Marvel Comics Releases for October 8, 2025

MARVEL COMICS:

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover A Adam Hughes), $4.99

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover B Mark Bagley), $4.99

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover C Lee Garbett Foil Variant), $4.99

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover D Blank Variant), $4.99

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover E Javier Garron), $4.99

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover F Pere Perez), $4.99

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover G Aaron Kuder), $4.99

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover H Pere Perez New Villain Variant), $4.99

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover I Adam Hughes Full Art Variant), AR

Amazing Spider-Man Torn #1 (Of 5)(Cover J Mark Chiarello), AR

Amazing X-Men #1 (Cover A Mahmud Asrar)(Age Of Revelation), $4.99

Amazing X-Men #1 (Cover B Mark Bagley Beast Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $4.99

Amazing X-Men #1 (Cover C Mike Hawthorne Revelation Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $4.99

Amazing X-Men #1 (Cover D Sanford Greene)(Age Of Revelation), $4.99

Amazing X-Men #1 (Cover E German Peralta)(Age Of Revelation), AR

Annihilation Modern Era Epic Collection Volume 2 Desperate Measures TP, $49.99

Avengers #31 (Cover A Cafu), $3.99

Avengers #31 (Cover B Luciano Vecchio Iron Man Variant), $3.99

Avengers #31 (Cover C Luciano Vecchio Stormbreakers New Class Variant), $3.99

Avengers #31 (Cover D Luciano Vecchio Muppets Variant), $3.99

Avengers #31 (Cover E Mahmud Asrar Tron: Ares Variant), $3.99

Avengers #31 (Cover F Luciano Vecchio Iron Man Full Art Variant), AR

Binary #1 (Cover A Rickie Yagawa)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Binary #1 (Cover B Ivan Talavera)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Binary #1 (Cover C Francesco Mobili Revelation Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Binary #1 (Cover D David Nakayama)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Binary #1 (Cover E Rickie Yagawa Character Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Binary #1 (Cover F Ivan Talavera Full Art Variant)(Age Of Revelation), AR

Binary #1 (Cover G Jeremy Wilson)(Age Of Revelation), AR

Captain America Modern Era Epic Collection Volume 3 The Burden Of Dreams TP, $54.99

Death Of Captain Marvel Omnibus HC (Cover A Jeff Aclin Book Market Variant), $125.00

Death Of Captain Marvel Omnibus HC (Cover A Jim Starlin Direct Market Variant), $125.00

Eddie Brock Carnage #9 (Cover A Jesus Saiz), $3.99

Eddie Brock Carnage #9 (Cover B Rod Reis Marvel Zombies Variant), $3.99

Eddie Brock Carnage #9 (Cover C Corin Howell), $3.99

Eddie Brock Carnage Volume 1 Killing Me TP, $17.99

Fantastic Four #10 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover A Jack Kirby), $4.99 (find on eBay)

Fantastic Four #10 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover B Jack Kirby Foil Variant), AR (find on eBay)

Fantastic Four #10 (Facsimile Edition)(Cover C Mark Buckingham), AR (find on eBay)

Ghost Rider Danny Ketch Omnibus Volume 2 HC (Cover A Adam Kubert Book Market Variant), $150.00

Ghost Rider Danny Ketch Omnibus Volume 2 HC (Cover B Jim Lee Direct Market Variant), $150.00

Imperial War Imperial Guardians #1 (Cover A Francesco Mortarino), $4.99

Imperial War Imperial Guardians #1 (Cover B Doaly Super-Skrull Variant), $4.99

Imperial War Imperial Guardians #1 (Cover C Michele Bandini), $4.99

Imperial War Imperial Guardians #1 (Cover D Jan Bazaldua), AR

Laura Kinney Sabretooth #1 (Cover A Anand Ramcheron)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Laura Kinney Sabretooth #1 (Cover A Dan Jurgens Revelation Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Laura Kinney Sabretooth #1 (Cover A Elena Casagrande)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Laura Kinney Sabretooth #1 (Cover A Nogi San)(Age Of Revelation), AR

Laura Kinney Sabretooth #1 (Cover A Pablo Villalobos Full Art Variant)(Age Of Revelation), AR

Laura Kinney Sabretooth #1 (Cover A Pablo Villalobos)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Laura Kinney Sabretooth #1 (Cover A Rickie Yagawa Character Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $3.99

Longshots #1 (Cover A Dustin Weaver)(Age Of Revelation), $4.99

Longshots #1 (Cover B Ron Lim Hellcat Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $4.99

Longshots #1 (Cover C Ken Lashley Revelation Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $4.99

Longshots #1 (Cover D David Baldeon)(Age Of Revelation), $4.99

Longshots #1 (Cover E Junggeun Yoon)(Age Of Revelation), AR

Marvel Black White And Blood And Guts #1 (Of 4)(Cover A E.M. Gist), $5.99

Marvel Black White And Blood And Guts #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Greg Land 250th Homage Variant), $5.99

Marvel Black White And Blood And Guts #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Derrick Chew), $5.99

Marvel Black White And Blood And Guts #1 (Of 4)(Cover D Joshua Cassara), $5.99

Marvel Black White And Blood And Guts #1 (Of 4)(Cover E Frank Brunner Bicentennial Calendar Hidden Gem Variant), AR

Marvel Black White And Blood And Guts #1 (Of 4)(Cover F Philip Tan), AR

Marvel Black White And Blood And Guts #1 (Of 4)(Cover G Derrick Chew Full Art Variant), AR

Marvel Knights Punisher #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Dan Panosian), $4.99

Marvel Knights Punisher #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Ben Harvey), $4.99

Marvel Knights Punisher #1 (Of 4)(Cover C David Marquez), $4.99

Marvel Knights Punisher #1 (Of 4)(Cover D Fabrizio De Tommaso), AR

Marvel Knights Punisher #1 (Of 4)(Cover E Ben Harvey Full Art Variant), AR

Marvel Knights The World To Come #3 (Of 6)(Cover A Joe Quesada), $4.99

Marvel Knights The World To Come #3 (Of 6)(Cover B J. Scott Campbell Just Spectacular Collection Variant), $4.99

Marvel Knights The World To Come #3 (Of 6)(Cover C Chris Allen), $4.99

Marvel Knights The World To Come #3 (Of 6)(Cover D J. Scott Campbell Just Spectacular Collection Full Art Variant), AR

Marvel Knights The World To Come #3 (Of 6)(Cover E Greg Land), AR

Predator The Theta Saga TP, $44.99

Return To Planet Hulk #1 (Cover A Carlo Pagulayan), $4.99

Return To Planet Hulk #1 (Cover B Davide Paratore), $4.99

Return To Planet Hulk #1 (Cover C Leinil Francis Yu), $4.99

Spider-Man '94 #1 (Of 5)(2nd Printing Cover A Nick Bradshaw), $4.99

Spider-Man '94 #1 (Of 5)(2nd Printing Cover B Ron Lim Full Art Variant), AR

Spider-Man '94 #2 (Of 5)(Cover A Nick Bradshaw), $3.99

Spider-Man '94 #2 (Of 5)(Cover B John Tyler Christopher Action Figure Variant), $3.99

Spider-Man '94 #2 (Of 5)(Cover C Mark Bagley), $3.99

Spider-Man '94 #2 (Of 5)(Cover D Marvel Animation Variant), $3.99

Spider-Man '94 #2 (Of 5)(Cover E Chris Campana), AR

Spider-Man And Wolverine #6 (Cover A Carlos Gomez), $3.99

Spider-Man And Wolverine #6 (Cover A Greg Land Muppets Variant), $3.99

Spider-Man And Wolverine #6 (Cover A Kaare Andrews), $3.99

Spider-Man And Wolverine #6 (Cover A Salvador Larroca), AR

Star Wars Han Solo Hunt For The Falcon #2 (Of 5)(Cover A Ramon Rosanas), $3.99

Star Wars Han Solo Hunt For The Falcon #2 (Of 5)(Cover B Carlo Pagulayan), $3.99

Star Wars Han Solo Hunt For The Falcon #2 (Of 5)(Cover C Ken Lashley), AR

Star Wars Legacy Of Vader Volume 1 The Reign Of Kylo Ren TP, $19.99

Strange Tales #1 (Of 4)(Cover A Bayleigh Underwood), $3.99

Strange Tales #1 (Of 4)(Cover B Annie Wu), $3.99

Strange Tales #1 (Of 4)(Cover C Gretel Lusky), $3.99

Ultimate Black Panther #21 (Cover A Stefano Caselli), $4.99

Ultimate Black Panther #21 (Cover B Meghan Hetrick), $4.99

Ultimate Black Panther #21 (Cover C GODTAIL), AR

World Of Revelation #1 (Cover A Phil Noto)(Age Of Revelation), $5.99

World Of Revelation #1 (Cover B Giada Belviso)(Age Of Revelation), $5.99

World Of Revelation #1 (Cover C Rickie Yagawa Character Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $5.99

World Of Revelation #1 (Cover D Carlos Magno Revelation Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $5.99

World Of Revelation #1 (Cover E C.F. Villa Promo Variant)(Age Of Revelation), $5.99

World Of Revelation #1 (Cover F Salvador Larroca)(Age Of Revelation), AR

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: "THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS"

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

Running time:  115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)

Rating:  MPA – PG-13 for action/violence and some language

DIRECTOR:  Matt Shakman

WRITERS:  Josh Friedman, Eric Person, and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer; from a story by Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer, and Kat Wood (based on the Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)

PRODUCER:  Kevin Feige

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jess Hall (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Nona Khodai and Tim Roche

COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION and FANTASY/DRAMA

Starring:  Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, and Matthew Wood (voice)

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a 2025 American superhero movie and science fiction film from director Matt Shakman and Marvel Studios.  The film is based on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, which was created by artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee and first appeared in the comic book, The Fantastic Four #1 (cover dated: November 1961).  It is also the 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the second reboot of the Fantastic Four film franchise.  In First Steps, the Fantastic Four is forced to balance their family life and their superhero life as never before when a god-like space being and his enigmatic herald arrive and mark Earth for destruction.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens on Earth-828  in the year 1960.  It introduces “The Fantastic Four,” a quartet of astronauts turned superheroes.  First is the highly intelligent scientist, Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), who as “Mr. Fantastic” can stretch any part of his body to great lengths.  Next is Reed's wife, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), the founder of the “Future Foundation,” a global demilitarization and world peace organization.  As the “Invisible Woman” Sue can generate force fields and turn invisible.  Then, there is the brilliant pilot, former astronaut, and Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), a.k.a. “The Thing,” whose skin has been transformed into a layer of orange rock, which grants him super-human strength and durability.  Finally, there is Sue's younger brother, Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), who as the “Human Torch,” can engulf his body in flames, control fire, and fly.

The world honors The Fantastic Four for what they have given humanity, so when Reed and Sue reveal that they are expecting a child, the world celebrates and prepares for the new arrival, while also wondering if the child will also have super-powers.  However, the celebrating is short-lived.  A metallic-skinned, seemingly-female alien arrives from space, riding a surfboard.  This “Silver Surfer” (Julia Garner) is the herald of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), a planet-devouring cosmic being, and he is coming to devour Earth.  Now, the members of The Fantastic Four face their toughest test ever, and the price they must pay to save the Earth may be too high for even them to pay.

I actually enjoyed Tim Story's two Fantastic Four films the aughts, Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007).  Director Josh Trank's 2015 reboot of the franchise, Fantastic Four, had a lot of good ideas, but alleged studio interference turned the film into a wreck.  The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not at all a wreck.  Its intense action sequences had me gripping the armrests of my seat at the local movie theater.  The villains are great.  Galactus is awesome and even scarier than the gargantuan “Celestials” of Marvel Studios' 2021 epic, Eternals; he seemed unbeatable.  Julia Garner's Silver Surfer is 10 times the herald the one in Rise of the Silver Surfer is.  This Silver Surfer, whose original name was “Shalla Bal,” is like a velociraptor on a surfboard.  She chases our heroes with the unrelenting hellish fury of the “Headless Horseman” that chases Ichabod Crane in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” segment of Disney's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).

On the other hand, the heroes of The Fantastic Four: First Steps come across as too mild-mannered.  They are so accomplished that everything seems to come too easy for them.  Even when they are angry with one another, that anger lacks passion.  In fact, I'd call the cast and characters dispassionate.  It is as if the film's director, Matt Shakman, who does an excellent job overall, wants his leads to be inoffensive.  I like the casting of the leads, but they need to breath a little more fire.

In the end, I like that Disney and Marvel Studios finally take the opportunity to honor the late Jack Kirby (1917-1994), the comic book writer-artist who created the Fantastic Four with the late Stan Lee (1922-2018).  There are several nods to Kirby, and this is long overdue.  That makes me love First Steps even more.  It is almost a great film, and its special effects and inventive and imaginative retro-futuristic elements endlessly fascinate me.  The Fantastic Four: First Steps is hugely entertaining, and these are the right first steps to bring the Fantastic Four into the cinematic prominence they deserve.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: ELEKTRA VOLUME 2 #1

[This review of "Elektra Volume 2 #1" is one of the early comic book review that I ever wrote for my “Negromancer” blog (which began as a website) way back in the Summer of 2001.  For a few years, I wrote my comic book reviews under the column title, "Why I Love Saturn," which I took from Kyle Baker's 1990 graphic novel, "Why I Hate Saturn."

Recently, I was able to recover my files from two 2000s-era hard drives.  Beginning with this review, I am going to go back and re-edit all my original “Negromancer” comic book reviews and post these updated versions on here, my “I Reads You” blog.  I hope you enjoy the trip back in time.]

ELEKTRA VOLUME 2 #1

MARVEL COMICS/Marvel Knights

STORY: Brian Michael Bendis

ART: Chuck Austen

COLORS: Nathan Eyring

LETTERS: Comicraft's Wes Abbot

EDITORS: Stuart Moore; Nanci Dakesian

COVER: Greg Horn

52pp, $3.50 U.S., $5.25 CAN (September 2001)

"Why I Love Saturn?" Episode 6

In typical fanboy fashion, I salivated at the thought of the return of Elektra, Frank Miller’s sexy, assassin and anti-heroine from his run as writer/artist of Marvel’s Daredevil back in the early 1980’s.  But I only wanted Elektra to come back if she were to be guided Miller, or Miller and one of his cohorts, like Bill Sienkiewicz, so I, of course, ignored Pete Milligan and Mike Deodado’s mid 90’s incarnation.

In true clown fashion, I still bought the new series, starting with this first issue, Elektra Volume 2 #1.  It is written by way too busy Brian Michael Bendis; drawn by Chuck Austen; colored by Nathan Eyring; and lettered by Wes Abbot.  So many have sung Bendis' praises, via the Internet and magazine articles.  Even other customers in my local shop heartily recommend him, but I’ve yet to read anything by him that’s really “knocked my socks off,” although I haven’t yet read Torso or Jinx.

Still, I can’t go crazy over a man whose main claim to fame is his reinvention of the early Spider-Man saga in Ultimate Spider-Man.  All he is doing is simply retooling for a “modern” audience stories that were very well told when they first appeared in the early 1960’s created by Stan Lee and the amazing Mr. Steve Ditko.  Honestly, John Byrne’s modernization of the early Spidey tales in Spider-Man: Chapter One was excellent.

With his “Ultimate” title and, now, Elektra, Bendis has firmly established himself as the writing equivalent of Ron Frenz.  Bendis is now the “Super Adaptoid” of comics.  However, Frenz version 2.0 is in dire need of repair, as Elektra is the work of an unoriginal and intellectual impoverished mind.  Realistically, I can’t expect anything remotely related to characterization in this book; after all, the only important things about the characters are as follows.

Elektra is a scantily clad assassin whose costume includes a loose, flapping towel to cover her genitalia and another piece to cover the crack of her ass.  Her breasts are impractically large for someone who must perform many impossible athletic feats.  The men in her book are smug 20-somethings with nothing to say, but think that everything that they have to say is funny and/or witty (see Carson Daly or the cast of the American Pie movies).  The established Marvel characters who will visit her book, as Nick Fury does this issue, need no characterization because they’re, well, they are who they are.  Nick Fury is an icon, right?

Most of the dialogue in the first issue belongs to a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who is the antithesis of interesting and engaging.  He is dull and witless, and it’s not just that he talks too much; his conversations amount to the buzzing of flies.  The character is undoubtedly Bendis himself – college and pop culture educated – and possessing of nothing of substance worth conversing to another person.

Chuck Austen, this series' “artist,” uses a computer to model and to produce his work.  Much of the art in this issue amounts to poor, stiff renderings and copies of Frank Miller’s work on Elektra, the way Rob Liefeld’s drawings are poor, stiff pencil renderings of Miller and Art Adams' work.  Austen's drawings are awkward and clumsy; it’s the work of a mentally challenged man who apparently has never seen people.  He draws people as if he were an artist with an arthritic hand who bases his figures on the crayon cave drawings of the Neanderthals of La La Land.  If you think that I am being harsh, you are wrong.  Harsh is the splash page on page 39 of the book, the one with Elektra leaping the table.  ‘Nuff said.

F

0 out of 4 stars

Re-edited:  Sunday, June 29, 2025

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: UNCANNY X-MEN #1

UNCANNY X-MEN #1 (2024)

MARVEL COMICS

STORY: Gail Simone

ART: David Marquez

COLORS: Matthew Wilson

LETTERS: VC's Clayton Cowles

COVER: David Marquez with Matthew Wilson

EDITOR: Tom Brevoort

VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Andy Kubert with Brad Anderson; David Marquez with Matthew Wilson; Jim Lee with Alex Sinclair; John Tyler Christopher; Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho; Luciano Vecchio; Pablo Villalobos; Scott Koblish with Rachelle Rosenberg; Stephen Segovia with Jay David Ramos

40pp, Color, $5.99 U.S. (October 2024)

Rated T+

X-Men created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

“Red Wave”

The X-Men are a Marvel Comics superhero team.  The team was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1 (cover dated:  September 1963).  The X-Men are “mutants,” and Marvel's mutants are humans born with a genetic trait called the “X-gene,” which naturally grants them superhuman abilities.  Being different from normal humans makes mutants the subject of prejudice, discrimination, and violence from humans.  Founded by Professor Charles Xavier a.k.a. “Professor X,” the X-Men fight to protect Earth for both humans and mutants, often battling various “evil mutants” and otherworldly threats.

Over the decades, especially over the last four, there have been countless comic book publications featuring the X-Men.  The X-Men flagship comic book was entitled “The X-Men” beginning with Issue #1 lasting through Issue #141.  With Issue #142, the title official became “Uncanny X-Men.?  Over the last decade Uncanny X-Men has been relaunched a few times, each news series beginning with a new Issue #1.

The latest relaunch began last year (2024) during the late summer.  The 2024 iteration of Uncanny X-Men is written by Gail Simone; drawn by David Marquez; colored by Matthew Wilson; and lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles.  The new series takes place in the wake of the “From the Ashes” crossover publishing event and finds the X-Men without a home and without Professor X.

Uncanny X-Men #1 opens in Westchester County, New York, specifically at the former “Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.”  Diabolical forces have taken over the campus and are making plans to transform it from a school into some kind of detention center or prison.

Since the fall of the island-nation slash mutant paradise of Krakoa, mutants have been left adrift across the globe.  Rogue, Gambit, and Wolverine are in Mexico, specifically Teotihuacan, where they will face a dragon.  Next up is “the University of Mississippi Medical Center,” where they engage in a mission of mercy for Nightcrawler and a low-level, dying mutant boy named “Harvey X.”  Before long, the quartet will encounter what may be some new mutants, but is Rogue willing to become the new leader of the X-Men?  Should the X-Men even continue to be a thing? 

THE LOWDOWN:  I am not on any kind of comp list that provides me with review copies – PDF or otherwise – of Marvel Comics publications.  That leaves me free to say what I want without feeling that a bad review could get me excommunicated.  [Despite what the marketing people at publishers say, a slip-up of any kind can get a reviewer removed from a comp list.]

By the time I read this new Uncanny X-Men #1 and began to write the review, this series' first trade collection, Uncanny X-Men Vol. 1: Red Wave, had been in stores for a week and a half.  I am still not going to post detailed spoilers, and I suspect there is a lot to spoil over the entire arc.  I like the vibe that Gail Simone brings to the series.  It is part traditional X-Men, but with an offbeat wild vibe that is similar to what readers found in New X-Men #114 (cover dated:  July 2001).  I don't know how new and original the new mutants presented in this issue are, but Simone seems to be aiming for a new direction in this first issue of her run on this venerable series.  I think she is the first woman to be the regular series writer on Uncanny X-Men, which is disgraceful that it took decades for that to happen.

As for the art by David Marquez:  his work has looked better and the storytelling has been much more potent.  His graphical style was simpler and cleaner in the classic Miles Morales: Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (cover dated: July 2014).  Now, Marquez is more stylish and impressionistic that he has ever been, but the storytelling here substitutes flash action for meaningful drama.  The great Matthew Wilson makes the art pop off the page with his rich, earthy hues.  As usual, letterer Clayton Cowles is solid, but his lettering does not get in the way of the way of the story's action.

So I don't know if I will seek out the trade for this first arc of the new Uncanny X-Men.  This first chapter of “Red Wave” is somewhat intriguing, but I feel like Simone put off too much of the narrative in order to focus on Rogue's melodrama.  I assume the best is yet to come, so I will recommend that X-Men fans give this series a try.

Yes.  You can describe me as ambivalent about this first issue.  I am still curious about X-Men comic books, but my passion for them has cooled over the years.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of X-Men comic books will always want to see what's going on with the Uncanny X-Men.

[By Marvel's legacy numbering, Uncanny X-Men #1 (2024) is also Issue No. 701.]

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The first trade collection, "Uncanny X-Men by Gail Simone Vol. 1: Red Wave" is now available at Amazon.

https://x.com/Marvel

https://www.marvel.com/

https://www.marvel.com/comics

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and  syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: VENOM: THE LAST DANCE

Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

Running time:  110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, bloody images and strong language

DIRECTOR:  Kelly Marcel

WRITERS:  Kelly Marcel; from a story by Kelly Marcel and Tom Hardy (based on the Marvel Comics)

PRODUCERS:  Avi Arad, Amy Pascal, Matt Tolmach, Tom Hardy, Kelly Marcel, and Hutch Parker

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Fabian Wagner (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Mark Sanger

COMPOSER:  Dan Deacon

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo, Alanna Ubach, Hala Finley, Dash McCloud, Cristo Fernandez, Jared Abrahamson, Jack Brady, Reid Scott, and Andy Serkis

Venom: The Last Dance is a 2024 superhero fantasy-action film directed by Kelly Marcel.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics super-villain/anti-hero characters, Eddie Brock/Venom.  Several comic book writers, artists, and editors contributed in the development of this duo, and artist Todd McFarlane and writer David Michelinie are the creators of Venom.  This is also the third entry in the Venom film series.  In Venom: The Last Dance, Eddie Brock and Venom are on the run from both an alien monster and a mysterious military officer, and they may be forced to break up their symbiotic partnership.

Venom: The Last Dance opens on Klyntar, the home world of the symbiotes.  Knull (Andy Serkis), the creator of the symbiotes, seeks a way to escape the prison made for him by his rebellious creations.  To that end, he has discovered a key – some thing called a “Codex” – that will free him.  What and where is the codex?

Well, it is on Earth, and the Codex exists because of the relationship between the symbiote, Venom, and his human host, the former investigative reporter, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy).  They have just returned to Earth after their short stay in the multiverse (as seen in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home) and has landed in the Mexico of their own Earth.  While there, Eddie and Venom learn that Eddie is being blamed for the death of Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham).

Mulligan is not dead.  He was infected by a symbiote (as seen in 2021's Venom: Let There Be Carnage).  He has been imprisoned in an underground facility at “Area 55” (which is beneath “Area 51”), and is being held in captivity by the “Imperium Program.”  There, Mulligan and his symbiote are under the watchful gazes of Imperium scientist, Dr. Teddy Paine (Juno Temple), and the Imperium's military commander, General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

Eddie and Venom are headed for New York City in a bid to clear Eddie's name, unaware that General Strickland is hunting them.  The duo, however, is soon made aware of an even more dangerous hunter.  Knull has sent a creature known as a “Xenophage” to capture the Codex within Eddie and Venom.  Now, a year into their symbiotic relationship, Eddie Brock and Venom may have to make a most devastating and heart-wrenching decision in order to save the Earth and at least one of their lives.

Venom: The Last Dance is the fifth film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” line of films.  It follows Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Morbius (2022), and Madame Web (2024).  The Last Dance arrived in movie theaters a little more than a month before the series' sixth film, Kraven the Hunter (2024).  This film series stars characters and properties commonly associated with Marvel Comics' character, Spider-Man.  Sadly, media reports indicate that Kraven the Hunter will be the last entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Anyway, just before the halfway mark in Venom: The Last Dance, the Venom symbiote enters a horse, and “venomizes” it, creating a “Venom horse.”  The sequence featuring Venom as a horse, which becomes a wild ride across the desert with Eddie on its back, is probably the liveliest moment in this movie.  Venom does not venomize any more animals the rest of the way, but strangely, the beginning of the film's end-credits is a montage of venomized animals, everything from insects and birds to mammals and amphibians.  A Venom movie featuring the Venom symbiote venomizing countless different insects and animals?! – now, that would be a Venom movie I'd love and a lot of people would watch.  Sadly, that is what we get in Venom: The Last Dance.

Yes, there are some genuine character moments – such as Eddie/Venom's relationship with the Moon family – but even that is overwhelmed by Venom: The Last Dance's need to end.  Yes, this isn't so much a movie as it is an execution or suicide pact.  Venom is a trilogy and Venom: The Last Dance must be the end of it:  that's what this movie feels like – a race to the end.

I found myself unable to really enjoy this movie.  I really didn't connect with the film's best action scenes, and there were a few really good ones.  Also, I feel like the Knull subplot was woefully underutilized.  There are some good moments here, and by the end of the film, I thought the good things had been downplayed in favor of this movie's fatalistic mood.  Ultimately, I think Venom: The Last Dance is only for fans of the series who will want to see it through to the end.

C+

★★½ out of 4 stars

[This film has one mid-credits scene and one scene that occurs at the end of the credits.]

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD

Captain America: Brave New World (2025)

Running time:  118 minutes (1 hour, 58 minutes)

MPA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and some strong language

DIRECTOR:  Julius Onah

WRITERS:  Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musson, and Julius Onah & Peter Glanz; from a story by Rob Edwards and Malcolm Spellman & Dalan Musson (based on the Marvel Comics)

PRODUCERS:  Kevin Feige and Nate Moore

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Kramer Morgenthau (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Madeleine Gavin and Matthew Schmidt

COMPOSER:  Laura Karpman

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/DRAMA and SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, Xosha Roquemore, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, William Mark McCullough, and Takehiro Hira with Liv Tyler and Sebastian Stan

Captain America: Brave New World is a 2025 superhero and action film from Marvel Studios and directed by Julius Onah.  The film focuses on the character, “Sam Wilson,” as the superhero, “Captain America.”  Sam Wilson is a Marvel Comics character that was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Gene Colan and that first appeared in Captain America #117 (cover dated: September 1969).  Captain America is a Marvel Comics character that was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and that first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 (December 1940).

This film is the fourth film in the Captain America film series and also the 35th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  In Captain America: Brave New World, Captain America must discover the identity of the mastermind behind a plan to launch the United States into a global war over access to an amazing new metal alloy.

Captain America: Brave New World focuses on Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), who is still early in his tenure as the superhero, Captain America, replacing his friend, the original Captain America, Steve Rogers.  Wilson was once the superhero, “The Falcon,” and now, that mantle belongs to his partner, U.S. Air Force First Lt. Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez).  Captain America and the Falcon begin the film on a mission in Oaxaca, Mexico where they take on the “Serpent Society” and its leader, Sidewinder (Giancarlo Esposito), in a bid to intercept the sale of a canister of “Adamantium.”

Adamantium is the new metal alloy that was discovered on the “Celestial Island,” located in the Indian Ocean.  Celestial Island is really the gigantic carcass of the “Celestial Tiamut,” whose emergence was stopped by the Eternals (as seen in the 2021 film, Eternals).  The U.S., Japan, and India are vying to mine adamantium, and to that end, the three countries are working on a treaty that would create the infrastructure in which the three nations would share control of the island.

The current President of the United States, Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford), formerly known as General “Thunderbolt” Ross, asks Sam to be the face of the adamantium treaty as Captain America.  President Ross also wants Sam to join him in a plan to reform the superhero group, “The Avengers.”  However, the announcement of the treaty is interrupted by an assassination attempt.  Now, Sam's friend and mentor, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), the Korean War veteran and once-imprisoned “super soldier,” is once again imprisoned because of the incident.

Despite a growing rift with President Ross, Sam decides to investigate the assassination attempt, and Joaquin joins him.  Shadowing them is a former “Black Widow,” the Israeli Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas), but even she can't stop Captain America and the Falcon from discovering the mystery of a man named Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson).  Can Sam Wilson stop a global war, and can Captain America really take on the creature known as the “Red Hulk.”

Captain America: Brave New World is the subject of an intense online and social media smear campaign.  When you, dear readers, come across someone using the word, “woke,” to describe it, you should know that in the context of this film, “woke” is Confederate pig Latin for the name “Anthony Mackie.”  People who complain that the story and/or the script are not good are against the film because of their grievances concerning an African-American actor, Antony Mackie, taking on the role of Captain America.  With that said...

Captain America: Brave New World ties into some other Marvel Studios productions.  Obviously, this film's “Celestial Island” subplot is related to events depicted in the 2021 film, Eternals.  The Disney+/Marvel Studios series, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021) is a prologue to Brave New World.  Surprisingly, Brave New World acts as a sort of sequel to the second film in the MCU, 2008's The Incredible Hulk.  There are also references to numerous other MCU films.

Captain America: Brave New World is a superb superhero movie and great action film.  Director Julius Onah has helmed a film that is a rampaging good time at the movies, doing this in spite of delays and reshoots.  He should take pride in making a Captain America film that is as good as or better than the previous three films in the series.  The action is great, and the conspiracy at the heart of the story is intense and shockingly personal.  The character drama is surprisingly potent and is both complex and complicated.  Plus, the Captain America vs. Red Hulk battle in the film's last act fell on me like a tree; it is so intense that for a moment I wished I was wearing an adult diaper while watching it.

With Captain America: Brave New World, Anthony Mackie not only proves that he is a true Marvel leading man who can carry a MCU film, but he also proves that he is a Hollywood leading man.  In subtle ways, his performance and speeches clearly define that which Mackie fights in the real world and Sam Wilson fights in his world.  Watching Mackie chop up this movie with his dramatic chops, I realized that it was long overdue that he lead a Marvel film.

I must also admit that Harrison Ford brings down the thunder in his role as President Thaddeus Ross, a.k.a. “Thunderbolt” Ross.  Ford dominates his scenes so much that only Mackie can really match him in Captain America: Brave New World.  Seeing Ford here reminds me of what a find dramatic actor he is and how he has always been fun in action movies.

Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Tim Blake Nelson, Giancarlo Esposito, and Xosha Roquemore also deliver solid turns in their respective supporting roles.  They deserve to pop up in the MCU again, many more times.  I guess it is obvious that I am still buzzing from seeing Captain America: Brave New World last night (Thursday, February 13th).  I had not expected much from this film because I had listened to too much of the propaganda.  I love being wrong in these instance.  Captain America: Brave New World is going to be my favorite film of 2025 for awhile, dear readers, and I heartily recommend it to you.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: X-MEN: FIRST CLASS - Tomorrow's Brightest

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS – TOMORROW’S BRIGHTEST

MARVEL COMICS

STORY: Jeff Parker

PENCILS: Roger Cruz with Paul Smith

INKS: Victor Olazaba & Roger Cruz with Paul Smith

COLORS: Val Staples

LETTERS: Nate Piekos

COVER: Marko Djurdjevic

ISBN: 978-0-7851-2426-8; hardcover (January 1, 2007)

192pp, Color, $24.99 U.S.

Recently, I posted a review of Zootopia Volume 1 #1, the first issue of Dynamite Entertainment's new comic book series based on Disney's Oscar-winning, animated film, Zootopia (2016).  The comic book is written by Jeff Parker, and because I enjoyed the first issue, I started thinking about other comics by Parker that I have read and reviewed.

One of them is the hardcover trade collection of Marvel Comic's 2006 miniseries, X-Men: First Class.  I wrote a review of it back in 2007 or 2008 for a website run by an ungrateful asshole.  So I'm reclaiming the review for my own blog, “I Reads You.”

Here, it is with some recent edits. - Leroy Douresseaux:

When I first started reading the 2007 Marvel Comics hardcover collection, X-Men: First Class – Tomorrow’s Brightest, I initially thought, “Marvel doesn’t make comics like this anymore.”  Then, I realized that they do – under the “Marvel Adventures” line for young readers – and if you like that line, then, this fantastic, old school-style X-Men comic book collection is just for you.

X-Men: First Class – Tomorrow's Brightest collects X-Men: First Class #1-8, an eight-issue miniseries originally published in 2006.  The series is set during the early years of the X-Men when the team still consisted on the original X-Men: Cyclops (Scott Summers), Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), Angel (Warren Worthington, III), Beast (Hank McCoy), and Iceman (Bobby Drake).  These young people are mutants, genetic anomalies born with superhuman abilities that usually manifest themselves at puberty.

This quintet attended Professor Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, where Professor Charles Xavier a.k.a. “Professor X” taught them to use their powers.  However, this school is also something of a military academy, as the students are taught to use their powers to protect humans from evil mutants and other forces that seek to harm humanity.  Like superheroes, the X-Men wear special costumes and masks (to hide their identities).

In X-Men: First Class, the X-Men seem to be college age.  In Marvel Comics continuity, these stories apparently take place after X-Men #18 (cover date: March 1966) when Magneto was spirited off-world by a mysterious character knows as “The Stranger.”  [This incident is mentioned in X-Men: First Class #7, which is reprinted as “Chapter 7” in this collection.]

X-Men: First Class is basically a modernization of stories and plots found in the run of X-Men comic books published in the 1960s.  Writer Jeff Parker takes the same characters, stories, and concepts and sets them in the 21st century.  Like the original X-Men comics, X-Men: First Class is basically a comic book series meant for young readers – especially ‘tweens (8 to 12-years-old or 9 to 14).  X-Men: First Class is nothing like the main X-Men comics, especially the flagship Uncanny X-Men, which are much darker, even fatalistic in tone, and have been for some time.  These stories tend towards science fiction, and are like a mix of juvenile sci-fi and fantasy.

These stories feature guest appearances by a number of Marvel Comics characters, including The Lizard (a Spider-Man villain), Doctor Strange, Thor, and a young team of Skrulls (an adversarial race from the Fantastic Four comics).  There are also appearances by Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch (brother and sister mutants who were once X-Men adversaries) and Gorilla-Man (an obscure Silver Age character).

THE LOWDOWN:  While Jeff Parker’s writing will not shatter or transform the X-Men the way Grant Morrison did in New X-Men about 8 earlier, it is closer in spirit to the X-Men stories that provided the foundation for writers like Morrison to come along and do their trashing, rebuilding, and/or re-imagining.  These X-Men” First Class comic books feature the kind of highly enjoyable stories that once served the industry well – superhero comics that could be casually read.

Now, it seems that to read any one Marvel or DC Comics’ series requires a sizable investment of time and money and a major investment in either of these publishers’ labyrinthine continuities and myriad universes and timelines.  We also may not mistake Jeff Parker's comic book writing for that of Alan Moore, whose shadow has loomed large over American comic book writing, beginning with his landmark work on DC’s Swamp Thing series.  Then again, no one will mistake Moore for Parker.  Parker tells the kind of imaginative and luminous stories that not only capture the spirit of what made and what still makes the X-Men attractive to readers, but also, he can capture our sense of wonder by transporting us to incredible adventures in far away places.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  For any readers who yearn for the X-Men comic books of the 1960s and 70s or for anyone who wants to introduce the X-Men to new readers, X-Men: First Class: Tomorrow's Brightest is for them.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

EDITED:  Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

https://x.com/Marvel

https://www.marvel.com/

https://www.marvel.com/comics

The text is copyright © 2025 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: KRAVEN THE HUNTER

Kraven the Hunter (2024)

Running time:  127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)

MPA – R for strong bloody violence, and language

DIRECTOR:  J.C. Chandor

WRITERS:  Richard Wenk, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway; from a story by Richard Wenk (based on the Marvel Comics)

PRODUCERS:  Avi Arad, David B. Householter, and Matt Tolmach

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ben Davis (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Chris Lebenzon and Craig Wood

COMPOSERS:  Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine, and Benjamin Wallfisch

SUPERHERO/FANTASY/ACTION

Starring:  Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, Christopher Abbott, Levi Miller, Billy Barratt, Tom Reed, Diaana Babnicova, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Damola Adelaja, and Russell Crowe

Kraven the Hunter is a 2024 action movie and superhero film from director J.C. Chandor.  The movie is based on the Marvel Comics character, Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter, that was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (cover dated: August 1964).  This is also the sixth film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” (SSU) series.  The film focuses on a hunter of men and his complex relationship with his father, a ruthless Russian crime lord, which starts him down the path to becoming the greatest hunter of men in the world.

Kraven the Hunter opens in Northern Russia at a prison.  Of particular interest is Prisoner #0864, but soon, prison security and imprisoned Russian gangster, Semyon Chorney (Yuri Kolokolnikov), will learn that this prisoner is really a legendary assassin known as “The Hunter.”  Who is “The Hunter?”

He is really Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the elder son of brutal Russian crime lord, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe).  Sixteen years before The Hunter killed Chorney, Nikolai took Sergei and his younger son, Dmitri, on a hunting expedition in Northern Ghana.  A terrible accident leaves Sergei near death until a local young woman intervenes in a manner that changes Sergei in ways he never imagined.

In the present day, Sergei goes by the name “Kraven.”  His activities as “The Hunter” have earned him the ire of many criminals.  Kraven has a kill-list, and once someone is on it, they don't get off until he kills them.  Kraven reunites with Calypso (Ariana DeBose), the young woman who saved him sixteen years earlier.  Now, an adult, Calypso is an attorney, and Kraven asks her to assist him in his activities as “The Hunter” by finding information on his targets.

However, Kraven himself is now being hunted.  Wannabe Russian crime boss, Aleksei Sytsevich (Alessandro Nivola), and his ally, “The Foreigner” (Christopher Abbott), have targeted Kraven's brother, Dmitri (Fred Hechinger), now an adult, as a way to trap their prey.  Kraven will have to prove to his enemies that he is indeed the world's greatest hunter and also its most dangerous apex predator.

Kraven the Hunter is sixth film in “Sony's Spider-Man Universe” line of films.  It follows Venom (2018), Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), Morbius (2022), Madame Web (2024), and the recently release, Venom: The Last Dance (2024).  This film series stars characters and properties commonly associated with Marvel Comics' character, Spider-Man.  Sadly, media reports indicate that Kraven the Hunter will be the last entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, and that's a shame because Kraven the Hunter deserves a sequel.

Most movie actors could not have saved Kraven the Hunter, if it did indeed need saving, as industry and fan gossip indicated.  If we accept those arguments, dear readers, that Kraven the Hunter needed saving, then Aaron Taylor-Johnson is indeed this film's savior.  Taylor-Johnson is a talented young actor, and he can certainly portray the tough-guy hero or antihero in a way that seems genuine, if not outright real.

Without Taylor-Johnson, I think Kraven the Hunter would still be a really entertaining film.  The screenplay, regardless of whatever number of writers contributed to it, intrigued me.  Director J.C. Chandor deftly weaves the film's story across continents and through shifts in plot that keeps things so interesting and involved that I didn't have time to search for plot holes and inconsistencies.  Also, Russell Crowe as Nikolai Kravinoff makes his scenes with Taylor-Johnson's Kraven feel ultra edgy and especially dangerous.

With Taylor-Johnson, however, Kraven the Hunter, is not only a really entertaining film, but it is also an exceptional superhero spin-off comic book film.  As comic book and superhero movies go, Kraven the Hunter is kind of like a B-movie or, at least, a B-list film, but you, dear readers, don't have to be a comic book fan to enjoy the film or its star.  As Kraven, Taylor-Johnson has such animal magnetism; I wanted to see him be in action-mode and be violent.  Taylor-Johnson has true movie star qualities, such as charisma and presence, and girl, the camera absolutely loves him.  Seriously, Taylor-Johnson carries Kraven the Hunter past what most other actors would have done – all the way to whatever kind of cinematic glory a Spider-Man-adjacent film can have.

Marvel Comics fans will likely enjoy the fact that several Spider-Man-related characters appear in the film, some of them surprisingly so.  Still, this film is about Kraven the Hunter, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson makes every subplot, setting, and the other character bow down to his “king of the jungle” performance.  Kraven the Hunter is good, surprisingly and shockingly good, because its leading man knows how to be a beast.

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE

Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Running time:  127 minutes (2 hours, 7 minutes)

MPA – R for strong bloody violence and language throughout, gore and sexual references

DIRECTOR:  Shawn Levy

WRITERS:  Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy, and Zeb Wells (based on Marvel Comics characters)

PRODUCERS:  Kevin Feige, Shawn Levy, Ryan Reynolds, and Lauren Shuler Donner

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  George Richmond (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Shawn Reid and Dean Zimmerman

COMPOSER:  Rob Simonsen

SUPERHERO/COMEDY/ACTION

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfayden, Jon Favreau, Rob Delaney, Morena Baccarin, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Shioli Kutsuna, Aaron Stanford, and Leslie Uggams with Chris Evans, Jennifer Garner, Dafne Keen, Ray Parks, Channing Tatum, Blake Lively, Matthew McConaughey, and Wesley Snipes

Deadpool & Wolverine is a 2024 American superhero film and action-comedy directed by Shawn Levy and produced by Marvel Studios.  It is the 34th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It is also the third entry in the Deadpool movie franchise.

The film is based on two Marvel Comics characters.  The first is Deadpool, a character created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, and that first appeared in New Mutants #98 (cover dated: December 1990).  The second is Wolverine, a character created by writer Len Wein and artists John Romita and Herb Trimpe and that first fully appeared in the comic book, The Incredible Hulk #181 (cover dated: November 1974).  In Deadpool & Wolverine the movie, a space-time organization has set Deadpool on a mission to save his own universe, so he brings in Wolverine to help him.

Deadpool & Wolverine basically begins on March 14, 2018.  That is the day that Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), the smart-mouthed mutant mercenary, approaches the Avengers organization about becoming a member of the Avengers.  It doesn't work, and Wade falls into a deep depression that takes a toll on his relationship with his beloved Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin).  It's also time to celebrate Wade's birthday, and his friends gather at the apartment he shares with Blind Al (Leslie Uggams).

In the middle of the revelry, agents of the “Time Variance Authority” (TVA) arrive to take Wade into custody.  At TVA headquarters, project head, Mr. Paradox (Matthew Macfayden), informs Deadpool that his own Earth/universe, Earth-10005, is scheduled for destruction, but that he can live in another universe.  Determined to save his world, Deadpool rejects the offer and goes rogue.  He travels throughout the multiverse searching for a version of Wolverine that can help him save his Earth.  Eventually, Deadpool finds a variant of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) with a tragic past.

Deadpool and Wolverine spend more time cursing, fighting, and stabbing each other than they do world-saving.  However, they end up in a place called the “Void,” where they face its leader, the murderous and ultra-powerful mutant, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin).  Now,  Deadpool and Wolverine are forced together to save a universe, but luckily, they will find themselves joined by an unexpected, but familiar quartet of heroes.

In preparation for Deadpool & Wolverine, I decided to watch the earlier films:  Deadpool (2016), Logan (2017), and Deadpool 2 (2018), that lead up to the new film, to one extent or another.  However, viewers may find such films as Blade (1998), X-Men (2000), Elektra (2005), and Fantastic Four (2005) to be of most use, although Deadpool & Wolverine also references other films and television series based on Marvel Comics characters.

Deadpool & Wolverine is very much an R-rated comedy like the earlier Deadpool films, but there is more harshly explicit language and profanity galore.  There seems to be more gross sexual language in Deadpool & Wolverine than there has been in any other film ever distributed by the Walt Disney Company.  At times, it is a bit too much, but only a bit.

As he does in the other Deadpool films, Ryan Reynolds makes the comedy in Deadpool & Wolverine work, via his schtick.  Still, one must say that Reynolds' repertoire of clowning, buffoonery, and jestering have become a refined work of comic performance art.  I can honestly say that I never feel as if I have had too much of Reynolds as Deadpool.

On the other hand, in Deadpool & Wolverine, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is the dramatic balance to Ryan as Deadpool.  Without spoiling anything, Jackman has some deep, emotional moments that require tears in his eyes.  Jackman also gets to be powerful, dark, edgy, and grieving as Wolverine without treading on the mournful Logan/Wolverine he gave us in the film, Logan.

There are some excellent supporting performances in Deadpool & Wolverine.  Emma Corrin is maniacally, gleefully wicked and evil as Cassandra Nova, and Matthew Macfayden is perfectly sleazy as the sinfully ambitious TVA functionary, Mr. Paradox.  The actors that comprise the quartet which assists Deadpool and Wolverine in their crucial assault on Nova's base are a delight, and one of them proves that his is the defining version of the superhero for whom he is most famous.  Many of us want to see him again, Disney.

Deadpool & Wolverine is Marvel Studios' funniest “Multiverse Saga” entry.  It is not without its faults, and it isn't the best Marvel multiverse film because that belongs to Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).  However, Marvel does with Deadpool & Wolverine what it should have done with some of its post-pandemic films:  have more substantial guest appearances from classic MCU characters and stars.  Most of the heroic things that Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman do in Deadpool & Wolverine are done better with friends. 

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: DEADPOOL 2

Deadpool 2 (2018)

Running time:  119 minutes (1 hour, 59 minutes)

MPAA – R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual references and brief drug material

DIRECTOR:  David Leitch

WRITERS:  Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and Ryan Reynolds (based on Marvel Comics characters)

PRODUCERS:  Ryan Reynolds, Simon Kinberg, and Lauren Shuler Donner

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Jonathan Sela (D.o.P.)

EDITORS:  Craig Alpert, Elisabet Ronaldsdottir, and Dirk Westervelt

COMPOSER:  Tyler Bates

SUPERHERO/COMEDY/ACTION

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Julian Dennison, Morena Baccarin, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Leslie Uggams, Eddie Marsan, Shioli Kutsuna, Jack Kesy, Michasha Armstrong, and Stefan Kapicic

Deadpool 2 is a 2018 American superhero film and action-comedy from director David Leitch.  It is a spin-off film in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film series and is the eleventh film overall in the series.  It is a direct sequel to Deadpool (2016) and is also the second entry in the Deadpool movie franchise.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics character, Deadpool, that was created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, and first appeared in New Mutants #98 (cover dated: December 1990).  Deadpool 2 finds the wisecracking Deadpool trying to protect a fiery young mutant from a time-traveling cyborg.

Deadpool 2 finds Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), the smart-mouthed mutant mercenary, doing what he likes to do – brutally slaughter bad guys.  However, his violent activities catch up with him at home, and tragedy befalls his beloved Vanessa Carlysle (Morena Baccarin).  Deep in grief and depression, Deadpool tries to kill himself, but is rescued by Colossus (voice of Stefan Kapicic), the giant mutant who has a body of organic steel.  Colossus still wants Deadpool to changes his ways and also wants him to join the X-Men – as a trainee.

On his first mission as a trainee, Deadpool and the X-Men, which includes Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand) and her girlfriend, Yukio (Shioli Kutsuna), travel to the “Essex House for Mutant Rehabilitation.”  There, they find one angry teenager, Russell Collins (Julian Dennison), in crisis.  He is a young mutant with pyrokinetic power, and he has given himself the unfortunate code name of “Fire Fist.”  Deadpool's attempt to save the young man has disastrous results, and now, Deadpool has to save Russell from Cable (Josh Brolin), a time-traveling cyborg who has arrived in the present determined to kill the teen.  So Deadpool forms his own X-team, called “X-Force,” with tragically hilarious and hilariously tragic results.

We are nearing the release of the latest Disney/Marvel Studios blockbuster movie, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).  I decided to watch and review the previous X-Men films:  Deadpool, Logan (2017), and Deadpool 2, that lead up to the new film.

Deadpool is humorous and silly, but it was primarily an action movie with drama and humor.  It heavily leans into brutally strong violence, frequent profane language, and explicit sexual references.  Deadpool 2 also has brutally strong violence, constant profane language, and some explicit sexual references.  However, Deadpool is a comedy, and everything serves the comedy, including the drama, superhero action, and even much of the killing.

As he does for Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds makes Deadpool, a film that could not exist without his schtick.  He is the spine of this film's comedy and is the reason so much of it works when it would be disastrous for other performers.  The supporting cast is good, but not great.  Josh Brolin has his moments as Cable, but the Cable is more of a prop than a persona.  Zazie Beetz creates moments for Domino to shine which otherwise wouldn't be there.  Julian Dennison is mostly convincing as the angry young mutant, Russell Collins, especially in the second half of the film.

I find Deadpool 2 a definite, delightful surprise. I never expected much of it because I really did not care for what I had previously seen.  Now, a full and patient viewing makes me think that Deadpool 2 is an occasion when the sequel surpasses the original.

A-

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: DEADPOOL

Deadpool (2016)

Running time:  108 minutes

MPAA – R for strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity

DIRECTOR:  Tim Miller

WRITERS:  Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (based on Marvel Comics characters)

PRODUCERS:  Ryan Reynolds, Simon Kinberg, and Lauren Shuler Donner

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Ken Seng (D.o.P.)

EDITOR:  Julian Clark

COMPOSER:  Tom Holkenborg

SUPERHERO/ACTION/COMEDY

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Monica Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand, Gina Carano, Leslie Uggams, Stan Lee, and Stefan Kapicic (voice)

Deadpool is a 2016 American superhero film and action-comedy from director Tim Miller.  It is a spin-off film in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men film series and is the eighth film overall in the series.  It is also the first entry in what would become the Deadpool movie franchise.  The film is based on the Marvel Comics character, Deadpool, that was created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, and first appeared in New Mutants #98 (cover dated: December 1990).  Deadpool the movie focuses on a wisecracking costumed antihero who seeks revenge against the man who left him hideously scarred after a series of experiments.

Deadpool introduces Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a smart-mouthed mercenary and former special forces operative (“the merc with a mouth”).  Wade's life takes a dramatic turn when he meets and falls in love with Vanessa Carlysle (Monica Baccarin), a prostitute.  However, after a whirlwind romance, Wade discovers that he has terminal cancer, but as he is preparing to accept death, he learns of a lab run by the mysterious Ajax (Ed Skrein).  Ajax promises to not only cure Wade's cancer, but to also give him powers and make him a superhero.  Unfortunately, Ajax is a lying monster.

Although the experiments leave his face and body hideously disfigured, Wade is rendered virtually immortal when his mutant power activates and gives him incredibly accelerated healing powers.  Taking the name, “Deadpool,” Wade goes on a mission of revenge.  On the other hand, Colossus, the mutant who has a giant organic steel body, wants Deadpool to join the X-Men and become a superhero.  Will Deadpool become a good guy, or will he simply keep piling up dismembered and bullet-riddled bodies on the way to his reunion with Ajax?

We are nearing the release of the latest Disney/Marvel Studios blockbuster movie, Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).  I had seen Deadpool and Deadpool 2, previously, but I had never reviewed them.  I decided that now is the time to foist my opinions upon you, dear readers.  I'm also going to watch and review, Logan (2017), the one X-Men movie I have been unable to finish. 

Gleefully profane in language and sexual content, Deadpool was a surprise to movie audiences upon its February 2016 original theatrical release.  It was an R-rated superhero movie, and it was proud of it.  At the time, movie audiences had seen plenty of movies featuring superheroes, ordinary heroes, and anti-heroes, in which the lead character brutally kills his adversaries.  None of those films had done it like Deadpool, although 2013's The Wolverine, had tried.

The foul language is in such abundance in Deadpool that there are moments when it all seems like too much, but even in those moments, I started laughing after being repulsed for a few seconds.  I think a movie has to be doing something right when it has even Emmy and Tony-winning actress, Leslie Uggams (as Blind Al), dropping F-bombs.

For all the credit I give director Tim Miller and film editor, Julian Clark, for this film's fast action and eye-popping dances of violence, actor Ryan Reynolds makes Deadpool work.  Yeah, the sex scenes are a bit too long and too over-the-top, but it never seems as if Wade Wilson/Deadpool is talking too much.  Reynolds makes Deadpool different and unique; he makes it work.  Eight years after its original theatrical release, Deadpool and its superhero cinema blasphemy still seem fresh.

B+

★★★½ out of 4 stars

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2024 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Movie Review: THE MARVELS

The Marvels (2023)

Running time:  105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for action/violence and brief language

DIRECTOR:  Nia DaCosta

WRITERS:  Nia DaCosta, Megan McDonnell, and Elissa Karasik

PRODUCER:  Kevin Feige

CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Sean Bobbitt (BSC)

EDITORS:  Catrin Hedström and Evan Schiff

COMPOSER:  Laura Karpman

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of comedy

Starring:  Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park See-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Leila Farzad, Abraham Popoola, Lashana Lynch, and Samuel L. Jackson, Tessa Thompson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Kelsey Grammer

The Marvels is a 2023 superhero film directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Marvel Studios.  The film is the 33rd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and is also a direct sequel to 2019's Captain Marvel.  The Marvels is also a continuation of the Disney+/Marvel Studios television miniseries, "Ms. Marvel" (2022).

The film is headlined by the Marvel Comics character, Carol Danvers, who first appeared in the comic book, Marvel Super-Heroes #13 (cover dated: March 1968), and who later became Captain Marvel.  In The Marvels, Captain Marvel gets her powers entangled with two other similarly-powered individuals, forcing the trio to work together to save the universe.

The Marvels opens with a focus on Hala, the capital planet of the Kree Empire.  The collapse of the empire's “Supreme Intelligence” leads to a civil war among the Kree on their home world of Hala.  The result is that the planet is becoming barren as it loses its natural resources and its sun is rapidly going dark.  Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), the new leader of the Kree, retrieves one of two “Quantum Bands.”  She hopes to harness its power and to pair it with her staff, “the Universal Weapon,” as part of her scheme to save Hala.

On Earth, specifically in a home in Jersey City, New Jersey, teenager Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), who is also the superhero, “Ms. Marvel,” is dealing with teenage and family issues.  Kamala also happens to possess the other half of the Quantum Bands.

Meanwhile, above the Earth, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), now residing at the S.A.B.E.R. space station, has detected a “jump point” (which allows for hyperspace travel) anomaly caused by Dar-Benn.  Nick Fury calls in Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), an astronaut who has the ability to manipulate all wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, to investigate the jump point anomaly near S.A.B.E.R.

When Monica touches the jump point at the same time as Captain Marvel, it causes a reaction in which Monica, Carol, and Kamala switch places through teleportation.  Now, this reaction brings the three young women together in order to stop Dar-Benn from destroying several worlds in order to save her home world, Hala.  And Kamala thinks that she, Carol, and Monica can best do this as a team, a super-team she names “The Marvels.

In addition to being a sequel to the 2019 film, Captain Marvel, and being a continuation of the Ms. Marvel TV series, The Marvels includes story elements that appear in the Disney+ Marvel Studios miniseries, “WandaVision” (2021) and “Secret Invasion” (2023).  There are also elements from Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).  At this point, I wonder if watching Marvel movies means having to be familiar with what has happened in too many previous films and television series.  There is also a scene that runs in the middle of the end credits that references other movies based on Marvel Comics characters.

Still, I love The Marvels.  I have not subscribed to Disney+, and I only saw the fifth and sixth episodes of the Ms. Marvels miniseries when it was aired on the ABC broadcast network in early September (2023).  I love The Marvels because I can figure out what is going on without having seen everything else it references.  If I really want to know more, I can read Wikipedia summaries of the Disney+ series that I have not seen.

The Marvels is marvelously enjoyable.  It is a science fiction adventure comedy that makes a comedy of physical errors out of every fight.  It's more like Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Thor: Ragnarok (2017) than it is like any other Marvel film.  Director Nia DaCosta and her co-writers take time to develop the relationship between Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel.  Also, giving so much time to Kamala family:  her mother, Muneeba Khan (Zenobia Shroff); her father, Yusuf Khan (Mohan Kapur); and her older brother, Aamir Khan (Saagar Shaikh), gives the film a human element that keeps the sci-fi, outer space weirdness of The Marvels from entirely taking over the narrative.  Yes, the plot is a bit scattershot, but The Marvels is kinetic and packs a lot energy in its fight and action scenes.

The Marvels also gives us a lighter, funnier side of Nick Fury, and, the delights of Goose, the cat-like “Flerken” alien is multiplied this time.  Dar-Benn turns out to be one of the more ruthless and interesting of the MCU's recent villains.  And if that isn't enough, The Marvels has one of the MCU's best (if not the best) extra credit scenes.  The Marvels is refreshingly short, and while it is more loose than cohesive, it does remind me of one thing.  Every trip to the world of Marvel Studios' films is an out of this world experience.

[The film includes one extra-credits scenes that takes place during the middle of the credits (mid-credits).]

A

★★★★ out of 4 stars

Friday, November 10, 2023

The text is copyright © 2023 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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