Tag Archives: Spider-Man

The 10 Best Geeky Movie Franchises

Who doesn’t love a major blockbuster franchise? I think everyone does, especially the studios who make said films, and consequently make lots of money. These films have a tendency to be a huge part of our lives. We literally spend years waiting for the next one to come out, and then when it does come out we pick it apart with our friends and begin waiting for the next one. I can’t remember a time in my life when I wasn’t anticipating a new film. Granted, sometimes I was waiting for films that probably weren’t really coming out. That was before our magical information age, so I was relying on friends, who had no more information than I did.

In any case, I have taken it upon myself to seek out the 10 greatest geeky film franchises, and then to rank them from 10 to 1. Why? Because, obviously, I love starting arguments. You won’t agree with my list. That’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinion, however incorrect it might be. Just  joshing’ you. A list like this is absolutely subjective, so your list would definitely be different from mine, and that’s ok.

You’ll notice that the Marvel movies did not make my list. I love these films, for the most part, but I felt like a whole “Cinematic Universe” was too broad. Since I am the one making the list, I felt comfortable making the rules, like that one. I also did not include two franchises that were the same, like the 1990’s Batman and Nolan’s Dark Knight, or Star Trek and the new Star Trek. I picked one or the other.

This list is supposed to be anything ground breaking. Mostly it was just for fun, and to hopefully start a conversation or two. Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts in the comments. We love hearing from you.

10. The Spider-Man Trilogy

SpidermanThis trilogy seemed like the first big Superhero hit of the century. This thing was just massive when the first one came out. It was well done, as it brought Spider-Man to the big screen for the first time. It’s interesting because this was before Marvel Studios was really a thing, so they were more invested in this one. Go back and watch these films. They feel like the current Marvel Cinematic Universe, more than the recent Amazing series. Tobey Maguire was great as Peter Parker and was decent as Spider-Man. The suit was spot on. Everything was pretty good. It was a shame that it was rebooted so quickly after the third film was released.

The Best

By far, in my opinion, the best film of the trilogy was number 2. The story seemed to flow the best, and Doc Ock was fantastic. I think it worked because there was one, count ’em, one villain in the film. That just seems to work the best. It built on to what we saw in the first film, and had the classic moment where Pete decides to hang up the suit for good. As well as the classic moment where he saves the train and the people of New York finally really embrace him as a hero. Start to finish, this installment was the most watchable.

The Stinker

Number 3 is the infamous franchise killer. If this installment had just been any good at all, Tobey Maguire may be getting ready for his close up in Avengers instead of a new Spider-Man being cast. Start to finish, this film was just not good. Part of the problem? It was the opposite of what we saw in 2- it had too many villains. For some reason there always seems to be a desire with a superhero franchise to begin character cramming. It never turns out well. Ever.

9. Back to the Future

vmtcdyxThere were few movies that were as cool as Back to the Future when I was a kid. I loved these films. Each of them was one of my favorites growing up. I always dreamed of someday having a DeLorean of my own. It has yet to happen, but I am holding out hope. I loved watching the adventures of Marty and Doc, and I always get sad when number 3 comes to an end and it’s all over. Despite all the 80s references, it is still timeless in a lot of ways. My kids watched the first one a couple of weeks ago and really liked it quite a bit.

The Best

The best of the series was the original. It had the tightest story (notice I said tightest, not necessarily tight), and the fewest gimmicks. It seems like the second and third movie thrived on the gimmicks and the same jokes from the first one, just replayed in different times. The first one was just so original, it is hard to top. It is the main reason why the franchise has endured as long as it has.

The Stinker

Number 3. It was just too cheesy. Don’t get me wrong, number 3 is still a lot of fun, and out of nostalgia, I still love watching it, but it is just not the same quality of the first film.

8. X-Men

x-men-group-fox-is-creating-an-x-men-tv-show-what-will-it-be-likeWhere does the X-Men movie franchise end? is it 2 separate franchises, or just one? With Days of Future Past, it became one franchise. I grew up in the 90s watching the old X-Men cartoons, and I was in love with them just as much as any other kid alive at the time. It was just amazing when this franchise was launched, and seeing Hugh Jackman step into the Wolverine role for the first time was just incredible. He was born to play the part. As was Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier. I remember thinking he would be a perfect Xavier if they ever got around to making an X-Men film. I was right.

The Best

My personal favorite was X-2. I always liked the story of how Wolverine becomes Wolverine. I have also liked the Nightcrawler character. I’m sure is has nothing to do with the fact that he is German. The second movie was a lot of fun from start to finish. Although, First Class is a close second for me. It was also very solid and enjoyable.

The Stinker

Easy. Last Stand. I am can’t tell you how happy I am that Days of Future Past basically retconned that Last Stand never happened. It should have never happened. I wish it hadn’t. Unfortunately, I do remember paying good money to see it in the theater.

7. Harry Potter

Harry-potter-filmsOne of the best modern book series became one of the best geeky movie franchises. There is a definite shift in these films as they transition from Chamber of Secrets to Prisoner of Azkaban, just like the books did. The young actors were not very good at first. They got by mostly on just being “cute,” but they grew into their roles and each one was pretty good toward the end. The movies may not have followed the books perfectly, but I think they did a great job capturing the feeling of the books, which is really almost the best one can hope for.

The Best

For me, I have to say, I really dig any of the movies from Order of the Phoenix onward. They are paced well, and pretty action packed. That’s saying something, because I did not enjoy the Order of the Phoenix book. It was one of my least favorites.

The Stinker

The Sorcerer’s Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone for our British friends). The kids were just learning how to be actors and just developing their chemistry together. Plus, it was like a Disney version of Harry Potter. It was way family centric and almost kid focused. It started getting better with Prisoner of Azkaban.

6. Superman

publicity-photo-superman-the-movie-20409126-1600-1080Superman: The Motion Picture was pretty amazing for its time. I understand it doesn’t compare to what we see today as far as special effects, but it’s not bad either. Plus, Christopher Reeves will always be Superman in my mind. I admit that this is probably higher up on the list for me simply because I grew up watching these movies constantly. I’ll admit right here that Superman has always been my favorite, and I know I am opening it up for all the Batman and anti-Superman folks to send me hate mail or stop following my blog, but I’m proud of my love for Big Blue.

The Best

For me, none of the films in this series touches Superman II. That was always my favorite. I think the main reason why is because Superman actually had a real challenge on his hands with 3 other beings just as powerful to fight against. Then to top it all off, he had just given up his powers to be with Lois. Yes, the costumes definitely date the movie, but 30 years from now, some other blogger, or whatever they will be doing then, will be writing about how the costumes in Man of Steel date that movie.

The Stinker

Superman III. Out of all the stinkers on this list, this one is the one that I will say go ahead and just skip it. There is no reason to watch it, unless you have a couple of hours you simply don’t want.

5. Indiana Jones

indy_200s-c20eab301543d37f3db8f450889906c7fc72d1a6-s6-c30Indiana Jones was the reason I wanted to study History as I got older. I know, he was an archaeologist, but in High School, History was as close as I could get to Archaeology. Then I found out that archaeologists don’t have adventures like Indiana Jones, plus, in History class, I learned about how the Nazis were not really around anymore, so it kind of lost some of its magic. Not completely, though. Indiana did really teach me that there was value in the past and that it was worth studying. I credit him for my love of History. Plus, Harrison Ford was pretty much the coolest guy in the late 70s and through the 80s and early 90s. Who am I kidding, after walking away from that plane crash last week, he’s still the coolest guy around. Indy was so iconic, with his fedora and his leather satchel and jacket, and the whip. He was awesome. I loved this trilogy growing up, and I even have fond memories of seeing Last Crusade in the theater and thinking it was awesome. What a way to end the series. Let’s all pretend that’s how this paragraph can end.

The Best

Raiders of the Lost Ark is tough to beat. While Last Crusade will always have a special place in my heart because I remember seeing it in the theater and it started in Utah, Raiders is the superior movie. It is a classic in every sense of the word. This movie, along with Star Wars launched Harrison Ford from being a relative unknown to being a super star.

The Stinker

Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Pretty easy choice, if you ask me. Maybe I need to go back and revisit the film, but it is just so hard. I left the theater thinking, “Why?!” Last Crusade was so perfect, this one just did not need to happen.

4. The Dark Knight Trilogy

dark-knight-this-dark-knight-rises-fan-theory-redefines-the-whole-damn-movie In an attempt to stem the thousands of comments I was sure to receive about how Batman is better than Superman, I have ranked Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy above the Superman series. It would be hard to rank it below. This was a very solid trilogy, and what I love most about it is that it was a trilogy. Nolan is not coming back to do another Batman film. He told his story, and now he has moved on. This trilogy really showed what Superhero movies could be. It’s no coincidence that this series is the highest ranking superhero franchise on my list.

The Best

Could there be any other choice? The Dark Knight is one of the most perfect films from start to finish. It was a masterpiece, from the storytelling to Heath Ledger’s Joker, it is hard to find a lot of fault with this movie. It has to be the best of the 3.

The Stinker

The Dark Knight Rises. It just didn’t flow as well as The Dark Knight, and Bane was a poor substitute for Joker, but for obvious reasons Joker did not return in this film. It wasn’t a horrible movie, so maybe calling it a stinker is unfair, but I had to pick one film to be a stinker from the trilogy.

3. Star Trek

hero_EB19791207REVIEWS905089998AR10 movies puts this franchise at the top of our list as far as number of installments. It is a testament to the endearing qualities of Star Trek that have allowed the franchise to last as long as it has and still be relevant. I selected the original, prime universe, franchise, and not the new rebooted universe franchise because of how long it lasted. I have always thought of Star Trek as the best of the best as far as Science Fiction goes, at least on TV and on film. Trek was such a big part of my growing up. I used to go through my house and pretend that there were sliding doors in every doorway, like my house was a starship. I would even do sound effects as I went from room to room. I mean I eventually grew out of it…when i got married and I was too embarrassed to let my wife know that I did that kind of weird stuff. Ok, fine, I do it when she is not at how and the kids are in bed. It’s really not that weird.

The Best

When you have so many films, it is hard to choose which one is the best. I have always been partial to First Contact because Picard is so awesome in it, but I think for the Best, I have to go with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. This is the movie that saved the franchise after the first Star Trek Movie was less than good. It is also the movie that set the pace of every even-numbered Star Trek being good, while each odd-numbered was typically not as good. Go ahead, look ’em up if you don’t believe me. It pretty much works out that way.

The Stinker

When you have this many movies, chances are there are a couple of stinkers in the bunch, but the stinkiest of the stinkers has to be Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. So much bad heaped into one movie. They almost had to make VI just to save the franchise and get it back on track. They couldn’t with this dung pile.

2. Star Wars

star_warsLet the arguments begin. How is this not number 1? I hear you, but I think it is indisputable that this belongs in the top 2 with my number 1, and the 2 franchises could be interchangeable, at least in my mind. So how did Star Wars end up at number 2? The stinker was just a little more stinker than number 1’s stinky. Star Wars has so many fond memories for me, but what I love is that the series remains pretty timeless. I know the prequels get a bad wrap, especially by people my age and older, but for my kids, the prequel are just part of the story, good or bad, it is the way it is. This and X-Men were the only franchises I had on this list that we know for sure are still going on. I will be eager to see how Episode VII turns out, even if it is a Christmas release. However, good news today as it was announced that Episode VIII will be end of May in 2017. That just feels right.

The Best

This comes down to A New Hope or Empire Strikes Back. For me personally, it is Empire Strikes Back. There was just always something great about this movie for me. The characters seemed more developed, more comfortable in their roles, and more complex. The story was also really good and flowed well. I love watching Empire Strikes Back, and the big reveal scene never gets old, even when I know it’s coming. I am right there with Luke shouting NO! Literally. I mean my wife usually has to calm me down and remind it’s only a movie.

The Stinker

A lot of people will say it Phantom Menace. I disagree. For me it is Attack of the Clones. I think part of the problem is the name. I could never get past the name. It just sounds stupid. I think the other part, and this is the bigger part for sure, was Hayden Christensen. Attack of the clones was painful for me from start to finish. This is the movie that is responsible for Star Wars at 2 instead of 1. This movie and Jar-Jar.

1. The Lord of the Rings/ The Hobbit

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First of all, congratulations on making it to the end of what has ended up being a very long post. Congratulations, and thank you for reading and sticking with it. Yes, The Lord of the Rings is my number one. When you think about it, it has a lot in common with Star Wars. Both had very solid original trilogies,  followed up with prequel trilogies that were not as good. In my mind, the Hobbit trilogy, although obviously not needing to be a trilogy, is better than the Star Wars Prequels. Hence, it takes the number 1 spot. These movies are huge time commitment (much like this post), but they are always worth it. I can’t think of a time when I have been bored while watching these films, at least the original trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. The scene when Sam picks up Frodo and carries him up the mountain, it just hits me in the feels every time. So much so, that I won’t include the video here.

The Best

It is hard to say which of the Lord of the Rings movies is the best, and really they were all shot at the same time, and are all one continuous story, so the whole trilogy is the best, and should always be consumed in one sitting. Always.

The Stinker

The Desolation of Smaug. Just shouldn’t have happened. The Hobbit was too long by about one whole installment, maybe two. But definitely this one. And whoever heard of a romance between an elf maiden and a dwarf? No one, not even Tolkien.

Well, there’s my list. What did you think? Which ones do you agree with? And disagree? Let me know in the comments. I love hearing from you, and love talking about this stuff, so let me know. In any case, there’s a pretty good list of movies for you to watch, if, you know, you’re bored or anything like that.

Rumors=My Crazy Spider-Man Theory

Well, it has been a few days since I wrote anything about Spider-Man, so that means there’s a whole bunch of new crazy rumors out there in the internet. Chances are, most of them are not true, but some of them keep repeating, and where there’s smoke, there tends to be fire, most of the time. And, upon examining a few of the rumors out there, something started to formulate in my mind. A theory. It’s crazy at best, bold for sure, but somehow, it makes sense, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it came true. Before I get to my theory, let me first run through the rumors, and then I can show you how it all adds together.

Danny Elfman will be a musical contributor to Avengers: Age of Ultron

The Kuhnster [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The Kuhnster [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

This isn’t all rumor. This 100 per cent true. According to the new movie poster released yesterday, Danny Elfman is accredited as a musical contributor of some sort. Brian Tyler is still doing the main score, so Elfman is providing some kind of additional music. Comicbook.com points out that he may just be responsible for the remix of “No Strings” that played in the trailer. I don’t know about that. I doubt that will even be in the movie, if I had to guess. It was put together for the sole purpose of shocking everyone into paying attention to the trailer, and it worked. I doubt that warrants a movie credit. The same site also reminds us that Danny Elfman has done other superhero music before, including the original score for Sony’s first Spider-Man movie. Granted, The ASM series is fresher in all our minds, but the music isn’t. It was forgettable at best. Not Elfman’s classic film music, though. Interesting.

Sony wants to go back to high school with Spider-Man

From Amazing Fantasy #15 by Steve Ditko

From Amazing Fantasy #15 by Steve Ditko

According to an article from Variety, Sony wants to go much younger with their new Spider-Man films. They want to explore life as Spider-Man in high school. Granted, the last two film franchises started in high school, but it didn’t last long. By the sequels, Peter Parker was out of high school and moved on to other things. Sony is reportedly planning on keeping the movies in high school for a while, which will be interesting. Like what we see currently in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series on Disney XD. This means they need to find a much younger looking actor for the Spider-Man role. It would also be interesting to see how this would play out in the Civil War story. I think we can safely assume that the movie will not be following the comic book storyline. That being said, in the Civil War story, Peter Parker is not in high school. He is older, he is seasoned, he has been around for a while. Having him be in high school will obviously be different, and it raises some questions about how he will be interacting with the other heroes involved in the film, since, you know, he’ll be busy at school and not really running with the Tony Starks of the world. I think an established Spider-Man might work better in the story, but again, it might just be how I am relating it to the established story line. This rumor seems to be pretty solid. I would not be surprised if the next Spider-Man franchise revolves around a much younger protagonist.

Sony and Marvel are looking to cast either an African-American or Latino lead

35537 According to Design and Trend, movie insider Jeff Sneider is almost completely certain that  Marvel and Sony’s Spider-Man will not be white. On a recent “Meet the Movie Press” podcast episode, Sneider is quoted as saying: “Spider-Man is going to be most likely black. But there is a chance he could also be Latino. 95 per cent sure not white.” This means, of course one of 2 things. Either Miles Morales is our Spider-Man in the MCU, or our MCU’s Peter Parker will not be white. Either way, it could be a very interesting move for Marvel. Miles would be hard, because his origin rests so much on Peter coming first. Peter being Latino or African-American is going to cause all sorts of controversy. I personally don’t have a problem with it, but Peter Parker has always been white. I covered this earlier, and I believe it could work, but I’m not sure they want to take the risk that it won’t work. Marvel has swooped in to save Spidey- they don’t want to do anything to mess that rescue up.

Spider-Man will die in Civil War

ULTCOM_SM_157_VariantOut of the 4 rumors I am sharing in this post, this just feels the most not true, at least on the surface. It comes from the same source as the previous rumor about the race of Spider-Man, namely Jeff Sneider. The movie insider tweeted out on Monday that Peter Parker was going to die in Captain America: Civil War  and that Miles Morales will be taking up the mantle going forward- meaning that Sony’s next solo movie will feature Morales, and not Parker. I feel like this, combined with the rumor about who will be playing Spider-Man, both coming from the same source could only mean one of two things. Either Sneider is really just messing with us by throwing out these rumors, or, he really has an inside track and the two rumors are connected. For my theory coming up here in a second, I am going with the inside track idea. We are going to assume this guy knows what he’s talking about.

My Theory

Ok, hang on, because this is going to be a ride. You may have already put it all together from the rumors, because I have the smartest readers in the world. Just for fun, let me run through it. Danny Elfman is not contributing anything new to the soundtrack for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Instead, they will be using his original Spider-Man theme and we fanboys will be getting our Spider-Man appearance earlier than we thought. On certain levels, this makes sense. The whole thing is super hot right now, and if they threw in a post credits scene, just to because they can, it would cause quite a stir. It would be a huge deal. Using Elfman’s music makes sense, because it is already composed and ready to use. It also makes sense because I think the Sam Raimi films felt more like the MCU than the ASM films. Either way, the first part of my theory is that we will see at least a post credits appearance of Spider-Man in Avengers.

The second part of my theory is that we will be seeing a familiar face once Spidey removes his mask. I don’t know if we will see him sans mask in Avengers or Civil War, but when we do, it will not be a new actor. I think Sony is looking for a new Spider-Man actor, and we will get to that, but when we first see him, it will either be Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield. My gut says that Garfield is done. I think it will be Tobey since they will be using his music. I also believe they will retroactively tie in the Sam Raimi movies with the MCU (that’s a stretch, but not really if the rest is true). In other words, the first Spider-Man we see will not be new, but he will be experienced and well-loved by the people. That will be important for his role in Civil war. This might seem strange, because why would they have never mentioned him before if he was out being a superhero and stuff? Easy, Spider-Man has always been pretty local to New York. He doesn’t do a lot of world saving, mostly he just saves the city, so he wouldn’t be on the big Avengers style stage. I think it could work.

Peter Parker will die in Civil War and true to form, it will be taking a bullet to save Cap. That will be a nod to the comics. He is not bullet proof, so it works. It may just be the thing to bring the two sides back together enough to prepare for the Infinity War. His death will leave its mark and will be an inspiration the whole MCU because of how he dies. It will also be an inspiration for young Miles Morales, who will be bitten by a genetically altered spider and get spider powers of his own as a result. We won’t see this until 2017 with the new solo Spider-man movie.

All the rumors about a younger actor who is not white all point to this happening. The only way it works is to establish that there has been an existing Peter Parker Spider-man in the MCU, then have him die, and then enter Miles. This ends up being a win for everyone. Fans get to see a brand new Spider-Man movie, while Sony still gets their origin story movie, which do better than other superhero movies. Plus, Sony comes to the stage first with a main character superhero who is Black and Latino. Plus, they get the whole high school experience they are looking for.

What do you think? Is it just a crazy theory, or do the clues in the rumors add up? What if this is Marvel’s way of hinting to us what they are planning? What if it is just a crazy theory, and none of it comes to fruition? Well, then nice thing about writing for your own website is that you can’t get fired when you get it way wrong. Tell me what you think. Could we see all of this happen, or parts or none of it? Let me know in the comments.

This Week in Geek: Could a Black Spider-Man Work?

35537Since the big announcement came down a few weeks ago, the internet has been swirling with excitement and speculation. One thing that has been on everyone’s minds has been who will be playing Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? We know so far that Andrew Garfield is out, and that’s about it. One question that keeps coming up is whether Marvel should cast an African-American for the role of Spider-Man. The way I figure it, there are two things really pushing this. One is that Donald Glover joked about being the first black Spider-man back in 2011. Of course, at that time, Andrew Garfield was cast for the role. Now that he’s out, this has all come up again, many fans of Glover’s would like to see it happen. The other big thing pushing all of this is the cult following that Miles Morales has in the comics as Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe. I have nothing against Miles Morales being Spider-Man in the Ultimate Comics, or if they wanted to put him in a movie. But they won’t. It will be Peter Parker, because that is what everyone knows, that’s what everyone expects. Miles is not as well-known as Spider- Man, so I think it would be a big gamble to go with him. It doesn’t mean that Miles Morales movie wouldn’t be as good, or even better than a new round of Peter Parker movies, it just wouldn’t be as profitable. Hollywood doesn’t make movies just to tell good stories. They make movies to make money. Peter Parker sells, Miles is unproven and untested. That’s what it comes down to.

That being said, why can’t Peter Parker be African-American? What about Peter Parker is tied to his race? I understand, in the comics, he has always been white, but what about him would be dramatically altered if he were African-American or Asian or Hispanic? What would change about the character? That is a gamble I think I wouldn’t mind Marvel taking. They have already said that their Spider-Man would be Peter Parker, but could Pete be black? Fox is taking that chance with the Human Torch in the upcoming Fantastic Four film, and I think it will work fine. Let’s talk a look at what makes Peter Parker/Spider-Man who he is.

High School Student

Granted, Pete’s not in High School anymore in the comics, but this is the direction Disney/Marvel wants to go, and it is an area where Spidey works well- balancing his school work and his home life and his love life with saving the world. Peter Parker in High School works well, and having him be a young kid in the movies will be fun to see as he interacts with fully grown superheroes like Cap and Iron Man. Here’s an interesting fact, African-American kids, like white kids, go to high school. This particular part of the character would work whether he is black or white. In fact, it is working in the ultimate Comics version.

Science Nerd

Peter Parker was always kind of a brainiac. That’s always been a part of who he is. He enjoys science and all of that stuff. I mean, he was the one who developed his webbing and how to shoot the webbing from his wrists. There is a long history of him even being able to hold his own with Tony Stark and Reed Richards. This is another aspect of his character that is definitely not tied to race. Anyone can be smart, anyone can be into science. You don’t have to be any kind of race or gender or anything like that. He would be just as believable as a young African-American kid who is into science as he would be as a white kid.

Strong Family Ties

Peter is always concerned about his Aunt Mae. He wants her to safe, he wants to protect her. He wants to help her by doing stuff around the house or whatever. He recognizes how much work she does to take care of him. He also has always had a strong tie to his deceased uncle, Ben Parker. We know that what happens to Ben is what really propels him into being Spider-Man. None of that would have to change if they cast a Black Peter Parker. These kinds of ties to family and emotions and what not are not exclusive to any one race.

Sarcastic Sense of Humor

One of my favorite attributes of Spider-Man is that he is always cracking wise as he is fighting the super villains. He is witty and funny and it just makes for a more entertaining read. This was something I thought Andrew Garfield portrayed better than anyone. His Spider-Man was almost irreverent with some of his humor, but it worked, and I liked it. Again, this is something that works regardless of race or skin color. Your sense of humor is not tied to your race. It’s just not. I have seen funny people of all races, and I have seen really not at all funny people of all races. Race simply does not matter here.

Big Heart

Spidey has one of the biggest hearts of any superhero out there. He really is just out there to help out the little guy. He goes out, day after day and puts his life on the line to protect people and to help people. I mean every superhero does that in the comics, but with Spidey, somehow it’s something more.  He really does simply because he wants to help and he feels like with his powers he can help. How does this make him white or Black or anything? It doesn’t. Big hearted, generous people come from all races and all walks of life. Race is not a factor here either.

From New York

You want to know something that defines Spider-Man? He is from New York. If you were to write a movie and have him come from Chicago or Boston or L.A., that would be ridiculous. Who cares what race he is, as long as he still comes from New York. The city is as much a character in the Spider-Man mythos as the Lizard, or Green Goblin, or Mary Jane. New York is absolutely central to the character. The good news here is that New York is also one of the most diverse places in the world, so anyone could come from New York.

The real reason Peter Parker is white in all the movies is simply because he always has been white. The only reason he always has been is because he was created in 1963, when all the major characters in mainstream media were white. That’s not the case anymore. It doesn’t represent who we are anymore. If Peter Parker/Spider-Man were to be created from scratch today, who’s to say he wouldn’t be a nerdy, African-American kid instead to a nerdy white kid? Chances are, he could be, and would that really change much about his story? The fact that the idea of Spidey being black in the next movie is even a big deal at all tells us that we need to have it happen. I don’t care who they cast as long as he can act well. That should be the only real requirement. This isn’t changing his race just to do it. We are talking about a fictional character who is not tied to any one race. Changing the race of a character just to change it would be making Thor Black. Thor is from Asgard, he is supposed to look Scandinavian. That’s Blue eyes, blonde hair. It would be wrong to change that for him. Spidey, though, is from New York. There is no cookie cutter New Yorker. This is saying, race is simply not a factor here, let’s find our best Spider-Man and put him on the screen. Race doesn’t matter here, so I am fine with whatever.

3 Things I Want to See Now That Spidey’s Home

Amazing_Spider-Man_Vol_3_1_Mhan_Variant_TextlessYesterday, Marvel announced that they had reached a deal with Sony that would bring Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and of course the internet went crazy for it. This is big, big news. This goes beyond a supposed email chain or rumors about some “Spidey Summit,” this is official from Marvel. It’s really happening, and that’s really cool. I know that it’s only really been recently that Spider-Man had been part of the Avengers in the comics, but I still want to see it happen. Plus, whether he is a permanent member or not, just having him around in the universe will feel good. He is where he belongs. Now ultimately, Sony gets all the distribution rights and the final creative say on the Spider-Man movies, but let’s hope they’re smart about it and let Marvel do all the heavy lifting, while they reap all the benefits. Now that he’s home, there are 3 things I would like to see happen with the character in the MCU.

1. No Origin Movie

_1420258801Raise your hand if you don’t know the origin story of how Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man? I would imagine that no one is raising their hand right now. In the last 15 years we have seen the origin of Spider-Man twice on the big screen. Two summer blockbuster films have established for us that he gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gets his powers. We all also know that he doesn’t stop a thief, who he could have, but it wasn’t his problem. Said thief then murders his Uncle Ben. He learns that with great power comes great responsibility. We all know this, and we don’t need to see it in another 2 hour+ film. I am hoping that we won’t see it. According to the deal, Spider-Man will be appearing in a Marvel movie sometime between now and July 28, 2017, when he will be appearing in his first movie. That might indicate that we will be skipping the origin movie and just brushing over his origin story, since he will be in another property’s film.

2. I Want That Movie to be Civil War

civilwar02According to the deal, Spidey will appear in an upcoming Marvel film before appearing in his own film, which is now set to open on July 28, 2017. Let’s assume that Avengers: Age of Ultron  is out because we are so close to the release date of that one, and I don’t think they went to all this trouble to get Spidey to just throw him inputs credits. Let’s assume Ant-Man is out for the same reason, and it would be a weird one to introduce Spidey in. That leaves us  with 3 possibilities: Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, and Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Of those 3, I would say that Civil War makes the most sense. Spider-Man has had crossovers with Doctor Strange before, so I guess it is possible, but that movie will for sure be an origin movie for Doctor Strange, so it would seem cumbersome and awkward to also introduce another new major character. Spider is a down to Earth guy, he doesn’t spend a lot of time in outer space, so a crossover with GOTG just doesn’t seem likely either. He did, however, play a major role in the Civil War storyline in the comics. In fact, when they announced Civil War as the title of the next Captain America film, I wondered how they could do it without Peter Parker. In fact, I didn’t think they could, so I theorized at that time that Spidey would be in the film. I think they were close to this deal when they announced the film and this was the plan all along.

3. It Needs to Be a New Spider-Man

I think this is a done deal. It will not be Andrew Garfield ad Peter Parker. Everything in the announcement from Marvel refers to it as a “new” Spider-Man. I think that it’s necessary for it to be someone new. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and as Spider-Man, especially with Emma Stone. The two together had great chemistry onscreen. I just feel like, after Amazing Spider-Man 2, the franchise felt broken, beyond repair. I think a reboot of some sort was inevitable. I think this is a great point to bring in a new Spider-Man, letting everyone know that what happened before is not part of the MCU, and this is a new Spidey. I think it only makes sense. I have seen people start guessing at who it will be, and frankly, as long as it’s not Ben Afleck, then I am fine. What I would really like to see is a no-name actor that they kind of discover for this role, or who has had minor roles. That would just seem to fit the Spider-Man character.

Whatever happens with Spidey in the MCU, I think we can all agree that this is a good day, and a big day for Marvel and for Spider-Man. I can’t wait to see what will happen with the character and where they go next with the character and the whole universe. It is a good day to be a geek.

2 Follow Ups and FanX Wristbands Arrive-This Week in Geek, January 17, 2015

Good long weekend to you all, folks. I am back with the latex edition of “This Week in Geek,” and for this week we will be kind of returning to the original format in which I covered multiple stories and shared them here. That’s because I have some follow-up on a couple of features I ran last week and this week. One good, and one not so good. Plus, one new story that’s less of a story and more of a woo-hoo.

Netflix Confirms Doctor Who NOT Leaving

tv DOCTOR WHORemember last week when everyone was reporting that Doctor Who was going to be dropped from Netflix as of the end of this month? And some sites were even suggesting that maybe the show, along with other British shows, was being dropped to make room in the budget for “Friends.” Do you remember how your friendly neighborhood geeky Mormon attempted to talk all of you, my fellow Whovians, off the ledge by citing a different post on a different web site that suggested that it wasn’t so much of a drop, but an end to the existing contract, and that Netfilx was already working on a renewal? Well guess what those sites are reporting now. It turns out that it was never an issue of Netflix “dropping” the series in favor of something, but rather the end of the existing contract. A contract that was renewed, with no interruption to the ehh…Timeline…if you will. Good news for everyone, including my wife who is still trying to catch up on number 10. Allons-Y!

Spider-Man NOT Joining the Avengers, According to Sony

3317783-135251969351One of the big stories of this last week was that some deal had been struck between Marvel and Sony to make way for Spider-Man to appear in the 3rd Avengers film. The source of all the reports was the Latino Review, which has been accurate in the past. All fans of the MCU were hoping it was true. We wanted it to be true so badly. I think more than that, Marvel wants it to be true, they need it to happen, as I outlined, a little, in my post about all of this. As it turns out, according to Sony, none of this is happening. It was all based on an old rumor, and no such deal has been made. They are going to continue to muck up Spider-Man with too many villains and spin-offs, all in the name of keeping the rights to a character that is a gold mine, even if the movies tied to him kind of suck. I wish this wasn’t the case. I love Spidey, and I loved the idea of him being home where he blonds in the MCU, but it doesn’t look like that is happening again. I know, let’s just wait a couple of years, until you get close to losing those rights again, and then reboot the series with another film telling Spidey’s origin story, just so you can keep those rights. Poor Peter Parker. (Alliteration!)

My FanX Wristbands Came!

IMG_1108Oh Happy Day! For those of you who do not reside in or near Salt Lake City, Utah, this probably is not that big a deal, so I am sorry. I just wanted to share because it is getting so close now. Less than 2 weeks now, and FanX will be here. Somehow, getting the wristbands in the mail just made it feel that much closer. This will be the 4th major comic-type convention we have had here in Salt Lake, and my third time attending. I am getting better as an attendee with each one. As it gets closer, i will probably write more about it, and probably revise and update my convention survival checklist. As someone who is attending the con, I will also let you know how it went. I am particularly looking forward to our Doctor Who Ultimate “Xperience” which features Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Billie Piper. It should be loads of fun. I can’t wait for it.

Well, that’s it for this week. Hopefully we’ll have just good news next week, and not a downer story like Spider-Man never coming to the MCU.

 

Why We Need Spidey in The Avengers

If you haven’t heard the news, maybe because you have been hiding under some kind of digital rock, it looks like we may finally be getting Spidey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Maybe. At least that is what is being reported. If it is true, it would be pretty amazing, considering all the legal hoops both Sony and Marvel would need to go through to make it happen. It looked like, just a year ago, that something like this would never happen, and now, according to the report, we will get Spidey in the MCU starting in the Infinity War part 1. More important than whether it will happen is why we need it to happen, or if we even need it to happen. I believe we need it. We need Spidey in the Avengers, we need him back home with Marvel, interacting with the other Marvel characters. Let me tell you why.

Super heroes are basically modern versions of gods. They are all-powerful and amazing and everything like that. They are basically everything we can never be, something that, no matter how hard we strive, we can never achieve. And that is part of why we love them, but it makes it hard for us to identify with them in the stories. I have never been injected with super serum, I have never been a billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. I have never been able to turn into a giant green monster. That kind of stuff just doesn’t happen. The Avengers, like the Justice League in DC, are gods, and we are the little people. This is why we need Spider-Man. He isn’t a god like the others. He is just a regular guy who just happens to have been bitten by a radioactive spider. And that is why we love him.

I have always enjoyed reading the Avengers comics that involve Spider-Man. It just seems like we are seeing the Avengers through our eyes, through Spidey’s. He is always a little starstruck, always feeling a little inadequate, like he doesn’t belong, but he is there. I think that’s how most of us would feel if we were invited to hang out with the Avengers. I know I would. So Spidey gives us that in the comics. He is awkward and nerdy for us, and we love it. Bringing this to the films would be incredible. It would add a whole new depth. I wish it were happening in the Civil War Movie, instead of the next Avengers movie. The role he played, being stuck between Captain America and Iron Man, in the comics was so crucial. It’s how we all felt. Iron Man and Cap were both our heroes, how are we supposed to choose between the two of them.  All of this was articulated in Spider-Man as the story progressed. He would be a key figure in Civil War if that were possible, but I’ll take what we can get.

We need Spider-Man to bridge that gap between us and them, for sure.  I think more than that, according to the report I linked to earlier in this post, if Iron Man is in space with Hulk and Cap is dead and Thor is captured, we will need Spidey just to have a familiar face in the crowd. And faces don’t come any more familiar in the Marvel Universe than Spidey. It will make the transition easier for us to the new Avengers, like daredevil or Iron Fist or Doctor Strange. We need Spidey to bridge that gap as well. The original Avengers are all supposed to come back for Infinity War part 2, but what about after that? That is possibly the end of our time with Stark and Rogers and Thor and Hulk. It may be the beginning of a whole new era with new Avengers, and Spider-Man would be a perfect anchor for the team.

The biggest reason we need Spidey in the Avengers is that we need Spidey away from Sony. Amazing Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man 2 weren’t horrible, like Daredevil horrible, but the studio’s plan for the Sinister Six and Venom and endless Spider-Man spin offs sounds bad. I personally don’t care about a Sinister Six movie, and I feel like the only reason they’re doing it is to keep the rights to Spider-Man and the Spider-Man characters. Spidey is at his best, though, when he is interacting with other Marvel heroes like Iron Man and Cap and Doctor Strange and so on. It would just be great to see Spider-Man get the MCU treatment and not have him stuck in his own contained universe. He needs the other heroes, and we need him to have them. As of now, the report is only that Spidey will make his debut in the Infinity War part 1, but there is no indication where that might leave Sony and their deal with the web slinger. I don’t know if that means the end of his time over at Sony or not.

This is big news all the way around, and I think it will lead to better movies with characters that are easier to identify with. I hope this means that Spidey will find his way home permanently. I think we would get better quality Spider-Man movies, more truly aligned with Marvel’s vision. Plus, it would be huge cash-flow for Marvel and Disney. Spider-Man is the most recognizable property Marvel has and the most marketable.

In the end, all of this may just end up being wishful thinking for Marvel fanboys everywhere. The report seems to be pretty legitimate, but it still just seems shocking considering how complicated all of this seemed just a short while ago. It would be pretty remarkable if it does turn out to be true, and would be a great turn of events for Marvel and Disney. They would have a marquee character to carry on after Iron Man and Captain America, and that is something that right now, they don’t have. Plus, it might end the constant reboots and relaunching we have seen thus far with Sony. Now, Marvel just needs to focus on bringing the Fantastic Four home, and save us from more Fox disasters like it sounds like this new Fantastic Four will be. Then, for the big guys, the X-Men. Maybe someday, if they can work out this deal, they can work out the X-Men stuff and we can see an Avengers vs. X-Men movie.  That would be awesome.