Category: Features

Taking on ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ First Omega Level-Threat and the Super-Adaptoid

We’ve been covering Marvel’s Avengers for quite some time now. Ever since the beta was released, we have been taking a closer look at the stories surrounding the controversial game. It had a rough release with a plethora of content getting delayed as it tried to fight through California wildfires and the pandemic on top of everything. After around eleven months, the first Omega-Level Threat has finally arrived alongside quite a few new and returning additions to fill out the summer. It isn’t the initially promised Cloning Labs but the second introduced OLT, Family Reunion. It’s a reworked version of a mission released with Kate Bishop’s DLC in December. After its initial release, I had the chance to tackle the OLT with friends to see if it keeps its promise of the game’s most challenging content.

Crystal Dynamics has openly discussed that this OLT will feel “old” to the latest Villain Sector focused on AIM’s Monica Rappaccini. It is mainly a reworked version of the original mission that premiered in December with some tweaks. The new modifiers offer a different level of challenge as you face the Tachyon timer, which was never a big deal. Enemies are spawned very frequently with unflinching armors that sadly restrict you from making full use of your character’s juggling capabilities. On the flip side, you also make it difficult to just one-shot the various AIM bots and Keepers. It’s not a perfect solution, but it did force me to communicate closely with my teammates to ensure I don’t die or we run out of time.

The true challenge is two-fold. The giant AIM mech is way faster than before and quite difficult to take down. It was a pleasant surprise and was a blast coordinating with others to take out its different weak spots. Then comes the true challenge of the game, the new Super-Adaptoid fight. At first, you can take a good chunk of damage off of it, but then it splits into multiple clones, and chaos ensues. We’ve probably got wiped around six times in the Super-Adaptoid fight, as we slowly adjust to the new moves. Even knowing what was coming didn’t make it any easier. My Thor had no chance and got knocked out frequently, as I have casually just looked for gear that I felt gave me good stats. It was a blast playing with my team and taking on the mission in a new way, as I mostly played solo until today.

Yet, the loss was exhilarating as we’ve kept getting closer and closer to beating the Adaptoid. Few shared their frustration with the mission, but I believe it does what it promised. It’s not perfect, as it does feel strange to remake an older level instead of adding something new, especially after a long delay. It’s even the small things such as reusing the old visual icon on the War Table rather than making it stick out as a unique mechanic. It truly feels like an element of an earlier era for the game, as it was still finding its footing as a service offering.

The one thing I want to commend both the OLT and the Cosmic Cube Villain Sector, they’ve changed the way I played the game. I no longer use whatever random gear I get but sit down and go through each piece. As a more casual player, these new additions put me in a situation where gear matters. Yes, the gear doesn’t stick out as it could in the game, but the latest additions did make me sit down and think about what I want to do with my gear. So, I want to praise the game for pushing me to rethink my approach to it even 200 hours into my overall run.

Overall, I think the OLT was a great addition. It certailny isn’t perfect, as it could’ve benefitted from some surprises, and it’s time to test out new elements on how to add challenges besides through specific modifiers. They teased that future content will be closer to Cosmic Cube, which took me quite a few tries before I was able to finish it. It was a lot of fun coming together with friends online and take on this mission. If this is just a taste, I am hopeful and excited to see what the future holds for the game. I still hope that we get more randomization that can add to the challenge and even catch players off-guard. Here’s hoping Black Panther’s War for Wakanda update adds some new modes to extend the endgame in the future. Still, it’s a great first step, and it’s a great warm-up ahead of what they described as their biggest content drop to date.

July 28, 2021
Connecting Imaginary Dots: ‘MOON KNIGHT’ Finds Its Bushman

CONNECTING IMAGINARY DOTS ARE PIECES WE WRITE HERE THAT ALLOW US TO BE WHAT WE ALL TRULY ARE: FANS. THESE SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS SCOOPS, EXCLUSIVES OR FACTS; JUST SPECULATION ABOUT THE THINGS FOR WHICH WE ALL SHARE A GREAT PASSION.

Marvel Studios Moon Knight has filmed in near complete secrecy in Budapest, Hungary. Other than a few fans snagging pictures with stars Oscar Isaac and Ethan Hawke, vert little has made its way to fans. We know May Calamawy will play a key role in the series, but like Hawke, her role is unknown at the moment, and it seems French actor Gaspar Ulliel has snagged a supporting role as Moon Knight foe Midnight Man. Somehow, after months of filming, that’s all we know; however, if we connect some dots found on Instagram, we might be able to add one more to the cast of the upcoming Disney Plus streaming series.

A look at French actor Loic Mabanza’s IG page might just reveal that the actor has joined the cast of Moon Knight. A couple of recent posts indicate that Mabanza spent several weeks in Budapest, where the series has been filming. Additionally, Mabanza and Calamawy mutually follow one another on the social media app, which could indicate the two have spent some time together on set.

There are certainly plenty of other reasons the 31-year old Mabanza could be in Budapest and its possible that he and Calamawy met somewhere else (a quick check of IMDB does not list them as having worked together in the past); however, connecting the dots as done above leads to an interesting bit of speculation: Mabanza may have joined the cast of Moon Knight as Marc Spector’s archenemy, Raul Bushman.

Bushman was a mercenary who was working with Spector to protect an archaeological dig in Sudan. The job went sideways when Bushman killed the archaeologist and then shot Spector. As Spector lay dying, he was saved by the Egyptian god Khonshu and became Moon Knight. While Hawke is playing the series’ lead villain, Bushman plays a key role not only in Spector’s origin as the Fist of Khonshu but also throughout his career. Mabanza has the size and physique to pull off the physically intimidating Bushman and as a young, international performer, also fits the profile of actors that Disney has been casting for the show. Of course it’s entirely possible that Mabanza isn’t playing Bushman or even that he’s not part of the series, but if we connect the imaginary dots, we might have stumbled onto a key casting for the upcoming series.

Marvel Studios Moon Knight is expected to stream on Disney Plus early in 2022.

July 26, 2021
Marvel Studios’ Multiverse is Both a Blessing and a Curse

Loki has unleashed the multiverse. It’s probably what you’ve been reading for the last two weeks since the episode was released. Everyone is excited to finally explore the possibilities of multiple Variants of our favorite heroes existing. It offers some credence to the rumors of Tom Holland‘s Spider-Man getting joined by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. It even opens up all kinds of possibilities for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Yet, there is one big problem with this new development. It creates an easy-to-exploit way to solve future issues. Its existence establishes brand new trappings that could hurt future Marvel storytelling through an overreliance. The multiverse could end up as the franchise’s biggest Deus Ex Machina.

What do I mean by that? The phrase once referenced ancient plot devices’ in Greek and Roman theatre performances. Yet, it has become the go-to term for unexplainable or random plot points that solve storylines. To give an example, 1954’s The Lord of Flies by William Golding famously had a naval officer appear at the perfect time to shift an ongoing plot point. In the world of comics, Batman’s utility belt serves that function by offering the exact tool he needs to solve his problem. In a way, the multiverse is Marvel Studios’ new storytelling utility belt. They can tell new types of stories yet also fall into the trapping of relying on it to solve any potential problem.

The newly introduced multiverse opens up many new avenues for the franchise. Yet, it also creates a plethora of potential plot holes and exploits. With hints pointing at iconic characters from other franchises returning, it seems like an easy pass to introduce characters from alternative dimensions to solve problems. Our main hero can’t take on the enemies on his own? Fine, here are others from the multiverse to aid him. It could end up being more convenient than purposeful, which is a challenge for Marvel studios’ future directors to juggle.

Kevin Feige and his crew have proven some foresight by setting specific rules for how the multiverse works in their franchise. They even tied it into how time traveling, which could prove helpful to avoid one element complicating the other. There’s also the question of how long the multiverse will remain, as it could be a temporary element for the Kang-focused overarching storyline. We know that the end goal lies in the Multiversal War, but the path to that point will be a complicated one.

There’s a chance that only specific films will deal with this storyline, which includes Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Doctor Strange sequel as well as Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Here’s hoping we get a bit more insight into how these storylines will intersect in the franchise’s future. So, only a specific group will have to directly tackle the outcome of Loki while others are more independent. The path ahead won’t be an easy one for Marvel Studios, but it’ll be exciting how they reinvent the franchise through this new direction.

July 25, 2021
Top 5 Directors To Direct ‘SPIDER-MAN’s Next Trilogy

Jon Watts‘ time behind the Spider-Man camera is coming to an end. The director will close his run on the character with this year’s No Way Home before making a lateral move to take control of Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four franchise. This means that, should Tom Holland‘s Peter Parker be renewed for a second trilogy, the series will require a brand new supervisor. Luckily, there is no shortage of hungry talent in Hollywood that would be perfect to helm one of the world’s most profitable intellectual properties. I’ve taken the liberty of combing through the endless list of names to present you with five that I think have a shot at keeping things interesting.

Rick Famuyiwa

Let’s talk about Dope. The 2015 indie hit is a coming-of-age tale about an intelligent, nerdy kid thrust into a bigger, more dangerous world than he ever intended to join. Doesn’t it sound familiar? It was all pulled off with softhearted, fast-paced brilliance by the maestro Rick Famuyiwa, who is perhaps my top pick to direct the next entry in the Spider-Man mythos. If his name sounds familiar to all the geeks out there, it’s because he’s spent the past couple of years directing acclaimed episodes of The Mandalorian. His work shows his good relationship with Disney and his adeptness at mixing big-budget action with tender personal moments. Famuyiwa‘s early projects, like Brown Sugar, prove he can handle Peter’s romantic personal life, and the brief time he was hired to direct Warner Bros.’ The Flash gave the world a tease at how committed he could be to bringing a comic adaptation to life.

Edgar Wright

Maybe the fan-favorite pick to helm the next generation of Spider-Man. It makes so much sense that I barely feel the need to elaborate. Edgar Wright makes crowd-pleasing movies that are fast, fun, and colorful. His protagonists are typically quirky, with skill and a heart of gold. All in all, Wright‘s sensibilities feel tailor-made for the realm of Peter Parker, and comic purists would be pleased to know the guy who ripped Scott Pilgrim vs. The World straight off the page was in charge of bringing Spidey into adulthood. He has worked with Marvel Studios in the past, and while it didn’t end on the best of terms, it seems that hatchet got buried some time ago.

Zoe Lister-Jones

You may best know Zoe Lister-Jones for her work in front of the television camera. She had a recurring role on New Girl and Life in Pieces. Yet, some of her best work in the industry might have happened in the director’s chair. Lister-Jones entered the scene with an underrated masterpiece, Band Aid, which focused on a married couple who use music as a form of couple’s therapy. More recently, she produced How It Ends, wherein a woman tries coming to terms with herself before the world ends.

If you didn’t pick up on it, there’s a theme in her body of work. She’s obsessed with discussing the human condition, and it’s the kind of obsession any director needs to have if they’re going to get to the heart of Spider-Man correctly. She might not have a gigantic resume, but Marvel loves to hire up-and-coming indie filmmakers with a good pitch and a better passion.

Justin Lin

Justin Lin is the unsung hero of the modern blockbuster. This is the man who made the Fast & Furious franchise a global sensation and reminded audiences that a big-budget Star Trek film could be both beautiful and thought-provoking. As ridiculous as some of Lin‘s projects can be, there are few directors working today that manage to produce such outrageous action scenes while keeping the idea of love and family so central to their story. Many people forget that the Taiwanese filmmaker also has a background in acclaimed television. He directed the famous paintball episode of Community and episodes of the Emmy-winning True Detective. His range alone, with experience in both low-budget and big-budget comedy, action, and drama, is enough to justify a Spidey nod from Marvel Studios.

Rob McElhenney

At first, it may sound like a reach, but hear me out. Rob McElhenney has never directed a film before, but he has produced some of the last decade’s best episodes of television history. Everyone knows he co-created America’s finest comedy series, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, but fewer people seem to know about his work on the AppleTV+ show Mythic Quest. There, McElhenney has directed what could be equated to four nearly-perfect short films, handling topics like the downfall of marriage, the growth of man, and the brutal COVID-19 pandemic with grace and understanding. If Marvel Studios and Sony wanted to go outside the box with their pick to bring Peter Parker’s college years to life, they could do a lot worse than McElhenney.

July 24, 2021
VIDEO: ‘LOKI’ Director Kate Herron Explains Marvel’s Cinematic Multiverse

In a recent chat with Charles Murphy, Loki director Kate Herron took the time to explain how Marvel’s Cinematic Multiverse, introduced by Jonathan Majors‘ He Who Remains in the finale of the series, works and details exactly what we’re seeing as the timeline branches. Check out the video below:

July 21, 2021
7 Characters/Teams Ready to Join The Marvel Cinematic Multiverse

The finale of Loki saw an infinite number of timelines break free from the Sacred Timeline. Infinite branches (we think) mean infinite possibilities for new characters and their stories to be told across the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. The Multiverse has existed in the comics for over 40 years and there are hundreds of characters and dozens of stories that have already been told. Here are seven that are ready to join the MCM.

The Beyonder

Perhaps no one character is more synonymous with the idea of the multiverse than The Beyonder. THE Beyonder is one of a race of incredibly powerful beings who can shape reality at will. THE Beyonder is essentially a child by their standards and, like a child, became sort of fascinated by toying with lesser beings…humans. The Beyonder is sort of a big deal in Secret Wars circles and since it seems like that’s where the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse is headed, it shouldn’t be long before we see him or his people (who happen to have a connection to another member of this list).

Captain Britain

Over the last 13 years, the inspiration for the MCU has seemed to lean heavily in certain creators’ directions at times. As Charles Villanueva detailed here, we’ve seen heavy doses of Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning and more in the first 3 phases. We’ve gotten a pretty good dose of Mark Gruenwald this year. Now it may be Chris Claremont and Alan Davis‘ turn to see their creations move from the page to the screen. The multiverse means other Earths and other realities and in the comics it is the job of each reality’s Captain Britain to protect it. All realities converge in the pocket dimension known as Otherworld where, occasionally, the Captain Britains from each reality meet as the Captain Britain Corps. We’ve had a Braddock tease in the MCU already and now that the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse is here, it’s time for Claremont, whose seminal X-Men run should also find its way to the MCU eventually, and Davis to shine!

The Exiles

A team consisting of an ever evolving roster of heroes plucked from different realities, the Exiles seem about as sure a thing as any to make the jump from the comics to the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse. While the initial team was comprised of mutants from different realities, other teams have included non-mutant heroes like Spidey and a Captain America and even Valeria Richards from a reality where she found her self with the powers of both her parents. The Exiles could be an awful lot of fun as a Disney Plus series and seems just like the kind of team Marvel Studios would be keen to get in the MCM sooner rather than later as they could have several seasons without ever using the same team, allowing them to introduce dozens of characters if they chose.

The Living Tribunal

We first heard the character’s name in Doctor Strange and, we think, saw his head in the Void in Loki, so maybe it’s time we finally meet The Living Tribunal. One of the most powerful Cosmic entities in the Marvel Universe, The Living Tribunal is tasked with keeping the mystical side of the multiverse in balance; in that way, he’s like a Master of the Mystic Arts for the multiverse. That’s great because it means the seeds for understanding what his job is have already kind of been sewn in the audiences heads, meaning we’d need less exposition and, hopefully, get more action. It makes a LOT of sense for this character to make his debut in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Miles Morales

No character on this list would make thousands if not millions of fans, including myself, happier. A Spider-Man from another Earth that took on the mantle after witnessing the death of Peter Parker, Miles Morales is already well-known thanks to Sony’s animated hit, Into the Spider-Verse. 3 Spider-Men in Spider-Man: No Way Home already seems like a lot, so 4 would seem like overkill, but you can’t argue that the road has been paved for Miles to make his way to the MCM; all Sony and Marvel Studios have to do is walk down it together.

Molecule Man

Jonathan Hickman loves nothing more than reinventing Marvel Comics characters (well maybe he likes drawing diagrams and writing appendices more, but it’s close) and his reinvention of Owen Reece, the Molecule Man, was nothing short of genius. During his Avengers run that lead to Secret Wars, it was revealed that a Reece existed on every alternate Earth and that their death would result in that Earth’s premature destruction: Reece was a multiversal constant linked to the existence of his world. Reece is also one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse, with the power to manipulate and reshape matter at the molecular level and the ability to reshape and project energy at will. The new Marvel Cinematic Multiverse gives the Molecule Man a chance to step into the spotlight.

The Squadron Supreme

A group of heroes that seem awfully familiar to DC’s Justice League, the Squadron Supreme hail from Earth-712 where they served as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Despite being JL analogues, the individuals on the team actually end up being pretty interesting in their own rights and if we’re doing alternate Earths, I can think of no better team to bring to the MCM. They were rumored to appear in the first season of Loki and while that didn’t happen, fans can hold out hope that with the multiverse opened up, we might see them in Season 2.

With new Earths come new story telling possibilities. Let’s hope the story tellers love some of these characters enough to get them into the MCM.

July 20, 2021
‘Loki’s Threshold: A Scarlet Nexus Event Into the Multiverse

There’s still a lot to digest from Loki‘s grand finale. Time is no longer what it used to be, and we face a multiverse of problems. He Who Remains warned our loving duo that the other villains to follow are far more dangerous than his control over the Sacred Timeline. Yet, throughout all the explanations on the future coming of Kang, we break past a threshold. The point of no return where a single choice will change the outcome of the entire multiverse. All eyes were on Jonathan Majors‘ performance. So, we never thought to question what that very threshold ended up being. So, let’s take a closer look and see what may cause such an event where even the master of time has no more control.

Once the threshold got broken, we see the multiverse slowly grow. It’s not at one point but multiple nexus events simultaneously. The show implied that it would be Sylvie and Loki’s love that ends everything. Yet, the threshold takes hold long before the kiss. It does lead to the eventual breaking point, as it is the last act in deviance before the multiverse completely breaks free. In the end, it wasn’t the literal breaking point but rather the event that would push it. He Who Remains knew their journey. So, the events beyond that point were merely a prediction. In a way, the way he acts before his death. It seemed like it was his hope of freedom. Somehow it was He Who Remains’ last act of free will. Even if he knew nothing beyond that point, he did know of the threshold’s existence and potential.

Yet, if he knows what will happen throughout time, what kind of chaos would keep him from knowing beyond this point. The Time Variance Authority’s existence is to keep order across the Sacred Timeline. In a way, their natural enemy would be chaos. It’s an important element we’ve gotten introduced to in the first Disney+ series by Marvel Studios. In WandaVision, we learn that the Darkhold predicted the coming of the Scarlet Witch. A being forged out of chaos magic that may break reality as we know it. Her chapter states she will destroy the world. Yet, it never specifies which one. It doesn’t even specify but we know it connects to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of the Madness.

All we know is the Darkhold in her possession may break reality as we know it. With the rumored appearance of Shuma-Gorath, perhaps the book was created by this being rather than Cthon to lure the being to break him free from the restraints of time. Perhaps the Scarlet Witch is a nexus being within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but not in the way we know it from the comics. Loki introduces us to Nexus events that create Variants within the Sacred Timeline. Perhaps, her fully coming into control of that power created the ultimate Variant. Her existence of pure chaos energy is not just a Nexus event but an entire being. The word exists within her dreams for a reason.

Even from an outsider’s perspective of time, it is an “event” that happens randomly to onlookers. In a way, it happens at a transfixed point of time outside of the literal timeline. The man knew when Loki and Sylvie’s Variants would come into existence. So, he must know when the Scarlet Witch would be born. He exists beyond time, but the only variable to how time breaks is through a Variant. From an outside perspective, time is flat. They aren’t living at a specific point in time. Yet, the threshold echoed throughout the room as a certain event passed. So, the only way a breaking point erupts is when a specific Variant breaks away from the timeline. We learn that Loki’s are the most frequent visitors of the TVA. They are agents of chaos. As such, they can easily break free from their timely restraints. In a way, a being that forged in pure chaos could even break beyond those limitations that even He Who Remains loses sight of what is to come.

July 19, 2021
‘Loki’: Open Questions for Season 2
After a long six-week wait, Loki has come to an end. Luckily, it is just the beginning as a second season is already in the books. Even if it closed many questions, there are still quite a few questions left remaining. As we enter the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, it’s time to ask how the events of this first season will shape the second.
- Loki and Sylvie learn that free will is an illusion after meeting Jonathan Majors’ He Who Remains. A season of running through time and introspection led them to a dissertation of horror. This leads to Sylvie’s dead-set thirst for vengeance being quenched, and Loki being left alone. The additional gut punch comes when even Mobius and B-15 don’t recognize him. We are left questioning what happened and if Loki will be able to trust again or fall back to his old ways.
- We know that Jonathan Majors will return as Kang the Conquerer in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. He Who Remains made sure to warn Loki, Sylvie, and the audience with his chilling words in the finale. It does open the question if we will see any of those Variants before then, or will we just have to wait for the second season. The terror is foreboding, whether it’s Kang, Scarlet Centurion, or Rama Tut, all as we know is in grave danger.
- Ravonna still has faith in the TVA. She wants to know the truth and heads out on the search for free will. We know the comic book implications of Ravonna and Kang throughout history. Miss Minutes changed the notes Ravonna downloaded and she’s on her way to somewhere else in time. Whatever her goal is, it may redefine her own path moving forward.
- One has to wonder if He Who Remains knew that the kiss between Loki and Sylvie would be the Nexus event that breaks the timeline. As Sylvie chooses to breaks time as we know it, where does she go from here? She has spent her life believing that she deserved retribution. Consumed by it, now nothing will ever be the same. It’s quite the weight to carry. Will she find Loki and try to repair things? Maybe not immediately. It feels like there’s a new road for her to travel in light of the cataclysmic events.
There’s a lot to accomplish in the second season, as it continues to build upon the rules set in the first season. We don’t know what the Multiverse truly has in store with only inclinations for the Doctor Strange and Spider-Man sequels. We have no idea when the second season releases and how it ties into the overarching storyline set with future installments. Of course, the only question that truly matters at the end of the day is if Mobius finally gets to ride a jet ski next season.
July 18, 2021
How Disney+ Could Adapt ‘Young Avengers: Children’s Crusade’

Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is well underway with the premiere of its Disney+ shows. There have been several motifs that have been recurring across the last three Marvel Studios entries. One of these elements is the subtle nods to the next generation of heroes. With the introductions of several characters like Billy and Tommy Maximoff, Elijah Bradley, Kid Loki, Cassie Lang, Riri Williams, Kate Bishop, and America Chavez, all of this leads towards the very likely possibility that the MCU is setting up the introduction of the Young Avengers for Phase 4 or beyond. So, it’s time for a live-action adaptation of The Children’s Crusade storyline.

In the comics, it is a coming-of-age story following House of M. Wanda Maximoff goes missing. So, the Young Avengers set out to find her in an adventure filled with unexpected twists and turns. With the MCU loosely adapting their version of House of M for WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it seems fitting that the follow-up to follow in this saga would be The Children’s Crusade. Especially because it mainly focuses on Billy Kaplan and Thomas Shepherd, the reincarnations of Billy and Tommy Maximoff in the comics. After our brief introduction o them in WandaVision and a potential return in the upcoming Strange sequel, it’s time to follow their story.

How the series would play out

The Disney+ series would be a loose adaptation of the comics. The Young Avengers will be at the forefront of this story. At this point, they’ve already got introduced to another project. However, it will primarily focus on Wiccan and Speed as they search for a deeper understanding of their powers and who they are. Neither one realizes that they’re the other’s twin, but they find it curious that they look similar. I’d start the series with Billy and Tommy experiencing what they believe are very vivid nightmares that viewers might recognize. It later turns out that they are memories from their previous lives as the Maximoff twins.

They could have very weird, cryptic dreams similar to how WandaVision used fake commercials to showcase Wanda’s inner turmoil. As such, they would conclude that their dreams are a message to come and find Wanda Maximoff, who I believe will disappear following the events of the Doctor Strange sequel. Fearful of leaving their new friends behind, they ask for their help in this mission, and the team joins them without hesitation in their crusade.

The series will progress with a globe-trotting adventure, as they search for any clue that’ll lead them to Wanda. We’ll get to explore iconic locations linked to Wanda, such as Sokovia, Westview, New York, and many more. The team will eventually find her in a remote location. She has no memories or recollection of her past life as the Scarlet Witch. This, of course, confuses the team, but Billy and Tommy most of all. How could one of the most powerful individuals in the multiverse be reduced to a simple nobody? This is how we introduce the viewers to the antagonist of the series. Someone is pulling the strings all along. It turns out to be Agatha Harkness.

Agatha All Along Again

At one point, Agatha found a way to free herself from the Scarlet Witch’s binds and eventually reunite with the amnesiac Wanda. Taking pity on her, she treats her in a friendly, almost neighborly manner as she tries to search for ways to recuperate her magic from Wanda. This would draw a parallel to their first interaction in WandaVision. Agatha could potentially serve as the plot device to reveal to the team the true nature of Tommy and Billy, the fact they are indeed reincarnations of the Maximoff twins.

The dreams that the twins experienced at the beginning of the series are more than just memories. They’re a manipulation tactic by Agatha to lure the twins. She believed they were the key to regaining her powers but the plan failed. Agatha would be left with no choice but to try and kill the Young Avengers since they know of her plan. The twins face off against the individual responsible for their nightmares and trauma as kids. In the climax of the final battle, Wanda Maximoff regains her memory and aids the team in their battle against Harkness, thus defeating the witch once more and reuniting a family.

July 17, 2021
Why MARVEL STUDIOS Series Can and Will Improve

The Marvel Disney+ shows have hit the ground running ever since WandaVision‘s premiere back in January. As we approach August we’ve now had 21 episodes spread through three different shows, that even with their ups and downs have managed to capture both the imagination of fans and good reviews from critics.

The aforementioned WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and now Loki have pretty much delivered on what was promised. Deeper dives into the lives of characters that had limited screen time in the movies, allowing time for each to introduce their own universe of surrounding characters in a way that perhaps not even the a-listers from the big screen managed to. The action set-pieces, something hard to match to the movies’, have mostly delivered and the scripts have, in many ways, felt like a breath of fresh air as the boundaries of a 150-minute blockbuster were nowhere to be seen.

But this is not to say that the upcoming shows don’t have room to grow. In fact, that is probably the only way to go, as with what happened in the early days of the MCU where it’s safe to say that they only hit their stride already a few movies in. The issues with the shows we’ve had so far range from normal and expected, to natural disasters and once-in-a-generation global-affecting events. Here are a few of those issues the shows have had to face, and why Marvel Studios will likely manage to overcome them in the future.

The Pandemic

WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier were hit the hardest by the pandemic. We can all recall the early days when little was known about the virus and the responses were often a swift and total lockdown. These two shows had pretty much to stop production, at a time when FatWS was abroad in Prague, in the Czech Republic, with no idea of how or when they would be allowed to return. When productions were allowed to resume, both struggled with what they could do while maintaining safety on set, thus limiting their access to certain locations and the setup of specific set pieces involving a higher than usual number of actors. This might be a reason why WandaVision‘s finale felt a bit hollow and why there were times in FatWS where every Latvian building felt the same because perhaps they were. WandaVision might have even ended up shortening their episode count on behalf of the limitations production faced because of the pandemic, so even though shows like Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk have all been impacted, in one way or another by safety concerns, it’s safe to say the first few Marvel Studios streaming shows were hit the hardest, in ways others wouldn’t be. With knowledge regarding the virus at an all-time high, with vaccinations going ahead at a fast rate, this is something upcoming shows will have n easer time dealing with than their predecessors, with minimal impact on the final product.

Earthquakes in Puerto Rico

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was set to shoot in the incredible locations the Caribbean island is known for, including the iconic Arecibo Telescope (which collapsed in late 2020). Due to a series of earthquakes on the island in early 2020, production was suspended and later abandoned altogether. Not having impacted the show in the same way the pandemic did, it certainly hurt the “globe-trotting adventure” we were somewhat promised, limiting the scope of the show as it had to settle with one less exotic location to explore, something upcoming shows won’t have to struggle with. With upcoming shows focused on limiting the way the pandemic might affect them in the coming months, traveling abroad should be limited whenever possible (not in Moon Knights, case, for one), and therefore avoiding unexpected naturally occurring phenomena that could impact productions should then become a by-product of that initial concern.

The available runtime

With the advent of streaming, most shows now have the power to decide what runtime suits them best. No longer limited by the constraints of network tv, there is no longer any excuse if you could do with those extra 10 minutes to tell your story, or if you feel that a shortened episode works best. From WandaVision to Loki we’ve seen Marvel dabble with shorter and longer formats, and even though most of the choices have worked it might be fair to say that the lack of constraints has allowed for a freedom that might need to be reigned in. There are still times when we could probably use a few more minutes and in others when the story managed to drag a little bit so, in a way, it feels production might have overcompensated at times. There obviously isn’t such a thing as a work of art that manages to please everyone enjoying it in the same fashion and the results so far have been very enjoyable, but I wouldn’t put it past Marvel Studios to try and hone down on what might improve these shows even further, and the pace of the storytelling seems like something that could be easily improved.

Dealing with the “twists”

I’m all for one new episode every week as it allows for the type of discussion that truly makes a show a communal event. But by going that route, Marvel has got to do better than just expand the runtime of their usual blockbuster and split it through 6 episodes, like they’ve stated many times as something these shows would end up looking like. Even though there has been enough substance to justify the added duration, there are subtleties to the “language” of a weekly that differ from the movies’. In terms of twists, while you might have been caught off guard in a movie by something you didn’t see coming, when you have an entire week to theorize, to digest, or even just to read what other people have to say about what you all saw the previous week this just isn’t the case. So being, audiences ask for a very different type of surprise from episode to episode than the ones they can handle in theaters. The Agatha and Powerbroker twists were something many saw a mile away due to this, and even if most didn’t, they probably read about it before the final reveal. And the same could have happened with the Taskmaster twist had Black Widow been a tv show and audiences had the possibility of spending days reading online articles in between watching acts 2 and 3 of the movie. The twists, if they do occur, should then be focused less on Marvel comic book history and more on less identifiable elements, so that at least audiences may keep themselves from figuring it out by a simple google search.

There are likely dozens of other aspects being currently addressed at Marvel Studios concerning the streaming shows. More than anyone, they know what’s been working and what needs some work. These are just a few aspects of how, in some cases with no fault of their own, it’s identifiable how the series can continue to grow, as things get back to normal in terms of production and as they get a few more shows, from which to learn from, under their belt.

July 14, 2021