Dandesun

This is already as weird as I was hoping. More so even. *cries in Asgardian* I'm so happy! I, too, would watch a series of all the stupid bets Thor and Loki made throughout their lives together. Especially if Heimdall is there going 'I see everything and yet it's astounding even to me the combined idiocy of you two.'

Very interesting... but let's ask the real question here: Is Bruce Campbell going to show up?

The most enraging thing about this is that a movie where Emma Thompson and Emma Stone snipe at each other wearing fabulous couture is one I would normally want to be there for!! And, I swear, there are shots here that I'm like 'I can sit here on a Friday with my friends drinking wine and loving the shit out of this.' But I cannot... I cannot stand giving fucking CRUELLA a sob story origin. I loathed it with Maleficent and I loathe it here. Both are magnificent villains in their own right and didn't need an explanation as to why. I don't need to know why Cruella's name is CRUELLA DE VILLE or why her house is called HELL HALL. I don't need to know why she wants to skin puppies and make them into a spotted coat. I don't care. That's just villain material and giving her a reason doesn't magically make the story better. This is infuriating because if they had just gone forward with 'Let's watch these bitches claw at each other with great clothes and witty repartee' I'd have been all for it. I just hate this so much. This desperate need to give the villains a REASON has grown beyond irritating. There are some villains that are fun to dive into... but sometimes, they're just awful and I don't need to know or care why.

Anyone else hate Pierre McGuire and just shake their head in confusion and disgust when he's commentating? It seems an almost unifying thing across NHL fans. In fact, I named my new Litter-Robot 'Pierre' and often tell the cats 'Go shit in Pierre!!' Anyway, I'm pulling for the Avs and I'm also pulling for the Wild to knock Vegas out of the first round. Because of the online comic 'Check Please' my sister and I refer to Vegas as 'the fucking Aces' and while I'm not afraid of the Avs beating them, I just really would get pleasure out of them getting booted in the first round of playoffs.

Justin Hammer in the MCU is Mark Beaks in the rebooted Ducktales. Pew! Pew pew!

Yeah, this is solely on the writers. You know, the ones who intended on having Steve and Sharon be living together at the beginning of Infinity War, couldn't quite figure out how to make it work and then scrapped the whole thing and just erased her completely... and then had Steve wind up with Peggy at the end anyway? The entirety of that felt like the writers were just like 'Sure! Let's do this! Whatever! He was Peggy's husband ALL ALONG!' I am also not remotely upset at Steve not appearing in FatWS. That is SAM and BUCKY'S stories. As much as I adore Chris' Steve, his story is done and he seems fine with that. I can imagine Steve in the background because canon never bothered me anyway. But I do think that an Evans cameo in FatWS would have pulled away from Sam taking on the mantle and Bucky getting to a better place on his own merits. Of course they love Steve, of course Steve loves them but Sam was right... ultimately, what Steve thought didn't matter, it was up to them. Basically, I get that RDJ and CE were done-zo after Endgame and so they wrapped up the storylines and plenty of people out there are absolutely fine with all of it. So be it. I can imagine up my own stuff and that's what I've been doing ever since I was a kid anyway but real life isn't comics where people can be ageless, super aged and then de-aged on whatever plot point gets dreamed up. They have to come up with the next generation. Do I like how it was done? No. But I've moved past it for the most part and just carry on. Again, canon never bothered me anyway.

I have a complicated history with Carol since my first exposure to her was through the X-Men and Rogue. I think the first time I saw her in the pages was shortly after Rogue showed up begging for help and then the team went to Japan to be there for Logan's marriage to Mariko where Rogue legit almost died protecting Logan and Mariko from Viper... and then when they got back, Carol as Binary showed up and socked Rogue into the atmosphere. It was good stuff because there were a LOT of complicated emotions and reasoning -- and Rogue was just ONE of the times that Carol had her life and memories fucked with. But even though I started with loyalty to Rogue I went back and looked at the history and Carol had some really excellent runs in comics. Kelly Sue Deconnick did great work with her which resulted in her taking on the Captain Marvel moniker and the suit we know in the movies. I quite enjoyed the movie. There's Carol, all of her memories and personality molded and shaped by the Kree after they got a hold of her but still these little moments slipping out throughout. And when she fully came into her powers... well, my little icon is there for a reason. Her whoops of joy as she was flying through space taking on ANYTHING that was a threat... *chef's kiss* That's Carol. I also loved when she decimated Thanos' ship. And he looked so sad after she had done it. HA! Suck it, Thanos! So, the Marvels? Carol, Monica and Kamala? BRING IT. I've been re-reading Kamala's first run and it's just as charming and wonderful as the first time. Plus, I always loved the weird stuff in the background of the art in that book. I'm super excited to see the Marvels. Can't wait.

Oh my Gods. That is amazing. WELL PLAYED! Also, did I know Richard E Grant was a part of this?! Because I have loved him since I first saw him in LA Story and he joined the Star Wars universe already but now will be part of the MCU? This makes me so happy.

I made the mistake of reading Dracula before seeing Bram Stoker's Dracula in the theater and I came out of that going 'What the actual fuck what THAT?!' I was angry about it. My friend, who had seen it before, went with me and kept calling it 'My Left Tit.' I often default to that as well. Anytime Lucy was remotely around the influence of Dracula her tit would pop out. And don't even get me started on Wolf!Dracula fucking Lucy in the graveyard. I get that vampires became a means of expressing the repressed sexuality of the Victorian Era but... crimeny. Poor Keanu was just terrible. I hate hate HATED the Mina/Vlad star-crossed lovers through time nonsense. The whole plotline of Vlad becoming Dracula because his wife committed suicide and was therefore cast out of heaven so he turned his back on God or whatever... NONE OF THAT IS IN THE BOOK!! You know what is in the book? Vampires are generally ugly, creepy and horrible. AND THEY EAT PEOPLE! Basically, you know, vampires aren't heroes, y'all. Or sexy love interests. Actually, the best retelling of the book other than and audible version would be to pull up Overly Sarcastic Productions' summary of it because it's a) spot on and b) hilarious. It also calls out some of the bullshit that has been tacked onto it over the years as well as the weird esoteric vampire lore that has been forgotten for some reason. Wild roses on a vampires coffin keeps them from coming out? That's cool! Why doesn't anyone use that anymore?

It may have gotten worse but it was never particularly good. Hell, just listen to 'The Highwayman' and you're going to be going 'One of these things is not like the others... one of these things just doesn't belong...'

I was just thinking 'Well, RuPaul IS over 60...' Looks great but the bones are old. The right person did win. At least there was that.

Pancho & Lefty is a great story song. But even though the Willie and Merle version is the most famous it's really not the best rendition of it. I think if you want a great singer's version, listen to Emmylou. However, I think listening to Townes Van Zandt sing his own song, despite not being remotely a great singer, is the best. It's like listening to Kris Kristofferson. Kris is not remotely a great singer. And, generally, I'd rather hear someone else sing his songs than him... but there's some that work for Kris' voice. It's the same with Townes. He's not a great singer but there are certain songs of his that just work better with his voice. But that's just me.

Yeah, that's definitely one of those movies I love to rewatch. I love it after they win the last game and they're all celebrating, Dorn punches Rick and then just picks him up and hugs him jumping up and down in celebration. Poor Rick did wind up as a pawn in the Dorns' sexual games but the moment was still funny.

I want Deadpool to meet Thor so he can crush all over him. Repeatedly.

Not believing in wizards when Dr. Strange and Wong and a passel of other magic users were RIGHT THERE is a weird thing to say. I mean... they're two very distinct class types in D&D 5e but there's still BOTH of them. And... no one knows that Wanda does actual magic at this point. I want that scene of Wanda revealing that she's a witch to those two and Sam just going 'HA!!! I told you!!' And Bucky being stubborn and saying 'A witch isn't a wizard!' and Wanda just going 'My imaginary children are more grown up than you.'

I am interested in seeing how this killing plays out... The guy Walker!Cap killed was the guy that was holding Walker's arms so Karli could flat out murder him. Sam was all 'what did you do' when he saw evidence of Walker having taken the serum but the second Walker said 'They've got Lamar' Sam was backing him up. Sam and Bucky and Walker were all fighting against the Flag Smashers. So what we ended up with was the guy who used to be a fan of Captain America taking a very hands on part in trying to kill Captain America and then getting killed by Captain America. Also, how quickly did it register with the Flag Smashers that new!Cap was enhanced? Wow... suddenly they couldn't completely over power him, someone OTHER than their targeted symbol got killed (oh noes! our declarative murder statement went awry! scatter!) and they all scarpered out of there. While I still think the PR nightmare is going to be huge and whatever group new!Cap is representing (whether it's specifically the US like they said in the first episode or the GRC(? is that the name?) is going to get a little hesitant, John would be telling the truth in saying that the man he killed was attempting to kill him moments ago and did participate in killing Lamar. Still, the fact that the guy was running away and holding his hands out and not fighting back isn't a good look no matter what.

He's just so earnest.

Steve didn't think himself worthy of the pedestal. I mean, he had his convictions and he fought for them but, come on... 'I'm just a kid from Brooklyn.' But I do agree that Bucky is tying his self worth into Steve's legacy. But I totally get it. Bucky saw worth in Steve when no one else did. Steve went up against the world for Bucky's sake, to get him past the brainwashed Winter Soldier and back to whatever he could choose for himself. Steve still saw something worthwhile in Bucky after all of that and he was right to do so. Sam... isn't quite there yet but he's learning more about Bucky in all of this. I think Sam is coming to the place where he steps up, not because Steve wanted him to, but because he feels he can do the right thing with the shield and I think he'll also come to understand why Steve stepped up for Bucky as well. Fire forged friends and all that. And then they'll go home and Steve will be all 'Hey, I made my Ma's stew for dinner! Have a seat and tell me all about your week!' What? It's my head, I can imagine what I want!

Walker's bought into the propaganda. He seems to have not taken into consideration the years that Steve gave up the title and was persona non grata to the world at large. He's so completely bought into the propaganda that he thinks the title of 'Captain America' is all that is necessary. He throws that around just as much as he does the shield. Steve never referred to himself as Captain America. He never introduced himself as such. He never used the title in reference to himself. Everyone else did. John Walker is a hell of a soldier. He's even a decent man based on what we've seen of him in quieter moments. But he's never known weakness by everything we've seen of him. He's known doubt and he certainly looks back on his Medals of Honor with a bleaker outlook than the Government Dickweeds are likely to. And it's interesting that he's able to compartmentalize that 'worst day of his life' vs what the shield is supposed to be. As if carrying the shield and getting the moniker of Captain America means that the respect and honor automatically comes with it. "I'm Captain America." "Do you know who I am?!" That's soldier talk and far closer to what Col. Philips wanted, indeed. 'He passed every test we put him through. He's big. He's fast. He obeys orders.' Meanwhile, Erskine held fast. Steve was the clear choice. Erskine was "looking for qualities beyond the physical." And when Walker got beaten badly by the Dora Milaje and had to sit there in disbelief saying 'they weren't even super soldiers' -- it was desperation that made him take the serum. And I daresay it was a similar thing for the Flag Smashers. Desperation to be physically equal or superior to the task at hand. It's an understandable place, even a relatable one, but desperate times and desperate measures rarely lead to good places. And I have no doubt that Walker will double down. At this point, the shield will have to be pried from him. If nothing else, losing Lamar is the step too far. His pride and grief will not allow him to step down, I don't think. And the serum will exacerbate that.

Yes, she looked shocked. It's one thing to lock a door and drive away as bombs go off or to call a woman and threaten her and her children from an ocean away... it's very different to murder someone up close and personal with your own limbs. It's very different to see what you have very specifically and personally done. It's all well and good to talk about your idealogy in broad terms and paint those who oppose with the broad brush... but this was up close and personal. She killed a man who was trying to protect his friend. And, see, she wanted to kill Captain America. She said as much... but again, they tied Lamar up and left him in a room and, presumably, they were going to blow that building up, too. Another distance killing. Instead, she kicked him across the room and killed him. And she saw it as it happened. Yeah, that's very different. AND she just watched the new Cap murder HER friend because of what SHE did. Now... will she double down? I'm thinking yes because just as it got very very personal for Walker it got personal for her too.

Well, he did apologize to Bucky for the whole Civil War thing. Also, I do wonder if Zemo knew that Bucky was just lying low. He had the serum but he wasn't out there trying to take over anything or destroy anything... he was hiding and just trying to buy some god-damn plums and piece his memory back together. Plus, I'm inclined to think that Bucky being free of the words means he can't be used as a weapon by others... not even himself. Still, it might make for a good final moment between them. Zemo may very well want to get rid of Bucky when all is said and done. Walker taking the serum after he got his ass handed to him by the Dora Milaje just furthered Erskine's theories. Steve knew all too well what it was like to lose a fight. He lost them all the time. He still got up and he still kept fighting... and losing. Walker was too used to winning. That he was that upset about losing to non-super-powered warriors... (Guess he never went up against Black Widow, either.) I also wonder if there's something about the creator of the serum as well. Erskine got the hell out of Dodge after Schmidt took the dose and became the Red Skull. And then Erskine... perfected it in the US? The guy who created this new batch was all 'I became a god!' and Erskine himself was never like that. Precious few people seemed to really understand the serum. And it's only those people that seemed to get what it could cause.

I was very much reminded of Civil War with Steve bringing that shield down on Tony and even Tony had his arms raised to ward off a possible killing blow... but, Steve was never going to do that. It was about incapacitating the suit so he could get Bucky the hell out of there. Yes, Steve has killed people. He was a soldier and when he came out of the ice, being a soldier was all he really felt he had to fall back on, but that's not what he was when he was given the serum. Steve did shift from 'I don't want to kill anyone. I don't like bullies, I don't care where they're from' to wanting to wipe Hydra off the face of the earth after Bucky fell. And he probably would have killed the Red Skull on the Valkyrie if the Tesseract hadn't sent him off to Vormir to be the gatekeeper for the Soul Stone. Would it have been an act of wrath the way Walker killing the Flag-Smasher was? I don't think so... They were on a plane loaded with bombs set on a course to kill thousands if not millions. More importantly, if Steve had managed to incapacitate the Red Skull he still would have taken them both down into the ice due to the damage to the plane because, ultimately, not delivering those payloads was more important than anything else. Also? I'm never going to weep over the thought of the Red Skull getting killed. Super Nazis can suck it. Walker flat out murdered a man who was running away and when he caught up was NOT fighting back. I don't expect Bearded Government Dickweed to be particularly upset about what Walker did... he's going to be upset at the bad press this will result in. And the whole thing was very Greek tragedy. You had that whole build-up when John and Lamar were talking about the serum. Lamar insisting that 3 Medals of Honor meant that John absolutely deserved the serum if there was a chance. How many lives could they have saved if they had it in Afghanistan. John commented on the things they had to do there not feeling right but that being Captain America DID feel right... that's the tragedy. That scene of Bucky in Wakanda was beautiful. I mean, I'm not surprised. Crying has been Sebastian Stan's bread and butter for a lot of years. Still... I really loved that scene. Not only did we see that moment of Bucky realizing he was free of the words but it established that trust between him and Ayo that has been bruised in regards to Zemo. Ayo's loyalty to T'Chaka beyond the grave because he chose them... he chose HER, I also think was a beautiful moment. But I agree that this was very definitely Sam's episode. When he immediately rejected the serum I saw less Samwise Gamgee and more Faramir because Sam, too, is a warrior but one who will choose compassion. He was para-rescue, for fuck's sake, he's always been about helping. I particularly liked that he didn't go alone when requested by Karli after she called Sarah. Sam is compassionate but he's not stupid. You don't get to cross a line like that and just have him go 'okay... guess I'll go alone.' I still think it's laughable that Zemo goes on about supremist when he's royalty. That bit with the Turkish Delight (and, yes, I also saw the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when that came up... fitting because Zemo is also a villain) and the children was less creepy-pedo vibes and far more Prince among the Paupers. I shall stroll amongst these commoners and give them sweets and they shall tell me their tales. I also thought it telling that even Zemo admitted that Steve wasn't corrupted and that he was singular. (Although I noted that Bucky specified Steve because he probably feels that the serum DID corrupt him due to what Hydra was able to turn him into.) At this point, I do wonder if Sam will be able to talk John Walker down. At this point... I wouldn't trust anyone else to do it. And, yes, that final shot of the bloody shield was pure comic book. Well done.

For me, I liked that Peggy's story didn't end with Steve. Even when it was just that one shot of Agent Carter that came with the Iron Man 3 DVD I loved the fact that we something of Peggy AFTER. When she got two seasons of Agent Carter, even better. I loved her interaction with young Howard and Jarvis. I loved her kicking ass. I loved her moving on. Her life wasn't defined by Steve, he was gone and she wasn't. That was what I liked; her perseverance. I understand why they did what they did. They had to remove some players from the stage. They killed off Tony probably because they would not be able to help themselves and want him back as often as they could get him while RDJ got more and more and more expensive. Ideally, I would have let Tony go back to Pepper and Morgan and create new things and ship them to various heroes ('Heard you were having some trouble with blad de blah... this could help. Don't call me, we're camping.') -- or even just have him go be with his wife and child and not interact with the MCU at large anymore. That'd be fine, too. Evans seems to have drawn a harder line regarding his leaving. They'd already brought RDJ on for projects well past his contract so... Hemsworth was also going to be gone but he had so much fun with Ragnarok that he decided to stick around. So, yeah, I get it. I get it all. I don't like it but I get it. And I'm not going to hate Steve because they had to come up with something to take him off the board and decided this was it. It's just a big fat whatever for me. But I do like imagining Steve retreating and letting the others take over while he gets an art degree and stuff. And if I want to imagine Steve/Bucky together I can do that too. They've introduced multi-verses. I can imagine whatever I want.

I'm wondering when they'll name drop The Savage Land. Madripoor has always been connected to Wolverine but it's so handy as the wretched hive of scum and villainy that it's easy to make good use of it without Logan wearing an eyepatch wandering around. Again, I did like the cameo that The Princess Bar made. At any rate, despite it's X-origins it's a great place to use no matter what but especially if you're playing a seedy underground/criminal hangout. And The Savage Land is also X-oriented but it's covered in dinosaurs and Ka-Zar lives there as the handy Tarzan stand in. You could conceivably use that for things other than X. Genosha... I don't expect to hear about Genosha until they bring mutants on board because it's entire existence (and destruction) is based on mutants.

Walker doesn't strike me as remotely super powered right now. A highly skilled individual? Yes. Like Sam, Clint or Natasha. But I wonder if the opportunity will arise for him to take it... hard to say. At any rate, in the 2nd episode when Sam and Bucky brought up the fact that who they fought seemed to be powered by the Serum, Walker and Hoskins both seemed VERY surprised. And neither character has been established as being particularly good actors.