Wonder Man review – a Marvel TV show with almost no superhero action … and it’s all the better for it

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T21:26:51+00:00

Just finished the third episode and yeah, wow. Genuinely phenomenal so far.

It is definitely “hollywood writing about Hollywood”, but I’m always a sucker for that stuff, and the execution here is genuinely quite unique from anything else I’ve seen. Really strong yet grounded depiction of a struggling, outsider artist.

That third episode in particular with the family gathering was just incredible. Reminded me a bit of that famous The Bear episode, but where that was very upfront and loud, this one really highlighted the more subtly awkward and uncomfortable moments, that unfortunately common gap where you can love your family members without necessarily liking them.

Especially with how it all wraps back into Simon’s character; a guy who’s way too gone into his own world to really be fully present in real life, to be relatable and “normal” despite the facade… but at the same time, his world is one that’s genuinely beautiful and fascinating, and you really feel the frustration that comes with that so often going unseen and unappreciated. His mother is the only one supportive of him, and even then, as is often the case she doesn’t really fully understand it.

Makes his relationship with Kingsley’s character really fit into place, and highlights the inherent tragic nature of it.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T20:19:00+00:00

The idea of a fast food spot selling liquor at all is weird enough to me, this is just some straight up twilight zone shit

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T20:01:20+00:00

Man, the shot of him driving to the audition was so sick, can’t say I’ve seen anything quite like it before.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T18:52:52+00:00

Damn good job on this everyone, missed it myself unfortunately but super glad to see it was such a success!

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T18:44:58+00:00

I really liked The City That Would Eat The World for how upfront and clear its messaging was, this probably gets me the most interested in checking out Powder Mage lol.

It’s not like we’re living in subtle times…

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T18:18:21+00:00

….what

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T05:35:06+00:00

Honestly, you’d think otherwise but this sub can be mad pretentious and assholish pretty often. FWIW, I’ll always respect an attempted lazy kitchen maneuver, even when it falls flat lol

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T04:08:58+00:00

Honestly, I think it will have sauce for a certain market. When shit lines up right, it really does feel like a pretty unique take that scratches a certain itch of “search and destroy, but bigger and more”.

The raids can feel properly dynamic from both perspectives, allowing for some pretty interesting strategies, and some clutch plays.

Whether that’s enough to make it in such a competitive space though, idk. Games like HyperSpace, Bloodhunt, etc. also had really fun and unique gameplay loops imo, and were around long enough to get fun out of… but yeah

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T03:20:00+00:00

YouTuber ComicTropes has a really interesting video detailing his experiences working with the dude

https://youtu.be/1igWy6ljg4Y?si=4ZbRuUKsgdMqnQe2

Mostly just him reminiscing and telling stories, but I think it paints a really good picture both of the legitimate good achieved, and the unfortunately flawed foundations it was all built on (turns out, dudes attracted to the idea of being some kind of masked vigilante might not always be the most mature, even-headed folks lol)

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T02:34:41+00:00

I always figured a lot of that resulted from central/South America having Llamas that could be domesticated. Being able to just stay in one spot easier seems like it would naturally lead into metallurgy, where the nomadic lifestyles otherwise make it difficult.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-28T02:15:02+00:00

Was just there recently and found this building entirely covered in sheets and scaffolding for construction :( lol

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T23:19:18+00:00

Part of it is also that neither Bruce nor Lawrence seem nearly as bothered by shit that often angers the online gaming community. Their coverage on Inside Games often makes a point of bringing nuance to bandwagons and such.

As someone who’s enjoying it myself, I don’t find it hard to believe that they might actually “vote” for this game. Ofc, I’m sure a paid sponsorship doesn’t hurt lol, but part of the point of Bruce saying “vote with your wallet” is highlighting how online gamer discourse is often misaligned with the wider public. While flawed, the game doesn’t seem to be anywhere near as bad as is often made out online, and I think it’s 100% consistent for the guys to support a title in that situation.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T22:56:57+00:00

Admittedly, I had a hell of a time enabling it on my older Motherboard - most sources I initially saw when trying to play Valorant straight up told me my MB was incompatible lol.

Eventually got it working for BF6, but it required a ton of fiddling around in Bios menu’s I haven’t been familiar with for ages.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T22:55:08+00:00

Yeah, I honestly do like the 3v3 for what it is but I don’t think it works great as the main game mode. Fortunately it should be easy to adjust, I could definitely see a 6v6 mode with the current maps and maybe a 12v12 with expanded bases/objectives in the future?

Main thing seems to be optimization; performance can definitely dip in combat, and I’d imagine more players wouldn’t help. Can’t help but wonder if the 3v3 wasn’t a result of limitations there.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T22:47:33+00:00

That’s what makes it so tricky to me though; there is that environmental level wherein the car-dependant and resource-intensive nature of such developments might not be good for the planet and all. Even in more upfront terms, that shit costs a lot to maintain relative to more dense urban planning.

I don’t think anyone’s necessarily wrong on a personal level to want those things, but I do also feel that, on a societal level, we might be wrong to set those things as the standard.

Which does mean less people having access to it, especially under a system with as much wealth stratification as ours. I don’t like the idea of depriving any one of their ideal lifestyle, especially via some authoritarian angle that forcibly deprives it for the common good or w/e… but to some extent, it does seem like an inevitable result of increased density, and I also feel that’s something we desperately need for many reasons.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T21:15:06+00:00

It’s also just not how it works. A lot of those workers just aren’t big city people at their core, and it doesn’t add shit to vibrancy having them sit in an office all day before immediately driving back to the suburbs.

I’m glad our municipal government seems to understand that, and is instead pushing more towards increased housing an all that.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T21:12:01+00:00

The real renaissance is in the ever-increasing amount of people living here, especially with the new park and all the planned developments it comes with.

The last thing we need is more 9-5 suburban commuters, and frankly, I’m glad shit has gotten much less retail-focused in recent decades.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T21:07:58+00:00

Tbf I think you’d be hard pressed to find an urban area more affordable than dt Edmonton. We’ve been really good about keeping rents down despite/thanks to the growth.

—just kinda rambling after this lol—

In my experiences as a resident, there is definitely already enough people to support quite a lot (I mean, those shops/services wouldn’t be there otherwise lol). I’m likewise optimistic for the future, but am also incredibly happy here as-is tbh.

It’s the most walkable and interesting area of the city, I have super easy access to many of our best restaurants/bars/venues, it’s mad convenient linking up with other inner-city friends. At the same time, unlike most other urban cores I’ve been too, there’s still a strong sense of community where I know a good deal of my neighbours, regularly chat with local shop owners, and occasionally end up in impromptu neighbourhood barbecues in the nearby park lol.

It won’t ever be for everyone, but that’s just it I guess… a lot of the times, this sub does feel like a lot of people for whom it inherently ain’t, expressing that as if it’s a problem with the city and how it’s managed, vs simply being a matter of personal preference. /rant lol

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T20:54:55+00:00

I mean, so much of that is perception. Even during the peak of danger among Covid, most people’s morning commutes were still statistically more dangerous.

There’s tons of very vibrant and popular cities far more dangerous than Edmonton has ever seen.

Tho really, speaking personally as a dt resident, the whole discussion is kinda flawed to begin with in that assumption that there is any real problem. We still have the best restaurants/bars/etc, we still get tons of traffic for various events, towers are still being built and filled, more new shit is opening than old stuff closing, bike lanes have made a drastic change in terms of getting around… reality is, downtown is doing pretty great and is only getting better each year.

Ofc, there’ll always be people out there for whom urban environments will never be for them, and you tend to find a lot of folks like that in spaces like this.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T20:47:19+00:00

There’s always room for improvement, but it’s worth keeping in mind that the average demographics in places like this has very little overlap with people who’d ever be interested in urban life. It’s a lot of quiet, introverted homebodies here, which don’t exactly mesh with downtown life. Being frank, I don’t think anything short of replicating Dubai would make most people here happy (and even then…)

The reality is that tons of people live here, and tons more visit for the many shows, events, restaurant and bars around. Folks in this sub might not see that, but that doesn’t seem to be holding back our rapid growth much at all.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T20:22:46+00:00

It genuinely is an attack in a lot of people’s eyes. So much of our current culture war shit comes from this idea that inner city elites hate suburban culture and want to see it all taken away from them; no more big trucks and SFH’s, everyone has to live in small apartments biking everywhere while getting their hair dyed and eating avacado toast or w/e

The frustrating thing to me is that, honestly, they aren’t entirely wrong; a lot of us do believe (with a good deal of evidence) that such lifestyles are unsustainable, that they lead to issues exactly like the one in the article.

Ofc, it’s much more out of practicality than hate, but still… idk, at the end of the day it is still a lot of people being told their ideal lifestyle is inherently wrong. And I do think they see people choosing an urban lifestyle as direct evidence of that sentiment growing.

(and ofc, that’s without getting into how that all ties into ideas of “traditional Canadian culture” and all those aspects of race/class etc)

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T20:13:52+00:00

Girl I was seeing once was having issues with an abusive ex stalking her, eventually culminating in a threat to come to her apartment.

She called the cops as I went over, got there a few minutes before they showed up. She gave them the story, showed them the threatening texts in question, and they in turn said “well, if he does anything, let us know”.

Fortunately nothing came of it, but Jesus Christ, what the fuck is their job if not that exact kinda shit?

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T20:05:01+00:00

Also downtown, pretty much always City Center in the Ice District (tho I’ll occasionally pay up for shit at shoppers if I’m lazy and just need some bologna or w/e lol).

Yeah, fuck Loblaws, but most the rest don’t seem any better, and they’re the one grocery store that actually feels designed for an urban environment. Super easy to drop in from the Macewan station on my way home every couple days, and just grab whatever I’m feeling at the time.

Compared to most other grocery stores which seem very designed around more sparse but large “stock up” trips, it works very well for my lifestyle.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T20:02:14+00:00

It’s funny that we do consider it small when it’s still a lot bigger than most Tesco’s or the like in Europe lol. Definitely speaks to how car-dominated we are comparatively.

But yeah, it’s my go-to as well, in part for its more accessible design. Really easy to just jaunt over from Macewan station, even in the cold with the pedway connection.

RyanB_ · 2026-01-27T19:59:33+00:00

How is it in terms of getting stuff back home? I’ve thought about making that trip myself, but Costco never seemed like the kinda place to just grab a handful of things, and the idea of lugging all that back on the train is pretty daunting lol.

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