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Thinking about the way BND uses MJ and the way Spidey 5 is likely to use MJ sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole, and I think I've put my finger on why the MCU Spider-Man feels so offputting.
Basically, what it comes down to is that the MCU Spider-Man movies don't really know what to do with Peter's supporting cast or personal life or... Or the very concept of Peter Parker as a human person outside of being Spider-Man.
Homecoming was probably the most Peter Parker that an MCU film has featured on account of its mission statement of keeping Peter grounded.
But then Far From Home took him away from his setting and supporting cast to send Spider-Man globetrotting with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Mysterio. It still found excuses to bring his class along with him, though, so he could get into Peter-like shenanigans in these strange locales and start a relationship with MJ.
Nonetheless, May and Ned were reduced to recurring gags.
And then No Way Home pretty much kicked Peter to the curb. From the moment Doc Ock arrives on the film, it is 100% a Spider-Man movie. MJ and Ned are paired up to wander around being Spider-Man's sidekicks for a bit, May's killed off, and ultimately the very concept of Peter Parker is deleted from the universe.
Which then brings us to BND, whose central thesis is that Peter Parker is an integral part of who Spider-Man is and that Spidey needs to be feeding his Peterness too. It reconnects Peter with MJ and Ned, and ends with the promise of a restoration of Peter's identity outside of work.
But. LIke.
What does that even look like? Who even is Peter Parker at this point?
Peter has no day job. He never went to college. He's apparently independently wealthy enough to afford multiple years of housing and supercomputers and shit without an income; No idea where that money came from.
He doesn't have Aunt May. He doesn't have the Daily Bugle or Horizon Labs or anything. He doesn't have Midtown High anymore. He's never really been established to have any sort of dreams or aspirations besides "be Spider-Man" or alternatively "get that cute girl to be my girlfriend".
Flash sometimes exists for like one or two scenes of a movie.
It feels like we started Homecoming with a notional idea of Peter Parker and then spent the next three films subtracting elements from him. What is there left to build from?
If the idea at the end of BND is that Peter's going to take more time to be Peter then Spider-Man 5 is going to have its work cut out for it figuring out who Peter Parker even is. Who he can even be in the corner he's been written into.
But I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of the Peter elements of Spider-Man 5 are just going to be spent on "get that cute girl to be my girlfriend", since they left that "MJ has a boyfriend now" plot thread dangling. Maybe it'll be about rekindling his relationship with MJ. Or maybe Black Cat will be in it and it'll be about how she's all wrong for him and then it'll be about rekindling his relationship with MJ.
I do not buy for one second that the MCU actually intends to leave Peter and MJ split up. I thought before BND that we were going to have to spend a movie painstakingly watching them get back together, and now I've increased that estimation to two movies of painstaking Will They/Won't They shipping of a couple that already did and it was already fine before they fucked with it.
But also. Like.
I hope it's not just Ned and MJ. Because Peter needs, like, an actual life. Even if he's going to have to build it from scratch because the films have burned all of his bridges to the iconic Peter Parker stuff.
Please let the big Spider-Man plot of movie 5 be in service to Peter's growth and development as a person rather than just having Peter be what Spider-Man does in his downtime. Peter needs another Spider-Man Homecoming to detox from the No Way Home/Brand New Day double-whammy.
I think what it really comes down to is that the MCU just doesn't really do personal stories about the protagonist where the villain his hero persona fights reflects some element of the personal struggle going on in his civilian life and helps him grow as a person through their conflict.
It does have those kinds of villains, mind. But it doesn't have those supporting casts and status quos and relatable life lessons for the human side of the superhero. This is because the MCU tends to treat its heroes as full-time heroes.
It's just that this is more noticeable with Spider-Man because. Like. We expect Iron Man to always be Iron Man when he's onscreen, even if he's not in the suit. We expect Captain America to be Captain America and to deal with Captain America type problems, not regular people problems. We expect Thor to always have his Thor face on and always be doing Thor things.
But we expect Spider-Man to have a rich, robust life as Peter Parker. We expect to see him doing Peter things just as much if not moreso than Spider-Man things, and for Spider-Man to be a tool to facilitate Peter.
And the MCU has struggled to deliver that because it just isn't the type of story the MCU tells. The MCU is much more comfortable operating in the "Bruce Wayne is the mask that Batman wears" space, and that just doesn't really work for Spider-Man.
The gradual erosion of the Secret Identity has been going on in the superhero genre for a while now, though the MCU being the juggernaut it once was has certainly contributed heavily to it's decline.
Part of it is an issue of managing time. Comic Books pivoting to a writing for the trade model means that there's less room in each issue to focus on building a civilian supporting cast, and creators increasingly pivot towards having the heroes interact with other heroes instead of civilians (There's a very good post by Maxwell Grant on Tumblr that discusses how this has lead to Amanda Waller losing her complexity and becoming a one note villain)
With TV shows, the pivot towards shorter seasons has left less room for playing around in a status Quo. Seasons have to be serialized, episodes have to push that serial narrative forward, and there's no room for the civilian Superhero divide. The Supporting Cast has to just be the supporting cast, for both sides of the hero.
Which have some upsides to. ironically, given your fers about MJs future, this trend has contributed to a lessening of will they won't theys in movies. Outing the Superhero to their love interest eliminates the missed meeting drama that was prevalent in Superhero stories for decades.
The Love Triangle between Clark Kent, Superman, and Lois Lane used to be a core element of Superman stories, and I can't remember the last adaptation where Lois was still in the dark by the end of the first installment. And while I feel Superman as a character is harmed by the lack of Dichotomy between his two identities, Lois figuring things out is a better look for her.
Which gets at another big difference, a desire for the Supporting cast to carry it's own weight in the story. In the old days, a Supporting cast was there to cause problems for the hero. They would drive social situations that put the hero in conflict with his duty, they would try to uncover the heroe's identity making them take greater efforts to hide. They would be endangered to make the latest villain's scheme have more stakes.
Nowadays, there's more of an effort to give the civvies a role that contributes to the resolution of the problem. Most commonly in the form of "The Guy in the Chair" who talks to the hero while he's in the field, and feeds solutions to him that the hero would have just come up with on his own in the old days.
Also, RE: Requiem letting you choose between first- and third-person camera perspectives is a cool idea but there should be a button that flips perspective for you. It shouldn't be hidden away in the Options menu.
Capcom, learn from Bethesda. They've been letting players flick between first- and third-person perspective with a button press for years.
Also got a bit of a vibe off the tutorial introducing this saying "Grace should be played in first-person to enhance the horror and Leon should be played in third-person to enhance the action."
First, spoilers, thanks. I did not know Leon was going to be playable.
Second, I dunno. "Horror for the female character, action for the male character," gives me a vibe but I don't want to make a thing of it based just off of this. We'll see how it goes.
“First, spoilers, thanks. I did not know Leon was going to be playable.”
…How the hell did you somehow not know about Leon being playable? Even if you weren’t obsessive about it, I don’t think it was hidden information. Not just the website for the game talks about it but there’s even a honest-to-god Porsche commercial about the game.
As for the gender vibe you got…I can see where it comes from but I saw it as recreating the feel of RE:7, since it was the first main RE game that had first-person AND was the beginning of the turnaround for Resident Evil in the late 2010s.
Basically, replicating the tone of RE:7 for Grace and the tone of RE:4 for Leon.
Personally, it’s still curious to me that they decided to demarcate the two halves of Resident Evil: the horror and vulnerability with the shooting gallery aspect of carrying around so much ammo and power on you as you get through the game.
The comparison to RE:7 is part of what makes it feel weird. Like. RE:7 featured Chris the way Requiem features Leon, but they didn't have you play Chris for half of RE:7.
The cynical part of me wonders if they felt no one would buy the game if it was just Grace. As I'm going through, I can't help comparing both to RE:7 and Silent Hill f. I'm withholding judgment until the end, but on the surface, the decision to split the game between survival horror Grace and action hero Leon is certainly raising an eyebrow with me.
Without further context of how Leon gets used, the kneejerk reaction is that it reads like a lack of trust in Grace to carry the story herself and become the action hero that Jill and Claire's stories let them become way back when.
Digimon Tamers 35 - The Name's Dukemon! The True Ultimate Evolution / Give a Little Bit
Previously on Digimon Tamers: Leomon fucking died. I don't. I don't have a way to make that funny. He fucking died, y'all.
We open with the bright red Digital Field geyser pouring up from Central Park, and then cut immediately to the Lee household. Mrs. Lee is in the living room folding small articles of clothing.
Jiang-yu: I'm going out for a bit.
Mom: Hang on a second! What kind of clothes should I send to Shaochung? What's the weather like in Hong Kong right now?
Jiang-yu: Didn't you hear me? I said I'm going out!
Mom: WAIT!!!
Jiang-yu hurriedly puts his shoes and coat on and tries to flee out the front door, but the desperation and fear in his wife's voice stops him. She leaves the clothes in the living room and runs to the foyer. When Jiang-yu turns, he sees tears running down her face.
Mom: Did Shaochung really go to your parents' house? Something about that just doesn't sound right. I... I saw her in a dream. She went to the same place that Jianliang is, didn't she?
Jiang-yu: ...I'm sorry.
The older two children peek through a crack in the door, listening in on this.
Mom: Why!? Why is it always our children!?
Jiang-yu: I'll explain later.
Mom: WHEN WILL LATER BE!?!?
Jiang-yu doesn't answer her. He steps out the door, shutting it behind him. Mrs. Lee drops to her knees and breaks down crying in the entryway.
I'm fascinated by the fact that Mrs. Lee had a prophetic dream of Shaochung entering the Digital World. It reminds me of the prophetic dream Takato had of Ruki and Renamon fighting a Wild One encounter in episode 1.
Mizuno said some cryptic shit about how humanity is all asleep and will awaken at the next great evolution. I wonder if that's related to these prophetic dreams?
In the dub:
Janyu: Honey, I'm going into the office for a while.
Mom: Janyu, did your father tell you what the weather is like in Hong Kong right now? Will Suzie need a heavy jacket or just sweaters? I guess I should pack a jacket for her just in case.
Janyu: Uh, yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'll see you later.
Mom: STOP RIGHT THERE!!!
(Mom crying in the entryway)
Mom: Janyu, we've been married long enough for me to know when you're hiding something from me. Suzie's not in Hong Kong! I dreamt she was with Henry, wherever he is in the terrible place you won't even discuss with me.
Janyu: I'm sorry.
(Older children peek through door)
Mom: That's not good enough! Our children are disappearing! What's going on!?
Janyu: I can't tell you. Not yet.
Mom: WHEN CAN YOU TELL ME!?!?
(Janyu leaves, Mom breaks down crying)
Mom: When!?
This is pretty good. They even name-drop Hong Kong rather than just saying "at your parents' place" like some episodes might do.
In the Digital World, the horrifying creature that Guilmon's become lets out a roar.
Digimon: HRAAAAAARGH!!!
Beelzebumon: ....
Beelzebumon stands speechless before this creature, as if in shock. The Tamers and their Partner Digimon are right there with him.
Shaochung: It's scary!
Kyūbimon: That's Guilmon's Ultimate form....
Rapidmon: Guilmon may be Virus attribute, but I never thought he'd turn into that.
Jianliang scans the creature with his Digivice.
Jianliang: Megidramon. Virus. Ultimate-level. That really is his Ultimate form....
Takato: That's really Guilmon? The Digimon that I designed?
Remember how Guilmon can't be scanned with the Digivice because he and his forms are made up Digimon out of Takato's imagination? Uh. What happened to that?
This is either a plot hole or it's subtle foreshadowing that this isn't Guilmon's true Ultimate form. While Megidramon is a brand new Digimon created for the show, what's instantly striking about his appearance is the way he looks like he's meant to be a step up from Megadramon and Gigadramon.
He's not, mind you. The franchise very rarely associates him with Megadramon and Gigadramon. But he clearly follows their design philosophy to a T.
His name comes from Har Megiddo, the Hebrew name that became Armaggeddon through language drift. In the Book of Revelations, Har Megiddo is the site of the great final battle between the Biblical forces of good and evil.
This makes Megidramon the second Digimon to be named after Armageddon following Armagemon in the Adventure 02 movie Diablomon Strikes Back. Although he's Armageddon-Dragon-mon, so he's clearly the superior end of days.
In the dub:
Digimon: HRAAAAAARGH!!! Nyahahahahahahaha!
Takato: Guilmon!?
Suzie: I'm scared!
Kyubimon: Something about this just doesn't feel right.
Rapidmon: I know Guilmon's a Virus type, but I never imagined he'd turn into this! It's creepy!
(Henry scans the Digimon)
Henry: Megidramon. A Virus-type Mega. I agree with you guys. I don't think this was supposed to happen!
Takato: That can't be Guilmon. Not the Guilmon I created.
In the original, there's a hint of disbelief in everyone's dialogue here. Everyone's stunned that Guilmon would evolve into this monstrosity.
The dub dials that disbelief up to flat rejection; The whole team agrees pretty strongly that this can't possibly be Guilmon's true Mega Digivolution.
Suddenly, Megidramon goes on the attack.
Megidramon: HRAAAAAARGH!!!
Megidramon grabs Beelzebumon around the midsection with his tail, then lowers his jaws to bite. Beelzebumon reaches up to catch Megidramon's jaws, holding his mouth open and away.
Beelzebumon: Th-The fuck is this thing!? He's too strong!
While Beelzebumon struggles, Megidramon's saliva drips down on his jacket and helmet, melting and eating away at what it touches.
In the dub:
Megidramon: HRAAAAAARGH!!!
(Beelzemon grabs Megidramon's jaws)
Beelzemon: I must admit, this is not a very attractive side of you, Pineapple Head.
(Acid saliva)
Beelzemon: Now you're droolin' on me!
For obvious reasons, Beelzemon does not swear in this version. He quips instead, downplaying the level of peril he's actually in.
Watching Megidramon go on the offensive, Juri weeps into her hands.
Juri: No more!
Takato: Katō-san....
Takato watches her for a moment, then looks up at Megidramon.
Takato: Because I wanted to beat him... to eradicate him, Guilmon has--
Before he can finish that thought, an earthquake tears a fissure in the tiles right in front of him. More fissures spread, cracks appearing between Jianliang and the others, Shaochung and Jianliang, and Ruki and Shaochung.
Ruki: What's going on!? What's happening now!?
Up ahead, the outer triangles on Megidramon's sigil shine in order, moving clockwise over and over.
Jianliang: The Hazard Sign! This evolution poses a threat to the Digital World itself... Is that what that Mark means?
If it does, then it's weird that it's been on all of Guilmon's forms thus far. Either Guilmon's existence breaks the Digital World even in his Child form or the mark is a warning that Guilmon cannot evolve to Ultimate without breaking the Digital World. The former is already disproven and the latter isn't really going to bear out this episode, as the title indicates.
In any case, kinda wild that Zhūquēmon is just sitting back and letting this happen. He's right over there.
In the dub:
Jeri: He's horrible!
Takato: She's right.
(Takato looks up at Megidramon)
Takato: And it's my fault! I made him Digivolve! I created him with my anger! My hatred!
(The ground splits)
Rika: As if things weren't bad enough already!
(Megidramon's sigil shines)
Henry: Oh no! Look at Megidramon! I think he's responsible for this! I should have realized it before. That's a hazard sign on his chest! He can destroy the whole Digital World!
Takato refrains from saying 消して keshite, meaning he wanted to erase, delete, eliminate Beelzebumon/Beelzemon. He keeps the conversation focused on his emotions and not the murderous intent that created Megidramon. But the idea's still the same: Megidramon is the product of Takato's vengeful fury.
Before Jianliang can follow this thought any further, Shaochung screams for him.
Shaochung: JIAN-NIICHAN!!!
He turns around to see that a fissure between himself and Shaochung is opening wider, with the ground Shaochung and Lopmon are standing on actively moving away.
Jianliang: SHAOCHUNG!!!
Jian jumps the gap to get to her side and embraces Shaochung, but as more pieces break away and move apart, they end up isolated. Jian hasn't saved Shaochung but instead just put himself in peril with her.
Jianliang: Oh, crap!
Fortunately, Rapidmon's recovered enough to get into the air and scoops them up, delivering them to safer ground.
Jianliang: Rapidmon! Are you okay?
Rapidmon: I'm not out of this yet!
It's a good thing Beelzebumon only shot his wingtips back when he was still reluctant to hurt us, though I'm not sure if that reluctance still applies now that he's tasted blood.
In the dub:
Suzie: Henry! Help me!
(Henry turns and sees the fissure widening)
Suzie: Make it stop!
Henry: I'm coming!
(Henry leaps the gap and hugs Suzie)
Suzie: Oh, Henry!
Henry: Rapidmon!
Rapidmon: On my way!
(Rapidmon scoops them to safety)
Rapidmon: Whoopsy-daisy! Hahaha!
Henry: Just in time! Thanks, buddy.
Rapidmon: I've never let you down before and I'm not about to start now!
When Rapidmon saves Jian and Shaochung, it comes as a surprise because even if Beelzebumon only shot his wingtips, he was still down and out last we saw him. He couldn't even stand up and has been recuperating this whole time.
But the dub has completely forgotten that Rapidmon got taken down last episode. Henry directs Rapidmon to come help and then doesn't even check on his status; Both Henry and Rapidmon talk as if Rapidmon's in pristine condition. Why wouldn't he be?
In the Real World, Jiang-yu arrives at Hypnos with questions.
Jiang-yu: What's going on?
Yamaki: We don't know yet. A tremendous power has emerged in the deepest layer of the Digital World. It's destabilizing the layer itself.
Jiang-yu: What about Jianliang and the others!?
Yamaki shakes his head.
Yamaki: I haven't been able to make contact. Though I'm certain that whatever they're doing in there, it must be related.
Jiang-yu: Why? Why now!? I've been working with my colleagues from around the world to build an Ark that can rescue the children! And now we're out of time!?
Yamaki: I have faith in them. They've managed to accomplish things that would have been impossible for us adults.
Jiang-yu: Yes... Yes, you're right. But these anomalies....
Jiang-yu and Yamaki look up at the screen, where countless Digital Hazard signs continue to flash.
It's interesting how far Yamaki's turned around. He's really changed a lot. Where once he was this useless adult staring impotently at a computer screen while the Tamers dealt with the Digimon, he's progressed into a useless adult staring impotently at a computer screen while the Tamers deal with the Digimon but who gives them a thumbs up.
Jiang-yu's mention of constructing an Ark to go retrieve the children is also interesting. If successful, it will spare us the trouble of ever actually having to figure out how Digimon Realize.
In the dub:
Yamaki: The whole layer's about to collapse. What could be that powerful!?
(Janyu enters)
Janyu: What's happening!?
Yamaki: Total chaos. Something I tried to prevent: As near as I can tell, an enormously powerful Digimon is disrupting the basic structure of the Digital World.
Janyu: What about the children!? Have you gotten any word from them!?
(Yamaki shakes his head)
Yamaki: I haven't been able to reach them. I'm sorry. I suspect that they might be at the center of this, but being right gives me no pleasure.
Janyu: But they're... They're just children! What could they possibly have done to deserve this!? And now, when we were so close to completing the Ark to rescue them! We're too close to fail!
Yamaki: I know this may be hard to accept but I'm confident that they'll make it out. They're a very resourceful bunch who put me in my place more than once.
Janyu: True. But still... It's not the same. They're all alone.
Yamaki: They're not alone. They have their Digimon!
The dub takes its first commercial break here.
EN Yamaki says that he tried to prevent this from happening but I'm not sure what he means by that. His job was to keep Digimon out of the Real World, not to police the Digital World. He did try to destroy the Digital World, but that's not substantively different from what the Digital Hazard is doing to it.
EN Yamaki also says that the Tamers "put me in my place more than once". Again, I'm not sure what he means by that. On the very few instances where the Tamers and Yamaki were directly in conflict with each other, Yamaki threw his weight around and the children could do little to defend themselves.
At no point was there ever a direct confrontation between the Tamers and Yamaki where the Tamers made Yamaki eat shit and slink off with his tail between his legs.
It was the Devas who put him in his place more than once. The Devas defeated Hypnos and the Tamers defeats the Devas, but the Tamers never really fought Hypnos outside of those times Yamaki felt like bullying children. And he got away with those.
In the desert world, more of those red light pillars rise from the ground.
Nearby, Akiyama Ryō notices the strange phenomena.
Ryō: What's going on?
That's it. We're just checking in to remember that Ryō exists. Now back to our regularly scheduled crisis.
In the dub:
Ryo: I hope those other kids are alright.
EN Ryo's concerned about our safety so that's something, I guess. I hope he and Cyberdramon are having fun working out Cyberdramon's battlelust by punching out whatever random Digimon happen by.
Anyways, up in the god realm, two ultra-god-tier omega-powerful Digimon continue to go at it.
Takato: That's enough... STOP THIS, GUILMON!!! STOP IT ALREADY!!!
Megidramon doesn't listen. Beelzebumon remains on his back, wrapped up in Megidramon's tail and desperately trying to keep his jaws pried open.
Beelzebumon: Was... Was this thing born just to eat me!? I... I won't let a creature like this....
In Megidramon's defense, Impmon has always talked about how he shouldn't listen to Takato. Can Beelzebumon really be upset that Megidramon's finally taking his advice?
In the dub:
Takato: Please! Guilmon, you have to stop this! LISTEN TO ME!!!
(Megidramon doesn't listen)
Beelzemon: Did Catsuramon set me up? Was this his plan all along!? To have me destroyed!?
Beelzemon offers the wildest fucking conspiracy theory. He proposes that Catsuramon convincing him to let Zhuqiaomon make him into Beelzemon and then try to kill Takato and the others was all an elaborate 4-D chess move to bait Megidramon into Digivolving and destroy the Sovereign's own realm, all for the purpose of ultimately assassinating Impmon.
A Digimon so weak that any Deva could have annihilated him by breathing too hard in his general direction.
What the fuck are you on about, Beelzemon? You're out of your goddamn mind but you have an admirable confidence.
Suddenly, finally, Zhūquēmon arrives to put an end to this sends Makuramon to go check things out.
Makuramon: What is the meaning of this!? If this battle continues, it will bring ruin not just to God's domain but to this entire world!
Beelzebumon: Q-Quiet....
Makuramon: That imbecile Catsuramon... If he hadn't been so desperate for soldiers that he forced through such a freakish evolution as--
Beelzebumon: I SAID BE QUIET!!!
Beelzebumon lets one hand slip from Megidramon's jaws and grabs Makuramon by the face.
Makuramon: What the-- What are you doing!? You're nothing but a bottom-feeding Digimon who was evolved through God's power!
Beelzebumon: HRAAAAAAGH!!!
Makuramon: AGAINST ONE OF GOD'S DEVAS, YOU HAVE NO--
Makuramon doesn't get to finish that statement. Beelzebumon crushes his skull and Loads his data.
Kind of a disappointing way for a longstanding recurring adversary to go out. We never got to have a real fight with Makuramon. But at least his killer is an actual character of this show and not some crossover guest star.
In the dub:
Makuramon: Just what do you think you're doing!? If you don't end this foolish battle immediately, you will destroy the entire Digital World! Catsuramon was a fool to create a Mega as pathetic as you!
Beelzemon: I'm not pathetic!
Makuramon: The truth hurts, doesn't it? Of course you're pathetic! You're a pawn in a game you can't even understand!
Beelzemon: THAT'S ENOUGH!!!
(Beelzemon grabs Makuramon)
Makuramon: Get your hands off me! I'm a Deva! You're nothing! Less than nothing, you hear me!?
Beelzemon: You talk too much, Monkey Boy. But you do have something I need. HRAAAAAARGH!!!
Makuramon: This can't be happening! MACAW!!!
(Beelzemon kills and Loads Makuramon)
You know, I wondered if this exchange about Catsuramon creating soldiers through a troublesome evolution is where the "Catsuramon tricked me! This was what he wanted all along!" thing was about. Maybe Dub Team thought that Makuramon meant Megidramon was the troublesome evolution Catsuramon created.
But no, the dub version of this exchange clearly indicates that they know Makuramon's shit-talking Beelzebumon/Beelzemon with that. So I have no idea.
The Tamers and their Digimon watch as Beelzebumon devours Makuramon.
Ruki: He Loaded the Deva!?
Kyūbimon: There's nothing left of him but a devil now.
Echoing Takato's 悪魔 akuma sentiment from last episode, Kyūbimon bounds over Ruki's head to rejoin the fight.
Ruki: Kyūbimon! You're in no condition to go!
Rapidmon follows suit, flying in to rejoin the fight.
Jianliang: Don't go, Rapidmon!
Rapidmon: If they keep fighting like this, this whole world will be destroyed. That means we have to stop them.
Jianliang: ....
Ruki: ...yeah. Yeah, you're right. CARD SLASH!!! MATRIX EVOLUTION!!!
Ruki sends Kyūbimon up to Taomon, matching Rapidmon as they enter the fray.
An interesting note: Jian did say earlier that the hazard symbol poses a threat to the whole Digital World, but when they say that Megidramon and Beelzebumon's fight might destroy "this world", I believe they're talking specifically about the Digital World plane that the gods' domain rests on, and not the entire Digital World.
He can destroy the whole Digital World but he is actively destroying this world specifically.
Yamaki said earlier that the Digital Hazard is destabilizing the deepest layer of the network, rather than the whole network. This deepest layer is the world the gods' domain rests on. From the Digital World's perspective, the highest plane above Mizuno's place is the deepest layer of the network.
And when Makuramon and Rapidmon talk about their fight destroying this world, they say この世界 kono sekai or "This world", the same terminology used to describe the desert world or the cloud world or the black and white stylistic world, rather than デジタルワールド Dejitaru Wārudo or "The Digital World".
In the dub:
Rika: I can't believe it!
Kyubimon: That's it. He must be stopped!
(Kyubimon bounds over Rika)
Rika: Don't! I can't lose you!
(Rapidmon joins as well)
Henry: Rapidmon, no!
Rapidmon: Henry, he Loaded a Deva! Just swallowed him up like an ice cream cone! He's gotta be stopped or we'll all be dessert!
Henry: ....
Rika: Oh, fine! We'll beat them both! DIGI-MODIFY!!! MATRIX DIGIVOLUTION ACTIVATE!!!
Ruki and Kyūbimon's take on Beelzebumon devouring Makuramon is that it proves he's truly lost to us. It's such a vile thing to do that it brings them to where Takato was when Megidramon formed: Beelzebumon is an unforgivable monster now and they need to put him down.
Rika, Kyubimon's, and Rapidmon's take is that Beelzemon is really scary.
Ruki doesn't want Kyūbimon to fight because Kyūbimon's injured, while Rika doesn't want Kyubimon to fight because Rika's afraid of Beelzemon. Rapidmon shares that fear. While JP Rapidmon wants to take Beelzebumon down before this fight destroys the gods' world, EN Rapidmon is motivated entirely by the desire to get Beelzemon before Beelzemon gets them.
With Makuramon's strength, Beelzebumon starts to push back against Megidramon's jaw. He's able to sit up, aided by the fact that Megidramon inexplicably withdrew his tail at some point.
Rapidmon and Taomon fly overheard to join the battle.
Rapidmon: GOLDEN TRIANGLE!!!
Taomon: BONHITSUSEN!!!
But as they begin their attacks, Beelzebumon reaches up and seals both of them in bubbles.
Jianliang: He Loaded Makuramon! Now he can use Makuramon's abilities! GET OUT OF THERE, RAPIDMON!!!
Rapidmon: There's nowhere I can go.
Jianliang informs us that this bubble move is Makuramon's. Indeed, Wikimon assures me that these spheres are Makuramon's holy weapon. One a Digimon is trapped inside of them, Makuramon can crush the bubble and annihilate them completely.
It sure would be nice if we ever got to fight Makuramon and see him use these bubbles for ourselves.
In the dub:
Rapidmon: TRI-BEAM!!!
Taomon: TALISMAN OF LIGHT!!!
Beelzemon: Hahahahaha.... PRIMAL ORB!!!
(Bubbled)
Henry: That's Makuramon's attack! Beelzemon must have absorbed his power when he loaded his data! GET OUT OF THERE!!!
Rapidmon: I don't think I can. I'm a bunny in a bubble! Ugh!
Beelzemon calls his attack, but otherwise the same.
Taomon tries to break free from the bubble.
Taomon: OM!!!
Their Sanskrit characters touch the edge of the bubble and vaporize immediately. There's no escape.
Beelzebumon: I'll devour you guys too. I'll keep eating and eating until I BECOME THE STRONGEST DIGIMON!!!
Ruki: Taomon!
Jianliang: Shit! At this rate, they're going to get Loaded!
Whatever nuance Beelzebumon may have had last episode is gone now. With a taste for blood and Megidramon bearing down on him, he's arrived at the point Beelzemon's been at ever since his Digivolution: Beelzebumon is ready to kill and eat Rapidmon and Taomon.
In the dub:
Taomon: OM!!!
(No effect)
Beelzemon: Why don't the two of you stick around for dinner? After the monkey boy, I'm in the mood for a little rabbit stew or french-fried fox tail!
Rika: Taomon....
Henry: They're both trapped like flies: Totally helpless! What now...?
Beelzemon doesn't quite match Beelzebumon's ambition, focusing instead on how much fun it will be to eat his friends.
Suddenly, Jian gets an idea. He takes out one of his cards.
Jianliang: Ruki! The Alias card!
Ruki: For shadow cloning? ...oh!
Ruki & Jianliang: CARD SLASH!!! ALIAS!!!
Alias splits off Renamon and Terriermon from their Perfect selves. They drop to the ground outside the bubbles, which dematerialize Taomon and Rapidmon into data for Beelzebumon's consumption.
Terriermon: That saved us, but....
Renamon: He's taken all the power from our Perfect forms.
...yeah, I don't think that's how Alias works.
We previously saw Alias in episode 5, where it left a shadow clone where Renamon was standing while Renamon attacked Evilmon from somewhere else. The clone absorbed an attack and popped, like here.
But it's super weird that all of Renamon and Terriermon's strength was left inside the clones, leaving them drained. Why did that happen?
In the dub:
Henry: Rika! Use the Alias card!
Rika: The Alias card? ...ohhh!
Rika & Henry: DIGI-MODIFY!!! ALIAS ACTIVATE!!!
(Renamon and Terriermon escape their own deaths)
Terriermon: That was a close one....
Renamon: And he stole all our Ultimate power!
Inconsistency note: In episode 5, this card was renamed Clone Activate.
With their strength added to his own, Beelzebumon is now strong enough to stand, pushing Megidramon back.
Suddenly, something weird happens. One of Rapidmon's wings and one of Taomon's pauldrons jut up from Beelzebumon's shoulders, ripping through his own body. As if the power he's consumed is fighting from within him to break out.
He manages to force them to recede, regaining control of himself.
But what the hell? That's never been how Loading data is portrayed before. I wonder if this has something to do with how this strength isn't really Beelzebumon's?
That is super weird and we are just gonna gloss right over it, at least for this episode.
In the dub:
This passes without dialogue in the original. In the dub, once the Rapidmon and Taomon parts break out of Beelzebumon's body and his muscles start undulating, he exclaims:
Beelzemon: AWWW YES MORE POWER!!!
(Parts recede into him)
Beelzemon: ...must... control it....
I"m not sure "Aww yes more power" is really the right response to having said power tear his body apart in an attempt to break free. His second line's good, though.
Once the power's under control, Beelzebumon lets out a roar and then punches Megidramon in the face.
Four times.
Juri: STOP!!! YOU HAVE TO STOP!!!
Ignoring Juri's trauma, Beelzebumon delivers one last punch, knocking Megidramon backwards.
Then he closes with a roundhouse kick, shattering the Digital Hazard breastplate on Megidramon's chest. The impact throws Megidramon back several feet before sending him crashing to the ground.
And break for commercial!
Would you believe the dub censors the imitable violence? Because the dub censors the imitable violence. There's only so much they can do, but they do what they can.
They speed up the initial punches, using white flashes to cut out the parts where Beelzebumon's fist lingers in Megidramon's face. They also cut the number of punches down from four to two.
Jeri: I CAN'T STAND IT!!! MAKE IT STOP!!!
Another white flash is used to trim down the final punch. Then one last white flash removes the wide shot of Beelzebumon's kick landing on Megidramon's torso.
Takato: Guilmon! No....
The dub also takes its second commercial break here, with an added line from Takato to make sure we understand that it's not a good thing that Megidramon went down, despite how dangerous Megidramon is.
In addition to censoring out what they can of the fistfighting, this also changes up the flow of the fight. Beelzebumon's attacks are slow and powerful, drawing attention to the weight of a titanic apocalyptic super-god being taken down by the sledgehammer blows of an equally powerful rival.
The censored fight's faster pace gives it more of a frenzied beatdown vibe, which weirdly feels more brutal by how quickly and relentlessly Beelzemon crushes Megidramon's face into the tile.
Coming back from commercial, Beelzebumon roars triumphantly over the defeated Megidramon. The Tamers stare in shock.
Jianliang: ( °⌓°)
Shaochung: ( °⌓°)
Lopmon: ( °⌓°)
Terriermon: ( °⌓°)
Renamonmon: ( °⌓°)
Ruki: ( °⌓°)
Hirokazu: Does this mean he really is the strongest Digimon?
Beelzebumon: HRAAAAAARGH!!!
Takato: Katō-san....
Takato turns to Juri, who takes a step back. Tears stream down her face.
Juri: Just... Just stop.... All of this... It's just....
Takato: I don't want to fight like this either.
Takato takes a step towards Juri but stops when she snaps at him.
Juri: Stay back!
Takato: Ah!
Juri: Guilmon-chan... Cute little Guilmon-chan is now....
Takato: (gasp)
Takato flinches from her words. He turns to look once more at Megidramon, laid out flat on his back.
Here, Juri gets to the heart of why she's been freaking out all episode. She doesn't want revenge for what happened to Leomon. She doesn't want them to take down Beelzebumon. What she wants is for all of this violence to stop.
Impmon became a monster and then he killed Leomon and then Takato became a monster and he pushed Guilmon into becoming a monster and now they're trying to kill Impmon, and she just wants everyone to stop turning into monsters and killing each other.
In the dub, Beelzemon laughs maniacally instead of roaring.
Henry: He beat Megidramon!
Henry: ( °⌓°)
Terriermon: Yeah, and it went right to his head!
Suzie: ( °⌓°)
Lopmon: ( °⌓°)
Terriermon: ( °⌓°)
Renamon: ( °⌓°)
Rika: ( °⌓°)
Kazu: He's what I call a really lousy winner! That's creeping me out!
Beelzemon: YAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!
Takato: I'm sorry, Jeri.
(Jeri steps back and starts to cry)
Jeri: I just can't take any more, Takato. I can't.
Takato: I know, I don't like it either.
(Takato steps towards her)
Jeri: STOP!!!
Takato: Huh?
Jeri: Don't come near me! Guilmon was so sweet and cute, and look what you did to him....
Takato: (gasp)
There's a little bit of levity before Takato and Jeri's scene.
Jeri's talking in complete sentences. Juri's still reduced to despondent fragments.
At Hypnos, the Digital Hazard symbols fade from the network map. The crisis appears to be over.
Megumi: The anomalies in the Network's deepest layer appear to have stopped.
Jiang-yu: Whew. Does this mean we were saved?
Yamaki: I don't even understand what's happening anymore. I was a fool for getting so excited about building a thing like this.
Jiang-yu: It's not over yet. It's not over, Yamaki-kun.
Yamaki: ....
Jiang-yu: ...
Yamaki: This Ark that the Wild Bunch is working on... how long until a functional ship is complete?
Jiang-yu: The basic design is already complete. However, the calculations requires are enormous....
Yamaki: By all means, please make use of Hypnos's mainframe.
Jiang-yu: Thank you. We have no time to waste. Those kids, whether they realize it or not, may be fighting to save this very world.
Yamaki's back but he's not back back. He's pretty much in Movie John Hammond's shoes at this point. Not only has he realized that all of this is now out of his control, he's come to realize that he never really had control in the first place. Hypnos was a mistake.
There's a lot of humility in Yamaki's choice to turn his machines over to the Wild Bunch, the old people he once maligned for their mistakes. Yamaki understands now that he's no better than them, and that they're the ones who hold the key to at least getting those children out of the Digital World if nothing else.
A small thing that struck me as funny is that Yamaki asks about the Ark, using the English word as usual, but then specifies that he wants to know a completion time for the 箱舟 hakobune, the seafaring vessel commonly known as an ark.
Like. There's a few things called Arks and he wants to be very clear which one he's talking about.
In the dub:
Tally: The disturbance appears to be neutralized. I think they're out of danger!
Janyu: Oh, thank goodness. I feel so helpless!
Yamaki: We are helpless. I was such a fool building this place! To think that I could control things in the Digital World when the only thing I can do is watch and pray.
Janyu: I think we can do more than that if you're willing to help.
Yamaki: ....
Janyu: ....
Yamaki: I would like nothing more than to make up for my misguided past but you're already working with the brightest minds of your generation. What can I do?
Janyu: You underestimate yourself. I envy your ability to create what you imagined!
Yamaki: Then I think it's about time for me to create something worthwhile.
Janyu: It certainly is.
Yamaki: This facility and my resources are yours to use as you see fit. If those kids are going to save the world, then the least I can do is to give them a fighting chance!
Tally's takeaway from Megidramon's defeat is just that the children are no longer in harm's way. The catastrophic consequences of Megidramon ripping apart the deepest layer of the Network or, in the dub, the entire Digital World itself has been forgotten about; It's just the children she was worried about.
In the dub, the conversation between Yamaki and Janyu is more overt. In both versions, Yamaki expresses remorse for building Hypnos, Jiang-yu reassures him, and then Yamaki expresses humility and turns control over to the Wild Bunch.
The dub uses this framework, but the dialogue is rewritten to be what I can only describe as a Formal Offer of Redemption. Yamaki says "What a villain I have been! How could I ever atone for my wicked, wicked ways?" To which Janyu replies, "You have the potential to become a force for good, Yamaki! Join me and you will find the redemption that you crave!"
In the process of announcing Yamaki's official transformation from Villain to Hero, the actual discussion of how the Wild Bunch's Ark is coming along, what they need to complete it, and Yamaki's offer of Hypnos's systems to perform the Wild Bunch's calculations all got boiled down to "Use my facility as you see fit".
Additionally, JP Jiang-yu says that the Tamers are fighting to save the world whether they realize it or not.
To them, they're still just trying to retrieve Culumon. They don't realize that all of this stuff with Zhūquēmon, Culumon, Beelzebumon, Megidramon, and the thing the gods fear, that all of that is going to have far-reaching consequences upon which the fate of the world hinges.
In the dub, this line goes to Yamaki and it's just "If those kids are going to save the world then we should help them!"
In the Digital World, Beelzebumon is still struggling to contain his power. He's on his knees, his shoulders and claws bulging as he strains to keep from mutating again.
Jianliang hops over one of the fissures in the ground, then gestures for Shaochung to follow.
Jianliang: You're up!
Shaochung looks down into the fissure, a little hesitant. But she gathers her courage and leaps across. Lopmon jumps across right after her. Once both are across, an exhausted Terriermon trudges over to them.
Renamon returns to Ruki. Things are cooling down for the moment, while Beelzebumon needs this break.
In the dub:
Henry: Come on, Suzie. I'll catch you!
Henry says "I'll catch you" to Suzie. This pairs really well with the animation showing he did indeed stabilize her once she was across.
While everyone else is reuniting, Takato hops a fissure over to Megidramon for a reunion of his own.
Takato: Megidramon....
Takato hesitates just for a moment, then makes his way over to his unconscious Partner.
Takato: I shouldn't have done this. I absolutely shouldn't have!
Takato flashes back on the days he's spent with Guilmon.
Takato (V.O.): I really like Digimon, and I've always thought it'd be so cool to be able to play with them in real life, not just on cards or in the net. So it's like my dreams came true. What I wished for happened like magic.
This speech is taken verbatim from episode 7, when he was afraid that Guilmon was going to disappear into that weird distortion zone. Though he delivers it in a more somber voice. As he recites the speech, he goes through flashbacks of:
1 - First meeting Guilmon.
2 - Sneaking Guilmon into his room.
3 - Reuniting with Guilmon on the school roof when Guilmon was lost.
4 - The actual walk home near the park where he first delivered this speech.
5 - Guilmon evolving into Growmon for the first time.
6 - The heart to heart at the playground where he expressed his fears about Guilmon's evolution, when Guilmon assured him that Guilmon is Guilmon no matter the form.
But then he continues, and we see the true creation of Guilmon from Mizuno's explanation which transitions into the live Guilmon he met at the construction site that day.
Takato (V.O.): But Digimon are just data. It wasn't magic after all.
Takato's flashback ends on that depressing note, leaving him alone with his Partner and unsure of what to do with this cursed knowledge.
In the dub:
Takato: Oh, Guilmon....
(Takato kneels beside Megidramon)
Takato: I'm so sorry, boy. Jeri's right. This is all my fault.
(Flashback 1)
Takato (V.O.): You were like a dream come true!
Takato: Whoa! I can't believe it!
(Flashbacks 2 and 3, ending with Guilmon pouncing on Takato)
Takato (V.O.): There you were; A living, breathing Digimon and I had created you!
Takato: Guilmon!
(Flashback 4)
Takato (V.O.): I thought I could control you and it seemed to work.
Takato: I'm proud of you, boy!
Takato (V.O.): I figured if I created you then that made you a part of me, right?
(Flashback 5)
Takato (V.O.): It felt like you were a part of me.
Takato: (excited) Growlmon!
(Flashback 6)
Takato (V.O.): I have to admit, you frightened me sometimes. You got pretty big.
Guilmon: I'm still me.
Takato: Really?
Guilmon: Always!
(Guilmon's creation flashback)
Takato (V.O.): Data, DNA, what's the difference? You were always you!
(Transition into Guilmon being real)
Takato (V.O.): But I never thought about what would happen if I couldn't control myself.
Takato: Right, boy?
(End flashbacks)
Takato: Now I know....
The dub breezes right past the meaningful echo of the episode 7 speech and writes a whole new one. Their speech has to be delivered piecemeal so they can space it between lip flaps of flashback characters, who they want to give dialogue to whenever their mouths are moving.
It's mostly just a descriptive summation of what's going on in each scene being flashed back on. The dub also breezes right past the point of this flashback sequence: Takato recanting his feelings back then due to his discovery that Guilmon is not a living thing and never was.
Keeping with their previous handling of this plot point, the dub not only omits that but actively rejects it, with EN Takato saying "Who cares if you're just data? Guilmon is Guilmon no matter what! This does not affect my feelings at all."
Consequently, these flashbacks now serve no purpose. All the dub has to end the flashbacks on is the very thing they started them on: Takato says "This is all my fault," and then takes us down a minute-long flashback tunnel expositing about his relationship with Guilmon, and then concludes by saying "This is all my fault."
Juri remains by herself on the one fractured piece of terrain she's staked out for herself. Kenta tries to call out to her.
Kenta: Katō! Hey Katō, did you hear me? Come this way! It's dangerous to be over there by yourself!
Juri: ....
Juri doesn't even turn to look at them. She doesn't acknowledge Kenta's voice. She stands stock still, clutching her Digivice to her chest. A closeup shows its screen still displaying static.
Hirokazu: She's hopeless! Though, I guess I can understand why. I'll go get her.
The boys are torn between being frustrated by Juri's behavior and empathizing with her loss.
In the dub:
Kenta: Come on, Jeri! You can't just stay over there by yourself! It's not safe! Please?
Jeri: ....
(Static crackle of her Digivice)
Kazu: Aw, nuts. I think she's totally zoned out. Poor kid. I'll just have to rescue her.
In a rare reversal, Kazu comes off nicer than Hirokazu here. He doesn't get frustrated for a moment like Hirokazu does.
Hirokazu backs up a few steps to make a running jump across the fissure, but before he can, Beelzebumon catches his attention. Beelzebumon lets out a roar as waves around him dissipate. It seems whatever time we had, we've just run out of it.
Beelzebumon: HRAAAAAARGH!!! I DID IT!!! I WON!!! I'VE BECOME THE STRONGEST DIGIMON!!!
Jianliang: This is bad! He's integrated Taomon and Rapidmon's data into himself.
Terriermon: That's incredible.
Shaochung: Lopmon, evolve and take him down!
Lopmon: My evolution is no longer allowed.
Shaochung: But... But everyone's in danger!
Jianliang: Shaochung, you shouldn't pressure Lopmon like that.
Shaochung: BUT...!
Shaochung starts bawling out of fear and helplessness. Ruki comes over to talk to her.
Ruki: It's okay, Shaochung. Everyone's still here. Renamon, Terriermon, Guardromon... They're all still with us.
I mean. Leomon isn't, which is probably contributing a lot to why she's so freaked out. But still, it's nice to see Ruki making the effort to reach out to Shaochung.
In the dub:
Beelzemon: HRAAAAAARGH!!! AND NOW NO ONE CAN TAKE ME!!! I AM INVINCIBLE!!! I'LL LOAD THE SOVEREIGN THEMSELVES!!!
Henry: If he successfully assimilated yours and Taomon's attacks, we're in serious trouble.
Terriermon: We're in trouble.
Suzie: Don't worry. When Lopmon Digivolves, he'll be sorry!
Lopmon: Suzie, the Sovereign took away my power to Digivolve.
Suzie: I don't care what he did! We're in trouble and you have to Digivolve!
Henry: Stop it, Suzie! You're just making it harder for her.
Suzie: HENRYYYYYY!!!
(Suzie starts crying)
Rika: Come on, Suzie. Renamon won't let anything bad happen to you. Terriermon and Guardromon are here to help, not to mention me and Henry. You'll be fine, I promise. You'll see. ...I'm not very good at this, am I?
Beelzebumon gloats that he's become the strongest Digimon. Beelzemon goes one step further and announces the intent to murder the Digimon Sovereign.
Jian explains what Beelzebumon's been doing all this time: Essentially, that weird body morphing thing happened because he overate. Taking Rapidmon's and Taomon's data at once was too much, and he's been struggling since to force it all down.
He has now completed that process. Their data is now fully integrated into his data. Their power is now his power, like any other Loading of data, and we will not see any further complications like that.
Somehow, this becomes Henry questioning whether he's "assimilated Rapidmon and Taomon's attacks".
Shaochung wants Lopmon to evolve because she's afraid for everybody else's safety. Suzie wants Lopmon to Digivolve because she's afraid for herself. This distinction makes Rika's attempt to console her very different from Ruki's.
Now that Beelzebumon has his power under control and his reservations buried, it's time to move on to business.
Kenta: He's....
Beelzebumon: I have no further use for God, but a deal is a deal.
Opening his mouth wide, he shoots a hungry, predatory look at the humans.
Beelzebumon: I guess I'll eat you humans too. After all, I'm no God. I've become the devil.
Beelzebumon advances slowly, drawing his guns to finish his work.
DO YOU FEEL THE RELIGIOUS IMAGERY
DO YOU FEEL IT
And yes, that was 悪魔 akuma that he uttered. Takato and Kyūbimon have rejected him as akuma, and now Beelzebumon embraces being akuma as well. He is powertripping so hard right now.
As an aside, we've seen that Zhūquēmon can revoke evolution. What God giveth, God can taketh away. I wonder if that's going to come into play at some point?
Not now, obviously. Beelzebumon's off his rocker but he's doing God's Will all the same: Vanquishing Megidramon and killing the Tamer children are all things Zhūquēmon wants, so Zhūquēmon has no reason to strip his power away.
But by his own admission, Beelzebumon has no sense of loyalty to Zhūquēmon.
In the dub:
Kenta: What's he want!?
Beelzemon: "What's he want?" I'll tell you what I want: To finish the job! Unlike you miserable puking humans, I keep my promises!
(Big toothy grin)
Beelzemon: Aww, you're so cute! You're so afraid of me you're about to wet your pants! I can't tell you how gratifying it is. It brings a little tear to my eye.
Guardromon: Oh dear!
Obviously, the dub can't use the religious stuff so Beelzemon shoots off some insults instead.
Of note: "I have no use for God but a deal's a deal" becomes "Unlike you humans, I keep my promises!" This indicates Beelzemon is doing all this because he feels betrayed by the humans for breaking their promises to him.
I'm not really sure what promises they broke, though. But he might just be rambling out of insecurity again.
As Beelzebumon advances, Jian steps in front of Shaochung to protect her.
Jianliang: Shit....
Ruki looks over and sees Juri, Takato, and Megidramon. Juri still won't move, won't take her eyes off Megidramon. Beyond her, Takato's still kneeling beside Megidramon's head.
Ruki: Takato! What are you doing, Takato!? Run! JURI!!!
But neither of them heed her words. While Beelzebumon slowly advances, Takato works through his feelings.
Takato: This is... This is all wrong. Because... Because even if he is just a bunch of data, even if he is a Digimon I designed, Guilmon is still Guilmon. We've been friends all this time. We've played together, talked together, laughed together, and fought together!
Here, at the eleventh hour, Takato manages to cross that hurdle separating him from Guilmon. He finally manages to see that the answer to the question "Is Guilmon my friend or is he just a bunch of data?" is, and has always been, "Yes."
Guilmon is data and Guilmon is his friend. The two are not mutually exclusive.
In the dub:
Henry: What now!?
(Rika spots Jeri and Takato)
Rika: Huh? Takato! What are you doing!? Get out of there! You too, Jeri! Come on!
(Beelzemon slowly advances)
Takato: Guilmon was always Guilmon until I messed him up. No matter how big he got, he was always my friend. My Partner. But I let him down. I acted like a fool. I really wanted Beelzemon to suffer for what he had done! It wasn't enough to just defeat him; He had to hurt. It's bad enough that I felt that way, but it's worse for Guilmon. I made him a monster.
For JP Takato, this is the beginning of him coming around on Guilmon. The start of him closing the gap that still exists between them.
EN Takato isn't quite there. He circles the dub's preferred topic, atoning for the mistake of making him Megidramon, but doesn't end on a constructive note like his counterpart does.
JP Takato is starting to climb out of his pit of despair while EN Takato is spiraling deeper.
Amid all this, Beelzebumon notices Takato over there with Megidramon and stops.
Beelzebumon: Hm? Ugh, what a disgusting piece of shit. He's still hanging around, is he? THEN WE CAN START WITH HIM!!!
Beelzebumon raises his guns at Takato just as a crying Takato, oblivious to the threat and overwhelmed by his rekindled feelings, embraces Megidramon's head.
Takato: GUILMON!!!
Megidramon's eyes open once more, glowing red.
Beelzebumon: GET LOST!!!
Jianliang: RUN, TAKATO!!!
Ruki: WHAT ARE YOU DOING, TAKATO!?!?
Hirokazu: GET OUT OF THERE!!!
Terriermon: HURRY!!! RUN!!!
But Takato doesn't hear a word of it.
Yeesh, Beelzebumon has some choice language for Takato. He calls him 胸糞悪い奴め munakusowarui yatsume.
-> 胸 Muna = Chest or stomach
-> 糞 Kuso = Shit, both literally and as an expletive
-> 悪い Warui = Bad
-> 奴 Yatsu = A rude way of saying "that person"
-> め -me = Suffix indicating contempt.
Essentially, he's saying with expletives that Takato sucks so bad that he's giving Beelzebumon diarrhea. It's so over-the-top that I detect some of that old Impmon jealousy cutting through.
In the dub:
Beelzemon: Oh, what a touching sight. A boy and his pathetic Digimon. I'll put 'em out of their misery!
(Takato hugs Megidramon)
Takato: NOOOOOO!!!
(Megidramon wakes)
Beelzemon: SAY GOODBYE!!!
Henry: TAKATO, GET OUT OF THERE!!!
Rika: IT'S TOO LATE, TAKATO!!!
Kazu: ARE YOU CRAZY, MAN!?!?
Terriermon: RUN AWAY!!!
Crowd: GET OUT OF THERE NOW!!! TAKATO!!! TAKATO!!!
JP Takato is hugging Megidramon because of the realization he's just come to, heedless of the danger he's in.
EN Takato has come to no realization and is still mired in self-pity. He hugs Megidramon because he's fully aware of the danger he's in, letting out a big "NOOOOOO".
Similarly, Beelzebumon was marching towards Ruki, Jian, and the others but Takato's big emotional display of friendship is what draws his ire to Takato instead. But, since EN Takato had no emotional display of friendship, Beelzemon just changes targets on a whim.
'As everyone screams for Takato to get out of there, Beelzebumon pulls the trigger. Time continues to slow as his bullets sail through the air and still, Takato thinks only of reconnecting with Guilmon.
Takato: Guilmon... My friend....
The red fades from Megidramon's eyes.
Megidramon: ...Takato...?
Takato: GUILMON!!!
Slowly, ever so slowly, the bullets approach them both.
Beelzebumon: AHAHA!!!
The dub takes its third commercial break after all the voices shout. When we come back, they rearrange the shots to make it look more like Takato sees death inbound and is saying goodbye.
(Bullets sail through the air)
Beelzemon: AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Takato: Guilmon... You'll always be my friend.
(Megidramon's eyes revert to normal)
Megidramon: ...Takato....
Takato: GUILMOOOOOON!!!
What a depressing trajectory EN Takato's taken getting here. He fucked up real bad, wallowed in self-hatred over it, and was only shaken out of his funk by the fact that they're now going to die.
In both versions, Megidramon comes back because of the sincere love Takato's showing him. Takato reconnecting emotionally with Megidramon is what saves their lives here.
For JP Takato, this is the product of his emotional epiphany. For EN Takato, it's because fear of Beelzemon made him get over himself and shout "I LOVE YOU MAN" in the seconds before death.
EN Takato never really stopped loving Guilmon. At no point was there ever any conflict between the two of them that would disrupt their bond, which would make this reconnection necessary. So, for him, it just comes down to him needing his arm twisted into expressing it with words.
Suddenly, Takato finds himself in a weird simulacrum of his bedroom back home.
On his bookshelf, his eye's drawn to a toy Agumon figurine. He stares at it for a moment, then smiles and runs to his desk, where the Guilmon notepad is sitting. Taking a red pencil, Takato colors in Guilmon a bit more.
Then he stops. A tear falls onto the page.
Takato: I'm made of data too. After all, I'm here in the Digital World. But the time I spent with Guilmon is absolutely real. The feelings we shared together were genuine!
Guilmon: That's right, Takato! We were friends all this time!
Takato makes a really interesting point here. Essentially: If the human Tamers can become data and enter the Digital World then does that not necessarily prove the personhood of Digimon who Realize? If humans and Digimon in the Digital World are the same, then would it not follow that humans and Digimon in the Real World are also the same?
All of those metaphysical rules we've been learning in past episodes have been hinting at this. The way we don't need to eat or breathe or anything, because we're not really ourselves but just the idea of ourselves.
In the Digital World, Guilmon and Takato are data. In the Real World, Guilmon and Takato are real. So what distinction is there between them, really?
Somewhere, Mizuno is smiling to himself and nodding along.
In the dub:
Takato: Huh? Uh....
(Takato sees Agumon toy)
Takato: (thinking) Okayyyy? This is strange.
(Takato smiles and goes to his desk)
Takato: It's all the same. But different.
(Teardrop falls on notepad)
Takato: Am I supposed to do something? What can I do? Oh, Guilmon, I wish we could just start over. I'd have been a lot more careful if I'd known you were gonna be real! And you were about as real as they come! I don't understand why Rika thought that data couldn't be real. You WERE real! Wasn't that proof enough? You were my friend.
Guilmon: We'll always be friends, Takatomon. And that's pretty real!
The dub's having a hell of a time trying to write a resolution to the internal conflict they still refuse to give Takato ownership of.
"You were real! You were always real!" Takato argues back against nobody claiming the opposite. He has to drag poor Rika into this just to have some sort of external third party to fire back at.
They also do not engage at all with the teardrop. Takato's supposed to be swept up in his feelings right now, but they present him as confused, nostalgic, and argumentative. In that order, with the teardrop occurring during "confused".
After Guilmon assures Takato of their friendship, a red ball of data enters through the window and pulls Takato into a void filled with many Guilmon.
Takato: GUILMOOOOOON!!!
Looking around, Takato sees all the lifeless Guilmon floating around, each in the original position he was drawn in and brought to life in.
Takato: S-So many Guilmon....
But Takato shakes his head, seeing the vision's meaning and rejecting it.
Takato: YOU'RE WRONG!!! MY GUILMON IS THE ONLY ONE!!! NO MATTER HOW MANY COPIES YOU MAKE OF HIS DATA, THE ONLY REAL GUILMON IS THE ONE WHO'S BEEN WITH ME ALL THIS TIME!!!
From Takato's conviction, a red line emerges not unlike the one Guilmon used to lead them out of the Zone in episode 7. Though what connection if any this has to that is unclear.
Takato: GUILMON!!! GUILMON!!!
Takato runs for the true Guilmon, letting all the copies shatter into data fragments.
Takato: GUILMON! GUILMON! GUILMON! GUILMOOOOOON!
Guilmon opens his eyes.
Guilmon: Takato....
Takato: GUILMOOOOOON!!!
And just like that, they're back in the Digital World. Megidramon is gone, replaced by a battered Guilmon.
Takato: Guilmon....
Guilmon: I... I'm here....
Takato: Yeah... Thank you for being here, Guilmon.
A touching moment suddenly interrupted by the sound of the incoming bullets finally alerting Takato to their presence. Time speeds back up to normal.
Ruki: TAKATOOOOOO!!!
Before they can land, Guilmon's eyes go red and a phantom Megidramon tail whips the bullets away. Beelzebumon doesn't understand what just happened and honestly? Neither do I.
While golden light emanates around Takato and Guilmon, Beelzebumon puts his guns away. Instead, he brandishes his claws.
Beelzebumon: Keh... So you want to be torn apart by these claws, then!?
Takato: But how can we fight together? How do I fight along with you, Guilmon?
Guilmon: Guilmon doesn't know. But if you really want to fight with Guilmon, Takato, then surely it will happen!
Takato: I'm not standing behind you anymore, Guilmon!
The golden light magnifies and produces a pair of golden helixes evocative of Jogress Evolution from Adventure 02. Only in this case, it's Tamer and Digimon Jogressing together.
Takato: Guilmon, this is your real, genuine Ultimate evolution!
Together, Guilmon and Takato evolve into Dukemon. Who also has a Digital Hazard symbol on his chest like all of Guilmon's other forms. As he does, we get a new insert song: One Vision.
Cut to reaction shots from everyone else.
Hirokazu: ( °⌓°)
Kenta: ( °⌓°)
Shaochung: ( °⌓°)
Jianliang: Is that his true Ultimate evolution?
Ruki: Takato... Where did Takato go?
Valid question! Guilmon ate him! We can unpack that later!
Beelzebumon: Wh-Who the hell are you!?
Dukemon: Beelzebumon! To have sold your soul to a devil and so become a devil yourself is absolutely unforgivable!
Beelzebumon: Unforgivable? You're saying my very existence is unforgivable!? Save that sort of talk until AFTER YOU'VE BEATEN ME!!!
Beelzebumon's heard enough. Claws out, he charges at Dukemon. Dukemon lowers his lance and meets Beelzebumon's advance, and we close this episode on the battle roars they both let out.
Dukemon, like Megidramon and the rest of Guilmon's forms, was created for the show. A fun detail about Dukemon and Megidramon, however: By the time this episode aired, Dukemon was already known about.
This episode released on December 2nd, 2001. But in April of 2001, the D-Ark tie-in V-Pet was released containing complete evolution chains for all three of the show's main Partner Digimon. And, sure enough, the V-Pet also allows for Guilmon to go down a darker evolutionary path.
But the darker path he can go down is just recolors of the evolutions he already has. BlackGrowmon, BlackMegaloGrowmon, and ChaosDukemon are Guilmon's dark evolutions for the V-Pet.
This made Megidramon, who truly did debut right here in the show, a complete shock.
Megidramon would go on to appear in D-Ark Ultimate Version, though still not as a Guilmon evolution. Instead, he was a boss fight.
As for Dukemon, whew, that speech. I guess we're past "The Four Sacred Beasts must be good, right?" from Takato 'cause Dukemon both calls Beelzebumon an 悪魔 akuma and goes one step further to call Zhūquēmon an akuma that Beelzebumon sold his soul to.
To the followers of the Asuras, gods are devils and devils are gods.
In the dub:
(Takato taken to the Guilmon Space)
Takato: GUILMOOOOOON!!!
(Many Guilmons)
Takato: This is different. Now what do I do? There must be a thousand Guilmons here. NO WAY, I CAN'T!!! I DON'T WANT TO START OVER!!! THERE'S ONLY ONE REAL GUILMON AND HE'S THE ONE I WANT!!! NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!!! NOT DATA!!! NOT DNA!!! JUST MY FRIEND!!!
(Red light bridge extends to Guilmon)
EN Takato keeps asking "What am I supposed to do?" like he's trying to navigate a puzzle game and unlock Guilmon instead of exploring a manifestation of his psyche hyperbolically expressing his feelings into the space around him.
Here, Takato finally finds a way to make this an internal conflict. A minute ago, he said he wanted to start over. So now, faced with the many Guilmons, he's able to reach the epiphany that he doesn't want to start over. He was wrong a minute ago when he said that thing. Character developed!
Takato: Ah! Guilmon, I'm coming, boy!
(Takato runs to Guilmon, shattering the other Guilmon)
Takato: Just hang in there! You can do it!
(Guilmon opens eyes)
Takato: HOLD ON!!!
Guilmon: ...Takatomon...?
Takato: Guilmon!
(Takato and Guilmon return to the Digital World)
Takato: You're back....
Guilmon: Is it time for lunch, Takato?
Takato: Oh! Ahaha... Mhm. You can have anything you want, Guilmon.
Rika: TAKATO!!! WATCH OUT!!!
Takato: Huh!?
(Bullets incoming; Time reasserts itself)
Rika: TAKATOOOOOO!!!
(Megidramon whippy tail)
It is kinda weird that the bullets make a loud noise to alert Takato and Guilmon to them. The dub tries to correct for that by having Rika shout a warning to Takato instead.
This introduces new weirdness wherein Rika has used Blue Kaioken faster-than-time movement abilities to accelerate into the strange slow-mo timespace that Takato and Guilmon are occupying.
Guilmon: Right! That's enough!
Takato: You sure you're okay? Yeah, of course you are. We're together. We can do anything!
Guilmon: Mhm.
(Golden light shines around them; Beelzemon holsters his guns)
Beelzemon: We're not gonna do this again, are we!?
Takato: I wish I could fight him with you, Guilmon. Beelzemon wouldn't stand a chance against the two of us together!
Guilmon: I'm sure there's a way, Takato. Maybe you just have to wish for it really hard. It worked when you needed a Blue Card.
Takato: Alright then! I REALLY WANT TO FIGHT WITH GUILMON!!!
(Evolution)
In the original, it's Guilmon's idea for Takato to join him in the fight. The dub's committed to Guilmon still being Takato's dog, though, so he can't be the one leading the strategy.
As battle cries go, "I really want to fight with Guilmon" doesn't quite live up to "I'm not standing behind you anymore, Guilmon!"
During Dukemon's evolution, Guilmon gives the standard evolution cry of "GUILMON SHINKA!!!" For the dub, he replaces "Digivolve" with "Biomerge".
The dub also renames Dukemon to Gallantmon.
Kazu: ( °⌓°)
Kenta: ( °⌓°)
Guardromon: Remarkable!
Suzie: ( °⌓°)
Henry: That's amazing! He must be Guilmon's true Mega form!
Rika: I'll say... But where's Takato?
Beelzemon: Hey, what's going on here, huh!?
Gallantmon: Beelzemon, you rejected every friendship offered you. In return, you betrayed them and destroyed a valiant soul! I cannot forgive what you have done!
Beelzemon: You can't forgive me? I don't recall ever asking you to forgive me! We'll talk about forgiveness WHEN I WIPE YOU OUT OF EXISTENCE!!!
Gallantmon: So be it!
(Beelzemon and Gallantmon charge at each other)
Davis (V.O.): Now that's what I'm talking about! I think Takato's on the right track now! So keep watching Digimon: DIgital Monsters.
Dukemon's voice is performed by the same actress that plays Guilmon's other forms. She makes him sound powerful, regal, and more mature than any of his forms that came before.
The dub gives Gallantmon a Fusion Voice, speaking with both Guilmon and Takato's voices in unison. The effect is cool on paper but undercuts his regality and power he's meant to carry. He sounds very much like two kids in a trenchcoat, which makes it harder to take him seriously as a force to match Beelzemon.
Once again, the dub has to talk around the religious stuff. Gallantmon can't accuse Beelzemon of selling his soul to a devil. Fortunately, he has Leomon's recent death that he can use to build his "You are beyond redemption" case.
Ever since Davis transitioned to only occasionally playing the Next Time teaser game, it's become less and less clear what purpose his episode enders are actually serving. This time, all he says is "Wow, wasn't that cool?" and then he fucks off.
Assessment: I hope this isn't the last we see of the Digital Hazard because that was a little underwhelming for something that, in a way, has been foreshadowed for the entire series. Megidramon evolves, threatens the Digital World by his sheer presence, and then Beelzebumon reasserts himself as our present antagonist and kicks Megidramon to the curb, ending the crisis.
It's not even like we did anything to make the Digital Hazard go away. Megidramon and Beelzebumon sorted it out between themselves while the Tamers and Hypnos crew all stood around nearby. The most we contributed was nearly getting Renamon and Terriermon killed.
As things stand, Megidramon feels pretty much like SkullGreymon but with some extra bells and whistles.
The idea of a Tamer Jogressing with their Digimon is a pretty cool one, though. It's a neat idea for an Ultimate evolution. Perfect and Ultimate levels are supposed to require some extra spice to go above and beyond the natural endpoint of most Digimon, Adult level. And that's a pretty cool idea for an Ultimate level trigger.
This episode suffers a bit from Middle Chapter Syndrome. It feels like the episodes went:
34 - Everyone arrives on the precipice of the gods' domain. Beelzebumon attacks! Leomon's life is tragically lost, and the rage pushes Guilmon all the way to his Ultimate evolution! The real battle is about to begin.
35 - Uh, hang on, that's not... Uh, time out. Something's wrong. Takato takes Guilmon offline for a bit to go work out some bugs. Okay, now Guilmon goes to his real Ultimate evolution! The real battle is about to actually begin for sure this time!
We get some character work with Takato finally resolving the "Is Guilmon real or data?" question but it does kinda feel like we just went around in a circle.
I was waiting for this. This moment is still one of my favorites in Digimon, and helped cement Takato as my favorite Googlehead.
Finally, a Mega that felt earned - no last-minute prophecy bullshit, no magical plot device from the Exposition Dragon that only deigns to upgrade the central characters for some reason, but as the result of Takato's character arc that he has been building for some time now. He goes into deep introspection, comes out with a new understanding, and is reward with one of the most popular Megas in the franchise.
And yes, they did rewrite his epiphany for the dub, and I remember it falling a bit flat when I was watching it as a kid - but I didn't care, it was still the coolest thing I'd seen in Digimon at the time. The whole "not really alive" thing kinda came out of nowhere, anyway.
Oh, and the music - after two seasons of the dub just regurgitating the Digi-rap for every single transformation sequence, the new music was already a breath of fresh air. But then we reach this brand new final form, and the music actually changes to this sweet ethereal sound? I can't tell you how impactful that was on first viewing. I feel like this is the first season the dub team really paid attention to the soundtrack, and it shows here.
As for the form itself, Gallantmon is the first one to not be obviously derivative of Greymon's line. It still does the Greymon thing of abruptly 180ing from giant cyborg Dino to smaller humanoid warrior, but the similarities end there. Takato's still a fan of Greymon, but for this final form, when he's finally connected with his Digimon like never before, he's mainly doing his own thing.
Also, Gallantmon is a much, much better name than Dukemon - it's far more indicative of the "Noble Knight" thing Gallantmon has, plus it keeps the "G" theme of all his other forms' names. Besides, Dukes, Earls, Barons and the like have a long history of being the bad guys of English literature, so people in the West don't really associate them with knights to begin with.
Oh, and you know how the Digimon's voices and personalities didn't really change this season, no matter how how high up the evolutionary level they got? Well, here's it's finally subverted - Gallantmon is far more verbose than Takato or Guilmon ever was, because he's the end result of Takato's newfound maturity.
One final note - Beelzemon's line of "I don't recall asking for forgiveness" has been mentioned on TV Tropes for years, as a lampshade of how the classic "This is Unforgivable" line in Anime kinda falls flat to Western ears.
And yes, they did rewrite his epiphany for the dub, and I remember it falling a bit flat when I was watching it as a kid - but I didn't care, it was still the coolest thing I'd seen in Digimon at the time. The whole "not really alive" thing kinda came out of nowhere, anyway.
I wouldn't say it came out of nowhere. They've been bouncing back and forth the theme of what measure a digital life has since the beginning, it's just that it used to be a point of contention between Takato and other characters.
It started as:
Ruki: Digimon are just data. They aren't real living things.
Takato: How can you say that!? Guilmon is a real living thing!
And then it became
Yamaki: Digimon are just data. Their existence has no value and I'm going to destroy them all.
Takato: How can you say that!? Guilmon is a real living thing!
And let's not forget.
Takato: Don't you worry that Terriermon will disappear some day?
Jianliang: Not really. He's just data. It's not like he's a real living thing.
Takato: How can you say that!? Guilmon is a real living thing!
The early arc was full of Takato shouting down everyone about how Guilmon is totally 100% completely real and valid and should be acknowledged as a living creature.
Which is why it hit him so hard when Mizuno told him, "Yeah, he's a bunch of data assembled in the image of your blueprint."
Because if Guilmon is data then it means everyone else was right and he was wrong. Guilmon is not a real living thing. He never was. Takato was talking out of his ass in every single one of those altercations and doesn't he feel foolish now?
Which brings him around to his epiphany that it doesn't matter that Guilmon is data; He can be a real living thing anyway. After shouting "He's NOT just data, he's REAL" over and over and then finding out he's just data, this episode sees Takato having to find his way back to "But he's still real anyway".
As for the form itself, Gallantmon is the first one to not be obviously derivative of Greymon's line. It still does the Greymon thing of abruptly 180ing from giant cyborg Dino to smaller humanoid warrior, but the similarities end there. Takato's still a fan of Greymon, but for this final form, when he's finally connected with his Digimon like never before, he's mainly doing his own thing.
Is he? Dukemon/Gallantmon feels very much in line with the design philosophy behind Omegamon/Omnimon and Imperialdramon Fighter/Paladin Mode. So much so that Digimon lore would later create a whole category, the Royal Knights, to connect Omegamon and Dukemon as the same Kind of Thing.
Takato just made his own big fusion armored knight warrior. The main difference being that he's filling the role of the other fused entity rather than having Terriermon or Renamon do it.
Y'know how Fuu loses the glasses when she has the full transformation to pilot Windam?
Apparently its not that her sight gets magically fixed, Windam is adjusting his screens to her glasses prescription
Oh, that's neat. I did think it was just her sight getting magically fixed. I think in the anime, they actually say something about Fuu not needing glasses anymore because Cephiro is a land governed by will and she's just powerful enough to will herself to see or something.
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What do you think Abo and Cado are doing in Super? We know the special's canon, Tarble was mentioned twice (once in Battle of Gods as an option for the ritual, once in Broly as a surviving Saiyan). Super focused a surprising amount on Freeza and the Freeza Force, and in all their scenes and focus arcs, we don't see hide nor hair of Abo or Cado.
Where were they while Sorbet took over the Freeza Force, Freeza got resurrected, the Freeza Force took a huge L on Earth, Freeza got resurrected again a few years later, and Freeza recruited Broly?
It is stated in the special that they were Ginyu Force tier back in the day, but have since trained up to Freeza level (though presumably this means 1st Form Freeza, since that's the form Tarble has context for and that's the one he imagines when he makes that statement, and that fits with them putting up a decent fight but losing to base Goten and Trunks).
So presumably they wouldn't allow Sorbet to push them around, the Freeza Force is a meritocracy, and they were definitely stronger than him. But it also seemed like Sorbet wasn't even the strongest guy in his own reign, it seemed like Garana, Tagoma, and Shisami were all stronger than him (in case you don't remember Garana, in DBS, Garana and his men were wiped out by Champa looking for a Super Dragon Ball, and losing his second-strongest guy (after Shisami) was what convinced Sorbet they needed to revive Freeza).
Notable that Garana and Shisami were the two strongest in the Freeza Force, implying that they were either stronger than Abo and Cado, or that Abo and Cado left and weren't part of the Freeza Force.
I think it's possible they left, the special ended with them joining the party and eating the radishes happily, so maybe after making friends with the guys who destroyed the Freeza Force, they couldn't remain as part of it. Still, you'd think they would at least be mentioned, where they fucked off to. Maybe Freeza kills them to clean up loose ends. Maybe Cheelai and Lemo make contact with them, since they've gone rogue now too. I dunno, something. What do you think?
They left the Frieza Force to open an interstellar chain of food trucks selling hot dogs. Spaceships that toodle around the galaxy, stopping by various space stations or swooping down planetside to sell hot dogs.
I don't actually know, but Toriyama would definitely have written something goofy like that if pressed on it.
In the special, they seemed to really like Goku's daikon radishes, so one of the items on the menu is Bánh Mì style hog dogs with pickled carrots and daikon radishes, like this:
The Son family are their main supplier of daikon radishes, they stop by Earth every month or so to buy more.
I think part of BND's appeal is its willingness to be Marvel's James Gunn's Superman.
It's the first MCU movie that really feels like it takes place in a lived-in superhero universe. Where superheroes and supervillains exist as part of the everyday background noise of life in NYC, and you don't need elaborate origin stories for every super that appears onscreen because it's just expected now that millions of people are getting superpowers every which way.
It's the closest a Marvel film has ever come to actually feeling like the 616 comic book universe.
As much as I wanted Scorpion to have a bigger role than he got in Brand New Day, I do think it's interesting (and kinda funny) how he's basically Spider-Man's Team Rocket: this annoying little shit that isn't actually a threat to him, he just takes time out of his day that could've been spent stopping other crimes.
Were it not for him being locked into Sony movies only, it would be really neat if Scorpion became a recurring villain for the MCU's street level heroes: just some guy causing havoc and picking fights just to prove he's the biggest, baddest guy on the block.
(Really, I just wanna see how Luke Cage or Daredevil faced off against him, haha)
Honestly, the MCU could use more recurring low- and mid-level bad guys who can just pop in working for XYZ villain or making chaos or something when movies need an inconsequential fight scene.
I'm still mad they killed off Batroc in Falcon and the Winter Soldier when he's perfect for the recurring goober villain role.
And then killed off Taskmaster in Thunderbolts.
I half expect that if we do see Scorpion again, it will just be to die.
Final Fantasy VA Trivia: Barret's OG JP VA is Masahiro Kobayashi, who was Chef in South Park. In the remake he's voiced by Masato Funaki, who was DCAU Amazo. His Original English VA was Beau Billingslea, who is Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop, and Ogremon in Digimon Adventure. In the Remake he's voiced by John Eric Bentley, who regularly plays Nick Fury in Video Games, was the narrator in Digimon Adventure Tri, LeBron James in Multiversus, and played Son Goku in Naruto.
It's a cute reference. In Naruto, there is a minor character who is a four tailed giant gorilla creature whose name is Son Goku. For bonus points, they were sealed inside of a human named Roshi.
There should be an alternate ending to RE: Requiem where Grace does not go to the hotel and instead gets her boss fired for tasking an agent to investigate a crime scene where her mother died.
Like.
You didn't have any FBI agents who didn't have a beloved family member die at the scene of the crime being investigated? Is this a power play thing? You like scratching at the trauma of all your agents or just the women?
This is a very inappropriate assignment for Grace to be sent on.
Like, of all the reasons for a character to end up back at a place that is personally meaningful for them in a traumatic way, her boss going "Hey wanna go get retraumatized investigating violent incidents where your mom died?" is a wild choice to make.
Grace is struggling even to set foot on the premises and I am just screaming at my TV "YOU SHOULDN'T BE HERE. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF AGENTS WHO COULD DO THIS INSTEAD."
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Also, RE: Requiem letting you choose between first- and third-person camera perspectives is a cool idea but there should be a button that flips perspective for you. It shouldn't be hidden away in the Options menu.
Capcom, learn from Bethesda. They've been letting players flick between first- and third-person perspective with a button press for years.
Also got a bit of a vibe off the tutorial introducing this saying "Grace should be played in first-person to enhance the horror and Leon should be played in third-person to enhance the action."
First, spoilers, thanks. I did not know Leon was going to be playable.
Second, I dunno. "Horror for the female character, action for the male character," gives me a vibe but I don't want to make a thing of it based just off of this. We'll see how it goes.
There should be an alternate ending to RE: Requiem where Grace does not go to the hotel and instead gets her boss fired for tasking an agent to investigate a crime scene where her mother died.
Like.
You didn't have any FBI agents who didn't have a beloved family member die at the scene of the crime being investigated? Is this a power play thing? You like scratching at the trauma of all your agents or just the women?
This is a very inappropriate assignment for Grace to be sent on.
Every time I hear Grace Ashcroft's name, I have to remind myself that she's related to an obscure character from Resident Evil Outbreak and not to the Ashford family.
This is what I get for being one of the five people who played Code Veronica.
Final Fantasy VA Trivia: Barret's OG JP VA is Masahiro Kobayashi, who was Chef in South Park. In the remake he's voiced by Masato Funaki, who was DCAU Amazo. His Original English VA was Beau Billingslea, who is Jet Black in Cowboy Bebop, and Ogremon in Digimon Adventure. In the Remake he's voiced by John Eric Bentley, who regularly plays Nick Fury in Video Games, was the narrator in Digimon Adventure Tri, LeBron James in Multiversus, and played Son Goku in Naruto.
It's a cute reference. In Naruto, there is a minor character who is a four tailed giant gorilla creature whose name is Son Goku. For bonus points, they were sealed inside of a human named Roshi.
I think part of BND's appeal is its willingness to be Marvel's James Gunn's Superman.
It's the first MCU movie that really feels like it takes place in a lived-in superhero universe. Where superheroes and supervillains exist as part of the everyday background noise of life in NYC, and you don't need elaborate origin stories for every super that appears onscreen because it's just expected now that millions of people are getting superpowers every which way.
It's the closest a Marvel film has ever come to actually feeling like the 616 comic book universe.
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Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Metsger analyzing mutant brains to figure out how they're doing their special thing to be able to replicate it in other people giving real Hope's Peak and Izuru Kamukura vibes.
Oh yeah, definitely. I'm trying to think of whether there's some kind of composite mutant thing he could be making from the comics.
All I'm coming up is Bad Movie Deadpool from X-Men Origins: Wolverine. But I do wonder if Damage Control is going to turn out to be related in some way to Weapon X.
So Masako Nozawa fuses with someone too fight against a guy who has absorbed the powers of his allies. Makes me wanna see Vegito rage bait Beelzebumon
Oh man, the belittling Vegetto does would absolutely have a Spider-Man-like effect on Beelzebumon's insecurities. He'd fall for it hook, line, and sinker.
