Starbolts #424: Welcome to the Starbolts, Ellie

Hail!

Hot off the heels of my Captain Marvel review comes the newest comic with the newest Starbolt taking center stage! Welcome to the Starbolts, Ellie! Hope you survive the experience! Ellie's powers are the ability to touch metal and take on its properties. However, this could be expanded upon in the future with other elements. Basically she'd be able to turn into any element. If she touches stone, she'd become stone-like. Since her powers just started, she has a long way to go before mastering all  of the things she can turn into.

Not only do we have Ellie getting her powers this week. We have her meeting with the newbies. I think Richie and Ellie will hit it off. Don't you? Hey. Stranger things have happened. For those of you keeping score, the powers of the newbies are as follows:

Kenji: No powers
Richie: Flight, some super strength and energy blasts.
Carra: Super strength and heightened senses
Adam: Telekinesis
Donna: Super strength and flight
Ellie: Absorption of elements

Not a bad crew. I have a feeling Ellie's mom would not approve of this. Oh well. Who cares?

Now that her powers have been revealed, I think it's time for a sister/sister talk. Stay tuned for that! See you next time!

Movie Thoughts: Captain Marvel

Hails and horns!

I just got back from seeing the first Marvel blockbuster of 2019 and that movie was Captain Marvel! As many people know, I like the character of Carol Danvers. She's one of my favorite Avengers of all time and let's face it a very complex character. In the comics she struggled with alcoholism like Tony Stark. She lost her powers at the hands of the X-Man, Rogue and bounced back more powerful than ever. Without a doubt, Carol Susan Jane Danvers is a fighter! And this movie brings that message home!

Captain Marvel covers so many elements of the character it's hard to really explain. We see her open snarkiness. That's always a pleasure. We see her bravery and empathy. We see many things that have made the character who she is. Aside from her amazing powers, she is a woman who is driven to be the best she can be. That's something to be admired. In many respects Carol is basically Marvel's version of Wonder Woman.

The movie itself has many twists and turns. There's plenty of action, comedy and drama. There's also a few twists and turns. It happens whenever Skrulls are involved. And wow the effects on those green-skinned aliens were pretty amazing. I hope we see them again now that Marvel Studios and Disney are hard at work securing the rights to the Fantastic Four and X-Men. Imagine Reed and his family taking on the Skrulls. That would be cool.

I also think with the movie taking place in the '90s it sets up a lot of the things that happened in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I won't spoil it here. You'll just have to see it for yourself. All in all Captain Marvel is a fun ride and I'm glad I saw it. It's definitely a worthy addition to the MCU franchise. I don't think there's ever been a really AWFUL movie in the MCU. That's something to be proud of. I look forward to seeing Carol once again in Avengers Endgame. Thanos honestly has to watch out. She's coming.

And since this movie will most likely get a sequel, I hope we see her friend, Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman. A guy can dream can't he?

Now then should you go see Captain Marvel? Yes. Go see it. There's plenty of action and it's got a really good story to tell. The CGI for young Coulson and Fury are also good. Marvel has found a winning formula. I don't think they'll be slowing down any time soon.

Go see the movie! Oh and keep an eye out for that Stan Lee tribute. You'll get misty-eyed, true believer.

EXCELSIOR!

Oh and the movie does have a pre and post credit scene. Check those out! Bye!

Starbolts #423: Daughters of Liberty (Part 6)

Hail!

Both sides are gearing up for their eventual battle and all I can hear when the armor comes down is the Avengers theme. Sara is going to wear that suit when she fights her father and it looks like he'll be using a leftover Manhunter armor. Hmmm....This could be an interesting fight. Safe bet who's gonna win here.

So now Sara has access to a cool armor we haven't seen Jenna wear in quite some time. This is going to be a match for the ages!

Hold on! That's not all! It turns out that Ellie is metahuman. What kind of powers will she have? Well, we won't have long to find out. So, stick around! Man, I can't get that song out of my head!

See ya next time!

Starbolts #422: Daughters of Liberty (Part 5)

Hail!

This week’s comic is full of drama isn’t it? Just wanted to say for the record that both womens’ problems aren’t completely solved this week. They still have a long, long way to go. Needless to say both Sara and Crystal have been profoundly changed by the people in their lives never giving up on them. They’re ready to move on from being what Terra Nova wanted them to be. That’s what this whole arc has been about. They’re no longer the daughters of Terra Nova. They’re the daughters of Lady Liberty.

Stan and Andrea Whitefox raised the two from the age of sixteen or so. Check the timeline for details! It was actually Andrea who gave Crystal her middle name. The way I see it is Terra Nova’s birth certificate for her was as cold as you can get. Her parents only gave her a first and last name. There was also a clause in there which made them relinquish all rights to the child after five years. Mary was Andrea’s mother’s name and Crystal had to be adopted right away. So, they needed to create a new birth certificate with “Crystal Mary Whitefox” on it and that’s how she got that full name. Sara on the other hand had to deal with Elisabeth insisting on falsifying records and all that. Both sets of blood parents are charmers aren’t they? Well, both Elisabeth and Clive had better watch out. The Daughters of Liberty are coming!

Fast forward to this week’s comic and we have Crystal looking for comfort and answers. A lot of people in her life screwed her over. She knows her adoptive parents and brother wouldn’t hurt her. She just didn’t feel human during this mess. So, I created a Peter Parker/Mary Jane style scene for the two. Thankfully that couple is back together in the comics because I’d be ranting about that right now. Haha! Sara’s scene is more akin to something Black Widow or even Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew) would deal with as she was poked and prodded more than Crystal. In a way Crystal is a bit like Carol Danvers then. I’ve tried to convey that Carol/Jess style relationship in the comic and I hope I succeeded.

We’ll be seeing more of the Daughters of Liberty next week as the mini-arc concludes! See you then!

Starbolts #421: Daughters of Liberty (Part 4)

Hail!

This was an especially difficult comic to write and sprite. We just found out what "the bad thing" was and that Clive killed his own daughter. Medics were able to bring her back. But, still. The damage was done and Sola was born. We also learned that Crystal spent a considerable amount of time with the Marshalls before returning to Kentucky. The Arronfelds most likely brought her to the Marshalls consistently for the first five years of their lives.

They spent the next ten separated from each other and only find each other again when they were teenagers. How did Crystal forget her friend? That's a question for another time. My co-writer, Sam, suggested that time played a role. However, this was a pretty traumatic event. Could this memory be repressed in Crystal? It's hard to say.

Right now both women are going to need some comfort and that's what next comic is going to be about. The bomb has been dropped and now Sara and Crystal need to put themselves back together again. Here's hoping Marcus and Firaxil are up to the challenge. Spoilers: They are.

See you next time!

Starbolts #420: Daughters of Liberty (Part 3)

Hail!

Part three of Sara and Crystal's adventure is here and it's a bridge to what's going to happen in the next three comics. As you can see the three are heading toward Sara's childhood home in Belchertown, Massachusetts. Yes, that's a real town with a real colonial history. Check it out. It's right outside of Worcester.

Anyway, it seems that Ellie here may be a meta herself. What will her powers be? Will she be a meta? Time will tell. For now the crew is on their way to Sara's home. Jack wishes he was going. But, I don't think he's going to like what Sara and Crystal are going to find. He won't like what they found so far. That's for sure.

Will Sara and Crystal find Clive? Will they find more than what either of them bargained for? Tune in next time and find out!

Starbolts #419: Daughters of Liberty (Part 2)

 Hail!

This week Sara and Crystal learn that they are more alike and share more of a history than they previously thought possible! If you look at one of the flashback panels you'll see baby Sara and baby Crystal holding hands. Once we get to the present you see the two holding hands again. It's really unfortunate that they had to find out this way. Crystal was basically supposed to be the Jenna of Clive's version of the Starbolts. Funny how that didn't work out.

How did Clive find out about the Starbolts program? The answer to that question will be revealed in time. Looks like the girl I introduced in the New Year's comic is Sara's sister. Her name is Ellie and we'll find out just how she fits into all of this next week.

As for Crystal and Sara? Well, they're both hurting. They're both gonna need support from their real families once they get back to the Watchtower. The girls finding out that they were nothing more than experiments has got to sting. This mini arc has been called "Daughters of Liberty" for a reason and it'll continue being called that for a few more comics to come.

It's gonna get even crazier by the end of the mini arc! Stay tuned!