Category: Marvelous Monday

Recurring Opinion/News Piece on all things Marvel.

Marvelous Monday #12 – 5 Reasons To Be Excited For Daredevil

I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday - 12
On Friday, April 10th 2015, Netflix releases the first of four superhero shows preceding a The Defenders mini series. Marvel’s Man Without Fear is the first Defender to get his own show. Starring in Daredevil is Charlie Cox, Vincent D’Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, Elden Henson, and Rosario Dawson.

This week’s post is sort of a preview for the new Netflix show – listing 5 reasons why we should be excited for Marvel’s Daredevil. Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #12 – 5 Reasons To Be Excited For Daredevil” →

Marvelous Monday #11 – Please be excited for Deadpool

DEADPOOL - I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday - 11
Just in time for Monday Night, I’ve decided to write a little bit about everyone’s favorite breaker of the fourth wall – Wade Wilson. The unstable Merc With a Mouth had his cinematic debut in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, an X-Men spinoff that was poorly received by critics and fans alike. Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #11 – Please be excited for Deadpool” →

Marvelous Monday #10 – Behold… The Vision

Marvelous Monday 10
Expect some comic book spoilers that will most likely also be spoilers for Age of Ultron.

Do you want to know what I am most excited about in Avengers: Age of Ultron? It’s simple really. One of the coolest, perhaps overpowered, Marvel characters is The Vision.

While Ultron may be the title villain, the Vision will be a big character in this film – if done right – and I expect a lot of Marvel fanboys to be overjoyed to finally see him. This is the character that once made the Wasp cry that he was an: “unearthly, inhuman vision” Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #10 – Behold… The Vision” →

Marvelous Monday #9 – Who Should Play Star-Lord’s Dad?

I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday 9
For the uninitiated: This is a weekly feature on the blog wherein I, I’m Jeffrey Rex, discuss all things Marvel.

Guardians of the Galaxy was probably the most popular 2014 film of ’em all, and in 2017 we’ll see its direct sequel. One of the most interesting aspects of that film is finding out just who Peter Quill’s father is. Now, we pretty much know it won’t be the comic book father – it won’t be J’Son of Spartax. That does annoy me somewhat, but I’m sure it’ll be great.

Now, in this post I won’t theorize on whether it’ll be Adam Warlock, Vance Astro or Starhawk (though my money’s on him). Instead I’ll go over some actors that could or should play the father of Chris Pratt’s Quill. Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #9 – Who Should Play Star-Lord’s Dad?” →

Marvelous Monday #8 – The Illuminati

I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday #8
So yeah – weird title if you don’t read Marvel Comics. What I want to write about today is the idea of The Illuminati-group in the Marvel Comics Universe. Minor spoilers for the current New Avengers run may appear, but absolutely no spoilers post-Original Sin crossover. Also, I probably need to explain why we probably won’t ever see them in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (even though Phase 3 would be perfect for its inception). Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #8 – The Illuminati” →

Marvelous Monday #7 – Will The Superhero Bubble Burst?

I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday #7For the uninitiated: This is a new weekly feature on the blog wherein I, I’m Jeffrey Rex, discuss all things Marvel. Now that I’ve reached six posts on this feature, this will be the only introduction to the feature.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Superhero-Hype that is. Be prepared for somewhat of a darker post this week – it is truly grim at times.

Now, I’m not going to kick off this post by spelling doom for my fellow nerds and geeks out there, but the laymen have caught onto us. They figured out just how well it’s working, and soon people will realize how Marvel, Sony, Fox and Warner Bros. have no reason to stop pitching new ideas – they have no reason to stop creating, filming, writing new superhero films.

Sure, I’m preaching to the choir – you know how many films are coming out. And so far it hasn’t really been a problem – but do you know why? Because we’ve only had two problematic years for comic book movies. In 2013 no mainstream superhero movie was loved by all comic book readers. I liked Iron Man 3, but I’m in the minority – Man of Steel wasn’t a success and Thor: The Dark World was… Well it was Thor: The Dark World. A dark twist on a universe that was so well painted in the Branagh-Thor. Wait, I’m in the minority on that one, too? Yikes. But I digress. 2014 was extremely successful. Guardians of the Galaxy was the biggest hit of the summer, some say the year, Days of Future Past was well-liked – and critics loved Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But in 2015 and beyond, too many of our nerd dreams are coming true.

In 2015 we are seeing new iterations of Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Terminator, Avengers, Fantastic Four – heck, even Ant-Man‘s getting a film. But, sadly, this is killing the mainstream audience – we’re testing their patience. 11 beloved nerd-films are to be released in 2016 – a year that may finally burst the superhero bubble. But here are my questions – can it be avoided? Will it kill the entire genre? And which films will be the ones we’ll forever blame for this?

Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #7 – Will The Superhero Bubble Burst?” →

Marvelous Monday #6 – Rogers or Stark?

I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday #6For the uninitiated: This is a new weekly feature on the blog wherein I, I’m Jeffrey Rex, discuss all things Marvel.

On this, the sixth ‘installment’ of I’m Jeffrey Rex’ Marvelous Monday, I’ve decided to preview, and talk about, the fandom madness that will become reality in 2016. The thing is that DC isn’t the only comic book company releasing a ‘versus’ film in 2016. On the 6th of May 2016 Marvel Studios releases Captain America: Civil War, which will be an adaptation of the general idea behind the polarizing comic book crossover event ‘Civil War’ by Mark Millar & Steve McNiven.

So far I’ve tiptoed around the fact of the matter that SPOILERS Civil War has been, and will be, about differing opinions or ideologies – specifically Captain America and Iron Man not seeing eye to eye. When Marvel released their Phase 3 lineup they hyped this movie up a lot, and it is the movie I’m most excited about in the MCU, and they even had Downey Jr. and Evans standing in front of eachother – ready to battle. A fun little moment for the fans, but also a preview of what will, no doubt, make the studio a lot of money.

Recently, I was reminded of the marketing ploy that Twilight used to reel in fandoms – Team Edward and Team Jacob. This was a genius move, and I expect Marvel to do the same thing. Team Stark and Team Rogers – which will, in truth, be Team Downey vs. Team Evans. This should help them reel in fanboys/-girls of the actors, as well as us comic book nerds – the ones that day and night discuss who’s the better character. But before I move on, do note that I won’t pull any punches while talking about the Civil War comic book – expect some spoilers. And at the end of this post I’ll tell you with which character my allegiance lies.

Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #6 – Rogers or Stark?” →

Marvelous Monday #5 – 5 Ways to Reboot Spider-Man for Marvel

I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday #5

For the uninitiated: This is a new weekly feature on the blog wherein I, I’m Jeffrey Rex, discuss all things Marvel.

On this, the fifth ‘installment’ of I’m Jeffrey Rex’ Marvelous Monday, I’ve decided to pitch my ideas for the Sony Pictures/Marvel Studios co-production film. If you don’t know what I am talking about, then sit back, relax – and follow this link. Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #5 – 5 Ways to Reboot Spider-Man for Marvel” →

Marvelous Monday #4 – What If Spider-Man Had Returned to Marvel in 2010?

I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday #4 (What If)

For the uninitiated: This is a new weekly feature on the blog wherein I, I’m Jeffrey Rex, discuss all things Marvel.

On this, the fourth ‘installment’ of I’m Jeffrey Rex’ Marvelous Monday, I’ve decided to give you the very first ‘What if’-post. The entire setup of a ‘what if’-post is different, for while regular casting-speculation posts might talk about what could happen, the ‘what if’ posts are much more fact based – at least that’s my intention.

The very first ‘What if’-discussion centers around the epilogue of the Sam Raimi-era of Spider-Man. Let’s look at the bare facts here. Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film premiered in 2002, its leads where Tobey Maguire, as the titular hero, James Franco, as Harry Osborn, Kirsten Dunst, as Mary Jane Watson, and Willem Dafoe, as the one-off villain Norman Osborn. Two years later, the beloved sequel premiered – with the same basic cast – and another one-off villain – this time Alfred Molina playing Dr. Otto Octavius. Three years thereafter, the third film in the franchise premiered. The movie wasn’t a success – critics criticized its many subplots, and many villains, who, all, were underdeveloped and underused.

This was to be just a slight bump in the road, Sony clearly wasn’t done with the franchise – and, seemingly, not done with the leads and Raimi. Years went by as Sony and the fans were left wanting more – waiting – waiting – losing patience. There was talk of Vulture or Carnage appearing – but time and time again rumors were shot down. Raimi was unable to find a suitable script for his story, and, eventually, Sony and Raimi went their seperate ways in 2010.

Now we all know that Sony would treat this as yet another bump in the road, march on and make more films – though with new actors. Andrew Garfield was cast as the titular hero in the rebooted franchise, and in 2012 Sony had released their first film in the Marc Webb-era. But what if the disappointing scripts, the departure of Raimi – and bad reviews had scared Sony into selling the film-rights back to Marvel Studios?

Continue reading “Marvelous Monday #4 – What If Spider-Man Had Returned to Marvel in 2010?” →

Marvelous Monday #3 – Who Is Marvel’s James Bond?

I'm Jeffrey Rex' Marvelous Monday #3

For the uninitiated: This is a new weekly feature on the blog wherein I, I’m Jeffrey Rex, discuss all things Marvel.

On this, the third ‘installment’ of I’m Jeffrey Rex’ Marvelous Monday, I’ve decided to take a look at the characters in the current Marvel Cinematic Universe – and see if any of the characters can go the James Bond-route, and if any character could switch both actor AND character without losing comic book logic.

This discussion is based on the fact that Kevin Feige was asked, by Badass Digest, about the possibility of making Tony Stark into a superhero James Bond. Here’s Feige’s response:

“I think Bond is a good example. Let’s put it this way: I hope Downey makes a lot of movies for us as Stark. If and when he doesn’t, and I’m still here making these movies, we don’t take him to Afghanistan and have him wounded again. I think we James Bond it.” – Kevin Feige.

Now, Robert Downey Jr. won’t be making Iron Man-movies until the end of time – sadly – but, thankfully, he’s still here. I fear what a Downey-less MCU means to the survival of the Superhero genre. It’s not that Marvel hasn’t survived a switch in actor (Norton -> Ruffalo), but this would be a much bigger change. Not only was The Incredible Hulk not much of a success, but the Downey-led films are the most successful for Marvel.


The Hemsworth films aren’t making enough money for Marvel to let Downey go – sooner rather than later the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be much different. Which, obviously, is why they’re adding all these new characters in Phase 3.

I don’t consider the Tony Stark as James Bond-idea to be viable for Marvel, seeing as you’d have to get an actor at the same level of talent – or his stock would plummet. I’m not saying that you kill the character when Downey leaves, but maybe it’s time for Stark to leave his suit at home, and lead a new generation of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Give Downey a Samuel L. Jackson-like workload.

Similarly, you could just have Stark be the leader of the Avengers – the brains of the operation – and have him appear in a handful of scenes in every Avengers film, and every other solo-film.

 

There are, however, two characters that can easily survive a new actor or actress. A simple answer would be Thor. Recently Marvel Comics made Thor Odinson unworthy, and gave Mjolnir to a female Asgardian. I would love to see this happen one day, when Hemsworth needs a break. But there’s a much easier answer to the conundrum.

The real answer is, of course, Captain America. To my knowledge 9 different characters have been Captain America – the symbol – the leader. Our current Cap, Steve Rogers, is of course the most recognizable – but the MCU can already give Chris Evans a break. They already have two future Captain America-characters in the MCU SPOILERS Bucky Barnes & Sam Wilson.

Some people even recognize Agent 007 as a symbol, a codename, more than a single person – so yeah, to me there is only one James Bond in the Marvel Universe, and his rank is ‘Captain’.

Stay Marvelous!

– I’m Jeffrey Rex.