Since the movie has come out and everyone is giving reactions, i decided to do the same. While there are no PLOT spoilers, I do talk about the overall structure of the movie, so if you haven't seen it yet, but are super anal retentive, the first (after this) and last paragraphs are all you need to read.
I was really surprised with this movie. A lot of the reviews have been kinda "it's a solid B/B+ movie, (B+ if you like comics/sci-fi/fantasy, B if you just like the first 2 Spiderman and X-Men movies) better than good, not great," yet it's score on Rotten Tomatoes when I went to see it was an 89%, 88% among top critics, and 95% of the audience liked it. That seemed unprecedentedly high. By comparison, Iron Man was 94%, and Iron Man 2 was 74%. While I don't think the movie was as good as Iron Man, I do think it was a far better balanced movie.
Because I'm a sci-fi/fantasy fan and not an avid Thor reader, I liked the Asgard stuff that some people called too colorful and over the top, and didn't know/care if it wasn't faithful to canon of the minutiae. The beginning had gone a little long before Thor got to earth, pacing could've been a bit tighter. I liked that it wasn't all the Asgard stuff, then all the earth stuff, then a final battle but hopped back and forth between the 2 settings. I thought the use of characters like the Warriors Three and Sif was better than Iron Man 2's use of Whiplash or Black Widow, and the Clint Barton cameo fit a lot more than Jon Favreau's self-insertion as Happy Hogan (but that may be because of his name; when Tony call's him "Happy" non-fans wouldn't realize it's his name). Kat Denning's character may have only served to give some less than funny one liners and generally look cute, but I thought the film needed that levity, or it would risk being too self-serious (for anyone who has seen Branaugh's productions of Hamlet or Much Ado you know what that's like). I thought the number of fight sequences was good, but I do wish the Destroyer fight went on longer, both parts of it. As for the post credits scene, I liked it, but a lot of people didn't get it. Both my friends I was with, and strangers on the other side of me asked why I said "ooooh" and what that was all about.
Basically I readily admit this movie was not the best comic book adaptation out there. It doesn't have the intensity and action of The Dark Knight, the well known, star power actors of Iron Man, the almost entirely faithful adaptation of canon of Watchmen, or the name recognition (and successful cartoon series 8 years prior) of Spiderman or the X-Men. What it does have are great cinematography and stunning visuals; a plot that is complex enough to draw the audience in, but not so bogged down that it alienates non-nerds; a good number of action packed fights and explosions (or 'sploshuns if you will) required for a summer popcorn flick; a sense of grandiosity that a film based on mythological gods needs to have, but not so much that it becomes over the top melodrama, and winks to the fans, that non-fans won't find too forced. While the movie may have had a couple little plot holes, and " O_o, wait , what?!" moments, the feeling of the movie was the best I've ever gotten from a comic book movie to date. TL;DR Go see this movie now! Yes, NOW! Run!
Anyone who follows me, or comments on blogs, or the 2 or 3 people that regularly comment on my blog (thanks for that, btw) knows that a couple months back I posted a blog about a collage I saw. The collage was a bunch of Marvel What If…? titles that over the years (and the finite number of stories that can be told) found their way into the mainstream Marvel continuity. Well, today I stumbled across an internet post about the same thing. This article uses some of the same examples I saw, as well as some other ones, and does a better job of positing what happened in the original What If, and then how it played out in the mainstream continuity.
So if you used to read What If's, are curious about how much of current continuity is recycled from what were originally considered bad ideas, or, like me, you love being angry at Joe Q, check out the link. And don't forget to let me know what you think in the comments.
And before anyone says it, I am not talking about Steve's being unstuck in time or anything, I mean that Marvel announced that Steve will be reclaiming the Shield! and the tiny winged mask. According to this article, according to the Associated Press, Marvel is putting the old Cap back in the old uniform (so long Bucky's shiny Cap'n Puerto Rico Flag costume) to coincide with the First Avenger: Captain America movie this summer. So what are your thoughts? Trial of Captain America is wrapping up (I think, i haven't been following it) Looking forward to Steve's return? Will this change the line up of the Avengers? or Secret Avengers? Will this explain why in the future people were so pissed off at Bucky?
Hey all. So I saw these circulating around the net, and felt like sharing. Just a couple of pics from the Wonder Woman tv set. I gotta say, the costume looks MUCH better than in the promo pics. Kinda like how the Thor and Cap promo pics looked bad in the CG painted promos. Let me know what you think. Personally, I don't mind the hybrid look of the current and classic costumes, but I don't like the tube-top. The one thing I really like about the current costume is the top looking slightly more sturdy and strappy than something being held up by, literally, double-sided tape and magic . I'm also glad they made the overall look less pleather, made the boots red, and got rid of the clown red lipstick. Maybe its because I haven't read anything in canon about it, but I assume Diana is the kind of woman who wears very little make-up, coming from an amazon warrior background, she's probably new to the idea. At the same time, being in the world of men for the first time, she probably feels some pressure to assimilate, and if she's got a secret identity, the norm is makeup; regardless overall I'm glad she looks less like a superhero themed stripper.
Rumors were floating around the internet that Chew was being developed into a tv series. More details have come out that the show will be on Showtime. For more see article here. I think Showtime could be a good parter, they can be gruesome and gory in a way basic cable can't. I think they might try advertising to fans of Dexter. I am a bit worried to hear that they might shy away from the cannibalism in the first story arc, it's kinda the big driving factor (i'm not that far into the series so i don't know if it carries on past the first few issues).
Remember my blog Wait… WHAT?! Well the Daily Show did a segment about this story tonight. I'll put up a video as soon as Comedy Central puts it up on their website.
or: WHAT IF… Joe Quesada never became Marvel's Editor-in-Cheif?
What If… writers read their own back catalogue before ripping it off? (edit: full image can be seen HERE) When I started reading comics in the early-to-mid 90s, some of my favorite comics were the WHAT IFs. Maybe it was because I had a short attention span, maybe its because they were never sold out, maybe its because a lot of the stories of the time were very involved, so starting at the beginning of an arc didn't guarantee you'd be able to follow all the action. For example I loved the X-Men cartoon, so I started reading X-Men, and the storyline that just started was X-Cutioner's Song, which was almost impossible to follow unless you knew the backstory that had started years prior (or should i say Pryor... puns are great). What If gave you a quick synopsis of the story as it originally played out, then started up with the scene mentioned in the title, took that premise and ran with it. Sometimes seemingly disparate events would tie together in the weirdest ways.
So I found this Collage of "What If…?" covers online, when someone pointed out to me all of these "what ifs" happened in continuity. Maybe not in the EXACT manner presented, but Wolverine being a vampire happened, as did Ross becoming a Hulk, and Cap coming back later than the 70s (even if it was in the Ultimate Universe). Furthermore, many of them happened when Joe Quesada was Editor-in-Cheif.
I'm of two minds about this. Some stuff like Spiderman's Clone living, I only learned about the original story after I already reading the retcon. Clone Saga was one of the first Spiderman story arcs I read in its weekly releases (after Maximum Carnage). With some stories I went back and read the original stories, I was dissatisfied with the ending and felt that the retcon was the better tale. But with some of them, like General Ross becoming Hulk, or Spiderman not getting married, I think the retcon comes off anywhere from cheap and unoriginal, to just plain insulting (maybe that has to do with the way they were written... looking at you O.M.I.T.). Most of the time "What Ifs" are a way of saying "if we would've done it different, all hell would've broken loose."
Does it bother anyone else to know that Marvel is essentially taking story ideas they already put out there as being a bad idea for continuity and making it canon?
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Ok, so that's a stretch, but Marvel recently said they are going to kill a character off EVERY QUARTER. Everyone paid attention when Johnny Storm got killed off recently, so Marvel decided that killing people is a good way to move books. From the article on I Heart Chaos:
David Gabriel, Senior Vice President of Sales at Marvel Comics has announced that as a result of the Fantastic Four sales and media coverage, Marvel are going to kill a main character every quarter. He also added “this is not a joke”.
The next character with his head on the chopping block looks to be Ultimate Spiderman, with the storyline "Death of Spider-Man"
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If you're like me, you often get bored of canonicity, and like stories that take your favorite characters and present them in a new and interesting manner. DC has its Elseworlds, and Marvel had (does it still have?) "What If…?" books. I saw a post on MTV of all places where they listed their top 10 alternate universes of the Marvel Universe. What are some of your favorites?
Remember a few days ago when an online comic retailer said it was cool to shoot public servants and their staff and I got pissed off? Well guess who just got deemed a "credible threat" http://thephoenix.com/BLOGS/phlog/archive/2011/01/18/cops-seize-guns-from-arlington-comics-shop-asshole.aspx
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