"I Am Inevitable"

I wanted to steer clear of politics this season, even with the impeachment proceedings and the current articles of impeachment, only the fourth time in our history.  This, however, is an intersection of politics and comic book media that I can't ignore.

House Democrats can push their sham impeachment all they want.

President Trump's re-election is 𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. pic.twitter.com/O7o02S26nS

— Trump War Room (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TrumpWarRoom) December 10, 2019

There are so, so many things to discuss about this.  So many things wrong with this picture.

First, to be clear, this is the official Trump campaign twitter.  Using a doctored video where they have pasted in Trump over Thanos in Avengers: Endgame snapping his fingers to wipe away the Democrats.

I can understand the campaign's impulse.  Endgame was the highest grossing motion picture ever (not adjusted for inflation).  And the "I am inevitable" line works with their idea that Trump 2020 is a foregone conclusion.

They may have wanted to watch the actual movie, though, before committing to the spot.

Thanos was the bad guy.  The ultimate villain.  Who committed genocide and wiped out half of the universe's population with the snap of his fingers.  Those people who were dusted were the heroes.

Maybe not the comparison you want to be making to your candidate.

Then again, there are those who are already drawing those parallels.

To me, it's really striking that the emotional apex of the film is Thanos and his forces staring down a lone figure draped in the flag, who refuses to give up the fight.

Shoot, even they would have read the comics, they may have discovered Thanos is a complex villain obsessed with Death and usually defeated by his own ego.  Again, not the comparison that Trump's team may want, but perhaps the most fitting comparison.

I'll close with the thoughts of Jim Starlin, the creator of Thanos for Marvel in old issues of Iron Man.

"After my initial feeling of being violated, seeing that pompous fool using my creation to stroke his infantile ego, it finally struck me that the leader of my country and the free world actually enjoys comparing himself to a mass murder," Starlin said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.  "How sick is that? These are sad and strange times we are going through.  Fortunately all things, even national nightmares, eventually come to an end."

It's not the first time Trump has praised or compared himself to a dictator.  It likely will not be the last.  But it definitely makes for sad and strange times, indeed.

Avengers: Endgame - The Review

Well, when they said Endgame they meant it.

I have to say the film is amazing.  Especially as an encapsulation of 11 years worth of storytelling.  The gamble of putting a cameo at the end of the credits in Iron Man back in 2008 to say the words "Avengers Initiative" worked and worked spectacularly.  This film is a love letter to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe that has been created and to the fans that have supported it.

It's beautiful to see how it pays off moments in the comics and where it diverges from them.  The strength of the MCU has always been in taking the best of what works in the comics and staying true to it, but not being afraid to make their own twists and turns along the way.

I cried two and a half times.  I audibly cheered and punched the air for at least one moment.  In short, this was exactly the movie that I was waiting for.

Is it the greatest movie ever put to film?  No.  But that is not what it is striving to be.  This is the bookend to the first chapter of the Marvel Universe.  And it ends with a bang.

A few scattered thoughts:

• This is definitely not a place to start watching Marvel movies.  If you have never seen another Marvel movie, you will be very lost.
• There is one moment that fans have been waiting for since 2012.  This was the fist pump moment.
• There is another moment that is a payoff for a bit from 2015.
• There are so many nods to everything throughout the MCU.
• These actors are on the top of their game.  There are so many nuanced emotions displayed on the screen.  There are a couple that are masterclass moments in how to display emotion.  In particular Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, and Jon Favreau.
• There is finally a cameo from the television series and its quite unexpected and perfect.
• The best things about this film is that every development is driven by character.  The moments that pay off are defined by character development.
• This film is chock full of cameos and many surprising cameos.
• Stan Lee's final cameo is great.
• It's a great decision not to have a stinger in the credits.  It means this is a closing of a chapter.
• The new status quo is interesting.  And in the grand Marvel tradition, they've given themselves enough wiggle-room for everything to stick or to change depending on where they want to go.
• The movie is long, but doesn't feel it.  There is so much packed in this movie, that it keeps moving and shifting at a brisk pace.
• The payoff is incredible.  It moves from one of my favorite shots in the MCU ever, to an epic battle on a scale that has not been shown before.

I still can't believe they did it.  

I'm glad they did.  And I'm ready to see it again.

Avengers: Endgame Superlatives (No Spoilers, No Review Just Background)

As mentioned yesterday, tonight's the night.  I'm finally going to get to see Avengers: Endgame.  Jamie is itching for me to see it so we can talk about it.  Avalyn did really good as well not talking about anything she saw, though she wanted to.

It's amazing to think what this movie represents.  It is the culmination of the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far.  This is the 22nd film in the saga.  The end of three phases of the Marvel movies.  The conclusion of 11 years of storytelling.  This truly is the modern Star Wars phenomenon.

These are the movies that catapulted geek/nerd culture into the forefront of pop culture.  The ones that made Stan Lee a household name.  That led to three network television show spinoffs, five Netflix programs, one Hulu program, and one Freeform program, as well as various cartoons, comics, books and games.

And so far from the reviews, the movie is living up to the weight of expectations that are put on it.  Endgame has a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 91% audience score.  It has even managed an impressive A+ on Cinema Score.  The general consensus is that this is a movie that has been worth the wait.

Here are just a few of the superlatives Endgame has earned in its opening weekend alone:

• Biggest Domestic Opening of All Time - At $357.1 million (beating the previous record holder by nearly $100 million)
• Biggest International Opening of All Time - $866.5 million (doubling the previous record holder)
• Biggest Worldwide Opening of All Time - $1.224 billion
• Opening at No. 17 on the All-Time Worldwide Box office chart - and climbing
• Largest Thursday Previews - $60 million
• Largest Single Day Gross - $157.4 million
• Largest Opening Day Gross - $157.4 million
• Largest Friday Gross - $157.4 million
• Largest Saturday Gross - $109.3 million
• Largest Sunday Gross - $90.4 million
• Fastest Movie to Earn $1 billion - Reaching the milestone in just FIVE days
• Widest Release of all time - 4,662 theaters
• Widest Opening Release
• Widest PG-13 Release
• Highest Theater Average - at $76,601 per theater
• Biggest Three Day Gross
• Biggest Opening Weekend in April
• Biggest Spring Opening
• Biggest Global 4DX Opening
• Biggest Global 3D Opening
• Biggest IMAX Opening
• Biggest Opening Weekend in Multiple International Markets
• China
• United Kingdom
• Mexico
• Australia
• Germany
• India
• Brazil
• France
• Italy
• the Philippines
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Spain
• Japan
• Hong Kong
• Taiwan

The people have spoken and have done so loudly.  Needless to say, Disney and Marvel are quite pleased at the love that has been shown to this film.

Just a little under an hour now.  Can't wait to see this film and to come back here tomorrow and share my thoughts.  

What a great time to be a nerd!

Marvel Week, Year 2

With the latest Avengers movie kicking off this past weekend (and doing phenomenally), I'm officially kicking off Marvel week, year 2 today.

I'll have more specific thoughts on the hype and metrics surrounding Avengers: Endgame tomorrow and my thoughts on the movie specifically Wednesday (as spoiler free as possible), but wanted to provide a baseline for the week today.

I have been collecting comics basically continually since 1996.  It was Marvel's Heroes Reborn that got me to start my first pull-list at Book Stan' II Comics & Games in Beaumont.  From that point on, every week there was a new collection of comics in my box ready for the devouring.

Though I have read a variety of publishers and comics, my favorites were always Marvel Comics, particularly the Avengers and Marvel Heroes families of titles.  Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Fantastic Four.  The original stable of Stan and Jack titles.  After Heroes Reborn and Heroes Return came Marvel Knights with new interests.  Daredevil, Inhumans, and Black Panther.   And though I have changed formats (digital on an iPad is so much easier than keeping up with multiple longboxes of comics), the love of comics remains.

All that pre-face to say, I am a True Believer and a diehard Marvel Zombie.  If they were options when I was a kid, I would have been a member of the Merry Marvel Marching Society or a Friend of Old Marvel (FOOM).  I cannot wait to see this movie tomorrow night!  Jamie and Avalyn got to see it today and I've sworn them to secrecy.  After all, Thanos still demands our silence.

As a kid reading comics, I could not have imagined this point.  The point where the geek culture becomes pop culture.  Where it's no longer niche.  Where we no longer have to settle for the Generation X pilot on Fox or the Bill Bixby Incredible Hulk tv movies for team ups with a viking Thor and a off-model Daredevil.

These characters are woven into my DNA.  And to see the world that has always been there up in my head as a comic reader up on the big screen is incredibly exciting.

Plus, it has been gratifying to see the people involved in the films seem to actually be enjoying it.  To be a great theater company that has made the most of this universe, has made us a part, and has started to live up to their roles.  To see Chris Evans go from being kind of a goofy teen actor to starting to embody Captain America on and off set because he recognizes the power of his role has been a joy to see.

So throughout the week, I'm going to dig into that love.  Exploring this specific movie and the Marvel Universe in general.  To talk about geek culture. And to celebrate my part in it.

Excelsior!

Avengers: Infinity War

I have been collecting comics since 1996.  It was Heroes Reborn that got me to start my first pull-list at Book Stan' II Comics & Games in Beaumont.  From that point on, every week there was a new collection of comics in my box ready for the devouring.

Though I have read a variety of publishers and comics, my favorites were always Marvel Comics, particularly the Avengers and Marvel Heroes families of titles.  Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Fantastic Four.  The original stable of Stan and Jack titles.  After Heroes Reborn and Heroes Return came Marvel Knights with new interests.  Daredevil, Inhumans, and Black Panther.   And though I have changed formats (digital on an iPad is so much easier than keeping up with multiple longboxes of comics), the love of comics remains.

So as you can imagine, I am very excited for today.  Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters.  The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been nothing short of amazing.  From a gamble on Iron Man which literally determined the fate of the company to now where there are multiple blockbusters guaranteed each year, it has been an incredible journey.

I don't know what to expect from Infinity War.  I know it's going to vary greatly from its source material, as I am pretty sure Marvel is not going to let the bad guy win and destroy everyone, only to be brought down by his own inferiority complex.  I know it will have terrific performances.  The real strength to the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been its casting.  This is also something that has never really been tried.  At one point in production, the team was juggling sixty-seven characters.  I'm curious just to see how well that worked out.  I'm fully expecting the Marvel touches of humor and character moments.  I'm ready for the stingers.  I'm ready for Stan Lee.

I'm excited for this movie to simply exist.  It represents such a big part of my life, I'm just glad to be along for the ride.  Here's hoping I get to rave about it.

And, since this is a Marvel post, of course it has to have a Stan Lee cameo.

Nerd points achieved - July 2012

 Excelsior, true believers!