WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania IX

I really wasn’t that into WrestleMania IX at the time. But looking back at the event, and what happened after, this is really an event of transition. This is pretty much the end of the “Hulkamania” era of the WWF, and new stars are coming in, like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Times are a changing.

THE GOOD: The look of this show is so unique. It was the first WrestleMania to be held outside. But what really sets it apart is the unique set pieces. It was held at Cesar’s in Las Vegas, and the theming reflected the casino’s Roman look.

THE BAD: At the time, I was really bummed out that not only did Bret Hart wind up losing the WWF Championship to Yokozuna. What even made it worse for me was that Hulk Hogan wound up winning the title from Yokozuna only minutes later.

MATCH TO WATCH: The Steiner Brothers have an awesome match with the Headshrinkers. Need I say any more?

WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania VIII

WrestleMania VIII was an interesting show. There were a few really cool matches, and a really confusing ending. What happened?

THE GOOD: Randy Savage had a great match with Ric Flair for the WWF Championship. Flair was talking trash about Savage’s wife, Miss Elizabeth, which set up this feud. Flair was being so scummy towards her the whole time, so you really REALLY wanted him to not only beat the tar out of Flair but take away the title. And he did. Another awesome WrestleMania moment from Savage.

THE BAD: The ending of the Hulk Hogan/Sid Justice match. Sid was so awesome, and Hogan wound up costing him the Royal Rumble, which made him go crazy. Rightfully. I was so sure that Sid would end Hulkamania once and for all. Unfortunately, the next day I found out at school that Hogan one and never got around to seeing this match. I just saw this for the first time this month and it is confusing. There’s a lot of confusion, Papa Shongo and the Ultimate Warrior get involved. Just craziness.

MATCH TO WATCH: Bret Hart beating Roddy Piper to win the Intercontinental Championship is the highlight of the event, if not the best match I’ve ever seen Piper in.

Green Arrow’s Chili Recipe

To me, it’s always been a weird character point that the Green Arrow was a chili aficionado. I don’t know why, but it always struck me as odd. So how exactly does he go about making it?

After years of being mentioned, his recipe was finally featured in 2002’s Green Arrow Secret Files & Origins #1. I’ve actually made it. While it’s darn tasty, its freaking hot. How hot is it? So hot that its a running joke that the only people who enjoy it are Green Arrow (because its his recipe) and Batman (because he’s crazy tough).

This leaves me with the question of who on the DC staff at the time actually came up with this recipe?

WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania VII

WrestleMania VII took place at the end of the Gulf War and American patriotism was at a fevered pitch. This was the most Americana themed WrestleMania, with its red, white and blue themed ring and advertising. The main event had Hulk Hogan challenging everyone’s favorite wrestler turned GI Joe toy turned Iraqi sympathizer Sgt. Slaughter for the WWF Championship.

THE GOOD:  The second half of WrestleMania VII is pretty good. For some reason, there’s a match pitting Demolition against the team of Japanese wrestling legend Genichiro Tenryu and former sumo wrestler Koji Kitao. For whatever reason, I’ve always been a fan of random foreign wrestlers showing up for one-shot appearances like this.

THE BAD: Jake “The Snake” Roberts and “The Model” Rick Martel had been feuding for a while, thanks to Martel attempting to blind Roberts with his personal cologne scent called Arrogance. How cool is that? Unfortunately this wasn’t, as it was a blindfold match. The two kind of stumbled around with bags over the head and this is fast forward-able.

MATCH TO WATCH: Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior stole the show with their match. The loser would have to retire from the WWF, so there was a lot of drama throughout. The ending had Warrior barely winning. After the match, Savage’s manager Sensational Sherri berated him, only for his previous manager the beloved Miss Elizabeth coming to the ring to stand up for him. The crowd went nuts with the two reuniting.

WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania VI

WrestleMania VI was pretty forgettable, except for the Ultimate Warrior/Hulk Hogan match for the WWF Championship. But it didn’t matter, because everyone thought that the Warrior was the most amazing thing EVER in 1990.

THE GOOD: WrestleMania VI was held in Toronto and it is amazing how many future Canadian wrestlers were in attendance. BFF’s Edge and Christian were at the SkyDome that night. So was Lance Storm.

THE BAD: There were three matches that ended in a count out or disqualification. For the big showcase event of the year, you would have hoped that there were a few more definitive endings.

MATCH TO WATCH: I guess it would be the previously mentioned Warrior/Savage match. The crowd is electric for it and win Warrior claims the title is quite the moment.

WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania V

I really wished that Macho Man had beat Hulk Hogan. Oh well...

WrestleMania V was the big thing right around when I became hooked on professional wrestling. We had moved in with my grandmother for a bit, and this was the first time we had cable. Watching the feud between the two grow was epic.

But I’ll admit I was disappointed. When I was young I always preferred Macho Man and Roddy Piper to Hulk Hogan, so this was kind of a bummer to me.

THE GOOD: As a whole, it was decent but nothing too spectacular.

THE BAD: Did they really need to include the Red Rooster/Bobby Heenan match? It just felt like a time filler, and at most a break before the main event.

MATCH TO WATCH: Mr. Perfect and the Blue Blazer (a masked Owen Hat) have a really good match that is so different from anything else that was in the WWF at that time.

Ninja Turtle Rage

So what’s up with all the Ninja Turtle rage? The upcoming Ninja Turtles film produced by Michael Bay is driving some shell heads crazy with some changes to the heroes in a half shell. So what exactly the source of this outrage?

This film has two big changes to the Turtle franchise:

1. The Turtles are no longer mutants; they are aliens from a far off planet where everyone is apparently a turtle.
2. They’ve also dropped the “Teenage” from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles title as well, so now its the much shorter title Ninja Turtles. (This was a decision by Paramount for marketing purposes to have a shorter, concise title).

These two announcements, plus what other changes that are yet to be announced, has started a fan outrage that hasn’t been seen since the Transformers and GI Joe movies of the last decade, every super hero film, and even 1987’s Masters of the Universe. The point is, that it is inevitable that the story will be changed from the source material.

Think about this…the original Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles published by Mirage Studios is different from the Fred Wolf Films cartoon series. Take it one step further and you will see that there are other differences in the Playmates toy line, the long-running Archie Comics series, and every subsequent film/cartoon show. The point is that these are all variations of the same theme and are all valid.

So what does Michael Bay have to say about this?

“Fans need to take a breath, and chill. They have not read the script. Our team is working closely with one of the original creators of Ninja Turtles to help expand and give a more complex back story,” said Bay on his message board.

“Relax, we are including everything that made you become fans in the first place. We are just building a richer world.”

And this is the inherent problem with fandom. We all wind up judging the final product before its been released. Everyone gets worked up over these changes, sounding like morons with the whole “you’ve raped my childhood” hyperbole. If Ninja Turtles is going to suck, it’s not going to solely be because they’re aliens and not mutants. And if the film is awesome, its’ not going to be because of that change either.

What is going to make or break this film is much larger; the combination of story, the acting, the special effects, even the marketing. To judge it by a minor plot tweek is insane.

On a final note, to everyone who is not a fan of Michael Bay, I challenge you to tell me why his Aaron Burr Got Milk collection isn’t amazing.

WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania IV

WrestleMania IV is awesome because the whole show is built around a one-night tournament for the vacant WWF title. Being that this is from 1988, you would assume that Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant would be the winner. But in an amazing swerve, the two of them were eliminated in the first round!

THE GOOD: When I re-watched this for the first time in years, I had no idea how the tournament played out, save for the Andre/Hogan match. The unpredictable nature of a tournament really helped make this a fun show to watch.

THE BAD: Don Muraco versus Dino Bravo wasn’t so hot. I would have liked to see more Rick Rude, but those are the breaks. On the bright side, it gave us that awesome Rude/Jake Rogers feud.

MATCH TO WATCH: The final match of Randy Savage versus Ted DiBiase for the championship is great, and the crowd goes insane when Andre and Hogan get involved in the finish.

Green Lantern Toys At McDonalds!

I would have so loved this when I was a kid. McDonalds’ next set of Happy Meal toys feature Hal Jordan and some of the other characters from Green Lantern: The Animated Series. There’s a bunch of Hals, a Kilowog and even a Red Lantern who I can’t identify.

Green Lantern airs on the Cartoon Network. There is a new episode this Saturday at 10 am. Combine that with a bowl of Lucky Charms and you have a pretty accurate idea of how I’m spending Saturday morning.

WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania III

Ricky Steamboat takes on Randy Savage.

Like anyone who was a kid in 1987, WrestleMania III is remembered as the time Hulk Hogan beat Andre the Giant. That, and it was the WrestleMania that had Entertainment Tonight’s Mary Hart on it.

It was held at the Silverdome in Detroit and it really has the big event feel. There was literally 90,000 people packed into the stands at this football stadium. The dressing room was so far away that the wrestlers came to and from the ring in these funky looking little carts that were made to look like tiny wrestling rings.

From the wide cast of characters to the big went feel, this is really a textbook example of what professional wrestling should be–a huge spectacle.

THE GOOD: Rightfully so, everyone always talks about how awesome the Ricky Steamboat/Randy Savage match was. It might be the best WrestleMania match ever.

THE BAD: There’s nothing really terrible on this event. Andre/Hogan isn’t as good as the Steamboat/Savage match, but the storytelling aspect carries it.

MATCH TO WATCH: Most people would recommend either of the two previously mentioned matches, but they have been discussed to death over the years. I’m going to go with Roddy Piper versus Adrian Adonis in a hair match. The feud between the two was great to watch unfold and is an appropriate conclusion.

WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania II

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Mr. T duke it out at WrestleMania II.

 

WrestleMania II is unique for two reasons:

1. It was the only WrestleMania to happen on a Monday.
2. It was the only WrestleMania to be held at three different locations, Chicago, Long Island and Los Angeles, thanks to the magic of television satellites.

Those logistics alone make it impressive. As for the show itself, it felt pretty average. There was some good stuff on the event, but as a whole it felt like it went on for far too long. I do have a short attention span you know. None of the matches were over 15 minutes, but the show as a whole time felt like a chore to get through.

THE GOOD: Roddy Piper and Mr. T’s “boxing” match was pretty fun.

THE BAD: The Velvet McIntyre/Fabulous Moolah match wasn’t that good at all. And this is on an event with an Uncle Elmer match!

MATCH TO WATCH: The British Bulldogs win the Tag Team titles from Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake in an awesome match. How awesome? The Bulldogs don’t only have longtime manager Captain Lou Albano in their corner, but Ozzy Osbourne!

WrestleMania Flashback: WrestleMania I

Mr. T hip tosses "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorf

Just as much as I love comics, I probably love professional wrestling. It seems the two go hand in hand. Some of the top guys in pro wrestling these days–like CM Punk–are avid comic book fans. Anyway, the biggest day in the wrestling world is coming up next week, WrestleMania 28. Thanks to my own collection and the local public library, I’ve been going through the past 27 events.

WrestleMania I was the first back in 1984. Watching this now just doesn’t seem that it was that big of a deal. The matches kind of blur together, and nothing really sticks out. The total time of the matches is approximately an hour. By today’s standards, is about the same in-ring time of an episode of Raw.

It just goes to show what a marketing juggernaut the WWF was back then. With a lot of celebrity involvement and promotion, they mad this the event for wrestling fans that year. If your sentimental for the early 1980s, you’ll enjoy this. Otherwise, it’s pretty skippable.

THE GOOD: Everyone involved acted like it was important, which helped make WrestleMania special.

THE BAD: The whole thing feels so dated. Not only the way the wrestlers perform, but even the celebrity guests. With the big names in attendance (and involvement) being Cyndi Lauper and Mr. T, it just feels so far removed.

BEST MATCH: Hands down, the main event which pitted the team of Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorf. Ric Flair might have been having much better matches at the time, but this works well for what it is. Piper and Orndorf are cowardly villains, and the crowd loves it when Hulkamania goes wild at the end.

Wardrobe Dysfunction: Captain Marvel

This is the first of a new feature here on Ridiculous Awesome. Wardrobe Dysfunction is a look into the history, evolution and devolution of what super heroes wear. This week we examine Captain Marvel Shazam, who gets a new name, look and origin in this week’s issue of Justice League of America.

I would be remiss without explaining why the Big Red Cheese is getting a name change, after being around for over seventy years. Long story short, even though Captain Marvel is arguably one of the most popular comic book characters of all time–outselling Superman during the 1940s–a legal snafu made by his original publisher Fawcett and DC Comics allowed Marvel Comics to claim the name Captain Marvel for its own publishing purposes. They could still keep publishing stories about the character, they just couldn’t call the series Captain Marvel. So the character would appear in series called “The Power of Shazam” and action figures would be called Shazam.

This wound up confusing a generation of fans, and with the New 52, the revamped Captain Marvel wound up dropping the name entirely and going by Shazam, the word Billy Batson says to transform into a large, super powered being. But enough talk about his history, let’s talk about his fashion sense.

Captain Marvel first debuted back in February 1940’s Whiz Comics #2. The costume–designed by C.C. Beck–is a classic. For the most part, the costume was never really changed or modified. At times, some artists abandoned the tunic detailing or modified the lightning bolt logo. Sometimes they would make the cape longer or shorter, depending  on what was the trend in comics.

What I like about it is that this design is simple, primarily red with yellow detailing.  It works in the sense that it was a simple costume from a simpler time. Best of all, it still holds up by today’s standards. Definitely iconic.

Alex Ross modified the Captain Marvel costume during 1996’s Kingdom Come mini-series. Pretty much the only thing that Ross did to the costume was made the belt a little more sash like.

I don’t know if Ross was technically the first person to sash up the costume, but for whatever reason I associate that costume with his change. A lot of post-Kingdom Come comics that Captain Marvel is in have him with the sash belt. Come to think of it, other than Ms. Marvel, there really aren’t a lot of comic book characters with a similar look.

The 2000s brought a bunch of changes for Captain Marvel’s costume. During the Infinite Crisis period, the wizard Shazam, who granted Billy Batson the power to turn into the Captain, was killed.

Billy wound up taking the wizard’s place, now calling himself Shazam, a precursor to the name change. The red in the costume was switched to white, which helps give an older, mystical appearance. The cape was extended from being waist-length to his feet and given a hood, now much more cloak like. His hair also became long and white, because he’s a wizard. This look was designed by Howard Porter, and it does look really cool. It merges the Captain Marvel style with what a wizard would wear to work perfectly. You’ll notice that the shirt is still a tunic.

To fill the role of Captain Marvel while Billy was off guarding the power of Shazam, Freddie Freeman (more commonly known as Captain Marvel) underwent a series of challenges in the miniseries The Trials of Shazam to see if he was worthy enough to be the next Captain.

Freddie wound up passing with flying colors and assumed the mantle of Captain Marvel. Because he was younger and cooler, he decided to full-time adopt the sash belt and grew his hair out, cause that’s what the cool kids do. This is the way the character appeared for pretty much the rest of the pre-New 52 continuity.

This all brings us to Shazam, the latest incarnation of Billy. When he says the word “shazam” he turns into Shazam, the super powered being that reminds us of Captain Marvel. The costume is very close to the traditional look, except it has the longer hooded cloak that Porter designed. I can’t tell if those are laces on his boots or not. That wouldn’t make any sense, since Geoff Johns said that they plan on taking the character in a more magic/fantasy direction.

That said, as much as I am slightly bothered by the name change, I don’t mind Shazam’s new look. It pays tribute to his roots, but takes it in a different direction.

Mighty Fine Brings The Comic Business Casual

One of the things that sucks about getting older is that you have to dress professionally. Sometimes you really can’t go to work wearing that Booster Gold t-shirt, no matter how cool it is. The good folks at Mighty Fine have helped out, bridging the gap between comic fandom and business casual apparel.

They’ve put out a new line of embroidered polo shirts sporting Marvel character logos. While some of them are not that subtle, the Phoenix one looks awesome. Your coworkers will think your either part of some cult or that you went to some weird Division III college. Now that I think of it, a line of Empire State University collegiate-wear would rock.

You can check them out here.

New Avengers: Volume 2

I guess you could figure out that I’ve been on an Avengers kick as of late. New Avengers: Volume 2 collects issues 7-13 of that series by Brian Bendis, and there is a lot that’s going on to this group of Earth’s mightiest heroes.

This takes place around the same time as the Fear Itself crossover, and there is a bunch of fun stuff that happens in the first half, ranging from the team convincing Dr. Strange to join their ranks (with art by Stuart Immonen) to why Luke Cage and Jessica Jones can never have an evening to themselves (with art by David Acuna).

The best part is the second half has Bendis and Mike Deodato putting the Avengers on a botched raid of a H.A.M.M.E.R. storage depot. Following this, the group deals with it seeming more and more that Victoria Hand is a double agent that tipped off H.A.M.M.E.R. about the raid, and Mockingbird is gravely injured. As this happens, there are flashbacks of Nick Fury’s Black Ops Initiative (which gets further explored in Avengers 1959) tracking down a briefcase that was in the Nazi remnant’s possession–and later in that H.A.M.M.E.R. warehouse.

So what was it? It was a Nazi-made mix of the Super Hero Soldier Syrum that made Captain America and the Infinity Syrum that keeps Nick Fury eternally young. This could possibly save Mockingbird’s life, and there is a great scene with everyone argues over the moral implications of how it could either kill her instantly (since it was a Nazi knockoff, after all) or grant her unwanted immortality.

Really, this was a lot of fun on its own, but it was put over the top with the fifties flashbacks drawn by Howard Chaykin. That reminds me, I still have the final issue of Avengers 1959 that I’ve been meaning to get around to reading.

Fear Itself: Avengers

I usually don’t read the tie-in issues of the event comics, but I gave this a shot. Fear Itself: Avengers does a great job supplementing the Fear Itself event, by collecting some issues of Brian Bendis’ Avengers and New Avengers comics from that time, giving insight into how the Earth’s mightiest heroes are dealing with this crisis.

Bendis shares the Avengers point of view of these events in a unique way; the story jumps from the current time to later on when they’re interviewed by an author chronicling the history of the team.

This narration sets the tone for the rest of the book. It’s not what the Avengers did during this crisis that is covered, but how the team dealt with the impact of this event. Luke Cage and Jessica Jones argue about what it means for them to be accepting money from the government to be Avengers. Spider-Man can’t trust  Victoria Hand (a former executive in his enemy Norman Osborn’s H.A.M.M.E.R. forces), who is now serving the Avengers in a similar capacity. Mockingbird is still coming to terms with both her return and Infinity Syrum given powers, while her quasi-ex-husband Hawkeye is growing more attached to Spider-Woman by the way. Squirrel Girl also gets some face time, as she has taken a job as Luke and Jessica’s daughter Danielle’s babysitter, and has to protect the child as the Avengers Mansion is stormed by Sin’s Nazi army. There is so much going on in this book that works to set up future stories just as much as the main Fear Itself book.

Usually these types of books just supplement the crossover, but this goes beyond that. It shows the dynamics of the team, and that these super heroes have the same concerns as we do–financial security, relationships and self-doubt. Not to mention, some awesome art from John Romita Jr., Mike Deodato Jr. and Chris Bachalo.

Green Arrow Show Coming To CW

Huffington Post had this picture of the Green Arrow costume for the upcoming television show on the CW network. Dropping the color from the title, the pilot for the series “Arrow” chronicles how Oliver Quinn changes rich guy to arrow shooting vigilante, and feuds with his best friend turned arch-enemy, the wizard archer Merlyn.

As a long time Green Arrow fan, I’m really curious to see how this works out. They want to take it in a darker direction. I wonder if that means it will be a super hero procedural show, kind of like NCIS or Cold Case, except with a super hero. Should be interesting.

Fear Itself

If Siege was the story of Loki’s redemption, Fear Itself is the story of Odin’s failure. So how did the All Father ruin every everything?

The roots of Fear Itself go back many, many years ago, as seen in the prologue  Fear Itself: Book of the Skull by Ed Brubacher and Scot Eaton. Odin has an evil brother Cul, who is the god of fear, and is imprisoned on Earth. This prologue is set during World War II, with the Red Skull trying to find the enchanted hammer of Skadi, one of Cul, which according to old folklore granted its wielder immense power. Obviously, the Nazis would have wanted that. Captain America, Bucky and Namor prevent that from happening. Fast forward to the current time, and the Red Skull’s daughter Sin now wields the hammer.

This brings us up to the actual Fear Itself miniseries by Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen. Sin–wielding a hammer that makes her as powerful as Thor–has freed Cul. To make matters worse, Cul has armed seven random super heroes and villains with enchanted hammers as well, turning them into a group of super powered heralds at his command. With them added to Sin’s Nazi army, Cul leads a rampage on Earth before setting his sights on Odin and Asgard.

The Avengers are in super trouble against Cul’s forces; Sin winds up killing Captain America/Bucky. Things  get worse when Odin reveals his plan to destroy Earth   as a way to stop Cul. It only gets more complicated as Odin further explains that there is an ancient prophecy that the only way to stop Cul will leave Thor dead. Odin would sacrifice mankind if it meant Thor would survive.

Fraction’s story depicts Odin as a cowardly old man. He may be the ruler of Asgard and one of the most powerful inhabitants of the Marvel Universe, but he’s petrified. His son Thor isn’t, and is willing to give up his own life if it means that Earth is safe. Even Iron Man sacrifices his integrity–in his case,his sobriety–in an attempt to offer something as a sacrifice to Odin for help.

Because Thor is a hero, I’m sure you have an idea how this winds up ending. What I liked about this story was how much of a hero he is, being even braver than Odin. the only thing that I didn’t like was them killing off Thor, since they did a whole world without Thor story a few years back after Avengers Disassembled storyline, and Bucky, because I was really enjoying him hanging around. But thanks to the flexible condition of death in comics, they came back not too long after this.

Comics, everyone!

Adam Strange Special #1

When I picked up this issue, there was only really two things that came struck me.

1. Adam Strange was that cool concept that my dad tole me about when I was a kid, sort of like a John Carter from Mars type.
2. Comics writer/artist extraordinaire Jim Starlin knows a thing or two about putting together epic cosmic stories.

That said, Adam Strange Special #1 kicks in towards the end of the Rann/Thangar War during the Infinite Crisis period of DC. I didn’t follow that cross over, but this issue is pretty self-contained. The story is a lot like A Christmas Story,with Adam visiting his past and future on the planet Rann.

Adam finds out that not only will he win up being responsible for the death of his daughter Aleea, but eventually for the destruction of the planet. Eep. Along his time shifting, he encounters a shady character named Synnar, who comes to power as a result of Adam destroying Rann. The story ends with Adam figuring out how to communicate with a younger version of himself, warning him of the impending horrors he will cause.

This could have been a really awkward one shot to read, as it directly finishes Rann/Thangar War mini series and its sequel. Instead, it’s a pretty straight forward tale, warning Adam Strange of something horrible that he will inevitably cause.

Rick Leonardi and Dan Green’s art on the book is great; it really has that 1970s/1980s cosmic super hero feel to it. At first I thought it was Starlin doing the art, but the duo really matched his visual style.

I really haven’t checked out much Adam Strange stuff over the years, but definitely got my attention.

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men

It’s always amazing what you find when you clean up. I recently unearthed my VHS copy of the 1989 X-Men animated series pilot Pryde of the X-Men. When I rediscovered I owned this, I did the only natural thing: watched it.

I really liked the 1990s X-Men cartoon, but this was much better as far as animation and voice acting was concerned. The plot is pretty straight forward; Professor X has recruited Kitty Pryde to join the academy and unfortunately she winds up being a distraction that lets Magneto steal the mutant finding computer Cerebro. This really upsets Wolverine, who for some reason has an Australian accent. It’s up to the X-Men to stop Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

As a longtime Dazzler fan, I was super happy to see her in this cartoon. They actually did a good job introducing all the primary X-Men and most of the villains, even finding a way to stick in Kitty’s dragon pet/friend Lockheed into the story. Ultimately, this pilot didn’t get picked up. But it was adapted by Konami into an arcade game that is pretty sweet.

Pryde of the X-Men gets a pretty mixed response online for being light on both story and action, and for its weird hodge-podging of characters. So is it worth watching? I guess so, especially if you are an X-Men fan or you enjoy the Marvel/Sunbow style of animation from the 1980s.