Restricting the access to youtube via the parental filters is not possible.
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Initial goal was to just block shorts, but now I am so furious the whole website should be gone from my network.
​
Accessing via PC, Chrome or Edge, youtube stays available.
Living in germany
FRITZ!OS:7.57-
blocking multiple other sites like reddit facebook etc works like a charm btw.
​
Found the additions to the list below (not helping) - at this point just trying anything here.
www.youtube.com
https://www.youtube.com/
youtube.com
youtube-nocookie.com
youtu.be
ytimg.com
ggpht.com
googleapis.com
googlevideo.com
142.250.185.238
www.youtube-nocookie.com
i.ytimg.com
www.i.ytimg.com
yt3.ggpht.com
www.yt3.ggpht.com
ytimg.l.google.com
s.ytimg.com
i.google.com
*.googlevideo.com
​
Any tips?
Thank you

https://www.facebook.com/ScenesdeFilm/videos/les-rivi%C3%A8res-pourpres-cassel-vs-skins/395388872285490/
The movie is getting old, and the fight is pretty "obvious", well i just thought it was funny and worth the share.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/tekken/images/e/e4/TK8_Victor_Chevalier_render.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20231103234430&path-prefix=en
For those who want to see the movie, it worth to be seen.

And before you say anything, no, it's not about feats or scaling. I do not f**king care about that that kind of stuff usually as long as a genuine effort is given regarding fairness and consistency. You want to bitch about that kind of stuff I'm sure you can find a battle forum around somewhere to do it.
Anyway, I quite enjoyed Death Battle's third Goku vs. Superman video. I think it was pretty well done and given the channel's reason for why they wanted another go at it, as they felt they really did a disservice to both characters in the second video and believed they could do a significantly better job nowadays, I'd say it was a rousing success.
However, there's something I'd started picking up on back around the first two episodes and really finally realized what had been bugging me all these years with this one, and it has to do with the reactions people have had to the video, especially from the actual reaction channels.
Nobody actually has any f**king experience with Superman.
Okay, that's obviously an exaggeration. But something I've noticed in the majority of Youtube reactions to the episode and in a lot of comments from Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, etc. is that eight to nine times out of ten the person's only exposure to Superman outside of general pop culture osmosis has been the live action movies. So the Reeve movies that, while still good (well, the first two anyway), are very much of their time period and don't reflect how how the character has evolved over the years, as shown by Superman Returns which refused to actually move past that era, and the DCEU movies, which while ambitious are frequently criticized for not getting the character and had Zack Snyder outright saying the series was a journey of the character becoming Superman at the end, rather than being movies showing us him as Superman.
Now I'm not saying you have to be an active reader of the comics in order to have an opinion on Superman. Of course not. But there are just so many Superman stories out there, so much Superman media that can be consumed, and so few people have even checked them out. Superman the Animated Series, My Adventures With Superman, Superman and Lois, the animated DC movies, even freaking Smallville and I don't even like that one. Hell, pick a random Superman comic off the shelf at your local comic store, bookstore, or public library and odds are good it'll have at least some quality to it. And yet reaction after reaction, comment after comment, the furthest anyone seems to actually engage with any story featuring Superman in a lead role outside of the live-action movies is f**king Injustice, which is very deliberately not meant to be an accurate version of Superman. Even people who've never picked up a Batman comic in their life at least gave a glance at the animated series and the Arkham games.
By contrast, everybody and their mother has read/watched Dragon Ball.
Again, obviously an exaggeration but it's still insane how disproportionate the ratios are. Nearly every video or comment I came across the person had at least some direct experience with Dragon Ball and Goku, be it as an active fan or as just something they saw when they were a kid. For as much as the internet jokes that Dragon Ball fans don't read, even people who don't like Dragon Ball seem to have seen or read at least some of the series. It's like Star Wars or Jurassic Park. It's become that much of a common cultural touchstone that nearly everyone ends up trying it at least once.
Now, why is this difference a big deal? Well, I think it goes a long way in explaining why whenever people view vs battles like Death Battle or those like them they tend to be very dismissive to outright hostile towards Superman by the end, regardless of how civil or even wholesome the video itself is, because they're only seeing one of the characters as a character with a story attached to him.
The match-ups list off all of Goku's insane feats and the viewer's mind fills in the blanks. They remember Snake Way and going Super Saiyan on Planet Namek and the clash with Cell and so on. Even if they've never seen Super or Heroes it's not hard for them to just assume it was like what they remember. They liked it back then, or at the very least accepted it, and so they don't have two much trouble accepting what they're hearing now.
The match-ups list off all of Superman's insane feats and to so many viewers it's...just a bunch of empty feats. Because unlike Goku, even if unintentionally, they are not viewing Superman as an actual character, as someone who has stories. He's just a concept that they've heard of all their life and his comics seem to exist only to give him bigger and bigger feats. People give so much slack to Goku and the insanity of his world and feats because they know Goku. They've experienced him personally, even if it was only a little or only as a kid, whereas there seems to be so much more of a disconnect with Superman. They don't know him, they just know of him. They have so little personal experience with him, and thus when they hear about the insanity of his world and feats it just sounds stupid and unfair.
I noticed something similar in the Rick Sanchez vs. The Doctor Death Battle episode. For as popular a series as Doctor Who is, plenty of people have never seen it, only heard of it, while nearly everybody has seen at least some Rick and Morty. Their brains have context for many of Rick's insane feats and thus their imagination can fill in the blanks when they hear about new ones they weren't aware of, while with The Doctor it's just a bunch of bullsh*t that lets him win, even if it makes just as much sense and has just as much thematic relevance, if not more so, in Doctor Who as Rick's does in Rick and Morty.
And this is what's most frustrating about shows like Death Battle, even if it's not at all their fault. The reactions to them, be they literal Youtube reactions or just how people respond on their own to them.
The show itself acknowledges in the Goku vs. Superman wrap-up that people feel so strongly about these characters because of the ideas and ideals they represent, but the thing is that their show is basically supposed to just be a fun time smacking two action figures together. While shows like Death Battle have gotten significantly better over time with having the characters' actual personalities be presented in the animated fights, overall they still are essentially boiling them down to their feats and stats and just generally the things that relate to their combat ability. Something like Death Battle, as much of a sincere effort as it makes, can't give you the best idea of why Superman fans like Superman so much. It ends up sounding like it's just because he's a good boy who is strong. So when you get people who only ever even think about Superman when he's brought up in contexts like a fight against Goku, of course they're still not going to get him. Of course they're still going to see just the boring blue boy scout who is too powerful to ever lose, because stuff like a vs match can't capture what makes people invested in Superman. Heck, it can't even do that for Goku, since while it might seem otherwise most fans don't like Dragon Ball characters just because they're strong. If they did then Vegeta and Piccolo wouldn't be the most popular characters in Dragon Ball for many; the guys who are eternally trailing behind Goku. Heck, Roshi is considered by many to be one of their favorite mentor characters in Shonen despite Goku having many much more powerful mentors after him because of both his character and how his teachings shaped Goku going forward.
I think the biggest example I can use for the point I'm trying to get across is the punch Superman made against the World Forger that shattered the multiverse he constructed, which is a feat Death Battle used.
For anyone not knowing the story and just watching the episode, it's just a feat that's again reinforcing to them how absurdly powerful Superman is. But the thing is that feat doesn't just exist in a vacuum. It's part of a story, and it's raw power is not why it's significant. To say that it is would be like if you were to say All Might's "United States of Smash" from My Hero Academia is only significant because it was such a powerful punch, or Reign defending the kids from Claw with temporary psychic powers in Mob Psycho 100 is only significant because he's not getting hurt, or that Goku going Super Saiyan or even Ultra Instinct is only significant because it's a powerful transformation. Yeah, visual spectacle is cool and all and everybody love a good bit of big dick energy but these moments stick with fans of these characters so much and even make some people fans of these characters because of the weight these things have in the story they're told in.
Most Superman fans couldn't give a sh*t about the time he sneezed out a solar system in the silver age or pulled a bunch of planets behind him on a big chain. Not because it's non-canon but because it was a one-off story that was just meant to be goofy and insignificant. But plenty of fans ADORE the punch against the World Forger because of what the set-up to that pay-off was.
Strap yourselves in, this is a long one.

Justice League: The Sixth Dimension summary:

The punch is from a Justice League storyline in Scott Snyder's run called "The Sixth Dimension". What is the Sixth Dimension you may ask? Well, space is the third dimension. You know, the whole x, y, and z axies. Time is the fourth dimension. In DC Comics lore, imagination is the fifth dimension, thus why beings from it like Mister Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite, and Larry can seemingly do anything (I'm genuinely curious if anyone knows who the f**k Larry is), as they are only limited by their, and their writers' and artists', imagination.
The Sixth Dimension is the top floor of the multiverse; the realm beyond imagination, where everything falls away except for the truths of existence, including truths man wasn't meant to know or in some cases truths they may not want to accept.
That's why the World Forger brought the Justice League there. Why he had them meet versions of themselves from a future where they accepted his plans. With the threat of Perpetua looming, he needed to show them that the only way to stop her from essentially destroying everything was for the JL to make moral compromises they'd never be willing to. The sixth dimension showed them a perfect world that will happen...but only if they do and allow things they never would, including letting the multiverse he creates to destroy and replace the existing one. The truth the sixth dimension showed was that this horribleness was the only way to stop Perpetua.
Superman was singled out and left on a dead world with a faint and distant star because the World Forger saw over countless timelines that no matter how many times he could try to convince him Superman would never accept this truth and would stand against him, which in this multiple timelines resulted not only in his death but the death of his son Jon as well, who was raised in that same idealism, and the failure of the Forger's plan to save existence.
Batman, by contrast, accepted this truth. And to have him prove that he would really do whatever it took to save existence, the World Forger had Batman use his cosmic instruments to move that faint star even further away just as Superman leapt of the planet to try and get to it, essentially leaving Superman trapped in the eternal darkness of a void to wither away and die.
And while in that darkness, Superman thought over his life. In particular he remembers lighting paper lanterns as a kid, a tradition Smallville has. How his father pushed on him to learn how to use sticks to light the fire rather than using his heat vision, a lesson which Clark in turn eventually tried to impart on his own son. In both cases they weren't able to get a fire going in time and weren't able to light their lanterns.
Superman thinks about how that's perhaps what led him to this moment. How his stubborn clinging to the old ways, to the old ideals, was going to doom everything. How it was going to get his son killed. All because he couldn't change. How he was still just a caveman rubbing sticks together in the dark.
But then he remembers how the rest of those memories went.
He remembers as a kid how, even though he never managed to get his lantern to light, he still got to enjoy the lights of all his neighbors in Smallville that night, all across the farmlands.
He remembers how even though Jon couldn't get his lantern to light because of the pouring rain his friends in the Justice League came with their own to celebrate the day with them, even providing an area away from the rain so it wouldn't go out.
And in that moment, just a little further out from where he's drifting and dying in space, Superman sees the smallest possible glow of the star Batman had moved away.
THAT is when he pushes himself to reach beyond everything he's got left to reach that star. To reenergize himself and search for more stars to power him up and lead the way back to where the JL is fighting the World Forger and their sixth dimension selves.
Superman talks about how he'd always thought of himself as a fixed point. As one-dimensional. But there's more to him than that.
His adoptive parents who took him in, their love, kindness, and beliefs set him on a path. A line. A second dimension.
His wife Lois, she taught him how to look at things from all angles, to do what's right even better. She gave him depth. A third dimension.
Batman, Wonder Woman, the League. He met and learned from so many friends over time. A fourth dimension.
And his son Jon got him to imagine a better world. A fifth dimension.
Alone, Superman's just a single fixed point. Everyone is. But together, we are more than we can even imagine. A sixth dimension.
Superman is the one who delivers the physical punch to the World Forger, but there with him in spirit are his elderly father and his ten year old son, because they are the ones who give him strength. Which the writer has confirmed was inspired by the Family Kamehameha from the second DBZ Broly movie.
As the World Forger lies defeated, cursing the Justice League for dooming them all, he questions how Batman could possibly have betrayed him, as he looked into his heart and he was certain he saw that he had believed he was right, to which Batman confirms...yeah, he DID think that the World Forger's plan, monstrous as it was, was the only chance they had of winning, and that if Superman were to die they'd have a better chance of pulling it off. He had genuinely pulled the star away knowing it'd result in his death...unless he kept pushing forward. Batman had believed this was the only way but he left a chance, the smallest one he could, for Superman to prove him wrong. Not because Superman is powerful but because Clark is his friend and he gets him to believe in things Bruce can't on his own. The same thing Bruce did for Clark when he was floating in the dark. The same thing that the entire League does for each other. And what they want to do for the World Forger.
The storyline doesn't end just with the World Forger's defeat, it ends with the Justice League extending membership to him and welcoming him to the team, because fighting alongside them, leaving the sixth dimension for the third, was the one possibility he had never considered; that he never was able to even imagine working.
The sixth dimension wasn't just a fancy place for Superman to fight, it tied directly into the story thematically. The story wasn't just "Here's a powerful villain who is a threat, go punch him until he's not", it was an actual story. The story elevates the feat and makes it have impact, not the other way around.
And before you ask, no, Superman is not the one who resolves everything at the end of the giant storyline Scott Snyder was building to throughout his run on Justice League. That would be Wonder Woman. In fact the last big event DC had was ultimately resolved by Nightwing and the current one they have revolves around Beast Boy. DC has other characters who do things (even if sometimes it doesn't always feel like it).

Summary over

Anyway, that is the story around that epic feat, and it's just ONE story among a sea of others for why people like Superman so much and why his incredible levels of power work perfectly fine for them.
But how do you fit all that in a single video that's supposed to be mainly just about who would win in a fight between him and someone else who also needs their backstory and feats explained? Heck, if you pay attention to Goku's section of the video Death Battle doesn't go that much into the specifics of his stories or history either, because there's simply too much to cover. There's nothing on the significance of Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time and they only lightly touch on Ultra Instinct, not on the journey Goku had to it, be it in the manga or anime, or the ideas and themes attached to it as he's working on it afterwards with the angels and against the likes of Moro, Granolah, and Gas. Even as the poster boy of action Shonen, Goku and his story are not just empty feats any more than Superman's are. There's so much more to both than what can be shown in a 27 minute video where the main topic is who would win in a fight between them.
Heck, Death Battle went out of its way to include some really fun Easter eggs during the actual fight when their clash was causing dimensions to break and hardly anyone even seemed to notice them or even realize what they were. Super Saiyan 4 Goku vs. Electric Blue Superman, essentially a battle of 90's extraness. Goku Black vs. Ultraman, so the two's evil alternate versions fighting. Xeno Goku vs. Cosmic Armor Superman, supposedly the strongest versions of the two in all their media. Those are all great and clever nods but if nobody knows them it's all a complete waste.
Just look at the context regarding some of the other specific feats or events Death Battle called out.

• Superman and Wonder Woman fighting in Valhalla for 1,000 years wasn't done just to give Superman a millennium's worth of combat experience. The main focus is how after centuries upon centuries of fighting alongside each other in an alternate dimension Superman is starting to struggle to hold onto his memories of his life in his regular world and Wonder Woman helps to ground him and keep him remembering. And naturally after so long together the two do start feeling romantic and sexual tension between them, especially when they are aware they may never see their old homes and lives again. But despite the temptation, his love for his wife Lois was stronger. The story wasn't about giving Superman and Wonder Woman bragging rights on battle forums, it was about showcasing the friendship between Clark and Diana, how they could be each other's rock to keep them sane and grounded in such a fantastical situation, and how even a thousand years apart couldn't break Clark's commitment to the love of his life.
• Superman training with Mongul the 2nd (son of Mongul and brother of Mongal) to overcome his mental blocks and the first time he dipped himself in the Sun to give himself a power boost? That was part of the storyline "Our Worlds at War" and not only was it to push Superman to embrace more of his Kryptonian heritage and that part of his identity, the aftermath was the most significant. You don't have the heroes of Earth fighting a guy who claims he was there when the Big Bang went off and his f**king battle moon and not have a few casualties. Superman was more powerful than he'd ever been previously...and a lot of people still died because he still wasn't fast enough or strong enough to get to them in time. The book even did a slight rework of a quote from the first Reeves movie: "All this power...and I couldn't save them.". For a time Superman even changed the yellow in his S-shield to black in honor and mourning for all those who died in the event, since unlike superheroes and supervillains, most of the time civilians and innocents caught in the crossfire don't come back after death. This led into another storyline where, as a way to deal with his grief and guilt, Clark tries to be Superman 24/7, which had a great crossover with the Titans and it's Nightwing, Dick Grayson, the first Robin, the guy who got his superhero name from Superman because of how much he admired and respected him, who starts getting through to Superman that protecting the entire world isn't his responsibility alone. Regardless of how their power levels may stack up, that's why heroes like him and teams like the Titans exist even in a world that has Superman.
• Superman using his heat vision as one of many heroes who are trying to restart the universe happened in a comic where he wasn't even that big a player in the story, it was more about Waverider, Green Arrow, Batgirl, and most significantly the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, now the villain Parallax after he was so overcome with grief by the destruction of Coast City and nearly everyone and everything he'd ever loved. Trying to restart the universe was needed to fix what Hal broke because, turns out, unimaginable anguish and loss does not make someone the most levelheaded when trying to rewrite reality to bring those they lost back.
• Death Battle didn't address this as directly at the others but the panel where they showed Superman fighting Doomsday and vibrating his body so fast that he was phasing through his attacks? Doomsday's deal is that whenever he's killed he'll eventually come back to life and with some kind of evolution that will keep him from being killed the same way again. In this story's case, Doomsday came back with increased intelligence. Before he was just a mindless killing machine with no rationality or reason, now he was smart enough to speak, strategize, and even pick up on his enemies' tactics. He was even better than before...but Superman figured out how to turn this new advantage into a weakness. Because Doomsday was now smart, he was now smart enough to be able to recognize pain. He remembered dying to Superman before in their iconic battle and he was afraid of dying again; a fear which Superman egged on. Superman stays calm and in total control of the fight while Doomsday is getting more anxious, which is slowing his movements and making him use his strength less effectively. He was more of a threat when he couldn't even understand pain, much less feel it, but now just snapping a claw against Superman's chest is throwing him off and making him vulnerable. It's why the versions of Doomsday after this one go back to being mindless, because the one time he was smart Superman completely took him apart physically AND mentally.

There are a ton of other examples that could be used, plenty of which even I don't know. I'm a fan of the character and have read many of his comics but I'm no expert on him, nor do I or anyone else need to be to understand something honestly very simple.

In summation, TL;DR, Yadda yadda:

The DC universe doesn't exist just to be several billions times larger than our universe and thus make it even more mathematically impressive that Superman can cross it, it exists to have characters, concepts, and ideas for Superman to bounce off of. And often you can only feel that by actually experiencing those stories. Which is why it bugs me so much that for so many people their only direct experience with Superman outside of just general pop culture osmosis is through things like Death Battle, which by their own acknowledgement can't give the full understanding of the characters because their focus is on their fighting ability, which even for characters like Goku are only a faction of who and what they are. Death Battle is not a substitute for these characters' stories and mythos, which seems obvious but apparently it's not because time and time again I keep seeing people being mad that Death Battle failed to win them over on why they should like or even accept Superman as a character, even though their purpose is just to justify him as the winner of a fight.
Sometimes reviews and summaries can help get the ideas across, like from Youtube channels like Comicstorian, Comics Explained, Atop the Fourth Wall, Casually Comics, Professor Thorgi, etc. But most people who watch those types of videos tend to be those who already read comics. And of course the best way overall would be just to read or watch Superman's stories yourself. It'd still be no guarantee you'd like them or Superman, as not everyone likes everything and not everything is made for everyone, but I can't help but feel like if people had as much direct experience with Superman as they do with Goku we'd get a lot less of people crapping on him or being so dismissive whenever they hear about his biggest feats, since like they do with Goku they'd have more context they can fill in the blanks with. They wouldn't be just empty feats anymore, they'd be another tool that was used to tell a good story.

And before you say anything, no, it's not about feats or scaling. I do not f**king care about that that kind of stuff usually as long as a genuine effort is given regarding fairness and consistency. You want to bitch about that kind of stuff I'm sure you can find a battle forum around somewhere to do it.
Anyway, I quite enjoyed Death Battle's third Goku vs. Superman video. I think it was pretty well done and given the channel's reason for why they wanted another go at it, as they felt they really did a disservice to both characters in the second video and believed they could do a significantly better job nowadays, I'd say it was a rousing success.
However, there's something I'd started picking up on back around the first two episodes and really finally realized what had been bugging me all these years with this one, and it has to do with the reactions people have had to the video, especially from the actual reaction channels.
Nobody actually has any f**king experience with Superman.
Okay, that's obviously an exaggeration. But something I've noticed in the majority of Youtube reactions to the episode and in a lot of comments from Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, etc. is that eight to nine times out of ten the person's only exposure to Superman outside of general pop culture osmosis has been the live action movies. So the Reeve movies that, while still good (well, the first two anyway), are very much of their time period and don't reflect how how the character has evolved over the years, as shown by Superman Returns which refused to actually move past that era, and the DCEU movies, which while ambitious are frequently criticized for not getting the character and had Zack Snyder outright saying the series was a journey of the character becoming Superman at the end, rather than being movies showing us him as Superman.
Now I'm not saying you have to be an active reader of the comics in order to have an opinion on Superman. Of course not. But there are just so many Superman stories out there, so much Superman media that can be consumed, and so few people have even checked them out. Superman the Animated Series, My Adventures With Superman, Superman and Lois, the animated DC movies, even freaking Smallville and I don't even like that one. Hell, pick a random Superman comic off the shelf at your local comic store, bookstore, or public library and odds are good it'll have at least some quality to it. And yet reaction after reaction, comment after comment, the furthest anyone seems to actually engage with any story featuring Superman in a lead role outside of the live-action movies is f**king Injustice, which is very deliberately not meant to be an accurate version of Superman. Even people who've never picked up a Batman comic in their life at least gave a glance at the animated series and the Arkham games.
By contrast, everybody and their mother has read/watched Dragon Ball.
Again, obviously an exaggeration but it's still insane how disproportionate the ratios are. Nearly every video or comment I came across the person had at least some direct experience with Dragon Ball and Goku, be it as an active fan or as just something they saw when they were a kid. For as much as the internet jokes that Dragon Ball fans don't read, even people who don't like Dragon Ball seem to have seen or read at least some of the series. It's like Star Wars or Jurassic Park. It's become that much of a common cultural touchstone that nearly everyone ends up trying it at least once.
Now, why is this difference a big deal? Well, I think it goes a long way in explaining why whenever people view vs battles like Death Battle or those like them they tend to be very dismissive to outright hostile towards Superman by the end, regardless of how civil or even wholesome the video itself is, because they're only seeing one of the characters as a character with a story attached to him.
The match-ups list off all of Goku's insane feats and the viewer's mind fills in the blanks. They remember Snake Way and going Super Saiyan on Planet Namek and the clash with Cell and so on. Even if they've never seen Super or Heroes it's not hard for them to just assume it was like what they remember. They liked it back then, or at the very least accepted it, and so they don't have two much trouble accepting what they're hearing now.
The match-ups list off all of Superman's insane feats and to so many viewers it's...just a bunch of empty feats. Because unlike Goku, even if unintentionally, they are not viewing Superman as an actual character, as someone who has stories. He's just a concept that they've heard of all their life and his comics seem to exist only to give him bigger and bigger feats. People give so much slack to Goku and the insanity of his world and feats because they know Goku. They've experienced him personally, even if it was only a little or only as a kid, whereas there seems to be so much more of a disconnect with Superman. They don't know him, they just know of him. They have so little personal experience with him, and thus when they hear about the insanity of his world and feats it just sounds stupid and unfair.
I noticed something similar in the Rick Sanchez vs. The Doctor Death Battle episode. For as popular a series as Doctor Who is, plenty of people have never seen it, only heard of it, while nearly everybody has seen at least some Rick and Morty. Their brains have context for many of Rick's insane feats and thus their imagination can fill in the blanks when they hear about new ones they weren't aware of, while with The Doctor it's just a bunch of bullsh*t that lets him win, even if it makes just as much sense and has just as much thematic relevance, if not more so, in Doctor Who as Rick's does in Rick and Morty.
And this is what's most frustrating about shows like Death Battle, even if it's not at all their fault. The reactions to them, be they literal Youtube reactions or just how people respond on their own to them.
The show itself acknowledges in the Goku vs. Superman wrap-up that people feel so strongly about these characters because of the ideas and ideals they represent, but the thing is that their show is basically supposed to just be a fun time smacking two action figures together. While shows like Death Battle have gotten significantly better over time with having the characters' actual personalities be presented in the animated fights, overall they still are essentially boiling them down to their feats and stats and just generally the things that relate to their combat ability. Something like Death Battle, as much of a sincere effort as it makes, can't give you the best idea of why Superman fans like Superman so much. It ends up sounding like it's just because he's a good boy who is strong. So when you get people who only ever even think about Superman when he's brought up in contexts like a fight against Goku, of course they're still not going to get him. Of course they're still going to see just the boring blue boy scout who is too powerful to ever lose, because stuff like a vs match can't capture what makes people invested in Superman. Heck, it can't even do that for Goku, since while it might seem otherwise most fans don't like Dragon Ball characters just because they're strong. If they did then Vegeta and Piccolo wouldn't be the most popular characters in Dragon Ball for many; the guys who are eternally trailing behind Goku. Heck, Roshi is considered by many to be one of their favorite mentor characters in Shonen despite Goku having many much more powerful mentors after him because of both his character and how his teachings shaped Goku going forward.
I think the biggest example I can use for the point I'm trying to get across is the punch Superman made against the World Forger that shattered the multiverse he constructed, which is a feat Death Battle used.
For anyone not knowing the story and just watching the episode, it's just a feat that's again reinforcing to them how absurdly powerful Superman is. But the thing is that feat doesn't just exist in a vacuum. It's part of a story, and it's raw power is not why it's significant. To say that it is would be like if you were to say All Might's "United States of Smash" from My Hero Academia is only significant because it was such a powerful punch, or Reign defending the kids from Claw with temporary psychic powers in Mob Psycho 100 is only significant because he's not getting hurt, or that Goku going Super Saiyan or even Ultra Instinct is only significant because it's a powerful transformation. Yeah, visual spectacle is cool and all and everybody love a good bit of big dick energy but these moments stick with fans of these characters so much and even make some people fans of these characters because of the weight these things have in the story they're told in.
Most Superman fans couldn't give a sh*t about the time he sneezed out a solar system in the silver age or pulled a bunch of planets behind him on a big chain. Not because it's non-canon but because it was a one-off story that was just meant to be goofy and insignificant. But plenty of fans ADORE the punch against the World Forger because of what the set-up to that pay-off was.
Strap yourselves in, this is a long one.

Justice League: The Sixth Dimension summary:

The punch is from a Justice League storyline in Scott Snyder's run called "The Sixth Dimension". What is the Sixth Dimension you may ask? Well, space is the third dimension. You know, the whole x, y, and z axies. Time is the fourth dimension. In DC Comics lore, imagination is the fifth dimension, thus why beings from it like Mister Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite, and Larry can seemingly do anything (I'm genuinely curious if anyone knows who the f**k Larry is), as they are only limited by their, and their writers' and artists', imagination.
The Sixth Dimension is the top floor of the multiverse; the realm beyond imagination, where everything falls away except for the truths of existence, including truths man wasn't meant to know or in some cases truths they may not want to accept.
That's why the World Forger brought the Justice League there. Why he had them meet versions of themselves from a future where they accepted his plans. With the threat of Perpetua looming, he needed to show them that the only way to stop her from essentially destroying everything was for the JL to make moral compromises they'd never be willing to. The sixth dimension showed them a perfect world that will happen...but only if they do and allow things they never would, including letting the multiverse he creates to destroy and replace the existing one. The truth the sixth dimension showed was that this horribleness was the only way to stop Perpetua.
Superman was singled out and left on a dead world with a faint and distant star because the World Forger saw over countless timelines that no matter how many times he could try to convince him Superman would never accept this truth and would stand against him, which in this multiple timelines resulted not only in his death but the death of his son Jon as well, who was raised in that same idealism, and the failure of the Forger's plan to save existence.
Batman, by contrast, accepted this truth. And to have him prove that he would really do whatever it took to save existence, the World Forger had Batman use his cosmic instruments to move that faint star even further away just as Superman leapt of the planet to try and get to it, essentially leaving Superman trapped in the eternal darkness of a void to wither away and die.
And while in that darkness, Superman thought over his life. In particular he remembers lighting paper lanterns as a kid, a tradition Smallville has. How his father pushed on him to learn how to use sticks to light the fire rather than using his heat vision, a lesson which Clark in turn eventually tried to impart on his own son. In both cases they weren't able to get a fire going in time and weren't able to light their lanterns.
Superman thinks about how that's perhaps what led him to this moment. How his stubborn clinging to the old ways, to the old ideals, was going to doom everything. How it was going to get his son killed. All because he couldn't change. How he was still just a caveman rubbing sticks together in the dark.
But then he remembers how the rest of those memories went.
He remembers as a kid how, even though he never managed to get his lantern to light, he still got to enjoy the lights of all his neighbors in Smallville that night, all across the farmlands.
He remembers how even though Jon couldn't get his lantern to light because of the pouring rain his friends in the Justice League came with their own to celebrate the day with them, even providing an area away from the rain so it wouldn't go out.
And in that moment, just a little further out from where he's drifting and dying in space, Superman sees the smallest possible glow of the star Batman had moved away.
THAT is when he pushes himself to reach beyond everything he's got left to reach that star. To reenergize himself and search for more stars to power him up and lead the way back to where the JL is fighting the World Forger and their sixth dimension selves.
Superman talks about how he'd always thought of himself as a fixed point. As one-dimensional. But there's more to him than that.
His adoptive parents who took him in, their love, kindness, and beliefs set him on a path. A line. A second dimension.
His wife Lois, she taught him how to look at things from all angles, to do what's right even better. She gave him depth. A third dimension.
Batman, Wonder Woman, the League. He met and learned from so many friends over time. A fourth dimension.
And his son Jon got him to imagine a better world. A fifth dimension.
Alone, Superman's just a single fixed point. Everyone is. But together, we are more than we can even imagine. A sixth dimension.
Superman is the one who delivers the physical punch to the World Forger, but there with him in spirit are his elderly father and his ten year old son, because they are the ones who give him strength. Which the writer has confirmed was inspired by the Family Kamehameha from the second DBZ Broly movie.
As the World Forger lies defeated, cursing the Justice League for dooming them all, he questions how Batman could possibly have betrayed him, as he looked into his heart and he was certain he saw that he had believed he was right, to which Batman confirms...yeah, he DID think that the World Forger's plan, monstrous as it was, was the only chance they had of winning, and that if Superman were to die they'd have a better chance of pulling it off. He had genuinely pulled the star away knowing it'd result in his death...unless he kept pushing forward. Batman had believed this was the only way but he left a chance, the smallest one he could, for Superman to prove him wrong. Not because Superman is powerful but because Clark is his friend and he gets him to believe in things Bruce can't on his own. The same thing Bruce did for Clark when he was floating in the dark. The same thing that the entire League does for each other. And what they want to do for the World Forger.
The storyline doesn't end just with the World Forger's defeat, it ends with the Justice League extending membership to him and welcoming him to the team, because fighting alongside them, leaving the sixth dimension for the third, was the one possibility he had never considered; that he never was able to even imagine working.
The sixth dimension wasn't just a fancy place for Superman to fight, it tied directly into the story thematically. The story wasn't just "Here's a powerful villain who is a threat, go punch him until he's not", it was an actual story. The story elevates the feat and makes it have impact, not the other way around.
And before you ask, no, Superman is not the one who resolves everything at the end of the giant storyline Scott Snyder was building to throughout his run on Justice League. That would be Wonder Woman. In fact the last big event DC had was ultimately resolved by Nightwing and the current one they have revolves around Beast Boy. DC has other characters who do things (even if sometimes it doesn't always feel like it).

Summary over

Anyway, that is the story around that epic feat, and it's just ONE story among a sea of others for why people like Superman so much and why his incredible levels of power work perfectly fine for them.
But how do you fit all that in a single video that's supposed to be mainly just about who would win in a fight between him and someone else who also needs their backstory and feats explained? Heck, if you pay attention to Goku's section of the video Death Battle doesn't go that much into the specifics of his stories or history either, because there's simply too much to cover. There's nothing on the significance of Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time and they only lightly touch on Ultra Instinct, not on the journey Goku had to it, be it in the manga or anime, or the ideas and themes attached to it as he's working on it afterwards with the angels and against the likes of Moro, Granolah, and Gas. Even as the poster boy of action Shonen, Goku and his story are not just empty feats any more than Superman's are. There's so much more to both than what can be shown in a 27 minute video where the main topic is who would win in a fight between them.
Heck, Death Battle went out of its way to include some really fun Easter eggs during the actual fight when their clash was causing dimensions to break and hardly anyone even seemed to notice them or even realize what they were. Super Saiyan 4 Goku vs. Electric Blue Superman, essentially a battle of 90's extraness. Goku Black vs. Ultraman, so the two's evil alternate versions fighting. Xeno Goku vs. Cosmic Armor Superman, supposedly the strongest versions of the two in all their media. Those are all great and clever nods but if nobody knows them it's all a complete waste.
Just look at the context regarding some of the other specific feats or events Death Battle called out.

• Superman and Wonder Woman fighting in Valhalla for 1,000 years wasn't done just to give Superman a millennium's worth of combat experience. The main focus is how after centuries upon centuries of fighting alongside each other in an alternate dimension Superman is starting to struggle to hold onto his memories of his life in his regular world and Wonder Woman helps to ground him and keep him remembering. And naturally after so long together the two do start feeling romantic and sexual tension between them, especially when they are aware they may never see their old homes and lives again. But despite the temptation, his love for his wife Lois was stronger. The story wasn't about giving Superman and Wonder Woman bragging rights on battle forums, it was about showcasing the friendship between Clark and Diana, how they could be each other's rock to keep them sane and grounded in such a fantastical situation, and how even a thousand years apart couldn't break Clark's commitment to the love of his life.
• Superman training with Mongul the 2nd (son of Mongul and brother of Mongal) to overcome his mental blocks and the first time he dipped himself in the Sun to give himself a power boost? That was part of the storyline "Our Worlds at War" and not only was it to push Superman to embrace more of his Kryptonian heritage and that part of his identity, the aftermath was the most significant. You don't have the heroes of Earth fighting a guy who claims he was there when the Big Bang went off and his f**king battle moon and not have a few casualties. Superman was more powerful than he'd ever been previously...and a lot of people still died because he still wasn't fast enough or strong enough to get to them in time. The book even did a slight rework of a quote from the first Reeves movie: "All this power...and I couldn't save them.". For a time Superman even changed the yellow in his S-shield to black in honor and mourning for all those who died in the event, since unlike superheroes and supervillains, most of the time civilians and innocents caught in the crossfire don't come back after death. This led into another storyline where, as a way to deal with his grief and guilt, Clark tries to be Superman 24/7, which had a great crossover with the Titans and it's Nightwing, Dick Grayson, the first Robin, the guy who got his superhero name from Superman because of how much he admired and respected him, who starts getting through to Superman that protecting the entire world isn't his responsibility alone. Regardless of how their power levels may stack up, that's why heroes like him and teams like the Titans exist even in a world that has Superman.
• Superman using his heat vision as one of many heroes who are trying to restart the universe happened in a comic where he wasn't even that big a player in the story, it was more about Waverider, Green Arrow, Batgirl, and most significantly the Hal Jordan Green Lantern, now the villain Parallax after he was so overcome with grief by the destruction of Coast City and nearly everyone and everything he'd ever loved. Trying to restart the universe was needed to fix what Hal broke because, turns out, unimaginable anguish and loss does not make someone the most levelheaded when trying to rewrite reality to bring those they lost back.
• Death Battle didn't address this as directly at the others but the panel where they showed Superman fighting Doomsday and vibrating his body so fast that he was phasing through his attacks? Doomsday's deal is that whenever he's killed he'll eventually come back to life and with some kind of evolution that will keep him from being killed the same way again. In this story's case, Doomsday came back with increased intelligence. Before he was just a mindless killing machine with no rationality or reason, now he was smart enough to speak, strategize, and even pick up on his enemies' tactics. He was even better than before...but Superman figured out how to turn this new advantage into a weakness. Because Doomsday was now smart, he was now smart enough to be able to recognize pain. He remembered dying to Superman before in their iconic battle and he was afraid of dying again; a fear which Superman egged on. Superman stays calm and in total control of the fight while Doomsday is getting more anxious, which is slowing his movements and making him use his strength less effectively. He was more of a threat when he couldn't even understand pain, much less feel it, but now just snapping a claw against Superman's chest is throwing him off and making him vulnerable. It's why the versions of Doomsday after this one go back to being mindless, because the one time he was smart Superman completely took him apart physically AND mentally.

There are a ton of other examples that could be used, plenty of which even I don't know. I'm a fan of the character and have read many of his comics but I'm no expert on him, nor do I or anyone else need to be to understand something honestly very simple.

In summation, TL;DR, Yadda yadda:

The DC universe doesn't exist just to be several billions times larger than our universe and thus make it even more mathematically impressive that Superman can cross it, it exists to have characters, concepts, and ideas for Superman to bounce off of. And often you can only feel that by actually experiencing those stories. Which is why it bugs me so much that for so many people their only direct experience with Superman outside of just general pop culture osmosis is through things like Death Battle, which by their own acknowledgement can't give the full understanding of the characters because their focus is on their fighting ability, which even for characters like Goku are only a faction of who and what they are. Death Battle is not a substitute for these characters' stories and mythos, which seems obvious but apparently it's not because time and time again I keep seeing people being mad that Death Battle failed to win them over on why they should like or even accept Superman as a character, even though their purpose is just to justify him as the winner of a fight.
Sometimes reviews and summaries can help get the ideas across, like from Youtube channels like Comicstorian, Comics Explained, Atop the Fourth Wall, Casually Comics, Professor Thorgi, etc. But most people who watch those types of videos tend to be those who already read comics. And of course the best way overall would be just to read or watch Superman's stories yourself. It'd still be no guarantee you'd like them or Superman, as not everyone likes everything and not everything is made for everyone, but I can't help but feel like if people had as much direct experience with Superman as they do with Goku we'd get a lot less of people crapping on him or being so dismissive whenever they hear about his biggest feats, since like they do with Goku they'd have more context they can fill in the blanks with. They wouldn't be just empty feats anymore, they'd be another tool that was used to tell a good story.

Hey, yall. This is fganniversaries. Just like last week, I will be recapping anniversaries relating to fighting game announcements/releases this week. Like always, if I missed one, do please let me know in the comments. Here would be the following anniversaries:
September 25

• 2022: Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 Rollback Netcode Announcement Trailer
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Red Arcueid VS Kouma Kishima Gameplay Video #1/Noel Character Intro
• 2020: Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown originally being announced
• 2019: DBFZ Gogeta (SSGSS) Character Trailer
• 2019: Rivals of Aether Patch 1.4.15
• 2019: Fight of Gods - Susanoo Addition + Trailer
• 2019: Flappy Fighter - Battle 7 Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: DOA6 Tokyo Game Show '18 Gameplay Roundup
• 2018: Kill la Kill If Original Story Announcement
• 2018: Shovel Knight x Brawlhalla Crossover Announcement
• 2017: New Street Fighter V costumes, stage, and music packs being announced
• 2014: P4AU Margaret DLC Initial Release
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/25/2014 Pic of the Day
• 2013: Girl Fight releasing on Xbox 360
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/25/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 originally releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at NA
• 2012: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins initially releasing on PSN at NA
• 2009: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up releasing on Wii EU
• 2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee - Character Page #10 - Pikachu

September 26

• 2022: Capcom Fighting Collection - Patch Update Trailer
• 2021: KOFXV TGS 2021 Build Display
• 2021: [Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Roa Character Info
• 2020: Street Fighter V - Dan Character Preview
• 2020: Tekken 7 Season 4 Launch Trailer + 6 million copies sold/VOD Livestream
• 2019: DBFZ Gogeta (SSGSS) DLC Release
• 2019: My Hero One’s Justice 2 announced
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update releasing
• 2017: Kamen Rider: Climax Fighters screenshots
• 2016: BBCF Special PV trailers for Izayoi (22), Kagura (23), Terumi (24)
• 2016: Dissidia Final Fantasy Ace Battle Trailer + Gameplay Introduction Trailer
• 2014: P4AU English Trailers for Elizabeth, Mitsuru & Margaret/DLC Pricing Reveal/Rice Exclusive Fan Edition & Unboxing
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2014 Pic of the Day - Gamer Stage Reveal
• 2013: AquaPazza: Meet Arawn, Karulau, and Sasara
• 2013: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle’s - Old Joseph Joestar, Lisa Lisa, & Third Campaign DLC Release at JP/PV8
• 2013: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 1st Trailer + English Subs
• 2013: Sakigake!! Otokojuku: Nihon yo, Kore ga Otoko de Aru! Debut Trailer + Gameplay
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2013 Pic of the Day - Toon Link Reveal + Character Page
• 2012: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins releasing on Xbox 360 at NA and EU + Launch Trailer
• 2011: The King of Fighters XIII Moveset Showcase Videos for Raiden, Kim, Hwa Jai, Shen Woo, Elisabeth, & Duo Lon
• 2008: Gouken originally being added as a CPU opponent in SF4 + Screenshots & 1st Gameplay Footage (vs Abel) (vs Ken)
• 2006: Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 releasing on Gamecube at NA
• 2003: Soulcalibur II releasing on PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox at PAL.
• 1997: Virtua Fighter 3tb originally releasing at arcades at JP.

September 27

• 2022: The King of Fighters XV Team Samurai Trailer
• 2021: Melty Blood: Red Arcueid VS Kouma Kishima Gameplay Video #2 /Vlov Character Info
• 2020: Guilty Gear Official Live Stream: Latest Information Extra-Large Special Announcement
• 2020: Jump Force - Hiei Trailer
• 2020: UNIB Acrylic Stand Keychain Set Reveal
• 2019: Street Fighter V Kage’s Asura Costume Extra Battle Release
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch at JP. + Cooler & Android 17 DLC Release
• 2018: FEXL Steam Port Announcement
• 2018: SC6 The Fight is Real ft. Miles Chamley Watson
• 2018: SNK Heroines - Skullomania Reveal Trailer
• 2017: Dissidia Final Fantasy 10/3/17 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2017: Killer Instinct (2013) releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/27/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2013: UNIEL Character Guide #3 - Shield
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at JP and AU
• 2011: Persona 4 Arena Kanji and Yukiko Screenshots
• 2009: BBCS 1st Location Test
• 2007: Smash Bros. Dojo entry on Pokemon Trainer’s Final Smash
• 2002: Guilty Gear X Advance Edition releasing on GBA at EU
• 2002: SFA3 Upper originally releasing on GBA at JP

September 28

• 2022: KOFXV Team Samurai Story
• 2021: KOFXV Special Program Isla Reveal Announcement
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Red Arcuied Character Info/Type-Moon Times Vol. 6 Announcement
• 2020: KOF 02UM Rollback Open Beta Announcement
• 2020: Kunimitsu II Artwork/Vermillion Gates Stage screenshots releasing for Tekken 7
• 2019: UNICLR Collector’s Edition Announcement + Store Page
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update Trailer
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch worldwide.
• 2018: SC6 Network Test Movesets
• 2016: KOF 94, FF1, and SamSho 1 PSN Port Announcement
• 2015: Killer Instinct (2013) - 2.10 Patch Notes
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at EU
• 2012: P4A Patch Releasing
• 2012: Under Night In-Birth Operation Commemorative Event Event Receap
• 2009: Valkenhayn releasing as a DLC character for BBCS at NA
• 2007: Smash Bros Dojo Entry on Tourney
• 2005: Guilty Gear XX Slash originally releasing at arcades at JP.
• 1993: Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition originally releasing at JP.

September 29

• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Saber Reveal + Battle Preview/Opening Animation Reveal/Boss Rush Model Reveal/Linear Distance Online Guide/Live-Streaming Information/Opening Theme Streaming Services Release Date Reveal/Day 1 Patch/Unstable Connections/Nintendo Switch & Xbox One Bug Reports/Pre-Release Group Shot
• 2020: Breakers Revenge Console Trailer
• 2019: Guilty Gear Strive's CEOtaku2019 Trailer + Axl Low Reveal
• 2017: UNIB 2nd Smartphone Wallpapers
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Website opening
• 2016: BBCF Azure Edition Announced as EU Rice Exclusive
• 2015: Arcana Heart 3 Love Max!!!!!! Releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2015: Nitroplus Blasterz: 17 more short gameplay clips
• 2015: Tekken 7 Character Panel Art by jbstyle
• 2014: One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X Third Trailer
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/29/2014 Pic of the Day
• 2009: SFIV Saikyo Blog launching/T. Hawk & Juri being announced for SSFIV + Trailer
• 2005: Guilty Gear XX Reload releasing on the PSP at JP
• 1995: KOF 95 releasing on the Neo Geo CD worldwide.

September 30

• 2021: KOF98UMFE Rollback Implementation Announcement
• 2021: KOFXV Character Trailer #30 - Isla + Screenshots & Character Trailer #31 - K’ + Screenshots/TGS 2021 Special Program + 1st Gameplay Footage/1st Command List
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina originally releasing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam WW.
• 2020: Footsies Rollback Edition releasing on PC via Steam WW + Release Trailer
• 2020: SSBU 10/1/20 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Trailer
• 2016: Nitroplus Blasterz Steam Release Window Reveal
• 2015: Dengeki Bunko - Character Roster #2
• 2015: SSB3DS/Wii U Super Mario Maker, Pirate Ship & Duck Hunt Stage Release
• 2014: Eliza being released for Skullgirls + Launch Trailer
• 2014: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax releasing on PS3 & Xbox 360 at NA. + Tohru Adachi & Marie NA DLC Release/Full Trailer
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2014 Pic of the Day - Wii U Ver. Team Colors
• 2013: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R patch news that that the NA +R patch will be out before the end of the year
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2011: Under Night In-Birth Website Launch Orie & Gordeau Character Reveals
• 2009: BBCS New Details + 1st Screenshots of Hazama
• 2005: Sonic the Fighters releasing on Gamecube and PS2 at EU as part of Sonic Gems Collection’s EU release.
• 2001: Guilty Gear X releasing on PS2 at NA.
• 1998: Rival Schools: United by Fate releasing on PS1 at NA.
• 1997: Bushido Blade releasing on PS1 at NA.

October 1

• 2021: Bandai Namco Updated Logo Announcement
• 2021: Capcom Vs. Osamu Tezuka "Tokyo Edition" Re-Run Beginning
• 2021: KOFXV TGS 2021 IGN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFNYSfuxIUw) & Famitsu Gameplay Footage/Fan-Favorite K’ Lights up the Stage in The King of Fighters XV
• 2020: KOF 2002 UM Rollback Open Beta beginning
• 2020: SSBU Steve Reveal Trailer + Livestream + Mr. Sakurai Presents/“Everyone is Here” Steve Addition
• 2019: Kill la Kill -If Version 1.04 Patch + Nudist Beach D.T.R. DLC Release + Patch Notes & Trailer
• 2019: MK11 Terminator T-800 Official Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: Fighting EX Layer Update regarding PSN Sales
• 2017: Rivals of Aether - Clairen Reveal Trailer
• 2015: Killer Instinct - Shadow Jago: The Real Hollywood Story
• 2015: Them’s Fightin’ Herds being Greenlit on Steam
• 2015: SFV Zangief Reveal Trailer + PS Blog
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 10/1/2014 Pic of the Day - Orbital Gate Stage Details
• 2013: SSB3DS Wii U/3DS Sonic Reveal Trailer during 10.1.13 Nintendo Direct/10/1/2013 Pic of the Days
• 2010: Super Street Fighter IV Costumes Dated
• 2009: Dee Jay being announced for SSFIV + New Fighters Trailer
• 2007: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Page on Lucas
• 1999: Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals originally releasing on Nintendo 64 at JP.

Hey, yall. This is fganniversaries. Just like last week, I will be recapping anniversaries relating to fighting game announcements/releases this week. Like always, if I missed one, do please let me know in the comments. Here would be the following anniversaries:
September 25

• 2022: Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 Rollback Netcode Announcement Trailer
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Red Arcueid VS Kouma Kishima Gameplay Video #1/Noel Character Intro
• 2020: Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown originally being announced
• 2019: DBFZ Gogeta (SSGSS) Character Trailer
• 2019: Rivals of Aether Patch 1.4.15
• 2019: Fight of Gods - Susanoo Addition + Trailer
• 2019: Flappy Fighter - Battle 7 Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: DOA6 Tokyo Game Show '18 Gameplay Roundup
• 2018: Kill la Kill If Original Story Announcement
• 2018: Shovel Knight x Brawlhalla Crossover Announcement
• 2017: New Street Fighter V costumes, stage, and music packs being announced
• 2014: P4AU Margaret DLC Initial Release
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/25/2014 Pic of the Day
• 2013: Girl Fight releasing on Xbox 360
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/25/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 originally releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at NA
• 2012: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins initially releasing on PSN at NA
• 2009: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up releasing on Wii EU
• 2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee - Character Page #10 - Pikachu

September 26

• 2022: Capcom Fighting Collection - Patch Update Trailer
• 2021: KOFXV TGS 2021 Build Display
• 2021: [Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Roa Character Info
• 2020: Street Fighter V - Dan Character Preview
• 2020: Tekken 7 Season 4 Launch Trailer + 6 million copies sold/VOD Livestream
• 2019: DBFZ Gogeta (SSGSS) DLC Release
• 2019: My Hero One’s Justice 2 announced
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update releasing
• 2017: Kamen Rider: Climax Fighters screenshots
• 2016: BBCF Special PV trailers for Izayoi (22), Kagura (23), Terumi (24)
• 2016: Dissidia Final Fantasy Ace Battle Trailer + Gameplay Introduction Trailer
• 2014: P4AU English Trailers for Elizabeth, Mitsuru & Margaret/DLC Pricing Reveal/Rice Exclusive Fan Edition & Unboxing
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2014 Pic of the Day - Gamer Stage Reveal
• 2013: AquaPazza: Meet Arawn, Karulau, and Sasara
• 2013: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle’s - Old Joseph Joestar, Lisa Lisa, & Third Campaign DLC Release at JP/PV8
• 2013: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 1st Trailer + English Subs
• 2013: Sakigake!! Otokojuku: Nihon yo, Kore ga Otoko de Aru! Debut Trailer + Gameplay
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2013 Pic of the Day - Toon Link Reveal + Character Page
• 2012: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins releasing on Xbox 360 at NA and EU + Launch Trailer
• 2011: The King of Fighters XIII Moveset Showcase Videos for Raiden, Kim, Hwa Jai, Shen Woo, Elisabeth, & Duo Lon
• 2008: Gouken originally being added as a CPU opponent in SF4 + Screenshots & 1st Gameplay Footage (vs Abel) (vs Ken)
• 2006: Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 releasing on Gamecube at NA
• 2003: Soulcalibur II releasing on PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox at PAL.
• 1997: Virtua Fighter 3tb originally releasing at arcades at JP.

September 27

• 2022: The King of Fighters XV Team Samurai Trailer
• 2021: Melty Blood: Red Arcueid VS Kouma Kishima Gameplay Video #2 /Vlov Character Info
• 2020: Guilty Gear Official Live Stream: Latest Information Extra-Large Special Announcement
• 2020: Jump Force - Hiei Trailer
• 2020: UNIB Acrylic Stand Keychain Set Reveal
• 2019: Street Fighter V Kage’s Asura Costume Extra Battle Release
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch at JP. + Cooler & Android 17 DLC Release
• 2018: FEXL Steam Port Announcement
• 2018: SC6 The Fight is Real ft. Miles Chamley Watson
• 2018: SNK Heroines - Skullomania Reveal Trailer
• 2017: Dissidia Final Fantasy 10/3/17 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2017: Killer Instinct (2013) releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/27/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2013: UNIEL Character Guide #3 - Shield
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at JP and AU
• 2011: Persona 4 Arena Kanji and Yukiko Screenshots
• 2009: BBCS 1st Location Test
• 2007: Smash Bros. Dojo entry on Pokemon Trainer’s Final Smash
• 2002: Guilty Gear X Advance Edition releasing on GBA at EU
• 2002: SFA3 Upper originally releasing on GBA at JP

September 28

• 2022: KOFXV Team Samurai Story
• 2021: KOFXV Special Program Isla Reveal Announcement
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Red Arcuied Character Info/Type-Moon Times Vol. 6 Announcement
• 2020: KOF 02UM Rollback Open Beta Announcement
• 2020: Kunimitsu II Artwork/Vermillion Gates Stage screenshots releasing for Tekken 7
• 2019: UNICLR Collector’s Edition Announcement + Store Page
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update Trailer
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch worldwide.
• 2018: SC6 Network Test Movesets
• 2016: KOF 94, FF1, and SamSho 1 PSN Port Announcement
• 2015: Killer Instinct (2013) - 2.10 Patch Notes
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at EU
• 2012: P4A Patch Releasing
• 2012: Under Night In-Birth Operation Commemorative Event Event Receap
• 2009: Valkenhayn releasing as a DLC character for BBCS at NA
• 2007: Smash Bros Dojo Entry on Tourney
• 2005: Guilty Gear XX Slash originally releasing at arcades at JP.
• 1993: Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition originally releasing at JP.

September 29

• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Saber Reveal + Battle Preview/Opening Animation Reveal/Boss Rush Model Reveal/Linear Distance Online Guide/Live-Streaming Information/Opening Theme Streaming Services Release Date Reveal/Day 1 Patch/Unstable Connections/Nintendo Switch & Xbox One Bug Reports/Pre-Release Group Shot
• 2020: Breakers Revenge Console Trailer
• 2019: Guilty Gear Strive's CEOtaku2019 Trailer + Axl Low Reveal
• 2017: UNIB 2nd Smartphone Wallpapers
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Website opening
• 2016: BBCF Azure Edition Announced as EU Rice Exclusive
• 2015: Arcana Heart 3 Love Max!!!!!! Releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2015: Nitroplus Blasterz: 17 more short gameplay clips
• 2015: Tekken 7 Character Panel Art by jbstyle
• 2014: One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X Third Trailer
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/29/2014 Pic of the Day
• 2009: SFIV Saikyo Blog launching/T. Hawk & Juri being announced for SSFIV + Trailer
• 2005: Guilty Gear XX Reload releasing on the PSP at JP
• 1995: KOF 95 releasing on the Neo Geo CD worldwide.

September 30

• 2021: KOF98UMFE Rollback Implementation Announcement
• 2021: KOFXV Character Trailer #30 - Isla + Screenshots & Character Trailer #31 - K’ + Screenshots/TGS 2021 Special Program + 1st Gameplay Footage/1st Command List
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina originally releasing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam WW.
• 2020: Footsies Rollback Edition releasing on PC via Steam WW + Release Trailer
• 2020: SSBU 10/1/20 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Trailer
• 2016: Nitroplus Blasterz Steam Release Window Reveal
• 2015: Dengeki Bunko - Character Roster #2
• 2015: SSB3DS/Wii U Super Mario Maker, Pirate Ship & Duck Hunt Stage Release
• 2014: Eliza being released for Skullgirls + Launch Trailer
• 2014: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax releasing on PS3 & Xbox 360 at NA. + Tohru Adachi & Marie NA DLC Release/Full Trailer
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2014 Pic of the Day - Wii U Ver. Team Colors
• 2013: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R patch news that that the NA +R patch will be out before the end of the year
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2011: Under Night In-Birth Website Launch Orie & Gordeau Character Reveals
• 2009: BBCS New Details + 1st Screenshots of Hazama
• 2005: Sonic the Fighters releasing on Gamecube and PS2 at EU as part of Sonic Gems Collection’s EU release.
• 2001: Guilty Gear X releasing on PS2 at NA.
• 1998: Rival Schools: United by Fate releasing on PS1 at NA.
• 1997: Bushido Blade releasing on PS1 at NA.

October 1

• 2021: Bandai Namco Updated Logo Announcement
• 2021: Capcom Vs. Osamu Tezuka "Tokyo Edition" Re-Run Beginning
• 2021: KOFXV TGS 2021 IGN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFNYSfuxIUw) & Famitsu Gameplay Footage/Fan-Favorite K’ Lights up the Stage in The King of Fighters XV
• 2020: KOF 2002 UM Rollback Open Beta beginning
• 2020: SSBU Steve Reveal Trailer + Livestream + Mr. Sakurai Presents/“Everyone is Here” Steve Addition
• 2019: Kill la Kill -If Version 1.04 Patch + Nudist Beach D.T.R. DLC Release + Patch Notes & Trailer
• 2019: MK11 Terminator T-800 Official Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: Fighting EX Layer Update regarding PSN Sales
• 2017: Rivals of Aether - Clairen Reveal Trailer
• 2015: Killer Instinct - Shadow Jago: The Real Hollywood Story
• 2015: Them’s Fightin’ Herds being Greenlit on Steam
• 2015: SFV Zangief Reveal Trailer + PS Blog
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 10/1/2014 Pic of the Day - Orbital Gate Stage Details
• 2013: SSB3DS Wii U/3DS Sonic Reveal Trailer during 10.1.13 Nintendo Direct/10/1/2013 Pic of the Days
• 2010: Super Street Fighter IV Costumes Dated
• 2009: Dee Jay being announced for SSFIV + New Fighters Trailer
• 2007: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Page on Lucas
• 1999: Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals originally releasing on Nintendo 64 at JP.

Hey, yall. This is fganniversaries. Just like last week, I will be recapping anniversaries relating to fighting game announcements/releases this week. Like always, if I missed one, do please let me know in the comments. Here would be the following anniversaries:
September 25

• 2022: Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2 Rollback Netcode Announcement Trailer
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Red Arcueid VS Kouma Kishima Gameplay Video #1/Noel Character Intro
• 2020: Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown originally being announced
• 2019: DBFZ Gogeta (SSGSS) Character Trailer
• 2019: Rivals of Aether Patch 1.4.15
• 2019: Fight of Gods - Susanoo Addition + Trailer
• 2019: Flappy Fighter - Battle 7 Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: DOA6 Tokyo Game Show '18 Gameplay Roundup
• 2018: Kill la Kill If Original Story Announcement
• 2018: Shovel Knight x Brawlhalla Crossover Announcement
• 2017: New Street Fighter V costumes, stage, and music packs being announced
• 2014: P4AU Margaret DLC Initial Release
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/25/2014 Pic of the Day
• 2013: Girl Fight releasing on Xbox 360
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/25/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 originally releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at NA
• 2012: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins initially releasing on PSN at NA
• 2009: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up releasing on Wii EU
• 2001: Super Smash Bros. Melee - Character Page #10 - Pikachu

September 26

• 2022: Capcom Fighting Collection - Patch Update Trailer
• 2021: KOFXV TGS 2021 Build Display
• 2021: [Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Roa Character Info
• 2020: Street Fighter V - Dan Character Preview
• 2020: Tekken 7 Season 4 Launch Trailer + 6 million copies sold/VOD Livestream
• 2019: DBFZ Gogeta (SSGSS) DLC Release
• 2019: My Hero One’s Justice 2 announced
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update releasing
• 2017: Kamen Rider: Climax Fighters screenshots
• 2016: BBCF Special PV trailers for Izayoi (22), Kagura (23), Terumi (24)
• 2016: Dissidia Final Fantasy Ace Battle Trailer + Gameplay Introduction Trailer
• 2014: P4AU English Trailers for Elizabeth, Mitsuru & Margaret/DLC Pricing Reveal/Rice Exclusive Fan Edition & Unboxing
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2014 Pic of the Day - Gamer Stage Reveal
• 2013: AquaPazza: Meet Arawn, Karulau, and Sasara
• 2013: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle’s - Old Joseph Joestar, Lisa Lisa, & Third Campaign DLC Release at JP/PV8
• 2013: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 1st Trailer + English Subs
• 2013: Sakigake!! Otokojuku: Nihon yo, Kore ga Otoko de Aru! Debut Trailer + Gameplay
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2013 Pic of the Day - Toon Link Reveal + Character Page
• 2012: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins releasing on Xbox 360 at NA and EU + Launch Trailer
• 2011: The King of Fighters XIII Moveset Showcase Videos for Raiden, Kim, Hwa Jai, Shen Woo, Elisabeth, & Duo Lon
• 2008: Gouken originally being added as a CPU opponent in SF4 + Screenshots & 1st Gameplay Footage (vs Abel) (vs Ken)
• 2006: Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 releasing on Gamecube at NA
• 2003: Soulcalibur II releasing on PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox at PAL.
• 1997: Virtua Fighter 3tb originally releasing at arcades at JP.

September 27

• 2022: The King of Fighters XV Team Samurai Trailer
• 2021: Melty Blood: Red Arcueid VS Kouma Kishima Gameplay Video #2 /Vlov Character Info
• 2020: Guilty Gear Official Live Stream: Latest Information Extra-Large Special Announcement
• 2020: Jump Force - Hiei Trailer
• 2020: UNIB Acrylic Stand Keychain Set Reveal
• 2019: Street Fighter V Kage’s Asura Costume Extra Battle Release
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch at JP. + Cooler & Android 17 DLC Release
• 2018: FEXL Steam Port Announcement
• 2018: SC6 The Fight is Real ft. Miles Chamley Watson
• 2018: SNK Heroines - Skullomania Reveal Trailer
• 2017: Dissidia Final Fantasy 10/3/17 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2017: Killer Instinct (2013) releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/27/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2013: UNIEL Character Guide #3 - Shield
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at JP and AU
• 2011: Persona 4 Arena Kanji and Yukiko Screenshots
• 2009: BBCS 1st Location Test
• 2007: Smash Bros. Dojo entry on Pokemon Trainer’s Final Smash
• 2002: Guilty Gear X Advance Edition releasing on GBA at EU
• 2002: SFA3 Upper originally releasing on GBA at JP

September 28

• 2022: KOFXV Team Samurai Story
• 2021: KOFXV Special Program Isla Reveal Announcement
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Red Arcuied Character Info/Type-Moon Times Vol. 6 Announcement
• 2020: KOF 02UM Rollback Open Beta Announcement
• 2020: Kunimitsu II Artwork/Vermillion Gates Stage screenshots releasing for Tekken 7
• 2019: UNICLR Collector’s Edition Announcement + Store Page
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update Trailer
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch worldwide.
• 2018: SC6 Network Test Movesets
• 2016: KOF 94, FF1, and SamSho 1 PSN Port Announcement
• 2015: Killer Instinct (2013) - 2.10 Patch Notes
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at EU
• 2012: P4A Patch Releasing
• 2012: Under Night In-Birth Operation Commemorative Event Event Receap
• 2009: Valkenhayn releasing as a DLC character for BBCS at NA
• 2007: Smash Bros Dojo Entry on Tourney
• 2005: Guilty Gear XX Slash originally releasing at arcades at JP.
• 1993: Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition originally releasing at JP.

September 29

• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Saber Reveal + Battle Preview/Opening Animation Reveal/Boss Rush Model Reveal/Linear Distance Online Guide/Live-Streaming Information/Opening Theme Streaming Services Release Date Reveal/Day 1 Patch/Unstable Connections/Nintendo Switch & Xbox One Bug Reports/Pre-Release Group Shot
• 2020: Breakers Revenge Console Trailer
• 2019: Guilty Gear Strive's CEOtaku2019 Trailer + Axl Low Reveal
• 2017: UNIB 2nd Smartphone Wallpapers
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Website opening
• 2016: BBCF Azure Edition Announced as EU Rice Exclusive
• 2015: Arcana Heart 3 Love Max!!!!!! Releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2015: Nitroplus Blasterz: 17 more short gameplay clips
• 2015: Tekken 7 Character Panel Art by jbstyle
• 2014: One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X Third Trailer
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/29/2014 Pic of the Day
• 2009: SFIV Saikyo Blog launching/T. Hawk & Juri being announced for SSFIV + Trailer
• 2005: Guilty Gear XX Reload releasing on the PSP at JP
• 1995: KOF 95 releasing on the Neo Geo CD worldwide.

September 30

• 2021: KOF98UMFE Rollback Implementation Announcement
• 2021: KOFXV Character Trailer #30 - Isla + Screenshots & Character Trailer #31 - K’ + Screenshots/TGS 2021 Special Program + 1st Gameplay Footage/1st Command List
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina originally releasing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam WW.
• 2020: Footsies Rollback Edition releasing on PC via Steam WW + Release Trailer
• 2020: SSBU 10/1/20 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Trailer
• 2016: Nitroplus Blasterz Steam Release Window Reveal
• 2015: Dengeki Bunko - Character Roster #2
• 2015: SSB3DS/Wii U Super Mario Maker, Pirate Ship & Duck Hunt Stage Release
• 2014: Eliza being released for Skullgirls + Launch Trailer
• 2014: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax releasing on PS3 & Xbox 360 at NA. + Tohru Adachi & Marie NA DLC Release/Full Trailer
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2014 Pic of the Day - Wii U Ver. Team Colors
• 2013: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R patch news that that the NA +R patch will be out before the end of the year
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2011: Under Night In-Birth Website Launch Orie & Gordeau Character Reveals
• 2009: BBCS New Details + 1st Screenshots of Hazama
• 2005: Sonic the Fighters releasing on Gamecube and PS2 at EU as part of Sonic Gems Collection’s EU release.
• 2001: Guilty Gear X releasing on PS2 at NA.
• 1998: Rival Schools: United by Fate releasing on PS1 at NA.
• 1997: Bushido Blade releasing on PS1 at NA.

October 1

• 2021: Bandai Namco Updated Logo Announcement
• 2021: Capcom Vs. Osamu Tezuka "Tokyo Edition" Re-Run Beginning
• 2021: KOFXV TGS 2021 IGN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFNYSfuxIUw) & Famitsu Gameplay Footage/Fan-Favorite K’ Lights up the Stage in The King of Fighters XV
• 2020: KOF 2002 UM Rollback Open Beta beginning
• 2020: SSBU Steve Reveal Trailer + Livestream + Mr. Sakurai Presents/“Everyone is Here” Steve Addition
• 2019: Kill la Kill -If Version 1.04 Patch + Nudist Beach D.T.R. DLC Release + Patch Notes & Trailer
• 2019: MK11 Terminator T-800 Official Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: Fighting EX Layer Update regarding PSN Sales
• 2017: Rivals of Aether - Clairen Reveal Trailer
• 2015: Killer Instinct - Shadow Jago: The Real Hollywood Story
• 2015: Them’s Fightin’ Herds being Greenlit on Steam
• 2015: SFV Zangief Reveal Trailer + PS Blog
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 10/1/2014 Pic of the Day - Orbital Gate Stage Details
• 2013: SSB3DS Wii U/3DS Sonic Reveal Trailer during 10.1.13 Nintendo Direct/10/1/2013 Pic of the Days
• 2010: Super Street Fighter IV Costumes Dated
• 2009: Dee Jay being announced for SSFIV + New Fighters Trailer
• 2007: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Page on Lucas
• 1999: Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals originally releasing on Nintendo 64 at JP.

AFI
Horror punk
Similar Artists
An influential Northern California punk band whose hardcore origins evolved to include alternative rock, post-punk, emo, and new wave flair, AFI broke into the mainstream in 2000 with the arrival of their fifth studio LP The Art of Drowning. The band remained at the fore of the modern rock scene for the next two decades, releasing a string of chart-topping efforts like Sing the Sorrow (2003), Decemberunderground (2006), and AFI (2017). They continued to take punk music in exciting directions with 2018's The Missing Man EP and 2021's Bodies.
Northern California hardcore punk revivalists AFI formed in 1991 when the band's four founding members -- vocalist Davey Havok, guitarist Markus Stopholese, bassist Vic Chalker, and drummer Adam Carson -- were attending high school in Ukiah. Chalker was replaced by Geoff Kresge after eight months, and the band played several local gigs and released a split 7", Dork, with fellow Ukiah natives Loose Change (a band that incidentally included future AFI member Jade Puget). An EP titled Behind the Times was released as well. The bandmembers then split up to attend different colleges, with Kresge temporarily moving to New Jersey to join Blanks 77. However, AFI reconvened during a holiday break to play a one-off reunion show, and audience response was so positive that the bandmembers decided to quit school and concentrate on music full-time.
AFI (whose abbreviation stands for "A Fire Inside") issued several singles before securing a record deal with the Nitro label, which issued the band's second album, Very Proud of Ya, in 1996. Two LPs followed in 1997 -- a re-release of their 1995 debut, Answer That & Stay Fashionable, and Shut Your Mouth & Open Your Eyes -- and personnel shifts ensued. Kresge was the first to leave, replaced by bassist Hunter Burgan, and Stopholese departed, ex-Redemption 87 guitarist Jade Puget took his place and shared songwriting duties with Havok. The new lineup recorded an EP titled A Fire Inside in 1998, and issued a noticeably more mature full-length in 1999, Black Sails in the Sunset; 1999 also saw the release of the All Hallow's EP and The Art of Drowning a year later. Though already having a fiercely loyal core fan base, the latter album saw the band's music attracting an even larger audience, due in part to the moderate success of the single "Days of the Phoenix." Accordingly, it was the first album to chart in the Billboard 200.
At the onset of the new millennium, AFI hooked up with producers Jerry Finn and Garbage's Butch Vig for a new set of recording sessions. The end result was the ambitious Sing the Sorrow, AFI's major-label debut for DreamWorks, which showcased the band's significant growth since its early hardcore days. Released in 2003, the record also marked AFI's crossover into the mainstream. Sing the Sorrow eventually went platinum, buoyed by the singles "Girls Not Grey" and "The Leaving Song, Pt. II," both of which were popular on MTV.
Working again with Jerry Finn (who had also produced records for blink-182 and Green Day), the band began recording their next album, which would be their most labor-intensive to date, resulting in two years of detailed songwriting. Decemberunderground, AFI's seventh album, surfaced in 2006 on the Interscope label. The album was an instant success, debuting at number one on the Billboard charts and launching a summer-long tour, followed by a string of overseas performances in October. While on tour, Havok and Puget dedicated their spare time to a side project that would eventually become Blaqk Audio, which they debuted in early 2007. AFI released the concert album I Heard a Voice: Live from Long Beach Arena later that same year, but the bandmates continued pursuing their own projects, with Hunter Burgan playing bass for several other bands while Jade Puget did remix work for the likes of the Cure.
AFI properly reconvened in 2008 to begin writing new material; by November, they had announced their intention record with producer David Bottrill. Two months later, they traded Bottrill for a pair of new producers -- Joe McGrath and Jacknife Lee -- and continued working on the album, focusing on songs that were harder than those found on Decemberunderground. The result, Crash Love, was their most straight-ahead rock record to date. The album was released in September 2009 and proved to be another success, though it did not chart as highly or sell as well as the previous two albums. AFI toured extensively throughout 2010 to promote the release before going quiet for a couple of years. In 2013 they announced they would be returning with a new album, Burials, in October. Produced by Gil Norton, the album was preceded by a number of singles including the thrilling, melodic pop-punk anthem "17 Crimes."
Four years would pass before the next AFI album, during which time Havok and Puget worked on music for the hardcore side project XTRMST, as well as Blaqk Audio's third LP. The self-titled AFI (also known as "The Blood Album") was issued in January 2017. Rising to number five on the Billboard 200, it included the singles "Snow Cats" and "White Offerings." While on tour promoting the effort, AFI wound up recording a fresh batch of songs that landed on their 2018 EP, The Missing Man. Issued that December and produced by Puget, the five-track release included the single "Get Dark."
The band returned in early 2021 with the singles "Twisted Tongues" and "Escape from Los Angeles," both of which landed on their 11th album, Bodies. Released that June, the set continued their late-era maturation with a combination of synth-friendly sheen and nostalgic punk energy, heard on additional tracks such as "Looking Tragic" and "Dulceria," which was co-written with 2018 tourmate Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins.
Website Facebook Twitter Spotify
Studio Albums Bodies (2021) AFI (2017) Burials (2013) Crash Love (2009) Decemberunderground (2006) Sing the Sorrow (2003) The Art of Drowning (2000) Black Sails in the Sunset (1999) Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes (1997) Very Proud of Ya (1996) Answer That and Stay Fashionable (1995)
Previous spotlight - Sludgeworth

Wizards isn't the only one celebrating a major milestone. A competitor of Wizards, Konami, the creators of Yugioh, is celebrating their 25th anniversary. So, what did they do?
Well, first they actually did almost exactly what Wizards did. They released the first 5 sets ever created in Yugioh's history again, but with updated graphics. These packs are Legend of Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Pharaoh's Servant, Metal Raiders, Spell Ruler, and Invasion of Chaos. But Konami did a bit more. See, as quite possibly the biggest corporate middle finger I have ever seen, Konami made it so these are all playable, introduced a new rarity so it would actually be sought after by collectors, and made each pack only $4.99 just like every other pack they make. Funnily enough, this set was announced shortly after the Magic 30th Edition was done selling, which the Yugioh community that knew about the disaster that is 30th Edition thought was absolutely hilarious.
But the story doesn't end there. Oh, no. Konami not only gave Wizards of the Coast the biggest corporate fuck you, but they are also releasing another pack that is coming out on November 3rd. It's called "25th Anniversary Rarity Collection. This pack, which is also $4.99, shocker, is quite possible the best pack I have ever seen in my life.
Here's the announcement: https://www.yugioh-card.com/en/products/ra01/
We don't currently have a full card list yet, but Japan got a similar pack (Japan, Korea, and China Yugioh are all seperated from the other Yugiohs) called Rarity Collection Quarter Century Edition. There are 80 different cards in this set, (79 in the English one, likely because Maxx C is banned outside of Japan, Korea, and China) all of them have the same pull rate, AND they all appear in 1 of 7 foil treatments: (Each pack contains 2 Super rares, 2 Ultra rares, and 1 secret rare. The secret rare slot has a 1/4 to instead be an Extra Secret Rare or a Quarter Century Secret rare, while the Ultra Rare slot has a 1/6 chance of being an Ultimate Rare or a Collector's Rare)
Super Rare: Where just the artwork is foil
Secret Rare: Where the artwork has a sort of line foil effect to it, seen here. (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/5/50/ClearWingSynchroDragon-CROS-EN-ScR-1E.png/revision/latest?cb=20150618221234)
Ultimate Rare: Which is basically just foil etched, but with Japanese technology so it looks kind of like this: (https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Vp4AAOSwWJ5g7q1b/s-l1600.jpg)
Extra Secret Rare: Which looks like this: (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/yugioh/images/1/1a/SakyoSwordmasteroftheFarEast-2015-EN-EScR-UE.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20160821021746)
Collector's Rare: Which looks very similar to ultimate rare, but its more stylized and has a sort of shatterfoil look to it. (https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/kd8AAOSwevJePtyS/s-l1200.jpg)
Quarter Century Secret Rare: Which looks like this (https://product-images.tcgplayer.com/491812.jpg)
And it gets even better! Because this pack is FULL of very good reprints. Of the 80 cards in the pack, only 15 of them would be considered not desirable. Literally over 80% of the pack is actually useable. All these cards see play in one deck or another and see play in the meta right now.
​
So, when Konami announced this pack, how did the player-base respond?
^{Oh boy}
The player-base went absolutely ballistic. The set is 3 months away, but practically everyone and their mother is preordering a ton of cases.
Not booster boxes.
Cases. Which is a box of 12 booster boxes. (In Yugioh, each booster box contains 24 packs) Almost everyone is buying several booster cases of this set, and the people who aren't buying the cases (like me) are instead saving their money to buy a metric ton of singles that are pulled from this set. To really hammer down how insane this set is, imagine Wizard's of the Coast made a $4.99 pack that contained no draft chaff, and instead had 4 of every fetchland, shockland, and basically any card that is currently over $20 and sees consistent play in the metagame across all formats. That's what this set is to Yugioh.
And these people pre-ordering cases aren't all stores. My friend, who is just a casual player and barely even plays right now, saw the announcement and immediately pre-ordered 3 cases. He doesn't work for any LGS. He is just a singular person. This is the case for a very large chunk of the Yugioh community. Its not just whales. Ask yourself now: Have you ever bought a case of Magic cards? Or has it always just been you buying packs at the card shop? When was the last time your heard of anyone, who wasn't a card shop, buy a booster case of Magic cards? Because in Yugioh, buying a booster case of cards is extremely common. I've done it, all my friends have done it, and people on Zodiac Duelist (the biggest Yugioh facebook community) are constantly talking about cases.
But with this much product being opened...
...won't this crash the market?
No, because that's not how the 3rd party market works. Here's a story:
​
Six years ago a card called Ash Blossom & Joyous Spring was released in Yugioh. This card was a secret rare (Magic's equivalent to a Mythic rare) and was immediately $70. Over the course of the 6 years she has been in the game, she has seen consistent high tier play and has received 11 reprints. (Almost 2 reprints a year!) Three of those reprints were in $9.99 precons too! Right now an original near mint Ash Blossom is now $40, which it has been pretty stable at for almost a year. Meanwhile, her cheapest printing is $4. Her most recent reprint, with a different foiling, is currently $8. Despite being printed into oblivion, she still commands a decent price tag. There are also other versions of this card with different foil treatments that also command a price tag. Pretty much all the foil versions cost over $8. So there is still a market for Ash Blossom, even thought she has been reprinted so many times.
Here's another story. There's a card called Infinite Impermanence. Infinite Impermanence was released just 5 years ago, and it has the same exact story as Ash Blossom. Its been reprinted in structure decks, got a premium printing in a Tournament Pack (Basically promo packs that Magic has, but not full of trash) and is now only $10 for the lowest cost printing while the original is still over $40, (also $70 on release, like Ash) and the super premium version is about $150.
​
Reprinting cards, if done correctly, will not make your collection worthless. It might cause your high end cards to lose a little value, but that's already happening right now. Its just slower.
The only instance of a card becoming "worthless" is if it becomes methodically un-useable, like if it was banned in all formats. There are instances of this happening, but pretty much everyone in Yugioh communicates how good a card is, and we are all able to tell if something is going to get banned. (Surprises still happen sometimes though, like Spellbook of Judgement)
​
Conclusion:
​
Wizard's of the Coast is either too lazy or too incompetent to actually give us decent product. Commander Masters could have been an absolute home run. It was so close to being a home run too! It had decent reprints, but was held back by its insane price. Imagine right now: If Commander Masters was only $4.99 a pack, would you buy it? How much would you buy? Would you buy a case of it?
Because of Wizard's of the Coast making the reserved list, they likely have become paranoid of reprinting cards.
I am extremely thankful that Konami has figured out the ideal way to reprint cards and still have a market to sell to that consistently gorges themselves on product. (Now if only they could fix the End of Match procedure)
​
Cheers

Sometimes a band gets so big that they somehow outshine themselves. They reach a point in their career where it does not matter if they release a new album or not; fans just want to see them tour. No one gave a damn that Led Zeppelin had not released a new album since the 1970’s; everyone just wanted to see them play again at the O2 Arena in 2007. When The Who played the Super Bowl halftime show in 2010 they had only released one new album in 28 years, and no one cared. And no one cares that Guns & Roses aren’t making new music. They still packed arenas to see how much cake Axl had packed into himself.
We’re going to take a dive into a blues power trio from down south who have zero need to release any new music, since their recording career stretches back over five decades. They had amazing and groundbreaking success in the ‘70s, the ‘80s, and the ‘90s before hitting the max level. Instead of playing to win, they now play for fun. Their sexually charged lyrics and videos inspired generations of teens to both dress better and worry about their fly. And you can bet that their fuzzy, bluesy tight sound had a huge impact on our very own desert dwellers.
It’s time for us to take a walk with That Little Ol’ Band from Texas. This week’s featured artist is the legendary ZZ TOP
About Them
The Power Trio is a tested and true format for a rock band. Lots of examples come to mind: Cream. Rush. The Police. Biffy Clyro. King Buffalo. Them Crooked Vultures. (Wait a sec. Just three members? Clearly, not everything is bigger in Texas.)
There is a member joke there somewhere, but I just can’t get it to come. Hmm. Perhaps it will come if you play with it a bit.
Hey! Stop that. Get your mind out of the gutter.
ZZ Top’s original and founding member was William Frederick Gibbons. Born in Houston in 1949, the front man was originally a drummer but, after studying with Tito Puente in New York City, picked up the guitar at age 13. His dad was a musician in show business, which allowed Billy to get an insider’s view of the industry. By the late ‘60s, he had been in and founded a number of bands and had even befriended the late great James Marshall Hendrix. One of his first bands, a psychedelic/art house band called The Moving Sidewalks, toured with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. This meant that Gibbons was actually mentored by Snagglepuss himself. They also toured with The Doors, where Gibbons saw the legendary self-destructive band somehow manage to rise above conflict and make music every night. The Moving Sidewalks generated a following all of its own with a couple of hit songs, and things seemed to be headed in the right direction.
Things were going absolutely great until bassist Don Summers and keyboard player Tom Moore were drafted into the army to fight in Vietnam. Don't you just love the ‘60s?
Gibbons and drummer Dan Mitchell added a new keyboard player, Lanier Greg, and tried to make another run at it. But the chemistry was all wrong. Gibbons rechristened the band as ZZ Top (an homage to BB King), and declared that he wanted more of a straight up rock approach than the art-house kaleidoscopic sound.
Gibbons, Mitchell, and Greg (isn’t it weird when last names are also first names too?) recorded the single Salt Lick in 1969. This generated a bunch of interest and a recording contract. Decisions over the direction of the band ensued and it quickly became clear that Mitchell and Greg did not agree with Gibbons’ hard rock approach. That ended up being a poor life decision for them, but a great one for a couple of other guys.
Clearly, Gibbons needed a new rhythm section.
Fortunately, he found a package deal.
Dusty Hill and Frank Beard - also both born in 1949 - had been playing together on the Dallas-Houston-Fort Worth circuit in a number of bands, including The Warlocks, The Cellar Dwellers, and a fake cover band called The Zombies. Both the Duster and the (then ironically) beardless Beard also heard the siren call of rock and roll. Hill was classically trained and was an accomplished cello player before moving to his signature bass. Frank ‘Rube’ Beard appears to have been born with drumsticks in his hands (which I imagine might have been uncomfortable for his mom).
Beard joined the band first, along with bassist Billy Ethridge, who had played with Stevie Ray Vaughn. Ethridge balked at signing a contract and so joined Mitchell and Greg on the list of ZZ Top’s former members. Their lineup was set. Hill and Beard anchored the band in a rock-solid, tight, bluesy fashion. Gibbons meshed perfectly with this duo, and his Hendrix-inspired guitar work was on another level. Hill provided backing vocals, and Gibbons’ low throaty growl was an impressive counterpoint to his soaring fretwork. The talent was all there; now they just needed to record some music.
But success was not instantaneous, not by a long shot.
Their first album - appropriately called ZZ Top’s First Album - gives insight into who the band were to become. In this 1971 release, you can hear their raw sound. The record peaked at 201 on the charts, and had only one single - (Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree. It did give them material to go out and tour. The boys gelled on that tour and went back into the studio with renewed energy, and emerged with 1972’s Rio Grande Mud. The disc was a step forward in refining their sound. The album almost cracked the top 100, and the only single - Francine - went all the way to number 69.
Nice.
But the band knew that their third album, Tres Hombres, was something special. It is the epitome of Southern Rock: bluesy, fast paced, sexy, and irreverent, it is just over half an hour of pure magic. And while the album went gold and peaked at number 8 on the charts and is worth your time, it was one particular single that rocketed them to stardom. You know it and you love it, and a-how-how-how-how: La Grange. It is still in heavy rotation on classic rock stations today. And why not? The song is an absolute banger of boogie woogie blues, written about a visit to a whorehouse. What’s not to love?
La Grange propelled them to popularity. Tours sold out. Venues got bigger and bigger. 1975’s follow up album, Fandango!, was half live album (with some covers) and half new material - like an EP with bonus tracks. They covered the Elvis Presley classic Jailhouse Rock, Willie Dixon’s Mellow Down Easy, and John Lee Hooker’s Long Distance Boogie. The boys had rock and blues chops, and had 5 years of touring experience. These were bold statements that cemented their musicality as well as honoring their roots. But side two of the disc had another track that you’ve come to love. You ain’t asking for much: You’re just lookin’ for some Tush. Tush was the perfect sexually charged follow up to ensure that they were not one-hit wonders. It was written in a ten-minute spasm of creativity at a sound check, and has gone on to be one of their most popular songs.
While Tush topped the charts, ZZ Top went back into the studio to record their full length follow up, 1976’s Tejas. The name of the album means ‘friends’ in the Indigenous Caddo language, and was the basis for the name of the state. You know what that means? It means that the name of the state is ‘Friends’. Just like the ‘90s sitcom. Don’t mess with Friends. Anyways, this was an album of experimentation for the band, and unlike its predecessor it came out half baked at best. Billy Gibbons has called it a transition album. What actually happened is the band transitioned into a hiatus from touring and recording, taking some significant time off. They had recorded five albums in six years and spent virtually all their time on the road. The latest effort was just not up to their standards and was a step back. It also completed their recording contract.
What was the solution to this burn out?
Facial hair of course.
The boys took a few years off before landing another recording contract, this time with Warner. Over those months, both Gibbons and Hill grew what would become their signature long ‘Texas Goatee’ beards. Frank Beard did not grow a beard (though he did finally succumb to peer pressure from his bandmates in 2013, and his is much more neatly trimmed). So while they were resting/relaxing/getting their groove back/aligning their chakras or whatever, they also started to reinvent their signature sound as the world moved towards a decade of legendary excess.
The first step on this reinvention journey was 1979’s Degüello. The title literally means ‘decapitation’ but idiomatically refers to a fight to the death. Clearly, the band decided to tackle their transition head on. The album was not as successful as Tres Hombres or Fandango!, but it was not the flop that Tejas was. It did spawn a couple of singles - I Thank You (which was a cover) and the signature hit Cheap Sunglasses. Both are staples at ZZ Top concerts to this day. Degüello was quickly followed up in 1981 by the album El Loco. This was really the first time ZZ Top incorporated a synthesizer into their sound. As you know, the synth was THE new wave sound of the 1980s. Gods help us, keytars were once popular. But Gibbons, Hill, and Beard did not abandon their edge. The single Pearl Necklace was an immensely popular innuendo laced tune from this album. And no, I will not explain what a pearl necklace is to you.
Ask your mom.
Over the course of their first seven albums, ZZ Top had steadily grown in popularity and become a truly extraordinary live band. More than a decade of touring together meant that they had not just cut their teeth. They had found the Tooth Fairy, beaten her senseless, and added fangs to their jaws. They were ready to tackle whatever came their way.
Their huge breakthrough coincided with the birth of music videos and MTV. 1983’s Eliminator was an absolute monster of an album. ZZ Top were everywhere. They completely embraced the Music Video as a medium and became pioneers in this new genre. They branded their band with a 1933 fire-engine red Ford Coupe, which was on the cover of the album. They even had a signature hand gesture that they used as the car went by. The car belonged to Billy Gibbons and embodied his hot rod obsessions. It was featured in the videos for Gimme All Your Lovin’, Sharp Dressed Man, and Legs. Other singles from the album included Got me Under Pressure and TV Dinners. Eliminator is still the band’s most successful album. They were at the absolute height of their popularity with a massive audience. No doubt the 10-year-old Joshua Michael Homme watched those videos on a small screen in the California desert, little knowing that he would one day collaborate with Gibbons.
Seeking to capitalize on the popularity, the band went back into the studio and released Afterburner in 1985. It featured the signature hot rod on the cover and spawned two more singles - Sleeping Bag and Velcro Fly. Afterburner was not an innovative album by any stretch of the imagination. It simply built on the success of Eliminator and replicated the sound. If you blended the two albums together it would be very difficult for a novice fan to guess which song came from which disc. But hell, when you release the most popular album of your career and are earning millions of dollars for that sound, it is not time to mess with success. Or with Texas. Or with Friends (though Ross was a pain in the ass, IMHO).
That desire to not screw up a good thing was also evident in their next release, the retrospective re-release Six Pack. This was a great way to earn some bucks with a simple repackaging of existing tracks - I’m looking at you, K-Tel… - and introducing them to another generation of fans. This was not a bad thing at all - you gotta get that green whenever you can, because fame can be fleeting.
ZZ Top closed out the decade by going Back to the Future. Literally. They appeared in the third installment of the Michael J. Fox trilogy as the olde-timey house band (complete with rotating guitars) in the saloon scene. The single and signature song from the movie, Doubleback, appeared on their 1990 release Recycler. The album spawned two more singles: My Head’s in Mississippi and Concrete and Steel. Recycler was not as successful as its predecessors, but it did effectively max level the band. In the 1970’s they were a scuffling bar band that hit it big. In the 1980’s they were one of the most popular bands of the MTV generation. And in the 1990’s they achieved superstardom. They had hit the level where it truly no longer mattered if they ever released new material again. They could simply tour on their back catalogue alone and sell out stadiums.
It is clear that the band realized this as well. In the thirty years since Recycler came out, they have released five albums of new material: Antenna in 1994, Rhythmeen in 1996, XXX in 1999, Mescalero in 2003 and the critically acclaimed and Rick Rubin produced La Futura in 2012. This was equivalent to their output in their first six years.
In contrast, they have released no less than eight greatest hits albums, cover albums and live albums in the same time span. Greatest Hits came out in 1992. One Foot in the Blues was released in 1994. The massive compilation Chrome, Smoke & BBQ came out in 2003, and is a fantastic place to start if you are a new fan. Rancho Texicano was released in 2004, Live from Texas came out in 2008, and Double Down Live hit shelves in 2009. Live at Montreaux came out in 2013 and Tonite at Midnight: Live Greatest Hits from Around the World was released in 2016.
As recently as 2019, there were rumors that a new album was in the works for our Septuagenarian heroes. Lord knows the boys from Texas have nothing left to prove to anyone.
It was then that tragedy struck. Dusty Hill had to leave the band during a tour in 2021. The reason given was a hip injury. His guitar tech, Elwood Francis, filled in. Shockingly, Hill died at home at the age of 72 just five days after leaving the tour.
Fans were shocked and mourned the stalwart bassist. Per his wishes - and it seems he knew something wasn’t quite right - ZZ Top did not break up. Francis replaced Hill on bass, and the band soldiered on. In 2022, they released Raw, a soundtrack for a 2019 documentary about them. This was Hill’s final release.
You can still catch them on tour. They are going to be out there this summer, touring with Lynyrd Skynyrd, for something they are calling ‘The Sharp Dressed Simple Man’ Tour.
Go buy some tickets. Don’t miss your chance to see a truly iconic band before they are gone.
Links to QOTSA
The Reverend Billy F. Gibbons was a big part of the Lullabies to Paralyze album by our Desert Dwellers. He played guitar and provided backing vocals on Burn the Witch. He was co-lead vocalist and lead guitar on the QotSA cover of Precious and Grace, which he originally released as a ZZ Top tune on the Tres Hombres album. He also provided the guitar stylings for Like a Drug.
But the connections don't stop there. Billy sang the lead vocal track on the recent Desert Sessions tune Move Together, and he played guitar on Noses in Roses, Forever.
What may be most important to QotSA fans is that Gibbons was the first person, almost two years ago, who hinted that Queens were working on a new album.
And now we know he was right. Never doubt a Reverend.
Their Music
Salt Lick
(Somebody Else Been) Shaking your Tree
Francine
La Grange -- Live on Howard Stern
Jailhouse Rock
Tush -- a fan made video. It is not subtle.
Cheap Sunglasses
Pearl Necklace -- Live
Gimme All Your Lovin’
Sharp Dressed Man
Legs -- the ultimate makeover video
Got Me Under Pressure -- Live at Montreaux
Sleeping Bag -- Let’s go out to Egypt and check out some heads...
Velcro Fly -- also somehow in Egypt
My Head’s In Mississippi
Concrete and Steel -- vintage video
Doubleback
I Gotsta Get Paid -- from La Futura
Show Them Some Love
/zztop
Previous Posts
Tool
Alice in Chains
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
Rage Against The Machine
Soundgarden
Run the Jewels
Royal Blood
Arctic Monkeys
Ty Segall
Eagles of Death Metal
Them Crooked Vultures
Led Zeppelin
Greta Van Fleet
Ten Commandos
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All Them Witches

SDLG: Epic Chronicles was a comic based on the popular and controversial group Segidores de la Grasa (or SDLG), published around 2016, during the peak of popularity among young people. It was written and drawn by TheEopSaid. The comic would deal with a young man from a town who is chosen to be the bearer of the "Grasa".
The Logo of the comic
Availability
There are few pages, belonging to advanced volumes of the first. It is not known if a PDF of this was ever made, since due to the constant deletions of the group by Facebook, it could have been lost among them. On October 4, 2020, three years after the comic was published, YouTube user Desc Loq[1] would upload a video titled The Dark Side of Segidores de la Grasa, showing a page from the Megamind Saga tome. at minute 6:48. This is not in the author's DeviantArt.
On December 2, Spanish Lost Media user Psychodeus managed to contact its creator TheEopSaid via Skype, giving him a Mediafire download link.
Some of the comics
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lostmedia/images/7/71/4m77EnD_d.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20201025191330&path-prefix=es
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lostmedia/images/2/23/Cronicas_epicas_sdlg_3_la_cagas_by_theopsaid_d8hecc6-fullview.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20201025143941&path-prefix=es
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lostmedia/images/3/36/Cronicas_epicas_sdlg_4_pequeneo_by_theopsaid_d8hecvu-fullview.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20201025144018&path-prefix=es
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lostmedia/images/6/61/Cronicas_epicas_sdlg_5_la_cucaracha_by_theopsaid_d8hedhl-fullview.png/revision/latest?cb=20201025144850&path-prefix=es
Links
https://youtu.be/UNotH-zIJJc
https://www.mediafire.com/foldeasgm4xpwdaqwu/C%C3%B3mic_Seguidores_de_la_grasa_Cr%C3%B3nicas_(COMPLETO))
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EtflVRLM6BfarJlhvVBjAfqUs5CAQJxo/view?usp=share_link

Hi,
Running Ledger Live on a Mac, the Little Snitch reverse firewall shows the following.
Ledger Live before the most recent update makes the following domain calls when started:
ledger.app
fontawesome.com
githubusercontent.com
googleapis.com
ledger.com
braze.eu
compound.finance
segment.io
sentry.io
statuspage.io
​
Ledger Live after the most recent update makes the following domain calls when started:
ads-twitter.com
bing.com
cloudflare.com
dwin1.com
fontawesome.com
ggpht.com
githubusercontent.com
google.com
googleapis.com
googleoptimize.com
googletagmanager.com
gstatic.com
hotjar.com
mpactcdn.com
onetrust.com
redditstatic.com
tiktok.com
yimg.com
youtube-nocookie.com
ytimg.com
zemanta.com
braze.eu
ompound.finance
segment.io
contentsquare.net
criteo.net
doubleclick.net
facebook.net
sc-static.net
typekit.net
adsrvr.org
cookielaw.org
teads.tv
​
There are now connections being made to domains that I do not want to know that I have a Ledger device !
What are they doing FFS !

I know it's very early, and this has probably been discussed before. But what would you like to see in terms of crossovers? Especially in the vein of acquiring characters from other franchises. I know PGR had Nier Automata somewhat recently, but I think 2B/A2/9S would fit into WW as well. As for other games, I'd really like to have some characters from Falcom's Trails series. Perhaps Rean from Trails of Cold Steel/Sen no Kiseki or Shizuna from Kuro no Kiseki.
It's probably a little self-serving but I'd love some characters from PGR as well. Specifically this one. There are more, but that's the one I like the most.
Guilty Gear seems to love crossovers with other games, so I honestly wouldn't mind Baiken, Ky, Jack-O or Millia.
And for a completely unorthodox one, Miriam from Bloodstained. Because collecting those monster echos and using them is a similar mechanic to what Miriam does in that game (as well as Shanoa from Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, and Soma from Aria/Dawn of Sorrow).

I remember how cool it was to make your owm custom bird back when I played AB Friends on Facebook, now granted Rovio has made a "Birdsona" creator on their AB website, but it is very limited compared to the old "Bird-O-Matic" feature
I think a cool way to bring them back is by allowing you to have your "birdsona" as an way to have an unique pfp for a new version of the Rovio accounts system, and have also for AB 2 & AB Friends
Also have the "birdsona" character creator have all the birds, hats and accessories from the "Bird-O-Matic" Character Creator and have the birds be a bit more customasible, being able to have multiple different shapes, colors n' stuff
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/angrybirds/images/8/84/419323_10150675243894928_314467614927_9144855_156992221_n.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120318020205

This is a repost of the translation done in the reddit Discord server for wider accessibility. Translation by me. With some minor reword for accuracy.
Hello Warriors of Light and Darkness,
The interview for Patch 6.3 from Famitsu and other media outlets are out and here I bring you the information that is thankfully summarized by Summary sites! Source: http://blog.livedoor.jp/umadori0726/archives/60038715.html

◆ミソロジー・オブ・エオルゼア第2弾「喜びの神域 エウプロシュネ」

Myths of the Realm: The God Realm of Happiness Euphrosynē

The title is a literal translation of the Japanese version of this content
・前回の“輝ける神域 アグライア”は、吉田Pたちが思っていた以上に好評の声があった The previous 24-man raid Aglaia was well received. Far above what YoshiP expected.
・エオルゼア十二神というのは「エオルゼアに住まう人々のことが大好きでしかたがない」という存在なので、そのテンションは今回も維持 →今回も前回と同様に、“お祭り騒ぎ”という感じ The 12 Eorzean deities are existence that "the Eorzeans love and revere so much they can't help themselves", so the devs are maintaining that tension for this tier as well -> This will also mean they're retaining the "festival" feel of the tier, just like before.
・神々の中には“美しい、かわいいキャラクター”もいれば、“カッコイイけれど攻撃が苛烈なキャラクター”もいる。それぞれの戦う相手ごとにコンセプトを明確に分けているのでバラエティーに富んだ戦いが楽しめる There are deities who are "beautiful and cute", and there will also be deities who are "cool/awesome but relentless in their attacks". Since each opponents you face has a clear direction in what they're trying to portray for their concept, players will be able to enjoy a rich amount of variety in battle.
・ノフィカ様について →あの絵のとおりのものが出てくるのか、あまり斜め上にならないようご期待には応えていきたいとは思いつつ見惚れていると大変なことになるので気をつけてください Regarding Nophica -> On whether she will likely appear according to that illustration in particular, the devs want to fulfill the player's expectations but not promising something that goes way above and beyond on that matter, and if you're charmed by her, you'll be in trouble, so be careful.

◆パッチ6.3x実装の絶シリーズ第5弾について

On Ultimate, Patch 6.3

・テーマについてはそんなには捻ってはいないので、多くの方が「これだよね」と予想しているものだと思っていただいて大丈夫 The theme for this Ultimate doesn't have that much of a twist, so if most players predicted "it has to be this", then it should be fine to think that way.
・明日のプロデューサーレターLIVEでテーマやどのようなゲーム体験ができるかを説明 YoshiP will provide demonstration on how the experience is like during the upcoming PLL.
・報酬は称号と武器、アドベンチャラープレートの装飾 Rewards will be titles, weapons, and Adventure Plate.
・武器については、すでに“絶竜詩戦争”を作っている段階で「つぎの絶もあるから、ふたつの違いを踏まえてビジュアルエフェクトやデザイン、輝きかたを考えて」と言って作ってもらっている Regarding the weapon, YoshiP has already instructed the devs that, "since we have the next Ultimate, you need to consider on the visual effects, design, and the glow that shows the difference between the two (content)" during DSR's development stage.
・今回も自慢しがいのあるグラフィックになっている →吉田Pは元になる武器のデザインがかなり気に入っているので武器を手にするであろう方がうらやましい It will be once again a reward (original Japanese word used here is "graphic") where players can be proud to show off. -> YoshiP himself is pretty fond of the design, so those who got the weapon from the upcoming Ultimate may evoke some form of jealousy.
・難易度は現状では”絶竜詩戦争”を最上位と考えており、「それを超えよう！」とは考えていない Currently, they consider DSR to be the hardest among all, and they're not thinking of overtaking that in difficulty.
・戦闘時間は最終調整中なので明言はできないが極端に短くなるということはない →絶竜詩戦争と同じくらいになる？ They can't tell you how long this battle will last in length, but they are not going to make it extremely shot. -> Maybe around DSR's length? (predictions)
・今回の絶担当者は、パッチ6.2の「異聞シラディハ水道零式」のボス企画・制作も担当 →最終ボスを担当 →過去の零式4層も複数回、絶コンテンツも作ったことのあるメンバーで初の絶2回目となる担当者 The person who is handling Ultimate this time will be the designer who planned the bosses for "Criteron Dungeon Savage", he's also involved in the production -> The mentioned designer is assigned to work on the "final boss". -> Designers that worked on past Savage 4th floor boss, as well as experienced in creating Ultimate content will be the designers for the first 2 bosses. Meaning, this Ultimate has multiple designers, instead of one this time. (See the PSA below)
・6.xシリーズでの絶は今回が最後になる This will be the final Ultimate for Patch 6.x series
・今回もストーリー性はあるが前回ほど強烈なものにはしていない。今回は、今後の絶シリーズのことを考えて、「ストーリー演出をやりすぎない」ということも課題にしている The story elements for this Ultimate is more toned down, and it's not as prominent. They are making sure that the story elements and the direction/animation (cutscenes) will not be overdone for this Ultimate and beyond.
→今後の拡張でも、2回の絶シリーズのリリースを目標にしたい、と考えているが、これ以上演出コストを盛りすぎると、それができなくなる可能性が高くなる They want to aim for 2 Ultimate releases for the next expansion and beyond, and while they do think so, if they end up investing too much cost on the direction, the possibility of "aiming for 2 per expansion" may end up highly unfeasible.

◆ディープダンジョン第3弾“オルト・エウレカ”について

Regarding the third Deep Dungeon: Eureka Orthos

・ストーリーのクエスト数は決して多くはないが、ボスデザインやマップのイメージなどからもストーリーを感じられるようになっている There aren't much story quests for this content but the boss design and the map image may allow the players to feel that there's story elements in them.
・テキストも良いので、かなり上手くまとまっていると思う The text is really well written, so YoshiP thinks that they manage to solidify it quite well.
・かなり面白いエピソードなのでぜひ最深層に挑んでいただけると嬉しい The episode for this content is quite interesting so it'd be nice if players can challenge up the the deepest level of this dungeon.
・アメノミハシラがソロチャレンジをするにもちょうどよい難易度だったというお声をいただいているので、今回も最終的にはソロチャレンジをする人たちに楽しんでいただけるコンテンツにしたいと思う Since they received comments that the difficulty of challenging Heaven on High solo is just right, they want to make sure that players will be able to have fun challenging this content solo in the end as well.
・ギミック的なものや、プレイヤーが使える新しい要素は入っている →基本ルールは変えず、カジュアルに遊べるという部分も変えていない。これまで遊んでいた人にとっては、正統続編として、安心して遊べる There will be plenty of new mechanics and elements that players can utilize. The basic rules doesn't change, and they won't change how this content can be played casually. For players who challenged DD up to this point, they can rest assure that this is a direct/linear "sequel" to the previous content.
・シナリオをクリアするだけであれば，30階程度で済むようになっている。基本的にはアメノミハシラと同じくらいの気軽さで行っていただけると大丈夫 IF players are just looking to clear the scenario, they will finish this in about 30 floors. It's okay to think of this as "basically this works like Heaven on High".
・ソロクリアの報酬はこれまでと同様に称号のみ？ →基本的に報酬の考え方は同じ、シナリオ踏破アイテムもあればそのさらに奥へ行った時の踏破も用意されている The reward for solo clears are....titles only, just like before? -> Basically the line of thought for rewards on this content remains the same, and plenty of item variations are prepared for cases where one obtain them from clearing the scenario, and those who explore the floors deeper.

◆ナイトの調整について

PLD Adjustments

・「全面的にナイトというジョブのオーバーホールを行う」ことが主目的で「ローテーションに手を入れる」ことを目的とした調整ではない The whole job is basically overhauled. That's the main objective for the adjustment this time and they are not adjusting this with the objective of "working on its rotation"
・ほかのタンクに比べて使いづらい防御バフには手が入る Buffs that are hard to use compared to other tanks has been adjusted as well
・小技がやたら多かった部分は綺麗にしましたので、かなり使いやすくなっているのは間違いない They believed that a large amount of small tricks in this job has been sorted out, and it's definitely made easier to use.
・ナイトをオーバーホールするときに、コンボを含めてどういったコンセプトに基づいて変えていくのかはPLLでお伝えする The details on the concept behind the changes when overhauling the job, including the combo and whatnot will be relayed during the upcoming PLL.
※ナイトの調整の意図など詳細については元記事をご覧ください。 ※Refer to the articles on the intention behind PLD changes (Japanese only. See the source above)

◆マンダヴィルウェポンについて

Regarding Manderville Weapons

・今回もマンダヴィルウェポンを更に進行させるには、前提としてパッチ6.35のヒルディブランドクエストも進める必要がある You need to finish Patch 6.35 Manderville quest first before working on the next stage of the Manderville weapon.
・武器強化について、今回のコンセプトとしては、特定のコンテンツに紐づけて何かをするというよりも、「いろいろなコンテンツをやっていけば自然と貯めていける、交換できるもの」と考えているので、あまり警戒されなくても大丈夫 The concept for the weapon strengthening this time would be to "be able to exchange for something naturally by saving up the rewards gotten from various contents", so players don't need to worry too much.
・いろいろなジョブをプレイしてくださるのが現在の『FFXIV』の主流プレイスタイルとなってきているので、今回も複数ジョブでマンダヴィルウェポンの完成までがんばれるようなバランスになる予定 Since the main playstyle for FFXIV right now is players playing multiple jobs, they're planning to balance it so that players can complete the next step of multiple Manderville Weapons instead of just one.
・ビジュアルエフェクトの付きかたや、どのタイミングでどう強化していくかなどは、従来の武器強化コンテンツの流れを踏襲していく →武器強化の流れや最終到達アイテムレベルはこれまでと同様？ The visual effects and timing of weapon enhancements will follow the flow of past weapon strengthening contents. →It's unclear that whether the flow of weapon upgrades and its final item level will be the same as it was in the past.
・“帰ってきたヒルディブランド”クエストも6.Xシリーズ全般で引き続き語られていく形 →6.3ではまだ終わらない、もっとたいへんなことになる The Hildibrand Returns series quest will span throughout the 6.x series overall. -> 6.3 is not the end of the series, it'll get "worse"
・ストーリーの中身とデザインは切り離してカッコいい武器を作っていくというコンセプトがあるので ご安心ください。 The weapon will be badass looking, which is of course different from the silly and comedic nature of the story, so please rest assured.
・今後の強化で強化された武器にVFXの効果は付く The strengthened weapons in the future will have visual effects attached.

◆6.3の討伐・討滅戦について

Regarding 6.3 Trial

・メインストーリーの中で発生するもの Happens during Main Story.
・極については極バルバリシア討滅戦とはちょっと違い脳トレ要素あり、個人ギミックあり、各種タイプのギミックが入り乱れる、わりと正統派のバトルになると思う On EX version, it has a brain training elements that are slightly different than Barbariccia, there are also personal mechanics, and other types of mechanics mixed into it as well. It will be a classic battle.

◆クリスタルコンフリクトの新ステージについて

Regarding New Crystal Conflict Stages

・明日のプロデューサーレターLIVEで実機プレイをお見せできる Will show how it's done through live footages from PLL
・開発名がからくり屋敷なのでヴォルカニック・ハート以上に凝った仕掛けが作られている。その代わり、頻度を上げ過ぎないようにするなど、遊びやすさにも気を使っている Since the development name is "House Full of Tricks", it's going to have a lot of gimmicks, more so than the Volcanic Heart stage. But in return, the ratio of the gimmick triggered in stage will not be frequent, so this is made easier for players.
・急にお立ち台のようなものが出てきて、小判がばらまかれることになる For example, a portion of the stage will suddenly get lifted up, or sometimes you even see coins get thrown all around.

◆その他

Others

・今回の潜水可能エリアや刺突漁の追加は、吉田Pが指示を出したわけではなく開発チームが自主的に開発・実現 The addition of spear fishing and water diving in old areas this time are developed and added by the developers, not instructions from YoshiP.
・パッチ6.3後は、刺突漁をしなくてもいいので高地ラノシアの水中に潜りに行って、スクリーンショットを撮ってSNS上で盛り上がっていただければと思います。そうするとスタッフのやる気も上がって「つぎはこのエリアもやろう！」となるはず YoshiP has mentioned that you are more than welcomed to dive into the seas in Upper La Noscea and take screenshots without doing spearfishing (if you don't want to), as well as share those screenshots in your SNS (Twitter, Facebook, etc) account, when you do so, the staff members will definitely get motivated and work on the rest of the areas.
・まだ具体的なことはお話できないが、いろいろな企業さんとの取り組みや、「ひとつのゲームでそんなことまでやるんだ！」というものなど、ゲーム内外に驚きと楽しさを振りまくことを仕込んでいる →年が明ければ順次見えてくると思いますので、ぜひ楽しみにしてください。 While this cannot be told in detail yet, but YoshiP has been hard at work, working with other companies so that players can go "wow, they're going all their way to do THAT?" for both in game and external activities. -> Details will be made public once next year comes (which is soon™️) so please look forward to it.

PSA: There is an error with one of the translation above that requires rectification

過去の零式4層も複数回、絶コンテンツも作ったことのあるメンバーで初の絶2回目となる担当者

Previously I mentioned that this Ultimate will be the first Ultimate where it will have multiple designers working on it. But this is not actually true. The actual translation for this line is: "This designer has worked on multiple Savage 4th floor bosses in the past, and also worked on Ultimate content and this is the first time where he is assigned to work on his 2nd Ultimate"
Personally, this lead me to guess that the designer for this Ultimate being Nakagawa Daisuke, the designer of The Epic of Alexander (Ultimate). This will remain a guess until it's officially announced.
Sincerest apologies for the mistranslation on that particular line.
That's all. Thanks for reading and the upcoming PLL will have unofficial interpretation (I'll do my best as usual), which you can access the stream here

https://www.stlmag.com/dining/lousies-on-the-loop-now-open-in-university-city/?utm_content=227368584&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-78564012083
Didn’t Roseanne open one of those in the early 90’s. I think even hipsters have an irony line.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/roseanne/images/f/f0/The_Lunch_Box.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1200?cb=20191127054407

Hey yall this is fganniversaries again. Just like last week, I will be recapping anniversaries relating to fighting game announcements/releases this week. If I missed one, do please let me know in the comments. Here would be the following anniversaries:
September 26

• 2021: KOFXV TGS 2021 Build Display
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Roa Character Info
• 2020: Street Fighter V - Dan Character Preview
• 2020: Tekken 7 Season 4 Launch Trailer + 6 million copies sold/VOD Livestream
• 2019: DBFZ Gogeta (SSGSS) DLC Release
• 2019: My Hero One’s Justice 2 announced
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update releasing
• 2017: Kamen Rider: Climax Fighters screenshots
• 2016: BBCF Special PV trailers for Izayoi (22), Kagura (23), Terumi (24)
• 2016: Dissidia Final Fantasy Ace Battle Trailer + Gameplay Introduction Trailer
• 2014: P4AU English Trailers for Elizabeth, Mitsuru & Margaret/DLC Pricing Reveal/Rice Exclusive Fan Edition & Unboxing
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2014 Pic of the Day - Gamer Stage Reveal
• 2013: AquaPazza: Meet Arawn, Karulau, and Sasara
• 2013: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle’s - Old Joseph Joestar, Lisa Lisa, & Third Campaign DLC Release at JP/PV8
• 2013: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 1st Trailer + English Subs
• 2013: Sakigake!! Otokojuku: Nihon yo, Kore ga Otoko de Aru! Debut Trailer + Gameplay
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2013 Pic of the Day - Toon Link Reveal + Character Page
• 2012: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins releasing on Xbox 360 at NA and EU + Launch Trailer
• 2011: The King of Fighters XIII Moveset Showcase Videos for Raiden, Kim, Hwa Jai, Shen Woo, Elisabeth, & Duo Lon
• 2008: Gouken originally being added as a CPU opponent in SF4 + Screenshots & 1st Gameplay Footage (vs Abel) (vs Ken)
• 2006: Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 releasing on Gamecube at NA
• 2003: Soulcalibur II releasing on PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox at PAL.
• 1997: Virtua Fighter 3tb originally releasing at arcades at JP.

September 27

• 2021: Melty Blood: Red Arcueid VS Kouma Kishima Gameplay Video #2 /Vlov Character Info
• 2020: Guilty Gear Official Live Stream: Latest Information Extra-Large Special Announcement
• 2020: Jump Force Hiei Trailer
• 2019: Kage's Asura Costume being available for SFV:AE
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch at JP. + Android 17 and Cooler releasing for DBFZ as DLC playable characters.
• 2018: FEXL Steam Port Announcement
• 2018: SC6 The Fight is Real ft. Miles Chamley Watson
• 2018: Skullomania being announced for SNK: Heroines
• 2017: Dissidia Final Fantasy 10/3/17 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2017: Killer Instinct (2013) releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/27/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2013: UNIEL Character Guide #3 - Shield
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at JP and AU
• 2011: P4A Kanji and Yukiko Screenshots
• 2009: BBCS 1st Location Test
• 2007: Smash Bros. Dojo entry on Pokemon Trainer’s Final Smash
• 2002: Guilty Gear X Advance Edition releasing on GBA at EU
• 2002: SFA3 Upper originally releasing on GBA at JP

September 28

• 2021: KOFXV Special Program Isla Reveal Announcement
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Red Arcuied Character Info/Type-Moon Times Vol. 6 Announcement
• 2020: KOF 02UM Rollback Open Beta Announcement
• 2020: Kunimitsu II Artwork/Vermillion Gates Stage screenshots releasing for Tekken 7
• 2019: UNICLR Collector’s Edition Announcement + Store Page
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update Trailer
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch worldwide.
• 2018: SC6 Network Test Movesets
• 2016: KOF 94, FF1, and SamSho 1 PSN Port Announcement
• 2015: Killer Instinct's 2.10 Update releasing
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at JP and AU
• 2012: P4A Patch Releasing
• 2012: Under Night In-Birth Operation Commemorative Event Event Receap
• 2009: Valkenhayn releasing as a DLC character for BBCS at NA
• 2007: Smash Bros Dojo Entry on Tourney
• 2005: Guilty Gear XX Slash originally releasing at arcades at JP.
• 1993: Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition originally releasing at JP.

September 29

• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Saber Reveal + Battle Preview/Opening Animation Reveal/Boss Rush Model Reveal/Linear Distance Online Guide/Live-Streaming Information/Opening Theme Streaming Services Release Date Reveal/Day 1 Patch/Unstable Connections/Nintendo Switch & Xbox One Bug Reports/Pre-Release Group Shot
• 2020: Breakers Revenge Console Trailer
• 2019: Guilty Gear Strive's CEOtaku2019 Trailer + Axl Low Reveal
• 2017: UNIB 2nd Smartphone Wallpapers
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Website opening
• 2016: BBCF Azure Edition Announced as EU Rice Exclusive
• 2015: Arcana Heart 3 Love Max!!!!!! Releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2015: Nitroplus Blasterz: 17 more short gameplay clips
• 2015: Tekken 7 Character Panel Art by jbstyle
• 2014: One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X Third Trailer
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/29/2014 Pic of the Day
• 2009: SFIV Saikyo Blog launching/T. Hawk & Juri being announced for SSFIV + Trailer
• 1995: KOF 95 releasing on the Neo Geo CD worldwide.

September 30

• 2021: KOFXV Character Trailer #30 - Isla + Screenshots & Character Trailer #31 - K’ + Screenshots/TGS 2021 Special Program + 1st Gameplay Footage
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina originally releasing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam WW.
• 2020: SSBU 10/1/20 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Trailer
• 2016: Nitroplus Blasterz Steam Release Window Reveal
• 2015: Dengeki Bunko - Character Roster #2
• 2015: Super Mario Maker & Pirate Ship Stage releasing as paid DLC for SSB4 + Duck Hunt Stage as free update for SSB43DS
• 2014: Eliza being released for Skullgirls + Launch Trailer
• 2014: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax releasing on PS3 & Xbox 360 at NA./Tohru Adachi and Marie being released as DLC characters at NA.
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2014 Pic of the Day - Wii U Ver. Team Colors
• 2013: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R patch news that that the NA +R patch will be out before the end of the year
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2011: Under Night In-Birth Website Launch Orie & Gordeau Character Reveals
• 2009: BBCS New Details + 1st Screenshots of Hazama
• 2005: Sonic the Fighters releasing on Gamecube and PS2 at EU as part of Sonic Gems Collection’s EU release.
• 2001: Guilty Gear X releasing on PS2 at NA.
• 1998: Rival Schools: United by Fate releasing on PS1 at NA.
• 1997: Bushido Blade releasing on PS1 at NA.

October 1

• 2020: KOF 2002 UM Rollback Open Beta beginning
• 2020: Steve being announced for SSBU + Livestream
• 2019: Kill la Kill version 1.04 releasing, adding Nudist Beach D.T.R. + Patch Notes & Trailer
• 2019: MK11 Terminator T-800 Official Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: Fighting EX Layer Update regarding PSN Sales
• 2017: Clairen being announced for RoA
• 2015: Killer Instinct - Shadow Jago: The Real Hollywood Story
• 2015: Them’s Fightin’ Herds being Greenlit on Steam
• 2015: SFV - Zangief Reveal Trailer + PS Blog
• 2013: Sonic being announced for SSB4 during the 10.1.13 Direct
• 2010: Super Street Fighter IV Costumes Dated
• 2009: Dee Jay being announced for SSFIV+New Fighters Trailer
• 2007: Lucas being announced for SSBB

October 2

• 2019: Mortal Kombat 11 Terminator Breakdown Official Kombat Kast
• 2015: 1st gameplay of Zangief in SFV #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9 + Bison Buff
• 2015: Screenshots of Laura in SFV surfacing
• 2014: Claudio being revealed for Tekken 7
• 2014: Quan Chi revealed for Mortal Kombat X
• 2014: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS releasing in GER
• 2014: Tekken 7 Official Introduction & New Mechanics + PDF/1st Loketest Beginning
• 2013: AquaPazza: Meet Morgan, Oboro, and Touka
• 2013: Medaka Box being announced for J-Stars Victory VS
• 2013: Soulcalibur: Unbreakable Soul getting trademarked
• 2012: DOA5 Free Costume Packs releasing
• 2007: Smash Bros. Dojo Entry on Shadow Moses Island & Snake Joins the Battle!
• 2006: Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots releasing on GBA.

October 3

• 2020: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Mr. Sakurai Presents "Steve & Alex" + Mii Fighter Costumes #7
• 2019: Jump Force Madara Trailer
• 2019: MHOJ2 Debut Trailer + Gameplay Footage
• 2017: 1st gameplay footage of Ruby in BBTag
• 2017: Arcana Heart 3 LoveMax SixStars!!!!!! Steam Release Date + Trailer
• 2017: FFIII’s Cloud of Darkness being announced for Dissidia Final Fantasy + Gameplay & Livestream
• 2017: Gundam Versus DLC Mobile Suits ‘Alvaaron’ and ‘Buster Gundam’ JP Release Date
• 2017: Raiden releasing for Injustice 2 for Season Pass Owners/Introducing Atom!
• 2016: BBCF EU Release Date
• 2016: Pokken Tournament 10/13/16 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2016: Street Fighter V Spook-tacular Update + Screenshots
• 2014: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS releasing on NA and EU/Ness, Falco, and Wario being announced for SSB4
• 2013: J-Stars Victory VS 2nd Trailer
• 2013: Killer Instinct 2013: Dojo Mode Breakdown
• 2013: Sakigake!! Otokojuku PS3 second trailer
• 2009: BBCS 2nd Location Test featuring Hazama
• 2007: Smash Bros Dojo Entry on Excitebike

Hey yall this is fganniversaries again. Just like last week, I will be recapping anniversaries relating to fighting game announcements/releases this week. If I missed one, do please let me know in the comments. Here would be the following anniversaries:
September 26

• 2021: KOFXV TGS 2021 Build Display
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Roa Character Info
• 2020: Street Fighter V - Dan Character Preview
• 2020: Tekken 7 Season 4 Launch Trailer + 6 million copies sold/VOD Livestream
• 2019: DBFZ Gogeta (SSGSS) DLC Release
• 2019: My Hero One’s Justice 2 announced
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update releasing
• 2017: Kamen Rider: Climax Fighters screenshots
• 2016: BBCF Special PV trailers for Izayoi (22), Kagura (23), Terumi (24)
• 2016: Dissidia Final Fantasy Ace Battle Trailer + Gameplay Introduction Trailer
• 2014: P4AU English Trailers for Elizabeth, Mitsuru & Margaret/DLC Pricing Reveal/Rice Exclusive Fan Edition & Unboxing
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2014 Pic of the Day - Gamer Stage Reveal
• 2013: AquaPazza: Meet Arawn, Karulau, and Sasara
• 2013: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle’s - Old Joseph Joestar, Lisa Lisa, & Third Campaign DLC Release at JP/PV8
• 2013: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax 1st Trailer + English Subs
• 2013: Sakigake!! Otokojuku: Nihon yo, Kore ga Otoko de Aru! Debut Trailer + Gameplay
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/26/2013 Pic of the Day - Toon Link Reveal + Character Page
• 2012: Marvel vs. Capcom Origins releasing on Xbox 360 at NA and EU + Launch Trailer
• 2011: The King of Fighters XIII Moveset Showcase Videos for Raiden, Kim, Hwa Jai, Shen Woo, Elisabeth, & Duo Lon
• 2008: Gouken originally being added as a CPU opponent in SF4 + Screenshots & 1st Gameplay Footage (vs Abel) (vs Ken)
• 2006: Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 releasing on Gamecube at NA
• 2003: Soulcalibur II releasing on PS2, Gamecube, and Xbox at PAL.
• 1997: Virtua Fighter 3tb originally releasing at arcades at JP.

September 27

• 2021: Melty Blood: Red Arcueid VS Kouma Kishima Gameplay Video #2 /Vlov Character Info
• 2020: Guilty Gear Official Live Stream: Latest Information Extra-Large Special Announcement
• 2020: Jump Force Hiei Trailer
• 2019: Kage's Asura Costume being available for SFV:AE
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch at JP. + Android 17 and Cooler releasing for DBFZ as DLC playable characters.
• 2018: FEXL Steam Port Announcement
• 2018: SC6 The Fight is Real ft. Miles Chamley Watson
• 2018: Skullomania being announced for SNK: Heroines
• 2017: Dissidia Final Fantasy 10/3/17 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2017: Killer Instinct (2013) releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/27/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2013: UNIEL Character Guide #3 - Shield
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at JP and AU
• 2011: P4A Kanji and Yukiko Screenshots
• 2009: BBCS 1st Location Test
• 2007: Smash Bros. Dojo entry on Pokemon Trainer’s Final Smash
• 2002: Guilty Gear X Advance Edition releasing on GBA at EU
• 2002: SFA3 Upper originally releasing on GBA at JP

September 28

• 2021: KOFXV Special Program Isla Reveal Announcement
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Red Arcuied Character Info/Type-Moon Times Vol. 6 Announcement
• 2020: KOF 02UM Rollback Open Beta Announcement
• 2020: Kunimitsu II Artwork/Vermillion Gates Stage screenshots releasing for Tekken 7
• 2019: UNICLR Collector’s Edition Announcement + Store Page
• 2018: DBFZ Free Update Trailer
• 2018: DBFZ releasing on the Nintendo Switch worldwide.
• 2018: SC6 Network Test Movesets
• 2016: KOF 94, FF1, and SamSho 1 PSN Port Announcement
• 2015: Killer Instinct's 2.10 Update releasing
• 2012: Dead or Alive 5 releasing on PS3 and Xbox 360 at JP and AU
• 2012: P4A Patch Releasing
• 2012: Under Night In-Birth Operation Commemorative Event Event Receap
• 2009: Valkenhayn releasing as a DLC character for BBCS at NA
• 2007: Smash Bros Dojo Entry on Tourney
• 2005: Guilty Gear XX Slash originally releasing at arcades at JP.
• 1993: Street Fighter II': Special Champion Edition originally releasing at JP.

September 29

• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina - Saber Reveal + Battle Preview/Opening Animation Reveal/Boss Rush Model Reveal/Linear Distance Online Guide/Live-Streaming Information/Opening Theme Streaming Services Release Date Reveal/Day 1 Patch/Unstable Connections/Nintendo Switch & Xbox One Bug Reports/Pre-Release Group Shot
• 2020: Breakers Revenge Console Trailer
• 2019: Guilty Gear Strive's CEOtaku2019 Trailer + Axl Low Reveal
• 2017: UNIB 2nd Smartphone Wallpapers
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Website opening
• 2016: BBCF Azure Edition Announced as EU Rice Exclusive
• 2015: Arcana Heart 3 Love Max!!!!!! Releasing on PC via Steam worldwide.
• 2015: Nitroplus Blasterz: 17 more short gameplay clips
• 2015: Tekken 7 Character Panel Art by jbstyle
• 2014: One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X Third Trailer
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/29/2014 Pic of the Day
• 2009: SFIV Saikyo Blog launching/T. Hawk & Juri being announced for SSFIV + Trailer
• 1995: KOF 95 releasing on the Neo Geo CD worldwide.

September 30

• 2021: KOFXV Character Trailer #30 - Isla + Screenshots & Character Trailer #31 - K’ + Screenshots/TGS 2021 Special Program + 1st Gameplay Footage
• 2021: Melty Blood: Type Lumina originally releasing on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC via Steam WW.
• 2020: SSBU 10/1/20 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2019: MHOJ2 Teaser Trailer
• 2016: Nitroplus Blasterz Steam Release Window Reveal
• 2015: Dengeki Bunko - Character Roster #2
• 2015: Super Mario Maker & Pirate Ship Stage releasing as paid DLC for SSB4 + Duck Hunt Stage as free update for SSB43DS
• 2014: Eliza being released for Skullgirls + Launch Trailer
• 2014: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax releasing on PS3 & Xbox 360 at NA./Tohru Adachi and Marie being released as DLC characters at NA.
• 2014: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2014 Pic of the Day - Wii U Ver. Team Colors
• 2013: Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R patch news that that the NA +R patch will be out before the end of the year
• 2013: SSB3DS/Wii U 09/30/2013 Pic of the Day
• 2011: Under Night In-Birth Website Launch Orie & Gordeau Character Reveals
• 2009: BBCS New Details + 1st Screenshots of Hazama
• 2005: Sonic the Fighters releasing on Gamecube and PS2 at EU as part of Sonic Gems Collection’s EU release.
• 2001: Guilty Gear X releasing on PS2 at NA.
• 1998: Rival Schools: United by Fate releasing on PS1 at NA.
• 1997: Bushido Blade releasing on PS1 at NA.

October 1

• 2020: KOF 2002 UM Rollback Open Beta beginning
• 2020: Steve being announced for SSBU + Livestream
• 2019: Kill la Kill version 1.04 releasing, adding Nudist Beach D.T.R. + Patch Notes & Trailer
• 2019: MK11 Terminator T-800 Official Gameplay Trailer
• 2018: Fighting EX Layer Update regarding PSN Sales
• 2017: Clairen being announced for RoA
• 2015: Killer Instinct - Shadow Jago: The Real Hollywood Story
• 2015: Them’s Fightin’ Herds being Greenlit on Steam
• 2015: SFV - Zangief Reveal Trailer + PS Blog
• 2013: Sonic being announced for SSB4 during the 10.1.13 Direct
• 2010: Super Street Fighter IV Costumes Dated
• 2009: Dee Jay being announced for SSFIV+New Fighters Trailer
• 2007: Lucas being announced for SSBB

October 2

• 2019: Mortal Kombat 11 Terminator Breakdown Official Kombat Kast
• 2015: 1st gameplay of Zangief in SFV #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9 + Bison Buff
• 2015: Screenshots of Laura in SFV surfacing
• 2014: Claudio being revealed for Tekken 7
• 2014: Quan Chi revealed for Mortal Kombat X
• 2014: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS releasing in GER
• 2014: Tekken 7 Official Introduction & New Mechanics + PDF/1st Loketest Beginning
• 2013: AquaPazza: Meet Morgan, Oboro, and Touka
• 2013: Medaka Box being announced for J-Stars Victory VS
• 2013: Soulcalibur: Unbreakable Soul getting trademarked
• 2012: DOA5 Free Costume Packs releasing
• 2007: Smash Bros. Dojo Entry on Shadow Moses Island & Snake Joins the Battle!
• 2006: Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots releasing on GBA.

October 3

• 2020: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Mr. Sakurai Presents "Steve & Alex" + Mii Fighter Costumes #7
• 2019: Jump Force Madara Trailer
• 2019: MHOJ2 Debut Trailer + Gameplay Footage
• 2017: 1st gameplay footage of Ruby in BBTag
• 2017: Arcana Heart 3 LoveMax SixStars!!!!!! Steam Release Date + Trailer
• 2017: FFIII’s Cloud of Darkness being announced for Dissidia Final Fantasy + Gameplay & Livestream
• 2017: Gundam Versus DLC Mobile Suits ‘Alvaaron’ and ‘Buster Gundam’ JP Release Date
• 2017: Raiden releasing for Injustice 2 for Season Pass Owners/Introducing Atom!
• 2016: BBCF EU Release Date
• 2016: Pokken Tournament 10/13/16 Character Reveal Announcement
• 2016: Street Fighter V Spook-tacular Update + Screenshots
• 2014: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS releasing on NA and EU/Ness, Falco, and Wario being announced for SSB4
• 2013: J-Stars Victory VS 2nd Trailer
• 2013: Killer Instinct 2013: Dojo Mode Breakdown
• 2013: Sakigake!! Otokojuku PS3 second trailer
• 2009: BBCS 2nd Location Test featuring Hazama
• 2007: Smash Bros Dojo Entry on Excitebike

>be me, player
>be part of an online DnD party for a level 5 villain one-shot with no feats and various magic items on hand
>party consists of a hobgoblin eldritch knight (me), a teifling arcane trickster, a warforged echo knight, an aarakocra divine soul sorcerer, a dragonborn vengeance paladin, and a “human” order cleric
>almost everyone is a serious villain of sorts
>keyword "almost"
>the order cleric is the fucking Earl of Lemongrab from Adventure Time
>the characters are all summoned by a vengeful witch who wants them to steal a powerful crystal from a tribe of woodland elves in order to put a curse on the entire region. Each character would be paid handsomely for their efforts, but the reward would have to be split among each character.
>as the session starts, each character is given a chance to act out how they’d kill a small group of elves patrolling the area without having to make any rolls
>almost everyone does this in a unique way that’s both effective yet basic
>keyword "almost"
>Lemongrab approaches a duo of elves in front of a campfire, overanalyzing it and claiming that the fire is “not up to code” and “defies safety protocol”
>unacceptable.mp4
>he uses the Command spell to have them grovel and cower before him as he nails written fines to their heads as punishment for their negligence, killing them instantly
>by far the most brutal means of execution out of all of us
>despite this, the rest of us are laughing our asses off OOC
>now the game can officially begin
>our group strolls up to the main safeguard where the crystal is kept
>it’s guarded by a group of seven elves, one of them being the leader of the entire tribe
>as we’re all discussing a method of approach, Lemongrab suddenly emerges from the bushes and runs up to the tribe leader
>in the most shrill, voice-cracking tone imaginable, he outright demands that they surrender the crystal to him or face the consequences
>rolls to intimidate
>nat 1
>the elves are so confused as to what they are witnessing that they don’t even take him seriously
>trying to save face, my character storms in and attempts to apprehend Lemongrab, who’s doing his best impression of a boiling tea kettle
>tries to save face and explain that he’s just a raging lunatic who has been evading his capture and causing a disturbance wherever he goes
>”give me a performance check,” says the DM
>nat 1. Again.
>facepalm.png
>the elves aren't taking any of this seriously as a mysterious frost-covered hobgoblin and a yellow-skinned humanoid are causing the most unusual scene they have ever witnessed
>everyone OOC is still laughing at the absurdity of the situation
>the cleric then decides to take matters into his own rindy hands
>casts his Channel Divinity on all of the elves to charm them
>despite their advantage on their saving throws, more than half of the elves are charmed, including the tribe leader
>notbad.png
>Lemongrab orders the charmed elves to drop their weapons and stand aside
>the uncharmed elves protest against this and try to attack
>the other party members rush in just before combat starts
>thanks to Lemongrab’s blessings and healing spells, the party is making quick work of the hostile elves
>Lemongrab assumes control of the villainous group in the middle of the fight, establishing the “Court of Lemongrab” with him at the center of it
>the hobgoblin, aarakocra, and the teifling silently object to this but go along anyway solely because the cleric’s usefulness makes up for his annoyances
>towards the end of the fight, the arrakocra Subtle Spell’s Crown of Madness onto Lemongrab
>he makes the save but the DM still describes the crown temporarily manifesting for a moment
>the hobgoblin sees this, but doesn’t bring it up as the aarakocra doesn’t get exposed for it
>after killing the hostile elves, Lemongrab tells the charmed elves to tie themselves up to a tree
>the chieftain does that to her fellow elves, but soon returns with her arms bound as the charm effects wear off, demanding to know what’s really going on
>the entire ensemble beat the shit out of her and leave her for dead in front of the last remaining elves who are bound and helpless to stop them
>missionaccomplished.gif
>as we return to the witch with the crystal, a succubus suddenly appears and stops us from proceeding
>almost everyone manages to outrun her and escape her hungry claws
>keyword "almost"
>the arrakocra tried to use its flying speed to attack the succubus without getting attacked in return
>the player then realized that the succubus could also fly
>the succubus lands its opportunity attack and uses her own flying speed to catch up with the arrakocra
>notaccordingtoplan.jpg
>the rest of the party leaves him for dead
>more gold for the rest of us
>the dm, giving mercy on the arrakocra’s player, decides to resurrect him for the final encounter at half health without restoring any spent spell slots or sorcery points
>among the Court of Lemongrab, the leader is tasked with carrying any items of vital importance
>as the group is traveling the rest of the way, the tiefling tries to steal the crystal from the cleric
>manages to get a sleight of hand score of exactly 30
>Lemongrab rolls to get a 29 in perception
>*laughs in rouge*
>as the group rolls up to the witch, she demands that the crystal be given back to her
>when Lemongrab reaches for it, he finds that it is not there and starts to whine once more
>the hobgoblin is getting really tired of hearing this annoying twerp constantly cry like this
>the teifling keeps the stone hidden and waits to see how things pan out
>the arrakocra tries once more to silently cast Crown of Madness onto Lemongrab’s head
>succeeds the save once again
>you can’t break what is already broken
>once again, the crown appears for a mere moment before disappearing
>the tension reaches to a head as the hobgoblin suddenly believes that the cleric is possessed by a demon who has been manipulating everyone this entire time
>holds an action to attack the cleric immediately after he casts a spell
>Lemongrab casts the spell Sanctuary on himself
>as the hobgoblin tries to swing at him, he fails the wisdom save and instead attacks the nearest person closest to him
>the sword plunges inside the aarakocra’s still-wounded chest thanks to Saving Face
>andsoitbegins.mp4
>the aarakocra barely beats the hobgoblin in initiative
>tries to twin spell Lightning Bolt on him but since the spell doesn’t target a single creature, it fails to work
>instead casts Lightning Bolt solely hitting the hobgoblin
>makes the dex save
>silently thank myself for giving him a decent dexterity score
>the sorcerer once again tries to fly away from the person he was attacking
>the eldrich knight lands a critical hit on their opporitunity attack
>cuts off one of the aarakocra’s wings as he’s now knocked unconscious
>in a frenzy, the hobgoblin massacres the crippled sorcerer and permadeaths him with another brutal crit
>the hobgoblin is now standing in a pool of the aarakocra’s blood and feathers while completely drenched in red, using his second wind to regain all of the health lost from the lightning bolt blast
>the rest of the party spend the rest of the round by simply standing back out of surprise at the brutal, unprompted murder that just took place except for the tiefling rogue, who hides in the fog that the witch summoned around them
>the hobgoblin realized that he was “manipulated” by Sanctuary and stares down at the cleric, pointing its bloody sword at him and screaming, “Mind games!”
>once again attempts to attack him, this time from afar with Ice Knife
>fails the wisdom save yet again
>the knife misses, but the explosion deals a bit of damage to him
>“Treason! Tyranny! Mutiny against the Court of Lemongrab! This! Is! UNACCEPTABLE!!"
>Lemongrab casts Bless on the echo knight, their echo, and the paladin and orders them to attack the raging hobgoblin
>the echo knight and the echo move in close as they both surge into overdrive
>between the two of them, they manage to attack the eldritch knight no less than seven times (if my potato brain remembers correctly) in one round thanks to their high constitution score, Action Surge, and having the Scimitar of Speed equipped
>astoundingly, the hobgoblin evades or blocks most of those hits despite each attack being rolled both at advantage and boosted by a 1d4
>the last strike landed brings my character down to 2 hp
>I realize that I might just make it through another round of combat
>and then the paladin rushes from behind
>guessilldie.jpg
>I think that it’s all over for me when my aforementioned potato brain suddenly realizes that I’m almost out of spell slots
>keyword "almost"
>“is 23 a hit?”
>“Not when I cast Shield!”
>a shield of frost manifests around the hobgoblin as it saves him from a final killing blow
>everyone gets hyped
>The paladin swings his second attack
>It crits
>Smites for good measure
>The shield bursts upon impact in a radiant explosion as the hobgoblin finally lay defeated, half of its body charred with unholy flames
>The sequence of events that happened within that 6-second frame of combat was enough to describe a climactic final fight scene in an epic fantasy action movie
>imnotevenmad.png
>the paladin finishes off my character while the echo knight and Lemongrab find and kill the rouge with a well-placed Slow spell
>the crystal is retrieved and the witched is impressed by the bloodshed, granting the three survivors plenty of gold for their efforts
>The Court of Lemongrab continued to remain strong as the trio set off to do even more villainous acts together
​
As far as villainous one-shots go, I’d say that this one was...acceptable.

Introduction
It’s August 5, 2022, and C2E2, a large comic book and entertainment convention in Chicago, is about to open. One of the most sought-after collectibles that weekend will be Black Flag’s Ultimate Fallout #4 In God We Intrust acetate. The run is limited to 750 copies.
Minutes into the convention, the book is sold out. As Black Flag celebrates, a story begins to spread: Influencers skipped the line and purchased large numbers of copies right in front of everyone. One person reports seeing an influencer walk away with a hundred books.
Now, I wouldn’t bother with a write-up if this was just a story about scalpers or scummy influencers. That’s par for the course for conventions and hobbies centered on collecting. This just kept spiraling until it implicated almost everyone involved. This story has it all: copyright infringement, a major controversy in authenticating and grading collectibles, whispers of insider trading and pay-to-play schemes, policy changes, lollipops, and a $25,000 eBay bid for the book in question amid a new speculator boom in the hobby.
To make sense of it, we need to rewind.
​
The 1990s Speculator Bubble
Once, comics were mass entertainment but the industry has been shrinking since the late 1960 and comics became a niche hobby. In the mid-to-late 80s, the high-value sale of some old comics garnered mainstream media attention, and speculators thinking they could buy some comics and get rich in a decade jumped in head-first.
Publishers were eager to cater to this new and growing segment of speculators and flooded the market with stunts, gimmicks, and variant covers to maximize sales.
People bought dozens of copies of certain books, believing X-Force #1 or Spawn #1, quintessential 90s comics, would gain value like the first appearance of Superman had. However, old books are valuable because they weren't collectors’ items, just disposable entertainment. Nobody carefully carried home dozens of copies, got them professionally graded (more on that in a minute), and then waited around to get rich the way speculators planned to. A book that sold a million copies in the 90s is essentially worthless today.
​
Variant Covers
During the boom, comics started to do multiple covers on the same book—variants—to incentivize people to buy multiple copies, inflating their sales numbers and netting a bigger profit. Variants appeal to collectors—notorious completionists—and speculators alike. The interior is always the same, however rare your cover is.
Early on, these variants just used different colors but soon, they had entirely new artwork or some cool gimmick. Chromium embossed, 3D, glow-in-the-dark, holographic, or leather—the 90s had it all.
This, of course, couldn’t last. In the late 90s, the bubble burst, and the market collapsed. Speculators fled the hobby and collectors were left behind, cursing the excesses of the 90s. Collectors have never forgiven speculators and have been on high alert for them ever since. The late 90s and early 2000s were a dark time but slowly, the market recovered.
One thing was sure, though, variant cover gimmicks were dead.
​
The New Variant Cover Craze
In the aftermath of the collapse, variant covers were few and far between, reserved for special events or reprints. Variant covers didn’t stay gone long, however. Where in the 90s, you got maybe two or three variants, 2011’s Spider-Man #666 had 145. 2019’s Detective Comics #1000 had 84. Almost every X-Men issue since 2019 has had variants.
Today, the ratios between covers usually vary from 1:1 to 1:200—meaning that’s how many issues a retailer needs to order to get one variant. It might be worth it to order more books than you need (and then have them sit in your shop for years) to get a super rare 1:1000 BRZRKR #1 variant signed by co-writer Keanu Reeves because there will inevitably be demand for those.
That’s to say, variant covers are back with a vengeance.
The variant numbers have ballooned in part because publishers offer third parties the opportunity to commission exclusive variants. To get an exclusive cover from Marvel or DC, “shops, shows or creators have to order a minimum of 3000 copies, with subsequent variants of the variant at 1500 and 1000.” On average, a well-selling comic sells around 40,000 copies, so committing to 3,000+ (non-returnable) copies is a gamble.
(This is supposedly sometimes offset by retailers falsely claiming damaged books, receiving replacements, and then selling the “defective” books they’re meant to destroy to retailers and resellers in bulk with the agreement that they will sit on the books for a while before trying to flip them.)
In addition to buying the books, the retailer has to pay the artist (till 17:32). Throughout the process, the retailer and the artist are only supposed to communicate through the publisher who’s the middleman in all financial matters and has to approve the final product.
While exclusive variants might be hot when they’re released, as a rule, they don’t hold value and are a terrible long-term investment. If a retailer can’t sell all their copies in a month, they’ll probably never move them.
​
Comics Grading
To perfectly maintain your comics, some suggest getting valuable books graded. For $25 and up, professional services, the biggest of which is CGC (Certified Guaranty Company), will authenticate and grade your comic. The condition of the whole book is considered. It is then encased in a plastic case with a label and grade printed on the plastic along with label notes. Informally, the process is called slabbing.
Graders are private businesses that establish their own guidelines. They are not regulators nor do they have any sort of authority. They all have their controversies and are infamous for their lack of transparency. Often, the only way to appeal a grade is to pay to have it regraded. And people do. There’s a huge price difference between a 9.8 and a 9.6 in the after-market despite them being nearly identical, so retrying for a 9.8 might be worth it. 9.9s and 10.0s might as well not exist.
While people usually argue about the technicalities of grading, we’re here to talk about the colors of CGC’s labels:

• Blue (Universal) Label books have “no qualifiers or special considerations.” The platonic ideal.
• Green (Qualified) Label books “have a significant defect that needs specific description.” That includes writing on the cover, tears, missing non-story pages, missing or replaced staples, or married covers (“Frankenbooks”) where a different cover is added to the interior.
• Yellow (Signature) Label books have authenticated signatures from one or more people who worked on the book. CGC needs to witness the signature; it does not authenticate old ones.

​
CGC
CGC has gotten in trouble over the years for losing or damaging books, lacking quality control, and bad customer service but they’re the industry standard. Their grades are the most respected in town, and people aren’t going to stop slabbing anytime soon because of the value it adds to books. Collectors are very invested in CGC’s reputation because if it takes a hit, so might the price of their collectibles. So, CGC can usually afford to stay silent and wait for the controversy to blow over.
Recently, they couldn’t. In 2021, they slabbed Bad Idea’s Conceptual Funnies #1, an invisible comic book. Many think the CGC slabs were empty, however, they do contain “a folded piece of transparent acetate, held together by [two] staples.” Copies with high grades sold for over a thousand dollars. CGC was criticized for tarnishing the brand for a publicity stunt. Some said this showed grades could be bought.
CGC apologized and asked Bad Idea to stop selling the CGC-graded copies (no others existed). Bad Idea, having sold out their stock (34 copies), complied, and everyone moved on.
​
The New Speculator Boom
So here we are, thirty years after the heyday of the speculator bubble, and we’re in the middle of a new speculator boom. I’d attribute this in part to live-action adaptations that draw new people to comics. As characters debut on the big and small screen, comics featuring them rise in value (temporarily). A character can be an irrelevant D-lister one day and then they get name-dropped somewhere, and prices skyrocket. Tigra, a cat lady in a bikini), was hot for a minute last year because a background character on a Disney+ show shared her first name.
In the 90s, Wizard Magazine published extensive price guides and a list of hot books every month. Now, thanks to the internet, there are hot books and new deals every minute.
​
Influencers, Hype, and WhatNot
A lot of the hype is driven by influencers, as critics have been calling them. Some are content creators with large (for comics) social media followings but I think “influencer” is a misnomer. “Online reseller” (or “flipper”) is much more fitting since that’s the common denominator between our future culprits.
While most people use eBay, WhatNot, a website that combines livestreams with auctions, has established itself since the beginning of the pandemic. Being a big WhatNot seller gives you clout, access to WhatNot-exclusive variant covers, and often an exhibitor pass at conventions. You can also auction off books on the convention floor at the WhatNot booth.
All the resellers who got called out at C2E2 sell on WhatNot.
Resellers are often accused of hyping up the speculator market. Some rip up books on stream to increase rarity. Others do their weekly videos about the hottest comics, then go on WhatNot to auction off some of their copies. I’m sure there’s a strict separation between church and state, and that what they or their friends want to move doesn’t influence what’s hot.
A pattern emerges: speculators hype new, modern books and their exclusive variants. Unlike old comics that typically increase in value but are harder to find, the supply of moderns is endless. Usually, these books will be hot at release and then lose value. Not a good long-term investment but a good strategy for flippers.
Many comic book fans, especially those newer to the hobby, cite FOMO (fear of missing out) as a factor in their purchases. That’s understandable to an extent as everyone has a story about a book they once had a chance to buy for cheap that is now super expensive. Livestream auctions that often last a minute also contribute to that. This guy who went to C2E2 with no interest in the comic at the center of this, yet ended up spending over a thousand dollars on one because he saw they were blowing up online is the perfect example.
​
Black Flag and Clayton Crain
Black Flag Comics is an online retailer based in Florida. It’s owned by a couple called Jason and April, who are friends with many big online resellers. They sell rare books and variants and often commission their own.
Many of these exclusives are drawn by Clayton Crain, an in-demand artist (click for art) who’s mostly worked for Marvel. He has a cool (and very expensive) rainbow signature and does annual CGC signings. Black Flag and Crain often hit the convention circuit together and he’s a mainstay on their livestream sales.
Infinite Black is “a comic book publisher, but also a design agency” “set up by Black Flag Comics and Clayton Crain.” Jason describes Crain as “an integral part of our life as a member of our family and an awesome business partner.”
The only thing Infinite Black appears to have published is Crain’s creator-owned comic Zymotica. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Nobody cares about Infinite Black, Zymotica, or Crain’s relationship to Black Flag yet.
​
Ultimate Fallout #4 Replica
In 2021, Marvel decided to reprint Ultimate Fallout #4 (from now on UF4), a 10-year-old book. The story doesn’t matter; it’s the first appearance of Miles Morales, the Afro-Latino Spider-Man. He’s very popular and UF4 is one of the rare modern books that has increased in value and is bound to get more expensive. Ungraded, it sells for a little under $700 today.
Several retailers, including Black Flag, ordered exclusive covers. Black Flag’s cover was Crain’s take on the original: Miles holding the Spider-Man mask while Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor look on.
Black Flag priced their variant at $20 or $25. (I’m not sure since the listing is gone.) At 3,000 copies, this should have made Black Flag a lot of money.
It didn’t. Despite supposedly selling out, Black Flag still had a lot of unsold copies, and demand was low. A 9.8 Black Flag variant sold on eBay for $36. But Black Flag had an idea.
​
In God We Intrust Acetate
Around August 5, Black Flag announced they would have a con-exclusive variant of their UF4 variant at C2E2, the In God We Intrust Acetate. This new variant is identical to the original Black Flag replica but enveloped in an additional, mostly clear plastic/acetate cover that adds an American flag, a faded USA stencil, and an overlay on the mask so that Miles is now holding the American flag folded the way the military does for dead soldiers.
Veterans quickly pointed out that the flag was folded incorrectly; the red part of the flag shouldn’t be visible.
The acetate back cover shows an Infinite Black logo, a gigantic American flag with 14 bars, Crain’s pre-printed signature, and the United States’ famous motto we’ve all heard a million times, “In God We Intrust” (or does it say “In God We In Trust America”? Doesn’t really matter though some argued about the grammar.) For those keeping score, that’s three separate patriotism-themed mistakes.
Black Flag would have 750 copies available for $85 a pop. There would so be a few pre-graded copies ranging from $500 (later $750) for the 9.8s to $2,500 for a 10.0. These grades raised eyebrows.
ComicBookInvest.com declared the UF4 acetate the second hottest book of the week immediately when it was announced and before a single copy was sold. Also suspicious though the rumor has always been that you pay to get on those lists.
People also wondered who Infinite Black was and how they were putting out a Marvel book.
​
The Inciting Event (Again)
C2E2 hadn’t opened its doors yet but about forty people were in line at Black Flag’s booth. Someone made a map. People in line reported big-name resellers skipping ahead and walking away with dozens of copies. We know three bulk buyers secured a third of the copies.
As Black Flag ran out of books within minutes of the convention opening, they limited purchases to two books per customer and hiked up the price to $100. They still sold out minutes later. Nobody who didn’t have early access to the convention was able to buy a copy.
Meanwhile, some resellers began auctioning off their UF4 acetates on WhatNot from the convention floor for multiple times the cover price.
This was initially just people with tiny YouTube channels yelling at people with slightly bigger YouTube channels. I haven’t found an account from anyone buying one copy for their collection. That’s because general admissions people never made it to the line before the comic sold out. Everyone there wanted to price-scalp.
In a Facebook post that quickly accumulated over 300 replies, people called out the resellers and heatedly debated who was more to blame: the resellers for buying all the books; WhatNot for allowing and maybe even encouraging it; Black Flag for not instituting any policies to prevent hoarding and price scalping; or the large publishers for creating the variant cover craze in the first place.
​
Resellers Respond
Several resellers tried to explain themselves. It won’t surprise you that most of these responses have been deleted. Here are the leftovers I found.
The resellers’ arguments boiled down to this: All the books they bought were for friends. Not that there was anything wrong with buying up all the copies. Anyone would have done the same in their place. They had taken a huge financial risk, not for themselves but for the benefit of collectors who hadn’t been at the con. This was all coming from haters who were jealous they weren’t good at speculating.
From what I saw, WhatNot received little scrutiny. I’m not sure if I was looking in the wrong places or if nobody expected much from WhatNot.
Comic books have always been an industry full of backroom deals. People were annoyed these deals had been made in broad daylight. The consensus was that "if they want to make a move like that, do it behind closed doors at least.”
All of that drew attention to the comic book in question, and there were issues here, too.
​
The Outcry
Many complained that the In God We Intrust Acetate exploited soldiers and patriotism. The mistakes on the cover were disrespectful as was the fact that Black Flag wasn’t donating part of the proceeds to veteran organizations. This felt like a cheap cash grab.
The print run numbers were suspect. In the best-faith scenario, Black Flag had ordered a variant of their Crain cover back in 2021 and was only rolling those out now. But then, the print run should have been 1,500. What had happened to the other books? Black Flag had never said they’d destroyed any, so the 750 copies might have been a lie. There was no way of knowing since the books weren’t numbered and didn’t have certificates of authenticity (which isn't unusual).
As people looked at the cover more closely, they noticed two more things:

1. The inside cover was identical to the 2021 Black Flag UF4, down to the barcode.
2. The book was held together by four staples instead of the normal two.

Quickly, a theory formed: Black Flag had taken their unsold UF4 replicas and stapled acetate covers on them. This, if true, was a huge problem.
​
“Our Books Are Dope.”
Let’s go back to C2E2. Black Flag briefly celebrated selling out, and reminded fans that they would be at Fan Expo Boston the following weekend with more exclusive Crain acetates.
Crain was meant to sign at the booth all day but canceled unexpectedly “due to circumstances.” He has not been heard from since (and his website has been under construction). Since he had only drawn the original cover, he wasn’t anyone’s target (yet).
Black Flag’s owner Jason couldn’t afford to stay silent and chose possibly the worst way to address the controversy: He went live on Facebook while wandering the convention floor. The 25 minutes of footage I have are as chaotic and erratic as you would expect.
He began by doing “a shout-out. This was April’s idea. The acetates were completely her idea.” He then confirmed what eagle-eyed observers had already guessed: These were old UF4s he’d added a new cover to. There was “no copyright infringement or anything. I’m not using any Marvel stuff. I’m just using stuff you can find around your house or your local flea market.” True, but not how copyright infringement works.
Jason’s major concern was money:
“Everybody’s mad because they couldn’t spend 100, 85 bucks and they can’t go online and make $300. […] I wish everybody could have one but the cold, hard reality is […] this is my money on the line. I need my money now more than ever because of everything else that’s going on. […] So shout-out to all the influencers aka flippers. I guess flippers is influencers now. I’m trying to use the correct terminology. […] Fortunately, the influencers know Black Flag is dope. Our books bring money, bro, and I’m glad. I want everyone to prosper. We live in America. God bless America.”
Having explained himself sufficiently, Jason moved on to the two acetate covers for Fan Expo Boston. These would have even more limited print runs, and Jason wanted to be fair. So he would have two lines: one for influencers—“the people who support me with the big, big, big cha-ching”—who’d be allowed to buy 10 copies each, and a line for normal people for whom he’d set 100 books aside (though only for the first three hours.)
This, unsurprisingly, drew mockery.
The same day, Black Flag took down all their social media posts about UF4. That’s the last anyone heard of them for over a month.
And with that, people turned to what would be the biggest controversy in this whole story:
​
Is the Book Even Real?
Jason had now confirmed that this wasn’t a new printing but that acetate covers had been stapled to a pre-existing book.
In other words, this was a bootleg comic not licensed by Marvel.
This was obviously a problem. First of all, Marvel considers alterations to their products copyright infringement. I don’t need to remind you that Marvel is owned by Disney, a company that sues pre-schools and children’s hospitals. C2E2, like most conventions, forbids the sale of bootlegs, as do eBay and WhatNot.
Then, there was the fact that CGC had graded this bootleg. While CGC doesn’t work directly with the publishers, the expectation was that an authentication and grading service would verify if this was a licensed variant, and otherwise mark it as “counterfeit” on the label as was long-standing policy. Yet, there were no notes, and CGC had given UF4 a Blue label. They maintained this book was perfectly intact despite the added staples and the acetate cover.
This raised questions: Had CGC reached out to Marvel? Were they in on this or had they simply not noticed? (Both options were bad, obviously). And, maybe most importantly, could I staple a piece of plastic on any worthless old issue and get a 10.0 Blue label? That’s what Black Flag had done.
Within 24 hours, someone got word from Marvel that they knew nothing of this, putting it firmly into bootleg territory.
And that’s when things started going crazy on CGC’s end.
​
CGC’s First Statement
On the CGC forums, where discussion of the acetate cover currently spans 4,400 posts, customers weren’t happy. They complained about the grades, the labels, and the notes (or lack thereof) on the slabbed UF4 acetates—basically everything. A summary of the first 76 pages.
Given the after-market acetate cover and staples, forum users agreed that CGC should have given UF4 a Green label. To you, it might seem like a minor difference but the Green label is often called the GLOD (Green Label of Death) because it lowers a book’s value significantly compared to a Blue label. “Blue labels provide confidence for what's inside the slab, while green labels usually introduce some doubt.” A Green label would have drastically downgraded the books.
On August 8, CGC made the first of many statements in the AcetateGate matter as it had been dubbed: “CGC is fully aware of what they graded and stand behind them.” Forum members disagreed, and started creating mock-ups of acetate covers they would send to CGC for a Blue label to showcase CGC’s hypocrisy.
Forum members also found the high grades of UF4 suspicious. CGC had graded thirty Black Flag books in one day and they had received three 10.0s, eleven 9.9s, and sixteen 9.8s. People who’d had hundreds of books graded had never received one 9.9. Yet almost half of Black Flag’s submission had received astronomical grades despite sitting in the back of a shop for a year. If that hadn’t damaged the books, surely creating holes in the paper when stapling would have.
Some speculated that the difference between the UF4 replica (which had received no grades above 9.8) and the acetate version was the acetate. Plastic is much more durable than paper. Yet the CGC census quickly proved that other books with acetate covers also didn’t have grades anywhere like UF4.
And anyway, CGC graded the whole book, not just the cover.
This smelled like a pay-to-play scheme. People wondered just what one had to pay for a 10.0.
What made UF4 different from lower-graded acetates were the additional staples. The forum concluded that extra staples could make books more valuable under CGC policy now. More jokes ensued.
​
CGC’s Second Statement
On August 8, CGC made another statement: “CGC graded these comics only because the acetate cover was created by the artist himself.”
This didn’t satisfy customers either. What did it even mean? Did it only apply to acetates? Could I do the stapling as long as I had an artist doodle on the acetate? Could it be any artist? Could only artists originally involved in the book create a new, official variant that somehow magically didn’t infringe on copyright?
“What a ridiculous stance to take with the only outcome damaged credibility.” If this was about the artist, they reasoned, then this should get a Yellow Signature label.
CBCS, CGC’s competitor, announced on several platforms that they would be giving any after-market modifications a Green label, as collectors wanted them to. This gave CBCS some goodwill, though that was short-lived. About a week later, CBCS admitted to having lost over 300 comic books they had shipped to employees’ houses for processing.
When, later that day, CGC said they would have a follow-up statement the next day, people celebrated that CGC was about to concede.
While a little longer than the previous statements—which, by the way, were all being made solely on this forum most comics readers didn’t know existed—it was unsatisfying and addressed only the staples (insufficiency), not the label, the grades, or the accusations of collusion.
CGC cited Stray Dogs #1 as having extra staples and a Blue label with no notes. Stray Dogs’ creator was among many who pointed out that their staples had been part of the manufacturing process, and this wasn’t comparable.
And so, the derision and outrage continued.
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eBay
eBay began taking down UF4 listings as counterfeits on August 10. Forum users went on reporting sprees but couldn’t keep up.
Suddenly, UF4s were going for thousands of dollars. The CGC forums decided these weren’t real bids. They discussed eBay’s policies on renouncing and making bad-faith bids, and cheered on whoever was bidding up UF4 acetate listings to 10,000, then 20,000, and finally $25,100 before eBay took them down.
Outside the CGC forums, people picked up on these price increases too and interpreted them as either astronomical demand for the book or, far more frequently, the sellers artificially driving up prices.
Some also began listing their parody covers on eBay.
In this chaos, it became almost impossible for resellers to offload their UF4 acetates, though some did sell for high prices.
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CGC’s Third Statement
CGC finally conceded a little on August 12. Future Black Flag acetates would get a notation on the label though it would still be Blue. In the future, any artist involved with an issue would be allowed to create variants as long as “the comic with the attached cover” was “submitted to us for inspection prior to certifying any copies.”
But CGC had achieved something truly rare in any hobby: Absolutely everyone (who wasn’t trying to flip copies) agreed. CGC was wrong and this type of book should be Green. And they thought this attempt to save face made CGC look like idiots.
To make matters worse, Rich Johnston, comics’ oldest blogger, covered these developments with interest. I think he was the first to point out that one of the covers announced for Fan Expo Boston, the Ghost Rider #1 Zymotica Vs. Variant, would add Zymotica on the acetate, thus promoting Crain’s original character on a Marvel book. That was a breach far more serious than UF4’s wrong flags.
This is the only image of the cover I found (top right book) and it’s too busy for me to make out anything) (Shout-out to the Deadpool 99 Problems But A Taco Isn’t One acetate.)
And so, people held their collective breaths for Fan Expo Boston while they waited for CGC to change their minds.
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Fan Expo Boston
Despite being taken off the exhibitor list, Black Flag was at Fan Expo. There are reports that Black Flag sold some acetates but by the time doors opened, they had been asked to stop. Rumor has it they kept selling to select people under the table. So far, only one copy briefly made its way to eBay. We’ll have to wait and see if eventually others start trying to sell the books to know if the rumors are true.
The booth was a ghost town and the only thing on the tables were lollipops—“DumDum suckers”, so Johnston. Comic fans saw this as Black Flag calling them dumdums and suckers. Two of the lollipops were put on eBay for $200.
Gawkers and hecklers (till 16:40) saw Jason hiding in a fort of posters he’d built in the middle of the booth.
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Final Statements
A few days later, an email Marvel sent to retailers leaked. In it, Marvel told retailers off in the nicest way possible, and clarified that after-market modifications were against the rules. It looked like Black Flag wouldn’t get in trouble this time, but with everything going on with CGC, people had moved on.
Now CGC had no excuse to stick to their policy though populahated artist Rob Liefeld (star of this Levi’s commercial) briefly tried to paint CGC as the victim. As a result, my favorite acetate joke was born.
CGC meanwhile kept announcing private signings. One of the resellers who’d bought up about a hundred copies of UF4 hosted a CGC giveaway livestream on WhatNot. CGC was trying to bury the scandal and move on without admitting they were wrong.
It was a pleasant surprise when that wasn’t the last word on acetates.
On August 22, in CGC’s last statement on the matter, they finally backtracked. The statement is weird. It goes on and on about how CGC will handle after-market modifications signed by the artist, and how to get a Crain signature. The real information is buried at the end of a paragraph: “If a copy does not exhibit Mr. Crain's witnessed signature, the book will receive a qualified grade.”
CGC had finally seen reason and was going to give UF4 the Green label it should have received to begin with. Public pressure had worked.
Further, CGC would “only certify artist-created covers” with signatures going forward. They’d all get a Qualified Signature label (Yellow-Green) as opposed to straight-up Yellow reserved for normal books, resolving the matter.
Nobody was surprised CGC didn’t address the suspicious grades though they were annoyed the existing Blue label books would remain in circulation since CGC had no means of recalling them.
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Moving On
Slowly, the comic world moved on. People got angry about new convention exclusives. A gold-foil reprint of Superman #75, a 30-year-old comic, became hot because CGC will destroy 70% of the print run to create rarity. Bad Idea, the makers of the invisible comic, had another bad idea. A comic shop announced a Clayton Crain signing for later in the year.
CGC will never address the grade-buying accusations but they will be fine. Resellers and WhatNot will also be fine.
This is not the end of speculation and I doubt AcetateGate will change anything. People will keep buying rare exclusives. Speculators will continue to buy them in bulk and flip them. There will be backroom deals. Black Flag will keep selling variants with Clayton Crain artwork. People certainly won’t forget AcetateGate anytime soon and they won’t let CGC forget either but the high point of AcetateGate is over. Maybe certificates of authenticity for limited runs might experience a boom as there’s more demand for transparency. We’ll have to see.
The Ultimate Fallout acetate cover has been completely devalued. KeyCollector lists its value at zero dollars. They’re not selling on eBay though a speculator site says they’re going for $350. It’s possible that over time, prices will rise because the UF4 acetate was at the center of this controversy, but for now, it’s next to impossible to move copies. The ten Blue label books will definitely become valuable though.
EDIT: As of September 17, the first graded Green UF4 have come back and the grades continue to be astronomical. Right now, there are nine Green 10.0s on the census across all comic books ever rated and six of them are Black Flag's acetate covers. There are also plenty of 9.8s. And people are bidding for them on eBay. A Green 10.0 sold for $1,126 this week while a 9.8 went for $610.
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Utimate Fallout
I was going to end this by comparing fandoms to comic books where a new foe is always around the corner but there are rarely big changes to the status quo. Not an ending deserving the title “Ultimate Fallout,” but I’m trying to wrap this up.
But then on September 7, Jason, Black Flag’s owner, went live on Facebook. He revealed that a few days before C2E2, April, his wife of almost 20 years as well as co-owner of Black Flag, had left him for Clayton Crain.
(I’m not linking the video because this is more personal drama than hobby drama.)
Jason predicted that Crain “will never want to cross paths with me again,” casting Crain’s absence at C2E2 in a different light. It also, so Jason, explains why he was so desperate to offload the acetates. They were Clayton and April’s idea, not his.
Some have pointed out that this is all very convenient and wondered if it was a ruse, but many felt empathy for Jason, and expressed concern for his mental health. Having seen the video, I'm convinced this isn't a lie.
The new accepted narrative to emerge from the stream was that Crain was the mastermind of AcetateGate. He had designed the cover and submitted the books to CGC after all, and CGC has repeatedly cited his involvement as the reason they had graded the acetates.
Maybe worse, he was a wife stealer. People were very upset about that. Someone made an Ultimate Fallout Wifesnatcher Variant with Crain in Miles’ position, holding a wedding picture. The truth is most likely that April, Jason, and Clayton were all involved in the book’s creation.
Still, CGC is the biggest villain in this.
April and Crain have stayed quiet though April has taken down several posts Jason made to the Black Flag Facebook page challenging Crain to a fight. As of September 14, both Crain and Black Flag have returned to posting, and it’s been strictly business. I doubt either party will publicly speak about the acetates again.
For now, Black Flag remains in business though I’m fairly confident Jason won’t be collaborating with Crain anytime soon once he’s sold whatever Crain work he still has left. Infinite Black’s Facebook page disappeared within 24 hours of Jason’s last video, so I guess that’s the end of that. Some predict that the affair will negatively impact Clayton Crain’s career but I think they overestimate the reach of this story. I’m sure Crain will keep drawing variant covers, just not for Black Flag.