Federation of Fear [Off to Never-Never Land]

When you... when you like TOO many bad guys...
Two-year anniversary of ENS, so it's kind of like the Federation's birthday (yes, I ALSO can't believe it landed on the funny haha plant day, but what can you do.) This was supposed to be Take Back the Fear, since all of Hail the Villain's songs are FOF anthems, but then I found this just absolute BANGER of a cover of one of my all time favorites, and the rest was history.
Except for the whole editing process. That was even longer than history. But we can't just cut applications to the spook factory, that'd be against the RULLLLEEEEEESSSSS
A big, BIG mix of veterans, newbies and even NEWER newbies. I don't know what it is, 2023 has been serving up some good villain eats this year. Can you believe I had to cut a few members just to make the video fit? It was nutty.
- You get to play a couple games while watching! The first is called "Which of these anime peeps are from Fate because Makuta has no self-control?" and "If you know even ONE manga character here, I'll express ship cookies to your house."
- Hit a big DC spurt this year, so yay for the purple doctor couple of Polaris and Cyber. I will take all the C-Listers.
- Plays Atomic Heart for an hour, doesn't like the feel of the combat, still thirsty for the Twins. DON'T ACT LIKE I HAVE RESTRAINT, I KNOW WHO I AM
- It's probably hard to tell from the split-second editing, but I like Greigh (the Sephiroth looking dude with no nose) a whole lot. Little Noah was a surprising little playthrough, very cute and rewarding, but Greigh himself really surprised me into how much I liked him. I also like when he goes from a FF villain to a Kirby boss right at the last second. That was funny.
- I almost JUST barely squeaked Aru from Blue Archive in there with Liz. I thought I was at my phone game capacity, especially one with a so-so reputation like BA, but like. Aru is so, so funny. Failboss failgirl is like. The best trope. I want to hug and take care of that loser.
Sorry Akane, Seryu, Vladimir, and Dominique. We'll fit you in to the next group edit. In like a year. I gotta recharge.
Maybe write ENS for a change. That'd be something.

[@JaceyDemy]

GRIEVOUS! So here's the fun thing - 13throse is actually finally showing me Clone Wars after way too long of me never having seen Clone Wars, and I'm enjoying it A TON. (Dare I say Star Wars actually works better as a TV series? Because it actually can devote 22 minutes of time to each location/character.) Anyway, Grievous is a cool cat and I love that he's just an absolute GREMLIN whenever there's violence to be had. (If you're wondering where the WHAMMERs are, it's EV-A4-D and *all* of the B1 units, which I'm sure Grievous is shaking his head at me for. Yes, sir, I have terrible taste, dorky robots only) I was also glad to see some of the old faves trotted out again! I think I had missed Mirage entering the Federation and OH SHE IS GOING TO BE FUN TO SEE INTERACT WITH THE GROUP. Enmu, Fizz, and Mysterio are ALWAYS welcome in this house! But the real cherry on top was framing the whole thing in the end as a concert that Liz was holding! Her pounding the stage for the climax was MWAH, perfection, the dragon lady is on fire Also? I have seen whispers about Atomic Heart here and there, and I dunno if it's for me, I just know who's popular, and so I've seen the Twins about, and now that I see them here in the Federation, I can't help but think they'd get along well with Shrike? I barely know anything from either of these IPs but at the same time I'm like, they're all three techy characters who are only just now realizing they don't have to answer to anyone or follow orders. Feel free to confirm/deny.

[@Makuta52]

Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear you're enjoying Clone Wars! I definitely find it easier to come back to than the films (no shade towards most of the movies, obviously, just that the Clone Wars period was between 2 and 3 were that sweet spot that I grew up with so I'm MOST endeared to it). Famously, little baby Makuta cried in the theater during Episode 3 when Grievous bit the big one, so when the Clone Wars was announced a few years later, you can imagine my excitement of having my then-all time favorite childhood obsession back in my arms. It's where Grievous is given his playground and absolutely allowed to indulge in all of his violence gremlin shenanigans! (I AM SO HAPPY FOR EV-A4-D. That little sassy guy and all the goober B1s will definitely find some snarky/silly friends among the WHAM! Grievous may be disappointed, but I'm sure not!) I had to cut down a LOT of footage and a few missing characters who I planned to be here, and Mirage was definitely one who needed some more limelight here - maybe in the future, because I DO really enjoy that very mean kitty. She'll definitely be one of the powerhouses - if they manage to impress her enough to win her cooperation You know Liz - she's ALWAYS got to be at the center of attention, no matter the audience or song! I was really excited for Atomic Heart way back when, but now that it's out in my hands and playing it for a bit, the excitement has severely dropped off. It's FOR SURE a PS5 game, so it runs really slowly on the previous console, and the combat is all too slow and weighty for my tastes. It's a bit of a letdown, and I'm not sure if I want to continue my playthrough in earnest or just get a story summary STILL, it's in my good graces because the Twins are phenomenal. Perfectly graceful and terrifying to boot, I appreciate the creators not holding back on their seductive nature while making them really scary killer bosses. The Twins, along with Shrike, are definitely slated for the Chrisever family as bodyguard big sisters (Lowkey Shion trying to push Shrike into dating one of them maybe heheh)

[@Drako903]

Why not bring Grievous along? EV-A needs to keep with him.

[@vickiewhite2844]

Maybe let Grievous in on the WHAM ARMY?

[@darkdatch8791]

My guy you nailed it once again! With a massive surprise. I liked this one a lot! Wat Tambor and many more returns! Glad to see you included Roodaka and many other interesting characters. The timing is outstanding. Bravissimo!

[@Makuta52]

Thank you so much for the kind words, friend! Always happy to give Tambor and the best Bionicle gal some screentime. Glad you enjoyed :D

[@the13throse]

OOH THE SHOT OF GRIEVOUS KICKING IN THE DOOR. That is genuinely one of my favorite scenes of his from TCW 2008 and I'm so glad you used it. Love the use of Zant, too, I've been starting to really really like him recently. Horned King AND Hell's Chef, too? I know HK has gotten more fame lately through all the different villain crossover writers who've been using him, but it's always great to see someone else who knows what Gregory Horror Show is. And I just KNOW Ridley's gonna be fun - he has so much villain crossover potential despite not often getting used in any (at least none that I've seen. I myself don't really plan on using video game villains in my current crossover because I want to save them for a later video game-focused one) AND THERE'S MY BOY HARRY WARDEN!!! I love the changing shots with the guitar parts in between verses - I feel like that kind of quick-cutting must be hard to do but it's always so satisfying.

[@Makuta52]

The door kick is ALSO one of my favorite scenes of him from Clone Wars! I remember the commercial clear as day, reintroducing the general into the next season and getting me all hyped. When I was preplanning for this vid, it was INSTANTLY the shot I knew I wanted for that opening beat. Zant, Ridley and the Horned King have all been longstanding favorites of mine, very intimidating foes from their respective series, though Zant himself balances some silly, chaotic moments that make him stand out to me in the Zelda franchise which is usually so predominantly Ganon-focused. And we have our mutual acquaintances in Jacey to thank for Hell's Chef's inclusion! I enjoy GHS quite a bit, it makes for the perfect Halloween watch, and the gruff smoke-hating Chef really endeared himself to me. One of my favorite designs in recent memory. That particular shot of Harry was another one that I EXACTLY wanted for that particular beat - gotta rep our hardworking pickaxe throwing boy! And thanks so much on the editing! Those quick in-between cuts were both really fun but also the most challenging part of the video - it payed off well being to meticulous and picky with my scene choice this time around! (Oooo, very excited to see what you have up your sleeve for later crossovers! Should be very fun, no matter what it is!)

[@OuchMaster6000]

I just discovered a few weeks ago and its quickly become one of my favorites. Its actually pretty incredible just how similar our tastes in characters are, since Scanty, Kneesocks, Scarecrow, Mysterio, Esdeath, Suiginto, Kurumi Tokisaki, Eruka, Free, Chris, Haruka, Mirai, Hikage, Voldo, Lusamine and the Death Guard are some of my favorite characters from their respective series. Plus Is This a Zombie?, and Rozen Maiden are both pretty obscure and Senran Kagura not super mainstream cause of its ecchi content, I'm always happy to see them get more exposure, as well as more exposure for fun minor villains like Eruka and Free. I actually used to have an AMV channel on youtube myself, which also had several villain tributes, but unfortunately youtube took the channel down.

[@Makuta52]

Thanks so much! Definitely quite the coincidence, though I'm definitely happy to hear more people other than myself likes these characters! The SK characters can be difficult to vid exactly for the reason you mentioned, but you do what you gotta do for your favorites :)

[@superuniverse4760]

That's amazing Villains video music with Metallica song cover I love when you use Super Sentai/Power Rangers villains

[@darkbillscircus4314]

Wow this was absolutely amazing great work!

[@Makuta52]

Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed!

[@Toonmaster707]

Oooo, what a fantastically scary way to celebrate an anniversary. One of your best works ever I'd say. Love the bit with Double for "Say Your Prayers"!

[@Makuta52]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I think I gave it my all with this one, so glad to see the warm reception! That shot of Double was like a no-brainer for me - I saw it and thought "I know where I'm using THIS clip!!"

[@Mister_Dark]

I missed out Nine being in the federation... But you don't hear me complain. Always love seeing my favs pop up anywhere else. That includes Dahlia. Really loved her entire story in Skullgirls and that alone was enough for me to push her in my top 5 for this year alone. Seeing her decimate the competition is a joy. And love the cover of the number you used for this one. I listened to the regular one a few times but it never done much for me. But this one was really nice. Amazing vocals and great music

[@Makuta52]

She may have double duty across the teams, but we know Nine's got the power to manage all the rowdy hooligans :D And definitely ditto for Dahlia! Her story mode was one of the most fun and really re-ignited my love for the series that had been dormant before her announcement as a playable character. Watching her sweep through everyone was definitely a thrill ride! I really love the original, but THIS version had that special kind of punch that I not only needed to listen on repeat, but eventually vid with. The trio of artists that teamed up for it REALLY delivered - made for just the right tune to add to the Federation Mix!

[@goblintributemaker2539]

Cool video! A lot of nice villain choices, especially Carly, Eruka, Dr. Cyber, Starscream, Horned King, Esdeath, and Galand and Melascula. Song is pretty cool too, great mix of villains!

[@Makuta52]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed the villainous selection on display here!

[@gordhanx]

Happy Anniversary buddy. Hard to believe it's been 2 years. And such a wonderful way to celebrate the occasion. Was not aware of this cover until now, but man did you make awesome use of it here, by framing it as if Liz was singing the whole time. Lots of great clips from some familiar favorite baddies, along with a few new faces. Was not expecting to see Dr. Polaris or Cyber here, but cool choices. Always good to see the lesser known baddies getting some love.

[@Makuta52]

Thanks so much, bud! We've come a long way, and still so much more villainy to be had! Liz will always have her stardom, it's just law. And yeah, I like Polaris and Cyber a lot! Their versions here I think are their best, even if their actual onscreen presence is limited. Still cool to me!

[@jenniferhenquinet3247]

What does ENS mean?