Ah, Comic-Con. The largest collection of pop culture and entertainment news all year. It has come and gone, announcements have been made, and the dust is settling. There were many surprising announcements that are really getting myself and many others excited. At the same time however, there are many things that must be picked apart and speculation that must be done. So many questions need answering, and little of them are to be answered in the foreseeable future. Guess it's up to us then. Shall we?
The Walking Dead Season 4 Trailer
As expected, we received a trailer for the next season of The Walking Dead. I gotta say, if the next season is as good as the trailer is, then I'll forgive them for season 3. It was a little lengthy, but it did what it intended to do; it got me interested. The trailer opened up with a group of survivors raiding a store, with an organized plan of attack and complete confidence. It gave the impression that they've been doing this long enough, and that they are capable. The prison is safe, organized, and thriving. Then came the worries. Walkers invading the prison, somehow getting in. Speculation of an inside traitor. Fear for their lives once more. The realization that their impenetrable fortress may not be as stable as they thought. Finally comes the doubt. People are dying, confidence is fading, people are threatening to leave. But their leader of questionable mental stability, good 'ol Rick Grimes, is stubborn. He doesn't want to leave. He believes in his fortress, and isn't going to give it up without a fight, despite public opinion swaying the other way. The brief glimpses of Tyreese and Rick fighting further support this. If it goes the direction of the comics, then Rick's leadership and mental state is going to be tested.
The trailer ends with a speech I can't quite identify as inspirational or depressing by Hershall, followed by a foreshadowing shot of Rick firing his Colt Python without his target in view, leaving us to wonder if he's shooting a Walker, or more likely, a survivor. Finally, we get a shot of Daryl, Michonne, Tyreese, and someone new in a car, picking up a radio signal, getting fans everywhere excited. Honestly, this is looking like it could be a really riveting season. I'm glad that Tyreese is getting a far more prominent role, and that shot with him being surrounded by Walkers was a nice nod to the comic book. I figured after season 3 that they'd drift away from the comic entirely, but I may (hopefully) be mistaken.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
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| How are either of them gonna get a punch in when they're standing that close together? |
Boy oh boy, they are just chugging along with this Amazing Spider-Man thing. Not that planning out a humongous multi-movie Spider-Man universe is a bad thing, I just think that they may be going a little too fast. The first one was met with mixed critical reaction, yet they already have release dates for another 3 movies. I'd get a second one out before they start making preparations for the future, but hey, I'm not a movie producer (yet?).
That out of the way, TASM2 definitely piques my interest. Never thought of having Electro as the main villain, he always seemed like more of a powered thug/villain-for-hire type guy, but since re-watching the Spider-Man 1994 animated series and seeing the Electro episode for the first time, I guess he does have main-villain-worthy powers. (Not that they should model movie Electro after that iteration of Electro, god no). Speaking of Electro's model, a lot of people seem to be ticked off about the race change and costume change. In my opinion, Electro is one of those villains whose race isn't important to his character. In fact, when I was young and read the Ultimate Comics, I started to redesign villains and heroes in my eyes, and I made Electro in a spiky-haired Asian fellow. Black Electro doesn't bother me. And as for his shiny blue skin as opposed to his green and yellow spandex, I expected as much. TASM borrows heavily from Ultimate Comics. I don't think I'll miss that hideous costume anyhow.
Now, TASM's other villain, The Rhino. I've been hearing that he's going to be a very minor villain. Some fans are disappointed in this, but I'm rather hopeful. Spider-Man has a lot of really cool but really two-dimensional villains. In fact, most of his rouge's gallery is petty street thugs who have been in wacky science accidents. People like Rhino, Shocker, Scorpion, Sandman, they don't have much to them. I would rather see TASM take those basic villains and throw them into a cool action scene then try and turn them into interesting villains (*cough* Sandman *cough*). Have a scene an opening scene in a movie where Spidey outwits a street villain like Shocker, then have a major villain for the rest of the movie. If they really are doing Sinister Six, then they can't have it loaded with fascinating villains with compelling backstories, it makes the story cluttered and more about the villains then the hero. Spider-Man 3's problem wasn't that it had too many villains, it was that it had too many stories. Not every villain needs to be more then a bad guy with cool powers. So I'm glad Rhino is just a minor role.
If there is one thing I'm upset about, it's the costume change. I feel like they gave into fan backlash on that one, even though the old costume was new and creative. Now that it's just a one-movie thing, it feels kinda pointless. I would've preferred it to be in this movie as well, and then maybe give it up for a more classic look in the third installment. But it seems like that's just me.
Boy, my opinion on this movie is pretty much entirely contradictory of the general public's. Cool?
Days of Future Past and X-Force
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| Um....ew? |
Yet another movie franchise chugging along to compete with Marvel's juggernaut Cinematic Universe. This one I'm less optimistic about. I've never liked the X-Men film universe. The first two were pretty good films, but deviated too far from the comics. The third was just bad, Origins was downright stupid, though I will say I really liked First Class, despite it creating shitloads of continuity issues. I've yet to see The Wolverine, though from what I hear it's nothing spectacular. All in all, the X-Men movies have either been terribly written or have butchered characters and promoted the shit out of Wolverine. So yeah, not too thrilled about these.
Days of Future Past sets out to correct the continuity issues created with First Class. It's based (no doubt loosely) on the famous Days of Future Past arc, one I have not read and most likely will in the future. From what little we know, it will contain Wolverine (big surprise), all the familiar faces from the previous trilogy AND First Class, with Time Travel being the theme. It will add Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Kitty Pryde to the roster. From what I hear, Kitty Pryde will be the one responsible for the time travel, and if you're familiar with comic books, you know why this makes me groan.
The movie will also somehow feature Sentinels, as seen above. All in all it sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen, but First Class was able to surprise me, so who knows.
Along with Days of Future Past comes the X-Force, a movie based on the X-Force team. Even less is known about this film then DoFP, other than it will contain five members. You can pretty much guarantee one of those members is Wolverine. X-Force's most famous member is Cable, so they'll probably somehow work his existence into the universe with DoFP, and I hope beyond hope that one of the members is Deadpool. REAL Deadpool. Let's not talk about Origins Deadpool, please.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
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| Thankfully, not based on the actual Age of Ultron comic |
Now, this was a surprise. I, along with everyone else it seems, expected Infinity Gauntlet or something else Thanos related to be announced for the sequel. Nonetheless, I'm thrilled. Ultron is by far my favorite Avengers villain, and I'll tell you right now that I'm going to legitimately orgasm when I see him on the big screen.
I'll get into more detail on this, theories and such, at a later time, along with the rest of MCU Phase 2.
World's Finest
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| With 100% less Christian Bale |
shiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeet
I can't stress how surprised and excited I am at this news. However, once more I'll be getting more into it later time. There are so many potential stories and future movies that can come from this film, and this article is already getting long, so I'll write an article on the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU? DCCU?) along with the MCU one in a bit.
That's all folks. Just wanted to get some of my thoughts out there on all the upcoming comic book films and shows after this certainly shocking and jizz worthy Comic-Con. Till next time
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