To Infinity & Beyond: Captain Marvel

This is it! The final chapter before the big finale that is Avengers Endgame! Right before Nick Fury got dusted he reached for a mysterious pager us viewers have never seen before and called someone. Who’d he call?  Oh… nobody important. Only backup for when even the Avengers can’t get the job done! This is the origin of Captain Marvel.

Plot

The year is 1995. Vers (Captain Marvel) is a soldier for the Kree Starforce. After a mission goes wrong she is kidnapped by the Kree’s mortal enemy: a shape shifting race of aliens known as the Skrull. The Skrull try to extract a memory from her mind, a memory that she herself doesn’t even remember. She manages to escape though, becoming stranded on Earth. It’s here she meets SHIELD agent Nick Fury. Together they try to contact Vers’ team, defeat the Skrull, and recover Vers’ memory. Little does Carol know though that there is far more to this Kree-Skrull war than she knows.

Villain

In a not so shocking turn of events, the Kree end up being the true villains of Captain Marvel. Why’s it not so shocking? Well if you saw Guardians of the Galaxy and Agents of SHIELD, you’ve known for years that the Kree are not nice! The primary Kree villains in Captain Marvel though are her old Starforce friends led by the tool pictured above: Yon-Rogg. Yon-Rogg taught Captain Marvel everything she knows and everything about her powers. Yon-Rogg is not only an intelligent leader though, he’s also extremely dedicated to the Kree cause like most Kree meaning he’ll do anything to ensure Kree victory. Even if it means driving a race like the Skrull to extinction. This all being said, Yon-Rogg isn’t exactly a top tier MCU villain. Yes, he killed the original Mar-vell but besides that he doesn’t really do anything that impressive in the film. He never really proves to be a threat to Captain Marvel. She kicks his ass in the opening moments of the film and he never really  gets the upper hand after that.

Best Scene 

This is a no brainer. At the end of the film Captain Marvel helps the Skrull leader Talos find his Skrull family and friends that were hiding in a ship just outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Yon-Rogg and the rest of Starforce aren’t far behind though and capture Captain Marvel, her friend Maria, Talos, Fury, and Goose the “cat.” Captain Marvel has a one on one conversation with the Kree leader, an AI known as The Supreme Intelligence. As the Supreme Intelligence attempts to incapacitate Captain Marvel she realizes that the Kree have been holding her back and she hasn’t even tapped the surface of what she can do. Captain Marvel then unleashes her true power and takes out all of Starforce. It’s definitely one of the more exciting action sequences in the MCU and truly showcases just how insanely power she is (and how screwed Thanos will be). Elsewhere, Fury and the others escape with the help of Goose the “cat” who reveals her true form when she devours Kree in a single bite. The Skrull are terrified of Goose the entire film and refer to her as a Flerken. Though everyone believed Flerken was just Skrull’s name for cats, they realize that Flerken are extremely dangerous aliens that can eat almost anything. It’s a hilarious reveal in the midst of all the Captain Marvel action.

Stan Lee Cameo

This cameo is super meta. Early in the film while Captain Marvel is on a train looking for a Skrull in hiding. She comes across someone rehearsing their lines for a film Mallrats. The person is repeating the line “Trust me True Believer!” Captain Marvel pushes the book down revealing the man to be none other than Stan Lee. They then share a smile and Captain Marvel goes back on her search. Stan Lee cameos in Captain Marvel… by practicing his cameo for a film he did in the 90s!

BONUS CAMEO

As anyone reading this knows, Stan Lee passed away before this film was released. Captain Marvel has a truly heatfelt tribute at the beginning of the film. Typically whenever the Marvel logo is on the screen it shows clips of past MCU films. This time those clips were replaced with Stan Lee’s cameos in the MCU followed by “Thank You Stan.” Cue the waterworks.

Post Credits Scenes

We’re back in present time, post Thanos snap. The Avengers have somehow found Fury’s pager that Captain Marvel gave him “in case of emergencies.” The Avengers are clueless about the symbol on the pager and who it’s calling out to. Suddenly though the signal stops. Captain America insists on sending out the signal again, Black Widow agrees because if it was important to Fury then it was obviously calling someone important. Black Widow turns around and immediately behind them is Captain Marvel with only one question: “Where’s Fury?” Thanos is in for it now!!!!!!

The second scene is hilarious! At the end of Captain Marvel it’s revealed that the Kree have been searching for the Tesseract so they can travel to other galaxies to eradicate the Skrull once and for all. Talos’ family had been hiding outside of Earth with it for ages and when the Kree show up to take it Goose swallows it whole for safe keeping. After the Kree are stopped, Fury takes Goose with him back to Earth waiting for Goose to digest the Tesseract. The final scene shows Goose jumping on Fury’s desk and coughing up the Tesseract like a hairball.

Final Thoughts

I’m going to be honest. I think this movie is a TAD over hyped. Don’t get me wrong it’s thoroughly enjoyable, but I don’t think it’s the masterpiece many are making it out to be. Brie Larson is excellent as Captain Marvel but if I’m being honest she wasn’t my favorite part of the film. Nick Fury and Goose the Cat are the most memorable parts of the film and constantly steal the show. The villain is pretty lackluster and there are times I think the movie is trying way too hard to be nostalgic. I often found myself thinking “We get it, this takes place in the 90s.” That all being said, the film’s main purpose I think is to get fans hyped for Captain Marvel’s appearance in Endgame which the film accomplishes with flying colors. I can’t wait to see her match up with Thanos.

This is it. We’re in the Endgame now. Eleven years and 21 films later we are reaching the ultimate climax of the MCU. Though Marvel has recently confirmed that Spider-Man Far From Home will technically close out Phase Three, Avengers: Endgame is the going to be the true conclusion that fans have been waiting for ever since Thanos appeared in the original Avengers. How will the Avengers defeat Thanos and bring everyone back? WILL they bring everyone back? There are so many questions, so many theories, it’s the only thing that has been on my mind for the last year I simply cannot wait to see what the MCU has in store for us.  I know it’ll be nothing short of phenomenal.

 

Thanos Meme!

I’ve recently become obsessed with Brooklyn Nine Nine so I thought this was fitting.

To Infinity & Beyond: Ant-Man & The Wasp

OK it’s been long enough, I can write this with spoilers and feel no remorse about it! After Thanos snapped his fingers and destroyed all of our happiness, Marvel thought they’d be nice and give us some lighthearted fun with someone who was noticeably absent from Infinity War! It’s finally time to talk about Ant-Man and the Wasp!

Plot

Life’s been tough for Scott Lang. After helping Captain America and protesting the Sokovia Accords, Scott was arrested and placed on house arrest. Unable to leave his home, he’s used the time he’s had to rebuild a relationship with his family, primarily Cassie. Hank Pym and his daughter Hope Van Dyne have been on the run due to Scott’s actions, but have also been researching how to reenter the Quantum Realm and find Hank’s wife Janet. Scott begins having strange dreams of Hank’s wife and suddenly finds himself teaming up once again with Hank and Hope for what seems to be an impossible rescue mission. The mission itself is impossible enough but to add fire to the flame, a mysterious being simply known as Ghost is out to ruin their plans for some mysterious reason.

Villain

It seems wrong to categorize Ghost as a villain. She doesn’t hold any specific grudge against Scott, Hank, and Hope. They just happen to be in the way of her achieving a normal life. Ghost got her powers after an experiment to enter the Quantum Realm went horribly wrong. She was then used as a weapon for SHIELD due to her ability to phase through matter. Eventually with the help of Bill Foster, she learns that absorbing quantum energy is the only way to get a normal life back. She plans to use Hank’s quantum tunnel to find Janet and steal her quantum energy even if it kills Janet. Yeah, killing someone’s wife is definitely evil, but her reason for the risk is understandable. She just wants a normal life back before she phases away forever. While not as amazing of a villain as Loki, Thanos, and Kilmonger, Ghost is definitely better than the typical Marvel villain fare.

Best Scene

There’s a great car chase/fight scene towards the end of the movie where Scott, Hope, Ghost, and mobster Sonny Burch are all fighting over a shrunk down version of Hank’s lab. This is where we get the best display of Ghost’s powers phasing in and out of cars. Hope as the Wasp has some of her best action sequences here as well showing just how powerful Scott could be with the same training and discipline. At the end of the chase when everyone ends up near the ocean we get to see just how huge Scott can be with the suit. He becomes absolutely MASSIVE! Also there’s plenty of the typical Ant-Man humor spread throughout that we’ve all come to love.

Stan Lee Cameo

This happens during the same chase scene mentioned above. While everyone is barreling down the street, things are being shrunk left and right and at one moment we find Stan Lee about to get into his car. Out of nowhere it shrinks down so small Stan can’t even see it which is when he says this hysterical line, “Well the 60’s were fun but I’m paying for it now!” Absolutely hilarious!

Post Credits Scenes

Remember how I said Marvel gave us a nice lighthearted movie with lots of laughs? Yeah they only did that for the actual film. I guess they didn’t TECHNICALLY promise anything for the post credits scenes. In the first post credits scene we find Hank, Hope, and Janet sending Scott into the quantum realm to gather more quantum energy. Hank says they’ll pull him back to the regular world after a few moments of gathering quantum energy. Scott is shrunk down, gathers some quantum energy then tells Hank he’s ready to go back to normal size.

…there’s no response.

Scott calls out again.

…nothing.

HOPE, HANK, AND JANET ALL WERE TURNED TO ASk DUE TO THANOS’ SNAP!!! SCOTT IS TRAPPED IN THE QUANTUM REALM WITH NOBODY KNOWING WHERE HE IS! WHAT THE HELL IS GONNA HAPPEN!?!?!?!?!??!?!?! (This scene was excellent, definitely one of the best Marvel has ever done).

The other scene was short and sweet, we find the ant that was covering for Scott playing drums. However, if you watch the scene closer you’ll notice that there are news reports and screams being heard in the background due to Thanos’ evil snap of death! Just when we thought we were done with Thanos for the summer, Marvel pulled us back into his genocide. AGH. I love it though.

Final Thoughts 

This sequel was better than the original in almost every way. The comedy and heart were still there thanks to Luis and Scott’s bond with Cassie. The action was better with the addition of Wasp and Ghost, and I liked how this movie stayed on a smaller scale like the original while feeling more connected to the rest of the MCU. I don’t know what’s going to happen to Ant-Man in Avengers 4 though! Maybe he’ll end up going back in time? Janet DID warn him about that just before he got shrunk down…………….. we’ll just have to wait til next year to find out. That sounds way easier said than done.

To Infinity & Beyond: Avengers – Infinity War

Two weeks is a long enough wait before talking about a movie right? I think so, but if you disagree then WARNING!!!! Infinity War Spoilers ahead! You have been warned! 

It’s finally here, the beginning of the climax for the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe! I still vividly remember seeing the original Iron Man in theaters. What started out as one small movie has now expanded into an 18 story epic that has all been building to this! This is Infinity War.

Plot

The Mad Titan Thanos has begun his rampage across the universe in search for the six Infinity Stones to complete his Infinity Gauntlet. With all six Infinity Stones Thanos plans to erase half the universe’s population to bring balance to life. Two Infinity Stones are currently on Earth putting it in the cross hairs for Thanos and his “Children” to wreak havoc. It’s up to Earth’s mightiest heroes and the Guardians of the Galaxy to join together and prevent Thanos from completing his universal genocide.

Villains

When a villain has been built up since 2012, it had better live up to the hype, and it’s clear within minutes of the film that Thanos is everything fans have been hoping for. Josh Brolin does an incredible performance as the Titan making him both horrifying and oddly relatable at the same time. Let’s set the record straight: Thanos doesn’t want to eliminate half the universe’s population to rule over it as its leader. No, Thanos believes eliminating half the population will preserve life for the entire universe. The universe is finite in its resources and must be kept in check. In Thanos’ eyes the only way to save the universe is to cut down the population. I personally think making it rain potatoes would be sufficient but what do I know? Like Kilmonger before him, Thanos is a villain that you can’t really argue with. The problem he is trying to fix is one that you can’t deny. Sure his methodology may be a bit off, but in his eyes he’s the hero. That’s what makes him one of the best villains the MCU has ever conceived. Thanos will literally do whatever it takes to complete his mission (more on that later). He’s also a terrifyingly powerful villain. He manages to beat the Hulk in mere seconds, survives attacks that would kill basically anyone else, and defeats literally all the Avengers and half the Guardians of the Galaxy all at the same time.

Up to this point the only “Children of Thanos” that we knew were Gamora and Nebula, but Infinity War gave us the rest when they introduced Ebony Maw, Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Cull Obsidian. They only said their names maybe once in the entire film, but don’t worry you remember them because of their actions. Squidward… I mean Ebony Maw is particularly memorable due to him having a larger amount of lines. All four though are great villains that prove to be a formidable opponent for both the Guardians and the Avengers. They may be minions to Thanos but they are not to be taken lightly, they defeat the Avengers and Guardians multiple times throughout the film up until the final battle. They also bring a majority of the action sequences in the film and they lead to some great pair ups with different heroes in the MCU, you can’t ask for much more than that when their primary role is to make Thanos seem ever more menacing.

Best Scenes

I could honestly compile a top ten list of the best moments from this movie alone, but I’m going to limit myself to two best scenes this time. This first one though is one that I think everyone saw coming: The Battle of Wakanda. Without a doubt the best battle in the entire MCU. The Children of Thanos invade Wakanda in order to capture Vision and steal the Mind Stone from him so the Avengers team together with the Wakandan tribes to stop Thanos’ plans. The battle has everything: Hulkbuster armor, a badass beatdown by some of Marvel’s best ladies, an insanely cool entrance by Thor, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot, and even a lot of laughs. The two funniest bits by far are whenever Groot introduces himself to Captain America and all he can muster to say back is, “I am Steve Rogers.” At that point, the kid from Brooklyn had seen just about everything. Another hilarious moment is when Winter Soldier picks up Rocket Raccoon and uses him as a new weapon and Rocket then asks Winter Soldier how much he’s paying for his robot arm (because of course he would.). Then of course the ending is one of the most heart wrenching, emotional sequences you’ll find in any film, not just in the superhero genre. Thanos wins at the end of the battle and snaps his fingers killing half the universe and we the audience are forced to watch characters we’ve grown to love, die right in front of us. Not only that but every single BFF/Bromance in the MCU lost someone. Cap lost Bucky, Rocket lost Groot, the Guardians lost literally everyone, and worst of all, Tony lost Peter Parker IN HIS ARMS. The Battle of Wakanda is something I’ll never ever forget.

This picture isn’t from the scene, but this scene is kept so secretly you can’t find any pictures for it! 

The second best scene in the film concerns the mystery of the Soul Stone. Up to this point there were absolutely ZERO hints as to where it could be. People had theories and speculations, but we had to wait until Infinity War to get our answers. Turns out the only person who knew the location of the Soul Stone was none other than Gamora. Thanos tortures Nebula to get Gamora to reveal the location of the Soul Stone and Thanos forces her to take him there. They travel to the far away planet of Vormir and are met by the “Stonekeeper” who warns Thanos of the power of the stone. It’s at this point audiences started to think “Man this guy sounds familiar I can’t put my finger on it…” then the Stonekeeper’s identity was revealed!

…RED SKULL!!!!! When I wrote about Captain America: The First Avengers I said we were probably never going to see this guy again, but holy shit was I wrong and I am 100% OK with that! Red Skull warns Thanos that in order to get the Soul Stone he must show that he understands the stone’s power. He must trade the soul of someone he loves for the soul stone. That trade comes by hurling a loved one off a cliff. It’s at this point Gamora beings to laugh and cheer mocking Thanos that after all the years of work, the Universe itself ruined his mission because he loves nothing in the Universe. It’s at this point Thanos looks to her with tears in his eyes. Gamora laughs surprised he’d cry in defeat which is when Red Skull says this,

“Those tears aren’t for him.”

Thanos does love something: his daughter Gamora. Though heartbroken Thanos doesn’t hesitate to grab his beloved daughter and throw her to her death. From start to finish the entire scene was shocking, heartbreaking, and completely out of nowhere. Nobody saw this one coming.

Stan Lee Cameo

Again, Marvel is doing a good job of keeping spoilery pictures off the internet so instead of a photo of the actual cameo, enjoy this cameo from Deadpool 2! This amusing small cameo came at the beginning of the film. The Children of Thanos arrive at Earth with their ship and Peter Parker asks his friend to distract everyone else on the bus so he can escape as Spider-Man. The kids start screaming that they’re going to die at the sight of the ship which is when Stan Lee, the bus driver says, “What’s the matter haven’t you seen a spaceship before!?” We’ve been at this for 18 movies now guys, spaceships are almost an everyday occurrence in New York.

Post Credits Scene

We find Nick Fury and Maria Hill in New York when suddenly the effect of Thanos’ genocidal snap begin. Vehicles begin crashing, helicopters falling from the sky, and chaos ensues. Confused, Fury calls for backup with a Code Red. Suddenly though, Hill calls out to Nick and it’s clear she’s dying. Fury runs to his vehicle to grab a pager but then notices he’s beginning to fade as well. His last words being, “Mother f….” Nick hits the button on the pager and it falls to the ground. It shows the pager ringing and then received with a logo Marvel fans should find all too familiar: Captain Marvel is on her way!  There’s still hope!

Final Thoughts

This movie has been ten years in the making and it was worth every second of waiting! I honestly can’t think of anything negative to say about it I loved it the whole way through. It gave us so many great pair ups such as Tony Stark and Doctor Strange, Thor with the Guardians, and Bruce Banner and Shuri. Thanos certainly lived up to the hype as well being both terrifying and understandable. The movie almost shows Thanos as the hero! At the end of the film once he kills half the universe we see him retired enjoying peace and smiling as the sun rises. Marvel ALMOST has you rooting for this guy after he kills almost every hero we’ve come to love over the years. Yes the ending is literally soul crushing and difficult to watch for diehard fans, but those same fans had to know going into this that the film was going to end that way. Now the one year wait for Avengers 4 is going to be absolutely brutal, but we’ve got Ant-Man and the Wasp along with Captain Marvel on the way to keep us busy until then.

Thanos Meme

The only play the Avengers have left! Maybe if Tony gives Thanos a stern talking to he’ll surrender????

 

To Infinity & Beyond: Black Panther

This is it. The final chapter before Infinity War begins! We were already introduced to T’Challa as the Black Panther in Captain America: Civil War, but he has finally gotten his own solo movie! The MCU has taken us to Asgard, the world of magic, and deep space, but now it’s time to introduce another piece of the Marvel Universe that fans have wanted to see. It’s time to finally see Wakanda!

Plot

After the death of his father at the hands of the Winter Soldier, T’Challa returns to Wakanda and is crowned as the new king and is given the title of “Black Panther.” Being king, as you’d guess, is no easy task particularly when Wakanda is home to the greatest technology and strongest metal in the world: vibranium. When both an old and new threat emerge from the shadows, T’Challa’s beliefs and skills are put to the ultimate test.

Villain

As stated earlier, Black Panther faces off against both an old and a new threat. The old villain is none other than Ulysses Klaue who we first saw in Avengers: Age of Ultron. If you remember though, Klaue had his arm sliced off by Ultron himself. However, Klaue is back with a new sound wave blasting arm cannon that causes quite a bit of trouble for Black Panther. He’s still his hilarious yet crazy self from Age of Ultron, but it was great to see his more villainous side this time around. He has some great moments in the film, and it’s clear to see why he has given the people of Wakanda trouble for over 30 years.

The big bad though is Wakanda native and cousin to T’Challa, Erik Killmonger. Killmonger’s father was T’Challa’s uncle who seemingly abandoned his people to start a life of crime. That, however, was not the case. Killmonger’s father, N’jobu left Wakanda because he believed that others from African descent needed help; help that Wakanda could easily provide. T’Challa’s father T’Chakka caught up with N’jobu and killed him to preserve the secret location of Wakanda. And thus, the villain Killmonger was born. Killmonger spent his whole life training, learning, and fighting in the army so that he would be ready; ready for the day that he could become the new Black Panther and use Wakanda’s resources in a way that would help African people all around the world. It took a long time, but Marvel finally made an MCU villain that is on par with Loki. Not only is he a well-developed character, Michael B. Jordan does an excellent job portraying him. Also, he’s the type of villain whose motives aren’t that despicable. His motives are actually quite honorable. He has seen how cruel the world is to people like him and he thinks his people deserve better. It’s not even like he goes about becoming the Black Panther in a sinister way either. He competes in the same ritual battle for the title of Black Panther as T’Challa did in the beginning of the film. When I saw the previews for this film, I was so worried that he was just going to be yet another evil clone of the hero cliché that Marvel is famous for. I’m so glad to say this isn’t the case. He is a relatable villain that will be remembered as one of Marvel’s best for a long time.

Best Scene

Am I allowed to say the entire movie? No? OK. My personal favorite scene has to be when Killmonger first arrives in Wakanda and tells T’Challa that he wants the throne. The two go to the battle ground and Killmonger just has this great set of lines about how he has spent his whole life training for the moment that he could become the new Black Panther. He mentions in the film that he gave himself a scar for every kill he ever made, he then takes his shirt off to reveal his entire body is covered in those scars. Killmonger and T’Challa then have an epic fight that ends not only with T’Challa’s defeat, but also the death of T’Challa’s advisor Zuri. This is also the part of the movie where Killmonger reveals that T’Challa’s father wasn’t as noble as everyone thought he was, and how T’Challa’s father was essentially the reason Killmonger became the way that he was. It also helps that Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. George are incredible actors and enhance both their characters to new levels.

Stan Lee Cameo

In the beginning of the movie, Black Panther gets a lead as to where Klaue will make an appearance next. He takes two of Wakanda’s best badasses, Okoye and Nakia with him to South Korea. They enter into an underground gambling ring and Black Panther spots the American that Klaue is meeting with: CIA agent Everett Ross (last seen in Civil War)! T’Challa meets him at a poker table with chips in hand. Klaue arrives soon after and T’Challa quickly leaves. Before Everett can say anything else, Stan Lee awkwardly walks over saying “You know what, I’m just gonna slide these chips over here and I’m gonna keep them company.”

Post Credits Scenes

Marvel was kind enough to give us two! The first has T’Challa making an announcement to the world that Wakanda will finally be sharing its resources and technology with the world. He gives an inspirational speech about how we are all more alike than we are different. He continues with the speech until someone interrupts him asking how a “third world country” like Wakanda can possibly help the world. T’Challa finds Everett in the crowd and they both start to laugh.

The second scene takes us back to Wakanda to find “the other broken white man to fix” that Shuri mentioned earlier in the film. As we know from Captain America: Civil War, the other broken white man is the Winter Soldier himself Bucky! Although Bucky is missing an arm, he seems to be in a much better mental state than when we last saw him in Civil War. The Wakandan children refer to him as “The White Wolf” and it’s clear that he’ll be ready to help in the war that’s coming.

Final Thoughts

Next to Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther is the best superhero origin movie in the MCU. I give a slight edge to Black Panther though because it has everything a film needs to be truly great. The cast of actors alone is impressive, but their performances are even greater. The story itself is above and beyond the typical superhero movie by being both thought provoking and relevant to current events. The villain is the best Marvel has produced in the last 14 movies, and the action is memorable from beginning to end. My generation didn’t really know who Black Panther was unless you read the comics, but I’m glad that Black Panther is finally in the mainstream and is a hero that’ll be in the spotlight for years to come.

I can’t believe this marathon is already over! Seems like just last week I was watching Nick Fury tell Iron Man he was part of a bigger universe! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them! I’ll most likely do a spoiler free write-up for Infinity War once it comes out, and I’ll probably continue these articles for Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel before Avengers 4 comes out. Now here’s to hoping Infinity War doesn’t suck!

Thanos Meme of the Week

“This week on Triple D we’re visiting a local dive planet called Terra that’s serving up some KILLER Infinity Stones that are out of bounds!”

To Infinity & Beyond: Thor – Ragnarok

Thor has definitely had some of the weakest films in the entire MCU. The first Thor was a subpar origin movie that was saved thanks mostly to an excellent villain, and Dark World was undoubtedly the worst in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel had to do something bold if they were going to revive Thor both as a character and as a trilogy, so what did Marvel do? They made one of the most wildly entertaining films to date. This is Thor: Ragnarok!

Plot

After Ultron used the Mind Stone and nearly wiped out humanity, Thor left Earth to search for the other Infinity Stones. Infinity Stones seemed to be popping up left and right in the recent events, but Thor couldn’t find any more in his travels. Instead he came across the demonic being known as Surtur who planned to bring Ragnarok (the end of Asgard). After defeating Surtur and returning home, Thor discovers that Odin has been replaced by Loki as ruler of Asgard! Thor forces Loki to take him to Odin who has been on Earth this whole time. With the help of Doctor Strange, Thor and Loki find Odin just before he dies. He warns his two sons of their sister Hela who Odin hid from them due to her frightening power. Hela will bring the true Ragnarok and it’s up to Thor and Loki to stop her. Upon first meeting though Hela is far too powerful and sends Thor and Loki to the planet Sakaar ruled by the Grandmaster. Now a prisoner, Thor must find a way to return home and prevent Ragnarok.

Villains

Hela is the Goddess of Death. She was Odin’s first born and the two fought together to conquer all of the realms. None stood in their way, but one day Odin grew fearful of Hela so he banished her to the realm of the dead for millions of years. The day Odin died though, she was free and wanted revenge on Asgard. She obliterated the entire Asgardian army, killed Thor’s friends, the Warriors Three, and destroyed Thor’s hammer Mjolnir like it was made of glass. Her power is connected to her home Asgard; the longer she is there the more powerful she becomes making her essentially immortal. She can also create weapons out of thin air making her power limitless as well. Basically there’s no real way to defeat her, the most Thor and the others can do is summon the equally powerful god Surtur to distract her long enough for the people of Asgard to escape. While she may not be as great of a character as Loki, she is definitely one of the better characters in the MCU mostly because of her abilities and origins as a character.

Surtur is the ruler of the realm known as Musphelheim and was banished there after Odin defeated him and stole his Eternal Flame (the source of Surtur’s power). Just by glancing at him you can tell he’s an extremely powerful being. The fact that he is able to stand toe to toe against Hela should be proof enough of that. Although he does not have a lot of screen time he was definitely a memorable character and could very easily be a foe the Avengers face in the future.

Best Scene

I was tempted to say the battle between Thor and Hulk on Sakaar was the best scene in the film, but I just can’t pick that over Thor’s arrival on the Rainbow Bridge at the end of the film. Thor and Hela are battling it out and it’s clear that Thor is outmatched. Hela has Thor pinned down (literally via knives) and says “I’m the Goddess of Death, what are you the god of again?” To which Thor begins to fully utilize his powers as the God of Thunder. He then arrives on the Rainbow Bridge to help the Asgardians escape on the ship Loki brought from Sakaar. Thor, Valkyrie, Hulk, Heimdall, and Loki begin kicking ass on the Rainbow Bridge to the tune of Led Zepplin’s “Immigrant Song.” It’s an incredibly epic scene that spawned many spoofs the rest of the year. All over YouTube people were taking epic action scenes and adding “The Immigrant Song” over it.

Stan Lee Cameo

Thor is about to fight in his first battle in the Grandmaster’s Contest of Champions and he is forced to get his haircut. The barber of course is Stan Lee and he warns Thor, “Now don’t you move, my hands aren’t as steady as they used to be.” Thor then confidently threatens Stan by saying “By Odin’s beard you shall not cut my hair, lest you feel the wrath of the might Thor!” Stan then reveals the size of the many blades he has to cut Thor’s hair to which Thor then whimpers “Please kind sir, do not cut my hair!” which then causes Stan to let out an evil laugh.

Post Credit Scenes

Thor and Loki are talking about heading back to Earth and Loki asks if he thinks it’s a good idea for him to come back (since he tried to enslave them all). Thor replies that it probably isn’t, but it’s alright because he thinks the “worst is behind them.” At that very moment a look of horror falls on Loki’s face and Thor looks confused himself. They look out the window and find a massive ship in front of them. Anyone with a functioning brain should know who’s on that ship. That’s right, Thanos is officially here.

In the second post credits scene, Grandmaster emerges from a ship surrounded by those that revolted against him. Grandmaster then says some hilarious lines:

“I gotta say, I’m proud of you all. This revolution has been a huge success! Yay us! Pat on the back, pat on the back, come on! No? Me too, because I’ve been a big part of this. Can’t have a revolution without someone to overthrow so you’re welcome. And uh… it’s a tie.”

Jeff Goldblum was an absolutely amazing Grandmaster and I really hope we get to see him again in future films.

Final Thoughts

As stated earlier, Thor hasn’t had the best run of movies. Besides Avengers, one can’t really say he’s been in particularly good films. That being said, everything changed with Ragnarok. According to the film crew, most of the dialogue was improv’d by the cast and because of that, there was plenty of excellent comedic moments. You can just tell that Chris Hemsworth and the others are having a blast in this movie because everything is so unique, funny, and memorable. Thor went from having two of the weakest films in the MCU to having one of the absolute best. You can’t watch this film without smiling. Rolling Stone magazine put it best: “It’s the most fun you’ll ever have at a Marvel movie.”

Thanos Meme of the Week

Don’t worry Thanos you’ll be showing up very very soon. Just be gentle…

To Infinity & Beyond: Spider-Man – Homecoming

Spider-Man has been on the silver screen multiple times over the years, and has had a successful run of movies (for the most part). Spider-Man was owned by Sony though so that meant he could never be a part of the ever growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. Eventually though Sony and Disney were able to cut a deal that allowed Disney to use Spider-Man in the MCU. He made his first appearance in Captain America: Civil War, but it’s time to talk about Spider-Man’s full film debut in the MCU. Spider-Man’s back home!

Plot

After Iron Man recruited him to fight Team Cap in Berlin during Civil War, Peter Parker has been itching to prove himself to the Avengers. However, Tony Stark hasn’t returned any of Peter’s calls and he has been stuck doing menial tasks such as helping lost old women and stopping bicycle robbers. That all changes whenever Peter comes across some thugs using weapons infused with alien technology. Tony tells Peter to stay out of it, but Peter thinks this is his big opportunity to prove that he is worthy of fighting alongside the Avengers. Little does he know that he’s about to get in way over his head, and that he has a lot to learn before becoming a true hero.

Villains

Adrian Toomes owned a salvage company and was assigned with cleaning up the destruction left from the Battle of New York eight years ago. While removing the alien tech the Department of Damage Control stepped in and confiscated it all. Well most of it, Toomes had one truck’s worth of alien technology and decided to put that to villainous use. With the help of someone known as the Tinkerer and some others he builds a winged suit and becomes the Vulture. What makes Vulture stand out from the myriad of other villains in the MCU is that he’s got good motivation for his actions. Throughout the first 2/3 of the film, Vulture sticks to mostly selling weapons on the black market aka smaller crime. You realize he’s not really evil, he just wants to provide for his family. However, once Spider-Man starts getting in the way of his illegal deals, he gets darker. He begins to get bitter towards superheroes, believing they don’t care about “the little people,” and all the little people are good for is cleaning up after them. Also, he threatens to murder Peter and everyone he loves so that’s nice. He also attempts to steal all of the Avengers gear from Avengers Tower during their move. His suit is powered by alien tech so he’s definitely a considerable threat too. What makes Vulture a good villain though is mostly his character, story arch, and the fact that he’s played by the excellent Michael Keaton.

Vulture also has two underlings that fans of the comics will instantly recognize: Shocker and the Tinkerer. Tinkerer is the main man responsible behind fusing all of Vulture’s gear with alien technology while Shocker is more of the muscle behind the job. He was responsible for selling the technology to criminals, and he was equipped with a larger powerful gauntlet that, you guessed it, shocked whoever it touched. It was cool to see both characters in the film, but they don’t have a particularly large amount of screen time.

Best Scene

Peter Parker confronts Vulture in a warehouse after learning he plans to steal all of the Avengers’ gear. Vulture though isn’t phased and remotely sends his suit after Peter. At least that’s what it seems. Really though Vulture was destroying the support beams in the warehouse around Peter which causes the roof to collapse and trap Peter. At this point, Peter no longer has his super suit given to him by Tony, so he has no help in trying to escape. Peter panics and screams while he is unable to move, but it’s clear that nobody is coming to help. It’s at this point that Tony’s words echo in Peter’s mind: “If you’re nothing without the suit, then you don’t deserve it.” Peter then uses his own power to lift the debris on top of him and frees himself. It’s an emotional and powerful scene that makes you want to stand up and cheer. It’s the point in the movie where Peter learns how to truly be worthy of the title of a hero.

Stan Lee Cameo

In a montage early in the film, Spider-Man is swinging throughout Queens stopping small crimes. At one point he finds a man that is seemingly breaking into a car. Peter stops him but the man says that it’s his car. The alarm goes off and people in nearby buildings start yelling at Spider-Man for causing a ruckus. One of them is Stan Lee who says “Don’t make me come down there you punk!!!” Another lady says hi to him and he says “Marjorie how are ya!? How’s your mother?” Stan Lee threatening to beat up that punk Spider-Man is nothing short of amazing.

Post Credit Scenes

Vulture is walking down a hall in prison when he’s stopped by Mac Gargan, the man Vulture was making a weapons deal with during the big ferry action sequence. Gargan has some serious scars from his fight with Spider-Man, and asks Vulture for Spider-Man’s identity. Vulture though refuses to give up Spider-Man and the two part ways. Gargan, for those who don’t know, is actually a pretty big Spider-Man villain known as Scorpion so it’s pretty obvious we’ll be seeing him again sometime in the near future! Spider-Man has the best rogues gallery of any hero in my opinion so I’m always excited to see new villains show up in his films!

The second post credits scene is without question the best post credits scene the MCU has ever done. Throughout the film Peter watches this hilarious educational videos featuring “international criminal” Captain America. The final post credits scene gives us the best educational video yet:

“Hi, I’m Captain America. Here to talk to you about one of the most valuable traits a student or soldier can have. Patience. Sometimes, patience is the key to victory. Sometimes, it leads to very little, and it seems like it’s not worth it, and you wonder why you waited so long for something so disappointing… How many more of these?”

Fans waited for the entire end credits to be met with the biggest troll the MCU has ever had. It was amazing, hysterical, and slightly infuriating but you have to appreciate a good troll.

Final Thoughts

This was a great return for Spider-Man. The Amazing Spider-Man series was cut short for it being… kind of lame so it was great to see Spider-Man come back with big success. Tom Holland is an excellent young Spider-Man and is one that fans will love for years to come. The villain is great and I love how the whole film is on a smaller scale. There’s no world ending threat, it’s just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man stopping a heist. This was never meant to be a movie where Peter saved the world. That all being said, I think this movie is a TAD overrated. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, but I definitely wouldn’t consider it one of the MCU’s best by any means. Tobey Maguire will always be my favorite Spider-Man and the first two films are still some of my favorite superhero films of all time so I never expected this to outdo them. Nevertheless, it’s great to see Spider-Man where he belongs: in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Just in time too because Thanos will be arriving in the very near future!

Thanos Meme of the Week

To Infinity & Beyond: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Last week things got pretty strange with the introduction of sorcery and other dimensions, and this week we are continuing this wacky ride by revisiting our favorite group of misfits. It’s time to check back in with the Frickin Guardians of the Galaxy (Read: Not as Frickin).

Plot

Ever since stopping Ronan the Accuser, the Guardians of the Galaxy have been doing what they do best: a little bit of good and bad. Most recently though, the Guardians helped an alien race known as the Sovereign defeat the Abilisk; a monster that has been eating the power source of the Sovereign known as Anulax batteries. The Guardians save the Anulax batteries in exchange for the Sovereign’s prisoner: Gamora’s sister Nebula! However, Rocket Raccoon steals some of the batteries for himself and the Sovereign retaliate. The Guardians are nearly killed when they are saved by a mysterious ship. The pilot? None other than Peter Quill’s father Ego! Ego invites his son and the rest of the Guardians to his home planet, but it becomes clear to Gamora early upon arrival that something is off. Meanwhile on another planet Yondu is exiled from the Ravagers, but he and his crew are hired by the Sovereign to bring back the Guardians. Upon learning that Peter Quill is with his father, Yondu abandons his crew and attempts to rescue the Guardians from what could be their biggest threat yet.

Villains

Ego the Living Planet is a Celestial. Celestials are ancient beings that existed long before most life in the galaxy did and are known to be capable of manipulating matter and energy. When Ego was born he created an entire planet in his image. However, Ego quickly became lonely and began to wonder what his purpose was in the universe. That’s when he came up with The Expansion. Ego traveled the universe planting parts of himself on various worlds so that one day he would be able to merge and become those worlds as well. To do that though, he would need another Celestial so Ego impregnated organism’s from each planet he visited in the hope that one of them would bare a child with Celestial genes. The children that were born without Celestial powers were murdered by ego along with their mothers. That’s right, Ego murdered thousands of children and mothers in his attempt to merge with every planet in the universe. Among the casualties of Ego’s expansion was Peter’s mother. Ego is a genocidal maniac with a god complex that’s so powerful hardly anyone in the Universe could stand toe to toe with him so yeah, he’s a pretty great Marvel villain. One of my favorites in the MCU if we’re being honest.

Best Scene

I never thought this would happen, but Marvel manages to make you sad about the death of Yondu. A major plot point in Vol. 2 is that Yondu seems to go out of his way to make sure that Peter is safe. It becomes obvious that Yondu truly grew to love Peter like a son. It doesn’t become anymore clear than his final sacrifice at the end of the film. Peter is battling Ego with his new Celestial powers with the full intent of dying in the explosion that Rocket and Groot set. The bomb goes off, but Yondu swoops in last minute and saves him. However he only has the gear for one of them to survive in space. Yondu tells Peter, “He may have been your father boy, but he wasn’t your daddy. I’m sorry that I didn’t do none of it right, but I’m damn lucky you’re my boy.” Yondu flies into orbit, gives Peter the gear needed to survive then slowly dies in front of his son. It’s arguably the most emotional scene in the MCU since Cap said goodbye to Peggy in The First Avenger. Also in case you were wondering, that’s three parents that Peter has seen die now…

Stan Lee Cameo

Yondu, Kraglin, Rocket, and Groot are using warp speed to travel across the galaxy to get to Ego’s planet (which is a hilarious trippy moment). While travelling they zip past Stan Lee sitting on an asteroid telling the Watchers about his time as a FedEx employee aka his past cameos in the MCU. It’s a great fourth wall breaking cameo that also confirmed that the Watchers (some of the most powerful beings in the comics) were in the MCU. It also raised the theory that Stan Lee showing up in each film is more than just an Easter egg. Could Stan Lee actually be an informant for the Watchers? Guardians Vol. 2 certainly seems to believe so!

Post Credits Scenes

The gauntlet of post credits scenes! There are FIVE of them!

Kraglin is practicing using the trademark arrow weapon that Yondu used. He has little success at first but eventually the arrow fires off impaling Drax who lets out a hilarious yell of pain. Kraglin then runs off in fear.

Stakar (the one who banished Yondu from the Ravagers) meets with other Ravagers. Stakar says, “You know it’s a shame that it took the tragedy of losing Yondu to bring us all together again, but I think he’d be proud knowing we were back as a team.” The other Ravagers nod in agreement excited to be back together! Now if you’re like me, you had no idea who these people were at first, but to the super die hard fans, this group is known as the ORIGINAL Guardians of the Galaxy from the comic books! Super cool scene for true Guardians fans!

The Sovereign high priestess is deeply upset that the Guardians managed to escape. An underling arrives to tell the high priestess that the council is waiting for her. The high priestess says the council is perturbed by the waste of resources used in her attempt to capture the Guardians but she is not worried. They have this discussion:

High Priestess: “When they see what I have created here, their rocks will dissipate.”

The underling asks, “It’s a type of birthing pod ma’am?”

High Priestess: “That, my child, is the next step in our evolution. More powerful, more beautiful, capable of destroying the Guardians of the Galaxy. I think I shall call him… Adam.”

AKA ADAM WARLOCK!!! Adam Warlock was a huge component of the Infinity Gauntlet story line in the comics, and although he supposedly isn’t showing up in the Infinity War movie, it’s still awesome to know that he’ll be on the big screen soon enough!

The next scene shows Peter checking up on Groot who is no longer a baby but rather a teenager ripe with teen angst! Peter tells Groot he needs to stop playing video games and clean his room and Groot mocks him calling him boring. Peter then says to himself that this must be how Yondu felt raising him.

Next we go back to Stan Lee who is still telling the Watchers about his cameos in the MCU, the Watchers though get bored and begin to leave. Stan calls out to them saying “Hey you were supposed to be my lift home! Hey ah gee, I’ve got so many more stories to tell!” You certainly do have a lot more stories to tell Stan!

Final Thoughts

I’m in the minority when I say this but I think this is the superior of the two Guardian movies. The first one while truly amazing is missing one thing Vol. 2 has: an excellent bad guy. Ronan the Accuser serves his purpose as a bad guy but he’s a pretty straightforward villain. Ego is far more memorable of the two both due to Kurt Russell’s portrayal of him and Ego’s actions. Also this film managed to change the fanbase’s opinions on Yondu. People hated him in the first film, but James Gunn had us all bawling over him in Vol. 2. The comedy of Vol. 2 is also better, there are more bigger laughs and that’s primarily because of Baby Groot! Vol. 2 in my humble opinion took everything that was great about the first movie, and made it even bigger and that’s why it’s one of my absolute favorite films in the MCU.

Thanos Meme of the Week

To Infinity & Beyond: Doctor Strange

Up to this point the Marvel Cinematic Universe has explored many corners of their comics. We’ve been to Asgard, seen Thanos and the Infinity Stones, and witnessed the return of Spider-Man among other things! However, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has plenty of room to grow, and this week we’re taking a look at a whole new world (Aladdin pun intended) that Marvel hasn’t even mentioned in any of its films. This week the MCU enters the world of magic and introduces Doctor Strange!

Plot

Stephen Strange is one of the world’s greatest neurosurgeons. That all changes though after a horrific car accident causes permanent nerve damage in his hands. After months of searching for a cure, he meets someone who recovered from damage similar to his own. The man tells Stephen of a place in Nepal called Kamar-Taj, but when Stephen gets there he is shown a world that science cannot explain; the world of sorcery. Soon after finding Kamar-Taj, Stephen must master magic to stop a sorcerer named Kaecilius who wants to summon an ancient evil and destroy the world that wronged him years ago.

Villains

Kaecilius one studied under the Sorceress Supreme known as the Ancient One (who also trains Doctor Strange). Though incredibly skillful, he grew to resent her after he learned that she was basically immortal but refused to bring his wife and child back from the dead. Deeming her a hypocrite, Kaecilius left and found a new mentor in an inter-dimensional being named Dormammu. Dormammu lived in a place called the Dark Dimension where time stood still. He promised Kaecilus to make him and his family immortal together for just a small cost: the destruction of Earth. Kaecilius uses the powers of the Dark Dimension to enhance his already impressive skills. Although another “evil version of the hero,” Kaecilius has his moments. For starters he kills the Ancient One who is considered to be the strongest sorceress in the world. Also, he can warp reality, and he succeeds in summoning Dormammu. Sure Doctor Strange saves the day in the end, but it has to be said that Kaecilius has an impressive villainous resume. Also he’s played by the great Mads Mikkelsen so that’s a plus.

As stated earlier, Kaecilius is working for the being known as Dormammu who is literally named “The Destroyer of Worlds.” Dormammu is obsessed with conquering the entire multiverse and bringing them all into the Dark Dimension and he definitely has the firepower to do so. He’s undoubtedly the most powerful villain in the entire MCU (Thanos may change that but we’ll see).  He has literally wiped out entire universes in the past and is absolutely massive in size. He’s so powerful that Doctor Strange doesn’t even attempt to fight him. Instead he comes up with an extremely clever way to defeat him. Speaking of…

Best Scene

Doctor Strange’s battle with Dormammu is one of the best villain defeats in any superhero film ever. There I said it, come at me. At the end of the film, Doctor Strange enters the Dark Dimension to confront Dormammu with the time bending Eye of Agamotto as his only weapon. Strange confronts Dormammu telling him he’s “come to bargain.” Dormammu simply replies with, “No you’ve come to die” and immediately vaporizes him. However, Strange returns telling Dormammu that he’s “come to bargain…” again. Dormammu again kills Strange and it becomes clear that Dormammu has fallen into Strange’s trap. The two are in an infinite time loop where they repeatedly live out the same moment: Strange shows up, Dormammu kills him, repeat. Strange says he’s willing to die for eternity if it means the world can live. The two continue this loop endlessly until Dormammu gets so annoyed that he actually surrenders. He and Strange finally bargain and Dormammu agrees to leave Earth and take Kaecilius with him. Never in a superhero film has a villain been annoyed to the point of surrender. Hilarious and highly original, this is one of my favorite hero vs. villain showdowns in any superhero movie.

Stan Lee Cameo

Strange and Baron Mordo are in the Mirror Dimension (a mirrored version of the universe) fighting Kaecilius. Mordo and Strange attempt to escape, but Kaecilius warps reality and sends the two flying into a nearby bus. Stan Lee (in the real dimension) is seen on the bus reading a book saying “That is HILARIOUS” as Strange and Mordo’s faces are smooshed into the bus window. Short but funny.

Post Credits Scenes

Thor meets Doctor Strange! According to Thor, he and Loki are on Earth searching for their father Odin (who we know went missing at the end of Thor: The Dark World). Having recently dealt with a god trying to destroy Earth, Strange isn’t happy about Loki being around so he offers to help Thor find Odin. Everyone and everything is coming together!

The second scene shows Johnathan Pangorn (the one who told Strange about Kamar-Taj) working. He gets a visit from Baron Mordo who says a sorcerer’s role is to “twist things out of its proper shape, steal power, and pervert nature.” He also says that, “power has purpose.” Pangorn senses hostility in Mordo’s voice and attacks him which is when Mordo uses a spell to re-cripple Pangorn. Pangorn asks why he’s doing this and Mordo simply states, “Because I at long last see what’s wrong with the world: too many sorcerers.” Mordo is going full Voldemort in the MCU!

Final Thoughts

Doctor Strange is the fourteenth movie in the MCU yet it still feels as fresh of a superhero film as ever! Although a bit generic in regards to the story, the introduction of magic is a breath of fresh air and opens up a whole new avenue of potential storylines for the MCU. It also has the best visual effects of any movie in the MCU, the magic is both trippy and stunning. Most importantly though, it gave us another Infinity Stone! The Eye of Agamotto contained the Time Stone! That means there’s only one stone left in hiding! We’re getting so close to the epic conclusion it’s getting unbearable!

Thanos Meme of the Week

I’ve been saving this meme for this week. Hopefully Strange keeps this idea in his back pocket when Thanos arrives!

To Infinity & Beyond: Captain America – Civil War

Phase 1 introduced the world to Earth’s mightiest heroes, in Phase 2 we watched the world of superheroes grow and a sinister plot begin to unfold. Finally in Phase 3 the stakes are only going to get higher and the ultimate climax is fast approaching (giggity). It’s time to begin Phase 3 with the biggest film to date! It’s time for Avengers: Civil War… I mean… Captain America: Civil War. They’re basically the same thing.

Plot

After Ultron nearly ended humanity by turning Sokovia into a meteor, people are fed up with the Avengers. Believing the Avengers are the cause of most of the world’s life ending events, (let’s face it they kind of are) governments around the world created a bill called “The Sokovia Accords.” The Sokovia Accords would require all superheroes to be to be maintained by the government; meaning the Avengers could only fight the bad guys when the government deemed it necessary. Iron Man, riddled with guilt from the death and destruction he’s caused agrees to sign the Accords. Captain America, however, feels like the Avengers should remain free and accept responsibility for their actions. He feels as if the Accords only moves the blame. With these two butting heads, the rest of the Avengers are forced to choose sides. Things get even trickier for Cap when his best friend Bucky aka Winter Soldier resurfaces and kills the leader of Wakanda (the leader exporter of Vibranium to the world). By protecting his friend and refusing to sign the Accords, Captain America involuntarily begins a civil war amongst the Avengers.

Villain

The villain section of this movie is a little tricky because it’s all about which side of the Civil War you agree with. That being said there’s one person that’s the villain no matter what way you see it and that’s Helmut Zemo. Zemo lost his family in Sokovia during Ultron’s battle with the Avengers. Ever since, Zemo has been obsessed with destroying the Avengers and he is the one villain in the MCU to this point that actually succeeds with his master plan. At the end of the film the Avengers are disbanded and still not on speaking terms. He does all of this without throwing a single punch making him a refreshing villain in the MCU. He DID create a terrible meme though with “Mission Report December 16th, 1991,” but besides that Zemo is a pretty great villain.

If you’re #TeamCap, then another villain in Civil War is Iron Man. Iron Man thinks the Avengers need to be brought under the government’s surveillance. He has Captain America arrested, tries to kill Bucky, and locks up half the Avengers at the end of the film. Sure he lets them go and gives them a running start, but it can be argued that if Tony didn’t sign the Accords then maybe the other Avengers wouldn’t have either.

Now if you’re a monster and are #TeamIronMan then the other villain for you is Captain America. Captain America defends his friend Bucky who kills the leader of Wakanda and murders Tony Stark’s parents. Yes, he was under mind control but he definitely deserves some type of punishment for his actions right? Both Iron Man and Cap have blame for all the bad to come out of Civil War along with the Avengers splitting, so deciding who the bad guy is is based solely on opinion.

Best Scene

The battle at the Airport. What else could it be? Before this, I think it can be argued that the Battle of New York was the best action sequence in the MCU, but this fight takes the cake. In fact, I think this battle is the best scene in the entire MCU. Not only is it Spider-Man’s big debut, but it has several memorable moments! Ant-Man finally uses his “Giant Man” technology, Black Panther actually scars Cap’s SHIELD, War Machine nearly dies, and every  other hero in the MCU (minus Thor and Hulk) clash! There’s even a great Star Wars reference! It’s a battle that’s only possible because of years of universe building and will undoubtedly be considered one of the best superhero film scenes of all time.

Stan Lee Cameo

At the end of the film after Tony lets Cap and the other rogue Avengers free, he and War Machine (Now slowly recovering feeling in his legs) are talking about whether or not signing the Accords was the right call. They agree that it was “the right thing to do” despite what happened to their friends. While they talk there is a knock on the door and it’s Stan Lee working as a FedEx employee with a package for a “Tony Stank.” It’s hilarious.

Post Credits Scene

Cap and Bucky are in a research lab in Wakanda. Bucky says he thinks it’s best he stays in cryogenic sleep until the scientists in Wakanda can help fix him. Cap then thanks Black Panther for keeping Bucky safe and warns him that if the government finds out that Bucky is in Wakanda then they’ll come after him. Black Panther simply laughs and says “Let them try.” The shot then zooms out to reveal they’re in the “true Wakanda” which is a hidden technical marvel.

The second scene shows Peter Parker coming back from his trip to Berlin where he fought the Avengers. While looking at a watch from Tony Stark, he finds out that it contains tons of tech to make Spider-Man a more credible hero than ever! Clearly we haven’t seen the last of Peter Parker!

Final Thoughts

The people that directed Civil War also directed its predecessor Winter Soldier. Anthony and Joe Russo have made two of the best superhero movies of all time. Civil War is another knockout featuring incredible action, a story with some genuine meaning and significance behind it, and plenty of fun surprises to please the most diehard Marvel fan. The Civil War story in the comics is considered one of the best superhero stories ever and although the film version is drastically different, I think it’s a more than worthy adaptation. With the Russo brothers being on a winning streak making films, it makes me so excited to know they’re making Infinity War. You just KNOW it’s going to be incredible with these two behind the camera.

Thanos Meme of the Week

To Infinity & Beyond: Ant-Man

Phase 2 has been full of crazy moments. SHIELD fell, Infinity Stones are popping up everywhere, and Ultron nearly wiped out all of humanity. With all that said though, it’s time to finally close out Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Phase 1 ended in a bang with the Avengers, but Phase 2 goes out a bit… smaller. This is the highly underrated Ant-Man!

Plot 

In 1989 SHIELD agent Hank Pym resigns due to Howard Stark trying to recreate his “Pym Particles” which have the ability to shrink someone while also increasing their power. Deeming it too powerful, Hank vows that nobody will ever have access to his Pym Particles again. Present day, we meet Scott Lang who was recently released from prison and is trying to get back on his feet for the sake of his daughter Cassie. Unable to find a job he turns back to the one thing he’s good at: stealing. The heist he’s on though ends up being a setup by Hank Pym who needs someone to use his Pym Particles and become the new Ant-Man. Hank needs Scott to stop a tech company from militarizing what Pym tried to hide from the world almost 30 years ago.

Villain

The big bad is Darren Cross who is the CEO of Cross Technologies. Cross was mentored by Hank Pym in the tech business, but over the years Cross suspected that Pym was hiding something from him. Eventually Cross discovered the Pym Particles and became obsessed with recreating it. Years of testing made Cross lose his mind, but eventually he had a breakthrough and developed a nearly identical suit to Ant-Man’s. He named it the Yellow Jacket. Here’s another edition of “the villain is a clone of the hero,” but Cross is definitely the worst example of it. This is particularly because of the acting performance by Corey Stoll who just makes the character seem goofy. He’s also got some cringe worthy lines. He does, however, get a pretty epic fight against Ant-Man.

Best Scene 

Although the final battle between Ant-Man and Yellow Jacket is hilarious and awesome, the best scene is when Ant-Man meets an Avenger. Specifically, the scene involves Ant-Man planning to infiltrate an old Stark warehouse to steal a piece of technology vital to their final heist against Cross Technologies. Ant-Man quickly finds out that the “old Stark warehouse” is actually an Avengers base. Hank and his daughter Hope tell Ant-Man to abandon the mission, but Ant-Man continues anyways. That’s when he runs into the one leading Avengers’ security: The Falcon. The two duke it out and Ant-Man surprisingly ends up getting the upper hand and outsmarting Falcon. At the end of the fight Falcon radios in to the rest of security saying, “It’s really important to me that Cap never finds out about this.”

Stan Lee Cameo

After Ant-Man defeats Yellow Jacket and the day is saved, Ant-Man’s friend Luis tells him about a new tip he got. Falcon is looking to recruit Ant-Man for an upcoming mission, but while the story is being told by the various people in it, we come across Stan Lee who is a bartender telling Luis’ friend that the journalist he’s with is “crazy stupid fine.” I couldn’t imagine Stan Lee actually saying that which makes this particularly funny.

Post Credits Scenes

Hank Pym shows his daughter Hope a prototype suit that he and his wife had been working on. He says he realizes now that he and his wife were building the suit for Hope so that one day she could take on the role of The Wasp like her mom did years ago. Hope admires the suit, simply smiling and saying, “It’s about damn time.”

The second post credits scene is a doozy. Falcon and Captain America have finally caught up and captured Winter Soldier! Cap and Falcon then have this conversation:

Falcon: This would’ve been a lot easier a week ago.

Cap: If we call Tony…

Falcon: He won’t believe us.

Cap: Even if he did…

Falcon: Who knows if the Accords will let him help.

Cap: We’re on our own.

Falcon: Maybe not. I know a guy.

What’re these Accords they’re talking about? Why can’t they go to anyone else for help? Does Cap know that Falcon got his ass whipped by Ant-Man!? So many questions, but the answers are going to have to wait for the next movie. It’s clear though that Phase 3 is going to be massive!

Final Thoughts 

I’ve said it before about Iron Man 2 and Hulk: “They’re so underappreciated, they aren’t as bad as people say.” THIS TIME I MEAN IT THOUGH! Ant-Man is probably the most underrated movie in the MCU. It changes up the formula for a superhero movie choosing to be more of a heist movie instead of a flashy explosive action flick. It also doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a story about a man who talks to ants for crying out loud! The villain is a total bust, but there’s way too much to like about this movie to cast it aside to the other more popular Marvel superheroes.

And that officially concludes Phase 2! A lot has changed over the last six movies. We have tons of new heroes, a villainous threat that’s going to carry over for many films to come, AND Infinity Stones. Phase 2 does have some of the worst films in the MCU, but despite the noticeable flaws it’s still an overall fun series of films that leads into the best Phase in the MCU. Phase 3 is the final phase leading to Infinity War meaning we are getting ever so close to the big show down!

Thanos Meme of the Week

There’s a birthday party in this movie… thank goodness Thanos wasn’t around to ruin it.