So they’re doing a retro-snarky ANT-MAN on Disney XD

I love the colors and the aesthetic.  They wanted to get the old-school Marvel look, and I think they succeeded. I don’t mind the snark, given that Ant-Man was a movie that recognized the basic absurdity of its premise and decided to go have fun with it. This looks entertaining, but not particularly deep.  I like having that, every so often.

The ‘The Gifted’ TV trailer.

Definitely part of the X-Men universe: at one point somebody says that they don’t even know if the X-Men or the Brotherhood even exist anymore. …You and me both, friend. You and me both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTzW9rMcbzk

But The Gifted  might not be bad!  There’s often a disconnect between a studio’s movies and its television series. Just because Fox can’t consistently catch fire with its Marvel cinematic properties doesn’t mean that the TV shows will automatically suck.  I think. I hope. Let’s be optimistic about it.

The REAL test of this fully operational movie studio will be Thor: Ragnarok.

Well, the days when Marvel/Disney could laugh maniacally and turn obscure comic book intellectual properties into endless streams of cash have certainly come to a middle: “Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel StudiosGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opened to an estimated $145 million in 4,347 domestic theaters this weekend, an average of $33,368 per location. …Combined with the domestic gross, the estimated global weekend of $269 million contributes to a global overall sum of $428 million after 13 days of play.” There’s a reason why they made sure to note that there was going to be a third movie; the Mouse already knew that this one was going to be a monster. Call it science, call it art, call it arcane powers granted through a sorcerous pact made with supernatural forces, but the writing was literally on the wall for this one. Continue reading The REAL test of this fully operational movie studio will be Thor: Ragnarok.

So. That ‘Cloak and Dagger’ trailer.

I was reminded of it by Constant Reader BigGator5, so I went and watched the Cloak and Dagger trailer a couple of times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5hrFVQiGyk

The problem is: I’ve never read the comics.  I mean, I grok the basic concept behind the characters, but without reading them I dunno whether this is a faithful adaptation of the original. Has Marvel gotten this one right?  Or at least right enough for TV? It’s going to be on Freeform** in 2018, after all.

Moe Lane

*I think that we can all agree that Marvel is at its best when it’s not trying to change the core identity of its comic book characters, yes?

**According to Wikipedia, this network has a fascinating journey through the wilds of cable networks.  Started off as a CBN satellite feed, became the Family Channel, segued into first Fox Family, then ABC Family, and is now Freeform and targeting millennials.  Imagine being the janitor who worked through all those paradigm changes…

I see a Hydra shirt on a comic book store clerk, I walk right back out the door*.

Well, it appears that my days of declining to purchase any Marvel comic that isn’t Squirrel Girl are certainly coming to a middle:

Yesterday, Bleeding reported on Marvel’s plan to get comic shop employees to wear Hydra shirts to promote Secret Empire. It’s part of Marvel’s overall “Hydra Takeover” marketing gimmick that has been as well-received on social media as, well, as Secret Empire itself. For some reason, one we can’t quite put our finger on, people are uncomfortable with this. Hmm. What could it be?

Continue reading I see a Hydra shirt on a comic book store clerk, I walk right back out the door*.

Just watched the Iron Fist pilot while on the treadmill.

I personally thought that it was fine. Nice setup, reasonable amount of action, not too much in the way of inexplicable behavior.  I’ll likely be alternating Iron Fist and Agents of SHIELD for the next couple of weeks or so.  Marvel’s TV shows are pretty good for the treadmill, honestly.

Squirrel Girl getting TV show: “New Warriors.”

Got tipped to this in the comments section by Constant Reader acat.  Too early to tell how good/bad it’s going to be, yet. Maybe it’ll be OK?

Marvel is expanding its relationship with Freeform and getting into the comedy space.

In a competitive situation with other cable and streaming outlets bidding, the younger-skewing Disney-owned cable network has handed out a straight-to-series order for New Warriors, the comic book powerhouse’s first 30-minute live-action comedy. Cougar Town and Scrubs alum Kevin Biegel is near a deal to pen the script and serve as showrunner on the comedy.

New Warriors is definitely going to have Squirrel Girl in it, and she’s being described as a ‘natural leader.’  That kind of implies that she’ll be running the team. Also: Freeform’s executives sound like they’re kind of pumped to have gotten this show, specifically. I’d rather that they tried to get the character right, and failed, than if they didn’t try at all. Continue reading Squirrel Girl getting TV show: “New Warriors.”

‘The Defenders’ elevator teaser trailer.

It’s kind of obscure what the release date for The Defenders is, but Coming Soon says it’ll be August 18th.  Other than that… come, I will conceal nothing from you: I am behind.  I’m chewing through Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. now: the rest of the Marvel shows are earmarked for when that series is done.  Thank God for treadmills, huh?

Tweet of the Day, In The Future Everybody Will Be In Hydra For Fifteen Minutes edition.

This a lolwut situation.  This is, in fact, a special lolwut situation. I’m not even angry; just sort of of… [DOES NOT COMPUTE]… bemused. To quote Eric Flint: Who ordered this?