Iron Fist. Putty in a silk glove or seriously good? (spoilers)

Did the Marvel/Netflix behemoth do their first bungle?

Well according to the score aggregators. Yes.

But i personally think that is mostly due to the expectations not being met. You see Iron fist is not kung-fu action series, it is in fact not really a kung-fu anything... Like most other of the Marvel/Netflix shows it is a personal drama about facing great personal adversity. In this specific case, it is a pretty much spot on "fish out of water" story about how someone who is basically an emotionally stunted child in a grown man's body with an understanding of the modern world of a 10-year-old. 

Now that does not for a good trailer make and I feel that Netflix was feeling a bit like I do about the character... Danny Rand is dry white toast (in the comics usually clad in green and yellow spandex) with the personality of a Weetabix. So they did not really have much to work with. Most of Danny's good stuff comes from bouncing his dry wit off Luke Cage in the comics and his role is most of the time the sage and calm centre. He is of course not at that place in the series... In fact, in the series he is dumb as rocks. But in a way that does make me at least sympathetic towards him. We also need to remember that Matt Murdock carried a pretty big idiot ball in the first season too. 

Now the worry i have is how they are going to complete Danny´s journey before the defenders (or more realistically at the start of the Defenders) to give him a role outside of "glowing punch guy". I guess he could have the Tony Stark role for the team. Using his money to solve some of the issues like transport and medicine. But for all intents, acting as the moral and emotional centre of the group. I have a difficult time seeing that. 

But the show is solid and while I feel the lack of a solid villain might a bit distracting  It does open up for some serious twists and keep you invested in what will happen. But just stay away from the idea of this being something akin to a Jackie Chan movie. 

Because it sure as heck is not. 

Until next time.

Stay safe, be kind and play fair. 

Suicide Squad a review. Spoilers.

So what to say about the Suicide Squad.... 

It is a movie that have some serious problem, but none of them big enough to stop me from enjoying the movie. But first... The plot goes thusly.

Superman have pretty much triggered a new arms race as the world realized that not only where they not prepared for a metahuman (DC´s catch-all term for anything with superpowers) attack but they where woefully unequipped... These events where part of the BvS movie. 

Enter Amanda Waller (played to perfection by Viola Davis, at no point did you doubt that she could and would destroy you) and Task Force X lead by the biggest stick since Scott Summers... Rick Flagg(played by Joel Kinnaman). My guess is that Flagg had his pert in the movie reduced when Tom Hardy dropped out because he literally serve no purpose in the movie. Anyway... Flagg is the commanding "officer" of the task force consisting of the best of the worst. The idea is to send in a bunch of nano-explosive laced criminals to do black op´s missions. If they live and complete the objective they get time off their sentences. If they fail Waller just toss them under the buss and if they start to color outside of the lines... click click boom. Head comes off. Generally speaking at least one member of Suicide Squad tend to bite it when they are sent out. 

I leave it up to you to guess if this movie follow suite. 

So.... Enter the antagonist, A ancient metahuman that the government try to control, this goes about as good as expected. So once the big bad start to fuck up one of DC comics many made up cities Waller activate TF:X and Flagg, a bunch of no-name marines and the self titled Suicide Squad consisting of 

Deadshot (Will Smith, master marksman and single dad) 

Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, amphibian metahuman with heighten strength and durability)

El Diablo (Jay Hernandez, Pyrokenetic gangboss)

Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney, Angry.. really angry.. Throws boomerangs) 

Enchantress (Cara Delevingne, the host of a angry spirit that can do magic.. ish...)

Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie, Crazy as balls acrobat and psychologist)

Flagg also bring in Katana (Karen Fukuhara, Master swordsman with a magic sword) as his enforcer, not a all together bad idea seeing how these are not the most balanced people to begin with. Beyond this point the movie can pretty much be split in to two... One is a average summer action movie and the other is a fairly smartly written drama... neither get the time it needs to really shine. I guess it do not need to tell anyone that the big bad is beaten and everyone is happy... Oh well... Alive... Sort of... Also we have a Joker sub-plot that is fun but also really does not go anywhere.(I´l make a separate post about Jarred Letos Joker.. Lot to say there.)  This is very clearly a origins movie setting up this sub-franchise of the DC CU. 

Now what make the movie a worthwhile watch in my mind is the fact that it does a lot of "show not tell" as far as the characters and their motivations. The action part of the movie is rather useless, it does what it needs and for the most part it is well put together. But seeing how the movie manages to make you feel for the bad guys as wells as the antagonist... Not so much for the big bad... But it belongs to the action part of the movie. The smart use of the bigger DC universe is another, the movie fits in very well and actually makes me more interested in the upcoming movies. There is a genuin warmth in the movie and more than a few really funny moments. The timing and pacing is also nice and the extra credit scene is absolute gold. 

Now i have brought up before (several times.. I know) how much I like the Amanda Waller character and there is not enough praise I can give to Davis for how she make this character work (and álso David Ayer and John Ostrander for actually writing a good character) She has all the menace and stone cold attitude that i always felt that the Arrow version lacked. You get the feeling that she could make even Batman tighten up with a single look... Not to mention the poor generals and politicians she bulldoze in the movie.

It does suffer from traileritis... Much of the early movie have been spoiled by trailers and seeing how the later part holds no real twists worth mentioning... It was annoying, But the great soundtrack from the trailers carry over in to the film it self making up for some of it. 

So to cap it off... It is no Avengers but a much better film than the previous Superman films gave any indication of DC/WB being able to produce. A easy to digest summer popcorn film with a great cast and enough hearth to fill the empty void that BvS left. 

Civil War – Marvel style. Captain America 3 Spoiler version

Captain America: Civil War is the latest offering form the house of the mouse´s super hero division. And as usual when it comes to the Cap movies it is not so much a super hero movie as a movie with super heroes in it. In this case a political thriller mixed with a psychological drama… Is said genres where raised on Rice Krispies.  But seeing how it is an ensemble film following in the messy footsteps of Avengers 2 I had my doubts that it would not turn in to a horrid convoluted mess.

It is my great pleasure to inform you all that it in fact was not a horrid convoluted mess.

But I get ahead of myself. The story goes thusly.

In the aftermath of Age of Ultron the world in general and Sokovia in particular are not all that hyped about the Avengers any more. Sure they did save the world.. or at least New York from giant armored space whales, but since they have not had much in the way of wins… Between Iron Man getting his house blown up and thrash a commercial dock, SHEILD trying to take over the world by the way of Hydra (or the other way around depending on point of view). Captain America dropping three very expensive experimental aircrafts on a fairly populated area and no to mention the rogue AI trying to annihilate an entire country… An AI created in part by Tony Stark. And as the movie opens they manage to explode a building when trying to capture a terrorist. To say it has been a couple of rough years is a mild understatement.

So the plan is to turn the Avengers in to a UN/Nato attack dog. This is done by the way of equal amounts of guilt and threats and for ol Steve Rogers this does not really mesh with the idea of them being a global force for good. So there you have the schism. But most people agree it could perhaps be a good idea to at least appear to fall in line. As this debate is going on Steve is informed that his almost dame and favorite British spy Peggy Carter has passed away and while visiting her funeral gets some words of “wisdom” from Peggy’s niece Sharon aka agent 13 aka Steve’s old neighbor. So while Cap and Falcon goes on a buddy road trip the rest of the Avengers gear up to attend the signing of the so called Sokovia Accord.

Here we meet T'Chaka, the current king of Wakanda and his son T´Challa. He seems like a nice guy and as such T'Chaka very quickly get an explosion in the back making T´Challa the effective king. Fortunately for him he does not only get the throne of one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world but he also get a super suit and the alias of Black Panther. This is good as he seek to avenge his father. Go him.

Our buddy cop team of Cap and Falcon get involved in this when it looks like the Winter Solider was the one pulling the “trigger” and Cap want to save his old buddy seeing how pretty much everyone else he knew is dead. We do have to remember that Cap might be closer to 100 years chronologically but he is still a 25-ish year old nerd. This will also be important to remember once we get to Caps romantic sub-plot… if you like to call it that.

So with the issue and the motivation set up for this “civil war” the avengers set out to beat the ever living crap out of each other. As the story unravel we see that much of this fuzz was for a former Hydra agent by the name of Zemo to get access to the Winter Solider so he could find information on a very special mission that the Winter Soldier did back in the days. Turns out that Bucky was not the only Russian super soldier and that he did in fact kill Howard Stark. The plan here seems to be to drive a permanent wedge between Tony and Steve and in turn split the Avengers.

So Cap and Tony kick the snot out of each other and then Cap and Bucky makes off to Wakanda where they put Bucky on ice until they can figure out a way to break his brainwashing.

So… The movie is good in fact I would say it beats A2 by a mile and does so with about the same size of cast. Maybe it is because the story is much more personal and the conflict more anchored in… Well… Reality if that is the word to use. Sure we have to play with a lot of plot convenience and among other things I feel that Cap´s motivations are forced. But at the same time as I said we have to keep in mind that Steve is a young man who has one person left in the world that can relate to him and see him as the person he was before he became Cap. I would go pretty far for a person like that. Same goes for his rather hasty romantic sub-plot with Sharon Carter, forced but not entirely out of character. Sure it is a bit weird but she is the closest he will ever get to the love of his life. Not a healthy basis for a relationship but again he is a young (and in some way emotionally underdeveloped) man on the rebound from a lot of shit. To seek solace in familiarity is not unheard of.

Now I of course have to link back to the comics arch that provided name and over all story to this film… As expected they share very little beyond the name but the movie still do a very good job at hitting key points from the comics. The Stamford incident (one of the most emotional gut punches in modern comics history in my mind) where a villain out of hand blows up a good chunk of a town called Stamford including a school full of children. The super-person superMAX iirc called sector 42 or some such, Spiderman (did not do much in the movie but is kind of important in the comics) and the whole bit with Cap realizing that he is in fact going out of control. These moments all translated in to the film in one way or the other.

So it was a worthy end to the Captain America saga and a way to redeem Avengers age of Ultron for being a messy messy thing. It is with confidence I now turn my eyes towards the future of the Marvel cinematic universe.

//T

Daredevil season 2 – The good the bad and the ugly.

So Daredevil season 2 just dropped and like any Netflix series I watched the entire thing in one single sitting. This is in itself not a good idea as the series weigh in at a decent 13 episodes. But it also tend to make one a tad bit more critical as the series goes on.

Now the story so far goes thusly. (Spoilers… And more spoilers)

Matt Murdoc is a bland lawyer that run a kind of pro-bono practice with his law school buddy Foggy Nelson. Unbeknownst to Foggy Matt has super senses that he gained as a child after being splashed with chemicals… because that is a thing… when he saved an elderly man. Now as an adult he put these special skills to use to meet out vigilante justice on the people who the legal system cannot. During the first season we get to know Matt, Foggy and their first customer turned secretary Karen Page as they protect New York´s Hell´s Kitchen both in court and on the streets. The conflict focuses as the criminal and political power player Wilson Fisk makes his presence known putting him and Matt on a collision course. This whole affair resolves with Matt exposing his second life to Foggy and Fisk ending up behind bars. Setting the stage for season two.

In season two we find Matt and the gang pretty much where we left them last time… Just about a year later. With Matt doing his dance of being a sort of lawyer at day and fearless vigilante at night a new player enters the vigilante scene by turning several gang in the city in to Swiss cheese. And while Foggy and Karen go to war against the district attorney over first a survivor of the gang massacre and then later the Punisher aka Frank Castle as his repeated murders brought him in to conflict with Daredevil. Then the story goes completely off the rail... In short order we find out that Castle was a victim of a failed drug bust that caused his family to be gunned down, the DA office covered it up for political reasons, his former CO being a drug lord and that his entire war was based on a misunderstanding. All in all he had a very bad time. Add to this mess that Matt is cutting out on his duties as lawyer to run around with his ex-girlfriend who just happen to be an assassin as she try to take down a bunch of honest to god ninjas. In the end nothing get resolved and anyone familiar with Electra and her story from the comics should know how that storyline ends.

This season of Daredevil seems rushed, like they had a handful of episodes planned but then had to fill in the rest of the story… Maybe not as they went but it felt rushed. The Frank Castle storyline feels solid and apart from the weird twist on the end was well paced. The Electra story otoh felt slapped on and had some serious pacing issues. Now with that said the overall impression is that Daredevil season 2 still make for some really good TV but that it does not really live up to the previous season or Jessica Jones. We will have to see how the Netflix marvel series holds up as we move forward in to Luke Cage and beyond.

So my final recommendation is to watch it but make sure to spread it out over some time to counteract the dip in the middle of the season. 

Marvels Jessica Jones - a solid punch to the gut. (Spoilers… Duh)

So with Netflix rising to become an entertainment giant and Disney want to have their Marvel property in, on and around every place on earth the multi series deal that spawned Daredevil was not unexpected.

What was unexpected was how seriously Netflix took the deal. Daredevil was a very well-produced series that set the new bar for in my mind not only superhero series but any kind of fantasy drama. So when the teasers for Jessica Jones started to drop the “buzz” was real. But as a comics fan and as someone who is fleetingly familiar with the character of Jessica Jones I had some reservations. Mostly because Jones is a broken human being, used and abused in the worst of ways. How would Netflix tell that part of the story? The answer in hindsight should have been clear. They simply told it as it were.

So for the people not familiar with the story it goes thusly. Jessica Jones is a girl with superpowers, flight, super strength and some limited rapid healing. Like most people who get powers in the marvel universe she decides to be a hero. In the comics they wrote her in as a background character, someone who had always been there but never seen. But she had not even taken down her first Batroc before she fell under the control of the villain Purple man (aka Kilgrave/Killgrave). A sadist with mind control powers by the way of pheromones. Both in the series and the comics what follow is a period of mental torture and well… Rape. But it ends with her breaking free of his control and slowly trying to put her life back together. She hangs up her cape and goes in to private investigation and heavy drinking.

The series picks up at this point and tell most of the backstory in flashbacks, including a live action version of the outfit she used in the comics. The series love to toss in this kind of Easter eggs. In fact the very first scene in the series is a picture perfect recreation of the opening scene in the comics.

I mentioned earlier that the series does not pull any punches or really make any excuses for the way Jessica acts. They just drop her there and tell us to deal with it however we like. This is refreshing and lends a certain level of realism to the story. The series also does a very good job I have been told of portraying someone who have lived with abuse and trauma. While I have very little in the way of reference myself it felt very genuine. Now with this being Netflix and thusly not regulated by the American TV-censor board everything is a bit more gritty. While not as in your face gory as Daredevil, Jessica Jones has its fair share of both blood, sex and drugs. But I never feel they go overboard with it. It still fits very well in with the theme and mood of the series.

Now Jessica Jones is backed up by a real nice cast of characters including childhood friend and former childactor-turned-radio host Trish Walker and bulletproof bar owner and sometimes fuckbuddy Luke Cage. Trish in many ways become Jessica´s flip-side. Someone who also have faced trauma and abuse but choose to put on a façade of normality rather than choosing Jessica´s “fuck all” attitude.

As for Luke he does not get as much development, mostly because he is next up for his own series on Netflix but the series do an apt job of making him a believable character and a stellar job of bringing the comic hero to life.  Also the sex scenes between Luke and Jessica are as comedic as they are tragic.

Now it would be a grave error to not bring up perhaps the best portrayal of a villain in the Marvel cinematic universe. Kilgrave is as scary as he is pathetic. The fact that he sees himself as the victim of his own power and honestly do not see any problem in how he bends peoples wills. He simply sees himself as superior. In fact Jessica is the only known case of someone resisting his control. This have made him obsessed with her and the length he goes to in order to play mind-games with her is downright scary. At the same time he is at the core just a very broken and scared man. Afraid to be left alone and forgotten. Like Kingpin his motivations are clear as a character and they are maybe not relatable but at least they are things we can understand. These are the same traits I think made Loki such a good villain, we can all understand rejection and obsession. The seeking of approval and that is what makes it so effective when Kilgrave goes to such extreme lengths, because we all have at one time or another wished we had that very power to bend others to our will.

So I say go watch Jessica Jones and Daredevil on Netflix. It will be worth a month´s subscription. (also if you do, check out Orange is the new Black. A very good series in its own right.) 

The house of El. Supergirl episode 1-9 in review

So the not-superman show that is made by partially the same people that are doing the not-batman show have just come back from its mid-season break and I feel this is a great time to talk a bit about how Superman´s  cousin fair this time around.

Now do note that there will be  spoilers … So if you have not seen the show you have been warned.

The show start us off with a Kara Zor-El hiding her powers trying to fit in, working as the assistant to Cat Grant, as self-made media mogul and “queen of the media”. We quickly get the sory of how Kara was chosen to look over the baby cousin Kal El on earth she is blasted in to the phantom zone and well… arrives a bit late. She is placed with the Danvers family and spends most of her time as a regular person.. as far as one can with near godlike powers. Soon hi-jinx ensues as Kara´s sister is in mortal danger and she have her call to action. She is introduced to a transplanted Jimmy Olsen who we later learn is there on Superman´s behalf to keep an eye on her. We also meet Winn Schott Jr The office tech expert and “nice guy”. We get a really funny montage of her making her costume and then the show sort of goes in to a trifecta of clumsy hi-jinx, workplace comedy and monster of the week. We are also introduced to Alex Danvers, Kara´s sister and secret agent for the government’s alien protection/observation/neutralization unit DEO. A lot of weird things happens and we get the feeling that not everything is as it appears. Now as if the plot was not complex as it is we meet Mex Lord´s. A inventor and xenophobe without a moral compass. The first half of the season was slow and a bit unsure of itself.

Ok last chance… now we go in to real spoilers…

The show wrapped up with some really big hitters… We got introduced to T.O Morrow and Red Tornado in his pre-hero role of angry android and we get a big slew of backstory and super people punching each other in the form of Astra In-Ze the sister to Kara´s mother Alura. A Kryptonian eco-terrorist. And as if this was not enough the show finally revealed that the head of the DEO is no other than the Martian Manhunter. This had been hinted at for a few episodes but it is really going to be interesting to see what one of DC´s real powerhouses as far as well.. power… will do one the current story arc plays out. (for those unaware of the Martian Manhunters powers they include.. Telepathy, flight, shapeshifting, density shifting, super strength and  rapid healing. But he ls pyrophobic.) Now if episode 9 is anything to go by we will soon see another classic Supergirl enemy/allied  Powergirl. A sometimes clone of Supergirl that in the comics and other media tend to be under some kind of brainwashing. This time around she will most likely be. It is that or Bizzaro Supergirl  (Bizzaro is another sometimes clone of superman that looks like a zombie and speaks in opposites as happy meaning angry or sad and friend meaning enemy  and so on… ) or maybe a fuzion of both the characters. It is also going to be interesting to see how Winn will develop seeing how he is the son of DC´s Toyman a very twisted tech genius. It does explain though how Winn is not just a tech expert but almost supernaturally good with tech. I´d love to see him throw down against Felicity. =)

For me this show does share some traits with Marvels Agents of shield that its first season so far is all over the place and have some pacing problems but it does have much more interesting characters 

Agent Carter, a good start. (Spoilers… Duh.)

(and the promised content update.. in the nick of time as usual.)


So Marvel´s next TV series has hit the airwaves and this time we connect with future Alzheimer’s patient and founder of S.H.E.I.L.D agent Peggy Carter. For the full backstory on Peggy Carter in the MCU you have to watch the first Captain America movie. But the long of the short is that she is a British agent attached to the super soldier experiment and later Captain America. Now this series is basically a tall mini-series with 8 episodes and the opening act being a double feature leaves us with six episodes to go.

The Cast
Hayley Atwell is Agent Peggy Carter. Reprising her role from the Cap am movie and marvel one-shot feature Agent Carter is portrayed as a proactive but somewhat naïve junior agent at the Strategic Science Reserve (SSR) a covert department dealing with the fallout of Nazi super science and other oddities. To the world around she is just a switch-board operator.

James D’Arcy is Edvin Jarvis. Jarvis is Howard Starks butler and… well… go to guy it seems as he has Howards full trust and confidence. He is new for this series even if his character is a nod back to the comic-books as Tony Stark used to have a butler before that became “obsolete”. He is also supposedly the inspiration for Tonys A.I. He is a very loving and caring family man who has a strong sense of duty.

Dominic Cooper is Howard Stark. Returning for some more fondue as well as being the main plot point in this series Howard does not get that much screen time and in essence just provide the McGuffin of the day as his super-secret vault of bad stuff was raided, for those familiar with Iron Man comics it is pretty much the armor wars storyline. Still Dominic does a good job as Howard and pull off the loveable douche character well.

Chad Michael Murray is Jack Thompson. This is your average alpha male with a chip on his shoulder. Jack is a war veteran and see the SSR as a way to get up in life. Not much else Is known about him but he bears some resemblance to Eugene “Flash” Thompson of the spider-verse and could very well be said characters future father. Not that the subject will ever be explored due to licenses. =) Any way not much else to say. If you make it through even the first episode without wanting to toss a brick at him you are a better human being then me.

Enver Gjokaj is Daniel Sousa. Another original characters and filling the role of confidant within the SSR. Sousa have a defunct leg and thus preventing him from being an active field agent. Sousa is a desk jockey and take some flak for not being a “real” agent. He seems to have some interest in Carter but feel that he might have a hard time living up to her former fling… Not much else to say about him yet.

Apart from these main players a bevy of secondary characters flash by, the most noteworthy being Anton Vanko.

I am not going to spoil the exact details plot per se but as I mentioned the driving force of the show is someone stealing a bunch of Howard Starks “bad babies” inventions that are too dangerous to let regular people… not to mention military scientists handle them. Howard himself is in a bit of a pickle and it is up to Agent Carter to find the items and untangle the mess Mr. Stark has created. To aid her and keep tabs on her Howard assigns Jarvis as Peggy´s driver/assistant… From there we get a fairly standard procedural drama with a McGuffin… In this case an explosive. But it is still well written and well-acted with set designs and music being very fitting for the era it takes place in, at least to someone who did not live in it. The show does lean a bit heavy on the “convenience” card as things very often just fall in to place for Peggy but at the same time they need to keep the run time of each episode down so it is forgivable. It is also a show with the roots in super hero comics… So one could say they are staying true to the source. Agent Carter did surprise me by being better than I expected but if it simple becomes an “X of the week” show I will be very disappointed. I will do a summary once the show has concluded and give my final thoughts, but for now I say give it a shot. If not for the banter between Carter and Jarvis.

Agent Carter is the first of the new lineup of Marvel series followed by DareDevil in April on Netflix as well as the next season of AoS 2015 is looking to be the definitive Year of Marvel.

Simply… Marvel phase three… .

. .

Potential spoilers ahead. 

So Marvel have let the cat out of the bag and shown us the heroes that are part of the third phase of their movie universe, In my opinion there are a few solid hits in there. And as the self-proclaimed Marvel aficionado that I am I will now give my take on the house of M.

Black Panther: As a key player in the modern Avengers mythos and often cast in the role of the moral compass, the character Black Panther is perhaps not the best known outside of the comics community but have the honour of being the first African superhero in mainstream Marvel comics when he was released back in the mid 60´s. He would later be followed by African-american superheroes such as Falcon, Luke Cage and Storm of the X-Men. Not only a superhero Black Panther is also the de-facto ruler of the small but advanced fictional nation of Wakanda. It is not an uncommon theme in the Black Panther comics that he is beings forced to choose between his duties as an Avenger and as the ruler of his people. But the Black Panther have remained true to his call as a fair ruler and as a hero, never sacrificing his people for the greater good.

So what kind of material for a movie franchise is there in this? Well… A lot I would say. Not only is Wakanda linked to the larger Marvel universe by the metal Vibranium. This fictional material is highly dampening and able to disperse impact force. This is the reason why the comic version of Captain America can block pretty much anything with his shield without breaking... well... everything, since it is made up of a Vibranium and Adamantium alloy. This mythical metal is also the reason why pretty much any villain known to the Marvel universe has at one point or another invaded Wakanda. 

But I digress… From a story standpoint Black Panther is something very different from the current roster of the Marvel cinematic universe. He is for a lack of better word... Pure. A real good guy driven by the highest moral fiber. A man who see the good in his people, even the ones who thirst for his power and the throne of Wakanda. But unlike Captain America he is very much in tune with the times and can in the right hands give a fresh take on what in movies often end up as the noble savage. He will also most likely play a important role in the aftermath of the second Avengers movie if the trailer is anything to go by (a hint.. I did mention Cap´s shield is part vibranium) and it is hinted that he will take the role of the mediator in the third Captain America movie.

Captain America 3: Civil War: Following the comic event by the same name this will deal with the fallout of a world being face by beings of unmeasurable power and the horrors they release. It pretty much comes back to the exchange between Nick Fury and crew in the first Avengers movie. When asked why SHIELD was developing hyper-advanced weapons, Nick points to Thor and simply states “because of you”. The comic arc is about superhero registration and take a not very subtle stab at things such as the Patriot act and it´s successors. In the comics the trigger is a very powerful moment. We follow a team of young heroes known as the new warriors that have been given a reality show. But it is not doing very well and to boos the ratings they get in way over their head. The result is that a villain called Nitro detonates and levels a large chunk of the community Stamford. Within the blast radius is a school and among the dead is over half a hundred kids.

The aftermath of Nitro´s blast

This triggers an outrage among the general population and pushes the politicians to enact the hero registration act. Now exactly how this will play out in the movie I do not know but at its core Civil war pits Captain America against Iron Man as the former take a stand against the registration and the later moves in to a position of power within the government as a result of the act.

I think this will be an epic story, I have always felt that parts of Civil war would make for a really good movie and to see it as the conclusion to the Captain´s arc I feel is the perfect choice. It will give heroes a chance to take a stance for what they think is right without being necessarily wrong.

Let us hope she get a more practical outfit.

Captain Marvel: Originally known in the comics as Ms Marvel, Captain Marvel will be Marvel cinematic universe first female lead. Based on Carol Danvers, a fighter pilot who gain superpowers after an encounter with the alien Kree race (Ronan from GotG was a Kree… They are blue and very pissed off.) And over the years she has fought off everything from shape shifting aliens to demi-gods and elemental forces. She is also the person from whom the comic version of X-Men´s Rouge got her strength, ability to fly and being nearly impervious to harm. So she is traditionally shown as a flying powerhouse who can toss the Hulk and shoot beams of pure energy from her hands.. At this point there is very little known about the movie and how it will fit in to the larger story. Her powers are very much cosmic but as Marvel them-self pointed out, most of her adventures are with the Avengers on earth.

There is no lack of stories to pick from and seeing a female superhero in a lead role will be a breath of fresh air. In the right hands this could become a game changer.

Doctor Strange: Another less known character with big impact in the Marvel universe. In the comics Steven Strange is a neurosurgeon with almost a god complex, seeing himself as infallible while holding a scalpel. A car accident robs his hands of the dexterity they need for him to continue his work. Crushed he travels the world to find someone who can restore his hands, and by extension his life. But rather than finding a cure he stumbles in to a world of mystic energies as he seeks out an old mystic. Strange had been told that the old mystic would have healing abilities. The vain and petty surgeon soon find himself studying under the mystic and would later shoulder the mantle of sorcerer supreme, the guardian of magic on earth.

Yes that is about as stupid as it sounds and I was not at all very interested in this movie until I heard who they are in talks to play the good doctor… No other then Benedict Cumberbatch. While he is a little young to play the doctor Strange he most definitely have the chops to pull it off and his particular brand of subdued but powerful delivery would fit the character to a tee, Of course there is still no real confirmation on if Benny is in fact going to do the role, but i keep my fingers crossed.

No clue of how this one will fit in with the rest of the movies either but the realm of magic is one little explored outside of the Thor movies and could make for an interesting backdrop. Strange himself wields near limitless power in the comics and that of course will have to be adjusted for the movie universe but could be connected to the character Scarlet Witch, a character who can tap in to chaos magic via her mutant ability, altering probability and to a limited degree reality. Strange could act as a mentor to her.  

Inhumans: And then we went off the deep end… The Inhumans are a race of people that live on the moon in a microcosms called the blue area. They are an experiment on how to grant humans superhuman abilities carried out by a race of beings knows as the Celestials (or Kree depending on version... Are we seeing a theme here… ) Very little to say here as I am fairly unfamiliar with the property. But they are a family group, they tend to butt head with different cosmic threats like Thanos and they are led by Black Bolt who is a mute since his voice shatter mountains. It could be a very interesting movie but my bet is that it will end up a dud unless put in to VERY capable hands.  Of all the new movies announced it is the one I have the least faith in. It is simply too weird. Then again.. they made Guardians of the galaxy work… so who knows

Some of the Inhumans. Black Bolt in the foreground

Ant-Man: The odd man out, a fairly standalone movie if the director is to be believed. The story will focus on the second Ant-Man Scott Lang. The original Ant-Man was Hank Pym, one of the founding members of the Avengers and in the comics the creator of Ultron. For the second Avengers movie Tony Stark have taken over the role of “worst judgement in the history of humanity”. These changes are mostly because all in all Hank Pym is just a more insecure Tony Stark while Scott Lang has a much more interesting story, being a down on his luck guy who steals the Ant-Man suit to get his kidnapped daughter back.

This movie have been through development hell and back. I have the utter most faith in Edgar Wright to be able to produce a funny bit slightly dark story about a man that can shrink to the size of an ant… But I have no idea if one will be a hit or miss. I guess it will come down to marketing. Any way it will be another stand out that is only loosely connected to the other movies in the universe. Not very good odds on this one.

Thor 3 – Ragnarok: Not much to say… it will have more Hiddleston as Loki… I am happy. After Dark World it can pretty much just go up in my mind.

Guardians of the galaxy 2: Literally no clue about what this one will be about. Groot and Rocket I guess… It will most likely tie very closely in to…

Avengers 3 infinity war part 1&2: The “final” chapter of the Marvel cinematic universe and it will probably pitch everyone at Thanos…  By all account a loose adaptation of the infinity saga this will wrap up a storyline that started with the Tesseract and will end with Thanos having control over pretty much all of creation… Something you usually do not want a genocidal maniac to have. This will either be ass-kicking awesome or very much MEH depending on how much they have milked the concept and managed to keep the phase three movies fresh. A slight superhero fatigue could be setting in by the time the third Avengers movie comes around. It is also as I mentioned a two part story and I am ok with that even if it r4esults in having to wait an extra year to see all of it. It does give them proper time to tell a story.

That was the long and short of it. All in all it looks like phase three will shape up in to a feast for the fans of marvel superheroes in particular and with DC´s push for the Justice League super hero fans in general.

But next up we have Avengers: Age of Ultron and it looks like it will be bloody awesome.

NerdBlock unboxing October

Video review for people on the move.

So… Another Nerd Block. Mostly because the fact that it was curated by Kevin Smith and have a super hero theme. How could I pass it up? Now for those of you who are unfamiliar with that a subscription box is, it is the bags you usually get at conventions and trade shows, but actually filled with good stuff and not just pens… and sent to your door once a month. I have unboxed a few of these already and feel free to check them out.

So the first thing I looked at was the T-shirt. Nerdblock have a shirt in each boc and they are usually pretty awesome. This one was imply awesome beyond words if one happen to be a Kevin Smith fan. It features Jay and Silent Bob as Batman and Robin. Now Kevin Smith is perhaps the biggest Batman fan I have heard about and have on several occasions incorporated Batman in to his on-screen persona Silent Bob such as the famous utility belt and the very meta in-universe comic versions of Jay and silent bob called “Bluntman & Chronic”… Yes… Fun fact… Kevin Smith was in fact not a weed smoker when he wrote his stoner jokes… But has since picked up the habit.

Next up is a very clear VS item with the biggest names in DC and Marvel facing off. These now sit on my backpack because honestly… Fuck growing up boring.  They are nice pins but also just pins. Not the big ticket item.

SmodCo stickers, this was a expeted item but I am happy non the less. It is a stickersheet with various Kevin Smith productions on it such as fatman on batman…Not as pervy as it sounds… and his new movie called Tusk. Not bad, mostly as shipping for stuff like this to Sweden would be insane normally compared to the price of the product.

Arkham  Asylum Post-It pad is absolutely adorable but I am a bit sad there is no special printing on the sticky notes them self. Still it is a very cool little office item and I has been claimed by H and I think it will fit perfect on H´s desk. That place is a mad house to begin with.

Now for the second to best item in the box. A pack of trading cards replicating the ones that agent Coulson carried in the Avengers. They seem to be a bit scaled down but they claim it is a prop replica so I will take their word for it. It will look awesome on my shelf and if I ever get a chance to meet Clark Gregg or Chris Evans I will have them sign them for me.

Next to last we have an I think Windwaker… Mascot dangler for your phone, bag or intimate piercing. I got link holding a urn… I admit... I have not played Windwaker… I fail as a human being.

And the big ticket item this month is a Funko POP! Vinyl of Deadpool. Unmasked and creepy as usual. Thanks to these boxes there is a small collection of bobble heads building in my home, so far we have Groot and now Deadpool. Very nice indeed.

So that was it, I think I got good value out of this box and to be honest I never get them for the value, I get them for the fact that it is Christmas every month. My inner child just bounce around like a maniac every month. I am still not sure how the Windwaker figure fit in to it all but hey, it is still a cute little dangler… and that somehow feels very familiar.

Take care and be safe.