#how underutilized xavier is

[monsieuroverlord]

Comic Book Thoughts of the Day!

Uncanny X-Men #2

The outliers are cute. I have mixed feelings about adding more characters to such a huge cast as the X-Men (especially with so many underutilized characters as is) but they're interesting! They all have very unique powersets and backgrounds and I want to see how they develop. Deathdream and Ransom are my current favs.

Wolverine #1

Sure, why not? We'll see, I guess.

Spoilers:

Uncanny X-Men Summary: quick fight between the Outliers (mutant kids) and our New Orleans X-Men, interspersed with a flashback of Charles Xavier at College and meeting a young woman named Sarah, who was a love interest prior to even Moira. There's also a scene at Graymalkin prison, implying that surely Charles Xavier is dead. Back to New Orleans, Jubilee also shows up and reunites with everyone! She breaks up the fight and Rogue calls Kurt to come join them.

In Uncanny, I don't know what Logan means by "not all the kids survived" (I'm paraphrasing here) and that's his reasoning for no longer wanting to mentor kids. I mean, maybe he's referring to Hope? Otherwise, I don't remember anyone explicitly NOT surviving/getting resurrected. Even Akihiro was resurrected in the most convoluted fashion and him and Logan separated on relatively decent terms.

Maybe there's a secret death we don't know about.

I mean, I'm kind of glad both here and in Wolverine, he is actually sad and grieving (still maintain Wolverine #50 was seriously lacking in that), but the impact isn't hitting me, you know? He's just generically sad. There's not much depth to it. It could develop more in his solo though.

This issue is mostly more set-up! We get a Siryn appearance, plus some flashbacks of Professor X that appear to set up the history between him and the new villain, the latter being the one kidnapping mutants and collecting bounty from Dr. Ellis, the head of the Graymalkin prison (formerly the X-Mansion).

In Wolverine, Logan is fully naked the majority of the issue:

The Kurt and Logan reunion was lovely, and this hug was very sweet, but Logan is FULLY naked. Not even animal fur loincloth. (Kurt has known him too long to give a damn, apparently. )

We get tasteful shadows and tasteful shadows ONLY!

In summary, Logan was living with wolves again. Cyber is hunting him down and kills his wolf pack. Kurt also shows up, hunting him down. Kurt finds Logan first, they hear screams nearby from a camp. Logan dons his Wolverine suit to help campers (turns out Cyber attacked them to draw Logan out). Cyber grazes Kurt's skull and knocks him out. Logan tracks Cyber down and beats the everloving shit out of him. He only stops when Cyber appeals to Logan's softer side by claiming Kurt is probably bleeding out and dying by now. Cyber escapes to a cave and is possessed by shiny gold metal.

The shiny gold metal that appears to have living properties. It also appears drawn to adamantium as a "false metal" -- maybe the big added mythos is that silver adamantium is an artificial, man-made substance and this gold is the raw, pure form. Whatever that entails, I'll guess we'll find out.

Height difference is also peak:

[ohforfluffssake]

Things I Want in Wednesday S2

I hope they don't gloss over Enid's scars on her face. Since we know how much thought she puts into her appearance, I hope they don't magically disappear, but actually affect her in some way. And obviously, I want Wednesday to be the one to make her feel better about it.

Xavier needs to be a genuine FRIEND to Wednesday. All his pining in S1 reduced his character so much. I need to see more layers.

More actual school stuff if possible. The high school setting is underutilized in my opinion. I would also like a friendly teacher who takes a liking to Wednesday (and perhaps whom Wednesday also tolerates to some degree).

Please get Gwendoline Christie back in whatever form possible. I'll even take a Force Ghost type of thing, just get her back.

Wenclair confirmation, or at least some proper slow-burn build-up to it. I know that endangers the show to cancellation (because Netflix sucks), but I still want to see it.

[maxwell-grant]

if Wolverine is on every team, would he be an agent of the Shadow in an X-Men/Shadow crossover?

It's interesting to think about The Shadow existing in the same world as mutants, because the premise of The Shadow's agents is that they are people defined as "from all walks of life", working their talents to the same cause, which would definitely include mutants. At the same time, The Shadow would be forced to oppose mutants who threaten innocents, and most likely with mutants on his side, which is a recipe for trouble. One of the major problems with the X-Men is that they are constantly forced to share a universe with a setting that's not set up to accomodate mutants on a large scale, which cripples a lot of their potential, but I think the premise of "The Shadow exists in the same world as mutants" invites a lot more possibilites than just crossing The Shadow with the X-Men specifically.

Where does he fall on the Xavier-Magneto dychotomy? Is it acceptable for him to even be involved in mutant struggles if he's not a mutant himself? How do other mutants react to him? Obviously he cannot be stopped from giving a shit and helping them, but what happens when they don't want his help? What if he is a mutant? Technically speaking, the movie version of The Shadow and Margo already are mutants, since they were born with psychic powers and we never get any explanation for it.

Regarding Logan specifically: Would Wolverine be an agent? If there's any X-Man who's likely to have met and known The Shadow prior to his entry in a story, it's Wolverine. Usually it falls to Xavier or the resident telepath to give exposition on a new character, but The Shadow's older than all of them and you can bet that, in a world where telepathy exists, he would have figured a way to protect his thoughts from them, if he's not an outright telepath himself or something other. Would Wolverine be an acquaintance of The Shadow? Likely. Would they have worked together at some point? Probably, because Wolverine's worked for literally everyone. Would Wolverine be an Agent of The Shadow? I'd say no.

For one, even if he did work as an agent once, he's clearly had his hands full in the last decades, and there's hardly a point to having an agent you can't call on because he's busy fighting supervillains or gambling in Madripoor or mentoring kids and whatnot. Wolverine has the whole "lone wolf loose cannon doesn't play by the rules flips you off with one claw" routine down pat, plus the Berserker Rage making him put those around him in serious danger, all of which are incredibly poor traits for a Shadow agent, especially since The Shadow cannot have Wolverine work with another agent lest he bring danger to them (and Logan's a magnet for danger). The main thing The Shadow demands upfront everytime he enlists an agent, no matter what he's promising them, is absolute obedience. They obviously are expected to think and act for themselves and act according to their best judgment (and sometimes that judgment saves The Shadow in situations he hadn't accounted for), and they are all given the choice to refuse and back out, but The Shadow's word is final. He cannot abide distractions when lives are at stake, and Wolverine cannot promise that.

I mentioned before that The Shadow does not employ agents for assassin missions and that they are not supposed to be killing or even shooting anyone outside of gunfights, and Wolverine's whole catchphrase and job description is murder. If they worked together, it would not be with Wolverine as an agent. I don't see Wolverine accepting being a full-time agent, and I don't see The Shadow wanting him to be one. Instead, he'd be something akin to The Shadow's other allies that work with him or for him on occasion but otherwise have separate lives, like Myra Reldon and Yat Soon. Ultimately, there's a bit too much overlap between The Shadow and Wolverine for him to be an Agent.

Generally speaking, while the agents come in many different types and they should be as diverse a group of characters as possible, I'd say the number one rule that should go into making an Agent of The Shadow is that they must be good, heroic characters who contrast The Shadow in some way. The light to his darkness, the presence to his absence, the POV that grounds us so he can be cool and distant, the solid, likeable friends you can always trust to carry a story when he's off slinking through the dark in a thousand faces, and all that. So really it would be preferable to go with X-Men characters that are farther from the darker anti-hero side of the equation. Some of my suggestions would be: Jubilee, because I always really liked her energy and style and she seems woefully underutilized, and she would be a great character to not just contrast The Shadow in some of the most literal ways possible but also Wolverine should they team up. Or Colossus, who's got a very lovable simplicity, is probably the most straightforward superhero in Marvel after Cap, always makes a great contrast with edgier characters like Wolverine, and whose delightful portrayal in Deadpool was by far the greatest thing about that film, and who's already got seeds for a crossover considering he's canonically related to Rasputin, someone The Shadow personally knew.

Dazzler, who provides a more literal contrast than Jubilee in design and powers, and probably would be the last person anyone would expect to secretly be an agent of The Shadow, which makes her perfect for it. And Nightcrawler, who's got exactly the kind of personality and powerset that would make him perfect as an agent, perfect for working with the agents, and who I'd argue is, even more so than Wolverine, the closest thing to a genuine Pulp Hero currently among the X-Men, and who is just begging, begging, to get to star in his own separate franchise separate from the X-Men where he gets to go on realm-hopping Bugs Bunny swashbuckling adventures with a cast of misfits picked along the way. Put him in a Castlevania-esque game or something, I can't think of anything (at least, anything SFW) that would make the legions of Kurt fangirls happier than if he got to ditch the X-Men baggage and just shine solo more often, he's an incredible character and a very good bean who deserves very nice things, and he'd be my number one pick for partnering with The Shadow on this crossover.

[banjodanger]

Logan(2017)-Movie Notes

*The credits aren’t even typical of a superhero movie. They remind of an older movie from the seventies.

*This first fight is already what I wanted out of a Wolverine movie.

*God he might as well just say, “Do not trust me, I am a villain.”

*This beginning is so wildly unpleasant

*This long without a quip is some sort of record in a superhero movie, at least these days.

*I’m already loving the lack of dialogue in this.

*Ok. Choo Choo. First joke.

*Logan in no way wants to go back for the girl

*Absolutely great that Logan is willing to abandon Laura the way he is.

*Do villains ever brief their mercenaries? Like, foot claw seems like something that could have been mentioned.

*No enough limo chases in movies. Take notes, Hollywood

*Also, trains. Underutilized.

*Already did not like what he read.

*This reminds me of the torture scene in Casino Royale. After years of elaaborate sci-fi tortures, something like this is so simple and much more devastating.

*Genuinely thought they were having sex.

*Don’t steal! Also, I’m going to steal stuff.

*The story about Xavier watching Shane is a true story told by Patrick Stewart.

*Marvel at one point claimed their comics were based on real events and licensed from the superheroes themselves.

*Are they...hiding that truck?

*Legitimately hate each other at this point

*Capitalism is a nightmare. I’ve worked with truck drivers and this is an actual thing companies are working on.

*What’s fun is how much X-23 is such a physical, complicated role.

*This scene made me jump the first time I watched it.

*Honest question, is making Wolverine fight himself just a little too on the nose?

*The handcuffs remind me of how Magneto locked up Logan in the first movie and I’m wondering if that was intentional.

*Havent made a note. Just enjoying this movie. Vibing, as the kids might say

*This movie is not so secretly about corn syrup and copyrighted crops.

*Very few superhero movies defeat the villain like that.

I’ll get my thoughts on this movie up soon. Can’t wait.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael in the Mainstream: The Dark Knight Trilogy & Its Negative Impact on the Superhero Genre

Superhero movies have come a very long way in the past couple of decades, cementing themselves as a genre unto themselves rather than the odd action movie here or there. Almost every year a few new ones of varying quality pop up that incite equal parts excitement and derision. It’s definitely a genre people feel very strongly about, but even people who tend to not love superhero films will admit that Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is fantastic.

From 2005 until 2012, Nolan reinvisioned Batman in a way that grounded the character in reality. There’s no fantastical elements, there’s no insane science, there’s no superpowers… Everything in these films could happen in the real world. In a post-Batman & Robin world, this was seen as a breath of fresh air, and the critics loved it. In particular, The Dark Knight helped to usher in the modern age of superhero films, releasing the same year the MCU kicked off and widely being hailed as one of the greatest films of all time. That’s right, not even superhero films, films period. These films were impressive, groundbreaking, and… they fundamentally ruined superhero movies for quite a while.

Look, I don’t particularly hate these films. I think all of them are pretty good, in their own ways. But they have a lot of glaring issues that really hamper them a fair bit and yet, somehow, they became the blueprint that studios decided to look at for what they thought a successful superhero movie should be. Nolan’s films are serious, brooding, dark, and lack the whimsy and creative insanity that makes comics such a fun and engaging medium, and I think this right here is what has hurt comic book movies the most over the past decade. These are films that feel absolutely ashamed to be comic book movies, and they desperately want to seem like they’re “mature” and for “adults.” And, unfortunately for the rest of us, this shame translated over into a lot of other films, something we’re only just now recovering from.

Looking at the greatest strength of the trilogy shows this issue pretty well, that being the villains. Nolan’s films gave us truly iconic portrayals of characters like Bane, Joker, and Scarecrow, and you’re not gonna hear me say much bad about them. Cillian Murphy, Liam Neeson, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Aaron Eckhart, and Heath Ledger all do fantastic jobs as the insidious rogues of Batman. But the issue I have is that by grounding these characters in a realistic setting like this, it kind of misses the point. Joker isn’t using exploding cakes and laughing gas, Ra’s al Ghul isn’t an immortal warrior, Bane isn’t a drugged-up super soldier… They’re all just Guys. They’re Guys With Gimmicks, yes, but at the end of the day they aren’t what should be looked at as the be-all, end-all of the character’s portrayals.

And yet everyone acts like no one should ever play Joker again, because Heath Ledger’s Joker was just so good, guys! And he was good, but I don’t think Ledger’s Joker should be the absolute final Joker ever. Quite frankly, I prefer Phoenix’s Joker, because even if that version is also in a rather grounded film missing the overt weirdness of comics for the most part, he still dresses in a colorful costume, acts weird, tells jokes, and is in general more Jokery. Out of all of these villains, I think Bane and Scarecrow at least come within the ballpark of being close to how they should be, but Scarecrow is horribly underutilized and Bane is given a rather undignified sendoff.

Then there are the bigger issues. Batman himself is really downplayed throughout the trilogy, getting fairly little screentime compared to villains and side characters. This was a huge point of contention when The Dark Knight Rises came out, with most of the film featuring Bruce Wayne, and in hindsight it highlights how unwilling Nolan was to engage with the comic book trappings of what he was adapting. I like Christian Bale a lot, he’s a great actor, but I don’t think he really carries any of the films; in fact, it’s usually the villains carrying the movies. Bale is certainly not as bad as Val Kilmer in the role of Wayne/Batman, but he’s no Keaton, he’s no Clooney, he’s not even an Affleck. A lot of the time, he also just feels like… a Guy. And Batman should not ever, ever just be a Guy.

But perhaps the most egregious fault of the films is what it did to Gotham City itself. In Burton’s films, you really get a feel for the Gothic atmosphere of the city with how it’s designed, and this goes for Batman: The Animated Series too. And even the more cartoonish, colorful Gotham of Schumacher’s films pops and leaves an impact. But Nolan’s Gotham? It’s very much just a City. There is nothing distinct about Nolan’s Gotham, it’s literally just a generic city, and if you even have the faintest knowledge of Batman you will know that Gotham is not just a city. Gotham is pretty much a character itself, a dark, imposing landscape in which Batman does battle with his costumed foes. Every other adaptation I can think of knows to make Gotham feel unique and distinct, but this one just absolutely drops the ball. You might as well just have the city be New York if you’re going to put no effort into giving it personality.

And that all brings me to this: every reviled superhero movie of the past decade, from F4ntastic to The Amazing Spider-Man to Dawn of Justice, all have their genesis in Nolan’s trilogy. He laid the groundwork for these films to exist, and a large majority of the blame needs to be put on Nolan for sapping the fun out of comic book movies. Now, to be totally fair to Nolan, he’s not entirely responsible for what happened to the comic book film landscape; prior to him, the X-Men film series was giving all of the heroes dark costumes and being a bit more serious. But despite those films playing a bit of a part, there’s one major reason I don’t fault them nearly as much: The X-Men films never once felt ashamed to be comic book movies.

You have to understand, people loved grit and edginess in the 90s and had just violently rejected Batman & Robin a few years prior to the original X-Men film, so it’s hard to really fault it for wanting to avoid being too campy. But much like Blade, the films never tried to act like they weren’t still crazy comic book films. Scott still has eye lasers, Mystique is still blue, Nightcrawler looks like a demon, there are Sentinels and Apocalypse and even Dazzler shows up at one point! The X-Men franchise wasn’t always good, but it managed to balance between being silly and taking itself seriously pretty well for the most part. Magneto is still a Holocaust survivor, his relationship with Xavier still has impact, there are still emotional moments here and there, but then you also have Deadpool movies and the multiple comic book style retcons to the timeline that leave the continuity a mess, and something about that just feels right. And all that makes Logan less egregious despite being the sort of brooding, angsty superhero drama Nolan would make, because even if it is those things, it still centers around a dude with metal claws coming out of his hands trying to stop his best friend from wiping out everyone with psychic seizures. Nolan could never make this superhero film.

Nolan’s films, on the other hand, did. These films did not feel like they wanted to be comic book movies, they felt like they wanted to be serious crime films but Nolan was stuck with Batman so he just mashed the two together. And honestly, I’d probably be more forgiving if it weren’t for the hugely negative impact these films and their critical success had on the superhero genre even until this day. The first decade of superhero films as a major contender in cinema were colored by these films. People outright balked at silliness in superhero movies for quite some time, with a lot of criticism levied at the early phases of the MCU for being too goofy; in fact, at times it seemed as if the MCU was going a bit too far in the goofy direction without striking the proper balance, with films like Age of Ultron having most of its tension defused by constant wisecracks. And on the DC side, Nolan’s grounded approach lead to Zack Snyder’s flaccid filmmaking with dark coloration, moody atmosphere, and not a shred of joy to be found. Nolan is essentially the peak of dark, grounded superhero films, and Snyder is the nadir, but Snyder’s awful DC films wouldn’t exist if not for Nolan.

It was a slow crawl getting to what superhero movies should be. Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man were films tossed out only when Marvel was certain they could take risks, because absurd concepts like those would just not have been able to survive if not for years of good will beforehand. That’s not even getting into some of the more bonkers elements of later films, such as Ego the Living Planet and basically everything about Doctor Strange. In fact, Doctor Strange, for all its issues, is still a massive step forward for a genre that outright rejected magic for a long time, instead for a time turning Thor and his costars into a cast of hyper-advanced aliens, with later films having to clarify that there is magic and zombies and so on. The recent WandaVision was able to further clarify this by making Wanda unambiguously magic and not an evil Nazi science experiment.

Superhero animation didn’t suffer quite so much, but that’s mostly because, much like comics, animation is still seen as “kid’s stuff” by way too many people. And even then, they didn’t escape the shadow of Nolan totally unscathed; one need only look into the infamous Bat Embargo, which limited Batman villains so there could only be one given incarnation of said character in media. For instance, the Scarecrow being in Batman Begins meant he could not appear in the animated series The Batman. This lead to such things as no Batman characters appearing in Justice League Unlimited. It was truly a stupidly frustrating time to be a Batman fan when some of his most iconic foes were relegated to only certain appearances because it “might confuse kids.”

Let me again clarify this: I mostly like the Nolan films. I usually like Nolan, though he has become unbearably, obnoxiously pretentious these days. I think a lot of elements of them are great, I feel like they mostly have strong villains, and I don’t disagree that The Dark Knight is a fantastic film. But the thing is these are only good as AU stories, as their own thing; they should not be the template every superhero movie should follow, or any superhero movie for that matter, because they lack the ability to engage with the things that make people love comics in the first place. People love wacky, off-the-wall concepts, superpowered aliens, magic, talking animals, evil living planets, alcoholic ducks, and all that fun stuff.

People desperately want the fun, camp, and wacky stuff back in comic book films, as the success of the goofier DC films like Aquaman, Shazam, and Birds of Prey as well as the success of shows like Doom Patrol in comparison to the critical and audience revulsion of Snyder’s films, with Shazam in particular giving us such bonkers concepts as an entire family of superpowered children and Mr. Mind, the evil alien caterpillar. Thor: Ragnarok and the Guardians of the Galaxy films have become some of the most beloved MCU movies despite being weird, wacky, and wholly embracing the joy of comics to the point the latter films feature Howard the Duck and the aforementioned Ego alongside bizarre characters like Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Taserface. And the thing with all of these films is that they’re able to balance the weirdness and wackiness of comics without losing sight of human emotion, moving storytelling, and drama. They’re both fun and deep, goofy and yet meaningful. This is what comics are, and what they should be, and anyone who thinks comics should be grim and gritty really needs to think about why they think an entire genre needs to be colored in with only the dullest colors.

I think what I’m trying to say here is this: Make a Detective Chimp movie, you cowards.

[uncannycyke]

overall toughts on the krakoa era so far now that's been almost two years since house/powers of x? honestly it was weird when i realized how long it had been since it feels like barely anything happened to me. also, what would be your ideal x-men status quo?

it drags sooo much ahdsfjnamksd. like xos was a waste of time and it was the first big event. there still feels like there’s no stakes....and i watch the xmen get murdered and cloned so often????? it’s almost annoying atp to just watch them die on every mission.

more name brand characters like scott, emma, kitty, and jean r still getting the shaft in terms of writing. like my god is it bad for them they’re being written horrendously. but i think dawn of x’s best moments are with its underutilized characters like synch and kwannon becoming breakout stars has been nice. i dont at this point look forward to reading my favorite characters, but i do look forward to seeing what kwannon is up to --and kwannon has quickly rose the ranks to become one of my faves. 

way of x, new mutants, and hellions are the most promising titles to me and the ones i enjoy most often i think. new mutants all bc vita ayala really revitalized the series and they do great work w the team. 

its also devoid of......a lot of what i associate with the xmen i think? it’s not a soap opera anymore. i miss that element. 

my fave xmen status quo is always gonna be scott and emma leading the school. it was a break away from xavier and scott and emma were so good at it. and i do like utopia but utopia was never built to last whereas something like the school is a constant for the xmen.

[newx-menfan]

House of X#2 review

 *Spoilers* 

 Issue 2 starts with the retcon of Moira being a mutant...because god forbid we have a female character have a high intellect that's NOT caused in some way by their mutation 😒... 

 Moira's power is revealed to be reincarnation/groundhog day-ish sort of thing...??

Apparently she JUST studied science to meet Xavier and to find out if she's a mutant (you can already tell how unhappy I am with this retcon...). 

Mystique and Destiny find out she's working on a cure for the mutant gene and tell her if she continues this path they will permanently kill her by murdering her in her next life before her mutant gene kicks in. 

 Moira tries several different solutions to save mutant kind-from siding with Xavier, Magneto, and Apocalypse... The book ends with Moira trying a new strategy with Xavier...

  Opinions: 

 THIS, in my opinion, is the problem with nostalgia. 

 Instead of creating something NEW, with new or underutilized characters, you end up reusing and reusing the OLD; but to keep it fresh you have to find new exciting twists to do with the OLD characters. 

 Did Moira NEED this retcon? 

No. 

 If it isn't broke, why fix it? 

 Moira DIED protecting the people she cared about, in a story about being a human ally to mutants. 

She's been in SEVERAL excellent stories throughout the X-Men mythos. 

 This is just pointless and somewhat tarnishing Moira's original story. There's really NO REASON to make Moira a mutant. She was already a great character. 

 I think the thing that REALLY gets my goat though, is during Morrison's X-run, Morrison WANTED to use Moira, but Marvel editorial shot it down because she was 'dead'.... 

 Overall... I just do not like this. It feels pointless and I frankly don't like how it represents a character that was a huge supporting X-cast member. 

  Theories: 

 Honestly, I am kind of so annoyed that I really don't have any for this week...

[wwevampireamongkpop]

A Battle of Giants

Pairing: Selene (OC) x Sheamus (former), future Selene x Damian Priest, Naomi, Xavier Woods, Breezango

A/n: I’ve been inspired and had motivation to write. I hope this continues *prays to the writing muses*

Tag List: @evilangel84 @gold--gucciempress @tacoshu @ladytea19 @the-carter-mob-don

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

_                                                                                                                            _

She sat in the trainer's room, trying to breath calmly through the pain that shot through her leg. Earbuds placed in her ears, listening to music to help keep her grounded. She knew the ladder match to be the next challenger for the SmackDown women’s championship wasn’t going to end well but she didn’t know that it would end up with her breaking her ankle. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, the only thing she could do was start planning for her return.

Naomi walked into the trainer's room with a look of concern on her face like the sister she felt she was. “I thought I told you that you needed to be careful and not try that damn move out there.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.” She pulled out one earbud. “I thought I was able to pull it off.”

“Selene, you’re not Sheamus. You can’t attempt to pull off his move, you are basically half his size.” Worry filled her voice.

“I’ve done it at live events during the week. I just landed wrong, it happens.”

“I swear if you weren’t hurt I would smack you.”

“Love you too girl.” A smile played across her face for a moment before Hunter stepped into the room. “What a surprise to see you here.”

“You okay, I saw what happened and wanted to check up on you.” Concern filled his face as he saw the wrap on her ankle.

“I need to get it completely checked out but I will more than likely be out for several months.” 

“Selene, I want to make you an offer.” Hunter straightened his suit jacket a little before continuing. “When your ankle is all healed up, I would like for you to come down to NXT. You can go for the women’s championship if you want and you can even rebrand yourself. You are greatly underutilized on the main roster and coming to NXT, well you can show off your amazing skill.”

“I’ll have to think about that Hunter.” She bit her lip processing everything that has happened tonight. “How long do I have to think it through?”

“Take as long as you need. Our doors are always open for you.” With a small smile, he walked off but stopped momentarily at the door. “I’ll be waiting for your response, Selene.”

With the help of a trainer and Naomi, Selene made it through the backstage area and to the van that was ready to take her to the hospital. She knew that Sheamus saw her being helped around but did nothing to help. They weren’t official but everyone backstage knew better than to flirt with her. Besides from the way he looked, he was preparing to do a backstage interview. She decided to text him later the hospital information when he isn’t focused on everything else.

*4 months later*

The healing process was painful and long but Selene was to get around easier using crutches. The cast on her lower leg annoyed her to no end. She was ready for it to come off. She sat at home rewatching the Royal Rumble, smiling as she watched the women she cared for proving yet again that they were a force. Watching as some made their return. Seeing the blacklight when Naomi came out always made her smile.

A loud ring in the sound of Big E came from her phone. Looking at her phone, she saw that is was Xavier Woods. She couldn’t keep the smile off her face knowing he was more than likely calling to see how she was doing.

“Why hello there my favorite chocolate nerd.” She couldn’t help the giggle that slipped past her lips as she answered the phone.

“Oh, so I’m your favorite now. Good to know.” He couldn’t help laughing himself. “I was calling mainly to see how you were doing. I know the healing process can be difficult.”

“I’m good, at least right now. Just rewatching the Rumble.” She paused the feed on her tv so she wouldn’t miss anything. “Other than that, I’ve been going crazy and got a longer cast put on last week to prevent me from trying to walk on the cast before I’m supposed to.”

“Impatient as always.”

“Hush, I was mainly trying to do some baking since I’ve been home damn near alone.”

“Ah, being a hufflepuff in her natural habitat.” He chuckled a little. “What did you make this time?”

“Cookies and cream cupcakes.” She looked towards the kitchen thinking about doing some more baking. “I hate you right now. Now I want to bake but I can’t because I can’t stand in this cast.” All she heard was him laughing.

“You don’t hate me. You could never hate me.” A smile was heard as he spoke.

“You’re right, I could never hate you. So does that mean you’re coming over here to let me tell you what to do and make these cupcakes for me?”

“Unfortunately I can’t. Why don’t you call Sheamus and ask him to help you.”

“I would but he’s on the road and there's no way he would help me with baking. Besides I don’t think we are going to make what we have official.” She could practically see the frown on his face. “Don’t feel sorry for me. This just gives me the chance to make career decisions without fearing of messing anything up.”

“What decisions have you been thinking of?”

“Well, the night I got hurt Hunter walked into the trainer’s room and offer me the chance to go back down to NXT. Saying if I wanted to, I could rebrand myself and if I wanted to I could go for the NXT women’s championship.”

“As a friend, I say go for. As a coworker, I’d say do what makes you happy and you would be greatly missed on SmackDown.”

She sat there thinking over his words and pretty much made up her mind. “Thanks Woods, you really helped me make my decision easy.”

“Anything for you, sweetheart. You’re like a little sister to me so I’m always happy to help.” Selene couldn’t hold back the smile that spread across her face. “I’ll let you go, I think you have a phone call to make.”

“Thanks again Woods. I’ll talk to you later.”

After making a call to Hunter, Selene called a cab and made her way to the Full Sail arena. She thanked the driver when they arrived and slowly made her way into the building on crutches. Feeling excited about what was about to happen.

Superstars were starting to get ready for the night. Some were standing around in the halls while others were running around. Selene caught a glimpse of a brownish blonde, short haired Tyler Breeze who was talking to Fandango.

“Hey Breeze.” Both men looked over at her and both couldn’t help but smile then a look of concern filled their faces. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m healing.”

“I’m glad you’re healing. How much longer are you on the shelf?” Breeze looked down at the cast on her leg.

“Hopefully a few more months. I had to get a longer cast to keep me from trying to walk on it.”

Both men looked at each other and couldn’t help but smile.

“You have always been stubborn.”

“Yes I have. Now, do you two know where Hunter is, I need to talk to him about something that I called him about.”

“He is in one of the room, um” Fandango looked down one hallway, “he is down that hall, I think the fourth door down and to the left.”

“Thanks guys.” She smiled at them both and started to make her way down the hall.

As she made her way down the hall, she accidentally bumped into someone. The guy she bumped into was none other than Damian Priest and he didn’t look all that happy. Selene shyly said sorry and continued down the hall, hoping she wasn’t going to think of the tall man later.

[jxffhxrdy]

Smackdown 5/8/2020

Hey guys! Back again with my opinions (that you didn’t ask for) on Friday Night Smackdown last night- May 8th, 2020. Let’s do it!

Of course, this is the last show to send us into Money in the Bank 2020 and I have convinced myself that whoever won during this show will lose on Sunday. Take that with a grain of salt...

♡ Mandy vs. Sonya  (+) (MVP)

So first up, we had the Sonya vs. Mandy fight, which, if I’m being honest, I thought was going to be the sleeper match of the evening. Damn was I wrong. These girls killed it. They both gave super convincing performances and they have amazing chemistry together- you can tell they’re great friends outside of the ring. The Otis storyline is kind of meh for me, but after this match last night, I’m hoping to see more of these two together. This is definitely getting my MVP of the night.

♡ Male 2 Team Tag Match (-)

Okay, yes. I’m giving it a negative. It’s not that it was a bad match; all four of these teams are great! It’s just.... the same match we’re going to see on Sunday. So I’m kinda burnt out at this point. They set up this fatal four way a little early. The only way we can make this different is if Xavier Woods comes back. I don’t know his physical condition, but he has been out for 8 months. I’d love to see him in action. However, despite this, shout out to Lucha House Party and John Morrison for being TANKS in this match. They did great.

♡ Jeff Hardy vs. Sheamus (+)

Man, I am so stoked to see Jeff back in action. He’s just as good as he’s always been. Obviously I’m biased (if you can’t tell by the name of the blog), but he’s still such a joy to watch perform. Sheamus’ story arc here kind of came out of nowhere, but I still see what they’re doing. Plus, two “B-list” veterans going head to head is amazing. I’m very looking forward to continuing with this and I wish the match had gone on longer!

♡ Female 2 Team Tag Match (-)

Stop trying to make Lacey Evans a thing, WWE. Please. I’m begging you. I’m so over her random ass character decisions. She just shows up at random times and is randomly angry? I don’t know. Also, I get Bayley is now this cocky stuck-up as her character, but what was that “Give us a break for a second” thing? That was.... weird. Tamina destroyed everyone and I’m really hoping this was a precursor to her getting the title (although I don’t think it is.) This match was boring and I’m kinda over the womens Smackdown division at the moment.

♡ Braun Strowman and Bray Wyatt Face-to-Face (?)

I’m putting this has a ? because I really don’t know how I feel. For starters, I think this storyline is past its’ prime. We should’ve gotten it soon after the Wyatt family disbanded. Obviously, they can’t mention Harper or Rowan, so it just feels weird and incomplete in a way. Braun is a cuddly teddy bear to me (I really do love him), but I also know he’s technically not supposed to have the belt right now, so they’re doing things on the fly. That being said, these promos seem... off. Braun is obviously scripted out of his ass and while he plays it off well, he’s teaming with a genius on the mic- Bray Wyatt. Wyatt can sell any promo he’s given and can make it seem like his own words. The Firefly Funhouse is the best thing on Smackdown right now and I think it’s a decent placeholder until Reigns gets back, but I’m still wishing it was just.. a little different. But we got the puppets and that makes me happy.

♡ Male 2 Team Tag Match (-)

Alright. Here’s my issue. The idea of having a Baron Corbin/Cesaro/Shinsuke 3-way tag team makes me the happiest person in the world. Or, an even BETTER idea- Take Sami Zayn off the Intercontinental Title (which they should do anyway...), give it to Corbin, and officially make the Cesaro/Shinsuke tag team. Because they would destroy in that division and Cesaro deserves it. Corbin is great, I love his character, and all 3 of them are amazing fighters. On the other side- Gulak (boring), Bryan (boring), and Otis (again?). The whole trainer/trainee thing with Gulak and Bryan is so boring, I can’t even bring myself to care. Bryan without a crowd is... rather disappointing? I think he depends on that pop from the crowd and obviously, without anyone in the building, it just flatlines to me. I also don’t really care about Gulak. He’s good, don’t get me wrong, but is he the next big thing? No. It’s no secret to anyone that Vince lives in Otis’ asshole, but putting him in this match was a big ol’ mistake. Not only does it 100% scream the end of Heavy Machinery (which should’ve never fallen flat), it takes away many opportunities for other wrestlers to have made their redebut. We haven’t seen Chad Gable since the Rumble and as far as I know, he’s not injured? Or Elias- he has that budding feud with Corbin! So many wasted opportunities. On the plus, the ladder breaking thing with Otis is definite foreshadowing and I’d die on the hill for Cesaro.

♡ Who is the Hacker?

We got another glimpse at the Hacker tonight, which I love. That is such an interesting story and I cannot wait to get that reveal- assuming they do it correctly. I’m seeing rumors flying everywhere that it could be CM Punk. Which, alright, I’ll humor that for a second. If they were to bring Punk back, they would do it for a crowd pop. Never in a bajillion years would they bring Punk back into an empty show. It would be a waste of shock value. Now, if the world lets up and we have a sold out Summerslam... maybe. Maybe I can see that. But also that would be assuming that Vince or Punk would want to work with each other again! My guess is Ali and this is SUCH a great way to bring him back into the picture. I think Ali is a super underutilized performer and this is such a great way to build hype. I don’t think it could honestly be anyone else- unless this is a weird ploy to bring Graves back into the ring (I know he’s training at the moment). 

thanks for reading guys and tune in for my thoughts on Sunday’s MITB!

[wrestlingisfake]

Smackdown Fake Rankings, 2/1/2020

Men’s heavyweight singles division - babyfaces

Roman Reigns

Daniel Bryan

Braun Strowman (intercontinental champion)

Shorty G

Elias

Men’s heavyweight singles division - heels

Bray Wyatt (universal champion)

King Corbin

Shinsuke Nakamura

Sheamus

Cesaro

Unranked: Drew Gulak

This division is surprisingly robust, considering how many of the guys on it have been misused or underutilized.  For better or worse, Vince McMahon really believes in Shorty G and Elias, so they’re stronger than the corresponding undercard faces on Raw.  Sheamus is clearly going to be positioned as the next “asshole bully” heel after Corbin’s dog food stunts run their course.  And Cesaro is overqualified as a lackey for Nakamura.

Nevertheless, it’s pretty obvious that Reigns is the only real choice to challenge Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania.  Bryan has already tried and failed.  Strowman’s superhuman gimmick pales in comparison to Wyatt’s.  The other faces are still too weak to suddenly topple an invincible monster, and I don’t see any of the heels turning any time soon.  Unless Captain Marvel gets drafted to Smackdown or something, I think the only force powerful enough to beat Bray will be Vince’s dogged determination to make Roman look strong.

Men’s tag team division - babyfaces

The New Day - Kofi Kingston & Big E (Smackdown tag team champions)

The Usos - Jimmy Uso & Jey Uso

Heavy Machinery - Otis & Tucker

Lucha House Party - Gran Metalik & Lince Dorado

Men’s tag team division - heels

The Miz & John Morrison

Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode

The Revival - Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder

Reports about the Revival wanting to leave WWE have intensified in the past few days.  Last I heard, Dawson’s contract is up in April, while Wilder’s ends in June.  The heel side of this division will struggle to adjust to their loss--it’s hard to imagine any of the current face teams turning to balance things out.  Maybe Nakamura and Cesaro could make a run for the title in the spring.

Women’s division - babyfaces

Naomi

Lacey Evans

Alexa Bliss

Nikki Cross

Carmella

Dana Brooke

Women’s division - heels

Bayley (Smackdown women’s champion)

Mandy Rose

Sonya Deville

Unranked: Tamina

In theory the women’s tag team champions would be obligated to appear on all brands, but Asuka and Kairi Sane haven’t been on Smackdown since September and haven’t defended the title against a Smackdown team since December.  Bliss and Cross fighting Rose and Deville a zillion times isn’t much of a tag division.  The singles division isn’t much better; as with Raw, WWE is falling back on the bad habit of focusing on exactly one women’s feud at a time (the champion and the latest challenger) instead of cultivating multiple programs to get plenty of future challengers ready.

It doesn’t help that Alexa Bliss and Sasha Banks repeatedly get sidelined for weeks at a time.  I presume those issues are concussion related, but whatever it is, WWE needs to focus on really resolving the problem instead of just getting them medically cleared for the next show.  I’m increasingly worried one or both of them could be forced into an early retirement.

No TV/PPV matches in 60 days: Apollo Crews, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Drake Maverick, Heath Slater, Kalisto, Mustafa Ali, Sami Zayn

As far as I can tell, Zayn has wrestled exactly two matches since last summer.  I won’t pretend to know why that is, but it feels like he’s either winding down his career or trying to run out his contract with as little wear and tear as possible.  Most of the other guys listed above haven’t been seen since the last Saudi Arabia show, and I suppose we’ll probably see them again on the next one in late February.  If I were Apollo Crews, I would want out very, very badly.

Part-timers: Cain Velasquez, Kane, Maryse

Velasquez reportedly signed a multi-year deal with WWE, so even though speculation about him appearing at the Royal Rumble didn’t pan out, he should get a rematch with Brock Lesnar one of these days (likely at another Saudi show).  I thought Kane would be done after becoming mayor of Knoxville, but I guess he can and will wear a mask and do a chokeslam until he’s 75.  We probably won’t be seeing Maryse much while Miz is teaming with John Morrison, but she’s technically available the next time they do a battle royale or what have you.

Inactive

Sasha Banks (undisclosed injury - possible concussion)

Xavier Woods (right heel - Achilles tendon tear)

Woods will probably be miss Wrestlemania and Summerslam with his injury.  Banks is one of these cases where WWE won’t say what it is, but they only do that when it’s a concussion.  The word is that they expect her to be cleared each week, and then she isn’t, which is consistent with how concussions could take hours or weeks to clear up.

[douxreviews]

The 100 - ‘Memento Mori’ Review

"Don't worry. I'll try to make sure they only kill you."

This is an episode that's hard to write about because it's I can't exactly put my finger on how I feel about it.

Was this a bad episode? No. Was it poorly written, directed or acted? No, no and no. Was I bored? Still no. So let's try to figure out together why I don't feel great about it.

So what worked and what fell flat?

Bellamy knew in his gut from the jump that Murphy wasn't someone that would say no to surviving. He certainly wouldn't get himself locked up to keep some moral high ground. That kind of keeping to the truth of these characters makes watching a show a thousand times more enjoyable. And Echo knew that Bellamy wouldn't go off gallivanting around this moon alone. Our characters aren't stupid.

Even while we were wading through Josephine learning how to pretend to be Clarke and Bellamy practically foaming at the mouth to avenge his friend, we were getting set up to an inevitable peace treaty. Abby reminded us of the difference between revenge killing and doing what's necessary to survive. Murphy threw Monty and Bloodreina in Bellamy's face as examples of how differently doing the wrong thing and the right thing look. Killing an entire community of people because Josephine's parents are selfish murderers isn't the same as saving your people from torture and death in the mountain.

And that gives us the payoff for believing in these people. Time and again our guys have been put in situations where the only options are to do something horrible or die with everyone they love. This time is different. This time there's an option where even though Clarke can't be saved (so they believe), they don't have to be murderers. It's interesting that we are only shown Bellamy coming to terms with it. Did everyone else accept Clarke's murder begrudgingly like Bellamy? If she comes back will anyone besides Bellamy, Madi and Abby even care?

And what about Madi? How lucky for that evil ex-commander in her head to get the daughter of the commander of death to mentor. He's gotta be ecstatic, right? In a show with this many great characters, she hasn't really done much to endear herself to the audience. I don't know if that is the actor's fault or the writing or maybe it's all going according to plan. If she is about to go off the rails and start killing at will, then she's gonna be the new big bad here. How long will Bellamy have her back against the moon people? Could he really turn his back on Clarke's daughter after losing her? I feel like we should like Madi in her own right and not just as Clarke's daughter, but I just don't. And outside of Bellamy, I'm not even half convinced that anyone else does either. Has Abby ever even spoken to her directly? Or hey, maybe Clarke will be back before any of this matters and it'll be on her to ground Madi and take her cell phone away. Or however you discipline a person on a moon.

After this episode I don't really know what I want. I can't be missing all the death and gore and moral tug of war. Not after all the whining about recycling plotlines. Was this episode totally fine but just a little rushed?

2 out of 4 strong interpersonal relationships

Bits and pieces

Google says that memento mori means remember death.

EDIT: According to a sweet commenter, the meaning is more like 'remember that you are mortal,' which sounds a little ominous if you're a prime.

I can't decide if it's a little dumb that every one of Clarke's friends is just accepting that she is gone forever and not at all considering that she is just trapped somewhere in her own mind.

Was it odd to anyone that Russell was trying to rationalize with Bellamy about forgiveness when a few episodes ago he felt very strongly that they couldn't ever change? That's why he originally wasn't going to let them stay, right? Because he thought they weren't capable of peace. I can't see the logic in killing their leader making them more amenable?

The tree growing into Jade's friend was a little much. Ick.

Raven feels pathetically underutilized this season. I'd feel a little better if she was off screen finding peace or something but she's still hella bitter. I did enjoy her laying into that mechanic, though.

If they're showing us Clarke in some dream afterlife, then she's got a fighting chance at coming back. That sounds valid. I'm sticking with that.

A few things happened that are going to be important. Abby agreed to create nightbloods. Will they continue lying to her about Clarke until she does? Gaia was banished. How far does she have to go? Murphy earned himself two mind drives for doing Josephine's bidding. How do we think Emori will react to this? Oh, and Octavia, Diyoza and Xavier are starting their own super exclusive club.

Murphy: "We get everything we want. We get to live." Bellamy: "Not Clarke."

Bellamy: "We don't need them to help us build a compound. We kill them all, and we take theirs."

Bellamy: "Clarke is dead." Echo: "When do we attack?" Bellamy: "We don't."

---

Laure Mack

[lediableblanc-amoureuxdechats]

How my Muse acts differently around their love interest(s)

What my Muse admires about their love interest(s)

@fatummortem

Much dusty meme...

Remy is a lot less careful about appearing to be a shallow, lackadaisical type of person around love interests. He very much is someone who shields himself from other people, even as an extrovert, and prefers to keep everyone at arm's length or further unless they're a close friend or a love interest. And generally, the fact they're a love interest already speaks to the fact a close relationship where he details things like some of his private life and deeper emotions was already established before things turned romantic. He's less likely to immediately jump to the crass remark, though not always. He will certainly be more physically affectionate although depending on the friend he still kisses people platonically. Love interests are some of the only people to see where he lives beyond the most underutilized and ready to be ditched safehouses or Xavier's. He is not keen on sharing his personal space with people he does not implicitly trust in his most personal of homes.

Remy admires the strength in his lovers, even if they themselves do not consider themselves as such- he sees it. They are usually kind, just people more aligned with 'good' to some degree than he is, and he admires people who can choose to be that way. He also, whether or not it is good for him, admires the fact that they 'put up with him', as he sees himself as a liability as a visible mutant, and a person with flaws like all people have. He is getting better about not seeing his trauma and how it has shaped him as something he needs to apologize for but he still slips now and then.

[littlebitwriter]

MCU X-MEN SPECULATION & PREDICTIONS

This is what I’m thinking and hoping the future of the X-Men franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to be like and I’m going to try and delve into different predictions I have.

We know for sure that Wolverine is the character that Marvel will cast immediately which I don’t know for sure if it was from producer Lauren Shuler Donner, I don’t know for sure I’m definitely no expert and not a credible source I’m just speculating and going off of rumors. I don’t know if that means he will be confirmed to be in the first X-Men film.

One of the most different ways Marvel could do it is make it a film about the core original five X-Men. Which I find to be the obvious way that Marvel could do something different. Since those characters in particular were so shafted and a lot of others were across the franchise. Here if you choose this direction you can start smaller and if there has to be Wolverine you could be set up in the background of the film, maybe.

Wolverine is over done but is still such a great character. Wolverine is such an inherently cool and interesting character and I think Wolverine is overdone but I do still think he is a great character. Even though there are some X-Men movies without him he’s still so synonymous with X-Men. I also think with whoever they cast it’s going to be awhile before people will dissociate him from Hugh Jackman. Marvel Studios has always for the most part been smart with casting but I have a strange pick for Wolverine even though they will most likely stick with an unknown. With a new actor Wolverine, I would like a much more comics accurate tale where he’s shorter and scrappier.

I think that X-Men now more than ever is the franchise for this culture nowadays. They are the persecuted minorities stand-in metaphor I think Marvel can do a really relevant and I understand you can’t do the first five X-Men because reportedly Marvel wants a very diverse cast for their rebooted X-Men. So I think they should go for something like the straight-up classic ‘Giant Size’ X-Men team where you all of these different people all around the world. Also it’d be great since we never really had all those characters together like Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus.

With both Deadpool and X-Men being under Disney they may do a Deadpool and X-Men that may speak to each other more. While he is still kind of doing his own thing in a separate universe. Deadpool would be carried on from where he is regardless and they would poke fun and make references that Deadpool knows about the Disney buyout of Fox and things of that nature. Since Deadpool is such a breaking the fourth wall character. So his integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe is fairly simple.

With the X-Men’s integration into The MCU I find the most likely scenario as to how they will be integrated is that mutants will have always existed. They also may retroactively say that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were actually mutants where they will go back and say mutants have existed this whole time. Which would be pretty much a straight up retcon since you know how they got their powers but it really wouldn’t be the first out of the many continuity discrepancies and retcons from across the MCU. Where you could say Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver has the mutant gene in them and they were sort of predisposed to it. The MCU will say there have always been mutants and they’ve been in hiding. Maybe all the mutants they’ve been in the Savage Land (which would be awesome!!!!)

In terms of casting this is MY DISNEY-FIED MCU X-MEN! With a mix of Giant-Size lineup, Pryde of The X-Men and the 90’s Animated Series.

Millie Bobby Brown as Kitty Pryde

I’d like to see Kitty Pryde especially because I love Kitty Pryde and I would make her our eyes-in focus character into the X-Men universe. I’d do something like Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men meets a more serious take on The Pryde of The X-Men cartoon. Also Kitty Pryde hasn’t been well represented on screen and I like her in Days of Future Past (2014) but she still doesn’t get to do enough. Also Millie Bobby Brown is such a talented young actress if you've ever seen her performance in both seasons of Stranger Things as Eleven you know what I’m talking about. I think she’d be a great Kitty Pryde.

KiKi Layne as Ororo Munroe/Storm

I think Storm has been severely shafted in the X-Men films. She’s underrated and underutilized and it is of course important to have her in here because she is a minority character but not only that she is tremendously underrated and deserves the right to have her fair due. Also she will be older and one of Xavier’s first students because of her romantic relationship with T’challa/The Black Panther. Also Kiki Lane’s performance in If Beale Street Could Talk was great so I think she’d be a great Storm.

Logan/Wolverine

My casting for Wolverine is Zac Efron. In comic book casting traditions if this were real life people would’ve protested and demanded for Zac Efron to not be Wolverine. However this isn’t first time people have overreacted about casting look at the reactions to Michael Keaton, Heath Ledger, Ben Affleck etc. You don’t know until you see him in action. He may not be the most comics accurate Wolverine but Zac Efron isn’t 5’2 he’s 5’8 but he’s shorter than Hugh Jackman who is 6’2. Since it is Marvel Studios I’m sure they will go out with the classic yellow costume and the mask and maybe even the orange and brown suit. I understand why people despise this choice but you never know until you see Zac Efron grow mutton chops in that classic costume smoking a cigar calling someone “Bub.” That may have the potential to win people over.

Scott Summers/Cyclops

Cyclops will be the leader of this team of X-Men, I’d like to see his costume look very 90’s or very much like the 80’s or even modern look. I think Logan Lerman would be a good choice he’d be one of Xavier’s first students which is why he’d be a bit older, he will already be established on the team just like all the other X-Men outside of Kitty Pryde. He’d be very much classic Scott Summers there’s threads and hints of him growing into where he is in things like Morrison’s New X-Men or Whedon’s Astonishing. Setting up a true comic book accurate Scott Summers.

Jean Grey (Maybe???)

I don’t know if Marvel should right out the gate do Jean Grey and I don’t know if they do the Phoenix the third round this time. But I’m very much at a Marvel can’t do no wrong stage in the MCU so maybe third time's the charm. Also since it’s in MCU they can touch upon the cosmic stuff with the Shi'ar empire and Lilandra which will be cool. I think Emma Stone would be a great Jean Grey, it will seem a bit meta to have her in the role since she was Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man franchise but she’d be a great Jean Grey. Maybe a more reserved, anxious but still witty Emma Stone sort of Jean Grey. I think she’d be one of Xavier’s first students which is why I cast her older.

Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler

Timothee Chalamet I think is a great pick for Nightcrawler. Personally he is one of if not my favorite X-Men character and with his Oscar nomination for Lady Bird I’m hoping he can manage to pull of my favorite often misunderstood mutant.

Professor X

Daniel Day Lewis is an actor that makes for a perfect Professor X and with his role in Lincoln as former U.S. Abraham Lincoln he is such a dedicated actor that his performance as Professor X could wind up there next to Patrick Stewart himself and many other greats.

Magneto

Daniel Craig’s time as James Bond May soon be over but that won’t stop him from joining the MCU as the villain Magneto. Daniel Craig would make for a damn good villain in the MCU and what villain is more perfect than Magneto!

FUTURE X-MEN PROJECTS I WANT TO SEE…

As far as spin-offs outside of Deadpool. Since there was that Kitty Pryde movie Brian Michael Bendis was Writing or that Jamie Madrox movie I guess those aren’t happening with the Disney buyout. There’s still potential for that Deadpool X-Force spin-off and other X-characters can still get there time to shine in their own spotlight solo films.

I think a Gambit/Rogue solo film would work and I’d like to see a connection with Rogue and Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers since they have a tremendous history in the comics. I would love an X-Factor TV series on the Disney+ streaming service based on the Peter David run that’d be great!

-LittleBitWriter (3/5/18)

[jojoseames]

Any chance we might see more your version of Juggernaut with Legion doing some family bonding? With how Xavier has behaved, I dare say Cain has a FAR more healthy relationship with his nephew than Charles has with David.

Oh, unquestionably Cain and David have a far healthier relationship than Charles and David have! I was absolutely delighted that "Legion of X" finally gave this uncle and nephew a chance to meet for the first time...and immediately bond over how being related to ol' Chuck just ain't no picnic. Wonderful.

(I have to confess that I've been slightly disappointed with the series otherwise, from a Juggernaut perspective. I think he's been a little underutilized, which is surprising since he's got a lot of personal experience that's relevant to the main plot. I'm sure part of that is just a personal bias on my part, since he's my blorbo.)

My big hope is that the reason Juggernaut is up for the X-Men vote is because David nominates him for it at the last minute, specifically to annoy Charles. I think that would be incredibly funny. A vein bulging in the side of Charles' face as he tries to not let on how he's fuming under his helmet. Cain all having no idea what's happening, because he's not even eligible to vote, bwah hah!

Anyway, gentle Anon, if I think up any little ideas for drawing Cain and David enjoying some much-needed family bonding time, I won't hesitate to put pencil to paper, knowing that you're out there wanting to see it!

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Deadpool 2 review

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! READ PAST THE BREAK WITH CAUTION!

It’s about time I reviewed this.

I put off reviewing this movie because of some barely-worth-mentioning drama, and it has been on the backburner for months. But after finally watching the Super Duper Cut, it’s time to break my silence and talk about this year’s biggest breath of fresh air and its funniest comedy.

Deadpool 2 is the Aliens of superhero movies. It takes the groundwork laid out by an already fantastic first film and just amps up everything: the humor, the action, the character interactions, all of it is just fine tuned and perfected. Where the first film was an impressive work for a first-time director, blending a romantic arc and an origin story together while delivering all the fun and laughs you’d expect from a character like Deadpool, this movie features a lot more impressive action, which is fitting since it’s given to us by the man behind John Wick and Atomic Blonde, while still delivering all sorts of gut-busting laughs and wonderful character interactions.

So what sort of mess has Wade gotten into this time? Well, after a life-changing event, Wade is down in the dumps and trying to figure out what to do with himself. In his attempts at straightforward X-Men style heroism he ends up being sent to jail alongside the superpowered kid he was trying to save, Russel. Russel soon ends up as the target of the time-travelling cyborg badass known as Cable, and after getting the shit kicked out of him Wade realizes his true calling: saving this kid from Cable. Armed with guns, katanas, a bigger budget, and his all-new X-Force team, can Wade hope to stop Cable from axing Russel?

The beauty of this film is, ultimately, how it manages to subvert expectations. A lot of movies lately have made being subversive into a big selling point; sometimes it works out really well and the movie is all the better for it - see Infinity War, a film that features the heroes failing miserably and ending on a shot of the villain contentedly relaxing after committing galactic genocide, the opposite of what you’d expect from a superhero blockbuster. Sometimes, it works poorly - see The Last Jedi, which features things going the opposite of how you’d expect due to bad writing and characters acting like idiots and trusting the shadiest people possible, the sort of idiocy we thought Star Wars had moved on from after the first two prequels. And then you have films like this, where everything is subverted for hilarity. And nothing in the world is funnier than how it subverts your expectations for Deadpool’s X-Force. Filled with unique and quirky characters like Shatterstar (who remains an alien from Mojoworld, meaning that Mojo is in fact canon in the X-Men cinematic universe. Put him in a movie, Fox) and big names like Bill Skarsgard as Zeitgeist and Terry Crews as Bedlam, not to mention the hilarious everyman without powers that is Peter, the film builds up and hypes their big skydiving scene, blasting “Thunderstruck” as they leap from the plane onto a convoy to save Russel from Cable…

...And then each and every one of them dies brutally, painfully, and horribly. And HILARIOUSLY, that’s the most important thing. I don’t think there is a funnier bit of black comedy in any other film, let alone a superhero film. Even funnier is that the invisible character, who has not spoken a word and who one could easily assume did not actually exist, has an amusing reveal right upon his death, which is the most hilariously wasteful use of an actor I have ever seen. The entire scene is just brilliant in its subversion of our expectations for a badass new hero team, helped for once by the advertising, which built things up so one would expect this team to stick around.

Of course, we have one survivor - Domino, played by Zazie Beetz, a mutant with luck-based powers. She’s one of the numerous highlights of this film, and she plays the character with the laid-back, rolls-with-the-punches attitude a character like Domino deserves. Frankly, I like her a bit more than her comic version. And speaking of new characters, let’s talk about the best new element of the film, Deadpool’s beleaguered badass bro-for-life, Cable. Played by Josh Brolin - complete with the requisite references to The Goonies and Infinity War from Deadpool - he is the ultimate straight man, his gritty, grim badassery contrasting to Deadpool’s zany, wacky bullshit. Of course, that’s not to say Cable gets no good laughs; there’s something to be said for a man who can growl “Dubstep is for pussies” with a straight face. I’m fully of the mind Cable is the best addition to the movie, and I’m praying we get even more of him and Wade interacting in potential sequels.

Then we have our special guest of the hour, the character we’ve all wanted in the X-Men universe, the one, the only, the unstoppable motherfucker to end all motherfuckers… IT’S THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH. And lord is he incredible, especially compared to the dipshit from The Last Stand. Sadly he does not utter “I’m the Juggernaut, bitch!” at all in the film, but he does rip Wade in half, confirm he’s Xavier’s half-brother, and threaten to turn Colossus into a cock ring, so it all evens out in the end. In this film, he actually FEELS unstoppable, and though he’s only onscreen in the third act, he definitely uses that screentime effectively, delivering the epic, ultimate smackdown between him and Colossus in what Deadpool helpfully informs us is the movie’s big CGI fight scene.

And speaking of Colossus, he’s even better here than in the first film. His interactions with Wade are hilarious and priceless, which is aided by Wade’s blatant crush on him - Wade at one point gropes his ass, and there is a romantic musical scene that calls back to a similar scene in the first film. He also gets a bit of character growth here, which is great and unexpected. Sadly I can’t say the same for Negasonic Teenage Warhead; she’s relegated to a bit part here, which is a damn shame since she was one of the highlights of the first film. On the plus side, not only is she revealed to be gay, but her girlfriend Yukio is absolutely adorable and charming… though, sadly, she also gets very little to do in the film aside from a cute running gag with her and Wade cheerily exchanging greetings.

Stuff like that is honestly the biggest problem with the film, and even then, the biggest problem is what amounts to a nitpick. Yes, it does suck that some of the characters are underutilized, but it’s hard to be too angry when the rest of the film is so gutbustingly hilarious and action-packed. One thing that did disappoint me a fair bit is Vanessa getting killed in the movie’s opening. Now, unlike many others, I’m not going to whine about “stuffing her in the fridge,” because I think that concept is so absolutely stupid and is used for literally every time a woman gets killed in a story, even if it makes sense for the story and progresses the plot meaningfully and in a well-done way. I don’t think this was awful or tacky, and regardless of anything else, the post-credit scene renders her death a moot point; still, I’m upset that she didn’t get to do anything in this movie aside from be a stand in for Lady Death. I would love if Vanessa got her comic book powers and fought alongside Wade, making them the ultimate power couple. It’s just mild disappointment, though much like with X-Force, it is a pretty subversive move to kill the love interest so abruptly and so quickly, especially when there was every indication Deadpool would get a happy ending… and then even more subversion comes at the end when Deadpool saves her (among many other hilarious moments) via the magic of time travel.

Aside from that, there’s not much else to complain about. The only other minor complaint is that the turn towards more serious elements isn’t always perfect, and some of the stuff with Russell could have been done better, but really, it’s just too hard to get worked up over the flaws. This is a fantastic, funny movie, and one of the best sequels I’ve ever seen. It’s bigger, funnier, flashier, and introduces so many more exciting elements into an already great series. This is how you make a superhero sequel, this is how you make an action-comedy, this is how you make one of the best movies ever. If you like Deadpool, if you like superheroes, if you like action-comedies, movies with great choreography, or love seeing a good subversive film, this is a movie you shouldn’t miss.

As for what version to watch, the Super Duper Cut or the theatrical cut… I have to say that the Super Duper Cut fleshes the story out a lot better and gives some much needed context, as well as adds in some new jokes that were cut from the original, as well as delivering callbacks a lot better and staying more cohesive… but I will say the theatrical cut had some much better jokes that were replaced with some less impressive takes in the Super Duper Cut. Still, the Super Duper Cut is the one I’d recommend watching, just because the story feels more fleshed out, and also because it features Deadpool trying to kill baby Hitler.

Also, I just want to say this: “Ashes” is a better Bond theme than the piece of shit theme song to Spectre.

[finlcyxwalsh]

preholocene·:

         “only moderately? what did you do to get that label?” they ask, biting back a laugh. they’re only joking, of course—they can’t imagine finding finley even moderately obnoxious. even if she’s the type to ask every question in the world and then some… well, he’s always needed someone more outgoing to push him to give in to his own natural sense of curiosity. being a longtime mutant has all but extinguished that light, particularly for anything biology-related, but… maybe it’s time to shed that skin and look for a brighter future. maybe the both of them can be obnoxious, to make up for the times that they’ve missed. “i believe you. have to be a little good at studying with all the archive work you do. i… wasn’t that good at doing my homework, though. time to change that, i guess.”

        the idea is almost as ridiculous as having her whisk the trash away, but it has an element of fun to it, too. just as important, he reasons, as taking things more seriously. “maybe we could hook up one of those… what are they called? those machines that chuck tennis balls?” the thought alone has him fighting back laughter again. “maybe it would make it a bit more of a challenge than just having me throw things.” their throwing arm is… underutilized, but that could even be a good thing to start. regardless, he’s almost certain that something can be arranged, even if just to cool down after some more intense work.

        although joseph is expecting to feel discouraged from her voicing her own worries…. they’re not. it’s almost comforting, in a way—they both have fears that they need to work through, even on ( seemingly ) simple concepts like applying to a school. “do you think they have a real application? i don’t know how much effort they put into being a regular school.” a significant enough amount, given the high praise xavier’s has held for so long… but if most of the students are sought out, how much work does it take to get in after the window has passed? “i’ll have to give her a call, then. or… something. whenever she’s not busy, maybe she can take us both in to get another look.”

“I was a know-it-all, bookworm, who didn’t know how to mind her own business. Who may have also had a tendency to read her Father’s case files, and tell stories about them at lunch to maintain friendship status with the other kids.” Finley gave him a look that bordered on mischievous, almost proud of herself for such transgressions in her youth. It was hardly legal or ethical, but the way her and her Father fought, even before her mutation was known, was enough to keep pushing Finley to rebel all those years. It did translate well into archival work, though, Joseph was right about that. The morbid curiosity of going through, not only government documents, but personal stories and letters satiated some nosy tendencies she had. “We’ll make it fun. Maybe I’ll even try and recall some of those old case file stories.”

Finley thought about it for a moment. The thought of standing in the middle of an empty tennis court having balls chucked at her by a machine was both comical and, honestly, probably very useful. She could imagine it would end up with some bruises, but that was the price to be paid for the sake of learning something she could only do by trial and error. At least the tennis balls would hurt her arm less. “That’s not a bad idea, it might be kind of comical to watch, too, lucky you.”

“I... don’t know. I met a student during New Years’– Milo, he said it was a regular school as well, so maybe if you want to take some classes. But, it seems like it’s not all collegiate level from the way they talked about it.” Finley nodded, glad that they both had some form of contact with the school. “And I can always reach out to Milo if we need as well. We have options. That’s always a good thing.” Having a partner in this motivated her. They were going to get in, and they were going to get in together which was most important.