Think, Sip, Write: ep 56 – Marvel vs DC
In this episode of #thinksipwrite, my son Tony sits in for Roberta as we talk about all things Marvel and DC. Who is the better comic book universe and why? What are your thoughts and favorite characters?
Review – Captain America: Civil War
Wow. That’s really what I can say. While I don’t think this is the best Marvel movie to date it rounds out the best trilogy in film in my opinion. There is not much that I can find wrong with the movie, and anything that would be considered “bad” is really nitpicking by someone who doesn’t enjoy movies.
Do I even need to say that it easily makes one forget that Batman vs Superman DOJ came out last month? It does. After watching this I almost forgot entirely about that movie, and it was one I also enjoyed. As usual I’ll break it down by characters and it will be filled with spoilers, so if you want my honest rating without that scroll down to the last paragraph, otherwise let the spoilers begin.
Steve Rogers/Captain America/(Nomad?) – Yes I included Nomad as one of his identities because he basically gave up the shield, and even said in his letter to Tony that he’d always been a “wanderer.” Chris Evans shined once again. I’m glad the rumors were false about his death like in the comics, because despite me really liking the characters who could/would take over the Cap mantle, I don’t really want to see anyone but him in that role. #TeamCap is there for a reason. My only problem is his line to Tony about “Bucky was my friend.” The most logical response was Tony’s “So was I.” Cap was wrong in his delivery here, but in the heat of the moment we often don’t let our brain think about what we are saying before saying it. To me it still comes off as a big screw you to Iron man who has been there more for Cap recently than Bucky was regardless of history.
Tony Stark/Ironman – Like Chris Evans in his role, Robert Downey Jr is superb as Stark. He has motivation and good reasoning for his side of the argument. #Teamironman might not be all that just in their haste to sign the accords that Tony believes need to happen, but he honestly feels guilt for the lives lost, whereas the opposing faction shows little of this. I am happy that RDJ delivered the line about “I don’t want to give up.” It further cements that Marvel most likely won’t recast this role anytime soon, nor should they. Here’s for hoping Ironman 4 comes along with a proper Mandarin.
Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow – Scarlett Johansson has gone beyond her obvious attractiveness and really showed audiences that more of this character is in demand. Her fight scenes were breathtaking. In fact, every scene with Black Widow shined as much as the main two characters. From the fights to her switching sides as you would expect her to she kicked ass all the way!
Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier – Sebastian Stan is on par with the Winter Soldier. While the last movie showed him slowly realizing what had been done to him, Civil War focuses on him dealing with it all. He’s a tortured soul, but shows little remorse when it comes to what happened to Stark’s parents. There is little in the way of an apology, which I felt would have at least shown his morals shining through.
Sam Wilson/Falcon & Redwing – I never liked Redwing’s “mental connection” with Falcon in the comics, so the interpretation in this movie made sense. Falcon has become one of my favorite Avengers to watch on the screen as I feel Anthony Mackie loves the role. The use of his wings as shields also foreshadowed what could happen as him being a future Captain America. Even if he doesn’t I liked that they did this because it pays homage to the comics.
James “Rhodey” Rodes/War Machine – Again I’m reminded why Don Cheadle was the perfect replacement for Terrence Howard. While Howard seemed arrogant and boring in the role, Cheadle has always showed character. I liked his take on how many missions he’d flown, and that this was his first real crash. Despite his injury he affirmed he’s not giving up anytime soon because he believes in the cause. It shows that no matter what he fights for what he believes in.
Clint Barton/Hawkeye – Okay Clint, I have a serious problem with your placement here, but not because I didn’t think you were awesome. On the contrary, this movie needed Hawekeye. His entrance was unexpected and I loved the role he played, even if a small one. My problem is he doesn’t seem to care much about his family. At one point he even admitted that he needed to get away. Well, now he’s on the run from the authorities, so what good did that do? Marvel either needs to make him a full time Avenger or a family man. One doesn’t really work with the other, and even Tony alluded to that with his relationship with Pepper.
T’Challa/Black Panther – Newcomer Chad Boseman was a total badass. We even got a brief origin story with the mantle being passed to him once T’Chaka was killed. While they didn’t say T’Chaka had been running around in Wakanda as the Black Panther they didn’t need to. His son T’Challa was the focus. My question is how long he will be able to hide the refugee Avengers and still stay allied with the main group. Talk about playing both sides in the end. His reasoning is decent, but it was really unclear where he stood in the end. I’m now more eager to see his solo outing.
Vision – Not much can be said except that I hope Paul Bettany continues on in this role for many years. Every scene with him was fun to watch even when not in combat, and I loved that we got a glimpse of what he feels for Wanda. He also mentioned that he didn’t know exactly what the Mind Gem was in his forehead. It seemed to fascinate and frighten him. He operates on logic which made sense that he was on team Ironman, even if the logic was flawed by the lack of details on the rushed government program.
Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch – Just how old is she supposed to be? Cap almost belittles her by calling her a kid all the time, yet she’s proven to be a complete asset to the team. Yes, she made a few mistakes along the way, and some of those caused death. She’s forced to struggle with this ability that goes beyond anyone’s in the current Marvel movie Universe. I really think she will be one of the people who will pose a threat to Thanos as no one can really compare at this point. I’m glad we aren’t going to get the classic spandex costume she wore in the comics, because this goth version sits perfectly in a modern day world.
Scott Lang/Antman/Giantman – Poor Scott turns his life around and becomes a hero, gets his criminal history expunged, and now is on the run again. Seeing him as an Avenger and back as Antman was fun enough, but his decision to grow into Giantman made it that much more enjoyable. That whole scene I could watch over and over again, and I couldn’t help but laugh when he fell over asking if anyone had any orange slices. I could imagine the toll on his metabolism would happen in real life, so it was smart to thrown the one liner in there.
Sharon Carter/Agent 13 – I still find it weird that Cap dates his ex girlfriend’s great neice, but who cares. haha. Glad we finally got to see her kick some ass briefly in the Winter Soldier fight scene.
Peter Parker/Spiderman – Tom Holland is my new favorite Spidey. I never really enjoyed Garfield’s portrayal, and while I liked Tobey Maguire in the first two movies, he got too whiney for me. This Peter Parker was easily the highlight of the movie. I’m glad Marvel got him back. From his wisecracks to his personality it’s spot on. We even got his spider light at the end, which is something I never thought I’d see. Oh, and anyone complaining about Tony Stark making him the costume that has eyes that move, well they obviously didn’t pay attention. Parker addressed this when meeting Stark the first time about his senses being on overload. It’s a new twist, but one that is warranted. While he unmasked in the comics, I’m glad the Russo’s decided to eliminate that part of the story. It takes away the risk factor of being a hero, and would sincerely hinder any future solo outing for webhead especially. Another bonus is that Aunt May is now eye candy in the form of Marissa Tomei.
Brock Rumlow/Crossbones – I was shocked at his fate, but killing him off was a good thing. No longer will Marvel have to hear fan theories about him killing Captain America. His role was small, but smart. I hate to see him not used again, but am glad to see him go if that makes sense. He served his purpose already in both movies, and it would get redundant really fast.
General Ross – Hooray we finally get Thunderbolt back. It’s only been how many years since Incredible Hulk? My only surprise is that it took him this long to get involved. Yes he mentions he had a heart attack, but that doesn’t seem like something that would keep him down for the better part of a decade. It makes one wonder what he’d been doing in all that time.
Baron Helmut Zemo – Quite possibly the best and worst marvel villain to date. He manipulated the heroes into nearly killing one another. That gives him the best title. But then he tries to kill himself. Bad move Russo’s. It didn’t fit in with his motive. And then we see him in the cell at the end and he’s back to being a clear thinking villain. All they had to do was eliminate the two second pulling of the trigger and had him aim it at Black panther instead. It would have made a little more sense to the character to me. I do hope we see him again, even if he pops up in Agents of SHIELD.
Overall the movie was spectacular. The impact on the Marvel Movie universe is both minimal and large. It won’t really affect any of the solo outings coming up. Doctor Strange, Spiderman Homecoming, and Thor Ragnarok probably won’t need to reference the events if at all. Even Black Panther’s solo outing won’t really be an issue. What WILL be affected is Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD and the next Avengers movie. Time will tell what is decided, but I can’t wait for more. I give it a full 5 out of 5 sCrypt Coffins for being one of the best comic book movies to date. What were your thoughts? Were you team Cap or Ironman?
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