SIEGE #1
Beginning with the ravaging affects of Avengers Disassembled and following the aftermaths of House of M, Civil War and Secret Invasion, culminating with the evil Reign of Norman Osborn, the Marvel Universe has been left with its greatest villains holding more power and control than ever before. On the brink of madness, Osborn, in his final bid to take total control, targets the final obstacle in his mission…Asgard. Events are set in motion forcing our heroes to put aside the deep rifts that have grown over the past seven years. Opposing them stand a horde of evil that has begun to take down the gods of the Golden Realm! SIEGE will rock the foundations of every super hero, villain and team in the Marvel Universe. As an era ends, one word will ring above all others…”SIEGE.”

BLACKEST NIGHT: WONDER WOMAN #2
Following closely the events of BLACKEST NIGHT, Diana faces her greatest challenge. Death has always walked with her, but who will guide her into the light – her mother, her sister or her lover? Don’t miss this mind-blowing tie-in as Wonder Woman’s life changes forever!

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This is the new Badass form of Kamen Rider W. Its definitely different and kinda weird, but then at the same time awesome to have Shoatrou do the Soul Change. But Fang Joker rocks, as does the rest of Kamen Rider W Series!!

Hey heroes… I got word from a little birdy that knows a thing or two about what’s going on over at TOEI. As usual I can’t reveal my source, but it’s legit.

I got to talking to him and asked something that’s been on my mind for a while. What’s up with the new Kamen Rider schedule? With Decade ending early and Kamen Rider W kicking off in the fall, when would we see the end of W and the beginning of whatever comes next?

This is what he had to say…..

Mr. Shadow: I heard TOEI is thinking of renewing Kamen Riders’ now every fall instead of following a close pattern to Sentai.

Since we get like 3 /4 rider films a year now.

Henshin Justice: W could go ’til next Fall?

Mr. Shadow: Most likely… look at how well last year`s half year run of Decade and having the winter movie did for TOEI sales.

Plus fan service always works well with TOEI

So, there you have it first… I’ll let you know more when I know more.

Thanks go out to HenshinRebel for pointing this out. Red…… ehhh…. we’ll have to see the guy in action, I guess. Here it is, the first promo trailer for Tensou Sentai Goseiger!

Here’s your first look at the Goseiger cast! Annnnnnd….. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Red kiiiinda looks like a weenie. He’s got big shoes to fill, cuz Takeru was a badass. And I like my heroes…. badass.

I tend to hate every other Super Sentai show. Guess we’ll see if Gosieger continues or breaks the trend.

Hit up the forums for more info.

6000 years ago, the Daos civilization flourished in Southern China. But then the Gorma tried to take it over as well as the world. The war ended with the disappearance of both the Dai and Gorma tribes. As time passed, the Gorma were revived again. To counter them, Master Kaku assembled a team of five youths with high levels of Qi. They became the Dairangers of the present time.

DDL’s are available here at our site:  http://henshinorganization.blogspot.com/

I’m calling it! 2009 was the Greatest Year of Tokusatsu. From the world hopping Decade that brought back all the suits we know and love with an original spin on new world… the return of some OG actors… an epic sword slinging Sentai, a final Power Ranger series that took us to the end of the world, and an American Kamen Rider show that kicked ass across two worlds. The Tokusasu of 2009 fired on all cylinders! We even got a second Kamen Rider show that’s been killing it every episode with fun mystery and a clothing line you can’t help but collect along side the toys!

Never have I seen so many toku shows come up aces in one year. Usually if I like the Kamen Rider, the Sentai sucks… usually if I like the Sentai, the Power Rangers sucks… American Kamen Rider has never been good and now we have the epic Dragon Knight!

2009 also saw the rise of a little known podcast called, HJU Radio which I am no end of proud of and appreciate all of you for listening.

2010 has a LOT to live up to. There are still surprises brewing, unexpected interviews coming, expected interviews coming, and we’ll keep the hits coming over the airwaves via HJU Radio.

Strike a pose, Heroes of Justice! WE MADE IT! 2009 is OVER!!!

I’m gonna let Trisan of the Hero Power Blog close us out with his incredible tribute music video to 2009’s finest. Take it away!

HENSHIN!

BRING IT ON, 2010!!!!!!!!!!!

<Episode 44>

Word about Lance got to his cell faster than she expected. Melissa half expected them to blame her for what happened. But there were as stunned as she was. They got there quickly in order to perform the ceremony. Unfortunately as the, technically, highest ranked person there she was the one who had to lead it. She really didn’t want to be doing this but she knew it was her duty. Her and Lance’s cell crowded into the main living area of the habitat as she broke away and stood in front of them. Melissa was grateful when she turned around and saw Rachel standing right up front. Jack was standing behind her with his arms wrapped round her, both looking to the other for support.

“We lost a good man today,” she began. It was against protocol but right now she didn’t give a damn. “The life we chose to lead, we knew it was going to be rough. We knew there would be losses. But some losses are harder than others,” her voice cracked a little. Pausing for a moment she forced her way through it. “Lance was one of the best of us. He tried his best to make everybody he worked with better. Some of us kicking and screaming.” She knew she was supposed to be smiling there but it wasn’t coming because she wasn’t feeling it. “He did what he did because he believed in the cause and more importantly he believed in each and every person he worked with. And because he believed in us I know he would want us to go on.” She closed her eyes to get herself under control. Damn it she as not going to lose it before this was over. She owed him that much. “So let us herald him to the after life and make sure his ancestors know he is more than worthy to join them.” She changed into her green tiger form and the other did the same. Almost as one the Drakans in the room raised their head and howled at the ceiling.

Melissa only got half the howl out before her knees failed her again. The tears started to fall freely and she didn’t even try to stop them this time as she sat there crying in front of everybody. She knew they expected her to be the strong one but damn it she lost somebody important too. Rachel was by her side in no time holding her, “It’s ok,” she whispered, “we’re here for you.”

It took a few minutes but Melissa was finally able to change back into her human form and get back to her feet. A few from her cell came foreword and echoed what Rachel had said. Before long somebody from Lance’s cell came forward and said, “Melissa.”

She looked up and remembered seeing the red haired man in front of her from the few times she visited his cell, “Jaime.”

“I wanted you to know we’ve talked on the way here.” She braced herself for the worse, seeing a replay of what happened with Trent after Drake died. “And no matter what you decide we’ll back you one hundred percent. You’re right, Lance would want us to go on.”

“Thank you,” she wanted to feel relieved but her voice sounded a little hollow. This was still the same cell that didn’t want to do that last job because they were scared.

“I’m more than aware that we messed up big time. And because of it Lance is dead. I’ll know we’ll never make that up but that’s not going to stop us from trying. I’ll even pick up where he left off in training Jack if I have to.”

“You would actually work with the Drakan Killer?”, Jason asked.

“Lance was against him helping us at first,” Jaime said. “But he ended up believing we need him if we’re going to have a chance against Anderson. That’s good enough for me.

Rachel said nothing as she looked around. Looking a bit confused she ended up saying, “Where did Jack go?”

“I saw him leave,” Arron said. “About the same time I noticed Emily was gone.”

“Uh-oh,” Sparky muttered. With everyone looking at him he admitted, “I kinda let it slip that Lance stopping Jack was Emily’s idea.”

Knowing what kind of emotion was flowing threw him at the moment Melissa told them, “Find him.”

***

Emily wanted to get away from the gathering as fast as possible. This was not what she had in mind when she warned Lance. The guilt was almost overpowering. So deep in thought she almost ran into the person in front of her. Before she was even aware of who it was she instinctively knew it was Jack. There was an anger that was foreign to his eyes while he stared at her. “What did you say to him?”, he demanded.

“This outcome was not my intention child,” she tried to tell him.

“What did you say to him?”, he repeated a little more forcibly

Sighing a bit she answered, “That you were not ready to face Mitchell alone.”

“You said I was supposed to be their champion,” he snapped. “How can I do that if you don’t think I can protect them?”

“It wasn’t a lack of faith in you…,” she started to tell him but he cut her off.

“Then what was it?! What was so dangerous about that situation that I couldn’t handle it? What was it about because Lance is dead because of it?!”

“I didn’t send Lance to die,” she told him, almost shouting. “I was expecting him to face Mitchell with you not to take him on by himself. You are too important to us to lose. Lance knew that. You will be ready to face Mitchell in time. Please believe me, I had your best interest in mind.” She reached out to him but he backed away.

He hurt her more than he would ever realize by saying, “I guess you can’t see everything then huh?” Walking past her he added, “You still put the idea in his head and I don’t think my best interest is you had in mind.”

Melissa and Arron came around the corner. “Jack wait a moment,” she grabbed his arm. He pulled away and kept on walking. Then Melissa went to her, “Emily are all right? Jack didn’t saying anything did he?”

“It was nothing I didn’t deserve,” she told her and walked away in the other direction. She knew he was right, she did have more than his best interest at heart.

***

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Another killer joint, courtesy of BShuu!

Well, that’s it. Power Rangers just aired its last new episodes for the foreseeable future.

These episodes were not only the conclusion to a year-long arc, which many fans had felt was one of the better seasons we’ve ever had, but it also brings the entire franchise to a close, effectively ending a 17-year saga. That’s more than half my life!

Expectations were understandably high for the series finale, but how much did it live up to the hype that was generated in the gulf between the show’s recent hiatus and now? Ultimately, the finale remains true to what made the show what it was this season, though the execution of its major story elements may have fallen short in some areas.

“Danger and Destiny” begins immediately after the events of the previous episode. Dillon looks as though the virus has overtaken him, but he quickly remarks that he can feel the virus running inside him as he resists it. I found this a cool idea- that he might be dealing with the internal struggle for the duration of the finale. Little did I know how quickly he was going to defeat the virus altogether and move on to something else. I can’t say I loved this choice. After he found Doctor K’s antidote and injected himself, I kept thinking the virus would come back somehow and they would have to deal with Evil Dillon until he finally managed to do the rest of the antidote’s work on his own. At least he kept getting knocked around so it wasn’t just amazingly easy for him, I guess.  

Speaking of knocking things around, Venjix gets proactive in this finale, and drains the memory banks of the lab before “destroying” it. I hesitate to use that word because I know the Rangers spend an awful lot of time in the garage long after Venjix seemed to blast part of it to kingdom come. I do, however, enjoy the fact that Venjix was smart enough to download everything about the Rangers’ bio-fields (aka the Morphin Grid) so he could pretty much whip their asses without even trying.

Meanwhile, Ziggy and K are captured and they get to do what they do best, which is banter and give each other bashful smiles as they try to get out of this latest catastrophe. Ziggy’s ability to slip through his shackles and unlock K’s was nice. Though I had to laugh later on when Scott literally just karate-chopped his father’s shackles in half. Maybe Colonel Truman’s shackles were purchased at the 99-cent store.

I gotta say, the confrontation between Kilobyte and Tenaya felt like it came a bit out of nowhere. Though I will never get tired of seeing Tenaya get hit with a sword and thrown across the room. That sort of attack always feels so much more brutal when they’re not wearing costumes that cover their entire body from head to toe. I just never expect them to go all-out on someone whose face we can see (albeit through a giant, flowing wig to obscure the stuntperson’s identity).

What I loved about this scene was that it was another example of Dillon and Ziggy complimenting each other perfectly. They both had moments to be heroic toward the people they cared for most- Dillon defending his sister, and Ziggy pulling K out of the path of Kilobyte’s gun blast. And Ziggy is the one to grab the antidote vial and toss it to Dillon so he can cure his sister. My only issue with the sequence is that Kilobyte was despensed with far sooner in the finale than I would have liked. Personally, I felt it should have been him in the control tower fighting Tenaya towards the end of the last episode, and the other robot getting blasted to pieces in this moment instead.

So, once the Rangers regroup, and Dillon is down for the count after his valiant efforts to save his sister, Tenaya has once again switched sides. It’s only now that Doctor K comes up with the plan to upload a virus into Venjix and eradicate him completely. Yeah… I seem to recall complaining that the hybrid antidote wasn’t properly set up long before it was imminently needed in order to resolve the plot. I feel twice as strongly about the virus solution here. My sensibilities would have had K working on a virus for several weeks now. All it would take is just showing her busy with something on a monitor and being annoyed when she’s interrupted to deal with the crisis of the week. Anything, as long as she’s able to earnestly say “I’ve been working on a virus for over a month” so it doesn’t feel like she just crapped out a master plan in two seconds. Ah well…

Tenaya, for some reason, has reservations about using herself as a means of uploading the virus. And Flynn gets his last big moment to be awesome, as he tells her to get over herself and start helping them correct the mess she had helped create. I loved it. In a perfect world, Flynn would have gotten many more scenes like this, in many episodes. But at least he wasn’t denied a real moment where the show gets to focus pretty much just on him and what he means to the team. If no one else is going to speak up and tell it like it is, then he will. Awesome.

So, Tenaya gets her rear in gear, but not before Gem and Gemma have been “deleted” by Venjix and his newfound manipulation of the Rangers’ bio-fields. Now, unfortunately, someone thought it was a good idea to tell us exactly what happens to them in a summary of the episode’s premise, so there was no real shock value there for me. And this is not the first, or second, or third time a Ranger has supposedly been killed and brought back five minutes later. But as far as fake deaths go, I’d say this one was fairly effective for me. Of all the people to become casualties, it had to be the ones whose faces were the most innocent (despite all their actions that made them far less innocent than they appeared).

When Gem says “We would have kept fighting” I believed him. I genuinely felt bad that he wasn’t going to be there for them the way he wanted. Gemma’s “Never give up” immediately reminds me of the Wild Force season, as that was the catchphrase of some of their characters (and I suspect this was done intentionally) but it obviously applies here, and felt like an earnest plea from a dying hero. Forgetting, for a moment, that I wasn’t convinced that they were really dead. The fact is the other characters had no idea. And the cast’s performances were all fantastic as the grim reality of their situation set in. Kudos. I also loved Dillon’s straight-forward attitude about the loss, as he knows there’s work left to be done and wants to prevent more “deaths.”
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