Cloak and Dagger

There seems to be an abundance of riches these past few years as far as comic book shows go. I can count at least nine comic book series I have watched. JUST THIS YEAR! Thankfully with each new show that comes out, they all have something fresh to offer.

This is what I felt about Cloak and Dagger. Look, I know this will sound like I have said this about a lot of things on this blog, but it is true. I've been a Cloak and Dagger fan for years. Unlike the other characters I have talked about loving before, I can't even determine when I started to like these two. I'm not even going to quantify it.

I say all that to set up that I was looking forward to this show. This might be a minor complaint, but it is something I am noticing with more of these shows. There is a definite slow burn that is happening. Since it's not serialized television, you have a long running arc that goes throughout the season. What I had worried about here is that this show was a super hero show based on all the ads. That is barely what this show is about. So, I feel like those that came to this show expecting super heroes are going to be disappointed. Yes, they do have powers, but half the season are these two trying to figure it all out. They don't even appear in costume.

However, I did actually like this show. I just felt like it dragged a little in the middle. Also, knowing that these two are a couple in the comics, I kept shipping them hard and being disappointed when it wasn't going in that direction. This is my OWN baggage. I am at least thankful that it kept me guessing.

I also want to say that I loved that they chose New Orleans as the setting. In the comics, damn near every super hero is based in New York. These two are no exception. It's nice to see that with some of these shows, they are willing to move the characters to completely different locales. This is a city I don't see much of, so it's a refreshing change. The city also plays a part into many elements of the story.

As silly as their origin seems here, it's a lot better than the original conceit. Marvel really loved to tie all their super heroes to drugs in some way. Other small things that changed for the better, is they got rid of Tyrone's stutter, which was a big part of his personality within the comics. He didn't need that as a crutch. Giving him a somewhat happy home life helped flesh him out.

If I have a criticism, it's that not all of the actors are strong. This is a cable TV show and I feel like that shows. The main actors playing Tyrone and Tandy are good, it's just some of the periphery characters. I'm thinking of most of the cops that show up. Tandy's mom was a tad annoying too.

I am so glad that we didn't get a cartoony, comic book type of villain. These two are not fighting a costumed super villain. There are a lot of shades of grey here. I got wrapped up in the main mysteries of the season. That being the duel vengeance for the death of Tyrone's brother and Tandy's father. You wanted to see justice done and guess what, spoiler, it gets resolved. I now look forward to see where they go with their main quests achieved. There I am hoping they will be in some form of their costumes. All of the promo material had them looking like that, so I feel like that was the biggest bait and switch.

Would I recommend this show to others? Absolutely. The only caveat I would make is that this is a show aimed at teenagers, so you will have to deal with teenage angst. For me, I already watch Riverdale unabashedly, so I'm fine with teenage angst in my life.

Fantastic Four #1

They're back!!

I know it has been a few weeks since this book came out, but I needed to talk about it before I completely forgot.

I've documented many times on this here blog that I am a huge Fantastic Four fan. Well, as of two weeks ago, they are now officially back in the Marvel Universe! After a lengthy hiatus, they returned in Fantastic Four #1. The book continued the exploits of Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm, which is a thread that has been running over in Marvel 2 In One.

The reason I wanted to talk about this book is that it is rare these days that I genuinely feel something from a comic book. I've become jaded and cynical. Not much truly moves me. This issue did for a number of reasons.

At least with this first issue, writer Dan Slott has lovingly acknowledged the past of the Fantastic Four while keeping an eye on the future. In what was one of the more shocking developments, Ben Grimm proposed to Alicia Masters! How has this not happened?! All the stuff they have been through over the years and they are just now about to get married. This is one of those truly sweet relationships that you rarely find in comics. A blind sculptor who falls in love with a guy made of orange rock. Okay, it doesn't sound as sweet when I say it like THAT, but it is. Just trust me.

I've stated before how Ben Grimm is one of my favorite characters and I am glad to see him find a little bit of happiness here.

On the other side, we've been watching Johnny Storm slowly begin to unravel. In speaking of the past, we get an appearance from Wyatt Wingfoot AND She Hulk all in one issue, also acknowledging their past. I swear it's like this issue was written for me.

Not to be outdone, we also get a little bit of a view in the what Dr. Doom is doing.

What I said before is real. When I put this issue down, I was truly happy. I felt like I was back home again. It's a hard feeling to describe, but you know it when you feel it.

Surprisingly, this first issue did not feature the team getting together at all. However, you could feel their impression within the book and the anticipation for their return. The FF used to be the center of the Marvel Universe and they were the beginning of it. I hope with this new iteration, that can get pushed back there and maybe we can push the Avengers to the side a little...

Luke Cage - Season 2

I meant to post this a few weeks ago, but to the surprise of no one, I watched another Marvel Netflix show. This time it was season two of Luke Cage. Honestly, I liked this season more than the first. This show wasn't perfect and it had a few flaws. However, they were a lot less glaring for me than the first season. If we want to get REALLY specific, I hated Diamondback. Hated him. He's gone, so that makes this season infinitely better. Enough with this conversation, let's get into my review.

As usual, I will try to avoid spoilers, but I'm not human. They MAY happen.

To start off, what I really liked was the villain for most of the season. The villain this time around is John McIver, a.k.a. "Bushmaster". Here we have a compelling villain with an understandable motivation. He is coming after Mariah Dillard and Harlem just happens to be the collateral damage. First of all, I loved the portrayal of him by actor, Mustafa Shakir. I've never seen him in anything before, but this show made me a fan. We have a guy that is just as physically imposing as Luke Cage and feels like a real threat in a way that Diamondback never did. Also, unlike the first season, you have a villain that Luke Cage can actually fight. Secondly, I loved what his inclusion brought to the table of this series. We have a subtext of Jamaican black people versus American black people. You see how these two different cultures co-exist within Harlem. To me, this is fascinating and my not be something most people would even think about. Also, given his motivations, you kind of root for the guy in a way. You get where he's coming from and we get an interesting dynamic where he begins to become the talk of the town as Luke cage loses the faith of people. The two are diametrically opposed and watching that play out is compelling.

All of this leads me to something else I liked about this season. The arc of Luke Cage. This goes hand in hand with Bushmaster. At the beginning, Luke is Harlem's hero and he is reaping the benefits of that. We are introduced to D.W. Griffith, who I would consider is a deep cut for those familiar with the Power Man and Iron Fist series of the late 70's/early 80's. When Luke gets beat by Bushmaster, which is filmed, people lose faith in him and his popularity begins to wane. With this, Luke starts a series of questionable choices that lead him to where he ends up by the season's end. All I will say is that every villain is the hero in their own story. This is the path that Luke begins to walk as he begins to lose relationships due to his own uncompromising sense of morality. In a way, like the people of Harlem, you begin to turn on Luke Cage and I think the series does a good job of that. You start to question his choices and if this is the hero Harlem needs. If that is too subtle, pay attention to what D.W. says to him at the end of the last episode. Luke has lost his way and it will be interesting to see how he gets it back.

To give you a series of quick hits of other things I liked about this season, let me present to you the following in the next couple of sentences. I absolutely love Misty Knight and how she is portrayed in this series. She also gets her own arc and she is an example of characters that get screen time that is well worth it. After losing her arm in "The Defenders", we find her struggling to deal with that. For a brief moment, we get a glimpse into a Daughters of the Dragon team up, as she hangs out with Colleen Wing. This is another nod to the comics that pleased me to no end. In my eyes, seeing these two together almost justifies all we suffered through with the Iron Fist show. I get to finally see this team up realized, in the way I always wanted. Now that we got a taste, I would LOVE to see more of this pair together. Actress Simone Missick is fantastic.

I forgot to mention above, but there is an episode where we also get an appearance by Danny Rand, a.k.a., Iron Fist. We finally get the dynamic that Defenders tried to cultivate. Iron Fist finally felt right after his dreadful series and an appearance in the Defenders that had me second guessing him being around. I still don't like Finn Jones as Iron Fist, but at least here I had less problems with it. If we can get more of this, that would be much appreciated.

Before I move on, like the first season, I absolutely love the music in this series. It still remains fantastic and keeps the blaxploitation feel that I loved.

So I spent a lot of time talking about what I like and I know they were super specific cases, but those are the things that still stick with me months after finishing the series. Now as for what I didn't like, that is also fairly easy.

I read over my review of season one, and I realized how kind I was and neglected to say a few things. Above, I mentioned how i hated Diamondback, but that old review was more glowing. This is what happens when you get older and crankier, folks. What I am trying to get at is I glossed over Alfre Woodard's, "Black Mariah" character. I think it worked in the first season, but in this second season there is such a thing as too much. That is what she was here. In the Bushmaster vs. Black Mariah fight, I was easily rooting for Bushmaster. She comes off as more crazy and unhinged in this season. Also, the tics that Woodard portrays her with starts to grate on my nerves. She does crazy eyes very well, I will give her that. She becomes a mustache twirling villain in this series.

We also have to see her relationship with Shades play out and it's so hard to get a read on the relationship. On the one hand, given the way Shades has been portrayed, you expect him to be playing her the entire time. However, they show that he is hopelessly in love with her. On a side note, I liked that they introduced Comanche into the series, which is another deep cut from Luke Cage lore. So like I was saying, their relationship is weird. Her whole arc and the inclusion of her daughter in this season don't help in humanizing her, but more firmly establishing that she's the worst. Wow, this went on way longer than I thought it would. The one saving grace is that she masterfully manipulated Luke Cage into the place where he ends up by the series end.

I've talked on long enough, but for those that are on the fence, I will say that I think that this season is good. I have talked with a few people that didn't like it or couldn't make it past the first few episodes. I get that, but I will say if you push through, I think you will get something that you will like. Season three is positioned to be really interesting.