Marvel Announces New Movies & Disney+ Shows at Disney's 2020 Investor Day Presentation

 
There's no escaping Marvel in 2021.

Marvel Studios was one of the big highlights yesterday from The Walt Disney Company’s 2020 Investor Day presentation.  Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer of Marvel, revealed a number of new series coming to Disney+, along with new details of their upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 4 films.

Feige remarked, "The Cinematic Universe weaves storylines, heroes and villains across 23 feature films to date.  And with Disney+, we’re able to extend this way of storytelling to a new format — creating series that are connected to our theatrical releases, making the MCU more immersive than ever."

Here's the rundown of big reveals during the presentation:

WANDAVISION (Disney+, Premieres January 15, 2021)

The second trailer for the series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

Wanda Maximoff and Vision are two super-powered beings living the idealized suburban life, but begin to suspect everything is not as it seems. The series has Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany returning to their roles as Wanda and Vision, respectively. Also joining the series are Kat Dennings, who reprises her role as Darcy Lewis from Marvel Studios' Thor and Thor: The Dark World; Randall Park, who reprises his role as Agent Jimmy Woo from Ant-Man and The Wasp; and newcomers Kathryn Hahn, who plays their plucky neighbor, and Teyonah Parris, who plays the adult Monica Rambeau, who was introduced in Captain Marvel.

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER (Disney+, Premieres March 19, 2021)

A First Look trailer for the series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

Anthony Mackie returns as Sam Wilson a.k.a. The Falcon, and Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes a.k.a. The Winter Soldier. Sam and Bucky, who came together in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame, team up in a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience.  The six-episode original series also stars Daniel Brühl, reprising his role as Baron Zemo, Emily VanCamp, reprising her role as Sharon Carter, and newcomer Wyatt Russell as John Walker.

LOKI (Disney+, Premieres May 2021)

An Exclusive Clip trailer for the series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

The God of Mischief is back — and now Loki is stepping out of his big brother’s shadow. Marvel Studios’ Loki takes place after the events of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame with Tom Hiddleston returning as the titular character.  Joining Hiddleston in the series are Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sophia Di Martino, Wunmi Mosaku and Richard E. Grant. Loki is directed by Kate Herron with Michael Waldron serving as head writer.

WHAT IF...? (Disney+, Premieres Summer 2021)

A First Look trailer for the animated series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

Space. Time. Reality. It’s more than a linear path.  What If…?, which takes inspiration from the comic books of the same name, flips the script on the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reimagines famous events from the films in unexpected ways.  As revealed last year, each episode will explore a pivotal moment from the MCU and turn it on its head, leading the audience into uncharted territory, such as “What if Peggy Carter was the one who became a super soldier?”  What If…? focuses on different heroes from the MCU, featuring a voice cast that includes a host of stars who will reprise their roles, such as the previously announced Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter. The series will star Jeffrey Wright as the voice of The Watcher.

SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (Film, Scheduled for July 9, 2021)

Opening Summer 2021, Simu Liu stars as Shang-Chi in Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and The Legend of The Ten Rings. Shang-Chi must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.  The film’s cast also includes Tony Leung as Wenwu, Awkwafina as Shang-Chi’s friend Katy, and Michelle Yeoh as Jiang Nan. Additionally, Fala Chen, Meng’er Zhang, Florian Munteanu and Ronny Chieng appear in the upcoming movie, which is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

MS. MARVEL (Disney+, Premieres Late 2021)

A Sizzle Reel for the series was revealed, which you can check out HERE.

Ms. Marvel, a newer character to Marvel Comics, has grabbed the world’s imagination and Kevin Feige, president, Marvel Studios, and chief creative officer, Marvel, was excited to announce during The Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day presentation that newcomer Iman Vellani will star as Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel in the series, Ms. Marvel, set to arrive on Disney+ in late 2021!  The Marvel Studios original series centers on fan-favorite Kamala Khan — a 16-year-old Pakistani-American growing up in Jersey City. A great student, avid gamer, and voracious fan-fic scribe, Kamala has a special affinity for superheroes, particularly Captain Marvel.

However, Kamala struggles to fit in at home and at school — that is, until she gets super powers like the heroes she’s always looked up to. Life is easier with super powers, right?  Joining Vellani in Ms. Marvel, the cast also includes Aramis Knight, Saagar Shaikh, Rish Shah, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Matt Lintz, Yasmeen Fletcher, Laith Naki, Azher Usman, Travina Springer and Nimra Bucha.  Fans will get to meet Ms. Marvel in her series before Iman Vellani joins Brie Larson (Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel) and Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau) in the upcoming feature film, Captain Marvel 2, directed by Nia DaCosta, which will open in theaters on November 11, 2022!

HAWKEYE (Disney+, Premieres Late 2021)

Marvel has confirmed Hailee Steinfeld will join Jeremy Renner, who reprises his role as Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye, in his series Hawkeye, as the well-known archer from Marvel Comics, Kate Bishop.  Rounding out the cast of the original Marvel Studios series are Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, Tony Dalton, Zahn McClarnon, Brian d’Arcy James, and newcomer Alaqua Cox who will star as Maya Lopez.

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (Film, Scheduled for March 25, 2022)

Currently in production, the Sam Raimi-directed sequel stars returning cast Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Benedict Wong (Wong), Rachel McAdams (Christine Palmer), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Mordo), as well as the addition of Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda Maximoff) and newcomer Xochitl Gomez who will portray America Chavez, a new fan-favorite from the comics.  The Marvel Studios adventure, set to debut in theaters March 25, 2022, will connect the events of next month’s WandaVision, the original new series debuting on Disney+, and the upcoming Spider-Man film.

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (Film, Scheduled for May 6, 2022)

With Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), and Tessa Thompson (Valkyrie) returning to their roles, they will be joined by Christian Bale, who will portray the villain Gorr the God Butcher.  The fourth film in the Thor franchise, Waititi previously revealed, "When we were shooting Ragnarok, I was reading one storyline by Jason Aaron, called THE MIGHTY THOR. And for those of you that don't know that storyline, it's incredible and full of emotion and love and thunder. And it introduces, for the first time, a female Thor,” confirming that Jane Foster, played by Portman, will become the Mighty Thor, Goddess of Thunder.

BLACK PANTHER II (Film, Scheduled for July 8, 2022)

Marvel Studios’ Black Panther 2 will continue to honor the legacy of Chadwick Boseman and his portrayal of King T’Challa, and will not recast the character. The sequel will continue to explore the incomparable world of Wakanda and all of the rich and varied characters introduced in the first film.  Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, who was behind Black Panther, the film will be released on July 8, 2022.

CAPTAIN MARVEL 2 (Film, Scheduled for November 11, 2022)

Returning to her role as Carol Danvers in Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel 2, Brie Larson will be joined by Iman Vellani, who makes her debut as Ms. Marvel in the Disney+ series of the same name. Additionally, joining the cast is Teyonah Parris, who portrays grown-up Monica Rambeau — a character introduced as a child in Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel — in Marvel Studios’ WandaVision.  The film, directed by Nia DaCosta, is slated to open November 11, 2022.

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL (Disney+, Premieres December 2022)

A ragtag bunch of misfits. The holidays. James Gunn. Do we really need to say anything else?  Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to write and direct The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for Disney+!  Before Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot hit the big screen with the next Guardians of the Galaxy film in 2023, watch the Guardians engage in some spirited shenanigans in an all-new original special, created for Disney+, during the 2022 holiday season.

SHE-HULK (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

It’s time to dive into the world of superhuman-oriented legal cases with Marvel Studios’ She-Hulk, a brand new comedy series coming to Disney+. Tatiana Maslany stars in the show as Jennifer Walters — a.k.a. She-Hulk — a lawyer who specializes in this specific kind of legal case.  Additionally, the show will welcome a bevy of different Marvel characters to the series, including the Hulk, once again played by Mark Ruffalo, along with the Abomination, with Tim Roth returning to the role.  She-Hulk is directed by Kat Coiro and Anu Valia, with Jessica Gao serving as head writer.

MOON KNIGHT (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

The Marvel Studios original series for Disney+ centers on the character Marc Spector a.k.a. Moon Knight, a complex vigilante who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. These multiple identities who live inside him are distinct characters in the series and will appear against a backdrop of Egyptian iconography.  The action-adventure Marvel Studios’ Moon Knight series, created for Disney+, is directed by Mohamed Diab.

SECRET INVASION (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

They might have gotten off to a rocky start in Marvel Studios’ Captain Marvel, but now Nick Fury and Talos are back!  Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion, a new series coming to Disney+, has Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn reprising their roles as the former S.H.I.E.L.D. director and Skrull, respectively.  The crossover comic event series showcases a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls who have been infiltrating Earth for years.

IRONHEART (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

Marvel Studios’ Ironheart stars Dominique Thorne as genius inventor Riri Williams who creates the most advanced suit of armor since Iron Man himself, Tony Stark.

ARMOR WARS (Disney+, Premiere Date TBD)

What happens if Tony Stark’s tech falls into the wrong hands? Find out in the newly announced series, Marvel Studios’ Armor Wars, coming to Disney+.  Don Cheadle returns to the role as James Rhodes — aka War Machine —  who must face these tech consequences in this classic Marvel story.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA (Film, Release Date TBD)

It’s a family affair! Kathryn Newton joins the cast of Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania as Cassie Lang, the daughter of Scott Lang. Paul Rudd reprises his role as Ant-Man, alongside Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne/Wasp. Joining them are returning cast members Michael Douglas as Dr. Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet Van Dyne — aka, Hope’s parents.  Additionally, Jonathan Majors will portray Kang the Conqueror, with three-time repeat Ant-Man director Peyton Reed returning behind the camera.

FANTASTIC FOUR (Film, Release Date TBD)

Make way for Marvel’s First Family — Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (Human Torch) and Ben Grimm (The Thing)!  Closing out The Walt Disney Company’s Investor Day presentation, Kevin Feige revealed the studio will bring one of Marvel’s most iconic families to the big screen with the release of Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four! Spider-Man veteran Jon Watts is on board to direct.

Marvel Announces Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

During this weekend's special 90-minute presentation in Hall H at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced Marvel Studio's plans for Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel's Phase Four plans include not only five MCU feature films, but also five new MCU television shows to be released on Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney+.  Beginning with the solo Black Widow film in May 2020, Phase Four will end with the fourth Thor film, Thor: Love and Thunder in November 2021.

Feige also made a surprise announcement at the end teasing plans for Phase Five, which will include Black Panther 2, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Captain Marvel 2, Fantastic Four, and Blade, which will star two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali.

So with these announcements, the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe schedule looks like this:

Black Widow arrives in theaters on May 1, 2020.  Directed by Cate Shortland, the movie will be a prequel to Avengers: Endgame and stars Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow/Natasha Romanov, David Harbour as Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov, and Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova.  Also, Marvel supervillain Taskmaster will be the primary antagonist.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is scheduled to debut on Disney+ in Fall 2020.  Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will reprise their characters of The Falcon/Sam Wilson and The Winter Soldier/James "Bucky" Barnes, respectively, and will be set after the events of Avengers: Endgame.  In addition, Emily VanCamp and Daniel Brühl set to reprise their roles as Sharon Carter and Baron Helmut Zemo.

The Eternals arrives in theaters on November 6, 2020.  Directed by Chloé Zhao, the film stars Angelina Jolie as Thena, Richard Madden as Ikaris, Kumail Nanjiani as Kingo, and Salma Hayek as Ajak.  

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings arrives in theaters on February 12, 2021.  Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, the film stars Simu Liu as martial arts superhero Shang-Chi and Tony Leung Chiu-wai as the film's villain, The Mandarin.  Awkwafina will also have a role in the film.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in theaters on May 7, 2021.  Directed by Scott Derrickson, the film is the sequel to Doctor Strange and will feature the return of Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Stephen Strange and Benedict Wong as Wong.  In addition, the film will co-star Elizabeth Olsen, reprising her role as the Scarlet Witch, and will directly tie in with the Disney+ TV series WandaVision, making it the first direct tie-in between a MCU film and TV series.

WandaVision is scheduled to debut on Disney+ sometime in Spring 2021.  Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany will reprise their roles as the Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff and The Vision, respectively.  Teyonah Parris will appear as Monica Rambeau, who was played as a child by Akira Akbar in the film Captain Marvel.

Loki also debuts on Disney+ sometime in Spring 2021.  Tom Hiddleston will reprise his role as Loki once again, and the series will follow the version of Loki who stole the Space Stone in 2012 during the events of Avengers: Endgame.

What If...? debuts on Disney+ sometime in Summer 2021.  Based on the Marvel Comics series What If...?, this will be an animated series starring Jeffrey Wright as the voice of Uatu the Watcher.  Each episode will examine a different crucial moment in the MCU's history and explore different outcomes, with the actors from the films reprising their roles for the show.  

Hawkeye debuts on Disney+ sometime in Fall 2021.  Jeremy Renner will reprise his role as Hawkeye/Clint Barton.  Set after the events of Avengers: Endgame, the series will feature Barton passing the mantle of Hawkeye to Marvel Comics character Kate Bishop.  

Thor: Love and Thunder is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 5, 2021.  Directed by Taika Waititi, the film will feature Natalie Portman reprising her role as Jane Foster, but with her character taking on the mantle of Thor, similar to the comics.  Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson are expected to reprise their roles of Thor Odinson and Valkyrie.  Valkyrie will be the first LGBTQIA+ superhero in the MCU, with the character, now King of Asgard, searching for a Queen.

Blade has not been scheduled as of yet, but will be a part of Phase Five.

DAMN Good Movies -- AVENGERS: ENDGAME

You guessed it, I'm back once again with another movie take, this time on the movie Avengers: Endgame, the 22nd film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now.  If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...time to assemble!

One year ago, Marvel Studios shocked the world (Well, the part of the world that doesn't read comics) by having big bad Thanos use his spiffy Infinity Gauntlet to snap half of the universe's population out of existence at the end of Avengers: Infinity War.  Fans gasped in horror as one by one, major MCU players like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Scarlet Witch and more crumbled into ash and blew away in the gentle wind.  At long last, we had a superhero film where the supervillain actually won.

Twelve months of Thanos Snap internet memes later, directors Anthony and Joe Russo are back with a massive three-hours-long Part Two, with the surviving members of the Avengers and their allies working to reverse the damage and also bring what is essentially a 22-film saga to a resounding conclusion.  It's an incredible achievement of coordination that Marvel Studios accomplishes here, but one with a sense of finality as we say goodbye to some of our favorite heroes.

The film opens with Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, still under house arrest at his homestead after the events of Captain America: Civil War.  As he trains his daughter Lila in archery, his wife Laura prepares a picnic while the couple's two sons play catch.  However, while retrieving an arrow, Clint turns his back for a few seconds and when he turns back around, his entire family is gone, having disintegrated in The Snap.

This somber tone fills the entire First Act, as we jump ahead three weeks after Avengers: Infinity War.  New player Captain Marvel, somehow still looking as youthful as in her solo film set in the 1990s, rescues Nebula and Tony Stark from being stranded in deep space. They return to Earth and join the remaining Avengers—Black Widow, Bruce Banner, Captain America, Rocket, Thor, and War Machine.  Using Nebula's knowledge, they find Thanos on an unguarded planet, intending to retake the Stones to reverse his action.  Once there, they learn whoops, he already destroyed them to prevent further use, severely burning himself in the process.  After this horribly awkward moment, an enraged Thor finally goes for the head and decapitates Thanos.

We jump ahead FIVE...YEARS...LATER, with the resulting fallout of the Avengers not being able to reverse The Snap.  No longer operating as superheroes, Steve Rogers now heads a support group for Snap survivors, Natasha Romanoff coordinates updates from Nebula and Rocket, Okoye, Captain Marvel, and War Machine, and Tony Stark seems content living in a cabin with his wife Pepper and their young daughter Morgan Stark.  All of them seem to have reached the Acceptance stage about their new status quo.

Thankfully, we head into Act Two with Ant-Man finally escaping the quantum realm and learning that his daughter Cassie is now five years older.  He joins Steve and Natasha at the Avengers' compound and explains he lived through a duration of five hours instead of five years, theorizing that the quantum realm can let them time travel.  Desperately needing the smartest guy left on the planet before Mr. Fantastic joins the MCU, they go to Tony to help them retrieve the Stones from the past so they can reverse Thanos' actions in the present, but he refuses out of fear of losing Morgan.  

Still in desperate need of a big brain, Steve, Natasha and Scott Lang meet up with Bruce at a restaurant, where we learn Bruce has managed to merge his intelligence with the Hulk's body.  An hour of hopelessness finally gives way to some much-needed humor, with Bruce enjoying his newfound celebrity before agreeing to help the others as best as he can with his limited knowledge of quantum physics.  Bruce experiments with trying to send Ant-Man back in time using the quantum realm, turning him into a kid, then an old man, and finally a baby before finally restoring him to normal.

After getting a pep talk from Pepper, Tony finally shows up and agrees to help, under the condition that reversing The Snap won't reset what's happened since, keeping Morgan from being erased.  With Tony back in play, Bruce goes off with Rocket to the Asgardian refugees' new home in Tønsberg, Norway, now known as New Asgard, to recruit Thor, who has become embarrassingly overweight and alcoholic after sliding into depression and watching The Big Lebowski way too many times.  Natasha, meanwhile, heads to Tokyo to recruit Hawkeye, who has turned into a Zack Snyder version of himself, killing Yakuza members as a ruthless vigilante.

Hawkeye rejoins the Avengers and agrees to road test Tony's tweaked time machine, proving that it works.  The team figures out when and where to retrieve the Infinity Stones from the past, and the movie lays out its version of time travel rules -- affecting the past won't change the present like in Back to the Future, but creates an alternate universe instead.  And because of this, they have to bring the stones back to their original times and places after half the universe is restored.  Oh, and by the way...They only have a limited amount of trips because Hank Pym isn't around to make more Pym Particles.

So, somehow, Back to the Future is nonsense but Back to the Future Part II is perfectly cool.  Bruce, Steve, Tony and Scott travel to New York City in 2012, during the Chitauri invasion from the first Avengers movie.  Bruce visits the Sanctum Sanctorum before the Doctor Strange movie and convinces the Ancient One to give him the Time Stone, promising to later return the stones to their original place.  Steve successfully retrieves the Mind Stone, but Tony and Scott fail to retrieve the Space Stone after Loki escapes with it. Quickly needing a backup plan, Steve and Tony travel to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in 1970 and steal an earlier version of the Space Stone along with more vials of Pym Particles from younger Hank Pym, then return to the present.

Everybody got that?

Rocket and Dude Thor travel to Asgard in 2013, during Thor: The Dark World, to retrieve the Reality Stone from Jane Foster, and Dude Thor swipes his former hammer, Mjolnir.  On Morag in 2014, during the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Nebula and War Machine steal the Power Stone before Star-Lord can.  War Machine returns to the present with the Power Stone, but Nebula is unable to return due to her cybernetic implants interfacing with those of her 2014 self.  Through this connection, the 2014 Thanos learns of his future success and the Avengers' attempts to undo it.  Ruh-roh!  Thanos captures Good 2023 Nebula and sends Bad 2014 Nebula to the present to replace her because shenanigans.  Meanwhile, Black Widow and Hawkeye travel to Vormir in the same year and learn from the Soul Stone's keeper, the Red Skull, that it can only be acquired by sacrificing someone they love.  (Remember, like Thanos did to his adopted daughter Gamora?)  After a brief battle to see who can sacrifice themself first, Black Widow commits suicide in the film's first big death, allowing Hawkeye to claim the stone.

We head into the film's third hour and Third Act with all of the Infinity Stones obtained, and Tony, Bruce and Rocket create a new Infinity Gauntlet to hold them.  Bruce is the only one able to use the Gauntlet and stay alive, but he's able to snap his fingers just in time to restore half the universe's population, who should be really surprised to find out they've jumped ahead five years.

While this is going on, Bad 2014 Nebula uses the time machine to transport Thanos, 2014 Gamora, and the Black Order to 2023, and he destroys the Avengers' compound.  In the resulting chaos, Bad 2014 Nebula tricks Hawkeye into giving her the Infinity Gauntlet, until 2014 Gamora and Good 2023 Nebula team-up and kill Bad 2014 Nebula, which should make things really awkward for Good 2023 Nebula.

The Big Three go after Thanos, who easily defeats them then realizes his plan to wipe out half the universe wasn't that great, because the survivors were too busy thinking about what was lost instead of making the most of the "opportunity" they were given.  So now he has a new plan -- wipe out all life in the universe and then rebuild it in his own image, with no one having any idea about what happened before.  Thanos is about to kill Dude Thor with his own Stormbreaker hammer, until the audience-cheering moment when Captain America becomes worthy enough to use Mjolnir to pound on Thanos' big purple face.

The cheers continue when the restored Doctor Strange arrives with the restored Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and assorted other heroes, as well as the armies of Wakanda, Asgard, and the Ravagers.  Captain Marvel checks back into the film and together, they fight Thanos' army in an epic and insane battle sequence that works in a special shoutout to all the female MCU superheroes.  Eventually though, Thanos seizes the Gauntlet and is about to snap himself another victory...but nothing happens.  It turns out Iron Man stole the Infinity Stones back and snaps Thanos' army, the Black Order, and in a very satisfying moment, Thanos himself into dust in the wind.

Unfortunately, Iron Man is mortally wounded from using the Gauntlet and dies in the film's second big death.  Following Tony's funeral, Thor appoints Valkyrie as the king of New Asgard and goes off to join the Guardians of the Galaxy in their third movie.  Star-Lord begins searching for 2014 Gamora, still in love with her even though she has no idea who he is.  

And in the film's final moments, Captain America is tasked with returning the Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to the original places in time.  After doing so, however, he apparently goes rogue and ignores all the previous time travel rules, choosing to remain in the past and live out the rest of his life.  Now in 2023, he returns as Old Man Rogers, passing on his shield to Sam Wilson, The Falcon, and making him his official successor as Captain America.  Anyone familiar with Captain America: The First Avenger will start reaching for the tissues in the closing flashback scene, where Steve is shown reunited with his time-lost love Peggy Carter, finally getting his dance that he missed all those years ago.  An absolutely perfect ending.

As expected, the film's ginormous cast once again give great performances, with some entertaining and emotionally powerful character moments.  Here are just some of the dozens and dozens or characters that stood out:

IRON MAN/TONY STARK -- Robert Downey, Jr. launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2008's Iron Man, so it was only fitting to have Avengers: Endgame be the end of his time as Tony Stark.  Over the past eleven years, the actor became the character and vice versa, and as impossible as it is right now to picture someone else as Tony Stark, Iron Man will return...someday.  For now though, let's stop and appreciate everything Downey helped build as the invincible -- and definitive -- Iron Man.

CAPTAIN AMERICA/STEVE ROGERS -- In presumably his final outing as Cap, Chris Evans swings for the fences in action scenes and saves his best work as the character for his final scene as Old Man Rogers.  Captain America is more than just a superhero, he's inspirational, and it's a credit to Evans that he was able to embody that so well on screen and in real life.  More than all the other Avengers, Cap is the one who deserved a happy ending and I'm so glad that's what he received. 

THOR ODINSON -- Unlike Downey and Evans, Chris Hemsworth doesn't seem quite ready to let go of his character yet, especially if the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 tease is any indication.  Unfortunately, after the success of Thor: Ragnarok, it feels like Marvel wants to keep playing Thor for laughs and that's exactly what happens here.  With his comically excessive fake beer gut, Hemsworth looks more like Volstagg the Voluminous than the God of Thunder, so let's just hope this wasn't his last appearance as Thor.

HULK/BRUCE BANNER -- After being somewhat marginalized in Avengers: Infinity War, Mark Ruffalo returns in a Hulk-sized way here, with Bruce having merged his brain with the Hulk's brawn as if he was taken right out of Peter David's Incredible Hulk comic book run.  It seemed a bit odd to have the dangling plot thread of the Hulk's fear of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War completely abandoned as a result of the five-year time jump, but obviously the story had more important things to worry about.

BLACK WIDOW/NATASHA ROMANOFF -- The death of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow gets completely overshadowed by Tony Stark's death, but knowing that a Black Widow solo movie is finally happening, the big question here is, did Natasha's death even matter?  Will the solo movie be a prequel, or did Cap do some more tweaking to the timeline that somehow allows Black Widow to return?  Keep watching those upcoming MCU post-credit scenes...

HAWKEYE/CLINT BARTON -- And just to complete the set of the original six movie Avengers, Jeremy Renner returns as Hawkeye, albeit more like his Ronin persona from Brian Bendis' The New Avengers series.  Renner gets a powerful opening scene as Clint's entire family are snapped out of existence, but Clint's silly edgelord haircut and arm tats make it harder to take his major personality change seriously.

THANOS -- Once again, Josh Brolin kills it as the voice and motion-capture model of Thanos.  Even though his Thanos is just a big CGI special effects creation, Brolin brings a ton of gravitas to the character and his interactions with others. Thanos will be remembered fondly as one of the best movie villains ever, although I'm wondering since 2014 Thanos was taken off the board by Tony in 2023, how was everything Thanos originally did from 2014 to 2018 affected?

ANT-MAN/SCOTT LANG -- Paul Rudd's Ant-Man steps up in a big way in this film, after being rescued from the quantum realm by the Ratus Ex Machina.  Scott brought a lot of humor that was definitely needed to offset all the sadness and hopelessness caused by The Snap, but Rudd's best moment has to be when Scott is reunited with his daughter Cassie after fearing her dead, only to take her sudden five-year age increase in stride.

CAPTAIN MARVEL/CAROL DANVERS -- After being teased as Nick Fury's paged ace in the hole to stop Thanos, it's was really surprising that Brie Larson only got a few scenes here and there as Captain Marvel.  And I'm not sure how much sense it made to have Carol fly right back into space, when there obviously was a huge need for someone of her strength and power to help get Earth back on its feet.  At least she got a few good punches in on Thanos.

NEBULA -- It's kind of amazing that Karen Gillan got more to do here as Nebula than she did in two Guardians of the Galaxy films combined.  As two versions of the same character from 2014 and 2023, Gillan was able to showcase her character's development from Thanos' compliant minion into an independent positive force and unofficial Avenger.  Like Thanos, however, the death of her 2014 self poses some serious timey-wimey questions that still beg to be explained.

ROCKET RACCOON -- Bradley Cooper returns as Rocket, who still delivers one-liners with the best of them and even serves as a new Science Bro along with Tony and Bruce.  Regardless, as the only survivor of the original Guardians of the Galaxy team, his pain and survivor's guilt is often heartbreaking.

DOCTOR STRANGE/DR. STEPHEN STRANGE -- As one of the returned heroes, Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange does his thing with his sling ring and brings everyone in for the final battle with Thanos and his forces.  He's also key for inspiring Tony to sacrifice his life to stop Thanos once and for all.  And now, we wait for his solo movie sequel.

SPIDER-MAN/PETER PARKER -- Tom Holland also returns as his character Spider-Man, but since his second solo movie is right around the corner, there was no need to make Spidey a major player here.  He's there for Tony's death scene though, bringing their mentor/student and surrogate father/son relationship to a touching close. 

THE FALCON/SAM WILSON -- Anthony Mackie's Falcon returns for the final battle, but obviously Steve passing the shield on to Sam is his character's big moment.  Will there be a fourth Captain America movie, this time with Sam as the new Cap?  All I know is, Disney Plus' upcoming Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV series just got a lot more interesting...

SCARLET WITCH/WANDA MAXIMOFF -- After losing the Vision and being dusted in Avengers: Infinity War, Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch definitely deserved some payback on Thanos.  She got her chance in the final battle, smacking Big Purple around pretty good for a little while.  And her upcoming Disney Plus series, WandaVision, also has my attention after this film.

GAMORA -- After 2018 Gamora was killed off in Infinity War, Zoe Saldana is back to start playing 2014 Gamora.  And now that 2014 Gamora has become 2023 Gamora, with no memory of her adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy because they hadn't happened yet, her relationship with Chris Pratt's Star-Lord is now awkward as hell.  But hey, James Gunn is back to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so she's got that going for her, which is nice.

RESCUE/VIRGINIA "PEPPER" POTTS -- Gwyneth Paltrow got a taste of armor in Iron Man 3, but here we finally see her in her Rescue armor from the comics.  With Tony dead, will Pepper continue as Rescue in future Avengers movies or is this the last we see of her as well?

VALKYRIE -- After joining in on the final battle, Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie is named king of New Asgard by Dude Thor before he completely bails on them.  Will Valkyrie take Thor's place on the Avengers?  Here's hoping...

HANK PYM CAMEO -- Michael Douglas has a brief cameo as the 1970s Hank Pym, during the Pym Particles heist scene.  It's interesting that he used to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. back in the day.

LOKI LAUFEYSON CAMEO -- Despite being killed at the beginning of Infinity War, Tom Hiddleston has a great 2012 flashback cameo, as if we were watching deleted scenes from the Avengers Blu-Ray.  And relax, Hiddlestoners, Loki's also getting a Disney Plus series.

RED SKULL CAMEO -- Ross Marquand reprises the Red Skull from Infinity War, this time as the 2014 version who watches as Black Widow and Hawkeye try to out-suicide one another.  We still have no idea how the Red Skull ended up on Vormir, so maybe he needs a Disney Plus series, too.

NICK FURY CAMEO -- Samuel L. Jackson returns for Tony Stark's funeral, just to remind everyone that he's back and that he'll probably be in the Captain Marvel sequel.  But where's Goose?

THE ANCIENT ONE CAMEO -- In one of the more unexpected cameos, Tilda Swinton returns as the 2012 Ancient One, who magically knows somehow that Doctor Strange will become her successor as the Sorcerer Supreme.  A really fun scene with her and Mark Ruffalo's Incredible Brulk.

PEGGY CARTER CAMEOS -- After being teased earlier in the film as 1970s Peggy, Hayley Atwell returns as 1940s Peggy for the superb final scene of Steve and Peggy finally sharing their long-awaited dance and bringing their characters full circle.  And now I want Agent Carter Season 3 on Disney Plus.

POSTHUMOUS STAN LEE CAMEO -- In his final Marvel Cinematic Universe cameo, Stan "The Man" turns up digitally de-aged as a car driver in 1970.  It's not one of his greatest cameos, certainly not for being his last, but it was nice to see Stan looking in his prime once again before we said goodbye.

JIM STARLIN CAMEO -- Thanos' creator turns up as one of the people at Steve's support group for Snap survivors.  You would think he'd be feeling really guilty about that.

All in all, Avengers: Endgame is an immensely satisfying conclusion to the past eleven years of Marvel Cinematic Universe films.  It's not perfect though, and has some noticeable issues with timey-wimey story logic, but you have to give a lot of credit to the Russo brothers and the screenwriters for giving Marvel fans the big payoff to all their invested time and ticket purchases.  And even though we know this film franchise is nowhere near close to ending, Endgame is an ending for this moment in time, with this particular group of talented actors portraying some of comics' greatest heroes and legends.  And that's okay.

One important question remains, however.  What happens next?

And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)

3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
4. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

5. The Avengers (2012)

6. Batman Begins (2005)

7. Logan (2017)

8. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

9. Black Panther (2018)

10. Man of Steel (2013)

11. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

12. Doctor Strange (2016)

13. Wonder Woman (2017)

14. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

15. Spider-Man (2002)

16. Aquaman (2018)

17. Iron Man (2008)

18. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
19. Watchmen (2009)
20. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

DAMN Good Movies -- AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

You guessed it, I'm back once again with another movie take, this time on the movie Avengers: Infinity War, the nineteenth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now. If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...time to assemble!

It's all been leading to this.  Eighteen Marvel Cinematic Universe films introducing and connecting various Marvel characters, all with the ultimate goal of having the Marvel superheroes and assorted supporting characters finally face the looming threat of Big Bad supervillain Thanos.  Directors Anthony and Joe Russo and screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who earned their geek cred with the stellar Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War films, loosely based the film on Jim Starlin's The Infinity Gauntlet comic series and elements from Jonathan Hickman's Infinity event series.  Oh, and there was only the ridiculous expectations of millions of MCU fans to consider as well.

Believe it or not, though...they pulled it off.

The film opens with Thanos and his Black Order lieutenants — Corvus Glaive, Ebony Maw, Cull Obsidian, and Proxima Midnight — intercepting the spaceship carrying the survivors of Asgard's destruction after the events of Thor: Ragnarok.  Having already acquired the Power Stone from the planet Xandar, Thanos extracts the Space Stone from the Tesseract that Loki nicked when everyone wasn't looking.  Eyepatch Thor is taken out, and Thanos beats the unholy hell out of the Hulk (!!!) and kills Loki, traumatizing thousands of weeping Hiddlestoners in the process.  Before being taken off the board as well, Heimdall sends the Hulk to Earth using the Bifröst.  Thanos and the Black Order depart, and the ship is obliterated.

So right off the bat, we see that Thanos isn't playing around and neither are the Russos.  Two longtime characters dead, and the two strongest Avengers thrown around like they were nothing.  All before you've made a dent in your bag of popcorn.

The Hulk crash-lands into Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum in New York, reverting to Bruce Banner.  He warns Strange and his assistant Wong about Thanos' plan to kill half of all life in the universe, so Doctor Strange decides maybe bringing in Tony Stark would be a good idea.  Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian arrive to get the Time Stone from Strange's Eye of Agamotto, with their big, wheel-shaped spaceship tingling the Spider-Sense of Peter Parker.  During a brutal friendly neighborhood battle, Ebony Maw captures Doctor Strange, but fails to take the Time Stone due to an enchantment.  Iron Man and Spider-Man pursue Ebony Maw's spaceship as it leaves orbit, while Banner splits to contact Steve Rogers, and Wong decides he's staying behind to guard the Sanctum.  Smart move, Wong.

Meanwhile in Scotland, Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive ambush the Vision and the Scarlet Witch in order to retrieve the Mind Stone from Vision's forehead.  Steve Rogers (Don't call him Captain America), Black Widow and The Falcon rescue them and hide out with War Machine and Bruce Banner at the Avengers Compound.  Vision offers to sacrifice himself by having the Scarlet Witch destroy the Mind Stone to keep Thanos from getting his oversized mitts on it.  Steve suggests they go to Wakanda, where he believes has the resources to remove the Mind Stone without destroying the Vision and is a very popular place these days.

At this point, with most of the film's major players revealed, anyone who hasn't seen at least 3/4 of the MCU movies is probably going to feel a bit lost.  It becomes all too apparent that Avengers: Infinity War is the advanced class for Marvel fans, and the Russos make no apology for it.  They give only the barest explanations for who all these characters are, and plow straight ahead, expecting everyone watching to know their MCU lore back to front.

We go into the Second Act with the Guardians of the Galaxy responding to a distress call from the Asgardian ship and giving the movie a much-needed humor boost.  They find and rescue Thor, who guesses that Thanos wants the Reality Stone, which is in the possession of the Collector on Knowhere.  The group splits up, with Rocket and Groot accompanying Thor to Nidavellir, where they and a giant Dwarf named Eitri create an enchanted axe hammer called Stormbreaker that's capable of killing Thanos.  On Knowhere, Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, and Mantis find Thanos with the Reality Stone already in his possession.  Ruh-roh!  Thanos kidnaps Gamora, his adoptive daughter, who reveals the location of the Soul Stone to save her captive adoptive sister Nebula from torture.  Thanos and Gamora head to a planet called Vormir, where we're stunned to find the Red Skull, of all people, is now the keeper of the Soul Stone.  The Red Skull informs Thanos that the stone can only be retrieved by sacrificing someone he loves, so Thanos reluctantly sends Gamora over a cliff, granting him the Soul Stone and delivering another big death.

Nebula escapes her captivity and asks the remaining Guardians to meet her on Thanos' homeworld, Titan.  Iron Man and Spider-Man kill Ebony Maw (as "heroes" do these days) by ejecting him from his ship, and rescue Doctor Strange.  Landing on Titan, they meet Star-Lord, Drax, and Mantis, and there's some quippy banter as Tony Stark and Peter Quill butt heads to become the alpha.  The group forms a plan to remove Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet,  after Doctor Strange uses the Time Stone to view millions of possible futures, seeing only one in which Thanos loses, so...no pressure.  Thanos arrives, justifying his plans as necessary for the survival of a universe threatened by overpopulation.  The big plan actually put Thanos on the ropes...until Nebula realizes that Thanos killed Gamora.  As you might expect, Star-Lord flips out and goes after Thanos, breaking their hold on him, who then overpowers everyone.  D'oh!  Doctor Strange surrenders the Time Stone in exchange for Thanos sparing Iron Man, because remember, he saw all those possible futures, and Thanos heads for Earth to finish off his jewelry set.

It's time for the Third Act and boy, is this one a doozy.  In Wakanda, Steve Rogers reunites with his ol' pal the Winter Soldier before Thanos' army of Outriders invades.  This group of Avengers, alongside the Black Panther and bunch of ready-to-throw-down Wakandans, mount a defense while the Panther's sister Shuri scrambles to extract the Mind Stone from Vision. Banner, unable to transform into the Hulk because the Hulk's a'scared, is forced to fights using Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor.  Just when the battle starts to go south, Thor, Rocket, and Groot arrive as reinforcements.  Proxima Midnight, Cull Obsidian, and Corvus Glaive are killed and their Outrider army is defeated.  The victory is short-lived, however, as Thanos arrives.  Despite the Scarlet Witch's attempt to destroy the Mind Stone, Thanos retrieves the stone from the Vision, destroying him in the latest gut-punch.  Thor severely wounds Thanos, but Thanos uses his now-complete Infinity Gauntlet and teleports away.

And then, everyone (especially the audience) sees the ramifications of what just happened.  With Thanos' plan all kinds of winning, half of all life across the universe starts disintegrating in a series of horrific moments.  One by one, fan favorites like the Winter Soldier, the Black Panther, Groot, the Scarlet Witch, the Falcon, Mantis, Drax, Star-Lord, Doctor Strange, and even Spider-Man are taken off the board.  Iron Man and Nebula remain on Titan while Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Black Widow, Okoye, War Machine, M'Baku, and Thor are left on the Wakandan battlefield wondering what the hell just happened.  Meanwhile, on some other planet, Thanos finally kicks back and rests in satisfaction as the credits start rolling, and millions of voices in movie theaters all over the world suddenly cry out in terror and are suddenly silenced.

As expected, the film's ginormous cast give some great performances, with some entertaining and emotionally powerful character moments.  Here are some of the things that stood out:

IRON MAN/TONY STARK -- We may be seeing the final two-part ride for Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man.  In this film, Tony still has some residual PTSD issues from the first Avengers film and some wedding issues with Pepper Potts to work out, but his best moments come when he views Peter Parker as he son he'll never have.  This, of course, makes Peter's disintegration at the end so powerful.

STEVE ROGERS -- Chris Evans isn't going by his Captain America handle this time, as anyone who saw Captain America: Civil War can understand.  Regardless, Steve is still very much the hero and leader we need him to be, and gets a great moment when he's defiantly struggling and pushing back against Thanos, for all the good both know it will do.

THOR ODINSON -- Fresh off the events of Thor: Ragnarok, Chris Hemsworth's Thor is still being played more for laughs as he was there.  He gets some fun moments meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy, but it's his acquisition of Stormbreaker that I find more intriguing.  Does this mean we could finally see Beta Ray Bill?

HULK/BRUCE BANNER -- Mark Ruffalo finally gets to be more active in a Marvel movie than his big, green alter ego.  After having the gamma rays kicked out of him by Thanos, the Hulk is now refusing to come out and play, even with Puny Banner becoming angry.  This movie is probably a big letdown for Hulk fans, so hopefully The Strongest One There Is gets off the bench early in Avengers 4.

BLACK WIDOW/NATASHA ROMANOFF -- For some reason, Scarlett Johansson is sporting her natural blond hair this time as Black Widow.  Sure, it can be easily explained away as a dye job while she's being a fugitive from justice, but why wouldn't Natasha just wear a wig instead?  And more importantly, why wouldn't Johansson at least wear a red wig if she didn't want to dye her hair this time?  Thanos, would you mind fixing this with your Infinity Gauntlet, because this is obviously really important.

THANOS -- Josh Brolin has been playing Thanos in post-credit cameos since 2014 and finally gets to step up as the Big Bad.  Interestingly, Thanos ditches the armor he's typically known for, presumably in an attempt to make the character more relatable and less like a throwaway CGI villain like Steppenwolf in DC's Justice League movie.  A good villain sees themself as a the hero of the story, and Thanos certainly does that, even when erasing half the population of the universe from existence.

BLACK PANTHER/T'CHALLA -- It seems a little weird to see Chadwick Boseman here as Black Panther while his insanely popular solo film is still making money in movie theaters.  Regardless, it's still great to see T'Challa leading Okoye, M'Baku and the other Wakandans into battle in a sequence that feels like the Marvel Comics version of Lord of the Rings.

DOCTOR STRANGE/DR. STEPHEN STRANGE -- Benedict Cumberbatch is still waiting for Doctor Strange 2 to be greenlit, so it was nice to see him be a major player in this movie.  Strange has a great moment with Spider-Man that makes me want to see them do a Marvel team-up at some point.

SPIDER-MAN/PETER PARKER -- And speaking of our friendly neighboorhood wall-crawler, Tom Holland seems more comfortable in the role with each movie he does.  Peter finally gets his Iron Spider suit from Tony this time and gets some good Spidey quips in, but it's his disintegration moment that proves most powerful.  We see Peter as just a scared kid that doesn't want to die and the moment is truly heartbreaking, even though common sense tells us Marvel isn't about to let Spider-Man go after fighting to get him back all these years.

THE FALCON/SAM WILSON -- Anthony Mackie's Falcon is one of the more underused Avengers.  He gets some good action scenes, but nothing truly notable, even his disintegration.

SCARLET WITCH/WANDA MAXIMOFF -- As the Scarlet Witch, Elizabeth Olsen gets to explore a little romance with the Vision this time.  Her biggest moment comes when Wanda has to set aside her love and try to destroy the Mind Stone, but of course, far too late.

THE VISION -- Paul Bettany gets a little character development this time, with the Vision taking on hair and a more human appearance (presumably so Bettany wouldn't always be in hours of makeup).  He also proves his selflessness by being willing to risk losing himself with the destruction of the Mind Stone.

WAR MACHINE/JAMES "RHODEY" RHODES -- As Rhodey, Don Cheadle is another underused Avenger, but he does get a fun moment where he tricks Bruce Banner into needlessly bowing before Black Panther.

THE WINTER SOLDIER/JAMES "BUCKY" BARNES -- Sebastian Stan's Bucky is finally reunited with his longtime friend Steve Rogers, which I'm sure made the Stucky shippers squee with delight.  Even better, Bucky gets a new bionic arm and some solid action scenes during the Outriders battle.

STAR-LORD/PETER QUILL -- Chris Pratt's Star-Lord never changes, nor should he.  As the MCU's Han Solo, Star-Lord gets into an alpha male contest with Tony Stark, but you just want to smack Quill upside the head when he flips out on Thanos and lets him break free.

GAMORA -- As Thanos' adoptive daughter, Zoe Saldana finally gets to explore the connection between the two characters.  We even get to see how Thanos met Gamora as a small child after wiping out her mother and her entire race.  She even gets a big death scene moment, arguably the biggest of the movie if you don't count Thanos wiping out half the universe.

DRAX THE DESTROYER -- Dave Bautista's Drax finally gets to attempt some vengeance on Thanos for the murder of his wife and child, but of course, it doesn't lead anywhere.  

ROCKET RACCOON -- Bradley Cooper has some fun moments with mopey teenaged Groot this time and gets to hang out with Thor for a bit, but for those paying attention, Rocket is now the sole surviving Guardian of the Galaxy.  I'm sure he's not going to take that well in the next Avengers movie and I can't wait to see what happens.

GROOT -- Groot fans wanting to see everyone's favorite living tree back to normal get some progress, but we're still not there yet.  Vin Diesel is now voicing the character as a sulky teen obsessed with his retro hand-held video game, which is cute for a couple of scenes, but I'm ready to see adult Groot again.

MANTIS -- Pom Klementieff only really gets to shine as Mantis when she and the other Guardians recover Thor in space, but she does help with the big attempt to subdue Thanos and take his Infinity Gauntlet, for all the good it does.  Way to go, "Star-Lord"...

NEBULA -- As Thanos' other adoptive daughter, Karen Gillan's Nebula spends most of the movie being tortured and stretched apart by Thanos.  She does make her escape though, and if you've read The Infinity Gauntlet, you know how important she might be in Avengers 4.  Definitely a character to watch very closely next time.

EITRI -- I have to think Peter Dinklage took some joy in playing a character who's a giant, even though he's considered a Dwarf.  As Eitri, he gets to craft a new hammer for Thor to use and any fan of Walt Simonson's Thor comics run had to be smiling when he was on the screen.

THE COLLECTOR/TANELEER TIVAN -- Benicio del Toro's reprises the Collector once again, but this time as an illusion created by Thanos using the Reality Stone.  We're not really sure if he's actually dead or not, but it's implied that Thanos killed him before the Guardians of the Galaxy arrived at Knowhere.

OKOYE -- As one of the big highlights of the solo Black Panther movie, Danai Gurira's Okoye gets to help T'Challa lead the Wakandan forces into battle against the Outriders, and her eyeroll is strong when Bruce Banner faceplants while running in the Hulkbuster armor.

SHURI -- Another highlight from the Black Panther movie was Letitia Wright as Shuri, who practically stole every scene she was in.  Here, she has a fun moment being a science geek with Bruce Banner before she is forced to scramble attempting to remove the Vision's Mind Stone before Thanos arrived.

WONG -- Also waiting for the Doctor Strange 2 greenlight, Benedict Wong's Wong (Yes, I know what I just typed) gets to use his typical deadpan humor to great effect.  You also have to respect Wong for having the sense to deliberately sit this one out and stick to his responsibilities.

LOKI LAUFEYSON CAMEO -- As Loki once again, Tom Hiddleston tries to pull a fast one on Thanos in the opening sequence, only to end up dead in the film's first shocking moment.

HEIMDALL CAMEO -- Idris Elba only gets one scene in the movie as Heimdall, but it's a big one as Heimdall is killed after sending the Hulk to Earth.  

RED SKULL CAMEO -- The Walking Dead's Ross Marquand takes over for Hugo Weaving as Captain America's arch-enemy, who turns up unexpectedly on Vormir as the keeper of the Soul Stone.  Now that he doesn't have the Soul Stone, maybe he should return to Earth and be Captain America's main bad guy again?  Just sayin'.

OBLIGATORY STAN LEE CAMEO -- Stan "The Man" turns up as a school bus driver taking Peter to school, only for Peter to duck out to investigate the arrival of Ebony Maw's spaceship.

NICK FURY AND MARIA HILL CAMEOS -- Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders appear in the post-credits scene, where Nick Fury transmits a distress signal just in the nick of time (See what I did there?) as he, Maria Hill and others also disintegrate.  The transmitter displays a yellow star insignia of Captain Marvel on a red-and-blue background, so be sure to go see her movie.

All in all, Avengers: Infinity War actually lives up to its insane amount of hype.  The film is essentially The Empire Strikes Back of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, bringing everything fans love only to end on a brutal downbeat cliffhanger.  While we wait for the big Cosmic Reset Button to be pushed in Avengers 4 (Quick, go read The Infinity Gauntlet to find out how), the big question is, will that film stick the landing better than Return of the Jedi did?  Well, at least there shouldn't be any Ewoks...although that could be kind of amazing and Disney does own both franchises...Hmmm...

And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)

3. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

4. The Avengers (2012)

5. Batman Begins (2005)

6. Logan (2017)

7. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

8. Black Panther (2018)

9. Man of Steel (2013)

10. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

11. Doctor Strange (2016)

12. Wonder Woman (2017)

13. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

14. Spider-Man (2002)

15. Iron Man (2008)

16. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
17. Watchmen (2009)
18. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

19. Thor (2011)

20. Justice League (2017)

Final AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Trailer Teases Captain America vs. Thanos

Avengers Reassemble!

Marvel has released the final trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, giving us a look at the Black Order and what appears to be major confrontation between Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and supervillain Thanos (Josh Brolin).

The two minute, fifteen second trailer opens with an upside down view of Manhattan as we hear a voiceover from Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Thanos' adopted daugher, who says, "The entire time I knew him, he only ever had one goal...to wipe out half the universe.  If he gets all the Infinity Stones, he can do it with a snap of his fingers.  Just like that."

"Tell me his name again," replies Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.).

"Thanos."

We then see images of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) leaving his school bus, putting on his Spider-Man mask, and web swinging off a bridge.

"We've got one advantage," Iron Man says in a voiceover as we see him flying after a spaceship.  "He's coming to us."

"We have what Thanos wants," Iron Man continues as Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) activates the Eye of Agamotto, "so that's what we'll use."

Steve and the other Avengers arrive in the African nation of Wakanda, where Steve shakes the hand of Black Panther/T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), who is accompanied by his Dora Milaje bodyguards.  We then see T'Challa's sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) looking down at a hologram of The Vision (Paul Bettany) in the palm of her hand.

The trailer cuts to a different scene, where Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is talking with Iron Man, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and Spider-Man.  "Let's talk about this plan of yours," he says to Tony.  "I think it's good, except, it sucks, so let me do the plan and that way, it might be really good."

Tony rolls his eyes and replies, "Wow."

We then see Black Panther and Steve Rogers on a flying craft, leading the Wakandan forces into battle alongside Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and Steve's longtime friend The Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan).

"The end is near," remarks Thanos in a voiceover as we see Thor (Chris Hemsworth) briefly blinding Groot (Vin Diesel) and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) with a burst of lightning, "and when I'm done, half of humanity will still exist."

We glimpse the larger Thanos squeezing Thor's head in the palm of his hand, causing his agony as Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and the Black Order look on.  Thanos then crushes the Tesseract in the palm of his other hand.

As the battle in Wakanda begins, Thanos remarks in another voiceover, "Perfectly balanced, as all things should be."  We see Corvus Glaive torturing Doctor Strange, followed by Thanos saying "I hope they remember you."

This is immediately followed by Thanos' large Infinity Gauntlet coming down on Steve, who blocks it and struggles to hold it back with everything he has, much to Thanos' surprise.

A final scene has Spider-Man awkwardly meeting Doctor Strange, with Peter offering his hand, saying "I'm Peter, by the way."

"Doctor Strange," replies the Sorcerer Supreme.

"Oh!" exclaims Peter.  "Using our made-up names.  Then I am Spider-Man."  This is followed by a brief shot of Spider-Man swinging into the chaotic battle from before.

If you'd like to view the trailer, you can check it out below thanks to the official Marvel Entertainment account on YouTube...




Avengers: Infinity War will arrive in theaters on April 27, 2018.

First AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Trailer Teases Steve Rogers as Nomad

And there came a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes were united against a common threat...

Marvel has officially released the first trailer for Avengers: Infinity War, the third film in the Avengers film series directed by Anthony & Joe Russo.  

The two-minute, 25-second trailer opens with a shot of what appears to be an alien world with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) sorrowfully clutching something in his hands.  We see fleeting images of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Wong (Benedict Wong) finding Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) after he had crashed through the roof of the Sanctum Sanctorum, followed by The Vision (Paul Bettany) looking more human (with hair!) as he caresses the face of the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).

A series of connecting voiceovers plays over these images from various cast members...

Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson):  "There was an idea..."
Iron Man:  "...to bring together a group of remarkable people..."
The Vision: "...to see if we could become something more..."
Thor (Chris Hemsworth):  "...so when they needed us, we could fight the battles..."
Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)  "...that they never could."

As we see Tony join Bruce, Doctor Strange and Wong, we hear the voice of Thanos (Josh Brolin) say "In time, you will know what it's like to lose...to feel so desperately that you're right, yet to fail all the same."

The hairs on the arm of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) stand up as he senses something ominous with the large hoop-shaped spacecraft hovering near the Chrysler Building.

"Dread it...run from it..." continues Thanos, "...destiny still arrives."  

We see Loki (Tom Hiddleston) holding up the Tesseract he reclaimed in Thor: Ragnarok as Thanos arrives.  This is followed by fleeting images of Spider-Man wearing the Iron Spider suit that Tony Stark gave him in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

"Evacuate the city," begins Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), "engage our defenses, and get this man a shield."  Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) steps into view, now sporting a full beard under his possible Nomad identity from the comics.  The Hulkbuster Iron Man armor from Avengers: Age of Ultron makes a return, while Black Widow now has short blond hair instead of her traditional red.

"Fun isn't something one considers while balancing the universe," remarks Thanos as he takes the Mind Stone from the Vision's forehead for his Infinity Gauntlet, "but this does put a smile on my face."

An impressive shot follows of Steve, Black Panther, Okoye (Danai Gurira), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Black Widow, and the Hulk leading a charge of the Wakandan army into battle.

In the final scene, we see a breathless, one-eyed Thor asking "Who the Hel are you guys?"  The camera turns and we see none other than the Guardians of the Galaxy, with Mantis waving hello.

If you'd to check out the trailer, you can view it below thanks to the official Marvel Entertainment account on YouTube...



Avengers: Infinity War is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 4, 2018.
 

DAMN Good Movies -- DOCTOR STRANGE

That's right, I'm back once again with another movie take, this time on the movie Doctor Strange, based on the classic Marvel Comics mystical superhero.  As always, if you haven't seen the movie yet and you don't want it spoiled for you, then please step back from your computer or whatever electronic device you're reading this on and stop reading now.  If, however, you're wise enough to know that movie reviews with spoilers are always more interesting than the ones without them...well...welcome to the Sanctum Sanctorum...

As some of you know, It's been a long road to see Doctor Strange on the big screen.  The project first came to life in 1986, with a script by Back to the Future's Bob Gale that went nowhere.  Another script by Alex Cox and Doctor Strange co-creator Stan Lee turned up in 1989, which also went nowhere.  In 1992, Wes Craven became involved to write and direct and (Surprise!) that also went nowhere.  More disheartening attempts followed in 1995 (David S. Goyer), 1997 (Jeff Welch), 2000 (Michael France), 2001 (Goyer again), and 2010 (Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer).

In 2013, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that Doctor Strange would finally happen as part of Phase Three of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Scott Derrickson was tapped as director, while the title role almost went to Tom Hardy, Jared Leto, Joaquin Phoenix, and Ryan Gosling, until Marvel wisely decided to change the film's production schedule to accommodate Benedict Cumberbatch, the guy they actually wanted in the first place.

The film opens in Kathmandu, Nepal, with the Slytherin sorcerer Kaecilius and his henchzealots breaking into a compound called Kamar-Taj to steal a ritual from a book belonging to the Ancient One, another sorcerer who is (Surprise!) ancient but was dumb enough to train Kaecilius in the mystic arts.  There's a brief confrontation between the two, but Kaecilius gets away with the pages he wanted because obviously.

From there, we're introduced to Dr. Stephen Strange, acclaimed neurosurgeon and arrogant Tony Stark substitute.  As the smartest man in the room, Strange believes he's infallible and on top of the world, making his inevitable fall that much harder when he lands.  In the most successful "Don't drive and text" ad ever, Strange flips his expensive ride over a hillside, which costs him the use of his skilled surgeon's hands.  Strange, desperate for a treatment that will restore the only thing that gives his life meaning, burns through all his financial resources and makes one last attempt by checking out a lead in, you guessed it, Kamar-Taj. After Strange has a cup of tea (with honey) with the Ancient One, the replacement librarian Wong, and his future arch-enemy another sorcerer named Karl Mordo, we're finally off to the races.

The Ancient One shows Strange her power by shoving him right out of his body onto the astral plane and sending him rocketing through all kinds of dimensions and realities.  The tricksy special effects used from this point on are some of the most disorienting and insane visuals I've seen on film, channeling the classic otherworldly artwork of Doctor Strange co-creator Steve Ditko one moment, then turning the building effects in Inception up to eleven the next.  If Doctor Strange doesn't land at least an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects, it's all the dreaded Dormammu's fault.

While I'm on the subject of ol' Dormie, it turns out Kaecilius' big plan (remember that stolen ritual from three paragraphs ago?) is to use the stolen pages to summon the mega-powerful Dormammu of the Dark Dimension, where time doesn't exist and everyone can live forever. The downside, of course, is that Earth will be under Dormammu's control, which may make things a little awkward at your really big family reunion.  As it happens, three buildings called Sanctums protect Earth from threats like Dormammu, but Kaecilius and the henchzealots take out the London Sanctum, and are about to do the same to the New York Sanctum until Doctor Strange shows up and holds them off until the Ancient One and Mordo arrive.

We head into the film's Third Act with the Ancient One taken off the board in a sequence to briefly reunite Strange with Christine Palmer, his former lover, before sending him to Hong Kong.  There, Strange finds Wong dead and the Hong Kong Sanctum destroyed, but thanks to the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey Eye of Agamotto, it ain't nothin' but a thang.  The final showdown between Doctor Strange and Dormammu essentially becomes a Groundhog Day reset, with Strange creating a really annoying time loop trap that forces Dormammu to leave Earth and take Kaecilius and his pesky henchzealots with him.  At this point, to quote Bill Murray at the end of Ghostbusters, it's Miller Time.

The film ends with yet another tease for Avengers: Infinity War, then teases Thor: Ragnarok and a Doctor Strange sequel for good measure.  So needless to say, you haven't seen the last of the good doctor, especially with Robert Downey, Jr. not long for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  After all, someone has to keep the facial hair status quo...

Okay, some random thoughts about the various Doctor Strange characters:

DOCTOR STRANGE/STEPHEN STRANGE -- To the surprise of no one, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange is perfect casting.  After years of playing guys like Sherlock Holmes and Khan Noonien Singh, Cumberbatch has the whole "smartest guy in the room" act down cold, albeit here with an American accent.  He absolutely nails Strange's initial arrogance and resistance to Eastern mysticism, while gradually shifting his character into a more appealing hero.

KAECILIUS -- Mads Mikkelsen, as anyone who saw Casino Royale or the Hannibal TV series knows, gives good villain.  The problem with Kaecilius, however, is that's he not a villain you love to loathe.  His big plan to have everyone living together in a realm where time doesn't exist doesn't sound all that bad, until you start thinking about being under the role of an otherdimensional dark lord.

KARL MORDO -- Chiwetel Ejiofor may not be the first name you think of when it comes to Baron Mordo, but he does well enough for a character who isn't going to reach his potential until a future sequel.  Ejiofor first hit my geek radar as The Operative in the movie Serenity, so I knew he was more than capable of playing a multi-faceted bad guy.  I can't wait to see Mordo go full Dark Side, hopefully sooner rather than later.

NIGHT NURSE/CHRISTINE PALMER -- As the much-needed female character to break up the film's sorcerer sausage fest, Rachel McAdams kept fans guessing if she was going to be Doctor Strange's disciple and love interest Clea.  That sadly wasn't the case, and McAdams ends up pretty much wasted as Christine Palmer, a character who mainly exists to help show a contrast between Strange's life before and after becoming a sorcerer.  

WONG -- The irony of Benedict Wong being cast as Wong isn't lost on me, but he's terrific as deadpan comic relief.  The scene of Wong listening to Beyoncé is a particular highlight, and it was great to have the character treated as a fellow sorcerer instead of a traditional manservant as he is in the comics.

THE ANCIENT ONE -- Okay, here we go, the controversial casting decision to have British actress Tilda Swinton seems like another awkward whitewashing of a great role for an Asian actor, or at the very least, a misguided attempt to avoid stereotyping the character.  I can appreciate Marvel's desire to work another female character into Doctor Strange's origin and make her more important than Christine, but this wasn't the way to do it.  Swinton being androgynous once again in a bald cap with a few fake scars isn't an acceptable substitute for an older Asian actor with real gravitas.

DORMAMMU -- Big D was a bit of a letdown for me, since he only shows up in the Third Act as a big mo-cap CGI face that's just one step above Cloudactus in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.  Hopefully, he returns in a future sequel, depicted in a more traditional form, and gets more to do than be suckered into a time loop.

NICODEMUS WEST -- Michael Stuhlbarg plays Strange's rival as a surgeon, initially as the target of Strange's trolling and later on as the surgeon Strange is forced to rely on because his hands are unable to save the Ancient One (who ends up dying anyway, but whatevs). Nicodemus is another character that might be better served in a sequel, especially if he ends up learning sorcery to rival Strange once again.

OBLIGATORY STAN LEE CAMEO -- Stan "The Man" turns up as a bus rider reading Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception while a mystical battle rages in Manhattan.

THOR CAMEO -- During the bonus mid-credits scene, Chris Hemsworth reprises everyone's favorite God of Thunder to set the stage for Doctor Strange appearing in Thor: Ragnarok.  It's a fun and interesting cameo, with Strange agreeing to help Thor find his foster brother Loki only if Thor and the other Asgardians leave Earth.  Could this be how Thor gets taken off the board when Hemsworth's contract is finished?

All in all, Doctor Strange is the solid origin story of Marvel's Sorcerer Supreme that fans hoped it would be.  As nice as it would be to skip the origin in a character's first film, there's just so much backstory with Doctor Strange that needed explained and Derrickson does his job well.  When you find yourself leaving the theater dying to see what happens next, as I most certainly did, that's the sign of a great movie.

And for those who may be wondering, here's the updated list of my Top 20 Comic Book Films:

1. Superman (1978)
2. The Dark Knight (2008)
3. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

4. The Avengers (2012)
5. Batman Begins (2005)

6. Man of Steel (2013)

7. Doctor Strange (2016)

8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

9. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
10. Spider-Man (2002)
11. Iron Man (2008)
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
13. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
14. Watchmen (2009)
15. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
16. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

17. X-Men: First Class (2011)

18. Suicide Squad (2016)

19. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

20. X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)

Second DOCTOR STRANGE Trailer Debuts at SDCC 2016

It's almost time to question reality.

At yesterday's Marvel Studios' panel in Hall H at Comic-Con International: San Diego 2016, Marvel unveiled the second trailer for Doctor Strange, the Scott Derrickson film based on the Marvel Comics Master of the Mystic Arts.

The new 2-minute, 20-second trailer opens with fleeting images of Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) as a surgeon in New York, until the brutal car accident that costs him the use of his hands.

A voiceover from the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) begins "Dr. Strange, you think you know how the world works?  What if I told you the reality you know is one of many?"

We see Strange stepping backward into a shattering mirror-type special effect, as he says "This doesn't make any sense."

"Not everything does.  Not everything has to," replies the Ancient One.

Next, we see a psychedelic Marvel Studios graphic, as the Ancient One continues speaking. "Through the Mystic Arts, we harness energy and shape reality.  We travel great distances in an instant."

Doctor Strange follows the Ancient One through a portal to a hidden monastery, where he asks the Ancient One "How do I get from here to there?" as he gestures from himself to her.

"How did you become a doctor?" asks the Ancient One.

"Study and practice," replies Doctor Strange.  "Years of it."

We see Strange mastering his new abilities, followed by a conversation between Karl Mordo (Chiwtel Ejiofor) and Wong (Benedict Wong).  "There's a strength to him," admits Mordo.

"But is he ready?" asks Wong.

"Be care which path you travel down, Strange," Wong remarks as we see the film's Big Bad Kaecilius (Mads Mikkelsen).  "Stronger men than you have lost their way."

"I am death," Kaecilius states as we see him warping reality around him, "and pain.  We'll die protecting this world."

As the threat of Kaecilius becomes apparent, Doctor Strange tells Mordo, "I can't do this."

"There is no other way," Mordo replies.

Fleeting images of Doctor Strange using his mystical abilities follow, as the Ancient One remarks in a voiceover "I've spent so many years peering through time, looking for you."

Strange's Cloak of Levitation flows onto his body and he enters the battle against Kaecilius with Mordo at his side.

Lastly, we see a quick scene at the monastery where Mordo gives Doctor Strange a slip of paper with the word "Shamballa" written on it.  "Oh, what's this?  My mantra?" Strange asks.

"The wi-fi password," smiles Mordo as he closes the doors to Strange's room.  "We're not savages."

If you'd like to check out the new trailer, you can view it below thanks to Marvel Entertainment's official YouTube account...




Doctor Strange is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 4, 2016.

First DOCTOR STRANGE Trailer Teases the Sorcerer Supreme

Forget everything that you think you know.

Late last night on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, actor Benedict Cumberbatch stopped by to debut the first teaser trailer to Scott Derrickson's Doctor Strange, giving us our firs good look at Marvel Comics' Sorcerer Supreme.

The two-minute trailer opens with footage of Dr. Stephen Strange's car accident that causes severe nerve damage to his surgeon hands, as we hear the voice of Baron Mordo (Chiwetel Ejiofor). "Stephen Strange," begins Mordo.  "Might I offer you some advice?  Forget everything that you think you know."

Next, we see Strange traveling the world in search of a treatment for his condition, as we hear the voice of the Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) talking to him.  "You’re a man looking at the world through a keyhole," remarks the Ancient One as we glimpse Rachel McAdams as an unidentified ER nurse when Strange is wheeled in for an emergency operation.  "You’ve spent your life trying to widen it.  Your work saved the lives of thousands.  What if I told you that reality is one of many?"

"I don't believe in fairy tales about chakras or energy or the power of belief," Strange tells her.

"You wonder what I see in your future?  Possibility."  All at once, the Ancient One shoves her palm into Strange's chest, knocking his Astral Self right out of his body as Strange stares at his noncorporeal form in amazement.

We see Mads Mikkelsen's unnamed character bending reality by waving his hands around in a clockwise gesture as we hear Strange ask the Ancient One "Why are you doing this?"

"There are other ways to save lives," replies the Ancient One as she shows Strange several New York Cities folded upon themselves, Inception-style.  "So much you don’t know."

After Strange is brought back to standard reality, he begs her, "Teach me."

Lastly, we see the shadowy outline of Doctor Strange, now garbed in his traditional costume, walking up a staircase inside the Sanctum Sanctorum.

If you'd like to check out the two-minute teaser, you can view it below thanks to the official Marvel Entertainment account on YouTube...




Doctor Strange is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 4, 2016.

First Official Photos of Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange

The Doctor will see you now.

Entertainment Weekly has revealed the first official photos of Benedict Cumberbatch as Marvel Comics' sorcerer supreme, Doctor Strange, in the upcoming film by Scott Derrickson.

In their upcoming January 8/January 15, 2016 issue, EW features Cumberbatch on the cover and gives us our first look at the film's characters and psychedelic effects that made the original Doctor Strange comics by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko so memorable.  Here are the photos revealed so far...

Doctor Strange is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 4, 2016.

DOCTOR STRANGE Casts Michael Stuhlbarg as Nicodemus West

Variety has word that Michael Stuhlbarg is in talks for the film role of Nicodemus West in the upcoming film Doctor Strange, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.  

West is described in the article as "a rival scientist of Strange."  Production on the film is scheduled to begin this December in London.

Stuhlbarg, 47, is best known as crime boss Arnold Rothstein on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.  His film roles include Steve Jobs, Lincoln, Men in Black 3, Hugo, and A Serious Man, while he also appeared on episodes of the TV series Ugly Betty, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Created in 2006 by Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin, Nicodemus West first appeared in Doctor Strange: The Oath #1 as a doctor who operated on Doctor Strange's hands after his car accident.  While West was able to save Strange's hands, he was unable to repair the nerve damage, making it impossible for Strange to ever be a surgeon again.  West was wracked with guilt because he felt that his own incompetence as a doctor had not only destroyed Strange's hands, but that he was also indirectly guilty for the deaths of all those who Strange couldn't save.  To make amends, he desperately wanted to repair the severed nerves in Strange's hands, and therefore pursued Strange across the globe, all the way to Tibet and the Sanctorum of The Ancient One.

Sensing that West was lost in life, the Ancient One decided to teach him about the mystic arts in an effort to guide him as he had for Strange.  West was too anxious, however, to cure the ails of the world with his new-found abilities, and so he abandoned his studies too early. His first attempt to heal with magic proved successful, but his inexperience soon backfired, causing him to accidentally kill a man while trying to heal him.

When Strange's trusted assistant Wong became afflicted with an inoperable brain tumor, Doctor Strange sought out a mystical means of curing it.  In the process, Strange acquired an elixir that could potentially cure every known disease.  Timely Pharmaceuticals' Board of Directors saw this as a dire threat to their business and ordered West to find a way to take the elixir from Strange.  West hired the professional thief, Brigand, to steal it. Brigand was successful, but nearly killed Strange in the process, and also murdered a doctor that Strange had sent a sample of the elixir to for testing.

West died falling off a building during a physical duel with Strange, and when he hit the ground, the elixir washed down a drain, save for one drop.  Before his death, West managed to cast an astral form of himself and he taunted Strange with the choice he would have to make of using the drop to save Wong, or find a way to replicate it and potentially save the world.  He then briefly mused on what fate awaited himself in death, at which point West's astral form faded.  Strange wound up using the elixir to save Wong, while Night Nurse managed to find enough evidence in West's office to incriminate just about all the higher-ups of Timely Pharmaceuticals.

Doctor Strange is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 4, 2016.

DOCTOR STRANGE Casts Chiwetel Ejiofor as Baron Mordo

By the flames of the Faltine!

Deadline reports that actor Chiwetel Ejiofor will be playing the Marvel Comics supervillain Baron Mordo in the upcoming film adaptation of Doctor Strange starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

According to the article, however, "although he’s an enemy in the comics, don’t look for him to be necessarily a completely villainous character.  Rather, he’s an amalgamation of characters culled from Doctor Strange‘s mythology."

Ejiofor, 37, is best known as Solomon Northup in the the film 12 Years a Slave and as The Operative in Joss Whedon's Serenity.  His other films include The Martian, Salt, 2012, American Gangster, Children of Men, Kinky Boots, and Amistad.

Created in 1963 by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Baron Mordo first appeared in Strange Tales (vol.1) #111 as Karl Amadeus Mordo, a student of the Tibetan sorcerer known as the Ancient One.  Mordo plotted to kill his teacher, and when the Ancient One's guest, Dr. Stephen Strange, learned of the plot, Mordo cast restraining spells to prevent him from warning his master or attacking him.  Strange selflessly decided to accept the Ancient One's offer to learn magic in order to help the old man, so the Ancient One freed him from those spells, which he was fully aware were in place, as well as of Mordo's treachery, and trained him as a formidable enemy of Mordo. Eventually Mordo was exiled by the Ancient One.

Mordo became a recurring enemy of Doctor Strange, often partnering with supernatural beings such as Dormammu, Mephisto, Umar, and Satannish.  Mordo eventually contracted terminal cancer as a side effect of his use of black magic, and renounced evil just before his death, only to later return to life.

Doctor Strange is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 4, 2016.