• The 10 Best Minecraft Memes From Reddit

    With over 3.3 million players online when this article was written (according to PlayerCounter), it's no wonder Minecraft is one of the most popular games ever. (Did you know the Minecraft China edition has been downloaded 500 million times?)

    As a game with infinite possibilities, it extends to limitless potential for hilarious and spicy memes. The Minecraft community has been creating excellent memes for years, from clean to dirty, straightforward to super creative, and even around the delay of the Minecraft movie itself: Minecraft fans celebrate the movie adaptation’s non-release with memes.

    From hours and hours of play, there's always something players can relate to; perfectly displayed in meme form. As a player myself, I have come across many memes, and have compiled my favorite, funniest Minecraft memes found on Reddit for your viewing pleasure!

    Our favorite Minecraft memes on Reddit right now:

    1. Vicious Cycle Minecraft Meme

    We’ve all been there; months of endless playing, thinking about your blocky world day and night, and longing to continue the adventure. You complete the one task you set for yourself; a gargantuan achievement. And then… you get bored. You may leave the game for a while, but sooner or later, the itch to play comes back.

    2. Creeper Panik Minecraft Meme

    Maybe you’re underground and find a mineshaft or ender dungeon; maybe you’re far away from your home base and discover an amazing new biome or structure and desperately want to relocate there. But wait! The sun is setting, the sweat on your brow becomes worse and worse, and you hear that familiar hiss. You frantically slam a bed down to save your spot and BOOM. So much for that, eh?

    3. Faster Than Light Minecraft Meme

    With parkour maps being popular, and potions that enhance your speed being craftable, you’d think that there could be nothing and/or no one that could possibly keep up with you. The Baby Zombie laughs in your face; that mischievous little ankle biter….

    4. Stonks Minecraft Meme

    *villager noises* STONKS *villager noises*.

    5. Loki Mining Minecraft Meme

    Pain. Nothing feels worse than mining for ages and having nothing but Cobblestone and Dirt to show for it. There’s a chance you'll find a Diamond just behind the next block though… right?

    6. Leather Armor Minecraft Meme

    There isn’t much that scares me. But that thing right there? Those that make leather armor first? They scare me. Why would you do this?!

    7. Pollution Minecraft Meme

    Everything used to be so beautiful and natural and we could have preserved it. Are… are we the bad guys? Don’t think about it too hard….

    8. Taking Inventory Minecraft Meme

    There are some things in this world that aren’t meant to be known. How 16.2% of players haven’t opened their inventory whilst playing Minecraft is one of them.

    9. Bow Decisions Minecraft Meme

    Of all the things to limit in Minecraft, having to choose between OP enchantments is a cruel one. Why?! How am I supposed to choose?!

    10. Elytra Fail Minecraft Meme

    An issue for those of us with outdated hardware, that split-second freeze as the world chunks update can be a life or death situation. We just wanna glide around, man! *cries in old laptop noises*

    Samuel Heaney is a freelance writer with expertise in gaming guides and all things Minecraft. You can follow him on Twitter.

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    Thor: Love and Thunder’s Hercules Explained – Why Brett Goldstein’s God Is About to Rock the MCU

    Warning: This article contains spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder! Be sure to check out IGN's full review of the latest Thor movie.

    Thor: Love and Thunder reveals that Zeus (Russell Crowe) and his fellow Greek gods do, in fact, exist in the MCU. So it comes as little surprise that the sequel ends with a mid-credits scene that introduces the most famous Olympian of them all – Hercules. And it turns out Herc is played by none other than Ted Lasso star Brett Goldstein.

    While Goldstein only appears for a few seconds, it's clear his character is being set up as a new antagonist in Thor's life. With that in mind, it's worth taking a step back to explore Hercules' role in the Marvel Comics Universe, his history with Thor and how he'll likely factor into the future of the MCU. These are the topics we cover here:

    Who Is Marvel's Hercules?

    Before the Marvel Universe became overcrowded with costumed superheroes, it was full of gods from many different pantheons. And few gods command as much respect as the mighty Hercules. Marvel's version of Hercules is essentially the same figure from the various myths and legends. He's an incredibly strong, immortal warrior who travels the world in search of adventure and fame. But unlike many of his fellow Olympians, Hercules has a noble heart and is always quick to come to the defense of those who can't defend themselves. Herc is a lot like Thor, not that this has stopped the two from butting heads over the centuries.

    Herc is a lot like Thor, not that this has stopped the two from butting heads over the centuries.

    Hercules: His Powers and Abilities

    The Greek myths paint Hercules as far stronger and more skilled in battle than any mortal, and that's certainly true for the Marvel version. Thanks to his divine origins, Herc has incredible physical strength – enough to make him a match for Thor and even hold his own in battle against the Hulk. He's also blessed with other handy abilities like immortality, invulnerability and enhanced speed and healing.

    Herc's strength and immortality can and have been taken away from him in the past. However, even in his mortal form, Herc is among the most skilled fighters in the Marvel Universe, having spent literally thousands of years honing his craft on the battlefield. He also has an arsenal of enchanted weapons forged by Hephaestus. His weapon of choice is a golden adamantine mace.

    Hercules' History in the Marvel Universe

    Hercules is among the many iconic Marvel heroes created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. His first official Marvel appearance came in 1965's Journey Into Mystery Annual #1. Another version of Hercules appeared the previous year in The Avengers #10, but that character has since been revealed to be an impostor.

    Marvel's version of Hercules sticks fairly closely to the popular Greek myths. Arguably closer than Thor, who's kind of a jerk in most Norse tales. Hercules is the son of Zeus and a mortal woman named Alcmena. He was originally raised by his human parents under the name Alcaeus, before becoming aware of his divine heritage and taking the name Herakles. But because Zeus' wife Hera often made Herakles the target of her wrath, he eventually changed his name to Hercules instead.

    Herc's formative years were filled with many exploits that have since become the stuff of legend. He teamed up with Jason and the Argonauts to find the fabled Golden Fleece. He undertook his Twelve Labors in order to prove himself worthy of immortality. But though he enjoys the fame that comes with these accomplishments, Hercules is all too aware of the fact that reality and myth don't always line up.

    Hercules first surfaces in the modern Marvel era as an enemy to Thor, but the two quickly put aside their differences, and Thor helps save Herc from spending an eternity stuck ruling over the realm Hades. Hercules later joins the Avengers and also serves as a member of the Champions, regularly proving his valor alongside Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

    Though Marvel published a handful of Hercules-centric miniseries in the '80s, he didn't truly come into his own as a solo lead until the 2007 series The Incredible Hercules. That book pairs Herc with teen genius Amadeus Cho, as both become fugitives thanks to the events of the World War Hulk crossover. It's also the comic that spawned a very popular Internet meme.

    Over the course of that series, Herc and Amadeus battle enemies like the Skrull gods, Hera and the Japanese god Amatsu Mikaboshi, with Herc eventually sacrificing his godly power to rebuild the universe. Herc has since regained his strength and continues to fight in defense of humanity. Though lately, his adventures have taken him away from Earth as a member of the newest incarnation of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

    Hercules in Marvel's TV and Games

    Though Hercules is just now making his live-action Marvel debut, he has appeared in a number of Marvel's animated and video game projects.

    TV: Hercules first appeared in 1966's The Marvel Super Heroes, where he was voiced by Len Birman and played a recurring part in the show's "Mighty Thor" segments. He then had silent cameos in Fox's X-Men and Fantastic Four animated series in the '90s and larger roles in Hulk and the Agents of SMASH (voiced by Townsend Coleman) and Avengers: Secret Wars (voiced by Matthew Mercer).

    Games: Hercules is a boss character in 2009's Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, which is heavily based on Marvel's Civil War comics. He's also a playable character in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance and has appearances in Marvel Super Hero Squad: Infinity Gauntlet and the now-defunct Marvel heroes.

    Brett Goldstein's Hercules in the MCU

    Thor: Love and Thunder follows the example of most MCU movies by teasing a major, upcoming conflict in its mid-credits scene. There, we see Russell Crowe's Zeus (wounded, but not dead), lamenting that humanity no longer respects and fears the gods of Olympus. Instead, all they care about are their costumed superheroes. With the help of his super-strong son Hercules – played by none other than Ted Lasso's Brett Goldstein – Zeus aims to remind humans why they once feared the gods.

    The obvious takeaway here is that Zeus and Hercules will return in a fifth Thor movie, with Thor and his fellow Asgardians forced to intervene in a war between Olympus and Midgard. Though it's also possible Marvel Studios is teasing a standalone Hercules movie instead, or possibly setting up a conflict for a team movie like The Thunderbolts or The Avengers 5.

    Either way, we can expect Hercules to play a more antagonistic role in the MCU when he first resurfaces. This is clearly a god who's lost touch with his human side and lives only for war and the thrill of battle. But if the comics are any indication, Herc will surely mellow out with time. He may come to realize Zeus is wrong about humanity. Maybe he'll borrow a page or two from Thor's own history and become the defender of the mortal realm rather than its destroyer.

    Goldstein's Hercules may start out as a villain in Thor 5, but we suspect by the end he and Thor will be knocking back flagons of mead and swapping stories. After that, we can only hope an Incredible Hercules series is in the cards on Disney+.

    For more on Thor: Love and Thunder, find out how to watch the MCU sequel and explore the legacy of the original Thor movie.

    Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

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    Aussie Deals: A Price Shred of TMNT, Discounted Official Controllers and $200 off the LEGO Falcon!

    Thank your own personal God—possibly Atreus—it's Friday! Even better, it's the Friday before Prime Day (12-13 July). That means a few of the forthcoming deals have, well, actually started oozing out early. Case in point: now's a great time to secure a replacement XSX or PS5 controller. There's always a chance that stocks might not last. I'd make a play on a peripheral today.

    Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch

    Purchase Cheaply for PC

    Exciting Offers for XO/XS

    Product Savings for PS4/PS5

    Legit Discounts for LEGO

    Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He's @grizwords and games on YouTube.

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    Thor: Love and Thunder Ending Explained and Post-Credits Scene Check-In

    Warning: Full spoilers follow for Thor: Love and Thunder. Do you want to know if there’s a post-credits scene in the film? We’ll tell you right here: There are two post-credits scenes in Thor: Love and Thunder. Scroll down to read all about them!

    Sweet child of mine! Thor: Love and Thunder shows there’s life after Ragnarok, and all’s fair in Love and Thor. And this time around, the Odinson and Stormbreaker are joined by a Mjolnir-wielding Dr. Jane Foster, a.k.a. the Mighty Thor. Directed by Taika Waititi, the God of Thunder’s fourth solo film pits both Thors against a Gorr, who literally has “God Butcher” as his job title. What could go wrong?

    So let’s break it all down – how Thor: Love and Thunder ends, what the deal is with those end-credits and mid-credits scenes, and all the Easter eggs that we found… And when you're done here, read our Thor: Love and Thunder review!

    Thor: Love and Thunder Ending Explained

    Here’s the plot of the film in a nutshell: Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) returns as the Mighty Thor thanks to Mjolnir, which is also back in action. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gets his groove back, loses all that Endgame weight, and ditches the Asgardians of the Galaxy so they can go close out their trilogy. Gorr the God Butcher kidnaps a bunch of kids from New Asgard to draw Thor and Stormbreaker into a trap, so Thor, Mighty Thor, and King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) team up to get the kids back. This leads them to the Easter egg-filled Omnipotence City, where Thor throws Zeus’ (Russell Crowe) own lightning bolt through his chest. The Thors make it to the Shadow Realm to fight Gorr, but not before he reaches the wish-granting Eternity and brings his dead daughter back to life (before dying himself). Jane also dies, sacrificing herself to stop Gorr. Thor adopts Gorr’s orphan and takes her superheroin’ around the universe as the titular Love and Thunder. The end (aside from the post-credits – scroll down for those!).

    So to dig into that ending a little more closely, Gorr needs Thor’s trusty axe Stormbreaker and its bifrost capabilities to open a door to Eternity. That’s why he kidnapped the kids – to lure the Thors to him. When Thor and Mighty Thor arrive to save the kids, Thor tells them to get ready to fight. As they pick up random junk laying around – or clutch their stuff animals – he endows them with his own powers “for a limited time only.” A bunch of kids in god mode then proceed to beat the crap out of Gorr’s horde of nightmarish, Lovecraftian shadow creatures to the tune of the best part of “November Rain.”

    Jane, who has been suffering from cancer recently, basically sacrifices herself to save the children. Earlier in the film, she tells Thor that every time she becomes Mighty Thor, it saps her of more of her strength as Jane Foster. Jane still chooses to use Mjolnir in the final battle despite the fact that she knows it will kill her… and it does.

    As Mighty Thor, she manages to use Mjolnir to shatter Gorr’s Necrosword, which seemingly saps his powers. But despite all of this, he does make it to Eternity and as such gets to make a wish. The Thors follow him as he goes through the portal to meet Eternity, but Jane’s cancer has caught up with her and she dies in Thor’s arms. Thor convinces Gorr to not use his wish for vengeance as originally planned, but to instead choose love. Coincidentally, Love was apparently his dead daughter’s name (or nickname), and so Gorr chooses to resurrect her instead of killing all gods everywhere as he had originally planned.

    Dying after he does this, Gorr gets to hug and kiss his little girl before he goes. And so it’s a bittersweet ending. Jane’s gone (we see that she’s immortalized as the Mighty Thor, a.k.a. Dr. Jane Foster, in statue form in New Asgard), but Thor basically has a daughter now, and they’re doing the superhero thing around the galaxy.

    Does Thor: Love and Thunder Have a Post-Credits Scene?

    Yes, Thor: Love and Thunder has a post-credits and a mid-credits scene.

    We get Hercules in the mid-credits scene. It opens on Zeus, nursing a lightning bolt-sized hole in his sternum and grumbling about what literally just happened in Omnipotence City. It’s clear he’s talking to somebody – you know how these things wait until the last shot in the scene reveals what we want to see. Here, it’s live-action Hercules, played by Brett Goldstein (Roy Kent) from Ted Lasso.

    We only get the one shot of him, but it’s pretty clear that Zeus is upset at having his chest pierced with his own weapon and he’s sending in his boy Hercules – who got mentioned earlier in the film – to deliver some god-sized revenge to the God of Thunder.

    Hercules first appeared in Marvel Comics in The Avengers #10 in 1964, where he was summoned by the villain Immortus to mix it up with Thor. Only that wasn’t really Hercules. It’s a long story, but check out our Hercules in Love and Thunder explainer for all the details.

    As for the post-credits scene, we find Jane Foster’s spirit re-awakening in Valhalla. Valhalla is the afterlife of the Norse gods, and there’s a lot of talk about it in this movie. As Jane appears, none other than Idris Elba’s Heimdall (who died back in Avengers: Endgame) is right there to greet her.

    Here’s a question: Is Loki in Valhalla too?

    And that’s basically it. The credits end, an onscreen card says Thor will return, and that’s the end of the movie. The Valhalla scene is a heartwarming bookend to Jane’s story after she dies heroically, sacrificing herself to save the children. Jane definitely died a hero, but the Valhalla scene explains that yes, she is as dead as Heimdall is, but at least her passing is not truly the end of her story. Because that’s not how death works in the MCU anymore, it seems…

    Jane and Heimdall showing up in Valhalla is most likely a simple goodbye to both characters, but if Gorr was able to resurrect his daughter by reaching Eternity, maybe it’s not out of the question that Thor could eventually do the same thing. Realistically, however, this was probably just an excuse to give Jane a proper sendoff in a better movie than Thor: The Dark World.

    But here’s a question: Is Loki in Valhalla too? Not 2012 Loki, who is currently goofing around with variants with the TVA, but rather Loki Prime, who died in Avengers: Infinity War. He died in battle, which this movie tells us is a requirement for getting into Valhalla. And this is after he helped Thor save the Asgardians in Ragnarok. His final acts were valiant ones, and based on the basic Valhalla rules put out there in Love and Thunder, we think he’s probably in there too.

    What’s Next for Thor (and Chris Hemsworth) in the Marvel Movies

    Any time a new MCU movie or Disney + show comes along, we always have to try and extrapolate where things will go next, and when it comes to Thor… well, the door is still wide open.

    Thor’s story is still totally viable for more movies. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, he headed off to space for adventures with the Asgardians of the Galaxy. He kind of ends this movie the same way, except instead of a ship full of a-holes, he’s palling around with Love, Gorr’s resurrected daughter. So maybe the duo will go on all kinds of fun space adventures and the next Thor film could actually be a literal Love and Thunder movie.

    Keep in mind that at this point the Avengers don’t really exist. Tony’s dead, Cap is old, and Nat’s also dead. But at some point an existence-level threat has gotta happen that needs a group of gifted individuals to work together, and Thor seems like a likely candidate to join in on the fun.

    Right now, with all of the threats the MCU has placed on the table since Endgame, the most likely candidate for that existence-level threat still has to be Kang the Conqueror. Introduced in Loki, Kang is also set to appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in 2023. And since Kang was one of the original comic-book Avengers villains, if a new version of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes re-assemble to face this guy, Thor would almost certainly be involved.

    But ultimately, all we know for sure right now is what it said onscreen at the end of Love and Thunder: Thor will return.

    Thor: Love and Thunder Easter Eggs

    Let’s run through all of the Easter Eggs we found in the film:

    • There were lots in Omnipotence City, but we’ll start with the big ones. Several Celestials appear all through the movie, most notably in Omnipotence City and where Gorr builds the gateway to Eternity… but still no mention of the huge Celestial head and hand jutting out of the Earth since Eternals came out.
    • Ra, the most powerful member of the Egyptian pantheon (or Ennead as Moon Knight calls it), is also part of the Omnipotence City gang.
    • The Necrosword that chooses Gorr is a bit different in the comics where All-Black the Necrosword is actually a symbiote – yes, a Venom-style symbiote. Knull, the eldritch god and creator of all symbiotes, also created All-Black. The weapon is especially strong versus the divine. Its main comics-wielders are: Knull, Gorr the God Butcher, and yep… All-Father Thor (though he later destroys it).
    • When Thor imbues the children of New Asgards with his power, it spreads among them in the shape of Yggdrasil, the sacred tree central to Norse mythology and several Thor legends.
    • There are several statues in the portal to Eternity room, including the three-headed Living Tribunal from the Loki series, Uatu the Watcher, who was a major player in What If…?, and what appears to be Lady Death – the character comics-Thanos did his whole “wipe out half the universe” thing for.
    • Jane Foster references Interstellar, explaining the wormhole theory from it with a piece of paper and a pencil. She also thought the movie was clear and simple to understand so make of that what you will.
    • Darcy Lewis returns! We first met Darcy (Kat Dennings) in the Thor solo films, and most recently she was running around Westview with Vision in WandaVision. She’s one of the only people Jane entrusted with her secret that she’s dying of cancer.
    • And speaking of old science friends, Jane is still friends-slash-colleagues with Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), also from the Thor films. He helped Loki’s army invade Earth in The Avengers, but for the most part is one of Stellan Skarsgård’s least evil roles.
    • Thor puts an enchantment on Mjolnir to protect Jane, just like Odin placed an enchantment on the hammer in the first film: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
    • At one point in the movie, Korg misidentifies Jane Foster as real-world actress Jane Fonda.
    • Gorr refers to Jane’s Mighty Thor as “Lady Thor” like a lot of the internet did when the comics character was revealed. She is quick and brutal about correcting him. It’s the Mighty Thor or Dr. Jane Foster.
    • In the comics, the Shadow Realm is a parallel dimension under the rule of Warlord Kaa, who has fought Hulk in the past by possessing his shadow.
    • Heimdall apparently had a son, Astrid/Axel, who was not mentioned before in movies, comics, or mythology. Lucky for him and the other kids, he inherited his proud papa’s cool eye powers that let him communicate with Thor.
    • Speaking of superhero kiddos, two of Chris Hemsworth’s kids appear in Love and Thunder – the young Thor shown in the intro is one of Hemsworth’s twin sons and Love is played by his daughter India Rose.
    • And actually, it turns out this movie was a family affair for just about everyone involved. Hemsworth has said that Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, and Taika Waiti all have children who appear in the film.
    • Revolution expert Korg finds love when he falls for Dwayne, the rock. But apparently no johnsons are involved because Korg’s species procreates by holding hands for several weeks in a pool of lava.
    • There is a “Cocktails and Dreams” neon sign on the New Asgardian barge. This is the bar chain Tom Cruise’s character works at in the 1988 film Cocktail.
    • The story-framing conceit of Korg telling the story of Thor to a cave full of children is reminiscent of Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.
    • While the crazy screaming goats are in the entire movie, they aren’t really consequential to the plot. In the comics and in Norse mythology, Thor did indeed have two goats – Toothgrinder and Toothgnasher. The ones in the movie are just goofy references to these, it seems.

    But what did you think of Thor: Love and Thunder? Where will we see Hercules pop up again and is there a Loki there in Valhalla? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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    Murder at Castle Nathria – Hearthstone Card Reveal!

    The next Hearthstone set is hitting the game on August 2nd (August 3 in ANZ), and will add 135 new cards, not to mention an air of mystery. With a central whodunnit, complete with a character called Murloc Holmes on the case, Murder at Castle Nathria is shaping up to be a lot of fun. In addition to ten legendary “suspects” (one for each class), it introduces a new card type: locations. Location cards are played to the board and can then be activated a set number of times, with a turn off between each activation. It’s all very Cluedo-esque. Alongside this is a new keyword: infuse. Cards with infuse are powered up when a certain number of friendly minions die while they’re in hand. You can see examples of all these new additions in the gallery below.

    Today we’re revealing a brand new Warrior legendary card from Murder at Castle Nathria and it’s unlike anything Hearthstone has ever seen before. Introducing Remornia, Living Blade:

    Yes, this card starts as a minion then swaps to a weapon after attacking, which can also attack immediately… and back and forth it can potentially go! It’s an intriguing effect, capable of picking apart boards of small to medium-sized minions. Check it out:

    Quite what role Remornia will play in the new meta remains to be seen. Warrior is currently quite weak (having had a host of its key cards nerfed relatively recently), but that will almost certainly change once Murder at Castle Nathria is released. Remornia will offer versatile removal for the class – albeit at the cost of some health or armour – and there's plenty of synergy potential: anything that can buff weapons or minions, or that triggers on attacks could work well with it. We'll start to see what's possible as more cards are revealed.

    I also love how Remornia fits into the set’s lore. Here’s a blurb from the Hearthstone team: “Every warrior is only as strong as their blade. Luckily for Sire Denathrius, his blade is Remornia. This sentient sword wants nothing more than to hack and slash away at the enemies of her wielder until all that's left is the red of their sins. There are many reasons why it is advised to stay on the Sire's good side, and Remornia is about a third of them.”

    Sire Denathrius, incidentally, is the set’s murder victim… and also a pretty sweet-looking new card:

    And if you log in to Hearthstone now, you'll get Prince Renathal (above on the right) to play with straight away! You can find out more about the set and pre-order bundles at the official site, as well as checking out all the cards that have been revealed so far. See you in the tavern!

    Cam Shea has worked at IGN since before the before times, and has played more Breath of the Wild than just about any other game. When he's not playing games he's mixing records.

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