#Johnathan Majors

[megane96]

CHIIIIIIIIIIIILE , they both said "GET YALL ASSES UP AND GET IN THE MFING GYMMM NOWWWWWWW!!!!"

BODY GOALS !!!!!!!

[itsexclusive]

[blklovematters]

[cyarsk5230]

[uzumaki-rebellion]

Sinner & Saint: Creed III Chapter 9

Need to catch up? Of course you do. Masterlist HERE.

"Woke up this morning Found my peace of mind Finally, I can say to you That I, feel good this morning No, I can't deny So finally I can lay with you And feel, feel the pleasure Finally do what lovers do, with you, babe Ride for two Don't you know, oh So we (so we) can roll how we want to, yeah

Set fire to the fucking pavement They bound to drown so they can't relate And just do what I say, do what I say, no My baby got her own fuckin' ways now Tellin' y'all she ain't fuckin' playin', ay Ain't need no problems from her man I know she ain't worried (she ain't worried)"

Terrace Martin – "This Morning (feat. Arin Ray and Smino)"

She moved through the crowd like a silent wind through chimes that tinkled once she blew past. Her steps were assured, eyes laser sharp on who she needed to speak to on his behalf.

Damian watched in awe as Athena worked the packed penthouse filled with stars, sports influencers, executives, groupies, agents, managers, lawyers, and riff raff. He drank a few shots, gobbled up some hors d'oeuvres, and kept near his new boss. A few women checked him out and tried making conversation with him. He acted polite, answered very few questions about his connection to Athena and rested in the cut letting her lead everything. Feeling out of place once more, his brooding appearance seemed to attract even more women as the party continued through the night. Bianca excused herself and he realized that the penthouse they partied in was not the one Donnie and his family stayed in. Smart.

"Damian, this is Karl Gaston and Alessandro Beyna. Karl is a regional wealth advisor in the Cayman Islands and Alessandro handles investments there," Athena said.

Damian shook their hands and tried to look friendly. Athena tossed back her hair and placed a hand on his arm.

"Damian will soon be signing with my brother's company and I'll be working out some portfolio plans for him. He's going to need people that can take care of his money for future investments," Athena said.

The two white men nearly salivated listening to her. Athena had his pockets lined up with imaginary money. The two men would laugh him out of the hotel if they knew the total amount of cash he had in his paltry bank account at that moment. He rolled with her flow, keeping stoic in their presence. Business cards were exchanged with him and not Athena. She directed all the power to him turning into his conduit for all transactions in the place. Women were bolder, grabbing his attention with flirty banter and hungry stares. Nothing was subtle. He spent a moment alone with Athena in the back of the main room, until Donnie caught up with them. They took pictures together with hired photographers documenting the party for Donnie. It didn't take long for the champ to shoehorn his way between himself and Athena. She allowed it, a sly grin on her face as she joined a group of women.

"She's in her zone," Donnie said, glancing at his sister.

"Half the shit she says to the people goes over my head," Damian said.

"Wheeling and dealing."

"She's good. Knows a ton of people here."

"She'll keep the sharks away. For now, enjoy the anonymity," Donnie said.

Damian looked Donnie in the eye.

"You two a thing?" Donnie asked.

"Business partners."

Damian walked away before Donnie could flap his gums about anything else. Athena was a grown ass woman. Her baby brother wasn't about to lecture him on hooking up with her. She reached for Damian's hand and pulled him toward a young Black man with hooded eyes and a garish haircut to his permed blonde hair.

"Dame this is Raven X, stylist to the stars. I'm setting up an appointment for you two to get together back in L.A."

Raven X raked his eyes up and down Damian's physique.

"What are you looking for, Bad Boy tease or elegant showman?" Raven X said.

Athena tilted her head and squinted at Damian.

"I'm thinking future champion. I want his fits so crisp that they cut people in the eyes just by looking at him," she said.

Raven X nodded and stared at the top of Damian's head.

"Great head of hair. Formidable face. I'll give you a sexy fucking gladiator," Raven X said.

"I like it. Talk soon," Athena said.

She led Damian to the door.

"We're leaving?" he asked.

"Yep. Never be the last to leave the room. Smells of desperation."

"Where you two goin'?"

Donnie's blaring voice stopped their escape. Athena leveled her gaze at her brother.

"Damian's had a long night. He needs rest. We have meetings back in L.A. the moment we touch down," Athena said.

"When can I be looped in?"

Donnie's eyes flicked back and forth between them.

"We'll be in touch," Athena said.

She touched Damian's arm and he moved past her.

"Congratulations on everything tonight," Damian threw over his shoulder.

Donnie's expression appeared bewildered as they left the suite.

"Don't worry, I'll have terms and conditions lined up for you before we meet with my brother. You and I have to decide what trajectory you want for your career the next eighteen months."

"I just need some good fights lined up."

"You need more than that. We have to cultivate an image, create buzz with a catchy name—"

"Diamond Dame"

"What?"

"Diamond Dame is what I went by before I was in the pen."

They slipped into a private elevator and went up two floors. Athena eyed him from head to toe. She touched the collar of his shirt.

"Hmmm, Diamond Dame. With Raven's capable hands, you just might live up to that name. I like it. Classy. Rolls off the tongue."

"Yeah?" he said, moving in closer to her.

The elevator doors opened and Athena jumped back from him like water hitting hot grease. Mary Anne Creed stood in front of the opening dressed in a linen two-piece suit.

"Ma," Athena squeaked out. "Where are you going?"

"Well, Amara is fast asleep and Bianca is back in their suite. I'm free to go do a little gambling on the house. Where are you two headed?"

"We just came from Donnie's party."

Mary Anne checked her vintage diamond Cartier watch.

"It's not even midnight. Still early for his celebration to end," Mary Anne said with a lifted eyebrow.

"Damian and I have some business to discuss. I'm his new manager."

"Manager…?"

Athena gripped Damian's arm and pulled him out of the lift and away from her mother.

"Yes. Enjoy throwing money away," Athena called over her shoulder.

Damian glanced back at Donnie's adoptive mother. Mary Anne's sharp eyes cut into him despite the feigned pleasant look she tried to maintain.

Athena dug into her clutch and pulled out a keycard and tapped it against her suite. She led him to a busy-looking work station set up on the room's mahogany desk. Pushing back the executive chair, she plopped down and pointed to a side chair for him to pull up next to her. A laptop came to life from the touch of her hand and onscreen she had a detailed prospective typed up with his name all over it. She scrolled through several pages and stopped at one particular page.

"You whipped this all up today before the fight?" he asked.

"I'm always prepared to snatch up talent. This is just a mock up to give you an idea of what I can do. You don't have to sign anything now."

She tapped the enter key and a printer behind the laptop hummed to life and began printing up several sheets of paper. When the printer spit out the last page, Athena compiled them all and stapled two separate stacks. She handed him a copy and he listened to her go over every detail on ten full pages. His brain grew foggy with all the terminology, but he listened intently, trusting her completely. After forty minutes, she poured them both fresh glasses of water from the mini-bar and paced in front of him.

"Boxing needs excitement again, and they love an underdog story. The key is, they grow tired of that scenario after a few years. I think we should play up your background, but involve you back in your community. Do some volunteer work and talks at juvie facilities. See Donnie was able to coast on being our father's lost child, but he's been pampered and trained by a legend. Rocky isn't around anymore and now that my brother is retiring—"

"He's quitting?"

Athena gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Donnie is old news. His era is over. His mistake was calling himself Hollywood. The connotations made him seem elitist after awhile. Even when he won the championship, people still saw him as a privileged athlete, a nepo baby lucky enough to have my daddy's genes and access to the best that no one else did. With you—"

"I call myself Diamond, that's not elitist?"

"Not with your narrative. You were the lost jagged rock in the cold, cruel mine that became a diamond in the rough. A long prison bid and a hard-luck come-back story outshines a rich, spoiled pretty boy tale any day."

"Donnie didn't have it so easy before he was adopted by your mom."

"Is that what he told you?"

"He stayed in a group home, was in and out of foster care…"

The look on Athena's face made him clam up tight. She rested a soft hand on his shoulder.

"One of these days, I'm going to tell you about your little friend," she said.

"Tell me now. I have all night."

"No. Tonight, you will read over this contract, my mission statement for you, and you'll look for a contract lawyer on your own to go over my paperwork before you sign with me."

Damian rolled his eyes and pushed out of his seat realizing he wasn't getting any nookie.

"Don't pout. Business first, pleasure later," she said, pointing to the door.

He ambled out of her suite with his lips in a pout. She crossed her arms.

"I've got an amazing view of the strip. Champagne on ice…"

His words didn't move her.

"Goodnight Diamond Dame."

She closed the door in his face.

"I can't believe she gave me homework," he said, shuffling off to the elevator clutching onto precious papers that would elevate his life.

Back in his suite he placed the preliminary contract on the end of his bed and stripped out of his clothes. He showered, brushed and flossed his teeth before slipping into black satin sleep shorts. He grabbed a fresh bottle of chilled champagne from the suite's mini fridge and popped it open. A knock at his door surprised him. He put the champagne on the low table near the couch and padded over to the door, peeking through the keyhole. He grinned.

Opening the door he gave Athena a wide smile. She wore a thin purple overcoat and opened it for him. Underneath was a red sheer teddy that displayed everything that his mind imagined from the moment he met her.

"Hello," she purred.

She touched his chest with her index finger and pushed him back inside his suite, shutting the door behind her.

"I thought I was supposed to read over my paperwork," he teased.

"Oh you are…let's just say I'm your paperwork and I want you to enter into this contract," she said.

She dropped the coat on the floor and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You're full of surprises," he said.

"Get used to it Diamond Dame."

He lifted Athena up in his arms and kissed her while he carried her toward his sleeping area. He kicked away the contract papers and placed her on the bed. Getting on his knees he wedged himself between her open thighs and cradled her face with his hands.

"I can't believe you're real sometimes," he said.

Her eyes flicked away as her dazzling smile blessed him once more, but he held her chin forcing her to look directly at him.

"You're the best thing to happen to me in my life, Athena. That means a lot to a man like me in the situation I'm in. I don't know what you see in me to make you give me so much."

"I see a champion who deserves a second chance at the title."

"Is it just that? Or is it about besting Donnie too?"

She touched his hand and pulled it away from her face.

"Me and Donnie are a complicated pair…and yeah, spoiling his plans for you is a part of it."

"Plans for me?"

"Controlling your narrative to protect his. By keeping you from being under his thumb I can take you to the heights that no other boxer has been. I see a documentary, a tv series, fashion, and more for your future. A fallen hero returning to his roots and taking over more than just the boxing world. My father's life was cut short from reaching his full potential. I plan on taking you far Damian Anderson."

"What's in it for you?"

"Everything."

She kissed him. Her warm, wet mouth overwhelmed him into submission on his knees. Athena stole his heart as she kissed him, their tongues soft and gentle together.

He stood up when the carpet became too scratchy for his knees. His erection comically saluted her forehead. Athena laughed and hooked her fingers into his satin shorts, pulling them off and freeing his heavy dick. Dropping to her knees, she licked the tip like it was a sweet chocolate lollipop and he nearly blew his load all over his face. Goddamn she was like a gorgeous Black Barbie doll. The dreamy pin-up girl guys beat their meat to in a fantasy world they would never see become reality. Athena was a nasty girl too, spitting and slurping all over the wide head. She licked below his frenulum and the sensitive skin there had him groaning her name.

"Athena…Athena…"

She offered her tongue and Damian squeezed pre-cum there in thick rivulets. He tilted his neck and stroked under the thick ridge of his dick, watching her pucker and kiss his slit where more clear fluid spilled onto her glossy red lips. She began throating his erection with gusto, keeping her eyes on him. He wanted to nut on her face so bad, but thought it would be too rude and aggressive for their first time together. His dick became a hot and heavy saber in his hand and he was desperate to chop down the beauty before him.

"Such a pretty face," he murmured, touching her cheek.

"You want to cum on it, don't you?"

Athena's words were so seductive and her tone was so full of lust and desire that he couldn't hold back.

"Fuck…!"

They both watched his big dick throb in his hand and spurt thick creamy semen all across the bridge of her nose and all over her lips. Athena snapped her eyes shut and slanted her head back so more of his cum could drench the side of her face. Before he could apologize for nutting unexpectedly, she wrapped her lips around his meat and sucked another nut right out. His mouth became a tight line as he held her head and helped her gobble up his dick with spectacular deep throating. He had to tap out when she fondled his balls trying to milk him for more.

She swallowed and smacked her lips.

"You have a lot of cum," she said with wet sticky lips.

She stared at his dick. It was still erect and pointing at her messy face. She took off her cute teddy and waltzed to his bathroom. Two minutes later she returned with a fresh face without cum all over it. He stayed mesmerized by the bounce of her breasts and admired her amazing figure.

"My turn," she said, pushing him down on the bed.

She climbed over his body and planted her sopping wet pussy on his lips. Every lick he gave her, he stopped to look at her slippery labia and the soft pink of her pussy. He sucked on her clit like it was a delicate berry and her keening sighs let him know he was doing the job she wanted. He gripped her thighs and held her down tight, smothering his mouth against her entire vulva.

"Yes, baby, eat my pussy…oh Damian, you're eating it so good," she panted, grinding down on his fleshy lips.

She reached behind and fisted his dick while he feasted on the sweetest pussy he ever tasted in his life. The scent between her thighs was heavenly and he inserted his tongue inside of her sweet pink walls. Athena bounced on his tongue and cursed him for how good he was. He flipped her over and nestled his face between her legs, pinning them down to control her movement. She whimpered and gazed at his wide tongue slathering her vulva. He switched up and flicked the tip of his tongue against her clit and she threw an arm over her eyes, unable to watch his entire mouth do a praise dance all over her sensitive nerve endings. His tongue spelled out his name all over her labia and clit, claiming her for himself.

"Ohmigod…Damian…I'm cumming baby! You're making me cum all in your mouth…oh God!"

Her thighs snapped around his head and he hung on, keeping his thick lips pressed against her clit giving it small circles. His head and neck rocked and rolled with all of her flailing limbs on the bed. She was strong so he had to put some muscle on her to keep her from flying across the room with her orgasm. He pinched the tips of her nipples and she cursed him yet again with her thighs shaking uncontrollably.

It took a few minutes for her body to simmer back down and he made note that she was multi-orgasmic. He felt like a lucky sonofabitch.

"I was not expecting that," she huffed out. "You can go for a long time. Jesus!'

Damian raised his body up to be closer to her on the bed. She was covered in sweat and strands of her hair clung to her cheeks in damp ringlets. Brushing back her hair, Athena rolled over to lay her head against his chest. They cuddled quietly, watching the lights of the strip twinkling their seductive call to gamble and dance. When her breathing settled, they kissed and he fondled her breasts. Her eyes became glassy and her gently fingered her pussy, watching her expression to learn what she liked for research purposes. He liked nice plump titties and a tight pussy. She had both. His calloused fingers created the perfect friction she needed and he pleasured her vulva and slick walls until her pussy clenched around his two curled fingers.

"That's my good girl," he said, gazing at her beautiful face as her mouth dropped open from the intense release. "My dick will feel even better once you let me put it in this pretty pussy."

He looked at the bald shiny vulva of her Brazilian wax and his mouth watered. He'd never had a hairless pussy before. It didn't even feel real and he was captivated by the smooth slickness.

"Will you let me nut all over this pussy?"

Athena's mouth still gaped open and his words had her pussy throbbing all over his fingers.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said. "So tight and wet. Can I make a big ole mess inside of here too?"

"Oh!"

Athena almost collapsed on herself riding out her wave of pleasure.

"I know this pussy will squeeze my big dick so good."

He moved his fingers a little to extend her release and pressed his thumb into her clit hard.

"I'll smack these big nuts against that ass too…make you cum all over my balls."

She was like putty in his hands. He pulled out his fingers and licked them. God she tasted even better than before. How was that possible? He allowed her to rest while he kissed and licked her all over, sucking on her toes while he played with his dick for her. Her eyes traced every part of his body and the lust she had for it was quite evident. He felt the same way about hers. They were built for each other.

After caressing her curves and valleys, he pulled her on top of him to feel skin on skin warmth. Her hair fanned out all across his neck and he sniffed the fragrant hair oil she coated her tresses with. Jasmine and maybe rose oil mixed in.

They both fell asleep until the morning sun rose up, the light falling across their naked bodies like a cozy yellow blanket.

Athena slid down his chest and engulfed the head of his penis in wet warmth, bobbing her head while he touched her hair. He said nothing when she climbed on top of him and slid her pussy down his length unsheathed. Her eyes didn't have desire or lust in them anymore…no, something else more powerful watched him as she went up and down on him so slow that his toes curled. His dick had her pussy stretched and talking. She had his shaft shiny and bewitched and once she started gyrating around and kissing his neck, he was mentally gone. God had to be looking out for him to bring her into his life.

Damian sat up and held Athena close. They rocked together on the bed face to face, staring into each other's eyes within a protective fortress of lovemaking. The world outside had vanished and there was only bliss for them inside. He would do anything this woman asked him to do for the rest of his days on earth.

"Fuck…Athena…"

Her ass cheeks felt slippery and wet from their natural lubrication flowing so freely on his lap. He was on the verge of ejaculating.

"'Bout to cum…"

She held the nape of his neck and pressed her forehead against his.

"Cum in my pussy," she whispered into his mouth.

"You sure?"

"Please. I want to feel you cumming inside me."

He groaned and thrust up into her faster, simply luxuriating in the snug hold she had on his dick. He lifted her by her hips and spread his legs more to get deeper inside.

"Don't ever leave me, Damian," she whispered.

He bucked into her hard and clasped her back with anchoring arms as a powerful flow surged from his balls and through his dick.

"I'd never leave you, Athena…you're my woman…"

She cried out and he shouted with her as his orgasm raced after hers.

"Oh my fucking God!" he hollered into her neck as hard throbs pushed hot cum into her pussy.

His body jerked several times and she trembled in his arms. Gasping together in a tangle of arms and legs and loving words, Damian and Athena shocked their own senses with the passion of their sex. She pulled away from him and sat back on her rump. He looked at her vulva. Her inner labia were plump and spread wide. Her pink opening still had the round gaping cavern of where his dick stretched her. Some of his creamy white semen spilled out in a gush. She played with it, smearing it all over her labia and clit.

He stroked her thigh.

"You can consider all that my signature for our contract," he said.

She laughed and held her labia open for him to see the continuous running trail of cum he put in her.

"It's so warm in my pussy," she said.

He snuggled up to her and they kissed for a long time before his stomach grumbled. Damian ordered room service for them and he had everything set up after Athena showered and walked out wearing one of his clean t-shirts. A full Creole-styled breakfast with champagne and cranberry juice was eaten on the bed. There was no rush to be anywhere. Athena's family was busy doing their own thing inside their suites. They ate their fill and snuggled under the covers together, letting the air-conditioner run giving them an excuse to spoon in body heat.

By noon Damian had his dick back inside of her raw under the covers, hitting it from his side with her back pressed into him. He whispered the filthiest things in her ear and fucked her like he missed her, like she had been waiting for him to get out of prison. Athena took that dick and choked it with her pussy. He fucked her within an inch of her life like he had something to prove. Damian put it down so good that she started sobbing and begged him to fuck her harder. He had vacillated between gentle and hard lovemaking, and Athena seemed to enjoy both ways, but her tears ushered in a pistoning of his hips to give her what she wanted.

Shoving her face down on top of the covers, he kept his hand on her neck and slammed into her perky ass. His back shots kept her cheeks clapping and his balls slapping. He glanced across the room at the mirrored closet doors and locked eyes with Athena. She watched him power drill into her with the happiest expression on her face. He slapped her ass hard several times and those round brown cheeks bounced in his palm like jello.

Damian wondered if she was one of those types that liked the idea of fucking a nigga fresh out the pen. She liked the way he talked dirty to her, his aggression exciting her with those tight pussy clenches she gave him. Didn't they say good girls always liked fucking with bad boys until they married a good boy later in life once they got all that illicitness out of their system?

Nah. Athena wasn't the good boy type. She knew how to talk greasy to people using fancy big words. He witnessed that at Donnie's celebration party. Beneath her perfect society princess façade was a gangster at heart. She had a cunning ruthlessness hidden under the calm, calculated exterior. Watching her face as he clapped her cheeks he recognized what she needed in a man. Someone who could control her in bed. Make her submit. Those tears weren't just from pleasure: she cried because she found the one man who could dominate her soul.

She arched her back and he pressed his hands lower on her spine. He circled his waist and she bit the covers and clawed the sheets. He spanked her with enough force to make her head jolt forward.

"Look at me," he demanded.

She turned her head and her dewy eyes stared back at him.

"Throw my pussy on this dick."

Her eyes widened at him claiming her pussy as his. A sparkle of joy glinted off her dark irises. He smacked her left ass cheek when she didn't move fast enough. Halting his thrusts, Damian looked down at her ass.

"That wasn't a suggestion," he said.

He didn't need to raise his voice, just shifted the tone the way he did when he was in prison and another inmate wanted to bother him out in the yard just to test him. They always found out that his soft controlled timbre could be backed up with brutal force. Athena picked up on that and jiggled her backside, sliding off his dick to position herself better before sliding back on his stiffness.

"Like that?" she asked.

Damn she fucked good. How many lames had she wasted prime pussy on before him? She chewed on her bottom lip until she had the best rhythm going for him and he grunted each time her cheeks slapped against his hard body.

"Is that good for you?" she cooed.

He didn't answer and that encouraged her to show out for him to get a reaction. His balls ached to cum.

"Fuck that shit Athena…"

She wiggled and he closed his eyes.

"Bitch, I said fuck this dick."

He pushed her face down again, had her body all the way on her stomach and started pounding her in that position until she screamed into the pillow her final orgasm of the day with him. The tight rings of her pussy tugging on his dick gave him permission to flood her with another eruption of semen. He dropped onto her back gulping all the air he could to help him tumble over next to her in a weakened heap.

Athena rolled against him again and clutched onto his chest, her fingernails softly circling the hairs around his left nipple.

"We gotta take a break," he said, "I know your pussy is sore because I was wearing that thang out."

She chuckled.

"I haven't been fucked this well in a long time," she said.

"Just well?"

"We have to go a few more times to see if this was just first time luckiness, or if my back will forever be blown out by you."

"Forever?" he said, looking down at her face.

"Is this a one and done, Damian?"

The hesitation in her voice proved to him that she had met her match and didn't want it to slip through her fingers.

"No one will ever take your place, Athena. Hear me? You're my angel."

Her eyes welled up, and she cried.

"Hey…hey…baby…," he said cuddling her closer.

"You're the one thing I have in my life right now that's just all mine," she said. "I don't want to lose that."

"I ain't going nowhere. Hey…look at me…I'm here for the long haul. You're the head that turns this body. When I get into the ring again, I'm going to bring you boxing heads on a platter until I prove all of your faith in me. You're the only person who stepped out on my behalf to help me without question. From day one. I have to repay you for that."

"What happens after you become champion?"

"Whatever we want."

He held her tight until she fell asleep in his arms, assuring her that they were a united team.

"It's you and me against the world, Athena," he whispered into her ear as she slumbered.

Chapter 10 HERE.

Tag List:

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[freshthoughts2020]

[bluntshavingrazor]

Spoilers for Loki S02E03

[makeminemarvelcomix]

Warming up to Robert Downey Jr as dr doom.

I want to see Dr Doom pwn the council of kangs like a bunch of noobs.

[destinyc1020]

Yo.........

Oh his career in Hollywood is DONE-done.... 😬

👀👀

There must be pretty legit evidence that he's majorly guilty. (No pun intended)

I swear....I don't think I've seen someone's career rise and fall so fast lol.... 🤣🤣

It's not funny..... But you know, you gotta chuckle at the irony. Like, WOW....

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Is It Really That Bad?

“Superhero movie fatigue” is the idea that, because of the recent oversaturation of the market with superhero movies combined with the increased interconnectivity of the stories and the push for elaborate narratives with movies serving as building blocks for franchises rather than standalone experiences, audiences are getting tired of superheroes and the genre is finally starting to show cracks and die off. This idea is incredibly flawed for a wide variety of reasons (Wakanda Forever’s success alone easily debunking it), but it’s kind of interesting seeing how opinions shifted towards these movies so quickly. Obviously the oversaturation thing is indisputable as the sheer volume of releases in the wake of Endgame can attest to, but when you’re releasing that much that quickly the weaker works are bound to stand out more. To really examine why people feel this way, one must single out the weakest link in the chain, and as far as critical and audience reactions go there is no weaker link than Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

The Ant-Man movies have always been a bit divisive among audiences, but I’ve always maintained that they are the most overlooked and underappreciated films in the MCU. They are low-stakes, lighthearted heist films with strong focus on friendship and family while making full creative use of the title character’s abilities. While by no means the greatest superhero movies ever, they were a breath of fresh air in between the bigger, “save the world/universe” films other superheroes got and were carried by a likable cast spearheaded by the charming and hilarious Paul Rudd. Maybe it was hard to want to call these films your favorite , but they’re even harder to call the worst or even really that bad.

That changed with Quantumania. Critics were pretty mixed on this one, but audiences were scathing, comparing the film unfavorably to Spy Kids 3: Game Over and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl due to the cartoonishness of the CGI and the uncanny similarities shared between Mr. Electric from the latter film and this movie’s take on M.O.D.O.K. While the movie wasn’t some massive bomb, it was fighting an uphill battle from the moment of announcement and was losing handily with fans. Between this and Shazam: Fury of the Gods, people were proclaiming “superhero fatigue” was here to stay and Marvel was going down the drain… at least until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 played that Uno Reverse card and restored people’s hope.

So with the fickleness of audiences taken into account and the lack of water the “superhero fatigue” idea holds, I decided to take a look at Quantumania and see what the fuss was all about. I mean, come on, it’s just an Ant-Man movie, right? Is it really that bad, or is the fatigue real after all?

THE GOOD

I’m absolutely elated to report that my boy M.O.D.O.K. was done justice.

Yes, they did indeed yassify him to make his ultimate redemption easier to swallow (audiences aren’t nice enough to accept a really ugly person being heroic in the eyes of executives), but for me the core appeal of M.O.D.O.K. is how absolutely goofy he looks combined with being a legitimate threat, and this take on him mostly delivers on the latter while delivering the former in spades. As soon as he revealed his face for the first time, I completely lost my shit, and every time he appeared after I was pretty overjoyed.

It helps that this reimagined version is the completely serviceable but otherwise unremarkable villain Darren Cross from the first film rebuilt as a cyborg. While the writing and comedy aren’t doing him too many favors, giving him more diverse and unique powers as opposed to just being Ant-Man, but bad is a great and inspired move, and Corey Stoll is clearly having a lot of fun hamming it up as this goofy cyborg death machine. His ridiculous heroic sacrifice coupled with his delirious dying christening as an Avenger by a confused Scott really helps cement him as the best thing in this movie. Move over, Cap! We’ve got a new perfect ass in the Avengers!

As bad as the effects can be, which we’ll get to later, there are some really fun and unique designs for the alien beings inhabiting the Quantum Realm. And despite the film’s issues utilizing Scott’s powers (again, we’ll get to it later), there is a really cool sequence involving millions of Ant-Mans working together just like real ants.

And now I must unfortunately give props to Johnathan Majors, a real-life asshole who is regrettably a good actor. He takes the generic, cookie cutter doomsday villain dialogue this film affords him and injects so much menace and intensity into him that it honestly makes him seem better written then he is. His multiple variants even get a silly, comic booky mid credits scene with a whole stadium of whooping and cheering Kangs that manages to be cheesy in a good way (aside from how shitty the Scarlet Centurion looks).

THE BAD

Unfortunately, Kang runs into the same sort of problems that plagued Gorr in Love and Thunder, but it’s exacerbated by the fact he’s meant to be the next big bad of the MCU. The film wants to sell you that this Kang is an unstoppable badass who has wiped out innumerable timelines and slaughtered countless Avengers (including Thor, a god)… and yet he ends up getting killed by the combined efforts of a swarm of ants, a goofy floating head, and fucking Ant-Man of all heroes. It is genuinely baffling that they thought the best way to hype up their next Thanos was to have him lose to the goofy heist guy who talks to bugs. It’s like if Guardians of the Galaxy debuted Thanos by having him get his ass handed to him by Howard or Cosmo.

It doesn’t help that in spite of Majors elevating the writing with his performance, he suffers like Gorr did from inconsistent characterization. We are shown in flashback that despite being evil he does have honor and is willing to keep promises… and then a few scenes later he goes back on his word to return Scott’s daughter in exchange for help. It certainly does him no favors that when he’s not inconsistent, he’s a bit too mysterious for his own good, leading to it being hard to really grasp what his personality is beyond being a generic doomsday villain.

It’s not as if the writing does anyone else well, though. Scott is still charming as ever thanks to Paul Rudd, but he’s also shockingly unfunny here. Much of this can be chalked up to his entire supporting cast being written out of the movie save for his daughter and the Pym-Van Dyne family. You could see the foreshadowing to this in Endgame, with the ending featuring Scott, Hope, and Cassie together without a hint of the rest of the family, but it takes full force here with only Jimmy Woo popping in for a non-speaking cameo. The removal of at least 80% of what made Scott grounded and relatable being dropped does nothing but hamper him and lead to him feeling incredibly generic.

It doesn’t help the Pym-Van Dyne family all end up being a bunch of assholes, aside from Hank who is now a silly old dad obsessed with ants and leads an army of hyper-advanced socialist ants into battle against Kang, which might make him the most badass character in the movie. It’s understandable the others can’t measure up to anything that cool, but just how awful they are is still pretty egregious.

Hope is bland and mostly inoffensive, but I think that just makes her worse; Evangeline Lilly is an anti-vaxxer, and if you’re gonna be anti-vaxx you need to really bring your A-game for me to overlook your moral failings for the duration of a film (like Letitia Wright in Wakanda Forever). She didn’t even bring her J-game. Then there’s Janet. Janet is a fucking horrible person. All she does in this movie is offer vague foreshadowing, conceal the truth from her family whenever possible, and reveal she once fucked Bill Murray during his awful, pointless cameo. Michelle Pfeiffer’s talents are absolutely wasted in a role where she exists seemingly to dump exposition.

Finally, there’s Cassie. Emma Fuhrmann’s portrayal of the character was one of the most praised aspects of Endgame, with her giving a very believable and emotional take on the character as a teen. For reasons beyond my understanding, they recast her with Kathryn Newton, and I’ve gotta say she is not even remotely believable as Scott’s daughter. She’s easily the worst character in the movie, to the point you have to wonder what the point of the recast was. Did they want Cassie to suck?

Then there’s the Quantum Realm itself. Aside from some cool alien designs, the Quantum Realm is unbelievably boring and does nothing to allow our heroes to use their skills in fun ways. The fact it’s rendered in really unconvincing CGI like an early 2000s Robert Rodriguez kid’s movie does nothing to beat those Spy Kid allegations. At least with those movies the cheap CGI felt like part of the charm; coming from Disney, one of the most powerful studios on earth, it’s just unforgivable.

But what ultimately kills this movie is that it is a film designed for literally no one. The story feels like an AI was prompted to generate a Marvel script written by an MCU hater, as it has every cliche associated with a mediocre superhero movie on full display. You have abysmal special effects and costumes, terrible editing, awkward humor undermining drama, and an absurdly high-stakes plot, the hallmarks of any bad superhero movie, but even then it manages to fuck that up. As high as the stakes are in the plot considering it concerns the literal annihilation of multiple alternate timelines, there’s not really a sense of thrill or urgency at play here, for instance. And every single problem is compounded by the fact they chose Ant-Man as the lead.

What makes Ant-Man’s solo films work is the low stakes and fun supporting cast, and that’s all absent here. Everything there is to like about this character is excised so he can be inserted into a plot to prop up the next big villain, which as stated above the film also fails to do. No character really develops here, there’s no personal growth at all for Scott, and it just ends up feeling like someone mashing action figures together rather than any attempt at a coherent story.

And his powers are never used in creative ways either! It’s all shrink-grow-punch, with the alien world leaving no room for things like enlarging Thomas the Tank Engine or shrinking down buildings. Nothing about this film allows the hero to be utilized properly outside of one scene; you could replace Ant-Man with almost anyone, even Hawkeye, and it would make no difference at all because in reality this movie exists to debut Kang, nothing more and nothing less. The hero never mattered at all, and in the end it just shit all over a good character for nothing.

IS IT REALLY THAT BAD?

This is, hands down, the worst film in the MCU.

Every other bad or divisive movie in the MCU at least has some semblance of understanding for story structure, even if they go about it in stupid ways. Thor: The Dark World furthered the relationship between Thor and Loki while still being part of a larger story; Love and Thunder at least told a self-contained story that exists on its own merits without tying in to some grand storyline; Black Widow at least developed its characters and made them feel like a believable if dysfunctional family; and Eternals is trying really damn hard, and has tons of fascinating ideas and concepts. Whatever you feel about these films, they at least have some grasp on how to tell a story, however tenuous a grasp it may be.

But Quantumania just doesn’t. It’s supposed to be an Ant-Man movie, but it doesn’t understand why people like the character. It wants to hype up Kang, but it doesn’t understand what’s needed to make him feel threatening. It wants to be an epic sci-Fi comedy adventure, but it’s not utilizing the right characters in the right locations to excel in any of these genres. And most of all, it’s trying to be an important and major foot forward for the MCU, but it’s structured in a way that is generic and, most damningly, pointless. It does not feel like this movie matters at all aside from a mid-credits scene, which wouldn’t be an issue if this film wasn’t so desperately trying to feel important. It says a lot about how hard this film failed when the audiences responded more warmly to a Black Panther movie with no Chadwick Boseman than to the film introducing the overarching big bad of the next few years worth of films and shows.

It’s not even just that this is a bad movie, though; it’s also boring. I actually fell asleep for a minute while watching this because there was nothing engaging. These aren’t the characters I cared about in previous films, there’s no emotional grounding at all. If Corey Stoll’s giant goofy head isn’t onscreen, what is there to give a shit about? Why not close my eyes and dream of something better?

The fact this film is above a 5 boggles my mind. How is this rated higher than She-Hulk? How does this have the same rating as Ms. Marvel? In my eyes this movie deserves a 2, max, and that one extra star is entirely because of M.O.D.O.K. I couldn’t even recommend this in a “turn off your brain” kind of way because it’s not fun or exciting enough to hold your attention even if you don’t think about it. It frankly disturbs me there is a growing coalition of people on Twitter trying to gaslight people into thinking this movie was good, because I genuinely can’t think of a single thing this film does well enough to justify watching it over almost anything else.

With all that said, does this prove that “superhero fatigue” is real? No. If anything, this film’s failure and the success and acclaim of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 prove the exact opposite. What we have is Bad Movie Fatigue. Audiences are sick and tired of sloppily-written, lazy, overindulgent CGI spectacles meant to advance decade-long storylines and sell toys. We want films with strong emotional cores, well-crafted stories, and characters we can relate to and empathize with. We want stuff like the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, The Batman, The Suicide Squad, or Peacemaker, and we’re not gonna settle for procedurally-generated cookie cutter slop that feels like it was made by someone who hates the genre. We want good movies, and if we can’t have that at least make an entertaining and stylish mess like Multiverse of Madness.

Quantumania is Marvel hitting rock bottom, but you know what they say about hitting rock bottom: There’s nowhere to go but up. The final Guardians of the Galaxy proved there’s still hope for Marvel; let’s just pray they never make anything as pointless and forgettable as Quantumania ever again.

[megane96]

CONGRATULATIONS to Jonathan Majors and Meagan Good for getting engaged !!!! They went through SO MUSH together. I'm glad they don't let NOBODY from the outside come between them. Everybody is a body language reader, or a therapist, until they have to "predict" their own life. And they didn't let NOBODY'S opinions dictate what they should or should not do. Life lesson right there. The sky is the limit. Congratulations again ❤️❤️🙌🏾🙌🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾.

[killslumflower]

Due to the allegations against johnathan majors I will no longer be including him in any of my fics, lights off! Lead male role will now be between yahya Abdul-mateen, John boyega

And I’m very willing to take you guys requests because at this moment I can’t think of all the heartthrobs in our community!

Preferably a darkskinned male :) please drop your suggestions I planned to have part one out tonight, but it may come tomorrow so I can get you guys suggestions in

This blog as mentioned in my requests is NOT a safe place for abusers of any kind, as a survivor of sexual abuse and a witness too domestic violence of my loved ones through out my life I will never write for anyone even being suspected. I REFUSE. I stand with the survivors 100% until anything is proven otherwise.

If anyone is personally dealing with this currently, this is a safe place for you please reach out to me anytime you feel you need support! And utilize all resources below ❤️

[blklovematters]

[cyarskj1899]

He doesn’t know any other black women apart from Coretta Scott king you cannot convince me otherwise. And I FULLY BELIEVE IT! What a joke like corretta Scott king is more than MLK wife she’s a woman who is an activist just like her husband and she continued with her activism even after her husband was killed you should learn to google her since you mention her name so much and Meagan not so Good, you ma’am are a Foolish ass pick me dumb fuck

[cyarsk5230]

[uzumaki-rebellion]

"Sinner & Saint: Creed III Chapter 9"Preview

Need to catch up? Masterlist HERE.

“Woke up this mornin' Found my peace of mind And finally I can say to you That I, feel good this mornin' No, I can't deny So finally, I can lay with you And feel, feel the pleasure Finally do what lovers do, with you, babe Ride for two Don't you know, oh So we, can roam all we want to, yeah

Set fire to the fuckin' pavement They bound to drown, so the game we play (aye) Just do what I say, do what I say, no (say) My baby got her own fuckin' ways now I'm tellin' y'all she ain't fuckin' playin', aye And ain't no problems from her man No, no, she ain't worried (she ain't worried)”

Terrace Martin – “This Morning (feat. Arin Ray and Smino)”

She moved through the crowd like a silent wind through chimes that tinkled once she blew past. Her steps were assured, eyes laser sharp on who she needed to speak to on his behalf.

Damian watched in awe as Athena worked the packed penthouse filled with stars, sports influencers, executives, groupies, agents, managers, lawyers, and riff raff. He drank a few shots, gobbled up some hors d'oeuvres, and kept near his new boss. A few women checked him out and tried making conversation with him. He acted polite, answered very few questions about his connection to Athena and rested in the cut letting her lead everything. Feeling out of place once more, his brooding appearance seemed to attract even more women as the party continued through the night. Bianca excused herself and he realized that the penthouse they partied in was not the one Donnie and his family stayed in. Smart.

“Damian, this is Karl Gaston and Alessandro Beyna. Karl is a regional wealth advisor in the Cayman Islands and Alessandro handles investments there,” Athena said.

Damian shook their hands and tried to look friendly. Athena tossed back her hair and placed a hand on  his arm.

“Damian will soon be signing with my brother’s company and I’ll be working out some  portfolio plans for him. He’s going to need people that can take care of his money for future investments,” Athena said.

The two white men nearly salivated listening to her. Athena had his pockets lined up with imaginary money. The two men would laugh him out of the hotel if they knew the total amount of cash he had in his paltry bank account at that moment. He rolled with her flow, keeping stoic in their presence. Business cards were exchanged with him and not Athena. She directed all the power to him turning into his conduit for all transactions in the place. Women were bolder, grabbing his attention with flirty banter and hungry stares. Nothing was subtle. He spent a moment alone with Athena in the back of the main room, until Donnie caught up with them. They took pictures together with hired photographers documenting the party for Donnie. It didn’t take long for the champ to shoehorn his way between himself and Athena. She allowed it, a sly grin on her face as she joined a group of women.

“She’s in her zone,” Donnie said, glancing at his sister.

“Half the shit she says to the people goes over my head,” Damian said.

“Wheeling and dealing.”

“She’s good. Knows a ton of people here.”

“She’ll keep the sharks away. For now, enjoy the anonymity,” Donnie said.

Damian looked Donnie in the eye.

“You two a thing?” Donnie asked.

“Business partners.”

Damian walked away before Donnie could flap his gums about anything else. Athena was a grown ass woman. Her baby brother wasn’t about to lecture him on hooking up with her. She reached for Damian’s hand and pulled him toward a young Black man with hooded eyes and a garish haircut to his permed blonde hair.

“Dame this is Raven X, stylist to the stars. I’m setting up an appointment for you two to get together back in L.A.”

Raven X raked his eyes up and down Damian’s physique.

“What are you looking for, Bad Boy tease or elegant showman?” Raven X said.

Athena tilted her head and squinted at Damian.

“I’m thinking future champion. I want his fits so crisp that they cut people in the eyes just by looking at him,” she said.

Raven X nodded and stared at the top of Damian’s head.

“Great head of hair. Formidable face. I’ll give you a sexy fucking gladiator,” Raven X said.

“I like it. Talk soon,” Athena said.

She led Damian to the door.

“We’re leaving?” he asked.

“Yep. Never be the last to leave the room. Smells of desperation.”

“Where you two goin’?”

Donnie’s blaring voice stopped their escape. Athena leveled her gaze at her brother.

“Damian’s had a long night. He needs rest. We have meetings back in L.A. the moment we touch down,” Athena said.

“When can I be looped in?”

Donnie’s eyes flicked back and forth between them.

“We’ll be in touch,” Athena said.

She touched Damian’s arm and he moved past her.

“Congratulations on everything tonight,” Damian threw over his shoulder.

Donnie’s expression appeared bewildered as they left the suite.

“Don’t worry, I’ll have terms and conditions lined up for you before we meet with my brother. You and I have to decide what trajectory you want for your career the next eighteen months.”

“I just need some good fights lined up.”

“You need more than that. We have to cultivate an image, create buzz with a catchy name—“

“Diamond Dame”

“What?”

“Diamond Dame is what I went by before I was in the pen.”

They slipped into a private elevator and went up two floors. Athena eyed him from head to toe. She touched the collar of his shirt.

“Hmmm, Diamond Dame. With Raven’s capable hands, you just might live up to that name. I like it. Classy. Rolls off the tongue.”

“Yeah?” he said, moving in closer to her.

The elevator doors opened and Athena jumped back from him like water hitting hot grease. Mary Anne Creed stood in front of the opening dressed in a linen two-piece suit.

“Ma,” Athen squeaked out. “Where are you going?”

“Well, Amara is fast asleep and Bianca is back in their suite. I’m free to go do a little gambling on the house. Where are you two headed?”

“We just came from Donnie’s party.”

Mary Anne checked her vintage diamond Cartier watch.

“It’s not even midnight. Still early for his celebration to end,” Mary Anne said with a lifted eyebrow.

“Damian and I have some business to discuss. I’m his new manager.”

“Manager…?”

Athena gripped Damian’s arm and pulled him out of the lift and away from her mother.

“Yes. Enjoy throwing money away,” Athena called over her shoulder.

Damian glanced back at Donnie’s adoptive mother. Mary Anne’s sharp eyes cut into him despite the feigned pleasant look she tried to maintain.

Athena dug into her clutch and pulled out a keycard and tapped it against her suite. She led him to a busy-looking work station set up on the room’s mahogany desk. Pushing back the executive chair, she plopped down and pointed to a side chair for him to pull up next to her. A laptop came to life from the touch of her hand and onscreen she had a detailed prospective typed up with his name all over it. She scrolled through several pages and stopped at one particular page.

“You whipped this all up today before the fight?” he asked.

“I’m always prepared to snatch up talent. This is just a mock up to give you an idea of what I can do. You don’t have to sign anything now.”

She tapped the enter key and a printer behind the laptop hummed to life and began printing up several sheets of paper. When the printer spit out the last page, Athena compiled them all and stapled two separate stacks. She handed him a copy and he listened to her go over every detail on ten full pages. His brain grew foggy with all the terminology, but he listened intently, trusting her completely. After forty minutes, she poured them both fresh glasses of water from the mini-bar and paced in front of him.

“Boxing needs excitement again, and they love an underdog story. The key is, they grow tired of that scenario after a few years. I think we should play up your background, but involve you back in your community. Do some volunteer work and talks at juvie facilities. See Donnie was able to coast on being our father’s lost child, but he’s been pampered and trained by a legend. Rocky isn’t around anymore and now that my brother is retiring—”

“He’s quitting?”

Athena gave a dismissive wave of her hand.

“Donnie is old news. His era is over. His mistake was calling himself Hollywood. The connotations made him seem elitist after awhile. Even when he won the championship, people still saw him as a privileged athlete, a nepo baby lucky enough to have my daddy’s genes and access to the best that no one else did. With you—“

“I call myself Diamond, that’s not elitist?”

“Not with your narrative. You were the lost jagged rock in the cold, cruel mine that became a diamond in the rough. A long prison bid and a hard-luck come-back story outshines a rich, spoiled pretty boy tale any day.”

“Donnie didn’t have it so easy before he was adopted by your mom.”

“Is that what he told you?”

“He stayed in a group home, was in and out of foster care…”

The look on Athena’s face made him clam up tight. She rested a soft hand on his shoulder.

“One of these days, I’m going to tell you about your little friend,” she said.

“Tell me now. I have all night.”

“No. Tonight, you will read over this contract, my mission statement for you, and you’ll look for a contract lawyer on your own to go over my paperwork before you sign with me.”

Damian rolled his eyes and pushed out of his seat realizing he wasn’t getting any nookie.

“Don’t pout. Business first, pleasure later,” she said, pointing to the door.

He ambled out of her suite with his lips in a pout. She crossed her arms.

“I’ve got an amazing view of the strip. Champagne on ice…”

His words didn’t move her.

“Goodnight Diamond Dame.”

She closed the door in his face.

“I can’t believe she gave me homework,” he said, shuffling off to the elevator clutching onto precious papers that would elevate his life.

A.N.:

I'll have the complete chapter up next week, wanted to share a little teaser preview! Enjoy!

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