Vicious Rumer by Joshua Winning – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘The dark wants to eat me. I’ve spent long enough in dark places to know. I’m underground, buried deep, soil cramming into my mouth. The nightmare I’ve had since I was a kid. All I have to do is choke it down, fight the clawing panic, surrender to the shadows, but that would mean giving in, and Rumer Cross is no fucking coward.’

Vicious Rumer is an upcoming crime horror book from author and film journalist Joshua Winning.

The book is written from the point of view of Rumer Cross, a nineteen year old girl living in London. Rumer begins the book working for a detective agency, where she is employed to follow people around, catching evidence of her targets cheating on their wives, screwing over their employers, or generally just being jerks.

Rumer had bounced around between foster homes and the streets growing up, which has made her into hard and cynical young woman. Along with this, she has also had to deal with the legacy of her long dead mother, a mob assassin and criminal known as the ‘Witch Assassin’, responsible for some of the most bloodthirsty crimes the country has ever seen.

When Rumer is kidnapped by a vicious crime lord who believes that she’s hiding a bizarre occult relic Rumer’s simple life is thrown into turmoil. On the run and hunted by criminals and killers Rumer must try to find out who is after her, what it is they’re after, and how to stop them. Along the way Rumer must also confront the possibility that she might be cursed; a horrific legacy left behind by her occult obsessed mother that kills anyone who becomes close to her.

Vicious Rumer manages to combine real world elements of crime thriller and the occult in interesting ways to create a story that feels like it belongs in the real world, yet also skirts into the mystical with little difficulty. Two of the main story threads of the book concern the mysterious artifact that the bad guys are after, and Rumer’s apparent curse, both of which are recurring narratives throughout the book.

Despite there being such a heavy focus on the occult and magic, Killing Rumer never makes anything overt. There are no people practicing black magic, there isn’t anyone throwing spells at each other or anything like that, but come the end of the book you’re left wondering if magic and the occult actually do exist in this universe.

It’s a clever and compelling tightrope that the author treads, managing to make numerous situations that support the idea that the supernatural does exist, whilst also offering very real world explanations that makes the whole thing seem ridiculous. Even the very last moments of the book manages to throw in one last complication that makes you question the events that you’ve just read, and what might actually be real.

Rumer is an interesting and very human character, one that has her fair share of flaws and makes mistakes throughout the story. Whilst at first she comes across as someone a little too cold as the story progresses and you learn more about her and her past it becomes easy to understand how she ended up being the person she is.

She feels vulnerable beneath her hard exterior, a young woman desperate to find her place in the world and to be able to be happy, yet struggling against the fears and insecurities of her troubled past. This makes her a very real and relatable character, one that you’ll find yourself very invested in.

Vicious Rumer is an engaging mystery story that incorporates several other genres in interesting ways, creating a unique experience. A must read.


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Legion: 10 X-Men Comics To Check Out

Originally published on Set The Tape

Legion returns to our screens, bringing the popular X-Men series back for a second season. Telling the story of David Haller (Dan Stevens), the son of X-Men founder professor Xavier, and a troubled young man diagnosed with schizophrenia but possessing mutant powers with a number of psychic abilities, Legion proved to be an engaging and interesting look at the X-Men universe.

With several X-Men films, Deadpool, Legion, and The Gifted, there’s a lot of film and television for fans to choose from. Whilst it may be easy to pick out a film to watch where do you start if you want to read some of the source material? Well, here’s a list of great X-Men comics to check out if you enjoyed Legion.

Days of Future Past

The basis for the popular film of the same name ‘Days of Future Past’ tells the story of a future world where the Sentinels have taken over, killing thousands of mutants and herding others into internment camps. The few surviving members of the X-Men form a plan to send the mind of Kitty Pryde back into her younger body in order to stop a mutant from assassinating a US Senator, thereby preventing the rise of the Sentinels.

Though a short story, originally published across just two issues, ‘Days of Future Past’ is widely considered a classic, and has been adapted across many different incarnations including the live action film, the 90’s animated series, Wolverine and the X-Men, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., and Ultimate Spider-Man.

The Dark Phoenix Saga

Another classic story from legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont, ‘The Dark Phoenix Saga’ is another story that has been used across multiple X-Men media, and is the basis for the upcoming new film.

Returning from a mission to space, Jean Grey is exposed to deadly radiation and transforms into the cosmic entity known as the Phoenix. Unfortunately, this makes her a target for the Hellfire Club, a group of evil mutants, who manage to manipulate her mind, corrupting Jean into becoming the Dark Phoenix. Travelling into space, Dark Phoenix commits acts of planetary genocide, forcing the X-Men into a confrontation for not only Jeans soul, but her very life.

Though there would be some revisions of this story over the ensuing decades, with some ret-conning being made in order to change the Phoenix into a separate entity in order to absolve Jean of genocide, it remains a monumentally important story in X-Men lore, not only inspiring adaptations and imitations, but a number of follow-up adventures.

House of M

Though not strictly an X-Men story as it encompassed the whole of the Marvel Universe, the heavy involvement of X-Men characters and the effect it would have on all X-Men titles for years makes this a hugely important book for those wanting to read more about them.

Following the mental breakdown of the mutant Avenger Scarlet Witch, which resulted in the deaths of several heroes, the X-Men and the Avengers meet to discuss what should be done with her. When the option of killing her is put on the table her brother, Quicksilver, convinces her to alter reality, making them and their father, Magneto, the rulers of mutant led world.

Whilst everyone else in this world has no memories of the real timeline, Wolverine not only remembers, but recovers all of his lost memories. Determined to put things right, Logan recruits a group of heroes and unlocks their real memories in order to fight against Scarlet Witch and restore reality. While they do succeed in this, there are disastrous consequences as Scarlet Witch utters the words ‘no more mutants’, de-powering most of the mutant population, leaving barely more than 200 mutants left in the entire world.

The loss of most of the mutant population changed the landscape of Marvel for years, and changed the X-Men from a group of superheroes fighting for acceptance, to an endangered species fighting against extinction as their enemies closed in around them. A hugely important story in the X-Men story.

Astonishing X-Men

Written by Joss Whedon, ‘Astonishing X-Men’ was an ongoing series that told a number of important stories. It dealt with the fallout of the death of Jean Grey (which would remain in place for many years, the character only recently having returned to life), the blossoming romance between Cyclops and Emma Frost, and the return of Colossus after his death years before.

The Whedon run introduced a number of characters that would go on to remain a part of the X-Men universe, such as Blindfold, Danger, Armour, and Dr Kavita Rao. The first story arc, dealing with a potential cure for mutants, not only won the 2006 Will Eisner Award, but was also part of the basis of X-Men: The Last Stand cure subplot.

God Loves, Man Kills

When investigating into the deaths of two murdered mutant children it is revealed that Reverend William Stryker is responsible, an extremist who not only murdered his own wife and son when his mutant son was born, but wants to exterminate all mutants. Kidnapping Professor Xavier and hooking him up to a machine that will use his mental abilities to kill every mutant, the X-Men have to team up with Magneto to stop their extinction and save their mentor.

The basis for the second X-Men film, ‘God Loves, Man Kills’ showed a much darker side to the X-Men universe, one where people are willing to go to extremes to not only kill the X-Men, but an entire race. It inspired a number of stories over the years that painted the X-Men as a group of not just superheroes, but people fighting for the very right to exist against overwhelming hate.

Messiah Complex

Following the events of ‘House of M’, ‘Messiah Complex’ deals with the first new mutant since Scarlet Witch decimated the race. When a new mutant signature is detected the X-Men enter a race against time to locate and protect the mutant before the various factions intent on their destruction find them and kill them.

Encompassing a number of X-books, the story brought together several teams as they worked together to find a way to save their own future. It showed the lengths that their villains were willing to go to destroy the mutant race, including wiping out an entire town of civilians, and introduced Hope, a character that would have a major impact upon the X-Men books for years to come.

Age of Apocalypse

A series of books taking place within an alternate timeline, ‘Age of Apocalypse’ became an incredibly popular event, and would be revisited numerous times over the years. When David Haller, Legion, travelled back in time to kill Magneto he accidentally creates an alternate timeline when he kills Professor Xavier by mistake.

The ancient mutant Apocalypse ends up attacking the world 10 years sooner than he should have, leading to his victory. Apocalypse rules the entire Earth with an iron grip, and has a number of corrupted heroes working for him and his mutant empire. A number of mutant factions, including a team of X-Men led by Magneto, fight against him and try to undo the events that led to the death of Professor X.

Despite being a limited time event, ‘Age of Apocalypse’ proved so popular that it would return a number of times, and even some characters from that timeline would become permanent residents in the regular Marvel Universe.

New X-Men

Written by Grant Morrison, ‘New X-Men’ ran for a number of years and encompassed several story arcs. Shifting the focus away from the X-Men as a superhero group, and instead taking a look at the running of the Xaviers School, the series would introduce a number of characters that would remain part of the X-Men series for years, including Cassandra Nova, Beak, Quentin Quire, and Fantomex.

The series would deal with a number of story lines, including the outing of Professor Xavier as a mutant, the destruction of Genosha, Emma Frost joining the team, and the return of Magneto.

Mutant Massacre

The X-Men would become used to death and disaster over the course of their run, probably more than any other Marvel book. ‘Mutant Massacre’ is a prime example of a story where even when the heroes stop the villains, they don’t really win.

When the villainous Marauders attack the mutant community of the Morlocks the X-Men and X-Factor teams rush to their aid. Whilst they manage to stop the Marauders many Morlocks are killed, a a number of heroes severely wounded as a result; Colossus is left as a quadriplegic, Kitty Pryde is trapped in her phased form which almost kills her, Nightcralwer was put into a coma, and Angel was literally crucified, which eventually led to him losing his wings to gangrene.

A dark and sobering look at the X-Men universe, and one that would play into a lot of future stories.

Second Coming

A follow-up to ‘Messiah Complex’, ‘Second Coming’ tells the story of the return of Hope Summers and her adoptive father Cable, following their previous escape to the future. The return of the first new mutant acted as a beacon for the various X-Men factions to rally behind, whilst becoming a target of their enemies.

Hope’s return brings a number of villains out of hiding, including Bastion, the Purifiers, William Stryker, and Bolivar Trask to name but a few. Every mutant must come together and fight to the death in order to secure their future in this event that involved every X-book. Whilst they do manage to defeat their enemies, several heroes are injured, and even killed doing so.


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Doctor Who: The Terror Beneath – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘The Twelfth Doctor grapples with two deadly small towns in this brand-new collection, kicking off year-three! It’s the return of fan-favourite comics companion, space bassist Hattie, as the Doctor takes her for the best fish and chips in the galaxy. But there’s something ancient and unknowable beneath the waves of the 1970’s seaside town where they end up – something that weaves itself into Hattie’s dreams and drags itself up onto the land in mounds of shambling seaweed!’

The latest Twelfth Doctor Adventures Doctor Who: The Twelfth Doctor – Time Trials Volume 1: The Terror Beneath sees the Doctor stumble across two small towns with very strange events happening.

The first story sees the Doctor once again teaming up with Hattie, a young woman from the future space colony The Twist, who shares the Doctors love of music and uses her adventures with him to inspire her songs; as the Doctor takes her away from her new found fame and success, letting her spend some time in a quite English seas-side town in the 1970’s.

As with typical Doctor Who fashion, however, things aren’t quite as they seem in Seaton Bay, as a strange psychic presence is sending creatures made of seaweed into the town, resulting in dozens of residents falling into comas.

The story feels a lot like classic episodes of Doctor Who, probably in large part to the quite British town setting, something that happened a lot in the old stories. The sleepy seaside location and 1970’s settings instantly brings to mind stories like ‘The Daemons’, ‘The Android Invasion’, and ‘The Curse of Fenric’, all of which used their locations to great effect.

The seaweed monsters also bring to mind images of the Sea-Devils emerging from the ocean in the Jon Pertwee stories, with monsters emerging from the sea something that has gone on to become iconic for the franchise.

The second story, which has the Doctor travelling alone, sees him land in a small American town of Sweet Haven, where reality has warped out of all recognition. The towns people have become raging maniacs, dark clouds blocking out the sun, and a giant smile hanging in the sky.

Things only become stranger when the Doctor locates the source of the mysterious events, an old farm house that has been transformed into something that resembles a clown’s nightmare home, psychedelic colours, weird angles, and the same type of smile that’s hanging in the sky.

Despite some early promise in this story, with the inhabitants of Sweet Haven turning into a ravenous horde that has trapped a few besieged people in the police station, the story feels like it lacks any real big conclusion, with the Doctor defeating the enemy with almost no effort at all. Whilst the Doctor is an incredibly smart person, and can win against overwhelming odds, it can be a bit dull to see him solve a problem within seconds without having to really try.

The art styles of each story differs greatly too, with the first story having a very elegant, almost painted style, whilst the second has a much rougher hand drawn style, which enhances the bizarre and almost crazy events. The art styles are nothing alike, and stand out starkly against each other, but both of them complement their respective stories and work well to create certain feels.

Whilst I personally found the second story to be weaker than the first, both stories had interesting plots, complete with diverse supporting characters, and small town locations that will be instantly recognisable to most readers. A good pair of stories that highlights how different and diverse Doctor Who can be when making use of ‘a small town’ as its main setting.

A well told pair of stories, with some beautiful art from Mariano Laclaustra, Doctor Who: Time Trials – The Terror Beneath, is a book that will appeal to fans of classic Doctor Who as well as new fans.


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Anything: Why Matt Bomer Playing A Trans Woman is Problematic

Originally published on Set The Tape

Due for release in the US one month hence, Anything tells the story of the blossoming romance between a transgender sex worker Freda and her widowed neighbour Early. What makes Anything jump out is that the role of Freda is played by Matt Bomer.

The reason this makes Anything jump out is that yet again I see a cisgender man playing a trans women; and it’s instantly wrong to me. However, to most people, this will seem like just another film with a transgender character, because almost every film or television show with trans characters are played by cis actors.

As a trans woman, I very quickly came to learn that most people in my life only knew about trans people from what they saw in film and television. Whilst some of this includes documentaries, the vast majority of people who found out I’m trans only had entertainment to draw upon.

In the best case scenario this would be examples like Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) in Transparent, but they would often include sex workers or killers, like Sleepaway Camp, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and Silence of the Lambs. This would more often than not lead to misconceptions about who I was, or what I would be like as a trans person. The most common thing I encountered is that because trans women are so often portrayed as sex workers, people assume that I must be a sex addict that’s willing to hook up with anyone.

However, the worst thing about the way media depicts trans women is that 90% of the time, they’re played by cis men. I was told once by a friend that they “hear trans and think a bloke in a wig”. That’s what films are telling people. Films like Anything.

No matter how well the intention behind the film, or how much those involved say they are allies to the trans community, continuing to cast cis men as trans women is not only insulting, but potentially dangerous.

Hollywood has trans actors, and trans people go for trans roles all the time, but a result I have seen time and time again from trans actors who don’t get these roles is that they “don’t look trans enough”. Hollywood wants people to be instantly seen as transgender, and for them this means men dressed as women.

From Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club, to Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl, and now Matt Bomer in Anything, Hollywood seems determined to reinforce the idea that trans women are just men.

Trans actress and activist Jen Richards auditioned for a role in Anything, but was told that Bomer was pre-cast in the film, meaning that no other actor was considered for the role of Freda. Especially a trans actor.

She said: “I’m a filmmaker. I hold freedom of art sacred, but I also recognize its power as a responsibility. We shape perception, we are culpable.”

“Dear @MarkRuffalo & @MattBomer: if you release this movie, it will directly lead to violence against already at risk women,” she added.

Following the outcry online from numerous members of the trans and LGBT+ community, executive producer Mark Ruffalo responded on Twitter: “To the Trans community. I hear you. It’s wrenching to you see you in this pain. I am glad we are having this conversation. It’s time.”

Despite this, many people were still unhappy as Ruffalo went ahead with the project, keeping Bomer in the lead role, seemingly sympathising with the trans community and our struggle, despite adding to it.

Any time that a cis man is cast to play a trans woman, there are those that defend that decision. Some will say that the best people for the role get cast, some say that there aren’t any or enough trans actors to play trans roles; and some claim that films won’t get the recognition or acclaim they deserve with trans people in roles.

Whilst all of these arguments are quite clearly laughable (trans people have won Oscars for their work), there are other arguments that are even worse.

“Men are cast to play trans women because they’re just men anyway.” It’s an argument I see every time. People jump into discussions or comment sections to make known their opinion that “trans women are men”. Views that are only reinforced by casting men in these roles.

It would be easy to equate cis people playing trans roles as being akin to blackface, and whilst some people do make that argument, it’s not quite the same, but it does come close in a lot of ways. It others a marginalised community, it makes caricatures out of a group of diverse people with varying life experiences and personalities, it takes jobs away from people in those minorities, and reinforces poor stereotypes and public perception.

Sadly, any argument like this will tend to come down to personal opinion. Those who feel the same will support me, whilst those who feel different will never have their minds changed. They’ve had this view pushed on them time and time again, and it’s become entrenched.

I’ve been told that I’m a freak, that I’ll never be anything other than a man. I’ve been treated like dirt, and I wholeheartedly believe that films like Anything are a big part of this problem. Fortunately, I’ve been a lucky one. I’ve been threatened but never assaulted. I’ve been harassed but never raped. I have a happy home and a family that loves me. I survived my suicide attempt. But not every trans person is as lucky.

To a lot of people Anything is just another film, and any words against it will just be seen as trans people making a big fuss over nothing, but it can have very real, very dangerous results. Hollywood has a problem, one that desperately needs to change.


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Star Trek: New Visions #21 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

‘The enemy of my enemy… is not my friend. But Kirk and Kor find themselves forced to work together against a common foe. Alliance, or a chance for deadly betrayal?’

Star Trek: New Visions brings back a classic character, the Klingon Kor, to team up with Captain Kirk in an uneasy alliance as the two of them must escape from the powerful Vrotti, a race of huge lizard-like aliens.

With the two captured they are told by the Vrotti that they each have a chip implanted within their chest that will make their hearts explode if they get more than 10 meters apart, forcing the two enemies to work together in order to get away from their captors.

Whilst the initial set-up is good, and the idea of the two of them having to put aside their differences is intriguing, the story fails to live up to the potential. Kor has been a part of the Star Trek universe for decades, originating back in the original series, and appearing again in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine multiple times, he was always an entertaining and engaging character.

I appreciate that there is a limited number of pages that can be used to tell this story, but it felt like Kor wasn’t given any room to be his character, and that his animosity towards Kirk wasn’t anything more than an average Klingon. The fact that we’re following Kirk and Kor seems to be an after thought, this could have been any pair of characters.

Sadly, this lack of characterisation or connection makes the story feel very flat and lacking any real depth.

The second story in the issue goes backwards in time, telling a story centred around the Enterprise before Kirk, with Pike as the captain. Whilst the shift in look and style of this story is interesting, and makes a change of pace from the usual, the narrative itself is very slow and, dare I say, dull. Finding a ship from 1901 floating in space, the Enterprise crew discovers a man who’s supposed to be a fictional character. Any kind of mystery or drama is soon forgotten as we get a very dull explanation for how and why this person is here, then he just goes on his way.

The art style of Star Trek: New Visions doesn’t help either story either. In the first tale feels very disjointed, mixing together brand new creatures and ships with existing images from episodes. Unfortunately, as Kor was in very few episodes of the original series there’s not a great deal of options for images to use, as such Kor often feels out of place, with expressions and poses that don’t really work for what’s happening in the story.

The second story is also let down by this art style as the character of Cavor very clearly has CGI glasses and a beard stuck to his face, which makes him incredibly distracting whenever he’s around.

Star Trek: New Visions continues to tell stories within the Star Trek universe but fails to capture the quality of the original series in both storytelling and visuals.


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Supernatural: Who’s Who For Season 13

Originally published on Set The Tape

Supernatural is returning for an unprecedented 13th season (and it’s already been renewed for a 14th!) of the popular series about the monster hunting brothers Sam and Dean. With so much history and lore sometimes it can be hard to keep track of what’s happening, so here’s a quick guide to the main players.

Sam Winchester (Jared Padalecki)

The younger of the Winchester brothers, Sam is a hunter, dedicated to fighting monster, ghost, and the forces of evil wherever they may appear. Thanks to a deal with a demon made by his mother decades ago, Sam was given demon blood when a baby, giving him psychic powers. This allowed him to be manipulated into freeing Lucifer from his prison by the forces of hell.

The ‘true vessel’ of Lucifer, Sam was supposed to give his body over to the devil to destroy the world. Instead, Sam has spent the last several years fighting against Lucifer in his various hosts.

After helping to end the fight between God and his sister, Amara, Sam’s mother was brought back to life. Despite having never known his mother he formed a quick relationship with her, working together with the British Men of Letters.

Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles)

The elder of the Winchester brothers, Dean is a hunter alongside his brother Sam. Following the death of his mother, and his father becoming a hunter, Dean not only learnt about the world of the supernatural, but played a large part in raising Sam. As adults, following the disappearance of their father, Dean convinced Sam to join him in his search, hunting monsters along the way.

Following the death of Sam, Dean made a deal with a demon to bring him back to life, though it resulted in Dean being sent to Hell. Despite spending only a few months in Hell from Earth’s perspective, it was 40 years for him, resulting in deep psychological scars that are still around to this day.

Over the years Dean has been to Purgatory, travelled through time, and even briefly became a demon thanks to the mystical Mark of Cain, though he was cured thanks to Sam and his friends. After helping to end the war with Amara, whom he inadvertently unleashed, he began to reconnect with his long dead mother, though the two of them often argued about her working alongside the British Men of Letters.

Castiel (Misha Collins)

Castiel, often called Cass for short, is a powerful Angel, one of the soldiers of Heaven sent to Earth to fight in the war against Lucifer. He was the Angel that rescued Dean from Hell, and soon developed a bond with the Winchesters, even going so far as to rebel against Heaven in order to save them, and stop Lucifer.

Following the prevention of the apocalypse, Castiel took part in a civil war in Heaven, fighting against other Angels to prevent a hard-line faction from restarting the end of the world. During the course of this war Castiel was corrupted by the power he was absorbing and briefly became ruler of Heaven, before unleashing the Leviathan from Purgatory.

When Amara, the sister of God, was released from her prison, Castiel made a deal with Lucifer to become his vessel, using him in the fight against her. Unfortunately, Lucifer managed to escape into the world. Castiel spent the next year hunting him down, but when he and the Winchesters discovered a woman pregnant with Lucifer’s son Castiel took it upon himself to protect the unborn child, wanting to raise him to be a force for good.

During the climactic confrontation with Lucifer at the end of the last season Castiel was killed as the fallen angel was trapped in another world. Having been resurrected more than once in the past, it remains unclear if Castiel will return to life again, or if he is gone for good.

Mary Winchester (Samantha Smith)

Sam and Dean’s mother, Mary grew up in a family of hunters, but tried to give up the life when she fell in love with John Winchester. Unfortunately, John was killed, leading to Mary to make a deal with a demon to bring him back to life.

This deal resulted not only in Sam being made a psychic child, but also led to Mary’s death at the hands of a demon. Spending decades as a ghost in the former Winchester house, Mary eventually moved on to Heaven.

Following the end of the war against God’s sister, Mary was brought back to life as a thank you to Sam and Dean. Struggling to reconnect with her sons, who had both aged 30 years, Mary became involved with the British Men of Letters, and was even brainwashed into being a killer for them.

Fortunately, she was saved by her sons and helped to end the threat of the British Men of Letters in time to help them stop Lucifer from getting his infant son. Unfortunately, Mary became trapped in an apocalyptic alternate dimension with Lucifer in the process.

Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino)

Also known as the Devil, Lucifer was the second Archangel created by God, and God’s favourite son. When he refused to bow before humanity he fell from Heaven, leading to a war between Heaven and Hell. Eventually, he became trapped in The Cage, deep in Hell.

Thanks to plans put into motion by his followers, Sam unleashed Lucifer from the Cage. Lucifer spent much of the next year building his forces for the coming apocalypse, and tried to get Sam to agree to be his vessel. Despite briefly inhabiting Sam, he was defeated and trapped in the Cage a second time.

When Amara was unleashed onto Earth the Cage was damaged, allowing Lucifer to reach out to Sam through a psychic link. He tricked Sam into journeying into Hell, making him believe that he was needed to defeat Amara. Despite Sam not agreeing to let him inside, Castiel agreed, freeing Lucifer from the Cage.

After reconciling with God, Lucifer worked alongside him and the Winchesters against Amara, but was banished out of Castiel’s body in their final confrontation. After searching the Earth for a suitable vessel with power and influence Lucifer managed to possess the President of the United States.

Despite being removed from the President’s body, Lucifer did manage to impregnate one of his aides with a half angel child. Lucifer made it his mission to try to track down his son, resulting in a confrontation with the Winchesters that ended with Castiel dead, and him and Mary Winchester trapped in another dimension.

Crowley (Mark Sheppard)

Born in Scotland in the 1600’s as Fergus MacLeod, Crowley made a deal with a demon for ‘an extra three inches below the belt’, resulting in him going to hell when he died. With his soul in Hell, Crowley was eventually corrupted and became a Demon. Working his way up the ranks, he eventually became the head of the Crossroads Demons.

After Lucifer failed to bring about the end of the world during the apocalypse Crowley moved into the vacuum left behind and became the King of Hell. Over the years Crowley has bounced back and forth from being a villain to an unwilling hero, working alongside the Winchesters multiple times and even forming a strange kind of friendship with them.

When Lucifer escaped from the Cage and tried to take over Hell once again Crowley worked alongside the Winchesters to stop him. Luring Lucifer through a tear in reality to a parallel world, Crowley stabbed himself with a demon killing knife, sacrificing himself to complete a spell and trapping Lucifer. It’s unknown if this is indeed the end of Crowley, or if the King of Hell will somehow make a surprise return.

Rowena MacLeod (Ruth Connell)

The mother of Crowley, Rowena is a witch from the 17th Century who has survived for hundreds of years using magic. Rowena has been an antagonist and ally for the Winchesters, sometimes helping them in their missions if it helps her gain more power or stay alive.

She has worked with them to stop Amara, helped to remove the Mark of Cain from Dean, and assisted in the fight against Lucifer. It appears that Lucifer killed her recently, burning her body to a crisp, but as she has returned from the dead before, Rowena could very well appear again.

Jack Kline (Alexander Calvert)

Jack is the son of Lucifer and Kelly Kline (Courtney Ford). Born at the end of season 12, Jack’s birth led to the death of his mother, due in part to his immense power as a half angel, half human Nephilim.

It’s unknown what Jack will be like, or where he allegiances will lay. Will he be evil like his father, or a force for good as Castiel believed.


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Legion – Who is David Haller?

Originally published on Set The Tape

The television show Legion may have introduced a lot of viewers to the character of David Haller, the son of Charles Xavier, but he’s been around in comics for a lot longer, having been created by legendary X-Men writer Chris Claremont, and artist Bill Sienkiewicz back in 1985.

Professor Xavier met David’s mother Gabrielle whilst he was working in an Israeli psychiatric hospital with Eric Lensher/Magneto, using his psychic abilities to ease the pain of Holocaust survivors. Having spent years in a catatonic state, Xavier helped to heal her, and whilst assisting with her recovery the two of them fell in love. The two of them eventually parted ways, though Gabrielle never told Charles that she was pregnant at the time.

When David was a child he became the victim of a terrorist attack in which he was the only survivor, which resulted in his mutant powers manifesting early. David incinerated the minds of the terrorists, but ended up absorbing the mind of their leader. The trauma caused David to fall into a coma and his mind splintered, creating dozens of personalities, each of whom controlled a certain aspect of David’s powers.

Whilst being cared for on Muir Island by an ally of the X-Men, Moira Mac Taggert, David became possessed by the mutant psychic The Shadow King, who used David’s abilities to increase the hatred in the world, feeding off the power. Despite eventually defeating The Shadow King and casting him out of David’s body, a number of mutants were killed.

When David eventually awoke from his coma with his mind healed he wanted to bring about his fathers aim of humans and mutants living together, believing that killing Magneto would be the best way of achieving this. Travelling back in time to kill Magneto before he rose to power, David accidentally kills Xavier instead, bringing the alternate timeline ‘Age of Apocalypse’ into being.

The time travelling mutant Bishop travels back to the point when David killed his father and manages to stop him from doing so, setting history back on course. Unfortunately, the events resulted in David’s mother having a miscarriage, causing David to never exist.

Some years later, David is somehow discovered alive by the New Mutants, who help to free him from his prison, though his mind is once again fractured. It is revealed that when Bishop killed him, David was thrown outside of time, and that this resulted in thousands of personalities forming within his mind.

Helped to heal once again by the X-Men and his father, David comes to the defence of the mutant nation against their enemies during the events of ‘Second Coming’, defending their home from an army of Sentinels with his immense powers. With help from Doctor Nemesis, and Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, David is given a device that enables him to control his personalities, accessing them one at a time to let him access various abilities.

Following the events of Avengers Vs X-Men, in which a Phoenix Force controlled Cyclops kills Professor Xavier, David loses control of his powers once again, causing a number of evil and destructive personalities to take over. In order to stop himself from causing more death and destruction David tries to erase himself from existence by never being born. As proven before, however, David’s powers are incredible, and potentially limitless, and he may very well return one day soon.

Having appeared in the animates series X-Men: Evolution and Marvel Anime: X-Men, Legion has proven to be a very popular character, a popularity which is sure to grow with the second season of Legion.

To learn more about Legion and his comic incarnation, make sure to check out the second series of X-Men Legacy, as well as X-Men: Legion Quest, X-Men: Legion – Chadow King, and X-Men: Age of X.


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Rampage: 5 Great Video Game Movies… And 10 Not-So-Great

Originally published on Set The Tape

Video games are a great medium for telling stories. They’re not limited by the run time of a film, or even a television series, and can tell an unfolding story over anything from several hours to several games. They let the player feel immersed in their worlds and feel like a part of the story. Perhaps this is the reason why many video game movies fail to capture the magic of their source material.

However, there are those times when not only do video game movies live up to expectations, but they actually happen to be really good films. Before the arrival of the latest entry into the mixed genre of video game films, let’s take a look at five of the best video game movies, and ten of the worst.

The Best:

Street Fighter (1994)

It’s easy to make fun of this film. The live action Street Fighter movie isn’t perfect, far from it. Blanka looks terrible, Dhalsim does practically nothing, and the story isn’t anything like the game. There’s not even a fighting competition.

What it does do, however, is embrace the spirit of the game. It plants its tongue firmly in cheek and makes a colourful, over the top, and at times downright silly film about an insane tyrant and the group determined to stop him from taking over the world.


It works because it doesn’t try to be serious, and because the action is actually quite competent and entertaining. It also made the brilliant move in casting Jean-Claude Van Damme in the role of Guile, giving the lead hero some action move pedigree; and in the casting of Raul Julia as M. Bison. Not the first person to come to mind as the villain to go up against Van Damme, Julia is absolutely brilliant in the role. He’s campy and over the top in just the right way, and has such amazing presence when on screen.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)

The fourth entry in the Resident Evil film series is still, for me, the best. The first film since the original in which Paul W.S. Anderson returned to direct, it ditched a lot of the baggage from the previous films, deciding not to try to take itself too seriously, or make a film that was too gritty. It embraced a lot more of the fun elements of the series and decided to just be an enjoyable popcorn movie, making it the first really entertaining entry in the series.

It also added more elements from the games, such as the Majini type infected, and the Executioner, but it was the inclusion of Wentworth Miller as Chris Redfield and Shawn Roberts as Albert Wesker that really helped.

Wesker was played to the perfect mix of evil and camp villain that was so popular form the fifth game, and the film even went so far as recreate a fight between him and Chris from that game shot for shot. As a fan of the game series it was a brilliant moment to see parts of the game come to life on the big screen in such a way, and actually game me a lot of hope for the continuation of the film series.

Pokemon: The First Movie (1998)

Your age probably determines whether or not this film will appear on your list, but being the prefect age when this film hit the UK I was swept up in the hype of the first Pokemon cinematic outing. Giving fans a look at where the television show would go next with the inclusion of a few generation two Pokemon, it also dealt with a plot thread that had been teased across a number of episodes, the appearance of Mew-Two.

The original must catch Pokemon of the first games, Mew-Two was beefed up to become a super powered global threat, one that the shows heroes and villains would have to team up to fight against. Not only did the film deliver some great monster v monster action, it also went a lot deeper than viewers were expecting, with such famous quotes like: “I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.” Quotes like this prove that the franchise has some deeper messages to tell its young audience.

Silent Hill (2006)

Video games do horror really well, mainly because it puts you into the horror itself and makes you face the monsters, rather than being an observer. The Silent Hill franchise was always one of the most successful, and proved to be one of the better film adaptations.

Taking inspiration from the first game, but mixing things around, the film sees a mother taking her adopted daughter to the town of Silent Hill to try to solve the mystery of the nightmares that plague her, only to discover hell on earth.

The film captures the atmosphere of the games brilliantly, both in the fog shrouded town and the terrifying hellscapes. It looks like it came straight out of the game, recreating locations, creatures, and even camera shots perfectly to make fans feel right at home. A film that embraces its source material and delivers a film that audiences who haven’t played the games will enjoy, Silent Hill is a brilliant example of how to translate games into film.

Mortal Kombat (1995)

Another Paul W.S. Anderson entry, the first Mortal Kombat film is still the best of the franchise, mixing over the top action, strange fantasy, and cheese to great effect. Following a group of mismatched heroes as they fight against an otherworldly threat in order to protect the earth, it actually stays surprisingly true to the story and the spirit of the fighting game.

With a relatively unknown cast, Christopher Lambert is the biggest name in the credits as the lightning god Lord Rayden, and feels slightly out of place here, but manages to walk that fine line between entertaining and utterly ridiculous.

Whilst Mortal Kombat might not be the best video game movie it’s surprisingly well but together, entertaining, and has the best song of any film on this list. Seriously, go listen to it. It’s brilliant.

The Worst:

House of the Dead (2003)

How do you turn a story about a mad man about to unleash an army of zombies and mutants upon the world, opposed only by a group of secret agents into an entertaining film? How about turning it into a story about teenagers attending a rave on an island that has a zombie priest from the 18th Century hiding on it? Yeah, probably not the best idea.

House of the Dead has nothing in common with the game it shares a name with, other than zombies anyway. A poorly put together film with an awful script, terrible acting, and no connection to the game. One to definitely be avoided.

Max Payne (2008)

Based upon the popular action game series about a cop whose whole family were brutally murdered, the Max Payne film fails to capture a lot of the gritty and downbeat emotions of the game. Where the game offered great action it also had a lot deeper story and character development, giving players a main character that was deeply hurt, emotionally battered, and suffering from PTSD.

The film, on the other hand, gave a rather lack lustre action film about a cop stopping a drug conspiracy. It could have been a lot better than what it was, and whilst not awful in itself, it fails to live up to the Max Payne name. Plus, the casting of Mark Wahlberg in the main roles is definitely a misstep.

Doom (2005)

One of the greatest games of all time, Doom inspired an entire genre and has been ported to almost every console ever made (even being modded into other video games as a playable extra). With a simple premise of a soldier fighting against the forces of Hell on Mars, it should have been fairly simple to create a half decent film out of it.

With the inclusion of The Rock, Karl Urban, and Rosamund Pike in the cast it looked like the Doom movie was going to be a success. Unfortunately, the film made some missteps with the plot, dropping the whole plot about harnessing energy from Hell into a mutation that brings out ‘the evil gene’ instead.

Despite good performances from the main cast, The Rock playing a villain, and a fun sequence filmed in first person, the film falls short of the action and energy of the source material.

Hitman (2007)

Based upon the popular stealth series of the same name, Hitman saw Timothy Olyphant take on the iconic role of Agent 47. Despite being a financial success the film received incredibly poor reviews. Thanks to some fairly poor dialogue, and a plot that not only fails to live up to the game series, but also makes little sense and falls all over the place, Hitman became such a disaster that the film franchise was rebooted several years later with Hitman: Agent 47 in 2015.

Alone in the Dark (2005)

Another video game film directed by Uwe Boll (alongside other flops like House of the Dead and BloodRayne), Alone in the Dark is based upon the supernatural survival horror series of the same name, but bears very little resemblance to the source material.

Not even the star power of Christian Slater, Tara Reid, and Stephen Dorff could help a film that was so poorly received that it is often credited as ‘one of the worst films ever made’ on many lists. Strangely, a sequel was made a few years later, though it actually ended up being a better film.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)

Failing to capture any of the success of the 1994 film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li focused on one of the more popular characters from the franchise, chronicling her early life and rise to becoming a fighter, eager for revenge against M. Bison for his crimes against her family.

Despite a plot that sounds like it should work, the film suffered from a terrible script, lack lustre fight sequences, and poor casting choices. Added into the mix was the fact that the film took itself far too seriously, lacking any of the humour or charm of the previous live action Street Fighter film.

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (2010)

Based upon the popular game series, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time combined together elements of several of the games in the franchise to deliver an action adventure series about a sword wielding prince who sets out to stop a villain after a magic dagger.

The film wasn’t especially terrible, and had a decent budget and cast trying to make it a success, but thanks to the poor decision to whitewash the main characters the film was extremely poorly received, despite becoming the highest grossing video game adaptation of all time (before losing that title to Warcraft in 2016).

Double Dragon (1994)

Two brothers in possession of half of a magical ancient Chinese amulet become the target of a crime lord who has the other half, and wants to join them both together to gain absolute power.

With a plot that barely resembles the games it was based upon, poor special effects, and dialogue that even the worst video game would be ashamed of, Double Dragon was a huge flop upon release, though it did find some cult following over the years, mainly due to being seen as ‘so bad it’s good’.

Despite the film being pretty awful the trailer is actually pretty fantastic, and is definitely worth a few minutes of your time to track down on YouTube.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – Cradle of Life (2003)

Following the success of the first Lara Croft: Tomb Raider starring Angelina Jolie in the lead role a sequel was quickly put into production to try to recapture the magic. The film received a lot of criticism for not being as good as the first film, though it wasn’t hated by many.

Paramount blamed the films financial failure in large part on the release of the then-latest game in the series, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, which was rushed into stores in time for the film’s release, unfinished and full of bugs.

Super Mario Bros. (1993)

Widely considered one of the worst video game films of all time, and one of the worst films in general, the Super Mario film saw Bob Hoskins don the role of Mario Mario as he travels to a dystopian parallel world with his brother Luigi Mario, played by John Leguizamo, to try to save a princess from an evil ruler.

Sharing nothing in common with the game series other than the name, any of the fun, bright colours, or character design was lost in the translation to the big screen. Instead of being a fun adventure film for the whole family, it was dark, dreary, and dull. Easily the worst part of the Super Mario franchise.

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Supernatural Season 13 – The Road So Far

Originally published on Set The Tape

Supernatural, the long running show about the monster hunting brothers Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles), is back for–yes–a 13th season. No, we can’t believe it either.

Before we delve back into the world of ghosts, demons, and vampires, here’s a quick look back at the epic journey the two of them have been on…

Season One (2005-2006)

After the mysterious death of their mother Mary (Samantha Smith) when they were just children, Sam and Dean are raised by their father John (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to be Hunters, and fight the forces of evil. After Sam leaves the family to go to college he gets called back in when John goes missing. When the investigation into his disappearance leads to the death of Sam’s girlfriend, he joins his brother on his quest to fight evil and find their father.

Along the way the two of them encounters ghosts, vampires, and shape-shifters, before discovering that their mother was killed by a demon names Azazel (Fredric Lehne). Teaming up with their father to fight Azazel, Sam finds out that he’s a part of the demons plans, and that he has been given strange psychic powers.

Season Two (2006-2007)

Sam and Dean continue their quest to kill the demon Azazel following the death of their father. They find new allies along the way, including the old hunter Bobby Singer (Jim Beaver), and John’s old friend Ellen (Samantha Ferris) and her daughter Jo (Alona Tal).

Azazel furthers his plans by bringing together several people with psychic abilities, including Sam, to fight each other until only one is left. When Sam is killed Dean makes a deal with a Crossroads Demon in order to bring him back. Despite having Sam back, they fail to stop Azazel opening a portal to Hell, which unleashes hundreds, if not thousands of demons. Thanks to some help from the spirit of John, they are finally able to kill Azazel and close the portal.

Season Three (2007-2008)

Thanks to the deal Dean made to bring Sam back to life he only has a year to live before he’s killed and sent to hell. As the two of them try to find a way of breaking the deal they come across a ‘good’ demon named Ruby (Katie Cassidy), who claims to be able to help them.

The two of them also make an uneasy alliance with a con artist names Bella (Lauren Cohen), who is able to track down the demon holing Dean’s contract, Lillith (Sierra McCormick). The first demon ever made, Lillith is incredibly powerful, and despite their best efforts they’re unable to stop her, leading to Dean’s horrific death.

Season Four (2008-2009)

After four months, Dean suddenly wakes up in a coffin alive and well he discovers that he was saved from Hell by an angel names Castiel (Misha Collins), who was sent to save Dean before he slipped over to the dark side and unwittingly broke the first of the 66 seals. Unfortunately, Castiel was too late and Dean tortured other souls in hell in order to save his own.

With the first seal broken, the Winchesters have to work to stop 65 others from being destroyed, as this will lead to Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino) being freed from his prison. Working alongside angels, and Ruby, who is now in a new body (Genevieve Cortese), they fight against various threats, including renegade angels, ghost sickness, and even a giant living teddy bear.

Unfortunately, Ruby has been feeding Sam’s dark tendencies, literally, by making him drink demons blood to increase his psychic powers. Convincing him that he has to kill Lillith in order to stop the end of the world Sam manages to kill her, inadvertently breaking the final seal and unleashing Lucifer upon the Earth.

Season Five (2009-2010)

With Lucifer unleashed upon the world, the apocalypse has begun. The Winchesters find themselves being sought after by both sides, as Hell wants Sam to become Lucifer’s vessel, and Heaven wants Dean to let the archangel Michael take him over. As Lucifer builds his forces, including the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Sam and Dean gather their allies and formulate a plan to try and kill Lucifer.

Sadly, Lucifer proves harder to kill than expected, leading to the deaths of Ellen and Jo as Lucifer released Death himself on the world. As Sam and Dean grow apart over the course of the season Sam finally agrees to allow Lucifer to use him as his vessel, pitting Dean against his own brother.

Dean, Castiel, and Bobby manage to trap Lucifer back in his prison, though fail to get him out of Sam’s body. With his brother seemingly lost forever, Dean quits being a hunter and reforms his relationship with his old girlfriend Lisa (Cindy Sampson).

Season Six (2010-2011)

When Sam mysteriously returns from Lucifer’s cage, Dean is drawn back into the world of hunting once again. Discovering that Sam is working with their resurrected maternal grandfather Samuel (Mitch Pileggi) and his group of hunters, the Winchesters work alongside him to capture Alpha Monsters, the first of their races.

During the course of the season Dean finds out that Sam is acting stranger than he used to because his soul is still trapped within the cage. Making a deal with Death, Dean manages to restore Sam to his true self.

When it comes to light that Samuel is hunting the Alpha’s for the demon Crowley (Mark Sheppard), who is working alongside Castiel, the brothers have to fight against their former friend, who is trying to gain access to the monster souls in Purgatory in order to win an angel civil war. Despite trying to get through to their friend, Castiel absorbs the purgatory souls, declaring himself the new God.

Season Seven (2011-2012)

After absorbing the souls from Purgatory Castiel sets out to declare himself God and punish the wicked. Unfortunately, he soon discovers that he has absorbed the Leviathan, ancient creatures so powerful and evil that they were sealed away. The Leviathan break free from Castiel, apparently killing him in the process.

With the Leviathan taking hosts all over the world, and being near impossible to kill, they fall under the leadership of Dick Roman (James Patrick Stewart), who has plans to turn humans into their food source whilst they take over the world.

During their fight against Dick, Sam and Dean find a resurrected Castiel, and even form an alliance with Crowley, but lose Bobby when Dick shoots him in the head. Having lost their surrogate father, Sam and Dean take the fight to the Leviathan, managing to kill Dick, though Dean and Castiel end up being sucked into Purgatory in the process.

Season Eight (2012-2013)

After being gone for a year, Dean manages to return from Purgatory, though without Castiel. As Sam and Dean try to find a way to close the gates of Hell permanently using the Demon Tablet, Castiel is rescued from Purgatory by an angel named Naomi (Amanda Tapping), who brainwashes Castiel into being her agent.

When Sam and Dean’s paternal grandfather Henry (Gil McKinney) travels from the 1950’s to the modern day, pursued by a powerful Knight of Hell Abaddon (Alaina Huffman), they learn that they are descendent of the Men of Letters, a secret society that studied the supernatural. Despite losing their grandfather, Sam and Dean inherit a fortified bunker filled with supernatural lore and weapons.

Whilst Sam and Dean fail to seal the gates of Hell, as doing so would kill Sam, Castiel is tricked into performing a spell that he believes will seal the Angels in Heaven, though inadvertently ends up casting all the Angel down to Earth instead.

Season Nine (2013-2014)

With the Angels having fallen to Earth, Castiel has lost his grace and been left as a human. In order to save Sam’s life after his attempt to seal the Gates of Hell, Dean makes a deal to let an Angel, Ezekiel (Tahmoh Penikett) inhabit his body to heal him. Unfortunately, Ezekiel eventually betrays the Winchesters, killing their friend Kevin (Osric Chau) in the process.

With Crowley in the possession of the Winchesters, Abaddon takes over Hell. In order to stop her Dean takes on the Mark of Cain in order to wield The First Blade, the only weapon that can kill a Knight of Hell.

As Castiel manages to restore his own grace and is asked by a number of Angels to lead them against the renegade angel Metatron (Curtis Armstrong), Dean manages to kill Abaddon. When Sam and Dean agree to help Castiel deal with Metatron, however, Dean is killed in the process, which causes Dean to become a demon thanks to the Mark of Cain.

Season Ten (2014-2015)

After being resurrected as a Demon, and joining forces with Crowley, Sam and Castiel have to track him down in order to cure him and make him human again. Thanks to a ritual using sanctified blood, they are able to restore Dean back to his former self, though he is still affected by the Mark of Cain.

As the Mark fills Dean with a blood-lust, causing him to black out and commit several brutal murders, Sam searches for a way to remove it with the help of their friend Charlie (Felicia Day), and the witch Rowena (Ruth Connell). When the Mark is removed, however, the Winchesters accidentally unleash The Darkness, an ancient primordial evil.

Season Eleven (2015-2016)

After being released The Darkness manifests itself into a human body, born into baby called Amara. As the baby grows up she is taken in by Crowley, who attempts to use her for his own gains, though it also becomes clear that she has a mysterious connection to Dean.

As an adult, Amara (Emily Swallow) reveals herself to be the sister of God, who trapped her away in order to create the universe. Now free, she is more powerful than any angel or demon, and intends to destroy everything. Knowing that they are no match for Amara, the Winchesters form an alliance with Lucifer, Crowley, Rowena, and their old friend Chuck (Rob Benedict) who reveals himself to be God.

Despite throwing everything that they have against Amara, the group are unable to stop her, and are only able to prevent her from destroying the world when Dean convinces her to resolve her problems with her brother. As a reward for helping her, Amara thanks Dean by bringing his mother Mary back to life.

Season Twelve (2016-2017)

With Mary Winchester back from the dead she works alongside Sam and Dean in their fight against the supernatural, whilst also trying to form a meaningful relationship with her sons. Unfortunately, the British chapter of the Men of Letters arrives in America, intent on making the American hunters either work with them, or killing them.

Thanks to the fight against Amara, Lucifer is now free on Earth once again, and goes through several vessels with power and influence before managing to enter the body of the President of the United States. Whilst in the President, Lucifer manages to impregnate a woman called Kelly Klein (Courtney Ford). Whilst the Angels fear how powerful Lucifers son may become, Castiel believes that the child can be a force for good, and decides to protect Kelly.

After defeating the British Men on Letters, the Winchesters help Castiel deal with Lucifer, along with some help from Crowley. As Kelly goes into labour, the power of the unborn child tears a hole in reality, opening a doorway to another dimension where the apocalypse still rages.

The Winchesters manage to lure Lucifer through the portal, where Crowley performs a spell in order to close the doorway, killing himself in order to do so. Before the doorway can close, however, Lucifer manages to come back through and kills Castiel. Protecting her sons, Mary pushes Lucifer back through the portal, but gets dragged through with him.

Supernatural Season 13 premieres on E4 from Tuesday 17th April at 10pm.


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