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writer-monster · 3 years

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11 reasons why cap 4 should reintroduce Bucky Barnes as the love interest, an essay

to start this off, i am not writing this essay from a shipping place nor do i believe that this would have any influence at all over the upcoming movie. i expect nothing. this is simply something that i would personally like to see. (of course no hate to anybody who thinks differently)

here are 11 reasons why i think making Bucky into Sam Wilson's love interest in Cap 4 would be a good move for Disney.

1. on the Chinese film market - and why it's an irrelevant argument against the inclusion of homosexual themes in Cap 4

the Chinese film market is something that has been blamed for a lack of diversity in Hollywood films a lot lately. many people claim that this market with a lot of buying power has been responsible for the lack of gay and black representation in particular within Hollywood films.

and we have certainly seen Hollywood treating it as such, going so far as to cut gay scenes from movies for their Chinese releases, and vastly minimising John Boyega's (a black actor's) presence in the Chinese poster of Star Wars The Force Awakens.

[image ID: on the left is an image of the American poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, featuring John Boyega prominently on the right-hand side. And on the right is the Chinese poster for the same movie, in which John Boyega is barely visible.]

so we know at the very least that Disney believes this through their own actions and efforts to self-censor for the different markets.

but Captain America 4 is a black-led movie, don't you forget. and Disney can't minimise Sam Wilson/Anthony Mackie in the movie or the poster because it's his movie and his poster. and no amount of creativity in the editing room can change that (thank God!).

so if by their own argument the film is already going to be either banned, panned or slammed in China... then what do they have to fear from making it a gay movie too?

2. oh, the queerbaiting

queerbaiting is an unusual cultural idea. and sometimes i find myself thinking that the term is far too easily used, but then all of a sudden i will stumble upon a movie or show that is so quintessentially cruel and overt in it's... well... queerbaiting that i will start to wonder what the hell kind of a bizarre relationship all these straight people seem to have with their friends. take Troy and Abed from Community or John and Sherlock from Sherlock as the perfect examples of this. (in which my reaction to the show's creators saying the show wasn't gay was to ask so then why did you make it so gay?!)

i felt that Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in tfatws were getting quite close to this level of queerbaiting.

there was the field scene, the couple's counselling scene, the boat scene, the couple's counselling scene, Bucky going with Sam to face Karli when she told Sam to come alone, the couple's counselling scene, ALL the staring scenes, Sam checking out Bucky's ass here as they said goodbye, the "i would move in with him but" hidden scene, "Uncle Bucky" showing up at the cookout scene, the romantic walking off together into the sunset together ending scene, and the couple's counselling scene. did i forget anything? but i mean seriously, the couple's counselling scene!!! that thing they did with their legs and their crotches while staring deep into each other's eyes, would any straight guy willingly do that? do straight guys crotch-snuggle now?

[image ID: an image of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes during the therapy scene with the quote, "Isn't anybody going to drag me into impromptu couple's therapy and slot my legs firmly between theirs before staring deeply into my eyes?"]

(yeah i stole this image from a buzzfeed article on the fan reactions to the couple's therapy scene. but given that they stole 80% of the content of that article from fandom tumblr, i think it's pretty even-steven.)

there's also the fact that people started talking about bisexual Bucky Barnes a lot after the tiger pictures line, and the lead writer Malcom Spellman responded to the talk of Bucky's bisexuality with "just keep watching". well we watched, Malcolm. but it's beginning to feel like you were just jerking us around.

3. the writing

seriously though, what else is Bucky Barnes doing right now in the MCU? his only remaining connection to anything going on right now is through Sam. there is literally nothing else established that's left for him to do that doesn't involve Sam. he moved to Louisiana to be closer to Sam (canonically), he hangs out with Sam's family (canonically), and Steve is presumably gone and is definitely not coming back for more adventures.

he has no villains or loose ends left. he has no other superheroes that he appears to be in contact with. he has no girlfriend or potential love interest, or even other friends or family. he is living in a tent that he has secretly set up in Sam's backyard and is mysteriously appearing from the bushes when it's time for dinner like a stray cat.

in my opinion there is no other meaningful and pre-established progression for Bucky's character that wouldn't just feel cheap.

plus, i don't think the general audience would be all that surprised if they kissed. i think a LOT of people picked up on all that tension. i think a lot of straight people picked up on all that tension too.

4. the chemistry between the actors & the chemistry between the characters

the original pitch for tfatws was essentially just this, it was the chemistry between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and their respective MCU characters of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

now obviously Anthony and Sebastian are simply friends, and i wouldn't mean to imply anything more. but they are also not their characters.

Sam and Bucky's scenes together before tfatws were both limited and short, and yet audiences still fell in love with the dynamic between the two characters.

in interviews, these two actors are constantly slipping into character and flirting with each other and frankly it's adorable. plus it's really entertaining. i'd love to see that dynamic, unfiltered, in a movie.

because believe it or not the flirting is actually even more open in their interviews than it was in tfatws. and i'm leaving some links as proof.

this here is known as the "married" compilation

and here's a "lucky dip" selection of interviews - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

and here's Anthony trying to get Seb to take his jacket off.

i'm just saying, why not let their chemistry shine? these two are so talented and so entertaining, especially when you put them in a room together. and can you imagine how absolutely hilarious and brilliant it would be to watch them navigate being a couple?

(and for those who bring up the "friends would be uncomfortable pretending to be dating" argument, i'm not here asking for a sex scene or anything. i don't think anyone would expect them to show any more intimacy (physical or emotional) while playing a couple than what they've already shown together in say... tfatws or in their own interviews. not that i actually expect anything regardless.)

5. if they were a man and a woman they would've gotten together in tfatws

i have no more to add here. just that... yeah, they would've.

6. and i'm not talking about the comics here, i'm talking about the MCU.

i understand fully that none of what i'm saying here falls in line with these characters from the comics. but the mcu itself doesn't fall much in line with the comics either, and these two characters especially are very different from their comics counterparts.

i'm not asking for these two to get together in the comics. tbh i don't think that it would work.

but the mcu Sam and Bucky are different and closer than their comics counterparts. they've got different histories, different backstories, and a very different dynamic. please rest assured that i am only talking about them in the mcu.

7. Bucky Barnes is believably bisexual. and Sam Wilson has never been proven to be straight in the mcu, nor has he had a love interest.

(now please continue to keep in mind that these points only stand for the mcu versions of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and not at all for their comics counterparts.)

Sam Wilson has never had a love interest, which is crazy because have you seen that man! he has had two blink and you'll miss it moments of verbal expression of attraction to women, both in TWS. and that's the extent of it, through his entire history in the mcu.

Bucky Barnes has had a number of surface-level female love interests, but none of them even came close to the level of connection and chemistry that Bucky shares with Sam.

and i'm sorry SarahBucky fans, but i just don't think there's very much to their relationship either. i love Sarah, i really do. but it's Sam who shares all the meaningful moments and history and chemistry with Bucky. and i don't see what making her into a love interest would do for Sarah's character either, what would that add to her story?

[Picture ID: Bucky at the cookout with Sam, Sarah, Cass and AJ. Bucky and Sam are looking at each other and smiling.]

and also there is the whole tiger pictures thing... again. which does strongly suggest that Bucky is bisexual whether this was intentional on behalf of the writers or not.

8. it's representation... AND it feels natural

marvel hasn't had a lot of queer representation that's been noticeably present in the MCU at the time of writing this.

there have been a lot of failures so far, from the bisexual erasure of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok to the wlw erasure in Black Panther.

there was queerbaiting almost identical to the bisexual Bucky baiting for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. when asked if he had considered featuring a gay hero in gotg2, director James Gunn stated that "We might have already done that. I say, watch the movie." after the movie's release audiences were understandably confused about the lack of queer representation. To which the director followed up his comments with, "But we don't really know who's gay and who's not. It could be any of them."

there is also Loki, considered by most fans after the airing of his six episode series on Disney+ to be both a poor attempt at both genderfluid representation and bisexual representation. with both attempts being summed up fairly well by the term "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". (also it's just terribly written and Loki doesn't wear any interesting clothes! fanficcers are a Goddamn blessing in this hard time!)

and let us not forget that Andrew Garfield was apparently FIRED for pushing for a bisexual spiderman. a bisexual spiderman within an interracial mlm relationship no less.

so for all these failures, marvel, why not allow us queer fans this? two brilliant and heroic men in a loving interracial relationship. two heroes that we can look up to.

now, one of the biggest detractions from the argument for representation is the idea of "forced diversity". and some poorly written characters certainly do end up feeling forced into the narrative. take Iceman in the comics for example, with Jean Grey just straight up suddenly telling him he's gay. like, marvel, sweetie, that's not how this works! and i don't know a lot of queer people who thought much of that "representation".

but the crux of the "forced diversity" argument is almost always that it feels unnatural within the story, right? and i don't think that anyone could say that about MCU Sam and Bucky ending up together, given these characters' existing chemistry and their history. they've both played characters in gay relationships before so we know that it's not outside of either actor's wheelhouse. and y'all know that Anthony and Seb can act, people. if it's in the script i believe that they'll make it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

9. it'd be a nice change

there's been an ongoing meme lately about "Disney's first gay character", the joke being that they continually announce gay characters without really ever including gay characters in their films.

this is to the point where Disney has formed a reputation amongst queer audiences of being homophobic.

if Sam and Bucky were to become a couple, then Disney could have its first actual gay character within a gay relationship. AND have him be in the lead of his own movie, no less.

it's also worth keeping in mind that there's likely an overlap between the people who were outraged by a Sam Wilson Captain America, and the people who'd be outraged by a gay Captain America. and if they were already not seeing the film, then i don't think much is gonna change that.

queer audiences would definitely love it, and the media attention would be guaranteed to be huge. i mean, simply look at the amount of media attention mere rumours of a character's queerness gets you and multiply that by a canon confirmation of said rumours.

but i'm pretty sure that Disney already knows this.

10. and yet, in truth, it's not about the representation

in truth i've never felt that i had any trouble relating to characters of any sexual orientation, race, gender, sex, body type, etc. (although that is not to throw any shade at all on people who do wish to see themselves represented) but for me, i think it's more about the story than the packaging.

and yet, a love story is still just a story. straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial. when two characters have chemistry and history and have sacrificed for each other time and time again, and they also can't keep their hands or their eyes off each other, then i'm pretty sure that that's a love story.

straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial, it shouldn't be about these simple labels. it should be about how well written the relationship is. it should be about chemistry, and history, and sacrifice.

because i'm fucking sick of all the hollow, forced romances in media no matter the genders of the participants. i'm sick of lazily written, shallow relationships where any two people sharing the same space for any extended period of time will simply fall in love. it's boring, it's repetitive, and as a writer myself it drives me up the wall!

romance stories suck! and everyone knows that romance stories suck. between twilight, and most of the entire YA genre, and love triangles (so boring), and romance used as poorly-written throwaway subplots in Hollywood movies, the world is in agreement that the romance in western media is simply dreadful. and yet we still want love stories. it's an entire genre that sits at the heart of the human experience (<3), and yet one which so few of today's best known writers seem truly able to capture.

i don't think that i'm the only one who feels this way, either. i suspect it's actually a large part of why fandom is so romance-centred in the first place, that we're all just starving for a good love story.

(btw i think fandom has a reputation for being something that as a whole that it is not. it has this reputation for straight up demanding things and harassing people until they get their way. while unfortunately there are a few people who do this, they're fucking annoying and i swear that they're far from the majority.

in my experience fandom is mostly about writing a five thousand word story at three am while drunk off your ass because it might make someone whom you've never met smile, editing it in the cold light of day, and then posting it. expecting nothing. sometimes getting nothing. and sometimes getting someone send you kudos or a comment so heartbreakingly wonderful that it makes you smile in return.)

11. so once again, it is all about the writing.

i want to see Sam and Bucky get together in the mcu, not because they would be a gay couple but because i genuinely believe that their story has potential to be an amazing love story.

and i know the mcu isn't about the romance. it's why in my personal opinion we haven't gotten a lot of good canon romances besides Peter Quill and Gamora. and i don't think that the mcu should be all about the romance either. i fucking love the action and the fighting scenes. i love the comedy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had no romance and it was a fucking treasure, it was an amazing spy-action-thriller and it made my little gay heart dance. Thor Ragnarok had no romance, and it was an utterly brilliant comedic spectacle action film. not every movie needs romance.

but mcu Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were doing couple's therapy and fixing a boat and walking off into the sunset together in tfatws. they were inseparable on the battlefield. they've got a dynamic. it's beautiful, it's romantic, and it's gold.

a budding relationship between them in the next movie would be a good way to explore both characters more without the narrative feeling too stilted and separate. at the end of tfatws, both Sam and Bucky fans found that their respective fave felt somewhat underutilised and that their characters were underexplored.

now, that problem would be even more difficult to remedy in a movie, because the plotline of a movie needs to be really tight to work (giggity). and we know that the central conflict of the movie is gonna be action-based (which is good), but we still need each character's personal journey and growth to tie into the main conflict. (which is another issue that some fans found with tfatws, that these characters didn't really feel connected to the action-based plot on a more personal level.)

if Sam and Bucky are already in a relationship, however, this whole dynamic changes. first, their relationship has already been set up for nicely since TWS and through tfatws and they would officially be the best-fleshed-out couple in the mcu. but most importantly, a relationship gives them a perfect vehicle to explore both of their pasts comparatively and connect them personally to the action-based plot.

do you want to establish that Sam is a little too trusting and naïve? then establish this through his relationship with Bucky, and through showing his placing his trust in Bucky. (rather than through having him sympathise with a villain who threatened to murder his sister and his nephews).

perhaps you want to show Bucky recovering from his trauma? show us how comfortable he is with Sam. they get along, they're enjoying each other's presence, we see more of Sam's life and of his family, and then let Bucky tell Sam something that's raw and dark and honest about his life as The Winter Soldier. something about a memory, one that he only just recalled. he's opening up. and maybe what he tells Sam is even something that sets up the future action-based conflict, to ground that in something real.

you want to explore that Sam has trauma too? do this through Bucky. he tells Bucky a story about his time in the military. in the form of a flashback, he shares his own story of loss to evoke before the audience the shared theme of feeling at fault even when you're simply a helpless bystander to an act of pure destruction.

then, action sequence! and it's directly connected to Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier. explore the grief of someone whose life the Winter Soldier tore apart manifesting into a villain perpetuating the cycle of pain. establish your villain.

Later, Sam is dragged into battle against this villain for protecting Bucky. But Bucky doesn't want Sam to protect him. He feels guilt for what he can't control and he doesn't want Sam getting hurt because of him. Bucky reminds Sam that he has a family, one who needs him and who loves him. He tells him to go home.

Sam reminds Bucky that he's a part of that family. And that sure Sam's a hero and his job is to protect anyone and everyone, but that he's doing it because he wants to. It's not simply to prove that he can, or to prove that he's not a bystander (this connects to Sam's trauma here), but that he's doing it to help people.

and this gets Bucky thinking about who he is and what he's doing here. is he a hero who stands by Sam's side? or is he an ordinary man who stands aside? or perhaps, does he stand alone? what does he stand for? Maybe Sam knows. But does Bucky?

Sam and Bucky fight off the villain again, and for the first time Bucky meets this adversary face to face. And Bucky recognises this villain, and has a flashback to the genuine pain that he inflicted upon them in the form of the Winter Soldier. Bucky freezes mid-fight, he almost dies, and Sam has to save him.

Sam chews Bucky out for almost getting killed because he was afraid for him. but Bucky takes this the wrong way and goes off to fight the villain alone, or perhaps to die alone, he's not quite sure.

He puts up a half-hearted fight. He apologises for what the Winter Soldier has done, and he waits for the killing blow, when Sam swoops down and he saves him. He asks Sam why he saved him and Sam calls him a moron. And then, Sam asks him what sacrificing himself would solve. He tells him that you can't choose your past but you can choose your future (connecting to his own experience of loss and guilt and grief). And that no matter what Bucky Barnes still has a future, whether that's as the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or just some dork with a day job. And that he has a future as a part of Sam's family too.

Sam fights the villain, and it's toe to toe. He delivers a few good blows, but receives a fair few himself. And then the villain tears off his wings, first one and then the other, in a manner reminiscent of what the Winter Soldier did to him in TWS. Through Bucky's eyes there's a flashback to highlight the parallels. Sam gets back on his feet and he fights his best fight, but is now losing.

And then the heavily injured Bucky steps up and fights by Sam's side, and only together do they take down the villain.

"So... I inspired you, huh?" Sam teases with a smile, utterly exhausted. "With my heroism and-"

"You inspired me." Bucky said, equally exhausted. "Let's leave it at that."

Together, Sam and Bucky go back to the safety and warmth of their family. Sam fixes his wings. Sam goes back to being Captain America. And Bucky... he's around, but it's unclear what he's doing.

That is, until the very end. When Sam is in a fight, and suddenly Bucky shows up and helps him out.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I've made up my mind." Bucky says. "I'm the Winter Soldier. But now I'll save lives, Sam. Now, like you, I'll be a hero."

Sam smirks. "So does this make you my sidekick, then?"

Bucky smiles. "C'mon, at least make me a partner." He says.

"How about co-workers." Sam says (in flashback, he remembers back to the death of his last on-the-job partner).

"How about friends." Bucky says, with a wry look.

"Bucky... I don't want to see you put your dumbass self in danger." Sam says.

"Oh, and it's ok for you to go running off into danger on your own all the time?" Bucky asks.

"Yes." Sam says stubbornly. "Absolutely it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a dumbass?!"

"Sam, if you think I'm not gonna be watching your back for the rest of time... then you're the biggest dumbass I know. And I don't care if you need me or not, I will be there for you."

"Because Sam, you're more than Captain America. You're more than a good soldier. You're a good man. And I think sometimes, the world forgets what the difference is."

...or something like that.

(i only spent like 15 minutes on that. you know if i were actually writing this movie i would come up with something much better. and if anyone from marvel is seeing this, yes i can come work for you. i will make the time, let's do this thing right!)

finale

at the end of the day, whether or not the mcu chooses to make Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes a couple, it's their decision. and they don't owe me anything.

i'm just some random person on the internet. who thinks that Captain America 4 should #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend

#givecaptainamericaaboyfriend #meta #analysis #captain america 4 #caatws #fatws #tfatws #captain america #cap 4 #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky #marvel #mcu #mcu phase 4

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pepperony3000-archive · 5 years

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Wait Endgame is your second favorite? That's surprising! No judgement though, but now I want to know how you rank all of them

Oh goodness… that is TWENTY-THREE MOVIES to rank! That’s hard! This might get very jumbly at around the midway point…

1) Iron Man 3 - Everything about it is so perfect. The Iron Fam being chaotic but also 100% supportive of each other? Tony being the first superhero in history to deal with mental disorders blatantly!!! onscreen!!! The action is top notch. The final battle needs to be taught in film school because it’s literally a metaphor for Tony’s main personal theme of feeling like he’s nothing without his armor, but then at the end he’s able to leap from one to the other because it’s not the armor itself that makes him powerful, it’s that he has the powerbravery/will to leap from one to the other.

2) Avengers: Endgame - Y’all are looking at it wrong. Pretend the Infinity Saga is a TV show and it just ended, and now the rest of the MCU is a spinoff show featuring some of the newer/recently introduced characters, but without the core group of the original show.Suddenly the most important characters getting to leave with a bang isn’t as frustrating.But I also love it because it got my two favorite characters so beautifully right! Tony and Natasha, because they are the two who are deemed worthy enough to be turned into the big talking points of the movies, got to end their TV show finale with a huge glorious heroic sacrifice that will make them remembered forever!The time travel is also REALLY clever. And this is coming from someone who has watched a LOT of time travel shows/movies. There is literally only one movie I’ve ever seen that handled time travel better, and that was Arrival. They did away with the time travel paradox by having every past even just create an alternate timeline. And really? They only asked for suspension of disbelief in service of a joke that was not even that funny and I sort of hated and because they wanted the old Steve scene to have a particular emotional resonance, and having him come back through the portal old… wouldn’t have done that.

3) Iron Man - I firmly believe that this is the best movie in the entirety of the MCU. It was the first, and yet it has never been topped. (and yet it’s #3 on my list rofl)It gave us a very complex lead character with a supporting cast that had a lot more depth in their first outing than some of the OG6 had after four movies (*cough*Clint*cough*Thor*cough* - Thor only got good development after Ragnarok). There was also subtlety to the story that it seems hollywood writers in general (and MCU specifically) is incapable of anymore.

4) The Avengers - the very first time in history we get a massive teamup of superheroes? sign me the FUCK up!Loki was a fantastic villain, the characterization of all of them (except for Clint… sorry, pal) was absolutely amazing, and it’s just pure unadulterated fun. Not much more to say than that.

5) Black Panther - Live Action Lion King (2019) WHOMST? There was a live action Lion King in 2018 and it was called Black Panther!I have a few issues with it fuck YOU vibranium! but it’s SUCH a good movie. T’Challa is quite possibly the noblest MCU character/lead, and the supporting cast are all incredible. I also loved the idea that the villain was… actually… right? Oh he was wrong a FUCK in deciding that the way to go about getting it was through violence, but his end goal was correct.Which is actually very subtle (and again… one of the very few MCU movies to do that) and very important message - because so often people seem to think that violence is the answer. Because the cause is “right” and “just”, excessive violence or threats of violence are considered the proper course of action. But as Killmonger proved, that wasn’t the way. Instead we all need to be like Nakia - who wanted the same thing, but worked for it through kindness, sacrificing her own desires, and making the first tiny hole in the dam.

6) Captain America: The Winter Soldier - I firmly hold that this is one of the most overrated MCU movies, and it’s what started Steve Rogers down his path to… the character he ended up becoming… but it is an excellent movie!Natasha gets amazing development, Sam Wilson is better in this movie than he has been since, and the emotional stakes are very high and very well thought out. Also I’m sorry but the bold political statement of “nazis torturing people is bad” is… not all that subtle? or bold? I don’t know why people are saying that this is the movie that addresses difficult political questions because… it doesn’t?

7) Spiderman: Far From Home - I’m sorry y’all, but I love my boy Peter Parker and if you don’t like this movie then I might just fight you.It was a terrific followup to Endgame, and Peter’s trauma was dealt with in a very realistic and unbearably painful way. Mysterio was the perfect villain for Peter to face, because he forces him to confront his trauma… even though he forces it by first torturing Peter with it, but Peter is forced to find a way to cope with his fears, his grief, and his feelings of inadequacy. Also Peter/MJ is the literal cutest and I love them so much.

8) Avengers: Infinity War - ngl this was a VERY tough battle between this and FFH, but FFH won by just a hair.Thanos is the greatest villain of our generation, quite possibly of the past 2-3 generations. The characters they chose to pair up together worked extremely well - I didn’t know how much I needed the Thor/tree/rabbit teamup until it happened. And then that ending… never before has the world held its breath together in such shared anguish as when we watched Spiderman all the characters we love so much fade away into dust. And there was a great cry in all the world, such as never has been or ever shall be again!

9) Captain America: The First Avenger - Steve Rogers has never been better than he was in this film. Unfortunately it was all downhill after that, but it’s because of this film that he was my second favorite character for a good five years. There is a gentleness to this Steve that is utterly lacking starting in The Winter Soldier, where he becomes this machismo who obsesses far too much over anything he has one (1) emotion about because he doesn’t know how to handle it.This Steve Rogers is emotionally very intelligent, and is genuinely willing to do whatever it takes to do what is right.And I will say, I can understand why he made the decision he made in Endgame, because Peggy is such a brilliant and dynamic and interesting person, I don’t think anybody could have resisted staying with her (if she agreed to have him). @Marvel please bring back Agent Carter, because I need more Peggy.

10) Captain America: Civil War - This movie did a lot of studio mandated things, and because of that was weaker than it might have been, but I hold that it is a very good and very solid movie. Unfortunately, a big fault of the movie is that I don’t think Chris Evans believed in what he was performing, and so couldn’t give it the complexity that it needed (particularly as the Russo’s take input of their cast into consideration when making their movies… actors get to choose a lot of their own character beats unless it’s a plot-mandated beat). And unfortunately, Steve Rogers suffered for this.If The Winter Soldier is the one where he began obsessing over anything that gave him one (1) emotion, this is the movie where that tendency grew two extra heads and turned into a monster. Steve sees this argument the way a soldier who is used to following orders during wartime would, whereas Tony sees this argument the way a strategist during peacetime might. Steve thinks Tony is “trying to win a war before it starts”, while Tony thinks he’s deescalating rising tensions. And unfortunately, Steve is too blinded by his one (1) emotion to see the complexities in the situation.Which, while it frustrates me how poorly this movie did Steve’s personality, those dynamics are very interesting to watch play out onscreen. Plus, the dialogue is sharp and witty, and the emotional beats - particularly everything that has to do with Tony, is some of the most beautifully written and performed drama I’ve seen in a while.

11) Spiderman: Homecoming - This movie did such a good job of giving us a teenaged Peter Parker. All the other movies, Peter didn’t feel like a teenager. He felt like a grownup. This Pete is definitely a teenager - he’s a young kid in a big world trying to be a superhero, and because of that trying to take on problems that he is not experienced enough to take on.The journey he takes on this movie is to learn just exactly that, and by the end he probably is experienced enough now to take on those bigger threats, but he makes the mature decision not to do that quite yet - proving exactly the kind of man he will eventually grow up to be.

12) Thor: Ragnarok - Finally Thor gets developed. Hemsworth really shows off his acting chops in this movie. He’s always been very charming as Thor, but this is the movie where we learned that he’s not just charming, but also a very talented actor. I personally found some of the clumsiness/slapstick around his character a bit much, but Hemsworth performed it perfectly.This is a movie where the story doesn’t actually matter. Honestly… who even remembers the story? The important thing about this movie are the characters, and they are all done incredibly well, except possibly Loki, and even he got some good development at the very end of it. Thor is finally an interesting character, Hela is an amazing villain, Bruce got some fun development, and Valkyrie should have been introduced five movies ago (@Marvel give me a Valkyrie movie! Why the FUCK are we reportedly getting Thor 4 when you could have had Thor stay behind as king of Asgard and giving Val her own movie instead? Especially since all of Thor’s important relationships are dead or in the gotg movie, so he has nowhere to move on to! If we don’t have good characters/dynamics, Thor 4 will suck! It will also suck because the heart of his movies have been his relationship with his brother, and that’s gone now).

13/14) Ant Man and the Wasp/Ant Man - Honestly these movies can just be grouped together, because they’re very very similar, and all I would have to say about one I’d say about the other.

The Antman movies are very light hearted and comical, and the important thing here (like Ragnarok) is not the story, but the characters. The family relationships explored here honestly feel like real families - they just happen to live in a world with superheroes. I think AMaTW is the better of the two, but only by a little bit.

15) Iron Man 2 - This is another movie that was made lesser than it could have been due to executive meddling. Honestly, if you re-cut the movie and just take out all of Coulson’s scenes it becomes a much better movie (and would have gone higher on the list).As it is, Coulson dumps expositional world building that doesn’t really work in the context of the movie.What does work is the chaotic-yet-supportive Iron Fam (once again), and the introduction of Black Widow. I think Natasha might have had the best introduction in the MCU, because the audience was who she was fooling. Her job is to manipulate people and fool them into thinking she’s what she wants us to think she is, and only reveals the truth when she’s ready for it. And that is exactly how we were introduced to her. The underlying plot of Tony struggling with his imminent death was also incredibly well done. He wanted so desperately to not be dying, but there wasn’t anything that he could do. And when he ran out of options, he behaved in such a way to make things worse for him (health wise), because nothing was worse than sitting back and waiting for death to come. Better for it to come quickly and for the agony of just waiting for it to pass. Unfortunately Coulson takes away some of the gravitas of that by forgetting Tony was dying and threatening to taze him…All in all, a weak story but fleshed out by some of the best characters the MCU has ever created and introduced.

16) Doctor Strange - A decent movie with decent characters. There is nothing particularly memorable about it, but also nothing particularly bad about it either (beyond casting a non-Asian actress as the Ancient One).

17) Thor - Sort of like Doctor Strange, a decent movie with a charming lead but mostly terrible supporting cast. I will hold that none of the human characters are actually very good. At all. The best thing Ragnarok did was drop them all like the movie ruining load that they are.Once again, Loki is a good villain and an interesting character, and while Thor is underdeveloped he’s incredibly charming and likable in spite of that.

18) Captain Marvel - Yes I am a woman. Yes I disliked Captain Marvel. Can we move on from that please.If Thor is a decent movie with a charming lead, Captain Marvel is a decent movie with a terrible lead. I do not find Carol to be particularly interesting, and will hold that Brie Larson was incredibly miscast in the role. (if you want to hear why, you can peruse this). In general, it’s also a movie that relies a little bit too much on 90s nostalgia, and as somebody who personally hates when a movie relies on nostalgia to be considered “good”, all of that rubbed me the wrong way. The same applies to Ragnarok tbh, but I didn’t mention it up there because I wanted to rant about wanting a Valkyrie movie. (@Marvel please)Unfortunately, this movie is also not one bit subtle with it’s message. And as a woman, I do not relate to a woman whose only personality trait is “stand up to men”. Every other female character in the MCU is quite capable of standing up to men, and they all have a lot of character outside of that. And I will stop there because even saying that much risks me getting blocked right off of this hellsite…

19) Guardians of the Galaxy - I am definitely in the minority for this one, but I never liked this movie. If the 90s nostalgia in Captain Marvel rubbed me the wrong way, the 80s nostalgia in this movie was rubbing me the wrong way. with sandpaper.But my biggest problem with this movie is that Quill is not interesting enough (in my opinion) to be the central character. These characters all feel like sidekicks, and without a strong central lead for them to be sidekicks to, everything just feels very underdeveloped. I also find the humor in these movies to be very cheap and childish.However, I love that the team very much became a family. I believe in their relationships with each other even if each person as an individual character feels very weak.

20) Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - If you took GOTG1 and flipped it on it’s head, you’d get GOTG2. This is quite possibly the worst MCU movie ever, except that… somehow… it has some of the most heartfelt and meaningful emotional beats out of all of them.I felt every single emotional beat, and the fact that the characters were all sidekicks… actually worked well for this movie. They didn’t need to be more than sidekicks, because the “kick” part of sidekick stands for “kick ass”.However, the story was atrociously bad, and one of the worst the MCU has ever done, which is why it’s below GOTG1. But only slightly.

21) The Incredible Hulk - Does anybody even remember this movie? It was boring, uneventful, had the wrong guy playing Bruce Banner, and was just poorly written throughout.

22) Thor: The Dark World - This movie is a boring, dreary, horribly written, badly directed mess. Some of the stuff up on Asgard was decent except for the fact that they fridged Frigga for no goddamn reason, and everything that happened on earth was goddamn awful, verging on embarrassing. And don’t even get me started on the dark elves. They were rightfully dropped from the MCU and never mentioned again because they are just That. Bad.

23) The Avengers: Age of Ultron - the movie where Joss Whedon fucked up Natasha’s backstory for the sake of his self-insert ship, infantilized Wanda Maximoff by insisting the woman with cleverly displayed cleavage who was clearly in her 20s was actually only 15, did not solidify the team as a family (THIS IS THE MOVIE WHERE THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN GODDAMMIT), and disrespected literally every movie that came before (including his own goddamn flick).Wow I just realized that most of the awful shit he did was done to the female characters. Can you believe this disgusting asshole has the audacity to call himself a feminist? Fucking disgraceful…Fuck Whedon. He doesn’t deserve to come within a thousand yards of a woman.

#ranking mcu movies #Anonymous #Ask me a question #long post

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ansheofthevalley · 5 years

Note

People tend to do the same thing for Steve and Tony (Stony), as in fetishize their relationship, when you’ve already mentioned that there are plenty of LGBTQ people in the world of Marvel.

Hi nonny!

TBH, it’s hardly hot news that fandom in general like to fetishize mlm couples (especially if the characters are portrayed as straight). It’s usually straight women that fetishizes mlm ships (that’s a whole another problem I won’t get into now, otherwise this would be a very long post). I mean, I still remember the days of BBC Sherlock and Johnlock. I’m sure you do too, nonny.

Now, everyone has their own headcanons about characters and all. And that’s totally OK. But the MCU adapts characters from the comics (I know I’m totally coming across like a comic book purist, which I’m not, not really), and there are tons of wonderful LGTBQ characters in the comics. I’m aware that not all the people that are part of the MCU fandom read the comics, and that’s cool.

I guess that my main issues with this are the following:

Like I said before, the MCU adapts the characters from the comics. But adaptation doesn’t mean carbon copy. Just like MCU’s MJ is not the “typical” Mary Jane we know, the MCU version is based on an alternate version of Mary Jane from the comics in which she was as much of a genius as Peter (I can’t remember the alternate universe). The same can happen with a character’s sexuality. Let’s use Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman as an example. Her original version (Earth-616) is straight. But her Ultimate version (Earth-1610) identifies as a lesbian. Same can happen with Illyana Rasputina aka Magik, who in Earth 616 is established as straight, but she’s also established as bi and gay in different alternate universes. Other characters that can go this route are Wolverine and Hercules (both from Earth-12025, alternate universe in which they’re a couple) and Beast and Wonder Man (both from Earth-763, alternate universe in which they’re a couple).

(I MEAN... Here you have two of the manliest, most macho-looking superheroes Marvel has, sharing a show-stopping kiss. JUST IMAGINE if we got something remotely close to it in the MCU).

I don’t have a problem with characters being queer when their comic counterpart are straight, as long as it makes sense whithin their narrative frame. Otherwise, it just becomes thoughtless representation and as a community we deserve better than that.

Then, of course, you have the canon LGBT characters (by canon I refer to characters present in the Earth-616 timeline). You have:

- Gay characters:

Union Jack

Northstar

Angela (Thor’s older sister, whose storyline in the MCU was given to Hela)

Sera

Korg (who already is in the MCU)

Phyla-Vell

Moondragon

America Chavez

Wiccan

Hulkling

Iceman (one of the 6 original X-Men)

Karma (founder of the New Mutants)

Viv (Vision’s “daughter”)

-Bi characters:

Loki

Black Cat

Psylocke

Mystique

Electro (a Spider-Man villain)

Daken (Wolverine’s son)

Prodigy

Beetle (a Spider-Man villain)

Fuse

Noh-Varr

-Pan characters:

Deadpool

Julie Power

Xavin

-Trans characters:

Sera

Loki

-Genderfluid characters:

Loki

Xavin

Mystique

-LGBTQ characters that already are in the MCU (*):

Loki (Bisexual and genderfluid)

Valkyrie (Bisexual)

Nico Minoru (Bisexual)

Karolina Dean (Gay)

Xavin (Genderfluid)

Jeri Hogarth (Gay)

Joey Gutierrez (Gay)

Justin Hammer (Gay)

(*)I’m aware of the pattern here, the only openly LGBTQ characters are from the Marvel shows. Loki, Valkyrie and Justin Hammer have all been confirmed as queer behind the scenes

As you can see, there are tons of queer characters, some that even fit with the direction the MCU will be taking after Endgame:

You have America Chavez, Wiccan, Hulkling and Noh-Varr, all members of the Young Avengers. A notable member of this team? Cassie, Scott Lang’s daughter (she’s a teenager by the end of Endgame, so the timeline is just right for Marvel to bring the YA to the MCU). Also, in the Disney + Hawkeye series, it’s said that Clint will train someone. That someone could turn out to be Kate Bishop, another member of this group.

You have Iceman, Karma, Psylocke, Mystique, Daken, Prodigy and Deadpool, all members of the X-Men or groups affiliated with them. Since Disney acquiered the rights to the X-Men, we’ll see some of them soon in the MCU.

You have Phyla-Vell and Moondragon, characters associated with the GotG and the cosmic side of Marvel. Since one of the confirmed projects is the Eternals movie and it’s also said that the Captain Marvel sequel will take place in space, it’s possible these characters are introduced, since it seems the MCU is heading towards exploring the cosmic side of the universe. Marvel also confirmed that the Eternals movie will introduce its first openly gay character, so yay!

You have Ultimate Jessica Drew. She’s from the same alternate universe as Miles Morales. Since FFH confirmed the Multiverse theory, it can be possible this version of the character appears in the MCU, either as the MCU’s version of the Jess or as part of the Spider-Verse story-line. Also possible to make an appareance (but a little further down the line): Black Cat. She’s a love interest/rival to Spider-Man. There’s also possibility for Electro and Beetle to appear since they were both part of the Sinister Six.

You have Angela and Sera. Since Thor joined the GotG at the end of Avengers: Endgame, making it look like an adaptation of the Asgardians of the Galaxy run (or at least, the start of it), it’s easy to introduce, at least, Angela, since she became a rather popular character.

You have Loki and his upcoming Disney + solo series, which will take place in an alternate universe. The series is perfect for Marvel to explore the sexuality of one of its most popular characters.

You have Viv, the Vision’s daughter. Since we’ll get the ScarletVision Disney + series, it’s possible we get a version of Viv, or a mix of her and the children Wanda and Vision “had” (if you read House of M, you’ll know what I’m referring to). Viv is part of the series of new young heroes, along with Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel), Riri Williams (Ironheart), Miles Morales (Ultimate universe’s Spider-Man), Spider-Gwen (Earth-65′s Gwen Stacy), Nadia Pym (Wasp), Lunella Lafayette (Moon Girl) and Gabby Kinney (a clone of Wolverine).

As I said, there are tons of awesome characters waiting to be introduced. Just because they’re not known to the GA doesn’t mean they couldn’t be great additions to the MCU. I mean, almost nobody knew about the Guardians when their first movie came out. Scott Lang and Stephen Strange were largely unknown by the GA when their movies came out. So yeah, I have great hopes for these awesome characters.

Also, support the Marvel shows that are giving us proper representation! Watch Runaways on Hulu and Jessica Jones and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D on Netflix.

#anti stony #(not really)#MCU #marvel #lgbtq+ representation #my thoughts #i just have shit to say when it comes to the mcu and queer representation y'know #i also have shit to say about the popular mlm ships #this probably will be an unpopular opinion #but y'all are making me have flashbacks with stucky/stony #y'all taking me back the days tumblr was basically a bunch of straight women fetishizing the hell out of johnlock #\ (ツ) /

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tortoisesforhire · 5 years

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Ali Redoes the Marvel Universe

So instead of sleeping I decided to map out the MCU the right way my way.

So starting with Ironman I wouldn’t change too much except instead of him hooking up with Christine Everhart in the beginning it’s a dude, maybe the dudes a dick, maybe not, it doesn’t really matter. But it is a dude and no one is surprised.

The Hulk is completely redone with Ruffalo, the Abomination is still the villain but Betty plays a bigger part and Jennifer Walters is in it, at the end there’s a part where Jennifer may or may not become She-Hulk (she definitely does ilhsm)

Ironman 2 is still the same, I have no real complaints about that, Pepper has a bigger part to play, their romance is more fleshed out, more Rhodey bro moments. It’s also made more apparent that Tony was severely abused as a child. #HowardStarkWasaBadDad

Thor is more or less the same BUT there’s a part, somewhere, where they talk about Sigyn, Loki’s wife who died and he blames Thor which gives him actual motivation to hate his brother other than being annoyed about constantly picking up his messes. Loki is more fleshed out/tragic and the audience understands why he does what he does more. And Thor and Jane don’t have a weird/creepy romance, and Sif is played by someone better/buffer and she and Thor are married.

Captain America is, again, more or less the same only with more emphasis on his age and the fact that he never completed basic training and he’s basically just lucking his way through this war. We really feel for him when he wakes up in the future, but we’re not under the illusion that he has any idea what he’s doing. Also he and Bucky are a couple, Peggy is very supportive.

The Avengers happens, only Thor makes it very clear from the get go that Loki is clearly not himself and is acting under the influence of Someone (Thanos). Hulk snaps him out of it in the end and Loki is revealed to be Very Ill, he gives them invaluable intel on Thanos.

Ironman 3, again, more or less the same. Still heavy Pepeprony, only difference is the rest of the Avengers Exist and are Present, even if it’s only in the background as they worry about their buddy. Maybe a comment about how they’re working on helping repair New York. Ending scene where Harley meets the team, cause reasons.

Thor 2 is pretty vastly different, mostly in that Thor and Jane are not a couple, Sif is a bigger part of the story, Loki’s helping out being a snarky bastard and he and Thor make progress on their issues. Odin is more complicit in the elves and Thor comes to recognize this as A Problem.

Captain America TWS is mostly the same only Tony is involved, even if just peripherally he’s Involved. Sharon is a badass and she and Steve don’t flirt with each other, Steve opens up to Nat about Bucky. Sam is still awesome, SHIELD still falls, Nat collabs with Tony to pick up the pieces. Tony helps Steve find Bucky.

Guardians is entirely the same, that movie is perfect, I love it so much. Maybe just add a Moondragon reference that’s all I ask.

Avengers 2 it’s clearly established that the Avengers live at the Tower, even Thor who’s on the outs with his dad, Tony is highly appreciated and valued by the team as it’s senior member, Steve is acknowledged to be the Least Qualified to Lead ANYONE thank you. Ultron happens, yes they’re upset, but less cruel about it. Wanda and Pietro did NOT join a nazi organization willingly THEY ARE FUCKING JEWISH fuck, maybe Hydra has them under mind control idk but it’s not willing. Pietro survives because he is FASTER THAN BULLETS FOR FUCKS SAKE, Wanda goes into magic training/therapy on Asgard with Frigga and Loki. There’s an end scene where Wanda notices something cosmicy that means Sigyn is alive THANK YOU.

Hulk 2 Because Ruffalo deserves more, this is mostly about Jennifer and Betty and Bruce being an adorable ruffled disaster boi. Jennifer becomes She-Hulk, Betty leaves Doc for Bruce. They’re very cute.

Antman literally exactly the same, nothing to change, it’s a wonderful movie.

Captain America Civil War garbage, just throw it away. Tony found Bucky at the end of the last movie, he’s in rehab. INSTEAD

Black Widow The Movie the accords happen, we meet spiderman and black panther somehow, Nat’s past with Zemo is revealed BECAUSE ITS WAY MORE SIGNIFICANT THAN STEVE FUCK Clint and her have lots of Friendship Moments, Steve can’t help because he’s locked himself in a room with Bucky, none of us really wants to know what they’re doing. Natasha is revealed to be a Bisexual Icon (tm), the movie ends with a Sigyn reveal and a Big Clue about Thanos. Thank you Nat, everyone claps.

Doctor Strange exactly the same, minus his romance with Christine, add a little more of the Tragic Backstory and Dead Sister, end with a reference to Clea his beautiful and deadly future wife.

Guardians 2 completely different, the Ego thing was weird af, Peter’s dad is J’son of Spartoi, he wants Peter to succeed him as Emperor, Peter has mixed feelings about this, his half sister tries to kill him, ensue hilarious battle. Drax gives some more clues to his Weird Backstory (it’s so weird I love it) Adam Warlock appears in the end. He and Peter don’t get along. Lots of dad!Yondu moments, he doesn’t die, we all love him lots.

Spiderman more or less exactly the same, I love that movie. peripherally we learn that Vision and Wanda are hanging out more, Loki took Sigyn to Asgard, we’re all Very Curious, Peter is adorable.

Thor 3 completely different, not that I didn’t love Ragnarok, but it really didn’t fit in the timeline. Honestly. We learn that Odin banished Loki’s children and lied about killing them, Angrboda returns, there’s a very dramatic Family Fight. Thor helps overthrow his dad, Loki gets his kids and his second wife back. They begin planning for Thanos. Also we can maybe introduce Valkyrie and Aldriff. Cause they’re really cool.

Black Panther T’Challa becomes king, idk how his dad died but it happened during the Black Widow movie, the same thing happens with Killmonger and stuff. Shuri has a Tony Stark Fangirl moment (because fuck you she’s not smarter just cause she has better materials, if Tony had magic rocks he’d make cooler stuff too. He had scraps and he made a fucking super suit)

Avengers Infinity War They’re way better prepared, Tony and Bruce ousted Ross who’s now in jail, the Accords are working very well. Thanos still delivers a devastating attack, Tony, Strange, Peter and the Guardians still end up in space. Through the efforts of Loki and Sigyn Thanos is defeated at the last second. Sigyn reveals that he was only acting on behalf of Death herself.

Antman and The Wasp basically the same minus the dust thing at the end. That doesn’t happen.

Captain Marvel exactly the same, don’t touch a damn thing that thing is a damn masterpiece. Okay I lied, Carol and Maria makeout for like a minute in the middle, it’s very touching.

Avengers Endgame Moondragon shows up, she and Drax have a Hilarious conversation, her girlfriend is awesome. Weird cosmic weirdness happens, Deadpool reference, lots of Tony and Peter moments, Pepper reveals that she’s pregnant, big end battle with Death, Ride of the Valkyries in the end as Brunnhilde and Aldriff ride in leading the armies of the Nine Realms against Death Herself, played by Cate Blanchett. (because Hel is Loki’s daughter damnit, she’s creepy but not evil)

We end on Tony and Peppers wedding, Steve and Bucky are holding hands, Peter is crying, Quill keeps giving Gamora Looks, Mantis and Nebula have A Moment, Cassie meets Harley and they have a snark off, Scott is very proud. Phil shows up as a surprise, Clint cries, Natasha punches him and Tony has to sit down for a moment. Bucky catches the bouquet.

The next Spiderman movie is about Peter becoming an Avenger now that Tony is officially retired. The next Captian Marvel is a resolution of the Skrull Wars involving the Lost Prince Dorrek IV, In the next Black Panther T’Challa and Nakia get married, Okoye and M’Baku have an affair. The next Doctor Strange centers on Clea and the Dark Dimension, Stephen becomes Sorcerer Supreme, he tries and fails to flirt with Wanda who’s now with Vision. Pietro makes a snarky cameo. There’s a Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver movie involving the Inhumans and space stuff. Pietro and Crystal get their shot. Black Widow gets an origin film. Throughout all of this we see an increasing problem with young superhumans, this problem is mirrored in the marvel tv shows, all of it leading up to a massive MCU crossover even; Avengers Civil War, when a teen super group, the Runaways, inadvertently cause the death of 60 children. This kicks off the Super Human Registration Program, which ends in a big superhero fight which ends in Tony leaving retirement to head of the Avengers Academy, Clint becomes a teacher, Steve retires to marry Bucky and train the next generation. All is well in the universe, Strange is Sorcerer Supreme, Thor rules Asgard, Loki and his two wives are raising their children in peace, Wakanda is sharing their technology with the world. All is well.

....which leads to...The X Men Adventures!!

#I put maybe a lot of thought into this #maybe

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iamjacsmusings · 6 years

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MCU Challenge musings

18 weeks. 18 films. The MCU Challenge. In collaboration with Team #Geekstalkers. Collated musings below, all leading to Infinity War.

#1 - Iron Man

Robert Downey Jnr IS Tony Stark, Tony Stark IS Iron Man, Iron Man IS the first MCU Avenger. Without this we wouldn’t have the MCU as we know and love it. Despite that, coming soon after Batman’s triumphant return as it does, I can’t help but feel the identikit Iron Man Begins falls a little flat. The weak MCU villain problem is present and incorrect right from Mk 1 too.

#2 - The Incredible Hulk

Tonally misjudged and (latterly) at odds with the hulk as we know and love him in the shared MCU. Watching now, 15 entries later, it feels non-canon. As a standalone, inspired by the 70s show, it’s fine.

#3 - Iron Man 2

Probably [one of] the weakest #mcuchallenge entries for me as it aims for “cool” moments rather than developing character or overarching story. On the flipside, it introduces us to ScarJo’s Black Widow

#4 - Thor

In no particular order: the direction of Branagh, the realisation of the Rainbow bridge, the triple H acting of Hemsworth, Hiddleston and Hopkins, the hilarious humour, the majesty of Mjolnir, the Shakespearean plot machinations; all are Thor-some!

#5 - Captain America: The First Avenger

I (too) was predisposed to preferring this origin above all Avengers due to my predilection for Captain America as a character, so the bar was set high. Johnson, the perfectly chosen director, exceeded it by making a boys own adventure replete with echoes of his Lucasfilm roots. It’s underrated in my opinion and should be considered as the Raiders of Phase One. Joe Johnson just *got* 1940s Adventure-era Cap. As too does Evans who only continues to get better with each subsequent appearance. I could watch Cap movies all day…

#6 - Avengers Assemble

Still top 5 MCU of all-time. The Avengers characterisations are spot on in this initial assemblage; no mean feat considering the wealth of source material, the origins of Phase One and the balancing act of at least seven key roles. Come the epic Chitauri invasion finale and from the Avengers arc shot onwards there’s too many fist-pumping, geekgasm moments to mention; spine tingling each and every one of them.

#7 - Iron Man 3

As a fanboy of @BonafideBlack’s buddy banter and noir stylings, I’m on board with his Iron Man entry (noir is an anagram of Iron after all) He write characters therefore it came as no surprise that his take delves beneath the suit to the mechanic that wears it. I’m aware I’m in the minority, but the first two don’t do much for me therefore this is like a shot of extremis to Shellhead’s previously floundering solo entries. It still looks to be Stark’s swansong and, if so, it’s a fine way to finish IMO. Kiss Kiss Iron Man, if you will. The “barrel of monkeys” scene is one of the stand out scenes from the entire MCU too.

#8 - Thor: The Dark World

The tone, palette and plot of this inferior sequel is arguably more aligned with the much maligned DC(E)U rather than the rightly-lauded MCU; make of that what you will. I’d gladly watch an anthology prequel about the Lord of the Aether battle glimpsed in the prologue though…

#9 - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

An espionage thriller every bit as good as the best Bourne or Bond has to offer, Captain America: The Winter Soldier just happens to have a few present and future Avengers at its centre. The undisputed leader of the Avengers as the 18-strong MCU currently stands, the more I revisit Captain America Super Soldier, the closer the film creeps towards my current cream of the big screen comic book crop, The Dark Knight.

#10 - Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is better than any film about a half-Terran cross between Han Solo and Indiana Jones, a walking thesaurus, a talking tree, a green-skinned warrior woman and a bad-tempered raccoon has any right to be. I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve seen GotG already. There’s so much to admire, so much Galaxy to explore. it bears repeat viewing. Every joke still lands. Every emotional beat pulls a heart string. Every character is worthy of fronting their own galactic adventure. We. Are. Groot.

#11 - Avengers: Age of Ultron

There’s much to admire in this movie as Whedon ably juggles the ever-growing ensemble cast; each one gets their moment so, no matter who your favourite is, you should feel satisfied come the conclusion. The action scenes pay off with key moments that remain in the memory: the team line-up, “Go to sleep, go to sleep”, Black Widow on the bike, Hawkeye motivating Scarlet Witch and the arc shot around the Avengers as they end the threat of too many Ultrons. Quiet moments pay off too: the party is perfect (especially Thor’s face as Cap moves Mjolnir), the interlude at ranch Barton is a top idea and the lull in the final fight manages to move; I even welled up a little as Cap and Widow debate their fate this watch. In short, it’s endlessly rewatchable, as my SuperSon has put to the test.

#12 - Ant-Man

Easily the most underrated entry in the entirety of the MCU to date, Ant-Man is also, upon reflection, my favourite solo character origin story. Giant-sized words, I know!

#13 - Captain America: Civil War

War! What is it good for? Captain America movies!

I love Civil War. It’s edgy. It;s important. It’s epic! It truly feels like a “superhero comic book movie” ripped from the panelled page. And, Thor damn, the Russo’s sure can shoot the shit (Sorry, Cap) out of an action scene. Speaking of scenes, there’s one in Fight Club when the Narrator and Tyler mock a Gucci advertisement, asking if it’s what a real man look like. It’s not, no. What a real man looks like is Captain America holding a helicopter with one arm and a building with the other. Swoon.

I could watch this on repeat all day.

#14 - Doctor Strange

Let’s face it, Cumberbatch was the only choice for Strange, as suited to the hyper-intelligent, egotistical, socially-awkward auteur as Downey Jr was to Stark’s genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. By this point in the MCU, Marvel can do origin with ease as this return to formula proves. Whilst Doctor Strange does remind you of movies from before (Iron Man, Batman Begins, Inception, Matrix), it patches them together into a kaleidoscopic Frankenstein of its own making.

Oh, one more thing: it goes without saying how awesome Doctor Strange’s enchanted Cloak of Levitation is – I’d argue it’s the single best cinema companion since Gromit!

#15 - Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol Two

GotG amped up to 11, Vol. 2 is less a case of difficult second volume, more Gunn locked and loaded. GotG2 is deeper, richer and cleverer than it’s predecessor, if not as instantly iconic nor anarchic in its punk rock aesthetics or impact. Ego, we’ve all got to grow up sometime. Following the near perfection of the first Volume was always going to be a tricky proposition, but this sophomore space saga soars true enough and will surely, in time, serve as a solid central entry in a worthy Guardians of the Galaxy stand-alone trilogy.

#16 - Spider-Man: Homecoming

Did I need another resuited Spider-Man movie so soon after the last aborted attempt? I didn’t think so until I saw this coming-of-age comedy that referenced Ferris Bueller, BttF: Part II and The Breakfast Club (among others)

Did I need another iteration of Spider-Man and his teen geek alter-ego Peter Parker? I didn’t think so until I saw Tom Holland’s infectiously enthusiastic and ultimately incomparable portrayal of everyone’s favourite neighbourhood webslinging wannabe Avenger.

Did I need another potentially disappointing take on a classic Spider-Man villain? I didn’t think so until Michael Keaton’s birdman soared above almost any other adapted antagonist from the entirety of comic canon – not since Loki have I feared and cheered in equal measure.

Did I need another big screen Spider-Man blockbuster? I didn’t think so until I understood what this wall-crawlers direction was under the genius creative control of chief Watcher Feige within the winning MCU. Now I need more, for thwips sake…

#17 - Thor Ragnarok

Space fantasy as its Flash(“ahh ah”)iest, Ragnarok is: Thorsome, Hela good, Full of gloriously glib Loki asides, a Hulk load of fun, great Valkyrie for money! Third time’s the charm for the God of Thunder. I can’t TaikaWaititi to see the Revengers return in Infinity War!

#18 - Black Panther

Stunning Wakanda world building. Convincing and charismatic cast performances. Strong character motivations. Serious and meaningful underlying themes. Too much CGI. MCU continuity issues. Nowhere near enough Michael B Jordan. Good not great. Middling MCU Challenge entry for me.

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ryanmeft · 7 years

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Thor: Ragnarok Impressions

I really liked Thor: Ragnarok. I'll put my cards on the table: I am probably going to like movies in this shared Marvel universe more than the average bear. It seems that the more pissed I get at Marvel as a whole (a long story), the better their movies get. 2017 dropped three of my favorites, as well as a non-MCU bonus in the form of Logan. I'm a happy nerd.

I also don't really want to go over the high points again. Every nerd and critic has already done that. So instead, I decided to share a handful of entirely personal thoughts I had about the movie during and after. Here goes.

Chris Hemsworth did not just become funny Inexplicably, I've heard a lot of chatter that Thor is finally funny in Ragnarok. I'm wondering where these people have been for the rest of the films, or for Chris Hemsworth's career. Thor has been the most comedically versatile regular character in the MCU for a while. Yes, more so than Iron Man, who rarely veers from his arrogant-playboy routine, and more so than Cap, who relies on his man-out-of-time shtick for laughs. He's even funnier than any of the Guardians. All of those characters are entertaining and play off each other well, but Hemsworth can do it all himself. He's able to simultaneously make Thor a lovable lug and poke fun at his tough guy image. It isn't that he becomes funny in Ragnarok, it's that Taika Waititi takes off the cuffs and allows him free rein.

Did they just actually move Loki's character forward? NOTE: HUGE SPOILERS IN THIS SECTION Tom Hiddleston has always been a gift to the MCU. For one thing, no two actors in the franchise play off each other as well as Hemsworth and Hiddleston. For another, he somehow makes the "Snake" character work. Most of the time, when someone continually changes sides (Miles Teller in the Divergent series, for instance), you wonder why the other characters don't just off them and get it over with. By comparison, Marvel has done an excellent job over multiple directors of maintaining Loki's character and relationship to Thor in ways that let us see why the God of Thunder keeps the God of Mischief around. In this particular movie, Loki is literally given the task of destroying Asgard to stop Hela, and seems to have mended his relationship with his brother. But...did he take the Cosmic Cube at the end? Of course he did. Not only can I see no other way he could have gotten onto the ship to escape, but it actually makes sense. Otherwise, the Infinity Stone inside would have been left adrift at the site where the world it was known to be on just exploded, for anyone to amble along and pick up. That may not be Loki's motivation, but Thanos did promise to hunt him down if he didn't bring him the Cube. And according to descriptions of the unreleased Infinity War trailer shown at Disney's D23 event, one scene pictures a kneeling Loki...handing Thanos the cube. If you think Loki's constant betrayals are getting old, there's another wrinkle: perhaps he agreed to serve Thanos again in order to spare the survivors of Asgard.

The movie definitely delivered on the title Going in, I did not expect the film would follow the comics, in which, last I read, Ragnarok really happened and Asgard as we knew it was destroyed. In fact, the movie followed that pretty closely, with the exception of Loki not being the one to initiate the apocalypse. Asgard is gone, and Thor is getting ready to re-home his people on earth, similar to the comics Thor. This seems like a pretty bold move for the movies, but really, the Thor series and character were too tethered to Asgard, in many ways. Ragnarok was obviously meant as a clear break with the dour and serious tone of the previous Thor movies, and severing the character's ties to Asgard was a necessary step. Also, I know critics aren't supposed to like final battles, but that one was pretty epic. I don't recall a giant green monster fighting Fenrir in the original myths.

Throwing the cast together really works There's not much to elaborate on here. Tessa Thompson kicks major ass and is mercifully not set up much as a love interest. Loki and Thor work as well as they always do. The Hulk and Banner fit surprisingly well, with Mark Ruffalo playing off the proceeding as himself as well as he does when he's CGi-ed up. Karl Urban seems to have had a lot of scenes cut behind those meaningful looks, but his role works fairly well. Idris Elba's Heimdall finally gets more to do than stand there looking serious, and it's about damn time. Several movies could easily be made out of this group. Even Benedict Cumberbatch's brief appearance as Doctor Strange is fun. The only letdown is no appearance by Jamie Alexander's Sif. It would have been great to see her and Valkyrie get into a drunken arm-wrestling match. I also need to mention that Thompson's inclusion pisses off racists, which is awesome.

Marvel's villains keep improving I've never been on the all-Marvel's-villains-suck bandwagon, but there's no question 2017 has seen their best ones yet. The Vulture from Spider-Man still takes the prize, but Cate Blanchett's Hela is deliciously dark, and Jeff Goldblum's deliciously devious Grandmaster is a treat. It's honestly hard for me to see how Thanos could top any of 2017's baddies.

Taika Waititi! He can do no wrong. Everybody run out and see Hunt for the Wilderpeople and What We Do in the Shadows, right now. I wouldn't whine if they had him back for the next film.

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hiddlewiddlejill · 6 years

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Little point about Thor Ragnarok

So, I wanted to write this little thing down about Ragnarok because I’ve seen SO MANY posts about Ragnarok that went pretty much badly in the comments ? (Not talking about the comments I made with the wonderful Latent-Thoughts but between other users that ended up in my dash and made me sad about that.)

Before I begin, please, forgive me for any grammar mistakes I make. English isn’t my native language and I didn’t have a proper english class in YEARS.

This engage MY opinion and only mine. If you disagree, I am respectful of your beliefs. Everyone has the right to have their opinion. If you wish to open a respectful debate in the comments, please, be welcome to do so. ;)

So, basically, I’ve seen some posts that went on like “Thor Ragnarok is the best MCU movie ever and we should be grateful for that”, others that went on like “Waititi and Hemsworth made obnoxious comments about this movie versus the other “Thor”s movies, so I have a problem with that.”

I’m going to repeat myself : I have seen “Eagle vs Shark”, “Boy”, “Hunt for the wilderpeople” and “What we do in the shadows”, I can only take defense of Waititi by saying two things : he’s a master at “ happy - sad comedy”. He brushes EVERY heartbreaking scene / backstory by a joke and / or mockery. A LOT of his directing / writing actions make those cringy as fuck sometimes. But it’s his way of showing his emotions. Of COURSE he will make fun of the “characters’ disability” (that come from their past both physically and psychologically talking.), because that’s his own way of showing them without showing too much darkness. Waititi comes from a country with one of the higher rates of teens’ suicides (attempts or not). He’s here to bright things up and yet stay true to the story. Now’s the second point : be VERY careful about Waititi’s interviews. Because he doesn’t often say the things he truly thinks. Look for small / intimate interviews made a couple of years ago (around the time of “Eagle vs shark” and “Boy”) then look for bigger interviews made for Thor : you’ll get what I mean. Don’t take everything he says first degree. He turned his celebrity life into a huge joke. It’s how he is. And I think that Chris Hemsworth and Waititi shared a strong bond during this movie. (they come from the same area, have faced kind of similar History and have a lot in common) They share the same kind of humor. And Hemsworth kind of got in Waititi’s game of “look how this movie is different from the others, let’s see if fans see through our game of “we’re the best and everything around it is bad”. (oh, god, I’ve never thought I would take Hemsworth’s defense at ALL in my life. x’D)

About Thor Ragnarok : The first goal was to make a comedy movie. The second goal was to get back to the comics’ origins and get some color in this oh so dark world the MCU created. The third goal was to change some “Thor franchise”’s rules. So, yeah, I can’t say it’s the BEST movie ever, but it’s surely one of the best comedy movies I’ve seen in a long time. (And, coming from France, I KNOW what “bad comedy movie” MEANS and IS. Believe me. France DOES struggle a lot with movies. And the only ones that reach overseas aren’t the best ones but the most entertaining ones. Now I’m going to cut straight my ranting about that.) There are cringy moments, debatable script / directing choices and a lack of “serious” in the movie. But that doesn’t mean the movie isn’t amazing in its own way. Ragnarok didn’t excluded some important points put down by the previous “Thor” movies. We do see Loki’s weakness after his “faked death” (that did have consequences about his illusions like Latent-Thoughts rightfully pointed out), but also we see the original “chaos-neutral” Loki of Norse Mythology. We do see Thor’s stupid actions sometimes but we do see how he is the god of Thunder, we do see how Banner and Hulk are both hurt from the previous movies and how they try to get over it… And we even see Odin’s real face, one of a father who tried to do what was best for his sons and finally understood how a poison he was for their brotherly bond, and finally shows a face of forgiveness, support and love towards his sons. (which he should have done a long time ago.) We also see a lot of new factors, like Ragnarok and Asgard’s destruction, like Valkyrie who’s hurt by Hela’s actions but still fights for the original cause, like Hela’s hatred towards Odin (which made Loki and Hela more similar than wanted because of their feeling of betrayal and being “left out”) and thirst of revenge… Or even the GrandMaster’s arrival in the MCU, showing another face of the Elders of the Universe that is still creepy as fuck but more fun than the Collector. But, as I’ve said before, bad choices were made. Hela’s character construction is debatable at some point, because she looks like a Disney villain for me, more than a Marvel villain. (even if she’s VERY powerful, she’s a bit… clownish at some points ? ) Loki’s choices are debatable too. Thor’s “always a joke in my pocket” new face is sometimes too much. And should we talk about the Executioner’s actions and character development ? (he was the less useful character for me. Even Rachel House’s character was a bit more interesting.) Or even the fact that he doesn’t let us a second to breathe and think about the plot could be seen as a debatable choice. See the point I’m making ? If we take off all those “bad choices”, the comic relief, THIS comic relief specific to Taika Waititi, won’t have that much of an impact.

So, saying that we should be “grateful” that Waititi made this movie is wrong for me. But saying this movie is debatable because of the (mostly joking) comments made during the interviews or the fact that Waititi erased “Thor” previous movies storyline is wrong for me too.

I enjoy this movie as a new MCU “phase” and as a comedy movie. I tried to see through Waititi’s point of view and public character to see what to expect from Ragnarok. And I wasn’t disappointed. But I don’t see it as a “gift”. More like an amazing movie I’ve spent a very good time watching it and still enjoy after the fifth viewing. ;)

Now, as I’ve told you before, this opinion engage me and only myself. You have the right to be against it. You have the right to expose YOUR point of view. And you have the right to stand your ground as I stand mine. (because, otherwise, how would debate be interesting if everyone thinks the same way ? :P )

Have a lovely morning / afternoon / evening / night !

LOTS OF LOVE FROM ME.

Army

#thor ragnarok #point of view #taika waititi #chris hemsworth #tom hiddleston #loki #thor #valkyrie #hulk #grandmaster #executioner #this is my opinion on that movie

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spryfilm · 7 years

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“Thor: Ragnarok” (2017)

Action

Written by: Eric Pearson

Directed by: Taika Waititi

Featuring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins

Thor: “I don’t hang with the Avengers anymore. It all got too corporate.”

Well its here the third Marvel film to be released this year after “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017) and “Spider-Man: Homecoming” (2017) – also a Sony pictures film – which sees the return of not only Thor, but Hulk (both last seen in “Avengers: Age of Ultron”) as well as Loki, Odin and Heimdall. It also sees the introduction of a few new characters from the Thor comics such as Executioner, Valkyrie, Hela and Surtur. Its great to see some deep cuts from the Thor side of things, as well as some storylines from the Hulk comics – it became obvious from the last two Thor films that it was difficult to carry the weight of an entire film by himself, so Hulk has been imported to share the load, which works a treat, and may in facy be down to the fact that Mark Ruffalo is such a great actor, making any movie he better.

The other thing that has been done is to bring in New Zealand director, Taika Waititi, to punch up the feel of the visuals as well as making this franchise viable after the critical drubbing of “Thor: The Dark World” (2013) – directed by Alan Taylor who while being one of the great television director’s seems to have been revealed as a mediocre film director at best. Waititi has gone for it in the comedy department, possibly a little too funny in my mind which eschews drama for broad comedy – I like humour but this was possibly a little to much for my tastes.

Four years after the events of Thor: The Dark World, and two years after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Thor, held captive on the planet Sakaar without his hammer Mjolnir, must win a gladiatorial duel against an old friend—the Hulk—in order to return to Asgard in time to stop the villainous Hela and the impending Ragnarök, the end of all Asgardian civilization.

For those of you who know about the success of the Marvel films this is going to be another win for them as well as their parent Disney – who at this point seem to own the super hero genre hands down – any real competition has by now been left in the dust. It may be hard to believe but this is the seventeenth entry into the MCU, as well as being in their Phase Three segment of this ongoing Universe which shows no sign of stopping now. After a strong start with director Kenneth Branagh in the first “Thor” (2010), a minor dip with its sequel, it was with hope that when Taika Waititi was brought on as director this new film would have its own style – the good news is that is does, but it may not please everyone.

While not completely original this movie has taken a cue from the 1980s, which may seem like it has jumped on the bandwagon of recent hits like “Stranger Things” (2016-2017) as well as the monster hit “IT” (2017). Of course it would reductive to say that, as “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) was in production before those were released, so I think we can put that down to good timing as well as Waititi’s own unique style which in the past has been referential of that decade. The good news is that like those other shows it succeeds not only with its look but the music is a step away from the tried and true Marvel composers as well which works wonders for this film.

As with many comic book based movies from major studios the cast is always something to behold, “Thor: Ragnarok” is no different with the already staple cast being added to with Mark Ruffalo, Cate Blanchett, Karl Urban and Jeff Goldblum all making appearances as major Marvel characters, almost all exclusively from the Thor comic canon. There really is not much more to say other than that all of these wonderful actors get to touch on their comedic sides more than they have in their past, more than you may think in a Marvel film to date, even taking into account the comedic relief in the previous two ‘Guardians’ films. This comedic element has been lacking in the previous two Thor films but is not absent in runs of the comic. In fact it was the great Walt Simonson who was responsible for humor in Thor, one of his best stories was our titular hero being turned into a frog – something I would love to see in the movies. As for our regular cast headed by Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston who now inhabit their roles like second skins excel here in the time they spend together – these Thor films as well as the other movies they appear in together are all the best when the chemistry they have is ignited onscreen – one of the reasons I like the Thor films is just to watch these two together.

Of course this movie has a prime mover in the form of director Taika Waititi who since production was announced has been the star of this installment. Ever since the one, two punch of “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014) and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” (2016) he has obviously been on Hollywood radars but I do not think many would have thought his Hollywood debut would have been a Marvel movie, certainly not Thor. But trust the man to see the opportunity in this project, grabbing the reins and creating the probably the most original Marvel movie in some time – yes I am including ‘Guardians’ here, that was an easy sell particularly when you are starting from scratch. Here Waititi has to take an existing franchise and take a sharp left turn, the success or failure was always his – to his credit this road movie works – it takes two of the most popular storylines from both Hulk and Thor, crosses it with “Easy Rider” (1969) and produces something really cool.

There is much more that could be said but I don’t want to spoil anything but there is one more aspect of the film that has to be talked about and that is the soundtrack by DEVO front man Mark Mothersbaugh. Mothersbaugh who has been contributing to soundtracks and writing music for decades here is given free reign to create music that would suit the 80s vibe Waititi was going for, succeeding beyond any other 80s era like music anyone has produced for other shows that are set in the same time period.

The film is not perfect, it spends far too long with other secondary as well as tertiary characters, as well as introducing a few too many new ones as well. I am not sold on Cate Blanchett as ‘Hela’ as well as her actually fighting hand to hand with the titular hero – this is something that would never have happened in the comics. I am also not a fan of the dispatching of major charters from the previous two films in off handed and frankly in a lazy manner. Some of the beats could have been handled better but this may be down to Waititi’s lack of experience in a movie of this size.

If you are a Marvel devotee you will love this movie for everything that is offers, there is more to like from Ruffalo’s Hulk, never looking better, way more fun and a touch more vocal. The new cast are all great with the returning players obviously not tired of their own roles. If you are a casual fan or first timer this is a good movie to watch as it doesn’t really matter if you have not seen the previous movies. This is a humorous thrill ride through a number of planets, a lot of action with a major amount of humor, I recommend but you may be confused as to what movie this is!

“Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) is out now only in cinemas.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) L to R: Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth)

Film review: “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017) Action Written by: Eric Pearson Directed by: Taika Waititi Featuring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, and Anthony Hopkins…

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