I saw Black Panther on Thursday night.
Two thumbs up! Wakanda all the way! Is T’Challa the greatest monarch to join the Avengers? Yup! (Sorry, Thor!) I loved the movie as a solid representative of the superhero movie genre.
And from a diversity and inclusion perspective, I loved it. Why should a white guy be so excited for this rich African hero?
Read on!
Filed under Essays
Back in January I served up a steaming hot helping of Fan Theory related to the Marvel Living Universe. (MLU? It’s my term and a better one than “Marvel Cinematic Universe”. I mentioned it here.) Minor spoilers ahead for The Avengers and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Still with me? Excellent! Let’s get our geek on!
Holy cow! I just watched Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.‘s episode “The Magical Place” (season 1, episode 11; air date January 7, 2014)- and I need to talk about this! If you’ve already seen the episode, read on. If not, go watch it and come back. Seriously- don’t let me ruin anything for you. We’ll wait…
OK- you’ve been warned- SPOILERS and some geekdom ahead…
Darkness is my shield. Even now, poised in the midst of the city around me, the shadows protect me. Those whom I might hunt, pass me unaware. For this is my city, and the night is mine.
I am the Wraith.
I feel the energy of an active city moving around me. Gazing down at the street, from my perch, I watch a myriad of nameless citizens swept along in the tide of their own making. Always separated from the herd, I am yet drawn to it. My desire to be as one of them visceral but unconsummated. I want to be part of that energy.
But my mission demands otherwise. For this is my city, and the night is mine.
*********
Filed under Fiction
… surprise- won’t be found in the latest movie!
A few days ago, I saw The Wolverine with my two comrades-in-geekdom. As I mentioned a while back, I had high hopes for this movie. From an early perspective, it looked like the newest movie’s story was based on a four issue mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 1982 written by Chris Claremont and pencilled by Frank Miller. These two guys are geniuses. Chris Claremont wrote X-Men for 17 years. Seriously. “Days of Future Past”- the storyline that the newest X-men movie is based on- that’s his, among a bunch of other equally epic ones. (The Brood, anyone?) Frank Miller was one of the artists that brought the pre-Giuliani grit of New York City to comics. Along the way, he also redefined Daredevil, cemented Batman’s eternal coolness in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and brought to life the epic last stand at Thermopylae in 300.
Sadly, the movie only skims the surface of the 1982 mini-series. It takes some characters and scenes but ignores the theme of the story. It is that theme that makes the story epic and the topic of this post. This is not a review of The Wolverine. A few moments on Google will find you a boatload of those reviews. Instead, let’s take a look at what Hollywood chose to ignore in that 1982 mini-series.
Fair warning- some minor SPOILERS for the movie below.
TMPinSYR 