Panel Vision - Foolkiller (2017)

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Happy April Fools everyone, if there can really be such a thing.  I’ve elected to celebrate this most ignominious holiday by delving deep into the “fool” part of the name with a look at one of my favorite superhero G-listers: Foolkiller.  Created in 1974 in the pages of Man-Thing by the incomparable Steve Gerber, Foolkiller is one of the many bizarre no-name characters that tend to pepper the lower tiers of the Marvel echelon.  He’s best described as a more comedic version of the Punisher, largely because Steve Gerber was one of the premiere funnymen of ‘70s Marvel comics (he invented Howard the Duck, after all.) 

From those humble beginnings Foolkiller’s actually been re-imagined about 4 different times, once as a hardcore murder vigilante with a weird bondage gimp costume, once in the Marvel mature readers line MAX Comics, and once as part of Deadpool’s expansive entourage.  I’m going to focus today on the last of those three, the Greg Salinger Foolkiller, and his short-lived five-issue comic from 2016 written by Max Bemis, drawn by Dalibor Talajic, and colored by Miroslav Mrva. 

Static Thoughts - In A Mirror Darkly

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It seems these days that alternate realities and parallel universes are everywhere.  That’s actually kind of to be expected as nerdy media becomes more and more of a dominant genre.  Back in the day geek material struggled for mainstream relevance unless it stripped out as many of its big ideas as possible but these days people are making movies and shows out of Ant-Man and Dr. Strange.  As such, digging into more complicated ideas like the Multiverse, pocket universes, or altered continuity are becoming more and more widespread. 

The Flash has really embraced this idea with the Multiverse and Flashpoint, Legends of Tomorrow had its own altered universe episode, Stranger Things was built on a dimensional foundation, and Agents of SHIELD has found serious success with an altered continuity story set in a world where the bad guys won called ‘Agents of Hydra.’  As I’m eager to capitalize on this trend I thought I’d look back at hands down my favorite altered reality story, coming to us from the most hated Star Trek series of them all Star Trek: Enterprise- this is ‘In A Mirror Darkly.’

Filmland - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

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It’s good, but then again you probably already knew that.  This is a Marvel movie, after all, they’ve ALL been good even the ones that aren’t very good like Iron Man 2 and Incredible Hulk.  Thankfully, the evolving experiment that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as the auteur career of director James Gunn give me plenty more to dig into with this sequel than just “is it an enjoyable film.”  The whole cast fits naturally and easily back into their roles, and the script manages to find a lot more stuff to do with them beyond the anarchic, rapid-fire comedy of the first film.  

The new/elevated characters like Yondu, Nebula, and Mantis all do a great job and are honestly some of the best parts of the movie, even outshining old favorites like Starlord and Groot at times.  Kurt Russell absolutely steals the show as Peter’s dad and is one of the best new additions to the MCU.  Finally, the more deliberate pacing and smaller, more intimate story-telling may eschew the high octane comedy and novelty of the original but never lose site of the cheeky and subversive spirit the first film had.  All that being said, let’s really get into this beast- spoilers to follow. 

Panel Vision - What If? #28-29

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As I write this, Agents of SHIELD is gearing up to do an entire episode in honor of the classic Marvel “What If?” format.  This was a whole comic series dedicated to asking bizarre questions about altered Marvel continuity like what if Daredevil had killed Kingpin or what if the X-Men died on their first mission.  

It was a popular series during the ‘70s and ‘80s with a handful of revivals around big events in recent years.  Speaking of big events, Marvel’s current big event for the summer is something called Secret Empire, in which Captain America reveals himself to be a Hydra agent after some reality warping shenanigans from a previous comic. 

The pitch has caused a lot of discourse; most of it I’d like to avoid getting into here.  However the subject of altered reality, evil Nazi Captain America, and What If comics reminded me of one of the greatest What If two-parters of all time- What If Captain America had Led an Army of Super-Soldiers in World War II and What If Captain America had formed the Avengers.  Obviously, there’s more going on than the titles or covers suggest so follow me into one of the darkest and most compelling and well written altered continuity stories this side of Superman: Red Son. 

Static Thoughts - 15 Netflix Shows for Marvel's Phase 2

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At time of writing Marvel has produced 4 massively successful Netflix series, with 5 more currently in development plus Iron Fist barreling towards us at high speeds.  Basically, Marvel has completely colonized the world of Netflix programming with the same level of success and drive as they brought to conquering the world of summer blockbusters.  

Given this, I figure it’s well passed time to start pitching new shows they could add to their Netflix roster, especially given how many Marvel characters would be better served by a series than a movie.  The diffused time frame, tight budget, and altered expectations basically set-up the Netflix realm to handle any number of more difficult or obscure Marvel characters and I’ve got 15 here that deserve their shot in Marvel’s inevitable Netflix Phase 2. 

Film Land - Has Marvel Lost Faith in Dr. Strange?

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Edited by Robert Beach

At the time of writing, we are about three months out of from Marvel’s next film entry and possible first major failure Dr. Strange. I don’t make that failure claim lightly either. Despite being three months from release, this film has gotten shockingly little fanfare or production push, especially in comparison to other Marvel releases. This might be a response to the relative dead zone Marvel is releasing the movie in. 

Their previous November release was Thor: The Dark World, which was released against Hunger Games: Catching Fire and got completely crushed by it. With Dr. Strange, Marvel has set it up with no competition in a time of the year notoriously free of blockbusters, to the point where even bad movies like Spectre can make a killing. Even still, there’s a "specter" of doubt that hangs over Dr. Strange. I’m starting to wonder whether or not Marvel expects the film to be bad. 

How Civil War Will Impact Phase 3

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Edited by Robert Beach

We’re now less than a week out from San Diego Comic Con, the biggest week of the professional nerdist’s calendar as we all get to see the latest projects we get to meticulously obsesses over for the next year.  Ever since geek culture took over the mainstream the gem of SDCC has become the Marvel announcement.  Even though Marvel has taken to announcing a bit more at the Disney Expo recently everyone is still waiting with baited breath to see what news will emerge from them this year. 

I’ve already used this set-up to publish a bunch of spec pieces and this another one, addressing the big elephant in the room left over from May’s Captain America: Civil War.  At the end of that movie, spoilers, the Sokovia Accords mandating superheroes register with the government are still in effect, they aren’t overturned or anything.  That’s a pretty major change-up for the Marvel universe and is sure to have a major impact on future films, so I ask the question: how will Civil War shape Marvel’s Phase 3?

Static Thoughts - How to Fix Agents of SHIELD

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Edited by Robert Beach

As we continue the march towards San Diego Comic Con something that’s been weighing on me quite a bit is Agents of SHIELD.  At time of writing Agents of SHIELD is, arguably, Marvel’s largest and most public failing.  Even though the comic company turned blockbuster film studio manage to turn off-beat oddities like Guardians of the Galaxy or Ant-Man into smash hits they just don’t seem able to make Agents of SHIELD stick, not with audiences and not as a credible show worth diving deeper into than a few episodes. 

We’re headed now towards a fourth season that could easily end up the show’s last outing, as four seasons is all that’s required for a show to be eligible for syndication.  Given the show’s diminishing audience that seems the most likely case but, if Marvel is going to pull out all the stops for a season 5 bid, I came up with four ways they can make Agents of SHIELD a better show. 

Static Thoughts - The Case for More Agent Carter

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Edited by Robert Beach

Let’s talk about Agent Carter. Springing out of the surprise success of Captain America in the early 2010s, Agent Carter was the second major attempt by the highly successful Marvel Studios to transition from films to television. After the tepid response to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in 2013, Agent Carter’s 2015 launch was vaunted as Marvel TV done right with Kevin Feige promising a true experience to wow and engage audiences, and, at first, that’s what we got. The first season of Agent Carter wasn’t necessarily great, but it was solid as far as period espionage plots go. 

What’s more, the show had a solid core focusing on the way women were being forced out of the independence World War 2 afforded them that would shape the feminist and sexual revolutions going forward. Marvel immediately threw away all that good will with the second season, and the show was canceled. Fan demand for a revival has already started, and while I’m not super on board with such exercises, I do think that Agent Carter deserves a second chance to be the hit series it never really got the chance to be.  

Ghostbusters News Round-Up

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Edited by Robert Beach

At the time of writing, we are just a little over 2 weeks out from this summer’s new Ghostbusters film. As we’ve barreled full speed towards the all-women Ghostbusters remake, we’ve had a whole slew of trailers, posters, and behind-the-scenes images about the new film, all of which seems to indicate we’re in for a pretty fun movie. While maybe not the equal of the original, it will be a fun summer distraction and a new merchandising juggernaut for the much-in-need Sony Pictures. 

Of course, this build-up has also been accompanied by a cacophony of online whining about the reboot somehow ruining the source material or being an affront against nature; all of it is complete hogwash. Given that, this news round-up on what we know about the movie so far is going to be focused on just the facts, rather dive into the Internet outcry about how this latest reboot ruined everybody’s childhood.  

Captain America: Civil War Trailer 2

Edited by Robert Beach 

There’s really no need for a preamble here is there? Captain America: Civil War is easily going to be one of the biggest films of the year, the starting pistol on phase 3 of Marvel’s vaunted cinematic universe after the mixed bag of phase 2 and the next installment of the seminal superhero of the 2010s. What’s more, the movie stars almost the entire Marvel roster of characters at the moment making it, in function if not in form, basically Avengers 2.5. 

It’s also serving as the introduction point for both Black Panther and Spider-Man, two long-awaited heroes finally making their way into the Marvel cinematic universe. The fact that everyone and their mother are breaking down this new trailer is as simplistic and acceptable a fact of life as gravity or the sky being blue.

Captain America: Civil War Teaser

Let’s not drag this out.  Captain America: Civil War is the 3^rd film in the Captain America series and will be the 13 Marvel Studios film overall.  Picking up in the wake of Avengers: Age of Ultron it follows the new team of Avengers led by Captain America and backed financially and logistically by Tony Stark who’s adopted quasi-retirement.  The film swirls around an international incident that causes the world governments to question the necessity of the Avengers overall and, at the very least, how smart it is to allow them to run around completely unsupervised leading to legislation to bring the heroes under the control of the government.  The decision brings a split between heroes as Iron Man supports the decision while Captain America opposes it owing largely to its impact and relation to his lost friend and comrade Bucky Barnes the Winter Soldier.  The division splits the heroes down the middle all while sinister forces seek to manipulate the situation and now it has a trailer and it’s great.

Is Scott Adkins Our Iron Fist?

As 2015 has dragged on one thing has become abundantly clear: Marvel Studio’s future in phase 3 is far less certain than anybody really expected.  More and more the little studio that could has turned into the big studio that can’t seem to get out of its own way.  Marvel’s phase 2 has had some major financial success certainly but culturally the studio has only gotten more scattershot and less solid at predicting what, among its many properties, will be a legitimate smash with audiences or just make a lot of money.  Sure Iron Man 3 was a major financial success but it’s not like anyone is genuinely interested in diving deeper into the Mandarin, AIM, or Extremis any time soon.  The same way Age of Ultron broke all kinds of records but spent the summer getting stomped on at the box office and in the popular consciousness by Jurassic World. 

Meanwhile, less studio involved projects like Ant-Man, Daredevil, Agent Carter, Jessica Jones, and chief of all Captain America: Winter Soldier have found major traction with audiences.  All of this has made Marvel’s upcoming “phase 3” a much shakier and more uncertain place for the once untouchable kings of pop culture.  That their films will still gross solid returns is without question but the lingering issue of “will people still be talking about Marvel in the year 2020” has only become more and more prevalent.  Turns out you can’t sustain cultural impact through cross genre-continuity alone but damned if they aren’t going to try because it looks like Marvel has decided to add another hero to Dr. Strange in the form of Scott Adkins as Iron Fist.

10 Marvel Superheroes to Fill in the 3 New Mysterious Marvel Films in 2020

Edited by Robert Beach

In case you haven’t heard, Marvel has made a major announcement. After making a bundle of cash at the box office (more than Captain America: The First Avenger incidentally), Ant-Man is officially getting a sequel. This is a big victory lap for Marvel, turning a troubled and public production history on a C-list hero into a financial hit and a real cultural connection with audiences. The sequel, entitled Ant-Man and The Wasp is slotted to come out July 6, 2018. This has lead to some pretty major shake-ups. 

Black Panther will now be released in February 2018 to coincide with Black History Month and Captain Marvel has been pushed back yet again, this time to 2019. Though I’m glad we’re getting more Ant-Man because I was a big fan of the first film, I don’t think it was really worth the price. Captain Marvel is getting so continually delayed it only feels like a matter of time before Marvel delays it into oblivion, and I certainly don’t like that Ant-Man 2’s title frames Wasp as his sidekick. 

I don’t want to judge too quickly too soon. Marvel still has 3 years to hammer Ant-Man 2 into something great, and it’s possible Wasp will get to take more of the center stage she deserves in this follow up. The Marvel announcement also came with the date of 3 new, unnamed Marvel releases: May 1, July 10, and November 6 all in the year 2020. This mysterious update is what we’ll be discussing today. It’s time for some wild speculation with 10 guesses on Marvel’s secret projects.

The Paybacks #1 Review

The Paybacks is a great new comedy superhero comic from Darkhorse by Donny Cates, the guy behind Ghostfleet, the best comic of the year, check out my review of issue #1 over on Front Towards Gamer:

http://ftg.operationsupplydrop.org/2015/09/19/the-paybacks-1-review-comics/

Panel Vision - DC Universe Decisions

Edited by Robert Beach

In case you don’t live in the US, we’re in the midst of gearing up for one of the most overblown and ludicrous election cycles in recent memory. To be fair, the last 2 US Presidential elections have been fairly larger than life in their own way. In 2012, the election was dominated by the heroic confluence of Mitt Romney memes and jokes, and in 2008 the whole world seemed to have caught Obama fever. That latter one is also probably owed to the election falling smack dab in the middle of 4 years of major technological and cultural upheaval. 

At the time, stuff like Facebook and iPhones were supremely new and the crossover of Internet culture into mainstream culture was in its earliest stages. Combine that with the introduction of an all-new Presidential administration ushering in a new political ethos and lexicon and everyone and their brother were desperate to link themselves to the election in some way. As you’d expect comics quickly got in on the act and none were more bizarre or embarrassing than today’s topic: DC Universe – Decisions.

Captain America: Civil War Allegiances Revealed

Edited by Robert Beach

As Captain America: Civil War looms closer to us, a lot of questions are swirling around the film’s plot. Though the film is based on a Marvel comic event, it’s been largely assumed a lot of key details will be changed for the adaptation. The comic book Civil War was essentially shot over the question of secret identities, which more or less don’t exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

There’s also been a lot of rumors swirling around unconfirmed characters like the Hulk, Red Hulk, Dr. Strange, and Captain Marvel.  Finally, there are a ton of Marvel superheroes confirmed for the film without any real indication of how they’ll side in the eponymous conflict. Thanks to Heroic Hollywood, we now know who is siding with who, and I’m gonna break down those characters one by one, starting with Captain America’s side. 

Panel Vision - Top 10 Tales to Astonish Covers

Edited by Robert Beach 

I love comic book covers. That shouldn’t come as a major surprise to people, I review comic books on 2 different geek websites and manage my own geek blog with a specific subset of blog post dedicated to comic books; however, I’ve concluded that’s not quite enough comic book worship to fully express my love, so I’ve decided that every other Saturday I'm going to post a listicle of great comic book covers. 

Partly this is because, as I mentioned, I love comic book covers, so this is a pretty easy way to produce content quickly.  Starting out with top 10 Tales to Astonish covers, specifically because I reviewed an issue of Groot earlier this week, and this is the comic in which he first appeared.  With that said, let’s begin.  

Groot #3 Review

I take a look at the 3rd issue of Marvel's outstanding Groot comic, which features a Silver Surfer team-up, check it out over on Front Towards Gamer:

http://ftg.operationsupplydrop.org/2015/08/07/groot-3-review-comics/

The Shrinking Man #1 Review

So, now that Ant-Man is the 13th highest grossing film of the year and shrinking is cool again for the first time since Fantastic Voyage IDW has chosen to adapt the classic Richard Matheson tale the Shrinking Man.  Check out my review of the 1st issue over on All-Comic.com:
http://all-comic.com/2015/shrinking-man-1/