Lana Marie

BLACK WIDOW
by Digital Asylum
Try Before You Buy!

12925 N. Dale Mabry Highway

Tampa Fl 33618
Phone: (813) 269-7529
/GeekFantasyMagazine

@GeekFantasyMag

GeekFantasyMagazine

GeekFantasyMagazine

contents
9

GAMING FOCUS

15

DOES HOLLYWOOD FEAR

THE SUPER WOMAN?

18

DAREDEVIL

23

ANIME AWARDS

27

GEEK FANTASY GIRL

Jeana Turner

31

DC TRINITY

32

EPIC COSPLAYER

34

GAME OF THRONES

40

EPIC COSLAYER

44

COVER MODEL
MELISSA RISO

50

TONY STARK’S
GARAGE

55
Focus on Overwatch, The Best
Games of 2015, Looking Forward
To 2016 Gaming and The Best
Mobile Gaming Apps.

23

Netflix shows us Season 2 of one

of their highest rated shows...and
our brains exploded.
We hand out our most unique yet
deserving titles.

44 34

Batman, Superman and

Wonder Woman.

Candy Valentina

Getting ready for Season 6

with Cosplay Looks from
Amy Lee Summers

50

Sea of Rabbitz

KTM X-Box GT Roadster

SUPERPOWERS
Take Your Pick!

18

40

FEATURE - DEADPOOL

Fan-Girl Elizabeth Smith talks

Deadpool and we give a 411 on the
4th-wall-breaking comic character!

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM 03

CONTROLLERS

TECH
APPAREL

DECALS
Copyright © 2016. Geek Fantasy Magazine is published
bi-monthly by NINE REALMS MEDIA, LLC in cooperation
with Darkroom Studios, LLC.
March/April 2016.
All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without written consent
of the publisher is strictly prohibited.
ISSN 2372-7446 [Print]
ISSN 2372-7462 [Online]
For Advertising:
[email protected]
Printed by: MagCloud Publishing
3000 Hanover Street, MS 1051
Palo Alto, CA 94304
Available in digital format at:
GeekFantasyMag.com
Subscription available on Magzter.com
CREATIVE EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Jaime Morton-Hawley
DIVISIONS EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Mike Casals
ILLUSTRATOR
Brad Marshall Wilson
WRITER CONTRIBUTIONS
Thomas Riccardi Ali El Sayed
Chad Hibbins Mike Casals

Being a geek means never

having to play it cool about
how much you like something.

COVER MODEL
Melissa Riso
COVER PHOTOGRAPHER
Michael Oliveri
COVER COSPLAYER
Amy Lee Summers
COVER COSPLAY PHOTOGRAPHER
Matt Barnes
FEATURED MODELS
Jeana Turner Diana Levy Jeni Summers
COSPLAY MODELS
Amy Lee Summers Sea of Rabbitz
Holly Wolf Nataliee G Candy Valentina
FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHERS
Matt Barnes Terry Cullen Think. NU
Jim Reckard Mike Wu Justine Bennett
TONY STARK’S GARAGE PHOTOGRAPHER
Jordi Miranda
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTORS + SPECIAL THANK YOU
Lucky Sin Spencer’s Play N Trade
Nadia Mitchel Amie Lyver Flo Foxworthy
Showgirl Boutique Circle of Wolves Jewellery
Props to Powerloaders Custom Costumes

GeekFantasyMag.com
SIMON PEGG

”
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION

6ISSUESFOR$16.99

Only

$3.99
an issue
DIGITAL

DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

AVAILABLE VIA MAGZTER.COM

GAMING

ON

GAME !
With the current gaming evolution, it appears the days of the side-scroller are
behind
us, but we don’t think that’s such a bad thing. With the new wave of gaming
consoles and savvy fans pushing towards true-life simulation, sooner than later, no
one
will be able to know the difference between reality and a high score...
08 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR
JENI
SUMMERS

Jeni is wielding
an Xbox One
controller and a
PS4 controller.
Crop-top by
Spencer’s.

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

09
GAMING

best of 2015

WHETHER YOU LOVE

HIGH CONCEPT INDIE
TITLES OR TRIPLE-A
BLOCKBUSTERS, 2015
WAS A FANTASTIC YEAR
FOR GAMING. GAMES
LIKE THE WITCHER
3: THE WILD HUNT,
METAL GEAR SOLID V:
THE PHANTOM PAIN,
ROCKET LEAGUE, HER
STORY, AND UNDERTALE
MANAGED TO PUSH THE
ENVELOPE AND
REDEFINE THEIR
GENRES, WHILE OTHERS
DIDN’T DO SO WELL.
by ALI EL SAYED

GAMING SPOTLIGHT

by THOMAS RICCARDI

Tales from the Borderlands brings everything

we love from the original series and mixes
it with an over-the-top adventure story. The
characters are brimming with life, masterfully
voiced by industry legends to bring out their
unique personalities. The game also features
a spectacular soundtrack that makes each set
piece even more exciting. So jump into the
shoes of a Hyperion corporate rat and a Pandoran scam artist and join them as they
cross
paths to try and save an unlikely friend.

Blizzard has released

some of the most iconic
titles in gaming history
with dungeon crawlers like
Diablo to World of Warcraft
having surpassed over two
million subscribers. At last
year’s BlizzCon they made a
number of announcements
but there was one that no
one was prepared for.

3
http://us.battle.net/overwatch/en/

You could say Rocket League is a

sports game, but it’s no ordinary sports
game. It mixes football with car racing,
and somehow, makes it work. It was undoubtedly one of the best multiplayer
experiences
last year. In every match, either with someone
you met online or your buddies, you had an
absolute blast. The thrill of speeding across
the field in search of a goal is exhilarating, and
the variety of unlockables and different maps
keeps things consistently interesting.

On face value, Until Dawn is a

cheesy teenage horror-slasher
that has all the horror tropes
you can think of. Once you dig
deeper, you will find an engaging
story where each and every one
of your decisions matters. You
will not only decide the fate of
your character, but seven other
characters too as you hide-andseek from the horrors that are
haunting you. Each decision you
make will affect your relationship
with the other characters, their
safety, and their lives. Definitely
a game to play in the dark, allalone, with some popcorn.

They announced a new property called Overwatch, an online FPS. (That’s

First Person Shooter for the uninitiated.) As the world teetered on the brink
of destruction, an International task force rose up to help restore order.
Calling themselves Overwatch, this peacekeeping force was made out of adventurers
who fought to restore order. They ushered in a new age of peace
and prosperity and when their job was done they were disbanded. Half of
the team kept trying to preserve peace but the other half looked for work as
mercenaries or guns for hire.
This new game is a class based FPS that you can play online with two
teams of six. The classes range from Offense, Defense, Tank and Support
and each of the heroes has its own play style. From taking out enemies with
a hybrid sniper / assault rifle to constructing turrets there is always a way
to support your team. And I stress that this is a team based game as you
will need to either capture points or escort a payload throughout the map.
The three maps that are available are based on locations such as London,
Japan, and Egypt. There is no team death match mode in this game as the
developers wanted to stress that this is a team based game.

The Phantom Pain is the kind of game I thought would never exist - one where every
minute of gameplay detail has true purpose. Its lack of story focus is sure to be
divisive
for the Metal Gear faithful, but the resulting emphasis on my story, my tales of
espionage
action, easily make it my favorite in the series. There have certainly been sandbox
action
games that have given me a bigger world to roam, or more little icons to chase on
my
minimap, but none have pushed me to plan, adapt, and improvise the way this one
does.
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain doesn’t just respect my intelligence as a
player, it
expects it of me, putting it in a league that few others occupy.

1
It isn’t every year that a game manages to redefine a
genre single handedly. The Witcher 3, with it’s incredible combat system, an
intimate and personal story,
and a fresh open-world devoid of regular RPG tropes
and garbage side quests, quite easily achieves that.

10 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

CD Projekt Red’s ability to deliver reams of excellent

dialogue and storytelling beats is well transferred to
The Witcher 3, which takes
players on a fascinating
journey across superbly
detailed fantasy worlds
like the bustling city of
Novigard, the crude and
dangerous swamps of
Nelen and more, all
brimming with character
and personality of their own.

What The Witcher 3 does best, though, is its penchant

for delivering quests (and sidequests) that hold
meaning, which progresses the story forward, and adds
to the layers of storytelling, enhancing it. ‘The Bloody
Baron’ quest is a perfect example of this, weaving a
tale of heartbreak, emotional degradation and hard
visual imagery that tugs at your heart and makes you
pause for a while.
It will be a while before we will see a game of such
quality and accomplishment as The Witcher 3. It absolutely deserves our Game of the
Year 2015.
HERE WE GO...
I don’t really have a favorite game but if you
were to nag me for an answer I’d probably say
Ratchet & Clank. The universe that Naughty
Dog created for the game is colorful, funny,
and unique. I love the characters and their
chemistry with each other and the voice acting
was always spot-on. The stories are engaging
and filled with a wonderful sense of adventure,
combining challenging platforming with explosive melee combat. But what I probably
like
most of all is the creative weaponry. There has been no shortage of Ratchet & Clank
games
in the past, but I’m incredibly excited for the reboot (and the movie) to dive into
that world
again and re-experience the origin story of my favorite gaming duo.

Each of the characters has a

primary attack and a few other
powers but they also have an
ultimate ability. This ability
charges up during play and
when it is unleashed it can turn
the tide of battle in an instant.
These abilities range from dealing a massive amount of damage over an area with
missiles,
to marking where the enemies
are on the map for a short
period of time. Also, depending
on the hero you choose, some
have various travel powers
that can aid you in combat. For
example: Widowmaker has a
grappling hook that she can
use to get to higher ground to
better snipe her foes.

Doom was an easy pick for me as my most

anticipated game of this year. Sure, nostalgia
is in play here, but I am also excited to see
where Bethesda will take this series. If the
revival is as good as Wolfenstein: The New
Order, I will be more than happy. As of now,
very little is known about the new Doom but
I am hoping that it offers a fantastic horror
experience filled with gigantic monsters to
slaughter and an exciting world to explore, much like the old Dooms of yore. I am
also
looking forward to the multiplayer, which seems to bring back the maniacal fast-
paced
shooting experience of Unreal and Quake, with loud, over-the-top weapons and bouts
of
gore. BRING IT!

As of right now no one knows

if Overwatch is going to be
free to play or not but the
game is still in the early phases
of development. If this game
does go free to play I can see
lots of people going out and
picking this up and playing
it because of this game’s
focus on being part of a team
instead of just racking up kills
like the other online FPS’s out
there. There have been games
that I have played where one
person can just pummel the
entire opposing team and
everyone else feels left out. I
can see this game shaping the
future of online FPS’s and even
taking its spot at the competitive level. Also the ability
for Blizzard to come out with
new heroes excites me as who
knows what they are going to
come up with next?

03

BETA Goes Live

Early Access May 3,
2016.

24

Official Game
Release on:
May 24, 2016

We
will see
you
there!

GAMING IN 2016

AND THAT’S THAT FOR THE YEAR 2015, BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS YEAR? THERE ARE
TONS OF GAMES RELEASING THIS YEAR, ALL PROMISING SOME AMAZING ADVENTURES,
AND UNIQUE GAMEPLAY MECHANICS. AT GF, WE ARE ALL EXCITED FOR ONE GAME OR
ANOTHER, SO WE ALL DECIDED TO PUT OUR FEELINGS TO WORDS AND PRESENT TO
YOU, OUR MOST ANTICIPATED GAMES.

The original Mirror’s Edge was easily one of

the best games back in 2008, but slightly
underrated. I remember getting my hands on a
copy of the game, and the whole new concept
of first person parkour had me glued to my
seat, except for the occasional moments where
I would get up or jump back. Mirror’s Edge
also had some of the best graphics, which are amazing even today. This makes the
reboot,
Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, my most anticipated game of 2016. Improved graphics,
smoother
running as well as an open world gameplay mechanic seem to be exactly what the
series
needed. I only hope that they do not try to alter the anime-esque style of the
game, or try
to incorporate an overrated multiplayer element, because some games are good with
just a
single player campaign.
Whether you’re a hardcore fan or new to
the series, you can’t ignore how exciting a
new game from Naughty Dog is. Uncharted
4 is hotly anticipated for multiple reasons.
Naughty Dog have succeeded in raising the
bar of our expectations for top notch games
since the days of Crash Bandicoot. This will be their first game for PlayStation 4,
built from
the ground up to take advantage of the power of the system, and the game looks
absolutely amazing. With those impressive graphics and physics engine, the set
pieces are bound
to be jaw dropping. The game also packs an unbelievably addictive multiplayer mode
that
received a lot of praise when the beta launched last month. Finally, this will mark
the last
entry in the series, and I personally can’t wait to see how the story of the
infamous treasure
hunter will end, especially after seeing what Neil Druckmann and his team can do
with the
stories and characters in The Last Of Us.
Stuck in development hell for years, Final
Fantasy XV will at last see the light of day
in 2016. With a car full of friends out for an
adventure and a real-time combat system,
this game feels like it could be a return to
form. It will also have incredible graphics
akin to those of Final Fantasy: Advent
Children. There are also some feuding
empires in the background threatening to
shatter the peace, but that only adds to the
grandiose stage and impossible odds that
Final Fantasy games construct so well. If this
title lives up to the hype, it should hopefully bring Japanese RPGs back into the
spotlight.
cont. pg 12

by ALI EL SAYED

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

11
GAMING

While Quantum Break has had a bit of a rocky start, it

looks like we’ll finally get our hands on Remedy Entertainment’s next game. Their
last game, Alan Wake, is quite an
under-appreciated title but it just did so many things right
with its story telling and Quantum Break looks to do more
of the same. The time-bending adventure looks to be a
wild ride and a potential must play title for the Xbox One.

Mobile
Nerding
SOME OF US REMEMBER A TIME WHEN
WE WOULD GRAB A COMIC... A BOOK...
OR EVEN A MAGAZINE WHEN WE NEEDED
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO PASS THE TIME
WHILE SITTING ON THE JOHN. NOW,
ANYONE AND EVERYONE CAN BE FOUND
IN THAT SAME CLASSIC POSITION WITH
THEIR FACES BURIED IN THEIR MOBILE
PHONE PLAYING A GAME, CHECKING
THEIR EMAIL OR UPDATING THEIR SOCIAL
MEDIA PAGES UNTIL THEY REALIZE
THEY’VE LOST FEELING IN THEIR LEGS.
GEEK FANTASY HAS FOUND A FAR BETTER
SOLUTION FOR FOR THIS AGE-LONG ISSUE.
We completely understand there are a huge
number of apps out there so we consider
it a gift to scour through them all and find
what we consider the best for our readers.
You’re welcome.
We also understand that many of these
apps do relatively the same thing, but we
are sure that these are some of the top
options worthy of a download, not only for
the membership options, but for the general
contents, variety of app options, and so
much more.

Do you love challenging and extremely difficult

games? Do you like dying so many times that it drives
you crazy? Then you’re probably looking forward to the
upcoming action RPG Dark Souls III! The Souls series
got famous since its first installment on old gen
consoles for how difficult it was, and it’s that difficulty
that has contributed to its success and lasting appeal. The upcoming installment
will not be any different. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the man behind the series, returns to
work on the third part after taking a break from the second
one to work on Bloodborne. I anticipate that Bloodborne’s success will reflect on
Dark Souls III and we’ll see
some changes inspired by it such as a faster combat system and a bigger reliance on
parrying. That being said,
I also anticipate revisiting the unique style of the Dark Souls series that makes
it stand out from other games in
the genre. Stay tuned for a truly remarkable experience in April 2016.

Marvel
Unlimited is a
subscription
service from
Marvel that
allows you
access into
their GIGANTIC archives of comic
history, letting you read and download individual issues of your favorite
back issues. They don’t quite have
everything that you could want in
there but it is definitely worth the
price of admission for most Marvel
fans. If you are looking to study up on
your history of certain heroes that you
may have forgotten a lot about (yes,
we are talking about Dr. Strange) or
just want to experience the thrill ride
of a specific story arc that you loved
back in the day, this is definitely the
way to go. The app lets you store up
to 12 issues at a time on your device
for those long plane trips, car rides, or
those day long trips to the bathroom
after deciding Taco Bell was a good
choice. The only gripe we have with
this amazing application is the lack
of current issues but with the entire
Marvel collection at the swipe of a
finger, who can really complain?
The Marvel Unlimited app will set you
back $9.99 per month for access to
over 15,000 comics filled with Marvel
history.

by MIKE CASALS

Here comes another awesome product from Marvel! Marvel

shows its dominance over the realm of mobile gaming with
this completely free app that is good for both Android and IOS
users. Contest of Champions puts you in the position of
“Summoner” in a contest being run by a being called the
Collector that pits Marvel heroes and villains against each other
for the amusement of an unknown entity of great power! You
must collect crystals to unlock different champions for you to use in your quest to
win this contest and the right to face the creator of this challenge for the fate
of
existence. The roster of heroes and villains is getting bigger with every new
update
and includes some of the biggest names in Marvel! Captain America, Spider-Man, The
Hulk, and more are all at your fingertips to battle in the Story Quests, Vs Arena,
or
even against other Summoner’s strongest champion! The champions are broken down
into 6 different classes depending on their character origins. WARNING: This game
is
highly addictive. Recently, they have introduced alliances to the game. Alliances
are
teams of no more than 30 Summoners that work together to help each other and
12 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

A few years
ago, Comixology was the
go-to app for
downloading
and reading
your brand new
comics for most of the digital comic
book fans. You would download the
app for free, create your free account,
and go on to purchase whatever
comics you wanted and read those
comics within seconds. Until one day,
Apple decided that they had enough
of this third party app taking in all of
this money and wanted a piece of the
action. The board members got together with Amazon and came to the
conclusion that they would no longer
offer In-App purchases, instead sending you to a separate site where you
would have to create another account,
to then go back to Comixology (which
would usually sign you out) to try and
sync up the accounts. Sounds annoying and less than ideal right? Digital
comics are all about the ease of use
and convenience. Once you take away
the convenience, what reason do
people have to download your app
or go through annoying processes to
read their comics? Personally, we are
still fans and advocates of the printed
comics (and magazines nudge nudge
wink wink) and have no problem
buying our comics from a shop, but
what about for the people out there
without easy access to those shops?
Here’s hoping Comixology is able to
get back to the old way of doing business and give us back their amazing
product.

GBA4IOS is
an emulator
app that formerly was
only available
through free
download
online and you had to use a date/
time hack on your phone in order to
get it to work. It was a great emulator
but was plagued by the fact that the
newer IOS systems would try to purge
the app and render the emulator
un-useable. Luckily, the creators
finally made an agreement with Apple
and were able to create a version that
would not get purged and would run
like a champ….for a price. IEmulators.
com now offers you access to not just
GBA4IOS, but to numerous other emulators including Provenance, a highly
praised SNES emulator, for the small
price of $9.99 a year! That’s a YEAR,
not a month, and believe us, it’s worth
it. The emulation from GBA4IOS is
extremely fluid and offers features like
sustained button pressing, i.e. holding
the “R” button for you, and Save
States. Save states are an incredible
feature to have especially on a mobile
gaming device. Open the app and
play when you can, saving your state
when you have to stop at any time!
Open it back up and start exactly at
the frame you saved. This option is
also great for the players that enjoy
exploring every option to their games
and have a tendency to go a little too
hard too fast and die.
The only real negatives to the
GBA4IOS are that you have to pay to
get it, and more importantly, you have
to have an IPhone to use it. Sorry
Android users.

defeat Alliance quests. We should note that what happens in the MCU is mirrored
here in Contest of Champions. Be warned though, that in order to find strong
champions, it will take a lot of patience, farming, and in the end, you may not get
the champion that you were looking for. The champions are ranked from 1 to 4 stars
where 1 is the weakest and 4 is the strongest, and each star level has ranks within
it as
well. The difference in potential from a 1 to a 4 star champion is immense and 4
star
champs are extremely rare to most people playing the game. In order to properly do
this article (and to have a lot of fun) we played this game for roughly 5 or 6
months.
We were only able to collect 1 4 star champion. ONE. Granted, with this latest
update,
we were able to receive a few 3 star champs and the rewards for completing quests
and completely exploring the quests could get you a 4 star now, so things are
looking
up. Hopefully, Marvel doesn’t put all of its focus on their new game Marvel Future
Fight (cause it’s pretty bad) and opens up some new Acts in their story quests.
Oh and did we mention that this game is absolutely FREE to play? Great work Marvel.
We’re proud of you!
EVER WANTED TO
BE THE HERO?
Want a great piece of personal artwork?
Want to give a really unique gift?

Fan Art Exhibit specializes in the digital

manipulation and illustration of regular
people into their favorite Comic Book, TV,
Movie or Pop Culture character.
Whoever the person or character,
Fan Art Exhibit can bring your
superhero dreams to life.

Alexis Cozombolidis of IGN.com

asked to be turned in the ‘Woman of Steel’
Follower her on Twitter @LetsGetLexi

Regular graphic design and

illustration work also available

fanartexhibit.com
[email protected] • @fanartexhibit
2016
SPECIAL
APR/MAY
EDITION
| GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM
2015
GEEK FANTASY
13

1
COMMUNITY

FEAR
THE
SUPER
WOMAN
IT’S TIME TO SIT DOWN AND LOOK OURSELVES IN THE MIRROR. HELLO THERE YOU
BEAUTIFUL GEEK YOU. YOU’RE LOOKING FINE
TODAY. LOOK AT THAT... WAIT, WE ARE LOSING FOCUS HERE. LET’S GET BACK ON TASK.
WE HAVE TO LOOK OURSELVES IN THE MIRROR AND ASK OURSELVES THE SERIOUS
QUESTIONS. REALLY SERIOUS. EXTRA, SUPER
SERIOUS.
WHAT IS THERE TO FEAR?
@LEVYDIANA
14 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR
WHO DESERVES A SOLO MOVIE?
CAPTAIN MARVEL. THIS LEGENDARY
MARVEL SUPERHERO NOT ONLY HAS
OFF-THE-CHART POWERS, SHE HAS A
SOLO-TITLED COMIC AND IS, LET’S FACE
IT, HOT. THE MOVIE HAS ALREADY BEEN
GREENLIT, FITS PERFECTLY INTO THE
MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE AND
CASTING RUMORS INCLUDING ACTRESS
CHARLIZE THERON. WE ARE 100% ON
BOARD.
WONDER WOMAN. OKAY, WE’RE
CHEATING. PRINCIPLE FILMING IS DONE
AND A TEASER TRAILER HAS ALREADY
BEEN RELEASED. THIS ICONIC DC
SUPERHERO IS NOMINATED BECAUSE
THIS MOVIE IS LONG... LONG OVERDUE.
HOW MANY BATMAN MOVIES ARE
THERE AND YET NO WONDER WOMAN?
SERIOUSLY? FAIL.
SHE-HULK. THIS VIBRANT SUPERHERO HAS A STRONG PERSONALITY WE
WOULD LOVE TO SEE PLAY OFF OF
MARK RUFFALO’S HULK CHARACTER IN
THE MCU, NOT TO MENTION HOW USEFUL SHE WOULD BE, NOT ONLY IS HER
STRENGTH AN ASSET, SHE’S A LAYWER
AS WELL.
ZATANNA. SHE COULD ROLL OUT
ALL BY HERSELF IN A SOLO-MOVIE.
THIS DC CHARACTER PLAYS WELL TO
MOVIES FOR TWO REASONS: MAGIC IS
AWESOME AND WHO DOESN’T LOVE
FISHNETS? BUT SERIOUSLY, SHE IS
POWERFUL, HAS TIES TO THE JUSTICE
LEAGUE AND THE JSA, AND HAD HER
OWN COMIC. AND THE CHARACTER
HERSELF HAS AWESOME FRIENDS TO
FILL OUT ADDITIONAL STORYLINES.
AND... BLACK WIDOW? THIS HAS BEEN
A DEBATE AS SHE IS PRESENT IN SEVERAL OF THE MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT
MOVIES SO HER OWN SOLO FLICK
COULD HAPPEN SINCE HER CHARACTER
HAS ALREADY BEEN INTRODUCED...
BUT DOES THAT MEAN IT WOULD
WORK? SADLY, THE CHARACTER WAS
INTRODUCED AS A SUPPORTING ROLE,
AS THE FEMALE SUPERHEROS TYPICALLY ARE. THE ONLY COURSE WOULD BE
AN ORIGINS MOVIE THAT WAS MADE
LIKE SOME SORT OF BOND FLICK. IT
WOULD BE A SUPER-SPY GENRE DRIVEN
MOVIE. SADLY, WE’RE NOT SURE THAT
TYPE OF MOVIE WOULD APPEASE THE
COMIC-GEEK COMMUNITY.

n the past few years we have seen an influx of ladies taking a larger and larger
role role within the movies we watch and the comics that we read. It is a known
fact
that there are a vast number of nerds and geeks who are female and it seems that
the
“powers that be” are finally beginning to realize it. The trio of the most popular
heroes
in the DC Universe has been shown (go ahead and look up “DC Trinity”) to be
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman and this has been the case for YEARS. So why is
it
that there hasn’t been a quality solo movie featuring the Amazonian?

ure, you can try and make the case that they gave her a chance with the TV
show... and that was how long ago? She is a big enough character to not only
have her own comic and be an irreplaceable part of the Justice League, but to also
be important enough to replace Lois Lane as the girlfriend of the Man of Steel.
Come
on folks, they aren’t the biggest “power couple” in comics just because they can
kick
everyone else’s butts from here to the remnants of Krypton. Women in general have
looked to her as a role-model of what a powerful woman is supposed to be: strong,
intelligent, confident and secure in a world that has been dominated by men. She
commands respect without having to say a word.

erhaps DC should take a page from Marvel’s playbook as Marvel is pushing the
ladies hard in all forms of their media. The response to the character of Agent
Peggy Carter in the Captain America movie was so positive that Marvel listened and
gave her her own TV series! Oh, and that series? It’s currently holding the time
slot for
another of Marvel’s female heavy shows; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which has shifted
its
focus onto the character of “Agent Skye”. In the cinemas, Marvel gave Captain
America
a partner in his latest outing in the form of Natasha Romanov aka the Black Widow
which makes it a trio of films with her appearances growing longer and larger every
time. Kevin Feige has already confirmed that she will play a “lynchpin” part in the
rest
of the Avengers saga of movies with Black Widow appearing in both the next Avengers
movie, as well as Captain America: Civil War. Is that not enough lady love for you?
In
2018 we will see Marvel’s first solo female hero movie, Captain Marvel.

ven in movies that are supposed to be all about the male superhero, the
supporting female is taking the show. For example, in the Amazing Spider-Man
movies Gwen Stacy is shown as a strong, confident woman who loves a hero, but is
not afraid to speak her mind. The viewers loved her so much that they had to cut
out
another strong female, Mary Jane, from the second movie entirely! A similar
situation
happened in the comic world during the Spider-Verse story arc. A female Spider-
Person was introduced as none other than Gwen Stacy from an alternate universe. Fan
reaction to the character was strong and the cries for a “Spider-Gwen” movie could
be
heard throughout Geekdom, with the result being that Marvel decided to give her her
own solo comic! Power to the people!

e don’t want to come off as DC haters as we love DC! We stayed fans throughout
all of their multi-verses, crises, and even through the New 52 and we will stand
by them through their next Rebirth as well. They seem to be getting the message
with
the announcement of their new TV show featuring Supergirl and the inclusion of none
other than Wonder Woman in the Batman V Superman movie, so we have to give them
some credit where credit is due. We just hope that they don’t lose their nerve
before
giving Miss Prince her own solo flick. Around the same time as Captain Marvel
perhaps?
That’s a versus battle we would love to report on.

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

15
PUNISHER

TV

MARVEL
COMICS

photography by TERRY CULLEN

16 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR
NETFLIX

DAREDEVIL
SEASON 2

YES! DAREDEVIL IS BACK AND HAS DOUBLED-DOWN ON THE GORE AND VIOLENCE: MORE FIGHTS,
MORE BLOOD, AND EVEN A FEW SEXY TIMES. WE ARE GOING TO TRY AND NOT SPOIL EVERYTHING
FOR YOU GUYS, BUT HONESTLY, IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED SEASON 2 OF DAREDEVIL YET,
DO NOT READ THIS! THIS WILL HAVE SOME (AND BY SOME WE MEAN A LOT) OF SPOILERS!

Season 2 doesn’t skip a beat, showing us the state

of Hell’s Kitchen as it was left in the last episode of
Season 1, establishing the fact that Daredevil has Hell’s
Kitchen under his protection and is stopping crime
with little remorse for his victims: the criminals. His
first major adversarial encounter is with The Punisher,
introduced to us by expertly gunning down a room
full of Irish mobsters. During Daredevil and The
Punisher’s first fight we have the pleasure of seeing a
gritty rooftop no holds barred style combat; exactly
what we were hoping for! We see Matt’s superior
fighting prowess and The Punisher’s preferred go-to:
his guns. The Punisher gets the best of Daredevil and
keeps him chain-bound on a rooftop for a one-on-one
chat. During their banter, it was as if we could see
the speech bubbles of the characters right off of the
comics; a scene that boasts the flexibility of the Netflix
medium. Frank has a lot of memorable one-liners so
make sure you’re paying attention!
While we are being shown the battle between our
heroes, the rest of the resulting environment in Hell’s
Kitchen is being built around them. We are happy
to announce that Rosario “Night Nurse” Dawson is
back and full of sass. We are reintroduced to her at
the hospital where she is trying to keep up with the
results of the growing gang violence problem in the
city. Foggy Nelson returns to bring some much-needed
humor into the mix, quipping along while doing the
majority (all) of the lawyering. Matt’s head is definitely
not in the lawyer game this season as his distractions
mount, leaving poor dependable Foggy stuck holding
the firm together all by his lonesome. Well, that’s not
entirely true, as Foggy does have the help of Karen,
who is back and making worse decisions than she did
last season! Seriously though, we’re convinced she’s
trying to get

herself killed, though her character does show a progression in strength and
confidence from last season.
Other memorable characters that show up are Wilson
Fisk, Sargent Brett Mahoney, and Madame Gao, all
worth their return.
Let’s get into the new (old?) lady in our boy Matt’s
life: Elektra. As excited as we were for the character to
actually be involved in the MCU or even just the Netflix
universe, we felt a bit conflicted with how she was
portrayed. Is she a beautiful distraction? Absolutely.
Matt cannot seem to say “no” to her, despite their
painfully tumultuous past. Their attraction has a playfully destructive yet
magnetic sentiment that seems
to result in either sex in a wrestling ring or someone
dead. When it comes to the fighting, Elektra has been
trained from childhood by Stick, Matt’s fighting mentor,
to be a part of his secret war against The Hand. Little
did she or we know that she is a mystical entity known
in legend to The Hand as “The Black Sky,” but what
does that mean? Sadly, the explanation isn’t fully
explained. All we know is that once The Hand has The
Black Sky, the group is supposed to be invincible. Confusingly, during the multiple
fights that involve Elektra
throughout the season, Elektra’s skill level and fighting
prowess rise and fall on a whim, not based on wellness
or environment. She goes from getting beaten up by
regular thugs wearing restrictive suits, to kicking the
crap out of a bunch of ninjas who can hide their heartbeats and are trained to
kill. Since she doesn’t seem
the type to “fight down” to her opponent, it’s hard to
justify. Once you think you have figured her out, an
unworthy foe will knock her around again and you
are back to square one. As echoed from season 1, we
don’t get to see her true costume until the end of this
season, and even then it’s not her classic outift from
the comics. Judge it for yourselves.

A Season 1 enemy, who was convincingly exterminated by Daredevil in a flame of

justice, a nemesis so well
matched he left literal scars in his memory, makes an
epic return! That’s right, Nobu! He is not only the leader of the Hand, but he
shows us on several occasions
throughout the season that he is indeed not killable,
though those flames did leave their mark. After revealing his plan of collecting
The Black Sky, he proceeds
to battle both Daredevil and Elektra, impressively
defeating them both! Sadly, the question remains: if
he can beat both of them then what do they need the
Black Sky for?! Was this meant to be a plot hole to be
filled in future episodes? It’s food for thought.
One of the most visually momentous fight scenes
from Season 1 took place in a hallway corridor where
a weakened Daredevil took on a group of hired thugs
to save a kidnapped young boy. In Season 2, they took
the extended combat even further, adding a vertical
challenge to the technical difficulty, and it doesn’t
disappoint. Matt takes on a rough biker gang, the
“Dogs of Hell,” in a solo effort, while uniquely handicapped with a gun taped to
his right hand and a chain
attached to his other, a condition you can thank The
Punisher for. To give you an idea of how insane this
is, the scene itself takes 5 whole minutes and guides
the viewer from the top floor of a rough staircase
down each step as Daredevil encounters a seemingly
never-ending onslaught of bikers, defeating one after
another, taking well-needed rests between waves, until
he lands his final blow on the ground floor. Yes, it is as
epic as that sentence was long. Props to the planning
crew, fight coordinators, the incredible camera men
and the entire stunt crew.
We could talk about this season for days, and we
hope to listen to epic podcast rants about it, but we
will keep some of the amazing spoilers and highlights,
like the epic R-rated Punisher moments and shocking
reveals, to ourselves. Needless to say, this is a mustwatch show that Marvel and
Netflix have hit out of the
park once again. We can confidently say that Daredevil
easily falls into the top 3 best things in the motion picture medium that Marvel
has produced. Here’s hoping
Luke Cage can keep up the pace and the action!

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

17
COSPLAY

So many cosplays
women are doing
are so cutesy,
it’s nice to do
something
different... Still
sexy though.

NATALIEE G

18 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

@MISSNATALIEE_xO
Try Before You Buy!

12925 N. Dale Mabry Highway

Tampa Fl 33618
Phone: (813) 269-7529
18 GEEK
16 GEEK
FANTASY
FANTASYSPECIAL
DECEMBER
EDITION
/ JANUARY
2015
2015
TRADE IN
You can join the iNsiders Club and book
private parties and events for you and
your friends. Get to know your local Play
N Trade family owned and operated store.

REPAIRS
Be sure to check out our new services,
like console and all electronic device repair needs, disc salvage and restoration,
used and new game rentals, console rentals, in-store tournaments and events, and
so much more!

BUY
This is the place to be for fun and games.
We love making new friends and honoring
old ones. So get to know our site and our
stores and become a part of the Play N
Trade family. Come by and we will see you
soon!

DECEMBER
DECEMBER
/ JANUARY
/ JANUARY
20152015GEEK
GEEK
FANTASY
FANTASY
19 17
ANIME
AWARDS
Welcome one and all to the first ever Geek Fantasy Anime Awards! Here we present
awards, typically at our own discretion, to the Animes who have outshone their
opponents in categories that matter just about as much as the points do on “Who’s
Line is it
Anyway?”. So without further gilding the lily, lets jump right into this spiky
haired, giant
eyed world of weirdness.
by CHAD HIBBENS
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION

6ISSUESFOR$16.99

Only

$3.99
an issue
DIGITAL

DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

AVAILABLE VIA MAGZTER.COM

2016 JAN/FEB | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

23
ANIME

THE “SALAD FINGERS” AWARD

Awarded to the weirdest thing we’ve ever seen.

“Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo”
Some may argue that because this anime is in fact trying to be weird makes
it’s weirdness almost contrite yet, even if that is true, we found it undeniably
weird even during the moments when it took a meta-step back from itself
and pointed out how weird it was being. To put it in perspective, the first
episode began with a small girl pulling a giant, blond-afro’d man around
while he sat inside of a giant hamburger. Eagerly we
awaited an explanation as to why the man was in a
hamburger yet one never came. Even after he emerged
from that hamburger to do battle with “Hair Hunters”,
which he fought with his nose hair, we found ourselves no
less weirded-out and no more able to stop watching
than before. That’s why we’re giving this year’s Salad Fingers
award to “Bobobo-Bo Bo-Bobo”. It’s shameless satire that
makes our autocorrect have an aneurism, but it succeeds at what it’s trying
to do and will make you laugh no matter how much you try not to.

THE “JAMES CAMERON MOVIE” AWARD

Awarded to the most ambitious thing ever.

“Attack on Titan”
There are some who feel that Anime is in and of itself predictable. Sometimes that
certainly may be the case. No matter the genre, Animes contain
an overabundance of cliches that even hardcore fans cannot deny. Weird
impossible hair styles, tight impractical clothing, and of course BOOBS.
The real kicker is when an Anime comes out with almost none of these and
not only expects to kick ass, but also in fact does. “Attack on Titan” blows
you away within the first moments of the show, with the intro song being
possibly the coolest thing we’ve ever heard. Seriously, if nothing else go
listen to the intro, it’s even better than the Game of Thrones intro. Putting
that aside, it dares to defy plenty of the cliche’s of its genre, while still
being,
in the true sense of the word, awesome. Even its odd, almost cell shaded art
style fascinated! While the plot twists were forehead-smackingly dumb, the
overall story is so grand and epic, you want to keep watching just to see the
fate of the human race. Plus, dude, grappling hook suits. Freaking grappling
hook suits! That. Is. Awesome! The show has its shortcomings and plenty
of mistakes, but its ambition cannot be denied, and so that’s why
the “James Cameron Movie” award goes to Attack on Titan
without reservation.

THE “SHAQUILLE O’NEAL’S WILLY” AWARD

Awarded to the biggest (successful) Anime.

“Pokemon”
Here’s the part of the article where we prove how big of a tool we are.
Even as we are writing this, there’s an Anime “enthusiast” behind us telling
us how wrong we are, but if you’re going to look for the “biggest” Anime
out there then mainstream is really the way you’ll have to go. As far as
mainstream is concerned, no other Anime can really top Pokemon. Even
if you didn’t break up the run time by however many flowcharts there are
canonically now, do you know of anything more well-known on the planet
than Pokemon? It’s got the longest run time, the most merchandise, like 3
different sets of voice actors, it even has curmudgeonly “old” fans pointing
sticks at the younger generation and talking about how much better the
glory days were! For the record, they were. And we cannot deny its success
after, what is it now, 17 seasons? SEASONS. Most Animes just have arcs! This
one has seasons! Hell this one has SERIES! We award the “Shaquile O’neal’s
Willy” award to the Anime that is grandest in scale and even if it makes us
lose our cool indie cred, Pokemon takes it with very little resistance.

24 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

THE “OLD SPICE GUY” AWARD

Awarded to the Anime with the most iconic character.

“Dragonball Z”
We struggled with this one. Say what you will about Anime, it’s got no shortage of
interesting, relatable, colorful and diverse characters. Each Anime brings its own
set of diversity and moral alignments, antiheroes, loudmouth protagonists, and
sexually exploited damsels in distress, but if there’s one show whose characters
stand out in our minds (we repeat, OUR MINDS), it’s unquestionably Dragon Ball
Z. Ok cards on the table, as far as relevant, capable characters go on this show,
yes
it’s only Goku and occasionally Vegeta, but the sheer iconic status of those two
alone make this a clear candidate. Not to mention the villains are cool enough to
border on Disney level epic-ness. Now we know what you’re thinking, the motivations
are all the same (Gym Time!), the background cast of characters is useless
(also true but entertaining nonetheless), and the story is a weak framing device
for
fights (who cares?). All these are mostly true, but irrelevant. As fans of the
show,
we would enjoy the great humor (Master Roshi is our Senpai) and to see how fast
Krillin would be KO’d, but what we really wanted
was to see the brutal battles that would seemingly last for weeks of
our lives! To this day, when we see a blond person screaming in public,
our brains automatically assumes they are going Super Saiyan, and
that’s why the “Old Spice Guy” Award for iconic characters goes to
Dragon Ball Z.

THE “DOING AN ARTICLE AS AN

AWARD CERIMONY AWARD”

Awarded to the most creative ideas

(who are also sexy).

“Studio Ghibli”
Creativity is a hallmark of this genre
(mostly) but there is one that stands
above the rest. Well, more like one
group. Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving
Castle, Princess Mononoke,
and many, many, MANY
more. The
sheer
simplistic
beauty
and
majesty
of anything created by Hayao Miyazki, or even just Studio Ghibli, can, and
should only be, experienced first
hand. So to that end I will give no
further explanation, and insist you go
watch something made by them while
I give this award to Studio Ghibli
Collective Works.

THE “CRYING AT THE END OF THE NOTEBOOK EVEN THOUGH YOU CLAIM
YOU DIDN’T AWARD
Awarded for most emotionally gripping.
“Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day”
Not many people would expect much sophistication or subtlety out of a genre
where wielding swords the size of school buses is considered “lightly equipped”.
Yet Anime has, in many cases, provided some of the most heart wrenching moments in
animated cinema since Scar killed Mufasa *Spoiler Alert*. The “Slice of
Life” genre is generally the most adept at this and I found no Anime more touching
than the very short and underrated “Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day” Or
“We Still Don’t Know The Name Of The Flower We Saw Bloom That Day”. In stark
contrast to its title, the “series” is quite short, something like six or seven
episodes
long, and could be described as slow even during the height of its climax. The
subtlety and pacing represented within however, are nearly untraceable, and each
stroke of the artistic brush delivered is just icing up your heart so it can be
shattered at the end. We cried at the end of this film shamelessly and we defy
anyone
else to do otherwise. While we’re not sure I understand the religious spirituality
of
the film, it’s so damn touching that it really doesn’t matter.

THE “LEONARDO DICAPRIO” AWARD

Worthy of noting but not actually winning anything.

The best thing about Anime is that there’s just so damn much of it, there’s a
guarantee of something out there for you. Shows like Bleach and One Piece have
fantastic universes about ghost samurai and pirates respectively, while shows like
Death Note have fantastic stories and fascinating moral paradoxes with a hint
of psychological torture. Trinity Blood is a marvelous religious allegory, where
Inuyasha is for just old school badassery. The entire Gundam series is for those
of us who wished Power Rangers had had a higher budget. You just want a good
old fashioned laugh? Go check out Fairy Tail, for its hilarious world of Wizard
mercenaries, or Hetalia for its geopolitical satire that will make you cringe and
laugh all at once. But is there a “Best Anime” that stand above the rest? That sort
of question will more than likely cause bloodshed at any Anime convention you
attend but here, from the safety of my laptop, we can easily recommend one as
the Paragon of excellence:

THE “RYAN GOSLING” AWARD

Awarded for perfection.

“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood”

The “Free WiFi World” Award

Awarded for containing the ideal world within.

“Naruto”
Each universe contained within it’s respective Anime is characterized as unique
and dynamic. More importantly there is always a utopian moral concern that becomes
the focus and drive of everyone regardless of which side they’re on. Indeed,
one of the driving forces of the plot is normally how two sides interpenetrate this
“meta moral”. More often than not this is “Friendship, Love, or Peace” and while
the world of Naruto does stress those morals, it also pushes one other ideal; The
Future. The idea that it’s not just our love and friendship we’re working towards,
but love and friendship for those who come after us. The world itself is also rich
with different customs, histories, and an EPIC set of characters and nations that
make us grow a big creative writing stiffy. We often hear criticism for Naruto due
to its gratuitous amount of filler content, but this only goes on to prove just how
rich and immersive their world is by just how much time we could spend away
from the main plot and still find relevant stories. Naruto has a lot going for it,
characters, backstory, plot, morals, and now it also has The “Free Wifi World”
award.

Looking back at all the awards, there has been one Anime that always popped up
in my mind. This show has morals, yet it has comedy. It is creepy and yet well
written. It’s got its tear jerking moments while still retaining its “Heck Yea!”
moments.
Its characters are well written and relatable and its villains are iconic and
formidable. Most importantly for us however, is how focused and tightly written it
is and
how it let itself END when it knew it needed to. The King of Anime, in our mind, is
without a doubt “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.” The dynamic between the
Elric brothers is likable, believable, and unique. It’s also a refreshing change of
pace
for the main character of an Anime to be one of the more intelligent characters
in the series, bordering on genius, while most Animes paint their golden boy as
the dumb hot head who needs everything explained to him. The show’s character
doesn’t stop with just the Elrics either. Each character is plausible and lovable,
even
the more over-the-top goofballs like Armstrong and Greed. The world is amazing
and as we respect it for being so focused and driven, We almost wish there WERE
filler arcs so you could delve deeper into Amestrus and all its alchemical
mysteries.
The soundtrack is creepy and epic simultaneously, and the humor had me crying
from laughter more than once. We could write an entire article on this show, and
indeed someday may, but in order to do it the most service we must simply say, if
you’re a fan of Anime give it a shot. You wont be disappointed.

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

25
GeekFantasyBox.com
jeana

TURNER

This avid Anime fan-girl is not only all about Pokemon

and Yugio, she boasts a major crush on Batman and is
all about inviting cosplay into the bedroom.
photography JIM RECKARD

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

27
“

It isn’t something I’m

ashamed of...
I was an avid
Pokemon and
Yu-gi-oh! fan.
Watched it every day after
school!

@JEANATURNER
28 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR
Get to know Jeana.
Why are you such a fan of
Batman?
I truly do love Batman and his
badass vibe. I’ve [also] gotta give
it up for Poison Ivy. She’s a fox.
What is underneath that sweater
that we can’t see?
I have 4 tattoos! All very mysterious to the naked eye, but they all
truly mean something to me. My
1st tattoo is on my upper right part
of my back. It’s a Marilyn Monroe
quote “Imperfection is beauty”,
2nd is my left ribcage. In Arabic, it
says “Just be yourself, there is no
one better”, the 3rd is the Hamsa
Hand on my inner right bicep &
lastly is roman numerals 3,5, & 7
on my left wrist! I have tons of
birthmarks & tons of scars. No
explanation necessary... I’m just a
klutz!
What is it like to date you?
I haven’t been on many dates, but
I can tell you that taking me to the
movies and out to dinner isn’t going to get you too far! I need some
originality, some thrill! Surprise me!
Are you cool with your man
wearing geek-wear in public?
I actually don’t mind it! It gives
people a sense of personal style &
I like that!
2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

29
MOVIES

@HOLLYTWOLF
30 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

photography THINK. NU
cosplay costume PROPS 2 POWERLOADERS
BATMAN
SUPERMAN
AND FINALLY INTRODUCING...
WONDER WOMAN
This is it, the clash of the DC Comics super-titans: Batman vs Superman (or just
one v if you’re
cool like that). And if we’re lucky, and we know we are, we will get the cinematic
epic
introduction of the “queen of DC” if you will, and we would, the legendary Wonder
Woman.

Very soon we will see a clash of titans that comic book fans have been waiting 75
years to watch unfold
on the silver screen: Batman Vs Superman. As if those two showing up on screen
together for the first
time isn’t enough, we have someone else that we will be seeing. A third legend is
in the mix and she
is definitely a force to be reckoned with. The third player in this epic trio is
the Princess of Themiscyra
herself, Wonder Woman.
DC comics’ fans have been waiting for decades to finally see “The World’s Finest”
on screen battling
evil together and please believe that the hype for this movie is real. All the
trailers that we have seen so
far have had a distinct emotional tone to them that just screams “war is coming”
and we can’t wait to
see it! The only break in this war has been the introduction of a powerful female
figure that stops both of
these boys in their tracks. We have been shown that not only does Bruce Wayne know
Diana, but it appears as though they may know each other…intimately. Now THAT will
be interesting to see played out!
Not everyone knows about what has been going on in the comics for the past 75 years
or so, so let’s fill
you in a little about the story so far. DC has decided to build their cinematic
universe on the back of Man
of Steel, a film that wasn’t met with the greatest of reviews but we digress. In
their universe’s story so
far, Superman has shown that he is inexperienced, will kill a guy if he has to, and
isn’t too worried about
collateral damage. The idea is that Bruce Wayne has already given up the mantle of
the Bat, but gets
the motivation he needs to get back into it after one of his buildings is destroyed
during Superman’s
battle with General Zod causing countless casualties. Cue the obligatory fight
between our two heroes.
Of course, this can’t be the entire movie so there has to be another antagonist
that brings our heroes together and that antagonist is Lex Luthor. From what we’ve
seen, Luthor created a monster (Doomsday)
that begins causing destruction and gets the attention of all three heroes and
ushers in the huge 4-way
battle between them all.
This may not seem to like that big of a deal and sure, they’ve been fighting
together for years and years
but we’ve never seen them together in a live-action movie! Batman has had his own
movies, Superman
has had his, and Wonder Woman had her TV show, but never all together at the same
time. The casting
so far has been slightly questionable to some fans with Ben Affleck stealing the
show as Batman, but
with Henry Cavill reprising his role as Superman things should go pretty smoothly.
The other controversial casting choice was Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Gadot is a
former model so her slender figure
drew a lot of harsh criticism when the casting was first announced but ever since
said casting, Gal has
been working out like a…well, like an Amazon. Judging off of the video we have seen
of her in the outfit,
all that effort was definitely not in vain.
With all of this hype surrounding the movie, it makes us think about where DC’s
universe is going and
we are definitely getting more excited by the day! We haven’t even seen all of the
surprises that this
movie has in store for us, including some of them that we already know about like
Jason Momoa’s Aquaman! Doomsday looks a little too much like a Troll from Lord of
the Rings but hey, we will keep our full
judgements until we watch the movie!

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

31
COSPLAY

Cosplayer

epic

CANDY
VALENTINA

as

n
o
s
Poi Ivy

photography JUSTINE BENNETT

32 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

COSPLAY CREATION
You’re a Geek Fantasy Epic Cosplayer!
Excellent work.
I think it’s amazing being a Geek Fantasy
Epic Cosplayer. I work really hard on crafting
my cosplays, so it is always incredible when
you can be acknowledged for this. I am
super stoked about it, and happy to have
achieved such a milestone with the work I
have produced so far!
What inspired you to create this look?
Nicole-Marie Jean inspired me to create this
character. I saw her Autumn Ivy Concept
and instantly fell in love with it! I have
followed Nicole-Marie Jean for a while now,
and I saw that she produced the Autumn
Ivy cosplay for one of the conventions she
attended. From this point I was aware of the
endless possibilities there is for well-known
characters.
What research did you do to create this
character?
Obviously Autumn Ivy origins don’t exist as
it is a concept, but I have read and watched
plenty of Batman to know about the original
Ivy.
How did you create the look?
I joined the underwear set together through
the middle using a 20mm elastic, and then
began individually attaching the leaves with
fabric glue until the garment was completely covered. It took me just under a week
of
constant leaf sticking to achieve this look.
(Even the wedge heels are completely
covered in leaves).

MY COSPLAY LIFE
What inspired you to start cosplaying?
I have always been a big gamer and film
fanatic but never really expressed it within
my work. I stumbled across Jessica Nigris
work just over a year ago, and discovered
that there is a way to express my love for a
character/film/game visually as well as just
indulging in over watching, or over playing
it. Her awesome work was what inspired me
to start exploring my favourite characters as
cosplays, and I haven’t looked back since!
What is your favorite part about your
cosplay life?
My favorite part of cosplaying is embodying the character; portraying their
emotions, and recreating their infamous poses.
My favorite cosplay so far has got to be
between my Sith Ariel and my Autumn Ivy
just because they have been cosplays with
a twist. It is always fun to slightly step away
from the normal.

“
Cosplay is
about having
fun, not about
worrying
what other
people will
say about
you.

@CANDY_VALENTINA

2016
2016 MAR/APR
JAN/FEB | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

33
FEATURE

34 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

GAME OF
THRONES

One of the biggest pop-cult fan groups is about to enjoy a sixth season of
epicness! In lieu
of this gloriously anticipated event, we have laid out a full history of game play
mayhem.

written by CHAD HIBBINS

photography by MATT BARNES
cosplayer AMY LEE SUMMERS

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

35
32 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 JAN/FEB
36
MAR/APR

@REMYDOMINOCOSPLAY
KHALESSI

We studied what she

wore and got some
talented artists to
help us put it together. It took a couple of
months getting all the
items we needed and
to get them made.
Then the look on the
day took a couple of
hours.

We wanted to make
sure it looked very
similar to the tv series
and we wanted the
poses to be very
strong to show the
true character.

I have been cosplaying for a few years

so it’s still new, but
I would like to do
more...

I love how Khalessi

is very beautiful but
also very powerful
and strong. I think
I enjoyed being
her because it
felt empowering.

”
@AMYLEESUMMERS

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

37
ANIME
FEATURE

As a genre essentially defined as a medium of unlimited creativity, the

scope of successful fantasy these days always seems to be limited to whomever
wore the best J.R.R. Tolkien costume to the Halloween party.
For awhile main stream fantasy couldn’t seem to survive the first five minutes
unless you threw in at least one elf , one dwarf, and one guy wearing St. Paul’s
cathedral as a hat (sporting the title of “Dark Lord”). Then once those elements
were
included, you are forever banished to that one dark corner of the book store known
as “Kids/ Teens Fantasy” or at best “Young Adult Fiction”.
Fortunately for us fantasy buffs, within the last few decades (the first
book came out in 1996, believe it or not), one series has defied fantasy’s
“childish”
limitations at every possible turn. George R.R. Martin’s fantasy masterpiece: A
Song
of Ice and Fire has been busily shattering almost all fantasy clichés present in
the
genre. You’ll not find a single elf inside the series and the one or two dwarves
would
prefer to be called “little people” in today’s society.
Defying “young adult” parameters with deep political and sociological
intrigue, the story is told stylistically from the points of view of a selection of
unique
and mostly relatable characters, each of whom struggles to rationalize morals with
survival which makes for harsh character development. Each character has to journey
through their own personal Les’ Miserable and back, usually for them just to find
out that they’ve been Javert the whole time. (LITERATURE SNOB JOKE!)
That being said, the books themselves, while undeniably well written, are
large, intimidating, and difficult to get into (rather like Brienne of Tarth). So
why has
this series taken off so well in the main stream? This phenomenal success can be
credited to HBO’s masterful television adaptation: Game of Thrones.
This titan of a television series first aired in 2011 and has gained a momentous
following. Where the books tell the story of a massive and imposing world,
wrought with danger, feudal politics (the most sexy and exciting of all politics)
and
subtle undertones of magic, the show focuses far more on the characters themselves
and delves deeper into an individual aspect giving it a more approachable aura
without sacrificing any of the character’s integrity. Ned is still stoic and
honorable,
but you can see the inherent softness hidden by his gruff exterior. Robert’s still
a big,
fat, drunken idiot, but behind his eyes you see the heavy burden of his crown and
conquest. Most importantly though, Tyrion is still an epic 4 ft bundle of badassery
and sarcasm.
Like the books, the elements of cutthroat (quite literally) politics, are still
present and are undoubtedly one of the show’s greatest strengths. These elements,
coupled with magic’s very subtle and almost unnoticeable presence in the world,
help create the tone and environment, but ultimately it is the characters we keep
coming back to see season after season and it’s not hard to see why.
The first season sets up our main stage. The central setting is the feudal
kingdom known as Westeros or “The Seven Kingdoms”. This is possibly the worst
misnomer in fiction, as “The Seven Kingdoms” are actually one large kingdom, and
are made up of nine principalities, not seven. Additionally, a few stories take
place
“across the narrow sea” in a sort of Middle-Eastern themed continent called Essos.
The story begins with Westeros recently out of a rebellion and a brand
new king on The Iron Throne. The first season gives us a “day in the life of...”
sort
of feel, showing us the typical goings on and establishing sort of a “King Arthur’s
Court” theme. That is if King Arthur had been a drunken bastard and Guinevere had
been a frigid bitch. The big question in the season is “Honor vs Survival?” and
let’s
just say that particular moral dilemma is decided in a clean sweep... of a
broadsword.
It’s interesting to note that for the most part, this season sticks closely to the
original
story in the books, following the plot structure mostly to the letter. This is a
trait
which later seasons gradually begin to forgo.
Of the nine prominent families in The Seven Kingdoms (weird right?) this season
focuses on the “Big Four” and how they all interact. The Starks pit their honor
against the Lanister’s ambition and giant hoard of money, while the royal
Baratheons
preside over their deputes and simultaneously bankrupt the entire nation. Meanwhile
the Targaryons (recently ousted from the throne) spend most of their time exiled in
a foreign land, fantasizing about revenge and riding horses.
There are many themes established in Season One, but above them all is
the precedent that “No One is Safe”. Several key and central characters are axed
off
at the end of the season just to prove this point and while many other shows have
made this claim (Walking Dead, Lost, etc.) this is the first show in my opinion
that
really pulls it off.
38
38 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM
GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM || 2016
2016 MAR/APR
JAN/FEB

When the second season starts out we begin to jump around a bit more,
which is understandable considering the growing lengths of the books. A plot is
streamlined here, a character altered or cut there. But each change made is minor
and the story remains faithful to its A Clash of Kings source material. This season
brings out The War of the Five Kings, whose bad ass title delivers all you might
hope
for. As the war spreads we begin to get a taste for characters outside The Big
Four.
The wealthy and gorgeous Tyrells, The Tullys, lords of getting screwed over, and a
small glimpse into the Greyjoys, pirate people who rape and kill for giggles.
While these are mostly side characters, the world grows wider with each
episode and story. Without sacrificing any of the scheming or political
backstabbing, the show begins to take a tone of “The Horrors of War.” Interestingly
this is
only as an undertone falling short of coming across as preachy or contrite. The
idea
“Maybe we shouldn’t be murdering all these people for a big pointy chair” is
adamantly ignored by the main cast of characters and left for you to discern
yourself,
and it’s not as easy to decide as you think. While you obviously root for the side
of
“good” (morals, justice, etc) you find it becoming harder and harder to root for
them
when all their noble decisions keep landing them in hot water (looking your way
Rob).
It’s also the first season where we unconsciously begin to like the
antagonists, the Lannisters. Yes, they’re rich, incestuous snobs, but you find
yourself
relating to them more and more. While their flaws are glaring, you find comfort in
them, not to mention their sarcastic, charming wit which makes them seem far more
human than our solemn northern heroes. You still tell yourself you want them to pay
for what they’ve done, but you quietly grow attached to them, hating them less and
less, especially when compared to the Stannis Baratheon Faction. The Lannisters
may be pricks but at least they don’t burn people at the stake and store
unspeakable
shadowy monstrosities inside their lady parts (unless birthing Joffrey counts.)
At the start of season three the Big Four are still embroiled in conflict,
(except for the Targaryns who will continue to stagnate for most of the plot) and
the
various other families in the Seven Kingdoms move in and out of alliances with
them.
The flowery Tyrells secure themselves a seat of power with the Lannisters, while
our
adorably honorable Stark heroes are stuck in a hard place between the Lannister’s
newly financed troops and the Greyjoy’s ability to be errant dicks.
This is where the major changes from the original plot begin to surface,
with polarizing reactions from book fans. On the one side, you have the fans of the
original story who just want to see that brought to life on screen. They’re ok with
changes necessary to adapt it to live action, but the diverging stories and added
plot
points infuriate them. Yet in the other camp (which includes people such as George
R.R. Martin and myself) you find a group of people who are fascinated by the “what
if” opportunities these divergences present.
One of my favorite examples of this occurs when two Red Priests (who in
the books are almost never on the same side of the continent) meet up and actually
have a rather disturbing debate about their God and the powers he awards them. It’s
one of the few times the supernatural and magical aspects of the show are brought
to center stage. Since we never get to see two red priests meet in the books (thus
far), we get the first open display of internal friction within the faith, and even
more
disturbing, the first display of their fervent unity despite it.
For those on the camp opposite myself, it’s important to note that Martin
himself has openly separated both the books and the show into two different works.
One does not change the other and both are spectacular and captivating in their
own way.
Season Three (based on the first half of, A Storm of Swords) was considered “The
Big Season” by the developers. It’s considered the narrative crux for both
the show and the books. Producers Benioff and Weiss felt that this would be the
defining moment for the show, and by the old gods and new they were right. The
story continues to ramp up further and further, ultimately culminating in what may
be the most shocking heartbreaking moment in television, since Old Yeller had to go
behind the shed.
Our noble protagonists are dealt a devastating blow and left in a difficult
position without any power or hope of recovery. Knocking them out of the running
and leaving us with only the antagonists left to watch.
This is how season four begins. With the Lannisters on top, and all the
other contenders mostly pushed to the wayside. Luckily enough, loving to hate them
and even developing a genuine attachment to some of the more redeemable characters,
allows us to remain hooked on how the show develops.
We see a very subtle shift from “The Big Four”, to “The
Lannister Show”, with the pompous blonde lions becoming the
driving family of the story and somehow it works.
It tells the tale of a quirky dysfunctional family consisting of a single working
mother, two whacky uncles; one tough, the
other smart, three kids and a domineering, somewhat overbearing
grandfather. Oh, and the family just happens to be the ruthless
rulers of most of the known world.
We are also finally introduced to the last of the great
families: the Martells, rulers of the southernmost kingdom of
“Dorne,” a sort of alternative Arabian themed region, who ironically
have the most gender neutral views in the show yet. So for those
of you, who had been unable to connect with or forgive the Lannisters, this gives
you a new sort of “devil may care” faction to root
for.
The season spends most of its time establishing the new
status quo. This involves balancing the power between the Lannisters and their
allies while also providing a startling increase in momentum to several side plots
that are clearly about to take center
stage. There is a growing evil of darkness and death in the North,
an army of savage Eskimos ready to invade just to save themselves
from said evil, and the Mother of Dragons finally beginning to raise
that army she’s been talking about to come and reclaim the Iron
Throne... even if she does grind to a halt again for dumb reasons.
The season ends dramatically, with a graphic and
screaming reminder that “No one, is safe.”
Which brings us to the fifth season and the one that
sparked numerous (often silly) controversies, which for the sake
of my own integrity I will choose to ignore for the purpose of this
article. Season five is essentially just dealing with the backlash
of season four, which was a season itself just dealing with the
backlash of season three. I admit this may be the first season I
found disappointing and it’s not because of its massive (almost
necessary) departure from the books. It’s by far the most divergent
season. It grows harder to tell who we’re rooting for, except in the
most obvious cases, (when one side is just Zombies) and when a
character becomes relatable it’s almost a trigger to assume they’re
going to die within that same moment.
It’s a weird toss up this time around. Religion is given
an interesting center stage role for the first time, and Dorne is
developed further (though not as much as I’d like considering we
had to give up the Greyjoy’s for it) and underneath it all there’s still
some true character brilliance, albeit in the form of odd character
pairings. There are also some very satisfying moments for those of
us who held out against the “Lannisterization” of the show, and for
those of us who’ve been wondering when the Night’s Watch plot
line will ramp up. Our dear Mother of Dragon’s story however, continues to stagnate
to the point where it seems like we could have
just ignored her for the last few seasons, and added in some other
more interesting characters (Weep, Lady Stoneheart Fans. Weep)
It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to have this much
negative outweighing the positive at the end so let me be clear;
this show is still great. The scenery, the music, and the combat are
all still spectacular and all completely worthy of your attention. Just
because the last two paragraphs were a groan doesn’t change that
the twenty paragraphs prior were a gushing orgasm of praise. Even
at its worst it’s still far better than most anything else on television.
This colossus of a show has so much to offer you, no
matter what kind of fantasy floats your particular boat; knights,
nobles, courtly intrigue, armies, political alliances, schemes, betrayals, marriage
pacts, steamy love affairs (of every possible flavor),
magic, even dragons. So what are you waiting for? Jump on the
bandwagon and declare yourself for your favorite claimant to The
Iron Throne. We’re at season six and we’ve got plenty of story left
to cover, who can say who’ll still be standing by the end?

Hair Nadia Mitchell

Make-Up Amie Lyver
Cosplay Costume Flo Foxworthy
Circle of Wolves Jewellery
2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

39
COSPLAY

Cosplayer

epic

SEA OF
RABBITZ

as
n
a
i
h
t
a
R
k
n
Pi ijinka
G
photography MIKE WU

40 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

JAN/FEB
COSPLAY CREATION
What first inspired you to create this Monster Hunter 3 look?
I was inspired to make a dragon cosplay after I saw a fan art of a Pink Rathian
Gijinka
by AlexiusSana. Her work can be found on her Deviantart page. I’ve been a big fan
of
the game Monster Hunter Tri and wanted to make armor sets from the game but when
I saw that artwork, I knew I had to cosplay the dragon instead.
What research did you do to create this character?
I knew the character (or monster in this case) from playing the game Monster Hunter
Tri Ultimate. I used to play Monster Hunter Tri on Wii U for hours when I was in
college.
When Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate came out on Nintendo 3DS I also got it right away. I
will admit I haven’t finished playing it through and I still have Monster Hunter 4
waiting
for me.
Pink Rathian is a sub species and higher ranked monster in the game. When you start
the game you met the first Rathian and she’s green. As you reach the higher ranks
you
begin to face higher rank versions of these monsters. Pink Rathian is a huge JERK.
I like
how people tell me they hate my character but they appreciate the cosplay.
What is your favorite part of this look?
Wearing the wings and the whole outfit made it so cool to be the monster! I had
never
made wings prior to this experience and I’ve always wanted to make them. Plus, who
doesn’t want to be a dragon! For Pink Rathian, I made the tail and the back ridge
detachable. So just saying, if hunters attacked me they might actually get carves!
What are all the details you can tell us about how you created this cosplay?
I purchased most of my supplies from Home Depot, Cosplaysupplies.com, Michael’s
and dollar stores! I try my best to save money since this can be quite an expensive
hobby. Every part of the costume was handmade except for the wig, nylons and shoes.
I had used all sorts of materials including EVA foam, craft foam, Worbla’s finest
thermoplastics, PVC and even a few foam pool noodles! It took hours of cutting
craft foam
to get all the scales I needed and I hand glued each one on the wings and the tail.
It
took me 3-4 months of on and off work to make the costume. 2 months of planning,
drafting and collecting supplies.

MY COSPLAY LIFE
What inspired you to start cosplaying?
I went to my first convention back in 2013 and saw a bunch of people cosplaying and
having a good time. It blew my mind since I had no idea there was such a community.
I
have always loved dressing up and Halloween is my favorite holiday.

In the game, Rathians

tend to hang out around
cliffs and waterfalls…
at least in the earlier
stages. I thought this
location would be fitting
for the character.

What other cosplay looks have you created?

I’ve cosplayed characters like Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan (Anime), Little
Sister from Bioshock (along with my Big Daddy Balloon), Lucina from Fire Emblem
Awakening and more.
I think when I choose a character to dress up as; I want to choose a character that
reflects the kind of person I want to be or those characters that have a strong
impact on
us. And then sometimes you just want to dress up as something completely badass.
What is your favorite part about your cosplay life?
A huge part of why I love cosplaying is actually building and learning from each
costume. Every costume has its challenges and I like to mix it up all the time. I
love
building props but I’m terrible with sewing! I love to choose strong female
characters
but sometimes I also love just having fun and dressing up like something gross and
weird. I love theatre and cosplay reminds me of that. I mostly cosplay on my own
since
I work at my own pace. I love dressing up with friends at conventions though and
just
hanging out. I’m always trying to convince my friends to dress up with me.
What cons can we see you at in 2016?
I would love to go back to Pax Prime in Seattle this summer. I’m actually
considering
not cosplaying for that convention though because I want to try a bunch of table
top
games. I’m hoping to one day attend San Diego Comic Con!

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

41
COSPLAY

,
52° 24’ 24’ N, 120° 01’ 08’ W
CRYSTAL FALLS
COqUITLAM
BRITISH COLUMBIA
CANADA

@SEAOFRABBITz
42 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR
“

I couldn’t do the tail

flip during the shoot
so I chose to be a
more “graceful” but
intimidating Rathian.

”
2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

43
COSPLAY
FEATURE

MELISSA
RISO

Our newest Geek Fantasy Girl not only use to sneak

her siblings’ comics as a child, she’s an X-Men fan
and loves to game on her Playstation.
photography MICHAEL OLIVERI
make-up LUCKY SIN

44 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR/APR

GEEK
FANTASY
GIRL

2016

Geek Fantasy
is an honor to
be in because
years from
now younger
generations
will look back
on our style
of comics
and what we
consider sexy
Geek Women.

2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

45
GEEK FANTASY GIRL

MELISSA
RISO
COSPLAY
FEATURE

hat are some of your first geek

memories?
I used to love Storm from X-Men. I wanted to be her for Halloween every year
when I was little. She was so beautiful
and confident.
Did you read comics?
I loved reading comic books [when] I
was little. I used to steal my sisters comic
books to look at the naughty anime. I love
Anime. I use to draw anime women all the
time growing up.
Sounds like a great childhood! And
you’re a gamer too?
I love playing computer games like War
Craft and Half Life or Call of Duty.
It’s pretty amazing that you’re a model
and an actor. Do you think you would
ever audition for a superhero movie?
Now in my acting career it would be my
dream role to be an action character in a
movie based on a comic book.
And we would totally go see that movie!
It’s no surprise we chose you as our Geek
Fantasy Girl!
I believe I have Geek Sex appeal and I’m
also a pro at fighting like some of the
action hero’s doing Krav Maga!

QUICKFIRE!
Star Wars or Star Trek?
I like Star Wars because
there’s more action.
IMax or 3D?
I love Imax! 3D gives me a
headache.
xbox or Playstation?
Playstation, because
that’s all I’ve every played
on!
DC or Marvel?
I like DC because they
started Superman.

48 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

JAN/FEB

@MELISSARISO
DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTION

6ISSUESFOR$16.99

Only

$3.99
an issue
DIGITAL

DIGITAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

AVAILABLE VIA MAGZTER.COM

TONY STARK’S GARAGE
PRESENTS

KTM X-Bow GT
photography by Jordi Miranda

BLACK

Because even Tony can get Batman envy...

50 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR
2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

51
PRESENTS

RIMS. 18 “or 19”

inch BBS rims, which
come standard on the
special model.

INTERIOR. Handstitched comfort seats

with tonal stitching
and embossed “BLACK
EDITION” logo in the
headrests and a suede
steering wheel with
color corresponding 12
o’clock mark.

The KTM X- BOW “BLACK

EDITION” takes the nickname
“full carbon vehicle” to a
whole new level!

52 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

€ 99.000
There are only 5 of these
custom roadsters available.
And as a bonus with your
purchase, you get a factory
tour directly from the Graz!

WIMMER Rennsporttechnik
Solingen GmbH
Loehdorfer Strasse 231
D-42699 Solingen
Phone +49 212 / 2 64 30 00
Fax +49 212 / 2 64 34 88
E-Mail [email protected]
Web www.wimmer-rst.de
2016 MAR/APR | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

53
COSPLAY
COMICS

BEING SUPER
You have to admit... you’ve thought about it.

With the New Age of Cinema apparently dawning,

there seems to be a clear front-runner in the list of
genres that steal the public’s heart and affections:
Super Heroes. Indeed my fellow Geeks, it would
appear our heroes have truly made it into the
limelight for good and with much, much more
to come. We love our heroes in all their freakish
glory, but what makes a hero? Well the powers of
course! I mean what would a super hero be without
powers?... Ok Batman... Or The Punisher... Or Moon
Knight... Or Most of The Watchmen, Ok I get your
point. So super heroes can obviously do just fine
without super powers, but let’s be honest, we all
totally wish we had some.
So here’s the real question: If you could have just
one super power, which one would you pick?
There are pros and cons to all of them, even
X-ray vision (although none come to mind at the
moment), so let’s try to break it down and see if
it’s discernible which classic super power might be
better than the others.
Lets begin with the most plausible, Super
Strength. Right off the bat, we can all see the
advantages. I’m quite sure I don’t need to explain
why bench-pressing cars to impress chicks is
definitely a pro. The first obvious con might be that
Super Strength and Invulnerability aren’t mutually
exclusive. Sure you can lift Honey Booboo’s mom
with one arm and, if we take biological science into
account, that has to make you sturdier than others.
Maybe getting hit by a car or falling from great
heights wouldn’t hurt you, but it seems a bullet or
a bomb might do the trick no matter how strong
or tough you are. Oh and you just know that your
nemesis is going to be prepared for this. If you can
lift up to 40 million tons then you can bet your
spangled underpants that the villain has managed
to find a weight to trap you under that weighs 40
million and one. Incomprehensible heavy weights
are like page one in Super Villain shopping catalogs
apparently.
So maybe not Super Strength but what about
Super Speed? Slightly more elegant than just
simple strength, and if you can withstand that
much friction it stands to reason that you’re fairly
sturdy. Faster than a speeding bullet, great! So
you can dodge bullets, fine, but what do you do
once you’ve dodged it? Odds are you could make
your way to your adversary and start a light-speed
punch up, but in essence this makes you more of
an annoyance than a devastating threat. Kind of
like a really fast wasp, also you gotta wonder what
would happen if you ever did run faster than the
speed of light. The science of that makes my head
hurt. And what happens if against all odds you
54 GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM | 2016 MAR/APR

managed to get trapped? Say, stuck inside a giant

canary cage (pg. 2 of the super villain catalog).
Barring a forgetful minion happening to leave the
key next to the lock, you’re pretty much stuck
there. Best you can hope for is a giant hamster
wheel.
How about Flight? This one is cool and everybody
knows it. Since man first looked up at the sky,
we’ve had a burning desire to soar with the birds,
while pointing and laughing at those lame non-flying ground animals. There are
plenty of practical
applications to be had with flying i.e. no traffic,
sight seeing, no traffic, avoiding airport security, no
traffic! I’m a little hard pressed to come up with any
downsides for this, short of an Icarus metaphor. I
suppose It might be a bit cold if you’re not dressed
properly. You also run into sort of the same issue
with Super Speed, in that offense may not be your
forte. Still in this writer’s mind, never having to sit
in a traffic jam more than makes up for it.
So far it seems that what these powers lack is
a defensive quality. So lets enrage DnD players
everywhere and talk about the “Everything-Proof
Shield”: Invulnerability. There are assumptions
that can be made about this, but at its basest
form, Invulnerability means that you’re not going
to be hurt in any way (baring perhaps emotional
trauma). Seems like a good idea in theory, but
honestly I find this to be by far the least compelling of all powers. You’ll never
really have to care
about anything at all because there is no danger
to you. Without the ability to knock you off, your
nemesis will inevitably go after your loved ones,
and when he does, you’re reduced to asking for
help from your stronger, faster, cooler friends. You
won’t really be of much use unless you’re willing to
let yourself be strapped to your buddy’s arm like
a large human shaped plank, and function, quite
literally, as a meat shield.
But these have all so far been physical powers
and we Geeks know that true power lies inside
our brilliant geek mind-brains. So how about
Super-Intelligence? Arguably the most subtle of
super powers (excepting of course Tony Stark and
possibly Dexter from his eponymous laboratory).
Your mind would be able to race past that of your
opponents and decimate any kind of aptitude
test that Americans and most of Western Europe
could conceive. But how is this useful? Well unless
you’re packing Stark/Wayne money, you’re going
to be a very effective adviser, or a hacker if you so
choose, helping to save the day subtly from behind
the scenes. Unfortunately, subtlety won’t land you
the babes, or punch Skeletor in the mouth, so you
had better put that brain of yours to work figuring
out how to cheat the system and make yourself
millions... wait a hot second, you just became a

super villain.
Up Next: Telekinesis. This writer’s personal
favorite, and possibly beyond the realm of fairness
when you think about it. For those of you who
don’t know (recently unfrozen cavemen perhaps),
Telekinesis is the ability to move or affect objects
with only the power of your mind. Its awesome if
you think about it, and if you wanted to stretch it,
you might be able to fly as well, if you could pick
yourself up. Engage in epic sword fights without
ever having to uncross your arms, or block millions
of bullets Thomas A Anderson style. As far as looking cool goes, this one probably
takes the cake,
but here’s the major downside of Telekinesis,(aside
from it giving you the ability to grab food from the
fridge and never move from your chair) it requires
your mind, IE concentration. If your concentration is broken, conceivably then you
won’t be of
much use. So all your enemy needs to do is to flick
rubber bands at you or play “It’s a small world” and
boom. Victory.
Finally ending our list with an often unappreciated
classic: Laser * Insert Appropriate Anatomy Point
Here *. This of course being the ability to fire lasers
from some point of your body, seemingly by the
sheer force of your awesomeness. As Star Trek,
Star Wars, and... everything else that wishes they
were Star Trek or Star Wars have shown us, lasers
are the future of warfare, and you’d have the ability
to use this blast of badassery at your whim. The
only choice here (if you’re lucky enough to have
a choice) is where the lasers will be fired from.
Oldest versions of this have the blasts coming from
the eyes, but to me aiming would be a major issue
here, plus, god help you if you have glasses. The
next obvious point would be your hands, or maybe
your fingers. This by far seems the most practical,
as far as aiming, and overall control, not to mention
you could make yourself feel like Clint Eastwood
whenever you so choose. Other seldom seen
variants include firing from the chest or mouth, but
either seems impractical for your clothes and teeth
respectively. As far as fighting off villains goes, you
at least know you’d always be armed and ready for
whatever villains or life could throw at you. Unfortunately, this power is more
often than not shown
to be a double edged sword. It seems quite easy to
slip up or lose control with our loved ones, or innocents getting caught in the
crossfire. Laser powers
make you a living weapon and weapons don’t
usually mix well with, peace, love, or happiness...
So that’s this writer’s opinion on picking from the
classics, but remember, no superhero ever chose
what powers they got. So if you do end up getting
bitten by a radioactive spider, or fall into a vat of
toxic waste, (assuming you’re not dead immediately) you’re just gonna have to run
with whatever
powers fate decides to throw at you. But as we said
earlier, the powers aren’t what make super heroes
great. It’s what you do with them, it’s the strength
not of your muscles, or your brain that makes you
an epic badass hero, but rather the strength of your
convictions. So whether you can fly, turn invisible,
or make waffles appear from thin air, remember;
anybody can be a hero. Also get yourself a bad ass
car.
2016 JAN/FEB | GEEKFANTASYMAG.COM

55
EPIC COSPLAYER
HOLLY WOLF