SUPERGIRL - SEASON 5.2

REVIEW:  SUPERGIRL - SEASON 5, EP. 2:  "Stranger Beside Me"


The title for this episode of the Girl Of Steel couldn't be more appropriate.  We look at Team Supergirl, and their respective relationships to their various significant others, or friends.  We also get a surprise reappearance, and more questions.

J'Onn's story has been one of great hardship.  Having to leave his homeworld, as his people are slaughtered by White Martians, losing his family, and having many a villain toy with his head...from Manchester Black, to Midnight, to now learning he has a brother.  A brother who wants to destroy him.  It's a mystery that will unfold as we get closer to CRISIS.  

J'Onn's brother, Malefic, is experiencing pain---one that his White Martian is trying to help ease.  At the same time, J'Onn is ALSO suffering from pain from his last encounter with his brother.  We see him out cold at the beginning of the episode as he is discovered by Kara and James as they were going to see him.  A quick check at the DEO shows that there's some sort of problem in his head...eating away at his memories.  I liken it to a tiny brain anyuerism.  Brainy suggests using Q-Waves to help him.  Coincidentally enough, that's exactly what James' sister Kelly is working with at Obsidian.  

Speaking of Obsidian---pretty high tech stuff...and Andrea is keen on keeping tabs on the VR lenses that they're developing, and working with Kelly.  Kelly, meanwhile, uses the lenses to help J'Onn tap into his memories to see what happened in regards to the brother he just now discovered.  It causes him some pain, but in turn, he learns more about his father, and the consequences of losing his brother to the Phantom Zone.  The effect of the Obsidian VR Lenes has a two way effect---as it makes the pain both J'Onn AND Malefic have disappear.  However, more of Malefic's powers were lost in the Phantom Zone...of which the White Martian agrees to help him.

Relationships of all sorts are abound in this episode, as we see Alex cooking for Kelly.  Sadly, the blueberry pancakes she made would cause an allergic reaction to Kelly, who DOES have an epi-pen handy.  These two are still feeling out this relationship, and it's still fresh and new.  And while both are happy, Alex seems to have fallen completely and deeply in love with her.  She describes to J'Onn how deeply she feels for her.  She's frustrated that she doesn't know Kelly really well, but when Malefic shapeshifts into Kelly, Alex manages to use her knowledge of what Kelly told her earlier, and used to to expose Malefic, but not before he knocked her out.  At the climax of the episode, Kelly and Alex manage to find that trust with each other to allow Alex to shoot Malefic, and cause him to shift back to his Martian self, and take off before he can be captured.  In the end, they're both satisfied in where they're going, and we see them content with each other.

Brainy and Nia...different story.  Nia is learning that Brainy is relatively new at human romantic relationships.  He's trying too hard, but feels he is doing right by her by his "wooing".  Mostly with food...LOTS OF IT.  She gets him to lay off the food, but then switches to poetry in order to impress her.  He's failing badly at this, but his awkwardness is what makes this relationship cute.  However...Nia looks miserable.  It's like he traded one bad habit for another,.  We see her looking miserable as he continues to serenade her with poetry during the show's final scene montage.  

Supergirl herself is juggling a few relationships:  two work related, and Lena.  While Kara feels good about having told Lena the truth...and she'll find out just how BAD an idea THAT was later on down the road, she also has to deal with Andrea Rojas & William Lee at CatCo.  She tells James, and then J'Onn, that it's frustrating working there now.  When she has William re-writing her articles to fit Andrea's tabloid-esque version of the site.  She butts heads with Andrea, who wants her to write a fashion piece on what everyone wore to HER Pulitzer Party.  Kara isn't keen on it...and when she isn't able to write it because she had to race out to meet Alex as Supergirl to take on the White Martian.  William contacts the NSA to follow her.  When she has to save him from the Martian, she rips him a new one as Kara once she gets back to CatCo.  Kara later takes the copy workload back (that Andrea gave her as punishment), and decides to stick it out, and keep fighting against Andrea, and to try and restore CatCo to its original purpose.  See...this is where I am upset that we don't have AT LEAST a cameo by Cat Grant.  Cat is the voice of reason in Kara's life aside from Alex...and even Clark.  Cat is that motherly figure she could count on to lift her up--albeit in a rough manner...but still gave Kara the tools to succeed.  This show suffers a little without Cat.  William, however?  We see him volunteering at a shelter.  Maybe he's not as bad as we thought.

James looking at being a Senator?  Would be interesting if Mr. Olsen can bring some INTEGRITY to the job.  

Andrea---as I said last week---there's more to her than meets the eye.  When she finds out that her IP has been stolen, she immediately goes to the source:  Lena.  We see just how vindictive Ms. Rojas is when crossed---especially threatening Lena with exposure to the board of L-Corp about her...indiscretions.  She is all flash and glam...sensationalism personified when it comes to CatCo.  Her bottom line is money and exposure.

Which brings us to Lena---who spends the episode trying to fine tune the VR Lenses to do what she and her Artificial Intelligence, Hope, discuss her plan in using the VR lenses to destroy the human capacity to lie and be cruel.  She also had Eve Tessmacher kidnapped in order to find out WHY she did what she did.  Eve recalls her story about when she was younger, and was approached by "them", and they told her that she HAD to do what she did in working with Lex.  But the thing is..Eve learned to ENJOY what she did.  After Eve was able to eavesdropp on Andrea and Lena's confrontation, she agrees to help Lena.  Which is good, because Lena uses Eve as a lab rat, and implementing Hope inside Eve's head, thus giving Eve a human host to help carry out Lena's plan.  You know what they say about those who feel they have the best of intentions when they go to the extreme.  Lena is closer and closer to becoming more like dear brother Lex.  And they DID say this season was going to be a fight for Lena's soul.  

We hope to learn more about the Martian Civil War as we continue to unravel the mystery of J'Onn's brother, Lena's plan, James' run for public office, and where the Maid Of Might fits in all this.  We are off to a good start to this season, and there's plenty of intrigue to keep us guessing all season.  So far, we have gotten a pretty even balance as far as time for each of our characters, and their continued development.  It's never easy juggling that many balls in the air, but so far, they're giving us much to ponder upon, and new characters to check out.

Another quality episode for Krypton's Last Daughter.  Thanks for checking out the blog, and PLEASE leave a comment, subscribe, and pass the good word around.  

Until next week...Up, Up, and AWAY!

BATWOMAN - SEASON 1.2

REVIEW:  BATWOMAN - SEASON 1, EP. 2: "The Rabbit Hole"


I will say this:  Batwoman is already providing enough drama, action, and twists and turns in just two episodes that I would've expected.  They've done a great job so far laying down the groundwork for the series' main antagonist, her connection to our intrepid heroine, and those around her.  Plus, we get the personal drama between Kate Kane and her father, as well as her ex-girlfriend Sophie.  And we had an interesting twist at the end of the episode.

They're really playing up the whole "Alice In Wonderland" motif for Alice and her villainous group of "Rabbits"...complete with rabbit masks to hide their faces.  The only one NOT out there wearing a mask is a man who betrayed the Crows, and joined Alice---her boyfriend.  A man that Jacob Kane is eager to find---as well as Alice herself, and put them BOTH down in a hurry.  Jacob is a man driven by ridding the streets of Gotham of crime...with his own security force AND the GCPD.  We KNOW this will eventually bring him into direct conflict with Kate, as she continues her own quest to fill the shoes of Bruce Wayne as Gotham's protector.  We see in this episode that Kate & Jacob are still on opposite sides of the fence in how to handle Alice.  Kate spends the episode trying to desperately convince Jacob that Alice is actually Beth, her sister that was supposedly killed in the car accident that occurred 15 years ago.  In flashbacks, we see Jacob promising a desperate Kate that they would NOT give up on finding Beth.  However...when he discovers that Catherine, his now wife, was the lead investigator in the search, discovers bones that match Beth's...Jacob feels it's time to give up and let go---and tries to convince Kate to do the same...which she feels betrayed by him, and thus causes the rift between them that lasts to this day.  Jacob doesn't want to believe that Alice is Beth, even when Kate says that Alice's knife has the same kind of gemstone that she had.  


She searches for Alice...even going to far as to enlist her ex Sophie's help by sending a message out to Alice for a meet by using the word "waffles", which turns out to be a reference to a waffle stand in the park that the girls used to go after school.  Alice DOES meet her, and they have a heart to heart chat.  Alice asks her straight out if she was in the batsuit.  Kate reveals that SHE had Alice's knife---who had been desperately looking for it at the beginning of the episode as she was at a house, holding a couple hostage (whom she later killed), and wants a DNA sample to prove she is who she is.  Alice does a good job at trying to misdirect, just to mess with Kate's head a little, but it's clear that she is Beth---who described the day of the accident that caused their mother's death, and left her to nearly drown.  But she managed to escape.

Kate wants to get the proof, but she has to end up protecting Alice from being shot by the Crows.  Kate asks her Dad for time, and they begin to transport her to Arkham, but there's an explosion, and Alice hits the water again...but THIS time, Kate--as Batwoman---was able to save her using her rebreather.  Alice is gone when Kate recovers after losing consciousness in the water.

Kate's OTHER relationships aren't exactly all that great, either.  She has family time with her Dad and new sister Mary, but considering the relationship with her father, it doesn't go well.  Things get further complicated when Mary is attacked in her secret hospital by the Rabbits by Alice, because she refuses to be ignored and Mary is seen as "competition".  Mary, to her credit, holds her own, but isn't happy with Kate, either.  She tells Kate that she wants Alice to know that there is NO competition.  That relationship torpedoed before it begins.

Kate's working relationship with Luke Fox isn't off on exactly the right foot, either.  Luke is the son of Lucius Fox, and appears to not really know a damn thing about how the Batcave works...he's just more like a "curator" of Bruce's secret life.  But when Kate is in trouble, he finally steps up to help save the day.  While he still seems very wet behind the ears...he begins to believe in Kate and her mission.  

Kate's relationship with Sophie got to be more complicated when Kate asked for her help in running interference with her Dad, while she got a DNA sample from Alice.  Sophie did so...to a point. They ended up being attacked by the Rabbits, who ended up stealing Alice's knife back after Kate had gotten it from Sophie. When she went to meet Alice, and get to the truth, Sophie informed Jacob, who figured out WHERE Alice had been hiding out....their old house.  When confronted, Kate felt betrayed, and that Sophie sold her out.  Sophie appears happy with her marriage, and Kate said she's sorry she wasn't there.  When Sophie replies to Kate about wishing her well at her wedding had she been there, Kate responds that she would've gone there to stop it.  Sophie DID manage to ask Kate if it was her in the batsuit, but Kate deflects, saying that if she was going to save Sophie, she'd have done it as Wonder Woman (nice reference and name drop here).  This is a relationship that will be severely tested, and quite possibly have both woman on opposite sides before the season ends.

Alice herself is very clear about her mission---to destroy the Crows and the GCPD, and to send Gotham into chaos.  The possible brain damage and abandonment Beth suffered during that accident has left her twisted and evil.  She wants to make her father suffer...it's a personal vendetta---even though her boyfriend isn't too keen on it.  It hasn't taken long for this show to establish the motivation of the villain, as well as setting up the relationships between her, Kate, their father, and everyone ELSE effected by this.  

The show ends with a VERY fascinating cliffhanger:  Catherine---Jacob's wife and Mary's mother---who had, coincidentally been the investigator in finding Beth---had hired the Rabbits to obtain the knife---so that they could destroy it and make it disappear.  Since it now has Alice's blood on it, a DNA test would prove whether or not Alice IS Beth.  Catherine apparently has her devious reasons as to WHY she doesn't want the truth to be told...and now we're left wondering if---possibly---SHE is the true villain of the season?  Going to be fun to find out just how far down her own personal rabbit hole Catherine has gone.  

The episode moved fairly fast---least it felt that way---didn't have too much lull in it.  We got story and character developement.  We're seeing Kate get used to being the symbol that Gotham needs---especially at the end of this episode where she has one of the Rabbits...and plans on torturing him for information.  

I enjoyed this episode.  And I know A LOT of people felt it may have plodded along, didn't have the best dialogue, and felt that they have probably given so much too soon...new shows take time to get their footing.  But they are not always allowed that luxury, what with shows getting cancelled left and right these days.  So, this show feels that it needs to hit the ground running...and it has.  The first few episodes may be rough around the edges, but when you're a new program, with A LOT of expectations to follow...especially in the case of living up to your sister shows...gotta jump in both feet first and make a huge splash.  Batwoman will have some rough patches to work through...but I am invested and willing to give the show a chance.  I hope you will too, and stick around for my reviews.  

Please pass the good word along about this blog...subscribe...and leave a comment or two.  I'd love to hear from you guys.

Until next week....the Batsignal is OFF!

THE FLASH - SEASON 6.1

REVIEW:  THE FLASH - SEASON 6, EP. 1 - "Into The Void"



Welcome back to another season of The Scarlet Speedster!  When last we left the Monarch of Motion, he once again saved Central City from a severe threat in Cicada, had another showdown with his hated arch-nemesis, The Reverse-Flash...and said goodbye to his future daughter, Nora.  We said goodbye to Vibe, as Cisco gave up the power, Frost and Cait managed to come to a meeting of the mind, and Ralph was...Ralph.   We now pick up The Flash...as well as the rest of the team, as they pick up the pieces.

We open up at STAR Labs, as Barry & Iris are having a chat about Nora, and how they've not gotten over her loss as yet.  They witness a power surge that's coming from the secret room, and find Nora's message playing back over and over...and suddenly, everything shorts out...including Gideon.  Nora's message has been fried.

Jump to 4 months later, and Flash is out chasing Godspeed yet again, with Cisco running point from the lab with Camilla.  He's caught and it turns out he's one of many---with no clue as to where the original is.

Iris is at the West house, where they're having a barbecue, and Joe is giving her props for the increase in subscriptions and readership for the Citizen.  She passes it off nonchalantly, as her mind is clearly on Nora. Cecile shows up, comments that Joe cleared out the garage, which included some boxes with stuff that wasn't needed, and was sent to the garbage.  Iris is off to "take care of something"

Back at the lab, the team tries to hammer out a way to increase Barry's congnative senses to help him better track villains through the Speed Force.  As he wants to get the work, Iris is following up on a lead, Caitlin has a friend in need, and Cisco and Camilla take off.  

Cait attends the funeral of a friend's mother.  The friend, Ramsey Rosso, talks about how his mother lived her last days best she can, while there, she has a quick Frost attack, but quickly disappears.  She then departs.

Iris arrives at the junkyard, and questions one of the mechanics about the stuff thrown out by her Dad, as well as why someone had been stealing trash from there.  The mechanic isn't one to quite cough up the info, but Iris keeps digging.  She finds what she was looking for:  her purple jacket that she gave Nora.  Soon, a black hole appears, and Iris helps save the mechanic from being sucked in, but loses Nora's jacket in the void.

Barry's on the scene, checks up on Iris, asks why she's there, and she says she's following up on a lead about a rash of thefts at the facility.  Cisco discovers that it was a black hole that opened up.  They have a lot of info to decipher, and just as they're about to get to work, Ralph appears, having come back from his whirlwind, worldwide trip around the world on his case to find the missing Sue Dearbon.  Cait has another Frost Flash, and is told to take a break.  She goes to hang out with Ramsey.

That conversation doesn't go over so well, as Cait finds out that Ramsey is bitter and upset that his mother "gave up" on fighting her cancer, when he was working on a cure.  The only thing he needed was Dark Matter to help his formula to work.  He knows STAR Labs has it, and Caitlin tells him that it's not available.  He departs, but not before he shows his displeasure with her for not giving him what he wants.  As she's about to bail, Jitters quakes, and Cait has another Frost Flash.  The black hole opens, and she's about to be sucked in, but Flash makes the save.

Iris is back at Joe's office, where they're going over the mystery thefts from the junkyard.  There's a picture of Nora, Barry, and Iris, which is just triggering all kinds of remorse and depression.  She takes off yet again, as Cecile shows up, and asks what's wrong.

She heads back to the lab, and informs the team there's been a series of junkyard robberies, and the culprit is a scientific blogger named Chester P. Runk, who's created a machine to manage a singularity, but in the video, the machine malfunctions, and he opens up the black hole.  Iris goes to see about him, as the team figures out how to stop the black holes before they destory the city.  

Caitlin and Ralph have a heart to heart, and they both try to put their heads together as to why Killer Frost refuses to emerge.  Ralph indicates that maybe because she's lived Cait's life and not her own.  Cait will talk to her about it.

Ramsey's up to no good as we see him obtain a weapon with Dark Matter in it from some mysterious stranger.

Cisco's got a plan to save the city and stop the black holes, with a bomb he created.  But before they can enact that plan, Iris tells them that the black hole IS Chester, that it's a part of him.  If they destroy the black hole, they kill Chester.  Cisco feels there's no choice, and Barry says he's NOT going to lose another person to death...not a one.  

Cait gets a text from Ralph, and Ralph calls out Killer Frost, saying she's scared to live life on her own.  Frost refuses to be baited by Ralph.  He says that she should talk to Caitlin, because it's been HER life Frost has been living.  

The alarm sounds---Chester's opened up another black hole.  Frost and Ralph run interference in the streets to protect the citizens, meanwhile, Barry, Iris, and Cisco find a way to save Chester, by pulling the part of his brain not functioning out of the black hole, and racing out of it before he gets trapped.  Iris warns him to be careful...doesn't want to lose him like they did Nora.

All ends well as Flash is able to rescue that part of Chester's consciousness, and head back out before the black hole closes.  Back at STAR, Cecile had Chester moved there, and they race back to see him alive and well...for the most part.  Minus the glowing eyes.  He's apparently stoked, though.

We end up having Chester stuck at STAR, but wishing to be part of the team.  Barry and Iris realize that they have to face the pain of losing Nora on their own, but that they do it together.  They head to the secret space, where Barry surprises her with a gift---the purple jacket that he displays in honor or Nora.

However...they get an unexpected visit from the Monitor, who reminds Barry that he cannot change the upcoming Crisis.  That in order for the universe to be saved, The Flash must die.  Barry says that's not until 2024, but time has reset, said the Monitor...and it's only months away.

We fade back to Ramsey, as he takes the Dark Matter vial out of the weapon, puts it into an injector, and, while we notice that he himself is 99% a carrier for cancer, he injects his formula with the included Dark Matter, with painful results.


A great way to open up the 6th season for The Fastest Man Alive.  We see some people dealing with some serious issues, and two new people make the scene.

Barry and Iris are dealing with the loss of Nora---and NOT very well.  It seems that BOTH of them are looking for as many distractions as they can to avoid ACTUALLY dealing with the problem.  Iris' desperate quest to hold onto ANYTHING that reminds her of their daughter, and Barry flat out refusing to sacrifice Chester just to save the city is blatant avoidance altogether.  It takes until the end of the episode for both of them to realize that they need to actually confront and face the grief, and do it together.  Even if it means grieving on their own.

Ralph's worldwide search for Sue Dearbon is fairly reminiscent of the adventures Ralph and Sue have had in the comics.  I see this becoming a regular thing once the two actually meet and fall in love.  Also, his friendship with Caitlin has gotten closer, as he managed to help bridge the gap between Frost and Cait, allowing Frost to live a little more.  Not that she knows WHAT to do...but let's hear it for Ralph and his NEW edition of "The Book of Ralph".

Ramsey Rosso is the new man on the scene who's got a plan to "cure" people using the same cure Cisco used to rid himself of his Vibe powers, only in reverse.  His intentions are thought to be noble, but when Caitlin reminds him the consequences of using Dark Matter, he doesn't take it well.  And we're going to see just exactly the consequences of his taking his own formula.  

I was STOKED to see the appearance of Chester P. Runk!  They have made some minor alterations from his comic book version (he's not a slow talker as in the comic, he's MUCH BIGGER, and he absorbs things into himself---maybe we'll see that down the road).  But glad they've finally included Chunk into the Flash mythos.

One more tidbit:  WINGTIPS!  The Flash has FINALLY got some freakin' proper wingtips on his mask!  This has been--oh, I dunno--YEARS in the making!  I LOVE IT!  And back to the chin mask, which is okay.  But this costume is FINALLY whipping into shape.  NOW....if they'll just do something about the boots....we'll have a winner.

All in all, a great episode to start the season off!   Thanks for checking out the blog, and please gimme some feedback!  A comment, subscribe....and hey!  Tell a friend!  Pass the love along!  I'd be appreciative of that!

Until next week....keep on running!

BLACK LIGHTNING - SEASON 3.1

REVIEW:  BLACK LIGHTNING - SEASON 3, EP.1: "The Book Of Occupation - Chapter One: The Birth Of The Blackbird"


Welcome to a new addition to the POP FICTION review blogs...BLACK LIGHTNING!  I know I haven't covered the Outsider before, but I felt it more important to do so THIS season, because of the upcoming CRISIS crossover, and the fact that the Pierce Family will be in the absolute THICK of it when it comes.  So, let's get a quick recap of last season to catch you up.

Last season, the ASA, of which Pierce Family friend Gambi had once worked for in collecting metahumans, had been capturing metas in order to prep them for an upcoming battle with the country of Markovia, of which a Dr. Jace had been working for previously, and now have back with them.  They too, want the metahumans who had been squared away in the town of Freeland.  Also, these people had been locked in stasis in pods in order to keep them alive, as Lynn Pierce had been trying to save them...since they were affected by the drug Green Light.  Same drug that gave people like Tobias Whale powers.  Tobias is the main gangster in Freeland, and an arch enemy of Black Lightning.  Pierce himself not only deals with the social breakdown of his town as a teacher, but also with the emerging powers of his two daughters.  Now...the Markovians are making their move.

Season 3 opens up inside the ASA compound, where the metas are kept in cells...most against their will.  Everyone is being questioned about when they took Green Light, including Jefferson.

We see that the town is under Martial Law thanks to the government, the ASA, and it's new Field Commander, Carson Williams, who initiates this Martial Law under extreme measures.The news reports talk about the mysterious "Blackbird", who has taken the place of the missing Black Lightning, and seemingly helping the metas escape ASA capture.  

We see our first glimpse of Anissa as she tours a detention center for metas.  It's here that she runs into a man calling himself the Cyclotronic Man, who intends to free the metas, and  take down the government for making him use his powers to kill.  It's here we see Carson Williams get into a scuffle with Cyclotronic Man, and beat him using his own powers.  Anissa can do nothing but watch.  

We later realilze that Blackbird is Anissa's new secret ID, having changed from her Thunder ID to protect herself, Jennifer, and Black Lightning. She saves a busload of metas from heading to the ASA detention center. She's been working with the Rev. Holt to use his church as sort of a "Metahuman Underground" to smuggle refugee metas out of Freeland.  Holt himself is approached by a reporter for the ClapBack News, and asked about Blackbird's activities, and regarding as to their legality.  He gives her the pat answers and sends her off.  We later see her approach Anissa at a bar after her and Gambi had spotted her ex girlfriend Grace on a security cam using her morphing powers, but the trail is dead.  The reporter, a Jamillah Olsen, ends up hitting Anissa up for a conversation, which eventually turns into a sexual encounter.  We'll see if Jamillah gets more nosey with Anissa as the season progresses.  

Jennifer has been practicing using her powers...and actually NEEDS to release them---for IF she dosen't, the pain increases.  She reveals this information to Anissa as her sister picked her up at a cafe, where she was in disguise, hanging out with a boy.  Anissa warns her that she has to be careful.  

Inspector Henderson has been dealing with his own issues---namely Carson Williams and his tactics.  Henderson is willing to go toe to toe with him when Williams orders him to tell the public in a press conference that curfew has been initiated in Freeland. He refuses, but after getting roughed up by Williams and his men...he complies.

Back at the ASA compound, Jefferson is told by Agent Odell that he's free---sort of.  Him and Lynn are reunited, and get to be together, but because the war with the Markovians is coming, he's not allowed to leave because he's needed, as is the other metahumans.  Odell informs them that they are better off with the ASA, than out in the open where the Markovians can get them.  Pierce, having sacrificed himself to the ASA in order to protect the girls, sees that it's not a good thing.

Gambi and Anissa have been working on a plan to get her parents out of ASA custody, and they also have a plan to free more of the metas.  They map out their plan to invade the ASA compound by being able to open their shields to sneak the refugees through.

Back in his cell, Jeff has been experiencing new powers for him...being able to read other metas' energy, including Issa Williams, who has the power to compel people to do his bidding.  As well as Tobias.  Jeff wants to look into it further, and see just what Odell is up to.  Speaking of Odell...he's busy using Issa to get info from Tobias about the missing briefcase, and what was in it.  Being here hasn't been good for Tobias, as his dependency on Green Light, and not having it, with his body beginning to revert to its actual age.  Odell is in Issa's ear pressing him to push for info on the briefcase, but comes up empty.  Later on, we see Odell tell Issa that a power like his is too dangerous.  Issa thought Odell was there to kill him---Odell said he already had---by poisoning his food.

Anissa and Gambi begin the mission, and it's going well, as Jennifer is running watch back at Gambi's.  However, Jennifer warns them that there's trouble coming, as troops are on the way.  Anissa takes out as many as she can, but she's eventually taken down.  The hole in the security wall disappears, and Gambi has to scatter.  Anissa is trapped. Back at Gambi's, Jennifer wants to save her sister, but Gambi preaches patience.

We eventually find out that the briefcase is in the hands of another villain from last season, the Tattoo Man.

Well...for those that have been following this show...a lot to unpack.  

We KNOW Odell is a lying piece of crap with his own agenda.  Credit to Bill Duke for playing him so cold, callous, and straight faced.  Amazing work from him the past season, and starting this one off.

We are painted a picture of Markovia as evil, and with Jace in their custody, does this mean the creation of Tara Markov and Brion Markov has metahumans down the road?

What the hell is this new power from Jefferson?  I've never known Black Lightning to have anything BUT the powers he has.  But then again...it's been awhile since I've read up on Black Lightning.

We KNEW Tobias would still be a huge player in this game.  He's far too valuable a central villain to toss aside.  He will STILL have a lot to say before this season ends.  I love Tobias...so deliciously cool as a villain.  He truly is one of my favorite aspects of the show.

This new woman in Anissa's life---Jamillah Olsen (was this a play on James Olsen, kids?).  She has an interesting approach to getting the story---can't say I'm approving of it.  She's going to be one to watch this season.  She IS, however, bringing up a topic that seems to reflect real life---about detainees in concentration camps because they're not either "from here", or they're "different".  It's nice that the show is a reflection of real life.  I just hope the show isn't bogged down by it like SUPERGIRL seemed to be for a tad bit last year.  

Anissa and Jennifer.  Anissa seems to have taken to the role of a leader in the field, along with Gambi.  The new identity of Blackbird is cool, and she's gotten better in battle.  Jennifer is still learning about her powers, but feels trapped by them still.  They cause her pain if she doesn't release them...and she is eager to get out into the field as well, but Gambi is great in making sure she learns patience---until they get her powers under control.  

Jeffeson and Lynn are hamsters in a cage right now.  Jefferson made the call to offer himself up to protect the girls...and Odell NEEDS Lynn because she understands all the metahuman stuff...but Odell's oppression and plans for them puts them in a situation where I feel they're gonna lead a huge breakout soon.  It has to happen to get Black Lightning back in the fight.  

I feel for Inspector Henderson right now...having to concede to Carson Williams, who is a HUGE ass, and can't wait for Black Lightning to whip his when they tangle down the road (and they will...it's inevitable).  But Williams' powers are going to be a challenge to get around.  

Overall, a great way to start off Season 3.  This was a good show to kickoff the next chapter, and build up towards the Markovian War.  But we also have to know that CRISIS is on the horizon, and Black Lightning WILL be affected by it.  

That's it for this week.  We'll see what happens to our favorite hero family as they navigate the ASA and the Markovian threat.  Thanks for checking out the blog, and please leave a comment, subscribe, and pass on the good word.

Until next week...Power On!

SUPERGIRL - SEASON 5.1

REVIEW:  SUPERGIRL - SEASON 5, EP. 1:  "Event Horizon"


Alright, gang!  We are BACK for Season FIVE of the Girl Of Steel!  Last season left us with political upheval, and a BRILLIANTLY laid out plan by Lex Luthor.  We also saw more growth from Kara, Alex lost love, and somehow found a way to find it again it seemed.  James had to walk a fine line, Brainy joined the team, and Lena felt helpful AND betrayed all in one go.  And we're just getting STARTED---with the central theme of CRISIS looming VERY large overhead.

We begin this season off with Lena working on some VR contacts that allow you to be wherever you want, and do whatever you want.  In HER virtual reality, she finds Supergirl rescuing a busload of kids, and then as the Maid of Might is telling the kids to be honest and good if they want to be like her, Lena appears, and calls out Supergirl on her hypocrisy.  She then blasts the Girl of Steel into the bus, and an explosion occurs.  Seems Lena is STILL holding a grudge against Kara for NOT revealing her secret ID.  Her personal "Alexa" informs her that she CAN kill Supergirl in real life, but that's not Lana's goal---she wants Kara to suffer just like she did.

More changes occur as Lena has apparently sold CatCo to a businesswoman named Andrea Rojas, who seems to have a more....stylistic approach to news...than that of an honest paper that James has tried to run.  She quickly informs the whole staff that the website isn't getting enough traffic, and they need to "spice things up" shall we say..and that includes bringing in a ghost writer for Kara to re-write her stories to fit Andrea's vision.  She owns the whole building, so she's also got some R&D stuff going on, of which Lena is still a part of, considering she's using it for research for her personal projects.  And...as Lena explained to Kara...she needed the money.  Curioius.  Either way, the changes Rojas wants to make are NOT cool with Kara or James.  

Alex, Kara, J'Onn, and Kelly meet up, and talk about what's going on with the special election, and the low voter turnout.  Could it be that when a sitting President is a pawn of a criminal mastermind, that...oh, I dunno, the public would be a tad LEERY of the idea of politicians right now.  J'Onn is now teaching Yoga, Kelly is doing the R&D thing at the CatCo building, and Alex is still the director of the DEO.  But it seems that Kelly and Alex are an item now.  We also see that while Brainy and Nia ARE a couple, Brainy isn't quite down with the effection aspect with her.

We begin the bad guy portion at a museum where the tour guide is telling the kids about Superman & Supergirl's arrival in rockets from Krypton, and other artifacts of Kryptonian origin there.  ONE kid, however, with her glowing green eyes, morphs into a dinosaur and begins attacking the tour.  Kara and J'Onn are there to TRY and stop the threat, but Supergirl gets knocked around, and J'Onn can't seem to do ANYTHING because of some psychic block.  Either way, the alien threat gets away, but not before grabbing a few items to make some kind of weapon.  We see later on that the alien has made a Phantom Zone projector, and uses it to bring an "inmate" from there to attack Earth.

Kara is receiving a Pulitzer for her work on the Luthor plot, (and...what...no congrats from Lois?).  Kara has been sketchy about telling Lena the truth about her double ID, because she fears that Lena will hate her (little do you know, Kara).  Alex convinces her that it's time.  So...before she is to accept her award, she spills the beans to Lena, who just looks like she got the wind kicked out of her sails (so much for her revenge plot...right?).  Either way, Lena goes up and gives an impassioned speech about truth an honesty....a good dig at Kara, who's visibly upset still that Lena said nothing to her.  But Lena puts on the good friend act, and introduces Kara for her award.

But that ends just before it starts...the evil Midnight has made her way to the gala, and starts attacking.  Brainy and Alex help clear civilians, and Kara goes to change into her new suit (which Brainy implanted into her glasses), and Lena gets to witness Kara become Supergirl.  Kara races off to help J'Onn face off against Midnight, who's pissed off because it was J'Onn who put her into the Phantom Zone.  He takes one for the team as he gets injured.  She can kill with a touch.  Civilians are safe, but J'Onn is down, and off they go to the DEO to figure what the hell is going on.  Brainy discovers that the alien who brought Midnight, also made a weapon that could destroy the world.

James has a serious heart to heart with his sister Kelly about what his next move should be.  He doesn't like what Rojas is doing, and he feels that it's not HIM.  Kelly supports him in whatever he does.  

We get down to facing the bad girl, and the team is ready this time.  Midnight opens up a portal, ready to destroy the planet, and J'Onn manages to get a power dampener set of cuffs on her, but she kicks him into the black hole.  The team manages to send Midnight back into the Phantom Zone, and Supergirl rescues J'Onn from being sucked into who knows where.

The end of the episode ends with James leaving, after telling Rojas that he didn't take any pics of Team Supergirl's victory over Midnight, and that he refuses to engage in tabloid journalism.  He quits, and she says he'll never be a journalist again.  James seems fine with that (Exit Mechad Brooks as a regular).Brainy finally stops being a stiff, paranoid idiot, and he and Nia finally kiss.  

J'Onn, however, has a new problem.  The little girl from the beginning of the show, who brought Midnight to Earth, and was creating a weapon to destroy Earth, turns out to be his shape shifting brother we saw with the Monitor at the end of last season.  Turns out this brother has a hatred for J'Onn...who has NO IDEA he had a brother to begin with!  They attack each other, but their powers cancel each other out.  J'Onn's brother takes off.

Supergirl arrives at Lena's to present her with a signal watch, hoping they can mend their friendship.  Lena puts on the act once again, and Kara takes off.  Lena's "Alexa" asks if she's forgiven Supergirl...faaaaaar from it, Lena imnplies, and puts on the VR lenses again, throws a punch, 

We see some waitress leaving her job at night get kidnapped in some alley way.



For the first episode of Season 5, we got some tidbits of what to expect.  Obviously the threats are even greater, what with the Monitor, J'Onn's brother who wants to kill him, and whatever else is out there as the CRISIS hangs overhead.  I dig the new suit for Kara EXCEPT for ONE THING:  Dammit...put the yellow background on the freakin "S" logo.  The red emblem WITHOUT the yellow in there just irks me.  If Superman can have it in this Earth, dammit, so can Kara.  It's long overdue.  They've constantly changed Barry's Flash suit to make it look as close to the source material...can't we do that for Supergirl, please?

Lena will be a big focal point this season, as she plots her revenge on Kara.  As much as everyone else was in on the "keep Lena out of the loop on Kara's double ID", her main focus is Kara herself.  Will she eventually work through it...or will she go full Luthor?  I'm leaning towards the latter...I think Lena is heading to the dark side on this...and give our Maid of Might fits. The fall from grace is already happening.  Also...her relationship with Andrea Rojas--there's more there than meets the eye.  Even though Rojas owns the building and CatCo now---I still feel that Lena can pull her strings.  

And about Ms. Rojas?  Already don't like her.  She's quickly making J. Jonah Jameson a saint...and we KNOW how much yellow journalism JJJ engaged in...especially in his war on Spider-Man.  She's a tabloid junkie at best, and hopefully, Kara, Nia, and the rest of the staff can stand up to her.  I just have a gut feeling about her...and it's NOT a good one.

James' departure from CatCo signals the end of Mechad Brooks as a regular on the show, as he is moving onto other projects.  Admittedly, the last season or two, he's become a bit of an afterthought on the show.  While his departure will be sad for us...we know he'll pop in here and there to say 'hi'.  I feel James is going to travel, and do what he does best...take pictures.  

And finally...on a nice note...glad to see Alex and Brainy have relationships.  Kelly is a great match for Alex, and Nia and Brainy will provide some heartfelt moments and humor as well.

A solid episode to help us get things going for the season.  Looking forward to more and bigger threats, as we countdown to CRISIS.

As usual, gang...thanks for checking me out.  Subscribe, and pass along the blog to the masses.  And if you have any questions or comments...leave 'em below!

Until next week:  Up, up and away!!

BATWOMAN - SEASON 1.1

REVIEW:  BATWOMAN - SEASON 1, EP. 1:  "Pilot"


Welcome back, gang!  I KNOW, I KNOW....it's been a LOOONG time since I've posted anything new on this blog...but let's just chock it up to a Summer Vacation.  But Fall is here, and that means a brand new season of our favorite place to be:  The Arrowverse!

This season, we are going to see things change at a fast pace, and we'll be bidding a fond farewell to the show that got the ball rolling,...ARROW.  We have Crisis On Infinite Earths coming up as the crossover event of the year---and this will change the entire Arrowverse FOREVER.  But, for now, we are going to introduce our newest edition to the Arrowverse....BATWOMAN.

This premiere episode of the series gives us a breakdown of just who and what Kate Kane is, as we see the show open up with her underwater, cuffed, and looking to escape an icy water trap.  As we see her try and perform her escape act, she narrates the beginning of the show, telling us what happened 3 years ago, as Batman had taken a powder from Gotham City, and left it suffer its own fate.  We see Kate and her sister in the back seat of a car, while their mother is driving.  They are going over a bridge, when an explosion happens, and the car veers off to the ledge of the bridge.  Bats arrives, and tries to save them, and halts the car enough, then vanishes to go after the culprit who put the bomb on the bridge to explode.  Kate and her sister escape, but their Mom does not, and the car drops off the bridge, and Mom is killed.

After her escape, she's chatting with some Eskimo guy, who apparently has been training her.  Not sure what HIS importance will be in this series, but he's in the show briefly, as we move back to Gotham, where her stepmother and father, who runs a security organization called Crows Security, are having a public ceremony where they are turning off the Batsignal, and Mrs. Kane informs the crowd that Batman abandoned them, and they don't need him anymore.  The Crows are there for the event, including Sophie, whom we find out is the ex-girlfriend of Kate, and works for her father.  Suddenly, the team gets attacked on the roof of a building, and taken out by a gang of thugs led by a blonde haired woman dressed like Alice In Wonderland.  She then informs the Crows and the public that they can't stop her, and she's going to destroy them, and anyone else that gets in her way.  She especially takes aim at Kane.  More on that, later.

Sophie does her thing, and she tries to capture the gang, but ends up getting nabbed herself.  We then see Kate get a call from her stepsister about Sophie's disappearance, and off Kate goes back home,.  She meets up with dear old Dad, but you can tell the relationship is cold, and there's some hard feelings going on there---mostly on Kate's side.  We also get flashbacks from Kate's memory of her relationship with Sophie, and how it ended because they violated the code of conduct for the military school they attended.  Kate wanted Sophie to take off with her after getting kicked out, but Sophie reneged, and said she needed this, and they broke up.

Kate wants in on the rescue operation, but Dad turns her down.  So, she heads to the one place where there's plenty of security cameras:  Wayne Enterprises.  She enters the building clandestine like, and is caught by a man named Luke.  She ends up reversing the capture and cuffing him to a wall, while she gets footage of Sophie's kidnapping.  She's got an idea on where to go to get her.  She shares the info with her Dad, but he won't let her in on the rescue.  She's gone...gonna do it herself.

Kate arrives at this rundown looking house in a dumpy neighborhood, and she enters, fends off some of the gang, whom--I might add--wear some silly animal masks.  Though she takes out her fair share of the bad guys, she's eventually knocked out and captured.  She wakes up face to face with Alice---who seems to know QUITE a bit about Kate.  Kate will gladly take the place of Sophie in order to rescue Sophie, but Alice goads Kate about how Sophie is the daughter Kate's father REALLY wanted, and not her. She says she wants to destroy the Crows, and run Gotham. Kate is then knocked out once more.  

The Crows arrive at the hideout of Alice...but she's since bailed.  Kate wakes up being stitched up by her stepsister, who runs an underground clinic, which is privately funded, under the table like.  We see Kate and her father once again having a heavy conversation about her life, and WHY he didn't want her joining the Crows.  He wanted to protect her, and keep her out of the action.  It doesn't end well, and Kate bails.

Once again, we see Kate with Luke, and she talks about her and Bruce Wayne being cousins, and that she used to be in this building a lot, and thought there was a secret passage there.  She finds the passage, and discovers a HUGE secret that Bruce had kept from her:  He's Batman.  Luke explains that Bruce did all he could to rescue her and her family, and thought he had secured the car well enough for them to escape.  He ended up chasing The Joker that day.  He says that criminals have no fear anymore, and that was the whole point of Batman.  Kate gets it.

Alice makes contact with Kane, who is running security for an outdoor movie night in the town square.  She says there's a bomb in one of the Crows' vehicles.  She threatens him to shut down, or Sophie dies.

Kate arrives in the Batsuit, and begins to battle Alice and her thugs, while Sophie is hanging on the ledge with a barrel of water on the other end of a plank, keeping her stable on it.  Kate defeats Alice, but Alice shoots the barrel, releasing the water, and Sophie falls.  Kate leaps out to nab her, and makes the safe.  We have a brief moment between the two, and then Kate is off.

We later see the news story, and people talking about the "return" of "Batman".  Crow Security is now on the hunt for the Alice In Wonderland Gang, and Sophie makes mention of Batman.  Kane dismisses the idea of Batman, and tells the team to get to work.  Sophie spots Kate, and they have a chat, where Kate realizes that Sophie got married...to a man that's part of the team.  Kate takes off back to the Batcave, where we see her writing in a journal, telling Bruce her story.  She decides to take up the family mantle and defend Gotham City.  She looks at the knife she procured from Alice, and it has a red gem in it.  Turns out, Kate has that same gem.  She flashes back to when her and her sister had them.  We then see Alice----plotting once more.  Alice is Kate's sister.

For a pilot episode, Batwoman sets the stage for a various cast of characters we're going to be seeing a lot of over the course of this season.  While the show does a good job of setting the stage, not a whole lot of action until the final act, when we see Kate don the Batsuit, and wasn't a "wow" episode for me, but it was fine.  It laid the pieces out for what will be a very interesting inagural season of the Female Caped Crusader.  Kate is badass enough, and she comes with bagge--mostly from her perceived lack of approval from her father, and the loss of Sophie.  As the season goes on, we will see just HOW those relationships progress...especially when Kate's out and about as Batwoman.  I feel that her and her father will be quite at odds in regards to dealing with the Gotham Underworld.  

Alice is an interesting twist---a daughter, a sister, NOT able to be saved by Batman, yet manages to survive...only to be twisted by how the world works in regards to the safety of others.  She's got a mad on, and I'm curious to see just how devious she gets.

Luke will be a huge part of Team Batwoman, where he will supply her with the needs necessary for her war on crime.  I like that they bring in a young Lucius Fox.  He'll add the balance and guidance Kate will need as she gets used to the role as protector of Gotham.  She knows she has HUGE shoes to fill, and from what we saw from the Elseworlds crossover last season, she's holding her own.  But right now, we get to see Kate's journey, much like we saw Oliver's in a way.  I also dig the narration...it will give the fans just new to the show a jumping off point, so that they can grab on early.  

There will probably be bumps in the road as Batwoman progresses, but look forward to seeing what happens---especially after CRISIS.



Okay, gang! It feels SOOOOOO good to be back at it, and share my thoughts and ideas with the Arrowverse with you.  If YOU have any comments, ideas, or suggestions...please feel free to leave a comment below, and I'll be only too happy to chat with ya!  It's going to be QUITE the ride this season, so hold onto your hats!  I promise I'll be with you the whole way!

...and please pass this little blog along to everyone, will ya?  I'd appreciate the love!  Thanks so much for hanging with me---I'm eternally grateful.

Until next week---the signal is off!

MOVIE REVIEW: SPIDER-MAN - FAR FROM HOME

REVIEW: SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME


Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve done one of these movie review things, so let’s see if I can do this without coming off TOO fanboy, and be a little more unbiased and critical if need be.  

Spider-Man:  Far From Home was the latest movie about our resident webhead, as well as the first movie post-Endgame.  The movie picks up 8 months after “The Blip”, as they would call it (seriously, that’s ONE critique I have…”The BLIP”.  I THINK the writers could’ve come up with something BETTER than that).  We see our Friendly Neighborhood Spidey doing public appearances for his Aunt May for a community benefit.  Now, before I go any further---I have ALWAYS been one of those proponents for having Aunt May IN the loop in regards to knowing Peter is Spider-Man.  As much as I love the old Spidey stories, the fact that he made 5000 excuses to Aunt May about his whereabouts or injuries after he took a beating in battle, got to be a little stale.  So, for Aunt May to not only be aware of Peter’s dual life, but be SUPPORTIVE of it…kudos in MY book.   Also, I’ve been VERY pleased with Marisa Tomei’s casting.  She’s not coming off like some old maid, and for modern times…May SHOULD be a woman who can still bat an eye---which is apparent by the sudden relationship we get between her and Happy.  I wasn’t sure about that at first, but the comical aspect of it warmed me up to it….and eventually, their differences as to WHERE that relationship is going at the END of the movie is just wonderful humor that a Spidey movie needs….aside from the comical mishaps of our hero himself.

Dragging our intrepid hero abroad is also something I quite enjoyed.  While Peter would much PREFER to be JUST a “Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man”, the story is good in the fact that we get different locals, which gives Spidey a chance to use his powers in a way we’ve not seen, in countries where he gets bigger exposure.  As much as he’s been treated LIKE an Avenger (and, in a sense, IS one), he’s never felt he’s EARNED that right.  Throughout this movie, it seems like Peter is escaping from the responsibility of filling the shoes that Tony Stark left.  His relationship with Tony, and Tony’s faith in him (especially entrusting him with the EDITH glasses), weighs heavily on his conscience.  He knows he’s not Iron Man, and doesn’t think he can become the next Iron Man.  It’s only AFTER getting his ass handed to him by Mysterio, and eventually having a heart to heart with Happy, whereas he has to TELL Peter that he’ll NEVER be Iron Man, it frees Peter up to fully embrace his role in the post Iron Man world.  Fury’s pressure for him to live up to his obligations as a superhero didn’t help much during this movie.  Despite having been in space, he still is only 15 years old, and felt it was rather unfair of Fury to place all these expectations of saving the day square upon Peter’s shoulders.  Kids can crack under pressure.  Peter was no different.  That’s why I’m glad Happy was there to settle Peter down, and shoot straight with him, much like someone ELSE would have---the unmentioned Uncle Ben.  If it’s ONE disappointment I have with these first two Spidey movies, is that Uncle Ben is kind of a bastardized term to use.  Now, I don’t want to have to re-live Ben Parker’s death again, and we can WELL see that May has gotten on with living life, we never HEAR his name mentioned…as if they’re AFRAID to.  And while we KNOW the motivations as to WHY Peter goes on as Spider-Man, it would STILL be nice to have had Ben referenced my name in SOME manner---not just on the suitcase Peter takes to Europe.  But all in all….Happy DOES fill that role rather nicely.  I enjoy the relationship they have with each other.

Speaking of the relationships, I know that the MJ in the MCU has been met with a mixed bag.  It’s not a knock on Zendaya….at least not from ME, anyway, but the hardcore fans were hoping for a Mary Jane Watson.  Homecoming gave us Liz Allan, and I wonder if they’re going to introduce Gwen Stacy.  If they DO introduce Gwen, I BET it’ll be Spider-Gwen, and we’ll miss out on the MJ-Peter-Gwen love triangle that captivated fans during Spidey’s height in the Sixties.  We knew that in this movie, the relationship would progress, and we find out that MJ is just as much a socially awkward misfit as much as Peter is.  For as much sass as she has thrown his way, we find out that she’s just as much terrible at personal relationships as Peter has been outside of May, Happy, and Ned.  I like Ned and Peter’s friendship.  It’s got a classic Stan & Ollie kind of feel to it, but the roles reversed.  And giving Ned Betty Brant as a girlfriend…at least for this summer trip…was a nice nod to the comics, where Ned Leeds and Betty Brant got married.  Betty is another ex of Peter’s who doesn’t have any romantic entanglements with our hero.  It’s a sacrifice I understand had to be made, but at least she got some more of a role in this movie instead of just being “Student # something” in the film.  Flash Thompson comes off as phony cool, and I did particularly enjoy Peter having a rival for MJ’s affections.  But in the end, I feel the chemistry between Zendaya and Tom Holland, and they have pretty good timing with each other.  My big disappointment was that Peter was too quick to cough up his Spider-Man life to her, even though we ALL knew she had a pretty damn good idea from Homecoming.  I just wanted to actually catch him in the act, so-to-speak, of him in costume sans mask.  That way, there’s that moment where he’s GOT to come up with a logical explanation for how he looks.  But, with the movie pressed for time, and a need to keep the plot moving, it worked out the way it did, and allowed MJ to be brought into Mysterio’s plot.

Speaking of our villain---I was BEYOND impressed with Jake Gyllenhall’s performance.  He was WONDERFUL as Quentin Beck/Mysterio---a disgruntled former Stark employee who had his tech “stolen” by Tony.  That’s a good twist on the comic version’s original origin, who’d been a special effects man who got in trouble, and was seeking revenge.  He had laid out quite a brilliant plot, using OTHER disgruntled Stark employees like William (Peter Billingsley from the first Iron Man film), and they make Tony look somewhat like a douche in this film (which, yes, we know, Tony was a HUGE douche a lot of the time, but still rose to the occasion).  He worked his magic to fool Fury, Anita Hill, AND Peter into thinking he was a guy from “another universe”.  Now, that ALONE, folks, when he mentions “Earth 616” is the designation of THE regular Marvel Universe, that all our beloved heroes live on.  It’s a nice Easter Egg drop that we have, because I’m pretty sure that will play a BIG part down the road.  But I did like how they wove Beck’s story and brought it to light as the movie progressed.  Every single ONE of us KNEW he was the villain…but we were led to believe he was the GOOD GUY at first.  I was curious HOW they were going to finally REVEAL his sinister plot, and I felt it was well done.  What was ALSO nice about Beck is how he played on the fears and perceptions of the public, very reminiscent of how the media tends to operate today.  Using technology to fool the public by having them imagine something that feels real, but isn’t, stokes their fears, and allows him to come in and “save the day”, thus using his own form of propaganda to curry favor with the people, then turn around and USE that favor to conduct his own devious plan of world domination.  The issue of another disgruntled man having been screwed over by the superhero public, much like the Vulture in Homecoming seems to be a recurring theme in these Spidey movies.  Honestly…I really hope it DOESN’T become a central plot point---that will get old fast.

The use of the elementals are a throwback to several old Spidey villans:  Hydro Man (of which his name, Morris Bench, was used), Molten Man, and the Sandman are all referenced (though I don’t remember an air elemental, but I guess three had to do, because that’s all I remember).  I felt the CGI for the water elemental was well done, but a little more work I felt needed to be done on the fire and earth elemental.  Maybe that’s just me.  

The confrontation between Spidey and Mysterio, where Mysterio used his bag of tricks to make Spidey hallucinate and have to fight essentially blind was a nice throwback to their epic battles.  I was disappointed, though, that Beck had to die at the end of this one.  I was hoping that he’d stick around, so that way we’d get a Sinister Six team up, and that’s another thing that I was disappointed in.  Had to sacrifice the villain in order to save the day.  Not always happy about that.  But in the first end credits scene, we see that Beck had one final card to play, and it sets up the next Spidey movie, where we’re obviously going to have to see Peter as a fugitive.  The edited video clip puts our hero in a bad spot, and with the Daily Bugle (now being more like an Enquirer rag than a legitimate paper), riding on Beck’s coattails, I feel it’s going to bring in another great Spidey villain in Kraven the Hunter.  Hats off to Marvel Studios for giving us what we demanded:  JK Simmons returning to the role as J. Jonah Jameson.  NO ONE can play that role like he can.  That was a true highlight for me.  Now, the SECOND post credits scene, we see that Fury and Hill were actually Talos and his wife…the Skrulls from Captain Marvel.  We find out Fury’s running around the universe with them and Carol Danvers, apparently.  What THIS development means…I wonder if it will relate to a possible big screen version of the Kree/Skrull War?  I feel that will be a central plot in a Captain Marvel sequel.  My other question is THIS, though:  What will MJ, May, Happy, and Ned be able to do, and how much danger will at least THREE of them be in now that Beck has not only made Spidey into Public Enemy #1, but outing him as Peter Parker as well?  Will this bring in ANY of the other Avengers, and will Fury and Hill even be of any help?  All we can do now is wait.

Some other little tidbits to throw at you:

--Spidey’s various suits throughout the movie are from various aspects of the comics/games/movies.  We know the Spider-Armor from Endgame, the Black stealth suit from SHIELD is a nod to his “Noir” outfit from Into The Spiderverse, and the red/black combo with the white spider on the back is a nod to the Spider-Man video game.

--Flash Thompson is STILL Spidey’s #1 fan, and always has been, despite thinking Peter Parker is just a huge dork.

--Ned and Betty’s relationship here was short in the movie---a summer fling.  Their actual marriage wasn’t any better, considering he was jealous of Peter…oh, and he was outed as the Hobgoblin (which, in actuality, he was just a patsy to take the fall by the REAL Hobgoblin—Roderick Kingsley).

--MJ finding out Peter’s secret ID.  For years, Peter had lied to his face about his dual ID to her AND his other friends and May.  Her finding out here is a throwback to AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #257, when she flat out dropped the bombshell on him that she’s known THE WHOLE TIME.  This was further expanded in the graphic novel PARALLEL LIVES.  

--When on the Stark jet, Peter is making a new Spidey suit, and it’s another throwback to when he used a machine to make a new suit while on the Battleworld during SECRET WARS.  That was his all black costume (which we all know what THAT ended up being).  It’s also a bit of a throwback to Tony working on the Mark II suit in his workshop in the first Iron Man movie.  Also…the use of AC/DC here…yet another throwback to Tony.

--During the final battle scene, where Happy leads MJ, Ned, Betty, and Flash into the Tower of London, if you look close enough, you’ll see a suit of armor that looks a lot like the costume of another Marvel Avenger, the Black Knight.  

--J. Jonah Jameson as a Alex Jones type of journalist---having JK back playing to role—priceless.

--Mysterio referring to the world HE came from as “Earth 833”, is the Earth for the Ultimate Universe.  616 is the designated home of the original Marvel Universe.


Overall, I did enjoy the movie, and got some feels from it.  Was disappointed that we didn’t get the REAL Fury until the 2nd credits scene (since, in the Ultimate Spider-Man animated series, he was a mentor to Spidey, and Spidey was pretty much inducted into SHIELD), and wasn’t happy that Beck died of a self- inflicted gunshot wound, because I wanted him to stick around for a Sinister Six bout with our webslinger down the road, but it wasn’t meant to be. I liked Peter and MJ’s awkwardness with each other, but eventually getting together…even though that’s still going to be awkward, now that he’s been outed.  The movie moved at a nice pace, had little, if no, real dead spots, so it didn’t suffer any real drag moments.  Any non-superhero moments we well used, and in the case of Peter, comical moments.  Dug the soundtrack, which gave us The Jam, AC/DC, Whitney Houston, The Ramones, and so forth.  I can’t wait to see what they’ll do for the 3rd installment, and how long a wait we will have.  Marvel wanted to take a breath a little bit, before diving into the next phase with this “new world” they have, so digest this one now…see it a couple more times, buy it on DVD when it comes out, because it could be a year or two before we get anything new from the MCU.