The chrome-domed beacon of freedom will be making his return tomorrow when the first 3 episodes of Peacemaker debut tomorrow, exclusively on HBO Max. It’s been a few months since we last saw the character, and since then we’ve had plenty of comic book-based content released, so minds may be a bit cloudy on just how we got here, and some may even be wondering just how is Christopher Smith alive? I mean he looked quite dead last time we saw him, well we’ve got a bit of a refresher for you to be ready to jump right in tomorrow.
We first met Peacemaker in The Suicide Squad, assigned to Task Force X for Project Starfish which found him in Corto Maltese. Smith was assigned to Squad B, the “real team” as Squad A had been sent into the other side of the beach in order to provide a distraction. Peacemaker instantly began butting heads with everyone on the team, determined only to finish the mission and establish peace on the small island nation. It would later be revealed that Smith had been sent with an alternate objective assigned to him by Amanda Waller: to destroy the truth behind Project Starfish at any cost necessary. That lead to multiple altercations, including one that resulted in Peacemaker killing Rick Flag, and one in which Bloodsport took out Smith and left him for dead.
But Peacemaker, of course, is not dead. In the post-credits of The Suicide Squad, he is pulled from the rubble of Jotunheim and barely hanging onto life. After surviving the mission, Smith is met by John Economos and Emilia Harcourt, who defied Waller’s orders and helped to extract Task Force X from Corto Maltese. Both characters will return for Peacemaker.
The series will also introduce multiple new character to Christopher Smith’s team like Clemson Murn, Leota Adebayo, and Vigilante. This new team has been tasked with hunting down targets labeled as “Butterflies” that pose a risk to national security. The team’s first targets are US Senator Royland Goff and his family, who are under the protection of Judomaster, another classic Charlton Comics character introduced in the series.
The series will also see Peacemaker facing his past, reuniting with his father, Auggie Smith, a southern racist who had a very intense method of parenting with Christopher. Hopefully the series is able to give us a glimpse into just what caused Peacemaker to pick up his quest for peace.
The first three episodes of Peacemaker will stream tomorrow on HBO Max.
A show focusing on Boba Fett has always felt the optimal way to re-introduce the Star Wars criminal underworld to live-action Star Wars. Solo: A Star Wars Story took some steps in that direction but it only really seemed to skim the surface. But now, and considering Lucasfilm‘s track record when dealing with their Disney+ projects, we might be getting exactly what we wanted.
Following the tremendous success of The Mandalorian, Lucasfilm has decided to use an almost opposite strategy to the one Marvel Studios has been using since 2008 when introducing new characters/shows. Instead of having separate introductions before bringing them all together in the same feature, Lucasfilm has decided to branch out and use an established project to welcome new characters before giving them their own series. We’ve seen it happen with Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, and in all likelihood with Cara Dune and the Rangers of the New Republic project which was later abandoned.
This would mean that having yet another show spin-off The Book of Boba Fett might be more than just a mere random possibility. And bringing into the fold comic book storylines (the same comics that first introduced us to Black Krrsantan) as well as rumors that have been circling about the possible return of a Solo: A Star Wars Story character (that has been prominently featured in the latest Star Wars comic crossover The War of the Bounty Hunters) we might just have found who might be showing up towards the end of the season. Emilia Clarke‘s Qi’ra.
Master Bib did not have the power of Jabba, so he relied on uneasy alliances to preserve his tribute and title.
8D8
Mayor has no power. Somebody else is behind that play.
Fennec Shand
There are already a few hints regarding how someone yet undisclosed is pulling the strings, with the only reason that Bib Fortuna managed to stay in power for as long as he did being that someone wanted him there. Watching the Pikes arrive on a starliner ahead of battle, meaning their forces are off-world, also helps to make everything seem to be about something even greater than Tatooine’s issues themselves. With Qi’ra’s importance in recent and upcoming comic runs as leader of the Crimson Dawn criminal syndicate hinting at a possible bigger role to play in the grand scheme of things, combined with her active role in the dismembering of the Hutt Council in The War of the Bounty Hunters which left the Hutt cartel without clear leadership making her be at odds with the remaining Hutts, all seem to play into the frictions The Book of Boba Fett has already established. An interesting new one would be her relationship with Fett since she was the one who managed to steal Han Solo’s frozen carbonite body from Fett before he got it to Jabba the Hutt.
Almost 20 years have passed in-universe since the events of Solo: A Star Wars Story (set around 10BBY) but given the way Qi’ra has been represented in comics, looking the same as she did back then, it wouldn’t be too hard to get Clarke to reprise the character without major appearance concerns. But even if her showing up might have her looking a bit older, that could perhaps hint at a future series focusing on herself but set in the past, set right after the ending to her on-screen debut.
All of Hawkeye, Echo, Moon Knight, Blade, and by association, She-Hulk serve as Marvel Studios’ first foray into the street universe. Just as Kevin Feige‘s think-tank built the cosmic, mystical, and multiversal mythology, the mythos of the MCU’s street universe needs to be built. Here are ten essential villains that would help grow it nicely.
The Rose
Wilson Fisk made his official debut in the MCU at the tail end of 2021 when he appeared in Hawkeye as the defacto big bad of the series, a performance that Vincent D’Onofrio drew from his own in the Daredevil Netflix series. It’s not entirely clear from that single appearance how this version of Fisk got to where he was but it certainly leaves a lot of space for new stories to build around the character.
What better way to build a different story for Fisk by introducing his son Richard, the bitter son who would eventually turn into the villainous Rose? Richard Fisk’s relationship with his father in the comics is nothing short of Shakespearean; a familial power struggle that culminates in a lot of betrayals. It’s the kind of drama we haven’t seen Wilson Fisk deal with in live-action and would make for one of the more interesting villain dynamics in the MCU.
Hammerhead
You can’t get any more street-level with a villain like Hammerhead, who was created as a callback to the mobsters of the Great Depression era. But despite his over-the-top appearance and persona, Hammerhead is a very modest character; he’s never been at the center of major street-level crossovers unlike some of his cohorts on this list. Yet that hasn’t stopped the character from being a key component of that side of the Marvel Universe. Hammerhead’s appearance in the Spider-Man DLC proved how menacing the character could be if done contemporarily. He’s a major player in the street game and has been known to rival the likes of Kingpin and The Hood.
Typhoid Mary
Typhoid Mary is an important character within the Daredevil mythology. An on-off lover of Matt Murdock, she regularly falls under the employ of Wilson Fisk and eventually makes her way onto the 50 State Initiative as Mutant Zero. Mary Walker bridges some of the quirkiness of the larger universe with the grounded ethos of the streets. She’s a mutant with dissociative identity disorder, whose multiple personalities often manifest with different abilities. She’s a telekinetic, telepath, as well as a pyrokinetic, making her one of the most lethal street characters in Marvel, not to mention, one of the more sinister-looking villains. A version barely resembling the comic counterpart appeared in the second season of Iron Fist but the quicker we can forget about that, the better.
Tombstone
Like Hammerhead before him, Tombstone is an A-list member of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, having busted the skull of the wallcrawler numerous times over the years. The character has a strong rivalry with Robbie Robertson, a character known to orbit around Peter Parker’s life as his Daily Bugle superior. A lot of Spider-Man’s key encounters with Tombstone involve Robertson in some way. So as the MCU launches Peter’s next phase in life, which hopefully involves the Bugle and Robertson in some way, the room for a character like Tombstone just keeps getting wider.
Madame Masque
A version of Whitney Frost may have served as Agent Carter Season 2’s big bad but that shouldn’t preclude the actual Madame Masque from appearing in the MCU down the road. Born Giulietta Nefaria, heir to the fabled Maggia criminal empire, Madame Masque is as much of a street character as she is a heavy-hitting Avengers villain. The character has crossed paths with the likes of Moon Knight and Hawkeye, the latter’s solo show she was rumored to appear in last year.
Turk Barrett
Turk Barrett represents one of comic’s most marginalized groups of characters: lowly henchmen. Yet he’s the henchman to end all henchmen, garnering notoriety for being a pestering reoccurrence in Daredevil’s radar and a one-time wielder of an Infinity Stone. The character was brilliantly brought to life by acclaimed actor Rob Morgan in the Netflix shows and he would certainly be welcomed with open arms should that opportunity return. He’s Turk Barrett, baby!
Mister Negative
One of the best parts of the PS4 Spider-Man game was how it put Mister Negative at the forefront of Spidey’s rogues gallery. It not only proved that there was more to Spidey’s rogues gallery beyond the Sinister Six but that the character of Martin Li was perfect for a live-action take. From a visual and power-set standpoint, Mister Negative already stands out among Spidey’s antagonists, boasting dimensional abilities that rival both Cloak and Dagger’s. On top of those qualities, he’s also a compelling villain with a layered backstory.
The Hood
Given the prominence of mysticism and the occult, it’s almost impossible to imagine the MCU’s future without Parker Robbins aka The Hood in it. The Hood is best described as a Marvel Gus Fring if Gus Fring stumbled onto a demonic ritual, stole occult paraphernalia, and become a sorcerer in the process.
The Hood entered Marvel prominence during Norman Osborn’s Dark Reign, where he ascended to the top spot of the criminal empire. Parker Robbins was also, at one point, in contention for the mantle of Sorcerer Supreme. His Crime Syndicate was home to a lot of villainous heavy-hitters and would go on to prove highly formidable. The idea that a gun-toting, demon-summoning mobster could be in the MCU is a no-brainer.
Bullseye
You can’t have Daredevil in the MCU without Bullseye. If the Kingpin was to Daredevil the same way Norman Osborn is to Spider-Man, Bullseye is definitely Daredevil’s Venom; the secondary arch-nemesis whose skillset and penchant for disorder rivals that of the protagonist.
Bullseye is evil-incarnate which, in many ways, gives him such a powerful presence on the page. That a blind Catholic from Hell’s Kitchen is one of the few who can hold a candle up to Bullseye’s evil makes that rivalry so twistedly poetic. While I’m not entirely a fan of Daredevil Season 3’s troubled incel take on the character, Wilson Bethel‘s twitchy performance alone makes for a convincing argument for him that he get a second shot at the character.
The Punisher
Frank Castle may not be a villain in the modern sense but he’s certainly butted heads with enough Marvel heroes to be considered an antagonist. In fact, Frank Castle would also be the first person to tell you not to revere him as a hero. Unfortunately, an aspect of the character’s legacy continues to endure this day for a lot of wrong real-world reasons.
Perhaps one way for Marvel Studios to bypass the ugly aspect of that legacy is to bring Frank Castle into a world far removed from our real one. Have the Punisher fight over-the-top monsters, superheroes, and supervillains. Use what the playground that is the MCU has to offer to give us a different kind of Punisher. Bring Jon Bernthal back while you’re at it.
With Peacemaker just under a week away, stills and promotional materials are coming out featuring some of the characters. One of those characters is Judomaster. Given James Gunn’s affinity for lesser-known comic characters, it’s no surprise that Judomaster fits right into his vision. But who is Judomaster? Don’t fret, we have you covered.
Judomaster, played by Nhut Le
Created in 1965, Judomaster’s real name is Hadley “Rip” Jagger. He is a World War II vet and appeared in Crisis on Infinite Earths #6. Judomaster has undergone three reboots with different people taking up the helm. While Judomaster wasn’t originally a DC Comics character, the character was bought by the company in 1965 and he made his debut in Special War Series #4 shortly after inception.
Nhut Le stars as the aforementioned hero joining John Cena‘s Peacemaker. Appearing as Judomaster in Peacemaker is Nhut Le’s first major role as an actor. Previously, he’s appeared in Kroll Show and Raven’s Home. With the role of Judomaster, Le is poised for a breakout with James Gunn and John Cena at his side.
As the name implies, Judomaster is a master of Judo which is the Japanese art of throwing people, or as people in the Judo circle refer to it as: “The art of hitting someone with a planet.” Readers can get a feel for judo in the below video, highlighting three-time Olympic judoka champion, Teddy Riner.
But Judomaster isn’t as one-dimensional as his name implies. In addition to Judo, Judomaster is adept in karate and boxing, making him a very formidable person to fight. He can be seen punching, throwing and chopping his way through guerilla insurgents in the Martial Law series. So when you tune into Peacemaker on January 17th, expect some high-flying action à la Bruce Lee. Judomaster, should he live up to his name, will be a hero with no real superpower, only specialization in hand-to-hand combat.
What to expect?
What can fans expect from the titular hero? Well, as mentioned above, Judomaster isn’t a one-trick pony. He is a master in hand-to-hand combat. With a martial arts background, I expect to see a very Bruce Lee-esque approach to his choreography, but with a peppering of Gunn’s hint of violence: a hot-tempered fighter with a huge enthusiasm for violence.
The Lee influence will likely borderline on parody in this series knowing Gunn. In many martial arts, there’s the risk of injury, but Gunn will likely lean into this to keep the tone and violence levels similar to The Suicide Squad.
Te-Gutuma
If you’re looking for the Judo influence, I fully expect to see the Te-Guruma implemented. The Te-Guruma, as seen in the above image, involves picking your opponent up and slamming them upside down. This throw, also popular in MMA and freestyle wrestling, is especially dangerous when improperly (or properly in Judomaster’s case) implemented. You can easily slam your opponent on their head or the back of their neck causing severe spinal damage.
Osoto Gari
One other throw that you can almost bet on is the Osoto Gari. The Osoto Gari involves getting close to your opponent and sweeping the legs from under them while pushing their torso down. Modified, Judomaster will likely push on the head, smashing the skull to the hard surface. The technique can also be seen in the drawing above.
Ronda Rousey applying an armbar
One more judo technique, which is more common in Jiu-Jitsu, I expect to see is an armbar. This stretches the arm across the hips and hyperextending the elbow which is very painful. But if not tapped or, what is likely in Judomaster’s case, continued torque, will break the arm — something that seems likely in Peacemaker.
Don’t miss out on the violence when Peacemaker debuts on Jan. 17th. Oh, what a lovely day!
Fans have long looked forward to the latest Star Wars Disney Plus streaming series, The Book of Boba Fett. The first tease for the show, glimpsed at the end of Season 2 of The Mandalorian, and subsequent footage shown in trailers seemed to promise big action as Fett took over the organized crime scene on Tatooine. Fans were excited about seeing what Fett would do next and hype was high. And yet, through two episodes, we’ve seen very little action in the present day and the slow, deliberate pace of the flashbacks have left fans unsure of to think.
“The Book of Boba Fett doesn’t have an identity yet.” “The Book of Boba Fett is unsure of what kind of show it wants to be.” “The Book of Boba Fett has yet to find its footing.” These types of reactions provided a decent summary of some of the particular criticisms of the series so far. And from the standpoint of the audience, they are fair criticisms; however, what became clear after viewing Chapter 2, “The Tribes of Tatooine”, is that the creatives behind this show (Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni and Robert Rodriguez) know exactly what they want the show to be and, per usual, are making no bones about it.
While fans are understandably eager to see Fett kick all sorts of ass, the creatives have a different angle in mind, at least in these first two episodes. As fans, including myself, have complained about how we could easily put the pieces together of how Fett got back on his feet following his escape from the Sarlacc, what is being overlooked, by some, is that what we are getting is a story that redefines a character that we never really knew much about in the first place. When he swooped in and reclaimed his armor in Season 2 of The Mandalorian, fans of the character took to social media cheering the return of the character. “Boba is back, baby!!” But the reality being presented to us is quite different: Boba is not back. And since we never really knew Boba, we’re getting the opportunity to get to know him now.
It was a bold choice by the creatives to deconstruct the character the way they did. They literally stripped him bare of what made him iconic and did so in order to be able to tell us a better story down the road. His escape from the Sarlacc, subsequent stripping down by the Jawas and the ongoing story with the Tuskens will, when it’s done, be the defining period of this new Fett. His time with the Tuskens is growing more interesting over time and the experiences he’s having there will shape him into the man we see in the present day.
We’ve seen him symbolically reborn and deconstructed and what we’re witnessing now is the creation of essentially an entirely new character. He may wear the familiar armor, but this is not the same old Boba. The Book of Boba Fett is not here to continue the story of the iconic bounty hunter, told nicely over the years in the canonical animated series, it’s here to define the character anew.
Continuing with The Mandalorian‘s season 2 tradition of bringing into live-action Star Wars characters first introduced in another medium, The Book of Boba FettChapter 2 brought us the Wookie bounty hunter Black Krrsantan. Unlike Bo-Katan, Cobb Vanth, and Ahsoka Tano who either made their first appearances in animated form or in a novel, Black Krrsantan was first introduced in a comic book, 2015’s Darth Vader #1, back when Marvel Comics relaunched its Star Wars line.
It was there that Vader, doubting the Emperor’s true intentions following the events of A New Hope, requested that Jabba The Hut loaned him his two most reliable bounty hunters so that he could use them to conduct two separate investigations, without the Emperor’s knowledge. The two names brought forward were none other than Black Krrsantan and Boba Fett. While Fett was tasked with tracking down the rebel pilot responsible for the destruction of the Death Star, Black Krrsantan is ordered to find and capture an agent of the Emperor himself.
Throughout his comic book appearances, he crossed paths with a number of legacy characters besides Fett, including Ben Kenobi on the sands of Tatooine. At one time, tasked with the mission to capture Luke, he even crashed into the Millenium Falcon which lead to him meeting up with Han Solo, C-3PO, R2-D2, and eventually even fighting Chewbacca. But what eventually turned out to be one of his most meaningful connections to another character was his relationship with human female archaeologist Chelli Aphra, a.k.a. Doctor Aphra.
Aphra was also recruited by Darth Vader after the Battle of Yavin, unlike Black Krrsantan, perhaps due to her strong(er) moral compass, soon found herself running from the Sith Lord following his attempt to end her life after she was no longer of use. Black Krrsantan played an important role in all of this since it was him that managed to save Aphra only because she owed him money and letting her die was, simply put, a bad investment. He then stayed with her for a while, expecting her to comply with his demands and pay her due.
All through his chronicled adventures, Black Krrsantan has always presented himself as a ruthless and fierce warrior, and with his live-action debut apparently putting him up against the mighty Boba Fett, his former partner in crime, we are perhaps due a fight for the ages. If his presence in The Book of Boba Fett may open the door to a few other live-action character introductions, that remains to be seen. But even if Doctor Aphra might be seen as a long shot, characters like Triple-Zero and BT-1 who also have a history with the Wookie gladiator would also be extremely welcomed additions to live-action Star Wars.
The Book of Boba Fett is in full swing on Disney Plus. Now fans can relive the moment it became a reality through the Star Wars: The Mandalorian Boba Fett and Fennec Shand Pop! Moment, available for pre-order from Entertainment Earth.
Packaged in a window box display, the deluxe Pop! flashes back to the moment at the end of Season 2 of The Mandalorian that saw Boba take Jabba’s throne after killing Bib Fortuna, leading to the events of The Book of Boba Fett.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Avengers: Endgame Captain America: The Winter Soldier Black Panther Avengers: Infinity War Thor: Ragnarok Captain America: Civil War Guardians of the Galaxy Spider-Man: Far From Home The Avengers Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings Iron Man Captain Marvel Doctor Strange Loki Eternals Spider-Man: Homecoming Hawkeye WandaVision Ant-Man and The Wasp Avengers: Age of Ultron Black Widow The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Iron Man 2 Captain America: The First Avenger Thor Ant-Man Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 The Incredible Hulk Thor: The Dark World Iron Man 3 What If…?
Charles Murphy
Thor: Ragnarok Captain America: The Winter Soldier Avengers: Endgame Spider-Man: No Way Home Iron Man Loki Guardians of the Galaxy Avengers: Infinity War The Avengers Black Panther Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings Hawkeye Captain America: Civil War Avengers: Age of Ultron Ant-Man and The Wasp WandaVision Spider-Man: Homecoming Black Widow Spider-Man: Far From Home Ant-Man Captain America: The First Avenger Doctor Strange The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Iron Man 3 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Eternals Captain Marvel Thor What If…? Iron Man 2 Thor: The Dark World The Incredible Hulk
Joseph Aberl
Spider-Man: No Way Home Avengers: Infinity War Captain America: The Winter Soldier Loki Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Iron Man Black Panther Avengers: Endgame Thor: Ragnarok Spider-Man: Homecoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Avengers: Age of Ultron WandaVision Captain America: Civil War Spider-Man: Far From Home Iron Man 3 Hawkeye Ant-Man Doctor Strange Guardians of the Galaxy The Falcon and the Winter Soldier The Avengers Ant-Man and the Wasp Captain America: The First Avenger Black Widow Thor Eternals Captain Marvel What If…? Iron Man 2 The Incredible Hulk Thor: The Dark World
Megan Murphy
Spider-Man: No Way Home Avengers: Infinity War Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings Captain America: The Winter Soldier Iron Man Hawkeye Black Panther Avengers: Endgame Spider-Man: Homecoming Spider-Man: Far From Home Loki WandaVision Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Thor: Ragnarok Captain America: Civil War Iron Man 3 Doctor Strange Ant-Man The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Guardians of the Galaxy The Avengers Captain America: The First Avenger Black Widow Ant-Man and The Wasp Captain Marvel Thor Eternals Iron Man 2 Avengers: Age of Ultron The Incredible Hulk Thor: The Dark World
*Megan did not watch What If…?
Joao Pinto
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Avengers: Infinity War Avengers: Endgame The Avengers Guardians of the Galaxy Thor: Ragnarok Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Loki Captain America: Civil War Black Panther Spider-Man: No Way Home WandaVision Doctor Strange Captain America: The First Avenger Spider-Man: Homecoming Hawkeye Iron Man 3 Ant-Man Avengers: Age of Ultron Iron Man Ant-Man and the Wasp The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Spider-Man: Far from Home Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Black Widow Captain Marvel Thor Eternals What If…? Iron Man 2 Thor: The Dark World The Incredible Hulk
Mary Maerz
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Avengers: Endgame The Avengers Captain America: Civil War Thor: Ragnarok Avengers: Infinity War Spider-Man: No Way Home Avengers: Age of Ultron Iron Man 3 Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings Black Panther Guardians of the Galaxy Ant-Man WandaVision Doctor Strange Iron Man Iron Man 2 Hawkeye Loki Spider-Man: Far From Home Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Spider-Man: Homecoming Captain America: The First Avenger Eternals The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Black Widow What If…? Captain Marvel Ant-Man and The Wasp Thor The Incredible Hulk Thor: The Dark World
Filip Manka
Eternals Black Panther Captain America: The Winter Soldier Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Loki Avengers: Endgame Guardians of the Galaxy Avengers: Infinity War Spider-Man: Homecoming Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Thor: Ragnarok Captain America: Civil War Doctor Strange Spider-Man: No Way Home Captain America: The First Avenger Spider-Man: Far From Home The Avengers WandaVision Ant-Man Iron Man Hawkeye Thor What If…? Captain Marvel Black Widow Avengers: Age of Ultron Iron Man 3 Thor: The Dark World Iron Man 2 Ant-Man and The Wasp The Incredible Hulk
Anthony Canton III
Avengers: Infinity War Spider-Man: No Way Home Captain America: The Winter Soldier Thor: Ragnarok Avengers: Endgame Spider-Man: Far From Home Captain America: Civil War WandaVision Loki Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings Black Panther The Avengers Spider-Man: Homecoming Guardians of the Galaxy Hawkeye Ant-Man and The Wasp Black Widow Avengers: Age of Ultron Ant-Man Iron Man Doctor Strange Eternals Captain Marvel The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Thor Captain America: The First Avenger Iron Man 3 Iron Man 2 What If…? Thor: The Dark World The Incredible Hulk
Arlyn Murphy
Spider-Man: No Way Home Hawkeye Thor: Ragnarok Captain America: The Winter Soldier Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings Ant-Man and The Wasp Avengers: Infinity War Black Panther Black Widow The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Avengers: Endgame The Avengers WandaVision Captain America: The First Avenger Iron Man Guardians of the Galaxy Loki Ant-Man Doctor Strange Captain Marvel Captain America: Civil War Avengers: Age of Ultron Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Spider-Man: Far From Home Thor Spider-Man: Homecoming The Incredible Hulk Eternals Thor: The Dark World Iron Man 3 What If…? Iron Man 2
John Sabato
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Guardians of the Galaxy Spider-Man: No Way Home Spider-Man: Homecoming Avengers: Infinity War Loki Wandavision Eternals Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Thor: Ragnorak Hawkeye Black Panther Avengers: Endgame Captain America: Civil War Avengers Iron Man 3 Captain Marvel Avengers: Age of Ultron Black Widow Ant-Man Doctor Strange The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Iron Man What if…? Spider-Man: Far From Home Captain America: The First Avenger Thor Iron Man 2 Ant-Man and The Wasp Thor: The Dark World The Incredible Hulk
Nathan Miller
Avengers: Endgame Avengers: Infinity War Eternals Black Panther Spider-Man: No Way Home Captain America: The Winter Soldier Captain America: Civil War Loki Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings Hawkeye Thor: Ragnarok Captain Marvel Wandavision Spider-Man: Homecoming The Avengers Guardians of the Galaxy The Falcon and The Winter Soldier Doctor Strange Ant-Man Black Widow Captain America: The First Avenger Avengers: Age of Ultron Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Spider-Man: Far From Home Ant-Man and the Wasp The Incredible Hulk Iron Man 3 What If…? Iron Man 2 Iron Man Thor Thor: The Dark World
Hunter Radesi
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Guardians of the Galaxy Captain America: The Winter Soldier Avengers: Endgame Loki Avengers: Infinity War Shang-Chi and the Legend of The Ten Rings Avengers: Age of Ultron Spider-Man: No Way Home The Avengers Spider-Man: Homecoming Black Panther Hawkeye Thor: Ragnarok Captain America: Civil War Falcon and the Winter Soldier Spider-Man: Far From Home Eternals WandaVision Captain America: The First Avenger Iron Man Ant-Man Iron Man 3 Doctor Strange Ant-Man and The Wasp Black Widow What If…? Thor Iron Man 2 Thor: The Dark World Captain Marvel The Incredible Hulk
Murphy’s Multiverse Ultimate Ranking
***In order to create the Ultimate Ranking, we created a point system, totaled up the points for each movie and divided by the number of rankers to create an average. Each rankers top film received 32 points, their bottom film received 1 point.***
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (362 total points, average rank of 30.17) Avengers: Infinity War (341 total points, average rank of 28.42) Spider-Man: No Way Home (336 total points, average rank of 28) Avengers: Endgame (329 total points, average rank of 27.42) Thor: Ragnarok (300 total points, average rank of 25) Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings (299 total points, average rank of 24.92) Black Panther (297 total points, average rank of 24.75) Loki (283 total points, average rank of 23.58) Guardians of the Galaxy (267 total points, average rank of 22.25) Captain America: Civil War (256 total points, average rank of 21.33) The Avengers (244 total points, average rank of 20.33) Hawkeye (235 total points, average rank of 19.58) WandaVision (231 total points, average rank of 19.25) Spider-Man: Homecoming (229 total points, average rank of 19.08) Iron Man (201 total points, average rank of 16.75) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (188 total points, average rank of 15.67) Spider-Man: Far From Home (186 total points, average rank of 15.5) Doctor Strange (178 total points, average rank of 14.83) Avengers: Age of Ultron (177 total points, average rank of 14.75) Eternals (168 total points, average rank of 14.00) Ant-Man (163 total points, average rank of 13.58) The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (162 total points, average ran of 13.5) Black Widow (146 total points, average rank of 12.17) Captain America: The First Avenger (142 total points, average rank of 11.83) Ant-Man and The Wasp (131 total points, average ran of 10.92) Iron Man 3 (130 total points, average rank of 10.83) Captain Marvel (120 total points, average rank of 10.00) Thor (72 total points, average rank of 6.00) Iron Man 2 (59 total points, average rank of 4.91) What If…? (52 total points, average rank of 4.33) The Incredible Hulk (30 total points, average rank of 2.5) Thor: The Dark World (27 total points average ran of 2.25)
When it comes to long-form storytelling on the small-screen, it isn’t unusual for shows to lose their steam after multiple seasons. This is, of course, in part due to the typical 20+ episode order received by most primetime network, and the ability to stretch out a story over a long period of time. While miniseries are becoming more normal and networks (finally) welcoming 10 to 13 episode seasons, most shows are able to tighten the grasp on their stories. For Cobra Kai, the 10-episodes often worked in its favor. However, by the start of Season 4, most of the drama felt rehashed. Thankfully, Cobra Kai easily set itself up for a new story by season’s end while still offering a sense of closure to what came before.
For the past three seasons of Cobra Kai, the drama has focused on Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence. They, of course, were the stars of the Karate Kid films from the 80s, and despite thirty-years having passed, the duo are unable to let go of their differences. After coming face-to-face with LaRusso, much to his chagrin, Johnny makes it a point to bring back Cobra Kai and teach kids to be “badass.” It’s a plot point that worked for the first few seasons, however, after four seasons, it does become a bit stale – especially with the continual sliminess of Kreese. The re-introduction of Terry Silver, however, makes it so Cobra Kai is able to start anew, in a sense.
After attacking a Cobra Kai “student” – and the term student is used lightly here as Stingray is an adult – Terry begins crafting a plan to overthrow Kreese and make Cobra Kai his own. Does it sound familiar? Yes, because Kreese managed to steal back Cobra Kai from Johnny after Season 2. The difference here, however, is that Kreese was finally on the verge of character development at the end of Season 4. There was a sense he was finally beginning to comprehend everything Johnny had been desperately trying to tell him, only to find himself behind bars due to Terry. As it turns out, Terry worked out a plan with Stingray, ensuring him he’ll become a Cobra Kai if he tells the police it was Kreese that put him in the hospital – not Silver. It’s a huge turning point for the series as it impacts numerous characters moving forward.
Sure, Johnny and LaRusso are bound to fight back against Silver, but this is no longer solely about these two characters any longer. Stingray has become so desperate to belong he’s willing to become someone else just to appear cool, while Kreese is on the verge of being more than a one-note villain as he’s thrown behind bars. More importantly, though, Silver is here to wreak havoc on Cobra Kai as a hole. He’s worse than Kreese ever was. Not only did he bribe a referee to ensure a win at the All Valley competition during Tory’s fight, but he also put a student in the hospital just to get rid of Kreese. He’s willing to go to extremes the series has not yet touched upon; Silver is the terrifying variant that the series needed moving forward.
As the series moves into its fourth season, with Season 5 having already filmed, it’s time Cobra Kai acknowledges people do grow from their mistakes. The amount of character development crafted over Season 4 is honestly impressive and makes for a promising Season 5. The best part, though, is for the first time since the series started? There’s no telling where things go from here, and the series can only be better for it.
When Cobra Kaiwas first announced as a YouTube Red series in 2017, many were curious to see how the series would go about redeeming Johnny. After all, he was a huge bully as a member of Cobra Kai in the Karate Kid films – films that hadn’t exactly done a great job of making him more than a one-sided villain. Thankfully, Cobra Kai offers more of a morally gray area to explore Johnny Lawrence as a character. The series has never shied away from his faults in the past. In fact, Cobra Kai seems to embrace his mistakes, allowing him to truly grow as a character.
He’s a screw-up. There’s no denying as much. Johnny will never be Daniel LaRusso. The temper is still there, although he’s more capable of holding it back these days, and he loves his Coors. Over the course of three seasons, though, Cobra Kai has turned Johnny from a one-note villain into a fully-realized character. He’s no longer merely a combative drunk looking to pick a fight. He’s a man determined to right his wrongs, even if he ultimately goes about doing things incorrectly.
The Johnny Lawrence we meet in Season 1 of Cobra Kai is a down on his luck man who is simply trying to make ends meet. When he finds himself before LaRusso again, though, things take a turn for the worse and he ultimately decides to reopen Cobra Kai – much to LaRusso’s chagrin. Enter Season 2: Johnny and LaRusso are still bitter enemies, who unknowingly impose their issues with each other onto their students, resulting in a massive fight that nearly kills one of the show’s main characters: Miguel.
Miguel, of course, is presented as a do-over for Johnny, who failed to be there for his son, Robby. While both characters are the same age, Miguel willingly accepts Johnny’s help and cherishes the time with his Sensei as he doesn’t have a father figure to look up to. Whereas, Robby is unwilling to look beyond the past and accept that his father wants to make things right. This is something we see further explained in Season 3 when Kreese steals Cobra Kai from Johnny and seeks to turn the students into trained fighters against Johnny’s will.
Johnny doesn’t want Cobra Kai to be what it was when he was younger. He wants it to be better; he wants the students to be better than him because he knows what Kreese taught them was wrong. He tries to be the good guy, but he can’t seem to get it right, no matter what he does. Thankfully, Season 4 of Cobra Kai looks ready to let Johnny grow beyond Cobra Kai as the trailer shows him working alongside LaRusso.
While Kreese, a war hero, is unable to let go of his past, Johnny wants nothing more than a chance at a future with those he hurt in his past. He wants what is best for Robby, even if he keeps screwing up trying to make things right with everyone else. He knows he wasn’t there for Robby in the past, but he wants to be there now, if only Robby would let him. It’s also clear he’s trying to move beyond his issues with LaRusso, knowing his own personal grudge against the man has done nothing but hurt those around him.
Johnny Lawrence has shown more growth throughout three seasons, while LaRusso often feels as though he has regressed. In a franchise that once feared allowing Johnny to be more than the bad guy, Cobra Kai has allowed him to be more than his past self: he’s a mess, sure, but he’s trying to clean up his mess. After all, as he showed by cutting off his step-father, we are more than what lay behind us.
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