Tag Archives: mcu
Daredevil Born Again: A Reality Check for Disney+
Daredevil Born Again was supposed to be the show that brought back the Netflix-era magic of Marvel’s most beloved street-level hero. But now? It’s struggling to even match Agatha All Along in viewership numbers.
Disney+ was once an unstoppable force, delivering hit after hit, but those days are gone. Shows like Loki, WandaVision, and Falcon and the Winter Soldier had intrigue, but Daredevil had something more—an existing, passionate fanbase. After all, the Netflix Daredevil series is widely considered one of the best superhero shows ever made.
Yet, Daredevil Born Again premiered with only 7.5 million views in its first five days, compared to Agatha All Along’s 9.3 million and Loki Season 2’s 10.9 million. That’s an embarrassingly low number for a franchise that once dominated. Even The Acolyte, which Disney immediately canceled, had better numbers.
So, what went wrong?
Disney promised a fresh start, a return to form after scrapping their initial episodes and hiring new talent. Yet, signs of forced messaging and political themes crept back in. The leaked plot about corrupt cops tattooing The Punisher’s symbol had already turned fans off before release. And when the actual show confirmed those fears, many fans checked out.
The biggest issue? Fans simply don’t care anymore. After years of letdowns, Disney burned through goodwill, and now even a Daredevil revival can’t reignite interest.
One of the Greatest Mysteries of Our Time: Vulture in Morbius
Michael Keaton recently admitted that even he doesn’t understand his cameo as Vulture in Morbius. And honestly, who does? This post-credits scene is one of the most confusing in cinematic history.
Let’s break it down:
- In Spider-Man: No Way Home, villains who knew Peter Parker’s identity were transported back to their original universes.
- But for some reason, Vulture—a villain from Tom Holland’s universe—was transported into the Morbius universe instead.
- Somehow, he also got his high-tech flight suit back… even though it was created using alien tech from The Avengers battle in New York.
- And despite all this, Vulture immediately decides that Spider-Man is responsible for his situation and randomly seeks out Morbius, even though Morbius was just a doctor-turned-vampire with no major presence in the city.
None of this makes sense.
Michael Keaton himself admitted he had “no idea” what was happening, and that Sony just pitched him a vague idea, probably alongside a big paycheck. Sony clearly wanted to set up a Sinister Six team-up, but they had no plan. Now, years later, there’s still no follow-up, leaving this scene as nothing more than a bizarre cliffhanger with no resolution.
Was Morbius hinting at something bigger? Or was this just another example of Sony scrambling to connect a universe that doesn’t actually fit together?
Captain America 4: A $400 Million Dollar Dumpster Fire?
In the latest episode of cinematic chaos, Captain America: Brave New World has captured headlines for all the wrong reasons. With a reported budget of $350 to $375 million, fans and critics alike are left wondering: what in the world did they spend all that money on? This staggering figure makes Captain America 4 one of the most expensive films in Marvel’s history, but the early signs point to a potential box office disaster.
Last year, after receiving overwhelmingly negative test scores and leaving Marvel executives underwhelmed by an early cut of the film, the release of Captain America: Brave New World was delayed to February 2025. The film, which had already amassed a budget of $275 million before any reshoots, needed extensive additional filming. The reshoots reportedly cost Disney and Marvel an extra $75 to $100 million, bringing the total budget to an eye-watering amount. Essentially, it seems like they are almost shooting a brand new movie. Comparatively, “Godzilla Minus One,” (one of my favorite movies of all time) was produced on a budget of just $12 to $15 million.
Given these developments, Captain America 4 is shaping up to be one of the biggest box office flops in Marvel’s history. This comes on the heels of “The Marvels,” another recent Marvel release that also floundered financially and critically. The once unshakeable Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) now appears to be struggling, with two potential major flops within a few months of each other.
A significant part of the controversy revolves around the character of Sam Wilson. Initially introduced as a normal guy with Falcon wings and machine guns, fighting alongside iconic heroes like Captain America, Wilson’s character development has been divisive. Many fans were thrilled when he was handed the Captain America shield at the end of “Endgame,” but the subsequent Disney+ series, “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” left a lot to be desired.
The series saw Wilson grappling with the mantle of Captain America, only to relinquish the shield and then struggle throughout the show. Fans criticized the portrayal of Wilson, arguing that he had been diminished in a role that should have showcased his evolution into a new hero.
The problems with Captain America 4 run deeper than just character issues. The extensive reshoots, which involved redoing three major action sequences, indicate that the initial vision for the movie was deeply flawed. Despite having nearly $100 million poured into reshoots, there’s skepticism about whether these efforts will be enough to salvage the film.
Moreover, the fact that a film with such a significant budget and the backing of Marvel Studios could face such a troubled production process is alarming. It raises concerns about the decision-making and creative direction at Marvel, which was once lauded for its almost flawless execution of the MCU.
As it stands, Captain America: Brave New World looks poised to become a case study in how not to manage a blockbuster franchise. With a bloated budget, negative early reviews, and a narrative that has already alienated a portion of its fan base, the future of this film looks bleak.
In the end, the only question that remains is whether the movie can overcome these immense hurdles and surprise us all. Can the extensive reshoots and additional budget save Captain America 4, or is it destined to become a cautionary tale in the annals of Hollywood history?
What do you think about the state of Captain America 4 and the broader MCU? Is there any hope left for this beleaguered franchise? Let us know in the comments below!
Is Echo the new Andor?
The Echo trailer just dropped today, and it looks surprisingly cool. There is a lot of rated Mature violence, blood, and death, but I still don’t trust the trailer. This is the first MCU Disney+ show to have all the episodes drop on the same day, which does show a lack of faith in the show by Disney. Having a weekly premier adds online buzz and would have viewers debating theories each and every week.
There have been some rumors from the cast that Disney is reportedly “unhappy” with the project, and many speculate if it would get the Batgirl treatment (meaning it was canceled and the company would recoup the tax write-off), which makes sense given the state of Disney now. Disney+ is hemorrhaging money on its shows and movies that go straight to the streaming service. Secret Invasion cost Disney 200 million dollars and had some of the worst ratings and fan reactions.
If the show is as fantastic as the trailer, then the best-case scenario is for this show to end up like the Star Wars show Andor, which was a good show but came and went without any significant impact on the franchise.
I do wonder how this show will treat Matthew Murdoc, AKA Daredevil. The character and Netflix show was an absolute hit, but his time in the MCU has been nothing short of disrespectful to the character and fans alike. If he does battle with Echo, I imagine he will be beaten senseless.
World War Joe
You Can’t Have Two Endings
Choosing between multiple endings has become a staple in videogames today. Series like Mass Effect and The Walking Dead let you carry over the decisions from previous games into the new ones. However, those decisions and endings aren’t massively different, but still give the player a feel that their choices matter.
Games like Injustice 2 and Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath have ruined their sequels because of their multiple outcomes. The ending of Injustice 2 lets you pick the Batman, good ending or the Superman, bad ending. Choosing Batman’s ending means Superman and Brainiac are defeated. Superman is then imprisoned in the Phantom Zone and vows revenge. The Superman ending is massively different. After defeating Batman and Brainiac, Superman uses Brainiac’s mind control ability to control Batman, and seemingly the rest of the Justice League becoming the ruler of earth.
So how would Injustice 3 start? What ending do they start with? Do you get to choose how it starts? Right there you are making 2 massively different games that the events of the previous game are vastly different. Maybe NetherRealm are buying time with their Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League videogame coming out in 2022.
Mortal Kombat hit a home run with MK9 where they reset the timeline and you got to play the game from the beginning and started a more linear timeline. MK10 was even better where they introduced the next wave of MK characters and started to give the old classics their final endings. Then MK11 happened and took away all the progress of the previous two games. The ending of that game, Lui Kang is now in control of the timeline and has the ability to red con the entire series again.
Then NetherRealm decided to reset the timeline again with MK11 Aftermath where again time travel was the theme. The issue is the endings. You can play as Lui Kang, defeat Shang Tsung, and reset history in a nice happy way. Choosing Shang Tsung’s ending makes him the ruler of the realms and going on a bloody crusade to rule over everyone. Again, two vastly different endings. There is a rumored April 2023 date for MK12, but now we don’t have a clear ending on the previous game so its difficult to tell how the next installment will begin.
Do you think NetherRealm backed themselves into a corner making vastly different endings? Let me know what you think.
SimptasticJoe
Blade Some MCU Issues
I was a big fan of the Blade movies. Well, the second one I really liked, mainly because it had the greatest actor in Hollywood Luke Goss who has graced our screens in projects like Hellboy 2, Interview with a Hitman, Tekken, and about 60 other things. But I digress.
The reason I’m nervous that the upcoming Blade movie is that Blade’s entire story is about killing vampires and the MCU doesn’t have any vampires in it. The MCU is a We and not a Me direction now where all the movies and shows coincide with each other to create one massive storyline.
Blade can’t JUST fight vampires in his MCU appearances because they can’t introduce vampires as the only thing Blade fights. Because we haven’t seen vampires before and the original Blade movies depict vampires as being around for hundreds of years and not a threat that just popped up one day.
I had the same issue with The Eternals, where somehow the Earth being a uterus for a celestial wasn’t noticed by anyone on Earth, including the Sorcerer Supreme, Agatha, Hydra, Shield or anyone else in the MCU. So, you can’t introduce vampires into the MCU and then try to explain away that they were always around and we just didn’t notice.
Simptastic Joe
John Walker: The Future of the MCU
Sometimes I’m really glad my wife doesn’t read my posts, because John Walker is a topic we argue about a lot. Falcon and The Winter Soldier was a race baiting, pandering, poorly executed show, but it did do one thing right and that’s John Walker.
Lets look at where the main characters were before the show:
-Bucky was rehabilitated
-Sam took on the mantle of Captain America
-Zemo was in prison
And as the show ended
-Bucky went back to be rehabilitated
-Sam took on the mantle of Captain America
-Zemo is back in prison
Having the characters take a 360 degrees character arch isn’t good story telling. But Walker was different. He might be one of the most well-developed characters the MCU ever produced. A character who had the mantle of Captain America thrusted on him. A guy who is a military hero, a superior athlete and someone who most importantly gets the job done.
Walker’s suit is the best one yet and I love the scene where Walker makes his own shield. A great homage to the comics where Walker made his own shields and outfitted them with medals he earned and names of soldiers who died in battle.
I find the “How it Should’ve Ended” video weird because it shows Steve Rogers taking the shield from Walker with no problem. Let me start a fight here. Walker would utterly destroy Rogers. The first reason is the serum, this one is much more powerful than the one Rogers got. When Rogers took it, he was a small, wimpy kid. Walker was an athlete when he took it. He was at the peak of his physical abilities. And then takes a serum that amplifies that. I mean it made tiny Carlie into a threat. Imagine what it did to a high trained, physically gifted soldier like Walker.
With Walker siding with Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine, who at some point becomes Madame Hydra, it’s obvious that he will be a big character moving forward. We are seeing Fontaine align herself with a few other MCU characters looking to start The Dark Avengers, a team I imagine will have Walker front and center.
So what do you think of John Walker? Do you like his role in the TV show and his fate moving forward?
Simptastic Joe
Loki : A Variant Mess
I have my own theories watching this show. Overall, it was ok. Disney has their work cut out for them
World War Joe 