Two types of movies that I have always loved are horror films and superhero films, and 2025 has been a really good year for both so far.
My favorite horror movies this year are sort of more hybrids than straight-up horror. Sinners is a really well-mixes action-horror with inspirational ties to a couple of my favorite horror flicks from the ’90’s: From Dusk Til Dawn and Tales From The Crypt Presents Demon Knight. Another old movie that seemed to be reflected here was the mid-80’s Italian horror cult classic: Demons. Ryan Coogler is one of the most accomplished directors working today, so him delivering the good here was less of a surprise than the several full-blown and catchy musical numbers in the film.
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland coming back for – what I suppose would be considered a legacy sequel (legasequel) at this point – 28 Year Later was probably less of a sure thing than Sinners, but they made a movie worthy of following up one of the tightest and most influential horror movies of all-time: 28 Days Later. In some ways it’s very different than the original but, considering it’s set nearly thirty years into England being quarantined from the rest of the world, it had to be in order to make any sense. The fact that all the folk horror and zombie action are window dressing for a young man’s coming-of-age story is an intriguing Trojan Horse job that is much better than it really had to be in order to be considered a success.
Weapons goes even younger with its mysteriously missing kids plot, though only one of the children actually plays a part in the story – at least until its very cathartic ending. It also takes a stronger mystery and humor angle than Sinners or 28 Years Later. The filmmaker – Zach Cregger – doesn’t have nearly the same resume as Coogler, Boyle, or Garland, but between Weapons and Barbarian he’s well on his way to finding a similar niche as someone like Jordan Peele as someone who can consistently be counted on to putting out horror flicks with widespread appeal
Thunderbolts* (aka New Avengers) and Fantastic Four were the two most enjoyable MCU films since Spider-Man: No Way Home. That Spidey flick was more of a stunt to pull in an avalanche of nostaglia cred – and worked wonderfully as such. But Thunderbolts* is probably a better as a start-to-finish movie, and was a solid effort to make a smaller (by MCU standards) film. It also handles very real mental health struggles with a far more deft hand than one might expect from the MCU. I was very happy when they handed its director – Jake Schreier – the keys to X-Men.
Fantastic Four works for similar reasons – making us actually care about the characters – but also because it is able to truly stand alone as a movie, without needing to have any prior knowledge of the 15+ years of MCU history. In fact, that’s why I was able to bring my kids (9 years-old and 6 years-old) to the movie, and they were able to completely enjoy it on its own merits.
We also took the kids to see Superman – which they loved nearly as much as I did – and they were able to get in on the ground floor for the new DC Universe, which will be shepherded in by James Gunn. I’ve always liked Gunn’s films, and his TV shows, dating all the way back to movies like Slither and Super. As someone who grew up on the Christopher Reeve Superman movies, I am not afraid to say that I felt like the new Superman was the best Superman movie. It had all the heart of those first two Reeves films, but it was able to deliver action sequences that simply were not possible 40+ years ago. Superman, the character, has always been he platonic ideal of non-toxic masculinity. This is a man with incredible powers who cares deeply for people, respects people, fights for all the people who face enemies and dangers that they could not hope to stand against alone. But he’s also flawed, and he makes mistakes – but he recognizes and accepts those flaws and mistakes, and does what he can to become the best version of himself. That’s something that the world really needs to see now more than it has in a long time, and I was so happy to take my boys to experience that on the big screen.
Sam Raimi was my first favorite filmmaker. Army Of Darkness came out in 1992 when I was thirteen-years-old. I saw it in the theater, and thought it was just the absolute coolest thing ever. Funny, and scary, and action packed, it had everything I could possibly want in a movie. This was also the time in my life where I started paying attention to such things as “Who directed this movie?” and “Who wrote this movie?” So, as much as I had enjoyed movies like Batman or Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, I hadn’t immediately sought out every other movie that Tim Burton or Steven Spielberg had previously made.
But I did seek out everything Raimi had made prior to Army Of Darkness, and was not disappointed….at least not for the most part (coming to that in my rankings). I got my hands on Evil Dead and Evil Dead II first and, while they weren’t necessarily essential to my enjoyment of Army Of Darkness, they certainly added another layer to it. I then checked out Darkman and, considering my taste in comic books at the time, was shocked that I hadn’t discovered it sooner. I also got my butt in a theater opening weekend a few years later to see The Quick And The Dead, and that both reaffirmed my connection to Raimi’s films, and also led to my discovery of the grand cinematic history of the Western.
By 1998, my taste in movies had expanded, and so did Raimi’s genre-reach. A Simple Plan was very different from anything Raimi had done before, it had that neo-noir vibe that had been cropping up around that time, and executed it about as well as any other movie. I saw For Love Of The Game, and The Gift when they came out the next two years and, honestly, neither really did much for me. I had stopped reading comics, at least the monthly issues, by 2002 but that didn’t mean my excitement level was anything but nuclear when Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man exploded into theaters. 2004’s Spider-Man 2 improved on the already-great formula provided by the first film in almost every way. Spider-Man 3 came out in the dead zone of comic book movies between 2005’s Batman Begins and 2008’s The Dark Knight & Iron Man, and that’s about where the movie belongs.
But Raimi, probably jaded by Studio Suits insisting on Spider-Man 3’s cram job, got back to his horror roots in a big way in 2009’s Drag Me To Hell. The follow-up to that came four years later with Oz, The Great And Powerful, a movie that turned out so bad – likely due in large part to that same sort of studio interference – that Raimi left the director’s chair for almost a decade. He finally returned to theaters this past weekend with Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness. I’m not sure he would have ever wanted to jump back into the studio machine, even an absurdly successful machine such as The Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige learned a great deal about filmmaking from Sam Raimi while working under him for Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2, and that probably gave Raimi a comfort level and confidence in the project that he wouldn’t otherwise have had. And I’m very glad he did, and Multiverse Of Madness was a lot of fun, and (perhaps surprisingly) a lot of Raimi.
With that, I’m ranking my favorite Same Raimi movies. I’m only picking from his feature films, so shorts and TV episodes will be left out. And, again, I’m ranking my favorite Raimi movies. So, while my higher choices may (or may not) be the most polished works, they are the ones I enjoyed the most.
15 – Crimewave (1985) – A swing and a miss. This was Raimi’s first studio film, as Evil Dead was a fully independent production. Maybe he had a hard time adjusting to a system where he didn’t have total creative control? Maybe he had too many ideas, and wasn’t quite sure how to make them work together, or which ones to cut? Either way, he swiftly put this one behind him and moved onto better things.
14 – Oz, The Great And Powerful (2013) – Not even remembered fondly or poorly enough to be a cautionary tale, which could be a cautionary tale unto itself. End of the day, though, it was a prime example of what happens when the worst impulses of a studio and (presumably) a filmmaker collide while churning some well-trod IP through the CGI paint-spill machine.
13 – For Love Of The Game (1999) – Raimi’s flare for inventive camerawork comes through during the scenes that take place during the baseball game itself. But, if this movie was really going to work, it needed the scenes interspersed throughout between romantic leads Kevin Costner and Kelly Preston to hit home, and those scenes simply did not.
12 – Spider-Man 3 (2007) – Raimi wanted the Lizard as the villain in this movie, but Sony/Columbia insisted that Venom get wedged in there. Would the movie have been better if they’d let Raimi make it his way? Probably. How much better? I’m not sure. The only thing leftover from Spider-Man 2 was finishing up Harry Osborn’s arc as he transformed into the new Green Goblin, and even that thread got lost in this tossed salad of a movie.
11 – The Gift (2000) – Cate Blanchett was just starting her run here that’s been going strong for 20+ years now. And the movie is an okay, southern gothic, murder mystery. But it’s not much more than just okay.
10 – The Evil Dead (1981) – This, along with 1978’s Halloween, proved that small-scale indie horror could sometimes be the best horror. Perhaps remembered as funnier than it actually was, likely because it gets a bit tangled up with Evil Dead II which was essentially just a bigger budget remake with more humor. The Evil Dead is the true definition of a cult film, and set the standard for a sub-genre defined by splattery, cabin-in-the-woods frightshows.
9 – A Simple Plan (1998) – Along with The Gift, this is much more of an “actors’ picture” than any of Raimi’s other films. I mentioned earlier that a slew of neo-noir movies rolled out in the late-90’s til the early-2000’s. Even in that mix, A Simple Plan sticks out as a shockingly subdued (for Raimi) morality play.
8 – Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022) – I’m as surprised as you are that this movie is ranked this high. I wouldn’t have thought it would be until the second half of the movie kicked in, and Raimi got to really dig into his bag of tricks. Multiverse Of Madness isn’t really top level MCU stuff, though maybe if Raimi had been at the helm from the start rather than brought in after the original director stepped away it could have gotten there. Either way, it’s a lot of crazy, and a lot of fun, and I was very happy to see Raimi making a big studio film that genuinely felt like one of his films after the Spider-Man 3 and Oz debacles.
7 – Spider-Man (2002) – The earliest two Producer credits on Kevin Feige’s IMBD page are X-Men (2000) and Spider-Man. He has a producer credit on virtually every Marvel film adaptation of the 21st century (for better and worse), and is the true Godfather of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At any rate, X-Men went all nighttime battle scenes, and black leather costumes. While Spider-Man embraced red-and-blue spandex swinging in the sunshine. It’s pretty clear which of these films Feige referenced back to when shepherding the MCU into existence. What Sam Raimi did with Spider-Man laid the blueprint for the modern superhero movie.
6 – Drag Me To Hell (2009) – Mean, gross, scary, and funny. It’s so much like Evil Dead II that I’m frankly a bit surprised that it doesn’t get more shout-outs since its release. In fairness, Alison Lohman’s “Christine Brown” is not allowed to be as likeable as Bruce Campbell’s “Ash Williams” which may be why it’s not as beloved. But that’s also kind of the point of the movie. Raimi’s palate-cleanser from Spider-Man 3 is gag-inducing at times, but it’s all in good fun.
5 – Darkman (1990) – One of the many movies seemingly inspired by 1989’s Batman (Dick Tracy and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are among the other immediate examples). But, while those three movies are actual comic book adaptations, Darkman is an original property. It very much feels like the love child of a superhero movie and a classic Universal Studios horror movie, and that makes sense when you consider the breadth of Raimi’s work.
4 – Army Of Darkness (1992) – I went into my love or this movie at the top of this article, so I won’t spend too much time on it here. Still a damn entertaining flick, even if the silliness doesn’t hit my funny bone quite as hard now as it did when I was thirteen. But I think it’s fair to call this “The Most Sam Raimi Movie Ever“ even if it may not be “The Best Sam Raimi Movie Ever”
3 – The Quick And The Dead (1995) – coming off the heels of the 1992 deconstructed Western: Unforgiven and 1993’s modernized Western: Tombstone, The Quick And The Dead is a Western crafted purely for popcorn piles and soda-chuggings. It’s so much fun, and plays like another of my favorite types of movie “the tournament movie” (see half of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s filmography). Raimi brings along his frenetic camerawork, and his bag of horror movie tricks to create something wholly unique. Doesn’t hurt that he cast Gene Hackman as his Unforgiven archetype, only with an itchier trigger finger, Sharon Stone in the brief period of time after Basis Instinct when she was the biggest actress in the world, Russell Crowe before his L.A. Confidential breakout, and Leonardo DiCaprio before Romeo + Juliet earned his poster a spot in every teenage girl’s locker. This, honestly, might be Raimi’s most purely re-watchable movie.
2 – Evil Dead II (1987) – While The Evil Dead is a cult classic, Evil Dead II is a true Horror classic. Funnier than Evil Dead, and scarier than Army Of Darkness, it hit the balance perfectly. The first movie created a template, and Evil Dead II perfected that template. Filmmakers have been chasing the dragon to recapture this lighting in the thirty-five years since its release, but they rarely manager to approach this level.
1 – Spider-Man 2 (2004) – A nearly-perfect superhero movie. We’ve had many since this, and some have reached greater heights. But, with several good-to-great comic book movies dropping every single year, Spider-Man 2 still holds a spot near the top of just about any list. So, as a guy who never misses a comic adaptation, I guess it comes as no surprise that it tops my list of favorite Sam Raimi movies.
I’ll put the spoiler warning for Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness right up here (as if the title of this article wasn’t enough of a giveaway).
First, my succinct review of the film: It was exactly what I expected an MCU movie directed by Sam Raimi would be, and I very much enjoyed it. I hope it inspires Kevin Feige, and the powers-that-be, to let other filmmakers imprint their style on future MCU films. The movies that James Gunn and Taika Waititi directed showed a little of this, and Chloe Zhao got some of her stuff in. But, if the MCU is to truly evolve and last into the future, letting the directors make their individual movies stand out is the way to go.
Now, onto the hot topic that has grown from many people who have seen the film over the course of its opening weekend. A number of takes state that Wanda Maximoff AKA The Scarlet Witch fell into one of two problematic story tropes: The “hysterical woman” or “women can’t be trusted with power” tropes. I do not believe that Wanda falls into either of these tropes, rather, she’s more in-line with two different, much less reductive tropes: “The desperate parent” and “The overpowered character.”
Some Context: When last we saw Wanda in the finale of WandaVision, she had taken down her “Hex” that had unintentionally (more or less) imprisoned the citizens of Westview, New Jersey. The spell she had cast was really just her way of resolving the existing trauma stemming from the deaths of her parents, her brother, and Vision. However, taking down her Hex created an even more devastating new trauma. She had created children while in the Hex – twin boys Billy and Tommy. Tragically, this meant that they could only exist within the Hex and were erased (for lack of a better term) when Wanda undid the spell.
In almost every way, Billy and Tommy were living beings. They had their own thoughts, their own personalities, and perhaps even their own souls. But being created by Wanda’s magic, and her love, tied them to the Hex. In the actual last scene we saw Wanda in prior to the new film, she had fully embraced her title of Scarlet Witch in an isolated cabin, where she was studying an ancient book of dark magic called the Darkhold. The last thing we heard in that scene were Billy’s and Tommy’s voicing calling out for help. Anyone who thought Wanda was studying the Darkhold for reasons other than to get her children back was sorely mistaken.
In Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, Wanda is hunting America Chavez, a teenage girl with the power to travel through the multiverse (the multiverse itself, having been created during the events of the Loki season finale). But, since Chavez cannot willingly control this power, Wanda’s plan involved stripping it from her – likely killing her in the process. Wanda does kill a lot of people in the film, but it’s not exactly like she’s punching below her weight class (besides the fact that everyone is below her weight class, which we’ll get to in a bit).
She attacks Kamar Taj, resulting in the deaths of numerous sorcerers. Later, she dreamwalks (controls the mind of a different universe’s Wanda) to kill the Illuminati. That universe’s Illuminati is not the primary MCU’s (finally officially labeled 616) and consists of Mr. Fantastic, Captain Marvel, Black Bolt, Captain Peggy (super soldier) Carter, and Professor X – some true heavyweights of superherodom. Wanda makes fairly quick (and grisly) work of them while barefoot, and wearing pajamas in someone else’s body. It’s honestly about the most bad ass thing anyone has ever done in the MCU to date.
Since we’re already here, I’ll get into the first of the tropes I mentioned earlier “the overpowered character.” This one simply states that the most powerful character at the beginning of the story cannot be the true hero of the story. The reason is simply that there is very little drama to be had if it’s already established that the hero can defeat the villain. Wanda unlocked the powers of The Scarlet Witch at the end of WandaVision, so if she was on fighting alongside the heroes this likely would have been a much shorter movie. As such, she either had to be sidelined somehow early on, or she had to be the villain of the story. Since the filmmakers wanted her to play a major role in the film (and justifiably so, because Elizabeth Olsen is great, and some of Wanda’s flexes are truly awesome) they chose the latter.
Now, onto Wanda’s motivations. I have two kids of my own (aged 6 and 3) and there is absolutely nothing I wouldn’t do to protect them, or to save them if (god forbid) the need ever arose. So, I totally get where Wanda is coming from. The trope of a mother or father doing whatever is possible to save their children – the “desperate parent – is as old as any. If Vision and Wanda had swapped places, the story would be the same. The right choice was made here, as Wanda has always been a more interesting character that Vision. But, my point is that it’s not exclusive to moms (Happy Mothers’ Day to all the mom’s out there, btw, if you’re reading this on it publishing date).
It’s established in the movie that the Darkhold exacts a heavy toll on its user. It’s also said in clear terms that the (again, ancient book of dark magic) is exerting an influence on Wanda. So, that needs to be coupled with her personal motives to understand the whole picture. But I also want to bring the end of Wanda’s arc into the light here. She is ultimately stopped when America Chavez, finally able to control her power, opens a portal to the universe that Wanda had invaded earlier. There, 616 Wanda interacts directly with that universe’s Billy and Tommy. The boys are terrified of her, as they watch her attack their mother. This is what finally begins 616 Wanda’s breakthrough.
The resolution comes when the other Wanda makes use of her (and everyone’s) true superpower: Forgiveness. Despite being possessed, and made to murder people, this Wanda empathizes with 616 Wanda. She understands her pain, and assures her that Billy and Tommy will be loved. It’s only then that 616 Wanda finally accepts that what she was trying to do is wrong. She finally accepts that it’s time to let go. She destroys the Darkhold, and seemingly herself (but, c’mon, we all know better) knowing that she must be stopped. Knowing that she’s the only one who can stop herself.
Dr. Strange almost gets her to this place very early in the movie, asking her to consider how the boys would react to being stolen from their real mother. But, as she’s momentarily distracted, he attacks her with magic hand snakes, and everything goes south for a while. Dr. Stephen Strange’s poor bedside manner strikes again! Anyway, if he had had been able to talk her down, we never would have gotten all the insane multiversal madness that we came for.
Wanda Maximoff had the best part, and was the driving force, in the film. This combination is somewhat rarer than you might think. And Elizabeth Olsen knocks it out of the park. She is the heart of the story, as dark and twisted as that heart might have become before seeing the light. I do hope that performance ends up outlasting the characterization criticisms as the legacy of Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.
It would appear that Kang (or Kangs) is/are the new Big Bad for MCU Phase 4. So, where do we go from here? Let’s take a look at what has officially been announced and try to piece together how Phase 4 will play out the challenge of Kang The Conqueror.
Disney+ Shows: Below is the list of Disney+ shows, as it was released by Marvel Studios –
What If…? (Summer 2021)
Ms. Marvel (Fall 2021)
Hawkeye (Winter 2021)
Moon Knight (2022)
She-Hulk (2022)
Secret Invasion (2022)
Loki Season 2 (Late 2022?)
Ironheart (TBA)
Armor Wars (TBA)
Out of that list, Tom Hiddleston has said that What If…? will deal with the multiverse. But, it’s an anthology show, and will likely not be essential viewing for the Kang arc. Should be fun, though.
We can also assume that Loki season 2 will pick up where season 1 left off, which was with Kang’s conquest begun in-earnest. But, it would also just be an assumption that the whole season would be spent on that threat.
I believe the other shows, mainly featuring street-level, Earthbound heroes, will be following a different track than the one laid out by WandaVision and Loki. I think, perhaps, The Falcon And The Winter Soldier has set that other track to a new Avengers team that will culminate with the recently-announced Captain America 4. It makes sense that the MCU, now filling hours in movie theater as well as television, would start building in multiple different directions at the same time.
They may even build in a third direction, if they want to work towards a Young Avengers team. We’ve already seen a new, younger Black Widow in the Black Widow movie, Wiccan and Speed on WandaVision, and Kid Loki on Loki (complete with Gator Loki). Ms. Marvel and the new Hawkeye will be debuting on Disney+ later this year, not to mention they have announced an Ironheart show.
Movies: Unlike Disney+ shows, I think the threat of Kang will be dealt with primarily in the movies. But there will be some notable exceptions.
Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings (Fall 2021)– From what we’ve seen, this likely won’t deal too heavily with Kang. Considering the shuffling of schedules and production that occurred due to the pandemic, Shang-Chi was probably always intended as a standalone movie that now happens to be releasing after the Kang reveal.
Eternals (Fall 2021) – The only trailers we’ve gotten don’t tell us much about the actual plot. Though, it does seem to span hundreds – if not thousands – of years on its own, so I wouldn’t expect there to be too much room for Kang.
Spider-Man: No Way Homes (Winter 2021) – Everything we’ve heard about this one suggests that it deals with the multiverse, and multiple Spider-Men, so Kang will likely factor heavily into this. If not directly, then certainly as a catalyst.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (Early 2022) – There is a very strong, direct link from WandaVision to Loki to this movie. I expect this will be a place where we see Kang himself raising hell, while poor Stephen Strange tries very hard to clean up everyone else’s metaphysical messes.
Thor: Love And Thunder (Spring 2022) – We don’t know much about this, other than that we’ll see the Guardians Of The Galaxy (Thor’s new running buddies) and Jane Foster will wield Mjolnir. But, since Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that we’ll be seeing a different universe’s Mjolnir. And possibly a different universe’s Jane Foster as well. I would say that means we get some of the Kang Thang here.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Summer 2022) – Due to the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman last year, this script has been re-written numerous times according to some cast members. The first Black Panther was mostly standalone, but Wakanda (or Wakandans) did play a big part in Infinity War and Endgame. At the end of the day, I have no idea whether or how this will involve Kang.
The Marvels (Fall 2022) – This is another one we don’t know much about, other than that the title was changed to involve Captain Marvel, Photon (not Monica Rambeau’s official superhero name yet in the MCU) and Ms. Marvel. Considering that Captain Marvel is one of the heaviest hitters they have, a time travelling supervillain may be the most realistic threat to her. I expect we’ll see a good bit of Kang in this one.
Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (Early 2023) – This is the movie that Jonathan Majors was first announced for as Kang and, considering how much the Quantum Zone factored into the time travel exploits of Avengers: Endgame, this may well be the culmination of Kang’s arc as the primary antagonist. One would assume that, if this ends up being the climax, it will be used as a sort of Trojan Horse Avengers movie, like Captain America: Civil War was. Which would mean we’d be seeing a lot more heroes than just the ones in the title. However, it might be a stretch to assume that the threat of Kang will wrap up before Loki season 2, and there’s a very good chance that Loki season 2 is not ready to roll out before the release of this film. But they have stated that season 2 starts filming in January 2022, so they might make it under the wire here.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.3 (Spring 2023) – If Kang is finished as the Big Bad of Phase 4 in Quantumania, GOTG V.3 could well be its own thing, with the freedom to have some fun, and potentially send off one or more of the core characters. But, there is one big factor to consider when thinking about the end of Phase 4, and that’s…..
Fantastic 4 (Summer – or later – 2023) – This movie was announced, as was director Jon Watts, as part of Phase 4. But we’ve had no word yet on a script or a cast. Kang was originally introduced as an F4 villain, and Marvel Studios got the rights to him back when they re-acquired the rights to F4. In comics continuity, he is a descendent of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, so that all ties in nicely to whatever the end of Kang’s story arc might be. Also, if they don’t actually have a proper Avengers movie to cap off Phase 4, the next best thing would be to welcome the First Family of Marvel to the MCU, while actually making a good F4 movie for the first time. And, hey, Phase 4 capping with Fantastic 4 just seems poetic.
Blade and Captain America 4 – I believe these two movies will end up falling into the early stages of Phase 5. I fully expect Kang to be the Big Bad of Phase 4 but, unlike Thanos, I don’t see Marvel Studios carrying over these supervillains for multiple Phases. Especially now that they have the rights back to more of their best bad guys (Mephisto, Dr. Doom, Magneto, Galactus, Annihilus).
I could be wrong about that, but I feel like – at this stage of the MCU’s evolution – they won’t expect their audience to have the same sort of patience. Also, Kang is a immediate and ongoing threat. While Thanos didn’t even really make his presence felt until six years into the MCU’s existence (2014’s Guardians Of The Galaxy). He also didn’t truly become a clear and present danger until 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War.
This is all, of course, 100% speculation on my part. But, I’ve got to say, speculation is way too fun to just be a spectator sport. I guess we’ll see how right, or wrong, I am by 2023. Until then, I’m just going to enjoy watching every single one of these movies and shows.
Hello Again. It’s been a while since I’d posted here, but that’s because I was finishing up the fourth novel in my Venator Series (coming soon), and also posting a new story on Kindle Vella (available now).
But I’m back now, and this blog will contain major spoilers from season one of the Loki Disney+ series. I’m not going to go too deep on the show itself, as many writers have already done a better job than I could. But I do want to examine the core arc of the show, and of the titular character.
Before I get into the details, I want to say that I kind of loved Loki season one. I would probably rank the MCU Disney+ shows as Loki, WandaVision, and The Falcon And The Winter Soldier. Before watching any of the shows, I would have thought that list would be the exact opposite. But WandaVision and Loki took fresh, new angles that I had not really seen in the MCU before. I found that to be a much more interesting watch than Falcon & Winter Soldier, which I also liked, but seemed more like business-as-usual.
At any rate, here’s your last spoiler warning for Loki.
On its broadest level, Loki was about getting the character to a point where he would have been had he not gotten killed by Thanos in Infinity War in a very underwhelming fashion. Since this Loki jumped timelines directly from the invasion of New York at the end of the first Avengers movie, that seemed to be a lot to ask. But taking him into custody in the Time Variance Authority (TVA) where his powers did not work, and showing him a greatest hits reel of “his” life after 2012 got Loki to a state where he was ready to move forward.
At its heart, the show was about allowing Loki to attain a level of self-awareness that then, in-turn, inspired him to become a better man (better god?). To the show’s credit, it managed to do just that in a fairly brief six-episode season. Loki was certainly not able to better himself without a lot of help along the way. Sophia Di Martino’s Sylvie was Loki’s primary companion (and I mean that is a very Doctor Who sense, as that was clearly a large influence here). Her Loki variant had been taken by the TVA as a little girl, spent her entire life on the run, and now had vengeance as her only true compass. She never really got to live a life, while Loki lived one for well over a thousand years. Which made him understand just how selfish, and unwarranted his thirst for power at all costs was.
Owen Wilson’s Moebius made no pretensions about being able to see right through Loki’s usual predilections, which helped Loki see them more clearly himself. Nothing makes it easier to embarrassingly smell your own bullshit than someone calling you out on it without a second of doubt. But Loki came to appreciate Moebius’ candor, and he became the only real friend Loki had probably ever made for himself.
In the void at the end of time, after being pruned and attempted to be fed to a ravenous creature named Alioth, Loki ran into a number of other variants of himself. There was Richard E. Grant’s older, Classic Loki, who escaped Thanos’ clutches, and lived in isolation for hundreds of years, wishing only to escape the vicious cycle of his life. Jack Veal’s Kid Loki was a reflection of what Loki may been been like had he actually succeeded in killing his brother, Thor. That this act was committed by a child who demonstrated more sorrow than any sort of sense of accomplishment, was apt for a childish grudge that Loki had long harbored. And there was Gator Loki, who mainly served as a way to chop down the last of Loki’s ego, when he saw that – in another universe – he was literally nothing more than a reptile. An awesome reptile, but a reptile nonetheless.
True rock bottom came for Loki when Boastful Loki betrayed those who seemed to be his friends in order to be given a throne, which was nothing more than a chair in a broken down bowling alley located in a post-apocalyptic dystopian feeding ground for a giant smoke monster. And then Boastful Loki was promptly betrayed by President Loki (perhaps the closest reflection of our Loki as he was at the start of the series), who was then betrayed by all the other Lokis in his posse. The capper coming when Gator Loki bit off President Loki’s hand, the latter of whom emitted a high-pitched shriek as Gator, Classic, Kid, and Primary Loki made their escape.
A reunion with Sylvie and Moebius, who had also been pruned, set off the endgame. Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Gator Loki made their way off, as Moebius returned to the TVA to bring it down. That left Loki and Sylvie to work together to get past Alioth, and reach the castle beyond him where the true leader of the TVA resided. Classic Loki returned to save Loki and Sylvie by distracting Alioth with a massive illusion of the kingdom of Asgard. His sacrifice gave the others enough time to enchant Alioth, and make it to their final destination.
Their final destination was THE final destination as it was, literally, the end of time. Inside the castle the delightful, if somewhat sinister, living cartoon Miss Minutes offered Loki and Sylvie a deal, which they promptly turned down. Once they were past Miss Minutes, they encountered the half-mad and ancient “He Who Remains” (HWR) who is never referred to by any other name but is played by Jonathan Majors, who was already announced as playing Kang The Conqueror. What followed was an honest description of how the TVA came to be, and what its true purpose is.
HWR, and his variants in countless universes, were scientists who each discovered the multiverse in their own way. Many were interested in understanding how the multiverse, and multiple timelines, came to be. But many others were determined to conquer all the universes. This lead to a massive, multiversal war that – we are told – nearly destroyed every universe. But HWR managed to weaponize Alioth, and defeat all of his variants. He then created the TVA to ensure that another Kang variant (or similar threat) would not again rise to threaten the multiverse. The cost of his chosen method is paid in the sacrifice of free will, and the destruction of countless universes and those living therein.
But HWR is tired. And, while he at-first appeared to have omniscient knowledge of all that ever was, or will be, even he reached a point where he does not know what happens next. It is in this moment that he offered Loki and Sylvie another choice: Kill him, and allow the TVA to crumble, or take over the TVA and run it as they see fit. The catch is that, if they choose to kill HWR, there will be nothing stopping his more malevolent variants from rising to resume their conquest of the multiverse.
Loki, who has been changed by his recent experiences, somehow manages to be the most level head in the room. He suggests taking over the TVA, and figuring the rest out later. Sylvie, who has been unable to move past her need for revenge and her inability to trust others, believes the Loki simply wants another throne. They fight, Loki attempts to explain his true intentions, but he is ultimately lured into a trap with a kiss, and pushed through a portal back to the TVA.
Sylvie then fulfills her lifelong goal, and kills HWR. Though HWR’s dying words of “See you soon” come to fruition almost immediately. Back at the TVA, Loki tried to alert Moebius and some other allies of the impending apocalyptic threat. But they don’t even remember who Loki is, and Loki then turns to see a massive statue of Kang The Conqueror looming over the TVA.
Loki season two was officially announced in a mid-credits tease, and there are some interesting questions to answer, aside from the obvious “How screwed is the multiverse with evil Kang variants unleashed?” We have Sylvie left alone in a castle at the end of time, with no idea of what comes next after claiming her vengeance. I didn’t mention the TVA red tape big wig Ravonna Renslayer (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) fleeing the scene through a portal in search of (what one has to assume) a Kang variant who can get her back high up on the food chain. And we have a desperate Loki and an oblivious Moebius at the TVA, in ground zero of Kang’s kingdom.
But, putting away any future talk for the moment, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is now the most fully-realized, and complex version of the character we’ve seen since he first appeared in 2011’s Thor. The show looked great, had a great, sci-fi, synthy score, was strongly written, and wonderfully directed. Much like it was with WandaVision and Thor: Ragnarok before it, the Loki series has taken a character who many MCU fans felt had run his or her course, and made that character more interesting than they ever were before. It’s a new trick for the MCU in a bag full of them, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.
This past Friday, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier completed the sixth episode of its first (and possibly only) season. There have been a million reviews and recaps already, so I’ll be doing my season recap by way of the primary characters’ story arcs. As noted, this is a season recap, so you’ll no doubt find spoiler a-plenty below. Please do not continue any further down unless you’re cool with that.
Sam Wilson – Despite being – to perhaps because of being – the character that the show revolved around, Sam didn’t have much of an arc. This was mainly because the distance between being Falcon and becoming Captain America was not very far, as Sam Wilson had already proven himself a worthy successor to Steve Rogers. The trick was getting him to believe that.
Sam started out the season as a freelance military contractor after getting a “helped defeat Thanos” pardon for his actions in Captain America: Civil War. After being bequeathed Steve Rogers’ shield, he promptly turned it into the Smithsonian, as he didn’t believe there could, or should, every be another Captain America. This sort of pessimistic outlook was exacerbated by being turned down for a bank loan to save his family’s fishing boat, despite being a world-saving Avenger.
Once his friend Torres filled him in on a revolutionary group called the Flag Smashers, Sam reconnected with Bucky Barnes for help taking them down. Unbeknownst to Sam at the time, this reunion set him on a path to where he needed to be. Once he was made aware of the Flag Smashers’ agenda, Sam’s plan all along was to try and quell the group using non-violent means. This didn’t quite line up with Barnes’ plan, and was very far way from newly-government-issued Captain America, John Walker’s, methods. But it also displayed an example of why Steve chose Sam to carry on the Captain America mantle.
Upon learning they were super soldiers, Barnes took Sam to visit the only remaining super solider he was aware of: Isaiah Bradley. The plan was to find out how there could be more super soldiers out there, but the revelations of the American government’s crimes against Bradley only further cemented Sam’s belief that Captain America had no real place in the modern world. A belief that was continually reinforced by John Walker’s series of failures and crimes (which we’ll discuss further when we get to Walker later).
When Sam was finally able to confront Karli Morganthau, the leader of the Flag Smashers, Sam did what he actually does best: He made a connection with her. This was a reminder that Sam Wilson does have super powers of sort, and empathy is one of them. When he and Barnes finally have time to bond, and truly get to understand one another without having to rush from one fight to the next, we are shown a great example of Sam’s other super power: His ability to see the best in people, and make them see that in themselves. With some tough love, Sam is able to break through what’s left of Bucky’s hard exterior, and help him understand what he really needs to do if he wants to make peace with his past and himself.
In return Barnes brings him a new uniform, complete with new Vibranium wings (as his original wings were ripped off by Walker during their fight) courtesy of the White Wolf’s friends in Wakanda. By the time the Flag Smashers make their final move to kill everyone on the Global Relocation Council (GRC), Sam is there in his new Captain America gear to stop them. The world is watching as Sam dons the stars and strips, stops the Flag Smashers, and demands that the senators of the GRC do better to make things right for all the people of the world. After claiming the mantle, and shield, on his own terms, Sam has convinced everyone – including Isaiah Bradley and himself – that the world does still need Captain America. Just as long as the right person wields the shield.
James Buchanan Barnes – Like Sam, Bucky was also given a fresh start with the “helped defeat Thanos” pardon, and is working with a government-appointed therapist to make amends for his deeds as the Winter Soldier. This mainly involves helping to take down the people who were placed into power by Hydra sending in the Winter Soldier to do their dirty work. He has a sort of mission of sorts, but no personal connections to the world. The only people we see him interact with are an elderly man whose son he murdered as the Winter Soldier, and a bartender he flees a date with because he simply does not know how to be with regular people.
He seeks out Sam after Sam gives up the shield, which is subsequently given to John Walker by the government. He’s angry at Sam for handing the shield over, since their mutual best friend Steve Rogers designated him as the man to carry on the Captain America legacy. But, really, he’s angry because if Steve was wrong about Sam being the right person to take up the mantle, then Steve may also have been wrong about Barnes deserving redemption for his deeds while under Hydra’s control. Despite this tension, he and Sam start working together the take down the Flag Smashers.
Along the way, we discover that Barnes did make a strong connection with the Wakandans who sheltered him, and cured him of Hydra’s brain-washing. Most notably Ayo, a member of the Dora Milaje, shows up to collect Baron Zemo, after Barnes and Sam broke him out of prison for help, clearly share a bond with Bucky. This demonstrates that he is still capable of connecting with people, just as long as he doesn’t need to hide the dark deeds of his past from them. While seeing Ayo again helps Barnes come out of his shell a little, it’s not until he and Sam have a chance to stop fighting that he finds the sort of personal connection that he’s been missing.
After finally setting their issues with one another aside, Sam and Bucky defeat John Walker, and take the shield from him. At that point, with no other active leads to follow, they travel to Sam’s hometown for some good old fashioned bonding. Spending time with Sam’s family, and closest friends, helps Barnes find the true man inside the Winter Soldier, and bring him back to the surface. Sam also helps him realize that, to truly make amends, he needs to stop hunting bad guys that he helped, and start seeking out the people he hurt to give them the peace-of-mind that only he can. He admits to Sam that he and Steve could never fully understand what it would mean to a black man to be Captain America when they discussed passing the shield onto him. While, at the same time, he provides Sam with his own version of the Captain America uniform. Notably, he only gives Sam a locked suitcase from Wakanda, and leaves it up to Sam to decide if and when he opens it.
In the end, Barnes has found his true mission as well as his new family. The former is to find his own peace by giving peace-of-mind to the ancillary victims of the Winter Soldier’s crimes, while continuing to fight by Captain America’s side. As a benefit of the latter, Bucky now also gets invited to awesome cookouts and block parties at Sam’s place. With a new social support network, Barnes’ has started living the sort of life he had not led since before shipping off to World War II.
Bucky’s arc took him to a much better personal place but, in many ways, he’s still a work-in-progress. This is probably why the title card at the ends of the season read “Captain America and the Winter Soldier” rather than “Captain America and the White Wolf” but I believe we’ll still get there in a forthcoming movie, or second season. Perhaps one that will further explore his connection to Wakanda, where he was able to break free of the Winter Soldier programming, and was given that other cool nickname that doesn’t come with all the baggage.
John Walker – Walker started off the season as a slap-in-the-face to Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson in his knock-off Captain America uniform. He then was proven to be a joke by failing on each of his first missions, partly because he was trying to deal with super soldiers while not having the same physical gifts as Rogers. His lack of worth was further accentuated by the fact that he displayed neither the gift of empathy, nor the ability to inspiration, that Steve and Sam shared.
He was able to match his physical self up to his self-perceived level of due respect by injecting himself with a dose of super solider serum. But his actions in the immediate aftermath completely struck home the personal failings that made him unworthy to wield the shield, as he publicly executed a member of the Flag Smashers who was surrendering to him. He has his rank and charge removed during his trial for the murder of a Flag Smasher, but this does not dim his misguided belief in himself.
While he had done nothing to deserve redemption for his crime, he does ultimately help Sam and Bucky stop the Flag Smashers’ plan to murder the GRC. He also defers to Sam’s proper claim to the shield when he sees him demonstrate, firsthand, the traits and values that Captain America needs to represent. However, rather than continuing on his path to better himself, Walker promptly signs up with the enigmatic Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to join her mysterious organization as the U.S Agent.
This pretty much puts him back as square one as the incognizant cog in someone else’s machine. I found Walker’s arc interesting until the season finale when it seemed to abruptly end in a manner that seemed far too tidy for him. We’ll definitely be seeing more of John Walker in the future, so hopefully we get a more fitting payoff at that time.
Sharon Carter – Sharon’s onscreen role was much smaller than expected when going by the promotional materials, and her spots in Captain America: The Winter Solider as well as Captain America: Civil War. Offscreen, however, as the Power Broker, she played a big part in orchestrating many of the events that propelled the story forward. Her character arc, however, played out before the start of this show.
Not having received the “helped defeat Thanos” pardon that the fellas enjoy, since she apparently didn’t have access to one of those handy sorcerer portals at the time, she had been a fugitive from the United States government for the past five years. Sharon felt that she chose the right side, by joining Steve Rogers’ team against Tony Stark’s in the Avengers’ Civil War. Embittered by receiving this treatment despite years of service to the government, an sensing an opportunity in the power vacuum that ensued from half the criminals on the planet turning to dust, she became the Power Broker.
Or so we have to assume, as the show never provided us with the specifics of Sharon’s situation. This was one of the biggest disappointments of the show for me. But, like John Walker, we’re sure to see Sharon again. Hopefully, we’ll get to learn her whole story then as well.
Baron Helmut Zemo – Zemo was another character whose arc happened in the years between Civil War War and Endgame. He’s no longer a vengeance-driven force of destruction aimed directly at the Avengers. When he’s re-introduced to us, he’s an enlightened fugitive millionaire playboy who’s the most charismatic character every time he’s onscreen. He helps Sam and Barnes in their mission, as it aligns with his own mission to rid to world of enhanced individuals. And he manages to evade capture by the Dora Millaje until he’s good and ready to get captured.
His Plan A seemed to be getting shot in the face by Bucky, which was also how he wanted to end his Civil War plan, until Black Panther thwarted his suicide attempt. But Barnes is well-past his Winter Soldier days, and chooses to hand Zemo over to the Dora Millaje rather than killing him. They end up taking him to The Raft supervillain prison, though his loyal butler/manservant completes his mission for him by blowing up the remaining Flag Smashers after they are taken into custody. This establishes that Zemo is very capable of being dangerous even from behind bars. He may have been the most consistent highlight of the show, so I look forward to seeing more of him in future projects.
Karli Morganthau – Karli was pretty much done dirty through the run of the show. She was made into less of a character, and more of a human stand-in for a valid ideology taken to extremes. Some efforts were made to humanize her, such as her conversation with Sam before Walker crashed the party. But nothing truly enlightened us to who she was as person. We were given the broad-strokes of the Flag Smashers’ belief system: That the GRC were destroying the lives people built for themselves during the five years where half the population was gone. The viewers were given space to agree, or disagree, with this stance, and I chose the former.
The issue with Karli, was the she was the one pushing the group toward escalating violence, but we were never told the reason why. Was there some deeper, personal tragedy tied to the way her family was treated by the GRC? Was she simply someone with a history of violence who was drawn to the Flag Smashers’ mission, assuming it would give her to opportunity to indulge her more destructive tendencies? It’s impossible to say since, even given six hours to work with, Karli was never allowed to be anything approaching a fully-formed character.
As a whole, I really enjoyed The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. It was great spending time with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes again, and watching them form the sort of bond that they’ll need to rebuild the Avengers and lead them into whatever cataclysmic threat rises next.
But, more than that, it was great seeing Marvel embrace the legacy of one of their most beloved characters. They passed the mantle onto Sam Wilson, a character who stands for millions of people who spent far too long not being allowed to see themselves in the greatest superheroes ever created.
A fourth Captain America movie was announced with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s showrunner writing the script. I am greatly looking forward to seeing where they take these characters next. Steve Rogers was my favorite character in the first three phases of the MCU. It would not surprise me in the least is Sam Wilson ensures that Captain America retains that spot for me through the next phase.
That’s a line that Vision says in a flashback from the penultimate episode of WandaVision. It’s also, essentially, the show’s thesis statements. I liked that line of dialogue a lot. Though I’ve always thought of grief being the love that remains once someone you care for is gone, I was never able to put it quite so succinctly. I have heard a number of other people say that line altered their perception of grief, so the impact is definitely real.
The impact of WandaVision is also very real, especially after an entire calendar year where forces beyond our control lead to there not being a Marvel movie released for the first time since 2009. The show was very well done, and I greatly enjoyed it. But I still must wonder whether it would have had such a large footprint on America’s entertainment culture had it been just one of three or four MCU projects that came out shortly after Avengers: Endgame.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, because the show very much stands on its own merits. However, due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding its release, WandaVision was nothing, if not, the MCU persevering. Because, had it not been almost through production already when the pandemic hit, then we would have had to wait several more months before seeing anything or anyone from the MCU again. And, had it been a movie rather than a nine-episode TV series, it would not have satiated the viewers for nearly as long as it did.
By design, the show took an extremely roundabout way to reach its own fairly straightforward conclusion. There were may twists, and feints, and trollings and red herrings. But, in the end, it was about how Wanda Maximoff was finally able to allow herself to properly grieve for her lost loved ones, and also get a proper superhero costume and name. Although, it’s safe to assume that she’ll be seeing Vision again with all his memories but none of his emotional attachments (or fancy colors). So that’ll be another curveball for her, when the time comes.
Emotional attachments are not something I ever had for Wanda or Vision. Even back in my youth when I was more regularly reading comics. I never had much interest in them. This was no different when it came to their cinematic interpretations. I enjoyed Paul Bettany as the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S, but his turns as Vision always left me cold.
He was a bit of a MacGuffin who transformed into a deus ex machina in Avengers: Age Of Ultron. I also rolled my eyes a bit when he became the first character besides Thor to lift Mjolnir. He had a little more to do in Captain America: Civil War, but was still little more than an afterthought to the primarily storyline. When he and Wanda were suddenly a couple in Avengers: Infinity War, it never rang as emotionally true to me. And, because of this, his death(s) at the end of that movie again felt simply like the means to an end.
I was more on-board with Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff when she also debuted in Age Of Ultron. Unlike Vision, at least she had an interesting backstory. But even that was soured for me by the pointless, and underwhelming, death of Pietro in that film. I assumed it was a right issue, considering Fox still had the X-Men film rights at the time. But it was still a lame ending for a character with a great deal of potential. Really, the usage rate for Quicksilver was one of the very few things that Fox’s X-Men cinematic universe did better than the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Wanda was the main catalyst at the starts of Civil War, due to her mistake on a mission with Captain America’s team leading to the deaths of civilians. By extension, her actions left to the writing of the Sokovia Accords. Her actions sequences – the opening, the fight with Vision, and the battle royal at the airport – were all pretty cool. But, by the end of Civil War, her part in the disassembling of the Avengers took a backseat to the Iron Man vs Captain America & The Winter Soldier fallout and rumble.
As I mentioned earlier, her scenes with Vision as a romantic pairing in Infinity War felt sudden, and unearned to me. Though her arrival on the battlefield in Wakanda was one of the action highlights of the film, alongside Team Cap’s arrival at the train station in Edinburgh, and Thor’s big Wakandan entrance. Wanda’s own return in Avengers: Endgame was better, as I felt her rage as a more realistic motivation than her love in the previous film. And she did nearly break Thanos in-half, which was also an impressive of power.
So, while I always found Wanda more interesting than Vision, she was still near the bottom of my list of characters I cared about. Until WandaVision. Giving Wanda and Vision 7+ hours to develop their relationship, even in as strange a way as they did, finally won me over to their storyline. In short – I never knew I wanted more of Wanda and Vision until I was given more of Wanda and Vision.
It helps when two characters that we are told are in-love actually have time to show us what their love looks like, be it in a domestic situation or otherwise. Also, just having more screen time than either did in the films allowed the actors to fill out the roles in a much more meaningful way. Bettany’s and Olsen’s talent, coupled with the creative team providing them top notch material, allowed this flex to happen.
At the conclusion of the finale, there are primarily three threads left hanging to lead us forward to the next Phase of the MCU: Monica Rambeau’s emergence of superpowers, White Vision’s memory download and escape, and Wanda’s quest to hone her powers for seemingly one very specific reason.
I’m not going to spend much time on Monica, Agent Woo, or Darcy. As much as I enjoyed that part of the show, I’d rather focus on the titular characters. Monica’s introduction, and gaining of powers all pretty much led up to the mid-credits stinger, which involved a Skrull enlisting here to join Nick Fury and Talos on a space station as they venture into the upcoming Secret Invasion Disney+ series.
Woo and Darcy were just a lot of fun, and I very much hope to see more of them both. I figure Darcy will be in Thor: Love & Thunder, and Woo seems like he’ll be moving up in the FBI world, which ought to provide more chances to roll him out in future shows and movies.
White Vision seemed like he’d be a bigger deal in the penultimate episode than he ended up being. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t figure he’d be used as a tool to bring the original Vision back into the real world outside of the Hex that Wanda created. Still, it was a clever way to use a new character to bring back an old character, and then combine the two to be something different. I’ll be interested to see where White Vision next appears, and what his character is now that Vision loaded up his memory file.
That leaves the last thread, and the most tragic piece of the finale: the fate of Billy and Tommy, the children who Wanda created for herself. What was interesting was that, even though they were manufactured whole-cloth by Wanda, they had personalities and, dare I say, souls independent of their “mother.”
At the end of her fight with Agatha Harkness – whom I didn’t mention, but was also pretty great – Wanda realizes that she needs to free the town of Westview from her Hex. This means losing Vision…for a third time…but he’s aware of this, prepared for it, and also knows that White Vision is out there somewhere carrying his life experience into the future.
Billy and Tommy, on the other hand, are put to bed and erased in heart-breaking fashion. Wanda’s response to this tragedy felt strangely underwhelming, considering the extreme way that her grief over her parents, brother, and lover manifested itself. I was confused by this until we got the second stinger at the end of the credits. In a scene that looks very Sam Raimi-esque, we see Wanda far out in the middle of nowhere, using the Doctor Strange pocket dimension learning strategy to train herself in the Chaos Magic found in the Darkhold – the “book of the damned” – recovered from Harkness’ creepy black magic cellar.
Upon first glance, one might assume she is simply learning how to better hone her magic skills to be a better Scarlet Witch. However, at the last moment we hear a little bit of what Wanda is hearing. And what she’s hearing is her children crying for help. If her existing, pent-up grief led an untrained uber-witch to accidentally enslave an entire town in her altered reality, imagine what the loss of her children will lead her to do on-purpose. Especially now that she’s determined to fully harness her power. Sounds to me like the perfect recipe for some multiversal madness. Paging Doctor Strange.
All-in-all WandaVision was a fascinating cocktail for the familiar (quick-witted jokes, bright colors, superpeople bombarding each other with energy blasts) and the different (the internal sitcoms-through-the-decades format, the TV series format in-general). In most cases, a living entity must evolve in order to survive, and this very much felt like the MCU’s evolution. So, I once again ask my own thesis: What is WandaVision, if not the MCU persevering?
Talk about a cliffhanger. I posted a spoilers and speculation blog about Avengers: Infinity War way back in 2018, shortly before I took an unplanned three year break from blogging, and never followed it up. That’s like a Star Wars Original & Prequel Trilogy style gap.
But I still didn’t want to leave anyone, including myself, hanging. So, I’m writing this piece to close my own circle with some general thoughts about Avengers: Endgame, and what’s come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since then. I made some predictions in that blog, and I’m happy to say that I was more right than wrong in my predictions.
Loki and Heimdall definitely died “for real” even though Loki is getting his own time travel-ly series out of it. All victim of The Snap returned, though that wasn’t exactly a long shot. I was right to assume Hawkeye wasn’t snapped, and that the original Avengers squad all survived for a reason – I was also right about the reason being to give them a proper curtain call. Doctor Strange’s apology to Tony Stark did end up being because Tony had to sacrifice his life to save the universe.
Steve Rogers bowed out with a happier ending than I’d suspected. Bucky Barnes likely isn’t the one carrying the Captain America shield forward, so I was wrong about that part. But he, and Sam Wilson, are working together to fill the void, so I was right about the group effort part. Black Widow died, but still has a solo movie coming out (some day) so I was about 50/50 on that projection. Thor is getting a fourth movie, as expected, and they’re keeping Hulk in their back pocket, likely to drop by on the She Hulk series.
As for the movie itself: I loved Avengers: Endgame, and I think the last hour or so of it is the most rewatchable MCU movie out there. The time travel trip down memory lane worked way better than it had any right to. Just the fact that they introduced time travel out of nowhere, and made it work, is a small miracle. Though my faith never really waivered in Kevin Feige and the MCU brain trust.
The Star Wars crew couldn’t even properly wrap up a trilogy with the disastrous Rise Of Skywalker. Meanwhile, Marvel capped out a 20+ movie arc in the most entertaining and satisfying manner possible. Both of these are under Disney’s banner now, but you can see a stark difference in the way they’ve been handled.
I think Marvel has had a looser leash, which worked out for them Meanwhile, they course-corrected Star Wars on-the-fly, likely with a Bible full of studio notes, which ended up being a problem. But, if The Mandalorian is a sign of things to come, and it appears that it is, then Star Wars may soon be rising to Marvel’s standards. Imagine saying THAT twenty years ago.
Now, for how things are looking in a Post Infinity Saga universe.
Spider-Man: Far From Home was the only post-Endgame MCU release so far, even though Black Widow was scheduled to drop a year ago, before the pandemic effed up everyone’s lives for most of the past twelve months. Far From Home was a lot of fun, and a good demonstration of how well Marvel Studios can get themselves back into the flow of smaller, non-universe destroying crossover films. It was very encouraging.
No one has seen Black Widow yet, as I noted above. But I’ll definitely check it out when – and where – I can.
WandaVision is really interesting. I’ll probably post a review of it once the season concludes, since I don’t want to fully judge it without having seen the entire run. It’s pulled the rug out from under the viewers several times already, so I’ll gather up my thoughts about it when standing on more solid ground.
The Falcon & The Winter Solider is coming later this month, and I’m very much looking forward to more of the love-hate-buddy-cop action that those two characters have only been able to hint at up to this point. I’ll probably write that review up after the season (series?) concludes as well.
Loki is up after that in May. Lots of timey-wimey stuff going on there, starting with Loki being not-dead in the first place. But the character is always fun, and time travel worked out nicely in Endgame, so let it ride!
She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Ms. Marvel, Ironheart, and Secret Invasion have all been announced as Disney+ series, and some interesting casting news has come out already. But, it’s also far too early for me to have any real insights.
I’ll judge The Eternals when I know more about it, but I’m not familiar with the title at all, so I won’t make any assumptions yet. But I did watch Nomadland, which was also directed by recent Golden Globe Winner Chloe Zhao. I didn’t exactly know how to feel about the point-of-view in Nomadland, which I think was the point. It was a beautiful-looking film though, that’s for certain, so that’s hooked my interest in Eternals.
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is next up. It’s being directed by Sam Raimi, which sounds incredible. All we know so far is the title and director. But I’m loving the title and the director. It’s still in the early stages of shooting, but I’m fully on-board already. I can’t wait to further examine the mystical corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Or, Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, I suppose). I really enjoyed the back-half of Doctor Strange’s solo movie, and loved his few scenes in Thor: Ragnarok. Picking up where those left off seems pretty awesome to me.
Spider-Man: No Way Home appears set to tackle the multiverse as well, which should be fun. Into The Spider-Verse may have already done this about as well as you possibly can. But the MCU has the bonus draw of bringing in actors and characters from the previous iterations of the Spider-Man film franchise. If nothing else, that should be good to pop the crowd a few times.
Thor: Love & Thunder is deep into shooting, with Taika Waititi again at the helm. Much like Doctor Strange’s new movie, the title and director are more-than-enough to get me into a theater. Plus, Thor: Ragnarok was probably the most fun MCU movie to date, so I’m all-in for more of that vibe.
Captain Marvel 2 and Black Panther 2 are also on-deck. But the former has just started casting, and the latter is trying to figure out how best to address the tragic loss of Chadwick Boseman. Either way, it’s far too early to make any assumptions about either.
I’m happy to finally put a bow on my Infinity War cliffhanger, and can’t wait to share my thoughts about all the interesting stuff that’s coming up in the future.
