The Impact of Spider-Man leaving the MCU.

What happens if Spider-Man leaves the MCU. How much of an effect does this have on the rest of the story and universe as a whole. ALOT. Peter Parker was first introduced in Captain America:Civil War and was taken immediately under the wing of Tony Stark. Stark gave him his suit and help Peter grow into the hero he would become. It also help Stark become more of a father figure and helped him mature as a person. No more is this apparent then in Spider-Man:Homecoming. The arc of Tony Stark and Peter Parker become intertwined as the Infinity Saga goes on and Avengers:Endgame approaches and ends the original 22 movies in the MCU. 

Removing Spider-Man from the MCU and its mythos also undoes all the character building and growing that Tony Stark did. All the highs and lows he went through after meeting Peter. The lose of Peter in Infinity Saga, the second chance to rebuild his life with Pepper and Morgan and then reuniting with Peter in Endgame, and his ultimate sacrifice. The whole point of Far From Home was dealing with the lose of Stark and removing that is a great injustice to the MCU and the fans.

Far From Home also established a great "what now?" moment in the mid credit scene, when Mysterio and J.Jonah Jameson reveal Spider-Man's secret identity to the whole world. To scrap the sequel leaves not only a big unanswered question and makes Far From Home all for not.

Finally, removing Spider-Man is nearly impossible. Spidey has interacted with almost all of the MCU heroes and made a big dent in the MCU. He has fought Captain America, teamed up with Star-Lord, and traded quips with Doctor Strange. To kill him off or just say he never existed, is crazy. Replacing him would be the only way, but having Jessica Drew's Spider-Woman coming in seemingly out of no where would make no sense.

Since Spider-Man has arrived in the MCU, he has made the Marvel Studio films feel more like a comic book and is a joy to watch on the screen. Tom Holland brings a light to the character like no other and undoing that would only hurt the MCU, it fans, and everything the MCU has tried to build.

BREAKING NEWS:Spider-Man out of the MCU?!

Deadline broke earlier today that Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios will no longer be producing Spider-Man movies.

This comes from a dispute that has taken place over the past few months at the top of Disney and Sony that has essentially nixed Feige, and the future involvement of Marvel from the Spider-Man universe, sources said. Sources said there are two more Spider-Man films in the works that are meant to have director Jon Watts and Tom Holland front and center. Unless something dramatic happens, Feige won’t be the lead creative producer of those pictures.

Disney asked that future Spider-Man films be a 50/50 co-financing arrangement between the studios, and there were discussions that this might extend to other films in the Spider-Man universe. Sony turned that offer down flat. Led by Tom Rothman and Tony Vinciquerra, Sony just simply didn’t want to share its biggest franchise. Sony proposed keeping the arrangement going under the current terms where Marvel receives in the range of 5% of first dollar gross, sources said. Disney refused.
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The question is what now?
If Marvel Studios and Sony can't come up with some compromise before the next Spider-Man movie or his next appearance in the MCU, we will no longer see Tom Holland and Spidey in the MCU. Before the agreement of Marvel and Sony, Spider-Man didn't exist in the MCU and if they can't come up with something, then everything that Spidey has done in MCU and the Infinity Saga has been for not, just to sweep it under the rug.

Sony has been it very protective of the Spider-Man franchise since the Sam Raimi films and with the success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, it now seems like Sony may want to go it alone on the Spider-Man movies again.

It's a shame that the MCU just was able to bring Spider-Man into the fold only a couple years ago with Captain America:Civil War just to lose him again. In my opinion, I would rather see good story telling and character building than just characters thrown on the screen like Venom, Morbius, and possibly Kraven. I want to see my favorite Spider-Man characters interact and not be separated by studio executives not wanting to share their toys.

Let's hope Marvel and Kevin Feige can get Sony back to the table and Spider-Man can stay in the MCU.

Link to full Deadline Article: https://bit.ly/2ZePNlS

The MCU of the 50s and 60s!!!

I have seen fancast of the MCU done if it was made in the 1980s or the 90s, I decided to do a "what if" in the 1950s and 1960s. Here is my take on who I believe would fit the roles of the MCU the best from that time in Hollywood! 

AVENGERS:
Elvis Presley:Steve Rogers/Captain America
Kirk Douglas:Tony Stark/Iron Man
Burt Reynolds:Clint Barton/Hawkeye
Natalie Woods:Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow
Dean Jones:Bruce Banner/Hulk
Robert Redford:Thor Odinson

Guardians of the Galaxy:
Tony Curtis:Peter Quill/Star-Lord
Elizabeth Taylor:Gamora
Bruno Sammartino:Drax
Frank Sinatra:Groot

Dean Martin:Rocket Raccoon

Sidney Poitier:T'Challa/Black Panther
 Marlon Brando:Dr.Stephan Strange/Doctor Strange

Paul Newman:Scott Lang or Hank Pym/Ant-Man

Audrey Hepburn:Janet van Dyne or Hope van Dyne/Wasp
Kurt Russell:Peter Parker/Spider-Man
Mary Taylor Moore:Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel

John Wayne:Nick Fury
Carolyn Jones:Maria Hill
Marilyn Monroe:Peggy Carter
Clint Eastwood:Bucky Barnes/Winter Solider
Don Marshall:Sam Wilson/Falcon
Cary Grant:Vision
Jane Fonda:Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
AND
Lee Marvin:Thanos

Blade and the MCU 🧛

The biggest announcement to come out of San Diego Comic Con this past week and Hall H was what was coming in Phase 4 of the MCU. But out of all the great and mind blowing things from that, came the last minute reveal of a reboot of Blade with Mahershala Ali. It left people stunned and wanting to know more. When I saw the announcement on Twitter with my friend David, we lost our minds!  

Blade coming into the MCU, and the sequel to Doctor Strange, The Multiverse of Madness being said to be more horror themed, with Nightmare rumored to be the villain, it will be interesting to see how Marvel Studios uses these darker, more occult themed heroes. We knew that Ghost Rider and Damien Hellstorm were getting there own shows on Hulu and we had seen the Robbie Reyes' Ghost Rider on Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. Reyes' Ghost Rider on S.H.E.I.L.D. to me was a waste and became watered down by how many people took on the mantle of the Rider by the end of that season. I like Reyes' Ghost Rider, but I would rather see a Johnny Blaze or Danny Ketch Rider over anyone else any day, weather we are talking TV or movie.

Many people had an issue that the heroes from Netflix were never incorporated into the films and that we never saw the likes of Daredevil fight along side the likes of Spider-Man, and hopefully that's not the case with Blade, Ghost Rider, and Hellstorm. If Marvel is going to have these characters, that crossed paths often in the comics, put them together! One of the best ways to do that, is with one of the best story lines of the early 1990s with The Rise of the Midnight Sons. We saw Danny Ketch's Ghost Rider, Johnny Blaze, Blade and the Nightstalkers, Doctor Strange, Morbius, and others come together to fight Lilith, the Mother of All Demons. I mean that movie writes itself.

Bringing Blade into the MCU opens up the possibility for so many different ideas in the Marvel Universe. The thought of now seeing Moon Knight or Werewolf By Night is more likely. Also it pays respect to the franchise that started the modern day comic book movie boom, 21 years ago with Wesley Snipes. The next couple of years of the MCU are going to be amazing and exciting and I can't wait.

Journalists in Comics 📰

Jack Ryder. Peter Parker. Clark Kent. What do they all have in common? In their alter egos they all work as journalists. Clark Kent is a reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis, Jack Ryder was a talk show host turned investigative reporter in Gotham, and Peter Parker is a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle in New York. In comic books, journalism and heroes have been hand and hand since the beginning, going all the way back to Action Comics #1 with the Daily Star, before it was renamed the Daily Planet in issue 23. Historically, if we look at the reason why the heroes are linked to news is maybe that comic books originally started as reprints of comic strips of  popular characters you could find in your local newspapers, starting with Famous Funnies #1.

Journalism is often times called the fourth pillar of democracy, a way to hold the government and people responsible for their actions. Maybe that's why so many heroes or people close to heroes are journalists. The hero has to hold the villain responsible for the actions they commit and bring them to justice. Being able to expose or bring to light an issue that needs attention is the most important thing for a journalist, and helps the community they live in. Much like the superhero, people like Lois Lane, Ben Urich, or April O' Neil have been able to look into criminals and bring to light the bad deeds they do to the public, while Superman, Daredevil, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles bring them to justice.      

As of late, journalists and the news has become a hot button topic and issue. Its become politicized and divided. Much like how a superhero should do something when it comes to saving the day. If we look at the Marvel event, Civil War, in which innocent civilians are killed and heroes can either become apart of the Superhero Registration Act with Iron Man or become outlaws with Captain America. A hero can give up their identity and do what they are told or continuing being a hero, and knowing the cost that come with it. Journalism is the same, be called fake and choose sides of conservative or liberal, or do the right thing and act right down the middle, no matter the side. 

SO, why do many heroes decide to pick up the pen and report. Its because they want to fight crime and corruption without the costume on. Superheroes and journalism have both been ridiculed in the past and will be in the future, but their is a bind between them that can never be broken.

   

Comics for Education 📚

Education and comic books often times aren't thought to go hand and hand. A comic book would be out of place in a school. But that has seamlessly changed in the past 15 years or so. Teachers have started to use comics as teaching tools and ways to get students involved in learning. Graphic novels such as Watchmen, Maus, Bone, Batman:The Killing Joke and Batman:The Dark Knight Returns are often times always on an English teachers shelves. They are kept there for a student to read on their down time or for an educational purpose in the school year. School libraries typically have a section of graphic novels, trade paperbacks and manga. Not to mention when the book fair comes, there are always books centered around superheroes.

Scholastic put out an article on comic books in the class room and it talks about how you have to read a comic. "As literature, comics are 'a layering of text, visual and pictoral,' says James Bucky Carter, Ph.D., author of Building Literacy Connections with Graphic Novels: Page by Page, Panel by Panel.  And don’t think you can just skim a comic book. The words and illustrations are meant to be “read” together. “As long as you’re reading comics, you’re using visual literacy skills." They also touched on how comics can be a great way to peak reluctant readers’ interest and challenge those students who are fluent in more traditional literature.

Comic books have always been used to teach serious topics and be great teaching tools. They have taught the topic of drug awareness such as Amazing Spider-Man #96-98 and Green Lantern/Green Arrow #85, the topic of asthma in Captain America meets the Asthma Monster, the topic of deafness in Iron Man: Sound Effects and the introduction of Blue Ear, and the topic of seat belt safety in American Honda presents DC Comics' Supergirl. 


Using comic books in an educational and fun way in schools is a way to get kids interested in comics and can teach them often time complex and interesting things. There are so many benefits to it and I hope more and more teachers and school districts keep incorporating them.




Here is the Scholastic article about comic books written by Samantha Cleaver:
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/comic-books/

And 10 examples of PSA comic books from DC and Marvel by io9:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/10-educationally-insane-superhero-psa-comics-5981826

What's next for the MCU? [Spoilers Ahead]

Avengers:Endgame has been out for almost two weeks now. Its made almost $2.3 billion dollars at the box office and with Spider-Man:Far from Home coming out in July capping off the 3rd Phase of the MCU, the question is what's next? What happens now with the MCU? Disney and Marvel recently announced the schedule of Phase 4 in a press release and the dates of...

• May 1, 2020
• November 6, 2020
• February 12, 2021
• May 7, 2021
• November 5, 2021
• February 18, 2022
• May 6, 2022
• July 29, 2022

Phase 4 starts in May of next year, but with what movie? We know three movies already casting or in talks. That being the Black Widow prequel film, The Eternals, and Shang-Chi:Master of Kung Fu film. Marvel has many projects lined up for the Disney+ streaming service, including WandaVision, The Falcon and Winter Solider, Loki, and Hawkeye. These are probably being done to tie up loose ends of Avengers:Endgame.

I'm now going to start discussing my thoughts on what I believe Marvel should do moving forward and this is where spoilers from Endgame come in. SO, if you've seen it stick around and if you haven't come back after you have.

In Endgame, we see many ideas established and set up. We see the death of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers become an old man and pass the shield on to Sam Wilson. I don't believe we will see a new Iron Man and in The Falcon and Winter Solider show, I think that is where we will see Sam Wilson grow into his role as Captain America. When it comes to Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the third awaited movie, I think they will be hunting down the Gamora who is from the past and has entered into the current MCU timeline. When it comes to the Avengers and if we will get more movies, I believe so. The New Avengers and A-Force would be great ways to establish new teams in the MCU and introduce younger heroes into the world.

In some leaked footage from Spider-Man:Far from Home, it is established The Snap ripped holes in the multiverse and to me, this is a great idea. Deadpool is said to be left alone and kept the way he is in how Disney and Marvel want to do the character. That means having Ryan Reynolds continuing to do the part, and this would be a great way to introduced him, Cable, and Domino into the MCU. I think the same could be said for the X-Men and Fantastic Four. 

Avengers:Endgame is a incredible movie and set the stage for Phase 4 of the MCU greatly and hopefully the next phase can give us some great villains, heroes and stories just a memorable as the Infinity Saga!