Gatsby77

Just got back. Much better than I expected. Probably 8/10. Easily better than Thor/Thor 2, Iron Man 2/3, Doctor Strange, and Captain America for me. Yeah - they could have cut 10-15 minutes in the middle but I also _loved_ Also - I thought the third act was no weaker than the third act of all three Iron Man films. The problem with Iron Man is how to craft a finale that's not just him fighting other suits of armor. So far that's literally been the ending of all three films. Only Civil War mixed it up a little, with him going against Cap & Bucky. Here the finale made sense, and the lead-up to it was great. Loved this film and will be widely recommending it.

Yes - I'm well aware of the census numbers for Harbinger # 1 (and their continued upward growth). But my question re. Harbinger # 6 (and now, # 5) is if 9.8s are considered hard to find outside of the census - perhaps due to printing defects a la # 1. The low numbers could mean they're difficult books, or just that nobody's slabbing them like there are # 1-4. Looks like it, as only 31% of 5s and 38% of 6s slabbed actually hit 9.8. (vs. say...60% of 2s and 59% of 4s).

Sigh... I can't believe this is even a consideration. A first appearance is a first appearance, regardless of the cover. No one says "I don't want a ST 110 in my collection because Dr. Strange isn't on the cover." Yeah - I get that Sensation & WW 1 are prettier, but come on. Value aside (as if, if all three were worth the exact same) I'd trade my Sensation 1 for an equivalent AS 8 in heartbeat.

So what's the hardest pre-Unity Harbinger to find in 9.8? I remember back-in-the-day # 4 had a bit of heat because it had the lowest print run. That hold true today in 9.8? And I reckon # 1 is easier to find than the others because it's a more obvious slabbing choice.

Again - there's the problem. Aliens v. Predator grossed more its opening weekend in 2004 than Alien: Covenant did in 2017. So right now, Aliens v. Predator: Requiem has a much stronger case for existing than does Alien 7. * I'm counting Prometheus as Alien 5, so this would be 6.

I'm still digesting it. It was a let-down, but not nearly as big a let-down for me as Prometheus. But 24 hours later, I have a greater appreciation for Prometheus and for what Scott was trying to do. Also, no scenes in this one were as scary (or memorable) as the emergency abortion scene in Prometheus -- which also informed us of a major plot twist. This one? Thought it was better than Alien3, but it struck me as just a waste -- forgettable, sort of like Terminator 3. Also, it's ridiculous that this did worse box office than Aliens v. Predator did back in 2004. I mean...wow...

Hate to say it, but Marky Mark is a big step up from Shia LaBeouf. LaBeouf was decent enough in the first one - and far from the worst thing about that film - but he's not in the same "movie star" league as Marky Mark - who helped make the last one different enough that it was at least palatable.

p.s. It would have been fun for them to have cast Joe Manganiello, though. Just for the meta-callback that the original Flash Thompson in Spider-Man eventually becomes the enhanced muscle-bound Flash Thompson Venom.

This is an interesting choice. I'm now far more excited for this film than I was previously.

If you'd asked me a year ago I would have said this project was a bad idea. Now, I'm beyond excited for it! Here's to crazy ideas for 35-years-later sequels.

Any of y'all remember the late '80s TV show? Only lasted two seasons, but it was really well done, esp. for the time period (ie. years before the 1990s Outer Limits reboot).

Except the best 3 in the series are 5, 8, and 1, probably in that order. 5-8 are qualitatively different than 1-4. The former are primarily "street racing flicks." 4 begins the transition to "multi-ethnic Ocean's 11-style heist flick" that then is in full force in 5.

I also think Vin Diesel's probably jealous of The Rock. Fast and the Furious is _his_ franchise, but The Rock is now a bigger actor, and Fate of the Furious proved that the series can work without Paul Walker or Jordana Brewster. It's an easy leap to see how it could also work well without Vin Diesel or Michelle Rodriguez: The Rock, Jason Stratham, Kurt Russell, Helen Mirren, Tyrese, Ludacris, etc. still make for a solid team.

I noted that Daredevil 319 marketd the "return of Elektra." Miller did indeed resurrect her in DD 190, but included a narrative note in that issue that she and Matt "would never meet again" and received promises from Marvel at the time to abide by that. And she hadn't been seen/used in continuity for a decade before her surprise appearance in DD 319. Miller was pissed because Marvel went against his express wishes with the storyline. And Man Without Fear was planned prior to Fall From Grace but again - wasn't in continuity -- it was a limited series retelling of Matt & Elektra's first meeting and adventures. Was overseen by the same editors (Ralph Macchio and Tom DeFalco) but had zero bearing on Marvel continuity at the time. What the two storylines _did_ do, however, was bring Elektra back in the public eye, reestablishing her as a major current character.

Seriously? Well over 2,000 X-Men books and they're already re-using storylines? I know I'm late to the party but it bears repeating: The Last Stand already did Dark Phoenix. Half-assed and poorly, but c'mon... And I thought Sony was bad for using the Green Goblin as a villain in 3 of their first 5 movies rather than go with any of a dozen other villains, like Chamelon, Mysterio, Kraven, Hobgoblin, etc. Also...they're acting like there haven't been any great X-Men storylines in literally the last 25 years. Take a page from Deadpool and Logan and realize there have been. Hell, even Whedon's first two arcs on Astonishing X-Men would be a better choice -- although it'd be awkward having to explain why Colossus was dead...

Agreed. The only other contender is For Your Eyes Only, but in a push, I think The Spy Who Lived Me wins. Because Jaws. And that scene when Jaws gets trapped with the killer shark, and he kills the shark and swims away.

Acts of Vengeance was literally what got me started collected comic books. _Such_ a cool story idea to just switch the villains up 'cuz the heroes would be unprepared. Punisher vs. The Reavers. Dr. Strange vs. The Enchantress Super-powered Spidey vs. Magneto (and Grey Hulk) Super-powered Spidey vs. Grey Hulk (by McFarlane) X-Men vs. The Mandarin Thor vs. The Juggernaut Wolverine vs. Tiger Shark Daredevil vs. Ultron And the series had a few lasting impacts, like: Psylocke turns from British to Asian ninja assassin. First appearance of The New Warriors. Liefeld starts on The New Mutants.

That Fall From Grace prologue issue (Daredevil # 319) was and is a legitimate key. Because it features the return of Elektra. Miller was so pissed that he actually issued a statement disavowing it and saying that (his) Elektra was (still) dead. But the storyline that ran from Daredevil 319-325 led to Elektra's being heavily featured in the "Man Without Fear" mini-series (which was a retelling of their first meeting & romance). Which led to a few Elektra solo titles, and eventually to her being used properly in Daredevil vol. 2 and the Netflix series. I also don't recall the precise chronology, but Superman came back to life in spring of that year, and Elektra later that summer -- I think it was the combination of these two events (DC, then Marvel) that led Valiant to adopt the catchphrase "Valiant - Where dead is dead."

I thought Spider-Man couldn't get worse than the late '90s clone saga, or Maximum Carnage. One More Day proved me mad wrong.

Agreed. The Ultmate line was the coolest (and arguably, most ambitious) thing Marvel did in a generation. And it worked for a solid 5+ years. I'd add Ulitmate FF 1-24 and a slew of the minis to the mix. Also, The Ultimates mini is arguably one of the most influential Marvel stories of the last 20 years, as it gave us the Samuel L. Jackson-based Nick Fury. Separately, I don't begrudge Marvel doing whatever they think they need to do to stay afloat, given that this generation of youngsters don't read comics. I'm nearly 40 & haven't bought monthly books in a decade (since about Wolverine vol. 2 started & the whole Captain America death/Bucky Brubaker run), so I _really_ can't judge.

You'd be wrong. I saw Fate of the Furious last night and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I've seen all of them except for 2 and 6. I'd rank this one as either 2nd or 3rd. Fast 5 is still the best -- it really was our generation's Ocean's 11, with a multicultural cast and triple-crosses. And 1 is still re-watchable, even if you discount that it's a fairly blatant rip-off of Point Break. This one was a great improvement on 7, despite lacking Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster. And it may surpass even the original for straight-out fun. Why did it work? An interesting twist on the "family" motif that they've been bludgeoning us with over the past few films -- and is so integral to Vin Diesel's character's arc. Two ridiculous set-pieces -- one with autonomous cars and the whole final sequence with the submarine. As bonkers as these were, nothing seemed as forced as it was in Furious 7 -- for which i credit F. Gary Gray's direction. Charlize Theron was a worthy (and hot!) villain. The interplay between Jason Stratham & The Rock was a fine substitute for prior chapters' interplay between Paul Walker & Vin Diesel, and later, Vin Diesel & The Rock. Scott Eastwood is introduced as the new Paul Walker -- and did well in the role. I realized while watching this that these films are so much fun that I'll watch the next 2-3 without hesitation. And that they've accomplished *the* most difficult thing for franchises -- they're no longer dependent on the original cast. The A-list stars of the franchise are now Vin Diesel, The Rock, Jason Stratham, Michelle Rodriguez, and Kurt Russell -- with support from Tyrese, Ludacris, Nathalie Emanuel, Scott Eastwood, and Helen Mirren. Given how well this one was done, they're well on their way to a series that could continue to survive even without Vin Diesel (as they proved with 2 & 3). My only complaint is that Lucas Black - who they *finally* brought back in Furious 7, appears in this chapter only via a brief phonecall. Tokyo Drift (aka 3) was a far stronger chapter than folks give it credit for. It gets unfairly maligned simply because it didn't heavily feature Walker or Diesel.

Huh - I didn't know that Old Boy was originally a Manga. For number of on-screen comic book roles, Chris Evans at least matches Brolin, with: Captain America Scott Pilgrim The Losers FF TMNT Snowpiercer

No way, man. The OG Cable always skipped leg day.

Wow...so Brolin's catching up to Ryan Reynolds comic book territory (Hannibal King, Deadpool, Green Lantern) now that he's got Jonah Hex, Thanos, and Cable. I bet the other kids from The Goonies are jealous. Sean Astin's somewhere out there going, "at least I was in LOTR!"

My hate for Megan Fox is that she's a horrible actress. The Jonah Hex movie had _many_ problems, but Megan Fox's acting was near the top of the list. Who would have though she wouldn't even come off believable as a hooker?? Even in that role, she was beyond horrible.