‘Shang-Chi’ Is Not NOT Like ‘Black Panther’

September 6, 2021September 6, 2021 Dominic Mah

As Bruce Lee might say, we must start with dispelling what is not useful and replace it with what is useful. I will not rehash any arguments comparing Shang-Chi to Black Panther which are based in speculation, impulse-tweeted, or otherwise made in bad faith. The phrase “Asian American Black Panther” has been tossed around (including by me), in various contexts, since Black Panther came out in 2018.

Marvel, Reviews, Video Games

‘War for Wakanda’ is Proof Black Panther Needs His Own Game Already

August 26, 2021August 26, 2021 Jamal Michel

War for Wakanda — Marvel’s Avengers free expansion — dropped last week, and T’Challa’s exploits defending his homeland from the likes of A.I.M. and Ulysses Klaue revitalize the game in considerable ways. When Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics announced their All-Access weekend ahead of the expansion on July 31, their player count spiked to over 10,000 gamers through the weekend, well above the game’s average of around 800 since its release last September.

Gaming, Interview, Marvel

‘Black Panther: The Man Without Fear’ Writer David Liss Talks Comics and More

August 18, 2021August 18, 2021 Jamal Michel

The recent release of Marvel’s Avengers War for Wakanda DLC has players rushing back to the RPG en masse and a lot of the outfits that released for T’Challa take inspiration from his many iterations in the comic book world. My favorite comes by way of writer David Liss and artist Francesco Francavilla’s gritty Black Panther run, The Man Without Fear, where T’Challa dons the cowl as Hell’s Kitchen’s sole protector in place of Matt Murdock.

Gaming, Interview, Marvel

‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Narrative Team Talks ‘War for Wakanda’ Expansion

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 Jamal Michel

Marvel’s Avengers highly anticipated War for Wakanda DLC drops tomorrow and gamers are preparing for the arrival of the king of Wakanda himself. It was announced this summer that T’Challa would be voiced by the illustrious Christopher Judge (God of War, 2018), and also that T’Challa was going to bring fans a different kind of story from the folks at Crystal Dynamics.

Marvel, Video Games

Square Enix Reveals New Outfits for Black Panther in ‘War for Wakanda’

August 2, 2021August 2, 2021 Jamal Michel

T’Challa’s influence as Black Panther can be traced back to his inception in 1966 and since then, he’s made countless appearances in film, television, animated series, and more. Some of his most iconic outfits and costumes come from the Silver and Bronze age of comic books, with memorable suits like the classic all black ensemble with gloves and boots to match featured in 1976’s Jungle Action (Vol. 2) #23.

Marvel, Video Games

‘Marvel’s Avengers: War for Wakanda’ DLC Launches in August

July 29, 2021July 29, 2021 Jamal Michel

Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix have been on a tear with news and updates regarding the new DLC for their Avengers roleplaying game. While the player base has seen substantial decline since the game’s launch September of last year, the recent news about War for Wakanda has many players understandably hyped.

Marvel, Video Games

Christopher Judge to Voice T’Challa in ‘Marvel’s Avengers’

July 15, 2021July 15, 2021 Jamal Michel

Since the passing of legend, icon, and super hero Chadwick Boseman last year, the idea of passing the mantle of the Black Panther off to anyone else has been met with understandable apprehension. The entertainment, comic book, and pop culture world was stunned by the news of Chadwick’s passing last year after learning about his personal battle with colon cancer and countless roles and activities he committed to while battling his illness.

Marvel, Movies, Television

HULK REMIND YOU OF GREATEST THINGS MARVEL MOVIES EVER DID!

July 1, 2021July 3, 2021 Dominic Mah

In case the moment is, indeed, slipping away from us*, here are nine Marvel Cinematic Universe achievements that Hulk will enjoy for all time, always:

Marvel, Movies, Reviews2 Comments

‘Black Widow’ Thrives on Epic Action, Family, and Legacy

June 29, 2021July 22, 2021 Laura Sirikul

We’ve needed a Black Widow film since the character was first introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2010’s Iron Man 2. Throughout the eleven years with Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), audiences have learned so much about the character’s difficult upbringing in the infamous Red Room to her time with the Avengers and her ultimate sacrifice in Endgame. In Black Widow, we are given a glimpse into Natasha’s past and how that made her into the badass assassin we know today.

Comics, Marvel

Marvel Celebrates Miles Morales’ 10th Anniversary with Variant Covers

June 23, 2021June 23, 2021 Adonis Gonzalez

Like most folk, I’m not too keen on reminders of my ever-increasing age. But this one, well, it’s not too bad of a milestone reminder.

Miles Morales, Marvel’s best Spider-Man, debuted nearly 10 years ago! You read that right, it’s been almost a decade since Miles inherited the Spidey title from Peter Parker and immediately one upped the kid from Queens.

Marvel, Video Games

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Console Game Debuts, Prompts ‘Avengers’ Comparisons

June 15, 2021June 27, 2021 Dominic Mah

Square Enix and Eidos Montreal showed off the first clips from a new Guardians of the Galaxy game for PS5/PS4/Xbox Series XJS/PC at their E3 showcase on Sunday. The preview included the reveal trailer, an extended Alpha-build gameplay clip, and information about the AAA superhero game’s launch date.

Marvel, Reviews, Streaming

NOC Review: Kneel Before ‘Loki,’ the Best Marvel Studios Series Thus Far!

June 8, 2021June 11, 2021 Mike Manalo

I realize I’ve only seen two episodes, but as of this moment, Loki is absolutely already my favorite of the Marvel Studios shows so far. Don’t get me wrong. WandaVision is incredibly original and ambitious. ~~The Falcon and the Winter Soldier~~ Captain America and the Winter Soldier was relevant and politically aware. But after the first two episodes of each, I found myself questioning whether or not I loved the shows as much as the films. Yes it’s great to give us time to explore these characters as more than just B-members of The Avengers, playing second fiddle to the original six. But was it really going to give me the same feelings I got whenever I’d walk out of the cinemas after another rousing $200M budgeted 2-3 hour installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Marvel, Streaming

Kevin Feige Knew He Wanted to Bring Loki Back During ‘Endgame’

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 Laura Sirikul

Marvel President Kevin Feige didn’t know if they were going to expand Loki’s story after the character’s tragic death at the hands of Thanos in Infinity War. It was only until they brought the character back for Endgame that they realized there was a story behind bringing Loki back from the dead.

Marvel, Streaming

Owen Wilson Talks About Being in the MCU in New ‘Loki’ Featurette

June 7, 2021June 7, 2021 Laura Sirikul

It’s been a long time coming for the celebrated actor Owen Wilson to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s hard to believe he’s never been in a Marvel film or television series. Having been part of the Disney family since 2006 in Disney Pixar’s Cars as the voice of Lightning McQueen, Wilson never really thought about being part of the MCU until he was pitched to by Loki director Kate Herron. Now, Wilson plays Time Variance Authority (TVA) agent, Mobius, who works with Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to stop a rogue variant from killing more of his Time Agents in Marvel Studio’s Loki.

Comics, Interview, Marvel

A Talk with ‘Reptil’ Writer Terry Blas about Marvel’s Shelf-Slashing New Series

May 26, 2021June 11, 2021 Adonis Gonzalez

Let’s admit it, we all went through weird, unexplainable phases as children. Some of us really loved cartoons, some of us collected Pokemon cards, and if you were like me, you were really into dinosaurs. Perhaps even a bit too much into them.

Marvel, Television

Check out this Exclusive Clip from Disney+’s ‘Loki’

May 16, 2021May 16, 2021 Laura Sirikul

As June 9 slowly approaches, fans are getting little bits of footage and clips from the new Disney+ Original series Loki. MTV’s Movie & TV Awards debuted an exclusive clip from the upcoming series.

Comics, Marvel1 Comment

A Hero on a Massive Scale: Reptil Slashes Through Marvel Comics in Late May

May 15, 2021May 15, 2021 Adonis Gonzalez

Imagine, waking up to find you have the ability to transform into any dinosaur you want. You could run as fast as a raptor, be as large as a T-Rex, or soar like a Pterodactyl (I know it’s not a dinosaur just roll with it). What sounds like the fever-induced dream of a child between the ages of 4-14 is every day life for Humberto Lopez, resident reptilian hero and Marvel’s next big thing.

Marvel, Streaming, Television1 Comment

For ‘Loki,’ Wednesdays are the New Fridays

May 5, 2021May 15, 2021 Keith Chow

Everybody who set their reminders for the midnight (or 3am on the East Coast) premiere of Loki on June 11 needs to reset those alerts.

Marvel, Movies, Streaming1 Comment

UPDATED: Cap is Back! ‘Captain America 4’ in the Works with Malcolm Spellman

April 26, 2021May 15, 2021 Mike Manalo

It’s not a spoiler alert to say A LOT happens in six episodes of the epic The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series. So it would make sense for the story to continue in some way, shape, or form to explore everything it sets up. As such, it’s not surprising that today via The Hollywood Reporter it was announced that showrunner Malcolm Spellman is teaming up with staff writer Dalan Musson to write the fourth installment in the Captain America franchise.

Guest Post, Marvel, Streaming, Television1 Comment

I Am Captain America: Get Used to It

April 24, 2021May 26, 2021 Guest N.O.C.

by Thaddeus Howze

While Marvel Comics has never allowed Sam Wilson to remain Captain America, it is good to see they have decided to allow him to hold the title in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In the comics, they engineered an excuse for him to become Captain America and when they were done with the story arc, Steve Rogers reclaimed his title and his shield.

Marvel, Streaming, Television1 Comment

The New ‘Loki’ Trailer is Burdened with Glorious Purpose

April 5, 2021May 15, 2021 Mike Manalo

The god of mischief is back! The last we saw the lovable rogue, the 2012 version of him stole the tesseract and vanished into thin air during the events of Avengers Endgame. Now we get to see what happens next, as he’s pursued by the mysterious Time Variance Authority! And boy does it look like a blast! Take a look for yourself with the new trailer here:

Marvel, Movies, Streaming

New Trailer for ‘Black Widow’ Arrives

April 3, 2021June 11, 2021 Mike Manalo

Oh man. In a perfect world we would have seen this movie almost a year ago. But for obvious reasons we just couldn’t. But make no mistake, our anticipation and desires have only grown stronger.

I miss Nat. And I’ve been dying to meet Yelena. And we all need to see the insanity that is The Taskmaster. So we need this movie in whatever way possible! Thankfully, it’s finally coming to theaters and now Disney+ with Premiere Access this July!

Marvel, Reviews, Streaming, Television2 Comments

NOC Review: ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ Goes for Grounded Over Grandiose

March 18, 2021May 15, 2021 Mike Manalo

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST EPISODE OF MARVEL STUDIOS’ THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER

It’s easy to see why The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was originally intended to be the first of the Disney+ Marvel Studios series before WandaVision. And it is because, by comparison, it is a safer show and an easy toe dip for Marvel Studios into the world of serialized streaming shows. Many may see that as a bad thing, but, frankly, it’s not. The greatest joy in seeing the Marvel Cinematic Universe unfold the past 13 years is we can have a gritty political thriller like Captain America: The Winter Soldier AND a cosmic space opera like Guardians of the Galaxy, and have it all make sense together. And here we see that level of versatility on display again. The sheer fact that there’s room in our world for an insane, reality-bending sitcom/drama show about grief, and a realistic action drama about two people and their insecurities regarding living up to the mantle of their closest friend is nothing short of amazing.