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If you like the Guardians of the Galaxy series, do not miss the Guardians Holiday Special on Disney+ It is 100% in universe with the films, 100% a genuine Christmas special, and hilarious. Right up there with No Way Home as best thing to come out of Marvel ( and adjacent ) this year, as far as I'm concerned. If James Gunn can actually bring the kind of consistency and love of the characters to the DCEU, it might have a renaissance. And if Gunn isn't directing or at least heavily involved in the production, the Guardians series needs to end with the upcoming Vol. 3. There's just too much risk of it going off the rails and tainting the legacy. Jerry Seinfeld that shizznit. Walk away while it's on top. Go watch it.

Just going on record here to say that I believe the Sharon Carter depicted in Falcon and Winter Soldier is our introduction to the evil Skrull faction that we'll see play out in Secret Invasion.

Well, the early reviews are, shall we say, not wrong. The first two episodes were slow -- out of the necessity to introduce the characters, I should imagine. There's a little more movement in the third, but I'm still pretty "Meh" on the storyline. I like Lockjaw. Unfortunately, because he's 100% CGI, he probably will get minimal screen time. I really like the actor playing Black Bolt. His facial expressions and gestures do a pretty amazing job of conveying things without words -- especially humor. I do not like Medusa at all. I barely know anything about the characters, so I have no idea if she's being depicted faithfully. If she is -- damn. You can be regal or a badass without being a snooty bitch. The only one I have any passing familiarity with is Crystal, since she was with the F.F. for a while and in a few other books when I was reading. As I said, it's only passing. She's okay in this, but nothing outstanding so far. I kind of like Gorgon, but the whole "we're superior people" thing kind of drags his character down. Of course, that could be part of his story arc, in which case it will eventually be forgivable. I suppose the same could be said of Medusa, but they really haven't depicted her with any redeeming qualities at this point. Triton is nothing more than an instigating incident at this point. Karnak is okay. The way they're depicting his powers confused the shit out of me at first. I suppose muddling up his powers is his arc, but it feels to me as if his powers weren't established well enough in the first place for the loss of them to have an impact on me. Maximus is a mustache twirling dick with small penis syndrome. None of the peripheral Attilan-bound inhuman characters have made much of an impression on me. Hell, the earth-bound inhuman from the prison is far more three dimensional, and he didn't have a chunk of a two-hour premiere to set him up. The human characters seem almost an afterthought -- and pretty clichéd. Attilan looks like a movie set -- not a living, breathing community on the moon. Overall, this is certainly the bottom of the Marvel heap. Next rung up is Iron Fist, which was weak throughout in both action and storyline, but had decent enough cliffhangers to keep me interested. Above that is Luke Cage, which was awesome for the first half, and then fizzled once they moved on to the "real villain". Then it's Agent Carter Season 2. ( Season 1 was awesome ) Defenders gets a rung higher on the strength of the character interactions and humor. Considering how well the Marvel Netflix stuff started out with DD seasons 1&2 and Jessica Jones, it's sad that Netflix is filling so many of the bottom slots. Anyway, Inhumans hasn't bored me enough to stop watching. There are a few things here and there that are worth seeing. Maybe it will pick up and have a few stronger moments. Tides me over until the pure awesomeness of Coulson and Agents of Shield returns in a few weeks I think they should have skipped the Inhumans series and just introduced the characters for a two or three episode storyline on AOS. I will give them points for the "radioactive bug" line in Ep. 3, though.

Just got back. The movie is great The final few minutes of the actual flick ( not end credits ) are incredible. Without being overly intrusive on Spider-Man, they manage what I consider to be a major plot point for the MCU and a great cameo in one quick scene. Then there's that last few seconds. Those are easily on par with "I am Iron Man" and "Avengers, a--" Keaton is great. No shocker there. Holland is a great Peter Parker and a great Spider-Man. RDJ is on point, of course. Favreau as Happy Hogan is fun throughout the movie as Tony Stark's point man with the fledgling Spider-Man. Aunt May. Ned Leeds. Some of the visual effects were a bit off. I think they tried to give Holland a degree of superhuman speed that made it look wonky at times. It wasn't nearly as seamless as it was in Civil War. I think the overblown diversification of the cast is worthy of some head-shaking, but I didn't dislike any of the new incarnations because of it. Really, considering how incredibly well-cast the Sam Rami films were in the regard of bringing the drawings to life with real people, (for the most part... *cough* Topher Grace *cough*) an argument can be made that we've already been given that faithful adaptation, so moving away from it isn't all that stressing. I give the Gwen Stacey points to Amazing Spider-Man. That's absolutely the only thing I'll give those two films credit for, though Ned in particular is great, which is a good thing, because he has a significant role in the movie. The twist with Liz Allen and her dad was a surprise, but didn't throw me off or take me out of the movie. Things to do, so I'll stop there. If you're a fan of Spider-Man, go watch it. I don't think you'll be disappointed. May even go watch it again next weekend if I don't have too much to do and the available showtimes aren't terrible. Sometimes they are for second week films in my area. The Marvel Golden Age continues

Now that the website is back up, I can post this. Watched Civil War yesterday. Main verdict is that it's not knocking Winter Soldier out of my #1 spot. That said, the plot certainly had a Winter Soldier vibe to it. It's a darker storyline with some unexpected twists. The beginning feels a little slow after the opening scene. The action in that is really good, even though I feel as if they wasted Crossbones. After that, it feels to me as if it drags for a while. More or less until the next action scene. It just doesn't have the energy of Winter Soldier. Falcon's action scenes are superb. The use of his new wings and tech really makes him dynamic and fun to watch. Of course, Anthony Mackie delivers his lines with panache, same as he did in Winter Soldier. The stairwell scene is awesome. So is the tunnel chase. Black Panther is great. His accent, body language, and demeanor are perfect. Chadwick sells it big time. Ant-Man is a great addition. Paul Rudd is killing it, and the twist in the airport scene with him is awesomesauce. Looking forward to Ant-Man & the Wasp. I'm still not ready to call Holland the best Peter Parker and best Spider-Man, even though he gets an unexpected amount of screen time in this to establish the character. He's good as both, but I still need to see a movie centering on him before I'll make that call. He's got great lines ( beyond the ones shown in the trailers ) and looks awesome. One thing I will say for certain is that I like him better than Garfield in both parts. I really didn't like the ( now middle ) reboot. We'll see if he edges out Toby. Seeing Vision in street clothes was just weird. I get where they're going, trying to add a little fan service suggesting the comic romance between him and Scarlet Witch, but I don't think they really sold it. It's so lightly suggested that I don't even consider it a spoiler. They're the most underwhelming characters to me. Further viewings may change my mind as I catch other nuances, but the first impression is meh... Hawkeye was fun, and his comic persona comes through more here, as it did in AoU. Getting to see the arrow-riding scene made it worth him being in there, although it almost feels as if he was in there exclusively for that purpose. Rhodey's plot point is what bumps him up a notch. Naturally, I won't spoil that. Black Widow's fighting is naturally awesome. Her place in the film is exactly what you would expect it to be, considering her character. The last third is easily as good as Winter Soldier. It's fast paced and gut-punching. Zemo is a decent villain. He has a fair back story, his evil plan is convoluted, and it gives that mastermind feel. Thunderbolt Ross maintains his black-ops feel from Hulk, but tempered by someone who's been promoted to a suit. I think he did quite well. Wakanda looks great in the end. They didn't sell me on Sharon Carter. What's going on with her feels even more fan-servicey than the romance between Vision and Scarlet Witch. Freeman didn't have much to do here. What I hear is that they're establishing him for Black Panther. I barely noticed him, honestly. Evans and RDJ kill it, of course. To me, this is somewhere around AoU, so far as how much I like it. It's not at the top with Winter Soldier, Guardians, Deadpool, the first Avengers, the first Iron Man, etc. It's well worth the watch for the action alone, but it just isn't as fast-paced as Winter Soldier, keeping up the energy from start to finish. I'll probably go back for a second viewing next Friday. We'll see if I add to this.

6 Episodes into Jessica Jones, and I'm enjoying it. I know next to nothing about Luke Cage or Jessica Jones, so I'm coming into this with a clean slate and no real expectations as to canon treatment of the characters. To me, it felt as if it started out slow. Granted, the end of the first episode was a big bang shock. The first three episodes felt a little too much like they were exploiting the chance to put some sex into the MCU. Considering what I write, it pushes up to the edge where it makes me feel as if it should have just gone all the way. I'm sure your average viewer isn't going to get that feeling. Now, starting at about episode 4, things really pick up. I like all the characters -- especially Luke Cage. Yes, I actually put him ahead of the title character LOL Don't get me wrong, I like Jessica almost as much, but there's just something about the performance that pushes Cage over the top. I do know enough to know that his catchphrase is "Sweet Christmas" and having him use it a couple of times so far tickles me. It's akin to Beast saying "Oh my stars and garters" in X-Men 3. That's probably the highlight of that movie for me. It's a nod to the comic fans, and it's something I can appreciate even when it's not material I'm familiar with. Jessica is becoming far more three dimensional to me now -- which is probably what's making me enjoy the episodes after three more. Her friend the talk show host caught me right from the beginning. I like the cop. I like her junkie neighbor. I even like the helpless nerd who lives upstairs with his domineering fraternal twin sister. The sister, not so much LOL Hope is the driving force of the plot as much as anything, and they're painting her with a strength that's keeping me interested. The twists and turns with her have been really good. Not sure where the love triangle with the doctor, lawyer, and her personal secretary are eventually going to lead. At the moment, it feels like it's a tacked on reason to have a lesbian side-plot in there. We'll see what happens with that in time, but I'm not really invested in that angle just yet. Keeping my eyes open for Night Nurse as well. As much as Luke Cage is in this, I have the distinct feeling he's not going to get his own series, and I'm fine with that. The dynamic between him and Jessica is great. Let them be a duo from the get-go, and move on to the other Defenders. I could get on board with a Luke Cage series that has Jessica in it as much as Luke is in her show, though. The rumor is a stand-alone Punisher may sneak in there. We'll see what I think of him once Daredevil season 2 hits. And, of course, there's Killgrave. Sick mother fucker. The end of episode six is a serious creeper that gives you shivers thing. I'll probably finish it before the weekend is over. If I didn't need to crash for work tomorrow, I'd probably finish it in one sitting. It's a worthy addition to the MCU, for certain.

A little jump off the Ant-Man topic, here's how I rank the modern Marvel movies and shows -- and not just the MCU ones, but those produced by Sony and Fox as well. Lots of ties in here. Some things like Blade aren't in here, because I'm only going back to X-men as "modern" As much as anything, how many times I've watched them is the determining factor. A lot of the stuff in the middle where the huge blocks of ties are have such small differences that they should almost be one giant block, rather than several. They may float around in my head from time to time as well. 1) Captain America: The Winter Soldier I have watched this so many times, and it never gets any less awesome. I just watched it again tonight. 2) Guardians of the Galaxy: Pure fun, great action, and some truly powerful moments as well. 2) The Avengers: Yes, this is a tie with Guardians. I simply cannot give one the edge over the other. The movie nobody thought was possible, done masterfully. 3) Iron Man: Much like Winter Soldier, this just never gets old. 3) Agents of Shield: Total Coulson fanboy, I know. 3) Daredevil: Marvel goes dark and gritty to great effect! 4) Avengers - Age of Ultron: It may not be the best of the Marvel Movies, but it's nevertheless awesome. 5) Ant-Man: As I said, the latest outing proves that Marvel can turn the most obscure characters into an enjoyable cinematic experience. 6) X2 - X-men United: One compound word - Nightcrawler! 6) Spider-Man: The original is, in my mind, great. 6) Spider-Man 2: Hangs right in there with the original. 7) Thor: Some great fun, Clark Gregg gets to shine as Coulson, and a powerful moment at the end. 7) Captain America: The First Avenger: A great period piece that does things right. 7) Spider-Man 3: Barring the emo Peter and dancing scenes, I really enjoyed this. Sandman in particular was brilliant from beginning to end. 7) Iron Man 2: Squeaks in on some awesome humor and fight scenes. 7) Incredible Hulk: While it may be the worst performing MCU movie, I thought it did a damn good job. 7) X-Men: The original X-film is a classic that, along with Spider-Man, really set the stage for the golden age of Marvel Movies. 7) Agent Carter: Gets props for the same reason as First Avenger. 8) The Wolverine - could have done without the mechanized Silver Samurai and Viper, but still quite enjoyable. 8) Thor: The Dark World - This one is weak on humor, feels disconnected from the rest of the MCU, and has a really weak villain, but the Thor/Loki dynamic helps pull it up a bit. 8) X-Men First Class - A journey back in time that does a damn fine job. 8) X-Men Days of Future Past - Some brilliant stuff that undoes the mistakes of the past. Both of the newest X-films are close to moving up a rank into that giant #7 tie. 9) Iron Man 3: The Mandarin reveal absolutely ruined this one for me in the theater. It's grown on me since, and "Hail to the King" redeems it somewhat, but it will always suffer from that first impression with me. 10) Amazing Spider-Man: The reboot has always felt weak to me. 11) X-Men 3: As much as I hated the deaths, some great things like the Fastball Special and the Juggernaut make it fun in places. 12) X-Men Origins: Wolverine - despite horrible CGI and the rape of Deadpool, it edges out the bottom tier in a few places. 13) Fantastic Four - 13) Fantastic Four - Rise of the Silver Surfer Both are just "meh" 14) Ghost Rider 15) Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Both either have too much Johnny and not enough Ghost Rider, and not enough Cage. They're just really weak. 16) Amazing Spider-Man 2: As weak as the first outing felt, this one really disappointed me. It was hard to make Power-Rangers Green Goblin from the Rami films look good, but this film did it in spades! 17) Hulk: The old Hulk movie is just plain terrible from start to finish.

Just finished Daredevil on Netflix. Marvel knocked another one out of the park. The whole inciting incident of the series is tied to the Battle of New York. ( Avengers ) You have a few other casual references to the larger MCU that don't overwhelm the narrative of the story, but remind you that you're in the Marvel Universe. There's even a minor tie-in with Agents of Shield, in that Crusher Creel plays a part in Daredevil's origin story. It's a nice touch, and one that I caught in an early episode before it was actually revealed. Because it's on Netflix, they don't have to pull the punches that AOS or the MCU do. People bleed. People die. It's far more graphic, and the action is excellent. The portrayals of both Matt Murdock and Daredevil are excellent. I was never a huge fan of the character, but I get the feeling of him that I remember. I'm especially fond of how they've done Kingpin. He has the look -- although naturally not the exaggerated proportions of the comics. He feels casually dangerous, but when he takes matters into his own hands, he's a truly deadly and merciless adversary. Foggy Nelson is a nice light addition. It's something Marvel has been doing extremely well since Iron Man, and it keeps right on coming here. Karen Page is a mystery, and an interesting character. As I said, I wasn't a huge fan of the comics, so I don't know her backstory. I barely know Foggy's name, as a matter of fact. There's probably something deep and dark about her in the comics that they're leading up to, but don't tell me LOL The costume is yet another Marvel hallmark, evoking the comic image while looking modern and practical. Long story short -- go watch it.