I really don’t want to go into the argument of whether or not Batman is a superhero. Honestly, if you really believe that dubious ninja training, millions of dollars, and a cool gadgets constitute superheroism then you probably idolize Richard Branson. I mean, he’s like Batman, only without the vendetta against looking sane.

Oh, wait.

Here’s a fun game to play: Batman or schizophrenic sociopath?. It’s played like this: you name an activity, and your friend has to guess whether it’s the behavior of the Dark Knight or a psycho. First person to realize that the two are virtually identical, wins. Here’s a sample:

So, a guy dons a black cape and restrains criminals. “Criminals” here may mean muggers, murderers, jaywalkers, mannequins, and anyone who uses the word “irregardless.”

Answer: sociopath

A person uses his/her skills as a maybe-ninja to attack his/her foes. Oh, did I mention that he/she has untold millions of dollars that could be used to train others to defend themselves, and also has vast resources which could be used to improve the overall quality and safety of the city he/she protects? Yeah, that part’s important.

Answer: Batman

This person breaks laws, harasses citizens, destroys public and private property, and violates nearly all standards of common decency and privacy, all in the name of justice. “Justice” here refers to whatever this person considers to be justice, including but limited to punishing the magical aliens controlling his mind.

Answer: Trick question! It’s both.

I’ll tell you, there are hours of fun to be had playing this game. Just be sure your friends don’t like being told that a cultural icon has all the heroic legitimacy of a brush fire.

-Chris

Tom Brevoort has an interesting blog entry about a failed Marvel cartoon project back in the day.

My favorite quote is this: “As in the comics, Matt Murdock is a blind lawyer who is secretly Daredevil. (Unlike the comics, he has dark black hair, at least if the presentation drawing is anything to go by.) By day, he pals around with his teenaged niece and his seeing-eye-dog. But when evil strikes, he becomes Daredevil, his dog becomes Lightning, the Super Dog ( I love teh way, in teh production drawing, Lightning affects a pose of mild-manneredness in his civilian guise as Matt’s seeing-eye dog…), and the three of them take to the streets in Daredevil’s specially-equipped van.

Now, stop and think about this for a minute: who’s driving the van? Is it the blind guy, the underage girl, or the seeing-eye dog?”

Reading this I started thinking, can you think of another hero that fought crime in a van with his niece and dog?

That’s right, this was going to be Daredevil mixed with Inspector Gadget, with marketable results.

As an adult, a comic book fan, and a rabid Daredevil fan, this offends me on some level. But nine-year-old me ignorant of how awesome the comic is would have watched this, bought the toys and pretended he was Daredevil every day.

Save the Adventurers’ Club!

I don’t remember which trip it was, but I do remember my first night at The Adventurers’ Club.

We had decided to go out to Pleasure Island on our trip to Walt Disney World, I was excited to go but I have to admit I wasn’t all that excited. I don’t drink and I don’t really dance, so what could Pleasure Island really have in store for me?

The Comedy Club was a fun treat, and there was the Beach Club which had some pool tables and pinball for me, but none of it was really worth the extra admission. But then I went to the Adventurer’s Club.

It was like someone said “Hey Kevin, what would you like in an interactive theater experience?” “Why brash test pilots, kooky anthropologists, silly butlers, puppets and a haunted organ. Set it in the 1930’s. Give it a vibe like a really goofy take on Indiana Jones. Oh and a place to sit down and enjoy some time off my feet after a long day at Disney” and then they proceeded to build it.

The Adventurers’ Club is a magic place like that, themed with more odd knick-nacks then you can really take in (I’ve been there over a dozen times and find something new every time!)  The shows are so improv heavy that even similar shows year to year are a new experience. Sometimes we get there late and miss a show? No problem there are smaller sub-shows like the Mask and Treasure Rooms.

The cast would wander around and tell you stories and would sometimes even remember you night to night. The sing-alongs could get even the staunchest no-fun type of attender to start singing and overall you just left the place feeling a little better for having gone.

My brother and I make the place a priority every year and try to spend as much time there as we can. We have favorite actors for each part and are really Adventurers’ club fanboys when you come right down to it.

Every year I think my top Walt Disney list is ride the Haunted Mansion, ride the Jungle Cruise and enjoy the Adventurers Club. It’ll be weird without it there, it’s been the scene of many fond memories, I even went there on my honeymoon.

Could Walt Disney World save it? Sure!

It’s not a night club in the strictest sense so it could definitely be moved to a new setting at Downtown Disney, it would be like a bar among the restaurants, or a show among other shows. It could exist in one form or another, it was much more “Disney” then the rest of Pleasure Island anyway and the place was always packed when we were there.  A world without the Adventurers’ Club may be a sad one indeed.

For me it was like the Disney Characters I went to visit, in fact I have a picture with my favorite Graves (the Butler) actor and I’m smiling like a kid that just met Mickey Mouse.

Kungaloosh!

Could we save an attraction? Could we Save the Adventurers’ Club?

Oh also Save Hijinks Ensue and Save Hiatus while you are at it!

This XKCD is one of the funniest things I’ve seen all day….I mean week, month? year?

Welcome to Ominous Questions! Today we have a very special letter, courtesy of Not Based on Walt. You see, after reading his letter it became painfully obvious that Not Based on Walt is essentially insane, and the rantings of a lunatic are always both funny and best left unedited. So today, in lieu of answering the questions in the letter, we’re just going to give you a look at the kind of mail we get on a semi-normal basis. So without further ado, here is Not Based on Walt’s letter in its entirety!

Dear Ominous Knife,

Sincerely,
Someone Walt is not based on.

Amazing stuff, right? We’re going to give you all a few days to let this letter sink in, and we’ll be back with whatever responses manage to sneak by the censors!

And the award for weirdest search string to bring someone to our site goes to:

“put a face on a centaur”

Hope you found whatever it was you were looking for…