Category Archives: Marvel
6 Comic Super-Villains I Want to Get Solo Movies
It’s my birthday this week (Friday) and so I have decided to do a List of Six that is pure, unadulterated wish fulfillment. I was struggling to come up with a topic that wasn’t just me gushing about how much I love the Green Ranger or Multiple Man. But after hearing about all the positive early reactions to the upcoming Joker movie, I’ve decided to just gush about my favorite comic book super-villains.
Why so serious?
I don’t have any interest in the Joker movie. I’ll go see it, and maybe it’ll be good. But I’ve never cared for the Joker as a character, and I don’t like the attitude surrounding this movie. I am an avowed Marvel fanboy, but this isn’t a Marvel vs. DC thing to me. I’ll gladly watch DC superhero movies and hope they’ll be good. But the buzz around the Joker feels, to me, like people are going to crow that DC can make smart, high brow movies while Marvel is stuck making entertaining blockbusters, and that’s just silly.
Joker also seems to exist to spite traditional superhero movies. Mark Maron seems like a really funny guy — he’s great on GLOW — but I don’t need Mark Maron telling me it’s not proper to love the hell out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
All that being ranted, join me after the jump for six comic book villains who I think could and should get their own solo movie. Morbius definitely wouldn’t be on my list.
Let’s Build the Young Avengers for the Marvel Cinematic Universe
There is no confirmation and very little hinting towards a future Young Avengers team in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But I nonetheless love the idea of taking all of the existing young and young-ish characters in the MCU and putting them together on a team. Obviously I figured Spider-Man would spearhead the team, but that’s probably out of the question (for now).
So just for kicks and giggles, here are the younger characters currently and soon-to-be in the MCU that I think would make a great Young Avengers squad!
Shuri
Is she wearing a lab raincoat?
Movie Shuri was quite different from comic book Shuri when she debuted in Black Panther (though the comics have since changed that), and she was a really cool and fun character in that film. Shuri definitely needs to interact more with characters who aren’t in the immediate Black Panther circle. Look at how much fun she had schooling Bruce Banner in Avengers: Infinity War. I think Shuri and Peter would be great in a room together, but Shuri having any friends outside of her brother would be awesome!
Cassie Lang
Few screenshots available
It remains a crime against humanity than the 5-year time jump in Avengers: Endgame cost actor Abby Ryder Fortson her job as Cassie Lang in the Ant-Man films. She was often the best part of those movies! But the silver lining is that the 5-year jump aged Cassie up to the extent that she can probably now rub shoulders with other teenage and young adult superheroes. Actor Emma Fuhrmann, who played Cassie in Endgame, is hopefully just as good as Fortson and can carry on the family shrinking business. Cassie Lang in the comics has been all manner of size-changing superhero, and that should be a no-brainer for continuing the Ant-Man franchise in the movies.
Harley Keener
They could recreate the movie Boyhood in the MCU
We were all surprised when some random, gangly white boy stood in the crowd at Tony Stark’s funeral, but there he was: the wise-cracking kid from Iron Man 3. It sucks that he went to a mentor’s funeral, but Harley Keener got to rub elbows with superheroes, secret agents and aliens! This random kid got to meet aliens! But why go to the trouble of tracking down actor Ty Simpkins and bringing him back for a single Easter Egg shot if you’re not going to give him more work in the future? I imagine Marvel would love to bring Riri Williams into the MCU to carry on Iron Man’s legacy, but you’ve got Harley Keener right there waiting to suit up!
Kate Bishop
Archery will always be cool
Now we’re getting into the more speculative part of this list, since Kate Bishop has yet to be cast. She was, however, announced to be the focus of an upcoming Hawkeye TV show and that counts for me! I don’t know what Kate will be like on the show, but if she’s anything like comic book Kate Bishop, she will be awesome!
Kamala Khan
I need to see this show
Just like Kate Bishop, Ms. Marvel has only been announced as getting a TV show in the near future. We don’t have any casting. But she’ll be young and she’ll be awesome, so of course she’s gotta be used in the movie Young Avengers!
Am I forgetting anybody? Obviously comic characters like Hulkling, Wiccan and America Chavez would be perfect for this team, but I’m only using characters who are already connected to the MCU. I think this is a nifty group! Making it even better, it would draw characters from both the movies and the upcoming TV shows, so it would cast an even wider net of synergy than the original Avengers film. Granted, such a movie is at least three years out, and some of these actors will be in their 20s by then…but I think it could still work! Nobody said “Young” Avengers needed to be teenagers.
And hopefully Marvel and Sony will have ironed out their Spider-Man plans and Peter Parker can join the team. I am thoroughly disappointed that we’ve yet to get a Peter/Shuri scene anywhere yet.
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Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 8/31/19
Vacation! All I ever wanted! I’m on break from work for the next week and will be heading to a cousin’s wedding in Ocean City, Maryland next weekend. Anybody have any good memories of the place? I’ll still post throughout the week, though, because I’m mostly staying home for my week off. Should be great.
Plenty of good comics this week, from House of X to Power Rangers to the last regular issue in Jason Aaron’s now-legendary Thor run. But Comic Book of the Week goes to the new issue of Runaways for just a delightful issue about teenage crimefighting.
Costumes look great!
Meanwhile, Absolute Carnage is still a pretty cool comic. The second issue is more subdued than the first, but still a quality read. The tie-ins are OK so far. It’s fun seeing the Life Foundation symbiotes active again. Maybe we’ll get a new Hybrid out of this…
Comic Reviews: Captain America #13, House of X #3, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #42, Runaways #24 and Thor #16.
Next Up is How Spider-Man: Far From Home Should Have Ended!
The marathon of fun YouTube videos continues today with a How It Should Have Ended, this time tackling Spider-Man: Far From Home! And they really have some funny alternate endings this time, which is always a plus.
Fun times! I love it best when this channel sticks to its chosen path. I love it best when this channel stays in their lane! That’s right, I said it. You chose your gimmick, you’re stuck with your gimmick!
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Black Knight and U.S. Agent are Coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe
There was a bunch of cool Marvel Cinematic Universe news this weekend at the D23 Disney convention. We now know that Black Panther 2 is coming out in May 2022, for example. And there were some more Eternals cast members named.
But coolest news for me is that Kit Harrington has been cast as the Black Knight in the Eternals movie, and Wyatt Russell has been cast as U.S. Agent in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV show!
How cool is that?
I am loving the fact that so many nifty, smaller Marvel characters are getting cast to actually appear in things. Like David Harbour as the Red Guardian in the Black Widow movie.
Black Knight is an ancient knight from King Arthur times, who wields the Ebony Blade. Harrington is playing Dane Whitman, the modern day incarnation of the Black Knight. He is a longtime Avenger in the comics, though a minor character by far. He should be cool.
I’m more excited about U.S. Agent.
For those who don’t know, the U.S. Agent was the government’s replacement Cap when Steve Rogers abandoned the role back in the 1980s. He’s more of a company man than Rogers, often going to extremes to follow orders and be a good government boy. And it makes total sense in the MCU for the government to want their own replacement Captain America, and to not just let Sam Wilson take over because Steve Rogers said it’s OK.
I hope to see U.S. Agent as a friendly antagonist, someone how is opposed to Falcon and Bucky, but is still on the side of the good guys in the bigger picture. And perhaps they all have to work together in the end to take on Baron Zemo.
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