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QUICKIE -- Marvel's Cloak & Dagger (Freeform Exclusive) - Season 1: Episodes 1-10
Marvel's Cloak & Dagger, or simply Cloak & Dagger, is an American cable television series created for Freeform by Joe Pokaski, based on the Marvel Comics characters of the same name. It is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), sharing continuity with the films and other television series of the franchise. The series is produced by ABC Signature Studios, Marvel Television, and Wandering Rocks Productions, with Pokaski serving as showrunner.
The series stars Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph as Tandy Bowen / Dagger and Tyrone Johnson / Cloak, two teenagers with superpowers who form a romantic relationship. A television series featuring the pair had begun development at ABC Family in July 2011. The channel, renamed Freeform, ordered Cloak & Dagger to series in April 2016, and Pokaski had joined as showrunner by that August. Holt and Joseph were cast in January 2017, with Gloria Reuben, Andrea Roth, J. D. Evermore, Miles Mussenden, Carl Lundstedt, Emma Lahana, and Jaime Zevallos also starring in the series. Filming for the series takes place in New Orleans.
The first season aired from June 7 to August 2, 2018 and was met with positive reviews. Freeform renewed the series for a second season in July 2018.
Cast:
 |
| If I'm perfectly honest, this show has a LOT of easily forgettable characters outside of the two main protagonists. Outside of them and MAYBE O'Reilly, no one really stuck out too much to me over the course of the entire season. |
Main
Olivia Holt as Tandy Bowen / Dagger
Maceo Smedley III portrays a young Tyrone.
Gloria Reuben as Adina Johnson
Andrea Roth as Melissa Bowen
J. D. Evermore as Connors
Miles Mussenden as Otis Johnson
Carl Lundstedt as Liam Walsh
Emma Lahana as Brigid O'Reilly
Jaime Zevallos as Delgado
Noëlle Renée Bercy as Evita Fusilier
Lane Miller as Fuchs
Angela Davis as Chantelle
Ally Maki as Mina Hess
Roxxon Gulf, a division of the Roxxon Corporation company that has been featured throughout the MCU, is seen in the season. The Darkforce dimension which fuels Cloak's powers was previously established in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. Pokaski stated that "There are at least a dozen Easter eggs in the first season that Marvel approved, and a few more that I snuck in there." O'Reilly discusses formerly working in Harlem and her friend Misty Knight in the series, while her move to New Orleans is mentioned by her former New York colleagues in the second season of Luke Cage. Loeb noted the Luke Cage references were "not by mistake", with the potential for them to become something more, such as having Simone Missick, who portrays Misty Knight, appearing in the series. Tony Stark and Danny Rand are also mentioned in the series.
When this series first got green-lit and the first trailers started popping up, I was really skeptical of this, especially when Marvel Studios announced that it was coming to the teen-centric network Freeform instead of Netflix or Hulu Plus (like The Runaways). You guys know how much I raved about the first season of The Runaways on Hulu Plus from the tail end of 2017 and I still regard that as one of Marvel Studios' best television series' to date. In that regard, Cloak & Dagger had a lot to live up to in order to impress me after my reactions from the initial trailers and teasers.
Right off the bat, I thought Olivia Holt (Dagger) was a dead ringer for The Gifted's Natalie Alyn Lind at first in terms of appearances, but she's just as a good as her if not better as an actress. Marvel seemed to have scrapped the whole "weak" characterization of Dagger's character from the older comic book lore (much like what plagued a lot of early comics TBH) to make Tandy the more headstrong of the two while Aubrey Joseph's Cloak is more focused, yet angry at his brother's killer. I loved how these two actors complimented each other in every scene that they shared together. That chemistry between these two characters is what makes their partnership special in the comics and I think the two actors cast in these pivotal roles knocked it out of the park. No lie - I was hella skeptical when I heard that they were going with making Cloak and Dagger teens in this but in this iteration of the Marvel Universe, it works.
In terms of other characters in this series, I felt a lot of them were easily forgettable. Olivia Holt's Tandy Bowen/Dagger and Aubrey Joseph's Tyrone Johnson/Cloak shine as the stars of this series, but almost everyone in the rest of the cast don't seem to stand out. I didn't realize until doing my research for this review that Emma Lahana AKA Kira Ford from Power Rangers Dino Thunder was portraying Brigid O'Reilly. Her take on O'Reilly wasn't bad at all, just that I completely didn't recognize her as a Power Rangers alumni here - and that's a good thing. She's one of the few characters that don't fade into the background once Tandy and Tyrone's on-screen dynamic comes to fruition. For the few episodes that he was on the series, I thought Lahana's O'Reilly and Lane Miller's Fuchs had a good bit of chemistry together in the scenes that they had but nowhere on the level as Holt and Joseph's. Nothing against the actress portraying Tandy's mother and the actors portraying Tyrone's parents, but they just fell into the usual cliches - one drinking away their sorrows, the others acting oblivious (for the most part) to the crime and truth what happened to their deceased son. Noëlle Renée Bercy's Evita Fusilier (Tyrone's love interest) felt like the most forgettable character in the entire show to me as she was just there to justify the connection between herself and Tyrone through her Aunt Chantelle's (played by Angela Davis) voodoo mumbo jumbo and premonitions. To be fair though, I thought both Bercy and Davis did well with what they were given, especially on staying true to the Louisiana mannerisms and traditions in terms of how they were presented here. I'm just saying they were far from the first things I would remember when thinking back at this series.
I doubt that most casual fans see this coming but they could EASILY do a Runaways/Cloak & Dagger team-up crossover special in either Season Two of The Runaways or the next season of Cloak & Dagger. From where both sets of heroes are left at the end of their respective series, it's not hard to imagine all of these estranged teenagers crossing paths. It would finally give Marvel a foot in the door in terms of these superhero team-up specials that DC Comics have been drawing consistent ratings from on the CW Network during every season.
I don't mind that Marvel is marketing this series towards teens but much like The Runaways, there's some scenes (O'Reilly's then boyfriend being killed and stuffed into a refrigerator immediately comes to mind from the end of Episode 8) and sequences here that borderlines on the violence and topics portrayed and glorified in one of Marvel's Netflix endeavors. I didn't have a problem with the content presented here, but at the same time, it just came off as strange.
In terms of storytelling, I thought Episode 7 was this season's high point. There was some clever usage of Tandy and Tyrone's extensive time in Ivan's mind that one could compare it to the unknown passage of time that Dr. Strange spent in the infinite loop that he trapped himself and Dormammu within his solo film debut. Both Tandy and Tyrone walked away from that ordeal not only physically stronger, due to the massive amount of time that they had in that confined space to master their powers (to an extent), and with a stronger foundation to their partnership, due to Tandy coming to terms with what she's lost to get this far and towards the answers that they both seek to expose Roxxon for all of the crimes that led to the loss of their loved ones. Sadly, we only get to see Tyrone in full costume as Cloak in the traditional sense of how most people remember him looking in the comics. This only occurs in Episode 8 while Tyrone is posing as the "ghost" of his deceased brother while assisting O'Reilly in recording a confession in order to get Connors arrested. I'm anxious to see what they do with O'Reilly once she takes up the Mayhem persona from the comics since they already established that she has history with Luke Cage's Misty Knight. Maybe we might see her pop up in a flashback or cameo role in that rumored Heroes for Hire/Daughters of the Dragon spin-off on Netflix.
In terms of a primary antagonist for this season, you could regard Connors as such, but overall I felt that it's the Roxxon Corporation as a whole, even though this season barely scratched the surface of the shady dealings that they have been doing over the years. Agent Carter mentioned their dealings briefly in that series, but much like the bulk of that corporation's appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point, we're not given too much information to sink our teeth into outside of the fact that they were responsible for the crisis that gave Tandy and Tyrone their powers. In a weird way, I'm glad that this series didn't rush and create a lackluster "final boss" of sorts that almost all of the Marvel Netflix endeavors fall into the pattern of doing in every season of their hero-based melodramas. Instead, Cloak & Dagger has a "final crisis" (not to be confused with the DC Comics event of the same name) that serves as the finale for the season that revolves around the "destiny" for the chosen two who are bestowed with the powers that they have manifested.
Give this a shot, but be warned that it might not be for everyone. Overall, I felt the series was a slow burn. Freeform were smart to premiere the first two episodes together as nothing really won't blow people away from just the pilot episode. Things only seem to pick up in Episode 2 and move on at a steady pace following those events. The 10 episode format served this series better for the long haul as it allowed viewers (at least for me) to digest this a week at a time instead of feeling like you need to binge it all in one sitting, compared to the Marvel Netflix end of things. If you can stomach the teen angst-style soundtrack that seems to accompany a lot of these episodes in their final moments, you'll find a decent series here to serve as sensible appetizer to hold you over as you wait for either more Marvel Netflix premieres or the next season of The Runaways on Hulu Plus.
Gloria Reuben as Adina Johnson
Andrea Roth as Melissa Bowen
J. D. Evermore as Connors
Miles Mussenden as Otis Johnson
Carl Lundstedt as Liam Walsh
Emma Lahana as Brigid O'Reilly
Jaime Zevallos as Delgado
Recurring
Wayne Péré as Peter ScarboroughNoëlle Renée Bercy as Evita Fusilier
Lane Miller as Fuchs
Angela Davis as Chantelle
Ally Maki as Mina Hess
Hannah Hardin portrays a younger Mina.
Tim Kang as Ivan Hess
Tim Kang as Ivan Hess
Carsyn Taylor portrays a young Billy.
Mike Donovan as Rick Cotton
Dalon J. Holland as Duane Porter
Andy Dylan as Nathan Bowen
Gary Weeks as Greg Pressfield
Dalton E. Gray as Benny
Luray Cooper as Big Chief Roland Duplantier
Gralen Banks as Choo Choo Broussard
Vanessa Motta as a professional killer disguised as a water delivery person.
Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as an on-set painting.
Mike Donovan as Rick Cotton
Dalon J. Holland as Duane Porter
Andy Dylan as Nathan Bowen
Gary Weeks as Greg Pressfield
Dalton E. Gray as Benny
Luray Cooper as Big Chief Roland Duplantier
Gralen Banks as Choo Choo Broussard
Vanessa Motta as a professional killer disguised as a water delivery person.
Stan Lee has a cameo appearance as an on-set painting.
Episode Summaries:
1 "First Light"
A young Tandy Bowen is picked up from ballet by her father Nathan. Meanwhile, a young Tyrone Johnson is dissuaded from stealing a car radio by his brother Billy, only for them to be chased by police officer Connors. The Roxxon Gulf platform off the coast of New Orleans explodes, causing Nathan and Tandy to crash into the ocean, where Nathan dies, and causing Connors to shoot Billy. Billy also falls into the ocean, and Tyrone jumps in to rescue him. Tandy and Tyrone are both affected by an energy force from the rig. Eight years later, Tandy earns money by stealing from rich people and avoids her mother Melissa, whose new lawyer boyfriend Greg is working on a case against Roxxon. At a party, Tyrone and Tandy bump into each other and realize that they had been together after the explosion; the encounter activates super-powers in each. Tandy is later assaulted by Rick, someone she had robbed, and accidentally stabs him with a dagger of light. Tyrone discovers that he can teleport after an encounter with Connors, now a detective.2 "Suicide Sprints"
Detective Brigid O'Reilly begins investigating the stabbing of Rick, scaring Tandy to the point that she attempts to leave town. Tyrone becomes obsessed with catching Connors, leading to him neglecting basketball practice. He attempts to make up for it at the suggestion of Father Delgado, but his teammates beat him up due to his absences. When Tyrone returns home, he apologizes to his mother Adina for his recent behavior and after touching her he sees her greatest fear: that she will lose him like she did Billy. When Tandy discovers that Melissa took her stolen money for drugs, she decides to rob a wedding to get the money she needs to flee. She is helped by her boyfriend Liam, but becomes scared of their relationship after seeing his greatest hope: that he wants to marry her. As they attempt to run away with the stolen money, O'Reilly arrests Liam. Tandy decides not to help him. Tyrone steals a gun from Adina and confronts Connors. As he is about to pull the trigger, Tyrone unintentionally teleports to the middle of a road where Tandy is driving.3 "Stained Glass"
O'Reilly realizes that Tandy was responsible for stabbing Rick after deducing that he was trying to rape her. Tandy struggles to recover from crashing after swerving to avoid Tyrone, and arrives home to Melissa and Greg before O'Reilly arrives looking for her. Tandy sneaks away while Melissa and Greg talk to O'Reilly. Concussed, Tandy falls unconscious on a bus. Tyrone meets with his classmate Evita who takes him to voodoo priestess Auntie Chantelle for spiritual guidance. She has him bathe in various charms and spices to induce a fugue state. Both Tandy and Tyrone experience a surreal vision of each other, with Tandy attempting to stop Tyrone from taking revenge against Connors and Tyrone stopping Tandy from running away from her problems. Tandy meets with O'Reilly privately to explain her story, but the corrupt Connors has already closed the case. Tyrone decides to pursue a relationship with Evita. Later, he follows Tandy to the abandoned church in which she lives and confronts her about their shared connection.4 "Call/Response"
Tyrone and Tandy talk about their personal lives and issues, explaining the visions that they saw of each other. Tyrone decides to falsify a stolen bike report, using his father Otis's bolt cutters, to get close to Connors; he ends up running out of the police station in fear. Otis discovers that Tyrone stole the bolt cutters and, fearful that Tyrone will become a criminal, takes him to see Big Chief Roland Duplantier of the Wild Red Hawks, a Mardi Gras tribe. Tyrone learns that Billy was designing a cloak for the next march and with Otis's approval he decides to complete it. Tandy discovers that Greg, who is already married, genuinely cares for Melissa and decides to help him research Roxxon. However, Melissa breaks up with Greg and when Tandy goes to see him again he is assassinated. Tandy tries to commit suicide by drowning, but changes her mind and uses her powers to survive. Tyrone returns to the police station and asks for O'Reilly while Tandy returns to Greg's office and takes the Roxxon files he had found as evidence to clear Nathan's name.5 "Princeton Offense"
O'Reilly agrees to investigate Connors as long as Tyrone stays away. Instead, he meets with Billy's friend Duane Porter hoping he will know something that can help. Tandy applies as an intern at Roxxon Gulf to get close to the executives there and sees that many of them wish to overthrow their CEO. Tyrone plays in a basketball tournament, but during halftime he accidentally teleports to a Roxxon party that Tandy is attending. Together they discover that Roxxon CEO Peter Scarborough was responsible for defaming Nathan. Tyrone teleports back just in time for the game to resume. As Tyrone plays, he picks up on the opposing players' fears and ends up throwing the game. Tandy meets Scarborough and uses her powers to see his greed. O'Reilly tries to get close with Connors by pretending to be loose with the law herself. After a night with Evita, Tyrone discovers that Duane is working with Connors to distribute drugs despite knowing that he killed Billy. Tandy meets Mina Hess, the daughter of Nathan's colleague Ivan.6 "Funhouse Mirrors"
Evita and Auntie Chantelle begin studying Tyrone, believing that he is part of a "Divine Pairing" and that either he or Tandy will have to die to save New Orleans. Tyrone attempts to work for Duane, while Tandy becomes an intern for Mina. At Tandy's suggestion, Tyrone steals a bag of drugs that Duane is distributing and returns it to him to earn Duane's trust. Duane then agrees to involve Tyrone in the business, and takes him to meet with Connors, who arrives under the pretense of a drug bust. Connors is paired with O'Reilly, but is able to stall her. Connors confronts Duane about the bag of drugs being stolen, and sets up a situation in which O'Reilly is forced to shoot and kill Duane. This is witnessed by Tyrone, who Connors sees before he escapes. Tandy learns about Ivan and Nathan from Mina, but Mina realizes who Tandy is and leaves. Tandy discovers that Ivan has been in a catatonic state since the rig explosion but is unable to see into his mind. Mina forgives Tandy afterwards. Back at the church, Tandy finds a grieving Tyrone.7 "Lotus Eaters"
Tandy asks Tyrone to help her enter Ivan's mind. Together they are able to find him reliving the final moments of the rig explosion over and over again. He is optimistically passive as he cannot remember how much time has passed, nor can he remember his name or Mina. The other employees on the rig had been infected by the strange energy that Roxxon was searching for, and appear in Ivan's memories as psychopathic killers. Ivan believes that the explosion can be stopped from the core, but was unable to do so in real life and has still been unsuccessful in his attempts since. Tyrone is able to do so with his powers, but it does not work due to being Ivan's mind. Tandy discovers that her father Nathan had called Ivan moments before the explosion, and takes the opportunity to talk to him in each loop. Tyrone convinces her that it is not actually her father, and they help Ivan reach the core after reminding him of Mina. Ivan awakens with no memory of Tandy or Tyrone, and is reunited with Mina. Tandy and Tyrone later listen to a recording of Billy together.8 "Ghost Stories"
Ivan tells Tandy that Nathan hid evidence to clear their names in a safety deposit box. It is the eight-year anniversary of the rig explosion, and she plans to remember her father with Melissa later on. First, she visits Tyrone and his family who are struggling with the anniversary of Billy's death, and steals an access card for Roxxon from Adina. She uses it to enter Roxxon and confront Scarborough with Nathan's evidence, and he offers to pay her for it. She refuses, wanting to clear her father's name instead. Tyrone completes Billy's cloak, and then uses it to better control his powers. This allows him to "haunt" Connors, pretending to be Billy's ghost, which leads to him confessing to the murder. O'Reilly arrests Connors. Tyrone joins Tandy and Melissa for their memorial, but when the three hold hands Tandy and Tyrone enter Melissa's memories and see that Nathan was abusive toward her. Upset, Tandy accepts Scarborough's bribe. To celebrate Connors' arrest, O'Reilly visits her new boyfriend Fuchs, but she finds his dead body stuffed in a fridge.9 "Back Breaker"
Tyrone's parents are informed of Connors' arrest and suspension, but neither react to it. Tyrone lashes out at school, leading to a confrontation with Father Delgado in which Tyrone sees the priest's fear of his drinking addiction and how it either killed a young child once, or could in the future. After learning about her father's abusive behavior, Tandy becomes addicted to stealing the hopes of others, including Mina's. She attempts to steal Liam's hope, but is stopped by Tyrone. She confronts him at school, where Evita realises that Tandy is the other half of the Divine Pairing, whom Auntie Chantelle believes will be needed soon due to Roxxon's drilling. Drunk while mourning Fuchs, O'Reilly attacks Connors but he beats her in front of her colleagues. Tandy discovers that Liam has stolen the money she got from Scarborough, and then finds Melissa being held at gunpoint by Greg's killer. Adina tells Tyrone that she just wants to protect him from the police, but now he is framed for Fuchs' murder. Mina sees an energy leak infect several Roxxon workers.10 "Colony Collapse"
Tandy saves Melissa and Mina, with the latter helping confront Scarborough. He reveals where the core for the city-wide system is, and Tandy leaves his mind trapped in a similar state to what Ivan's had been. Tyrone and O'Reilly are arrested, but the infection spreads to the precinct and the police officers begin fighting each other. Tyrone teleports to Tandy in time to stop an infected Mina, before the pair are told of their fate as the Divine Pairing by Evita. O'Reilly helps fend off infected civilians so Tandy and Tyrone can reach the core, but is shot and apparently killed by Connors. Her body is exposed to the energy before he pushes it into the ocean. Connors is then absorbed into the Darkforce emitted from Tyrone's cloak. Inside the core, Tandy and Tyrone are able to absorb the leaking energy and release it safely into the sky, saving the city and curing all those infected. Roxxon is blamed for the crisis. Tandy moves back in with Melissa while Tyrone moves into her church, as he is still wanted by the police. A mutated O'Reilly later emerges from the water.Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-ins
Roxxon Gulf, a division of the Roxxon Corporation company that has been featured throughout the MCU, is seen in the season. The Darkforce dimension which fuels Cloak's powers was previously established in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. Pokaski stated that "There are at least a dozen Easter eggs in the first season that Marvel approved, and a few more that I snuck in there." O'Reilly discusses formerly working in Harlem and her friend Misty Knight in the series, while her move to New Orleans is mentioned by her former New York colleagues in the second season of Luke Cage. Loeb noted the Luke Cage references were "not by mistake", with the potential for them to become something more, such as having Simone Missick, who portrays Misty Knight, appearing in the series. Tony Stark and Danny Rand are also mentioned in the series.
The Verdict:
When this series first got green-lit and the first trailers started popping up, I was really skeptical of this, especially when Marvel Studios announced that it was coming to the teen-centric network Freeform instead of Netflix or Hulu Plus (like The Runaways). You guys know how much I raved about the first season of The Runaways on Hulu Plus from the tail end of 2017 and I still regard that as one of Marvel Studios' best television series' to date. In that regard, Cloak & Dagger had a lot to live up to in order to impress me after my reactions from the initial trailers and teasers.
Right off the bat, I thought Olivia Holt (Dagger) was a dead ringer for The Gifted's Natalie Alyn Lind at first in terms of appearances, but she's just as a good as her if not better as an actress. Marvel seemed to have scrapped the whole "weak" characterization of Dagger's character from the older comic book lore (much like what plagued a lot of early comics TBH) to make Tandy the more headstrong of the two while Aubrey Joseph's Cloak is more focused, yet angry at his brother's killer. I loved how these two actors complimented each other in every scene that they shared together. That chemistry between these two characters is what makes their partnership special in the comics and I think the two actors cast in these pivotal roles knocked it out of the park. No lie - I was hella skeptical when I heard that they were going with making Cloak and Dagger teens in this but in this iteration of the Marvel Universe, it works.
In terms of other characters in this series, I felt a lot of them were easily forgettable. Olivia Holt's Tandy Bowen/Dagger and Aubrey Joseph's Tyrone Johnson/Cloak shine as the stars of this series, but almost everyone in the rest of the cast don't seem to stand out. I didn't realize until doing my research for this review that Emma Lahana AKA Kira Ford from Power Rangers Dino Thunder was portraying Brigid O'Reilly. Her take on O'Reilly wasn't bad at all, just that I completely didn't recognize her as a Power Rangers alumni here - and that's a good thing. She's one of the few characters that don't fade into the background once Tandy and Tyrone's on-screen dynamic comes to fruition. For the few episodes that he was on the series, I thought Lahana's O'Reilly and Lane Miller's Fuchs had a good bit of chemistry together in the scenes that they had but nowhere on the level as Holt and Joseph's. Nothing against the actress portraying Tandy's mother and the actors portraying Tyrone's parents, but they just fell into the usual cliches - one drinking away their sorrows, the others acting oblivious (for the most part) to the crime and truth what happened to their deceased son. Noëlle Renée Bercy's Evita Fusilier (Tyrone's love interest) felt like the most forgettable character in the entire show to me as she was just there to justify the connection between herself and Tyrone through her Aunt Chantelle's (played by Angela Davis) voodoo mumbo jumbo and premonitions. To be fair though, I thought both Bercy and Davis did well with what they were given, especially on staying true to the Louisiana mannerisms and traditions in terms of how they were presented here. I'm just saying they were far from the first things I would remember when thinking back at this series.
I doubt that most casual fans see this coming but they could EASILY do a Runaways/Cloak & Dagger team-up crossover special in either Season Two of The Runaways or the next season of Cloak & Dagger. From where both sets of heroes are left at the end of their respective series, it's not hard to imagine all of these estranged teenagers crossing paths. It would finally give Marvel a foot in the door in terms of these superhero team-up specials that DC Comics have been drawing consistent ratings from on the CW Network during every season.
I don't mind that Marvel is marketing this series towards teens but much like The Runaways, there's some scenes (O'Reilly's then boyfriend being killed and stuffed into a refrigerator immediately comes to mind from the end of Episode 8) and sequences here that borderlines on the violence and topics portrayed and glorified in one of Marvel's Netflix endeavors. I didn't have a problem with the content presented here, but at the same time, it just came off as strange.
In terms of storytelling, I thought Episode 7 was this season's high point. There was some clever usage of Tandy and Tyrone's extensive time in Ivan's mind that one could compare it to the unknown passage of time that Dr. Strange spent in the infinite loop that he trapped himself and Dormammu within his solo film debut. Both Tandy and Tyrone walked away from that ordeal not only physically stronger, due to the massive amount of time that they had in that confined space to master their powers (to an extent), and with a stronger foundation to their partnership, due to Tandy coming to terms with what she's lost to get this far and towards the answers that they both seek to expose Roxxon for all of the crimes that led to the loss of their loved ones. Sadly, we only get to see Tyrone in full costume as Cloak in the traditional sense of how most people remember him looking in the comics. This only occurs in Episode 8 while Tyrone is posing as the "ghost" of his deceased brother while assisting O'Reilly in recording a confession in order to get Connors arrested. I'm anxious to see what they do with O'Reilly once she takes up the Mayhem persona from the comics since they already established that she has history with Luke Cage's Misty Knight. Maybe we might see her pop up in a flashback or cameo role in that rumored Heroes for Hire/Daughters of the Dragon spin-off on Netflix.
In terms of a primary antagonist for this season, you could regard Connors as such, but overall I felt that it's the Roxxon Corporation as a whole, even though this season barely scratched the surface of the shady dealings that they have been doing over the years. Agent Carter mentioned their dealings briefly in that series, but much like the bulk of that corporation's appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point, we're not given too much information to sink our teeth into outside of the fact that they were responsible for the crisis that gave Tandy and Tyrone their powers. In a weird way, I'm glad that this series didn't rush and create a lackluster "final boss" of sorts that almost all of the Marvel Netflix endeavors fall into the pattern of doing in every season of their hero-based melodramas. Instead, Cloak & Dagger has a "final crisis" (not to be confused with the DC Comics event of the same name) that serves as the finale for the season that revolves around the "destiny" for the chosen two who are bestowed with the powers that they have manifested.
For fans craving a lot of action, it doesn't pick up until towards the tail end of this season, with the majority of the season exploring the lives of both Tandy and Tyrone and how they eventually learn to connect with one another. In that regard, I felt that the narrative storytelling made up for the lack of the heavy emphasis of action that a lot of these Marvel Cinematic Universe based television melodramas tend to cater to.
Watch It or Don't Bother?
Give this a shot, but be warned that it might not be for everyone. Overall, I felt the series was a slow burn. Freeform were smart to premiere the first two episodes together as nothing really won't blow people away from just the pilot episode. Things only seem to pick up in Episode 2 and move on at a steady pace following those events. The 10 episode format served this series better for the long haul as it allowed viewers (at least for me) to digest this a week at a time instead of feeling like you need to binge it all in one sitting, compared to the Marvel Netflix end of things. If you can stomach the teen angst-style soundtrack that seems to accompany a lot of these episodes in their final moments, you'll find a decent series here to serve as sensible appetizer to hold you over as you wait for either more Marvel Netflix premieres or the next season of The Runaways on Hulu Plus.
QUICKIE -- Axiom Verge (PS4)
Axiom Verge is a Metroidvania video game developed by Thomas Happ. The game was originally released in March and April 2015 for PlayStation 4, and May 2015 for Microsoft Windows, OS X, and Linux. A PlayStation Vita version was released in April 2016. The Wii U and Xbox One versions were released in North America and Europe in September 2016. A PlayStation 4 version was released in North America in March 2015 and in April 2016 in Europe and Australia. A Nintendo Switch version was released in October 2017.
Gameplay
Axiom Verge is a side-scroller action-adventure game where the player controls Trace, a scientist who, after suffering a crippling injury, wakes up in an ancient and high-tech world. The game focuses on action and exploration, and features over 60 items and power-ups. The gameplay borrows elements from classic games such as Metroid, Contra, Blaster Master, and Bionic Commando, among others.
Trace is a scientist on Earth who works in a laboratory when a frozen pressure valve causes an explosion that knocks him out. He awakens in the alien world of Sudra, where Elsenova, one of the Rusalki, giant war machines remaining from the Sudran civilization, asks for his help to stop Athetos, a mad scientist who destroyed the Sudrans long ago. As Trace explores Sudra in order to restore power to Elsenova and the other remaining Rusalki in preparation to confront Athetos, he discovers that he and Athetos are the same person.
Trace then remembers that the explosion on Earth turned him crippled and blind, but allowed him to see things from a new perspective and formulate a new, revolutionary theory regarding the laws of physics. But Trace's findings were ridiculed by the scientific community, who shunned him, leading them to start calling him "Athetos" (Greek for "without place"). By using his new knowledge, Trace managed to travel between Earth and Sudra, where he used the advanced technology he found to heal his body. Elsenova also reveals that Trace, now calling himself Athetos, discovered that there is a world beyond Sudra with a far more advanced civilization that the Sudrans have kept hidden due to religious taboo, but unable to reach a compromise with them, he used a biological weapon to exterminate the entire civilization as part of his plan to bring this technology back to Earth. Trace also discovers that he is a clone from the original Athetos, back from the days when he first arrived on Sudra.
Once knowing all the truth, Trace decides to keep fighting along the Rusalki against Athetos, eventually helping them to defeat him. After Elsenova kills Athetos, she sends Trace back to Earth and back in time to the point of the lab accident aftermath, altering history so that the event does not leave him injured, but he develops an obsession with returning to Sudra and starts researching on it, implying that he is bent on following Athetos' path.
If the player ends the game with a high completion rate, just as Trace is about to succeed on his research, Athetos himself appears saying that he cannot outrun himself, and after telling him that it is "time to wake up", he shoots him.
The Verdict
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| One of many of the game's bosses to put your skills to the test. |
This game was made as a love letter for any gamer who has any fondness of the early Metroid and Castlevania 2D games before both of those series ventured into the realm of three-dimensional gameplay. Several power-ups and upgrades make players want to find everything that the game has to offer, but at the same time, players are urged to keep exploring Sudra to answer all of the questions about this unknown territory. The artistic direction for this game alone is what drew me in - from the sprites to the backgrounds of the locales to especially the excellent music that suited and defined the atmosphere that players explore while in control of Trace.
I cannot rave enough about this game's music. Good grief that score was amazing. It doesn't go out of it's way to sound like a NES/retro title and that was a great thing. It was it's own original entity without trying to sound like a remix of something done already. That was the common theme with a lot of the similarities with this game too. Older gamers like myself will easily draw comparisons to Metroid, Castlevania, Bionic Commando, Contra, or even Blaster Master, but while this game is obviously inspired by those classic titles, Axiom Verge establishes it's own identity to the point where it has it's own iconic place alongside these classics.
Each weapon has it's own distinct feel, but none of them (at least to me) felt overpowered to the extent that I preferred one over the others. The Kilver was my favorite for majority of the early part of the game, then I got Lightning Gun and Laser Rifle (whatever it was called) before ultimately settling down with the Flamethrower for the last portion of the game. There's so many guns to try out that there's something that everyone will like. One thing I loved in terms of shooting mechanics though is the option for locking your position and aim direction while remaining stationary. That was something that the Contra series didn't see until MUCH later on in their history and I was glad to see that was included here right off the bat.
The power-ups/upgrades weren't too surprising at first until you start dwelling into the territory of the various Lab Coats. I was expecting for Hi-Jump Boots and a Screw Attack like Metroid, but boy was I surprised to see the stuff like the Red Coat (that allows you to "teleport" in any direction in rapid succession that left a trail of destruction in your wake) and even the Drone Teleport to improve your means of traversing Sudra. It's creative touches like this is why I see this game as more of homage to those classic games that people will draw comparisons to and suggest that it "rips them off" when instead it craves it's own place in gaming history for this genre.
If I had any gripes about this game, it's that the plot was just getting good as soon as you confront Athetos during the finale. I thought there was going to be more after the reveal that Trace was a clone of Athetos, but the game never deterred from it's focus after that plot reveal. Trace kept following the Sudrans' orders without question and never asked for any further information. I suppose that the player could go out of their way to hunt down all of those text files and documents scattered throughout Sudra, but I always found stuff like that to be lazy story telling when you could have presented those details in the main course of your video game.
My second gripe to the game was that annoying frustrating hornet boss fight. Until I figured out the timing on using an Address Bomb to transform his minions and deal massive damage to it (with precise timing and positioning too for that matter), I could've sworn I died to that thing at least 15-20 times easy. I wouldn't say it was a bad boss fight. It just kinda ruins the flow of the game to that point in a sense. That being said, I thought ALL of the boss fights in the game were fun in a sense and kept you on your toes in terms of figuring out how to take each of them down.
One last final gripe with the game is that the game leaves you feeling pretty aimless a lot of the time. You're mostly fumbling around by trial and error on guessing on where to go to next, while simultaneously keeping mental notes (or using the in-game feature of marking up to two key points of interest on the in-game map) of what and where you're unable to access until acquiring upgrades and/or power-ups that will allow you to reach otherwise unreachable areas. I had no problem with this from experience with other Metroidvania-type games, but the fact that some upgrades and power-ups are walled off by inaccessible walls by any means other than passwords. If I wasn't keeping track of my progression from the walkthrough guide(s) on GameFAQs then I wouldn't have had no idea on how to acquire some of the weapons and items, such as the Flamethrower. I'm guessing some of those passwords are in the text files and documents scattered within the game, but c'mon, you can't even read most of those files until you either put in a password for that or even find the means to translate them. That would've frustrated me to no end if I was playing this without a guide and wanted to 100% the game. I'm just sayin'...
Play It or Don't Bother?
Definitely play it. It calls back to retro classic gaming (specifically the NES era) with a lot of clever twists and spins on that style of gameplay. There's run and gun gameplay for Contra fans, exploration and power-ups for Metroid and Castlevania fans, while traversal elements that would satisfy some old school Bionic Commando fans to boot. I hate myself for not picking up this game sooner when I had plenty of chances to get it when I first purchased my PlayStation 4.
30 Things of Stuff I Like: #4 - Black Scorpion
Black Scorpion is a 1995 comedy-action film starring Joan Severance as the eponymous costumed crime fighter. Roger Corman was the executive producer, and it was originally released on the Showtime cable network as part of the Roger Corman Presents series.
The film concerns the comic book style adventures of Darcy Walker, a police detective whose secret identity is the Black Scorpion, a superhero vigilante for justice. The Black Scorpion does not have any actual super powers but, like Batman, she fights evildoers with a combination of martial arts, great agility and strength, and many technological devices, including a high powered, specially equipped car. And like the Batman TV series of the 1960s, Black Scorpion is a work of camp, using deliberately exaggerated and unrealistic characters and events to comic effect.
Black Scorpion was turned into a comic book series, published digitally by Devil's Due Digital. There was also a one-off Legend of Isis / Black Scorpion comic published by Bluewater Productions.
Goddamn, I loved me some Black Scorpion back in the early 2000s. This was one of many female-led heroine TV dramas that I was following at the time. Boy, I could write several articles on those various shows - Daria, Xena: Warrior Princess, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, V.I.P., Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World, Star Trek: Voyager, etc. to name a few. I was exposed to the TV show first from late night channel surfing and did some research, only to discover the films a few years after the fact. I only managed to find Black Scorpion II: Aftershock on DVD at first, but recently stumbled onto a copy of the original Black Scorpion movie on DVD in a local video retailer.
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| Michelle Lintel as Black Scorpion (left) and Darcy Walker (bottom-middle) Joan Severance as Black Scorpion (right) and Darcy Walker (top-middle) |
Why do I like the Black Scorpion? Well outside of how awesome and if I may add smokin' hot that Michelle Lintel looked in the costume (sorry Joan Severance, but Lintel blows you away in the looks department...), I just adored the adult-style campiness of it all. I grew up on the Batman '66 stuff with Adam West (who even guest-stars as a villain in this series, God rest his soul) and this was a nice throwback to that era of superhero narratives, with an adult touch to it. To say that people complain that there's not enough female superheroes, then they have definitely haven't seen this. Just as a word of caution, the films feature some minor, yet brief nudity in terms of a few topless scenes, but the TV series is pretty much PG for the most part, outside of some noteworthy Playboy/Playmate models guest-starring as some of the villains of the week.
In present day, Black Scorpion has a bit of a cult following as you don't hear too many people talk about the character anymore nor even know that she exists. I still plan on picking up that box set of the complete TV series though. A simple Google search can easily find a few uploads of the various episodes across YouTube and DailyMotion, but I want my own copy to cherish the memories.
Once I do, I should do a binge marathon just for laughs... and review the series at some point.
Until then, do yourself a favor and check out the Black Scorpion.
Until then, do yourself a favor and check out the Black Scorpion.
30 Things of Stuff I Like: #3 - WildC.A.T.s
Wildcats, sometimes rendered WildCats or WildC.A.T.s, is a superhero team created by the American comic book artist Jim Lee and writer Brandon Choi.
The team first appeared in 1992 in the first issue of their eponymous comic book WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams, published by Image Comics. It was Image founding partner Jim Lee's first work published by the newly launched company, and his first creator owned project. The Wildcats were the starting point for Lee's menagerie of interconnected superhero creations which became the foundation of the Wildstorm Universe. The Wildcats launched at the apex of a speculator-fuelled comics sales boom, was wildly popular at its inception, with wholesale sales to comic book stores above one million copies for early issues. This first series ran for 50 issues, and in addition to Lee featured work by comics creators such as Travis Charest, Chris Claremont, James Robinson and Alan Moore. This popularity saw the property expand into other media, with an animated adaptation of the comic debuting on CBS in 1994 and a toyline from Playmates Toys.
During the mid-90's, Marvel Comics went a little overboard in their "extreme" new characters and what-not in terms of storytelling. Not to mention that I wasn't too fond of their Onslaught storyline and the Heroes Reborn one that followed after it (even though I am a HUGE fan of Jim Lee's artwork - past, present, and future). It was around this point that I started looking for alternatives to continue enjoying comic books and their lore since Marvel wasn't maintaining it's luster at this time.
I credit discovering WildCATs to my older brother who was influenced by his own artistic talents at the time. I'll showcase some of his art down the road some day if I can find some of it tucked away somewhere, but he was heavily influenced by artist Jim Lee's work at the time, along with Marc Silvestri's on Cyberforce (previously on various Marvel Comics to boot). We both were fond of their artwork back when both of them worked for Marvel Comics, but when they jumped ship to Image Comics and spearheaded Top Cow Productions, that's when we really were full swing into following everything those two artists put their hands on, which lead us to WildCATs.
I have to credit WildCATs as the first "mature" comic book that I was exposed to. Watching the Saturday morning cartoon series on CBS, you would be fooled to think otherwise, but a lot of things were changed in the cartoon to make it kid-friendly. For example, Voodoo's profession as a stripper isn't mentioned and whereas Warblade was already an established member of the team in the comics, he was made as their last recruit. In the comics, Voodoo was the last member to be recruited to the team and was the rookie.
From the cartoon to the toys (both of which I've covered on the first edition of Collectors' Corner), it would be lying if I said that I had a little obsession with this set of characters back in my early adolescent years. Between this and Cyberforce (we'll discuss this soon enough), I can look back a lot of my old artwork and original comic book characters and see how much these characters left an impact on me.
Since DC Comics purchased Wildstorm Productions/Image Comics, Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.s, along with most of the Wildstorm comics continuity found themselves part of the existing DC Comics canon as part of the New 52 initiative.
I credit discovering WildCATs to my older brother who was influenced by his own artistic talents at the time. I'll showcase some of his art down the road some day if I can find some of it tucked away somewhere, but he was heavily influenced by artist Jim Lee's work at the time, along with Marc Silvestri's on Cyberforce (previously on various Marvel Comics to boot). We both were fond of their artwork back when both of them worked for Marvel Comics, but when they jumped ship to Image Comics and spearheaded Top Cow Productions, that's when we really were full swing into following everything those two artists put their hands on, which lead us to WildCATs.
I have to credit WildCATs as the first "mature" comic book that I was exposed to. Watching the Saturday morning cartoon series on CBS, you would be fooled to think otherwise, but a lot of things were changed in the cartoon to make it kid-friendly. For example, Voodoo's profession as a stripper isn't mentioned and whereas Warblade was already an established member of the team in the comics, he was made as their last recruit. In the comics, Voodoo was the last member to be recruited to the team and was the rookie.
From the cartoon to the toys (both of which I've covered on the first edition of Collectors' Corner), it would be lying if I said that I had a little obsession with this set of characters back in my early adolescent years. Between this and Cyberforce (we'll discuss this soon enough), I can look back a lot of my old artwork and original comic book characters and see how much these characters left an impact on me.
Since DC Comics purchased Wildstorm Productions/Image Comics, Jim Lee's WildC.A.T.s, along with most of the Wildstorm comics continuity found themselves part of the existing DC Comics canon as part of the New 52 initiative.
30 Things of Stuff I Like: #2 - Attack On Titan
Attack on Titan (Japanese: 進撃の巨人 Hepburn: Shingeki no Kyojin, lit. "Advancing Giant") is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. The series began in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine on September 9, 2009, and has been collected into 26 tankōbon volumes as of August 2018. It is set in a world where humanity lives in cities surrounded by enormous walls protecting the humans from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as titans. The story initially centers on Eren Yeager and his childhood friends Mikasa Ackerman and Armin Arlert, who join the military to fight the titans after their hometown is invaded and a titan eats Eren's mother, whom he swears to avenge. As the story progresses and the truths about the titans are slowly revealed to the reader, the narrative shifts to encompass Historia Reiss, squad leader Levi, Eren's father Grisha, and other supporting characters.
The spin-off light novel series Before the Fall began in December 2011 and has received a manga adaptation. Two additional light novel series and four additional spin-off manga series have also been created. An anime television adaptation was produced by Wit Studio and Production I.G and aired in Japan on MBS. The first season aired between April and September 2013, the second season aired between April and June 2017, and a third season commenced broadcast in July 2018. Four video game adaptations developed by Nitroplus staffers in collaboration with Production I.G were announced to be released as bonus content for the third and sixth volumes of the Blu-ray Disc release of the anime, with another game developed by Spike Chunsoft for the Nintendo 3DS. A two-part live-action film adaptation, Attack on Titan and Attack on Titan: End of the World, and a live-action web-series were released in 2015. An anime adaptation of the Junior High spin-off manga, produced by Production I.G, began airing in October 2015. Attack on Titan and all five spin-off manga are published in North America by Kodansha USA, while the three novel series are published by Vertical. The anime has been licensed by Funimation for North America, by Manga Entertainmentfor the UK, and by Madman Entertainment for Australasia.
Attack on Titan has become a commercial success. As of August 2018, the manga has 76 million tankōbon copies in print, making it one of the best-selling manga series. The release of the manga's anime adaptation, which received critical acclaim for its atmosphere, music and story, boosted the series' popularity. Although it also gained fame in neighboring Asian countries, the series' themes have been a subject of controversy.
Why do I like Attack on Titan, or rather Shingeki no Kyojin so much?
I admire this display of raw human emotion in a bleak situation. I know there's people out there who praise The Walking Dead as the de facto survivalist/apocalyptic dystopia narrative, but I like Attack on Titan because everyone didn't wake up to this reality and instantly became a bad ass who knew how to survive. The first few episodes follow the principal cast getting military training and are thrown onto the frontlines of their first battle with no warning. These so-called hardened soldiers are quaking with fear and losing their minds. These aren't people who are magically experts at taking lives or wielding a weapon. I swear, it drives me crazy to no end to hear people go on and on about how they want the zombie apocalypse to happen for real like The Waking Dead for they can show off how prepared they are for that type of world when I know they can't even kill an insect without being frozen in fear.
Don't get me wrong, there's moments of both The Walking Dead comics and television series that I do enjoy when I do take the time to pay attention to them, but I feel that stuff is extremely overrated in terms of how "deep" and "meaningful" people analyze and over-analyze that content for being. Both of these mediums can resonate with people in their own individual means, but I always felt that Attack on Titan captures that hopelessness feeling more - at least in the initial seasons (currently in the manga not so much). On top of that, I don't get depressed watching Attack on Titan like I do with The Walking Dead. TWD falls into a rather predictable pattern of stuff going well for a moment then goes bad to worse then to the worst possible outcome/scenario. There's really no happy ending to that story. In contrast, I can't see Attack on Titan ending on a lighter note when the creator himself said that his perfect ending would have every major character die in the finale, but call me nuts, I just enjoy this ride better out of preference. People die in both narratives. There are characters that feel like genuine real people to get behind and at the core of all of the fantasy/science fiction to these stories, at the core, they are stories about people dealing with conflicts with other people.
I'm sure there's going to be that one smart ass who points that out in the comments or social media that The Walking Dead does essentially the same thing... True, but you don't have AoT's fanbase (at least I haven't seen it from my experience) swept up into this mindset that this reality would be "fun" to live in. I think Eren Jaeger said it best, "This World is Hell."
I prefer to contrast the two like this - While The Walking Dead prefers to highlight the absolute worst in mankind/humanity, Attack on Titan always manages to showcase the best of what mankind has to offer, even in the most dire situations.
I first discovered this medium a few years ago when I was in a pretty dark and low point of my life. I was binge-watching a lot of different anime and TV shows to pass the time and keep my mind off things. Seeing what the people in this world and this environment was an inspiration of sorts and I got hooked. I watched the entire first season in less than a week and started reading the manga shortly after that. I kept up with both the anime and manga iterations of this medium thoroughly to this day and I still find myself invigorated following the adventures of these characters. I get it, Attack on Titan isn't everyone's cup of tea - much like The Walking Dead is for me - but in both cases, the journey of mankind's survival against impossible odds is a narrative well worth the time to witness first hand.
PREVIEW -- Shovel Knight Showdown: 10 Minutes of Exclusive Gameplay
Eventhubs recently brought this information to light that IGN quietly shared about the upcoming final expansion DLC for Shovel Knight. You're not seeing things. Yes, this is a multiplayer brawler.
As much as I enjoyed the single player content for Shovel Knight, I'm surprised to see something like this get added to the game when Shovel Knight missed the mark on being a playable character in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. sequel for the Nintendo Switch. FYI he will appear in the game as a Smash trophy though.
Lucha Underground: Catrina vs. Melissa Santos (E13 S4) | Here We Are
Can we take a second and talk about how awesome that introduction scene between Catrina and Melissa Santos was from this week's episode of Lucha Underground was?
Even though fight cinematography where it's cut to hell from reaction shots back and forth usually drive me nuts in full-length films, I was fine with it here. This was the pay off to the storyline between Catrina and Melissa Santos that began once Fenix lost his Grave Consequences Match against Mil Muertes. Catrina then took his life force and restored her own, causing the Man of 1000 Lives to "die" for good. This left Melissa Santos struck with grief over the course of the last few weeks/months (I forget how the timeline works here in Lucha Underground) until things came to a boil a few weeks ago in Mil Muertes match against The Mack where Melissa refused to even call ring announcements. This sparked a brawl between her and Catrina that was pretty one-sided after Catrina left her laid out. This sequence is Melissa Santos' means of getting revenge on Catrina taking who she loved the most in the world out of her life.
While I'm sad to see Catrina "killed" again it seems, but I'm anxious to see how Mil Muertes functions on his own. We saw the chains come loose on Matanza this season after Dario's father ordered him to destroy the key that symbolized the last of his humanity. We saw the fruits of that labor last week during the wedding of Taya and Johnny Mundo, so I'm sure the shit is about to hit the fan with Mil Muertes on his own and off Catrina's leash.
I have no idea what to make of this "time displacement" nonsense with Aerostar though. That goes double with the soul-stealing/manipulation he was performing like Shao Khan in Mortal Kombat. I'll just wait and see on that one.
Impact Wrestling: ReDefined (August 30, 2018) -- Results & Afterthoughts; Bonus Comments on Slammiversary XVI
On August 30, 2018, Impact Wrestling featured their television special, ReDefined, in the place of their usual television episode/taping to feature several title matches and marquee matches, highlighting and focusing on various feuds up to this point in preparation for the road to their next PPV event, Bound for Glory.
I've been meaning to do a write-up on Impact Wrestling's PPV event, Slammiversary XVI, from July 22, 2018 for about two months now, but keep getting sidetracked. Ultimately, the opinions all around are unanimous about that event though - amazing show from top to bottom. I can't put this event over more. Even if you haven't checked out Impact Wrestling in a long time or even just new to their product, this show is a great spot to start before checking out ReDefined.
Quick Results from Slammiversary XVI:
Tessa Blanchard defeated Allie - Continuing to show off why Tessa Blanchard belongs at the top spot of the Knockouts division going forward
Eddie Edwards defeated Tommy Dreamer - House of Hardcore rules match - First of many hardcore themed matches on this show. Wasn't too crazy about this but they got the point across.
Brian Cage defeated Matt Sydal (c) - Singles match for the Impact X Division Championship - Wasn't expecting anything less than a win for Cage here. Solid performance from both men, even though Sydal botched the Shooting Star Press towards the end.
Su Yung (c) defeated Madison Rayne - Singles match for the Impact Knockouts Championship - Even though they did some great storytelling in the build to this match, I can't admit that this match lived up to the hype. Another decisive win for Su Yung in her reign as champion, but I have to say that Rayne might have to step aside when it comes to all of these title shots she's been getting in not only Impact Wrestling but in Ring of Honor and other promotions as of late as she's on her road to appearing in WWE's Mae Young Classic II.
The Latin American Xchange (Santana and Ortiz) (with Konnan) (c) defeated The OGz (Hernandez and Homicide) (with King) - 5150 Street Fight for the Impact World Tag Team Championship - Crazy match right here. Only thing that held this back is that this was the second hardcore match on this card and there was a lot of "been there, done that" in terms of hardcore spots when you've seen LAX kill it with oVe earlier this year.
Pentagon Jr. (mask) defeated Sami Callihan (hair) - Mask vs. Hair match - Match of the Night IMHO. Pentagon Jr. is the king of these hardcore deathmatches in the modern day landscape of professional wrestling. Just do your favor and watch this match if you want to see the pure insanity that both Pentagon and Sami put their bodies through in this match. I wouldn't be surprised to see either of these men going for the Impact World title come Bound for Glory.
Austin Aries (c) defeated Moose - Singles match for the Impact World Championship - After that excellent video package to highlight and promote this match, I thought Moose was a shoe-in to pick up the title here. Boy was I wrong. Moose took one good Brainbuster from Aries and that's all she wrote. Too bad though as I thought this was a solid affair for both men.
Why Are These Events Important Going Forward?
Between Slammiversary XVI back in July and ReDefined last week, both shows creates a sense of new and fresh that the new, current regime running the company needed going forward once the mistakes of Dixie Carter and her entourage left the minds of fans that they turned away to show them, "Look we got our shit together now. Give us another chance."
Plus with all of the talent from House of Hardcore and more importantly, Lucha Underground, calling Impact Wrestling their home as of late, you can't really go wrong from the in-ring product. Seriously speaking though, TNA/Impact Wrestling's problem has NEVER been the actual in-ring wrestling part. Almost every wrestler who has stepped into one of their rings has held it down when push came to shove.
Before someone brings it up, I'm not talking about that Jenny Morasca versus Sharmell clusterfuck or that Rebel vs. Shelly Martinez botchfest either...
I mean that statement as their talent has more consistent standout performances than flops is all that I'm saying. You cannot deny that Impact Wrestling as a whole are beating WWE (as a whole as we can't just look at NXT on it's own as it's only measuring stick of match quality) in terms of their in-ring product on a consistent regular basis.
Currently, both their in-ring product and behind the scenes work is really shining. I was just talking with a friend the other day, discussing about how well that they have been building up Su Yung as this monstrous force of nature with her horde of zombie brides doing her dirty work. Her feuds with Allie, Rosemary, and recently with Madison Rayne have been great to see unfold on Impact TV tapings over the past few months. If that's not enough, Tessa Blanchard hasn't been in the Knockouts title hunt yet, but she's been having her presence felt throughout this division as a constant reminder that she has that title in her crosshairs. I'm wondering who is going to be that one Knockout who is going to give her the standout performance in-ring that she really needs to get up to the next level in Impact Wrestling. A lot of people are calling her ascension on the indies, similar to how Charlotte Flair rose to dominance in WWE and I can easily see why on that comparison. Both women are second/third generation wrestlers with relatives who hold an impressive pedigree to live up to. It's either come out guns blazing or sink to the bottom of the talent pool like a brick.
Moose was diagnosed with a concussion after this event and haven't seen at the Impact TV tapings that took places that following week. Even though I was shocked that Austin Aries didn't drop the title to Moose there, especially after that great build and video package that preceded the match on PPV to sell Moose up as the next big thing and flag bearer for the company going forward. The other news coming out of this event after recent weeks is that Austin Aries is going to be one of many featured talent on the upcoming wrestling show that WGN America is set to air this fall season. I'm guessing Impact had a change of heart and saw it as the opportunity to have Aries continue to carry the championship with even more exposure on another network as Aries has been making rounds popping up to challenge for Ring of Honor's Television Championship as well. I'm not saying that he's bad at the role in the least. I'm just surprised that they haven't taken the title off him by now, that's all.
Enough going off-topic on Slammiversary XVI coverage though, let's switch gears and focus on what you're really here to get my thoughts upon and that's ReDefined.
X-Division Championship Match - Brian Cage (c) def. Fenix
The pace of this contest is absolutely frenetic. #ReDefined @MrGMSI_BCage pic.twitter.com/U0rELULEii— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 31, 2018
Really scary moment here as Cage almost botched the Jumping Powerbomb from the top rope during the finish. Fenix was able to get his neck up in time before the landing but damn that was scary to look at. Other than that spot, this was a solid opener.
Best spot of the entire match was Cage catching Fenix out of the suicide dive and suplexing him to the floor. Man, I wish more big guys would do that to all of these cruiserweights and lightweights throwing themselves around recklessly.
Eli Drake def. Brandon Tidwell
I have no idea what this was about but it ended up being a complete waste of time. Complete squash here. I don't understand why they are wasting Drake in a spot like this on this card, but whatever.
Knockouts Championship Match - Tessa Blanchard def. Allie and Su Yung (c) to become the NEW Knockouts Champion
.@Tess_Blanchard press slams @realsuyung onto The Undead Bridesmaids! #ReDefined pic.twitter.com/L6DEL64nmg— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 31, 2018
Kinda sloppy starting off, but once they got on the same page, this wasn't a bad match at all. My favorite spots were the three way submission holds and the Military Press Tessa performed to toss Su Yung out of the ring and into the crowd of Undead Brides standing at ringside. Allie had Su Yung laid out in the finish, but Tessa rolled her up to steal the win.
I wouldn't call this a win in dominant fashion (that's why her post-match promo seemed a bit off to me when she was acting like it was afterwards), but that Knockouts title belongs on Tessa right now. She's their biggest female star on the rise and it would make more sense to have everyone chasing and challenging her going forward.
The Smoke Show w/ Scarlett Bordeaux, featuring Grado, Catalina, and Joe Hendry
I couldn't help but crack up laughing at Grado here in this. Catalina has a right to fear Scarlett as she's better at "manipulating" her boys more than she is. Can I mention that this whole storyline is a clever call back to Katie Lea's previous Impact Wrestling gimmick as Winter who was manipulating Angelina Love to do her bidding? Here, she's playing Joe Hendry and Grado potentially against each other. I wonder how many people caught the vulgar references on the walls of the scene/studio where they were having this segment.
Crazy how well Scarlett's gimmick is getting over to say she hasn't wrestled a single match in Impact Wrestling and it's all been just mere segments and vignettes for her since she made her debut. I think Impact Wrestling are sitting on a potential goldmine with this character if they continue to play this up properly.
Rich Swann def. Petey Williams
The whole story to this match was that Swann had the Canadian Destroyer scouted and had a counter to it every time that Petey went for it. This made for a fun match here. Too bad it was over pretty fast, but there was a lot of great spots here to look out for. My personal favorite was the counter to the Destroyer to a powerbomb followed by a pin. From the annoyed look on Petey's face, this isn't over by a long shot.
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 31, 2018
After all of the hot water Swann found himself in last year, I'm glad to see him enjoying wrestling again. He's definitely right at home in the X-Division.
Update following Little Richie getting run over by the OGs
I had a few friends ask me what I thought about this last week, but I didn't see it live at the time and didn't catch up on the past two weeks worth of Impact Wrestling until earlier this week, so I'll give my thoughts now. The kid getting run over was a little in bad taste BUT it's entertainment. I've lost track of the death toll on Lucha Underground this season and you don't see anyone moaning about that. Glad to hear that the kid is okay, but watching it at the time didn't bother me in the least. As long as we're not doing stupid shit like 12 year old Izzy taking chokeslams on the indies then I'm fine with this for the sake of the storyline.
Austin Aries and Killer Kross def. Eddie Edwards
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 31, 2018
Moose allegedly assaulted backstage before the start of this match, so this match was started as a handicap match instead. Surprisingly enough, "crazy" Eddie Edwards was able to hold his own for most of this match until the numbers game caught up to him. Moose raced down to the rescue, only to turn on his alleged best friend Eddie Edwards.
I'm sorry but this didn't make a lick of damn sense to me. Aries was the one who gave Moose a concussion at Slammiversary and prevented him from becoming the new Impact World Champion. Did that Brainbuster scramble his brains or something? It makes no sense to me on why Moose would align with Aries and Kross. At this rate, I honestly can't see who is going to overthrow Aries unless they pull the Pentagon/Sami Calihan stuff into the main event picture. You could have Eli Drake somehow find his way back into the title picture, but I think that ship has sailed at this point. I wasn't crazy about this finish at all, but I won't pass final judgment on this until I see how they follow up with this on tonight's episode of Impact. From a narrative standpoint, I did like the final shot of Alisha Edwards coming out and slapping the taste out of Moose's mouth for his betrayal though. Shows that no matter how far off the deep end her husband has gone, she's still standing by his side.
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