Spotlight: Zoids – The Gustav

Welcome back to the wonderful world of Zi, readers! This Spotlight! post is focused once again on a zoid from that magnificent planet in the far reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy. This zoid, however, is not used in combat – unless combat is offered to its pilot. It is a transport zoid.

This is the Gustav. Before we go any further, you pronounce it ‘Gus-tav,’ not ‘Goos-tav.’ The latter is how you enunciate the Scandinavian name, but it is NOT how you say the name of this zoid!!!

Another way to remember the difference is, “Must have Gustav.” Must – Gust. Have – Tav. Get it? Great!

All right, now to the zoid’s specs! The first Gustav of any import was the one Van Flyheight’s friend Moonbay piloted throughout Zoids: Chaotic Century. The zoid is based on a snail and so it is not very fast, especially when it is hauling trailers. I have never seen a Gustav hauling more than two trailers; it appears that two is the limit.

You can carry almost anything on the trailer(s), from another zoid to a container full of ammunition. The armor on the Gustav is what weighs the transport down. While it protects the zoid and the pilot against most missiles and ammunition, the fact is that it weighs several tons! This is the factor which lowers the zoid’s speed the most. The trailers and their cargo add to the weight.

These are the features which relegate the Gustav to transport status and which make it a less-than-optimal combat zoid. Nevertheless, the zoid can enter battle zones. The pilot just has to know what the zoid can and cannot handle as well as think quickly in a combat or high-adrenaline situation. Moonbay was capable of all of this and then some. That girl, as Irvine was wont to say, could “take care of herself in dangerous situations.” Sometimes it seemed that “dangerous situations” were where she functioned best!

That green antenna which you see projecting from behind the cockpit of the zoid is a sensor array. It allows the Gustav to scan the surrounding area, projecting what it sees to the cockpit. If this antenna is shot off, then the pilot for the Gustav loses scanning and visual capabilities throughout much of the cockpit.

The antennae extending from the non-existent mouth of the Gustav are said in one profile to be mine detectors. I never saw them used as such in Chaotic Century or any following series, but the name makes sense. When Moonbay lost her primary antenna in one episode, she still had partially functioning scanners in her cockpit. So it seems reasonable to conclude that these other antennae serve as some sort of sensory units for the zoid, mine detecting being one of the purposes which they can be tuned to perform.

Moonbay’s Gustav also came equipped with a hidden double barrel cannon, positioned below the antenna and above the cockpit. The rounds were not high yield and would not do much damage to bigger, predator-based zoids. But anything the size of the Gustav that was also lightly armored would not fare well against this intrepid little cannon. It was hidden behind one of the green “joints” keeping the Gustav’s “shell” together, and Moonbay did not use it all the time. But when she used it, she made her shots count!

Unlike most other zoids, the Gustav does not make sounds like a real animal. This is doubtless because snails in real life do not make any noise. They simply slide along the ground. The most noise I recall hearing from a Gustav was the whirring of its wheels.

This means, obviously, that despite being based on the snail the Gustav does not slide like one. It is instead propelled by two large wheels under both sides of its shell, with two or perhaps four smaller wheels beneath the cockpit. In spite of its low speed, the Gustav can be relatively quick in tight spaces. Moonbay, a former professional racer, was able to coax quite a bit of nimbleness out of her Gustav when fighting within tight quarters.

The cockpit for the Gustav is beneath the orange canopy you see on its head. It can seat up to six people, maybe eight in a pinch. The rear seat is a bench seat; the forward seats are bucket seats. The controls for the Gustav can be moved from one of these seats to the next via a track system in the “dashboard” of the cockpit. This means that the pilot of the Gustav need not remain confined to one particular seat. In fact, there seems to be no law confining a Gustav pilot to the left or right front seat. Moonbay is seen in either of the front bucket seats of the Gustav during Chaotic Century’s run. She prefers neither the left nor the right seat to the other, switching between the two for no apparent reason every episode or so.

Gustav cockpits are not reinforced, as the rest of the zoid is. Why I cannot say; I only know that one well-placed shot – especially from a high-yield round at a rather short distance – will put a hole in the cockpit or obliterate it altogether. This is something Gustav pilots have to keep in mind, though even then it is not always possible to avoid getting hit.

Most Gustavs have armor that is painted grey/silver. The colors of their cockpits are not always the standard orange; Gustav cockpits within all the Zoids’ television series have been orange, green, and blue. Other colors are likely available as well.

The one Gustav we saw which had a unique armor paint scheme was Moonbay’s. This Gustav was fuchsia, a flamboyant color which grabbed the eye and made the transport stand out from the crowd. Moonbay was like that, too. The zoid’s coloration was just another way that she made people sit up and notice her.

Moonbay’s Gustav retained this color until the second half of Chaotic Century, when she used her zoid to protect Van’s damaged Blade Liger. This resulted in an armor patch for the Gustav which was painted white. To those accustomed to the previous color of the armor, the contrast seemed a bit blinding.

Why did Moonbay leave the patch white instead of having it repainted? It was never brought up in the series, but perhaps it was something she considered a badge of honor. She may have kept the patch white the same way a warrior bears an old scar. Having defended Van when he was down, she might have decided that the difference in color could stand as a testament to the strength of their friendship.

Or maybe she just could not afford to get the patch painted. Knowing Moonbay, though, I seriously doubt that theory. She is an expert at making money, by hook or by crook. It is impossible to believe she could not find a way to acquire enough money to paint the patch.

While it is not confirmed, a Gustav that appears to be Moonbay’s – white patch and all – is noticeable within the background of one of the last New Century Zero episodes. It is a brief glimpse which is never explained, but it is nice to think that some heir of Moonbay’s has kept the zoid down through the centuries.

This is not the only time a Zoids’ series has given a direct nod to a previous one; Fuzors and Genesis have zoids from both Chaotic Century and New Century Zero in them. But there is never an explanation of how they come into the series, nor is there a mention of who their previous pilots were. The palpable closeness between Chaotic Century and New Century Zero, however, makes it easy to think how and why Moonbay’s Gustav ended up in Bit’s era. No other hints are truly necessary.

Before signing off, readers, I would like to present you with one last tidbit related to the Gustav. Moonbay liked to sing during Chaotic Century, regardless of the fact that she never could sing on-key. It was often implied that her singing irritated her traveling companions to no end. But I found that her voice tends to grow on you after a while. Though she always sang slightly off-key, I find myself belting out the lines of her song every now and again.

Below is a video of Moonbay’s full-length debut as a singer. Here she is singing her own song – “I Am a Transporter of the Wasteland” – as she pilots the Gustav in the episode Jump, Zeke! :

I hope you liked it at least a little, readers. For myself, I enjoy hearing and singing this song, since it makes me feel like a “transporter of the wild wasteland” myself!

See you on the battlefield!

The Mithril Guardian

Star Wars Rebels Season 3 Trailer Is OUT!!!!

YEAH-HOOO!!!

The Star Wars Rebels season three trailer is out, people!!!  The Rebels will be going up against Mandalorians who work for the Empire, helping TIE fighter pilots defect, and facing Darth Maul yet again!  It is going to be more The Empire Strikes Back than season two was!!!

And it looks like Kanan may just regain his sight – but will he lose Ezra in the process?!

Check out the trailer here:

Oh, and the blue faced guy?  Yeah, that is Grand Admiral Thrawn.  His voice actor has a higher tenor than I would have chosen for the character, but hey.  If we get Thrawn, then maybe the writers will give us Mara Jade Skywalker, too!!!!!  Ooooh, cross your fingers and hope!

The Force will be with you, readers, always! 😉

The Mithril Guardian

Captain America: Civil War – Trailer 2 Breakdown

Well, sorta. This is not a total trailer breakdown, more like half a trailer breakdown.

Anyway, thanks to masterleiaofasgard, I saw the second Civil War trailer not too long ago. (She is sooo good at finding these things! 😉 ) It was… amazing! Spectacular! Superior!

Yeah, I am having fun with Spidey’s old titles of amazing, spectacular, and superior. Ultimate… I do not think the trailer rated that, thankfully.

Anyway, there were some things in this trailer which I thought were noteworthy. Below is a list of those things, which other, sharp-eyed fans have doubtless already noticed and taken the time to opine about them. Since I have not had time to surf the net for the observations of others, I snapped some shots of scenes from the trailer which I wanted to look at more closely. Unfortunately, the photos are grainy and blurry for the most part. I am sorry for that, readers, but it was the best this writer could accomplish with the limited tech knowledge stored up in this brain. I am no McGee of NCIS or Alec Hardison of Leverage, so this is the best you are going to get from this post, I am afraid.

With that disclaimer, we can get down to business. First up is this shot of Wanda bringing Vision to his knees:

Pretty scary, huh? Wanda Maximoff is not an opponent any sane member of the Marvel Universe wants to enrage. That is a bad, bad idea under normal combat conditions. In this case, the plan is even worse.

After watching the trailer several times, I paused the video on this scene to get a better look at it. That is when I noticed that there is someone lying on the floor directly in front of Wanda’s feet. If you look at the bottom left corner of the photo, you should see him, too. Judging by what appears to be a quiver lying next to his bare left arm, I would say this person is none other than Hawkeye. It appears he has been knocked out, and my first thought was that Wanda might have done it to him. A friend of mine, however, is of the opinion that she is not responsible for his awkward nap, but is instead protecting him.

This would explain why Wanda is attacking Vision. If he popped into the room when Clint was telling Wanda it was time to go and zapped the archer, Wanda probably attacked Vision in retaliation. She considers Hawkeye a friend, in no small part due to the kindness he showed her when she was falling apart in Novi Grad. Watching him get hurt by Vision would not be fun for her. So after the initial, “What are you doing?!” moment, she would step in to protect her friend.

Another thing which adds credence to this theory is in the upper left corner of the photo. Though it is hard to see, you can just make out the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s trademark Avengers insignia. The only place where that A would be in such a visible position by the window is the Avengers’ new HQ; the old Stark facility they retrofitted and which Ant-Man so brazenly invaded.

The presence of that A indicates Wanda and Vision are fighting on their home turf. This fact is only reinforced by Wanda’s apparel; she is wearing a shirt, skirt, and boots, not her combat uniform. She is in a place where she feels relaxed and safe. This isn’t the airport or some other location; this is the Avengers’ base, her home. That means the Avengers do not divide into separate camps in a city somewhere. The break in their team occurs in their very own base!

Lastly, look at the Mind Stone on Vision’s forehead. Usually, that rock is yellow. In this shot, however, it is glowing red, along with the rest of Vision’s body as Wanda uses her powers on him. She is not just attacking him; she is attacking him through the Mind Stone.

In an interview that was released recently, Elizabeth Olsen said that the Vision’s and Wanda’s friendship is based in part on the fact that they both received their powers through the Mind Stone. While Olsen said there was no romance in the relationship, she did say they were friendly with each other. It appears they are friendly because of their shared experience with the Infinity Stone stuck to Vision’s head.

Also noteworthy about Vision’s position is the cracks in the floor beneath his feet. His knees have not hit the floor yet, but there is already a network of cracks in the concrete. I guess he was hovering and Wanda yanked him out of the air to the floor, causing those cracks. Vision is certainly heavy enough to have broken the floor that way, if he landed too hard. Since he is not in the habit of breaking stuff just for the fun of it, he did not create that damage of his own accord.

Next we have this shot of a circular area full of barred rooms:

A friend took note of these and suspects that the circular, underwater base we see rising out of (presumably) the Atlantic Ocean is the home of these cells. For cells these are. They are somewhat reminiscent of the cell where S.H.I.E.L.D. put Loki in the detention center aboard the Helicarrier – the one initially meant to contain the Hulk.

But these cells are much less roomy and comfortable than his was. This is a jail, no doubt. And considering that we see a shot of Tony – his arm in a sling and sporting a black eye – in the center of this room after this picture, it seems he is getting his first real look at what Ross ultimately wants for the Avengers. Registration leads to imprisonment and, sooner or later, death. Just ask the Jews rounded up in Nazi Germany and sent to the death camps – or the thousands of people the U.S.S.R. sent to the gulags. How did those monsters find all these people to condemn them to death?

Registration. That’s how they found them to round them up, send them to the death camps, and eventually kill them. And this is why Cap is so against registration for the Avengers.

I may be wrong, but there is some kind of placard at the bottom of the stairs that lead to each of these cells. I cannot help but wonder if these plaques are for names, marking which cells are set aside for which Avengers. Creepy, isn’t it?

I hope Tony is feeling the chill, too.

This photo here shows Cap chasing after Black Panther.

This is obviously an underground tunnel, but it is not a U.S. tunnel. And these vehicles, while they are probably of American manufacture, are not in America. Based on the blurry shot of the vehicle going down the tunnel adjacent Cap and Panther’s, a friend estimates this chase occurs in Europe. Or with cars owned by Europeans. It is hard to be sure because of the motion of this shot. But this chase is definitely going down in an underground tunnel, not a parking garage.

This photo is half a hoot and half terrifying.

Tony is facing off against the Winter Soldier, and finding out that the man is as deadly as his rap sheet says he is.

This photo is interesting for several reasons, not least being Tony’s frightened expression. He is obviously unhurt at this juncture in the battle. Very obviously. The injured arm and black eye he has in other scenes during the trailer are conspicuously absent here. Wherever Tony is, he has not yet had a tumble on the tarmac with his anti-Registration teammates.

In fact, it seems he is at some diplomatic shindig. Perhaps the U.N. meeting at the building we see get blown up – apparently by Bucky Barnes?

This photo raises more questions than it answers. Since Tony is unhurt, we might assume that this scene is set prior to the civil war between the Avengers. This, in fact, might be what cements Tony’s decision to join Ross in promoting superhero registration.

This opens up a whole new set of possibilities. If Bucky didn’t attack the U.N. building – and his statement in the previous trailer that he “[doesn’t] do that anymore” implies he was framed for the attack – then this attack on Tony could also be a ploy. How HYDRA or Zemo would pull this off, I do not know. But this attack on Tony could very well be nothing more than an attack by a lookalike, a clone, or someone disguised as Bucky Barnes. This fight would certainly serve HYDRA’s purposes. Surviving an assassination attempt will doubtless firm Tony in his dislike of Barnes at the same time Cap is learning his old friend got out of the killing gig not long after Winter Soldier.

It could also mean that Bucky is fighting residual HYDRA control. HYDRA may have a codeword or some other program buried in his subconscious that reactivates his brainwashing, if only for short periods of time. Failing that devious “gotcha” plot twist, the only other explanations are that this is a fake attack, or that this is the battle where Tony earns his broken arm. That last, however, seems somewhat unlikely.

The next picture shows Cap in a rundown apartment kitchen.

There are newspapers plastered to the window on his left (our right), and a hole in one of the tiles over the kitchen counter. This place obviously has not been well-maintained by the owner(s) of the building, though it is clean enough to suggest the occupant of the place does not want to live in a complete rat-hole. But the person living here also does not want to be seen – hence the newspapers on the window.

Considering Cap says in this scene, “This doesn’t have to end in a fight,” I think this is Bucky Barnes’ hidey-hole. Hawkeye, while joining Team Cap and going on the run with them, probably left his farm to head straight for the base. I do not see him living in this kind of dump, and there is definitely no reason for Cap to tell him, “This doesn’t have to end in a fight…”

Wherever this place is, Cap finds Bucky here.

Unfortunately, this next picture is terrible.

Since it was frozen in mid-motion, this picture is very blurry. But from what we can see of it, Tony has just backhanded Cap across the room. Behind the two of them, you can see Bucky. It looks like he has a gun in his hands and has it raised. Or he is in the process of raising it. It is hard to tell for sure.

What we also see here is that the three are in some sort of underground complex. This is probably a HYDRA base and the location of the climatic final battle between the Registration and Anti-Registration Avengers.

The place looks like a lab – the Dr. Frankenstein type. This is most obvious because of the cylinder with the yellow glow on the right hand side of the shot. It is hard to see because of the watery blur from the camera’s motion, but by zooming in you can make out a person seated inside that cylinder. It is nearly impossible, however, to see whether this person is a man or a woman. Whoever it is, though, seems to have a stump where their right arm should be, as well as some sort of wire/tube coming from the top of the cylinder to attach to their body.

Particular features are impossible for me to gain here. But this scene got my mind whirling with possibilities. Is this a clone of Bucky Barnes? Is it the original Bucky Barnes, which would mean that the Winter Soldier we have seen since Cap 2 is a clone? Most pointedly – WHAT IS TONY DOING FIGHTING CAP WITH THIS HORROR SITTING RIGHT ACROSS FROM HIM?!?!? *Smack forehead and growls with irritation.*

We will only know when we see the film, naturally, but this scene is certainly something to look at closely.

Next picture we have here is this:

I snapped this photo mostly to gawk at the length of Panther’s claws. Yikes!!! He could rip a man to shreds with those things! If you watch this scene a little more, you will see that when the chopper starts firing on the two, bullets literally bounce off of Panther’s suit. A vibranium outfit definitely has its perks.

Another thing to consider about this photo and the Bucky/Panther fight scene we glimpse is the location. This is not a U.S. city. The weathering is not consistent with most U.S. climes. This location is warmer than all but certain U.S. cities. My guess is this city is on the Mediterranean, while a friend has suggested it is in the Middle East. However, it could be anywhere. I am no expert on architecture, and these buildings could be in any of the places listed. Heck, I could be wrong and they might be fighting on a rooftop in the U.S.!

Wherever they are, these buildings seem to be along the same lines as Bucky’s apartment. Rundown, not well-maintained, non-descript apartment complexes which middle-class or upper class people would not get within sight of except on the freeway. The perfect place for the Winter Soldier to lie low and stay off the radar.

Until now, that is.

This next photo is of Natasha:

I am not sure, but I think this scene is from the airport tarmac in Germany. A friend suggests that it is a hospital. Either way, if you watch Widow closely during this clip, she seems to have tears welling in her eyes. I tried to photograph that part of the scene and failed, so if any readers can confirm that – not to mention the location of this shot – I would be most grateful.

Next is this photo of Team Cap charging at Team Iron:

This shot I saved for the simple reason that I thought it was cool. On a recent study, though, I noticed something else: black smoke rising from somewhere behind Cap and his team. They were in a battle of some sort before facing off with Team Iron on the tarmac. Tony and his team might even have come in response to whatever conflict Cap and the others were involved in prior to this moment.

Also in this scene, we get a semi-clear look at Cap and his team. Wanda has changed into her combat gear here, and Ant-Man has also joined Team Cap by this point. I will be interested to see if he still has those shrink/grow disks in this film, or if he has upgraded to a shrink/grow gun, such as he had in Avengers Assemble’s second season. The gun would probably be more accurate and practical, but we will have to wait and see.

Here we also get to see Falcon spreading his wings and Hawkeye in his new gear. Later scenes show he has upgraded his main weapon again. Clint built all his bows in the comics, and if he does not maintain that practice in the Cinematic Universe, I would like to know where he gets his bows. Like in the scene where he is apparently out cold on the floor at the Avengers’ base, his suit has only one full arm, while the other is partly bare. His quiver is strapped to his back over his right shoulder (so how did it end up on the floor next to him at the base…?), and he has a glove on his left hand. Renner is left-handed, but in the comics Hawkeye was ambidextrous – either naturally or through training. This is an interesting costume upgrade all the same, though.

Sadly, this is not a great shot of Bucky. But it does not appear that he has any heavy artillery on him in this scene – unless it is strapped to his back and hidden by his hair at this moment. I cannot tell for sure. Cap’s gloves do not have fingers here, and this suit seems to be a melding of the one he had in Ultron and Winter Soldier. It appears a little old-school, but has some new touches to it.

These next two photos show the two factions drawing toward their clash at the airport.

Wanda, Falcon, and War Machine are hard to see, but if you look closely you will be able to make out Wanda and Rhodey. Falcon, unfortunately, manages to blend in well with the airport buildings in the second photo.

In these pictures, we see Wanda bending her knees and powering up to fire off some of her power. Rhodey’s trajectory suggests he is aiming straight for Falcon, who looks to be on a collision course with War Machine. Vision is aimed up toward Wanda. He and the Scarlet Witch are definitely going to tango here – and how!

On the ground, Cap is raising his shield to block a blast – or a fist – which Iron Man is preparing to deliver from above. Hawkeye, Ant-Man, and Bucky have all opened some distance between themselves and Cap, so their leader will have room to two-step with Tony. This puts Bucky on a direct path to tangle with T’Challa again, while Black Widow is apparently making a beeline for Hawkeye. Ant-Man is a good pace behind both Hawkeye and Bucky, who are neck and neck as they race toward their separate challengers. Who Scott Lang will be dancing with in the opening of this scene is hard to tell, but he will not be allowed to stand back and watch the others battle for long. That is for sure.

This next picture is taken simply for fun:

This is the scene where Tony calls in our friendly neighborhood traitor to snatch Cap’s shield. Tony is already sporting his purple-black eye, but the real kicker is War Machine’s mask. As a friend of mine said, it looks like the War Machine armor is underwhelmed by Tony’s call to Spider-Man. What I do not understand about this clip is why Widow is standing behind Cap when Spidey hauls the shield off his arm and webs his hands together. Why did Cap let himself get surrounded?

These last shots show the camera focusing in on the Webslinger.

I was not as enthused by the first sight we have had of the new Peter Parker as others are, but I was surprised to see that the lenses covering his eyes have focusing capabilities. This is new, and probably to help augment the emotion in Spider-Man’s voice. If Spidey has to shout “Whoa!” and show surprise, it will help if the lenses in his mask widen to show his shock, the way they do in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series.

These are not the only scenes in the trailer to catch my attention, readers. But I think this post is more than long enough. These scenes were the ones which gave me the most to think about, and now that these speculations have been passed on to you, we can all sit back and wait for the movie to come out. But let’s try not to bite our nails bloody or grind our teeth to the gums, okay?

See you later, readers!

The Mithril Guardian

Captain America: Civil War – More Footage Released!

I only just saw this… Man, waiting is so HARD!!! I also heard that, so far, it appears that Cap will be killed in Civil War.

No matter what happened in the comics, I am bummed. 😦 If you want more details, check out this address: http://www.geek.com/news/exclusive-the-big-death-in-captain-america-civil-war-1646580/

The Civil War has begun.

Excelsior!

I just found the Super Bowl trailer and it’s got some extra stuff we didn’t see in the first trailer. I AM FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!!! 😀

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