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Spider-Man to enrole in the MCU

A fractured multiverse is nothing new to Comic Book fans, but since they’re under the same management there was always room for them to overlap. Just take a look at the recent inter-dimensional jaunts of Spider-Man and Deadpool for an example of that. But when it comes to live action adaptations the separation is maintained by a force even more insurmountable; legal rights. And not even Superboy could punch those universes back together.

Or so it seemed.

Today Marvel have announced that fan-favourite Spider-Man would be welcomed into the Cinematic Universe. What this actually means is remarkably uncertain. Spider-Man will appear in an MCU film after which Sony will release their own film in 2017. Speculation places a blue and red spandex guest appearance in Captain America 3: Civil War, partially because of Spider-Man’s role in the Civil War comic book event, but mostly because the other MCU movies on the imminent horizon have either wrapped up filming or are set in space.

In other news, while the 2017 Spider-Man movie will be funded by Sony, Marvel has also announced changes to their release schedule in light of this announcement. Thor: Ragnarok will still strike cinemas in 2017 (November 3rd) but Black Panther and Captain Marvel are now set for 2018 and Inhumans will début in 2019. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Review.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is many things, first and foremost if these is a fantastic film that will delight comic book fans and regular moviegoers alike. More interestingly, though, is that it addresses some of the main concerns people may have had about the future of the Marvel Cinematic universe.

Firstly, it can’t be easy making a comic book movie. If you stray too far from the source material then you risk alienating fans of the comic, adhere too closely and that same audience will never be surprised. The identity of the titular Winter Soldier isn’t going to be a huge revelation to most people watching the latest Marvel movie and, fortunately, that really doesn’t matter. This film is not about him, it’s about Captain America and the modern world he’s found himself a part of. It’s about questioning the battles he finds himself fighting and which side he’s really on. It’s about whether a World War II era soldier, super or otherwise, has a place in the current day battlefield. And there’s also a cybernetically enhanced assassin with a penchant for eye makeup and face masks who may or may not be related to his past. The story involves so many threads, familiar, new and different, that no one is going to be hurt by how familiar they are, or aren’t, with the source material.

Then there’s the concern that over time this single Marvel universe would feel far too homogenised to be consistently entertaining without simply being more of the same. Viewed on its own this is still very much a comic book movie, but it’s also a techno-paranoia fueled espionage thriller. Yes, this is the same universe that brought us the bright coloured alien invasion in Avengers or the mythological fantasy of Thor: Dark world, but it’s rooted in a darker, more believable reality. In comic book terms, they’re all Marvel creations, but different artists and writers have a great deal of latitude in presenting a story to their audience.

And this is different to the films that have come before (and a literal world apart from the sci-fi comedy of the incoming Guardians of the Galaxy). People have complained that Cap’s new muted uniform is a far stretch from his original Stars and Stripes outing and it quickly becomes apparent that this is to fit the darker missions SHIELD is sending him on. It’s a theme that pops up in comic books frequently and not only does it represent the tonal shift in storytelling, but it also allows for that triumphant third act hurrah after the hero realises that things simply aren’t the way they’re supposed to be.

That hero is brought to life once more by Chris Evans who is clearly more comfortable than ever in this role. Cap has been allowed to grow as he lives in this modern world but he retains the basic nature of who he was pre-freeze. Samuel L Jackson, too, proves himself more comfortable than ever as Nick Fury who finally receives enough screen time to flesh out the character a little more. Scarlett Johansson return to Black Widow’s skin tight stealth suit doesn’t seem to have been as successful though. The story lends itself to discovering so much more about her character but much of her performance for the first half of the movie’s run time seems to fall flat. It’s only a relative drop, but given the development of her character in Avengers it seems a shame that she’s handled so differently when she has more of an on-screen presence. New hero on the block, Falcon, is brought on board with only the slightest hint of contrivance and is realised in fantastic comic book glory when Anthony Mackie finally suits-up. Robert Redford as his high powered, morally ambiguous spy leader is everything you could want from the role which is almost detrimental to the suspense factor since nothing he does will come as a surprise to anyone who’s seen a Robert Redford film before.

As mentioned before, the Winter Soldier may be in the film’s title, but this is not his film. In good comic book form this is essentially volume one in his story arc with much left unresolved. As a stand-alone experience that may be frustrating to some but it’s much better than comic book movies of old where one or more villains would be allowed a single movie’s run time to cover their origin, crime spree and sudden death. It’s nice that Loki isn’t the only persistent antagonist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe now too.

A masked assassin with a robut arm is not the only thing that stops this being a straight espionage thriller; this is very much a blockbuster movie. From the high action opening that demonstrates what puts the super in Captain America’s soldier to the epic final showdown(s) it’s evident that Disney have made sure most of this film’s budget ends up on screen. It doesn’t try to compete with Avengers in terms of special effects spectacle but it doesn’t have to, it’s not that kind of movie, but there are too many holy-crap moments to consider this anything but a visual feast.

Fortunately the writing matches the action with the script both supplying the tension while not scrimping on the occasional moment of humour. Again, this is not Joss Whedon’s typical sarcastic tone, but that doesn’t stop it from being clever and occasionally witty. It comes back to that same universe, different interpretation aspect that’s easy to get away with in comic form, but could risk incongruence in a live action situation where actors as well as their characters are common elements. Speaking of the story, another concern put to rest by having a single universe is the fear that nothing change, that each movie must tie things up nicely so that future films, or the ongoing Agents of SHIELD, are adversely affected. After the events of this movie nothing can be the same again, and it will be fun to see how that’s going to work out.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is an amazing experience that reinforces the foundations of Marvel’s cinematic vision while simultaneously turning everything on it’s head. It gets five salutes and you get a reminder to sit through to the end. It’s standard form for Marvel movies to have end credit sequences and this one has two of them.

Images courtesy of marvel.com
 

We have ALL the Spider-men!

Marvel have just announced the greatest piece of Spider-Man fan service since Spider-Island. Launching this November SPIDER-VERSE! will unite every Spider-Man (and, for that matter, every Spider-Man costume variation) from every universe to combat Morlun. Expect more talk of Spider Totems.

The first threads of this multiverse spanning web will be spun in April’s Amazing Spider-Man #1 which sees the return of Peter Parker (driven by Peter Parker) with the main event kicking off in issue 9.

Dan Slott, who has recently proven his worth over and over with the excellent Superior Spider-Man run will be at the helm once again and the art will be taken care of by Olivier Coipel. Marvel fans should recognise that name from a number of titles including some beautiful work on the House of M event; it will be interesting to see whether his work will be a departure at all from the more comic stylings that Humberto Ramos is establishing for Peter Parker’s immediate future.

An event even greater than the time Madam Web brought together alternate Spider-Men to battle Spider-Carnage!

Editor Nick Lowe had this to say on this ambitious undertaking:

“The scope of this event is so big, the word ‘epic’ just doesn’t do it justice. The story is just huge and heartbreaking and has necessitated spreadsheets to organize all the Spider-Men. Luckily we have a writer who has proven time and time again he can thread impossible story-needles [Slott] and the most versatile character artist in the business [Coipel].”

It’s certainly an exciting time to be a Spider-Man fan and it looks like we’re finally going to see the event that adds Miles Morales to the 616 universe.

A Stan Lee cameo has neither been confirmed nor denied. Don't ask me why I decided to fixate on this episode!