I have thoughts on superheroes, comic books, and movies. These are they. (Also, there has not been a particularly thorough proofing/editing process of this. Been writing it over the course of past 2 weeks)
Superman I & II were a great 1-2 punch. Christopher Reeve was an awesome Superman. Gene Hackman was good at what he did, but that Lex Luthor was a tad too campy, but that's what they wanted. And Terrence Stamp... "Kneel Before Zod!" Hell yeah.
Superman III had decent elements, "Superman, you're just in slump!", introducing Lana Lang (aka, the future Martha Kent) and returning to Smallville, but why they did what they did with it (Richard Pryor falls bass ackwards into computer programming and designs a super computer for Robert Vaughn?), who knows.
Superman IV the quest for peace, less said the better.
Marvel's attempts at Captain America, Fantastic Four, and Punisher films in the late 80's. Lesser said, the better. (Although, the documentary "Doomed", about Roger Corman's failed FF, sounds pretty cool).
Tim Burton's Batman & Batman Returns. Good films, got me excited for bringing Batman to the screen. Keaton was a very good Batman, and proved a lot of people wrong. Nicholson was a great Joker. Devito and Pfeiffer pretty good as Penguin and Catwoman. And that Batmobile friggin' rocked! The direction Burton went with the look and style, not bad, but I don't think it necessarily holds up well. Not 60's TV series camp, but has that element. But, unfortunately, that series went off the rails as Schumacher just got ridiculous with it.
At some point, Marvel & DC decided their individual characters were properties in and of themselves to license to various studios and just cash in on, instead of crafting a shared universe that reflected their rich histories and potential for great stories. Big mistake.
Anyway...
Halle Berry's Catwoman. Never saw it. Never will. Don't care.
Out of the ashes from previous cinematic failures, Marvel makes Blade. And something strange happens. It's really good. I still dig that movie. Suddenly they go, "Hey, we can do this, and do it well!"
Blade II, good sequel. Can never go wrong with casting the Perlman! Blade III? Flat.
So then we get...
X-Men! Again, geeks everywhere lose their collective $hit because X-men ='s Wolverine. And geek royalty himself, Patrick Stewart, is about as perfect casting as it gets. I liked the franchise, but I've never loved it. In fact, never loved Jackman as Wolverine. Don't hate him, either. Just doesn't excite me. They mistreated the Cyclops character, really got confusing with the Sabertooth character, basically made Rogue Jubilee, then depowered Rogue, depowered Mystique, got Juggernaut wrong, killed off Prof X and Cyclops for no good reason, and then made things more confusing with the 1st Wolverine movie, again getting characters wrong. X-men's 2 & 3, again, not terrible, but I judge a lot of these movies by how often I re-watch. I rarely watch those over again.
X-Men: First Class. This was really good. I really enjoyed this. Even if the timeline they've established makes Prof X & Magneto ridiculously old, I love that they took things back to the 60's. Not crazy about making Sebastian Shaw a Nazi scientist, too much of a departure. But it worked. And it sure looked like they introduced Emma Frost in the first Wolverine movie when he freed all of the mutants, but oh well. Great casting all around. Good story. Although I thought killing off Darwin was dumb. He can adapt to any situation to survive. He starts to do that when Shaw feeds him the Havok energy ball, starts to adapt, but still dies? Lame. Plus, he's a really original character that was introduced in the past 10-15 years, and was a great choice for the film. Killed him off way too fast. And turned Magneto bad too fast. That should have been a process to follow over several films (ala Anakin Skywalker in the prequels, except, y'know, better).
The Punisher with Thomas Jane. Jane was awesome casting! Bad, bad film, though. The only super-hero movie me and Dave Hearst really wished we'd walked out of. And it takes place in... Tampa??? Punisher: War Journal, even worse film. The unofficial Punisher short film Jane later did (with The Perlman!), best Punisher film ever. Makes it even more disappointing that he didn't continue in the role in a quality movie.
Side Note - Prior to the short film with Jane, best Punisher movie was Man on Fire with Denzel Washington. Why? Because it came out same year as The Punisher, and after seeing it, I said, "There's your Punisher movie." One of my ATF's.
The Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. 1 & 2, really good. I didn't mind the "Goblin Armor", because it was Willem Dafoe in it and he was a great Norman Osborne. Tobey Maguire was a good Spider-Man. James Franco really good Harry. Alfred Molina was a great Doc Ock. But 3? Ugh. Again, off the rails. Way too many villains that have nothing to do with each other, converging story lines that don't make sense, no thanks. And for some reason, song & dance numbers? It needed to end and it did.
Fantastic Four films. Flat. Evans and Chiklis were good casting. Julian McMahon had potential. Gruffud and Alba? Not much to get excited about. Weak film. And Rise of the SIlver Surfer? Ugh. Got Surfer's voice-casting right (Fishburne), but Galactus is a big planet eating cloud? Lame.
Everything I've heard about new FF movies? Nothing about it excites me. None of the casting rumors, the direction, being self-contained, possibly a part of the X universe, nothing. If rights had reverted back to Marvel films/Disney, maybe I'd be more intrigued, but nothing. Am I open to the idea of liking the movie? Yeah. Guess we'll see.
Daredevil - Ugh. And not Affleck's fault at all. Just, Ugh. He gets his powers and suddenly becomes a super acrobat? NO! He trained and developed that! Stick was his trainer! He became a Ninja! And it's a Radar sense, not a sonar. It's always on. And I thought Michael Clarke Duncan was a great choice for Kingpin, it was just a lousy characterization of the Kingpin. Way too cartoony.
Hellboy! The Perlman!!! Loved the first movie. Second movie, not bad, but I didn't think it was a great follow-up. Other people love it because it has much, much more of Del Toro's signature style. I got that. He has some loyal and passionate fans. But there were elements of the first movie I really liked that I would have liked to have seen carried forward. All the casting? Spot on. I don't remember why they did Doug Jones as Abe Sapien, then DHP's providing the voice. It worked, it was good. But thought when they made the role solely Jones', that worked just fine. Doesn't sound like there will be a third, which is too bad. Perlman is awesome in that role. I remember when it was rumored it was offered first to Vin Diesel. Nope, clearly it should have been The Perlman's all along. Pamcakes!
Mystery Men - This is a fun movie and great ensemble. "Lucille, God gave me a gift. I shovel well. I shovel very well."
OK, let's talk some DC stuff...
The DC "animated" Universe. BTAS, to STAS, to JL/JLU, damn near perfect.
DC Animated FIlms. Mixed bag. There's stuff I've really liked (New Frontier, First Flight, Emerald Knights, All Star Superman) to being incredibly disappointed (Dark Knight Returns. Boring & lousy.)
Batman Begins, Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises - Great series. Nolan did a phenomenal job. Great casting all around. Not perfect films. I can't help but nitpick DKR. But all around, really good. Batman Begins is probably my fave. Yeah, Ledger really knocks it out of the galaxy with his Joker, but BB made everyone realize that the series was going to rock. Bale didn't seem to overdo it with the bat-voice in the first film. I think that costume was the best. Seeing the TUmbler in action! When he brings in "back-up". Liam Neeson as R'as Al Ghul (And is it pronounced "Raz" or is it "Rayshe"? Make a decision!) Gary Oldman making you forget all of his previous psycho roles by becoming Jim Gordon. "Swear to me!" "It's.. . a... black... tank."
Superman Returns - I accept it for what it is. Singer's love letter to the Donner Superman era films. Nothing wrong with that. And Brandon Routh is a good Superman. Yeah, Spacey is good casting as Luthor, but doing Hackman Luthor? They have the ability to do a proper special effects laden Superman film and have him fight somebody, but like the original film, Lex Luthor is still trying basically to pull off real estate schemes? Super-kid didn't even necessarily bug me, but a letdown all around.
Green Lantern - Oh, man. If ever there was a unique, comic book property that had, no pun intended, a universe of potential. This was it. Seriously. Jordan, Rayner, Gardner, Stewart, the Corps, Emerald Twilight, Sinestro Corps, the Blackest Night. so much good for a series of films. But they rushed it. Totally blew it. And even what they did, not a particularly strong movie.
Watchmen - This is probably the most faithful comic book movie ever made. Some unnecessary tweaks, but still quite faithful, and great casting. But as awesome as we thought a Watchmen movie would be, when we got it, turns out we weren't all that excited about a Watchmen movie. Not a bad movie, but not what we wanted. Or maybe we learned that when you do very faithful interpretations of comic book films, they really don't appeal to audiences, mainstream or hardcore comic fans. And I don't know if that would have changed if we got a completely faithful film.
Okay, back to Marvel.
Marvel animated universe. Pretty inconsistent. That's about all I can say. Well, I will say I still haven't forgiven them for ruining Ultimate Avengers.
The Hulk movies. Ang Lee's Hulk. Not bad. Bana was good casting. Sam Elliot is a great Thunderbolt Ross. Medical experiment giving him his powers? Makes sense. Hulk was rendered really well. But Hulk Dogs?? His Dad is sorta' the Absorbing Man?? Got a little goofy. Had potential though.
The Incredible Hulk. I think I liked the Ang Lee Hulk rendering better than this one. This one was almost too CGI. Again, good casting all around. Pretty good film/story. Loved that he went down to South America and was learning BJJ to control his breathing and temper. Loved the shout out to Bill Bixby. Ferringno had a better cameo in this one. Tied in well with expanded universe. Thought Tim Roth was great choice for Emil Blonsky, but not crazy about the actual design of Abomination. Too different. Thought they set up The Leader well. Gave us Leonard Sampson! (But how they would have hulked up Ty Burrel, I have no idea). But the end of that movie? Was he smiling because he finally embraced the Hulk, or had he turned bad? Confusing as hell.
Iron Man films. First film, that was a game changer. Robert Downey Jr was perfect casting. Introduced Coulson and Nick Fury! Movie was really strong. Better than any of us expected. And it introduced The Stinger Scene! 2 & 3? Again, not bad, but didn't quite measure up to the first. Didn't mind Cheadle replacing Howard. 2 had elements of Demon in a Bottle, Sam Rockwell is always a plus, Scarjo as Black Widow is really good. Mickey Rourke as the villain? That should be a good thing. BUT... Whiplash? And they run into him with a car, and instead of being crippled, he just keeps whipping stuff? 3 was an improvement. And I actually got a kick out of what they did with Ben Kingsley. On the other hand, I thought if they just ran with him being the Mandarin, he would have been awesome with that characterization. Guy Pearce as the actual villain? yeah, that worked. All the armors? Even better! Potts saving the day? Blech. Final scene with Stark & Banner? Yeah, amusing, but kinda' lame. Blow up all the armors? WTF? Why? Didn't get it. Complete waste of time for Rhodey character, too.
Thor - Hemsworth and Hiddleston, great casting decisions. Love Hiddleston's Loki. But the Thor movies themselves? Neither one has gotten me particularly excited. Kinda' ho hum. He dies, then he gets the Hammer? NO! It should have been a Sword in the Stone moment, not a christ parable. Thor 2? More Loki, good. More Idris Elba as Heimdal, good. And an awesome stinger scene! The Collector! The infinity Gems! Yeah! But the Dark Elves? Meh. The final battle? Meh. Loki has taken Odin's place? Did he kill him? Don't like it.
Captain America - I really dig this. Great way of using the classic costume, but making it clear it's way too cartoony for an actual movie (GO back and watch the movie from 1990, or even some old school Reb Brown versions). The actual WWII costume, though? Great. My biggest criticism, they rushed through WWII. Yeah, the super soldier serum gave him his gifts, but he still needed to learn to fight, to become a tactician. We should have seen more of that. More of their campaigns. More of a relationship with him and Peggy Carter. Hugo Weaving was a great Red Skull. I really, really hope we'll see him again. But, unfortunately, I think I read that Weaving has no interest in returning to the role? Or was that just doing more Megatron? Evans is an awesome Captain America. The end of the movie, though? Great idea to borrow from The Ultimates. But, he takes off, finds himself in a modern Times Square, fury asks, "You okay?" And he says yeah, just missed a date? LAME. And while I was happy to get a teaser trailer for the Avengers movie, that's not a proper stinger scene at all.
The Avengers - Frick yeah! I watch this all the time. Obligatory super-hero's meet & fight scene, the helicarrier, finally get Banner/the Hulk just right, more Loki, the actual team, "Puny god", the big fight at the end, and Thanos!
it's not perfect though. I can nitpick this, too (as all of us can with all of our geek properties). Hated the new Cap cosutme. The WWII costume was better than the modern one. I think it was the full cowl with the ears covered that bugged me too much. New costume in upcoming movie looks badass, too. Hawkeye, blech. Renner just felt flat. In the comics, he was the reformed rogue, being an Avenger meant everything, always something of a pain in the butt, but also a vet of the team, and his current Marvel comic series? The everyman in a world of titans, somewhat irresponsible, yet committed to doing the right thing. It's really strong. But in Avengers, his was the least interesting character. And given all of the criticisms about the massive loss of life that had to have occurred in Metropolis in Man of Steel, nobody seems to say boo about people that had to have died in New York. Giant wormhole opens in Manhattan in the middle of the day, alien invasion pours through, lasers & explosions, giant flying monsters crashing into buildings, the Hulk indiscriminately running through office buildings, you're telling me a bunch of people didn't die?
And, given how disappointing Hawkeye was, a big throwdown in New York was a great opportunity to introduce a particular Marvel character I really want to see on screen. But more on that in a bit. Let's go back to DC TV...
Smallville - Despite my pal Andy's best efforts, I never really latched on to this. Great premise. And Tom Welling, John Schneider, Annette O'Toole, Michael Rosenbaum, and John Glover were pretty darn spot on in their casting. Well... Rosenbaum absolutely looked the part, but there was something about him at times that seemed "un-Lex" when I watched the show. But still, he made it his. And for a TV show (on the WB/CW no less!) really solid special effects! The first time they showed Clark moving at superspeed (everything else around him slows to a crawl, he just moves normally) was wicked cool.
The initial formula, the "kryptonite altered villain of the week", didn't do it for me. But then they decided to grow from that and worked hard to create a strong mythology for the show, multi-episode to season long story arcs, great choice. Even better, they began incorporating element upon element of the greater DCU! The Teen Titans, the New Gods, the JSA, mad props for showing respect to the source material (Agents of SHIELD, you paying attention?). Even madder props for casting the man himself, Christopher Reeve, in the show. Major fanboy/geek cred points for that move. But in the end, there was something about it that seemed at times "cheesy" to me. Something in the writing of the show. And I watched the finale, didn't quite click for me. We never see him full on in the suit, and Darkseid??? He's just an apparition?? Having said that all of that, I could see giving it a second chance and getting into it.
Catwoman - Halle Berry in a cat suit. Should have made millions. How do you screw that up? And didn't I already talk about this?
Birds of Prey - Never watched it, really don't have an opinion.
Arrow - I've avoided this, because of my Smallville experiences. Not sure about some of the changes I've heard about. But, it's the CW's highest rated show, also seems to be trying to incorporate more elements of DC universe, and they apparently figured out he should be wearing a damn mask! BUT... is it, or isn't it a part of the expanded DC universe they want to introduce with the next Superman/Batman film???
Also, Season 1 was on sale at Target for $15 the other day, so I picked it up. We'll see what's what.
Flash, old & new series - Old Flash TV series, loved it. On the heels of the Batman film, loved the look, the costume, for 1989/90 TV, it ruled.
New Flash TV series, it's part of the expanded Arrow TV universe, but then that tells me, unless it turns out to be awesome, that this TV universe is not part of the expanded film universe. Why would you introduce one of your tent pole characters in a backdoor TV pilot? Guess we'll see how it turns out. Course, since I don't currently have cable, I have a tough time getting the CW, so might be a while before I see it. Interesting news, John Wesley Shipp, from the old series, has been cast in the new series. Jay Garrick? Max Mercury? Hmmmm.
Gotham/Gordon TV series - Ok, this sounds really intriguing and has all kinds of potential, but I'm guessing this is also not part of the expanded DC film universe, and as a fan/geek, that bugs me. I've got to believe that Marvel regrets having so much of their film properties licensed out to so many different studios. But with their core characters no being produced in film/TV under the Disney/Marvel banner, they're working to rectify that. DC, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be concerning themselves with that.
That aside, sounds like they're at least making some good casting choices. Sean Pertwee as Alfred, Southland/OC kid as Gordon, and Donal Logue as Bullock (although I see him more as Gordon, but still, good call casting him), all good choices.
X-Men: Days of Futures Past - Ok, I dug First Class. Bringing back Stewart, McKellan, Jackman, big moves. The Dinklage as Bolivar Trask. Fan favorite X-men characters. Sentinels! The First Class cast. It all points to this being an awesome X film. What does it imply for the previous X-men films? Who knows? Are they "Star Treking" those films? Creating a new "timeline"? Again, who knows. I'm looking forward to it though. And fer' crying out loud, bring back Cyclops and do him justice. ... And Darwin, too!
Man of Steel - I liked it. I did. In fact, I really enjoy the start of the film on Krypton. Awesome. BUT, the codex thing? Confused the crap out of me. What was the point of that? Cavill as Superman? Great choice. Michael Shannon as Zod? Great choice. Costner as Jonathon Kent? Great choice. Crowe as Jor-El, great choice. Diane Lane as Martha Kent, great choice. Amy Adams as Lois, okay. Nothing great, nothing bad. Harry Lennix, always great to see him. Laurence Fishburne, great choice for Perry White. Great for what they gave him. Richard Schiff, happy to see him, but did almost nothing. But all in all, rock solid casting. Costner dying the way he did? WTF?! Disagree. Yes, I understand they were emphasizing the point that he feared the world was not ready for his son, but still. Dying from a heart attack in the original Donner film and TV show, much better. "All my powers, and I couldn't save him." The true helplessness the most powerful man in the world feels gives that greater weight.
Awesome fights. Awesome special effects. "You think you can threaten my mother!" Enjoyed the way they retold his origin. Wayne Tech, Lexcorp easter eggs. Referring back to the destruction criticisms, I agree a little. Superman would do more to take it out of the city, but they say those sorts of things are alluded to in the next film. He's still new at being Superman. Superman kills Zod? Ok, yeah, Superman "shouldn't" kill, but I understand the story purposes and that it's a modern interpretation. Plus, again, he has to carry the weight of a choice he didn't want to make. On the other hand, we don't get Zod anymore. Speaking of characters we don't get anymore, will we no longer see hologram Jor-El? His program was "erased"? The Kryptonian data stick disappeared in the Phantom Zone. The Kryptonian ship found on Earth, that looked like it might be the new Fortress of Solitude, appears to have been destroyed, so...? Again, guess we'll see. And the costume? Boo! Dammit, Superman's underwear is supposed to go on the outside! That's the way it should be, that should never have been changed, and it should be changed back. In fact, write to your congressman.
Batman/Superman/JLA/whatever the hell it is - The news that it wouldn't a Superman sequel so much as an expansion of the DC film universe? Great news. Inspired by elements of Miller's Dark Knight? Ehhhh... I'm kinda' tired of that. An older, world-weary Batman who initially reflects the distrust that Jonathon Kent feared? Yeah, okay, I get that. But I don't want it to be an ongoing theme. Yes, it's the standard "super-heroes meet for the first time and fight" trope, but get it out of the way fast. And, yeah, Batman should be suspicious of someone like Superman when the first meet, but history of those two characters is such that they're so unlike each other, yet in the end, there's nobody the other trusts or respects more.
Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Don't know anything about her, barely remember seeing her in one of the Fast & Furious movies. So we'll see.
The Rock as John Stewart? Said it before, I'll say it again, No. No, no, no, no, no, no. That's dumb. The Rock should absolutely be in a Super-Hero movie. But he should not be John Stewart. And I really hope if his casting is not just a rumor, it doesn't mean they're not doing anything else with the GL "corp" of characters. Hal's the original, Stewart's popular because of the animated series, but there's so much there. Don't ruin it with the Rock. There's any number of actors known or unknown who could do the part justice.
Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor? I've gotta' say no. Lex Luthor is, well, he's the superest of super-villains in the DC universe. He's a heavy. Can Eisenberg embody those qualities as an actor? I'm sure he can. In fact, you could argue a real world Lex Luthor in this day & age would be more like a Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs, and in that sense, Eisenberg has played that part. But Lex Luthor needs to be a genius, a giant of industry, and the most dangerous man in the world this side of Batman. I'm just not seeing it with Eisenberg, not buying it. At this point, I think they've gotten it wrong.
Batfleck - I like it. I do. I accept it. The want Batman to appear older the Superman. He's got miles on him. And Affleck? He's become a helluva' actor and film-maker. The only thing I don't like? Just "how old" is Batman supposed to be? Don't age him out of the films. He'sa not supposed to be a surrogate father/uncle/big brother for Superman. They're peers. Again, I'm all in favor.
The Amazing Spider-Man aka. Spidermin - I enjoyed the new film. Garfield is a great Peter Parker/Spider-Man. The storyline about his parents was sorta' used way back in the comics, when it was suggested that they were actually in the intelligence world, and that lead to their deaths. But I get the direction they've gone, which is actually more informed by the Ultimate Spider-Man storyline, of being geneticists and tied into Oscorp. Loved the casting of Martin Sheen as Uncle Ben, and Sally FIeld as Aunt May. But I hated that they changed it to Uncle Ben crediting Peter's dad with the great power/great responsibility line. Uncle Ben is his father. It's his line. That said, I liked the end of the movie and how they played the saved voice-mail from Uncle Ben. Tied that back together. And with the way he died, they drove the point home.
But here's my question. The end of the film seemed to suggest that Aunt May realized Peter was Spider-Man, and in trailers for the new movie, she doesn't?
Amazing Spider-Man 2 - I think it's going to be fun. Like the casting. Giamatti & Foxx will be great villains. Dane Dehann should be good, but aren't they rushing him as Harry Osborne into the Goblin role? Harry Osborne and Peter Parker are supposed to be best pals. Him, Peter Parker, and Flash Thompson are basically Archie, Jughead, & Moose. And who's going to be Norman Osborne??? Anyway, potential for Super-VIllain overjam on this one, but I think I'll like it.
Agents of SHIELD - Ugh. This was supposed to be my new LOST. But it's not. Just a bummer. Again, Love Clark Gregg as Coulson. The biggest problem? It's supposed to feel like part of the greater Marvel film universe, and it doesn't (although there was a great reference to "Blonski's cryo cell" in a recent episode). Not at all. And I don't care about most of the characters. And the whole flying around the plane/bus? Makes it feel further disconnected, I think. Yeah, it makes sense because it enables them to "travel the world" on their adventures. Yes, it'd be too expensive to use the helicarrier. They also want to keep the helicarrier special for the films. But, still, disconnected.
And, no Titus Welliver. They made Welliver a SHIELD agent, he should still be there. And speaking of not caring about any of the characters, they have an entire history of SHIELD characters they could use, and they don't. Deathlok? Meh. I like that they decided to mine their B/C/D squad characters to bring him to the show, but does nothing for me. The Centipede/Clairvoyant storyline? Flat. They introduced HYDRA in Captain America! They could use AIM, ROXXON, so many options. But they go with Centipede??? WTF Joss Whedon??
On the other hand, at least they didn't make Coulson an LMD.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Hell Yeah! Stoked about this. Everything about it.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Not necessarily stoked, but I think this is going to be fun. Love the cast, love the voice cast, love the Guardians, looks like we're getting NOVA corps, and possibly the Kree? Captain Mar-Vell perhaps? Nova? Quasar? Adam Warlock? Ms. Marvel/Captain Marvel? Beta Ray Bill? It doesn't have to tie into the Avengers films, I'm fine with them just being out there doing their thing. Oh, yeah, and the Infinity Gems does that mean Infinity Gauntlet??? Maybe I'm a little stoked.
Antman - Michael Douglas as Hank Pym and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang. As we say in the business, "That's interesting. That's fuckin' interesting." And I enjoy Edgar Wright as a film maker, love the Cornetto trilogy. We shall see, won't we?
Avengers 2 - Age of Ultron. James Spader as Ultron, Paul Bettany as the Vision, I'm already digging it, and apparently end of Captain America will tease this movie.
But, we're adding Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch? Hmmm. See, like I alluded to earlier, they missed the chance to add the character I really wanted to see brought to the screen as an Avenger. Luke Cage.
In the first movie, you have a huge ass alien invasion taking place in Manhattan. Chaos on the streets. Well, you know who would have been a great character to intro in a huge alien street fight? Cage. My previous favorite run in a comic book series was Grant Morrison's run on JLA in the 90's. Since then, my favorite run on a comic book series is Brian Michael Bendis' run as the writer for all things Avengers. He deconstructed the team, and rebuilt it with the most unlikely cast, and it worked. It was great. And, in my opinion, his best achievement with it was making Luke Cage matter. Raise him from a second, even third tier, character to first tier. In my opinion, Luke Cage is right up there with Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man as being a key part of the Avengers. And that's often the case with a good team book. The individual characters are even stronger when they get to contrast/interact with other characters, moreso than in solo books.
I want Luke Cage in an Avengers movie.
I'd also like a Mark Ruffalo Hulk movie.
Marvel Netflix - Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist.
Having said that, I'm also cool with Cage getting introduced in his own solo series. Even looking forward to it. A TV series puts the focus squarely on the character and gives him more room than a film. But, having seen the product they put out with Agents of SHIELD, I'm concerned. And, they're bringing all of these characters together from their solo series into "The Defenders". Ugh. Defenders, for it's rich history, is B squad! Like I said, I want Cage in the Avengers. He's a super-powered badass, but he also brings the very human point of view. Again, we'll see.
So those are my thoughts on super-hero movies and TV shows. I know I forgot some stuff, (i.e. Nick Cage Ghost Rider movies. But who cares.), so feel free to point out anything I might have missed.
