MCU

12/31/2018

A Year in Review: 2018

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2018 had a lot going on, media-wise. We started Marvel’s endgame with Avengers: Infinity War, Jodie Whittaker took up the mantle of the Doctor, and an actual, unmistakable Science Fiction film won Best Picture at the Oscars. On top of that, Black Panther made all of the money, Neflix’s reboot of Queer Eye premiered, and the new title in the Smash Bros. series was released with a new storyline aspect that shocked much of the fan community.

Over here, in this small corner of the internet, we’ve gone a few new places, visited some old (and some really old) favorites, and played with some new ideas that will be carried through to the new year (I keep promising to normalize the schedule, maybe 2019 will be the year that it happens!). In addition to talking about stuff I like, which is this blog’s main purpose, I talked about a few things I didn’t (and explained why), and a few things that I like, but maybe with an asterisk. We also talked shop on the actual building blocks of story and some academic concepts that create the stories that we like to talk about.

So let’s talk about them just a little more.

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05/03/2018

The Epic, the Serial, and Avengers: Infinity War

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SPOILER WARNING: I will do my best to avoid major spoilers, but as with any review, it’s a bit buyer beware. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, don’t get angry with me if you think I’ve spoiled something.

So, I definitely wanted to talk about Infinity War this weekend, and I was wondering what I might talk about outside of a straight review or a breakdown of my reaction to it, but I was given a great assist from The New Yorker, of all places.

Just… the hottest of takes right there Mr. Brody.

And yes, technically he’s right, but reading through the article it’s clear that all of these things that he’s saying that are technically true (none of the characters have proper introductions, it feels like the season finale of a TV show, the ending compels the viewer to put on the next part) are, I think, supposed to be interpreted as negative. But these criticisms are rather dismissive to all the people, films, and characters that allowed this movie to be made, like Homer, The Ten Commandments, and Buck Rodgers.

Those things do fit together in this context, of course.

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05/19/2016

Superhero Registration: Why and Why Not

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I saw Captain America: Civil War last week (like most of America), and I was duly impressed. It’s far from perfect, but it’s a really fascinating showcase of what a full cinematic universe can do. The plot was very engaging, even the slower moments felt important. I could list the number of underdeveloped characters on one hand, which considering the amount of cast is impressive. The movie didn’t feel crowded, it felt like an event comic, with just enough cameos and bit parts that weaved together the summation of what Marvel has been doing with their franchise. And the fact that they also introduced so many new characters that are so integral to the Marvel universe (Black Panther, Baron Zemo, effing Spiderman, etc.) and it still wasn’t bloated is frankly incredible.

There is, of course, the criticism that it’s not like the comic. And that’s true. The Sokovia Accords are not exactly the SHRA, the entire storyline that Spider-Man had in the comics is gone, and unlike Deadpool, the studio couldn’t even get one X-Man. Though Negasonic Teenage Warhead would probably be Team Cap.

The marketing around the movie was also interesting, having everyone pick a side. People would post #TeamCap or #TeamTony or what have you signaling which side they were on. I didn’t pick a side because I didn’t care enough to, but also because the issue of registration is a complicated one. One that’s actually been explored in several different forms of comics media. And Civil War (in the comics) was very different in that the Pro-Reg side were the heroes.

There’s a reason it was changed in the movie.

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