WandaVision 'Fourth Wall' - Feb 22

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us go to the adventures of the Great Wandini and her husband! Pause.

First, my apologies for the rant in my previous/last blog entry - it was completely redundant and unnecessary; already, Gina Carano has teamed up with Benjamin Shapiro to continue to battle Disney, cough. She has landed on her feet, so don’t despair – she will continue to yap historical idiocies for many years to come – but none of them were justification enough to have her fired from the Disney/SW franchise – but we digress.

Back over at the Disney/MCU franchise, last week’s episode of WV, ‘the fourth wall’, revealed that it was Agatha all along, and the entire fan network was abuzz over the last 3 days about this epiphany.

Yes, people were entertaining the possibility of Agnes being Agatha Harkness – well, MCU’s version of the witch – since the show is beginning, (and even before), but the confirmation was still very impressive and nicely executed… so what?

Well, here is the thing – there is no problem with Agatha being WV’s main villain, especially since the director Tyler Hayward does not appear to be going anywhere, especially into the Hex. He plans to nuke it, but the WV ep 1x08 promo mentioned that someone named Richards is involved, and that could mean that we might be getting the Fantastic Four started in the MCU…or that we’ll be meeting Nathaniel Richards, who is an MCU villain, known as Kang the Conqueror and Lord Immortus among other monikers. In the last incarnation, he tangled with Wanda and Vision in the comics, and it is know that Kang will be appearing in the upcoming ‘Ant-Man’ film, (however slow it will get there), so why not have him here in WV?..

Back to Agatha, it is a strong possibility that she is the main villain here – she has claimed to kill Sparky the dog, among other things. That is quite important, as in MCU’s AoS, killing dogs was an important part of being Hydra, and who’s to say that this Agatha isn’t a part of Hydra…or a part of a Hydra’s experiment? Her powers, the coloration aside, manifest in a similar manner to Wanda’s… and the issue of colors is kind of important in WV; here, though, I want to point out that Agatha’s colors aren’t black, but purple, and purple just isn’t quite the similarly evil color as black is, so who knows? Agatha is a trickster, who works best behind the scenes, as opposed to direct confrontations, but then again, so does Loki, so yes, Agatha may be Loki to Wanda’s Thor; will she die, as Loki did in the ‘Infinity War’ movie remains to be seemed, and is she evil or merely bad? The jury is still out on this one.

Elsewhere… Wanda seems to be suffering from some version of a hangover, as things begin to fall apart within her pocket world. Actually, her pocket world is beginning to fall apart, and it is a strong fan theory that Wanda here is something of a puppet herself, manipulated by Agatha, (as the latter claims, but Agatha herself seems to be more mischievous than evil here), or by Mephisto, or by Nightmare, or by Richards – the possibilities are numerous. …Director Hayward, however, is far down to the end of the line – he seems to be more interested in Vision, (cough, the mysterious project Cataract), and he probably is some sort of a mini-bad in this series, but this is where Monica comes in, or will come in.

More precisely, we are getting back to the colors. Wanda’s powers are scarlet, Agatha’s are purple, and Monica’s – Lt. Trouble’s – are blue. Well, white and blue, (as they had been back in the ep 1x03), but my point stands – Monica, Wanda and Agatha are forming a trinity of some sort.

Let me elaborate. Does anyone remember the “Wizard of Oz’ movie? No, not the original movie about Dorothy Gale and her adventures in the Land of Oz, but a much more modern ‘prequel’, which depicts the adventures of the titular ‘wizard’, and his encounters and relationship with the three witches of Oz, who were the good witch, (white color theme), the wicked witch of the East, (black color theme), and the wicked witch of the West, (red color theme turned green from envy and evil). Pause.

No, I do not know if the scriptwriters for MCU’s WV have looked at the ‘Wizard of Oz’ movie for inspiration, but there are some feels from the Oz franchise in this streaming series, not to mention that the witches’ covens are often depicted having three members in fiction, (such as the late Sir Terry Pratchett’s ‘Discworld’ series), and it can also be noted that Agatha – for her own selfish reasons, no doubt – did prevent Wanda and Monica from coming to blows at the episode’s end. Yes, undoubtedly, Wanda will not be grateful for this now that she knows that it has been Agatha all along, but if she and Monica did begin to duke it out in the streets, Wanda’s fall from grace would have been much faster and evident than it will be. Agatha just does not want to be a full villain, it seems, no matter what. Anything else?

Well, director Hayward’s values are actually zeitgeist: ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ show was supposed to be aired before WV, laying the groundwork of a different MCU, one where superheroes, (such as the Avengers, cough, the CA: CW movie), are on the cusp of being outlawed; director Hayward is just trying to get on with that program, when Wanda crushed his base, and took-off with Vision to Westview…and we’re missing something crucial here, and it would be nice if the next two episodes of WV filled-in the gap, maybe Agatha can help? Darcy already did her part with Vision…

…Yes, this exposition dump of Darcy and Vision was not too fun to follow – and even Vision agreed, as he took off, leaving Darcy behind in their burrowed van. Poor Darcy! Also, her journey into the Hex kind of conflicts with Monica’s – if Monica’s DNA changed so much through her journeys through the Hex-walls, then what about Darcy? Yes, this Disney/MCU playing fast and loose with its’ own politics, but it feels as if Darcy is getting the short end of the stick here... or are we talking about post-AoS Gifted here? It would be good to know!

However, Pietro – speaking of knowledge – probably will not be a key to the multiverse here. Remember, MCU-wise, WV is taking place at the same time as the ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ movie does. In that film, if anyone forgot, Mysterio tried to set-up the concept of the multiverse as a red herring, and failed in the end. Here, I think, will be something similar; why?

Because Sony had utilized the multiverse concept with their ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse’ movie first, and it did so quite successfully! Disney/MCU conflicted with Sony after the ‘Far From Home’ proved to be very successful, and lost. Since then, I believe, they have been trying to starve Sony into submission by trying to turn Sony’s Spider-verse into something more or less second-rate, (as the Spider-Man movies had been pre the CA: CW film), while avoiding any direct confrontations over copyrights, which may include the concept of a multiverse. Disney doesn’t care for controversies anymore, especially in real life, (cough, Gina Carano, cough), so they’ll probably fiddle with the concept of the multiverse, (among other things), for as long as they can, until they win, (in which case they’ll embrace it), or they lose, (which might happen – but then they’ll drop the concept of the multiverse as if it was a hot potato, period). They will try to swing their viewers/fans for as much cash as they can during the process, of course – but that is another story.

In addition, what about the upcoming Doctor Strange film, the ‘Multiverse of Madness’? Between the Sony conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney/MCU had plenty of both time and motivation to rethink their strategy, especially about their phase 4, as we can see now – WV was supposed to air after ‘The Winter Soldier and the Falcon’, and now it is being aired before, so who knows what the future will bring?..

For now, though, this is it. Wanda and Vision seem to be on the cusp of something serious, Monica is about to get her superhero stripes, Agatha is about to launch her masterplan, (presumably), and poor Jimmy and Darcy are about to get the short end of the stick. It is a mixed bag, put otherwise, and it is very fun to watch.

See you all soon! 

WandaVision, 'Halloween' - Feb 12

Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, which is why Gina Carano must have done what she did. Warning: obligatory spoilers for the WV episode of this week ahead! Now onwards!

Where to begin? Gina’s situation is simple: as an individual, and a citizen of America, (USA), she can have her own opinion. As an employee of Disney/SW, however, she had to cooperate with the bottom line, because they were paying her. Undoubtedly, I am simplifying the situation, but Gina, in RL, had a choice: she could toe the party line and have her career set for her, (and, hey, Disney!), or not and have nothing, which is what has happened this week, (Feb 10, 2021). Her political views aside, Gina was a grown-up, and a sane and a rational one, (supposedly), so she knew about choices and consequences. She made a choice, she is living with the consequences, and this is it. What is has to do with WV?

Why, the wokeness, of course! Gina’s statement that broke everything is, apparently, the insipidly stupid message that the Republican party in the modern U.S. are the new Jews in the new Third Reich. This comparison is beyond stupid, undoubtedly, but nothing more, and an actor, or an actress, should be judged by their acting, not their politics… hello, wokeness! You are being bad.

On the other hand, in WV, wokeness is being good – just look at what is going on. We got director Hayward, who is…incompetent, rather than outright evil, but still! A straight Caucasian male being incompetent and people are getting hurt on his watch! In addition, who is here to save the day? Monica – an Afro-American woman, Jimmy – an Asian-American man, and Darcy – an Anglo-American woman. (Cough, Gina Carano, cough). Yay, political correctness! Hooray, wokeness!

…On the other side of the border, it is still the same, a Sokovian fortuneteller’s costume or not. Wanda is still the tough one, while Vision is still the vulnerable one – literally. Beyond the help of Wanda, (and the Mind Stone? Somehow, the latest trailers imply that this magic rock is not down for the count yet), he literally cannot exist, even though he is an inorganic life form or something.

Wanda, for her part, still appears to be the WV’s ‘Big Bad’, but because of wokeness, and political correctness, she will probably be a redeemable one, by letting Vision, (and the Mind Stone? It and the Vision were connected quite literally, remember?), go, and moving on, maybe allying herself with S.H.I.E.L.D. – I mean, S.W.O.R.D., and captain Monica, who is still trying to bond with her…oh wait.

Wanda is going to appear, or is supposed to appear, in MCU’s ‘Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness’ film, albeit in an unknown capacity, so WV might surprise everyone first. I still think that Monica is going to be the second captain Marvel, or the second Photon, or someone Gifted, but right now, after this week’s episode, it seems that she might be taking over S.W.O.R.D. from Hayward instead. Yay! Politically correct justice executed!

The only person so far who wasn’t, or isn’t, associated with political correctness slash wokeness if Agnes, and so far she is actually something of a letdown – there’s no indication that she is MCU’s Agatha Harkness at all. Rather, she might be Jimmy Woo’s missing FBI witness instead.

As for the ‘recast’ Quicksilver…well, it might be that Vision aside, (and in this week’s episode, Vision was doing his own thing while Wanda was holding court with their children and Quicksilver), Wanda will be building her family, her ‘house of M’, (or ‘house of W’ – M’Baku and W’Kabi say hi from MCU’s Wakanda), from the ground up – Quicksilver is already here, Magneto, (and Polaris?), to go. If this is the case, and MCU is building its’ mutants from the ground up, (cough, the upcoming Deadpool 3 movie, cough), then it will be interesting to see as to how it will all play out throughout the entire MCU phase 4. Anything else?

One more thing. The upcoming ‘Sam Wilson and Bucky’ show was intended to be played during the second term of Trump’s presidency, as in the pre-COVID-19 world, the latter was quite likely. But now Trump is out, Biden is in, and MCU’s Phase 4 components might be losing a bit of their intended sting now. U.S. is still a formidable country, full of formidable people…who hate to admit that they are wrong and to apologize, (to forgive is another matter), so there is that. Biden’s declaration that CPR will be eating U.S.’ lunch is another – the imagery here, is quite frankly, confusing, so there’s no surprise that the Western news have begun to downplay it – but that is a different story…

For now, this is it. See you all soon!

WandaVision, 'special episode' - Feb 8

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. Our microwave oven has practically died, for all extents and purposes. Now what?

Well, we’ll have to get a new one, while on the other hand, let us continue to talk about the WV, (episode 1x05), instead.

Where to begin? After the more feminine clothing in the episode 1x03, Wanda is back to wearing pants, complete with suspenders, implying that she is the one in charge, (or she is considering herself to be, cough), in their family. As we have seen, throughout the episode 1x05, Vision became increasingly unhappy with Wanda’s World, and the episode’s finale ended the two of them almost fighting – until Wanda folded. Because she loves Vision. That is good, that shows that Wanda may not be entirely a villain/anti-hero yet, unlike her confrontation with S.W.O.R.D. earlier in the ‘special episode’.

What next? First, yes, director Hayward is not much liked by the WV’s RL audience, but I confess that he reminds me of AoS’ Jeffrey Mace, (who was featured in the show’s S4). The latter may have come across as flat and two-dimensional at first, but then he became much more complex as the S4 went on. He died, of course, but it is MCU – maybe he will be resurrected in the future?..

Back to director Hayward and S.W.O.R.D. …sigh. Initially, AoS was supposed to be just 3 to 4 seasons long, it was supposed to be about S.H.I.E.L.D. defeating/destroying Hydra and moving on…maybe to the InHumans and the rest of the aliens, possibly setting-up the more canon-like S.W.O.R.D. in the process. Instead what happened in RL happened, AoS became the victim of its’ own success, (as did the majority of its’ main cast, actually), and now MCU is stuck with an S.W.O.R.D. that is more of an S.H.I.E.L.D. clone than anything more original. That said, back in WV, director Hayward did mention the Sokovia accords, and how Wanda’s actions by kidnapping Vision’s corpse and etc., have violated them.

MCU’s ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ series are coming to the streaming services on March 19, 2021, where the accords are a very big deal, so this WV episode might be more important in the greater MCU than people realize, and this brings us to Agnes, or Agatha, or whoever she is and may be. Remember the scene when the titular characters realize that Billy and Tommy, (who, so far, don’t really live up to their comic book-related hype, cough), are no longer babies, but 5-year-olds instead? To this, Agnes comments how you cannot control children no matter how hard you try.

Yes, it is an obvious reference to Wanda pulling the strings in the hex-world, but the wistfulness and bitterness in her voice may also suggest that she is talking about a personal experience as well…and that she might be more self-aware than many other inhabitants of WandaWorld are. If she is Agatha Harkness, (or Mephisto, or Hydra, or whoever), she might be manipulating Wanda somehow instead, but so far this is not quite evident…and where is Ralph, her husband? So far, he has been a no-show, at least officially and by name. It is possible that we have seen him, actually, we just did not know that it was him…or maybe he is actually Dr. Strange, (and Agnes is his newest sidekick), only undercover. Who knows?

What we do know that Pietro is back, only he is not MCU’s original Pietro, rather he is the Pietro from the X-Men rebooted series, so what now?

Well, anything. Maybe it is an introduction to the Marvel Multiverse, which will bring mutants in the fold. Since the ‘Deadpool 3’ movie will be taking place in RL future soon enough, this seems a possible choice. Or maybe this isn’t any Pietro at all, but rather some sort of a shapeshifter, (who isn’t Mystique, cough), but, still, the presence of a different Pietro/not-a-Pietro still establishes the possibility of a multiverse…though it makes the arrival of mutants in MCU slightly slower…but that’s real life for you. Anything else?

In WV – not so much, but I would like that you watch ‘Bliss’, a 2021 film that is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, (from Feb 5, 2021 onwards). It is a very fun movie, and the leads, including Salma Hayek, most certainly works. It speaks to me, you know, even though it does have its’ flaws – it is rather vague, slightly insipid, (though nowhere as bad as MCU’s ‘InHumans’ TV series had been), and the plot may have spoiled the WV’s S1 finale without any driven intent. Ah well, we will just have to wait and see. Real life sucks, you know?

This is it for now. See you all soon!

WandaVision: Program - Feb 1

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. Well, it works, but it also sucks. Hooray for WandaVision, then? Kind of sort of, so let us talk about it.

Firstly, I must admit, for me the WV show was spoiled a bit beforehand…by ‘Bliss’. In this instance, ‘Bliss’ is an upcoming 2021 film about a man, (played by Owen Wilson), whose life is in a disarray, until he meets a beautiful woman, (played by Salma Hayek), who tries to convince him that he lives in artificial simulation. Cough. Bliss is released on Feb 5, 2021, and already some similarities to WV are obvious, even though info about it, (it is being released by Amazon studios), is scarce. Even though, judging by the trailer, it is evident that Salma’s character – Isabel – is morally ambiguous, (though neither outright good nor evil at this point), and that Owen’s character – Greg – will have to make a choice, a life with Isabel or a life with his daughter. Pause.

Yeah, at this point WV and ‘Bliss’ appear to be diverging – yes, Wanda is wearing pants in this relationship, (remember the episode 1x02?), just as Isabel seems to be the woman in charge in ‘Bliss’, but so far there’s no evidence of Vision having to make a choice just as Greg is going to do in ‘Bliss’, but on the other hand, as we have seen in the episode 1x04 Vision might be dead.

…Ok, Vision is a synthezoid, so I am not quite certain that the terms ‘alive’ and ‘dead’ may be properly applicable to him, but Disney & MCU make the rules, and when we last saw him Vision appeared to be technically dead, or offline, rather than alive and/or online instead. Where does this leave us?

Well, within MCU – roughly in the same time period that went down during the second Tom Holland Spider-Man movie, aka ‘Far From Home’. Apparently, while everyone’s neighbourhood’s friendliest manly-bug fought abroad in Europe, back in the good old U.S. of A. the brave men and women of S.W.O.R.D. are dealing with Wanda & Vision…pause again.

Here I am calling out that while in the Marvel comics S.W.O.R.D. is essentially S.H.I.E.L.D. in space, (slash space CIA, if you care), in MCU S.W.O.R.D. appears to be S.H.I.E.L.D., period, regardless of whatever it is that Nick Fury is doing in space, (as shown in the abovementioned ‘Far From Home’ film, remember?). Since the AoS finale showed S.H.I.E.L.D. getting back on its’ feet, why the reinvented S.W.O.R.D.? Sigh…

My take is that after its’ extended 7-season run, AoS had overstayed its’ finale; I’m betting that it was supposed to be no more than 3 seasons long, (as Disney shows tends to be), and by ‘more than’ doubling its’ length, AoS got stretched too thin; the finale, with everyone, (even Deke Shaw?) getting their piece of happy ending, was taken from the initial 3-season plan and it didn’t really mesh with the actual show; plus, as we have talked before, the cast, (and the crew?) of AoS might’ve overstayed their welcome and had had their fill of AoS, of MCU, of each other, and so on, so now S.H.I.E.L.D. just ain’t coming back, even though right now, with WV, the situation is perfect for its’ return. Instead, we got a not-quite-necessary S.H.I.E.L.D. clone…and a full roster of AoS – and Marvel - characters that are not coming back, most likely, no matter how many accolades were sung about Chloe Bennett’s Daisy/Quake, for example, and her relationship with Daniel Sousa. Back to WV?

Well, as we know, ‘Program’ wasn’t really about the titular characters at all; rather, we got reintroduced to such old MCU characters as Darcy Lewis – now a doctor of science, agent Jimmy Woo of FBI, and Monica Rambeau, formerly Lieutenant Trouble, and now all grown up. The WV episode 1x03 showed us the latter confronting Wanda ‘The Scarlet Witch’ Maximoff and being kicked out of Westview; the episode 1x04 showed us the same event – and several others – from the outsider’s P.O.V., which is very different…from what we have seen in WV so far. Otherwise, MCU’s S.W.O.R.D. is both a clone of the old MCU’s S.H.I.E.L.D., and WV itself is turning from stranger waters to the ones that are more familiar.

To elaborate, ever since MCU’s ‘Spider-Man 2: Far From Home’, people commented that MCU tended to become familiar, and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man’s story was very similar to Tony Stark’s – it’s ‘a Hero’s Journey’ cliché, nothing more, nothing less. Yes, clichés work for a reason, (and they become clichés for a reason), but… Here, in WV, we got titular characters being an unfamiliar setting – a sitcom comedy – doing atypical characters – comedy characters – but slowly they’re beginning to move into something that is much more familiar by Marvel’s standards in this case – there’s some sort of a phantom menace – maybe Hydra, maybe Mephisto or one of his minions, maybe some leftover from Thanos or Ultron or whatever – that is harassing civilians, and the brave people of S.H.I.E.L.D. – er, S.W.O.R.D. – rise to meet the challenge. Wanda’s conflict with Monica is not too different from the conflict Steve developed with Tony…eventually…with the main deviation being…not the gender issue, but the fact that Wanda has the actual chops to become a proper villain instead.

No, seriously, think about it: when Wanda was introduced in MCU, she worked for Ultron, who was a proper villain. It was Pietro who had his big redemption/self-sacrifice moment in A: AoU, and not Wanda. Instead, it were Wanda’s actions in the CA: CW film that instigated the movie’s titular civil war, and I believe that it was Wanda who sent the first blow in that film’s big fight in the German airport. Even in the A: E film Wanda was shown in a rather dark light, a fight with Thanos or not, so there is no reason as to why Wanda’s cannot do a proper Anakin Skywalker and go full Darth Vader in WV. How will Vision handle this, and is it really Vision with Wanda in Westview at all, has to be revealed yet.

As for the new twins – Billy and Tommy – we have talked about them when we discussed the episode 1x03, and so far, there is no new information about them either. So far, they are just lying there in their cribs…and if anything happens to them, Wanda will go full house of M…only she supposedly already did some time between ‘Endgame’ and the events in WV, so again, more details are needed before we make any more conclusions about as to what is going on in WV, (aside from the obvious).

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

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.