Tom Tingles

Alright. I know I've always said that Andrew Garfield was my favourite Spidey, and I still think he was a fresh breeze of cavalier air after the somewhat dour Tobey Maguire, who still wasn't really bad at his take, but "Far From Home" convinced me to join everyone else in 2016 and accept that Tom Holland is god tier Spidey. And that's even with my soft spot for the Ultimate Peter Garfield reminded me of. Tom even nails the aspects of that version. It's not really news to anyone but me. In some ways, it's not even news to me. But Tommy's a wondrous distillation of some kind of Platonic Spider-Ideal.

And the movie as a whole is my favourite Spider-Man film. Even its mix of high school jinks and rangy adventure brings to my mind the Ultimate comics that elevated

the character to new heights in my young mutant heart. Also, while I'm somewhat ambivalent about the direction of the credits scene, the character who steered it was a welcome surprise of the grandest order.

The fact that Mysterio's presented as a fusion of my two favourite Avengers doesn't hurt either.

Bonus Question!

Mysterio's described as a mix of Iron Man and Thor, just like Sigurd Stark, the Iron Hammer of the Infinity Warps event. Who wins?

Mysterio's extra stylish in the movie, but he's still just a trickster. Not even a trickster god. Iron Hammer's

got divine science magic. And a hammer. So . . .

Grimly Phoenix

Just saw "Dark Phoenix". Can't understand the hate. It was a fun X-Men film filled with classic X-Men nonsense. Like "Apocalypse". On a tonal level, I did prefer "Apocalypse", but that's  because it was more uplifting, and my own tastes might have liked that to be the end point. But I'm also the guy who used to end the Ziggy Stardust album on "Suffragette City" because "Suicide" seemed too dour to end on, and now that's one of my favourite songs.

But it's pretty rare for a dude to get a second chance at seeing his vision through without interference, and that's what Kinberg got for this after the complications of "Last Stand". He rose from the ashes of that and made his Phoenix play here.

I will say that the X-Men uniform popped better onscreen than I expected, though I still would have preferred the wilder costumes that were teased at the end of "Apocalypse". What else popped? Mystique's hair. That  coif was radical. It could have come from a bottle called "Radical Red". Pure comic book colour. Cheers for that. And cheers to Kinberg for managing to convince her to come back for endless hours of makeup application.

And I realise now that Tye Sheridan might have won the casting call in large part by virtue of his mouth. That blind pout is pure Cyclops. I loved Marsden in the old movies, but he might have almost been too stylish for the role. He might have made me like Scott more than I should have. But Tye's performance is incredibly honest.

Also. At one point, the X-Men are antagonised by the Mutant Control Unit or whatever, with big letters on their outfits that read "MCU", which seems appropriate after all the legal issues between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Fox's X-Men franchise.

And the ending reminded me of the epilogue to "Dark Knight Rises", which mainly had the effect of making me want to watch a conversation between Xavier and Michael Caine. It doesn't even have to be with Alfred. Any Michael Caine.

Bonus Question!

How was the last season of "Jessica Jones"?

She's not my favourite character of the Netflix Defenders, but for some reason, her show always goes down smoothest.

Avengers 4-Ever After

Restlessness lost! I was worried about being able to sit through the running time of "Endgame" despite fervent desire to see it,  which drove me further to see it with company in an extra effort to fight off that discomfort. But I probably would have managed without that. Honestly, the pacing might have suited me more than that of "Infinity War" despite the increased length.

Another mild surprise?

I liked the quantum suits more than I thought I would when the Avengers actually put them on. The colour palette still isn't my favourite, but it lent a bit of a Japanese super squad effect to things. Like Power Rangers or Voltron. That kind of thing. It mitigated the loss of those diverse costumes with more inherent appeal.

And Rob Downey basically felt like Ian Malcolm for the first 15 minutes, which hit me with a bit of desire to see Stark hang with the Grandmaster. Though even when the first "Iron Man" came out, I felt a sort of affinity between Jeff and Downey. Anyway.

Also, isn't this around the 3rd anniversary of that comic  where Cap first hailed Hydra? It was amusing to hear that line cheered in the movie after its harsh decrial in the books.

Ultimately? Ridiculous. But not ridicilulous like the Ultimate universe's analogous chapter ender Ultimatum, which was a whole other kind of ridiculousness. This was far more satisfying, in part because it still left a full world that allows for all sorts of future stories to be told. After Ultimatum, that universe felt slightly like the first bit of "Endgame" where the whole world was depressed after the snap. People say the movie's take a lot from Ultimate Marvel, but regardless of that claim's truth, they're better at wiping the slate clean. For one thing, they actually clean it instead of smashing it to bits.

And hey. The longest paragraph of my "Endgame" post was only tangentially related to the film. Seems on brand.

Also! In being a saga ender with an expressive green giant, a bunch of time travel in sevice of fixing a broken world, and a notably attractive character that got fat and lazy, "Endgame" really reminded me of "Shrek Forever After". And because "Endgame" had a mellow Kinks song in it, I was also reminded of my friend's insistence on listening to his favourite "Waterloo Sunset" in the car as he drove me from the Shrek movie. I was also listening to a lot of Kinks before I went to see "Endgame", but it wasn't the mellow stuff.

Bonus Question!

Best Hawkeye moment?

Jeremy Renner has his own kind of endearing charm, but it's not that of comic book  Clint Barton. That's fine, but Jer's "totally awesome" line felt like the closest thing to the Hawkeye of the page.

With the possible exception of pictures of young Jeremy Renner.

Shazamming

Just saw "Shazam". It's a movie about a child mind in an adult body with sparkly power. I couldn't miss it.

Also, it followed "Spider-Man 2" in the classic superhero movie tradition of having a villain who looks like a dude in Matrix cosplay.

One other thing. The combination of the marketing slogan "Just Say The Word" in combination with the throwback 80s feel makes me think of Phil Collins's "Sussudio", and I don't know if that was intentional. In any case, it's my head canon theme song for the movie.

Bonus Question!

Are Redditors in Reddit's Star Wars section Jeditors?

Alien Slaying

I finally saw "Captain Marvel", and I really just want to say that I loved the look of the Skrulls. For real. They reminded me of random villains from "Buffy", which totally feels appropriate for an emotionally oblique blond heroine in the 90s.

Also, these movie versions do a good job of looking distinct from Thanos, who's always basically looked like a Skrull with a purple tan and an Infinity Gauntlet full of protein powder.

Bonus Question!

Best flavour of protein powder?

I've been swearing by maple syrup pancake, but the new Reese's peanut butter cup kind intrigues me. Can anyone attest to it?

Flyndral

So. Pretty excited for "Shazam".

Before this, I was aware of Zach Levi's history in the Thor movies with the character of Fandral. I didn't realise that he was also Flynn in the Tangled franchise. Still doing it in the ongoing series and Kingdom Hearts even. Which means that he's played two fantastical characters inspired by Errol Flynn? That speaks well of the dude to my mind. Now I want to see his Shaz even more.

Bonus Question!

"Tangled" versus "Frozen"?

Both are good, but I was more receptive to "Tangled" at the time. Flynn was probably a big part of that. But I think Elsa's become my favourite princess since. We'll see how I feel when the sequel arrives. Also, hey! Disney cartoon  with a theatrical sequel! Yay!

Spider-Prose

 "Spider-Verse" basically looked like a blend of every kind of animation. 2-D. 3-D. Clay. Like . . . Digital clay.

Weird thing. It's doing really well. My theatre was packed. But most of the people I've mentioned it to barely seem to know that it exists. Anyway.

I knew some of the cast before I saw it, but I wasn't expecting Lily Tomlin. Getting Ms. Frizzle to aid in numinously scientific dimensional weirdness feels appropriate somehow.

And somehow, tired, bedraggled Peter B. Parker looked like a pretty version of his voice actor Jake Johnson. Maybe it's mostly the art style? His face is just a more angular version of Jake's? Maybe the resemblance is nothing more than the natural similarity between the demeanours of two white dudes in their 30s with brown hair and stubble. That's a possibility.

Bonus Question!

Best white dude in his 30s with brown hair and stubble?

I don't know, but I'll be 30 in a year,

my sideburns are brown, and I've been trying the stubbly look for the last few days for the fun of it. Maybe I'll be in the running.

From Bye to Bae with Bendis

I've spoken on the mixture of excitement I had to see Bendis write at DC and the longing for all the potential Marvel stuff he'd never write because of his new exclusive contract. I've been enjoying his Superman work, but that character still doesn't land in the tenderest spot of my heart. But now . . .

Now he's getting his own imprint at DC, and he's headlining it with a the first big use of the Young Justice team since the New 52 started. And that's just . . . Alright. I love Miles Morales and Jessie Jones, but if you're offering me Bendis on Bart Allen and buddies to replace that, my soul's scales feel balanced in a way that just wasn't the case when Superman was his main output.

In the immortal words of Madonna, I say "Forever Justice".

Bonus Question! 

Last Marvel project I'd want from Bendis? 

In an age without Jason Aaron's wild and sprawling saga of cosmic Norse myth, seeing Bendis on  Thor's world would be a treat.

Meat Guilt

That latest issue of "Tony Stark: Iron Man". The one without Tony Stark. Instead, it had his recently discovered brother Arno, who's been travelling the world and solving corporate problems. Or dispensing Twilight Zone justice. It depends on the situation. In this situation, he let some farmers get eaten by the brainless cows they'd raised to alleviate meat guilt.

But the most amusing thing about this might be the idea that scientists in the Marvel universe, known for a fairly noticeable pervasion of advanced technology, thought that brainless cows were the best way to get around the guilt of killing sentient beings for food. The real world's already focusing on growing meat without animals! But nah. Arno's clients still wanted to have things to farm. Maybe that was their real goal. It wasn't to feel better about eating animals. It was to feel better about living that old rancher life without the idea of imprisoning thinking beings.

Bonus Question!

Brainless cow versus cowless brain!

It depends. Does the brain have the kinds of powers that are usually ascriped to independent clumps of cerebral matter? Like levitation and mind bolts? If it doesn't, the win goes to the cow.

Mos Dev

Man, when I started watching Daredevil's new season, I knew that I was in for good times with the gang. More Foggy! Karen's back! Incel Fisk!

And then that Bullseye flashback started in the fifth episode. And I just wanted to get back to the good stuff. But then it became good stuff. The classical version of Bullseye is similar to  Joker in a way. You're not really supposed to care for him. The investment comes from being drawn into what he's doing. But sometimes things can come along to humanize him.  I wasn't expecting that from this series, but there were some moments in the monochrome flashback where I really did feel for the guy.  As he was struggling to develop a sense of empathy, I saw myself empathizing with him.  That relationship with his doctor or whatever was quite poignant. Obviously, he's awful. No question about that. But they did a good job of displaying the humanity behind that, which is important. Monsters are people too. It doesn't mean that they're less monstrous. It doesn't always necessitate treating them as though they're not monsters,  but it can serve to give  a better understanding of what's going on behind all of that,  which can sometimes be helpful. Or just fun.

Bonus Question! 

If Bullseye played with marbles, which he'd obviously do well, I think that his favourite would be a cat's-eye. 

Space Suit

 "Venom" was a solid watch. Even when it felt somewhat like a gritty remake of an Adam Sandler film.

On another note, the symbiote's reaction to Stan Lee sounded like anyone's grandparent who got dragged to a Marvel movie.

Also, Anne made me think of a version of Pepper Potts who'd advanced further along the path of being justifably tired of her superhero boyfriend's  nonsense.

And it was good to see Hero Astronaut John Jameson onscreen again. Pretty sure that they're setting up Man-Wolf for the sequel.

Bonus Question!

Stargod versus Star-Lord! Hero Astronaut versus astronaut antihero!

Stargod Jameson's got that discipline to win.

Feeling Fantastic

I just read the first actual Fantastic Four comic that Marvel's put out in ages. Apparently, it was released with consideration for an anniversary of their first appearance? Which made me think about the story I heard about Stan Lee's impetus to create the group.

He had this uncle or something who knew that Stan's comic business wasn't doing too well. Stan didn't think that he could keep going much longer. Mr Uncle-or-whatever comes and says "Hey, Stanley. Those DC dudes . . . " I'm probably paraphrasing. But.

"Those DC dudes are killing it with their Justice League mag. Whole team of heroes. That's what sells, m'boy. Making all the dusty dollar bills. Why don't you make one of those super teams?"

And he did. In a way. But the Justice League's popularity owed something to the prominence of the heroes that composed the team. It starred DC's greatest hits, who were already firmly established. By that point, some had been around for decades. Stan Lee's response, the Fantastic Four, were completely new. They weren't building on anything. But they still exploded. They basically built the foundation for the modern Marvel universe.

Today, people criticise DC for making a Justice League movie that hasn't earned its existence as Marvel's Avengers film did with years of solo movies for the team's major figures. It's the reverse situation. And the creation of the Fantastic Four belies those criticisms. It doesn't matter how you put the thing out there if what you put out there is good.

And that's an argument I won't take further around Justice League because my ability to objectively judge the quality of entertainment is firmly dubious. That's avowed.

But hey. I did like that movie.

Bonus Question!

Which Beatle would provide the best company for Ben Grimm?

My first instinct was George Harrison, but I think that Ringo's tastes would be more compatible with Ben's.

Pawsome Claws

I've got to say that "Black Panther" did a superb job of elevating Everett Ross from his negligible presence in "Civil War". I don't think that I even had time to realise that Martin Freeman was doing an American accent in that fim. But here he felt far closer to the "Spin City" kind of guy he was originally under the pen of Christopher Priest. Michael J. Fox didn't play him, but that's just another one of those missed opportunities that's largely down to timing. Like Vincent Price and Doctor Strange. And that still worked out decently.

And seeing warriors on top of chasing cars in busy nighttime streets brought me right back to classic Priest pages too. That's always been the Panther stuff that's gotten to me. I can appreciate the objective worth of other takes on the character, but Priest just has a way of hitting me from the right angle. Right now, he's making Deathstroke's comic into one of my favourite books from DC, which came as a surprise to me. Deathstroke and Panther are on similar levels to me because their tones generally tend towards the serious, and a bit of levity is an ingredient I prefer to have in my comics. But Priest always manages to find a way of balancing things in whatever he writes.

The other  surprise in his Deathstroke run was the inclusion of a dude who's basically an immoral Black Panther. "Red Lion" or something. I do enjoy the consistency of Priest's  tastes. He's still doing that whole "Frasier" thing of white-on-black cue cards for scene changes too. Even when Deathstroke's feeling pretty grim, that boosts the mood.

Beyond the bits of Priest flavouring, the Kirby influence on Wakanda's structure and ambience struck me too.

The influence of Jordan's anime appreciation on Killmonger's first costume was a good touch, and modeling it after Vegeta makes decent sense analogically. But the fact that he eventually turned into a golden version of Black Panther was what cinched it for me. Shininess and feline styling! Two of my favourite things!

Overall, it was easily the most solemn of the Marvel movies, which isn't to my tastes, but it probably ranks among the more stylish episodes, and that wins some points right back.

A case could probably be made for its supremacy in sheer elegance.

One last thing about Martin Freeman. His outfit in the climax really made me think that he'd be a great Moff or something in Star Wars. He really hit that aesthetic hard there. It was probably unintentional, but it did coincide with his piloting of a futuristic laser ship. So.

Bonus Question!

"Black Panther" versus "Thor: Ragnarok"!

Best mystic patriarchal conversation  against a greenscreen homeland!

T'Challa's talks with his father were pretty poignant and evocative enough of "The Lion King", but I preferred the jauntiness of Odin's cavalier farewell to his bickering sons in some random Scandinavian field.

Like a Cat Out of Hell

Apart from the first season of "Daredevil", "Jessica Jones" feels to me like the tightest of the Netflix Marvel shows. Before I started this season, I wondered about the extent to which I'd miss David Tennant, but the increased development of the supporting cast quickly made that irrelevant. The particular focus on Trish could probably have done that by itself. She's not that much better adjusted than Jess, but her flaws are displayed in a subtler way that allows her to flaunt her joyous side more often, which is essentially an inversion of Jessica's personal makeup. Double-J blazons her face with her issues and makes you work for any glimpse of optimism. The pair of them really go deep on the whole yin-yang dynamic, and they don't forget to include the two little dots.

For a while, I thought that Trish's role could only be improved with a bit of actual Hellcat action, but then things started to veer in that direction too.
ObutalsoJeri. I'm relishing the relentlessness with which she's written, and Carrie-Anne Moss's portrayal is executed with precision. I said that I enjoyed seeing the emphasis on Trish, but Jeryn Hogarth basically got her own independent and viscerally compelling story, and that really grabbed me. I seem to recall hearing some calls for a Night Nurse series about Claire Temple at some point, but I'd honestly prefer it if Jeri gradually just took over all the shows.

Bonus Question!

Purple Man versus Indigo Girls!

Battle for the cool side of the colour wheel!

The Purple Man definitely has significant psionic powers, but the Girls are wily. And they've got the numerical advantage. They get the win. Because why not.

Bendis!

Marvel's comics were my entrance to the entire comic book world, but Brian Michael Bendis was the writer who eventually made me care about writers. When I realised the effect his cadence had on my reading experience, I began to look at the names of the creators on comic covers instead of focusing solely on the titles. Before that, credits were gibberish. His Ultimate Peter Parker was the first version I'd read with a real appeal to me. The period after I picked up that random issue near the start of Bendis's epic run caused a minor vexation in my best friend, who briefly felt that I was attempting to usurp his fixation on Spidey instead of staying in my own little X-Men realm.

I'm actually quite excited to see a DC book by Bendis now, but it'd be even better if it didn't mean the end of his Marvel work. Exclusivity's an emetic, man.

Bonus Question!

What effect has Brian Bendis had on your life outside of comics?

He provoked an interest in David Mamet, which is why I've seen "Glengarry Glen Ross".

Fresh Off the Helicarrier

Oh, man! Randall Park's got cast as Jimmy Woo? Marvel's Asian James Bond fellow? But not Shang-Chi? Because he's a more traditional superspy and less of a kung fu guy?

Putting the "Woo" in "Woo, yeah!"

I love it when Marvel gets fathers from family comedies to play superheroes! Who can forget Phil Dunphy's star turn in the role of DoctorLeonard Samson in 2008's "The Incredible Hulk"? That same summer saw the debut of the husband from "The New Adventures of Old Christine" in the part of Agent Phil Coulson. All the dads! Two of the Phils! All of the feels!

Now we need to get ready for the spinoff with this crew. I suppose that Samson will need to get irradiated first in order to attain his characteristic green mane and superpowers. But then we're good to go.

Bonus Question!

What's the setup?

My mind jumps to a buddy cop romp with Doc Samson and J. Woo with Coulson in the commissioner role. Right?

The Quippy Thwipster

A new Spider-Man movie is on the scene, which makes it a natural time to think about the old ones. Personally, Andrew Garfield embodied much of what I like about the character, and the direction at least allowed him to display more of Spidey's trademark humour in combat than I saw in the Raimi films. He's the Quippy Thwipster! You can't have one without the other! You need both, guys! You need both.

I don't have a huge issue with Tobey, but he is on the dour side, and while his voice work in films like "Cats and Dogs" and "Boss Baby" ably demonstrates that he can be quite expressive vocally, I find that his face just isn't naturally emotive. And for a superhero, he doesn't actually spend enough time in a mask for that to be unnoticeable.

I'm sure that depressive Spidey is the iconic version to many, as brooding Batman is to hordes of people who've grown up since the 70s. I won't deny that there is a sadness at the core of Peter Parker, but I've preferred its more neurotic interpretations. The Spider-Man who related to me was closer to a bratty Woody Allen than he was to Willy Loman.

Speaking of Batman, I relished  Harry Osborn's development over the Raimi trilogy. By the end, he seemed from his perspective like a hero in the Bruce Wayne tradition. He thinks that Spider-Man's the monster who took his father's life, and he takes up a mask and gadgets to get his vengeance. He even had the patiently affectionate old butler! Harry just happened to be wrong.

Honestly, I cherished the cast of those movies. If you switched in Garfield for Maguire, it's basically perfect. And that has to be at least a part of the reason for my inability to find significant fault with the movies Garfield starred in. You gave me the Spider-Man I recognised. You gave me the most important part. But honestly, much of the rest of those seemed enjoyable to me too. Emma Stone? For instance? As Kirsten Dunst did before her, she played an unconventional but interesting version of a classic Spidey girl.

And then there's Jamie Foxx's Electro, who's clearly been taking classes at the Notice Me, Senpai School of Villainy, a venerable institution that includes among its alumni the Jim Carrey Riddler and the Guy Pearce Mandarin. The Topher Grace Venom applied, but he was denied for excessive cologne use. It's a bit of a shame. He would have been at the top of his class in Imitating the Envied Hero 101.

And Paul Giamatti? Mwah! As the Rhino? Double mwah!

And I just realised that it follows in the tradition of ending a set of Spider-Man movies by giving a bad guy role to a lead from "Sideways".

Bonus Question!

Brattiest Woody Allen?

Owen Wilson.

Electricity is clearly the better way to wake up. 

Iron Proxyvich

As it stands, “Iron Fist” is probably my favourite of the Marvel Netflix shows. I freely admit that this is probably predicated in large part on my feelings about the character. Of all the Netflix leads, he’s an easy favourite. A privileged white kid who often comes off like a crazy person and makes no real effort to discourage such impressions? Not hard to identify with.

Also? Chest tattoos are sweet. 

I’d probably place Jessica Jones right behind that on the basis of being an unstable mess with a nice jacket.

Additionally, this one had my favourite centrepiece fight. It's not usually a focal point for me, but even I have some inkling of the reasons behind the plaudits for the hallway brawl from "Daredevil". But that's still just a squalid hallway. "Iron Fist" had a melee in a sumptuous elevator. That goes straight up my jam. It evokes memories of a childhood trip to San Francisco where my mother and her friend had to spend large swathes of time in work conferences or something. For a tranche of one such swathe, my brother and I occupied ourselves by wrestling inside an ever moving hotel elevator set against a bright new cityscape.

As its predecessors were, "Iron Fist" is a well crafted story. And as its predecessors did, it does have a bit of a dip in the middle. In this case, that dip takes the form of “Erin Brockovich” by proxy. But whatever. My favourite dip is still the one in “Jessica Jones” that saw her try to play house with Kilgrave. The strict adherence to the 13-episode format on a platform that doesn’t expressly require it reminds me of the comic industry’s modern tendency to fit many of its stories to 6-issue arcs in order to facilitate ease of collection in trade paperbacks. It doesn’t always seem perfectly appropriate, but I don’t honestly care. For me, the pith of the story isn’t really lost, and ultimately, I’m just getting more stuff. I can’t be bothered to put effort into finding fault with that.

Bonus Question!

Best move?

The fist does actually glow. It would have been easy to just let the chi be an invisible force, and I wouldn't have faulted anyone for that. But the fist, like unto a thing of iron as it is, does indeed glow. It's a beautiful thing. And I know glow.