Patriotic Parallels

 

Consider today’s post a spin-off entry to the Spider-Symmetry series, because I’m looking at the visual parallels between other MC2 comics and their parent Marvel titles. I’m calling this particular one Patriotic Parallels because this entry is about Captain America and American Dream.

 

The first comic we need to look at for today is 1965’s Avengers (vol. 1) #16, specifically the iconic cover of the issue which depicts Captain America posed in front of a wall plastered with images of various potential new members. The issue itself is notable for introducing Captain America’s new line-up of the Avengers team, comprised of former criminals Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch and Hawkeye. This story is where the idea of the ever-changing roster of the Avengers truly begins.

 

Now let’s look at the MC2’s homage on the cover of A-Next #4 which features American Dream posed in front of a wall plastered with images of various existing and potential Avengers recruits. Of course, the issue properly introduced Shannon Carter aka American Dream and her Dream Team as new members of the Avengers: Freebooter, Bluestreak and Crimson Curse.

 

The MC2 has always demonstrated a high level of respect and appreciation for it’s comic book forebearers and this is just one more example.

 

Until I find a nice wall to pause in front of dramatically, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Captain America: Brave New World Review

 

A slight detour from my usual content here, so bear with me. Today I want to talk about my initial thoughts having seen Captain America: Brave New World last night. Marvel Studios latest entry in their Marvel Cinematic Universe offers up a paranoid thriller with the usual customary superhero trappings courtesy of director Julias Onah. Not satisfied to merely deliver a reheated version of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this film explores themes of growth and change along with challenging perceptions both of ourselves and others.

 

With President Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross’ first 100 days in office coming to a close, he is desperate for his Adamantium Treaty to be finalized so he can cement his legacy and redefine public perception and, more personally, win back the approval of his long-absent daughter, Betty. However, unseen forces are conspiring to ensure the whole world learns the unsettling truth behind the President’s rise to power and tip the world into chaos and war. The new Captain America, Sam Wilson works to uncover the truth and free his framed friend, former solider and unjustly imprisoned Super Soldier Isaiah Bradley. With so much at stake, can Sam prove himself worthy of the shield and save the day with the President of United States against him?

 

Julias Onah evokes political thrillers such as All The President’s Men and Day of the Jackal in tone and the reverence for the genre is on display right from the movie’s earliest scenes. With the future President framed from behind bulletproof glass for his public addresses and the use of gloom and low-lit scenes to remind the audience things are not as positive as we would perhaps like them to be in Washington, this movie slowly builds anticipation for the inevitable. Perhaps it was just my V-Max screening, but the use of softer, grainier lenses which sharply focus the camera on the frame’s central figure really lends itself to the era of Watergate scandals and intrigue.  

 

Anthony Mackie is Captain America. I am not being hyperbolic; he embodies the character perfectly. While Chris Evan’s performance as Steve Rogers was a moral man who was decisive and unwavering in his beliefs, Mackie’s Sam Wilson is a very different man but one equally fit for the role of Captain America. Mackie delivers a Sam who has made peace with assuming the role but still has self-doubt. Where he shines is implementing the character’s compassion and willingness to consider a person’s desire to do better, to be better. This element is partly informed by Sam’s past as a soldier and as a counsellor for veterans and therein lies a key aspect of the film’s narrative that I am sure many will overlook. Sam encourages Isaiah Bradley to take a chance and step out from the trauma of his past, he inspires Joaquin Torres to be a real hero by his actions and he manages to find common ground and empathy for Thadeus Ross despite their own complicated past and differing opinions.

 

Harrison Ford has always been a fantastic actor and his performance in this movie is no exception. He truly assumes the role of the late William Hurt and finds the humanity and vulnerability inherent in the lonely, elderly Thadeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross without making his temperament any less strong. Embodying elements that were already there and delivering what is the culmination of a 17-year character arc across multiple films is a big ask for anyone stepping into another’s role, but Ford handles it with ease and respectable grace. While Ford may be at ease, Ross is most definitely not, with his on-screen political career on the line he is evidently stressed and tense. Previous Ross appearances referred to the character’s heart condition and the movie manages to weave this into the plot in a satisfying way, along with significant elements from 2008’s Incredible Hulk.

 

Carl Lumbly really breaks my heart as Isaiah Bradley, you can really feel his pain when he talks about his past and his justified distrust of the government. His plight, framed for an attempted assassination of President Ross, acts as the central motivation for Sam to investigate the shady plot. This was the right method to make things personal for the character. Sam feels responsible for putting Isaiah in the situation and if he cannot exonerate him, Isaiah will be sentenced to death or face the rest of his life once again unfairly behind bars. Meanwhile Lumbly does not want to pull Sam’s good name down with him, despite his own dire situation. The dynamic between them and that of Danny Ramirez’s Joaquin Torres are some of the most genuine and grounded relationships in the film and it is a shame we did not get more scenes of the three of them together.

 

Giancarlo Esposito, a late addition to the film, works well as the leader of the Serpent Society known as Sidewinder. Esposito is clearly having a great time in the role but his character while a fun element of the movie doesn’t do much more than act as an intermediary for the real mastermind of the piece. I am glad Sidewinder was not killed off, at least, leaving us the potential for a future return. Good to see Giancarlo flex his action muscles, too.

 

I think Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns was one of the elements of the film that received the least media attention in the lead up to its release, neither positive nor negative. Ironically, he is one of the best parts of this movie. A versatile and infinitely changing actor, it is a great shame we have not seen him return before now. Fortunately, the long-dangling plot thread of his character’s absence for 17 years pays off with his performance which is equal parts creepy, manipulative, calculating and cold. I am delighted audiences get to see Nelson deliver on the Incredible Hulk film’s promise, though I am slightly unhappy we did not get as much of him as I had hoped. Nelson was pleased with the implementation of practical make up and prosthetic effects to achieve the character’s appearance and I feel his initial scenes, barely lit in shadow with a chilling voice and glinting green eyes helped enhance this effect.

 

As I write this I am listening to the utterly captivating soundtrack by Laura Karpman. It is no exaggeration to say this is one of my favourite new Marvel scores. Its deeply rooted influences in the bygone spy and espionage thrillers, political dramas and nailbiters of the 1960’s and 70’s are delivered with pitch-perfect attention to detail. The undercurrents of intrigue and mystery rising to a crescendo and crashing like waves as they mix with the more action-laden bombast and soaring superhero elements. My heart was pounding as the music suddenly ramped up and began beating out a breakneck discordant drumming rhythm. Truly an experience to be heard in the surround sound of cinema. I love this soundtrack.

 

Not satisfied with serving up more of the same in terms of the action sequences audiences have come to expect in a Captain America film, Julius Onah has gone for a more grounded, down and dirty approach for the hand-to-hand combat. Not juiced up by a Super Soldier serum, Sam Wilson uses everything at his disposal to take down his opponents, with a more meat and potatoes fighting style whenever he finds himself without wings or a shield. This grittier and dirtier choreography might not play quite as flashy or impressive, but it works to make Sam feel more vulnerable and his wins more hard-earned. The addition of his iconic wings, now made from the sturdy and energy absorbent Vibranium, present new opportunities to deliver never before seen manoeuvres and tricks. An action highpoint would have to be the aerial dogfight over the newly emerged Celestial Island, with both Captain America and the new Falcon, Joaquin desperately trying to stop an international incident breaking out by stopping rogue United States pilots attacking Japanese forces.  

 

The computer-generated effects, particularly on the Red Hulk and during the aerial combat sequences are very well integrated into the frame. For my money, this is the best any Hulk has looked onscreen since 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Harrison Ford’s likeness is faithfully captured in the facial expressions of his crimson counterpart without losing the monstrous aspect of the towering figure, with the physicality and brutality remaining intact. There are a few minor moments in other sections of the film where it is evident the visual effects team had to work on a tight schedule, but nothing that would take you out of the scene.

 

While there’s always room for improvement and a difference of opinion is always expected and even welcomed, I feel the Captain America: Brave New World does a very solid job making a three-course meal out of the various ongoing narrative threads only a long running shared universe like the Marvel Cinematic Universe can provide. Thunderbolt Ross has gone from a decisive, driven military man of action who relentlessly pursuing Bruce Banner aka the Hulk across continents to advance his career at the expensive of his relationship with his daughter Betty, to a lonely man at the height of his political career who wants nothing more than to change how the world sees him and win back the love of his daughter. Ross once saw Banner as a monster and now because of his actions over the decades, becomes a metaphorical, literal and physical monster himself.  

 

Further to this, Sam’s own history with Ross informs and colours his perception of the President, which heightens the tension in their scenes together. While Sam feels he must constantly prove himself and live up to the mantle of Captain America, he is striving to see the good in people and that is the crux of this films theme.  Early on, Ross extends an olive branch to Sam, an example of his desire to move forward and make amends for his past actions. Likewise, Sam takes this as a sign that things can improve between them but following the attempt on his life, Ross quickly reverts to his old self and dismisses Sam. The real meat of this dynamic is a scene where Thadeus Ross discloses is desire to reconnect with Betty, recalling how they used to walk among the cherry blossoms together, which pays off in the films climatic fight between Sam and the Red Hulk. If I had to criticise an element of this final battle, it’s how quickly the tension is resolved, though I feel it’s earned by the previous groundwork the movie has laid between them, with Sam appealing to Ross’ sincere desire to do better.

 

Overall, Captain America: Brave New World is not going to win over any haters, many of whom have risen in recent times to decry nearly every Marvel movie the latest failure if it is not utter perfection. But this just might restore the hope of some Marvel movie fans who still want to hold on to hope, myself included. I may revisit my opinions on movie after further viewings but for now, it is a highly competent film that demonstrates the strengths of Marvel Studios. If you are looking for it to outdo such lauded entries as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the high benchmark for the Studio, you’ll come away disappointed, but if you go in with an open mind and willingness to give it a chance, it might just surprise you.

 

 

Until I find another movie that features a red President trashing the White House, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

 

 

The Leader in the MC2

 

Marvel Studio’s newest film, Captain America: Brave New World is days away from release and I personally cannot wait to see it. Once again, I’m going to tie today’s MC2-related post into an aspect of Brave New World, with a look at the so-far unseen mastermind behind the film’s plot. This is a brief look at The Leader in the MC2.

 

First appearing in Tales to Astonish #62 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Samuel Sterns aka The Leader is one of the Incredible Hulk’s greatest villains thanks to his gamma-gifted superhuman intelligence. The following issue presents our first full look at the mega-cranial megalomaniac with Tales to Astonish #63 detailing the Leader’s origin as a lowly labourer who was bombarded by gamma rays in an accident which transformed him, turning his skin green and causing his head to enlarge to accommodate his vastly increased brain and intellect.

 

In the MC2, the Leader only made one appearance, in Amazing Spider-Man Family #3 when Alexsei Sytsevich aka The Rhino and Peter Parker aka Spider-Man discuss the expenses of paying for medical treatment and they bond over their common lack of money, both working job to job. Aleksei mentions some of the ‘bad bosses’ he’s worked for including the Beetle, Doctor Octopus and the Leader, the latter of which refers to the events of Incredible Hulk #124 and Incredible Hulk #157-#159.

 

In the Incredible Hulk #124, The Leader revives the unconscious Rhino and subjects him to further gamma treatments to enhance his strength, providing him with a new Rhino suit and sending him to attack Bruce Banner during his wedding to Betty Ross.  During the encounter, the Leader accidentally hits the Rhino with his gamma ray device, causing the Rhino to charge him, resulting in an explosion which seemingly kills them both.

 

The Leader would later control the comatose body of the Rhino in another plot against the Hulk that leaves Jim Wilson (relative of Sam Wilson aka the Falcon) injured and ultimately led to both the Hulk and Rhino on a rocket headed for the High Evolutionary’s Counter-Earth. As a result of the rocket’s shuttle explosion upon their return to Earth, the Rhino would become permanently bonded to his Rhino suit (Incredible Hulk #157-#159). This event, apparently occurred during the Incredible Hulk #159 and was implied in Thing #24 and confirmed in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition #10, would become Alexsei’s driving motivation in several stories that followed. No wonder Rhino considers The Leader a bad boss!

That’s it for the Leader in the MC2, but it’s nice to see the connections to Marvel’s past woven throughout the MC2. I’m very soon heading to an early screening of Captain America: Brave New World, so let’s see how that bulbous brain looks on the big screen!

 

Until I leave a huge Russian guy stuck in a Rhino suit after leaving him in a coma because I wanted to ruin my arch-enemy’s wedding, I remain

 

frogoat

What To Watch Before Captain America: Brave New World

With Marvel Studios latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America: Brave New World fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to take a quick break from my usual content and make a guide for anyone wanting to catch up or refresh before it hits theatres. Here’s What to Watch Before Captain America: Brave New World.

 

It’s a good place to start off with 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, only the second ever entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and one film that gets too often dismissed or forgotten. The MCU’s introduction to Bruce Banner’s (here played by Edward Norton) incarnation of the Hulk. Important characters also include Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, Bruce’s former lover and confidant, as well as her father military man Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, played by the late William Hurt. Thunderbolt Ross uses a version of the Super Soldier Serum on Emil Blonsky in an effort to counter the Hulk, with disastrous results. Notably, Bruce has a secret contact which turns out to be Samuel Stern, a scientist who makes use of Banner’s gamma-irradiated blood to further transform Blonsky in The Abomination and is also himself inadvertently infected…a plot thread which hasn’t been touched upon on-screen until now.   

 

Skipping past 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger as it doesn’t feature any of the current film’s major players, we jump straight to Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). This movie introduces the audience to Anthony Mackie in the role of Sam Wilson and marks his first appearance as the winged hero The Falcon. Sam aids Steve Rogers aka Captain America and Natasha Romanoff aka The Black Widow against Steve’s brainwashed friend Bucky now known as the titular Winter Soldier in a global conspiracy that goes all the way to the top of S.H.I.E.L.D.

 

Optional: 2015 saw Avengers: Age of Ultron in which Sam Wilson briefly meets up with Steve, only reappearing at the film’s end where he is recruited to the new Avengers roster. Also in 2015, the first Ant-Man movie features Scott Lang as the fledgling Ant-Man sneaking into the Avengers Compound to steal a MacGuffin only to be confronted by The Falcon. The two briefly battle but ultimately Scott gets away. This does however set up…

 

Captain America: Civil War (2016) pits Steve Roger’s Captain America against Tony Stark’s Iron Man when the Avengers are forced to choose sides following the implementation of the Sokovia Accords. The movie also saw the return of William Hurt as Thunderbolt Ross after 8 years, now promoted to the Secretary of State. With Bucky framed for a bombing, Sam helps Steve to recruit like-minded allies (including Ant-Man) to hold off Tony’s own team. Sam’s pick proves extremely helpful in the conflict but ultimately, they are all arrested. Fortunately, the film ends with Steve breaking them out, leading them to go on the run as fugitives…

 

Released in 2018, Avengers: Infinity War was the culmination of ten years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With Thanos’ forces on Earth seeking the Infinity Stones, Sam and the rest of the fugitive team reform the Avengers to defend The Vision in the Battle of Wakanda. Despite their best efforts, Thanos arrives and claims the last of the Infinity Stones before using them to erase half of the population of the Universe including Sam Wilson…

 

While the majority of Avengers: Endgame (2019) doesn’t feature The Falcon, it does have one of his most memorable scenes. After the erased population is restored 5 years later, a weary Steve Rogers stands alone against Thanos and his assembled army but just when all seems lost he hears Sam say ‘on your left’ as the returned heroes emerge from various portals and assemble for the Battle of Earth. Afterwards, a now aged Rogers passes on the shield to Sam.

 

Optional: The events of the Black Widow movie released in 2021 take place between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, revealing more details on Natasha Romanoff’s early life and her surrogate family. William Hurt makes his last performance as Thaddeus Ross prior to his passing, pursuing Romanoff before she successfully dismantles the illusive Red Room’s Black Widow Program, apparently prompting him to give her a chance to escape. Reports indicate that actress Shira Haas will portray Ruth Bat-Seraph - known in the comics as Sabra – in Captain America: Brave New World, but to avoid controversy she will be established as a former Black Widow rather than an Israeli superhero.

 

As only the second Disney+ live-action Marvel Cinematic Universe series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier covers a lot of ground in it’s six episodes. We learn more about Sam’s family life and his conflicted feelings about taking up the mantle of Captain America. He and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky have to put their differences aside to stop the Flag Smashers, while working to stop the new government-sponsored Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell) when he goes too far. The series also introduces Joaquin Torres, a member of the Air Force who relishes working alongside The Falcon and is gifted a set of his old wings. When Bucky and Sam free Zemo from prison to aid them, the also wind up on the wrong side of Wakanda’s special forces, the Dora Milaje. After some soul-searching and a meeting with Isaiah Bradley, a tortured escapee of a Super Soldier Serum test who became Captain America during the Korean War only to be locked away for his service, Sam accepts the Captain America title and saves the day.

 

Optional: Strictly speaking, I don’t believe there will be any returning characters from the 2021 movie The Eternals featuring in Captain America: Brave New World. However, that film’s climax does centre around a gigantic Celestial emerging from the planet only to be transmuted, effectively becoming a massive ‘Celestial Island’. This new island will play a major role in the upcoming film.

 

That should be all the essential viewing you need to fully enjoy Captain America: Brave New World next month. I’m looking forward to seeing Harrison Ford take up William Hurt’s role as Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross and seeing how this mosaic of Marvel Cinematic Universe plot-threads will be woven together.

 

Until I get to tell Tom Holland I have my own movie, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

History of the Latverian Flag

 

Thanks to my delightful younglings and extended family, I have recently been indoctrinated into the cult known as Fortnite. For those who don’t know on the 16^th of August 2024, the popular video game Fortnite’s Battle Royale released its latest narrative update, Chapter 5: Season 4 called ‘Absolute Doom’, which focuses on Marvel’s premier villain and the Fantastic Four’s most fearsome foe, the self-appointed Monarch of Latveria himself, Victor Von Doom aka Doctor Doom.

 

In terms of plot, Doctor Doom has seized control of the current formation of the Battle Royale Island, known as Helios, remaking much of it to resemble his beloved home country of Latveria as his ‘Kingdom of Doom’. This includes new landmarks such as Doomstadt, Doom’s Courtyard and Castle Doom, all adorned in Latverian Flags. Which finally brings me to my extremely belaboured point, the topic for today: the History of the Latverian Flag.

 

The Kingdom of Latveria first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #2, which also presents the first time we see what could be considered a national flag, emblem or regal symbols. We’ll see a few reoccurring motifs in later stories, such as Doom’s stylised capitalised ‘D’ and the emblem with an eagle.

 

Following this is in Fantastic Four #85-#87 we glimpse various more banners and designs with the most notable this time an eagle on a sceptre, and the return of the ‘D’ logo, the latter of which may simply be Victor’s personal mark.

 

Oddly, Incredible Hulk #143 is the first time we get a clear look at what is unmistakeably a flag for Latveria outside their embassy in New York when Doom brings the Hulk there, and it’s also very different from what has come before. Depicted as a red flag with a completely different black eagle-like design in the centre, with a nighttime exception inverting this colour scheme (presumably a simple case of artistic licence) and on the issue’s final page we see the bird as simply a lighter red, notably alongside other flags.

 

In the 1987 Marvel Graphic Novel Emperor Doom, we again see various stylised capital ‘D’ insignia adorning various items after Doctor Doom uses the Daredevil villain Purple Man’s mind control powers to become ruler of the entire planet Earth.

 

In the graphic novel Doctor Strange and Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment the eagle and sceptre design returns, helping create something of a throughline across the decades.

 

I’ve discussed the significance of both the Onslaught and Heroes Reborn events to the MC2 in the past, and here we have another situation where it might apply as Doctor Doom was among those who apparently perished saving the world from the psychic entity known as Onslaught. It's revealed that Franklin Richards used his amazing abilities to create a pocket dimension to save his parents and all the other heroes. The reborn heroes would awaken in this pocket dimension to live out new lives, unaware of their pasts. In this new world, Doctor Doom again rules Latveria and we see an assortment of flags on display in Fantastic Four (vol. 2) #4, including the ‘D’ and eagle designs.

 

We get the first iteration of what has become the most iconic Latverian flag on the covers for Doom: The Emperor Returns #1 and #2. It may be argued this is not a national flag at all, but a flag symbolising the sovereign himself, Doctor Doom. This one is a bit questionable as it first appears on the Counter-Earth created by Franklin Richards at a point after the MC2 branches off or diverges from the Main Marvel Universe. Doctor Doom finds himself back on this Counter-Earth and sets about conquering it, dubbing it ‘Planet Doom’.

 

We’ll see versions of the above design continue to crop up back on the regular old Marvel Earth in Secret War #5, Penance: Relentless #4, Books of Doom #6 and Captain America (vol. 5) #23 right up until the date of this writing. A version of this flag is what appears in the video game Fortnite and sparked the idea for this post, which speaks to its popularity.

 

However, it’s worth mentioning we do get at least one more markedly different Latverian flag in the Marvel Atlas #1 from 2007. This depicts an armoured gauntlet grasping lighting bolts. This design does not appear to have caught on however as I haven’t seen it reused anywhere.

 

There may be many more examples of possible Latverian flag designs I am unaware of, but hopefully this has proven informative. With all this context in mind, I wonder what the MC2’s Latverian flag looks like? The war between Namor, the Sub-Mariner and Doctor Doom left Atlantis destroyed and Latveria’s former capital city Doomstadt in ruins, and in it’s wake Doom was presumed dead for 12 years. We do not know much about its political situation, but the nation’s flag may well have changed to reflect it’s new status. Just something to think about.

 

A huge shout out to the classic Doctor Doom fan site, Doom2099.com for the much-needed obscure fictional vexillological information. I miss discovering such places online and I would encourage you all to seek them out and support them whenever possible while they remain! Major props to arias-98105 as always for the constant support.

 

Until I rescue my beloved mother’s soul from the grasp of the dreaded demon Mephisto, I remain

 

frogoat