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.