Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Marvel

  • BTS Photos Offer First Look at Hailee Steinfeld’s Hawkeye Costume

    BTS Photos Offer First Look at Hailee Steinfeld’s Hawkeye Costume

    It has been a crazy week for Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ show, Hawkeye. We got a variety of screenshots from the New York City set that confirmed earlier reports that Hailee Steinfeld would be taking over the role of Kate Bishop. We even got our first look at everyone’s favorite pizza dog, Lucky. Now, we were wondering if we get a chance to see her in a more comic-accurate suit. So far, she was only seen in civilian clothes. If they were undercover, they at least avoided the cliché of wearing a hat and sunglasses to hide their identity. Well, it looks like we didn’t have to wait long as we finally got our first look at what may be an early prototype of Kates’s superhero suit provided by @CreamOrScream.

    It certainly matches her iconic purple color scheme. It looks slightly homemade, or just a prototype outfit provided by Clint. She is rocking the same bow we saw her hold earlier when they were going into the underground. We don’t quite know how these two meet and form a duo of Hawkeye’s, so either it is a bow she practiced with or Hawkeye provided her with one to train. We will probably see her get a more sophisticated version, which we are used to for the character later down the line. We’ve actually already seen the artwork of what her final design would look like, which will be interesting to see if they changed it for the live-action show.

    It is interesting to note that she has a strange attachment to her buckle around her hips. If you look closely, it seems like she may have different arrowheads attached to it. It could be a pouch with different compartments that she pulls the arrowhead out. Unlike Clint, she can only work with what she has. He had a quiver that he could control electronically, so it is nice to get a more down-to-earth design approach here. Steinfeld also seems to be having quite a bit of fun on-set, so cannot wait to see her approach to the character. Just today, Marvel’s Avengers added an entire storyline featuring the iconic archer, so we’ll have some Kate Bishop content to tie us over. Now, if only we got some kind of release date for the other Disney+ Marvel shows.

    Source: Twitter

  • Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock CONFIRMED for ‘SPIDER-MAN 3’

    Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock CONFIRMED for ‘SPIDER-MAN 3’

    Just last week, GWW reported that Alfred Molina had been spotted on the set of the untitled Spider-Man sequel which is currently filming in Atlanta. Today, we got what’s as close to confirmation from Marvel Studios that we’ll get as THR confirmed that Molina is on set to reprise his role as Doctor Otto Octavius, a role he first played in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 in 2004.

    Alfred Molina Weighs In On Reprising The Role Of Spider-Man Villain Doctor Octopus

    Molina’s return is another data point pointing towards the film looking more and more like a live-action iteration of the Spider-Verse in which the Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield films will somehow find themselves in a shared web with the current Tom Holland films. Plot details have been kept sealed up tightly, but rumors continue to swirl and we’ve seen and heard plenty to make us at Murphy’s Multiverse believe.

    Spider-Man 3 is due to hit theaters on December 17th, 2021.

  • Kate Bishop Won’t Save ‘Marvel’s Avengers’, But It Is a Good Start

    Kate Bishop Won’t Save ‘Marvel’s Avengers’, But It Is a Good Start

    Tomorrow is the big day. Kate Bishop finally joins Marvel’s Avengers. It has been quite the wait, but we finally get our first DLC that showcases what we can expect from this brand new entry in the Games-as-a-Service market. It’s been a very rough start to get to this very point. The game once was littered with bugs, and many questionable business practices have shed the game in quite a negative light. It was followed by quite the drop in players, especially on Steam. It just recently saw a small increase after the Black Friday sale, but all eyes were on the first real addition to defining the game’s future. Now, as the title has already revealed, I do not believe Kate Bishop will suddenly save the game from its player base loss. However, I do think that it will have an essential role in the game’s future development to get it to where it needs to be.

    How will Kate’s addition do that? Well, the whole point of GaaS is that it continues to grow as time moves on. It got revealed that they were planning multiple years that would expand the game with an ongoing narrative and new heroes. Kamala Khan introduces us to this world’s Avengers and the aftermath of A-Day. Once they have taken down M.O.D.O.K., the story has only just begun. In our last minor update, we were introduced to Tachyon Rifts. They were not just a brand new mission type but also teased that something will be affected by a time storm. Our first War Table since the game launched then confirmed that Clint is going to travel through time to face a future version of Hulk, who is known as Maestro. They both face-off in the ruins of what once was Earth.

     

     

    The original campaign had a more grounded storyline, so the first major DLC expansion to already jump into time travel and multiverse is quite the development. Kate is going to be our introduction to this brand new storyline that will finally get the ball rolling on future additions. The important thing is that future updates come at a good pace to ensure that the issue of repetition is solved. They have also confirmed that they are working on various reworks of systems that still seem a bit unrefined as of now. Kate is just a pebble in comparison to what is to come but an important one. There is also the argument that the character isn’t as popular as, let’s say, Black Panther or Captain Marvel. Yes, the character isn’t as big a name as those that were popularized in the public conscious by Marvel Studios, but she still has been a well-established character in the comics for some time. They also don’t have to get their biggest players out just yet, as even the Marvel Cinematic Universe was built on what were once B or even C-list characters.

    Now, the true test will be once they finally release the multiplayer-focused Omega-Threat levels. Next year, we will kick off with the addition of Hawkeye, who will introduce us to brand new environments and is a direct follow-up to complete Kate’s story. Leaks have also teased that Black Panther, who will most likely be the third DLC character. Speaking of, Crystal Dynamics and Square-Enix have the perfect opportunity to promote the game with high-profile characters. It would even be the perfect opportunity for a soft launch to get new players into the game. They have a lot of opportunities to build up their audience with each major character release. It’ll take time until we get to that point, but Kate’s release is the moment it finally gets rolling. Her addition is going to be our first taste of what we can expect and also the moment for Crystal Dynamics to build up the momentum they’ve been working for all this time.

    Source: SteamCharts, IGN

  • First Look at ‘Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s Flag-Smasher(s) Revealed

    First Look at ‘Falcon and The Winter Soldier’s Flag-Smasher(s) Revealed

    Falcon and the Winter Soldier still has no release date. It was originally going to air in August, but now WandaVision has the honor of kickstarting the new Disney+ era for Marvel Studios. Even after the constant delay, we barely have any idea about what we can expect from the story. We know that Baron Zemo will play a major part, and we get introduced to a brand new Captain America. Charles revealed one more big bad about two months ago would also make his appearance in the series, ULTIMATUM’s Flag-Smasher. We didn’t get a great look at the character, but some of his goons wore outfits quite similar to their comic counterpart. @tfatwsbr was so nice to share some promotional material that offered our first official look at the character and ULTIMATUM’s logo.

    It looks like they took a very different approach from the character’s original design. It states Flag-Smashers, so we might see a variety of members wear that moniker throughout the show. It could even be a new name for the group instead of ULTIMATUM. We still have no official word, who could be playing the character, but it was theorized that it is Noah Mills. So, who knows if the one showcased here might turn out to be the real one.

    For those wondering, as per usual in the Marvel Universe, ULTIMATUM is an acronym. It stands for Underground Liberated Totally Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind. They might be avoiding having to spell that out in the show, so they just went with a new name. The group’s logo is a nice spin on the original. Hopefully, the fact that this promotional material making the rounds also means we could get some news on the show’s future soon. Until then, we can theorize what their inclusion might indicate for the Disney+ show.

    Source: Twitter

  • Murphy’s Law Podcast: Episode 73

    Murphy’s Law Podcast: Episode 73

    Encouraged by the information that a lot of people spend a lot of time listening to us talk, Charles and Charles decided to record another episode! Here we talk all about Hawkeye, which recently started filming in NYC, what Hailee Steinfeld means for the future of the MCU, Boba’s badassery in the latest episode of The Mandalorian and more!

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Leak Confirms America Chavez

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Leak Confirms America Chavez

    Two more days to go until Kate Bishop finally arrives on Marvel’s Avengers. As such, we still get some fun leaks from @mmmmmmmiller that offer us a glimpse of what we can expect from the game’s future. His last leak may have given us a better understanding of who is voicing T’Challa in what may be our third DLC. The day before we even got a look at some new architects that teased the existence of Moon Knight and Namor within the game‘s universe. Miller has now taken to Twitter to share another voice clip featuring Steve Rogers and Kate discussing the search for a member of the Young Avengers. The multiversal traveling America Chavez seems to be missing, and Kate is out to find her.

    This reveal is quite curious, as it may hint at other Young Avengers existing as well. We know that Kate was about to join the Avengers officially, but we don’t know much about other teams existing. We are still waiting to see if the X-Men or Fantastic Four already exist in this universe. I am curious how this will develop, as America might become playable at some point or act as an NPC on an Outpost. Her addition makes sense as the Tachyon Rifts are going to break the multiverse.

    So, she might be the one to help you travel between different dimensions, such as revisiting the post-apocalyptic world teased in Clint’s storyline. Marvel Rising viewers might also remember that her origin is tied to the Kree, which seems to be the main threat of the game’s first season. So far, it looks like they are not holding back with the various corners of the Marvel universe. Hopefully, this means we’ll get to visit some unique locations in future updates.

    Source: Twitter, Vocaroo

  • Theory: Marvel Studios is Counting Down to a New ‘WANDAVISION’ Trailer

    Theory: Marvel Studios is Counting Down to a New ‘WANDAVISION’ Trailer

    Tick Tock.

    There’s an interesting premise that’s called the “Rule of Three”. The rule of three states that the first time you see/say/do something, it’s known as an isolated incident. If it occurs a second time, then that’s known as a coincidence. But if it happens a third time, then it becomes a pattern. The rule of three can be applied to many things in life. But today we’re going to be applying that logic to Marvel Studios’ recent activity concerning WandaVision. Now on November 12th, Marvel revealed the release date for WandaVision with this teaser of the TVs shifting through the eras:

    I had written up a piece about this trailer, breaking down its most important shots and details. So if you haven’t read up on that, check it out here. Now, Marvel Studios suspiciously started posting some content on Social Media recently. 2 days ago, they posted this poster, which is in turn, the last shot of the trailer they posted back in November.

    Then the day after (yesterday), they posted a second poster.

    Now a lot of people might not recognize the second poster but it was actually the second to last shot of the trailer, which is when the TV starts to go into static and the room starts to blend into another before going back to normal. Remember this shot?

     

    (*NOTE: Now here’s where things get interesting and I put my name as Superhero Theorist to good use. I’m writing this part the night before it happens at 11:54 pm my time. But I wanted to write this in case it does happen. If Marvel Studios posts another poster today at 2:00 pm my time (1:00 pm EST), and it follows the pattern in my head, then the next poster should be the one in the 70s).

     

    Present-day Superhero Theorist here and it turns out I was right. Marvel posted yet ANOTHER WandaVision poster today at exactly 2:00 pm my time, the one based on the 70s portion of the show.

     

    Ok. But what does it mean?

    Well, let’s start with the key points that make up this pattern. What do they have in common? Well:

    1. They’re all shots from the trailer Marvel posted back in November.
    2. They each belong to a particular era that will be explored in WandaVision. First with the 60s, then the 70s, and now the 80s.
    3. They’re going in progressive order from the trailer.

    Now, that last point is very important. They’re posting shots from the trailer from each era, every day for the past three days at 2:00 pm EST. There’s a pattern, which means the next posters for the next 2 days are going to be the last remaining shots from the trailer. Specifically, the 80’s and modern eras trailer shots shown below.

    But the most important part of all this is the progressivity of it all. It’s almost like they’re counting down to something as each day passes by. So, if we take into consideration the trailer from November, there are 6 key shots. And if it is a countdown, then each poster signifies a day in the countdown:

    1. The last shot [50’s] (posted on Friday)
    2. The glitch shot [60’s] (posted yesterday)
    3. The 70s shot (posted today)
    4. The 80s shot (might be posted tomorrow)
    5. The modern Halloween shot (might be posted on Tuesday)

    So, if Marvel Studios is indeed doing a countdown as I predict it’s doing, then what happens when the trailer shots/posters run out? That’s where things start to align. They could post another poster on Wednesday outside of the scope of Wanda’s Imagination and we step out of the realm of sitcoms and into the realm of the MCU. Or they could post another trailer, the day before Disney’s Investor Day on Dec. 10th to hype up the fans and investors for what’s to come. The focus of that event will be “the Company’s direct-to-consumer streaming services” aka Disney+. Now whether or not we will get another look at WandaVision before, or during Investor Day remains to be seen, though I find it hard to believe that Marvel posting these would be a coincidence. One way or another, I’m certain that we’re bound to get a new look at WandaVision soon.

     

    Official Plot Synopsis: Starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, “WandaVision” is a blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe in which Wanda Maximoff and Vision—two super-powered beings living idealized suburban lives—begin to suspect that everything is not as it seems. The show features the return of Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis & Randall Park as Agent Jimmy Woo, as well as the introduction of new faces, such as Teyonah Parris as an adult Monica Rambeau and Kathryn Hahn as the nosey neighbor, Agnes.

     

    WANDAVISION PREMIERES EXCLUSIVELY ON DISNEY+ ON JANUARY 15TH.

  • ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Leak May Hint at Black Panther’s Voice Actor

    ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Leak May Hint at Black Panther’s Voice Actor

    All eyes are on Kate Bishop’s release next week that will finally expand Marvel’s Avengers. She will get the ball rolling on future content while teasing the overarching storyline that we can expect for the game’s first season. So far, we know that Clint Barton will join her next year and, hopefully, Black Panther shortly after. we still haven’t officially seen his design or any real information on him, but that never stopped anything from leaking. @mmmmmmmiller offered us some teases of the design and even an audio voice clip. Well, now he revealed some more that has started many wondering who exactly might be playing the king of Wakanda.

    So, a lot of this dialogue seems to take place during the missions. “They are getting too close” could hint at a new mission type, where you have to keep enemies from reaching a new area. There is a strange line where it sounds like he mentions “Goku”, but I am unsure who he is referring to in this. There is even a mention of the Heart-Shaped Herb that gives him his powers. So, these are probably just early recordings that were added in advance, so they don’t have a massive update once the character is made available. It is uncertain how far into development he is still, so they might’ve just started recording not too long ago. We have to keep in mind that every voice actor also has to abide by the two-week rule when they travel for recordings and mo-cap.

    Now, the big question remains who might be voicing T’Challa. A lot of people online have pointed out that it seems to be Christopher Judge. Many will recognize his voice from God of War‘s Kratos or his time as Magneto in X-Men: Evolution. I was a bit skeptical about it, but they have gotten some big names to join them, such as Ashly Burch as Kate Bishop and Giacomo Gianniotti as Clint Barton. Now, I think the only audio file that gives it away is the third one. The rest sounds a bit off, especially as they seem to be a combination of multiple lines that muddles it a bit. Yet, I also wondered if they may have taken a look at the character’s history in animation and video games.

    I tried to compare those that have voiced T’Challa before to see if one came close. I wondered if they brought back Djimon Hounsou, who voiced the character in the Marvel Knights animated series. One of my favorites was James C. Mathis III’s iconic take on Black Panther from Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Luckily, he continued to voice the character in Avengers Assemble, but his voice doesn’t match that of the leaked recordings, so it doesn’t look like he is part of Marvel’s Avengers. Hounsou‘s original take on the character was quite distinct and wouldn’t match this one either. Still, especially with that third recording, the voice matches that of Christopher Judge the most. I would love to see Hounsou return to the role, as in some film’s his voice could match the audio files. We’ll have to wait for an official announcement, but it was fun to speculate. For fun, I’ll leave you with this hilarious video of Judge telling dad jokes as Kratos.

     

    Source: Twitter, Vocaroo (1), Vocaroo (2), Vocaroo (3), Vocaroo (4), YouTube

  • ‘Deadpool: Samurai’ Manga Series Announced at Tokyo Comic Con

    ‘Deadpool: Samurai’ Manga Series Announced at Tokyo Comic Con

    It seems that Deadpool is heading to Japan. Marvel and JUMP have collaborated on a brand new manga series, Deadpool Samurai, which got announced at Tokyo Comic-Con. Interestingly enough, this series was initially released as a one-shot back in October, which was written by Sanshiro Kasama with art by Hikaru Uesugi. As the name implies, the story follows Deadpool’s escapades in Japan’s Edo period, where he took on various samurai with his usual wacky humor. To break the fourth wall completely, he was the only one that was his usual self with plenty of references to the larger Marvel universe. It looks like the one-shot was a big success that they ordered an ongoing series for Shonen Jump that will go into serialization as of December 10th.

    There is no English release currently planned, but we can expect it to hit the West in the future. It is great to see the series continue, as the original one-shot was hilarious. We get introduced to our main character pretending to be a baby while trying to intimidate a group of samurais. In the middle of the battle, he is reading a JUMP magazine, so he seems to care even less about continuity in this series, especially how he solves a hostage situation.

     

     

    It will be interesting to see how they turn this into an ongoing series, as the one-shot is quite removed from the overall Marvel universe. There is a cameo by Wolverine at the end confirming he misused a time-machine, but mangas commonly have overarching stories. He might get stuck in that timeline and meets copies of the original Marvel characters that lived during this period. Not like Deadpool cares about continuity, so anything is possible.

    Source: Twitter, ComicBook

  • Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Offered First Look at Kate Bishop in Action

    Latest ‘Marvel’s Avengers’ Dev Stream Offered First Look at Kate Bishop in Action

    Crystal Dynamics is still hard at work on Marvel’s Avengers. We are only a few more days away from the first DLC character being added. Kate Bishop will offer some brand new story content and continue where the Reassemble campaign left off. We even got a special War Table that offered a deep dive into the character and teased her story. Well, that wasn’t all as, after a short Thanksgiving break, the developers returned with a brand new stream to showcase the character in all their glory. Our CD mainstays Phil and Andy were also joined by fellow developers Scott and Nicole, who were able to offer some insight. Of course, a brand new stream also means you’ll get a brand new recap. Now, let’s jump right into all the major reveals and teases.

     

    General Updates

    • Let’s start with some general updates. Phil revealed that he is the reason for Tony’s “Who you going to call?” line in the game. It was a collaborative effort, as they also worked together on characterization with Marvel.
    • New Game+ or Campaign Replay, as Phil titles it, is still being worked on, but it is already in the bug testing phase.
    • Loot is getting a complete overhaul. It will take time, but it is a big priority for the team. We can expect some major changes with future content.
    • The Omega Threat delays are due to some network issues. The missions are very long, so they want to ensure that multiplayer works as intended.
    • Their development cycles are getting better, so they are much better at getting timings down. Some of their co-workers have yet to take a break since the entire thing started. A lot of future features are also based on user feedback.
    • Kate will be available on the start screen and may have some additional music added to the game.

     

     

    Kate Bishop Gameplay

    • They worked on Clint and Kate around the same time, which is a given with their archery focus. Clint’s background as Ronin and Kate’s fencing lessons in the comics was the inspiration for her melee combat. Both characters will use a variety of arrow types.
    • Kate stole the quantum technology from AIM. It is the basis for her abilities. There are sadly no unique status effects, but some moves stack additional quantum damage. It is mainly a visual effect and became a part of Kate’s fiction to create unique abilities around.
    • Kate is a support-focused character. You can optimize your build to either focus on her arrow abilities or even her blade. Most of her heroics include a special ability that helps your team during battle.
    • One can see their experience with the Tomb Raider franchise in Kate’s pull of the bowstring. You can quickfire or pull it in for critical damage, which looks to be quite satisfying.

     

     

    • Her support heroic Decoy allows her to spawn a clone who can damage enemies. It acts as a turret, which zones enemies. You can also add an ability to turn it into a quantum bomb to take out multiple enemies. They will be focused on the decoy, so you can support it mid-battle for additional damage.
    • Quantum Overdrive is a similar ability to Captain America’s Brooklyn Brawler. It gives her infinite intrinsic ability, so you can teleport around the map freely as long as it is active.
    • Warp Arrow allows you to shoot an arrow for a long distance, which instantly teleports you to that location. They are quite useful for boss fights to avoid larger attacks. There are, however, some limitations to where you can place portals, and enemies can’t enter them. You can activate the warp arrow at any time with a button press, so you are not dependent on hitting an actual surface to activate it.
    • You can switch your loadout just like Iron Man and Black Widow. Disruptor arrows are great to stack up combos. You can time the bow to get a perfect draw that deals with critical damage. Demolition arrows can attach to targets, which can be activated remotely or with a perfect shot.
    • The Scattershot can damage multiple enemies from a distance, but you can stack damage if you shoot from close-range.
    • Kate can hack doors like Iron Man and Black Widow.

     

     

    Taking AIM Story

    • Kate was going to become an Avengers before A-Day happened. She sees the Avengers as her family, so she will add a great new dynamic. They teased her interactions with Tony.
    • When she was young, she decided she wanted to be like Hawkeye and eventually became his protége.
    • Nicole, one of the game’s writers, teased that she is fun, sarcastic, and confident. Like an older sister to her mentor, as she has it all together. They took a lot of inspiration from Matt Fraction‘s My Life as a Weapon story and her time with the West Coast Avengers.
    • They teased that a lot of references to Fraction‘s stories are scattered throughout the story and with the skins.

     

    I have to say, my first impressions of Kate were very positive. She looks like a fun character to play. I might end up focusing on a sword build, as that quantum sword looks like a lot of fun. The animations were very fluid, and they put a lot of thought into how she plays. I cannot wait to play her once the DLC is released next Tuesday. I also cannot wait to see how the story will expand and what it may tease for the future. It also was just fun to see the developers finally be able to showcase their first major DLC and having a blast doing it.

    Source: Twitch