Venom

Backstory: One morning while getting ready for work I found myself stuck with the song, ‘Never Say Never’ by Justin Bieber & Jaden Smith specifically the rap section. These lines teleported me back to my days in Intermediate – now my school wasn’t a ‘Decile 1’ school which meant we got Duffy books which was always exciting. I mean who doesn’t love free books right?! After picking my selection from the catalogue, the day came when the books arrived and I was missing mine. I asked my teacher and she confirmed that all the books had come. To my shock I found that another student had decided to hid my book which I couldn’t understand at first. This was the first time I experienced bullying and the guy was was bigger than me and taller than me. The worst part about this was that I had to get ready to go to work while processing this thing. As I drove holding back tears, the lines for the poem started to mind. I called it ‘Venom’ after being inspired by the events of ‘Spider-Man 3’ film where Peter Parker when the host of the symbiote makes sense interesting decisions including some shocking dance moves.Hope this helps someone as it did for me while writing it and performing it at our ‘Ko Au Tēnei’ spoken word poetry event!

I wasn’t always the shy guy

Not the fly guy

But slowly become the four eyed guy

Told that my tarmac sized buck teeth were big enough to land a plane

And although the braces will bend back my smile into that perfect shape

The metal and glue cannot reduce the residue of their rhetoric

Talkative my teachers would tell you tales about how I would ramble

With not enough time during recess to squeeze out all Looney tunes

I would channel them into the classroom

But what happens when the chatterbox is silenced?

When their voices are louder and more vicious 

What happens when they steal your book

Your innocence

Your imagination and hide it for months

I wish I could Karate kick him in the face but I had no Mister Miyagi to teach me

Plus he was stronger than me

Bigger than me 

More powerful than me

Overpowered I let my antagonist devour me like I was his dessert

Although how do you stick up for yourself when you’re being shaken down?

Hands in the airs instead of in position to throw them

Defenseless and aggravated

Robbed of your personality

Forced to live with a new reality or do you fight

But I couldn’t hurt a fly

My fists not fashioned to feel the force of flesh and face

I trace back the lines of trauma

Terrified by his presence

It haunts me

So I terrorised those who threatened my facade

With my coping mechanism words

I’ll leave you with daggers and swords

In the hospital ward

I emulated the tough guy routine

Trying to blend in with the cool kids

But I was neither fast or furious

Nor strong or serious

I became a bully because of my bully

A burdened bared but now passed on

Broken people break others

They bleed and take innocent blood in the process

I the nerd, he the jock

I Peter Parker, he Flash Thompson

Not science fiction this was literal

Might sound like a cliche but this was critical

Kid quickens his counterfeit confidence

Counterattacks, as he cascades the arrows in his quiver

Young adult male cries in his car

Overwhelmed by emotions

Overcome by the occasion

Can I tell you that he is the nicest person that I know?

Insecurity lived here once

Inadequacy occupied this outlet

Shhh… don’t make any noise

Blend in

Don’t stand out

You’ll be chopped down

People

People are peculiar

Pedantic and at times unpopular with their opinions

But it is people who positioned around this adolescent

Not just through the pretty pictures but also through the problematic periods

His Presence

His Presence present perpetually

Not pardoned to bad stays or sad emotional sways

See salvation does not eventually fade away but saves the day again and again

A reminder that a relationship is committed to and changes are imminent as you get to know each two

Developments of dance circles breaking shells and freestyle rap ball partner proposals with results that don’t end swell

Butt of the joke comes as he’s now embracing the embarrassment

He is no longer a shadow

A figure in the dark

He has come into the light

Patience proclaimed by peers and clients alike

He is no longer fighting dirty

No longer the boy wonder to his caped crusader

Great white shark Batman, this citizen has changed

Although it wasn’t an overnight sensation

An extreme makeover

But a takeover

A throwing away off old ways

A reminder that He is loved

Why do you cry child?

What has made you blue?

Clueless of your creation

You compensated for a side character

Now this is not to tut horns as you are not doing anything wrong 

And this is not a friendly reminder as we’re not driving

But thriving He was not

Malnourished He wasn’t a day different from the day He stepped off that plane

Did I tell you that He found his own lane?

And now He trains others to not refrain from telling their testimonies

He is not a phony figure but where He lacks in stature His brings in heart

Restored and redeemed

Self esteem now stemmed from the roots of reverence rather than the pretty words of peers or people

A prodigal whose Father waits and continues to wait on days it hard to come home

Hope when it’s feel less than full

Dressing not to impress or to appease those who he thinks are cool

Fool’s gold can’t compare to Your currency

Currently the critics that cast canisters of curses may feel catastrophic but this is only momentary 

And can’t compete or be compared to the crafted piece of canvas that you are

Safe and sound

Surrounded by community meant not only to comfort you but to challenge what they have called you

To call out the lies

To make you realize that there replies were only relaying their rough background

To turn around to see that they were just as hurt as me

Though I felt like a target with a victim mentality.

The reality was that they were a causality of crimes committed by those were didn’t care to share kindness

Didn’t spare a single sentence of intense scrutiny

So they decided to start a mutiny against mortal men

Pen is not always as powerful as the vocal cord

And they used there’s to do damage

But a savage I will not become

Causing havoc because of what happened

Forgetting and forgiving doesn’t seem fair but freedom follows those who follow through

Not an event but an experience lived daily

See they didn’t merely survive but thrive now and given the opportunity to show others how

This is not a show where at the end of the performance I bow

Better yet a proclamation of the loved poured out

A poem of progress that started not at SHOUT but at an empty tomb where the Saviour won the bout

Not for the sake of clot but to stamp and blot shame out of its existence

So that you can exist in Him

A piece of mastery

Flaws and all

Roll call

Are you present for attendance or attempting to align with outliers who are still outstanding after being the subject of opposition attacks

Detract

Don’t overreact

Unpack the dirty laundry

And breathe in the fresh air

Be who you are meant to be

The me that He sees

Marvel Studios’ What If? – Season 1 Episode 9 (Season Finale) – Preview

Warning: This article contains spoilers from Marvel Studios’ ‘What If?’ Season 1 and I would highly recommend watching this animated series via Disney Plus before proceeding with your read.

“What If…The Watch Broke His Oath?”

Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

Throughout the comics and even in the entirety of the ‘What If?’ Disney Plus series, ‘The Watcher’ (voiced by Jeffrey Wright) has observed events unfold within different universes, some for worse and some for better but has not intervened at any cost. As is custom to the race from which The Watcher descends, although this all changed with the introduction of last week’s episode which featured a version of ‘Ultron’ (voice by Ross Marquand) who won and proceeded with his age of misery. Accompanied by long time MacGuffin the ‘Infinity Stones’, Ultron would go onto decimate planets and populations within his universe. Once finished with his purpose, he felt the presence of The Watcher which up to this point only ‘Doctor Strange/ Strange Supreme’ (Benedict Cumberbatch) has been able to do so.

Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

This surprised The Watcher as Ultron did not only feel his presence but he could see him which was horrifying moment for both the protagonist and me personally. To make it worse, not long after the ‘out of control’ Android figured out a way to break free of his earth which become a real doom and gloom situation. This resulted in battle between these two powerful beings where they literally broke through shards of different universes. Although The Watcher showed why he is a significant force in the multiverse by putting up a good fight, you kind of felt sorry for him as Ultron creatively tried to afflict damage even taking a bite at the ‘Milky Way’ galaxy (take that Galactus). The conclusion resulted in ‘The Watcher’ fleeing from an Ultron who had won the fight and is now an imminent threat to the entire multiverse.

Official Clip Released

Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

“In the midst of a battle with Ultron’s army, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is chosen by The Watcher (voiced by Jeffrey Wright)“ – IGN. https://youtu.be/bU-FcHQL9uY

‘Marvel Studios’ has released an official clip leading up to the season finale and it features ‘Party Thor‘ in mid battle against the cliffhanger that was Episode 7. Just a recap this was the scene where Ultron’s army showed up to ruin the happily ever moment that was Thor asking Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) out on a date. Even The Watcher appeared to be surprised which is a bit strange because it’s as if it was the first time he had seen this variant or version of Ultron. Unless he taken by surprise that Ultron had reached Thor’s universe already in his conquest to bring “peace in his time”.

Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

Whatever the explanation is the scene appears to take place not too long after in Las Vegas where Thor is taking out the Ultron bots, at the same time grumbling about his date with Jane being ruined. It’s humorous because The Watcher is trying to introduce himself to Thor but Thor is either distracted or oblivious of The Watcher’s presence. It’s not until ‘The Watcher’ literally picks up Thor which causes the Asgardian to scream his lungs out. This scene was great because it displayed how big The Watcher can project him, to the point where he can literally pick up heroes like they are action figures but also the comedic beats that came with it. There appears to be a slight time change as Thor is fighting at night time and the main Ultron is no where to be found which raises more questions. I guess we’ll have to wait for the season finale to air on Disney Plus to find out.

Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

The season finale will also introduce a version of ‘Gamora’ who appears to be wearing similar armour to ‘Thanos‘ as well as from a deleted scene in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ where we see a flashback of Gamora in her previous life working for the ‘Mad Titan’. Unfortunately her episode was moved to Season 2 due to COVID-19, so there might be a few references which we won’t understand. However the season finale is more focused on the formation of the ‘Guardians of the Multiverse’ which we’ve seen in some previous leaked promotional material and in all the trailer footage. The Watcher as ‘Nick Fury’ and ‘Valentina Allegra de Fontaine’ (Val) have been doing in the ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ (MCU), will be forming a team of his own.

This will feature the return of the Supreme Strange who we saw in the end tag scene of last week’s episode as well as ‘Black Widow/ Natasha Romanoff’ (Lake Bell) who posses the key to stopping Ultron with the help of Arnim Zola (Toby Jones). We will also see the return of Captain Carter/ Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Star Lord T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan). Sadly this episode will feature the last appearance of Chadwick Boseman in the MCU as this was final episode that he recorded before passing away in 2020. This episode is also expected to culminate all the plot points that have been seen this season which includes the Zombies episode as well as the Peter Quill/ Star Lord (Brian T. Delaney) story line with Ego (Kurt Russell).

Photo Credit: Marvel Studios

Are you excited for the ‘What If?’ season finale? If so, what are you looking forward? Comment below, I would love to hear from you.

WandaVision – Trailer Review

Warning, Spoilers Ahead! The following article discusses footage that appears in the ‘WandaVision’ trailer. Feel free to watch this first and then come back to read this article. Please see link for video via the ‘Marvel Entertainment’ YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/sj9J2ecsSpo

Marvel Studios, you’ve done it again!

The first full trailer for Marvel Studios’ latest ‘Disney Plus’ series was released during the ‘Emmy Awards’ yesterday and it took the internet by storm. I for one was taken by surprise when the news broke and after multiple viewings of the footage, I can’t help but get excited. With COVID-19, most films and shows have been delayed or rescheduled and this was no exception for big studios such as ‘Disney’. Although for months, we’ve been longing for new footage or any content at all to appease our appetites.

Christmas came early!

Marvel did in 1 minutes and 21 seconds what other studios can only think of doing with big online events (not taking shots at anyone by the way). This series off the bat looks amazing and the new footage gives us a more in-depth look at the ‘chaos magic’ used to bring this false reality to life. ‘Kevin Feige’ (Chief Creative Office at Marvel & President of Marvel Studios) has talked about how this series will give us a true depiction of ‘Scarlet Witch’. And I’m confident to say with this trailer footage alone, that Elizabeth Olsen delivers as ‘Wanda Maximoff’ again. The show has an old school vibe to it with the use of a black & white colour scheme and audience reactions that makes it feel like a family sitcom. Although as it progresses, you get remnants of the modern ‘Marvel Cinematic Universe’ as the witches spell starts to wears off.

Fun fact: The background song used in the trailer is “Twilight Time – Single Version” by The Platters.

The World of WandaVision

We relive the Vision’s (Paul Bettany) fate in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018) which is brought up by Kathryn Hahn’s witch type character who gives truth to the illusion. Hahn is rumoured to playing ‘Agatha Harkness’, a powerful witch and the antagonist of the film. Although from the footage we get of Hahn’s character, she seems to be more friend than foe but then again this could be a rouse to trick Wanda into creating her fantasy.

The trailer also gives us our first look at Teyonah Paris’ older version of ‘Monica Rambeau’ or ‘Photon’ (for you comic book readers) who was last seen in ‘Captain Marvel’ (2019). Rambeau’s introduction in the trailer sees the character flying through the mid air and then appearing in a different time and place. Now this could just be how the footage is edited but it could also be the character breaking into the Scarlet Witch’s new formed reality. The character is greeted by some military officials but based on leaked set footage, this could be the organisation known as ‘S.W.O.R.D’. The spaced based ‘S.H.I.E.L.D’ like group was teased in the post credit scenes for ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019) and appear to have a presence in this film.

Memorable Moments

The footage also reveals that the show will travel through different time periods as seen through the costume design for some of the characters. We’ll also see a few big events which include the wedding or the harmony period of Wanda and Vision. As well as that we have some Halloween sequences which give us a nice hat tip to Vision’s costume from the comics as well as another look at the comic-book accurate Scarlet Witch costume. And to top it off, let’s forget another appearance of the twins (Wiccan and Speed) who we get a better look at this time around. These events do make me curious though, as to how the show will begin. Specifically for Vision, as the last time we saw the character he was a lifeless grey body in ‘Infinity War’ and from the dialogue of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (2019) we know he did not have a proper funeral either.

Conclusion

This was superb trailer and gave us some insight to the adventures that will unfold but at the same brought up questions like how will Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) fit into this show? With the series debuting on Disney Plus at the end of the year, I for one am very excited to see how this show ties in with the Marvel Cinematic Universe specifically ‘Doctor Strange: Into the Multiverse of Madness’ that is still scheduled for a 2022 release.

What did you think of the first trailer of “WandaVision”? Comment below, I would love to hear from you!

A Poem A Day Challenge – Day Six

“When The Dust Settles”

This poem was produced due to a writing prompt provided by Eric Soakai on a Facebook community page that I’ve invited to be apart of.

Interesting phrase once spoken by the Mad Titan himself to a defeated Iron-Man who was the last stand in a war that was infinite in its proportions. Now it won’t be all doom and gloom when we open the curtains to a brighter day. When given the all clear to leave our premises, I will return to driving to my vocation. I will go back to my regular 3:30am starts. I will, wait the world will be a different place, if my mind space has not changed between now and then, I will truly have returned back to the future with no life lessons.

Stressing about how I procrastinated my time slot with meaningless hours of television consumption which then again means a lot to me, so I’ll reprieve that comment. But if I was stuck in the same stage then when the boss battle comes, I’ll succumb to the pressures. The challenge of stepping outside my four walls will rattle my cages. Leaving me dazed as I try to calculate my way out of this mathematic equation like, being creativity plus rest plus productivity equals the hitchhikers guide for surviving, no thriving through the lockdown.

Black Widow – Special Look (After Thoughts)

Marvel Studios gave us some new footage for their upcoming ‘Black Widow’ film. The special look proceeded a ‘behind the scenes’ clip which featured Scarlett Johansson, Kevin Feige and Cate Shortland talking about the character’s history within the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as the fans demand for a film that was dedicated to Natasha Romanoff. This ‘Special Look’ clip in particular extended upon footage that we had previously seen but gave us a better look at the films antagonist ‘Taskmaster’. Fans who previously attended San Diego Comic Con and D23 in 2019 had an opportunity to see some of the scenes featured. It was awesome seeing Taskmaster go toe to toe with Natasha, mimicking her fighting style; even in the same stance during their action sequence.

However the question still remains who is behind the mask? A couple of candidates come to mind and one of them got more screen time from the footage made available. Rachel Weisz’ Melina Vostokoff is seen in action and a lot of fans are predicting her to be Taskmaster based on her comic book alter ego of ‘Iron Maiden’. Now this isn’t a bad theory as the antagonist has the ability to copy their opponents moves and the fighting style seen by Taskmaster so far appear similar to Romanoff’s. The other contestant is O-T Fagbenle’s Mason who has made zero appearance in any of the footage. We did see the actor with the cast at Sam Diego Comic Con 2019, so the actor must be playing a significant role and Mason could be just a fake alias.

We also got more of Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova but more in dialogue as well as David Harbour’s Red Guardian/ Alexei Shostakov who brings his strength and humour. Along with the main cast we got a little more footage of the current members of the Black Widow program and more scenes of the flashback to Natasha’s old days as an trained assassin. The trailer continued to grow my excitement for the film and I can’t wait to see what surprises Marvel has hidden in this outing.

What did you think of the latest Black Widow footage? Comment below, I would love to hear from you!

Morbius – Teaser Trailer (After Thoughts)

Sony’s latest outing for its Spiderverse, sees us introduced to ‘Morbius’. Now I’m not too familiar with the character apart from the fact that he is a Spider-Man villain. The trailer shows his origin from being a scientist who tries to cure himself from a rare blood disease but in turn becomes something else. His supposed cure makes him a bad guy, one who has super speed, strength, eco-location and the ability to teleport. This also comes with its side affects with his desire for blood, making him an antagonist but every character has their own enemies and I’m excited to see who this is for Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto). From all that we’ve seen I think that Leto is doing awesome with this role and I can’t wait to see him interact with other Spider-Man related characters.

Sony used this teaser trailer to make sure audiences understood that this character exists with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and will be associated with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man specifically. This was seen through references to the previous the MCU Spider-Man and ‘Venom’ (2018) films as well as a Spider-Man image with the graffiti of the word ‘Murderer’ over the top of it. This shows that the film will take place after the events of ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019) which revealed the web slinger’s identity to the world and also made him out to be a villain in the eyes of the public. J.K Simmons is rumoured to reprise his role as ‘J. Jonah Jameson’ from ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ and is expected to bring more Spider-Man hatred.

The trailer takes the Spidey connections to another level with Michael Keaton’s Vulture seen interacting with the Morbius. Keaton is seen in his prisoner uniform giving context to the characters journey within the Spider-Man films so far. Early speculations could potentially lead to the characters working together as members of the Sinister Six. Finally the exciting prospect of the introduction of Morbius is tie in with the character of ‘Blade’. The character was featured in a deleted scene in Wesley Snipes’ 1998 film and now with a new take on the character in the form of Mahershala Ali coming up in the near future, could Marvel Studios use the shared agreement with Sony to step up an antagonist with Leto’s Morbius?

All in all, I enjoyed this trailer as it educated audiences who didn’t know the character that well and also gave us excitement for this film with its connections to Spider-Man and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What did you think of the teaser trailer for Morbius? Comment below, I would like to hear from you!

X-Men: Dark Phoenix – Review (After Thoughts)

Spoilers Ahead!

With the Fox X-Men franchise on its last legs before the inevitable Disney take over and the characters returning home to Marvel Studios, Simon Kinberg gave us ‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ (2019). The film follows the events of the ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (2016) and sees our mutant friends during the 90s, dealing with the ‘Phoenix’. I personally didn’t mind this film, in fact I thought it was better than ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ (2006). Now I know that that doesn’t give you much confidence but these set of films peaked with ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ (2014), so I went in with low expectations after the underwhelming outing that was its predecessor.

I wasn’t totally blown away but enjoyed this telling of the story of Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) becoming the Phoenix. Not one that has watched the ‘X-Men: Animated’ series personally but I believe that this film does follow the events of the Phoenix Force storyline closely to what fans are aware of through that show. I liked how the film loosely introduced the ‘Shi’ar’ through the character of Vuk (Jessica Chastain) but I would have liked more of the alien race, even an end tag scene during Apocalypse. The death of Mystique/ Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) definitely set the tone and unravelling the backstory of Jean’s introduction to ‘Xavier’s School for Gifted Teenagers’ was interesting. The film did move in a fast pace and I was surprised as to how quickly we got to the third event but I do have to give Kinberg credit for not dragging it along, focusing on pointless sub plots.

All in all, I didn’t mind this film of the X-Men franchise and preferred it over ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’. It was enjoyable but not mind-blowing, in saying that if you’re a fan of this current set of characters, definitely do check it out!

What did you think of the final chapter of Fox‘s X-Men franchise? Comment below, I would love to hear from you!

Black Widow – Teaser Trailer (After Thoughts)

Spoilers Ahead!

First thoughts…why haven’t we gotten a ‘Black Widow’ movie earlier? This film looks incredible! Following the death of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (too soon), a lot of people were not over the moon with the film being the first to kick off Phase 4. In saying that after the teaser trailer that Marvel Studios just dropped – I’m sold. The film picks up after the events of ‘Captain America: Civil War’ and follows Natasha’s before the events of Avengers: Infinity War. We’ve only even seen the characters backstory via flashbacks in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and through her dialogue with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) but this film will dive into her past as well and also take us into another corner within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Budapest).

This trailer gives us some much needed footage and our first introduction to Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) whose fight sequence set off set off the trailer. The fight choreographer for the ‘John Wick’ film(s) has been picked this outing and this will make for some epic fight sequences. We also got our first taste of Red Guardian/ Alexi Shostakov (David Harbour) who seemed like he’s come out from retirement to suit up and fight alongside Black Widow. For those who don’t who Red Guardian is, basically he’s the Russian version of Captain America and even has a shield (not featured in this trailer). We also got our look at Rachel Weisz’ Melina Vostokoff who seems like an ally and could also have been apart of the ‘Red Room’. Speaking of the Red Room we saw a bunch of trainees apart of the Black Widow program which could have been from the past or present. It appears that Black Widow might be burning bridges in this film and trying to end the program that created her and Yelena if I’m not mistaken.

Apart from the characters featured in the flashback sequence at the beginning with the dialogue from Avengers: Endgame, William Hurt’s Thaddeus Ross is the only returning cast member. It’s rumoured that he will be forming an onscreen ‘Thunderbolts’ team within the MCU which is more believable then Red Hulk but anything is possible. Ross is not the villain in this film though as this honour goes to ‘Taskmaster’ who is making his first live action appearance. No one has been casted as the character but O-T Fagbenle’s ‘Mason’ character was not featured, so let the speculations begin. Also Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is rumoured to be appear in a cameo with some leaked footage previously confirming this. All in all, I’m looking forward to this movie with the set pieces, different costumes as well as the connection to the current timeline.

Let me know what you thought of the teaser trailer? Comment below, I would love to hear from you!

Avengers: Endgame – Spoiler Breakdown (Part 1)

Warning Spoilers Ahead!

Worth the Hype!

21 Movies, 11 years later and Marvel Studios is still taking us to school when it comes to movie making. To quote Mordo (Chitwel Ejofor) from ‘Doctor Strange’ (2016), “Forget everything you think you know” would be appropriate because although the fandom have been speculating and theory crafting the events of this film since the conclusion of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018). It goes above and beyond; exceeding expectations with everything from big character moments to plot points that have been under lock and key and rightly so, for what is the biggest film event of the year.

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ left us in shock as the ‘Mad Titan’ Thanos (Josh Brolin) accomplished what he had planned to do, wiping out half of all existence and by doing so our heroes lost. The aftermath of those events is very evident in this outing as our protagonists try to contemplate the outcome of their latest battle. Not only do they have to comprehend their defeat and lose of friends and loved ones but emotions boiled over as they began to tear apart from the inside. We all knew that our heroes had to win in the end but the question remained, how? And just when you think that you know, the scriptwriters flipped the film both skill fully and creatively.

Aftermath:

The first 20 minutes of the film is fast paced bringing us moments before the ‘snap’ and the horrific outcome that proceeded it. Nothing is more heartbreaking than seeing Hawkeye/ Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) left deserted as his family bites the dust. The marksman sat out of the summer event that was ‘Infinity War’ but it’s effects hit home and quickly reminded us as audiences that this was serious. This kicked off the archers story arc of transitioning from loving father and the less liked Avenger to the sword wielding mercenary that is ‘Ronin’. Ever since ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015), Clint Barton has jumped up the ranks as being a more popular hero and this film definitely puts him through the paces. Not only by stripping him of his family in the early moments but taking him through the ringer with his ‘Soul Stone’ sacrifice duel with Black Widow/ Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) later on.

As much as the emphasis was placed on our heroes lose, there were undertones of humour and a lot of heart through both dialogue and scene choices and none was more awesome than having Iron Man/ Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) play ‘paper football’ on the ‘Benatar’ (Guardians ship). Never in your wildest dreams would you imagine this happening, I loved how it shows growth especially with Nebula’s character who has come along way from ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014) when she was all about that destroying planets life. To now sitting on a ship, once inhabited by her sister’s crew and playing games with a human. This is a character that has been torn apart limb by limb by a father who never thought she was good enough and favoured her sister and now here she is all these years later, fighting alongside our heroes. She reminds me a lot like Loki, who had a similar arc; going from wanting to kill his brother and ruling Asgard, to sacrificing his life and ultimately dying trying to kill Thanos. Kudos to the writers for humanising Nebula!

On the other hand was Tony Stark’s time on the ship which reminded me a lot of his early moments in the cave from ‘Iron Man’ except this time all tinkering in the world could not get him out of this situation. Of course we knew that Stark would not leave so early in the film and although his recording to Pepper added to the grim nature of the beginning parts of the three hour journey, it was certainly not the end just yet. Captain Marvel/ Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) to the rescue, bringing some light to the vacuum of deep space and if you picked her as Tony’s way back to planet Earth, you have predicted correctly.

Attempt Number One:

Back on Earth and the moment we had been all waiting for since the end of ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016) to see Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Tony Stark on speaking terms again, sort of. After dwelling on their loses, a throwback to ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ was referred to as past conversations of the imminent threat was brought up and how prevention methods were ignored causing the loss to Thanos. Stark referred to the vision that Scarlet Witch/ Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) gave him leading to the creation of ‘Ultron’ and how he was thinking of the ‘Endgame’ which we know has been on his mind since the first ‘Avengers’ (2012) film which also played out in ‘Iron Man 3’ (2013). Steve corrects him that they didn’t work out to which Stark refers to his promise that win or lose that they would do it together.

Now it’s easy to point out the fact that Stark had a choice to turn the pod ship around as Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) stated in ‘Infinity War’ which would have possibly meant that they would have made it back to Earth but on the other hand, you have to get the rest of the Guardians in the story somehow and what if they got stuck in Space? Now some people might correct Tony’s behaviour by bringing up ‘Civil War’ but he did just lose Spider-Man/ Peter Parker (Tom Holland) on Titan (Thanos’ home planet). Although I don’t think everyone will be impressed with Stark calling Rogers a liar and trying to recruit Captain Marvel for to the team in the same conversation. Forgetting that Cap also lost someone in form of Bucky Barnes/ Winter Solider (Sebastian Stan) who he just got back after being wiped off his Hydra brainwashing in ‘Black Panther’ (2018).

Although both Steve and Tony are correct, if ‘Infinity War’ showed us anything, it’s that divided they couldn’t defeat the Mad Titan. A lot of the focus was on the original 6 Avengers in this film, as they were fractured in the last outing with Hawkeye even being benched for good measure. The ramifications of ‘Civil War’ which was an important film especially before the final two Avengers films. Not everyone was dwelling on the past tense as Captain Marvel plotted to kill the Mad Titan herself and reverse the ‘Snap’. This led us to the first of many twists in the film which I thought was epic, coming after a lot back and forth dialogue that our remaining heroes set out to take on Thanos on ‘the garden’ which was last seen at the end of ‘Infinity War’. I loved how easily the team takes down Thanos while he’s making dinner, with Thor chopping of his hand to stop any more Infinity Stone use.

With 20 minutes into it, I for one was thinking surely there’s 2 and a half more hours of film left. And to my shock we find that Thanos destroyed the stones to prevent anyone else from using it. Conclusion the stones no longer exist and the Avengers had in lost indefinitely, with Thor going for the head and walking away. With things looking so promising and Captain Marvel added to the mix, defeat of this kind was not expected and then came another twist with a time jump into the future.

To be continued…

What did you think of Avengers: Endgame? Were you a fan or a foe and think Justice League was better? Let me know, I would love to hear from you!

Avengers: Endgame – Super Bowl TV Spot (Review)

Warning, Spoilers Ahead!

Why So Serious?

Marvel Studios released some new footage during this year’s Super Bowl and it wasn’t your typical action packed set pieces smashed together with upbeat music and laugh out loud moments. This TV Spot really did emphasise the aftermath of the snap and focused not only on the effects that it’s had on our fellow heroes but explores a grim reality for the rest of the universe.

The thirty second clip starts off with a tribute to the fallen heroes with tones of black and white and red being emphasised which I’m pretty sure is symbolic for a whole lot of different things – Reality Stone, blood, Marvel’s red logo colour choice? The Reality Stone idea isn’t too far fetched, the Russo’s have mentioned that Thanos (Josh Brolin) hasn’t been totally honest about a lot of things in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and we’ve seen the Mad Titan create illusions using the red coloured stone before.

I think that this is quite left field and it could maybe referring back to the Soul Stone and the sequence that united Thanos and a younger Gamora instead. For what’s it worth, the marketing team did great misleading us with fake scenes and cut outs in the past. So I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case with this film.

Now I know what you’re thinking, these characters are coming back so what’s with all the fuse. I don’t think that Marvel is taking this lightly, yes these characters will be back on screen before the credits roll but at what cost. The Marvel Cinematic Universe will not be the same and Captain America/ Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) himself knows it.

I have to be honest, I don’t think I’ve seen Cap this angry since his first outing and it’s more than just the loss of Bucky Barnes/White Wolf (Sebastian Stan) also. The question imposed at the end of Avengers: Infinity War was, “what happens when you lose?”. We’re so use to seeing a story conclude on a happy note that these films can become predictable. Now I know it’s not going to be all doom and gloom in Endgame but Marvel’s really trying to build upon the tension and stakes that Infinity War left us with.

It’s wasn’t all angry Cap, there were other characters too and I’m particularly interested in the shot of Evangeline Lily’s Hope Van Dyne aka The Wasp which I hope is confirmation that she will also join the team before the Avengers go on a break. We also got to see a shot of Hawkeye/ Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) who doesn’t appear to be Ronin in the footage which makes you question whether he will keep the persona or let go off it part way through the film.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) continues to look broken, I mean give the guy a break – he only has 12.5% of his people left. He also appears to go on journey to a location that looks similar to that of Thanos’ hide out at the end of Infinity. Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper) appears to also be at a location with seems like the inside of a house, close to water. We know that Rocket and Thor bonded in the last film and they appear to closely linked in this film.

Meanwhile in Space, Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr) and Nebula (Karen Gillian) appear to be working on the Benatar (Guardians new ship). This could be earlier on in the film before Tony gives his emotional dialogue from the teaser trailer. It looks as if they make it back to Earth, spoiler alert! There is a shot where the remaining Avengers are looking into the night sky and this could be of the Benatar arriving back to Earth.

Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlet Johansson) also deals with defeat, this time in a most violent manner, shooting rounds at targets. She’s one of the original Avengers confirmed to have a solo outing in Phase 4 which will be interesting to see if they go for a prequel route or place it in real time. James Rodes/War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Scott Lang’s Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) finish off our list of heroes and what’s more interesting than all their quick shots is seeing Ant-Man suit up with the original Avengers with the likes of War Machine and Rocket. It will be fascinating to see when this occurs and if it takes place not too long ago after the end tag from the previous trailer.

Interestingly enough Kevin Fiege has stated that you’re likely to see footage from the first 15-20 minutes which leaves a whole lot of movie and secrets. As previous trailers have gone and what the Russo Brothers have said, it can be a misdirect. The finally shot is the remaining Avengers all geared up and ready to go for round two. As mentioned before, we don’t know how early on this is on the movie but what we should be asking is, who are they going after? Hawkeye appears to be himself and not Ronin, so can that be reference point but then again, this depends on how early on he changes back.

Altogether this TV spot was brilliantly done, we don’t need a 5 minute trailer (looking at you Aquaman) but just enough to keep us excited for April. I don’t know what’s going to unfold when this finally releases but what I can say is that from what I’ve seen and hear and know so far, which is little and insignificant. This will be one for the ages!

What did you think of the latest footage from Avengers: Endgame? Let me know what you thought, I would love to hear from you!