Blog is Back!

  The blog is back.  I've got some time on my hands again and this time I'm going to try making a living at this whole "writing" thing.  To that end tomorrow there will be two updates.  These are two movies from WAAAAAAAY back in the vaults.  They were emergency reviews I was saving for when I didn't have time to watch or write anything right before the hiatus before last.  I'm posting them both because they are the last reviews written in the old style.  I'm trying a new format, it keeps the Good/Bad/Ugly style but now it runs more linear with the movie.  That was the biggest issue with the old style and it is painfully obvious in the Elektra review.  So, I'm trying something new and it starts with Iron Man and Hulk: Heroes United.

  Also new is the fact that I'm featured over at Comic Bastards under my real name.  My situation is such that I don't have to actively hide my identity anymore so I guess it doesn't matter if my real name is out there and associated with this.  I'll still be posting here as Fancy Deadpool.  My writing persona is not that different but in the video's I'm a different person and those views don't necessarily reflect my own.  I review primarily comics there but also The Flash tv show, Agent Carter and Marvel Agents of SHIELD, when it comes back, on a weekly basis.  So go there if you don't get enough of me here.

  Speaking of video's, I have a YouTube channel now!  It's Fancy Deadpool's Stupid Comic Video Tramp Shack.  There are a couple editing projects that I've done in the past plus my first movie "review".  I use that word in the loosest sense.  I'm going to try it and see how it works and maybe I'll keep doing them depending on feedback.  The next movie I have in mind is Swordfish the Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry film with special guest star Halle Berry's boobs.  For the most part it probably won't be comic movies but rather movies that star actors who have played comic characters.  I learned a lot from the last video and I'm going to try and make the next one better.  It's a process.

  There's also the neglected Facebook page: Fancy Deadpool's Stupid Comic Tramp Shack.  Hopefully all these links work, they all test okay.  I'm going to start posting more random pictures there.  I think that's where Cosplay Wednesday and Fan Film Friday are going to end up.  I'm not sure yet though.

  Finally there's Twitter where I'm @fancydeadpool.

  So, that's what's going on.  Go to Comic Bastards if you want to see me review fresh comics and shows each week.  But be sure to come back each week there will be a review written in my own style, Top Tenth of the Month, editorials and essays if I have the time.  I'm thinking of doing a brief digest of all the comic shows I watch in a week where I just review everything at once giving a paragraph or two for each.  Plus videos and, hopefully soon, a podcast or two.  If you like what you read and/or see please support me, I appreciate every view or reader I get, now more than ever.  Thank you.

If I Made It (quickly) X-Men TV series

Comic Book Resources: FOX NETWORK CONFIRMS PLANS FOR AN "X-MEN" TV SERIES

  Great news!  An X-Men TV series could be fun.  Just one problem, you can't get any A-List movie talent and the budget you'd get for one movie you now have to spread across 13-22 episodes.  So you have to pick mutants that are inexpensive to portray with new or TV talent that you can save money on as well as concepts that are easy on the budget.  Here's how I would do it.

Show:  Xavier Academy

Characters:

-Molly Hayes - the new student to Xavier Academy and the audience surrogate.  Just learning how to handle her immense strength based powers.

--Dorm Mates, these students share the same dorm floor as Molly and act as her first group of friends

-Dust - Molly's Muslim roommate and a total cultural and personality opposite.  She's been there only a few semesters when Molly shows up so she's more adjusted than Molly but still adjusting herself.

-Artie and Leech - Inseparable roommates/best friends/Xavier veterans.  They are well liked and relatively popular.  They are upper classmen and in charge of the dorm and therefore in charge of welcoming and orienting new classmen.

-Karma - fellow classmate but due to her unique powers she has a different set of classes.  She is more aligned with the "magic clique" and is distant from Dust and Molly.

-Marrow - former Marauder and now resident student.  She has anger management issues and talks about her mentor sessions with Wolverine but we never see Wolverine.  There's a lot of comedy in her transition from sewer dwelling extremist to living with normal people in a normal environment, some common things just don't make sense to her.  She has a problem flushing toilets because she knows where it goes and doesn't want to do that to her Marauder's still living in the sewers.  She still identifies as a Marauder.

-Beak - everyone's favorite chicken mutant, he's been there a year already, his mutation also separates him from the "normal" looking classmates.  His appearance and separation does give him a relationship with Artie and Leech due to having similar physical mutations, they all attend Chamber's support group together.

Fancy Deadpool Barely Remembers - The Prestige

Something different for this week, my first video review!  I, once again, have found myself with more time on my hands so I thought I'd start doing stuff for the blog again.  Hopefully that will mean more reviews, including more video stuff.

I also have a YouTube channel now with some of the small editing projects I've posted here in the past and you can check that out here:

Fancy Deadpool's Stupid Video Comic Tramp Shack

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) Blu-Ray

Rating: 3 out 5 Inexplicably Mutated Animal Experts of Karate

Review:  I realize I'm late to the party on this one so I'm not going to make a huge deal about it.  It's kind of weird that this thing just came out in July and already it's on DVD.  I guess the same could be said about Dame to Kill For and Guardians of the Galaxy but it feels like this was just in theaters.  Anyway... I sat down and watch TMNT.  All in all I've got to say I'm pretty happy with it.  The lack of Casey Jones gives the original the edge however.

  I haven't seen the original in a while but it's very clear that this concept works best as either a comic book or modern CGI-fest movie.  The original I remember as being more plodding, more character focused with few fights and limited choreography.  They did what they could with what they had and as a result aimed it in a totally different direction.  This thing has Michael Bay written all over it.  When there aren't action beats there's comedy beats and when there aren't comedy beats there is movement.  I would defy you to find a single second of film where something isn't moving.  That being said I enjoyed the hell out of it.  It is the Pizza Hut pizza of movies, appropriately enough.  The action scenes are solid, the Turtles have distinct and fun personalities, Will Arnet is pretty funny and while I'm not a fan of Megan Fox she has some great comedy acting moments during the course of the run time.  Both Splinter and The Shredder bad-ass it up, another thing that wasn't and/or couldn't be done in the original film.  I really liked Shredder's new suit and while the character has zero character development he did what he needed to do which is show up and kick ass.  Oh boy does he kick ass.  They push him as such a heel that when he does finally get beaten it seems like a total fluke.  It almost seems like he CAN'T be beaten so when he inevitably is it feels undeserved and unearned.

  You can't really compare this to the original but at the same time it's impossible for someone like me to not make comparisons.  The original movie came out right in my childhood, the Turtles were a huge part of my adolescence.  The cartoon, the action figures, not so much the comics, but the movie helped define my time as a child so it's very hard for me to not use that as the measuring stick to evaluate the new movie.  So I have to keep in mind that this is not my time anymore and these aren't my Turtles and I have to let go of those preconceived notions and I think if you can let go of those pre-concieved notions you'll have a lot of fun with this movie.  But it may only be a one and done situation so I'd encourage the average person to Redbox or Netflix it.

Flash vs Arrow/The Brave and the Bold

Epic Crossover

So, this happened this week.  I have to admit that I came into the two episodes with a lot of apprehension.  Flash has been amazing, one of my favorite shows of the year at this point, but Arrow has been disappointing.  I didn't even finish "Draw Back Your Bow" (the episode previous to The Brave and the Bold) and I read some of the reviews online and they weren't favorable.  Needless to say I was expecting Arrow to drag down the greatness of Flash and create kind of a muddy mess.

  Well, I was wrong.  I actually quite enjoyed this block of television.  Probably top three or five Flash episodes and, I'd say, the best Arrow episode of the season.  There is no doubt they take some heavy handed jabs at a couple of subjects they have no business taking, namely the very thin theme of torture, but overall it's the best of both worlds.
 
Starting out I was ready to hate but when that Arrow-esque music sting hit with it's own Flash score twist I totally popped.  Follow that by the Arrow tinged opening credits and I was all in.  I also popped thinking that we were seeing the debut of Psycho Pirate but it turned out to be jabroni scrub Prism.  Eh, I'll let that one go.  The Flash side of this is it's usual light hearted, colorful fare with a couple drops of Arrow darkness to grunge it up.  Seeing angry Barry was great as Grant Gustin proved he can be truly intimidating as a heavy.  The Arrow/Flash conflicts were great showing Ollie's ability to think faster than Barry can move and keeping the duo on pretty even footing.  The final conflict between Ollie and Barry was a really solid fight, not only a top tier TV fight but something that could go up on the big screen.  Obviously not as a main event but a page 20 action beat definitely.  The episode is solid just not as "meaty" as The Brave and the Bold, but it's fun and engaging.

Arrow: Escape from Lian Yu (2012, PS3)

The Arrow game in question.

Rating: 4 out of 5 People Who Have Failed This Island

Plot Synopsis:  Oliver Queen is a rich, entitled frat boy on vacation with his brothers and friends when they skydive onto an island filled with pirates, drugs and human traffickers.  This game follows a young Oliver Queen as he transitions from rich asshole to plain bad-ass.

This Season in Comic based TV

I wanted to touch on this season of shows just briefly.

This just hasn't done a lot to grab me.  The first episode was a little overwhelming with how many concepts and characters they were trying to establish.  It was good though, despite that it was a relatively solid premiere.  Since then the series has totally dropped off my radar.  The baddie-of-the-week premise is kind of lame and the overall story arc isn't very interesting.  Some of the characters are good while others tip the scale towards the bad.  Penguin is interesting, as is Bullock, Nygma is intriguing but doesn't get enough screen time.  Young Bruce is on a slow boil and Catwoman is a highlight.  Meanwhile I HATE Fish Mooney, I don't care about Falcone or Maroni, Gordon is boring and Barbara has been given a bi-sexual past for no real reason I can see.  If it serves a purpose I can see doing it but it just seems meaningless and is rarely used for anything interesting.  I haven't made this a priority to watch so I'm a little behind, maybe when I get caught up something will change, right now I'm on the fence.

Robert Downey Jr. Says Superhero Movies are Getting Frayed...

http://comicbook.com/2014/10/13/robert-downey-jr-says-superhero-movies-are-getting-a-little-bit-/


When he's right he's right. The superhero film genre is a bubble getting ready to burst but it's not the first time Hollywood exploited a genre for guaranteed money until it killed it. What immediately comes to mine are the Westerns and WWII movies that dominated the "John Wayne" era of movie making. It was very similar because among these guaranteed money makers you had the same output of book adaptations and a small amount of critical darlings.

It's also not the first time the bubble burst on superhero movies. From the near stillbirth of the genre by the, criminally underrated, in my opinion, Howard the Duck to the coma that Batman and Robin put the genre in to. There have been a number of stumbling blocks for comic adaptations in the past and this seems to be the golden age they finally deserve. The stories are being taken seriously and being given the time, effort and money they need to flourish. The movies are no longer dismissed as "Only a comic book." which is something Joel Schumacher said in defense of Batman and Robin. But it will pass, people will get sick of it and the easy money will dry up and the big IP's with it. Ah well, hopefully we'll get to see some more great things before that happens.

Here's what I want to see before the genre dies (or at least goes back into a coma):

-An Avengers movie with Fal-cap and Lady Thor.
-The Marvel Netflix TV verse ending up with a made for Netflix movie of New Avengers (sans Spider-Man and Wolverine of course)
-Spider-Man: Maximum Carnage
-X-Men: Salvation
-Avengers cameo on Agents of SHIELD
-Mongul in a Superman movie
-The JLA movie
-An Aquaman movie
-A Howard the Duck remake
-Armless Tiger-Man in a Cap movie
-The Question on Arrow
-Flashpoint on Flash
-Flash's Rouges being bro's like they are in the comics
-Joker on Gotham


Keep in mind that when the bubble bursts we probably won't see the last of the superhero genre. Unlike westerns or even WWII films the superhero genre taps into something primal, something basic, and provides that fantastic escapism and wish fulfillment in a way that few genre's can. Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins was sort of like the superhero genre equivalent to Unforgiven which made it "okay" to like and make westerns again after a pretty long hiatus and it just came back stronger than ever whereas the western is still in short supply. What will likely happen is the current Marvel "Phase 2" and DC's "Movie Clusterfuck" will run it's course, making less money as it goes and "Phase 3" along with DC's "Movie Clusterfuck 2: Clustershart" will be put on ice until they can make that next comeback masterpiece that will make everyone pay attention again.

Awesome Mix Vol. 1: an analysis

  I recently saw Guardians of the Galaxy, twice.  I might go see it again.  But the experience drew me towards, almost a character in and of itself, the soundtrack.  Now keep in mind that I haven't read anything about the soundtrack other than a few comments from director James Gunn so I may be retreading some ground but I wanted to share my thoughts and my interpretation.

  First off the soundtrack lives up to its name.  It plays very powerfully in the movie and stands up to multiple listens in the real world.  It's been the only thing on in the CD player in my car lately.  So not only is it a great set list that plays well in sequence but it does something else that's pretty interesting: it connects you to main character Peter Quill aka Star-Lord.  I listen to these songs and imagine a person with only these songs to listen to.  You have slower more melancholy songs that I imagine a teenage Peter Quill playing over and over again when he missed home or after a yelling at by Yondu.  There are harder songs I can imagine he played to get amped up before a confrontation as a Ravager.  Songs he played when entering atmosphere on a planet and songs he played when trying to romance a lady alien.  More than anything it connects you to that character and by listening to it you can empathize and imagine yourself there, living his life, listening to the same songs he listens too.  It makes it so much more than a collection of music used for a fancy moving picture.  Now that that's out of the way let's get to the analysis.

A Brief Commentary on Changing Races in Comics

Originally two posts from my Facebook page.

This is, apparently, offensive to some people.

  If I may rant a bit. Should DC, or really any entertainment entity (such as the movies with the new FF cast) stop changing things for diversity? No. That's my simple response. The reason for this is because most of the characters were created back when the default setting for a character was "white male". Nearly every major character came out of the white guy machine and into the comic universe leaving women and other demographics relegated to stereotype, bit players or comedy sidekicks. So, yes, it is important to modernize comics. As a white guy I'm spoiled for choice when it comes to role models in the comic world. Someone who isn't a white guy and is looking for role models is going to be hard pressed to find one that is popular, well known and well written.

As for changing favorites? Yes, they should. They should because otherwise nobody latches on to the characters and they get pushed to the side. By changing Wally West to make him more diverse they take a character and thrust him into the front stage. He now has to be used, he has to be made to work and now we have a major character, a big player, who represents diversity. Otherwise what we have is a bunch of fanboys whining about how their favorite character isn't getting enough panel time because of some "PC bullshit, affirmative action character" who then gets slowly phased out.

This isn't about being PC, it's about inclusion. It's about included everyone and providing a role model for all kinds of people, it's about providing escapism for all people. That's what comics are about, when things are crappy or when you need someone to look up to you have that world and it's important to be able to see yourself in that world. What kind of statement is being made if you have to tell someone that the only way to escape, or the only way you can look up to someone, is if they first imagine themselves as a completely different race or gender? What if when you were growing up the first thing someone said to you was "Alright, first imagine your aren't anything like you are. Step one is you have to picture yourself as a white male because being a black woman isn't good enough. Now have you completely disassociated yourself from everything you are both physically and culturally? Good, because those things mean that you'll never be as good as this white guy. Now that you are distanced from everything you actually are, here enjoy these stories about all the white people better than you." That's kind of a bullshit position and if you hold that position you maybe need to re-evaluate some things.

Finally it seems fans or, at least, a vocal minority of fans, want zero change. They just want everything to be the same always. If that's the case then read the old stories! They aren't gone, they're still there. They'll always be there. They'll never go away. That's the beauty of a print medium. If you're so invested in the status quo just read the old stories. That's basically what you're doing anyway. Why force a brand or creators to write the same shit over and over to appease your fear of change? Just stick with the old stuff you like, shut up and give other people a shot at finding a beloved character.

  To me here's the circular argument you get into when it comes to changing race or gender of a character using Wally West as an example:

"Wally can't be black."
"Does race affect the character?"
"No, that's why he should stay white."
"If race doesn't affect the character then it doesn't matter if he's black. Why can't he be black?"
"Wally can't be black!"

And it just goes and goes. Race can't both be something unimportant to a character but also be vital to a character. Either race/gender don't matter and you can make anyone anything or it is the only thing that matters and they have to stay what they are, which is mostly white.

As for the "They don't make Luke Cage/Black Panther white!" argument. Many ethnic characters were created as a commentary on race or specifically for people of other races. They had to be or they would have been pooped out of the white guy machine. So you can't do that to them BECAUSE race would severely affect that character.