ExNihilo

I'll add I wish the Sovereign weren't so easily dismissed. Especially High Priestess Ayesha, but I think it's because I like Elizabeth Debicki and wish she had a deeper character to work with beyond the very simple side character we were given. There was potential for Warlock to have a profound and emotional moment of character development towards the end, but nothing came of it.

Agree with this take. It's the worst of the 3, but to me, that's like saying "which is the worst of the first 10 Pixar films". They're all good when compared against other movies, but compared amongst themselves, there's always a winner and a loser.

Same. That's the first I've heard of this. Historically it's been different tiers = different shipping.

I thought this was the important part.

I think as someone who watched Clone Wars and Rebels, I've seen firsthand the benefits of a slower, more plodding storyline, and how when done correctly, can lead to some very excellent finales. I commented in the Picard thread that a lot of shows these days are very focused on being engaging from episode 1 onwards, but a lot of those slow, early episodes are there to develop characters. If I jump headlong into the action, then I'm not as emotionally invested when something goes wrong. But if a character background is developed and I see the progression, then when all hell breaks loose in act 3, the payoff is so much more satisfying. I guess in comic terms, it's like skipping all the character arcs in Jonathan Hickman's epic Marvel (FF/Avengers/Secret Wars) run. Maybe I just read Infinity and Secret Wars, but I'd be doing myself a disservice by not reading FF first. Andor's the same way. It's a ball rolling down a hill. It starts off slow, builds steam, and just runs you over by the final episode.

To me "shipping" isn't just referring to romantic relationships, it could simply be bromances. "Shipping" Tony and Steve (or Steve and Bucky or Steve and Sam) is about the contrasting personalities and the fun interactions that could potentially occur by matching them up and sending them off on adventures. For example with Falcon and the Winter Soldier. People "shipped" Bucky and Sam and it led to some fun back and forth. No one's looking for anything sexual, just something entertaining akin to having a buddy cop.

My concern is that shows like TNG just don't work in todays world where viewers have short attention spans and prefer action and conflict over science and one off episodes. TNG never carried over many storylines. Sure, some elements like Locutus and Q and Worf's background would re-emerge from time to time. But for the most part, each episode was fully contained. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED TNG. Some of the best Star Trek episodes are one offs. If you go back to TOS you have City on the Edge of Forever, and the Trouble with Tribbles. If you look at TNG, you've got Darmok, Yesterdays Enterprise, Cause and Effect, etc. But I see fans these days complain about how slow episodes of Andor are. Or how Bad Batch has "filler episodes". It's a shame because all those "filler episodes" is where characters are developed. And that's how we fall in love with these characters, and how we wind up heartbroken when bad things happen to them. So I worry that any TNG reboot might lose the essence of what the original was.

Shaw's death is probably the "worst" thing to have happened this season. I imagine the writers didn't realize the fans would gravitate towards him so much. And I guess they needed a death to make it feel like there were actual stakes.

Romance? You mean Bo? No thanks. At no point during Clone Wars or Rebels does the character have any glimmer of a romantic relationship with anyone. She doesn't need to fall into that kind of trope.

Gina's "acting" was wooden from the very beginning. Her departure from the show isn't any loss. It'd be better if they had recast Cara Dune and used the new actress instead of Captain Teva.

Was that the special trailer they showed at Star Wars Celebration? Because she doesn't appear in the teaser trailer that was publicly released 2 weeks ago.

If Mando just ended now, I wouldn't be heart broken. As much as I want to enjoy the show, the writing and cinematography just aren't great. I mean, the show is passable, but I just think fans expect more from the franchise. Like, what was the point of the whole side story with the scientist and the communications officer who is apparently a really good spy? That seems like the kind of thing that could have been done in a future season when that story line is actually the focus. Or save it as a one off episode between Mando seasons to whet the appetite of viewers for what's to come. A lot of the show just feels "low budget" and I go back to how I think it's due to their over-reliance on The Volume. I worry about the quality of Ahsoka in August despite that at least having what will hopefully be a more focused storyline.

Agree that QC has been an ongoing issue, but if the problem can be addressed and fixed at the input level, then it's one less thing for QC to consider. At that point, QC can focus more on "is this the correct label" instead of both "is this the correct label and is this spelled correctly". QC should have a checklist much like how cars have "multi-point inspections". That won't necessarily correct everything as it's still subject to human error, but there is definitely room for efficiency improvements. Given the ongoing nature of these issues, it really makes me wonder what changes have actually been implemented to reduce "failure" rates. In my occupation, I'm always thinking of how the process can be improved to make my day to day easier. That also means what can be done to reduce costs. The more errors that get mailed out, the more that is spent on return shipping labels, comped re-holders, and everything else that goes with it. Just crazy that we continue to see the same (or similar) errors repeating themselves.

I have never been so emotionally touched by a set as I was when those turbolift doors opened and the lights came on. The entire season has been an abundance of fan service. Fan service works in moderation and when it fits into the story instead of being thrown in for the sake of being thrown in (i'm looking at you Solo). There's been so much fan service, I don't even care. It's been amazing in the same way that I thought all the fan service in Endgame was amazing. It feels like a love letter to fans seeing all these familiar faces, the flashback sequences, the references to previous episodes/movies, hearing Majel Barrett's voice again, etc. I grew up with TNG and seeing the Enterprise D destroyed in Generations was like watching Optimus Prime die in the Gen1 Transformers movie. She's my favorite starship and I'm so glad to see the old girl back again. To quote Riker, "She's beautiful Geordi".

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't understand why many of these common labels aren't just hardcoded at this point. There should be a drop down like: BS = "Blank sketch variant" SE-Midtown = "Midtown Store Exclusive variant" SE-JSC = "J. Scott Campbell Store Exclusive variant" MAN = "Manufacturing Error" I mean, you could include search functions as obviously there would be hundreds of labels. But literally, search and click, no typing required unless you need to enter a new label or if a particular designation requires it. If you have a repeated action, it can be automated in someway. Saves time and money in the long run.

Is that the same though? So Todd would sign anything with the Venom symbiote? (Thinking out loud, I realize my question is irrelevant in the context of this thread).

Only seeing this now, but Todd did a YouTube video advertising what books he would and would not sign. Of which he said he would not sign books in which he did not work on the outside or inside cover. Even if it was a Venom cover he wouldn't sign it despite being a co-creator of the character. So it's funny that he signed this book. Someone got into a polite back and forth with me on another forum about what Todd would and would not sign and I simply said that paid enough, Todd will sign anything.

I'm fine with them focusing on quality, but I'm worried that season 2 won't live up to the expectations of season 1. Those first 9 episodes set the bar really high.

When I said proportions, I meant more of the gangly nature of his Spider-Man And from a personal perspective, I think because I grew in the 90s, I've always liked when Spidey has the predominantly white lenses for eyes. Ramos has a greater tendency to emote with the eyes which is great for storytelling, but I've just never been a fan of it visually.

No, not divisive at all. I just don't like the proportions and distorted figures, nor do I understand how he's been able to carve a career for himself. Plenty of people find his art passable. It's just hard for me when I grew up in the era of McFarlane, Larsen, Bagley. But I digress.

I know what brought him back... Rob's had beef with Marvel, CGC, fans, and the guy always says "I'm done" but he always comes back. I think sometimes he shoots off his mouth without really understanding what's going on and instead of apologizing, he just doubles down and then quietly changes his position once the commotion has died down. Truth is, I met Rob at D23 in September and he seems nice enough in a setting where everyone is polite. But he's not the type to shy away from trolls or people/organizations if he feels slighted. Anyways, I'm not a fan of his art any longer, but if Humberto Ramos can still find monthly work, then Rob should be able to ask whatever he wants for his sig. People like what they like and they'll pay whatever the market can bear.

Agreed. When I first joined the boards I thought it'd be cool to have expensive key books signed. Then I quickly realized I didn't like that and now, while rare, if I do get a creator sig, it's on a cheap, easily replaceable book. I just didn't like knowing that having a megakey signed meant that the number of available unsigned copies was smaller than it used to be.

4 of 5 figures for a cover!? Gad-zooks.

Why would I want to have a cover graded? Is there really any added value as opposed to just leaving it as is. I imagine newbies might argue "to protect it", but if that's the case, just save yourself the money and put it in mylar and a frame.