The following is a video I made for my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. It’s both a general review and an analysis of the second season of “The Boys,” Amazon Primes bloody and brutal satire of the superhero genre. It has quickly become one of the best new shows on any platform and for good reason. This video is my way of both celebrating and exploring those reasons. Enjoy!
Filed under Jack's World, superhero comics, superhero movies, television, YouTube
In a year so full of objectively awful news, a tiny bit of good news goes a long way. When that news involves superhero comics and upcoming TV shows, it goes even further with me. On that front, such news has been few and far between. This year has been fraught with major delays and cancelled conventions. Fans like me need some good, exciting news for once. We’re due.
Then, this past week, we got it. It’s been in the works for a while now, but now it’s getting real. One of the big Marvel Studios Disney Plus shows that has been in development, “Ms. Marvel,” officially found their Kamala Khan in Iman Vellani. As an unapologetic Ms. Marvel fan who has sung her praises before, this is just the news I needed.
Deadline reported it. Many others in Hollywood circles praised it. Fans like me were just elated that Kamala Khan is set to enter the MCU.
Deadline: Newcomer Iman Vellani To Play Title Role In Marvel’s ‘Ms. Marvel’ Series For Disney Plus
After a long and hard search, Marvel has found its Ms. Marvel. The studio is tapping newcomer Iman Vellani to star in its Disney Plus series based on the comic-book character. Marvel and the streamer recently named Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Meera Menon as directors on the project.
Now, there’s a lot I want to say about this news, this casting, and the prospects for this show. I’ve already touched on some of that before and I have every intention of highlighting even more as the show develops. Ms. Marvel is very near and dear to me as a character. I’ll be among those cheering the loudest for her and for Ms. Vellani to succeed.
Before I get to any of that, though, I want to offer a special message to Ms. Vellani. I doubt she’ll ever read it. I’m sure she’ll hear from plenty of other voices far more prominent and insightful than mine. I still want to put this message out there because I think it’s worth saying.
Dear Ms. Vellani,
First off, congratulations! You just earned yourself the role of a lifetime with an incredible character. On behalf of many other Ms. Marvel fans, I wish you the best. We’ll all be cheering you on as you bring Kamala Khan to life in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It will be challenging. Anything worth doing is. I believe you’re up for it. I also don’t doubt that you’ll face obstacles, some of which have nothing to do with your acting abilities or your love for the character.
The world of superhero media is an amazing place. Both on and off the screen, there a lot to take in. Chances are, it will be overwhelming at time, but once the fans embrace you, they’ll be your greatest ally. It’s what helped Ms. Marvel become such a prominent, beloved character. That’ll help you achieve success on a level that will do justice to her legacy.
Now, there are parts of that world that are less pleasant. As in any genre, there are critics and trolls who will try to tear you down. They’ll attack you, just as they’ve done to the likes of Brie Larson, Daisy Ridley, and Kelly Marie Tran. Do not let them get you down. Do not let them stop you from being the best Ms. Marvel you can possibly be.
Also know that Kamala herself has attracted plenty of trolls. Some of the ugliest elements of superhero fandom have been denigrating Ms. Marvel since the day she debuted. Some go so far as to attack her creators. These people are no different than the villains Ms. Marvel fights. They do not deserve an ounce of your attention.
The love people have for this character is many times greater than those who go out of their way to hate her. That love is what makes Ms. Marvel special. We hope you feel that love as you don that now-iconic costume. May it carry you through the challenges that await and may it enrich your world, just as Ms. Marvel has enriched ours.
Sincerely, Ms. Marvel Fans
This year has sucked for many reasons. While one reason tends to be more prominent than others, many of us have felt it. Some have just felt it more than others. While 2020 has sucked for everyone, it especially sucks for fans of superhero movies and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This year was supposed to be a year of transition. After the record-breaking returns of “Avengers Endgame,” the MCU was at a crossroads. Prominent actors had lived out their contracts. Certain heroes were killed off or retired. Longtime Marvel fans like myself were both anxious and curious to see where the MCU would go from here.
This year was supposed to be the beginning of Phase 4, which was to commence with “Black Widow,” “Eternals,” and “Shang-Chi.” On top of that, the MCU was going to venture into the world of streaming with several Disney-Plus shows. It all seemed so promising.
Then, the goddamn pandemic hit. Need I say more?
Now, it’s official. For the first time in a decade, there will be no MCU movies in 2020. According to The Verge, “Black Widow” has been pushed into 2021, along with the rest of the aforementioned 2020 slate of movies.
The Verge: Black Widow delayed to 2021, pushing back The Eternals and other Marvel movies
Black Widow will now open on May 7th, 2021 — more than one year after it was originally scheduled to be released. Like with other Marvel delays, Black Widow’s new date pushes Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings back from its May 7th, 2021 release date to July 9th, 2021. The Eternals, which was supposed to follow Black Widow is moving from February 12th, 2021 to November 5th, 2021. A number of other Disney films, including West Side Story and The King’s Man, were also moved around as part of the shuffle.
Basically, the entire timeline for the MCU’s next phase just skipped a year. As someone who scheduled entire months around going to see Marvel movies, I can’t put into words how disappointing this is. This year has broken my heart, my spirit, and my hope for a brighter future. This just rubs salt, acid, and molten lead in the wound.
However, as disappointing as this news is, I do want to keep things in perspective. I also want to highlight some insights that may or may not be encouraging. Please don’t mistake any of that for tangible hope. I still have none left. At the same time, I do see reasons for encouragement.
For one, I’m not too surprised by “Black Widow” being delayed. I think the bean counters at Disney saw the box office returns of “Tenet” and decided to throw in the towel for this year. Despite that movie being widely praised by fans and critics, it barely made enough to cover the marketing budget for a typical MCU movie.
Movie theaters are not back. They are a long way away from being back, so to speak. This pandemic has hit them harder than any other industry that doesn’t involve health care workers and mask manufacturers. Even if a good movie comes out, people are still reluctant to go.
That’s not likely to change this year. It probably won’t change in the first few months of 2021, either. However, if the current timelines are to be believed, we should have a working vaccine by the end of 2020. That’s the only way the world will return to some semblance of its former self.
Now, I don’t believe that timeline for a second and I don’t think Marvel Studios believes it, either. If they did, then they wouldn’t have pushed “Black Widow” all the way into the spring. While this does mean a longer wait, it also reveals something else that’s just as important.
Earlier this year, I questioned whether the entire movie theater industry has been irreparably damaged. While I stand by many of my points, I might need to pull them back. Before this news came out, Disney decided to take the plunge into pure streaming and dump “Mulan” onto its streaming service. I suspect that if this move proved both successful and profitable, then that might be the future for all its major movies.
However, that future is now in question. While Disney has claimed that the movie has generated some healthy profits, the extent of those profits is very much in question. Nobody is convinced that “Mulan” is a success or failure. This is not like “Trolls World Tour,” a kids movie that cost less than half of what it took to make “Mulan.”
In a healthy, non-pandemic world, it’s hard to say whether “Mulan” would’ve worked out better. However, it is fairly clear that dumping a big budget blockbuster movie on a streaming service just isn’t as profitable as the good old fashioned box office.
That bodes well for both movie theaters and the MCU. I believe that Disney and Marvel Studio believes that their big budget blockbusters need to come out in theaters. These are not cheap independent movies that Netflix gladly gobbles up. These are massive cinematic undertakings. They need movie theaters to get a good return on their investment.
That need might very well be what saves the movie theater industry, at least to some extent. I think moving the MCU’s heavy hitters into 2021, assuming by then a vaccine will have tempered the pandemic, shows that they still believe in this model. They’re still committed to using this platform for developing the MCU.
Honestly, I’m a bit relieved. As much as I love binge-watching my favorite movies, there’s still something to be said about the movie theater experience. I don’t think that watching “Avengers Endgame” on my TV would have had the same impact as it did when I saw it in IMAX. That experience is still valuable.
Now, I’ve learned not to trust release dates and timelines. This year has taught me that all timelines are tentative when pandemics are a factor. Be that at as it may, Disney’s reluctance to dump big movies on a streaming platform bodes well for the movie going experience.
If and when “Black Widow” comes out on its newly scheduled date, I’ll definitely be there to see it. It may also be the best possible sign that we’ve gotten through this awful shit storm that has been 2020.
This year has been a lost year for many things. I don’t think I need to go into reasons why or to what extent. It’s awful. We don’t need to be reminded of that. This is especially true for fans of superhero movies. To some extent, this year almost feels like karma after movies like “Avengers Endgame” dominated the box office for so long.
As bad as things have been, we’re still trying our best to inject a little awesome into this increasingly dystopian landscape. Like it or not, superhero movies and media still have a place in the entertainment landscape. This past year might have been a huge loss for the box office, but there’s still reason to be excited about the future of the genre.
That includes the entertainment behemoth that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When this year began, it promised to be a time of transition. With the rise of Disney Plus, Marvel Studios has a new medium to explore and evolve. Among those crop of shows is mini-series called “WandaVision.”
Given Vision’s fate in “Avengers: Infinity War,” the setup alone for this show is odd. Not being a fan of how their relationship was handled in the movies, I admit I wasn’t that excited about this show. However, I was curious.
Then, the trailer dropped and my curiosity has only grown. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend you check it out.
It looks weird. The setup is very strange. The visuals are all over the place. It’s hard to tell whether Vision is alive, dead, or part of some strange fever dream. There’s a lot of strange humor and odd mysteries. This show looks downright crazy.
That’s exactly why my hope and excitement for this show has been renewed.
To explain, it’s necessary to know a few things about Wanda Maximoff. Before she helped make Elizabeth Olson a star, she was a very controversial and very unstable character in the comics. She had a nasty history of warping reality in distressing ways, often at the cost of her sanity.
If this trailer is any indication, she has not been coping well with Vision’s death at the hands of Thanos. That reaction would be perfectly in line with what happened to her in the comics during the infamous House of M event. That event is still a bit of a touchy issue for many comic fans, but it’s a perfect foundation for this show.
It puts Wanda in a position to deal with her many issues. However, given her powers and her unstable nature, that process is bound to be messier than series of intense therapy. It wouldn’t even be the first show that explored reality-warping people dealing with mental health issues.
“Legion,” a short lived, yet well-done show on FX did something similar. For Wanda, creating these pocket realities in which she’s still with Vision, living this ideal life with her lover, feels exactly like something she’d do. Giver her upcoming role in “Dr. Strange: In The Multiverse Of Madness,” it could act as a precursor for things to come.
I hope this sets the stage. I also hope this makes Elizabeth Olson’s take on the character more complex. To date, all she’s done is fail to protect her loved ones and lash out. I think she has room to do so much more. I hope she succeeds with this show.
I think Marvel and Disney need this show to succeed, too. With the world still such a mess, they can’t rely totally on the cuteness and merchandizing potential of Baby Yoda to see them through.
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The following is a video from my YouTube Channel, Jack’s World. As someone who has followed and praised X-Men comics for years, I wanted to make a video that articulated just how important the recent House of X/Powers of X story by Jonathan Hickman is in the history of the franchise. I tried to do it justice while trying not too hard to geek out. Enjoy!
Filed under Jack's World, superhero comics, superhero movies, X-men, YouTube
Let’s face it. Pretty much every industry not associated with health care, masks, streaming media, and Zoom calls has been hit hard this year. That’s especially true for certain segments of the entertainment industry. Basically, if you’re a movie studio, a movie theater, a comic shop, or a mall, this year has been like 100 punches to the gut, jaw, and genitals by a crack-fueled Ivan Drago.
That’s how bad global pandemics are. They pull no punches and will hit anything that attempts to prosper, both directly and indirectly.
Those blows extended to the comics industry, as well. As a lifelong comic book fan, I certainly felt it. I haven’t forgotten the weeks on end of having no new comics to enjoy for the first time in over a decade. It was not a pleasant experience. As elated as I was to see New Comic Book Day return, I didn’t doubt for a second that there would be some lasting scars.
Well, now it seems some of those scars are starting to fester and the first one to feel the pain is DC Comics. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the entire DC Comics operation has been hit with major layoffs and restructuring. It’s still intact, but make no mistake. This is the single biggest purging of personnel from a major comics publisher since the mid-1990s.
THR: DC Comics, DC Universe Hit By Major Layoffs
Monday’s WarnerMedia layoffs have affected a significant number of high-level figures at comic book powerhouse DC, multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
Among those said to be losing their positions are editor-in-chief Bob Harris, senior VP of publishing strategy and support services Hank Kanalz, VP of marketing and creative services Jonah Weiland, VP global publishing initiatives and digital strategy Bobbie Chase, senior story editor Brian Cunningham, and executive editor Mark Doyle, who oversaw the rollout of the Black Label graphic novels. Jim Lee remains the CCO.
Roughly one third of DC’s editorial ranks are being laid off, according to sources.
Insiders also say the majority of the staff of the streaming service DC Universe has been laid off, a move that had been widely expected as WarnerMedia shifts its focus to new streaming service HBO Max.
I can’t understate how big a deal this is to the larger world of comics, but I don’t want to overstate it, either. This situation is objectively bad. There’s no way around it. It’s also not the definitive end of DC Comics. That’s a narrative I don’t want to fuel.
That hasn’t stopped some of the whiniest, dumbest segments of the comics crowd from claiming otherwise. I won’t name names, but they are affiliated with a certain movement in comics that has only become less credible and more insufferable with time. The box office return of the “Captain Marvel” movie is proof enough of that.
Don’t be fooled by what some asshole voices on social media claim. This restructuring is not because DC Comics had too much diversity. It’s more a byproduct of DC Comics having lost its sense of vision, scale, and identity. This is something that happens from time to time in comics. After a while, the whole line loses its sense of self and needs some revitalization.
I can say, as a longtime comic fan, that DC has become somewhat stale in recent years. Even before the pandemic, I felt as though it had lost momentum outside its mainstays. It has primarily been relying on the strength of Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Flash. As iconic as those characters are, they just can’t sustain the entire line.
There are many reasons for that. I think DC Comics, as a whole, hasn’t had a consistent vision since the days of DC Rebirth. It just got bogged down too much with competing visions, like DCeased and Injustice: Gods Among Us. It also endured way too many delays with its last big crossover event, Doomsday Clock.
The onset of the pandemic just exacerbated a problem that was starting to grow. As bad as things are now, there’s also an opportunity to set things on a better path. That’s my greatest hope for whatever restructuring DC pursues next. It still has plenty to build on. The success of the Harley Quinn show is proof enough of that. It’s just a matter of what form that will take.
That said, I do have major concerns. Comic lines have gone through upheavals before, but never during a global pandemic. This is uncharted territory for the comics industry, as a whole. This is not the era of newsstands and comic shops where top books could easily sell hundreds of thousands of copies. Paperbacks alone are not going to make this industry succeed.
Comics, in the current system, work best as a garden from which new characters, stories, and ideas can blossom. The fruits of that system can later become the basis for TV shows, movies, merchandise, and so much more. DC Comics already has a major media partner in its owner, AT&T. The structure is there. They just have to carve their niche into it.
I understand that’s easier said than done. Right now, a lot of factors are working against DC and the comics industry, as a whole. When all is said and done, comic shops may become much more diminished and trade paperback sales may dwindle to just a handful of titles. I’m not looking forward to that kind of status quo.
The ultimate setup may one day involve DC Comics just abandoning its publishing system, as a whole, and shift to licensing its characters to other companies, such as IDW. That’s very much a last resort, but one that may be more likely if DC can’t get its comics in order.
I want to be hopeful, but I’m also going to brace for the worst. If 2020 has taught me anything, it’s that things can always get worse and the things we love are always capable of succumbing to forces beyond our control. It’s a sad, nihilistic mindset, but one that a global pandemic tends to affirm. Only time will tell and I’ll be waiting with baited breath.
Filed under DC Comics, media issues, superhero comics
Sometimes, just when you think things can’t get possibly worse, the universe finds a way to hit you in a way that reminds you otherwise. This year has been awful by so many measures. Between global pandemics and ugly politics, it really felt like 2020 couldn’t get more agonizing.
Then, we lost Chadwick Boseman.
Of all the good, pure, loving souls this year could’ve taken, this one definitely hurts. This hurts in ways that words just cannot properly articulate. I say that not just as a lifelong fan of Marvel and Marvel superhero movies or as someone who cheered the success of “Black Panther.” I say that as someone who respected the man since he showed his heart and acting talents as Jackie Robinson in “42.”
I’ll say it again. This hurts. When I saw this report, I didn’t want to believe it. I thought it had to be a mistake or some elaborate troll job. Sadly, it wasn’t. When the official announcement came down, I was in genuine shock.
I’m honestly at a loss for words here. Not since the death of Stan Lee have I been in such utter disbelief. I’d been bracing for Stan’s passing, given his advanced age. I never imagined that someone like Chadwick Boseman, a man of only 43 who seemed to have a bright career ahead of him, passing away. The fact he was able to keep working as he fought cancer is a further testament to his greatness.
For someone like Boseman, who set himself apart as such a paragon of how great Hollywood could be, it just isn’t fair. Absolutely nothing about this is fair. This man brought to life a character who resonated with millions. He rose to stardom for all the right reasons, making all the right choices, even as his own body failed him.
His loss will be felt for generations to come. Someone like Chadwick Boseman doesn’t come around often. At a time when Hollywood seems to be lacking in respectable role models, losing Boseman stings even more. I don’t know what else I can say, other than he will be missed a great deal. The world is an objectively worse place without him.
At the risk of ending this video on too much of a downer, here’s a clip of my favorite moment from Boseman. Now that he’s gone, these moments are all the more precious.
Wakanda forever!
Filed under Current Events, Marvel, superhero comics, superhero movies
The following is my first video movie review for my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. After a summer being locked down due to a global pandemic, movie theaters in my area finally re-opened. Fittingly enough, the first movie I checked out was the frequently delayed “New Mutants.” Was it worth the wait? Well, see for yourself!
Filed under Jack's World, Movie Reviews, movies, superhero comics, superhero movies, X-men, YouTube
The following is a video I made for my YouTube channel, Jack’s World. It’s a video version of an article I wrote a while back. I added and removed a few details to the video. If necessary, I’ll do a follow-up. Enjoy!
Jack Fisher's Official Publishing Blog 