Lord Liaden

"If we can't accept limitations, we're no better than the bad guys." - Tony Stark. I honestly found that a compelling argument. As Rhodey pointed in CW, the Sokovia Accords were supported by the United Nations, representing the governments of the whole world. It was reasonable for Rhodey to call Cap arrogant for putting his judgement ahead of theirs. "We have orders. We should follow them." - Steve Rogers, Avengers. Cap's focus up to and during WW II was to be of service. As a soldier he accepted that he was under a higher authority, and he didn't question tha

I loved the dialogue between Steve Rogers and Nick Fury in Winter Soldier, and between Steve and Tony Stark in Civil War (movies, not comics) because you can understand why they each see things in a certain way. You may agree with one or the other, but neither viewpoint is unreasonable or unjustified. They may be antagonists, but neither one is a villain. Which is why, to bring about the kind of physical confrontation the genre is famous for, you need to introduce a villainous agency. (Although even Zemo in CW is sympathetic.)

Superheroes survived for so long because they were about positive elements of humanity: ideals, principles, responsibility, compassion, hope. They represented the best in us, inspiring us to try to be better people ourselves. What I see of recent comics are full of cynicism, brutality, "edginess" for shock value rather than serving any purpose. Sound and fury, signifying nothing.

SHIELD was headed that way anyway, even if its Project Insight had gone the way they expected. But many members of SHIELD, particularly Nick Fury, had been depicted as fundamentally good, but having a different viewpoint from Steve Rogers as to what the world needs. Having their organization become outright villainous under their watch would have been tougher to justify, although not impossible. But I think the biggest reason why I prefer HYDRA be behind this is because it's a Captain America movie. Steve Rogers fought and apparently defeated HYDRA, but lost everything except his

It seems too many comics today are written by people who want to write for a genre other than superheroes.

Monsters, Minions, And Marauders pp. 119-25 has character sheets for a dozen different "generic" human NPCs. The City Guard sheet is on p. 120. There are also ten template "Package Deals" for humanoids of various backgrounds and professions. There is a Hero Designer Character Pack for MMM in the Hero website store. I don't use HD so I can't assert whether or not those sheets are included. https://www.herogames.com/store/product/300-monsters-minions-marauders-character-pack/ In case you weren't aware, all the characters, equipment, and Package Deals from The Turakian Ag

To me, colorized black-and-white film always looks distractingly phony.

Kevin Feige, as a fan himself, also understands and respects why these characters have endured for so long, what it is about them that speaks to us. You can feel the love for them in every Marvel movie.

The increase was made abruptly. Employers made the changes that were easiest to make quickly to compensate for the changes to their operating costs. The Biden administration is rolling this out over five years. I honestly don't see why I would consider those to be tied together. That's still well above minimum wage. Median wage is a much more significant factor in how an economy will respond. Which is why I suggested that things like tax breaks could help ease the cost to small businesses. I've heard the same arguments from business all m

You fight the grandest, costliest war in history to eradicate vermin, only to discover they've infested your own house. 😣

Agreed. But it was never meant to be entertaining, except to the hand-rubbing, mustache-twirling, maniacal laughers.

Unfortunately "political theater" plays a role in these arrangements. Emotions, biases, partisanship are unreasonable, but they're still powerful human motivations. In a representative democracy one ignores those motivations at peril, especially when one's political opponents can manipulate them to their own purpose. Appearances often count for as much as substance, sometimes even more.

The 4E Champions adventure, Atlas Unleashed, introduced a very proactive "super agency," Prometheus, a fully private international humanitarian aid agency described as a kind of "armed Peace Corps." Agents of Prometheus would travel anywhere in the world suffering war or natural disaster to deliver food and water, medical supplies, emergency shelters, clothing, whatever was needed, whether or not they were invited or welcome. If the local dictators, warlords, or rebels tried to stop them, they were armed with advanced non-lethal weapons and would fight their way to the people in need.

Red October Files On the website of lawyer and Hero Games author, Shelley Chrystal Mactyre. Many of the links to other parts of Shelley's Hero resources are dead now, but these extensive original files can still be downloaded.