Articles for May, 2017

All aboard: luxury Japanese train has bath and fireplace
It's got Michelin-starred chefs, solid cypress bathtubs and a cosy snug complete with roaring fire: the Shiki-Shima could hold its own against any five-star hotel. In a country best known for its super-fast "Shinkansen" bullet trains, the emphasis in ...
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Iran's reformist ex-president backs Rouhani reelection
Iran's reformist former president Mohammad Khatami has skirted a media ban to endorse moderate incumbent Hassan Rouhani for a second term over conservative challengers in a tight May 19 election. Khatami, who during his 1997-2005 presidency oversaw a ...
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The Flash Finally Reveals Who Savitar Is & Things Truly May Never Be the Same
Savitar has finally been revealed! Warning, spoilers ahead for The Flash's May 2 episode. If you haven't watched or don't want to be spoiled, speed away! What do you...
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The Flash: We All Know Who Savitar Is
The Flash: We All Know Who Savitar Is

Before I even get started, I want you to know that we’re going THERE with tonight’s column. So if you haven’t watched this week’s Flash yet, get out of here until you do. Trust me, MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD.

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Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Kyle Richards Delivers Her Final Thoughts on Season 7
Pantygate has been resolved. The Xanax smoothies have run dry. And Bunny has found a happier home. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills may have signed off for another season, but that doesn't...
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The Sense8 Cast joins The Marvel Podcast

To promote Season 2 of their hit Netflix show “Sense8,” Tina Desai (Kala) and Max Riemelt (Wolfgang) stop by Marvel HQ to talk about super heroes and much more! We also catch up with cast members Jamie Clayton (Nomi), Toby Onwumere (Capheus), Miguel Angel Silvestre (Lito), Freema Agyeman (Amanita), Terrence Mann (Mr. Whispers), Naveen Andrews (Jonas), Daryl Hannah (Angelica), Valeria Bilello (Lila), Paul Ogola (Jela) and executive producer Grant Hill on the red carpet.

Photo Credit: Marion Curtis/Netflix

Download episode #286.5 of This Week in Marvel from Marvel.com, check out Marvel Podcast Central, grab the TWiM RSS feed and subscribe to This Week in Marvel on iTunes or Soundcloud! Head over now to our new hub to listen to the full run of This Week in Marvel including our latest episode!

This Week in Marvel focuses on delivering all the Marvel info on news and new releases–from comics to video games to toys to TV to film and beyond! New episodes will be released every Tuesday and Thursday (or so) and TWiM is co-hosted by Marvel VP Executive Editor of Digital Media Ryan “Agent M” Penagos and Editorial Director of Marvel Digital Media Ben Morse with Manager, Video & Content Production: Blake Garris, Editor Marc Strom, and Assistant Editor Christine Dinh. We also want your feedback, as well as questions for us to answer on future episodes! Tweet your questions, comments and thoughts about TWiM to @AgentM, @BenJMorse, @blakegarris or @Marvel with the hashtag #ThisWeekinMarvel!

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Piecing Together Marvel Puzzle Quest: Rocket & Groot

The next characters to receive a “Marvel Puzzle Quest” upgrade bring bombs, bullets, and rocket fuel to the party.

Prepare yourself for Rocket and Groot reloaded as 4-Star brawlers to celebrate the release of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” We talked to D3 Go! Senior Producer Josh Austin about the pint-size pair and how they fit into the “Puzzle Quest” universe.

Marvel.com: Following close on the heels of Star-Lord (Awesome Mix Volume 2) we have a revamped Rocket and Groot! How do they differ from their 3-Star incarnation?

Josh Austin: The most obvious difference is the size of Groot! Other than that obvious size difference, this 4-star Rocket and Groot (Awesome Mix Volume 2) is more atomic, focusing on their last power, where an Atomic Bomb Countdown tile is created and will damage the enemy team, or if it’s matched before it resolves, it will damage both the opposing team and the players team.

Marvel.com: Thinking about Rocket and Groot’s dynamic as inseparable pals, what’s it like creating different abilities for two characters who work as one?

Josh Austin: Actually for these two it’s a lot of fun. Their characteristics from the trailer sparked the final animation sequence and power change. The “Don’t Push this Button” part of the trailer was fun and found its way into the game. Since Rocket and Groot are so inseparable, it makes it fun to combine them. Though, I have heard the community would like a 5-star “baby” Groot.

Marvel.com: Let’s talk a little about Rocket and Groot’s kit. What kind of trouble will these two be stirring up?

Josh Austin: Rocket and Groot (Awesome Mix Volume 2)’s first power is called Rocket’s Pack and it costs 12 Blue AP. For this power, Rocket zips around the battlefield with his new Aero Rig, blasting any poor schmo that gets in his way. If a Blue Countdown tile hasn’t been created for this power already, this power creates one that deals damage and creates a Black Attack tile each turn.

Their second power is called Welcome to the Team and it’s a Yellow Passive, which means it costs 0 AP. At the start of the battle, this creates a bunch of Strike tiles. If there is another member of the Guardians of the Galaxy on their team, this creates stronger Strike tiles instead. Welcome to the frickin’ Guardians of the Galaxy.

The final power is the most involved! The last power is called Don’t Push This Button and costs 10 Green AP. Rocket yells at Groot to not push that button [because] it will kill everyone! Using this ability first creates a 3-Turn Atomic Bomb countdown tile that deals damage to the enemy team. If it’s matched away, it deals slightly less damage then if the bomb went off to the enemy team and about 1/4th the damage to the players team.

While the Atomic Bomb countdown tile is on screen, this power becomes “I Aaaaaaam Grooooot!” which is a Green AP Passive. At the start of each turn, Groot makes a match for you. This clears lines and creates critical tiles as normal, but no extra turns. When the Atomic Bomb Countdown tile is matched or goes off, this power becomes Don’t Push This Button again.

Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest

Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest

Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest

Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest

Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest
Rocket & Groot in Marvel Puzzle Quest

Marvel.com: Welcome to the Team is really interesting. There aren’t too many abilities in the game that change depending on your team composition. Is this something the team is looking into exploring for other characters?

Josh Austin: We hope to be adding a lot of these before the end of the year; there isn’t much we can talk about yet, but we are hoping this becomes more of a thing very, very soon.

Marvel.com: And with I Aaaaaaaam Grooooooot!, does Groot make a move before, or after the player makes a move?

Josh Austin: Groot makes a move before the player does, which gives the player AP. This basically gives the player a few rounds of extra AP generation which is nice!

Marvel.com: Who fits best fighting beside the tree and space rodent? Obviously the Guardians work awesome together, anyone else?

Josh Austin: Because the Don’t Push This Button power is so strong, the player may want to focus on characters that fortify the player’s Countdown tiles like Green Goblin, Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers), or Hawkeye (Clint Barton). The player could also select someone that enhances or is enhanced by special tiles including Medusa, Punisher (Max), Mr. Fantastic, and Professor X.

Marvel.com: And when do we get a shot at these two troublemakers?

Josh Austin: Rocket and Groot (Awesome Mix Volume 2) are available starting on Thursday, May 4. They can be found as placement rewards in the Meet Rocket and Groot event that is running from May 4 through May 8 and features their new art. Rocket and Groot (Awesome Mix Volume 2) will be featured and available in the Vault for Thick as Thieves that runs May 7 through May 12.

Their special Guardians of the Galaxy story tie-in event is called Backup Plan, which continues the journey in the I Have a Plan event featuring Star-Lord. This event runs May 11 through May 16 and features Rocket and Groot (Awesome Mix Volume 2) and grants the player covers in mission rewards. Their Versus Tournament is called Best Buds and runs May 11 through May 15.

Pick up the new 4-Star Rocket and Groot here and stay tuned to Marvel.com for more “Marvel Puzzle Quest” news and interviews.

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Dad Allegedly Drowns Newly Adopted 10-Year-Old Son: 'You're Going to Die Tonight'

Dad Allegedly Drowns Newly Adopted 10-Year-Old Son: 'You're Going to Die Tonight'A father killed a 10-year-old boy he'd just adopted, police said.


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History of Hydra Pt. 3

For years, Hydra has lurked in the shadows of the Marvel Universe, a corrupting influence that taxed even the greatest of heroes. With the group scoring their greatest victory in Secret Empire, we take a look back at the History of Hydra…

The true modern era of Hydra’s history began with a momentous occasion in the ranks of its greatest enemy, S.H.I.E.L.D., when the famous spy agency appointed war hero Nicholas J. Fury as its director.

This came in direct response to Hydra’s growing prominence as a global terror network and its continued development of fantastic weaponry. With Fury at the helm, S.H.I.E.L.D. entered into direct combat with its opposite number, kicking off a series of skirmishes and full-blown battles that while the world-at-large slept peacefully without knowing of them, still forced Fury and his agents to stay one step ahead of Hydra at all times.

During this era, a man named Arnold Brown, outwardly a nebbish toady of a huge corporation, believed himself the leader of Hydra and its sole benefactor. Hydra developed terrifying devices such as the Betatron Bomb and Overkill Horn, but ultimately met defeat at the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D. when Fury proved to be more than a match for it. Brown himself lost his life to a bullet from a lower Hydra agent who refused to believe the little man to be the infamous masked leader of the world-wide organization.

Baron Strucker took a more direct hand in guiding Hydra after those initial dark days, and worked to create such monstrosities as the Death-Spore bomb as well as witnessing the development of A.I.M. as Hydra’s science and research arm. Nick Fury intervened again, never believing Hydra’s supposed demise and dissolution, and brought the fight right to Strucker’s doorstep to end the baron’s reign and very life…for the first time.

Strange Tales (1951) #135

Strange Tales (1951) #135

  • Published: August 10, 1965
  • Added to Marvel Unlimited: November 13, 2007
  • Penciller: Jack Kirby
  • Cover Artist: Jack Kirby
What is Marvel Unlimited?

Others rushed to fill the hole in Hydra due to Strucker’s absence, proving its slogan of “cut off a limb and two more shall take its place.” A woman known as Madame Hydra arose to seize the group’s reins and inaugurated her ascent to the leadership by challenging Captain America. Hydra also swept a young woman named Jessica Drew into their ranks to transform her into an assassin code-named Spider-Woman. On her first official assignment, she refused her mission to kill Nick Fury and set off on a path that eventually led to her becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and super hero.

The ghost of Strucker also lived on at Hydra in the form of a Life Model Decoy known as The Deltite. The wily robot set up a ploy to pit Hydra against S.H.I.E.L.D. again and in doing so, fomented such widespread mistrust through both groups that it nearly destroyed them entirely. After the LMD’s destruction, a weary Fury disbanded S.H.I.E.L.D.

For Hydra, it meant another era of insecurity and lack of leadership, prime real estate for its creator to return from the dead and set it back on track again…

Check Out: STRANGE TALES #135, #141, #146, #156, CAPTAIN AMERICA #110, MARVEL SPOTLIGHT #32, NICK FURY VS. S.H.I.E.L.D. #1

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Ian Harding Sums Up 7 Seasons of Pretty Little Liars in 1 Minute
How do you recap seven of TV's craziest seasons at all, let alone in under a minute? That seems impossible, and yet somehow Ian Harding has done it. We got the Pretty Little Liars...
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