WTF? Friday...4/7/2017

Hey Joe...

...you've seen this. Right?

So I was wondering. What could possibly get these guys together to form a team in the first place? I mean yeah, they're fighting The Hand, but The Hand is a "new" villain to both Luke and Jessica. So why would they get involved? How would they get involved? What do they have in common? What would they be Defending? How are they all connected?

 Here's my brilliant theory:

Claire gets captured by The Hand. Don't know why. Can't even begin to fathom the circumstances. But something happens, and Claire (or something she feels passionate about) needs Defending. She truly is their Coulson.

August 18th can't come soon enough.

So, Iron Fist (WTF? Friday...3/24/2017)

Hey Joe, let me ask you a question:

Have you seen Iron Fist? 'Cause I've seen Iron Fist.

I saw Luke Cage too, but there was a disconnect.

For one thing, I don't know the character very well. I've got a couple of issues, including some Power Man and Iron Fist, but I knew his origin...his motivation...his "gist".

The show, however, emphasized Harlem. I know nothing about the history of Harlem. I liked the show, but that lack of knowledge affected my enjoyment.

Now back to Iron Fist.

Again, I don't know the character well, but I got his 'gist'. However this time around, my interest wasn't very high. I'm just not a fan of martial arts based comics. I don't think he's a bad character or poorly written or anything, it's just that he (and his genre of books) aren't my cup of tea.

I like what the show didn't do - focus on Chinatown, spend a lot of time in K'un-Lun or feel too "Kung Fu Fighting".

I also didn't like what it didn't do - show us any of K'un-Lun, have Danny meet Luke or give us the mask.

I like what it did - show us Danny re-integrating himself into his former life (and world for that matter) and kick some serious ass.

I also didn't like what it did - give us a lot (a LOT) of Rand Corporation. Know how much I knew about Rand Corporation from the books?

THAT much.

Know how much I cared about Rand Corporation in the show? Same thing.

I love Love LOVE Claire. I'll never get tired of watching her integrate herself into the Defenders mythos. Say what you want, the Netflix shows needed a Coulson. They got one HELL of a Coulson. And in some ways, a better one. 

I guess what I'm saying is - since the books didn't hold my interest, the show didn't either.

But is that because the show was bad? Is it because the character is bad? I really don't know. I am planning on rewatching the series in the near future...and yeah, eventually buying it on Blu-ray.

Don't judge.

My hope is that the show will have the chance to improve with Season 2 (which it deserves), giving fans more of what we want - especially after reading Season 1 reviews like this one.

In Marvel Studios I Trust

Enjoy your weekend!

The Doctor Strange trailer...

DAMN!

I'm pissed about the accent though. With all the changes they're making for this film, why Strange couldn't be British and just working in America I have no idea.

Thoughts:

• Having Baron Mordo a good guy? Okay, but I beg you Marvel Studios, let him say "burgundy..." just once. Okay, twice.
• Having Wi-Fi in Tibet or wherever makes my eye twitch.
• I have no problem with The Ancient One being played by Tilda Swinton.
• The Eye of Agamotto is f**king beautiful. 
• The Cloak of Levitation is f**king gorgeous.
• The music is f**king sick!
• I get the feeling Rachel McAdams' character will return as Clea, and Mads Mikkelsen's character will become the corporeal host of Dormammu. 
• My one problem is that the "alternate reality" visuals look too much like Inception for me.

The Defenders Trailer...if you can call it that...

2017 can't come soon enough.

But seriously, they couldn't give us 1:27 worth of trailer? Really? I'd take just watching Stick stand there while saying his lines. 

'Cause Stick is awesome. He just is.

Other thoughts...

• Madame Gao's forces will team up with Luke's gang of thugs. Why? I'm not sure, but maybe it will have something to do with the new distribution of the heroin?
• Wilson will still be behind bars, but we're gonna meet Bullseye. Just wait.
• What could possibly bring Jessica into all this? One of Killgrave's offspring perhaps? Maybe even a female purple-skinned teenager from Canada? Who'll wind up on the side of the angels and head back north?
• The Hand will return. This is what brings Stick back to New York. Oh, and we'll meet Stone.
• Speaking of Stick, that speech we hear him say? That's while he's standing over all of them. At Metro-General. Where Claire will show up. She just will. 
• In the final scene of the last episode, Elektra returns to the living. Very. Last. Scene.

The Iron Fist trailer...

Coming Soon can't come soon enough.

So. It's a plane crash and not an avalanche. I'm okay with that. 

Other thoughts...

• How will Danny interact with Madame Gao? I know nothing about her beyond the Daredevil series, so maybe they're connected in the books? Either way, she's bad. My guess is the guys who find Young Danny are on the opposing side.
• The scene where he's strapped to a hospital bed. Very reminiscent of Thor, but that's where we'll see Rosario Dawson again. We just will. Explanation? He's coming down from a forced heroin overdose/murder attempt, which also explains how he gets to New York. Gao's baddies capture him, give him the overdose and dump him in a Hell's Kitchen alley to die. Claire finds him and brings him to Metro-General to detox.
• The final scene where he punches a hole out of a wall? That's him breaking out of the hospital...in the final episode. He'll wander around New York, with his iPod no less, and the final scene will be his walking into Luke's new bar. Very. Final. Scene.

The Luke Cage trailer...

September 30th can't come soon enough.

It looks like this takes place after he woke up in Jessica's apartment. I'm okay with that. 

Other thoughts...

• We'll see Rosario Dawson again. We just will.
• We'll learn about his time in Seagate, and eventual escape release.
• Even if Jessica doesn't show up here, she'll be mentioned and/or seen in flashbacks.
• The last scene of the final episode will feature Danny. Either Luke will wander into his space, or Danny will walk into Luke's new bar. Either way, they'll meet in the final scene. Very. Final. Scene. 

My thoughts on Civil War...

So it's this weekend...

...and here are my "Spoiler Free" thoughts:

Steve Rogers will be killed.

I don't want it to happen mind you. To me, Steve is Captain America. But killing him could be the MMU's way to explain the argument that the hero and the suit are two different things, which is true...

...but Iron Man isn't just the suit.

Neither is Spider-Man,

or Jessica,

or Matt,

or Frank.

You need the person in the suit.

So if they want to prove this by having Bucky or Sam wear the suit for a while, fine. But don't kill Steve...

 ...let him be someone else for a while.

But, since he will most likely be killed,

he'll get better.

It will be long and drawn-out, but Baron Zemo will get his suit...in the post-credits scene.

And...

All this fighting will last through the whole movie. Which sucks.

There will be the build-up, then the line-drawing, the last-straw, and the knock-down-drag-out. Then there will be the make-up, the "Steve's death" thing, the passing of the suit, the Zemo reveal...

...and the Wolverine cameo.

But seriously, all this crap about Teams and Sides is just bulls**t. I understand the appeal of seeing your favorite hero beat the snot out of everyone else's favorite hero, but I'd rather spend hours (and dollars) to see my favorite heroes beat the snot out of my favorite villains. But, as I've said in the past...

...in Marvel Studios I Trust.

About these Netflix Marvel shows...

I'm a huge fan of both shows, and I look forward to the rest of them, but this new trend has me thinking:

Why don't the comics run the same way?

Why get bogged down with ongoing monthlies? Why not have ongoing mini-series instead? My understanding is that comic book publishers must feature a specific character within a certain time frame in order to keep the publishing rights for legal reasons, but that time frame isn't a mere 30 days. It isn't 90 days. In fact, I think it's somewhere in the 3-5 year range.

Regardless, I'd rather read a really good 7-month long story featuring Moon Knight (for example) than deal with five issues of less-than-spectacular "filler" crap in a monthly ongoing series. Having said that...

the same could be said for television shows.

An AoS spin-off? (WTF Friday...4/10/2015)

So there's talk of a spin-off.

Well, now, hang on a minute. It may not be that bad... it all comes down to the who, the what and the why.

My biggest issue with AoS has always been that it wasn't Marvel enough. It's too much X-Files meets Generic Cop Show. 

Yes. Coulson is the glue, but what exactly is this show bringing to the universe?

I wanted the show to be about how Coulson et. al. deal with, address and cope with all the stuff going on. Last season's "Yes Men" episode was a fantastic example of this: 

Someone escaped from Asgard...which is fine because Coulson's team has dealt with Asgardians before in "The Well" and know what they're dealing with. Sif shows up - great connection - and she helps them track down Lorelei - new Marvel character introduced - who has an effect on men. Lorelei captures Ward (this is before all that HYDRA crap) and Coulson uses S.H.I.E.L.D. resources to help track her to a hotel in Vegas. They send in a S.W.A.T. team - made entirely of female S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and led by May - but lose her. In the end, Lorelei is captured, Sif promises Coulson not to tell Thor he's alive, and Ward is back to normal (until all that HYDRA crap happens).

THAT'S what the entire series should be like: 

Coulson's team (and S.H.I.E.L.D. in general) meeting and dealing with ESTABLISHED MARVEL CHARACTERS!!! None of this "We're S.H.I.E.L.D., no we're S.H.I.E.L.D." nonsense.

W...T...F...?

Agent Carter, for all it's strengths, went in the same direction.

I don't want to see Marvel shows about one character from the films working with a bunch of unknowns against more unknowns who may-or-may-not-be in cahoots with a bunch of enemy unknowns. 

I want characters. Marvel characters.

And I want to see how the "powers that be" interpret those characters into the MMU. I don't expect Matt Murdock to show up on AoS, like ever, but having Foggy defend Melvin Potter against S.H.I.E.L.D. lawyers who want to put him in the Vault? THAT'S an episode I'd love to see.

So if AoS is set in its ways, maybe a spin-off isn't a bad idea...

...just as long as it's about something other than a super-secret organization too super-secret to feature actual characters from the Marvel Universe. ENOUGH of that already!

Marvel Studios and Sony: Let's make a deal...

(Whew...) I've finally dug out from under, and have a few days off to rest up before the next dump. Time to check the hot sheets -

Okay...

...yeah...

...wait...

...say what..?

Hold on...

...slow down...

That doesn't even make sense...

...is that decaf? 'Cause I think I need a decaf...

...I said decaf...

See what you started?

I. Said. DECAF!

...

I haven't had time to pour over the details of this thing, and the repercussions haven't set in yet. All I'm feeling right now is a sense of dread. If this goes sideways, I'll be spending my retirement looking back fondly at how glorious the MMU was before it all went to hell.

But if it goes right...

we get this, and more importantly...

...this.

I'm ready!