That’s pretty much his entire job: dying. As part of an intrepid expedition to colonize the icy planet Niflheim, Mickey is the colony’s sole expendable. His mind has been downloaded into a hefty techno-brick. And once his current body expires, the scientific team on Niflheim will just chug out a new one, using its handy-dandy organic 3D printer.

Mickey dies so that others might live. Or, occasionally, just for kicks.

Is this ethical? Heavens, no. Everyone admits that much. But Kenneth Marshall, a two-time failed senator on Earth and the colony leader on Niflheim, figures they might as well use the technology anyway. I mean, just the trip out to Niflheim was pretty dangerous, and who knows what terrors the planet itself might hold. A good, solid expendable will keep the rest of the colonists intact. As for Mickey, well, it’s just like the job title says: He’s expendable.

And so Mickey dies. Again and again and again. He’s died by radiation poisoning. By mysterious planetary disease. One time, he was shoved into the ship’s molten incinerator while he was still alive. Even if he survived the pathogen floating around in his bod, it was just easier for everyone involved—well, everyone but Mickey, I guess—to print out another one.

And honestly, the 17^th iteration was pretty much guaranteed to expire just like all the rest. He’d taken a tumble down a huge ice hole and found himself in the presence of Niflheim’s native residents: something that looks like a cross between a musk ox and a pillbug (and stands slightly bigger than a Range Rover) and all her many, many, many children.

Mickey assumes he’s a dead man—again. He’ll be quickly devoured by the mamma creeper (as they come to be known as) or slowly consumed by her offspring.

But instead, the creature drags Mickey out of the burrow and sends him on his way. And Mickey is a little offended.

“I’m perfectly good meat!” He shouts after the mamma creeper. “I taste fine!”

Meanwhile, back aboard the ship, Mickey 17 is presumed to be dead and eaten. And so they welcome Mickey 18 to the ship.

Won’t Mickey 17 be surprised when he gets back!

The post Mickey 17 appeared first on Plugged In.

Ever since he was a little boy, it’s been Plankton’s dream to take over the world—a dream he believes he can fulfill if he can only steal the infamous-but-secret Krabby Patty formula. The reason he believes this is a bit convoluted; but suffice it to say that Plankton’s plans have always failed, often foiled by SpongeBob himself.

Unfortunately, that repeated failure has taken a toll on Karen. She’s always supported her husband’s dream, but she believes he’s going about it the wrong way. Karen’s something of an evil genius herself—being a cross between a computer and a robot, after all—but for 25 years, Plankton has neglected to acknowledge her brilliance.

Well, enough is enough for Karen. So when Plankton refuses to listen to her ideas once again, Karen decides to end their evil alliance and take over the world for herself.

Realizing he can’t stop Karen alone, Plankton reluctantly teams up with SpongeBob. But the happy, yellow sponge doesn’t just want to save Bikini Bottom: He wants to save Plankton’s marriage.

The post Plankton: The Movie appeared first on Plugged In.

Why?

Who knows? It’s the future. And in this future, there lives a powerful witch that seemingly everyone wants dead. But this witch, Gray Alys, lives on.

Part of her longevity is because of her magical ability to make eye contact and force anything—man, zombie or feral beast—to see what she wishes them to see. Her other saving grace is the requirement that she must grant any and every wish that someone asks of her.

“I refuse no one,” she will murmur when asked. And people always ask, even though her expression immediately conveys a bitter truth: wishes always lead to one cataclysmic disaster or another.

So, when the city’s Queen approaches with a request to gain the shapeshifting ability of a werewolf, Alys dutifully replies, “I refuse no one.”

But why would the Queen want such an ability? Who knows? And when the Queen’s captain and secret lover later asks that Alys fail in that request, Alys once again declares that she cannot refuse him.

Somehow Gray Alys is required to fulfill requests that even might oppose one another. While in a magic trance, she sees a man who will guide her to that resolution. He’s a large and gnarly gunslinger named Boyce.

This massive mercenary will lead her into the Lost Lands. They will find a werewolf there. And they must also keep one step ahead of the foul crusader-like churchmen that want Gray Alys’ skin.

Oh, and Alys isn’t aware (or is she?) that Boyce also happens to be one of the Queen’s many lovers. He might even be the sire of the child that’s newly growing in her womb.

Oh, what a twisted web this witch now clings to.

But it leads to a conclusion that Gray Alys cannot refuse. Why? Only she knows for sure.

The post In The Lost Lands appeared first on Plugged In.

That “saturation” part means Chris works with a maintenance crew that goes so far down in the ocean’s dangerous depths—sometimes as deep as 1000 feet down to maintain miles of fuel pipes that run along the ocean floor—that he must be treated with pressurized gas before each lengthy dive.

Of course, it’s the dangerous side of things that make Morag consistently worry. Does he really have to risk his life repeatedly in the crushing depths just to make a living? Couldn’t he find something on the dry, sunny surface that he could do?

Chris kisses his bride-to-be and laughs off her fears. “It’s just like going into outer space, except in the opposite direction,” he chuckles.

After a beat, she replies “Is that supposed to reassure me?”

Let’s face it, Morag has a point.

Even though it’s all becoming second nature to young Chris—after all, he works with an experienced, dedicated crew—accidents do happen. And sometimes storms at sea create unpredictable problems for the ship far above on the water’s surface.

Sometimes the thick umbilical cables that connect the divers to oxygen and diving bell communications can tangle or even snap. Sometimes the power goes out, and the ocean floor becomes a pit of ink-black nothingness.

And sometimes all of those things happen at once, leaving a stranded diver with nothing but minutes of oxygen in his diving suit’s emergency back-up.

That’s when an entire crew must do all they can to fight the ocean, fight the storms, fight the failures, and desperately try to save an endangered crewmate.

In this case, that endangered soul is a guy named Chris.

The post Last Breath appeared first on Plugged In.

Perhaps it was inevitable. Because after generations of people are born and grow up in space colonies, it doesn’t seem fair that the blue planet with which they have no immediate connection gets to be in charge of how they live. That’s why some of the stronger colonies rebelled against the Earth Federation, calling themselves the Principality of Zeon and sparking a devastating year-long war. And as both sides gear up in giant robotic mobile suits armed with both guns and blades, billions of people perish.

If you’ve seen the original Mobile Suit Gundam movie, you know what happens next: a Zeon reconnaissance team begins attacking a Federation colony, while a teenage mechanic Amuro Ray climbs into the Federation’s newly prototyped RX-78 Gundam and saves the colony. His decision, ultimately, would help Earth win the war against Zeon, too.

Except, what if someone else got to it first?

That someone is Char Aznable, a soldier in that Zeon recon team and (in the original timeline) a major antagonist for Amuro. And after using the mobile suit to achieve victory, Char recognizes that these Gundam models are powerful. And, after reverse engineering the stolen tech, Zeon wins the war.

But independence doesn’t always look pretty, as high schooler Amate Yuzuriha may tell you. She’s living in a space colony independent from both the Federation and Zeon five years after the war’s end. It’s a world where police care little for civilians and few feel like their freedom means much of anything…especially when a Zeon ship appears in overhead.

It turns out, the ship was on a secret mission, hoping to find the location of Char and his Gundam. Both vanished at the close of the war following a strange explosion—before the Gundam suddenly reappeared near the colony and began attacking the Zeon ship. Moments later, colony police, who have donned mobile suits, engaged, too.

Zeon quickly deployed its newest Gundam model, codenamed GQuuuuuuX, in defense … but it wasn’t long before its inexperienced pilot came crashing down into the colony, bringing the battle directly onto Amate’s head. She had been busy learning how to pilot a mobile suit to engage in illegal-but-lucrative underground mech combat fights.

And, like Amuro Ray, Amate acted in desperation, jumping into the GQuuuuuuX pilot seat to escape from the battle. And though she’s likewise inexperienced, she suddenly feels a connection to the robot, one that allows her to control the mech with her willpower alone.

And it’s a connection that just may change her life for good.

The post Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX: Beginning appeared first on Plugged In.

Hey, lots of kids are like that, right? But in Ne Zha’s case, the results can be … bad.

See, Ne Zha is a demon, and not just any run-of-the-mill, dime-a-dozen Chinese demon, either. He’s part and product of the Demon Orb, and as such he’s incredibly powerful and destructive. Why, if left to his own demonic nature, he just might be so destructive as to threaten heaven and earth themselves. So the orb was slated for destruction by the Supreme Lord, Yuanshi Tianzun. And what the Supreme Lord says, the Supreme Lord does.

But through a series of adventures and surprising relationships (as chronicled in 2019’s Ne Zha), Ne Zha saved his parents and his hometown of Chentang Pass. And thanks to help from his enemy-turned-friend, Ao Bing (a reincarnation of something called the Spirit Pearl and the son of a very important dragon), Ne Zha even staved off the Supreme Lord’s destructive curse. The only downside? He and Ao Bing lost their corporeal bodies. Bummer.

But as Ne Zha 2 opens, good news! Master Taiyi Zhenren uses (and exhausts) his sacred lotus to regenerate both Ne Zha and Ao Bing.

Bad news. Chentang Pass is soon under threat again: Ao Guang, Ao Bing’s very important dragon father, believes his son died in the last movie, so he unleashes a few other dragon rulers from their lava-y locale, which are ushered into the fray by the demonic Shen Gongbao. Before Ne Zha and Ao Bing can truly get their bodies back, they must defend the town—and Ao Bing’s corporeal form is quickly destroyed. (Naturally, Ao Guang feels just terrible about this strange turn of events.)

But more good news! Ao Bing’s spirit doesn’t need to dissipate forever! Taiyi says that Ne Zha can host the spirit of Ao Bing for seven days. During that time, if Ne Zha can pass three trials and become one of the immortals, he can claim a potion that will restore the sacred lotus and, thus, give Ao Bing another shot at having a real-life body again.

But more bad news. Demons aren’t allowed to perform these trials. In fact, the trials are all about fighting demons—something that gods and immortals love to do. And if anyone detects Ne Zha’s true nature during these trials—inescapable if he fights as Ne Zha—he’ll certainly get booted out of heaven.

The only solution: Ao Bing’s spirit must take over Ne Zha’s body during these critical trials. And he can only do that if Ne Zha knocks himself out somehow.

Follow all that?

Well, in truth, we learn all of that within, like, the first 15 minutes of the movie, and then things get much more confusing. But in short, Ne Zha—the spirit of Ao Bing in tow—and Taiyi mount a flying pig and fly to heaven to embark on a series of spectacular adventures. And perhaps they’ll right a few long-festering wrongs along the way, too.

The post Ne Zha 2 appeared first on Plugged In.

In fact, when she and Josh first met, it was as rom-com, meet-cute adorable as possible. It was, in a sense, the right way someone like Iris might meet a guy and quickly fall in love.

Their meeting was an awkward, funny, and oh-so-sweet moment at the supermarket. A memory worth holding on to. In fact, Iris and Josh’s first accidental meeting was one of those clear-the-grey-cloud moments.

Iris has always thought that people tend to stumble through life in a sort of fog: They see the world around them but don’t really see it. And then some special happening clears that cloud. It lets the sun in, and it helps them recognize that life can be filled with hope and happiness.

Meeting Josh was the first time one of those special moments ever happened to Iris. Their relationship has been loving and supportive. They fit. They work. He makes her feel good about herself and good about the world.

Truth be told, one of the only drawbacks to their relationship is Iris’ doubts about herself. The two of them are heading up to a weekend retreat with some of Josh’s friends, for example. And Iris is feeling a bit weird about it.

Iris knows that Kat, the girlfriend of the getaway estate’s owner, doesn’t like her. Maybe it’s because Iris is kind of plain next to Kat and the others. Maybe it’s because she’s awkward or too openly sincere about things like love and devotion. She isn’t sure.

But when Kat and some of the others look at her, Iris feels self-conscious. Which in turn makes her want to cling more to Josh. And that can be a problem, too.

What Iris doesn’t know is that there are bad things being planned for that weekend. Cruel and hurtful things are about to happen. And in the process of it all, Iris is about to learn something very important about herself. She’s going to understand more about how she’s, uh, programmed, if you will.

People sometimes have those clear-the-grey-cloud moments in life. The first one for Iris was when she met Josh.

The second of those moments will be … when she kills him.

[Note: The following sections contain spoilers.]

The post Companion appeared first on Plugged In.

So, seeing Ross in that newly elected position is, well, unexpected. As was Ross’ personal request for Sam to slip into his vibranium-laced Captain America suit to take on an important mission.

However, since the signing of the Sokovia Accords, Sam’s Captain America is one of the only superheroes the government can call upon. So Sam Wilson upholds his duty.

Oh, but that isn’t the only surprise in store. Because after Sam follows through and obtains what turns out to be a package of mysterious but vital international importance, Ross invites Sam to a public gathering and a personal audience at the White House.

They aren’t chums! But Sam decides to step away from past grievances and show up anyway. Of course, he also decides to use the public view of the White House meeting to help his friend Isaiah Bradley.

Isaiah is one of the supersoldiers who was experimented on by the US government way back when. The man even wore the uniform of Captain America for a while. But then he was framed and thrown into prison for 30 years. Sam is determined to bring Isaiah with him and to force everyone to recognize that this giant of a man was wronged.

Ross says Isaiah’s attendance is fine.

And indeed, Sam and Isaiah’s joint appearance at the White House event gets the news reporters buzzing. Not only that, but Ross pulls Sam in and hits him with an unexpected broadside: He wants him to start up the Avengers again. “The world needs those heroes. It needs them now!” Ross declares.

Sam is shocked. Is it possible? Can he do it?

Just about the time Sam is whispering the news to Isaiah and making plans in his head, however, something goes terribly wrong. Isaiah and five other men at the White House event suddenly go berserk and try to assassinate the president.

It’s insane, crazy. And after Isaiah runs, throwing people around like matchsticks and smashing through a White House window, Sam stops him. And … Isaiah has no memory of the event.

So, it looks like Sam will have to put the Avenger’s rebuild on the back burner. Instead, he has a mystery to solve and a friend to help. He’ll have to not only be a shield-carrying hero, but a detective, too.

Meanwhile, President Ross is beginning to look a little red around the collar. What’s that all about?

The post Captain America: Brave New World appeared first on Plugged In.

The retired Marine sniper has no connections, no relationships. No one will miss him if he “vanishes” for a year to monitor a secret so big that not even the president knows about it.

And what is that secret?

Well, no one really knows. But the monitoring station there is made entirely of concrete. And the cliffside is covered in suspended mines, automatic sentries and “cloakers” that prevent satellites from finding the location. And deep in the fog below, Levi can hear unworldly screeches. The soldier whom Levi is set to relieve from the duty, J.D., tells him the task: to restock the mines and ammo every day, and prevent whatever creatures make those sounds from getting out.

With that simple task explained, J.D. leaves Levi to his own devices.

Except, he’s not fully alone. Because across the gorge, there’s another tower like his own, similarly equipped with sentries, mines and a lone guardsman. And despite being told not to communicate, it’s not long before the two sentries start talking.

Her name is Drasa. She’s from Lithuania. And she, like him, is an expert killer.

Despite being separated by a gorge full of ominous fog and screeching unknowns, she makes Levi feel a little less alone in the world.

Especially when she warns him that something is crawling up his tower.

The post The Gorge appeared first on Plugged In.

He doesn’t do it for fun, or to impress the ladies, or because he’s a particularly chivalric sort of guy. No. He does it for the coin. Even a witcher’s gotta eat, after all.

But even though killing monsters is just punching the clock for Geralt, that doesn’t mean he’ll kill just any ol’ thing.

Take Geralt’s latest contract. Some pearl divers hired the witcher to take care of an Allamorax—essentially a cross between a dinosaur and a tank that lives in the water. The critter’s been snacking on fellow divers, Geralt is told, and that’s just not very nice.

But when Geralt tangles with the Allamorax, some mer-people come to its defense. The monster can barely open its mouth, much less gobble up pearl divers. The critter’s being framed, the mer-people insist. “Its only crime is being hungry,” one of them says,

So Geralt lets the Allamorax sail on its merry way. And that, it would seem, is that.

But Jaskier, the bard who accompanies Geralt on all of his adventures, reminds the witcher that they could still use some cash. “Your moral code is getting in the way of my eating,” he grouses. Jaskier tells Geralt that the next time a contract comes along, he needs to take it.

That next contract isn’t long in coming. As Geralt and Jaskier loiter in Jaskier’s old seaside hometown of Bremerford, a sailor staggers by with a blade sticking straight through him. He says that he was attacked by a fish-man creature known as a vodnik. And he promptly expires.

Bremerford’s king wants Geralt to deal with this vodnik—knowing full well that vodniks rarely work alone. They’re often employed by those pesky merfolk who live off the coast. Tensions between Bremerford’s humans and the nearby mer-people have been building for years now. Maybe now, those tensions have finally burbled over.

Geralt balks at the contract. “I’m not helping to justify a war.”

“But maybe you can help prevent one,” Jaskier says. So Geralt—joined by Jaskvier and his one-time childhood friend, Essi—begins his investigation. And it’s not long before he realizes that there’s something fishy going on.

The post The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep appeared first on Plugged In.