When the writing team of Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds make more references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Deadpool 2 than a full season of Daredevil on Netflix does, Deadpool forces his way into the MCU, and that’s how it should be.
Deadpool 2 is also part of DC Extended Universe, the My Little Pony Universe, and our universe; all of the fourth wall breaking and sidebar jokes at everyone’s expense are what makes the movie amazing and better than the original. The movie is also the perfect anti-Avengers: Infinity War without putting down or taking away from the Russo Bros.’ film.
What’s surprising about Deadpool 2 is how much the film makes you care about the individual characters. There are so many jokes and action sequences that when a personal moment hits the screen, it has such impact that the emotion takes you back. Then Deadpool kicks your legs out and carries you back to the action. As crazy and over the top the film is, you care about the characters and Reynolds takes full advantage of your emotion.
Credit for this film’s success needs to go in the direction of David Leitch. As the director, Leitch was able to control the chaos and ride the wave of action. He exceeds expectations in how he handles Zazie Beetz’s portrayal of Domino and her powers. The insane amount of time that was put into choreographing Domino’s action sequences is apparent, and it was worth every ounce of sweat.
One of the most fantastic aspects of the Deadpool film franchise is its ability to fix past mistakes in the X-Men Universe and beyond, and make the most cynical fanboy squeal. This goes back to the writing team and their ability to push the envelope as far as possible. The final battle is ripped directly from comics with an R-rated twist.
If Johnny Knoxville and his team at Jackass were great writers, Deadpool 2 is the film they would make.
Josh Brolin is serviceable as Cable, and I’m surprised there were not more Terminator jokes. As crazy as the rest of the film was, Cable’s story is relatively simple and the movie avoids the complexity of his origin. Brolin is the perfect straight man to Reynolds antics.
Overall, Deadpool 2 will be one of the best rides you will have in a theater this year. Reynolds and company weren’t holding anything back for a third film and gave you the most insane Deadpool experience possible.
If you’re a fan of the WWE and you read those two simple words “Excuse Me,” the voice in your head isn’t saying them politely… it’s screaming in an obnoxiously deafening tone. This is the work of one of the most successful and recognizable women in the WWE, Vickie Guerrero. Sometimes it takes a loud voice to get heard, and the women of the WWE and the WWE Universe have certainly been shouting as well. And now, they’re being heard.
I was honored to chat with Vickie Guerrero after she had made an appearance at Steel City Con in Monroeville, PA, last month. We talked about a lot of things, some of which I’ll keep to myself because KAYFABE, and locker room gossip shouldn’t be general public knowledge out of respect for the business of sports entertainment. We did, however, talk a lot about the women of the WWE and how things have changed over the years.
The term Diva was coined by Sable during the height of the Attitude Era. This time period saw the women as eye candy, with storylines that weren’t taken seriously. These ladies competed in things like evening gown matches, bikini matches, bra-and-panties matches, and pillow fights.
“I remember Eddie calling home often and telling me not to let the girls watch that night,” Guerrero explained, after he learned what matches would be included in the night’s television lineup. Things were a little more raunchy back then. Do we all remember Debra’s “puppies?” I admitted to Vickie that, even as a life-long WWE fan, I had stopped watching for a time because of the annoyance of this phrase and the disgusting representation of the women in the business.
Body image was something that was exploited in the Women’s Division. Guerrero and I discussed Chyna as an example. She was a powerful, strong, talented, and beautiful woman. Yet, they dressed her in bikini-style attire, when the focus should have been more on her athletic ability.
Lita – Photo Credit: Sportskeeda.com
The tides changed slightly when women like Molly Holly, Lita, and Trish Stratus debuted. Their ring attire was more modest, and their athletic abilities were unmatched. Lita performed higher-risk moves including moonsaults and diving hurricanas. She flew through the ring just as effortlessly as her Team Xtreme brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy. Still, the women were showcased as a novelty, with a handful of decent matches, but the WWE was still a very male-dominated business.
The ladies started to get some more attention paid to them with the debut of Total Divas, a reality show on the E! Network based on the personal lives of several of the women in the WWE. The show, which debuted in 2013, highlights real-life situations of love, money struggles, family drama, travel, injuries, and more. Total Divas and Total Bellas are a guilty pleasure, myself included, knowing that a show about the WWE can only be so open before the kayfabe curtain stands in the way. Still, it let the public in, giving these women more respect and admiration for their wild lives.
A giant wakeup call to the WWE creative team came in the form of a hashtag that was a surprising worldwide trend. After a match in February 2015 featuring The BellaTwins versus Paige and Emma that lasted less than 30 seconds, #GiveDivasAChance lit up Twitter like a Christmas tree. The WWE Universe ran with it. Media outlets ran with it. And even the superstars themselves ran with it. The heads of WWE noticed, and it seems that things haven’t been the same since… in a good way.
The WWE Divas Championship, created as part of the brand extension to SmackDown, was introduced by then-General Manager Guerrero in 2008. The Divas belt lasted 8 years until the title was changed to the WWE Women’s Championship (eventually becoming the RAW Women’s Championship) at WrestleMania 32 (2016). In a meeting with the women prior to the event, WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon announced: “You will no longer be referred to as Divas, you will simply be Superstars. There is no reason why there should be any difference between the caliber of performance of our male and female performers.”
Emma, Paige, Summer Rae, Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, and Renee Young – Photo Credit: WWE Network/E! Entertainment/Total Divas
McMahon’s words that night were just the start of the history-making advances that the WWE would make with the Women’s Division over the next few years: The Women’s Revolution. Hell in a Cell and Money in the Bank were just the beginning. The women got their first major pay per view main event at the 2018 Royal Rumble.
First Ever Women’s Royal Rumble
All it took was a phone call from Vice President of Talent Relations Mark Carrano for Vickie Guerrero to agree to make an in-ring appearance as an entrant in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble. With the match fielding 30 competitors, the current women’s roster wasn’t large enough to fill the card. Fan speculation began over who would come back or get called up from NXT.
2018 Women’s Royal Rumble – Photo Credit: WWE.com
Guerrero’s call came in December, and she was told to keep it a secret. “I kept quiet about it because of the respect for the business, but to keep the surprise for the fans as well.” The women who were participating in the event didn’t know who was rounding out the card until everyone arrived at the hotel conference room for rehearsal the night before the event. It was then that they were all told that their match would be the main event of the pay per view, much to everyone’s surprise and delight.
As part of her ring attire, Guerrero packed slouch heeled boots. “I figured I’d just cheat and slide out of the ring! I was told no, I had to get eliminated by going over the top rope, so if I twisted an ankle, just play it off.” She had considered doing some shopping for different shoes on the day of the event, but couldn’t risk being seen out in public in Philadelphia. Guerrero spent less than a minute in the match before being eliminated, giving her the shortest competitive time of any entrant. “I got booed and I got to hit Carmella with her Money in the Bank case! It was amazing!”
Eddie’s Legacy
It’s no surprise that even after his untimely passing in 2005, Eddie Guerrero’s legacy still lives on today.
Eddie Guerrero – Photo Credit: WWE.com
“Eddie was a perfectionist. I would often catch him rehearsing his lines in the bathroom mirror,” explained Vickie. “Every time I cut a promo, I would think ‘What would Eddie do.’ I always wanted to make him proud.”
Eddie and Vickie’s eldest daughter, Shaul, spent a few years wrestling in the WWE’s developmental league, Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), which was later rebranded as NXT. As her ring name Raquel Diaz, she held the Queen of FCW and FCW Divas Championship. However, she left in-ring performing in 2014. In 2016, she married Matt Rehwoldt, better known to all of you as Aiden English.
But one current superstar who has been very vocal that Eddie Guerrero is her inspiration is Sasha Banks. “I tried to avoid seeing Sasha during the weekend of the Rumble. I knew if I saw her, I’d cry,” Guerrero admitted. The two were able to sit and talk, and the WWE cameras captured their conversation.
So, what’s next for Vickie Guerrero? She recently celebrated her 50th birthday by skydiving, she’s attending college for medical administration, she just launched her YouTube channel, and she’s penning a book. She’s also involved with a new promotion called Wrestle Kings 3 Productions, which will work closely with charities such as the Veterans Freedom Project.
Jessika Carr – Photo Credit: WWE.com
What’s next for the women of the WWE? Paige was recently named SmackDown Live’s General Manager, making her the third woman to hold a general manager position on the weekly episodic shows. Last year, the WWE and NXT introduced the first full-time female official Jessika Carr, who I had the opportunity to see at a recent local NXT Live event. So still, the women continue to make history. Guerrero’s hunch? “Extreme Rules and Summerslam are coming up soon. I guess we’ll have to wait and see!”
With Justice League now in the rear view, fans are looking towards Aquaman as the release date nears. The film will follow Jason Momoa’s Arthur Curry as he begins his ascension to the king of Atlantis. It will not be an easy journey as Curry will deal with villains Ocean Master and Black Manta. And we may have just gotten our first look at the latter.
A leaked Lego figure, posted on Instagram, may have revealed our first look at Black Manta in the upcoming DC film. You can check out the post below:
Black Manta, aka David Hyde, has an extensive comic history, first appearing in Aquaman #35 in 1967. Since then the character has grown to become Aquaman’s greatest nemesis, which included stints with both the Legion of Doom and Suicide Squad. Hyde has also become a staple of DC animation, appearing in a plethora of TV including Young Justice, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Justice League Unlimited.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is set to play Manta in the upcoming DC film. His other work includes Baywatch and The Greatest Showman. He also appeared in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Abdul-Mateen is looking to bring a menacing presence to the screen as he will likely team up with Patrick Wilson’s Ocean Master to attempt to gain the Atlantean throne.
Aquaman is in an interesting spot. It’s set to be the first DCU film released following the lackluster Justice League. It’ll take a strong outing from James Wan and crew to get this universe back on track.
What do you think of Black Manta’s look in the upcoming Aquaman? Let us know in the comments below!
Aquaman star Jason Momoa, Patrick Wilson, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Ludi Lin, Randall Park, Nicole Kidman and Dolph Lundgren. It will be directed by horror guru James Wan with a script by Will Beall.
Beloved superhero group Doom Patrol is heading to production for the DC Universe streaming service, according to Deadline. Thirteen episodes have been ordered and the show will tie in to the upcoming Titanslive-action series.
The show will be executive produced by Greg Berlanti, whose work on Supergirl, Arrow, and Black Lightning should make him familiar to DC fans everywhere. Also exec-producing are Geoff Johns, Sarah Schechter, and Jeremy Carver. No casting decisions have been announced, but we should have news soon, since the show is scheduled to premiere in 2019.
DC released the following description of the series:
DOOM PATROL is a re-imagining of one of DC’s most beloved group of outcast Super Heroes: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and Crazy Jane, led by modern-day mad scientist Dr. Niles Caulder (The Chief). The Doom Patrol’s members each suffered horrible accidents that gave them superhuman abilities—but also left them scarred and disfigured. Traumatized and downtrodden, the team found purpose through The Chief, who brought them together to investigate the weirdest phenomena in existence—and to protect Earth from what they find. Part support group, part Super Hero team, the Doom Patrol is a band of super-powered freaks who fight for a world that wants nothing to do with them. Picking up after the events of TITANS, DOOM PATROL will find these reluctant heroes in a place they never expected to be, called to action by none other than Cyborg, who comes to them with a mission hard to refuse, but with a warning that is hard to ignore: their lives will never, ever be the same.
Who’s your favorite member of Doom Patrol? Sound off in the comments.
It’s official. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. returns for a sixth season this fall, according to the show’s Instagram account. Caution: all sorts of Marvel spoilers ahead.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. back for Season Six
While season six is only confirmed for 13 episodes, that could change based on ratings for the season five finale, re-watches over the summer, and/or fan support. It’s not likely, but it’s possible. Season five contained several milestone moments, including the show’s 100th episode. While viewership continues to drop, fan and cast support for the show’s continuation picked up earlier this season.
Last year, the show’s fate hung in the wind for far too long. Season five was a giant question mark, even as season four wrapped up and teased a space travel storyline. This year, the agents have been not only to Space, but Space of the Future. The Fitzsimmons wedding, the Philinda make-out session, and new characters including Graviton (Adrian Pasdar) steadily raised the stakes.
Season Finale? Or Series Finale?
Season five objectively had its slow weeks, but the show’s uncertain future forced showrunners Mo Tancharoen and Jed Whedon to take serious risks and treat season five’s finale as though it would be the last episode of the series.
The season five finale airs this Friday, May 18th. While the show’s connection to Infinity War remains to be seen, Thanos’ name has come up several times in the last few weeks. Will we see a few characters wave their “final” goodbyes? And, perhaps the biggest question of all–will Coulson, the Agent that started it all, really be dead for good this time?
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is based on characters found in Marvel comics. The show kicked off as a “behind the red tape” look at the everyday folks who kept the Avengers running, but in the last five years, the world of S.H.I.E.L.D. has expanded immeasurably. Series regulars Chloe Bennet (Daisy Johnson), Elizabeth Henstridge (Jemma FitzSimmons), Iain DeCaestecker (Leo Fitzsimmons), Ming-Na Wen (Melinda May), and Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson), have been with the team since its pilot. Other regulars include Henry Simmons (Alphonso Mack), Natalia Cordova (Elena Rodriguez), Briana Venskus (Agent Piper), and Jeff Ward (Deke).
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has earned praise for diverse casting, storylines that tie in with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and character development over multiple seasons. Release dates and air time has not yet been announced for season six. Season five’s final episode will air on ABC, at 9EST on Friday, May 18th.
The first official trailer for BLACKkKLANSMAN has been released, giving us a first look at the latest film from visionary director Spike Lee.
BLACKkKLANSMAN tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), an African-American police officer who, along with his white colleague Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), successfully infiltrates a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Hearing that description, it would be easy to assume that BLACKkKLANSMAN will be a more dramatic and serious drama, but it looks like Lee wanted to go in a different direction. From the looks of this first trailer, Stallworth’s story has been adapted into a buddy cop style comedy, with Washington and Driver as the two leads.
From visionary filmmaker Spike Lee comes the incredible true story of an American hero. It’s the early 1970s, and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington) is the first African-American detective to serve in the Colorado Springs Police Department. Determined to make a name for himself, Stallworth bravely sets out on a dangerous mission: infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan. The young detective soon recruits a more seasoned colleague, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), into the undercover investigation of a lifetime. Together, they team up to take down the extremist hate group as the organization aims to sanitize its violent rhetoric to appeal to the mainstream. Produced by the team behind the Academy-Award® winning Get Out.
BLACKkKLANSMANstars John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace, Corey Hawkins, Jasper Pääkkönen, Ryan Eggold, Paul Walter Hauser and Harry Belafonte. The film will land in theatres on August 10, 2018!
Whether you love the show or not, the big Rick & Morty renewal is a crazy and unrealistic order.
Adult Swim has renewed its animated hit series for a whopping 70 episodes. This order didn’t come with a specific time frame, or any details on the content. The general idea of committing to Rick & Morty makes a lot of sense. Especially now that the order will put the series into syndication status. No one can deny that the show is a cultural phenomenon with a passionate fanbase. The problem is ordering all of the episodes at once.
Setting up Rick & Morty for roughly seven more seasons all at once is too tall an order. This announcement almost feels like a joke on Adult Swim’s part. Perhaps they’re overcompensating for how long it took to renew the series. Some truly incredible shows only get seven seasons total. Giving Rick & Morty the green light for so long is an impractical move.
So many shows lose steam after years on air. A big example of this is another animated comedy – The Simpsons. The Simpsons is a true classic, and many consider it one of the greatest television shows ever. That said, the show has definitely dropped off in quality over the years. It’s been so long since The Simpsons has held the cultural relevance of its heyday. Do fans of Rick & Morty really want to risk a similar decline into irrelevance for this cartoon?
Don’t forget the problems the crew faced getting season three done. Harmon has been very open about the arguments and conflicts that delayed the season’s development. It took a long time for the third season to be ready, and it’s because of problems that could easily come up again. If producing any television show was an easy task, maybe ordering so many episodes at once would make sense. But as producing TV can be unpredictable and messy – especially this show – ordering so much of the show at once seems foolish.
Do we even know if Rick & Morty will still hold weight in the future? Fans of Harmon’s other hit series, Community, campaigned for “six seasons and a movie.” However, you might be hard-pressed to find a lot of people who watched that sixth season. Obviously, it’s not fair to blame that solely on Dan Harmon. Some of that deals with problems outside of Harmon’s control, like the series moving from NBC to Yahoo Screen. But it highlights a simple rule of the universe – you can’t predict the future. Who knows what kind of problems could plague Rick & Morty the next 7+ years.
Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland, the creators of RICK & MORTY
So what happens if this insane order of episodes doens’t come to pass? What if there is a crazy drop-off in quality? That might bring out problems with the show’s worst quality… its overzealous fans. It wasn’t long ago fans were rioting over not getting a small packet of fast food dipping sauce. There has also be problems with toxicity in the fanbase, which the creators have addressed. Production problems, or any form of uncertainty regarding the show, could easily incite more of this insanity. Yes, not all fans of Rick & Morty aren’t that bad, or would be the kind of people to riot. But there are enough bad eggs that could sully the series more than the Szechuan sauce riots.
This article isn’t meant as an insult to Rick & Morty. The show has definitely had some hilarious episodes throughout its three seasons. However, ordering so much at once is a recipe for disaster. Maybe renew the show for shorter periods, taking it a few years at a time. Don’t let another show run itself into obscurity.
Bloodshot Salvation #9 takes a break from the ongoing narrative to tell a one-off story about everyone’s favorite weaponized dog, Bloodhound.
The issue is written by Ray Fawkes with Jeff Lemire, drawn/colored by Renato Guedes, and lettered by Simon Bowland.
The story takes place entirely on September 24, 1916, during World War I on the Morval Ridge in France. (History buffs may notice that this is just one day before the Battle of Morval began.) During a standstill between British and German forces, Doctor Henry Fulbright has arrived at the front with something to help the Brits secure the line: dogs. Dogs who have been modified to be perfect soldiers. They can withstand gas attacks and feel no pain. They can see in darkness. If injured, they can be rebuilt. They have no fear.
In telling the origin of Bloodhound, Fawkes and Lemire are telling the origin of the Bloodshot program as a whole. They’re expanding the mythology of the character, and giving it an interesting twist. Readers have always viewed Bloodshot’s “makers” as the villains of his story. But in Doctor Fulbright, we see a man with noble intentions. War has cost him a lot; he just wants to keep others from losing anything more. As he says, “I’m no warrior, but I do have the ability to help win the conflict and end the terrible cost.” That’s superhero logic. With great power comes great responsibility.
Lemire has been adding layers to Bloodshot’s story for years, and in this issue we just get another layer.
We also get a brutal and gritty portrayal of war. We see the meaningless cycle of violence and the numbing effect it has on soldiers. Again, seeing these things firsthand adds a strange sense of understanding as to why the Bloodshot Program was created in the first place. But we also see the effect of war on people like Doctor Fulbright, the optimists and those who want to do good. It’s a sad and complex story, like most war stories, which leaves you with a lot to think about after it’s done. The last two pages will especially hit you in the gut. One thing’s for sure: you’ll never look at Bloodhound the same way again.
Renato Guedes is the perfect artist for a war story like this one. His style makes the violence feel real, like you’re looking at photos instead of drawings. The coloring is again the best aspect; blood has never looked so palpable in a comic. Guedes adds grit and grime to a story that’s already gritty and grimy. This is his last issue on the series (for now), and he clearly put his heart into it.
If you thought you were going to get a filler issue, a little breathing time before “The Book of Revelations” starts, think again. Bloodshot Salvation #9 is a side story, but it’s no less vital to the series overall. It adds depth to Bloodhound and the Bloodshot mythology as a whole, and it’ll punch you in the gut like only this creative team can.
After being in theaters for only three weeks, Avengers: Infinity War is now the highest grossing superhero film of all time.
Infinity War, which currently sits at $1.606 billion, has passed The Avengers, which grossed $1.519 billion in its theatrical run back in 2012, making it the former top grossing comic book flick.
Black Panther, which Marvel Studios dropped back in February, has made the most in terms of domestic box office numbers. The film brought in an incredible $696 million, which is far ahead of Infinity War‘s current total of $548 million.
With Infinity War recently opening in China and still holding steady weekend numbers domestically, there’s no doubt the picture is the new box office king of superhero movies. A combination of the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, a decade of building a cinematic universe, stellar supporting characters all around, and a villain built up for years, Infinity War’s place in the box office rankings doesn’t surprise me in the slightest.
The movie isn’t perfect, but it delivered on the spectacle and shock of what fans were anticipating. Word of mouth surrounding the film has been staggering thus far, and as we get further away from its release, it just doesn’t seem to be slowing by much. Odds are Infinity War will pass $2 billion handily, but the real question still remains: Will the currently untitled Avengers 4 be able to top it? With so many fans left hanging at the end of Infinity War, there’s no doubt millions will be tuning in for the sequel next year.
What do you make of these box office numbers? Do they surprise you, or did you expect these results from the movie? Chime in below, let us know!
Margot Kidder, the woman who defined what it meant to be Lois Lane to Christopher Reeve’s Superman, died Sunday in Montana.
According to the report by TMZ, Kidder was at her home when she passed away, according to the spokesperson at Franzen-Davis Funeral Home in Livingston, MT. The cause of death is unknown at this point.
Kidder had 137 acting credit to her name with two still in production. An outspoken woman who never backed down from anyone.
“Nudity in the flesh doesn’t bother me. But having my mind uncovered – that scares the hell out of me,” a personal quote of Kidder.
Reaction of Kidder’s passing on social media.
“RIP Margot Kidder. One of my favorite movies of hers is the original Black Christmas. It introduced some elements that are now genre tropes and she’s fantastic in it,” said Kumail Nanjiani via Twitter.
“#MargotKidder was equally responsible for making us believe a man could fly. RIP :(,” said Joey Esposito via Twitter.
Season five objectively had its slow weeks, but the show’s uncertain future forced showrunners Mo Tancharoen and Jed Whedon to take serious risks and treat season five’s finale as though it would be the last episode of the series.
