The Week That Was 06022025: Uncanny Experience and Review Roundup

 Well, a combination of day job travel, the punishing (for critics) three-a-week release schedule of the second season of Andor, and my laptop completely and utterly dying a couple weeks ago threw me off my regular schedule. 

But, things are starting to settle a bit, and I'm hoping to get back into my regular posting groove again, including this column. My plan is to abandon some of the strict formatting I'd been using, to make something more like a typical newsletter in favor of getting it out more regularly. 

The Uncanny Experience

My other big news of late is that I was selected to present at the Uncanny Experience, the annual X-Men fan convention here in Minneapolis. My panel is called "Fight The Power: The X-Men as Outlaws", and will focus on the way Claremont repositioned the X-Men from traditional superheroes fighting to preserve the status quo to anti-establishment figures trying to upend it. The full description is as follows: 

The Week That Was 022425

 X-aminations ahead, Captain America: Brave New World and Review Round-Up.

Dark Phoenix and the Fate of X-Men Film Franchise

**Minor spoilers for Dark Phoenix below; if you care, don't say you weren't warned**

Dark Phoenix, a film which, judging by the box office returns, very few of you have actually seen, is the final film in Fox's X-Men franchise (not counting that New Mutants film which may or may not be a collective fever dream and whose hopes for an actual theatrical release if it does exist are dimming by the day). It's not very good, and though not the worst of the various X-Men films (it's more coherent than the Wolverine origin movie and, really, X-Men: Apocalypse; it also sidesteps some of the problems that bedevil Last Stand even as it repeats some others), in adapting the "Dark Phoenix Saga" for a second time, it continues to display a fundamental ignorance of what makes that story so great on the part of Dark Phoenix writer/director/producer (and Last Stand co-writer) Simon Kinberg (hot tip, things "The Dark Phoenix Saga" isn't about: Jean's childhood trauma, Professor Xavier's hubris, Magneto). But while many of the film's flaws are clearly Kinberg's doing (notably the sequences which are, inexplicably, almost beat-for-beat recreations of similar sequences in Last Stand), many of the flaws are inherited, and not entirely the fault of the film, as they are endemic of the franchise as a whole. Which is to say, the X-Men movies just aren't very fun and exciting. Or, at least, just aren't very fun and exciting in the context of modern superhero movies.

To Better Know a Hero 2.0: The X-Men

This week sees the release of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, the final X-Men film from Fox (unless that New Mutants movie whose creation may or may not be a collective pop culture fever dream ever gets released). With the X-Men, however briefly, back in the zeitgeist for the moment, I figured it was a good excuse to give the X-Men a Phoenix-focused "To Better Know a Hero 2.0" treatment.

Top 5 Phoenix Hosts

To Better Know a Hero 2.0: The Avengers

There's a little film called Avengers: Endgame coming out this week (maybe you've heard of it?); I wrote a To Better Know A Team post for the Avengers ahead of the first movie, all the way back in 2012, so I figured they were due for an update. But I'm going to try a different approach by highlighting some specific areas of history/lore. If people seem to like this, I may do something similar for other characters/teams in the future.

Top 5 Avengers Characters Without Their Own Solo Series

(For the purposes of this exercise, I'm excluding Hawkeye from consideration on the basis of his run in Solo Avengers and his recent solo series, but if you think that shouldn't make him ineligible, then consider him #1 on this list).

To Better Know a Villain: The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse

The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse is an idea astoundingly elegant for its simplicity: if you're going to have a villain named Apocalypse, giving him a group of henchmen and naming them after the biblical four horsemen is a no-brainer, and it's a concept that has survived right alongside Apocalypse as a character for several decades now (barring that brief period of time in which Apocalypse traded in horsemen for the Image-riffic Dark Riders/Riders of the Storm).

Though they weren't around for the first appearance of Apocalypse (as the character was a last minute swap for the Owl as the mysterious leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants wannabes, the Alliance of Evil), his next appearance immediately set about rectifying that, as he popped up in a handful of issues, gathering an assortment of mutants. That group (minus Death) was unveiled shortly before "Fall of the Mutants", and since that storyline, while their membership (and in some cases, the designation of who is which Horseman) has changed, it's not often that Apocalypse doesn't show up without some combination of Horsemen at his beck and call. Here then are some of the more notable arrangements.

The Originals
Abraham Kieros (War), Autumn Rolfson (Famine) the Morlock Plague (Pestilence), Angel (Death).

Apocalypse's first batch of Horsemen are a mix of new and existing characters, and aside from being the first, they remain a memorable group simply because their gathering was depicted in detail through early issues of X-Factor, as Apocalypse gathered his followers and transformed them, one-by-one, culminating in the reveal of the thought-dead founding member of the X-Men Angel as Death. With their unified gold masks and montrous-looking mechanical horses, it's tough to beat this original grouping.

They also briefly popped up again in "The X-Cutioner's Song" (albeit without Pestilence, who died during "Fall of the Mutants"), with Caliban (who left X-Factor to join Apocalypse in that story) taking over for Angel as Death, but the group is dispatched relatively early in the story, and only Caliban returns after that as a Horseman in future stories.

(This is also the iteration of the Horsemen that appeared in the X-Men animated series in the 90s).

Best of the Bunch: The reborn Angel is clearly the standout of this assortment, but I've always had a soft spot for Pestilence, the other existing character transformed into a Horseman.

To Better Know The Heroes: Captain America - Civil War

Catching Captain America: Civil War this weekend, and want to know more about all the characters running around in it? Below are links to all the available "To Better Know a Hero" articles featuring the movie's varied rosters. 

Team Cap

Captain America, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Ant-Man 

Team Iron Man

Iron Man, Black Widow, Spider-Man

The Avengers

Last Week in Pop Culture #31

With the official 2013-2014 TV season drawing to a close last week, and with me (mostly) caught up on the show I comment on regularly, as well as another looming work trip threatening to throw off my regular schedule once again, this will be the last regularly scheduled "Last Week in Pop Culture" post. I reserve the right to drop one in periodically, if there's something of note I'd like to talk about, but I won't have one up (nearly) every Saturday going forward.

However, I am hoping to resurrect my Retro Reviews of The Simpsons sometime soon (once I get back into the groove after my trip and give myself a little break). So look for those again shortly! 

And, of course, I've still got three X-aminations posts a week to do, plus all my stuff at Sound on Sight and Capeless Crusader, and Dr. Bitz has three more Game of Thrones reviews to do, so you won't be lacking for content from us this summer, regardless!  

Around the Web
Just one additional post this week, my weekly Market Maven column from Monday. 

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Not bad. It wasn't the greatest X-Men film, but it was entertaining, well-constructed, well-acted. The Sentinels were handled well, most of the action scenes were top notch, and kudos for wiping out most of The Last Stand. In the middle of the pack, but near the top (I'd still put X2 and First Class above it, for sure).

X-Men: Days of Future Past Primer

There's a big new X-Men movie coming out this weekend, and anyone who's read at least three words of my writing knows that's a pretty big deal for me. And not surprisingly, I've written a fair amount about the X-Men through the years. In order to get you ready for the movie, here's some stuff you should check out.

First, be sure to read my reviews of the two issues whose story serves as a direct inspiration for the film (and also happen to be one of the best and most significant X-Men stories ever).

Secondly, here's a list of all the relevant "To Better Know a Hero" posts on Days of Future Past's major players: Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto and Quicksilver and the X-Men.

Finally, I wrote a little article for Fanboys, Inc. predicting how well (in terms of money) the new film will do relative to the success of the previous films in the franchise. Check that out here.

Last Week in Pop Culture #29

Around the Web
My first Market Maven column for Capeless Crusader went up this week, a new weekly column I'll be writing that looks at each week's batch of comic releases. Look for it every Monday, and eventually I'll  have some other columns up on Capeless Crusader as well. And if you like what you read, be sure to like the site's Facebook page as well.

As for Sound on Sight, this week I reviewed the first issue of my boy Cyclops' first solo series, a fun little space pirate-y story starring the time-lost version of the character (not the present day cranky Magneto-esque version). 

And hey, just because it's been awhile since I'm mentioned it, don't forget about Saved by the Bell Reviewed, the podcast co-hosted by me and Dr. Bitz. New episodes come out every week, and this week's is a doozy!

To Better Know A Villain: Norman Osborn

Heading out to see Amazing Spider-Man 2 this weekend? Here's everything you need to know about Spidey's #1 foe (and be sure to check out this post on Spidey himself).

First Appearance
Amazing Spider-Man #14, July 1964

Nicknames and Aliases
The Green Goblin, Iron Patriot

Powers and Abilities
Norman possess superhuman strength, stamina, and healing abilities as a result of the Goblin serum, a chemical compound of his own design. He also possesses genius-level intelligence and business/leadership acumen, as well as an aptitude for chemical and electrical engineering.

Recently, AIM scientists gave Norman powers similar to that of the Super-Adaptoid, enabling him to absorb the super-human abilities of anyone he physically touches.

Gadgets and Accessories
As the Green Goblin, Norman routinely uses explosive and gaseous pumpkin bombs of his own design, and rides a flying "Goblin Glider" with an assortment of offensive capabilities.

As the Iron Patriot, Norman wore a suit of sophisticated armor similar to Iron Man's, outfitted with an array of weaponry.

Read the rest here. 

Last Week in Pop Culture #26

Around the Web 
One new review from me at Sound on Sight, for Nightcrawler #1, possibly the best new Chris Claremont comic I've read in years.

Also, and far more importantly, Monday sees the launch of the much-teased Saved by the Bell Reviewed podcast, co-hosted by me and Dr. Bitz, as well as Portland cartoonists Carolyn Main and Ryan Alexander-Tanner (Ryan, the driving force behind this project, is of course the mad genius behind the wonderful Full House Reviewed blog as well). You'll be able to download the first episode on Monday from our Tumblr site, and if you haven't already, be sure to like our Facebook page and follow the show on Twitter @sbtb_reviewed.

(And, as long as I'm asking you to like Facebook pages, if you enjoy my writing for Sound on Sight, then be sure to like their Facebook page as well).

Finally, if you're heading out to the comic shop this weekend or poking around on the newly-acquired-by-Amazon Comixology, check out Shutter #1 from Image Comics. It's about a futuristic female Indiana Jones, and features a backup story written and drawn by Ryan. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

A really solid follow-up to the first film (which I think is a bit underrated these days), which made the most of its 70s conspiracy thriller vibe and did an effective job of servicing everyone in its rather large cast (this was probably the best Black Widow film yet, right?). If anything, the titular Winter Soldier was the most marginalized element of the movie - there wasn't much of a reason for him to be the one leading the Hydra/SHIELD strike team other than his connection to Cap, and the real impact of that seems to have been left for a future film.  

Captain America: The Winter Soldier Primer

 Heading out to see Captain America: The Winter Soldier this weekend? Here's everything you need to know about the various characters involved.

My original "To Better Know a Hero" post on Captain America can be found here, and an updated look at Black Widow here.

From fellow Sound on Sight writer Sean Tonelli, here's a look at the new film's titular character.

If you want to brush up on the Avengers as a whole, you can find that post here. 

And finally, a brand new "To Better Know a Hero" post from me, discussing the high-flying Falcon, can be found here.

Enjoy!

Last Week in Pop Culture #20

Around the Web
One review from me up on Sound on Sight this week, covering the still-not-as-fun-as-it-should-be next chapter in IDW's X-Files Conspiracy crossover, this time featuring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy hit the internet this week, and if you haven't checked it out, do so. As I said on Twitter, I'm an easy mark when it comes to trailers, but this got me even more excited for the movie, especially for Chris Pratt's take on Starlord. This movie will be a tough sell, even to the millions who have embraced stuff like Iron Man and the Avengers, but the trailer seems to suggest the filmmakers are aware of this, and doing their best to make sure everyone knows what to expect from the movie. 

Also, in perhaps the most WTF news of late, NBC announced that it is rebooting Heroes as a 13-episode "event series" in 2015. Alan Sepinwall does a good job laying out just why this seems like such a bad idea here, though he overlooks one key component: in addition to all its other problems, Heroes under Tim Kring was pathologically incapable of showing any exciting action sequences, at one point literally confining a fight that was the climax of a season to a locked room and showing the audience a character watching the fight through a keyhole rather than the fight itself.

All of which is to say that while a Heroes reboot in and of itself may not be a terrible idea (in terms of doing something with the concept of "ordinary people with extraordinary abilities" while trying to get some juice from the brand name), putting Kring back in charge seems especially stupid. That said, I'll probably still watch it, just to see how awful it is (what the kids these days call "hate watching").

Last Week in Pop Culture #17

Around the Web 
Just one piece for Sound on Sight from me this week, a review of Guardians of the Galaxy #11, the second first part of the "Trial of Jean Grey" crossover, which you can find here.

It was announced this week that Jeremy Irons has been cast as Alfred and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor in the still-untitled sequel to Man of Steel (the one that will feature Ben Affleck as Batman). I like the casting, particularly Eisenberg. His Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network was already pretty Luthor-esque, and his casting suggests they're setting up Luthor as a tech-savvy media mogul type, which is a sensible modern interpretation of the character that still fits his roots, one which Eisenberg should nail.

That said, this is still a movie that is going to feature Batman and Wonder Woman (along with Alfred and Luthor and lord knows who else) as well as a Superman who did nothing to help the thousands (if not millions) of innocent people who died in the last movie and expressed zero remorse over that fact, so it's tough to get too excited about this casting, because even if Eisenberg kills it, he's still probably going to be in a mess of a movie. 

Far more importantly than all that, this week my good friend, fellow blogger and frequent commenter Sarah announced on her blog that she's signed with a literary agent. Cue the fanfare! As any fellow aspiring novelists knows, landing an agent is A BIG DEAL, the key step in getting your book published and becoming rich and famous and never having to do anything but write ever again, and I couldn't be happier for her. Rest assured, once her first book (which I've read, and is pretty effing fantastic) is available for purchase, I'll be pimping the hell out of it here, so no one'll miss out on a chance to buy it.

To Better Know a Villain: Loki

Real Name
Loki Laufeyson

First Appearance
Venus #6, August 1949 (historical); Journey into Mystery #85, October 1962 (modern).  

Powers and Abilities Loki is an accomplished sorcerer, capable of using magic to shapeshift, teleport, fly, generate energy blasts, ensorcell individuals, and more.

Additionally, like most Asgardians, Loki possesses super-strength, durability, and longevity. He also has a genius-level intellect and is an adept liar and manipulator, capable of conceiving and enacting elaborate, multi-layered schemes.

Friends and Allies
The Enchantress, Skurge the Executioner, Fenris Wolf, Hela, and the Midgard Serpent, Tumblr.

Read the rest of the post here. 

Last Week in Pop Culture #7

The Simpsons: Four Regrettings and a Funeral

Look, you can either be structurally clever, or really funny (or, ideally, both). This episode tried to do both and succeed at neither.

In case you're wondering, Fox was supposed to air "Bart the Lover" in the 6:30 slot, in remembrance of Marcia Wallace, but apparently had issues getting the episode back from syndication, so they aired "The Ned-liest Catch" instead, making Bart's sad chalkboard message that opened "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" the best tribute of the night. 

To Better Know a Hero: Thor

Note: This is a slightly-edited re-posting of an earlier "To Better Know a Hero" post about Thor, to celebrate the release of the character's second feature film (because I ran out of time to do a "To Better Know a Villain" post on Loki). 

Forsooth! Verily, Thor doth star in a new film, in theaters now! Before seeing thy film, feast thy eyes on these runes to vanquish thine ignorance about the mighty Thor!

Real Name
Thor Odinson 

First Appearance
Journey Into Mystery #83, August 1962

Nicknames and Aliases
Dr. Don Blake, Sigurd Jarlson, Eric Masterson, Jake Olson, Siegfried, Siegmund.

Powers and Abilities
Thor possesses super-human strength, speed, endurance, durability and longevity thanks to his godly nature. He is also a skilled warrior.

Summer Movie Report Card 2013

No time for a preamble, here's 2013's Summer Movie Report Card! 

Iron Man 3

A huge step above the lackluster previous film in the series and a worthy follow-up to The Avengers, I still would have liked a bit more of Iron Man himself and more nods to the shared universe. Nevertheless, there's no denying this was well-crafted and tremendously fun, largely carried by Robert Downey Jr.'s phenomenal performance.  
A

The Great Gatsby

One Sentence Reviews

Well, when you have writer's block why not write some one sentence reviews?

 World War Z (Movie, 2013) - Not only was it not as good as the book (or anything like it) it just wasn't good period.