Weekly MCU Review for September 9

Another week, and more MCU news!  Still not all that much news to report since Inhumans will not begin on ABC for another few weeks and we still have a couple months until Thor: Ragnarok.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Post-Credits Scenes

Image Courtesy marvel.wikia.com

This article is going to be fairly brief.  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 includes no less than five post-credits scenes, all of which contribute something to our understanding of where the MCU is going to go in the future, particularly as things start turning in a more cosmic direction.  In this article I will look at the five post-credits scenes (something that’s already been done a few times) and what they may mean for both Avengers: Infinity War and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as well as any other upcoming cosmic adventures.

Obviously there are spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Weekly MCU Review for 8/20

Another week, and more MCU news!  A bunch of little bits of news for everything, along with the major bomb that The Runaways is coming to Hulu.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Guardians of the Galaxy RETRO-REVIEW

Image Courtesy marvel.wikia.com

I remember when this movie was first announced.  I wasn’t really up on Marvel Comics, though I could vaguely remember reading about a team of heroes from the future led by a human astronaut who underwent body modifications and carried Captain America’s shield.  After Guardians of the Galaxy was announced, I went back and looked up the team and discovered a newer version of the team with a talking tree and a raccoon.

“Psh,” I thought.  “There’s no way Marvel’s going to try to make us buy a talking raccoon and an anthropomorphic tree when they could have a somewhat more realistic concept like the last survivors of several alien races teaming up with a human to prevent any other races from being destroyed.”

Oh, how wrong I was.

Then I thought there was no way that a raccoon voiced by Bradley Cooper, a tree that sounds like Vin Diesel, and the funny guy from Parks and Recreation could actually succeed and make sense as part of a world where the craziest thing to-date is the Hulk.

Again:  Oh, how wrong I was.

Weekly MCU Review for 7/30

Another week, and more MCU news!  Comic-Con concluded this week, so we've got a lot of new stuff to talk about.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

How Do We Define a "Tie-In"?

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AgentsofShield

In talking about Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and its connections with other media (particularly the movies), it has occurred to me that I use the words “tie-in” and “crossover” without really defining them.  And considering how frequently we talk about “tie-ins” and “crossovers” between Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the movies, it’s a pretty good bet that I’m not the only one who uses them in a number of different ways.  This can be confusing!

So partly to help myself out—and partly to help everyone else out—let’s take some time to define some terms when it comes to “tie-ins” and “crossovers.”  Next week I will apply these terms in talking about possible tie-ins/crossovers with the movies coming out during season 4 of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:  Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Before we get started, remember that these are the definitions I’m using; I’m not saying this is what we have to use.  Though you’re welcome to adopt them for yourself!

San Diego Comic-Con 2016 RESULTS

Image Courtesy www.comic-con.org

So another San Diego Comic-Con has come and gone.  If you recall, last week I posted my expectations for the MCU presentations at Comic-Con.  Let’s see how I did!  In some ways I was spot-on, but there were a few places I missed.

Last year Marvel Studios didn’t even go to Comic-Con, so there really wasn’t a ton of stuff to report.  This year, I think they were trying to make up for lost time, because they gave us a lot of new stuff to talk about!

San Diego Comic-Con 2016 EXPECTATIONS

Image Courtesy www.comic-con.org

Today is the beginning of San Diego Comic-Con!  Over the next several days we will get tons of information about our favorite upcoming movies, TV shows, comic books, and the like.  It has already been confirmed that the upcoming Marvel movies, Luke Cage, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. will be there this year, so let’s talk about what we expect to get from Marvel Studios.  I’m going to focus primarily on the Marvel Studios productions for this, though I may add in a few thoughts for Justice League and the like.

Weekly MCU Review for 7/16

Another week, and more MCU news!  Not a lot of MCU stuff, but some exciting news about Star Wars Rebels this week!  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Weekly MCU Review for 7/9

Another week, and more MCU news!  Not a ton of new information, though the Doctor Strange prequel comic came out.  Oh, and Hikaru Sulu came out, too!  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Weekly MCU Review for 6/25

Another week, and more MCU news!  Some new Spider-Man: Homecoming news, a lot of new Star Trek stuff, and a little other stuff to tide us over.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Weekly MCU Review for 6/18

Another week, and more MCU news!  Guardians wrapped filming, Spider-Man cast a half-dozen more actors, and we’re a little closer to Comic-Con.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Weekly MCU Review for 4/30

Another week, and more MCU news!  The Punisher got ordered to series, Captain America: Civil War opened internationally, and we've gotten some news about the movies following Civil War.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Weekly MCU Review for 4/16

Another week, and more MCU news!  Marvel must have noticed how little news I had last week and decided to release as much news as possible, because there was a ton of news!  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Weekly MCU Review for 3/13

Another week, and more MCU news!  Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returned this week, a new Captain America: Civil War trailer debuted this week, and Luke Cage received a release date.  Oh, and Daredevil is just one week away!  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Marvel's Civil War: The Movie Tie-In Possibilities

Image Courtesy www.comicbook.com

Two weeks ago, I made the case that Captain America: Civil War needs to have far-reaching implications for the MCU in Phase 3—it can’t be wrapped up in a bow after a single movie.  There needs to be some major tie-in between Captain America: Civil War and the rest of Marvel’s offerings over the next several years.  Last week I offered a template of what “major tie-in” looked like with the previous Captain America movie, when The Winter Soldier shook things up for the entire Marvel Universe—especially by completely redefining Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

For the next two week I will be answering the question:  What would a good Captain America: Civil War tie-in look like?

To answer this question I will be looking at everything Marvel which we know is coming out in the next few years.  This includes the Phase 3 movies, the network TV shows (specifically Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel’s Most Wanted, and Damage Control), and the Netflix shows.  That’s a lot of media to cover, so I’m going to break it up into 2 articles.  Next week I’ll talk about TV and Netflix, but this week I will start with the movies.

Articles in this Series:

“Why the Civil War Needs to be BIG”

“Marvel’s Civil War Interconnectivity:  A Case Study from the Hydra Uprising”

Weekly MCU Review for 2/20

Another week, and more MCU news!  Deadpool opened last weekend, we got some more information on Captain America: Civil War, and the first Daredevil season 2 trailer dropped!.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Weekly MCU Review for 2/13

Another week, and more MCU news!  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Star Wars: Episode VIII both began filming this week, and Deadpool opened in theaters.  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Before I go any further, I just want to say that I am not going to see or review the Deadpool movie until it is out on DVD.  I have heard from people who have seen it and think that it is an amazing movie and very true to the character.  However, the things that make it rated “R” (specifically sexual content) is a little over the top for me.  If it were just violence, language, and implied sexual content, I would probably be fine with it; as it is, I’m going to wait until it’s out on DVD so I can fast-forward through the 12 minutes of straight-up sex!

Weekly MCU Review for 2/6

Another week, and more MCU news!  Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has started casting, and so has FOX's Legion TV series.  Oh, and the Super Bowl's tomorrow (meaning Super Bowl commercials for movies!), so that's pretty cool.  Go Broncos!  Put some ketchup on your eggs, and catch-up on your Marvel news!

Mostly MCU Reviews

My articles from the week

First up for the week, my review of Jessica Jones season 1, episode 10, “AKA 1000 Cuts.”  Who do you want to see Jessica and Trish go up against in season 2?

Agent Carter season 2, episode 4, “Smoke and Mirrors” expectations and review.  I’ve read that the ratings for Agent Carter have not been good so far, which is very disappointing, as this is a very good series.

MCU News

Links to news articles and blog posts about the MCU

Marvel released some more promotional art for Captain America: Civil War.  I think it looks really good.  Too bad we still have 4 months left!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has 2 new cast members, as both the villain and Star Lord’s father have been cast.  Another new cast member is Steve Agee, but there’s no word yet on his character.  Who do you think the actors are, and who do you think they are playing?

Here is another teaser for Daredevil season 2, hinting at a broken Matt Murdock:

Image Courtesy www.screenrant.com

I seriously cannot wait for Daredevil season 2 to come out in March!

News from Around Geekdom

Anything not related to the MCU that I find interesting

Here is a list of possible Super Bowl trailers we could be seeing tomorrow.  Which are you most excited for?

Wolverine 3 will begin production on April 25 in New Orleans.

FOX’s Legion TV series has started casting, with Aubrey Plaza, Dan Stevens, and Jean Smart already joining the cast.

Have you seen this Batman v. Superman Prequel Comic?

So all those rumors have been confirmed:  Supergirl and The Flash will cross over on March 28.

Apparently even though TNT passed on the Teen Titans pilot and series, DC still has plans for a live-action Teen Titans.  Do you want to see the Titans in live action?

Young Justice season 2 is finally available on Netflix!  I’ll have to watch that now that I'm finished with Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be available on Blu-Ray on April 5!

If you can’t get enough of Harry Potter, you need to check out Pottermore, the site Rowling herself helps to run.  This week she wrote about some of the other Wizarding schools around the world.  Are you going to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them when it comes out?

If you want to get an email whenever I publish a new article, go to the top of the page and enter your email address in the box labeled “Subscribe to Mostly MCU Reviews” and click “Submit.”

Iron Fist: Asian Heroes and the MCU

Image Courtesy en.wikipedia.org

The question was asked recently if Danny Rand, a.k.a. Iron Fist, should be played by an Asian-American actor because the character’s whiteness is not important but his Americanness is. I admit that my initial reaction was to assume reverse racism: the martial artist has to be Asian. However, as I thought further it occurred to me that this desire actually comes from a group looking for representation. And I can actually relate to that desire; one of the reasons I like Hawkeye so much is because he’s left-handed! While I still worry that the executives who make these decisions might do it more out of an assumption that any Asian hero has to be a martial artist and any martial arts-based hero must be Asian, I can definitely see the desire by Asian and Asian-American Marvel fans for representation. This writer has written a couple articles arguing in favor of just this point. Rather than rehash his arguments (which are quite valid), I want to look at this issue from a different angle: are Asians underrepresented in Marvel Comics, and (related) are there any other options for Asian heroes? After all, I can’t just say “focus on existing Asian heroes” without offering an alternative!

I’m going to come right out and say there really aren’t too many, at least not heroes whose rights Marvel owns. Most of the heroes I found were mutants, with a number of Iron Fist supporting characters thrown in for good measure. There are a few viable options, however, one of whom is strongly rumored to be appearing in an upcoming movie.