[Abyss]

You've probably seen it by now but they added almost everyone who's played an XMen character, minus Reynolds and Jackman.
MacKellen, Stewart, Marsden, Romjin, Cmming, Channing... all there

ETA found it, courtesy of Dark Horizons, bad formatting mine....

Quote

Here's the complete list:

AVENGERS

Chris Hemsworth's ThorAnthony Mackie's Sam Wilson/Captain AmericaLetitia Wright's Shuri/Black PantherPaul Rudd's Scott Lang/Ant-ManSimu Liu's Shang-ChiMCU CharactersWinston Duke's M'BakuTenoch Huerta's NamorDanny Ramirez's Joaquin Torres/FalconTom Hiddleston's LokiNon-MCU CharactersRobert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom

THUNDERBOLTS

Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes/Winter SoldierWyatt Russell's U.S. Agent/John WalkerFlorence Pugh's Yelena BelovaLewis Pullman's Bob/SentryDavid Harbour's Alexei Shostakov / Red GuardianHannah John-Kamen's Ava Starr/Ghost


FANTASTIC FOUR

Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards/Mr. FantasticVanessa Kirby's Invisible Woman/Sue StormEbon Moss-Bachrach's The Thing/Ben GrimmJoseph Quinn's Johnny Storm/Human Torch

X-MEN

Patrick Stewart's Charles XavierIan McKellen's MagnetoJames Marsden's CyclopsAlan Cumming's NightcrawlerRebecca Romijn's MystiqueKelsey Grammer's Dr. Hank McCoy/BeastChanning Tatum's Gambit

[Tiste Simeon]

I'm watching Ms Marvel and it's a lot of fun!

[polishgenius]

Latest episode of Daredevil absolutely slaps.

[QuickTidal]

polishgenius, on 09 April 2025 - 05:32 PM, said:

Latest episode of Daredevil absolutely slaps.

The last two eps of the season (of which this is one) were part of the retool, so that tracks. Have not watched the most recent ep yet.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 09 April 2025 - 05:33 PM

[Slow Ben]

The ole lady is out of town this weekend, so I finally get to dig into Daredevil. Yasssss

[QuickTidal]

THUNDERBOLTS was really really good. Doesn't follow the Marvel formula really, and that was refreshing. Once again Lewis Pullman is the MVP of the thing he was in (I have loved him in everything I've seen him in, he was exquisite in this), but everyone else comes together really well, and on that front David Harbour's Red Guardian being the glue that makes every scene he's in hold together was awesome. Pugh was a great lead with a lot of deadpan delivery.

But really what this movie is....is about mental health. I was NOT expecting a an MCU movie (not directed by Gunn anyways) to be about mental health at this level. I got emotional multiple times in the story from recognizing aspects of what was being told. The denouement was tear-inducing as well.

I think this is a good sign that people behind the scenes are trying to step out from behind the MCU Formula of old.

spoilers for the rest

Spoiler

Yelena being super broken, and not really able to find purpose, only to be led to it by her dad who was so enthusiastically clinging to the things he KNEW would give not just him purpose but others, was note perfect...and for Yelena to expand that after their talk in the street where she breaks down and he's like "I'm here now, I'm sorry I was broken too, we have a fucked up life...but I'm here now" to realizing that she could help Bob/Sentry in the same fashion, by showing him that with the help of people who actually genuinely care about him around him, he can manage his depression and darkness....chefs kiss. Add in that some of her deeper trauma is from the girl she could not save in the woods...mitigating that by finally being able to save someone from a similar darkness. Perfect. I would also say that Sentry (who they have always had a tough time dealing with in the comics because of his power level) having Yelena to "talk him down" when it goes dark mirrors what her sister did as the first Black Widow with Hulk. It allows Bob to be a similar "bring him out when we need him, but otherwise make sure he doesn't let the depression get to him too deeply" stuff.

I'm also interested in the New Avengers moniker, and I feel like we will get a West Coast Avengers/East Coast Avengers split with Sam's team being in the mix, but Bucky/Yelena's team being in the old Avengers Tower.


Two best scenes in the movie that weren't about emotions or mental health were:


Bucky's arrival to save them on the road with his Terminator 2 motorcycle homage, which was dope as fuck...followed by John Walker cheering that Bucky took out the jeeps chasing them with exploding sticky mines from his launcher, only to have that cheer drop into "Yeahhhhhhhohhhhhhhshit" when Bucky lands one on the limo and explodey-flips it. Amazing comedic moment.


All in all, the best MCU content since LOKI S2 and GOTG3 for me.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 12 May 2025 - 01:58 PM

[Slow Ben]

QuickTidal, on 12 May 2025 - 01:55 PM, said:

THUNDERBOLTS was really really good. Doesn't follow the Marvel formula really, and that was refreshing. Once again Lewis Pullman is the MVP of the thing he was in (I have loved him in everything I've seen him in, he was exquisite in this), but everyone else comes together really well, and on that front David Harbour's Red Guardian being the glue that makes every scene he's in hold together was awesome. Pugh was a great lead with a lot of deadpan delivery.

But really what this movie is....is about mental health. I was NOT expecting a an MCU movie (not directed by Gunn anyways) to be about mental health at this level. I got emotional multiple times in the story from recognizing aspects of what was being told. The denouement was tear-inducing as well.

I think this is a good sign that people behind the scenes are trying to step out from behind the MCU Formula of old.

spoilers for the rest

Spoiler

Yelena being super broken, and not really able to find purpose, only to be led to it by her dad who was so enthusiastically clinging to the things he KNEW would give not just him purpose but others, was note perfect...and for Yelena to expand that after their talk in the street where she breaks down and he's like "I'm here now, I'm sorry I was broken too, we have a fucked up life...but I'm here now" to realizing that she could help Bob/Sentry in the same fashion, by showing him that with the help of people who actually genuinely care about him around him, he can manage his depression and darkness....chefs kiss. Add in that some of her deeper trauma is from the girl she could not save in the woods...mitigating that by finally being able to save someone from a similar darkness. Perfect. I would also say that Sentry (who they have always had a tough time dealing with in the comics because of his power level) having Yelena to "talk him down" when it goes dark mirrors what her sister did as the first Black Widow with Hulk. It allows Bob to be a similar "bring him out when we need him, but otherwise make sure he doesn't let the depression get to him too deeply" stuff.

I'm also interested in the New Avengers moniker, and I feel like we will get a West Coast Avengers/East Coast Avengers split with Sam's team being in the mix, but Bucky/Yelena's team being in the old Avengers Tower.


Two best scenes in the movie that weren't about emotions or mental health were:


Bucky's arrival to save them on the road with his Terminator 2 motorcycle homage, which was dope as fuck...followed by John Walker cheering that Bucky took out the jeeps chasing them with exploding sticky mines from his launcher, only to have that cheer drop into "Yeahhhhhhhohhhhhhhshit" when Bucky lands one on the limo and explodey-flips it. Amazing comedic moment.


All in all, the best MCU content since LOKI S2 and GOTG3 for me.

100% on all points. The kids and I really enjoyed it.

[Abyss]

FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS

Loved it. Absolutely loved it.

Nailed the esthetic, the characters, the fx, the story, all of it. Totally worth paying to see on a big screen.

Notes....

Spoiler

Sue... they absolutely NAILED Sue Storm. The power, the spirit, the competence. She stopped fucking GALACTUS in his tracks and the audience in the theater were losing their minds in the bestest way possible. Reed was perfect, they even captured an effective version of his darker elements. Nitpick we could have done a little more of the stretchy, but fx budgets are what they are and they worked well w what they had. Sue and Reed played off each other brilliantly. They are going into space, to face a planet-eater, and skip over the entirely obvious and irritating 'i want you to stay behind where it's safe' thing in favour of 'i'm in awe of you, no woman has ever done this before'... the scriptwriters just nailed beat after beat w this film. Johnny... great take on the character, kept elements of the playboy/slacker/wilddhild but downplayed them against competence and humour and will to win many comics writers haven't done as well... when Galactus hurts Sue on the spaceship, Johnny is right there hitting the big guy, and smartly goes after his equipment and hurts him, when he finds a way to reach the Surfer it totally works, and at the end "tell Franklin Uncle Johnny loved him" it's absolutely sold. Great performance by the actor, great choices by the director and script. And Ben... my minor nitpick is that the character looked more like he was rolled in cornflakes than rocks, but i got over it because he was otherwise excellent. Smart, huge heart, many great little moments like Reed calling him to deliver the baby... and i laughed at the running 'clobbering time' gag. The beard was probably the one and only bad idea in the movie. Silver Surfer/Shalla Bal, i have no complaints, the choice to go w the female version made sense when the twist w Galactus being after Franklin became clear. Galactus... very nicely done blend of the 'cosmic force beyond comprehension' and 'really big bad guy' elements. H.E.R.B.I.E. .... oh fuckit, it's Herbie, on screen, great fun.

So yeah, loved it. If this is what Marvel is doing more of going fwd, sign me up.

[polishgenius]

Eyes of Wakanda rocks.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 29 July 2025 - 03:36 PM, said:

FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS

Loved it. Absolutely loved it.

Nailed the esthetic, the characters, the fx, the story, all of it. Totally worth paying to see on a big screen.

Notes....

Spoiler

Sue... they absolutely NAILED Sue Storm. The power, the spirit, the competence. She stopped fucking GALACTUS in his tracks and the audience in the theater were losing their minds in the bestest way possible. Reed was perfect, they even captured an effective version of his darker elements. Nitpick we could have done a little more of the stretchy, but fx budgets are what they are and they worked well w what they had. Sue and Reed played off each other brilliantly. They are going into space, to face a planet-eater, and skip over the entirely obvious and irritating 'i want you to stay behind where it's safe' thing in favour of 'i'm in awe of you, no woman has ever done this before'... the scriptwriters just nailed beat after beat w this film. Johnny... great take on the character, kept elements of the playboy/slacker/wilddhild but downplayed them against competence and humour and will to win many comics writers haven't done as well... when Galactus hurts Sue on the spaceship, Johnny is right there hitting the big guy, and smartly goes after his equipment and hurts him, when he finds a way to reach the Surfer it totally works, and at the end "tell Franklin Uncle Johnny loved him" it's absolutely sold. Great performance by the actor, great choices by the director and script. And Ben... my minor nitpick is that the character looked more like he was rolled in cornflakes than rocks, but i got over it because he was otherwise excellent. Smart, huge heart, many great little moments like Reed calling him to deliver the baby... and i laughed at the running 'clobbering time' gag. The beard was probably the one and only bad idea in the movie. Silver Surfer/Shalla Bal, i have no complaints, the choice to go w the female version made sense when the twist w Galactus being after Franklin became clear. Galactus... very nicely done blend of the 'cosmic force beyond comprehension' and 'really big bad guy' elements. H.E.R.B.I.E. .... oh fuckit, it's Herbie, on screen, great fun.

So yeah, loved it. If this is what Marvel is doing more of going fwd, sign me up.

I liked it. Didn't love it. I liked parts of it (anything with Galactus or the Surfer), but found other parts boring and predictable. The retro-futuristic 60's vibe was fine and they didn't really lean into it....which was weird, and there was some incongruous modern stuff mingled in there that felt out of place for the 60's...even the 60's on another universes earth.

All the action sequences were excellent and we a highlight, but the quieter scenes suffered from the script being a bit ho hum. Maybe it's coming off the back of THUNDERBOLTS and SUPERMAN both of which leaned all the way into mental states, what it means to be human, and how emotions and mental health affect everyone....Reed and Sue felt like they were phoning that emotional part in....which is not a slouch on either actor, both are splendid on their own in this...and Johnny spends the first like hour looking and sounding a bit standoffish...which was odd for Johnny Storm who should have more swagger and verve....but after he meets Shalla Bal he gets that mojo and keeps it.

Abyss, on 29 July 2025 - 03:36 PM, said:

Spoiler

Sue... they absolutely NAILED Sue Storm. The power, the spirit, the competence. She stopped fucking GALACTUS in his tracks and the audience in the theater were losing their minds in the bestest way possible.

One of my fave bits actually. Sue storm so rarely has had a chance to show how strong she is in any of the previous films, so that was awesome.

Abyss, on 29 July 2025 - 03:36 PM, said:

Spoiler

Reed was perfect, they even captured an effective version of his darker elements. Nitpick we could have done a little more of the stretchy, but fx budgets are what they are and they worked well w what they had.

Spoiler

Actually one of my complaints is that there's simply not enough power use here...in a later film you can play about with human scenes and FF actions scenes...but for the intro into the MCU film, it felt lacking in that department. Which sucks cause the scenes they did do were awesome. The escape from Galactus Ship being a highlight....minus the hokey birth happening while Thing slinghostted them around the sun bit...

Abyss, on 29 July 2025 - 03:36 PM, said:

Spoiler

Johnny... and at the end "tell Franklin Uncle Johnny loved him" it's absolutely sold.

Spoiler

My fave moment in the whole movie actually. It's also telegraphing (along with the Future Foundation) Johnny's eventual Hickman sacrifice into the negative zone in a later film where Reed's doors are mastered...but still a wonderful moment and sold his version of Johnny to me.

Spoiler

So the one thing that stands out of to most here is that whether we want it to or not...FIRST STEPS is pretty much the exact same plot and character progression as FF: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER....down to a Sue fakeout death, and a sacrifice by the Silver Surfer against Galactus...just removing Galatcus and Doom wanting Franklin plot beat....every other plot beat is largely the same. YMMV on that, but I likes RISE so it's fine.

I will say this, aside from Johnny's almost sacrifice...I felt nothing emotionally in the film...compared to THUNDERBOLTS where I felt like every single emotional beat, scene, and moment felt intensely earned...like Reed cradling Sue....should hit me like tonne of bricks....but nada. I can't understand it, their connection didn't get to me at all.

Buried in here is a film I would have loved....but it's mired down by the more boring or predictable parts...I wish I could say otherwise, but THUNDERBOLTS is the superior Marvel film this year, and SUPERMAN is the superior Superhero movie in general this year...but leaps and bounds. I saw SUPERMAN a second time and wept again at the ending.

Anyways, liked it, didn't love it.

[Tiste Simeon]

I watched Moon Knight. It was pretty entertaining. It turned DARK in episode 5! I hope they build on it because the Egyptian mythology and the Oscar Isaac and the potential for

Spoiler

further alter egos

all make for engrossing lore and storytelling. But I've not heard anything of renewal and it's 3 years on so I'm doubtful...

Anyway jolly good stuff imo

[QuickTidal]

Looks Spectacular!

[QuickTidal]

Supposed Spiderman: Brand New Day plot leak....seriously, don't look if you don't want to be spoiled. Much of this was now confirmed by the trailer, so I'd put more stock in it than most.

Spoiler

Peter is like ghost after the events of NWH, and spends the majority of his time as Spider-Man.

Narrates his confession to MJ and Ned, but believes they are better off without him.

Montage of a bunch of villain fights. Montage ends with Peter having trouble with his powers.

the DODC (Department of Damage Control, set up by Stark after Avengers) thinks Spiderman needs to be managed.

Peter continues to avoid his real life and stay almost constantly as Spiderman.

The more stressed Peter is, the worse his powers get.

His webbing turns organic, things on him starts changing.

Sadie Sink is playing pre-X-Men Jean Grey (set photos show her in Green and gold clothes, an homage to her first outfit), she's the one with her arms out and hood up in the trailer, and is behind the glass enclosure with hands strapped down.

the DODC believes she is an unregistered mutant and that she's dangerous so they are hunting her.

Jean thinks Spiderman is a heat score, she thinks he's reckless and even situation he gets involved with things get worse (the leaked trailer from December has a Sadie line that was removed in this releases tailer that eludes to this fact). She thinks the DODC will use the Spiderman link to hunt her down.

The Punisher protects her because they work together to take out baddies.

Tombstone is the big bad, he wants the city unstable becuase he profits if it is.

He therefore bankrolls the Hand to attack the DODC and free Scorpion.

This triggers the convoy scene from the trailer where the DODC is transporting Scorpion, The hand attacks

Spiderman and Punisher defend the convoy, but it crashes anyways and this frees Scorpion.

The Hand then storms the prison and releases more prisoners (this is Spidey fighting them in the prison from the trailer)

Spiderman powers have issues again and Punisher saves him.

Peters body is now not acting normal, he goes to Banner and asks for help, but it's too late and his body ends up in a Web cocoon.

His emotions caused this.

Out of the web cocoon Spiderman is forced to fight an upgraded Scorpion. Fight scene ensues that Spidey eventually wins, but then perter becomes unstable again and Scorpion escapes.

Banner, under stress from what's happening to Peter (he's trying to synthesize and antidote to stop the mutations), from the DODC, and whatever else, and his Grey Hulk persona comes out (this is linked to his own teenage angst) and Banner can't control it, so he starts rampaging the city.

Punisher shows up in a tank to try to fight/subdue Banner. Spiderman joins as well. But both fail.

Jean Grey shows up and uses her mutant powers to calm Banner's mind and bring him back to normal.

But Peters issues go haywire now and he turns into Man-Spider (this happens inside Peters mind when the spider part of him bargains to let him take over), and HE starts rampaging.

Jean has to dive into his mind to basically remind him that Spiderman is only half who he is and that his human half is DEEPLY important, and ignoring that half while letting Spiderman be all he is, harass allowed this monster out, and she eventually talks him down and he turns back to normal.

Bruce finishes his antidote and it stops Peter from the problems with his powers.

Jean goes off a friend now, and will return in SECRET WARS as the MCU Jean Grey...alongside whoever else is going to be the MCU X-Men.

Peter finds MJ (and her boyfriend, Harry Osborne) and Ned and tells them EVERYTHING.

Post-Credits: Tombstone is in a dark hideout buying a vial of what appears to be the Symbiote. Tombstone then looks at Mac (Scorpion), which seems to indicate he'll have the symbiotic first.