Tag / Marvel

by WetheGeek

The Soviet Avengers

Black Widow 2020 Part Two

In my last post I talked about the Red Guardian and his ties to the Black Widow and the movie coming out next year. In this post I’m going to talk about his team, the Winter Guard.

The Winter Guard was Soviet Russia’s answer to the Avengers. The team has had a rotating roaster since it’s creation that has mostly been a force for good. The team has been backup and help for the Avengers and other superheroes multiple times over the years.

The team first appeared in Iron Man #9 in October 1998. The team was created by Kurt Busiek and Sean Chen. They created a team that believed in doing good and helping others unlike other soviet superhero teams like Soviet Super-Soldiers or the Supreme Soviets.

The team has a rotating roster but it’s three key players are the Red Guardian (Soviet Captain America), Crimson Dynamo (Soviet Iron Man), and Darkstar (Super Mutant). Every time one of the three heroes dies another citizen is chosen to take up the dead heroes mantle. Thus Russia is never without a hero.

The team has also had members.

Ursa Major who is a mutant who can turn into a bear (a cross between Wolverine and Hulk).

Vostok who is a robot who can control machines (like Vision).

Chernobog who is the Slavic god of chaos and night (a cross between Loki and Cloak)

Perun who is the Slavic god of thunder and lightning (like Thor).

Fantasma who is a sorceress (like Scarlet Witch).

Powersurge who is a nuclear fueled giant (like Hulk).

And Sibercat who is a catlike mutant (like Cheetah from DC comics).

Hopefully we will see the three mainstays of the Winter Guard in Black Widow next year. Maybe if we are lucky we can see more Russian heroes.

-RytheGeek

#blackwidow #redguardian #crimsondynamo #darkstar #russia #sovietunion #marvel #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

From Soviet Russia with Love

Black Widow 2020

Even with my overall disappointment in the MCU news from Comic Con 2019 we did learn some interesting details about the new Black Widow movie.

First we learned that the time frame will not be in the late 90s as previously thought but probably take place between Captain America Civil War and Avengers Infinity War.

We also learned that David Harbour (Stranger Things and Hellboy 2019) will be not only in this movie but will be playing Alexei Shostakov aka the Red Guardian. This casting is definitely exciting news.

But Ry, who is the Red Guardian?

Glad you asked. The Red Guardian was the USSRs answer to Captain America. He worked as an agent and test pilot for the KGB. While training to be a spy he was inducted into Russia’s Super Solider Program to take up the mantle of the Red Guardian. He would become Russia’s second Guardian and one of the best well known.

The KGB faked his death to keep his identity hidden from everyone, including his wife Natasha Romanova aka the Black Widow. After his “death” he was trained in a very similar way to Captain America. Going so far as to also have a metallic throwing disk on his belt which could return to him. Even after Black Widow defected to the US and SHIELD the Red Guardian stayed loyal to the USSR and Russia. Only after several battle with the Guardian and the Winter Guard (I’ll come back to them) did the Black Widow realize her husband was still alive.

The Guardian goes into hiding after another “death” and becomes a high ranking member of the Bulgarian mafia. Black Widow with help from the Avengers stops and arrests Red Guardian sending him to jail.

Stay tuned in part two for the history of the Russian Avengers, The Winter Guard!

-RytheGeek

#blackwidow #marvel #redguardian #strangerthings #hellboy #winterguard #sovietrussia #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

Spider-Man a swinging Success

Spider-Man Far From Home

I’m going to split this into two parts. The first will be a spoiler free review, then the ending will be spoilers and talking about what the end credit scenes mean.

It’s the second best movie of the year, so far. I gave it an easy 9/10. Once again Marvel created a very compelling villain out of a nobody in the comics. I was blown away by how thought out the story was. FFH deals astonishingly well with the aftermath of “the snap” and “the blip” as they are commonly referred to in the movies.

The plot follows Peter Parker going on a class trip to Europe. He just wants to be a normal teen and leave the hero life behind. All doesn’t go as planned though because Nick Fury needs Peter’s help in fighting giant elemental monsters. Together the new hero Mysterio and Spider-Man team up to take down the monsters.

**Spoilers**

Mysterio is the villain. I was disappointed he wasn’t a dimension hopping new age hero but they did a fantastic job with him anyway. I was extremely impressed with the character design and arc. It was well thought out. The way he goes from wanna be hero to evil mastermind was great and reminded me of DCs Reverse Flash in many ways.

Spider-Man also was once again well done. I appreciated the friendship he has with Happy Hogan finally. After Homecoming and now the death of Tony Peter needs a friend. The two new suits Peter gets are amazing and I’m excited to see more of them in the future.

My biggest issue with FFH is that Mysterio is another person slighted by Stark that turns to villainy. It’s super overplayed at this point. Ultron, Vulture, Whiplash, Iron Monger, Killian, and now Mysterio. Mysterio was fired for a legitimate reason, he was emotionally unstable and wouldn’t seek help. I think Marvel definitely needs to find a new villain origin story.

-RytheGeek

#spiderman #farfromhome #ironman #happyhogan #moviereview #review #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

The Death of Comic Book Movies

I’m just going to say it. As a Marvel fanboy this pains me but the truth needs to be said.

The MCU Phase 4 looks stupid.

I don’t care about boring Disney+ shows on how Wanda and Vision could have lived. Nor do I care about Falcon and Bucky telling War stories about Cap. I certainly don’t care about the wicked witch joining the MCU. And most of all I don’t care about who loves who in a comic book movie. We don’t need another boring “Martha” scene or campy phoned in love story like most of the MCU. Just leave that to the romcoms.

I don’t really understand or care where any of this is going. There is t a big bad. The X-men and Fantastic Four aren’t being introduced and the best part looks to be a Blade reboot. Everything else looks unimpressive or just plain dumb (looking at you “Love and Thunder”).

We don’t need a horror superhero movie. No one would have liked New Mutants anyway. So why make Doctor Strange 2 horror?

Give us the X-men, the FF, Sinister 6, Asguardians of the Galaxy! Give us something good. Not pandering and useless throwback movies like Black Widow. Give us the Inhumans like we were promised and not that terrible show. Give us Venom vs Spider-Man! Give us something the comics again. Not senseless pandering.

-RytheGeek

#marvel #phase4 #blackwidow #falconandwintersolider #eternals #thor4 #loveandthunder #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

Theory for the End

My theory and what I was right and what I messed up.

Immediately after Captain Marvel came out I made a theory about how Endgame would go down. It was a little out there for some people and most ignored it. But I have to say something.

I was right. About some major plot points.

While my Captain Marvel Theory was a bit outlandish and far fetched I think my Endgame Theory was much more grounded. The LEGO sets, other toys, IMDb page, and trailers gave me a lot and helped with what I knew.

So without further ado let’s get down to it.

Endgame will focus on two things, avenging the fallen and trying to get them back. For those who have watched infinity war that seems pretty obvious. They are the Avengers after all.

“As we last saw them Tony and Nebula are the only survivors on Titan. They have extremely limited resources being so far from earth. The ship Tony got to Titan on was destroyed. The only ship left is probably what’s left of a battle damaged Benatar. Nebula would be the obvious choice as pilot since this is Tony’s first time being in space (not counting the missile in Avengers 1). In the trailers it appears that the duo get stranded. From loose reports online all the footage we have seen is from the first half hour of a three hour movie.”

That was all pretty much correct. While I didn’t know how they would get back, I did understand that their struggle in space would be over quickly. I didn’t see Captain Marvel rescuing them because quite frankly that seemed too easy.

“While the duo is stuck the rest of the Avengers (Captain America, War Machine, Black Widow, Thor, and Hulk) have returned to Avengers compound in Upstate New York. Rocket is strangely missing from the cast. Having only met Thor before I’m not surprised if he goes off on his own to try to find Groot. We see at the end of Captain Marvel that the remaining Avengers have managed to get their hands on Fury’s PDA. Black Widow seems to have become the de facto leader since the dusting of Fury and Tony’s disappearance. Captain Marvel arrives in search of Fury and probably learns of the dusting. She has been off stopping the Kree/Skrull War for the past 30 years and helping other planets. The Earth team gets word from Tony and help save him and Nebula. Specifically Black Widow, Rocket, Thor, and a very depressed Hawkeye. This information is curtsey of the new LEGO sets. Hawkeye probably loses his entire family to “the snap” and has since become a very dark vigilante in search of revenge and answers.”

I was completely wrong about Thor. Dude got fat. And lazy. And really depressed. It wasn’t Rocket who left the team, but Thor. I also didn’t see the killing of Thanos happening at all. That was new to me. I nailed Black Widow being in charge and running the show. I didn’t know she would run the “new SHIELD” but I still knew she would be important. I also saw the dark Hawkeye plot a mile out. That one was pretty easy.

“After the entire team is finally on earth, Antman escapes the Quantum Realm and meets up with the team. Rocket, Tony, Scott, and Bruce come up with a way to use the Quantum Realm to time travel. The team wants to put together an infinity gauntlet before Thanos does or at the very least try to destroy the infinity stones before they are completely assembled. Captain America, Tony, Scott, and Rocket travel into the past to try to prevent the future.”

While I was wrong about the time travel teams, I nailed the reasoning, they wanted their own gauntlet. I 100% aced that. Even weeks before the movie.

“Why these four? First I think Rocket because of the suit we see him in, in the trailers. It looks very reminiscent of his comic suit which could be before he joined the Guardians. The other three we have seen in early set photos wearing a small device on their hands that could be related to time travel. IMDb further confirms my suspicion of at least Tony and Steve time traveling in having casted Ty Simpkins again as Harley Keener, the kid from Iron Man 3 and Frank Grillo as Crossbones from Civil War and Winter Solider. LEGO goes on to solidify Tony going back to Iron Man 3 with the “Hall or Armors”. We see one specific suit we haven’t seen before or since that movie, the blue heavy lifting suit, Mark 38, (or as I call it HulkBuster Jr). We know Tony goes back in his current suit (Mark 50) because once again LEGO told us.”

All of this was wrong. My bad.

“The time travel goes on because Tilda is set to reprise her role as the Ancient One. We can guess this is sometime in the 70s because of the extras on IMDb. This is well before Doctor Strange but presumably she still has the time stone to make this time travel easier.”

While I was wrong about when they would see Tilda, I was dead on about needing the time stone from her. So some minor credit there.

“We also have rumors of Katherine Langford casted as Scott Lang’s teenage daughter. There is some possibility that Katherine and Ty become heroes in the future and that’s why Antman is part of the time traveling team. We get to go to the past and the future in attempts to stop the snap from ever happening.”

So technically Scott did go into the future. But the entire movie did too. It wasn’t just him. So in a small way I was kind right?

“That’s about where my theory ends. I’m not really sure what act 3 will be. From the LEGOs I surmise that the final battle will be at Avengers compound. We haven’t seen much about it and that makes sense. The Russo Brothers are being very quiet about it.”

Once again I got something right. I saw the final fight being not only on earth but at Avengers Compound. While I didn’t see the Nebula doppelgänger plot happening, I did know where it would all end.

“With Spider-Man 2 coming out in July we also know everyone who was dusted comes back. We see Peter and Fury alive and well post Infinity War. Sadly it appears Tony doesn’t make it out of Endgame. We don’t see him mentoring Peter at all and that is depressing.”

I hate admitting I was right about Tony. I had a bad feeling he wouldn’t make it out and I was dead on. Tough.

And that’s how I was right about some of the biggest Endgame spoilers.

-RytheGeek

#avengersendgame #avengers #endgame #theory #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

Phase 4 and Beyond: A Mini Series (Future Projects?)

Phase 4 and Beyond: A mini series

Part-3

Beyond Phase 4:

With the main MCU characters covered we can discuss what they still can bring to the table and what has yet to be included.

The X-men:

According to the almighty Kevin there are no official plans to include the X-men into the MCU yet. This isn’t a surprise since the last horrible Fox X-men movies are finally hitting theaters this summer. Maybe after a few years and the atrocities that were that franchise die out of the collective memory we can finally have some good mutants. Maybe if we are lucky we can get a decent Quicksilver in the MCU too.

Deadpool:

The one exception to this mutant ban is Deadpool. It appears the MCU is headlining this character so much so that he is already on the Disney+ main advertising banner. It has also been said by Bob Iger that they will not be toning Deadpool down. Hopefully that’s true.

The Fantastic Four:

Just like the X-men there are currently no plans on how they are going to bring the first superhero family into the MCU. Hopefully it will happen soon.

The Defenders:

After their brief stint on Netflix, Disney has taken back the rights to these heroes. The sad thing is they probably won’t appear in the MCU anytime soon. Netflix has put a hefty penalty of Disney uses the characters within two years of their cancellations. Maybe New York won’t be so safe, for now, but someday our street level heroes will return.

A-Force:

With the surprise glimpse of a possible all female Avengers team in Endgame, it’s no surprise fans are demanding an A-Force movie. There are no official plans as of yet and with Gwyneth Paltrow resigning from the MCU we know Rescue will not be part of the team. That’s not saying it won’t happen but without Rescue or Black Widow the team will definitely be missing something.

Iron Man:

With the passing of Tony at the end of Endgame we all cried a little. And with his death leaves a giant hole in most of our hearts. While his time is currently over in the MCU I highly doubt the character is done. Like in any good comic book, the best heroes never stay dead.

Captain America:

While not dead in the MCU, it does appear the current Captain is done. The mantle has already been passed on and honestly I don’t think that’s the end of Steve quite yet. Only time will tell.

This mini series ended up being much longer than I expected. But at least it gives Marvel fans things to look forward to.

-RytheGeek

#defenders #aforce #xmen #fantasticfour #deadpool #ironman #captainamerica #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

Blind Angry Giant?

The Green Goliath Problem

Someone explain to me why Hulk was wearing glasses in Endgame? I get that Banner and Hulk finally like went Super sayan or whatever but seriously why is Hulk blind? I understand Banner had glasses but in those 18 months in the gamma lab or whatever why couldn’t he fix that too?

Or maybe there is something bigger going on here?

Could it be that Hulk has always needed glasses? That he has been blind this entire time?!? Maybe that’s why he is so angry! The Hulk just couldn’t see anything and that’s why he just smashes stuff!

Just something to think about.

-RytheGeek

#hulk #theincrediblehulk #theotherguy #avengers #endgame #marvel #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

Phase 4 and Beyond: A Mini Series (Disney+ Shows)

Phase 4 and Beyond: A mini series

Part-2

Phase 4 continues with a slew of shows coming to Disney+ this year. Let’s look at what these shows mean for the larger MCU.

Disney+:

With the announcement of the Disney streaming’s service going live in November of 2019 we also have had a bunch of MCU shows that are coming to the small screen.

Loki: It appears that besides stealing the tesseract in Endgame, Loki has also managed to avoid character death, for now. Tom will reprise his role in the live action show as the god of mischief. The show is rumored to take place throughout history, so this may be the Endgame tie in we all wanted.

Lady Sif: Speaking of Asgardians, it appears the character from the Thor series no one asked about is back. Rumor has it she is getting her own show. Nothing I can find is 100% confirmed but maybe we will get to see more of New Asgard and Queen Valkyrie.

Wanda/Vision: It appears no one can stay dead in the MCU. This creepy couple will be getting their own show with a very 50s vibe (I’m not saying it’s in the 50s). It would make sense this is after Civil War and before Infinity War but other than that we don’t know a whole lot other than it should drop when Disney+ does. I’m still convinced this is just a grown up version of Wanda and Cosmo from Fairly Odd Parents.

Falcon and Winter Solider: It seems Captain America’s sidekicks will be teaming up and making their own show. This show seems to be after Endgame since it’s the only time they are both alive or not frozen. Maybe we could see Bucky teaching Falcon to be the new Captain America. My hopes are high for this show.

“What If” series:

Just like the comics it appears that Disney+ will be doing a live action “what if” series. The first story they are telling is what if Peggy Carter was Captain America. This series looks to be set in the past and won’t affect the main continuity of the MCU. But it is a fun idea I’m excited for.

This has been the new shows coming out over the next few years. Stay tuned for Part 3 of our Phase 4 and Beyond mini series!

-RytheGeek

#disneyplus #loki #wandavision #falcoln #wintersolider #whatif #peggycarter #disney #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

Phase 4 and Beyond: A Mini Series (All the future movies)

Phase 4 and Beyond: A mini series

Part-1

The MCU is far from slowing down, even without its fearless leaders from phases 1-3. With the fallout of Endgame, the future is what’s up in the air. So let’s take a look at what we know and what could be.

Phase 3 Ending:

Even though many of us assumed Phase 3 would end with Endgame, we were all wrong. According to the boss himself, Kevin Feige, Spider-Man Far From Home is the final movie. With Tony Starks death, we know Peter doesn’t have a mentor anymore. It appears Nick Fury will fill those shoes. Maybe with the help of Peter, Fury will issue in a new SHIELD. Details are sketchy so far, so I guess we will have to wait till July.

Phase 4:

Black Widow:

Even though she sacrificed herself in Endgame, we already know a solo movie for her is in the works. The rumor is Taskmaster will be the main villain. Personally I’m hoping this takes place between Infinity War and Endgame but there are no official reports as of yet.

Doctor Strange:

A sequel for the title character was rumored and subsequently confirmed a while back. The first Doctor Strange movie left us on a bit of a cliff hanger. It seems Mordo is a serial killer, who only kills magicians, and is still on the loose. Strange and Wong also appear to be the only two characters left who would rather use reason and logic before punching people, the only adults in the room, so we will see how it plays out.

Black Panther:

We last see the Panther clan happy and all together after Endgame in a new and thriving Wakanda. There isn’t much on the sequel other than we know it’s happening.

Guardians of the Galaxy:

This movie thankfully has its original director back and Disney has calmed down about James Gunn. Sadly we know this movie won’t be ready till after Suicide Squad 2, so like 2021-2022. Also our rogue group of heroes have changed since we saw them last. At the end of Endgame Thor, the fat god of washed up frat boys, has joined the team. We have much of the original Guardians with a few exceptions. The Gamora we know is dead. The current one we have was plucked out of the past and has zero, absolutely no feelings for Starlord. Endgame makes that very clear. Nebula is also somehow still alive, even though she shot her past self, so there may be repercussions for that. Otherwise the rest of the team was as it was before Infinity War.

The Eternals:

All we know currently is that Angelina Jolie wants to torment the MCU with her presence. Not a lot is know about this movie, but with the MCU taking on a more cosmic side, we definitely know these characters fit.

Captain Marvel:

With only the box office intake to base anything off of, a sequel wouldn’t be that much of a surprise. Since Captain Marvel makes a like 10 minute appearance in Endgame, she can literally be saving the universe anywhere else.

This has been the main movies coming out over the next few years. Stay tuned for Part 2 of our Phase 4 and Beyond mini series!

-RytheGeek

#marvel #avengers #endgame #spiderman #blackwidow #doctorstrange #blackpanther #guardiansofthegalaxy #captainmarvel #wethegeek #wethegeekry

by WetheGeek

A love letter to Marvel

I love you 3000

The first Marvel movie I saw in theaters was Avengers back in 2012. I was 15. I actually didn’t even see it in a theater, I went to the drive in. I didn’t go to the movies a lot growing up, usually I just went to the library and rented new movies. Avengers changed all that. Since then I haven’t missed a single Marvel movie in theaters. That includes Deadpool or the X-men or anything in the MCU. I’ve seen them all.

I love the MCU for one reason, Iron Man.

Never before have I related on a fictional character as much as I do Tony Stark. It’s not because I’m wealthy or a super genius. Far from both. But just like him, over the past few years I’ve had the same character arc. From arrogant jerk to loving passionate defender.

The MCU has revolved around Tony Stark more than any other character. The first movie was Iron Man. The last of the Infinity Saga is his death. He was the star of the MCU and it’s not hard to see that.

In Iron Man we meet Tony Stark. He is a rich, arrogant, selfish, playboy who cares about no one. Throughout the eight movies we see him in we watch him lose his company, his health, his loved ones, his sanity, and more importantly himself. He struggles with it all. I haven’t suffered quite what he has but I understand in some small way what it’s like.

Avengers Endgame was by far the best MCU movie. Not only did it have obscure comic book references like Howard the Duck but it also had the humor that is quintessential of the MCU.

The special effects were vivid and lifelike. The dialogue was humorous yet depressing. The actors made you feel like you were there in every second.

It made me want more.

And in the end I watched my hero give it all for something else believed in.

The people he loves.

-RytheGeek

#avengers #marvel #endgame #ironman #tonystark #wethegeek #wethegeekry