We’re Giving Away Captain America & Wolverine Toys

Last week, we crossed 1,000 “likes” on Facebook and 1,000 followers on Twitter. I mentioned that to thank you all for upping our numbers on both social media platforms, we would be giving away some toys. So, that’s what we’re going to do!

I mention in that tweet that we’ll be giving away Wolverine Mini-Mates, and we are, but since it’s Cap Week, I’m going to throw in a Marvel Legends Infinite Series Captain America figure too.  Click through to find our how to win the toys.

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Captain America: The Winter Soldier, A Reflection

ImageBias Alert #1: I am a sucker for the espionage genre. After Sci-Fi, espionage and Spy-Fi is where you can find me. Favorite non-SF television shows: Spooks (BBC) and The Sandbaggers — another British show. Favorite non-SF comic book: Greg Rucka’s Queen and Country. Favorite espionage films: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Ronin, The Ipcress File, and The 39 Steps.

Bias Alert #2: I am hyper-vigilant when it comes to the portrayal of black folks on screens, especially in Sci-Fi/genre contexts. This is a trauma response induced by too many horrible portrayals.

Now that you are aware of the above biases, let’s get to it. (Minor Spoilers below.)

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Well, That’s What I Get for Watching S.H.I.E.L.D.

I should have known better.

Shawn tried to warn me on several occasions, but I didn’t listen.  After I got out of Captain America: The Winter Soldier over the weekend, one of the first things I thought about was how the events of the movie would affect Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., a show that until now, I couldn’t care less about. Sure, I’ve seen every episode since the pilot, but that didn’t mean I cared about it. Most of the time, I just let it pile up on the DVR and binged two or three at a time. Usually letting it play in the background while I was doing something else. On the one hand, watching it this way made the episodes where there wasn’t much plot momentum (and there were a lot of them) more bearable. On the other hand, I still didn’t care about any of these characters.

Then The Winter Soldier happened, and I thought, “huh, maybe I should care” so I tuned in last night and “live” tweeted with the West Coast. Needless to say, spoilers (for S.H.I.E.L.D. and Captain America) follow.

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After Captain America: Connecting Superheroes Across Franchises

So, the one big thing I will say about Captain America: The Winter Soldier is actually about the first end-credits tease. And I admit to being torn on whether I thought it was a good or a bad thing. Referencing a conversation I had earlier this week (ironically, prior to seeing The Winter Soldier late Thursday night), one major contention I’ve always had with big budget studios mucking around with Marvel properties is the legal hurdles of uniting certain character groups in the cinema, considering the way they are linked in the comics themselves.

Obviously, major spoilers follow!

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Lost in Translation Mystery is Finally Solved

For over a decade, cinephiles across the internet and beyond have debated and theorized about what Bill Murray’s character whispers to Scarlett Johansson at the end of Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-winning film Lost in Translation. It’s probably the most famous non-line in cinema history.

Well, I think I’ve finally figured it out. And it’s so obvious, I feel stupid for not ever seeing it before. FYI, there are major spoilers contained below, so proceed with caution before clicking through!

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Sidekickism: Tokens of My Affection

Originally posted at BadAzz Mofo

There was that moment in 2008’s Iron Man, when Rhodey (Terrence Howard) eyeballs one of Tony Stark’s suits and says, “Next time.” Hardcore comic fans went nuts, because we knew that meant Rhodey would most likely return in a sequel, armored up as War Machine. Of course, Howard was replaced by Don Cheadle — no complaints on my part — and he did, in fact, suit up as War Machine in Iron Man 2. Cheadle donned a different suit in Iron Man 3, much to the surprise of some comic fans, and became Iron Patriot. It is difficult to convey the level of excitement I had — first, when Howard hinted at the promise of becoming a costumed superhero, and then when Cheadle made good on that promise. The only problem — at least for me — was that Cheadle never really got to be a superhero. Instead, he got to be a sidekick.

You would think that I’d have tempered my excitement when it was announced that Anthony Mackie would appear in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as Sam Wilson/Falcon, and to be honest, I did. And then the first images of Mackie in his exo-skeleton flying rig emerged. Then came the trailers. And though I did my best not to, I went nuts. Not just because the second Captain America looked to be better than the first — which it was — but because we were getting a black superhero.

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NOC Reviews ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

Saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier and really have nothing bad to say at all. There were a few issues with story logic but outside of minor nitpicks, I’d have to say this is as good as The Avengers and definitely the best “solo” Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to date.

The best way to describe this movie is “balanced.” It achieved an almost perfect balance between comic book-style action, humor, character development, and story sophistication. Taking a page from the Robert Ludlum/Tom Clancy school of 1970s-era Cold War espionage pop culture storytelling, The Winter Soldier (at the very least) establishes a formula for Marvel Studios that, if used repeatedly, should guarantee the cinematic dominance of Marvel IPs for the next generation.

Minor spoilers follow.
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NOCs of the Roundtable: Kicking Off Cap Week

If you hadn’t heard, a little indie movie called Captain America: The Winter Soldier opened over the weekend, and to no one’s surprise, its $96 million opening shattered box office records left and right. We at The Nerds of Color have been eagerly anticipating the release of The Winter Soldier for months now. Back when the first teaser hit, I was already claiming it as the best movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And now that it’s at a multiplex near you, we’re going to be celebrating, analyzing, critiquing this game changer of a movie all week.

We’re going to start it off by assembling our own team of top secret agents Nerds around the Roundtable and share our first impressions of the Captain America sequel. Caution: there will be spoilers. Read on at your own risk (but seriously, you should go see this already!)

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