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I would hesitate to characterize the MCU as a "careful and intricate universe with heavy continuity". I feel that ascribes far more scope and depth to it than it actually has. And the rather hodge-podge manner in which all the different media paths have been woven together (movies, broadcast tv, Netflix, etc.) clearly shows that being careful and consistent is not part of the MCU mandate.

Assuming the character doesn't care where in a hex the item lands/ends up, I would not declare it necessary to use Strafe if dropping the item doesn't constitute an attack of some kind. On the other hand, if it needs to be dropped very precisely, then I'd say we have to treat it like an attack.

Captain America was the "first Avenger" back in WWII, and Hydra goes back centuries before that. We know that Celestials and Kree fiddled with human DNA back in our pre-history. In effect, the MCU's superhero "history" goes back a very long time. But as for publicly known superheroes, no they don't really exist until Iron Man happens upon the scene. But if I'm not mistaken, Nick Fury says something along the lines of, "What, you think you're the only hero in the world?" to Tony Stark in IM2. That wasn't necessarily a nod to just Bruce Banner. I don't think it will be difficult to insert Captain Marvel into the 1990s without her being known to the general public (or even the Avengers) in 2017.

If Marvel introduced Namor, cries of copying Aquaman would spread like all other Twitter virii, deserved or not. The most effective defense against those cries would be to simply do Namor way, way better than DC does Aquaman.

It's too bad that Fox is running with the Dark Phoenix storyline. I would have preferred to see that happen under Marvel's direction.

The hype machine has definitely been working overtime on this one. I would expect a solid opening weekend. But will it have legs? Let's see how it does once Justice League hits theatres.

Apparently episode 7 has divided the fanbase. I didn't hate the episode, and I understand it's intended purpose, but I didn't love it either. I've seen a lot of attempts by YouTube reviewers/commentators to characterize it as yet another X-Men/mutant misfit teamup story, but I think everyone misses the obvious inspiration for that episode. I mean, just look at the title: it was clearly inspired by The Lost Boys more than anything else. As for how the shadow monster could re-enter our world, well, there are plenty of "weak spots" in the inter-dimensional membrane between our world and the Upside Down. Eleven used one of them to get back, for instance. I'm sure there are plenty of 80s-inspired ways to crack open another gate between worlds.

Ratings today are merely pointing out that viewers aren't watching as much traditional broadcast content as they used to, and so advertisers are going to be looking elsewhere to spend their advertising dollars. The Orville may be the #2 new show, but it is #2 in an arena that is losing more relevance every year. It's like saying the Pentax K1000 is the #2 film (35mm) camera in the marketplace; that may be true but it is a virtually meaningless fact when you consider that 99% of all photos taken today are taken from smartphones.

I'm not sure I'd place much significance on those numbers. The traditional broadcast marketplace is dying (maybe transforming is the more accurate term). Ratings have become virtually meaningless as they are a vestige of a business model that is becoming hopelessly outdated.

The Gifted is definitely well written, directed, acted, and produced. My only problem with it is that it has a relentless dreariness to it that reduces its overall entertainment value for me. Much in the same way that I stopped watching 24 after about five episodes; that sort of intense, anxiety-imbued drama is not what I look for in an hour of entertainment. So while I acknowledge that The Gifted is very well done, I'm not sure that it suits my tastes.

6E1 and 6E2 are also available as grayscale softcover books.

The Captain Sternn segment was one of its best/most entertaining for sure.

No, Heavy Metal (the animated movie).

Well, it depends on the approach you want to take. Approach #1: Beginner on a Budget 1. Get Champions Complete and/or Fantasy Hero Complete 2. There is no #2... Approach #2: 4E/5E Veteran on a Mission 1. Get 6E1 and 6E2 (the main volumes of the Hero System Core Library) 2. Get 6E Champions and/or 6E Fantasy Hero 3. Pick up the rest of the Core Library books as needed (or get them all if you are a completist) Approach #1 is a good one if you are just starting out and want to dive in without a lot of up front investment and want a gentler introduction to the system. Approach #2 is good if you are already familiar with the game and want to update your campaign to the latest version of the system in all its gory details.

Well, ABC will be making things easier for viewers: chances are there will be no further episodes of The Inhumans after its 8-episode run, and this will be Agents of SHIELD's final season. I don't know how well The Gifted is doing for Fox, but if that's not finding a big enough audience, that will be gone too. The CW has a glut of superhero shows, but only one of them is actually any good (Supergirl), so that should make it easy for folks to manage their superhero intake.

I want to check it out just to see Milana Vayntrub play Squirrel Girl.

To quote page 120 of 6E1: It is in the interpretation of these two sentences, and in particular what constitutes a "minor benefit or drawback", where I see the aforementioned drift away from effective use of this important abstraction tool. It appears that a lot of players are afraid of using it to simplify their game. The trick in avoiding "stupid mistakes" is to use Special Effects smartly, not to downplay them to the point where you are instead using Advantages and Limitations to model the "incidental effects" of a power.

Sounds to me like the forum upgrade may have inadvertently exposed a latent Windows 10/Edge bug. If so, then the bug that needs fixing is in Windows 10/Edge, not the forum software.

Okay, well I find that a very strange position to take as a player of the Hero System, but whatever. I get the overwhelming sense (throughout these forums) that Steve Long's influence on the game has caused a bizarre shift away from using one of the more powerful, innovative, and useful tools of abstraction to be found in the original design.

I feel it is implied in the SFX of the Focus. If you have a bunch of KSes in a "Computer System" Focus, it is implied that you could not use it (make use of its KSes) if you could not see the monitor or didn't have the available hands/fingers necessary to use the keyboard/mouse that is its interface.

Wouldn't the need to "read the display" to use this power simply be an intrinsic aspect of being in a Focus defined as a "motion tracker device with display"? To me this is a good example of how things went from (relatively) simple pre-5th edition to needlessly overspecified since 5E.

A couple of elections ago, there was going to be a show that used an American Idol system to produce a presidential candidate, but it was wisely discarded before it got started. Nevertheless, I'm sure there are plenty of people who think the idea has merit (apart from its entertainment value), especially now. We've already reached a point where foreign policy posturing occurs on Twitter. The next logical step is foreign policy execution according to retweet count.

Is there a way to configure/prevent the "Are you sure?" dialog when I click the button to mark everything (in a sub-topic) as read?

Yeah, I sort of wondered about that too. And I don't even think it would have been their social media obsession that would have resulted in cameras installed in places like jail cells, but rather simple pragmatism.

The more a species resembles a human on the show, the more likely they are to speak in contemporary American english, even if it makes no anthropological sense. You have to figure there is a built-in universal translator working on behalf of the viewers.