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sunsoakedhighhopes · 8 months

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Captain America issue #5, Case #3 - Killers of the Bund

In this issue, a group of German Nazis (I say German, because of course, there are American Nazis, and those are actually the most commonly featured Nazis in these comics) have started terrorizing prominent German-American citizens who refuse to join their ranks.

So, here's something that I think is historically interesting. We have a panel of Bucky and Steve musing that German-Americans are nice people, despite the war with Germany that's happening in Europe. This is reinforced in the MCU with the first scene between Steve and Erskine when we see Erskine almost tense up when Steve comments on him being German, and his later relief when Steve expresses that he isn't going to judge him.

And I understand the difference here, between this and what is about to happen to Japanese-Americans in this country just six months after this issue released. Because Erskine, and Bob Shmidt aren't just German-Americans, they are also German Jews who fled Germany. But I do think it's interesting, because I don't think we are likely to see this sentiment expressed by Steve about Japanese-Americans in the coming issues. I don't know. It will be interesting to see.

Okay, so one of Bucky's friends, Bob Shmidt, and his family are from Germany, and the Nazis have attempted to recruit his father for something. When he refuses, they beat him up and he ends up in the hospital. Bob runs to inform his friend Bucky what happened, which is very fortuitous, since, you know, Bucky is secretly bff with Captain America.

Yeah, you are Steve. Go get em!

Steve and Bucky sneak into the Nazis compound -- or, rather, they attempt to sneak in.

Bucky, how did you not see the bucket before you stepped in it? Okay, well you know how it is. If you can't sneak in, then you'll just have to fight your way in.

Steve and Bucky fight off a literal battalion of Nazis, and I didn't grab the panel, but Steve says, "You've had enough, eh? You're pretty brave until someone stands up to you and fights!" and that just feels like a very Steve line to me.

So, Steve and Bucky leave the Nazis in a pile of beat-up flesh, tell them to never threaten anyone again, and leave. I mentioned in my last post that Steve typically doesn't kill the enemies -- and I want you to hang onto that thought until later in this post -- and he says, "Well, we're going now. We never hit men when they're licked -- We're not Nazis! -- but we'll be back! The time has come for Americans to teach you a lesson! We'll be seeing you!"

Now, there's this thing in the middle of every issue, where kids could send in a dime and join Captain America's Sentinels of Liberty. Basically, they just got a membership card in the mail. it was a way for kids to feel like they were a part of the fight along with Steve, and I think they maybe actually did hold meetings (but those meetings were really just, like Captain America fanclub meetings).

I've talked previously about how Bucky works as a stand-in for the audience, but I swear I read somewhere, though I have to admit I cannot find the source again, that the Sentinels of Liberty was actually a means of propaganda in its own right, because kids would talk to their parents about how they were fighting Nazis, and how their parents should fight Nazis, too. Essentially it was a means to drive support for America getting involved in the war. Don't quote me on that, as I cannot find my source, but I swear I read this somewhere, and I think this case is really interesting if you view it through that lens.

Anyway, the Sentinels of Liberty exist in the comic itself (though this is the first time we've seen them -- again, let that thought hang out in the back of your mind a bit), as well, and are meetings where kids gather to talk about how they can help in the fight against Nazis. Like, literally join in the fight against Nazis.

Bucky of course, is the leader of one of these groups, and he holds a meeting the next day (yes, with fellow small children) where he instructs the members to find the location of other Nazi hideouts and report back so that Captain America can mop them up -- not that Bucky knows how to contact Captain America, because secret identity or something (?) -- but no one questions this apparent flaw in the plan.

Also, y'all, there is a picture of the group, and there is one black child in the group, and y'all.... the art.... ooof. That's all I can say. It's bad.

Okay, so these small children start spying on literal Nazis -- which I mean, look, you do what you gotta do, this was probably actually happening in Germany -- but as a means of propaganda, it is kinda a lot. Bucky happens to overhear two Nazis talking about how, at that precise moment in time, there are some other Nazis on their way to "take care of Captain America". Bucky runs back to camp to warn Steve...

...but it's too late because Steve is already missing.

I'm honestly not clear on whether the presumption is supposed to be that they took him from his tent (or at least camp) since they shouldn't actually know where to find him -- since secret identity and all -- but hold that thought, because the plot holes in the secret identity thing are big enough to drive a van though in one of the upcoming cases.

Anyway, where is Steve? Steve is passed out and being manhandled by a bunch of Nazi men.

Note that he is in his uniform, which would mean that he was taken as Captain America and not as Steve. But still...

Okay, so they knocked out Steve with some sleeping gas of their own invention, tied him up, and then we get this exchange.

Steve! You are a menace. Also I love how absolutely nonchalant Steve is, because then they tell Steve that they're going to use the sleeping gas to knock out the whole town and then take it captive. And then they quickly discover that they probably should have kept that detail to themselves, because this upsets Steve a great deal, and we get this:

Like, I am absolutely enamored with the fact that Steve was like "Okay, I'll stand here and pretend like you actually have me captured because it amuses me and I have clever quips about it" and then he's just like, okay, now I'm done pretending, and completely wipes the floor with all of them.

I mean, they didn't even successfully have him tied up (score one for Steve bondage fics where he breaks his bondage when he gets bored with it).

The Nazis run for their planes, and we canonically have Steve being able to fly a plane.

Also.... remember how I was like, Steve typically doesn't kill the villains.... yeah, that all changes here, where he literally does go target them and hunt them down.

Which is.... interesting, I think? The US didn't join the war until four months after this issue was released. Yes, ostensibly we joined the war because of Pearl Harbor, but things had decidedly been moving in that direction before Pearl Harbor. I just feel like we can track the overall feelings about the war and the Nazis by how Steve handles them at any given point in time during his run.

After he shoots down all the Nazis, and has a fist fight with one of them on the wing of an airplane (hello, Indiana Jones) he lands back on the ground where he meets Bucky, who tells him that the members of the Sentinels of Liberty (and their fathers) have gone to raid the Nazi hideout where they went before. Yes, again, literal children show up at the Nazi camp with a bunch of sticks and start kicking Nazi ass. And then Steve shows up and the Nazis flee.

Later Bob Shmidt's father turns up at camp to thank Steve for taking care of Bob when he was in the hospital (uh.... Steve did not take care of Bob while his father was in the hospital, he was off fighting Nazis.... with Bob! ... but anyway...)

Steve! Actually I think this is kind of sweet. He wants to reassure them that Captain America knows they appreciate what he does.

And Steve somehow manages to avoid KP-duty this time. May miracles never cease.

#steve rogers #marvel comics #captain america #stevie reads comics

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sineala · 4 years

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Hey Sineala, how are you 💐 I have come across many Tony Stark blogs and many are focusing on Tonys self-loath. It is pretty clear he is suffering from self-criticism, I can’t help but wonder why? I read his wiki page and it seems like from a young age he tried filling the void with alcohol, women and risky sports but does it all stem from the fact he feels guilty of weapon manufacturing? Thank you!

Hey, anon! So this is one of those areas where 616 actually differs a lot from MCU, because the answer to your question is that weapons manufacturing is eventually a thing Tony feels a great deal of guilt about, but it's not the origin of his self-loathing -- or even his superhero identity -- because he hated himself long before he started manufacturing weapons, and he actually continued manufacturing weapons for quite a long time after becoming Iron Man.

(I don't know MCU well enough to speak to whether Tony hates himself there, but he definitely hates himself in 616. It just has very little to do with weapons manufacturing -- or at least, while he is certainly capable of regretting his days as a weapons designer, it's not the root of all his problems or his drive to become a superhero. He's a superhero because he wants to save people, independently of whether he also wants to make weapons that kill people. Yes, it eventually occurs to him that these are two conflicting desires.)

The character of Tony Stark was created in 1963, and that was a time when attitudes toward the military-industrial complex were generally more positive than they are now, and definitely more positive among comics readers than they later became. Basically, Tony was a defense contractor and nobody had a problem with that. He was exemplifying the American dream! He was the best and most wonderful boss that anyone could be! He was, essentially, a fantasy of ethical capitalism. He was the guy who had it all. (And of course he was also Extremely Tragic because of his secret hidden disability, yes, so he really didn't have it all like everyone thought he did, but only he knew that.)

But then, Real Life happened, and the Vietnam War kept happening, and it kept getting more and more unpopular, and the people who read Iron Man comics started to not enjoy the fact that Tony kept making weapons. So Marvel changed that. In the mid-70s, Marvel ran an Iron Man arc involving Tony meeting a woman named Roxanne Gilbert, a pacifist who convinces him to stop making weapons. He changes the company name from Stark Industries to Stark International to reflect his new commitment. Iron Man v1 #78, from 1975, is the key issue you want to read here; it mostly consists of Tony thinking back to some of the horrors he saw in Vietnam and resolving that he's going to be a better man now and dedicate himself to peace.

It’s very touching, actually.

Keep in mind that this is 1975, so this happens more than ten real-life years after Tony debuted as a character. It took him a while to stop making weapons, is what I'm saying. (And even after then, people still try to force him back in -- this is in fact what Nick Fury tries to do to him in Demon in a Bottle, which is one of the things that leads to Tony’s massive drinking binge.)

When we see Tony talk about his weapons-manufacturing days at the beginning of Extremis (Iron Man v4 #1), he says that he doesn't intend to die as a weapons designer:

That entire interview sequence is definitely worth reading -- or even watching, if you prefer, since they made the Extremis arc into an animated cartoon -- if you want to see a modern take on Tony's approximately-current feelings about his weapon-designing days. Basically: he regrets a lot of things.

In fact, we know that one of the worst things that can happen to Tony these days is when people take his technology and use it as a weapon. And we know that because, well, that was the point of Armor Wars. Justin Hammer stole his tech and sold it to villains, and that's what started the whole catastrophe rolling there. And Tony, as you can see, is more than willing to beat himself up about it, here in Iron Man v1 #225:

And much later on, in The Five Nightmares, it is, literally, Tony's nightmare coming true when Zeke Stane uses Tony's repulsor technology to hurt people, as we see in Invincible Iron Man vol 1 #1:

(For MCU fans, I should point out that Zeke Stane is Obadiah's son looking for revenge, but also that, though 616 Obadiah Stane was very possibly the worst villain Tony ever faced, he is absolutely not the same as MCU Obadiah Stane and has very little in common with him.)

So, yes, he hates that this all happened, and he blames himself -- but it's not why he hates himself. Because Tony was sad and miserable long, long before he was Iron Man.

If you ask me -- and, hey, you did ask me -- I personally would be inclined to blame Tony’s self-loathing on the fact that Howard Stark was a horrible parent and was both emotionally and physically abusive toward Tony, and also was pretty much explicitly responsible for his alcoholism. Howard's shitty parenting continues to haunt Tony to this day. Sometimes literally.

(Incidentally, if anyone has a source for this one, could you tell me? I've been looking for it for years.)

So the Greatest Hits of Howard Stark, setting aside the part where he tried to sell Tony to Dracula (setting it aside because Tony is too young to remember that himself, and, yes, I swear this is canon), include such winning moments as That Time He Got Really Angry At Dinner And Was Clearly About To Get Violent, in Iron Man v1 #285:

(There is an issue somewhere in Fraction's run where a flashback shows him grabbing Tony's arms and Tony telling him he's hurting him, but I always misplace that panel, alas.)

Iron Man v1 #286 gives us the famous "Stark men are made of iron:"

In Iron Man v1 #287, we find out that Howard sent Tony to boarding school to toughen him up, because he was "sensitive" and "a coward;" you can see that Tony frames this as being "a disappointment" to his father:

And then there's Iron Man v1 #313, in which Tony recounts how he first started drinking as a child in an attempt to impress his father:

Yeah. So. I could go on, but you get the idea. Howard Stark really, really fucked Tony up. I mean, maybe Tony would have ended up hating himself anyway even if he'd been raised by a father who actually loved him and didn't do... anything like that. We can't know. But looking at the childhood he did get, this seems like a great way to raise a kid and ensure that they have massive, massive problems with ever feeling good enough, or loved enough, or, well, a whole lot of things.

So I think that's where all the self-loathing really comes from. It's not that Tony doesn't feel bad about having been a weapons manufacturer, or finding himself in a situation where things he invented are used for harm -- because he definitely does -- but that's not why he hates himself, deep down.

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eerythingisshaka · 5 years

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I made this post on Monday, and just now got around to edit and post

I’m basically going through the whole plot of Endgame and how I felt, I just had to hammer it out. If you haven’t seen it yet, please come back when you have! First things first, I did not cry! I feel like I’m in the minority, and I swear I am a devoted MCU fan and love Tony and Cap and them, but I did not cry and I’m so disappointed with myself! I got more emotional thinking about it in the days leading to the premiere than I did while viewing. I think it was too entertaining for me to find it sad? Not like movies I cry at aren’t entertaining but the action and substance was making my nerd heart pitter patter so much, I was over the moon and couldn’t come down. I will say though, ever since watching Endgame, every past Marvel movie makes me somewhat emotional. This whole thing is like a high school graduation, like I’m never gonna see my friends together again like this, an era is over! All I have are memories, aaaaggghhhh!

That being said. the movie grips me from the beginning with the song Dear Mr. Fantasy by Traffic. Marvel has some pretty good picks for songs to set the tone for their movies, to this day this song kinda pulls at my heart strings because of its message

Dear Mr. Fantasy play us a tune

Something to make us all happy

Do anything, take us out of this gloom

So of course, we all felt this way with the ending of Infinity War, having so many of our faves being sacrificed to dust for Thanos’ plan of rectifying what he saw as the decrepit state of the universe. Walking away from part one with the villain winning was a fresh slap to my face and a year of agony to find out how the heroes pull this off in the end. Take us out of our gloom Marvel!

And the characters must feel the same, as the film opens with Clint and his daughter doing some archery in their yard as a very American lunch of mayo and mustard hot dogs are being served. As his daughter Lilah is putting things away, Clint calls out to her only to see dust and turns again to his family with the same result. So much for freedom from our gloom, right? In case you somehow forgot, this little scene gives us a friendly reminder of what we were left with in 2018. If that’s not enough, Nebula and Tony playing the little hand goal, paper flick game that is just darling to witness. Nebula plays like a rehabilitated puppy still unsure about being around humans as Tony instructs her like a child on every development of the game. Her little perk up when he announces her win is so cute as they shake hands, finally sealing her character development from ruthless, blood-thirsty appeaser of a sadistic father, to a more stoic, regretful soft spoken but hoarse matured version of herself. All the while, Tony is beginning to starve from being malnourished and depleting oxygen. Nebula sets him in a piloting chair as he drifts off, losing consciousness until the homie we have all assumed would be coming appears as a glow in his irises, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel.

Carol flies the ship back to Tony’s compound where Cap, Rhodey, Natasha, and Pepper wait for him to descend. We get a moment with him and Cap that is sweet as Cap walks him down, Tony tells him he lost Peter Parker, an obviously huge loss for this to be the first thing he mentions. The warmth is lost quickly though as the next step of Tony’s grief comes afoot: anger and finger pointing. Tony, on an IV and all, is relentless as he festers in bitterness while lashing out at Cap and company that the fight was lost and even encouraged by Cap because they were together. This optimism is obviously not enough for Tony, who grows weary of Cap’s positivity, opting that he finish the work alone or that Danvers takes on the task herself before collapsing from exhaustion.

Carol, Thor and the gang have a slight dick measuring contest on kicking Thanos’ ass once and for all before Nebula offers to take them straight to him. And where is he? Why on a farm on a planet in the galaxy, nursing his wounds from the snap. His entire right side is burned to a crisp due to the snap, and at the same time has obliterated the stones much to their dismay. Thor wastes no time in chopping off Thanos’ head, a little too late but satisfying none the less. However, in the end, the stones are nowhere to be found, the last person to have them is dead, and no one from the snaps is back yet. Cue music!

So, the gloom we are supposed to be rescued from, when does that start right? Not for another five years according to a time lapse card. Our heroes have no means of figuring out the solution to the snap; Cap forms a support group for survivor’s, Natasha has grown out her blonde hair and is constantly checking in on happenings around the world, and universe since the snap, jumping at even the mention of an earthquake. Rhodey briefs her on a terrible killing spree of gang members that appear to have a style that is well known to them as Clint Barton’s aka Hawkeye. Despite Rhodey’s hesitance Natasha insists he keeps an eye on him, inferring that she may track him down eventually. (Quick side note here, something to be seen as a possible plot flaw: Hawkeye’s bloodlust and disregard for lives after losing his whole family in the snap isn’t dug into very deeply after this. Rhodey said it’s so bad he didn’t even wanna find him! But there wasn’t any in fighting or push back after that between them. He has one instance of almost interacting with his family on a test run for time travel which is against the rules, but other than that he isn’t killing people recklessly or even triggered to tears or drinking incessantly over his loss. But more on Thor in a minute).

If it hadn’t been for that rat running across the panel in Scott Lang’s van to activate his return from the Quantum realm who knows how long, if ever, would they figure out the means of traveling back to get the stones. I was so glad I watched Antman and Wasp right before seeing Endgame, so I knew the van, Cassie, and a little bit about the Quantum Realm. I’m actually upset that I didn’t realize the realm could be used for their benefit because I was always betting on the Time Stone being the corrector in all this, but anyway. Scott returns highly confused as he realizes the state of the world since his entrapment in the realm. Seeing his baby girl become a young lady was a powerful scene to witness, and had my heart dent a little bit, but I held it together. Soon after that, Scott makes his way to find Cap and Natasha, explaining how 5 years was really five hours for him, so time is different in the realm which could possibly mean something for them getting the dusted back. At one point in the movie, I’m blanking on which comes first but for now I’ll dive into this bit, we are reintroduced to Bruce Banner as Hulk…as one person. I completely forgot that we didn’t see Bruce in trailers, which is for this reason. Comic book followers would know, but there is a iteration of Bruce Banner becoming Professor Hulk, so he functions as his normal scientist self, while also being a big green being. Oddly enough, it does not take long for me to grow accustomed to The Bruce Hulk hybrid, he is hilarious and sweet and more confident even then he was as a regular man despite his appearance. He has fans, people love him and this is a far cry from when we are introduced to him in the original Avengers as Nat tracks him down somewhere in Southeast Asia, a nervous wreck loner who is quick to anger. I could see this Hulk being fanfic fodder, not my cup of tea, but he was just that damn appealing, I could see it.

But even with Bruce’s brain, time travel isn’t exactly hammered down as an absolute possibility so they reach out to another source on the matter. Which brings me to my love/hate relationship with Tony. I ADORE that he finally had a baby with Pepper, Morgan “Cussin Queen” Stark. Tony is living his best life in the natural air in his log cabin, as off grid as he possibly can be before Black Widow, Cap, and Lang pull up to question the possibilities ahead of them. The strength of his cold shoulder gave me an insatiable chill down my spine. Tony is the King of Petty, but rarely passive so I was surprised by that moment of mean girl attitude from him. But luckily he served up something to drink (I’m thinking it’s iced coffee or chocolate milk. I’m still confused by what that held.) Tony basically tells them they are crazy and hoping for nothing, because he’s good where he is. He has his girls and no stress which is honestly what the Avengers always seem to guarantee for him since joining the group with SHIELD under Nick Fury’s insistence years ago. I do wish I could remember the theories and scientific laws he said would be fucked up with their plan, just to see if they are real ones but also I love when Tony just spouts his knowledge like it’s IKEA instructions. He makes it seem so simple until you have to break it down, and up until this point Scott seemed like the smartest one on the team but really Tony could’ve been figured this out if he wasn’t so granola now, which is great and happy for him, but he really did give up very quickly. Once again, probably good reason, self-care. But still.

Gotta say, I love a selfish Tony though. Quick shoutout to Robert Downey Jr. in showing his chops by bringing the emotional fortitude to this Disney movie. The man has been THROUGH IT and has had enough. Tony only has so much optimism in him that the cheerleading squad can provide before his is completely done and baby was DONE.

But without Tony’s help they test run moving through the quantum realm only to discover what Tony says later, that time kept moving though Scott instead of him moving through time, making him a baby, and old man, a kid again, and back to an adult. But with a fancy time GPS Tony doctor’s up on the fly after discovering that the group isn’t crazy about the time travel being an option, they are good to go like it’s day one! (Another side note to Paul Rudd aka Scott Lang giving us much needed comic relief. I have never laughed so hard at my precious baby trying to eat a taco in my life. Also, Cap’s yeehaw attire in this scene? The checkered white shirt with his dark jeans pulled up? Truly save the horse and ride the cowboy instead man.)

Now at this point we have to check in on Thor, our sweet pirate angel. How has he fared? Him, Valkyrie, and the surviving Asgardians establish their own town on Earth. Thor and Rocket go to find him, with a preview from Valkyrie of what Thor’s mental state is by the piles of beer kegs outside. So, when they enter his home, giving a wave to Korg and Miek playing video games on the couch, Thor tumbles out behind Thor and Rocket reaching for another cold on, camera to his back. By now we can see his hair is overgrown and greasy, and his midsection has a new pair of love handles we aren’t used to seeing on our svelte, brutish god of thunder. So when he turns around, audience erupts in the theaters, as do I, to see him now looking like a melted ice cream cone with a beer belly that somehow still has some toned abs on top if you look closely, paired with some man titties to complete all billowing over his pajama pants to complete his depression ensemble. This was more shocking to me than the Hulk/Banner hybrid reveal. We hadn’t seen an image of Thor outside of him giving Carol Danvers the Stormbreaker scare test in the previews, so thanks for another surprise. Despite his crumbling emotional stability at even the mention of Thanos’ name (tip of the hat to Chris Hemsworth for making my heartache with every crack in his voice), I have to get on my soapbox and say Thor’s body is beautiful! He is a supreme King, deliciously made who can still smash any pair of cheeks to ash and dust with the power Mjolnir in each thrust quicker than any counterfeit gauntlet. Just watch him later on, you’ll see! I’d have that belly slapping on top of me in a quantum realm millisecond after he takes a shower and attends therapy. A lil pudge ain’t killed no part of his power, whew. Don’t make me shout.

Back to plot, with the promise of beer, Thor the Dude tags along to start the plan of going back to retrieve infinity stones. After a synopsis of each one and where they were located, the crew drums up the plan to retrieve each stone from the past, bring them back to the future to put into a new gauntlet and snap the other half of life’s creatures back. This part of the movie is so stellar because if you have watched past Marvel movies (the first Avengers, Gaurdians of the Galaxy, Captain America First Avenger, and Thor Dark World) you will recognize the scenes that are featured with their past selves going through their past-current scenes. Natasha and Clint go to Vormir for the Soul stone, which I am surprised Nebula did not warn them that someone would have to die to retrieve it. What if two characters that didn’t love each other went for the Soul stone, is it over and done? But luckily, or unluckily, Clint and Natasha are able to get the stone with a sacrifice of Natasha’s life (who honestly sacrificed herself but it counted. And I need so much more clarity on the specs of the soul stone, it ain’t even funny. Will we ever see what the realm Gamora and Black Widow are in is like?) These two characters have been last on my list always so the scene was crazy watching them battle back and forth for a chance at ending their lives but the end result didn’t hit my heart but still great. I kinda would’ve wished little Gamora was there again to talk to us.

Then Hulk has to go see Ancient One to retrieve the time stone, which she will not relinquish until Hulk says that Strange gave it up willingly. On his word alone, she gives it to him, sensing the imminent danger that could come that is worse than the alternate reality she faces for not having the time stone with her. Then Rhodey and Nebula go to Morag for the Power Stone. So this is the first sign of overall trouble in their plan because apparently having two Nebula’s mix memory frequencies that reveal the whole entire plan to Thanos. I thought for sure at some point that Nebula’s eye was gonna have to be dug out to ensure the completion of the mission but it winds up that Nebula and Gamora take her hostage before past Nebula takes current Nebula’s place with the crew going back with their stones, none the wiser. Not even Rhodey gives her a check in like “why did you not come back with me when I jetted back to the future? what happened?” Nothing! The death of Natasha kind of takes precedent over anything else and leave Nebula to finish off bringing Thanos back with her to wreak havoc.

Lastly, Cap, Tony, and Scott are in New York circa Avengers number 1, fighting the space aliens and keeping Loki from the tesseract. And I am not exaggerating when I say this part of movie is possibly the greatest cinematic feature I have ever seen, or will ever see my natural life. You have Tony, creeping in the shadows to get Antman ready to help retrieve the tesseract, all the while admiring Cap’s ass! He does it, critiquing that his outfit does nothing for his ass, when we all know nothing holds back them cheeks from making an appearance. Scott, ever the voice of standom, downplays Tony’s critique and coins his rear end as “America’s Ass”. I EXPLODED. Ever since Captain America: the First Avenger, I have pined, no, thirsted, nay, LUSTED for that man in Marvel cinema. He has the BAWDY to be Cap, and never slacks. I have also always been a big fan of Tony and Cap having a torrid love affair that Marvel refused to implement but teases anytime they stare deeply into each other’s eyes or argue feistily until they are nose to nose, just get a room you two! Ten points to Gryffindor for feeding the fans what they want!

So, New York is the only place that doesn’t go smoothly, as Cap retrieves the scepter containing the Mind Stone after a quick “Hail Hydra” to throw off the double agent SHIELD opponents from Winter Soldier. All this time, Tony and Scott lose the tesseract in a freak incident that causes the case to fall into Loki’s vicinity, who picks up the cube and disappears to God knows where. And it is never figured out where past Loki goes, or what timeline he creates for himself now that he has the tesseract at his disposal with no one to oppose him. That is another thing I would love to know, all these alternate realities that have been constructed due to them tinkering with time, what happens? What damage is done to the Ancient One without time? What does Loki do with space? How is Jane and Asgard without the reality stone ravaging her? (Rocket got it btw as Thor got caught up talking to his mother, which was a very sweet scene and really amplified her character for me to love her more than I already had). But at least Cap got the scepter until he is met with his past Cap, leading to my most favorite fight scene in the MCU. Something about those two classic suits running at each other with the cacophony of the shields, and current Cap saying some choice expletives now and getting tired of the bullshit while past Cap still has all that giddy up and pure heart and “I can do this all day” attitude is an exceptional treat to be had. I love Cap’s development, as much as he has stayed the same, he has changed, grown more into his age even, getting weary with the world but never losing his positive outlook, just shifting his focus gradually. But to correct the tesseract blunder, Tony and Cap go back to 1970 to get the original tesseract from SHIELD in its infancy. Both Tony and Cap have a soft moment. Tony see’s his father who talks to him about his expecting wife (aka baby Tony) and Cap sees Peggy again in her youthful glory, panging our heartstrings. But in the end, the supplies are collected and they move on.

So after they get the stones, they construct the gauntlet out of Tony’s suit Iron man material and it is decided that Hulk must do the snap since gamma radiation is part of the stones and so is he. It is not a simple easy thing as he writhes in pain and burns under the pressure of power but does the snap anyway and successfully brings back half the world. This win is shortlived once Thanos bombards the compound and sends Nebula off to retrieve the stones. This is the start of the longest game of flag football/hot potato/rugby adjacent. Hawkeye has the gauntlet at first as everyone tries to pull themselves from the rubble (side note: seeing Rocket so distressed shook me. He is usually so cool and wily, getting out of so much bullshit that his helplessness when he couldn’t breathe almost sent me over).

So since they retrieved the stones, it’s not like they change their past, just create alternate realities. Once they return them, things go back to normal again. So Hulk uses the gauntlet to bring back the rest of the population again, we just don’t see them yet until later. Past Nebula gets killed by current Nebula after Gamora helps current Nebula out to stop Thanos because as we know from Infinity War, Gamora never wanted Thanos to find them all. Thor, Cap, and Tony all team up to spar with Thanos who was waiting patiently for the gauntlet to be brought to him. Much to my dismay, the fight is very even, no side truly overpowers the other. Thor really wants to put in work, but can’t quite get through until Cap does what I have been waiting for since Ultron: HE PICKS UP MJOLNIR! (which Thor took back from Asgard in his time travel). Wheew, I coulda passed out when I saw Cap wielding that thing like it’s his the star spangled banner itself, sending lightning down on Thanos, busting him upside his head and all! I was spent and feeling aftershocks until Thanos gets the upperhand again and bombards his shield with that weak ass helicopter blade sword thing. It breaks the shield up! Which is made of vibranium! THE STRONGEST METAL IN THE UNIVERSE! This how I know Russo’s were just grasping at straws; the only thing I can say is since Tony made him that one after the snap, he probably used bootleg vibranium because obviously nobody called Wakanda for input on a damn thing to make this mission happen which is a rant I can say on a completely separate post. Sure, take T’Challa and Shuri in the snap, it’s not like the whole country isn’t composed of melanated geniuses that could give y’all a lesson on quantum physics that would make your central nervous system dry out. No, don’t call Wakanda to make vibranium anything for y’all to help in the fight, it’s cool cuz y’all didn’t try and clean up anything after shit hit the fan! I wanted a 10 minute Wakanda clean up scene: I got DUST. The underutilization of such a great people while at the same time using them frivilously is a *blink blink* mindfuck. But I digress again!

Once Cap seems to be against the wall, he tightens his shield band around his arm and says slap me bitch. But before it continues, Sam gives him a quick “on your left” signaling the return of everyone, with first none other than our Wakandan royalty: T’Challa, Okoye, and Shuri. Dr. Strange’s portals open up as populations come to join the fight from Gaurdians and Asgard, Wakanda and other Marvel movies. The fight scene that begins I can’t wait to own at home becuase I know I have to pause and slow motion to capture everything. Someone said Howard the Duck is in the fight which I HAVE to see. Can you imagine getting your ass impaled by a cartoon space duck?

The game of keep the gauntlet from Thanos continues as Spiderman, T’Challa, and others all have a go at running the guantlet away from Thanos. This is a part that I kind of have to think to remember. I know that Antman and Wasp had to spark up the quantum realm van and I think the plan was to send the gauntlet into it, but I’m not sure. Eventually Tony is alerted by Strange that the one in 14 million chance at winning is upon them and Tony goes ham to get the gauntlet from Thanos, who nearly succeeds but Tony yeets them off the glove and onto his suit, proclaiming himself as Iron Man one last time before snapping the bad half of the population into obliteration. All the bad aliens and Thanos dust away, leaving the original population the watch them float away. However Tony’s sacrifice is his life as he dies after goodbyes from Peter, Pepper and Rhodey.

The funeral occurs with everyone there, even the kid from Iron Man 3. This is a really emotional scene, especially seeing Tony left a last message in case of his demise, ending it with telling Morgan “I Said What I Said” Stark that he loves her 3000. Once again, I almost got choked up there, but it just wouldn’t happen. One thing that took me out were Wakanda’s outfits at the funeral. All black everything, but the fit and the make of Okoye and Shuri’s dresses? With the gold accessories???? I can’t mourn when all that beauty is in my face!

And in the end, Cap goes back in time to send the stones back to where they belong but stays in the past to reunite with Peggy, finally bust her open and returns as an old man to give his shield to Falcon and that is it!

I almost got choked up just now thinking about that last scene but I still didn’t cry. A tear came down when the end credits showed the actors pictures and their signatures of the original Avengers though. There will never be a better Cap or Iron Man bruh, taking that to my grave.

I’ve been in this MCU life for just about the whole length of it; watching these amazing superhero action flicks for the fun of it before recognizing the structure of each film forming towards an ending so grand. “You see where you’re going? Now let’s focus on how you get there.” This is a statement that is about to be my mantra for life! This is a huge project for a studio to put together properly, having all of our superheroes in one place, sewn together with the journey of the infinity stones to take out the big purple meanie Thanos who is hellbent on controlling the universe the easy way (50% of all living creatures annihilated) or the hard way (100% gone, starting from scratch).

But Marvel has given me so much great entertainment to look forward to. Ever since I graduated high school, it’s been the May or November of each year, what’s Marvel putting out next? And it’s gonna be tough not expecting an Avengers film anymore, but I’ll be here for the new build up of superheroes, supporting Black Panther still of course as well. I will miss the Cap thirst, wardrobe really did their part in this one with the Black sweater, the grey Henley, the yeehaw outfit previously mentioned and EVERY CAP UNIFORM HE HAS WORN! I love this fucking fandom.

And now I just wonder where past Gamora went, because she came to the present and “present” Gamora died at Vormir so we have a Gamora alive now but she went MIA, or did she get snapped back when Tony snapped all the henchmen back? Thor at the end joins the GOTG or Asgardians of the Galaxy, so I can’t wait to see how they fair in I assume GOTG 3. How will Falcon do as the new Cap? What does Bucky do now?? He was the original ride or die for Cap until he became Winter Soldier, but Cap was very forgiving of him in all that. Yet, his closure seems open for anything, he got no special stuff in the end so maybe more for him? How is Spiderman and the whole teenage snap population going back to school when it is five years in the future but they are the same age? Where did Valkyrie keep her Pegasus this entire time? When Cap went back to Vormir, what was his reunion with Red Skull like? And what did Thanos do with the stones before they were destroyed? They said he used them again and that’s how they found him at the beginning but on what? Answer these questions for me please!

If you made it this far, I love ya 3000 and I owe you cheeseburgers (oh God TONY!!!)

#avenger #avengers spoilers #avengers endgame #endgame spoilers #marvel

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skalidra · 7 years

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so in fanon I always see Jason Todd written as a bad boy who curses a lot and has the seduction rival to catwoman. I was wondering if canon is like that because I want to do justice to his character when I write him

Alright, so... yes and no here. I’m not going to pull out source because it’s a lot of work, but there is a post here that’s got most of Jason’s swears over a good portion of his Red-Hood-and-onwards comic history: http://feministjasontodd.tumblr.com/post/132078355998/

That one doesn’t link it but there’s also one for Dick (here) and Tim/Steph/Damian (here). The short version is that Jason does swear perhaps the most of the Batfamily, but I wouldn’t call it excessive or even particularly foul-mouthed. He says ‘Damn’ and ‘Hell’ a lot, but for the most part it’s always when he’s screwed up/stressed himself, and there are only a couple (recorded) instances where he says anything more intense than that. (Granted, you can extrapolate this somewhat because this is comics, so they can’t get too foul-mouthed.)

I think where people get the whole seduction thing is that Jason tends to flirt. He’s always flirted. I swear there was a post I saw somewhere, but I don’t see it now and I am frankly too lazy to look. But, anyway, if I recall correctly Jason had a habit of flirting with women when he was a kid. It was pretty adorable; no one really took him seriously. Also, once he’s Red Hood (and there’s at least one panel in that link up there that says it) he retains that flirting habit, but it’s turned towards villains. When he’s fighting them, he tends to say somewhat flirtatious things designed to irritate/frustrate them and make them slip up. (Jason is very much a strategist; that’s right up his alley.)

But functionally? I would like to inform you of Jason’s grand list of ‘relationships’. One girl when he was a kid; never went anywhere. A one night stand with Talia al Ghul. Some sort of mentioned past with Rose Wilson (RHatO, first run) that was implied to be sexual and end only mostly amicably. A mentioned time he slept with Koriand’r, again off-screen and only implied (that’s a bad Koriand’r characterization anyway). And then a brief relationship with an air hostess in the later part of the first RHatO run who I... do not remember the name of. She, in short succession, got poisoned by Joker, abducted off into outer space by accident on their run to Tamaran, and then ‘broke up’ with him when they came back after she yelled at Superman. I don’t think I would call it a relationship exactly, so much as a short string of sexual encounters, though she did seem to like him and probably would have liked to continue if his life wasn’t... bizarre.

But I don’t think Jason is seductive like... at all, pretty much. Maybe he can flirt, and he’s very attractive physically, but I don’t think (personally) that he’s actually very smooth. He doesn’t have much experience, and I really just don’t think he’s particularly invested in relationships or willing to put the time and effort into maintaining or creating a relationship given the other demands on his time. So attractive and probably fairly good in a relationship? Yes. But I don’t think he really intentionally tries to attract people.

#Jason Todd #Asks #Anonymous

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justanothercinemaniac · 7 years

Text

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #180 - Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed

Spoilers below.

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: No.

Format: DVD

1) So with the first film writer James Gunn had written a darker script meant to poke fun at the original series and gain a PG-13 rating, but after the cast signed on this was changed into a family friendly film. With the sequel, writer Gunn returns and this time everyone knew what kind of movie they were going to make from the beginning (which relates to some more solid structure in this film than the last).

2) Scooby-Doo Theory holds that whoever the protagonists talks to first is the person who did it. The first person they talk to in this film is Alicia Silverstone’s Heather Jasper Howe who ends up being the bad guy.

3) Okay, Coolsville opens up a museum exhibit about Mystery Inc. and their past foes. It is said that the gang, “donated,” the costumes. But…why are the costumes their’s to donate? Aren’t they police evidence? Do they steal the costumes from every crime as some sort of weird trophy and stash them all in a storage locker somewhere? Am I overthinking this? Let’s move on.

4) What the heck!? Seth Green is in this movie!?

5) Linda Cardellini continues to be absolutely excellent as Velma Dinkley, but one side we get to see in this film that we didn’t in the first is lovesick puppy Velma. Her crush on Seth Green’s Patrick is portrayed as cute, sweet, honest, and is just enjoyable to watch. I think Cardellini is great in both of these films and gets an even greater chance to shine in this one.

6) I always liked The Evil Masked Figure in this film.

I think it’s purely a taste of aesthetics. I like the metallic head, the hair, the cloak. He’s not really a character so much as a plot device and he does pale in comparison to the classic monsters which populate the film, but I just dig the design.

7) I think the early action set piece of Shaggy and Scooby getting pulled around the museum by the Pterodactyl Ghost is a little stagey. It FEELS like they’re on a film set as opposed to even the fun of the cartoon chases. But that just may be me.

8) What the fanboy in me loves about this film is the way it brings in all the classic monsters from the old cartoons. James Gunn is a fan himself and it shows because - much like he is able to fill up Guardians of the Galaxy with notable characters, references, and alien species - he brings in a lot of A-list villains from the show. The Black Knight Ghost and the 10,000 Volt Ghost in particular were always favorites of mine and it is REMARKABLY fun to see them, the Tar Monster, the Zombie, Captain Cutler’s Ghost, and The Miner 49-er brought to live action (among others).

9) Okay, so Heather Jasper Howe’s reporting is 100% slander and illegal. She is taking everything Mystery Inc. says out of context to make them appear bad in the public light. Yes, she’s the villain, this is part of the plan. But unless you’re working for an obviously biased news source like Fox News you would not be allowed to get away with this. Still, when I start to question the realism of a Scooby-Doo movies the whole thing falls apart.

10) The primary conflict for Scooby and Shaggy in this film is them questioning their worth/value to the team. This makes for surprisingly interesting character conflict and an equally surprising emotional arc for the film. I like it!

11) According to IMDb:

The original Scooby-Doo episode dealing with the pterodactyl ghost featured a villain and motive that were quite different. The pterodactyl/hang glider costume was used to smuggle pirated music, with the small-town mayor behind the whole scheme.

12) I cannot begin to express how funny my tiny eight year old self found this joke.

Shaggy [after the gang goes through all their notes, which Scooby has been jotting down]: “Scooby-Doo, what’s your conclusion?”

Scooby: “Bunny!”

13) I have a feeling this film had a product placement agreement with Burger King. Scooby was drinking from a Burger King cup earlier and then this:

14) I may have watched The Mummy too many times.

Fred: “What could possibly happen by ringing a doorbell?”

15) So Shaggy messes with a record player and “Baby Got Back” starts playing. Which begs the question: WHO ON EARTH HAS A VINYL OF “Baby Got Back”!?

16) According to IMDb:

At one point in the film, Scooby and Shaggy are pretending to sing into a toilet brush "microphone". The song they are actually singing is Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra's version featured the improvised scat lyrics, "Scoo-bee-doo-bee-doo", lyrics which then-CBS executive Fred Silverman chose as the name of the new cartoon series. The original name for the dog was "Too Much", a popular catchphrase of the era.

17) The entire Black Knight Ghost chase through the mansion is very cartoonish, which I mean as a compliment. It feels like it is ripped straight out of an old episode of the cartoon, speaking again to the great way James Gunn handles the source material.

18) Why is Daphne wearing a shirt with her own face on it?

19) Again: this made me laugh so hard as an eight year old.

Black Knight [after Velma kicks him in the nuts]: “Right in the round tables!”

20) This film was released in 2004, can you tell?

Fred: “…this mystery goes down like a dot com and Coolsville digs us again!”

21) I ship Velma and Daphne. I have a feeling so does James Gunn.

(Screenshot taken of a GIF originally posted by @ezekiels)

22) Linda Cardellini gets to be exceptionally funny in this film for one BIG reason:

Patrick: “Do you have to go to the bathroom?”

Velma: “No, I can’t in this outfit.”

23) The Faux Ghost.

This is a wonderful concept featured in the film which once again shows off just how deeply familiar writer James Gunn is with the source material. Just the idea that a bar for all the people Mystery Inc caught exists is wonderfully fun. The art design and characters all stand out in a wonderfully fun scene.

24) Whoa, this is pretty deep for Scooby-Doo 2.

Old Man Wickles [about being a masked villain]: “We needed people to believe we were different than we were. Maybe because we believed there was something wrong with who were in the first place.”

This also means the song which plays in the club - “Thank You For Letting Me By Myself” - has much more meaning than one might initially expect.

25) This line was improvised.

Velma [after she lets out a squeak]: “That was my outfit, I swear.”

26) It’s kinda fun seeing Seth Green go into psychotic badass mode on this goon. My primary experience with him is through “Buffy” where he mostly plays his character as emotionally controlled. This is a fun change from that. Also, Shaggy gets in a sick burn because of it.

Shaggy [after seeing Patrick act a little crazy]: “But we gotta make like your personality and split!”

27) What even is this movie!?

Old Man Wickles [after Scooby gives away his position hiding in a bush]: “Darn bushes toweling at me again.”

AGAIN!?

28) Ah, the potion gag.

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So there was a lot of work trying to figure out exactly what gags to use. At one point, Scooby was going to turn into his hand drawn counterpart as a replacement to a much less favored gag of Scooby turning into George W. Bush. The filmmakers didn’t want to compare 3D Scooby with 2D Scooby so they had him turn into the Tasmanian Devil instead. It’s kinda random and pointless, but not unenjoyable. It’s kinda fun to watch, it just has nothing to do with the rest of the plot.

29) In this moment, I am Shaggy.

Shaggy: “We’re gonna die!”

Daphne: “Think positive!”

Shaggy: “We’re gonna die quickly!”

30) Okay hold on a second: the monsters share the same hatred of Mystery Inc. that their portrayers had? But why? They’re not the same people are they? Do they have the memories of their human counterparts? Are they the vision of the criminals who portrayed them fully realized?

31) The old high school clubhouse scene is a surprisingly poignant moment of vulnerability and character interaction for Mystery Inc. The flashback - even though it’s a little cringe worthy seeing the young Mystery Inc (with their awkward imitations of the main cast and weirdly dubbed over voices from the main actors) - allows for us to understand the core of their relationship. In a lot of ways, this is the beating heart of the film. Mystery Inc and the friendship they have with each other.

32) Again: I am Shaggy.

Shaggy [while being chased]: “This is tied for the most terrifying day of my life!”

Velma: “Tied with what?”

Shaggy: “EVERY OTHER FREAKING DAY OF MY LIFE!”

33) HOW DID THE BLACK KNIGHT GET A GHOST HORSE!? Wouldn’t they need a horse costume to do that?

34) Ah, Buffy speak used by a “Buffy” actor.

Daphne: “Taste the pain Mr. Glowy Ugly Thing!”

35) I love this.

Velma [after Shaggy and Scooby say they’re trying to be more like the gang]: “That’s funny. I always wanted to be like you guys.”

This speaks greatly to just how freaking important Shaggy and Scooby are to the group. They’re the beating heart, it’s called Scooby-Doo for a reason. And the fact that Velma is able to so honestly and believably say she wants to be like Shaggy and Scooby is a surprisingly touching moment in the film.

36) It only took Velma 45 years to admit this.

Velma [after her glasses fall off]: “I’ve got to consider contact lenses.”

37) According to IMDb:

The Cotton Candy Glob is a tribute to the Cotton Candy Monsters who appeared in the story "Goop on the Loose" in the Scooby-Doo comics published by DC Comics, where the culprits were a child and two henchmen trying to get revenge from being fired from a carnival. The Cotton Candy Monsters were mentioned in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo: Terror, Thy Name Is Zombo (1989).

38) I JUST got that the game of keep away they play with the monster making control panel reflects the game of frisbee we saw them playing in the flashback.

(GIF originally posted by @leaveatraill)

39) Tar Monster seems like he has a ridiculous amount of power. Like he can single handedly nearly kill ALL of Mystery Inc. Why not just release the Tar Monster on the world? I feel like THAT’D be a better plan!

40) The Evil Masked Figure is unmasked and revealed to be Heather Jasper Howe. But her hair and makeup are perfect. Shouldn’t she have - like - helmet hair or something?

41) Scooby running to Shaggy like they haven’t seen each other in ages is totally unearned. Shaggy just put on a mask and took it off and Scooby acts all excited! But, it’s still kinda nice.

42) What the heck? This film has a secret mini movie!?

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A commercial!?

Much like the first Scooby Doo film, Monsters Unleashed is hardly a cinematic masterpiece but the kid in my absolutely loves it. The characterization is continually strong (as is the acting), it’s a lot of fun to see the old monsters in a live action format, and it’s just an enjoyable 90ish minutes. There are movies which have aged worse so if you have fond memories of this or are a fan of the Scooby-Doo franchise, give it a watch.

#Scooby Doo #James Gunn #Sarah Michelle Gellar #Scooby Doo 2 #Linda Cardellini #Freddie Prinze Jr #Matthew Lillard #Epic Movie (Re)Watch #Movie #Film #GIF

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