The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown: The Future of Superhero Movies

[SapphireStar]

The problem with the director's who signed on before this new one. They all in some way clashed with Channing Tatum, who is an executive producer per his contract. He wasn't going to sign on to the project till that happened, which means he also gets a say in the creative process of the movie. The latest director to sign on got the seal of approval from Tatum.

The Enchantress was a big antagonist in the Thor comics. She was always trying to seduce Thor. It might be better if Jane Foster wasn't in Thor 3. That way, can focus predominately on the Asgardian world and maybe explore it even more beyone what was seen in the main city. And, Lorelei is back on Asgard. Sif took her back after capturing her.  If they are using Valkyrie, logical choice would be to have Hela make an appearance.

Speaking of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., anyone see the mid-season finale? I was like  :o 

[Mathim]

The problem with the director's who signed on before this new one. They all in some way clashed with Channing Tatum, who is an executive producer per his contract. He wasn't going to sign on to the project till that happened, which means he also gets a say in the creative process of the movie. The latest director to sign on got the seal of approval from Tatum.

The Enchantress was a big antagonist in the Thor comics. She was always trying to seduce Thor. It might be better if Jane Foster wasn't in Thor 3. That way, can focus predominately on the Asgardian world and maybe explore it even more beyone what was seen in the main city. And, Lorelei is back on Asgard. Sif took her back after capturing her.  If they are using Valkyrie, logical choice would be to have Hela make an appearance.

Speaking of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., anyone see the mid-season finale? I was like  :o

Geez, I hate when actors get too big for their britches. You'd think him being Danny McBride's gimp in This Is The End would have humbled him a little.

Jane Foster was supposed to, I guess, serve as our 'human' perspective into the alien world of Asgard. Not that I think that was ever necessary, but if she's supposed to serve as Thor's love interest, she either needs to have died or some other thing keeping them apart otherwise it'll raise too many questions and disrupt the continuity. It's fine if they do that, Cap certainly seems to have no trouble with his movies lacking a real love interest. Jane's not the most likable character anyway.

Haven't seen the AoS finale, already pretty blown away by the one before that. I have to wait til next week since if you don't have a TV provider, you can't watch them on the ABC website the same week that the new episode premieres.

Loki being in charge of Asgard means things are likely to start getting chaotic. He could easily recruit Lorelei and/or Enchantress to his side if he's discovered impersonating Odin so that anyone who finds out can be put under control rather than being killed and leaving a suspicious trail of bodies. Too bad the audience already knows, that'll kill any sense of mystery there. But I really want to know WTF happened to Odin. How do you replace him if it means either killing or imprisoning him? Unless Hela already lent Loki her support and is keeping the Allfather down in Hel...

[SapphireStar]

If she is in the movie, then more then half will be spent having Thor trying to keep Jane out of trouble. Loki or any other villain capturing Jane and using her as bait. In the comics, Thor was originally married to Sif, then he met Jane Foster down in the human world. I believe Thor and Sif even had a son in the comics. They've already spent two movies previously focusing more on the Earth side connection, then exploring Asgard and the other nine realms. Dunno, maybe this time more Asgard and nine realms with less Earth realm. Not that I'm opposed to having Bruce Banner or Dr. Selvig appear. Dr. Selvig worked on the Tesseract project for Nick Fury.

I'd like to know to. Or, even had Odin imprisoned with the Enchantress in her castle? Not sure Hela would side with Loki. I could see more Enchantress and Lorelei siding with Loki as their agenda's would be the same, till one of then betrayed the other.

[consortium11]

And Ross becomes the Red Hulk in the comics. Makes me wonder whether that'll become an element now or later, and the thing that bothers me is, if he can become a Hulk, wouldn't that mean just about anyone could? How are they going to get the genie back in the bottle with that one if they go down that road?

Same way that not everyone has taken the Super Soldier Formula that created Captain America and the same way it was done in the Rulk comics; Rulk was created from a super serum type thing where all the data and research was destroyed. It may be a cliche but it's a cliche that's been done time and time again in the comics.

X-Men: Apocalypse trailer is out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COvnHv42T-A&feature=share

Trailer is a little bit "Generic Superhero Film: The Trailer" but I love Isaac's voice as Apocalypse. The design itself? Not quite so much but Apocalypse has always looked a bit ridiculous so unless you reinterpret the character entirely you're always going to be left with that.

Time for the more controversial opinion: I'm not sure quite what the point of Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique is any more. Because from both the little in the trailer and Days of Future Past it's less Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and more Mystique playing Jennifer Lawrence.

J-Law's gone on record previously about how she doesn't really like the franchise and is unlikely to re-sign when her current deal (which ends with this film) is done, unlike McAvoy and Fassbender who both appear set to continue on. She doesn't like the maekup (which is understandable considering she reacted badly to it in the first movie) and because of that there's apparently going to be relatively few "blue Mystique" appearances... but for DoFP they made a suit which meant the makeup was restricted to her hands and face. Even with DoFP largely rendering the earlier X-Men films non-official canon in this universe a large part of Mystique's established character has always been that she didn't feel the need to "dress up" as a "normal" person when not on a mission. And then you have the fact J-Law is a pretty big name actress now which means they can hardly cut her out entirely... but what's the point of Mystique if she's not going to be changing into people? At that point Mystique becomes little more effective than a trained human field agent. Mystique on paper is the easiest character in cinematic history to recast... it takes a line of "is that you Mystique?" "Yes, I felt like looking like this for a while" type dialogue to put a new actress in the role... but I suspect for reasons both fair and foul Marvel and Disney were unwilling to put any real pressure on J-Law either by insisting she goes blue or threating to replace her.

To be fair part of that may simply be me never being particularly happy with J-Law as Mystique. I thought she's a good actress in general and did a solid enough job playing a young, innocent and naive Mystique in First Class... but by the time Days of Future Past rolled up I was expecting more "badass villain" Mystique from her... and I never got that.

[Mathim]

Same way that not everyone has taken the Super Soldier Formula that created Captain America and the same way it was done in the Rulk comics; Rulk was created from a super serum type thing where all the data and research was destroyed. It may be a cliche but it's a cliche that's been done time and time again in the comics.

But if they are able to re-create it (which would be necessary for him to change even just once) then that's all they need for multiple Hulk-ites.

Let me watch that trailer about a dozen times and I'll render my verdict.

Never mind, once was enough. Wow. Not nearly as underwhelming as Days of Future Past's trailer, which didn't really have any sentinels or anything like that. But it's still the same Sebastian Shaw plan of wiping out humanity and leave only mutants, except instead of using nukes, they're doing it with mutant powers alone. He doesn't look quite as Ivan Ooze-y as before which is good, but one has to wonder if that was due to poor fan response (in which case, let's start getting really critical about everything and start forcing them to make better decisions all around! LOL). And they got James McAvoy to shave his head, cool. I almost thought he was Corey Stoll from Ant-Man for a second, actually, after I briefly wondered if that was going to be Patrick Stewart. This should be a good finale if they're going to reboot the series (or is there one more ensemble film after this? Gotta say, no idea where they go from here.)

I don't know if anyone watches as much porn as I do but when I saw the actress playing Jubilee in the trailer, I swear she looked exactly like pornstar Asa Akira. Freaky.

[SapphireStar]

They could always bring back Rebecca Romjin to reprise her role as Mystique. She did to an "uncredited" appearance in X-men: First Class when Mystique showed up in Magneto's bed.

[Mathim]

They could always bring back Rebecca Romjin to reprise her role as Mystique. She did to an "uncredited" appearance in X-men: First Class when Mystique showed up in Magneto's bed.

Like Magneto, I prefer the 'real' Raven. Weird how I'm turned on by Mystique's blue skin and yellow eyes and yet Neytiri turns me off.

I understand Cate Blanchett is in negotiations to portray a leading female in Thor: Ragnarok. Thoughts?

[SapphireStar]

I hadn't heard that. If they are looking to cast Cate Blanchett for a role, it would definitely have to be someone of great power. I have a feeling it will be Hela. They have confirmed that Valkyrie will be appearing in the Thor movie.

[Mathim]

I hadn't heard that. If they are looking to cast Cate Blanchett for a role, it would definitely have to be someone of great power. I have a feeling it will be Hela. They have confirmed that Valkyrie will be appearing in the Thor movie.

Dunno, I pictured someone darker playing Hela (not just dark hair, but like darker in skin tone; I could be totally off, I'm just going by what I remember from the animated movie of Hulk Vs. Thor). Also I had not heard about Valkyrie being confirmed. Not altogether that familiar with her character, is Cate Blanchett the right age to portray her or is that going to need to be someone else?

And I'm wondering if, since Loki did something naughty to Odin, if Anthony Hopkins is still going to make his rounds during the trilogy's finale.

[SapphireStar]

I think they might be looking to cast Cate Blanchett in a role where the character is powerful, on par with Odin perhaps. There was an article read last night mentioning that her potential character was powerful. Cate Blanchett wore a dark wig for Indiana Jones 4 when she played the villain.

Valkyrie's character would be roughly the same age as the actor's playing Sif and Thor. Probably in that age range.

[CaptainNexus616]

Dunno, I pictured someone darker playing Hela (not just dark hair, but like darker in skin tone; I could be totally off, I'm just going by what I remember from the animated movie of Hulk Vs. Thor). Also I had not heard about Valkyrie being confirmed. Not altogether that familiar with her character, is Cate Blanchett the right age to portray her or is that going to need to be someone else?

And I'm wondering if, since Loki did something naughty to Odin, if Anthony Hopkins is still going to make his rounds during the trilogy's finale.

I would hope so concerning Anthony Hopkins, the cliffhanger they have left us with for two years (Which will be four years by the time we find out) is just to big to have Odin killed or trapped off screen. I really hope Hopkins will return for at least a resolution to that. 

According to what I saw Mark Ruffio is set to appear in Ragnarok so maybe it will be the return of Banner after Age of Ultron?

[Mathim]

I would hope so concerning Anthony Hopkins, the cliffhanger they have left us with for two years (Which will be four years by the time we find out) is just to big to have Odin killed or trapped off screen. I really hope Hopkins will return for at least a resolution to that. 

According to what I saw Mark Ruffio is set to appear in Ragnarok so maybe it will be the return of Banner after Age of Ultron?

Well as far as we know he's still terrestrial as of AoU and Civil War, so my guess is something in Doctor Strange will come up and have the MCU's version of the Illuminati (which I understand Strange is a part of in the comics) voting to banish the Hulk to somewhere off of Earth, and Asgard (under Loki's command, posing as Odin) will volunteer because Loki wants to somehow harness the power of the only beast to ever humble him so thoroughly.

[SapphireStar]

There was an article saying that there was no way that any of the characters like Jessica Jones, etc will appear in the movies. Really? Then why have the shows connect into the movies if can't even have a cameo or two?

[Mathim]

There was an article saying that there was no way that any of the characters like Jessica Jones, etc will appear in the movies. Really? Then why have the shows connect into the movies if can't even have a cameo or two?

That's a load of shit. We only watch these things because they're tied in (Jessica Jones in particular was barely enjoyable so losing any connection of significance to the overall MCU makes it even worse) and so far the only show to have any semblance of relevance to the MCU is Agents of SHIELD if only because it's setting up the Inhumans. They really need to make a better effort or people will start calling these shows "MCU INO" as in, Marvel Cinematic Universe in name only. It's already ridiculous enough that Coulson is being blacklisted from the movies (Sif knows he's alive so there's no way Thor can't be aware of it too; also since Coulson was once again working for SHIELD before the HYDRA incident, Cap should also have been aware of his 'survival'/resurrection. What nonsense. They really needed to work together better at the continuity of the shows and movies so something that basically destroyed SHIELD wasn't going to affect the show so detrimentally. They couldn't at least give a nod to AoS for alerting them to Strucker's location in Age of Ultron? Blasphemy, I say! But again, that's why that movie should have been split into two parts.

Or better yet, integrate the shows together if they share no ties to the movies. Surely if they're restricted to the small screen it will hardly be a hindrance! Besides, from what I understood, Coulson is meant to bring the Defenders together anyway. Might as well start now, especially since Daredevil has his picture in the paper, and Jessica Jones "isn't hiding, but isn't advertising either". Surely the aftermath of the Kilgrave incident can't be ignored by an organization like SHIELD. Or is Skye/Daisy being an Inhuman now making her less capable of scanning for non-Inhuman related cases?

[SapphireStar]

Coulson has been alive for a while. There is no way Thor hasn't talked to Sif before Age of Ultron, and hasn't found out about Coulson. Unless, Coulson told her not to tell anyone. And, there was the second time Coulson helped Sif, when she lost her memory battling the Kree. So, Thor not knowing doesn't fly. He could have mentioned it when he and the others were together. Also, same with Maria Hill. She knew and she went to work for Stark. It was shown her taking a polygraph, so there is no way she could have lied about anything?

And, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been paving the way for the Inhumans movie, or are they going to disregard all the Inhuman characters which have been created so far? Lash? Daisy "Quake" Johnson, who in the comic ran Nick Fury's Secret Warriors. No way they can't possibly ignore Daredevil's presence when the Spider-Man movie comes out? Even if it is a cameo with them briefly crossing paths. They live in the same city!

[CaptainNexus616]

When Sif first ran into Coulson, he said that he wanted to personally reveal his survival to Thor, so I'm sure by now it has happened. Plus Hill informed the Avengers herself about Hydra's base where Loki's Scepter was being kept so I'm sure the whole team knows by now otherwise they would be asking why does Maria Hill suddenly know where Hydra is all of sudden?

I think the biggest issue with that whole Jessica Jones situation? Outside of Jessica, Luke Cage, and Kilgrave...how many characters of the supporting cast would you really care to ever see again? Plus Jessica Jones reception has been a bit more...polarized? Sure it was well received but it struggled a bit more than Daredevil did. So I'm guessing that is why they are making that statement.

As for the whole Defenders thing. I am sure we will start seeing the wheels start spinning in Daredevil Season 2 since its the next bit of the Netflix MCU we will be getting.

[Mathim]

Coulson has been alive for a while. There is no way Thor hasn't talked to Sif before Age of Ultron, and hasn't found out about Coulson. Unless, Coulson told her not to tell anyone. And, there was the second time Coulson helped Sif, when she lost her memory battling the Kree. So, Thor not knowing doesn't fly. He could have mentioned it when he and the others were together. Also, same with Maria Hill. She knew and she went to work for Stark. It was shown her taking a polygraph, so there is no way she could have lied about anything?

And, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been paving the way for the Inhumans movie, or are they going to disregard all the Inhuman characters which have been created so far? Lash? Daisy "Quake" Johnson, who in the comic ran Nick Fury's Secret Warriors. No way they can't possibly ignore Daredevil's presence when the Spider-Man movie comes out? Even if it is a cameo with them briefly crossing paths. They live in the same city!

Hence why I called it a load of shit when they're claiming they'll not cross the shows and movies. Especially with their ensemble films where it would be way cheaper and be a huge plug for their TV shows to get better ratings if they use the TV characters a bit more and had less focus on the movie-only folks. I mean, how pricey is it for R2DJ to appear? Having just the Iron Man suit/drone would save a ton of money, and having Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock/Daredevil would be way more economical. Holy crap, I just felt like Ike Perlmutter for a second there. But the point remains valid.

[SapphireStar]

Some of the actors from the tv shows don't necessarily have to appear. They could be referenced. Like Tony mention a horned guy leaping from rooftops fighting crime. Cameo appearances probably don't cost as much as the salary for the main actors. The main actors are probably getting several million each. And, it would be a smart move for them to use those characters/actors from the tv shows. Which makes me wonder if in the Doctor Strange movie if they will somehow reference where Daniel Rand trains to become Iron Fist? Which would be a great lead in to the Iron Fist show which they are still planning.

[Drake Valentine]

Bleh.

I do not like what they did with Flash and Arrow. You kind of have to watch the other to know what is going on in one of the shows. Honestly, I could care less for the Flash in general. -.- Seriously bad marketing ploy on producers behalves.

[mia h]

But the Flash\Arrow crossover wasn't about either show, it was the last big set up episodes for Legends of Tomorrow. Now they've got the cross-promotional universe building stuff out of the way each show should be able to focus on it's own story. Also how is Arrow better than Flash?  Flash is just way more fun and also Barry + Patty > Oliver + Felicity  :P

[Drake Valentine]

But the Flash\Arrow crossover wasn't about either show, it was the last big set up episodes for Legends of Tomorrow.

Still bad marketing schemes, since again, there is a missing loop in the story as I was watching Arrow season and suddenly they are chasing some boomerang guy with Flash help. Which, I am assuming, I have to watch Flash to fill in those blanks. Which, I honestly don't care much for the Flash, at all for multiple reasons.  Again, bad marketing approach.

Also how is Arrow better than Flash? 

I. Arrow is a more serious show. Dark and gritty where what I seen of Flash has been more 'light,' in content.
II. Arrow's MC had to struggle to get where he is today. Winning people over, Learning to fight. Etc.
III. Costumes. Really, do I have to go there? The way Flash is dressed, really, isn't that cool. >.<
IV. Arrow is an ordinary guy that again, got where he is without superpowers.
V. Basically it is like comparing Batman and Superman and I will always say, Batman is cooler for multiple reasons.
VI. If it was Batman and Arrow, I will still say Batman is cooler, for multiple reasons.

Speaking of Batman, I rather they did a Batman series beyond the Gotham. (That would probably blow both Arrow and Flash out of the water.)  Or do a 60s reboot. xD

[mia h]

Still bad marketing schemes, since again, there is a missing loop in the story as I was watching Arrow season and suddenly they are chasing some boomerang guy with Flash help. Which, I am assuming, I have to watch Flash to fill in those blanks. Which, I honestly don't care much for the Flash, at all for multiple reasons.  Again, bad marketing approach.

"boomerang guy" so you're a season behind then ;D

I. Arrow is a more serious show. Dark and gritty where what I seen of Flash has been more 'light,' in content.

It tries to be "dark and gritty" but is way more entertaining when adds a little humor. Flash embraces it's comic book roots instead of trying to be "someone else, be something else"

II. Arrow's MC had to struggle to get where he is today. Winning people over, Learning to fight. Etc.
IV. Arrow is an ordinary guy that again, got where he is without superpowers.
V. Basically it is like comparing Batman and Superman and I will always say, Batman is cooler for multiple reasons.

https://comicbookcomrades.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/why-batman-sucks/
Change Bruce for Oliver and points 2 & 3 are just as valid.

III. Costumes. Really, do I have to go there? The way Flash is dressed, really, isn't that cool. >.<

The costume is true to the comic and there's nothing wrong with that.
Also season 3 of Arrow was considered to be the worst of lot by a considerable margin, the resolution of Sara's murder sucked, the season's big villain sucked, Laurel's "journey" sucked, the mid-season cliff-hanger sucked because there was no way they were going to follow through, Diggle was sidelined for most of season for no real reason and by the end of season 3 it felt like a relief it was over. Now thankfully season 4 of Arrow is a big improvement including the major villain who gets to deliver lines like this :


But comparing season 3 of Arrow to season 1 of Flash, which is enjoyable, fun. Has a fantastic big villain for the season along with an unexpected resolution to that story. It has Cisco and his incredible collection of T-shirts. It's obvious that Jesse Martin is having a blast playing Joe West and generally Flash is less of a soap opera than Arrow. Also Arrow doesn't have telepathic apes.

[Deamonbane]

I'll be the first to admit that Season Three sucked, even if I am a fan of Ra's Al Ghul... or however you spell his name.

However, despite the fact that The Flash is more fun-loving and seems to take itself less seriously, the emotional stakes in it are just... dull. The Flash becomes captain friendzone to his own adoptive sister, and the big reveal at the end was that the guy that everyone knew was a bad guy was, in fact *gasp* a bad guy. Dear lord, who'd have seen it coming? It's just a monster of the week show. Cisco is annoying, like his character was written by an older person trying to be young and hip, Snow is the heart of the crew and never fails to remind us of the fact, and Iris West is the stereotypical hard-ass female character that still needs saving on a semi-weekly basis.

I'm not saying that the Arrow is devoid of similar stereotypes, but at least Oliver's character building goes a little further than 1. Struck by lightning. 2. Throw bad guys at me. 3. Let's call panting after my step-sister character development.

I'll be the first to say it, Arrow not having telepathic apes is actually a good thing. Plus

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

They threw Constantine into the mix too. That one had me smiling.

[Mathim]

I'll be the first to admit that Season Three sucked, even if I am a fan of Ra's Al Ghul... or however you spell his name.

However, despite the fact that The Flash is more fun-loving and seems to take itself less seriously, the emotional stakes in it are just... dull. The Flash becomes captain friendzone to his own adoptive sister, and the big reveal at the end was that the guy that everyone knew was a bad guy was, in fact *gasp* a bad guy. Dear lord, who'd have seen it coming? It's just a monster of the week show. Cisco is annoying, like his character was written by an older person trying to be young and hip, Snow is the heart of the crew and never fails to remind us of the fact, and Iris West is the stereotypical hard-ass female character that still needs saving on a semi-weekly basis.

I'm not saying that the Arrow is devoid of similar stereotypes, but at least Oliver's character building goes a little further than 1. Struck by lightning. 2. Throw bad guys at me. 3. Let's call panting after my step-sister character development.

I'll be the first to say it, Arrow not having telepathic apes is actually a good thing. Plus

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

They threw Constantine into the mix too. That one had me smiling.

I have to say I'm not wild about any of the seasons, but yeah, 3 was the biggest chore to get through. Though, I did despise the flashback arc from season 2 more than season 3's. Have to wait til season 4 of Arrow and season 2 of Flash come out on Netflix.

But Flash is way more enjoyable. It's the only one of the I've watched all the way through more than once. It's more like Buffy and frankly that's no bad thing. Arrow is more, as stated, soap opera-esque and a lot of why that is, makes no sense. But I love me some crossovers when they do that with each other's shows. Cisco is the best character, flaws and all, and even though the show is totally not at all grounded in reality, the one thing I couldn't quite wrap my mind around was him building an alchemy gun for the Snart sister. The heat and cold guns, fine, those are at least based on existing technology and ideas, but the other thing? I mean, unless he acknowledged that the particle accelerator made other completely impossible technology able to be built, that was a big oversight.

[SapphireStar]

I liked Arrow season 1 and 2. Season 3 was okay, the flashback with Tatsu and and her family were better then season 4. It added more dramatic tension. What I didn't like was suddenly at the end Felicity happily jumped into Oliver's arms and they rode off into the sunset. That came out of no where, especially after all Oliver did previously. Issues I have with Season 4, granted I like Felicity, but the show is relying heavily on the Oliver/Felicity relationship which has taken over most plots. I feel the show has lost some of its bite. And, the death and resurrection has become commonplace and overused.

Flash is definitely lighthearted compared to Arrow. The Flash is sort of the comedian of the group. Trying to keep things light when things get serious. Personally, I loved season 1. Season 2 even better. They have been bringing in other villains because, there was the rip between worlds which allowed Jay Garrick to come through. Atom Smasher. King Shark. Grodd was a major Flash enemy. STAR Labs was based on creating new tech. The outside the box thinking. It was shown in Arrow in season 2, Kaitlyn and Cisco were commenting on a former scientist who worked for Star Labs who created dangerous things and was called a psycho. Cisco used that weird gun on Slade when he came to the warehouse. So, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility to create an alchemy gun.

Comic books are about things not normally possible. They did acknowledge that after the particle accelerator blew up, that it changed everything. But, here is the question, Deathbolt wasn't in Central City when the accelerator blew. How did he get his powers? Yet, magic seems to have existed prior to the accelerator exploding. So, is it possible meta humans were already in existance, and the accelerator only "activated" those with dormant powers like Cisco?