WandaVision: Color - Jan 25

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. Therefore, let us try to talk about WV the TV series instead.

First, yes, a big shout-out to the upcoming ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ movie trailer. After months, if not years of waiting, it was worth the wait, showing the titular titans duking it out across the world, with Godzilla getting the worst of it… in the trailer. How will the movie play out is another issue, but the trailer was certainly very enjoyable. Now onto WV?

Here is the thing. Already ‘Now in Color’ was examined under the metaphorical microscope and examined tightly. The most important topics of ‘Color’ were Wanda’s pregnancy and birth, and the official confirmation that ‘Geraldine’ is Monica Rambeau, aka Photon, so let us start with them.

…The pregnancy and birth themselves were done in a rather light-hearted, airy style – i.e., unlike the first two episodes, ‘Color’ was not just colorful, but pointedly sunny, light-colored, (pardon the tautology), and light-hearted, whereas the first two episodes were, obviously, black and white, (aside from the occasional splash of red, cough), aka chiaroscuro, creating a rather stolid, if not a downright static, atmosphere within the series. Now, with ‘Color’ we got color, and right now, it is of a pale and/or bright variety… as opposed to, for example, the birth of Hope on X: WP back in the 90s.

Not unlike ‘Kong vs. Godzilla’, X: WP deserves a more expanded mention if only because Xena/Lucy Lawless briefly appeared on MCU’s AoS in S2. Despite her name, Hope was Gabrielle’s daughter from a demon-god Dahak, (in RL, the name belongs to an apocalyptic dragon from the Zoroastrian religion), who was one of the main villains on the show (and also on H: TLJ) for a while, before Hercules killed him, (if I remember correctly), while Xena and Gabrielle were able to eventually slay both Hope and Hope’s son, the first of the supposed Seven Destroyers, a chupacabra-like monster… The point here is that Gabrielle’s pregnancy and Hope’s birth were shown in a pointedly ominous style, complete with a placid-looking goat, which is an indirect reference to the ‘Great Adversary’, cough – and nothing like this was shown on WV; instead, we got butterflies and a stork coming to life.

…Whether or not the butterflies are a reference to a Marvel’s character I have no idea: the name slash moniker ‘Butterfly’ belongs to about 10 of them, and I do not know enough Marvel to decide as to which one. What I want to point out here is the stork – we have talked about storks in the past, about completely non-Marvel-related topics, (remember?), and one of the stork-related themes was, and is, its’ association with bringing children, and how it – we’re talking about the ‘common’ white stork, Ciconia ciconia – is a ‘positive’, ‘solar’, ‘life-bringing’ bird, (especially in the European and Russian folklore). Put otherwise, Wanda’s pregnancy and the birth of her twins appears to be a positive event, at least for the MCU. And-?

And I got nothing, actually. Here, the world of MCU is colliding with RL – the Disney/Marvel PR are making WV and its’ events A Big Deal, but in reality? Neither Wiccan nor Speed, (the twins in the series), aren’t that big of a deal in the Marvel comics; Wiccan, at least, appears on a regular basis in them…because he is one of Marvel’s official same-sex characters, which is A Big Deal…just for reasons that we won’t talk about here and now…but Speed? He does not appear in Marvel comics at all lately, (though yes, due to COVID-19, following Marvel comics has become rather tricky for some people; real life sucks, cough). Where were we?

Ah yes, ‘Geraldine’. The 1x03 episode established that she’s an agent of S.W.O.R.D., (probably), and showed her helping Vision and co. with Wanda’s delivery, thus laying the groundwork for a potential friendship, if not comradery, between the two women, (cough, future Avengers, cough). Sadly, given how Wanda ejected ‘Geraldine’ from the pocket universe, the two women have a long way to go just yet, if they’re to succeed in becoming friends, or at least comrades…which is no way certain in MCU, let’s be fair…but there’s something for that, for now.

However, before anything will happen in the future episodes of WV, we must still discuss… no, not ‘Geraldine’s’ ejection into the world out of the pocket universe, and yes, it is a pointedly and a purposefully sharp contrast with the world inside the pocket: it is dark, it is night, and it might be raining; plus, we don’t know anything about Monica’s position and status in S.W.O.R.D.; and then, there’s Hydra…

Now that deserves face slap, and no mistake. Disney & MCU just cannot make-up their mind about this evil organization: it was supposed to be done and gone by the AoS’ S3 finale dash CA: CW movie; Zemo, (who will be coming back as one of the main characters in ‘The Winter Soldier & The Falcon’ series), says that Hydra is done flat out loud.

…And then AoS’ S4 happened and Hydra came back, and the titular characters continued to lock horns with it on a regular basis; it would be nice to assume that they have stopped Hydra for good in their final season, but given how the AoS’ concluding scenes seem to be a remastered version of a very different AoS, anything is possible.

On a more serious note, it seems that Hydra is just too convenient and easy a villain slash organization for Disney/MCU to stop using, as last week’s ‘Hydra Soak’ shows – already there are fan theories that Hydra is behind Wanda’s pocket universe, rather than Mephisto is, for example. If that happens… I got nothing just more proof that not just AoS, but also the rest of MCU keeps on recycling and reviving their own old ideas, rather than bringing in more original ones, from the comics, i.e. the ‘House of M’. …Without mutants being an established presence in MCU, ‘House of M’ does not work anyhow, so I confess that I am observing with some curiosity as to how the events in WV will continue to develop…

Well, this is it for now. See you all soon!

WandaVision, ep 1x01 and 1x02 - Jan 19

 

Obligatory disclaimer: I am not dead yet. Real life still sucks though. ‘WandaVision’ is proving to be something else entirely, so let us talk about it, or rather – about the first two episodes, (yay marketing strategy!). Ergo, what about it?

Where to start? Since its’ premiere 3 days ago, (Jan 15, 2021), people have discussed the episodes in question horizontally and vertically, having uncovered practically all of the ‘Easter eggs’ in them. Pause. However, here is my take on it, because I would rather talk about WV rather than real life, (but that is another matter).

First, did anyone note that in the episode 1x02 team WV inverted the old trope of the magician and the sexy assistant? Thanks to the stick of gum, Vision went completely drunk, and Wanda had to take charge, however subtly, and save the day and the magic show, while wearing some very revealing clothing, (cough).

On its own, this is nothing too breakthrough or novel, even by the wokeness’ standards – the idea of the wife being the smart/competent one in the family was already utilized in such old time TV shows as ‘Bewitched’ and even ‘I dream of Jeanie”, among others, (which were used to design the WV TV series, remember?). In their turn, this strategy of ‘Bewitched’ and co. reaches with its’ roots to the old folktales, myths, and so on, where a brave human hero married a witch or some other supernatural entity, and lived happily ever after – or not. Vision, of course, is not a human, but unlike the series’ premiere, where the two characters were shown more equal; in the episode 1x02, Wanda was wearing the pants in the family, which brings us to her encounter with Dot and co., but first…

But first, or second, there is the question of the WV’s children, or rather – of their conception. Yes, it was very cute, lovely and adorable as to how WV’s twin beds became one, and then they went under the covers. However, Vision isn’t a human, rather he is a robot or a synthezoid, and so does he have the actual equipment to, well, impregnate Wanda? WV’s showrunners and co. talk about ‘The House of M’ comic plot arc for inspiration, where Wanda’s children, Wiccan and Speed, were revealing to be not ordinary mutant children, but rather manifestations of Wanda’s power made flesh. If WV is based upon that, then it will be interesting to see as to how Vision fits into this…but some educated guesses can be made.

Before that, though, let us talk about Dottie. The last MCU character who had this name was Dottie Underwood from ‘Agent Carter’, (AC), a pro-Leviathan Black Widow agent/assassin, turned frenemy to the titular character and her friends against Madame Mask in the second and final season of the show. This Dottie, however, is a different character completely, simply because Ms. Emma CB played/acted her out, better known as Anyanka slash Anya Jenkins on BtVS. Pause.

…Yes, I have my own issues with the Whedon family, but I’m not being either pro or contra towards them here – rather, I want to point out that this is probably the first time a BtVS/AtS alumni has appeared on a Marvel TV show/movie/etc., and so far they have done a good job of being there.

Second, Anyanka is an interesting reference to WV – I won’t get too in-depth into her character, right now there’s no indication that this Dottie will remain in the WV-universe for too long, or will matter that much – wait.

Here is what else we know about Wanda – she is going to appear in the upcoming Dr. Strange movie as well – ‘the multiverse of madness’ or something similar. Aside from the fact that we still have no idea as to whether she’s going to help the good doctor or hinder him, the rumors had him going against some demon-like entity called Nightmare, and what do we have in WV? An actress who had played a demon on BtVS, and a character – ‘the beekeeper’ – who appears to be rather unfit for the rom-com world of WV so far.

Yes, the beekeeper. So far, there is already speculation as to who he is, though the S.W.O.R.D. logo is certainly influencing the discussion in a certain way. S.W.O.R.D. – in the Marvel comics – is a space counterpart to S.H.I.E.L.D., and is something of a space CIA, according to Cyclops of the X-Men, (in the comics, not the movies, cough). Here, in the MCU, it is much less developed, (because of the obvious reasons), but they’re part of the WV, so it’ll be interesting to see if they’re more than just the replacement of S.H.I.E.L.D. …and if they were infiltrated yet.

No, seriously, AoS were notorious for recycling their old plotlines…and they were associated with the Whedon family. Now, WV is already associated with the Whedon family, however slightly, and, apparently, some cameo actor from AoS’ S7 acts-out the mail carrier in WV, so I wonder how long it will take for AoS’ plot issues to appear in WV.

Getting back on track, Agnes. She does appear to be MCU’s answer to Agatha Harkness, who was Wanda’s mentor in the main Marvel universe. Here, she is already acting as…an annoyance, yes, but also something of a mentor and a guide to Wanda in the wacky new world that W and V ended up in. Only this Wanda is already an Avenger and takes no shit from anyone, but-

But clearly, this world is not entirely ‘real’, not as, say, the world of the last Spider-Man movie had been. The trailers are especially clear on it, showing just how fluid the reality of W and V’s new home is… and it also had Agnes tell Vision that they are all dead, ha-ha! Given how Vision was the one – out of the two – to be killed by Thanos back in the A: IW film, this raises a possibility of W and V being stuck in some sort of a limbo between the lands of the living and the dead. Have to say, it will be interesting to see as to what MCU does with that.

Anything else? Well, Geraldine is actually ‘Photon’, or ‘captain Marvel’, aka Monica Rambeau, one of Marvel comics’ most popular superhero. However, right now she’s little more than Wanda’s, and Vision’s, new friend…not unlike Agnes, which is as expected, judging by the posters: these four are going to be WV’s main characters.

As for Strucker,…listen. Yes, he is dead and he can come back, but the same goes – technically – for Tony Stark. The two men did not have too much in common, but both shaped Wanda Maximoff’s life very dramatically – Strucker gave her powers, Stark had destroyed Sokovia via Ultron – and set her on becoming the Scarlet Witch. Well, a Scarlet Witch, because Agatha Harness – here, Agnes – also holds this title in the canon, cough. How this will turn out in the canon is anyone’s guess, but I am betting against Strucker returning to MCU… in WV, anyhow.

Moreover, as for Hydra… do not go there. MCU supposedly got rid of Hydra in the CA: CW film… and then began to bring it back, repeatedly, in AoS – but we have discussed AoS in length in the past, when it was running. On the other hand, we already got the new S.W.O.R.D., which might be the same old S.H.I.E.L.D., just done in a different wrapping – a different shadowy, morally ambiguous organization, cough. What is their connection to Wanda and Vision remains unknown, but both they and the aforementioned Photon connects the titular characters to the more sci-fi and less fantasy aspects of MCU.

Let us recap. So far, WV is a ‘woke’ TV series, but because they are done so well, no one is calling them out on them. They exist in a strange, fluid world that is managed – at least in part – by Wanda, but the latter is being challenged by someone or something in a beekeeper’s get-up that has ties to a shadowy paramilitary intelligence-gathering organization, (that may or may not have been infiltrated by someone or something else already), and there’s still no clarity if both Wanda and Vision are alive or dead. In short, we are in for just only two episodes, and already are in deep. This sort of thing almost makes living tolerable, you know?

…Well, this is it for now. See you all soon!

 

Batman: Soul of the Dragon - Jan 13

 

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. Yes, it is a direct responsa to the mess that the U.S. is currently in, but it is also a response to my family’s latest visit to our house – we all have barely survived the two weeks of holidays staying in the same house, (ok, apartment building), cooped-up together – it was that bad. I do not want to dwell on it, however, so let me just reassure my followers by proclaiming that I am not dead yet, and move on.

…The entire U.S. situation is not something that I want to discuss – not yet. By opening his big mouth, the Donald revealed himself to be an idiot of the highest caliber and quality, one that apparently hates the U.S. with a passion that not even Putin come close to, and one who should’ve been removed from the Capitol, the White House, etc., etc., a long time ago. Instead, we got a hot mess between the Republicans and the Democrats once again, and the Donald keeps on wheeling and flying over the U.S. unhindered. Seriously, do the American politicians consider other American people to be worthy of mattering? Alternatively, do they ignore them completely? Yes, some corporations have cut-off their funding either to the Donald or to the both of the abovementioned political parties – and this does not brighten the picture in the D.C. either, but still…

…At any rate, I have tried to distract myself by watching the new DC movie, ‘Batman: Soul of the Dragon’, and… I have regretted it. One of the worst wastes of my life and time ever!

Here is the thing. WW84 is a wonderful movie, (pun intended), just dealing with the modern political issues in atypical ways, as I have written last year about it. Hence all the rage from the independent movie critics and connoisseurs, (or whatever they are supposed to be). Those that are more dependent, like the IGN, of course, sing accolades to WW84 instead – but IGN have sang accolades to the ‘Dragon-Bat’ film as well. What is the problem here?

It is banal. WW84 has plenty of content, something that none of its’ critics deny. Not everyone is liking WW84’s political content, and not everyone is recognizing it for what it is, but it is present; WW84 has put itself onto a higher rung of the ladder of the movies’ worth, and right now, WB and HBO believe that it is a winning horse, (and rightly so) – WW84 is trying to do something else than just to entertain – it is trying to educate about the social and gender norms, (aside from anything else). ‘Dragon-Bat’ does not do anything like that. Instead, it is a straightforward fic, er, flick, about Batman teaming up with several other DC characters to bring down the Kobra cult. Pause.

Here is the thing. It is not a bad concept on its’ own, and ‘Dragon-Bat’ isn’t entirely a bad movie, it is only forgettable: none of the characters really have much of defining characteristics outside of martial arts – and everyone in the ‘Dragon-Bat’ has martial arts. The ‘dragon’ part seems to be coming from Richard Dragon, one of the movie’s main characters, and who got the worst part of the deal – lady Shiva has appeared in all sort of DC franchises and so has the Bronze Tiger/Ben Turner; I, in particular, remember his incarnation in the ‘Batman: The Brave and The Bold’ cartoons, and I got to say – I liked this version better. There he had backstory and traits that made him different from the rest of the BB characters – yes, it is obvious, but it needs to be said. Here, in ‘Dragon-Bat’, he is not, and neither is Richard Dragon, who seems to be little more than Batman’s/Bruce Wayne’s pale shadow instead, (somewhat how Homer’s Menelaus was a shadow of Odysseus in both ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’). After all, unlike lady Shiva and Ben Turner, he doesn’t have much of a presence outside of the DC comics… anything else?

Sadly, no. ‘Dragon-Bat’ doesn’t focus much on its characters; they appear to be almost interchangeable, and none of them appear to be too interested in each other beyond what the game – I mean, the movie – demands of them. ‘Dragon-Bat’ feels like a badly filmed RPG, in other terms. Lady Shiva, for example, is one of the more interesting female characters in DC – and here she is just a crime lord in the local Chinatown. Pardon me, a top crime lord or something. Fancy that. Do the other characters care? Not really. Is it all that important within the greater movie? Also not really. Ouch.

And the same can be addressed towards the Dark Knight himself, though he is a special case, actually. Yes, he is the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader and so on, but he is more of a masked detective than a dragon slayer instead – somehow, here he feels redundant – even IGN admitted that in this movie his role could’ve been taken over by Richard Dragon or by anyone else, with the plot of the movie being none the worse. Only… the ‘names’ of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and so on have selling power that the ‘names’ of Richard Dragon or Ben Turner or even lady Shiva lack. Batman is here to make ‘soul of the Dragon’ sell, first and foremost, and everything else is redundant. Ouch!

But then again, everything about ‘Dragon-Bat’ is redundant and forgettable: yes, it is fun to watch once, but nothing else: you watch it once and probably will not watch it again. WW84, on the other hand? Has staying power and will be staying in discussions for the next little while, even as the ‘Dragon-Bat’ will not be. However, that is real life for you. It sucks.

This is it for now – see you all soon.