Runaways: Fifteen - Dec 7

The fourth episode of Marvel’s ‘Runaways’, ‘Fifteen’, got aired, and what of it?

One of the more important notes was that Old Lace got his proper revealing: the bioengineered dinosaur certainly got character, and-

And here is where the rant about ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ dinosaurs has inserted itself. Let us be fair: both ‘Fallen Kingdom’ and ‘Runaways’ are equal, when it comes to paleontology, neither the movie franchise nor the TV series/comics are concerned with science or education; they just want to entertain, and here the ‘Runaways’ of TV/Hulu have done a very important turn of the plot: they are introducing new, original content into the old, initial plot, as depicted in the comics. They are creating something new that wasn’t there before, just as the JP3 movie did with the initial franchise – as it was written in the past, back then the JP franchise broke the formula that got established by then by introducing Spinosaurus as a newer, bigger, better monster than a T-Rex, and by giving the pterosaurs – Pteranodons – a moment to shine. ‘Fallen Kingdom’ did not introduce anything new, it just recycled the JP3 elements – both the pterosaurs, which now are playing a more active role in the franchise and Spinosaurus’ replacement – that is either Baryonyx or Suchomimus.

The latter is a relative of Baryonyx; even though it lived during the early Cretaceous in Africa, just as Spinosaurus did, right now – 2017 – scientists have established that the two dinosaurs in question, Baryonyx & Suchomimus were more closely related to each other, than to Spinosaurus. That said, Suchomimus was physically very similar to Spinosaurus, only smaller – about 11 m in length on average – and without the trademark sail on its back. Thus, if Rexy were to fight it, this would be the T-Rex vs. Spinosaurus fight from JP3, recycled, revisited, and reset – and that is not good. Lack of original content can be very problematic, for both movies and TV series – just look at AoS: the 5^th season’s premiere has started with some very low numbers, the lowest of any of season premieres ever; as a movie, ‘Fallen Kingdom’ is a very different beast from AoS, but if it continues to recycle old ideas instead of generating new ones, then it will also develop problems, (given the appearance of their Baryonyx, already available to the public, maybe those problems have already begun).

Back to ‘Runaways’? There isn't really anything to criticize - they are actually doing better than ‘Fallen Kingdom’, they have no problems with the original content (and featherless dinosaurs), and they are going strong, (good for them!). Hopefully too, they will continue in this vein and continue to satisfy their viewers…

See you later! 

The Gifted: outfoX - Nov 5

Last night, the mutants went against the Sentinel Services and their allies over at Trask’s – and lost. While this is bad, it is also to be expected, and-

And here’s the thing: ‘Gifted’ doesn’t offer too many twists and turns, unlike AoS, or ‘Runaways’, for example – it is a straightforward show about the mutants struggling for their rights against the robot-using Sentinel Services. What next?

On one hand this direct approach is a good thing – ‘Gifted’ doesn’t need to be a complex show; given the political climate in RL U.S.A. at the present, (2017), the WWII-like allusions of ‘Gifted’ give the show enough edge to keep on going, (and the first season of the show is almost done, anyhow), without much concern for any new revelations…except that ‘Gifted’ has those as well; in ‘outfoX’ – this week’s episode – we learn that the original Von Strucker twins were associated with the Hellfire Club.

This is important because in the Marvel comics the Hellfire Club was an organization of evil mutants and some of the X-Men most dangerous nemeses, period; they even served to introduce Jean Grey as the Phoenix in both the comics and the cartoons, (especially the 1990s ones). If the Hellfire Club appears in ‘Gifted’ too, things can become intense – but they already are intense, because the Strucker twins, Blink and Dreamer got captured by Jace and Sentinel Services instead.

Undoubtedly, this is bad, especially within the ‘Gifted’ universe proper, but outside of it, it is just par for the course – in the Marvel comics, (and even the Marvel movies), mutants get captured by the Sentinels (and the other villains) on a regular basis, so the mutants’ defeat in ‘outfoX’ is expected and temporary, (of course), there is nothing unexpected. (Insert your own x-pun here). By refusing to use their powers in tandem, the Strucker twins proved themselves to be different, (at least on a potential level), from their original counterparts, and to be heroes rather than villains, (at least on a default level). This is also worth noting because ‘Gifted’ tries to go for the grey morality area, especially in case of Jace, who was shown in the past episodes to show not exactly remorse or regrets, but clear doubts about working with the Trask’s, the company that brainwashes mutants to do their bidding – and Jace has views about this, so judging by the next week’s promo, things in his life are going to come to – something.

On the topic of family, one of the more bizarre turns of events is the transformation of Lorna’s character and maybe her role in ‘Gifted’. In ‘outfoX’, she was shown to have second thoughts and be outright afraid of Trask’s and the Sentinels. This is understandable – she is pregnant, after all, and loves Marcos/Eclipse, (the father of her baby), and is scared about their future as a family, but…wasn’t it obvious from the beginning of the show, when the mutants were just beginning to fight the Sentinels? The way the show is handling Lorna’s character now…it is not the best, but just inconsistent – and yet...

And yet ‘Gifted’ is quite consistent, following its’ direct and straightforward script, well, forwards. It does not really deviate from the traditional ‘X-Men’ stories, but presents plenty of original new characters to keep the story exciting – and the actors’ performance, of course, is still great. (Plus, the spider robots are back). Thus, while the show’s heroes are currently in the jaws…not just of dilemma, but of their enemies, (Sentinels and Trask’s), the viewers continue to view with excitement as to what will happen to them regardless of whatever shortcomings ‘Gifted’ has developed meanwhile.

That is that for now; see you later!

Baryonyx vs. Tyrannosaurus

Now, it became known last week that the next JW movie is going to have a Baryonyx in it, and naturally, there are already discussions about it, is it going to fight the T-Rex, (Rexy) or what. There are also suggestions that it is something of a remastered rematch of a T-Rex vs. Spinosaurus fight back from the JP3 movie. Does this have any connotations?

Firstly, what is a Baryonyx, (or was). For a while, the popular opinion was that it is a cousin of Spinosaurus, and while that is true, the modern (2017) scientific P.O.V. states that Baryonyx was only a distant relative of Spinosaurus, not a close one, so its’ popular depiction – a smaller version of the Spinosaurus without the sail, but with extra-large claws on its’ ‘thumbs’, something similar to what the raptors had, but on its front legs, rather than the hind ones. It was also quite a bit smaller than the Spinosaurus was, (or the T-Rex) – whereas T-Rex was about 12 m long, and Spinosaurus – approximately 17, Baryonyx was about 7.5-10 m in length, and while people admit that it probably did get bigger than that, it wasn’t that much bigger, making it still smaller than the T-Rex was.

Okay, that is for measurements, how about the X-Factor? (Or whatever it was called on DW). Size issues aside, T-Rex was the better fighter than Spinosaurus was, when it came to intra-species fighting, and if we substitute Baryonyx for Spinosaurus, it is the same thing, except that Baryonyx was smaller and weaker than either T-Rex or Spinosaurus were, and would be overwhelmed by T-Rex and its’ bone-crushing bite all the quicker.

That is not to say that Baryonyx could not win. It could. While Tyrannosaurus’ jaws and teeth were designed to crush and tear, Baryonyx’s were designed to latch on and not let go, just as Spinosaurus’ teeth and jaws were. (Cousins!) Thus, if Baryonyx was able to grab and bite Tyrannosaurus, then regardless of how robust and strong the latter was, it would not be able to escape Baryonyx’s jaws without losing its pound of flesh – and meanwhile, Baryonyx would continue to hit its’ opponent with its’ powerful front legs that had those trademark claws – and if it scored a lucky critical hit on a Tyrannosaurus’ eye or a blood vein, then the ‘tyrant lizard king’ would be in serious trouble.

All that, but keep in mind that Baryonyx did not have Spinosaurus’ superior physical strength and bulk; with just one lucky bite Tyrannosaurus could break Baryonyx’s spine or even tear the smaller carnivore in two, even if Baryonyx would hurt it in the fight, however badly. It would be a clear winner, even if it probably would not want to tackle another Baryonyx anytime soon.

And here the reality raises itself once again. Baryonyx and Tyrannosaurus have never met: Tyrannosaurus lived at the very end of the ‘Age of Reptiles’, the Mesozoic, in the late Cretaceous, while Baryonyx live during the late Jurassic, much earlier than Tyrannosaurus did. In real life, the two reptiles never met – and this brings us to the upcoming ‘Fallen Kingdom’ movie. Technically.

Again, nothing in the JP-franchise was ever educational, even as timorous as it was in AFO or DW, (for example). It was pure fiction, even if the original Michael Crichton novel was actually based on scientific facts, (of its time). Ergo, it must be treated as such, and where does it leave us?

With the realization that until ‘Fallen Kingdom’ comes out anyhow, JP3 was more progressive – as far as fictional movies about dinosaurs go – than the initial JW movie. It introduced a brand new dinosaur ‘villain’ – Spinosaurus – and gave the pterosaurs (Pteranodons) the recognition denied to them in the first two movies. (In the original novel Dr. Grant and the children encountered the ‘dactyls’ – Cearodactyls – big, fish-eating pterosaurs, but let us talk about them another time). The first JW movie also features pterosaurs, Pteranodons and their smaller distant cousins as ‘hazards’ of some sort, while the main monster role passed from Spinosaurus to the imaginary I-Rex, but it came later than the JP3 movie did, meaning that the JP3 movie is the more progressive than the JW one, relatively speaking.

Now we come to the issue – is Baryonyx a substitute Spinosaurus? Odds are very good that it will be, yes. Somehow, the fight between T-Rex and Spinosaurus in JP3 became quite popular, and turned into ‘two dinosaurs fighting each other’ cliché. Movie dinosaurs, movie fictional dinosaurs are kaiju, basically, and the JP3’s Spinosaurus was a textbook example of it; ditto for the JW’s I-Rex. In ‘Fallen Kingdom’, either Baryonyx or the Indoraptors will take that role, but we will talk about the Indoraptors at another time – the point is that ‘Fallen Kingdom’ is a fictional movie with nary much logic, (especially by RL’s standards) and should be treated accordingly.

That is that for this time; see you all soon!

S.H.I.E.L.D. 'Orientation' - Dec 3

The fifth season of AoS has premiered on December 1, 2017. What can be said about it?

It continues the theme of a totalitarian dystopia that began in the last third of S4 with the framework. Back then the main enemy was Hydra, (never mind that it was supposed gone for good at the end of S3 – it began to come back by the mid-S4, but so far it seems to be gone again, so there’s that), and now – the Kree. Yes, there are some allusions to some RL WWII atrocities done by the Nazis in the Kree actions, but there are just as many allusions to both the SW franchise and ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ book and TV series, (you know, the Alice Munro one). Thus, AoS is trying to be either diverse or just different from the ‘Arrowverse’s’ take on the ‘evil Nazi trope’, and-?

And it worked, yeah. AoS appears to have made a clean break from the first 3 seasons at last and is going for something completely new and exciting. Yes, the first 17-20 minutes of the first 2 S5 episodes are confusing and vague – maybe too much – but they are deliberately so, in order for more revelations and twists in the future episodes, (hopefully); for all we know, the leader of the MIB-wannabes is MCU’s version of the Watcher – or someone like that, and he had a reason for keeping Fitz behind, aside from the RL issues, one of which, apparently is the still-tight budget of AoS: with all the special effects in play, the show may be incapable of maintaining a roster of 7 full-time actors on screen, and now that Yo-Yo (NCB) is a main character in her own right, tough nuggies for Fitz (Iain).

Let us pause and focus some more on Yo-Yo and Mack (Simmons), since they are probably going to be the main focus of romance in the next few AoS episodes at least – Simmons and Fitz are separated again, Daisy is single again, and Phil and Melinda have reset their relationship for now – they are back at S2-S3 level of interacting, which means no romance. Do Gregg and Wen have some personal issues between each (or with each other)? Go figure.

…And the emphasis on ‘again’? It is just a point – in S2 (and maybe S3) Daisy’s tumultuous love life and the FitzSimmons issues as a couple were new and exciting, but now – they are not. Maybe it is time for Daisy to get back to Robbie, (Gabriel Luna), since the new guy, Deke, may have a semi-girlfriend in the new girl Tess already, and in general, in RL, Chloe Bennett, (the actress), doesn’t seem to like any romantic entanglement for her character, (Daisy); even back in S1 there were signs of this, but we got distracted.

Back to ‘Orientation’ proper, we have also learned that Daisy has as much power of destruction as SW’s Death Star did, (back in the ‘New Hope’ and ‘Rogue 1’ movies) and that the framework was one of the few things that has survived from Earth’s destruction. Maybe another one will be Hydra as some sort of a political movement, but that would be too cruel, and the Kree are quite capable of that, especially their local leader, Cassius, whose take on asshole is that of Edward Cullen, (rather than Cedric Diggory, who in the HPCC proved to be a Death Eater himself). At last, AoS managed to create a brand-new, unsympathetic villain, so kudos to them, again!

So. In S5, AoS had finally managed to break free of the morass of the first 3 seasons and finally get its’ priorities straight. This is good, but also something that AoS tried to do in S4 already, this time via the Ghost Rider/Robbie Reyes – and it did not work. By the second third of S4 Hydra was back, then AoS brought back Ward, and Tripp, and Bakshi, and many other people, (but not Hunter and Morse – what’s up with that?), and S4 ended with the lowest numbers ever in AoS’ history, and who’s to say that history won’t repeat itself, especially if AoS still hasn’t resolved all of its’ RL issues, whatever they may be?

And on that note, we must pause for the moment – the heroes of S.H.I.E.L.D. are just getting started with whatever SW-inspired Kree dystopia their authors have come up with now. Yes, again, the heroes are separated, (just when Daisy gave that pro-teamwork speech at the end of S4), but this doesn’t mean anything – none of the actors are leaving the show, so all of them are going to survive, at least for the first third, or even half of S5. Go them! AoS has also finally managed to create an unsympathetic villain, so this is good also – AoS is on a winning streak, let us now see if they can keep it. Therefore – see you soon!

Runaways: Destiny - Nov 30

The third episode of ‘Runaways’ got aired (on TV and otherwise), and what can be said about it?

Deviations from the comics abound, and if this is how things will keep going, then we can safely speak about a separate universe from the ‘Runaways’ comic-verse. The TV/web-TV series continues to loosely follow the main comic plotline, but are continuing to create something that is more original than otherwise.

Again, is that bad? As it was already commented in the review of the first two episodes, by now MCU has developed and implemented several strategies when it comes to canon vs. original content in its’ TV shows. AoS is original, period: it does introduce canon characters, (as do the MCU movies proper) but in new, original ways; the show’s plotline in the end is its own. This is a good thing, but AoS does not have too good a grip on it, and so its’ numbers have fallen – the viewers, the ratings, etc. This is AoS’ fault; AC had something similar during its run, but it managed to do so more coherently than AoS did…but it was the one show that got cancelled. Go figure.

Conversely, ‘Gifted’, (as well as ‘Legion’, probably) has some canonical characters (at least), but it is set in a completely original, different setting…basically, the same thing that AoS, (and AC – even more so) did, just in ways that still keep the audience enthralled; fast pace of the series, and the intense conflict that is the main plot-driving device helps. ‘Runaways’ doesn’t have it, period.

No, ‘Runaways’ aren’t a ‘teenage soap opera’ according to some reviews, at least. That will probably be more of ‘Cloak & Dagger’ thing – that show comes to Hulu in 2018, next year. It will feature two teenage superheroes, the titular Cloak and Dagger – an Afro-American young man who has a cloak of shadows and an Anglo-American woman who generates daggers of light. Together, they fight crime…and even in canon, there was some soap opera/drama elements to their tale; what will Hulu do to their story remains to be seen. But ‘Runaways’? They are a soap operate, just not a teenage one – a family one: the parents have as much drama as their children do, if not more.

Now this probably reminds one of ‘Riverdale’ the TV series, only ‘Riverdale’ is based on ‘Archies’ comic series, and unlike Marvel™ or DC™ ‘Archies’ never had any specific canon; their comics were, or are, mostly one-shots that weren’t really connected to each other, plot-wise. These days, this situation has changed, to some extent, but still, ‘Archies’ don’t keep all of their eggs in one basket; i.e., ‘Riverdale’ is only a part of their franchise, and a distinct one – but we got sidelined.

Unlike the other shows mentioned so far, ‘Runaways’ it trying to be both – remain true to the original plotline of the comics, and be original. The result is unusual – a mixture of sorts, but is it ‘the best of both worlds’?

…It is always possible to sit on both chairs for a while, but only for a while. Then we enter the FH territory, with its’ Shaman, who is armed not so much with a hatchet and a dagger, but rather with a hatchet, (or a hand-axe), and a kukri. The latter is something intermediate between a proper dagger and a short sword, a weapon that can not just stab, but also slice – it was featured in the penultimate DW episode, as a Gurkha weapon, when the latter went against the French Foreign Legion (FFL). WWII settings aside, that was a good DW episode, but the point is that the kukri is decisively not a Viking weapon, so how does it fit into the FH universe?

…And the same can be said about the Centurion and the Gladiator of the FH’s Knights’ faction, as it was discussed earlier: FH has clearly strained into the outer margins of its initial idea – knights vs. Vikings vs. samurai. They now have to go back to what they had, or abandon the old entirely, and go for the new. Since so far their main updates are various suits and armor designs, (for example, the Vikings now have an owl motif named the ‘night raptor’ or something similar), they will probably do neither, but end up worse, (respectively) than AoS has had by the end of S4 – and ‘Runaways’ are going down the same route as FH has had: sooner or later they will have to turn back to the old plot, or go somewhere entirely new, (but then they won’t be ‘Runaways’ anymore, technically speaking), or continue to straddle the line, eventually failing on both sides – but many seasons can pass before this actually happens, and in the meanwhile? We will be watching.

Well, that is it for today; see you next time!

Runaways: Ep I & II - Nov 23

Marvel’s ‘Runaways’ made their premiere in Canada, and what can be said about them?

The show started slow, with the titular heroes – the children of the Pride – are hurting over the death of Amy, Nico’s sister, who was not shown yet – in a flashback, on a photo, etc. This is important, because – spoilers, or rather – the comics.

Just as the rest of MCU, ‘Runaways’ have existed as a comic book series a long time before now, (when the TV series/web TV series got released) and people have gotten familiar with them by now, with their parents, friends, enemies, etc. They know the plot, they know where it is all going, and so they are not too surprised with how it all is developing, TV-wise.

…So now ‘Runaways’ are throwing plenty of original content, and while they are still seem to be following the initial plotline and conflict (parents vs. children, etc.) they are throwing plenty of their own, new twists into the plot, possibly inspired by the initial comics, but something new all the same. This makes ‘Runaways’ different from such Marvel shows as AoS and ‘The Gifted’, which are simply original from the start, but also introduce various Marvel characters from all over the MCU as part of their narrative, (AoS) or are outright redesigning comic book characters into someone new (‘Gifted’). This is very impressive, but is it good?

So far, most reviews claim that ‘Runaways’ are a soap opera, but so were the ‘InHumans’, actually, and no one made a big deal out of that. Of course, this raises the next question: was the first season of ‘InHumans’ good of its own, and honestly? While it had some flaws, it certainly was not any worse than, say, AoS, (especially in the later seasons), so it is doubtful that it had earned all that hate… However, the truth is that people did not hate ‘InHumans’, they just did not care about the show, and so it collapsed. A show can pull out all of its stops, but sometimes, it is just not good enough. Are the ‘Runaways’ good enough?

Judging by the first two episodes, they can be – certainly by the second episode the action begins to go up, the plot begins to have layers, and the new developments, away from the original comics, certainly help. So for now let us remain cautiously optimistic and hope that the ‘Runaways’ continue to deliver, period – MCU needs it.

The Gifted, eXtinction - Nov 21

This week’s episode has news that are both good and bad, depending on whether you’re in ‘The Gifted’ universe or outside of it – the Sentinels are back, bringing forth more brainwashed mutants. Sadly for the Sentinels, so far they are not doing very well with their a-game either: the Strucker grandfather has killed Augustus, (the mutant whose powers are to turn off the powers of the other mutants) and Johnny and Marcos have caught another brainwashed mutant as well – and a telepath has gleaned that the Sentinels are brainwashing mutants for real, so now the mutants are beginning to deliver their own a-game too.

Let us elaborate. Last time around Lorna was angry with Marcos because he went to Carmen, (his ex-girlfriend, who is a normal human – so far – and a head of a drug cartel) and not told her anything at all. So she became angry and huffy and then they all met a brainwashed mutant who had lost her baby on top of everything else, so naturally now Lorna is a lot more wonderful and has forgiven Marcos completely because she has realized that she herself isn’t invincible and that the stakes in the mutant-Sentinel battle are even higher than what she has thought, so now she and Marcos are back together…

Yes, when it is put like this, cut and dry, it does sound clichéd, but on screen, thanks to the actors’ acting, it really works. In addition, the return of the Sentinels here also helps, because so far, ‘The Gifted’ was all about the mutants’ conflicts with the Sentinels, and by extent – with the American government, though as last week’s episode has shown – remember – this may not be the case forever…

However, this episode’s main plotline is Reed Strucker’s visit to his father, who revealed that he was a mutant, Reed’s father and aunt were mutants, and that Reed himself was a mutant until his father gave him some sort of a ‘cure’ for mutations that turned Reed into an ordinary human – but because sci-fi, his children, of course, are mutants once more, and very powerful ones too, hence why the Sentinels want them… What, mainly, is interesting here, (aside from the drama, generated by the script and the acting), is that in the world of ‘The Gifted’ the mutants have existed for a long time; yes, in Marvel universe proper one of the greatest mutants ever – Apocalypse/En Sabah Nur – was born in the time of ancient Egypt, but here, in ‘The Gifted’, this is the first indication that mutants aren’t a recent phenomenon after all, this is a true alternate universe from RL, and should be treated as such – keep it in mind. Otherwise…

Otherwise, ‘eXtinction’ – this week’s episode – was not exactly a filler episode, just a Strucker-focused one. So far, it is unknown as to what relationship these Struckers have to baron von Strucker, a Hydra villain from the MCU ‘Age of Ultron’ movie and his son Werner, who appeared in the first half of AoS’ S3…and vanished into nothingness by the second half – but AoS was doing this even back in S2, so let us not judge it too harshly…at least until its’ fifth season airs in December 2017.

What can be said about that? Before S4 was aired, AoS and MCU did an advertising campaign, clearly telling that this season will feature the Ghost Rider, (Robbie Reyes). This time, they kept their cards closer to their chest and there is no hint of just who will be the heavy hitter of this season – there is footage of the Kree, but most of the videos so far featured some sort of an alien predator, with ‘alien’ being the key word here: it looks like a variant xenomorph from the AVP franchise, and this just isn’t encouraging: AoS S4 finished on its’ lowest note yet, AoS still has plenty of fans, but will they be as excited to watch S5 in the long run? Who knows…

Getting back to ‘The Gifted’… there isn’t much to speculate – just that maybe the mutants’ new telepath is herself a more advanced brainwashed minion of the Sentinels, (here the brainwashing seems to be less clockwork orange and more drug addiction than it was in AoS), so some twists in the narrative are still possible, because otherwise? The mutants are coming for the Sentinels and their brainwashed mutants, period. This will be in two weeks – the next week is a timeout for ‘The Gifted’, but there are new Marvel series on Netflix and Hulu to fill-in the gap.

Until next time, people!