Film Review : "Spider-Man Brand New Day"

 

This was a very well-done and entertaining movie. It was successful in many ways. What it got right were sequences of Spider-Man swinging through the city that did not make you feel dizzy. The Hulk looked great, and the fight with Spider-Man was pretty true to the comic books. The movie flowed well, and Holland was sunk into his role as Peter Parker. I could even live with the Punisher being a little soft as long as he wore the skull. But while the tone worked in that it threw alot of things at you in a fast-moving format that did not drag much like a comic book. It was the overall story that was a mess. With the elephant in the room being the lack of a true Spider-Man villain, aside from the brief interactions with Scorpion. 

Spider-Man has one of the strongest rogue galleries in comic books, so to recycle Damage Control andd make them more nefarious, they are in the comics, there are plenty of villains that could have spearheaded this, Mr.Negative being the first that comes to mind. Sure, we have already seen Kingpin, Dr. Octopus, Shocker, the Green Goblin, Venom, Kraven the Hunter, Sand-man, Electro, and the Vulture. But that still leaves Black Cat, Silvermane, Hammerhead, Puma, Silver Sable, the Jackal, the Enforcers, Gargoyle, and Speed-Demon, and Morlun, just to name a few; some of them could have also taken on the type of role Damage Control played.

Jean Grey really had no reasong to debut in a Spider-Man film; the two have almsot zero history together, Deadpool would have made more sense, as he is at least in the X-Universe. If you really feel the need to introduce mutants via Spider-Man, then Iceman and Firestar would have been the obvious choice . Sure, he interacts with the X-men nad has even taught at the school, but this was not used in that context, and it seemed a reach the way she used her powers. These are glaring missteps that marred the film if you are a comic book fan. I can say it's better than the last movie, but that is not saying a ton, However it worked more within the realm of the comics than this one. 

Film Review : "Supergirl'

 Time to get some things straight after hearing a lot of opinions online about this movie from people who have never read a "Supergirl" comic. To be honest, it's unlikely that director Craig Gillespie has ever read one either. Before we get started here, let me say I do not give a fuck about the opinions someone might have regarding a superhero movie if they have never read the source material, because they obviously do not know what they are talking about. Granted, in today's world, not knowing what you are talking about is more common on social media than not. This dismissal is not a one-way street, as I also extend it to movie critics, who are quick to scream superhero fatigue as they don't understand that comic books are the modern-day mythology and that being faithful to them is more important than making a hip art film worthy of an Oscar.

So while I am not going to dogpile any Superhero movie since it's the thing to do as a critic, it's important to remember that this blog is a comic book blog first and foremost. But on the other side of the coin, I am not so invested in wanting there to be a good female superhero movie that I am going to throw things out like a decent script and ignore CGI that looks like it is straight from the late 90s CW. If you want a movie with a strong female superhero to bolster whatever agenda you have, that is not happening here. She does not fully use her powers until the last 20 minutes of the movie. This is not unique to this movie. Hollywood writers don't know how to make an all-powerful characr relatable, so they dampen or strip them of their powers. This was first noted in the first Thor movie, but it is a recurring trope now because these writers don't read the comic books, so have no clue how to write the characters. 

Milly Alcock does fine in the role; she is just working off a terrible script. If they had her play the role a little more like the portrayal from the Flash movie, it would have worked better. I am mena even the CW's portrayal works better than her being a drunk. Jason Momoa's Lobo is a little underwhelming, not sure how he was contained in a prison cell for part of the movie, as he is only vulnerable to a rare lizard bacteria in the comics. He was better as Lobo than as his Point Break version of Aquaman.. The movie as a whole is a patchwork of the Mad Max movies, Star Wars, and Guardians of the Galaxy, when the budget of the movie might have been better spent grounding the movie in Metropolis and have ber facing a version of Brianic that addressed AI and perhaps modeled him after Elon Musk, but James Gunn is showing his hand as having a limited vision for what the DC Universe can be.

If you are just a fan of the character and want to see Kara on the screen, then brace yourself for a less-than-faithful version, but an actress who fits the look well. At the end of the day the lack of box office receipts is what will bury this movie, but it's not a terrible movie, perhaps it would have worked better if  it had been the Sydney Sweeny Barbarella instead as they did not want to make a super hero movie. 

Film Review : "Masters of the Universe"

As a kid in the 80s, I loved the figures but always thought the cartoon was a little silly. Cool character designs, but less depth than characters from, say, Marvel. So I had enough of an attachment to the concept of what this could be, but little faith in Hollywood to respect it in 2026. What unfolded on screen was a happy surprise that required a little compromise on my part, but was entertaining in the same way as the last "Dungeons & Dragons " movie.  It did not take itself too seriously but showed enough respect to the mythos as needed. It can be summed up when Cringer assumed the role of Bastle-Cat without armor on but said, "The next time I do this, I'd better be in armor" to acknowledge this. 

Could they have used a little CGI to help Nicholas Galitzine look more muscular as He-Man instead of having a mid-Gym-Shark build? Yes, he only weighed 200 lbs at six feet tall. Weird to think I have fifty pounds of muscle on He-Man, but here we are. The rest of the cast worked well, and Skeletor looked great and was not too jokey, but there was plenty of humor at all the characters' expense that wa still respectful. The elements of the movie that could be called "woke" felt like they were done in a way that made fun of the whole woke thing rather than capitulating to it. 

The other observation, which was not a deal breaker as they eventually delivered, was we got a little too much Prince Agam and not enough He-man, This falls along the de-powered super-hero trope from the first Thor movie where if the writers dont know how to write a powerful character they think by making him more human that will make him more relateable and I think that misses the point, as it's the god-like power gives us a vision of our higher selves to aspire to. 

Too many generic minions could have been replaced with actual characters from the series/toyline. There was supposed to be a Mer-Man in the background at the end, but he is a major charater who deserved screen time, along with Man-E-Faces, Zodak, Stratos, Two-Bad, or Webstor. The post-credit appearance of a certain character made much of this forgivable, and the fact that Snake Mountain was in the movie was also cool. All this coming from someone wh os is not all that invested in this mythos, but carries over a nostalgic appreciation for it, so super fans that do not hold the microscope too close and are just looking for fun should be rewarded. I went with younger people who had no real clue who He-Man was, other than being aware of the memes, and they had fun. 

Marvel Comics in 2026

It's been four years since I last posted about the comic books. They seem to be almost forgotten by Marvel themselves as the company shifted the brand's focus to movies, which did make them huge amounts of money, well...Disney perhaps is the man behind the curtain on this. Yet comics keep being made, and I keep reading them, but it is hard for me to imagine buying a physical copy of one at this point, as they are so inconsistent. To keep abreast of what was really going on, you would be blowing a hundred dollars a month on what?  Characters that are not being respected? 

How is this disrespect to the characters happening? Well, their stories are being bastardized. How many people have worn the Spider-Man mask in the past year? Wel that first requires you to answer the next stupidest question, who is Spider-man? If the answer is not Peter Parker, then the legacy of this character is in trouble. When I tell you, Norman Osbourne was wearing the red and blue suit while Parker was in space recently, then you might understand how sharks have been jumped, and poor editorial decisions have been made, and they are affecting most characters. This bleeds over into their delusion of what will work on the big screen or television, and things compound. 

I am going to look at 10 other comics aside from Spider-Man, featuring the 10 charaters that matter the most to me aside from Parker, and see where the problem lies. It makes sense to give my favorite character a look first, so let's see how ole Bruce Banner is doing.

The Hulk

Just got finished reading the lastest issue of the Infernal Hulk. The latest gimmick.  I approve of taking the Hulk in a more horror-oriented direction, and like the Immortal Hulk series, some of those books would have been worth buying. Maybe one day I will grab a trade paperback. For Infernal, I will break it donw like this an Anicent demon , yanked Banner from Hulk and now wears the Hulk as it has possessed him to wage war against god, not a bad concept in theory I am not opposed to it the execution is jumping ahead of it self as it has this Infernal Hulk taking on the Marvel Universes incarnation of God, the One Above All, or so the fight was billed but it was reallyu for of an Arch angel andd the Infernal Hulk crushed it, not Stark is about to put on some fancy armour and right him. It's dark, reminds me a little of Alan Moore Swamp Thing days when it comes to the art. Give it a B+

The Sentry

He just got a new series. It is not clear where this falls on the timeline in terms of  Canon; it looks like  New Avengers' era or an alternate Universe, he did get ripped apart by Knull a while back, and I do not recall reading an reasonable explanation for his reincarnation, but as his power set, I am not asking too many questions. Jenkins wrote this, so it should come together it seems the Void is acting on its own accord at times. I will see where it goes. Give it a C+

    Thor

Well, his book is now called Mortal Thor, so you can guess he came back from the dead with no powers, does not remember that he is Thor, nor does anyone really remember him as Thor, so magic is afoot in this regard. His son is about to take the throne in Asgard. It is a case of writers who should not be writing a character that they do not know what to do with at full power, as this has been done before, so why recycle the story? The art is decent. Give it a D +

Doctor Strange

He is in Asgard, being a wizard with Angela in tow. The writer is obviously into Dungeons & Dragons, it would be nice to see him more grounded in a 9th Gate type story, moving in a more Lovecraftian direction, but here we are, give it a C

She-Hulk 

She is now on Skaar, Planet Hulk, in a more involved soap opera of a storyline; they brough her boyfriend Jack of Hearts to fight her. It looks like after six issues, she might be heading back to earth as they milked it for all it was worth, very Star Wars-like story and action, give it a C

the Punisher

Another reboot finds Marvel repenting for being apologetic for the character after his iconic symbol was almost cancelled by stupid Millennials. He is back in the proper costume being treated the right way with great art. The first issue of the new series is some of their best work in years. Give it an A

Iron Man

Only on the 2nd issue of the new series so too hard for them to screw it up, but they are working with what is tried and true, which is the formula they should stick with. Give it a B

Captain America

With the Avengers disbanding their current roster, it means we have to use Steve Rogers, the heartbeat of what is going on at the center of the Marvel Universe. He does have General Ross (the Red Hulk) in the periphery of his stories, but things have not really come to a head with that. Seems like he has just been on an endless mission the past few years that digs deeper into things, but there is no clear story. Give it a C

Scarlet Witch

Not the best at holding down her own series, she is now the Sorceror Supreme, not the first time. The art is very 90s, and in some ways it works, but we got her fighting Agatha for four issues, and that got old. Not a fan of how she is drawn, not really as hot as she used to be in the 80s and 90s, she can still be curvy and powerful, it kind of kills their whole feminist vibe by not letting this happen ou are saying that those concepts are mutually exclusive- give it a C

Will try to get more regular with writing about the comic books, but the comic books should be more inspiring and not a second thought to the movies. 

Superman Vs the Fantastic Four

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  Before I have to tell you to shut the fuck up, when you say 

"U caN't CompAre the 2 jus cuz tHey r boof comic books movies" 

Let me tell you, that is exactly why they should go head-to-head.  In a comic book match-up, Superman should wipe the Baxter Building with their corpses, unless we are talking about the Superman from whatever comic books James Gunn was reading leading up to the making of his film, in which case, Reed Richards beats him single-handedly.

When it comes to comic book movies, the assignment is simple: bring what we love about the comics to life on screen. Many movies have done this successfully, going back to Richard Donner's "Superman", but have also included "Iron-Man", Tim Burton's "Batman",  "The Avengers", "Captain America", "Dr. Strange", 'Sin City", "Blade" , "Howard the Duck", "Spider-man; Homecoming" and James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" with the second movie in that franchise being the only one that was a bit clunky.  In fact, Gunn's horror take on Smallville, "Brightburn" showed he knew what could work.

Granted DC has struggled bringing their characters to the big screen, unless it's Batman, though even the last Batman film went down the drain halfway into the movie. Wonder Woman, the second Suicide Squad, "Black Adam" and the Flash are the only real working adaptations they have had, and the end of Wonder Woman felt like they dumped the rest of the budget into a CGI fight that stunk up the theater as if it looked like a video game. To this day, I have still not seen the second Aquaman movie, thanks to the Wonder Woman sequel being one of the worst ways I have ever kissed two hours of my time goodbye.

Fantastic Four has been poorly handled in the hands of filmmakers going all the way back to Roger Corman/s version. They were the staple of the Marvel Universe back in the '60s, more important than the Avengers. They had a lot of heart as the first family, and that is what Marvel tapped into with this version of the film. They knew they had to get it right; that meant no cosmic clouds, the real Galactus, leaving the only misstep being the depiction of the Silver Surfer. But they captured the essence of the characters. They did it in a way that stood apart from other Marvel Movies. 

The only thing that worked about Superman was his dynamic with Lois Lane. Krypto was fun, but overused, and in no way should Superman need him to pull himself out of a jam. Superman should be a god among men. Perhaps the focus group that signed off on this felt younger audiences could not see themselves in an invulnerable character, as they are too self-identifying with weakness as being an integral part of their personalities, so someone like the Henry Cavill Superman, who headbutts Wonder Woman into the ground, is too intimidating. The new actor donning the cape played a better Clark Kent, but Cavill embodied Superman more effectively, too bad he was surrounded by bad writing. 

Superman was entertaining, but mainly thanks to Nathan Fillion stealing the movie as Green Lantern, he needs his own movie in production ASAP. But Superman does not need the Justice League or Gang when he shows up, Green Arrow and Plastic Man breathe a sigh of relief. The scene that solidified how his weakness ruined the movie was needing to be pulled out of the Black Hole, it felt like the scene in "The Batman" when Cat-woman had to help Batman pull himself up onto a platform as he could not do a one-arm pull-up. Um, I can pull my weight up with one arm, and I am just a dude who goes to the gym. Bruce Way is a Billionaire who devoted his life to perfecting his body to the limits of human capabilities so he has state of the art equipment, much like Eddie Hall's basement to grant his muscles hi-tech recovery from both workouts and swinging aroung Gotham city, where he is also pulling his body weight with one hand on a nightly basis. This, like the handling of a Superman who gets his ass-kicked for the entirety of the movie, is not under the assignment.

Granted, there was online grumbling about how the movie was supposed to be 'Woke", claims that were also made about "Fantastic Four",  I saw none of that in either film, there did not seem to be an agenda. I think the studios know by 'woke-fishing" it creates a buz, and perhaps gets butts in seats as people think they are supporting something that is part of their indentity, who might have never cracked open a comic book. Otherwise, the only thing I could see would be, should  Lois and Mr Terrific had less screen time, in favor of placing emphasis on Clark? Sure, but I think that was bad editing. The same could be said of how Fantastic Four could have placed more emphasis on Ben Grimm, but at least when he was on screen, it was like he stepped out of the comic book. Superman would have been more like the 30-second fight the Thunderbolts had with the Sentry, that kind of speed, resilience, and power, it's who the character is, if you don't like who he is, then make another movie. This is why Fantastic Four proved to be a much better movie on most levels, from stylistically to bringing the characters to life. 

  

Film Review - "Fantastic Four - First Steps"

This film finally gets the characters that make up Marvel's first family right. Not only does it set itself apart from the other MCU films in the stylistic visuals that have more in common with the Jetsons than the Avengers. The tone of the film is different as they are family first, and the chemistry of the actors makes it click into place. It might not get everything perfect, but it gets them better, which was enough to make this work. Could there have been more Dr Doom to show how crucial he is to their DNA? Yes, but I understand why there wasn't since he is a contrast to Reed Richards first and foremost, and they needed a villain who was a threat to the family in a larger sense. 

They did have the Super-Apes on screen, which made my day. Was the Silver Surfer in this incarnation a weak link? Yes. They missed the chance to bring Norrin Radd in, but distinguished the difference between him and who was on screen. Mole Man was more impressive as he got the character. While not set in earth 616  they colored the world in such a fashion that made it work, while setting the stage for their return, which they faked out the audience on when it came to how they were going to run from Galactus. Speaking of the big purple guy, he was an impressive sight and presence.  One of the stronger effects moments, though Ben Grimm worked more often than not as well. 

Ben could have gotten to punch more things and do more. The same could be said for Reed who only showed a fraction of what he does in the comics, but the story was served, it never got bogged down into Disney's Hollywood politics and aside from not being a part of the larger universe, felt like it captured what it is that the team does and how they are set apart from the Avengers or the X-men. It was the best movie since "Spider-Man No Way Home" and they understood the assignment better than most filmmakers who have fumbled properties like Thor and Black Panther. 

Film Review : "The Thunderbolts*"

This might be the best Marvel Movie since the last Gaurdians of the Galaxy, but I am not going to call it the New Avengers since it literally has nothing to do with the New Avengers from the comics, in fact Sentry is the only charater from that team unless we are going to count Bucky's Cap. This could have been a good transition into the Dark Avengers but everyone might be a misfit but they do not need rehabbing like the Thunderbolts, eventually turned to rehab for villains to become heroes in the comic, so comic acuray is out the window, at this point, this should be a given, so we are going to talk about what worked. 

Sentry is one of my favorite comic characters, so he is the focus of this review.  Granted, Pugh's Yelena is the film's focal point, but her heroic arc does not focus on a big bad as much as it focuses on her shared trauma. They rearranged Sentry's origin story rather than abolish it totally. He is still a mental ill junkie, he just does not break into the lab to steal the drug but signs up for a study Close enough. The trailers for the movie are deceptive, as they waste little time introducing "Bob".  The writing is not perfect in fact, it is a little clunky, and he is handled like Thor in the first Thor movie, depowered, because it seems to hard to write for powerful people if you are going by the examples we have seen thus far. But the big payoff is when they do have their throwdown with him, which does not shy away from showing how powerful he is.

The rest of the team finds the Red Guardian as the predictable comic relief,  Ghost is still not really fleshed out, and feels different from how they appeared in Ant-Man  & Wasp. Bucky and John Walker are at varied places on the static spectrum. I think bringing in Songbird, while they were at the Vault, might have worked better than Ghost or any of the original members. But what plays in their favor is that the movie does not drag; something is always happening, not a big action film, some fighting, but not loaded with it, yet it was well paced.  The interesting change was how the VoidFre was handled; he was almost like  Freddie Krueger if you replace sleep with the trauma of your past. When the Void is embodied as Sentry, it's not the movie's most well-written moment, but they get away from the tropes that often make all Marvel movies feel the same, This is what makes the movie stand apart from the other films, however if you go into this without watching "Black Widow" and "Falcon and Winter Soldier" than you might be a little lost unless you read a lot of comics. 

Daredevil - Born Again

 I am just watching the first four episodes at present, though it's less of a comic book feel while still being true to the character. Charlie Cox is carrying things on his shoulders, as this show is largely without the comic book violence except for the fight scene against Bullseye which sets a somewhat false tone. This sets up the death of Foggy, causing Murdock to go into a depression of sorts causing him to give up his Daredevil identity, in the face of his arch-enemy Wilson Fisk becoming the Mayor of New York City. This does happen in the comic books, though the comics had more of Murdock suited up as well. 

Where the Netflix show was gritty, the Marvel show sends the kind of mixed political messages Disney has been encouraging. At this point, I am surprised they are letting the Punisher logo be shown.  Though most of this is done with a passive-aggressive undercurrent. When it comes to the hyperrealism they are trying to ground this in, I do like how the theme of the show is an exploration of what it means to be a vigilante. However, the courtroom drama tone of the first four episodes means looking into the Justice System, with failed attempts at trying to pull sympathy for petty thieves with 25-page rap sheets, it's just bad writing with mixed messages, as the subject they want you to empathize with is just an entitled dumbass, with nothing to make you like him.

 This plays into a mixed bag of writing as they did a better job of exploring the gray area with White Tiger. Frank Castle gets a good monologue but his appearance feels a little wasted, though we still have five more episodes. It is a very slow-burn build, with Murdock only getting physical in two of the episodes, In episode five things better start popping off. D'onofrio is not as earnest in his portrayal of Fisk, less imposing and leaning more into the voice than the kind of honesty that made Fisk likable as a villain in the Daredevil show. Also no Elektra yet, and only a wink that the mantle of White Tiger might be passed on.  If you are a fan of the character it is still worth watching to Daredevil is too Murdock heavy in the first four episodes. 

 

Film Review : "Captain America Brave New World"

Not as bad as Rotten Tomatoes makes it out to be. But it's about on par with the Disney Plus show, though with a bigger budget that was ot invested in the boring fight choreography.  Sam Wilson, has problems fighting soldiers, that Steve Rogers would have annihilated by the time the elevator doors closed. I would have been less inclined to watch this movie if it was not for the cross-over into the Hulk's world. General Ross, is an antagonist of sorts. The final Red Hulk climax is not worth the cost of a movie ticket. However it does prove that Wilson's Cap was mismatched, and unless this was saved as a subplot the Thunderbolts would have been wiser to have fully fleshed out the Serpent Society and other corners of the Captain America mythos, even Baron Blood would have worked.

The writers tried to play off tensions in the world today, but replaced China, with Japan, yet neglected to tease any character from the Pacific. Instead, I tried tying up loose ends and serving as a bookmarker to keep the public interested in the Marvel formula, but I think it's safe to say the momentum of that magic is long gone. The hype for this film ducked and dodged they claimed Sabra had been dialed back but in reality just silenced the fact she was Isreal's protector and toned down her powers simply making her another Black Widow. When Bucky Barnes is the biggest guest spot you know times are hard, and the gaping Avvenger's sied hole in this cinematic universe continues to yawm out into the void.

The stakes could not be any lower for this movie, yet they missed the mark visually, with the Red Hulk being the only interesting part of the movie and the elderly Harrison Ford being forced to pull all the film's weight. Design-wise they missed the mark with the Leader. Any teases that this would be a Hulk movie with mentions of the Abomination and Banner, are all misdirectsThe bright side of this will hopefully be that Anthony Mackie showed he plays a better-supporting character, and if placed as the centerpiece of an Avengers film it would bomb rather than uphold the previous legacy of the original films. Right now things are not looking so great for the future of Marvel and this movie did not restore any hope, at least it's better than the Marvels. 

Reviewing the Year in Marvel Comics-2024

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It has been a minute since I wrote about just comics which used to be a weekly ritual for me, in fact, this very article I started back in 2023, but am now forcing myself to finish it. as Marvel Comics have been pretty underwhelming as a general. DC when I have given them the chance has been worse, they seem to be falling for some of the same traps as Marvel in devaluing the legacy of their characters Marvel got the hint to some degree and is trying to salvage its comics line and make people care about them since the movies and shows have started to tank. They are learning people do not want Disney politics mixed in with their escapism. This is bleeding into the comics as stories are starting to head back into a more classic direction. 

. The further we get from the Avengers the more it's going to fade in the rearview mirror of our collective attention span. The comics came first and that is the legacy of these characters more so than any whoring of their likeness to Hollywood so let's take a look and see how Marvel is doing in reclaiming this to steer the ship back in a better direction. So how was  2024? I will take 10  branches of the Marvel Tree that matter the most and give the run 

Spider-Man...

It does not matter who has the hit at the box office, he is their flagship legacy. Peter Parker, is doing pretty well in the Amazing Spider-Man series, it keeps breaking down into something more street-wise at present. They need to break it down to just Peter, Miles, and Jessica Drew, as the only spider people for sure.  Doctor Octopus was back in the mix, along with  Norman Osborne who returned as a crazy big bad. Parker dated   Black Cat again. It worked best when there was little to no crossover from other corners of the Spider-Verse for now at least. They tried killing off  Ms Marvel in his book, was un-needed would have made more sense in Avengers, that way there would have been someone for them to Avenge, but aside from that Amazing Spider-Man is worth reading these days. It has Parker back in a more grounded place.  Sure there is the "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man cartoon, that did some ridiculous race swapping, which seems to be shooting for a younger audience. Who cares about it really, it's something I will forget about after I press publish on this article. 

Fantastic Four

Another one of the Golden Age staple books, that in the past found itself a little convoluted with too many cooks in the kitchen and way more than the core Four. Some of the babysitting hanging on is gone and at present, they are focused on Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, which is as it should be. Though the writing it not the greatest a they have a penchant for dedicating issues to a single member rather than focusing on them as a family unit which is their strength They will be getting more of a push this year with the movie gaining hype. 

The X-Men

There are too many books, so the storylines get muddled making it a continuity nightmare.  I feel like I am always struggling to keep up, the last Uncanny arch was pretty good, and we have most of the essential characters on state. Then an increasing number get solo series which if we are going to be honest  Wolverine is the only one who warrants their own series, unless we are counting Deadpool as an X-man, less convoluted than it has been. 

Avengers 

As far as team books go the current run the roster is all classic characters like Scarlet Witch, Thor, Iron-man etc with the only twist on the classic being the Sam Wilson version of Captain America which is getting hype for the movie to come. They have tried to work Storm in a possibly Black Cat. Unless it's an Uncanny Avengers book, which was a good series worth bringing back, they are better off leaving her in the X-men, but at least there is no Blade of Ghost Rider, who was never a good fit for the team anyway. I think they need to focus on picking villains suited for them, as there can be too much in the way of trying to farm new characters than having no emotional investment. 

Daredevil 

With Spider-man also more grounded in the streets, Daredevil needs to be left on the grittier side. Matt Murdock's character is always picking himself back up to re-invent. Kingpin was running the show which put him in a bad spot, the whole prison arch, with Elektra becoming Daredevil was dumb, they should just work on making Elektra more interesting as her own character. The same cycle of rogues has been in rotation too long, they need to get writers in who keep things fresh while staying true to the character. 

Hulk 

Once again we begin to see writers at Marvel wanting to be the next person who creates a big bad like Gorr or Venom who catches on and sticks to become a recognized villain in the Marvel pantheon but fail to do this in a method that pulls from existing mythos. With Hulk, I am surprised we have not seen more from the Leader since Sterns is appearing in the new Captain America movie. While I am glad we do not have too many Hulks in the mix, it's about time to have Skaar show up, where the hell is Abomination? Rick Jones? The Hulk is doing what the Hulk does, and I have not disliked the monster slant, but there are plenty of monsters that could have made an appearance rather than trying to create new ones. Glob, the Missing Link, Wendigo, Frankenstein, the Living Mummy and Werewolf By Night could have all made an appearance shit I'll even take War-Wolf. 

Thor 

Getting back to basics is working Enchantress was due for a comeback., It was good to see the Executioner in play as well. I think there needs to be a balance of how we see Asgard and Midgard interplay. The Thor being a wanted man on Earth could have been a good angle, who would they send to hunt Thor down, when does Thor get fed up with humanity's shit and do some god smiting would be an interesting question to pose. He plays too nice, I think he works best with a rougher edge that is more true to Norse mythology. But things are less contrived than they have been in the past which works for me. 

Dr. Strange

Of all the books Strange is getting the worst end of the stick. Killing him off an making him a ghost, is dumb if anyone can navigate the afterworld back to his body it's Strange. This has spilled over into other books like Spider-man and we have seen both Clea and Dr, Doom trying to be sorcerer supreme. It's as dumb as when Thor was unworthy. This is an easy fix they need to get in there and do it right.

Iron Man

Pretty decent Stark is doing better than Steve Rogers. Stripping away Stark Industries and not making him more of an Elon Musk, works for now, but how can you expect him to not get back to where he was considering who he is and the network and resources he has. At least his book is not as littered with too much supporting cast. Not sure how I felt about the Emma Frost thing. The thing they need to get back to the classic feel, and the West Coast Avengers book seems like the part forward to that. 

Captain America 

I am only exposed to Sam Wilson through Avengers which is fine, as he is a better supporting cast member than some one in the spotlight, he has not rogues gallery and I do not see Roger's villains taking him seriously. Rogers is like Stark where too much supporting cast members like Bucky or Black Widow weigh things down and lower the stakes. There are some interesting stories that could be told with him, and I think we would be a good avenue to bring back SHIELD as a shadow organization, maybe that he plays against as was hinted in the movies, but their is a wealth to work with that is not being tapped here. 

    . 

Film Review : "Deadpool & Wolverine"

 What a world we live in. Its a world where writers must keep a careful balance of internet theories to please their audience. In fact, Deadpool's entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe pokes fun at this in its smartest moments. It also pushed the bounds of what you expect Disney to allow as the studio shows there is more wiggle room than expected since even half the adult audience might have to Google the meaning of jokes about pegging. Then it is too late, and they already have the money of the more prudish patrons in hand. I am impressed by how they worked in a wide swathe of the company's media output making "Loki" almost required viewing before going into this. Also, the bulk of the Fox films could help when some characters are marched out.  Spider-man and Ghost Rider were the only corners of the bigger Marvel Universe not touched upon with only a few winks in the direction of Peter Parker.   If you are touchy about spoilers then go see the movie, nothing happens that was not part of wider speculation and had not already been spoiled. 

Reynolds and Jackman, make this a buddy cop team-up that works well against the absurdity of premise. The fight scenes between the two were some of the movie's strongest action sequences. The various incarnations of Wolverine worked better than the varied incarnations of Deadpool, I mean where was Gwenpool? Though like many aspects of the movie, If I blinked I might have missed it. Plotwise there was little surprise, stop this and save your world tropes. I have read critics praising the movie villain Cassandra Nova, and it really just felt like Emma Corrin was doing her best Tilda Swinton impersonation as there was no clear motive or really anything to flesh her out, I think Mojo would have made more sense and been a more inspiring link to the X-Men, would have given the baby Deadpool an ore sensical role. Paradox, worked better as his two-faced manipulations of things, with no real powers held more weight. 

It would be misleading to say there were no X-men in the movie, as Colossus, X-23, and Gambit are all part of the team. I think what they were looking for is Storm, Cyclops, or Rogue, and get a glimpse at how they are going to be brought in. We can pretty much not rest assured that Henry Cavill is not going to play Wolverine, as look what happened with the Reed Richards casting in Dr. Strange, just enough fan casting then take a left turn. My favorite parts of the movie were the NSYNC dancing at the beginning and the brief appearance of the Hulk during the search through Wolverine variants. Overall the chemistry between the two leads was strong enough to carry the film in the classic Hollywood formula even when given the Marvel spin. It did not make apologies for being a super-hero movie which is a must for any such film. 

Film Review : "Barbie"

The live action "Barbie" movie proved to be an amusing mess that works best when delving into the Barbie lore. Opening with a bizarre wink at '"2001 A Space Odyssey " with Barbie as the obelisk, you are taken to a meta-fantasy world that serves as a hyper-pink alternate universe that looks like a Katy Perry video. Since my daughter certainly went through a Barbie phase, I went into this movie with more knowledge of the Barbie world than most straight men without sisters or daughters. She is without question an iconic character and this movie if nothing else acknowledges that. Story wise it barrows the nuts and bolts of it's plot from "Toy Story" . "Pinocchio" , "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and countless other Hollywood tropes playing off the life of  toys or fantasy figures and their understanding of the real world.   After consulting with the "weird Barbie" Margot's "Stereotypical" typical Barbie must make the journey to the real world when life in idealized Dreamhouse World takes a turn when Barbie gets flat feet. Thus Barbie must go on a quest to the real world.

I appreciate that Los Angeles is where the veil between the Barbie World and the real one is the thinnest, and only a rollerblade ride away. The entire Mattel as the nefarious overlords starting off working for me then some where amid the chase scene lost it's momentum. There were also lost opportunities with the Mattel connection, they could have had cameos to toy properties like the Cabbage Patch Kids or Masters of the Universe. John Cena would have been better used as He-Man to give Ken body issues, than a mer-man .If Barbie Land exists then the American Girl dolls and Cabbage Patch Kids must fit into that mythos some how. But instead we did get a pretty dead on look at what the playsets might be when brought to life, as well as a glimpse at the marketing world of her interchangeable outfits. However somewhere between magic costume changes, the writers wanted to get to the moral of their story, and that is when they got lost in the jokes of the world they created here.  

They were wise to not go all in on Capitalism since Warner Bros a major cog in that machine made this movie that had been raking in hundreds of millions of dollars. Barbie's creator was a business woman who is rooted in it. Perhaps the Barbie and the body image issues she has created might have had more impact if there had not been an obese Barbie that never existed in Barbie lore, though they could have used the Fashionista lines' "curvy" body for the same purpose. Even more effective might have been calling out Mattel for their "I am Barbie" diversity line, which uses "diversity" as a marketing tool to sell more toys. Mattel will only make fun of itself to a certain extent.

 You can't really call this a children's movie or accuse this of being nothing but a long Barbie commercial, thanks to "Ladybird" director Greta Gerwig going all in on this. I would not be surprised if the bulk of " Warner Bros" marketing budget went to pay  Ben Shapiro for his press buzz regarding the film Perhaps to  provide the movie some press armor from being cancelled by purposing in 2023 that how Barbie became a real woman was by going to the gynecologist 

The movie's most important lesson came by way of a quote from Weird Barbie,  who says " You are either brainwashed of you are ugly and weird."   

Despite a lack of the Down Syndrome Barbie in all this, I found myself laughing out loud in several places, and I am normally not a fan of comedies. It never dragged even when the film lost direction midway in.  Determined to capture Barbie's world is where the film shines, from the restraints of the Barbie box to the pooping Barbie dog, they might not have gotten it perfect , but they were invested enough in the character to make this work more often than not. 

Marvel's Secret Invasion

Ok we can skip right past the fact that this has little to do with the story found in the comic book evet of the same name except for Skrulls being the focal point. It feels this is the epilogue to the Captain Marvel movie, which might have worked better than the story the Marvels is going to try to tell. Rhodes and Fury are the only two superheroes that are involved three episodes in and it is evident that this is not the story they were meant to support. They do bring up why they are not involving the Avengers, and while the real reason is budget and contracts, the in story reason makes sense as well., But what does not work is suggesting that the Avengers are the only super-heroes in the universe. This could have been a good spot to bring in Nova or other New Warriors. How would this effect the Winter Guard?  The Secret Invasion could bring up Secret Avengers, though really what this feels like is it should have been a season of   Agents of SHIELD. 

Instead we are having the character discuss a civil war amongst aliens with an action to discussion ratio that adds up to the most bring thing Marvel has put out so far. The writing is better than when it comes to dialogue, but the over plot pacing is at a crawl that makes it hard to watch. The interesting elements is the fact that this gives a clear cut example of what it might look like for reptilian shape shifters to pull the strings on the world from the background, but we already see enough of that on CNN and Fox, we watch Marvel shows and movies for the escapism of it.  Watching politicians argue and Russia threatening to launch World War 3, well that is everyday life these days, and it bores me when it's one the news now day, we have already seen Skrulls so trying to set an entire series on their shoulders, feels like what we have already seen on the various incarnations of "V".

This series is only going to be six episodes long, so it is more of a mini-series, there is no time for a slow burn, we are half way through it and nothing has happened. Marvel is releasing another clunker, when they need a win more than ever. Sure Guardians was great , but that is another chapter closed . It is unlikely the new Captain America movie without Steve Rogers is going to help the big picture, This us putting all the chips on Fantastic Four and X-men. Why is another failure such a big deal? It is time and resources that could have been better invested in bringing to life characters that matter more. Daredevil could have been fast tracked. The Punisher could have been invested in. Where is Ghost Rider?   A actual Hulk show ? More Were-wolf by Night? But as I have said all eras of a genre come to an end 

   

Film Review : "the Flash"

 

To credit this movie as being one of the best DC movies is not that big of a compliment, so I think I should say this is one of the best  live action comic book movies we have seen since , the last Spider-man film which is very fair as it offers the kind of fan service that No Way Home did. I have seen online a few reviews trying to say this movie is the problem with comic book movies, and those are the kind of journalists, who do not know anything about comic books to begin with. Frist off I have no horse in this race, as I am not a DC, my favorite DC character is Swamp Thing. Not sure the Flash would make my top 10 DC characters list. I do have an appreciation for his lore, and watched the CW show., which I think overall gets a better feel for the character, but this movie comes much closer than other versions of the character we have seen on the big screen . 

The film explores a wider range of the Flash's powers. Ezra Miller, the  actor who defied cancellation, plays Barry Allen with the kind of charisma that served as comic relief for Justice League. For this movie you can not really say this is their best movie that is not a Bat-man movie, as it is pretty much a Bat-Man movie, and Super-Girl had more screen time than expected. Keaton reprised his role well, and the new Super-Girl worked for me, though would it have killed them to dye her hair blond? Tonally you will see people hating on this for the same things they loved about Deadpool. It does humor much better than any other recent D/C Movie ...the Suicide Squad included. I have also heard quips about the CGI, which was way better than anything in the Black Panther movies or Wonder-Woman, but did not hear the complaints from those people in regards to those movies, so I am suspect of them, 

When compared to the popular CW take on the Flash, the bigger budget allows for a better representation of his powers and what makes the Flash tick, where the CW show is more about what makes Barry Allen tick, I think there is space for both. It seems comic book movies are leaning into Multiverses pretty heavy lately, well DC did it first as they beat Marvel to the punch before Marvel cranked up their Ultimate Universe where Miles Morales came from. The story takes from parts of popular DC sagas and blend them well and offering fan service to an extent that might go above and beyond what Marvel has done, and if the story got convoluted well DC stories have always felt like action figures were just thrown on the bed into two page fight scenes, and this movie makes more sense of it and uses a bit of restraint to tell a better DC story than we saw in Black Adam or any of the Shazam movies, this movie serves as a great bridge from the Synderverse into Gunn's vision of the future and hopefully fans will say fuck the press and give this film the shot it deserves, all this is coming from a Marvel guy with no horse in the race, but a deep appreciation for where they went here. 

Film Review- "Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse"

 “Spider - Man; Across the Spider verse” takes the stylistic brand of animation that gave 2018’s “Into the Spider verse’ it’s charm and takes it to the level of high art animation. It uses more mixed mediums, from live-action to LEGOs. The animators worked on “the Mitchells vs the Machines” in-between making the two Spider  films and learned a whole new bag of tricks that they made the most of when it comes to varying the animation styles to create a wide range of atmosphere and mood. Gwen Stacy’s Earth 65 home looks like impressionistic watercolor paintings that reflect her unsettled emotional state that is dripping with brooding teenage angst. They capture this with the shifting drip of color, as well as the futuristic landscapes you are whisked off to. 

Miles Morales is taller as he swings deeper into his teen years , which also comes with conflicts with his parents, almost more of a focal point than the main villain the Spot. I was glad to see this more obscure member of Spider-Man's rogue’s gallery get some recognition, I do not feel like he was the most well written cast. Though matters of multiverses once again are the focus of the movie’s main conflict, that involves a society of Spider-People trying to hold Miles down. The movie's best characters like Ben Reilly come from this. While it pulls from every corner of Spider-Man lore, Jessica Drew got the worst shake of things with her alternate replacement. Ben is also a parody of himself as he is depicted as being hyper comics accurate. Mile’s finds life is a struggle, but wins when the plot armor is laid on too thick, as the Scarlet Spider and Spider-Man 2099, would wipe the floor Morales . 

I am sure viewer who want to read into this movie sub text that fits their narratives will find the fuel to do so, but Sony, unlike Disney did not bait their audience with the diversity tropes being pounded down our throats these days, despite the changes to character they made which would have left them open targets for such snark. Instead they just told a fun story free of agendas. A fact many viewers might not have even noticed since they were just enjoying themselves. Most of the things forced, just were organic working parts of the story being told. 

With the exception of Dr. Strange getting name dropped, this becomes an isolated corner of the Marvel Universe. This boxed the feel of the story into a smaller world even when they traverse other dimensions. But the movie’s main struggle is in the writing. They build up so many layers of plot and then get so lost in this web they have spun that the story is unable to find the third act, so they end with a cliffhanger. It would have been wise to take notes from “Infinity War” who might have resolved things with “the Snap” but opened it up for more questions, rather than this movie that found the writers not even finishing their sentence. Come for the art and you will be wow’ed, the story might work better as a cartoon series or comic book, but did not work in the adaptation to film,

Film Review : Guardians of the Galaxy vol 3"

 Marvel needed a win. They have been on a losing streak. If judging from the Marvels trailer , this might be the last Marvel movie worth a shit, and the best one since "No Way Home". It works in the ways that the last Ant-man movie tried , but fell flat. The High Evoluntionary The glue that held it together above all was the served as a better Kang than Majors for sure. The effects did not make you feel like you were in a video game most of the time. It's strongest suit was the chemistry of the actors who have settled into their roles until they now fit like second skin.  Perhaps this is why the depiction of Adam Warlock felt so awkward. It lacked the gravity of his comic persona. In future movies perhaps he is going to grow into who he really is , it seems like a common Marvel problem  they do not know how to write some one at full power because they feel it makes them not relatable, or in this case plays into the humor of the franchise, Adam Warlock came from a time when the Guardians were not played for laughs, so if the series continues with a new team as hinted, is that a dynamic that is going to work? 

The bulk of the movie plays like a comedy when we are not focused on Rocket's back story. Back stories are an odd way to say goodbye , but that is where the writing went and the made the most of it. Knowhere gained more sense of what it is, which could work in moving things forward. But why make any theories on it as most of the fan theories on this one got flushed down the toilet. The lack of death, means the stakes really could not be any lower. A few character who have died in the comics , could have come back in their more powerful forms, thinking Mantis and Drax, but contracts have come to an end, so why keep those doors open? It is also one of the movies with the less than essential mid credits scene which seems more obligatory. 

One of my common complaints is the MCU often makes up characters when they could have pulled from the bench of second and thirds string characters , this happens again, though the inclusion of Howard the Duck in one scene shows how they could make the most of the rich layers of mythology the comics hold. Not Howard's first appearance but it worked well here. Fans of the franchise are going to have fun in this film, as it balanced out the humor, action and heavy dramatic depth, by digging into the emotions of the character , by really letting us get to know them before saying goodbye. Much better than the second film, which felt a little flat to me. So enjoy this win while it lasts, as James Gunn takes his winning combination to DC

Film Review : Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

 

It is not secret the quality of Marvel Films has taken a nose dive the Avenger's Saga Concluded with the last Spider-man movie being the only redeeming movie to emerge. Ant-Man's third film is a dive deeper into the mess they are making. The Quantum Realm is worth investing in. The mythos of it they are developing finds a great deal of potential being wasted. This movie is mainly a vehicle to set up Johnathan Major's Kang as the replacement for Thanos. His mission statement is just as murky as ever where Thanos was clear cut in his designs. While Major's seemed a reluctant bad guy in Loki, his role here is plagued by overacting, accents that come and go, little to make you think that he follows the rule of the villainy , which states the big bad should always be the hero of their own story. 

Speaking of heroes Rudd seems less confident in his role than he did in the second Ant-man, some of this might be due to the script which struggle to depict him as a father to teenage girl. Instead Rudd constantly calls back to earlier films. They wrote this into the story by having him obsessed with an autobiography he wrote. Lilly's Wasp, also seems lost, granted Van Dyne is who should be in the role with a more well rounded backstory, finds her in the mire many Marvel movies face as they  divert from the source materiel to cater to the director's convoluted artistic vision which in this case feels like some one order Star Wars from Wish,  They come out with characters out of thin air, when deals should have been struck to have the Micronauts fill the roles, they could have even thrown in Crystar as a chef's kiss and kept with a similar tone and theme.

Modok who looked like a joke in the trailer, and is often used for comic relief here, is the film's best moments. When ever he is onscreen the movie feels better , as the character's have more chemistry with him than Kang. The big action scenes and final fights, were better than what happened in the last Black Panther movie, but largely a CGI mess. Sure we saw Cassie in a costume of sorts, but unless one of the post credit's characters were Iron Lad, there were no other Young Avenger's connections to be found, neither was much of a path opened for the Fantastic Four. Instead we got a wild mess of a movie, that was hard to stay awake for when it was supposed to be building to a climax. One of the few times where the Rotten Tomatoes score makes sense. 

Film Review : Black Panther 2 - Wakanda Forever"

 

A Black Panther movie, without Black Panther is pretty pointless. To pay tribute to an actor who plays a character, does nothing to movie a story line forward, since Tchalla did not die like this in the comic books. Nore does Chadwich Boseman exist in the comics. There was lts of empty sentiment portrayed by morning actors who were trying to translate their grief to the screen. They were more effective when displaying how they had grown into the roles of the characters they were portraying which is typically the sole strength of sequels. The key selling point for me was Namor. Sadly, he is portrayed by an actor the size of his female co-stars which makes selling his super-human strength difficult. I have a feeling the director had never read a Sub-mariner comic in his life, as it felt with characters like Namora and Attuma, they were names of characters Marvel specified should appear, so they got checked off, without any thought as to who they are as characters. Without the same steroids and personal trainer that Hemsworth used Namor was left looking like Peter Pan as he flew around.

The same could be said of Man-ape, whose comic depiction, is more of a villain, but at least he acted like more of an ape this time around. The rest of the returning cast maintained enough charm to convince anyone that is overly enamored with their movie mythos that they were getting what they wanted while the void left by a lack of Black Panther was a gaping hole in the movie. IN the last thirty minutes when a new suit is donned by the girl who takes on the mantle it did not have the desired impact, though the big CGI battle scene was better than the worse CGI in the first movie. It seemed like it was natives vs spaceships, but I for my life cannot Remember the plot as to who was fighting who thus underlining the lack of impact. Here the line was more finely drawn.  The first movie suffered because Kill Monger was just a mirror reflection of Black Panther, and they ended up fighting in color coded suits

The first movie was less than stellar but the charisma of Boseman was enough to compensate for an eager audience who just wanted to see hm get his own movie, The costumes which were another key selling point of the first movie were on par and the underwater visuals enough to make those scenes worth watching once. I do not see this Namor siding with the X-0men There was also no Storm or Dr. Doom as people had hoped meaning Marvel does not subscribed to all the fan service. This film was much less hyped than the first Black Panther, and the response to it online reflects the lack of impact it had. Seeing any Marvel character on screen at any time does scratch an itch for me not matter how badly it's done. 

But when this story was told in comics it held way more impact, thought it also proved Wakanda was not forever as the flooding was more severe. He we just had children screaming because there feet were wet which seemed to play into certain racial stereotype, you would think Marvel would want to avoid, but since the Disney machine sees diversity as a marketing buzzword with no real empath for the audience, the Machine of the Mouse just wants the coffers full and to sell toys to the It's a Small World demographics, as it equates to it's a big pay day. Never mind the fact that the tradition of emasculating black men on screen continues by turning the role over to a female, and undoes what was achieved on the first movie, or the subtle race baiting that Mexicans are coming out of the water to take over the black community. If we service one target group it makes all the other stumbles ok, ... it's not well that is what your dollars are telling Disney you want. that aside I downloaded this movie on Saturday, and it took me until Tuesday night to force my way through it. A great movie I can watch in one sitting, as my enthusiasm wanes the longer it takes. 

Review : Werewolf By Night

 In one episode, the one-hour special was better than She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel and Moon Knight combined. The main reason for this was focus. There was no wasted time. This might not seem like a bold statement, when you consider it introduced three of my favorite Marvel characters Jack Russell, Elsa Bloodstone and Ma-thing to the live action universe, in a manner that respect the source material, though they should have sprung for the red hair dye for Bloodstone. Elsa is likely my 2nd favorite female super-hero after She-Hulk, A show which has been plagued by a lack of focus and wasting complete episodes. 

Filmed in black and white to pay homage to the Universal Monster movies, after all the title character is basically Marvel's Wolf-man.  There was not a great deal of him in wolf form, but what was there worked. He was in his hybrid wolf man like form, which I prefer over showing were-wolves as just big wolves. Man-Thing's potential as the Nexus of all realities is not really hinted at and he comes across as the new Groot. But I can live with that, and he looks fabulous. The show was way more violent that I expected from Disney, with Elsa taking an axe to someone's head, my only complaint is in the test of hunter's ritual they could have used characters from the comics. 

Fiege has hinted at the fact the dark corner of the Marvel Universe this opened the door for is going to factor in going forward, I liked the fact you see Wendigo and Sasquatch in the opening sequence. Maybe one day we will even get Frankenstein. I think the big take away is we can at least look forward to seeing the main protagonists showing up in the bigger picture at some point. They were more interesting than anyone Marc Spector encountered in his series for sure.    

Review : She-Hulk Attorney at Law

Jennifer Walters is my favorite female super-hero. With the Hulk being my all-time favorite. I bought the first issue of “Savage She-Hulk” when it came out in 1980. With that said, I have been looking forward to a live action adaptation. Though considering how Mavel has treated the source material up to this point, it has been balanced with well-deserved skepticism. Her comic in the 90s took a fourth wall breaking comedic turn. I knew this was the direction they were going with it. While comedy is not my thing the show felt like it got the job done in that regard without trying too hard like the most recent Thor movie. CGI was bound to be an issue. I would say it looks better than the Ang Lee Hulk movie, but not as good as Ed Norton's “the Incredible Hulk” . The visual fx issues Marvel has been plagued with since most notably the Black Panther movie, comes with therate at which they pump these things out with. I personally do not care how real my big green monsters are looking as the suspension of disbelief is already out the window, as it should be.

 I think actress Titiana Maslany does a great job as Jennifer Walters, perhaps better in her human form, but there is room for her to grow into her big green persona. The trailer made it look like they were going to try to elevate her character as better or stronger than the Hulk, which would be a deviation from the comics and this is not the case, even when they tussle, she is only fighting a Professor Hulk, or the merged version that feel more like the mid 80s version. Once again, the MCU tends to deviate, but they at least got that part right. There is plenty of social commentary that Disney/ Marvel and let's face it Hollywood in general panders to, but not enough to become a distraction. The villain situation might prove tricky despite hearing the Wrecking Crew will finally appear. Titania, who Jameela Jamil portrays, makes a brief appearance, and feels like she is on par with a villain from the Power Rangers. Not sure if a more comic book accurate look will come about for her, but perhaps it might aid in the feel of the character who is little more than a henchwoman to begin with. 

The series is very rooted in the Marvel Universe and feels less apologetic for being based on a comic book than the bulk of their output thus far. Ruffalo might be a little too comfortable in his role, and I have only found him as a passable Bruce Banner preferring Norton. I am sure budget wise that is more than likely his only appearance. I also do not like origin stories but feel this one was handled as best as they could and came close to the source material. The ship from planet Skaar has online buzzing about a World War Hulk set up, and I am fine with that not happening as key characters like the Sentry have not been introduced, then there is the whole no Tony Stark thing. But that is a future we are not in yet, and it is unlikely the world is even going to make it that far, so I am thankful for the first episode and if they maintain what they started here, that should make this the best Marvel show so far for sure.