So my life has taken a few turns since my last article, luckily, they’ve all been good ones but they all involved my life becoming a lot busier so I’ve decided to fix that from the writing standpoint. My series of articles called “Speeding Bullets” has always been about the breaking news, but what if we missed something? or what if something was news worthy but not really worth an entire article? Well that’s where “The Fandom Review” comes in. This way you can catch up on anything you might’ve missed and I have an entire article devoted to making sure you guys know all about the greatest things that are happening now or coming our way. Typically I think it’ll be a weekend wrap-up either on Saturday or Sunday each week but since I’ve missed a few weeks here this first one is gonna be pretty big cause we’ve got quite a few things to go over.
Stranger Things
Having come a little late to this party I decided not to do an entire article. Because even though it fully deserves one most of what needs to be said about it has already been said. For those of you that haven’t heard of or seen this: Stranger Things is about the disappearance of a young boy from a quiet town and the sudden appearance of a girl with mysterious powers. There’s a lot more to it but I don’t want to spoil this great show for you. It’s set in 1983 and you feel it throughout the entire series from the fashion, music, technology and references and honestly it makes the show even better. The only issue I have with the show is the multiple mysteries left open by the cliffhanger ending but that’s part of the show. I can’t wait for Season 2 which has already been confirmed for 2017.
Zendaya is Mary Jane
Oh cool, a new young actress is going to become the new young actor’s love interest. Oh wait, she’s black? Well time to get my hate mail ready while I sharpen my pitchfork.
Seriously, in 2016, why is this a problem? Literally the only issue I have with it is that I liked the idea of a new love interest for Peter but I’m perfectly fine with her playing Mary Jane.
Race shouldn’t be a factor for certain casting decisions now take a character like Bruce Wayne or Harry Osborn then that makes sense for them to be white because they’re supposed to come from a family of white privilege but if you take Spider-Man, Superman or Captain America then they can literally be anyone because where they come from doesn’t matter near as much as what they choose to be.
Matt Singer is quickly becoming one of my favorite journalists and his article on the subject was perfect. He claimed that the people who were complaining were basically bullies like Flash Thompson and that they weren’t true Spider-Man fans because they forgot most of his important values.
I hope she doesn’t see this article until years from now because I hope that she’s avoiding the entire internet until this movie is done filming but if she does: Zendaya, I support you and your bravery for taking this role. I hope you blow it out of the water and have a blast while doing it.
Thor : Ragnarok
That video doesn’t get old.
Ragnarok is still a little over a year away but we already get to have wild speculation parties with these set photos.
First up is the possible Thor/Dr. Strange crossover. We see Thor holding a business card with 177A Bleecker St. on it, which is the address to the Sanctum Sanctorum. Some people are saying that this might just be an easter egg but I have a different theory, what if Thor needs some magical help? Why, you ask?
Wait…is that?
Yes, That’s the All-Father, Odin, looking a little worse for wear. What if Thor needs the good doctors help to return the All-Father to his former glory? A little too much? Possibly but if I’m right then you heard it here first.
Avengers : Infinity War
I personally want to dislike something about Marvel, but I honestly can’t come up with anything. This is one of the greatest series that a film studio has made and Infinity War is going to be no different. The Russo brothers have stated that this will be a finale to the MCU we’ve known and a beginning to the MCU of the future. Naturally, this is a little scary but I can’t wait to see what they can give us. We’ve already heard that Steve Rogers has officially stepped down from the Captain America title but we don’t know if that means that someone else will become the new Captain America or if Steve will have a new identity come 2018.
Also, for those of you who don’t know, it’s no longer Avengers : Infinity War Part 1 and 2. The fourth Avengers film is now without a title while the third one maintains its Infinity War title. Could the fourth be called “The New Avengers”? Could a Captain Marvel, Bucky, Black Panther, Ant-Man, Spider-Man, Dr. Strange team be in the works? We’ll have to wait and see what happens from here.
Guardians Of The Galaxy 2
Guardians is easily one of the most anticipated sequels coming out in the next few years and it’s easy to see why. The first one was a massive success with the second one setting it up to be even bigger and better. The concept art shown above is the Guardians taking on a creature called the Abilisk which appears to be in space but James Gunn has made comments suggesting that it might just be a nighttime scene on earth.
We also still don’t know who Sylvester Stallone is playing yet, except that we’re fairly certain he isn’t playing one of the ravagers which was previously rumored. One of my theories is that he’s playing an older Nova who will introduce either Richard Rider or Sam Alexander to the film or perhaps is Richard Rider himself.
Another rumor is that Kurt Russell’s character, Ego The Living Planet, will go through a re-birthing sequence out of a space egg. Which sounds pretty weird but hey, it’s cosmic Marvel which is full of all kinds of weird things.
So will the Guardians be heading to earth? Will one of the main Nova Corps be introduced? Will we finally see a Space Egg? We’ll find out soon enough.
Marvel Television
Marvel’s Netflix shows have been fantastic since the beginning and early reviews of Luke Cage have said the same thing. I already knew it was going to be good because Mike Colter is perfect for the role but them using using Cottonmouth as the Villain and focusing heavily on the music is setting it up to be one of the best they’ve done.
It’s also interesting to know that apparently Daredevil Season 2 and Luke Cage will be overlapping in some way. Whether this makes a small impact such as Claire making reference to the attack on the hospital or in some unforeseen big way is something that they haven’t clarified yet.
Naturally Netflix isn’t the only place to find all of the best Marvel TV; Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC has become a huge sour e of conversation since they announced the inclusion of Gabriel Luna as Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider. They’ve already announced that his origin is going to be a bit different and they released this picture with him in the suit which looks like it is straight from the comic.
This is good for fans and of the comic and the show due to one of the main complaints for the show has been that it needed more comic book characters that were more familiar to the average reader. Reyes may not be the version we’re used to but it is a very interesting choice to bring him to the show. Will he become an Agent himself? We’ll see on September 20th.
Star Wars
Naturally as the world gets closer to the greatness of more Star Wars it also gets us the greatness of crazy fan theories and today is no different, The newest theory is that Darth Maul is Snoke. Yup, you heard it here first. Maul is Snoke.
Seriously, I love this theory because it’s pretty insane but with his inclusion in the Clone Wars and Rebels cartoons then it’s not too out there since Forest Whitaker’s Rogue One character started out in Clone Wars. As always, I’ll be happy with pretty much any theory as long as it’s well written and thought out.
Speaking of Rogue One, we have some awesome looking new concept art and posters. Sorry about some of them not being the best quality.
I really like these, especially the one with Jyn, The X-Wings and the Death Star. I know that some people are hesitant to trust in this film but this is the same studio which gave us Force Awakens which definitely earns them a shot at trying something different. I think that Gareth Edwards can do a good job because he has admitted that not only is he a huge fan but he’s also a little nervous to be handling anything in the Star Wars universe. Some people are already upset that there might not be an opening scrawl but I think that whether there is or isn’t one won’t make or break the film and honestly it might make sense to make it a little different from the main saga.
Also, I’m trying to avoid spoilers about Episode VIII but hearing about that fight scene between Luke, Chewbacca and The Knights of Ren nearly made me faint. That being said, seriously, I’m trying to avoid the script leaks and everything so if you’re looking for those then this is not the site you’re looking for.
DC Films
Joe Manganiello is officially playing Deathstroke in the solo Batman film which will be written by Geoff Johns and Ben Affleck and Directed by Affleck. I’m excited to see Deathstroke because he’s one of my favorite villains but I’m iffy on what he’s going to do in the film and where he fits. Having never seen True Blood, I don’t know much about him (except that he was Flash Thompson in the first Spider-Man movie.) he’s been the rumored choice for a long time and I’m perfectly fine with him taking the role. Sorry about the blurry pic but it’s the best I could find. The picture below was taken from a silent video that Affleck shared on twitter.
Recently Johns has said that the DC Films will be taking a tonal shift before the Justice League film and although I’m 100% ok with that, I still have to say that I think it’s too little, too late. The first three films have already put a sour taste in my mouth and I worry that DC won’t be able to do well without a complete restart.
This is also coming right after the rumor that Flash will fight The Rogues in his standalone film. I’d be ok with this except I already didn’t like what they did with Captain Boomerang and I’d hate to see Captain Cold butchered on the silver screen. Cold is one of my favorites and I feel like they’re going to ruin him.
Side note, am I the only one who thinks that Miller’s Flash costume looks like a red version of Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman costume? It might just be the light hitting it just right on one side and the “None More Black” lighting on the other side that makes me think that or it could just be me.
Another bit of DC Film news is that Greg Berlanti is going to be directing a Booster Gold and Blue Beetle movie which will be it’s own film separate from the DCCU…That means one of two things : Either Berlanti, The intellectual genius behind 2011’s Green Lantern, doesn’t want to be associated with DC Films or DC Films doesn’t want Greg Berlanti, the writing savant behind the CW’s Arrow, to be associated with them.
Oddly enough, I would agree with both parties.
Guardians
Wait a second, haven’t we already talked about the Guardians Of The Galaxy? Yes, but this is just Guardians. The film’s about a group of Russian superheroes who fell with the soviet union but now they’re needed again, it’s one of those situations where I’m not sure if the movie’s going to be any good but it looks really cool and it has a Bear-man with a machine gun…how would that not be one of the best things ever?
DC Comics
Not a whole lot of big news for DC Comics over the last month so please forgive the short entry.
DC Rebirth has surprised me in few areas where I really enjoyed something that I wasn’t so sure about(Like Green Arrow) and some areas which made me hate everything.(Like Superman) Many of the comics are still just hitting their stride and so it’s hard to say how I feel about many of them but I plan on doing an end of year recap on the rebirth titles sometime in December. Until then, I can solidly endorse and recommend Green Arrow, Nightwing and All-Star Batman.
DC has announced that their first line wide event will be Justice League VS. Suicide Squad which will be starting in December and will be going throughout their respective series and a six issue miniseries.
This is particularly interesting to me due to the idea of Batman deciding that he needs to stop Task Force X and that presumably the previously announced Justice League Of America comic will spin out of this. Could a Justice League featuring Suicide Squad members be on the way? We’ll have to wait and see.
Marvel Comics
I saved Marvel for last because as of right now they’re killing with some of the best comics I’ve seen in a long time. I still love the idea of a seasonal release schedule for them and I can’t wait to see what happens when all the new titles come out this fall. Naturally, I’m not going to go over everything but I’ll try to hit the high points.
Civil War II has been extended and delayed slightly but as of right now, it’s not as bad as the extended wait for Secret Wars last year. Bendis and Marquez have been giving us one of the best event comics of the last 10 years, on par with the first Civil War, Infinite Crisis, Forever Evil and Secret Wars and for that, I can wait a few extra weeks. I am curious to see if this will spoil anything about some of the new #1’s coming out either the previous or same month.
Riri Williams, who will be one of the two people taking over as Iron Man this fall, officially has her superhero name: Ironheart. Personally, I love it and they’ve already said that it speaks more to the idea of the character as a whole and I’m looking to learning more about her. In fact, my only hesitance about Williams is that we don’t know much about her yet. She seems like a lot of fun but I wish we had gotten a solid year or so of getting to know her before she was the new title character.
The Inhumans and The X-Men are setting up for a big storyline starting this fall featuring Death of X and IvX but it will apparently be continuing further into the coming months and possibly the new year with ResurrXion.(My spellcheck hates me) I’m ready to see what they’ll be doing with these characters and considering this will most likely be written by Charles Soule then I’m 100% on board. Is someone coming back to life? Is this speaking on the main story of the X-Men? Or is this a fresh start for both series? I’ll keep you posted.
Some big news for fans of classical horror, Marvel is officially doing a comic called “Monsters Unleashed” much of this is speculation but It looks like it’ll be something close to an anthology written by Cullen Bunn featuring different artists on each issue/story. I’m pretty excited to see how it goes about bringing Marvel back to some of its supernatural horror roots. We’ll find out more about this series when it’s released in January of 2017.
In conclusion for Marvel, If you’re not reading Black Panther, Black Widow, Amazing Spider-Man or Steve Rogers : Captain America then you’re doing yourself a disservice.
Thanks so much for reading, I promise not to wait too long before my next article!
