2015 CBM Preview: A Very Marvel Happening

May 1st: AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON

The Players: Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, The Vision, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Ultron, The Klaw? Probably cameos as well.

What to look for: Awesomeness. Just sit back, relax, and soak it in, baby. There really isn't any reason to question Whedon at this point, and after basking in the greatness that was The Avengers, the only question I have is whether I can rent a loft in the theater. The tone does look to be different in this film than the first one. Perhaps a touch of Tony Stark attempting redemption and failing? This would lead nicely into the Civil War story line, and set him up as a sympathetic villain instead of trying to make Marvel's most profitable character take a straight heel turn. Plus, sympathetic villains are better.

The Buzz: Massive.

Should you see it? Only if you value having me in your life.

Trailer Review: Here

July 17th: ANTMAN

The Players: Antman, Yellow Jacket, Peggy Carter, The Wasp?

What to look for: Marvel is touting this as the last movie in Phase Two. Why isn't this the first movie in Phase 3? Can Paul Rudd (abs) pull off the superhero deal? It appears that Marvel is trying to bring characters back into the center of these movies instead of the OHMYGODTHEWORLDISENDING calamity. So, kudos. But Antman following the biggest ever superhero movie ever in the history of ever? We'll see.

The Buzz: This movie is Edgar Wrightless. I don't know if you heard. So there was all that drama. But was the movie salvaged?

Should you see it? Benefit of doubt. Yes, it's Marvel.

Trailer Review: Here

Aug 7th: FANTASTIC FOUR

The Players: Mr. Fantastic, The Human Torch, The Thing, Invisible Woman, Doom

What to look for: Potential. The first franchise was miserable. This time around, they are taking a much different approach with the property. I think it's safe to say that there will not be an Invisible Woman stripping on the bridge scene in this franchise. In fact, the tone of the trailer makes Nolan's Batman franchise look like a RomCom. They've rolled the dice here. Either this thing hits, or it's hard to imagine Marvel does not get the rights back to the Fantastic 4.

The Buzz: Yikes. Doom is a blogger and the director is always drunk. That's the word on the street anyway.

Should you see it? Wait to see what people are saying on this one.

Trailer Review: Here

December 18th: STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

The Players: Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo, Leia, Weird new people

What to look for: Disney bought Marvel for $4bil and Fantasia'd that into, well, something to Marvel at. The MCU has already had twom movies crack the billion dollar mark, and there's no reason to think that they won't have a third this summer. Can they work the same magic with a Star Wars property that's not as shiny as it once was?

The Buzz: Shhh.... There is an M Night Shyamalan type of secrecy surrounding this project. Also, I heard Luke is really dead the whole time. And water killed him. And it takes place on earth. And pollution.

Should you see it? For a movie that is promising to be the Iron Man 1 of a new Star Wars continuum? Sure.

SUMMARY: I may or may not be a Disney shareholder. This summer may or may not make me happy on several levels.


ADRIAN FORT is a writer, blogger, and essayist from Kansas City, Missouri. Follow him on twitter @adriananyway. His work has appeared in Existere, decomP magazinE, The Bluest Aye, Bareback Magazine, Gadfly Online, Chrome Baby, The Eunoia Review, Linguistic Erosion, and Smashed Cat Magazine. His Master's Degree is from Lindenwood University. 

Avengers Age of Ultron TV spot

The biggest thing to take from this is probably what it doesn't show. Namely, anything new. Every spot we've seen since the first trailer was leaked by Hydra has been some rehashing of footage from that trailer. 

What does that mean?

I think it's because they know they threw out the first pitch awfully early, and Marvel is saving some big guns for the final trailer, that way they get all us neckbeards worked into a froth just in time to hand our money over. And again. And again. And again...

But let's take stock of just what we haven't seen:

1. The evolution of Ultron. We've seen the Mach1 and what is most likely his final form. I'm willing to bet there are plenty of in between stages.

2. (Spoiler) Loki and Heimdall. Idris Elba let it slip (lacking foresight...see what I did there?) that he and Hiddleston had been on set. Just how big a role they will have is questionable.

3. The Vision. A big time character who will have his origin in the movie, and we've seen nothing of him. 

4. Avengers Assemble. Just how do all these guys get back together? Tony Stark is "no longer Iron Man." Thor is making kissy faces somewhere in the universe. Captain American is coughing up lungs full of water and looking for his childhood bestie. Fury got tired of his eyepatch and traded it in for some sunglasses from the 80's. Banner is getting his psych degree. 

5. The Twins. Sure, we've seen bits of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, but we still have no idea where they come from or what they're doing. 

6. The Avengers. With so many cut shots and so little actual footage, all we've seen is a little bit of Hulk vs Hulkbuster, Thor yelling and chooke-slamming Stark, Captain America jumping over a car, and Black Widow playing patty-cake with the green guy.

(Marvel Owns You)

What is Marvel saving? Will Avengers: Age of Ultron have the same consequences and devastation for the MCU that Captain America: Winter Soldier did? If so, the movie promises a lot of surprises that have yet to be revealed. 

ADRIAN FORT is a writer, blogger, and essayist from Kansas City, Missouri. Follow him on twitter @adriananyway. His work has appeared in Existere, decomP magazinE, The Bluest Aye, Bareback Magazine, Gadfly Online, Chrome Baby, The Eunoia Review, Linguistic Erosion, and Smashed Cat Magazine. His Master's Degree is from Lindenwood University. 

Fantastic 4 Trailer Review: or Why the Comic Book "Genre" is Here to Stay

Will people get tired of Superhero movies?

Be ready for what's coming.

What is coming?

The answers...

There are two answers to the question: 1. Yes, of course. Just like people get tired of comedies. 2. There technically isn't a Superhero genre. Superhero/ Comic Book movies are all hybrids.

Most movies in the Superhero/ Comic Book genre are drama/sci-fi hybrids. They follow one character's trial and redemption. Well, with some cool toys thrown in for good measure (See: Iron Man, Batman.) When done right, these have the potential that any other movie has. Other Comic Book movies may be fish-out-of-water/ fantasy films (See: Thor, Man of Steel.) These films have a narrower margin for error. After all, they sort of have to be a one off. Who wants to see Thor be awkward and out of place two movies in a row? Check the box office numbers compared to the other Marvel: Phase Two movies if you're really wondering.

(Marvel Owns You)

But once in a while, the sub-genre of the movie meshes perfectly with what the main character is or does. Iron Man and Sci-fi for example. Or Captain America and political thriller. How much better did that work than Captain America and period-piece? Imagine making a Batman movie that was also a romantic comedy for the flip side of how this dynamic can work.

That brings us to the new Fantastic 4 trailer.

The Fantastic 4 reboot has been billed as a Sci-Fi/Horror movie since the project was announced in correlation with it's director. Contrast this to the Sci-Fi/Comedy hybrid that the first two films tried to pull off.

Forget everything you know about Comic Book movies and the Fantastic 4 in specific. Re-watch the above trailer with the idea that it is a Sci-Fi/Horror film. It feels like The Fly had a baby with Event Horizon. (I'll always work in Goldblum and Sam Neil references when I can. Thank you, Josh Trank.)

Very little is revealed in the trailer, so I can't say whether this will be the perfect meshing of genres that Captain America: The Winter Soldier was, and I can't even say it will be better than the Sci-Fi/Comedy Fantastic 4 films we've already (regrettably) seen. But golly, it sure looks like the Sci-fi and horror parts are going to be laid out in spades. So maybe it will fail the Superhero aspect of things, It could still be a pretty wicked horror film, or a thought provoking sci-fi. Or it could be bad enough that it becomes an unintentional comedy. But if there is even one live wire in the thing, meshing three separate genres could make it a special film.

If Hollywood catches on and starts attempting the Comic Book "genre" in this way, not only will the films not be going anywhere for a while, but we may not have even seen them at their pinnacle.

If the brain trusts at Marvel, Sony, Fox and Warner Brothers sit down and try to mold the world that each character has to reside in inside the larger universe that all the characters share, the movie universes could become as diverse and compelling as their comic book counterparts.

Except for Superman, you can't make a good Superman movie.


ADRIAN FORT is a writer, blogger, and essayist from Kansas City, Missouri. Follow him on twitter @adriananyway. His work has appeared in Existere, decomP magazinE, The Bluest Aye, Bareback Magazine, Gadfly Online, Chrome Baby, The Eunoia Review, Linguistic Erosion, and Smashed Cat Magazine. His Master's Degree is from Lindenwood University.