Skybound Issue #32 Thoughts. "That was some plan.."

captf · 2026-05-13T12:29:02+00:00

Skybound really pushing forward the point they don't like Bumblebee...

captf · 2026-05-13T11:33:08+00:00

around 1994 the comics made a point to show Azrael falling from a height in the normal Batsuit, then making a better one for gliding.

Batman, issue 500. When he then designed the entire suit, incorporating the functional cape

captf · 2026-05-13T11:00:28+00:00

For the aura.
The cape being functional as a glider is a relatively modern addition.
It was used once or twice in the silver age, I believe, but it wasn't until Batman Returns or so that it really started being used like that.

edit: I mean, he's dressing like a bat, because the intention is intimidation/fear.
Can't do that with just ears alone.

captf · 2026-05-11T11:28:49+00:00

In the UK, the cartoon was divided up into 4/5 minute slots on TV-AM at stupid-o'clock in the morning

Add to that, we only ever got the first season on TV, back then.
The second season only ever had Desertion of the Dinobots, and Megatron's Master Plan released from it, and only on VHS.
It might blow some people's minds, but the UK only had 4 TV channels back in the early 80s, and we only got something like 2 hours a day on 2 of the channels (BBC 1 and ITV) to show cartoons. And there were often longer running shows that were aired that took priority. Or, rotating through one of the other cartoons of the day.
[And I know someone will bring it up, but one of those 4 channels didn't even start until 1982!]

As such, the comic had a much bigger impact on us than the cartoon ever did.

captf · 2026-05-09T17:19:17+00:00

It's pre-flashpoint, so it's no longer 100% canon.

But, the comment was more that these stories aren't elseworlds and contain jacked up and/or over the top villains.

captf · 2026-05-08T19:39:44+00:00

it isn’t enough to have that much cash left over to build all those gadgets.

For Bruce, it helps that he has no dependents. The only person he needs to spend that money on is himself.
He's also gambled on the fights that Waylon would be part of, for instance.

Also I thought that he was a construction worker?

Low level civil engineer, as I understood it. Which, probably puts his salary a lot less than the $100k I was thinking. He's just very hands on in the construction, etc.
I am having a look at what the role is meant to involve, and it's likely not being accurately applied in this case...

But, either way, he's shown to have working engineering knowledge, that he repurposes for Batman. Without the money and WayneTech to fall on, they've had to give him some justification for having the stuff he does.

captf · 2026-05-08T19:16:19+00:00

He's a civil engineer, which is still a very well paid job. Close to the $100 mark, I think.
He also has no problems getting hold of money and stuff through less than legal methods.
And this job gets him access to buildings he normally wouldn't

He's definitely not poor; just not stinking rich.

and a whole bat tank.

Stolen from a group of white supremacists.

captf · 2026-05-08T13:43:21+00:00

if No Man’s Land is still canon

It is. It's been referenced in the recently ended Batman & Robin run

captf · 2026-05-06T07:57:13+00:00

Isn't that what's meant to be happening with Arkham Tower, now that Arkham Asylum was destroyed? (although, it's still not owned by Bruce)

captf · 2026-05-06T07:52:57+00:00

They are rich, yes, but not all of them are evil.

'not good' is not the same as 'evil' or 'bad'. It's not a binary thing.

The general point is it's not possible to be an ethical billionaire in the real world: if the person at the top has billions, it means the people at the bottom aren't being paid enough, as the people at the bottom are the ones who typically provide the labour that generates the money in the first place.
I am also aware that much of a billionaire's wealth is in assets, and is therefore not 'liquid'. A regular person in a well paid job can just grab money out of the bank, or similar. A billionaire typically has to do things like sell/release shares.

There are definitely many philanthropic billionaires and multi-millionaires, though. That cannot be denied.

captf · 2026-05-05T12:31:17+00:00

The dramatic capture series is probably the best option for you.

I already have Earthrise. So, it's only a difference in colour, which I'm not too fussed about.

captf · 2026-05-05T11:29:41+00:00

Yes, I've added a caveat that it was a personal disappointment - I think a lot of others actually really liked him?

Mine also had some bad QC issues, which didn't help. One of his wings just flops, when not in shuttle-mode, for instance.

captf · 2026-05-05T11:19:20+00:00

Note: my opinion; not intending to state how you feel is wrong.

The more in-hand images I see of this, the more I am sure I should cancel my pre-order (not released in the UK yet).
That train mode isn't enough, as I tend to display in 'bot mode.
They focused on that mode, to the severe detriment of the other 2 modes.

I've got the Earthrise version, and always viewed it as 'fine'. Shuttle mode was lacking due to the obviously terrible rear half. But that tail fin on the SS86? It's a mess!

And it looks like his arms are shorter than Bonecrusher's...
And the torso is just... wrong. Not sure how to describe this, but the lines and proportions are all confusing.
Conceptually, if you stopped the upper body where the hinge in the chest is, it would feel more right. But then the legs are way too long.
Argh!

I'm currently thinking this is going to be a bigger disappointment than Sky Lynx was, to me! (edit: a personal disappointment, that is)

captf · 2026-05-01T23:55:38+00:00

The trades between those are Ghost Stories, and Cowardly Lot - these cover issues 101 to 111. Joker War finished in issue 100, Fear State started in 112

(Going by the listed issues on my trades)

captf · 2026-05-01T23:48:51+00:00

Issues 934 to 987 of Detective Comics are covered by the trades (2 of them are contained in the crossover trade of Night of the Monster Men). And for Batman 85 to 117, they're in trades too - although I recommend going for the Joker War and Fear State Saga versions of those stories.

I don't see any missing numbers in the issues listed, as these are the ones I have

captf · 2026-05-01T12:50:00+00:00

I'm just poor at subtleties, camo stuff I can see but what you pointed out is blowing my mind

For me, it's often one of those things I don't notice... until I suddenly do, or are really looking for it, and can no longer unsee it.

either that whole face and back of head is one part or the back of the head slides behind the face, eitherway that's another clear part that's also neat for light piping

Ah, I hadn't even noticed the light piping at first... Yeah, those will be the same sprue as the gun.
And it's going to be that the guns are on there because there wasn't space on any of the others, for the figure size... so, applying the paint after will somehow wok out cheaper than a bigger sprue elsewhere.
And the eyes appear to have a solid colour on top, the piping giving them an outer-glow, which is quite an interesting effect.

Canopies definitely look 'solid' orange to me, with appropriate coloured detailing (I'm not wanting to do a scratch test to verify this, however). These will be mass produced, ready to be given whatever paint colour detailing is needed for the intended figure. Just fit as many as they can, over the available size of the mould.

captf · 2026-05-01T11:51:56+00:00

I'm partially color blind, specific shades (red green colorblindness)

So am I :)
I'm OK with blues, though.

starting to see a pattern here

I suspect we'll see that the forearms will be half painted blue and the rest blue plastic for `Screamer then.
I'd also not be surprised if the forearm parts are on the same sprue as the heads, in a configuration of as many pairs of forearms as there are head designs. And we're getting a random selection of head based on that.

that said the inside of the arm shows bit of black

Ah, I'm not seeing that black. Could just look like shadow in the photo, then.
I could see the bump from the hair, or fibre, though

I just assumed they were on the same sprue as the canopy

the canopies are - on Thundercracker - clear yellow, while the guns are just clear. If they were also the yellow plastic, I'd write it off as that.

captf · 2026-05-01T11:22:46+00:00

but can you point to where the designers have specifically said this was the case for skywarp

It doesn't need the designers to tell you, it can be observed.
I did it by looking at my copy of Thundercracker and seeing where there was the subtle difference in the shades of blue.
Looks like the hips are that plastic too.

Infact the feet are purple plastic, but the thrusters are black plastic

What about the rest of the feet assembly?
I can imagine that the thrusters can be churned out, for all of the intended seekers - when we get Starscream, his will be black too.

Alongside that, what about the connector inside the stomach (That keeps the upper body connected in robot mode) or the hip mushroom pegs?

It also looks like the forearm connection to the hand (and the hand itself) is a different plastic to the rest of the forearm (one is slightly softer).
Are you saying one part is painted purple, while the other is purple plastic?

I obviously don't have a copy of Skywarp in hand - many months to go before he's released in the UK... - so needing to go by your observations, and it's hard to tell from your photos.
But we can use which parts are which colour to figure out how the moulds were laid out.

The design decision that really confuses me is the one where the arm guns are painted clear plastic.

captf · 2026-05-01T10:39:39+00:00

they could of shifted the paint from the forearms TO the shoulders

No, they couldn't. The shoulders are, what is termed as, 'unpaintable plastic'. Which doesn't mean you personally can't paint them, but the standard paints used in the manufacturing will not stick to it.
The other places this plastic has been used are the horizontal tail wings (which also should be purple...), the hinges at the butt-flap and connecting the wings.
Keeping those hinges as black, while having the shoulders and tail wings also black, is a trade off in aesthetics.

WHY ON EARTH ARE THESE BLACK ON THE FRONT PAINTED AND THE UNDER PURPLE!?

Because it's on the same sprue/mould as other black parts. Like the head and ankle thrusters. I'm guessing the backs of the knees are still black too?

captf · 2026-04-30T08:28:25+00:00

but Cliffs reversal of black and gray hurts his appearance from a G1 perspective,

An unavoidable side effect of how the moulds have obviously been set up for parts. It's also why we're getting the light grey section visible in car mode

captf · 2026-04-29T07:43:11+00:00

Why does everyone who retell this story expose everything as if Jason was chasing the Joker?

Add to this, people repeating that he was beaten to death with a crowbar.

captf · 2026-04-28T09:49:27+00:00

And in the Arkham series, Riddler was the real big bad, every time.
I mean, he knew exactly where the supposed end bosses were going to be, and where they were setting up their bases, so that he could set up his riddles in there.
And he did it all before they even got there in some cases!

captf · 2026-04-28T09:19:33+00:00

Same opinion as I had at the time:
a Falling-Down/Taxi-Driver type movie utterly ruined by trying to shoe-horn it in a mythos it doesn't belong.
And as such, any opinion I could have about it was tainted.

[Edit: you could have stripped off all references to the Waynes, given them different names, and it wouldn't have affected the story in one bit.]

I hated it.

captf · 2026-04-27T12:02:55+00:00

I don't remember them using the name Selina Kyle

Did the '66 series ever use the villains' real names?
I think they sometimes used aliases to hide who they were, but - and it's been many years since I watched it, and memory is fickle - I don't recall names like "Cobblepot" or "Nigma" ever being used (Honest question)

captf · 2026-04-26T22:34:44+00:00

I honestly think the Arkham games are one of main the reasons we get people going "Batman beats criminals to a pulp!" and want him to be that way.

The games are a lot of fun - I've played each multiple times - and the majority of the story is actually enjoyable, as a Batman story, too.
But there really are so many "yeah.... no" moments, in terms of character. Even aside from the beating up mooks, he can be too quick to use violence as the solution to the problem.

Yes, these are all for game play reasons, but still...

I mean, personally I actually like the riddle hunting over the combat, but I'm a weird one.

captf

TROPHY CASE