#what i look at when the new mcu phase 5 movies come out before loki season 2

[uboat53]

I had a revelation today about why I'm suddenly disconnected from the Marvel movies and shows that are coming out.

You see, I've been reading lot about how they've just become CGI spectacles and how it's terrible for movies, but that never bothered me. So why haven't I felt as much interest in the latest series of Marvel content, otherwise referred to as Phase 4?

I came to realize it's because they spent 22 movies building up a consistent narrative which was interesting and interconnected… and then they abandoned it.

Let me explain.

For reference, I'm an older Millennial. I grew up on Marvel stuff, X-men and Spider Man, and I was just finishing college when Iron Man (2008) came out, so I'm pretty much the prime audience for this.

Now, everything in Phases 1 through 3 of the MCU built toward Endgame, I think we can all agree that that's the case. Every solo movie, every Avengers movie, everything built one or more pieces toward what happened when Thanos snapped and then the Avengers snapped back.

Not only mechanical stuff, but there was also a build-up of trauma and experience. We saw the progression of Tony Stark's PTSD and his determination to do ANYTHING to stop what he thought was coming. We saw Steve Rogers slowly lose faith in the institutions he had once believed in. It wasn't even all trauma, though, we got to see Natasha Romanov learn to trust and James Barnes start to rebuild himself after being brainwashed.

And the snap, once it happened, was devastating. Half the population of the universe disappeared, including many of the heroes we'd been following in the various movies. Beyond the personal trauma of loss, jobs were left with no one skilled enough to do them, houses were left empty, and property was abandoned. It was clear that there was not a single person or place in the universe that wasn't dramatically affected.

Then, five years later, after everything had sort of adjusted, the Avengers snapped everyone back.

What happened then? What happened when the population suddenly doubled? When people thought lost forever, who had been grieved, came back? When people returned to find their friends and relatives had changed over the 5 years? What happened to the homes that had been left abandoned or had been taken over by other people? How did the universe suddenly feed twice as many people as had existed the day before?

Don't get me wrong, some Marvel cinema touched on some of this. We see people suddenly reappearing out of nowhere in Wandavision and the entire premise of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier revolves around a group that's angry at having what they feel is theirs taken away from them by people who have returned, but it's not the focus. Instead, we see everything jumping straight into the multiverse saga without much of a pause taken to explore the immense consequences of what the Avengers did in Endgame.

So yeah, it feels like they dropped the plot. Everything built up to Endgame and Endgame delivered a massive gut punch of a plot point, the kind that could reverberate through dozens of films, and then… nothing.

I should note that I'm not completely disconnected from the MCU, I'm still excited about Loki Season 2 and I've seen Wakanda Forever, but I'm not looking forward to the new movies or TV shows the way I did in the decade leading up to Endgame. It just doesn't feel like it's part of the same story arc anymore.

Maybe I'll get there. Maybe I'll find the new arc just as interesting as the old one, but I've figured out why I'm not there yet.

[spicycheeto]

Hi there! Just found your account and saw you wanted since questions. What do you think about the direction of the mcu in phase 4 so far? I don't see many people talk about it deeper than a superficial level (even when I do see people talk about it, it's in short Letterboxd reviews)

Oh man. I have some thoughts...

I also forgot to check back up on this. I looked at it the day you sent it in, thought about it, and never touched it until now. So here you go :)

Before we get into this, I want to make it very clear that I do enjoy the MCU. But I have some critiques about phase 4. Just so everyone knows for future discussions like this, you can still heavily enjoy media and critique it. Thank you.

First of all, we'll just start with the most obvious detail. Quantity over quality.

These days, it's very clear that Disney is just pumping projects out one after another. They certainly have the budget for better cgi, but they don't care anymore. They don't need it to look perfect. They don't need it to look great. They'll be racking in upper millions whether or not everything looks realistsic. I think this is one of the more major flaws of the new projects.

I don't know exactly when it all started going downhill, but I know it was somewhere after Shangchi. Man, I can't express how beautiful that movie was. Definitely the best phase 4 movie, in my opinion. Not many Marvel movies compare to that one. But that's beside the point.

I do not like how you need to watch other movie just to understand one. I will never understand this personally, since any movie that comes out... I will already have watched the movies leading up. No problem there.

But I can very easily understand how this would be a deal breaker for others. It's very obviously a cash grab by Disney to get more subscriptions. And we can fault them for that. It's a very annoying thing they do. And this problem was multiplied with the Loki show. After the Loki finale *spoilers* any possibility that could've ever been possible in the mcu is no possible. Because now, every single timeline and universe is out of the TVA's control. The world is in chaos now, and there is no stopping. Now every possibility from every version of the comics could come up in the mcu. I feel like that shouldn't have happened.

I think this is one of the biggest complaints people had with MoM, was that it was just chaos. The entire subject of interuniversal travel wasn't handled very well (in my opinion). Then again, this could be chopped up to crappy writing due to a feeling of urgency to pump out new stuff every three months.

Do they realize we won't combust if we wait more than two months at a time for another project? Do they think we'll stop watching altogether if we don't get supplied every fortnight? If anything, they're losing people cause the producers feel the need to push things unnecessarily. They're shooting themselves in the feet.

By biggest concern with phase 4 is the next Avengers movie. Can I be entirely honest? I don't care about the Avengers anymore. I don't care. I stopped caring after Endgame. My biggest fear is that now that they've seen the success of the infinity saga, they'll try to trump it in phases 4 and 5. Please, I beg of you Marvel, don't do this. There was a reason Infinity War and Endgame succeeded as they did. Please do not try to replicate this. You'll be racking in millions no matter what you do. Please don't try to reach trillions, if that's even possible.

This leads into my next point. I'd have been okay if they ended the official mcu after Endgame. Maybe one or two movies after, just enough to complete specific characters and storylines not completed in that movie. Then move on. End the mcu. I would have been okay with that. It would've been a disappointment, but so is how they're treating my beloved characters and how they're treating us fans. This also is fed by my fear of Endgame 2.0. I love standalone movies more than the freaking Avengers. I don't think I can describe how tired I am of the Avengers. Let's move on! Please!

The mcu feels very overwhelming at this point. So overwhelming. It's sometimes too much to even think of. If they standalone, but feed into the general overall plot that is the mcu world, I love that. Love that for them. This makes it feel less like an overwhelming hodpodge of over 20 superhero movies, and more like an actual enjoyable superhero movie.

E.x. Shangchi, Black Widow, No Way Home. Maybe this one is just me, but I THOROUGHLY enjoyed No Way Home. Maybe I just love everything Spiderman. Love him, love them. But that's beside the point again.

I do think this is it. All my thoughts for now. This was a good time to vent :)

[canonicallysoulmates]

Here are my thoughts and opinions on the first season of Loki.

First of all, if you have not re-watched this season I highly recommend it. It’s only 6hrs, pick a day, get some snacks, binge the whole thing especially if you weren’t a big fan of it the first time around because re-watching it I noticed some things that I hadn’t before but I also found myself liking some things that I hadn’t the first time around. Which is why I recommend re-watching it, cause maybe it’ll be the same for y’all and you’ll find some new things to love, and end up enjoying some things you hadn’t before. It’s really a different experience to watch the whole thing together than when you watch week to week which makes sense cause MCU shows are meant to be movie-esque.

Now, I’ve spoken pretty positively about this show almost on the daily so let’s switch it up and start with the negatives aka the things that I personally didn’t like because while I enjoyed a lot of this show there are things I wasn’t a fan of and things that did irk me a lot; the first thing is very much a pet peeve: the title sequence, I’ve mentioned it before in passing but it reminds me too much of Gravity Falls and Bill Cipher, I gave it 6 episodes, 12 if you count the re-watches, and I just don’t like it at all, I get what they were going for but I don’t think it fits the show and I’m hoping they change it for s2.

But that’s a small thing, I can deal with that, the two (technically three) big things I didn’t like - and I think this is why episode 1 is my least favorite and to me the weakest of the season - is the way the show completely ignores Odin’s abuse and the effect that had on Loki, and the way he’s written in the first three episodes. I will go into detail.

I have no shame in admitting that I am pretty forgiving when it comes to this show and its flaws but the one thing I cannot forgive is how it not only ignores Odin’s abusive behavior but tries to paint him as a loving father and like Loki was the one in the wrong using the most insulting way possible which is that scene in Ragnarok where Odin tells his sons he loves them as if an ‘I love you’ undid years of abuse and bad parenting; it shouldn’t surprise me that they did this because the mcu does have a history and a pattern of being abuse apologists like portraying Thanos killing Gamora to get the soul stone as him loving her, or completely ignoring the horrible father that Howard Stark was. But it still really pisses me off that this show in which a big theme is exploring Loki psychologically and emotionally doesn’t even make mention of what a horrible father Odin was! And it tries to make it seem that just because Loki heard his father say a version of him that he loves him, that Loki suddenly thinks of him as a loving parent (referring to that line in episode 5 where he’s talking to Sylvie and says he has betrayed everyone who has loved him and mentions his asshole of a father instead of his mother!). I didn’t need them to go into details about this, but I did want them to call abuse abuse, and acknowledge Odin was a bad father. To me this is the biggest sin so far of this series. It doesn’t surprise me but it does disappoint me.

Connected to this, and in episode 1 we stay, is the “psychological exploration” of this character. I know after episode 1 a lot of fans were all “omg Loki finally got some therapy 😭” and then there’s me in the corner, shaking my head and saying no he didn’t, not at all, not even close. There was no therapy. And there was zero character exploration. I like Mobius but he is no Linda Martin.

All that happened was Loki being shown the consequences of his actions and being directly asked multiple times if he likes hurting people which of course he doesn’t, that’s not therapy at no point did Loki’s trauma get addressed, at no point did Loki get walked through that stuff or asked why he is how he is or what happened to change him from someone who was just mischievous to someone who caused harm.

Sorry to burst y’alls bubble but Loki did not get therapy in episode 1. Change Mobius lines about how Loki is just meant to cause pain and suffering and death for “imagined slights” and you’d have pretty much the same as every other MCU movie. At most what he got was an intervention to help him realize he didn’t want to be a bad person. Intervention and therapy are not the same thing.

And again, not surprised. If the mcu doesn’t properly explore their main, multiple movie having characters trauma and issues why were we expecting them to do it with Loki? Gotta keep those expectations in check. And in part I understand that the writers had a limited amount of time and they wanted to jump right into things but if they were gonna have only one episode with an emphasis on this they could have done a much better job while still jumping into the main story and moving on to character growth. To me this is the second biggest sin. And why episode 1 is ultimately my least favorite.

Last but not least, and something I can be more lenient and forgiving about but I still don’t like is the way Loki was written in the first three episodes. The way he was written was more comical to the point of borderline clown-ish sometimes which doesn’t match his personality at all, and don’t get me wrong there are times when it works but for the most part it just comes across as weird, like the writers were trying too hard to be funny and lighthearted at some points and it just doesn’t work, it ends up with him being a joke.

I’ll use a scene that I absolutely adore as a small example: Loki singing in episode 3. It’s one of my favorite scenes of the season, absolutely live for it, it lives in my head rent free in the VIP section but it’s a very flawed scene because Loki would never. Getting drunk on a mission is what Thor would do, not Loki, that is Thor through and through so as much as I love that scene, it is a flawed, ooc Loki scene.

The good thing is the show does improve in how it writes him in the last three eps, they stop trying so hard with the comedy, he’s more serious, more badass, he still has funny moments for example his reaction to Alligator Loki was hilarious but it’s more natural and fitting. So hopefully, in season 2 it will be the same writing team, and there will be more consistency and he’ll be written less comically and more badass.

Moving on to the positives, there are a lot of things I thoroughly enjoyed, starting with having Loki back on my screen and the center of attention- my baby, my darling, my love 💚 I’m so glad that he (and Tom!) is finally getting the attention, and love, and praise, and recognition that he has been deserving of all these years!

It gave me some of my favorite Loki scenes like I mentioned Loki singing it may be a flawed scene but I loved it nonetheless, it had some really cool fight scenes especially towards the end, it gave Loki a friend! A real friend! My baby is all grown up! 😭💚

The cinematography was beautiful, like you can say a lot about this show but you cannot deny that visually it is stunning and the directing was amazing. The soundtrack was pretty good too, I mean c’mon, ‘I need a Hero’? Iconic.

This show gave us Alligator Loki! How can one not love that! It kick started what looks to be the coolest aspect of Phase 4, it gave us bi, genderfluid Loki (which also brought out some of the ugliest sides of this fandom but this ain’t the time or place for that conversation 🙃), it gave me a new favorite character in Sylvie absolutely love her 💛

It gave me hope that the sun will shine again on Thor and Loki! That they’ll cross paths once again at some point and be reunited! And when they are, we better get that hug!

It gave me my new OTP in the form of Loki x Sylvie, they have great chemistry, and they’re super cute together, and they’re so good for one another and I just love them so much; I know it’s a “controversial” ship but I hope they stick to it and we get more of them in s2 because they are the best couple Marvel has ever given us they are passionate and cute and angsty, and they have the foundation for the most epic love story.

In conclusion, was Loki season 1 perfect? Was it everything I wanted? Nope. But ultimately, it gave me more that I enjoyed than not- also, I can tell this was something that was done with a lot of love and joy and effort put into it which as someone who has loved a show where the writer’s room noticeably didn’t give a rat’s ass, I can appreciate a lot.

Overall I’m very happy with the first season; I love this show, flaws and all, and I can’t wait for s2!

[theabominableblogger]

My Reaction to “Avengers Endgame”

Yes- I still haven’t seen this movie.  Yes I know exactly what happens in this movie.  I mainly avoided it for a while due to overhype but with some convincing from my brother, Imma sit my butt down and try to watch this.

Pressing... play!

Right off the bat, I feel like I should warn you guys and say that I have... my opinions... about stuff.  Plus I’m a dumbass about Marvel so just bear with me.

I like that Disney Plus has to warn us about product placement

Clint!

Are we gonna see little Nathaniel running around- THERE he is!

We are gonna see Clint’s entire family get freaking obliterated

Is all the rumbling from the sky or are those airplanes freaking crashing to Earth in the distance?

What if they pulled a reverse WandaVision and showed the people getting snapped out of existence in a future film or show?  That would be freaking terrifying.

They’re [Tony and Nebula] playing paper football...

I wanna see more of THEIR interactions aboard the Milano.  The shots of them just repairing the ship are great too.

“I’m fine.  Totally fine.”  Everyone ever.

I also like you see the visual difference between Tony and Nebula.  While he’s growing gaunt and haggard from loss of oxygen, you can still see that Nebula looks absolutely fine because she’s like 75% android

So between 1995 and now, what the heck has Carol been up to?

“Thanos wiped out... 50% of all living creatures.”  So like entire ecosystems are just demolished.

*anthropology major part of my brain scrambling for answers*

“We lost.  And you [Steve] weren’t there.”  HE WAS IN WAKANDA!

Wait so the arc reactor ISN’T in Tony’s chest anymore?

“Where the hell have you [Carol] been all this time?”  Good question!

*silently bops to opening theme*

For some reason, I just really want the ship radio to randomly turn on so you just see everyone sitting awkwardly as “Piano Man” plays over the speakers

*Thanos slowly cooks his food*  Faster, all together now!  COOKING CAN BE FUN!

“I [Thanos] used the stones to destroy the stones.”  ...what?

“I am...[Thanos] inevitable.”  *starts humming “Inevitable” from TGWDLM*

“I [Thor] went for the head.”  YES YOU DID

[FIVE YEARS LATER] All righty so we’re doing this

*gasps*  Is... Steve running the therapy sit downs like Sam did in “The Winter Soldier”?  That’s awesome.  I really like this tidbit.

I’m also really liking Alan Silvestri’s score for this so far

I’m really trying not to nitpick but I feel like it would take more than 5 years for greenery to just completely overtake a suburban neighborhood

Also wow pre COVID life looks great you guys

“There’s a part of me that doesn’t even wanna find him.”  Are they talking about... Clint?  Is Clint just going the full vigilante route?

DOES HE KILL PEOPLE?!?

I really like Steve and Natasha’s friendship in these movies but for some reason I don’t feel like we get enough of Natasha for me to get behind her on an emotional standpoint

Are they gonna use the quantum realm to jumpstart the multiverse for Phase 4?

Also speaking of multiverse, I honestly really don’t want Spiderman:  No Way Home or Wandavision to get too cluttered by that

I like Tony’s lake house.  And he got a whole vegetable garden going too.  Kudos!

The little kid who plays Morgan Stark is adorable

“Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel.”  Which we obviously won’t.

“We’re gonna need a really big brain.”  So where the [expletive] is Banner?

“Stranger danger.”  *snorts*

“Dab!”  *rolls eyes*

So is the whole Professor Hulk thing permanent?  I know he’s gonna be in the She-Hulk show but I’m wondering how they’re gonna tackle that.  And they’re gonna have Tim Roth too!

*smiles when Tony takes Morgan to bed*

Steve Rogers here [when they do the first time travel tests] is a Look ™

Maybe don’t let the GIANT GREEN MAN keep pressing a bunch of tiny tiny important buttons on a dashboard

*laughs at Steve shaking his head in disbelief when they finally bring Scott back*

*Tony’s car races toward the Avengers base*  NYOOOMMMM

*Tony rolls down his window*  It’s Britney, bitch

“And maybe not die trying.”  And you definitely will.

This whole bit where Scott keeps losing his dorito only to get another one from Bruce feels like a Doritos commercial.

*jams out to "Supersonic Rocket Ship by The Kinks*

Did they just keep reducing the green pigment for Hulk or what?

*sighs when they reveal Fat!Thor*

MIEK’S ALIVE!

Please tell me Noobmaster69 is Kid Loki, whom we meet in the Loki series

“Don’t... say that name.”  “Yeah we actually don’t say that name here.”  I like this.  I like that Thor has so much resentment for killing Thanos at the wrong time and that he felt that could have done better cause he’s A GOD.  So the fact that THANOS was on equal level and BEAT HIM-

Hawkeye’s killing people

This sword fight’s great [between the Yakuza person and Clint]

WHY DIDN’T THEY BUILD ON THIS [Clint and Natasha’s connection] ???

*laughs when Rhodey suggests killing baby Thanos*

These shots of Clint going through the Quantum Realm looks like something straight out of Andy Park’s concept art and that’s awesome

“Well I [Scott] haven’t [encountered an Infinity Stone] but I don’t even know what the hell you’re all talking about.”  *snorts*

“The Aether, firstly, is not a stone.”  Thank you!

The little glance Nebula gives after Thor mentions the Dark Elves just make me think that somewhere down the road, she has either A) encountered them or B) has encountered other Asgardians besides Thor

“Guys if you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York.”  “Shut the front door.”  *laughs*

Also underrated trio:  Steve, Natasha, and Bruce.  Gimme more.

Wait a minute, in 2012, Doctor Strange wasn’t active yet.  So are they gonna go see- OOOOOOOHHHHHH

[NEW YORK 2012] Oh here we go

*cracks up when Bruce very half-assedly smashes stuff on the street*

“I’m looking for Doctor Strange.”  “You’re about five years too early.”  Wait a minute.

HOW DOES SHE [the Ancient One] KNOW?!?

*giggles at Thor and Rocket sneaking in the background with a bored Loki in focus*

“That’s my [Thor’s] mother.  She dies today.”  I love this scene already.

Also WHY IS THOR- or the Thor films in general- have like the most well written characters in the whole canon?

It’s those movies, Guardians 2, The Winter Soldier, Civil War, aaand.... I can’t think of any more of them. 

Oh yeah and WANDAVISION cause THAT HIT ME LIKE A TRUCK-

Rocket just said he thinks of the Guardians as his family I’m gonna die...

What about their [Natasha and Rhodey’s] friendship?!?  I want more of that!

“Ronan’s obsession... clouds his judgment.”  ...HUH

*Thanos uses his sword to lift up Nebula’s chin*  Aw heck no

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s America’s ass.”  *has to take a second before nodding in agreement*

Wait is that Jasper Stillwell?

“Flick me.”  That bit alone could be taken out of context

“We’re in route to Doctor List.”  Who’s Doctor List?  Is that a code name?

“Hail Hydra.”  THE BASTARDS WENT AND DID IT

Please tell me this hand off scene is gonna be the opening for the Loki show.  Please tell me this is gonna happen.

*Loki takes the Tesseract again*  AND HE’S GOOONNNEE!!

LET’S GET TO FREAKING JUNE ALREADY!

*ends up quoting “Yeah, I know, I know” along with Steve*

I’m really glad Tilda Swinton actually came back for this cameo

*keeps slapping my laptop screen when people keep saying Doctor Strange made a mistake when it was an explicit point in Infinity War where he encountered 14 million other AUs to find the best result*

Are you telling me that this whole plan could derail because Nebula accidentally hacked into her own WiFI network?  Are you seriously doing this?

*Thanos and Ebony Maw scan Nebula’s duplicate memory bank and track her down*  Are you freaking kidding me?

...I have 96 minutes left?!?

“The future hasn’t been kind to you [Thor], has it?”  Frigga is underrated

So for these shots with Jane, are they just reusing different shots from Thor 2 or just footage from deleted scenes?

Can we talk about how Frigga is absolutely the best parent Thor has?  Meanwhile her husband ODIN is like “oh yeah by the way you have a secret sister totes magotes i’ll die now byeeee”

*sings along with “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone*

*laughs when we cut to Quill just very badly singing along to his iPod in the distance*

I want a bonus short with just Rhodey and Nebula doing their thing

*Nebula gets her memory taken over by 2014 Thanos*  Nooooooo...

Are the glasses that Tony wears here part of EDITH from “Far From Home” or are they like a prototype?

Also I haven’t seen “Far From Home” yet because Sony hates me

Doctor Zola?!?

*jams out to the music playing when we see Hank Pym’s lab*

“A little girl would be nice.  Less of a chance that she’ll end up exactly like me [Howard Stark].”  *gasps softly*

Oh my God, he’s [Steve] in Peggy’s office

Alan Silvestri is really killing it with this score

JARVIS!!

Wait and that’s the guy from “Agent Carter”!

Ohhh that shot’s [of Thanos’s ship coming out of the clouds] awesome...

*2014 Nebula hands Thanos the Pym particles*  Oh are you kidding me...

The CGI for Red Skull is also awesome

*gasps when Natasha reveals that she never knew her dad’s name when Red Skull told it to her*

*is super bummed out when Natasha sacrifices herself*

Kevin Feige really went and said “so Phases 3 and 4 are gonna make everybody cry” and the writers went “YES”

Wait doesn’t Cap go and return the stones at the end of the movie?  How’s he gonna handle meeting Red Skull on Vormir then?

“It’s like... I [Bruce] was made for this.”  Please someone get Mark Ruffalo his own Hulk movie before he combusts from giving out more spoilers

So Thanos used the Pym particles to time travel then.  Honestly that’s kinda genius

I just noticed that Scott shrank himself right as the explosion hit the windows

I really want someone to just drop one F-bomb somewhere in the MCU and I really hope it’s Clint because he would 100% say it

*starts singing “Hollaback Girl” when Thanos arrives*

Here’s my question;  how did Thanos acquire Nebula then?  With Gamora, it was with the genocide of her people.

“We [Gamora to Nebula] can stop him.”  LET’S GO!

[Thor uses his storm powers to summon both Stormbreaker and Mjolnir] *softly* Ohhhhh that’s badass...

Now I’m just imagining the cast just in the green screen room just hitting Josh Brolin with a bunch of foam weapons and making all the sound effects while poor Josh is just struggling under the weight of the Thanos reference head on his mocap suit

Who does the voice for FRIDAY?

AN:  Irish actress named Kerry Condon

*Steve deems himself worth to wield Mjolnir*  OKKAAYY OKAAYY

Love how Thanos is like “yes, I’m gonna stab you with an AXE”

“In all my years of conquest...”  Steve you suuuucckkk...

Are we getting the Chitauri again?

“On your left.”  *laughs incredulously*  O-ohhh my God...

*Everyone starts coming out of the portals*  Oh my God I’m getting chills

I would have lost my mind in the theater

I HAVE ACTUAL GOOSEBUMPS RUNNING ALL OVER ME.  This is how good this is

WAIT ARE THOSE THE RAVAGER SHIPS ABOVE THEM?!?

“Avengers... assemble.”  Oh my God this is amazing!

M’BAKU!

Also “Endgame” really just said “We are KILLING FOOLS TODAY”

How are they gonna tackle Peter and Gamora’s relationship in Guardians 3?

[Horn plays La Cucaracha] LET’S GO

God I’m gonna turn feral

*has to pause to scream in excitement when Wanda touches down in front of Thanos to fight him*

*puts hands on head*  OHH MY GOOOOODDDDD

They’re literally just playing Keep Away with a teenage boy.  Marvel, everybody.

*Captain Marvel destroys Thanos’s ship*  WELL IT TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH

OK I got mixed feelings about that [the girl power team up scene]

*Thanos unsuccessfully headbutts Carol*  Oh shit!

*Doctor Strange holds up one finger*  Oh my God this is it

Someone definitely tore off when Thanos pushed Tony off

It was in that moment he [Thanos] knew- he effed up

*All of Thanos’s army dissipates*  Byeee...

Is it bad that I’m not crying at Tony’s death?

*gasps when Peter reunites with Ned at school*

Wait the whole time heist takes place within ONE DAY?

“I love you 3000.”  I really hope we see Morgan again somewhere in one of the movies or shows.  Actually a cool way to reincorporate her would be in the Ironheart series whenever they make it

Even Drax is wearing black!

It’s the “We should be getting therapy but we got a TV show instead” trio [Wanda, Bucky, and Sam]

Wait is that guy- was that guy- the little kid from Iron Man 3?

AN:  Yes

So right after this funeral, Wanda’s gonna storm SWORD right?

AN:  This was finished up on 2/26 so probably YES

*Thor crowns Valkyrie the new leader of New Asgard*  I now cannot wait for “Thor Love and Thunder”

Wait Peter’s looking for Gamora!

Still cannot believe that the time travel suits are completely CGI

I know they had a body double for Chris Evans here but I do think it would have been cool if they used the body double’s voice for Old Steve instead of Chris trying to sound old

He [Steve] put the shield in an art portfolio bag...

*says “No, no I don’t think I will” along with Steve*

*silently jams out to “It’s Been a Long, Long Time” playing during the credits*

Wait and that was the song Fury was playing in “Winter Soldier”

Oh they even got the actual signatures!  That’s awesome!

[danwhobrowses]

MCU: 10 Ways WandaVision and Falcon & The Winter Soldier are the Same

So now we have 2 of Marvel's Phase 3.5 shows in the books, and both have been pretty great. In the 7 week wait for Loki though we'll have time to mull things over.

When watching the Falcon & Winter Soldier finale though, I started to notice that there were some patterns between it and Wandavision. While two completely different stories they did share some similar beats, so here's 10 I spotted and thus 10 to look out for when Loki comes around.

Spoilers for WandaVision and Falcon & The Winter Soldier, give it a watch before you give this a look

10 - Villains become Memes

While one can contest that Zemo acts more as an antihero in The Falcon & the Winter Soldier, he still provides an antagonistic edge in the story. However, both he and Agatha became villains that had charisma to charm the audience, and their actions brought about multiple memes. On Agatha's side there was the wink, Agatha All Along and her in the fitness outfit, while with Zemo there was the 'it captures the experience', his iconic dancing and Turkish Delight. While not a story beat on the shows, the writers must've known that fans would gravitate to these characters to give them such content to use. Also add a hat tip to John Walker who got his own memes too with him about to embed the shield into a dude's chest, and Wanda herself for her nose scrunch being used as a meme alongside Thor's 'is it though?'.

9 - The Government aren't exactly helpful

While the Government aren't entirely the enemy in the show, they don't do well to stay on our heroes' good side. In WandaVision, they enhance Wanda's grief in the fact that she can't even lay him to rest, SWORD instead deciding that her lover is government property and they are harvesting his 'organs' and vibranium skin as a resource to use for weapons. On Falcon & Winter Soldier, the US Government deliberately deceive Sam by having him hand over the shield to put in a museum, only to then take it out and give it to John Walker without even telling Sam or Bucky about it. In addition when they disavow Walker they try to reclaim the Shield - which, as the Contessa does reveal, isn't technically their property either. While Falcon & Winter Soldier delved deeper into the government's lack of help through the GDC subplot motivating the Flag Smashers, there were still similarities found with how SWORD - which is quite different to its comic version - antagonizes Wanda. In the end all this escalates because of them, and in the end neither of them get to keep the Vibranium.

8 - 'Good Person' is Bad Guy

Although there's a more supernatural threat in both stories, the characters end up having their trust betrayed by people they believed to be decent. For WandaVision it is current Director of SWORD, Director Hayward, who appears adamant in silencing Wanda after using her as a means to power up White Vision as a programmable weapon. For Falcon & the Winter Soldier, it's Sharon Carter - descendant of Steve's beau who he also made out with - the discarded agent who gave up a lot for the heroes only to not get it in return, remaining enemy of the state and becoming the Power Broker. The shows can also have this reserved for 'Agnes' and John Walker but in the end people expected them to break bad from day 1. You could make a statement for Wanda since she looks to be an antagonist for Doctor Strange 2 though.

7 - The MCU add a little history

Marvel has had a habit of changing Wanda's (and Pietro's) origin on a whim, the MCU deciding to source their powers on an Infinity Stone. Doing this however left a gap in the fact that Wanda is a Witch, which they cleaned up in WandaVision. Treading back on the Scarlet Witch being a mantle (though cutting her mother being a Scarlet Witch before her) as it is in the comics, they changed Wanda's powers from being latent and amplified by the stone rather than gifted to the stone itself. Falcon & Winter Soldier added to their history with the impactful Truth: Red, White and Black story, adding Isaiah Bradley into the MCU to further layer the conflict and tragedy Sam faces with being Captain America. Both are welcome additions to the MCU timeline, setting up for newer things to come in Phase 4 Movies.

6 - The hero wins the fight, but not the day

Winning isn't always winning, as Wanda and Sam would discover upon the finale of their respective shows. Wanda defeats Agatha and Hayward is forced to face his crimes, but she has also come to terms with the face that the Hex must go, and in turn her family with it. While the Hex has freed all its residents, Wanda knows that she's not on anyone's good side either with the people she subconsciously enslaved. Sam gets it a little better, he's recognized himself as Captain America and given a patented 'Cap-speech', but he was unable to save Karli Morgenthau from being killed, someone who he was once so close to reaching and sympathized heavily with. Although the Super Soldier threat is neutralized, the Flag Smashers' ideals will live on to further radicalize itself, and its vision will further sow conflict and division.

5 - (Mostly) Bigger Roles for old MCU Side Characters

Never one to shy past their crossovers, Wandavision and Falcon & the Winter Soldier both brought back side characters - some more obscure than others - from older films to gel into the plot. WandaVision brought back Darcy from the Thor franchise and Jimmy Woo from Ant Man & the Wasp to great comedic effect, fans already wanting a spin-off with them and possibly Monica - who may also count but technically not the same actress, the same can be said for 'Pietro' too. Falcon & the Winter Soldier stayed primarily in their lane of Captain America movies; with Batroc and Sharon both debuting in Winter Soldier and Dora Milaje's Ayo debuting in Civil War, while it was less comedic, the story was more interwoven with them since they all had ties to the main two characters.

4 - [Person] is obviously [Character]

Possibly a bit of a narrative backdrop, or maybe years of MCU has clued us in on a plot twist a mile away, but both shows also were unable to hide well that Agnes from WandaVision and Sharon from Falcon & Winter Soldier were in fact Agatha Harkness and the Power Broker. It's not to say that knowing ruined the story, it just felt more of a 'when' rather than an 'if'. The main difference though is that Sharon managed to keep her villainy secret, and remains that way, while Agatha went too far in trying to take Wanda's power rather than help her with it and has now become stuck as Agnes instead.

3 - New Blood coming on the Hero Scene

While the shows already did their job in setting up Wanda and Sam as big league heroes, they also looked a bit more in establishing new blood too. WandaVision established the potential for the twin Maximoff boys to grow into Wiccan and Speed - once Wanda finds a way to re-canonize them, Falcon & the Winter Soldier also made sure to introduce Elijah Bradley, Isaiah's grandson, which may also aid in establishing a Young Avengers team - what with Kate Bishop also soon to appear in Hawkeye. WandaVision also created the origin for Monica Rambeau, having her body altered by the Hex, which will likely be furthered in Captain Marvel 2, Falcon & the Winter Soldier also established John Walker as the US Agent to leave a potential for Thunderbolts, as well as introducing Joaquin Torres - opening the possibility to have a new Falcon. While not a bad thing to set up for the future, it is interesting that both shows had exactly 3 names that could become future heroes.

2 - 'Villain' character partly redeems themselves after a Grief-Fuelled Mistake

Make no mistake, technically speaking Wanda is still a villain in WandaVision: she enslaved an entire town and suppressed them as side characters of a tv show. But the thing is that she didn't really intend to cause pain, it was an impulse action triggered by her grief. The same can be said for John Walker in Falcon & the Winter Soldier, he was already pressured by the standards being Captain America would entail and he was feeling the stress of a string of failures, a Dora Milaje humbling and a frosty reception from Steve's two close friends, juiced up on Super Soldier serum, and then his best friend just got killed because he didn't back him up, in a rage he killed a Flag Smasher with the shield - even though they were fleeing and not the one who killed Lemar, which he would lie about to Lemar's family. Despite this though, they managed to find some form of redemption, even if it was small. Wanda released the Hex and stopped Agatha from going haywire with her chaos magic, John gave up on his revenge seeking to save a truck from falling. Even though it doesn't entirely make up for what they did, it was at least a sign that they had not completely gone off the deep end...yet.

1 - Comic-Accurate Costumes

Comic costumes are always a tough one because some of the older costumes were borderline atrocious. WandaVision at the very least managed to poke fun at it with them dressing up most of the Maximoff/Vision family in their comic-accurate costumes, Speed getting a few more nods in the finale alongside Wanda's revamped and quite on the money look. In Falcon & Winter Soldier, there was accurate costuming for John Walker's US Agent look and Sam's Captain America costume, not to mention Lemar's Battlestar outfit, Zemo's mask and Batroc's jumpsuit.

Overall, it's not a bad thing that they kept these story beats, but it may be worth trying to avoid some of these in later tv show plot points so that it doesn't appear repetitive and formulaic. These shows have been great, so let's keep that momentum going.

[aion-rsa]

MCU Phase 4 and 5: What the Multiverse Means for the Future of Marvel Movies and TV

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains Loki spoilers and potential spoilers for the wider MCU.

The ending of the Loki season finale made one pretty substantial change to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The introduction of a full multiverse, caused by Sylvie killing He Who Remains, is an enormous shift in the cosmogony of the MCU. And it opens up some fascinating story possibilities for Marvel’s film heroes. So what does the introduction of a full, unlimited multiverse mean for the future of the MCU?

Hopefully, everything. Literally.

There are obvious near-term implications to Loki’s finale. It answered questions that Spider-Man: No Way Home (with its purported multiversal Sinister Six) and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness asked back when Loki first premiered. Specifically: “What do you mean there’s only one universe?” 

The beauty of time travel is that now, there is and has always been a full multiverse in the context of the MCU. Because whatever Kang War happened far in Loki’s subjective past (because the timelines were left to run wild when Sophie killed He Who Remains), the entire history of the MCU is now potentially subject to retcons as necessary. So the strong implication from Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse that that movie and all its various spider-people existed on Earths parallel to Tom Holland’s MCU can now be considered accurate, even though the movie came out years before Loki was even a twinkle in Kevin Feige’s master MCU spreadsheet. 

Time travel is a trip, man. It’s also beautiful. Literally anything is possible now. 

What Does the MCU Multiverse Mean for Marvel TV?

This sort of thing happens all the time in comics. The slang is “retcon,” comics-speak for retroactive continuity, where creators reach into their characters’ pasts to change something that impacts their present. 

Loki’s infinite multiverse sets up the entirety of Marvel history for any number of retcons that the folks in charge might deem necessary. It allows current MCU casts and crews to cherry pick what they liked from old MCU projects and fold them into this new normal. All those times Agents of SHIELD didn’t quite line up with what the movies were doing? The show was on an alternate Earth! Want Ghost Rider back without the TV baggage? Blame it on a Kang!

And grabbing the stuff that worked from old projects means porting in the good actors, too. That means people like J.K. Simmons, the Platonic ideal of J. Jonah Jameson, can continue playing the role across from three different Spider-Men, or Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio can show up as Daredevil and Kingpin in Spider-Man: No Way Home while Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings nukes Netflix’s Iron Fist continuity from orbit.   Wondering how Ms. Marvel could potentially deal with concepts from the Inhumans without ever mentioning that disastrous TV show? Now we know. 

Could the MCU Multiverse Retcon Marvel Movies?

This same ability to pick and choose the continuity most appropriate for the story applies to decisions the movies made, too. A full multiverse lets future filmmakers bring back Chris Evans as Captain America or Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow (OK…maybe not ScarJo) without burdening the MCU with yet another time paradox. As far as we’re concerned, pre-Marvel Studios curiosities like all those crazy old live action Marvel TV shows or Howard the Duck or Dolph Lundgren’s take on The Punisher are now officially canon somewhere within the multiverse.  

Phil Coulson could show up in Phase 6 leading a Squadron Supreme (just like in the comics), out for vengeance against the Avengers because they let his Earth 20085 brother die. Hell, if they really wanted to get dirty, Nick Fury could hire Deadpool to kill Coulson in retaliation, like in the comics. Wait, that was Secret Empire,wasn’t it? Never mind, don’t do that. 

Anyway, you get the idea.

The possibilities are as infinite as the imaginations of the writers, limited only by Kevin Feige’s patience/sense of humor. Don’t expect anything too crazy: the time travel solution in Avengers: Endgame was wild, but before Loki, that was far and away the most ridiculous comic book science the MCU had trafficked in. Typical MCU adaptations include much more modest nods to comics’ wackier elements – Eternals pending – like secret societies that had taken over SHIELD or Kurt Russell being Chris Pratt’s dad. So that ultra-maxi series that starts out a movie, moves into a TV show, has a comic tie in that directly crosses over with the show, and wraps up in Avengers 6 that we’re all hoping will come to pass is probably not on the horizon.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths Problem

An infinite multiverse doesn’t just mean possibility. It has a trap built in, too. The biggest multiverse story of all time, probably the one that set the template for future interactions with the concept, was DC Comics’ Crisis on Infinite Earths. That book set the standard for multiversal destruction, collapsing DC’s infinite comics timelines down to one single Earth and one single timeline. Gone were the separate Earths for the modern Justice League and the World War II Justice Society, replaced by one, unified timeline. And while the comic itself was a masterpiece, miraculously balanced by Marv Wolfman and beautifully drawn by George Perez; what it wrought on the DCU was 30 years of explainers why the Green Lantern of World War II still looked 35, or why Batman has only been operating for five years but went through six Robins in that time.  

The cautionary tale here is one of inward looking stories versus expansionary choices. Post-Crisis DC retcons were about fixing problems the writers and editors perceived with the new timeline, and not about telling the best story they could with the characters and continuity they had. This is an easy trap for a new, expanded (but not all the way expanded) MCU to fall into. There are key pieces of the comics that haven’t been ported to the films yet. 

The Fantastic Four

The temptation is likely huge to use this new, beautiful, infinite multiverse to introduce the Fantastic Four and the X-Men to the MCU. That’s probably half of a good idea.

The cosmogony of the multiverse is ingrained in who the Fantastic Four are. Their story begins as explorers of the unknown – Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm are bombarded with cosmic radiation after an unauthorized space launch. That origin is very of the time when they were created, and would probably hit different now when the only unauthorized space launches are led by giant assholes. So why not take a page from the end of Secret Wars and have them get their powers exploring the new multiverse? It makes so much sense to do it that way that one is almost suspicious of this entire retcon. But that doesn’t make it any less cool.

The X-Men in the MCU

While introducing the Fantastic Four to the MCU by saying they’ve been off exploring the multiverse would make a certain elegant sense, if Marvel tried to introduce the X-Men that way, it would be hugely problematic. 

The core concept of the X-Men is the mutant metaphor, the idea that mutants are hated and feared because of who they are. On a completely superficial level, this is nonsense: what’s the difference between Cyclops’ eye blasts and Captain Marvel zapping Kree ships with fist beams? Why are mutants singled out for scorn and bigotry when someone like Doctor Strange has MUCH more terrifying abilities?

The difference is the idea that mutants are humanity’s destiny. There’s no concern that the majority baseline human population is going to someday be replaced by handsome super-soldiers or radioactive Catholic lawyers. But that genetic distinction – the idea that Magneto and Apocalypse and Pixie and Skids all share a distinct identity, while Captain America and Daredevil and Dr. Druid and Tigra do not – creates tension that allows real world out groups to superimpose their struggles onto X-Men comics and makes them infinitely relatable.

As superficially attractive as the idea of plopping the mutants on their own parallel Earth might be (and trust me, this definitely seems like the simplest justification for keeping Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds’s Deadpool in the MCU while jettisoning anything else that is less appealing for audiences or studio execs), putting the mutants on their own separate Earth strips that struggle from the story and makes them just another cape crew.

Worse, using the multiverse as justification that suddenly mutants are here because they came from a parallel timeline disrespects the marginalized people who identify with the X-Men who, like left-handed people, have been here the whole time. Whether society noticed or not.

The Sony Spider-Man Problem

What keeps me up at night about the new Marvel multiverse is the Spider-Man family. The Marvel/Sony relationship has always been…complicated. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

While the new multiverse provides creators with endless storytelling opportunities that could expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it also sets up an easy out for the studios to separate the Spider-Man movies from the rest of the MCU. Cleaving off the Spider-family movies wouldn’t be great – I don’t need to be reminded of complicated business deals while I’m at the movies. Dedicating all of a future Spidey movie to explaining why Pete isn’t in the master MCU and can’t talk about Iron Man anymore would almost certainly be a nightmare.

But these inward-looking continuity fixes are the types of stories that Marvel, on page and on screen, has generally avoided (before you jump in the comments to shout “CLONE SAGA” please take into account how much work “generally” is doing in this sentence) with its big multiverse stories. Hopefully they’ll keep making those wise decisions going forward.

The post MCU Phase 4 and 5: What the Multiverse Means for the Future of Marvel Movies and TV appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2Vqw7iX

[filmbuffsassemble]

The Avengers’ Journey (spoilers)

I just watched Endgame again yesterday and I think this time, it sank into me that we will never see the OG Avengers together again which is a greater loss than anything I can ever imagine.

Hawkeye

We first saw him in a short cameo in Thor and then he went on to be possessed by the Tesseract. I loved Hawkeye but he was not my favourite Avenger. He did went through a lot and he did so with mostly a bow and arrow. I look up to him because of his love for his family. He was willing to sacrifice everything in Vormir to get his family back and his friendship with Nat was his greatest redemption; he brought her back from her past violences and she brought him back from his present self. They were an iconic duo and they did not deserve to lose each other so soon after being reunited. Hawkeye may not have super strength or a suit of armour, but he still was every bit as heroic.

Bruce Banner/Hulk

Dr. Banner; a man at odds with who he is, who hated who he could become and eventually embraced it with finality. Bruce was always afraid of being Hulk, especially after the events of Age of Ultron. Until Infinity War, I’m fairly certain that he was scared of going rouge. Even though I was not a fan of Nat and Bruce romantic-wise, it must have been a solace that Bruce had Nat to bring him back to himself. He was the second brain of the Avengers, the peacekeeper (ironically) between them and his journey does not end here, we’ll see him soon.

Thor

I adore Thor, he’s one of the most complex characters in Avengers. Thor was the character who could be surrounded by a million people and still feel lonely. Family issues, girlfriend issues, he had them all until he lost everything. Thor is synonym with Loki despite their always-hurting-each-other-but-i-love-you-relationship. Thor was absolutely in depression in Endgame and who could blame him honestly. He’s the Avenger who lost his entire family; he literally has no blood by his side. It’s understandable why he spiralled and I think it was important for fans to see that instead of pretending he was fine. He went through the most emotional turmoil but was always trying to hide it. Even the strongest Avenger can only take so much. It will take some time for Thor to be back to his usual self but we can look forward to it.

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

The only female Avenger but with the heaviest emotional baggage. Nat does not get enough recognition that’s all I can say. She went through shit after shit but she’s ultimately the one who held the team together. She was the only one working her ass off 5 years after Infinity War and her breaking down was the most heartbreaking thing I’ve watched. She’s always been strong but her short reprieve showed us how much she truly cared for the only family she ever had. She’s always hated herself but she embraced it with the Avengers because they accepted her for who she was. Her relationship with Clint was also tear-jerkingly beautiful. He was there with her from the very beginning, from freaking BUDAPEST, all the way to her last moments. There are no words to describe their friendship. Clint’s children treated her like a second mom and we can only imagine how they will react when Clint delivered the news that their Aunt Nat will no longer meet them for lunch and teach them how to throw knives. Her friendship with Cap was also the best. When Clint was not around, Nat poured herself out to Cap and he to her. Nat told Cap “I’ll see you in a minute” but he never saw her again and he never got the chance to say goodbye. That alone was enough to get me sobbing. Nat has always been determined, she was never afraid of dying to bring everyone back and she ultimately crossed off her red ledger (she saved a billion people that’s more than enough) There are so many words to say about Nat, and this could go on for another 1000 words but ultimately she was selfless, she loved fully, and she will never be forgotten.

Steve Rogers/ Captain America

Cap might be my second favourite Avenger. He fought the Nazis, was frozen for years and never once did he stop fighting. He was the glue that held the Avengers together. I do think that his ending was perfect; he loved Peggy with all his heart. Their relationship was a staple in the MCU and it was only fitting that he spent the rest of his life with her. Cap was the definition of selfless, he was willing to die for Bucky in CATWS, he was there for Nat when she needed someone and he was the leader of the Avengers. He brought the group together; he was their morale, heart and soul. The bromance of Cap and Tony really struck me even though his best friends are of course Bucky and Sam. They were polar opposites, and were fighting tooth and nail almost all the time. Yet the trust they had for each other was breathtaking; they worked so well as a duo and when Cap cried at Tony’s death, it ruined me so much. I don’t think we can fully appreciate Cap’s existence in the MCU. He would forever be irreplaceable. He had the strongest principles, he was even willing to fight Thanos’s army if the rest of the Avengers had not arrived. It was only fitting that he wielded Mjolnir. Thank you Chris Evans, no one could ever play Captain America better than you did.

Tony Stark/ Iron Man

My one true love, the best Avenger, the saviour. Tony started of as a narcissistic, arrogant and sarcastic person. Then he became Iron Man and the rest was history. There’s always this thing called hero-complex that everyone supposed a superhero has but Tony was different. It was in his nature to save the world or he would be ridden with guilt and he would not be able to rest. No one could say that he’s selfish when he was the most fucking selfless person ever. He had nothing before Pepper and then he had everything; a wife, a daughter, a family. He lost his parents so early into his life and he finally earned his own family. But he knew the cost of joining the fight, yet he did so willingly. He could not live with himself if he did not join in the fray. That’s who Tony Stark was, plain and simple. He risked everything to save the world even though he was happy and finally content. When he saw Stephen Strange holding up his finger, he knew what he had to do and you could literally see him bracing himself for what was to come. And when he said “I am Iron Man”, that will go down in history. He suffered the most from Thanos, he had PTSD from the New York battle and it haunted him forever. Yet his love for his family which includes the Avengers triumphed over everything. His relationship with Pepper is something I will write about but for now just remember that his last words were “Hey Peps” and how he smiled right before dying when she assured him they were going to be fine. I was absolutely depressed when he died but him killing Thanos was the only ending I could imagine. RDJ started the MCU with Iron Man and he ended its biggest phase as well. He was my favourite movie character and looking at my username I have watched a lot of films. It felt like saying goodbye to a piece of me. I love you 3000 Tony Stark and RDJ.

The Avengers gave me so much; they formed my childhood and I will always go back to them for solace. It’s not just fiction, the culmination of 22 films and 11 years were a better part of my life and it provided me comfort in ways I could not imagine.

[racefortheironthrone]

What do you think of MCU phase 4?

It was a hell of a presentation, wasn’t it? I have some thoughts:

Phase 4 is Bold, But Calculated

On first glance, Phase 4 seems like a crazily-audacious plan, stuffing ten projects into three years. My first thought was that Marvel was going to cannibalize its box office between too many projects, but when you separate out the kinds of projects being made, Phase 4 comes down to five movies over two years, which is more in line with what Marvel has been able to make work in the past:

May 1, 2020 - Black WidowNovember 5, 2020 - The EternalsFebruary 12, 2021 - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten RingsMay 7, 2021 - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessNovember 5, 2021 - Thor: Love and Thunder

The subject matter of these films, on the other hand, remains quite audacious. The Eternals has an astonishing cast - Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Brian Tyree Henry, and on and on - but the underlying property is way more fringe even than the Guardians were at first. From the way that Feige et al. have been discussing it, this feels a lot like they’re trying to turn the Eternals into the Inhumans 2.0, as a way to plant the flag on Jack Kirby Space Weirdness before DC can get there with the New Gods. (Which would make it another part of the fascinating corporate saga that is Kevin Feige vs. Ike Perlmutter.) That makes sense, in that both are clearly drawing from Kirby’s fascination with Lost Civilizations and Alien Astronatus.

Shang-Chi (which I’ve written about before) is a similarly bold attempt to take a weird offshoot of Marvel’s 1970s fad-surfing and turn it into something bigger. As Palmer Haach notes, Shang-Chi is going to be written, directed by, and starring Asian and Asian-Americans amid “hopes that it will have a similar impact for Asian and Asian-American audiences as Black Panther did for African and African-American audiences.” 

And as with Black Panther, a big part of that is clearly mixing genres to produce both a milestone and a crowd-pleasing four-quadrant film - in this case, the rich legacy of Hong Kong action and gangster films. Tony Leung being brought in to play the “real” Mandarin (and probably Shang-Chi’s father) is no doubt a significant part of that effort. 

In other cases, Marvel is playing it (a bit) safer. Black Widow is, unless I very much miss my guess, going to be a sendoff for Scarlett Johansson and Natasha Romanov, where we’ll learn about her backstory, see her face-off against Taskmaster (which I’m thrilled about, he’s a great villain!), and see Natasha pass on the mantle of the Black Widow to Florence Pugh’s Yelena - continuing the theme of legacy that we saw in Far From Home. Thor 4 I’m particularly looking forward to as a big fan of Thor Ragnarok and Jason Aaron’s run on Thor; it’s also a great opportunity to see Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie finally get a girlfriend and Natalie Portman get to play female Thor after having to put up with the worst of Ike Perlmutter in Phase 2. Doctor Strange 2 remains something of a mystery, but I’ll talk about that in a bit.

Disney+ is Going to Be A Thing

That said, only part of the story is going to be on the big screen - the other half is Disney’s opening bid for its brand-new streaming service. Each of these shows are headed up by major talent (Falcon and Winter Soldier have Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, and Daniel Bruhl; Wandavision has Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau; Loki has Tom Hiddleston, natch; and What If? is going to be voiced by Jeffrey Wright and pretty much everyone who’s ever been in the MCU), which creates a very different environment for interaction between movie and streaming than we had back when Agents of SHIELD went begging for cameos and the Netflix shows could barely make passing mention of the MCU. 

Given that we’ve already been told that Wandavision is going to involve the Scarlet Witch meddling with the multiverse to bring Vision (or a Vision) back grom the dead, and that she’ll be showing up in Doctor Strange 2 (which in turn is going to center on the multiverse, with Strange and friends facing off against Nightmare in a quasi-horror movie), we’re already seeing signs that these shows are going to be much more integrated into the MCU than any previous efforts...which means shelling out for Disney+ if you want the whole story. 

At the same time, I think DIsney+ will give room for some interesting experimentation within the MCU. I’ve already talked about how What If? is a permission structure for playing with Marvel’s toys, but it also seems like Wandavision is going the same with the concept of the multiverse and that Hawkeye is going to be a trial run for replacing Jeremy Renner with whichever actress is chosen for Kate Bishop. 

Phase 5 is Going to Be Nuts

As if everything above wasn’t enough, it looks like Phase 5 is where things are really going to kick off. Not only is Phase 5 going to have to handle Captain Marvel 2 and Black Panther 2 and Guardians 3, but it’s also going to be where we see the Fantastic Four and the X-Men for the first time. Oh, and Mahershala Ali as Blade just to pay homage to the film that made Marvel possible.

On the one hand, it’s a bit of a disappointment that the next Black Panther and next Guardians are going to be a couple years off yet. On the other hand, I am glad that after the Fox merger, Marvel Studios are taking their time to get the Fantastic Four and the X-Men right after their recent poor handling.

[madam-o]

Six Potentially Controversial Opinions about Loki (MCU)

(Image from the upcoming Loki #1. OH YUSSSS.)

I feel like Loki and the Hiddles have such a massive following, and with the fandom having various headcanons/preferences/kinks about the character, sometimes the subtleties behind him can get lost. So here’s some of my personal takes on Loki as a Marvel/MCU character and his general symbolism.

1. It’s almost unfathomable to me that anyone can believe that his character in the MCU is actually dead dead instead of comic book “dead”. He may currently be, in fact, physically dead, but this is almost 100% likely to be a temporary situation. There’s too many hints that this is not the case. For instance, there are Loki comics, novels, and a friggin tv show (with Hiddles IN IT) coming out this year. And Loki was acting so WEIRD right before he died. There must be an explanation.

2. Loki dying heroically after redeeming himself is not actually a good arc for his character. Loki is not a hero. He can do things that are heroic, but he is absolutely not a hero. He is always either an antagonist or a deuteragonist and he can even sometimes play the protagonist, but his morality is always firmly grey. It is a defining trait of his character to be neutral chaotic.

3. Loki faking his death “yet again” is not actually bad writing. For one thing, that’s what comic book villains and trickster types DO. Constantly they’re doing the thing with the not actually dying! For another, Loki actually only faked his death once before in Thor: The Dark World. In the first Thor film Loki was trying to commit suicide by falling into a wormhole thingy after his father Odin had completely emotionally destroyed him by revealing that, whoops, he forgot to mention that Loki’s really adopted AND a frost giant and then he rejected Loki’s “gift” of trying to kill all the Jotunns. Loki couldn’t have believed he’d survive that ‘cause being an Asgardian/sorcerer/Jotunn only gives you so much invulnerability. And how the hell would he even know that he’d get picked up by Thanos and his goons after that?

4. Speaking of Odin, he’s not actually a bad father; neither is he a perfect father. Odin is actually an extremely complicated character. His past as a conqueror is extremely ugly and he’s been trying to make up for it for centuries. He makes mistakes but he’s also wise and loving to his family and his people. Everything he does and says has a purpose. He loves both of his sons and he knows all of their virtues and flaws. There’s a certain level of fate at play in all of this that Odin is fully aware of: the cycle of destruction and rebirth of Ragnarok and of Odin paying for his all his accrued wisdom and power by having everything he built fall apart while his sons turn against him and each other.

5. Loki isn’t misunderstood or unjustly abused. Loki isn’t good. Loki isn’t evil. Loki is a person who is always motivated by his personal feelings and desires rather than by grand ideas or a bigger morality. He is not guided by principles or ethics but by his ego and emotional whims, which is why he serves as an agent of chaos narrative-wise. He does good things when he wants to help someone he loves; he does bad things when he’s angry, jealous, or ambitious. He will do a virtuous act for an evil purpose or an evil act for a virtuous one. He’s very sensitive and insecure, as well as occasionally megalomaniacal and mentally imbalanced. He would enjoy watching the world burn, but only if he could have the option of putting it back together again after. He actually has a lot more in common with Odin than Thor does.

6. This is very much speculation on my part, but I believe he will be important to the MCU's concepts in phase 4, which is why he’ll be around. Phase 4 looks very much to be about going past the age of traditional heroes into the modern era, with more representation and unexpected heroic figures. The modern Marvel comics Loki is one of the few lgbtq+ characters in existence. He is a literal representation of genderfluidity, a shapeshifter who can choose to be anything - a child, a woman, an animal, a man - whatever he wants to be at the moment. He doesn’t really care about being labeled or defining himself as anything other than being himself. The new Disney+ show might explore his current comics character development, or it might be a flashback/aside to what’s been going on in the movies. But his popularity means he’s an easy investment for Disney, so don’t expect the character to be going anywhere even when Hiddleston eventually departs.

[popwasabi]

My MCU Phase 4 Wishlist

So, over a decade and 23 fucking films later an era of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe has finally concluded with “Spider-man: Far From Home” premiering last week. 

It’s still staggering just how robust this franchise is considering in just eleven years’ time it already has amassed nearly as many films as the James Bond franchise and is arguably a more bankable series at this point than “Star Wars.” Though it’s not a perfect series by any stretch its success is nonetheless tied to its consistent, often magnetic charm and grand action set pieces and Phase 3 showed that it was even capable of some complex and nuanced growth. The third phase tackled deeper more emotional issues for our favorite super heroes while also giving many of its directors more free reign to do as they please with their scripts. Not always perfectly but it was more often than not hugely successful at reaching audiences on a personal level.

(Sometimes with mixed results...)

But as much as “Endgame” was a near perfect sendoff for this franchise, The Mouse isn’t done by any stretch with churning these films out seemingly until the end of time, so with that mind where should Disney go from here since it looks like the franchise will continue on indefinitely?

There’s a lot of ways to envision success for the MCU, and some wheels are already in motion between next year’s “Eternals” and Disney+’s streaming MCU shows but what would it really take for this series to get to the next level? Well this writer has some ideas and is more than happy to share a few of them.

 Make the Villains More Prominent (and stop killing them off!)

Less so in Phase 3 but consistently throughout most of the series has been a total lack in quality villain performances and story-telling. Whether they are generic mustache-twirlers, essentially dark mirrors of the hero or just plain half-baked characters, the MCU has really done a disservice to its robust catalogue of rogues by often wasting the talents of great actors and actresses all to just check a box in a super hero script.

And on top of that they are consistently dead by the end of each film giving them no chance for growth in a sequel. I mean it’s not like we haven’t seen that work before right?

(Case in point)

For phase 4, especially in the wake of two thirds of the Marvel’s Holy Trinity out of the picture, villains should take center stage now more than ever. The heroes of this newer, younger and developing Avengers are probably not ready for the responsibility of protecting the world and the universe as evidenced by the near catastrophic mess Spider-man commits in “Far From Home” and to have the villains of this next phase take advantage of that would be a smart move.

These villains need to be prominent, larger than life and command a nuance to them that much of the older films did not have. A character like Norman Osborn for instance could step in to fill the power vacuum left behind by Stark’s shadow as the new tech futurist of Earth but of course without the responsibility and good intentions of Iron Man. Doctor Doom could be a counter to Black Panther’s Wakanda as a polar opposite of nations in Latveria. And bringing on a character like Mephisto could further expand the mystical side of the MCU that started to be explored in “Dr. Strange.”

(But seriously, Marvel Studios, if I don’t get Toby Stephens as Norman Osborn I will riot...)

Either way, these villains need to carry on for more than one film for a change. Only Thanos, Vulture and Loki have managed to get past their first movies but if Phase 4 is going to be more distinctive it needs to have these villains come together in some way, perhaps even a *gasp* team-up! Having the villains form a super team to fight a younger more inexperienced Avengers could provide for some great drama and welcome change to the usual “fight an army of nameless goons, aliens and/or robots” of the previous era.

In any case, Kevin Feige and The Mouse need to have their sights set on truly developing these villains beyond just simple one-offs and into fully fleshed out characters that can continue to be trouble for our heroes across the series.

 Expand the Cosmic Spectrum of the MCU

The MCU is a science fiction series, if that didn’t already occur to you before, what with it’s iron-suited heroes, super soldiers and in these last two phases space aliens. With the latter the next phase really needs to lean into this and all its possibilities.

There’s a wealth of characters and worlds to explore on the cosmic level of Marvel Comics that not just the Guardians of the Galaxy can be a part of and Disney would be smart to bring even more properties into this real estate of the MCU.

It should namely start with Adam Warlock who was teased in the mid-credits scene of “Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2.” Warlock has long been a favorite character of mind, dating back to reading my dad’s old copies of the Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity Watch. He’s a charismatic character who effectively blends both the cosmic and mystical side of the Marvel Universe together that can lead to a wealth of possibilities across the new MCU. Who should play him is purely subjective at this point but I can tell you right now Zach Efron isn’t even my fourth choice on that particular ladder.

(Maaaaaybe?)

With the Fox deal, Disney also has the option to bring Silver Surfer and Galactus into the mix which they absolutely should at some point. Beta Ray Bill is also said to be making his debut in “Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3” who can take over for Thor as Chris Hemsworth will eventually move on from the franchise at some point. Guardians will eventually need to retire too of course which opens up the possibility for the Infinity Watch with characters like Moon Dragon, Maxam and Pip the Troll and don’t tell me any of them wouldn’t work on the big screen. If Rocket Racoon can be a fan favorite Moon Dragon, Pip and Maxam can definitely make it too.

Either way the Marvel Universe is big fucking place and Disney would be dumb to not explore more of it for future franchises.

 Make better Original Scores

Johan Goransson’s Oscar win for Best Original Score for his work on “Black Panther” was a watershed moment for this franchise because it showed how super hero music can still be relevant. Imagine Christopher Reeve’s “Superman” without John Williams theme music or Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” without Hans Zimmer’s prominent percussion echoing the legend of Batman. Its not nearly as memorable and I feel the MCU has largely short-changed itself by not putting a higher emphasis on original scores during its decade-long run.

(*Bwaaaaaam BWAAAAAAAAAMMMM* I can hear this gif)

Phase 3 has definitely done a better job with this of course, Michael Giacchino’s work on Spider-man is solid, Alan Silvestri’s return to Avengers especially the “Portals” scene is epic as hell and again Goransson’s score is part of the reason we knew exactly what was coming next when Cap said “I know somewhere” before we even saw an image of Wakanda. But Phase 4, in my opinion, needs to make this more important as we introduce new characters.

Music has a way of echoing memories and ideas that we’ll immediately associate with an event or in this case a character and with the MCU heading into uncharted territory with what’s looks like even more unique characters, adding memorable music will help audiences identify with them. A catchy tune can go a long way to making a good scene greater just ask the binary sunset in “A New Hope” and it can make a character truly standout.

Imagine the next Avenger’s films if you will as all these new heroes come together on screen all their theme music coming together to culminate in one epic version of the Avengers suite. It will be glorious if done right and the MCU needs to make this happen with inventive composers and film scores in Phase 4.

 Save the X-Men for Phase 5

I know with the Fox deal and the whimpering flameout of “Dark Phoenix” fans are clamoring to see what Disney and Marvel Studios can do to bring in everyone’s favorite team of mutants but I say “hold up.”

As much as I would love to see a (hopefully) more faithful rendition of the X-Men I think we need a breather from Professor X, Cyclops, Beast and especially Wolverine. The X-Men franchise has been going on for over two decades and as much as we would all like to see these mutants get some much needed redemption after “Apocalypse” and “Dark Phoenix” I think general audiences need a breather. Yes, The MCU brought in Spider-man barely two years after the “Amazing” franchise which flamed out badly as well but Spider-man, even by its franchise standards, had a considerably smaller catalogue left behind when he made his debut in “Civil War.”

I think teasing the reappearance of the X-Men in Phase 4 is probably fine. Maybe dropping clues on the existence of mutants, maybe mentioning an alternate universe they come from because chances are their backstory will be retconned but either way the X-Men should be left on the backburner for Phase 4. 

(Deadpool though? Keep’em coming.)

Make Phase 5 all about the emergence of mutants, build them up as a great new team for the MCU and perhaps even pit them against the Avengers down the road. Either way, let the X-Men have a break for now. They need it after what Fox did to them.

 Bring in Diverse New Heroes

Oh, here comes that dreaded word that makes the slimiest denizens of the internet overreact and proclaim they’re not the “oversensitive” ones (in all CAPs of course).

The MCU had its fun with its main cast of primarily white Marvel staples over the past decade and if they’re going to show that they have new ideas and new stories to tell it should begin by bringing in browner heroes.

“Black Panther” was largely a breath of fresh air for the franchise because it told a very personal and relatable story to the society we live, primarily on the struggles of being a minority. The story wasn’t a simple good vs evil tale or nonspecific theme about family and love but of something deeply wrong in the world and it’s the reason it resonated as much it did.

The MCU is already making way for its first Asian American hero in Shang Chi, which is a good start but it shouldn’t end there either. Diverse heroes should be its next flagship for the new era of the MCU. Bring in Amadeus Cho, Ms. Marvel, and hell start teasing Miles Morales.

(And don’t give me that bullshit that black Spider-man can’t appeal to mass audiences...)

I can already hear the idiots shouting at the screen right now about “white erasure” or some other bull shit about reverse racism and/or forced diversity. First of all, these people would bitch about diversity no matter what way it was brought in. If a hero is turned from white to brown it’s “Why can’t they bring in a new brown hero?” If they bring in a new brown hero it’s “Why are they bringing in a new brown hero? No one cares.” And if people do care it’s “Forced diversity.” All I have to say to you people is you keep shifting around the goal posts so much to the point that it makes me wonder what you are actually angry about?

The MCU needs brand new blood and given that it again made a talking Raccoon a fan favorite there’s nothing that tells me this is a bad time to bring in more brown heroes from Marvel’s lesser known catalog. It isn’t that I or even other minority fans hate white heroes (I wrote an entire article on how much I love the MCU’s Captain America afterall) but for the sake of showing that these diverse heroes matter and giving them a chance to shine on the big screen this is needed. It wasn’t long ago that barely anybody knew who Black Panther was, now you have folks throwing up “Wakanda Forever” signs on their Instagram and social media and reading his graphic novels. So, open your mind up a bit and stop being a child about “forced diversity.” Thor was still epic as hell when he brought down Storm Breaker in “Infinity War,” Captain America still inspires patriotism in even the most cynical of souls and Iron Man saved the universe with a snap of his fingers. Your white heroes (and fragility) stories will survive a little spice in this franchise.

 How the MCU truly proceeds from here will be interesting. There are already projects in motion of course and fans should probably be excited for it regardless of what I have written here but I do truly hope a lot of these happen in Phase 4. Marvel needs better more consistent villains going forward, the cosmic side of the comics deserves more exploration, better soundtracks will make these movies better, the X-Men need a break, and after 23 movies we could stand add a few more brown people to the mix. 

Hopefully The Mouse is listening…

“Huhah! I own all future box office revenue regardless anyways, you peasants. Huhah!”

[embersofalily]

Avengers Endgame

With 10 years of story and film coming to an end, needless to say it was going to be epic.

Spoilers ahead.

Last Warning SPOILERS ahead!!

Ok, if you’re still reading, and haven’t seen Endgame, stop here.

All sorts of emotions happened during the film.

Be prepared to at least shed tears.

The start of the film was as expected with everyone in a devastation.

Little Kate being hinted as future Hawkeye (comics)! Or so I think. Mayo, wierd taste buds.

Clint’s family being dusted in the snap! I was expecting it from the trailers but it still made me feel dread and then pain for Client. The panic Jeremey Renner portrayed felt very real.

Some of my theories were off like how and who would be rescuing Tony and Nebula. Tony’s farewell message we saw in the trailer still made me feel for the character.

Heck yea to Ms. Marvel’s ( I can’t get use to Captain Marvel as her MCU name) appearance! I’d say I’m satisfied with her being their rescue.

Part of me wonders if Pepper or any of the Avengers staying at HQ we’re receiving the recordings.

It would have been moot since they rescued him, unless, the recordings were how they were able track where the Milano was drifting. If they were that deep in space, would explain why it took so long for Carol to find them. And enough time for Steve to finish shaving, haha.

It hurt to see Tony and Steve still not fully on the same side. I had forgotten momentarily, that, while they fought Thanos together, they were not fighting side by side. When Tony ripped his core out, it scared me out of concern.

That Lets Fight Thanos one more time to get the stones- plan could have been grief talking. With maybe Carol’s personality heh.

While having the stones destroyed in the current timeline was disheartening for the hearts, anyone who’s been theory crafting with the trailers probably expected Scott’s arrival and time travel.

5 years! I wasn’t expecting that amount of time to pass.

Scott’s actions of experiencing the after math was heartbreaking too; thank goodness Cassie wasn’t part of it. I wonder who was taking care of her those 5 years, perhaps Scott’s friends from Ant Man movie? Forgot their names...

Ooh, so it wasn’t Scott in the past like some were theorizing on the net, it was real time Scott ringing the front door.

Little Morgan was adorable! I wonder if her putting on that helmet means something for the future Marvel films? Or is that me looking too into it?

Time travel movie references HA. MCU time travel rules involves multiverse, like how the cartoons and comics have multiple Earths.

Ooh, Tony, you’re still an Avenger even if you want to protect the now (Pepper and Morgan).

Also, Tony should have pulled a “language!” at Morgan, bwahaha. “No, only Mommy can say that word. She coined it.” 

Wasn’t expecting Banner Hulk combo or his new found fame.

Time travel experiment was amusing since Banner wasn’t familiar enough with Quantum physics and Cap and Nat were concerned about Scott’s safety. Insert forced smile towards Scott and comedic time travel effects on Scott.

Tony and Steve make up! And aw, Tony gave Cap another Shield ~

New Asgard!

Oh gosh, I thought Thor with a beer belly was bad but Thor rambling, drunk?, about Aether and Jane. Rocket’s face and Hulk’s gesture said it all haha.

Time heist! Nice ring to it by the way.

Bwahah, Banner Hulk, Cap and Tony (2019) seeing Hulk (2014) smashing things and realizing the personality change. Insert fake punch car and weak throw bike, Bwahaha.

I knew the heist was going to have a hiccup somewhere, potentially more than once. Bruce talking to (2014) Ancient One and she realizes Strange had a plan! That was a sigh of relief there since it seemed like it was going to be full Nope not giving you the Time Stone - situation.

Cap 2019 getting in the elevator with 2014 SHIELD agents (hydra agents) was a nod off to Civil War!! I was prepared for the same beat down that happened in Civil War to happen again.

Cap 2019 meeting Cap 2014. “ I could do this all day” “oh I know you can. (Sigh)” was funny.

I’m assuming using the scepter on Cap 2014 erased the fact Cap 2019 told himself about Bucky being alive.

Pointing out Evans butt was amusing.

Tony 2019 getting hit by door+ annoyed by stairs Hulk (2014) had to hurt. Loki warped away with 2014 Teseract! That has to be something that’ll be touched on in future films, with how the Ancient One talking about branches of the timeline.

Tony meeting his dad and their interactions as fathers was sweet. And hey 1940s Jarvis!

Cap 2019 seeing Carter 2014 from another room was bittersweet.

Nat and Clint fighting each other to sacrifice for the Soul Stone was tense and then heartbreaking when Nat did sacrifice herself.

Nooooo I didn’t realize Nebula 2019 was connected to the system still in 2014 so Thanos got to see the future! Gamora 2014 def has some hint of switching side though.

When they all returned from their respective missions, their reactions finding out Nat sacrificed herself was saddening.

Execute plan to return the 50%! Was worried about damage to Banner Hulk’s body post Iron Man Gauntlet snap. Luckily it was only the arm and not full body and that his body could indeed take the toll.

Victory was short lived since Nebula 2014 brought Thanos, Order and army of 2014 to 2019 and oberlierated HQ.

So worried that when Nebula 2014 caught up to Clint that she’d kill him but luckily Nebula 2019 and Gamora 2014 caught up to Nebula 2014!

Surprised Nebula 2019 killing her 2014 self didn’t have any temporal backlash, but Marvel time travel meant it only caused a branch.

The 3 vs 1 fight between Cap, Tony and Thor vs Thanos!

Cap finally able to pick up and call Mlojnir!!!! Insert audience claps and cheers!

“I knew it!” -Thor

“On your left! “Insert audience cheer as all those who got snapped came back via Strange, Wong and other fellow mystical monks’ yellow portals.

Peter and Tony’s hug~ warm and fuzzy feels there :)

Carol just destroying the mother ship in her reentry to Earth. Oh yea~

The LaCucaracha car alarm ha! A nice comical break during the battle.

“Anyone see a brown van?”

The hot potatoing of the stones to try to bring it to the van.

All female hitters assisting Carol to the final goal, another heck yea~

Thanos’ headbutt to Carol doing nothing, mwahahaha, YES! 

Thanos destroying the van just as Carol was about to toss the stones in , nooooo!

Strange signaling Tony about the one chance.

Tony using the gauntlet to snap Thanos and his goons. Yes! But..!

Noooooooooooo! Peter’s and Pepper’s farewell to Tony was so sad! Tom Holland’s acting and voice really brought me to tears. It was a reversal of RDJ and Tom Holland’s scene in Infinity Wars. 

Tony’s recorded farewell was also sad to watch. Happy Hogan making his appearance to the funeral and interacting with Morgan was bittersweet.

I was surprised to see that boy from Iron Man 3 at his funeral but it was a good kind of surprise. I actually didn’t know who he was when I saw the scene but found out after I read an IGN article.

Cap’s choice to stay and live life naturally with Carter was sweet! I wonder if Bucky knew of Steve choice before Cap went back to return the stones to their natural place. It was a nice end to Cap’s story.

Sam gets his Shield!!! Nod off to comics Sam Wilson becoming next Cap!!

Thor going the Guardians and Valkyrie becoming next Ruler of Asgard were nice touches! I’m glad for Thor that he got to have a talk with his mother in 2014.

Clint reuniting with his family was nice especially since in the beginning it was so heartbreaking. I wonder if he’ll tell them about their Aunt Natasha though ):

Wonder what Banner Hulk’s future plans are? He’s pretty popular with the kids it seems, so it’s not like the Incredible Hulk where the Army was after him.

Young Avengers seems possible for future films. There was also news of a Black Widow movie, though I wonder if that’ll be a prequel type or another lady taking up the name???

Peter seems pretty learned with his powers, or at least the Iron Spider suit during the showdown. Well, I guess the suit is broken now and no one can repair it like Tony could ):

I wonder if Vision will return? If Shuri did indeed download all of his data, his body could be (or perhaps even is being??) remade and restored via Wakandan tech even. 

The metal clinks at the end of the credits made me wonder. Are they a nod to Tony Stark, for starting these 10 years? Or a hint of a future armor wearing hero? 

Now that Disney has bought Fox and X-Men back, I wonder what sort of stories will be coming up. I’m assuming with these hints of Young Avengers line up in Endgame, that they’ll be character movies in the future.

All in all, Endgame was a nearly definitive end to Phase 1, with only the questions of the branches to alternate Earths the Ancient One mentioned being questioned (Loki’s escape with Teseract 2014). The weaves of the story were pretty well done in my book, with nods off to past films in Endgame during the Time heist as well as closures for many of the original Avengers.

[okeylokiyuh]

no😭 its must be so hard for you ): ugh the same feeling when the google docs accidentally deleted ur assignment. its the worst feeling ever >:(( but you know what they said every cloud has a silver lining!! don't be too discourage loki, i hope you get back in ur track asap!!

the thing about my password was when i want to log in to my tumblr account my mind went blank like the password isnt there at all😭 and i panicked so i try all the password that the old me might have use but there's no use😹 so i just let it be and totally forget abt it (until recently i recover my password and yeah here we are)

i am doing well! i just finished my second sem of my pre u!! ahh one last sem before i graduated and i have a thought to work before i continue my degree. but my sleeping schedule messed up a little bit since i need to study for my finals and i hang out with my friends until 4am💀

ah, blonde jaehyuk rlly suits him🤩🤩 the pic you sent jdjskdjdj sir i am respectfully looking👁 ah also!! treasure second mini album on oct22!!!!! kdjdjdj my boys are ready to slay😆 cant wait for their new songs tbh

hehe for me jay is my bias rn! boy really made me simping so hard🤥 and recently i just started to watch daredevil on netflix bcs u knoww matt murdock will return in she-hulk and having his sequel on mcu! ahhh im so excited and as a marvel fans i rlly cant wait for phase 5 of mcu!

oof, sorry for the late reply, uni has been hectic lately! hehe, rather than being discouraged i'm just not as motivated, and ig it's bc of the workload i've been getting. plus, the distance between my home and the uni is terrible and public transport is my worst enemy. so those added factors just make it difficult for me to carry out my work as usual.

i totally feel you! i lost my password for an acc recently and tried everything i could, but somehow thanks to the 'forgot password' option, i was able to recover it. i hope you don't forget it again, jaecha hehe

aah! that's wonderful, jaecha! wishing you all the best for your last semester as well! you are gonna do well, i'm sure! oof, i totally relate to the messed up sleep schedule, but for different reasons sksks. i'm glad you are having fun, though! college is supposed be a place to figure yourself out and have fun doing it and i hope you are having such an experience!

yess!!! another treasure comeback! i'm having exams then, so i might have to postpone watching the comeback and the streaming, but i can't wait for our boys to make their comeback with great music as always :D

ooh, is daredevil good? i haven't come around to watching any mcu tv shows other than hawkeye, loki and runaways i think. yesss, phase 5 looks too good, i can't wait to see how it goes! i'm most excited to see the marvels!

but rn, i'm kinda teetering off kpop and into the world of top gun maverick. i watched the movie at home recently and i'm totally hooked on it! i really wanna watch it on the big screen too, but the screenings are at 6pm and 10pm and i'll be damned if my parents ever let me leave the house after evening hours.

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Beyond Avengers 4 (looking ahead at Phase 4 of the MCU)

WARNING: SPOILERS FOR AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

We currently know very little about what comes after AVENGERS 4.  This makes sense, as we really don't (officially) know that much about the follow up to INFINITY WAR. 

We DO know that head honcho Kevin Feige has stated that there will soon be a divide In the MCU... everything before AVENGERS 4, and everything after.  The face of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is changing... we don't even know if we'll get a 'Phase 4'.  Personally, I hope we do.  I think it's nice to have a group of films.  It helps with marketing.  It helps when charting character arcs.  You don't end up with an endless mash of movie titles (I'm looking at you DCEU!).  It helps gives direction.

For the moment, let's assume it IS called Phase 4.  if only to keep me happy.  What can we expect from it?  Well, boss man Kevin has apparently plans for 20 more films after AVENGERS 4.  That's basically as much as the first three phases put together.  It will be a mixture of sequels and new titles.

Let's start with what we know.

SPIDER-MAN: THE NEXT AVENGER

Okay, so I've made up the title, but it's better that HOMECOMING 2 (and there's already been a SPIDER-MAN 2). Okay, so let's get this straight - yes Peter Parker crumbled to dust following Thanos' click, but we already know we have this movie coming.  It'll be the first movie in Phase 4.  Obviously Marvel co-runs Spideyflicks with Sony, so they'd want a follow up as soon as possible... and that's in mid 2019!    What's more, it's been guaranteed that an Avenger will appear.  Now, it won't be Iron Man again (and I doubt Happy Hogan will feature either)... and whilst it could easily be one of the newer characters, I predict (and have done before), that it'll be Mark Ruffalo's Dr Bruce Banner and the Hulk.  He's sciency, and more importantly, Ruffalo is meant to have one more film on his contract following AVENGERS 4.  I could be wrong about Ruffalo, but Tom Holland will definitely be back (there'll be no switch over to Miles Morales), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Zendaya (Michelle) and Jacob Batalon (Ned) will all surely return too..  It'll be interesting to see which villains they use.  A VENOM movie is coming out, entirely Sony, starring Tom Hardy (which may or may not cameo Hollan), as well as BlackCat and Silver Sable movie coming too.  Will the MCU decide to use more characters that Sony haven't used before, or now start reusing known characters such as Green Goblin or Dr Octopus?  Filming will start later this year, so casting news will surely have to start hitting... giving away that Spider-Man isn't really dead...

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3

James Gunn confirmed this, and has apparently finished the script.  It's definitely coming in 2020, and will likely be the first movie of three that year - probably around May time.  Now, obviously, there's a small matter that all but one guardian have died.   Will the film be entirely about Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper)?  Of course not.  Just as sure as I am that Spidey will be safe, I think all the others that disappeared from the click will be back.  Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) will all be back. The big question mark for me is Gamora (Zoe Saldana). She died a different way, and that could be a permanent. Whilst I'm sure Saldana's back in AVENGERS 4, that could just be a tie to the soul stone and Thanos.  beyond that, I really don't know.  It could be that, just how VOL 2 came right after the first movie, VOL 3 could follow that... it might all be set before INFINITY WAR, in which case Gamora will be as right as rain.  If the movie truly follows on from AVENGERS 4, then we won't really know until that movie has come out... or VOL 3 starts filming before that movie comes out as we see Saldana on set. Karen Gillan's Nebula survived the most recent movie, but I personally believe she'll die in AVENGERS 4... so don't think she'll be in VOL 3.  If I'm wrong though, she will be...depending on whether Gamora is.  (I think Nebula's storyline is pretty tied to her 'sister'). Mid credits in VOL 2 told us that Ayesha had created Adam Warlock, so he could well be a main focus of the sequel - despite Gunn suggesting otherwise.  Sly Stallone's Stakar Ogord assemble his older generation of guardians too... so they could play a part.  And what happened to Sean Gunn's Kraglin?  It's possibly, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) could join the team following AVENGERS 4, whilst she waits to be given her own sequel. Maybe Howard the Duck (voiced by Seth Green) could play a bigger part than a cameo.  No, I didn't think so either. For me the biggest question here is the time placement... before INFINITY WAR or after AVENGERS 4. The more I think about it, the more I think it could be before...

BLACK WIDOW

Okay, so we don't know this is happening... officially.  But it IS totally happening.  Writers have been assigned and Chris Evans pretty much confirmed it.  However, unlike the previous movies I've talked about so far, this film does NOT mean Scarlett Johansson survives AVENGERS 4.  It's highly expected that the movie will be a prequel, going back into her history as a spy. There's a lot they can do with this, and it also means a lot of characters could pop up. There's already been speculation that Sebastian Stan could feature as The Winter Soldier (back when he was still under Hydra control).  Obviously everyone expects (and will probably be disappointed if not) Clint Barton to appear.  It sort of feels like Jeremy Renner has got a bum deal, so flashing out their friendship would work wonders.  There's also the suspicion that Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) could appear... about what about fellow agents Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders), Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).  Any of them could feature to some degree. After playing a supporting character since IRON MAN 2 (back in 2010), it'll be nice for Johansson to headline a film in the MCU, finally. In a year, Marvel like to have at least one sequel and one new film.  I expect BLACK WIDOW will likely act as the 'new' movie that year, probably sandwiched between the two sequels GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 and...

DOCTOR STRANGE 2

You see, this is the problem... another character who disappeared at the end of INFINITY WAR... back for a sequel.  I suppose it's possible the sequel could be set between the first movie and INFINITY WAR, but I doubt it.  Now all the sequels can be set before, and I feel Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) will a major force going forward in the MCU.  Both Kevin Feige and James Gunn have stated the franchise will be a lot more 'cosmic' going forward, and Strange's magic, and use of different realms, will likely play a strong part in that. I think DOCTOR STRANGE 2 will round off 2020, with Benedict Wong returning as Wong, Rachel McAdams getting more screentime as Christine Palmer and Chiwetel Ejiofor playing a much bigger role as Mordo edged towards what could well be the 'new Loki'. I don't know much about the comics for this particular character, but word is Nightmare will be the primary villain this time around.  No word on who might play him though... but with Cumberbatch and Ejiofor at the front line, it'll need to be someone impressive.

BLACK PANTHER 2

Obviously the first movie was a massive hit.  Obviously there's going to be a sequel. Obviously there's a problem because the title character died at the fingerclick in INFINITY WAR.  However, unlike with Strange or Spider-Man, the sequel doesn't necessarily need T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) to live to go ahead.  In the comics, Shuri (Letitia Wright) becomes Black Panther, and Queen of Wakanda.  Now, if T'Challa's death was 'real'... that should already have happened before/during AVENGERS 4.  Wright could be the new BP!  Shuri was certainly popular enough, and Boseman could still appear via a spirit walk-thing. You know, that thing they do.  He apparently has 5 movies on his contract.  Now that could work as CIVIL WAR , BLACK PANTHER, INFINITY WAR, AVENGERS 4 and... BLACK PANTHER 2.  It could. Of course, I don't think that's the case.  Well, actually, in the comics, both T'Challa and Shuri are Black Panthers... and I reckon that might be where they take it - but Chadwick Boseman's character will be the lead, and alive.  I also expect Danai Gurira's Okoye, Luputa Nyong'O's Nakia, Angela Bassett's Ramonda all to return.  Probably Winston Duke's M'Baku.  Possibly Martin Freeman's Everett K Ross. I also predict Marvel will place the movie around the opening of May in 2021.  That's where they put all the films they're confident in.

ANT-MAN 3 (aka ANT-MAN AND THE WASP 2)

We haven't seen ANT-MAN AND THE WASP yet, but you have to assume Marvel are working on the assumption there will be a sequel.  When they announced their third phase slate, an ANT-MAN sequel wasn't included.  They waited to see how the first would do .  By the time they finally get around to announcing Phase 4, I expect they'll known whether ANT-MAN 3 will be on the table.  My guess is, it will be.  Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, with Evangeline Lilly as Hope Van Dyne will probably head-line again. Beyond that, with both ANT-MAN AND THE WASP and AVENGERS 4 to come, I wouldn't like to predict more than that. Other than I think it'll be released in 2021 - although it's worth pointing out that both ANT-MAN movies have been released AFTER an AVENGERS movie... so it could be held back until after...

AVENGERS 5

We know there'll be one... the question is, when. Typically AVENGERS movies are released at the start of may, three years apart. THE AVENGERS came out in 2012, AGE OF ULTRON in 2015 and now INFINITY WAR in 2018.  Obviously, we're breaking that tradition with AVENGERS 4 in 2019.  The earliest I expect AVENGERS 5 will be May 2022, but with an expanding slate of sequels, and the intention of including new titles, they might push it back a year to 2023. It will, in theory, be the first to not feature the likes of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth).  Nor might it include Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) or Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).  I mean, it might, but it's unlikely. So who will it include?  Personally, I have no idea who the villain will be but as for heroes... I guarantee it'll feature Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Spider-Man (Tom Holland) and Black Panther (probably Chadwick Boseman, possibly Letitia Wright).  It'll probably feature Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). There's also someone else it might feature.  You'll notice I missed out Steve Rogers from the earlier list?  Well, as far as Chris Evans goes, he'll not be back after AVENGERS 4, but I doubt that can be said for...

CAPTAIN AMERICA 4

In the comics, the mantle of 'Captain America' has been used by several people - most notably Bucky Barnes. Whilst Evans only had 6 films on his contract (extended to 7 to encompass AVENGERS 4), Sebastian Stan signed up for 12 movies.  Right now, he's only spent four of those - the CAPTAIN AMERICA trilogy, and INFINITY WAR.  AVENGERS 4 takes him to five and if the rumoured appearance in BLACK WIDOW happens, that's only half of his contract.  That leaves (potentially) three more Cap movies, and three more Avenger movies. I've no idea who the villains will be in a fourth Cap movie, unless the movie itself is a 'Battle for the Shield', an idea I came up with that I'm taken with.  Anthony Mackie is already Falcon in the franchise, and in the comics, Sam Wilson becomes Cap also.  There's also the potential for Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp) to take on the shield.  There could be a three-way tussle for the mantle. Ultimately Stan will probably take the lead, as it seems to be the order of things.  As a side note, Wilson's Cap is trained under an older Steve Rogers, his age caught up with him. It's possible, rather that outright killing Chris Evans' character, they swap him out for an older actor, to train the younger successor.  Possibly not, but it's an option. The biggest question here is, when do they roll out this new Cap?  Before or after AVENGERS 5?  THE FIRST AVENGER lead into the first film to unite the characters, and a new character picking up the shield could do the same.  We'll just ignore that both Bucky and Wilson turned to dust.  They'll be back. Extra note - despite the title, with a new actor headlining, Marvel might treat the movie as a new franchise.

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2

The trickiest one on the list really... as the first CAPTAIN MARVEL comes out next year, certainly less than two months before AVENGERS 4. That will probably be enough time for Marvel to figure out if the movie deserves a sequel.  So far, only THE INCREDIBLE HULK has stood alone, with no sequels to speak of. I'll lay money on it staying that way, and CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 will be in the Phase 4 slate.   If the first is set in the 90s, then a sequel could be set in the 00s. More likely though it'll be present, so she can lead the Avengers.  As I mentioned earlier though, it's possible (rather than shoehorning a sequel into the slate) Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) could find herself back in space, now with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3... possibly filling the void left by Gamora.

NEWBIES

This is where we get really sketchy.  There's been rumbles of a film for THE ETERNALS, it might be time NAMOR gets some underwater adventures, or if the day-walking vampire BLADE comes in on the actions.  Let's also not forget that the deal with Fox will mean the X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR and DEADPOOL can crossover into the MCU.  It won't be yet... but look how quickly Spider-Man entered the area.

If I had to predict Phase 4, I'd go with the following:

July 2019 - SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING 2 (confirmed) - May 2020 - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 (basically confirmed) July 2020 - BLACK WIDOW (sort of new) November 2020 - DOCTOR STRANGE 2 - May 2021 - BLACK PANTHER 2 July 2021 - CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 November 2021 - NEW FRANCHISE (example BLADE or NAMOR) - February 2022 - CAPTAIN AMERICA 4 (sort of new) May 2022 - AVENGERS 5 July 2022 - ANT-MAN 3 / ANT-MAN & THE WASP 2 So there we are, those are my predictions for Phase 4. How wrong am I?  I expect we'll have an idea come Comic Con 2019! 

[rawringryu]

tEn cHaRaCtErS

I was tagged in this meme by the awesomely rad @francisthegreat whom I’m lucky to have as my friend :) Also I’m sorry this is so late! I didn’t see you tag me until like yesterday, I had exams this week haha. This was very hard to make because I have a LOT of feelings.

Ten characters from ten fandoms:

This list is going in ascending order, meaning my very favorite faves will be last on the list.

10. Bill Cipher (Gravity Falls) First of all on this list is this asshole, gosh I have no idea why but there was a period of time where I absolutely loved Gravity Falls and I shipped with a human form with Dipper mostly because of the amazing art and some pretty complex fics written for the ship. It was a wild ride and honestly thinking about this phase of my life always makes me feel weird, like I liked him purely because I liked reading shippy fics starring him. 

9. Pearl (Steven Universe) This one is kinda weird too? Idk man I absolutely love Pearl’s design and the way her character is written. I’m not in loop with the SU fandom because ugh it’s not a happy place to be but I absolutely love browsing art of her. I love how she’s such a broken character for a kids show! I used to read SU meta and they’d go on and on about how she’s a shit character, an asshole towards Amethyst and toxic. But tbh, I feel like she’s just a complex character that made bad choices at times, she’s trying to get better, she’s trying to cope with the loss of Rose someone she probably loved in more ways than one and how she felt Rose chose Greg over her, and now she’s gone. I mean, she just can’t let go and I think that’s very human.

8. Pitch Black (Rise of the Guardians) Alright but this fandom was the first one I’d ever been in once I started out in tumblr. It was very cool and leaves bittersweet memories tbh, I absolutely adored the art and fics this fandom churned out, I used to ship Pitch and Jack Frost. The thing about Pitch is the fact that the fandom practically merged the movie with the lore from the original Guardians of Childhood the movie is based on. In the book, Pitch has such a tragic backstory, his name was Kozmotis Pitchinier and he was the best general of the Golden Army. After capturing all fearlings, he was designated to guard the prison of their imprisonment , he was haunted by their whispers and pleading and his only solace was his daughter, of whom he kept a photograph of in a locket. But one day, sensing his weakness, the prisoners imitated her voice and hypnotized Kozmotis to believe she was being held inside with them. Frantic, he opened the doors to release her, but was instead possessed by ten thousand Fearlings.

Sorry for the long summary but I just want people to know more abt his backstory haha.

7. Loki (MCU) I didn’t really know about Loki until I watched Thor: The Dark World in the cinema and I was instantly in love despite this movie being the absolutely worst of all the MCU movies, which looking back I’d have to agree. Loki is yet another tragic character whom I’m sure everyone already knows about. I think Loki is a vulnerable character who tries to be good, wants to be good but he just can’t, or he tries and other people just won’t accept him. He’s a frost giant and those people are considered monsters, how can he not be bitter that he’s the very thing ha’s been indoctrinated to hate and fear. He is a very complex character that the MCU practically does not do enough justice mostly because he’s portrayed as a villain in the movies. But I wouldn’t consider him a villain, more like an antihero, nobody trusts him and he doesn’t think anybody can love him either. I’ve only read a bit of his comics and I gotta say Loki deserves so much more than what he gets.

6. Dr Strange (MCU) (I’m breaking the one character per fandom rule idc) I know a shit ton of people absolutely HATE Dr Strange, and for a variety of reasons too. They hate him because Benedict Cumberbatch plays him and hating on BC is practically the new edgy on tumblr. People think Dr Strange should have been played by an american asian and all that yada plus the ancient one being whitewashed. While I agree some aspects of Dr Strange is problematic, I think people need to give it more credit, at least watch it for the cool effects that the stupidly huge amount of people worked on. Also as an asian, I can guarantee you most people outside of America doesn’t give two shits about these controversies and movies should be a source of pleasure instead of thinking about all the negative shit only. Dr Strange deserves so much more, he’s an interesting and while he does share some qualities with Tony Stark, he’s his own character with his own issues. Plus his comics are very fun to read, come on, magic in the Marvel is such an awesome concept. Fuck you haters, I just wanna have a good time with the magic man.

5. Sherlcok Holmes (BBC Sherlock) This is also one of my earliest fandoms on tumblr. Sherlock season 4 absolutely ruined it with all the queer baiting and the shitty plot. But Sherlock had always left bittersweet memories for me too. Mostly because of the absolutely amazing and complex fics written for it, I will never understand how fic authors do it but Sherlock fics were amazing and I would gladly choose these fics over canon any time. 

4. Asuka Langley Soryuu (Neon Genesis Evangelion) I have so many feelings about this bitch right here, honestly one of the most relate-able characters for me. Asuka is a very human character, she’s very proud and has emotional issues. She was considered the best of the best and was trained to be an Eva pilot since she was four because she’s a child genius. However she has a tragic backstory, her mother underwent some tests and became insane, believing that Asuka's doll was her daughter and refusing to acknowledge the real Asuka, referring to her as "that girl over there." She eventually commits suicide by hanging herself; Asuka found her body when she went to tell her the good news that she had been chosen to become an Eva pilot. She couldn’t let go that Shinji the main character was starting to become a better pilot than her despite training for months only. She suppresses a lot of her emotions and had unhealthy ways of coping. I just want her to be happy.

3. Edward Elric (Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood) Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is what I would consider the holy grail of anime tbh. Edward is just about the most selfless person out there in the fictional world of anime. I love the fact that Ed and Al started their journey off with mildly selfish reasons that is to return their body parts whom they lost to in a deal with Truth to bring back their mom which ultimately failed. In the end, Edward is willing to lose his alchemy, the very things that defines him, that started this whole mess, that is the source of his joy and misery for the sake of gaining his brother’s body back instead of selfishly using the Philosopher’s stone that’s made using human souls. I just want this shorty to be happy and I’m glad he is with that satisfying end.

2. Hitsugaya Toshiro (Bleach) The reason this guy is ranked so high in my list is mostly because, he’s been there for me since I was a smol kid, I’ve had a crush on him ever since I was 10 and I could never let go. He’s the one fictional character whom I still fallback to every time things stagnant, I love reading fics about him, he’s just so cool! He’s a child genius with a sword that can shoot ice dragons. Plus he’s always written in such a complex way in fics, Kubo missed his fucking chance by not expanding more about his character in the manga, but clearly Kubo is incompetent when it comes to plot so whatever I guess.

1. Kylo Ren (Star Wars) The Star Wars fandom or specifically the Kylux subfandom is probably the happiest plave I’ve ever been in since forever. It’s the first time I’ve ever talked to anyone at all online, I only lurked around in other fandoms but Star Wars made me able to brave the fandom and talk to people in it, I’ve met so many amazing people and read amazing fics in it, it’s mostly due to the KRB discord chat that I’m still going strong with this fandom. I absolutely love Kylo Ren and can he please crush me between his thighs. The thing that attracted me to him besides his unconventionally attractive appearance is his emotional vulnerability. Kylo has been neglected by Leia and Han as a kid and sent away to jedi school with Luke, he’s been manipulated by Snoke as a kid and Leia and Han just don’t think they can take care of him properly, they’re afraid of him and always too busy with their work, Kylo wasn’t planned, the way their relationship worked just wasn’t ideal for child rearing, Kylo was left alone with Luke, unable to understand why his parents don’t want him anymore, how he was too emotional for the jedi way. While what Kylo did was not justifiable with all that murdering, it’s not a stretch to say that he was very mush a victim of circumstances too. I related to Kylo a lot as I’d been sort of neglected as a child too, both my parents were always busy with work and I only saw them during mealtimes and before bed.

Sorry for the long post ya’ll! I have so many emotions about fictional characters haha.

I’ll be tagging @magicandmalice , @omega-hux, @tezzypants, @darktenshi17, @comraderevelin, @kylocatastrophe, @dargason-under-the-fantasia, @oblioknowlton, @evilblubber, @plasticpill and @glass-oceans that is if ya’ll want to, I had fun and went super overboard.

[aion-rsa]

What Upcoming MCU Movies Fit Marvel’s New Release Dates?

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Marvel, you’ve done it again! And by “it” I mean you’ve announced a batch of new release dates that don’t have projects attached to them just yet. It’s a fairly regular practice for Marvel Studios to announce new release dates long before they tell the public what movies will slot into them, and they often do it long before there’s even enough announced projects to fill the space.

In this case, the four new 2024 MCU movie release dates that Marvel Studios revealed brings the grand total of mystery dates to seven: July 28, 2023, Oct. 6, 2023, Nov. 10, 2023, Feb. 16, 2024, May 3, 2024, July 26, 2024, and Nov. 8, 2024. It has been a while since there have been this many of them. So what could they be? Well, we have some ideas.

The first thing to consider is the MCU projects that are definitely announced and happening, and where each of those might fit. Those movies are Fantastic Four, Blade, Captain America 4, and Deadpool 3. That’s four movies that leaves three of those dates unaccounted for. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that these are seven dates for seven projects. It’s inevitable that some of these will end up shifting their production schedules, and it’s common for Disney to reserve dates for Marvel Studios projects for that very reason, essentially staking out valuable release date real estate to warn other blockbusters off. That being said, we’ll still try and match projects to those additional three dates where we can.

Fantastic Four

First up is July 28, 2023, and we’re going to go with Fantastic Four on this one. Why? When Marvel released a sizzle reel of upcoming projects a few months back, essentially hyping everyone up for MCU Phase 4, the last thing shown was the MCU Fantastic Four logo. It seemed to signal that Fantastic Four is next on their list of priorities after the final project that is tied to a release date, which is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 on May 5, 2023.

It helps that Fantastic Four already has a director attached to the project, Jon Watts of the beloved MCU Spider-Man trilogy. With Spider-Man: No Way Home arriving in December, Watts is free to focus on Fantastic Four, and this could very well be enough time to get that movie made in time for July 2023.

Blade

Then there’s Oct. 6, 2023, and our money here is on Marvel Studios’ hotly-anticipated Blade reboot. Why? Well, it would be really cool if the MCU’s first horror movie was released in October, and superhero-adjacent films like Venom and Joker have already proven there’s massive blockbuster money to be made here. Blade is even further along than Fantastic Four at this point, having a director (Mogul Mowgli‘s Bassam Tariq), a writer (Stacy Osei-Kuffour who wrote on HBO’s Watchmen), and a star (a perfectly cast Mahershala Ali).

Then there’s Nov. 10, 2023, which is something of a mystery at the moment. While there are two announced projects that could fit here (Captain America 4 and Deadpool 3…more on both of those in a minute), I think it’s more likely that this becomes a “safety” date for Fantastic Four if it’s unable to make that July release date.

Deadpool 3

Feb. 16, 2024 looks like a perfect fit for Deadpool 3. The first film in the franchise did massive business with a February release date back in 2016, pulling in a ridiculous for an R-rated film $783 million at the global box office. While that film was a 20th Century Fox release before the Disney buyout, Marvel Studios had even bigger success with a Feb. 16 release date two years later with Black Panther. In other words, they know they can make big money here.

So why Deadpool 3 and not Captain America 4? It’s tough to say, but since this project was announced first, and we’ll have gone six years without a Ryan Reynolds Deadpool movie. That’s too long for the audience and likely for Reynolds himself. Deadpool 3 does have a writing team in Wendy Molyneux and Lizzie Molyneux-Loeglin, but no director yet.

That being said, after seeing the magic that Reynolds worked with Free Guy director Shawn Levy, we have to wonder what a Levy-directed Deadpool 3 would look like. And Levy himself recently told us that he is “a mega fan of Deadpool and of Marvel movies in general” and that directing Deadpool 3 “is certainly an enticing thought.”

Captain America 4

May 3, 2024 seems like a good spot for the still-untitled Captain America 4, coming from the writing team of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner Malcolm Spellman and another FWS alum, Dalan Musson. Anthony Mackie will wear the wings and wield the shield here, but there’s no director attached yet and this is a relatively recent announcement, which would seem to put this a little further out than the projects we mentioned above.

Shang-Chi 2

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings enjoyed a pandemic-defying, startlingly massive opening, the largest in Labor Day Weekend history. While Marvel hasn’t officially announced Shang-Chi 2 just yet, we’re just going to go ahead and say that it’s inevitable, it’s a proven box-office success, and one that would do even better with a more traditional summer blockbuster release date like July 26, 2024.

And then there’s Nov. 8, 2024. We’ve already “cheated” once by including Shang-Chi 2, a film that hasn’t even been confirmed yet (but c’mon, we all know it’s coming), so now we’re REALLY in speculation territory. The most likely scenario here is that this is one of those “safety” dates that one of the other projects named above could move to if needed, but there’s two other possibilities that we have to at least pay attention to.

Secret Wars

Wait, what? To be clear, Secret Wars is a project that has never been confirmed. But former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief and writer of the original Secret Wars Jim Shooter’s recent comments that there’s something going on at Marvel Studios using the name or the elements of the concept have raised our antennae a bit.

A couple of years ago, Joe and Anthony Russo named Secret Wars as one of the projects that could tempt them to come back and direct another Marvel movie. But recent developments with Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow lawsuit may have soured the Russos on this prospect.

OR…

Avengers Forever

Recent developments on Loki with the introduction of the MCU multiverse, and the rise to prominence of Kang the Conqueror both with Jonathan Majors playing the character on the screen and Kang being given a resurgence in the pages of Marvel Comics make us think that a time and timeline hopping Avengers Forever could be happening. It would certainly account for the rumors of a project in the works that would bring back Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, something which could very well call for the kind of multiverse-hopping associated with the Avengers Forever title…which perhaps not coincidentally has just been revived for the comics.

Then again, Marvel prefers to drop their big team-up movies in the early summer, so this seems a little less likely, even for an already unlikely project.

X-Men

Marvel Studios sure is taking their sweet time announcing an X-Men related project, aren’t they? We still have no idea what form that might take, but by this point it will have been five years since the last proper X-Men movie, and certainly that’s enough time to leave audiences hungry for a reinvention of one of the most storied teams in all of comics.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

So when will we get all of these new projects announced? Well, with any luck, San Diego Comic-Con will happen as normal in July 2022, and this would make for a triumphant return to Hall H for Marvel Studios, who historically own that Saturday night slot on the biggest comic con stage of them all. That sure seems pretty far off though, doesn’t it?

What MCU Phase 4 movies do YOU think will hit these mystery Marvel movie dates? Let us know in the comments!

The post What Upcoming MCU Movies Fit Marvel’s New Release Dates? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3EbaPb0

[anthonianrhapsody-blog]

And the Best MCU Film is...

by Captain

Admit it. When the leaked footage of the Avengers: Infinity War trailer came out, you did one of four things:

1. Weep like a baby when Peter said “I’m sorry” to Tony; 2. Scream your lungs out when Steve (beard and all) came out; 3. Let out a big “oooohhhh” when Thanos hurled down that planet; 4. All of the above

As a crossover of 10 years’ worth of cinematic storylines, this mega-event of a movie is unprecedented. Before Infinity War drops next May (which is just 7 months away, but it SURE feels like an eternity away), let’s tackle a question that will trigger debates, challenge friendships, and even put marriages (!) to the test.

What is the best film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Before you blast this blog away with a Jericho missile (hats off to you if you got that reference), the writer would like to set a few parameters.

First, I’ll make it a top 5 list for better chances of acknowledging your favorite. Okay? Y’all happy?

Second, this article will cover only the first 16 MCU films—that is, the ones that have already been released at the time that this article has been published. Unfortunately, I have no Ancient One-like powers to look into the future. My list might very well be obliterated by upcoming flicks like Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther (watch out for the reviews! ☺). Also, I won’t be factoring in TV and Netflix content like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Defenders series. Different medium, different criteria.

Lastly, and speaking of criteria, allow me to declare my standards for film quality. (Feel free to argue with my rubrics in the comments section, but this is my list, so tough luck.) My biggest considerations are plot and characterization. As in, how good is the story that unfolds in the film? How developed are the character arcs and motivations, and why should I care about them? I also care about effectiveness of acting, visual spectacle, quality of shots and editing, and impact of auditory effects.

With that out of the way...

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Captain America: Civil War (epic airport scene vs. wildly impossible coincidences); Avengers: Age of Ultron (messy in places, but it’s just a special thing when Avengers assemble); the first Thor film (an underrated movie...shout-out to Tom and Kenneth)

Raise your right hand if you knew who Star-Lord and Gamora were three years ago. Raise your left hand if you were also aware that they were not in the original Guardians line-up in the comics. No hands raised? Then you’re just like the thousands of moviegoers who were pleasantly surprised by this franchise in 2014. With the careful handling of director James Gunn, this movie featuring C-list Marvel heroes captured the hearts of comic book die-hards and casual MCU fans alike. Guardians’ strongest suit is its comedy—Rocket Racoon’s unstoppable mouth, Drax the Destroyer’s dry humor (made special by wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista), and Peter Quill’s dancing-out-of-nowhere in the movie’s climax. And of course...I am Groot, ‘nuff said.

Throw in the brilliance of the film’s color palette and the soundtrack known as “Awesome Mix Vol. 1,” and you could say that it’s hard to find fault with this flick. But I do have (gasp!) a minor gripe. The film’s third act is all about the Guardians protecting the planet of Xandar from Ronan the Accuser, who wields the might of the destructive Power Stone. Problem is, the Xandarians weren’t given quite enough screen time. Every time I watch the film, I think to myself, “Who are these guys?” Sure, there are images of Xandarian families and children scurrying for their lives, but I just wish the development of these ‘sympathetic’ figures had been better.

That, frankly, is my only problem with an otherwise colorful, highly lovable film. As you’ll see, the next film did not commit the Xandar mistake.

#4: ANT-MAN (2015)

“So I’m at this art museum with my cousin Ignacio, right? And there was this, like, abstract impressionism exhibit. But you know me, I’m more like a Neo-Cubist kind of guy...”

Impossible as it sounds, these lines managed to make people laugh. Thanks, Michael Peña! Just like Guardians, the 2015 flick Ant-Man proved that Marvel Studios can do comedy effectively. Beyond its penchant for humor—as well as its dazzling array of museum-worthy visual effects—Ant-Man also got story-telling right. Any human being can relate to Scott Lang’s quest for redemption after his three-year prison sentence. The film tugs at your heartstrings every time Scott interacts with his daughter Cassie. And the film makes you hold your breath during the climax, when Scott sacrifices himself to save Cassie from the villain Yellowjacket. (Spoiler: Scott survived.)

Yellowjacket, however, is a testament to the widely discussed “MCU villain problem.” For all the wonderful heroes that Marvel Studios has brought to life, there is also a legion of antagonists that the MCU films have failed to maximize. In Ant-Man, Darren Cross is a rather menacing jerk (thanks to a great performance by actor Corey Stoll). But his screen time as Ant-Man’s evil counterpart could have been fleshed out and extended. As it was, Yellowjacket became just another dispensable villain to join the likes of Ultron, Ronan the Accuser, and Malekith.

But Ant-Man still succeeds because it makes you care greatly about Scott and Cassie. And it is precisely because of this that this film is ranked above Guardians. When you compare the two films, it’s easier to care for a human father and his innocent little daughter than an entire planet of unknown, unfamiliar beings.

#3: SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017)

I have to be honest: the subtitle did not work out for me at first. When Marvel and Sony announced that they would be sharing Spidey’s film rights (hallelujah), I was hoping for a comic book-inspired title. Like Sensational Spider-Man or Peter Parker: Spider-Man. I know that the term “Homecoming” has several connotations (such as the Spider-Man character being welcomed back to the fold of Marvel Studios), but it just isn’t fierce enough for a superhero film.

Trust me, that’s about as much I’ll complain about this movie. Because everything else was...amazing.

To begin with, Tom Holland is the perfect actor for the title role. He brought a more youthful vibe to the Peter Parker persona than Tobey Maguire. And he embodied a more light-hearted, wittier Spider-Man than Andrew Garfield. As remarkable as young Mr. Holland’s performance was, the film’s showstopper was veteran actor Michael Keaton. Finally, a well-rounded villain! Keaton brought emotional depth to the role of Adrian Toomes/Vulture, who is effectively portrayed as a blue-collar worker wronged by society’s elite. The rest of the crew is just as outstanding. Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man) is used in just enough doses as the hero’s mentor. Jacob Batalon is hilarious as Ned, the techie best friend; while Zendaya is quirky as the mysterious Michelle persona (eventually revealed to be...wait for it...MJ).

Distinguishing itself as a teen movie, Homecoming is a refreshing selection among the grittier grown-ups of the MCU. Take your pick of adolescent drama: Peter’s fixations on his crush, the thrills and frills of weekend parties, the suspense of inter-school competitions. Indeed, this film offers a new flavor among the political thrillers and world-ending catastrophes of Captain America and Thor. The plot keeps you on the edge of your seats from beginning to end (though the climactic battle could have been more, um, climactic). Even the mid-credits scene keeps you fascinated in what happens next (hello, Sinister Six).

This is how good Homecoming is: up until earlier this year, I had a different top 5 list. Captain America: Civil War was on it. When Homecoming came out, Spider-Man swung all the way into my top 3. Tom Holland and co. were so good that there are only two films that they did not displace in my nerdy Marvel heart.

#2: AVENGERS (2012)

Assemble.

This might be more of a sentimental pick—I know that several critics would have Guardians at this spot—but I’m listening to my nerdy heart. In Avengers, several effective elements come together. The best part, of course, is the unprecedented, seamless merging of characters and plot lines. Marvel heroes from a 3-year period of films come together to protect humanity from intergalactic threats. If you faithfully watched the solo Marvel films before viewing Avengers, you were duly rewarded with a satisfying conclusion to Phase 1. If you watched Avengers in isolation, you would still be captivated with the colorful adventure of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

And oh boy, how the sparks fly! Even before a single fist landed on a Chitauri cheekbone, the in-fighting among the heroes was fun to watch. The verbal showdown between Cap and Iron Man was fascinating—enough to get everyone excited for a possible Civil War (which happened). Thor vs. Hulk and Thor vs. Tony were exciting heavyweight fights, and the mind-controlled exploits of Hawkeye (who eventually turned into a protagonist) added an extra layer of conflict.

Speaking of conflict, the plot’s intensity keeps the audience hooked from start to finish. The film opens with a car-blowing, Tesseract-grabbing heist perpetuated by Loki, the best MCU villain to date. The action sequences that follow—which include the forest duel and the Helicarrier fiasco—are visual stunners. The climactic Battle of New York is made even more hearstopping when the Avengers have to deal with the alien invasion and the nuclear missile out of nowhere. By the time Mr. Stark wakes up after his heroic sacrifice (with Hulk’s thunderous voice as the alarm clock), the viewer smiles ear-to-ear, satisfied that the good guys prevailed.

We haven’t even touched on the excellent cast—from Downey to Evans, Hiddleston to Ruffalo—as well as the fantastic effects and brilliant musical score. My only nitpick would be the slowing down of the film’s pace during certain expository parts. Perhaps Natasha’s conversation with Dr. Banner could have been just a tad shorter. Other than this, though, I am satisfied with Joss Whedon’s work to the point of considering Avengers a top-of-the-mountain film.

But not the top film.

#1: CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014)

I will argue all day, any day with anyone who disagrees.

The second Captain America installment is second to none in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, The Winter Soldier is the MCU’s standard-bearer for film quality.

Perhaps the greatest accomplishment of this film is its realistic approach. All the elements of The Winter Soldier make you believe that a “super soldier”—the stuff of comic book lore—can actually trade fists and save lives in a true-to-life episode of political espionage. Chris Evans gives justice to a highly conflicted Cap, who finds his classic American ideals challenged by 21st century US military “values.”

The action sequences are exquisite. The moment you see Cap deliver a spinning heel kick to a pirate (hello, Georges St-Pierre!), you know it’s going to be special. My favorite scene in the entire film was the elevator scene, in which Steve fights about a dozen Hydra henchmen by himself...and wins. The final act of the film is packed with suspense as Cap attempts to deactivate Hydra’s three Helicarriers designed for mass eliminations. But standing in his way—literally, they stood face-to-face on a very narrow passage—is the Winter Soldier, who is revealed to be Steve’s best friend Bucky. Cheesy as it may have been, the line “I’m with you till the end of the line” was a nice touch to the Cap/Steve vs. Winter Soldier/Bucky plotline.

Comrade Barnes may have been the cybernetically-enhanced villain, but Alexander Pierce was a great antagonist as well in the role of the slimy, intelligent bureaucrat. Robert Redford (God bless his kindred soul) proved in this film that he can out-act any performer that Hollywood has to offer. Memorable performances also came from Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johannson as Black Widow, and Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson.

As garnish, the Russo brothers added touches of humor and cleverness. Like the running joke of Steve telling Sam “I’m on your left,” or the subtle graveyard reference to Samuel L. Jackson’s role in the cult classic Pulp Fiction, or Steve’s list of pop culture items (Star Wars and Star Trek, anyone?). Indeed, Messieurs Joe and Anthony deserved the call to direct Civil War and the Infinity films.

I can only hope that Infinity War and its sequel (Gauntlet, perhaps?) will live up to their gargantuan hype. But don’t get me wrong: I am highly confident because the directors proved how excellent an MCU film can be when they made Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Dear readers, what’s your top 5 list? Do you agree or disagree with the list presented above? Let us know in the comments below!