Are "Pure" Humans Extinct In Warhammer 40,000?

Warhammer 40,000's Imperium of Man was built on lies. At least half of it was, or with certain truths being omitted to protect the general public. Some were valid, others required to fulfill the Emperor's plan, and some were done in order to more swiftly grab power. It's always been an interesting point about the setting as a whole, as you have to ask yourself if it really was all worth it at the end of the day.

However, the idea that is going to be discussed today isn't focused upon lies in general so much as one possible lie. The Emperor prized defending and protecting the "pure" humans who had not suffered Chaotic mutations, the nightmares of technology or abominable self-enhancements. This was, for better and worse, passed onto his sons and then the Imperium as a whole. However, given the state of the galaxy there is a question which needs to be asked:

What if there is no such thing as a genetically unmodified human in Warhammer 40,000 anymore?

This is a fan theory, something that I'm considering but will freely say up front that it has limited support in the overall canon. With that said, it's one which seems as if it might fit into the setting overall given what has happened over the last thirteen thousand years.

For starters, consider what humanity's Empire was prior to the Age of Strife. While it is known as the Dark Age of Technology for a reason, it produced no shortage of wonders along with just as many horrors, and achieved things that makes even Star Trek's Federation or Star Wars' various powers seem primitive by comparison. From completely re-ordering worlds to mass terraforming to giving ships both time manipulation technology and the power to fire weaponized black holes, the galaxy was humanity's plaything. In many cases, genetics were equally something malleable and could be reshaped or reworked as needed.

We already know that various factions of humans encountered by the Great Crusade were modified to an extreme extent. Some were wiped out due to this experimentation, while others were kept such as the tribes of Fenris. Given how easy it was to do that, it is not out of the question to think that such modifications might have become widespread. While most would have likely kept a typical human guise (two arms, four limbs, the nose in the right place etc) certain baseline modifications could have easily been written into a person's genetic code and then passed on through hereditary means.

The reason that I bring this up is twofold. Firstly, the Emperor was willing to accept and ignore certain mutants when it suited his means. Even if you ignore the Fenrisians due to their association with Russ, or the Navigators due to their usefulness, there were still others atop of this. Abhumans, despite significant evolutionary divergence, were accepted and a multitude of human sub-species were deemed safe enough to blend into the Imperium. The Emperor was more concerned with those who were dangerous to humanity as a whole, and those that devastated the past empire were those afflicted by Chaos. Were it not for that direct link, and their genetic instability, I wouldn't be surprised if the Emperor would have happily ignored them.

The second reason is simple: Humans even in modern M42 have this habit of surviving things which should outright kill them. Think about it, they can thrive in places where populations should not be possible. Hive worlds, just for one, are so frequently polluted beyond all reason that they are almost barren. Their lower levels are filled with smog, the remaining ecosystem is heavily mutated and it is outright poisonous. The very fact that their bodies are capable of filtering such toxins to an incredible extent is eyebrow-raising.

Even if that is not worth fully considering, also take into account the level of punishment that certain humans can take within the setting. Yarrick had his arm ripped off, but remained upright not only long enough to take down the Warboss who de-limbed him, but gave a full speech to an Ork WAAAGH! and drove it into retreat with his sheer force of will. The various members of the Tanith First and Only have endured so much that should have outright killed them at various point that it can be ridiculous, from Feygor's multiple throat wounds to Gaunt surviving extreme torture. Even minor characters can benefit from this, with some taking hours to die from extreme blood loss or living through having a Carnifex stab them through the chest.

You can argue that the case with the wounds is extreme - and that is true for many here - but when you consider how many characters can shake off lasbolts, bullets and even the odd stab wound, it's not out of the question. Perhaps some simply inherited a stronger batch of these possible upgrades than others, or they were further enhanced by humanity's odd relationship with the Warp itself. Or, more likely, they could have simply been written to play upon the satirical extremism of the setting and thematic elements at the time.

Still, when you consider the sorts of people churned out by the likes of Catachan, Tallarn, Valhalla, and Posul, most clearly have abilities which are beyond human. Some can simply live by shrugging off plagues, problems, and failings which would have otherwise killed them or triggered severe devolutions among the population. You could even argue that the fact humans can so easily accept bionic implants without any risk of rejection (save for one or two extremely rare exceptions) could even be a sign of this genetic tampering.

Again, this is a theory, but it fits in with much of the setting and adds one more hypocrisy to the Imperium while adding another legacy to the Age of Strife. It's just worth considering as a possible way to view the lore and where humanity has gone in the last ten thousand years.

The Darth Vader Fan Girl Comic And How It Went Wrong

Yep, we're back to talking about Star Wars again, specifically the lackluster part of it. While it would be easy to make that joke given that we are talking about a Marvel comics helmed part of the setting - one established by Jason "I am right, everyone else is wrong, and I will re-write whole histories to support my argument" Aaron - there have been a few shining gems among them. The big one was Charles Soule's run on Darth Vader, which actually managed to take full advantage of the reboot and do some fun things with the character. Even as someone who vehemently dislikes the quality of current Star Wars products, this one was a rare example of getting things right. It showed what could be done when there was some proper thought and planning put into a new saga, and even put one of the facepalming additions to the new lore to good use.

Well, ever since Soule stopped writing for the character, such praise has rapidly dissipated from any series involving the character. First a follow-up series was given to Chuck "What kind of deal with Satan did this man make to have a career?" Wendig, and then once he was mercifully booted off of the comic, the sequel somehow got worse. This should not be possible. This is akin to reaching rock bottom, only to break through it and plunge into an abyssal trench beneath it. However, the work was so bad that this was another situation where someone both supplied me with a copy of Darth Vader: Dark Visions #3 with a simple request: Please explain how this went so horribly wrong, and why it was published.

The story here is a rather bizarre take attempting to show how Vader is regarded by others. In this case, a demented and borderline insane nurse becomes rapidly infatuated with Vader's power, to the point of approaching him with romantic interests in mind. She grows more daring, until she approaches Vader within his personal chambers. He takes this poorly, and one stabbing later he departs, leaving her corpse to be disposed of by someone else.

So, why was this published? That part is simple: Marvel will publish almost anything these days. Please understand, there are plenty of good writers still producing work for the company, and a fair few good characters. However, if you pick up the average Avengers comic, or any major title it seems, you are met with a wave of "lol ironic lol" humour, edgelord diatribes, nihilism and puerile commentary. Here are two such examples just to show you how bad it is, and why I largely read DC, IDW and Dark Horse comics these days:

Oh, trust me, it only gets worse.

With that in mind, it's almost surprising that we did not get something even more obscene, like Vader revealing that he is a cannibal, or that he regularly sodomizes Padme's corpse.

So, with that disgusting image out of the way, how did this go so horribly wrong? The answer is down to its execution. Oddly enough, the actual idea behind the story could work well if given to a writer familiar with satire or stealth parody. Any one of the writers working for 2000AD or with some experience writing Judge Dredd comics could pull this off. Make it an open parody of toxic love, or how obsession can go horribly wrong, but go further. If it went full Fifty Shades of Grey on this stuff, creating an open mockery of how such a relationship can go wrong, it would work well. The problem, in this case, is that the story lacked that satirical edge, and as a result it approaches its subject matter with a straight face.

To explain how this goes so badly wrong, let's break down the story piece by piece:

The initial beats to the story start to follow elements of a female power fantasy - the good and/or entertaining sort of one, mind you, and yes those do exist - with the unnamed nurse breaking ranks to catch a glimpse of Vader. She is berated by her equally unnamed superior for her actions, and derided for the risks she takes. This would be a reasonable start toward establishing a tone to subvert, but it is quickly undermined by just how deranged the protagonist is. Right out of the starting gate the comic goes out of its way to present her in a poor state of mind, with bizarre romantic fantasies about Vader. It's spur-of-the-moment and comes into focus with no reason or real establishment beyond "She be crazy".

Things only get gradually worse throughout the story, and it keeps beating the reader about the head with the simple message of her insanity. Unfortunately, it never bothers to explore it beyond that. It never pushes to try and show how poisonous her thoughts are to herself, or showing even a good person slipping away. Instead it's simply carrying a rather crass message of "This woman is mad and she brought this upon herself". Even if you ignore that, however, it's also remarkably dull due to how monotone this is in its approach, and how little reason the reader is given to engage with this tale. Harley Quinn might have a few questionable issues with her character, but her stories at least show a depth to her personality, and her history with the Joker is one where she is the victim.

Even when it does start to delve deeper into the power fantasy angle, perhaps the one area that it could have developed some theme or subtext with, it fails there as well. Due to the protagonist's deluded nature, it doesn't explore any themes so much as treat her thoughts as a joke. Even as someone who has criticised Rey's development in the past for its problems, this open mockery of such a subject is at best eye-rolling. It's edgy for the sake of being edgy, and it offers nothing in the way of commentary or subversion on the subject. Hell, it doesn't even offer a good take on the dangers of dreams as, again, the mental state of the protagonist is so quickly presented as being damaged beyond repair.

The protagonist is then driven further over the edge as it enters creepy fan territory as well. She begins to gather pieces of Vader's armour or bits left over from battlefields, leading to dreams of joining him or even saving his life. Sadly, this is the part where it comes closest to having some meaning as there are some slight parallels which can be drawn with Kylo Ren in terms of his obsessive nature. They're tangential, but you can see a link as to where this could shed light on how such a view influences, strengthens and yet undermines people. Unfortunately, it only appears in this one segment and it's never built upon, meaning that the real potential here is wasted.

This only gets worse in the final pages, where the protagonist's superior destroys her collection and throws it into a trash compactor. This is done more of out spite than anything else but, because the comic has done nothing to establish sympathy for the protagonist, it rings hollow. It's just one more step down her disintegrating mental state, and that's it. You're given no reason to react to this beyond realizing what has happened, and acknowledging it.

Up until that final point, much of what has been written could be mistaken as tone-deaf writing on the part of Dennis Hopeless AKA the Avengers Arena writer. As the story shows one final delusion, it features the protagonist as another Sith Lord, crushing the life from those who abused her. The problem is, this is not too dissimilar to how some power fantasies are written with other characters, and a few of those are typically presented in a positive light. By taking this here and showing it as a mistake, almost an error formed by a deranged mind, it becomes an open mockery of one part of the fandom.

The final pages themselves then only finish by cementing this detail. She is seen approaching Vader without reaction, offering some words of reassurance. When Vader stabs her and then moves on, there's no sense of tragedy or loss to the act. It just happens, like so much of the work here. She is left dead, and Vader, the reader and the protagonist are left having gained nothing from the experience beyond a story of nihilism.

The artwork hardly helps, presenting the protagonist with a frog-like appearance which is demented if not outright mad much of the time. This only further assists in removing any reason to feel sympathy for the character or subtext within many scenes. It's one more mark against the comic, and one more reason to feel no engagement with the work.

As a final note, one sad detail is that we have seen a similar story executed much better before now. This is admittedly not quite another "The EU did it before, so why are we repeating ourselves" moment, so much as showing how this can and has been done better before. Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison gave a chance for a reader to see Vader as a hero of the Empire, opposing a massed rebellion by Imperial officers and seeing him through the eyes of a subordinate. It has a similarly dark twist to it, but whereas this one adds nothing to the story, in that case it serves to display what kind of monster he truly is. It's really astounding to see a story like this fail so spectacularly when a perfectly excellent example of how to pull it off can be easily found with a quick Google search.

As a final note, and just a detail more for myself than anything else, this should show that quality is never assured. A constant attitude that I personally keep seeing among fans is simply this: Disney = Good, Legends = Bad. It's a narrow opinion, but one far too many fans seem hell bent upon retaining. Works like this prove that, no matter how fresh a start a setting is given, bad stories will always crop up. It's the role of fans, critics and reviewers to judge what they like for themselves, and stay true to their standards. 

If you enjoy something then feel free to do so without regret, but do not simply support something because of a brand. Hold it to your standards, and if it falls short of them, do not defend it. A poor story will always be a poor story, and being disingenuous of that fact will not change them for the better. If you wish for the new setting to ignore and avoid tales like this in the future, shout loudly and oppose it, then close your wallets to them. Nothing else will get their attention, or encourage them to change for the better.

Avengers: Endgame (Film Review)

So ends one era of the Marvel cinematic universe.

Yeah, it was pretty good as closing chapters go. Most of you will see this regardless, and I will say that it is a great finale to a story which has spanned well over a decade now. It's almost amazing to think that most people never even thought that team films would work at one point, let alone something on this scale.

So, if you wanted the short review, if you have kept up to date with the Marvel universe and understand that this is the second half of a story, you'll be in for a good time. If you want a more detailed answer, follow onto the segments below.


The Synopsis

And so half of the universe died. With the snap of the Mad Titan's fingers, countless septillions of individuals were snuffed out in a moment, collapsing into dust. Those that could do so fought to rebuild, regroup and continue, but even five years after the event's end, none are truly at peace.

When an opportunity falls into the laps of the surviving Avengers, those left are given a choice: Risk everything in a final act which could fully reverse Thanos' act of ultracide, or try to move on with their lives and rebuild what is left. They choose the latter, and follow a journey which leads from the day of the Avengers' foundation to the edges of the galaxy. Many of them soon begin to realise that, this time, not everyone will be coming home.


The Good



The sheer scale of Endgame's story is what will likely stick in the minds of many audiences. While Infinity War was huge, Endgame takes things to a whole new level. Rather than creating a full-scale battle and a series of running conflicts which are immense in their destruction, the very narrative of the film itself is of a style that no other film could likely accomplish. A major part of that is due to how it builds off of many previous installments to the saga, but also the connection audiences have with these characters. Even major established franchises under other banners could not have done this, and it's to the point where Endgame itself is more of an anthology piece than a singular story.

The benefit of this style is, oddly enough, that it provides more time. As this is a finale for these characters, the way in which it breaks up moments to have individual figures be in the spotlight for their own mini-narrative makes it all the better. This isn't simply giving them time as part of a larger act within a film so much as giving them a short story unto themselves. This not only benefits a few characters that were previously pushed into the background one reason or another, but also those that really deserved more screen time in the first place. 

Hulk, for example, gets plenty of great moments thanks to a surprising bit that I never thought we would see adapted from the comics, and Nebula's history is finally given some focus along with War Machine's past experiences. While these moments are often small they often help to give actors who were otherwise largely in the background a chance to do more than play second fiddle. This is something especially overdue in case of the latter two examples, and it even extends far beyond them. Characters like Frigga, Howard Stark, and the Ancient One are all given great scenes that they long deserved, with Rene Russo finally being given a scene of substance with Thor. No, I am not going to spoil how this happens, just watch the film.

Even with these individual moments, many characters are given closure and a few final acts that they long deserved. In the cases of several of these, they follow an arc which has been going on for years, and close out in a manner which is (almost) perfect for each of them. Some of them are not happy for sure, but when you sit down and examine how they progressed, you can easily see just how they were working toward these events. This is large scale storytelling to a degree never before seen within films, and until now it was almost entirely limited to print media. To see this attempted, and largely succeeded on screen, almost justifies the price of a ticket alone.

This really is fan service which had been refined to a fine art. The film is complex, layered over and over again to achieve a balance between moneymaking and creativity that is almost unfound across cinema. At almost any point where a great call-back to a past film or brief joke can be added to keep things lively, it will be thrown in, and this doesn't just work in favour of the foreground. There are many background easter eggs, small segments, and brilliant visual choices which will keep you coming back to this one long after it hits DVD. Honestly, it's like the opening segment to Wreck-It Ralph but extended across an entire film.

All of this works to make sure that Endgame never feels like it is three hours long. Immense, yes, and definitely engaging, but never long or dragged out. There are so many ways it distracts you and keeps the story running that it really is an astounding example of just how immersion can drag an audience out of reality. It needed those three hours to tell its story, but it more than earned them with how it worked about this length.

Finish all this off with promises of new stories and the chance for some new characters to finally take on a role in the spotlight, and it accomplishes everything that the fans might have wanted.

However, this isn't to say that it is perfect.


The Bad

For everything brilliant about Avengers: Endgame, there are still a multitude of shortcomings which will irk at more than a few people once it is done. In fact, the reason that this review took a day longer than planned was so that I could have a chance to sit down and think them over. Oddly enough, in this regard, the big one is how the humour works within the film. Typically, Marvel films have worked best when the jokes are added organically into the script and evolve from there, but others can feel tacked on at times. It's not that they are out of place or even truly unfunny, but they run the risk of overwhelming anything else within the film. Sit down and compare Thor: Ragnarok and Guardians of the Galaxy with Black Panther someday, and you'll see a few key differences. In the case of the more space-based stories, this works very well, as it allows them to stand out from those which focus on Earth in terms of theme. However, Endgame veers toward this, and there are many points where it does not build upon the plot so much as feel intrusive toward it.

The actual nature of the humour can work to provide levity and stark contrast to darker moments, which is what the film needed in the wake of Infinity War. However, it can feel as if Endgame grinds to a screeching halt in order to deliver a few of these gags or, in one case, derails a character entirely in the name of some rather tasteless jokes. While no names will be named here, one character is openly wrecked and treated as a joke thanks their PTSD in the wake of the event. It pokes fun at the results of stress eating, the inability to cope with the aftermath of all that has happened to them, and even goes so far as to erase their role in the setting entirely. Hell, it effectively went out of its way to erase their entire character arc and developments from their last film. Honestly, this proved to be so bad that the film's final score dropped an entire point thanks to this, and the more cynical side of me thinks that part of this was done so a new "Strongest Avenger" could be pushed into the spotlight. You know, the one that everyone keeps defining as "Stronger than all the other Avengers combined, better than them, etc".

Still, even without the humour element, there are a few surprising missteps which cause problems in the final act. Even after the huge conflict, there is a second battle which is even more immense than the first. It's visually entertaining, and there are some truly fantastic moments both in terms of two armies rushing one another, and heroes combining attacks to bring down specific targets. It's one of those times where the film manages to give everyone involved some moment of real glory and a memorable segment to make them feel involved. 

However, while the direction and visuals are breathtaking, the environment leaves a lot to be desired. It's dark, largely black and grey, with dust clouds being churned up. In a manner which is akin to the 2014 Godzilla, you can tell the action is fun, but there's such a lack of colour that it doesn't work nearly so well as it should. This might sound like this point is being harped on, but it's a notable step down in this regard from the main battle in Infinity War, and that really should not have been the case.

Then we have the character of Thanos who, in this case, really feels like someone who is there purely for the sake of being there. He lacks many of the more character driven moments which made Infinity War so interesting, and the few bits that he is given here simply do not stand up to that. A few even go further to undermine them, as they only serve to highlight some serious logical flaws in his planning. Yes, he's insane, yes, he's a monster, and there's even a fantastic speech which finally puts a bullet in the head of those "Is Thanos actually a hero?" clickbait articles. With that being said, he's more an obstacle and a way to tie the individual stories together than anything else, and it's a damn shame that he turned out like this as it weakens the final act.


The Verdict

There are other positives and negatives which could be discussed, but for the sake of spoilers I will not be delving into those. Each of these was the critical strengths and failings of the work, and the others would not change the score all that much.

Nothing said in terms of its failings will take away from how ambitious Endgame truly was. There were any number of ways in which a film with this narrative structure, this much of a focus on continuity and such an ardent emphasis on saying farewell to all past films could have failed. By rights, it should have collapsed in upon itself. In that regard it is a triumph like no other, and it does still serve as an excellent final act to this chapter in the universe. 

Still, with all of that being said, the flaws which hold it back cannot be denied. You can praise a film for being as daring and inventive as possible, but it would be wrong to ignore its shortcomings thanks simply to that ambition. Endgame does have its problems, and no one should ever call it flawless. Those flaws are obvious and evident at many points, but it does still succeed at a seemingly impossible task despite them. In that regard, it's a more fitting finale for these characters than anyone could have ever asked for.

Verdict: 7.4 out of 10

Mortal Kombat 11 (Video Game Review)

Mortal Kombat is one of those old series which we have never properly discussed on here. It's venerated, and in terms of story and setting, it's perhaps the best out of all the classic era fighters. That and it arguably has the best film adaptation of a video game to date. However, of late the series changed for the better. 9 saw a near total reset of the timeline and reworking things to a new dynamic, while 10 followed up by showing how the world would develop following so many new changes. Now, 11 is set to deal with the repercussions of those actions and change things once again.

The Synopsis:

In the wake of Shinnok's defeat, Raiden has become corrupted. Ruthless and notably paranoid, he regards all other realms as being possible threats to Earthrealm. Yet even as he and a number of his champions launch an attack on a possible enemy, a far greater threat looms on the horizon. Kronika,  Keeper of Time, Architect of the Destiny of the Universe and mother to Shinnok is working to "correct" the alterations Raiden made to bring about this new timeline. As the past and present fragments with old and new incarnations of characters co-existing alongside one another, a terrifying war for the future erupts across Outworld.

The Good:

NetherRealm has, by this point, cemented its status as the champion of fighters with campaign storylines. Having long since eclipsed Tekken in this regard, no other series has yet matched them in terms of cinematic quality and design choices. While, admittedly, Injustice 2, unfortunately, featured a few poor decisions, the developers clearly learned from that game's mistakes. 

The campaign here is honestly worth the price of purchase alone, as it does a fantastic job of raising the stakes in a surprising way after the defeat of a renegade Elder God and performing some very welcome twists to the story. Even in its early 2000s style camp moments, it still features solid character arcs for a number of key figures, and interactions fans had been hoping to see for years. Furthermore, a few developments could even be seen as an apology for 10 skipping out on a number of major alterations to the setting and only referring to them in passing.

Honestly, there's little that could be said about the story besides "It's brilliant" and even an ending which alters much of the established elements of the game is engaging. It's one of those ones which has been done for obvious reasons and, to a degree, wipes the slate clean once more, but it doesn't render the events which took place as meaningless by any standard. Well, there is one caveat to this, but we will get to that in the next section.

Many of you will likely be asking just what can be expected of the fighting mechanics, and again it's AAA quality. Actual AAA quality, not EA AAA quality. Mortal Kombat 11 comes with the range of fighters that the series is renowned for, and each immediately feels truly different to the others. While previously there was an element of crossover from one combatant (sorry, kombatant) to the next, here you can quickly see very clear distinctions between the leading fighters. Even if you're just throwing punches, no two come across as the same, from the impact of their hits to the way in which attacks are chained together.

The feedback of the game is remarkable, and the series has hit a very effective, but very difficult, the balance between speed and feedback. If a fighter is too slow it can seem unsatisfying, but if it's too fast then it lacks the punch to make your blows feel truly impactful. In this one, there are constant opportunities for very quick and very easy brief combos, which helps to break up the fighting and offer pauses for more damage. Even when you're button bashing, so many are easy to intentionally and unintentionally pull off that it offers an incredible level of visual satisfaction. This also helps to encourage people to do more than simply spam basic moves, and keeps the fights varied.

The environments also assist with the sheer quality of the fights in question. The visuals are as varied, engaging and fascinating as you would hope, but then there are all the extras featured in them. While 10 certainly threw in no shortage of means to change up fights, from using the terrain to gain a brief advantage in terms of agility to smashing someone through them, 11 re-writes the rules on how to do this. There are stages that I simply kept going back to in order to find new things to abuse, make use of or experiment with, from opening up new areas in them to inflicting environmental damage on others. Even in quick play you can keep finding new things to keep yourself amused with, which vastly enhances the replay value of an already very engaging game.

Then, atop of this, you have the bonuses as well. The Krypt is always one of those bonuses which have been very welcome but rarely received all that much focus, but here there has been a massive effort to improve and enhance it. The presentation of each area, and Shang Tsung's commentary (voiced by Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa himself!) adds a sense of atmosphere to many of the secrets you bump into. This ranges from amusing distractions which are effectively easter eggs, to the fates of several characters noticeably absent from the game.

The Bad

The negative elements here are fairly simple, and there is only one major detractor which seriously causes problems for Mortal Kombat 11. However, no flaw can ever be fully ignored, and it would be wrong to simply gloss over the minor errors to emphasize the big one.

In terms of storytelling, a noted issue here is that there's a big focus on the familiar faces above all else. While 10 had a few flaws, one welcome change was how it shifted things about to better emphasize the new generation of fighters, or incarnations of old figures. That and a few popular background individuals who had long since deserved more screen time. Some of that is sadly lost here as, for one reason or another, much of the tale is slimmed down to more prominently concentrate upon the core few from the original game. 

Some of the newcomers do get good moments, even a few great ones, but they are sadly either gradually pushed aside or, in one case, altered to better resemble their most famous versions. It's only the fact that the story is so well told, and manages to make use of a few of these developments, which truly offsets some of the wasted potential here.

Another definite problem is that, as fast as certain combos are, some are still ripe for abuse. It's not nearly to the level of Kung Lao in 9, but you are definitely going to see two fighters repeatedly showing up again and again in multiplayer. I'm not going to list who - just to avoid making it any easier for metagamers - but by the time you reach them in the campaign you will likely be able to pick out who this is. It's unfortunate that after two games the developers are still struggling with this, but no fighting game ever seems to wholly escape this issue.

So, let's move onto the big one shall we? The microtransactions system is pretty bloody obscene. 

For starters, the sheer grind involved in unlocking cosmetics is utterly ridiculous. You can unlock cruisers in World of Warships faster than you can get basic details through this system, and it the rewards are simply too low. Unless you are willing to drop a couple of hundred hours into grabbing the general basics, the chance are that you'll never see most of the more interesting ones which are worth grabbing. Still, even without this problem, the game's premium shop is incredibly highly priced, with character skins frequently reaching $7.50 or more for basic reworks. Given that there's sixty of these damn things, that's going to cost an arm and a leg to fully unlock each design, even without getting into other elements like minor gear pieces or equipment.

Atop of the grind factor and high pricing, the shop also limits itself to only a few items at a time. Only five cosmetic items show up every eight or so hours, with no way to access the exact one that you want. So, if you're after a new hat for Raiden or set of shades for Johnny Cag, you need to grind out the very long and tedious in-game currency and then wait until what you want shows up. Or you can break out your credit card.

This isn't the scummiest system ever to force people to part with cash, but it's definitely up there.

The Verdict

Mortal Kombat 11 should easily have earned a near-perfect score on this system. The fighting is better than ever, the story is engaging despite a few minor flaws, and left me wanting to see what came next. Many characters featured great moments with clear narrative arcs, while the extras were brilliant. Most of all, it kept me guessing just what was going to happen next while hooked on the edge of my seat. Even the much criticised ending to Jax's tournament play made far more sense in context, once I had finished the campaign, and it was the sort of decision almost anyone would make in his position.

However, the microtransactions and poor business decisions which harm this came cannot be overlooked. NetherRealm has announced that they are working to fix the grindy elements at the very least, and the fact that they immediately stated that they would do so even without a Battlefront II level PR nightmare suggests that it might have been a genuine mistake on their part. Until that happens though, the score will reflect the current state of the game. I will raise this number to reflect improvements at a later date, but for the moment it's the one damning flaw in what should have been one of 2019's best games.

Verdict: 7.5 out of 10

The Baneblade's End - Leeroy's Last Ride

Well, there's a very simple reason for today's article - It's long overdue. Yes, even by my standards this is one which has long deserved a telling, as it has been three years since we last looked into it. Back in 2016, we delved into the tale of Leeroy the Baneblade, a vehicle which was unstoppable thanks to sheer luck and named so that no one would live down the humiliation of such an encounter. Well, now is the time to properly delve into his final game.

This was back shortly after the Dark Eldar had undergone a long overdue, and much-deserved overhaul. By this time it was clear that the meta was changing. While Leeroy had been joined by three other Shadowswords, it was evident that they were not the top dogs anymore. The whole debacle of everyone and their mother walking about with Strength D weapons almost certainly contributed to that, and after a few years, I had decided to move on. I would sell on the vehicles and put the money toward a new army. However, just ending it like that seemed wrong, so I sought out a Viking Funeral of a game.

The game I found was the sort of experience which Leeroy had been bought for in the first place: A carnage match with eight players per side. Groups were divided up into ad hoc formations and a few pre-set agreements. I was to hold one flank with Leeroy and Bernard - a Stormlord - along with a few small units and a Space Wolf player. There was just one problem: The Space Wolf player never showed up. As time ticked down toward the start, there was no sign of the guy, meaning that I was likely going to end up facing two-to-one odds. That in of itself did not seem like a bad thing, especially as there was only one player on the opposing side. Then he started to show off his models.

Dark Eldar, as far as the eye could see. Practically thousands of them. There were perhaps twenty Raiders and Ravegers, all backed up with Wyches, Kabalites and the like, but most worrying was the sheer volume of dark lances. As we had all deployed by now, there was no chance to back down, and no opportunity to switch out my place with anyone else. What looked like it might have been a glorious end looked like it was about to become a one-sided massacre of the worst kind. Still, with this being the game that it was, I decided to go down fighting, and if that meant using technicalities then so be it.

Managing to get the first turn, Leeroy rolled at full speed down from the hill that he had parked on toward a small group of trench fortifications. At the same time, Bernard reversed behind a cathedral, edging into place partway between it and a burned out building. This sacrificed my opening volley, but it left me with a fighting chance. Technically each tank was in cover, as they were hiding more or less half of themselves behind terrain. This required a fair bit of rules layering on my part by making sure that certain sections could not be seen, and even calling in a similar act which had been greenlit from a previous match. Still, while my opponent argued, we eventually settled on a dice roll as a decider. Odds it would work, evens it wouldn't. He rolled a five.

The opening volley of the Dark Eldar force, ten dark lances, and assembled heavy weapons which got into range, opened fire. Through some poor rolls and some magnificent luck on my part, they managed to shake the crew on Bernard and disable one of Leeroy's heavy bolter turrets. This left fully half of their army fully exposed to the waiting guns of the super heavy tanks, both of which were ready to rip and tear at a moment's notice. The Dark Eldar had clearly rushed in expecting one of their shots to prevent at least one tank from shooting its main guns, because they were promptly shredded by incoming fire. Several lascannon blasts, a pie-plate of doom and liberal application of a vulcan mega bolter quickly took its toll, downing four of the enemy vehicles and sending several squads running.

The Eldar moved in again, firing as they came, but with similarly ineffective results. And so the game played out, trading shots back and forth over and over again. In truth, this was as limiting to the tanks as it was to the Eldar. Their angle meant that they could not fire all of their weapons into the oncoming horde, and were typically unable to shoot beyond a certain angle. This did force the Eldar to keep moving forward to deal with them, and it prevented them from rushing forward into our side's flank as likely had been intended. After four turns of this, however, each side was notably wounded.

The Dark Eldar had lost two-thirds of their vehicles, with a number of their troops running or too broken to be of many effects. However, every weapon save Leeroy's main turret and autocannon had been taken down, he had lost several hull points, and Bernard had been immobilized. This had likely been part of the other player's plan to overwhelm at least one of the tanks, as his Lord and retinue started sneaking around Bernard's rear. This would have likely blown him up, but thankfully there is one major benefit to Stormlords: They double as transports. No sooner did the Lord get within range, than Kharn the Betrayer and a mob of Berzerkers leapt out of the back and started screaming about skulls. Skulls were had, and blood was offered to a certain plasma obsessed god.

While that went on, Leeroy managed to inflict enough wounds on the main force with his cannon to drive back most of the Dark Eldar, save for a group of Wyches which charged his side. These, unsurprisingly, did little damage and left the Wyches tied up hacking away against the Baneblade's side armour. Just in time for the Space Wolf player to finally show up and come in firing.

This didn't result in a win. While all of this was going on, the other side of the board was losing badly to a few Stompas supported by a mixture of Genestealers and Imperial Guardsmen. However, it was enough to turn what should have been total defeat into a halfway decent draw. After that, there was nothing which seemed like it could top it. Leeroy and his ilk disappeared shortly after that, sold off to an Imperial Guard fanatic, while the money was used to start building up a force of High Elves. Still, if nothing else it showed one thing: If you ever need to get rid of an army, make sure that they go out on a high note.

Star Wars - Boba Fett: Enemy of the Empire by John Wagner, Ian Gibson, John Nadeau and Jim Amash (Comicbook Review)

Star Wars had no end of background characters which stuck in your memory. From the majority of Red Squadron to, well, everyone in the Mos Eisley Cantina or the Stormtrooper who announced: "Look Sir, Droids!" it had an odd quality to make them memorable. Part of that was thanks to the developments of the time, but a chunk of that was thanks to good presentation. Of all those present, none can deny that Boba Fett was the one who succeeded in drawing in the most attention. While we discussed his visual impact a few years ago, works like Enemy of the Empire helped to show the true storytelling potential behind the character. Let's explain just why.

The Synopsis

Set years prior to A New Hope, Enemy of the Empire sees Fett hired by Darth Vader himself. His target is simple: A renegade Imperial officer of an auxiliary battalion has taken a casket for himself, and Vader requires what lurks within it. Yet as Fett closes in on his target, it becomes increasingly clear just why Vader wants it for himself, and that he will let no one with knowledge of it walk away alive...

The Good

Let's go with the obvious one here: Boba Fett is written as a cold-blooded bastard. He's a bounty hunter first and foremost, and the comic's writers do not forget that. While there are hints of an honour code and moral compass, he's ultimately in it for the money and isn't afraid to use every underhanded trick in his arsenal to emerge victorious. While this could have easily backfired, a number of creative forces (notably Judge Dredd co-creator John Wagner) worked on 2000AD, and had experience writing engaging but morally black figures. This prevents Fett from entering the hero-but-not-really angle which diluted the character, and it makes him much more engaging as a result.

The story is also framed actually as a man hunting a bounty, which is another bonus in its favour. It's often joked by some fans that Fett doesn't hunt so much as turn up and fight people, but this one places a key emphasis on his tracking skills. Almost all of it consists of him following a trail left by his target, piecing together clues or using ingunity, threats and devices to get his answers. It makes it clear that there is a brutal cunning beneath that helmet, and his infamy as a bounty hunter is well earned.

None of this is to say that the story lacks fights, and many of those present show a distinct style for Fett. He is clearly skilled, very talented and not someone you want to fight. However, he will not rely purely on skill to win but will always avoid a direct fight whenever possible. Every engagement in this is something he clearly tries to end as fast as possible, and the fact that this visibly scales with the threats he faces makes this entertaining to read. Even when you know he will win a fight, it's interesting because it leaves you asking yourself how he will win.

The story is one of those which genuinely feels large thanks to frequently shifting locations. It's a rare balance that few tales ever get right, but this one manages to nail the sense of grandeur the setting needs. We see a multitude of stations, worlds and some very colourful places which offsets the possible bleakness the story might have otherwise wallowed in. This allows the artistic team to really have some fun at points, and the visual stylings embraces the sort of bizzarely outlandish qualities that Star Wars sadly so often lacks at the moment. It doesn't clash against the tone of the tale itself, but it serves to offset it somewhat.

Finally, there's the final fight of the comic. This is one of the engagements fans would have wanted to see for years, and it delivers. You can probably guess who it is between from the synopsis, or even just that line. To avoid spoilers, however, all I will say is that the comic is worth buying for that fight alone.

The Bad

What many people will struggle with more than anything else in the comic will likely be the tone. While the type of storytelling is undeniably effective, more than a few elements more typical of 2000AD have edged into here. This includes satirical comedy figures, an excess of characters, and even a few elements which add little to the story beyond a single gag scene. While most do their job to a point, others seem never to play any effective role within the tale besides bulking out the story. The most egregious example is, perhaps, the criminals hired to tail Fett by Vader. While they keep showing up, they never do anything more than repeating certain scenes or relaying information back to Vader himself. It only serves to pad out the story somewhat, and it's difficult to shake the feeling that they could have easily been left on the editing room floor.

Another definite problem with the tale is how much of its resolution goes off in an entirely different direction. After following Fett for such a long period of time, the finale ends up offering him little material. Vader promptly takes centre stage and, while he offers some interesting points, Fett barely plays a part. It robs the character of agency and, as a result, it feels disconnected from the story as a whole. It's only in the final few pages that this is somewhat mitigated, but even then it doesn't quite correct things.

Another definite problem within the story is how it tends to bring up ideas, but never follows them through with any context. This might sound petty, but it's small and quite irritating points such as having Fett recognising a mark and exclaiming as if it's a grand revelation, but never explaining what it relates to. Who it relates to, certainly, but we don't even get a sentence to explain the context behind it. These small moments are evident throughout the story, and they serve to be a point of frustration after a time.

The Verdict

It's unfortunate that Enemy of the Empire had such notable flaws present in its tale, as it is still very engaging and entertaining despite them. However, a tighter script or even a decent supporting cast could have elevated this from "great" to being a true classic of the Star Wars brand. Instead, it ends up being a tale that is worth your time if you want to see Fett done well in a comic and shows the potential behind the character, but falls short of being what some might want.

Verdict: 6.6 out of 10

The Alpha Legion Error - Alpharius' Narrative Flaw

Think of a legion for a moment. Well, an army, even just a colour scheme. The chances are that any bold or defined one will instantly bring a very distinct feeling or visual to the forefront of your thoughts. This is one of the best qualities for any character, army or creation to have, as it makes them easily recognisable to a massed audience. Equally, however, a single, boldly defined identity or basic theme can further enhance this; It's what allows people to so easily remember the likes of the Black Templars, the Iyanden Craftworld or Valhallan Ice Warriors to stay in your head. This is a good approach for any army, as it provides a solid core to a force, but that core can be easily flawed. That's where the Alpha Legion comes in.

You see, look at the various basic armies of Warhammer and think of how they are defined. Namely, how they are explored and outlined in general. Then, when you have this in mind, look through the articles of the Index Astartes. You might notice something odd after a while. While certain ones are driven by core concepts, themes carry far more weight than the ideas of later years. 

The Blood Angels, for one, are not nearly so obsessed with their primarch's death or their curse. It defines them, certainly, but it does not consume their narrative. Equally, the Black Templars' nature as crusaders is a core part of their identity, but stops short of delving deep into the territory of religious overtones. Well, the typical religious overtones, anyway. Those it does have fit into that grey area where it can be viewed as Arthurian inspired lore. The same goes for the Imperial Fists, Ultramarines, and even the militant chambers of the Inquisition. However, then you run into the Alpha Legion's entry, which took a risk for better and worse.

Whereas the others were largely forthright in their information, with the odd intentional bit of vagueness or outright contradiction between them, the Alpha Legion's article had a gimmick. To further emphasise their nature as manipulators, spies and espionage specialists, the article ended in an odd note: The in-universe writer had been uncovered as a likely Alpha Legion agent and had been executed. Everything in there had likely been lies, or the truth left in a manner to assist with misinformation. On its own the idea is excellent. It's the kind of metatextual element which can make a concept stand out, and appear all th stronger. However, in terms of ongoing universes and wider creations, it caused problems. It left the legion tied down to this idea of total control and mixed messages. It boosted the quality of a single work, but as a result it ended up limiting their potential use in the wider setting. It wasn't a theme which could be adapted to various ways, but a single defining idea which dominated their identity.

If you think that this is an exaggeration, then think for a moment of all the Black Library novels released prior to Horus Rising hitting shelves. How many of those really featured the Alpha Legion to any great degree? If you said next to none you would be right, and that is because this singular concept which was initially a boon came across as a strangling presence. It prevented writers going into greater detail about the legion, offering anything of definite substance or even creating a human face for them. Even as a villain they rarely came up, until they largely faded into the background. With their narrative identity being fixated upon this single point, there was no room to develop it, and it would take a major upheaval to shift that. Unfortunately, even that came with its own problems.

Legion, upon its release, was the first Horus Heresy book to fully use the Legio XX. However, even then it was largely tied to the previous elements of the last book, emphasizing misinformation and manipulation, to the point where they were barely in it. We would see their impact, even the odd moment of their marines directly getting involved, but their mysterious nature relied upon them barely showing up. On the few occasions that they did have some presence, it was executed through human agents, creating a sort of mystique about them which was bolstered by their successes. This was then furthered by the surprising revelation that they were not led by one primarch, but two. 

Here's the problem though - When you remove the revelation surrounding Omegon, how much of that book do you actually remember? I mean, really remember, in detail and in relation to the plot? This isn't intended to bash Legion's quality, or even the choices made within it, but it shows that the chance to get out of that one narrative pit trap only created another. The book was heavily reliant upon a Sixth Sense style reveal, which was truly ingeious but it ends up being the sole point that others focused upon. Because of this, fans of the legion ended up being invested far more in this one point and one development than the theme of the army. That's a problem, as it leaves everything tied into one point in one fictional work.

Think, for a moment, of how much Iron Hands lore has been limited to "WE BETRAYED FERRUS!" and "FERRUS DIED!" over and over again of late. Think of how every Blood Angels story has become "By the way, did I mention the Black Rage?" in a multitude of releases. As odd as it sounds, these suffer from the same ultimate flaw which now plagues the Alpha Legion. Because those events made such a big impact, or at least were written to have a big impact, it meant that every following creation became fixated upon them. Rather than the themes or overall defining ideas of other creations, it instead became a storytelling cul de sac which leaves them no room to press further out and develop from. Those that do break from them - such as Dante or the Devastation of Baal - are the exceptions, and they rarely show up. They are not so much building blocks as a noose which stymies the ability to adapt and forge a more dynamic concept.

The reason that I highlight the Alpha Legion for this more than any others is simple: Without their mystery elements, and without their primarch to serve as a linchpin, they fail to develop as an army. The successes which followed such as Praetorian of Dorn avoided the legion's culture almost entirely and was heavily reliant upon using Alpharius as its major figure. Equally, with the Forgeworld books, they were only able to succeed as they did by mimicking the lack of information present in the Index Astartes articles, replicating the prior concept rather than building upon it further. When the thing they are recognised for the most is being unknown and almost unknowable, it offers little meat for anyone to work with. Worst of all, however, it also means that in order to remain loyal to their core concepts, authors can write little about their individual members. When they break away from that, it seems as if it is betraying their overall identity.

It's the sort of catch 22 which needs to be highlighted more with some creations. It shows an extreme example of how even a well-written and very creative army can have its strengths work against it; even highlighting how and when meta-commentary narratives can spark of something which limits future potential over inspiring further development. It can work for a single story, but if you plan for it to keep going, you always need to ask yourself, "So, what then?"

The Death Star Exhaust Port and Why You're Wrong About It

The second most mocked element of the first Star Wars trilogy stems from the Death Star, or more specifically how it was beaten. Having a single fighter fly to a space station the size of a moon and defeat seems ridiculous, and sadly that seems to have overshadowed the accomplishment itself. People see this less as an astounding David vs. Goliath moment than a "lol easily blown up lol" accomplishment. As we previously tackled the myth of Stormtroopers being horribly ineffective, so now we're going onto this one.

Now let's just focus on the big bit brought up first and foremost: The exhaust port was two meters wide. Only two meters wide. The film even makes a major point of this with pilots deriding the idea of hitting a target that small, leading to the famous (or infamous) bit of Luke citing how he has shot womp rats from the air despite their small size.

The "two meter" statistic tends to get overlooked in most people's heads, so let's put this into perspective.

This plane's wings are two meters wide:

In fact, the very fighter which shot it down was 12.5 meters long. The tip of the canopy to R2-D2's position is more or less that length. This wasn't simply a small target, this was an obscenely small target, one so minute that it's just wider than some species were tall. Even a Ford Ka is 3.6 meters long, and that is the roller skate of cars. Hell, proton torpedoes themselves were 0.5 meters wide, meaning that even being slightly off while shooting at this target would have left them clipping the side and then detonating.

Shooting at such a small exhaust port would be difficult to hit at the best of times, but then you need to account for the situation in question. To start with, said fighter was moving at speeds of well over 1,000 kph, in a flat out attack run. This is why every pilot was using a targeting computer in their attack, because without computer assistance it would miss entirely. In fact, even with computer assistance and with homing torpedoes, multiple attempts did end up missing each time. People seem to keep treating this as if Luke blew up the thing without any difficulty, seemingly forgetting Red Leader's failed effort or Luke almost making the same error. 

If you re-watch the entire briefing scene from A New Hope, you might notice that General Dodona emphasizes that a "precise hit" is required to strike it. This requires each pilot to effectively be on top of it when firing, meaning that they cannot simply try to eyeball it and hope for the best. So, you already have an insanely small target, which needs to be fired upon while a fighter is moving at full speed, and also in a state where even targeting computers cannot effectively pinpoint them. 

You might be wondering just why they needed to fly down the trench in the first place, and there's an easy reason for that: Guns. The Death Star was riddled with them, to the point where the fighters were having to continually dodge around the various tower emplacements just to reach the start of their attack run. While most were designed to oppose larger ships, the sheer volume of guns alone would be enough to cause the X-Wings serious problems.

If the squadrons did try to approach the exhaust port from above, not only would they be required to hit an insanely small target while dodging gunfire, but they run the risk of making mistakes. The big one would be to fire from a far greater range, at which point the fighters run the risk of blocking the very flaw that the Rebels hope to exploit. At least while flying up the trench itself they benefitted from some basic cover, and a near-miss has a better chance of simply skimming the surface rather than striking the hole and wrecking the entire mission.

The cover of the trench also works to benefit the fighters in other ways, namely preventing the Imperials from using all of their military might against them. The additional cover means that even if they did send the majority of their TIE fighters against the X-Wings they wouldn't be able to so freely target them at once. The trench's angle means that they are largely limited to attacking them from above, in front or behind. Hitting them from the front means that the X-Wings would have a major advantage over the TIEs due to their shields, as each would be shooting at the other from a forward angle. Above is possible, but behind is notably more beneficial due to the X-Wings' limited movement within the trench. Once they do that, however, the gun emplacements cannot fire at them without the risk of overshooting and hitting the fighters behind them.

The risk of engagements from fighters are also a whole new ball-game unto themselves, and it should be notable that most of the Rebels' losses stemmed from fighter attacks. Well, Vader mostly, but I would say that the use of fighters is worthy of mention. The TIEs were better equipped to take down the enemy ships than the guns, after all.

Even if they managed to overcome all of that, there were still a thousand thing which could go wrong. For one thing, the torpedoes themselves still need to travel down an incredibly small exhaust port and reach the main reactor without skimming the sides, detonating prematurely or being blown off course by the thermal exhausts that port was made to vent. This was even the subject of Star Wars: Infinites, where one alternate timeline featured the torpedoes failing to hit their intended target despite entering the port.

Keep in mind, by the end, while hitting the port required no small amount of skill and luck on Luke's part, only his connection to the Force gave him the edge in the end. You know, the closest thing there is to Star Wars' version of God. It not only took a good pilot but divine intervention to overcome this.

Oh, and to even reach that point, all of the following had to be accomplished in a series of actions in months leading up to the attack itself:

Then, even before this, there was a much more direct attempt to attack the Death Star while it was still under construction. Rather than a single wing of fighters, the Rebellion used two hundred X-Wings supported by capital ships in a massed battle. Aside from some superficial damage to a capital ship and the less of less than one hundred TIE fighters, the battle was a complete rout.

This sort of thing is part of why I keep raising an eyebrow at Rogue One's depiction of the exhaust port as a flaw. Were this intended as a flaw to allow the Death Star to be destroyed, it required the Rebels taking such a staggering number of risks and so many deaths that it could barely be accomplished. That's not a mark against the film as a whole, simply the execution of events there. Well, that and Disney's reliance on using memes over the actual information present in the very films they adapt.

To call this an easy victory by exploiting a weakness added by a moron is simply something that you could only do by ignoring everything presented to the audience.