Defenders Flashback Idea

Hello again everyone

So by now the hype train for the Marvel Netflix Defenders series has left the station and is moving at full speed! We finally have some casting news for Iron Fist, we have three seasons so far under our belt, and Luke Cage comes out in just a few months. And, according to Matt Murdock himself, Charlie Cox, they start shooting Defenders later this year.

With that in mind, I had an idea that I thought would be great as sort of a prologue montage at the very beginning of the series, before the main events pick up. And I actually got the idea from DC.

Batman v Superman was disappointing on many different levels. However, one of the scenes that most viewers agree was well done was the flashback scene of Bruce Wayne seeing the battle between Superman and Zod from the ground in Metropolis. That little bit helped to establish that character in that world. Not enough to be proper motivation in my opinion, but it was a good start that never got fleshed out. And I think it would be amazing to see something similar from the Defenders cast.

Now, let me take a moment to say that I have no idea what the plot of Defenders is going to be. It may not involve the New York incident at all. But what I do know is that the problems in Hell's Kitchen that led to Matt fully becoming Daredevil were in fact directly related to the invasion. And, even if the Defenders focus on more supernatural enemies, like the Hand, or Black Sky, or whatever is coming in Luke and Danny's series, the first major event to rock their city on a paranormal or supernatural level would have been the alien invasion. And I just think that it would be cool to see all of them at that point in time. Before they were heroes, before the Defenders were a thing. Just to see them all reacting to this one event in so many different ways, before bringing them together for the main series.

Let's start with Danny Rand. Now, I admit I know very little about Iron Fist because I've read very little about Iron Fist, but from what I've gathered and the casting announcements so far, it seems like his father, and associates of his father, are a big part of his world. So from my limited knowledge, I'm imagining Danny Rand in some kind of conference room, big shots all around, discussing who knows what, when it happens - the portal opens and aliens come flying into our world. The room goes silent as everyone stares at the events, moving closer to the windows to try to make out just what exactly is happening.

Jump then to ground zero. Jessica Jones is on assignment, following some piece of dirt for some dirty reason, when everyone on the streets start screaming and blasts can be heard from Chitauri ships. This would be a great time to show some "reluctant heroism" from Jessica, not wanting to involve herself but being unable to stand by and do nothing. So she helps people to their feet, pulls debris off their bodies, maybe even throws a brick at an alien. Obviously none of the Avengers themselves would show up, but maybe we see a shield, a hammer, or an arrow whiz by.

Move further away from the action to Luke Cage's bar. People are running in off the streets, panicking, and as is always the case in situations of mass panic, people start showing their true selves. Robbers stealing purses, riots in the streets, breaking windows and looting shops. And Luke Cage has to step in to keep some level of order in the chaos.

Finally, we see Matt Murdock. And Matt Murdock sees nothing. Everyone else at Landman & Zack is frantic, running wildly as they watch the destruction through the window. But Matt can't see anything, and is overwhelmed by the screams, the shocks pulsing through, trying in vain to determine what is going on, because it's nothing he's ever sensed before.

It doesn't have to stop there either. Depending on which supporting cast members are involved in the show, Foggy could come to Matt's side, trying to explain what exactly is going on. We could see Frank and Maria Castle calling their kids' school, which has gone into lockdown because of the event. Ben Urich arguing with his editor at the Bulletin - Ben wants to go cover the story but his boss doesn't want him to get hurt. Trish Walker reporting on her radio show, urging people to stay calm.

This event shook that city. And even if Defenders is about something else entirely, it would be a nice introduction, especially for anyone who hasn't watched every show leading into it, to show who these characters are when the chips are down, and what they can do.

So what do you guys think? Does this sound like a good idea? A cool scene? Or would it be pointless? If you like it, share this around, and #MakeItHappenMarvel!

Excelsior!

An Alternate View to MCU Villains

Hey all,

I know it's been a while, but I'm currently in the middle of my massive MCU marathon, over 115 hours of material at this point, in preparation for Civil War, and I've noticed something I think is worth sharing.

Now we all know that one of the MCU's biggest flaws is its villains. Many of them are one-dimensional, forgettable, and are too easily defeated or never heard from again (seriously, we need the Leader!). But I realized something that I think the MCU has done right, that many previous CBMs got wrong, and I haven't heard anyone mention it yet, so I'm stepping in.

Remember back before the MCU, whenever you had a new superhero origin film, how forced the villains always seemed to be? Obviously every hero needs a villain, but it always seemed to me a little forced how the villain always seemed to get their powers right after the hero got his.

Look at Spider-Man (2002). Peter Parker happens to get bit by a spider, and an extremely short time after that, Norman Osborn decides to do what any scientist knows is stupid by experimenting on himself and ZAM now we have a villain for him to fight. It's not organic, it's blatant.

In many films, the villain had to be written in, usually as a response to the hero. Now this isn't true of every CBM, but it happens more often in sequels.

Look at the Dark Knight trilogy. In Batman Begins, the main villains are in play before Bruce becomes Batman. Mobsters, Dr. Crane, and Ra's Al Ghul are all working towards their goals before Batman shows up. Bruce becomes Batman in response to that. But what happens next?

In The Dark Knight, one criminal steps up his game in a big way in response to Batman by becoming the Joker. No explanation of where he came from, no real motivation. And a lot of people say that's what makes the Joker great, but it also makes him very easy to write. If you don't have to explain anything, you don't have to worry about it. You just know that Batman needs a villain, so here he is.

Move on to The Dark Knight Rises, and your main villain, Talia Al Ghul, is out for Revenge. This is basically Die Hard The Dark Knight With A Vengeance. She's only there in response to him. And Bane is only there as a pawn for her. Catwoman is not a true villain of the film, as she acts more heroically than anything else.

Man of Steel is terrible about this as well. Of all the time that has passed since Zod and his followers were exiled, and Kal was sent to earth, it just so happens that when Clark comes out as Superman to save Lois happens at nearly the exact time that Zod et. al miraculously, with no explanation, free themselves and come to Earth. It's lazy writing. In BvS, Luthor. Jr. has no motivation. No in-story reasoning for his actions, but the movie needs a villain, so he's stuck in there anyway.

The X-Men films feature more organic villains, in terms of the government. But the actual "villains" of the X-Men lore are usually put in the spot of the hero as a result. So that's a whole different situation.

Now, look at the MCU. What I've noticed, and what I love, is that the villains were around first, and the heroes are mainly stepping up because of them. It may not be as "cool" as a mysterious figure like the Joker, but it's more organic to the story, and gives the villain more understandable motivation. I mean, General Zod was literally written to be programmed to do what he did, so that the writers wouldn't have to actually create any motivation for him.

Iron Man: Obadiah Stane was playing his game long before Tony Stark was even running Stark Industries. This is a villain that has been planning for decades and acts before we even have a hero. But his actions - giving the kill order on Stark, is what creates the hero. Stane may have gone out without a bang, but his character makes more sense in that world than Zod somehow showing up just as Superman puts on the costume. Then in the sequel, again you have a character who has been in the game for decades, Ivan Vanko. Ever since his father Anton was rejected by Tony's father Howard, his rage has been building. It's organic, it makes sense, even if the villain himself is lackluster. And Justin Hammer is just like Obadiah Stane, a greedy business man who wants what Tony has. Iron Man 3 used a flashback to establish that Killain, again, has been working on his plan for years, and that has progressed until the point of the film.

Captain America: In The First Avenger, Johann Schmidt had become the Red Skull before Steve Rogers ever picked up a shield. Abraham Erskine fled to seek out a hero in response to the Skull's existence. If the Red Skull had not been created, Erskine may have never finished his work. As Schmidt progressed with his plans, the need for a hero to stop him increased. It fits the story. And the followers of that man continuing his work into The Winter Soldier was a great twist. We didn't suddenly have dozens of villains for Cap to fight without explanation, we had hundreds of villains that were simply biding their time, waiting for their moment to strike.

Hulk: General Ross was a villain (though not 100% a dick) before Banner got angry. And the Hulk was caused due to the actions/lies of Ross himself. Seeing a pattern here?

Thor: Loki and his brother have known each other for centuries, with Loki's mischief ever growing. Thor's education in humility came as the result of Loki's tricks.

Ant-Man: Darren Cross had been working on his Yellowjacket suit for decades, and Scott Lang was trained in response to his danger.

Guardians of the Galaxy: These various characters need to band together to stop Ronan, who has long been a threat to innocents.

Do you see what I'm talking about? The MCU villains may not seem as menacing as villains in other franchises, but I believe that's because they're written to be more "realistic" and easier to relate to. I think the concept that the "villains" are mostly ordinary people, people that we know, that turn out to be evil, is more understandable, and honestly, scarier, than monsters that show up randomly to give the new hero something to punch.

Charn (Part I)

Hey all

So this it totally not related to anything comic book or movie or anything.

This is me shamelessly plugging my own story that I'm working on, "Charn"

Charn is intended to be the story of the city of Charn, introduced in C.S. Lewis' book "The Magician's Nephew" as the birthplace of Jadis, the White Witch, and a title character of his more famous book "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." My story will also detail the origin of Jadis, and the path that led her to where she is when first introduced in the Narnia series.

As an added, twist, my story will show the origins of Charn and Jadis' bloodline as coming from the land of Oz, most well known from L. Frank Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and its many, many adaptations.

My goal is to bridge these two fantasy worlds together into one larger story, using Charn as the connective tissue.

If that sounds interesting to you at all, check out the first section, connecting Oz to Charn. Some of the characters here are from the second Oz book, "The Marvelous Land of Oz" as well as those from the first book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

Star Wars: Episode IV v. Episode VII

Hello again readers! As a follow-up to last week's Star Wars post, I have yet another Star Wars post for you here today! I read many comments from viewers of The Force Awakens (including George Lucas, apparently), making such claims that it was the same as A New Hope, a copy of A New Hope, a reboot of A New Hope, etc.

So in response, I created this chart showing that, while there are indeed similarities in the plot, the characters themselves in The Force Awakens are very different than their New Hope counterpart, which means that this film and the future of the trilogy is sure to play out differently that the Orig Trig.

Check it out by clicking the link below!

https://prezi.com/ovr7sscmaewh/episode-vii-vs-episode-iv/

Star Wars Map

Hello again, viewers. It's me, once again trying to resurrect this blog that I spent so much time and effort to create before letting it fall into obscurity. After many failed revitalization attempts, I have created the New Years Resolution to create AT LEAST ONE NEW POST per week. Hopefully that will last.

SO, at the end of the first full week of 2016, here is the first post! And it's about...Star Wars?

Ok, so that's odd for me. I had never seen any Star Wars movie (other than A New Hope) until about a month ago. I had tried many times to watch but just kept falling asleep. They bored me. BUT with all of the hype for episode 7, I decided to try again, but starting with Episode I rather than Episode IV. I still had to stop for breaks a few times because I came close to falling asleep, and I still don't care for episodes I-VI, but I finally made it through the series, including the Clone Wars film, and about 30-40 episodes of the show, and ended with Episode VII. Clone Wars and TFA I actually enjoyed, so I guess that's something?

Anyway, as I was going through, there were so many characters and planets and things that frankly are just gibberish words, and it became clear I wouldn't be able to keep track of everything just from memory, so as I was viewing I created this map to keep everything straight. Check it out, let me know what you think, and may the Force be with you to hold you SW fans over until Rogue One.

http://prezi.com/8raezwji9mkz/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share