What are the 3 best scenes in Superhero movies? Hint: They're in the same film and critics hated it.
Three of the best scenes in superhero movie history are in Batman Vs. Superman. There I said it, the best scenes. These scenes are a big part of why this movie felt so fun to most fans. Still, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice remains a lightning rod among fans and critics. My own feelings being quite mixed. The movie was by my own evaluation an epic, exciting visual exploration of a crowded, confused, and convoluted story. BvS was highlighted by some very bright spots that stand up against any other superhero movie scenes to date, including all the epic Marvel bits. Here are the three scenes (and a BONUS) that stand proud among the modern pantheon of superhero epics
1. Best Combat in a Fight Scene: a Brutal Batman
While I enjoyed the combat in all the Dark knight trilogy of films and the hordes of eye candy in the MCU, nothing compares to the Dawn of Justice for the best combat in a fight scene. It may be the best fight sequence in a superhero movie ever and is certainly the best combat in any Batman fight sequence. A brutal gadget wielding fighting master, Batman tearing through mercenary thugs doesn’t get much better than this scene. Entering through the floor, disabling firearms and leveling the playing field with sticky bombs and using his batclaw to throw a box across the room were all as powerfully “Batman” as we’ve seen on the big screen. It was brutal. It was powerful. It was epic. If you’ve ever played or watched the Arkham video game series, you know what I’m talking about. They perfectly mirrored the combat in those games while keeping it grounded enough to enjoy. This Batman fights not with rage or to fight harder like Christian Bale’s Batman, but with the brutality of a man who believes he is part criminal and part weapon of vengeance. Is there a better fight scene in any other superhero movie?
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Dark Knight Batfleck in Unrelenting Combat
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Combat from Arkham Batman video game series
2. The Sorrow of Being Superman
In contrast to the adrenaline rush of #1 on this list, this scene is about an elegant and quiet characterization of one of the most iconic DC heroes. It is one of my favorite scenes in this movie and in any Superhero movie. This Superman is not concerned with an alter-ego in the same way as any other cinematic version. Snyder and Cavill’s Superman is in a more modern portrayal. He is more openly alien, foreign, separate, and detached from his humanity and humankind. It’s the real pain beneath the symbol of hope. No more powerfully is this felt than when he stands alone amidst an explosion that poses no threat to himself, but claims the lives of the people that he has at every turn fought to save, certainly in his perspective. While he is rooted in growing up in Smallville with the Kent’s and in BvS with Lois Lane, Superman’s pain is that he is alone, deeply and truly alone. That is the journey Snyder and the JL team are setting Superman on through these films, and this scene beautifully and quietly characterizes Superman in a way audiences have never scene. He is physically an impervious god to humanity but emotionally he is all but human and feels completely alone because of this dichotomy. I love this scene and this much more complex Superman.
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Superman Reflects on Mankind in Capitol Building Explosion
3. Wonder Woman Wows!
Back to the adrenaline pumping, heart thumping action. WONDER WOMAN! I had my doubts if they could capture the Amazonian warrior woman. I thought it was possible-to-likely that Gal Gadot would look frail and the combat would look weak compared with Superman and Batman. No need to worry on this one because BvS nailed it. She was powerful, forceful, and her movements were spot on. Snyder definitely delivers with iconic action and imagery. Wonder Woman enters the DC Universe with style leaping into battle, slashing swiftly and powerfully across the screen. Certainly the greatest female superhero action scene ever and one of the best in any superhero movie. BvS was a great lead in and promotion of Wonder Woman. I’m psyched to see Diana in her own movie.
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Wonder Woman leaps into action
SUPERflix BONUS: The Wonder Woman theme and the score
To continue with my excitement around seeing Wonder Woman shine on screen, the soundtrack was absolutely incredible. Wonder Woman’s leap into battle is set to thumping tribal war drums conjuring up images of greek warriors while the slashing guitars mirror her fighting style sending the audience’s adrenaline through the roof. EPIC! The great Man of Steel theme is peppered throughout the film helping give resonance and emotion while the Wonder Woman theme ramps up the adrenaline flavoring her enthralling entrance into battle. The strength of emotion and a more complex world with deeper characters is where the DC Universe can separate itself from Marvel’s popcorn comic book movies, and the soundtracks of MOS and BvS really highlight one way that strategy really works. It is unfortunate that it appears Hans Zimmer bowing out of future superhero films. This soundtrack was rivaled only by Man of Steel and The Dark Knight.
Too many main characters dying on TV these days only to be brought back? Well, sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. Misdirection is a common narrative tool in creating epic moments, and the suspense of ending each episode with more questions than answers is narrative gold. But, did that Jon Snow resurrection work for you? It did for me. I’ll tell you why. You make your own call. Also, we’ll dive into where this may lead and whether or not Jon Snow still knows nothing. ;)
Why it Worked, and Why we Liked it
First, it worked for me primarily because it fit the narrative like a glove, Ace Ventura not OJ Simpson. Here is why. Jon Snow needed a way out of Castle Black and the Night’s Watch he swore an oath to. This way out had to maintain his hero status, remain true to Jon Snow, a son of Eddard Stark and rightful heir to the North. Why not just take the offer Stannis Baratheon gave him last season and take his place as Warden of the North? Good question GOT fans. It would have betrayed who Jon Snow is as a man and a leader and align him with a character, Stannis who was going down a very different path. Jon Snow is the good guy, no matter where he goes. He has to do what is right, like his father. Also, Jon Snow needed a way to truly align the wildlings and the men of the Night’s Watch before he can take a heroic path to immortality in Westeros, or not (more on the not in a second). Jon Snow also needed allies among the magical of Westeros, and he now has that connection. Daenerys has her dragons. The Lannisters have a monster. Jon Snow has the Red Woman and perhaps the Fire god. Bran has his abilities as a Warg and the greensight, and the mentorship of the three-eyed raven. Arya is learning the ways of the faceless men. Jon Snow’s resurrection accomplished a lot narratively and signals the third act of our beloved story. We also have a lot up in the air with Jon Snow; can we now find out who his parents are and what role that will play? I hope so.
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Jon Snow and His New Friends
Second, other characters needed Jon Snow but had to get rid of their baggage first. Melisandre needed doubt to push her toward her true path, apart from Stannis. The same can be said of the Onion Knight, Davos. He is also a man of honor and needed Stannis to fall from grace, literally. I’m still reeling from the murder of his own daughter. That was wicked, even for GOT. Ok, maybe it was on par for GOT. Westeros sure does see a lot of family drama and the occasional family murder. Tyrion, that was still awesome - on the toilet! Wow! This show sends characters off in style. <- I’m foreshadowing the best bit of this article, that explanation was for the “Jon Snow” readership...the one's who know nothing. Follow me people! Jon Snow has such a big part to play in the overall story, but I don't believe this is his story, just a hunch. Keep reading.
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Added May 17th 2016... we earned this too!
Death/Resurrection that I didn't like on a show I love
In contrast, The Walking Dead death of Glenn in the middle of last season did not sit well with me and came off as a cheap trick. It didn’t do anything narratively that I can see yet (don’t follow the comics because I love the show so I don’t know what is coming, except the whole Negan thing, comic-wise). For me, the death has to accomplish something and the resurrection has to course correct or alter the plot in way that facilitates narrative trajectory and growth. I personally don’t like shock value for the sake of shock value.
We Earned This Resurrection
Third, his death was totally Game of Thrones, but his resurrection was earned. It was paid for with Eddard Starks head. It was bought with Lannister gold at the Red Wedding. It was paid for at the hands of the Mountain squeezing the life out of our well earned vindication for the hero Tyrion. It was paid for time and time again with each death that took the wind out of the sails of our righteous indignation at the villains of Westeros. The hero had it coming. Amongst the incest, rape, murder, gasping and gloriously shocking violent deaths, the audience earned something as pure and innocent as Jon Snow getting a second chance. Well, maybe.
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What now for Jon Snow? Be careful what you wish for...
Now this is where we will jump into what may come. There is no promise that Jon Snow is still ‘Jon Snow’. He may actually know something now, ha. But seriously, he may be altered in some form or another. There are (SPOILERS) some elements from the book where characters come back but are not the same at all. In the only example on the TV show, take a look at Beric Dondarrion (best name on the show) and look at what a shell of a man he was as he is constantly resurrected from deaths. It comes with a cost. In GoT, there is always a cost - ask Arya or Khaleesi. Jon Snow gasps back into life, so I don’t think he is inhuman. But there could be something different or wrong about him and he may be the same, eventually. We will see.
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Beware, the Ultimate Coupe De Grace is coming!
Lastly, and here is the real kicker - the aforementioned "best bits" -> the ultimate coup de grace. This paragraph is dark and full of SPOILERS, potentially. I never for one minute believed he was dead. It made too much sense how they could bring him back and he had too many mysteries we love up in the air, his parentage for instance. The groundwork had been laid for his revival from the start. The show had done it before, to several different degrees. Baric Dondarrion, Khal Drogo both were brought back and each time there is a cost, but they are resurrected. The Red Woman also has powers unknown and after Stannis’s death was primed to lend her desperate aid. But here is why I never bought it, deep down. Potential Spoilers, my fan theory. Game of Thrones and George RR Martin love to build up a hero and then dashingly and horrifically kill them off leaving the audience heartbroken but somehow itching for more. What better coup de grace than to bring Jon Snow back, have him seemingly bulletproof in your audience's eyes as he walks right up to the Iron throne only to snatch it away from him in a most gruesome fashion. If he comes back as basically the same identifiable and beloved Jon Snow, he’s doomed to be the ultimate coup de grace. If he comes back different but eventually gets back to being the heroic Jon Snow, doomed. I could be wrong, but I don’t think this is Jon Snow’s story. Just when you think he is safe, whammy. Jon Snow may be the Game of Thrones double whammy.
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BONUS: What didn't Work and Why
Here is how it didn’t work for me. It wasn’t a surprise. The show did great. It was setup nicely, the pieces fit for a return, but nothing was implicit. And then, we came along - the ravenous consumer with our instant media and unquenchable thirst for more of what we love. The ultimate statement on this cultural dynamic is that some people now feel lied to and misled. What? It’s a show. The actor “lied” to you because he got paid millions under a signed contract to NOT say anything so you might be shocked and surprised. But it didn’t matter. Hilarious.
We made it really impossible to keep his resurrection under wraps for a season break. I think there was a general belief he would be back. We have to know everything, right away. We wanted to see pictures of Kit Harrington on set in Season 6 last fall. We wanted to read articles about how he is still on the payroll and for a lot of money while the show was filming. Pre-internet the word spoiler was reserved for a sports team that ruined a higher seeded team’s chance to win or for food. Now it is used daily to save people from seeing or hearing too much. It’s just the way it is. It is really hard for secrets to stay that way for beloved people, products, and properties like GOT. The security on the sets where they want to keep the story under wraps, an Apple commercial for a new product or a Star Wars movie is ridiculous. The President or a bank isn’t so safe. It has to be that way. So, the cat was out of the bag I think for awhile unless you of course knew what Jon Snow did...nothing.
Here is a perfect example, without spoiling it I know who Negan killed. I'm not special or anything, some guy slowed down the audio so much you can hear what the characters say in response to the deathblow, and I was tired of that show playing games with me so I just wanted to know - moment of weakness but I don’t regret it. I had to know something ;)
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Captain America: Civil War’s villain, Zemo, is why Marvel is Winning
This isn’t about DC films, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, X-men: Apocalypse. This isn’t a comparison or a fanboy “mine is better than yours” argument. This isn’t even about Zemo the character. This IS about what it takes to be a successful comic book film franchise in 2016.
First thing you need is Zemo. Here is why.
the Zemo always flows downhill
You need Zemo because the villain facilitates the best thing going for Marvel’s third installment in the Captain America series and the previous 13th installment in the MCU, STORY. Good old fashion well-written, compelling narrative story. He drives the narrative movement beyond just a tussle in an airport over the Sokovia Accords and turns the Civil War into a real conflict with repercussions of the MCU that won't just reset right away. Tony and Cap will never be the same.
Zemo isn’t the most dynamic villain in the MCU. He isn’t even close to the greatest among cinematic villains in the superhero/comic book genre.
Zemo comes in and out of the Cap 3 narrative without really ever dominating it, yet he still has some meat as a character and his final discussion with Black Panther shows some depth to the character. He pulls some of the strings to pit two iconic heroes against each other, but never gets in their way (narratively). The story is still theirs. It really is a Civil War not just a token VS matchup with no weight.
He also embodies the Avenger’s conscience serving as a reminder of what the toll their collateral damage has taken on individuals and families while presenting the very real danger they ignite when they wage war on global threats. Zemo gives the Sokovia Accords a very real face.
Zemo raises the stakes
You need Zemo because you need to know how important story is to these movies. Story is everything; everyone can do visually compelling movies these days, some better than others, but not all tell a solid, narrative with suspense, twists, real drama, deep and long term character movement, and accessible plots.
Zemo is not the evil villain Baron Zemo from the comics, and I usually dislike it when these movies retcon a character’s name but not the actual character. It still serves as a point of contention for me personally in this film, but again, the story (both visual and as a narrative) wins out. Zemo works whether I like that he isn’t even Baron Zemo or not because Zemo tells a story. I can make my peace with the backstory and the lack of him being a Captain America super villain in this movie.
Zemo plays the long game
Most importantly, you need Zemo because Zemo wasn’t even the best part of this villain. The best part of Zemo is that this character uses narrative leverage that this cinematic universe has been building up for the past 8 years and 12 movies. He fulfills a prophecy if you will. “That’s the guy my dad wouldn’t shut up about.” Think about the weight of that statement in the context of the last 13 MCU films. This relationship has been building for 8 years since Cap and Tony first started gracing the big screen, and the conflict has been brewing since they first faced off in Avengers. That gives so much more weight and power to the story and its characters. We didn't just meet these guys (cinematically) in this story. Building on the comic love we all have for these characters and stories. It's the long game cinematically that really drives this all home. Now you know what it is to be Zemo.
“Put on the suit, let’s go a few rounds.”
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The backstory for Tony Stark started in 2008 and we have become increasingly invested in this character each time Robert Downey Jr struts out in hot rod red and gold. Captain America is the same thing. He’s the first Avenger and near the top of the list for most beloved MCU characters. We’ve seen both of these guys on their best & worst days.
We are so invested in them; it begins to feel like a TV show that has been running for a decade, and you know only a few of your favorites will be left standing. It's a little intense for the tone the MCU has set so far. You really feel it when Zemo unveils the intricate story that has been woven in and amongst Hulk and Thor tossing aliens, Hydra, and omnipotent digital robots around. You know Tony. You know Cap. And it really pulls at the old heart strings when Zemo finally makes Civil War real.
'Did you know?! Steve, did you know?'
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“I don't care. He killed my mom.”
It’s narrative weight has been building through nearly a decade of films. Zemo delivers the tragic conflict, brings all of Tony's pain to the surface and questions Cap's righteous honor. The fight to follow isn't between two characters. The fight that follows is between two friends we understand, care about, and have a real stake in.
“He's my friend."
"So was I.”
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And that, my friends, is how you do it.
You can’t build an entire league of heroes and ask us to care about one of their deaths when we haven’t watched them grow until we have some investment in them as a symbol of hope, truth, and justice.
You can’t add 5 new characters to an already packed ensemble cast in one film and ask us to really feel the weight of an imminent global apocalypse.
So remember one thing Mr. Movie Studio Executive looking to get the billions of dollars from these generations raised on comic books, the superhero supporters, the geeky geeks.
Remember Zemo. Remember that he may be the lamest, dumbest retcon villain in the MCU (not my opinion), and remember how he delivered the carried the narrative weight of 13 films and delivered such a compelling and dramatic conflict worthy of being the MCU's Civil War. Remember how he was the 'glue' in the 4th billion dollar MCU film.
Zemo is cool and refreshing. Be like Zemo.
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SUPERflixBONUS
Best villain of the big 3 summer comic book/superhero blockbusters. Vote or comment below.
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COMING SOON
The future of the X-men universe
The X-men Universe is a big place. HUGE! We’re only seeing a fraction of the x-potential here, gang. We’re kicking off a new series of articles with a very fun proposition. This will be our What if…series. Just like the What if comics, we will imagine a new and exciting proposition.
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For our first foray, we will imagine…
What if...the X-men Universe were planned out for 20 years like the MCU
SUPERflix Movies presents our 5v5 series! We pit 5 things we liked versus 5 things we didn’t like and you can decide which ones hit home and add your own in the comments. Add your own like or dislike to the list.
In this 5 on 5, let’s jump in and talk about 5 things we liked about X-men: Apocalypse and 5 we didn’t. Decide for yourself if you liked the movie and please let us know what you think about any of these topics or the movie as a whole.
Let’s start with the good. Non-telepathic SPOILERS follow.
Say what you will about the “first mutant” En Sabah Nur, but I think they got the god-complex personality of his character absolutely spot on.
I think we can thank Oscar Isaac and perhaps the writing/directing team for a lot of those moments. There certainly is a lot to be desired from Apocalypse but he does act like Apocalypse. He believes himself to be a god, the most fit to rule and to empower others to enforce his rule over the lesser beings of earth. It shows through in big speeches and little nuanced mannerisms. After Charles Xavier hijacks Apocalypse’s declaration to the world, he simply smirks at Professor X like a petulant little child. Apocalypse swipes away Beast like a fly, holds off Magneto’s arsenal of metal and Cyclops's optic blasts like he is holding the door closed while a toddler pushes on the other side. It isn’t until the very end that he is in awe of something worthy of his attention, the Phoenix.
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Four: Simple, Solid Story
Apocalypse is not a complex villain. He believes that survival of the fittest is the way of the world and that it puts him as a deity above those he would rule. It is a simple story.
Apocalypse returns, sees a changed world, and sets out to put things back in the only way he knows. He will test the world to see who is strong enough to be a part of his new world by recruiting some pals and try to burn the whole place down. The X-men oppose this whole plan for obvious reasons. Simple is better than a muddled mess every time and as far as the narrative goes, X-men Apocalypse doesn’t take on too much.
Three: Fassbender and McAvoy
Fassbender and McAvoy were brilliant. Both stand out among all superhero, comic book movie actors, and Bryan Singer directs them to really go for it. It gives the film and the series a heart.
Magneto’s painful journey is an exceptionally powerful dramatic story. He relives a redux of his childhood losing people he was closest to, now his wife and child. While that is a retreaded trope with Magneto, Fassbender sells it - oh man, does he sell it. I was surprised at how far they let him go as an actor and I loved it. It made me a little nervous at first because it is so powerful and seems a little out of place. But my second time watching, I really appreciated the power and excellence of Fassbender’s acting. The gravitas of the situation is palpable. It wasn’t just a revisit for us. This second time losing everything for Magneto seemed to make this pain all the more cavernous. Where a superhero film usually cuts off this level of drama for the sake of being a fun, popcorn flick, Singer lets Fassbender really suck the air out of the theatre. The MCU doesn't dive this deep, even in Civil War. McAvoy didn’t get the same counterposition in the story this go around. But, McAvoy nails it every time when he taps into another's pain especially with Magneto. Both actors put themselves at the tip of the dramatic spear in the superhero/comic book film genre. This was certainly Fassbender’s pinnacle shining moment.
Two: Most of the New Characters Steal the Show
Quicksilver stole the show in Days of Future Past, and he does it again with a hilarious and epic action sequence. This time he isn’t alone. Nearly all of the newcomers make some impact on the film while Jean Grey, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Storm get the most screen time. They are all done very well.
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Sophie Turner is brilliant as a confident young heroine who powerfully steps out onto the scene, quite literally. Nightcrawler is another great new portrayal as his character both shines visually and as comic relief. Storm was well done. We see a bit of her origins then arch with her character as she joins the charismatic Apocalypse. She then betrays him in the final sequence as she sees the good she truly wants to be in her hero Mystique’s fight. Psylocke gets very little time and only a handful of lines. When she does, visually she was spot on and that was great to see. This movie definitely leaves me wanting more of these new characters. I hope they get their just due in a future, less crowded film series.
One: Drama, Character Driven & Intense
This movie and really all of the X-men movies really thrive in character driven human drama. The X-men franchise opens with Magneto during the holocaust being separated from his parents. Later we revisit his pain when we learn how he was forced to watch his mother murdered before his eyes. Point in case for X-men Apocalypse is the drama around Magneto again.
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This time he loses his wife and daughter in a scene that really forces the audience to feel his struggle and share in his pain. Among the popcorn Marvel movies, the visually stunning DC films, the X-men movies solidify their core as powerful drama. It hasn’t all been Magneto either. Professor X is continually tapping into the pain of so many others, and now Jean Grey is starting to take up that mantel as well. The actors do a great job. Havok is killed and Cyclops deals with his brother’s loss in a very well done and character focused way. The X-men franchise hits that dramatic nerve center in a more compelling way than most other films in the genre. It comes to a crescendo in X-men Apocalypse and this sets the powerful narrative tone.
Now that we’ve gone through the good, let’s slice and dice this film up with some nitty gritty good old fashion internet-style nasty comments...not really, well maybe. Here are some things we didn’t like.
I’m sorry but the X-men franchise is lagging behind other comic book films in their combat, flight scenes. The movies have great visual moments but the action is comparably weaker.
They don’t seem to focus on characterization with the movements and style across the board. One minute it is great and the next, weak. X-men really failed to ever “wow” me with any action moments.
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Good. Psylocke is a ninja with telekinetic powers, weapons. We can do better.
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Better. Black Panther doing superhero things.
The flight of each character was mostly bland, similar among all characters, and clearly done with wires. Magneto flies just like Storm. Archangel really never had a moment. Jean walks out in a too easy, practical effect.
Wolverine runs down another hall slashing and stabbing. It wasn't even as good as X-2 Wolverine. Psylocke, Wolverine, Beast - they all looked like actors, honestly. Batman Vs. Superman had a lot of these “wow!” moments. Captain America: Civil War had me smiling like a little kid throughout the different action sequences, but X-men never got me. It was all ok. But honestly, it could have been X-2.
The Quicksilver sequence was the exception and it was astonishing. From a production standpoint, I think they spent their time & budget on this one sequence. It is too bad it served more as humor than wow! It was brilliant, no doubt. The rest was not bad but didn't raise the bar and terribly inconsistent.
Two: Angel & Psylocke - STRIKE TWO for both
For an ensemble cast film, it is difficult to have your minor characters get enough screen time to make an impact. Angel & Psylocke are unfortunately still on the short end.
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We talked about how some of the smaller parts in this film worked. We liked Jean, Scott, Nightcrawler, but Angel & Psylocke didn’t get their moment to shine. Some of this is due to the last issue we had with the film, their action sequences didn’t wow us. You’ve got maybe a handful of scenes with these characters doing anything meaningful and maybe 1-2 action sequences. You have to seize the opportunity and make them wow the audience or they clutter up the film. Some of the best comic book genre films have made that work while X-men Apocalypse falls short with most.
Three: Too Fast, Too Soon to be this EPIC
We’ve had two decades in the X-men Universe to build up to this scope of impact on the world, but it still feels too fast after reset with DOFP.
Maybe it is because we just got to Scott, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, and the core of our new X-men. I think the X-men universe wasn’t big enough to sustain this scale, just yet. Too many ensemble movies to genuinely care about this fight. Too many shots of the world from far away for us to feel the destruction deeply. The whole world we watched seemed far away, except a couple of character moments. Apocalypse felt far off and not as accessible. It made for an impersonal epic tale with disjointed, personal drama (Magneto, Charles, Cyclops). It's a personal reaction, but that is my take.
Again, I don’t think it was terrible, but it just lacked that extra impact of a good film. I think that it because of the narrative world building philosophy employed by 20th Century Fox’s X-men. This is the 3rd ensemble movie in this series. I think we needed stand-alone films set in this world or at least smaller, more focused ensemble pieces. Like BvS, we need build up to get to this epic world changing film. It falls flat without it. Most of the cast were new to this film and suddenly we’re fighting the big bad of this universe. It felt rushed. Thanks Batman vs. Superman.
The Danger Room scene at the end of the film was pretty cool, but this movie suffers a little bit from the “not far enough” syndrome. We're 6 X-men movies in to this world and a handful of x-men universe offshoots. X-men released in 2000! 16 years ago. It is 2016 and we live in a world with ~30 years of MCU films planned so far. Several different full universes are in development. Comic and Superhero tv shows are doing well across different channels like Netflix, ABC, Fox, CW. The MCU and DC films have proven that comic book costumes work. We don’t have Hawkeye in Robin Hood-esque garb, but we do have a comic-real Deadpool. We have a comic-real Colossus, size and all! Hulk pops off the page and onto the screen in full green CGI glory, in 2012 mind you. Iron Man is zipping around in hot rod red & gold fighting Cap in red, white, and blue. Wonder Woman is leaping at a fully realized Doomsday monster in Amazonian battle armor. And, it all looks AWESOME! The kids buying comics in the 1970’s-90’s have grown up into big kids that love superhero movies. Commit to the genre's look and action. Beast is ok. But, can you imagine if he were actually wider in stature, moved like Beast in the comics - not just an actor in a blue Chewbacca costume doing wire work. That would be epic! Deadpool figured it out on a fraction of the budget. They did Colossus better than 16 years of X-men movies.
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These are my X-men and they work on screen just like they are.
It’s time to see some FULLY comic-real X-men across the board. Retire the black paramilitary armor.
Five: Time for a new era of X-men
Apocalypse means essentially “to reveal”. X-men: Apocalypse reveals to us that it is time to fully commit to this new group of X-men. The time has come to embrace the full potential of the X-men as a fully realized X-universe.
We’ve had our fill of Mystique, Wolverine, and the Charles & Magneto dynamic taking center stage each time.
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All of these highly visible characters should be in the X-men Universe forever. The character journey of new stories and adventures need to be for other characters. Let's center other films on Jean & Scott with a few targeted cameos and smaller X-men parts. Just like Deadpool, a focused, simple narrative on one character with smaller roles to other X-men works. The upcoming Cable/Deadpool film is just what we need more of - film set in this universe but not highly packed, full x-men ensembles. Nightcrawler, Storm, Gambit, Colossus, Psylocke, and Angel can all be a part of smaller ensemble pieces with more targeted, focused stories. Let's introduce new villains like Mr. Sinister, Stryfe, Brotherhood of Mutants, and the Morlocks. Use Mystique, Charles, Magneto, Wolverine to mentor these movies. Sell them in theatres like Tony Stark is doing with Spider-man, and Hulk combining forces with Thor. Make the stories center on some new, fresh characters.
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Most of our comments center around a primary theme. X-men started the modern era of comic movies, but never evolved into the modern era of superhero films. They don't seem to be planned, long-term, cohesive, continuous, and complimentary. Now it is time to fully commit to costume, action sequences, character development, story arcs, continuity, all of it!
The next generation of X-men should be a fully realized. It needs to be a rich vision of the source material brought into a series of cinematic stories weaving in and around each other. It needs to have phases that end in major conflicts just like the comics. The MCU didn't invent this philosophy; they just committed to where it came from, the comics.
The X-men Universe is a big place. HUGE! We’re only seeing a fraction of the x-potential here. We’re kicking off a new series of articles with a very fun proposition. This will be our What if… series. Just like the What if comics, we will imagine a new and exciting proposition.
For our first foray, we will imagine…
What if...the X-men Universe were planned out like the MCU, a visual timeline for the next 20 years.
It's survival of the fittest in our 5v5 X-men: Apocalypse!!
X-men Apocalypse comes out on Digital Sept 9th!!...
It is the first day of winter in Westeros. By the old gods and the new, it is cold. Winter is finally here after six seasons. A Game of Thrones is heating up. The dead are coming clad in ice. Dragons are coming with flame. The wolves have rallied. The Lions have nothing left to lose. The long night is dark. Here are the 7 most crucial and curious questions heading into Season 7.
Beware SPOILERS follow.
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If R+L=J then?
We finally got confirmation of the most popular and frankly, greatest theory of A Game of Thrones. To all our delight, Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark are Jon’s parents making him Jon Targaryen. (I wish this wasn't figured out and published all over the internet and in every GOT discussion ever, but it was still cool.)
But, wait! If R+L=J, then is D=J or is J<D or D>J or is D+J=Iron Throne? 🤔 This episode clearly set Jon up as King in the North and more or less a viable Stark. His sister Sansa said he is a Stark. All the Lords of the North and the Vale support him as a Stark. So, what will his heritage actually mean in ‘the game’?
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Why Jon and not Sansa to lead the North?
Just as we learn Jon Snow is really the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, he is thrust into the role of King in the North by the Stark bannermen. The scene eerily mirrors Robb Stark’s rise to power. It is with seemingly a flip of the tongue by Lady Lyanna Mormont that allegiance is thrown behind Jon rather than Sansa. It was Sansa who rallied the Vale to their aid when all these bannermen failed to join them. It was Sansa who came charging in at the head of the army. It is Sansa who bears the family name and is the rightful heir. So, why not Sansa?
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What is Littlefinger playing at?
The real Lord of the Vale, Peter Baelish, sat very quietly during Jon Snow’s coronation as King in the North. His face seemed to betray his intentions as he looked slyly towards Sansa. Remember, it was was Littlefinger who betrayed Ned Stark to his death. It was Littlefinger who sold Sansa to the Bolton’s in the first place. It is Littlefinger who, in this episode, declared he was out for the Iron Throne and only the Iron Throne. So what will Peter Baelish do next? Betray the Starks yet again?
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With little to lose, how fierce and dangerous is Queen Cersei?
Cersei wiped the board clean of her enemies in an impressive Godfather style coup de'ta. Queen Cersei is now back to being our chief villain. The last vestige of her humanity took a top floor exit. Cersei tried to save Tommen but shed no tears for her last child. She always knew. "You either win the game of thrones or you die." Cersei was always in it to win. She has only stumbled when she put her family first or took a backseat to the men of the Lannister family. There is little holding Cersei back now. She is far more ruthless and powerful than Tywin ever was and did what only a mad King could have imagined. How tight will her grip to the throne be now that she sits atop it?
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What will Jaime Lannister do now?
For the first time, the Kingslayer failed to keep madness from the Iron Throne and wildfire from burning through the streets. He has supported and loved his sister beyond any measure for six seasons. Everything he has done has been for her and their children. As he said before he pushed Bran from the balcony, “the things I do for love.” The look on his face as Cersei ascended to the throne on the ashes of their son was not one of triumph but of loss. Jaime appears to have not only lost his son but his love as well. Will Jaime Lannister fall back behind his evil twin or will his goodness finally win out as he becomes his own man?
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What will Sam learn in the Citadel that will aid Westeros in the coming winter war of Ice and Fire?
Sam isn’t just going to relax at club Citadel and get some summer reading in down south. He still has a lot of purpose yet to be fulfilled. He has his father’s Valyrian steel sword, for a purpose. He is at the Citadel to uncover some crucial piece of information or learn some craft to aid Jon in the North. What is in the Citadel about the ice army of the dead?
Side note: George R.R. Martin has said he loved the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien taking many cues from those books including the name of this character, Sam. Tolkien is quoted as saying he always thought of Sam as the chief hero of the Lord of the Rings. It’s interesting to note as Sam is still out there doing his part on what appears to be a “side story”.
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Who is next for Arya?
Arya has her list. Some are dead, many more are alive and kicking.
King Joffrey - DEAD, poisoned Tywin Lannister - DEAD, killed by Tyrion The Hound - Redeemed, then left for dead. But, still alive. Ser Meryn Trant - CHECK Walder Fray - CHECK Melisandre Beric Dondarrion Thoros of Myr Ilyn Payne Cersei Lannister The Mountain
These last two are going to be interesting. She has a lot of killing yet to be done. The Frays were a very nice start in Westeros. Who is next?
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Until next season, we won't know the answers. We've got a long time to talk about it so let's get started! Please leave a comment below and have a go at one or all of these questions.
The dirt on Clark Kent’s casket at the end of BvS is the Ultimate Edition. It takes your attention away from the big flaws of the movie, but it doesn’t cover it up.
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There is one primary reason Batman vs. Superman wasn’t a great film. The Ultimate Edition upgrades it to a more palpable pace and narrative development. Yet, the film still has major flaws.
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One heaping, huge flaw is Lex Luthor, specifically Jesse Eisenberg’s Lex. The flaw isn’t just the portrayal of Lex, the acting, the mannerisms, the character development, or his significance in the plot. It isn’t about Jesse Eisenberg alone either. It is what Lex does to the film that poisons the movie's conflict and characters. Spoiler's follow as we break it down.
Eisenberg’s Lex is the single worst thing in BvS. It isn’t simply a personal preference on the actors performance or a dislike of the actor himself. The delivery of the character Lex clouds the motives of the villain. Lex confuses the plot. He creates a far more crowded feel to an already packed movie. Lex drags down the movie's pace, tone, and feel. This atmosphere suppresses the conflict with the hero, Superman, and draws out the narrative movement of the plot. Simply, Lex drags the film down from greatness to mediocrity. Here is a breakdown of how he kills the film instead of just Superman.
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Ahoy! Ahoy! Lex's introduction to the DC Universe.
For more discussion of the good and bad, take a look at our 5 v 5: Batman vs. Superman Ultimate Edition where we pit 5 things we liked against 5 things we didn’t.
Good Start ---->> Poor Execution
Lex starts off with a solid creative basis and decent enough writing. Geoff Johns and the creative team for the movie got the core of the character relatively on target.
In the Special Features of the Ultimate Edition, the creative team discuss several points they conceived correctly, at least within the gray area of personal opinion. The stature of Lex vs the physicality of the heroes - excellent. The continued modernization of Lex as a corporate leader - good, good. They discuss his villainous archetype, the opposite villain and his motives - well thought out and on target. His intelligence comes to the forefront. His motives under-develop but remain near the core of the character. This is Lex’s first film in the new DCEU after all. The character's score is excellent as it is villainous, calculating, dramatic, and poignant with a hint of a character that is a little mad. That's about all the positives you can take from Lex, conceptual goals and a good musical score.
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Lex Luthor Without an Immeasurable Ego is Not Lex At All
The film misses on one of the biggest core characteristics of Lex. If Lex had a super power, it would be his intelligence or his ego. Each are equally important to his character. Eisenberg’s delivery circumvent this very important characteristic. The core characterizations of Lex as calculating, intelligent, ruthless, cerebral lose focus. Instead, a zany portrayal full of twitchy, kooky movements and excessive voice pitch variance come to the forefront. These physical traits serves more to distract from characterization than service narrative development.
From the moment we met BVS's Lex, it is clear he is more BS than substance. Lex the intellectual giant, power broker, immeasurable egotist is replaced with a squirming, adolescent, twitchy victim.
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As he speaks with the Senator in his father’s room, he shutters and twitches. When the Senator stops his hands from strumming on the table, he visibly cowers. 'Ughn.' Lex is a powerful, strong, and willful villain. He isn't powerful like Superman physically, but he is confident and intensely egotistical in his brilliance. He doesn't cower to physical touch. Luthor then tries to deliver, the “biggest lie in America” line to the Senator for the first time. Lex’s mouth twitches rapidly and his voice whispers. He doesn’t come off as colorful or interesting, rather as weak and odd. Lex seems to sniffle, touch his nose, or twitch his eyes in the middle of almost every line he delivers.
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In the Dark Knight, Heath Ledger brilliantly licked his scars as a portrayal of madness in a villain who was truly unhinged. Lex goes over the top with quirks that distract rather than enhance. These quirks and squirmy behavior undermine the core of Lex Luthor as an egotistical, brilliant villain. The character’s underlying and interesting core hides behind a ‘kooky Lex’.
Zach Snyder says in the Special Features that ‘you never quite know what to do with Lex’. Agreed, but not in a good plot servicing sense. The difference is physical versus cerebral. Lex’s archetype and brilliance as a villain is in being the opposite of Superman. Superman is alien, physically powerful, and just, never crossing the line. He is often called a boyscout. Lex is human, flawed. He is also brilliant, calculating, egotistical, confident, and willing to do whatever he deems necessary. Superman’s power is physical and Lex’s is mental. They both have similar motives to champion humanity, protect humanity. Eisenberg’s Lex fails to portray this dichotomy. Lex is so physically twitchy, kooky, and boisterous that we never fully experience his message. The cerebral side hides behind a veil of squeaky laughs, sniffles, and odd facial ticks. He never delivers on the poignant speech. Yet, Lex is almost always delivering a monologue. It doesn't come off as powerful, rather weak. Lex is anything but weak, a victim.
Eisenberg's Physical Portrayal of Lex Distracts more than it Informs the Narrative
If you are going to have a character grandstand as much as this Lex (nearly every scene with Lex), maybe he should be somewhat accessible. The grand monologue suits Lex's villainous ego. Yet, they are stripped of their dramatic power by Eisenberg's twitchy portrayal.
Lex’s motives are especially authentic and relevant in today’s world of Brexit and Donald Trump. Xenophobia is very real today. Eisenberg has talked about this as part of the conflict in a BvS interview around the movie's debut. Fear of those different from yourself is a powerful issue in global culture. The chance to tap into this relevance setup by Man of Steel is missed. Behind the twitchy, odd behavior, the wide spectrum of his movements, facial nuances, and the shrill adolescence of his voice, the greater conflict and relevance is left inaccessible.
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The characterization of Lex is all but lost in the performance. We start one scene with him playing basketball and end it with him feeding candy to a government official at LexCorp. Lex oddly feeding a grown man a piece of hard candy confuses the plot and the villains motives. It’s over the top for a character that is prideful and egotistical. Lex the grand leader of humanity, the smartest man on earth would never stoop to this kind of odd behavior.
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It's Cherry.
At the museum benefit, Eisenberg continues to completely confuse a well-written speech. Instead of revealing Lex’s real character motives, we get more odd, twitchy behavior as he stops, starts, goes off topic then back on. Lex even talks to himself as he loses his train of thought. Lex's ego would never allow him to show this kind of vulnerability. That works if you are showing a character that is losing himself, again like a different villain, the Joker. And so, Lex serves to blur the plot rather than bring out the conflict. He blinks his eyes so many times, so rapidly between snickering, slimey laughs that whatever he is trying to communicate as a character is shrouded in a fog of overacting and misrepresentation.
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In the case of the museum scene, this is a huge moment for characterizing Lex as the man vs a god. Lex believes he is fighting FOR humanity against Superman. Superman forces Lex to realize Lex only fights for Lex. This is where a well developed hero and villain conflict with each other like iron sharpens iron. Luthor believes he should be our champion and not this dangerous alien. He becomes a villain in his ego forces him to cross the line. It's Lex's ego that drives him to go beyond protecting humanity to desiring to rule man, a line Superman never crosses. In the speech, he is trying to tell us who Lex is as a character within a poignant metaphor. All of that great character development is lost in Eisenberg’s execution. “Hmmmm, that seems unfair!” (raising the pitch of his voice and verbally smirking) Wonder Woman and those in the audience roll their eyes at this show.
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Lex wreaks havoc on the entire movie. When he walks up to interrupt a brilliant conversation between Bruce and Clark, his voice vacillates pitch so much he nearly shrieks. This isn't a powerful, confident, ego-driven character like Lex Luthor. This is a beaten up, scarred victim trying to stand tall next to two giant heroes. Lex is a powerful, intimidating sneer, not shrieks and facial ticks. The brilliance of Lex is that he stands toe to toe with Superman and Batman with his intellect. But Eisenberg plays him like an adolescent used car salesman on a Red Bull rush. If Lex had a superpower beyond a brilliant mind, it would be an unsurpassed ego. Yet, Bruce’s reference to clowns is almost his cue to enter the scene. Again, is he the Joker or the brilliant power broker on the marquee?
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The real detriment to the film is much more widespread through the narrative. Eisenberg’s very chaotic delivery blunts and blurs Lex’s motives and thus the conflict of the movie. This forces the film to re-tread the theme dulling its delivery, extending, and convoluting the conflict. For example, Snyder follows up his speech at the museum benefit with scenes of Superman floating above a flood disasters and pulling a ship through ice as talking heads like Neil DdeGrasse Tyson re-explain the ‘god’ conflict to the audience. It’s almost in the same exact terms. The narrative extends. The message is diluted. Lex couldn’t stay focused enough to deliver the conflict with any coherence so now we have to find a different way to tell you the same thing again. The latter being sadly a much better delivery of the conflict than the chief villain.
Masters of Madness
It’s not only a failed opportunity to bring a great villain like Lex into the contemporary relevance. It completely gets in the way of the success of this film. Take the juxtaposition of some excellent villains from past DC movies.
First, Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. He was able to very effectively deliver a nuanced, very colorful villain, yet also present the psychology of the character to the audience in an especially poignant way. Ledger had all the trappings of an eccentric character. The Joker displayed facial ticks, an odd speech pattern, a specific way of movement, but it never got in the way of itself. He kept it nuanced enough to deliver the core of the character to the audience. The villain enhanced the action and conflict of the film. Lex clouds it. The performance and character also made the primary hero more nuanced as you learned about Batman through the actions of the Joker. The framework is there for Eisenberg’s Lex. There is a compelling character conflict. There is a fresh and interesting take on the xenophobia of Superman vs. Lex. But none of that is accessible with this Lex.
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Second, take the Lex before Eisenberg. Superman Returns wasn’t a great success and had its flaws as a film, but Lex wasn’t one of them. Kevin Spacey plays a maniacal and nuanced, though not highly layered Lex Luthor. It’s a much more mature portrayal and a nod to Gene Hackman’s Lex from the Donner Superman films. Yet, Spacey still manages to deliver the core conflict of the story as well as the hero vs. villain. The ego of Lex shines throughout the narrative. He rants, raves, gives speeches, but doesn’t get in the way of the character or the story. He facilitates it.
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Future Lex
It is really just a shame. Picture a film with a Lex that delivers on the promise of the character and embodies the conflict of the story. That film is more focused. That film has a much more accessible and interesting conflict. That film is relevant. That villain teaches Superman what kind of hero the world needs him to be. That film has a more deep hero because the villain pulls out the hero's greatness by challenging him on an accessible level. That film can more adequately handle the weight of multiple character introductions and set up an entire universe of films. It has more time to spend on other characters because the core conflict is sharpened. That is a film that stands among the pantheon of great superhero movies.
Instead, we get a film that is exceptionally enjoyable in places yet cavernously flawed and convoluted in others. I hope Lex gets better in future films because he is one of the great villains of an incredibly deep and diverse DC universe.
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For more discussion of the good and bad, take a look at our 5 v 5: Batman vs. Superman Ultimate Edition where we pit 5 things we liked against 5 things we didn’t.
We aren’t fans of plotholes. They are terrible in films, but even worse when misunderstood by overly critical haters. Some of these aren't technically plotholes. All of them leave us utterly perplexed and confused.
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Here’s the SUPERflix Movies walkthrough of the recently released Suicide Squad. It's a rocky ride. Like Batman v Superman, the film has released to critical ridicule and fan applause. While the film rakes in August box office records on its way to +$130 million in US domestic Box Office and somewhere around $270 million worldwide, we take a walk through a forest of puzzling plot points, characterizations, decisions, edits, and everything in between.
Did the critics get it right and the film is a total mess or are fans really the only ones giving it the proper respect? You decide. One thing is undeniable. If you are ever in Midway City, do not get into a helicopter. They're super dangerous.
While you decide, take a look at a few pitfalls the movie fell into.
This is our attempt at a categorized list by character. Some don’t apply to a single character so they are included in the opening Suicide Squad section. Click below if you would prefer a chronological list with fewer images.
1. Why do you even need the Suicide Squad to walk down a handful of city blocks? Seriously. This is their mission.
2. Why are they saving Amanda Waller? Amanda Waller can just leave from the building with a helicopter on the roof, why does she need the SS squad? They literally call for a helicopter and walk to the roof with her.
3. Who shoots down the Suicide Squad’s helicopter as they enter Midway City? Anyone?
4. Why choose Harley Quinn for the Suicide Squad? She is great, no doubt. But, the squad is meant to be a deterrent to a Superman gone rogue. What is Harley going to do against Superman? She has a baseball bat and a pistol. At least in some stories, she is used to get to the Joker or there is some street level, grounded mission to go on. They never state she has any purpose other than she is 'crazier than the Joker' and she is his girlfriend, what kind of reasoning is this?
5. Why do the Special Forces soldiers stay and look at the creatures in their first encounter when Waller tells them to keep moving? They stay for a good couple of minutes; long enough for the Suicide Squad to talk about jumping the soldiers, the soldiers to talk about the creatures, Will Smith to leave the discussion and walk up to the soldiers, and check out the creatures himself?
6. How do the creatures detect them when they are standing and watching? I didn’t see any indication that the creatures detected something. They just start running over. Perhaps it is because the soldiers just stand in the open as if they are invisible. Really?
7. Where do they get all of the Suicide Squad members gear to give back to them? They seriously know where all of their things are located? Why would they even be hard to capture in that case? Why send batman after Deadshot if you know where he keeps his mask and gear?
8. Why did they show us that Rick Flag had taken Dr. June into the subway and the Enchantress escaped to her brother when they already showed us this scene once before? It was a reveal of a previous reveal. Nice!
9. If the Suicide Squad is filled with bad guys, why do they choose to fight Enchantress after being set free? They seem to do a lot of heroic things for “bad guys”. If they are bad guys, wouldn’t their motivation be more exploitative or for self-preservation, survival?
10. How does Deadshot go from being very upset with Flag for not giving him the letters his daughter was writing Deadshot to following Flag to fight the Enchantress in practically the same sentence?
11. Why does any member of the Suicide Squad follow Flag to battle the Enchantress? It can’t be as thin of motivation as what Harley says. ‘Come on, ya ain’t got nuthin’ better to do?’ In a city evacuated completely, I think these "super" criminals could probably find something better to do - perhaps escape death. I don't know.
12. Why does it even matter to Deadshot and the rest of the Suicide Squad that Flag and Waller worked with the Enchantress? Why would 'bad guys' be invested in who started the whole thing or what bad decisions Flag and Waller made? They're bad guys too! Wouldn’t they be more or less motivated to exploit the event or perhaps motivated by self-preservation? This is called a very thin plot.
13. On the roof, does the Joker disable only Harley Quinn’s neck implant? If so, how does it turn back on after Waller returns at the end of the film? Harley seems to go along with going back to prison pretty easily.
14. If it doesn’t turn back on, why would Harley go back to prison or not attempt to leave? Why would she not try to get the phone from Waller so everyone would be free or since she is a villain, she would be in control of them?!
15. How did the bomb Killer Croc and the special forces guys explode underneath Enchantress’s brother not bury them in debris?
16. How did Croc escape said burying under debris?
17. Joker just shows up at the end after crashing in the helicopter. What? Nothing to set that up. Not even a hint of him making it out of the helicopter. Who edited this film?
18. Amanda Waller just walks out after the main villain fight. How did she get free?
19. How do they evacuate an entire city and then cover it up in the end? How do they hide all that destruction or the giant stream of light in the sky and the floating circle of "trash"? Bruce Wayne’s conversation with Amanda Waller states they covered it all up. Really. Thin ice yet again.
Harley Quinn
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20. If Harley is crazy, why is her vision so normal and 'Brady Bunch'? The Joker looks normal in her dream, really? Why would a 'crazy person' want that? The vision isn't even very "Harley". She just wants a 100% normal life, come on.
21. Harley Quinn just goes back to the group after the Joker's helicopter crashes. This goes against her deep love for the Joker as shown in the vision from Enchantress and the flashback scene where she jumps into a vat of chemicals for the Joker. She doesn’t even go to the crash site but she is going to go to Amanda Waller’s crash site. What kind of plot or character sense does this make?
22. If Joker just got out of Arkham, how is Harley already at his club dancing and being "crazy" Harley? Is this scene just out of place? She just immediately became Harley Quinn. There seemed to be more to the story here. Maybe we needed some more previews that showed more of the Joker's scenes. They go to Ace Chemicals at some point.
23. Where does Harley get a knife to slash at Batman if she had just gone through the windshield UNDERWATER?
24. How does Harley kill these super creations of the Enchantress with a baseball bat? They don’t set up any kind of grounded or fantastic ability she possess to defeat creatures that 'keep coming after a headshot' as Waller says. They don’t even use the bat to stun the creatures. She outright takes them down in the same fashion as Deadshot’s using a gun to shoot them in the head.
The Joker
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25. How did the Joker know they would be going to that particular building using that particular helicopter? Seriously. If he knew that much, why not grab her sooner instead of go through all the trouble to steal the helicopter and fly into a high risk combat zone? Perhaps maybe your helicopter wouldn't have been shot down. Well, it didn't matter anyway cuz you showed up at the end. Maybe the Joker is now magic.
26. What were the chemicals in the vat at Ace Chemicals Harley and Joker jump in? The chemicals melt their "makeup" and clothes, but do nothing to their bodies, what kind of sense does that make? Maybe it was bleach, a vat of bleach. HAHAHAHAHAHA!
27. The Joker’s hands were clearly not white like his face in several scenes. In particular, the scene in which he straddles Griggs in the casino kitchen and grabs at his face. So, the chemical vat did nothing to his skin. In the comics, his skin is most often portrayed as white from his swim in Ace Chemicals. Is his face just makeup? I need to know these things.
28. Why does the Joker drive his pink Lamborghini into the water in the first place just to abandon it?
29. How does the Joker escape the car? I mean, we don’t get anything. Bats dives in directly after the car hits the water. You couldn’t just swim out that fast. Did he have some sort of trick? How could Batman not just look around and see some clue. It is water and not something you just disappear in. The Joker isn’t some ninja or part fish.
30. If the Joker cares enough for Harley to jump into the vat of chemicals, chase her down and rescue her from a highly militarized government black-ops group and then from a secret black ops prison, why does he leave her in the pink Lamborghini?
31. If the Joker is at a nightclub where they you can buy drinks, why can’t Batman find him? He broke out of Arkham so he must be looking for him. Common’s character clearly says he just got out.
32. Why are the Joker’s teeth silver grillz? No backstory or hints at such a new, different Joker than we’ve seen on film.
33. Why the Damaged tattoo on the Joker’s forehead? Never even hinted at in the movie.
34. Why did the Joker have to go find Griggs at the casino? He had obviously been in touch with him before to get the phone to Harley.
35. If the Joker breaks her out of prison with ease in the end, why not do that when he finds where she is instead of giving her a phone and tracking her?
Deadshot
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36. If Deadshot is a bad guy why does he do so many heroic things? Why not let Flag go it alone after he set you free? Why try to impress your daughter at the sake of risking your life with no guarantee she’ll even know it was you? Why would you believe Waller or any of these people would do what they promise? Why not just push his daughter out of the way and take on Batman or run, or since he is such a great shot, shot around her and/or ricochet a shot at Bats? He seems like he has some very genuine motivation to be good. He does more good than bad in the movie. He seems like a good father or at least someone who wants to be a good father. That all doesn’t add up to a super villain to me.
37. Why does Deadshot get $2 million dollars for one hit, care about his daughter so much, and let her live in a dumpy little apartment?
38. What is the point of Deadshot’s helmet? Fan service. Could it not have the integrated tracking eye at least? Some function. It looked like a flimsy little rubber mask. If it was to protect his identity, why did he put it on in the building and then take it off seconds later only to walk into the room with the mystery guest without it on?
39. When the soldiers and the Suicide Squad are firing at the creatures, why does Deadshot not hit any of them? He seemed to be firing as well and clearly never misses.
40. When Deadshot takes down all of the creatures as they finish off their first encounter with these creatures, he does it with headshots on all of them as they run at him. How did all of the rounds being spent by the special forces not stop the creatures but Deadshots bullets did? That is a ton of rounds to miss headshots almost entirely.
41. If Deadshot is a villain, why is he such a caring Father? His one demand at the end is to see his daughter. He can’t bring himself to go around his daughter to get to Batman. He demands his daughter gets money, education, etc...
Batman
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42. Did we really need to see Bruce Wayne acquire information about Meta’s from Amanda Waller? At the end of BvS, we know he is pursuing the Meta’s and he already knows they exist. This is the world’s greatest detective - trading favors for his information. Lame.
43. If everything Batman acquires is from someone else, how does Batman have an advantage on anyone? He learned about Meta’s from Lex. He stole the Kryptonite from Lex. He found out who Wonder Woman is from Lex. Now he gets a dossier from Waller. Isn’t Batman supposed to be the guy with an advanced intelligence who has contingencies and plans for all outcomes? Isn’t one of the guys to figure it out?
Amanda Waller
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44. Amanda Waller says the things Enchantress turns people into can take a headshot and keep coming. The action scene with Deadshot shooting them in the head directly contradicts Amanda Waller. There are also scenes with Harley hitting them in the head with a bat and Katana slicing through their heads. They don’t keep coming after any of that.
45. Why does Amanda Waller’s helicopter pop off air defense countermeasure flares without having been shot at? It seems that would draw a lot of attention. And then all of sudden, imagine that, Enchantress’s brother shoots down the helicopter.
Rick Flag
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46. Why was Flag in love with June Moore? The film goes out of its way to show us the origin of Enchantress. Then they tell us that Waller put the two of them together and hoped she would get control of Flag as well. But why did Flag fall for her? They don’t give us anything, not even a hint. He’s a highly decorated soldier and he just falls for a woman he knows moonlights as a crazy dangerous witch after a woman he has heard bad stories about sends them on missions together.
47. How many hair styles can one guy have in a single movie?
Enchantress
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48. Why is the Enchantress motivated to take over the world? Because the metahumans existence is a symbol the world is ready for magic again. That is some really thin logic.
49. What is the magic machine The Enchantress is creating? What is it doing? It shoots lightning down from the sky and destroys buildings and aircraft carriers which are across the globe. Why? How?
50. What are these things the Enchantress created from people? Some sort of magic she does to the humans.
51. Why does she do change them by making out with them? The one change we saw wasn’t even just a kiss. The Enchantress doesn’t appear to be overly characterized sexually. June is the one Rick Flag falls for, not the Enchantress.
52. Why did the Enchantress go into a bathroom to grab the guy washing his hands for her brother to take over? Flag was right there next to her and she clearly had interest in Flag later. Enchantress later tries to capture Flag several times.
53. Why does Enchantress want to capture Flagg? They never went into why Flagg was important to her. If it was guided by June and the Enchantress, we never see June come through when she is Enchantress so how are we supposed to put those two together.
54. If the enchantress can disappear and manifest herself anywhere, how does she not simple kill everyone in the Suicide Squad? She appears out of thin air far enough away for the suicide squad to block or dodge her attacks. Not one person. She didn’t sneak up on one person enough to take them out. Not one.
55. Why does she just kick Harley in the stomach instead of kill her when Harley is exposed and says ‘Sorry!’ in the final fight scene? It felt like a really forced sequence for a bad joke.
56. Why does the enchantress not just disappear when Harley grabs the sword that takes her heart out? She seems to do that a lot throughout the film. She even does it so fast that when Croc throws her against the wall in the final fight, she disappears before she hits the ground.
Brother of Enchantress, Incubus?
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57. Who is The Enchantress’s brother? They don’t even bother to give him a name or anything. Is he a God of some kind? We know from the comics but the movie gives us nothing.
58. What was his motivation? Save his sister. He did that when they got her heart back. Why stay and try to take over the world? It didn’t work so well when the humans worshipped them as they said. What do they gain?
59. What did her brother shoot out of his hands? What was the residue left in the subway?
60. If Waller knew about the heart of Enchantress and went back to the cave to get it, how did she miss the brother? He was in a doll just like the Enchantress opposite the centerpiece in the cave. The same doll style that was opened to release the Enchantress.
61. If she did know about the brother enough to bring back the doll, why was it just sitting on a shelf above the book Enchantress finds? Waller knew she could fly through walls and grab things. Enchantress fetched the Iranian weapon plans.
62. If he could call out to her, why did she have to be so close?
Boomerang
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63. Why does Boomerang come back to the group after Flag destroys the SS neck bomb device? Seriously, he wanted to leave from the first second we saw him. He never got attached to anyone else that we could tell outside of a crush on Katana. If he came back for Katana, are we just supposed to guess that? If he is such a villain, why does he come back to risk his life against terrible odds?
Killer Croc
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64. What did Killer Croc joining the final fight do? He throws Enchantress against a wall and she re-appears on her perch in front of them all. That’s his contribution?
65. Why did Killer Croc have a specific culture and ethnicity? Was he a normal guy once? That was never discussed in his origins. Why BET, bruh? They turned him into a monster but was he once human in the DCEU? Isn’t he more of a crocodile-man?
66. How was Killer Croc a better swimmer in the flooded subway/sewers? He wore jeans, shoes. I may have missed webbed hands. No tail...
Katana
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67. Why is Katana even in the movie? They have the suicide squad neck explosive so why do they need Katana? She doesn’t actually keep anyone in line. The only purpose she serves is to drop her sword so Harley can use it to slice open the Enchantress’s chest. She needed to use a magic sword, I guess. But this wasn’t even explained or even hinted as that I could tell. This is a total guess.
Griggs
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68. How did no one else see Griggs hand over the phone or say that it was from the Joker?
69. Why did Griggs, the security guard, suddenly go rogue and give Harley a phone from the Joker? No setup, no motivation. You couldn’t show the Joker looking at a picture of him on a computer screen and say, that’s the guy to get us in. Something.
What did you think about these? Please comment on our Facebook page and let us know which ones of these you can answer or which ones you agree with.
Joins us next for our 5 on 5: Suicide Squad where we pit 5 things we liked in the movie against 5 things we did not. You decide which side you are on!
Disclaimer: In fiction, a plot hole, plothole or plot error is a gap or inconsistency in a storyline that goes against the flow of logic established by the story's plot. Such inconsistencies include such things as illogical or impossible events, and statements or events that contradict earlier events in the storyline. At SUPERflixMovies, we understand the broad definition of a “plothole.” That is why some of these are pitfalls or just plain puzzling. Some of our plotholes that are events we missed or are questions that remain unanswered. We always try to maintain a certain amount of rational and suspension of disbelief in the films we review. We believe these “plotholes” step beyond what we could rationalize in a universe with witches, super men, and swords that trap souls. Just because we have superheroes doing amazing things, it should still makes sense in the context of a universe and film. Some of these are genuine, identifiable plot holes while other are gaps in logic, character explanation, motivation, or common sense. Some may seem like little nitpicks that just drive us nuts because they didn’t make much sense to us. They are.
The road to the Infinity Wars started with Civil War. We’ve got 7 questions for the aftermath of Captain America: Civil War.
Cap 3 is the runaway hit of the year, so far. It has the top spot for worldwide gross at just over $1.15 billion in 2016, and sits second behind Finding Dory on the domestic box office at over $400 million.
Let’s take a look at these 7 questions. What comes next after the end of Steve Rogers as Captain America and a fracturing of the Avengers?
*SPOILER WARNING*
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Steve Rogers Survived; Captain America No More
Cap didn't die in the on-screen MCU version of the famous Civil war comic - as some anticipated. In the comic, Cap did not die in Civil War technically either. Cap was gunned down on the steps of the courthouse where he would stand trial following the Civil War. The Death of Captain America story-arc gives an iconic bookend to the events of Civil War.
We can’t help read into the writing on the wall. The imagery and characters are pretty close to what the MCU has developed in the Captain America movie trilogy. Agent 13 Sharon Carter and Falcon feature as central figures in Civil War. Could there be a big twist in the universe as we head into the Infinity Wars? It won’t be as simple as Thanos lining up on one side and the Avengers on the other. The MCU crafts narratives far too well to expect less. You can almost see the imagery from the comics bleeding out on to the screen. How epic would this be to start the Infinity Wars?
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Steve Roger’s made a choice keeping a powerful secret from Tony. It cost him his friendship, the Avengers, and his heroic identity, Captain America. There isn’t much doubt we will see Cap again come into play. He sends Tony a letter saying as much. He’ll always be there for the Avengers and the world, but will he do it as Captain America? It’s a little difficult to say. We’re thinking yes and no. Yes, eventually, but Captain America may start off the Secret Avengers on covert missions. We may see something like US Agent or the "SHIELD Agent" Cap we saw in beginning of 'Winter Soldier'. What will it take to have him wield the shield again? We're hoping something powerful in the story of Infinity Wars.
Vision, War Machine, Hawkeye, an original Avenger... who will they rally around this time?
The character development of the Vision is delicate and deliberate from the start. He has some of the most human moments in both Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War. He also is the steward of the Mind Stone - the most prominent of the Infinity Stones in the MCU to-date. Thanos is looking to compile ALL of these stones. Only then can he wield the most powerful force in the Marvel Universe. We doubt he's going to fail in getting the infinity gauntlet and all of its stones at some point. Something has to give. Will Vision be a casualty or will he morph into a little bit different of a character after losing his stone?
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Mainstays such as War Machine have a lot of emotional capital built up as well. Clint Barton is the same as the film consistently teases the idea of Hawkeye as woefully underpowered and irrelevant. Yet, he is an emotional center of the team. Age of Ultron went out of its way to tease his death in Act One. Age of Ultron left us at the precipice of Hawkeye's death to give us a twist. They may not be so generous next time. Either would be a substantive choice to "sacrifice" to Thanos, like Coulson to Loki. Thanos will have his victim(s). A bigger question may be, will they stay gone? We think so. Infinity War will make room for phase 4 additions and a new Avengers.
Two Avenger Teams?
Both Cap and Iron Man expanded the MCU in Civil War to fill their ranks. This trend will no doubt continue. Will we see much of the two different teams separately dealing with threats, maybe the beginning of a Thanos campaign?
Early reports have the hero count above 60 for Infinity Wars, albeit in two films. This doesn’t worry us at all as the MCU has done an amazing job with large ensemble casts. They employ the Avengers ensemble model evolved from the X-men’s success in 2000. Each character doesn’t need a heavy dose of screen time. They just need a good actor and several powerful action beats parried by a combination of emotional and humor beats. Black Panther, Spider-man, Ant-man, Hawkeye, Vision, War Machine all measured up in Civil War, getting their own moments while never dominating screen time. Quite the feat. So who will they call on to fill their ranks further?
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Civil War ended with two teams of Avengers, a secret team of vigilantes, and a Sokovia accords mandated team of official Avengers. Who will fill these ranks? What will be their missions leading into Infinity Wars? Thanos is coming.
Marvel Universe Growing Exponentially
It was easy in the beginning to dismiss the grounded street-level ABC Agent’s of SHIELD as regulated to the small screen. The TV period piece Agent Carter didn't match with the timeline. But, the Netflix shows raise the bar for the small screen properties substantially! Each show is on par from a character standpoint with the MCU movies. It is beginning to be a little more difficult to keep these worlds separate.
Will the Secret Avenger’s reach out to some street-level heroes? Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage all feel like they could stand toe to toe beside the Avengers. Don't forget Agent's of SHIELD will debut a big name Marvel hero - Ghost Rider! It's possible Ghost Rider will put AoS in a position to influence the big screen MCU in the same way it has always over-arched events on the show.
Thanos is going to push our universe in new ways. The Netflix, ABC actors are solid and the Netflix characters are powered enough to fit in larger events. There is also a certain amount of cache behind the Netflix characters, similar to Spider-man and his debut in Civil War. The first moments of Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones on the big screen may be like Spider-man’s big entrance for the growing multitude of fans of the Netflix Marvel shows.
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As the universe in NYC expands, we also have to consider the close proximity to Spider-man, Doctor Strange, and the Avengers base. The leaders behind the MCU have said that the schedules are just too complicated to have them work both a TV series and movies. However, anything is possible and the Netflix shows may have a more movie-like schedule. The Defenders are going to have some impressive buzz before Infinity Wars hits.
If the small screen "Avengers" is well received, will any of those characters make their way into the Avengers?
The Future of These Character Icons
The moniker of Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Iron Man passed on to new characters in the world of the comics. Some very recently. Will the MCU pass the mantle of a character to a new actor or a different character? Exhibit A: Sebastian Stan is signed for nine movies and he has been in two (only one of which counted for against the nine on his contract). Civil War leaves him back on ice, but will something big bring him back out into the world? Perhaps the death of Steve Roger's would bring the Winter Soldier back into the fold to become Captain America. The Winter Soldier, Bucky and Falcon, Sam Wilson have each been Captain America for a time. The Russo brothers also recently said that Steve Rogers is not Captain America anymore at the end of Civil War.
There are a lot of creative threads at play in the MCU right now. It's possible they may continue any of the biggest Avenger monickers under different portrayals with new actors. In the comics, Iron Man now has a different character under the armor, Ironheart. Thor has been embodied by several different characters, and even the Hulk is no longer Bruce Banner.
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Will we see these pillars of the MCU played by new actors and be new characters taking up the mantles? Some signs are pointing in that direction.
Thanos Courts Death
As the first two suggest questions, we think some characters will not survive Infinity Wars. Will it be a major character or will they deliver on the foreshadowing of minor characters doomed to die at the hands of the Mad Titan?
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From a plot and character standpoint, there are a number of Avengers who may be on the chopping block before Phase 4. Logistically, many actors are up for contracts soon. Robert Downey Jr. is movie to movie. Chris Evan’s Captain America and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor have one more movie after Civil War. Will they wait until Infinity War Part II or will Cap be killed off in Infinity War Part I? Like Thor, the most likely choice appears to be that they will come into the fold in the conclusion of the story in Part II. Sure some will re-sign but not all.
Who will make it out of Infinity Wars? Not everyone.
Team Thanos
Thanos will need some very powerful plot development to fulfill his place as the big bad of the first 3 phases. The Mad Titan will also need some help. Thanos will need help, perhaps an army. It’s going to be difficult to pull off Thanos fighting a slew of heroes that have been set up for 12+ movies as super-powered. There isn’t too many levels higher before it becomes unbelievable. Thanos also has to drive the plot a good distance to round up all of these stones without rallying all our heroes together too soon. He most likely learned from the failed Loki, Chitauri invasion. Remember, the Red Skull is in play though the actor will not likely be returning - luckily he shed his human face in First Avenger.
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Will Loki further seek to leverage the situation? Could Thanos use the stones to power-up Zemo into a more similar version to the comics? What villains could come out of Spider-man: Homecoming?
The divorce of the Avenger’s in Civil War is the height of the MCU up to 2016. They cashed in on a lot of the emotional support they have built up with these heroes over the past 12 movies. Thor: Ragnarok is poised to be the epic follow-up to the wide world of the MCU in 2017. Fractured and displaced, Infinity War will start to take shape. What questions are you most interested in after Cap 3? Care to venture a guess on any of our questions?
Which original Avenger do you think is most likely to be a casualty in Infinity Wars?
We need Luke Cage for two reasons from two very different perspectives. Luke Cage furthers the superhero, comic genre in a new and exciting way. Luke Cage is also a black hero and a social and cultural icon.
Let’s explore and then let’s talk about a few things we want to see most from the series when Luke Cage releases on Netflix September 30th.
**MINOR SPOILER ALERT - previously released Marvel properties are up for discussion**
Netflix Continues to Expand the Marvel Universe
We love what Netflix is doing for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These shows expand their universe by adding major characters and stories. More importantly Netflix’s Marvel shows are expanding the superhero, comic book genre on film by creating shows that are adult in plot, tone, and style. The MCU on the big screen is PG-13. That wide demographic doesn’t both us. They have shown their films can still have very powerful and adult storylines. The divorce of the Avengers and the fracturing of a friendship in Captain America: Civil War is an excellent example. We still need some heroes meant only for adults. We need heroes exploring the deeper psychology of their world's characters. We need heroes that reach down into the dirt and filth and do what is necessary. The Avengers are icons, gods, and superheroes. They are flying in and out of towers and saving the world. We need heroes on the streets and in our neighborhoods. Sometimes we just need heroes.
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Netflix also expands the MCU from the lofty Avenger Towers or Stark’s mansions down to the streets. What does the world look like for heroes fighting for their neighborhoods instead of saving the planet? It’s important and powerful to look into the micro-marvel universe and find the varied faces of a hero. We’ve seen a blind man rise up to be a devil. We’ve seen a tortured soul climb out of a bottle to find purpose as a hero. Now we will see a bulletproof black man stand up for the weak in his neighborhood.
Luke Cage, Black and Bulletproof
Luke Cage is a different kind of hero. He isn’t solely another great Marvel universe hero like Daredevil. He is also a social icon. He is one of the first and most recognizable black superheroes in comics.
Along with Black Panther and a few others, Luke Cage belongs to a very important community in our country. He shares the same skin color, comes from a shared experience, and has inspired young black kids on comic book pages since 1972. Unlike Black Panther, Luke Cage is also that street level hero we love these Netflix shows to bring us. T’Challa explores the roots of African-American's as King of Wakanda, a far off African country. Luke Cage is born, bred, and has a stake in the streets of America. That is a powerful inspiration for millions of Americans. The Avengers were all white when they hit the screen in 2012. Netflix has had two white heroes so far in Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Those were great shows, but we're excited to see a different flavor of hero.
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It's time to explore a different community in New York and by proxy the place the black community holds down in every city in the country. We don’t expect any political or cultural statements in the show to be highlighted specifically. It's a superhero show with a narrative focus. The impact and inspiration of Luke Cage, the hero, will no doubt be powerful. It will resonate more loudly for under represented communities of black americans.
Luke Cage, as heroes often do, does not only make a statement about himself. He also reflects back to the world the reflection of his conflict. He is molded and shaped by his struggle. He is identified by the fight he represents. That is why he is also exactly what this country needs right now, in a time of escalating violence between police and minorities, especially black America. Racial prejudice and social injustice are as important today as they has ever been in the history of our country. Our real life heroes take a knee in protest. The news is filled with protests, one police shooting after another.
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A bulletproof, culturally powerful, physically imposing, and heroic black man standing tall in America gives us all hope. That is what the best of comics and superheroes have always done. They have given hope, empowerment, and ideals to generations of people across the globe when those things are in shorter supply. Hope that though we may not be bulletproof in the real world, there will be someone out there who will stand up and be a shield for those in the line of fire.
As Samuel L. Jackson said in The Avengers, "it’s a good old-fashioned notion." The superhero is an old fashioned notion, but one we need today as much as ever, to empower and give hope where many struggle to find either.
The bulletproof hero for hire doesn’t need much help in taking on an army of well armed thugs. Physically, he is invulnerable on the streets. Daredevil is known for its epic action sequences, taking its queue from foreign films, depicting hand to hand combat down hallways and staircases. Daredevil was vulnerable to all type of combat. Jessica Jones was a little bland from an action standpoint as Jessica was overpowered for her foes. That is where Jessica Jones really shined as a character driven narrative. Jones was set against a different type of villain, a manipulative evil sociopath with the power of mind control, the Purple Man. Her battle wasn’t physically brutal like Daredevil. It was war, mentally and emotionally waged.
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To get the most out of Luke Cage, he will have to come up against a foe or foes that not only impress from an action standpoint but push the character internally be it mentally or emotionally. Luke Cage's stake is in his community and his loved ones. That is where the man with unbreakable skin is vulnerable. That is what will make this series as another Netflix gem or the first Netflix Marvel disappointment. We’ve heard good things so far.
Who joins in the fight?
Daredevil brought us Punisher in Season 2. Jessica Jones brought us Luke Cage. Who will be joining our Hero for Hire? Hopefully, his good friend Iron Fist will enter into the fray in some way. The two characters, Luke Cage and Iron Fist certainly deserve some time together before The Defenders unite next year.
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Marvel has embraced the team-up and this has only made a more rich Marvel Universe. It has worked in Daredevil and Jessica Jones, but it has also served Civil War with Iron Man and Spider-man as well as with Captain America and Winter Soldier. Thor and Hulk are also set for a team up in Thor: Ragnarok next year. It works and hopefully we get a little taste with Luke Cage and Iron Fist.
Doctor Strange or Spider-man Connection
The Marvel universe of New York City is becoming quite crowded from a superhero standpoint. Earlier this year, Spider-man was revealed to the world when Tony Stark recruits him to join the Civil War. Perhaps a small cameo or easter egg? Maybe Aunt May will have some interaction with Luke.
Doctor Strange also comes out this fall where we will be introduced to the MCU world of magic. Doctor Stephen Strange is a Doctor in New York City before his accident. Recent trailers have shown us both the Sanctum Sanctorum in NYC and also the city staging some kind of reality bending battle. Could a run in with Luke Cage or the Night Nurse, Claire Temple happen at the hospital?
These different properties share the same universe and they are getting closer and closer to directly mingling. We hope this is the season, even if just for a moment. There has been talk recently of the Defenders joining the fray in the Infinity Wars. This would be a great place to lay some groundwork.
Unique Feel
The further into these Netflix shows we go, the more important a unique identity will become. This is the 4th season in the Netflix Marvel micro-verse. All previous seasons have been stellar. Yet, Daredevil 1 and 2 had a similar tone, style, and pace. Jessica Jones was at least similar to Daredevil stylistically. They certainly felt set in the same world, the street level neighborhood NY corners of the MCU.
Luke Cage will need to strike a different tone. By all accounts, the show will have a unique style comprised musically and tonally separate from what we have seen before. That should be a very good thing.
Netflix has showcased some incredible action sequences. The shows have also remained very grounded. Jessica Jones didn’t fly around or wear her signature outfit. These shows are grounded. However, these characters may be making appearances in Infinity Wars. It may be time to showcase a little ramped up ability.
Luke Cage presents another opportunity for some epic feats. Will Power Man do anything especially grand in scale?
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Among several of his greatest feats, Luke Cage has stopped a plane from taking off. He has survived a nuclear explosion, for a few days before radiation took its toll. He has also knocked out Rhino and later Ironclad, one of the Hulk’s strongest rivals, with one punch. He’s a powerful hero and it will be interesting to see if they give him any extraordinary scenes.
Vote in our Latest Poll:
What Marvel character would you like the next new Netflix show to be about?
Imagine that someone built the best theme park in the world. This theme park is "The Matrix" of resorts for adults. Beware the woman in the red dress. This is "Jurassic Park" for adult fantasy immersion. If the 'Pirates of the Caribbean break down, will they eat the tourists?
You go there, and do whatever you want. Your darkest, wildest fantasies.
Have you ever desired to be a part of the ruling elite in a land of opulence? Roman world may satiate your deepest fantasies.
What if your fantasy was to be a medieval knight? The theme park gives you a suit of armor, a sword, a noble steed, and bids you have fun.
What if you wanted to be a cowboy with a six-shooter at his side in a wild western world? You get the ten-gallon hat, the six gun, the boots, and the park turns you lose.
You can play out your every fantasy. The only directive is to have fun. This is where we arrive in Westworld, a DELOS resort. The sole purpose of Westworld is to help you forget your life for a while, and indulge in what the society of our real world would frown upon. DELOS provides a world without moral limits.
Welcome to Westworld
HBO’s newest show premieres on October 2nd, based on a movie of the same name from 1973. Westworld will follow several characters as they move through the park. We get to see how seductive and powerful it is to be invited into a realm where anything you want to do feels real, but has no consequence. You want to shoot the guy who offended you? Do it. Draw down and put him in the dirt. You want to take a “Host” (the in-universe name for the robots inhabiting Westworld) back to your room for the night? Well, the life-like robots are there for your pleasure.
If fantasy was the only premise, watching someone play in a fictional universe would be like someone else play a video game. It could be entertaining, but it wouldn’t be particularly compelling.
The dinosaurs have to go wild. The ‘pirates of the caribbean’ have to break down. As the main human characters run through their fantasies we see signs that the machines that inhabit Westworld are becoming self-aware. This is where we start our journey to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.
Once the machines begin to “wake up,” can the humans in the park survive? That was the question asked in the original film, an influence for such movies as The Terminator and later The Matrix. Now this science fiction theme comes full circle. The humans stand on the top of the food chain. We and control the machines. The self-aware machines live in the human version of paradise. For the “Hosts,” it is a bitter cruel hell. In a subversion of the “killer robots overthrow humanity” trope, the sympathetic characters are the machines. In this reality when The Matrix, or Judgement Day comes, we may morally deserve it.
Immersion and losing yourself in the world dominate early promotions for the show. Westworld gives us The Matrix you willingly step into. In HBO’s Westworld, a guest must leave for at least one week out of every four before they are allowed back into Westworld. Societies morality must be maintained even in the universe of Westworld. Westworld is more immersive than any MMO, and it feels real. It is everything some people always wanted.
The Cost of the Illusion
That immersion may come at a cost to your soul. When every sin and vice is allowable, how could someone just give that up? What would the real world look like when you have physically lived in the space of heightened reality?. The characters, both machine and human, will begin to blur that moral line and, show us where our own concepts of morality really lie. After all, the simulations we create reflect what we want. Our secret desires, what we can’t do in the real world. From shooting down your enemies on a battlefield in Call of Duty to creating the world around you in The SIMS, all the games we play and parks we build allow us to live in worlds that aren’t real. We are forced to return to the real world when we turn the game off. Now imagine a world where you don’t have to go back to the real world, not really, and you are in control, would you ever willingly leave? I admit that I am very excited for this show. The original 1973 movie is a personal favorite of mine. I cannot wait to see Ed Harris, Anthony Hopkins, and all the other cast members bring to life in a world I love. I look forward to seeing what questions the show asks, and what answers it offers. I am like a kid on a roller coaster, holding my breath as we crest the top of the hill, throwing my hands up, and seeing where this ride takes us.
I'm David Voderberg. I’ll be your host for the journey through Westworld! Keep an eye out for more of my articles on SUPERflix Movies. Read me over on my Facebook page as well -> GSE News Network!
Thanos is coming... let's talk about 7 HUGE questions we have for the MCU coming out of the Civil War. The stage is set....
Luke Cage punched his way onto the MCU's stage with his own series September 30th. The series was met with mostly positive reviews, with some mixed criticisms. Luke Cage means so many things to a lot of different people.
To some he is Power Man a super strong, bulletproof superhero. To others, he is Luke Cage, a cultural icon and one of the most important black superheroes.
If you haven't finished the show, check out Luke Cage, Black and Bulletproof for more about Power Man in our lead up to the show.
Let’s get right to what we liked, the 5 Good from Luke Cage. Next, we'll look at 5 areas we hope Netflix and Marvel will improve to complete our latest 5 v 5: Luke Cage.
We pit 5 things we liked versus 5 things we didn’t like. You decide which ones hit home and add your own in the comments. In this 5v5, we pay homage to the style of Luke Cage and named each section after one of the greatest NYC hip-hop albums.
Let’s start with the good. Sweet SPOILERS follow.
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Five: Marvel Netflix Villains
The Blueprint
Since Iron Man fought Iron Monger in the first big MCU film, detractors of the MCU have pointed to the villains. The MCU villains have been widely critiqued as weak. The Netflix Marvel TV show’s have not had that same stigma. Kingpin in Daredevil, the Punisher for most of Daredevil Season 2, and The Purple Man in Jessica Jones are each some of the best villains in comics and superhero shows on any screen, big or small.
Luke Cage picks up right where Jessica Jones left off. The series gives us three layered villains of different archetype. Cottonmouth comes right to the forefront of the the show. He has a depth, power, and struggle all his own. Mahershala Ali gives a good performance. Cottomouth drives the action and conflict in the story while yielding some of the stage to his political counterpart Black Mariah. The show builds towards its own big bad immediately as Cottonmouth yields power to an off-screen Big Bad, Diamondback.
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Cottonmouth, Diamondback, and Black Mariah
Diamondback bursts onto the scene in the vacuum when Black Mariah’s tortured past and violent future come out for the first time. The plot unfolds to reveal not only two villains of different archetype. They each have their own merits on the show.
Diamondback has a personal connection with Luke Cage. He is a corrupted version of the hero Luke Cage, twisted by jealous rage and hate. They have history, but it is Alfre Woodard as Black Mariah that steals the show as the prominent villain.
Diamondback matches strength with Luke Cage. Black Mariah takes on our hero as an opposite villain, often the most interesting villains in the story. She is Lex Luthor to Cage's Superman. Black Mariah battles Luke Cage with subversive manipulation and uses her wits to escape our heroes. In the end, she is the one who stands tall. She leaves our heroes scattered and defeated as she slips out of their grip and outwits them.
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Black Mariah is going to be a force in the NYC MCU, and we’re interested to see what role she may play in future Netflix/Marvel stories, Iron Fist and The Defenders. She is just getting started.
Four: Powerful Female Characters
It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
For powerful as Luke Cage stands, it is the women in the series that drive our hero to act. The performances by Alfre Woodard, Simone Missick as Misty Knight, and Rosario Dawson's return as Claire Temple are the best of the series. Luke Cage is authentic and powerful. He is complimented by supporting characters that impact the series with their own distinct touch.
Black Mariah becomes his true villain. Misty Knight and Claire Temple become his most trusted allies. The actresses deliver powerful performances which overpower Power Man himself. Misty Knight is as much the hero of the show as Luke Cage fighting the same cause. The Night Nurse, Claire Temple, continues to be the Tony Stark of the NYC MCU coming in and out of each story tying them all together. She develops our heroes. In her final scene on the series, she might start taking some martial arts lessons, no doubt from a certain Defenders character.
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We can’t wait to see how these femme fatales grow and interact with future stories and characters.
Three: Harlem Unite!
The Low End Theory
The characters in Luke Cage drive the success of the story and the show. Another big character in the show was Harlem. The style of the music, culture, and community mixed our heroes and villains to paint us a beautiful mural for the series. The flavor and culture of Harlem was on full display. The conflicts within the community drove our villains and heroes to action.
The dynamic culture and community moved not only the plot but set the tone and mood for the story. It was more than a strong man beating back villains like the Hulk dropping into Harlem just to destroy it. This story was about the hero of a community fighting for those who weren’t bulletproof. Luke Cage stands in face of the forces that would suppress the light of a vibrant community. Cottonmouth and Black Mariah fought to exploit this essential community. It was powerful in the show and it is powerful on the streets and corners of our own communities.
We can’t continue without saying how much we enjoyed the man himself. There is room to improve which we will get into. But, the series did a very good job of recognizing what they had and not trying to be something it was not.
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Luke Cage is not a character that needs some wild performance. His personality, motives, actions, and nuances are subtle. Luke Cage isn’t a highly layered character. He is powerful, solid - just like his abilities. He isn't a tortured soul. Michael Colter gives a very solid performance and notably doesn’t try to stray too far from the character. When the energy needed amped, Michael Colter came through and gave the character life. But, it isn’t high drama and Luke isn’t a fountain of emotional range. We liked that he stayed the charismatic Power Man. Luke Cage didn’t bend under the weight of a more established “movie star” into a reach performance. It doesn’t always have to be flashy. This was Luke Cage.
One: Easter Eggs & Foreshadowing
Illmatic
Luke Cage achieved something special. One one hand it displays its own very distinct tone and style. On the other hand, it felt like it explored more of the wider world of the MCU than previous Netflix/Marvel series. We love a rich, developed, cohesive world with hints, small goodies, and layered foreshadowing. Marvel is too big not to have a world filled with little hints, small interactions, and fun easter eggs. Here are some of our favorites.
Hammer Industries: Hammer Tech came back into the fold with numerous references. The "Judas bullet" was Hammer-tech. Hammer Tech also supplied Diamondback his power suit.
The Judas Bullet: Read this little bit at your own peril (fan theory that would ROCK the MCU). We felt like the show was setting the stage for this special bullet a little more than just able to kill Luke Cage. We just came out of Captain America: Civil War...would the MCU now use this tech to take out Steve Rogers? Perhaps in a big twist on the comics, Justin Hammer’s tech will be used to kill the MCU's golden boy, Iron Man, paving the way for a new lead to the MCU.
Explanation of the "Judas Bullet" in Luke Cage by our friends over at Hybrid Network.
We don’t know but if you watch it closely and enjoy foreshadowing like we do...it kind of felt like there could be more to this thread. There are some compelling connections and similarities in the MCU to fuel this theory. We think it’s just a question of whether or not they want to pull the thread.
Heroes for Hire: with the barber shop now up for a new clientele, the series seems to set the stage for the Heroes for Hire. We hope so.
Misty Knight, the bionic Super Agent: This series almost went there. Almost. They talked about Misty losing her arm but just never quite made the move. In the comics, Misty Knight has a bionic arm which gives her a lot of action range. It gives her some physical superpower. While this hint was probably just a nod to the comics, we hope they go for it in future installments.
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Come back; next we discuss the 5 Bad from Luke Cage. It was great but not perfect. We will dive deeper into some of the disappointments we came away from Luke Cage with.
Ronan. Loki. Ultron. Up to this point, only Thanos has loomed behind the scenes as the most powerful villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Doctor Strange arriving in theaters in just two weeks, that’s all about to change.
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Potential spoilers for Doctor Strange and the future of the MCU.
Marvel’s may have tipped their hand that they are including Dormammu in Doctor Strange. The trailers have shown Mads Mikkelsen (Le Chiffre from Casino Royale) in the role of the villain, Kaecilius, for this film. Fans of the comics have been expecting that Dormammu would follow close behind in Doctor Strange, and here’s why...
Dormammu is one of the most powerful beings in Marvel’s comic universe. He is of equal or greater power than Odin. He has fought Galactus to a stalemate. He’s also Doctor Strange’s arch nemesis.
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Dormammu is a power hungry entity who already rules his own dimension, The Dark Dimension, but wants to take over our dimension as well. He’s arguably the strongest villain in the entire Marvel Comics Universe, significantly stronger than Thanos. Why would Doctor Strange’s main villain be a minor henchman like Kaecilius?
How Can We Know This For Certain?
In the comics, Dormammu has a disciple, a dark sorceror by the name of Baron Mordo. Mordo strikes a deal with Dormammu after realizing that Stephen Strange was going to become the Sorcerer Supreme. In exchange for power to destroy Doctor Strange, Mordo agreed to help Dormammu enter our dimension. The set up for Dormammu to appear in Doctor Strange was telegraphed a while back with the confirmation that Chiwetel Ejiofor would be playing Baron Mordo in the next MCU film. Marvel has never changed a villain in the comics to being a hero in the movies. Having Mordo in the film opens the door for the MCU to include Dormammu as well.
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What does this mean for the future of the MCU?
If Dormammu is included in Doctor Strange, this shifts the balance of power in the MCU. Thanos on his own, without the Infinity Gauntlet, would never be a match for The Avengers. With the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos would become the most powerful entity in our dimension. If Dormammu is introduced in Doctor Strange, we will have a second powerful entity with plans to conquer our dimension. Thanos may have competition. Thanos may have to contend with Dormammu and other evil forces in a battle for ultimate power in the MCU. Could this be the beginning of a big setup for Avengers 4? Is this why they changed the name from Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2? Will Avengers 4 become some sort of a three way battle for survival between Thanos, Dormammu, and whomever survives the Infinity War?
If Dormammu is included in Doctor Strange, this shifts the balance of power in the MCU. Thanos on his own, without the Infinity Gauntlet, would never be a match for The Avengers. With the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos would become the most powerful entity in our dimension. If Dormammu is introduced in Doctor Strange, we will have a second powerful entity with plans to conquer our dimension. Thanos may have competition. Thanos may have to contend with Dormammu and other evil forces in a battle for ultimate power in the MCU.
Could this be the beginning of a big setup for Avengers 4? Is this why they changed the name from Infinity War Part 1 and Part 2? Will Avengers 4 become some sort of a three way battle for survival between Thanos, Dormammu, and whomever survives the Infinity War?
Tell us in the comments what you think. Will Dormammu make an appearance? What impact will that have in the Infinity Wars? Let's speculate.
The Walking Dead is back, and our world has been rocked by Lucille.
Let's talk about the painful and brilliant Season Premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead Season 7. Dry your eyes. It's time to deconstruct.
SPOILERS for Season 7 Premiere Follow
If you haven't watch, watch. Come back and join the discussion.
Deconstruction of Rick
This entire episode was about Rick Grimes. Isn't it always. Negan deconstructs Rick from a wild beast hell bent on retribution to a whipped dog. Rick didn't waiver in his belief that their group couldn't be matched for ferocity in Season 6. They took on The Saviors and won at every turn. They just hadn't yet met Negan.
In this episode, Rick starts out completely bewildered at where they find themselves. There is no way out. And so he stays his resolve. Negan can see it in his eyes. Negan pushes further. There is no limit to the lengths Negan will go. There is a limit to how far Rick will. Rick breaks.
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The rest of the season will be Rick and the group learning to fight again.
Abraham took it like a champ. But, it takes two to tango. Negan knows almost immediately that the group needs to be pushed further, so he pushes. The suspense built up and the moment came. Wheew, it was only Abraham. We liked him but it's ok. Our favorites are safe. Yet Negan pushes further.
The show is very aware that Daryl is a fan favorite. They teased his death throughout the break and picked that up heavily in the premiere. It started with the blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders being strewn in front of the puddle of blood. Is that Daryl's? The puddle itself was in the shape of an angel like the conic wings on the back of his jacket. No way! They had me convinced I read the writing on the wall. I couldn't believe they were going to kill Daryl. Negan had other plans. He knew who would break the group. He just didn't know who would break Rick yet.
They also continually had fun with Rick's comic version, in which he has only one hand. Negan even at one point tells Rick it is important to have a right hand man. Later, Rick offers his own hand as a sacrifice to save his son. It was a constant teetering back and forth with the audience. It was beautifully done.
That's why this show is successful. The writing is excellent. We're released to take a breathe and then... the hits keep coming.
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By the time Negan takes his most beloved victim, we're vulnerable again. Well done.
Negan
"Oh goody!" Jeffrey Dean Morgan is excellent. He is playful and arrogant. He is limitless in how far he will go. He is focused on breaking survivors, and does so with villainous brilliance. The Governor wet our appetite for villainy. Negan is the main course.
He is Rick's evil twin. He is a counterpoint villain archetype. They are one in the same save for one primary difference. He is a powerful, deadly, determined, calculating, and wicked counterpoint. He toys with his prey like a tiger tossing his food around before sinking its teeth into its neck and ripping back. For Negan, it's a show with a purpose. The Governor was a man twisted by the new world. Negan is like Rick. He is a man forged by the new world. The one primary difference; Negan will go further than Rick. He premiere shows us how much further. It is Negan's show now.
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Breaking Formula
The recipe for suspense in the best shows on TV is still fairly formulaic. They use an all too common devices in long form writing. They augment proper suspense by using the medium to build that suspense. They cut from one storyline to the next leaving us on the edge of our seats. It can be useful when employed properly and can feel like a cheap trick if over used. Cut to commercial. Let's see what everyone else is doing. Ugh!
This episode took us to the abyss and made us look it right in the eye.
The show received a fair amount of push back for Season 6 ending in such a blatant cliffhanger. Season finales are for big deaths not season premieres. For the record, The Walking Dead does not need typical TV tricks. It is a well written show. Though they used one in this instance, the show delivered on the promise. This episode was exactly what we wanted after waiting so long.
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To this episode's credit, it stayed right on focus. It didn't make us wait. It did, however, ask us to blink. That is exactly what the show and the other great shows on TV do. It looked us dead in the eyes and didn't waiver. The episode kept staring back at us. It pushed us further than we expected. This episode peered directly into the abyss and didn't blink. Did you?
What next for the Walking Dead? For those who don't read the comics, I will just say that the world is about to get bigger. The show has teased the Kingdom.
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Next week, the Kingdom come.
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What did you think of the episode? Tell us as we discuss on Facebook! Click the comment section below.
Come back to SUPERflix Movies for more Walking Dead as we discuss the ups and downs of Season 7.
Deconstructing Rick. 💀 The Walking Dead 💀 Season 7 premiere takes us to the abyss.
Let's talk about the episode, break...
Everybody is talking about Negan. He’s the talk of the internet after the return of The Walking Dead on Sunday. People just can’t stop talking about him.
How they cannot stand him for what he has done.
How they can’t wait for him to get what is coming to him.
How he is a monster for murdering Abraham and Glenn with lovely Lucille.
Hell, some people even said they were DONE with The Walking Dead now and they didn’t plan to watch it anymore because they lost a character that they liked.
The person who deserves all the blame for the deaths of Abraham and Glenn is actually none other than Rick Grimes.
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Think about this for a second. Let’s walk back down memory lane.
Rick was the one who attacked the Saviors FIRST.
Rick was the one who thought he and the members of the “Ricktatorship” were virtually untouchable.
Rick agreed that they were going to do the dirty work for the Hilltop gang in exchange for some supplies and a cozy working relationship.
Rick campaigned and convinced the group on going to war against the Saviors because it was only a matter of time before they attacked Rick’s group.
Rick and the group struck first.
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WWRD?
What would RICK do if there was a group that had ambushed and killed 4 or 5 of his group? How many Saviors did Rick’s group kill at the radar installation? 10? 20?
Everything that happened in the season premier is actually the fault of Rick Grimes. Negan was doing EXACTLY what Rick did to the Termites (the Terminus group) early in Season 6 when they slaughtered everybody at Gabriel’s church. Maybe they ate Bob, but they begged for mercy and Rick was having none of it. He murdered every last one of them.
Why are we so ready to condemn Negan but we are giving Rick a free pass? Hell, at least Negan spared the overwhelming majority of the group. He only killed Abraham and Glenn. He did it because he had to prove a point about who was in charge. Rick was still bloodthirsty and claiming that he was going to kill Negan. This is AFTER Negan was getting even for what Rick did to The Saviors.
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We are already calling for Rick to kill more people, and more people, and more people. By the way, Rick learns a lot of hard lessons in the comics because of his encounters with Negan and it looks like the show is going in the same direction.
So, as fans of the show, it’s time that we start to ask ourselves some really hard questions. Not about the state of affairs in the show, but about US…the viewers out there in the world watching this drama unfold.
Are we just willing to accept that the evil acts that are committed by the characters that we ‘like’ are okay? Why are the same acts committed deemed ‘evil’ and ‘wrong’ when they do it to characters that we care about?
Is Negan REALLY a villain? If Negan is a villain, then you have to accept that Rick is a villain as well.
It’s only a matter of perspective.
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Come back for more on The Walking Dead as we will discuss the consequences of Rick's actions throughout Season 7 and beyond!
Thanos is coming... let's talk about 7 HUGE questions we have for the MCU coming out of the Civil War. The stage is set....
Thanos is coming. The big bad that is behind the scenes of every Marvel movie since The Avengers is finally about to make his grand appearance in all his Mad Titan glory. Sure, you’ve seen him before, but you’ve yet to see him in action. The last time we saw him, he had picked up the Infinity Gauntlet and said “Fine, I’ll do it myself.” The "it" Thanos is referring to -> the most powerful force in the MCU. He's looking for six infinity stones.
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As we get closer and closer to the arrival of Avengers: Infinity War, we are still looking for a couple of the Infinity Stones. We have 5 movies to find these stones. Let’s start investigating.
Prime Suspects on the Trail for the Final Infinity Stones
Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is our first suspect in the hunt for the two final Infinity Stones. Time and again, Marvel has hidden the Infinity Stones in plain sight. Keep a close watch on the Eye Of Agamotto. In the comics, the Eye allows Doctor Strange to see into the distant past and to put people into a state of suspended animation. Because of these powers, you can bet the the Eye of Agamotto is the Time Stone. Benedict Cumberbatch is recently confirmed for Infinity War. Having the Time Stone is a perfect reason for him to be in Avengers: Infinity War.
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Who will Doctor Strange be fighting next month? All signs point to Dormammu. Dormammu is a dark god who rules his own dimension. He wants to take over our dimension, too. He is Doctor Strange’s nemesis in the comics. Dormammu has connections to the Ancient One and Mordo in the Marvel Comics, and those characters have already been confirmed in the movie. If Dormammu appears in Doctor Strange, perhaps Thanos is pulling the strings behind the conflict Doctor Strange just like he was pulling the strings in Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Thor: Ragnarok
Thor: Ragnarok is where we will see the Soul Stone. It is also set two films before Infinity War and comes out only 6 months before the third Avengers film. Thor has already had a vision and knows about all of the Infinity Stones. You can bet that Thor is going to be hard at work trying to track down the Infinity Stones. All the Stones have cosmic origins and Ragnarok is a cosmic movie. We cannot even begin to guess what object might be the Soul Stone, but it is almost a certainty that the Soul Stone will appear here in Thor: Ragnarok. The appearance of the Soul Stone gives Thor and Hulk a reason to return to Earth for the events of the Infinity War.
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Leaving No Stone Unturned in our Search
Black Panther
This doesn’t really feel like it is a movie that will get super mystical. It is the last MCU movie before Avengers: Infinity War. If we don’t see the Time and Soul Stones before Black Panther, you know we will see it here. But, let’s face it, Black Panther just doesn’t feel like a movie where T’Challa is going to be chasing after one of the Infinity Stones. It feels a little more grounded in the real world, in the same fashion as the Iron Man and Captain America franchises. The Avengers are broken up at the end of Civil War. Team Rogers was in prison on The Raft. Will they make an appearance to help T’Challa as the Secret Avengers? Black Panther will likely focus on the continuing friction between Team Stark and Team Rogers (Avengers vs Secret Avengers?) and how T’Challa is caught in the middle. But Wakanda has been safe harbor for a lot of secrets in the MCU.
You wouldn’t expect one of the most powerful objects in the Universe to be found in a high school in Queens, right? All indications are that the next Spidey film will have a tone similar to Ant-man. Parker has gone back to being a 15 year old so you can expect a lot of high school scenes and issues in the film.
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This doesn’t feel like a place to find one of the Infinity stones. Concept art already shows that Spider-man will be fighting Vulture. Don’t rule out Vulture being connected to other villains, though. hat always could include Thanos, but we doubt it will involve an Infinity Stone.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
Guardians of the Galaxy featured Thanos in his most prominent role yet. So why isn’t Guardians 2 at the top of the list? With Kurt Russell reportedly appearing as Star Lord’s father in Volume 2, Guardians 2 is reported to revolve around Star Lord’s past and his father. Nebula is coming back as well. Peter Gunn confirmed that Thanos will not be in the sequel. No Thanos, no new Infinity Stones. If the Guardians are going to be in the Infinity War, Adam Warlock is most likely to make his way into the MCU. Guardians 2?. Adam Warlock was a HUGE Easter Egg in Guardians 1.
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Do you think these theories make sense?
Do you think the Soul and Time Stones might be somewhere else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Will Spidey or T’Challa find one of the Stones on Earth? Let us know in the feedback section.
POTENTIAL MAJOR SPOILERS for the First End Credits Scene in Doctor Strange and all MCU films leading to Infinity Wars.
Did Thor look a little "strange" in the end credits scene? The make-up seemed odd, and the way he was dressed was off.
Did he seem to be acting kind of pensive? He didn't really smile at Doctor Strange refilling his ale and he loves his mugs of ale. A little odd.
We thought so too. We know why. Are you ready for a HUGE theory? Last warning.
UPDATE MARCH 20th 2017:
So, Thor has short hair in the recently released images from Thor: Ragnarok... more info updated below.
End Credits Setup
Doctor Strange asks Thor why he brought Loki to Earth. Thor explains to the soon to be Sorcerer Supreme that they are looking for his Father, Odin. Wait...
We thought Thor was set for Ragnarok in another realm. He left earth searching for clues to who is playing the “intricate game” he referred to at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron (video below).
He left the Avengers searching for "infinity clues", not his Father who he still thinks is on the throne of Asgard.
Thor still thought Loki was dead. A lot has happened since Ultron. Remember, mischievous Loki was impersonating Odin in the last scene of Thor: The Dark World. That didn’t make a lot of sense... until NOW!!
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So, how does Thor end up on earth with his "dead" arch-enemy Loki?
He doesn’t.
Doctor Strange hasn't met Thor just yet. That WAS Loki.
This reveals a huge lead in to the Infinity Wars. This also gives major insight as to Thanos’s master plan. Loki is still working for Thanos. We think he is there to steal the Eye of Agamotto which we just learned is the Time Stone. This puts Doctor Strange at odds with a portion of the conflict in Thor: Ragnarok. The Sorcerer Supreme may have a larger role in Thor's 2017 adventure if so.
UPDATE March 20th, 2017:
Doctor Strange has a larger role in Thor: Ragnarok. 👉 Check it out.
Thor has short hair in Thor: Ragnarok. 🤔 Check it out!
We think these two major details support our theory big time! Do either of these prove it? No, but it's hard not to take it more seriously with Thor's short hair and Doctor Strange's widened role. We'll know later this year!
What does this mean?
Marvel used Loki to masterfully put a great twist on the end credits scene. Misdirection. This will be huge for the MCU and is a lot of fun for us to speculate about in the coming year. We have a lot of thoughts about it.
Loki is in Infinity Wars.
Thanos is still pulling Loki's strings.
Thanos and Loki are directly after one of the most powerful Infinity Stones.
They must have learned about its whereabouts from someone, perhaps a recently revealed big bad Dormammu. A little revenge for Doctor Strange's little bargain. Who else could be in league with Thanos?
This may be why Doctor Strange goes to the Avengers in the first place - to find the real Thor or to go after who he suspects is the thief of his precious stone.
SO MUCH HERE if this theory pans out. We believe it will.
The Infinity Wars have started!!
Tell us what you think of the theory in the comments. Are we crazy or did we just unravel a huge lead into the Infinity Wars?
Check back for our Review of Doctor Strange, and more on everything Marvel and Infinity Wars.
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You can also read the article here on Moviepilot if you like.
MASSIVE REVEAL IN DOCTOR STRANGE END CREDITS SCENE
Doctor Strange is in theaters now, and he is one of the lesser known Marvel characters who is getting his own franchise. This was one of those movies that was more of a gamble (think Ant-Man and Guardians Of The Galaxy). It won the weekend with over $80 million in domestic box office and is already over $300 million worldwide. But, how does the first appearance of The Sorcerer Supreme stack up against the first standalone movies in the MCU?
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SPOILERS for Doctor Strange and the MCU to date Follow
Doctor Strange is the second outing in MCU’s Phase Three. The MCU is very complex at this point, and we have an origin film that reflects the mature and intricate cinematic universe it is set in. The story is much more complex than previous origin stories. This is the first MCU film that beautifully balances more than two villains. The team at Marvel knows that these characters are going to be appearing in other films very soon. They are giving these characters depth and weight that they didn’t attempt earlier in the MCU.
I’ll admit that I was a little lukewarm on Doctor Strange from the previews. It looked predictable and formulaic. I went into it without very high expectations. The last MCU origin movie, Ant-Man, was a little bit underwhelming. I’m also NOT a big fan of origin stories. They tend to be interchangeable with more of a desire to set up the sequel than to tell their own story.
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Marvel's long line of Origin Story films in the MCU (2008-present)
For a variety of reasons, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Ant-Man all had their shortcomings as did more acclaimed films like Iron Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. Thor was a phase one MCU movie, it was simple and straightforward. Captain America: FA was a fairly bland film and very linear film to setup future greats. Ant-man had a thin plot and a weak villain. Guardians was less origin and more ensemble.
Evolution of the Origin Plot
Doctor Strange breaks the mold of simplistic origin stories. It’s entertaining to watch throughout, with twists and turns and revelations. The characters are more compelling. The motivations are very grey, with little black and white. The nuances of the action behind the scenes leads to more revelations when you watch it more than once.
There’s a lot going on here:
Strange, losing everything and learning what his true purpose can be.
The conflict between The Ancient One And Kaecilius
The conflict between Dormammu and the good Sorcerers
Ultimately, the fall of Mordo from loyal Sorcerer to a man who learns his life was a lie and what he must do now. “Too many sorcerers.”
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Unlike previous MCU origin movies, Doctor Strange features several complicated characters. Some are outright villains, and some could only be considered villains depending on your point of view. Doctor Strange does a very good job of painting almost all of its secondary characters in shades of gray in order to spin a compelling story.
The various villains in the other ‘MCU origin films’ have been a mixed bag.
The Extended Cut came out on Nov 15th in the US and the bluray will release Dec 13th. We wanted to give Suicide Squad another look. Suicide Squad was a big box office hit and a big disappointment to critics. Fans are split. You decide who wins, the good or the bad!
In this 3v3, we face off 3 of the best from Suicide Squad against the 3 worst from the film. You decide which comes out on top. You’re the judge.
Your opinion is the one that matters!
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The Good
Characters
We applaud Suicide Squad for fun and authentic characters. Harley, Deadshot, Boomerang, and Waller were standouts. The look of some of the characters was the kind of comic-realism we look for while some stylistic additions were a bit much, almost everyone had tattoos front and center.
Harley Quinn stole the show. Margot Robbie created a comic-real and authentic Harley for the character’s big screen debut. She loses a little in her interactions with a hapless Joker and never gets to her truly gritty origins. But when she speaks, we hear Harley. When she gets under everyone’s skin, that’s Harley! The extended cut adds some more of her Doctor Quinzel side as she psycho-analyzes her fellow squad members to get under their skin. Her look was all Harley and we even got DCEU signature flashbacks just to show us an iconic look. She looked the part and won us over. It’s no wonder she is getting her own Birds of Prey style film. We’re excited to see it!
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The 'man who can’t miss' hit his target. Despite being basically Will Smith as an assassin, we liked Deadshot. Will Smith is solid and draws out some complexity to a simple assassin. He does get the benefit of the best lines and all the attention of a big Hollywood star, but it works well enough. It’s the character development that lets Deadshot down as they muddy his motives between villain and hero. A conflicted but villainous Deadshot would have been better but the safe play worked ok.
Boomerang had his funny moments! He plays a funny kind of "dufus bro” chugging beer in the middle of a fight and protecting his stuffed unicorn at all costs. He’s not the wise-cracking sharp and rigid villain of the comics. Yet, he is charming, funny, and more grounded - which in this case works. With better character action sequences and some more authentic, bold plot choices, he would have been hilarious. It would have been too good if he never came back after taking off from the bar when Flag sets them free. It’s a shame he didn’t because he offers little more than a tiny bit of recon from that point on.
Amanda Waller was the real villain of the movie and shined. She is wicked, evil, and focused. She was the only “bad guy” despite not being on the squad. Waller’s bravado and ambition stand out from the comics and shine on camera. Hopefully, we get to see more of her standing toe to toe with the Bruce Wayne’s of the DCEU.
Another set of rich (yet short lived) visual storytelling came in the beginning of the film. The hero cameos and the back stories they gave screen time to were great. Batman swooping down behind Deadshot was incredible. Flash’s few seconds on camera were exciting as he captures Boomerang. It’s too bad they couldn’t reach a balance for these little cameos or work in a larger one throughout the plot without having the hero take over the film. It’s a glimpse to what could have been if they put heroes as the opposition to our bad guys in some sections.
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An iconic DC hero unwittingly getting in the way of Waller’s plans could have brought some plot elements together and avoided other pitfalls. The one cameo they had run through the film was the Joker. He just fell flat as he didn’t achieve anything from a plot standpoint, didn’t develop any conflict or create any movement in the story. He came in and left repeatedly, changing nothing and making no sense. His part was meaningless and full of plot holes and editing problems. Unfortunately, these great cameo scenes were one part awesome and another part disappointing that they were just setup flashbacks.
Style
The style of the trailers set a high mark for the film. The introduction of each character was explosive, with different stylized elements from text information to visual highlights. They have heart and feel unique. It’s too bad they didn’t have a lasting tonal effect on the movie. Once the graphics stopped popping up, the film had little style and felt bland.
There were hints of this style in different spots. The Joker standing over Harley about to torture her has a neon pop effect for a fraction of a second. The character icons pop from time to time but you have to watch closely to see them. Take Deadpool which had those similar stylized sequences in the beginning. Those pieces gave way to story but it all felt in the same pace and irreverent tone. The music in Suicide Squad had its moments showcasing the tone from the trailers but that all seemed to stay in act one of the film. The fun stopped when the plot took over. It bent under the weight of the films issues. We loved the tone in parts of the film, witty and fresh.
Suicide Squad may have had the best trailer of 2016. There are even a series of youtube videos re-doing classic trailers with “Suicide Squad style.”
The Bad
Not Even Villains
Going in we were intrigued by the style of the film and the director who wrote Training Day and directed gritty films like Fury. Following real villains and watch them battle a hero or each other was going to be epic. There was even talk that Batman was a “villain” in this story. To see him from the criminal's eyes for some of the film would have been incredible, torturing and terrorizing them from the shadows. The Joker looked like they were going to go dark with him and explore a deeper version than ever before but Leto was just comical in the role. The best Joker of the year is still Jesse Eisenberg. The torture of Harley from the trailers and how he cackled off camera with Harley saying "uh-oh" had our interest peaked. The film delivered NONE of that. That is fine but what it did deliver was a film devoid of the "bad guys" we were promised (at the least).
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They weren’t even "bad" guys. Take Deadshot, he just wants to be with his daughter. They talk a lot about how they are the "bad guys." Yet, they only do heroic things in the movie. There are flashbacks to their captures and Diablo’s horrific story, but don't be fooled these aren’t bad guys. These are reformed bad guys who are heroes by the end of the film. Most of what we see on camera are the acts of heroes. We cringed when Deadshot looks at Enchantress and for some reason says, "You are evil." We don't understand why he does a 180 and decides to selflessly save the world so his daughter will know he isn't a "piece of shit" if he is a bad guy. Make him struggle with good and evil but make him choose being a bad guy and let his actions reflect that or he is just a hero in the film. They all go against their own self-interest and fight off the Enchantress who poses no real threat to them. They are more heroic than they are villainous which is typical of generic screenwriting without any daring creativity.
When the chips are down, they band together not because they are forced to or out of survival. They're motives are often confused. Sometimes they need no reason at all. Harley comes back to the team after being freed when the Joker’s goes down in the helicopter. Boomerang even comes back after the bar scene. He just walks into line with the squad. They all stick around after being set free by Flag. Not one of them looked out for #1 in the end, which is the first thing a villain would do. No one tries to exploit the situation for their own gain. There was no backstabbing like true villains when it came down to it. In Harley's heroic moment in the final scene, she even says that Enchantress "messed with her friends." Suicide Squad members aren't friends. They are villains out for their own interest the fist chance they get. That's the fun part of the Suicide Squad and what we thought was going to be a bold and daring film. Diablo sacrifices himself for the team. The list goes on.
They can't even make the Joker a bad guy as they have Batman chase him down on "date night." There had to be some crime to prelude the car chase but we don't get that in the film. Everyone was redeemed a hero except Waller, the one out to "do some good." Suicide Squad fails miserably at delivering real bad guys and offering a bold new direction. Instead, it offers a bland, confused, and poorly conceived action ensemble.
The film didn’t know whether it should be a grounded, street level film about villains forced to do good things or if it was an epic sci-fi introduction of magic into the DCEU.
Like Batman v. Superman before it, it tries to do a lot of different things and ends up doing none of them well. Neither worked and often they were at odds with each other. The film pits grounded heroes with “little” superhero ability against ancient magical gods. Then, the film wraps up the final conflict with...explosives. It makes for an especially fractured narrative. The quality of the plot was much closer to 2015's Fantastic 4 than The Dark Knight or even Batman v. Superman for that matter. If you are going to go grounded, you have to impress with your story and character depth. Some cool visuals and a handful of authentic looking and sounding characters without much depth does not get you there.
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This lack of identity (and frankly poor directing, editing, and writing) led to another negative by-product. Plot holes everywhere. Unfortunately, those plot holes include the entire premise of the Suicide Squad’s formation, the action of the final conflicts resolution at the end of the film, and the identity of the film.
Ensemble Action
So this is why it was often said, 'larger ensemble action films are hard to make work.’ There is so little time to develop all these characters and showcase them properly. You have to make choices. Unfortunately, the nut to ensemble films was officially cracked in 2012. We have been spoiled by films that do a brilliant job juggling massive casts of heroes. You can make a great movie where characters with even cameo-level screen time can shine. You just have to make them bold and match their character beats to impressive action beats. Rooted not grounded in reality.
Nobody stands out in this movie from an action standpoint. Not once was I lost in the comic book, superhero spectacle of it all. The action beats fell flat even for the prized characters of the film like Deadshot and Harley. Deadshot’s firing range of monsters was about as jaw dropping as it got. Diablo was basically a guy shooting fire from his hands. Ok. The little fire puppet visuals were cool but the action was just him shooting fire. We've seen that a lot on film. When he goes "full El Diablo" we were more curious what he was than anything. He never wow’d us.
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Harley doing flips and hitting people on the head with her bat in slo-mo was ok. It seemed a big stretch for the character. It seemed like another case of Hollywood manufacturing action from a character. Boomerang’s best action beat was drinking a beer. Katana was boring. Flag only got beat up and carried off while looking like he was constantly about to cry. Croc threw some people around. That’s a new one. SMH. Better films in this genre kill it with WOW moments.
Movies in this genre build off epic moments when characters do incredible things. In Man of Steel, there were so many WOW moments! Superman vs. Non and Faora was incredible. The final battle with Zod had its moments. The scenes on Krypton were visually spectacular. Even Green Lantern had its visually epic moments on Oa. In Batman v. Superman, there were some incredible jaw dropping moments as well. The warehouse scene with Batman was like the Arkham video games brought to life on the big screen. Wonder Woman leaping at Doomsday had our hearts pounding. The scale of Doomsday to Superman was something to behold.
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Suicide Squad had a fire guy, a guy shooting guns, a girl with a bat, and a twerking witch. It never worked for us like these other action pieces. If you're going to go grounded, your story has to compel the action or you end up with a boring mess. In this genre, we prefer a rooted in reality universe with amazing and fantastic elements. We want it believable yet we believe in flying gods and men dressed as bats. Fantastic elements should be built on character depth and detailed, developed, and executed stories.
Unless of course those fantastic elements involve a witch twerking. 😂
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Warning: Article contains information from the expanded universe ‘legends’, the Star Wars Rogue One prequel novel Catalyst and official trailers. If you have been avoiding these, avoid this...
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is set for release in less than a month. The launch comes complete with a whole set of new characters and creations, from the highly-anticipated Jyn Erso, portrayed by Felicity Jones, to a new breed of Stormtrooper. However, one old ‘character’ will be hitting our screens in a big way, but I doubt it’s a ‘character’ many fans even know exist.
Kyber Crystals have existed in the cinematic universe since day one, but have not once been seen or even mentioned — in the 7 live-action movies at least. The crystal is a powerful gem that is entwined with the force, naturally occurring on a select few planets.
Incredibly rare they were, amongst other uses, the power source for our favorite sci-fi weaponry: Lightsabers.
In the expanded universe and in the TV spin-off Rebels — along with numerous guides, encyclopedia and games — Kyber Crystals have seen plenty of limelight. Mystical gems, both Jedi and Sith used the crystals to power their weapons, it is said that Jedi have a very personal connection to the crystal within their lightsaber. Yes, very much like one Harry Potter and his wand — the crystal chooses the Jedi, Mr Skywalker
We see a glimpse of this in a deleted scene from Return of the Jedi, where Luke crafts his legendary green lightsaber.
So, the Kyber Crystals have played an important part in Lucas’s movies since A New Hope appeared back in 1977, but they have always very much played a background part. Until now.
Although no official announcement has been made, we have reason to believe Kyber Crystals will play a prominent part in the newest addition to the Star Wars cinematic world.
What We Know About Rogue One So Far
Disney has been very careful with the trailers and teasers for Rogue One when it comes to letting us know exactly what is going on. However, we do know enough to start piecing things together.
While the overarching plot is clearly based on retrieving the schematics for the doomed Death Star, we suspected another, deeper subplot revolving entirely around our force-infused friends.
Why?
Jyn has a Kyber Crystal
In the newest, international trailer for Rogue One, we see Jyn Erso with what appears to by a Kyber Crystal around her neck. Why do we believe it’s a Kyber Crystal? Well, it looks like one for a start. It’s jagged, entrancing and resembles what we’ve seen in Star Wars Rebels and other materials.
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In the trailer, the necklace is gifted to Jyn by her mother, Lyra Erso. While handing over the artifact, her mother tells Jyn to ‘trust the force'. This seems to be a pretty clear indication that the item has force related properties, as there is no evidence that Jyn or her mother are force sensitive at this point. Clearly, her family have knowledge of the force and the power of Kyber Crystals. Which brings us to our next point...
Jyn’s Father is Building the Death Star
It was long suspected that Jyn's father played an instrumental role in the construction of the Death Star, and recent trailers have confirmed the theories. But why Jyn's father? We believe it has to be related to his knowledge of Kyber Crystals, as referenced by the family ties, Jyn's necklace and the prequel novel, Catalyst.
In numerous trailers for Rogue One, we are treated to a staple of the Star Wars universe: a dusty, sand planet. This planet was officially confirmed during the 2016 Star Wars Celebration a Jedha, a mecca of the Jedi world. While the Jedi have been eradicated, it still stands as a bastion of their faith.
In the Star Wars Rogue One trailers, we see what appears to be a Jedi temple, and a crumbled statue depicting the legendary peacekeepers. The planet itself also seems to be under the occupation of the Imperial Empire.
How Will Kyber Crystals Play a Part in Star Wars Rogue One?
Kyber Crystals could hold a very significant role in Rogue One. Used by ancient Sith Lords to power super weapons, it is possible the empire gained inspiration from these previous world destroyers. The idea came from Sith master Sheev Palpatine after all.
The problem is, Kyber Crystals are very rare. While some might still remember how to find them, even fewer will know how to harness their energy. In the prequel novel to the Rogue One — Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel — Jyn's father, Galen Erso, was experimenting with Kyber Crystal research. In the trailers, we clearly see the Empire come from Galen, and there can be no other reason for his involvement in the construction of the Death Star than his prior knowledge of the crystals.
Galen Erso's knowledge of Kyber Crystals sets all the wheels in motion, bringing Jyn into the fray. They are indeed the catalyst for the story. But what else can we expect from them?
To use Kyber Crystals in your massive super weapon, you have to harvest them first. Most Jedi found their crystals on Ilum, an ice-bound planet on the Outer Rim. However, Jedi didn't just stumble upon these crystals, and it was said to be a powerful and spiritual journey. Accessing these crystals may have been beyond the reach of the Empire.
But, they must have obtained enough crystals to power the Death Star. Spoiler alert, it becomes operational — R.I.P Alderaan.
An interesting note about Jedha is that we see it under Empire occupation in numerous trailers. However, their involvement goes beyond the simple control of the planet. With Star Destroyers hanging overhead, Tie-Fighters screeching through the sky and heavy-weapons like AT-ST and hover tanks on the ground — along with battalions of Stormtroopers — it appears this isn't a simple occupation of Jedha, it's domination.
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The presence of so much force can mean only one thing: The Empire is after something. In a movie in which the catalyst for the primary story is Kyber Crystals, it would seem apt that the Imperial Empire have attacked this mecca of Jedi in search of the rare and powerful stones. The potential for them to be in old lightsabers or ancient vaults is pretty high, where else would relics of a bygone era be stored?
Kyber Crystals bring a conflict to Jedha, but that conflict also brings our protagonist Jyn. Jyn is seen in multiple locations on the dusty Tatooine wannabe. Watching the trailers, especially the international trailer, it is clear that Jyn's home world is green and luscious, a far cry from the rolling dunes of Jedha.
Clearly, she is on this planet for a reason. Could this be where the Death Star plans are? If Galen Erso and others are based on this world while they search for enough Kyber Crystals, this could be where she reaches her father and steals the Death Star plans.
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Later we see Jyn off-world, on a tropical planet confirmed to be called Scarif. On Scarif, Jyn appears to be carrying a data drive, potentially containing the stolen plans. As we see Donnie Yen's character with her on this planet, a likely force-sensitive monk believed to be from Jedha — either born or living on it — we can only assume this scene takes place after the events on the ancient Jedi planet.
Basically, **** goes down on Jedha and it’s all thanks to some tiny stones.
We are pretty sure Kyber Crystals play a pivotal role in the way things pan out for the movie. The requirement of for crystals to power the Death Star draws in Galen Erso, which in turn brings in our leading lady Jyn. The Empire’s ruthless quest to construct the ultimate power in the universe takes them to Jedha, where much of the drama will develop.
While these little crystals might be quite innocuous and rarely even mentioned, they are the core around which this entire movie unfolds.
Luke Cage punched his way onto the MCU's stage with his own series September 30th. The series was met with mostly positive reviews and some mixed criticisms. We've been Good. Now, it's time to be Bad. Complete our latest 5 v 5: Luke Cage with the Bad.
If you haven't finished the show, check out Luke Cage, Black and Bulletproof for more about Power Man in our lead up to the show and finish watching. Come back when you're done.
We pit 5 things we liked against 5 things we didn’t like. These are some places the show fell a little flat. You decide which ones hit home and add your own in the comments. Your opinion is the one that matters!
In this 5v5, we pay homage to the style of Luke Cage and named each section after one of the greatest NYC hip-hop albums.
We love team-ups, especially of the superhero variety. We’re glad the series didn’t turn into a full team-up though. That is coming next with The Defenders. We still wanted to see some hints or at best an introduction to our next Netflix Marvel superhero. Jessica Jones did an awesome job of yielding some screen time to introduce a new hero without letting it take over her show. Iron Fist and Luke Cage are all but attached at the hip in Marvel comics. A little bit of Danny Rand would have had our inner fan boy smiling from ear to ear. At least, NYC Comic-Con did the job after the fact.
Two: A Straight Plot, Solid Twist
Licensed to Ill
The series had some slow moments where other Netflix/Marvel series have kept firing. We love the 10-15 episode formula as there is sufficient room to explore. There is not enough space for too much slow filler like in 24 episode series or the circular storytelling that plague those network shows. By having only one superhero, the show kind of loses a little steam in spots. Daredevil Season 2 and Jessica Jones both had some time to give to other major superheroes which really tickled our inner superhero fan.
The series also stayed a little too focused on one conflict type. Physical vs. Physical. Black Mariah even calls out Copperhead for not thinking outside the box with Luke Cage. If he is bulletproof, can he drown? Can he be electrocuted? We were hoping the villains would get a little more creative. Shooting a missile at him was pretty good, but we were hoping for a different type of conflict to be experimented with all together. The brilliance of Jessica Jones was the villain attacking a physically invulnerable hero psychologically. His power was mental and her power was physical. An opposite villain like The Purple Man was perfect for Jessica Jones. It made for a more compelling, dynamic conflict. Previous success of the Netflix Marvel shows led to a little higher expectations.
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The Hammer Tech bullet lacked some suspense as they continued to use the device to threaten Luke Cage. Even in the final conflict, Diamondback comes at Luke Cage with a fist fight. There was more to explore. Black Mariah only scratched the surface with the more interesting, contrasting conflict we were hoping for.
Three: Bring More Ruckus!
Raising Hell
If you're going to go with a physical v. physical conflict, the fight scenes really have to wow. The action left a little to be desired. The battle at the Crispus Attucks complex in series was the jam! The rest of the season was a B-side of MCU Netflix action. It wasn’t bad. Don’t get me wrong. It was was pretty good, but it’s easily in the bottom half of Netflix shows for action. It’s closer to Jessica Jones than either Daredevil for impressive action sequences. The Luke Cage trailers gave us the best action beats but the show never took it to the next level like Daredevil season 1 & 2.
The Diamondback fight just didn’t pack the punch we were hoping for from the show. Going in, we knew it would be a difficult task to find a suitable counter to Luke Cage’s physical powers and stay grounded. Diamondback matched punch for punch, provided personal conflict, but their strength of fist never really impressed. It was a lot of old style practical effects. Not bad, not great. Supplementing with some visual effects and real feats of strength would have been great. Remember, Harlem is where the Incredible Hulk fought the Abomination in an epic scale battle.
It’s pretty clear from Luke Cage that the Netflix budget didn’t include the more expensive CGI. Practical effect dominated the action. Maybe they saved some money to use with Iron Fist. We don't know. Overuse of CGI is something we are cautious towards, preferring weight be given to story, character, and craft. But let’s also be honest, CGI really helps take superhero action to the next level. Watch the Captain America: Civil War behind the scenes of the airport scene vs the final version. It's amazing what they do with CGI to supplement now. Effects in films have never been better and it isn't all CGI - it's craft!
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Luke Cage got away without requiring a bigger budget for effects. They used practical effects well, smashing cars, old school TV style editing - moving from a punch to the guy falling back into the broken car. It worked just fine and we didn’t have any major complaints. But we aren’t touting the amazing action in the series. In fact, we’re a little worried for Iron Fist. Iron Fist just won’t work without effects to show the magical mysticism of his martial arts - especially alongside Daredevil. The trailers do him justice so far but if that is the extent of it, it will definitely be a low point in the series.
Five: Heroes for Hire Need a Pay Raise
Paid in Full
Luke Cage never hit the high notes for a superhero genre show. It felt TOO grounded for us. The action was good but not great. The effects were ok but not outstanding. The show had exceptional style and a good story, but it remained a little bit too ground as a bi-product. The series worked best as more of a cultural, social look at Harlem than it did as a superhero show. We’re fine with that. But, we’re not in awe of the series because of it.
The superhero beats just didn’t impress enough for the show to work equally well on both street level cultural drama and a high octane superhero action show. For instance, arguably the best action beat was rooted significantly by the song choice and style, not necessarily the action.
It just didn’t go far enough to really stand out among excellent Netflix counterparts. Luke Cage made some excellent statements, had some emotional draw, some very human moments, but didn’t resound loudly enough. It sacrificed some of its superhero characteristics to remain a poignant, street level social drama. Where Daredevil has The Punisher and Jessica Jones had Luke Cage, this series didn’t bring anything big. Where Daredevil had The Kingpin and Jessica Jones had The Purple Man as genre-leading villains, Luke Cage had Copperhead, Diamondback, and Black Mariah. The later being the closest to the two previous acclaimed villains. Luke Cage’s hallway scene was the good but still the weakest of the Marvel Netflix shows.
If the show had introduced Iron Fist, pushed Misty toward her superhero status with a robotic arm, added some more impressive and more "super" action, we may be singing a different tune. Luke Cage was good. But the moments it spoke loudest still didn’t resound over previous Netflix/Marvel excellence. Good show, just didn’t stand out.
Now we're ready for Defenders!
We've been Good. 😇 Now, it's time to be Bad. 😈 Complete our latest 5 v 5: ⛓ Luke Cage 👊🏿 with the Bad from the hit show....
