MCU in Review

Favorite moments from every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie and TV show (so far)

One week from now will see the release of Avengers: Infinity War, the nineteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and the culmination of everything that has come before it. Its storyline centers around the objects that have weaved through almost all of these films: the infinity stones. This film will also have an unprecedented number of big-name cast members and characters. It includes every single Avenger (though Hawkeye and Ant-Man have been mysteriously absent from marketing), as well as Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and all of the Guardians of the Galaxy (and I’m hoping for cameos, or at least references, to some of Marvel’s TV shows).

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty excited. This is something I’ve been preparing for all year. Around New Year’s Eve 2017, there was a picture going around which explained that if you watch one MCU movie a week starting with the first week in January, then you will finish just in time for the release of Avengers: Infinity War. We had to slightly adjust the schedule when they announced that Infinity War would be releasing a week sooner than originally announced, but my family has (for the most part) kept up with this weekly schedule. As I’ve been re-watching them, it's been fun to remember those parts that I really enjoyed. The moments I’ve written about here are those scenes that really stand out to me as highlights - scenes that I look forward to seeing when I press “play.”

***Spoiler warning for all MCU movies and TV shows***

Movies

Iron Man (2008)

When I think back at my favorite parts of this movie, I actually prefer the smaller, dialogue-driven scenes to the explosive action scenes, and that is largely because of this movie’s stellar cast. The casting for this movie is spot-on, especially that of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Gwenyth Paltrow as Pepper Potts. Their chemistry together is the main reason this movie is so good, and that’s why my favorite moment from Iron Man is when Tony needs Pepper’s help in replacing the arc reactor in his chest. It’s a funny scene that allows them to play off each other comedically, while also serving as a way to build up the relationship between them. Though there are many great scenes in this movie that have these two throwing quips at each other, this scene stands out because of the added humor of Tony playing it cool during his procedure while Pepper freaks out.

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

My favorite moment from this film is the chase near the beginning with Banner and the special forces trying to capture him. One of my favorite aspects of this movie is that it really focuses on the character of Bruce Banner more than the Hulk, and that is largely why I love this scene. It’s an action scene that focuses on this scientist-in-hiding rather than his monstrous alter-ego. I love seeing Banner climb on the rooftops and run through the crowds like something out of Assassin’s Creed, but I especially love the added suspense of Bruce making sure his heart-rate stays below a certain number so he doesn’t Hulk out. My heart races right alongside Bruce’s as he evades the special forces for as long as he can. On top of that, the thrilling music makes the scene that much more intense and exciting. The movie may not be as much of a memorable part of the MCU now, but this scene still stands out as a highlight.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Before the amazing casting of Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, one other actor who was considered for the part was Sam Rockwell (who just recently won an Academy Award for his performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). Though he would have been entertaining as Stark, Rockwell is hilarious as Justin Hammer, a rival inventor and the comedic foil for Tony Stark. Though Iron Man 2 isn’t one of my favorite MCU films, Sam Rockwell’s Justin Hammer makes the whole movie more enjoyable, and some of my favorite moments involve his interaction with Ivan Vanko. One scene in particular that stands out to me is when Hammer finds Vanko working on drones instead of suits, and he gets frustrated, sarcastically telling his butler to try to fit his head into the drone’s head like a helmet.

Thor (2011)

After re-watching Thor, I had forgotten how much smaller this film is compared to later MCU films. I also found that I don’t like this film as much as some of the other movies. It’s still a good movie, just not quite as enjoyable as I remembered. One aspect I’ve always loved about this movie is the characters. Director Kenneth Branagh, who has been involved with several Shakespeare adaptations, wanted a large focus of the film to be on the Shakespearean-type characters of a king and his two sons. This is why one of my favorite scenes in the movie is Thor’s banishment. The acting from Anthony Hopkins, Chris Hemsworth, and Tom Hiddleston as Odin, Thor, and Loki, respectively, is incredible. The pure emotion of the scene is palpable: an arrogant son angry with his father, an upset father deeply disappointed with this son, and another son who would rather stay out of this.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

I’m a big fan of musicals and movie music, so I was extremely excited when I heard that Alan Menken (Academy Award-winning songwriter for Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast, to name a few) would be writing a song for this movie. His song “Star Spangled Man” works perfectly as a patriotic period piece reminiscent of World War II USO songs, and the scene it accompanies is an exciting montage that shows how the Captain America character impacts the morale of soldiers and citizens alike. I like that the film implements the original Captain America comics, as well as showing Steve Rogers starring in several black and white war films. Even though shortly afterwards we see that Rogers wants to be more than just an actor in tights, I like this scene because it shows that for a little while at least Steve has found a way to help out the war effort.

The Avengers (2012)

My favorite moment from The Avengers is without a doubt the scene when Hulk punches the leviathan, the other Avengers help bring it down, then we get the first panning shot of all six assembled Avengers ready to fight, all accompanied by Alan Silvestri’s epic Avengers theme. I get goosebumps every time. The rest of the Battle of New York is amazing as well, especially that one continuous shot that follows each Avenger battling Chitauri and concludes with Hulk and Thor killing a leviathan and crashing it into Grand Central Station - but my favorite moment is still that amazing first shot of the assembled Avengers.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

One of Marvel Studio’s strengths is that it cares more for the alter egos rather than the superhero sides of its heroes, and it’s great at getting the audience to feel the same. I loved The Incredible Hulk for focusing more on Bruce Banner than the Hulk, and I loved Iron Man 3 for focusing more on Tony Stark than Iron Man. Iron Man 3 sees poor Tony suffering from anxiety attacks following the Battle of New York, and sees him having to rely solely on his brain rather than his fancy tech and unlimited resources like usual. My favorite moment in this film is when he goes undercover to a hardware store and buys random household materials to turn into makeshift weapons. He then uses those weapons (such as glass ornament bombs) to infiltrate the “Mandarin’s” house. It’s an exciting scene, and even more fun to watch because this is our first time seeing Tony fight without the aid of an Iron Man suit. Also, shout-out to Trevor Slattery, my favorite of the new characters introduced in this movie.

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

This sequel to Thor stands along with Iron Man 2 as generally one of the least-liked MCU films. Upon a recent re-watching of it, I actually liked this movie, maybe even more than the first film. This movie’s main flaw is its misuse of Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who’s ninth doctor) as the boring villain Malekith. However, one of my favorite scenes in the film is Malekith’s invasion of Asgard. It starts with Heimdall being awesome and attacking an invisible ship, then gets better from there. Honestly I think one of the reasons I like this scene so much is because it feels like something out of Star Wars. I also love the mix of ancient Norse iconography mixed with modern sci-fi, like the ships that look like wooden boats but actually fly around and shoot things. It’s a thrilling scene that I look forward to every time I watch the movie. And if I had to pick a second-favorite scene, I love the battle with portals at the end of the film.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Man oh man, there are so many scenes I look forward to when I watch this movie. But one scene in particular I’ve always loved is Nick Fury’s car chase near the beginning of the movie. All of the action scenes in this movie are top-notch, but this one seems especially exciting. Story-wise I love this scene because it’s the moment we begin to suspect there is something wrong with S.H.I.E.L.D. so it catches the viewers, and Nick Fury, off-guard. Once Fury gets free of the police surrounding his car, the chase begins, accompanied by a thrilling and tense musical score. I also like this scene because it’s action is centered around Nick Fury, who doesn’t get many scenes to himself in the MCU. This scene also has just the right amount of humor (“What’s not damaged?” “Air conditioning fully operational”). To top off this awesome scene, once Fury has finally gotten away from the police we get our first look at Bucky Barnes as the Winter Soldier, who promptly flips Fury’s car upside-down. What a way to (re-)introduce a character. And if I had to pick a second-favorite scene, I would choose that awesome elevator fight which, in my mind, has become as iconic as that first panning shot of the assembled Avengers.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

When I think of scenes that I look forward to when I watch this movie, one that immediately comes to mind is the first scene after the Marvel Studios logo. Right after the logo finishes, we see a mysterious figure searching a stormy planet set to creepy and foreboding music, all while some of the opening credits appear. That music ends as the character reaches his destination. He then removes his mask, pulls out his walkman and begins dancing to “Come and Get Your Love” while the title appears on screen. The rest of the opening credits appear on screen as Star Lord dances his way to his destination: The Orb (containing the Power Stone). I love this scene not just for how entertaining it is, but for how well it captures the tone of the movie. That initial transition from dark and foreboding to funny and upbeat is the hinge that this movie is built upon, and it is executed beautifully.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

I didn’t like this movie as much as the first one. The Avengers had everything going for it. The main heroes, the villain, and the McGuffin had all been introduced in previous movies - all that was left to do was put them together. Avengers: Age of Ultron unfortunately had the near-impossible task of living up to the high standards of the last movie, in addition to introducing new characters and a new villain. I believe its weakest scenes were those that were just put in to tease future movies, similar to select scenes in Iron Man 2 (or all of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). After re-watching the film, I believe one of my favorite scenes is when the Maximoff twins, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, stop the runaway train. It’s an awesome way to re-introduce them in the film as heroes, and a neat showcase of their powers. It also reminds me of the train sequence in Spider-Man 2, one of my favorite superhero movies. Other favorite scenes include the party near the beginning when everyone tries to lift Thor’s hammer and the birth of Vision (one of my favorite characters).

Ant-Man (2015)

Luis did more than steal two (2) smoothie machines, he also stole this movie. Many of the best scenes in the movie are those with Luis and his two buddies, but my favorites are the elaborate stories he Luis tells - the ones where he is supposed to give “just the facts”, but never does. Of the two stories that Luis tells, I like the second one (at the very end before the credits) best. In this short funny scene we get a Stan Lee cameo, a reference to Spider-Man, as well as another appearance from Falcon (another of my favorite characters), all accompanied by Luis’ quick-talking narration. The dialogue is hard to follow the first time, which makes it all the more hilarious when his last words are “he said yes” followed by a second of blinking. I hope there are more of these stories in Ant-Man and the Wasp.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Before rewatching this movie I was thinking I wanted to pick something other than the airport battle as my favorite scene, because that would be too obvious and overused. But as I rewatched it I realized, *sigh* yeah… this scene is awesome. I remember eagerly looking forward to it when I first saw the movie, and I still get that same feeling of excitement when rewatching the movie, right before the battle begins. I love the moments of interaction between characters who had never met before this battle, especially those involving Ant-Man, who always makes me laugh. It’s also just exciting seeing all of these heroes together in one scene. This is more heroes than had ever been in an MCU film before (a record that will soon be beat by Infinity War). I don’t know how the directors were able to stage such a big fight between so many heroes and make it look good. Infinity War is going to have a lot to live up to.

Doctor Strange (2016)

This film has some of the best visuals in the MCU. It would have easily won the Oscar for Visual Effects had it not been up against The Jungle Book (which had so many visual effects shots it might as well have been an animated film). The story and the music are also good, but the visuals are some of this film’s best features - and they are put on full display during the fight in the Mirror Dimension. It baffles me how they can construct and film a scene that takes place in a dimension where matter can be folded at will. Its Inception-esque visuals of buildings closing in on each other are spectacular to behold, and make this chase and fight scene one of the best scenes in the film.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Music is an integral part of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, and I am forever grateful to director James Gunn for including so many great songs from the 60s and 70s that I very likely never would have heard had they not been in these films. The songs featured in the film are catchy, and go well with the action on screen. They heighten the emotion happening in the moment, whether it be touching, exciting, or funny. One scene that made excellent use of such music is when Yondu kills all the Ravagers with his arrow, set to “Come a Little Bit Closer” by Jay & The Americans. Yondu, Groot, and Rocket are some of my favorite Guardians characters, so it was cool to see them all working together to escape the Ravagers. And yes, the song made the scene that much better. A similar funny scene is when Rocket attacks the Ravagers in the woods, set to “Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell. But the Yondu arrow scene is still my favorite.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

I was unsure at first what an MCU movie would be like that has another studio’s hands in the mix, but Spider-Man: Homecoming was better than I expected. And as always, the acting was top-notch. One of my favorite moments in the movie is near the end when Peter goes to Liz’s house to pick her up for the Homecoming dance, and is shocked when Adrian Toomes (aka the Vulture) answers the door. Peter knows who he is, so he is terrified, but Toomes doesn’t figure out Peter is Spider-Man until they are driving to the dance. The scene is intense, as is Michael Giacchino's score, and the acting from both Tom Holland and Michael Keaton is terrific. On a side note, I also love how this film portrayed high schoolers much more accurately than the previous Spider-Man films.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok was a gift. After two decent Thor films, we finally got a great one. There was some definite influence from Guardians of the Galaxy, but maybe that’s just what was needed. I enjoyed the whole movie thoroughly, but the ending battle scene on the Bifrost was my favorite. I liked seeing Heimdall with his awesome sword leading the Asgardians to safety, then seeing Hulk save them by fighting that big wolf. This is followed by the timely return of Loki, Korg, and the others coming to the rescue, then Thor fully realizing his lighting powers. I also like the following scene when Loki unleashes Surtur to destroy Asgard (but steals the Tesseract right before). I also like Thor’s line to Hulk after Hulk tries to attack Surtur “Hulk, for once in your life, don’t smash!” The coronation at the end serves a nice bookend to the Thor trilogy - complete with Patrick Doyle’s original Thor theme. Such a great ending to a great movie.

Black Panther (2018)

I didn't get to re-watch this film before Infinity War, so it’s hard to pick a favorite scene. Can I just say the whole movie? I loved the gorgeous visuals of the scenes in the Spirit Realm, the acting and choreography in the waterfall battle scenes, and the beautiful music in the entire movie. One of my favorite scenes was the battle at the end. Not T’Challa vs. Killmonger down in the mine, but the one before that: the one with Killmonger vs. the Dora Milaje, and Black Panther and loyal the Wakandans vs. W’Kabi and all his soldiers. Then some Rhinos come in, then the Jabari come join the fight, and in the middle of the battle Shuri is telling Everett Ross (Martin Freeman) how to remote pilot a ship. Great cast, great music, great story. This might be my favorite MCU film. Infinity War, your bar has been set. Good luck meeting it.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Yes, the movie has not been released yet, but these are some of the moments I am most looking forward to seeing in this movie.

1. The proper introduction of Thanos into the MCU. He first appeared as Loki’s mysterious benefactor at the very end of The Avengers, then had quick appearances in Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron, but this movie will finally focus on and give us some proper information about him. Hopefully he’ll be a better villain than Ultron.
2. The culmination of the infinity stones sub-plot that has been weaving through the MCU since the Tesseract’s first appearance at the end of Thor (though it wasn’t officially identified as an infinity stone until Thor: The Dark World). Though we likely won’t get an official end to this storyline until the still(!) untitled fourth Avengers movie. I also can’t wait to find out where the Soul Stone is.
3. Seeing the Guardians of the Galaxy in a non-Guardians movie. These characters are writer/director James Gunn’s babies, and I am interested to see what the characters do in the hands of different writers and directors. Will they still be accompanied by fun music from the 70s and 80s? I hope so.
4. Seeing more of Wakanda and its people. I loved Black Panther so I am super excited that at least one section of the film will focus on Wakanda, as well as many of its inhabitants. Naturally T’Challa was always going to appear in this film, but I am excited that Infinity War will also have appearances from Shuri, Okoye, Ramonda (T’Challa’s mother), and M’Baku. No word yet on whether or not Nakia will appear, but I hope so.
5. Seeing interaction between so many of these characters. I know that with so many characters it will be hard for each one to get a lot of screen time, but it will be even harder to see interactions from each individual character with each other character that they haven’t met yet. I at the very least want interaction between Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman, who isn’t even confirmed to be in this film, but I hope he shows up anyway). I want to see a Marvel-ous reunion of Sherlock and Watson. On a somewhat-related side-note, Jude Law is confirmed to be in Captain Marvel. Will he appear alongside Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) in Avengers 4? And more importantly, will his character interact with Iron Man? I need my Sherlock/Watson reunions.

It will be hard for this film to live up to the first Avengers movie, and also Black Panther, but even if it doesn’t, I’m sure it will still be a good time at the movies. Maybe next year I’ll update this post with my favorite moments from Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and Captain Marvel leading up to Avengers 4.

TV Shows

Despite Marvel’s insistence that #ItsAllConnected, Marvel’s TV shows have yet to make any kind of mark on the movies. Sure, the TV shows sometimes react to or mention movie events and characters, but it’s not quite what most fans were expecting.  Usually it’s an occasional reference to the “Battle of New York” or “The Incident”, or a reference to “that big green guy” or “the guy with the hammer”.

So even though Marvel telling us Avengers: Infinity War is a culmination of everything that has come before it, I am still pretty certain that the TV shows will not be recognized, as much as I would like that. At the absolute most all we would get is maybe a quick shot of some of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Defenders, but at the very least I hope they are given a quick mention. I would also be okay with just showing some of their faces in the opening logo.

These are some of my favorite things about the MCU’s TV shows:

***Again, Spoiler Warning for all MCU TV shows***

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013-Present)

Of all the TV shows set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has always had the most direct connections to the movies (which is saying quite a lot, since there isn’t that much anyway). Some of my favorite moments have been appearances from movie characters (aside from Coulson, of course). In season one we got appearances from Agent Sitwell, Sif, Maria Hill, and even Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. Stan Lee also has a cameo in a season one episode. When the show was first announced I was thinking this sort of thing would happen all the time, but it hasn’t. A little later we got cameos from Peggy Carter, a couple Howling Commandos, Dr. List (from Avengers: Age of Ultron), and POTUS (from Iron Man 3), but we haven’t had any film characters appear since season 3.

Film references aside, I’ve loved getting to know the main characters of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., my favorites being Fitz, Simmons, and Mack. Some of my favorite moments from the show include Mack chopping off Coulson’s hand, Daisy emerging from her Inhuman cocoon as Quake, the deaths of Lincoln and Ward/Hive, and all the appearances of Ghost Rider (with surprisingly good visual effects).

Agent Carter (2015-2016)

As with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., I loved seeing characters from the movies make appearances in this show including Howard Stark, “Dum Dum” Dugan, and Dr. Zola (all from Captain America: The First Avenger). But some of my favorite moments were the interactions between Peggy Carter and Edwin Jarvis (Howard Stark’s butler). To me they always had this lovable R2-D2/C-3PO kind of interaction with each other. Another one of my favorite moments is the musical number dream sequence near the end of season 2. I like that the style of the song fits the time period, and I liked that both Peggy and Daniel Sousa sang and danced in it. I was glad those two finally got together at the end of season 2. But is Daniel Sousa the “husband” that Peggy Carter mentions in Captain America: The Winter Soldier? We will never know now.

I will forever be upset with ABC for cancelling this show after just two seasons (and at the same time renewing Once Upon a Time again). There are so many things I wanted to see happen. Aside from confirmation about whether or not Daniel and Peggy get married, I wanted to see Howard Stark get married to his wife Maria and I wanted to see Peggy and Jarvis watch baby Tony Stark for the day. I wanted to see Peggy and Howard start S.H.I.E.L.D. and maybe even meet the parents of some characters from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. As sad as it would have been, I would have wanted to see how Edwin Jarvis dies, then see when Howard Stark (or young Tony Stark) names his new AI program after him. Maybe we could have also had more guest appearances by characters like Hank Pym or even the Winter Soldier. I also want to know if Agent Thompson is still alive or not after getting shot at the very end of season 2. I suppose there’s always hope for a revival or a TV movie to at least wrap up the series.

Inhumans (2017-?)

I would honestly be surprised if this show wasn’t cancelled. Though it could potentially improve during a second season, since Agent Carter wasn’t renewed for a third season, there no way this show will be renewed for a second. The show was okay at best. My brother and I watched the premiere of the first two episodes in IMAX, which was fun for the experience but not worth the price. Though I was pleasantly surprised about Medusa’s haircut (which got rid of that super fake-looking wig), I still didn’t like the show all that much. The finale was probably the highlight of the show: abandoning Maximus on the moon while the rest went back to Hawaii. A fit punishment for Maximus, though I believe actor Iwan Rheon played a much better bad guy in Game of Thrones. In general, the acting in this show was pretty bad.

Daredevil (2015-Present)

Marvel TV’s first foray into streaming television had a pretty good first season, but I didn’t like the second season as much. Of course, (like all the Marvel Netflix shows) I’ve only seen the show all the way through once. It would take far too long to try to watch all of this again before Avengers: Infinity War. One upside to a long television series is that there is much more time spent on character development. The characters in this show are all great, but two that stand out are Daredevil/Matt Murdock and Wilson Fisk. The fight choreography is also incredible. One of my favorite moments in the show is the long one-shot hallway fight in early season one. It does an awesome job of showcasing Matt Murdock’s abilities. The fact that this was all one shot (or at least made to look like one shot) shows realistically the stamina it takes to fight a whole group of people like that. And this is while Matt is still recovering from another fight after being patched up by Claire.

Jessica Jones (2015-Present)

Jessica Jones is one of my favorite Marvel Netflix TV shows, though (like Daredevil) I didn’t enjoy the second season quite as much. It wasn’t until Kilgrave’s guest appearance in season 2 that I realized how much I missed Kilgrave (played brilliantly by David Tennant). Though he was an evil, oppressive person, I loved all the scenes with Kilgrave in both seasons. (maybe because it’s funny to me seeing the tenth Doctor acting evil). Though I really like the character, one of the scenes that stands out to me the most is when he dies. Jessica tricks him into thinking he can control her again, and then she snaps his neck. It’s an awesome moment for Jessica, and a good death for Kilgrave.

Luke Cage (2016-Present)

Overall, this was a pretty good show. The acting and the music were especially good. Weirdly though this show (one season so far) was split in half, story-wise, and in my opinion the first half was better. My favorite moment in the show comes at that halfway point, when Mariah Dillard kills Cottonmouth (Mahershala Ali). Cottonmouth was the presumed season-long antagonist, so I was pleasantly surprised to see Mariah rise up and kill her cousin. I assumed this meant that she would be the main antagonist going forward, which I was ready for, but then Diamondback showed up and took that role. Diamondback was not near as impressive a villain as Cottonmouth was, or as Mariah would have been. I hope that Mariah will be more of a main antagonist in season 2.

Iron Fist (2017-Present)

I didn’t think this was as bad as everyone says it was. The pilot episode to me was pretty bad, but the rest of it I actually enjoyed, even though Danny Rand can be pretty stupid sometimes. I liked most of the characters in the show, but my favorite was Colleen Wing. To me, she was a much more interesting character than Danny, and she needs to have her own show with Misty Knight from Luke Cage (who she teams up with in the comics). One of my favorite moments in the show is when Colleen fights in an illegal cage match as “Daughter of the Dragon”. The dialogue at the beginning is great (“You sure you want to do this honey?” “Call me honey again, I dare you.”) and the fight is awesome. I also like her fight later against two people.

Defenders (2017-?)

Defenders: the Avengers of the Marvel Netflix shows. I really enjoyed it, maybe more than all the other Marvel Netflix shows. The first episode had some cool lighting design, assigning each Defender a color scheme. It felt like four different shows in one, which was cool. But my favorite moment was when they first all came together at Midland Circle. First just Danny Rand was there, then Luke Cage, then Jessica and Matt. Pretty soon they were all fighting together in the hallways of the building. Eventually they all end up in an elevator together and Danny asks “Who are you people?” It was awesome seeing these TV heroes interact with each other. The chemistry between all of them was great, especially between Jessica and Matt. I know it’s difficult to make crossover shows like this, but I really hope they make another season.

Punisher (2017-Present)

I struggled to watch this whole show. Eventually I made myself sit down and finish the last few episodes, but I think this may be my least favorite of all the MCU TV shows, aside from maybe Inhumans. Although, as with the other Marvel Netflix shows, the cast was good. It was fun seeing Ben Barnes (who I know as Prince Caspian) play a bad guy. One of my favorite aspects however was the unusual partnership and later friendship of Frank Castle (Punisher) and Lieberman (Micro). This may be because I had spent most of the show thinking that Micro was one of Punisher’s arch enemies in the comics (not sure how that idea got in my head). I was pleasantly surprised that they became unlikely allies, and even friends. It was fun seeing them go on their mini road-trip early in the season, then later taking care of each other. Maybe I’ll enjoy the second season more, but I still like the other shows better.

Runaways (2017-Present)

I really didn’t know what to expect from this show, but I actually really liked it. The story was interesting, but hard to follow at times. The main aspect I liked about this show was the cast. If there’s anything Marvel’s great at, it’s casting. The kids were all believable and had great chemistry, but I think I actually liked their evil parents more, especially Gert’s parents. It was hard to believe that these quirky comic-relief scientists could be part of an evil child-killing organization, but their motivations actually make sense for the characters. My favorite moments in the show are when these two try to hide things from their kids or the other parents, despite being amazingly bad at keeping secrets - secrets like “there is a raptor in the basement”. I also like how the last episode of the decent season one sets up for an even better season two - one where the kids are actually, finally, runaways.

Hamilton's America, Michael's Dream

While watching Hamilton’s America, a PBS documentary about Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the Broadway hit Hamilton, I sat there thinking the whole time “this is me!” Watching this documentary got me thinking; if Alexander Hamilton, a poor orphaned immigrant from the Caribbean, can rise up to become an essential figure in the foundation of the United States of America, and if Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose first job was at McDonalds, can be the writer and star of two different Broadway hits (the other being In the Heights), then I believe that even though I come from a lower-middle class family, I’m struggling to get a job, and I live in a small town no one has heard of, I can make it. But this documentary rekindled a longing inside of me - I want to be remembered. I want people to think of Exeter as “the place where Michael Newman lived” and Cedarville University as “the place where Michael Newman went to college.” I want not only to help put these places on the map, but I also want to prove to the world that I can make it; that you don’t have to come from a wealthy or famous family to become wealthy or famous. I want to prove all the naysayers wrong. (I also think it would be really cool to have my own Wikipedia page some day.)

In the song “Hurricane,” it is explained that even though a hurricane destroyed Hamilton’s Caribbean town, he was able to use writing to get out of his terrible situation and off to the American colonies. When Lin-Manuel Miranda was talking about this in the documentary, I was thinking “I can do that!” My last blog post, even though it was kind of sad, somehow got almost 100 more views than the previous most viewed post. This is probably because it was a sad story, and people on Facebook seem to be drawn to stories like that, especially if they have a lot of comments. But this sudden rise in readership got me thinking that I have the potential to write my way out of all sorts of situations, maybe even like the no-job situation I have now. I certainly have the zeal to write and achieve and accomplish my dreams, I just don’t currently have the means, the opportunity, or the knowledge of how to get started and where to go.

Sometimes I relate to Hamilton - I feel like writing is my strongest suit, and I will use that to rise higher and higher until I reach my goal. Most of the time, however, I relate to Aaron Burr, who watches everyone else his age become successful at what he wants to do, while he is still waiting for his moment. When listening to Burr’s song “Wait for It”, I feel and relate to his emotions so immensely that I could sing along at the top of my lungs.* (I feel similarly about Burr’s emotions in “The Room Where it Happens”). Sometimes when I’m vacuuming the sanctuary at church for my dad, I’ll plug in my computer to the sound system so I can play music and still hear it over the vacuum. When “Wait for It” comes on, I sing loud and really get into the music. I don’t need to worry about other people listening, because no one else is there, and they wouldn’t be able to hear me over the loud music or the loud vacuum anyway. Maybe this is like my version of singing in the shower.

“I am inimitable, I am an original.” These lyrics from “Wait for It” describe how I feel incredibly accurately. I love being unique, I thrive on being original. This is part of my motivation for buying a purple guitar; I wanted it to stand out. Maybe that’s also why I’m so different from my twin brother. And despite the fact that “Michael Newman” is almost as common a name as “John Smith”, no one else will ever be me.

“I am the one thing in life I can control.” I’ve recently been reading Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell, which has been giving me advice on how to have the right attitude about failing, and how to not let it drag me down. I seem to get discouraged easily, but this book, as well as Hamilton, has taught me that I am in control of my life. A surefire way to not make mistakes is to not try, but If I never tried anything, the world would just run me over. Mistakes are inevitable. But since I am the one thing in life I can control, I am the only one with the power to shape my life how I want it. So what’s stopping me from living my dream? I have no clue. I know that with God all things are possible, so I sometimes wish that He would fast forward me to the exciting part of my life already; the part where I am where I want to be. There are countless actors, writers, editors, and directors who are my age and already making names for themselves. I want to be in the room where it happens. I want to be part of their world. This is making me sound like a Disney princess, but it’s true. I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell.

Another part of the documentary that reawakened a sense of longing in my soul was when Lin-Manuel Miranda was commenting that he got to work on Hamilton in Aaron Burr’s house, as well as the houses of some other founding fathers. I can’t believe that he had such an amazing opportunity like that! It reminds me of a dream that I’ve had for a few years now. Someday I want to spend a semester or two living and writing in C. S. Lewis’ house, The Kilns. I visited there the summer of 2013, and I have been longing to go back ever since. Along with working in the movie industry, this is one of my biggest dreams. And it’s totally possible too. When fellow Cedarville students and I visited The Kilns, there were a couple people staying there as part of a sabbatical program or something like that. Maybe if I’m ever writing an important screenplay for a movie I’ll get to stay there.

As far as what I’m currently writing, I have a couple more blog post ideas which I may write within the next few weeks. I’m also gearing up for NaNoWriMo. This is going to be a huge undertaking. 50,000 words in 30 days - that’s almost 1700 words a day. I have some ideas, but no plot outline or anything right now. I don’t know if I’m supposed to have one or not; I’ve never written anything this long before. Some of the articles I’ve read about NaNoWriMo explained that sometimes in order to reach the word goal, writers have to take quantity over quality; the editing can be done later (which will be hard for me, because I usually edit as I write). I’m excited to try it. Will I make mistakes? Absolutely. Will I reach 50,000 words? I’d like to, but even if I don’t, I will still have written more than I would have if I hadn’t done NaNoWriMo at all. In order to make the deadline I’ll have to channel my inner Hamilton. “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” Because I’m attempting to write an entire novel in a month.

*Maybe I’m just good at feeling the emotions of others, but I feel the same way about Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt,” which I initially heard when it was featured in the first trailer for Logan, the final Wolverine movie. Even though I don’t actually relate too much to the lyrics of the song, which seem to deal with getting older and realizing that past accomplishments don’t actually amount to much, I still felt incredibly emotional while playing it on guitar, especially after watching Johnny Cash’s music video for the song. I also love how well that song fits in with Logan’s storyline leading up to his final cinematic appearance (at least the final appearance of Hugh Jackman as the character).

A Long-Expected Blog Update

                I haven’t posted anything in here for about a month and a half, and that’s not okay. I started this blog as a way to both update readers on events in my life, and also as an outlet for me to write freely about what’s on my mind. I enjoy writing in here, I really do; and I've had a ton on my mind the past month that I need to get out in writing.

                So, what has been on my mind?

How I Spend My Free Time, or The Origins of Firelord Mike

            Well, let’s start with why I haven’t written on here for so long. I’d like to blame schoolwork, but that’s only part of the reason. It’s true, the semester is slowly but surely coming to an end, and as usual, the homework is piling up; but even though I have more homework, I've still had some free time, that I could have used to write, I guess I just chose not to. Writing on this blog is one of my favorite things to do, but when I have so many papers and responses to write for homework, I generally want to take a homework break that doesn't involve more writing.

For the past month I’ve usually gone to one of three outlets for free time: TV, games, or guitar. I’m still attempting to catch up on the recent episodes of Agents of SHIELD and Once Upon a Time, I just finished watching series 8 Doctor Who, and I’ve been trying to catch up on Parks and Recreation before the final season starts. I also finally finished watching Avatar: The Last Airbender with my roommate, and I have to say, it was actually really good. It’s not anime like many people think it is; the animation style is similar to anime, but it’s a completely American show. The show consists of three seasons (or “books”) of twenty episodes, each around 22 minutes long. The first season, entitled “Book 1: Water,” was a bit slow at times, but still enjoyable and a good setup for the rest of the series. The second season, “Book 2: Earth,” was a lot better, and the season two finale was excellent. It reminded me of the ending of The Empire Strikes Back, but I won’t go into any spoilery details in case you, the reader, want to watch it at some point. The third and final season, “Book 3: Fire,” was also very good; the ending was satisfactory and had good closure for the characters. Over the past few years I’ve developed a passion for fire and burning things, which in past few semesters at school has turned into an acute form of pyromania: all that to say, I enjoyed the amount of fire and burning that was present in season three. Also, Firelord Ozai, the show’s central villain, is voiced by Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker from the original Star Wars trilogy and the soon-coming Episode VII: The Force Awakens). Overall it was a great show and I would recommend watching it at some point. I may have to watch the sequel series The Legend of Korra at some point.

              Apart from watching these shows I also spend free time playing various games on my computer. Usually I will play either LEGO Marvel Superheroes or Minecraft. One of my favorite activities in LEGO Marvel Superheroes is wreaking havoc by either destroying cars and creating traffic jams or stealing cars and hitting everything on the side of the road. I’d like to blame my arsonist tendencies on Minecraft but I think they started before that. All Minecraft did was give me an outlet to burn all the things I want without doing harm to real-world trees and structures. I also sometimes build things on there, but nothing gives me more pleasure in Minecraft than watching the world burn >:D The door to my room, which originally just had a paper with the names and majors of my roommate and I, now has the word “Firelord” written over my name on that paper, an “Arsonist of the Year” award given by a fellow unitmate, a warning sign about explosives, and a paper with this comic excerpt:

                Speaking of fire, there may have been an incident that occurred a few days ago in our unit. I will not go into further details at this time, but I will say that the smoke alarm might have gone off for a few seconds. Fortunately it didn’t sound long enough to warrant anyone coming to the unit. If someone had, and if they had seen my door, I’m not sure what would have happened. Though to be honest, I technically had no part in what may or may not have taken place. I merely watched, smiling wickedly, doing nothing to prevent the oncoming disaster.

                But back on the original topic, when I’m not burning things I also enjoy playing guitar during my free time. I don’t know if I’ve gotten any better at it, but I haven’t gotten worse. I only practice a couple times a week, which is not as much as I would like. What I love about playing guitar is the fact that it employs a great use of hand-eye coordination. When I look up chords for random songs on ultimateguitar.com I read the chords and sing along with the lyrics while at the same time moving my fingers to the right chord shapes and maintaining a strumming pattern that sounds right. Since I’m not doing Men’s Glee this year it’s cool to still be doing something musical for fun. It’s a great way to take my mind off school and also a great way to exercise my brain. Recent songs I’ve looked up chords for are “Wonderland” and “Clean,” a couple of my favorite songs from Taylor Swift’s new album 1989, which I’d like to write a review of eventually. Yes, I pre-ordered the deluxe-edition album – deal with it.

Michael Newman and the Order of the Phoenix

                In a sad bit of news, I had to get my hair cut a few weeks ago. I would have eventually cut it; I don’t want it that long, but it would have been cool to grow it out a little longer; maybe just as long as Aragorn’s or the Winter Soldier’s hair. During the week before I cut it, the intramural ultimate frisbee team I was on made it to the tournament. In several of the previous games I didn’t play quite as well as I could have because my hair kept getting in my face. But during the tournament, my hair was long enough to tie it back into a ponytail. Don’t ask for photographic evidence, because I don’t have it. I only know of one picture in existence of my ponytailed hair, and it is currently in the possession of the student body chaplain, a guy in my unit who was also our team captain. The reason I cut my hair was because I was cast in a film project that requires me to wear a wig. With my long hair, my head was too big to fit in a wig.

                The film org on campus is working on a shot-for-shot film replication scene of a scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and I was cast as Lucius Malfoy, the father of Draco Malfoy and a Death Eater. If you’ve seen the movies or read the books, you know that Lucius Malfoy has long blonde hair. My hair wasn’t quite long enough to dye blonde, and I was told that dying dark hair a light color is difficult, so I cut it. I may eventually post a picture of me with my short hair, but for now, here are a couple pictures of me in my Lucius Malfoy costume, one with the Death Eater mask, the other without:

The scene we are replicating is near the end of the movie when Harry and his friends find the prophecy in the Department of Mysteries, then Bellatrix and I show up and try to take it from him. However, just recently there was a last-minute decision to cut the scene shorter; so it now ends before Bellatrix even shows up, meaning a large part of my scenes were cut as well. I don’t mind however; it was still really fun being a part of this. The purpose of the project is study what it’s like to work on making a real film, which is actually really neat. I now understand why movies take so long to make. Even for simple one or two-second shots, it is often necessary to do many different takes. A green screen is used for all the shots because a model of the set inside the Department of Mysteries is being created on a computer. Once it’s all finished, it should look pretty similar to the actual scene. Everyone involved in the film will receive a digital copy of the scene when it’s complete, so I may be able to post it on here at that point. I just finished filming the last of my scenes today, so now I’m almost completely done. The only part I have left is to come back sometime during post production and re-record my lines for audio clarity. Unfortunately I didn’t get to keep the costume or the mask, but they let me keep the wand and walking stick. Overall, it was great working on this project; I can now put this on my résumé if I decide to pursue some kind of film career.

An Update on Classes, Graduation, and the Future

For the most part, this semester has been surprisingly easy, especially for a penultimate school semester. But as usual, I’m now finding myself having to finish up all the papers and projects I didn’t work on (or didn’t need to work on) earlier. My History of the English Language class (or H.O.T.E.L.), is going alright. The class is more of a history class than an English class, so the class format and the information we’ve learned in the class is not something I’m used to. I think (or hope) I’m doing decently enough to pass the class, but I’m honestly not too sure. Theology II is going much better. I’m like half a point away from an A- right now. The class is engaging and I love how much of it actually applies to my spiritual life. We also get to answer big theological questions like “Was Jesus actually ever tempted to sin?” My Graphic Novel class is going pretty well. We’ve been reading a ton of graphic novels; the most recent of which, Persepolis, I greatly enjoyed. As the final project of that class, I, along with two other students, will create my own graphic novel, though only 12-15 pages. The other students are doing most of the story writing while I’ll be the illustrator. I’ve had practice with comic art in the past. For years my brother and I wrote comics that were originally based on Disney’s Kim Possible TV show, though now they’ve gone completely away from anything similar to the original show. All that really remains are the character names and likenesses (except for that character we turned into a shark…).

Advanced Composition, as I’ve said before, is probably my favorite class. I love the essays we read in it, like George Orwell’s “Why I Write,” and I’ve been greatly enjoying the writing as well. Many of what I write is similar to this kind of writing, only more focused. This semester I’m also taking World Mythology Online, a class that sounds more exciting that it actually is. I’ve enjoyed reading many of the myths, but I recently found out that the class doesn’t count at all towards graduation. Now that I know this I have like zero motivation for the class. I now have a 5-7 page research paper due tomorrow night for that class, but I really don’t want to work on it. I sincerely hope my senioritis is cured before next semester begins…

Next semester is going to kill me; that is, if I’m able to sign up for classes for next semester. Registration has been open for me for a couple months now, but I haven’t been able to sign up for classes due to countless financial things that get in the way, putting business office holds that prevent me from registering. I’ve talked to many people but I still don’t know what else there is to do.

So assuming I’ll be here next semester, I’ll be taking Survey of British Literature from 1800 (AKA Brit Lit 2), Contemporary Studies in World Literature, American Literature from 1820-1865, American Women Writers, and the dreaded final capstone class, English Seminar. This last class alone might almost kill me, but tied together with the others, I’m going to die almost as many times as Rory from Doctor Who next semester.

After I graduate, it’s beginning to look like my best option now is take a year off from school, work and raise money, then go on to grad school somewhere else the next year. At this point most grad schools are going through applications that have already been submitted, so it would be too late for me to submit one; I’m not sure where I would even go. It’s still a dream of mine to one day go to school in Oxford and stay at C. S. Lewis’ house, so I’ll keep that in mind for the future.