Forgotten Toons: Marvel's Monster of Frankenstein (1981)

 Mary Shelley's creation by way of Marvel and then Japan.

This is Monster of Frankenstein, an Anime adaptation of the Marvel Comic.  It's not a one-to-one Adaptation, which is probably for the best.

To give a brief summary, between his regular adventures, the Monster met Spider-Man, fought Iron Man, was sent to the future by Kang and later ran an underground City full of Monsters.

Let's stick with a loose adaptation of the Story, shall we?

It also takes many cues from the Universal one, including the neck bolts and inhuman looking skin.  This Adam is also not a judgmental guy and he's also not ever called Adam.

To find out what they changed and what they didn't, read on...

The Film wastes NO time as Dr. Frankenstein and his Assistant- not Fritz OR Igor- try to make a new kind of man.

Initially, it fails, but then lightning strikes and super charges it to life.

It goes a bit crazy, scares them and flees.

The Doctor makes his Assistant go after the Creature, but he's maimed in the process.

The Doctor leaves like nothing happened.

His creation is indeed on the loose and it isn't friendly.

It eventually finds its way through the Woods to where the Doctor and company live.

The Doc won't spill his secret, but the Creature seems to want him to as it kills his bird, his dog and then wrecks his garden.

Revenge kind of petered off there at the end admittedly.

The Assistant tries to blackmail the Doctor and was apparently behind the killings and/or scare tactics.

He's confronted by the Creature and killed in self-defense.

The Inspector- who's a bit like the one from Lupin the Third- works the case, especially as more bodies show up.

The Doctor is no help.

Things take an interesting turn (or three) as we learn that the Doctor is the SON of the original Frankenstein.

The Creature shows up at the Dad's Home while he's with the Grandkids.  While they're gone, the Creature greets the Dad...who is the blind guy from the Story- most famously played by Gene Hackman in Young Frankenstein.

He befriends the Creature and the Daughter soon does as well.  Nothing can go wrong!

Yeah, everything goes wrong.

The Doctor's Wife dies, the grandkid dies, the Creature jumps to its death and the Doc kills himself.

It's...wow.  Alright then.
The End.

A Film that is honestly pretty good...and then suddenly really dark.  This one...takes a turn.

The Art Style is typical Toei Animation and very similar to the Dracula Anime.  All of the tropes are there- that kid and her giant head- and the usual dramatic shots too.

This Frankenstein Monster is mostly just the Universal one, since he never wears the fur coat that the Marvel version is more famous for (and yes, it was in a later Universal Film too).
In the Comics, he kills a bear and makes it.

In this one, he kills a bear to save the girl...and that's it.

A bunch of random changes- like the Grandpa being the blind guy- and more are to be expected.  Even Frankenstein: The True Story changed details.

The big thing here is absolutely the tonal whiplash in the final 20 minutes or so.  You think things are setup for Sequels- like the Mom being blue like our Creature- and then 'Nope!'

This one is hard to recommend to anyone but fans of Frankenstein that want something a bit different and aren't afraid to suddenly feel depressed.

No matter how much Japan change/tweak things, it's hard to get weirder than the first Live-Action Creature...

Made by Edison's Studio and NOT HIM.

Next time, I return to my digital library for more scary stuff.  No more Universal Monsters...probably.  Stay tuned...

Forgotten Toons: Marvel's Dracula- Sovereign of the Damned (1980)

 As Marvel under Disney tries to rebound with another billion-dollar Film, let's go back to their animated heyday.

Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned is the 1980 Anime adaptation of Marvel's Tomb of Dracula.  The Book ran for many years and has been viewed well in the Decades since.

In the 70s, Marvel licensed their stuff to Toei Animation.  This is how we got Japanese Spider-Man and Super Sentai.

The Plot is essentially a speed run of THE ENTIRE SERIES which had 70 issues over 7 years.  Alas, there is no Marvel connection in supporting Characters as Blade and Doctor Strange were cut.

Will this make sense in around 90 minutes?
To find out, read on...

My copy didn't have the cool Title...I think.

A Satanic Cult is making a big sacrifice to Lucifer Satan.
Yes, they say it like this every time.

Dracula shows up and they think that he's their Master.
He takes the lady with him.

Elsewhere, a young guy named Frank is confronted by an old dude in a wheelchair and a lady.

They hire him to hunt Dracula!

As it turns out, he's Dracula's Son...albeit one born while he was alive.
They don't get into the chronology of this at all.

The Cult plans revenge when they learn that Dracula tricked them.  Lucifer Satan tells him that he has a plan and to wait a year.

While the year progresses, the Hunters sort of close in and Dracula sires another child- Janus.

Issue 55

Weirdly, he picks that moment to reveal the truth to his Wife.
Yes, this didn't come up in a whole year.

He tells a long flashback where he was a strong protector of his land until he was killed.
He was brought back to life by Lucifer Satan as a Vampire!

The Hunters close in, but they are actually not the first person to confront Dracula.

The Cult Leader surrounds the Church with crosses and tries to shoot Dracula with silver bullets.

He turns into smoke and the baby is shot.
I mean...you turned into smoke in front of them- what did you expect?!?

Issue 59

Things take a very strange turn in the ensuing time.

Dracula hides away and the Wife mourns Janus.
She tries to commit suicide, but a literal Deus Ex Machina happens.

A heavenly light (God?) revives Janus...and turns him into a super-powered teenager.
He was the original Psi-Lord (aka Franklin Richards)

Issue 61

The new Janus has holy powers and scares away Dracula.

A different power confronts him, however, in the form of Lucifer Satan.

He literally Drags them To Hell and tries to kill Dracula, who is saved by his Wife's latent holy powers!
(In the Comics, it's a lady named Topaz)

Issue 64

While he's free, Dracula is a human once again!

He fails many times to get restored, including asking two different lady Vampires to turn him (back).

He gets oddly heroic as he flees to a House full of kids and fends off the undead with a cross.

Issue 69

He manages to regain his vampiric powers, but the Hunters (remember them?) are coming.

Harker makes them stay outside and he manages to impale Dracula with a silver spoke.
He blows them both up, as the Couple leave.

Back home, Janus returns to his Mother...and to his baby form.  The End.

Issue 70

What a strange, truncated series of events.

As mentioned, this is a loose adaptation of 70 issues of Tomb of Dracula.  With Blade and Dr. Strange excised (as well as Silver Surfer), they found room to trim things down.

As you saw, the character of Topaz was basically absorbed into Dracula's Wife, for example.

I was not *that* familiar with the Tomb of Dracula Books (being born 4 years after they ended didn't help matters), so I honestly thought that this one was just going off in a weird, Japanese direction.

Color me shocked to learn that all of this- Dracula's superhero kid, him fighting Lucifer Satan and all that- is 100% from the Books.  Maybe I need to support the Kickstarter to get the last Trade released.

The Animation here is dated in good and bad ways.  If you like the '70s style (think Lupin the 3rd or early Gundam), then you'll like this.
They do take some short cuts with repeat animation, some people just not moving and other such things.  It's not amazing, but it is crazy.

This one works if you don't know the Comics as a bizarre bit of History, with Japan making Anime out of Marvel Comics a few Decades before they tried again.

Now I'm doing this during October since it is Horror themed, but it is actually the wrong Holiday...

Next time, I switch back to physical media.  I'm sitting on a few Horror Remakes from the 2000s, so maybe I'll check one out.  Stay tuned...

Immediate Response: Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026)

Alright- it's Spider-Man Day!

Let's do this!

The Good

* The Plot is a fresh one, involving Damage Control, a mysterious menace and Peter's struggle to make peace with himself.
* The Film looks great, with fun visuals for him swinging and great CGI.

* With Crestin as Director, the Action looks more dynamic and his experience with Shang-Chi shows.
* Bringing The Hulk back (no SPOILER to anyone who's seen any Trailer) was so worth it.

* Bernthal as Punisher is a nice foil for Spider-Man.

The Bad

* You have to be familiar with the events of the Spider-Man 'Home' Trilogy to get the most out of this.
* The melodrama can be a bit heavy-handed at times.

* As fun as the Easter Eggs are, I just want more Boomerang, Tarantula and others.
* If you're not a fan of the Comic Retcons to give Peter his organic web shooters and the like, it is more of that.  Blame James Cameron- the Organic Web shooters were created for his unused Script from the '90s.

Bottom line- this is a fun, creative Marvel Film.  It's great to see more Spider-Man and done in such a great way.

Is It Bad?: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Is Raimi's final Spider-Man Film the worst one ever?

Spider-Man 3 is a contentious Film to many people, myself included.

After nearly 20 years, I gave this one another shot.

Pro: We get to see Peter and Mary Jane happy.  They were kept apart in various ways for the last 2 Films.

They are doing well on their own and they are happy.

Enjoy it while you can!

Pro: Harry Osborn's Arc comes to a head, which is a great use of the Film Trilogy format.  He becomes like this Father and tries to kill Peter.

Con: The Plot Point of him getting amnesia is not great for a single Film. 
Like other parts of the Film, having him set up for Spider-Man 4 would have helped.

Pro: The arc of him being Peter's friend is still good though.

Pro: Sandman is a good villain.  I'm glad that technology caught up enough to make him work on screen.

His Arc as a guy who had 'bad luck' and did bad things is good.

Con: Having his Origin tied to a retcon about Uncle Ben's death was a big miss.
There were other ways to make Peter hate him.

Pro: Tobey (as Peter) really commits to the slow, subtle changes to his personality because of the Symbiote.

Pro: Finally introducing Gwen and Captain Stacy is great.
Con: The Film does almost nothing with them, especially Captain Stacy.

If there's a Spider-Man 4 (as there should be for this Plot), they could do more with him.

Pro: I don't hate Emo Peter acting cool.
Con: Every Lead in the Film clearly was auditioning for Musical Theater Roles in this Film.
Dunst sings in the Play and dances with Franco.  Maguire does...jumping?

Con: James Franco.
Do I need to explain this?

Pro: He's honestly decent in this, especially when you're supposed to hate him.  It just feels...natural.

Pro: Venom looks cool and I do like the Arc setting up Eddie Brock as Venom.

Con: This is a great set-up...for Spider-Man 4.

Seriously, set up a villainous Franco and Grace for that Film.  Use another villain- like Mysterio- if you want too.

Just this Arc being rushed is too much.

Pro: The chaotic Final Battle- rushed as the Character Arcs are- is cool.

Con: The aftermath is paced oddly, with a prolonged bit with Sandman and then one with Franco.
It's not quite full Return of the King.

Con: The Film doesn't end with him proposing.  Weird to drop that, no?

What is Good?

The Acting is really good.  Every returning Actor nails their parts here.
J. Jonah even gets some great moments of comeuppance that Simmons plays well.

The Visual Effects are really good here, mostly.  They attempted to blend the Live-Action and CGI Models together.  They *mostly* hold up in HD.

The Character Designs and overall Production Values are great.  Even the new Score is good.

*

What is Bad?

Too much Plot for one Film.  It's the obvious answer.

Pick Sandman and keep the Franco opening bit and return- just save the blow-off for Part 4.  Same with the Venom set-up.

The Film can also come off a bit melodramatic at times.  Raimi and Company have moments of that in other Films, but this one is especially notable.

There are not a million bad things- just a few big ones that define the Film.

So...

Is It Bad?

NO.

The Film is disappointing and certainly a victim of Studio overreach.  Raimi has made it clear that Venom was a Studio mandate.
I just wish that they could have worked things out Plot-wise, because so much of the Film is good!

Like X-Men 3: The Last Stand, enough time has passed for me to look at this with a broader, less emotional viewpoint.  It's still disappointing in the wake of just how great Spider-Man 2 is.

My Crazy Youth: The X-Men Episode With Charles Darwin!

 The original X-Men Cartoon is a classic.

That said, the final Season was weird for numerous reasons (that are widely available online).
All you need to know here is that a different team of Animators worked on it and whatever leftover Stories there were got used.

That's how we got the penultimate Episode of the Series called 'Descent'

With just one Episode to go before the Series Finale (which is still not great), they decided to do an entire Episode about Mr. Sinister's backstory.

Sure- why not?!?

Jack the Ripper is on the loose in 19th Century England.

On the case is James Xavier (Charles' ancestor) who says that he knows who the killer is.

Nathaniel Essex!

He tells a long flashback tale (inside of a flashback tale) about how he was friends with Essex years ago (he has no muttonchops in these Scenes) and tried to help cure his ailing wife.

Both of them met Charles Darwin as he was promoting The Origin of Species.
Essex looks up to him and wants to show off his work.

Said work turns out to be unlocking the latent powers in Mutants, which is viewed as a parlor trick.

He disappears into his work, beginning to experiment on himself (getting his white skin and powers) and his wife.

Xavier finally investigates his Asylum and finds it to be hellish.

Essex loses his Wife's affection when she sees his condition (like glowing red eyes) and he escapes.

In the Present (of the initial Flashback), we learn that he created Jack as a Mutant and he makes a getaway to America, leaving the signed book from Darwin behind.

In the actual Present, Charles Xavier wakes up (did he just see that?) and puts the book away, possibly hearing his ancestor's words about someone hunting down Sinister.

Sinister appeared in the 2-Part Opener and not again.

A weird attempt to fill in the blanks at a late hour, but I can at least appreciate the flex here.

Saban and Company had made many, many X-Men Episodes at this point.  I don't fault them for wanting to try something new.

The main problems are the same ones that affect this entire Season- Production Values.
The Characters look alright, but feel like the 2nd pass (of at least 3) at the final product.

The timing and placement of this is odd too.  Why do his Origin Story now of all times?
Slip it into Season 3, maybe?

Having an entire Flashback Episode with NO X-Men in it was also strange.  Is there a way to tell this with a better Framing Device than 'Xavier sleeps with the Book next to him?'
There had to be.

Lastly, having a literal appearance by Charles Darwin here is very, VERY on the nose.  Referencing him- sure.  Having him Guest-Star- that's too much.

There's so much weird that I can't even get into the 'Mr. Sinister created Jack the Ripper' Plot!  It's still not as weird as Manimal becoming a Time Traveler to stop him though!

Part of me wonders if this will ever be mentioned in X-Men '97 at some point.  I doubt it!

Streaming Standard: X-Men '97- Season 2's Premiere Episodes

 We're back in the '90s!

The Show is back for another Season after a long delay.  Fittingly, this delay led to 3 Episodes about Time Travel coming out first!

I'll keep this as SPOILER-free as possible, but I do have to reference the Ending of Season 1.

Let's get out first taste of...

This Season's Villain is Apocalypse!

Hey, it's the tease of Wolverine and The X-Men finally paying off after over a Decade!

The Team is split up in Time and Space by a mysterious force.

In Episode 1, we see the group in the far Future as they see the now-adolescent Cable and try to guide him towards his destiny.

Episode 2 takes us back to the Present (of the Show) and follows those left behind.

Sunspot and Jubilee are recruited by Cable as part of his new X-Force.

They discover that a different team is also acting in the X-Men's absence...

X-Factor!

Last seen in Cold Comfort, the Team is working to capture all of the Mutants that they can find and rounding them up for 'their safety.'

I thought I could trust you, Strong Guy!

In the final Episode of the release, we see the team that was sent back to the Past.

They are teamed up with a pre-evil (well, mostly) Apocalypse as Magneto tries to rewrite history by getting him on their side.

Sadly, the slew of Star Trek: TNG Voice Actors are in the way!

To find out how it goes, Stream the Episodes now (before Episode 4 drops)!

A strong batch of Episode that makes up for all of the wait!

Obviously, many things happened behind the Scenes that likely delayed things.  Even so, we have good content to enjoy.

Episode 1 is a fun reintroduction to everyone and gives off real Terminator vibes.

Episode 2 is a good example of a Side Story and let us see many, many Cameos.  Just Google it and you'll see.

Episode 3 is the first of a 2-Parter, so don't expect everything to be settled.  It's still a great use of the Characters.

The pairings have mostly paid off quite well, from Rogue and Nightcrawler bonding to Jubilee butting heads with Cable.
We don't see any of the sort-of flirting with Morph and Wolverine here, but there's time (if it is continuing).

This Season really has a nice chance to breathe with this setup and I'm hopeful that it continues that way.

As always, people love to make Fake AI Trailer Images.  This one is from November!

We'll see if any of it comes true.

I'll likely cover the remaining Episodes in batches, but time will tell.  For now, enjoy the '90s!

Streaming Standard: Venom- Let There Be Carnage (2021)

 A Film that was locked behind the door of 'Only Streaming on Starz' until quite recently.

Well, let there be a review!

Cletus Kassady (last seen at the end of Venom) is a Serial Killer who agrees only to talk to Eddie Brock.

Our boy Eddie doesn't get much, but Venom spots a massive clue.

So, Eddie does the only natural thing...

He breaks the story and gets all of the glory.

This is all part of a larger Plot where Eddie wants Venom to not eat people, while the symbiote, well, does want to do that thing.

These boys need a Therapist!

Eventually, Kletus and Eddie end up in close proximity and the former bites the latter.

This leads to him getting his own mutated symbiote and breaking free right before he can be executed.

He has good, dramatic timing!

Cassidy is trying to get back to his lost love- a lady based on but not named Shriek.

Can love bloom between a lady who screams sonic blasts and a symbiote/man who can't stand sonic blasts?

Can Venom and Eddie come together (quite literally) to save the day?

Is the Non-Spider-Man Sony Spider-Man Universe in good hands?

To find out, stream it now (currently on Disney +).

A Film with big characters, big moments and a big issue with pacing.

The Film has some great visual effects, with Venom and Carnage both looking quite good.  Freaky, but good.

Tom Hardy really makes himself look vulnerable as both Eddie and Venom (the voice).  It is interesting to see in a Film like this.

The issue I have is the balance of setup to payoff here.

They spend so much time setting up Kassady, Shriek and then getting together that the Film suffers a bit.  

Carnage, despite being in the Title, takes too long to show up.  Shriek suffers as well.

The Plot is just way too convenient, with somehow Eddie, the Cop, Shriek and Carnage all being intertwined in the 17th Most Populated City in the United States!
Bonkers.

In spite of its flaws, the Film has some good moments, strong visuals and, well, I can finally stop looking for it.

A Film full of interesting ideas and execution.  It's just a shame that the Pacing is just so darn weird!