Saturday, March 16, 2024

Starbolts #672: Sentinels in New York

 Hail! 

    The Sentinels have taken Manhattan and now it's up to the Starbolts to save the day. With a team of Jack, Crystal, Firaxil, Marcus and Aquita, you can bet Steve is going to have his hands full. Though, I wonder what could be preventing the Aquan princess from sensing people around her...Hmm,...That is a mystery indeed. ;)

    Marcus and Crystal were definitely in the sewers of Boston once way back in Starbolts #370.  That was a fun adventure. Crystal was cursed by the witch Zarantha and it took the ancient being known as "The Green Monster" to break the spell. Zarantha trued to prevent her from feeling true love and it was something neither she nor her new boyfriend (at the time) Marcus could live with. So, they sought out the Green Monster and she saved her life. I'm thinking someday she and Marcus might revisit TGM. Let's just hope she moved out of the sewers and somewhere less foul smelling.

    You've got to feel a little bad for Steve in his scene this week. His friends are gone and now an organization is using his old friend's armor as a type of foot soldier for their army. Who are they? They obviously know about the Starbolts. That and other mysteries will be solved very soon. I plan on revealing just how Steve got caught up in this mess. 

Look for some more action soon! See ya next time!

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Starbolts #671: Night of the Sentinels

 

 Hail! 

    I think I'd have to agree with M'anta's assessment here. There is absolutely no way for Steve to come back from this. This is now the second time he went off the deep end and threatened our heroes. The first time was the story arc that lasted from Starbolts #240 to Starbolts #275. To be fair his last bout with the darkness was brought on by the evil Jade Skull possessing his body. That's not what's happening here. Nope. A new organization managed to take a hold of the former Iron Eagle and shifted his already weakened mind to their way of thinking. It's a shame. It really is. A once decorated hero is now cuckoo for Coco Puffs.

    Who this mysterious organization remains a mystery and will be a mystery for some time. Sufficed it to say they capitalized on the evil organization void left by Terra Nova. Once they were out of the picture, other organizations were now able to come out of the shadows. Whoever they are, they'll have to deal with the Starbolts. Let's hope our heroes can put this new group out of business because not only have they turned a good man against them, they've co-opted a dead man's technology and used it to create an army of Sentinels.

    This week's title comes from the first episode of the 1992 classic X-Men cartoon that ran from 1992 to 1997 on Fox Kids. I totally watched it and I will definitely be watching the sequel show, X-Men '97 on Disney + when it streams on March 20th. I so can't wait for that show. It should be epic!

    As far as this week's comic goes, it looks like Norad is fine after being spared by the robots. Let's hope help arrives. I don't think the Starbolts will be pleased with Steve and his army of robots. Stay tuned for next week's comic "Sentinels in New York". 

See ya then!

Saturday, March 2, 2024

Starbolts #670: Dropping the Truth Train

 

 Hail! 

    I haven't really decided where the Vault is per se. But, it is a nice prison for criminals with superpowers regardless of wealth and prestige. If you do a crime and you happen to have superpowers, you're usually sent there. That's the place where criminals who try to take over the world go. Super-powered henchmen like Tornado and the rest of the Legion go someplace else. That's why he was able to get out when he did. The Vault is home to some seriously tough baddies who are now far from society. Ruby will have one friend there at least. Though, I don't think she'd be too happy to see her.

    After this trial, I think that Mr. Stevens will be facing a lot of questions and will potentially be disbarred after allowing his client to manipulate him like that. It's a good thing the judge wasn't so easily swayed. Then again, I don't think Ruby would've risked using her powers on the judge when there are so many Starbolts around. That wouldn't be a good look and would probably make her look bad. So, she played it smart for now. It's just too bad the evidence was so strong. She had no case and ended up wasting everyone's time with her crocodile tears.

    In any event, the trial is over and now the Starbolts can focus on trying to find Iron Eagle. We'll be catching up with M'anta's team next comic and then deal with that whole mess. I get the feeling they'll be needing Jack's help after all. Now that the trial is over, Jack is free to resume his Iron Eagle duties and bring Steve in. Let's home he comes quietly. Nah. We know he won't.

   See ya next time!

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Starbolts #669: Legal Drama

 Hail! 

    The trial of Crystal Whitefox is now in high gear and it promises to be.....the shortest trial in the history of the legal system. I mean with so much evidence from a telepathic doctor, an empathic therapist and loads of other testimony there's no way Ruby Arronfeld could win the case. Unless she were to mindzap the judge that is. Don't think that hasn't crossed her mind because it totally did.

    Speaking of the judge, you've got to feel bad for the poor guy. He's getting a firsthand account of just how crazy superhero lives are. Mateo went back in time and saw Crystal getting raped by Cody as seen in Starbolts #472.  Marcus bonded with Crystal after he was possessed by Demonstorm. Jack survived D.I.S.C.O.R.D. island exploding. And let's not go into the fact that two extraterrestrials were called in to testify. Someone better get that man a drink after this trial. He may be out of his element.

    I really like how Marcus's testimony came out. It showed the love he had for Crystal in a not so obvious way. Jack's testimony was good in that he vented his true feelings. I like to think that he kept glaring at Ruby like the Winter Soldier. Just glaring at her. But, I think Carter's words probably cut her deeply. Let's not forget Ruby WAS a top tier member of Terra Nova and Carter is not afraid to voice her feelings.

    Crystal's testimony is up next. I think she will have to be considered a hostile witness. I think Val can handle her. She's doing a pretty good job as an attorney for the Whitefoxes. Sure she's new to the bench but she has skill. They may keep her on board long term. You never know.

Stay tuned for Crystal's expert testimony next time! 

See ya then!

Saturday, February 17, 2024

Starbolts #668: Building up the Defense

 Hail!

    I'm sorry that there was no comic last weekend. I caught the human malware aka Covid and was out of commission. I had this comic all scripted. But, I couldn't sit up long enough to actually work on the thing. It's just as well. It gave me time to think of some edits and take care of a few odds and ends that are coming down the pike for our heroes. We've definitely got some surprises coming!

    Back to this week's comic. Here we have Crystal amassing a team of her greatest defenders. Each one of the people she selected knows her story inside and out and will help her win the day. They're her closest friends and family members. With a group like that, how can she fail? The group consists of her therapist, her boyfriend, her siblings and her doctor. Yeah, I'd say she's got quite a team here.

   Speaking of teams. M'anta and his crew went on the hunt to find Roger, the slightly crazy Iron Eagle. Will they find him or will he prove to be more than a match for our heroes? Time will tell. For now we've got this case to win and win it they shall!

 I mean sure Valentina just got her law degree. But, that's okay. She needed a good first case and this is just as good and as worthwhile as any!

See ya next time!

Saturday, February 3, 2024

Starbolts #667: A Simple Investigation

 Hail!

    Well, we knew going right to the Department of Metahuman Affairs with that evidence wasn't going to be that easy. At least we know for certain that Ruby had been telepathically manipulating her lawyer. AND we know that he isn't a DMA lawyer. Just one she personally hired. I'm with Jack. I bet he's a former Terra Nova agent. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

We'll be dealing with what's been going on with the second Iron Eagle soon enough. We've just got this current storyline to deal with. But, let's recap Roger's life up to this point.

    Roger was the leader of a team of heroes called the Guardians and he took up the mantle of Iron Eagle and used the name while Andrea became Lady Liberty. For years he was one of the planet's greatest heroes. He got into a fight with one of his old enemies, the Jade Skull and he implanted his consciousness into our hero with the help of the witch, Zarantha.

    Under the Jade Skull's control, Roger destroyed the Guardians' home, killed several of his teammates, captured Jenna and Firaxil and performed hideous experiments on them. Jenna and Firaxil eventually recovered from the damage he caused but the damage was done and Roger went into self imposed exile once he was restored to his former self. It also didn't help that he unknowingly had one of Carter's clones as a teammate. Sufficed it to say Roger's life has been in a downward spiral since Starbolts #240, a comic that came out almost ten years ago.

    Andrea and the others eventually found him and offered him a teaching position at the academy. Things were pretty quiet until now.  Now he sees Jack and Crystal as threats to America. What the catalyst was remains a mystery. It might have something to do with the events of Starbolts #665. Either way, the Starbolts will have to deal with his newest problems after this trial is over.

 The poor guy's life is gonna come to a head soon when the current Iron Eagle comes face to face with his predecessor. But, that'll have to wait for another day. We've got this trial to go to!

See ya next time!

    

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Starbolts #666: Sibling Talk

 Hail!

    This week's comic deals with the aftermath of last week's comic where Crystal destroyed the "farm" she grew up on. I put "farm" in quotation marks because lord knows that wasn't a real farm. They didn't grow anything and there was barely any livestock. It was a farm in name only. But, that was the least of that place's problem. It clearly evokes a bad memory for her and Crystal was already stressed out over Ruby's current antics. No one is mad at her. However, the court of public opinion may see things another way. In the end, I don't think she'll care much about their thoughts on the issue.

    Marcus and Crystal had a great long talk when she got back. I totally see him waiting for her when she returned. They went to their apartment and proceeded to talk for hours about her panic attacks and Cody. He obviously knew what Cody did to her. They've discussed it many times. However, they never really talked about the cause of the first panic attack. Let's just say it wasn't pretty and is definitely not safe for this comic. I've gotten close to the line a few times. But, this is one line I can't cross. It was pretty horrible.

    At least our heroine is in good hands with her siblings and her other loved ones. I see her going to Jack and Carter whenever there's a problem. I even see her going to Marcus when she needs to let out some steam, too. The three of them suffered so much at the hands of Terra Nova. I think they'll need each other more than their parents when dealing with Terra Nova drama. Though the organization may be gone, the trauma may linger for some time.

    I think Crystal will be okay in the end. She has a great support system. At least now she's ready to take Ruby down once and for all. 

See ya next time!