Mera'din

Does the Omnibus have the same stuff as that? I think I'm pretty well done collecting single issues and have moved more towards TPB and Omnibus style stuff like you did. Just so much easier to manage. I really need more book shelf space though. XD

I worked both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Though getting double pay for 24 hours of my time worked is like its own Christmas present. XD

Other than that, I got super nice leather-bound copies of the first Mistborn trilogy by Brandon Sanderson.

For the wife I got a board game and an expansion to another board game that she likes, a new coffee grinder, a nice looking all-in-one edition of the first 3 Vampire Chronicles books by Anne Rice, and a beach towel and coffee bean set that are Coheed and Cambria themed (also a hoodie but that's on backorder).

For the kids: The 17-year old got a couple books, a Razer headset for the computer, and a $100 steam gift card. The 16-year old got a couple books, a My Hero Academia t-shirt, a Tokyo Ghoul hoodie, and a digital camera. The 8-year old got a few books, a bunch of Pokemon cards and a Switch copy of Breath of the Wild. The 2-year old got some books, an LOL Suprise doll (she's obsessed with these things), a little dinosaur that makes sounds and stuff from Jurassic Park Camp Cretaceous, and a big plushie of the baby Ankylosaurus, also from Camp Cretaceous (she's also obsessed with dinosaurs). They also got a wired pro controller and Pokemon Brilliant Diamond for the Switch collectively.

Looks like there are some options. Individual volumes as well as a couple omnibus collections and what not. Is this what I'm looking for? Not sure if it has everything in question or not.

https://www.amazon.com/Hawkeye-Fraction-Aja-Barton-Bishop/dp/1302932225/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQiA_JWOBhDRARIsANymNOaNIbB5rSx7j2R2AHK_015xQuzuTXOoW9eTAjoWbRU9ubu0BNAO-RYaApoIEALw_wcB&hvadid=234063354625&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9019929&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4803052139709810721&hvtargid=kwd-354898248165&hydadcr=24630_9648900&keywords=hawkeye+fraction+omnibus&qid=1640390086&sr=8-1

Looks like the same stuff the old hardcover one had (though that one is now going for like $200 at least on the listing on Amazon that I saw).

22.)  Halo 3 (MCC)

This one was better. More solid game overall than the first two imo. Felt like it looked worse than 2 though just because that one had all the nice cut scenes and this one didn't so seeing characters that were only in cutscenes in 2 have normal character models for 3 was kind of jarring. XD

The sequences where Cortana and/or the Gravemind (I think that's what it was called) would talk in your head were interesting and kind of fun, and the driving bits in the game were pretty entertaining. 

I don't know if they ever called Bobbi "Mockingbird" in Agents of SHIELD honestly, but yeah this really doesn't do that show any favors with its now questionable continuity (not that the last couple seasons would have counted anyway with all the weird time travel shit they started doing). Your idea about it being passed down is possible though. Fury removed her from SHIELD records so it's possible the codename was repurposed, or the MCU could designate things differently too and a certain level of agents have just a number, where as the higher end ones have the codename like Hawkeye did. It's a bit of a moot point though since neither Bobbi nor Laura are called Mockingbird at any point.

Probably should read that run at some point. It definitely seems like its worth the time. Just need to find the time at this point. I've kind of fallen out of reading comics altogether again. XD

Is there a readily available TPB or something for it, or is it ones of those things they disappeared at some point?

Also, shout out to all the tracksuit guys yelling "Bro" throughout the episode.  

I played it a little over a week ago. Was definitely super impressive. Everything was practically photorealistic other than the people. The rendering speed was amazing too considering all the individual, AI controlled moving objects in it. Saw some stats on it after I played it. There are 35,000 people and 45,073 cars. Map stats were also given. There is apparently 160 miles of road w/ 1248 intersections.

The destruction detail on the cars was pretty good too. I spent most of my time flying around and even zipping through the city at max speed, there was very little frame rate drop, and it had no real issues rendering everything. You can definitely see where they cut some corners to make everything run smooth (the water at the coast looks like shit, no weather, and the skybox was static with no animation to it outside of intentionally adjusting the position of the sun, etc. ), but it still bodes well for games going forward. Would really like to see it on PC to see how it runs there too.

Yeah, Toby wasn't the best Spider-man but was a really good Peter. He suffered from the most dreary of the Peter writing though. It was honestly hard to rewatch the original movies again. They do not feel like they aged well. XD

I will say on rewatch I liked Garfield's Peter  better than I originally did, and they did a good job making him more science-y feeling but his interactions with other people as Peter always felt not quite right to me. A lot of my problems were honestly probably more with writing and directing than him though honestly. I would definitely be willing to give him another shot at this point. I just worry they wouldn't learn from their mistakes without some oversight. I would be happy to be proven wrong though no doubt.

I honestly didn't think he made a terribly good Peter most the time but he was an excellent Spider-man. A lot of that could have been the writing though and probably also the direction he was given. If they were smart about it, it could definitely work but I don't trust them still to make the attempt. XD

Would much rather see them push towards a live action Spider-verse type of thing instead where he could play off other characters a little more. He definitely has talent that got squandered in the ASM movies.

Alright, this shit is marked for spoilers now so we can really have fun. XD

Mostly just wanted to say that I agree with pretty much everything you said all around. Movie was basically non-stop holy shit all the way through. Like the slowest part of the movie was the beginning when his only problem was everyone on the planet knowing he was Spider-man which says a lot.

Only thing that worries me is that now people are clamoring for them to make an Amazing Spider-man 3, and they're apparently considering it. That honestly sounds like a terrible idea unless they DRASTICALLY revise some of the background plot garbage they were manufacturing in the other movies and I don't know if Sony has the ability to do that by themselves. It's been a fair number of years since they've shit all over themselves and this seems like a formula for disaster waiting to happen.  
Maybe I'm wrong though and they've learned enough at this point from Marvel to not be awful? >_>

21.)  Halo 2 (Master Chief Collection)

Well that was a bullshit "ending". Jesus. Glad I never played these before because waiting 3 years after that shit would have been annoying as fuck. Game was an improvement over the first one by a fair amount. Story was better overall and some of the cutscenes were pretty cool. The dual wielding functionality for smaller guns was fun. Still kind of floating in the realm of "this was fine". I think Destiny probably ruined these games for me since all the core gameplay just feels like that only slowed way down. XD

That was insane. I'm really glad I watched the old movies before I saw it too because there's so many little call backs.

I knew he was still going to be in the role, but fully seeing Charlie Cox back was so nice. 

I legit can't believe they killed Aunt May though. That one caught me by surprise. Should have known it was coming after she gave Peter "the speech" though. X_x

One of the moments that nearly made me tear up besides some of what MT posted was when MJ fell and MCU Peter couldn't get to her and ASM Peter goes for her and it starts to play out just like in ASM2 when Gwen dies, but he manages to save her. The look on his face afterward and MJ asking HIM if he was okay gave me all the feels.

 

This movie was only the 2nd time ever that I've heard people legit cheer in a theater. First time was the last battle in Endgame when everyone came through the portals, and then this movie when ASM-Peter took his mask off after coming through the portal. Weirdly enough, Toby didn't get nearly the same reaction considering how much people say they liked those movies better (though having watched them again, I honestly think the ASM movies aged a little better than I thought they would -- outside of all the super forced shit they tried to do with it, they weren't as bad as I remember and only about half as emo as the original movies XD ). Was really good to see them both again though. Everything that happened in this movie was just so fantastic.

 

All the callbacks to the other movies too was so fun. The lines from characters as mentioned previously, but there were also some little things too. Sandman getting cured looked to be almost an exact replica of him getting his powers and all the other little references here and there. The conversation between the 3 Peters about how MCU and ASM Peter needing web shooters and how Toby just naturally makes it was great. XD

Conversations between all the villains too was excellent. 

Ned asking about the others' best friends though. I hope that isn't some fucked up foreshadowing considering who he was in the comics. 😧

 

As far as Sandman's motivation for fighting against them at the end, it felt to me like he was just fed up with shit. He went along with everything at the beginning because it seemed like the easiest way for him to get home and the others were at least marginally accepting. Once shit went south he knew Peter wouldn't send them home until he tried to "fix" them and he was done waiting. Was still a little weird since Electro clearly wanted to destroy the box, but maybe he thought it was easier for him to go along with them and grab the box when he had a chance then to stick with Peter. Otto basically did the same thing since he was just biding his time to turn on them and help (though did he still have the arc reactor when they got sent back?? He didn't change sides until he had the opportunity to take it from Electro... Might have been SOME ulterior motive there. >_> ).

 

Wondering what they'll do from that mid-credit scene. Between the Venom 2 after credit scene and the way things looked in Morbius, it seemed like they were going to leave everything combined but this scene made it seem like that's not the case. Though universe hoping seems like it may not be done with so we'll have to see. Last I heard, Tom Holland is supposedly appearing in Venom 3, so maybe the symbiote makes it to him and is able to "connect" back to the original and it pulls him over or something? Not really sure how things are going to go there.  

Legit might need to see this one again. There was just so much going on. 

Curious how things will be going forward all around now though. There have been a lot of mixed messages about what is next for Spider-man. >_>

Going tomorrow to see it. Super excited.  

That episode was excellent despite the lack of action overall. Yelena is such a great character. Was easily the best part of the Black Widow movie, and she continues to be a great addition. Really look forward to seeing more of her all around. That whole snap scene was excellent too. Definitely a unique perspective on it that was super cool to see. Actually took my brain a second to realize what was happening. Saw the dust and at first my brain was like "WTF was that? Did she just somehow resist the..." and then you see the paint on the wall changing and what happened hit all at once and I was like "Oh no..."  The emotion behind it was projected really well too, she felt like she was on the edge of extreme panic the whole time.

That end scene though despite the focal point just being a grainy cell phone pic.  

20.)  Halo (Master Chief Collection version)

This is a game I'd honestly thought I would never play, but I've had the game pass thing for a few months and I tried and didn't hate the Halo: Infinite multiplayer so I said fuck it. Might as well play through them. First game expectedly dated but wasn't the worst FPS experience I've ever had. The graphical improvements were pretty nice for the re-release. Had the button that lets you switch between the redone and original graphics and boy was it noticeable when I accidentally hit it a few times.  

It's always a little jarring seeing just how far graphics have come over the past 20 years or so because in my head I always felt like it looked like the nicer version and then you see what that stuff actually looked like after so long and it's just such a stark contrast.

Game was fine. Didn't hate it. Probably won't ever play it again though. At least interested enough to play the rest of them.

Oh, hey Sony. Great timing.

https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-executive-fired-after-pedophilia-allegations

https://www.polygon.com/22798781/playstation-sony-gender-discrimination-lawsuit

9 hours ago, webhead said:

Hey, you shut your whore mouth! I  still think Spider-Man 2 is legitimately fucking fantastic.  Buuut....yeah I know what you mean about all the pouting and emotions.  They captured the feel of those comics a little too well sometimes.  

Spider-man 2 is absolutely the best of all of them because they balanced it better overall, but they doubled down on the other shit with the whole wedding thing and all that. Alfred Molina needed to be Doc Ock purely so he had enough arms to carry that movie.
 

19.)  Road 96

This was a fun little indie game. Kind of a procedurally generated, rogue-lite Telltale game is the best way I can think of to describe it. XD

You play as a randomly generated teenager who is attempting to flee the fictional country of Petria due to the totalitarian ruler there who routinely disappears teens to the iron mines. You have you make your way to the border by any means possible (calling for a taxi, taking the bus, stealing a car, and of course hitchhiking). The greater story unfolds around the cast of characters present in the game that you run into on the road, many with connected pasts who are instrumental to the fate of the country. Who you run into and when is never set (which is where the procedural part of the game comes into play) and as you try to make it to the border you can die or be arrested in the process and your journey is cut short, where upon you switch to playing as a different teenager on the same mission, keeping only a handful of skills you had the potential to pickup along the way (and there's the rogue-lite element).

Choices you make throughout each run will eventually start to effect the story based on whether your choices and actions support people voting for a new leader in a typically rigged election, pushing for change by force, or maintaining the status quo. Even if you manage to escape the country, you will proceed to play as other teens until the date progresses towards election day and the fate of the country comes to bear.

Was a pretty interesting game overall. Nothing super fancy in terms of mechanics, but the characters are unique and a bit over the top and I had a lot of fun playing it. There are some pretty heavy themes going on mixed in with some rather ridiculous events that really kept things going and each run felt radically different at times.

I've been rewatching all the old movies with my 8-year old since he hadn't seen them. I honestly forgot how kind of bad ALL of them are. Like, even the originals as much as I loved them when there wasn't anything else are just depressing half the time. They're all just Peter being mopey and throwing a pity party for like 50 min. with a handful of Spider-man action sequences between. The villains are doing all the heavy lifting in all of them (which is part of why 3 is extra bad).  

We still have ASM2 to watch yet and I'm legitimately dreading that one though. >_>

Marking spoilers due to trailer related comments and some stuff from other movies:

I really like that they changed Jamie Foxx's Electro for the new movie, but still managed to reference the old school lightning bolt mask briefly on top of that. He also seemed excited to not be blue in an interview thing that I saw with him, Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe.

 

Wondering if they're legitimately going to fit Venom into the movie. The entirety of the Let There Be Carnage after credit scene seems like it was meant to set that up. It tracks with bringing back all the old movie villains, except now they can leave out the shitty Venom. XD

Better yet, throw him in there and let the new Venom eat him. It would be mildly cathartic and then he can have the spider-symbol on his chest just because.  

Firing Kotick would still only be a face value thing anyway. They need to remove him and at least half the people on the board of directors as well considering they're close friends of his who have also known about and allowed this shit and full out backed him up even after the stuff about him came out.

As nice as most of this stuff is at face value, it's a bit meh overall when you really look at it. None of these have been "announcements" and none of them have committed to pulling support for the company. They've all been "leaked" internal memos and e-mails and shit that let them not actually be accountable for anything that is said. It's just like the Geoff Keighley with the Game Awards shit "What they're doing is wrong and they won't have any participation in the show this year... except their games still have nominations and can win awards...  " and one of their executives is still part of the advisory board for the show.

We'll see if the ones "evaluating" their business relationships with the company actually ever go anywhere.  

I thought that sounded familiar. And he was clearly supposed to BE someone we'd know. Didn't show him for a reason. I really hope you're right because that would be fantastic.

18.)  Vampire the Masquerade: Parliament of Knives

Another text adventure style game. Stats were a lot more condensed in this one than in the other two, and fewer starting clan options, but the storytelling was a LOT tighter which made the story a lot more compelling IMO. Probably my favorite of the three so far. Relatively high replay value like the other two as well. Really wish these had music to go with them at least. Didn't realize how much music in a game did for me until I played these. XD

Oh fuck. I forgot this was coming out already. Too much shit has been dropping these past few days. X_x
Guess I know what I'm doing later today. XD

Been playing too much perpetual online shit lately. My completion count is suffering. XD

17.)  Guardians of the Galaxy

This game was absolutely hilarious. Wasn't expecting too much going into it after Avengers (different dev, but another one owned by Square-Enix was was expecting the same kind of greedy shit that had) and was pleasantly surprised. This is to Avengers like Jedi Fallen Order was to Battlefront 2. Which is to say a surprisingly well made and properly entertaining single player game with no BS online shit or microtransactions vs a shining example of the worst of those things. They even have multiple skins for each character in the game that are all earnable IN THE GAME. Even the pre-order and deluxe edition skins are just "early unlocks" and you can find them all in the game from what I understand. Good mix of original designs and comic and movie inspired ones.

Game had a really good story and it featured a LOT of characters I wouldn't have expected to see in this and the humor was great. Tons of good banter between everyone while exploring and in combat, and didn't really notice much repeating of combat lines until later in the game. Would really like to see them do another one of these. Great music too, and they even recorded an entire 80's metal-style album by a fictitious band called Star-Lord for the game that was actually halfway decent. Combat was a little clunky to start but smoothed out later on. Some of the button command stuff was a little awkward (mostly for Peter's own abilities), but not terrible. Game also ended up being a fair bit longer than I was expecting. There were a couple places I was expecting it to end and then it just kept going. Not in a bad way though. The whole thing was pretty well put together and had solid pacing. They overused their sliding mechanic thing a fair bit though. They must have been really proud of those sequences. XD

Gonna do a 2nd quick play through to wrap up the handful of trophies I had left over and maybe try some different dialogue options.

Looks like it's Nintendo's turn.