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. 

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. 

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. 

 

The Truth About the Punisher

It is time to clear up some misconceptions about the Punisher. The children of today who are prone to cry about everything raised their tiny fists in the air to take offense at police and supporters of police using the Punisher’s logo as their own coat of arms. While generation outrage is correct in pointing out that the Punisher is not a fan of police, the joke is still on them. If they do not like Police then they really are not going to like Frank Castle and need to wake up to why he doesn’t like them. Frank Castle is not against police brutality. He thinks police are not brutal enough. That is why he kills criminals because he thinks the system is just going to spit them back out on the streets. He sees criminals as a problem that needs to be ended. 

 When Frank Castle first graced the pages of Spider-man in 1974 he was the villain. Over the years that followed he continued to come up against actual superheroes like Daredevil, Iron-Man, Wolverine and Ghost Rider. He was not created with the intention of being a hero, but Marvel has a long tradition of turning villains you acquire enough popularity into “anti-heroes” because why not cash in. It paid off as the Punisher has had longer stretches of carrying his own book than both Captain Marvel and Black Panther combined. He has appeared in three movies and carried multiple tv shows. It is unlikely he is going anywhere since he has made Marvel a ton of money.

 Marvel’s only Punisher problem is finding the balls to point out. this is who the character is and not all products are for all people. A person who does not want to watch a Punisher show or read a Punisher comic has other options to choose from. Just like it is not realistic to like everyone in the world, the Marvel Universe should be no different. You are not going to like every character, but that does not mean they need to change. You are opposed to police brutality, well then, the Punisher is going to be harder to handle as he wants to skip all due process and be judge, jury executioner. Funny enough, in the current cancel culture due process is not really a thing, but I guess that is just a matter of convenience. Most superheroes are vigilantes. They do not go to the lengths Frank Castle does, perhaps even having to hold back because they have superpowers making them more capable of killing than Frank who is just a normal man. I think his dedication and intensity is what makes Frank an interesting character and one of the few sonic book character who does not have powers that I like, typically because the stories are so dark. He has worked as a character for almost 50 years and there are many more stories worth telling with him, if you do not like him or what he stands for then just do not read or watch them,

The Punisher Season 2

When the smoke clears the Punisher has stood taller than the other Netflix shows, with Daredevils coming in a very close second. I am not sure how I will even bring myself to watch the 3rd season of Jessica Jones. Which is a shame as the first was pretty good. The second season finds the show still apologizing for being from a comic book, even though Jigsaw's gang wore masks. Jigsaw was a pretty big disappointment. They gave him a few scars and called it a day so not even coming close to the movie version. Where the show does work is in some of it's grittier moments and the raw fighting style of Castle.It is often more depressing than it is dark.

There is less cross over with the Marvel Universe as a whole , which is a mistake on their part. If it is in the same world as Luke Cage, when how far removed should Stilt Man be ? He does wear the skull a little more this season. He has his van. But I think the depiction of him from the 2nd season of Dare Devil. They did bring up online why does this ignore the events of Infinity War? While I don't need this to have happened, I think a vigilante like Castle would have proved more needed in a world run rampant after half the population disappeared. What does that look like on a street level. Half the police force would be reduced it could be like Mad Max anarchy in the street with the Punisher being the one who is left to clean up after it.

Instead what we got was another gangster tale that could have been from any true crime show. What did set it apart is knowing what the identity or persona of the Punisher does to people . The skull was an effective tool to get into Jigsaw's head and made him even crazier from the ptsd it instilled .The show was not boring it kept me watching , but like many of the Netflix mishaps , it tended to go off into side stories of characters that were not the Punisher and not as needed. This could have been invested in something that would have been more engaging in the Marvel world around it. Even pulling from other ties like how the Owl was created in Daredevil and never fleshed out . Worth watching if you are fan of the character as he has really settled into the role so here is hoping for a season 3. Not holding my breath.

The Top 30 Marvel Movies

When Marvel started making movies we were just glad to see these characters on the screen. Now it's a billion dollar hype machine. People need to attach things to these character that just isn't there. Fuck the politics of what Hollywood wants them to  promote on any given day and lets look at how these movies stack up against one another. Ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of faithfulness to the comics , acting , cinematography these qualities put them where they sit on this list. Since after all those are the most important elements of a movie about super-heroes, story wise they already have it laid out for them.



1-Dr. Strange

Faith-9

Act-10- The best cast yet

Cine-10

29...the best of the bunch.



2-Captain America Winter Solider

Faithful-9

Act- 9

cine- 9

27

This movie had the most heart Marvel has committed to film so far



3-Iron Man

faith-8

Act-9

cine 9

26

Kicked off the concept of a shared universe. Rober Downey jr, became Stark.

4-Captain America

faith -9

Act- 8

Cine-9

26




5- Captain America Civil War

Faith - 7

Act-9

cine-9

25

The most heroes they have had on screen up until this point, Spider-man and Ant-man stole the show.


6-Blade

Faith 8

Act- 8

Cine- 9

25...Black Panther might have been created by some white men in 62 making him the first black Marvel hero, but Blade was the first black hero to hit the big screen. If he is not a hero then neither is Bat-man. Some classic scenes in the movie that was really well done considering when it came out.

7-Incredible Hulk


Faith - 8

Act- 9... thanks to Ed Norton

Cine-8

Norton is probably the best Banner yet.



8-Guardians of the Galaxy

Faith -8

Act- 8

Cine 9

25... Groot and Rocket stole the show.

9-Deadpool

Faith-7

Act- 8

Cine- 9

24...Rated r super hero movies became a thing, tone was better than their faithfulness or lack of to the books



10-Logan

Faith- 6

Act - 8

Cine -8

24...Gritty in all the right ways even though it never touches the Old Man Logan Story.




11-Punisher War Zone


Faith - 9

Act- 7

Cine- 8

24...as violent as it should be.



10- Spider-Man 2

Faith - 8

Act-8

Cine- 8

24- Molina's Dr. Octopus was great and Mcguire got comfortable with the role.

11- the Avengers

Faith - 6

Act- 9

cine-8

23- Their chemistry worked despite the cgi vomited ending that became an unfortunate super-hero staple.





12-Spider-Man Homecoming

Faith 7

Act-8

Cine 8

Thankfully spared another origin story, Holland is the best of the three Spider-men


13- X-men First Class

Faith -6

Act- 8

Cine- 8

22...guess they didn't know who was actually in the first class, it was the most fun I had in an X-men movie up to this point.



14-Iron-Man 3

Faith - 5

Act-9...thanks to Robert Downey jr

Cine 8

22...the movies villains were a little weak, but Downey pulled it together.

15-Amazing Spider Man

Faith - 8

Act- 7

Cine-7

22...too soon for a reboot, the mask came off way too much.

16-Blade 2

Faith -  8

Act-6

Cine - 7

22...still fun, they should have ended it here and not made the third movie


17-Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Faith - 5

Act-8

Cine 8

21...Mantis was a Pokemon and it was way too goofy.

17- Avengers Age of Ultron

Faith - 4

Act- 8

Cine-8

20...at least we got Vision and Scarlet Witch though way too far from the source material.

18-Ant-man

Faith 4

Act-8

Cine 8

20...This should have been Pym,

19-Iron - Man 2

Faith - 4

Act-8

Cine-8

20...not sure what didn't work about this movie, maybe it way when Whip Lash got armor.

20-Spider-man

Faith-8

Act-6

Cine-6

20...why was the Green Goblin a Power Ranger?

21-Thor the Dark World

Faith - 3

Act-8

Cine - 8

19...why were elves in space ships?



22-Thor

Faith - 4

Act-7

Cine-7

18...He didn't have his powers half the movie and they were too apologetic about him being a god not an alien.



24- Amazing Spider man 2

Faith-5

Act- 6

Cine- 7

18...Electro was terrible

25-Black Panther

Faith- 6

Act-5

Cine - 6

17...the acting was terrible with accents that came and went scene to scene, supporting cast was either wooden or acted like teenagers, we are too far into this to have cgi of this low quality.

26- Fantastic four 2 rise of Sliver Surfer

Faith - 4

Act-5

Cine- 7

16...might have been better if Galactus was not a purple cloud.

27-Daredevil

Faith- 6

Act- 4

Cine-6

16-acting was as stiff as Affleck looked in that suit.

28-Punisher


faith-6

Act-5

Cine   - 4 

15...I tried really hard to like it when it came out.

29-Spider-man 3

faith-3

Act-4

Cine -7

14...Venom was horrible

                                           

30- Man-Thing

Faith 4

Act4

cine 3

Worse than the second Swamp Thing , but we did get titties for this b-horror movies right from the jump.

Daredevil Season 2

The second season of Daredevil held up to the bar the first season raised for it. Not playing much off the tone established in Jessica Jones, there was a little cross over, but nothing like what we will see when Luke Cage airs. Even though Charlie Cox has settled into the role of Matt Murdock, the Punisher threatened to steal the show. Granted I'm a bigger fan of the Punisher than I am Daredevil. It was grittier in tone and more violent with Frank Castle blowing peoples faces off. The fight where the Punisher runs the gauntlet in prison was especially satisfying and one of the best scenes of the series along side Daredevil beating up the Sons of Anarchy. There was enough Daredevil versus the Punisher fights, but later into the season some of the constant ninja battles got a little tiresome and I'm a little disappointed that Bullseye never showed up as I think he could have spiced that up a bit, he could have even worked for "the BlackSmith".


Speaking of which why was it the "Blacksmith"? They could have used on of Punisher's rogues gallery members to fill that void. Why did they set us up for the Owl last season and not deliver?  Elektra who in her final scene gives us a glimpse of where her real costume could come from, was a little too Hollywood scrawny. I have read the actress who play her, is a student of martial arts in off screen as well, but she needed a little more muscle on her bones. They kept Joe dressed in a way that allowed him to not have to bulk up like the role should require for Punisher, but give us one character who looks the part. I do think they paved the way for Iron Fist nicely by creeping the supernatural elements in though Dr. Strange will have already kicked the door in on that before that show airs. Overall it succeeded in being entertaining. I am not as sure where they are going to go on a third season, I imagine Kingpin will try to live up to his threats. I doubt we will see Cobra and Mr. Hyde pop up, but Hammerhead, Jigsaw, Tombstone Silt-man or the Jester would be welcomed additions.

Elektra has the attitude more than her big-screen counter part has in the awful Affleck film, so I am sure that is not the last we will see of her, but they screwed the pooch because now Bullseye can never kill her. My comic book brain could continue to nitpick things, but tonally I think this season captured things better than what they are doing over in Agents of Shield this year, with the costume helping out and proving that it's ok to stay in costume and keep your mask on most of the time.