#His version of Peter Parker would of been phenomenal

[youngeditor1999]

Every depiction of Peter parker's Spider-Man in film is inaccurate. He needs the accent of a certified Jewish new Yorker who delivers pizza on a moped for a living and beats the fuck outta people who do crimes. He shoulda been played by ben stiller or Adam Sandler.

Andrew Garfield baby you did so good as a Jewish Spider-Man keep going sweetie but I won't forget what you did to Sarah Lynn

[evilwickedme]

Fuck it I'm bored so here's a ranking of different Peter Parkers by how Jewish they are

Dead last, obviously, is MCU!Peter Parker. This version of Peter is the farthest from comic canon to the point of being almost unrecognizable at times. Also, Tom Holland answered the question "is peter parker Jewish" in a Wired Autocomplete Interview a while back with a very baffled "no", cementing him forever as my sworn enemy. So he's actually the only peter parker who, at least by word of God, is canonically NOT Jewish. -1000000/10

Next up is Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. I think this Peter is... fine, at least he's much closer to comic canon than MCU!Peter, but honestly that's not saying much considering how far the MCU strayed from comic canon or even the spirit of comic canon. But like overall, Sam Raimi's movies just aren't particularly interested in presenting Peter as Jewish, so, eh. 1/10

By far the most Jewish of live action Peters is TASM!Peter, also by far the most comic accurate of live action Peters. I'd be remiss not to mention the fact that Andrew Garfield is Jewish, and he understands the character so fucking well. He stated on record that he played Peter as Jewish and that he sees Spider-Man as an inherently Jewish character:

However, the Webb movies still do not textually define him as Jewish, and the best parts of Andrew's Peter's Jewish subtext are better when viewed in light of the comics. Overall, 6.5/10

Next up is the original, our beloved comic book Peter, pictured here saying Happy Hanukkah in a panel from Matt Fraction's Hawkeye. Comic Peter is one of the most heavily Jewish coded comics characters of all time, which is saying something considering how Jewish comic books are as a medium. Obviously he was created and often written and drawn by Jewish writers and artists, but beyond that his driving ethos and values are incredibly Jewish, and as a bonus he's constantly sprinkling Yiddish and Jewish phrases into his speech, alongside things like the above panel where he outright acknowledges Jewish culture in a scene where everyone else is saying merry Christmas. However, despite the extremely heavy coding, Marvel Comics are fucking cowards, and he has yet to be confirmed Jewish, so I must give him a measly 8/10.

Finally, the cream of the crop, the most Jewish of all Peter Parkers, Into the Spider-Verse's Peter B. Parker my beloved!!! Peter B. is voiced by Jake Johnson, himself a Jewish actor, and is a phenomenally accurate representation of comic book canon - but he also has the unique quality of being canonically, textually, in the actual movie Jewish! It's a bit of a blink and you'll miss it scene, but when we get introduced to Peter B. in his "one more time" segment, we see his wedding to MJ, where he steps on a glass. This is a Jewish minhag - custom - meant to represent the destruction of our Temple and Jerusalem, as well as remind us that sorrow and joy come intertwined, and is one of my personal favorite Jewish customs. It's a phenomenal moment in the best Spider-Man movie, and while this version of Peter would have been my favorite film version regardless, his Jewishness absolutely pushes him even further up. 13/10, no complaints

[mo0nfairy]

A different person, but tailing off of the last request you answered:

Is reader dead or alive in Peter B. Parker and Mayday’s universe? And if they are alive, are the yanderes just okay with that? I don’t know your plans for the storyline, but if you are somewhat following the canon, wouldn’t reader need to be alive if they’re taking the place of MJ in that universe? Because in canon, MJ was the one who sort of indirectly pushed Peter B into taking action and helping Miles, which then would create the group that re-introduces Noir in this installment of the movie series. Maybe you have a workaround, or maybe your story diverges from canon before then—either way I know all your releases will be phenomenal and I can’t wait to inhale all the yummy words you write for us.

Sending love as well as a reminder to take frequents breaks and hydrate often <3

i haven't put much attention into how the story of the other spider-people plays out, only since they are irrelevant in this story. to answer your question, y/n is not MJ, y/n is just y/n !! in peter's world, i guess i would say that him and reader got pregnant/adopted mayday before reader died. that fatherly nature is what pushed him into helping miles, which means that mayday has been here since before peter ever met miles. and he has enough of a brain (unlike a certain pair of four losers) to acknowledge that the version of reader in miles' universe is not his y/n. the others are total yanderes and can't resist being with their beloved again! but, i do not plan on adding peter in the story (this may change lol), so i haven't put much thought into how he affects the plot.

i hope this sheds more light on my intentions for the series. and thank u so so much for the sweetness, i genuinely appreciate it !! please take frequent breaks and hydrate, as well ~~ <3

[gstqaobc]

CBC THE ROYAL FASCINATOR

Friday, November 20, 2020

Hello, royal watchers and all those intrigued by what’s going on inside the House of Windsor. This is your biweekly dose of royal news and analysis. Reading this online? Sign up here to get this delivered to your inbox.

Janet DavisonRoyal Expert Fact, fiction and The Crown

The last time Arthur Edwards took a photo of Prince Charles with Lord Louis Mountbatten, the heir to the throne had his arm around his great uncle. Similarly, Mountbatten had his arm around his great-nephew. They both seemed to be in fine form that day, not too long before Mountbatten lost his life to an IRA bomb in the summer of 1979 off the coast of Ireland. "They were laughing together," Edwards, the longtime royal photographer for the Sun newspaper, recalled over the phone from the U.K. this week. The recollection came to mind as controversy swirls over the newly released Season 4 of the Netflix drama The Crown. The show takes viewers into the reign of Queen Elizabeth, with the latest season moving the action into the 1980s. In the first episode, Mountbatten is seen just before his assassination writing a letter to Charles saying he could bring "ruin and disappointment" on the Royal Family with his pursuit of Camilla Parker Bowles, who in real life is now Charles's wife but at that time was married to someone else. There's no evidence — again, in real life — that such a letter was ever written or that Charles and Mountbatten quarrelled before he was killed. It's just one of many moments in the latest season that have set off debate over how fact meets fiction in the award-winning drama created by Peter Morgan. "Many people will think it's the truth ... but it's not," said Edwards, who snapped his first photo of Charles feeding sugar to his polo ponies in the mid-1970s, just after he'd left the Royal Navy. "Much of it … comes out of a scriptwriter's brain, which I can understand because … it's drama.” What bothers Edwards, he said, is the portrayal of Charles. "I've worked with him now for over 40 years, and I don't recognize that man in it." And therein lies a challenge of turning history into drama. "Certainly, in every season [of The Crown], there's a blend of fact and fiction, but it stands out in Season 4 because we are getting closer to the present day," said Toronto-based royal historian and author Carolyn Harris. Because so many in the audience will have their own memories of how what is portrayed in Season 4 turned out in real life — how Charles's marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, collapsed in spectacular fashion, for example — there is perhaps further potential for the controversy now swirling. "It's always a challenge with historical fiction that the people who are being portrayed do not know what's going to happen next, but the audience ... does," said Harris. In some instances, the episodes present events that played out in the public eye and reflect the historical record. "An example is that engagement interview where Prince Charles famously said, 'whatever in love means,'" said Harris. But there are many other examples of events being fictionalized or put together to create a narrative. Take Michael Fagan's break-in at Buckingham Palace, a focus of Episode 5. That actually happened, in 1982. He breached security and made it to the Queen's bedroom, where he spoke to her. "But Michael Fagan describes it as a very brief conversation before he was arrested, whereas for the purposes of the series, he has a more extended dialogue about [Prime Minister] Margaret Thatcher's politics in order to tie this event to the series's critique of political developments while [she] was prime minister," said Harris.

CBC Archives: The leadership fracas that forced Margaret Thatcher from power

Edwards worries, however, that people will believe The Crown's version of what happened when Fagan broke into the palace that night, which isn’t true, with its portrayal of a longer chat with the Queen. "That's what really irritates me," he said. And he remains troubled by the thought that the portrayal of Charles, pilloried for a bad marriage, doesn't reflect the driven and hard-working man he has seen up close, whether he is visiting and offering support to schoolgirls in northern Nigeria or the Jewish community in Krakow, Poland. "You won't see that on Netflix." Edwards went with Charles when he returned in 2015 to the site of Mountbatten's assassination. "I watched him … and he was remembering it." As aware as Edwards is of The Crown, he has stopped watching it.   "You've got to remember it's drama; it's not necessarily the whole truth."

Just let loose and dance Peter Morgan may be the creative mind behind The Crown, but in the current season, at least one moment playing out on the small screen came straight from the actor. At one point, Diana — played by Emma Corrin — dances by herself with wild abandon inside a very well-appointed room at Buckingham Palace — or in this case, a stately home filling the role of the palace where Diana went to live after her engagement to Prince Charles was announced in 1981. "It was one of my favourite scenes to film," Corrin said in a recent interview with the Royal Fascinator. "I loved it because they wanted to choreograph it, and I said, 'Do you mind if we don't ... I don't think we can choreograph a moment like that. I'd love to just let loose and dance.'" So she did, and she chose the song that was blasting over the speakers during filming, a bit of musical time travel to 1998, and Cher's Believe. Corrin's love for the song dates back a few years. "There's a theatre company in Britain called DV8, and they do this show called The Cost of Living, and there's an amazing dance scene," she said. "A guy does this dance to Cher's  … Believe…. It's like the truest form of expression I've seen." In Corrin's research for the role, she was surprised to learn how important dance was for Diana. "It was quite a private thing," said Corrin. "You see her dancing and what that does, how that is such a mode of expression and release, and I thought that was really interesting."

Looking ahead — and looking back

Every so often over the past few years, there have been rumblings about whether Queen Elizabeth, now 94, might step aside from her role as she gets older. And as soon as those rumblings emerge, other royal observers are quick to note how that is unlikely for a variety of reasons, including the dark shadow cast by her uncle's abdication as King Edward VIII in 1936, her deep devotion to duty and how she has always considered her role as one for life. So it wasn't too surprising to see that scenario play out again in recent days when one royal biographer suggested Elizabeth might "step down" when she turns 95 next April. But soon after, there was also a very strong signal from Buckingham Palace about looking ahead in her reign. The first plans were announced for celebrations in 2022 to mark her Platinum Jubilee, or 70 years on the throne. It would be an unprecedented milestone — no British monarch has reigned as long as she has. In the United Kingdom, it will culminate in a four-day bank holiday weekend in early June. Oliver Dowden, the British culture secretary, said it would be a "truly historic moment" worthy of a "celebration to remember," the BBC reported.

Royally quotable

"Let us reflect on all that we have been through together and all that we have learned. Let us remember all victims of war, tyranny and persecution; those who laid down their lives for the freedoms we cherish; and those who struggle for these freedoms to this day."

— Prince Charles,

during a visit to Germany

to attend events commemorating its national day of mourning, which focused on British-German relations this year.

Royals in Canada

While members of the Royal Family have made numerous trips to Canada over the years, The Crown hasn't turned its dramatic attention to them yet, even though the show has featured several foreign visits.

"It's a shame," said royal historian Harris, because during Queen Elizabeth's reign, "there have been some very interesting Canadian tours."

Sure, there's been a brief glimpse of a Canadian flag at a table during a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting portrayed in The Crown.

"But we don't see Canada assuming a prominent role, whereas the series has had at least three tours of Australia," Harris said.

One episode in the current Season 4 focuses on Charles and Diana's 1983 trip Down Under. Shortly after that visit, Charles and Diana came to Canada. Had that been portrayed in The Crown, it would have backed up a developing theme, Harris said.

During the visit, Diana celebrated her 22nd birthday on Canada Day.

"There's press footage of Canadians giving Charles birthday cards to give to Diana, and a scene like that would have supported the theme of that episode of Charles feeling overshadowed by Diana," said Harris.

Edwards, the Sun photographer, was along for that trip, and has been to Canada about 15 times with members of the Royal Family.

The 1983 trip lasted 17 days and was "fantastic," he said. "It was just brilliant. I can recall it like it was yesterday. We criss-crossed the country."

During the opening of the World University Games in Edmonton on July 1, the crowd sang Happy Birthday to Diana.

"The whole crowd. It was phenomenal," said Edwards.

Harris sees potential plotting for future seasons of The Crown possibly playing into how the series has portrayed foreign visits so far.

"We see a stronger Australia focus, and it's certainly possible that the 1999 Australian referendum [on the monarchy] may come up in a subsequent season so some of this may be building towards that.

"But definitely in terms of the Commonwealth, certain nations are emphasized more than others in the series."

Royal reads

1. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

celebrated their 73rd wedding anniversary today

, and a photo was released of them reading a card from their great-grandchildren. [CBC]

2. In a rare statement, Prince William has said he

welcomes an investigation by the BBC

into circumstances around the controversial Panorama interview his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, gave to Martin Bashir in 1995. [CBC]

3. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,

did authorize a friend to talk to the authors of Finding Freedom

, a biography of her and Prince Harry that was published his summer, court papers say. [ITV]

Cheers!

I’m always happy to hear from you. Send your ideas, comments, feedback and notes to

royalfascinator@cbc.ca

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GSTQAOBC 🇨🇦🇬🇧🇦🇺🇳🇿

[moviewarfare]

A Review of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)″

I've watched this film around when it came out but decided to rewatch it again recently just because of the new Spider-Man: Miles Morales game. The premise of the movie is simply "Bitten by a radioactive spider in the subway, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales suddenly develops mysterious powers that transform him into the one and only Spider-Man. When he meets Peter Parker, he soon realizes that many others share his special, high-flying talents. Miles must now use his newfound skills to battle the evil Kingpin, a hulking madman who can open portals to other universes and pull different versions of Spider-Man into our world". I absolutely adored it when it came out but do I still feel that way after rewatching it?

Firstly, the animation style and 3D models are absolutely amazing! While I do love the Pixar style of animation, this comic book style of animation was such a breath of fresh air in the animated film department. I also appreciate a lot of the aesthetic choices such as having this shaky movement instead of fluid which further makes it feel like a comic book come to life. The action scenes are also animated really well and are an absolute blast to watch as well. Clearly, a lot of thought went into this and it clearly shows in the movie.

Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is a great main lead. He isn't perfect and is actually very flawed with them making a fair amount of what would be frustrating mistakes. However, the directors succeed in still making us root for him as we can see how much he really wants to pull through for the team. Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) is another great Spiderman in this movie who is a mentor figure for Miles. He is a person who has been doing this spiderman business for over 20 years and has a lot of problems with his Peter Parker life such as his divorce with Mary Jane. Due to this, he is quite neglectful of Miles but he goes through his own character arc that is done very well. His chemistry with Miles is one of the things that really shine in this movie. Gwen Stacy/Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld) is the third Spider character that appears in the movie and is mostly there to be the competent and supportive one in the group for Miles. The other three Spider characters Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage),  Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) and Peter Porker (John Mulaney) are also all very distinct and different in personality which is perfectly converted despite small screentime.

The cast is also phenomenal, everyone does a great job, especially Shameik Moore and Jake Johnson. There is also some other stellar casting like Brian Tyree Henry as Mile's dad, Mahershala Ali as Mile's Uncle Aaron, Chris Pine as Peter Parker of Mile's universe, Zoë Kravitz as Mary Jane, Kathryn Hahn as Doc Octopus, Liev Schreiber as Kingpin and even Oscar Issac for a mysterious role that I won't spoil. It's an all-star cast and even though some have small roles, Sony still went through with casting big known actors. They all do a great job. The excellent soundtrack further elevates this movie. Every time the Prowler is in the movie there is this horn in the soundtrack that makes him seem more threatening. Additionally, there are some pop, R&B, rap songs within the movie that all fit really well and gives more identity to the movie and characters.

The story is simple yet intriguing enough to keep the audience engaged. It introduced the complex multiverse idea but doesn't overcomplicate it to make it distracting. There are multiple villains but the director makes sure the main focus of villains is Kingpin which is a good idea as multiple focus villains will make the plot feel convoluted. There is also excellent dialogue which is thanks to Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman. The jokes all land and the serious moments are heart-warming and the banter enjoyable. It's good dialogue and none feel wasted.

If I have to give the movie a flaw then I would say it is kind of the Spiderman group dynamic. Spider-Man Noir, Peni Parker and Peter Porker don't interact much with Miles apart from being extremely harsh on him. It makes the last moments with these Spider characters not as strong. Miles also just become an extremely adept Spiderman because the plot needs him to be. It doesn't completely feel justified since it doesn't feel like he was provided with enough training to be that good. However, it doesn't break the movie and the sacrifices are understandable to keep this origin story in just under 2 hours.

Overall, Spider-Man into the Spider-verse is still one of the best-animated movies to come out in a long time. I still loved it after rewatching it. It's a fresh take on Spider-Man that we haven't seen before in a movie. If you haven't watched this movie yet then you must absolutely watch this movie. I can't wait for the sequel!

[brittle-bone-gabe]

Long Time No See

Summary: People say life flashes before your eyes before you die, of course, nobody has possession over the Soul Stone as they die besides Tony Stark. So maybe his version of what happens when you die isn’t the same as anybody else's.

Pairing: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark

Read on Ao3: Here

“And I… am Iron Man…”

After the words left Tony Stark’s mouth the only thing he could hear was the sound of his metal fingers clanking together as a sudden burst of power jolted through his body, a power that he’s never felt before. Of course, this was the first time Tony had actually felt a power that wasn’t his arc reactor or his suits, other than that he was that . A normal man in a suit of armor. Even his armor couldn’t protect him from the power of the Infinity Stones. If it weren’t for the arc reactor and the nanoparticles that lived within it then the snap wouldn’t have been possible at all, he knew this tech would’ve been good for something.

Tony tried looking around at the scene now, it appeared as though everything was moving in slow motion and he couldn’t tell if it was from the snap or his eyes were playing tricks on him, but either way he didn’t like this. All the aliens around them were quickly turning into dust, just as Thanos did to the universe only five years prior; ruining lives and families. Even though Tony’s vision was starting to blur, he could make out the outline of Thanos taking a seat on the ground, knowing what was to come next, and Tony refused to move until he saw him disappear into dust just like all the others. The Titan looked tired, letting out a sigh, knowing he was defeated and there was nothing else he could do besides look at all the dust and destruction that was brought upon him. What he had thought would bring stability to the universe was his ultimate downfall and nothing could bring him back for this. Failed. Thanos had failed. He closed his eyes as he too turned into dust, blowing off into the wind.

Finally, the monster was defeated.

Having his final moment of pride, Tony grunted as he used a wall of rubble as support, trying to catch his breath but it seemed impossible, and what air he did manage to breath in was filled with dust and certainly irritating his already failing lungs. He held his burnt and broken right arm close to his chest as he collapsed, pressing his back against the rubble, breathing slowly yet heavily. He knew this was his time. He knew he wasn’t going to make it back home. He knew that he was never going to see his daughter again, never going to see Pepper again. At what cost? To give her a better future. To give the universe a better future. Hopefully everyone could see what Tony Stark sacrificed here today and can understand that they now had the chance to turn everything around.

Tony looked up just as Rhodey landed in front of him, his mask falling back into the suit to get a better look at what was going on with his friend. Tony’s suit was burnt up, mainly on the right side that spread up to his face. He was growing more and more pale, his eyes following Rhodey but seemed as though they couldn’t actually focus on anything in particular. Seeing Rhodey made Tony think about Happy, his bodyguard for years and who was currently babysitting Morgan while he and Pepper were out to fight Thanos. He was never going to give his final in person goodbye to one of his best friends.

Rhodey knelt down in front of Tony, putting a metal hand to the side of his head to make sure he was still alive. There was something oddly comforting about the coldness of the metal, giving Tony a glimpse of hope that maybe, just maybe he would be able to pull through this, just as he did all those other times he should have died. A stupid hope, Tony had decided, tossing the thought away as if he didn’t even have it. Too much was going through his mind right now to focus on such a silly hope.

“Mr. Stark?” Tony could hear the familiar voice of Peter Parker. Hell, the kid was quiet on his feet, Tony didn’t even notice him… or maybe it was his senses that were starting to fail him. He could feel more and more of himself starting to shut down every second and it was hell. “Hey!” Peter said calmly as he knelt down in front of the man who he thought of as a mentor.

The silence coming from Tony was extremely unnerving to both Peter and Rhodey as he was never the guy to stay silent too long. Even in a room of high tension Tony had to make a joke to get the ball rolling, whether that meant the ball was everyone turning their anger at him for making a joke at a wrong time or laughing and starting to ease up. Peter had the right to be confused, Thanos was gone. Shouldn’t Tony be happy about that? Happy that everything was going to be semi normal again? Why wasn’t he saying anything? Why wasn’t he expressing it?

“Mr. Stark. Can you hear me?” Peter asked him again, putting a hand on him, trying not to let the tears fall but his sadness and panic came out through his voice that was coming out as almost a whimper. He couldn’t lose another father figure. “It’s Peter,” he pleaded, trying to get something out of Tony. “We won, Mr. Stark. We won, Mr. Stark. We won! You did it, sir, you did it.” Peter felt Rhodey put his hands on either one of his shoulders, and that’s when he couldn’t take it anymore, the tears started falling, shaking Tony slightly. “I’m sorry, Tony,” he said through his tears.

There was so much Tony wanted to say to Peter. No. There was so much he needed to say to Peter. How talented he was, how he was going to excel at life, how he was going to be a phenomenal Avenger. Unfortunately, Tony couldn’t even open his mouth to speak, no matter how much he tried to he just couldn’t. He was tired. So, so tired. He couldn’t fight anymore even though he wanted to.

Rhodey helped Peter stand up just as Pepper came into the picture, kneeling down in front of her husband, seeing him for the last time. As heartbreaking as this was for her, Pepper knew that it was time. All she wanted to do was cry and hold him, to plead with him that it wasn’t his time to go, that they had a daughter at home but… she knew.

“Hey,” she said softly, putting a hand on Tony’s shoulder to grab his attention.

“Hey, Pep,” Tony managed to say so softly that Pepper wasn’t quite sure if it was real. It took everything he had and more, but he needed to make sure she was aware that he could hear her. Tony gently placed his hand over Pepper’s, which was now over his heart.

“FRIDAY?” Pepper asked Tony’s AI.

“Life functions critical,” the woman AI voice responded.

There were tears in Tony’s eyes as he was trying to gather more energy to say something more. If there was one thing left he wished he could do was say something to everyone who fought hard here today.

Pepper gave him a sad smile, trying not to break down. “Tony,” she said calmly yet firmly, “look at me. We’re gonna be okay,” she reassured him, it was so hard to not let the tears fall now, especially with the wheezing Tony was now producing. “You can rest now.” She stroked his hair until the wheezing stopped. The arc reactor went out and eventually Tony’s hand dropped from Pepper’s.

He was gone.  

“You need to start applying yourself.”

“I don’t want to go to boarding school!” “Yeah, well, maybe it’ll teach you something.”

“Aren’t you proud of me, dad?” “Mhm, great. Go show Jarivs.”

December 16th, 1991 “I never got to say goodbye to my father.”

“Howard? Howard!”

“Did you know?” “I didn’t know it was him-” “Don’t me bullshit me, Rogers. Did you know?” “Yes.”

“What is and what will always be my greatest creation… is you.”

“If I were Iron Man, I’d have this girlfriend who knew my true identity. She’d be a wreck. She’d always be worrying I was going to die, yet proud of the man I’ve become. She’d be wildly conflicted, which would only make her more crazy about me…”

“If we can’t protect the world, you can be damn sure we’ll avenge it.”  

“You know what I think is really cool? This webbing. That tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?”

“I did.”

“I shouldn’t be alive, unless it was for a reason. I’m not crazy, Pepper. I just finally know what I have to do. And I know in my heart that it’s right.”

“You can rest now.”

“I love you 3000.”

Tony gasped as he woke up, his eyes shot opened, taking in deep breaths as if he had been holding them under water. He had died, right? He felt his own heart stop, he remembered Pepper and Peter mourning him as he was slowly slipping away. He could remember the sad look on Rhodey’s face trying not to break down in front of him. He could remember Thanos and all the other aliens turn into dust after the snap he created. Why was he here? Was he given a second chance?

He stood up, swaying slightly as he did, almost as if he had a few too many drinks the night before and was working off a hangover, complete with the headache. The world around him wasn’t covered in dust or rubble, in fact it was quite the opposite. It had a peaceful tone, the sky around him was a gentle yellow and orange blending perfectly with each other, but… nothing else was around. It was completely empty.  

“Hello?” Tony called out, looking over his shoulders and doing a full turn as if he’d find something in this great unknown. “Did I just… have too much to drink last night? What’s goin’ on?” He called out again as if someone was going to answer him.

He took a couple of steps before he stopped, suddenly hearing a calm, quiet humming from behind him. When Tony turned around he saw a man that wasn’t there before, leaning over a sink to look in the mirror that was more or less floating in the air as it wasn’t attached to anything since there was no wall to back it. Tony felt a wave of dejavu. Had he been here before? He tried to sneak a glance of the mirror to see who in the hell was shaving their face in a floating mirror in the middle of nowhere, but there was no reflection, almost as if he was a vampire. Honestly, Tony was scared to approach him, the past couple of years were a nightmare, so who knew what was going to happen next.

“Um…” Tony started, not sure exactly what to say, “Wh-” he took a step forward but was cut off by the man.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” was all the man said, which baffled Tony. As if appearing out of nowhere, Tony was now holding a car battery that was hooked up to his chest, but the battery itself felt as though it didn’t weigh a thing.

“What the hell’s going on?” Tony finally blurted out, not able to take this nonsense anymore. He hated not knowing what was going on around him, it drove him absolutely insane. “Where’s Thanos? I killed that son of a bitch, right?”

“Hmm…” the man hummed, turning on the sink, which logically shouldn’t have been possible due to the fact there was no way that plumbing could be hooked up to it. “You haven’t changed much, yet at the same time, you’ve grown,” was all the man said as he rinsed off his razor.

“Wh-” Tony was once again cut off by his own doing when the man turned around and he instantly recognized the face. The man he saw in half of his dreams since he escaped from that cave in Afghanistan. “Yinsen,” he said, feeling a strange sense of warmth and comfort in the man's presence.

“Stark,” Yinsen said with a huge smile on his face.

Still holding onto the car battery, Stark gave Yinsen a hug, a hug which the older man returned. This was a long time coming, Yinsen had been waiting for this moment to acknowledge all that Tony has done.

“My, my, Stark. You’ve turned into the man who has everything but nothing to a man who has everything.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Tony said as he pulled away from the hug.

“No? You wouldn’t?” Tony wasn’t sure what Yinsen was getting at. “You have a wonderful family, Stark. That is what I would call everything.” Tony only nodded, feeling the tears in his eyes just thinking about Pepper and Morgan, hoping that he could just see them one last time. “All the self doubt that you had was proven wrong, was it not?”

“What do you mean?” There was so much self doubt Tony felt through his life, Yinsen had to be a little more specific than that.

“After you escaped and got home safely all those years ago. You doubted that you had made the right choices in your life. You weren’t sure if you were worth me giving up my life. Well? You were proven wrong.” Tony opened his mouth to speak but Yinsen continued. “You saved the universe, Stark,” he said with a huge smile, putting both hands on Tony’s shoulders, “if you didn’t escape that day then… well, who would’ve saved them?”

Tony shrugged, looking away. “Well… I mean, maybe if I didn’t escape then none of this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Ah, ah. Don’t think that way,” Yinsen said, holding up a finger to him, “that is all in the past. What’s done is done, you proved that you are more than just a… man in a metal suit. You’re a hero. To the world, and most certainly your daughter. They will grieve, many people will grieve, but that just shows the impact you had on the world.”

“I did some stupid things…”

“Stupid, sure, but your heart was in the right place. Tony Stark, I am proud of you.”

Tony blinked, his eyes were burning again as he could feel the tears starting to trinkle. That may have been the first time anyone has ever actually said that they were proud of him. For years Tony thought that his father wasn’t proud of him, but all he really wanted was to hear him say it.

Moving forward, Tony unexpectedly hugged Yinsen again, the tears silently rolling down his cheek as he did so.

“Everything’s going to be okay, Stark. We can rest now.”

[momentofmemory]

fictober - day twenty-seven

Prompt #27: “Can you wait for me?”

Fandom: Marvel’s Spider-Man (Insomniac Games/PlayStation 4)

Warning: Canon Major Character Death

Characters: May Parker & Peter Parker

Words: 1024

Author’s Note: there’s not a version of may parker & peter parker i don’t love, and the ps4 game is just phenomenal. this was supposed to be about twice as long, but uh. I got tired. 😬mega spoilers for the end of the game btw, so probs don’t read if you want to play/watch at any point.

>>Waiting on Forever

Aunt May will never be a fool, and Peter, Lord bless him, will never be a good liar.

Realizing her nephew is Spider-Man is not something that happens overnight. It doesn’t come to her in a flash of inspiration, or from unearthing a piece of evidence he’s mislaid (though he is certainly not as careful as he should be). Instead, the truth of his identity is something that rises steadily in her awareness, over the course of so many strange coincidences and half-baked excuses, and it’s so gradual that when she looks back on it, even she isn’t sure when she made the jump from Peter is Peter to Peter is Spider-Man.

In some ways, it doesn’t matter. Everything Spider-Man does is as Peter as it can be.

“I have to go,” he says, during a surprise party for her of all things, and disappears with no further explanation.

It’s a phrase that falls from his lips more times than Aunt May cares to count. She doesn’t call him out on it, namely because every time he says it, she sees the undercurrent of can you wait for me in his eyes. Can you wait for me to tell the truth, can you wait for me because I promise I’ll come back, can you wait for me in case it isn’t safe, and above all, can you wait for me until I trust the world to not take you, too.

So that’s what May does, because if honoring a lie is the best way to protect Peter from his own demons, then she can’t imagine doing anything else.

He shows up on cable tv every so often, and she hears reports of rescued cats and captured super villains and bloody handprints. It fills her with both pride and regret that he’s taken Ben’s words about responsibility so seriously—she just wishes the great power part hadn’t been so literal.

They’re both stubborn, so May never confronts him; not even when his secret results in more down-to-earth problems, like Peter forgetting to pay his rent because he’s too busy paying the price for everything else.

It’s that Parker Stubbornness that eventually leads to him falling asleep on a brown IKEA couch in a homeless shelter she runs herself, but she makes sure that when he wakes up, it’s to an envelope of money and a knowing look from her.

“Just ask for help next time,” she says. And then, because she can: “You’re human, just like the rest of us.”

Sometimes it amuses her that Peter thinks she doesn’t know, but other times he looks at her with such raw honesty she wonders if they’re not both aware the other is lying, and they’re just waiting to see which one will break first.

Still, as much as she’s willing to lie for Peter, she knows it’s no basis for a relationship. Perhaps that’s why she brings MJ up whenever she gets the chance.

She doesn’t know what happened between the two lovers—Peter won’t tell her, which means it almost certainly has to do with his other life—but she knows they were good for each other, and she’s not getting any younger herself. He’s going to need someone else in his life, when the time comes.

It gives her the courage to look him in the eye one day and ask:

“Does she know the real you?”

Something flickers across his face at her question, and Aunt May wonders if this is it. But just as quickly, the news on the TV announces a city-wide disaster. The moment is gone, and so is Peter.

Aunt May sighs, and even though he hadn’t spoken, Wait for me lingers in the air.

And she will—but wait has never been a passive verb in her dictionary. She lets Peter go out into the city and fight super villains and evil schemes and mass toxins, and she stays in the shelter and does everything she can to help the people caught up in the aftershocks: his stubbornness is not merely hereditary, after all.

When she collapses in a coughing fit, she realizes the Parker Luck isn’t, either.

She can feel her body failing her when Spider-Man finally comes, ages later, a teal bottle clenched tightly in one fist.

“You’re gonna be okay, ma’am,” he says, kneeling in front of her and throat tight with unshed tears. “I’ve got the cure right here.”

(Aunt May can’t see his eyes, but she knows they’re saying Wait for me, wait for me, wait for me.)

She shakes her head as much as her tired body will allow, because she heard the doctor’s words just as clearly as he did.

If we use it to cure someone now, there won’t be enough to cure the others.

She could tell him she knows what he has to do, but she only has so much time left, and she wants to use it well.

“Take off your mask,” she says, years of waiting condensed into her last breaths. “I want to see my nephew.”

He’s surprised; more surprised than she thought he’d be, but when she finally sees his beautiful brown eyes peeking out from that ridiculous red spandex, she can’t bring herself to care.

“You knew?”

(I’m sorry I made you wait.)

“I’ve known for a while.”

(I’d do it again if you needed me to.)

She tells him she knows how hard he works; she knows how many people he’s saved. That she’s proud of him, and that Ben would be, too. She’s always known she’d wait until the end of forever for him—if the end has to come sooner than she expected, so be it.

Tear tracks and blood stains run across her boy’s face, and for just this once, he’s the one waiting for her; needing her permission for what’s about to happen. She smiles, holding his gaze as long as she can and pouring every ounce of energy she has left into it.

He sobs. “I don’t know what to do.”

Aunt May will never be a fool, and Peter, Lord bless him, will never be a good liar.

“Yes, you do.”

[jasonadofinamcs-blog]

Anyone Can Wear the Mask

On December 14, 2018, the animated superhero film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was released in theatres. Since its release date, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has grown to be one of the most enjoyed and incredibly fascinating superhero movies in such a short time. From beautiful animation styles to breathtaking scenes and interactions, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was positively received and greatly enjoyed by audiences that consist of comic book fans, non-comic book fans, adults, children, and even celebrities. Through its charming, heartwarming story and characters and its fascinating animation and production process, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is an incredibly unique film that creates its one version of the “hero myth” archetype and is a prime example of the “active audience” notion.

Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse revolves around the development and upbringing of teenager Miles Morales. Like nearly every cinematic film, the story follows the same archetypes stated by Carl Yung. Arthur Asa Berger defines archetypes as “a universal theme found, according to [Carl] Jung, in dreams, myths, religions, and works of art” (91). If not all, most stories carry archetypes that help to create a story and develop its characters and setting. According to Berger, Carl Jung, one of the most significant psychoanalytic theorist other than Sigmund Freud, established various forms of concepts that work to properly analyze various forms of media such as texts. One of these concepts is the myth of the hero. The concept of Jungian Psychoanalysis states the archetype “heroes” is the most common and best-known concept worldwide. The hero archetype can be dated back to various forms of classical stories and legends such as Homer’s Odyssey and other mythological stories.

Miles is the hero of the story and the entire premise of the film revolves around his growth as a person and a hero. Throughout the film, the audience experience Miles’ growth development as he assumes the role as the new Spider-Man after he witnessed the death of the original Spider-Man, Peter Parker. Miles’ story follows the same pattern as the myth of the hero archetype. Jungian Joseph L. Henderson explains the general direction that hero myths take. In the beginning, is known as the hero’s “humble birth”. The hero then displays superhuman strength or abilities that may have been acquired, or simply “awakened” through a certain series of events. The hero then begins their journey as they face various trials and struggles against evil villains. The climax, the highest and more eventful part of the entire story occurs, which then leads to the ending conclusion. Either a happy ending or a bad ending (93). Miles is introduced as a character, then he acquires his newfound spider abilities, learns valuable lessons and grows confidence as various events occur, and the film ends with Miles triumphant as he takes up the mantle of Spider-Man. Miles undergoes this exact same process of the myth of the hero archetype, which would make it seem like the film is the exact same as every other film that follows this archetype such as Star Wars or the Harry Potter series.

What makes Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse unique from this stereotype is that the entire story is based around inter-connected alternate dimensions. Miles is not the only hero of this story. He is joined by characters Peter B. Parker, Gwen Stacy, another Peter Parker from a darker, grittier universe, Peni Parker from a futuristic dimension, and a pig version of Peter Parker otherwise known as Spider-Ham. The film allows the audience to experience the development of all of these characters. Through comedic interactions and heartfelt conversations, we, as the audience, are able to see how each of these diverse characters develop as individuals and as a team.

As the film goes on, we can see how diverse these characters are and how they are able to express their individuality. Berger states, “Heroic figures help young people with problems of separation and individualization from their parents and other tutelary figures…(93). A reoccurring theme of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is that “anyone can wear the mask.” In other words, anyone can express who there truly own and express their individual personalities while embracing the characteristics that make them who they are. The film has been more influential in ways that some may not expect. The words “Anyone can wear the mask.” has touched the hearts of various fans. This makes the film a form of mass communication as it carries a message to the audience. Stan Baran defines mass communication as “the process of creating shared meaning between mass media and their audiences” (Baran 6). These fans then proceeded to create their own version of Spider-Man where they would draw art of themselves or an original character in original Spider-Man suits of their own design. This trend became extremely popular and these creations have taken the name as “Spidersonas”. Below are some of the Spidersona artwork done by Jacob Miller (@JacobGrimoire) which displays their own creative characters with their very own original suits.

The way fans come together to form their own creations and express themselves through their own version of being Spider-Man is extremely heartwarming. This can be considered as an example of an active audience. According to David Crouteau and William Hoynes, the term “active audience” can be considered as “ a critique of cynicism about the power of media and an expression of faith in the power of people (to actively interpret, construct meaning, etc)” (262). The audience was able to actively interpret the words and themes the film was trying to display. The audience engages with media in various ways such as going out to see the movie more than once or creating their own Spidersonas. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has caused a great wave of media consumption as its popularity rose to new heights. From this form of media, people were able to go from media consumers to media producers as they create art, songs, or even real-life costumes. The film has created a great wave of new media as it allows the audience to truly have a fun time in or out of the theatre.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a phenomenal film that has touched the hearts of many people worldwide. It has allowed its audience to embrace and express their own personalities and “wear the mask.” As of right now, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has won many awards and has even won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse continues to inspire its audience and make them feel as if they can also wear the mask and be Spider-Man.

Works Cited

Berger, Arthur, and Carl Jung. Psychoanalytic Criticism. ilearn.ucr.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-3461182-dt-content-rid-30091666_1/courses/MCS_005_001_19W/Berger%20-%20Psychoanalytic%20Criticism.pdf.

Croteau, David, and William Hoynes. “Croteau and Hoynes -- Active Audiences (Ch 8 Pp. 255-271).Pdf - CHAPTER 8 Active Audiences and the Construction of Meaning With the Emergence of The.” Croteau and Hoynes -- Active Audiences (Ch 8 Pp. 255-271).Pdf - CHAPTER 8 Active Audiences and the Construction of Meaning

“Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture / Stanley Baran.”

Introduction to Mass Communication: Media Literacy and Culture / Stanley Baran, by Stanley J. Baran, McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2010, pp. 3–27.

Solomon, Charles. “How the 'Spider-Verse' Animators Created That Trippy Look.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/12/25/movies/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-animation.html.

[breadknight-likes-things]

Spider-Man Is, Well, Amazing: Review

Spider-Man for PS4 is the third time in my life I’ve played a Spider-Man video game and thought it would never be improved upon, but this time I imagine from here on out I’m going to be proven wrong on that with even more regularity.  Even more so than Neversofts Spider-Man on PS1, or Treyarchs Spider-Man 2 on PS2, Insomniacs Spider-Man on PS4 serves as one long and thorough love letter to the character, world, supporting cast and even rogues gallery.  What came out of this production is a labor of clear love and one of the best action games in years, and what I feel is the greatest super hero game ever made.

Spider-Man’s story starts well into Peter Parker's career patrolling his friendly neighborhood, there’s no introductions to characters shoved into the plot here(save one, but given that he’s such a recent character I feel enough people would be unfamiliar with him that an intro was a good idea) we don’t have to watch Uncle Ben get shot from the thousandth time and Spider-Mans roster of villains is full up before the game even begins.  Classics like Scorpion, Rhino and Electro are already established as characters Spider-Man has fought with multiple times before, and somehow you the player share that familiarity with Spider-Man himself, whether you know these characters or not.  What follows is a twisting tale featuring a staggering amount of great characters and plot beats and tons of thrilling moments that’ll be talked about for years to come.  “Be Greater” is printed on the back of the game box and serves as thematic driving force for the story, with numerous characters all attempting to suss out what that simple phrase means for them personally and forking off in positive and negative(heh) directions in their pursuit of simply being what they perceive to be the better versions of themselves.

The answer to the best version of myself is also answered in the game, as one level takes place on Halloween, which is when I’m a sociable and good person.

The actual gameplay in Spider-Man is almost unbelievable in how good it feels to simply play this game for ten to fifteen minutes.  Web swinging, which used to be ruled by Spider-Man 2′s system but has now been handily trounced, is so fun just to do on it’s own that you’ll find yourself collecting all there is to collect and doing any side content you run across simply for the excuse to continue moving about the city via traversal system implemented into this game.  Combat is fast and fluid, taking liberal influence from the Batman Arkham games but making heavy changes to fit Spider-Mans more acrobatic move set and, my personal favorite part of the combat, web based gadgets.  You’ll be bouncing off walls, back-flipping over enemies heads to hit their exposed back and webbing bad guys to walls for supremely satisfying takedowns left and right.  All with ease and never once feeling like you’re controlling anyone other than the iconic webslinger himself with all his unique combat advantages and moves.

Ironically, as I say that last thing, I move into what most people seem to consider the worst part of the game, but I loved:  The non Spider-Man stealth sections.  Over the course of the game you’ll occasionally play as two other characters I won’t spoil here, in gameplay sections based around stealth and avoidance of enemies, given that they lack any sort of super powers.  I saw a lot of people bemoan these sections for taking you away from Spider-Man for too long but if you ask me they’re brief, fun and provide a good variety to match with the super heroics that take up the other 90% of the gameplay.  They both even effectively re-frame the environments they take place in, you can really breathe in the detail of Insomniacs version of New York when you’re not constantly soaring over it, and indoor environments that may be small and cramped for Spider-Man somehow feel huge and expansive for characters that don’t share his zippy speed or fluid move set.  They all give you a finer appreciation of the environment teams work and I feel should be heavily praised for what they achieved.

Along with the movements tech teams achievements in somehow making catching friggen pigeons a super fun side activity.

All in all Spider-Man is one of the finest games of the year, and one of the best action games to come along since....well since God of War back in April.  I feel it’s most accurate representation of a comic book hero through everything from gameplay to story and everything in-between that we’ve ever seen in the medium, even in comparison to the phenomenal Batman Arkahm games.  It’s since come out that Spider-Man is the fastest selling PS4 exclusive of all time, and if you ask me, it deserves that glory more than any other game to ever hit the console in it’s five year on the market, and who knows, maybe another hit will come along like it, maybe it won’t, but Spider-Man is going to go down in history in a big way for video games, and you all owe it to yourself to experience it.

Final Score: 10/10

[mellamojoey]

Favorite Movies of 2017

John Wick 2:

While never seeing the first, I walked into John Wick expecting it to be what I saw in the trailers and it exceeded my expectations. Not only is it a great story but it is amazingly shot with great set pieces. The scene with all the mirrors towards the end. Oh Damn. One of the best sequences I’ve seen in a film this entire year.

Logan:

X-Men movies recently haven’t been that great in my opinion. Days of Future Past I enjoyed a lot, didn’t see Apocalypse but heard it wasn’t that great. Logan brings us something we don’t see in comic book films, a death. Logan is the perfect ending to one of the best comic book hero portrayals we will ever see. The dark, gritty Wolverine which is Old Man Logan was a great story to end the Hugh Jackman era of Wolverine. 

Wonder Woman:

Origin films are never great. After being introduced to Wonder Woman in Batman V Superman, I was intrigued to see how she will do in her own film. She delivered. While being one of the best comic book movies of the year, it was one of the best films of the year. Gal Gadot is great as Wonder Woman and knowing more about the character, that made BVS somewhat watchable, is always a good thing. She was my favorite part of Justice League and I’m excited to see the future of Wonder Woman in the unknown future of the DCEU.

Big Sick:

The Big Sick is my movie of the year. After being a fan of Kumail from Silicon Valley, I was very excited to see this film that he and his wife wrote about how they met. In a movie that I expected to be a comedy based on the actor's cast, I cried a lot. Such a beautiful story and the ending will have you leaving the theatre happy crying which only happens to me after Disney movies. 

Baby Driver:

When you talk about the use of music in film, Baby Driver has to be in that conversation. The use of the soundtrack being the base of the film is phenomenal. The scene where they list the stars of the movie, the music is synced up with environmental pieces and that blew me away. The car chase, in the beginning, was well put together and the character Baby had a great backstory and a great conclusion. 

Spider-Man:

When you think of a franchise that really needed to get their reboot to work, Spider-Man is top of the list. After seeing 2 rebooted versions of Spider-Man in the past decade, I’m excited about Tom Holland. He looks like a high schooler, he has the charm that Peter Parker has and is just a phenomenal Spider-Man. His inclusion in Civil War was well put together and Homecoming gave us the inside look of what Peter Parker does while waiting for his next mission that DOESN’T include Uncle Ben. 

Thor: 

If you ask many Marvel fans what the worst franchise is, a good amount of them would say Thor. The first Thor, followed by Thor: The Dark World, were ok films. They aren’t must-see movies for people to understand the Avengers. Thor Ragnorak took the boring Thor franchise and poured some of the Guardians mojo inside it and it worked. People might say that it was almost too funny but when did that become a bad thing? It was a great movie with a good moving plot not only for Thor but also for Loki (who is always a fan favorite.) This is a must-see movie for your friend that wants to catch up before Infinity War arrives in May. (Holy crap that’s soon)

CoCo:

I have this thing when I don’t see much press for Disney movies, I assume they won’t do great and it won’t be good. I felt that with Frozen, I was proven wrong. Not only by the box office numbers and the widespread of it in Disney parks, but as a Cast Member at the Disney Store where we would get an Else ornament in stock, get a call from a guest about it, and have that guest be in front of me 15 minutes later purchasing said ornament. 

Coco followed this by not having much press before it released. I finally got around to seeing it and it was amazing. The animation style gets better and better each time Disney and Pixar release a film. The story was fantastic of the young boy going against his families warnings and pursuing music. Him finding out that his idol wasn’t the person he thought it was, is something we often in Disney films but this time it was unexpected. The music is amazing as well. Coco is near the top of my list of animated Disney films. 

Honorable Mention: 

Beauty and the Beast:

I enjoyed the film. It wasn’t amazing. The opening scene was a little odd to me, I prefer the stained glass or the storybook approach. The Be Our Guest sequence was the best part of the film. The choreography and the CGI made it a spectacle that I would expect from the song. I still prefer the animated version.

Guardians 2:

Carrying on from what was the biggest surprise which was Guardians 1, the sequel picks right up with the humor that we love. The mystery of Quill’s father was finally revealed and Ego was a great character with a good story arch. Having Quill possibly go be bad with Ego was interesting and I wish that it lasted longer but it was bound to end with Ego being a one-off villain. The introduction of Mantis was fantastic. I love that character and I’m excited to see how she effects the Guardians and other heroes in Infinity War. 

Kingsman 2:

More of the same. I always love the gadgets they show off. I liked the idea of having Kingsman type groups around the country and having them interact was great. The fight scenes were well choreographed and put together. Didn’t throw any curveballs at me or surprise me in any way which was kind of disappointing. 

Last Jedi:

I enjoyed the movie. It wasn’t the spectacle that was The Force Awakens and it didn’t have to be. This film ended a lot of things that I didn’t want to be ended. Luke Skywalker dying at the end was ok. I thought he would be more of the Yoda in the Rey/Luke friendship but having Yoda pop up saying that Rey is ready to go and has always been was underwhelming. Rose was an ok character. Finn was underused. Poe I enjoyed, I liked seeing him go against the purple-haired lady. I really think they should’ve killed off Leia in that floating scene because that scene was just unneeded. I would’ve liked to see a Snoke backstory. He was basically a Marvel villain. That Kylo Ren/ Rey fighting scene was FUCKING INSANE. The best part of the movie. The movie had a lot of low moments, I would say the first hour probably. But when the movie had high moments, they were really great. I am really interested to see how they finish off this trilogy because, besides a big Kylo / Rey faceoff, I don’t know what else they could do. Maybe the Knights of Ren?

Lego Batman:

Great humor that I expected but it just seemed extra funny because it was Batman. Will Arnett is great as Batman (never thought I’d say that.) The opening scene where they list all the explosives on the plane and end it by saying Two Best Friends, has me dying each time I watch it. 

Still Have To See: 

Blade Runner:

I’m really into Sci-Fi movies and this looked really interesting to me. But after not watching the first Blade Runner, I felt I wasn’t ready to see 2049. When it comes out on Blu-Ray I will definitely pick it up and watch both movies.

Get Out:

All I heard was great things about this movie. Never got around to watching it. I have purchased it so I’m just waiting for a lazy day where I can catch up on the movies I didn’t see. 

Disaster Artist:

Always a fan of Seth Rogen and James Franco. This movie looks fantastic. I haven’t seen The Room (which this is based on) but I have a good idea of what made the movie so infamous. I will probably be seeing this soon.

Greatest Showman:

I will be seeing this in theatres soon. I am a huge fan of musicals. Hugh Jackman is a great actor and seeing Zac Efron return to musicals is great

[researching01]

24 Marvel And DC Fan Castings Better Than What We Got

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24 Marvel And DC Fan Castings Better Than What We Got

Fans have been putting together their dreaming casts for Comic Book movies for years now. Even before the internet, in the old Wizard magazine was a monthly column devoted to fan castings. Years subsequently, thanks to Photoshop, good artwork, and some wild imaginations, fans have been putting together their ideal casts for all kinds of superhero movies. If you’re savvy and imaginative enough, you can take your favorite actors and put them as your favorite superheroes. Every very often, the rest of the internet takes notice and follows suit, posting and reposting a fan’s casting creation and creating some of their own.

Unfortunately, Hollywood does tend to cast their own movies. Even though the fans might want some star, or another play a given role, Marvel and DC go with their own choices. Seldom have they been one and the same, although Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is pitch-perfect, there wasn’t a lot of fan clamoring to watch RDJ in the role. As the MCU is closing out its Infinity Saga and now has Fantastic Four and X-Men back in the fold; they might need to cast and recast some classic characters. As for the DCEU, it is unfortunately in shambles, thanks to shoddy storytelling ideas, so they might need to recast some parts as well.

Maybe fans will get to see dream casts realized- here are 25 Marvel And DC Fans Casting Better Than What We Got.

24 Emma Stone As Poison Ivy

It’s been over 20 years since the comically bad Batman And Robin debuted in the theaters. The movie was so terrible that it succeeded in attaining the vivacious actress Uma Thurman completely ridiculous as Pamela Isley, aka the vivacious eco-criminal Poison Ivy.

Perhaps it’s time to try again with Ivy. Emma Stone is currently one of the young vibrant Hollywood starlets and DC is scrambling to recapture the magic of Christopher Nolan’s Batman cinemas. Maybe having Stone deliver a real-life take on what an eco-criminal looks like would be a good jumping start to the DCEU!

2 3 Donald Glover As Spider-Man

Nearly 20 years ago now, Marvel launched its Ultimate imprint. The brand was designed to tell some of the same old tired Marvel origin narratives in new and updates for the biggest characters. When Brian Bendis was done telling Peter Parker’s story, he generated a new Spider-Man, Miles Morales, in 2011. The character has garnered plenty of acclaim and fans have clamored for Donald Glover to play the kid since the beginning.

Maybe in a future MCU movie, we might ensure Miles come to the forefront, but seeing as how Glover is a little older now; and we’ve already seen him in Homecoming as Miles’ uncle, fan artwork are to be able to the only place to assure Glover as Spider-Man.

2 2 Jeffrey Dean Morgan As Batman

When Batman Vs. Superman: Sunrise Of Justice premiered, fans got a sneak peek at Thomas Wayne. Like all Bat-flicks do, fans need to be reminded of how and why Bruce becomes Batman. It might have seemed like a strange bit part for Jeffrey Dean Morgan to play, but there was supposedly more to the story.

Morgan was eventually going to play the Thomas Wayne version of Batman in the Flashpoint movie. Fans had already started dreaming up what Morgan might look like as the Batman. With Zack Snyder’s vision of the DCEU in limbo, these pics are all we’re going to get to the character.

2 1 Rosario Dawson As She-Hulk

Rosario Dawson has been a very popular actress since debuting in Kids in 1995. While she’s dabbled in a few comic book movies before and has been the connective tissue in the Marvel Netflix Universe, it’s about day she makes her own mark in MCU.

If the next Phase in the Marvel movies is all about the ladies, you have to include Jennifer Walters, the MCU’s answer to Wonder Woman- She Hulk! With Dawson playing Walters, you have an actress who could pull off both Walters sarcasm and posture as well as her compassion.

2 0 Willem Dafoe As The Joker

As the Green Goblin, Willem Dafoe more or less played a maniacal, cackling version of Norman Osborn. Osborn was supposed to be a cold and calculating tycoon. Dafoe built him sort of a lite version of DC’s Clown Prince Of Crime.

Dafoe as the Joker would make a lot of DC fans very happy. The performer was actually one of the several on a short list to play the Joker in Tim Burton’s bat-flick. Even when he’s trying to play a compassionate human, he always seems right on the edge. That kind of intensity would be tailor-made for the Joker.

1 9 Neil Patrick Harris As The Riddler

Christopher Nolan loves mind-bending films that, by the end of them, stimulate you question everything you’ve ever known about the previous two hours you just watched. For example, why does everyone think Dom’s totem is a top in Inception. Watch it again, it’s his wedding ring. The top was his wife’s.

But that love of messing with our minds actually could have extended to his phenomenal Dark Knight Trilogy had he cast Neil Patrick Harris and brought the Riddler into this series of cinemas. NPH could have not only erased the bad savor of Jim Carrey’s version but possibly created a menacing version of the character not ensure since The Animated Series.

1 8 Joseph Gordon-Levitt As Ant-Man

While Joseph Gordon-Levitt did say that Marvel eyeing him for the role of Scott Lang in Ant-Man as “nothing but lies, ” the casting rumor did create a slight fervor amongst fans of Levitt, who at that time had come off the heels of The Dark Knight Rises and Sin City: A Dame To[ End] For.

While Paul Rudd is charming and funny in everything that he does, his version of Scott Lang absence a little bit of gravitas that is needed for the occasional dramatic scenes in both Ant-Man and Ant-Man And The Wasp that Levitt would be able to crush.

1 7 Christina Ricci As Harley Quinn

Lindsay Graham and Mary Vernieu, the casting directors of Suicide Squad are clearly blind as bats. Sure, Margot Robbie was decent as Harley Quinn, but Christina Ricci would have been able to take the iconic role to the iconic heights that it deserved.

The woman IS Harley! She’s usually depicted as a goth girl or a gremlin, she generally plays crazy and/ or deranged characters, she’s five-foot-nothing and can still intimidate most people she comes into contact with. DC and Warner Brother, can we make this happen?

1 6 Vin Diesel As Black Bolt

Throughout the ten years of Marvel movies that we have gotten, there have been very rare misses. But a complete and total black mark on the entire MCU would be the decision to even attempt to bringing The Inhumans was clearly a mistake. The feature film never got off the ground, so ABC had it as a mini-series that looked like a lot of people in cosplay.

Even the original guy who Marvel was supposedly trying to casting as Black Bolt knew that it wasn’t running work. Vin Diesel might play meathead Dom, but he’s no buffoon in real life. While he did teasing that he’d be playing the enigmatic ruler of the Inhumans, he backed out before any career injury could be done.

1 5 Idris Elba As Green Lantern

Ryan Reynolds is astounding as Deadpool, the role he was born to play. But before he could play the Merc’ With A Mouth, he tried his hand at playing the Green Lantern in the 2011 movie. This movie, directed by Bond veteran, Martin Campbell, was supposed to be the launch of the DCEU. But thanks to a whole heap of behind the scenes headaches and sub-par performances and impacts, there is virtually no love for Green Lantern.

Which is why Green Lantern fans ought to have jonesing for their fix ever since. Idris Elba as the stoic John Stewart would be the right move to make as far as casting is concerned to erase the bad

memories that Reynolds himself tried to eliminate at the end of Deadpool 2.

1 4 John Krasinski As Mr. Fantastic

With a less-than-fantastic four cinemas in the franchise, fans have long-suffered without an engaging movie featuring Marvel’s first household. Now that Disney has bought 21 st Century Fox and the rights have reverted to Disney, we’re all hoping that The Fantastic Four can be made correctly.

Maybe they let John Krasinski do what he did for A Quiet Place, which was a pretty big hit in 2018. He wrote, directed, and starred in the horror thriller, and all three of those credits, plus the cinema, were well received.

1 3 Emily Blunt As Invisible Woman

Thanks to her responsibilities filing for Gulliver’s Travels, Emily Blunt has to pass on playing Natasha Romanov in Iron Man 2, the characters’ first MCU appearance. Since then, the actress has built up an impressive resume, including the action movie, Edge Of Tomorrow.

If her hubby John Krasinski is going to be tapped to play Reed Richards, then let’s cast Blunt as Sue. They already played a husband and wife trying to survive in A Quiet Place. They can easily pull off scientists who wound up with superpowers.

1 2 Natalia Dyer As Rogue

It’s the fancasting that plenty of fans didn’t know they wanted! But digital artist BossLogic put together some pretty cool renditions of Stranger Things performers as members of the X-Men. Sadie Sink as Emma Frost and Winona Ryder as Mystique to name a few.

But his version of Natalia Dyer as Rogue takes the cake and makes a sense of nostalgia for the character that near-fatally absorbed Captain Marvel and less for the Anna Paquin version that was more Jubilee and less Southern Belle powerhouse.

1 1 Tom Hardy As Wolverine

The brash character actor is playing Venom, it’s hour we get over the notion that Tom Hardy will one day take over for Hugh Jackman as the raging Canucklehead, Wolverine. But there was a day where we could all dreaming, right?

Who cares if he played Bane and was tapped to be part of Suicide Squad. There are several artist supplies online of Hardy not just as Wolverine, but as Logan in full comic book costume. Since he’s Venom now, it will be a longshot when it is necessary to recasting the role, but if anyone could pull off both, it’s Hardy.

1 0 Oprah Winfrey As Amanda Waller

If you’re not familiar with Amanda Waller, or the Wall as she’s sometimes referred to- she’s basically the Nick Fury of the DCU. She’s actually way more of a horrible, secret carrying government agent. She started Task force X( aka Suicide Squad ). She also had no issues basically doing whatever she needed to do and if she had to call upon someone like Batman to clean up her messes, she would.

There aren’t much more powerful political people in Hollywood than Oprah Winfrey herself. The casting of Winfrey as Waller is route more inspired than Viola Davis( Suicide Squad ), Cynthia Addai-Robinson( Arrowverse ), and Angela Bassett( Green Lantern ).

9 David Hasselhoff As Nick Fury

What if, just what if( like the name of the old Marvel series ), we were living in a world where the original Nick Fury, who debuted years before anyone knew who David Hasselhoff was but appears eerily similar to the actor, stimulated his MCU debut and no one caught it ?!

Besides starring in a Nick Fury Fox TV Movie in the 1990 s, Hasselhoff had a silly cameo in Guardians Vol. 2. Maybe we’ll find out that once the Avengers undo the snap that Hasselhoff will be playing the new/ old Nick Fury.

8 Matt Bomer As Superman

To cast Superman is rough. You have find a dark-haired, square-jawed, built like a brick, undeniably attractive “all that is man’s man.” At the same period, a total Boy scout that everyone should aspire to be. THAT was Christopher Reeve. No disrespect to Henry Cavill and Brandon Routh, as good as the issue is, they’re simply not.

Perhaps Matt Bomer is. For some reason, he has been the internet’s choice Man Of Steel for years now. He’s voiced Clark in several DC animated movies. It’s time to give him a chance in the suit for real.

7 Finn Wolfhard As Billy Batson

By the time you’re reading this, Shazam will be in theaters. The unique take over the hero has already garnered positive reviews for its starring, Zachary Levi. The kid who turns into Shazam, Billy Batson is being played by relative unknown, Asher Angel.

The young chap of the moment though is Finn Wolfhard Of Stranger Things fame. He’s been a part of It and the new Carmen Sandiego show. He might have a lot on his plate being one of the stars of the hottest Netflix show. But casting him in any movie could add to the overall box office receipts.

6 Jon Hamm As Batman

Unless he’s choosing not to be a bigger starring, it’s a travesty that Hollywood hasn’t yet made a route bigger starring out of Jon Hamm than he already is. The versatile performer expended seven years wowing fans with a charismatic portrayal of the Don Draper on the hitting present, Mad Men.

The steely-eyed demeanor that Hamm exhibited, while occasionally letting loose and having fun all the while wearing a dapper suit. That behavior simulateds Bruce Wayne’s pretty much to the letter. Hamm’s got the appear and the act down, it’s time to see how he’d look in another suit.

5 Keanu Reeves As Wolverine

There is no denying that Hugh Jackman has been a fantastic face of the X-Men franchise, bringing Logan to life. Thanks to him, the world’s most popular mutant is thoroughly entrenched in pop culture. It will be a chore to bring him into the MCU.

Unless your name is Keanu Reeves. Some detractors will always be wary of devoting this guy his just due( thank you Bill And Ted ). But he’s been a top action starring for 25 years now and even at over 50 years old still looks in his mid-thirties. Logan is good claws if the Keanu were to be tapped for the role.

4 Mark Hamill As The Joker

The man has been widely accepted by fans as the quintessential Joker for years. Not Romero or Nicholson, and Ledger comes in a very close second. Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill has been voicing the Joker since the early nineties.

Give the guy a costume and set him on camera! No matter the medium or the rating, he’s crushed it as the Joker. It’s about time to put the monarch of the Clown Prince Of Crime on his throne.

3 Kristen Bell As Harley Quinn

Christina Ricci might seem perfect to play Harley Quinn, but there is also a slew of fan pics of Kristen Bell as the same insane lady. But what if there were two Harleys? In Batman: White Knight, that’s exactly the instance. One Harley that wanted to reform the Joker, but when the Joker tossed her aside, Marian Drews became his new Harley.

The story is totally bananas( as most Joker narratives are ), but the thought of two Harley Quinns, one completely crazy but innocent and one that is completely crazy and wants the Joker to be just as twisted “wouldve been” pretty cool to see both Ricci and Bell duke it out on screen.

2 Patrick Stewart As Mr. Freeze

The Wizard Casting Call for X-Men got it right when they cast Patrick Stewart as Professor X. There was actually no other choice. The guy would have been able to pull off a menacing Mr. Freeze as well, and one that might have saved the proceedings of Batman And Robin.

There is no way he would’ve been worse than the ultra-quippy, ultra-hammy “Ahhnaald.” He was actually initially considered, but Joel Schumacher decided that Victor Fries must be chiseled out of a glacier.

1 Ronda Rousey As Captain Marvel

Ronda Rousey has been one of the pillars of the Women’s Revolution that has taken place in athletics. Her stint in UFC will be heralded and unmatched for years. Now, as the WWE Raw Women’s Champion, she is gearing up to be part of the first ever women’s main event at WrestleMania.

If she had her style, she might also be revolutionizing the MCU as Captain Marvel. She looks the part and already knew how to fight. She might have saved Kevin Feige a couple of bucks having to train Brie Larsen.

Read more: screenrant.com

[chekovs-phaser]

I wrote something!

My first ficlet, one-shot, fanfiction, something... despite the phenomenal amount of other writings I’ve read on Tumblr, I’m still learning the differences, the categories, and all the tags and bits that go with a fic.

So for now I’ll just post my work and if anybody wants to make suggestions or clue me in on the standard way to introduce stuff (warnings, categories, tags, etc.), that would be amazing.

This, my new favourite headcanon, popped into my head a few days back and I just had to write it down. I started writing this version, a Peter x Reader fic, but then I decided it would be great if it were an Avengers situation. So I wrote both.

Here’s the first version.

(Untitled) Pairing: Peter Parker x reader Description: Peter comes back from patrol, to (reader), his classmate/girlfriend, who is waiting in his room. Peter accidentally reveals an unexpected fear. Warnings: None needed, I presume. There’s kissing, nothing else happens. If you share the same fear of creepy crawlies as Peter and I, maybe you should be warned now that there’s one lurking here. Author’s note: I haven’t written a lot before, and never made it public. I would love feedback, positive or constructive criticism. This fic became a little longer and drawn out than it probably could have been, and I’m aware that I write too much detail and get carried away, but hey, I like writing the little details. I would just love to know what people think of my writing style, if it’s boring or if there’s something there to work on. Thanks!

P.S. I hope I got the whole use of reader/[Y/N] right. I’ve read a bunch of them before and I hope I’ve picked it up. Also, if this headcanon is about somewhere else, on Tumblr, I haven’t read or seen it, so I’m not copying anyone intentionally.

[Y/N] lay front down on the bed, legs kicking lazily behind her, reading a chemistry textbook with bored interest.

It was dark outside the window, the New York horizon barely visible now except for a few tell-tale neon lights. Every few minutes, she glanced up at the fire escape outside. It wasn’t late, but Peter had promised he would only patrol for an hour or so tonight. He had invited her to come over early and wait in his room, where they had planned to meet up and study for tomorrow’s chemistry test.

The metal stairwell outside the window rattled and the window flew open. The familiar red and blue clad figure of Peter Parker slid into the room with ease and pulled off his mask as he straightened up. He grinned as his gaze caught [Y/N] lying comfortably on his bed as though she belonged there.

“Hey you.” [Y/N] rolled over and got to her feet, wrapping her arms around Peter’s neck and pulling him close for a kiss in greeting.

Peter responded enthusiastically by lifting her up off her feet in an embrace, exhilarated after an evening spent hurtling and diving over the city skyline.

“No crime to fight?” [Y/N] asked him.

“Nope, quiet evening. I watched a great sunset from the top of the Unisphere.” He teased. “It’s a shame you won’t let me fly you around the city. You’re missing out.”

“Show off. And you know I can’t do heights. You ready to settle down and study after all that excitement?”

He grinned mischievously. “Among other things.”

She playfully swatted his arm. “Hey, not yet. I have to keep up my straight A’s or the teachers will think you’re a bad influence.”

[Y/N] flopped back down onto the bed. “Now, get out of that suit and come over here. And shut the window, it’s getting cold in here.”

Peter gave a mock salute and closed it. As he turned around and began to loosen the suit, he suddenly shrieked and froze on the spot.

[Y/N]’s head shot up from the page, startled by the alarming, high-pitched noise. She stared at Peter, not quite believing he could be the source of it. He was shivering on the spot in the middle of the bedroom floor, and slowly he pointed a shaky finger towards the carpet.

[Y/N]’s gaze followed but didn’t see anything. Then she did a double-take and realised that there was a small, curled-up object, currently engaged in a tense stand-off with its much larger counterpart.

“… Is that a spider?” She asked. Peter nodded tentatively.

She took one look at him and began laughing hysterically. Peter looked at her, wounded.

“Sorry.” [Y/N] cried, stifling her giggles. “But you’re Spiderman. And you’re afraid of spiders?” And it set her off again.

When she had calmed down, she stood up on the bed and folded her arms decisively.

“Well, we’ve got to get rid of it. It must have followed you in through the window.” [Y/N] giggled again. “Hey, you’ve found yourself a sidekick, Peter.”

Peter shuddered. “How are we going to get it out?” He stretched around, looking for ideas. As he turned, his foot shifted backwards. The spider, waiting patiently, took this as a sign to make its own advance, and unfurled its legs.

[Y/N], upon seeing the spider suddenly double in size, let out a scream of her own. Peter instantly reacted and leapt onto the bed beside her. The spider stood poised, on the tips of its legs, as if it were watching them, testing them to see what their next move would be.

[Y/N] shifted her foot on the bed and wobbled slightly. Panicked at losing her grip and being plunged into the arachnid-infested pit, she grabbed hold of Peter’s wrist to steady herself. Then suddenly, feeling a certain device beneath her fingers, inspiration hit.

“Peter, quick, web it!” “But – won’t that hurt it?” He considered.

“Peter, it’s a spider! It spends its life covering itself in web. Now shoot at the damn thing before it disappears under the bed!”

The spider began shifting a fraction of an inch towards them, and like lightning Peter flung out his arm and shot his webbing at the unsuspecting creature. It was instantly trapped in a sticky cage.

“Phew.” [Y/N] said, and loosened her grip on Peter now that the panic was over. “Okay, um… do you have a glass or something?”

“Uh, yeah, sure…” Peter scanned the room, reached over to his desk and passed it to her.

[Y/N] edged towards the spider, still a little fearful, and slammed the glass down over both it and the web. Grabbing something flat nearby, she slid it underneath.

“Damn, this stuff is hard to break.” She said through gritted teeth, as she attempted to separate the web from the carpet.

“It doesn’t stay that tough for long. Give it a second and it should break.” Peter said. Some carpet came away as well, but he considered it a necessary sacrifice.

[Y/N] deposited the spider out on the fire escape and hastily shut the window, and locked it for good measure. Now that the coast was clear, Peter felt it was safe enough to venture down from the bed.

“Better now, you big wuss?” [Y/N] teased.

“My hero.” He murmured, smiling and pulling her in for a kiss. “Hey, uh, maybe we could hang out on the bed for a while though. Just to be safe. There’s room for two of us to study.”

“Deal.” She agreed. “Although right now I don’t feel like studying…”

Peter grinned. [Y/N] stopped him with a finger pointed at his spider-clad chest.

“But first, can you finally get out of the suit? Cute as it is, it’s pretty restrictive.” She requested.

The suit was off in an instant, leaving Peter in his boxers, to which he added a grey tank. With one bound he leapt over to the bed, pulling [Y/N] with him. Together they collapsed in a giggling heap, kissing furiously, scattering the now-forgotten chemistry books.

[williamsjoan]

DualShockers’ Game of the Year 2018 Staff Lists — Grant’s Top 10

As 2018 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2018 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2018 releases — can be considered.

After the absolutely monstrous year of video games that 2017 had, I don’t think that we are going to see a year similar to that one in a long time. Hell, I thought that last year’s excellent lineup would put a damper on this year’s games no matter how good it was. However, boy was I wrong: 2018 straight up told everyone to put a sock in it.

What most surprised me about this year was the variety of games I thoroughly enjoyed. Throw in some indie titles, your typical single-player AAA experience, multiplayer shooters, VR titles, and you are left with a something to play for whatever mood you are in. Sadly, there are plenty of games that I need to get to that could have possibly made this list such as Astro Bot Rescue Mission, Hitman 2, and Monster Hunter: World. However, I plan on getting to them as soon as the holiday ends.

That being said, here are my top 10 favorite games from 2018:

10. Mario Tennis Aces

To start the list off, let’s discuss the best Mario Tennis game yet. Yeah, I said it! Mario Tennis Aces had a forgettable and easy single-player mode. But let’s forget all about that and talk about what really matters, the online mode.

Oh my god did I play so many Mario Tennis Aces multiplayer matches. The game didn’t have all too much content, but damn was that multiplayer addicting! The tournament system was genius; even though the scoring system doesn’t mean much, there was a two-week window where winning a tournament meant everything to me.

What was surprising was the vast difference in gameplay when playing as different characters. Playing as Boo had me curving tennis balls all across the court. If I wanted to just blast some tennis balls down the other player’s throat, Bowser was the right guy for the job. Yoshi could probably return almost every ball hit his way and I can only imagine the player on the other side throwing his Switch into the wall when I won a rally of 50 or more hits. Mario Tennis Aces was excellent, but it makes me want the one true king in Mario sports titles back, Mario Golf. In due time my friends. In due time.

Check out the DualShockers review of Mario Tennis Aces.

9. Moss

In a year full of wonderful PSVR experiences, Moss was one of the standouts. It showed me how clever level design can be in virtual reality and how many different ways that the new tech can be utilized. Rather than being in the typical first-person perspective, the all-seer perspective–as I like to call it–was such a unique way to solve puzzles and control the adorable Quill.

If I could describe Moss in one word, it would be “magical.” Playing the game was similar to being at Disney; everything just felt so wondrous. The storybook narrative, the incredible environments, and unique level design had me enthralled. Polyarc created one of the best VR games on the market, and I can’t wait to see what they have planned next.

Check out the DualShockers review of Moss.

8. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — The Champions’ Ballad

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is my favorite game of all time. I have had the time to reflect on it, and I can say that without a doubt is, as no other game has captivated me like it. So, of course, I was happy to jump back into Hyrule with the game’s second DLC expansion, The Champions’ Ballad.

I know that The Champions’ Ballad released last December, however, I didn’t get to it until January of this year, so it still counts! Even though the second expansion pass didn’t live up to some fans’ expectations, I still believe that it provides some of the best shrines and I would say the best boss battle in the game.

What might have helped was that I had not popped back into the game in a while. I beat it at launch and beat it a second time on Master Mode when the first DLC launched, so it had been a while since I had popped back in. It might be a short time for some, but for my favorite game of all time, it was a while for me. Revisiting my favorite open world was like going back home and having that favorite dish your mom makes.

The Champions’ Ballad provided me with new content to the most memorable, fascinating, and wondrous game I have played, and that might be all it needed to do to make me love it. Does that make me biased? Probably.

7. Marvel’s Spider-Man

I am not as high on Marvel’s Spider-Man as many of my colleagues: I found the missions to be repetitive and not many of the side missions stood out to me. However, swinging through New York City was so damn fun. I don’t think I had ever used the fast travel mechanic just because I would much rather swing my way around and over buildings. I am not sure how Insomniac Games made it so damn easy and intuitive, but they did a phenomenal job on not only the movement but combat mechanics. Combining brutal kicks and punches along with web attacks was fast, fluid, and surprisingly easy to get a grasp of after only an hour of playtime.

Insomniac also compiled a wonderful narrative, and much of that was due to Yuri Lowenthal’s performance as Spider-Man/Peter Parker. If it wasn’t for Red Dead Redemption 2 and God of War, he would have been a shoo-in for the performance of the year.

I am personally not that big of a comic book/Marvel fan. Woah, whoah, whoah, before you raise your pitchforks: I do enjoy all the movies, I am just not as into them as others. However, I was incredibly invested in the story of Marvel’s Spider-Man, and I am eagerly anticipating the second entry into the series.

Check out the DualShockers review of Marvel’s Spider-Man.

6. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

It almost became just a part of my nightly routine. Around 8:30 every night at the beginning of the year, a couple of my buddies and I would hop on the Xbox One version of PUBG and try to win a few chicken dinners before bed. Even though it was frustrating as all hell to play sometimes at launch due to frequent crashes, terrible framerate, and entire buildings taking forever to just render, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds was probably the game I played the most this year. Despite its hiccups, and it had a whole lot at launch, the game is still an experience unmatched by other Battle Royal shooters.

PUBG provides some of the most suspenseful multiplayer gameplay on the market right now. You could run into ten other players depending on where you drop, or you could possibly get run into one other player and somehow get that sweet chicken dinner. I know that the game still has a multitude of issues that still are not fixed, but PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is still an experience like no other. Just one match sucks me right back in.

Check out the DualShockers reviews of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds on PS4 and PC.

5. Firewall: Zero Hour

Firewall: Zero Hour, developed by First Contact Entertainment, is the game we all dreamed of when we were kids. With the power of PSVR, rather than just controlling the first-person shooter, you are now inside the first-shooter. I am still blown away by how well everything worked. Using the PS Aim controller to, well, aim of course, is incredibly intuitive and fluid. Besides learning how to move with the thumbstick on the aim controller, it is as simple as just pointing and shooting, and boy is it fun.

As a competitive tactical shooter, Firewall: Zero Hour is a mind-blowing experience and shows how limitless the possibilities are for PSVR. When an enemy was around the corner, I would peek my gun barrel around the corner and take them out. If I got pinned down behind cover, I could stick my gun over and blind fire to give myself an opportunity to get to safety. My only issues with the game were that it had some annoying quality-of-life issues at launch when it came to matchmaking, and how long it would take to start a new match.

Firewall: Zero Hour was my favorite VR experience this year, in a year that was absolutely packed with some of the best games that PSVR has to offer. Now, all the game needs is a rounds system like Rainbow Six Siege. Please, First Contact! I am begging you!

Check out the DualShockers review of Firewall: Zero Hour.

4. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate lives up to the Ultimate name. It is the definitive Smash experience and even though it released just a couple weeks ago, it has provided me with some of the most fun I have had all year. I mean, what did you expect? It’s Smash Bros. except, this time around, there is much more content to enjoy rather than just regular Smash battles with your friends.

World of Light, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s single-player/adventure mode, has had some mixed reactions across the internet. However, I am a firm believer that it is the best single player offering in any of the games in the series. Running into familiar and new faces while collecting Spirits has provided me with hours upon hours of enjoyment. Collecting and switching different Spirits in and out might sound tedious to some, but I have enjoyed every second of it. With a stellar single-player mode, the biggest roster in the series by far, a knockout soundtrack, and that same old, yet refined Smash gameplay, Ultimate is the best in the series and a must-buy for Switch owners.

Check out the DualShockers review of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

3. Celeste

Talk about a game that caught me off-guard. Celeste was not only a great platformer, but also had a very emotional story that impacted me in an unexpected way. Here I was thinking that I was just booting up a new, retro-style platformer. But next thing I knew, I was up at 3 AM, captivated by Madeline’s conflict with her own inner demons and also torturing myself to find strawberries. Celeste is the best platformer of the year, and I don’t think it is even close. (I haven’t played The Messenger or Guacamelee! 2 or many other of those types of games yet, but it just sounded cool to say)

I think what stood out to me the most, along with other many other players, was how unexpected of an experience that Celeste was. When I first started, I was thinking I was going to get a fun and challenging platformer, but that was going to be most of the experience. I never would have guessed how impactful the narrative was going to be and how it tackles deeper subjects such as mental health issues. At the time, I was going through some personal problems and this game helped me to cope with those emotions, as well as tackle them head-on. Maybe in a lesser year, Celeste would have taken my personal top spot.

Check out the DualShockers review of Celeste.

2.  Red Dead Redemption 2

It seems crazy that Red Dead Redemption 2 isn’t the definitive game of the year for everyone’s list. After the excellent Grand Theft Auto V and the almost infinite amount of money that Grand Theft Auto Online continuously makes even to this day, the sequel to Rockstar’s classic Western seemed like it was going to be the most ambitious game ever made, and I think it just might be.

Red Dead Redemption 2 had an absolutely phenomenal and heart-wrenching story; the downfall of the Van der Linde gang was a beautiful mess, even though we all know where it was heading. The world is by far the most immerse open world ever created. Roger Clark captured Arthur Morgan and his enlightenment so well, and these are only just a few parts of why I enjoyed the game so much.

While the game is groundbreaking in many aspects, there are still some little nitpicky things that I can point out that bug me, such as the lack of traditional fast travel systems, clunky gameplay, and that it might go on just a tad too long. However, Red Dead Redemption 2, despite its minuscule flaws, is one of the best open world games ever created.

Check out the DualShockers review of Red Dead Redemption 2.

1. God of War

To me, God of War might be the closest the closest thing to a perfect video game. In my opinion, there is not one flaw that I can point out. In fact, I think that most aspects of the game can be considered as the best we have ever seen from the medium.

The narrative in God of War reached a level of storytelling that I have didn’t think the industry could reach. The simple, yet extremely detailed story left me captivated. Christopher Judge made Kratos into a purposeful character and gave one of the best performances I have ever seen. The Leviathan Axe is my favorite video game weapon I have ever used, and it was just so damn satisfying to play with.

Cory Barlog and Sony Santa Monica created an absolute masterpiece that other developers will be studying for a long time to come. God of War set the bar so freaking high that it will be hard for any game to follow this up next year. It is the pinnacle for storytelling, gameplay, level design, world building, and artistry, and because of that, God of War is absolutely one of my favorite games of all time.

Check out the DualShockers review of God of War.

Check out the other DualShockers’ staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 17: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2018 December 18: Lou Contaldi, Editor in Chief // Logan Moore, Reviews Editor December 19: Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor // Tomas Franzese, News Editor December 20: Scott Meaney, Community Director December 21: Reinhold Hoffmann, Community Manager // Ben Bayliss, Staff Writer December 22: Ben Walker, Staff Writer // Chris Compendio, Staff Writer December 23: Eoghan Murphy, Staff Writer // Grant Huff, Staff Writer December 26: Iyane Agossah, Staff Writer // Jordan Boyd, Staff Writer December 27: Max Roberts, Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Staff Writer  December 28: Noah Buttner, Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Staff Writer  December 29: Steven Santana, Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer December 30: Travis Verbil, Staff Writer // Zack Potter, Staff Writer

The post DualShockers’ Game of the Year 2018 Staff Lists — Grant’s Top 10 by Grant Huff appeared first on DualShockers.

DualShockers’ Game of the Year 2018 Staff Lists — Grant’s Top 10 published first on https://timloewe.tumblr.com/

[smokeybrand]

Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Up An Asshole

So Venom is better than it had any right to be. Also, it’s a f*cking quandary, man. Like, straight up, Venom is not a good film. It’s not. But, at the same time, it’s not terrible. It’s the oddest sh*t i’ve ever experienced. There is a lot of good here. In theory, this should have worked and it kind of does but not really. Full disclose, i am approaching this as a thoroughly versed in the language of Spider-Man and his mythos. I know a great deal about the Venom character. In fact, he’s my third favorite Marvel character. Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, Venom, Captain Marvel, and X-23. Top five, right there. I’m going to do my best to be as objective about this review as possible but, understand, i am wildly biased.

The Good

The performances in this thing were really f*cking good. It’s rare that i see a flick where every major character gives it their all like this. In a bad movie. That’s the thing about this; I don’t know if it’s really all that bad. Independently, the components are mediocre to terrible but together, with an added lift by how great the leads are in their respective roles, this thing gets elevated considerably. it’s schlock, don’t misunderstand, but it’s schlock handled with care, love, and reverence which makes it more? I dunno, man.

Tom Hardy does his thing as usual. I’ve seen a lot of reviews saying this is the worst he’s been since his last terrible performance but that’s not the case. I don’t think those people actually understand the character of Venom. I don’t think they get that he’s a dark reflection of Peter Parker so, yeah, he’s gonna be quick in an edgelord, try-hard, kind of way which is exactly what Hardy gives you. Dude is one hundred percent true to who Eddie Brock and Venom are as characters.

Michelle Williams as Brock’s Ex-fiance (Ex-Wife in the comics) Anne Weying was phenomenal. She’s everything i wanted Mary Jane or Gwen Stacey to be in Sony’s Spider-Outings. Madame is intelligent, strong, and a force all in her own right. Plus, i mean, but dat She Venom, tho!

Rhiz Ahmed does a fantastic job as Carlton Drake. Seriously, he does insidiously sinister Elon Musk brilliantly. There was a quiet danger to this cat that just seethed with every second he was on screen. This is a man who knows he can destroy a person with little more than a phone call. His metered, subtle, insanity is just f*cking breathtaking to watch. Drake, as the main antagonist, would have been spectacular if he maintained a kind of Kingpin-esque level, someone who is just out of reach of our protagonist, as Brock tried to find a way to topple his entire regime. Think Lex Luthor. Bring in Cassidy to play the part of The Joker but with more slaughter, and you’d have a rather compelling narrative to follow through a trilogy of films, i think. But Sony dumb and blew their load on this one movie so we’ll never get to see just how smarmy of a sociopath Rhiz could have crafted with Drake.

The adaption of Lethal Protector for film was pretty dope. I like the liberties they took with the characters while still hearkening back to the comic origins. I didn’t think Venom could work without Spider-Man but it kind of does. There is a lot here to unpack for a first attempt but, as a first attempt? it got a lot right. There is a solid foundation to build something better on and that bodes well for the future. Unless this thing doesn’t make any money. it might not make any money...

The Meh

Everything is cohesive, for the most part. The pacing here is brisk but competent. You get from one scene to the next, all in service toward head-biting and tongue-punching. It’s not the most smooth in it’s stride but it gets to where it needs to, even if it stumbles more of then than it should.

The script was ehh. You can tell someone had some ideas and they are very apparent but the execution just didn’t do it justice. I don’t know if it was the overall plot or the characters, themselves, or the corny dialogue but everything felt just under good. Not pitch enough for me to say it stinks but nowhere near good enough for me to praise it.

The fact that this flick is PG-13 is a goddamn disservice. Seriously, there is, apparently, 40 minutes of raw, violent, footage left on the cutting room floor. This movie probably needed that.

The tone of this flick is mad jarring. I feel like if it was hard R but kept that rather sarcastic, nonchalant, tone, it would have been a better film overall. Not quite like Deadpool but more like Kiss Kiss Bang. I think this film’s strength was when it was calling out the absurd nature of it’s own premise. Which brings me to my net point....

The direction in this film is... wrong. Like, it doesn’t fit the film, you know? Ruben Fleischer, the guy who did Zombieland, helms this and he does a decent job. Dude sucks at directing action but the interpersonal parts, the actual character dynamics, are spectacular in this film. I particularly enjoyed the weird love (?) triangle between Eddie, Anne, and Venom. While i was pleased with what Fleischer gave us, i can’t help but feel like this was the perfect vehicle for Shane Black. HIS version of Venom would have been spectacular.

The Bad

The plot holes in this thing are ludicrous. There are entire subplots just dropped. Main characters are killed off left and right. There are rules established, things inherent to the logic of the world that was created for Venom, that are just thrown out the goddamn window for plot convenience. It’s f*cking insane

Riot is a flaccid antagonist. I understand you don’t blow your load with Carnage in the first film, but really? Riot wasn’t even good in the comics. Dude was a red shirt symbiote. Seriously, he gets consumed and amalgamated, along with, like, three other ones, into a D-Class antihero called Hybrid. If i’m not mistaken, Scream, a female symbiote from the same lot, is the only on that doesn’t get fridged by the end of that Life Foundation arc. To make him the big bad was ridiculous.

That climax was sh*t. I literally didn’t know what the f*ck was going on. Nonsense looked like a f*cking Pollock painting with teeth.

This movie looks like sh*t. The CGI is poor, man. Almost unforgivably so. This thing cost 100 million to make and it looks like it cost a quarter of that. There’s been a lot of comparison to Upgrade but for the money, Upgrade is a FAR superior situation. I can’t say if it was a better film overall but it definitely did the whole takeover thing just as good as Venom, but for a fraction of the budget. Hell, f*cking Life is a better looking Venom movie and it only cost 70 mil!

Why are all of the goddamn symbiotes named human things? The host comes up with that name in the comic. What f*cking alien even understands the English word “Riot”?

The Verdict

Overall, Venom was entertaining. There are a TON of issues, man, but i don’t think it’s as bad as everyone is saying. This sh*t ain’t Shakespeare but it definitely isn’t Batman vs Superman either. There is a lot to like and a clear path toward something better. I think, in the hands of a better director who understand how to execute this type of film, we could have something fantastic. Still, for what we have, it’s pretty decent. I’d say give it a chance. It’s mad entertaining and watching Hardy do his thing is more than worth the price of admission.

[netunleashed-blog]

Spider-Man PS4's Opening Hours Have Everything We Want, And Something We Don't

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=33087 Spider-Man PS4's Opening Hours Have Everything We Want, And Something We Don't - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=33087 If you love reading superhero comic books, there's a good chance that a huge part of what makes them so attractive is the way they explore the regular lives of the people behind the masks. Matt Murdoch's daily courtroom drama and neighborhood philanthropy, Jessica Drew's demanding commitments as a single mother, and the multifaceted teenage dramas of Kamala Khan and other student-aged heroes are equally as engrossing as the crime-fighting adventures of their alter-egos. And when work and life clash, that's when things really get interesting.The more mundane side of superhero stories are rarely explored in video game adaptations, and that's something Insomniac Games is openly talking about as a major point of difference in their take on Marvel's Spider-Man. In the game's first two hours, which I experienced during a recent preview tour, a large chunk of time was spent controlling Peter Parker in his mild-mannered form, as well as Mary Jane Watson. Insomniac explained that this ratio was largely indicative of the rest of the game, with major themes of mentorship and trust as something that would be explored with and without masks.That might sound like a far cry from what's been shown of Insomniac's Spider-Man up to this point, but these moments hit all the right notes for us. The game's version of Peter Parker falls on the dweeby side, despite being old and having almost a decade of crime-fighting expertise. He's messy, perpetually behind on his bills, and isn't currently in any kind of romantic relationship, all thanks to his second life. But he takes time to visit his Aunt May and catch up with acquaintances, as well as work on science projects as part of his day job, hoping he can do some good there, too.I spent a large part of Spider-Man's opening hours exploring interior environments as Peter, making and listening in on small talk, looking at photos and reading documents to fill out back-story, and performing research experiments--there are Pipe Dream and pattern matching minigames that can earn you experience points to spend on Spidey abilities. Mary Jane, an investigative reporter in this universe, has her own separate narrative motivations that quickly become entwined in the rest of the plot. Her interactive segments have their own mechanics, which Insomniac told us would grow and evolve over the course of the game. For more on Mary Jane's section in these opening hours, be sure to read Kallie's in-depth account. But as happy as I was to see a big emphasis on the Peter and MJ side of things, I still had just one thing on my mind, being this was my very first first hands-on: Whether or not Insomniac's Spider-Man was going to surpass the memories I had playing Treyarch's open-world Spider-Man 2 for consoles, generally regarded as the best Spider-Man game to date, thanks to its phenomenal web-swinging mechanics. And it most definitely does, as we've previously reported. Insomniac's Spider-Man adheres strictly to the rule that Spidey's web lines need to attach to a structure, and that creates the wonderful sense of tangibility that is both essential to selling the experience, as well as creating a satisfying need for forethought when traversing New York City.It works like this: R2 shoots out a web line, and pressing X while mid-swing will let you jump and gain height or distance, depending on where you are in your arc. Pressing X without being attached to a web line will let you perform a quick web zip, which propels you forward, allowing you to gain directional momentum without losing height, and is great for quickly changing directions. Finally, holding L2 will trigger a slowdown, allowing you to aim a cursor and hit R2 to create a direct zipline to that particular point (provided it's in range), and is a great landing technique that allows you to expertly perch on lampposts and other locations, just like a spider can.Web swinging feels fantastic, and minor additions, such as hitting L3 to nosedive, using Circle + Triangle in tandem with the left stick to perform aerial tricks for experience points, and the motion blur when you pick up a large amount of speed, adds a lot to making the act of getting around town a pure joy. Even Central Park can be traversed by web-swinging, thankfully, so long as you pick a route with enough trees to latch onto.Movement on the ground also feels suitably Spider-Man-like. Aside from using L2 and R2 to web zip from point to point, holding R2 acts as an Assassin's Creed-like parkour button, allowing you to easily clear obstacles, as well as run up and across the side of buildings. But if you need a break from thinking about how to get from A to B, Spidey can also just take the subway and fast travel to a different station.The parkour button isn't the only inspiration Insomniac's Spider-Man takes from an Ubisoft series, though. In a move that took me completely by surprise, Spider-Man incorporates the archaic mechanic of tower reveals, that is, points of interest that you have to find, travel to, and solve a puzzle at in order to reveal a map of the immediate area, as well as the locations of other points of interests like side missions, challenges, collectables, and Far Cry-style outposts. Each district of Manhattan represented in the game--Chinatown, Greenwich, Financial District, Hell's Kitchen, Midtown, Upper West Side, Central Park, Upper East Side, and Harlem--has a number of towers hidden within them, which you're required to activate before you're even able to see where you're going on your minimap.This is strange not only because the mechanic feels incredibly outdated--Ubisoft has moved on, their open-world franchises now focus on more organic discovery mechanics--but it just doesn't make characteristic sense. Insomniac has been pitching their version of Spider-Man as an experienced one, one that's been fighting crime in New York for nearly a decade, and it's incredibly puzzling that this Spider-Man hasn't internalized an intimate geographic knowledge of the city he protects. I don't believe him when he exclaims, "I'm flying blind here!" while swinging through world-famous Times Square, no matter what the tower MacGuffin might be.Any activity revealed by towers can still be found by naturally stumbling across them, and minor Spider-Man 2-style randomly-generated events, such as car crashes and armed robberies, also can pop up unannounced, which is great to see. But the emphasis on using towers to reveal them just seems like a huge misstep, a puzzling addition that feels like unnecessary filler.You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.Marvel’s Spider-Man Show Floor Demo | PS4 | E3 2018Size:640 × 360480 × 270 Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos. This video has an invalid file format. Sorry, but you can't access this content!Please enter your date of birth to view this videoJanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031Year20182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996199519941993199219911990198919881987198619851984198319821981198019791978197719761975197419731972197119701969196819671966196519641963196219611960195919581957195619551954195319521951195019491948194719461945194419431942194119401939193819371936193519341933193219311930192919281927192619251924192319221921192019191918191719161915191419131912191119101909190819071906190519041903190219011900 By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Terms of Use and Privacy PolicyenterBut there's still plenty of good filler in there, namely, the number of things you can stuff into Spider-Man's suit. As expected, you can unlock dozens of different Spider-Man costumes by earning experience and leveling up to gain access, and spending different tokens (earned through completing side content) to purchase them for use. Each suit comes with its own unique suit ability to assist you during the game's exciting, Batman Arkham-inspired combat system, but a nice feature is that once you own a suit, you can transfer its unique ability to a different suit you own.For example, I immediately sought to don the Spider-Man Noir costume, which comes with the ability to stop enemies from calling backup (great for stealth approaches), but swapped that out for the Battle Focus ability from the Advanced Suit seen in the game's marketing materials. Battle Focus steadily increases your Focus meter, used in combat to heal and perform the game's cinematic takedowns. Other suits and abilities I saw included the Classic Suit (webs every enemy in sight), Scarlet Spider (creates holographic decoys), and the Spider Armor MK II (protects from bullet fire).True to Peter's science background, you can also equip a number of unique combat gadgets, switching between them using a radial menu with L1, and upgrade their effectiveness over the course of the game. Aside from the standard web shooters, they include things like impact webbing to pin enemies to surfaces, spider drones that seek out opponents and fire energy, electric webs that stun, web bombs that are proximity triggered, web trip mines, concussive blasts, and a suspension matrix that suspends enemies in the air.The game also has a skill tree for ability progression, featuring three branches with which to upgrade Spidey's combat and web swinging techniques. The Innovator branch focuses on web-based combat techniques, such as using webs to disarm gun-toting thugs and the ability to throw a larger variety of objects and enemies, while the Defender branch improves Spider-Man's general striking, evasion, and combo abilities, letting you earn bonuses for things like perfectly-timed dodges. Finally, the Webslinger branch largely lets you perform additional traversal moves, but also gives you access to Spidey's infamous web swing kick in combat. It also unlocks the aforementioned ability to perform tricks in mid-air for small amounts of XP and large amounts of style.There are a number of references too, of course, found in dialogue, environment, and the game's backpack collectibles. But it's a range that can be appreciated by both casual Spider-Man fans (Spidey asking "Should we kiss?" to a hanging enemy), and fanatics (a mention of "Nazis made of bees"). There were some nice interactive touches I loved: using the attack buttons around citizens lets you wave and give high fives, with some interactions giving you XP, and J.J. Jameson now hosts a podcast Peter listens to, but you can unsubscribe in the audio settings menu.Insomniac's representation of the Spider-Man experience plays as good as it looks, at least in its opening hours. The web swinging and acrobatic combat are instantly satisfying, but it's also wonderful to see that there's a lot more to it--a significant focus on interacting as Peter Parker and Mary Jane (which we're hoping will continue to evolve into something great), a depth of progression options and combat abilities, and many minor, but exciting details that positively colored my short experience. The opening hours had me eager to play more--even just to have more time swinging around the city--but it also reinvigorated my excitement about the Marvel universe in general. I just wish I could forget about those towers. Source link

[bmbreviews-blog]

The Case For Spider-Man: Homecoming (*SPOILERS*)

I’m six years old. I hear footsteps enter my room and beneath my bunk bed I see my father leave something on the desk. I waited till he left and then peered over the side. What I saw on that desk would resonate with me for the rest of my life. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. 

From the age of six my favourite superhero has always been Spider-Man. I remember that Halloween I wore a Spider-Man costume for a full week before and a full week after the costumed holiday. Like every person when they are young, you test if you have superpowers. I tried climbing walls and shooting webs out of my wrists. To little avail I was only able to learn how to make a wicked “THWP” sound. So.... there’s something for my efforts. 

We’ve been fortunate in the last fifteen years to have had so many interpretations of Spider-Man. From Cartoons, Comics, Video Games and of course, the movies. With the films we’ve been lucky enough to have six interpretations of the character. So, today i’d like to make the case for why Spider-Man: Homecoming is the best interpretation of Spider-Man/Peter Parker to date. 

That being said, By elevating this film I do not intend on dismissing or diminishing other phenomenal versions of this character. 

*SPOILERS AHEAD* 

Within the MCU, before we ever meet Peter Parker, We meet Spider-Man. So it’s only right that we start this nerdy dissertation talking about the aesthetic, his suit. 

Okay, yeah, it’s a cool suit. But we’ve had cool suits in the past. All three suits take inspiration from different artists and storylines within the Spider-Man lore. The first DIY suit is heavily inspired by the shortly ran mini series “Spider-Man: Noir” Where the story takes place during the Great Depression. 

The suit that we have come to know as Spider-Man in the MCU is heavily inspired by the iconic artist John Romita Sr. A dead give away to this is the eyes. If the name seems familiar it is because his son John Romita Jr. has had a lot of success as a comic book artist as well working on Wolverine, Spider-Man and mostly famously, being the artist that worked alongside Mark Millar in the Mini Series KICK-ASS. 

And the third and final suit for the film. I believe is a mixture of two suits that were amalgamated into one idea. This is just my own theory but I feel you can definitely see a resemblance. The Iron Spider-man and Spider-UK.

Now that we’ve settles that. The reason I want to talk about the suit is that Spider-Man: Homecoming is the first Spider-Man film that uses the suit for more than just aesthetic, it’s integral to the plot of the movie and the theme of the story. In previous films, we understand that he just gets the suit. Be it he buys a wetsuit online or he sows it himself. But am I really suppose to believe that an a (allegedly) fifteen year old kid knows how to sow a suit of that intricate detail? No, of course not, cause that would be nitpicking. Also, it doesn’t really have to do with the linear progression of the story, which is fine, it doesn’t take away from the movie, but it doesn’t give it any extra points neither. 

That isn’t the case with Homecoming. We know that Peter gets the suit from Tony Stark. A technological wonder far beyond Peter’s wildest dreams and a weapon he doesn’t fully understand. This is a great centrepiece for the theme of the story. Peter is smart and capable but naive with his idealism. It’s because of this that Peter is overtaken time and time again. 

Think to when he stopped the supposed car thief, It turned out to be a guy just trying to get back into his own car. Think to when he first encountered the bank robbers and they suddenly pulled out weapons that had alien tech! It’s this inexperience of Peter Parker that catches him flatfooted. But the kicker is that because he is smart and capable he doesn’t believe that he really has any inexperience and when the adults give him limitations he automatically rebels because he knows he can do more than they say he can. Which he proves!

The suit is a reflection of Peter Parker’s inaccessed potential. 

So during the second act when we get to see the full potential of the suit but with the same inexperience from Peter, he gets sloppy and uses the suit as a crutch and finally causes him to make a mistake that nearly takes the lives of other people. Thus Tony takes it away. 

“If you are nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it”. 

A perfect line that one, ties beautifully into Tony’s own growth from when we first meet him in the MCU and secondly, it’s a line that Peter will call upon later to finally access the full potential within himself. 

When you think of Peter Parker/Spider-Man, who do you see? What does he look like? What does he sound like? For the casual viewer I expect them to think to Toby Maguire or even Andrew Garfield. But to all my fellow comic book fans and specifically Spider-Man fans, a different image comes to mind. 

The choice for Marvel to cast an actor who actually looks like a teenager goes a long way. To a lot of people, this doesn’t seem like much but again to the comic book fans it’s huge. 

But is a young actor enough? You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk? To portray Spider-Man, you need a balance between naivety and conviction. Which we get with Tom Holland. Toby was too emotional and I think we can all agree that it was tough to see Andrew Garfield as the “nerd” at his school. With Tom, we see him channel, The Ultimate Universe Spider-Man. 

In 2000, Marvel did a major re-launch and re-imagening of their characters. Spider-Man was part of this relaunch and out of this series, I believe we got the best series of Spider-Man stories to date. 

This sentiment was proven when Tom Holland appeared on The Nerdist Podcast with Chris Hardwick where he admitted that he was a life long fan of Spider-Man but it was not until his casting of the role that he submerged himself in the lore of the character. It’s here where he focused primarily on, you guessed it, The Ultimate Spider-Man. 

If I can recommend any series of Spider-Man comics, This series would be at the top of my list. 

Something this film does that personally affected me was the Tug-O-War that Peter has to do between his regular life and his life as a Superhero. When I was younger, I too missed out on hanging out with friends and parties or things most teens should do because I was completely devoted to sports. Add on top of that, I was barely holding on in school because I didn’t think I was going to need it later because I was so convinced I was going to be a professional athlete. Oh how I paid for that. With this story, On three occasions we see this Tug-O-War affect Peter. Once at Liz’s party, the second time in DC and the third time at the dance. Peter is ripped away from his regular life by his responsibility. 

The next thing I want to talk about is the villain, The Vulture. Within the MCU, we’ve had our selection of villains both good and bad. But one thing Marvel has become notorious for is killing off their villains. Thankfully we don’t get that here. But on a another level, what were their motives again?

No seriously, what was Malekith’s grand plan? Domination? What about Yellowjacket? Power? There are common tropes that villains fall into with the Superhero genre. But. Not. With. Homecoming. 

Here we have a guy who had invested everything into a project only to have it ripped away from him and feeling the need to steal for the sake of his family. A blue collar villain that will do anything for the people he loves. We can all understand that right? I certainly can. 

Following this, we have The Shocker. I had a friend tell me that he believes that The Shocker was waisted in this film and not given enough to do. But quite frankly The Shocker is a glorified henchman. I demand that anyone reading this go and find a story where The Shocker is a convincing, menacing threat to Spider-Man and also not a henchman to some bigger bad. Even then, The Shocker actually almost beats Spider-Man in fair combat up until Ned (Ganke) intervenes just in time for Peter to stop him. 

And finally the tinkerer? Meh. He really doesn’t do anything in the film except well...Tinker. 

The final piece to this film that I believe separates it and rises above the rest of the Spider-Man films prior is The Twist. Before I give it away, I want to talk about the misdirection.

Whenever we have a scene where the people involved in the twist are on screen, there are clear and present stakes that affect the linear progression of the story. Within this movie, we are presented with three dramatic questions. 

1) Will Peter prove himself to Tony?

2) Will Peter get the confidence to ask out Liz to the homecoming dance?

3) Will Spider-Man defeat The Vulture?

When you see these three questions, you can conjure up your own beginning, middle, end that in any other film would still make a solid film with a satisfying ending. But with how these three stories move without giving anything away is amazing to me.

So when we do get the twist. The Twist being Adrian Toomes is Liz’s dad. The movie gains a new level of awareness that is executed perfectly. 

How is it that the best moment in a Superhero movie is a conversation between two people in a car? amazing. 

I’d also like to make note that I think Hannibal Buress probably has the best line in the MCU ever. 

I believe Spider-Man Homecoming is the best Spider-Man film to date because it gives you everything you want but just not how you expect it. You get a great actor casted to portray a character that feels both young and naive but also strong and courageous and you have a villain with a real tangible motive that proceeds with a surprising climax with a satisfying ending. 

I cannot wait for the what comes next for this new Spider-Man and what his place will be in the MCU.