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dailycass-cain · 1 year

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Cassandra Cain Reading Guide Part 4: Alternate Universe Cass

We've had DCU Cass. We've had Rebirth Cass. But what of Cass from another reality? Well, here's Part IV, a reading list of Alternate Universe Versions of Cassandra Cain!

Part I reading guide you can find here.

Part II reading guide (Modern) you can find here.

Part III reading guide (Random) you can find here.

Part V reading guide (PAIN) you can find here.

Teen Titans #52-53

- Honorable mention to Titans Tomorrow Cass aka Batwoman, but-- she only shows up in three panels. She is Starroed like many Tomorrow Titans but does cry out to "Huntress" aka an older Charlotte Gage-Radcliffe who gets possessed first).

The curious thing about Titans Tomorrow Universe it is always in flux. Originally, her death (along with others by the hand of Duela Dent) caused the "bad tomorrow". Then the sequel well, cloning happened and Cass came back or the future still happened but now she was alive.

A further "revised" Tomorrow timeline shows up in Detective Comics #979 right after Titans Tomorrow Tim escape Jor-El alongside our Tim and then the two battle for a lengthy period in the present day DCU. #979 shows us the current variant of that future with Cass dying to Ra Al Ghul's hand. But-- we're told this by an unreliable narrator in General and Brother Eye. As they say, Steph died too, but when we are reintroduced to this timeline (showing how Tomorrow Tim is snatched by Jor-El) she is very much alive.

-DC Bombshells Black Bat-

DC Bombshells United #8, #18-19

- We don't really get a feel for Cassandra's character in this. Other than we see her for a few panels and learn both she and Katana overthrew their corrupt governments and rebuilt them from scratch. Cass leads a group called the "Bats of Blood and Iron" and goes by the Black Bat moniker.

She's not much a character in this, more a footnote in this story. I feel like if there ever was a spinoff series. We really should get to see Cassandra/Katana more do these things that are mentioned. But.. I probably doubt we ever will. Or amazing variant covers by Ant Lucia.

-DCeased-

DCeased: Unkillables #1-3

DCeased: Dead Planet #1-7

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods #1-8

- Though Cass doesn't appear in #1 and #4 of Dead Planet. Because the survivors don't come back to Gotham until #2 (when we see Cass again), and #4 (the journey to New Genesis). Cass shows up in #1 and #4 (War of the Undead Gods) so far.

Unkillables features the first full-on return of Cass's Batgirl costume in over ten years (2009 was the last time she wore it). It also explores the complicated mother/daughter relationship of Shiva/Cass.

Something big happens to Cassandra in Dead Planet. No spoilers (save Stephanie, who's over in DCeased: Hope at World's End), you're just gonna have to enjoy the moment like we did.

A curious little fact is this is the first DC Comic that has a universe that has Cass and Babs both as Batgirl (An infected Batgirl Babs is shown in the original DCeased), and her body is found by Cass and Jim Gordon in Unkillables #1 with both mourning the loss of her.

DCeased: War of the Undead Gods has Cass in the issues throughout but unlike the prior series doesn’t have a key role. Save for two noteworthy things in #1 and #7. That and has an AMAZINGLY gorgeous cover in #6 (a 1:50 variant and good luck finding one of those).

Interestingly, Cass is one out of two Bat-Family members to survive DCeased. Sadly, there could’ve been ONE MORE survivor if only writer Tom Taylor could give us the answer to that. Perhaps one day he will answer that subplot since he hasn’t SPOILED it.

- Amanda Conner Universe

Wonder Woman #600

Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey (Black Label) #1-4

- A DCU similar but different as husband/wife team of Amanda Conner/Jim Palmiotti various DC books (Power Girl, Harley Quinn, Terra, Starfire, and suggestions related).

If you were disappointed with the way Cassandra was handled in the live-action Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey movie this comic gives us a more traditional Cass.

Not only does she steal the series from everyone, but there are exceptionally sweet moments in the final issue. A highly recommended mini to pick up! Cass embarrassing the Joker is worth the price alone!

It’s possible this story takes place either probably after Wonder Woman #600 (which also features Cass by Conner).

Future State

Future State: The Next Batman #2, 4

Batman: Urban Legends #7

- Alternate future Gotham City where it is ruled tyrannically by a group known as the Magistrate. Rogues and Vigilantes alike are outlawed and hunted by the Magistrate’s chosen deputies and soldiers. Cass is the lone warrior who still follows Bruce’s ideology but is broken with Barbara missing and Stephanie breaking her heart (it is HEAVILY suggested the two had a relationship in this reality).To be entirely truthful, I was massively disappointed with this story. It was like being thrown into the middle of a story.

Once again, we get Dick acting like a dick to boot. “Hunter.. or Hunted...” on the other hand features Cass hunted by the Magistrate with exceptional art. Of the two stories THIS IS THE ONE TO READ. Even if it throws you again of not knowing what’s going on. At the very least “Hunter... or Hunted...” gives Cass more pathos and a better overall showing.

There are TWO more tales with this version of Cass in Future State: Gotham. But.. the only important things of those to note is the gorgeous variant cover #6). But please do avoid the other tale that involves FS Cass at the tail end of Future State Gotham. Unless you want PAIN.

Shadow of the Batgirl

- Literally this comic other than the OG Puckett/Scott run is a remarkable tale that nails the character of Cassandra Cain perfectly. Like literally, you just want a complete origin and character study of Cass/ Why... why is it suddenly raining in my room again? This graphic novel is that good for long time fans of the character. Newbie fans might be interested as it is a one and done (so far).

Batman: Wayne Family Adventures

Episode 1 "Moving In" (mentioned and acknowledges her adoption)

Episode 2 "The Last Cookie" (first appearance in the series)

Episode 5 "Arm Day"

Episode 7 "Vigilante Bingo" (mentions she's been Batgirl, Black Bat, and Orphan in this universe)

Episode 10 "Crush 3/3"

Episode 13 "Stupid Traditions"

Episode 14 "Unaccompanied"

Episode 15-16 "Family Ties"

- First Cass-centric arc in the series. Focuses on Cassandra's love for ballet, and Bruce trying to balance his life as a father and vigilante.

Episode 17 "Top Chef" (Thanksgiving episode)

Episode 19 "Bat-Cow's Day Out"

Episode 21 "Holiday Spirit" (Christmas episode)

Episode 22 "The Tournament"

Episode 32-33 "All Seeing"

- Second major arc focuses solely on Cass. The episodes showcase the many qualities of the character on why are a fan of the character. A good starting point for new readers on the character.

Episode 36-37 "Belonging"

Episode 48 "Shovel Talk"

- Cass and Duke centric episode with the family dealing with the possibility she has a boyfriend. Wackiness ensues.

Episodes 49-50 "One More" (mentioned only)

Episode 51 "Night In" (Season 1 finale)

Episode 52 Assassin (Season 2 Premiere)

Episode 56 “Why We Fight Part 2″

Episode 57 “Picture Day”

Episode 61 “What Matters Most Part 2″

Episode 66 “No Doors Allowed”

Episode 67 “Branching Out” (Cass/Steph meet Harley/Ivy wackiness ensues)

Episode 68 “Thankful”

Episode 70 “Hunted Part 2″

Episode 72 “Snowfall Part 1″ (part one of Holiday episode)

Episode 73 “Snowfall Part 2″ (part two of Holiday episode)

Episode 78 “Outlaws” (slight tie-in to Red Hood: Outlaw spinoff webtoon comic)

Episode 82 “Sneak Attack”

Episode 90 “What I Want Part 1″

Episode 91 “What I Want Part 2″ (first appearance of David Cain in series, first full appearance of Cass’s Batgirl costume, origin of Cass in this universe.)

Episode 93 ”Alarm Bells”

Episode 98 “Power Outage”

- Episodes 66-67, and 70 are the Cass-related episodes (so far). We get some amusing sister/brother antics in Episode 66 with Jason/Cass trying to impart their “wisdom” of dramatic entrances to Duke. Only for the later to give his own inclusion how make an entrance.

Episode 67 has Cass/Steph are watching over a bedridden Harley Quinn and meet Poison Ivy. Amusing adorable hijinks ensue.

Episode 70 reveals Babs making sure Cass/Steph are in on her mission. Showing the trust and bonds the three have with one another.

- Cass is mentioned in the spinoff series to WFA, Red Hood: Outlaws in episode 46.5 Like Son Part II, Damian records Bruce confessing and then hugging Jason that “I’m sorry. I was wrong.” To save himself, Damian says if Bruce does anything to him, he’ll tell Cass. Bruce relents.

- Episode 90-91 is Cass’s first central dramatic story in Season 2. She and Damian run afoul of Mad Hatter who brainwashes her to attack her sibling. In part 2 we see Cass’s origin in WFA, as it uses Pre-New 52 David Cain (in his first appearance in the series). Cass breaks free and Damian/her share a cute brother/sister moment afterward.

DC Vs. Vampires

DC vs. Vampires #2, #4-6

DC vs. Vampires: Hunter #1 (one panel)

DC vs. Vampires #10-11, #12 (in shadow)

- Cass is one of the few heroes in the DCU not taken over or killed by the vampires in this elseworlds story. Problematic art though for the main series sadly given the artist turned out to be very icky.

The writing is a mixed bag as well as Cass was a main character of the plot in the first half of the comic, before being dropped and randomly showing up in the latest issue.

One interesting tidbit of this version of Cass is that she moonlights as both Batgirl and Orphan (but only donning this identity with the Outsiders) in this universe.

Second interesting note is at the end of DC vs. Vampires #12, Cass is one of two people in the Bat-Family in #2 (the other being Alfred) to not have been killed or become a vampire.

Steph and Helena are also the only other Bat-Family members to have survived as well being human.

Young Justice

Young Justice: Targets #2-3

- Expands on the Cass introduced in Young Justice cartoon by revealing she knows ASL (I wish this was introduced in the main series). She has a few kickass moments in the comic as well.

However, she only appears in these two issues and that’s it. Only recommended if you enjoyed this version of Cass, and desire to see her storyline somewhat continued.

Dark Multiverse

Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Hush #1

Batman/Superman Authority Special #1

Dark Knights Death Metal: Robin King #1

In the “Dark Multiverse” there have been three variants of Cass that have appeared. The most “prominent” one among them is the one in Hush. Cass, Tim, and Barbara go down a darker path as they openly rebel against Thomas Elliot and his iron grip over Gotham with not Batman or Bruce Wayne to stop him.

Cass’s costume is a mixture of her Orphan and Kasumi costume. We never get much of her codename as she’s quickly killed by the Gray Son (Dick Grayson who’s been recruited by the Court of Owls). It is implied that this version of her and Tim had a relationship as his name is the last word she utters before collapsing dead.

We’re teased another evil Cass (along with the rest of the Bat-Family) who is part of the Empire of Shadows. Lead by Ra’s Al Ghul (Bruce Wayne) the Empire has taken over their respective Earth and learns of the multiverse. We see this version of Cass once near the end as her silhouette is quite clear in the shadows.

The final Dark Multiverse Cass is the one shown briefly in Dark Knights Death Metal Robin King #1. As the Batman Who Laughs gives Robin King a tour of an Earth where he “tortures” numerous Dark Multiverse Batmen and the survivors become his minions. One of those shown bears a strikingly resemblance to Cass, but the appearance has never been confirmed.

Injustice

Injustice: Year Zero #2

Though not fully appearing, Cass is namedropped in the prequel story to Injustice comics. It isn’t really known what became of this version of the character. But from the dialogue suggested by Superman to Batman, Bruce/Barbara having mentored her presumably as Batgirl (Babs is Oracle at the start of Injustice).

Batman: Last Knight on Earth

Batman: Last Knight on Earth Book Three

- Cassandra was originally one of the survivors of Omega’s original assault on the world. She (along with the rest of the Bat-Family) changed their personas to resemble Owls with Cass taking a more Talon-esque costume as shown here (they believed Omega had tainted the Bat mantle/symbol at this point).

We don’t know much else about this variant of Cass as she along with Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Jason Todd, and Kate Kate all perish by Omega’s hand right before a revived Bruce Wayne shows up.

But hey! Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon survive.

.....

Look I get it they live because they have a kid (who also lives). But it just feels so darn cheap to have the most of the “Bat Family” to die right before Bruce shows up.

It feels so wrong to me and just like a certain someone high up above this creative team had this wet dream to kill them all off to tick off fans. Well, congrats! It worked!

Dark Knights of Steel

Dark Knights of Steel #6, 9

- No I didn’t forget this alternate Cass. It’s just that well.. we don’t know much fully about her yet save three things. #1 She’s the only Cass who was ever a Robin (a Robin in this universe are the “agents” who serve under Bruce Wayne (aka the Bat Knight) around this world. #2 She’s different then the rest of the Robins (as detailed in Dark Knights of Steel: Tales of the Three Kingdoms #1 they were all a crew of thieves until they caught the attention of Bruce but there was 0 Cass among them) in that we know next to nothing about her connection to Bruce here. #3 She’s placed in a position to free Prince Ka-El as she is the medical professional addressing his wounds but also keeping an eye on him.

Sure enough, she freed Ka-El to prevent the war between the three kingdoms.

Batman: Knightwatch

Batman: Knightwatch #5

- This one just feels more like an Easter Egg than an actual reference. Though not with the Bat-Family, this Cass is just a normal little girl, who just happens to really like Batman and the Bat-Family. Probably the only normal Cass of them all. But the sass is still there with this one.

Harley Quinn: The Animated Series

Harley Quinn & the Legion of Bats #4-6

- So far recently introduced only in the comics. This Cass is unique among other variants being she’s the same age as Damian. There’s not much know about her yet. Save we know Vixen/Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) were working on a case together that involved Cass.

She bonds with Damian, who in turn opens up being ACTUALLY friendly toward her. This Cass also makes friends with Tiffany Fox (who was targeted in the series by Black Mask).

Cass adopts her Orphan persona joining Dick, Damian, and Babs on a mission to stop Black Mask from taking over the Gotham Underworld while also having to deal with Poison Ivy and the Legion of Doom.

After Black Mask is defeated, Wonder Woman is called in to escort this Cass to Themyscira. This Cass is second to one other variant that is raised by the Amazons (the other being the Dark Knights of Steel version).

#reading guide #cassandra cain #dc comics

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fantasticalleigh · 4 months

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LEIGH'S RIDICULOUSLY BIG TBR/TBW LISTS

like i mentioned before i am too busy/hesitant to actually consume a lot of new media (or at least be able to focus on it) so i'm critically behind on so much stuff. don't judge me pls :S lmao

anything in bold is something that i've begun but not finished :P tagging @snow-in-the-desert bc you expressed interest in seeing the lists!

TO READ:

The Love Hypothesis - Ali Hazelwood

The Hurricane Wars - Thea Guanzon

Winter's Promise - Christelle Dabos

The Stand - Stephen King

North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell

The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

Work - Louisa May Alcott

Don Quixote - Miguel de Cervantes

Dr. Sleep - Stephen King

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

The Last Duel - Erik Jager

Portrait of a Lady - Henry James

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton

The Great Mortality - John Kelly

Dead by Sunset - Ann Rule

Dracula - Bram Stoker

It's Lonely at the Center of the Earth - Zoe Thorogood

The Great Influenza - John M. Barry

The Monster of Florence - Douglas Preston

The Lottery and other stories - Shirley Jackson

Helter Skelter - Vincent Bugliosi with Curt Gentry

White Noise - Don DeLilo

Icebreaker - Hannah Grace

She Is a Haunting - Trang Thanh Tran

This Thing Between Us: A Novel - Gus Moreno

Parable of the Sower - Octavia E. Butler

^^ This is an incomplete list--I know there are others but these are the books I've bought over the past couple years and have not yet finished/ready. They are stacked on my desk and around my room, silently accusing me of neglect. I wither in shame. The rest of the list escapes me currently. This also doesn't include the tbrs currently on my e-reader since I can't remember where it is to see what's on there.

MOVIES/MEDIA TO WATCH:

Any Adam Driver movie that isn't on Netflix (House of Gucci, Annette, Paterson etc.) I have seen the Last Duel, Blackkklansman, This is where I leave you, Marriage Story, White Noise, Frances Ha and a few others). I know Ferarri is in theaters right now but I've kind of developed a phobia of theaters since 2020 :S

a ridiculous number of documentaries/video essays on youtube that I do not have the energy to go look for right now

Fall of the House of Usher (I love Mike Flanagan's work but I'm still hooked on Midnight Mass and Daddy Father Prewitt)

The Haunting of Bly Manor (I know everyone was obsessed with this and I meant to watch it but I was reading the Turn of the Screw when it came out and didn't want to get spoiled for it so I avoided it like the plague and finished the book but never got to watching the show)

Blue Eye Samurai

The Beguiled

Ugly Betty (I'm actually on season 2 and it's charming and funny but holy shit the amount of body shaming/slut shaming/ homophobia in this show. definitely a product of its time.)

Anne with an E

Fleabag (never finished it but thought it was amazing)

What we do in the shadows (have seen all but the most current season)

Reservation dogs

The Batman (2023)

Black Swan

The Crown

Band of Brothers

Demon Slayer

Whiplash

Wolf of Wall Street

Birds of Prey

Downton Abbey

Peaky Blinders

Nimona

Drag me to Hell

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Queen Charlotte (halfway through but haven't finished. i hate things that make me cry when i watch them so i have to be in a very specific mood to watch emotional heavy things)

Lady Bird

The Banshees of Inisherin

BARBIE (*ducks thrown rocks* I'll get to it, i SWEAR) (but i'm amazing at avoiding spoilers at this point i still know very little about the movie)

Men

Pearl

The Invisible Man

The Turning

Succession

Suspiria

Promising Young Woman

Shiva Baby

Luca

The Green Knight

Licorice Pizza

Bullet Train

The Menu

Women Talking

Knives Out + Glass Onion (*ducks more thrown rocks*)

Paddington 2!!!!

SHadow and Bone (honestly I lost almost all interest in reading/watching this once I heard the hot villain dies. BOOOO)

Carol

That one newish show with Adam Scott that looks super liminal and sci fi i can't remember the name

The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Oppenheimer

Killers of the Flower Moon

Guardians of the Galaxy 3

M3gan

Turning Red

Everything Everywhere All At once

Nope

Barbarian

Just like the book list, I'm sure there's many other titles I'm forgetting to put here. I actually have branched out and watched a fair amount of new movies this year so i'm going to keep it going! and here's one more list just because this is fun

Stuff I watched or read in 2023 that I loved/recommend (with the caveat that not all of this came out in 2023): (and i'm not including obvious stuff like Spider man across the spiderverse)

White Noise

Don't Look Up

Living in the Time of Dying (documentary on Youtube. It is HEAVY on existentialism and the science/data on the current state of climate change. This WILL ruin your day so I'm warning you now. Definitely don't watch it today. This really affected me and I cried for a long time after watching this but it is incredibly important to keep in mind.)

Blackkklansman (i had to watch this with the volume on the lowest setting bc of all the n words being dropped so frequently lmao but goddamn this was so good and funnier than i expected.)

DIMENSION 20: Burrow's End!!!!! As well as The Unsleeping City season 1. Neverafter and A Crown of Candy are probably at the lower end of the list but I still love them. (thank you to @rogueimperator for cluing me onto how amazing D20 and Dropout are. <3 this is a whole new world lol)

Midnight Sun :)

7. Christine and the Queens - Redcar les adorables étoiles Full show on Youtube. I was supposed to see him live in October but he got injured and had to cancel the rest of his tour :( but this album and the video are incredible! Slight warning for semi nudity.

8. Game Changer on Dropout. he's been here the whole time!

9. The 1975 live at Madison Square Garden. I was lucky enough to see them twice this tour with my twin sister and we had an absolutely amazing time. They always put on amazing shows and this particular tour/their latest album meant so much to us. Even our younger brother has come with us for some of these shows so it's something we all share. (Last time they came to Chicago in 2022 the venue was too small so they didn't have the House set with them so we didn't get to see it in action until this year) Sex and The Sound will always be the perfect closers for their shows and I get so emotional every time I hear them. Core memories for sure.

10. Puss in Boots: the last wish. this seems like another obvious answer that i probably could have left off but this gets an honorary mention because our family cat was diagnosed with advanced bone cancer in August, and we had to put him down very soon after that diagnosis. We spent an agonizing week tending to him and cherishing every last second we could get with him. I've been fortunate enough to never experience the death of a pet until this year, and i almost wish we didn't have any pets at all because I've never felt such excruciating grief. He was a fat, grumpy orange boy with beautiful yellow stripes and a little yellow mustache. I was trying to distract myself and found this movie on Netflix and watched it, then recommended it to my sister (who is actually Thomas's owner but we all shared him) though I warned her the movie did deal with themes on mortality. We all watched it together the night before his final vet visit and Tommy was there with us on a comfy pillow. I hope he approved of the movie, because now any time I think of Puss in Boots i think of him. <3

I could add more to this but my eyes are tired and I'm wired up from coffee. I know this is long as hell so sorry but I had fun making it! I'll probably keep coming back to this post in the future to cross out what I've watched.

#leigh speaks

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kylesvariouslistsandstuff · 1 year

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Little Things I Dig About STRANGE WORLD

Much like the one I did for PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, this post will be a list of unorganized thoughts on STRANGE WORLD. And as usual, if you haven't seen STRANGE WORLD and were planning on doing so but haven't really had the chance nor gumption to fire up Disney+ and watch it, there be spoilers ahead!

'They're The Clades'. This is a hit the ground running opening right here. An all-too-brief cel-shaded depiction of Jaeger Clade's adventures and exploits, and how his son Searcher was by his side but was never really the rough-and-tumble explorer type. The song would do the Mello Men proud, as it recalls the songs of various live-action adventure movies that Disney had made throughout the '50s. This whole movie, if it wasn't clear before, is a massive homage to that era of adventure stories. The scene alone is evoking an early-to-mid 20th century pulp comic. Also during this sequence, we see these really lovely paintings of the Clades on their adventures. Particularly the visuals of them encountering birds of prey and a bear. It hits all those classic wilderness aesthetics in mere seconds flat.

Avalonia itself is actually quite a cool-looking world. It being on the back of a giant turtle-like beast swimming around on an all-water planet is very much Terry Pratchett's DISCWORLD, but being someone who lived the early 2000s as a kid, it also struck me as very BIONICLE. Hey, did you know Walt Disney Animation Studios was looking to option DISCWORLD for an adaptation of MORT? That was to be Ron Clements and John Musker's movie after THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, but due to rights issues, that fell through, and they ended up pitching other ideas that would later morph into MOANA.

Continued, Avalonia in the post-Pando era: The retrofuture setting, the sortakinda steampunk-like aesthetic, very TREASURE PLANET in some ways. The graphic design recalled various decades of aesthetics of the 20th century, too. Some '30s and '50s touches on Callisto Mal's ship, the Venture, subtle and neat stuff. Loved the architecture, technology, and cruisers. The cruisers, especially the one the Clade family uses to dust the crops, in particular reminded me of the hovercraft vehicles in the JAK & DAXTER series. That was another action-adventure franchise from the early 2000s that I was very much big on back in the day (and still am!).

Legend. Just Legend. He's literally one of my dogs, but in Disney animated form. Plus he's a tripod. Disabled rep, even for a doggie! It was also nice to see a shot of a disabled Avalonian, too.

Primal Outpost reminds me of game called Heroscape, which I remember being advertised a lot circa 2004... Though my 12-year-old self never played it or got invested in it, I thought it always looked cool. The hexagon pieces and such... But yes, I liked that a role-playing/strategy game played a part in this world, it just added a depth to it: This is a game that the kids/teens play. Today I learned that Heroscape ran from 2004 to 2010, and there was a failed revival somewhere down the line. I kinda wish STRANGE WORLD came out in 2004, this would've been my *shit*. Big time.

The lighting choices are what really make the "strange world" pop. The subtle sunset-like oranges and pinks, the misty-like layers, really brings out a lovely look to everything.

There's a particular shot when the Venture is crash-landing while careening into the insides of the Avalonia turtle-beast-creature... Searcher and Legend drop off as the ship is still speeding, it's a particularly well-done shot.

What little there is of the vibe - both good and bad - between Callisto Mal and Meridian Clade, particularly when it shows up during their confrontation in the Venture cockpit.

Right before Ethan meets Splat in that cave of bioluminescent creatures, some of them are apparent in a few frames: They look kind of like glass vases with fireflies inside of them. A small but cool detail, and the framerate on them is much slower.

Splat slapping Ethan when you think they're going to do the HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON-esque connect-with-each-other moment, a well-timed send-up of those kinds of person-and-creature scenes.

The Clade men playing Primal Outpost is a standout scene to me, and I absolutely love the jab at the well-repeated "criticism" that Disney animated movies don't work without traditional bad guy villains in them.

How Searcher and Jaeger can't get the handshake/gestures right, they're preemptively doing a different one. It's a fun little character beat for both of them.

Everything about the much healthier insides of the beast after the heart is restored. A colorful, near-psychedelic set of images.

#strange world #disney animation #walt disney animation studios #wdas #unorganized thoughts #opinions

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cosmomoore · 9 months

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Barbie movie spoilers below! You have been warned!

...

Controversial opinion, I dare say, but the Barbie movie is surprisingly less about Barbie and more about Ken...

Like Barbie's character arc is minimal and unfinished when compared to Ken's and that's a bummer because it wasn't what I was expecting from the film.

I can't help but wonder if the patriarchy (read: male studio execs) actually did win overall because maybe the focus on RG-Ken's arc was made at their behest to actually get the film made/greenlit?

And, while I'm sure this has been stated already, the film isn't actually mean to men, it is rather kind to white men in particular in it's messaging (the film is actually pretty devoid of comments on race/racism).

The retconning of factual knowledge and history regarding Barbie as a brand was frustrating, but expected. Ruth Handler's inclusion was weird and I didn't really care for it.

The movie is feminist, I guess, but it focuses so much on and spends so much of its runtime on Ken nearly all of the female characters have very little depth and their arcs either go unresolved or have an abrupt resolution.

Also I hated RG-Ken and I think the film would have been better with less of him in it. It's funny to me that even Barbie is, technically speaking, a multiverse film.

The film was fine and could have been a lot worse. The casting was pretty good overall and it looks great, but the actual story was pretty lacking imho.

I think that Lady Bird remains my favorite Gerwig film and I like Birds of Prey and I, Tonya better when it comes to Robbie (even though I think she did fantastic in the role).

There is a lot more I could say, but this is the basic distillation of my thoughts.

#barbie #mattel #barbie movie #barbie spoilers #barbie the movie

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actuallylorelaigilmore · 7 months

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2023 Movie Journey #12: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

indiana jones and the dial of destiny. so i really enjoyed this. a lot. here’s my complicated backstory: my mom owned one or two of the original indiana jones movies on vhs, i remember seeing them in our movie cabinet--but i’ve never seen any of the movies in the series. i wasn’t planning on watching this one, either, because while it has an obviously great cast, i’m just not an action movie person. at best, i like action movies in spite of their genre, like birds of prey or mad max fury road.

so unlike when i plan to see a movie, i wasn’t avoiding spoilers for this one. and what i did read about it, was interesting. and @actuallylukedanes was already planning to see it, and invited me to join--and let’s face it, where phoebe waller-bridge goes, i will follow. leander promised i didn’t need to have seen the rest of the movies to watch the new one, and i figured i could always watch them later if i wanted to--this was not the first time i dove into the end of a world first.

with a few minor exceptions, i absolutely loved it. they created a story that (to me, at least) felt like it existed for a point--like they had something specific to say, in bringing indiana jones back, rather than just wanting to cash in forever on the franchise. i’m not saying they weren’t also doing that, of course...i just enjoyed the way it felt conclusive to me as a movie. it stood well on its own and i loved its themes. i like my action movies with some feelings.

spoilers ahead:

harrison ford was predictably great and i enjoyed watching him. i didn’t even realize antonio banderas was antonio banderas, until leander mentioned it after the movie was over. there’s really nothing i can say about mads mikkelsen because he is a delightful chaos agent always, and i don’t actually enjoy watching him play a nazi, but he’s one of the very best when it comes to character actors. as usual, he made a great villain.

and of course, phoebe waller-bridge was everything i wanted and more, as helena. she was conniving, she was conflicted, she was wearing an unconvincing facade and carrying an unexplained backstory, and whenever she faced off against indy like some kind of shadow self from a new generation, it was as if she believed she was a badass antagonist, when mostly she just seemed sad and hollow underneath a smirk and a truly great wardrobe.

i was just so thrilled that they gave her such a huge role in the action--i knew she was in the movie, obviously, but it’s so against type for her to do that kind of acting that i think i expected more of a bantering sidekick thing. she was a full-fledged participant in the high-speed hijinks! i couldn’t have been happier about that. it was so fun to see. and i wish we knew more about what made her who she was.

the four issues i had with the movie overall were an underwater scene (because i have drowning fear, so it wasn’t anything specific about the scene, i hate all underwater scenes where humans could die), the way that they used the era the film is mainly set in (late 60s) to make a lot of the action based on car chases and plane drama, the use of the movie’s two black characters, and the way the happy ending kind of seemed to undermine the whole point of the movie.

when it comes to the car chases, which lasted forever and i found really boring, they only bothered me because i wasn’t expecting them. even though i haven’t seen other indiana jones movies, i had the sense going in that they were set far back in history, with his adventures revolving more around, like, cave stuff. even the trailer for the new one didn’t emphasize the modern elements so much, in the trailer fast-forwarding to indiana jones’s elder years. it’s like ‘whip versus guns!’ played for laughs.

but in the movie itself, i got the strong sense that the filmmakers were thrilled to have the option of making huge scenes out of vehicle chases in a way they couldn’t before, because sure, this may be indiana jones, but people seeing blockbusters today love giant car (and train, and plane) chases--the best way to make a better movie is include more of them! whereas i’d much rather see an indiana jones movie, which leander assured me afterwards really didn’t use to have that stuff. those other movies already exist! for the people who want that!

it was kind of uncomfortably meta for me, like the movie plot was saying the main character doesn’t want to live in the modern world surrounding him...while they were also filling the movie with modern elements i didn’t want, as a viewer who came to see that main character who’s out of place.

when it came to the couple of black characters in the movie, i really felt like they were wasted, because the acting was way better than their roles so i expected more. the cia agent who was working with the villain as a sort of handler and facilitator, she spent the movie trying to corral him and failing, telling the nazis off for undermining their mission...but given how her storyline ended, she could honestly have been removed from the movie entirely and nothing would have changed. i don’t remember a single moment in the movie where her involvement made anything happen or not happen--and that’s not meant as an insult to her!

i was waiting for her to get to be cool somehow, surprising, because she could have been. where was her big moment, while helena was getting so many? i know she’s not the lead, but she was on the movie poster too. instead, in her final scene, i was just left thinking that’s all? what was the point? i guess it was meant to complicate the group of nazi goons chasing our heroes, but given that it didn’t end up turning that into action, i’m not sure it really complicated anything, so much as it went hey look a black woman is working with secret nazis. and then it had nothing else to say about that. she really deserved better.

the other character was a minor one, he didn’t even have a name, but the actor grabbed my attention and the scene was so tense, i said out loud that i felt bad for him, because it was pretty obvious what his fate was about to be. and then it didn’t happen! instead, the hotel porter just had this truly well-acted scene opposite mads mikkelsen, and it raised the emotional stakes in a way that none of the nazi’s interactions with indy (past or present) really could, because his hatred of indiana jones was personal even more than it was political or national. the kind of dangerous revulsion he simmered with in that hotel room, that was the stuff true bad guys are made of.

it made me all the more disappointed, though, because they didn’t give that same kind of space to the cia agent who actually had a name, and major screentime. the antagonist kept his disrespect for her on a more detached level, so it could be explained away as a snobby scientist looking down on a government worker he doesn’t find useful. we don’t get to see her wrestle with the realization that she’s in danger just being around him, or the true evil that lies under his well-regarded skills. even when his goons start killing people, she’s more upset that they have no restraint than over the actual murders, because she thinks they’re all after the same objective. and that’s gross, and definitely could have been resonant, if it had ended up mattering more.

besides that, though, i enjoyed the ‘supernatural’ element they went with for the movie. it was a good time, and also added emotional weight to the end that was great. my third issue comes from that, and it’s not a real problem i have or anything so much as an open-ended wondering about what they did.

because they set it up to give everyone a happy ending, a nice found family and family reunion with the characters who were left. but to get there, they had to piece together an object that made the adventures possible, while stopping nazis from using it to go back and win the war. once they’ve defeated the nazis, and everyone is reunited and happy, they have the intact object--the one they spent the whole story trying to keep nazis from piecing together to use for evil. it’s unavoidable that they had to fix the object, even as it was dangerous because bad guys wanted it...but once they did fix it and return to ‘normal,’ are we supposed to believe that it’s not dangerous anymore?

obviously it’s safe with our hero, but these movies are all about history, and history knows that nobody and nothing lasts forever. the best efforts to protect a powerful, dangerous object are naturally imperfect. unless the point is to keep the object, on purpose, to be able to time travel (which the movie seemed to say at the end was not what they should do, even indiana jones, because of the risk it would pose to everything that came after) then it seems to me the moral of the story is that the safety of the world depends on destroying the object, just like helena’s father wanted.

because even splitting it into pieces and hiding those wasn’t enough to protect it from nazis, and they only stopped those specific bad guys. the world already knows the object exists, even if it’s a myth to most, and there will always be evil in the world. so looking far down the line from indiana jones’s specific life, the best case scenario is a future where he (or another well-meaning person) chooses to time travel and we’ll then see the wide-ranging unpredictable effects of that. the worse future is one where an inevitable new evil rises up, with enough knowledge and resources to try to find and use the object and destroy everything or rule everything.

i suspect i’m overthinking it, especially since they swear there’s no continuation planned with phoebe waller-bridge as a natural choice for indy’s successor in a new world. but to me those questions were just left sitting on the literal table.

it didn’t take away at all from how much i enjoyed the movie. i just...wonder. i definitely recommend this one, though, especially with snacks. movie popcorn got me through that car chase. and watching it with somebody you love is even better: leander was great comfort during my drowning anxiety, and while i stared away from the screen entirely during a spider scene. (ack.)

i especially appreciated getting to see harrison ford as indiana jones in this closing chapter, partly because what this movie digs into with his character is a focus on the past when the past is gone--and at the beginning of the year, i saw a totally different movie that was exploring such similar themes: a man called otto.

but where that one emotionally scarred me, i felt like this movie gave us a man looking backwards, and did it better. or at least, it did it in a way that i liked a lot more. when we start this movie, it’s the end of indiana jones’s life, well past the end of his adventuring career, and what he has left is an emptiness he’s not even trying to shake. just like a man called otto, the real point of this movie is the many reluctant interactions with other people that start to improve his outlook and his life in general--but first, requiring one final grouchy return to adventuring!

while he can’t completely turn back time to fix all his heartbreak or escape it, he gets a much happier ending than otto, on multiple fronts. i didn’t know and love indiana jones going in, like i know most people already will when they see it. but i absolutely loved him by the end, in all his curmudgeonly glory, and this movie just made me happy. he and phoebe waller-bridge made me happy, the cleverness and the nazi murders and the time travel made me happy...i’d enjoy this one just as much on a rewatch.

#indiana jones and the dial of destiny #actuallylukedanes #harrison ford #phoebe waller bridge #mads mikkelsen #antonio banderas #2023 movie journey

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the-woman-upstairs · 2 months

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Look, Madame Web is not a GOOD movie, but in addition to being a hilarious train wreck on all accounts, it also provides an a different set-up for Peter Parker’s life that I’m actually interested in: where his uncle’s weird bestie from work and her three adopted daughters help look after him while protecting New York as some kind of localized, all-female Spider Society.

#lemme tell you: no one is bullying that kid #cassie comes over just to clown on ben and share embarrassing stories while using her powers to be cryptic and off-putting #peter parker starting his spider-man gig with FOUR female mentors would rock actually #madame web #madame web spoilers #apparently they wanted this movie to line up with the tom holland spider-man but the timelines were too far apart #which despite loving Marisa Tomei i’m okay with #b/c my aunt may fancast is lizzy caplan just because i love when she and adam scott are paired up #i will self fund a sequel if it actually gets to be more of a Birds of Prey situation where the women DO get to be real superheroes

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thesparkwhowalks · 2 months

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Just Saw Madame Web!

And you silly bastards made the mistake of following me so here come

Opinions

about what is easily the Okayest superhero movie I've seen in a while. I'm not going to bother writing around spoilers for a movie you're not going to pay American currency to watch anytime soon, so hit the jump.

OK, things I liked: - The premise of someone whose power is basically all spider-sense as a protagonist is actually really interesting and I overall liked how her powers are portrayed. - Time is spent genuinely developing the relationship between Madame Web and the girls. It feels earned when they're all super close at the end of the movie. - Dakota Johnson and Adam Scott infuse Madame Web and Ben Parker's friendship with some genuine chemistry. I'm sucker for a genuine platonic male/female best friendship, so I really appreciated it and wished there'd been more seen of it. - The film does a pretty good job portraying a murderous version of Spider-Man as terrifying. - Good foreshadowing with the fireworks warehouse. Infinitely superior to Itchy & Scratchy. - Madame Web's signature move is "crash through a wall and ram that fucker with a stolen car" and I buy that it works multiple times on Ezekiel because WHO DOES THAT?! - I liked Madame Web's disabling (imagine if I stopped the sentence here) not being portrayed as a fate worse than death or a karmic punishment or any of that rot. She's blind. She's in a wheelchair. She has a family and psychic powers and is happy. Things I didn't Not Like: - Madame Web and the Spider-Women become the Birds of Prey in the indeterminate future. It's a weird idea, but not without interesting potential. Things that annoyed me: - An ambiguously brown mercenary with spider powers. That are several characters from the comics that might fit that description (Tarantula, Black Tarantula, Devil-Spider) but not Ezekiel Sims. Always annoys me when comic book movies do that. - 11th hour ability to create psychic duplicates! Lazy. - Why must the blood/DNA/venom of creatures be the cure for genetic diseases in Sony spider-flicks? Are Madame Web and Morbius going to form a support group? - The film's "Web" mythos felt slapdash and poorly considered. Which is a little weird, because there's been plenty of weird Spider-Mysticism in the last 20 years of Spider-Man comics that makes a lot more sense than this. - The birth of the unnamed Peter Parker is totally unnecessary. - The whole Peru trip feels really unnecessary. More accurately, it is necessary for Cassandra Webb to investigate her past. It is considerably less necessary for her to do it Eat, Pray, Love style. Overall, I recommend streaming it when it comes to Netflix in like a month (or less, honestly). I am, however, a sucker for a connected-to-nothing superhero movie that clearly didn't cost $200 million (I grew up on 'em) and attractive women in belly shirts, short skirts, and low-rise jeans.

#madame web #spider-man #sonyverse #movies #marvel #dakota johnson #okayest movie since morbius #which was the okayest movie since venom 2 #which was the okayest movie since bloodshot

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justsomerandomfanfic · 3 months

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Deliciously Dangerous Golden Apples - Prince Frederick X Female Reader

Title: Deliciously Dangerous Golden Apples

Prince Frederick X Female Reader

Additional Characters: Espen (Mentioned), Kristin (Mentioned), and other people like random guards and townspeople (Mentioned)

Requested by: Anon!

WC: 7,766

Warnings: Slight spoilers to The Ash Lad (the first movie), canon violence mentioned, Reader is a witch, Reader is mentioned to be wearing a dress, death mentioned, eating bugs and other small animals very briefly mentioned, Reader slaps someone briefly mentioned, angst, injuries mentioned, throwing up very briefly mentioned, slight suggestiveness, name-calling (not bad; ex. idiot, coward, etc.), love at first sight, enemies to lovers, arguing, teasing, banter, tension, blood mentioned, a lot of italics, and fluff

The forest was thick with heavy green brush and tall, wide trees that stretched beautifully into the sky. The world around you was peaceful, with soft chirps from small birds, and the bright sun's light shining through the canopy of leaves, warming you perfectly. Today was indeed a breathtaking, and perfect day for collecting more ingredients that you were running out of. Herbs, mushrooms, berries, you placed all that you could find and needed, carefully in your woven basket. Crouching on the ground, the trim of your brown shirt became slightly damp from the moist moss under your brown leather, booted feet.

You thought that this day was going to be like any other day, but just as you were going to pick some blueberries, you froze. Slowly, you looked up, turning your head towards the west as a small gust of cold wind blew past you, ruffling your hair under the cloak of your hood slightly. Something was wrong, and your instincts and the cries of Mother Nature were never wrong. And so, you stood, abandoning the lush, purple berries to follow the small gust of wind, which carried some of the dead fallen leaves of the oncoming autumn off the ground; creating hauntingly beautiful swirls of orange, yellow, red, and brown.

Following the swirling wind for what felt like only a couple of minutes, you finally reached a path. It was free from any fallen leaves, fallen branches, or twigs; which led right to a tall rock surface, covered in vines and moss. You tilted your head, stepping close to the stone before placing your palm upon its cold surface. Shutting your eyes, you felt the warmth of your energy flow through your body, reaching from your head to your toes before flowing out of your fingers as a soft, silver light. It sparkled and glowed as gentle little spindles of light emitted from your hand, swirling in an intricate pattern around the stone. Your eyes snapped open again, taking in every single detail of your surroundings. Everything seemed to shift and change; it was mesmerizing.

You took a step back from the rock as it opened, and moved to the side, revealing a dark, hidden cave. You quickly moved forward, feeling a sense of urgency, not knowing what was wrong, or whether someone required your help. Stepping past old sticks, dead leaves, and a low mist that hovered over the ground, you found yourself face to face with a group of Forest Nymphs. Their haggard appearances were enough to make anyone uneasy and their stomachs upset. Their hair was dark, covered in dirt, mud, and whatever else. Their faces, much like any stereotypical witch or hag any guardian would tell their children about as a cautionary tale before slumber; wrinkled faces, long warty noses, grimy teeth. They spoke with high-pitched, scratchy voices, laughing to one another, fawning and buttering up their most recent prey; a young man.

From where you stood, you could tell that he was already deep under their spell, eating the bugs, snails, and such that were illusioned as sweet treats in his eyes. From his mind's view, and from what he could tell while under their spell, he was simply eating delicious strawberries and devouring pleasant pastries. Under this sorcery, instead of somewhat terrifying Forest Nymphs, he simply saw beautiful women; sparkling eyes, breathtaking voices, long, flowing blonde hair, with matching tails of that of a cow.

You had to act fast to save the man’s life, and so, you went straight into action. Crouching down, you placed your hands on the dirty ground. Shutting your eyes briefly, the palm of your hand shone in the dark hall of the cave, just as it did at the face of the stone. Slowly, you watched as large vines slithered and crawled past you, as if with a mind of their own, towards the evil and vile seductresses. You continued to watch as they began to panic as the vines began to climb and twist around them as they sat at their wooden table, trapping them and encasing them in a thick, vine prison.

“No!” One shrieked, “He’s ours!”

They screeched, and cried, struggling against their only temporary binding as you scurried closer, reaching the man. He continued to laugh, high on the hallucinations, his fingers almost numbly reaching out to try and grab a dead rat from the table. You cringed, instantly pulling the man up from the table's wooden bench before tugging him through the cave's tunnel; his feet stumbling as he fought against your grip to get back to the 'beautiful women.'

"Let go of me." He spoke, his words slightly slurred as he continued to drag his feet, trying to get back to the cave now multiple feet from the both of you. "Let go of me, I say! I want to stay with those beautiful women."

Stopping in your tracks, the man stumbled into your back as you did so. He rubbed at his dirty hair with his free hand, a frown on his equally dirty face as he looked around; hopefully, the spell was fading off, at least his sluggish laughter had stopped. Raising your own hand, the man before you tried to pull away as your hand landed on his cheek harshly. "Snap out of it, you fool." You growled, growing irritated, "What you had seen in there was all just an illusion; a spell."

Immediately, the man glared daggers at you, his free hand rubbing his cheek in which you had slapped, "No one slaps me! Do you know who I am!?"

You narrowed your eyes, though you must have thought that it was unnoticeable with the hood covering most of your face, "No, and I do not care or wish to know who you are until we get to my cottage." You replied sharply, turning around and walking through the forest once more. "And it would be smart to shut your mouth, there are many dangers in these woods that are far worse than what you had recently encountered."

Sighing dramatically, the man followed behind you obediently, muttering curses and harsh words in general under his breath. His legs were weak, tired from the constant movement, but he kept pace with you nonetheless. And finally, after climbing a few cobbly steps and through a tunnel of pink-flowering trees, you reached your cozy, little cottage.

"You live in this dump? How pathetic." The man sneered as he stared at the hut, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

You opened your front door before pulling the man inside and shutting the door. "Sit on the bed." You ordered simply, setting down your basket of what you salvaged from your busy morning of saving rude men - which you may or may not have wished you hadn’t saved, but you knew that having your life in the fate of Forest Nymphs was far worse than any death imaginable; in your opinion, nobody should suffer through it.

The man didn't move, eyes wide in shock, “Excuse me!? Normally, I wouldn’t say no to sleeping with-”

“No, you idiot!” You spun around in alarm, “I need to heal you. Now, sit.” You repeated, pointing to the bed as the man continued to stand in the middle of your cottage with his arms crossed, defiant.

"No. I will not take commands from some lowlife peasant.” He practically spat, “I am a Prince, I'll have you know." He spoke, all high and mighty for a man that was covered in layers of dirt and grime.

You scoffed, pivoting your weight to one side, jutting your hip out, and resting your hand there as you stared at him, "And that concerns me why?" You questioned him mockingly, "I'm sure that if you really were a prince, then you'd know better than to be in such a dangerous forest alone, without any guards, protection, food, and all that." You spoke before pointing a finger at the bed once more, "Now, sit, or the longer you wait, the faster the food poisoning will occur, and the sooner you die. But if you think that you are strong enough to deal with it by yourself, then please, be my guest, the door is there. I don't have to waste my precious ingredients on you."

Silently, the so-called prince stared at you, guardedly, before going over and taking a seat on your bed, as he was told. Shifting, he watched you warily as you began moving around your cottage, looking through drawers and shelves to find all the ingredients you needed before grabbing your mortar and pestle. You began to combine the right ingredients, mixing various herbs and roots, and grinding them together in a smooth, dark green powder. He continued to watch as you finished smoothing the powder before grabbing an empty circular bottle. Pouring the powder into the bottle, you then grabbed a secondary vile, which was filled with a purple-ish substance. Combining the two, it sizzled slightly as you swirled the bottle, mixing the liquid and powder together, creating a purply pink foam before it dwindled out.

Walking over, you offered the bottle to the man, who stared at it, up at you, and back. "You don't honestly think I'll drink that do you? You could be poisoning me."

You inwardly sighed, "Why would I drag you out of a cave of hungry Nymphs only to bring you to my cottage to kill you?" You countered, gesturing to the bottle, "And I already said that you are currently dying. So, if you don't drink this, you will die. Your choice.” You shrugged, as you waved the bottle in his face, “Some advice though. I would choose the bottle."

Snatching the bottle, the man slowly brought it up to his lips. He cringed, the overwhelming smell of what he could only describe as rotten eggs engulfed him. He paused briefly before squeezing his eyes shut and chugging the concoction in just a few gulps. Cringing, he pulled the bottle away once it was empty, blindly handing it to you as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That was disgusting, what was that!?"

"I didn't say that it was going to taste good." You spoke, ignoring his question and taking the bottle before setting it in your sink across the small living room. "Now that should take effect in no more than a few moments." You spoke, beginning to untie your thick, green cloak, "It will counter the food poisoning that you have most likely obtained while staying with the Nymphs. Wicked creatures.” You hissed softly to yourself, as the man who said he was a so-called prince, tilted his head to the side like some confused pup.

"Nymphs?" The man spoke, his eyebrows furrowing, creating a small crease between his brows.

"What's your name?" You then asked suddenly - again - ignoring his question as you removed your cloak, turning to hang it on the hook near the front door. And the man found himself speechless. As a prince, he had met a lot of people, possibly hundreds of beautiful women, but you... You were something else entirely. You had taken his breath away, completely and utterly, leaving him speechless. Your hair was a perfect shade, complimenting your skin, and framing your face beautifully. His eyes began to look over your features; your soft lips, the slope of your nose, and the bright sparkle of your eyes. He suddenly felt warm, and it wasn't due to the fever raging within his body from the food poisoning. His heart beat quickly like he wanted nothing more than to run his fingertips along your jawline and cup your cheeks, pull you close, and press his lips gently against yours. What was happening to him? Was this your spell? Was it from that potion you gave him? "So?" He heard your voice say, plowing through his daydreaming, "What should I call you?"

His mouth felt dry, as he licked his lips, his eyes narrowing, “What did you do to me?” He asked accusingly, “What was in that bottle?” He demanded, only for you to scoff, the corners of your lips twitching.

“If you think it was anything other than something to stop you from dying from food poisoning, then you are mistaken.” You spoke calmly, crossing your arms over your cream-colored chemise and brown corset. “I understand how it can be difficult to trust me, but I can assure you, I wouldn’t want to kill you.” You paused, running a hand through your hair as you glanced at the fire, “Mhm, but if I did want to kill you, I can assure you once again, I wouldn’t do it here.” You looked back over at the man, “I don’t want blood on my floor.” You smirked lightly, seeing the slightly uneasy expression on his face before finishing, “Now, what’s your name?”

He paused, before clearing his throat, his hand forming a fist at his mouth, "Frederick. Prince Frederick." He answered before clearing his throat again and returning to look at you, "And what should I call you?"

"Y/N." You answered, pleasantly surprised at how it seemed that he had decided to give you a chance and trust you for now as you leaned back against your wooden table with the palms of your hands, "So... You're really a prince then?"

"Of course," Frederick answered quickly, sure of himself before narrowing his eyes, "Now, what are you?"

"What am I?" You repeated, tilting your head to the side, "Quite rude of you to ask me what I am?”

Prince Frederick stood, puffing his chest slightly, making you smirk; amused at how he tried to make himself seem tough. You had no doubt that he could fend for himself, provided that he had a sword in which to use. "I have fought a nasty troll, spoken to an ugly hag, and Nymphs from what you say. What creature are you?" He asked, almost judging as he raked his eyes down and back up your body.

"I'm a witch... A Forest Witch specifically. If you want to get technical." You answered with a sigh, turning to bend over by the fire, checking on the small pot of soup that was bubbling there; cooking, almost ready.

"A witch?" He then asked, seemingly shocked, maybe tense, "But you're not ugly."

That made you laugh, a real one as you turned away from the fire and back around to face the prince, "I'm taking that as a compliment. It's true though. Not all witches are 'ugly.'" You chuckled, rolling your eyes playfully as you walked over to him. "Now, down to business. I will allow you to stay here for no more than three nights, so you can get your strength back. For now, you will eat and sleep - I'll take the extra bed in the other room. And once you are better, I'll lead you back towards the nearest village. Is that clear?"

"You expect me to stay here? In these dirty clothes? Unless you are going to offer to wash them then I demand new, clean clothes, peasant."

Smirking, you hummed, stepping closer to the prince, and bending down slightly to match his height, "Well, your highness, I guess you'll just have to wash them yourself if you don't want to wear them... I do have extra clothing that might fit you, but you won't get them unless you ask nicely."

He stared down at you, his lips parting slightly as his eyes traveled over your face, taking in every bit of beauty that his gaze landed upon. His fingers twitched nervously and his breathing quickened; there was just something so strangely alluring about you. “This is foolish…” He muttered before gulping. It didn’t take long, as he stood, taking in his appearance. His clothes were dirty, covered in dirt, grime, and bits of his blood; along with his face and hands, and his hair was in a similar condition. He smelled foul, and the prince blinked before frowning stubbornly, "Fine. I will take that extra clothing."

"Please?" You prompted, tilting your head to the side slightly, "Gotta use the magic word."

His eyes narrowed, matching your force with his own, fueling the tension that sizzled between the two of you, "Please?" He sneered, his stomach churning as a strange fluttering warmed in the pit of his stomach. "Happy?"

You hummed, allowing yourself the pleasure of admiring the prince before you before humming and leaning back, "Very." You smiled, "Now, I'll go grab those clothes, you can help yourself to the stew. It’s mushroom and potato." You stated nonchalantly, walking past him, "I'll meet you in the kitchen when I return." Frederick felt a sigh leave him as you turned around the corner, only for you to peek your head back around a second later, “And don’t think I forgot the ‘thank you for saving my life’ that you owe me.”

~~~

“I am fine.” Frederick tried to assure you stubbornly, crossing his arms as you made one last elixir, "I do not need another one of those dreadful things."

You hummed softly, flicking your tongue to the roof of your mouth, "These 'dreadful things' are what keep you from becoming more ill." You spoke calmly, pouring a bit of spring water into your circular bottle before mixing the ingredients together with a few twists of your wrist, "This also helps with any stomach issues you may have. You don't want to throw up, do you?" You asked, turning from the table to walk the few steps to the bed where Fredrick sat.

"No, I would not." He continued to be stubborn, turning up his nose at the drink that you offered.

"Then drink." You said simply, your grin widening when he - again - snatched the potion from your hand and drank the whole thing in a couple of chugs. "There, not that bad, right?" You playfully cooed, only for Fredrick to look up at you with a hardened glare.

"Do not treat me like a child." He scolded, setting the empty vessel down on the nightstand beside the bed with a hard thump, thankfully, the bottle didn't shatter or crack.

"Then stop acting like one." You answered back, crossing your arms as you leaned against the wall, "The faster you drink what I make, the faster you'll get better, and the sooner you can go on your way." You shrugged as you ran a hand through your hair, "I don't know why you have to be so stubborn. I'm just trying to help. I don't need to help, but I do. And it's not weak to need help or ask for help." You watched him carefully as he crossed his arms across his chest and looked away.

"I hate it here." He grumbled, making you groan frustrated and push off of the wall. “It’s cold, and cramped.”

“Well, I apologize that I don’t live in a castle.” Walking towards the table again, you felt your blood boil slightly as you spun around and leaned against the table, the palms of your hand pressed against the wood, "You just never learn, can you? I'm trying to help, I'm trying to make everything easier for you, but you refuse to accept my help."

"Because you are forcing me to stay here." He growled lowly, "I've told you before, I don't need your assistance. Especially from some lowly witch."

You barked out a sarcastic laugh, narrowing your eyes as you smiled darkly, "A 'lowly witch,' well, I haven't heard that one before." You huffed, "I may be far too kind and generous for my own good, but I am still a witch, and I can still be quite vicious and violent if I feel it is necessary. And this situation certainly qualifies as that, don't you agree?" He kept silent. Sighing, you pushed yourself off the table, with a tired sigh, "If you want to leave, you may, I can't force you to stay here. You can leave whenever you like. As I have said before. I don't have to waste my ingredients on you." Your voice was soft as you walked past him, pausing momentarily at the corner, "You may keep the clothes, I won't need them. I would advise that you bring my extra cloak, it's getting cold. It might rain." You finished before slipping out of the room, and to your storage room that you also used as a small craft room.

For the next hour or so, you stayed in that room, knitting yourself a new scarf from the yarn that you had saved up to buy at the nearby market. It was quiet, far too quiet, and you made up your mind that Fredrick had left. Half of you was disappointed, liking having someone around even when they were a bit of a pain, and the other half of you said 'good riddance.' It was going to be so quiet around the cottage again. You, being a witch and all, couldn't really gain many friends, in reality, you had none. No one took the chance to really get to know you and trust you, and sometimes you found yourself becoming the person in which they hated. You had done terrible things in the past, and you had learned your lesson when it came to doing things without thinking or leading with too much emotion.

But, as you sat in your little, wooden rocking chair, warm, brown spun wool in your lap and needles in hand, you paused. Looking out the window, you found droplets of rain running down your window, the sky was gray as rain continued to fall down from that gray sky. You shivered slightly, tightening your shawl tighter around you. If you were cold, he must have been freezing. But he had been so rude to you, so mean, why should you care if he was cold out in that rain, probably shivering and wandering the dark woods; lost.

You couldn't help but care. You sort of liked the so-called prince, finding him rather attractive, despite him being an utter jerk for most of the time he was with you; only two days. And if he actually was a prince as he said that he was, then you couldn't fully blame him for his nasty behavior. Being born within a royal family, raised to think those who weren't royal or of high status were below you, and therefore to act accordingly; he did have reason to dislike the idea of being in your presence. Still, it wasn't easy to see how you could ever make him change his opinion. It was true that the prince was very difficult to understand. He was rude and stubborn. He was arrogant, conceited, and cruel. He was the definition of a prince with no heart. The only times that you thought you saw something different in him were the few times that you were able to catch him watching you intently, and that, coupled with the fact that you could tell by the way his eyes shone and darkened that he was curious about you, almost fascinated. Those brief glimpses of light that he gave you made you wonder what else there was behind that stoic exterior. There had to be more than what meets the eye, after all.

Before you knew it, you were standing from your rocking chair, haphazardly setting your knitting down where you had once sat before leaving the room. Turning the corner, you stopped, finding the bed empty, and the extra cloak on the hook was gone. You frowned, swiftly moving through the small cottage to grab your cloak before stepping out the door. The harsh, cold wind blew past you as you hurriedly moved the hood of your cloak over your head before you were totally drenched with the bone-chilling rain.

The sky was dark, with angry gray clouds covering most - if not all - of the sky; blocking all the stars and the full moon. Shutting your eyes, you began to concentrate, feeling the warm and familiar sensation of magic flowing from your fingertips, and into the ground beneath your feet. Within seconds, the ground below you began to grow as a silver ribbon of light began to snake its way through the woods, creating a path for you to follow.

Following the light, you held the cloak close to your body with one hand, there free just in case anything were to try and attack you. Sadly, even though you were a powerful being, others would've loved to feast on your flesh if you had given them the chance.

Twisting around trees, large piles of brush, and stepping over overgrown tree roots, you finally found him. You breathed out heavily, catching your breath, bracing yourself against the trunk of a tree. Frederick sat on a large boulder, shivering with your cloak rung tightly around him as the rain pelted down on him in sheets. You almost felt sorry for him, but you were thankful that nothing had found him. Even though he had every right to leave, you still would've felt a bit guilty if you had come to find that he had been killed.

Walking over, the sharp snap of a twig under your feet made Frederick turn his head, looking towards the sound, before spotting you walking towards him. He rose to his feet as soon as he spotted you - you could tell that he was trying to put on his tough facade as his green eyes narrowed with confusion. He continued to stare at you, his eyebrows furrowed with suspicion.

"Come with me," You spoke up, offering your hand out to him, but you could see the hesitance in his eyes as he looked down at your hand, "Please," You practically pleaded, Frederick looking up at you before slowly reaching out to grab your hand, causing your fingers to curl around each other. The walk back to your cottage was a quiet one, as you followed the silver ribbon of light magic. Frederick's eyes widened as his jaw dropped at the sight of it, amazed by your creation, only to then clear his throat and look off into the distance and go back to his stubborn, stoic self. Only once the both of you entered your cottage, did you speak up once more. "You surely would've caught your death out there," Frederick said nothing, collapsing in front of the fire burning in your fireplace, still shivering; trying to warm up. You quickly began working, reaching out to take the soaking cloak only for him to pull away from your touch. "Let me help you, Frederick." You insisted, "We need to get you out of those wet clothes. Thankfully, I have cleaned your old clothes."

Frederick looked at you silently, and you could practically see the gears in his head turning before he began to untie the cloak from around him. Only when he took off the said cloak did a small gasp leave you at the sight of the small gash on his forehead, dirt and mud covering the side of his face; which you did not see when you found him in the forest. He seemed to have noticed that you had noticed his small injury, "I fell."

"That's alright. Everybody falls." You spoke, quickly grabbing a small bowl, and filling it with water before grabbing a small rag and finding your place beside him in front of the fire. Dipping the soft edge corner of the rag in the water, you squeezed out the extra before raising your hand to gently press the rag to Frederick's cut, dabbing away at it to clean the blood, dirt, and drying mud from his face. "We just have to get back up and try again."

"Why are you being so... Nice to me?" He spoke up, unable to look at you as you cupped his cheek to wipe the rest of the dirt and whatnot off.

Your movements slowed until you had wiped everything off his face. You pursed your lips as you lean back on your legs. "Well," You began, reaching up to brush his damp hair from his face, your fingers just ghosting across his jaw; you paused, feeling a tingling sensation on the tips of your fingertips as you dropped your hand, placing it in your lap. "I believe that there is good in everyone. Even princes." You answered, before collecting the bowl and rag, standing, "I'll get the bath ready. It may take a bit, heating the water and all. You just try and rest, I'll let you know when it's ready."

Frederick watched you go, feeling conflicted with emotions. Your words were kind and understanding, and although he couldn't quite figure out why, they brought back feelings inside of him that he hadn't expected to feel again. That fluttered in his stomach, the warmth spreading through his chest. It was strange, but he didn't hate it. Not exactly anyway. He slowly raised his hand, his fingers just brushing against where you had touched him, before dropping it back down, resting his hands in his lap as he went to stare into the fire.

For the next couple of minutes, you went back and forth, heating up a bucket of water that hung over the fireplace before rushing it over to a room in the back of the cottage, one that Frederick assumed was where the bath was located, but before he knew it, he was sat in a large, tin bath; the warm water soothing his aching muscles and soothing his throbbing head as well. The room was small, everything about the cottage was small; far different from his kingdom. He was not used to it. But you had left him a few items before you went to make supper, his princely clothing, washed and dried, and you also had left a large towel, lying folded on top of the table by the tub. He dried himself off before pulling the towel on his head. After dressing, he placed his hand on the doorknob, almost feeling hesitant; and awkward.

You looked up when the door opened, sitting in front of the fire, waiting for the soup to be ready. Fredrick said nothing, entering the room, his feet softly hitting the wooden floor as he found his place beside you. You turned slightly in his presence, gesturing with your hand for him to turn to you as well, "Let me take care of that, okay?" You asked, eyeing the clean cut that was red. "I don't want you to get infected or anything."

"What are you giving me this time?" He asked, only for you to shake your head at his question, your hand raising, palm up.

"I won't be giving you anything this time." You spoke, your magic flowing through your veins and out of your fingertips, creating swirls of glittering silver; it was mesmerizing. "I know many spells, and one can heal you. Sadly, my magic does not go as far as healing internal injuries. Which was why I gave you those elixirs." You spoke, looking up from your hand to the prince, who was already staring at you. Wordlessly, you raised your hand towards his forehead, small wisps of silver light floating from your fingers and into his cut, instantly healing him as the cut seemed to disappear. You smiled as a small sigh escaped your lips. "There. All good as new." You spoke softly before standing and grabbing two bowls from your little kitchen. "Want some soup? It's rabbit, carrot, and potato."

"Yes, uh, thank you. For... Helping me." Frederick spoke, his words stopping you in your place, with the two bowls in hand.

You seemed pleasantly surprised, your smile widening slightly as you continued your way over, sitting beside him once more before handing him a bowl of steaming soup. "You're very welcome, Frederick."

~~~

The next morning as the sun slowly rose into the sky, Frederick found himself almost wishing that the sun would go back down upon the horizon. Even though he knew himself to be proud, arrogant even, he could admit that he liked spending time alone with you. Spending time with you was easy. Again, he was conflicted. Once he got back to his kingdom, he and you would have to go your separate ways. Breakfast was quiet, eating a simple porridge before he found himself following you through the forest to the market.

"Well," You began with a sigh as you stopped at the edge of the forest, Frederick could see the market and small town, its people chatting among their friends and merchants trying to sell their goods. "This is where I leave you."

Fredrick felt like blaring alarms were going off in his head, as he snapped his head to look at you, "Come with me to my kingdom." The words left his mouth before he had any time to really think them through, surprising not only you but himself.

"I can't." You spoke, frowning as you looked out among the people past the trees and bushes, "I'm not like you, or them..." You paused before letting out a sad laugh, "No kingdom will allow me to reside there. Being a witch and all."

"I'm the prince. It does not matter what they think, what I say goes." He tried to insist but you only hummed, giving him that same sad smile.

"Even if I go, stay in that kingdom of yours, I would not be accepted. Wherever I go, prejudice follows. Besides, I have my cottage, here in the woods."

Huffing, Frederick ran a hand through his hair, giving you a glance, "Will I ever see you again?"

"See me again?" You asked with a little laugh, "Only a couple of days ago you were trying to get away from me." You teased lightly, making Frederick roll his eyes playfully, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. And after a slight moment of silence, you continued, "I'll find you."

"Find me?" He asked out loud, turning his head only to see that you were not there. He looked around swiftly, eyes wide in a slight panic as he found himself alone.

"It's the prince! Prince Frederick!" He heard, but he was too distracted, his blue eyes searching for you, only to be swept away from the edge of the forest and into the open market; the bright sun blinding him slightly as he found himself in front of three of his royal guards, along with a handful of curious townspeople.

"Your highness!" One guard exclaimed, bowing briefly, "We have been searching everywhere for you. Are you injured?"

Frederick raised his hand to his forehead, the ghost of your magic still lingering in his mind before he dropped his hand and shook his head, "No, I am not."

~~~

Sitting on his chair during the large celebratory supper, Frederick led his elbow on the arm of his chair, his cheek resting on his hand. Normally, he was the life of the party, so to speak, and he had been for the first couple of days, recounting his adventure reducing the princess and defeating a giant troll, but even a week into the celebration of his return, he found himself rather quiet; thinking back to what happened while he'd been gone.

"My prince!" Someone at the table called out to him, raising their glass of red wine, "Tell us again of your adventures, rescuing the princess and killing the troll!"

Frederick sighed, having grown tired of reciting the story, even though once he would have jumped at the opportunity to... Spread the truth. Once he spoke about killing a bear with his bare hands, jumping onto the table to show off his mighty strength when he recounted the tale; when he really never fought a bear, and the only time that he had been close to a bear was when that Ash Lad was dressed up as one.

"You've all heard the story enough times by now, haven't you?" He spoke, causing some of the people around him to look at each other confused before he suddenly stood. "I'm retiring to my quarters for the night. Party on, I don't care." He waved a hand dismissively before leaving the large dining room. Finding himself in his room, he took in a deep breath, leaning against the edge of the stone window. He closed his eyes, taking another breath in before opening them once again. What had gotten into him? Why was he acting like this? Wasn't it supposed to be better? Here? That he should be happy to be home and able to live with his family? He didn’t feel like himself anymore.

You sat on your bed, the one that Frederick occupied, now empty and cold. You almost didn't want to use the bed. You almost believed that he might come back, but you knew that was a foolish dream. Frederick was probably in his castle, in his kingdom, doing whatever a prince was supposed to do; and you... You were just some witch from the woods to him. He was royalty, after all, you were a peasant. There was no reason for him to remember you or come back. Though, it didn't really hurt to dream, to wish that he'd someday come through your cottage door. It didn't hurt to dream. Right?

~~~

One Month Later

~~~

"My liege," Albert, one of Frederick's guards, said, his, Frederick's, and Henry's - the other guard - horses came to a stop. "I do not think it is wise to go this deep into the forest."

"Yeah," Henry spoke up, "I heard a witch lives in these woods."

Frederick scoffed, "If you both are cowards, you can go back. I can handle this myself." He said, urging his horse forward further into the forest, heading deeper into the thicket that surrounded your cottage. The forest had begun to darken, trees and foliage growing thicker with every passing moment; the sun setting in the sky. Frederick, though unnerved, trotted on, his guards following behind as an owl is clearly heard hooting somewhere in the distance. The atmosphere was becoming increasingly eerie. "See? Nothing to be scared of-" Frederick spoke confidently, turning his head only for his smirk to turn into a frown; his guards were gone. Turning back around, Frederick humphed, "Cowards." He muttered, swallowing thickly as he urged his horse to continue forward.

With one hand on his horse's lead, and the other on the hilt of his sword, Frederick surveyed his surroundings, as much as he could anyway; the forest was dark, the moon's light only allowing him to make out vague shapes within the thicket. As he continued forward slowly, his eyes widened as something flew straight toward his face from the darkness. Instinctively ducking, he pulled back sharply on his horse's reins to halt his progress forward, his horse rearing up, knocking him to the ground.

With a grunt and a groan, he pushed himself onto his feet, brushing himself off as he stared into the darkness ahead. A low growl filled the air, drawing the attention of Frederick who turned quickly and held his blade out protectively. Something moved forward out of the shadows, it was tall and bulky and covered in black fur and long claws. It brought its head up, its sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight; a large wolf.

"Back, you beast!" Frederick yelled, trying to mask his terror as he pointed his sword at the wolf, its teeth growing larger and its snarls growing stronger until Frederick was backed up against a tree, his sword pointed down at the wolf. "Get back!"

The wolf continued to snarl, its saliva dripping from the corners of its mouth as its large paws stepped closer and closer towards Frederick, its tail twitching as it prepared itself to pounce. Frederick was frozen as he watched it approach, staring at those red orbs. Eyes that reminded him of fire, glowing faintly in the darkness. The wolf hunched its back, preparing itself to spring, and the prince shut his eyes.

The silence was deafening and for a slight moment, Frederick thought he had died. But he felt no pain, no teeth as sharp as daggers ripping into his flesh, nor did he feel the burning sensation in his throat that signified a wolf's attack. Opening his eyes, he watched as the wolf stood still, akin to a statue before his nose turned up to the sky, sniffing; smelling the air. Suddenly, the wolf turned its head to the side, its ears turning, listening before he howled; its shrill piercing howl cut through the air, filling Frederick's ears; his body tensed.

All of a sudden, a familiar silver ribbon of light began to weave around the wolf's body, slowly changing color to match the silver ribbon as its light reflected off its fur before continuing its path through the forest. Turning and running, Frederick saw the wolf run in the same direction, following the light; disappearing into the shadows. He took a deep breath, feeling more safe than he had before. He lowered his sword and leaned against the tree, breathing heavily, he shut his eyes; relief filling his chest.

"I think you owe me another thank you."

Opening his eyes, Frederick sighed and turned around to find you standing beside him, a grin threatening to appear on his face as you entered the clearing. For a moment, all he could do was stare before he cleared his throat and looked away, puffing his chest a little as he spoke, "A thank you? For what, may I ask?" He asked, still slightly shocked by your sudden appearance.

You tilted your head slightly, a slight smirk on your face as you stepped closer, "For saving your life, again."

"I could've handled it." He insisted, placing his sword back into its sheath.

"Oh, I knew you could." You stated sarcastically, folding your arms across your chest. "I never knew you were such a skilled fighter... I've never seen anyone attempt to fight a wolf with their eyes closed." You continued to playfully taunt him, stopping just inches away from him as he looked up at you, his green eyes glinting in the moonlight. You raised your brows expectantly, waiting for him to respond.

"Well, I was going to kill it, I was just waiting for the right chance to take it," Frederick responded, "I didn't need you."

You hummed, "But you did." Your eyes briefly raked over his face before returning to his eyes, "Admit it, you missed me."

Frederick rolled his eyes, shaking his head lightly, "No, not at all, why would I miss seeing a peasant like you?" He asked, feeling a rating, hot tension that made a shiver crawl down his spine.

"Oh, I don't know..." You teased, looking away coyly. "Why else would you be in the forest, at night, alone?" You countered, a mischievous smile spreading across your lips as you looked back up at him.

"I am not alone..." He argued, his brow rising slightly as he glanced around. His eyes stopped on yours, his face becoming slightly warm, "I have my guards."

Your smirk grew even wider, "Ah, yes, but where are they?"

Frederick pursed his lips before speaking, wetting his lips, "Ah, uh, we got separated." He spoke, stammering only slightly, hardly noticeable as you raised both of your hands to straighten the collar of his brown, embroidered chemise; the tips of your fingers just barely brushing his burning neck.

"Separated?" You repeated, your hands resting on his chest as you finished fiddling with his collar, Frederick felt an odd shift in the air. "I've told you before... It's dangerous in these woods." You sighed softly, your smirk forming a small, sad frown as you stared at Frederick's chest. "You shouldn't be out here. I'll lead you back to the edge of the forest." You quickly turned away, only getting a couple of steps away before Frederick grabbed your hand.

Turning your head, you were about to speak when Frederick stopped you by tugging at your hand, pulling you close. Your body was immediately pressed against his, your hands flying to land back on his chest. You blinked, taken aback, watching the way his hair swayed lightly in the wind, the way the moonlight illuminated the contours of his face, his features softening and relaxing as he watched you.

You had guessed right, he had missed you. Your voice, your company; it was addicting. Like the first night that he met you, the night you saved him, Frederick felt a warmth rise from within, a fluttery feeling settling in his stomach. It was an unfamiliar yet exciting feeling, one that made him feel almost giddy inside.

He felt himself begin to lean in. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to kiss you. You didn't move as he placed his other hand beneath your chin, tilting your face upward slightly, his thumb tracing along your cheekbone, moving to cup your jaw as your eyelids fluttered shut. Leaning in ever so slowly, you allowed yourself to get lost in the feeling of his touch as he closed the small gap between the two of you.

His lips brushed gently against yours, a gentle pressure, not wanting to push too far but not wanting to leave either. You couldn't help but return the gesture, placing a hand on the back of his neck - gently carding through the short, brown hair there - while the other wrapped around his waist, holding him closer as if you feared that if you let go, he might disappear forever. The kiss lasted a few seconds; neither party was willing nor wanting to pull away. The palpable tension between the two of you was so strong that it almost seemed like it might burst.

Just when you thought you couldn't hold back anymore, the spell broke as you felt his lips part, breaking contact with your own and causing you to open your eyes. Frederick's eyes remained locked on your lips as he leaned backward slightly. After taking in a shaky inhale, his eyes shifted, his gaze traveling from your lips, lingering as a tingle spread throughout his body.

He gulped, licking his dry lips, before finally looking at your eyes, searching your face before he whispered, "Thank you."

You couldn't help but smile, unable to break your gaze away from his soft, ocean-blue eyes, "You're very welcome, Frederick."

---

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 1 year

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Psycho Analysis: The 50 Greatest Comic Book Superhero Movie Villains

I think it’s pretty obvious I love villains, considering I have this whole series dedicated to talking about them. And anyone who has followed me for long enough should know that I love superhero movies. So, naturally, I love comic book superhero movie villains. They’re fun, they’re over the top, they’re colorful… They’re the best kinds of villains, especially when a great actor gets pulled in to play them. So why not bring Psycho Analysis back in time for the holidays with a big villain list special?

Here’s the thing: For a long time, comic book movie villains were pretty shitty. You had fun, campy ones every now and then, but most of them were really boring or just plain sucked. You had generic doomsday villains all over the place, or villains who were disrespectful of their comic origins (looking at you, Galactus). Or that’s what I thought going into this, anyway. Turns out there are a lot more villains I would say are genuinely great than ones who I’d call shitty. It’s just the shitty ones are so shitty you think they’re the rule rather than the exception. But that’s another list; right now, we’re celebrating the villains we love to hate.

The rules of this list are simple: So long as the villain has appeared in either a standalone comic book superhero movie, a superhero movie series, or is part of a superhero cinematic universe, they are fair game for this list. I bent the rules a tiny bit in a couple of places, but this is the one consistent rule. This means no Teen Titans Go! To the Movies Slade or Shredder, because despite being based on properties that started as comics, they’re based more on the cartoon version of the characters.

Here are the honorable mentions, the villains who didn’t make the cut for one reason or another (but who I think deserve a shout out regardless): Scarlet Witch (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), Gorr (Thor: Love & Thunder), Jigsaw (Punisher: War Zone), Hela (Thor: Ragnarok), Carnage (Venom: Let There Be Carnage), Ebony Maw (Avengers: Infinity War), Steppenwolf (Zack Snyder’s Justice League), The Motherfucker (Kick-Ass 2), and Black Mask (Birds of Prey). Special shout outs to Mr. Mind (Shazam!) and Darkseid (Zack Snyder’s Justice League), who would definitely be on this list if they actually had a chance to do more than look cool and foreshadow future movies (ones that will never happen in the latter’s case). And an apology to Cottonmouth of Luke Cage, a show I have sadly not had a chance to watch; if fan reaction to the character is anything to go by, he’d have ended up on this list. Oh, and if I included comic book movies outside superhero ones, I’d probably have thrown Gideon Gordon Graves (Scott Pilgrim) and maybe, possibly Xerxes (300) on the list as well.

Now, on to the list! Oh, and be aware: There are SPOILERS liberally sprinkled throughout the little blurbs I wrote for each villain.

50. Poison Ivy

Batman & Robin

Even in a film as campy as Batman & Robin, Poison Ivy is outstandingly campy. Uma Thurman knew exactly what she was doing, making everyone’s favorite sapphic, slutty supervillain the icon she deserves to be, even with some truly stupid haircuts. If only Harley was in the movie.. it boggles the mind.

49. Taserface

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Taserface is one of the funniest minor villains ever. I mean, look at him. This man is absurd, and calls himself “Taserface!” But he’s also scarily effective, pulling off a brutal mutiny and killing most of Yondu’s crew. The man gets no respect up until his death, but he never stops being entertaining.

48. Riddler

Batman Forever

Jim Carrey in his prime as one of the most over-the-top and cartoonish villains in Batman’s rogues gallery? Yes please! This is one of the single campiest performances in either of Schumacher’s Batman films—and that’s saying a lot. He can grate on the nerves a little bit, but Carrey is just having way too much fun. Really didn’t need to see his bulge, though.

47. Sandman

Spider-Man 3

Thomas Haden Church gets big points for being the spitting image of Flint Marko, but he also deserves some credit for delivering a genuinely nuanced and emotional performance in the hot mess of a film he’s in. The scene where he is created is still to this day one of the most powerful moments in any comic book movie ever, a fantastic display of visual storytelling and impressive effects work congealing into a shining moment in a film that doesn’t have many.

46. Obadiah Stane

Iron Man

Stane is a weird one. On the one hand, he’s a precursor to every bad villain in superhero movies to come, as he ends up as a Big Gray CGI Monstrosity with the same powers as the hero. On the other hand, Jeff Bridges is just so delightfully hammy and he is the first of his kind in the modern age, so I think it’s fair to cut him a bit of slack.

45. Red Skull

Captain America: The First Avenger

Hugo Weaving may have initially had little respect for the role, but there’s no denying he put good work into it. Red Skull is sinister, hammy, and deliciously evil, perfect for the pulpy adventure tale of Cap’s debut. I mean, the man backstabs the Third Reich because he considers himself eviler than them, what more could you ask for?

44. Milo

Morbius

Look, you knew at least one “so bad it’s good” villain was gonna be here, and I’ve gotta hand it to Milo; he really makes the most of Morbius’s meticulous mediocrity. Matt Smith I’d clearly having the time of his life, giving a dramatic performance better than this movie deserved and a hammy supervillain performance that this movie desperately needed. And let’s not forget the man has the sickest dance moves this dude of Bully Maguire.

43. Bane

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises may not be the greatest finale ever, but it did what so many Batman adaptations fail to do: It acknowledged Bane is a cunning mastermind behind the muscles. Throw in an awesome performance from Tom Hardy and a mind-boggling amount of meme-worthy lines and you have yourself a fantastic villain. His truly embarrassing final fate and the fact he was pretty blatantly whitewashed are the only thinga keeping him so low on the list.

42. Violator

Spawn

Spawn may not be the best superhero movie ever, but if there’s one shining spot in it (besides how cool the titular character is), it’s John Leguizamo’s madcap performance as the demonic Clown. Despite being steeped in grimy gross out comedy, he still manages to be fun to watch, mainly because literally everyone around him finds him as disgusting as the audience does. And even if his demon form is hit with janky PS2 CGI, he still manages to get in some badass lines and moments. Bottom line: Leguizamo did not eat actual maggot pizza to miss out on this list.

41. Bullseye

Daredevil

Colin Farrell did not miss the mark with his portrayal of Daredevil’s assassin archenemy. It’s such a fun, hammy, laughably evil performance that helps add a bit of fun to the edgy proceedings by being basically a literal cartoon character come to life. Now if he only got that fucking costume…

40. Arthur Harrow

Moon Knight

Transforming a minor, unimpressive villain from the comics into a credible threat onscreen is par for the course for superhero media, but few end up quite this impressive. Most of the credit has to go to Ethan Hawke, who really gives it his all as the sorcerous cult leader, but I think the imagined version inside Marc’s mind that’s the head doctor of the psychiatric facility is where he really shines, as it plays with our perception a bit.

39. Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron and What If…?

Here is a villain desperately seeking a film worthy of him. James Spader is giving such a fun, engaging performance with only a couple of hiccups, but everything around him is just so quippy and stupid that the film struggles to take him seriously. Still, he deserves a spot here at the very least for his incredibly realistic villain origin: He took one look at the internet and decided humanity needed to be destroyed. And hey, if nothing else What If…? gave him a chance to shine and be the threat he deserves to be!

38. Ulysses Klaue

Black Panther

Andy Serkis sadly gets offed halfway through Black Panther, but even with his limited screentime he has become a beloved minor antagonist. It helps he managed to have a fantastic cameo in Age of Ultron (one of the sole bright spots in that film), and that for his role as the first act’s villain in Black Panther Serkis approaches the role with such humor and grimy charm that you’ll probably feel bad when this scumbag ends up in a body bag.

37. The Thinker

The Suicide Squad

The roulette wheel of villains in The Suicide Squad eventually lands on Peter Capaldi’s maniacal mad scientist, and while he doesn’t have any major fights he manages to steal the show with just how slimy and egotistical he is. He’s just a nasty, awful bastard, and being responsible for the final villain going full kaiju rampage is worth making it on this list.

36. Lex Luthor

Superman Returns

It’s so fucking sad that despite being used in almost every Superman film ever made, the onily time his most iconic foe was ever good when he was played by real-life creep Kevin Spacey. But hey, being a villain in real life gives just the right touch of unhinged ego and cockiness Luthor needs.

35. Top Dollar

The Crow

When I made the list of the 30 best comic book superhero movies, I left off The Crow, mainly because I didn’t think of it as a superhero movie (it’s more like a friend to me if I’m being honest). Kind of a harsh snub there, so as an apology Michael Wincott’s effortlessly cool and needlessly cruel gangster overlord gets to take a place on this list. Not many people can bang their half-sibling and still come away being awesome, but somehow owning the Six-Fingered Sword from The Princess Bride and using it in a duel probably goes a long way towards making Top Dollar one of the most memorable crime bosses you’ll ever see.

34. Dr. Sivana

Shazam!

When you have a villain as silly as “Doctor who harnesses the powers of the seven deadly sins because of darkness in his heart to get revenge” you need a damn good actor to pull that off. Mark Strong is a damn good actor, and this is a taste of what we could have had if they let him play Sinestro more than once. I for one can’t wait to see him take orders from an evil caterpillar!

33. Sabretooth

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Liev Schreiber makes his first mark on this list as Wolverine’s ultraviolent archenemy, and easily the best part of Origins. He’s fun and menacing, and a lot more memorable than whatever the hell that poser in the original X-Men was. The greatest crime of the franchise (besides piss-poor continuity and bad writing and over reliance on Wolverine) was never bringing back Sabretooth to plague good old Logan one more time.

32. Penguin

The Batman

In a movie as dark as this, we need a little bit of levity. Enter Penguin, here imagined as a cartoonish mobster that would almost be out of place if this movie didn’t clearly have a bit of West influence in it. Colin Farrell is no stranger to playing hilariously cartoonish supervillains so in his role here he excels, and it’s easy to see why he’s getting his own spin-off series.

31. Sebastian Shaw

X-Men: First Class

Long before he spent Christmas with the Guardians of the Galaxy, Kevin Bacon terrorized the X-Men in one of their best outings. While he’s not winning any points for comic accuracy, he definitely wins points for being responsible for Magneto’s start of darkness, being the one who killed his mother (and thus a Nazi). He’s a slimy supremacist bastard, and it’s oh so satisfying to watch Magneto make sure there’s zero degrees of separation between his skull and a magnetized coin.

30. Ozymandias

Watchmen

As is often the case with Snyder’s Watchmen, the movie misses the point a bit here. They turned the charming, charismatic, muscular Chad that was the comic Adrian into a cold, brooding, emotionally distant soyboy. It kinda ruins the surprise that this dude is the evil mastermind. Still, with how slavishly loyal the film is, it still manages to make Veidt one of the finest and most morally complex supervillains to hit the big screen… he’s just not quite as impressive as his comic version (though really, who is?).

29. Zemo

Captain America: Civil War and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Zemo is the obvious evolution of the supervillain archetype Loki codified, but he is far more refined. His motives are solid and understandable, his methods are heinous enough to root against, and he makes some valid points. Then he proceeds to do what not even Thanos could: He tears the Avengers apart. He’s the rare villain who actually wins, the rarer villain who actually gets to live, and the rarest villain of all who gets to return, steal the show with awkward dance moves and praising Marvin Gaye, and—most crucially—look cool wearing a purple sock on his head.

28. Ocean Master

Aquaman

Good old Orm doesn’t make the list by being the deepest or most complex character (though he’s not lacking in depth and is pretty understandable in some of his motives), but by being just so delightfully comic booky. He’s hammy, he poses, he wears a silly helmet, and he acts as a great narrative foil for our hero. Bonus points for not only being a villain who is at least a little justified to the point he’s redeemed—by the power of love, no less!—but one who survives the movie to get more development later on.

27. Doctor Doom

The Fantastic Four

The unreleased Fantastic Four film of the 90s may have been hobbled by a budget consisting of change they found in the couch cushions, but the love and respect for the source material always managed to shine through. Nowhere is that more evident than with Doom; he’s hammy, he’s grandiose, he has a giant castle and throne room, he acts like everyone except him is a total idiot, and he won’t stop calling Reed a douchebag even when he’s about to fall to his ambiguous death. He may not put up much of a fight, but this Doom is head and shoulders above Dooms with a thousand times the budget.

26. Justin Hammer

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2 is a sloppy film that was a grim omen of problems that would plague the MCU later down the line, but it did one thing right in giving the world the inimitable Justin Hammer. Where Tony Stark is an idealized fantasy billionaire who is actually a good person who wants to help people, Hammer is a more realistic take to serve as a contrast. He’s smug, he’s smarmy, he engages in all manner of illegal activity to undermine his betters, and most crucially he is an incredible idiot. This man is basically the MCU version of Elon Musk, but where Musk’s attempts at trying to be cool are pathetic and cringeworthy, Hammer’s attempts to ape Tony’s style just serve to make him endearing. And do you think Musk could ever have dance moves half as sick as Hammer’s? Get real.

25. The Grandmaster

Thor: Ragnarok

It’s Jeff Goldblum as space Caligula. ‘Nuff said.

24. Mr. Freeze

Batman & Robin

People have ragged on Arnold’s campy Freeze for years due to his non-stop barrage of ice puns, but much like his home movie he’s honestly not as bad as the haters would make you think. Schwarzenegger is adept at both comedy and drama, and is able to deftly balance the tragic melodrama of Freeze’s backstory and his campy cartoonishness, all while wearing one of the coolest costumes ever seen. And you know what? The ice puns aren’t that bad. Chill out.

23. Prowler

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Uncle Aaron is an inspired take on Uncle Ben, a character who has been done to death (literally). The positive dynamic he has with his nephew is familiar, but the fact he has a criminal alter ego who is relentlessly and unknowingly hunting his beloved nephew down for Kingpin is a fresh take on a tired tale. He still dies, and his death is the catalyst for Miles to fully embrace being Spider-Man, while alive he is equal parts menacing force and tragic figure. With apologies to Miss Octavius, he’s definitely the best secondary antagonist in the film.

22. Penguin

Batman Returns

Danny DeVito’s portrayal of Penguin as a tragic, deformed monster as opposed to a classy gangster has gone on to inform basically every portrayal of the character since, to the point where sticking closer to the character’s roots is seen as weird. It’s not a surprise, though; DeVito manages to make Penguin a menacing, creepy villain as well as a pitiable figure all at once.

21. Vulture

Spider-Man: Homecoming

Michael Keaton is no stranger to comic book movies, and here he demonstrated he is just as adept at playing badass villains as he is at playing heroes. Taking one of Spider-Man’s corniest villains and giving him a high tech upgrade and sympathetic motivation was a smart move, as was keeping him noble even in the end. Of course, his best scene doesn’t even have him in his bird suit; it has him in his regular clothes, slowly piecing together the truth about Peter while the boy sits in the backseat of his car. Keaton’s acting in the car ride scene is something else entirely.

20. Loki

Marvel Cinematic Universe

I was personally not a huge fan of Loki’s turn as an out and out doomsday villain in the first Avengers movie, but it’s hard to deny his impact on the medium and how he was the first villain in the MCU to actually have nuance, which was much better showcased in the Thor films. And you’ll never hear a bad word from me about Tom Hiddleston’s performance, which is fantastic no matter what he’s in, up to being the best part of every episode of What If...? he’s in. It’s no wonder Loki got his own spin-off show with all that in mind.

19. White Dragon

Peacemaker

Peacemaker’s dad is probably the biggest piece of shit on this list, being an openly racist neo-Nazi supervillain and one of the most abusive fathers you’ll ever see. By all accounts he shouldn’t be as cool as he is, but between Robert Patrick’s fantastic performance and James Gunn being a master of writing conflicts between parents and children like this, he becomes an enjoyable hate sink you oh so badly want to see get what’s coming to him. And even better, despite being built up as a genius inventor and badass villain, he makes crucial errors in his suit’s construction that leads to his demise, showing once and for all that for all their posturing, white supremacists are just fucking morons who fold like wet paper at the slightest opposition.

18. General Zod

Superman II

Terrence Stamp took a villain who wasn’t quite iconic and managed to make him on the level of Luthor when it comes to Superman villains almost anyone could name, to the point where Stamp’s portrayal influenced the comic version going forwards. He has an air of class and menace that makes it pretty easy to want to kneel before him. Zod has become a little overexposed, being the go-to Superman bad guy when they don’t feel like using Luthor, but when the original take was this good it’s seriously hard to fault them too much.

17. Mysterio

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Mysterio isn’t just brilliant because he’s a fun, meta take on a great goofy comic villain, with him and his team essentially being Marvel movie creators gone bad, fabricating CGI spectacle to gain accolades. And he’s not just brilliant because of that fantastic illusion sequence where he puts Spidey through a dizzying nightmare trip. No, he’s brilliant because not only did he convince the world at large that he’s an incredible hero, he managed to convince some audience members that he’s just a poor, innocent worker who was taken advantage of by his former billionaire boss (which ignores so much, but especially that he’s working with someone who was complicit in dealing arms to terrorists). He’s certainly not a hero, but he’s most definitely a master of illusions.

16. Starro

The Suicide Squad

Starro serves as the final boss of The Suicide Squad, unleashing kaiju destruction on Corto Maltese. And like all great kaiju, there is an air of tragedy to the big starfish; he never wanted any of this, in its final moments choosing to lament how content it was to simply drift through space before it was kidnapped and forced to undergo perverse experiments at the hands of the American government (and particularly Thinker). Starro doesn’t even want to fight the Squad at first, implying it’s grateful to them for freeing it from torture. The Squad may not put much thought into how tragic Starro’s lot is, but the audience sure will.

15. Agatha Harkness

WandaVision

In a technical sense, Agatha didn’t do too much wrong besides gaslight Wanda in an attempt to steal her powers. Sure, she kidnaps Wanda’s kids and kills their dog, but none of those things are real; and sure, she hypnotized Ralph Bohner (heh) into thinking he was Quicksilver, but it’s no worse than Wanda’s mass brainwashing of Westview. But she just relishes so much in being a wicked witch, from her torment of Wanda to her insanely catchy villain song, that I’m inclined to take her word for it and say she’s a bad guy. She’s definitely getting some kind of redemption in her own show, but for now Kathryn Hahn camping it up like she just walked off the set of Hocus Pocus can take high marks on this list.

14. Amanda Waller

DC Cinematic Universe

I don’t think there has ever been such an impressive turnaround for a comic book villain ever. It was never a matter of Viola Davis, who gave her all from day one, but a matter of how abysmal the writing in Suicide Squad was, portraying her as an incompetent idiot who was still allowed to get away with everything in the end. Once Gunn took the reigns of the franchise, though, Waller finally got her due, sending an entire squad to their death as a distraction and basically playing 4D chess for the whole movie. She gets her comeuppance too, so it’s a lot more satisfying watching her win a few schemes when you know she can lose a few too. Being a greater-scope villain for Peacemaker just further cemented her as being the magnificent bitch the character should be; we can only hope she keeps it up in her next major appearance.

13. Kingpin

Daredevil (The movie and the Netflix series), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

It’s honestly amazing that a villain as seemingly simple as Wilson Fisk has not only been done differently three times in ways that make him cool and engaging, but he’s also maintained a high level of quality in every appearance. Michael Clarke Duncan brought size and intimidation to his version, doing so well despite Daredevil’s weak theatrical cut he got to reprise the role in the underrated Spider-Man: The New Animated Series; Liev Schreiber voiced the memeiest version of the character to date, one who even holds the distinction of killing one Spider-Man and inadvertently creating another; and Vincent D’onofrio is so good he managed to pull the entire Netflix Daredevil show into the MCU canon with his appearance in Hawkeye. Fisk would be the easiest villain in the world to half-ass and make generic, but we’ve been blessed with fantastic actors in the role. Kingpin gets the distinction of being the one of only two villains with multiple entries in one spot.

12. Kilgrave

Jessica Jones

David Tennant is the third and final former Doctor to make the list, and he’s so good at being a bad I bent the rules ever so slightly to get him in on the list. The canonicity of Jessica Jones to the MCU is a bit unclear right now, but do we really want to live in a world where his fantastically chilling performance is Thanos’d from the timeline? A walking avatar of rape culture and a laundry list of microagressions, Kilgrave is one of the slimiest, most sadistic, most reprehensible characters ever conceived… and yet you can’t help but love to hate him.

11. Catwoman

Batman Returns

There have been plenty of Catwomans in film, with her being portrayed as a hero, an anti-hero, and even a silly Silver Age villainess. But I think Miss Kyle was done best as an antagonist in the hands of Michelle Pfeiffer, who absolutely nails the dynamic between Selina and Bruce (and their alter egos) as well as portraying the inherent tragedy of this take on the character. Throw in Pfeiffer looking damn fine in that costume and her handling the whip like a pro, and you have what might just be the purr-fect Catwoman.

10. Namor

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Phase 4 of the MCU was largely uneven, with villains who could have been great under better circumstances being held back by sloppy narrative choices. Big names like Gorr and Scarlet Witch were let down by weak stories, so there was a sense of dread I had going into Wakanda Forever that they’d let down one of Marvel’s oldest and most iconic anti-heroes. I had nothing to worry about in the end; Tenoch Huerta brought the character to life with all the charm, charisma, and command of the screen the Sub-Mariner deserves, and boy does he look good. The story treats him with the respect he deserves (no jokes about his ankle wings!) and while he’s certainly no Killmonger, he easily cements himself as a fantastic anti-hero who you can’t wait to see more of. And really, I can’t stress this enough: He is really fucking hot.

9. Riddler

The Batman

I’m sure I’m in the same boat as a lot of people, where I saw the Zodiac-inspired getup of the new Riddler and thought this was going to be a Nolanesque gritty reimagining of the character. But lo and behold, we got something infinitely better: A Riddler that utilizes all manner of gruesome Saw traps while also maintaining the hilarious campy quality that’s inherent to the character. He sends personalized greeting cards with clues, he hosts evil livestreams for his fans, he sings “Ave Maria” to Batman, and most importantly he has a sick sense of humor. I love Jim Carrey, but he ain’t got shit on Paul Dano when it comes to riddlin’.

8. Joker

Batman: The Movie, Batman, The Dark Knight, and Joker

Joker is a character who always manages to get a fresh take despite being absolutely done to death, and each interpretation highlights a different aspect that makes the character great. Romero’s Joker is very much the playful, criminal prankster; Nicholson is the swaggering, comically violent gangster; Ledger is the chilling, maniacal anarchist; and Phoenix is the disturbed, broken man who had one really bad day. And the one thing common across all of them is that each of them has made the Joker a consistently compelling and engaging villain. And while he hasn’t done enough yet to get in on this spot of the list entirely, Barry Keoghan deserves a shout out for portraying Joker as he truly is: A giggling, hideous, conniving freak.

7. Thanos

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame

Thanos was a villain nearly a decade in the making, getting teased in The Avengers before making sporadic appearances here and there. His lack of direct action in the franchise had some worried… and then he stole the show in Infinity War, kicked everyone’s ass, and emerged victorious. They managed to take a villain whose main goal in the comics is to fuck a skeleton and somehow make him work, namely by keeping his headstrong self-righteousness intact even if he isn’t trying to bone the grim reaper, with Josh Brolin delivering one of the finest performances of his career. There are other villains that are better than him, but there aren’t any villains who truly feel as grand of epic as he did, and with DC dropping Darkseid from their cinematic universe it’s doubtful there ever will be one again, at least not for a very long time.

6. Doctor Octopus

Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man: No Way Home

Alfred Molina’s Otto Octavius is an excellent contrast to Dafoe’s Goblin. Where Gobby is hammy, hilarious, and gleefully sadistic, Octavius is grandiose in a more understated way and a lot more tragic, while still managing to be as fun as a mad scientist with robot tentacles should be. You can definitely tell Molina is bringing his stage acting skills to the table here with how he carries himself and delivers his lines, making Octavius stand out among the more traditionally campy villains in Raimi’s other films. He got to return for an encore in No Way Home and gets the awesome fight scene and redemption arc he deserved, fully rounding him out and giving the diabolical doctor a happy ending all while proving that he makes movies better just by being in them.

5. Xu Wenwu

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Shang-Chi would be a nearly perfect movie if not for one thing: It kills off one of the single greatest and most complex villains in the MCU for a CGI dragon battle. They managed to take two of the most infamous “Yellow Peril” characters in pop culture (Fu Manchu and the Mandarin) and gave him depth and complexity, his complicated relationship with his children driving the plot more than anything else. It’s a testament to how good the writing and how good Tony Leung’s performance is that he’s this high, because despite his death the impact on his children doesn’t disappear just because it’s time for CGI monsters. This more than makes up for how lame Guy Pearce Mandarin was, that’s for sure.

4. Ego

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Familial conflict is the cornerstone of many great villains, and Ego has that in spades. At first it seems like Marvel’s living planet has undergone adaptational kindness, with him genuinely coming across as a fun father figure to Peter, but that just makes the big twist hit even harder. Ego becomes even nastier retroactively, as on top of what he did to Peter’s mother and scores of his own children, the holiday special reveals Mantis is his child and he only kept her alive as a slave for her powers. He’s genuinely one of the nastiest, most twisted villains the MCU ever showed us, and he more than lives up to his name with his narcissistic plan to reshape the universe in his image. Kurt Russell absolutely knocked it out of the park with his performance.

3. Magneto

X-Men film series

Be it Sir Ian McKellan or Michael Fassbender, you could always count on one thing with Magneto: He’d be one of the most compelling parts of the film. Watch McKellan and Fassbender carry The Last Stand and Apocalypse, respectively, and see how this iconic anti-villain can make even the biggest turds watchable. And when the movie is genuinely good, such as X2, First Class, or Days of Future Past… That’s where the real fun comes in. Magneto is one of the single greatest characters ever created, and thankfully even with the spotty track record of the X-Men films it never felt like he wasn’t given his due.

2. Green Goblin

Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home

We can argue all day about whether or not his costume is stupid, but one thing that is utterly inarguable is that Willem Dafoe delivered the gold standard for hammy supervillains. Playing up the Goblin as something of a split personality, Dafoe can instantly switch from the sympathetic Norman to the cackling Gobby with ease, something really demonstrated by his return in No Way Home. Across two cinematic universes, Gobby proved himself to be Spidey’s greatest and most personal foe, and more importantly than that he proved to be an endless fountain of memes thanks to his insanely quotable lines. If you’re making a cackling, campy comic book movie villain, they are gonna have to try really hard to make it out of Gobby’s shadow.

1. Erik Killmonger

Black Panther

When I began making this list, there was never any question who number one was going to be. Of fucking course it was always gonna be Killmonger, a villain who is so cool, stylish, badass, and complex that he completely redeems the film’s awkward PS3 cutscene of a final battle thanks to his genuinely impactful death scene immediately after. He’s so good that when he shows up for a surprise appearance in Wakanda Forever he absolutely and completely eclipses how great Namor is and reminds us all why he was such a great villain with only a single scene. What’s most impressive, however, is that technically he did win in the end, being directly responsible for T’Challa dying as well as inspiring him during life to open up to the world and try and help black people around the world. Michael B. Jordan proves once and for all that whatever problems his role as Johnny Storm had, it wasn’t on him; the man is one of the best actors of our time.

#Psycho Analysis #villains #comic book superhero movie villains #DC #Marvel #comic books #list

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thegreencarousel · 1 year

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Summary: I have so very little to look forward to each week so I’ve watched Black Adam 3 times in the cinema during cheap Tuesdays and I just want to talk more about it. Putting this under a cut as it is very long and out of consideration for my followers because none of you followed me for this out of the blue hyperfixation lol. Don’t worry, content you do follow me for will be back soon once I get this obsession out of my system. It also goes without saying there are massive spoilers under the cut because I’m dissecting why this film is making me so obsessed ;u;

I think its a bit unfortunate that you might have to rewatch Black Adam multiple times with the mindset of wanting to dig out the diamonds from the coal to appreciate the quieter moments of the film, which was overshadowed by how much the movie really wanted to be an epic action piece. Granted it did the epic part really well, perhaps a bit too well given how its a sensory overload which can be too stimulating for some and just perfectly too much for me (my adhd brain was so overstimulated it went brrrr hence my obsession in rewatching it). Its also deeply unfortunate that in the battle royale of which writer/director gets to keep their voice in the movie the end result was a draw with at least 4 conflicting tones.

I wish they let the contemplative voice run the show, I don’t think it would have made the movie any less epic because it would have allowed for some breathing space in the film after all the action. Which were all truly well directed, the cinematography and fight choreographies really embraced their superhero directing and I can tell whoever storyboarded Hawkman’s scenes has become a bird person because he moved beautifully like a bird of prey in the air (also Aldis Hodge gave so much despite having most of his face hidden behind a helmet). I’ve already gushed about the cinematography, so the only thing left is the script, which unfortunately was so confused in its own existence that it dragged everything else down despite the best attempt of the cast, the music and visuals. I think its a shame the script was too scared to really tackle the darker side of Black Adam’s character, or at the very least the grim consequences of his lack of control over his abilities. The script was lacking in a lot of ways but given that this is supposed to be a Black Adam origin story, it is unfortunate that the JSA and even the Tomaz family had more obvious personable moments than the titular character himself.

Personally I really enjoyed Black Adam’s introduction; the way he’s shrouded in shadow with only cracked bits of his lightning icon for light and the jagged edges created by his cloak in the silhouette really evoke Brightburn vibes, which coupled with Dwayne Johnson’s hard stare did enough to tell the audience that Adrianna might have woken something dark and not exactly friendly. I think people are kind of hard on DJ for saying he is just playing another Rock character because imo the way he approached Black Adam kind of reminded me of his character in Faster where he played an ex-con seeking revenge against his brother’s killers and went down a bloody path which he later regretted. Its only in this sense that I would agree DJ was playing a similar character but only in its execution. I admit my bias that I do enjoy DJ as an actor even when some of his movies are not the best, but I do think there is something to be said about how his stoic, hardened fascade as BA was contrasted greatly with how emotional he was as Teth-Adam the father. It was a shame that very little of Teth-Adam the human was allowed to appear in BA, though arguably I can maybe see it in the way he refused to compromise for less collateral damage because in the past he had to repressed so much of himself for fear of his family being the collateral damage. And now that they’re gone, with him being alive because his son refused to let him die as a consequence for him being a hero, I could see how this might twist him to be someone more reckless. Unfortunately the script refuse to explore this aspect, but inklings of it were there in DJ’s acting.

It was also such a wasted opportunity that the script didn’t have Adrianna or Amon react negatively in the aftermath of the mine explosion. I think DJ did a great job there in appearing regretful and subdued despite his bombastic performance in previous scenes, and the twist and his subsequent depowering scene was a beautiful emotional treat. I wish we’ve had more of that, that quiet and sadder BA to juxtapose against his effortless violence. The brief moments where we do get that are unfortunately ruined by rather cheesy one liners or mistimed comedic shifts. Therefore a great transition to his depowering scene would have been a moment where BA was confronted by the consequences of his lack of control, whether it be Amon’s injuries and fear of him or Adrianna’s worry and fury as his mother. I mean he was sort of regretful and aware of how out of control he was, but that acknowledgement went too quick for us to see that this was what made him decide to surrender himself. This is something that should have been very obvious during the first viewing and not a moment that only felt impactful in the second and third viewings only because I was looking out for it and strained to really hear the dialogue.

Another scene which took me repeated viewings to notice and missing it kind of impacted the story beat: I have complained that Black Adam didn’t try to bridge what we know about him from the intro of Shazam, but it’s only on the third viewing that I realised BA actually really did kill the other wizards in the fight to lock him away. Initially when the wizard said BA killed the other wizards I thought he meant it in a figurative sense that they died trying to fight the Seven Sins which were released by BA’s powers. It was really hard to tell with all the rainbow light flying around but if you ignore all that you can also see BA blasting lightning at the wizards, and in the birds eye view you can see their bodies lying on the ground. I can maybe overlook the lack of acknowledgement that him using his powers for revenge resulted in a near apocalyptic event on the world if we could see clearly that he killed the wizards that tried to stop him. The accidental release of demons on the world as a blowback of the misuse of his powers is sort of an understandable accident, but him intentionally killing the people trying to stop him from further chaos seem like it would have been a great point to bring up to support the JSA’s mission. I think it diminished the urgency of the JSA and made them out to be rather flat when there could have been another layer on top of the criticism of American powers on international soil, because there was a difference in BA killing Intergang mercenaries/the king intentionally and slaughtering the Council of Wizards who recognised the danger in letting someone who could let his anger destroy the world go free.

I’ve asked my brother, who only watched the move once (unlike his questionable sibling) if he could remember what happened to the wizards and he admitted the light show was so distracting he could only stare at Djimon Hounsou’s wizard and was also surprised to hear BA killed the other wizards. I think this was a rather important scene the movie should have made clear to audiences because up till now BA just felt like a very misunderstood dark hero and not really someone capable of killing indiscriminately if driven to it. It would have been a great callback to the Brightburn vibes as well as the villainous, darker side of the character that was advertised about and long established in the comics. I think this and the post-mine explosion scene were the two biggest wasted opportunities in letting the audience feel conflicted about BA. I think its harsh of critics to say BA was intentionally written to be simple and deprived of any subtlety because the scenes I’ve pointed out did have indications of a deeper story, was actually included in the film and the actors all acted their hearts out in those moments. However given that I was only really able to appreciate those moments fully in repeated viewings perhaps it wasn’t unwarranted to say it appeared shallow at first glance.

I will now talk about why the film had me hyperfixated, obsessed, and went away hook, line and sinker with DJ’s Black Adam. From now till the end this will be utterly 100% fanning, brain empty no one home in this head. I did say I watched this movie 3 times in the cinema and intend to wait for the blue ray release for more. This says something about myself that I will need to explore at a later date but I have a very weak spot for stories that focused on grieving parents. When BA talked about how the world only mattered with his son in it, staring at the statue of an adult version of his son that he will never be, I think my brain just broke and whatever transgressions the movie committed prior to this with the script was forgiven briefly. In a lot of ways BA came across as rather arrogant in the unabashed use of his powers, confident in the knowledge that no one can stop him. However if you view that unrestrained and uncontrolled use of his abilities through the lense of a grieving father who had nothing else to lose, who only wanted to die so that he could see his family again and was forestalled by the knowledge his son died so he could live, it suddenly felt like the weak veneer of a man who wanted to fight to the top of the food chain for a chance to die a death that was out of his control.

This also puts a lot of things that seemed rather janky earlier in a different perspective. For one thing, BA constantly having to reiterate he isn’t a hero felt rather flat prior because it seemed like he was just parroting the movie’s byline, that he is supposed to be the anti-hero and a villain adjacent character, but never actually do anything that showed he isn’t a hero. However when you recall these lines in conjunction with the reveal that his son gave up his powers so he could live and then died for it, it made a lot of sense that BA will never call himself a hero because he didn’t work for his powers, it was given to him by the blood of his son. It was only until he gave up his powers voluntarily and then saved everyone from Sabbac that he was on the path to accepting his mantle of heroism (or at least, something close to it). Even his willingness to save Amon from Ishmael couldn’t change his mind on how he viewed himself because his actions then did nothing to challenge his perception of himself and his powers. Giving it up voluntarily meant he recognised in his own self depreciating way that his son would have been ashamed of how he used his power after his death, and if the absence of his abilities meant respecting his son’s legacy then so be it. There is also something incredibly heartbreaking about BA noting that his son thought the world would be nothing without his father, but BA also felt the same about his son and there was a sense of bitterness and defeat that he was unable to achieve the same sacrifice for his son.

On this note, I do think critics were a bit unfair in saying BA was just parroting the Terminator and John’s dynamic with Amon. This was actually something you catch during the first viewing as the film made sure the tone between BA and Amon is quite different from that of the Terminator and John’s. Yes the catchphrase shtick was similar, but imo in Terminator it was an attempt to humanise the Terminator, in BA it felt like it came across as an attempt to modernise BA because Amon was very openly a superhero geek who might have a future in merchandising. I think it was one of the more interesting and endearing callbacks to popular culture because you can see BA actively trying to do what Amon suggested and being frustrated by himself when he failed, and then being pleased with himself when he finally got it right. I attributed this whole thing to his dad mode being switched on full throttle the moment he woke up to Amon after having a nightmare about his son. The film was not subtle at all with that transition, it made it quite clear the audience was meant to see that BA subconsciously view Amon in place of his own son, which while also a bit cliche kind of distanced it from the Terminator comparison. I do agree that the confusion to 21st century living could have been done better, a good contrast would have been when MCU’s Captain America was defrosted and he ran out into the busy street and was instantly overwhelmed by how different it is. Although maybe this established BA as a villain adjacent character than a hero because his first instinct was to kill the people making those loud unfamiliar noises rather than staring at them in confusion lol.

Overall I kind of give the film a solid B-. I’m not sure if we’ll see a Black Adam 2 given how everyone seem rather sure it would be a flop, but since DJ is a producer for it who knows. There are also a lot of things I do want to say about the obvious yet lacklustre attempts in criticism about neocolonialism but it would also involve criticising the film’s lack of callbacks towards the Egyptian culture that inspired BA or any attempts beyond the superficial to cultivate Kahndaq as a culture that felt like it could be a country in the Middle-East rather than the appearance of one. Which I’m not educated enough to talk about so just to put it there, I was very aware of it and it did grate on me but I’ll leave that to the more well learned.

#black adam #black adam 2022 #black adam movie #dceu #uh so this isn't really a film critique #it was really just me gushing about the movie that had some lovingly written criticism #i genuinely did enjoy DJ a lot in this #maybe because he's also a father irl i think that came across really well in the movie #he's always had really good chemistry with kid actors #uh i'm sorry for how rambly this is #i learnt english from tolkien lol

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