Category: Comic review

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) - IMDb

It’s the end of an era and this is the final Fox X-Men film before handing the keys to Disney and the MCU. We’ve had greats and pitfalls, but whether your opinions on it all, it’s been a huge part of a lot of nerds lives- my own included. It’s a shame this ended with a wet fart.

About a decade has passed since X-Men: Apocalypse and the X-Men are beloved icons of mutant acceptance; Charles Xavier, now a face of generation and inspiration to millions, is finally seeing his dream come true. The X-Men are heroes working with the US government and Magneto started a peaceful mutant colony. On a space mission, the crew encounter a space storm that threatens the space shuttle; Jean Grey sacrifices herself to contain it. While she seems unscathed, her powers are growing and she’s losing control. Can the X-Men stop their old friend before she’s fully engulfed by the Phoenix.

So we’ve seen this story in X Men: The Last Stand ; in fact the director wrote that movie. In some ways he did it better, in others much worse. First, I’m going to say I love how this movie portrays Prof X and McAvoy steals the show; a lot of the story covers the sins of Xavier and shows him in a darker but honest light as a character no movie really has. Sophie Turner is better this time around and I like her arc as Phoenix better than the last one we got but she’s just not enough of a standout to carry the movie. The biggest atrocity this movie has is the editing; the movie feels clumsy and feels like its tapped together with how choppy the transitions are. Most of the acting is just bland except for a few moments here and there and the what little action their is pretty bland too. In the end, while not a absolute travesty, it a really lame finale to the X-Men saga you can skip. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Green Lantern: Sinestro (New 52, vol. 1)

Amazon.com: Green Lantern, Vol. 1: Sinestro (The New 52) (9781401234553): Johns, Geoff, Mahnke, Doug: Books

Hell seems to have frozen over, Hal Jordan must have thought after having his ring rebuked by the Guardians and given to a former friend and legend, Sinestro. Abandoned by his Corps of yellow lanterns, Sinestro is reinstated as to his old position, tasked with taking down his treacherous old crew. Facing a threat greater than he can handle, Sinestro devises a plan to use Jordan, forging him a temporary ring that only he could use. Jordan, struggling to adjust to civilian life, finds it irresistible but the question can the pair fix some of the old tyrant’s mistakes?

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this story. Geoff Johns, legend of Dc, gives us another damn good Lantern tale. The artwork is great and the story runs smooth. Seeing Sinestro slowly gain a little humanity while still being a badass and a renegade was really cool; I always enjoyed Sinestro’s conflict of duty and ideology and this story brings a lot of that. I will say, despite the first volume of the 52 for Lantern, if you aren’t familiar with certain events, the book may be a little confusing but definitely still worth a read. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Black Widow

Black Widow (Movie, 2021) | Trailer, Release Date, & More | Marvel

On the run after being declared a fugitive after Civil War, Natasha Romanoff is used to lonely undercover gigs and being on the run. She’s also used to losing family. When attacked by a skull-masked assailant known as the Taskmaster, Natasha is faced with a terrible fact that the Russian organization that created her and countless Widows is still at large and it’s up to her and her old spy family to bring down the “Red Room” once and for all while being hunted by a enemy that not only as adapted to Natasha’s fighting skills but the other Avengers as well.

Ok, I’m not going to bullshit anyone here, I hated this movie. Not every MCU movie was a gem but at least had redeeming features and was entertaining to various degrees; I was not entertained by this movie. The plot is a bad recycling of Captain America: Winter Soldier with none of the epic fights, drama, or characters that movie had. The fights are few and far between and are so over the top, I couldn’t get invested; knowing Widow was going to survive this movie sure as hell didn’t help the tensionless action either. Taskmaster, a badass menace in the comics, is a boring droid pretending to be Winter Soldier that’s story is both predictable and uneventful. The comedy is forced and cringe, often added to some really serious moments which multiplies the cringe. The pacing is awful and this movie dragged. I will say the main cast tried their asses off but drowned under the shit script and honestly Black Widow deserved a way better movie than this. In the end, I don’t recommend this movie and I hope this was just a fluke because if this is the trend, the MCU is toast. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Eternals reveal trailer

I sighed through my way through this. I always found the Eternals a fascinating part of Marvel lore but they are definitely some of the weirdest parts. Did they need a movie? Not really and to add insult to injury, the trailer tells you how their existence poops on the MCU a little bit. Like most I’ll watch it but I’m not looking forward it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Venom: Let there be Carnage trailer 1

Here it is, the debut of Carnage, a fan favorite gritty psychopath and nemesis of Venom. First of all, again, actual Venom and especially Carnage look great. Everything else looks lackluster. I’m hoping for the best and I know Hardy will give his all but will it be enough? May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Green Lantern: Wanted Hal Jordan

Amazon.com: Green Lantern: Wanted - Hal Jordan (9781401215903): Johns, Geoff, Reis, Ivan: Books

Hal Jordan, air force pilot, hothead, and legendary Green Lantern is many things but a perfect man is not one of them. After being shot down and held captive by terrorists with two of his fellow pilots, unarmed. After getting free, the guilt eats away at him and he quickly gets the chance to face his captors again when his new girlfriend is taken back. The rescue proves successful but not without casualties, seeming at the hands of Lantern himself. Suddenly Jordan is caught in a international mess that pours into the cosmos, the mastermind having connections to not only Jordan’s origin as a Lantern, but the Lantern he is proceeding…

I forgot how much I loved Geoff Johns’ work on Green Lantern. Set before Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps War , the story takes a little bit to follow but won’t be long. The artwork is great and Johns’ does great writing Jordan. Amon Sur is a pretty decent villain and I like that he is used to foreshadow events to come and the rise of the Sinestro Corps. Along with the main story, there is a pretty interesting story about the formation of the Star Sapphires that helps bring Blackest Night into play. In the end, it’s a pretty fun book that helped me why I love Green Lantern and is worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Justice League Snyder Cut

Prime Video: Zack Snyder's Justice League

So it’s no secret I hated the hell out of Justice League (2017) and in all honestly, I wasn’t sure how I really felt when the Snyder Cut was announced. Four hour runtime, added characters and storylines, I just assumed it was going to be a crap ton of fluff. I’m going to tell you right now, while far from perfect, I thoroughly enjoyed the Snyder Cut vs hating the hell out of Wheddon’s version.

I’m happy to say the movie is broken into 6 chapters with a 7th as a epilogue so it’s pretty easy to break apart and watch it more like a mini series. For such a long movie, I found the pacing pretty fair, never really feeling overbearing. The effects are radically improved; Cyborg, Steppenwolf, Atlantis, and the Speed Force scenes look way better. I love the addition of Darkseid, Martian Manhunter and the cameo by Joker ( Leto redeems himself in this cameo). My favorite part of the Snyder cut is the characterization which was a huge problem before; Cyborg, Flash, and Steppenwolf are huge improvements and Batman is kept serious and is no longer a chump.

While a lot of things are improved, there are some mixed and damn right annoying things. The opening flat out made me laugh my ass off. Zach Snyder still has a really irritating habit of going effects heavy and drawing slow motion scenes on for too long. The lighting could be better but looks better than the red toned end of the previous ending. Sometimes the music is overly dramatic; I will say the battle music is badass as hell. While better flushed out, I still feel like too much is going on and I feel like the general audience will get confused at points.

In the end, I really liked the Snyder Cut of Justice League vs the botched theatrical cut and I think it’s well worth checking out. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings trailer

So besides Eternals and the host of sequels in the MCU for phase 4, Shang Chi is a interesting addition I admit I don’t know much about. I know the movie will feature the true Mandarin, set up from Iron Man 3 as well as being hinted at in the subtitle. The movie looks pretty interesting and the fight scenes look pretty cool. I’m curious to see what’s to come. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Harley Quinn: The Animated series

Watch Harley Quinn: Season 1 | Prime Video

Since debuting in Batman: the animated series as Joker’s sidekick and sweetheart, Harley Quinn has become a surprise DC icon, even stealing the show in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn . Its no wonder DC has tried to make Harley into there Deadpool and it was no surprise she got a series of her own, following her adventures free from her abusive relationship with Joker. Along with her Bff Ivy and teaming up with Clayface, Dr. Psycho, King Shark, and Ivy’s landlord, Saul, they are out to dominant the criminal underworld and have fun doing it.

Admittedly, I didn’t like the first few episodes but I quickly got warmed up to and loved the show. I love the personalities of the characters, especially Clayface, Psycho, Bane, and Shark. Oddly, Harley’s breaking away form Joker was my least favorite part of the series so far. I like the love triangle Ivy finds herself in between Harley and Kite-man and found that story more compelling. If you love DC, there are plenty of cameos ranging from the JLA to Darkseid himself. Having the show being MA means there is plenty of bloody fights, crude language, and frankly everything this series needed. It’s definitely worth checking out and I can’t wait for season 3.