That looks friggin’ awesome! Can’t wait to see it.
The new Antman movie could be good too. (Thank you, Spiderman!)
Finally, that one guy from I Think You Should Leave is Marvel canon.
It’s that time of year, time to subscribe to Disney+ for a month and catch up on the Marvel series for 2022. (Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and the one shots, Werewolf by Night and the Guardians Holiday Special)
Enjoyed the first episode of Moon Knight, nice set-up on a psychological/supernatural mystery… though I’m familiar with the character so it’s not as much a mystery as it would be for those unfamiliar with who and what he’s about.
I’m at the end of my D+ binge… Andor finale and GotG Special annnnnnd done… until sometime in 2023…
The two of the three most recent behind the scenes episodes are good (I still need to watch the She Hulk episode …)
“Director by Night” and Thor Assembled (Behind the scenes of Love and Thunder but also showed some other Thor content as well) were both fun watches. Highly recommend.
Every time I think I might want to get a subscription I re-think it and remain happy. Just about everything from MP4 has been very little except chum for possible MST3K treatments. There’s been a few rare exceptions like Moon Knight … but they’re pretty few and far between.
The biggest problem is pretty simple. The writing is lousy. They aren’t making characters anymore. They’re too busy telling weak dad jokes. There’s no stakes. Everything is just Content with very little purpose or narrative except introducing the next Content.
Wake me up when there’s something worth watching. But from what I can see there’s nothing on Marvel’s MP5 docket that’s even of the vaguest interest.
Ant Man? Meh - the 2nd movie was weak and this doesn’t look any better.
GotG 3? Another meh. Very much sounds like another joke-factory movie.
Marvels? Hard pass.
CA: NWO? No information. Only thing that might be OK if they move away from their joke-factory ways.
Thunderbolts: No information. Very low potential.
Blade: No information. Meh.
Secret Invasion: Meh.
Echo. Meh.
Loki 2: Meh - first season ruined Loki. Not interested in seeing the Further Adventures of “Sylvie” with Hiddleston as 2nd fiddle.
Ironheart: Zero interest in the Faux Iron Man substitute that arguably killed the Marvel publishing industry.
Agatha: Hard pass.
Daredevil BA: After seeing what they did to him in She Hulk? Hard pass.
I’m binging up a storm (because tomorrow it’ll be Turkey Day and my attention will be elsewhere)
Moon Knight was fantastic, I felt it did lose some momentum in the two eps that preceded the finale, they were a bit padded out, I think you could have condensed them, and still retained the idea and emotion. Still, all around an intense grabber.
Ms. Marvel captured the feel of the comic book, though I’m not sure why they changed the origin and look of her powers? It skewed young, and I’m old, and struggled to get into it, so after one episode I switched over to
She-Hulk - 4 eps in and I’m loving it, it has a pretty low grade at 'boxd, but I don’t know why, it’s freaking hilarious. The casting was gold, the stories are fun, they run shorter than the other series (around a half an hour after you cut out credits and recap), so they are a nice quick and entertaining watch. Hope the final half is as delightful as the first.
I might have soured on the theatrical films, but I’m still digging the series, maybe because they are more intimate, more character driven rather than spectacle… thought there is spectacle, it serves the story rather than the other way around. And while tied into the larger universe, they tell their story… what I mean is, I could skip the movies and still enjoy these on their own merits.
So far only the Falcon/Winter Soldier flat out disappointed (What If…? was hit or miss, depending on the tale, and I’ll have to get back to Ms. Marvel before I can judge it)
MCU seems to have a weird rule against giving its hero characters redundant powers.
I’m looking forward to the Guardians’ side of the MCU, though I may continue with Moon Knight and check out Werewolf By Night.
I think it’s because of a combination of factors:
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One word: Inhumans. In the comics Ms. Marvel is an Inhuman and gained her powers after exposure to Terrigen mists. And the Inhumans TV show bombed so hard… On the plus side, that series’ failure left Anson Mount free to play Captain Pike on ST:DIS and ST:SNW — net gain in my book!
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Even in the comics her powers are a bit funky to explain, i.e., she shunts mass through time to do her shapeshifting.
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(Slightly) simpler VFX. It’s OK for energy constructs to look unrealistic, so they didn’t have to go to the
extentexpense of having realistic human skin, etc., something that’s definitely needed for Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four (coming Real Soon Now™!). -
The X-Men are also warming up in the bullpen, so expect several years of escalating mentions of “mutants”.
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Finally, I’m pretty sure there hasn’t been any introduction of Rick Jones to the MCU (something that’s weird in its own right, given his connections to so many characters). Combining that with the change to Captain Marvel’s (and Mar-Vell’s) origins, and some additional tinkering is required to introduce the Nega/Quantum Bands and the goofiness that comes with them.
That’s my take on the situation, anyway.
I thought the series was great. I’m usually not a fan of gender-swapping characters for the sake of ooo let’s make XYZ character a girl!! But this was funny and entertaining, and the last episode is freaking awesome.
Yeah, that last episode was great, I loved the Hulk TV series style opening - and I can’t believe that they were allowed to go there, to just out and out face the criticism. Oh, and making Kevin Feige an A.I. that’s just churning out product was inspired.
As for Ms. Marvel, with the retooled power, I’m disappointed that I won’t get to hear her use the word “Embiggen”
Ha, the look was a bit different, but Ms. Marvel said “Embiggen”. That was the topper on a fun Thanksgiving Day,
And the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was a hoot and a half. Great fun for the holidays.
My rankings on the D+ Marvel minis and specials (with a few thoughts on last years offerings)
1. WandaVision - I like how it touches on matters of grief (and how that manifests and hurts others when you have power), I liked the baddie, I loved the smart inclusion of “The Ship of Theseus” - to see a battle solved through the mind rather than the fist was a plus. Overall an intelligent, heart-wrenching tale. One of the best things associated with the Marvel U IMHO.
2. Loki - Thought provoking, with plenty of heart and sadness and humor. Now, time travel is a cul-de-sac that can trap a series into spinning its wheels (ala the Terminator) and it was exposition heavy in its final chapter, but overall, I really enjoyed it, and Sophia Di Martino steals the show.
3. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
4. Guardians of the Galaxy: Holiday Special
5. Moon Knight
6. Hawkeye
7. Werewolf by Night
8. Ms. Marvel
9. What If…?
10. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier - The weakest of the bunch, its preachy, and arm twists you into sympathizing with a terrorist (and later justifies that with a heavy-handed speech). I hate that kind of manipulation; I don’t buy into it and it just makes me angry. Also, last scene was unbelievable… being pardoned fine, but with what you’ve become, you sure as hell don’t get access to Government secrets
There’s a persistent rumor that Falcon went through a lot of last-minute rewrites do to the pandemic. Supposedly the original story dealt with the release of a virulent disease. When the pandemic hit, they needed to rewrite the entire plotline with the Flag-Smashers.
Started watching the Guardians Christmas special, and to my shock, look at what Kevin Bacon is watching when Mantis and Drax show up to grab him!!
SANTA CLAUS VERSUS THE MARTIANS!!!
If only he’d been watching the actual episode…
Finished up with this, it was violent, funny, in bad taste… just the way you’d want it. Enjoyed it quite a bit.
I just watched Ms. Marvel. I’m not a fan of teenager stories and I’m an atheist, so I was surprised how taken I was by this story of a Muslim teenager, but taken I was. She’s very charming, the look into Pakistani-American culture was great, and I learned a lot about the Partition, which I knew very little about. I also always enjoy a superhero story where things are resolved without destroying half the city in a big battle.
That was fun. I cannot believe the Old 97’s are part of the MCU now. I’ve known those guys since the olden days in Dallas. I hope it pays some dividends for them
It was timed really well, because it was only about 30 seconds before that moment that I said “hey wait a second, I recognize the plot to this Christmas special…”
The CW has a new DC show coming out and it’s… something.