…With both ‘Gifted’ and ‘Runaways’ first seasons done, there
is only AoS left to carry us until February 2018, when ‘Black Panther’ makes
its’ debut in cinemas. So far it seems to be fairly true to its’ source
material, (not counting prince Namor of Atlantis outright destroying it…again),
though one thing has caught my attention: why is Kilmonger declaring himself a ‘golden
jaguar’ to fight the titular hero?
…The problem is not about the villain being ‘a dark mirror’
of the hero again, (something that plagued MCU for a while now), but rather –
the jaguar bit. There are no jaguars in the Old World, (i.e. Africa and
Eurasia), just as there are no leopards in the Americas (or the New World). Of
course, the zoo- and circus-based animals are
the cosmopolitan exception here, and big cats do escape from them into the wild, but so far, there are no true
feral populations of the leopards in the Americas, or of the jaguars in Africa
and Asia. (On the contrary, there are populations of feral hippos in South
America, for example). So yeah, for Kilmonger to call himself a ‘golden jaguar’
is somewhat bizarre, but – understandable.
The leopard is the second-biggest cat in Africa. The panther
here is still the leopard, just the all-black, not the spotted, color morph.
Bagheera from the ‘Jungle Book’ franchise was a leopard, technically, but because
of coloration issues, he is ID’d as a ‘panther’, rather than a ‘leopard’. In
the New World, (i.e. the Americas, including USA), ‘panther’ is a name of a
wild feline also known as the ‘puma’, the ‘cougar’ and the ‘mountain lion’, a
wildcat that is more closely related to the cheetah and to the less-known jaguarondi,
and none of them are what is known as ‘big cats’ – the leopard, the jaguar, the
lion, etic. However, MCU’s Wakanda is in Africa, rather than in the New World,
so the ‘panther’ here is the leopard, not
the puma… while in RL Wakanda apparently is an apartment complex in the American
state of California…right. This is just messed-up.
…Aside from the leopard, the other big cats of Africa,
(small cats as the serval do not count, they just do not have the same
imagery), and they are the cheetah and the lion. Cheetah is already the name of
one of DCEU’s villains, one of Wonder
Woman’s archnemeses, so giving this name to a MCU character could cause a major copyright/trademark fight,
something that neither company really wants, while the lion…
Yes, a lion can be a villain – just ask Disney, but somehow
a fight between ‘a black panther and a golden lion’ can raise a question as to who
is the villain here. Kilmonger, of course, has the same question here, but MCU
is on team Panther here, so no lions. They are probably all waiting for Captain
America to arrive in Wakanda anyhow.
That is that for ‘Black Panther’ the movie; anything else?
Well, awhile back we saw the first proper clip of MCU’s ‘Cloak & Dagger’
web TV/TV series. So far it seems that the titular characters are slightly
older than their ‘Runaways’ counterparts are, not in high school, but in a
college or a university. ‘Dagger’ is a girl named Tandy, who forms daggers of
light. ‘Cloak’ is a boy named Tyrone, who forms a cloak out of shadow. Given
that they are also one of the first distinctly interracial couples of TV,
(something that AoS has not had mastered properly by now yet, for example), ‘Cloak
& Dagger’ are going to have plenty of contemporary interracial, racial, and
just socio-political content as well. Considering that ‘Runaways’ already tried
this, sort of, especially with Alex…bully for ‘Cloak & Dagger’, I reckon. I
mean in Canada you can see this sort
of couple on the street, but ‘Cloak & Dagger’ are an American web TV/TV series, and this sort of thing is big deal in
Hollywood and etc., so there!
Finally, there is another upcoming movie – ‘Rampage’. Based
on a video game with the same name, so far the trailers were centered on a
giant gorilla and his best friend, The Rock. Yes, that man – he certainly gets
around in the movies, doesn’t he? Anyhow, aside from the already-mentioned
gorilla and a Godzilla-like lizard, ‘Rampage’ is also going to feature a
wolf-like monster that can…fly. Well, glide in a ‘flying squirrel’ style, but
still. Giant aerial wolf. I have played
‘Rampage’ the game back in the 90s, and none of the monsters there could
actually fly/glide through the air, so ‘Rampage the movie is going to be
something else.
…and that is that for now. See you soon!
PS: Here is a sea-spawn from Pathfinder: Worldscape. How
does it come across? Does it work?
Sea-Spawn
ranger 3
CE
Medium monstrous humanoid (sea-spawn)
Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9
DEFENSE
AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex)
hp 36 (3d10+15)
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +2
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft.
Melee 2 mwk handaxes +5 (1d6+3/×3) or
Bite +5
(1d3+3) or
Horns +5
(1d6+3)
Ranged mwk heavy crossbow +5 (1d10/19–20)
Special Attacks favored enemy (animals +2)
STATISTICS
Str 17, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 8
Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 17
Feats Double Slice, Endurance, Quick Draw, Two-Weapon
Fighting
Skills Intimidate +4, Knowledge (geography)
+3, Knowledge (local)
-1, Knowledge (nature)
+4, Perception +9, Stealth +7, Survival +5,
Swim +17*; Racial Modifiers +8
racial bonus on Swim checks
Languages Common
SQ amphibious, favored terrain (sea +2), track +1, wild empathy
+2
Combat Gearpotion of bull's strength,
potions of cure light
wounds (2), potion of hide from
animals; Other Gear masterwork studded leather,
masterwork handaxes (2), masterwork heavy crossbow with 20 bolts, 63 gp
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