#i can see where waid was going with it though and what pieces of previous canon he honed in on

[hood-ex]

Wait, wally's the youngest member of teen titans??

I thought it was Garth (don't have an official source to back it up though so meh). Well, and then when Garth was older, he got trained in mystic arts and aged up a few years because of it.

So yeah not entirely sure. Either way, it felt weird to me when Dick gave Wally that little pep talk 🥴.

[daresplaining]

A Daredevil Comics Introduction for MCU Fans

    I imagine a lot of MCU Daredevil fans are feeling pretty lost right now. The first thing the Iron Fist twitter account did after the show ended was provide a link to the comics, and since the Daredevil account wasn’t kind enough to do the same, I wanted to put together some basic information for Netflix show fans who are unfamiliar with the comics and want to keep Daredevil in their lives post-cancellation! 

    To start, there are a few basic continuity/character differences you should know about: 

    1. Matt has beautiful red hair. (This isn’t an important detail, I just... wanted to make sure everybody knew). Sticking with the theme of superficiality, he’s also significantly taller than Foggy. 

    2. Foggy was one of the last people to find out about Matt being Daredevil (though he is currently one of the only people who knows, thanks to a recent universe-wide mindwipe). Foggy also didn’t grow up in Hell’s Kitchen. He is from out-of-state and from a semi-wealthy family. He has a crusading party-girl younger sister named Candace, and his biological mother is the ruthless attorney Rosalind “Razor” Sharpe, with whom he has a distant and shaky relationship. 

    3. Karen Page is sadly no longer living. She was killed by Bullseye during a 1998 story arc. She was also never a journalist; rather, she was at various points Nelson & Murdock’s office manager, an actress, a social activist, and a radio talk show host. She and Matt dated on-and-off for a very long time. Matt has also dated many, many other people, and most of his girlfriends have died/suffered horribly in his presence. He is currently (and uncharacteristically) single. 

    4. Conversely, Ben Urich is very much alive. He was one of the first people to figure out Daredevil’s secret identity, and this formed the basis of what became a long-held and emotional friendship. (However, thanks to the recent mindwipe mentioned above, he no longer knows.)

    5. Elektra and Matt dated in college, where Elektra was a political science major. She was born and raised in Greece, and her father was a Greek diplomat. When he was killed thanks to Matt’s amateur heroics during a botched hostage situation, Elektra left the country and trained with both the Chaste and the Hand, which sent her down a painful path that molded her into the expert assassin she is today. She was killed by Bullseye back in the 80s, but she got better. 

    6. Matt is a swashbuckling, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants adrenaline junkie, which is why he’s called “the Man Without Fear” and... well... Daredevil. He chose/reclaimed the name Daredevil as an act of empowerment during his first superhero outing (“the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” is not a thing in the comics). He became a superhero to avenge his father’s death, which occurred when Matt was in either college or law school, depending on which writer you ask. Both Matt and Foggy attended Jack Murdock’s final boxing match.

    7. Matt is much more religious in the show than he has ever been in the comics, since in the show he was raised in a Christian orphanage and in the comics he was raised by his father. There are a few story arcs that depict him as religious, but they are vastly in the minority.  

    8. This is true in the show too, but since it was sometimes unclear, let me reiterate: Matt cannot see. He doesn’t perceive any light. All of his sensory input is non-visual. He has superhumanly-enhanced senses, and something he calls his “radar sense”. The actual nature and parameters of the radar sense vary between creative teams, but it’s best to think of it as something like echolocation. It allows Matt 360 degree perception of solid objects up a certain distance from him. He could clearly do this in the show too, but it was never actually mentioned.

    I could keep going, since there are plenty of other differences, but you should be able to catch on without too much confusion!

Where Should I Start?

    You should start with Matt’s origin story, since there are a few key differences from the show’s version (some of which I mentioned above). The very first issue of Daredevil is quite good. However, if you’re put off by 1960s comics, you don’t need to start from the beginning. A really good retelling that is modern reader-friendly is Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Daredevil: Yellow. It covers all of the basics, and is a very nice read. You may also see people mention Frank Miller’s Man Without Fear mini-series. It’s also good, though PLEASE NOTE that it was intended to be an alternate version of the story, and thus isn’t entirely canon. 

    Once you have the origin down, you can move to the main series. Don’t be intimidated by the 55 years-worth of comics-- again, you DON’T need to start at the beginning, and you don’t have to read everything if you don’t want to. All huge, decades-spanning series like Daredevil are filled with different jumping-on points in order to remain accessible to new readers. This can sometimes create confusion-- Daredevil will have been re-started six times as of February 2019, so if you look for Daredevil #1 you’ll get a whole bunch of different issues. Each of these re-starts is generally referred to as a “volume”, and if you follow this blog you’ll notice mentions of Daredevil volume 1, volume 2, etc. For the purposes of simplicity, in this post I’ll just be identifying the volumes based on the year they began, because that’s how they’re labeled in Marvel Unlimited. Marvel Unlimited is Marvel’s official digital archive, to which I highly recommend subscribing if you’re interested in reading a lot of back issues. All of my comics links in this post will take you there. 

    There are two starting points in particular that I recommend. They are both very good, but they're tonally different, so you can pick whichever suits your personal preferences. 

     1. If you crave more of the gritty noir of the Netflix-verse, I recommend starting with Daredevil (1998) #26. This is the first issue of the main thread of Brian Michael Bendis’s run, which is a phenomenal run that provided tonal inspiration for the show. At that point in continuity, Matt is still recovering from Karen Page’s death. He and Foggy have started up a new iteration of Nelson & Murdock (there have been many) and are doing very well; the run starts with them winning a multi-million dollar court settlement. The other important piece of context for this first arc is that Wilson Fisk was shot in the head in a previous story, while left him blind and weakened his criminal empire. Bendis’s run is quite long and will lead you directly into Ed Brubaker’s, which picks up immediately afterward with issue #82 and is also very good. 

    2. If you want something a bit lighter and more swashbuckley, I recommend starting with Mark Waid’s run. It’s my personal favorite Daredevil run (and I like a lot of Daredevil, so that’s saying something), and it’s a great jumping-on point because it starts a new volume. It kicks off with Daredevil (2011) #1 and goes through #36-- at which point the comic got another new #1. Thus, Waid did a little mini-series called Daredevil: Road Warrior to bridge the two volumes, then carried on the story with Daredevil (2014) #1. Context for this run is a little weirder. Matt has just recently returned to NYC after getting possessed by a demon and then taking a mental vacation to get over it. Upon his return, he and Foggy rebuild Nelson & Murdock yet again, and Matt decides that after all of the pain and suffering he’s been through, he’s going to be happy and enjoy life no matter what. It’s also important to know that his secret identity is basically public knowledge at this point, since a newspaper got ahold of the information and outed him during Bendis’s run. 

    From there, there are any number of places you can go. Here is my big post that goes into more detail about other recommended and essential Daredevil reading! And if you’re looking for other characters and/or other specifically-themed reading guides, here is our whole archive so far. (I also have an Iron Fist blog-- bookoftheironfist.tumblr.com-- for anyone looking to break into that area of the comics.) 

What’s Going On Right Now?

    As of right now (December 2018), Matt is in an exciting position! The latest Daredevil run (AKA Daredevil (2015) or Daredevil volume 5) just ended with issue #612. Currently, Matt is in Marvel Knights 20th, which is a six-issue bi-weekly mini-series about an alternate universe-type situation in which the world has been made to forget superheroes. Matt, Frank Castle, Elektra Natchios, Bruce Banner, T’Challa, and various others have to regain their own memories and figure out what happened.  

    Then in January 2019, we’re getting a five-issue weekly (yes, that’s right, weekly) mini-series called Man Without Fear (not to be confused with Frank Miller’s Man Without Fear, which I mentioned earlier). This will be a retrospective, with each issue covering a different significant person/group of people in Matt’s life. 

    And as soon as that ends, in February 2019 the next volume of the main series will begin, with Daredevil (2019) #1! GET EXCITED!

Where Can I Get Comics?

    I already mentioned Marvel Unlimited, which is attached to the Marvel website, through which you can purchase digital issues in addition to subscribing to the archive. Another great source for digital comics is Comixology (though sadly, just like everything else on the planet, it’s owned by Amazon). And of course, you can buy physical copies. Don’t hesitate to visit your local comic book store, because they are great resources and can also be nice places to connect with other fans. To find stores in your area, check Comic Shop Locator, and to make sure they’re good ones, check Hater-Free Wednesdays. 

    New comics come out on Wednesdays. 

Other Daredevil Resources

manwithoutfear.com This is an invaluable resource for everything Daredevil-- information on each issue, up-to-date news, comic previews, creator interviews... everything. If you ever need to know what’s going on in the world of Daredevil, this is the place to go. 

The Other Murdock Papers This is everything our blog pretends to be. Christine Hanefalk, who runs The Other Murdock Papers, is a Daredevil expert who has written essay after essay over the years on everything you can imagine, from detailed storyline analyses to tracking Matt’s shifting hair styles. She is a particular expert on his hypersenses, and her work formed the basis of our own understanding of Matt’s powers. Do yourself a favor and browse through this website. You won’t regret it.  

Daredevil 101 @pluckyredhead is in the process of tirelessly summarizing every single Daredevil story arc. Go have a look!

    And of course, never hesitate to ask if you have any questions or want more recommendations or advice. I love getting people into Daredevil comics-- they changed my life, and I hope they’ll do the same for others!

[kaliiwashere]

Marvel Movies

Need to purchase X-Men t-shirts online? Whether or not you could have a love for The Avengers, Incredible 4, Thor, or X-Men there are lots or t-shirts and other merchandise to own. My childhood included a love for 60s and 70s Marvel and DC comics, and my ability to draw originates partly from finding out the tales I learn in those days. We worked for a year together on the piece to plan and draw it. Toy corporations like Hasbro and Kenner used to supply hundreds of Batman motion figure than is launched yearly with some variation in it. Transformers 2, the science-fiction film is the latest sensation, and is probably the most awaited film of the year. Let's take the movie Avatar for instance. From time to time I went back to the sport to take a couple of extra screenshots to increase a plot. Inside a few minutes, I started making comedian strips. Unlike his other comic strips, in Battling Boy, the hero is a child, who is on a mission to save lots of town.

In truth, the other sequence of battling boy grew to become common. To conclude on this topic, I think it's an awesome idea to provide our children the funny comics created way-back-when, comics out of your and my childhood. To learn a story in adventurous manner is kind of exciting for all the children. You may have to beat the constraints of speech bubbles and the issue of telling a story frame by body. Admit it you've gotten! I’m positive you will have heard this popular on-line retailer. Since Children's Graphic Novels are actually just an outdated idea with a fancy new name, why shouldn't you discover taking outdated successful comicbook ideas and reinventing them for a new era? The idea was to convey the same which means with words that I urged by colours, textures and images. Well-liked Online Comics solidify a that means of a phrase as a result of footage support meaning to words. The nomination was a major achievement for an artist who had - quite actually -started out small, drawing Submit-it note sized comics and hiding them in different people’s work in bookshops. The first comedian strips appeared in Germany in 1865. It was about two boys who are getting punished for at all times moving into mischief.

Furthermore, if we are trustworthy with ourselves, we all know that a lot of mischief is downright humorous. Why are previous coins worth greater than today's coins? Complete collections will fetch a lot greater than random particular person comics. Our aim is to give our readers a good piece of entertaining and educational comics on which will grow up not one among the future generations. These blockbuster motion pictures plays a very important function within the comeback of comics. Individuals who wish to cherish their childhood recollections with the comics; they will easily discover cheap comics to start their comedian collection. In today of "I would like the newest and newest," we actually find that a few of the true treasures are things of outdated. Comedian books are detailed stories. Aside from conventions, yard sales and used guide shops will also be extremely value effective sources for collectible comedian books. A comedian e book adaption as well as a novel publication is being accomplished for the movie's promotion. That assumption is unsuitable and is an insult to the complete comedian e-book group.

These comedian guides give you the type of data you need like the Disney Mulan 2020 place to get the rare and beneficial comics and where you may get first issue comics as nicely as the back problem ones as well. By selling and buying and selling comics you will be there were the artwork work is most loved and valued. Moreover, that is where you get the meet fellow fans and catch up on the latest in the comic books world; data that can show invaluable. Some comic books editions are collector's objects and if preserved in mint high quality condition. Books are restricted as a result of the reader can not physically see what the writer envisions. Are these behaviors to be condoned? Eyes turn into circles or dots, mouths are diminished to curved traces, and noses or ft are triangles. Get the most recent information. Those who already consider extensive abilities of our web site, confess that it is absolutely the most convenient and straightforward method to be in contact with the latest improvements of the world of comics.

Properly aware of the advantages that come from studying comics. Which Marvel comics do you have to read earlier than (or after) Captain Marvel? Repetition. Go back to your daily newspaper and look at the comics’ web page. The cartoonist is utilizing repetition to establish the character. Due to this fact, we could say that it has nothing to do with a changing tendencies, whatever is new and trendy, photo to pop art print remains in the midst of its known usability in discipline of artwork. I looked, and there earlier than me was a pale horse! There actually is something for everybody. Cosplay additionally means costume play and the fans usually come to the comic conventions dressed in costumes. Eight delectable Expansions that adopted added to the joy of the game play. Then by all means, use it. Through the use of these exaggerations, it doesn’t matter what other particulars I embody. The possessed doll first hit the screens in the 1988 horror basic 'Child's Play'. Corey Haim, the lead of the unique horror film, and Corey Feldman, the 2 Coreys, reprise their original roles. Nonetheless, in 2003 Hasbro would relinquish management to Batman's rights to Mattel. You also get preferential treatment in some cases and entry to particular events and performances. A Possible Alternate Future to the Comic Book Industry

It may haven't been planned quite a few this week's comics occur to take care of fathers and sons. That might not sound strange however when you think about classic comics there are few prominent father figures. Some of the most prominent super heroes do not have dads. Superman's father is dead, ditto for Batman, Uncle Ben could be the closest thing with a dad Peter Parker ever had and that we are all aware so what happened to him. I'm not even going to go near Silk Spectre's daddy issues. Is there an underlying reasons why most superheroes will also be orphans? Superhero costumes are as countless because amount of superheroes themselves. However, some are definitely more convenient than these. For example, an outfit for Kratos, the flesh-rendering character through the iconic game God of War, is certainly easier to dress up than the Mjolnir suits from Halo, or perhaps the Iron Man suit. The former only mandates that you have very good condition, and have sufficiently huge amounts of body paint available. Meanwhile, an intricate Iron Man suit doesn't only set you back several hundred, otherwise several thousand dollars, it is usually extremely bothersome to put on and remove.

Immediately after newspaper comic strips like Mutt and Jeff was reprinted as books and the publishers did start to experiment with periodic books, which were sold for 10 cents with the newsstands. The pre-superhero comic strips was mainly pulp stories of detectives, adventure, criminals and exotic travel. The very first costumed hero ended up The Phantom, which became available in 1936 wearing black mask plus a purple costume.

Nor is independent comics only for novices. Longtime creators including Mark Waid and Paolo Rivera supply before year announced their want to start working on creator-owned titles, though not every one of them will do independent work exclusively. The independent world allows all creators the choice to profit or fail using their characters. Robert Kirkman believes the longer term is based on some sort of where comic strip creators utilize the Big Two being a professional step, a learning center to practice their talent before switching towards the (possibly) more profitable opportunities in neuro-scientific independent comics owned by creators. As the indie market grows, we are able to determine if his vision becomes the industry standard. 22. Black Bolt: One from the strongest beings in the Marvel Universe and yet he never uses his true power for concern with the destruction it could unleash. The merest whisper from Black Bolt could level a mountain therefore the ruler in the Inhumans has imposed upon himself a moratorium on speaking. Black Bolt still gets angry. The reader is aware that solutions that he wants to yell but he doesn't. The self-control that it takes for Black Bolt to stay silent only makes him seem more noble

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1274

Monday, August 12, 2019

 I was at out annual cottage rental over the weekend and just got home. I brought my boat up this year and fished in some new water and had a blast.

 Future Foundation #1 - Jeremy Whitley (writer) Will Robson (pencils) Will Robson with Daniele Orlandini (inks) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The reason that we haven't seen these kids on the racks recently is because they've been jumping around the multiverse with the Fantastic Four. They're still doing that but they have a mission to find pieces of Molecule Man. I know that Jeremy Whitley can handle team books with his run on The Unstoppable Wasp being very enjoyable. I like the nice clean art by Will Robson and the cliffhanger ending introducing the super villain so I'm going to keep reading.

 House of X #2 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) Pepe Larraz (art) Marte Gracia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). I loved this intimate look at the lives of Moira MacTaggert. This goes way beyond her being a scientist or the girlfriend of Professor X. Fair warning X-Fans. These issues are selling out fast so garb them off the racks when you see them.

 Batman #76 - Tom King (writer) Tony S. Daniel (pencils) Tony S. Daniel, Sandu Florea & Norm Rapmund (inks) Tomeu Morey (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). City of Bane part 2. This is where we find out where Bruce is while Thomas Batman and Gotham Girl protects Gotham City. This alternate reality is chock full of surprises.

 Daredevil #9 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Lalit Kumar Sharma (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Java Tartaglia (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). No Devils, Only God part 4. This is turning out to be like a new Daredevil origin story. Matt questions if there's a God and whether he should use his super powers to fight crime. Matt thinks he's a good Catholic but then he goes and breaks a commandment right at the end. I don't care if we don't see the old familiar red costume again as long as Matt goes into action fighting crime either on the streets or in the court room.

 Black Cat #3 - Jed MacKay (writer) Travel Foreman (art) Michael Dowling (flashback art) Brian Reber (colours) Ferran Delgado (letters). Xander the Merciless goes power mad when he gets his hands on his Star-Stone again. Jed MacKay makes clever use of Felicia's bad luck super power to get out of this caper unscathed. I can't wait for the next heist.

 Lois Lane #2 - Greg Rucka (writer) Mike Perkins (art) Paul Mounts (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). Lois's brand of investigative journalism gets her in deep doo-doo. When bullets start flying it doesn't help when your hubby is not around even though he's faster than one. This is about government corruption and is just the right kind of story for the times.

 Invisible Woman #2 - Mark Waid (writer) Mattia De Iulis (art) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The presence of the Black Widow legitimises this "Susan Richards (nee Storm) was a spy" story. Their team-up in Madripoor gets them a new lead to Sue's old partner. Get ready for another red head.

 Immortal Hulk #22 - Al Ewing (writer) Joe Bennett (pencils) Ruy Jose & Belardino Brabo (inks) Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The Hulk isn't in this issue much because he's fighting the Thing over in Fantastic Four. His allies however are getting ready to take on General Fortean/the Abomination. Not to worry Hulk fans, the big green galoot will join the fray I'm sure.

 DCeased #4 - Tom Taylor (writer) Trevor Hairsine (pencils) Stefano Gaudiano (inks) Rain Beredo (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). It's the anti-life equation that's zombiefied the DCU and there's no way to reverse it. I liked how Cyborg was the bearer of the bad news. When Captain Atom succumbs, it makes for an explosive ending to this issue. We've seen this happen before with Captain Atom blowing up and I don't know how the heroes are going to survive.

 Berserker Unbound #1 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Mike Deodato Jr. (art) Frank Martin (colours) Steve Wands (letters). This new book surprised me. I picked it up because both writer and artist are names that I am familiar with and have enjoyed their previous work. It starts off like a Conan rip-off with a big burly ginger warrior wandering home only to find his wife and daughter slaughtered. He then commences to kill the invading horde singlehandedly but is wounded. Things get interesting when he takes refuge in a cave and is transported to present day New York City. I know this has been done already with Red Sonja and recently with Conan being brought into modern times in Savage Avengers but I like Jeff's stories and I'm going to keep reading this one.

 Superman Up In The Sky #2 - Tom King (writer) Andy Kubert (pencils) Sandra Hope (inks) Brad Anderson (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). It would be hard to believe that there are people that don't know who Superman is or what kind of hero he is. If you know anyone like that you can give them this comic book for a very concise portrait of the Man of Steel. Superman gets some reluctant help in locating a kidnapped girl and the search continues. I loved the action and pathos in this issue.

 Savage Avengers #4 - Gerry Duggan (writer) Mike Deodato Jr. (art) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). The gang's all here. The last splash page and the next issue splash page made me chuckle. What an unlikely team of Avengers. Elektra, Doctor Voodoo, the Punisher, Venom, Wolverine and Conan the Barbarian all fighting the sorcerer Kulan Gath and the alien demon he conjured. It's no coincidence that this book and Berserker Unbound #1 hit the racks in the same week. Mike Deodato Jr. can really swash a buckle.

 Agents of Atlas #1 - If you're a fan of big super teams, this is the book for you. There are nine on the cover and there's plenty more inside. This issue has two stories. The new crew of young heroes are in "The Portal City of Pan" by Greg Pak (writer), Nico Leon (art), Federico Blee (colours) & VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I do find the little ID captions annoying but it does help to identify all the players. Otherwise you'd need a score card. In "Behind the Veil" by Jeff Parker (writer), Carlo Pagulayan (pencils) Jason Paz (inks), Dono Sanchez Almara (colours) & VC's Joe Sabino (letters), the senior team of 3-D Man, Venus, the Uranian, Gorilla Man, the robot M-11 and Namora investigate a temple controlled by a corrupt general. Both stories reminds us that there are dragons involved with this outfit. I had forgotten that. I think everyone did a good job with this huge assemblage so I think I'm going to keep up with their adventures.

 The Sensational Spider-Man #1 - This $4.99 US one shot has two stories harkening back to the good old days when the heroes and villains were clear cut and easily recognisable.

 In "Burn Job" by Peter David (writer), Rick Leonardi (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Rachelle Rosenberg (colours) & VC's Travis Lanham (letters), Spider-Man teams up with the Human Torch to fight off Firebrand, a bitter super villain out to hurt his ex-wife. This could be where the idea of a black costume for Spider-Man got started. It was submitted by a fan in the early eighties and Editor in Chief at the time, Jim Shooter asked the guy to submit a story plot. This was before Secret Wars. It's a fun story and holds up after all these years.

 The second story "With No Power" by Tom DeFalco (script & plot), Ron Frenz (pencils & plot), Sal Buscema (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colours) & VC's Travis Lanham (letters), shows us that we all must still have some responsibility for our actions. This one made me roll my eyes but I got all nostalgic seeing the Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema art. This is not a must have for Spider-Man fans but you get your money's worth if you've got some to spare.

 Absolute Carnage #1 - Donny Cates (writer) Ryan Stegman (pencils) JP Mayer (inks) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This isn't a case of my saving the best for last. More like I'm not a Carnage fan so if I didn't have time to read this, no big deal. I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. Donny Cates lays out what this story is all about very nicely so that I could follow what's going on even though I haven't read a Venom or Carnage story in a while. Carnage is collecting the DNA of anyone who has ever been touched by a Symbiote which means innocent lives are in danger, particularly Eddie Brock, the original Venom. I'm glad this is focused more on Eddie's story rather than Carnage's murderous ways, otherwise I would not want to continue to read the rest of this mega event. There are going to be many cross over books so if you want to get the whole story start saving up your money now.

[nathanielwharton]

My 2016 in Pop Culture

Same deal as last year. This is what meant the most to me last year in pop culture.

Top Forty Things From 2016

40. Penny Dreadful Season 3 This turned out to be the final season of the show, and while it feels a little rushed to a conclusion in the end, the majority of the season was another wonderfully ghoulish ride. With the characters scattered at the end of the second season, the third season adds a weird western flavor to the Penny Dreadful world, finally pulls the trigger on introducing Dracula, and once again offers a stellar Eva Green showcase (an invaluable service). I'll miss this one.

39. Achewood Returns As with Bloom County last year, Achewood made something of a surprise return in 2016. Though updates have again petered out, it was a real treat to spend some time with those characters once a week.

38. Gravity Falls Series Finale Disney XD finally dribbled out the last Gravity Falls episode in early 2016. And boy, the wait was worth it. The ending was as funny, strange, mysterious, and ultimately moving as the show was at its best.

37. The Witch This was a movie to sink into, with an immersive atmosphere and a creeping sense of unease that became almost overwhelming by the end. And then in its final moments, that unease bloomed into something thrilling. Terrific movie.

36. The Fireman Joe Hill's latest novel, and it's another rich, engrossing yarn with good characters. Always excited to see what he's cooked up, and this one didn't disappoint.

35. Galavant Season 2 I just really loved this show and am sorry to see it go after a second season that did fun stuff with the characters and avoided the pacing hiccups of the first season.

34. The Jungle Book/Pete's Dragon It seems like it is going to become a running theme in these lists that I express concern about Disney's "make live-action versions of our classic library" strategy (it can seem pointless, and certainly seems like a dead end road if they're not generating new original films in addition) and then end up loving the resulting films. And I loved both of these ones, finding them dazzling to look at and, ultimately, moving.

33. Duck the Halls: A Mickey Mouse Christmas Special I've loved the Mickey Mouse shorts that Paul Rudish has been doing for Disney Television Animation, and this first half-hour episode they made as a Christmas special maintained the style and energy I've enjoyed in the shorts and applied them to a Christmas story with new music and a focus on Donald Duck. So of course I loved it.

32. The Shallows/Nerve/Don't Breathe/The Boy It was a great year for smaller genre fare. All four of these accomplish exactly what they set out to do, and do it with wit, style, and craft that exceeds what you might expect from movies like these. They were also all GREAT audience movies.

31. Paper Girls It was a good year for "kids on bikes," and this comic series is a really great entry in the genre. I wasn't prepared for some of the twists and turns in the story, and I'm pretty interested to see where it goes.

30. Grease: Live Holy smokes. This was a dazzling adrenaline rush of live television. It was a fun mounting of the show, with nice performances, and while some of the staging and performances occasionally felt strange when they too closely seemed to be doing karaoke of the movie version, it was mostly a really fun and thrilling piece of television. A best-case scenario for the new TV-musical boom.

29. Archie Comics Mark Waid's Archie continued to be really fantastic, and the new Betty & Veronica, Josie & the Pussycats, and Reggie & Me all got off to excellent starts. But my favorite of the lineup is probably Jughead, now written by Ryan North (of my beloved Daily Dinosaur Comics). It's a truly perfect match of writer and subject.

28. Hell or High Water A great hang-out movie, with characters and actors I just loved watching interact, but it also features a story with opportunity for both excitement and commentary. A great western.

27. Kubo and the Two Strings Somewhere between the wonderful The Boxtrolls and the dazzling Kubo and the Two Strings, Laika solidified their image as a can't-miss animation studio for me. Each time out they come up with something different, but they share a few general qualities: they are gorgeous, they are funny and off-kilter, and they are unlike anything else currently on offer in American animation.

26. Ash vs. Evil Dead Season 2 This was, in many ways, an improvement on the already great first season. It explores a number of other horror subgenres through the Evil Dead lens, ramps up the thrills and carnage even further, and gives Bruce Campbell even more to play. And it features perhaps the most disgusting sequence in any Evil Dead.

25. Star Trek Beyond The third film in the Kelvin timeline, Beyond also functioned (by default, as the only new filmed Star Trek this year) as the 50th Anniversary celebration of the franchise. Luckily, they came prepared with the best of this new series of films. The crew continues to be as wonderful as ever (and the film finds opportunity to pair them up and give us some excellent character moments). And the story works as a nice interrogation of some Trek principles, proving them fresh and sadly relevant as the real world took a turn for the isolationist and regressive.

24. Arrival I wrote about this one for SportsAlcohol.com.

23. “Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster” The X-Files revival was, appropriately for the original series, a mixed bag with the good, the bad, and the nutty all jumbled together. But there was a clear highlight, and as I'd hoped, Darin Morgan basically justified the entire revival in his one episode. His "Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster" was funny and weird and moving, in the best tradition of his previous X-Files work. It was packed with winks and references, Duchovny and Anderson were clearly having a ball, and interestingly it seemed to offer a different perspective (or even a response or rebuttal) to the main thematic concerns of his episodes from the original series. At the conclusion of his episode "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" (one of my favorite episodes of TV, full stop), Chung narrates, "Then there are those who care not about extraterrestrials, searching for meaning in other human beings. Rare or lucky are those who find it. For although we may not be alone in the universe, in our own separate ways on this planet, we are all alone." Though he was known for writing the funny ones, this loneliness, this belief in the impossibility of real human connection, forms the emotional underpinning that grounds Morgan's X-Files episodes. And his episodes are often hilariously critical of Mulder. So it threw me for a loop when "Mulder & Scully Meet the Were-Monster" was surprisingly sympathetic toward him, and ends with this simple exchange between Mulder and the titular monster. Guy Mann - I don't mean to get too personal, but this has been a real trying time for me. I've been through a lot. But just having someone like you to... Look, what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad to have met you. Mulder - Like... Likewise.

22. Star Wars I guess this works as a proof of concept for Disney being able to sustain this new pace of Star Wars media. The comics continued to be generally excellent. Star Wars Rebels dug a little deeper with their own characters and made canny use of characters like Ahsoka, Darth Vader, and Grand Admiral Thrawn. Aftermath: Life Debt, the second in the trilogy of novels telling the story of the immediate...aftermath of Return of the Jedi, offered some cool glimpses of what characters both important and obscure were up to in that time period, and also develops some intriguing story threads that look to pay off in the next novel and in Episode VIII & IX. Catalyst, the novel that provided backstory for some of the main characters in Rogue One, was also one of the most enjoyable. And the publishing highlight of the year was Bloodline, the novel focusing on Leia Organa's exit from the new galactic government she'd fought to establish and her role in the origin of the Resistance in the new trilogy. And Rogue One: A Star Wars Story was a proof of concept all on its own, building some real goodwill for me toward the notion of these Star Wars spin off films. It offered up a new batch of characters that I liked, a cool story with some interesting Star Wars world building, and some rad filmmaking with a bunch of iconic images.

21. Weiner This documentary might play more like a horror movie after the 2016 election season, but it played like a raucous audience-participation comedy with the New York audience I saw it with. Weiner is an incredibly fascinating subject, and the movie has surprisingly intimate access through some rough times for Weiner, his campaign, and his family.

20. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping I wrote about this one for SportsAlcohol.com.

19. The BFG Steven Spielberg adapting a wonderful Roald Dahl novel with a screenplay by Melissa Mathison? Yep, this was an easy guess to be one of my favorites of the year, and that's exactly what it was. As with most Dahl adaptations, it finds a little more sentiment in the story than I found on the page, but it's a charming, wondrous marvel. And Mark Rylance's BFG is just perfect.

18. Beyonce's "Lemonade" on HBO I don't know if you'd call it a movie or a collection of videos or something else altogether, but it was beautiful and moving and very special. Any insight I could offer would pale compared to the great writing it inspired by others, but I found it dazzling.

17. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life I really loved this revival. It was full of checklist hitting and Palladino self-indulgences, but I even mostly loved that stuff and was pretty into the stories they chose to tell. And, as is the goal of a revival like this, I loved getting to see all of the characters again. Sure, I'd have loved to spend more time with some of them, but I was pretty satisfied overall with the balance we got. And I loved the ending.

16. The Handmaiden I wrote about this for SportsAlcohol.com.

15. Hail, Caesar! I wrote about this for the SportsAlcohol.com list.

14. Green Room I could describe this literally as a white-knuckle thriller because it had me actually clutching my armrests when I was watching it. Impeccably crafted and astonishingly intense. And a perfect final moment.

13. Marvel Cinematic Universe It was another good year for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, despite some disappointments (Agent Carter had a delightful second season and was summarily cancelled, Luke Cage and Daredevil both started out great and petered out to varying degrees). Agents of SHIELD continues to be a lot of fun (I don't know if it gets better and better in an uninterrupted curve, but I look forward to it each week). Doctor Strange was super cool, introducing new characters I'm excited to follow in future adventures and providing a really dazzling experience in the theater. But the highlight this year was surely Captain America: Civil War. A really exciting example of how this shared universe, long-form storytelling can pay off, this was a great movie. I loved the characters, both returning and brand new (psyched to see Spider-Man and Black Panther in their own movies), and I found the story to be really intriguing, posing some interesting moral questions and paying off story threads planted throughout a number of the previous films. And it builds to a climax where the feeling of dread that had been building in the pit of my stomach throughout left me emotionally drained at the film's ending.

12. The Get Down Season 1 What a blast! The history of hip hop in the Bronx presented as a super-hero-origin musical Baz Luhrmann fantasia. It may not be accurate, and it may be a Luhrmanny mash of ideas and characters, but I loved it and I'm excited to see the rest of it when it goes up on Netflix.

11. 10 Cloverfield Lane The trailer for this movie could have been on this list by itself, both because it is a fantastic trailer and because the revelation of the title at the end of it was a genuine surprise. And then the movie itself turned out to be equally fantastic. Mary Elizabeth Winstead kills it, and John Goodman gives an incredible performance. If they turn out movies like this, they've got me onboard this Cloverfield thing for a good long while.

10. "One Trek Mind" Panel at Star Trek: Mission New York I went to my first Star Trek convention this year! I had a great time, and on the morning of the last day I went to my favorite event of the weekend. The panel was really just moderator Jordan Hoffman hosting a discussion with the audience with the goal of selecting the ideal crew from all iterations of Trek. You can hear it here, but the experience of being in the big hall as the debate was waged was something else. The audience was really engaged, it was a delight to see folks argue their picks (a group of young girls who came up to advocate Dr. Crusher was a particular highlight), and the way the crowd rallied behind Captain Janeway was freaking thrilling. And seriously, this thing was bonkers. Just look at that picture.

9. "Hallelujah" on Saturday Night Live Like a lot of folks, I was pretty surprised and upset by the results of the 2016 presidential election. And as much as I love Saturday Night Live (and I do! I could have gladly put Kevin Roberts, David Pumpkins, or this Russel Crowe sketch among many others), I was dreading the first episode after the election. I was in no mood to see some wan jokes about Donald Trump yukking it up in the White House or painting the walls gold or something, so I was particularly dreading the cold open, the kick-off sketch of the show and the traditional spot for a political sketch. I was surprised, then, to see this performance, done as tribute to both Hillary Clinton and the recently departed Leonard Cohen. Whatever I expected from that opening sketch, it wasn't to be moved to tears. But while it was a small thing, I found it cathartic.

8. Vice Principals Season 1 I wrote about this show for SportsAlcohol.com. And I'll just say that after that stunner of a final episode, I can't wait for the next season.

7. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them/Harry Potter and the Cursed Child This year marked J.K. Rowling's return to her wizard world, and I really loved it. I'm super on-board with the idea of her telling stories in that world in a different format (in this case a play and a film, instead of a new novel), allowing the seven existing books to stand as they are. I found Cursed Child intriguing and moving (and I'd really love to see it onstage), a lovely extended epilogue to Harry's story. And I loved Fantastic Beasts. I found the new characters instantly endearing, the world building and intimations of story in the world around them pretty exciting, and I adored the final moments of the film. Really into following along with whatever else she's cooking up along these lines.

6. Zootopia/Moana I loved Finding Dory, but this year Walt Disney Animation Studios really brought their A-game. Zootopia was a wonderful surprise, thoughtful and engrossing, and Moana proved about as adept as Frozen in getting me to well up with emotion throughout. Both films were hilarious, gorgeous, and exciting. What a great year for Disney fans.

5. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 2 I wrote about this for SportsAlcohol.com.

4. The Fits What a wonderful, special little movie. It weaves a powerful, mysterious spell, and I really loved it. I don't want to talk too much about it if you haven't seen it, but I'd definitely recommend it.

3. The Nice Guys Russell Crowe is a freaking delight and Ryan Gosling gives probably my favorite performance of his yet, but the tremendous pleasure of this film pretty much comes down to Shane Black. It's the Shane Black special, with clever and unexpected plot turns, hilarious dialogue, terrific characters, and just a real cool vibe. On the shelf along with Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang as a movie I'd happily watch any time.

2. Stranger Things Season 1 I'd been following this since it was announced as Montauk and all that was known about it was that it starred Winona Ryder and might have an Amblin-y vibe. So I wasn't so much surprised by its existence as I was by how successfully it was what it attempted to be. Like the greatest Stephen King miniseries that never existed, it was involving and atmospheric, and I just loved it. And it stuck the landing so well that I'm equally excited for the next season and wary of them opening up an ending I loved.

1. Shin Godzilla I wrote a bunch about this one for SportsAlcohol.com.

Top Twenty Things I’m Excited About in 2017

Kong: Skull Island I'm down for a King Kong movie at any time, but the posters and trailers for this one have been so great that I worry my expectations are impossibly high. Can't. Wait.

War for the Planet of the Apes The other two films in this revival Apes series were genuinely great. Everything I've read about this one has been really intriguing, and the teaser was excellent.

Baby Driver Edgar Wright's new movie! He's four for four, and it's almost four years since The World's End came out. It was kind of a toss-up whether I was gonna put Baby Driver or Sofia Coppola's The Beguiled or A Cure for Wellness, the new Gore Verbinski movie, on here. Or even Colossal, Nacho Vigalondo's kaiju film. Really excited about all of them, but I think Baby Driver might top the list.

Okja Bong Joon-Ho has a new movie coming this year. That's enough to warrant my excitement, but it's also got an interesting cast and some kind of monster or giant creature. This is also a Netflix release, and they've also got Duncan Jones's Mute and Jeremy Saulnier's Hold the Dark, so they're really earning my subscription fee.

The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara Spielberg directs a new screenplay by Tony Kushner. I'm there.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi I am riding high on Star Wars love, and this year is going to have plenty to keep me afloat. More Star Wars: Rebels, more great Marvel comics, a handful of novels, and finally at the end of the year, the new adventure with Rey, Finn, Poe, Kylo Ren, and Luke Skywalker! Written and directed by Rian Johnson! Holy smokes!

Blade Runner 2049 Really cool teaser, an interesting director, cool cast, and now I'm really into this one. And honestly, I’d be intrigued by a sequel to Blade Runner no matter what.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales AND Beauty and the Beast For all the hemming and hawing I do beforehand about these live-action adaptations of Disney's animated classics, I've been pretty into all of them after seeing them. And Beauty and the Beast looks great. I also adore the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and I found the fourth one disappointing and I still kind of like it. So I'm pretty psyched that the new one promises a return to form, with an exciting directing duo and a couple of beautiful teasers.

The Mummy I still have intensely mixed feelings about this whole approach to reviving the Universal Monsters, but I've really liked some of what I've read in interviews with Kurtzman, and the teaser for this one was intriguing. Who am I kidding? I'll be there for this.

God Particle This may be the next Cloverfield movie, and even if it isn't, it's got a terrific cast and an intriguing premise, so I'm into it.

Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2017 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming both start out with a lot of goodwill on my part (both general Marvel Studios goodwill and based on the original Guardians and the new Spider-Man's appearance in Captain America: Civil War). The Guardians ads have been spectacular so far, and the Spider-Man trailer pressed the right buttons for me. On top of that, this fall we get Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok, which I'm already too excited about and I haven't seen a single frame. There's also Iron Fist and The Defenders due on Netflix, the continuation of the current season of Agents of Shield (which I'm really enjoying), and a few other potential TV projects like the IMAX/television Inhumans. I feel pretty safe that the MCU won't be slowing down for me this year. (And it's not Marvel Studios, but Logan looks great.)

Coco A new, original Pixar movie! Of course I'm excited. (Note: I'm even into seeing what they're up to with their Rocky III sounding Cars 3, so there's no chance I'd miss their fall offering.)

Riverdale Another one where I'm equally excited and afraid. In any case, I'm super interested to see how this works, so they've got me for the season!

The Leftovers Final Season The final season of a show that moved me like very works of art ever have. Not sure what to expect or even what I want from it, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. HBO is also serving up final seasons for Girls and Vice Principals, so I guess it's a good year for me to get super excited about the ends of shows I've loved.

Star Trek: Discovery I am going to subscribe to CBS's streaming service for the months this show is airing. That's how excited I am for it.

Twin Peaks Like Blade Runner, it is so strange that this is coming out and stranger still that it's in a form that is so exciting in its own right. Lynch directing (and co-writing with Mark Frost) like eighteen hours of new Twin Peaks! I genuinely don't know what to expect from it, but I'm excited.

Fourth Cormoran Strike Novel After a thoroughly enjoyable year of new Wizarding World material, I'm also anxiously awaiting news about J.K. Rowling releasing a new Robert Galbraith mystery this year.

Stranger Things 2 I really loved the first season, and as much as I think it ended perfectly and am kind of wary about them following up with a sequel, they built up a lot of goodwill and trust with me the first time around. And that teaser for the second season (and the episode titles they released) pretty easily override any doubts.

Olaf's Frozen Adventure It's a Frozen Christmas special from Walt Disney Animation Studios. Up. My. Alley.

The Fate of the Furious Of course I'm psyched for this. But it would be on this list over some others stuff I'm excited about for the perfect genius of the title alone.

[daresplaining]

“Blind Man’s Bluff”: Psychic Swashbuckling and Spider-Man!

    On the whole, Soule’s run was fairly weak for me, especially following on the heels of Waid’s fantastic work on the comic. But there were elements that I really liked, so I want to highlight some of those while waiting for Zdarsky’s run to begin! One of the stand-out story arcs was #8-9 (titled “Blind Man’s Bluff”), which is half team-up, half heist, and just plain fun.    

    This story hinges on a simple-yet-fantastic scenario, with Matt engaged in some high-stakes gambling, and it starts off with one of the best, most characteristically Matt Murdock-y openers in years: 

Matt: “I raise. Fifty thousand.”

Matt (caption): “These cards I’m holding? Absolutely no idea what they are.”

    (One tragedy of this arc is the dang brown hair, which I might have taken as part of his disguise if it weren’t pervasive throughout significant chunks of Soule’s run. Hopefully, this trend will die a quick and permanent death now that the Netflix show has ended.)

    We eventually learn that Matt is in Macau on superhero business, hunting down a briefcase stolen by Black Cat, and has engaged in this game of poker to get closer to those protecting it. But his reasons for pulling this stunt feel irrelevant. The scenario is good enough that it stands on its own. Matt is in disguise, pretending to be sighted, playing Texas Hold ‘Em (one of the only casino games he, as a blind person, can even pretend to play, as he explains) and keeping on top of the situation despite all odds by doing the two things he does best: expertly reading his opponents via hypersenses, and being bold as hell. 

Matt (caption): “Okay, two pair showing, and it’s just me and Flex left in this round. If either of us has a king or nine, we’ll have a full house, which is a hell of a hand. But if we don’t, then... all right. Work through the odds. We know that the other players wouldn’t have folded if they... You know what? Let’s just see what happens.”

Matt: “All in.”

    Another treat of this story is the return of Laurent Levasseur-- one of Matt’s less-used civilian identities.  

Adhira: “May I join you? That is, unless you would rather be alone.”

Matt: “Not at all. I’m meeting a friend later, but... that’s later.”

Adhira: “Excellent. My name’s Adhira.”

Matt: “Laurent Levasseur.”

    For anyone unfamiliar, this is the French identity Matt was given when he went deep undercover for SHIELD in Scott Lobdell’s “Flying Blind” arc. 

Claudia: “My turn. Your name?”

Matt: “Laurent. Laurent Levasseur.”

Claudia: “You don’t sound very sure.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #376 by Scott Lobdell, Cully Hamner, and Christie Scheele

    “Flying Blind” is an imperfect story, but there’s a lot I love about it. Since it is almost never mentioned, this is a fun little callback-- and it’s also not the only one in this issue. As Matt mentions, he also gambled like this while undercover in Europe during Ed Brubaker’s run. What can I say? I’m a continuity nut. I love consistency. 

    As if Matt’s first poker game weren’t daredevilish enough, the comic gets even more creative and shashbuckly when he reaches the final round of the tournament. This is where he encounters real competition in the form of a telepath, who is employed by the casino to ensure that the house always wins. But of course, Matt is uniquely equipped to deal with this challenge as well. 

Matt: “Apex’s powers let him dip into the other players’ minds. It’s why he always wins. He knows what everyone else is holding. He sees through their eyes. To which I say, Mr. Apex... I wish you the best of luck.”

    Of course, it’s always great fun when Matt’s hypersenses work to his advantage, but it is even better (and much less common) when his blindness works to his advantage. Again, this is just a fantastic story premise on every level. 

    And then it gets even wilder, as Apex conducts a full-on assault on Matt’s mind to try to break him down from within.

Matt: “God, he’s strong. I have defenses against psychics-- Stick and my other senseis taught me to protect my mind as much as my body. In a world with telepaths around every corner, a secret identity doesn’t last unless your mental walls are strong. This kind of fight is nothing new for me.”

    This is an interesting comment because it is inconsistent with previous depictions of Matt’s training. Various psychic/mystical abilities are a key part of the Chaste/Hand power-set, but according to Miller’s version of Matt’s origin, his training with Stick ended before he learned how do to any of that. He is physically capable of keeping up with fully-trained Chaste members, but is a complete amateur in most other respects, which is something I’ve always enjoyed about his team-ups with them. 

Stone: “It will not work, Murdock. You are not trained...”

Matt: “I love you, Elektra. If there’s any way to bring you back-- I’ll do it-- even if it kills me!”

Stone: “...You do not know the way... Murdock-- help me--”

Matt: “Stick said... it’s just a matter.. of moving energy...”

Daredevil vol. 1 #190 by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson

    That said, I will buy the idea that Matt has strong mental defenses, and he has shown an aptitude for this sort of thing (against all odds, he is actually successful in reviving Elektra in the scene above). What he didn’t initially learn from Stick, he could have picked up in his later experiences working with the Chaste and with Master Izo-- the “senseis” I assume he’s referring to in the Soule issue. And it’s true that Matt has experience fending off mental attacks, with “Shadowland” being a major recent example. Though he needed help getting the demon out of him, the practical realities of that struggle probably taught him a lot. And finally, possibly most convincingly-- intense mental willpower is what allows Matt to function with hypersenses without going crazy. That is a form of mental shielding that Stick did pass on to him, and at which Matt is an absolute expert. And so it’s great seeing this expertise displayed via Matt and Apex’s mental battle, in which Matt nearly has his secrets exposed before knocking the guy out.

    My favorite case of Matt battling a telepath is still from A Vs. X: Versus, when Psylocke tries to get into his head and just gets blasted by his hypersenses...

Betsy: “Overloading-- feedback--”

Matt: “There’s the answer-- she’s a telepath. And she just learned what it’s like the first time you experience my hypersenses-- it hurts.”

Avengers Vs. X-Men: Versus #4 by Rick Remender and Brandon Peterson

...but this is a lot of fun too. 

    Having won the tournament (and a huge chunk of cash he can’t use, because it’s not under his real name), Matt finally acquires what he went through all this trouble and risk to get: a hotel room at the casino. Having secured this, he moves into the next phase of his plan, which involves a wonderful team-up with his superhero BFF Spider-Man. 

Peter: “Wait, this is your room? I thought you said this floor was for high rollers.”

Matt: “Sure did.”

Peter: “[...] I feel like there are things you aren’t telling me.”

Matt: “Oh, definitely”

Peter: “Good thing you’re one of my oldest and most trusted colleagues in the super hero biz.”

Matt: “Sure is.”

    Again, the plot itself feels secondary. Matt needs the room because it allows him access to a restricted floor of the casino, where the briefcase he needs to steal is being held. But it’s the interactions with Peter that make this issue so great. Soule writes both them very well, playing up their banter and the comfort they feel around each other, and thus emphasizing their closeness and the fact that they have known each other for a very long time. 

Matt: “This city’s almost completely vertical. It’s all tall towers and mountainsides.”

Peter: “I know, I love it. It’s like a six-lane highway for guys who get around the way we do. [...] I got a Spider-Tracer onto the briefcase before that guy made it into the panic room. [...] I’ve been tracking it ever since the guy got on the helicopter back in Macau.”

Matt: “Good news. Where is it now?”

Peter: “Oh... looks like... right in there.”

Matt: “You know... you are amazing.”

    And it’s important that this is emphasized, because of the other key part of this team-up: the fact that Peter no longer knows Matt’s secret identity. While Matt is his casual self around his friend, and while Peter attempts to laugh off this shift in status quo, it is there beneath the surface the whole time. Peter tries to advise Matt on the dangers of being in a “black-costume phase”, he tries to drop hints about how weird it is that he doesn’t know Matt’s real name, and then in the end, when he can no longer just let it slide, he confronts Matt directly. 

Peter: “I was thinking about it when you called me to help you down here. I have a lot of memories of adventures we’ve gone on over the years. But they feel... incomplete. Like they aren’t the whole picture. Like a jigsaw puzzle with only half its pieces. And I thought, ‘Gee, that sure is odd, considering that you are, after all, one of my oldest and most trusted colleagues in the super hero biz.’”

    This early in the run, the exact details of what happened with Matt’s secret identity haven’t been revealed yet. And this is the first time someone directly addresses the mind-wipe, or even seemingly notices it, so it is extremely significant. (I do think it’s weird that Peter is the only person to notice it, but that’s a topic for another post.) While I feel the mind-wipe was a very bad move, since it damaged so many of Matt’s relationships and negated a lot of decades-old character development, I do at least appreciate the poignancy of this moment; of Peter trying to understand why he can no longer trust someone he considers a friend, and Matt deciding that he can’t bear to outright lie to him. 

Matt (caption): “Make something up. You’re an attorney, Matt. You can make anyone believe anything, and Spider-Man wants to believe you. If you tell him something even remotely plausible, he’ll probably-- No. Enough is enough.”

Matt: “The reason you feel like there’s a hole in your memories is because there is. Everyone used to know my identity, and I did something to change that. I’m still the man you trusted. The only differences is that now you don’t know my name.”

    It’s an emotional end to a great story arc-- and while I would have much preferred to Matt to get Peter back up to speed, I appreciate the moment for what it is. Hopefully, after three years of this near-complete isolation, Matt will go into Zdarsky’s run with a desire to fully rebuild these relationships that clearly still mean a lot to him.