The Death of the MCU on Netflix

It’s over. With the cancellations of The Punisher and Jessica Jones, the Netflix corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has officially come to an end. Well, it will once season 3 of Jessica Jones airs later this year. It is truly a sad day. True, the Netflix series weren’t all amazing (looking at you, season 1 of Iron Fist), but none of them were awful nor deserved this fate. So why has the streaming service dumped them?

The answer, I’d assume, has at least a little to do with the fact that while Netflix was producing the series, they did not own the characters. Marvel is making a ton of money off these characters and the merchandising of them, with Netflix getting very little if any. For proof of this, look no further than the Marvel Legends action figure line. They released a wave containing the Netflix series versions of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Elektra, and the Punisher, with no mention whatsoever of the streaming service on the packaging.

But I’d imagine that the major reason for the split between Netflix and Marvel Studios boils down to the fact that Marvel’s parent company, Disney, is set to launch its own streaming service, Disney Plus, this fall. It has already been announced that Disney Plus will feature several MCU series in The Vision & Scarlet Witch, Loki, and a currently untitled Winter Soldier and Falcon show. With all the links and references that connect the MCU together, one can assume that there would have been plenty of connective tissue between the Disney Plus and Netflix series. So if Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, or The Punisher series had continued they’d have essentially been advertising for programming on a competing streaming service. No way Netflix was going to do that, especially after they had briefly had an exclusive contract with Disney for its library of movies and television series before they announced their intentions to launch Disney Plus.

The subject of whether Marvel Studios could revive these series on Disney Plus has been breached. At the moment it appears that that cannot happen, as there was a clause in the contract between them and Netflix that prevents Marvel from producing any movie or television series featuring these characters outside of Netflix for 2 years after the latter officially cancels them. It looks like it will be a long time before we see these characters in new live action media, unless some sort of buyout can be agreed upon. Such a buyout would be almost certainly be costly for Marvel Studios. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that it won’t happen, it would probably mean that it would take some time to be worked through. Meaning, it could take almost that 2 year time frame before it could be worked out and production be greenlit for new projects.

So while I’m every bit as bummed as you about the fact that we’re losing these shows, especially the fantastic and ground-breaking Daredevil, I understand the reasoning behind their cancellations. I’ll just have to console myself with the 160+ hours of content that we were fortunate enough to get from Marvel and Netflix’s collaboration…and hold to the hope that one day we’ll get to see more from these characters we love.

Thank You, Stan Lee.

The world of comics, and really the world as a whole, was rocked yesterday with the passing of legendary comic creator Stan Lee. I wanted to write something yesterday, but I really needed a day to grieve and process before trying to take on an endeavor like honoring a man that has meant so much to me and millions of others. It also gave me time to gain some perspective on how I wanted to handle my post. I’m going to try to keep from being too emotional in terms of sadness, but instead want to simply celebrate the life and work of the man that I have looked at as a hero since my childhood.

Stan Lee will forever be seen as the face and ambassador of comics. He changed the landscape of comic books, and not just because of his prolific ability to create new characters with interesting powers, but also because he gave those characters compelling human qualities and wrote stories that explored their humanity every bit as much as it portrayed their journeys into the fantastic. Comics and superheroes existed before Stan Lee, but they never had a heart until he came along. He forced other writers to dig deeper, to write better stories, to create more inventive characters, and to pour more of themselves into those characters. He is truly the one that turned superheroes into modern day mythology. Lee dealt with social and topical issues like racism, the arms race, and rising above disabilities. He was a trailblazer. He created the first standalone black superhero in Black panther. He went against the Comic Code and wrote an anti-drug story when mentioning drugs at all in comics was risking potential political, social, and financial backlash or losing distribution of the comic all together. And kudos to Marvel Comics for taking that stand with him.

He was also very fortunate to have worked with some of the absolute greatest artists in the history of comics that collaborated with him to help flesh out his visions. Legends like Steve Ditko, John Romita, Sr, and the immortal Jack Kirby joined with Lee to give these amazing heroes life. Heroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther, Daredevil, Ant-Man, and the Avengers are some of the most iconic names in the realm of comics. And all of them came from the combination of Lee’s mind and those men’s pens. A little known fact about Stan Lee: when he served in the United States Army’s film department, he worked along side a man named Theodor Geisel…who we now know as Dr. Seuss. Really sit and think about the creativity that resided in that unit.

I’ve written before about how much Stan Lee meant in my life. He was my inspiration to become a writer. But to fully grasp what Stan Lee meant to me you have to understand how my life was as a kid. This isn’t a therapy session, so I’m not going to go into great detail about it, but I grew up without my dad around. So a lot of life lessons that kids gain from their father, I would have missed out on had it not been for reading old comics written by Stan Lee. He always poured such humanity and realism into his stories and characters. There was always something to learn, a weakness to overcome, a drive to persevere. Especially in the stories that starred my favorite hero, and the one in whom Stan Lee has said he saw the most of himself, Spider-Man. Lessons like being responsible with the gifts you’ve been given and using them to benefit others…lessons like taking care of and protecting your loved ones…lessons about actions having consequences…and so so many more. Stan Lee helped me understand life and the world I was living in. To put it plainly, I wouldn’t be the man I am today without Stan Lee.

Sadly, he’s gone now. But his legacy will live on in not only his wonderful characters, but also in the lives of those, like myself, that he turned into “true believers” without even knowing that he touched us. He was known for his catchphrase “Excelsior” which means “upward and onward to greater glory”. So, if you’re reading this, heed Stan’s word and go and dare to dream. Imagine. Create. Let that be his legacy in this world. Let’s all keep pushing and striving toward that greater glory. Excelsior!

Bananaman & the Power of Food

Comics have certainly given us characters with some strange abilities. Seriously, just take one look at The Doom Patrol for proof. Today we’re going to focus on powers based around food, because I was feeling some writer’s block (hence the long break between posts) and asked someone whose opinion I trust to help me come up with a topic. In what can only be considered a joke, she said “bananas”. But taking it as a challenge, I decided to give it a go. This is destined to be one of the weirdest posts I ever make. So, let’s take a look at some of the random food-related super powers.

 

Bananaman

Anyone that watched Danger Mouse on Nickelodeon back in the 80’s will remember the companion series of Bananaman. But few probably realize that it was based on a British comic book character of the same name. Whenever ordinary boy Eric Wimp eats a banana, he is transformed into ultra strong but equally dimwitted crime fighter, Bananaman.

 

Tony Chu

Easily one of the strangest, and at times disgusting, food-based powers is that of Tony Chu, protagonist of the Image Comics series Chew. He is a cibopath. Meaning he gains a psychic reading off of anything he eats (with the unexplained exception of beets…sorry Dwight Schrute), including human flesh. He uses this ability to help solve murders and other crimes…many times by eating a piece of the victim.

 

Condiment King

One of several characters, like notably Harley Quinn, that first appeared in the fantastic Batman: The Animated Series, that were later adapted into Batman comics. Not one of Batman’s more well known (or threatening) villains. Mitchell Mayo (yes, even his real name is condiment joke) uses various condiments like ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and relish to attempt to commit crimes while spouting off condiment puns. Always easily taken down by the Dark Knight, Condiment King is nothing more than a silly comic relief villain.

 

Too Much Coffee Man

Dressed in long johns and sporting a giant coffee mug for a hat, the character doesn’t have any actual super powers, nor does he fight crime. Unless you consider existential banter and musings a super power. Too Much Coffee Man is simply a means of social commentary and satire, but is also one of the oddest looking characters in comic books.

 

Eye-Scream

It had to have been hard to see the X-Men and all their amazing powers out there making a difference in the world, while you’re a mutant with the ability to transform your body into…any flavor of ice cream. You read that correctly. Appearing in only one issue, Eye-Scream used this useless power to attempt to sabotage the Danger Room, hoping it would malfunction and kill the X-Men. He failed miserably and thankfully was never seen in Marvel Comics again.

 

Egg Fu

When people point out the absurdity and ridiculousness of comics, it’s hard to defend them when characters like Egg Fu exist. Originally designed as a “Yellow Peril” stereotype villain (complete with cartoonish Asian features and speech patterns) to take on Wonder Woman. Over the years, DC Comics has realized the racist undertones of the character and have given it several reboots, redesigns, and new backstories. Regardless, it’s difficult to get past the utter silliness of a talking giant egg being considered a serious threat to a half-Amazon/half-god warrior like Wonder Woman.

How will the Disney/Fox Merger Affect the MCU Landscape

While there still remain a few hoops left to jump through for Disney’s purchasing of the vast majority of 20th Century Fox’s properties, it appears to be all but a done deal that the media giant’s trove of media treasures (which already includes the ABC Network, ESPN, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel Studios) is about to be overflowing with riches. Among the properties Disney will be getting are The Simpsons, Avatar, Ice Age, Planet of the Apes, and the distribution rights for the original Star Wars film A New Hope (hopefully, FINALLY leading to a blu-ray release of the unaltered version of the original trilogy!!!), as well as bringing the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises back home to Marvel Studios. There’s plenty to talk about in regards to how this merger will affect Hollywood as a whole, but as this is a blog about comic books and their related properties, we’ll focus on what the merger means for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Obviously this means that Marvel’s first family, the Fantastic Four, is going to be incorporated into the MCU mix in some way. Whether that is in movie or television (most likely Netflix if they go the TV route) form remains to be seen. There are pros and cons to both. If they bring them into the movies, would mean seeing the Fantastic Four put on par with the other heavy-hitters of the MCU where they belong. Mr. Fantastic especially deserves to be seen as an intellectual equal to the likes of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner…in fact, I’d love to see Stark and Reed Richards go back-and-forth in a “who’s smarter” pissing contest. Also, the visual effects it would require to do the FF properly would fall more in line with the budget of a movie over a television series. The major con of going the way of a motion picture is that it would be the 2nd reboot of the franchise after 2 failed attempts. It might be a lot to ask audiences to invest in a 3rd rendition this soon. But going for a 2nd reboot worked for Spider-Man (though the first go on Spider-Man actually gave us 2 good movies before going off the rails).

The potential for franchise fatigue would be the major upside of putting the Fantastic Four in a Netflix series instead. The expectations would be smaller and could allow for a more low key re-introduction of the characters to the public. Aside from the con of not having a budget sufficient to handle the effects on a TV show, we’d lose out on the potential of seeing Dr. Doom as an overarching big bad for the MCU…which is something I’m hoping for in Phase 4. We’ve already gone huge with universal peril in the form of Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet. I’d like to see them scale back a bit and have a villain that is still extremely formidable and dangerous, without facing universal-scale annihilation. And Dr. Doom would be the perfect choice to take up that role.

As part of the properties tied up in the Fantastic Four franchise, we can also expect to see A-list characters like Namor, the Silver Surfer, and the planet-eating Galactus (who will probably be the major villain they go with in Phase 4, despite my hopes of going small).

With all that said, the biggest acquisition would be that of the X-Men, a franchise that has already produced some fantastic films (and yes, a few absolute fails…looking at you X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and generated billions in box office revenue. This fact is why I actually didn’t have much desire for Marvel Studios to get the X-Men. I feel like neither really needs the other. Marvel is doing just fine without bringing in a property that’s already overstuffed with characters, and trying to integrate it into the MCU at-large could prove to be a very tedious and messy process. Plus, in a lot of ways, the Inhumans have taken up the role that mutants play in the larger Marvel tapestry. And the X-Men story can exist and expand without the need to have tie-ins to other stories. But clearly, there is a ton of money to be made by seeing those 2 worlds collide. We could even potentially see an “Avengers vs. X-Men” plot play out in a future movie. Which would be very cool to see, no doubt.

The big question surrounding the X-Men, though, is how will the ultra violent, foul language onslaught that is Deadpool be handled in the family-friendly confines of the MCU? Many people are concerned that this will lead to a watered down version of the character. But Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has stated that there would be a corner of the MCU for more adult-oriented properties. So I remain hopeful that there won’t be a change to the style of films we get for Deadpool. Also, keep in mind that Disney owns Touchstone Pictures, which they use to distribute movies that don’t fit into the mold of the usual Disney fare. Deadpool, and any other Marvel properties they feel require the R-rated treatment, could very well end up being distributed through Touchstone.

All in all, this merger is a great thing for fans of Marvel movies. Sure, there are serious potential problems with the consolidation of Hollywood, but that’s for the FTC and the Supreme Court to worry about and figure out. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the awesomeness of seeing the Marvel Universe all under one media umbrella for the first time.

Greatest Comic Book Villain Portrayals – Part 5

Welcome to the epic conclusion of the countdown of the greatest live action portrayals of comic book villains! It’s been fun making this least and writing about it. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey as much as I have. Without further ado, I give you the best of the best…or perhaps the best of the worst, as we are dealing with the bad guys, right? The best at being bad? However you want to put it.

As always, here’s a quick recap of the previous entrants:

25. The Penguin – Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)
24. The Joker – Cesar Romero (Batman – TV Series)
23. Deacon Frost – Stephen Dorff (Blade)
22. Saint of Killers – Graham McTavish (Preacher)
21. Doctor Octopus – Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2)
20. Vulture – Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
19. Deathstroke – Manu Bennett (Arrow)
18. Green Goblin – Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man)
17. The Governor – David Morrissey (The Walking Dead)
16. Catwoman – Julie Newmar (Batman – TV Series)
15. Hela – Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok)
14. Captain Cold – Wentworth Miller (The Flash)
13. The Joker – Jack Nicholson (Batman)
12. Helmut Zemo – Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War)
11. Magneto – Ian McKellen (X-Men)
10. Cottonmouth – Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage)
9. Bane – Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises)
8. Ra’s al Ghul – Liam Neeson (Batman Begins)
7. Erik Killmonger – Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)
6. Negan – Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead)

On to the Top 5!

5. Kilgrave – David Tennant (Jessica Jones)

Performed to icky perfection, David Tennant took a surprise turn as not only a villain, but an altogether sleazy and irredeemable one like Kilgrave. It’s hard to take a character that uses their ability to control people’s minds to rape and murder, and actually make it charismatic without going into sympathetic territory, but Tennant pulled it off wonderfully. In fact, the writers’ brief attempts late in the season to try to make Kilgrave seem somewhat sympathetic by showing the tragedy of his backstory is the only real knock on the portrayal. The character is evil and manipulative, period.

4. Loki – Tom Hiddleston (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

Now, Loki on the other hand, while being manipulative and selfish, rarely comes across as actually evil. Oozing charisma and charm, Tom Hiddleston’s Loki quickly became one of the most recognizable and popular characters in the MCU. Even when he does things that are in conflict with the hero (most often his half-brother, Thor), you can’t help but like him. Easily the best portrayal at blurring the lines between hero and villain of any performance on this list, and even finally achieved heroic status in the opening scene of Infinity War, in a final sacrificial act of standing up to Thanos to attempt to protect the Space Stone.

3. Thanos – Josh Brolin (The Avengers: Infinity War)

Speaking of the Mad Titan. While he may have had brief appearances in the first Guardians of the Galaxy and mid-credit stinger of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Josh Brolin’s Thanos didn’t really become a thing until The Avengers: Infinity War. There was a lot riding on his performance, as Thanos was the biggest of big bads in the MCU…the villain that they’d been building to for 10 years. And he did not disappoint! Brolin delivers a powerful, layered, even emotional performance. The shifting of the character’s motivations from simply wanting to impress Death by wiping out half the universe in order to “balance the scales” to instead callously feeling like he’s actually “saving” half the universe due to dwindling resources added another layer of depth to an already incredible character.

2. Kingpin – Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil – TV Series)

As far as real-world type villains in the comics, the Kingpin reigns supreme. And Vincent D’Onofrio’s take on him in the Daredevil series on Netflix follows suit in the realm of comic book media properties. Charlie Cox is great as the titular hero, but D’Onofrio brings such a weight and depth to the Kingpin that they seem almost equals in importance and interest. Menacing and prone to tantrums of ultra violence, yet brilliant, calculating, and methodical in his schemes, he makes for a truly captivating villain. His performance is also a fantastic example of explaining a villain’s tragic backstory and motivation without generating sympathy for them.

1. The Joker – Heath Ledger (The Dark Knight)

As if there were anywhere else to go with the top spot. Not only is Heath Ledger’s Joker the greatest villain live action portrayal, it is the greatest character portrayal in a comic book property, period. As captivating a characters as you’ll find, Ledger’s performance is everything you could want in a villain: compelling, menacing, devious, cunning, and completely insane…not to mention insanely quotable. While the other two Jokers that made the list played up the crazy a bit over-the-top, Ledger delivered a grounded, utterly horrifying view of chaos personified.

 

Greatest Comic Book Villain Portrayals – Part 4

Welcome back to the countdown of the best portrayals of comic book villains. Ready to crack the top 10? Before we get to today’s entries, lets take a quick look at who we’ve covered so far.

25. The Penguin – Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)
24. The Joker – Cesar Romero (Batman – TV Series)
23. Deacon Frost – Stephen Dorff (Blade)
22. Saint of Killers – Graham McTavish (Preacher)
21. Doctor Octopus – Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2)
20. Vulture – Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
19. Deathstroke – Manu Bennett (Arrow)
18. Green Goblin – Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man)
17. The Governor – David Morrissey (The Walking Dead)
16. Catwoman – Julie Newmar (Batman – TV Series)
15. Hela – Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok)
14. Captain Cold – Wentworth Miller (The Flash)
13. The Joker – Jack Nicholson (Batman)
12. Helmut Zemo – Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War)
11. Magneto – Ian McKellen (X-Men)

On to today’s installment…

10. Cottonmouth – Mahershala Ali (Luke Cage)

Oozing with charisma, and far more nuanced than the typical MCU villain, Mahershala Ali’s take on Cornell Stokes (a.k.a. Cottonmouth) was superb. While I do love Mike Colter’s take on Luke Cage, I actually found Cottonmouth to be far more interesting than the titular hero. So compelling and engaging was his character, that his death halfway through the first season, throws the entire show out of whack leading to a disappointing back half. Showing him being forced into the life of organized crime despite his wishes to avoid it, yet fully embracing it once he’s in, he did a fantastic job making Cottonmouth come across as both vicious and slightly sympathetic.

9. Bane – Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises)

I know some dislike the voice Tom Hardy chose to use for Bane, but I personally thought it gave the character a memorability and helped in making his incredible dialogue standout even more. And make no mistake, his dialogue is just that: incredible. He easily has some of the best material in the entire series. Including the “darkness” monologue, which sums up a villains backstory better in just a few sentences than some get with entire scenes dedicated to it. Being the first of three villains from The Dark Knight trilogy being in the top 10, it speaks to just how amazingly well Christopher Nolan did in creating great villains.

8. Ra’s al Ghul – Liam Neeson (Batman Begins)

Number 2 in The Dark Knight trilogy big bads. The shock of learning that Liam Neeson’s character, originally claiming to be Henri Ducard (the man that helped train Bruce Wayne in the comics), was in fact the real Ra’s al Ghul, was a truly wonderful plot twist. While Bane may have had better dialogue, and the Joker got more focus, I really believe that there was more charisma in the interactions between Christian Bale’s Batman and Liam Neeson’s Ra’s al Ghul than any other villain in the franchise. With the connections to him in the events of The Dark Knight Rises, he in many ways was actually the primary villain of the trilogy.

7. Erik Killmonger – Michael B. Jordan (Black Panther)

Easily one of the most complex villains in a comic book property. While his actions and his ultimate goal are evil, due to the life he was forced to live due to the horrible mistakes of his father and uncle, it’s understandable why ended up with such a distorted worldview. That’s something that is rarely seen in comic book movies or television series: a full understanding of why the villain believes what he does. Typically the villain’s reasons for evil-doing and their motivations are simple, shallow, and one-dimensional. None of those could be used to describe anything about Killmonger. His death scene is one of the most truly heartbreaking moments in the MCU.

6. Negan – Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead)

Over-the-top and in love with the sound of his own voice, yet charismatic and entirely engaging, Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s performance as Negan is a spot-on portrayal of its comic book counterpart. Even though the quality of the series as a whole has been in a bit of a downward spiral the last few seasons, it is in no way due to the show’s villain during that time. Negan has been one of the few bright spots and compelling things going on for a while. I can remember thinking that his casting seemed a bit out of left field as he hadn’t even been rumored to have been a choice, and was only cautiously optimistic about his potential…but man, was I wrong. Now, I can’t imagine anyone but him playing the part. It’s almost like he was made to play it.

Sadly, I have not been able to pump this list out as fast as I had hoped, but I’m still aiming to get it done tomorrow. Hope to see you then, when I finish off the countdown with the Top 5!

Greatest Comic Book Villain Portrayals – Part 3

A recap of the list so far:

25. The Penguin – Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)
24. The Joker – Cesar Romero (Batman – TV Series)
23. Deacon Frost – Stephen Dorff (Blade)
22. Saint of Killers – Graham McTavish (Preacher)
21. Doctor Octopus – Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2)
20. Vulture – Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
19. Deathstroke – Manu Bennett (Arrow)
18. Green Goblin – Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man)
17. The Governor – David Morrissey (The Walking Dead)
16. Catwoman – Julie Newmar (Batman – TV Series)

And now, onward and upward!

15. Hela – Cate Blanchett (Thor: Ragnarok)

It’s a tough task trying to be a menacing villain in a comedy-heavy film like Thor: Ragnarok, but Cate Blanchett pulls it off wonderfully. Hela is powerful and incredibly deadly, while still managing to throw in a couple dabs of humor as well without making her seem like any less of a threat. It’s a testament to her ability as an actress to strike that perfect balance. My only disappointment with Hela, and it’s nothing to do with anything Cate Blanchett did, is that Hela was not used as the stand-in for Death in The Avengers: Infinity War.

14. Captain Cold – Wentworth Miller (The Flash)

While Wentworth Miller’s take on The Flash’s nemesis, Leonard Snart, might rank at #14 on this list of best portrayals, it might be among my absolute favorites personally. As I’m not a huge fan of the character in the comics, I never expected to love it so much in a live-action setting…but man do I. Incredibly charismatic, with a line delivery that borders almost on the absurd, but regardless draws you in, Captain Cold is highlight of The Flash, and the first season of Legends of Tomorrow, as he attempts to gain some redemption for his past transgressions, but still manages to keep his twisted sense of morality.

13. The Joker – Jack Nicholson (Batman)

The first truly homicidal psychopath Joker to grace the screen. Even though Jack Nicholson did a great job bringing the Clown Prince of Crime to life, much like Alfred Molina’s Dr. Octopus, I was not a fan of linking the villain to the hero in a personal fashion unnecessarily. In the comics, the Joker is not the man that murdered Batman’s parents (that distinction goes to petty criminal Joe Chill), and changing that fact served no purpose in the film other than being able to deliver the “You made me!/You made me first.” line. But even still, his actual performance hits the high notes of the zany, ultra violent insanity we’ve come to expect from the Joker.

12. Helmut Zemo – Daniel Brühl (Captain America: Civil War)

He may not have been any sort of physical threat to Captain America, Helmut Zemo was one the most dangerous villains in the MCU. His methodical approach to exacting revenge on the Avengers for the deaths of his family in Sokovia by forcing them to turn on each other, was absolutely brilliant. I loved the subtlety in his performance. When you have a film with so many big hero personalities, trying to squeeze another big villain personality could have made the film feel over full. So choosing to tone Zemo back and have him operate mostly in the shadows was fantastically done. He’s also distinct among movie villains, in that he actually achieved his goal. While Cap and Iron Man didn’t kill each other, their bond was broken and most of the Avengers were left as fugitives. I only wish he would have donned some form of his mask from the comics at some point.

11. Magneto – Ian McKellen (X-Men)

Magneto has long been among my favorite villains in the comics. He is the perfect example of how a person’s life experiences shape their world view, and Ian McKellen…and to a lesser extent Michael Fassbender…have done an amazing job bringing that to the big screen. McKellen’s portrayal is layered, powerful, and multi-faceted. His hatred and rage, even when more subdued and subtle, are always very tangible and delivered in a way that is believable and understable. He’s also rare in that while most villains end up dead in comic book movies, he has managed to survive through multiple films.

Come back tomorrow where we’ll crack the top 10 among the best live-action performances of comic book villains. See you then.

Greatest Comic Book Villain Portrayals – Part 2

The countdown of the best live action portrayals of comic book villains rolls on. Just a recap of who has been covered so far.

25. The Penguin – Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)

24. The Joker – Cesar Romero (Batman – TV Series)

23. Deacon Frost – Stephen Dorff (Blade)

22. Saint of Killers – Graham McTavish (Preacher)

21. Doctor Octopus – Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2)

Now on to the next 5:

20. Vulture – Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming)

Back-to-back Spider-Man foes. Oscar-nominated actor Michael Keaton managed to make a villain whose only real threat was flying really high into a truly menacing adversary to everyone’s favorite Wall Crawler. Seriously. That scene in the car when he’s taking his daughter and Peter to the dance is one of the most intense scenes in the entire MCU. He did a fantastic job of explaining his very realistic motivations to the point of you almost side with him a little, while also reinforcing the fact that he is most definitely a villain with willingness to kill anyone, including a 15 year-old kid, that interferes with his business.

19. Deathstroke – Manu Bennett (Arrow)

Easily the best villain in the Arrowverse so far. Deathstroke also benefited from having one of the most fleshed out backstories as well, since he was a large part of Oliver Queen’s own backstory, with it finally leading to the moment that turned Slade Wilson against him. Responsible for the removal of Oliver Queen as the CEO of Queen Industries, the murder of his mother, Moira, and leading an army into Star City, Deathstroke has by far been the most destructive foe for the Green Arrow.

18. Green Goblin – Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man)

The first big bad in the cinematic side of Spider-Man is also its best. While yes, the costume left a lot to be desired, Willem Dafoe is wonderful in his portrayal of Peter Parker’s nemesis. Norman Osborn’s ego and ambition are on full display, as is the distance in the relationship with his son, Harry, due to Norman’s high, somewhat unrealistic, expectations. But what really sells Dafoe as the Green Goblin is his insanity. As a huge fan of the character in the comics, the first time I saw the scene of him talking to himself in the mirror, I literally got goosebumps. It’s that perfect.

17. The Governor – David Morrissey (The Walking Dead)

While the television version of the character isn’t quite as despicable as its comic counterpart, it’s still quite villainous. He may not have cut off Rick’s hand nor beaten and raped Michonne like he does in the comics, but he’s still responsible whether directly or indirectly for the deaths of Hershel, Andrea, Merle, Axel, Milton, and Martinez, as well as the sexual assault of Maggie, the beating of Glenn, and the destruction of the prison that Rick’s group had made a sanctuary. Also unlike the comic book, David Morrissey’s Governor actually got a fan-satisfying death.

16. Catwoman – Julie Newmar (Batman – TV Series)

The original femme fatale of comic books played by the beautiful Julie Newmar, was sheer perfection for the campy 1960’s era Batman. She may not have been the acrobatic ass kicker we’ve come to expect from Catwoman, but her portrayal was spot-on for that time period. Conniving yet playful, dangerous yet sexy, you couldn’t have asked for a better performance. Sadly, Eartha Kitt’s attempt to replace her in the 3rd season of the series fell short.

My goal is to get the rest of the countdown knocked out this week. Watched Ant-Man and the Wasp Sunday, and want to get to the review. So, hopefully I’ll see you guys tomorrow as we drop another 5 baddies.

Greatest Comic Book Villain Portrayals – Part 1

What good is a hero without an equally menacing and compelling villain? Sure, the hero is the focus of the story, but he/she has to have something or someone to overcome. That’s what makes the hero’s journey so interesting and entertaining. Comics have long featured the best baddies that pop culture has to offer, so why would the movies and television series that are based on them be any different? So let’s countdown the best portrayals of villains in comic book properties (note: I’m only including live action portrayals…though there are some truly fantastic villain performances in cartoons…including the greatest villain portrayal ever: Mark Hamill’s Joker).

Here…we…go…

25. The Penguin – Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham)

While I’m not a fan of the show as a whole, for several reasons that I won’t get into here, I very much enjoy the portrayal of a young, power-hungry Oswald Cobblepot delivered by an underrated Robin Lord Taylor. Seeing the Penguin’s rise to power was one of the things that first interested me in the show. Sadly, it was not enough to overcome my other issues with the series.

24. The Joker – Cesar Romero (Batman – TV Series)

The original Joker. His take on the character may not be the scheming, homicidal lunatic that the Joker was originally created to be, Romero’s performance was a perfect characterization of the Clown Prince of Crime’s comic counterpart of that era. Luckily the comics eventually dropped the camp and returned Batman to his darker, grittier beginnings, and in doing so saw the Joker’s portrayals change in kind.

23. Deacon Frost – Stephen Dorff  (Blade)

It’s sad that the movie Blade is so often forgotten when it comes to discussion of comic book films, and with it, the fantastic performance of Stephen Dorff as the vampire Deacon Frost. Frost is violent, conniving, overly ambitious, and just as dangerous to other vampires that don’t share his vision of the future as he is to the humans he views as cattle. With his dark charisma, he very much plays the foil to Wesley Snipes’ dry and stoic titular half-human/half-vamp slayer, and ends up stealing the show in the process.

22. Saint of Killers – Graham McTavish (Preacher)

Preacher hasn’t been quite the frame-for-frame re-telling of Garth Ennis’ seminal series that I had hoped for, and the characterization has been a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to capturing the essence of the comic’s counterpart. But one of the major hits has been the portrayal of the Saint of Killers. Cold, mostly emotionless, and virtually indestructible, he is the ultimate killing machine and is played to perfection by Graham McTavish. His origin story is easily one of the best parts of Season 1.

21. Dr. Octopus – Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2)

There are plenty who would probably claim I’m blasphemous for rating Doc Ock from Spider-Man 2 so low, but I’ll explain why. There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong with his performance, but I was not a fan of the decision to portray him as sympathetic and giving him a personal connection to Peter Parker…a theme that was rampant throughout the Tobey Maguire lead Spider-Man series. Literally EVERY villain was connected to him in someway. It wasn’t necessary and felt very forced. Then with the sympathy angle on top of that, it felt like a slight to the man that, until the Green Goblin murdered Gwen Stacy, could have been argued was Spider-Man’s primary antagonist.

 

That’s all for this round. I’ll try to get this pumped out quickly. With Ant-Man & the Wasp releasing this week, I want to make sure I can get around to its review before it’s been out too long.

What Does The Walking Dead Do Now?

With the bomb that was dropped on the world of The Walking Dead in the form of the announcement of Andrew Lincoln’s departure from the series at some point next season, it is truly the end of an era for the zombie apocalypse drama. Lincoln’s portrayal of Rick Grimes has been the driving force of the show from the pilot’s opening scene until now. It’s all been about Rick, his choices, and how they effect the others in his group and those that oppose them. So what does the one-time ratings giant do now that it’s losing its star? Who can step into that lead role?

This is actually a situation that has been building for quite some time in the comics on which the show is based. Rick’s son Carl has been just as much a focal point as his father in story arcs over the last several years. The series’ creator, Robert Kirkman, has implied on more than one occasion that Rick is going to die in the relatively near future, and that Carl will take over as the lead character. It makes perfect sense. And it would have made perfect sense for the show as well…but unfortunately, Scott Gimple idiotically (and I’d say rather shadily) fired Chandler Riggs from the show last season. Carl is already dead. So the character that is literally a product of that world, who has been raised in it, lived a good portion of it without the safety of walls, had to fight to survive, and has killed both people and walkers alike to do so, is not an option. Which is a shame as even Negan commented last season after discovering that Carl had outwitted him in the bombing of Alexandria, that Carl was “made for this shit”. And he really was.

But I digress. I could write an entire article on how stupid the decision to kill off Carl was….but I won’t, and that’s not what this article is about. Another strong choice would have been Maggie, played exceptionally by the lovely Lauren Cohan. Sadly, she is only signed up for 6 episodes this season, and has accepted a role on a new show on ABC, meaning Season 9 will almost assuredly be her last. This is even more notable in that with Carl gone, and now Rick and Maggie following shortly behind, that three major characters that are still alive in the comic are now going to be dead on the show.

So with Carl and Maggie sadly out of the picture, who is really a prominent enough character and actor to take over? Daryl would have been a decent choice a few seasons ago, but his character has devolved down to a shell of his former badass self, speaking mostly in grunts, living in a constant state of anger, and continually making stupid decisions that cause horrible outcomes. Maybe Carol? While I know she has a large fan following, I’m personally not one, but even looking at her objectively, I just don’t see enough in her character to be a lead. Same with Michonne and Ezekiel. Love them both, but they’re just not big enough personalities to take over that role.

The only character I really see with that kind of personality and is played by a large enough star to build the show around is Negan. But how crazy would that be? That the man that murdered fan favorites Glenn and Abraham, scarred Dwight’s face, ordered the attack that killed most of the people from the Kingdom and Hilltop, and bombed Alexandria could take over as the lead of the series. I would think that would have to be the biggest character turn in television history. To go from the primary antagonist for 2+ seasons, and being the baddest of the big bads in the series, to the lead protagonist. But in all honesty, I don’t know how they could go with anyone but him. If nothing else, should they choose to go that route, it would certainly make seeing his progression over Season 9 particularly interesting.