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Batman’s Penis and Beyond: The Biggest WTF Moments of 2018 in Comics, Movies and TV

2018 was a pretty strange year for pop culture. Batman couldn’t keep his clothes on. Sonic the Hedgehog insisted on showing off his gross-looking legs. Everyone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe either got wiped out of existence or had their Netflix series canceled.

As the year winds down, here’s a look back at the five strange developments in movies, TV and comics that had us all saying, “WTF?”.

Batman Shows His Penis

DC Comics debuted a new imprint this year called DC Black Label, one geared toward older readers hungry for dark, standalone stories in the vein of The Dark Knight Returns and Watchmen. That imprint kicked off with the release of Batman: Damned in October, and it immediately became clear just how un-kid-friendly Black Label truly is.

Inside One of the Best Arcades in Japan – Game Center Mikado

Arcades may have died out in much of the world, but in Japan, arcades are still a huge part of gaming culture. One of my favourites is Game Center Mikado in Tokyo – it’s a great place to dive into legendary fighting games and retro classics in a relaxed atmosphere.

Mikado is a couple of stops from Shinjuku in Takadanobaba, a district that’s famous for being the place that Osamu Tezuka chose for his iconic character Astro Boy to be “born.” JR trains play the theme song when they stop at this station, and there are a couple of large murals of Tezuka’s work outside the station.

Game Center Mikado is just around the corner, on an unassuming alley that runs along the train line. This two storey arcade has been one of the central locations for Tokyo’s fighting game scene for more than a decade (it was opened in 2006 but has been in its current location since 2009), playing host to regular tournaments and known for high level play. It’s also – unlike the many Taito Game Stations and Club SEGAs around the country – privately owned.

Here’s Every Side Quest in Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Track down every last side quest in Breath of the Wild to earn unique armor, rupees, and more.

Monster Hunter: World Tips and Tricks

Everything you need to know to succeed as a hunter.

Netflix’s Bird Box Review

The following is a mostly spoiler-free review of Bird Box, which is now streaming on Netflix.

In a slightly better effort and presentation than most Netflix Original movies, Bird Box stars Sandra Bullock as one of the few survivors of a global “event” that – *sigh* – involves invisible demons instantly causing all who see them to commit suicide. Look, it’s all better than the description makes it sound. Though, this gimmick also feels goofy at times, and needlessly convolutes a story that, for all intents and purposes, could be about anything world-ending (zombies, clickers, what have you).

The end result of these supernatural creatures (if you’re looking for the film’s “hook”) is that the characters can’t go outside with their eyes open, creating a scenario where Bullock’s Malorie has to escort two 5-year-old kids (one is hers and the other an orphan) through the woods blindfolded, surrounded by shrieking chaos. Their lack of visuals makes for a cool visual, and an unsettling survival scenario, but it the movie feels reverse engineered to create this very specific, heightened situation. As if the author – in this case Josh Malerman, who wrote the 2014 book the movie’s based on – worked backwards from a cool idea and created “monsters” that could accommodate such an ordeal.