Poor Pluto can't seem to catch a break! Scientists have realised that the dwarf planet in our solar system is undergoing changes that are causing Pluto's atmosphere to disappear.
Situated 4.8 billion kilometres away from Earth, the icy planet became observable to scientists when it crossed paths with a star in 2018. As it moved in front of the star, Pluto appeared backlit, offering scientists a glimpse into the planet's physical properties.
The research, undertaken by a pool of scientists including many from the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI), claims that Pluto's icy atmosphere is slowly dying. They assessed Pluto using telescopes situated in the United States and Mexico.
What is happening to Pluto's atmosphere?
Pluto's atmosphere, much like Earth is made of nitrogen and is supported by icy vapours on the dwarf's surface. Now, the ice is thickening. The thickening of ice is caused by the distance between our Sun and Pluto, which has steadily increased in the last two and a half decades.
As Pluto becomes even more uninhabitable, the dwarf planet's atmosphere is refreezing and becoming part of its surface. With temperatures dipping constantly, Pluto will get ever cooler as its orbit around the Sun changes. Then, the dwarf will witness a sudden closeness to the Sun in some parts of its orbit.
When Pluto was closer to the Sun, it received more heat than it does now. But like all things in the universe, the heat is disappearing. Owing to this, the atmosphere will freeze and become one with Pluto's surface, effectively disappearing.
A 2 minute observation of Pluto gave it away
With readings from Pluto's 2018 brush with a bright star, the scientists were able to figure out the density of Pluto's atmosphere. They observed the dwarf for 2 minutes when Pluto came in front of the star.
In the absence of an atmosphere, Pluto will become even icier and desolate from conditions that may have birthed life. Essentially, the more cold it becomes, the lesser is the scope of potential life on Pluto.
If Earth lost its atmosphere, all creatures and plants on the planet would die. Only a few microbes would survive. Tell us what you'd do in case the Earth's atmosphere suddenly died off.
Facebook plans to shell out some serious cash to get creators making content on its virtual reality platform Horizon Worlds.
The social media giant this week announced it’s put together a $10 million Creator Fund that will disburse to content creators and developers over the next year.
Horizon Worlds (recently rebranded from its original name, just plain Horizon) is essentially an ultramodern version of computer game Second Life, where users interact with one another in shared virtual spaces using customized avatars. It’s been in development since at least 2019, and is currently in invite-only beta.
Horizon Worlds’ biggest selling point is that users can create their own shared spaces–everything from virtual bars and grocery stores to floating meditation gardens to islands filled with carnival games.
And Facebook, of course, wants more and more people to create their own virtual worlds and bring other people into them (especially considering Horizon Worlds can only be accessed using devices from Facebook subsidiary Oculus). That’s where the Creator Fund comes in.
The $10 million will pay out in three key areas.
First, later this year, Horizon Worlds is kicking up Community Competitions, which will “reward people building the very best worlds in Horizon and who are taking advantage of the tools we have to offer,” the Oculus team said in a company blog post.
Community Competition winners, second-placers, and third-placers will receive up to $10,000 each.
Second, an unspecified portion of the funding will go to the Facebook Horizon Creator Accelerator Program. That initiative quietly accepted its first creators in early 2020, and wrapped up the inaugural class last month. According to Oculus, the program is “designed to give people from diverse backgrounds an advanced crash course in Horizon Worlds” plus “a unique opportunity to attain the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in a professional environment.”
Facebook is opening applications for the second accelerator class in November.
Last up, some funds will go to some external developers, studios, and creators who create themed worlds and “experiences” in partnership with Facebook. What that looks like in practice: Earlier this year, Oculus worked with numerous creators to make “cooperative mini-games that are easy to learn and hard to master for two to four players,” it says.
Creators interested in getting a slice of the funding will have to apply to join Horizon Worlds’ closed beta.
Facebook has not said when Horizon Worlds will open to the public. At one point, it was tentatively expected to release this year, but back in January, Facebook’s Reality Labs head Andrew Bosworth said it was definitively not ready for debut.
“I think we finally got all the technical work in place,” Bosworth told CNET. “Now we’ve gotta actually jumpstart the experience and make it something that’s vibrant. […] If you don’t have something driving a lot of people to the place, then you run the risk they’re not going to get it. Horizon needs to fit that vision where it’s really VR for everybody.”
Soon after showcasing its new Material You design language at I/O 2021, Google started rolling out design changes to its apps based on the new guidelines. With the Android 12 stable release for Google Pixels right around the corner, the company has significantly ramped up its Material You rollout. We’ve seen Material You updates recently for Google Assistant, Google Photos, Google Duo, and Google Drive. There have also been Material You updates for Google Keep, then Google Messages and Google Podcasts. Now it appears that the Google Play Store is the next to get Material You dynamic color theming on Android 12.
The update for the Google Play Store (via the Google News Telegram group) appears to be rolling out for some people now and supports dynamic colors. It’s apparently a server-side switch and may take a while to roll out to everyone, so the version of your Play Store app won’t make a difference. You can definitely make it more likely for you to get the update by making sure you’re on the latest version of the app, but that’s all you can do. I do not have the update on my Google Pixel 5 running the latest Android 12 beta.
For the uninitiated, Material You’s dynamic colors feature makes use of monet, a new theme engine introduced in Android 12 — and currently exclusive to Pixel phones — to extract colors from your wallpaper and generate a rich palette of pastel colors. Apps can then apply these colors to their UIs in various ways, which is what apps that incorporate Material You typically do. Dynamic color support is one of the most exciting things to come from Material You, as it makes each app’s design feel more personal. It also maintains consistency across apps and makes your smartphone experience feel more cohesive.
If you don’t have the update yet, don’t worry, you’ll likely get it soon.
Facebook Inc apologized to users for a two-hour disruption to its services on Friday and blamed another faulty configuration change for its second global outage this week.
The company confirmed its social media platform, Instagram, Messenger and Workplace were impacted by the latest outage.
"Sincere apologies to anyone who wasn't able to access our products in the last couple of hours," the company said. "We fixed the issue, and everything should be back to normal now."
During the latest outage, some users were unable to load their Instagram feeds, while others were not able to send messages on Facebook Messenger.
People swiftly took to Twitter to share memes and jokes about the second service disruption this week. "Looks like Facebook went to a 3-day work week. Monday and Friday shutdowns?" a Twitter user said.
Instagram thanked users for their patience and "for all the memes this week".
On Monday, the social media giant blamed a "faulty configuration change" for a nearly six-hour outage that prevented the company's 3.5 billion users from accessing its social media and messaging services such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger.
The outage on Monday was the largest that web monitoring group Downdetector had ever seen and blocked access to the apps for billions of users, leading to a surge in usage of rival social media and messaging apps.
Moscow officials said Monday's outage showed Russia was right to develop its own social media networks, while EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager highlighted the repercussions of relying on just a few big players, underscoring the need for more rivals.
Both the outages piled pressure on Facebook this week after a former employee turned whistleblower accused the company on Sunday of repeatedly prioritizing profit over clamping down on hate speech and misinformation.
Debuting on September 28, 2021, the Netflix original drama series Maid has become one of the platform's most popular new titles. Based on the Stephanie Land memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive, much of the appeal comes from protagonist Alex (Margaret Qualley), a woman who leaves her abusive husband with her young daughter in tow and begins life as a domestic worker.
While Alex is the primary player, it's her close friends, casual acquaintances, and complicated family members that help and sometimes hinder her path to happiness and success as she struggles to make ends meet and provide for her daughter Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet).
10 Alex
Maid is Alex's story through and through. As the central character whose primary conflict derives from domestic abuse and the need to flee a toxic environment to raise her young daughter in safe surroundings, the audience relates to her strife, roots for her scrappy ingenuity, and genuinely want to see her overcome such a hardscrabble existence to find happiness.
Qualley gives a terrific performance as Alex, conveying the internal pain while keeping a positive attitude in front of her daughter (for the most part). Viewers identify and empathize with Alex, be it in her nasty custody battle, feckless job interviews, and the like. As such, she's one of the best TV moms of the past decade as well as one of the most memorable maid characters on TV.
9 Maddy
Since almost every decision Alex makes is in service of keeping her young daughter safe, sound, clean, and fed, Maddy is an extremely vital character to the drama. What makes Maddy really interesting is how she resembles her abusive father, Sean, more than she does Alex, which serves as a reminder of Alex's traumatic past. Moreover, the custody battle for Maddy provides endless drama.
The intimate moments between Alex and the charming Maddy are the heartbeat of the show, reinforcing a mother-daughter bond that everyone wants to see turn out well for both characters. If Alex did not have Maddy to look after, her decisions would be far different and Maid would be a different show entirely.
8 Paula
Played by Qualley's real-life mother Andie MacDowell, Paula is one of the most complex and colorful characters in the show. The free-spirited artist with eccentric paintings and sculptures is a flaky, unreliable mother who isn't the best role model for Alex. In fact, she's quite a burden most of the time, creating an oddly positive and negative mother-daughter TV dynamic.
Beyond providing insight into how Alex grew up in a hurtful household, it's the genuine bond between Qualley and MacDowell that really shines through, lending a profound art-imitates-life vibe that makes the overall show more believable.
7 Regina
While Regina (Anika Noni Rose) isn't the kindest soul, she is instrumental in Alex's professional growth. As Alex's extremely wealthy, stuck-up first client, lawyer Regina tries to get Alex in trouble when her cleaning isn't up to a certain standard. When Alex passes out from exhaustion, Regina is quick to label her a drug addict.
Despite the cruelty, Regina indirectly steels Alex for a thankless job that never seems good enough. Far from one-dimensional, Regina shows a surprising side of her insecure self when she bares her soul to Alex during Thanksgiving, which goes a long way in shaping the employer-client kinship.
6 Sean
If poverty isn't the primary villain in Maid, then it's most certainly Sean (Nick Robinson), Alex's abusive boyfriend who she finally breaks free of as the series begins. Wracked by addiction and anger, Sean is the last person Alex wants to raise Maddy around.
It's Sean's unforgivable behavior that has sidetracked Alex's life and causes her to undergo a massive lifestyle change. Yet, Sean makes it difficult to escape as he controls her funds, access to her car and phone, and manipulates her outside contacts, proving that domestic abuse persists even after fleeing the domicile.
5 Yolanda
Yolanda (Tracy Vilar) proves to be a helpful character who hires Alex at the Value Maids cleaning company when she is at her most desperate. Despite Alex's harried appearance and lack of experience, Yolanda is stern but kind enough to allow her a trial position.
Whereas most of the women in Alex's life are contentious and mean-spirited, Yolanda offers a ray of hope by extending Alex an occupational lifeline. It's just the opportunity that Alex needs to lift her and Maddy from poverty, which she takes and makes the most out of.
4 Hank
As Alex's estranged father with anger and addiction issues that mirror Sean's, Hank (Billy Burke) is a very important character. The villainous TV dad hasn't been in Maddy's life since she was in diapers and is too cold-hearted to invite his daughter and granddaughter to stay with him, prompting their travels through various shelters. In the end, he even sides with Sean.
As one of the two biggest antagonists in Alex's life, Hank's character is crucial to Alex's overhauled lifestyle. He embodies everything that she hopes to avoid in the future and vows to keep Maddy away from.
3 Denise
Denise (BJ Harrison) is one of the few characters in the show who provides an olive branch to Alex in her greatest time of need. Denise runs the domestic violence shelter that Alex and Maddy find refuge in and shows more clemency to her than most.
Whether she is encouraging Alex to breathe easy and relax in the shelter or providing dolls to calm Maddy, Denise has a good heart and kind spirit that goes a long way in offering Alex hope, agency, and a way to pull herself out of her dire circumstances.
2 Nate
Through all of the hardships that Alex faces, her most reliable friend proves to be Nate (Raymond Ablack). Her old acquaintance shows tremendous support time and again, including offering help cleaning, giving her a phone charger, and providing moral support during the custody battle.
Nate's biggest act of kindness comes when all of Alex's friends side with Sean when he brings a date to Maddy's birthday party. Nate is the only one who keeps the isolated Alex company, and later allows her and Maddy to stay at his place. A true friend, Alex needs far more Nates in her life.
1 Danielle
One of the few female characters who assist Alex includes Danielle (Aimee Carrero), a fellow resident at the domestic violence shelter. In addition to providing some much-needed levity regarding Regina's stolen dog, Danielle uplifts Alex by expressing what a good mother she is and comforts her until the custody trial begins.
In addition to welcoming and helping Alex adjust to her new residence, Danielle is responsible for Yolanda paying Alex the money she rightfully earned. Alas, Danielle left the shelter to return to her ex, but not before touching Alex's life in a profound way.
Finding the Stones of Barenziah is perhaps one of the most notorious quests in all of Skyrim, as players are required to scour the whole of the game's expansive map looking for the pieces of Barenziah's Crown. Many players may not even bother putting forth the effort, as it's notably difficult to locate the easily missable, unmarked items required. As a result, few ever receive the reward the quest offers. However, is the Stones of Barenziah reward even worth it in the first place?
The quest "No Stone Unturned" begins when players discover their first Stone of Barenziah, a collection of 24 unusual gems scattered across the entire map. Upon bringing it to an appraiser - something that requires that the Dragonborn become a member of Skyrim's Thieves Guild and talk to Vex - it kicks off the objective of finding every last one of the unmarked gems. Once all of them have been recovered, players then have to retrieve the Crown of Barenziah, which can be recovered from Tolvald's Cave.
The reward for collecting all the Stones of Barenizah is a unique ability, Prowler's Profit, which significantly increases the chance of finding multiple gems in places like chests or looted enemies. The completed Crown of Barenziah is also displayed alongside other recovered items in the Thieves Guild headquarters. Other than that, though, there isn't much incentive to locating all of the Stones of Barenziah, especially given how difficult it is compared to most other and better side quests in Skyrim.
Prowler's Profit might seem like a worthwhile ability for players who are just starting out, but even then, its usefulness is questionable at best. Many Skyrim players aren't necessarily worried about profits, especially those who have joined the Thieves Guild, a necessary requirement for appraising the Stones of Barenziah in the first place. Stolen items are objectively easier to find and turn over for a profit than legitimately obtained loot. On top of that, given how much Skyrim's map needs to be explored to find the Stones of Barenziah, most players will be well beyond the point of lacking in gold. The reward is only really worthwhile for those who are looking to fully complete Skyrim's Thieves Guild collection. So, the answer to "Is the Stones of Barenziah reward worth it?" would be "no."
Perhaps that's why it's so common for Skyrim players to simply mod their way around the difficulty. The Stones of Barenziah Quest Markers mod on the game's Nexus page has over 1.5 million downloads for Skyrim Special Edition alone, and multiple guides and checklists can be found in Skyrim's online community to help find the unmarked Stones of Barenziah for players who don't want to mod their game. Overall, the Stones of Barenziah seems like a good idea in practice. A scavenger hunt across Skyrim is a great way to make players explore locations they otherwise might not consider venturing into, and it gives even high-leveled characters something to strive for. In practice, though, the effort it takes just isn't worth the paltry reward.
Picking up where Venomleft off, Venom: Let There Be Carnagefaces the wide-eyed symbiote with his greatest enemy: Carnage. First, though, Venom will have to come to terms with both his host body and his own place in the world.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage spends most of its time on the dynamic between Eddie Brock and Venom. However, there is still a wide array of both returning and new characters who can each be assigned one of the 12 signs on the astrological chart.
12 Aries - Cletus Kasady
The Aries is someone who gets angry so regularly that they forget why they became angry in the first place. Rams get bored without constant stimuli and will do just about anything if egged on. Cletus Kasady almost never stops getting angry.
Kasady says he's had a hard life (i.e. abuse from his grandmother and mother) but he doesn't know how to use his anger for positive means. The red-haired serial killer can come across as simple, like a constantly grinning child. His preferred stimulus is (fittingly) carnage, which he embraces frequently. Going to that prison cell was one of the worst decisions Eddie Brock has made. Had he stayed away from Kasady, the killer would never have been exposed to the symbiote which allows him to experience violence on a whole new level.
11 Taurus - Anne Weying
A Taurus is going to be happy with the status quo. They think logically and frequently find themselves rigidly adhering to a schedule. Because of this, the Bull is typically viewed as hard-headed. Anne Weying (Michelle Williams) is probably the only non-symbiote stubborn enough to be able to put up with Eddie Brock.
On top of being the most likable character in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Weying is a strictly logical thinker. Emotion hardly ever takes over with her and she can embrace potentially catastrophic situations with a clear head. This agency was seen in Venom and again in Venom: Let There Be Carnage (although with less screentime).
10 Gemini - Venom
A twin can capture an entire room's attention with their voice. They have the mind of a Renaissance man, engaging in many topics. Lastly, a Gemini can flip any awkward conversation with a joke. All of these traits indicate someone who's great at a party. And, as seen in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Venom is great at a party.
A Renaissance man is someone who can tackle just about any task with a comparable level of efficiency. Venom has a child's curious mind and tends to give his best shot no matter the scenario. Venom also has the tendency to drop a joke in the middle of an argument, which deflates the tension between him and host: Eddie Brock. This occasionally results in some of Venom's most badass quotes.
9 Cancer - Dr. Dan Lewis
Crabs are extra sensitive to stimuli and frequently seek a safe environment. A Cancer will forgive a transgression, but never reach the point of forgetting it. They will put themselves in a vulnerable position for others often, but typically have one personal line that must not be crossed.
Dr. Dan Lewis (now the fiancé to Weying) doesn't have too much to do in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but when he does step into the spotlight it's for good reason. When his fiancée is kidnapped, this is when Dan puts his tension with Brock aside in favor of proactivity.
8 Leo - Carnage
When interacting with the Lion, a big personality should be expected. Leos are the creative type with both the desire and the ability to make an impression. Carnage makes an impression no matter which room he's in, even if the other occupants don't tend to leave it alive.
Carnage employs creative solutions in his terror (i.e. letting the other prisoners out during his/Kasady's jailbreak). Mostly, though, Carnage wants dominance. He wants to kill Venom (essentially his father) and bring harm to the world with impunity.
7 Virgo - Detective Mulligan
As long as there is an activity in progress, the Virgo will be fine. If they don't feel like their talents are being utilized, though, they'll shut down. Overall, the Virgo is a good-hearted fixer with a judgmental tone. Detective Mulligan is a fixer and is constantly on the move (while also using his talents on the job).
Mulligan gets a fair amount of Venom: Let There Be Carnage's narrative heft. He's responsible for Shriek losing her eye and at least partially responsible for Kasady's incarceration. Additionally, Mulligan seems like a man who only feels alive when he's wearing the badge.
6 Libra - Mrs. Chen
Scales are social butterflies that prefer a permanent sense of peace. A Libra likes to analyze every side of a conflict as opposed to just their own but has a hard time making decisions in times of stress. Mrs. Chen certainly engages in analysis, constantly criticizing Brock's latest decision or physical appearance every time he's in her store.
She is one of the very few people who know about Venom. Most would look at the situation with a frightened disposition; Mrs. Chen, however, looks at it from both Venom and Brock's viewpoints (realizing they need one another). Furthermore, Mrs. Chen seems perfectly content in her shop, providing her with a sense of peace.
5 Scorpio - Eddie Brock
The scorpion is content sitting silently in the back corner of the room. They'll kick back with their legs stretched out, seemingly uncaring about the opinions of others. However, if there's chemistry, the Scorpio's eyes will hold on and never let go. Eddie Brock doesn't have many close people in his life, but those who he loves he protects with everything in him.
Eddie Brock has changed since Venom, but he's yet to fully reach adulthood. He has difficulty expressing his feelings, especially to Weying (whom he still carries a torch for), but he can still captivate her with his gaze.
4 Sagittarius - Young Shriek
The Archer is emotional but has the drive to improve themselves. A Sagittarius uses their words like weapons but typically speaks in truth. They also have a tendency to question their worth.
The younger version of Shriek/Barrison is in only one scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but with that time it's clear that she speaks honestly. She's been beaten down by life and the cruel people within it. But with Kasady, she feels free to engage in open communication.
3 Capricorn - Dr. Pazzo
The Capricorn is the friend who seems older than their age would indicate. They are responsible and take their particular duty in life seriously. However, the Goat is initially cold to strangers and represses emotion in favor of career success. Dr. Pazzo, Shriek's main physician, isn't in the movie much but with the time provided it's obvious she's career-driven.
Pazzo is outright cold to everyone she meets. This is doubly applicable to Shriek, to whom Dr. Pazzo is especially cruel. She lacks emotion in all of her scenes, frequently with the steely reserve of someone focused on their career and productivity.
2 Aquarius - Frances Barrison / Shriek
The Water Bearer is uninterested in feelings. They are far more compelled to build a life composed of as much independence as possible. Natural, considering an Aquarius tends to feel like an outcast anyway.
Frances Barrison is utterly uninterested in spending her time with another human being, with the sole exception of Kassidy. Outside of Carnage, she's the movie's most anti-social character. Barrison (Shriek) is all about escaping from prison in favor of a life where she can do what she wants when she wants to do it.
1 Pisces - Young Cletus
A Fish has an odd way of seeming both wise and immature simultaneously. They frequently confuse reality for dreams and have the fast-beating heart of a romantic.
The younger version of Kasady is barely in Venom: Let There Be Carnage but it was obvious even at that age that he had the heart of a romantic. His love for Barrison is what sustained him (and vice versa for her). In his jell cell, all Kasady could do was talk to his love and dream.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for My Hero Academia chapter 329!
The top American hero in My Hero Academia, Star and Stripe, just confronted the long-awaited Tomura Shigaraki who apparently is no longer possessed by his master All For One. This is the first time that readers have seen Shigaraki since All For One took control of his body and went into hiding so his student could finish his awakening that Japan's heroes interrupted during the Paranormal Liberation War.
Before the epic confrontation, All For One reveals in chapter 329 of My Hero Academia that it would be troublesome if he had to change his plans to accommodate Star and Stripe, who's All Might's former student and the world's strongest female hero. It's obvious by All For One's confession that he views Star and Stripe as a very formidable opponent. But even though her arrival would complicate his goal of obtaining One For All, the villain foresees one silver lining to her involvement; it will be that much easier for him to obtain her quirk, which is currently unknown to readers. Although he doesn't confirm it, All For One could very well covet her powers more than One For All.
As for Shigaraki, it's puzzling that All For One is clearly not in possession of his body. Leading up to Shigaraki's meeting with Star and Stripe, there's a scene where All For One reveals his plans to League of Villains member Spinner. Readers may have assumed for a moment that it was a flashback before the Paranormal Liberation War and that All For One was able to divulge his plans to Spinner because he knew what was going to happen. It's not that far off to assume. All For One has proven himself quite capable of foreseeing the actions of others like when he implanted the self-destruct quirk in the assassin Lady Nagant before she began hunting for Deku, believing that she would most likely turn on him. And he was right. She did end up experiencing a change of heart. Yet, it's clear in chapter 329 that All For One and Spinner are in hiding, and since the villain possessed Shigaraki's body before fleeing, the two must have separated at some point during their self-exile.
That said, All Might reveals in the previous chapter that All For One's quirk, like One For All, serves as a conduit between the current wielder and past users, but it was only a one-way channel, where All For One could communicate with Shigaraki, but not the other way around. It's possible that All For One assumed control of his student's body momentarily to construct a two-way channel that would stay in effect once they separated. It's also likely that this added communicative mechanism somehow grants the villain more control over Shigaraki, possibly transforming his student into a marionette that he can manipulate from afar without having to be actually inside of him. Shigaraki's comment to Star and Stripe about who he actually partially confirms this theory.
Regardless, the upcoming battle in My Hero Academia between Star and Stripe and Tomura Shigaraki will undoubtedly be explosive, especially since the villain's student has now fully awakened and can unleash the true potential of his Decay quirk and, most likely, wield All For One as well. If for whatever reason Tomura Shigaraki easily overcomes Star and Stripe, she will most likely have backup, for Endeavor was already en route to meet her with Hawks and Best Jeanist following closely behind him.
Family and an attitude of volunteer heroism are major themes in Zack Snyder's three DCEU movies — Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Justice League — lending themselves to moments in which the action moves to the wayside and wholesome feelings are allowed to breathe. This
gives the characters a chance to show their softer, more vulnerable sides.
Whether these moments show loved ones interacting with each other, heroes helping strangers in gentle ways, or personal moments of introspection, there is no shortage of warmth in this series. These scenes pull at the heartstrings of fans who cherish these characters and their journeys.
Few things are more wholesome than a character-building moment between a father and son. In Man of Steel, when Jonathan Kent takes a young Clark into their cellar to reveal the truth of the boy's otherworldly origins, Clark is overwhelmed and doesn't take it well. Jonathan acknowledges his adopted son's terrible burden, and though he gives words of encouragement, Clark asks, "Can't I just keep pretending I'm your son?"
What does the trick is a hug and the affectionate response, "You are my son." The line references a moment from Superman: Secret Origin (2009) by Geoff Johns. The scene can resonate with many parents and their adopted kids.
After exploring the world for presumably as much as a decade searching to find his place in life, Clark finally returns home to Smallville to reunite with his mother, a welcome moment for the two of them. Overjoyed, he reveals he had discovered the true nature of his birth parents and why he was sent to Earth, though Martha is fearful that this foreshadows her son being taken from her.
"I'm not going anywhere, Mom," Clark says with a comforting hug to quell her tears. "I promise." This sentiment would later prove tragically false in Batman v Superman when humanity manufactures a monster to kill Martha's beloved son. Still, this remains one of the sweetest moments between mother and son in the three films.
Following the intense battle in Smallville during which Clark saved Martha from General Zod, he returns to the damaged farmhouse to reunite with his mother, finding her recovering cherished items from the debris. "I’m sorry," Clark says, sad for the damage sustained by their old family home. "It's only stuff, Clark. It can always be replaced," Martha says, knowing where her priorities are.
Clark replies, "But you can't be," expressing his relief after Zod's recent attack that his mother, who raised and understands him like no one else, is still alive. It's a warm moment when the two can relax after recent events by reminding themselves what matters most.
In Batman v Superman, while Lois dwells on the recent tragedy in Nairomi from the apartment she shares with Clark, he arrives home to find her in the bath. He had bought flowers and offers to cook a meal to surprise her. The atmosphere turns somber when Lois brings up the consequences of the Nairomi incident that had been weighing on her mind, leaving Clark feeling bummed.
Almost like a child, he hands Lois one of the roses he brought. After a few moments, the troubled atmosphere transforms when a smile crosses Lois' face. A job well done, Clark then excitedly steps into the bath, shoes and all, to enjoy an intimate moment with the woman he loves. Flawlessly melding sexuality with romance, it is a cute peek at the life Lois and Clark share.
After watching the world discuss Superman's impact on humanity, Clark finds himself troubled by how his existence has been taken by the world. So he phones his beloved mother in the middle of the night. Martha asks him what's wrong, to which he replies only, "No, nothing, I just... Hi." Smiling warmly, Martha returns the greeting.
In this moment, Superman is looking for comfort and simply needs to hear his mother's voice. There is a deeply endearing quality to this scene which reminds viewers that even Superman needs his mother sometimes.
In one of the best fight scenes of Zack Snyder's trilogy, Batman unleashes hell to save Martha Kent from Lex Luthor's henchman Anatoli Knyazev and his thugs, plowing through a horde of bad guys before confronting the Russian mercenary holding a flamethrower to the gentle Kansas mother's head. A gunshot and an ignited gas tank later, Martha is safe beneath the Dark Knight's fireproof cape.
"Don't worry, I'm a friend of your son's," he reassures her, to which she gestures to Batman's back and replies, "I figured. The cape." To Batman, this was like saving his own mother of the same name who died all those years ago. It is a moment of levity filled with intense relief that emphasises Martha Kent's innocence.
Zack Snyder described Wonder Woman as "a warrior for love," destroying villains to protect the innocent. In Zack Snyder's Justice League, taking down a group of terrorists at London's Old Bailey to defend a bunch of children on a school trip exemplifies this depiction of the character. This reaches its high point when a little girl asked Wonder Woman in the aftermath, "Can I be like you someday?"
"You can be anything you want to me," replies the Amazonian demigoddess. It is an especially poignant and meaningful message considering Barry Allen, once a perfectly normal human being, became a literal god of speed and time. In this world especially, anything is possible.
During a dark period in his life, struggling with depression resulting from losing what he believed was his humanity, the cybernetic Victor Stone unearths his new power to manipulate the world's technology however he wishes. One of the first things he does is explore CCTV footage to observe a struggling single mother working as a waitress.
Victor uses his mastery of technology to transfer $100,000 to her bank account. The moment she reacts with awe and hugs her children at the ATM, knowing things will be so much better from then on, is tear-jerking. Victor smiles as he watches, a good Samaritan whose humanity re-emerges. In this moment, he becomes a hero to a woman who needed something other than laser beams.
When Clark finally restores his memories following his resurrection and a trip down memory lane through the Kent farm, he spends a beautiful moment with the two people most important to him: Lois Lane and Martha Kent. As he expresses his gratitude to be alive again by playing with a butterfly, the scene is almost surreal in its warmth.
This is the first time Clark and Martha were reunited since he came looking for her advice one quiet Smallville evening before the Capitol hearing in Batman v Superman. The scene takes its time, allowing the moment to settle. These kinds of scenes, especially Clark's connection with nature, are part of what makes Henry Cavill so accurate to Superman's source material.
Henry Allen fears that his son's drive to liberate him from prison is holding him back in life, working multiple jobs to pay for a law degree instead of finding his own way. He believes Barry has potential that deserves better than for Barry to waste it on a potentially fruitless effort to undo a conviction.
Following the climactic final battle, Barry returns to his father to reveal he got a job in a crime lab, a real job for his own sake, with the potential of building a successful career. While a small step, it is huge for Henry Allen, who despaired that his son was wasting his life. He is utterly ecstatic and filled with pride that his son is now moving ahead, coinciding with Flash's character development in the DCEU.
There's no question that there are more superhero movies and television shows available today than at any other point in history. While a lot of praise has gone to live-action projects like Loki and The Boysor movies like The Suicide Squad 2 and basically the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, animated films and TV shows are just as good.
Some viewers may not take them seriously because they're cartoons but all someone has to do is look at 2018's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse to see how great these can be. The same goes for television, with some modern animated superhero shows getting tons of praise.
10 M.O.D.O.K. (2021) - 6.3 - Stream On Hulu
Although he was the main antagonist of the Marvel's Avengers video game, it's pretty clear that M.O.D.O.K. is something of a goofy-looking character. A giant floating head in a chair doesn't seem very intimidating, and that's the idea that the Hulu series M.O.D.O.K.played on.
The show followed the titular villain as he attempted to juggle his empire and his family life. Praise was dished out to how the world was built, some of the relationships M.O.D.O.K. had, and the stop-motion animation style. The voice cast was also a hilarious highlight, led by Patton Oswalt, Melissa Fuermo, Aimee Garcia, and Ben Schwartz.
9 ULTRAMAN (2019-Present) - 6.9 - Stream On Netflix
Ultraman is a hero that has kind of been around for decades at this point and has been adopted plenty of times over. His suit has become rather iconic and the character has remained popular since the 1970s. He has been part of video games, movies, miniseries, television shows, and more. Ultraman could even end up in the Monsterverse alongside Godzilla and King Kong since he's the first tokusatsu hero in history
One of the most recent iterations of a project starring the character is Netflix's ULTRAMAN, which premiered back in 2019. The 13-episode run received widespread acclaim from those who gave the series a chance and season 2 is scheduled to arrive in early 2022.
8 Avengers Assemble (2012-2019) - 7.0 - Stream On Disney+
If there was ever a perfect time for a show to release about Marvel's greatest team, it was in 2012. The MCU was really taking off and The Avengers surpassed the elusive $1 billion mark at the box office. So, it makes sense that Avengers Assemble was a hit series featuring Captain America, Black Widow, and more.
Part of what made the show so well-received was how it continuously expanded the universe and the lore. Later seasons went on to adapt comic arcs like Secret Wars and also brought in the likes of Black Panther and Thanos. You'd be hard-pressed to find a bigger combination of Marvel characters on one screen.
7 Axe Cop (2012-2015) - 7.4 - Stream On VRV
Back in late 2009, Axe Cop debuted as a webcomic and the premise is basically right in the name. The series follows a police officer who opts to use an axe when he goes into a fight. The comic was adapted into a Fox TV series in 2013 before FXX took it over in 2015.
Although it's not the most popular modern animated superhero series, it did get critical praise. One of the biggest reasons it was loved was the voice cast with Nick Offerman leading the way and guest appearances from Alison Brie, Stephanie Beatriz, Jemima Kirke, Giancarlo Esposito, and more.
6 Generator Rex (2010-2013) - 7.6 - Buy On Amazon
The 1999 comic M. Rex served as the inspiration for the 2010 TV series Generator Rex. Again, this is a series that stood out immediately for its voice cast, which featured J.K. Simmons, Daryl Sabara, and Fred Savage. One of the highlights was that this Cartoon Network series crossed over with other shows.
2011 saw an episode that also featured characters from Ben 10. Although the series wrapped up nearly a decade ago, it was brought back for a special titled Ben Gen 10 in 2021, proving that it still has some legs. The show was set in a future where humans were infected by bots and one young man had the special ability to control those bots.
5 What If...? (2021-Present) - 7.6 - Stream On Disney+
The MCU finally got in on the animated action with the What If...? series. The idea was that it took the characters audiences have fallen in love with over the past decade or so and put them into situations and stories from other universes. Fans got to see T'Challa as Star-Lord, a world where Hank Pym murdered the Avengers, and Ultron wielding the Infinity Stones.
The animation style was an instant hit, though a few of the episodes somewhat missed the mark. However, many fans agreed that things all came together near the end as the show created the Guardians of the Multiverse and saw an epic clash where the likes of Gamora, Thor, and Captain Carter teamed up to face a multiverse threat.
4 Kid Cosmic (2021-Present) - 7.9 - Stream On Netflix
Craig McCracken is one of the most notable names in animation as he created the likes of The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, while also having a history on 2 Stupid Dogs and Dexter's Laboratory. In 2021, he tried his hand at superheroes with Kid Cosmic.
The premise is simple enough, following a kid who is given superpowers he must use to fight off evil but the series shines thanks to its supporting characters and the animation style that feels like a retro comic book. Though it only just premiered in early 2021, two seasons are already out and a third and final one is on the way.
3 The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes (2010-2012) - 8.3 - Stream On Disney+
A few years before Avengers Assemble became a series, the Marvel team was brought to the small screen in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Initially, the show was centered around the original group of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Giant-Man, and The Wasp but other heroes were brought in later on.
Like the follow-up series, this dealt with Marvel characters that hadn't yet come to movies like Skrulls, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Doom, and more. Fans were pretty disappointed with the news that it had not been renewed for season 3 and would be replaced by Avengers Assemble, though that show worked out well enough.
2 Harley Quinn (2019-Present) - 8.5 - Stream On HBO Max
Although superhero cartoons mostly seem aimed at children, it's actually the ones geared towards adults that have performed the best from a critical standpoint. DC's Harley Quinn is just that kind of series, centering on the titular villain as she leaves The Joker and looks to form her own band of baddies.
The series has been praised for everything from the voice acting (Kaley Cuoco, Lake Bell, and Alan Tudyk lead the way) to the animation style but the real highlight is how iconic characters are presented in a different manner. That includes a maniacal Jim Gordon and the hilarious Kite Man. Plus, audiences adore the core romance between Harley and Poison Ivy.
1 Invincible (2021-Present) - 8.7 - Stream On Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime first made gritty superhero waves with The Boys but they took it to the next level with Invincible. The animation format allowed for the show to do things that wouldn't be possible without an absurd budget in live-action, including one particular finale scene involving a train crash and hundreds of dead bodies.
The show follows Mark, a teen who gains superpowers and becomes the titular superhero. As he bands with other heroes to fight villains, he also learns that his father, a beloved hero himself, is actually the most ruthless villain of them all. Things culminated in shocking manner to wrap up a debut season that people were talking about for months.
