“Heroes, Villains, and Me” is a periodic article on Geeky KOOL by Larry Litle about the world of comic books and my reaction to it. “Heroes, Villains, and Me” is not a comic book review article. I will write about current events, speculation and rumors, or my own wacky thoughts about the world of comic books and related stuff.
On Friday, the second trailer for Avengers: Infinity War dropped. When I saw the trailer was available, I had to watch it right away. I was instantly blown away by this trailer. It looks simply amazing. In my opinion, if the movie is half as KOOL and fun as the trailer, it will be awesome.
This trailer had everything I wanted and more. We saw new scenes not in the previous trailer. The trailer has interaction with characters that haven’t met prior in the movies. There are intense clips of fighting such as Thanos versus Cap. We got a little humor with the interaction of Star Lord and Tony. I was sold prior to this trailer but this trailer upped my intensity of being sold for this film.
Avengers: Infinity War is the 19th movie set in the MCU. This is what all of the movies have been building up towards. It promises to bring major changes to the MCU. There may be deaths of major characters as Thanos attempts to destroy half of the Galaxy.
I have always been more of a Marvel guy over DC Comics and movies. Don’t get me wrong, I love DC too but Marvel is more my jam. In my mind, Marvel has done a much better job creating their Cinematic Universe than DC has. DC is starting to get some things right and hopefully they will continue with the success of Wonder Woman.
Here are some of the things I feel that Marvel gets right in most of their movies. They are not perfect. They don’t always create great movies but I haven’t seen one that I didn’t like yet. I can’t say that about DC movies.Each movie is a different experience.
1) They mix other movie genres in their superhero movies and tell some wonderful stories. The first Iron Man movie is the story of the wayward son coming home to prove himself. Ant-Man is the father/daughter drama told from two different father/daughter sets. Captain America: The First Avenger is war movie. Captain America: Winter Soldier is spy intrigue and Cop Buddy movie. Avengers is a version of the Seven Samurai movie where the individual heroes have to come together as a team to beat the army. Guardians of the Galaxy is a comedic space Opera. Each movie is a super hero movie but so much more.
2) Marvel stays true to the core of their characters. As is true with any movie adaption, there are changes to characters details. In the comics, Hawkeye isn’t married with Children. Scarlet Witch’s origin is very different and her brother isn’t dead. Even with these changes (most I don’t really like) they have found a way to stay true to core of the characters. I recognize each of the character’s personalities and attributes.When I watched Man of Steel and Batman V Superman, I didn’t recognize his core character. He was a brooding and dark character, much like Batman. The core of Superman is to be the light and bring hope to the world. That wasn’t the character I saw on the screen. To DC’s credit, the Superman in Justice League is a lot closer to the Superman that I know.
3) The tone of the movies varies from movie to movie. Some of the Marvel movies are more intense and dark than others. Some are light and just plain fun. Often there is a mix of tones in these movies depending on what is happening at that moment. I enjoy that these movies can have a different tone for each one.
4) There is always some humor in these movies. I love to laugh. Being silly and laughing is one of my favorite things in life. Marvel uses humor to de-escalate the intensity before ramping things back up. I love how they do this. This is a key stress management technique for me. When I am most stressed, I find a way to laugh and make others laugh before having to face more crap.I know some people don’t like this in their movies. I get this is a personal preference. For me, it endures me to these films even more.
5) Human flaws and problems are a center piece to these characters and stories. Marvel’s characters have always been flawed. They were created in a time when DC characters were all prefect and happy to work with one another. Marvel characters have issues that make them relatable. They don’t always get along or make the right decision.
They show up on different sides of issues. We know Tony Stark is a jerk and most of the time a butthole. Captain America is often too naïve. Thor can be abrasive with his personality. We know Hulk has anger issues. When these characters have conflicts, they come naturally from their personalities. It isn’t just forced to fit with the story idea.
I love the MCU. I look forward to Avengers: Infinity War and what Marvel’s vision and future. I cannot wait until April 27, 2018.
Stay Geeky My Friends!
