Comic Review -- Hawkeye #2 / Matt Fraction, David Aja, and Matt Hollingsworth

Quick note: I meant that Clint thinks of Kate as his protege, NOT his mentor, despite what I say towards the end of the review!  Stupid brainlock!

This video is also on my Youtube!  Thanks for viewing!

GN Review -- Avengers Disassembled / Brian Michael Bendis and David Finch

After reading Avengers vs. X-Men #0, I was astounded at how good the Scarlet Witch's tale was, and the urge to understand what had led her to that point became paramount.  I did a little searching, and decided a good point to start reading up about her recent history was Avengers Disassembled.

What unfolds is essentially the worst day ever in the history of any superhero team I've yet read.  Tony Stark, while at the U.N., suddenly is overcome with a sensation of drunkenness and threatens the Latverian ambassador, embarrassing the U.S. and causing him to have to step down.  The deceased Jack of Hearts shows up at Avengers Mansion briefly, then explodes--taking out a good portion of the grounds and killing Ant Man.  Then Vision arrives in a Quinjet--and crashes it into the already mounting wreckage.  She-Hulk freaks out in response, and starts to lose herself in her rage, tearing Vision apart before she can be put down.  And then there's a sudden invasion of Kree aliens, who start shooting at the heroes at the Mansion and the surrounding area and cause the death of Hawkeye before mysteriously disappearing.  All in the span of probably a couple of hours.

A visit from Dr. Strange reveals why so many bad things have been happening to them.  The Scarlet Witch, who at one time had had "children" she essentially created out of thin air, blamed the Avengers for their disappearance, and with the nature of her powers having driven her gradually more insane, she was manifesting some of their worst fears to destroy them.  Captain America tries to explain the situation to Wanda, but she doesn't want to hear it and continues to lash out with her powers.  With Strange's help, they are able to stop her, and she is taken away by her father Magneto, who vows to help her recover in any way he can.

Iron Man has one final bit of bad news, however.  The fallout from his spontaneous drunken episode at the U.N. has caused massive PR and financial crises in his company.  The foundation that he made to support the Avengers can no longer support them, and with the government pulling out any backing due to the embarrassment of the U.N. incident, they simply can no longer afford to exist as a team.  The teammates are forced therefore to disband, and they share recollections of some of their favorite moments from the Avengers history before going their separate ways.

Wow.  The Scarlet Witch is a lot like Eric Cartman.  Do not piss her off, ever.

I've known of the fact that she's supposed to be this uber-powerful member of the Avengers, having probably gleaned it from other stories and what I've observed or heard about from the fallout of House of M, which I also still have yet to read.  But since this story occurs before that one, I'm figuratively seeing her sheer power and imbalance through a mostly unadulterated and clear lens.  She seems mostly unaware that she's even doing the things she's inflicted upon the Avengers, which is extra cause for concern.  She can summon world-ending scenarios without even having to concentrate on them.

It seems the crux of all Wanda's trials and tribulations stems from a very simple but powerful desire--the desire for motherhood and children--transposed against the heartbreaking reality that she is not able to do so.  This desire caused her to use her powers--knowingly or not, I don't know--to create "children" that were, eventually, taken away from her.  Seeing her teammates as responsible, her resentment grew over time, and, with her sanity dwindling, she began to lash out at them without even fully realizing it.

So, it's hard not to pity her, too.

The action of the story is undeniably cataclysmic.  When I have a bad day, that's a problem already.  When my entire family or co-workers have a collective bad day, it's usually tragic.  This is super-powered tragedy, magnified on a cosmic scale and then given a shot of tragedy steroids.  The Avengers' home is totaled.  Several of their friends are killed, one directly by one of their own.  They lose the funding and government support they'd enjoyed until now.  And it was all orchestrated by one of their closest teammates.  It's hard not to walk away from this arc without having had to pick your jaw up off the floor several times, and I salute Bendis for his storytelling acumen here.

Artistically, I can't help but salute David Finch's work.  His characters are detailed, expressive, and work well for the genre and medium.  The action is dynamic, intense, and keeps you turning the page to see what happens next.  The round robin of art done by various artists in the finale also make for a noteworthy collection of styles and colors as the team's most memorable moments are revealed, highlighting how the looks and makeup of the team has changed over the years.

Overall, this is a compelling read, and definitely a must-read for anyone interested in the recent history and current goings-on in the world of the Avengers, and much of the Marvel Universe.  The storytelling is splendid, the artwork is great, and it's simply a pivotal story for a character who seems set to once again play a pivotal role in the upcoming events.  Highly recommended.

Film Review -- The Avengers / Joss Whedon, Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg

So, I'm guessing most of you who read this blog have probably seen The Avengers at least once already, and are well aware of the box office juggernaut (pun intended) this film is becoming.  The advance reviews for it have been unprecedented in their uniform level of praise for a superhero movie, and the ticket sales back up the claim that this movie has not only been hyped, but anticipated at a ravenously frenzied level.  It has action, humor, and a narrative flow that never really bogs down the film, but by now you know this--unless you've been actively hiding under a rock.

And the reviews--oh, the scores of positive reviews--have generally said the same thing: excellent start to the summer movie season, best superhero movie yet, audiences of all ages and markets are going to love it.  The acting, writing, and directing is brilliant.  Excellent moments for all the characters.  Hulk steals the show.

But you already know this.

I'm well aware that any review I write of this film--which I will agree, was spectacular and mind-blowing and fun in a way I haven't quite experienced since Iron Man four years ago--is going to be yet another paean to a film that is racking them up left and right.  I'm also relatively late to this party.  So instead of a straight-up review, I'm going to focus on a few things that stuck out to me about the film and the experience of it.

Warning: spoilers ahead.  If you haven't see this movie and don't want to be spoiled, don't read any further.

I've seen this film twice now, and will probably see it several more times.  Iron Man, as I've mentioned previously, holds the distinction of being the movie I've seen the most times in the theater.  If there's a film that will break this record, it's this one, and I daresay it stands a pretty damn good chance of doing so.  Even after two viewings, my desire to see it again remains exceptionally high.

My first viewing of this film was a midnight showing, and as any fan knows, going to those is always an experience in and of itself.  The number of people in Avengers shirts, costumes, and gear was astounding, as was the overall atmosphere of excitement and anticipation.  I saw girls dressed up in Thor regalia, a Captain America who fashioned a shield out of a trash can lid, and a rather large gentleman who, rightly, got a loud ovation from the crowd when he appeared as the Hulk, his body and hair dyed green.  Applause and cheering were constant, from the moment the film began to the climax of so many excellent scenes, including the post-credits scenes.

The great thing about this experience is the sense of camaraderie and kinship you feel with these folks, all of whom share a high interest in what you do.  It's loud, raucous, and energetic.  It can also, of course, make viewing difficult.

One good example is during the scene where Loki gets beat down--authoritatively--by the Hulk.  We loved that scene.  I laughed harder than I had in a long time when I saw that.  And so did the audience, at length, and in that circumstance, it was all too easy to miss what the Hulk said to Loki as he walked away, leaving the Asgardian staring up at the ceiling in unmoving shock (a pitch-perfect "Puny god!").  I actually didn't catch it until the second viewing (where it was still hard to hear), and a friend I was with was upset that he missed the dialog due to the audience's loud appreciation of the prior moment.

Do you mind, Cap?  Bruce and I were having a moment!

I think the development that came out of this film that I liked the most was the budding bromance that developed between Tony Stark and Bruce Banner.  It's no surprise that these two would connect on an intellectual level--they're both super-geniuses--but I thought it was pretty ingenious to have Tony express an admiration for Banner on both aspects of his life, and then essentially take him under his wing.  The biggest obstacle to this new friendship seems to be Banner's own distrust of his Hulk side, which Tony Stark seems eager to see.  Tony's encouragement of Bruce to embrace his green side was also a brilliant way to set up the idea that the Hulk's rampages can actually be a good thing, a fun thing, a pleasure and an asset, when properly aimed and directed.

I also have to begrudgingly give Joss Whedon his due, in the scene where Agent Phil Coulson is killed.  I didn't see it coming, and I think I may now understand how Firefly fans felt when Wash was suddenly killed off in Serenity.  I mean, that was a surprise too, but I hadn't been as emotionally invested when I saw it the first time.  Here, I was both shocked and horrified, but even as I mourned this character who'd connected previous Marvel films to this one, I found myself nodding in unwilling agreement.  His death was necessary for the Avengers.  After all, they needed something to avenge, if I may finish the character's final, uncompleted thought.

All of the characters have moments to shine, which are all pretty fairly spread out.  Cap gets to be a noble, heroic super soldier.  Black Widow shows she has many skills, including interrogation.  Iron Man is the epitome of Whedon snark and banter.  Thor and Hulk throw down with aplomb, and Hawkeye shows that he's more than a man with a bow and good aim.  Coulson gets to be super-fan and get the last word in with Loki before he fades.  And Nick Fury shows why he's the top spy in the world, keeping and defending both his ship and his command in all his Samuel L. Jackson badass-ness.

There's a million other things I could compliment and talk about in this movie, but chances are extremely high they're covered in other reviews, which you've probably read.  If you haven't seen this movie, do yourself a favor and do so.  Even as a straight-up popcorn action flick, you'll be entertained and engaged throughout.  And if you're a comic book fan, shame on you for reading this review before having gone and seen it already.  Get out of the house and go see it!

Overall, this is a great comic book movie that truly does live up to the massive hype around it.  Packed to the brim with moments of awesome for all of its characters, it's epic, fun, and very clever.  I don't see how you can like superheroes and comics and not see this movie.  Very highly recommended!