Review of Disney+ Marvel 2021

2021 is almost over (holy cow!) and it’s been a busy year for Disney+ and the Marvel franchise. In order to try and be really relevant, I’m going to give my drive-by review and score of each show.

WandaVision (7/10)

I always felt that Wanda Maximoff was a character who was horrendously underused. She had been through so much and yet still had such a tender heart. Tenderhearted characters often get pushed to the background, especially if they are women, for fear that we might view these characters as “weak”. That’s a broken philosophy and the film industry/culture is suffering for it. Wanda is incredibly tender and incredibly strong. Tenderhearted women are often stronger than everyone else around them.

Vision as a character is one I’ve never focused on but always enjoyed. Back in the Civil War days of the Marvel, I wrote how Vision’s failure in Civil War when he accidentally shot War Machine was the doorway to him discovering what it means to be human. He’s only continued that trend since then, and grown more likable every time we see him.

The beauty and humanity of Wanda and Vision were shown quite briefly in Infinity War, but it made an impact. It made me hungry for more. On that note, WandaVision absolutely delivered. I had no idea that Paul Bettany and Elizabeth Olsen were so funny, I was constantly surprised by their incredible comedic delivery. However, their comedy wasn’t even paralleled by the depth of emotion and heart both leads brought to the table. They poured their guts out into the show and I felt it. Tears ran down my face multiple times as I watched them process love, fear, grief, curiosity, and hope. It was layers and layers of humanity unfolding and it was beautiful.

WandaVision was revolutionary in terms of TV-style. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I grew up watching sitcoms of much older decades, so I am right at home in a world influenced by The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Brady Bunch, and more. The architecture, clothing styles (Elizabeth Olsen was MADE for the 70s look), and pop culture references of WandaVision were like a love letter to American television and culture through the years. I enjoyed watching these larger-than-life, otherworldly characters interact with a world that I already felt at home in.

That being said, WandaVision got weird. Like, weird weird. Do y’all remember back in Spider-Man: Far From Home when Mr. Dell was asked his opinion on the strange happenings around them? His response

As a man of science? I think it’s witches.

was incredibly prophetic. The MCU has just gotten weird, and I’m not a fan of all of it. In full disclosure, I didn’t watch part of the second-to-last, and the final episode of WandaVision. Once we got into the territory of deeper witchery and dark magic, I was out for personal reasons (which I may share someday). I liked it better when we thought Wanda’s powers came from the Mind Stone. The show took her character to places I was not interested in going to.

*I do appreciate the fact that her new costume has more body coverage though. It’s about time!

I would be remiss in speaking on this show if I didn’t mention my favorite part. Or rather, my favorite character. Am I the only girl who walked away with a bit of a crush on Jimmy Woo? For real, he is the biggest surprise I have had in the MCU yet! How they took Jimmy Woo from being the funny but oblivious FBI agent in Ant-Man And The Wasp, to a dogged, smart, still hilarious character in WandaVision is close-up magic at its finest! I couldn’t wait for him to show up on screen and I want to see him so much more! And the pairing of Jimmy Woo with Darcy Lewis was yet another surprise. It’s like putting together two foods you think have nothing in common, and discovering that they were actually made for each other.

I’m 100% voting for a Jimmy Woo + Darcy show and I totally ship them. They were such a surprise and a delight. I enjoyed Monica Rambo’s character as well, though she didn’t hit me in a deep place. I admired the fact that she let her compassion and intuition drive her interaction with Wanda, even when Wanda pushed her away. That’s an important side of being a hero and Monica was worthy of that title.

All in all, I give WandaVision a 7/10. But I have no interest in delving deeper into the witch side, and I will not be a viewer of the newly announced show featuring Agatha. She played her role well, but no thank you! WandaVision was something incredibly unique, but not something I will watch again. It was a once and done for me.

This much handsomeness in one place is almost dangerous.

The Falcon And The Winter Solder (6/10)

I loved this show because Captain America: The Winter Soldier is my favorite Marvel movie. In fact, it’s not just my favorite Marvel movie, it’s one of my top 10 movies of all time. I think it’s one of the most perfect movies ever written and carried out. Steve Rogers was the character who carried my heart into this new world of Marvel that I first entered into as a teenager. Steve, Sam, and Nat were my favorite Avengers. Sam’s introduction into the MCU is my favorite character introduction.

All of that to say, I love this window into the Marvel world and this side of the story matters to me a lot. I was pleased that Steve chose Sam to carry the shield, even as I was grieving the loss of my Avenger. I was also angry at the huge lack of answered questions in Endgame regarding the details of Steve’s…I don’t know, return? Disappearance? Is he living on the moon? I’m happy for Peggy and Steve, but sad for me.

As I said above, the MCU has just gotten weird, and I don’t like all of it. Captain America stories were always very down to earth, very human. The trend continued in The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, and my heart just really needed it.

Here’s the funny thing, in terms of overall plot and story execution, I think large parts of TFATWS were actually terribly weak. The show struggled to gain traction for the first episodes. There were a few places that didn’t fit well with Sam and Bucky. It didn’t deliver well or clearly on the villain front. Neither Karli Morganthau or John Walker fully occupied that space. And once we broke Baron Zemo out all we cared about was that fabulous dance scene, so nevermind on him. I just kept waiting for the reveal, the hand holding the puppet strings behind the smaller characters. I thought that person was going to be The Power Broker, who would be revealed as a Big Bad from the comics. But no…

My biggest beef with the entire show was the very lazy (in my opinion) choice to make Sharon Carter The Power Broker. We got a big fakeout build-up “oh guys it’s probably Sharon but we’re gonna make you think that’s the red herring” and then it actually turned out to be Sharon! But the execution of her character wasn’t even done well. It was too harsh, jarring, and obvious. So obvious it seemed like the lie they wanted us to believe, and then just decided it would be so. As a Sharon Carter fan, I felt gypped. It’s not my fault that the entire MCU creator group forgot about her existence since Civil War, and it’s certainly not Emily Van Camps’ fault. In fact, I read that they intended to make The Power Broker the Big Bad for Captain America 4 (yay!), but after the poor fan reaction they may be reducing that role (internet rumor). Well, if that’s the case, then that’s on you, Marvel creators. The way you treated her character stinks and I didn’t even believe it while I was watching it unfold.

While I felt the overall plot elements were shaky and messy (potentially due to changes made after COVID hit), I think the nuances of this show were done really well. Like, really well. I was noticing everything and there was a lot to notice.

I need to address the Bucky elephant in the room. I’ve always liked Bucky, always rooted for him. But I wouldn’t say I ever loved him. And now? OH MY SEBASTIAN STAN, SWEET GLORY WOULD YOU LIKE TO STAY FOREVER? We’ve never gotten to see Bucky like we got to see him in this show. The layers and levels of emotion, humanity, and joy that this man displayed left me breathless every time! I just wanted to keep staring at his face when he smiled, or laughed, or made a breakthrough. I couldn’t get enough of Bucky and I want SOO much more of him!

The nuances of this show where character developmental storytelling happened was excellent. They made use of everything: body stance and choreography, the script, costuming, soundtrack, location, everything! Every layer and detail told you what a character was currently bringing, feeling, or needing. Even the props were used to tell a story behind the story. I don’t have time to jump into the details in this post, but in this regard The Falcon And The Winter Soldier excelled.

I found the ending (aside from the Sharon thing) very satisfying. It was nice to end a show where two characters are actually happier and at peace with long-standing issues. It’s not that every problem has been solved, every war won. But the personal war Bucky and Sam had going on inside of them / with each other is over. They’ve taken their places as brothers of the shield and have become family. I could watch the barbecue on the pier scene over and over and over again. That was something special and it needs to be protected. Despite the fact that I think that in many ways WandaVision was better executed, I don’t want to revisit that show. But I will be rewatching The Flacon And The Winter Soldier in days to come. Love can be forgiving like that. I wrote in-depth articles on each episode for my personal social media back when they were released. Some day I may clean those up and take you on a deep dive into this series, but for now I will end with this.

Ahem. #releasethebuckysarahcut

Loki 9/10

I was nervous about this series. I’ve been so disappointed by Loki in the movies over and over again. Every time it seemed like we took a step forward with Loki, something stupid made him slide two steps back and we started all over again. If Tom Hiddleston wasn’t so incredibly adorable I would have given up sooner.

I hated his ending in Infinity War. The movie just went downhill from that moment on. It felt incredibly meaningless and worthless. What a waste of talent and potential! Once we found out about Loki after Endgame, I waited with skepticism. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me a bazillion more times with one of Britian’s finest, shame on me for thinking you had changed.

I didn’t watch Loki as it came out, I waited until I had more information. The reports I received plus the research I did gave me enough of a reason to give it a chance.

Wow, just wow.

Again, I have never, ever seen anything like this show. It was like the weirdest scifi/fantasy trip mixed with some sort of 70s show featuring a beaurocratic government agency, all while bringing game-changing plot elements to an entire franchise! It wrestled with questions involving the value of every life and free will. And above all, this show actually changed Loki for the good.

Storytelling-wise, I think this show did a bold thing by having so many “just talking” scenes. In book storytelling, a long conversation doesn’t raise as many eyebrows as it does in visual storytelling. Writers and directors can love these scenes, cinematographers can hate them. Many viewers can complain about them as well.

I’m a writer so I love talking scenes. But even more than that, a good conversation is something that will attract me more than anything else. I have talked with people for 5-8 hours before and not gotten bored. Conversation is a foundational layer of relationship and growth (with God or with people), and one reason we all are struggling so much is we don’t know how to converse well.

Loki embraced conversation wholeheartedly. And when someone as talented as Tom Hiddleston is the speaker, that conversation becomes like an action scene to me. The way he and Owen Wilson (Agent Mobius), or he and Sylvie tossed words back and forth felt like active, stirring story.

To cap it off, one of the scariest scenes I have ever witnessed in the entire MCU took place during a seemingly normal conversation. He Who Remains gave the worst download of information. It was like Gandalf telling Frodo how all of Middle Earth is about to go to hell in a handbasket if he doesn’t destroy that oh-so-normal looking ring his uncle left him. He Who Remains was so casual about life and death and the fate of the universes, it was awful.

Loki’s transformation throughout his show set the stage for some of the best storytelling to come. The introduction of characters like Sylvie and Agent Mobius (and He Who Remains) all gave such unique viewpoints. I cannot wait to see what happens next and I am still in awe of how well this show was made.

I think what we are discovering with both the Marvel and Star Wars Disney+ shows is that some stories are told better in a episodic format, where more time and attention can be given to details and subtle development. Loki was absolutely proof of this as it accomplished for the character of Loki in 6 episodes what 5 movies could not.

Despite my dislike for the show, I acknowledge the animation is quite beautiful.

What If 3/10

Whew! Harsh rating eh? Well, it’s my blog, I can do what I want to. Full disclosure here, I only made it through a few episodes. 4 to be exact and I didn’t even finish the zombie episode because it was terrible. I cannot believe that episode is the inspiration for a whole new series on Disney+.

I am likely not the target audience for this particular show, I’ll give them that much. This show is for deeper Marvel fans than I am, and for people who don’t mind the rearranging of their characters. I have a friend who absolutely loved this show and we have still remained friends despite our differing views.

The stars I do give here are in honor of T’Challa’s Starlord episode. That one I truly did enjoy, probably because it was actually an episode that had a happier outlook than the main MCU timeline. The other episodes I tried I just felt more depressed and found them dark. Also, it felt like the characters had no real emotions. They were cardboard cutouts of the characters we’ve come to know and love. I felt that things were done just for a cheap joke that were actually disrespectful to the characters. I also felt that some of the voices didn’t adapt well. Sebastian Stan’s voice acting left something to be desired. Hayley Atwell, on the other hand, fit it like a glove.

But T’Challa’s episode was beautiful (visually), happy, genuinely funny, and it made me feel really glad to know that Chadwick Boseman’s family gets to enjoy that episode in memorial of him.

Beyond that, I really have nothing to say. I may try a few more episodes and if I change my mind I’m not above updating a post with new info. I think this show was for a niche audience and that’s who enjoyed it.

The colors of this series already look amazing!

Hawkeye (Prediction) 11/10

I know, Hawkeye hasn’t even come out yet, but I have a feeling. I have pretty good instincts on these things, plus, I can read the room. Everything is aligned to make Hawkeye the most successful and beloved Marvel show yet.

Clint Barton has never gotten his day in the sun that he deserves. He’s been around in the MCU almost longer than anyone (who’s still alive that is), and he’s still been waiting for that spotlight. In fact, Jeremy Renner said that in the first 2 weeks of filming Hawkeye he had more lines than all of his previous movie appearances.

Clint Barton is our last original Avenger who hasn’t gone through radical physical changes, been killed, or travelled back in time to marry his sweetheart. Clint is also radically normal compared to every other superhero. He’s a family man (cheers for the family men!). He’s got a farm. He just oozes dad feels everywhere he goes, often taking in the strays and giving them a chance to succeed.

Clint Barton is a hero for the deaf community. He’s a hero to the normal people (which we all are). He’s a hero to those who have suffered grief and loss as well as regrets. He’s a member of the “cool movie dads” Hall of Fame. He’s also hilarious. Oh yeah, and this show has a DOG and IT HAPPENS AT CHRISTMAS TIME IN NEW YORK CITY!

The world is ready for this. We want some normal. We want a dad. We want a good guy who doesn’t have it figured out but is doing his best. We want a dog (okay, I want a dog). We NEED a little Christmas, right this very minute!

We. Need. Hawkeye.

And finally, we are being given Hawkeye.

This show is going to be incredible.

What are your thoughts? How would you rate the Marvel Disney+ shows so far?

Black Widow…Too Little Too Late?

A trailer for the new Black Widow solo movie came out today.

It looks like a pretty good movie.

But in all honesty, friends?

I do not feel very excited about it.

Can you just hear the exclamations of shock from Hollywood?

What’s wrong with you? Are you just not a fan?

It’s cause she’s a woman, isn’t it? People these days are so unevolved.

It’s a fantastic movie! You should love it!

You must just not love Black Widow.

First off, I sleep under a Captain America blanket every night. I protect that thing from harm like it was my baby. My Avengers leggings are my favorite leggings. I am a woman in her 20s who drinks out of a Marvel water bottle made for children. And I write a movie blog that often features Marvel content. Clearly, I am a fan.

Second, hello, I am a woman. Don’t play the woman card with me. Also, Captain Marvel was a smashing success and that was only her introduction movie, she wasn’t even an already a deeply beloved character. So, yeah, drop the woman card.

Like I said above, it looks like a good movie. I can see myself enjoying the action, the humor, and getting more of the backstory. The issue here is not actually with the movie itself.

“Maybe you just don’t love Black Widow that much.”

Wrong, the opposite is the truth. I loved Natasha Romanoff too much. That’s why I am not very excited.

Why do I feel this way? Endgame, Endgame is to blame.

The further I get away from Endgame, the more I am disappointed.

I didn’t want to be. I don’t walk into movies full of skepticism like many movie-goers. I prefer to live with excitement about something and then deal with the disappointment rather than live as a cynic and only be surprised now and then when something good actually happens.

I went into Endgame with high hopes. And I enjoyed many moments in the movie.

But truthfully…

…Endgame fell far short of what Marvel had set us up to expect. And they failed heavily on the one thing that mattered the most.

Closure.

Thor gave up his entire 6 movie character arc to go hop around the galaxy and drink beer…and yet he gets another movie?

We were not given a chance to properly mourn Tony. A choice was made to cut a scene that was under 2 minutes and could have changed the whole scope of how both we and our onscreen heroes were allowed to mourn our beloved Tony Stark.

This would have given us a chance to gain some closure from as far back as Civil War. The fact that Clint Barton is the very first Avenger to drop to one knee would have been deeply healing to me.

Steve left for the past without a proper goodbye. He left his two best friends in the world behind. Bucky he had fought tooth and nail to bring back to the light, and Sam had fought alongside him without complaint. They deserved more. We deserved more. Steve means more to us than no proper goodbye.

Now Steve has made a choice that largely rearranges Marvel history and we are supposed to just be okay with that? The dancing scene with him and Peggy didn’t even last long enough for us to get a full kiss.

With the exception of Rocket and Nebula, the Guardians were treated as a joke. It was entirely disrespectful of their beautiful character arcs and all of the progress they have made in their movies.

I have other complaints but I’ll spare you the rant. The only Avenger done complete justice in Endgame was Scott Lang. And his reward is that he currently does not have any more movies on the docket.

Oh…but Nat. Nat.

Beautiful, warmhearted, undying spirit Nat. She was treated the worst.

Not only was her death incredibly unfair, but we were never given a chance to properly mourn her.

True, the heroes had to jump into the next thing immediately, I understand priorities. But we should have revisited her more beyond the few comments made by the people who loved her most. She deserved more. We, the fans, deserved more.

And Marvel let us down.

Natasha Romanoff absolutely 100% deserves her own movie. The issue is not with this movie itself, the issue is all about the timing. This movie is 2-3 years too late.

I do really appreciate that Marvel understands that a raw origin story movie for Natasha would not work. She’s come too far since appearing in Iron Man 2 for us to actually enjoy watching her as a “devolved” character. We wouldn’t even know her.

Marvel is smart with the place in the timeline they chose to feature Nat. Post-Civil War she’s a highly complex and beautiful character who is finally strong enough to face her past and deal with it properly. We get to enjoy learning the backstory while taking that journey with the Nat we truly know and love.

But this movie should have been done 2-3 years ago. Much sooner after Civil War. Before we knew what happens. Before we knew how Nat’s story ended. Before we had tasted the bitter flavor of disappointment and grief.

That’s the danger of many Prequels, you know that eventually, Anakin must become Vader. And in this case, you know that Nat must die on a stupid planet in the middle of nowhere for a dumb stone and never be properly mourned.

Endgame created a ton of new gaps in our timeline, in our understanding of our characters, in our experience of this story. We are still walking around with those wounds, and now they want to go back and play with an old gap that should have been filled ages ago?

The world did need a Black Widow movie.

But my concern is that this may be too little too late. And that’s a shame because Natasha Romanoff deserves better.

Marvel trained us to expect deeply human stories. Powerful emotions. Gut-wrenching redemption arcs and betrayals. Characters that gave us the courage to keep facing our lives and live them well. Marvel has taught us to laugh, to cry, to grow, to grieve, to heal, to fight!

It’s not our fault that we feel the way we do, we responded to what they gave us. And in Endgame, Marvel let us down.

Yes, I love Natasha Romanoff. I love her so much that I do not feel as excited about this movie as I want to. And that makes me sad.

I have a dream, a shy hope, that maybe, just maybe, the end scene of Black Widow will feature a certain Star-Spangled best friend popping up on Vormir and returning a nasty little orange stone. And then a flash…

“…I told you I’d see you in a minute.”

If that were to happen, my entire outlook on the future of Marvel would change.

I have struggled to put into words the disappointment and grief of things I have felt post-Endgame. I wrote a few articles on a few aspects of the movie I thought they did well.

The use of food in Endgame to connect characters and moments was really brilliant.

Sam Wilson really is the right heir-apparent for the shield, even though I do not like how he got it.

The amount of torn timelines, gaping holes, and unanswered questions post-Endgame is huge. Marvel cannot expect to just leave us hanging and grieving, can they?

Right now I look forward to Spider-Man’s story continuing, his story is always well-done and Tom Holland is a pure delight. But beyond that? Beyond that, I do not know. I do not feel very excited.

Dear Marvel, you did me and my friends wrong, especially my girl Natasha here. You made this mess, so are you gonna fix it or what?

She deserves it.

I will likely see this movie. Whether I see it in theaters or not, I cannot say. But I fear that Black Widow may not make the splash it is expected to, and that has nothing to do with the character herself, or audiences, it has everything to do with the choices Marvel has made.

I hope that I see this movie and I enjoy it. I hope that I see this movie and find out my girl’s story isn’t over, in fact, it has just begun. I hope that Marvel has some secret-laid plans to untangle this mess and bring it back around.

That is my hope. I guess we’ll have to wait until May to see if it’s fulfilled or not.

……….

Were you disappointed by Endgame?

What is something you would have changed about the Marvel storyline up until now if you could?

Are you looking forward to Black Widow?

Comment and let’s discuss!

Endgame: Sam Wilson the New Captain America

…I do what he does, just slower. (Sam Wilson/aka Falcon) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

#foreshadowingmuch

Marvel has me pretty paranoid by now with how intense their line foreshadowing game is. It’s scary on point.

The meeting of Sam Wilson and Steve Rogers is my favorite introduction of two characters in the entire MCU. The Winter Soldier is my favorite Marvel movie, it’s almost my favorite movie period. Every aspect of that film is absolute perfection.

From the first moment we met Sam Wilson, it felt right. He clicked. He and Steve Rogers were immediately on the same page, walking to the same rhythm. Have you ever met a kindred spirit and just known somewhere inside that you two fit together like puzzle pieces?

I have, and that is what happened when Steve Rogers met Sam Wilson. They clicked and they have never been out of sync since.

Sam may not have super serum like Steve does, but they have the same heart. The same resolve. The same courage.

If it had been just Sam still standing in front of Thanos and his horde of invaders in Endgame he would have acted no differently than Steve did. He would have taken a breath, tightened the strap on his shield, and stood his ground against an army, even if he had to do it alone.

When I saw Steve hand the beloved shield over to Sam, I was delighted inside. I know some people were rooting for Bucky to receive that honor, but in truth, that was never supposed to be Bucky’s place.

Bucky Barnes is an incredible character and a good man. He’s been through hell and he’s still standing. I am very much looking forward to getting to see more of his story and his future in Wakanda under the name of White Wolf.

Bucky has been a good friend to Steve, but he is not cut out to be Captain America. The differences between Bucky and Steve made them powerful as a team; however, they are not similar in the way Steve and Sam are.

Since Day 1 of meeting Steve, Sam Wilson has been right by his side. He’s listened, encouraged, and understood Steve when no one else could. Sam fed the poor man breakfast when he showed up looking like an abused golden retriever. Not once did he worry about the threat “Everyone we know is trying to kill us.”.

I can’t ask this of you, Sam, you got out for a good reason.

Dude, Captain America needs my help, there’s no better reason to get back in the fight.

It wasn’t his fight, but he chose to make it his own without complaint or hesitation. From that moment on Sam has never left Steve’s side.

Sam was the one keeping vigil at Steve’s hospital bed waiting for his new friend to wake up.

He signed up to search for Steve’s other best friend, the guy who almost killed them very violently. Why? Because it’s important to Steve, so it’s important to him as well. He was even working on the search when Steve had to be busy tracking down leftover Hydra goons with his cool Avenger friends. Sam wasn’t bitter in the least, he was happy to help.

You’re a good man, Sam.

In Civil War Sam was Steve’s closest ally. He’s right beside him at Peggy’s funeral, he’s got his friend’s back physically and emotionally. Seriously, folks, we need more supportive friendships like this in the world.

Sam willingly goes into exile with Steve and their other buddy Natasha post Civil War and they do some pretty cool Secret Avenger work up until Infinity War.

Even after Sam is gone we still see the similarities. Just as Sam was doing with veterans when Steve met him, Steve begins a support group to help people in need. He cares about the individual grief and stories of everyday people, and he’s willing to take the time to help them. The scene is very similar to the one we see in The Winter Soldier where Sam is coaching veterans through their trauma.

Cap, can you hear me? Cap, it’s Sam, can you hear me? On your left.

Steve has never been so tired or looked more alone than he does right at the moment when Sam’s garbled radio message reaches him in Endgame. He’s gonna face an army alone if he has to because he will never quit. That’s who he’s always gonna be until his last breath. But he’s not alone…

On your left.

And his faithful friend Sam arrives…along with everyone else the Avengers just fought tooth and nail to bring back.

Sam was ready to follow his friend through time and share the burden of replacing the Infinity Stones, that’s what he’s been doing since Day 1, sharing Steve’s burden regardless of how hard or messy it got.

I think Bucky knew that Steve planned to stay in the past. There is a level of internal understanding between those two that is entirely unique to them. He knew and understood it.

Sam was the more agitated of the two best friends when Steve didn’t immediately return. Unlike Bucky, fighting alongside Steve has been Sam’s entire life for the past few years. When both men look over to see a more elderly (and still very handsome) Steve seated on the bench, Sam looks to Bucky to give him room to approach first, he respects the seniority. #puninteded

Bucky nods and lets Sam go, he knows that this is more important to Sam’s life right now than it is his. He’s giving permission for Sam to get to be the best friend he’s been for the past several years. He’s earned this. He’s proven his worthiness over and over again with no thought of personal gain. He’s just being himself.

It’s never been the super serum that made Captain America what he is, it’s always been Steve Rogers’ heart.

I am looking for qualities beyond the physical.

Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man. (Dr. Erskine) Captain America: The First Avenger

You’re a good man, Sam.

They’ve been telling us all along, it was always Sam who was destined to take up the shield.

Sam and Steve have the same heart, and that is why Sam is our next Captain America. He will not be Steve Rogers, no one can ever replace that man, but…

I’ll do my best.

We know you will, Sam.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Exactly What It Needed to Be

WandaVision (7/10)

The Falcon And The Winter Solder (6/10)

Loki 9/10

What If 3/10

Hawkeye (Prediction) 11/10

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It looks like a pretty good movie.

I do not feel very excited about it.

Second, hello, I am a woman. Don’t play the woman card with me. Also, Captain Marvel was a smashing success and that was only her introduction movie, she wasn’t even an already a deeply beloved character. So, yeah, drop the woman card.

Like I said above, it looks like a good movie. I can see myself enjoying the action, the humor, and getting more of the backstory. The issue here is not actually with the movie itself.

Wrong, the opposite is the truth. I loved Natasha Romanoff too much. That’s why I am not very excited.

Why do I feel this way? Endgame, Endgame is to blame.

The further I get away from Endgame, the more I am disappointed.

…Endgame fell far short of what Marvel had set us up to expect. And they failed heavily on the one thing that mattered the most.

Closure.

Oh…but Nat. Nat.

Beautiful, warmhearted, undying spirit Nat. She was treated the worst.

Natasha Romanoff absolutely 100% deserves her own movie. The issue is not with this movie itself, the issue is all about the timing. This movie is 2-3 years too late.

But this movie should have been done 2-3 years ago. Much sooner after Civil War. Before we knew what happens. Before we knew how Nat’s story ended. Before we had tasted the bitter flavor of disappointment and grief.

Endgame created a ton of new gaps in our timeline, in our understanding of our characters, in our experience of this story. We are still walking around with those wounds, and now they want to go back and play with an old gap that should have been filled ages ago?

Yes, I love Natasha Romanoff. I love her so much that I do not feel as excited about this movie as I want to. And that makes me sad.

If that were to happen, my entire outlook on the future of Marvel would change.

The amount of torn timelines, gaping holes, and unanswered questions post-Endgame is huge. Marvel cannot expect to just leave us hanging and grieving, can they?

Dear Marvel, you did me and my friends wrong, especially my girl Natasha here. You made this mess, so are you gonna fix it or what?

I hope that I see this movie and I enjoy it. I hope that I see this movie and find out my girl’s story isn’t over, in fact, it has just begun. I hope that Marvel has some secret-laid plans to untangle this mess and bring it back around.

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#foreshadowingmuch

On your left.

You’re a good man, Sam.

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