OK MCU Media Diary Part 3: Demon in Universe Building (Iron Man 2, 2010)

//All my Marvel Cinematic Universe posts might contain SPOILERS for the films I talk about!//

In 2010 Marvel Studios released Iron Man 2. As a person who really enjoyed the first one I was excited to see more. While waiting for the film to start my friend also told me that Marvel was also making Captain America and Thor films and that the characters would later meet in The Avengers film. It might surprise you that my initial reaction was that it sounded like a lot of homework.

Despite my hesitation when it came to a larger Marvel universe I really enjoyed the second Iron Man film. Thinking back now it feels kind of weird because Iron Man 2 has often been considered one of the worst installments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, mostly because it had a lot of universe building.

After eight years I still enjoy the film. I do see some flaws in it and after finally reading classic Demon in a Bottle storyline of the Iron Man comics I've started to wonder what could've made the film better.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Directed by: Jon Favreau
Screenplay by: Justin Theroux
Produced by: Kevin Feige
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson
Based on a character created by: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby



Iron Man 2 is the third film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and second in Iron Man franchise. In the film arc reactor that has kept Tony Stark alive since the first movie, is also now poisoning him because of the palladium used in it's core. While Tony starts to behave more irresponsibly Russian scientist Ivan Vanko who wants revenge for actions of Stark family and weapons manufacturer Justin Hammer jealous of Iron Man's succes start plotting against him. Also S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanoff is sent to Stark Industries to find out if Tony Stark would be suitable member for the Avengers.

Iron Man 2 might have a bit too much going on in it. For me the mess it creates is still mostly a fun ride though. The style and acting talent mostly carries over from the first Iron Man. There's still similar humor and some of the action is still quite fun. My issues lie mostly in how the poisoning storyline is solved and rushed feel of the ending. I can see some problems in universe building, but for me they aren't as big of an issue.

Old and new friends

Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow return as Tony Stark/Iron Man and Pepper Potts respectively. I think I spoke enough about them in my post abut the first Iron Man. They bring the same quality performance and chaotic chemistry to the second movie as they did for the first one and they are mostly still the same joy to watch.

Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard from the first film as James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Tony's best friend and an officer in the U.S. Air Force. I think Cheadle's energy is much better fit for the franchise. Especially in the end when he gets to suit up as the War Machine (think Iron Man but grey with bullets instead of energy blasts) and has a friendly banter with Downey Jr. it's fun to watch the friendship of their characters.

Cheadle replacing Howard addressed quickly in the film

Scarlett Johansson makes her first appearance as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. In the movie she's an agent of spy organization S.H.I.E.L.D. going undercover as Tony's and later Pepper's personal assistant. While she doesn't feel necessary for the story of Iron Man 2, she does a pretty good job for what she's given. Mostly she's there to remind that bigger MCU exists around the film and to have an action scene at the end. Also seeing her excitement for the role and her training stunts made me appreciate her involvment even more.

Director Jon Favreau also has given his character Happy Hogan a bigger role in the film (in the first one he had like one line or something). Happy is driver and bodyguard for Tony Stark and mostly there as a comic relief. He works pretty well in the story and adds to the chaos of Stark Industries employers.

The introduction scene of Natasha Romanoff

Russian Hammer Time

As I said before Iron Man 2 has two villains. Mickey Rourke plays Ivan Vanko, Russian scientist whose father Anton Vanko worked with Tony Stark's father Howard in the 60's. Anton got deported thanks to Howard and because of this Ivan blames the Stark family for ruining their lives. In the movie Ivan builds a similar arc reactor Tony Stark has and uses it to power his own super suit.

Rourke's character and performance has been an issue for many in the film. He looks wild as fuck in his long hair and body full of tattoos. Especially his Russian accent has been criticized for sounding fake. I have terrible ear for accents and personally I don't mind a bit over the top one. So while I think criticizing it is fair, I don't mind it myself. For me Ivan Vanko is a fun over the top character whose wild look might distract from his intelligence.

Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko

The other villain is Justin Hammer played by Sam Rockwell. Hammer is another weapons manufacturer whose more hungry for power and less successful than Tony Stark. In the film he hires Vanko to help him build Iron Man suits of his own, in order to fuck Stark's reputation.

Rockwell really does great job as Justin Hammer. He really sells this character who really tries to be cool and just like Tony Stark, but ends up just embarrassing himself. Rockwell was actually considered for the role of Tony Stark in the first film, which is often in my mind when watching the film. This enhances the jealously of Justin Hammer making him seem like this guy who really just wants to be Tony Stark and is unsuccessful because of his rush to get there.

Rourke and Rockwell work together really well. It's joy to see Justin Hammer trying to sell his ideas and command Ivan Vanko who clearly has his own plans in mind and is only using Hammer for his resources.

Bad guys meeting each other.

Demon in a Poison

In the film Tony Stark is being poisoned by the palladium core of the arc reactor in his chest. The arc reactor was installed there in the first film, to keep Tony alive and to power the Iron Man suit. According to his computers there is no other element to replace the palladium. The knowledge of the upcoming death makes Tony behave more irresponsibly again. For example he spontaneously decides to drive in a formula race and gets drunk as fuck in his Iron Man suit while entertaining his birthday party guests. While doing this he also keeps the poisoning secret from his friends.

All this is actually fine for me. It can be an interesting story arc for Tony to learn be more open about his problems and deal with his own mortality. The issue is that I don't think he does learn much. Middle of the film, after the catastrophic birthday party, S.H.I.E.L.D. shows up. Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) tells Tony that he knows about the poisoning and that Tony's father was preparing something big he couldn't finish because of limitations of the 60's technology. This ends with Tony Stark finding the structure of an new element from his dad's old stuff. Then he synthesizes the new element and is cured (there is a laser and easter egg involved so it makes it more fun though.)

Whoo! Nipples!

The issue is that I don't feel like Tony Stark learned his lessons in the film. I'm not against him founding the cure or even solving some daddy issues along the way, but I would've appreciated more clear character grow. In the end it feels like it was all made so that S.H.I.E.L.D. would have a good reason not to accept Tony Stark to the Avengers team they were building.

The reason I read the classic Demon in a Bottle story while preparing for this blog post and rewatch of the Iron Man 2, is because I've often heard that people would've rather had adaptation of that story in this film. In Demon in a Bottle Tony Stark is first time seen struggling with his alcoholism. For me too alcoholism always has sounded more interesting and mature subject than poisoning. Upon thinking further and rewatching the film now I changed my mind though. It doesn't matter whether it's poisoning or alcoholism. What matter is what it does to the character and story and in this case it successful enough.

Superhero Team Up!

As teased in the first film, the movie sees James "Rhodey" Rhodes suiting up as the War Machine. It's a common trope in comic books for heroes to have sidekicks or friends with similar powers to their own. It's one of the things I really like in the film.

Compared to the Iron Man suits, War Machine is much more heavier and has a big machine gun on it's shoulder. While some might have the issue with War Machine and Iron Man being so similar I don't see that as the important part. What matters is two characters coming together and fighting together.

Iron Man 2 does deliver some of that. The battle at end sees Iron Man and War Machine going together against about a dozen Iron Man-like drones build by Vanko and Hammer and Vanko himself in an Iron Man like suit. But he has electrical whips in his suit so it's different from first movie where Iron Man faced bigger version of his suit...right? Maybe not enough. It's fun to see Iron Man and War Machine shoot fight together and fight choreographed decently. But it's over really fast and I can see why it would leave people dissatisfied.

Iron Man one was Iron Man vs big Iron Man. Iron Man 2 is Iron Man and War Machine vs many Iron Men and whip Iron Man.

I would've liked more of this

Universe building

Iron Man 2 is often considered the first time MCU went overboard with the building of the larger cinematic universe. While I do see the issue in that, watching it after all this years it doesn't feel that bad for me.

As I've said before S.H.I.E.L.D. makes a return in this movie. Director Nick Fury appears now in the film itself and not only in the post-credits scene like in the first one. He's there to establish the connection between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony Stark, revealing that Tony's father Howard was one of the founding members.

Black Widow a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff is introduced in the film. While I do agree that she isn't necessary for the plot of Iron Man 2, I do think it later helps The Avengers film that the audience has had chance to see her before.

Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns for a moment to babysit Tony while he tries to find the cure for his poisoning. However Coulson soon leaves to New Mexico, making his appearance mostly just tease for the next film. The post-credits scene is actually taken straight from Thor (2011) showing Coulson finding Thor's hammer. Marvel has since done the same few times again and while I like a little tease for the future, it looses it's effect when you can actually see the movie being teased.

I guess this post-credits scene can be an effective way to show connection between the two movies 

In the comics...

Reading Demon in a Bottle did teach me more about the source material of the movie. For example Iron Man Mark V suit in the film is reference to Tony Stark keeping his Iron Man suit in a suitcase at the time of Demon in a Bottle.

Suit from suitcase

Invincible Iron Man #120 (first issue of Demon in a Bottle storyline) is also the first appearance of Justin Hammer in the comics. I have to say that I much prefer the Sam Rockwell version. In the comics Justin Hammer was just another old guy whose business was suffering because Stark Industries was doing better. Rockwell gave the character much more personality.

Whiplash, a supervillain that uses electric whips and is one of the inspirations for Mickey Rourke's character also appears in the Demon in a Bottle. In the story he is just one of many villains appearing and doesn't really show much personality, so based on that (and only that) story movie is more memorable too.

In Demon in a Bottle we also see Justin Hammer hacking into Iron Man's armor making Tony Stark straight up murder a person. While not as extreme in the film, there is a scene where Vanko hacks into War Machine suit and tries to make Rhodey kill Tony. This could be a reference to the comic book but also coincidence. I'm sure anybody can come up with the idea of these super suits being controlled by an outside force.

The Invincible Iron Man #128 from 1979

The storyline run from Invincible Iron Man #120-128. It's a pretty fun look at the Iron Man comics of the time. I quite liked the art but of course the language is little dated. Should be noted that the alcoholism part of Demon in a Bottle is actually just the last issue of the storyline. The problem is solved in one issue which does feel a bit rushed. However it has stayed in minds of readers all these decades and Tony Stark's alcoholism is referenced all the time in the comics, making it one of the most important issues in characters history.

I still like it

Despite all it's flaws and commonly remembered as one of the worst installments in the MCU I still like watching Iron Man 2. The characters and performances make it an enjoyable ride, even if it is indeed flawed. If it's not for you that's perfectly fine. In the end film is subjective and we all feel what we feel and then try to make sense into those feelings.

Next film in the MCU is Thor (2011) so look forward to me fanboying about that next week.

Have fun. Love and respect each other.

- O.K.

Homework: Storytelling in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

We are interrupting our regular programming because of an assignment given as a pre-task for the class held 27.9.

Storytelling in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (which I refer as MGS3 from now on) is one of my favorite games. It's one of the only games I actually own on multiple platforms (PS2, 3DS and PS3) and I've played it through around five times, which is actually uncommon for me. The game combines the actual gameplay and cinematic storytelling quite excellently in my opinion.

MGS3 is a spy story set during the Cold War of the 60s. Main character is an American spy codenamed Naked Snake. His mission takes place in the jungles of Soviet Union (yes, there's tropical jungles in Russia now) where he needs to save scientist called Sokolov and kill traitor called and Snake's former mentor, The Boss. Assisting Snake through radio is Major Zero and his crew. Also there's sadistic Russian Colonel Volgin and Boss' special unit making things more difficult for Snake.

Story is told using cutscenes and radio conversations between the gameplay. Usually quite long cutscenes are made in a cinematic manner, with changing camera angles and "acting" of the 3D characters. Voice acting is also quite good which strengthens the cinematic feel of the game. There is a little game element added to these cutscenes by letting player sometimes view things from Snake's perspective, which can sometimes reveal some secrets or just tell what Snake's focused on.

The story of MGS3 is set and unlike in some video games, actions of the player do not change it. While it gives the player less freedom, it helps create inversion when playing. It gives player the possibility of starting to care more about the mission their character is going through, keeping them invested and wanting to find out what happens next.

This is not to say that there is no freedom at all in the game. While between the cutscenes players mission is usually take the character from place A to B while sneaking past enemies and fighting boss battles, the way player does it is up to them. While the game encourages player to be more quiet and cause as little chaos as possible this is completely in players hand. More impatient player can run through it with guns singing killing everything in their sight. Player also has weapons that don't kill and it's possible to beat the game without any loss of 3D character lives.

MGS3 allows the game makers to tell the exact story they wanted to, while also keeping the player satisfied in their ability to control the action. I think it's this combination that made the game success both critically, commercially and most importantly in my mind.

Have fun. Love and respect each other.

- O.K.

OK MCU Media Diary Part 2: That Weird Green Stepbrother (The Incredible Hulk, 2008)

In 2008 I completely missed The Incredible Hulk -film. I have no memories of it from that time. I think later I did become aware of it, but for a long time I assumed it was a sequel to the Hulk-film from 2003. I have not seen that one to this day and that misunderstanding kept me from watching The Incredible Hulk for a while.

Sometime in 2011 or 2012, before the release of The Avengers, found out that The Incredible Hulk was indeed a reboot of the franchise and part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I watched it in order to get caught up on the larger MCU and I don't remember being impressed.

The film has always felt a bit out of place in the MCU and I don't think I'm alone with these thoughts. The Incredible Hulk is rarely talked about in the channels I follow, and it's even more rarely referenced in the other MCU films. Through the years I've learned to like it a bit more and after watching the special features included in my blu-ray copy of the film, I started to appreciate it more.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Directed by: Louis Letterier
Screenplay by: Zak Penn
Produced by: Avi Arad, Gale Ann Hurd, Kevin Feige
Starring: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson, Ty Burrell, William Hurt
Based on a character created by: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby



The Incredible Hulk is the second film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After a science experiment has gone wrong, Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) has ran away from the U.S. military to Brazil. Ever since the accident, whenever Banner gets too angry he becomes the Hulk, raging green monster with super strenght. While trying to find a cure for his condition, Banner is helped by his ex-girlfriend Betty Ross (Liv Tyler) and scientist Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson). After Banner is the father of Betty General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) with the help of soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), who'll later become similar monster to Hulk, called the Abomination.

The story of Hulk against the military and the Abomination I have no problems with. Far as I know that is a pretty classic set up from the comics (I'm more familiar with the recent than classic stuff). The movie has many things going for it. Action is actually pretty fun, I like the locations and sets, acting is mostly pretty good. I have problems in the film with it's tone and some of the relationship drama. It doesn't quite fit in with the early Marvel Cinematic Universe.

HULK SAD

The main issue I have with the film is it's tone. The film feels just too sad at the times. Especially in the middle of the film, when Bruce Banner gets back to U.S.A. and reunites with Betty Ross. The scenes between these characters makes me feel like movie thinks it's telling one of the most important love stories around. The feeling is enhanced by the dramatic score by Craig Armstrong and the heavy performance of Liv Tyler.

Just because you both are wet doesn't make this romantic.

I don't think it's necessary wrong to do a sad superhero film, especially about Hulk. There for sure is sadness in the story and the character of Bruce Banner. I for sure feel for him when he's a fugitive in Brazil and scared of the monster within him. However when it's so heavy like in this film, it no longer feels natural. Even the few jokes in the film start to feel out of place. Especially in the end when Tim Blake Nelson's character gets introduced in the film. He obviously would've work better in a more comedic film.

Usually I really like it when film (or other entertainment) mixes drama and comedy. But this film just went a bit too far for me, and is missing the balance of the two.

HULK SMASH

When it comes to a Hulk film, what people want to see is Hulk punching stuff. I mean sure, like with every movie there needs to be a story and characters around it, but Hulk needs to smash. On that front The Incredible Hulk delivers three different action sequences that are pretty satisfying for me. Should be mentioned that watching the making-of videos from these scenes made me appreciate them more.

The first one is on foot chase through the streets of Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil that ends at a bottling factory, where we see first glimpses or the Hulk. While we've seen chaotic running through the streets before, the location enhances this scene for me. The favela (hey I learned a new word from blu-ray bonus material and wikipedia) makes an excellent place to have people running away from soldiers. Seeing Banner and the soldiers jump from roof to roof to street and to roof again is quite fun. The end of the sequence at the bottling factory slows the chase down a bit. We don't see the Hulk fully yet, keeping the audience waiting while still excited for what's to come. I think they could've taken the factory part even a bit more slower to make it more horror-like.

The second one is good Hulk versus military action. We get to see Hulk fully in daylight now. It's fun to see him lift vehicles and smash them together. In this scene Emil Blonsky, played by Tim Roth, has now gotten some enhancements of his own and tries to take on the Hulk one on one. Roth's stunt double delivers some nice jumps, but in the end Hulk kicks him down like a bug. The scene ends with Hulk covering Betty Ross from the bullets and explosion, showing the good heart of inside the monster.

The third and final action sequence is the boss battle Hulk vs. the Abomination. Blonsky has now gone full Hulk, green and big and thirsty for blood. More excitement is brought to the sequence from General Ross and Betty Ross hanging around in a helicopter, trying to help Hulk, which of course means that Hulk actually has to try to keep them safe while trying to beat the Abomination. Now the scene is mostly these to cg characters punching each others and I'm there for that. Animators really went to town with the characters, it's pretty fun to watch even if effects aren't 100% up to date. It's one of those scenes where hero has to beat more stronger version of themselves and win because the hero has more heart. That works for me pretty well, and we hear the iconic "Hulk smash!" -yell from Hulk (voiced by Lou Ferrigno, who played Hulk in a tv-show from the 70s)

Honestly I think action scenes could've had even more punching, but seeing Hulk use pieces of cars as boxing gloves kept me satisfied. Especially after the making-of video showed the excitement animators had for their job.

The CG Boys

Almost everything in the movie is shot on locations or sets. The streets of Rio is actually Rio. End battle in New York's Harlem was made in Toronto (the mayor was apparently a Hulk fan) with real car flips. But of course there was no way they'd have the real Hulk or Abomination available.

Personally I don't see any other way they could've done these two monsters, other than motion capture and cg animation. Actors in suits probably would be either two small or have too hard time moving smoothly enough. And I don't think animatronics would move as smoothly either. I'm not the best when it comes to judging the quality of cgi, for me the ones they did for the film work fine enough. However I do have thoughts about the design.

Director Louis Leterrier wanted Hulk to look more like a big human than a pure monster. He wanted it to be of pure muscle with zero fat. I think to a some degree he got what he wanted. Hulk in the movie sure likes strong as hell and I guess you could call him a human-like. Personally I feel the design tried to be a bit too much. All the veins and details make it's unpleasant to look at. Also while I know they used motion capture to capture Edward Norton's face movement, I feel like it gets a bit lost, because the face of Hulk is made so different from Norton's. I've preferred the more comic booky and bright versions seen in The Avengers and forward.

While Abomination has bit of the same issues as the Hulk, I'm a bit more forgiving with them, because they made the Hulk first and of course the Abomination needs to match him. I like the idea of Abomination having bones too big to his body and them poking out. Especially when they're used in the final battle between the characters. Only problem is that with so much going on, I don't think that the Abomination is that memorable. But sure, he looks like... an abomination.

Does Abomination have a dick thou? He doesn't wear pants but we see nothing hanging...

The Meat Boys (and girls. No, more like "and A girl")

The acting in the film is mostly pretty good. I wouldn't call anything mind blowing but I do enjoy some of the characters quite a lot. On the other hand there were few I didn't enjoy as much.

Bruce Banner, a.k.a. the title's incredible Hulk, is played by Edward Norton. I think Norton does fine job in the film. His Bruce Banner feels pretty much like a normal guy who's in an impossible situation. He feels very down to earth and never really goes overboard with anything. This makes the character more relatable to the audience. Thing is that Robert Downey Jr. is a tough act to follow. Going from Iron Man to The Incredible Hulk audience might feel like Norton's boring compared to Downey Jr's energy and charisma. This is of course a bit unfair comparison, and should be looked past, but it does always come to mind.

Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky/The Abomination works for me. The character isn't really deep in his motivations, he's just eager soldier getting older, who wants to keep fighting. Through the movie Blonsky becomes more obsessed with beating the Hulk and keeps wanting more power to do so. I think Roth does good job portraying this obsession.

William Hurt as General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross is another high-light for me. Character works well with Blonsky, as this General who wants to catch Banner, in order to experiment and create more Hulk's for military use. There's something really powerful when Hurt yells the lines of General Ross. And in a scene where he says he considers Banner's whole body property of the U.S. military you really see a mean bastard.

Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) and "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt). I mean who doesn't like an older man in an uniform.

The actor's I did have problems with, as mentioned way earlier in this text, are Liv Tyler as Betty Ross and Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns. They bring quite the opposite problems to the film. Tyler is way too dramatic in her delivery. I'm under the impression that many like her, but for me it's just doesn't work. Nelson on the other hand is too goofy. He's doing this nerdy professor thing which just comes too late in the movie for me to work anymore. If the film had been more comedic from the beginning he'd probably work better.

There are not really other big performances in the film, but I do want to mention Ty Burrell from Modern Family, who plays Leonard Samson, Betty Ross' new psychiatrist boyfriend. Most of his scenes were cut so he kind of just is there. Bluray extras show the scenes and is nice to see more dramatic role from Burrell, when I've only seen him in a sit-com. That being said the scene's would've added too much relationship drama and made the middle of the movie too long.

Universe building

The Incredible Hulk does a fine job standing on it's own. Like I said in my text about Iron Man, building an universe starts with a one film. And the second one shouldn't be filled with pointless foreshadowing either! In the opening montage and later in the movie, they mention S.H.I.E.L.D, organization that was also mentioned in Iron Man. Stark Industries logo is also shown quickly, so you know it's the same universe.

To drive the point further home, Robert Downey Jr. makes an small cameo appearance as Tony Stark in the post-credits scene. Which is actually not a post-credits scene at all, because it was moved to be the last scene of the film before credits. I guess that was so that they could justify spoiling the scene in the marketing.

The context of the Tony Stark cameo was actually later changed in a Marvel short film 

The Consultant

The later installments of the MCU have not been kind to The Incredible Hulk. Events of the movie are very rarely referenced, other than few easter eggs in tv-show and a throw away line in The Avengers. There's probably few reasons for this. One is that the film wasn't a great success. Neither critics didn't really praise it and it didn't make that much money on the box office (it's the lowest grossing film in the franchise). Also the fact that the star Edward Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo in the later films. My understanding is that this was because Norton was very difficult to work with and demanded lot of control.

Anthony and Joe Russo did bring back William Hurt to reprise his role in Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). The directors felt they wanted to make The Incredible Hulk relevant again and had a role that fit the Hurt's character. Even though The Incredible Hulk does teass character Samuel Stern becoming The Leader from comic books and The Abomination being alive at the end, with Tim Roth having three-picture-deal with Marvel, none of the films other characters have appeared again.

Sorry mr. Nelson, maybe you get to go full comic book villain in the 2015 Fantastic Four?

The film has never gotten a sequel. This is probably because it was distributed by the Universal Studios who still has the distribution rights to any Hulk movie Marvel Studios decides to make. Other early films were distributed by Paramount who sold it's rights to Disney after Disney bought Marvel Studios. However distribution rights aren't something I'm expert at, so I'll leave them at this.

In the comics...

I've mentioned before that I focus mostly on the recent Marvel Comics in what I read and collect. However I am aware of some of the earlier things as well. In the classic comic books Bruce Banner is caught in an explosion in an weapons demonstration for a bomb that he made. Gamma ray's used in the bomb make him the Hulk. In the film Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk in an attempt to recreate the super soldier serum that made Captain America.

Other change I know about is that Emil Blonsky in the comics was a KGB agent. For the movie character was changed to a Russian born British soldier. This was because the film makers felt KGB wasn't relevant to the story. Also probably because this way Tim Roth wouldn't need a Russian accent.

Hulk was first grey because of a coloring mistake. Or he became later green because of a mistake.

I've collected some Hulk comics. The ones I have aren't really relevant to The Incredible Hulk, but I would love to see some of them adapted or used as a source of inspiration for future MCU films. Especially The Totally Awesome Hulk, where young Korean-American kid Amadeus Cho becomes the Hulk. Amadeus is a genius like Banner, but unlike Banner, Amadeus loves being the Hulk. It's a fun run about kid who thinks he's in control but finds out that being Hulk has it's dark side as well.

Also She-Hulk would be fun to see on screen. Jennifer Walters, cousin of Bruce Banner, is a shy lawyer who finds confidence when she gets her super powers. She's a fun, usually, more light hearted character in the Marvel universe and with MCU having so little female led films, she would make a great one. Also she did the breaking of fourth wall before Deadpool.

The Totally Awesome Hulk #1 and She-Hulk (2014) #1

Mixed green bag

The feeling I have for The Incredible Hulk remain mixed. The movie isn't bad, but there are just something's that really don't work for me. It would also be nice if it was more relevant in the larger MCU and didn't feel so forgotten. I have some good time every time I watch it and seeing the care and love the crew and cast had for the film made me appreciate it more. When doing my MCU marathons I never skip it, but I can't really blame the people who do.

Next time I'll be talking about Iron Man 2 (2010). The movie I still like, but is often said to be one of the worst and overstuffed films of the MCU.

Have fun. Love and respect each other!

- O.K.

OK MCU Media Diary Extra: Related media and Captain Marvel trailer

//NOTE: Am I making these too long? I was originally afraid I have too little to say, now I feel the opposite. If people feel these have too much irrelevant stuff, please let me know and I'll try making them shorter//

I was supposed to write about The Incredible Hulk -film next. But the first trailer for Captain Marvel, the next film in the MCU, dropped today. Because of that I decided to write little about how I follow my beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe outside of the actual films and tv-shows. And also I’ll write a little reaction piece after I’ve watched the trailer.

How did I get here?

Before the first big team up movie, The Avengers (2012), I really didn’t follow news or conversations about the MCU at all. The way I jumped on the hype train of that film was pretty much just watching the previous installments. Few times even, because I was showing the movies to my younger sibling as well. I saw the first teaser for The Avengers at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), the last film before the team-up, and that was really enough to get me excited. All the conversations I had were with my friend and sibling.

After seeing The Avengers, I was really wanted to have more. Of course I was also curious about what the films would look like after the huge team-up. And the wait for the next film, Iron Man 3 (2013), was a whole year! So this was the time I jumped online to search for news. I remember finding sites like comicbook.com and comicbookresources that focused (almost) exclusively on things based on comic books. Also my interest in films in general grew and I found sites like screenrant that were more about films in general. At the time I mostly read news and interviews and such.

In summer of 2015 I started to want for more content related to the MCU. At the time no one else really shared my passion, at least not as strongly as I did. I also had lot of time on my hands because I didn’t have my summer job anymore. Also because I had just graduated from vocational school and failed to get a place from an university, I was really stressed out. I started searching from YouTube for longer videos about the subject matter.

Hello there, fellow geeks!

First thing I really liked was Marvel Movie News on Popcorn Talk YouTube channel. The name of the show already tells you a lot. It’s a show about the news related to Marvel films (sometimes tv-shows too). The positive attitude and enthusiasm of the three hosts and their guests really spoke to me. They were comics fans seeing their favorite characters coming to life. Even though most of the hosts have changed since I started watching I still watch the latest episode every week. Hearing Marvel-fans talk about the latest news just makes waiting for a new film that much better.

Latest episode of Marvel Movie News. It's almost 1 hour long so I don't expect you to actually watch it.

Through Marvel Movie News I also found the Superhero News. Another hour long weekly show that was not only about the Marvel films, but superhero films (and Star Wars) in general. The three hosts Adam Hlavac, Agustin Rios and especially Hector Navarro really made an impression on me. They were also lifelong comic book fans, but also had history with actual movie special effects (mostly 3D converting I think). They have such a great chemistry together and think about stuff lot like me, I followed them to their current show Hyper Heroes on Hyper RPG -channel. The idea of the Hyper Heroes is mostly the same as was with Superhero News, just different company which I assume has been better fit for them.

Latest episode of Hyper Heroes. It's over 1 hour long so I don't expect you to actually watch it.

Through Marvel Movie News and Hyper Heroes, and other film/popculture channels like Screen Junkies and MovieBob, I’ve started to get satisfying amount of MCU (and other film) conversations to my life. I’m pretty active follower (not writer) in Twitter where I read lot of their reactions and thoughts first hand. It always makes the wait for the new film more exciting. Hearing other people’s expectations, reactions and enthusiasm always makes me feel more connected to the subject I love and to the larger fandom around it.

Trailers

Trailers are basically just ads for films. I'm not going to pretend that's not the case. This is not to say that it's not an art form of it's own, it definitely is, but the main goal is always to sell the film. I'm going to see the new MCU films no matter what, so one might wonder the point of watching the trailers. I mean I do sometimes.

For me the first thing is curiosity. I really want to see what kind of movie is coming up next. I don't really need specific plot points, but overall tone, visuals, maybe some action to get me pumped. The other thing is that it creates conversation. Like I said before, I like following conversations about these films. And trailers are some of the best conversation pieces, for they create reactions and more speculation about the future. And of course watching the trailer with a friend and then sharing thoughts is also fun.

So while writing this, I have not seen the new trailer for Captain Marvel. I'm going to pause writing just to watch it and then share my first impressions. I don't have really specific expectations. Usually Marvel Studios has done pretty exciting trailers, so I guess that's all I want.

Of course I liked it!

I mean it really isn't hard for Marvel Studios to sell me a Marvel movie at this point. If I had to say a one complaint, it would be lack of humor in this trailer. I mean I'm sure film will have funny stuff in it, so it's not necessary in the first trailer, but just something I thought after watching it.

The trailer didn't really have much surprises, because lot of it already had been told in previous news. Like the 90's setting, the fact that it takes place partly in space and returning MCU characters. That being said, it all looks like a fun adventure. The suit looks nice. I appreciate that they are not afraid of making the character shoot energy blast (I mean those are just so much fun).

What I did find interesting that they seem to be changing the origins of the main character, Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel. They are keeping the air force background and involvement of the alien race Kree. But the trailer seems to indicate that there's some kind of memory loss thing going on, which I don't think has been part of her origin. That being said I'm not expert on her history, I've mostly focused on the recent stuff. (Edit: and apparantley the memory loss thing might be a homage to her early appearances, but I'm too lazy to investigate further right now. Sorry)

That all being said, I'm satisfied for now. I look forward to seeing bit more of the movie in trailers and seeing how the internet reacts to it.

Have fun. Love and respect each other

- OK

OK MCU Media Diary Part 1:The RDJ Show (Iron Man, 2008)

Back in 2008 I had no idea what the Marvel Cinematic Universe was. I did not read Marvel comic books, neither did I follow news about superhero films. Or any other films. I saw commercial of the Iron Man film on tv and it just looked cool. So when I had a chance I took my friend and went to see the film. I don't think I had any other expectations than having a good time.

And I did! Movie was quite fun. Satisfying cinematic experience. Other than the fact that I missed a part because I really needed to go pee in the middle of the film. Horrible when it happens... ANYWAY. Back then I don't think I was blown away. I guess I just saw it as a nice superhero film with a fun lead. We had no idea there was a post-credit scene, so I had no idea that the movie was part of a bigger world.

Now it's been over 10 years since I first saw the film and my thoughts have evolved. Now I love the first Iron Man.

Iron Man (2008)

Directed by: Jon Favreau
Screenplay by: Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway
Produced by: Avi Arad, Kevin Feige
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Shaun Toub, Gwyneth Paltrow
Based on a character created by: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby



Iron Man is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It tells the story of Tony Stark, selfish and rich, but also highly intelligent weapons manufacturer. While being imprisoned in Afghanistan, he learns responsibility and creates an armor to help him escape. Back home he becomes the superhero Iron Man and has to face his business partner Obadiah Stane.

So the story in Iron Man is quite simple. Selfish guy learns his lesson and becomes a superhero, a villain appears, superhero kicks his ass. It's your basic superhero origin story. For me that makes it a great example of simple story that's elevated by how it's told. Robert Downey Jr. is great as Tony Stark, action is fun, there's humor, the pace is good and dialogue works.

Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark

Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Tony Stark, drives the film. From start to finish it's his show. It's just a joy to look at him go. Even in the beginning of the film, when the character's being total asshole, you still kind of like him. He's having so much fun you don't mind that he makes his friend wait three hours for him, ignores his assistants birthdays and, you know, makes his money from selling weapons not caring who's buying them.

Downey does show some skill in the emotional scene's of the film too, for example the anger he shows when Tony Stark sees he's weapons are used in Afghanistan, in his dead friends home town, after Tony shut down the weapons manufacturing. But I think it's mainly the funny part that made him the face of the MCU as the whole. While I sometimes feel like he's arrogance is played out, in the end I always end up liking it. So far Robert Downey Jr. has appeared in 9 out 20 MCU films and nobody's complaining.

And there's other people too!

Because Downey is doing such a magnetic performance, it's a bit hard to focus on other actors in the film. Most of them do pretty good job though.

Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's assistant and love-interest, does a really good job acting opposite of Robert Downey Jr. I think they have good, a bit weird, chemistry between them. I especially love them talking over each other, it gives a more natural and chaotic feeling to me at the same time.

Jeff Bridges plays Obadiah Stane, the main villain of the film. He has this joyful, but a suspicious Santa thing going on. Shaun Toub's character Ho Yinsen isn't given much screen time in the film, but I feel like he does the job pretty well. Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes doesn't really impress me. He kind of just is there. Especially after seeing Don Cheadle take the role in later movies, Howard feels a bit wooden.

Movie teases Rhodey suiting up. Sorry Terrence, go invent new math or something

Flying, shooting and punching

When it comes to action Iron Man does pretty good job. I don't think there's anything especially mind blowing going on, but neither was I bored of it at any point.

Fight scene's are mostly pretty clear which is very important for me personally. I hate it when bad lighting or too shaky camera comes in front of the action and then a movie or tv-show tries to tell me that I just witnessed something badass. That being said, there's some shakiness and quick cuts in the first scene where Tony Stark and soldiers he travels with are attacked, and in the scene where Stark first suits up to escape the terrorists. In these scenes it works because the first one is very chaotic situation and second helps establish the unknown force the terrorists are facing.

A scene that shows really well the joy of being a superhero is one where Tony Stark is back in U.S. and tests his second Iron Man suit (Mark II, the silver one). Downey Jr. does a great job pretending he's flying. Makes you want to have Iron Man suit of your own.

Another I really love (and missed first time because of my pee break) is one where Tony Stark goes back to Afghanistan to fight terrorists that are still using his weapons. The scene does really great job showing the awesome power of the finished Iron Man suit (Mark III, the iconing red and yellow). It's pure fun seeing Iron Man just beat the shit out of terrorists. Also it's the first time we see Iron Man actually saving people, which I love because world sucks and seeing heroes hero is inspiring.

Also in the final battle the villain grabs a motorcycle and hit's Iron Man with it.

No script, no problems

Apparently when filming of Iron Man started the screenplay wasn't finished. Pre-production had focused on making the story and planning the action (according to Wikipedia) so the dialogue wasn't ready. Actors had to make up a lot of it themselves. I can't really tell what lines came from the script and which from the head of the actors, but I'd assume that it's partly reason for the busy nature of the dialogue. Characters are talking over each other all the time. I think it's brings more natural feeling to the story and adds to the arrogance of the Tony Stark's character.

I think it's pretty amazing that despite unfinished script the end product is so great. It must've been a huge risk to go production with it. Failing in their first movie could've meant that there never would've been the MCU like we know it now.

Well maybe some problems

Iron Man is not a perfect movie. I mean no movie is, but for some reason people still need to mention it with every single movie they watch. I like to focus on the positive side of things, especially when I really enjoy the movie. So the few problems with the film I acknowledge do not ruin it for me. Just something that came to mind.

The villain, Obadiah Stane, is kind of lame. He isn't really given any backstory. He was just business partner of Tony Stark's dad and later Tony Stark's. I don't think they ever really explain what's his issue with Stark. Either he's pissed at being number two or he just doesn't like him? Jeff Bridges does great job portraying the character but that's pretty much it. Also in the end he just builds a bigger Iron Man suit (called Iron Monger) and hero fighting evil version of himself has become a bit of a cliché.

Why do I always think Tintin when I see that blue-shirt-yellow-tie-combo?

Other thing I find a bit problematic is the portrayal of people in Afghanistan. All the people from Middle East or South Asia seem to be terrorists to fight or people for Iron Man to save. The character of Ho Yinsen is luckily neither but he dies very soon in the beginning. Representation of minorities and oppressed in media is an issue I find important, but there are smarter people who've written about it all around the internet. But I still wanted to mention it, because it did bother me a bit.

Universe building

After the success of the first Avengers film in 2012, every other studio has wanted to make their own cinematic universe. They mostly fail at this attempt because they try to do too much too soon. When Marvel Studios started planning their first movies, the Avengers team up was just a dream or a goal far away. They understood that building an universe starts with just making a one good film.

Iron Man is focused on telling the story of Tony Stark and how he became the superhero we all know and love now. There are no mentions or cameos of other superheroes. For a new viewer it is just one very good superhero film.

There is this agent guy Phil Coulson (played by Clark Gregg, who'd later star in MCU's first tv-show, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) who keeps popping up. While comic readers know the organization S.H.I.E.L.D, the casual viewer probably doesn't think lot about it. At least I didn't 10 years ago. Just another government organization in the world of Iron Man.

After the credits there is a scene with the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) teasing "the Avenger Initiative." As I said in the beginning, I totally missed this scene first time watching the film. We jumped out of our seats the minute credits started rolling. Now that I've seen it million times I do think it's quite an effective tease. Especially for the comic fans or people who are aware of the superhero group the Avengers. The movie you just watched actually was part of a larger world.

In the comics...

I haven't read lot of the Iron Man comics. Most runs just haven't grabbed my attention. I do own Extremis by Warren Ellis and first three collections of Invincible Iron Man (2015) by Brian Michael Bendis. Extremis was few years before the film and has inspired the movies. I think the idea of Iron Man's origin being in Afghanistan comes from it. The third Iron Man also borrows a lot from the book and I'll try to reread it before I write about that movie (if I get that far with this blog). Bendis' Iron Man is mostly good fun, there's for example great interaction between Tony Stark and Doctor Strange.

Invincible Iron Man (2015) #3, w: Brian Michael Bendis, a: David Marquez, c: Justin Ponsor

As a bonus feature in my copy of Iron Man blu-ray, there's a great series where the comic book writers and artists talk about years of Iron Man comics. Especially interesting I found the fact that Stan Lee originally challenged himself by creating a character his readers would dislike and then make them like him by showing the character become better person and a hero. In the film I think this exists, but like I said earlier, Robert Downey Jr. makes even the most asshole Tony Stark likeable.

In the comics Tony Stark first had a secret identity. He told people that Iron Man was actually his bodyguard, which Stan Lee thought was a clever idea. The movie does reference this, says it's stupid and in the end we get the iconic moment of Tony Stark saying "I am Iron Man" to the press.

Good times

During these 10 years I've watched Iron Man too many times to count. Just this year this was my second time. The movie keeps being a great ride. It shows a great example of a superhero origin, it establishes Robert Downey Jr. as the face of the MCU and it's sets the tone for the future of the franchise.
I think it's also a great way to introduce people, not only to the MCU, but to superhero films in general. That being said it also works great as a stand alone film.

I had a blast revisiting the film again. I'm watching these in the release order, so next up is The Incredible Hulk (2008) the often ignored second movie of the MCU.

Have fun. Love and respect each other!

Hi, I'm writing this blog

Welcom

This my blog for the Media Channels and Platforms course. I'm not a great artist, but I enjoy it enough to choose digital drawing as my way of introducing myself.

Oh shit, there's spelling mistakes... Also should've spent more time finding a good font...
 ANYWAY! Now you know my name and a little of who I am. And that's the important part!

Something I do not mention in the illustration is that the last six years I've been obsessing about Marvel Cinematic Universe. You know, that movie (and tv-show) franchise that keeps making billions of dollars and is everywhere all the time. In this blog I was thinking I'd go back to the beginning of the MCU films and try to find out why I care so damn much about these colorful heroes saving the world three times a year.
I'm planning on watching one film in a week. I'll write about my history with the film and how I feel about it now. Maybe if my blu-ray's have extras I'll also see if I can learn something cool from them.
I will focus on the films, but I might also comment on the tv-shows when there's something interesting to talk about them or they're related to the film of the week.
Also because I follow news and reviews and other things related to the Marvel Cinematic Universe I will probably also share some thoughts about them.

I don't know what else to tell here. First film I'll watch is the original Iron Man from 2008 so you can look forward to that. Unless our teacher decides that I need to write about something else...

Have fun. Love and respect each other.

- O.K.