Marvel is finally taking steps to cross its Netflix shows with Agents of SHIELD. While at the red carpet premiere for Agents Of SHIELD, Marvel boss Jeph Loeb teased the appearance of Jon Bernthal’s Punisher later in the season.
Various guests attended the red carpet premiere however, Leob made a point of announcing Robbie Reyes’ creator, Felipe Smith but also Gerry Conway, who has written various Ghost Rider stories in the past. The interesting thing is that Leob announced Conway as the creator of The Punisher. Leob then reportedly teased Punisher’s appearance in Agents Of SHIELD, take a look at what he had to say below.
“You will understand why I brought all of these people here later in the season, and why it makes sense.”
It certainly seems as though Leob is teasing something big for Agents Of SHIELD, and it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see Punisher crossover, especially with Ghost Rider’s successful introduction. These are two very similar characters and inhabit very dark corners of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so I wouldn’t put it past Marvel to bring Bernthal in for an episode to set something up with Ghost Rider.
Do You Want To See The Punisher Appear In Agents Of SHIELD Season 4? How About A Confrontation With Ghost Rider? Be Sure To Let Us Know In The Comments Section.
THE STINGERS—PART ONE! You thought the HOLOGRAMS had it rough back when they had to team up with the MISFITS?! Well, just wait until they meet the European super group taking the U.S. by storm… THE STINGERS! Meet Riot, Rapture, Minx, and… RAYA?!?! Whaaaat?
Writing
After the announcement from the previous issue, Jem and the remaining members of the band have no chance but to move forward. As they work towards finding a new member, the new band on the block The Stingers have arrived and made themselves known not only to the Holograms but also to the Misfits. Obviously, Pizzazz is just thrilled to have more competition.
Writer Kelly Thompson really presents a lot of new problems to be addressed in future issues. Other than the threat of the Stingers to the status quo, Jerrica seems to either be addicted to being Jem or is trying to become Jem on a 24 hour basis. Either way, it sounds like she is heading for an intervention in the near future in a way which will really keep the reader engaged in the story.
Artwork
The book’s art has been taken over by artist Meredith McClaren who has introduced a style which is truly unique. She has brought a style which seems to be a mixture of Japanese manga and Peanuts comics. If this sounds like an intriguing idea, then you owe it to yourself to give this issue a read.
Conclusion
The book has kept a great level of quality and the new arc and art style shows it will not decrease anytime soon. Hopefully the creative team will keep up the fine work and if you are a curious reader who was hesitant to check this title out, this new arc seems to be a great jumping on point.
A new poster from the upcoming season of AMC’s The Walking Dead teases that Negan is “just getting started” with his skull bashing opener which will answer the question ‘Who did Negan kill?’ once and for all.
The poster offers no clues as to the identity of the victim but Jeffery Dean Morgan’s Negan looks to be having a blast no matter who it turns out to be. Who do you think Negan killed?
The Walking Dead returns October 23, 2016 as the first half of season seven sees the group fractured, broken, bereaved and picking up the pieces while living under the thumb of oppression. Negan will have successfully brought the survivors under his will, brutally convincing them to live under his rules with a deadly and horrific example of what happens if they don’t.
Warner Bros. is planning to make big changes to their DC Comics movies. After the negative critical reception to both Batman v Superman and Suicide Squadthe studio has been adapting to make more universally loved films.
Today Warner Bros. CEO Jeff Bewkes confirmed that the studio is working to change the DC Extended Universe, and is making future movies lighter, to match the tone of the comics.
“The strategy worked, the execution did deliver what we wanted to do. We can do a little better on the creative. … We’re right on course or better. The DC Comics characters … have a little more lightness in them than maybe what you saw in those movies, so we’re thinking about that.”
Bewkes went on to discuss the success Warner Bros. found with Ben Affleck as Batman.
“The main thing was to launch DC and reinvigorate it with the fan base, the reboot of Batman with Ben Affleck was a big success.”
According to Variety Bewkes also spoke positively about Gal Gadot’s portrayal of Wonder Woman.
Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh the buddy cop War on Everyone is essentially an American-style movie made with British and Irish money and production companies – usually, it is the other way round. War on Everyone is a more mainstream effort from the director of The Guard and Calvary and a gateway into McDonagh’s style of humor.
Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgård) and Bob Bolaño (Michael Peña) are corrupt police detectives in Albuquerque, New Mexico and keep getting suspended. The situation is so bad that their superior officer (Paul Reiser) threatens their jobs if he receives one more complaint about them. Despite this Terry and Bob continue to stake down every criminal in the city in the hope of making a big score, but end up crossing someone they cannot threaten.
War of Everyone is similar to a buddy comedy released earlier this year The Nice Guys: both movies have a duo where one is a family man and the other is a single man who lets his fist do the talking. Both movies also have a 70s motif – although The Nice Guys is more overt with this – it was set in the 70s and had a story involving pornography and the automotive industry. The War of Everyone’s 70s references are in its visuals, like the cars, clothing, hairstyles and editing tricks like the side swipes as well as a quick mention of Starkey and Hutch. War on Everyone has a contemporary setting and jokes have a modern reference, ranging from gaming to ISIS.
The main duo also have shades of Riggs and Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon series. Bob is a family man, and his home life is what Murtaugh’s would be like if he were an asshole to his kids. Terry is the Riggs’ character and like Riggs Terry lives alone, has huge personal demons and drinks to cover it. Also like Riggs in Lethal Weapon 3, Terry develops a love interest in the form of Jackie (Creed‘s Tessa Thompson), one of the pairs’ victims and he is able to open up to young woman. Terry is made out to be the more sympathetic of the two – having a certain level of morality – while Bob is a hypocrite: complaining if anyone makes racial slurs against him, but has no problem making jokes at the expense of people from African-American and Irish heritage.
Skarsgård and Peña are A great team-up, and they are characters who match some of the best in the genre. Peña has solid comedy pedigree in movies like Ant-Man and Tower Heist and he is suitable as the jerk to everyone but his wife. Skarsgård is an imposing figure – he already showed his action abilities in the underrated The Legend of Tarzanand in War of Everyone is certainly believable as a man capable of being able to knock someone out with one punch. They have a strong rapport with each other, and some of their exchanges have echoes of Jules and Vincent in Pulp Fiction – their interactions are some of the funniest moments in the movie.
There is also a strong supporting cast like Thompson, Stephanie Sigman and Paul Reiser as the police lieutenant who constantly has to chew Terry and Bob out. Theo James is decent enough in his role as the villain, a posh Englishman who uses his legitimate businesses to cover his illegal activities. However, the character was underdeveloped – he is shown to be taking crack and heroin and has no problem functioning as a high ranking criminal; he is even able to box in this condition. The character also seemed to be written as a young man who is playing a gangster, but the movie later shows his family – which leads to thoughts that the character was originally intended for an older actor.
Caleb Landy Jones, best known for playing Banshee in X-Men: First Class was the stand out character from the villains – he was a creepy presence when he first appears with his long hair and made worst when he makes statements that show he’s a pervert. Malcolm Barrett and David Wilmot (a McDonagh regular) were also note worthy as a couple of local crooks – even though one of them is an Irishman – that have to act as Terry and Bob’s informants.
As a writer/director McDonagh is known for having a no holds barred approach and willing to take on everything and anything. His targets include all races and creeds – takes aim against Islam and ISIS – which is just asking for trouble in this day and age with jokes that could be considered inappropriate. This type of humor could offend in the wrong hands, but McDonagh ensures War on Everything is on the right side of the funny/offensive line. The dialogue is similar to his first movie The Guard which was praised by critics but was really overrated – War on Everything is, fortunately, a more consistently funny movie. McDonagh also includes some visual gags like some women in burkas playing tennis and his interest in religion shines through by having a minor criminal also being a Quaker.
While McDonagh makes a funny movie the jokes take precedence over the plot. There is not much direction as Terry and Bob bumble they way through crossing a dangerous criminal his enterprise. It is arguably the point of the movie as the cops are just looking to make money but the plotting is at times confusing regarding what characters are actually doing as they find people and see how they connect. Great buddy cop movies like Hot Fuzz, the Lethal Weapon series, Beverly Hills Cop, 21 and 22 Jump Street etc… still have engaging plots to go with their action and comedy. The premise of corrupt cops shaking down local criminals could easily have worked as a Coen Brothers or Tarantino crime caper, but McDonagh should have developed his story more before filming.
McDonagh’s love for philosophy also makes a presence in War on Everything as characters discuss ideas, facts, and books. We get it, you’re a smart, well-read man Mr. McDonagh; you don’t also need to show off. McDonagh takes the movie down a really dark Avenue with one of its subplots – there is nothing wrong with a comedy having a serious moment or some levity but War on Everything took on a subject that is too dark even for a black comedy.
War on Everything starts out as an energetic buddy comedy that is both classic 70s and modern at the same time. There is a great central partnership with Skarsgård and Peña in the main roles and consistently funny lines throughout, but the thin plotting makes the movie a little tiresome.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will display a whole new side of the galaxy far, far away. The prequel is set to be a darker chapter in the Star Wars story, and will have larger elements of a galactic war.
In an interview with Variety, Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that he is not expecting Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to be as successful as last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a movie which grossed a worldwide total of $2.1 billion.
“We never felt it would do the level that Force Awakens did, but based on the response to the trailers and posters, the level of interest is as high as it was for Force Awakens.”
Disney feeling this way is not a major surprise. Rogue One looks and feels like a much darker movie than The Force Awakens, and doesn’t have legacy characters such as Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Leia, but will feature Darth Vader which might draw more attention. It is also worth noting that The Force Awakens had a lot more mystery and attention because fans went years without a Star Wars movie, Rogue One is the first example of a yearly trip to the Star Wars universe.
From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 debuted last night, and the biggest item on the agenda was the first appearance of Ghost Rider on any television show. Ghost Rider has a history in cinema, though, and it is not pretty one. Depending on who you ask, prior to Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. picked him up for its fourth season, Ghost Rider was not much of a marketable commodity.
As this writer has pointed out in a prior Monkey’s Fighting Robots article, Ghost Rider’s two big screen debuts were mostly consider cinematic flops, before the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D pickup.
However, fan love and demand was still strong, as rumors of a Netflix show loomed, enter Marvel’s All-New Ghost Rider Robbie Reyes.
The irony of it all is that Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. and All-New Ghost Rider both did not seem to have as much success as other show or characters. So, it is interesting to see them together, but how did Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4’s Ghost Rider turn out? Were the effects top-notch? Accurate portrayal? Was he merely used as menial plot device? Lets discuss.
The Ghost Riders Are-A-Changin’
Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4’s first episode held more hints of Ghost Rider than the actual character(Granted, the show isn’t called Ghost Rider, but still). Ghost Rider was not fully seen until a little over halfway through the episode. He was portrayed as a serial killer by the A.O.S. character Quake, who was the only one who actually met the rider the whole time.
Robbie Reyes’ was conflicted like any rider before him, but he was not completely psychotic, and there was positive reverence of the Ghost Rider in Robbie’s neighborhood. Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. may be over playing the horror factor.
Robbie Reyes is obviously about ten or more years older, and Gabe is a little older too. These were not, it seems so far, to be the only changes from the titular comic book the All-New Ghost Rider hails from.
Robbie Reyes was unique in that his rider was not based on the “Spirit of Vengeance.” A Russian mobster that had a deeper web within the story, and connection to Reyes, was the possessing spirit. Though it wasn’t specifically spoken in the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode, the previews are name-dropping the “Spirit of Vengeance.”
Gone is Dr. Zabo and his super pills, and now there is some darker, ghost story that is the subplot of the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. Ghost Riderarc.
With not much more to go on, those are the differences, but has anything been brought over from the Marvel comic book he came from?
All-New Ghost Rider Plucked From The Old Comic book
His name is Robbie Reyes, he has a brother named Gabe, and he appears to also have some special needs. The car, the skull, and even the jacket look super cool, and are spot on from the All-New Ghost Rider‘s comic book. Anything more is yet to be seen in one of the next 21 episodes of Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Conclusion
The cool factor carried over into Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D., and this Ghost Rider incarnation is certainly darker than the previous on-screen portrayals, but will it be enough to keep the Ghost Rider in the Marvel cinematic and TV universe? Only time and fan reaction will tell, but it is a serious take on the character with what seems to be a good actor.
The “All-New” comic book had a smaller following, so Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. might get away with some changes, but hopefully they won’t take too much license with an already shaky, troubled character. Though, it is only the first episode to contain the Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D Ghost Rider after all.
Also, the effects could use a little work on the skull, but it is still, over all…cool.
Let’s say you really liked Training Day. As you should. Antoine Fuqua’s crooked cop thriller is one of the very best entires in the subgenre, a masterclass in mounting tension and performances from both Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke that transcend their genre trappings. It’s a great film. So if you like it, congratulations, you have terrific taste.
Now let’s say you thought Training Day was fine, but you thought it might be better served if it were run through the CBS homogenizing process and dumped on society in a more generic and uninspired, serialized TV show. The film just wasn’t obvious enough for you, and you want more tone-deaf dialogue, more meaningless action, more preposterous developments at every turn.
If that’s your bag, have I got the show for you.
CBS has adapted Training Day for their Fall network slate, much like FOX has done with Lethal Weapon. Only this time, ya know, to mix things up, the crooked cop is a white guy and the trainee is African American. And that crooked white cop, in case you had fears of subtlety or the lack of scenery chewing, is none other than overacting savant Bill Paxton, who plays openly corrupt Frank Rourke. Paxton is doing his typical “hey, man, whatevs” work here. The fresh meat is Justin Cornwell, played by Kyle Craig. He’s fine I guess. He’s breathing.
But there’s a twist! You see, Kyle Craig is fresh off a preposterous baby-saving incident that kicks off the show, one of the most absurd sequences I have ever witnessed. It has to be seen to be believed – but you can turn it off after that. And in his newfound fame, Craig is recruited by his captain to go undercover. You see, in this new Training Day universe, the events of the film have happened. Alonzo Harris’s antics are yet another blemish on the LAPD and all of the cases he was involved with were thrown out, leaving the streets overrun with ethnic criminals of all shapes and sizes. Craig is tasked with making sure this sort of corruption nonsense doesn’t happen with Rourke, and we’re off and running.
There’s really no need to break down plot details and developments in this pilot. You can probably guess everything here since this is a CBS show, and CBS works really hard to make every one of their “crime” shows look and feel the exact same. Your grandpa will love it. There’s plenty of arbitrary violence and action on display, but it’s not too violent. There’s no blood, don’t be ridiculous. And there is plenty of bland dialogue to condescend viewers.
Kyle Craig’s wife, for example, lays everything out in the first three minutes of the show. He’s the love of her life, hopefully the mother of his children, he needs to be careful in all his endeavors. Oh, and Craig has a partial license plate on his wrist from the car responsible for his cop dad’s death. Not a tattoo, mind you, but apparently just a sharpie number that he has to keep retouching at times during the show. First of all, you couldn’t get a tattoo, dude? It’s not important enough for that? Also, it sure seems like after a few DAYS – let alone YEARS – since your father’s death, those digits would be seared into your head. But maybe he has short-term memory loss… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
If you have that uncle who celebrates all the CBS shows… if he’s a fan of Blue Bloods or he can’t wait for the new season of CSI or NCIS: Milwaukee or whatever they have running these days, then absolutely point him in the direction of Training Day. It’s right in his wheelhouse. But if you (or your other, cooler uncle) has respect for the medium of crime drama storytelling, avoid this ridiculous show. Just go back and watch the movie. Hell, watch the movie every time the show comes on TV and you’ll be better off for it.
Supergirl Season 2 is on its way with a new network, a more official tie to the DCTV Universe, and a new TV Superman, which is sported in this new trailer, according to Comicbook.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvzqZKYqQX0
Supergirl showrunners, and fans alike, seemed apprehensive about bringing her famous cousin Superman to the CBS/CW show. However, reports indicated over the summer that another Superman on-screen representation was heading to CW’s Supergirl Season 2.
The new Supergirl Season 2 teaser trailer does not reveal much, but it is one of the more significant looks at the newest Superman in action. Superman was never directly in the show so far, as producer Andrew Kreisberg explains just what has taken so long to bring him to CW’s DCTV Universe.
“There really isn’t anything we’ve asked for that was not given to us, you know? The show’s called Supergirl and it’s about Supergirl. It’s not like we’ve been jonesing to have Superman on it.We also didn’t want to…you know, if you’re going to cast Superman, you’ve got cast Superman right! Just like when you think about all the time and effort and energy that’s gone into finding the cinematic Superman over the last thirty years.”
In fact, Kreisberg and company did not really seem like they would or wanted to bring Superman into their Supergirl show, as evidenced by the remainder and conclusion of his statement.
“For us, Superman is more of an idea than it is a personification of the character, so we’re more than happy to have him backlit. We’re perfectly happy to have him swoop in, save Kara in Episode Three, because the real heart of the story is that she then kicks Reactron’s butt. She’s the one that takes him down, and that’s what much more important for us.”
Now that the idea is has stepped out from his backlit persona, it will be interesting for fans to see how the newest Superman is portrayed, and what his overall roll will be in the show.
Right to the point. John Wick is a beast, made clear by the gun in his right hand. But he’s also impeccably dressed as the tailor measuring his suit would point out. That black three-piece is impressive.
Very little is known about the direction of John Wick: Chapter Two. No synopsis, but we do know Chad Stahelski is back as director, and the supporting cast includes Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane (!), Laurence Fishburne, Common, and John Leguizamo back in the fold.
