Panel Vision - Captain America: Civil War Review

Edited by Robert Beach

Something that’s been on my mind a lot lately in the endless build-up to Captain America: Civil War is how much Captain America has become the embodying ideal of the superhero. This happens sometimes when a specific superhero property explodes into the popular consciousness, transforming its title character from well-known hero to universally recognized heroic ideal. Superman in 1978, Batman in 1989, Spider-Man in 2002, and now Captain America, they all stand as the best example of the superhero in their moment in time. 

The hows and whys of that phenomenon vary from character to character, but the essential unifying factor is each of these characters embodied some necessary conflict or fantasy that spoke innately to the concerns and ideas of their time. In the case of Captain America, I think what’s elevated him to nationalistic ideal and ambassador of an entire genre to the masses is his sense of loyalty, his commitment to ideals and to people. The quiet genius of Captain America: Civil War is it takes Cap’s great strength and turns into the fracture that shatters the entire Marvel status quo. 

Cover Story - Top 10 Winter Soldier Covers

Edited by Robert Beach

In approximately one week’s time, Captain America: Civil War will hit theaters (in the United States). It’s a big deal. The completion of Marvel’s 2^nd film trilogy and first phase 3 entry, two facts that are bolstered by the way Captain America has emerged as the ambassador of the superhero genre to the masses in the 2010s.  

For better or for worse, Captain America is THE superhero of the decade, and this latest film looks to be his greatest journey yet, pitting him against a world desperate to bring his closest friend to task for crimes he may not have committed. I’ll be doing a lot of posts related to the upcoming premiere. For now, we celebrate the “best friend” of that synopsis with the top 10 Winter Soldier comic covers. 

Panel Vision - History of SHIELD

Edited by Robert Beach

Let’s talk about S.H.I.E.L.D. Given that you and I are conversing on the Internet, I’m taking it as a bit of a given that you like or at least know of the Marvel cinematic universe. In less than a decade, the Marvel shared universe of films, TV shows, and one-shots have come to dominate the cultural landscape and occupies the same space in the pop cultural psyche that was once reserved for the likes of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. There are a lot of reasons for that success, but chief among them is how the MCU has used continuity to cross pollinate its various properties, tying the distaff films and show together into a rich tapestry of genres and stylistic affects. 

This has allowed the individual Marvel endeavors to explore their own unique focuses like Captain America’s heavy political metaphors, Guardians of the Galaxy’s emphasis on universe building, or the villain-centric storytelling of Jessica Jones & Daredevil. And at the core of this continuity-driven exploration is S.H.I.E.L.D., the in-universe super spy agency tasked with bridging the gap between the government and the superheroes.  S.H.I.E.L.D.’s had a pretty crazy history in the MCU over the course of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV show, yet an even stranger history in the comic books. And today, we showcase that history.

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.

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 - 10 Marvel Women Who Deserve a Solo Movie

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about Marvel’s representation of women in their films.  Though a lot of this has stemmed from Ant-Man’s portrayal of Hope van Dyne and the Wasp it overall has more to do with Marvel Studio’s infinitely too dismissive and uninvolved attitude towards female superheroes.  Given that I’m very much of the opinion that we definitely do need more female superheroes and it’s kind of supremely ludicrous that it’ll take Marvel 10 years to give us a superhero film where the hero is a woman I thought up a list of 10 Marvel super heroes who need a movie of their own. 

Panel Vision - Hope van Dyne & The Marvel Problem

So, it’s been a little over a week now since Ant-Man came out.  The dust is starting to settle as far as the film’s cultural and box office results go and while the box office results seem moderately solid the cultural response has been a bit more mixed.  Sure enough the film had its fans and I certainly count myself as one of them but more often than not I’ve encountered people who regarded it with just sort of a moderate enjoyment.  More over the film has become something of a nerd talking point over the state of representation, especially the representation of women in Marvel films.  I want to talk about this but I can’t do so without spoilers so if you’re still on the fence about Ant-Man go ahead and read my already spoiler free review, then go see the film, then come back here.  For everyone else, let’s go.