The Appeal of Black Widow in Avengers: Endgame

I’m genuinely confused by a lot of the online reaction to Natasha Romanov in this film. I loved her performance; I felt she exuded nothing but strength. Some armchair critics have decided, however, that the character was “fridged,” and that her death was ultimately meaningless. 

First off, the concept of “fridging” a woman in comic book properties refers back to the death of Alexandra Dewitt, an early girlfriend of fourth human Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner. The 90s were a weird time in comics, and in this instance they saw a weird, body-suited, genital-less government villain called Major Force wanting to get back at Kyle Rayner by going to Rayner’s apartment and killing Alexandra Dewitt and stuffing her body into his refrigerator. You following so far? Good, because this story was bizarre. Basically, when the term is used now, people want to say a female character has been murdered just to motivate male characters. I really do not see Black Widow’s noble sacrifice in this light.

In Avengers: Endgame, we are shown that Natasha has effectively become leader of the Avengers (whatever form existed at that point) during the period after the Snap, and unused or unfilmed threads also refer to her personally caring for vast numbers of children orphaned by the Snap. She is kind, she is thoughtful as she pushes her uneaten sandwich to Steve Rogers when he comes to visit, and she continues to do her best to keep what’s left of the world safe. This is how I’ve always seen her, and her positive, heroic traits are only enhanced as the film goes on.

Natasha’s sacrifice for the soul stone came down to a 50/50 chance between her and Hawkeye. They were each other’s best friend and closest family left in the world, and either one dying for the other would be a suitable loss to acquire the stone. Additionally, either one of them would also be giving up a chance at seeing the rest of their families return. I feel that Natasha being the one to make the final plunge adds even more strength and respectability to her character. I just can’t see any negatives. Her sacrifice secured ultimate victory.

Either way, in the comics there is an entire universe inside the soul stone. I like to think that Natasha and Gamora both are somehow in that world, and that it endures even with the stone destroyed, if that one truly can be. Black Widow has a solo movie coming up soon, and that will likely either play into this idea, or be an origin movie that finally explains all those Budapest references.

What do you think? Let me know! I’m always eager to converse on these topics.

 

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The Appeal of Tim Burton’s Batman Returns (1992)

Good day, everyone! In keeping with my review reblog from last weekend, here is its original follow-up. Stay frosty, Gothamites!

Review: Batman Returns

 

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The Appeal of Captain America in Avengers: Endgame

Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame ahead! Beware all ye who enter here!

 

Image taken from Pixabay.

Good day, everyone! In keeping with my previous post, I want to look at another Endgame character. Not to worry; don’t assume there we won’t be more of these, or that I won’t touch on other characters. I just wanted to address my own personal favorite Avengers first off.

I’ve always felt a strong connection to Steve Rogers, perhaps because the character is supposed to have been born around 1917, the same year as my grandfather who fought in World War II. As an interesting side note, my grandfather fought in Patton’s 3rd Army, just like Jack Kirby. I like to think they may have known each other.

Additionally, I have always appreciated the idea that Cap is the conscience, even the moral compass, of the Marvel Universe. If he is strongly opposed to something or someone, it usually the means the author of the ongoing story intends readers to cast a more critical eye on the opposition.

All of that aside, Cap’s arc in Endgame was satisfying and highly enjoyable for me. Still seen as the leader of the Avengers, as he always was, Cap leads the team-turned-army through the convoluted, but ultimately successful, Time Heist and the final battle against Thanos and his force of planet killers. I could not have derived more joy from his rematch with Thanos, and I literally whooped in the movie theater when Cap wielded Mjolnir against him. That, and the moment every Marvel fan has awaited for years: “Avengers assemble!” That made it all worth it.

Again, considering I sort of see Cap as my idealized fictional grandfather, I loved that he was able to slip off from his time mission at the end of the film to live a full life with Peggy Carter, have children, and grow old. Being as we’ve fully entered the Game of Thrones era of storytelling in movies and television, it was actually refreshing to see a satisfying, rather than ironic or tongue-in-cheek, happy ending for a character. I think the old soldier deserved it.

Thank you all for stopping by! Which Endgame character should I address next? Let me know in the comments below!

 

If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!

The Appeal of Thor in Avengers: Endgame

Needless to say, SPOILERS AHEAD!

Image of Thor in Avengers: Endgame taken from Slash Film.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the story arcs of pretty much every one of the core six Avengers in Endgame, with Thor near the top of that puppy pile. I, for one, really enjoyed and sympathized with how Thor was presented. Not only that, I actually appreciated having a fat version of the character that I could identify with, as silly as that may sound.

We start off the movie not long after Infinity War, and Thor is grieving. He’s mournful over his failure and wants another shot at Thanos, which he gets. But it doesn’t matter; nothing can be undone. Fast forward the five years, and Thor is basically hiding from life and this immense failure that he has completely saddled himself with. He has fallen into alcoholism and overeating, and put on quite a bit of weight. He doesn’t seem to care at all about his appearance anymore, and even gains a comparison to the Dude from The Big Lebowski. But he still reluctantly goes along with the insane time heist mission.

And this is where everything turns around. First off, he gets a pep talk from his perceptive, super-powerful witch mother in the past, which is just what he needs to hear to ground himself. But he then also reaches out for Mjolnir, and it responds to him. All at once, tears still in his eyes, he sees that he is still worthy of it. All that has transpired, all the emotional and psychological weight that burdens him more than his physical girth, has made him no less worthy of his original weapon. And some of the fault he feels evaporates as well as he readies himself for battle.

I understand this version of Thor best of all of the different ways he has been presented across the MCU, and I am eager to see what comes next for him. I know he will lose the weight and likely travel with the Guardians of the Galaxy for awhile, which will also be awesome. And if Thor can overcome these things and drop some weight along the way, perhaps we can all face what assails us.

What do you think?

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The Appeal of Tim Burton’s Batman (1989)

In keeping with the Joker theme from the past week, here is a throwback movie review I did for Sourcerer a number of years ago. Check it out!

Review: Tim Burton’s Batman

 

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My Thoughts (5-7-19)

This has been a hell of a week, guys. Sometimes it feels like there is an unseen crowd of malcontents out to get us and bring us down, but we keep moving forward. We endure.

We got to go see Avengers: Endgame this weekend, and it was certainly worth the wait. We both loved it. I feel an internal need to begin writing some short posts on here about individual characters from the movie, their arcs, and how they wrapped up. I think that will be rewarding for me and anyone else who really enjoyed the film. I may wait a bit longer to avoid spoiling it for anyone who hasn’t yet seen it, though.

That said, I want to take this opportunity to thank whoever might be reading this. Thank you for coming back to this blog after it being in suspended animation for so long, or thank you for taking a chance on your first visit. I hope that my thoughts strike a chord with you and keep you coming back.

More to come.

 

If you’re a fan of books and hot beverages, check us out at Blue Spider Books. And check out our blog here!

The Appeal of Dracula

Poster image taken from IMDB @ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103874/mediaviewer/rm178840064

Don’t worry; I’m not going to try to defend the vampire sub-genre here. While some of the older, campier versions of Dracula can be fun, my favorite iteration is the one portrayed by Gary Oldman in the Francis Ford Coppola film from 1992. It also hearkens back to my favorite section of the original Bram Stoker novel, and what, for me, redeems the monster at the center of the entire story.

In the original novel, there is a scene where Dracula and Harker stay up all night just talking, and as dawn breaks Dracula has to run away to hide from the sunlight. I loved this moment. It demonstrates the lonely old immortal Dracula, and that he truly did just yearn for companionship. The novel gets really tedious after this when it swaps to Mina’s letter-writing perspective, but that one small section always gets me.

I feel that the lonely Dracula longing for a human connection (despite, you know, eating Gypsy babies) is the one best embodied in Gary Oldman’s performance. I love this movie, and I can’t recommend it enough if you have never seen it. The cinematography is fantastic, and the central story line that develops of an immortal, heartbroken being chasing a lost love throughout time is one certain to catch the attention of fans of horror, dark fantasy, and paranormal romance all at once.

 

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The Appeal of Hellboy

Hellboy cover image taken from Goodreads @ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/102458.Hellboy_Vol_1?from_search=true

With a new film out, and this being the 25th anniversary of the character’s introduction, this week seemed like a good time to address Hellboy.

With Hellboy, Mike Mignola demonstrates a professor’s level of knowledge of history, myth, and folklore. Synthesizing this knowledge with elements inspired by Robert E. Howard and H. P. Lovecraft, Mignola has created a mythology of his own beyond comparison in comics and dark fantasy literature. And with that, nearly ever single compelling character of the story is in some way a monster, whether it be Abe Sapien the fish man, Roger the golem, or the half-demon Hellboy himself.

But it is also the heart of Mignola’s story to disregard that outward appearance and examine a character’s soul. Hellboy is a wonderful story about birth not defining a person’s worth, and outright thumbing one’s nose at destiny. Hellboy is a hero through and through, self-sacrificing and humble. Reading his comics chronologically, you can follow his incredible jaunt from one corner of the earth to another, to the bottom of the sea, and even into hell itself. And at every step along the way, moral choices follow him, and he ultimately proves his essential humanity through them.

 

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Thoughts – 8-4-14

Guardians of the Galaxy Free Comic Book Day cover courtesy of Marvel Comics and found at http://cltampa.com/imager/free-comic-book-day-welcomes-coliseum-of-comics-to-the-area-and-more/b/original/4555912/ed99/newGuardiansFCBD.jpg

Continuing from my thought on Friday, I give Guardians of the Galaxy all of the thumbs up. I’d say it’s probably my third favorite Marvel movie at this point, after The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. What did those of you who were able to see it this weekend think of it? Let me know in the comments below. (And let’s try to avoid spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen it.)

Thoughts – 7-24-14

Oldboy movie poster taken from http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1299029248/tt0364569?ref_=tt_ov_i

I’m a big fan of South Korean revenge films. I’m not sure exactly how I discovered them, though it may have been that showing of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy I attended in college. Either way, I’m slightly obsessed with them. They show off a brutal side of being human that many people shy away from. Rather than hiding from the darkness, these films wholeheartedly embrace it. Netflix has helped me immensely in this fascination, and there are always a few options available for instant viewing. Aside from Oldboy, I also recommend The Man from Nowhere and I Saw the Devil. If you have any of your own recommendations, please feel free to share them in the comments below.