Having just mentioned the imminent demise of a member of the original Marvel Comics super-team, I am reminded of a recent visit to my favorite comic shop. The conversation turned to (no surprise) my recent visit to Chuck E. Cheese. Originally mentioned here, then elaborated on here and here, my favorite summary of the experience was this: if WalMart had a crappy arcade, it would be Chuck E. Cheese. A guy in the shop added this: If you want to see the future of this country, observe the children at Chuck E. Cheese. If you want to see its present state, go to WalMart. Ouch. So true.

And we went on to discuss things that trouble us – yes, comic fans do worry about the global state of affairs, believe it or not. And while we all may wish for a time when a celestial radioactive comet strikes the Earth, destroying the bad people and giving super powers to the intellectually gifted so that hot chicks everywhere will be immediately drawn to them…and they won’t need glasses anymore, we remain ground in the reality that such a comet probably ain’t striking down anytime soon.

So we lament the crappy educational system, the failing economy, and the real danger that there will soon be a massive insulin shortage with so many pre-diabetics texting their way through their 20s. One interesting suggestion came up while talking through the relative positive “plot” points of the classic 80s Rambo trilogy. When the more recent Rambo movie from a couple years ago was brought up, I mentioned the scene where Rambo slams his hand into a bad guy’s throat and pulls out his spinal column. I’m not sure if that made it into the theatrical release, but it was definitely in the trailer.

“Now that’s a way to suppress appetite,” someone said, not really joking. “Go see a Stallone movie.”