GOTG 2: First screening spoiler-ful brain dump…

Saw GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 tonight for the first time—woo-hoo!

I'm not gonna go into much in the way of criticism of the film here except to say that it's a rockin' good time that goes deeper on character and a little shorter on plotting than the Volume 1. What I *am* gonna do is some half-baked comic book fanboy rambling and appreciation.

Gotta say, I was kind of WTF? when I realized that Sylvester Stallone's character, Grand Poobah of the Ravagers, was going by Stakar, who in the Marvel Universe is also known as Starhawk, aka "The One Who Knows." It seemed like a weird direction to take that namesake. Of course, it's still pretty much in line with Yondu's translation from page to screen, right?

I didn't think that while watching the movie, tho. What "fixed" Stakar for me was one of the end credits scenes, where we see Stakar saying how pleased he is to be able to reassemble old friends-slash-teammates, including Martinex (Stakar's crystalline right hand, Plutonian in the comics), Charlie-27 (superstrong Jovian in the comics, played by Ving Rhames), and Aleta (comics Starhawk's wife, played by Michelle Yeoh). This is Starhawk assembling a roster of the OGs, from the 30th century team of Marvel comics!

But—it's not to do any guardian-ing, but instead so they can go rob the heck out of the galaxy. Hrm…Some pretty heavy hitters—Sly, Ving, Michelle. How do they fit into upcoming MCU shenanigans? GOTG allies? GOTG imposters? Maybe their story-slash-heist unfolds in end credits scenes over a few movies? Right now they don't click in place for me.

Still, very fun to see the MCU's version of the 30th century OGs.

Tazerface! The reaction to that name in the film is so perfect! I wonder which Marvel writer created him and what s/he thinks about what's become of him? From what I remember of the comics, he was some kind of enhanced Badoon who had a personal beef w/the 30th century Guardians.

Nice to see Yondu upgrade his arrow fin tech to more closely match Marvel comics' Yondu's natural fin. Legitimately sad to see him go already, even if he did get a proper Ravager funereal sendoff. He got a pretty decent arc, and even though you could see the biodad vs. real dad conflict-slash-realization from 40 clicks away, the actual unfolding of it was pretty rewarding and okay, even a bit emotional. Nicely done, Rooker and Gunn!

Kurt Russell as Peter's dad. Kinda perfect. Ego as Peter's dad? Weird, but a good and creative answer to the question of MCU Peter Quill's paternity. I don't think comics Ego ever walked as a man, but I also don't think he was ever just a floating space brain, either. *Immediately* flashed to FUTURAMA. =)

I think I first met Ego in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR. Or maybe it was ROM? In any case, I thought he was part of the FF's universe, so was surprised to find him playing a part in the MCU. But then I remembered that when he met the FF, he'd already encountered Thor, so he's fair game as an Avengers connection. We did get one shot of Ego the Living Planet as he looks in the comics, a giant face defined by the landscape and funky organelles of the planet. I was hoping for more, tho, and maybe some of the funky macro-microbiological stuff from the comics, too, like humanoid antibodies and freaky scaled-up cells and organs, y'know? Instead, we get some gooey energy tendrils and Ego's Kurt Russell—and David Hasselhoff!—looking host body in various states of disrepair. Not bad, but y'know, a comic fanboy's heart wants what it wants—giant antibodies! =)

It's nice to see Mantis on the GOTG roster, but her introduction seemed a bit crowbarred in. Ego keeps her as a pet and sleep aide. Her unique empathic powers enable her to help Ego sleep, because apparently he has trouble sleeping? Would've been nice to get a better explanation for her presence. Maybe she helps tame Ego's growing insanity/instability?

Huh. Ego calls himself a Celestial, and Peter immediately asks him if he means that he's a god. So, MCU spacefarers are familiar with the term? Until Ego called himself one, I thought that Celestial referred exclusively to the giant space gods, one of whom's head has become the world-station known as Knowhere.

I think in the comics, Ego is a legitimate Elder of the Universe, like the Collector and Gamemaster. Celestial as a title for him doesn't seem quite right to me, but o well…

It *does* perhaps help with the logic of Mantis attaining a title of Celestial Madonna, tho.

I wish there was maybe one or two more scenes-slash-steps to Nebula and Gamora's hatchet burying, but the arc does work quite well. Also very touching and smart to have Peter's eulogy for Yondu—the part about searching for something for so long only to realize it was next to you all the time (would getting Survivor's "The Search is Over" have been too nail on the head?)—apply both to the sisters' bond as well as "this unspoken thing"/CHEERS-Sam-and-Dianne between Peter and Gamora.

The make-your-own-family theme is pretty irresistible. For a 40-something story consumer like myself, on paper that notion can seem trite and tired, but with these characters, and this writing, it still works on me. Several crescendos really helped, I think. Peter's reaction to Ego's admission of giving his mother that tumor (that was a smart stroke, no sympathy for Ego after that). Nebula's description of the duels Thanos forced on Gamora and herself, and the price she paid for her losses. Yondu and Rocket's breakthrough therapy session.

Heh. Nice to see Stan Lee as a distinct space-suited character in conversation with the Watchers on the surface of some planet or moon in one of the stargate jumps, and then in one of the end credits scenes. The Watchers actually walk away from him as he explains that he's still got more stories for them. Very nice. =)

In retrospect, I want to say that I should've seen the Adam Warlock cocoon coming when we were introduced to the golden-skinned Sovereign, but no, there was too much fun stuff going on with them to make me think of that while watching the movie. LOVE their ENDER'S GAME-y remote control space navy action.

But, yeah—Adam Frickin' Warlock! =)

Love the sweet laser balls weapons system on Yondu's heist ship, perfect for general offense and defense, reconfigurable for drilling into the core of a living planet, as well as a Death Blossom! =)

When Howard the Duck showed up again in a space bar where the Ravagers were hanging out, the audience reaction was loud enough that I couldn't catch any of his dialogue. Nuts.

Hrm…I think that's all I've got right now. I'm a bit frazzled when it comes to processing cinema right now as I'm coming off of eight days and 21 films of festivalizing. If I come up with more thoughts before my next GOTG2 screening, I may add/edit to this, and if a next screening fires up the tired synapses with more ideas, observations, and/or crazy talk, I'll ramble out a new post.

Keep on keepin' on~

GOTG: Who's your daddy? 'Hawk vs. 'Fox…

Some rambling on the paternity of Star-Lord. Specifically a rundown/comparison of two other Marvel Star-men: Starhawk vs. Starfox.

STARHAWK

In the Marvel Universe, Starhawk is a member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy, based in the 31st century, and so, a teammate of the MU's Yondu. He was born in the 21st century and thanks to a unique genealogy (father: human Protector of the Universe, Quasar / mother: artificial life form and sister to Adam Warlock, Kismet) and the gifts of an Arcturian cosmic Hawk God is gifted with extremely long life, enhanced senses, strength, flight, and energy manipulation abilities. He also possesses a form of precognition which is said to be a result of his living his life over and over again, with variations. This ability is the reason for his alias, "The One Who Knows," which he gives himself and uses ad nauseam. Sound like anyone we know in GOTG? =)

Anyhow, Starhawk's appearance, associations, and abilities all match the paternity data we're given in GOTG.

1. Mama Quill compares Peter to his father—an angel, composed of pure light (paraphrased). Which works poetically and/or literally.
2. Yondu and Starhawk are known associates.
3. It's easy to imagine space biker gang president Yondu thinking of a nerdy precog Starhawk as "a jackass."
4. It's also easy to see how Mama Quill would choose "Star-Lord" as a pet name for Peter given Starhawk's appearance and pedigree.

Of course, the details of an MCU Starhawk won't match the MU's. MCU's Yondu is certainly a gritty departure. Yondu was hired to bring Peter to Starhawk, but on an impulse (apparently) decides to initiate him into his gang and raise him as a Ravager. Presumably, this is not all that uncommon a Ravager practice. Now, we know the Ravager code is what it is, but if Peter's father could contact and contract Yondu, he could certainly find him again to follow up, right? So, what kind of B.S. explanation does Yondu give? Bailed on the job cuz Terra's too far? Accidentally airlocked him on the way back? Threw him back cuz he was too small? I don't think it matters, cuz either Yondu is in cahootz w Starhawk and following his instructions, motivated by a "Boy Named Sue" kinda impulse ("Yondu, I want you to pick up my son and raise him among your Ravagers. Try not to get him killed."), or Starhawk knew that Yondu would shanghai Peter and his life as a Ravager is part of a long-game plan. If he hadn't been a Ravager, on the trail of the Orb, Bad Things would have happened, right?

The trickiest/most interesting thing will be how he ends up siring Peter in the first place. The MU's origin of Peter Quill has his Spartoi father actually falling in love with Meredith Quill while he's stranded on Earth, right? So, perhaps Starhawk does the same, having crash-landed, stopped to regenerate, or perhaps looking to hide out on a backwater planet from enemies or authorities. Or, perhaps he gets himself there because he has a precog flash that it's where he's supposed to be, and, he falls for the Earthwoman who becomes Peter's mom.

But why does he leave? It *seems* like he doesn't run out on Mama Quill, because she tells Peter that his grandpa will take care of him until his father returns for him, as if there's a plan. Or maybe Mama's decided to give Peter a Story about his father, something to hope for and look forward to until he realizes that he doesn't need him anyway, because he's a no-good absentee deadbeat dad of a space Casanova.

Which brings me to another fun possibility…

STARFOX

I dismissed him pretty quickly when I first considered him, basically on his, well, lame-ness. What does Starfox (as we know him in the MU) bring to the table? On his own, he's more adventurer than hero, a good time is more appealing to him than a good cause, y'know? That'll happen when you're Eros, an Eternal of Titan and brother of Thanos. I always thought that sibling-wise, he was a really poor counterbalance to Thanos in powerset, if not philosophy, but maybe that's the point. And if you want to think of Starfox as *part* of a check on Thanos, the gap between them is filled by so many other characters—Captain Marvel, Drax, Adam Warlock, Moondragon, and so on—it's actually more fun and interesting this way.

I haven't kept close tabs on Starfox in the MU, but I seem to recall a reference to his power of persuasion (aka pelvic sorcery) finally landed him in some hot water with authorities on some planet or another. He's got the suite of Eternal power boosts, strength, durability, flight, and spaceworthiness, but he also gets to mess with other sentients' pleasure centers, and he doesn't have any trouble taking advantage of that ability. So, last I sorta-knew, he was keeping a lot profile somewhere in space. With all his dalliances, I don't recall reading of anyone stepping up to claim him as their father. Maybe he's shooting space-blanks? I think part of the recent Infinity storyline was about Thanos tracking down all his bastard children and eliminating them, right? Geez, Thanos has got more kids than Eros? Wack.

Anyhow, Starfox, an Eternal of Titan gifted with this power of persuasion, could definitely be described as an angel and full of light by anyone who was under his spell. If it *is* Starfox, I would kind of like him to be an opportunistic jackass, and as awful as it is, I think having him be a whirlwind affair for Mama Quill would make sense. Under his spell, she would only think the best of him, and believe everything he says and promises. So, perhaps he parties with her for a week or a month, on and off Earth, and when he learns or detects that Earth is on its way to being marked as ready for a higher form of war—maybe he runs afoul of SHIELD in the 70s?—he skedaddles to avoid the notice of his brother, who perhaps has killed every other Titanic Eternal long ago. Cuz, y'know… Thanos. That could partly explain why he might be such a jerk of a Casanova.

* Having Peter's dad be an Eternal of (some) Titan and brother to Thanos is disappointing to me because it punches a big hole in my personal favorite MCU Thanos origin theory, but, to be fair, the theory *is* a bit Earthican-egotistic, and would probably end up putting Earth in a lot of cosmic crosshairs if it all came out.

More later if I can find the time and fanboy gray matter…

Keep on keepin on~

GOTG: What does the 'Fox say?

The following is a ramble in which I sort of "walk-and-talk thru" the Starfox option. Maybe some detail-spoilers from the movie, but mostly just nerdy Marvel Universe (comics) talk. Not quite final or buttoned up, but hopefully I'll revisit before the second movie hits theaters. =)

Still, let me play Starfox out a bit more… If Eros is the brother of Thanos in the MCU I think his power set and levels would have to be pumped up. I always thought he was shortchanged in the MU as Thanos's brother. Sure, I get the Thanos/Eros dichotomy, but man, one becomes the champion and consort of Death, the other plays space-adventuring Casanova?

Eros should be pumped up as a champion of Life, someone/thing akin to Mar-Vell or Adam Warlock, y'know? Of course, Adam's cocoon in the Collector's Collection would indicate that the MCU doesn't need another Adam Warlock-type. but let's assume that cocoon doesn't hatch anytime soon. Or maybe that it houses The Magus, who is actually a non-Thanos opposite to Eros, not Adam.

Okay, so Eros's space philandering leads him to spend time on Earth in the 70s. He falls hard for Mama Quill and they make a home together until he learns that his brother has destroyed his homeworld (called Titan, but not Saturn's moon, somewhere farther aspace) and killed most if not all of their family. He knows Mama Quill is pregnant, but to protect her, their unborn child, and the Earth he has to leave and go into hiding. He promises to return when it's safe and do whatever he can to care for their child when he can.

So, thanks to his cosmic senses, champion of life Eros would know when Mama Quill is ill and passes on, and so contracts Yondu to pick the boy up.

I can imagine Captain Marvel or Adam Warlock type working with Yondu in many situations while keeping a low astro-profile, and could easily see space biker gang leader Yondu thinking of a stick-up-his-bum champion of life like Peter's dad as a "jackass." Yondu may have legitimately believed that he was saving young Peter from a boring life as a straight-laced do-gooder when he decided to keep him for the Ravagers instead of delivering him as contracted.

I wonder what Yondu's story was to Peter's dad about that. Maybe he just never showed up for a scheduled rendezvous/hand-off, leaving his client to believe that he'd failed to find Peter or just wasn't interested in the job. Of course, Eros, champion of life, knows that Yondu kept him, just as he'd planned. With Thanos still at large, Eros is still on the run or in hiding, so Peter would be safer with the Ravagers than by his side and with Yondu as his mentor and guardian would learn to become a capable cosmic scoundrel and survivor.

If Eros is Peter's father, does that explain the scan that describes his heritage as "something ancient, that we've never seen before?" Perhaps. If we place Titan in a remote part of MCU space, and their population as small, or intentionally hidden/isolationist. Sure, why not?

Or… We could place Thanos's Titanic genocide much deeper in the past, with Eros as an only or one of the few survivors, and already in hiding when he arrives on Earth and falls for Mama Quill.

In any case, Eros's bloodline could read as "something ancient" and unknown to Xandar.

Eros could certainly appear as an angel, composed of pure light. That could easily be literal for an extraterrestrial champion of life (imagine Mar-Vell or Adam as Eros), and metaphorical, for an Eternal of love, right?

So, sure, an adapted and upgraded Starfox/Eros in the MCU could definitely be Peter's dad. Does it mean anything significant to future plotlines and conflict? Well, they could try to play up the relationship to Thanos, but why bother? I don't see a lot of fun coming out of snippy dialogue between the two around family. They don't have enough common experience. The one strategic play I do see is that Peter's rare Eternal blood (and blood-relation to Thanos) could allow him to endure or use a device or plot concocted by Thanos to destroy his enemies because it would be keyed to his physiology. Peter's a demi-Titan, so he'd probably die, but hey, a hero is up for that, right?

They really can't call him "Starfox" tho, can they? "Eros" sort of works next to Thanos, but even that is kind of a tough sell. Maybe I should find/replace "Starfox" and "Eros" with "Captain Marvel" or "Starhawk" everywhere in this write-up instead?

Keep on keepin on~

Update: The Marvel Universe after THOR: THE DARK WORLD…

Saw it again tonight. =)

I've got some SPOILER additional comments and corrections to my previous post… If you haven't seen THOR 2 yet, turn back now, for here there be SPOILERS!~

When Odin fills Thor and Jane in on the Aether, he mentions that there are relics that survived from before the creation of this universe, and the Aether is one of them. He mentions that the other relics all took the form of stone, but the Aether is fluid. He's flipping thru the Asgardian storybook while explaining, and the imagery might actually describe the stones. There is a rainbow of columns on one left-hand page, with items or runes maybe at the top of them. I'm sure someone must've gotten a screenshot out of a screening by now, but I'm guessing that they don't give anything significant up, or the Asgardians would already know it. Maybe a puzzle of some kind that reveals the locations of the stones? MAYbe? But I didn't notice anything that would obviously be that.

Would've been sweet to see a gilded animated GIF of the gauntlet on one of those Asgardian webpages. =)

Yeah, so I was wrong about the first epilogue. Maybe I was too distracted by the notion of The Collector that I didn't properly hear/listen to Volstagg's dialogue. He definitely says that Odin thinks it's too dangerous to keep TWO of the INFINITY STONES so close to each other and when he says that, he is referring to the Aether and the Tesseract. Cool, but also, Blerg.

This seems to mean that the gauntlet that we saw in the first THOR does not have anything to do with the Infinity Stones/Gems (seems like the movie universe may be calling them stones). Which is not to say that it isn't immensely powerful, cuz it *is* kept in Odin's weapons vault after all, but it probably doesn't give its wearer complete control over the existence the way the Infinity Gauntlet does.

Altho, I suppose at some point predating Bor's rule of Asgard, and the rebellion of the Dark Elves, someone might have possessed the Aether, the Tesseract, and the four other pre-existence relics/stones and fashioned the gauntlet to channel and combine their powers. Some great ancient powers must have defeated him and separated the actual relics from the gauntlet and gems (the gauntlet in the first THOR movies has gems embedded in it).

It really *shouldn't* be the Infinity Gauntlet in the vault. It *is* too dangerous to have two gems in close proximity, much less all six together in the gauntlet, so really, that thing we saw in the vault can't be the Infinity Gauntlet as we know it, because that would be just too plain irresponsible, right? But… Maybe the gems can't be removed from the Gauntlet?

Maybe it fell into this universe from a parallel one. Heh. The SPIDER-MAN, FF, and/or X-MEN movie universe! =)

Or, maybe it's a paradox and is never created or destroyed, but exists in a closed loop in time. Sometime in the future, someone—probably Thanos, perhaps Nebula? let's say Thanos—will don the gauntlet and it will draw the six relics (and/or their power) into its gems and make its wielder all-powerful. When he decides to remake the universe to his own liking, he goes back to the beginning, before the Big Bang, but is pursued by the universe's champions (or they are kept alive by him/his ego, to witness his righteous triumph and creation), and they defeat/outsmart him and remove the gauntlet. One of the champions (I'd say Cap, if we're looking for will and purity of heart) uses the power of the gauntlet to trigger the Big Bang as it was meant to occur, return the champions from whence they came, and then scatter the six relics across existence. depowering it in the process. And thusly do we learn that the Gauntlet (and Thanos) will be, and always will have been, instrumental in the creation of the universe in the first place! Done and done! =)

Keep on keepin on~

The Marvel Universe after THOR: THE DARK WORLD…

Saw THOR: THE DARK WORLD yesterday and enjoyed it mucho. A good story, a new/original (as far as my Marvel comics memory can recall) threat, and some great interaction between Thor and Loki. A very cool-looking and interesting movie-realization of the dark elves, particularly Malekith (a clever way to re-create the comic's version's harlequin appearance) and Kurse/Algrim, whom I first met under Simonson's watch. Better, funner writing than the first movie, and some great fun with wormholes. =)

That's as much as I'm gonna jot right now in the way of a "review." What I really want to get to before I forget anything are the epilogues…

Beware. What follows is a SPOILER-ful rambling on the epilogues of the second THOR film…

I was *really* hoping to get a tease of Coulson sucking down some mead and exchanging headbutts with Viking heroes in Valhalla, or haunting the wastes of Niffelheim, perhaps trying to get a message to one of the Asgardian warriors. Alas, no. But then, any Asgardian time of Coulson's should've been spent in the past compared to the timeline of this movie anyway. O well.

EPILOGUE 1.

We see Volstagg and Sif meet The Collector, played by Benicio Del Toro (! =), to deliver to him one of the Infinity Gems. Apparently Odin has decided that it is too dangerous to keep the gems of the Infinity Gauntlet in the same vault as the Tesseract. On the surface, good thinking, as Asgard and Odin's weapons vault have been compromised or nearly so twice within two years.

The Collector is an Elder of the Universe, one of the I-can't-remember-how-many longest lived beings in the cosmos, each of whom in their old age has become unofficial patron alien of some aspect of existence or another. The Collector collects. He prizes endangered and one-of-a-kind items or beings of the cosmos. In the comic book universe he maintains a world of various artificial environments that are homes to samples or the last of thousands of species. In the comic book universe, the Elders for a time were the keepers of the Infinity Gems and the Collector possessed the yellow Reality gem.

In the THOR epilogue, the case that contains the gem glows red from the inside. The red stone was identified in the comics as the Power gem. The Collector accepts the gem and remarks on the wise decision to separate the gems, from each other and the Tesseract, apparently. Once his guests have gone, the Collector says to himself, "One down… Five to go."

The container for the gem is a little confusing to me. If I didn't know about the Infinity Gems and Gauntlet, the case for the gem would appear to be a miniature version of the containment device that once held the Aether (two black stones/boxes, with the red glowing Aether permitted to radiate from a tight space between them). In the movie universe, is the an Infinity Gem meant to be made of Aether? Since we've already seen the Gauntlet in the vault in the first THOR movie, that really doesn't work for me. I'm pretty certain that Sif or Volstagg called it an "Infinity Gem" ("Infinity Stone?"), too, and referred to there being more than one. So, I think the visual, for the un-Marvel-initiated, might be confusing.

It *would* be kind of interesting to have the gems created or materialize over the course of several Marvel movies, tho, but that would require making them separate and distinct from the Infinity Gauntlet that cameo'd in the first THOR. Why bother, right?

And… The Collector knows there are five more. So yeah. Screw the Aether-as-gem notion. Just a not-very-well-thought-out (or maybe too-overthought on my part) visual design coincidence, right?

Kind of a reach, tacking this on to the end of this movie. I mean, there's no real plot connection between what happens in the film and the events of this epilogue. That's kinda disappointing, but maybe I guess it's just practical, and good use of a now-established channel for tipping fans off about activities that happen behind the scenes, y'know?

Bringing the Collector in sets off my GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY alarm. And for me, it also puts some more movie-time/distance between the present and an ultimate confrontation with Thanos and that is a Good Thing as far as I'm concerned. Thanos is one of The Biggest Bads, and throwing the Avengers and Guardians at him will be awesome, but best done after they've gone a few rounds with other bads (Ultron and the Elders).

EPILOGUE 2.

Thor beams in from Asgard to Jane Foster's apartment in London and they immediately smooch it up. Sorry, Sif.

Then, a cut to the abandoned shipping warehouse where the first Nine-Worlds-Conjunction wormholes appeared, shipping containers now stacked normally. A small flock of pigeons zips across the scene, followed by a bounding Asgardian beastie (I thought it came from Loki's homeland, the realm of the frost giants, Jotunheim, but not certain) chasing after them and trying to snap a few up in its jaw.

I suspect that the AGENTS OF SHIELD will end up being assigned clean-up on this little fella. Might be an opportunity to get more of the Coulson backstory if it is in fact entangled with an afterlife stay in Asgard.

Hrm… Another way to get the AGENTS more tightly woven to movie events would be to have them stumble upon one of the other Gems. Ohhh… The Soul Gem! That might be a final piece to a Coulson puzzle… OR a VISION puzzle! Wack!

How would they end up working a Gem case? An Asgardian delegation to one of the other Elders/Gem trustee might be intercepted or randomly attacked by enemies of Asgard, or perhaps the Centipede guys, or AIM or HYDRA. If they're capable of hacking SHIELD they might get some up-to-date intel that with some ESPer and Extremis help could give them the advantage of surprise in an attack on a couple of Asgardians in Midgard airspace, right? Anyhow, the Asgardians would smite them, but perhaps not without losing their package.

But to whom on Earth would Odin entrust such an object of power?

How about Doctor Strange? =)

Keep on keepin on~

* November 10, 2013. After a second screening, I found that I missed or misunderstood some of the dialogue in the first epilogue. For updated crazy talk based on a better understanding check out this post. The main of the error is that Volstagg (and the Marvel movie universe) take both the Aether and the Tesseract to be Infinity Stones. Note that it does not undo a lot of my more fun speculation here. =)