150: Mewtwo
There it is. Number 150 itself, Mewtwo. The original "ultimate" Pokemon. Sky-high stats and being the at-the-time overpowered Psychic type in combination with an overall cool design was sure to make Mewtwo here a hit, not that it isn't deserved. It even has a cool story to go with it to boot. As the goofy little caption states, Mewtwo is a genetic experiment created by the scientists at the Pokemon Mansion on Cinnabar Island. More specifically, a clone of Mew that was designed as a sort of Psychic bioweapon. Mewtwo, turning out to be vastly intelligent, turned against the scientists who created it and left the Pokemon Mansion in ruin, supposedly fleeing to Cerulean Cave to live the rest of its life in solitude. At least until an annoying child comes along and abducts it into a tiny sphere. Gotta Catch 'Em All!
Mewtwo's design is also quite cool. Its long, oblong tail is quite cool, and I'm impressed with how it has a fairly waif frame but nonetheless looks very powerful, somehow. It could have something to do with the emphasis on its hands, tipped with three gecko-like digits. And of course, the presence of a second, weird neck behind its actual neck is neat in a "weird abomination" sort of way. That said though, I think they could've leaned harder into "genetic experiment gone wrong" territory.
Its original appearance is definitely a lot closer to this, with even more gangly features and enlarged head making it look both a little closer to Mew and like a bulbous mind-powered mutant, and sadly its head shrunk over the years to look a little more conventionally cool. That said though, they totally could've gone even farther. I think like its weird neck tube, it also could've had tubes going all over its body. Not just to convey a "barely-alive abomination hooked up to machinery" type of look, but also make its arms and legs look a little more skeletal. Maybe could've gone for some extremely sunk-in eyes too.
Nonetheless, Mewtwo is really dang cool, even if they've slightly toned it down. And even if my ridiculously specific demands aren't met. Obviously, when I make suggestions like this, I just mean how I would've done Mewtwo had I been given the opportunity to redesign it. Which doesn't even necessarily mean I think a design fails either, mind you. In something like Mewtwo's case, this is just the sort of stuff I would've done to elevate it to a perfect 10 for me. Mewtwo is just plain neat in a rule of cool sort of way, and it's retained at least a good amount of its freaky lab accident charm.
Personal Score: 9/10
Mega Mewtwo X:
Of course, with Mewtwo being as popular as it is, it's the second Pokemon to receive two Mega Evolutions. Mega Mewtwo X though, it's just alright for me. The Psychic/Fighting typing is interesting, but I just kind of wonder why. I guess because Mega Mewtwo Y was such a departure from vanilla Mewtwo, they thought they needed the other to dial it back a bit?
That said, I do like how weirdly frog-ish it is, in a way. With those legs and even more shapely arms. And it also has weird shoulder growths, which is a bit closer to what I was looking for in Mewtwo vanilla. Its head is just a little too sleek for my liking on a creature like this, and that happening at the same time as a way downplayed tail just kinda puts the design in "not nearly as great" territory for me.
Personal Score: 7/10
Mega Mewtwo Y:
That's more like it. It was interesting being in the theory and speculation phase of X and Y. Before Mega Evolution was revealed as a concept, we were graced with what was supposedly a new Mewtwo form. Or maybe it was an evolution! OR MAYBE, we had finally received the Mewthree the fandom has been clamoring for! Nah, it's just a supercharged Mewtwo.
I do definitely like how Mewtwo Y rolls back around to looking a bit closer to Mew, while also looking super alien in the process. Right down to jellybean digits and getting its oversized noggin back! I even like the weird head-tail thing, it makes it look a malformed mutant that somehow wound up with an organic elven cap. The only thing keeping me from liking it outright better than Mewtwo is that weird... whatever on its head. I do wish its "ears" were a little more crooked like OG Mewtwo, but what's with that weird halo around its head? Does it do anything? Not as far as I can tell. Hmmm, I almost would've rather it just had a second tail on its head or something, if you really insisted something be up there to... I guess keep it from looking bald?
Personal Score: 9/10
Comments
Post a Comment