that DC is under.

So, I began to read some of the DC You titles I would normally have read every month to catch up and see where the "rebirth" was needed. I read all Flash and Green Lantern books, which weren't as terrible as I had expected. Then I read Justice League, which I loved, especially for Jason Fabok's art. I read Constantine: The Hellblazer and Midnighter, which were books I bought every month, but didn't read. I had to support LBGT lead books. I wish I had been reading them while they were coming out, I am so in love with those series. Then I read Batman and Grayson, and I caught up on most of the Superman books. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed reading those books in large chunks. Which re-affirmed that I need to be reading trades and not monthly issues.

Which leads us to DC Universe Rebirth by Geoff Johns and friends. And in true Geoff Johns fashion, the story was beautiful and moving and exciting. There were heartbreaking moments and jaw-dropping reveals. I think it is hard to be a true fan of DC Comics and not love this issue. It let readers know that things were changing even if the timeline was mostly staying the same. The classic things we loved were returning and probably staying for the foreseeable future.

Now, I haven't picked up a lot of the titles, as I am trying to make my way through more of the DC You issues to catch up on where things were before things were "rebirthed". I will say that I have read all of the Green Lantern titles and have been very satisfied with the stories so far. I have trouble with the writers still. Venditti does not work as a writer for Hal or the Green Lantern Corps, he seems to miss the point and threw out all the things that made the GL books so unique and fun in the first place. Humphries tells a fun story but his character's dialogue and narration are jarring. Baz and Jess tend to be written in uneven extremes from text box to text box. The art has been good, even great at moments. The fill-in artists are sufficient. Overall, I have liked the first issues.

I am looking forward to reading Wonder Woman with the return of Greg Rucka writing for Diana. I started The Flash and was intrigued with the direction of the book. As much as I enjoyed Grayson, I am glad Dick is back as Nightwing. I am sad at the loss of the New 52 Superman and am perplexed at the move to bring back the Post-Crisis/Pre-Flashpoint Superman. Although, if you didn't read the Lois and Clark series, go pick that up, it was amazing. If the book continues like that, I will probably love the Superman books. I am especially happy with the Chinese Superman and his Justice League coming up, as well as Steve Orlando writing Supergirl. My baby sister and I will have to read that together.

As it stands, I am happy with DC Universe Rebirth and have hope that the DCU will have a strong future. As I finish the DC You and catch up on Rebirth, I'll probably write more about what I think. I am sure there will be a lot of positive feedback coming.

Remember:
All will be well
and
May the Force be with you.

King Buck

DC Animated's The Killing Joke (***SPOILERS***)

I was very happy that Fathom Events did many screenings of Batman: The Killing Joke on Monday night. My husband and I went to see it at our local theatre in Alhambra, CA and both of the 7PM screenings were packed! One was completely sold out and in the theater I was in, there were not very many open seats. The crowd was a little young and were a little more talkative than I would have liked during the first part of the movie. But I prefer a crowd that is vocal about their enjoyment of a film than one that is too quiet. Going to the cinema is supposed to be a communal experience. If I want to watch a movie in silence, I will do it at home, alone.

This was my second Fathom Events screening. I saw the Doctor Who; Husbands of River Song screening back during the Holidays of 2015. That was a fun event. This one had a great opening featurette of Mark Hamill discussing his journey as the definitive voice actor of The Joker. After the movie was a featurette about the music of the film with the films three different composers as well as covering the musical number done by Mark Hamill as The Joker during the climax of the film.

As the title of this article suggest, I will talk spoilers. Yes, the last part of the film has been in graphic novel form for 28 years or so, but the first half or more is new. The Killing Joke was never a long story. A person could read it in about 20-30 minutes. Translating that to film means it wasn't very long on its own, so Warner Bros. brought on Brian Azzarello to craft a longer narrative.

I know this movie and it's source material can be quite divisive in the fandom. I will say that it is easier to think of this movie as an extension of Batman: The Animated Series since it has most of the same voice actors playing the roles they played 20-odd years ago. I love the story and the art of the original comic and now this animated feature.

The new story starts being narrated by Barbara Gordon/Batgirl. She and Batman attempt to stop a robbery by some mobsters. During the fight, the leader of this group, Paris Francesco, becomes infatuated with Batgirl in a more than sexual manner. He escapes and begins to taunt and torment Batgirl in a twisted attempt to seduce Barbara. In one scene, while Paris is hiding on a yacht, a group of escorts leave and the red-headed escort hands a henchman a cut up pillow case the Paris made her wear during sex that had been cut to be like Batgirl's cowl. Paris at one point sprays a sleeping agent into Bab's face in an attempt to force himself on her. Batgirl is able to lock herself in a vault and avoid any rape attempts. This villain, who I believe was created for this story, is quite sick.

During all this Bruce keeps commanding Barbara to stay away from Paris, and Barbara of course disobeys, many times. Their relationship becomes very strained. Adding to the tension of all this is Barbara, at her day job as a librarian, confessing to her GBFF (ugh) that she has strong feelings for her "yoga instructor" (Batman). During the film you realize that Batman also has strong feelings for Barbara, hence his commands for her to stay away from Paris. Ultimately, Bruce and Barbara have sex on a rooftop. Bruce, of course, becomes distant afterwards, pushing Barbara's emotional state to the brink. In a final showdown with Paris, Barbara beats Paris to an inch of his life. Barbara has approached the dark edge that Bruce has been warning her about.  She then decides to stop being Batgirl.

A few days later the events of The Killing Joke graphic novel begin.

I tried to be brief in my description. I know that a lot of fans are going to hate that Barbara and Bruce have sex and that her villain is such a creep. They will say that this movie glorifies violence against woman. I will only say this: Villains should be villainous and evil.

All other opinions and thoughts aside, I was amazed by the vocal performances of the three principle cast members. Tara Strong brought a layered and nuanced performance that is probably her best, as she rarely gets to do such adult material. I loved the beginning half because she was so believable; there were many moments I forgot I was watching an animation. She upstaged Kevin Conroy in every scene, but only because he is playing Batman a.k.a. Mr. Stoic Brooding-Man. Conroy does deliver on his Batman performance. This is Batman at his grimmest, but there is a level of compassion in this Batman that is rarely seen in any Batman story today. His feelings for Barbara and even his attempts to redeem The Joker. Every Batman story is about him and his rogues trying to kill each other in the names of insanity or justice. I truly believed that Batman wanted to save his greatest villain. Mark Hamill, as we all expected, gives the Joker performance of his life. The flashback scenes make you so sympathetic for his character that you just want him to accomplish his sick twisted plan at the end. Hamill also has you almost convinced by The Joker's psychotic philosophy, he almost has you ready to give up on reality and give into insanity. The Joker is oh-so human in this story and at the same time that dark, evil spectre of everything that wants to destroy civilization.

I say go check out The Killing Joke, which is available now digitally, and will be on Blu-Ray and DVD next week. This movie is not for children, but is a fun ride through to the end. There is even an uplifting mid-credits scene that helps lighten the dark oppressive mood that the movie leaves you with.

Until next time, remember:

All will be well
and
May the Force be with you.

SDCC 2016 (2 posts in 1 day?!)

San Diego ComiCon 2016 was this past weekend, and like most fans, I was not there. I could not afford to go, nor was I keen to traverse the sheer mass of people for four days. I was quite comfortable at home or running around my hometown getting the news from YouTube and other social media feeds. I have nothing against SDCC, I have always said that I will go one day, when I am a comic book author or filmmaker being asked to be on a panel, or some such thing.

I think the biggest buzz out of the con this year was the Wonder Woman trailer and the Justice League footage. I am looking forward to Wonder Woman with apprehensive anticipation. I love Diana so much and am really happy she is finally getting her own movie. I think the movie will be good, wonderful even; I just know it can be just as awful as Man of Steel or as un-notable as Batman v Superman. It was nice to see Diana using the Lasso of Truth in battle! The little boy in me who watched the 70s show re-runs was giddy as hell. The best part was Diana meeting Etta. Those two better have a lot more scenes together. I love the idea of them being BFFs.

Then there was the Justice League footage. (Can't really call it a trailer or a sizzle.) I love Ezra Miller, I am just not yet sold on him being Barry Allen, who is one of my favorite comic characters of all time. Miller does have the potential to make the movie amazing; I foresee him winning over all the jilted fanboys who hate MoS and BvS. I am not loving Cyborg's design just yet, but I am sure I will accept it after seeing it more. I have to say the Bruce/Barry scene was very reminiscent of the Tony/Peter scene in Captain America: Civil War. (Marvel did it better.) My absolute favorite shot of all the footage was of Arthur Curry standing in that massive wave as it crashes on the shore. It was epic and just goes to show how much of a badass Aquaman really is when done right. I wish Bruce would stop trying to fight everybody, but I think he and Arthur will be good allies by the end of the movie.

Other news out of ComiCon  was the casting of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel. Also the Black Panther cast was introduced and showed it was refreshing to see an all Black cast on the stage with a Black director. The teasers for the DCTV shows were adequate. None of them blew me away. I will obviously watch them, especially The Flash since it is my favorite show, possibly of all time.

The rest of the Con news wasn't really on my radar, because I have taken the stance of trying not to know things before they happen. I just want to experience things as they happen. It's less of not wanting to be spoiled and just wanting to take joy in the things I love again.

I hope you had a fun weekend either at the Con or reading the news as it came out. Let us know what you were most excited about from SDCC.

All will be well,
and
May the Force be with you.

King Buck

Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016

I know this is a few days late. And I know there has been quite a bit of coverage on thousands of other sites, but why not add my own thoughts to all the noise. Who doesn't love to talk about Star Wars? The news coming out of Celebration is a Transmedia enthusiast's wet-dream. 

I was not able to attend the event, as much as I would have loved to visit London. I was only able to view the event on the live stream and other posted videos. As an observer I felt that this Celebration was a bit lethargic. Maybe I am biased since I was able to attend Celebration Anaheim in 2015, which was just a week before my birthday and was a mile from where I lived, so I had such a great time at that event with my husband and close friends. Plus there was so much excitement for The Force Awakens.

That being stated I was very excited for all the news came out of this event. First off, there was the Rogue One panel. Over the last few weeks there has been more and more of Gareth Edwards in the public consciousness. I have come to really like him as a personality. And who doesn't love the sheer light, beauty, grace, and energy that is Gwendoline Christie? She was just radiant. I am going to overlook the major spoilers that were accidentally dropped on the panel. I will say that I am more excited for Rogue One than The Force Awakens. The Force Awakens had a LOT of expectations to meet and some that it failed miserably to even come close to hitting the mark (I am looking at you Emo Ben Solo!!!) With Rogue One there is less apprehension and dread and a lot more thrill and wonder for the new paths this movie can take. (Plus I am a former US Marine, so I love a good war epic.) Everything I have seen looks so damn good. And I am even more excited now that I know more about Gareth Edwards and have seen the BTS sizzle reel. The cast seems amazing. The racial diversity is fantastic. The gender diversity is SORELY lacking. One woman? Really?! Still only one woman? "But she's the Lead." Really?! Only ONE WOMAN?!

 

My favorite panels are tied again this year, as I see them to be two parts of a whole. The Star Wars Rebels panel and the Clone Wars themed panel, which this year was The Untold Tales of Ahsoka Tano. The Star Wars animated shows have added so much wealth to the SW mythos. During the Ahsoka Tano panel, supervising director Dave Filoni, Story group lead Pablo Hidalgo, and actress Ashley Eckstein walked us through several of the unfinished animations of The Clone Wars as well as some unfinished, in development stories that were to be created for the later seasons of the cancelled show. A lot of these stories were discussed or hinted at in last year's panel, The Untold Tales of Star Wars The Clone Wars. The stories covered Ahsoka learning to navigate life away from the Jedi Order and even getting a boyfriend. A later story told of Ahsoka heading to the underbelly of Coruscant to the ground level where she discovers there was a Sith temple upon which the Jedi built their temple. Ahsoka also (sort of) encounters Darth Sidious. Later Ahsoka would encounter Anakin and Obi-Wan and they would attack Mandalore, which was under the sway of the resurrected Darth Maul. Obi and Ani are pulled away just before the attack to save the Chancellor. Before leaving Anakin gives Ahsoka command of half the 501st and Captain Rex. The troopers changed their markings to be orange to match Ahsoka's facial markings. Dave alluded to the fact that, due to overwhelming fan response, Ahsoka will be making an appearance in the future of Star Wars Rebels. The panel also revealed the cover art for the Ahsoka novel coming out this fall.

The Rebels panel was hosted by Warwick Davis and featured Filoni along with actors Tiya Sircare and Sam Witwer. In the panel we see a few clips from the upcoming season of the show as well as a really great trailer which revealed (and confirmed the rumor) that Grand Admiral Thrawn from the Legends storyline was making his debut in the official Star Wars "canon". Darth Maul returns to further seduce Ezra to the dark side. The crew of the Ghost all get updated character models that bring them closer to A New Hope stylings. I love the character Bendu that was revealed, who will be voiced by the incomparable Tom Baker, The Fourth Doctor.

 

There was a lot more news, but I think there was too much to cover in one post and the rest has been covered extensively by the major geek/nerd news sites. I will say that I was really happy to learn that the Rogue One novelization will be penned by Alexander Freed, who wrote the Star Wars Battlefront tie-in novel Twilight Company. I loved that book (again, Marine who loves war epics). I really think that one has the potential to be my second favorite Star Wars novelization. (Revenge of the Sith being my absolute favorite, since Matthew Stover is one of my favorite authors.) The Star Wars novels coming out over the next year are going to be really exciting reads.

 

 

That is it for me for today.

 

May the Force be with you

 

and...

Semper Fi

King Buck