Tenshinhan

I think maybe that was supposed to be a Jason anvil.

They didn't have much choice, because the characters had already been introduced individually as white in solo movies. Unlike the FF, where it's immediately noticeable that everyone is white. More importantly, you had Sam Jackson in Avengers, so that was a critical factor. Without him, I don't know if they would have proceeded without any minority cast members. And it's about much more than how successful a movie may or may not turn out. I was referring to comics characters overall. The predominance of white characters reflected a racist country. It's not just about a numerical majority. A country's culture is a reflection of not just numbers, but systems of power and oppression. If one group of people has power and privilege while the other groups are marginalized and discriminated, then the numbers eventually become irrelevant. Racism played a huge part in why minorities were and are excluded in the entertainment industry. Stan Lee creating minority characters does not negate the racism inherent to the comic book industry, including in his own work. I didn't say that non-white culture is more important than white culture. I said that preserving and protecting non-white culture is more important than for white culture. White culture will be just fine if a minority actor steps into a white role. But minority cultures will suffer if whites are cast in minority roles. Even beyond the issue of comic book movies, the protection of whiteness is inherently assured by society, while non-white identity and culture is inherently vulnerable and takes care and effort to maintain.

I don't think that the X-Men, Avengers, or Fantastic Four are as iconic as Batman, Superman, or Spider-Man. You would probably have an easier time changing races for them because of it. I also don't think that it was just iconicity and audience expectations that kept those characters from changing races. There were many other factors at play, such as industry standards, the character backgrounds, as well as the culture of the time, to name a few. And a big difference between the other characters and the Fantastic Four is that it is a team versus solo characters. Feige saw a whole group of white actors, not just one white actor. A white-dominated superhero team is concerning, especially if it's all-white. The US at the time was also predominantly racist. People created characters that looked like a racist country. It doesn't matter whether it was out of "meanness" or not. Black and minority culture was alive and well in the 60s, and those writers and artists made a choice to exclude it. Because society has had enough of white-dominated, white-centered, and white-identified stories and are pushing back against racial supremacy in media. It is much more important to preserve and protect non-white culture than it is to preserve white culture.

I think they were referring to a different Russian, Karpov, who Sonny shot in front of Olivia. The humorous "twirl-and-shoot" killing at the Five Families meeting was a different Russian years later. Not to be confused with the *other* Russian who Sonny killed at the next Five Families meeting a couple years after that.

Whiteness is about much more than just genetic ancestry. Being a white Spanish speaking Latino is different from being an English speaking white American or Western European etc. And for a major commercial studio blockbuster, casting all of the major roles with white people is definitely going to be a concern. I don't think Pascal's casting itself is necessarily the best solution, but good on Feige for recognizing the situation and attempting to address it. It's not the comic book characters and readers that Feige was concerned with. It's all of the white actors that were cast in the film roles that was the issue, along with the moviegoing audience. Movies are not the same business as comic books. Not only do you have to consider what's being portrayed in front of the camera, you also must consider who is being hired and employed as the portrayers. This is a false equivalence. There are different standards for non-whites than there are for whites. Casting a white actor for a Black character is not the same as casting a Black actor for a white character. The Beatles are real people, not fictional characters. Is changing a character's race somehow inherently disrespectful to the material? What benefits are there to having a white lead actor as Reed? Or for any of them? Will the film and characters be somehow cheapened or lessened by casting non-white actors?

I have not seen Fiege say that about the team. What I did see was that Fiege reportedly saw the rest of the cast and thought that it was (understandably) "way too white". That is supposedly part of the reason they went with Pascal. I think that they may also be considering a non-white actor for Doom for the same reason. It may not be as diverse as it could be, but it is something.

I thought I remember Adrienne Barbeau killing the Balkan when she slit his throat. Maybe you mean someone else?

Damn. Slaughtered. It's too bad, because the concept is cool.

There's still time...

Sad about Avery. What a waste. She deserved better writing.

I agree that Esme has potential beyond the Cassadines. She shouldn't be killed off or sent away in my view. She just needs better writing.

Geary did release a statement when Jackie died: https://tvline.com/news/jackie-zeman-dies-anthony-geary-tribute-general-hospital-1234985842/

I kinda wish they would stop trying with the Adam storyline. The story itself is pretty lame, and it also looks like MB's son has been studying his father. I think I saw some of Mo's acting tics in his performance. TempJoss is a hell of lot more tolerable than the real one.

There was that one storyline where Sasha's baby died around Christmas I think. I personally don't mind these stories because I think that there is an inherent darkness to Christmas and the holiday season, so it makes for good dramatic storytelling in that sense.

She and Joss are both 21.

See Closed Captions for subtitles.

See Closed Captions for subtitles.

I really enjoyed this. There was a lot that worked and a lot that didn't work, but I would definitely watch more of it. I love how faithful it is to the original series, while also going its own way. I noticed right away that much of the dialogue was taken directly from the manga/anime. Same with the visuals throughout. The Yusuke/Keiko relationship was my favorite part. The acting and writing definitely delivered in that area. I liked Kuwabara's role in this and thought they got his characterization just right. Hiei and Kurama I wasn't feeling so much, and Kurama's look *really* bothered me. The Hiei actor really sounds just like his anime counterpart though. I'm not sure about the decision to adapt the Dark Tournament in the way that they did. I thought that in some ways it worked, but in other ways it didn't. The Genkai/Toguro story feels rushed, and I'm not really sure why they decided to do it this way. Maybe if it had been more like ten episodes instead of just five? I liked what they did with the Sakyo character. The actor was very good in the role and well written. His scenes were all strong. Toguro's actor was good, but needed more to work with (and better cgi!) His older brother was really hamming it up though lol. Also, kudos to the actor who played Tarukane the gambler. He really embodied the role in such a small part. I thought Botan/Koenma were both well done. Also liked the Yukina actress. The first two episodes and the last one were probably my favorites. The final battle was emotional and I liked seeing the gang being friends together at the end. Overall it was rushed but had a lot going for it so I hope it gets renewed, and with a higher episode count next time. I can see them doing at least two more arcs. There was a reference to Sensui in the first episode, and I'm wondering whether they might be saving some of the Dark Tournament contestants for a possible Demon Realm season later on. Miscellaneous: Nice easter egg with "Smile Bomb" playing on the truck driver's radio in the beginning. The subtitles had some odd translations at times. For example makaichuu (Demon World insects) are called "Roundworm Monsters" in the subs. And whenever the characters refer to Genkai as baasan (a term for elderly women), the subtitles say "Master". It's not really a big deal and I understand them taking certain liberties, but just something I noticed.

Marshall/Stella is a lazy and poorly written plot development. With everyone celebrating over at Portia's house I can't help but wonder if Taggert is drunk off his ass somewhere. The dialogue writing on this show is awful. Especially the casual stuff like between TJ/Molly and Kristina. I'm happy to see the Esme story pick up again.

I agree about not using Magneto at all, but the Green Goblin comparison isn't quite fitting. The Goblin's presence in the Spidey mythos isn't as strong or integral as Magneto in X-Men.

Looks like they are merging multiple arcs into one new storyline. I like that they are going their own way with it. The various Yokai designs all look cool.

Most of those characters only ever died starting in recent years of comic book history. Superman dying was a huge event that was never going to last. Although it may be a popular trope in present day, for the majority of comic book history characters dying was never really a thing.

This isn't really true, at least in regards to the main characters and protagonists. It's more like those characters rarely ever die in the first place. Villains and supporting characters maybe, but even then it's usually only after years and years that they return to life. Also, movies are not comic books. The difference between mediums means that the nature of storytelling will not be the same, and the audience's expectations will also be different.

Like they have always done in the comic books? And in every other genre of fiction ever? Any directors or actors in particular that you are referring to?

Spyglass can fuck right off.