Lord Liaden

A collection of comments by GoT cast members in interviews as to how they feel about season 8. Although not said in so many words, their subtext makes it pretty clear what they really think.

*Shrug* Still don't get it, and even if, it's only one scene. But whatever. YMMV and all.

I never understood all the fan contempt for Ben's Daredevil. I thought it one of the more faithful comic-book adaptations from its era. Certainly not a perfect film, but with a lot to recommend it.

Apparently there has. https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/Bat-Man_(Earth-43)

Bat-binky?

George H.W. Bush and Kuwait would seem an exception to that trend. I've had the opportunity to get to know many people from the Middle East over the years. Most of them are good people who have far more in common with people in the West, than in opposition to them. Their governments and extremist factions, OTOH, often do disgust me; but FWIW the Middle Easterners I've met are usually just as disgusted by them, but can rarely do anything about them.

Rather overboard for me, too. Hearing that would make me think he had throat cancer.

Here's where subjectivity comes into play. I was impressed with Affleck as an older Bruce Wayne and Batman. In that I fall within the vast majority of comments that I heard, from critics and moviegoers, in person and online, that his was one of the best cinematic translations of the character as he appears in comics, if not the best. Audience connection to Affleck in the role had nothing to do with him leaving it. OTOH I was never impressed with Keaton's version. He always seemed to me to be uncomfortable with the character, not willing to fully commit to it like his fellow cast members did. In later interviews he all but admitted to that. (And yeah, the fake muscles trend was unfortunate.)

Thank you, Chris, for so pertinently going to the source. Hero Games produced several books for Fifth and Sixth Edition Champions after Cryptic Studios purchased the IP, including 2017's Golden Age Champions. Aside from incorporating any modifications to the setting that Cryptic themselves instituted, Hero Games appears to have been free to publish whatever Champions materials they want. I've also noticed that in recent years, Cryptic and its own current corporate owners, Perfect World Entertainment, don't seem to even pay attention to what's happening in the tabletop setting any more. AFAICT the only issues preventing more being done with the Champions Universe are financial. But I hope that working on a little addition of my own to the setting in my "copious spare time" (as Steve Long puts it), will make it economical to publish in some form in the not-too-distant future.

The same thing was said about Ben Affleck as Batman, though. For that matter, Michael Keaton as Batman, too. Sometimes people surprise you.

Unfortunately America can't just "get out of the Middle East." What happens there has huge ripple effects across the whole planet, which will eventually impact America. Even if the US does achieve energy self-sufficiency, much of the rest of the world, including American allies and enemies, will not for the foreseeable future. And if the United States withdraws completely from involvement in the region, there are other powers eager to fill the void. Now, what kind of involvement the US should have is very much open to debate.

I've always maintained that the Champions Universe is Hero's signature setting, and when the role-playing game market was different -- i.e. there was enough of a player base for games other than the very few juggernauts like D&D and World of Darkness who dominate today -- Champions was quite successful and profitable. It has decades of name recognition and an existing fan base. The CU is similar enough to the Big Two comics publishers, DC and Marvel, for people familiar with the supers genre to feel comfortable; but has lots of distinctive elements, and in some areas is even broader and deeper than the Big Two. FWIW I find it quite compelling, in fact it's my favorite supers universe. It also made the transition to video games in Champions Online, and although that never set the world on fire it continues today, after other high-profile super MMORPGs have died. With all of that, though, Hero Games still couldn't keep Champions above water when the RPG market turned. We could discuss to what degree that was due to external circumstances, and what role the company's decisions played. In fact we have discussed that before, at length. Bottom line, I believe Hero Games doesn't need another signature setting. It already has a proven one; what it needs is a way to inject new life into it. That, of course, is a different discussion.

Iran Crisis or ‘Circus’? A Weary Middle East Wonders

Except when they're caused by supervillains.

It would be really nice if someone could come up with a definition of a "compelling" setting that's guaranteed to be compelling to more than a fraction of the gaming public. "Unique" doesn't cut it; there have been many unique settings which have fallen by the wayside due to lack of broad interest. Ultimately it's a crap shoot, like crafting a hit movie or television series, or a hit song. You can't do it on demand. White Wolf's World of Darkness, and Palladium's Rifts, happened to be the right thing at the right time. Every setting that DOJ-era Hero Games has published -- four for fantasy, two for sci-fi, one for modern-day adventure, and of course a big one for supers -- was made with passion and care. I'm sure they all thought they were creating things that were cool and fun to play in. Yet here we are. Suggestions and discussion can be fun and may even turn out to be helpful; but no one here is going to come up with a guaranteed magic-bullet hit just because we decide we want to, unless a lot of luck is involved. Even if we did, Hero Games is in no position financially to publish it and support it. Having now fulfilled my mission of being a killjoy, I will slink off and let the fun discussion continue.