Lord Of The Rings Conquest Razor Crack Fix
Varinia Swicegood
"You're the first woman I've ever seen whose legs can shave themselves." That's the reaction Static has when he meets Guillotina, a new super-powered villain made of metal and razors. It's part of what makes "Static Shock" so much fun, with the main character's motor mouth running a mile a minute even as he ducks, weaves, and blasts his enemies. He's not just the star of "Static Shock," he's the reason to read it.
With "Static Shock" #4, though, I feel like Scott McDaniel and outgoing writer John Rozum have slightly lost the plot in places. The comic jumps from scene to scene a bit haphazardly, introducing new characters left and right and veering from one idea to the next. It's what's holding back "Static Shock" to some extent, needing just a bit more smoothing of the plot to get it all moving from start to finish without feeling like the book is secretly out of order, or perhaps missing a page or two.
"Static Shock" #4 also is starting to reference more of the plot devices from the Milestone Media issues of "Static" and company. We're getting mentions of the Q-Juice (which transformed both Static and the Bang Babies from titles like "Blood Syndicate" and "Icon"), but the ideas behind them are quickly brushed over. I have a feeling that "Static Shock" is a title that's already preaching to the converted, which is a shame, but I'd still like history from comics decades old to be introduced a bit more gracefully.
That said, what "Static Shock" does right, it does incredibly so. Static's dialogue, as mentioned before, is priceless. An entire comic of him dissing villains is my idea of hitting the jackpot. Even better, though, is the scene involving the two versions of Static's sister, Sharon. Rozum and McDaniel have been building up the idea of the two being utterly identical, to the point that not even S.T.A.R. Labs can figure out which was the original and which was the duplicate, but this issue's scene of their side-by-side therapy sessions manage to get even creepier than their nightmares from the previous issue. It's not just unnerving, it also makes the Sharons pitiable; it's a nasty situation for them to have been put in, and there's no easy solution to resolve it. And with Guillotina's savior giving his side of the story, well, it changes him from generic bad guy to someone far more interesting. I'm still not exactly sure what he thinks capturing Static will do, but his driving force to do so involving survival is far more intriguing than just random conquest.
McDaniel's pencils are overall good as always, although there are a few moments where I think the storytelling could use some tightening (the transition to flashback for Pale Man, for instance, isn't terribly strong). But when we get the reveal of the latest thugs exposed to the Q-Juice, McDaniel's character designs are bizarre and funky enough to grab your attention, and that's something I like a great deal.
"Static Shock" is a nice book, although we've had stronger issues prior. As this is Rozum's last issue as co-writer, though, I'll admit to being a little worried about what's ahead. Hopefully the book will stay strong, and I wish that Rozum's departure had been with a slightly better final issue (or not happened at all). For now, though, "Static Shock" is in a wait-and-see holding pattern.
The recent release of the book "Marvel Studios' The Marvel Cinematic Universe: An Official Timeline" requires a lot of analysis. Members of WikiProject:Timeline team are working on editing pages in response to the information revealed in the book. If you wish to contribute, please do not immediately edit these pages, and instead visit the Timeline Discussion.
Xu Wenwu (Mandarin: 徐文武) was a legendary and nearly mythical figure who rose to power after discovering a set of mythical rings, and founded the army known as the Ten Rings. Wenwu established himself as a powerful warlord who conquered kingdoms over the millennia, the rings' power gifting him immortality. In the modern-day, Wenwu had continued seeking power, finding the ancient city of Ta Lo. He fell in love with Ta Lo's gatekeeper, Ying Li, and fathered Xu Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing. Despite swearing off violence to raise his family, Wenwu eventually reclaimed his rings when Ying Li was murdered at the hands of the Iron Gang. He trained Shang-Chi to be an assassin to avenge his wife's murder. However, Wenwu's two children would grow fearful of their father and eventually abandon him.
In the 21st Century, Wenwu discovered that Aldrich Killian was able to recruit Trevor Slattery to impersonate Wenwu himself, giving him the Mandarin moniker, while also appropriating the legend of the Ten Rings. Enraged at Slattery's portrayal of him, Wenwu had him abducted and sentenced to imprisonment for tarnishing his name. Eventually, Wenwu would begin hearing his late wife's voice, urging him to free her from imprisonment in Ta Lo. Wenwu sought out his children to aid him, only for Shang-Chi and Xu Xialing to reject his request, siding with Ying Nan to stop his army. Through his attempts to rescue his wife, Wenwu unintentionally unleashed the Dweller-in-Darkness. Wenwu sacrificed himself to protect Shang-Chi from the Dweller, passing the Ten Rings down to him, before the Dweller then drained his soul from Wenwu's body and killed him.
Around a thousand years ago, Xu Wenwu discovered ten rings which had gifted him with unmatched power and immortality. Possessing the power of the rings, Wenwu soon became a powerful warlord and founded the organization, known as the Ten Rings.[2] Wenwu's past was shrouded in mystery, but his followers had described him as being an ancient warrior-king that has inspired generations of men since the Middle Ages. As the leader of the Ten Rings, Wenwu had become a myth to his followers, with only his most trusted men being aware that he really existed.[1]
Having established his name as a legendary and feared warlord, Wenwu traveled across Asia, building the power of the Ten Rings and conquering whatever lands he desired. On one instance, Wenwu would lead his army to a castle occupied by the Seljuk Empire, who stood in fear as Wenwu approached alone, on horseback. As a sea of arrows were fired at him, Wenwu unleashed the power of his Ten Rings, blocking the arrows as he charged forward.
With the power of his rings, Wenwu launched himself through the air, and landed in the middle of the defending army, as he swiftly used the power of his rings to obliterate his enemies. Keeping his foes at bay, Wenwu eventually launched a massive power strike from his rings, which blew through the opposing army and obliterated the gateway into the castle. Wenwu and his army were swiftly victorious, and had claimed the castle in the name of the Ten Rings.
Wenwu and his army would take control of another facility, which would become the Ten Rings Headquarters, where Wenwu would continue ruling over the Ten Rings, observing his army of soldiers training. Through the few hundred years, Wenwu would use his army's to continue building his power, as they assassinated their enemies and conquered more of the globe. However, despite the immense power he had gained, Wenwu would never be satisfied, and continued seeking more power.[2]
In 1996, Wenwu, not yet fully satisfied with his power, seeked out the village of Ta Lo, said to contain various mythical beasts, to expand his powers. Wenwu returned to the Ten Rings Headquarters, onboard his Helicopter, while examining his books about Ta Lo and the creatures that were rumored to reside there.[2]
Upon landing at the headquarters, where the guards bowed to him, Wenwu was greeted by Hui, who commented that he heard that their work in Afghanistan was going well, to which Wenwu noted that Raza Hamidmi al-Wazar had done good work at capitalizing on the instability in the region. Wenwu and Hui walked through the Ten Rings soldiers training, as Hui noted that they had been doing good work presenting Wenwu with a folder with pictures of dead men.
Hui then explained to Wenwu that they had successfully killed every member of the Iron Gang, as they had been caught attempting to sell weapons in their territory without paying their dues to the Ten Rings. Wenwu was then presented with the new Iron Gang leader, who had been captured and was awaiting execution. Wenwu then calmly removed the leader's hood, questioning if he knew who he was, which the leader nervously confirmed.
Wenwu also questioned if the man knew the fate of men who stole from the Ten Rings, who which the leader noted that Wenwu's men had already killed his family, insisting that he should finish the job. In response, Wenwu grabbed the leader's throat and powered up his rings, only to instead tell the man to kill himself. With that, Wenwu ordered Hui to let the leader go, before he returned back into his office.[5]
Wenwu had a meeting with Hui in his office, where he had explained his plan to find Ta Lo and claim their power for his own, with Hui promising that he would arrange for the Ten Rings to send out a scouting team to search the area for him. However, Wenwu's desire for the power that Ta Lo held, led him to insisting that they leave immediately to find it.[2]
Once they tracked down the area, Wenwu and Hui were driven through the forests in their Jeeps, with Wenwu still closely examining his books for more details on the area. However, as they were driving, they realized that the forest was closing in around them, forcing their driver to attempt to flee.
Once they reached a clearing, Wenwu realized that they were driving towards a cliff, as he used his rings to fling himself out of the car and land safely on the cliff edge. However, he was too late to save his allies, as Wenwu watched the car full to the bottom of the cliff, with Hui and his men still inside. Despite the loss, Wenwu continued on with his mission, going through the forest on foot.
Despite the forest itself having attacked him and his men, he made it to village's entrance, where he encountered a woman named Ying Li, who guarded the entrance to Ta Lo. She and Wenwu engaged in a fight, where she displayed her own impressive combat skills, but the two immediately began to fall in love.
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