#tony does a lot of good things in the world separate from fighting villains too | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

anakinlove · 2 years

Note

This is Peter Parker x reader romantic request, can u do something where reader accidentally gets trapped in the mcu and shes knows all the marvel movies and everything that’s gonna happen.

Pairing: Peter Parker x fem!Reader

Word count: 1.2k

Summary: Reader from our world gets trapped in the mcu and totally geeks out when meeting Peter for the first time!

Warnings: none that come to mind??? Lots of Star Wars mentions???

Notes: omg hi I loved this prompt and you sent it in so fast 😭 if this is not ~romantic~ enough feel free to ask for a pt. 2 so I can time skip 🤩

Like Star Wars!?

All Y/n wanted to do was go home.

It was a tremendously boring day at school, and she had been craving a nap for the past four hours. Her friends had been too loud, the pencil scratches hurt her ears, and, as always, the school lunch had proven less than satisfactory.

All she wanted was to go home. A simple request now that she looks back on it, and yet something that was so far out of her reach now that it’s almost ironic to think about.

Y/n thinks all of this as she stares at the figure in front of her.

Spider-Man. Actual, real life Spider-Man. Or at least she thinks it is, judging by the fact that the Earth she knows has absolutely zero technology such as this and cosplayers suits are never this good of quality.

Peter Parker. Spider-Man. Here, staring at her as though she’s an alien. Which she might be to him, or at least a threat seeing as she showed up in his bedroom.

“Um- Hi-“ She starts, only to get immediately cut off.

“This isn’t what it looks like!” He says quickly and backs up toward the window, “I’m- you see, I just wanted to… find Peter! Yeah! Just wanted to find Peter and I heard this is where he lives. He’s- Mr. Stark wanted to know why he was late for the internship, so he sent me… to… find him…”

Y/n blinks at him, “wow you’re really bad at this.”

“Wh-what?” The white eyes of the mask widen.

“Well I mean, why wouldn’t Tony call him? Why would he send Spider-Man to find him? Not only that, why wouldn’t you knock?” She laughs and spins in a slow circle as she looks around, “I always thought it was so cool you fixed tech. That’s- so insanely awesome, dude.”

“Wait- why are you in my- his room?! Who are you?” The eyes narrow again as he steps closer.

“You know the theory of the multiverse?” She turns to him excitedly.

“The- yeah I know the theory of the multiverse.” He scoffs a little.

“I’m from a different universe. One where you’re just a movie for me. Like- like Star Wars!” She gestures wildly, bouncing a little.

“Oh, dude you know Star Wars?” He gets distracted.

“Oh man I live Star Wars. Seriously my whole entire room is just covered in Legos and things. Kind of… like your room actually.” She grins sheepishly.

“Cool.” He squeaks out, “Um- so, sorry, you’re saying I’m a movie? To you?”

“Yeah!” She nods quickly, “Like- Like the Spider-Man movies. Well actually you first appeared in Captain America: Civil War, and then were in two Avengers films but! There are three whole Spider-Man movies separately. I know all about you, Peter Parker.” She crosses her arms.

His head tilts, “Wait so you’re actually saying there’s a multiverse? Because I thought that was all theoretical and it completely changes how we understand the initial singularity, we’re talking about an internal inflation system and how does that even work with all of the quantum- I mean, that’s insane.” He rambles excitedly.

Y/n Laughs and shakes her head, “you said that in your second movie. Uhh, what... year is it for you? Judging by your suit and the fact that you mentioned your ‘internship’,” She uses air quotes, “It has to be around Homecoming.”

“How do I know you’re not just some- some villain that’s here to kill me, huh?” Peter puts his hands on his hips.

“I’m pretty sure a villain wouldn’t nerd out about Legos,” Y/n snorts, “but uh… I know that you pretend to be Thor while looking in a mirror, I’ve seen your cute little video diary of the airport fight, and… oh! Your best friend is Ned Leeds who found out you were Spider-Man because he was here to build the Lego Death Star and then proceeded to drop it out of shock.”

His eyes widen again and he nods quickly, “oh okay yeah, no yeah. Uh- homecoming was a few months ago.”

Y/n nods a little, “have you done anything… Avenger-y lately?”

“No… why? Am I gonna?” He asks quickly.

“I mean, yes, but I’m totally not telling you what. Uh- you can take the mask off.” She points to her own face.

“Oh- right right!” He yanks off his mask, hair messy and eyes wide.

“You literally have no idea how cool it is to meet you,” Y/n breathes, “like- like this is the equivalent as meeting like- Luke Skywalker or something.”

“Dude! Luke Skywalker? No way!” He walks forward and curiously pokes her.

“What… are you doing?” She looks at him in confusion.

“Well, I didn’t know if you’d be like a ghost or something, I mean, this is crazy.” Peter shakes his head, a grin forming.

Y/n laughs loudly, “um- I don’t- I mean, it’s literally so great to meet you but I... don’t belong here?”

“Oh,” Peter’s face falls, “right. Uhhh I could ask Mr. Stark for help but he is on a business trip for the next month and won’t be around. Happy is supposed to be my contact.”

“Happy! Ugh I love Happy. I like the actor that plays him too, he directs a lot of good stuff.” She nods.

“His… Dude! You mean we have actors?!” Peter grabs Y/n by the shoulders excitedly.

“Yyyyeah,” She laughs sheepishly, “Yours is named Tom.”

“That’s so cool!” He shakes her a little.

“Woah! Peter- stop-“ She grabs his forearms and then flushes darkly, letting go, “sorry. It’s just like I know you because well-“

“Yeah right,” He nods quickly, “I would feel the same if I met like, Palpatine or something.”

“Ewwww not Palpatine.” Y/n crinkles her nose with a laugh. Peter laughs too, studying her as he does so.

Somehow, she feels familiar too, even if he doesn’t know her like she knows him.

“Um- I can ask my Aunt May if you can stay here? Un- until Mr. Stark gets back.” He says shyly.

“Oh! If- if that would be okay? I don’t need more than like- a blanket or something. I can buy my own groceries. I think our money system is the same and luckily I took cash out.” Y/n mumbles to herself.

“She doesn’t get home ‘til later. If she says no maybe you can stay at Ned’s or something.” He bounces his head.

“I tell you what- If I meet the Tony Stark I think I’ll actually pass out.” Y/n snorts.

“Oh same, man! I totally almost did, too.” Peter laughs.

“Yeah,” She grins, “I know. I saw.”

“Right.” Peter nods, watching her with bright eyes.

“I don’t know exactly how much I’m supposed to tell you… but I think I’ll be able to help you, Peter.” Y/n smiles softly.

“You’d do that?” Peter asks softly.

“Yeah,” Y/n nods, “absolutely. Your poor Earth could use it, anyway.”

Peter nods again, thinking over what that could mean. Only the future could tell, he supposes. For now, though, he thinks he’ll enjoy having someone that’s so like him be close by.

All Y/n had wanted was to go home. Now though? She’ll do everything in her power to make Doctor Strange let her stay.

#wow i cant believe i just wrote a peter parker fic #thats insane #to me #I FINALLY GET TO USE PETER PARKER GIFS #OMG #Peter Parker x reader #peter parker x female reader #peter parker x you #peter parker is a sweetie #lili writes #lili writes marvel #tom holland peter parker x reader

262 notes · View notes

beautifulterriblequeen · 3 years

Note

I keep thinking about Silmarillion, and I was wondering : what do you think of Fëanor ?

I don’t know exactly how it should be seen...

Ooh, Fëanor. Gosh, okay, let me change the channel in my brain.

Fëanor is, at heart, a Capitalist Inventor. He's Dark Tony Stark. He creates endless things for the world to use, but what truly drives him is the bone-deep belief that he and his chosen ones deserve his most prized possessions more than anyone else. And he's willing to kill anyone on both sides to get them back. He swears an oath to fight until he gets what he wants, and thus seals the doom of untold thousands he'll never even meet.

That's an antagonist. Which is not the same thing as a villain. But Fëanor is very much an experience to be survived - or not - rather than any kind of ally. Much of what he does in the Silmarillion is imbalanced, driven by emotions he doesn't seem willing or able to control. And because he's an elf among elves, and they all live a very very long time, the effects of his choices carry forward for thousands of years. This one dude got a lot of people killed, directly and indirectly, including his whole family. For an elf was supposed to love the stars, he wasn't very stellar. Our Man in Valinor was way more into fire.

The part that bothers me about his character - and this is a modern take looking back at JRR Tolkien and his world in the last millennium - is that Fëanor is born this way. He is flawed from birth, and he's just Like That, forever. No chance to change, no encouragement to be different, to be softer, to be better, to corral his spirit of fire into something more light than heat. He's just dangerous chaos from start to finish. He comes into the world sucking his mother's spirit dry so she dies, he lives his life disagreeing with everyone around him except his sons, and he goes out encouraging those sons to hold to their unholy oath to retrieve the Silmarils or die trying. Which they do - the "die trying" part, anyway.

He's a piece of work.

He was also a brilliant, god-tier craftsman. I guess that's what happens when you study under the Vala Aulë himself, who literally shaped the physical world into existence.

He created the Silmarils, capturing the combined light of the Two Trees into three brilliant gemstones in a way no one ever did before or since.

He crafted the palantíri, which not even Sauron could replicate later.

He invented Tengwar script, which is the swirly elven writing we all associate with Middle-Earth.

He crafted the mysterious Feanorian lamps, which are crystals that emit blue light and cannot be doused.

He was constantly thinking up new ideas and crafting them. Eru only knows what he made that has been lost. You'll notice none of these things he made are swords. Yet he led an attack against the Teleri on his way out of Valinor, and the Teleri defended themselves, so I kind of assume he was also a weaponsmith, trying out new ideas in metal form if nothing else.

Brilliant and misguided, a flawed juggernaut, destined to drag the entire world and countless lives off course. The earlier these characters show up in the timeline, the more destructive chaos they end up causing.

I do not like Fëanor. He's a White Guy, doing as he pleases with no thought for the consequences, to himself, to those of his family he actually likes, or to anyone else. He holds enough privilege and power that people keep following him into disaster, and then he just goes and does it again, without learning a damn thing from his imbalanced approach. He even dies thinking he did nothing wrong ever in his life. Like... Bitch.

Having power is no guarantee that you deserve power, and Fëanor is a prime example of why.

This has nothing to do with the objects he made. Those are just tools, free to be taken and used for good or evil, as the palantíri were, and as every message ever written in Tengwar was. Would the world have been better off without the Silmarils at all, or the palantíri? Would a different language script have somehow altered the world for the better? Since it's fiction, we could just decide that Yes, Yes It Would, or No Actually Not.

What's not fictional is my distaste for presumptuous assholes with a bit of power but no self-awareness, because I've already met too many of them who weren't fictional, either.

You want my unvarnished opinion of Fëanor? He's a billionaire. And I'm glad he got eaten. It wasn't nearly soon enough.

Eat your billionaires before they get all crusty, kids. They taste best fresh and plump. Nom nom.

Still here? Oh, then it's time to compare Fëanor to TDP! Because as much as I despise him, he makes for excellent storytelling angst and conflict, and vicarious conflict is how we learn to avoid it in our real lives - if we're paying attention.

I've said before that I'd like to see some kind of Oath of Fëanor effect in TDP. The absolute horror at seeing good characters get yoinked into bad deeds just because they promised? Ahahaha, horrible, thank you, I'll have some more. If the Moonshadow assassins have something like that behind those creepy binding ribbons, I'm gonna be cackling in between my tears, fam.

But Fëanor himself? Oh, do you see, that's Aaravos! He's even got that craftsman side, since he made the relic staff, and boy is it swirly.

(Does that make Ethari a Celebrimbor type, separating himself from the dark deeds of his forebears yet still massively talented, creating amazing magical devices?)

Aaravos is the main villain of TDP, as far as we've been told. He's crafty, in both senses of the word. Did he have some angsty complex family life with half-siblings and a mother who died because she birthed him? Maybe. Stars can be born from the detritus of other stars that exploded and died, so there's a sciencey metaphor there already.

Of interest: Fëanor had seven sons, and the world of TDP has seven kinds of magic. Aaravos created at least one of them. Did he create primal magics too, from the deep magic that came before? Might there be some kind of oath involved there, with the first elves to wield differentiated magic?

How about those primal stones that look like palantíri? How many of those did Aaravos craft? Can he use one from his library to spy on people who have them or something? That would mean he could already know a ton about Viren even before he came to the Storm Spire and stole the mirror. Woah.

What about a Silmaril equivalent? Are there especially glorious magical gemstones in Xadia? Did Aaravos wear them in his crown and now he's mister Grumpy Glam without them?

Did he create the original runes that diverged into all the elven languages? With his sloppy handwriting? Heh, the other elves must've been very patient.

You know... Aaravos has been called a Promethean figure, gifting humans with knowledge and skill they didn't have. But that gift was the gift of fire. A tool. A tool employed by craftsmen.

Fëanor literally means "Spirit of Fire."

In the end, Fëanor was consumed by his own spirit. He never learned to vibe with it, and it destroyed him and many others. Sounds a lot like dark magic.

Maybe the real Oath of Fëanor in TDP is one you have to speak backwards.

#asks #Fëanor #tdp #tdp speculation #silm #oath of feanor #just fantasy things #aaravos

28 notes · View notes

luna-rainbow · 3 years

Text

tfatws 1.04 character commentary

Wow, this episode was painful to watch. It was a group of fundamentally decent people being roundly unpleasant in the name of their own idea of justice.

What was nice about this particular episode was that it culminated in a clash between multiple different viewpoints that manage to stay consistent with their character.

If you stan any of the characters, now is the time stop reading. Almost everyone did something less than stellar in the last 2 episodes, although I feel like a lot of it is a script issue.

PS: I'm so glad Sam explained what TT was. Is this in common use in certain parts of America, or amongst certain ethnic groups? I've seen people so offended by Bucky not knowing it, but I've never heard this.

Bucky: as much as I love him, I'm glad to see his crappy decision to break Zemo out come back to bite him. Yes, his history gives valid explanation for why he does stupid things, but he needs someone to put their foot down and give him repercussions when he's crossed the line. As beautiful as that scene in the beginning with Ayo was, it was also a vivid explanation of exactly how awful his betrayal of their kindness was. T'Challa was willing to pit Wakanda against the world to give Bucky peace (a reminder of T'Challa's incredible compassion at the end of Civil War), and Bucky tramples over their peace by going on a world trip with their king's murderer. Not cool. It's also incredibly bold of him to assume he and Sam will have full control of the situation (against a dozen super soldiers) and ensure Zemo doesn't slip away.

Ayo: the thing about teaching repercussions, particularly to someone whose mental health may make it difficult for them to unpick the nuances, is to make it specific to the insult. She was completely right to call Bucky out for his betrayal, but to punish him at a time when he is pleading for her to have a dialogue, when he is defending Walker on Sam's bidding and not Zemo, complicates the message. Of course, she's not obliged to cater for his feelings, but the way she has done this may not get her the lesson she wants him to learn. Not informing Bucky about their ability to instantly disable him is a can of worms I'm not sure the MCU was ready to open...but also fairly characteristic for a nation that spent most of its history hidden from the outside world. The rapid way the conversation with Walker escalated into a fight, particularly when both parties wanted Zemo locked up, was another failure to engage in communication. Was it in character? Yes. Was it cool to see them fight? Hell yeah. Was it great judgement? ...Nope, if they just talked, they'd have Zemo in chains by now.

Sam: Sam handled the negotiation with Karli beautifully, but I want to see how the script pans out over the next 2 episodes. So far, my primary concern with his character is that he is too soft with people he sympathises with. Him allowing Bucky to drag him into Zemo's mess aside, I am also not seeing any hint of him addressing the fact that Karli needs to face consequences for her violent actions. Young and idealistic is not a free pass to crime and murder, although to be fair, their conversation had only just begun. The other issue with the Sam and Karli dynamic is that the story provides nothing concrete about her beliefs, her values or her goals. It's not clear what she actually envisages as the perfect world, so it makes it hard for us to believe that her vision is better. There is a lot of resentment, and people motivated by resentment often isn't much different to people motivated by vengeance, so it was almost disappointing to see Sam say that she is different to villains like Zemo.

Karli: Sam connected with her for a moment, but she then uses his goodwill to separate him from Walker so that she can murder Walker for symbolism's sake. She also uses Sam's civilian family as barter, which is a dick move towards someone who genuinely makes an effort to understand you. Running away like kids who accidentally broke a window when they killed Lemar highlights she doesn't have the nerves to carry through with her vision. It must be much easier to blow up a bunch of people chained inside a building, than to watch someone die in front of you at your hands. Her approach and plan is immature with a tinge of adolescent overconfidence, and I can only see things going downhill from here as authorities escalate their efforts against her.

John: A perfect demonstration of how minor character flaws can become magnified under stress and have major ramifications. In several conversations with Lemar, we see that he does consciously try to align himself for good, but he is highly strung, impatient, and arrogant. He overcompensates for his anxiety with dismissiveness and aggression. These flaws were what brought him down. Remember though that arrogance, impatience and aggression aren't exactly exclusion criteria for MCU superheroes (Tony? Thor? Strange?). This would have been made for a great superhero origin, but the narrative framing made him a deranged antagonist.

Zemo: Can we give this guy a gold star for being the only one on the team who was focused and efficient enough to get their original mission accomplished? And unlike may other villains, he did this with minimal collateral damage. Truly deserving of an award.

#the falcon and the winter soldier #bucky barnes #sam wilson #baron zemo #helmut zemo #john walker #ayo #karli morgenthau #tfatws #analysis

74 notes · View notes

ordinaryschmuck · 3 years

Text

What I thought about the MCU (Phase One)

I love Marvel. More specifically, I love Marvel movies. And more specific than that, I love Marvel movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (with the occasional Deadpool from the X-Men universe). Within eleven years, we have gotten twenty-three movies. Most of them successful, with a few cracks in the armor here and there. And I want to show my love for this success by reviewing each movie in their respective phase. But I'm going to be doing things a little differently than others before me. I'm going to rank each film from worst to best in each phase of the MCU. After I get through all three phases, I'll rank them all from worst to best, with only a sentence explaining my ranking. With that said, let's get started, shall we?

6th: The Incredible Hulk (5/10)

I wish that I could be that guy who says The Incredible Hulk is an underrated masterpiece that doesn't deserve any of its hate...but I'm not, and it isn't. Don't get me wrong, I do love the first few minutes, I love how the Hulk is presented as a danger rather than a hero, and there is some decent visual storytelling on display. Seriously, there are scenes with little to no dialogue, and it is easy to tell what's going on in the characters' heads from their movements and expressions. Which is a treat, because the lines aren't great, and the delivery is not any better. It's worse with Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, who has two different speech patterns: Shouting and sounding like a robot pretending to be human. Plus, the CGI is butt ugly in this movie, and it's easily the worst in the MCU. Say what you want about Black Panther and it’s CGI, but at least the hero and villain don't look like ugly green blobs punching each other. If you think it's Incredible, more power to you. For me, it's just...meh.

5th-Iron Man 2 (5/10)

I actually like this movie. Or, at least, I like parts of this movie. I like the performances, the action, and a couple of well-handled scenes. For example, the party scene is actually pretty decent as it shows how irresponsible a hero can be when drunk, even if the latter half of it becomes a rock'em sock'em robots fight. Separately, scenes like this work. It's when they're put together does the movie fall flat. There are too many plot points and story threads to follow that the movie becomes a jumbled mess as a result. Also, Sam Rockwell's Justin Hammer is just a dweeb of a villain. Which is a shame because I can see how he can be the perfect foil for Tony Stark. It's just that he lacks a lot of the charisma that RDJ gives his own character. But an even bigger shame is the underutilization of Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, who seems like a unique villain that I would have loved to see more of. But instead, we just get some jerkoff in a suit. That being said, I still don't think Iron Man 2 is as bad as people claim it to be. Yeah, it's bottom five, for sure, but that doesn't mean it isn’t irredeemable.

4th-Thor (6/10)

WHAT IS UP WITH THE EXCESSIVE DUTCH ANGLE SHOTS?! Seriously, was the majority of the movie shot on a hill? Did the crew lost a wheel on one of the cameras and decided to roll with it? Why does it keep happening?!

A dutch angle shot only works if you're showing something cool. NOT whenever you feel like it!

With that said...this movie is ok. There are some good things to like. Chris Hemsworth definitely has the physique of a Norse god, there are some well-handled comedic moments, and the action is pretty cool at times. It's just that the supporting cast is a little bland, and Thor is not Loki's best appearance. Tom Hiddleston certainly nails the trickster character, but the chaotic personality doesn't really let loose until future movies. Still, I think Thor is fine. And definitely better than Thor: The Dark World.

3rd-Iron Man (7/10)

What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said already? Robert Downey Jr. is still the definitive Iron Man, the acting is top-notch, the action is even better, the CGI still holds up to this day, and the story is pretty amazing...for the most part. The stuff with Jeff Bridges as Iron Monger, while not as bad as everyone else says, is still not as engaging as everything else. Personally, I don't hate him, and I think the final fight between this giant robot man with a tiny robot man is still pretty entertaining. I can maybe see why others wouldn't be as entertained, but that doesn't change how this film is a great start for something big.

2nd-Captain America: The First Avenger (7.5/10)

Now, THIS is an underrated movie...for the most part. I can see why some people can be less than thrilled about certain aspects of this movie, but I can still argue why those aspects don't bother me. Yes, it becomes a cliche action movie halfway through, but at least the action is cool. Yes, the scene where Captain America becomes a dancing monkey is embarrassing, but at least that song slaps. Yes, Red Skull is boringly evil for the sake of an evil villain, but he's a nazi. What were you expecting? The intricate reasons for why he's a nazi? And yes, Captain America's reasoning for crashing the plain is stupid, but...it at least give us two more awesome movies?

Alright, that one I'll give to you.

Regardless, I still consider this my favorite Captain America movie. Because it has moments that come to mind when I think of our star-spangled man. He's the guy who jumps on a grenade to save his fellow soldiers without an ounce of hesitation. He's the guy who will continue to do the right thing, no matter how hard it might be. And he's the guy who has a sense of humor, but not overly quippy like other characters. I'll admit that the other two movies are better, but as for which one has what I love about Captain America, it would have to be his very first adventure as the First Avenger.

1st-The Avengers (9.5/10)

At first, this movie has nothing more than cool action and corny jokes, some funnier than others. But by the time the film reaches The Battle of New York, that's when it goes from a good movie to a great one! Every film before The Avengers has been building up to this gigantic fight. With The Avengers hyping itself up as well. And trust me when I say: It's worth it. Add that with some fun characters with phenomenal chemistry fighting Loki at his best, then you've got yourself one hell of a movie.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that's all of the movies in phase one. I'll see you soon as I talk about phase two.

#marvel cinematic universe #mcu review #iron man #the incrediable hulk #thor #captain america #the avengers #what i thought about

5 notes · View notes

timetravellingshinigami · 5 years

Text

Warning! I've Watched The Movie!Endgame Spoilers ahead!!

I'm putting This warning because some of ya'll are mean saying "If you leak spoilers you deserve no rights!" F off!! If you read these spoilers and then get mad you deserve no rights!!!

Endgame review and rant starts from here.... Don't mind it starts out as a rant....

You would think!!!...

reading Endgame spoilers, writing Endgame essays and then watching the movie, would lessen the shock factor. Nah! You wrong af!....I watched the cam version of the movie today and when I saw Thor i was like..

And the worse! thing is he ain't fat because he was depressed. NO! He is fat because The Russos! wanted him to be funny! That was the only purpose for Chubby Thor!

Even in that video i could hear the audience laughing!!!! The little kids found it hilarious and i was sitting here at home and crying!!!!

You could see Thor's pain and anger when Banner said Thanos name but...

The Camera focused on his belly so much like "LOOK AT IT ITS FUNNY!!"

and I'm in floods of tears going "😭😭😭😭😭 NO it's not!!! Leave me alone please! 😭😭😭" It was painful!!! How could that they do this to him!

And he gives a little speech that he's fine and that he has no wish to be involved in helping the Avengers and he tells Rocket and Prof. Hulk to leave...but then Rocket says "there's beer on the ship" and Thor ups and goes with them????? Huuuuuuhhhhh!??????

And then for most of the movie the focus is on his beer belly and making him sound like an idiot!!!

Should Thor be depressed? of course!!! After everything he's gone through of course!! Should he gain weight being depressed? Yes! I GAIN WEIGHT WHEN I'M DEPRESSED!!! Being depressed and using junk food, alcohol, playing games all day will have this effect on you. But is him gaining weight!!! Something to laugh at??? NO!!!!

And Valkyrie???? In Ragnarok she went through the same situation Thor is in now. She was depressed and drowned her sadness in Alcohol. And then Thor came along and gave her her purpose back. Made her realise she can do so much more than wasting away on the Trash Planet.

And now Thor is in the same situation as her and...what? Valkyrie has been helping the Asgardians settle in Tonnsberg while Thor was drinking and eating junk food and worried about cable!!

But you know what Thor was never a dumbass!!! After what happened in the first Thor movie he was everything a good king would be. The reason he didn't want the Throne of Asgard on TDW was because he felt he could protect the nine realms better when he's not sitting on the Throne of Asgard. But when peace reigns he will gladly take care of his people.

What was all that character development in Thor 2011 and Thor: The Dark World and even in shitty Ragnarok all about?!!!! Actually i blame partly Ragnarok for Thor ending up.like this. Ragnarok was what started Thor as a comical character. The Russo just went "Its free real estate" and renovated on it and gave us Chubby Thor who couldn't even speak a complete sentence properly.

And that's not even it, what bothers me is that in the 5 years no one was helping Thor get better. Korg and Meik were pretty much enablers. Looking at things Valkyrie most probably tried to talk to him but he didn't bother to listen. And after a while she let him be hoping he comes out of his grief on his own. But, You know what pre Ragnarok Thor would listen to her. Pre Ragnarok Thor would not hide away and pretend nothing happened! Pre Ragnarok Thor would be grateful that he has people who care about him. He would do his best for the Asgardians he has with him now. Valkyrie and Korg and Miek are his closest people and he has their shoulder to cry on!! Especially Val. She does understand! and the entire time he was shutting himself away from the world, she helps the Asgardians get used to this new place. She also has hopes Thor will heal in time. She hasn't given up hope. I mean when all the Avengers were giving Thor looks of "oh, that is sad", she in the end has confidence in him. The movie never showed her thinking Thor is lesser of a man and king than he was before. She actually hopes for him to finally do right by his people.

What pisses me off is that Thor just goes off onto another adventure leaving Valkyrie with more responsibility than she already has (considering that now the whole human population is back and recovering from the IW events you can guarantee a whole host of problems are going to arise for the Asgardians. Considering how humans are you can bet on that.) The only way I can forgive Thor is if they give us a Thor 4 where he comes back to Earth with the remaining Asgardians (Hulk does say "we can bring them back") and finally decides to do some good for his people. Helps them have a better life, navigating human culture, learning new skills.

The Russos make Thor's grieve look like a joke! LIKE THOR DOESN'T EVEN CARE!!! RESPONSIBILITY??? NOPE THOR DOESN'T KNOW ANY OF THAT! you don't even feel sorry anymore or sympathise with Thor. You just feel ANGRY!! At the Russos and at Thor himself!!

Other things that hurt me...

Tony's death. It hurts just thinking about it! I feel it was unnecessary. There's no need for him to die. The Russos with all their imagination should have given him a happy ending! Natasha's death broke me first! Yeah you're gonna be a weeping mess after this. Steve was...*sigh*!!! It was sad and bittersweet. Did i like that ending for him? Not really 😢

Wanda doesn't get back Vision. Recently Elizabeth Olsen gave hints that the WandaVision series will be set in 1950s. I don't even know how that works out 😐

And Loki!!! You know how we thought he was ooc in Ragnarok? Nah! The Loki we see in Endgames New York 2012 is competing side by side with Ragnarok Loki on who is more ooc . I mean! He actually shape-shifted into Steve to mock him. He waved bye bye at the Hulk!! What??!! And then he just disappears and you're sitting there like "what the hell happen???"

What was good about Endgame?....

The rest of the movie was good. The humour was great when it didn't involve Thor. I'll never get over Scott in ant size sticking his ass out and saying "Flick me" at Tony😂 There were a lot of ass jokes. But it was find. Rocket and Prof. Hulk are my faves.

Thor meeting his mother was very emotional. Since she's a witch she immediately knew he was from the future. She doesn't judge him at all. She's just happy to see him.Their reunion was very sweet. A lot of tears and hugs. 😢In the end Frigga gives him a hug just before he leaves tells him in her sweet motherly voice "eat a salad" 😂😂 The only thing that was irritating here is Thor calling her "mom" 😕

For those who have been asking, there's a reason Thor had to sneak pass Loki 'cause of the time travel thing he can't allow himself to be seen by anyone. And Loki would definitely know this is Thor from the future. That would mess things up a lot.

Thor looked sort of better at the end when he was fighting Thanos. It would seem him summoning his armour, Mjolnier and the lighting also took care of his beard and hair. It's still long but braided 😕 He fought good. He was cool at the end.

Gamora is alive (Gamora from the past entered the 2018 timeline because of Thanos) !! 😄 And Quill is looking for her (He gotta make her fall in love with him all over)

And of course the fighting was epic as is expected. Cap wielding Mjolnier! When everybody showed up through Strange's portal!, Steve's "Avengers Assemble", Tony and Pepper fighting together!!! Wanda!! The Ladies of Marvel!! Captain Marvel!! 10/10(Tbh, Carol does look a little impatient the few times she was in the movie. Like she needed to be somewhere. I guess she has priorities. Other planets to protect. The moment she was sure Earth was safe she was gone.)

Not gonna lie, Endgame is epic and it is brilliant and amazing even with its flaws.

What's interesting is according to the Ancient One, if you move the stones from their proper place in the timeline it would result in a parallel reality being created. And of all the stone only the Space Stone has been moved from its place..by Loki. So that could mean a new alternate reality/universe has been created. And you know what.....That is actually scary. I wonder if the present universe Thor even knows that this other reality even exists where Loki is most probably alive. But even if he knows he wouldn't be able to do anything anyway.

Watching the movie, and seeing everybody fight together side by side, makes me miss Loki. It's like that scene where he takes the Space Stone and vanished sealed his fate somewhat. He's no longer connected to the timeline or universe we know. A new story exists for him. He's completely separated. And He's different now. He's probably still somewhat a villain with no redemption. He was never meant to fight side by side with the Avengers in this universe at least. Who knows how he turns out in the other universe. As matter of fact i wonder how everyone in the other universe turns out.

Looking at things i feel if Loki had been alive after IW, he will never be able to just settle down on Earth. And now Thor is the same too. They will probably just up and leave and travel. 'Cause for Loki especially, he's never going to be able to adjust with humans. The restrictions on him would be huge. I see him as the type who would leave through a hidden portal to other worlds.

I do feel like everybody's story hasn't really ended. Especially for Thor. He calls himself and Quills team as "Asgardians of The Galaxy" and if I'm not wrong there's a comic book of that name. Aside from that he, Quill and the team need to find Gamora and other Asgardians and return to Earth. And there better be a movie for that.

*Insert The Avengers theme song by Alan Silvestri*

102 notes · View notes

laezelofkliir · 6 years

Note

so if you are bitter bout mcu what are your unpopular opinions?

so a few people have actually asked me this since i said something vague about mcu yesterday haha so i figured i’ll just make a big long post under the cut and i am sorry if anyone takes this offensively, i just have to rant about some of this stuff so read at your own risk (spoiler i get mad and it is longgggg)

I do also want to say i love the mcu despite its many problems and i do my best to separate it from the comics because i understand a movie/tv show can’t develop characters the same way decades of comics can and different versions of their personalities/backstories are okay but still there is some corruption i can’t take

First off - the maximoffs. Like … no! I really am not a fan of the mcu versions. I could deal with their new personalities/upbringings if it wasn’t at the expense of their ethnicity. Like for those of you that don’t know, the maximoffs are jewish and romani, they are basically whitepassing pocs and they were very poor and are even children of holocaust survivors … so how the fuck and why the fuck did they volunteer to work for hydra ?!?! just completely corrupting everything that made them who they were is so disrespectful and to make them fucking work for A NAZI ORGANIZATION is not a small personality/backstory change, it goes against everything from the original characters.

Wanda maximoff also just walked into the avengers with barely any accountability for her actions, yes she had to deal with the pain of what she caused at the beginning of civil war but hardly anyone is bringing up the fact that she toyed with bruce/hulk in aou which caused so much damage and very likely resulted in a loss of many civilian lives, how is no one realizing it is her fault ?! she was pardoned for everything she did when tony was painted as villain WHY

Also in civil war i was more on tony’s side, i do think that cap was right in thinking that they shouldn’t be solely controlled by the government because sometimes there are fights they need to do that they wouldn’t necessarily be allowed to go to. B U T they do have to understand the effects of their often reckless actions. Yes they are saving the world but they could very well destroy it by not taking accountability for the damage they cause.

And okay civil war, like really? I just think it was forced and happened too fast, i know it can’t be like the comics always, but the civil war in the comics actually served a real purpose and in the mcu it was just like 12 people fighting in a parking lot ??

Also the villainization of tony is just … NO. like stop please. Tony makes mistakes, he does as everyone does and yes they are colossal ones too - i mean ultron for just one example. But he should not be seen as a villain for trying to protect the world. He saw infinity war coming a mile away and everybody was upset about it. Ultron was a disaster yes, but how is it that tony wasn’t pardoned when wanda and bucky were? I am not trying to say bucky shouldn’t be pardoned, because he was rightfully forgiven as he had no control over what hydra made him do, but wanda did … and she isn’t really apologizing or realizing the effects of some of her actions so … why is everyone pissed at tony??

And god okay i’m gonna be brief with mcu nat because ugh but just fuck scar jo and get her out of my sight, black widow deserves a solo movie with an actually talented actress who isn’t trying to steal minority roles alongside bucky barnes, i refuse to believe a black widow movie with no bucky could ever work

Guardians of the galaxy … jesus they did my babies dirty. Mcu peter quill … i don’t really like him and maybe it is because i’m not super fond of chris “i have a gun arsenal” pratt but tbh i just think they portray quill as a dick who can be misogynistic and a has a very delicate ego. His changed backstory was meh which i can live with but he is so fragile with his masculinity and it demeans gamora. I do like gamora and peter together but it would be so much better if he wasn’t always trying to be better than her or got offended anytime she was smarter or a better fighter than him (which is always sooo). Then mantis was done dirty she should not be some slave to a weird planet man ?? i think pom is a wonderful mantis but she was given crap to work with because mantis is a celestial being like an actual GODDESS so why is she working for a planet ??? and drax ugh he is not an idiot like mcu portrays him i’m so bitter about that

I understand why scott lang was chosen to be ant man over hank pym i mean if paul rudd was going to be scott it makes perfect sense. Hank is also just … i don’t quite know how to describe hank other than controversial i guess but that’s another story, and scott would come off waaaaay better to audiences as ant man, the thing i am just so mad about is the fact that janet was practically erased from the avengers. I mean please don’t get me wrong i love hope van dyne and a young janet shouldn’t be falling in love with scott, but i just wish they could have at least included the REAL janet, not michelle pfiefer (no offense to michelle either because she’s doing great with what she’s given) being an old knock off janet, and not even like her own movie (which would be fucking fantastic though) but like janet gave so much of her life to the avengers and was a founding member. A FOUNDING MEMBER. And her purpose in the mcu was basically just to give hank manpain like whyyyyyyyyyy

And CLINT! God clint barton was screwed over, comics clint is amazing and is 80% deaf (he has a frickin hearing aid!!) and loves dogs and coffee and pizza and i could even handle jeremy renner being this version of clint, i don’t really have a problem with jeremy but i hate that marvel just made him be loki’s slave for awhile then just randomly give him a family AHA PUH LEASE MARVEL clint barton is a hoe (okay not really a hoe but he has been romantically involved with many of the super ladies) he would not have some secret family also with someone not in the same business as him, and also clint is a survivor of abuse and represents someone with a disability and mcu took all of that away from him ughhh

Okay and spider-man … i think smhc was a great movie and tom is so cute and pure and an amazing peter parker but … why? Like why were we given a THIRD peter parker when we could have fucking had miles morales ?! for those of you who don’t know miles morlaes, he is black and is spiderman in a different universe (the ultimate universe) and so i mean marvel come on if you’re going to put in a new spiderman why couldn’t it be miles? And i mean this with no offense to tom but i just wish we could’ve had a poc lead sooner and now we get into the spiderverse as the introduction to miles which also don’t get me wrong, i am very excited about that movie but to me it just seems like we won’t have a great shot at getting miles in the mcu if they do a series of new animated films about the spiderverse

And doctor strange ugh the whitewashing just ugh and then stephen too like idk benedict cumberbatch is an amazing actor but stephen was made so arrogantly in mcu and he comes off as this hotshot doctor who did it for money and to show off how amazing he is but he actually became a doctor because he witnessed his sister’s death and then soon after his mother died

And then the whitewashing of the ancient one jesusssss the ancient one is not some eccentric white woman, the ancient one is an asian man … i could even understand making the character a woman as the only other female character would be rachel mcadams’s character (she was so unimportant i don’t even know her name whoops) but do not take away the asian identity !!

And iron fist man … it just sucked, there’s really not much more to say

Then elektra fucking natchios was done SO DIRTY elodie yung is the absolute best elektra, i can’t imagine anyone else playing her and she did so well for the shit she was given but they decided to take a route that made her a sociopath ?? i mean i am okay with the changed backstory but elektra just doesn’t go around killing people for the fun of it like she does it because she has been through a lot and wants to take bad people out of the world like the ones that killed her father and yes maybe she is a little misguided and lost but still she doesn’t think killing people is a fun thing to do on a saturday night like why marvel ?? and just the black sky thing was weird … never a thing in the comics but whatever

And also okay … i love peggy carter and i loved hayley atwell being peggy but sharon is ultimately cap’s main love interest and is the main woman in all of cap’s storylines. And sharon was set up SO well but because stucky fans are ruthless sharon doesn’t even exist anymore and i’m so bitter about that, emily vancamp was a great agent 13 and marvel actually did a great job of bringing her into the universe in catws but look what happened, everyone forgot about her and are obsessed with peggy instead … which as i said, i’m not trying to diss peggy or hayley because i loved agent carter and her in catfa, but everyone decided sharon was nothing compared to peggy and i just don’t see why we can’t have both ??

Another thing … why vision? Like why the heck was vision put into the mcu it really doesn’t make sense to me i mean i think paul bettany is great but he just .. why this weird robot? i’m guessing to bring more in about the infinity stones but still idk because that didn’t really happen ??

And rhodey … poor poor rhodey, the casting change was actually a pretty good idea because i think don cheadle is the perfect rhodey (with no offense to terrence howard’s version, i just think don cheadle should’ve been there from the start) but they didn’t really introduce him into becoming war machine at all, they just gave him a suit and were like boom you’re a superhero now go be an avenger ?? with barely any development to why ?? i demand a war machine solo movie please, we all damn well know don cheadle would be great and ryan coogler should direct it, we’ll have no tony (no offense to tony just no more white men) and we’ll get sam in there and they will be a fucking badass team

And i am so bitter that it took 10 FUCKING YEARS to not have a white male lead a movie … marvel you have so many amazing characters of so many different ethnicities and backgrounds and genders and sexualities like why is carol only coming in now and why did black panther just become a huge movie?! should’ve been there from the start ugh

In my eyes, the only flawless mcu pieces that i would never bash are thor: ragnarok, and black panther (and maybe runaways because we finally got our first canon lgbtq couple) and catws if scar jo wasn’t in it. Marvel needs to realize the success of these films, that taika waititi and ryan coogler are the best directors they have and should be directing more films *cough cough* GUARDIANS 3 *cough*

So wow … that’s a lot and it’s a lot of bashing marvel but i just … if you don’t know shit about the comics the mcu seems amazing like i was there once i didn’t start reading comics until a few years ago when i heard about the young avengers and i have loved the movies since iron man came out ten years ago, but the mcu is very corrupting of a lot of the best parts of these characters, and a lot of people don’t realize that

Thanks for letting me rant and as i have said i really don’t mean to offend anyone who is a fan of the mcu or (most of) the actors of the mcu because they’re just doing their job, so please realize a lot of this is my opinion, i’m just expressing how i feel about marvel and for the record, i do love the mcu i just don’t like a lot of what goes on behind the scenes.

#anon #answered #so yeah i know i kind of bashed a lot of peoples faves #but its more marvel's fault than the actual character/actor #sorry kinda not sorry

11 notes · View notes

mothermaidenclone-blog · 5 years

Text

Incredibles 2 or Yeah I Suppose it Was Alright or Whatever

I was pretty late to the Incredibles 2 party and so had inadvertently heard lots of opinion about it beforehand. Most people’s reviews seemed to land firmly in one of two camps: it was a real let down or that it blew people away and was the best movie they had ever seen. So, I went into the film with confused expectations. However, I have to say that I came down firmly in the middle - I thought Incredibles 2 was a solidly good movie. I was pleasantly impressed and I enjoyed myself, but I’m not fanatically hyping it up like so many people did to me. The women of Incredibles 2, on the other hand, were truly deserving of that moniker.

*Incredibles 2 spoilers follow*

Helen Parr, or Elastigirl, (Holly Hunter) took much more of a leading role in Incredibles 2 and a large chunk of this movie was about her coming to terms with her independent worth as superhero, separate from her husband Bob, or Mr. Incredible, (Craig T. Nelson). Elastigirl really took centre stage, as it was pointed out that, whilst both her and Mr. Incredible were good in a fight, she has much more control, tact and finesse. Because of this, wealthy brother and sister duo Winston (Bob Odenkirk) and Evelyn Deavor (Catherine Keener) select Helen over Bob for a public relations media stunt to restore the reputation of superheroes. Bob’s bitterness is immediately evident to a cringeworthy degree, and the rest of the film deals with them both coming to terms with their new roles.

Despite both Helen and Bob being crime fighting vigilantes on an equal footing by night, it does seem as though Helen is a stay at home mum and Bob is the one with a day job and career. Therefore, Helen leaving the family to work solo is a shock to both systems. Bob is immediately overwhelmed with what taking care of a family actually means, and his struggle goes a long way to validating the hard work Helen puts in to running things at home on a daily basis. In addition. Bob realises that he needs to do this so that Helen can have her moment in the spotlight and her chance to receive the acclamation that she deserves; he says, “I’ve got to succeed so she can succeed.” By the end of the movie, with a lot of help from a variety of others, Bob learns what it means to be an actively participating father, and it’s good to see a man being allowed to develop emotionally as a person in a traditionally feminine space; that of the domestic home.

Helen, on the other hand, seems to take to her new role with relative ease. She juggles performing amazing elastic based physics stunts on a motorcycle in a high speed chase with helping her son Dash (Huck Milner) find his shoes down the phone. Furthermore, once she has saved the entire monorail from utter destruction, Helen makes sure to ask how Bob is and check in on every member of the family before allowing herself to unload her excitement and pride in her accomplishments. As if this list needs any more added to it, not only can Helen competently pilot a helicopter, but she also checks that all the civilians inside can swim before booting them out of the door to relative watery safety. Helen is not only a caring, giving and loving wife and mother but also a brave and powerful superhero.

As part of Helen’s independent mission, she forms new relationships outside of her nuclear familial bonds. The most notable of these is with Evelyn, her aforementioned benefactor. The pair have a wonderfully genuine conversation about trying to succeed as a woman in a man’s world and attempting to be a female influencer. Evelyn has many impressive traits of her own - she is clearly the brains of the operation where her brother is more of a frontman and people person, once again highlighting the prominence of men taking credit for female achievements. Evelyn is a skilled designer and inventor, as well as apparently being in charge of company analytics. It’s such a shame, therefore, that Evelyn became the villain of this movie, although her motives are logical and well thought out. Evelyn is portrayed as much more mature than her brother, and accuses him of conflating the idea of superheroes existing with a time when his parents were alive, showing her to be more emotionally sophisticated and giving some credence to her role as the antagonist.

Incredibles 2 is somewhat characterised by relationships between powerful women, however brief they may be, and the mutual respect between Helen and the unnamed Ambassador (Isabella Rossellini) is one such example. After Helen saves her, the pair share the short exchange, “Bring lasting peace!”, “I will! When you defeat evil!” This tiny slice of dialogue might seem insignificant, but it’s so rare for women to interact on screen in such a mutually supportive way that has nothing to do with men that it’s worth noting. Especially when both women are acknowledging the power and responsibility they both hold. It is somewhat annoying that the ambassador is not granted a name, but in the same way that this is dehumanising to some extent, it also solidifies her position as a figure of authority who commands respect. Furthermore, as always, it’s good to see an older woman in a position of power.

One relationship that was somewhat absent was that of Helen and her daughter Violet (Sarah Vowell). This is, of course, because Violet is spending more time with her dad, which is also very important, and their relationship strengthens as they both develop a better understanding of each other. If I hadn’t seen the first Incredibles, I’d say that Violet’s character undergoes a journey of significant growth. However, she deals with much the same issues as she does in the first film - wrestling with not wanting her superpowers, accepting them and the responsibility that goes with them and therefore becoming more confident as a person, specifically with regard to her interactions with the opposite sex. All of this would be great if it wasn’t basically exactly what Violet went through in the previous movie. This is especially weird seeing as Incredibles 2 starts exactly where it’s predecessor finished, with Violet talking to her high school crush, Tony (Michael Bird), and then this film ends with them on a date. So, I can’t help but feel as though poor Violet is stuck in a bit of a developmental time loop.

One new - although again very brief - female relationship is that Violet has with a new superhero, Voyd (Sophia Bush). There’s a short but touching scene of the pair complimenting each other towards the end. Boyd is a very honest character, who serves to exemplify the metaphor of superheroes as any marginalised group by speaking about how she felt ostracised because of her abilities, and therefore how glad she is now to be a part of this new superhero family. Speaking of which, this new team assembled by the Deavor siblings - if we do not include Elastigirl - has a ratio of 5:1 male to female members, so this is either another comment about making it in a man’s world, or just some shitty statistics.

One final named female character remains, everybody’s favourite, Edna Mode (Brad Bird). Edna continues to be an endless fountain of witty, acerbic one-liners, but even she has some more in depth development in Incredibles 2. Bob leaves her with his baby, Jack Jack (Eli Fucile), so that she can design a super suit for him once he starts showing his powers, and Edna protests, “I am not a baby person, Robert. […] I am an artist!” This could have resolved itself in a very saccharine way, with Edna’s long dormant maternal instincts finally surfacing. However, the opposite happens, and Edna instead influences Jack Jack, bringing out the artist in him - he even begins to mimic Edna’s mannerisms and movements. They part ways as creative collaborators, not surrogate mother and baby.

Overall, Incredibles 2 is mainly the story of Helen as Elastigirl, and by extension, the story of women everywhere battling against the odds of sexism and the patriarchy, trying to succeed as both mothers and independent heroes. It’s also just a fun family movie where people make pew-pew noises with their mouths when using a baby as a laser gun, so maybe I’m reading into it a little too much.

And now for some asides:

I plan to save the clip of Edna justifying not having children because she’s an artist to my phone for family occasions to play when people ask where their grandchildren are.

Something about Evelyn reminded me of a proper old school Gerry Anderson puppet, except for her posture, which was the most relaxed and full of personality I think I’ve ever seen a woman be animated.

Ooh! I wonder if their red plates were the infamous radioactive Brilliant Red Fiesta Dinnerware! Maybe that’s where their superpowers come from!

3 notes · View notes

juuls · 6 years

Note

Got any stuckony recs?

YES! Absolutely yes!

My apologies this took until today. I had a busy weekend and had to rest a lot, but I’m here now. :) Also, I don’t have my old bookmarks list (long story) so I’m having to go through and look for my favorites, old and new. Long process! (This took me over four hours, though I was doing a few other things as well. Still, I’m a bit of a slowpoke.)

See below the cut for some of my favorites, and don’t forget to leave kudos and comments (even just an “I liked this!”) for the authors, to let them know their hard work is appreciated!

(If someone knows an author’s Tumblr handle, let me know or tag them so that I can edit this rec list and tag them appropriately!)

Equilateral by FestiveFerret @festiveferret

It was the way Steve had said, “I found him,” the desperate, agonized hope, that had Tony replying with, “Bring him home,” without any hesitation.

But now, now he was hesitating like fuck.

Penny Candy and Sparklers by StrivingArtist @striving-artist

James Buchanan Barnes: formerly the Winter Soldier, formerly Captain America’s right hand man, formerly a sergeant, formerly a dock worker, formerly Stevie’s best friend…. currently a glorified prisoner of Prince T’Challa…. had trouble wrapping his head around all those former selves. He spent too much time thinking about all the bits of him that he kept gluing back together to pretend he was a person anyone would want to keep. He spent even more time picking at the cracks, pointing the flaws out to himself. Only thing he did more than that was make sure no one else noticed how far he was from human.

So, James Buchanan Barnes, who didn’t know what to call himself, who didn’t know how to go forwards, agreed, and moved back into the tower where his best friend lived with a husband orphaned by the Winter Soldier.

Hide A Heart of War by RayShippouUchiha @rayshippouuchiha

“You’ve got war in your heart boy,” Howard sneers, “don’t ever try and pretend to be anything but what you are.”

Tony feels the familiar burn of a flower mark being etched into his skin but he doesn’t look, doesn’t try and check to see what it is. Instead he keeps his eyes on Howard and his hands cupped around his bleeding mouth and nose.

Of Spiders and Super-Soldiers by AuddieAussie (Juulna’s note: I come back and read this all the time when I need some family feels and a smile. :))

After the hell that was Ultron and the Sokovia Accords, Tony doesn’t blame the team for wanting nothing to do with him. To make up for past mistakes, Tony disappears into his lab and focuses on using his money and brains to provide the Avengers with more fancy tech than they’ll ever need. By doing this, he also doesn’t have to worry about Steve’s grim frown, Bucky’s hateful gaze, or everyone else’s cold annoyance.

For six long months, this formula worked, but then fate decided to be a Loki-like dick and Tony wasn’t sure how it happened, but in the span of one week, he’d somehow acquired a kid.

and you needed someone to show you the way by SailorChibi @tsuki-chibi

Tony knows what the team really thinks of him. It’s a delicate balance: they tolerate him because of his money and his toys, and he gets to stay on the team and fight with them. He’s okay with that. So long as he hides the fact that Steve’s and Bucky’s names are written on his skin in the most embarrassing act of one-sided love affection ever, everything will be fine.

It just figures that a fantastically stupid villain, a kidnapping plot and a video camera will bring Tony’s well-kept secret out into the open.

The Mechanic, The Soldier, and The Captain by AvocadoLove (Juulna’s note: this is sad)

HYDRA need a replacement for Zola’s genius, and they have years worth of experience breaking and brainwashing a good man into something they can control.

Beware of Super Soldiers And Their Enticing Laps by Confused_Emo

Tony’s eyes shifted back toward the remaining occupants of the room only to realise there was literally no space in the sitting area for him.

This apparently was the best time for Bucky to make suggestive gestures, as the soldier patted his thigh lasciviously, “Why don’t you come sit on my lap, plenty of space right here.”

Just Far Enough by TheSopherFly (Juulna’s note: please read the tags. This is triggering and sad and angsty but fucking phenomenally well done and one of my all-time favorites… And I don’t like angst at all.)

Tony couldn’t honestly remember how long it had been like this. Probably since the day he’d called T’Challa and offered his help. At first it had just been compulsive self-denial: you can’t eat until you’ve drafted your opening remarks, until you’ve finished your research, until you’ve rewritten every last colon and comma and apostrophe in those Accords so that everyone can come home.

Those goals had been realistic. Lately, they’d become impossible. Until everyone forgives you. Until you forgive yourself. Until you make up for every bad thing you’ve ever caused.

He was fine. He was coasting in a dangerous place, but he was fine. He wasn’t taking it too far - just far enough.

Trinity by cinaea (immediately followed by pt. 2: Volition)

He’s become the kind of monster he all but died trying to stop.

A D/s, soul-bond AU set in modern day. More than two years ago, Bucky Barnes was lost during a Howling Commandos mission and captured by HYDRA. He and fellow prisoners Clint and Natasha—all submissives—are treated as slaves and forced to carry out terrorist attacks for their masters. An attack by the Avengers enables their escape but leaves Bucky with an incomplete soul bond to two superheroes.

Vowing to never be imprisoned again, Bucky and his friends go on the run from HYDRA, from law enforcement, and from the two dominants who will do anything to find him.

Don’t Tell Pepper by Crematosis

Tony convinces Steve that it is totally okay to include Bucky in their relationship because nobody will ever know. They’ll keep it a secret from the team and they’ll absolutely keep it a secret from Pepper because she’ll only yell at them.

Like most of Tony’s good ideas, it comes back to blow up in his face.

Underneath the Mistletoe by DreamcatchersDaughter @dreamcatchersdaughter

5 times Tony gets caught underneath the mistletoe and one time he doesn’t (and thank fuck for that).

and another like it by the same author:

Christmas Kisses (aka Sam is So Done With Your Shit)

Their mutual pining is driving him crazy, but its okay cause Natasha’s got a plan.

The Colors That Bind Us by yasminakohl @stuckonstoney

When Steve Rogers was six a boy saved him from a bully, then sky went from white-gray to brilliant blue.

When Bucky fell, the world stayed colorful and everyone told him it was because of the serum, he believed them.

When he woke from the ice and he finds the black and white he’d expected years ago, sixty-six years ago it seems, he’s crushed.

Now there’s color again, this time it comes with amazing reds and golds.

Until he wakes up and his sky is brilliant and his color mate is trying to kill him, his first color mate.

Will Steve ever be able to have his blue, red and gold?

The Melting, the Spark, and the Suffocation by btBatt @batterology

“So, Bucky,” he said, clapping his hands. “You ready to change the lives of asthmatic little punks everywhere?” Bucky sent a skeptical look Steve’s way.

“It seems to be my calling in life,” he said. Steve just smiled. He looked a little like he was having a moment, one of his oh-my-God-I-have-Bucky-back moments, so Tony smiled too.

“There are worse things,” Tony mused.

“Hear, hear,” Natasha said.

The Limitations of Wax by RayShippouUchiha @rayshippouuchiha (Juulna’s note: This has been untouched for quite a while but there are separate WiPs being written and branched off of this – and completed – that are fantastic, and the core character study in this fic is fantastic so I still recommend it.)

Toni Stark grows up with the tale of Icarus swirling in the back of her mind. Instead of taking it as a precautionary tale about hubris and overreaching she decides it’s more about the limitations of wax.

Years later when she builds herself wings of her own she makes sure to build them out of better material.

Difficult Conversations by yumekuimono @yumekuimono

HYDRA had brainwashed their Asset into silence, and then muzzled him to boot. It’s not that surprising that Bucky no longer considers talking to be one of his strong suits. So why does he keep having to have difficult conversations?

Or, the road to loving Tony Stark is never an easy one. (Juulna’s note: Eventual/Pre-OT3)

Strip it Down by Batfink

“Think about who you’re talking to Bucky. I am the technology king. What you’re asking me to do goes against everything I hold dear.” Tony looked positively distraught.

Bucky slid his hand onto Tony’s cheek, tilting his head until their eyes met. “Crying, Tony. Over the fucking washing machine.”

Giving a Friend a Hand by neunundneunzig (seasidesunset)

Bucky gets Tony’s help dealing with… anatomy malfunctions, and it turns into much more.

Operation: Knuckleheads by FestiveFerret @festiveferret

Bucky is enjoying his new, post-Winter Soldier life at Avengers Tower, until he discovers that the constant tension between Steve and Tony was caused by a recent (and mysterious) breakup. Determined to make his friends happy, Bucky gives himself a new mission: figure out what went wrong, and get these two idiots in love back together again.

Compass Heading by antigrav_vector @disco-pinecone

So… It’s complicated. Steve went and got himself killed on a mission, and, somehow, in the aftermath, Tony ended up getting together with Barnes. He’s still not entirely sure how that happened, really, but he’s not about to question it too hard. He’s enjoying it too much.

Then, because the universe loves turning his life upside down, they find Steve. It’s been two years, and things have changed, but Tony still cares about the asshole, and that, right there, is a problem.

Too Damn Short by MrShyRockstar

“I’m too short for this shit.”

This literally sums up this little ficlet. Tony’s too short, Steve is clearly (to anyone with eyes *coughnottonycough*) pining, and Bucky is just watching everything with exasperated amusement. That is all.

Put Your Arms Around Me, Hold Me Tight by StarSpangledBucky

Tony and Bucky desperately need to sort out the kink in their relationship, before they both lose Steve, or one of them does. It isn’t until the second week Steve is away on a mission that Tony goes through a nightmare, and Bucky decides to comfort him. From there, it gives them a chance to talk. And by the time Steve comes back, he’s more than satisfied by the results.

Minefields by arianapeterson19 (Juulna’s note: Please heed the tags! Content is triggering for abusive relationships.)

Being in an abusive relationship was a bit like needing glasses. He didn’t realize it until the damage was done.

Funny how people assume only men can be abusive.

And a new fic by a new author I would like to recommend to people to read:

Lonely Boy by thereddame @the-red-dame

Tony gets a visit from a Tony from a different universe and she needs him to help keep her children safe until Girl-Tony can kick some HYDRA ass. She’s being pretty tight-lipped about the father but he’s got a sneaking suspicion it’s Steve. Hey, maybe he can get ‘best babysitter in the universe’ award after this?

I’m sure since you are sending me an ask you know about my fics (though maybe not my oneshot), but I’ll list them anyway. ;)

Necrosis by Juulna

Necrosis (from the Greek νέκρωσις “death, the stage of dying, the act of killing” from νεκρός “dead”)

Tony always thought he’d die first, of the three of them. He’d accepted it, even. Hell, he wasn’t even sure that Steve or Bucky coulddie. Shows how much he knew.

Hanging From a Cross of Iron by Juulna

Toni Stark never - not even once - had a soulmark appear. Not one she can remember, at any rate. But when one finally appears, and the date of her rendezvous seems impossible to meet, does she decide to move on with her life, and forget the words written upon her skin?

Of course not. She’s Toni fucking Stark. Making the impossible possible is practically her family motto.

Well… there we go! I hope that that suffices for recommendations? If you want some more, I’m happy to provide them! Happy reading, and don’t forget:

Leave the authors your love in the form of a kudos and/or comment!

MUAH! xoxo

385 notes · View notes

empress-of-snark · 6 years

Photo

(@caseyblu is the true hero, making these headers)

THE AVENGERS (2012)

AKA: Everyone has to deal with Thor’s dysfunctional family.

(Spoilers for the Avengers!)

I’ve really been looking forward to this one because it’s definitely one of my favorites of the MCU, and it’s one of the only ones I’ve seen multiple times.

Part of the reason I love it is, admittedly, because it’s Joss Whedon. Y’all know I’m a big Whedon fan, but I think he works best in small doses. He can be trusted with one movie, but maybe not sequels (we’ll get to Ultron in a couple days), and his TV shows tend to go off the rails a little after a few seasons (lookin’ at you, Angel). But I think he did a great job with Avengers! I’m sure it was difficult to merge all these characters coherently.

In fact, that’s one of the other reasons I love this one--it’s a really strong ensemble cast, and it feels like a big crossover, seeing all these characters that we already know meet each other and interact.

First off, it’s really great to watch this right after Captain America, because now in Avengers, we see him a little out of his element, still adjusting to a world that’s moved on without him. His hopeless confusion at modern references is funny, along with his excitement when he gets the Wizard of Oz joke.

Tony seems a little too intentionally disruptive at times. I get that he’s not much of a team player, but like, trying to bring the Hulk out just for kicks and giggles seems like a stupid move.

People have criticized the fact that Tony and Steve are so argumentative that we never get to see them really be friends, so Civil War packs no punch. However, I think it’s understandable at least in this one. They’re very different people and with Tony’s lingering father issues, I can see how finally meeting the boy scout that Howard Stark idolized and just being completely irritated by him makes sense. It sounds like Howard (at least in Tony’s eyes) never shut up about Steve and how great he was, while simultaneously shunting Tony off to the side and treating him badly. To me, it’s perfectly logical that Tony wouldn’t like him.

Also, rewatching this movie, the Bruce/Natasha romance isn’t quite as sudden as people thought in Ultron. Yes, it’s a lot more obvious in Ultron, but I think there’s a lot of subtle moments that set it up in this one. There’s a really great moment right before he fully Hulks out, when she’s trying to talk him down and he looks over his shoulder at her and you can see in his eyes that he’s still Bruce and he really regrets what’s about to happen, then he’s gone. It’s also pretty clear in their first scene, where she’s talking him into joining the Avengers, that they have a kind of connection.

I think the main reason everyone walked out of this movie shipping her with Hawkeye was because it was obvious they were the only two on the team with any kind of history, and we all kind of jumped to conclusions. Granted, there are a few moments that seem a little too close for just friends (especially if one of them is married), but I think we were mostly filling in the blanks. I’ll be honest, I still wanna know what happened in Budapest, lol.

Loki is still a great villain and watching this so soon after Thor, it’s really clear just how much he’s changed in his absence. In Thor, he’s somewhat sane, if a little misguided. By Avengers, he’s gone off the deep end, reciting Shakespearean monologues about how humanity is doomed and needs to be enslaved. Also, right after Thor, it’s even sadder to see just how many times Thor tries to get through to his brother, all in vain.

One thing I don’t quite understand is, why did they resurrect Coulson for the TV show (which, granted, I’ve never watched)? This isn’t a critique of the movie--I think his death had good impact. That’s why it doesn’t make sense that they’d turn around and undo that. But I mean, Marvel doesn’t always commit to its deaths, so he’s not the first character that’s come back from the dead.

I think this is a really strong first ensemble movie. It’s pretty evenly paced, if a little exposition-heavy at the start, it’s not too dark or too jokey, and there’s just so many absolutely Iconic moments that I may have to make a separate post listing them all.

RANKINGS: Hero(es): 7.5 squabbles out of 10. As a group of characters, the Avengers all play off one another really well, but the movie spent so much time pitting them against each other that it didn’t really give leave much time for their reconciling and becoming friends. I mean, they all got shawarma at the end, but they still seemed like more acquaintances than friends. Maybe Ultron is a little different… I don’t quite remember.

Villain: 8 Tesseracts out of 10. He’s a bit more monologue-y than he was in Thor, but he’s still quite an effective antagonist. I mean, he manages to keep all six of the Avengers busy and turned against each other for most of the movie just by letting the mind stone wreak havoc.

Supporting characters: 6 bloody trading cards out of 10. This includes Fury, Coulson, Hill, Dr. Selvig, and kinda Pepper. This movie was more about the Avengers and not S.H.I.E.L.D., so the supporting characters are a little outshone by the heroes. Pepper is put on a plane right away, Dr. Selvig is working for Loki most of the time, and I honestly don’t remember much of what Hill did. Coulson’s death was a great sacrifice that brought all the Avengers together, even though it was totally undone in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Female characters: 5 Bechdels out of 10. This one doesn’t pass the test, but it does have three good female characters in it, even if only one of them can be considered a lead.

Action scenes: 9 punches out of 10. Pretty much the entire last third of the movie is a giant fight scene, and it’s pretty freakin’ awesome. So many great moments: Hulk taking out the giant space whale in a single punch, Tony using Cap’s shield to reflect his beams, Hawkeye shooting an arrow right at Loki (a moving target) from like a mile away and Loki catching it with a smirk before it explodes. Not to mention other scenes like Thor vs. Hulk, and Natasha’s interrogation, where she beats up a room full of men while tied to a chair. Ugh, just great!

Stan Lee: 4.5 cameos out of 5. The fact that he’s playing chess with another old man in the park, and is also super skeptical about the Avengers even existing, is just hilarious.

Charisma: 8.5 points out of 10. The movie definitely feels very complete and leaves you satisfied. It doesn’t really have time to deal with any deeper themes, because it’s more focused on action rather than character. But character development is more left for the individual movies, not the crossovers.

In total: 48.5 out of 65. About 75%. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a much favorable score of 94%.

And that’s the end of Phase One of the MCU. Onto Iron Man 3!

#marvel #the avengers #great marvel rewatch of 2k18

4 notes · View notes

invisibleanonymousmonsters · 7 years

Text

My Eyes - Part 12

Pairing: Bucky; Steve x Fem/Reader

Word Count: 4,126

Story Description: Steve is a good man, America’s golden boy, a hero. He’s Captain America for christ’s sake! So it’s normal to want what he has… right? Bucky knows he doesn’t deserve her. He doesn’t even deserve the second chance at life he’s been given. But Bucky can never let him know. Steve can never find out that his friend is in love with his best girl.

Story takes place post “CA: CW” and all tension has been resolved.

Previously On...

“Mom!” As soon as Y/N walked out of the community center, her son was sprinting towards her. Bucky watched form a distance, leaning against the car with his arms crossed and a grin on his lips.

Y/N was beaming as she wrapped Jimmy into her arms. “Oh, I missed you! One week is too long. Let’s never do that again.” She laughed as she kissed the top of her son’s head.

“Is Uncle Bucky staying for dinner?” He asked gently as she guided them to the car.

“I think that can be arranged.” Y/N smirked and gave Bucky a wink.

As soon as they got home, Jimmy raced out of the car to go find Porthos. He missed the dog almost as much as he missed his mom.

“He’s a speedy little punk, isn’t he?” Bucky chuckled as he watched Jimmy sprint to the front door. It seemed like the boy was always running somewhere.

Y/N sighed, not seeming to find the same entertainment as she watched her son. Bucky immediately noticed it.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Bucky asked as he turned off the car and gently gripped her shoulder.

His touch brought her gaze to him slowly. “What are we going to say to him?”

Bucky nodded in understanding. “It’s up to you, doll.” As much as he thought of Jimmy as his own son, the boy’s life was under Y/N’s guidance and control. He would never encroach on her parenting.

“Well… what are we doing?” Y/N blushed slightly and looked at her feet as she asked the question. She hadn’t realized until now that they really hadn’t discussed their situation in fine detail.

Bucky leaned across the car and kissed Y/N slowly. After a minute or two, he finally released himself from her. “It seems I haven’t made myself clear.” There was no playfulness in his tone as his gaze split into her soul. “I’m not planning on going anywhere. I’m here…for as long as you’ll have me.”

Y/N let out a sigh of relief. Now she felt silly for even questioning his intentions. But it all was starting to seem too good to be true. After losing her entire world when Steve died, she couldn’t help but expect the floor to drop out from underneath her any time she felt a tiny bit of happiness.

“It seems a little ridiculous for us to be calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, doesn’t it?” Y/N laughed lightly.

Bucky smiled at her point. “What about partner?”

She cringed. “Ew. Too businessy.”

He laughed. “Ugh… lover?”

She narrowed her eyes at the sassiness. “Too cheesy.”

“Your gentleman caller?”

Jimmy was coming out the front door with Porthos now. He had a frisbee in his hand, ready to play with the dog.

Y/N scoffed and friskily hit Bucky’s shoulder. Luckily it was his flesh arm. She got out of the car. “You’re useless.” She teased.

Bucky got out of the car too, tossed the cars keys in his hand and caught them gracefully. He went to her side and muttered, “I guess you’ll just have to deal with calling me your boyfriend until I can convince you to be my wife.”

Y/N abruptly stopped walking and her face exposed how completely unexpected his comment was to her. Bucky chuckled, happy that he got the exact reaction he was looking for. He kept walking towards Jimmy.

“Why is mom looking at you like that?” Jimmy asked Bucky quietly.

Bucky laughed looking back at Y/N, who was still frozen in place. “That’s how women get when they realize for a moment that they don’t know everything.”

“I’ve never seen her look like that.” Jimmy smiled.

Bucky nodded and shrugged. “Well… it doesn’t happen very often.”

---

“Can’t you stay a little bit longer?” Jimmy asked quietly. It was so sad that Bucky almost gave in.

“I have to head back to the compound. But I’ll be back sooner than you think.” He tried to assure the boy. “Plus, you start middle school tomorrow. You won’t want to hang around with little old me. You’ll be too busy making new friends.”

Jimmy’s face didn’t change from its disappointed frown. Instead he marched away without giving Bucky a hug goodbye.

Bucky sighed as he watched the boy slam the front door behind him.

“He’s just stressed about school tomorrow. Don’t take it personally.” Y/N tried to reassure him.

Bucky nodded. “Come here.” He grabbed her wrist and brought her into his strong embrace.

“I won’t lie,” Y/N breathed into his chest. “I’m with Jimmy on wanting you to stay longer.”

“I know, doll.” Bucky replied. “But I have to tie up some loose ends with the team.”

Y/N pulled away just enough to look him in the eye. “You’re really going to do this? You’ll just give up everything for us?” Bucky nodded. “It’s the easiest decision I’ve made since I escaped Hydra.”

With that, Y/N crashed her lips onto his like it was her last attempt at keeping him there.

The past week has been some carefree fantasy. All they had done was eaten, drank, laughed, and made love. They had lain on the couch, reading their separate books with their limbs overlapping each other. Bucky insisted on making her dinner every night. She taught him a few things in the garden. Mostly he just liked watching her as she planted seeds and watered her flowers. Bucky quickly learned that the best way to coax her out of bed in the morning was with morning sex and a cup of coffee. The week had been sweet, untroubled, and loving.

Now the real world was irrevocably seeping back into their lives.

And it felt too soon.

Bucky finally had to force his body away from hers. “I’ll be back soon, Y/N. I promise.” He kissed her forehead and turned toward the jet’s platform. Y/N wrapped her sweater tightly around her body as she watched the jet lift off and disappear into the sky.

She slowly made her way back into house.

“Ugh…Mom… Why were you kissing Uncle Bucky?” Jimmy asked.

She gasped in surprise, expecting him to be pouting in his bedroom from Bucky’s departure.

Y/N couldn’t help but swear under her breath. Jimmy heard it, but pretended not to.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that.” Y/N sighed. She moved to the kitchen and sat at the counter, patting the seat next to her for Jimmy. He slowly sat down.

“Bucky and I are… together.” Y/N figured the more straightforward and calm she was about the whole thing, the less traumatizing it would be for Jimmy.

“Like…together together?” Jimmy asked.

Y/N nodded. “Is that okay?”

Jimmy thought about it for a second. “Does that mean he’ll be here a lot more?”

Y/N smiled at she could read her son’s subtle growing excitement. “Yeah, I guess it does.”

Jimmy frowned slightly. “I thought Uncle Bucky was dad’s best friend…”

She suddenly felt sick at the comment. “I know it feels kind of weird, Jimmy. But sometimes we can’t help who we love.”

“So you love him?”

Y/N nodded. “I’ve always loved him. He was your dad’s only family. But I’m still learning how to love him the way he deserves.”

Jimmy nodded slowly. He was processing his mother’s words carefully.

“You can be honest. Are you okay with this, James?” Y/N gripped his chin lovingly and made him look at her.

“Of course I am, mom. It’s Bucky.”

His statement warmed Y/N’s heart. There was no other man in the world that her son loved and trusted more. Logically, there was no better match for his mom. He already looked at Bucky like an implemented father.

Then, as if they hadn’t just had one of their most serious discussions, Jimmy jumped out of his seat. “Mom, will you help me pick out my outfit for tomorrow?”

Y/N laughed and messed up his hair. “Of course, sweetheart.” Next she was slowly following her son who had already sprinted upstairs to his bedroom.

But a lump formed at her throat. Jimmy was growing up so fast…Too fast, in her opinion. Despite him being safe from the world of villains, she could never protect him from everything. She knew Jimmy was picked on at school. However she was oblivious to the physical bullying that forced Jimmy to reach out to Bucky. But Y/N hoped middle school would be slightly easier, that he’d make more friends.

---

Bucky shifted his weight awkwardly. Having the entire team staring at him was unsettling, especially when he hadn’t just shared the greatest news.

“Barnes, I think I speak for everyone when I say that you’ve paid your dues.” To everyone’s surprise, it was Clint that broke the silence. “You’ve been fighting a war that wasn’t yours since the early 1900s.”

Bucky was completely caught off guard.

“Don’t look so surprised, Bucky. We would’ve tried to convince you to step down a long time ago if we knew it would actually make you stay out of trouble.” Natasha added.

Bucky looked to Wanda and she just gave him a warm and reassuring smirk.

“You’ve given your life to your country, Sergeant Barnes. You don’t owe the world anything else.” Fury’s word was law.

“If it’s life or death… if the world needs me-“ Bucky started.

“We’ll call you.” Tony interrupted harshly. “Get the hell out of here, Barnes. You finally got the girl. Now try not to mess it up, okay?”

It was Tony’s blessing that Bucky needed to hear. He looked at the billionaire as if to ask, ‘Do you finally forgive me? Have I finally done enough good to make up for my evil?’

It was tragic and unfair for Bucky to have put so much pressure on himself like that. But his conscience couldn’t help it.

“I-I got to find a place to stay. I’ll move out as soon as I can.” Bucky muttered. He suddenly realized all the changes he had to make. He couldn’t just up and move in with Y/N. It was too much, too soon.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Barnes. You’ll always have your room here.” Tony rolled his eyes at the drama of it all. “While you’re at it, you can always take a jet to see Y/N.”

Bucky breathed in relief. This was not at all how he expected his departure to go. He thought someone would fight back at least. But he should’ve known better. Everyone in the room loved him… Even Fury and Stark. They wanted what was best for him. Clint was right: he had fought too many wars that were not his own. He had never been given a chance at a normal life. Bucky deserved to be human.

---

Bucky was moving about his room, packing a couple duffle bags with essentials. His head snapped up when he heard someone knock on the door.

Natasha came slowly strutting in with a sad smirk.

Bucky hadn’t realized until he saw her face that the people here were going to miss him being around all the time.

Nat moved to sit on the edge of his bed and he continued to pack things. “I’m happy for you, Barnes.” She muttered softly.

“As much as I hate admitting this… I think I owe you, Nat.”

She smirks at that. “Please continue.”

Bucky playfully narrowed his gaze. “Don’t push it.”

“Just promise I get to be in the wedding.” She winked.

He scoffed at that.

Their conversation was cut short by his cell phone ringing. His eyes immediately saw Y/N’s name on the screen and he panicked. She’d never called him before. The only other time had been Jimmy when he witnessed Brian hitting her.

Before it could even ring a second time, he was picking up. “Y/N? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Jimmy’s fine.” She quickly clarified. But Bucky could hear the nasally sound in her voice. She had been crying and still sort of was. “I mean… everything’s not fine. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you by calling.” She was embarrassed now.

Nat seemed to read the situation perfectly and tiptoed out the door, leaving Bucky alone in his room.

He sat on the edge of the bed. “Shh. No, it’s fine. I just got worried. Y/N, what’s going on?” His voice was calm, trying to coax information out of her without stressing her out further.

“Porthos wouldn’t get out of bed this morning. So I took him to the vet. He has a tumor…it’s-it’s been there for a while and causing him a lot of pain. They said the most humane thing to do is put him down. It’s too late to treat.”

Bucky exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m sorry, Y/N.”

“I feel ridiculous calling you about a dog. But its just Jimmy’s not here and I’m sitting in my car, at the vet’s parking lot, crying by myself. I didn’t know who else to call…”

“Y/N,” Bucky urged. “It’s not ridiculous. I’m glad you called.” He took in a deep breath. “When are they going to do it?”

She sniffed. “Ugh… tomorrow night. I thought I could give him one last day of happiness or something. I don’t know…I’m being silly.”

“Not you’re not, doll. Listen, I’m going to fly back out there tonight, okay?”

“Really?” Y/N had stopped breathing.

“Of course.”

---

Bucky arrived later than expected. And he wasn’t too fond that Y/N just left the front door unlocked. Yes, she lived in solitude. But he still worried about her safety.

His footsteps were completely silent as he quietly closed the door behind him. His ears instantly picked up on a television playing in the living room. Flickering candles were the only other source of light in the room beside the TV.

Y/N had fallen asleep on the couch.

To Bucky’s relief, her eyes weren’t red or swollen. She was probably trying to keep it together for Jimmy’s sake.

Bucky sighed and felt a sad smile spread on his lips at the sight of her. He’d just been here yesterday, but he felt like he’d come home. He quickly blew out the candles, making a mental note to remind Y/N not to do that so much. Carefully trying not to wake her, he slid his arms under her back and knees, lifting her from the couch. Her arms automatically wrapped around his neck and she moved her head to the crook of his neck.

Despite his smooth movements, Y/N started to stir in his arms. “Bucky?” She sighed gently. Even though her body knew it couldn’t be anyone else.

“I’m here, doll.” He whispered in her ear before kissing the top of her head.

Bucky slowly slid her into the bed. He started backing away, fully intending on sleeping on the couch alone.

But Y/N grabbed his wrist and stopped him. “Where do you think you’re going?” She asked huskily, now she was more awake from his arrival.

Bucky shifted his weight awkwardly. “With Jimmy…I don’t want-”

“It’s fine. Stop being so old-fashioned.” Y/N laughed lightly. Then her eyes darkened. “I don’t want to be alone.” She admitted embarrassingly.

Bucky nodded. Secretly he didn’t want to leave her alone either. But he was just trying to be appropriate and not impose on Y/N and Jimmy’s close family dynamic.

He slid onto the other side of the bed and Y/N shifted so she was lying on her side, facing him. He brushed some hair behind her ear.

“Where’s Porthos?” Bucky asked softly. He hadn’t seen or heard the dog anywhere when he walked in.

“I let him sleep in Jimmy’s room tonight.” She sighed.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N.”

But she shook her head. If they started talking about it, she would lose it. And she needed to get herself together for her son. It was already hard enough on him. “Thank you for coming back, Buck.”

He pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms protectively around her and resting his head on top of hers. “Of course, doll. I’m always going to be here for you.” He felt the need to constantly remind her. Because Bucky knew that a part of Y/N would never believe it. Steve had probably promised the same things and he couldn’t keep those promises. As much as Y/N wanted to believe Bucky, she wouldn’t allow herself to rely on having another person to depend on.

---

Jimmy refused to sit anywhere but on the floor with Porthos. The cold linoleum tiles of the vet’s waiting room couldn’t have been comfortable. But the boy didn’t care. Porthos seemed to know this was his end and lazily closed his eyes, as he was overcome with Jimmy’s petting. Even at death’s door, the dog was trying to comfort the boy.

Meanwhile, Bucky held Y/N’s hand. She hadn’t said much that morning, which only worried Bucky more.

“Y/F/N Y/L/N?” A vet finally called out.

Jimmy jumped, knowing what it meant.

Y/N pat her son’s shoulder. “Come on.”

The boy reluctantly stood up and guided Porthos to the vet.

As soon as Bucky lifted the dog onto the table, Jimmy’s lip started quivering. “Mom, do we have to do this?” Tears were starting to form.

“Yes, sweetheart.” She answered softly.

The vet stuck a needle in Porthos’ vein. “I just gave him a sedative so he won’t feel a thing. He’s just very relaxed now.”

Then Jimmy sprinted out the door.

Y/N looked at Bucky in desperation.

“Go, doll. I’ll stay with Porthos.” Bucky assured her quietly.

The vet, used to behaviors like this, muttered something about giving them some time and coming back to finish.

She left Bucky alone with the dog.

Bucky leaned forward, petting Porthos’ head. “I realized I owe you a big thank you.” He whispered softly. “For looking after Y/N and Jimmy all this time… especially when I was too much of chicken to do it myself.”

The dog just huffed.

“Steve would be so proud of you, protecting his best girl. You did good, buddy.”

Porthos lazily tried to lick Bucky’s hand.

Just then Y/N came back with her hands on Jimmy’s shoulder. The boy eyes were red and his cheeks were wet with tears.

“You should say your goodbyes, James.” Y/N whispered softly and kissed the top of her son’s head.

The boy whispered into the dog’s ear and gave him countless kisses. Porthos whined, sensing the boy’s distress. Jimmy stepped away as the vet returned.

Y/N looked at Bucky with sad eyes. “Can you take Jimmy? I’m going to stay with him until…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.

Bucky’s foot lightly tapped as he sat in the waiting room with Jimmy. He couldn’t stand being stuck out here when Y/N needed him.

---

“Did you know Porthos when he was a puppy?” Jimmy pulled Bucky out of his thoughts with his mutter. Then the boy sniffed and whipped snot on the sleeve of his shirt.

Bucky looked down at him and found Steve’s eyes looking up at him, already waiting. “No, I didn’t. Your dad got Porthos for your mom before I met her.”

Jimmy’s eyes widened. “My dad got him.” His mood lightened every time he learned something new about his father.

“Your mom never told you?” Bucky asked calmly.

Jimmy just shook his head.

Bucky sensed that the memory was a good way to get Jimmy’s mind away from the grief, if only for a moment.

“Your dad always worried about your mom when he was away. So he got her Porthos as a guard dog. Trained him himself. Porthos terrified everyone that got within 5 feet of your mom. All the Avengers are still scared of him.”

Jimmy smiled at that but then his brow furrowed. “But he’s never like that with me!”

Bucky chuckled and put his arms around the boy. “That’s because he loves you.”

Jimmy sighed. “I’m gonna miss him.”

Bucky frowned. “I know, bud. Me too.”

---

After they left the vet, Bucky went in full parent mode. Y/N didn’t speak when she returned to the waiting room. She only hugged Jimmy, who started crying as soon as he saw his mother without their dog.

Bucky made dinner while Y/N and Jimmy huddled together on the couch in the living room. Jimmy had put on a movie.

No one really talked. Eventually, Bucky glanced at the clock and told the boy it was time for him to go to bed.

When he returned downstairs from changing into sweats, he found Y/N sitting at the kitchen counter. Her eyes were glassy and her mind was not in the present.

“You okay?” Bucky asked gently. Of course she wasn’t. But her silence was starting to worry him.

Y/N just shrugged.

Bucky slowly sat at the kitchen counter across from her.

“Doll, you don’t have to be so stoic.” He offered. Jimmy was asleep. There was no one she had to pretend for anymore.

His encouragement seemed to summon all of her emotions to finally be released. Her bottom lip trembled just like Jimmy’s and her tears flooded over.

Bucky instantly got up and wrapped her in his embrace.

“I’m s-sorry.” She stuttered into his chest as her tears soaked his t-shirt. “It’s just, I keep thinking about Steve. It’s like Porthos was the last thing I had left of him… Like I lost a connection.”

“I know, doll.” Bucky sighed as he rubbed her back.

“And I’m just…upset that Jimmy had to go through this.”

“Jimmy’s a strong kid. He’ll be fine.” Bucky reassured her.

Y/N finally pulled away slightly, but kept her arms around him.

Bucky brushed the wet hair away from her tear soaked skin. “He was a good dog.” He stated softly.

Y/N smiled sadly. “He was the best dog.” She corrected.

Bucky dipped his head. “Do you wanna watch another movie?”

She shook her head. “Can we just go to bed?”

He nodded and kissed her head.

---

Bucky woke first at the calling.

A needle dropping could wake the super soldier after the training and Hydra brainwashing he went through.

But he was surprised that Y/N quickly followed.

“Mom?” There it was again.

A minute later, Jimmy was stumbling into their bedroom. Y/N quickly sat up and her heart started racing when she saw that her son’s skin was pale and sweaty.

Bucky reached over and turned on the lamp.

Jimmy finding them in bed together would’ve been awkward if they both weren’t so scared.

“Mom, I don’t feel well.” Jimmy groaned as he was keeled over faintly.

Y/N jumped out of bed and knelt beside him. Her hand pressed to his forehead. Jimmy’s skin was on fire.

“Tell me what hurts, James.” Y/N urged.

“My whole body. And my head… I have a really bad migraine, mom. Bucky, can you turn the light off? It hurts.” Jimmy whined as he shielded his eyes.

Bucky snapped it off almost immediately.

“Jimmy, I want you to go lay down in bed for a second, okay? I’ll be there in just a second.” Y/N ordered soothingly.

The boy nodded and slowly made his way back to his bedroom.

Y/N quickly walked to Bucky. “It’s happening…the enhancement.”

Bucky swore under his breath.

“It can be triggered by stress.” Y/N quickly explained. It made sense. But her eyes still held too much worry. “Buck, my fever wasn’t that bad. Jimmy seems to be way worse. I don’t know what to do.” Her voice was just on the edge of panic.

Bucky grasped her face, instantly calming her. “We can take him to Banner and the other doctors at the compound. They’ll know what to do.”

“I-I can’t take him there…” Y/N muttered hastily.

Jimmy had never been to the Avengers’ compound. Even though he knew all of them from their visits. Y/N had made it clear from the beginning that Jimmy was never to be brought to their world. They were only allowed to visit at her home.

“Y/N, the place is filled with people that have been through the same thing. It’s the only thing we can do. I’m not going to let anything happen to him, okay?”

She was lost in thought. After a few moments, she finally nodded in her head in agreement. “I’m coming with.”

“’Course.” Bucky bowed his head.

Y/N left the room and he could hear her telling Jimmy that they needed to pack a bag for him. She gave him few details, but her son seemed to listen to her stress filled demands.

Bucky grabbed his phone and called the compound, giving them a heads up.

His stomach suddenly twisted when he realized all of this would end with Jimmy being enhanced in some way. He prayed that it didn’t ruin the boy’s life.

---

Part 13

As always, like/reblog/leave comments/leave a fucking book review lol

#marvel fic #dad!bucky #dad bucky #marvel fanfic #bucky fanfic #bucky fic #bucky angst #bucky fluff #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes x you #marvel reader insert #my eyes part 12 #bucky imagine

632 notes · View notes

tonystarktogo · 7 years

Note

Can you give me a Villain! Rumlow going on dates with (kidnapping) Tony and the Team not being supportive even though he starts assisting Iron Man on the field and practically lives in the tower Maybe post CA:CW for the angst?

Brock and Tony? Why, of course, darling! I will always support this pairing!

Btw this is my 1000th Post!!! So of course I had to make it a little longer :) I even managed to add in some light bitter Sunday-ness, but I kept it very light, mostly just focused on Tony moving on. I think you should be able to enjoy this no matter how you stand on the CW fallout, but let me know if you disagree and I will tag it accordingly.

Also tagging @darkly-stark and @susieeslei because Brock and Tony.

It starts with one of Tony’s spur-of-the-moment decisions that always end up being either phenomenal or catastrophic, and never anything in between. The vote is still out on this particular one though.

Because Tony is seated in his favourite restaurant when he walks in–more like slams the doors open and pushes a startled waiter out of his way as he strides towards Tony’s nicely decorated table. And just as he’s been served his main course too.

For a long moment Tony blinks up at Brock Rumlow who is positively brimming with volatile determination, then looks back down at his plate. The food, as always, looks delicious.

“Why don’t you join me?” Tony blurts out before he can think better of it.

Rumlow stills, a flutter of what might have been confusion briefly flashing across his face.

“Please, sit down,” Tony gestures towards the unoccupied chair, having already decided to roll with this. He’s not been gutted yet, which can only be a good sign. “My treat of course.” He flashes his brightest smile and–much to his surprise, not that he’ll ever admit it–Rumlow does indeed sit down.

He looks as surprised as Tony which makes Tony feel better about this situation. Resisting the urge to gape–go with it, go with it, totally going with it–Tony turns and waves over the first waiter who crawls out from where he’s taken cover under a table.

“Could you get me another menu, please?” Tony asks with all the nonchalance his life as a public persona has trained into him. “Oh, and another whiskey.” He takes one look at Rumlow who is sort of glaring–or maybe that’s his normal expression, who knows–at the menu and adds, “Make that two.”

Rumlow spends most of the meal glaring daggers at anyone and anything unlucky enough to catch his attention. Tony spends most of the meal expecting a fight to break out any second.

The food is delicious though.

From one moment to the next the bar goes silent. It’s Tony’s first clue that something is wrong. The second is the slow, measured footsteps cutting through the silence, definitely, definitely heading in his direction. The third is the one everyone turns in their chairs to stare at him.

Tony refuses to turn around from where he’s sitting at the bar, slumped over an almost empty glass. There is probably a gun aimed at his head by now, but fuck if he cares.

It’s been a shit day long before lunch time got around. Tony is in no mood to entertain anyone, would-be killer or otherwise.

“Want a drink?” he asks, not bothering to look whom he’s offering it too.

Another moment of silence passes, before a familiar voice grumbles “You’re paying, Stark,” and well.

That’s how Tony finds himself sharing a drink with Brock Rumlow for the second time this month. It’s not as bad as it probably should be.

It wasn’t supposed to be a thing. Really. Tony doesn’t even realise it’s become a thing until the bartender at his standard I-want-to-disappear-and-not-have-anyone-talk-to-me-the-whole-time-I’m-there bar greets him with a “Your usual?” and fills two glasses.

The worst part is, when Rumlow slides into his seat next to Tony a couple of minutes later, he’s not even surprised.

It has definitely become a thing.

Tony likes to think he’s quite good at keeping his private and professional life separated–whether or not the evidence supports this statement is another matter.

In any case, despite Brock Rumlow’s unfortunate status as a villain, meeting up with the man semi-regularly for a drink and a long, surprisingly comfortable silence, has been uncomplicated. Almost suspiciously so. Tony has JARVIS on the look-out for any trap Rumlow might be trying to lay, but so far nothing has come from it.

Tony isn’t about to let his guard down, of course, but for the time being figuring out Rumlow’s hidden motives isn’t a top priority. He’s got more urgent problems. Like that giant, ball of a glibbering, highly corrosive mass currently eating away at this suit. His metal suit. At a disturbing pace.

If Tony had still been able to move, it might not have been such a big problem. He probably could’ve gotten out of this whatever-it-is before the acid reached his fleshy parts. As it is, the suit is down. So is the communication. And Tony is effectively trapped.

It’s not the kind of death he would’ve wished for himself, but genius or not, he’s rapidly running out of time and options.

There is a sudden jolt, and then Tony is flying. He hits the ground hard a moment later, accompanied by a lot of creaks and cracks, the suit far too damaged to bear the weight of the fall the way he usually would.

His suit is little more than a deadweight still, dented and torn open in several places at this point, and it takes Tony a couple of minutes to bend the emergency release lash to his will. Literally. By the time he’s managed to free himself, the battle is finally over, and the rest of his team are looking for him.

Tony brushes them off with a quick and an easy smile. Just another near-death experience, hitting it close but not too close. He’s getting used to that. It’s not a big deal.

Later that night, Tony has JARVIS pull up any and all surveillance data on the fight. Until he finds the hooded figure reaching into the corrosive goo and pulling him out. Until he identifies the gait, the self-made claw-like conceptions used to drag him free.

He deletes all the evidence moments later, a pensive frown on his face.

Two days later Tony buys Brock Rumlow another drink. Neither of them mention the last Avengers’ mission.

There’s a dirty spot on the bar, right next to a small bowl of cashews. Tony would know. He’s been staring at it for the past seventeen minutes. At least it hasn’t moved.

A drink is set down in front of him with a soft click. His usual order. Except he’s never been to this place before.

Tony turns around, only to come face to face with Brock Rumlow.

Absently, Tony notes that he’s not even surprised.

Still. He raises a questioning eyebrow.

There’s no ‘Sorry your team is broken beyond repair’ or ‘Must have sucked to get back from a Siberian bunker without a functional suit, how’d you do it?’ or even ‘Fine mess, those Accords, huh? How’re you holding up?’.

All Tony gets is a non-committed shrug, and a grumbled, “Figured it’s my turn to pay the tab.”

Somehow, it’s enough.

There’s another mutant kid running around midtown, that wants the world to pay for all the unfulfilled hopes and crushed dreams, for all the times it was scorned and abandoned and left behind.

Tony can relate. He refuses to stand by and let it happen all the same.

Vision and Spiderman are slowly finding their rhythm in a fight, but the Avengers–what’s left of them–don’t hold the same kind of power they used to anymore.

When Crossbones joins the fray, Tony finds himself hoping he won’t have to fight on two fronts. It’s the first time in a while that his hopes are met.

Officially Tony can’t turn Crossbones’ help down, whenever Rumlow feels like offering. It burns, just a bit, even now, that for all that it presents a convenient excuse, it’s also true.

Rhodey is recovering, but it’s a slow process, and three players in the field aren’t enough. Especially when you’re on the defence and have civilians to protect.

Unofficially working with Rumlow isn’t bad, not that Tony would ever admit such a thing. Maybe he’s a little too fond of violence sometimes, a little too careless when it comes to collateral damage, but he works well with the team–are they a team yet, when Tony can’t ever bring himself to refer to them as such?–and hasn’t let them down yet.

After one of their less destructive skirmishes, Tony hands Rumlow a transmitter for one of their frequencies–not the official one of course. It’s as close to an induction as they get, with the UN committee for inter- and extra-national security watching them closely.

Rumlow settles a lot of their shared tabs these days.

He pays.

Tony used to check. He hasn’t bothered in a while.

The first time Rumlow kidnaps Tony is right after a gruesome battle that almost costs Spiderman his life. He just–takes Tony.

Once Spidey is confirmed to be alive and well, Tony doesn’t even have the strength to fight him anymore.

It’s not as bad as it could have been. There are no evil lairs, to terrified minions, no threats. There’s just a beach–Tony has forgotten how much he missed it, the crashing waves, the smell of salt and water, the wind–no people as far as Tony can see, except for them. They drink iced coffee, and kick sand at each other’s feet, and Rumlow never comments on the fact that Tony doesn’t go deeper than ankle-height into the water.

The public is freaking out. General Ross is frothing at the mouth. Spidey sends a ‘Back at school now will you stop having FRIDAY set my alarm already?’ text, followed by a lot of glaring emojis.

Rumlow hands him a virgin Pina Colada.

Tony hasn’t felt this warm since Siberia.

They come back eventually. His former team mates. It was always going to happen, Tony knows. Eventually. He’s been preparing for this day from the beginning, perhaps even before they ever fought at that German airport.

Doesn’t mean Tony is ready when it finally happens.

Rumlow isn’t there when the plane touches the ground. Tony grits his teeth together and smiles for the cameras.

Working together again, the new Avengers side by side with the old ones, goes about as smoothly as you would expect. Which is to say not at all. They’re out of sync, and it becomes painfully obvious the first time they’re sent out together how much it affects them in the field.

They win. Barely.

Tony sends Spidey home before Rogers even has the chance to announce a recap. He doesn’t want the kid around when the shouting starts, and there will be shouting. All of them are too frustrated with their less than stellar performance for a calm, rational discussion.

At least, Tony assumes they are. He’s never gets the chance to find out for sure. Because that’s when Crossbones shows up.

With minions. A lot of minions.

It takes Tony approximately fifteen seconds to work out that they’re a distraction. It takes the rest of the definitely-not-a-team half a minute longer.

By that point, it’s already too late: Crossbones and Iron Man have disappeared without a trace.

“You can’t keep kidnapping me every time I’m–” Tony trails off. Can’t quite bring himself to say the unspoken ‘about to be alone with them’ out loud.

It would reveal too much. Acknowledge too much. Tony isn’t very good at acknowledging what he doesn’t want to be true. Or what he wants too much to be true, for that matter.

“I’m a villain,” Brock–he’s been Brock for a while now, and Tony still isn’t sure whether he likes that or not–snorts disdainful. “I can do whatever I want.”

There’ll be a lot of screaming later. A lot of accusations and rumours and arguments. Of that Tony has no doubt.

He leans a little closer with a teasing smile all the same. “Oh?” He hums thoughtfully. “And what is it you want right now?”

The world is a mess. The Avengers are broken beyond repair. Crossbones loves violence a little too much. Brock has a nice smile.

Tony is warm.

Tony Stark’s spur-of-the-moment decisions always end up being either phenomenal or catastrophic, and never anything in between.

Sometimes, on rare occasions, they are both.

Please let me know what you think, guys! Have you boarded this particular rare pair ship yet?

571 notes · View notes

comic-movieheroesranked · 6 years

Text

Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2010) Part II

We’ve reached a decade of lists! To be honest the year 2010 was one of the weakest years when it came to decent comic movies but there were still some good ones! We get two sequels with Iron Man 2 and Predators and the debut of Kick-Ass, The Losers, Jonah Hex, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, and one of the worst movies in cinema, The Last Airbender. Without any more delay here’s #50-26!

*SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL HIGHLIGHTED MOVIES ABOVE*

50. Firelord Ozai (The Last Airbender)

"My son has failed me."

Firelord Ozai was shown a lot more in the film than he was in the show during Book One. To me, this was a mistake. In the show, Firelord Ozai had this Big Brother creepy aura that kept fear in everyone who talked about him and made the viewers know that he was the most dangerous person in their world. In the movie we see him calmly strolling next to some flowers and while he does look powerful, he kinda looks beatable and not much of a threat.

49. Noland (Predators)

"I'm the one that got away. The one you don't fuck with."

At first I thought Noland was someone that group needed. He's survived the planet for several seasons and has even managed to kill a couple of Predators himself. Only problem? He's crazy. He tries to take out the group which forces Royce to signal one of the Predators to find them. Noland tries to take off but is quickly blown to pieces by the Predators he's been avoiding for years.

48. Sokka (The Last Airbender)

"I always end up getting wet."

I hated Sokka. He wasn't funny at all and in the show, some of the best comedy comes from Sokka. It seriously bothered me every time he showed up on the screen because I knew it would be nothing like the Sokka from the film, in the worst way possible. We also didn't get to see him begin his journey of becoming the great leader he becomes by the time Book Three rolls around and his relationship with Princess Yue fell completely flat.

47. Natalie 'Envy' Adams (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)

"You just headbutted my boyfriend so hard he burst."

Envy was Scott's big ex that dumped him when her band got signed and moved away. Now a big star, she returns so her current boyfriend can destroy Scott once and for all. She mainly just eggs Todd on but once he's destroyed she moves on with her band. I will say that I really liked the song her band performed at their concert. It was catchy.

46. Happy Hogan (Iron Man 2)

"I got him!"

Happy is back with a little more screen time in the second film. Still serving Tony Stark, Happy shows he's just as loyal as Pepper is when it comes to helping Tony when he's in need of it. However, it seems he prefers Pepper more as he decides to work for her once she briefly cuts ties with Tony. We also see him bravely take down one of the bad guys...while Black Widow takes care of the other twelve men.

45. Nick Fury (Iron Man 2)

"Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe."

When Tony Stark hits rock bottom, Nick Fury shows up to smack some sense into him. He reveals Black Widow is an agent of his, Tony's father is a co-founder for S.H.E.I.L.D., and lets Tony know what elemental metal he can use as source of energy that won't kill him. He does all this in a matter of one scene then takes off to probably go recruit more Avengers.

44. Max (The Losers)

"I've done a lot in four months, Wade. I'm a very busy man."

The big baddie of the film, but he barely made an impression of me. At first I thought he was going to be this evil, calculating guy that killed 25 kids and felt nothing but he turned out to be just really rich and could pay people to do what he wanted. He, himself, wasn't that imposing so it was a surprise to no one that once his goons and his money were gone he was reduced to someone that gets mugged on the bus.

43. Justin Hammer (Iron Man 2)

"I'd love to leave my door unlocked at night, but this ain't Canada."

This dude reminded me of a horrible used car salesman that just wouldn't shut up. Seriously this guy is the very definition of a cockroach. He first tries to take down Tony with the government but when that fails he tries to be buddy-buddy with him so he can get a slot in Tony's expo. When Stark doesn't fall for it, he then starts funding the guy who tried to kill Stark to basically copy him so Hammer could get all the glory. I'm glad no one took him seriously but something tells me he really means to get back at Pepper for having him arrested.

42. Katara (The Last Airbender)

"I'm the only water bender left in the Southern Water Tribe."

Besides her whiteness, Katara didn't bother me THAT MUCH. She seemed to have this worried look on her face the whole time and her narration just didn't have the same impact as the on in the show. With all the cuts to make the movie shorter, it seemed Katara got the short end of the stick most of the time. Aang takes her spot when it comes to inspiring the earthbenders that are imprisoned and her mastery of waterbending is completely taken out as well. Even her epic fight against Zuko is shortened in favor of a fight between Aang and him.

41. Kim Pine, Stephen Stills, Neil Nordegraf (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)

"We are here to sell out and make money and stuff."

The members of the Sex Bob-Ombs! We got Stephen, the vocals and someone who just wants the band to reach the next level in their career so bad that it's made him paranoid; Kim, who used to date Scott in high school and now seems to hate him and insult him every chance she gets when she's not hating every other female drummer she sees; and Young Neil, who's basically the Great Value version of Scott and is only in the band when Scott can't play. They travel with Scott as he deals with all of Ramona's exes with the hope of getting signed but when that opportunity comes with Gideon, Ramona's top ex, they decide friendship is better and help cheer on Scott to victory!

40. Katie Deauxma (Kick-Ass)

"I'd fuck his brains out if I got the chance."

Katie first had Dave on her radar when she thought he was gay and being outcast by the entire school. Wanting to be there for him, she offered her friendship and the two became super close through the movie. When Dave reveals he's Kick-Ass and that he isn't actually gay, they start a relationship. It's Katie's disapproval in the vigilante life that gets Dave to quit being Kick-Ass for a brief moment and they continue to date after Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl beat Frank and Red Mist.

39. Gideon Gordon Graves (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)

"Game. Over."

Gideon is Ramona's most recent ex, who started the League of Exes when she dumped him. He has all the money in the world and uses it against Scott every way he can. He was honestly my least favorite ex. He wasn't as fun as the others and only dated Ramona because he had a mind control device on her. He's destroyed with the combined effort of Scott and Knives, allowing Ramona to date whoever she wants.

38. Tracker Predator and Falconer Predator (Predators)

*clicking sounds*

These two Predators were part of the trio hunting our group of humans. As a group they were able to take down a couple of them and on their own they were pretty impressive as well. Tracker Predator managed to kill Noland, who's been avoiding the Predators for years and mortally wounds Nikolai before the other blows the both up. Falconer Predator tried to do things the honorable way and take on Hanzo one on one in a sword fight. He dealt a finishing blow, but Hanzo also managed to bring him down as well.

37. Burke (Jonah Hex)

"I'm gonna hand Turnbull your balls in a snuffbox!"

For every villain wanting to destroy a country there's always a psycho sidekick who just wants to go along for the ride because it's fun. Turnbull's psychotic sidekick was Burke, who didn't understand what was going on half of the time but still killed anyone that got in the way of Turnbull's plans and enjoyed every single second of it. He almost kills Jonah himself the first time they face off, but on the rematch Jonah manages to not only kill Burke, but also brings him back to life just to incinerate his body completely.

36. Prince Zuko (The Last Airbender)

"I will restore my honor!"

I felt like Zuko in film did really well portraying the anguish the Zuko in the show had, but I could not help but giggle every time he tried to be threatening or intimidating. I couldn't buy it. Also is that what you call a scar? Because to me all that looks like is a small scratch. His rivalry with Zhao was cut back which is a bit of a shame because that really is one of the few times during Book One that you feel some type of sympathy for him and want to root him on.

35. Lucas Lee (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)

"The only thing separating me from her is the two minutes it's going to take to kick your ass!"

The cool action star and Ramona's 2nd ex! He wasn't so cool when they dated so she left him for Todd and he went on to be the biggest skate boarding/movie star the world has ever seen! When he faces against Scott he has his stunt team take him on before he kicks his ass all throughout the movie set. What kills him in the end? Scott convincing him to skate down a rail, which he does awesomely until he blows up all of a sudden.

34. Hanzo (Predators)

"Because I talk too much."

Hanzo never spoke a word to the group until he discovers an old samurai sword in Noland's hideout and even then it's only a couple of words. Although he works for Yakuza, he still has a sense of respect and decides to go against Falconer Predator one on one in a sword fight. Even though he's thrown around by the larger beast, Hanzo deals a killing blow that brings the Predator down. Soon after, however, Hanzo dies from his own wounds.

33. Frank D'Amico (Kick-Ass)

"Playtime's over kid."

The most powerful mob boss in the city, Frank takes down everyone and anyone who gets in his way. With the snap of his fingers he can get whatever he wants, so you can only imagine how his ego was handling Kick-Ass ruining his business. Even though he doesn't take his son seriously, he allows Chris to become Red Mist to lure Kick-Ass into a trap, which gets ruined by Big Daddy. Frank gets his revenge by having his goons light Big Daddy on fire, but ends up having to deal with Hit-Girl. To his credit, Frank isn't hard to take down. In fact, he very nearly kills Hit-Girl before Kick-Ass comes and shoots a bazooka missile at him.

32. Edwin (Predators)

"I'm a murderer. I'm a freak."

Everyone thought that Edwin was this innocent doctor who was mistakenly thrown into the hunting preserve with the rest of these killers. He plays the act the entire movie, earning everyone's trust and basically becoming the little brother they all look out for and protect until the very end when it's just him and Isabelle. He shows his true colors by slicing her with a paralyzing blade and almost kills her before Royce shows up. Luckily Royce isn't fooled by the kid's act and he leaves him with a bunch of grenades to greet the last remaining Predator.

31. Todd Ingram (Scott Pilgrim vs The World)

"Chicken isn't vegan?"

This idiot seemed to be the strongest out of all the exes and Ramona's longest relationship. With his vegan lifestyle comes really cool psychic abilities that allows him to wipe the floor with Scott in front of everyone, including Scott's ex, Envy, who happens to be dating Todd now. The idiot apparently doesn't know that a lot of stuff isn't vegan, specifically chicken, so the Vegan Police show up to take his powers away, which allows Scott to take him down.

30. James "Rhodey" Rhodes/War Machine (Iron Man 2)

"Yeah, it's called being a badass."

Rhodey is back and even though he might have a small ounce of respect for Stark, he still doesn't like him. His dislike is what pushes him over the edge to take on Tony's War Machine before engaging in a fight that takes down Tony's entire mansion. I think he has a good moral compass but his dislike for Tony causes him to not recognize when Tony is right about something, which is how Whiplash is able to take over War Machine in the film's climax. In the end Rhodey has finally established himself as a hero and watching him fight along Iron Man as War Machine was very cool to see.

29. Uncle Iroh (The Last Airbender)

"We will find you a nice girl."

Uncle Iroh in the film is a perfect example of going in a completely different way with a character, and it still being good. Sure I would have loved to see him express a love for tea or play some Pai Sho but I didn't need it. Iroh was still laidback, cared deeply for Zuko, and had a respect for the spirits and other nations. They even touched on his son's death in Ba Sing Se. In the film there's this weird thing about firebenders not being able to create fire but only able to control it (extremely stupid, but whatever) and Iroh is one of the few people who can actually create it. He uses his techniques to aid Zuko in escaping from Zhao and continue to go after the Avatar another day.

28. Quentin Turnbull (Jonah Hex)

"The United States will know Hell."

Our main villain who kills Jonah Hex's family after Jonah betrays him and kills his son, Jeb. I personally don't think it's Jeb's death that makes Turnbull go evil, I think he was already like that when he served as the Confederate Army's Commander. It just took Jonah a while to figure that out and when he did it was too late to save his family. Turnbull fakes his death to throw off Jonah so he can create the ultimate weapon to destroy the United States. He's nearly successful but Jonah manages to show up at the last minute to kill him for good.

27. Classic Predator (Predators)

*original clicking sounds*

The group finds Classic Predator strung up on the other Predator's ship and later learn from Noland that he belongs to an inferior clan. Royce decides to free him in hopes that the Predator will take him back to Earth. The Classic Predator is good on his word, but when it comes to facing the stronger Berserker Predator, he falls short and gets decapitated.

26. William Roque (The Losers)

"Well, you better be, because I ain't getting killed by no girl."

Roque was my least favorite Loser for obvious reasons but I really liked him in the beginning. I thought he was going to be this crazy, unpredictable guy who would find any excuse to pull out his knives and that's not what was delivered. Instead Roque complained about everything the group did to get their life back even when the group's plans were actually pretty solid. Then he decides to betray the friend's he's known for YEARS for a chance to live in America again, which is something I would expect from Pooch so he could be with his family, not from a guy who had no one waiting for him back in the states. So yeah, I wasn't mad when Roque ended up getting blown to piece by Cougar.

1 note · View note

rate-out-of-10 · 7 years

Text

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING REVIEW

Since 2002 we’ve seen two actors take up the mantle that is Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. Now, with the MCU’s continuously expanding universe and a partnership with Sony, a third joins the fray, Tom Holland. Spider-Man is one of the most recognizable icons in all of pop-culture, so when Spider-Man: Homecoming was announced and that Marvel Studios and Sony came to an agreement to allow Spider-Man to join the MCU, there was a lot of excitement. In addition, we got a wonderful taste of the new take on the web-slinger in Captain America: Civil War (2016), so a solo movie showcasing what this iteration was all about, naturally the hype was extremely high. And it really pays off in the end.

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD

CHARACTERS/PERFORMANCES

It should be made known that this interpretation of Peter Parker is a younger kid than the past two live-action ones, specifically a 15 year old high school sophomore. Tom Holland is the youngest to play the role to date, and he fits it like a glove. Not only does he look the part being so young, but his whole demeanor and personality is immature, but in the best of ways. He’s quick-witted, and about as blown away as audiences are while he’s pulling off his super stunts. Tom Holland is a refreshing take on a character we all know, and have seen on the live-action screen twice before, and that’s great. He owns everything about Peter, the awkwardness, the genius, and the whimsy and outgoingness of Spider-Man. He’s perfect for the role. Alongside Tom Holland, he has his best friend character, Ned played by Jacob Batalon. Batalon plays the comedic role well enough, however I personally feel that there were too many bits of him just derailing scenes. He was funny, don’t get me wrong, however the film is filled with humor so to have a character that was there almost devoted as the comedic relief seemed a bit tried. His relationship to Peter, however, felt very genuine, so the constant gags he plays always feel in character. From a villain perspective, Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes (The Vulture) isn’t anything groundbreaking, but here he works very well with what the film is going for. He is realistic and felt mostly justified with what he was doing, however some jumps in motivation were a bit stark, which made Toomes feel a tad bit under developed. Nonetheless, Keaton plays him very well, with confidence and with just the right amount of broodiness that he didn’t feel at all like another cheesy, weak Marvel villain. On top of Adrian Toomes’ evil doing, I appreciated the humanistic approach to him and his team. When the world is now wracked with aliens and monsters, people of course will start to try and get ahead just to survive, but then to profit. It was a nice commentary on how humans react when they feel outgunned or up against a wall. A “force hand” to The Vulture’s character was very apparent.

Among the top stars in Homecoming, Robert Downey Jr., and Jon Favreau reprise their roles as Tony Stark and Happy Hogan respectively. I’m glad that this film didn’t try too hard to bank on Iron Man, he was a very welcome supporting character, an awkward mentor and a person that Peter thinks very highly of. I’ve missed Happy, not seeing him since Iron Man 3 (2013), and the same goes for Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. These characters were all very welcome on screen. The other cast of characters including the rest of Peter’s classmates like Laura Harrier as Liz, Tony Revolori as Flash, and Zendaya as Michelle were all great to see. The diversity in the casting of the film is very commendable as well. It felt like a real diverse high school in a real city. It’s often seen as a little thing, but roles like these do carry a lot of weight and it’s very refreshing to see. On another beat, the younger take on Aunt May (played by Melissa Tomei) worked well with the younger take on Peter as well. She didn’t feel out of place, and honestly, I kind of preferred it. I did want to chime in on the MJ talks too. Zendaya plays a role named Michelle Jones, and at the end of the film she says “my friends call me MJ”, a clear emulation of the known character Mary-Jane, “MJ”, and Peter’s wife in the comics. There’s no real content in the film to say that she is the “new MJ” but regardless, she’s a different character entirely, as seen by how she carries herself here. The nickname is really the only place where the two characters cross. Regardless of future intent for the character, like her potentially becoming Peter’s love interest, she’s not Mary Jane. Her nickname of course pays homage to the “original MJ”, but that’s it. This is Marvel taking artistic liberties, with both diversifying its casting, as well as creating a unique, but still recognizable, universe for Spider-Man.

DIRECTION/WRITING

Director Jon Watts and his writing team had their work cut out for them, crafting a fresh take on the character of Spider-Man as well as blend him in with the established MCU. Skipping the original story completely was the absolute best decision for the film. Instead focusing on Peter’s dealings as Spider-Man, his desire of becoming an Avenger, and his really being a young, naïve kid. This is a grounded, small-scale approach to Spidey. He’s never in downtown Manhattan for example, he’s swinging from smaller building, and using what’s around him to get around. There’s even a bit of him swinging into a gold course where there nowhere to swing so he ends up just sprinting across the screen muttering, “This sucks”. The plotline as well is very small compared to the “world ending” stories that we’ve gotten used to seeing from Marvel at this point. It was refreshing to take a step back and focus on building Peter and Spider-Man, and establishing him, before anything else. The writing is very strong with Peter’s character. I will say though, that there were several bits throughout the film that had great dramatic potential, but were undercut by daft attempts at comedy. Spidey is always going to quipping, that’s a given, but here I felt like the writing was trying way too hard to add humor in not-needed places. I wanted to take things a tad bit more seriously, but I feel like I wasn’t allowed to.

As a storyline goes, it hits all the generic notes, but it relies a lot on Tom Holland’s character to do the heavily lifting. His character is meant to draw in viewers, and if done right, whatever Peter is doing, people should be invested in it. Like I said, it’s a small scale film, and it definitely plays on a lot of cheesy elements (typical high school, typical romance, the same Peter Parker troubles we’ve all seen before), however the film generally does a great job with allowing those things to work with the script and have it still feel exciting, rather than tried. Homecoming paced itself generally well, too. There were some parts that felt a little rushed, some of the high school sequences felt a bit lackluster as well. Almost like they were in there because they had to be, but they didn’t carry too much weight. What really moved the film along was Peter himself and whenever Spidey was on screen. There were some great fight sequences, the ferry scene being the most notable. Spidey was quick, quipping the whole time, and showcased some amazing talents. I very much enjoyed “Karen”, Spider-Man’s computer that Stark put in his suit. I loved seeing the high-tech suit, something we hadn’t seen before. There were some great action scenes throughout, the ferry scene being the most notable. It being the clear height of the film, where we get a real showdown between Spider-Man and Vulture, a great scene with Peter trying to keep the ship from breaking off, as well as Tony confiscating the Spider suit. The movie was in full swing by this time, and Peter’s transition back into his make-shift suit through the end of the film didn’t feel spoiled at all. Heading back to the roots was a nice direction to go in, especially to give a glimpse to what Spidey was before Tony’s suit.

I think Homecoming started in the best of ways. After being introduced to Adrian Toomes during the clean up after the “Battle of New York”, we get a first person, video footage perspective of Peter when he is first picked up by Tony in Civil War, to when he gets his new suit, as well as him filming while he’s waiting for his queue to swing in and take Cap’s shield. I thought that whole bit was extraordinarily clever and the best way to introduce Holland’s Peter into this movie. Separately, it isn’t abundantly clear when this film takes place. We do get an ”8 Years Later” stamps after we see Toomes cleaning up New York; we’re obviously somewhere in between Civil War, as Cap is cited as a war criminal now, and the events of Doctor Strange and the Earth bit of Guardians 2 isn’t mentioned at all. I also have to give a great commendation for Cap’s troll of a post-credits scene. After Gunn’s clever post-credits bombardment in Guardian’s 2, we get Cap doing a PSA announcement on “patience” and how it’s so important, even when faced with something so disappointing when you waited a long time to get to it. I see you, Marvel.

Final Rating: 8.5/10

I think Spider-Man: Homecoming is exactly where the MCU needed to go with Spider-Man. It didn’t waste too much time getting to him, it gives Tony and Happy, new Spider-Man gadgets and things, and it was an all-around good time. There may have been some issues with the comedy undercutting some important, potentially dramatic scenes, and the plotline being a generic one, but the film is a lot of fun regardless because Tom Holland alone reels you in and keeps you smiling. It’s small scale, and to some it may feel a tad bit underwhelming, but for the character of Spider-Man, this is where we needed to see him. In a “friendly, neighborhood” setting. It worked really well, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for Spider-Man in the future. I really hope he’s here to stay because: objectively, this is a great movie and Tom Holland is wonderful, but subjectively, Spidey is my favorite in all of Marvel comics, so I really want him to stick around in the MCU.

#spider man #spiderman #spider-man #tom holland #marvel #marvel comics #mcu #superhero #comic #comic books #robery downey jr #review #film review #movie review #out of 10 #peter parker

1 note · View note

paulsebert · 7 years

Text

Secret Empire #1 Thoughts & Spoilers

Secret Empire #0 Recap

Previously: The Red Skull used Korbik (a sentient cosmic cube that sometimes takes a child’s form) to turn Captain America into a bad guy. Captain America is now a loyal agent of Hydra an evil organization that is sometimes Nazi affiliated and sometimes not depending on who is writing. Captain America planned a bunch of bad stuff behind everyone’s back. Captain America turned on his evil master. Red Skull desperate to make Cap stop admitted that Captain America that his new history (that we saw in extensive flashbacks over many issues) was all lies he made up. Captain America doesn’t care because he’s EEEEVIL! He kills Red Skull and sets out to take over the world… his way!

Captain America sets about a frankly ludicrous plan to take over the world that involves enough material for several crossovers. In fact much of them is stolen from other crossovers. New York City is trapped under a magic dome, an act of congress has given Cap control over the army, all of S.H.I.E.L.D has been mind controlled, and both the Guardians of the Galaxy & The Ultimates are trapped in space fighting aliens. Our comic ended with cliffhanger as dozens of Heli-Carriers were advancing on Washington. Meanwhile in the tie-in books it appears that everyone who knows that the world has changed is dead/MIA. As previously mentioned Captain America killed Red Skull. Winter Soldier (who hasn't been good since Ed Brubaker wrote him) was seemingly killed by Helmut Zemo (who hasn't been good since Fabian Nicieza wrote him.) Korbik blew up because Jim Zub didn't know how to give Thunderbolts and ending but she's a magic space/time cube and can come back.

Notes: So Marvel went ahead and sent a press release saying that things are going to more or less go back to their old status quo to ABC. So yes folks Marvel is basically saying “yeah Cap's going to be a hero before this is all over.” So obviously they must be sweating the backlash so badly that they're either nervous about further losing sales or someone at Disney called and threatened to take Cap away. Maybe they threatened to give him to that weird Canadian company that did the Big Hero 6 movie adaption. You know the one that's not even on Comixology...

Also do you think maybe Marvel could have avoided a lot of trouble if they had used A.I.M. or another villain organization that couldn't be mistaken for Nazis? Like they could have given away cardboard beekeeper helmets! That would have been fun!

Remember how Daniel Acuña's art was pretty much the only thing I liked about Secret Empire 0? He's gone. Say hello to Steve McNiven on pencils. He's ok...

We open up for a parent dropping his kid off to school. The kids are being told to salute Hydra. Yep Hydra's already taken over and we haven't seen how. One of the kids is wearing a T-shirt of Hive an obscure villain from Secret Warriors. If Hydra is trying to go mainstream to get public acceptance maybe they could do better than to choose to make the hideous parasite man the guy who gets merchandise?

The kids are being taught that the Allies winning World War II was an illusion. You know if you wanted to play the Hydra's a secret society different from Nazis maybe you should have gotten away from the World War II references. This is all supposed to be creepy but it's so sudden cartoonish it fails to be any kind of commentary on creeping fascism while failing to work in the context of the story.Turns out one of the kid's older brothers is an Inhuman who has the power to vomit lunch boxes or something. That's still a less stupid power than Jet Black from Rick Remender's run. He's arrested by Hydra I.C.E. because of symbolism.

Actual Narration: “It's funny living in a world where the impossible happens. Where every time you look up there's some war, or invasion, or attack. And people say this will “Change everything” That “Nothing Will Ever be the same again.” You hear it so much you stop believing it. You're even surprised when it actually happens.” - Even the actual characters in Marvel comics are sick of crossovers.

Meanwhile Captain Marvel is in space to remind us that she and her team are still locked out of a force field. Despite being on a team of people who were smart enough to figure out a way to reform Galatctus and having a teammate who can punch wholes in space and time she decides to try punching the force field. It doesn't work and Carol comes across as not very bright.

Hydra Goons are chasing a teenager. Amedeus Cho the Totally Awesome Hulk makes the save. Actual Dialog: “You're the Hulk. That's good.” “Why good?” Because if anyone has a spare set of pants...” - Ok that was a good one.

The new Falcon, Iron Heart, The Champions, and Wasp help the kid escape Hydra's reinforcements. We're teased a chase scene involving the Fantasticar and Robot Soldiers but we cut away from that before it can get exciting. The kid’s name is Rayshaun Lucas and we’re introduced to him over and over again.

Meanwhile in Denver the evil Captain America is... calmly trying to talk a giant monster out of eating people. It's a borderline comic scene more akin to something out of Spencer's work on Superior Foes of Spider-Man. This book is having some really jarring tone shifts.

The monster won't listen to Captain America's request to leave so he calls the EVIL Avengers featuring featuring Thor Odinson, Deadpool, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Irredeamable Ant Man/Black Ant, Taskmaster, and Superior Doc Ock. Ok is Scarlet Witch mind controlled? (That happens once every three months.) Has vision been reprogrammed? Is Deadpool too naive to know Cap's a bad guy now, because that I could totally see.

We have a montage page of Hydra's propaganda news network boasting about a high stock market, falling unemployment, and job opportunities while various members of Hydra Command are presented as heroes. There's a clever idea here but you'll find more chilling fascist propaganda on an episode of Fox and Friends. Did this book turn into a comedy all of a sudden after how super grimadark issue #0 was?

At Hydra high command evil Captain America looks bored while the villains discuss their schemes including a mind control plot (why else is Faustus here) and relations with Magneto's new sovereign republic north of California. Magneto has a country again? When did this happen?

Kraken is part of the Hydra Legion of Doom. Wasn't he revealed to be a mole for Nick Fury all along in Secret Warriors?

We cut back to flying car/robot chase scene. FINALLY something exciting is happening in the comic! The heroes wreck the Welcome to Los Vegas sign. It's the best action scene in the comic so far and... it's all of one page.

The Hydra Legion of Doom is talking about what to do about the good guys. Zemo complains about Los Vegas being essentially a sanctuary city. Arnim Zola complains that Hydra Cap actually gave pardons to the freedom fighters the day Hydra took over. So either Hydra Cap's a really incompetent bad guy or he's actually a mole whose plan was subvert Hydra's plot to take over by.. letting Hydra take over? Either way he comes across as kinda dumb.

The bad guys want some kind of retribution against Los Vegas. Zola wants to blow stuff up with the robot soldier. Faustus wants to use mind control because of course he does. Hydra Cap wants to do neither. They also complain that Hydra Cap keeps delaying the executions. The lunchbox vomiting guy we saw earlier is being taken to a prison camp. Again Marvel if you don't want people to think Hydra=Nazis maybe you shouldn't include anything that can be interpreted as a concentration camp.

The Champions take Rayshaun Lucas back to their Super Secret Mountain Playset (other action figures and vehicles sold separately!) Hakweye and Black Widow are there. They're suspicious of Lucas. He has some kind of file that Rick Jones gave him that is our new mcguffin because it can win the war or... make Cap normal or something.

Hydra Cap is now trying have a romantic dinner with Sharon Carter oblivious to the fact that he is now a fascist villain and she is her prisoner. This is like a gag from the Venture brothers. What am I looking at? Did Spencer say “fuck this crossover!!! I want to write comedy books again?”

Sharon asks Steve to spare Rick Jones. Cap goes to visit Rick Jones in prison. Steve is kinda chummy with Rick and once again seems totally oblivious to the fact he's a villain. Steve asks Rick to say “Hail Hydra.” Rick refuses but says that Captain America will always come out on top. Steve pouts as romantic music plays.

youtube

Rayshaun meets the new Giant Man and Force Ghost Tony Stark (long story). I swear this is like the fourth or fifth page where Rayshaun Lucas says “I'm Rayshaun Lucas.” This kid’s getting a spin-off book isn’t he? Rayshaun wants Tony to look at the thing Rick gave him but Tony is being sad and bitter. We get one panel flashbacks to fight scenes that happened off camera.

Black Widow and Hawkeye have a funny moment. I won’t spoil the punchline.

We briefly catch glimpse of Dr. Strange trapped in the Dark Dimension. At least he's not trying to punch his way out like Carol. Steve meets with the new Madam Hydra and she's really polite and friendly. She wants Hydracap to find the cosmic cube.

Actual dialog: “The rest of this who lives who dies is nothing but a distraction, you must remember that.” We're going to get some sort of cosmic reset button aren't we?

Hydra Cap pouts as he's about to make a speech while Hydra goons execute Rick Jones. How many times as Ric Jones died now? Also for a book that's being sold on the basis of “What if Captain America was totally evil” there's a lot of scenes of HydraCap either being oblivious to the fact he's evil or sad he has to be evil.

The line “Evil had finally won” is used so... I guess we can add Final Crisis to the crossover shout-out list from my recap of last issue.

Things are all super grimdark again and we have a cliffhanger where Helicarriers are attacking Los Vegas. Is this going to be like the last cliffhanger where all the action happens off camera?

Final Thoughts

Issue #0 was a thousand different action scenes going on at once with no space to breath. This one is better in the sense there's actual space for the character moments but... the tone changes are absolutely baffling. You'll get a couple of pages of superhero action followed by pages that are borderline self-parody by LOOK AT HOW GRIM WE ARE! It's absolutely all over the map and considering that Spencer and Marvel had a year to set things up it speaks volumes to how poorly thought out this is. Once again Hydra acts more like Cobra than actual Nazis but the world War II references kind of make it impossible to divorce them from Nazis which well... makes them a lot less fun villains. None of the cliffhangers from the zero issue have payoffs. It's just “The Bad Guys” have taken over now! And yeah there's still one of the underlying problems with the first issue. The book doesn't go far enough from the “So Cap's a Nazi now?” complaints to make it just a fun superhero story yet doesn't go far enough with the “So Cap's a Nazi now?” to actually say something about actual creeping fascism in modern culture.

Characters on the cover that are not in the actual book: Storm, The Human Torch, Thor (Jane Foster), Ms. Marvel, Medusa, and Rocket Raccoon.

#Secret Empire #Marvel Comics #Nick Spencer #Steve McNiven #LoLMarvel #Comic Books #Comic Reviews #HydraCap #Hydra

10 notes · View notes

itsdragonfire13 · 7 years

Text

YJ Livejournal Fic Rec Part1

I’ve become tired of losing stories I like on the Young Justice Livejournal so I’m going to make a list of them here. There’s a lot... Most will be under a read more. IF LINKS DON’T WORK PLEASE TELL ME!

This has 21 fics, I’ll probably make a few more of these fic rec things.

1. The Checklist: Wally has a HUGE crush on John Stewart-- posters on his wall, t-shirts, always trying to catch a glimpse of him whenever they're with the league, etc. I'm not too sure how old John was when he was given his ring, but I'd guess that, since Wally's 15 in YJ and John is already part of the league, he's in his early twenties? And maybe one day GL has to take Wally home after a mission or something, and Wally's all, "Ohmygod OHMYGOD what do I say to him" and the like. (Complete)

2. Greetings from the Twineball (Wish You Were Here): Doing stuff together at super speed. Running to Paris for lunch and racing each other to the south pole to play with penguins, for example. I want lots of silly brotimes between the two, because Kon needs to have some fun.(Complete)

3. The Batsitter Begins: all the batsiblings have a crush on wally, and they try to woo him in different ways. BONUS: they're all younger than dick BONUS2: they try to court him the bat way so it's extremely subtle, and after a while they get impatient and one of them just kisses him. (WIP, though you can kinda look at it as if it’s complete)

4. Just Affectionate: Wally's parents aren't abusive, just... neglectful, mainly in an emotional way. Distant. Fortunately, Wally has his aunt and uncle, and the Garricks, for hugs and smiles and emotional support and caring about that 'A' he got on his chemistry test. Small things. None of them realize that he's not getting any of these at home. They think he's just really social. Then, Barry and Iris are both gone at the same time, for whatever reason. (Mission, reporting, etc.) So are the Garricks, if you choose to include them. This absence lasts for an extended period of time, to the point where it starts to affect Wally. So he compensates when visiting Mount Justice. At first it's just extra hugs for teammates, which are nice, if a bit confusing. As time goes on, though, it extends to other things. Talking about his day, getting moody when there isn't anyone around, spending more time at Mount Justice than usual, taking negative feedback as more of a blow. This includes mentors, not just teammates. (Complete!)

5. Five Times Wally Couldn't Drive and One Time He Could: Wally, learning how to drive and being horrible at it. So Barry calls in Robin, because Robin is BAMF and can relate to Wally. And I'd love it if you included this little tidbit, because I kind of fell in love with it but am too lazy to write the rest. "You have a license?" Wally asks, his eyebrows horribly skeptical. Robin snorts. "Yes." Wally's eyebrow hitches higher, and the corner of Robin's mouth twitches as he tries not to smile. "In Russia." (Complete)

6. On my honor, I will do my best: Superboy hears people refer to Superman as a boyscout. So, to try to be more like Superman, he joins the boyscouts. (Complete)

7. Play It By Trust: Despite how brief his stint as Dr. Fate was, Wally can still hear Nabu when he’s near enough to the Helmet of Fate (how near is up to you anon.) Surprisingly, Nabu is kind of a bitchy roommate. (Complete)

8. Kidnapping is Bad: Wally is the only one that knows Robin's secret identity on team right? So I figure they probably hang out on the weekends in Gotham or Central or some place when they aren't doing missions or dynamic duoing. And seeing as how Dick Grayson has to be the receiving end of a multitude of kidnappings but this time I would like a time when kidnappers are forced to take Wally too because there can't be witnesses! (Complete)

9. Wally VS Wednesday: So say Wally's dating someone older, whether it's Kaldur or Roy or someone from the League, and at some point when he hasn't been having a good day, his boyfriend comes to see him after school ends, right at the gate. Cue hug, or a careless kiss, and by the next day, everyone's talking. (Complete with a few bonus chapters)

10. Baby’s First Book: Superboy is brand new in the world and he has a lot of firsts. Someone gets him a baby's first book were you put down all of the first things a baby does(first word, first laugh, first spit bubble). It can be a joke, something serious, maybe M'gann just trying to follow earth culture. Even though it's kind of silly the whole team helps to fill it up. So what would be the kind of things the team would want to remember?(Complete)

11. Wally.. Why do you Have Two Hearts?: There is something about the Young Justice team. A secret hidden so deep that only one of them is privy to the knowledge. There aren't two aliens on the team. There are three. (and Timelords are very good at running.) (WIP, But can be looked as Completed)

12. ‘Cause They’re Part of the Six Teens: The mentors have to face a horrible, horrible realization. Even though their former-sidekicks are still nominally their partners... in reality, the members of YJ are Batman's. How they come to this conclusion is up to you, but I would love to see Batman stepping up for any non-Robin member of YJ. Crack/angst/slash/gen/whatever is perfectly fine.

Bonus: "Batman is the happiest I've ever seen him. Six teenagers and they're all his." (Completed)

13. Speedster Chase Instinct: Speedsters have an innate need to chase/race really fast things. Wally keeps his under control by playing tag/racing Barry every couple of days (and vice versa), but what happens if Flash can't be there for some reason? Bonus points if he suddenly goes running after the Javelin /Batmobile (Completed)

14. Everyone Needs a Little More Dick: A certain Dick Grayson is put into the custody of a certain Agent Gibbs and his staff. He gets to meet the whole team and trolls the shit out of Tony though no one believes the poor guy when he tries to tell the others about it. Dick's got those innocent-who-me? baby blues that NO ONE can resist. Bonus if this when he's older and can still pull off the kicked puppy look. Super bonus if Superboy gets involved somehow, though just him. EPIC SUPER BONUS if you have Dick and Gibbs bonding in their red head kink. (Completed)

15. Hal Jordan or Uncle McAwesome: Five times Hal Jordan was there for Wally as an uncle/mentor and the one time Wally was there for Hal. (Completed)

16. Batty’s Little Babies: 5 Times Batman thought of the members of Young Justice as his children.(Completed)

17. Mission: Seduce Sexy Snarky Damian: Wally is thrilled when Robin tells him his secret ID! After doing so, Robin takes him to Wayne Manor to introduce him to his brothers: Damian, Tim, and Jason. What Wally wasn't expecting was the feeling that came over him as he laid eye on the gorgeous Damian Wayne. Cue Wally beginning phase one of Mission: Seduce Sexy Snarky Damian! Romance ensues! Damian/Wally Note: The ages are reversed. Meaning, Damian is the oldest (precisely what age is up to author anon), Tim's second oldest, Jason is second youngest, and Dick is the youngest. Bonus: Insert humor as Wally tries pick up lines, over the top flirting techniques, and failed attempts to be seductive, etc. (Completed, it’s a minfill)

18. Fill(It’s just called that no other name): Cadmus cloning project always ended in failure - clone degeneration, imperfect powers, starts to have mind of its own and goes against them, etc. They can't make a perfect weapon that can kill/replace Superman. So tried a different approach this time. Instead of developing one weapon, they're going to make a set of different weapons - each focusing on different powers that could go toe on toe with Superman. And so Cadmus had their perfect set of weapons. Separated, they can handle a fight of their own. They have been trained thoroughly and their powers have been honed to perfection - the clone is now stronger, the speedster now rivals the Flash with his speed, and the alien could now use all her power with great expertise. (WIP; it’s amazing though!)

19. Filling the Empty Rooms: Since Roy has shown a love for masks only rivaled by every memeber in the batfamily, I would like to request AU where Roy is adopted by Bruce. Could it also include Roy, Rob and KF hanging out in the Batcave? (Completed)

20. Kid Lantern: Wally loses his powers (reason up to anon) and starts feeling down about being depowered. Though he knows that powers don't make the hero, he still feels that he needs them help. Cue Uncle Hal lending Wally Green Lantern powers until he regains his speed (which he does, eventually). And Wally, being the ever lovable teenager that he is, has some 'fun' with those powers. Perhaps he trolls people or maybe the powers allow him to save his friends from a really powerful villain. (Complete; Minifill)

21. The Hazard of Accidental Dimension Travel: Wally doesn't disappear. He travels dimensions. The JLU one to be exact. And he manages there for quite some time, getting himself an identity, a job, and even becomes a founder of the Justice League in that dimension. (Completed)

#dc #young justice #fic rec #all different pairings #most are centered around Wally #I really like him okay?#wally west

4 notes · View notes