Tag: marvel

Movie Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn MoviesLeave a comment

Friends, Bloggers, Internet users, lend me your ears! The moment has arrived when the truth shall be finally revealed to you. Yes, my young padawans, my review of Spider-Man: Brand New Day is upon us, as you have waited long enough. In truth, waiting two weeks isn’t that bad, but the time frame could have been worse.

This juggernaut of a movie is smashing the box office, having earned, at the time of writing this well-read blog, US$1.843 billion, which still just boggles my mind.1 So, let’s follow the template I have set for myself and see where it leads. If you missed the preview, you can find it here.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day opened in New Zealand on 30th July, although I only managed to see it last week. It was another typical cold, dark winter Tuesday night at the only cinema in town. Armed with a pre-bought ticket and with expensive snacks from the counter, I was ready to be entertained, and so were 22 other people.

There was a trailer for the new Jason Statham movie, Mutiny, where I think he is trying to kill a cargo ship. You can’t go wrong with a Statham movie for a date night. Anyway, before I dissect Marvel Studios’ 38th film, I want to discuss an epiphany I had after the film. As I was making my way home, it occurred to me that the way I consume movies at the cinema has changed.

I go to the cinema for roughly two different reasons now. The first one is when my wife and I, or just me, take UMC1 and UMC2, which is essentially a family event. In that regard, I’m there to watch whatever crazy-arse movie the boys want to see, usually in the school holidays. There’s no preview to write, and certainly no review, apart from the debrief with the boys about their favourite moments in the movie.

The second reason I’m at the cinema is now to review a movie. This means instead of sitting in my seat waiting for the film to start, and just being happy for the experience, I’m finding myself remembering my preview questions and preparing to store various scenes of the movie into useless parts of my mind. This has transformed my cinematic experience into a venture of criticism.

Whether this is a new positive or negative aspect of my personality, I’ll have to wait for God to fill me in. And with that delightful notion, let’s go over the rules of the review.

1.) Please be aware there will be spoilers concerning the movie, so proceed with extreme anxiety and caution; even after 2,000 years.

2.) The aim of my reviews are not to rip apart the subject or trash it. If I liked the subject enough to watch it, then I’ll give my honest (possibly biased) opinion.

3.) I’m not a professional critic, so I’m not going to dive into deeper concepts and themes, or the art of filmmaking. I’m just a geek; always have been, and always will be.

With the introduction now complete, along with Obi-Wan’s failure; and since we’re not here to watch Count Binface dance, let’s get on with the review!

Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney and my local cinema

Because it’s rare for me to deviate from this course of action, the first step is to discuss whether I liked the film or not, and as usual, I did. The MCU can still entertain me after 18 years, which means I’m still invested in it, as well as everybody’s favourite friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. To be honest, I’ll always give a damn about ‘Ol Web-head.

Things I liked:

Following the plan, I’ll fire these off in no special order, as I don’t want my OCD to be that intense.

Right off the bat was the introduction by Tom Holland at the start of the movie. I can’t remember if I have ever seen an actor talking directly to the audience to thank them for watching the movie, as well as pointing out that the entire production crew have pulled out all the stops to make the best film possible, because they love Peter Parker, just like us. It was cool.

And speaking of cool, I was impressed by Parker’s Spider-Man suit, because it looked…amazing and spectacular.2 It looks quite comic-accurate, though to be fair, does it have to? The homage to Amazing Fantasy #15 was not lost on me either; it was…amazing.3

I liked the symmetry in the interactions between the characters. In No Way Home, Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker attempts to stop Tom Holland’s Peter Parker from killing Willem Dafoe’s Norman Osborn. This mirrors Holland’s Peter Parker trying to prevent Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey from killing Tramell Tillman’s Bill Metzger. It’s an interesting form of compasssion, no matter how you want to describe it.

The parallels between the two scenes were strong, with Parker learning his lesson and trying to make sure Jean Grey doesn’t make the mistake of killing Tillman. It’s one of Parker’s strongest traits to uphold his own personal belief system, to himself, the world, and to his friends and allies, like the Punisher, and now, Jean Grey.

Now, let’s discuss Jean Grey. I understand that with Disney’s acquisition of Fox, they finally got the movie rights back for the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Rather than quickly stuffing these characters into movies, they bided their time, which was clever. They did this by introducing the Fantastic Four as being from another universe, and it looks like the X-Men, or at the earliest, mutants, will come from the main universe; not counting the X-Men Fox Universe.

So we have now been introduced to at least two mutants, with Jean Grey, with the first being Namor. How Marvel is going to continue to introduce mutants in the main universe remains to be seen, although Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars will deal with the Fox X-Men.

It will be great to follow Jean’s heroic journey through the MCU, because when we first met her, she was already an adult in X-Men, as Famke Janssen. Having her on a quest to find her sister, Sara, a forgotten Marvel character, was key to seeing how loyal she can be, but also how powerful she can really be.

I can’t be sure about it, but I was wondering: when Damage Control was running the experiments on Sara and Jean, it gave me the idea that maybe the computer programme they were running was an early or prototype version of Cerebro. I will laugh and laugh if I’m correct about that.

Another thing that impressed me was Scorpion’s fighting style, as in controlling his tail like a limb, similar to Doctor’s Octopus’ arms. When he was fighting Spider-Man, it was fantastic to see him use his tail like that, as it was extremely smart and creative.

I also can’t be the only person to notice the similarities between Parker being accidentally shot while saving someone by the Punisher and the Death of Spider-Man storyline in Ultimate Spider-Man Vol 1 from 2011, where Ultimate Peter Parker is accidentally shot by the Ultimate Punisher while saving Ultimate Captain America.

Yes, it’s true: Ultimate Punisher did not kill him, as Parker returned home to fight the Ultimate Green Goblin, aka Norman Osborn. And yes, Ultimate Parker indeed died defeating Ultimate Osborn, but he did so with the bullet wound from the Ultimate Punisher, so at worst, the Ultimate Punisher aided in Ultimate Parker’s death, since he couldn’t fight the Ultimate Green Goblin at 100%. Comic books- who would read them?

I enjoyed Parker’s and Frank Castle’s relationship too, but also their performances, along with everybody else’s. Obviously, Holland and Zendaya’s relationship is jumping from behind the camera to in front of it, but it still works. Mark Ruffalo, Florence Pugh, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, and Jon Bernthal all understood the assignments and were fantastic.

I’ve mentioned this before, but since I don’t have Disney+, I have no idea what’s been happening in the MCU TV shows. That being the case, I don’t know if Damage Control has been seen in the shows or not. Regardless, it was great to see them in the movie, though it seems like their cinematic portrayal and their comic counterparts are different, with vastly different company objectives. Still, it was nice to see them, as they’re an overlooked and underrated corner of the Marvel Universe.

Things I disliked:

I realise this film is getting attention through vast amounts of money and great acting performances, along with positive praise among critics and fans, but that doesn’t mean it’s invulnerable to criticism.

I may have missed this point, as there was a lot of information fired at us, in addition to being revealed, but when we left Parker at the end of No Way Home, Parker had moved into a new apartment; but when Brand New Day rolled around, Parker was in a completely different apartment.

That in itself is not a problem, but what is a problem is that, to the best of my knowledge, the film never clears up what Parker does outside of the mask. I suppose something in the film clears it up; it could be referred to as his university- maybe Empire State University, but it’s not clear. What exactly does Parker do? Does he study or work or both?

Because this leads us to another question: what does Parker do for money? Does he have an income stream, and what is it? Does he live off money earned as Spider-Man? Is he, in fact, a part-time photographer for the Daily Bugle, or does he have another job? How does he afford to live in that apartment?

One of the key reasons Peter Parker has been so relatable to readers is that he has shared many problems that are grounded in reality, namely paying his bills, but also helping with Aunt May’s bills. Of course, in this universe, Aunt May is dead, but Parker does not seem to have any money issues that I saw. Why is that?

Another thing to add to this issue is the fact that his suit is back to being powered by AI. At the end of No Way Home, Parker had opened a new chapter for himself, with a non-tech suit, via a homemade fabric suit. Years later, he seems to have upgraded the suit, forgetting the lessons he learnt in all of the previous films. He’s become the new Tony Stark, and I feel that’s not his role.

When advertising a movie, Marvel can sometimes be a little deceptive with its trailers and press releases. An example of this in Brand New Day was information released about Tombstone, Boomerang, Tarantula, The Hand, and Ramrod, and I thought it was all true.

To my disappointment, Tombstone was in the film for roughly two minutes, though an argument could be made for only one minute. While the trailers featured Spider-Man fighting Boomerang and Tarantula, the movie’s footage featured the identical footage as the trailer. Basically, the amount of time that you saw of Boomerang and Tarantula in the trailers was the same in the movie. As for Ramrod, he didn’t feature in the trailers, but he had the same amount of screen time as the other two.

I do have some issues around the Punisher. Again, having not seen the MCU TV shows, how can the Punisher be walking the streets, or in a Damage Control building with agents and a hospital, AND NOT BE ARRESTED?

How in the hell did he walk out of the Damage Control without being arrested, considering Metzger and his agents were staring at him? How can the Punisher, one of the largest serial killers in the United States of America, just walk into a hospital with a bleeding Spider-Man, be allowed to stay in a hospital room, and slip out without being notified to the police and not be arrested? How?

And speaking about the Punisher, how does he finance his war on crime? Where does the money come from to buy these powerful guns? How did he get his Battle Van fixed and repaired so quickly after it was badly damaged the previous day, or does he just have a spare Battle Van lying around?

As for the hospital scene, at no point did the film address the fact that multiple hospital staff would have seen Peter’s face, since his mask was removed. Regardless of whether they know his identity or not, they have seen his face, which means supervillains and criminals could capture and torture the information from the hospital staff, as well as securing footage from the hospital’s surveillance.

I also feel terrible for bringing this up, but Jean’s hypocrisy was farcical. At the climax of the film, when she has Metzger under her control, she complains about how evil he is and that he’s a murderer, but she has completely skipped over her own actions. With Jean mentally controlling people, she has destroyed careers, cars, and buildings, along with getting people arrested, in addition to injuring people, with the possibility of killing one person who got hit by a bus. Bruce Banner is now locked up in a psychiatric hospital because of her.

In her speech, she accepted no responsibility for her actions, especially for creating a psionic field. Who knows how many people were killed when she did that? At some point, Jean will need to own up to her actions.

I think I have mentioned this before in the Thunderbolts* and Captain America: Brave New World reviews, but when something like a psionic field appears in New York, of all places, why is it that no extra superheroes turn up to help? Not a single one? If the MCU is interconnected as they say it is, why don’t these events mean anything to the world, because nobody, absolutely nobody, from any superhuman team or government department arrived to lend a hand? Not even Daredevil?

To round it out, Parker’s transformation seemed to mean nothing. He solved the problem, but simply making friends? Does this mean that if Parker ever feels lonely or isolated again, he will revert to the “Spider” persona? Does he still have access to his organic webbing or not? I thought the resolution to this problem was rather weak.

So, what about my preview questions?

  • Is having four different villains, Scorpion, Tombstone, Boomerang, and Tarantula, too many? Will they be working together? No, this was not like Spider-Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, or Spider-Man: No Way Home, where, wherever you looked, there was a villain. Like I said before, Boomerang, Tarantula, and also Ramrod had blink-and-miss-them cameos; Tombstone had two minutes at most, while Scorpion had the largest role. They were not working together.
  • How will Black Widow be introduced in the movie? She was like an information consultant because Peter needed information about the person attacking Damage Control facilities.
  • Will it be revealed how Peter has built a life out of thin air, considering Peter Parker does not exist? It was not explained or touched on at all.
  • Will Ned start to turn against Peter or Spider-Man? In the film, there was no red flag to indicate his eventual betrayal.
  • Does Matt Murdock/Daredevil or Kingpin make an appearance? Sadly, they were absent.
  • Will Jean Grey be classified as a mutant? To the best of my knowledge, she was referred to as “special.”
  • Will there be any form of early mutant legalisation? Nothing, but I wonder if Parker’s inhibitor will be the basis of the mutant collar inhibitor.
  • Will the transformations Peter goes through be permanent? Totally unclear. Maybe he still has his organic webbing, but by the end, he’s back to his normal self; though he could revert under the wrong conditions, I think.
  • Does Peter know Boomerang, outside of his mask? No idea, because Boomerang had no lines, and in the film for three seconds.
  • What is the Hand doing in the film? They are reformed and working for Damage Control.
  • Can we expect any other cameos, whether Avengers or X-Men? Apart from Black Widow and the Hulk, there was also the appearance of Detective Jean DeWolff. Does that mean Sin-Eater is coming?
  • Will Bruce Banner be able to help Peter? He did after having a conversation about suppressing mutations.
  • Is Morlun involved in the movie? Once again, sadly no.
  • Will Peter try to break up Mary Jane’s relationship with her boyfriend? That’s a good question, because yes, he did. However, the end of the film revealed that they have become friends again.
  • Will there be a Doctor Doom reference? If there was, I missed it. There was an end-credit scene that showed Peter was in space via the Spidey-Tracker, but that was it.

Overall, I enjoyed the film, and it just reaffirmed my belief in the character. Spider-Man is in my top five favourite Marvel characters, so to show my support, I have preordered Midnight Spider-Man #1, which is being released in October. I’ll have to let you know my thoughts about that issue, along with Midnight X-Men #1 and Midnight Fantastic Four #1.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is a solid and entertaining movie. Anyway, don’t trust me; go watch it for yourself, so you can be the judge. Have you seen Spider-Man: Brand New Day? Please tell me your thoughts about it. I would love to know.

The next MCU movie is Avengers: Doomsday in December, which I will preview and review. However, the next preview/review will either be Clayface (my decision) or Wicker (my wife’s choice), whichever one is released first. Clayface is in my wheelhouse, but Wicker is not, but I’ll give it a go anyway; mainly because my wife thinks I can’t preview/review a romantic fantasy comedy. Challenge accepted!

Ok, that’s another blog for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, follow Nigel Farage’s Parliamentary investigation, and I’ll see you next week, where we discuss the news from San Diego Comic-Con. It’s hard-hitting investigative journalism!

1 Not The Juggernaut of course, because as Spider-Man knows all too well, nothing stops the Juggernaut!

2 If anybody is clever enough to understand that reference, please let me know.

3 Sorry, its the last one.

Movie Preview: Spider-Man: Brand New Day

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Here we are again, for the final time this Winter, for a movie preview/review. Yes, the Moirai, or should that be Disney, have decreed that I commit more time to this amazing venture, which, to my humble credit, I have gracefully said, “Sure, bro.”

The FIFA World Cup seems a distant memory, along with the first half of the Nations Championship, though the Clacton by-election is this week, so hopefully God has a sense of humour, and Nigel Farage will lose to Count Binface. Dreams are free, mate, dreams are free. I’ll mention the winner next week, so stay glued to New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website.

With all of that cool stuff out of the way, we need to discuss Spider-Man: Brand New Day. This hasn’t happened for a long time on this amazing account, but the film has been out since 30th July, and I’m just releasing a preview. However, just to lay your fears to rest, I’ll be watching the film tomorrow at 8 pm, since I’ve secured my ticket for the screening. Old habits are hard to break.

Before I stumble into another awful attempt at alliteration and previewing a superhero movie, we need to discuss the elephant in the room, or should that be the $1 billion at the box office. I’m never going to do this again, as in wait so long to write a preview of a movie, when it’s already been released, generated $1 billion, as well as trying to avoid memes, reviews, and posts about the film.

Never again; it’s been too awkward and stressful. It also means some things that I would have asked in my preview questions have already been answered.

I have tried so hard to block out information about the film, but some information has bled through, though it’s to be expected. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has been on people’s radar for a while. It’s no secret that the film is the 38th entry in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), with the 39th being Avengers: Doomsday, due in theatres in December 2026. I’ll be nearly on holiday for that one, so we’ll see how that pans out. This is a classic example of a first-world problem.

Anyway, Spider-Man: Brand New Day gives us the first appearance of Peter Parker since Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. Of course, the MCU has kept chugging out cinematic content since then, with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, The Marvels, Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts* and The Fantastic Four: First Steps; with The Marvels being the only MCU film I have not seen, and its proved difficult to rent. Another first-world problem in action.

The cast is Peter Parker / Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson (Zendaya), Jean Grey (Sadie Sink), Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), Frank Castle / Punisher (Jon Bernthal), Yelena Belova / Black Widow (Florence Pugh), and Bruce Banner / Hulk (Mark Ruffalo); though there are others, I need to move things along.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (who previously directed Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and written by Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, who both have co-written other MCU films like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Its armed with a budget of an estimated US$225 million, roughly the same as The Avengers’ budget from 2012.

So, sit back and relax, while we continue our dive into Phase Six with Spider-Man: Brand New Day! Let’s do it!

Credit: UMC1 and UMC2’s Lego collection

Am I looking forward to watching Spider-Man: Brand New Day?

Yes, yes, of course, the answer is yes. As I said before, the last time we saw Peter was in Spider-Man: No Way Home, not counting 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Now, I’ve mentioned this several times when writing these world-famous previews, but I don’t have Disney +, so I haven’t seen any of the MCU TV shows.

This means I don’t know what’s been happening with Moon Knight, Daredevil, Wonder Man, but more importantly, for the context of the movie, Hulk and the Punisher. I really have no idea what they have been doing, other than being green and shooting people.

Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has become a vital cog in the MCU machine, mainly because we have watched Peter grow up, secure some victories, but also suffer defeats, and we’ve been there along the way. It’s almost like checking in on an old mate that you don’t get to see often.

The title, Brand New Day, obviously sets up, to me at least, a possible opening chapter in a new Spider-Man film trilogy, featuring the word, Day, similar to Home, in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, I have been known to be wrong. From time to time.

Comic book fans will recognise Brand New Day as the follow-up storyline to one of Marvel’s worst Spider-Man storylines, One More Day, though the Clone Saga and Sins Past could give One More Day a run for its money. I remember that as soon as I had read all of the issues in One More Day, I sold it as soon as I could, because I didn’t want it under the same roof as me. I hated it.

Brand New Day was a reset for the Spider-Man titles, with Peter being single and living his best life with new friends and enemies, after he made a deal with Mephisto to save Aunt May from death, by giving up his marriage to Mary Jane, by allowing Mephisto to remove it from reality. I believe the thinking at the time was to align the Spider-Man from the comics to the Spider-Man from the films, namely, Sam Raimi’s trilogy, and to make him single and younger. Again, I hated it.

Having Mephisto remove people’s knowledge of Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage from reality was lifted from One More Day, and used in No Way Home, but instead of Mephisto, it was Doctor Strange removing people’s knowledge of Peter being Spider-Man. Comics and movies, what a deadly combination.

What is the movie about?

According to Marvel.com, the premise is this:

It’s a BRAND NEW DAY for Peter Parker. Fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that doesn’t remember him—and the pressure of seeing his old friends move on without him—sparks a change in Peter he may not have the power to control. But that transformation might also be the only thing that can stop a shocking new threat to the city and those he loves—a powerful villain no one can even see.

What can we expect?

The running time is 145 minutes, which places it roughly around the same time as The Avengers, from way back in 2012. I saw that film three times at the cinema, what a geek. I’m not 100% sure how much time has passed since Spider-Man: No Way Home, especially because the MCU is a bit funky. Still, with research, it says that No Way Home was set in 2024, and Brand New Day is in 2028.

From the trailers, Peter is going through a transformation reminiscent of “The Other” storyline, which appeared in Spider-Man comics as a crossover between the titles. In it, Peter is pursued by a freaky, universe-hopping life-force vampire named Morlun, who defeats him, transforms, and is reborn. It will be interesting to see how much of “The Other” is used in the movie.

From the trailers, it appears that Peter will be able to create organic webbing, similar to Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man (Earth-96283) and Spider-Man Noir (Earth-90214/90214B). This is a great reminder that I still need to watch Spider-Noir, because it looks awesome.

I think one of the biggest things to remember before you see the film is the fact that Doctor Strange removed the planet’s knowledge of Peter Parker being Spider-Man, but also that Peter Parker even exists at all, which includes from Mary Jane/MJ and Ned.

I can only imagine that a large chunk of the film will handle Peter trying to reestablish his relationships with them. Will this film lay the seeds of Ned’s ultimate evolution, turning him into the Hobgoblin, thus continuing the trend of Peter’s BFF becoming a supervillain and trying to kill him?

As a side note, it would be extremely difficult for Peter to live, considering there would be no record of him even existing; he’s a ghost. He would have to go and get official documents stating who he was, as well as proof that he’s a US citizen; otherwise, he would be deported. Also, try to imagine the levels of madness it would take if you knew lots of information about different people and the world, but nobody, and I mean nobody, knew anything about you.

The trailers also give the impression that Peter and Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, have some sort of working relationship, since, as Spider-Man, Peter calls him “Frank” in a plea for help. However, it’s unclear whether Peter has revealed his identity to Frank. I could be wrong about what I’ve seen, but it seems like Frank and Peter are acting like brothers, as in supporting each other, as well as bickering and arguing. Watching them debate the morality of killing criminals would be interesting. It also suggests that Dr Bruce Banner has not remembered who Peter is, so their relationship would be awkward as well.

With the known villains, Marvel has been very loose with these details, considering the amount of public knowledge of the characters, because of the trailers and toys, like the plague of Ooshies that have infected the world. These include Scorpion (last seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming), Tombstone, Boomerang, and Tarantula, along with The Hand.

The Hand provides me with a great transition point, since, to the best of my understanding, they have featured in the MCU TV shows. Similar to the Disney + Star Wars shows, there is so much I have missed with the MCU shows that sometimes I feel that there’s no point getting Disney + because of the massive back catalogue. Like I said, sometimes.

Before the movie was released, there was speculation as to Sadie Sink’s role, so when the trailer was released, people started to guess the identity of the entity that was somehow taking over people or possessing them. The internet is a fertile place for growing conspiracy theories, and for once, the conspiracy theorists were correct that the mystery villain was, in fact, Jean Grey. It’s a weird feeling knowing a key piece of hidden information about a movie, before you watch it, considering you have a ticket in your hand.

Since Jean Grey is involved, my questions about the X-Men, or at least mutants, will be discussed. Hopefully, we will see some fantastic fight scenes, along with powerful emotional scenes, with Peter trying to reconnect with people. Who knows?

Do I have concerns?

One day, I’ll answer this question by saying I have no concerns, but it’s not today. That being the case, here are my concerns about a film that has earned US$1.6 billion at the box office:

  • Is having four different villains, Scorpion, Tombstone, Boomerang, and Tarantula, too many? Will they be working together?
  • How will Black Widow be introduced in the movie?
  • Will it be revealed how Peter has built a life out of thin air, considering Peter Parker does not exist?
  • Will Ned start to turn against Peter or Spider-Man?
  • Does Matt Murdock/Daredevil or Kingpin make an appearance?
  • Will Jean Grey be classified as a mutant?
  • Will there be any form of early mutant legalisation?
  • Will the transformations Peter goes through be permanent?
  • Does Peter know Boomerang, outside of his mask?
  • What is the Hand doing in the film?
  • Can we expect any other cameos, whether Avengers or X-Men?
  • Will Bruce Banner be able to help Peter?
  • Is Morlun involved in the movie?
  • Will Peter try to break up Mary Jane’s relationship with her boyfriend?
  • Will there be a Doctor Doom reference?

As always, there’s probably going to be some questions to ask after the film. Are you planning on watching Spider-Man: Brand New Day, or have you already seen it? As always, please let me know.

I’m sorry if this preview is a tad shorter than usual, but I just want to watch the film while eating and drinking vastly over-priced items. And that’s another blog for another week.

Last Thursday, it was -5 °C at 6 am, which is just madness to me, because I’ve been going to bed wearing a hoodie and a beanie. I want to wear my dressing gown and slippers to work to be warm, but I’m sure it would be frowned upon.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, and if you can vote in the Clacton by-election on 13th August, remember that it’s bin day. Bin for the Win!! Please make Nigel Farage unemployed.

Take care, and I’ll see you next week for the Spider-Man: Brand New Day Review!

Free Comic Book Day vs Comics Giveaway Day

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics

2025 is drawing to a close, not just in this reality where we live on a globe,1 but also on this informative, insightful, and popular blog. That being the case, I wanted to share some news that, in my candid opinion, is a quirky mix of fascination and pettiness.

Since the word in the title heavily implies that I’m a geek, which is correct and true, Some Geek Told Me strives to include content about comics from time to time. And as any follower of pop culture will know, the first Saturday of May is Free Comic Book Day (FCBD).

This event takes place all over the world and celebrates pop culture through cosplay, providing free comic books, typically at comic book stores.

Every year, I usually write a blog post about it, which also includes a few posts on Twitter and Mastodon, just to celebrate this event. That in itself is not particularly newsworthy, I mean, a comic-reading geek who loves FCBD; what a shock! Breaking news, the Pope is Catholic and water is wet!

Bear with me for a few more moments, because like Columbo or Monk delivering their theory, I’m going somewhere with this.

Around November, six months before the event, the comics published for FCBD from the Gold and Silver Sponsors are promoted through various media outlets. This allows retailers and customers to begin their planning.

Ok, thanks for that interesting titbit, Scott, but what’s that got to do with the price of Tesla stock?

Good point, and I do love your questions!

Image by Thio ardiansyah from Pixabay

After a recent announcement, next year’s FCBD is going to be wild. Now, that could be a positive or negative thing, as it’s going to introduce a feud that could rival Coca-Cola vs Pepsi, Adidas vs Puma, McDonald’s vs Burger King, Conservatism vs Progressives, or Flat Earthers vs Gravity.

Some people say there is a Salt and Vinegar/Sour Cream and Chives rivalry. I would say unto thee, nay. There is no rivalry, because one is clearly superior to the other. I beseech you to search your heart, to know which one I speak of.

As always, some much-needed context is needed to explain a truly bizarre and petty showdown.

Since its inception in 2002, before Facebook and 6-7 took over the world, FCBD was owned and operated by Diamond Comic Distributors. Diamond, as it was also known, was founded in 1982, just in time for Krull. It was a massive distributor that worked with retailers by supplying comic books, toys, and anything else pop culture related, not only in North America, but around the world.

Along the way, Diamond purchased other companies and brought them under its corporate umbrella. The way I have understood it, Diamond had a monopoly when it came to comic distribution. Now, a few interesting things happened in the recent past that concerned Diamond and had immense repercussions.

In 2020, DC Comics revealed that they would be splitting from Diamond and giving their business to Penguin Random House, UCS Comic Distributors and Lunar Distribution. Remember Penguin and Lunar, because those names are going to come back and haunt this blog post.

Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing followed DC’s move in 2021 and shifted their business away from Diamond, and gave it to…wait for it…Penguin. I’m not an expert on comic book distribution, but I know deals and counter-deals were done with these companies across the distribution industry; however, these break-ups hurt Diamond.

Credit: Diamond Distribution/Universal Distribution

In January 2025, Diamond filed for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and some of its assets were eventually sold to two companies: Universal Distribution and Ad Populum. The two companies divided the assets and started taking control of the various operations, among multiple lawsuits.

During the year, things got worse for Diamond, with layoffs and more companies like Dynamite Entertainment, Dark Horse Comics and BOOM! Studios cut ties with them. This resulted in more of Diamond’s companies having to be sold off.

Sadly, in December 2025, Diamond moved from a Chapter 11 case to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which, as I understood it, meant liquidation. Whether this could have been avoided or not, I have no idea, but this is the result: the rights to Free Comic Book Day and its name were purchased by Universal Distribution.

Basically, if Diamond owned FCBD, and if Universal Distribution now owns Diamond, then Universal Distribution owns FCBD as well. Just like how 20th Century Fox owned the rights to the Alien franchise, but Disney now owns 20th Century Fox, so that means Ellen Ripley is technically a Disney Princess.

FCBD is happening on 2nd May 2026, so going forward, Free Comic Book Day is now owned and operated by Universal Distribution, but this decision is not universally loved.2 With me so far? Great, because cue the pettiness and rivalry.

At the time of writing this blog, the 2026 edition of FCBD is going to look a little different. Do you remember Penguin and Lunar? Their return to the conversation is now imminent.

The way I understand the upcoming debacle is that while Universal was working with publishers to arrange the 2026 FCBD comics, Penguin did not reach a deal with Universal about the distribution of the comics. This also covered the use of the FCBD name.

This has culminated in a snowball filled with money and comics. On the same day that Universal released information concerning the first wave of publishers involved in 2026 Free Comic Book Day; remember the same day, Penguin released a statement outlining that the publishers connected to them and Lunar will be creating their own “Free Comic Book Day” event.

Credit: Penguin Random House

The new event is called Comics Giveaway Day (CGD), and what can only be described as a gangster move from Penguin and Lunar, the event is scheduled for 2nd May. I know, right? Planning to do a separate and independent event celebrating comics and pop culture is one thing, but it’s another to set on the same day as FCBD!

The CGD comics will have their own logo, as well as age-appropriate banners, like the FCBD comics.

As the crow flies, two events are competing to hand out free comics to us at local book stores on 2nd May 2026. One is Free Comic Book Day, which is being run by Universal Distribution, including current sponsors like Archie Comics, DC Comics, Dynamite Entertainment, Image Comics, Mad Cave, Oni Press, Titan Comics, Rekcah Comics, Vault Comics, and Udon Entertainment, but also Upper Deck and Wizards of the Coast.

The second is Comics Giveaway Day, being organised by Penguin Random House, which features publishers like BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Ignition Press, Kodansha Comics, Marvel Comics, Penguin Young Readers, RH Childrens Books, Ten Speed Graphic, Tokyopop, and Wattpad Webtoon Studio.

The CGD sponsors and comics have been revealed, but at the time of writing, the FCBD sponsors have been revealed, but not the actual titles. All of the sponsors for the FCBD and CGD comics are subject to change, with more sponsors expected to be added.

I live at least 200 km from a comic book store, so how the 2nd May’s events are going to look like for retailers and customers is up for debate, because things could change.

For all we know, sponsors could swap to the other event, which would only add chaos to an already messy break-up. To me, it’s like your parents have broken up and planned two separate birthday parties for you, each at the same location, at the same time, and on the same day. As I said, it seems quite petty and ridiculous. Entertaining and interesting, yes, but still petty and ridiculous.

Will Comics Giveaway Day become an annual event, or will it only last one year? Are you Team FCBD, Team CGD, you don’t mind which one, or you don’t care at all? Will you be attending an event on 2nd May? As always, please let me know.

And that brings the final blog post of 2025 for Some Geek Told Me to an end, at least in the long-winded version. The next one will be coming out on Thursday for Christmas, but it will be much shorter. From there, my Christmas break begins, where I’ll be stepping away from this blog for a holiday. I’ll talk more about that on Christmas Day.

Also, because of the difference in time zones, New Zealand is currently UTC+13, so don’t panic if you receive the post on Christmas Eve. I haven’t got it wrong.

Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, ask Santa for the unredacted Epstein files, and I’ll see you on Christmas morning.

1 Here’s a shout out to Eratosthenes.

2 The pun was very much intended.

Why are the Ultimate and Absolute comics so popular?

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics

Kia ora everybody, and how is November working out for you? I believe it’s going well for Zohran Mamdani, having been elected mayor of New York, but also for Donald Trump, who is enjoying throwing parties, falling asleep at work, and building a ballroom. Not him personally, of course. His bone spurs would prevent him from doing that.

On the other side of the equation, it’s not going so well for Prince Andrew and Nigel Farage, though they seem like two top blokes, so I’m sure they will bounce back.

As for me, I have been thinking about comic books lately, which, to be honest, is fairly typical. Before I prattle on any further, I need to issue a warning to any unsuspecting readers. This blog post will be discussing recent comic books, because…well, you know, I’m a geek. Always have been, always will be.

A few weeks ago, I learnt that Marvel had released a press statement that their comics involving the highly popular Ultimate Universe would end in April 2026. It was also around the same time that I discovered DC’s Absolute Batman #1 was one of the highest-selling comic books of 2024, with nearly 400,000 units sold, along with Marvel’s Ultimate Spider-Man #1, which sold around 450,000 units; both issues had multiple printings.

This, of course, had driven a pop culture splinter into my mind, among other things, which has forced me to ask a very simple question: Why are the Ultimate and Absolute comics so popular?

Because my writing is not always linear, to answer that question, we need to understand what the Ultimate Universe and Absolute Universe are first. Clear as mud? I thought so. Get ready for another pointless lecture.

Credit: Marvel Comics & DC Comics

To build on what I have previously said about this subject, multiverse stories have existed in comics for decades. In fact, it’s one of the jewels in comics’ crown. Setting up well-known characters on different worlds gives the creative teams the freedom to design new costumes, powers, and motivations for their creations, without being part of the main continuity, aka the main line of comic books.

These worlds are comparable to the primary comic book universe represented by various comic companies, yet each one has its own unique differences. I want to emphasise this point: multiverse stories have been a part of comics for decades; they are not a new concept.

Let’s fast forward to the early 2000s, when Marvel launched a line of comics called the Ultimate series: Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate X-Men, The Ultimates (The Avengers), Ultimate Fantastic Four, and many others. Marvel designated this world to be Earth-1610, whereas the main Marvel world was Earth-616.

This series of titles reimagined characters like Spider-Man, Captain America, Wolverine, Mister Fantastic, and others to enter a different universe set in contemporary times. By doing this, Marvel allowed new and old generations of readers a chance to experience Peter Parker being bitten by a radioactive spider for the first time, along with Steve Rogers waking up from his frozen sleep in the 21st century, and various other changes. Miles Morales, one of the most popular characters created this century, was born in this world.

Credit: Ultimate X-Men

The Avengers from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) are based on the Ultimates, which are the version of the Avengers from that alternate world. These titles proved to be successful, and they lasted for some years before Marvel pulled the plug on the project.

A few years ago, Marvel relaunched the Ultimate line, which set the stories on the same alternative Earth, but to my understanding, the second volume of these titles did not have the same financial and cultural impact as the first round. In the end, the relaunched Ultimate line was closed down.

Let’s travel forward through time and arrive at 2023, when Marvel had started sowing the seeds of the Ultimate line once again; however, this world, Earth-6160, was a totally different Earth. As the months and years ticked by, The Ultimates, Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Wolverine, some mini-series and one-shots were released, to critical and financial acclaim.

In a nutshell, Earth-6160 was changed by the machinations of the Maker, a villainous Reed Richards from Earth-1610, the original Ultimate world. He did some crazy stuff to Earth-6160’s timeline, preventing characters from receiving superpowers or their creation, but also working behind geo-political scenes to control the world with others, who had carved up the world into regions that they control and manipulate.

Credit: Marvel Comics

One of the core plot twists is that on this world, Peter Parker did not become Spider-Man as a teenager; he only gained his powers recently, as a married man with two children, which you get to witness. There are also some great redesigns for Black Panther, Hulk, mutants, Moon Knight, as well as having Earth-6160’s Doctor Doom being Reed Richards.

In October 2025, it was announced that the Ultimate Universe would be finishing in April 2026, because if I understand it correctly, that was always going to be the plan. What the condition of the Ultimate Universe will be after the Ultimate: Endgame mini-series is anybody’s guess, but what I can’t see is Marvel completely ending the line, since the characters and titles are popular.

All of the Ultimate Universe comics have been performing very well with monthly sales.

And with that amazing conclusion, we can now shift our attention towards DC’s Absolute Universe.

Identified as Earth-Alpha, this world had been influenced by Darkseid’s energy, having made cameo appearances in some earlier cosmic mini-series. I could be wrong about this, but the Absolute Universe seems to have been created and altered by Darkseid.

The natural order of systems has changed, resulting in villains gaining control and heroes becoming underdogs. This shift has also led to familiar yet distinct versions of the main characters from Earth-One. For example, Bruce Wayne’s mother is alive, and he is not wealthy. Kal-El arrived on Earth as an estimated 11-year-old boy, having been raised by Jor-El and Lara on Krypton rather than by the Kents. Additionally, Diana was trained to be a warrior-witch in Hell by Circe, without the influence of the Amazons.

Credit: DC Comics

Like the Ultimate Universe, other titles have been released, like Absolute Martian Manhunter, Absolute Flash, and Absolute Green Lantern, all of which have had something missing or altered in their origin story. This also covers the redesigns for the villains, like costumes, genders, and motivations, in addition to turning Absolute Ra’s al Ghul into an Absolute Superman villain.

In July 2025, Absolute Wonder Woman won five Eisner Awards, claiming awards for Best New Series, Best Writer (Kelly Thompson), Best Colouring (Jordie Bellaire), Best Cover Artist (Lee Bermejo and Mike Deodato Jr.), and Best Lettering (Clayton Cowles).

According to reports, Absolute Flash #1 had over 180,000 pre-orders, which means it was the best-selling Flash comic since 1987’s Flash #1, and Absolute Martian Manhunter #1 sold over 120,000 copies, which is unheard of for a Martian Manhunter title. I have a soft spot for J’onn J’onzz, so I’m really happy for the creative team.

By February 2025, the Absolute Universe comics had sold over 2.5 million units, which includes multiple printings, for various issues across the titles.

So, the Maker has been pulling the strings of Earth-6160, and Earth-Alpha has been influenced by Darkseid. They sound like recipes for disasters to the superheroes, but also successful financial recipes for both companies. So if we have established what the Ultimate and Absolute comics are, why are they proving so popular with readers? Why are both lines outperforming their main counterparts in sales and awards?

I have a theory that consists of many parts, but I haven’t looked into this in great detail, to the point that I would be regurgitating someone’s professional opinion. This is coming from someone who has probably spent far too much love, time and money on comics. This is my opinion, so I haven’t based it on anyone’s work; it’s just me.

Credit: DC Comics

I will be honest about two things:
1.) I am currently buying and reading some Absolute titles; however, for the Ultimate titles, I am reading the trades through the library, so it’s a slow process.
2.) I have not read every single Ultimate or Absolute issue; I’m just doing what I can.

The Art

Obviously, comics without the creative team of artists, inkers and colourists would turn the medium into novels, so they are vital. Having said that, and in my personal opinion, the Ultimate and Absolute art teams have somehow raised the bar slightly.

We all know that monthly comic books are produced on a tight deadline, and if two Flash comics are released in a month, both Flash titles will not look 100% the same, because they were drawn by two different creative teams. If you read X-Men, then you expect Wolverine to look one way, but if you read Wolverine, the creative team is different, so you expect him to look how he looks in that title.

Within roughly two years, readers have become enamoured with the art team’s work on these characters. This comes in the form of fantastic costume redesigns (Ultimate Wolverine), explosions of colours (Absolute Martian Manhunter), and the physical differences of the characters, compared to the main universe versions we all know and love. We now expect to see a spell-tattoo on Diana’s right arm, Peter and T’Challa are rocking beards, and Bruce looks like a jacked-up UFC fighter. The art teams have been swinging for the fences.

Credit: Marvel Comics

The Writing

In the previous nonsensical section, I just praised the art teams on their stellar productions. I also have to talk about the other side of the coin: the writing.

You could have a comic with poor writing and poor art, great writing and great art, poor writing and great art, and great writing and poor art. Over the years, I have come across examples of these comics, but it always sends shivers down my spine when I read comics with excellent writing and excellent art.

The execution of these lines of comics has been amazing, because it’s been the concepts. The writers have had some roadblocks removed, so ideas have been flowing like an erupting shield volcano. Having both worlds altered by cosmic villains in the guises of the Maker and Darkseid, and having heroes, villains, and supporting characters changed, along with their costumes, has been, once again, in my humble opinion, masterstrokes of creativity and imagination.

J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker are portrayed as best friends, while only Thomas Wayne was shot and killed. Logan is depicted as the Winter Soldier, and Kal-El is shown growing up on Krypton. Additionally, Wakanda is in conflict with both the Upper and Lower Kingdoms, and Wally does not access his powers through the Speed Force. These examples illustrate the writing decisions that challenge our understanding of these characters.

Throw in geo-politics, cabals, and characters already going through growth and development, and the writing teams have understood their assignments. They are bringing their stories to the next level.

Credit: DC Comics

The Readers

The comic industry has been complaining about not enticing new readers since Adam was a cowboy. Companies try new strategies to do this, but they need to find the awkward balance of welcoming the next generation of readers while also catering to and keeping existing readers.

It looks like both Marvel and DC have found a niche market with readers, which has surprised even me. I thought I was done with reading monthly superhero titles when Invincible finished, but here I am reading the Ultimate and Absolute comics.

The two Earths (Earth-6160 and Earth-Alpha) cater to new readers because they don’t need 60 years of continuity and reading to understand the characters or previous storylines. They are not bogged down with these concepts because the Ultimate and Absolute comics allow them to experience a world inhabited by superhumans, from the ground floor on up.

New readers can join on Day 1 and follow the characters’ journeys through these two exciting worlds. They don’t complain about how the new heroes compare to the old ones or view these stories as a waste of time. Instead, new readers want to immerse themselves in these worlds. As long as the quality remains high, they will be happy to support the titles. That’s a good thing.

These comics also cater to the old and existing readers. Yes, these readers may have grown up with these fictional characters, so they know them so well, almost like long-distance family members. Now, however much these readers (like myself) like these characters, they are over 60 years old, with some of them over 80 years old.

The result is that the established readers want to see and experience new things with comics, not just the same storylines told differently. By exposing these readers to Earth-6160 and Earth-Alpha, it enables Marvel and DC to maintain those readers, since they are still giving them the adventures of their favourite characters, by doing different things with them.

Watching old heroes and villains emerge with new costumes, powers, and origins is as compelling as the first time they read about them. Who doesn’t want to read about heroes meeting their arch-enemy for the first time? Old readers want to be dazzled and surprised with plot twists and revelations, which can sometimes look forced with the main universe counterparts.

These worlds are new, and their potential and possibilities are endless, which shows how strong the reaction to them has been by the readers, with increasing and strong sales. Like I said earlier, multiverse stories have existed in comics for decades, so the Ultimate and Absolute comics are not an entirely original idea. However, their constant domination in the top 10 monthly best-selling comic books shows us that the mainstream comic industry still has drive and passion for storytelling.

Credit: Marvel Comics & DC Comics

I was not expecting the Ultimate and Absolute comics to be as amazing as they are, but that’s a good thing.

Have you read any of the Ultimate or Absolute comics? What are your thoughts? As always, please let me know.

And that brings this week’s lecture to a close. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, never trust a trash-diving raccoon, and I’ll see you next week.

Movie Review: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies2 Comments

The world is trucking along, experiencing earthquakes in Russia; France, Canada, and the United Kingdom recognising the State of Palestine; Kash Patel hanging out with Winston Peters; and a convicted felon was discovered cheating at golf on his own golf course, as well as a new Some Geek Told Me blog, in the form of The Fantastic Four: First Steps-Movie Review.

It seems only last week that I was writing the preview for the movie, and time has passed in the only way it can: painfully slowly during the week and quickly at the weekend, bringing us to this day. So, without prancing around like a person who likes to prance around, let’s move into one of the world’s most beloved literary works, a Some Geek Told Me movie review!

You know how the classic story goes:

  • I buy a movie ticket days in advance.
  • I arrive at the cinema and purchase a drink.
  • I proceed to enter the theatre without anybody asking to see a ticket. Every. Single. Time. It’s amazing.

Anyway, the theatre was about 1/3 full, which for a Tuesday night, was not too shabby. It was one of those times there was no allocated seating, so I planned to go in the middle of the back row; however, a young couple had already nabbed the coveted section, so I sat a few seats away from them. No one is perfect.

As for the trailers, it was another case of showing trailers for children’s movies, and not a single movie aimed at adults. In saying that, an argument could be made that Pixar’s Hoppers could fit into both groups.

So after the trailers had finished, it was time for the Fantastic Four to enter the MCU! As always, let’s go over the rules of the review.

1.) Please be aware there will be spoilers concerning the movie, so proceed with extreme anxiety and caution.

2.) The aim of my reviews are not to rip apart the subject or trash it. If I liked the subject enough to watch it, then I’ll give my honest (possibly biased) opinion.

3.) I’m not a professional critic, so I’m not going to dive into deeper concepts and themes, or the art of filmmaking. I’m just a geek; always have been, and always will be.

I’m not here to lick windows, so let’s get on with the review!

Credit: Marvel Studios/Disney and my local cinema

First things first, did I like the movie? I did actually. I realise that the MCU has been chugging along since 2008, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the 37th chapter, but I liked it. I really did. I mentioned in the Thunderbolts*: Movie Review, that I hoped that the MCU could continue its momentum, so maybe they have.

Things I liked:

A few things stand out to me from this film. The first topic of conversation was the visuals, which included the sets and special effects. With the way modern movies are filmed, you have no idea if the performers are standing on a physical set or just standing in front of a green screen. It’s the same with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, since some of the sets looked so real and tangible, I couldn’t tell the difference between reality and CGI. To me, that’s a good thing.

This, of course, leads into the gorgeous retro-futuristic aesthetics, which ranged from period costumes to the buildings to the Fantasticar. Earth-828 feels like a lived-in world, and in my humble opinion, that’s an extraordinary thing.

With visuals for the characters, well, I was not disappointed. This was the first time that Mister Fantastic’s elastic powers did not look weird and fake. Also, when the Human Torch took flight to see what was causing the light show, as in the Silver Surfer’s arrival, I think there was a lens flare on the camera, coming off his flames.

The scene with Sue making her womb transparent, so Reed could see Franklin, was creative and beautiful. As a father, I would have loved to have seen UMC1 and UMC2 as Reed had done. The film-makers had thought outside the box with Sue on that one. That was transformative.

Sue also had two awesome moments, when she explained that she would not be sacrificing the world for her son, just like she would not be sacrificing her son for the world. The other was when she started pushing Galactus through Manhattan and into the teleportation portal.

Like I said last week about watching the trailers, Ben Grimm looked spectacular, and he was. It was the best live-action version of the Thing I have ever seen, and that included developing his personality, losing the angst from the previous films, and giving the public the real, “Blue-Eyed Lovin’ Thing.” Grimm was happy being the Thing, which provided an anchor point to the film.

When a comic-book character gains powers or is transformed, they traditionally look the same or have a slight variation. Within Marvel, Archangel has his wings, Wolverine has his claws, and even Bruce Banner can change into the Hulk and back again. But like Nightcrawler, Triton and many others, the Thing can not transform into his human self again, because he is a rock creature, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Ben Grimm is always the Thing, all of the time, but he’s alright with that. He’s upbeat, being a rock creature, so he may not like it, but he has accepted it; he’s relatable. He’s not moping about trying to find a cure, because he was too busy making friends and protecting his neighbourhood. It was stunning to see his eyebrows!

The dialogue among the members of the Fantastic Four was excellent, just as I had hoped. Each character brought something unique to the conversation. It was interesting to see Reed struggling to find an answer to a question, while Johnny was portrayed as intelligent and creative. Ben grew a beard, adding to his character development, and Sue once again demonstrated that she is the most powerful member of the team.

I had previously seen the Silver Surfer’s entrance on a video before the film opened, which featured her saying, “I herald his beginning. I herald your end. I herald… Galactus”. I have to admit, that speech did not lose any of its potency in the theatre. Julia Garner was terrific as the Herald of Galactus.

I thought Paul Walter Hauser’s Harvey Elder / Mole Man was going to be just a cameo, but he came back to play a larger role, along with a few one-liners, with one destroying Johnny by commenting on his clothes. I’m going to remember that burn.

Finally, we have reached the Destroyer of Worlds, Galactus. As I mentioned last week, 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer featured Galactus, but it resembled a world-eating cloud entity. The film-makers changed this by having Ralph Ineson play Galactus, and I loved it. Seriously, seeing Galactus sitting on his throne, as well as stomping around Manhattan, was staggering.

Galactus’ height will always be up for debate, but having a man hundreds of metres tall walking around is an unsightly and ludicrous image; however, it was still fantastic. Who else could wear such an audacious helmet but Galactus? I was so pleased with his appearance.

Things I disliked:

This MCU film was a little odd for me, because I really liked it. I came out of the theatre, feeling quite positive about it. Maybe I was still riding the wave from Superman, or watching Galactus and the Thing, but I was thoroughly entertained. However, as I have said before, no movie is 100% perfect.

Over the years, I have noticed a recurring theme in TV shows, movies, and comics that annoys me. While I understand that the Fantastic Four originated from a comic book, I often find it frustrating that alien invasions or attacks from other countries typically take place in the United States, specifically in New York.

DC are guilty of this, but the greatest offenders are Marvel. I know their target audience is Americans, but as a non-American, it can be tiresome to read or watch aliens or foreign countries invade America. Aliens invading New York, or at the least, the United States, has been used so many times in movies that it’s very predictable.

My example to this problem is this: the Silver Surfer arrives on Earth, and she could go anywhere on the planet, absolutely anywhere, but not only does she decide to visit the United States, but New York, no less. And the very first humans on the planet that she meets happen to be the Fantastic Four?!

Why didn’t Shalla-Bal decide to visit India or China, two of the most populous nations on Earth? She could have gone to Indonesia, Brazil, Japan, Russia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, or Greece, but she didn’t. She went to the United States, like no other country exists.

As for the city, New York ranks about 10th in size on the globe, with Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, and São Paulo all larger. Why didn’t the Silver Surfer arrive in Mexico City, Cairo, Mumbai, or Beijing? Is English the only human language she knows? I understand the plot needs to be driven forward, but it still could have worked if the Silver Surfer arrived in another country, and the Fantastic Four travelled there to greet her.

Another point I want to address is that I do realise the film was not about the Silver Surfer, but the scene where Johnny talks to Shalla-Bal in her native language and forces her to confront her actions was creative. The guilt of her being the Herald of Galactus had finally caught up with her, forcing her to face her mistakes.

After surrendering to the torment, Shalla-Bal took off, then finally appeared to save Johnny and to push Galactus through the portal. It’s a small issue, but the Silver Surfer disappeared for maybe 20-25 minutes of film time, to suddenly betray her lord and master; but as the viewer, you’re not given any insight or more explanation about her betrayal. Where did she go after flying away from Johnny? What thought processes led her to rebel against Galactus?

Like I said, it’s a small issue, but as a fan, I would have appreciated seeing the Silver Surfer wrestle with her past deeds against her soul and loyalty to her lord. It would have added more depth to the character and explained why she decided to stand up to Galactus, rather than being a plot device or a deus ex machina.

For my final point, we need to discuss Franklin, because Marvel has opened Pandora’s Box for a fourth time by introducing characters with immense power levels. First, it was the Scarlet Witch, then Adam Warlock, The Sentry, and now, Franklin Richards. Four characters with reality-warping powers or super-enhanced strength abilities.

Yes, the Scarlet Witch is dead, but the multiverse is a massive place, so never say never. So this leaves Adam Warlock, the Sentry and Franklin to solve, possibly, any problem in the MCU. In the comics, Franklin is highly overpowered. I mean, in one future-set story, Franklin became Galactus.

Franklin is a significant and complex character in Marvel lore, which makes his introduction into the MCU challenging. Film-makers must take their time to explore his powers thoroughly, providing detailed attention to the plots of future projects. They need to exercise caution in how they portray him. I have concerns about their approach, as they cannot overlook Franklin, just like they cannot ignore Adam Warlock and the Sentry.

The die may have already been cast because of the time-jump in the mid-credits scene, when Sue left the room to retrieve a book for Franklin, to discover a person kneeling and talking to Franklin. That person was Doctor Doom. So, it appears that the Ruler of Latveria is trying to recruit, or maybe already has recruited Franklin, which will directly lead into Avengers: Doomsday, which is out in December 2026.

Ironically, I discovered this video explaining a theory of Doctor Doom’s origin in the MCU, which is compelling.

And speaking of theories, my theories about Galactus and Franklin were wrong, but not 100% wrong. The correct answer was a little from Theory A, and a little from Theory B, to create Theory C.

Theory C: The Silver Surfer finds Earth as per her instructions to locate planets full of life. She alerts Galactus of the snack. However, before Galactus can get his Uber ride ready, the Fantastic Four turn up to talk with him. It’s at this point that Galactus detects Franklin’s power level. He then offers Reed and Sue a deal, to trade Franklin for the Earth.

Like Superman, I have only added these criticisms because I’m just being pedantic, as I liked the majority of the movie.

So, what about my preview questions?

  • Where is the film’s continuity in the MCU? I would say it is set before Thunderbolts* but before or during Avengers: Doomsday.
  • Does Galactus destroy the Earth, or will he be defeated by the Ultimate Nullifier? To the best of my knowledge, there was no Ultimate Nullifier reference, as he was defeated by being pushed through a teleportation portal, thus saving Earth.
  • Will the dialogue between the members of the Fantastic Four be smart, witty, and heartfelt, or will it tank? I think overall, the dialogue was great. It was witty and sharp when it needed to be, just as it was dramatic and serious as the plot developed.
  • Considering the movie takes place on another Earth, will there be any main MCU cameos or references? Even though there were no direct MCU cameos and references, there were still Marvel references. We had the Fantastic Four battling Peotr the orangutan, one of the Red Ghost’s Super Apes. Apparently, John Malkovich played Red Ghost, but the scenes were cut from the film. We also had Reed mention he had been tracking the Puppet-Master, the Wizard, and Diablo, as well as featuring the Giganto fight scene, mirroring the cover of The Fantastic Four #1.
  • Will the Yancy Street Gang appear? Please be a yes! No, however, I believe a news report mentions, “The Yancy Street Bookies.” I may have misheard it, but that’s what it sounded like.
  • Does Franklin develop and grow super quickly? No, Franklin developed at the normal rate. The film established the pregnancy discovery in Act 1, then did a montage of events to signal time passing. Franklin was born, and when the mid-credits scene appeared, there was a time-jump of 2-3 years, with Franklin appearing as a preschooler.
  • How large a role will H.E.R.B.I.E. play? It concerned me that H.E.R.B.I.E. may have been a punching bag or been used as a jester-type character, but I was wrong. All of the members of the team treated H.E.R.B.I.E. like he was a part of the family, because he was.
  • Will the origin of the Fantastic Four be explained as being set in the present, but with a flashback, or will the characters gain their powers in Act 1, then have a time jump to progress the story? This was clever because when we meet the Fantastic Four for the first time, they already have their powers. Their origin story was told through the means of The Ted Gilbert Show, which used “old” TV footage of the Fantastic Four’s departure to space and arrival back to Earth, four years ago.
  • Are Reed and Sue aware of Franklin’s abilities? Do they witness him doing things or just detect his power level using technology? As you can imagine, both parents are concerned; Reed more than Sue, that Franklin could inherit some abilities or powers from his parents. Reed conducted several tests, and the results are negative. They only learn of Franklin’s powers because Galactus used the Power Cosmic to detect and scan Franklin while he was in the womb. Later on, Franklin resurrects Sue from the dead after the final battle.
  • Will the Silver Surfer betray Galactus? Yes, she did, and I’ve already discussed that question. Thanks for asking.
  • Will there be any Negative Zone, Doctor Doom, Annihilus, or Valeria Richards references? Yes and no. There were no Negative Zone, Annihilus, or Valeria Richards references, but Doctor Doom made a mid-credits cameo, along with his empty Latverian seat at the United Nations.
  • For Galactus’ origin, how will it be explained? Reed tried to explain Galactus’ origin, but because of Galactus’ power level and age, Reed was not confident of his findings, since Galactus was beyond Reed’s level of understanding and research. In saying that, Reed mentioned that Galactus may have come from a time before the Big Bang, which paired with the information Galactus was chatting about, while sitting on this space throne.
  • On Earth-828, is Reed considered to be the smartest person on the planet? That was unclear, but he’s certainly regarded as one of the smartest people on the planet.
  • Does Johnny say “Flame On!” to activate his powers? No, he didn’t; however, his action figure did.

Just before I end this awful review, I want to say how important it was to have a small tribute to Jack Kirby at the end of the film. It brought a smile and tear to my face.

Overall, I have to say well done to Marvel, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Fantastic Four: First Steps was indeed a great first step into Phase Six.

Anyway, don’t trust me, go watch it for yourself, so you can be the judge. Have you seen The Fantastic Four: First Steps? Please tell me your thoughts about it. I would love to know.

Ok, that’s another blog for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I toil away to keep myself sane and hopefully entertain you. Remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, keep pushing for more international recognition of Palestine, and I’ll see you on Saturday for an extra blog.

Movie Preview: The Fantastic Four: First Steps

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies

I have just wrapped up the first movie preview/review for the DC Universe (DCU) with Superman, but here we are once again, at the dawn of a new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

I typically don’t do movie previews/reviews back-to-back, but since DC and Marvel decided to duke it out this July at the box office, what’s a geek to do? I checked with my wife to see if I was allowed to go out twice in a month, even on a work night, and I was given the green light! Cool.

As you are well aware, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the third MCU film to be released this year, after Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*, in addition to being the 37th film in the franchise. In New Zealand, the film opened on Thursday 24th July, which is a day before it opened in the United States. There were no advanced screenings for the film; however, I have obtained a ticket for Tuesday 29th, because, say it with me, I’m a geek.

For the uninitiated, this will be the fifth live-action movie featuring Marvel’s First Family, which includes The Fantastic Four (1994, an unreleased movie), Fantastic Four (2005), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), and Fantastic Four (2015). This, of course, does not include the Mister Fantastic cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, or the Fantastic Four references throughout Deadpool & Wolverine, along with the Human Torch cameo.

Since 20th Century Fox owned the movie rights to the Fantastic Four and other characters related to them, they produced Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Fantastic Four, with the 2015 version being a reboot. I’ll be coming back to these films for further discussion, so in the interest of speeding up the writing process, I’ll refer to Fantastic Four as 2005, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer as 2007, Fantastic Four as 2015, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps as 2025. Clear as mud?

The original 1994 film has never been released, and its history is too stupid to really mention, so we’ll just move on and not mention it again.

To lay some groundwork, Disney purchased 20th Century in 2019, and since Disney owns Marvel, it has given Marvel the first real opportunity to bring the Fantastic Four into the MCU; although Namor, a traditional Fantastic Four friend/enemy, was introduced in 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The Fantastic Four were first introduced in…would you believe, The Fantastic Four #1, back in 1961, so comic book fans are well-versed with the characters and their powers. In saying that, the 2025 movie has been a long time coming.

We know that the cast has Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm / Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm / Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), Ben Grimm / The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), Harvey Elder / Mole Man (Paul Walter Hauser), Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics) being voiced by Matthew Wood, and arguably, the big attraction, Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson.

I believe the film’s budget was about $200 million, similar to Thunderbolts* and the expectations for 2025 to be a success at the box office, and with critics and fans is high, considering Superman is soaring, and recent MCU films like Thunderbolts*, Captain America: Brave New World, and The Marvels have not fared too well.

Will The Fantastic Four: First Steps be the first great step into Phase Six? Let’s not watch the paint dry because, It’s clobberin’ time!

Credit: Lego and Disney/Marvel Studios

Am I looking forward to watching The Fantastic Four: First Steps?

I always ask this question, and the answer is always yes. Apart from the two cameos from Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and The Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine, we have not had a film where the Fantastic Four are set in the MCU.

As I understand it, the film is set on Earth-828, which is in the MCU’s multiverse, so at some point, the Fantastic Four will interact with the main MCU characters on Earth-616. This was hinted at with the end-credit scene in Thunderbolts*.

Like many other comic book fans, I was excited about 2007 to see the Devourer of Worlds, Galactus, in all his immense glory. However, in my personal opinion, instead of portraying a gigantic man, towering above buildings and wearing a ridiculous helmet, the studio opted for the safer, but less accurate adaptation of Galactus by presenting him as a world-eating cloud entity. It was a disappointment to say the least.

But do not despair, because in this movie, the God of Oblivion will be presented as comic book accurate as possible, with a live-action performance from Ralph Ineson, as an enormous man, rocking one of the coolest headpieces in pop culture.

To be honest, I’m going to the movie to see the Fantastic Four, but the main draw for me is Galactus. I’ve always believed, and others seem to agree, that Galactus transcends concepts of good and evil. He simply exists as a force of nature and cannot be defined by human morals.

If a lion is chasing a zebra, the zebra perceives the lion as evil. The lion is trying to kill the zebra, which places the lion as a villain and the zebra as a victim, or at the very least, a heroic figure.

However, from the lion’s perspective, it does not see itself this way. The lion is a carnivore, so if it does not hunt, kill and eat prey, it will die of starvation, and so will its family. The lion is simply operating as it was born to do, which is similar to Galactus.

If Galactus marks a planet for consumption of its life force, the sentient organisms of that planet will view Galactus as the ultimate villain. He is going to destroy their world, lives, art, history, culture and everything else, because he wants to. To them, Galactus is evil personified.

And just like the lion, Galactus does not see himself like that; he’s beyond this. Galactus is cursed with a hunger that can only be sated by the consumption of a planet’s life force. The greater the amount of life on a planet, the greater the substance for Galactus. If Galactus does not consume planets, he will die. To him, he is simply doing what he needs to do to survive.

This makes him a fascinating antagonist, because yes, he commits evil and villainous acts, but it’s not because he’s evil. If he does not destroy worlds, he will die. Galactus is choosing to live, which means all life in the universe needs to fear his arrival, or pray he never finds them.

This, of course, brings us to the Silver Surfer. The original Silver Surfer in the comics and in 2007 was Norrin Radd, who was a native of the planet, Zenn-La. Eventually, Galactus came knocking on Zenn-La’s door, so Radd offered him a deal: if Galactus left Zenn-La alone, along with his lover/wife, Shalla-Bal, Nadd would serve Galactus by seeking out other worlds for him.

The Devourer of Worlds agreed to this and shared a part of the power that he has, the Power Cosmic, and transformed Nadd into the Silver Surfer, the Herald of Galactus. As the Silver Surfer, Nadd travels the universe, seeking out worlds with an abundance of life for his master’s diet, although Nadd tries to get around this by supplying Galactus with planets that support little or no life.

In 2025, Julia Garner plays the Silver Surfer, but she is also Shalla-Bal. Whether her origin is explained or her connection to Norrin Radd is revealed or mentioned remains to be seen.

Over the years, the Silver Surfer has rejected Galactus numerous times, as well as seeking out adventure in the universe, by redeeming themselves by helping and saving lives, using the Power Cosmic. To me, the Silver Surfer is on a never-ending quest to gain back their soul by correcting their past mistakes; it’s a great character. In saying that, the character has probably changed since I read about them.

To some people in the universe, the Silver Surfer is just as guilty as Galactus for the destruction of planets. Yes, it’s true that the Silver Surfer personally does not consume a planet, but they identify the planet and reveal its location to Galactus. Whether Galactus would ever find that particular world, with or without the Silver Surfer’s assistance, is moot when it is being consumed.

The Silver Surfer offers us an amazing moral dilemma: to protect and save your family and loved ones, would you sacrifice millions of worlds and billions of sentient life-forms, in order to maintain their protection? Would you sacrifice your soul, or even a part of it, to protect the people you love, but at the cost of billions, if not trillions of people? Could you trade a planet for a person?

This awkward and complicated question of morality is presented to us in the most often mocked and ridiculed literature, which to some, is viewed as intellectually inferior or only for children: comic books.

What is the movie about?

According to Marvel.com, the premise is this:

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing as they face their most daunting challenge yet.

What can we expect?

The running time is 114 minutes, which means it’s less than Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*.

In the teaser trailer and following trailers, we have been given footage of the various members of the Fantastic Four. The 2005 and 2007 special effects for Reed, Sue, and Johnny were fine for their time, with 2015 improving on them.

2005 had a budget of around $100 million, 2007 had $130 million, while 2015 had $120 million to work with. Because 2025 has the backing of Disney, bankrolling $200 million, we should expect some upgraded visuals, especially with Mister Fantastic.

To add to this, The Thing looks amazing! 2005 and 2007 required Michael Chiklis to wear practical effects to be The Thing, but for 2015‘s Thing, Jamie Bell’s performance was motion-capture. Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal of the Blue-eyed lovin’ thing was another motion-capture performance, but this version of the Thing looks a lot more comic-accurate than others presented before.

There should be great detail in examining the different relationships within the family, as well as how they interact with each other. Reed will be clever, but aloof, Sue will be caring and strong, Johnny will be a joker and playboy, and Ben…well, he’s the nemesis of the Yancy Street Gang, isn’t he?

I can also imagine the destruction caused by Galactus will be impressive, along with his size and his spaceship, Taa II. Because of the retro-futuristic aesthetics and the Silver Surfer’s visuals, we can expect to see some wonderful scenes.

This incorporates witnessing people displaying elasticity, flight, projections, invisibility, superhuman strength, H.E.R.B.I.E., and a glimmering woman on a silver surfboard that can fly. These powers should be eye candy for us.

Now, to the best of my knowledge, I have never issued a prediction for any of the movie previews before, but with 2025, I’m going to make an exception. Fuelled by the end-credit scene in Thunderbolts*, featuring a spaceship with a “4” logo on it, and the threat of Galactus, I’m wondering if Marvel is going to break something that can’t be fixed.

I think, maybe, that Galactus will win and destroy the Earth, leaving the Fantastic Four to flee to another universe, using Reed’s technology, or someone else’s powers. It would be a bold move from Marvel, but considering Galactus is such a threat, they may want to explore this by having the heroes lose.

This way, when the Fantastic Four visit Earth-616, they will be more determined to fight harder and redeem themselves, because they failed to prevent their own Earth from being destroyed. It’s just an idea, but it would shake up the MCU, and that could be a positive thing, with no time travel or rock collection that could alter it.

The last thing I want to discuss is the Fantastic Four’s fifth member. No, I’m not talking about H.E.R.B.I.E., though that would be funny. I’m talking about Franklin Richards, the son of Sue and Reed, who possesses abilities not limited to matter and energy manipulation, flight, teleportation, reality warping, precognition, astral and energy projection, telepathy, telekinesis, time-travel, and durability. Essentially, Franklin is like a Swiss Army knife; he can do anything he wants.

Two pieces of information have led me to Franklin’s admission in this section of the preview. Firstly, the details about Reed and Sue in 2025 were released to explain that they were married, then she was pregnant, and finally, she would give birth to Franklin. I don’t know what the time frame of the film is, but I remember reading these reports, along with the trailers, to identify this fact:

One of the most powerful characters in Marvel Comics, Franklin Richards, would be in the film.

The other piece of information is Galactus’ appearance. Based on a trailer I’ve seen, I have two different theories about why Galactus has arrived at Earth.

Theory A: The Silver Surfer finds Earth as per her instructions to locate planets full of life. She alerts Galactus, who turns up for a snack, then detects Franklin’s power level, and is open to giving Reed and Sue a deal, to trade Franklin for the Earth. He did it with the Silver Surfer; he can do it again.

Theory B: Using his ultra-high tech on his spaceship and the Power Cosmic, Galactus detects Franklin’s power level. He orders the Silver Surfer to pinpoint Franklin’s location to find and capture him. The Fantastic Four offer a tiny amount of resistance, but he offers Reed and Sue a deal to trade Franklin for the Earth. He did it with the Silver Surfer; he can do it again.

The question of whether Galactus was aware of Franklin’s power level before the film began is irrelevant. At a certain point during the movie, Galactus knows about Franklin’s abilities and presents his parents with a dilemma: Will they choose to save Franklin or the Earth?

The only reason I know this is because in one of the trailers, Reed is talking to the media about the proposal, which they rejected. Now, whether this was a positive or negative move from Marvel to include this key plot point in a trailer, once again, remains to be seen.

Do I have concerns?

Of course I do, I wouldn’t be a geek if I didn’t. In my defence, though, I always have concerns about comic book movies. Nevertheless, let’s proceed with my concerns for the 37th MCU film.

  • Where is the film’s continuity in the MCU?
  • Does Galactus destroy the Earth, or will he be defeated by the Ultimate Nullifier?
  • Will the dialogue between the members of the Fantastic Four be smart, witty, and heartfelt, or will it tank?
  • Considering the movie takes place on another Earth, will there be any main MCU cameos or references?
  • Will the Yancy Street Gang appear? Please be a yes!
  • Does Franklin develop and grow super quickly?
  • How large a role will H.E.R.B.I.E. play?
  • Will the origin of the Fantastic Four be explained as being set in the present, but with a flashback, or will the characters gain their powers in Act 1, then have a time jump to progress the story?
  • Are Reed and Sue aware of Franklin’s abilities? Do they witness him doing things or just detect his power level using technology?
  • Will the Silver Surfer betray Galactus?
  • Will there be any Negative Zone, Doctor Doom, Annihilus, or Valeria Richards references?
  • For Galactus’ origin, how will it be explained?
  • On Earth-828, is Reed considered to be the smartest person on the planet?
  • Does Johnny say “Flame On!” to activate his powers?

Ok, I believe that’s it, provided I don’t think of anything new. Are you planning on watching The Fantastic Four: First Steps? As always, please let me know.

I seem to be closing these vanity musings in a similar vein lately, but I meant it. Please look after yourselves. The world this week was full of scandals, controversies, border conflicts, solar and wind storage capacities, genocide, trade arguments, high food prices, passport designs, and an AI penis. It can be bleak, but not all is lost; it never is.

This may sound tired and cliché, but hundreds of millions of people around the world feel the same way, and that’s ok. It means you’re not alone, you’re never alone.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, and if you’re feeling down, watch the South Park Season 27 premiere; I promise you’ll feel better. Hang in there, and I’ll see you next week for The Fantastic Four: First Steps-Movie Review.