As of midnight tonight, 2014 will be officially in the books. It was a pretty good year for the world of geeks and nerds. There was plenty that happened and plenty to get excited about. I thought it would be fun to do a countdown of the top ten stories from this last year, at least my top ten, from what I could remember. Maybe your top story did not make the list. Let me know in the comments. So, without further ado, here is my top ten from 2014.
10. The Hobbit Comes to a Close
The third and final Hobbit film hit theaters this last month, and it makes the list, in my mind, because it marks the end of an era. It is hard to remember a time when I wasn’t looking forward to a Peter Jackson Middle Earth film, and now that all ends. There won’t be anymore. There have been a lot comments about the pacing of these last three films compared to the book, and I have been on board with that, but the truth is there has never been a better Fantasy franchise, and it is hard to imagine there ever being a better movie franchise than Lord of the Rings/ The Hobbit.
It will be sad not to have a new film to look forward to, starring our favorite wizard, hobbits, elves, dwarves and men. I am sure the next big thing will show up and geeks everywhere will find a way to carry on, but it is kind of sad that this one is coming to an end. We will miss the Bagginses. If you’re not sad about that, then let me just add this video in, and see how you feel:
9. Changes for Thor and Captain America in Marvel Comics
In a time when it seems like Comicbook companies just can’t leave things alone, Marvel made some pretty big announcements about a couple of its mainstream characters. The first was about Captain America. Steve Rogers would be stepping down, and we have a new Cap as The Falcon steps into the role. This was a big deal because Sam Wilson is African-American. Looking at Comics, I can’t see a bigger name that is African-American. Passing the Captain America mantle to a black man is a big step for comics. In the past, African-American heroes have been partners or sidekicks or second stringers at best. This is a big deal because Captain America is the Man in Marvel, and with the recent success of the Captain America and Avenger movies, it is a series that is getting a lot of notice outside of just the comic collecting world.
The other big announcement had to do with Thor. The reports were a little misleading, at first. Thor himself was not changing genders, but the hammer and the title of Thor were being passed down to a woman. Our new Thor was going to be a female, and that is also a big deal. Thor has always been the embodiment of old-fashioned manliness. He was a barbarian, with huge arms and muscles, using his brute force more than his brains at times. Now, “Thor” was going to be a woman. How would that all play out? From what i have seen and heard, it is all playing out well. Strength isn’t all about the physical size of the character or what gender they are, and it is always nice to see another strong female lead. There aren’t enough of them, and now with Thor and other characters like Captain Marvel, Marvel seems to be ahead of the game. Interesting moves by Marvel, but I think good moves, and exciting moves.
8. Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier
I am a fan of the original Captain America film. It was a great origin story, and Chris Evans makes a great Cap. A lot of folks felt, though, like Cap might be a little cheesy for today’s world. I mean, how seriously can you take a guy who runs around in a flag costume. Along with Superman, Captain America is the last boy scout, and a lot of people feel like that just doesn’t work today. We need the anti-hero, like Wolverine or Tony Stark. The people who are imperfect, like us, and we identify with them. Could a Captain America movie franchise work? Obviously, people who said that were not familiar with what Cap has been lately in the comics. Captain America: The Winter Soldier introduced the world to what Cap can be, and it was awesome. Easily one of the best movies the Superhero Genre has produced, Winter Soldier was a thrill ride from start to finish. It was exciting and intriguing, and it kept me glued to the screen for the whole run time of the film. Plus, it was a bold move by Marvel to totally destroy SHIELD, which has become one of their more popular properties. This movie showed that Captain America was relevant today, and it left most audiences wanting more.
7. Avengers 2: Age of Ultron Trailer Drops
The official first trailer for Marvel’s Avengers 2: Age of Ultron dropped, and the internet went crazy. Fans couldn’t wait to see it, and then to break it all down. What does this mean, what does that mean? Who was that girls with the Avengers? Was that a Pinocchio song? Like all major fandoms, the Marvel fans can’t get enough of this stuff, and they love to talk about it, and with social media and the internet, they have plenty of outlets to do it. In any case, I think it is safe to say that the fans are ready and waiting for this sequel.
6. The Flash Premiers on the CW
After the success that the CW has had with Arrow, it came as no surprise that they would have a spinoff series featuring another hero. I have always felt that comicbooks lend themselves to episodic television, almost better than movies. I love superhero films, but it just seems natural to have shorter adventures each week, similar to the way comics work. We saw Barry Allen appear in Season 2 of Arrow, and fans of the DC comics were hoping this meant we would see more of the Scarlet Speedster. Their hope was realized when The Flash premiered this fall. I am a big fan of this series so far. I love the format, and I loved that it didn’t take a whole season for him to show up in the full on red suit as the Flash. It jumped right into it, which was fantastic. I love Barry Allen in the comics, and I like what they have done with him so far on the series. Plus, it is just really cool to see a real live superhero with super powers every week. I think introducing the idea of meta-humans into this DC universe opens up a lot of possibilities. DC has a lot of other properties they can spin-off from here into other series. If they are all done as well as The Flash and Arrow, then I welcome it. With these two shows up and running and Gotham on Fox, DC is owning the small screen.
5. Peter Capaldi finally Premiers as The Doctor
The news that Peter Capaldi would be the “12th” Doctor is old news, of course. We knew that clear back in 2013, before the 50th Anniversary special. We even got to see his eyebrows in action in “Day of the Doctor.” So that was not the big news. The big story was that we finally got to see him in action, and it was, well, it was something. I am not sure if all the fans are super excited about Capaldi so far, and it was a rough start. I, however, really enjoy his Doctor. I am excited to see where he goes with it. Obviously, he is not the young heart-throb that the last two have been, but that is a positive for me.
4. Marvel Phase 3 Announced
Marvel made big news when they released the film lineup for their “Phase 3,” showing the films they were planning through 2020. The lis included another Thor movie, Ant-Man, the Inhumans, the Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and 2 more Avengers films. The one film on the list that got the most attention, though, was easily Captain America 3: Civil War. For comic book fans, this was a huge announcement. It meant that we would see in some form, one of the biggest events in recent memory. In addition, it probably also meant that we would see Captain America and Iron Man squaring off in the film. This will be a major event that will affect the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe, leading into the Infinity War.
3. DC and WB Announce their Line-up of Films
It might appear that DC is really behind the times with their films. Marvel currently owns the box office as far as superhero movies go. DC has struggled to put out a successful film that wasn’t about Batman. Don’t think DC is taking this sitting down. Following marvel’s big announcement, DC let us know what they had coming down the pipe, and it is a lot. Dawn of Justice is just the tip of the iceberg. According to the announcement, we will be getting a ton of great films, starting with a Suicide Squad movie after Dawn of Justice. The list also includes a Justice League movie, a stand alone Superman film, a stand alone Batman film, Wonder Woman, The Flash, a rebooted Green Lantern, and Cyborg. Even Aquaman is getting his own film. It is a solid list, and if they are quality films, they will be giving Marvel a run for their money. In the end, we, the geek nation, are the winners because we get just a ton of Superhero movies between now and 2020.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
When I heard that Guardians of the Galaxy was going to be the next project for Marvel, I thought it was going to be a dud. So far, Marvel has been successful by using the characters most people have heard of and spending a lot of money to make them look good. No one had ever heard of Guardians of the Galaxy before. Those who had, mostly just knew that the series had a talking Raccoon and a giant tree, and that was just weird. There was no way, at least in my mind, that this film was going to work and be good, and no way that it was going to succeed at the box office. Simply put: I was wrong. This film was incredible. It was well paced, exciting, funny, just all around a great time at the movies. Even my wife really enjoyed it, which I thought was pretty amazing. Maybe it is a fluke that this film was as great as it was and did as well as it did, or maybe Marvel really has it all figured out. I think we will see when Ant-Man comes out next year. In my mind, it is in the same boat as Guardians. If it succeeds like Guardians did, then Marvel is officially unstoppable.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Drops
What a time we live in. I remember being excited about movies coming out when I was a kid. Back then, though, we didn’t find out that a specific movie was doing out until we saw the poster at the theatre, or the first trailer. Nowadays, it is a totally different ball game. Fans have been following everything about the new Star Wars film since it was announced that Disney bought Lucas Film. I don’t think Abrams was able to use the restroom on set while shooting Star Wars, without someone tweeting about it. So, obviously, when news hit that the first teaser was going to drop, everyone was interested in it. We couldn’t wait to see what the trailer was going to reveal about the film. The biggest reveal, or at least the most talked about? The new lightsaber design. Other than that, not a lot was revealed about the film or story itself. Which is how a teaser should be. In any case, this was probably the biggest story of the year, in my opinion. Indicating, I think, that the actual release of the film will be the story of next year. We may have a few Star Wars dominated years coming up here. And that is just fine.
Well, there you have it. My review of the last year in Geek. Was there a story missing from my list? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.
