RANKING MARVEL PHASE 2

Hello! So, we’ve just concluded the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second phase with Ant-Man, and we’re set to begin phase three with Captain America: Serpent Society  Civil War, which will end with Inhumans, following the two part Infinity War and solo movies for Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel and Black Panther. I recently posted my MCU phase four predictions, check it out here. We began phase two with the unfortunately popular Iron Man 3, continued with Thor: The Dark World which saw Jane Foster go all magic and cray cray on us, we then got the huge Captain America: The Winter Soldier, only for that to be followed by yet an even bigger Guardians of the Galaxy, we were then introduced to Quicksilver (sob), Scarlet Witch and Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and concluded with Ant-Man and were introduced to Wasp too, but more on that in my next blog post.

6. Iron Man 3

I mean, the best part of the movie wasn’t any of the Tony Stark scenes, it was Pepper Potts going all badass on us. The film essentially screwed up Mandarin, this is one of those films I don’t really talk about, much like Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk. BUT YOU GO PEPPER YOU GO. 

5. Thor: The Dark World

I actually quite liked this movie, I liked what they did with Jane Foster, as well as what they did with Loki towards the end. It just doesn’t really stand out though, not in the grand scheme of things. Phase two had some really brilliant movies, and I guess you can’t expect every movie in the phase to be just as good as each other. 

4. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Now, I was a bit disappointed because both CA:WS and Guardians before AoU were amazingly good, but the film is pretty darn good. Vision and Scarlet Witch have instantly become favourites of mine, We didn’t see much of Thor in the movie, he was busy building up to Ragnarok, which I was actually okay with. The villain was cool, and the focus on Hawkeye and Black Widow was even better, however the backlash against the Black Widow development kind of killed it for me because it was so unnecessary and overwhelming. 😦

3. Ant-Man

Paul Rudd makes a surprisingly awesome superhero, and the supporting cast completely made the film. While the production for this film was troubled and complicated, the end result was comedic, inspiring and actually quite moving (Scott and Cassie). Peggy Carter’s surprise appearance at the beginning was awesome, and a great way to connect the film to the MCU from the off-start, as well as a nod towards a soon-to=be MCU hero that’s a web-swinger or something.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This was a difficult choice, because it deserves the top spot so much. The use of Black Widow was great, Falcon had a great introduction, and Bucky Barnes was a fantastic villain. This film redefined the superhero genre by not being an overt superhero movie, it was so much more than just a Marvel movie with a strong super, it was a thriller, it was a drama, it had the occasional comedy, it was a spy movie, and that’s why it completely deserved the critical acclaim that it received. 

1. Guardians of the Galaxy 

A truly eye-catching, visually stunning, cinematic masterpiece, Guardians of the Galaxy plays on the unexpected hero (as does every other film), but in a conventionally challenging way that blends surprisingly well with the Marvel universe. The villains are just as important, with Karen Gillan having a standout performance as Nebula, much different to her days as Amy Pond in Doctor Who. I teared up watching this film, seriously, because the cinematography inspired me and was simply so beautifully done that it really completes the film. 

That’s all for now, check back on the 10th September for my predictions for the fifth phase of the MCU. 

Byeeeeeeeeeeee

TotallyCulture

PREDICTING MARVEL PHASE FOUR

Hello! So, we’re about to kick off phase three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Captain America: Civil War, featuring a huge amount of characters including, of course, Captain America, Iron Man, Ant Man, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Spider-Man, Black Panther and Sharon Carter, and that’s just a few of the characters set to appear in the battle between Captain America and Iron Man because of the superhuman registration act. Following the huge Civil War, we get an array of films, these being Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy 2, Spider-Man, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1, Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Infinity War Part 2, ending with Inhumans. This all takes place from 2016 to 2019, that’s three years for a huge amount of MCU, which is rather exciting. The big bosses behind Marvel Studios have reportedly already planned out the MCU’s Phase Four and Phase Five, so I’m here to predict Phase Four of the MCU, check back for my Phase Five predictions in September. For a reminder, here’s the MCU so far. 

1. Kicking off Phase Four… Doctor Strange 2

Looking at the first Doctor Strange movie released soon starring Benedict Cumberbatch, it’s set to introduce the MCU into the wonderful world of magic. We’ve had tastes of it before, but it’s ambiguous, with Thor 2 essentially confusing the lines between magic and alien science. I imagine Doctor Strange (1) will be origin, the story arc I’d like to see for Doctor Strange 2 is The Oath, featuring Rosario Dawson’s Night Nurse (Daredevil). This would be a huge way to kick off Phase Four, featuring a hero that I presume will become an instant fan-favourite. 

2. Captain Marvel 2 

The first Captain Marvel film will be a huge blockbuster, being the first female led Marvel movie. This movie would hopefully feature Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan), perhaps even a cameo leading onto Ms Marvel’s appearance in other Marvel movies if she hasn’t appeared prior to Captain Marvel 2. I predict The Enemy Within as the story line, featuring Captain America (Sam Wilson or Bucky Barnes), Black Widow and Spider Woman (Jessica Drew). In fact, it could even be the Civil War of Phase Four (ALL THE CAST MEMBERS). P.s. I predict Captain Marvel and Spider-Woman will be huge parts of phase four, especially the big Avengers film.

3. Runaways

This film would be huge in that it teaches children to be brave and be heroes, Runaways: Pride and Joy is a story about the six children witnessing their evil parents (The Pride) murder a girl in a sacrificial ceremony. It’s basically a super dark children vs parents. A great message. Such fun.  

4. She-Hulk

She-Hulk is a snarky female character that isn’t defined by her sexuality or gender. Heck, she’s a top lawyer, and she’s green. I personally believe Marvel needs to redirect it’s messages and campaigning to include a younger female audience, and a green female superhero lawyer would be a great extension to the work done by Captain Marvel 1 and 2 to appeal to female fans. With all the hysteria about Black Widow’s marketing (or perhaps lack of), following the female led debut of Captain Marvel in Phase Three, I’d like to see a whole lot of feminism in Phase Four. 

5. Spider-Man 2

Ultimate Six? Anybody? It would seem silly for there not to be a sequel in phase four to Spider-Man’s solo film in phase three, considering just how marketable the hero is. Perhaps the most iconic of Marvel. Now, bringing in the story arc of Ultimate Six, and we get Spider-Man, the Avengers, and a few Spider-Man villains like Electro and Green Goblin. Perhaps with some cameos from She-Hulk, Thor (see 7) and a few other heroes, and you get the Ultimate Spider Man movie (hint hint, maybe?).

6. Guardians of the Galaxy 3.0

Expect this to be a definite thing, with the addition of the pre-established Captain Marvel and perhaps either Mantis, Angela, Moondragon or Adam Warlock. I would predict a story resembling War of Kings or Annihilation. Basically, I’m not sure if this is more of a predicted film or one of those “it’s definitely happening but they just haven’t confirmed it”. 

7. Thor 4 (The New Age)

Following the events of Ragnarok in Phase Three, Hemsworth’s Thor will ‘die’ after being killed by Jormungand’s poison. Jane Foster, or perhaps another woman if Natalie Portman doesn’t renew her contract, will pick up the hammer and become Thor. I’m actually really fond of ‘Lady Thor’, she’s a reassuring and appealing counterpart to Odinson, the character is all about finding strength which is admirable and could be portrayed really well in the MCU. The only issue is who would play her, considering it seems Natalie Portman isn’t likely to be returning (except for Ragnarok, potentially). I could see Lady Sif as the most likely candidate, heck even Maria Hill. However, it would be hilarious (and kind of badass) to see Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) weild “myeuh-muh”, I could see any three characters pulling it off. 

8. Vision and The Scarlet Witch

We had hints towards a relationship between the two towards the end of Age of Ultron, while I do predict Scarlet Witch to appear somehow in Doctor Strange, I also believe there will be considerable development of the two in Civil War and Infinity War, however, there is the challenge of The Vision and the ‘mind stone’. However, as we know, Scarlet witch can do a bit of reality warping. Perhaps even bringing back a certain hero who died in Age of Ultron despite the actor’s multi-contract deal??? In the comic books, Vision and Scarlet Witch married and had children (magically, of course), however their relationship ends tragically (on both parts). This film could either pass as a Scarlet Witch or Vision solo movie, taking either one of their names as the title but featuring the relationship to a certain degree, I would also predict the supporting cast to be the likes of Evangeline Lilly as Wasp, Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones, Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye as well as cameos by Spider-Man, She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel and more. Basically, this is the Avengers 4 prequel so to speak. However, I could also see other movies taking this spot in the Phase Four timeline, such as The Wasp, Ant Man 2, Black Panther 2 or an introduction movie to a new hero. At the end of this film, I would predict a hint towards both 9 and 10 in the post-credits scene. (HINT SKRULL HINT)

9. Inhumans 2

This would be the perfect lead up to my predicted Avengers 4 movie, which will close Phase Four of the MCU. Inhumans 2 would be an extension of the pre-established Inhumans story both at the hands of it’s film and Agents of SHIELD, but also I would predict it to be a continuation of Guardians 3, especially if they went down the War of Kings route, possibly moving towards Realm of Kings. At the end of the film, I would say that any one member of the Inhumans team is revealed to be a Skrull prisoner, leading into…

10. The Avengers: The Secret Invasion

Oh yes. The Secret Invasion. Throughout Phase Four, hints would be made towards the Skrull, ultimately leading to the fourth (or fifth if you’re counting Infinity War Part 1 and 2 as two and not one). We would discover that heroes we have learnt to love are secretly Skrull. The new avengers team consisting of Captain Marvel, Captain America, Spider Woman, She-Hulk, Spider-Man, Vision (maybe), Scarlet Witch (again, maybe), Doctor Strange, alongside the Inhumans and the Guardians (potentially), Lady Thor would pop along and help the Avengers. This film would close four phases of the MCU, leading into a completely fresh style of MCU movies in Phase Five, with the movies I have predicted possibly getting sequels but introducing more solo movies. 

The front runners of MCU’s Phase Four

That’s all for now, check back in September for my Phase Five predictions, meanwhile on the 26th August I’ll be uploading a list of some bizarre crossovers we all secretly want to see. 

Thanks for reading!

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

TotallyCulture