“The Dark Phoenix Saga” changed how I viewed comic books. Released from January to October 1980 and written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, “The Dark Phoenix Saga” showed me that not all comics would have happy endings. Jean Grey, arguably the kindest and most empathetic X-Man, gets exposed to a solar flare which turns […]
Marvel Comics
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Marvel’s Top Gun
Popcorn movie of the year, with extra corn
If you’re anything like me and grew up loving cinema, movie night was the best night of the week. You’d go to the dinky little pre-IMAX theater with sticky floors and weird smells, get your buttery snacks, and for the next two hours you’d be transported to another world. And if it was a good […]
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Welcome to the Machine
Alita prays audiences want a sequel
This has to stop. “Alita: Battle Angel” is the second theatrical film I’ve seen this year that does something that a decade ago would have been unthinkable. “Alita” is about a cyborg with a human brain that teams up with a doctor of cybernetics and a boy she has a crush on to make their […]
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Thwip!
Into the Spider-Verse explores a welcome new universe
Since 2002, we’ve received six Spider-Man movies of wildly varying qualities, spread out over three separate franchises. First, we had Tobey Maguire’s emo Spider-Man, followed by Andrew Garfield’s spunkier take on the character. When the Marvel Cinematic Universe got its hands on the web slinger, we got Tom Holland’s pitch-perfect portrayal of Peter Parker and […]
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Nun-Sense
The Conjuring universe gets some bad habits
Why is the idea of a cinematic shared universe so difficult for studios to reproduce? Sure, Marvel has nailed it, proving to other studios how and why it can be done, but the DC Comics Universe featuring “Justice League” and “Suicide Squad” and Universal’s “Dark Universe” with Tom Cruise’s “The Mummy” have failed miserably. Aside […]
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Marvel Swings For The Fences
“Captain America: Civil War” is an ideological trip to the MCU
Captain America debuted in Marvel Comics in March of 1941, based on the character of Steve Rogers, a young man whose parents have died, who grew up during the Great Depression. Trying to enlist for World War II to fight the Nazis, he fails to pass the physical requirements, but is invited to take part […]
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Make ‘Em Laugh
Deadpool wisecracks his way straight to the heart
In the Marvel Universe, there really isn’t anyone like Deadpool. Created in 1991 by extremely terrible comic book artist Rob Liefeld, Deadpool (real name, Wade Wilson), began his comics career as a villainous killer-for-hire in X-titles like “The New Mutants” and “X-Force.” He’s a ripoff of DC Comics’ villain Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke, […]