title: Mandala

text: A "mandala offering" in Tibetan Buddhism is a symbolic offering of the entire universe. Every intricate detail of these mandalas is fixed in the tradition and has specific symbolic meanings, often on more than one level.


title: Mandala

text: Whereas the above mandala represents the pure surroundings of a Buddha, this mandala represents the universe. This type of mandala is used for the mandala-offerings, during which one symbolically offers the universe to the Buddhas or to one's teacher. Within Vajrayana practice, 100,000 of these mandala offerings (to create merit) can be part of the preliminary practices before a student even begins actual tantric practices. This mandala is generally structured according to the model of the universe as taught in a Buddhist classic text the "Abhidharma-kośa", with Mount Meru at the centre, surrounded by the continents, oceans and mountains, etc.


title: Mandala

text: Various Mandalas are described in many Pali Buddhist texts. Some of the examples of the Theravada Buddhist Mandalas are:


title: Mandala

text: One Japanese branch of Mahayana Buddhism – Shingon Buddhism – makes frequent use of mandalas in its rituals as well, though the actual mandalas differ. When Shingon's founder, Kukai, returned from his training in China, he brought back two mandalas that became central to Shingon ritual: the Mandala of the Womb Realm and the Mandala of the Diamond Realm.


title: Mandala

text: These two mandalas are engaged in the "abhiseka" initiation rituals for new Shingon students, more commonly known as the (). A common feature of this ritual is to blindfold the new initiate and to have them throw a flower upon either mandala. Where the flower lands assists in the determination of which tutelary deity the initiate should follow.


title: Mandala

text: The mandala in Nichiren Buddhism is a (), which is a paper hanging scroll or wooden tablet whose inscription consists of Chinese characters and medieval-Sanskrit script representing elements of the Buddha's enlightenment, protective Buddhist deities, and certain Buddhist concepts. Called the "Gohonzon", it was originally inscribed by Nichiren, the founder of this branch of Japanese Buddhism, during the late 13th Century. The "Gohonzon" is the primary object of veneration in some Nichiren schools and the only one in others, which consider it to be the supreme object of worship as the embodiment of the supreme Dharma and Nichiren's inner enlightenment. The seven characters Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō, considered to be the name of the supreme Dharma, as well as the invocation that believers chant, are written down the center of all Nichiren-sect "Gohonzons", whose appearance may otherwise vary depending on the particular school and other factors.


title: Mandala

text: Mandalas have sometimes been used in Pure Land Buddhism to graphically represent Pure Lands, based on descriptions found in the "Larger Sutra" and the "Contemplation Sutra". The most famous mandala in Japan is the Taima mandala, dated to about 763 CE. The Taima mandala is based on the "Contemplation Sutra", but other similar mandalas have been made subsequently. Unlike mandalas used in Vajrayana Buddhism, it is not used as an object of meditation or for esoteric ritual. Instead, it provides a visual representation of the Pure Land texts, and is used as a teaching aid.


title: Mandala

text: Also in Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, Shinran and his descendant, Rennyo, sought a way to create easily accessible objects of reverence for the lower-classes of Japanese society. Shinran designed a mandala using a hanging scroll, and the words of the "nembutsu" () written vertically. This style of mandala is still used by some Jodo Shinshu Buddhists in home altars, or "butsudan".


title: Mandala

text: Sand mandalas are colorful mandalas made from sand that are ritualistically destroyed. They originated in India in the 8th-12th century but is now practiced in Tibetan Buddhism. Each mandala is dedicated to specific deities. In Buddhism Deities represent states of the mind to be obtained on the path to enlightenment, the mandala itself is representative of the deities palace which also represents the mind of the deity. Each mandala is a pictorial representation of a tantra. for the process of making Sand mandalas they are created by monks that have trained for 3-5 years in a monastery. These sand mandalas are made to be destroyed to symbolize impermanence, the Buddhist belief that death is not the end, and that one's essence will always return to the elements. It is also related to the belief that one should not become attached to anything. To create these mandalas, the monks first create a sketch, then take colorful sand traditionally made from powdered stones and gems into copper funnels called Cornetts and gently tap sand out of them to create the sand mandala. Each color represents attributes of deities. While making the mandalas the monks will pray and meditate, each grain of sand represents a blessing. Monks will travel to demonstrate this art form to people, often in museums.


title: Mandala

text: The Maya civilization tended to present calendars in a form similar to a mandala. It is similar in form and function to the "Kalachakra" (Wheel of Time) sand paintings of Tibetan Buddhists. Maya symbolism was later used in the Dreamspell calendar, developed by José Argüelles. Sometimes described as an authentic Mayan mandala, it is "inspired by" elements of the 260-day Tzolk'in calendar (as opposed to the 365-day Haabʼ calendar).


title: Mandala

text: The Sun Stone is thought to be a ceremonial representation of the entire universe as seen by the Aztec religious class, in some ways resembling a mandala.


title: Mandala

text: The earliest interpretations of the stone relate to its use as a calendar. In 1792, two years after the stone's unearthing, Mexican anthropologist Antonio de León y Gama wrote a treatise on the Aztec calendar using the stone as its basis. Some of the circles of glyphs are the glyphs for the days of the month. The four symbols included in the Ollin glyph represent the four past suns that the Mexica believed the earth had passed through.


title: Mandala

text: Another aspect of the stone is its religious significance. One theory is that the face at the center of the stone represents Tonatiuh, the Aztec deity of the sun; it is for this reason that the stone became known as the "Sun Stone." Richard Townsend proposed a different theory, claiming that the figure at the center of the stone represents Tlaltecuhtli, the Mexica earth deity who features in Mexica creation myths. Modern archaeologists, such as those at the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, believe it is more likely to have been used primarily as a ceremonial basin or ritual altar for gladiatorial sacrifices than as an astrological or astronomical reference.


title: Mandala

text: Yet another characteristic of the stone is its possible geographic significance. The four points may relate to the four corners of the earth or the cardinal points. The inner circles may express space as well as time.


title: Mandala

text: Lastly, there is the political aspect of the stone. It may have been intended to show Tenochtitlan as the center of the world and therefore, as the center of authority. Townsend argues in favor of this idea, claiming that the small glyphs of additional dates amongst the four previous suns - 1 Flint ("Tecpatl"), 1 Rain ("Atl"), and 7 Monkey ("Ozomahtli") – represent matters of historical importance to the Mexica state. He posits, for example, that 7 Monkey represents the significant day for the cult of a community within "Tenochtitlan". His claim is further supported by the presence of Mexica ruler Moctezuma II's name on the work.


title: Mandala

text: The Cosmati pavements, including that at Westminster Abbey, are geometric supposedly mandala-like mosaic designs from thirteenth century Italy. The Great Pavement at Westminster Abbey is believed to embody divine and cosmic geometries as the seat of enthronement of the monarchs of England.


title: Mandala

text: Similarly, many of the Illuminations of Hildegard von Bingen can be used as mandalas, as well as many of the images of esoteric Christianity, as in Christian Hermeticism, Christian Alchemy, and Rosicrucianism.


title: Mandala

text: Alchemist, mathematician and astrologer John Dee developed a geometric symbol which he called the "Sigillum Dei" (Seal of God) manifesting a universal geometric order which incorporated the names of the archangels, derived from earlier forms of the "clavicula salomonis" or key of Solomon.


title: Mandala

text: The Layer Monument, an early 17th-century marble mural funerary monument at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Maddermarket, Norwich, is a rare example of Christian iconography absorbing alchemical symbolism to create a mandala in Western funerary art.


title: Mandala

text: The re-introduction of mandalas into modern Western thought is largely credited to psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. In his exploration of the unconscious through art, Jung observed the common appearance of a circle motif across religions and cultures. He hypothesized that the circle drawings reflected the mind's inner state at the moment of creation and were a kind of symbolic archetype in the universal subconscious. Familiarity with the philosophical writings of India prompted Jung to adopt the word "mandala" to describe these drawings created by himself and his patients. In his autobiography, Jung wrote:


title: Mandala

text: Jung claimed that the urge to make mandalas emerges during moments of intense personal growth. He further hypothesized their appearance indicated a "profound re-balancing process" is underway in the psyche; the result of the process would be a more complex and better integrated personality.


title: Mandala

text: American art therapist Joan Kellogg later created the MARI card test, a free response measure, based on Jung's work.


title: Mandala

text: Transpersonal psychologist David Fontana proposed that the symbolic nature of a mandala may help one "to access progressively deeper levels of the unconscious, ultimately assisting the meditator to experience a mystical sense of oneness with the ultimate unity from which the cosmos in all its manifold forms arises."


title: Mandala

text: Buddhist architecture often applied mandala as the blueprint or plan to design Buddhist structures, including temple complex and stupas. A notable example of mandala in architecture is the 9th century Borobudur in Central Java, Indonesia. It is built as a large stupa surrounded by smaller ones arranged on terraces formed as a stepped pyramid, and when viewed from above, takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind. Other temples from the same period that also have mandala plans include Sewu, Plaosan and Prambanan. Similar mandala designs are also observable in Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.


title: Mandala

text: Circular diagrams are often used in phylogenetics, especially for the graphical representation of phylogenetic relationships. Evolutionary trees often encompass numerous species that are conveniently shown on a circular tree, with images of the species shown on the periphery of a tree. Such diagrams have been called phylogenetic mandalas.


title: Mandala

text: Mandala as an art form first appeared in Buddhist art that were produced in India during the first century B.C.E. These can also be seen in Rangoli designs in Indian households.


title: Mandala

text: In New Age, the mandala is a diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a time-microcosm of the universe, but it originally meant to represent wholeness and a model for the organizational structure of life itself, a cosmic diagram that shows the relation to the infinite and the world that extends beyond and within various minds & bodies.


title: Mandala

text: One of the most intense archaeological discoveries in recent years that could redefine the history of eastern thought and tradition of mandala is the discovery of five giant mandalas in the valley of Manipur, India, made with Google Earth imagery. Located in the paddy field in the west of Imphal, the capital of Manipur, the Maklang geoglyph is perhaps the world's largest mandala built entirely of mud. The site wasn't discovered until 2013 as its whole structure could only be visible via Google Earth satellite imagery. The whole paddy field, locally known as Bihu Loukon, is now protected and announced as historical monument and site by the government of Manipur in the same year. The site is situated 12 km aerial distance from Kangla with the GPS coordinates of 24° 48' N and 93° 49' E. It covers a total area of around 224,161.45 square meters. This square mandala has four similar protruding rectangular ‘gates’ in the cardinal directions guarded each by similar but smaller rectangular ‘gates’ on the left and right. Within the square there is an eight petalled flower or rayed-star, recently called as Maklang ‘Star fort’ by the locals, in the centre covering a total area of around 50,836.66 square meters. The discovery of other five giant mandalas in the valley of Manipur is also made with Google Earth. The five giant mandalas, viz., Sekmai mandala, Heikakmapal mandala, Phurju twin mandalas and Sangolmang mandala are located on the western bank of the Iril River. Another two fairly large mandala shaped geoglyph at Nongren and Keinou are also reported from Manipur valley, India, in 2019. They are named as Nongren mandala and Keinou mandala.


title: Mandala

text: The "Rajamandala" (or "Raja-mandala"; circle of states) was formulated by the Indian author Kautilya in his work on politics, the "Arthashastra" (written between 4th century BCE and 2nd century BCE). It describes circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the king's state.


title: Mandala

text: In historical, social and political sense, the term "mandala" is also employed to denote traditional Southeast Asian political formations (such as federation of kingdoms or vassalized states). It was adopted by 20th century Western historians from ancient Indian political discourse as a means of avoiding the term 'state' in the conventional sense. Not only did Southeast Asian polities not conform to Chinese and European views of a territorially defined state with fixed borders and a bureaucratic apparatus, but they diverged considerably in the opposite direction: the polity was defined by its centre rather than its boundaries, and it could be composed of numerous other tributary polities without undergoing administrative integration. Empires such as Bagan, Ayutthaya, Champa, Khmer, Srivijaya and Majapahit are known as "mandala" in this sense.


title: Mandala

text: Fashion designer Mandali Mendrilla designed an interactive art installation called Mandala of Desires (Blue Lotus Wish Tree) made in peace silk and eco friendly textile ink, displayed at the China Art Museum in Shanghai in November 2015. The pattern of the dress was based on the Goloka Yantra mandala, shaped as a lotus with eight petals. Visitors were invited to place a wish on the sculpture dress, which will be taken to India and offered to a genuine living Wish Tree.


title: Far Cry

text: Far Cry is an anthology franchise of first-person shooter games, all of which have been published by Ubisoft. The first game, "Far Cry", was developed by Crytek to premiere their CryEngine software, and released in March 2004. Subsequently, Ubisoft obtained the rights to the franchise and the bulk of the development is handled by Ubisoft Montreal with assistance from other Ubisoft satellite studios. The following games in the series have used a Ubisoft-modified version of the CryEngine, the Dunia Engine, allowing for open world gameplay. In the present, the franchise consists of six mainline games, a standalone expansion, and several spin-offs; additionally, the first game, initially developed for Microsoft Windows, saw a number of ports to video game consoles, which changed several elements and are therefore considered standalone releases.


title: Far Cry

text: The "Far Cry" games, due to the history of their development, do not have any significant shared narrative elements, but instead share a theme of placing the player in a wilderness environment where they must help fight against one or more despots that control the region as well as surviving against wild animals that roam the open spaces. The "Far Cry" games feature a single-player campaign with later titles also offering co-operative campaign support. The games also offer competitive multiplayer options and the ability for users to edit the games' maps for these matches. The "Far Cry" games have generally been well-received, with praise for their open world gameplay and antagonists, but criticism for their lack of innovation, and are considered commercial successes.


title: Far Cry

text: The main "Far Cry" games are first-person shooters (FPS) with action-adventure elements. Whereas the first "Far Cry" and its spin-offs/remakes were typical FPS with discrete levels, "Far Cry 2" and the subsequent games have adapted an open world-style of gameplay, with main story and side missions and optional quests to complete.


title: Far Cry

text: There are minimal narrative elements or chronology between the games. Instead, the "Far Cry" games have generally shared the theme of taking the player to "a lawless frontier" where "values and laws of today are non-functional", along with elements of having to survive in the wilderness including hunting and crafting. The player often needs to work with freedom fighters attempting to regain control of a region from a ruling party, and may have to pit different sides of a conflict against each other through their actions. Some of the series' games have been more rooted in realistic conflicts, while others have involved elements of the supernatural or science fiction. Ubisoft Montreal, the principal developers of the series, do consider that all games share the same common fictional universe, and have reused some minor characters to maintain that, but otherwise anticipate each game can be enjoyed as a standalone title without knowledge of the other games.


title: Far Cry

text: The first "Far Cry" game was developed by the German studio Crytek, and premiered their CryEngine software. One of Crytek's goals with the CryEngine was to be able to render realistic outdoor spaces with large viewing distances, which was a unique feature compared with other game engines at the time of its release. The CryEngine was originally demonstrated as a tech demo at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 1999 under the name "X-Isle: Dinosaur Island" specifically aimed at NVIDIA graphics processors. The demo allowed the user to explore a virtual tropical island populated with dinosaurs, showcasing the size of the virtual world that the CryEngine could handle. Following E3 1999, they secured a deal with NVIDIA to distribute "X-Isle" alongside all NVIDIA cards as benchmarking software, as at the time the CryEngine was the most demanding game engine on the market. Ubisoft made a deal with Crytek to build out "X-Isle" into a full AAA title, and obtained publishing rights for this title.


title: Far Cry

text: This game develops the story of player-character Jack Carver, who stumbles upon the genetic research of Dr. Krieger and the Krieger Corporation, on a fictional Micronesia island, to create powerful Trigen Beasts as weapons later sold to mercenaries. "Far Cry" released in March 2004 for Microsoft Windows to critical praise and strong sales, with over 730,000 units sold in the first four months.


title: Far Cry

text: Following "Far Cry"s release, Crytek, wanting to show that CryEngine had other applications, signed a deal in July 2004 to develop a gaming franchise with publisher Electronic Arts (EA), a direct competitor to Ubisoft. This franchise became the "Crysis" series, and through which Crytek continued to improve their CryEngine. With Crytek unable to work with them, Ubisoft assigned its studio Ubisoft Montreal to help port the title to the various game consoles through the "Far Cry Instincts" and "Far Cry Vengeance" titles. These titles required Ubisoft Montreal to rework much of the game as the consoles at this point in time were not as powerful as personal computers, and could not handle the wide open levels without performance problems. These games created more linear levels from the original "Far Cry", added campaigns and multiplayer modes, and in some cases, changed the game's narrative to less-realistic outcomes. In March 2006, Ubisoft acquired all rights to the "Far Cry" series and a perpetual license for the CryEngine version used in the development of "Far Cry". Ubisoft Montreal remained the principal studio developing all future "Far Cry" games.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 2" was announced by Ubisoft in July 2007, and featured two significant changes from the previous "Far Cry" games. First, it premiered the use of the Dunia Engine, a modified form of the licensed CryEngine by Ubisoft Montreal. The Dunia Engine was developed alongside "Far Cry 2" to make a fully open-world game as well as adding realistic physics and destroyable environments. Second, rather than continuing in the narrative of the first "Far Cry", it created a more open-ended narrative, featuring nine playable characters and the means for the player to create their own stories with the other non-playable characters in the game with an advanced artificial intelligence system. Part of the reason the narrative from "Far Cry" was dropped was that its main character Jack Carver was not memorable with players, and that the ending of the game, particularly with the changes made for "Instincts" and "Vengeance", took a significant turn into science fiction, something that the developers wanted to avoid with "Far Cry 2". Ubisoft also recognized that through the various console versions that players would be tired of the tropic setting as well as fearing that Crytek's project with EA was also set in a tropic location, and thus opted to change the locale to the plains of Africa. For "Far Cry 2", the game takes place in a fictional African county in the midst of a civil war that is being financially funded by a figure known as the Jackal, whom the player-character, a mercenary for hire, is tasked to bring down with the help of other mercenaries and locals.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 2" was released in October 2008, and was critically praised and commercially successful, with over 2.9 million in sales by 2009. However, the game's director, Clint Hocking, noted that internally, much of the design of "Far Cry 2" was haphazard. "Far Cry 2" had a polarizing reception from players over some of the gameplay features that were implemented to make the game feel diegetic and immerse the player into the world. Some of these disputed mechanics included the random onset of malaria that would impact the character's vision and movement until they obtained and took medicine for it, a weapon decay system that would cause guns picked up from enemies to wear down and break over use, military checkpoints that a player could clear out but which would become repopulated with enemies minutes later, and the game's buddy system, where the player could call a selected non-player character to help their character in battle, but only for a short while and would not be available until the player reached a safe house to rest.


title: Far Cry

text: Pre-production work for "Far Cry 3" had reportedly started just after "Far Cry 2" was shipped, with plans to keep it as a narrative sequel, but in the few years that followed, many of the development leads for "Far Cry 2" left the studio. The project had a significant shift of locale, returning to a tropical island theme similar to "Far Cry" while retaining the open-world nature of "Far Cry 2". They also looked to keep the key elements of "Far Cry 2"s open world that worked but add in more features to make it feel like a living world but with purpose behind how they designed it. This led to the development of Dunia Engine 2 to implement some open-world features such as weather system, which premiered in "Far Cry 3". Several of the questionable gameplay elements of "Far Cry 2" were eliminated. Further, to make this world meaningful, they eliminated the multiple player-characters and instead provided one character that they could write a strong narrative around. Within "Far Cry 3", the player-character is part of a group of adventuring tourists caught by the pirate Vaas Montenegro who has tortured the island's native population. The introduction of a well-defined villain character in Vaas that was the focal point for much of the game further redefined how the "Far Cry" games going forward would be presented, each centered around a similar crafted character central to the game's plot. "Far Cry 3" was formally announced in 2011 and released in November 2012. Though "Far Cry 3" presented some controversial elements within its narrative, it received critical acclaim and had sold more than 10 million units by 2014.


title: Far Cry

text: The basic gameplay of "Far Cry 3" established the series' general approach that was used in the next main series' iterations, but shifted locales from the tropical setting. These games included "Far Cry 4" (2014), set in the fictional Himalayan country of Kyrat ruled by the tyrannical Pagan Min and his Royal Army, "Far Cry 5" (2018), taking place in fictional Hope County in Montana where a doomsday cult Eden's Gate, led by Joseph Seed, has locked down the region, and "Far Cry 6" (2021), set on a fictional Cuba-like island in the midst of revolution which "El Presidente" Antón Castillo rules as a dictator. All these games maintained the theme of a lawless land and required the player to rely on a number of gameplay skills beyond combat, such as hunting and crafting to a degree, to succeed. Each iteration of the games has used the Dunia 2 engine with further enhancements to improve performance and take advantage of newer technologies.


title: Far Cry

text: Extending from the main games were smaller side games that were built using the main games' existing maps and assets. The first of these was "", released in May 2013, following its announcement by Ubisoft on the previous April Fools' Day. The game, a standalone title, was an experiment release developed by Dean Evans that worked atop the existing "Far Cry 3" assets, reskinning some of the game's existing maps and geometry. It took a tongue-in-cheek approach to the culture of the 1980s. It became a commercial success with more than 1 million units sold. Its success led to similar "reskins" for the next two main games in "Far Cry Primal" (2016) (from "Far Cry 4") and "Far Cry New Dawn" (2019) (from "Far Cry 5").


title: Far Cry

text: While Ubisoft has yet to formally announced further "Far Cry" games after "Far Cry 6", reports emerged in November 2021 that the next "Far Cry" game would be a live-service game similar to Ubisoft's plans for the next "Assassin's Creed" game, codenamed "Assassin's Creed Infinity". Around the same time, Dan Hay, executive producer for the "Far Cry" series since "Far Cry 3", announced his departure from Ubisoft Montreal to pursue other opportunities.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry", the first game in the series, was developed as an open-ended first-person shooter by German studio Crytek, being the first title to use their CryEngine software. The game is set on a mysterious archipelago in Micronesia, where ex-special forces operative Jack Carver must use various weapons, tools, and his surroundings to survive against hostile mercenaries that control the islands while searching for the journalist who was accompanying him and who went missing. As Jack explores the islands, he uncovers the horrific genetic experiments being conducted on the local wildlife and must confront the mad scientist behind them.


title: Far Cry

text: The game was published by Ubisoft on March 23, 2004 for Microsoft Windows. It received generally positive reviews, with praise for its visuals, gameplay mechanics, and the level of freedom given to the player, and sold 730,000 units within four months of release.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 2" was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on October 21, 2008 in North America, October 23 in Australia, and October 24 in Europe. The game is set in a fictional East African state where an arms smuggler known as "The Jackal" is selling weapons to two factions engaged in a civil war. The player assumes the role of a mercenary sent to find and kill the Jackal, who is inflaming the conflict. The game's sandbox gameplay has been highly touted, allowing the player access to 50 km of African terrain, complete with open savannah, forests, animals, and towns. "Far Cry 2" also puts more emphasis on realism compared to other games in the series, incorporating features such as weapon jamming and malaria, which the player character gets infected with at the start of the game and must thereafter regularly take medication to avoid dying.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 2" received generally positive reviews from critics for its setting, visuals, and open-ended gameplay, although some criticized its writing, artificial intelligence, and technical issues. A number of players also found some aspects of the gameplay, mainly those related to the game's focus on realism, overly repetitive and tedious. The game sold three million copies worldwide within four months of release.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 3" was developed by Ubisoft Montreal using feedback from "Far Cry 2", and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 29, 2012 in Australia, November 30 in Europe, and December 4 in North America. It was later re-released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on June 26, 2018. Ahead of release, the game was heavily promoted by Ubisoft with various companion apps, webseries and crossovers. "Far Cry 3" takes place on the fictional Rook Islands, a tropical archipelago. After a vacation goes awry, protagonist Jason Brody, an ordinary American tourist, must learn the ways of the jungle to survive and rescue his friends, who have been captured by the insane Vaas Montenegro and his gang of pirates to be sold into slavery.


title: Far Cry

text: Larger in scope and ambition than its predecessors, "Far Cry 3" received largely positive reviews, with praise for its characters (in particular Vaas), world design, visuals, progression, and gameplay, though the multiplayer modes received some criticism. The game has sold nearly 10 million copies in its lifetime, and was nominated for multiple year-end accolades in 2012, including Game of the Year and Best Shooter.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 4" was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on November 18, 2014 in Australia and North America, and November 20 in Europe. The game was originally conceptualized as a direct sequel to "Far Cry 3", before it was turned into a standalone story like the other games in the series. The game is set in the fictional country of Kyrat in the Himalayas region, ruled by a despotic self-appointed king named Pagan Min. The protagonist, Ajay Ghale, becomes caught in a civil war and must overthrow Min, after he is instructed by his late mother to travel again, from the U.S., to his homeland to spread her ashes there. Aspects of the game's story were inspired by the 1996–2006 Nepalese Civil War.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 4" received positive reviews for its world design, visuals, soundtrack, and characters as well as new gameplay additions and the wealth of content. However, the story had a more divisive reception, and the game was criticized for its lack of innovation from "Far Cry 3". The game had the biggest launch in the franchise's history, selling seven million copies by the end of 2014.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 5" was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto. Announced in early 2017, it was released worldwide on March 27, 2018 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The game is set in modern-day Montana in the fictional Hope County, which is controlled by a doomsday cult called the Project at Eden's Gate, led by "The Father" Joseph Seed and his siblings. Players assume the role of a customizable sheriff's deputy who becomes entangled in a violent conflict between the cult and the resisting residents of Hope County who have seen their friends and family taken or killed by the cult. The game was heavily inspired by several socio-political events in modern history, such as the Cold War and the September 11 attacks. The development team sought to capture the despondent social climate after the events and re-purpose it for the game.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 5" received generally positive reviews for its world design, visuals, gameplay, and soundtrack, although the narrative and some of the characters received criticism. It also became the subject of controversy after being announced alongside a period of heightened political conflicts. The game was a commercial success and became the fastest-selling title in the franchise, grossing over $310 million in its first week of sales.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 6" was developed by Ubisoft Toronto and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and Amazon Luna on October 7, 2021. The game is set on the fictional island of Yara (loosely based on modern-day Cuba), ruled by fascist dictator Antón Castillo (portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito) who seeks to bring his son, Diego (Anthony Gonzalez), to be his heir amidst a revolutionary uprising by freedom fighters. Players assume the role of guerilla fighter Dani Rojas, attempting to topple Castillo and his regime. The game was inspired by several revolutions of recent history, primarily the Cuban Revolution of 1953–1959, and features the return of several elements from earlier "Far Cry" titles, such as a tropical setting and a fully voiced protagonist.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry 6" received generally mixed reviews. Although the setting, visuals, Esposito's performance, and the minor improvements to the series' gameplay formula were praised, the lack of innovation and the aging design were criticized.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry Instincts" is a port of the original "Far Cry" for the Xbox, developed and published by Ubisoft on September 27, 2005. Although it is a port, the game is less open-ended, due to the console's technical limitations, and features several new elements, including an altered storyline, new weapons, an extra multiplayer mode through the Xbox Live service, a map creator, and 'feral abilities', and is therefore considered a separate release. Ports for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube were also planned, but were ultimately cancelled.


title: Far Cry

text: A sequel to "Far Cry Instincts", released for the Xbox on March 27, 2006, "Evolution" features a new single-player campaign, albeit considerably shorter than that of "Instincts", as well as new weapons, vehicles, an expanded map-maker and an extra multiplayer mode. Maps that are created on the Xbox version of "Instincts" can not be transferred to the Xbox 360 version.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry Instincts: Predator", released for the Xbox 360 on the same day as "Far Cry Instincts: Evolution", includes graphically enhanced versions of both "Instincts" and "Evolution".


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry Vengeance" is a port of "Far Cry Instincts: Evolution" for the Wii, developed and published by Ubisoft on December 12, 2006 in North America, January 5, 2007 in Europe, and February 28 in Australia. The game features changed controls, new weapons and vehicles, and three additional levels.


title: Far Cry

text: "Paradise Lost" is a rail shooter arcade game port of "Far Cry Instincts" developed by Global VR and published by Ubisoft in 2007. Players use stationary turrets armed with rockets and grenades as power-ups.


title: Far Cry

text: "Blood Dragon" is a stand-alone "expansion pack" based on the world of "Far Cry 3". Although "Blood Dragon" does not continue the story of "Far Cry 3", it shares the same game engine and gameplay mechanics. News of its development was leaked by the Brazilian ratings board, which awarded an 18+ certification based on the title's references to violence, sex, and drugs. The game's retrospective story, characters and visual style are inspired by 1980's action movies, especially those starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, such as "Commando", "The Terminator", and "Predator", and Sylvester Stallone, like "Cobra", "First Blood", and "Rocky IV". Other film/television references include "RoboCop", "Escape from New York", "Scarface" and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles", among others. Pre-orders of the PC version received a digital copy of the soundtrack, produced by Melbourne, Australia-based Power Glove. Due to the success of the title, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot has stated that the game may also get a retail release.


title: Far Cry

text: A crossover title with the "Trials" series, "Trials of the Blood Dragon" is based on "Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon", and was released in June 2016. A remastered version of "Blood Dragon" is included in the season pass of "Far Cry 6".


title: Far Cry

text: Announced in October 2015, "Far Cry Primal" is a spin-off to "Far Cry 4", developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on February 23, 2016, and for Microsoft Windows on March 1, 2016. The game is set during the Stone Age, in the fictional Oros valley in Central and Eastern Europe, and follows the story of Takkar, who starts off as an unarmed hunter and rises to become the leader of a tribe. "Primal" received generally mixed to positive reviews. While the concept, world design, and certain gameplay mechanics, such as the ability to tame animals, were praised, the story and characters were seen as inferior compared to previous "Far Cry" games. Most critics also felt that, because of the game's setting, there was a significant lack of weapons to utilize, leading to a repetitive gameplay design.


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry New Dawn" is a spin-off and sequel to "Far Cry 5", developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on February 15, 2019. The game is set seventeen years after one of the possible endings of "Far Cry 5" and follows the survivors of a nuclear war as they attempt to rebuild their community, with players assuming the role of an unnamed and highly customizable Captain. The game takes place on a modified version of "Far Cry 5"'s map, and introduces several elements from the RPG genre, including an upgradeable home base and increased reliance on crafting from limited supplies. "New Dawn" received generally mixed reviews, with praise for its world design and gameplay and criticism for its narrative and similarities to "Far Cry 5", and was less financially successful than both "Far Cry 5" and "Far Cry Primal".


title: Far Cry

text: "Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity" is a virtual reality game set in the same tropical island location as "Far Cry 3". Released in June 1, 2021, it features Vaas Montenegro as its central antagonist.


title: Far Cry

text: It was announced that Ubisoft are teaming with Adi Shankar to develop an animated series titled "Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix". It was announced to be in production for Netflix during June 2021, with Bobbypills leading the animation and Balak as creative director.


title: Far Cry

text: On September 20, 2021, it was announced that board game publisher Funforge would partner with Ubisoft to create a board game based on the franchise titled "Far Cry Beyond".


title: Far Cry

text: Ubisoft reports that through 2014, lifetime sales of the "Far Cry" franchise has exceeded 20 million units. By September 2019, the series had accumulated a combined 50 million units in sales.


title: Baby Shark

text: "Baby Shark" is a children's song associated to a dance involving hand movements that originated as a campfire song dating back to at least the 20th century. In 2016, "Baby Shark" became very popular when Pinkfong, a South Korean entertainment company, released a version of the song with a YouTube music video that went viral across social media, online video and radio. In November 2020, Pinkfong's version became the most-viewed YouTube video of all time, with over 11 billion views. In January 2022, it became the first YouTube video to reach 10 billion views.


title: Baby Shark

text: "Baby Shark" originated as a campfire song or chant. The original song dates back to at least the 20th century, potentially created by camp counselors inspired by the movie "Jaws". In the chant, each member of a family of sharks is introduced, with campers using their hands to imitate the sharks' jaws. Different versions of the song have the sharks hunting fish, eating a sailor, or killing people who then go to heaven.


title: Baby Shark

text: Various entities have copyrighted original videos and sound recordings of the song, and some have trademarked merchandise based on their versions. However, according to "The New York Times", the underlying song and characters are believed to be in the public domain.


title: Baby Shark

text: A dance version of "Baby Shark" was popularized in the 2007 YouTube video "Kleiner Hai" (German for "Little Shark") published by Alexandra Müller, also known by her stage name "Alemuel". This version is set to the theme of "Jaws" and tells the story of a baby shark who grows up and eats a swimmer. The video quickly gained popularity and led to EMI offering a record deal. The single peaked at 25th in the German charts and at 21 in the Austrian charts. The German version of the song remains popular among German youth groups, and multiple variations, also in different dialects of German, have been published.


title: Baby Shark

text: Johnny Only, a children's entertainer based in Upstate New York, was a DJ at a kids camp and the counselors would regularly perform the song with their campers. He saw how engaged and animated the campers were when "Baby Shark" was performed, so when he became a full-time children's entertainer, he released his own version. This version was released in 2011, five years before the Pinkfong version of "Baby Shark" became a global phenomenon.


title: Baby Shark

text: "Baby Shark" was greatly popularized by a version of the song produced by Pinkfong, an education brand owned by South Korean entertainment company SmartStudy. The original music video for "Baby Shark" () without the child actors was uploaded on November 26, 2015. All videos related to Pinkfong's song had garnered around 5 billion views by January 2020. The most popular of these videos, "Baby Shark Dance", was uploaded on June 17, 2016, and went viral starting in 2017. On November 2, 2020, over four years after it was uploaded, it became the most-viewed YouTube video of all time after surpassing Luis Fonsi's "Despacito" with 7.04 billion views. On December 21, 2020, it became the first YouTube video to surpass 7.5 billion views, the approximate population of the world. It is the first most-viewed video to mention its status as such in the title.


title: Baby Shark

text: This version of the song was performed by then-10-year-old Korean-American singer Hope Segoine. The music video featured two child actors, one of whom is child actress Elaine Johnston, a 9-year-old New Zealander of Korean-Scottish descent.


title: Baby Shark

text: The song starts with bars from Antonín Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 to which music from the film "Jaws" sounds similar. The song features a family of sharks which hunt a school of fish which escape to safety. It became a viral video in Indonesia in 2017, and throughout the year it spread to many other Asian countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia. The related mobile app was among the top 10 most downloaded in the family apps category in South Korea, Bangladesh, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia in 2017.


title: Baby Shark

text: "Baby Shark Dance" has received over 11 billion views worldwide(11.88 billion), over 38 million likes(38.41 million), and around 9.09M daily views and 272M monthly views making it the most-viewed video on YouTube. Due to a 2013 change that the "Billboard" Hot 100 music charts made to account for online viewership of YouTube videos, "Baby Shark" broke into the "Billboard" Hot 100 at number 32 during the week of January 7, 2019.


title: Baby Shark

text: Due to its popularity, this version of the song has spurred an online dance craze which is sometimes referred to as the Baby Shark Challenge. It has been cited as "the next big thing after the domination of Gangnam Style". K-pop groups including Blackpink and Red Velvet have been credited with further spreading the viral song through their coverage of the song and dance, specifically on their featured TV shows and concerts. The song began to go viral in the Western world in August 2018.


title: Baby Shark

text: In 2019, it was announced that Baby Shark would be adapted into "Baby Shark's Big Show!", an animated television series aimed at preschoolers. SmartStudy (the company that owns the Pinkfong brand) partnered with US cable network Nickelodeon, which premiered the show in the United States in December 2020. In South Korea, the Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) airs the cartoon.


title: Baby Shark

text: While the English version simply lists the members of the shark family, the Korean version says Mommy Shark is "pretty", Daddy Shark is "strong", Grandma Shark is "kind", and Grandpa Shark is "cool". In January 2018, the South Korean newspaper "Kyunghyang Shinmun" published a front-page editorial condemning these lyrics as sexist.


title: Baby Shark

text: In May 2018, the Liberty Korea Party started using "Baby Shark" to promote its candidates, prompting SmartStudy to threaten legal action over copyright infringement. Prior to this, the Liberty Korea Party had contacted American children's entertainer Johnny Wright, also known as Johnny Only, to inquire about permission, as he had published a similar version in 2011. He had heard a version of "Baby Shark" 20 years earlier, and decided to make a children's version by removing any violent imagery from the song, instead focusing on the family. As matters stand in late 2022, neither SmartStudy nor Johnny Only have succeeded in enforcing copyright on either version; SmartStudy prevailed in Johnny Only's lawsuit attempting to enforce his copyright, after a South Korean court ruling held that children's songs handed down via the oral tradition are not copyrightable.


title: Baby Shark

text: In July 2019, officials in West Palm Beach, Florida, were criticized for playing a continuous loop of "Baby Shark" throughout the night outside the Waterfront Lake Pavilion as a way of deterring vagrants.


title: Baby Shark

text: In October 2020, two former detention officers and a supervisor at an Oklahoma County jail were charged with counts of misdemeanor cruelty to a prisoner and conspiracy for forcing inmates to listen to the song on a loop at loud volumes while standing and handcuffed for an extended period of time.


title: Baby Shark

text: In July 2019, Kellogg's announced that it had entered a partnership with Pinkfong to introduce a new Baby Shark cereal, a berry-flavored variant of Froot Loops with marshmallows added. It was first available at Sam's Club stores on August 17, and at Walmart in late September.


title: Baby Shark

text: In October 2019, a 75-minute stage musical based on the Pinkfong song and characters, titled "Baby Shark Live", made its debut at Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium in Spartanburg, South Carolina. By this time, Pinkfong was also marketing a wide variety of merchandise based on their song and video, including clothing, bedding, toys and fishing tackle.


title: Baby Shark

text: "Baby Shark" has appeared in media like films and video games. In 2019 and 2020, the song was featured in "The Angry Birds Movie 2" and "Rubber" and was playable in "Just Dance 2020". The following year, Pinkfong partnered with Bushiroad to include "Baby Shark" as a playable track in the English server of "BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!" from March 27 to April 17.


title: Baby Shark

text: In March 2020, Pinkfong released a new interactive version of the song that encourages children to properly wash their hands during the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Baby Shark

text: In April 2022 and May 2022 Shopee used the melody of Baby Shark with modified lyrics in its advertisements in Poland. However, many Poles consider the advertisements as annoying, due to a high incidence of broadcasting across the television and radio.


title: Baby Shark

text: On 23 May 2022, it was reported that a promotional video for Singapore's tourism sector in the form of a collaboration between Pinkfong and the Singapore Tourism Board was made and uploaded on YouTube. The video featured characters from Baby Shark and the Merli, a Singaporean mascot.


title: Baby Shark

text: In September 2018, Ellen DeGeneres released her own version of the song on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show", and James Corden performed a version on "The Late Late Show with James Corden". The song was performed on "The X Factor" in early December 2018 because it was requested by Simon Cowell's four-year-old son Eric.


title: Baby Shark

text: Yvie Oddly, a Drag queen and contestant on "RuPaul's Drag Race", adapted the song for live lip-syncing performances, including a choreography that draws inspiration from voguing.


title: Baby Shark

text: Professional baseball player Gerardo Parra of the Washington Nationals, having discovered the song through his young daughter, adopted it as his walk-up music to energize the flagging team on June 19, 2019. The theme became popular among both teammates and fans, who used the shark clap whenever the Nationals got a hit, and eventually, at every Parra at-bat; fans also began wearing shark costumes to the stadium. A stuffed baby shark was seen attached to the dugout railing during the 2019 National League Championship Series, which the Nationals won over the St. Louis Cardinals. The craze culminated with the Nationals defeating the Houston Astros in seven games to win the 2019 World Series; the connection was such that the Marine Band performed the song during the team's celebratory visit to the White House.


title: Baby Shark

text: The song has also been performed by anti-government protesters in Lebanon during the 2019–20 Lebanese protests.


title: Baby Shark

text: In the American comedy-drama television series "Ted Lasso", fictional soccer player Jamie Tartt (played by English actor Phil Dunster) uses the tune of the song as his goal celebration anthem, in which the words "Baby Shark" are replaced with his name.


title: Baby Shark

text: In Southeast Asia, the song was used in an online shopping platform called Shopee, with different versions and renditions. It was first spotted in 2018 with Filipina actress Anne Curtis as endorser. More recently, the jingle to the tune of "Baby Shark" was used when Jackie Chan became international brand ambassador.


title: Baby Shark

text: In November 2019, an officially licensed children's book based on the Pinkfong characters was being marketed by HarperCollins, while five unlicensed children's books offered by Scholastic Corporation had sold over one million copies.


title: Baby Shark

text: In June 2020, Pinkfong announced the television series "Baby Shark's Big Show!", which premiered on Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) in South Korea and Nickelodeon in the United States in December 2020. On July 20, 2021, the series was renewed for a second season, and a feature film based on the series is currently in development.


Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets () is a 2017 space opera film written and directed by Luc Besson, and produced by his wife, Virginie Besson-Silla. It is based on the French science fiction comics series "Valérian and Laureline", written by Pierre Christin, illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières, and published by Dargaud. It stars Dane DeHaan as Valerian and Cara Delevingne as Laureline, with Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu and Rutger Hauer in supporting roles. Besson independently financed and personally funded the film. With a production budget of around $223 million, it is both the most expensive European and independent film ever made.


title: Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

text: "Valerian" was released in the United States on 21 July 2017 by STXfilms, and in France on 26 July by EuropaCorp. It received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized the plot and some of the casting, but praised the visuals. It grossed $225 million worldwide but, due to its high production and advertising costs, was considered a box-office bomb following its release in the United States.


text: In the 28th century, due to cooperation between the Earth and extraterrestrial peoples, the former International Space Station has been expanded until its mass threatens to cause gravitational disruption to Earth itself. Relocated to deep space, it becomes Alpha, a space-traveling city inhabited by millions of species from thousands of planets. A police division is created by the United Human Federation to preserve peace throughout the galaxy. Among its staff are the arrogant Major Valerian and his partner, no-nonsense Sergeant Laureline.


text: En route to a mission, Valerian dreams of a planet, Mül, where a low-tech humanoid race lives peacefully. They fish for pearls containing enormous amounts of energy and use animals to replicate them. Wreckage begins plummeting from the sky, followed by a huge spacecraft that causes an explosion annihilating every being on the planet. Some of the inhabitants enter a discarded vessel, accidentally trapping themselves inside, but the planet's princess Lihö-Minaa is stranded outside. Just before her death, she conveys a telepathic message.


text: Shaken, Valerian awakes. Analysis reveals he might have received a signal from across time and space. He learns that his mission is to retrieve a "Mül converter". It is the last of its kind, and currently in the hands of black market dealer Igon Siruss. Valerian asks Laureline to marry him, but she brushes him off.


text: In a marketplace on planet Kirian in an alternate dimension, Valerian disrupts a meeting between Igon and two hooded figures who resemble the humanoids from his vision. They seek the converter, the small animal in his vision. Valerian and Laureline recover the converter and steal one of the energy pearls. Aboard their ship, Valerian learns that Mül was destroyed 30 years earlier, and all information about it is classified.


text: They return to Alpha where commander Arün Filitt informs them the center of the station has been irradiated by an unknown force, rendering it highly toxic. Troops sent into the area have not returned, and the radiation is increasing. Laureline and Valerian are assigned to protect the commander during an interstation summit to discuss the crisis; against the commander's wishes, Laureline maintains possession of the converter.


text: During the summit, unidentified humanoids suddenly attack, incapacitating everyone and kidnapping Filitt. Valerian chases the kidnappers to the irradiated area but crashes his spaceplane during the pursuit. Laureline enlists alien information brokers known as Dogan Daguis to track Valerian and finds him unconscious at the edge of the irradiated zone. She rouses him, but is kidnapped by a primitive tribe, the Boulan Bathors of the planet Goara, and presented at their emperor's dinner as the choice course. Valerian infiltrates the tribe's territory with the help of the shape-shifting Bubble. They rescue Laureline and escape, but Bubble is fatally wounded.


text: Valerian and Laureline venture further into the irradiated area, discover it is not dangerous, and that it contains the remains of some antique spacecraft. They reach a large, shielded hall where they find the humanoids, known as the Pearls, with an unconscious Filitt. The Pearls' leader, Emperor Haban Limaï, explains that his people lived peacefully on Mül until a battle occurred between the Federation and another faction. Filitt, the human commander, ordered the use of fusion missiles that disabled the enemy mothership and sent it crashing into the planet, annihilating Mül. Upon her passing, Princess Lihö-Minaa transferred her soul into Valerian's body.


text: When the surviving Pearls were trapped in a downed space vehicle from the battle, they managed to repair it and learned the humans' technology and history. They eventually came to Alpha, where they assimilated more knowledge and built a ship of their own. They needed the converter and pearl in order to launch their ship and find a planet to recreate their homeworld. Filitt admits his role in the genocide, but argues it was necessary to end the war—as was the coverup, to prevent humans from losing their credibility and influence in Alpha. Valerian and Laureline disagree, arguing that the commander is trying to avoid the consequences of his actions. When Filitt becomes belligerent, Valerian knocks him out.


text: Valerian hands over the pearl he took from Igon, and Laureline persuades him to return the converter. While the Pearls prepare their spacecraft for takeoff, Filitt's K-Tron robot soldiers attack the Pearls and the government soldiers sent to assist Valerian, but are ultimately defeated. The spacecraft departs and Filitt is arrested. Valerian and Laureline are left adrift aboard an Apollo Command/Service Module, and Laureline answers Valerian's marriage proposal with a "maybe" as they wait for rescue.


text: Although Luc Besson loved the Valerian comics while growing up, he did not seriously consider adapting them into a movie until he was working on "The Fifth Element." During development, Besson had tapped Valerian illustrator Jean-Claude Mézières to work on the film, who asked Besson, "Why are you doing this shitty film? Why you don’t do Valerian?" At the time, Besson felt that making the film was "impossible" given the vast alien-to-human ratio. The release of "Avatar" served as both a blessing and a curse for Besson; he has said, "technically, I could see that we can do everything now. The film proved that imagination is the only limit." However, he also felt that "James Cameron pushed all the levels so high", which made him believe that his script was not good enough, so he rewrote it. Ultimately, the storyboarding for the film took seven months.


text: The project was first publicly reported in 2012. The two principal stars, Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne, were announced in May 2015. On 19 August 2015, Clive Owen signed on to play Commander Arün Filitt in the film. The budget, €197 million, is by far the largest ever assembled for a French film. Previously, "Asterix at the Olympic Games" was the most expensive, at €78 million, just ahead of Besson's "The Fifth Element" (€75 million). By the end of August 2015, Besson said in an RTL radio interview that shooting the film in France was too expensive. Because it was filmed in a foreign language (English), Besson was unable to benefit from tax credits, despite preferring to produce the film in France and create jobs for 1,200 crew members. The criteria to obtain these tax credits were then adapted accordingly. In May 2015, it was announced Fundamental Films would invest in the film.


text: Principal photography on the film began on 5 January 2016 in seven sound stages dedicated to the film at the Cité du cinéma, in Saint-Denis, north of Paris. In total, there are 2,734 visual effect shots. The humanoid race the Pearl were completely synthetic creations by Weta Digital, which generated the characters from performances by actors with motion-capture equipment for their face and bodies.


text: The trailer featured the Beatles song "Because", which marked the first time a Beatles master recording had been featured in a non-Beatles film advertisement.


text: Industrial Light and Magic, Weta Digital and Rodeo FX provided the effects for the film with Scott Stokdyk as the main supervisor.


text: The first teaser for "Valerian" was released on 10 November 2016. The teaser depicts Marmakas, an Entertainer (Bubble, identified as "Glamopod" in the film), Bagoulins, and Shingouz (known as "Doghan Daguis" in the film), who all appear in the album "Ambassador of the Shadows"; much of the film's setting and story is also derived from that instalment. A special exclusive preview of "Valerian" was shown prior to the Fathom Events 4K restoration showing of "The Fifth Element" on 14 May and 17 May.


text: "Valerian" was released in Israel on 20 July 2017, on 21 July in the United States, on 26 July in France. and on 2 August in the UK Lionsgate handles the film's release in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and STX Entertainment distributes the film in the United States. The film was released on 25 August 2017 in China.


text: "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" was released digitally on 7 November 2017, and on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD on 21 November 2017.


text: In 2018, Europa-Park added VR to their roller coaster, Eurosat - CanCan Coaster themed around "Valerian" as part of the roller coaster's refurbishment.


text: The official soundtrack for "Valerian" was released on 21 July 2017 on Vinyl, CD, and Digital download. The total duration of this soundtrack album is exactly the same number of minutes as the duration of the film itself — 137 minutes.


text: "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" grossed $40.5 million in the United States and Canada and $184.7 million internationally (including $36.8 million in France), for a worldwide total of $225.2 million. With a production budget around $180 million, the film would have needed to gross $400 million worldwide in order to break even and justify a sequel.


text: In North America, "Valerian" opened alongside "Dunkirk" and "Girls Trip", and was initially projected to gross $20–25 million from 3,553 theaters, although some insiders believed it would open in the teens. It made $6.5 million on its first day, including $1.7 million from Thursday night previews at 2,600 theaters, lowering weekend projections to $16.5 million. The film ended up debuting to $17 million, finishing 5th at the box office, leading Deadline Hollywood to already label the film a domestic box office bomb, and causing an 8.31% fall of the EuropaCorp stock on the following Monday. In its second weekend, the film dropped 62% to $6.4 million, finishing 8th at the box office. In its third and fourth weekends the film made $2.4 million and $901,323, finishing 12th and 17th and dropping another 62% both times.


text: Outside North America, the film opened in 16 markets alongside the US and made $6.5 million over its opening weekend, including $2.5 million in Germany. In France, the film made $3.72 million (€3.19 million) on its first day, the second-best opening day of 2017 there behind "Despicable Me 3". In China, the film made $9.9 million on its first day from 78,000 screens, becoming the first film to displace "Wolf Warriors 2" at the country's box office. It went on to open to $29 million, topping the box office. The largest territory for the film was China, with .


text: "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its visuals while criticizing the plot and some of the casting. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 48% based on 300 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" uses sheer kinetic energy and visual thrills to overcome narrative obstacles and offer a viewing experience whose surreal pleasures often outweigh its flaws." On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating to reviews, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on reviews from 45 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". On French entertainment information website AlloCiné, the film has an average grade of 3.0/5, based on 31 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.


text: David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of B−, praising how "unapologetically idiosyncratic" the film is, while also saying "the vividness of this place only underscores the lifelessness of the people leading us through it ... There are 394 million stories on the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian’s might be the only one we’ve seen before. Still, any excuse to visit this place is one worth taking." Peter Sciretta of /Film touted the first half of "Valerian" as "unpredictable and bonkers insane", while calling the second half more formulaic and "far less exciting", though he still encouraged seeing the film in 3D "on the biggest screen possible". Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of "The A.V. Club" wrote that it was "rare […] to see a film this extravagant that also feels, for better or worse, like the work of a single personality. The longer action scenes may not always rank with Besson’s early ’90s highlights [...] or the mania of the more recent "Lucy", but there isn’t a moment in this ludicrous, lushly self-indulgent movie that doesn’t feel like its creator is having the time of his life."


text: Todd McCarthy of "The Hollywood Reporter" gave a negative review, saying: "The Razzies don't need to wait until the end of the year to anoint a winner for 2017 ... Hollywood studio chiefs can breathe easy that, this time, at least, they'll escape blame for making a giant summer franchise picture that nobody wants to see, since this one's a French import." A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" was also less than happy with the film, writing the effort "feels as if it were made up on the spot, by someone so delighted by the gaudy genre packaging at his disposal that he lost track of what was supposed to be inside." National Public Radio film critic, Mark Jenkins, additionally wrote in a negative review that the film's "perspective often seems more 19th- than 26th-century, notably in a sequence where Laureline is captured by members of a hostile species and forced to don a white dress to be presented to their emperor. The blobby computer-generated creatures resemble natives from the most racist of "Tarzan" movies."


text: Despite the film being a disappointment at the box office, director Luc Besson claimed in September 2017 that a sequel was still possible due to positive fan reaction.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Adam Warlock (also known as simply Warlock) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character would first appear in "Fantastic Four" #66–67 (cover-dates September 1967 and October 1967) created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, originally named Him. The character would later be significantly developed by Roy Thomas and Jim Starlin. Debuting in the Silver Age of comic books, the character has appeared over several decades of Marvel publications, and starred in the titles "Marvel Premiere" and "Strange Tales" as well as five eponymous volumes and several related limited series.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The character is a cosmic being artificially created on Earth by the Enclave, genetically engineered to be perfect and the next evolution of humanity. Privy to their intentions, Him rebelled against his creators and sought a new destiny. Eventually coming across the High Evolutionary, the rechristened Adam Warlock eventually is recognized as a hero of the universe, chiefly protecting it from threats such as Thanos, the Universal Church of Truth, and the Magus (who is his evil counterpart). He is also frequently the bearer of the Soul Stone, one of the fabled Infinity Stones (then-called Infinity Gems). The character also serves as the leader of the Infinity Watch and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, specializing as the group's cosmic sorcerer and occult expert in the latter.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The character has been adapted in various forms of media, including animated television series, and video games. The character has appeared in the "Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" in both incarnations as Warlock and Magus"." Adam Warlock, portrayed by Will Poulter, will make his live-action debut in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (2023), which is set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The character's origin was shown in "Fantastic Four" #66 (September 1967) in a story written by Stan Lee and pencilled and co-plotted by Jack Kirby. The character also appeared in "Fantastic Four" #67 (October 1967) and "Thor" #163–166 (April–July 1969). Because his role in the "Fantastic Four" story was minor, sources disagree on which issue is the character's true first appearance. Writer and then editor-in-chief Roy Thomas and penciler Gil Kane significantly revamped Him as the allegorical Messiah Adam Warlock in "Marvel Premiere" #1 (April 1972).


title: Adam Warlock

text: In 2009, Thomas explained he had been a fan of the soundtrack to the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" and sought to bring the story to comic books in a superhero context: "Yes, I had some trepidation about the Christ parallels, but I hoped there would be little outcry if I handled it tastefully, since I was not really making any serious statement on religion... at least not overtly."


title: Adam Warlock

text: Choosing to use a preexisting character while keeping the series locale separate from mainstream Marvel Earth, Thomas created Counter-Earth, a new planet generated from a chunk of Earth and set in orbit on the opposite side of the sun. Thomas and Kane collaborated on the costume, with the red tunic and golden lightning bolt as their homage to Fawcett Comics' 1940s–1950s character Captain Marvel.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The story continued in the series "The Power of Warlock", which ran eight issues (August 1972October 1973), with some plotlines concluded in "The Incredible Hulk" vol. 2, #176–178 (June–August 1974).


title: Adam Warlock

text: Writer-artist Jim Starlin revived Warlock in "Strange Tales" #178–181 (February–August 1975). Warlock's adventures became more cosmic in scope as Starlin took the character through an extended storyline referred to as "The Magus Saga".


title: Adam Warlock

text: The reimagined title continued the numbering of "The Power of Warlock" and began with "Warlock" #9 (October 1975) and ran seven issues. The bimonthly series was initially written and drawn by Starlin, but was eventually co-penciled and inked by Steve Leialoha. Some plot threads were concluded in "Marvel Team-Up" #55 (March 1977), "Avengers Annual" #7 (November 1977) and "Marvel Two-in-One Annual" #2 (December 1977).


title: Adam Warlock

text: Artist Alan Weiss recalled in a 2006 interview there was a "lost" Adam Warlock story, which if completed would have been reminiscent of the Jonathan Swift novel "Gulliver's Travels". Portions of it were printed in the second volume of "Marvel Masterworks: Warlock". The remainder of the artwork was lost in a New York City taxicab in 1976.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Warlock's adventures were reprinted, with new Starlin covers, in the six-issue "Special Edition" limited series "Warlock" vol. 2 (December 1982May 1983). This reprint series was itself reprinted, with yet another set of new Starlin covers, as "Warlock" vol. 3 (May–October 1992).


title: Adam Warlock

text: Although regarded as deceased at the time, Warlock made a brief appearance in "Marvel Two-in-One" #63 (May 1980).


title: Adam Warlock

text: Eleven years later, Starlin revived the character and two members of his supporting cast in the miniseries "The Infinity Gauntlet" #1–6 (July–December 1991). This plot development was a continuation of a larger storyline that began with the resurrection of Thanos in "Silver Surfer" vol. 3 #34 (February 1990).


title: Adam Warlock

text: Following the events of "The Infinity Gauntlet", Warlock and several compatriots starred in the series "Warlock and the Infinity Watch". Initially written by Starlin and drawn by Angel Medina, it ran 42 issues (February 1992August 1995). Its plots tied directly into the limited series "Infinity War" (June–November 1992) and "Infinity Crusade" (June–December 1993).


title: Adam Warlock

text: Warlock starred in several limited series, including "Silver Surfer/Warlock: Resurrection" #1–4 (March–June 1993); "The Warlock Chronicles" #1–8 (July 1993February 1994); and "Warlock" vol. 4, #1–4 (November 1998February 1999), by writer-penciler Tom Lyle. The character was featured in the intercompany crossovers between Marvel Comics and the Malibu Comics "Ultraverse" in the one-shot "Rune / Silver Surfer" (April 1995 in indicia, June 1995 on cover); "Rune" vol. 2, #1–7 (September 1995April 1996), and the two-issue "Ultraverse Unlimited" (June and September 1996).


title: Adam Warlock

text: Following the unrelated 1999–2000 series "Warlock" vol. 5, featuring the alien cybernetic character Warlock of the New Mutants team, Adam Warlock co-starred with Thanos in the limited series "The Infinity Abyss" #1–6 (August–October 2002); "" #1–6 (May–August 2003; first four issues biweekly); and "Thanos" #1–6 (December 2003April 2004). A version of the character starred in the four-issue limited series "Warlock" vol. 6 (November 2004February 2005), by writer Greg Pak and artist Charles Adlard. After appearances in "Annihilation Conquest: Quasar" #1–4 (September–December 2007) and "" # 1–6 (November 2007April 2008), he was a key character in "Guardians of the Galaxy" vol. 2, #1–25 (July 2008April 2010), "The Thanos Imperative" #1 (June 2010) and the "Ignition" one-shot (May 2010).


title: Adam Warlock

text: The character appeared in "Thanos Annual #1" (July 2014), and in the original graphic novels "Thanos: The Infinity Revelation" (August 2014) and "Thanos: The Infinity Relativity" (June 2015), written by Jim Starlin; Warlock appeared in the graphic novel "Thanos: The Infinity Finale" as well as in the connected mini-series "The Infinity Entity" (both published in 2016), also written by Starlin.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Scientists on Earth calling themselves the Enclave created an artificial, perfect human who initially calls himself "Him". After rebelling against his creators, and having a conflict with Thor, Him decides to leave Earth and travels into space. He encounters the High Evolutionary who gives him the name "Warlock". The High Evolutionary requests Warlock's help in saving the artificially created planet Counter-Earth from the evil Man-Beast and gives Warlock the green Soul Gem (also referred to as the "Soul Jewel"), which allows Warlock to capture souls of other beings. When he arrives on Counter-Earth, Warlock is given the name "Adam" by four teenagers who befriend him. After the Man-Beast's defeat, Warlock leaves Counter-Earth to find a new purpose.


title: Adam Warlock

text: In his travels through space, Warlock encounters the Universal Church of Truth, an intergalactic religious organization led by the corrupt Magus. Warlock allies with Pip the Troll, the assassin Gamora, and Thanos of Titan to oppose the Magus. Eventually, Warlock discovers that the Magus is a future version of himself who traveled back in time after being driven insane by the Soul Gem's use. Warlock chooses to alter his timeline by visiting himself a few months into the future and steals his own soul to prevent the Magus from ever existing. Warlock then continues his journeys, knowing he has seen his own death but not knowing exactly when it will happen.


title: Adam Warlock

text: When the Stranger attempts to steal Warlock's Soul Gem, Warlock learns about five other related gems. Thanos gains possession of these gems with the intention of destroying Earth's sun. When Thanos causes mortal harm to Pip and Gamora, Warlock takes their souls to end their suffering. Warlock then enlists the aid of the Avengers, Captain Marvel and Moondragon to stop Thanos. During the battle, Warlock's younger self appears and takes the older Warlock's soul. Inside the gem, Adam is reunited with Pip, Gamora and others in a utopia known as Soul World. Warlock's soul is temporarily freed from the Soul Gem, allowing him to turn Thanos to stone and save Earth.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Thanos (after being resurrected) once again collects the Infinity Gems into the Infinity Gauntlet, capturing the Silver Surfer and Drax the Destroyer in the Soul Gem for opposing him. In Soul Gem's world, the Silver Surfer meets Adam Warlock and convinces him that his help is needed again to defeat Thanos. Warlock agrees and Pip and Gamora decide to accompany him. Warlock transmits himself and his two friends into new bodies and leads a group of Earth's superheroes, defeating Thanos. Warlock obtains the Infinity Gauntlet, being a near-supreme being of the universe. The cosmic Living Tribunal (whose power and authority exceeds Warlock's) decides that Warlock cannot be trusted to keep the Infinity Gauntlet and instructs him to divide the gems among other beings of Warlock's choosing. Warlock keeps the Soul Gem for himself and gives one gem each to Pip, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Moondragon, and the reformed Thanos. Warlock dubs the group the Infinity Watch.


title: Adam Warlock

text: During Warlock's temporary possession of the Infinity Gauntlet, he purged good and evil from his being, leaving him entirely a creature of logic. His good and evil aspects take on lives as two new physical beings — the evil half is a new incarnation of the Magus, while the good half is a woman calling herself the Goddess. When they threaten the universe, Warlock defeats them with the aid of the Watch and other superheroes, absorbing them into the Soul Gem.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The Infinity Watch disbands when the Infinity Gems are stolen by Rune, a vampire from a parallel universe. Warlock pursues Rune, recovering the gems and returning to his native universe.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Warlock plays a role in protecting the universe several more times, including threats from clones of Thanos, the Heart of the Universe, and the interdimensional being Hunger.


title: Adam Warlock

text: In the 2007-2008 "" storyline, Moondragon and Phyla-Vell later seek Warlock's help to free the alien Kree from the invading Phalanx. Once the Phalanx is defeated, Warlock joins the newly formed Guardians of the Galaxy. While with the Guardians, Warlock attempts to repair damage to the spacetime continuum, which causes him to be the Magus again. Once again leading the Universal Church of Truth, the Magus allies himself with Lord Mar-Vell, but is killed when he fails a mission. The Universal Church of Truth resurrects the Magus as a child, but he is quickly captured and imprisoned by the Annihilators. His cocoon remains under the Annihilators' watch.


title: Adam Warlock

text: While on a new quest, Thanos encounters Warlock's soul in Death's domain. It follows Thanos back to the living world, where it regains human form. Warlock accompanies Thanos on a journey as their universe merges with another one. Due to the convergence, Warlock is retroactively replaced by his counterpart from the other universe.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Extremely disgruntled by the experience, the new Warlock left Thanos to ponder his situation, and he eventually ended up on "New Krall" acting as a gladiator in a fighting pit. Thanos receives a message through time/space from his omnipotent former self to seek this new Adam Warlock who is now unnaturally more powerful than before. Agreeing, Thanos first seeks Pip the Troll to teleport to New Krall and then contacts Gamora to also go to Adam, as they both are his closest friends and can keep him from doing any damage to the universe. During this time Annihilus begins a re-invasion of the Positive Zone searching for an immense power source that turns out to be Adam himself and launches a devastating siege on New Krall. The Shi'ar, led by Gladiator (also looking for the power source), appear and Annihilus, now with the power of the Hulk and a new fear projection ability, defeats them. Pip swiftly teleports Adam, Gamora, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and himself back to the Guardians' ship to safety and are joined by Thanos, where they discover the universe that Adam created was not destroyed, but became a part of him and has given him the power of Eternity and Infinity.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Thanos enhances Pip's abilities to teleport the ship to Annihilus' empire to stop Annihilus once and for all, but are overwhelmed by Annihilus, who teleports Thanos into limbo and takes Adam prisoner (by placing a neural disruptor on him), forcing the Guardians to retreat. Pip stays behind, stating Adam is his only friend and he will not abandon him. The comatose Adam is placed into Annihilus' ship's power source to use him as battery. Pip, after hiding on Annihilus' ship for three months, finds the comatose Adam and launches a rescue mission, killing his guards and striking Adam repeatedly to waken him. Finally awakening, Adam unconsciously destroys the universe and is left floating in a void. Panicking, Adam calls out for Thanos and wills the Titan back into existence. Thanos then proposes to Adam a plan to beseech the One Above All to recreate the universe. The One Above All agrees, on the condition Adam act as the universe's new Living Tribunal. Adam and Thanos restore the universes and immediately kill Annihilus and his fleet, ending his threat once and for all. Finally, on Thanos' request, the "new" Living Tribunal resurrects the original Adam Warlock from the point he was killed moments before the convergence took place.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The true Adam, alive again, decides to take Thanos' advice to go back to "the existence that is his". He immediately goes to Pip the Troll, who runs to his friend with open arms, and they return to their old life of adventure.


title: Adam Warlock

text: For reasons unknown, Adam finds himself within the Soul World where he is approached by an aspect of himself that reveals that the Infinity Stones are coming together once more which will ensure a calamity. This encounter is soon revealed to be one of many nightmares that are plaguing Adam so he travels to the Soul World again where he meets an aspect of Gamora's soul that remained trapped there after she left long ago. Despite her pleas for him to release her from it, Adam denied being capable of doing so claiming he does not recognize her altogether and that he no longer possesses the Soul Gem. Escaping the Soul World, Warlock emerged from his cocoon in the world of the living, where he was greeted by Kang the Conqueror.


title: Adam Warlock

text: In "Thanos: The Infinity Conflict", when Adam senses that something is not right, he and Pip go to confront Thanos who then kills Adam in the blink of an eye. After reviving in Chandilar, Adam and Pip go to an abandoned ancient planet containing old temples. Here Adam is again killed by a rocket launched by Thanos. After another resurrection he and Pip go to Titan and encounter Eros. However, he is yet again killed by Thanos via another missile. He is then revived in the presence of the Living Tribunal who informs Adam that Thanos has gotten his universe's Astral Regulator and used it to absorb the various Cosmic Beings in order to become reality. The Living Tribunal tasks Adam to follow the necessary steps to stop Thanos. While travelling to the Astral Plane, Adam encountered his past versions who warns Adam about the result of what he is about to do. He confronts Eros and Pip who were about to kill the infant Thanos and warns them that if Thanos died then Magus would be able to take over reality. They then return to the present where he kills Eros who then returns to life after being rejected by Mistress Death now existing outside the norm, just like Adam and Thanos, which is essential to defeat Thanos.


title: Adam Warlock

text: In "Thanos: The Infinity Ending", after the future omnipotent Thanos absorbed the Living Tribunal and the Above-All-Others, Adam, Starfox and Pip realizing that they were too late escape, except for Adam who confronts Thanos before being banished by the omnipresent being within himself. Adam went to Kang the Conqueror's ship where he sought to use his time-traveling technology to find a way to defeat Thanos, and realized that Thanos' inexperience is the key to his defeat. After waking Kang from the stasis he was put by Thanos, Adam decides to enter Thanos' psyche. However, before he could proceed he is confronted by his past selves who did not want Adam to sacrifice himself. Being unwilling to let Thanos kill himself and take all existences with him, Adam battles his past selves, eventually using the Soul Stone of one of the Adams to kill them. After that he enters Thanos' psyche where he saw different memories through portals, and eventually came across Hunger and manipulates the being into attacking the past future omnipotent Thanos. Still travelling through different portals, he finally came across the present Thanos who had been trapped within his future omnipotent self and Eros with Pip who try to free Thanos, but were discovered. After that Adam tells Thanos that the only way to defeat his future omnipotent self and get free was trust. Then as the future omnipotent Thanos was about to end everything, Adam had Kang prevent Eros to proceed with his plan allowing Eros to evade capture. This causes present Thanos to take control of his powers and reset everything prior to the machinations of his future self who ceases to exist. Finding himself outside everything Adam was rescued by Kang and informed the Conqueror on what had transpired. Before returning to normality, Adam asked Kang to go on one final time travel to retrieve the green soul stone.


title: Adam Warlock

text: During the "Infinity Countdown" storyline, Adam Warlock realizes that he is at an unspecified time with Kang the Conqueror, who, with some convincing, shows a recap of Warlock's history until finally revealing that the Infinity Stones are once more being gathered and shows a vision of the future – which Kang calls "Infinity's End"in which an unseen calamity has befallen the universe after the Infinity Stones were reunited. Kang also reveals to Adam that they had tried to prevent the current outcome 112 times, but now Kang decides another course of action: he will send Warlock to retrieve the Soul Stone in exchange for Warlock giving him the Time Stone. Warlock reluctantly agrees as he explains that he hopes keeping the two gems apart will prevent disaster. Warlock arrives in ancient Egypt, where he meets the pharaoh Rama Tut, an earlier version of Kang. Rama Tut shows Warlock where he can find the Soul Stone in the future, in the hands of Warlock's "dark reflection" the Magus. Rama Tut then seals Warlock in a tomb where he will awaken thousands of years in the future with a chance to claim the Soul Stone. Rama Tut's guards, under his orders, commit suicide by poisoning, as Rama Tut claims that no one can know of the plot. Adam Warlock and Kang the Conqueror ambush the Guardians of the Galaxy during their trip to the planet Oblitus. Gamora attempted to take the Soul Gem from Adam Warlock. When Drax the Destroyer held onto the Soul Gem, he discovered that the Soulworld inside is corrupted. Drax knocked out Gamora and made off with Adam Warlock and Kang the Conqueror. As the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy do not want to help Gamora pursue Adam Warlock and Kang the Conqueror, she went off on her own. Adam Warlock is among the Infinity Gem holders contacted by Doctor Strange, who states that they must reform the Infinity Watch to safeguard the Infinity Gems from such calamities like Thanos.


title: Adam Warlock

text: During the "Infinity Wars" storyline, Adam Warlock senses the corruption of the Soulworld and enlists Doctor Strange to help deal with the corruption in Soulworld. While dealing with a Souleater, it is revealed that Doctor Strange has the Time Infinity Stone. Doctor Strange tries to get Adam Warlock to give up the Soul Infinity Gem. Before leaving, Adam Warlock warns Doctor Strange that Kang the Conqueror is not the only person looking for the Infinity Gems. Adam Warlock saves a cyclist during a time freeze when he, Drax the Destroyer, and Iron Lad show up. Doctor Strange gathers Star-Lord, Adam Warlock, Black Widow's clone, Captain Marvel, and Turk Barrett (who has Bullseye, Sandman, Spot, Tombstone, and Typhoid Mary in his company) in Central Park where Doctor Strange discovers that Thanos is dead. As Gamora in her Requiem alias uses the Reality Gem to partially fuse Captain America and Doctor Strange to get the Mind Gem and the Time Gem, Gamora beheads Adam Warlock. As Loki, Emma Frost, Hulk, Ant-Man, Ms. Marvel, and Kang the Conqueror gather together, they find Adam Warlock and suggest they exit the Soulworld only for Adam Warlock to declare that they need to defeat Devondra first. This causes them to round up Arachknight (a combination of Spider-Man and Moon Knight), Ghost Panther (a combination of Ghost Rider and Black Panther), Green Widow (a combination of Black Widow and She-Hulk), Iron Hammer (a combination of Iron Man and Thor), Man-Thing-Thang-Thoom (a combination of Man-Thing and Fin Fang Foom), Moon Squirrel (a combination of Moon Girl and Squirrel Girl) and Tippysaurus (a combination of Tippy Toe and Devil Dinosaur), Soldier Supreme (a combination of Captain America and Doctor Strange), Weapon Hex (a combination of Scarlet Witch and X-23), and Fantastic Two members Mister Invisible (a combination of Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman) and Hot Rocks (a combination of Human Torch and Thing) as well as a saxophone-playing version of Drax the Destroyer.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Loki's group and the warped heroes are fighting Devondra as Adam Warlock and Soldier Supreme arrive with the latter stating that he does not want to be unmade. Adam Warlock states that if they can defeat Devondra, Warp World will still exist. Though Loki's group will have to use the Infinity Gems to confront Gamora outside. Soldier Supreme notices that Devondra keeps regenerating as Adam Warlock finds that Gamora and the alternate Phylla-Vel and Moondragon are now in the Soul Gem. After some talking with Soldier Supreme, Adam Warlock plans to copy the souls in Warp World in order to bring them and Devondra into the real world as Hulk punches Devondra into the hole leading to the real world. Adam Warlock returns the Guardians of the Galaxy to their normal state while separating Drax's Destroyer half from his Arthur Douglas half. Once the copies are made with the help of the Infinity Gems, Emma Frost begins to wipe the memories of the incident to avoid unrest as Drax meets the alternate version of his daughter. After Devondra is defeated, Adam Warlock grabs the Time Gem, freezes time, and states that the Infinity Gems must decide the outcome. After time resumes, Star-Lord notices that Gamora is gone as Adam Warlock sent her to a location so that she can redeem herself. Later on, Adam Warlock is staring at the stars in the desert and draws a symbol in the sand claiming that a part of him is missing.


title: Adam Warlock

text: In all of his incarnations, the character possessed superhuman strength, speed, durability, stamina, agility, and the ability to manipulate cosmic energy for energy projection, flight, recuperation (e.g., creating a cocoon for self-preservation and regeneration), and immortality (although he can be killed, he cannot truly die as Death cannot claim his soul). For a time, Warlock (during his Him incarnation) sacrificed the majority of these powers by prematurely emerging from his cocoon in order to defend the High Evolutionary. In compensation, the High Evolutionary gave Him the Soul Gem.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Warlock's power increased with each resurrection. He soon became capable of manipulating mystical energy and manifesting matter. He later could use "quantum magic" and manipulate quantum energy to create force fields; teleport; travel faster than light, and detect or produce wormholes and other irregularities in space. Additionally, Warlock also possesses spiritual powers independent from the Soul Gem, and is capable of resurrecting himself and other beings by taking deceased bodies and transmuting them. The character also can perform exorcisms, and view the aura and soul of an individual. He is highly resistant to the soul-manipulating powers of others. As a cosmic being, he possesses acute "ultra senses" (enhanced perceptions that allows cosmic awareness and can perceive both cosmic and mystic occurrences) and is considered an "astral outsider", a position that prevents other cosmic beings from fully understanding and accurately perceiving his next actions.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The Soul Gem possesses a consciousness of its own and demonstrates a vampiric hunger for the life energies of organic beings. It contains an idyllic pocket universe that hosts all the souls the Gem has ever taken. Using the Gem, Adam Warlock has demonstrated the power to devolve the followers of Man-Beast into the animals from which they evolved, as well as revert the Brute into Counter-Earth Reed Richards.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The original Magus is an older, evil Adam Warlock who has traveled to the past and rules a religious empire called the Universal Church of Truth. To ensure his own creation, he guides his younger self through a series of actions that will result in him becoming the Magus. With the aid of Thanos, Warlock alters his future by killing his future self before he can evolve into the Magus, destroying the Magus's timeline and erasing him from existence.


title: Adam Warlock

text: When Warlock acquires the Infinity Gauntlet, he expels good and evil from his soul, unintentionally giving them corporeal forms. The evil half names himself the Magus and attempts to gain the Infinity Gauntlet for himself. He fails when the Infinity Watch trick him into claiming the Gauntlet when the Reality Gem has been replaced by a powerless replica, creating a subtle flaw in the Gauntlet's powers that allows his enemies to overpower him, leaving the Magus to be sealed away in the Soul Gem by Warlock. Since he is only part of a soul, he cannot interact with the other inhabitants of Soul World and exists only as a phantom. The Magus escapes the Soul Gem in an immaterial form, absorbing the life energies of others to regain tangibility. He is defeated by Genis-Vell and reverts to an ethereal entity. The Magus retaliates by wounding Genis' friend Moondragon and claiming she is destined to become his slave.


title: Adam Warlock

text: Warlock becomes a third version of Magus when he repairs damage to the spacetime continuum. This Magus works for the evil Lord Mar-Vell and is killed when he fails a mission. The Universal Church of Truth resurrects him as a child, who is then imprisoned by the Annihilators.


title: Adam Warlock

text: The Magus later seeks to gather the Infinity Stones with the intention of destroying the universe, but is killed during his search. During the "Infinity Wars" storyline, Gamora finds a younger version of Magus inside, who tells her he was sent by a "friend."


title: Adam Warlock

text: The Goddess is the embodiment of Adam Warlock's goodness, created when he uses the Infinity Gauntlet to remove the quality from himself. She appears as a central figure in the 1993 limited series "Infinity Crusade". She assembles a collection of Cosmic Cubes and forges them into a Cosmic Egg. Using its power, she recreates Counter-Earth, dubbing it Paradise Omega. Embarking on a crusade to eliminate sin, the Goddess uses telepathy to control spiritual beings across the universe, recruiting them to her cause. When Warlock and Earth's other heroes learn of her plan to destroy all sin by destroying anything capable of sin, they rally against her. She is defeated when her followers learn her true goal, and is absorbed into the soul gem.


title: Adam Warlock

text: In the "Earth X" limited series, Mar-Vell is reincarnated as the child of the synthetic Adam Warlock/Him and Kismet/Her.


title: Adam Warlock

text: This alternate reality is similar to that of Earth-616, up to the point when a cosmic event of great proportions took place and destroyed Earth-19141 which was then replaced by a new reality commanded by Thanos until it was eventually restored by Adam Warlock, who defeated Thanos and absorbed this reality's energies into himself moments before of being merged into Earth-616. Adam Warlock was then able to resurrect the original version of himself, and proceeded to become the new Living Tribunal as part of the deal he struck with the One-Above-All.


title: Method acting

text: Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, understanding, and experiencing a character's inner motivation and emotions. These techniques are built on Stanislavski's system, developed by the Russian actor and director Konstantin Stanislavski and captured in his books "An Actor Prepares", "Building a Character", and "Creating a Role".


title: Method acting

text: Among those who have contributed to the development of the Method, three teachers are associated with "having set the standard of its success", each emphasizing different aspects of the approach: Lee Strasberg (the psychological aspects), Stella Adler (the sociological aspects), and Sanford Meisner (the behavioral aspects). The approach was first developed when they worked together at the Group Theatre in New York and later at the Actors Studio. Notable method actors include Marlon Brando, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Robert De Niro.


title: Method acting

text: "The Method" is an elaboration of the "system" of acting developed by the Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski. In the first three decades of the 20th century, Stanislavski organized his training, preparation, and rehearsal techniques into a coherent, systematic methodology. The "method" brought together and built on: (1) the director-centred, unified aesthetic and disciplined, ensemble approach of the Meiningen company; (2) the actor-centred realism of the Maly; (3) and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement.