Loki

Wow, am I late in writing this. I finished Loki weeks ago, but forgot to mention any of my thoughts on it. I'll save you my usual rambling before my review and just get into it. You can stop when you've had enough!

I really liked Loki and that surprised me. After the first two episodes, I was on the fence because things were moving so slowly. It eventually picked up and concluded with what I thought was the best final episode in all the Marvel shows. This show delivered on the promise to have major implications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

Let me talk about what this show isn't. There are some action scenes in this series, but this is not an action show, like Falcon and the Winter Soldier was. Not even a little bit. I would dare argue the action in this show isn't really that good, but that's okay. That is not this show's bread and butter.

What the show turned out to be, is a wonderful introspection about Loki himself. Now this is not the Loki we got to know through all the movies that eventually grew as a person. This Loki was plucked from the timeline before all that personal growth. For everyone that saw Avengers: Endgame, I don't need to get into more details than that.

It was fascinating to watch Loki be forced to admit to himself the kind of person he is and the kind of person he wants to be. It also says a lot that the person he finally cares about is another version of himself, Sylvie. Even still, in this series you actually watched him grow and he becomes a more compelling character because of it. This is why these shows need to exist.

I also want to add that six episodes is the appropriate length for a season. I'm sure budget is a factor, like with Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but I am glad they get to tell one story that looks fantastic, instead of stretching it out to 13. That was always my problem with the Netflix shows. I feel like if you can't tell your story in less than 10 episodes at an hour a piece, get another job. Don't subject the viewers to a vanity project that no one wants.

Before I get to the actors, I want to mention I loved some of the little Easter eggs in this show. The episode where we meet the band of alternate Lokis was chock full of them. We get classic Loki, Kid Loki, the version of Loki running for president, a black Loki and an alligator Loki. There was a quick shot of the helicopter that Thanos used in a comic appearance in the 70's Yes, you heard that right. Thanos had a helicopter. There was also a blink and you'll miss it moment showing the Frog version of Thor. So many little Easter eggs in one episode.

Finally, let's wrap this up with the actors. It should go without saying that Tom Hiddleston is fantastic as Loki. It feels like he enjoys the role and it shows. This time he gets to explore it more and not have to be the conniving version that we all know. Dare I say, Owen Wilson was really good in this. I normally don't care for him, but here he feels like a seasoned pro and shows a lot of nuance in his performance. I don't know what it is, but there was something mesmerizing about Sophia Di Martino's performance as Sylvie. Also a shout out to Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Ravonna, the head of the TVA.

Then there was the magnificent class performance of Jonathon Majors as Kang (who is not named as that in the show, but he's Kang.) Never have I been more impressed by a single performance than what he gave us. It was a master class in how to pull of menacing, slightly unhinged, calculated and relaxed all in the same performance. I was mesmerized and could have watched more of that performance all day. It also gives us a glimpse into the next big threat in the Marvel Universe and it started here. Finally, the cliffhanger ending was perfect.

This show had a slow start, but once it got going, it didn't stop. Like I said before, this is not an action show, so if you don't like watching people sitting around and talking, this is not the show for you. There's your warning. Otherwise, absolutely check this show out.

Marvel Voices: Pride #1

I know that Pride month ended a few weeks ago, but just before that I started to read Marvel Voices: Pride #1. I am just late in making this post. This issue in the vein of the DC Pride book I talked about a few weeks ago. When it comes to Marvel and DC, comparisons are always unavoidable. Like the DC book, I wanted to support what Marvel was doing for Pride month. Marvel has been doing special issues like this to showcase under represented communities via characters and their creators.

So how did I feel about Marvel's foray into this? Let's get into that. 

First off, like I said with the DC book, I know a little something about representation and how it matters. However, I can't speak to how this book will feel to those in the LGBTQ community. I can only speak to what I see here. This issue is massive and I would argue overstuffed. The DC book was a book about their characters as part of a day in the life. There is a deft to the story telling there that I think is missing in this Marvel book. Marvel has a tendency to be on the nose and I think this issue was that. To me, it was the equivalent of someone saying, "I have LOTS of gay friends." as they roll out all of the LGBTQ characters that they could. Mind you, that was the point, but DC showed a restraint that Marvel does not. 

Also, this issue felt very self-congratulatory. The focus was supposed to be on the characters and the creative teams, but Marvel treated this as a way to pat themselves on the back for having so many characters. There's a timeline of "key" issues representing the LGBTQ community. The cynic in me was like, "Hmm, sure was a lot of activity after 2010". So what was Marvel doing in the first fifty years of existence?  In addition to that, the opening of the book shows, for lack of a better term, a gay history of the Marvel Universe. They just need to chill with the back patting because they were late to the party. Yes, they made progress, but independent comics had been doing it for years. A lot of these characters are C-List at best and you would be hard pressed to find them. I would argue that out of their stable of characters, there were some glaring omissions. How do you leave out America Chavez? How do Wiccan/Hulking have only two pages? Where are Rictor and Shatterstar? How has Northstar not surfaced in any of the mainstream X-books in a more prominent role, including this book? They focus on his coming out moment in this book, but he only gets three pages of an original story in here? I also feel like they trotted out some of these characters and unfortunately, we won't follow up or see them again until next Pride month. If Marvel wants to deliver on their promise about being diverse, they need to use them more regularly.

Marvel went for quantity, not quality on this book. There was a great interview with Chris Cooper, a black and LGBTQ former editor of Marvel in the mid 90's which was eye opening. I can only imagine what he went through that he didn't say in that interview. This book even printed a few pages from Alpha Flight #106 to show when the character of Northstar came out. They only took a snippet of the issue, so out of context it feels weird and given the 90's art and writing, it's almost cringeworthy. At that time, people needed to be educated, so the dialogue leans that way and is bad.

I've complained a lot so far, but did I at least like some stories in here? I mentioned before the quality over quantity aspect, so there are a lot of stories jam packed into this and I think Marvel should have given everyone the same page count. Instead, you got some stories that are two pages and some that are like seven. So I question the editing on this book.

Sorry, the stories I liked. Well, I'm a big Runaways fan, so just a few pages of Nico and Karolina was good, especially when it features art from Kris Anka once more. The one or two pages we got of Hulking/Wiccan I enjoyed, but that is because I like them as character. There is a touching story about a cosplayer that went as She-Hulk and the whole story behind that. Finally, I thought the story about Daken and his long lost love was also sweet. So there are some gems in here. I just don't like the package Marvel put this in. Again, it's very self congratulatory, when they are not supposed to be the story here. That's my problem. It takes away from what the creators did.

It pains me to say this, but if you have your choice between this one and the DC one, I would pick up the DC Pride book. I would still say to give this one a shot because Marvel needs to see that some of these characters can sell and deserve a push. If they want to continue to be diverse, they need to show it, not talk about it. 

Black Widow

A few days ago I was able to go back to the theater for the first time since early 2020, the pre-pandemic days. It was nice. I don't have much more to say other than it was nice to watch a movie in a theater. I'm glad that Black Widow was that first movie back. Let's jump straight into it.

I really liked this movie for a number of reasons. Before I get into that, I want to say first that this movie was a long time coming. Even if it came out last year as intended, it was still a long overdue. It is a shame that after Marvel pretty much killed Black Widow off in Avengers: Endgame, that we get this movie. The potential for stories was always there, but Marvel didn't pull the trigger.

This movie felt more in line with Captain America: Winter Soldier. We're back to government run spy programs and intrigue. I will say that it is pretty telling that it's always the Russians that are the bad guy. I would like to see these movies face the fact that the US isn't much better. Need evidence of that? Go watch Falcon and the Winter Solider and the sad story of Isaiah Bradley and you will see what I mean.

Anyways, I liked that this felt more like CA:WS because that was one of my favorite movies. There is no world ending threat, it's just dealing with the past of our main character. We get more development of Natasha Romanoff here than we ever did in any of the movies she appeared in. Again, this is why this movie is long overdue. This would have gone a long way in making us feel more when we lose her. In this movie there's hand to hand fighting, so this movie doesn't go full Marvel with laser beams and crazy energy battles. There are fun car chases. Twists within twists. 

The thing I most appreciated about this movie and didn't expect was its center being on family. We are introduced to Yelena Belova, as the most hardcore of fans know as the other Black Widow. Florence Pugh does an amazing job bringing this character to life in the film. She definitely steals the show and makes me excited for her taking over the role in the Marvel Universe. Their playful banter is definitely a highlight. Specifically Yelena taking the piss out of Natasha's traditional hero pose. She's right, it is silly and I'm glad they play with that here. I also have to give a shout out to David Harbour and Rachel Weisz. They also round things out in a wonderful way.

This movie also finally humanizes Natasha, which Scarlett Johansson finally gets to do more than have weird relationships with people like the Hulk. We get more of her origin, finally. Again, this is something that would have been helpful sooner, had this movie come out at least pre-Infinity War. We also get to see her "family" that was assigned to her by the Russian government and how they all deal with their time together, over twenty years later. They have problems just like any real family and come to realize how much they all mean to each other. I thought they did a great job getting this across. There is a lot of sitting around and talking, which I love. I think most people looking for the action, action, action of a normal Marvel movie will be disappointed. We have to remember this is what these movies used to be until Infinity War and Endgame happened. So I appreciated those scenes.

Now the action is pretty good, but Marvel couldn't help itself with it's overly elaborate ending set piece. Just like they did in Winter Soldier, a movie that was small in scope all of a sudden balloons into this whole other thing to remind you it's a Marvel movie. A sky fortress is cool, but I personally wish it could have been done with less explosions. The movie went from mildly believable to completely over the top in a span of a few minutes.

The other thing I really loved here is there are no romantic interests for anyone. There's no love story. There's no pining for love lost. Ladies, you would know this better, but to me it is nice to see a bad ass woman (two counting Yelena) not having to also chase a man while chasing her bad guy. This movie doesn't give a crap about going anywhere with that. The most we get is the friendship between Natasha and her supplier and I didn't feel like there was any kind of sexual tension there, thank goodness.

I want to close by saying how excited I was about seeing Taskmaster show up here and the way that the villain is handled. This is a villain that on it's face is pretty ridiculous. The costume is a mishmash of different elements, yet somehow perfect. He has the ability to see a fighting move and then can automatically replicate it without issue. They play that up a little bit here, but I wished they had gone further with it to show why he is such a threat. By not talking, Taskmaster comes off even more menacing and was a good unstoppable force for most of the movie.

Would I recommend seeing this movie? Absolutely. It's a spy movie about girls kicking ass. You support this, more movies like this get made. Plain and simple. Where would I rank this in my Marvel movies? I don't know yet, but it will be in the top third.