This ARCHIVE features the first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe recapped and ranked leading up to "Avengers: Endgame."
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After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“Higher, further, faster baby.” -Carol Danvers INTRODUCTION The MCU is close to its endgame and the audience will witness the finale of the first saga, a ten-year culmination. With “Captain Marvel,” we take a look back at where this entire journey started. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE` This is the 21st and most recent fil in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is also the first MCU film to star a female lead as the protagonist. PLOT Vers is a Kree warrior who doesn’t know she is actually from Earth. Her name is Carol Danvers and “Captain Marvel” tells the story of how a superhero finds out she is human rather than the other way around for a change. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” We don’t know much about Carol Danvers role in “Endgame” although we know she is incredibly powerful and that her relationship with Fury will be her biggest motivation. STAN LEE CAMEO On November 12, 2018, the world learned of Stan Lee’s passing. “Captain Marvel” is the first film in the MCU since his death and the movie opens up with a wonderful tribute that had most of the audience crying within the first minute. Stan’s cameo was also very fitting as we hear him say one of his most memorable catchphrases while reading the script for “Mallrats.” When Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel moves the script from his face, the two share a meaningful smile and nod as if to say, “we, the audience, acknowledge Stan’s passing and the film can wait for a moment of silence.” END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes. The first is literally a scene out of “Endgame” where the remaining Avengers meet Captain Marvel for the first time. The second scene sees Goose the flurken cough up the tesseract back in the 90’s on Nick Fury’s desk. CONCLUSION I loved “Captain Marvel.” I do recognize that it was a bit mediocre, but that’s how a lot of origin films are since the audience and the creators don’t know what to expect. The character usually takes up a life outside of the film as well and Brie Larson is still figuring that out. (With no help from online haters.) I think “Endgame” will do a lot to solidify the characters place in the current timeline of the MCU now that over 20 years would have gone by canonically. (Also, I apologize that this week’s MCU rewatch is a little short but it’s the last one, the film is still in theatres and I’m just ready to see “Endgame” at this point. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Captain Marvel” is a great film and makes my top 10 list. However, at this point, my top 10 ten should really just be my top 20.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 10 days till Avengers: Endgame in theaters everywhere on April 25, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“When Cap asked me to go to Germany with him, if I had asked you, would you have gone?” – Ant-Man INTRODUCTION The MCU has suffered a major loss but we won’t get back to that until April 25, 2019. For now, the studio is filling in some of the gaps and that starts with where was Ant-Man for the last two years? Apparently, on house arrest. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the 20th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the films have gotten to a point where they no longer need to be linear. This is the first time a female hero is part of a title. PLOT After the events of “Civil War” Scott Lang is suffering the consequences of teaming up with Cap. He is on a two-year house arrest when Hank and Hope come back to him hopeful that he can help them bring Janet back from the Quantum Realm. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” We know the Quantum Realm is going to play a big part in “Avengers: Endgame.” We know Scott comes back and that he returns to get Caps help. What happens next, well who knows. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan’s cameo comes late in this film. We see him trying to get into his parked car when it suddenly shrinks and appears to vanish. We see Stan deadpan and say, “Well, the ‘60’s were great but now I’m paying for it.” END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes. The first scene is the most important as we see Ant-Man enter the quantum realm but when he calls over the communication device to come back, the camera shows that Hank, Janet and Hope have all been dusted from Thanos’ snap. Is Scott stuck? The second credit scene is just for fun and shows Antony the Ant playing the drums. CONCLUSION “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is like an after-dinner mint after a big meal like “Infinity War.” It’s not amazing but it’s not bad. It’s jut an average film. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Ant-Man and the Wasp” took the 13th spot just above the original Avengers film. I don’t know if I will agree with this ranking tomorrow, but right now I think I enjoyed this film more.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 13 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends? “You should have gone for the head,” -Thanos INTRODUCTION This is what everything has been building up to. The first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally climaxes with “Avengers: Infinity War.” HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the 19th film in the MCU and the third Avengers movie. There is a lot riding on this film that stems from both “Iron Man” (2008) and “Avengers” (2012). Like those films, this is another milestone for Marvel Studios. This is another “first” for them. The film became one of the biggest MCU installments of all time, just behind “Black Panther.” There is no fear that “Avengers: Endgame” won’t exceed the success of “Infinity War.” PLOT Six years after we see Thanos for the first time in the original Avengers film, we now get to see what is behind that evil smile. Sure, we saw him a little bit in “guardians of the Galaxy” and in that post-credit scene of “Age of Ultron” but this is even four years after those films and the anticipation has only grown. Now, Thanos is hunting down the Infinity Stones and it is his time to shine. By the time the movie starts, he has decimated Xandar and retrieved the Power Stone, he has killed most of the Asgardians, including Loki and Heimdall, he has retrieved the Space Stone and has sent his “children” after both the Time Stone and the Time Stone on Earth. Now the Avengers are ready to play. Hulk alerts Doctor Strange of the coming threat and he recruits Tony Stark. Slowly, the film builds until the final battles on Titan and Wakanda. By the time half the universe is decimated, there are still dozens of questions remaining. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” “Infinity War” has the best score of any MCU film. It helps set up the tension and the intrigue of the film and delivers some painful blows to the gut. Here I would like to go chronologically and address all the questions I still have about “Infinity War” and when we might get answers. This is just my stream of consciousness, so try to keep up. Where’s Valkyrie and Korg? When the film opens, we can assume Valkyrie and Korg have fled. Recently we learned that Valkyrie will be in “avengers Endgame” so I assume this mystery will be solved there. Hulk is bested. During “Infinity War” Hulk seems to be too shy to come out. This will obviously have to be addressed in “Endgame.” Wong guarding sanctum? I am sure we will see more Wong in “Endgame.” "No more surprises" Tony promises pepper. He said he dreams he's having a child. These are obvious teases for what’s to come. Whether that means Pepper really is pregnant, maybe we will see the wedding finally. No matter what, this has to be resolved in “Endgame.” What happened on Xandar? I guess this never really has to be addressed. It’s scary enough knowing that Thanos decimated an entire civilization in the pursuit of the first stone. However, I would like to return to Xandar soon. If not in “Endgame” then maybe in “Captain Marvel 2,” “Guardians of the Galaxy 3,” or “The Eternals.” We see the Spider-Sense for the first time in the MCU. And we better see it again in “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” Ned? Aunt May? Were they dusted? If we don’t find out in “Endgame” then we better find out in the Spider-Man sequel. More info about the children of Thanos? I don’t see us getting any answers about this. Maybe they will show up again in “Endgame,” but I would love a film all about Thanos. Why don’t all the stones have protection spells? This may be nit-picky, but if the stones aren’t destroyed, we better see them all have protection spells going forward. Will we ever see full grown Groot again? Hopefully he is full grown by “Guardians 3.” When did Vision and Scarlet Witch become official? If we don’t see more of them in “Endgame” we will hopefully get more of their story in the standalone TV series on Disney+ next year. How did Gamora find the soul stone? We will probably never find out. Bruce and Nat's relationship!? This has to be in “Endgame.” Cap and Iron man reunion. This has to be in “Endgame.” Everett Ross and the Sakovia Accords? This has to be in “Endgame” or “Spider-Man.” More Red Skull? I don’t care where, but he needs to pop up again. Eitri at Nidavellir. Peter Dinklage probably won’t return but I want to see more of him. What happened on Titan? Maybe this will be foreshadowed in “Eternals” since he says, “I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do it again.” How does Wakanda handle the loss of its leader? What Asgardians are still alive? This has to be in “Endgame.” Will Star Lord get his redemption arc? If not in “Endgame” maybe in “Guardians 3.” Why does Thanos know Tony? Will goose appear? Doctor Strange knew that Tony is the key to defeating Thanos. All of this and more need to be answered in “Endgame.” Honestly, if “Avengers: Endgame” is anything like the last 20 minutes of “Infinity War,” I'm going to have a stroke. Anthony and Joe Russo have taken on a massive cinematic feat that is matched by nothing in history. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan Lee was a bus driver at the beginning of this film. He yells at the students, "what's the matter with you kids, you never seen a space ship before?" END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. Even the credits feel heavy with the weight of this ending. During the mid-credits we see the words "Avengers: Infinity War" on screen with the soft piano tune playing a sad rendition of the Avengers theme. The words are dusted away and when fans usually expect another scene...there’s nothing. It feels like we were stabbed once by that ending and then the knife got twisted again with no mid credits. No hope. End credits: Nick fury and Maria hill are traveling through New York when suddenly people start disappearing. Maria disappeared as a plane crashed into a building. Nick fury disappears too with a pager in his hand. He says "mother..." as the pager falls to the ground. We then see the logo of Captain Marvel. Thanos will return. CONCLUSION “Avengers: Infinity War” is too intense. I love the film and will watch it again, but there is too much happening to watch it repeatedly. It's like a Thanksgiving dinner while the other Avengers films are like desert and the solo films are like vegetables. We need a good mix. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Infinity War” is the culmination of so many other movies’ successes. It wouldn’t be fair to put it that high up when so many other films did most of the work. I still wanted it in my top 10 though, so the number eight spot is where it landed.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 20 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“Wakanda Forever.” INTRODUCTION The role of Black Panther was cast way back before his first appearance in “Captain America: Civil War.” T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) is the first black superhero to lead his own film in the 21st century and in the MCU. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but it is the first to have such cultural significance. It is the highest grossing Marvel movie to date, even grossing more than “Infinity War.” A sequel is obvious happening as quickly as possible. PLOT After the death of the King, Prince T’Challa must take on the role of the Black Panther. However, the former king’s actions come back to haunt the new king when T’Challa’s cousin Killmonger shows up in Wakanda uninvited, challenging him for the throne. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” A significant amount of the ending of “Infinity War” took place in Wakanda. That’s where the snap happens, and we know at least one Wakandan is still alive even though Shuri and T’Challa were dusted. Wakanda doesn’t take death lightly. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan’s cameo is small. We see him gambling inside a Korean casino. He takes T’Challa’s poker chips after he leaves them there. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes. The first scene is an extension of the film and we see T’Challa addressing the United Nations. He says that Wakanda is ready to share its resources with the outside world. The speech is powerful and inspiring. A UN member asks, “what can a nation of farmers offer the rest of the world?” And we see T’challa smile at the camera as it fades to black. The second scene reunites the audience with Bucky Barnes who we haven’t seen since “Civil War” Shuri has been healing Barnes of his brainwashing. CONCLUSION “Black Panther” is a phenomenon that has only come along with the likes of “Avengers” and “Infinity War.” It is a beautiful film and great story. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Black Panther” is unique, beautiful, and important to today’s culture. For all of these reasons, and because it is like none of the other MCU films, it receives the number three position on my ranking.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 27 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“We are the Revengers,” -Thor Odinson INTRODUCTION After two mediocre Thor films, “Thor: Ragnarok” is the champion of the Thor trilogy, directed by Taika Waititi, this third film takes a more comedic approach to the space fantasy. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the 17th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Set two years after the events of “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the audience finally finds out what has happened to Thor and the Hulk. Every MCU film has started to feel similar at this point. However, the formula is good. It works, and not many people are complaining. PLOT The film opens with a monologue from Thor as he has been trapped by Surtur. He says that he has been searching for the Infinity Stones and a battle ensues after he finds out Odin is no longer on Asgard. Thor then finds Loki impersonating Odin and travels to Earth to find him. There Odin tells him of his half-sister Hela and everything goes crazy from there. Thor gets misplaced on a warrior planet ran by Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster. There he reconnects with the Hulk and they plan to escape and save Asgard. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” What happens now that the snap has decimated half the universe and Thor lost to Thanos? Where is Valkyrie? Korg? Will we see Loki again? One of my biggest concerns going into “Endgame” is that “Infinity War” left me clamoring for more time with the characters from “Thor: Ragnarok.” STAN LEE CAMEO Stan’s cameo is hilarious in this film. We’ve never seen Stan so costumed as he is in this film dawning crazy spectacles and scissor arms. Plus, Stan’s role is pertinent to the feel of the entire movie as he is the one who cut’s Thor’s golden hair. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes. The first scene is the most important because it has all been leading up to this. We see Thor and the people of Asgard heading to Earth when their ship is intercepted by Thanos himself. This directly leads into the events of “Infinity War.” The second scene is just played for laughs. We see the Grandmaster surrendering to his captors claiming that the revolution was a tie. CONCLUSION I’m fairly lukewarm on “Thor: Ragnarok.” Most people either love or hate the film but I am in between. It is definitely one of the better Marvel films and the most rewatchable, but it feels so disconnected to the rest of the Thor franchise. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). Now 17 movies in, it’s getting harder to decide where I want to rank each film. I just love these movies so much. That said, “Thor: Ragnarok” received the number nine spot on my list.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 34 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“I’m nothing without the suit,” – Spider-Man INTRODUCTION After the introduction of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man into the MCU, Marvel and Sony teamed up to take on the third iteration of stand-alone Spider-Man movies. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Tom Holland is great as Spider-Man. Let me just start with that. There has never been a Spider-Man who felt funny, young enough to be a kid and both nerdy but charming at the same time. At least not until Holland got the role. Now, I have a hard time picturing anyone else as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. Even if I can’t remember it, there have been two (cough now three) other Spider-Men in the 21st century. Toby Maguire was the first iteration of Spider-Man then came Andrew Garfield and finally Tom Holland. (Since Holland there has also been a wonderful Spider-Man animated movie called “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” featuring Miles Morales.) As for Peter Parker, Holland really shined in his first solo outing as Spider-Man. PLOT “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is a good movie. It’s fun and witty and it doesn’t take itself too seriously as a superhero film but rather more of a teenage comedy. However, Iron Man’s influence is felt everywhere in the film from his cameos, the Stark Internship, the upgrades to Spider-Man’s suit and even the ending scene where Tony and Pepper get engaged. It felt like Marvel was trying to set up as many elements into this film that they could to ensure that Sony didn’t mess up the character a third time. It paid off but it’s not as rewatchable as most Marvel films. The second half of the movie is pretty boring. Random characters like Donald Glover as Aaron David just show up which could hint at Miles Morales coming to the MCU but it will be a while for that to pay off, I’m sure. Zendaya plays Michelle Jones which seems to be the MCU’s version of MJ but there is still plenty of room to introduce Mary Jane Watson later. I liked Zendaya though. At the end of the film Aunt May knows that Peter is Spider-Man which is just so clever that they did that. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” Hopefully no one got too attached to Spider-Man since he was dusted in “Infinity War.” I don’t think he will have a big part in “Endgame” but we will definitely feel the repercussions as that movie leads into “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” STAN LEE CAMEO Stan’s cameo isn’t too memorable. In this film he sticks his head out of the window and yells at Parker like a stereotypical old New York man. It’s funny but that’s all. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two pretty lame end-credit scenes. The first one sees Vulture reuniting with Scorpion, although it’s never said that is who he is. The second teaser is just a joke where Captain America teaches the audience about “the importance of patience.” CONCLUSION I’m excited to see more Spider-Man, especially if they are tied more into the MCU. I worry that the deal with Sony however will one day backfire as they are working on multiple Spider-Man spin-off movies. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). While I enjoyed “Spider-Man: Homecoming” a lot, the second half is just so boring, and it really falls flat for me. We’ve seen Spider-Man before. I don’t have any questions on what this hero can or can’t do. For this reason, I gave it the number 11 spot on my ranking.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 41 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“Peter, I’m your dad.” -Ego INTRODUCTION What does Marvel do when a film is insanely successful? Make a sequel. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2” is the fifteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This film, like the first, stands alone. In fact, without Thanos and the infinity stones, this film stands alone the most in comparison to any other film. It does a lot to get the audience excited to see Avengers and Guardians cross-over. PLOT Just months after the “a-holes” came together in the original Guardians film, the team is now a family and taking jobs across the universe. A run in with the Sovereign and Peter’s father, Ego, leads the team on all sorts of adventures with unlikely team-ups and mayhem. “Guardians: Volume 2” is a smart sequel that helps to tie up loose ends from the original film and introduces the audience to many new characters, expanding the universe. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” I honestly have no clue what will happen to the Guardians. Rocket is the only one living after “Infinity War” so only time will tell. STAN LEE CAMEO Stan has his best cameo where he is telling stories about his cameos to The Watchers. Stan also appears in a end-credit scene. These scenes have many believing the Stan is Uatu. I really love that theory and hope it someday comes to pass. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are multiple end credit scenes in “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2.” First, we see Kraglin testing out Yondu’s arrow. This scene is mostly for fun but it does hint that Kraglin could continue to help the Guardians. Second, we get a scene featuring the original Guardians of the Galaxy including Sylvester Stallone as Stakar, Michael Rosenbaum as Martinex, Michelle Yeoh as Aleta and Miley Cyrus as Mainframe. Third, we see the creation of Adam Warlock. This will likely be continued in an Eternals movie. Fourth, is a peek at Teenage Groot, who we see appear in “Infinity War” with all his teenage angst. Finally, is a continuation of the Stan Lee/Watcher Cameo. CONCLUSION The Guardians are my favorite group of make-shift heroes and the funniest heroes in the MCU. I would literally give my life for more Guardian movies. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). I have to apologize for this ranking. I am just so in love with the characters and the story of “Guardians of the Galaxy” that they have to go at the top of my list. I decided not to put the sequel above the original because that first film was just so special and unique. It was like lighting in a bottle. I also decided that “The Winter Soldier” deserved to be in the top two still just for how much it pushed the universe forward. For that reason, I gave “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2” the number three spot.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 50 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“I’ve come to bargain,” – Doctor Strange INTRODUCTION “Doctor Strange” is one of the most original films in the Marvel continuity. It really has no tie-ins with the other films aside from a reference of an infinity stone. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the fourteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Clearly, Kevin Fiege and Marvel want to expand to other characters that can carry the MCU after Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans are gone. PLOT Doctor Stephen Strange is a word-class surgeon. When Strange gets in a car crash leaving his hands unusable, he seeks out a hidden magical sanctuary to learn how to regain mobility in his hands. However, this is just where Strange’s story begins. He meets the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and soon becomes entangled in a mystic war he didn’t bargain for. Ultimately, Strange’s journey is a classical origin story but it is done in the best way. It is hard to like Strange but the supporting characters do so much work to make this film achieve everything that it does. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” Stephen Strange was dusted but before he left we got to see him do some incredible magic “tricks” while fighting Thanos. He even looked into an almost infinite number of possible futures to determine that the one we got was the right one. I expect he will have to explain himself in “Endgame.” STAN LEE CAMEO Stan can be seen on a bus reading a book during an extremely tense moment. He laughs and says, “now that’s funny.” END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two after credits scenes. The first scene is an interaction between Thor and Doctor Strange. This scene alludes to Loki and Thor looking for Odin. This sets up “Thor: Ragnarok” but didn’t accurately portray the tone of that film. The second scene sets up a possible Doctor Strange sequel villain with Mordo stealing the magic from sorcerers. CONCLUSION “Doctor Strange” is a great origin film. Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange are three characters that have the best origin movies. The special effects are incredible and mind-blowing and I can only wonder what will happen the next time we see Doctor Strange on screen. RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). Stephen Strange isn’t a very likable guy. As an origin story, I really love the story and visual effects of “Doctor Strange” but coming off of just seeing “Ant-Man” also feature a great origin story and special effects, I found myself enjoying the likability of Paul Rudd over Benedict Cumberbatch. For this reason I heavy-heartedly decided to put “Doctor Strange” in the number seven spot, it wasn’t an easy choice, though.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 55 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia After Thanos destroyed half of the universe, the Avengers have been shattered. The riveting conclusion to over 10 years of universe-building will be unveiled on April 26, 2019 when Marvel Studios releases the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Avengers: Endgame.” Where will you be when the journey ends?
“We need to be put into check,” Tony Stark. INTRODUCTION Now that Kevin Fiege and Marvel are working on their own terms under Bob Iger and The Walt Disney Company, telling a focused story is their goal. “Captain America: Civil War” had a lot riding on it with a fight between our heroes, the introduction of Black Panther and new merger between Fox and Marvel to share the rights to Spider-Man. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE This is the thirteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is was an odd choice to tell this story so early in the MCU’s history. In the comics, there are hundreds of superheroes involved in the Superhuman Registration Act. In the MCU, there are only a dozen heroes involved. Team Cap includes Ant-Man, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Falcon and the Winter Soldier with Sharon Carter helping them out. Team Iron Man includes War Machine, Vision, Black Widow, Black Panther and Spider-Man under the leadership of General Ross. This is the first time fans begin to realize everything isn’t as connected s it seems, as many fans expected to see the Netflix shows like Daredevil, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and Jessica Jones to cameo too. PLOT The film starts with our new Avengers team (established in “Age of Ultron”) taking on Crossbones in Logos. When everything goes wrong, Scarlet Witch accidentally kills hundreds in a heartbreaking scene. Soon we see what Tony Stark is up to, introducing his BARF technology to an audience of students, a technology that allows memories to be seen. Somehow, a de-aged Tony Stark is more jarring than a de-aged Hank Pym. Tony has broken up with Pepper and his guilt has lead him to do huge acts of charity, which also leads him to agree to the Sokovia Accords. Some of the best parts of this film is the introduction to Wakanda, the link between General Ross and “The Incredible Hulk” and the closeness between Wanda and Vision. WHAT THIS MEANS FOR “ENDGAME” After fighting Iron Man, Cap, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and Black Widow are vigilantes on the run. Ant-Man appeals for a two-year parole and Iron Man is now dealing with the fallout of his actions. This is the last time we see the Avengers proper before “Infinity War.” STAN LEE CAMEO Stan has a brief cameo at the end of the movie as a fed-ex driver where he calls Tony, Tony Stank. END CREDITS SCENE Another staple of Marvel films are the after credits scenes. This wasn’t a new thing for films, but it has been a revolutionary concept in that every movie now has scenes during and/or after the credits. There are two end credit scenes in this film. The first sets up “Black Panther” and shows that Bucky is being stored there until his mind-wiping can be fixed. The second has us catching up with Peter Parker and teasing “Spider-Man Homecoming.” CONCLUSION “Captain America: Civil War” is as much a Captain America movie as it is an Avengers movie and the film really shows that The Russo Brothers can handle a large ensemble cast. This is what I expect won them the opportunity to direct “Infinity War” and “Endgame.” RANKING Every week I plan to rank the movies in order from favorite (#1) to least favorite (#22). “Captain America: Civil War” is the Avengers sequel the world deserved. It has a lot going on but somehow manages to be perfectly times and thrilling. For this reason I gave it the number five spot on the list.
HOW MANY DAYS TILL “ENDGAME” 62 days till Avengers: Endgame in theatres everywhere on April 26, 2019. [email protected] @GrahamWoodMedia |
Erick L. Graham Wood
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