Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. SN3 EP13 – ‘Parting Shot’

This review contains spoilers.

Last weeks episode finished off with Hunter and Bobby in the belly of a plane that Malick is riding off in, after his success in turning Anton Petrov to his “cause” and convincing him that Phil Coulson is the head of Hydra.

The episode opens on Bobby and Hunter being interrogated by Russian authorities. After a small sequence, we cut to Bobby and Hunter elsewhere – and a caption reads ’34 hours before’ – instantly, I’m excited. I’m a huge sucker for narratives where you’re presented with a current situation, and then the rest of the time is spent showing you how the characters got there.

Kickass, really great things about the episode:

This was a really Hunter and Bobby centric episode, and seeing them work together was actually really great. We haven’t had a hugely intense look at them working together in SHIELD so a whole episode dedicated to them? Awesome.

It was also cool to see them discuss their relationship in terms of SHIELD, and them bringing up the sacrifices they’ve not only made as a couple (never getting to go away together, no honeymoon), but as people – namely, the fact SHIELD constantly makes alliances with people they shouldn’t, Ward being a prime example. They constantly talk about the ‘Greater Good’ but then they end up getting damaged later.

The fight scenes this episode were incredible – they were really wonderfully choreographed, as per usual with this series, and there were some really stand-out moments – slow-mo Daisy kicking ass, Daisy and Bobby fighting together, and Bobby and Hunter fighting off security guards. It’s just awesome.

The episode twist, of going from Espionage to Assassination real damn quick. I loved that the initial plan was infiltration and intel gathering, because SHIELD is in a terrible position, and if Russia thought America was coming in hostile on them, it would cause a lot more problems for just SHIELD. I also liked this weeks Inhuman – a man who could manifest his shadow as a sentient being. He was also a political Inhuman, and the first of his kind.

Enjoyable family moments I loved:

So first things first, MACK IS BACK. After his mysterious just not, being around at all for the last episode, I was glad to have him and his sarcastic quips back. I also have a note about this particular exchange;

“You’re going to need some transport, is that going to be a problem?”
–Insert Hunter punching a Russian man in the face-
“No, I think we’re good.”

What we also learn from this episode are that Hunter and Bobby are the King and Queen of bullshitting. The detective interrogating them says something along the lines to Hunter of “It’s impressive. How you can talk about absolutely nothing and make it sound like information” – that sounds an awful lot like most adults.

FitzSimmons are BACK! Finishing each others sentences and working together again – it’s really fantastic to see and it made me really excited. This was especially heightened by the fact that Hunter apparently shares nature documentaries about the planet dying with the two and gets them to watch them so they can all sit and discuss it together – absolutely adorable.

I think we all also know the ultimate team moment of this episode: the ending. But I’ll come to that later.

The “meh”/”why.” stuff;

 This episode didn’t have many moments I didn’t like – but one moment I did sigh at was May’s speech to Hunter about how she’s still angry about him shooting Ward even when it could cost Andrew (SN3 EP4 – Devil’s You Know) – but then she talks about how SHIELD is for the great good? Don’t get me wrong – anyone and their dog knows Hunter’s choice was driven mostly by vengeance for Bobby, but considering Ward was the head of Hydra, and he had a metric tonne of weapons at his and Hydra’s disposal, I would honestly say he made a better call than risking Ward getting away. So I feel like that moment was a contradiction – but, it did lea to Hunter and May being friends again, and Hunter making quips later to her that she smiles at.

Overall, I really liked this episode – I feel like it’s my favorite so far of 3B. The narrative was great, the cinematography and fight choreography was really something else, and it was one of those great episodes where the team act like a family. I also felt like this episode, while seemingly filler, moved character issues forward a bit more. We had a major change in the teams layout, and it also gave a close look at just how precarious a position that SHIELD is in right now. This precarious position is only more heightened by the fact Malick has political influence all around the world – making him all the more formidable, because he is untouchable.

The final scene of this episode with The Spy’s Goodbye broke my heart. It was such a bittersweet ending, and by the time the second shot had been purchased for Hunter and Bobby’s table, I was an absolute mess.

It was such a beautiful way to say goodby to two really significant characters from the SHIELD roster, two agents that have come so far and become such an integral part of the team. It really solidified that these people aren’t just spies who work together – they’re a unit, they’e friends and they love each other. This final scene was so perfect, and a fitting farewell to two great Agents – for now, at least.

Seeing as their was no hide nor hair of HiveWard this episode (which surprised me considering his huge dramatic ending in The Inside Man), I imagine next episode will bring him forward. Given the ending of the episode featuring Malick’s daughter who wants to meet “someone” – and I can only assume that someone is Hive.

I’m hoping that from this point on, with the new team and information, we’ll start to see major progress and we’ll build up to an incredible, action-filled finale that this show has now become famous for.

Heads Up Book Edition!

In the latest video from our resident vlogger Aly ‘the Little Librarian’ she teams up with some other familiar faces from the world of book-tubing! Who’s gunna make an appearance? Well you’re just gonna have to watch to find out more.

‘Divergent: Ascendent’ Has Its Budget Cut

Last week, Part 1 in The Divergent Series finale Allegiant, hit theatres to a wavering fan-fare leading to the lowest opening weekend for the young adult franchise so far.

Sources out of The Hollywood Reporter are circulating the news that in reaction to Allegiant’s disappointing return, Lionsgate are slashing the budget for its predecessor Ascendent – the final film in the franchise – due out next year. The source revealed that “the budget for the next one will be reduced,” but “they haven’t said by how much,” indicating that a significant cut will be in effect given Allegiant’s $110 Million budget.

The first film in the series Divergent earned a $29.1 Million on its opening weekend, with its sequel Insurgent giving the series an all time high with $52.3. The dwindling numbers showing the franchise inability to retain a new audience outside of its core fan base.

Although the weekend opening is a disappointment for the studio, It is believed that Lionsgate still plan on releasing Ascendent alongside Universals eagerly anticipated The Mummy reboot and Paramounts sequel World War Z 2.  Going head-to-head with both Summer Blockbusters on June 9, 2017.

For all your Disappointing-Young-Adult-Genre-News, stick with @mitch_rated at Skatronixxx

‘Zack Snyder’ Looks To Expand The ‘300’ Franchise

Although Director and Producer Zack Snyder has moved on to pastures-new as lead visionary and Universe builder for Warner Bros. DC franchise. He hasn’t lost the passion for his previous action-romp 300, which Snyder is hoping to expand across history.

In an interview with Collider, Snyder revealed that discussions have taken place about different incarnations of 300, bringing its unique visual style and framing out of Ancient Greece and into other conflicts in time. “I think I mentioned that we talked about the Revolutionary War version, and we talked about the Alamo,” revealed the Batman V Superman director. “There’s a battle in China, a “Lost Legion” kind of concept, any of those kinds of things are on the table.”

Released in 2007, 300 was the first of two films based on legendary comic book writer and artist Frank Miller works, with 2014’s Rise of an Empire based on Miller’s as-of-yet unreleased story Xerxes.

Should Snyder get the go ahead, it would give the creator the opportunity to bring his George Washington passion project to the big-screen – an idea that Snyder has previously expressed an interest in producing – commenting that the painted visual display of 300 would suit the era.

Snyder’s current big-screen venture Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theatres March 25, 2016.

For all your Hack-N-Slash-Sandal-Wearing-News, stick with @mitch_rated only on Skatronixxx

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. SN3 EP12 – ‘The Inside Man’

This review contains spoilers.

Last episode, we left off on HiveWard playing the worst game of ‘pull my finger’ known to man, whilst Coulson and the team gear up to take on Malick, to take down the final head of Hydra once and for all. Alongside this, we find out the President has assigned our favourite General Talbot as the new head of the ATCU.

 This weeks episode is largely a good, old fashioned undercover episode. It’s good to see these kinds of episodes where the whole team work undercover with new stories and names, and show the spy work SHIELD also does outside of helping the Avengers.

The episode starts with a flashback to the mid-season finale scene where Coulson kills Ward by crushing his heart inside his chest – because what better was to violently and personally kill the man who shot the person you love?

The flashback then proceeds to show the gross and violent possession of Ward’s corpse, and a series of flashbacks of Ward’s life before and after Shield before it cuts to his possessed face opening it’s eyes and saying “Grant Ward. I wish we could have met under different circumstances.” It makes Hive all the more terrifying that to accompany his ever decomposing Ward-Suit, that he constantly refers to himself as “we.” – and the other part of the “we” there probably isn’t Ward.

Then, they proceed to drag in Lucio, the Inhuman cop from Bouncing Back who can paralyze people simply by looking into their eyes – at first he’s bandaged, but then Hive demands to see his eyes. Creepily (but kind of predictably enough.), Hive isn’t hurt by this Inhumans particular power, which naturally causes Lucio to be just a little bit on the afraid side. Then Hive proceeds to step backwards out of an outline of his body, and when Lucio asks “what are you?”, Hive responds with “What are we?” before sending the outline of himself forward. Yikes.

Then, we open up the episode post the Agent’s of S.H.I.E.L.D logo and we’re in an airport with General Talbot and his very angry wife, Carla. He’s asking her not to leave like this, to which she angrily responds telling him he’s always put his work above his family, and now they’re paying for it. Talbot calls after her, looking rather defeated, that he will fix it – and Carla storms away with one last disappointed look. I can’t help but feel a bit sad about it – it was fairly obvious from their last interactions that they have a deeply loving relationship. (Taco Tuesday’s was so adorable.) Then Phil meets up with him, and they proceed to talk/argue about their roles and relationship now, and about the undercover operation they’re involved in – and then we find out shortly later, much to the others agents horror, that Talbot has Creel on his side.

The next 40 minutes of the episode, we’re treated to Talbot and his overwhelming inability to do espionage. The man was in the army for God’s sake, and yet, the man can barely hold it together. He makes casual racist ignorant (“I don’t just wear a dress for anyone!” – regarding the ceremonial robe he’s been asked to wear to honour the country he’s in, and “It’s good to finally put faces to all of your unpronounceable names” – oh, oh dude. Why have you been made head of the ATCU when it requires being a people person.) There’s also some really cool spy moments in there, including Coulson using his high-tech prosthetic to create film gloves for his team-mates to break into their targets rooms and try and find out which one of them is working for Malick.

Then, during the meeting in which three very important politicians want to make a sanctuary state for Inhumans, the absolute unthinkable happens – Talbot blows Coulson’s cover wide open. He exposes the team, Phil’s arm, everything – and then just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, Malick strolls on in and tells the room that Phil Coulson is the director of Hydra.

At the point, I briefly started to worry about the direction this show is going in – because it makes literally no sense for Talbot to be Hydra, and it wouldn’t have held the same shock value as say, when Ward turned out to be Hydra. However, it turns out that Malick has Talbot’s son (which explains Carla’s fury in the beginning of the episode.) – and Talbot is bound to helping him to save his son.

There’s also some side action going on with Lincoln and Daisy but it’s not an awful lot – it’s mostly them fighting and being cute. And oddly enough, pushed to the side is this little tidbit – Creel’s blood contains the secret to stopping people with Inhuman blood from transforming. Why this is only a side story and not a massive focus, I’m not entirely sure, but it does crop up an argument between Daisy and Lincoln, with Lincoln on team “not everyone should change” and Daisy on team “It’s a birthright and if this gets into the wrong hands they will wipe us out”. Both have really valid points – it’d be nice to have control over the people who could turn and use whatever powers they’re given to murder or hurt people, but who gets to decide that path for another person? I wish this had been given more focus than just fleeting scenes between the spy-story side of things.

Overall, this is a fun episode. It doesn’t hold anything too consequential in the main characters story lines, because by the end of it, Talbot’s son is safe again and Phil and Talbot go back to their “hate-buddy” routine. I think if they’d kept the child with Hydra longer, kept using Talbot as a pawn, it might have held some more weight, but this was just more of a filler episode. That’s not a bad thing – it was still a lot of fun, and I always really enjoy the undercover SHIELD stuff a lot. The gadgets, the cover stories, it’s just good old-fashioned spy stuff that makes the show enjoyable.  It’s a bit of a fluffy episode with some action, a few character pointers and very little development, but that’s honestly fine, as long as this is just a bit of ground work for the adrenaline pumping stuff we’ve become used to on this show.

 Well, all was fun until the end of the episode.

About halfway through the episode, Hive asks for five regular, healthy humans to be delivered to him. Under the assumption he’s going to choose one as a host body because Ward’s is literally rotting around him, he’s left alone with them – and outside, you hear a lot of horrifying screaming that seems to even make the bad guys deeply uncomfortable.

And then the end of the episode reveals why they were screaming. Because standing in the middle of five skeletons, red bloody and still with a bit of flesh on them skeletons, covered in human slime and blood, kneels Hive. And slowly, oh so slowly, he rises up and stands, dripping so much of this sickly ooze, rising until he looks dead into the camera through the muck, staring right into you for a really uncomfortably long measure of time, before the episode ends.

It’s very rare of Marvel, particularly Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. to go all out on the gore like this. While it has had it’s gross connotations and it’s violence, I can’t pinpoint much of a moment when it’s been that grim and visually shocking. It had a tonne of weight behind it, and it’s made me scared and excited to see what Brett Dalton’s character is going to do next.

I’m hoping next episode, more actual plot will start to weave it’s way into the main team, and that we get those full rich episodes that make this show fantastic.

“A Gathering of Shadows” by V.E. Schwab

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E.Schwab is the second in the “Shades of Magic” series and the sequel to the first installment A Darker Shade of Magic.

It’s been four months since the stone from Black London fell into Kell’s hands – four months since a Grey-Londoner, Delilah Bard, joined him on his journey, since the fall of the Dane twins, since Rhy’s fatal injuries and since Kell bound his life to him.

Delilah has found herself part of the crew about the Black Spire, sailing the ocean and exploring with Captain Alucard Emery, and Kell has been at the palace of Red London – resented and confined by his King and Queen, he lives like he’s made of glass to keep his brother safe.

However, the events of the Element Games – an international magic tournament- promises to bring all of them together. And meanwhile, another London is slowly beginning to flourish again. The balance of magic is perilous, and for one London to rise, another must fall.

A Gathering of Shadows is such an incredible sequel and I am so impressed by V. E. Schwab and her absolutely magical hold of fantasy writing.

First of all, the world building is utterly phenomenal. I could cry with how in love I am with this beautiful series of worlds that are so vivid in description and so fantastically put together. The differences between the London’s are so striking and so alive – there is no other word for it. These places don’t just feel like locations on maps – they feel so alive, I am genuinely inclined to believe they exist and Schwab is just keeping a Delilah Bard-esq secret from us about her origins.

What I also utterly adore is alongside this beautiful world building, is how incredible the Magic is. It’s wielded unlike any other fantasy novel I’ve read before – it’s treated like a living creature, that cannot be told what to do, and that can be deadly if you allow it to have control. It’s treated like an entity you have to communicate with, and I’ve honestly never seen magic treated like this. It’s so fluid and beautiful and I just adore it.

In terms of characters. Schwab not only has a astounding grasp on world building and fantasy writing, but human emotions are also part of her talent. Every reaction to what’s happened feels so real – Rhy and his terror and guilt that he’s become a burden to his brother, which pushes him to try and be more of a responsible ruler and to try his best and free his brother. And Kell, oh dear sweet Kell, you broke my damn heart in this book – his constant trying to make it up to his family, to the King and Queen he once considered parents who are now so cold and distrusting to him. I nearly burst into tears when Kell ended up breaking down to the King and the line “I can’t keep atoning” – it was so wonderful. And then his thrill at the Games, his love for the Elements and for his magic, it’s just so perfect.

And here is a paragraph just for Delilah Bard. That wonderful, beautiful character that she is. I love everything about her; her attitude, her fighting style, her ability to find trouble wherever she goes. She’s everything I wanted to be as a little child, and she’s so damn great with such an impressive thirst for adventure. I love that she’s so willing to risk everything to find out who she is, and that she’s damn willing to risk everything for Kell.

In terms of how the story holds up? A Gathering of Shadows follows on very, very well. The consequences and main focuses of the first book are kept in line and remembered, and meanwhile, the characters grow, and the new story comes to light. You learn all about the Element Games, how they’re so involved in the politics in Kell’s world, and the fight scenes involved in those scenes are kick. Ass. They’re so wonderfully written, I can pretty much see these fights when I read them and I love them so so much. I also really love how the old characters interact, and the introduction of some new ones – including Rhy’s ex-boyfriend-ish pirate, Alucard Emery.

The other part of the story also ties in beautifully – with the return of an old character, and the introduction of two new and terrifying ones, it flourishes alongside Kell and Delilah’s story despite literally being an entire world apart. It fits so beautifully in with everything else, and it’s unbearably tense and terrifying to know this is happening while Kell and Rhy and Delilah hatch plans to sneak themselves into the Games and play.

A Gathering of Shadows is a more than perfect sequel. It carries the story on, continuing to build on this incredible world V.E. Schwab has written, developing the characters without entirely changing who they are unrealistically. It’s an incredible second installment to this series, that leaves on an ending that has you begging for more because no way did it just end there.

The third installment of the Shades of Magic series hasn’t had a title or a release date announced at this time.

The Flash SN2 EP12 – ‘Fast Lane’

So this weeks episode starts with a flash back to the night of the particle accelerator explosion at a tar factory with two men holding another man over a boiling vat of tar after some the two men get the information they need they drop the guy into the vat below. As the pair are leaving we see the explosion in the distance and they high tail it out of there, we then see the blast catch the drowning mans foot before he is fully submerged. We there arrive back in the present day to see the tar factory being demolished and as a digger disturbs the ground we see a puddle of wet tar appear and then a hand pop out from this puddle we have ourselves a new meta human.

We then see Dr Wells from Earth 2 working on a piece of tech that will allow him to drain Barry’s speed a bit at a time so that he can give it to Zoom but before he can complete his build he is interrupted by Barry who wants to help him with what he is working on. Wells tries his best to put him off by suggesting Earth 2 technology is to advanced for Barry to understand and that he prefers to work on his own. Barry doesn’t take no for an answer and proceeds to read all the books Wells has in double quick time and sets about trying to help Dr Wells with what he thinks is a way of stopping Zoom and saving his daughter.

After Barry trying to connect with the new Dr Wells by telling him he felt like this was like the old days and that the previous Dr Wells was like a mentor to him at which point Earth 2 Wells snaps and throws a board eraser at Barry’s head stating that he will eventually betray them all and if he was made to choose between his daughter and Barry he would pick his Daughter every time.

We then get to see the new meta human in the form of a tar puddle on the floor of a garage owned by none other by one of the guys who dropped him into the tar at the beginning of the episode. The new Meta human explains what it felt like to be dropped into that tar before deciding to show him instead, Barry and Joe arrive on the scene to investigate the murder and can tell this was a work of a meta human and he will take a sample to Cisco to analyse back at Star labs.

We see Dr Wells finish his piece of tech back at Star labs and manages to fix it to Barry’s suit under the flash symbol just as Barry and Cisco are discussing Ciscos new app that helps track meta humans from his phone. The app goes off and Barry goes off to face the new meta human Cisco has named Tar pit, as Barry is hurtling towards danger Wells activates another piece of tech that seems to storing the speed force of Barry as he is producing it. Barry faces off against Tar pit and manages to stop him by setting off a fire hydrant he then takes the second attended victim who was the other guy who helped create Tar pit to the police HQ for answers on why he after him.

When Barry gets back to Star labs we see Cisco ask Barry if he is feeling ok as he was moving slower than he normally does, Barry replies that he is feeling fine just a bit tired. We then see that Dr Wells has come up with a way of stopping Tar pit by using nitrous grenades and that this will help freeze Tar pit and not allow him to fry his next victim. We then see Dr Wells waiting at a warehouse and who appears none other than Zoom, Dr wells gives Zoom the speed force that he drained from Barry and then advises if he gets his daughter back he will help him drain off all Barry’s speed force. Zoom grabs Wells by the shoulder and advises that he will not give him back his daughter until he has helped him fully drain Barry and that he will torture his daughter for fun over and over again unless he does.

During this episode we also see Iris and Joe try and talk Wally out of continuing his illegal drag racing but this does not go down well and Wally walks out to attend another race, Iris makes guest appearance at this race and advises Wally she is going to do a piece on the racing for the paper. This also does not go down well as this is the last thing that people at these type of races want, Iris also spots the guy who appears to be organising these races and manages to sneak a picture of him for her story. Iris later visits the organiser and threatens too write the article about the races, he does not take to kindly to this and threatens to hurt Iris if she runs the story only for Iris to reveal that she has been recoding the whole conversation.

We see Wally show up to confront Iris about her visit and to warn her to back off as these are not the kind of people to be messed with. Iris advises Wally that he does not need to race anymore as the hospital bills for his mum have been paid in full and she doesn’t eat to see him wrapped around a tree, Wally leaves advising Iris that if she turns up to another race he wont be able to protect her. The team are trying to piece together how the two men that have been targeted by Tar pit know each other, it turns out they were all in prison together even two of them sharing a cell together. They manage to find out who the other person was sharing with and it turns out to be none other than the guy organising the drag races just in time for Iris to show up and say she knows where to find him.

As they Iris and Joe show up Wally is about to start his latest race as the two racers speed off the tarmac in from of them begins to bobble making the two high speed cars start bouncing around. We see a large piece of the tarmac appear in front of Wally’s car as he’s goes up this ramp it aims his car back towards the spectators and the race organiser, Barry turns up and manages to get Wally out of the car in time before seeing the car flying towards Iris. Barry sets off to stop any debris hitting Iris and he manages to push away a wing mirror but cannot seem to catch a rather sharp looking piece of glass heading towards Iris no matter how hard he tries and it ends up hitting her in the shoulder.

Luckily Iris is taken to the hospital and the injury isn’t serious and she is going to need to rest up. We go back to star labs and the team are trying to figure out why Barry has been getting slower and we find out that Barry’s speed force has decreased by 2%, eventually Dr Wells can’t take it anymore and advises that team that is was him and shows them the device and that he is working with Zoom to get his daughter back. Joe loses it and punches Wells in the face and chucks him in one of the Meta human cells before he kills him. Barry and Joe then go off to deal with Tar pit once and for all by using the guy the arrested earlier as bait and sure enough Tar pit takes it and ends up being nailed with two nitrous grenades by Barry.

The episode end with Barry saying that the team need to decide if they are going to send Dr Wells back to Earth 2 and then uses the implosion grenades that Wells has designed to close the portal. The team go down to the cells and Dr Wells thinks this is goodbye and they have agreed to let him go home only for Barry to announce that they are a team and they would not send him back alone and they will be coming with him to Earth 2.

As always for all your Scarlett speedster needs stick with Deadpool_1984

 

‘Mark Hamill’ & ‘Kevin Conroy’ Team-Up For ‘The Killing Joke’ Animated Movie

Batman: The Animated Series legends Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill have confirmed that they will once again face-off as Batman and The Joker in DC’s animated adaptation of The Killing Joke.

It had been rumoured that the voice acting duo had been tapped to star after DC announced they were working on brining one of their more controversial stories to the small screen at Comic-Con last year.

Comic Book Resources got the confirmation however when they had a chance to speak with Geekdom’s fan favourites: “I’ve had the great privilege of voicing Batman for more than two decades, and some of my favorite moments in the recording booth have been alongside Mark Hamill,” Conroy said. “Mark always enables me to be a better actor. I’m thrilled that we’re both back to bring these characters to life in one of the most heralded Batman/Joker stories of all time.”

Hamill, who will make his official return as Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode 8 next year. Also shared the same sentiments as his his co-hort expressing that “the chance to work once again with Kevin Conroy, my favorite Batman, in what some consider the definitive origin of this iconic villain is a dream come true for me. I am beyond thrilled to return as The Joker in ‘The Killing Joke!“

Fans of the Cape Crusader will remember the story as a dark period for Jim Gordon and his family as The Joker sets out to prove that even a hero can become a villain given “one bad day.” The 1988 Alan Moore comic also revealed for the first time Joker’s origin story as a failed comedian and featured the iconic villain shooting Barbara Gordon – which not only ended her superhero career as Batgirl – but also confined her to a wheelchair until DC’s New 52 comic book reboot in 2011.

CBR also indicates that another voice-acting legend Tara Strong (Teen Titans, Powerpuff Girls, Rugrats) will voice Barbra Gordon while Twin Peaks’s Ray Wise will play her father Commissioner Gordon.

Although Warner Bros. have yet to reveal a release date for the film, this years Comic-Con San Diego attendees will be treated to the world premiere with the animated feature hitting stores later in the summer.

For all your Comic-Book-Animated-News, stick with @mitch_rated only on Skatronixxx

NEW “CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR” TRAILER DROPS

Ladies, gentleman, all in-between. A new trailer for the highly anticipated Captain America: Civil War has dropped.

And it’s two minutes and twenty-seven seconds of flawless, beautiful perfection. And it’s led to a lifetime of crying from me and every other Marvel fan going.

Honestly, this is a really flawless trailer – the Russo brother’s have been absolutely perfect in executing their marketing, they really have. It’s probably mostly because we all know roughly how the story goes, but with the huge differences between the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and the actual comic books, they also know that realistically – we have no clue what’s coming.

So, let’s break it all down.

By the looks of the trailers, and what we’ve heard so far, the bulk of this movie is (obviously) centering around Captain Rogers, as he blurs certain lines to try and protect Bucky Barnes – and considering Bucky was, until recently, the brainwashed Winter Soldier, a lot of people do not want him protected. Riding on that, is also General Ross, here to ask for heroes to sign up for the Superhero Registration Act – and whilst some seem to agree with the idea of monitoring heroes, keeping their actions in check, not everyone else does.

And such, all at war seems to break out.

The trailer looks like it’s going to be, as recently described, “an emotional horror movie” – you’ve got Steve and Tony fighting sure, but then you’ve also got Bucky going after Rhodey, you’ve got T’Challa coming off of a car onto a motorcycle to stop him driving away, there’s ANT-MAN ON HAWKEYES ARROW and just tonnes of the usual phenomenal stuff. Alongside the Scarlet Witch seeming to wrangle Vision down into a crumpled mess, Black Widow kicking men in what appears to be task-force gear, and Crossbones showing up, this trailer was already all levels of hype.

And then, the Russo’s did it. The Russo’s finally, finally did it. They revealed Spider-Man.

And this might be a snap judgement considering he’s in it for all of a few seconds – but he’s perfect. He’s so perfect. This trailer has captured Spider-Man and everything he should be, after coming home to MCU for his big debut with only a short clip and a few little words. Tom Holland, Russo’s – well damn done.

Captain America: Civil War hits UK cinemas April 29th 2016.

Collector Corps Unboxing: Deadpool Box

 

Collector Corps is a type of collectible goodie box, along the lines of Lootcrate and BeautyBoxes, but with a bit of a nerider, Funkier flair (see what I did there?). Every two months, a new Marvel Comics themed box is released, containing goodies exclusive only to subscribers – each box is themed differently, ranging from the Villians box to the Secret Wars box.

February featured their most romantic box yet: Deadpool.

The box came looking super awesome – as per usual! Collector Corps always nail it with the outside of the boxes, keeping this constant and gorgeous design. Alongside the outside of the box, the inside is just as beautiful. As per, it features comic panels of the main feature inside the box in red and it looks absolutely stunning.

Looking into the box initially, you’ve got the usual staple of the box – the Collector Corps exclusive patch and pin! As per, they’re very adorable and very fitting to their theme and wonderful little collectors items.

Onto the content of the box – opening the inner lid, I’m greeted by a T-Shirt and the exclusive variant issue comic book.

The t-shirt is an adorable Funko exclusive, featuring a neat background with Deadpool in his black and red suit on the front, in Funko style. It’s super cute, and now that I’ve changed my shirt size from Small to X-Small, it fits extremely well.

The comic in this box is, fittingly, Deadpool #1 – the variant is a cute little cover of Funkpool, munching away on some Chimichangas from his katana whilst standing on a mountain of them. It’s fitting, it’s colourful and it’s a really great variant issue.

On to the toys and figurines!

The first one was this absolutely adorable little plush I pulled out, who was sitting free in the box. He’s from the brand Mopeez Plush, and he’s so sweet! He’s very squidgy and soft so, everything you need in a plush. He’s also incredibly well weighted despite his massive head, so he’ll sit wonderfully on a bed or a shelf.

The second figurine is from the brand Dorbz – and as it suggests, this little guy is completely adorable.

These Dorbz are slowly but surely taking over, and for good reason – they’ve also featured in the Villian’s box from October, with a Loki Dorbz featuring in there.

I just really love him. He’s so detailed for something so small, and the little pony and cowboy hat just really top him off. He’s such a great edition and he’s going to look great next to Ultron and Loki from the prior boxes.

Finally, the star of the box – the moment we all wait for when unboxing the Collector Corps boxes – the exclusive Funko.

Look at him. Isn’t he just so awesome?! A little Deadpool, springing into action with katanas at the ready, and a gorgeous see-through stand to pop him on.

He’s just perfect: I love him. Like all Funko’s, there’s a wonderful attention to detail. He’s also a fantastic exclusive – he feels so unique and right for this box. He’s not too over the top, but he’s not bland. He’s in action, ready to go, and a really fantastic edition to the collection.

Honestly, Collector Corps always do these boxes fantastic – they always ensure great quality and amazing value for money. They’re consistantly great in both design of the actual box, and the execution of the goodies inside. Personally, I can’t imagine ever cutting off this subscription, and I am so very excited for the Civil War box to hit us come April.

And that’s all for now! Let me know if you’re a Collector Corp’s subscriber, or if you have any questions about the boxes and/or how I get them as a UK Subscriber.

Fare thee well,

Fran