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Harley Quinn Animated Series

Harley Quinn: “Floronic Man” Review

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Season’s Thoughts

Last week, I thought Ivy’s secrecy would come back to bite her. Boy. It really came back to bite her this week. Ready to enter the Green?

As denoted by the title, Dr. Woodrue (Floronic Man), chose to enact his revenge on Poison Ivy. This was foreshadowed at the end of “Back to School,” but I wasn’t sure if they were going to focus on a different story in Episode 3 and circle back to Floronic Man. This episode also incorporated dramatic shifts from the darker parts of the story with Ivy and ridiculousness with Clayface.

Clayface going to Metropolis after getting a negative review from the Daily Planet made the episode for me. I enjoy Ivy’s edgy backstory, but, like, it’s Clayface. Harley Quinn does a good job of shifting the narrative drastically throughout an episode while keeping the audience engaged. I try to avoid spoilers, but I do have one here. Harley “killed” Floronic Man at the end of the episode. I say “killed” in quotes because Ivy thought she killed him at the end of “Back to School.” I feel like he’d need to be burned or something. Then again, Scarecrow didn’t make it past Season 1. End of spoilers.

We’ve gotten some more foreshadowing for the next episode. Will the big baddie who made an appearance at the end of “The Big Apricot” be featured or will we have to wait a bit longer? Personally, I’d like to see him at the season finale.

Kyra’s Take

While I could also wait a bit longer for this season’s big bad to make a full appearance, I don’t think Harley Quinn will stay in Metropolis for more than one season. And this season’s big bad makes little sense outside of Metropolis. I’ll stop avoiding spoilers and just name the season’s big bad: Brainiac. Brainiac needs Metropolis, and Superman must feature in the story.

Harley Quinn has taken its time to move characters from Gotham to Metropolis. I love a good Clayface B Story, and this week’s Clayface B Story delivered. It doesn’t hurt that Bane joined in on the Clayface goofiness. This story thread does more than offer the laughs, while Ivy’s story grew dark. Clayface promotes his career. He does so in the most Clayface way possible, over-the-top. He kidnaps the Daily Planet’s editor-in-chief Perry White, and infiltrates the newspaper disguised as White. This was a clever way for Harley Quinn to introduce larger story elements. The big bad makes moves in Metropolis. We learn about some of these machinations through pitched Daily Planet headlines, but Clayface only cares about his review. Love this. It’s brilliant.

Ivy’s backstory gets a satisfying end. Floronic Man may be little more than a villain of the week. I got Arrowverse vibes from how Harley Quinn treated him, but that works in an animated series like Harley Quinn. As Season said, Harley Quinn killed off Scarecrow in Season 1. It did the same to multiple major Batman villains. I like how no one’s safe, not even someone who usually factors into one of the main cast’s origins.

The show does a good job of maintaining forward momentum and giving the impression that there’s a satisfying ending for this season’s story while keeping the audience guessing. I like how the show could go in multiple directions. Heck, Harley Quinn could stay in Metropolis for a second season. There are plenty of Superman villains to explore.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: “The Parker Luck” Review

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Season’s Thoughts

Two episodes in one day? Did I win the lottery? Disney decided to give us big bucks this week. Joking aside, “The Parker Luck” kept the momentum of “Amazing Fantasy” and catapulted the story forward.

There was a recap at the beginning of “The Parker Luck,” which I normally wouldn’t mind if I knew the episodes were aired one week after the other. “The Parker Luck” and “Amazing Fantasy” dropped on the same day, so the recap felt unnecessary. It also needlessly padded the runtime (which is three minutes shorter than “Amazing Fantasy”) with this addition. That said, I’m digging the intro. I refuse to skip that intro.

Since he was introduced at the end of Episode 1, I’ll name drop him here. I’m loving the arc of Norman Osborn approaching Peter to offer him an internship, followed by another turn at the end of the episode. Once again, they wasted no time in propelling the story forward. However, I wasn’t a fan of Peter making plans with Nico then not showing up because of his other obligations. It’s overdone and trope-y. This is a kids’ show, so I won’t nitpick too much, but that trope gets old real fast.

I’m expecting to see Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin within the next few episodes, if not Episode 3 next week. We may see the counterparts of other characters during that time, too.

Skye’s Take

While the pilot episode proved to be a solid opening, this second episode got more mixed feelings out of me. “The Parker Luck” does have good things in it, but it left me asking “What’s the goal of this show?”

Since the episode ended with one of the main characters discovering Peter’s identity, I’m not sure where else this show can go from here. Sure, Spider-Man: No Way Home also dealt with Peter living with his identity going public, but at least that Spider-Man had been established for some time. Once again, I’m still not sure if I like this Spider-Man yet. It seems to me that the show is throwing a lot of major plot developments in the first few episodes to encourage viewers to keep watching. Given the show is still in its infancy, it’s moving way too fast.

However, I still feel satisfied with the relationship between Peter and his friends. Despite my other complaints, I enjoy seeing Peter hang out with Nico and Lonnie. This is also why it was so frustrating when he didn’t make it to the party in the episode. Believe it or not, this Spider-Man show is hooking me with its Peter Parker content more than its Spider-Man content. There were a few characters that appeared in the episode which are clearly being set up for future episodes. Dr. Connors and, of course, Norman Osborn who’re soon to be The Lizard and The Green Goblin respectively, but there’re undoubtedly more to come. As a Spider-Man fan, I can’t deny that there’s a novel feeling to seeing these characters appear knowing what they’ll eventually become.

Despite some reservations, I’m excited for this show and look forward to more surprises.

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to dive deeper into Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, here’s a link to the Secrets (Easter Eggs) page for the first two episodes.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: “Amazing Fantasy” Review

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Season’s Thoughts

Whoa! Spider-Man got aged down again in his new show on Disney+. Not going to lie, the thirty-one minute runtime intimidated me at first. Despite this, the episode didn’t feel like a thirty-one minute long pilot. Grab your web shooters and let’s swing through Episode 1 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

First impression: the art style. This was jarring for me when I looked at promotional materials for the show. I don’t dislike it, but it does take some getting used to. There were a few scenes at the beginning of the show depicting Peter getting ready through animated comic book panels, which was cute. I hope they do more of this in future episodes.

In the opening paragraph, I mentioned the runtime. I anticipated the spider bite scene to be at the end of the episode, but they wasted no time getting into it. The opening sequence of Peter getting ready/being late on his first day of school dragged a bit. He spent a lot of time telling Aunt May how much he appreciated her, which was heartwarming, but I don’t think it warranted two separate scenes within the first ten minutes. There were several characters who got introduced right off the bat, some of whom will likely become villains later on down the line. I won’t name drop, but there is a major Spider-Man villain who gets introduced at the end of “Amazing Fantasy.”

One last thing before I let Skye take the wheel—toward the end of “Amazing Fantasy,” real-world problems were showcased. The most notable examples are Lonnie getting followed by a cop on his walk home and someone who stole cash after losing their job. I won’t hang on this for long, I appreciated the inclusion of these moments. It makes the show more grounded.

Skye’s Take

Thank you for the stirring introduction, Season. I must say, after watching the first episode of this new Spider-Man series, I was pleasantly entertained. For the most part, it seemed to combine both old and new concepts we’ve seen in Spider-Man stories before. In the process, it created a world that looks familiar yet still feels fresh.

Regarding Season’s comment on the animation, I thought it was good with some noticeable imperfections. Overall, it’s pleasing to the eye, but it isn’t as good as Into or Across the Spider Verse. Part of me wonders if the animators were attempting to imitate that style by blending hand-drawn and CG animation similar to what those films did.

Despite that, this show proved to me that it was on the right track. The action was energetic and well-paced. We were introduced to a bunch of characters, but each of them seems likable with room to grow. Even the voice acting was pretty solid. There were some notable exceptions with some of the extraneous characters, but what can you do? If I were to harp on anything: the jokes aren’t that funny. The jokes got no more than a chuckle out of me, but comedy is subjective.

I’ll piggyback off another of Season’s comments. While I’m not opposed to including a moment like Lonnie getting racially profiled in a kid’s show, the moment comes out of nowhere. Suddenly, we’re supposed to feel bad for a character we barely know, and it comes across as Disney just trying to earn brownie points with minorities. Disney has a history of pandering to minorities on-screen, while behind closed doors, it’s a different story. If this story beat returns, I may have different thoughts.

Ultimately, this was a good start to a (potentially) good series.

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to dive deeper into Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, here’s a link to the Secrets (Easter Eggs) page for the first two episodes.

MCU 2025 Preview

Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) 2025 Preview

Published on by Kyra1 Comment

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We covered the DCU earlier this month because we didn’t know when Harley Quinn Season 5 would be released. Who knows? Perhaps I finally broke down and purchased Max and I’m binge-watching DC Comics movies and television shows right now. But we know that the MCU’s 2025 will kick off in a couple of days. We’re getting our preview of the upcoming year’s MCU movies and television shows in the nick of time.

Marvel didn’t release too many projects in 2024, but the ones it did release were well received. Echo, the X-Men ’97 cartoon series, Deadpool and Wolverine, Agatha All Along, and What If? Season 3 were at least fun. You can let us know which one of these 2024 MCU projects was your favorite. 2024 was a good year for Marvel, a recovery year of sorts. 2025 has a much larger slate of projects. Almost double last year’s projects. Looks like I’ll be busy. Real busy.

This will be a big year for Marvel and not only because the MCU has nine projects that will be released in 2025. The fate of the MCU’s future rests in the hands of two specific projects: Daredevil: Born Again and Fantastic Four. Like Superman: Legacy for the DCU, these two projects must succeed. We’ll get to both projects soon enough, but let’s discuss each project in release date order.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (On Disney+ Starting January 29, 2025)

I’ll be honest. I don’t care for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s animation, but I’m glad the showrunners are going in a different artistic direction. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man doesn’t copy the Spider-Verse’s homework. It also doesn’t mimic the art style of the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon, even though X-Men ’97 was a triumph; that would’ve been an easy path to take. Nope. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man forges its own path, and that deserves respect.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will focus on Spidey’s origin story and early days as a crimefighter. I’m not a huge fan of retelling Spider-Man’s origin story—most people know Spidey’s origin by this point—but this should only take up an episode. I’m more forgiving of this with a series. Charlie Cox voicing Daredevil is my big highlight in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. We don’t know if the new Marvel Animated Multiverse will tie into the greater MCU, but anything to link these two properties together is fantastic. Cox’s appearance as Daredevil could also raise interest in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again.

Captain America: Brave New World (In Theaters February 14, 2025)

Some may say that Captain America: Brave New World is the third Marvel project that must succeed this year. I can see their perspective; Captain America films grounded the first few phases of the MCU. Respectfully, I disagree.

The MCU is pivoting to other characters—too many characters, in my opinion—and the new Captain America is one of several potential “anchor characters,” if you will. There are plenty of other Marvel projects this year. Captain America: Brave New World is the first of three films and the second of nine—that’s NINE—Marvel projects for 2025.

Plenty of issues have plagued Captain America: Brave New World. Test audiences have seen the film and disliked it. Reportedly, these audiences believed Brave New World was too boring. That’s not good. After the test screenings, reshoot after reshoot occurred. That doesn’t mean that the final movie will stink. Not all reshot movies end up like the original Suicide Squad. I’m still trying to block out that one.

Captain America movies don’t have the same cache they did with the first three Marvel phases. The big threat of the Multiverse Saga may be Doctor Doom, and he’s a Fantastic Four villain. And this Captain America film isn’t a huge crossover film—that we know of yet—or a glorified Avengers film like Civil War. I’ll let them cook with the new Cap.

General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross as President of the United States is an interesting choice. Thunderbolt Ross would fit better with the upcoming Thunderbolts* movie. Ross is a member of the Thunderbolts in the comics. Harrison Ford’s Ross may make an appearance in that film, too. Tim Blake Nelson reprises his role as The Leader over a decade and a half after The Incredible Hulk (2008). Liv Tyler returns as Bruce Banner’s love interest Betty Ross after the same hiatus. It might be best Hulk doesn’t show up in the one; he may have some explaining to do after his romance with Natasha Romanov. Is that canon?

The Leader and Ross are usually Hulk villains, so there’s another connection with Hulk. Throw in Giancarlo Esposito as Sidewinder (the leader of the Serpent Society) and Shira Haas as a former Black Widow and high-ranking US government official Ruth Bat-Seraph (who is also the mutant Sabra in the comics), and there are plenty of directions Captain America: Brave New World could go. And that’s where the movie may have lost test audiences; there may be too much going on at once. But I trust the team trimmed down the final project to a point where Captain America: Brave New World will be good. It could even be a sleeper hit. Let ‘em cook.

Daredevil: Born Again (On Disney+ Starting March 4, 2025)

In my opinion, Daredevil: Born Again must succeed. The Netflix Daredevil series has a built-in audience. Several fans claim it to be the best Marvel television show, and Daredevil: Born Again brings back most of the original cast. They brought in the showrunner Dario Scardapane from the original Daredevil spin-off series The Punisher to head the Born Again project. And the series title “Born Again” references a classic Daredevil comic book story arc of the 1980s that the third season of the Daredevil Netflix MCU television series loosely adapted. Daredevil: Born Again is also the first Disney+ Marvel television show that uses their new method of producing shows (a leaner and more focused production plan). Yeah. Daredevil: Born Again has a lot to live up to and sets the tone for future Marvel shows. It must be good.

But many of those elements I mentioned above are also reasons why Daredevil: Born Again has an advantage. Returning more than 75% of the original Daredevil cast is a boon. Bringing in a showrunner with Marvel Netflix experience is another feather in Daredevil: Born Again’s cap. And I’ve heard that we’ll see more of the courtroom in this series. That makes sense as Matt Murdock (Daredevil) and Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) barrel toward an inevitable showdown both legally and on the street. I can’t wait.

Thunderbolts* (In Theaters May 2, 2025)

Thunderbolts* doesn’t have the same colorful cast as the comic book team of the same name. Even Winter Soldier’s variant of the team had its Moonstone and MACH-X and Kobik, who is a Cosmic Cube (the MCU renamed the Cosmic Cube to the Tesseract) shard in human form. What? The asterisk may make sense. This may not be the first iteration of the Thunderbolts. There have been numerous variants in the comics. Interestingly, Bucky’s Thunderbolts take place between Thunderbolt Ross’s and Mayor Wilson (Kingpin) Fisk’s iterations. Given the previous two projects on this list, is that a coincidence?

Wild speculation aside, the Thunderbolts in Thunderbolts* are a combination of super soldiers and assassins. These characters are mostly cast-offs.

Here’s a quick breakdown of each of them:

Yelena Belova (from Black Widow and Natasha’s sister and a Black Widow herself) needed another vehicle; Florence Pugh is too electric as the character.

David Harbour’s Red Guardian (Black Widow) is funny.

Olga Kurylenko’s Taskmaster (Black Widow) will no longer be under her father Dreykov’s control, so she’s a blank slate. I wonder what the writers/director will do with her.

Sebastian Stan is good as Bucky/Winter Soldier.

Wyatt Russell’s John Walker/U.S. Agent (from The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) lives a disgraced life as the man who tarnished Captain America’s name; that has some depth.

And Hannah John-Kamen’s Ghost was the best thing from Ant-Man and the Wasp; I’m glad she’s getting more to do in Thunderbolts*.

Phew! That’s a large cast. And it still ends up as a list of B-list heroes.

Still, Thunderbolts* could deliver more than just a superhero movie. Pugh’s Yelena (through a voice-over) in the second trailer shares that there’s something wrong with her, an emptiness. She’s just drifting. She doesn’t have purpose, so she throws herself into her work. This may be the most human and relatable a superhero has sounded in years.

And then I saw that the director was Jake Schreier and one of the writers was Lee Sung Jin; both worked on the Netflix series Beef, and that makes sense. Thunderbolts* may have the least pressure of any of the three Marvel movies. It can also be a surprise hit.

The premise: The Thunderbolts run into Bob at a secret facility. Turns out this “Bob” is Sentry. I won’t spoil it here, but Sentry can be a lot of fun, especially with the prospect of him entering the MCU. And he should be more than what a team of super soldiers and assassins can handle. Me thinks someone will die.

Ironheart (On Disney+ Starting June 4, 2025)

Dominique Thorne reprises her role as Riri Williams/Ironheart from the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Ironheart has been on the schedule and then off the schedule and for a time, folks thought the idea had been scrapped. Nope. Marvel returned to Ironheart after the writers’ strike. From what I’ve heard, the series got reworked.

I don’t know much about Ironheart as I was writing this post. Many of the actors assigned to the project have undisclosed roles and given the premise, I can see why. Following the events of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Williams returns home to Chicago where she becomes entangled with the enigmatic Parker Robbins/The Hood, discovering secrets that pit technology against magic. The Hood, which is short for neighborhood (he doesn’t wear a hood, but I think he should), has often been linked to one of two mystical beings: Loki and Dormammu. He also controls a massive Crime Syndicate. Confirmed actors with unconfirmed roles (like Shakira Berrera, Paul Calderon, Cree Summer, and Sacha Baron Cohen to name a few) could play any number of colorful characters. I’d love to see Cohen portray Armadillo. Armadillo is a guy dressed in a massive Armadillo costume. Think of the LOLs.

The special effects for Ironheart intrigue me, too. For those of you who think the MCU’s painted-on CGI armor was getting stale, Ironheart’s armor may be what the doctor ordered. Riri doesn’t have the resources Tony Stark has. Most of her armor looks more lived-in and low-tech. Ironheart’s use of more practical effects, its premise, and its varied cast pique my interest.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (In Theaters July 25, 2025)

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is another big one. This film must succeed. You don’t have to take my word for it. Look at what Marvel has done with this movie. Most—if not all—of the main cast have won Academy Awards or Emmys or Golden Globes or have been nominated for one. The main antagonist for the upcoming Avengers movie, Doctor Doom, is the archenemy of the Fantastic Four; there should be a Robert Downey Jr. post-credit scene as Doom, so that’s another Academy Award-nominated actor in the cast. Marvel brought in Matt Shakman, the showrunner of WandaVision, one of the MCU’s better projects of the last phase, to direct. And The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the first film and the beginning of the MCU’s Phase Six. Marvel knows a lot is riding on this movie.

All that said, I don’t know too much about the film at the time of writing this post. Marvel’s playing this one close to the vest, and I don’t blame them. What I do know is that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic Earth, and the Fantastic Four will go up against Galactus and the Silver Surfer. I also sense a little montage as we may get vignettes of the Fantastic Four’s previous exploits. This will be a Fantastic Four that has had many adventures. I prefer that to the Fantastic Four’s origin story. Again.

I don’t know what more there is to say except I hope this Fantastic Four movie lives up to the name. We haven’t had a “fantastic” Fantastic Four movie. When the idea of Marvel making a Fantastic Four movie was still theoretical, folks kept saying to wait until Marvel made its own Fantastic Four movie. Well. That time is now.

Eyes of Wakanda (On Disney+ Starting August 6, 2025)

Eyes of Wakanda is another Marvel project that I didn’t know too much about at the time of writing this post. Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever director Ryan Coogler will direct this animated television miniseries. That’s a great start. Many cast members from the Black Panther film franchise will reprise their roles as voice actors. This show sounds phenomenal.

Initially, the series was supposed to have eight episodes, but it got pared down to four. This could be another sign of the MCU tightening its releases. And Eyes of Wakanda will explore the various people who have donned the Black Panther mantle. There’s even an Iron Fist sighting. Hopefully, we’ll get a better interpretation of the character.

I’ve seen Eyes of Wakanda’s sizzle reel several times. It looks fabulous. I imagine we won’t get much more than this reel for some months. There’s a chance Marvel intends to see how well-received Eyes of Wakanda will be. That’s part of why I watched the sizzle reel several times. If you like what Eyes of Wakanda offers, watch it several times. Perhaps we’ll get the other four episodes.

Marvel Zombies (On Disney+ Starting October 3, 2025)

Marvel Zombies functions as a sequel to the What If? animated series of sorts. I didn’t know there was enough story for Marvel Zombies to have its own series, so I always thought a couple of episodes of What If? made sense for that story. Marvel Zombies will release in October 2025, just in time for Spooky Season.

Disney/Marvel has been good about releasing a horror-adjacent project in October most years. Werewolf by Night was released in October 2022 and Agatha All Along hit Disney+ in October 2024. I’ll probably give Marvel Zombies a watch.

Wonder Man (On Disney+ Starting December 2025)

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II portrays Simon Williams in Wonder Man. Like so much of Marvel’s later slate of 2025 releases, I don’t know much about Wonder Man. Williams auditions for the lead role in a superhero television series—most likely named Wonder Man—but I don’t know if Simon Williams already has powers or if he’s faking that he has superpowers. Either way, Wonder Man should be hilarious.

Andrew Guest show runs Wonder Man, and he’s written some of the greatest Community episodes (“Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” and “A Fistful of Paintballs,” to name a couple). Wonder Man is in great hands. And the character Simon Williams has done a lot of things in the Marvel Universe. He’s even been an actor for more than one stint in the comics, so this premise works for the character. Wonder Man is also Vision’s brain brother. Wasn’t VisionQuest releasing soon, too? There might be a reason Marvel wants to introduce Simon Williams.

Wonder Man’s supporting cast includes Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, the man who pretended he was the Mandarin in Iron Man 3. Slattery will serve as Williams’ acting coach. That should be good. Demetrius Grosse will portray Simon’s brother Eric, who becomes Grim Reaper, Wonder Man’s archnemesis and persistent thorn in the side of the Avengers. So, there may be more going on in Wonder Man than a goofy comedy. But I wouldn’t mind a goofy comedy.

That’s all I have for now. Let us know which Marvel Cinematic Universe has you the most excited this year. See you soon. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Geekly News MCU Mutant Saga

Geekly News: Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 7 (Mutant Saga)

Published on by KyraLeave a comment

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 7 won’t happen for years (we have two main-line Avengers films Doomsday and Secret Wars before the MCU’s Phase 7) but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have news on this front. There is a lot of smoke and where there’s smoke, there’s often fire.

Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re back with another Geekly News. This entry (our third of the year) beats our number of Geekly News posts from last year. Yay!

Let’s get into the news. We’ll start with what we know and what is speculation. We have a lot of time between now and when the Mutant Saga begins. As I said, there are two main-line Avengers films (Doomsday and Secret Wars) and at least five years’ worth of content (movies and television series) before we reach the Mutant Saga. Heck! Another major superhero team will be introduced this year: The Fantastic Four. Thank goodness. I can’t wait for the Fantastic Four’s inclusion in the MCU. Even with so much to look forward to in the MCU, I’m an X-Men fan, and the Mutant Saga piques my interest.

What We Know

The only concrete thing we know about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 7 (the Mutant Saga) is that the Russo Brothers (Joe and Anthony Russo) will oversee the entire phase. The Russo Brothers directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier, often regarded as the best (or one of the best) Marvel Cinematic Universe film. Does this mean the Russo Brothers will direct every project during the Mutant Saga? Heck no! That’s too much work. Does that mean the Russo Brothers will direct a future X-Men film? Probably, but that’s not guaranteed.

What is guaranteed is that a highly regarded directing tandem has returned to the MCU, and they will serve as a guiding light for the MCU’s Phase 7. The one thing the MCU has needed for the past few years is a guiding light. The Russo Brothers’ return is welcome news.

The Smoke

Speculation will be a much larger portion of this post. Some of this will be educated guesses, but the majority of this section will fall under the classification of rumor, albeit rumors from trusted industry sources like RPK News. There’s a lot of smoke coming from the MCU. Marvel has spent over a decade and billions of dollars—that’s a capital B, billions of dollars—building up the Avengers as a brand. The film studio wants to cash in on the Avengers name. But the Mutant Saga will feature the X-Men. The X-Men are another established brand. Marvel will want to capitalize on both brands, so the most likely name for the crossover movie that will complete the Mutant Saga is Avengers Versus X-Men.

I could see Marvel going with X-Men Versus Avengers. I don’t have any idea of what that story might look like. Most likely, the MCU will loosely adapt the comic book crossover story arc of the same name as they did with Civil War. We don’t know who the Avengers will look like, let alone which X-Men will make the MCU. We speculated further on which X-Men Geekly would like to see in the MCU’s X-Men film. (You can follow this link to that article if you’d like.) The Avengers could look very different from what they do now (for example, Hercules instead of Thor and Clea instead of Doctor Strange), or Marvel could recast Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and all the rest to give the universe a soft reboot after the Multiverse Saga. Both directions make sense.

It would also make sense for Marvel to make good on its teasing of Hulk versus Wolverine (in 2024’s Deadpool and Wolverine). Professor Hulk versus Wolverine doesn’t have the same juice as a Savage Hulk versus Wolverine. If this fight were to happen, Marvel would most likely revert Hulk to his savage self. That could happen in an upcoming Hulk movie. Is World War Hulk still happening? If it does, Captain America: Brave New World may do a lot with setting up a World War Hulk film or series. The Leader and Red Hulk will appear in Brave New World. Those same antagonists should feature in a World War Hulk project. Universal still holds the distribution rights to the Hulk. And that’s another can of worms.

Universal holds the distribution rights to the Hulk and Namor. That means that if Marvel or anyone else makes a project with either character, Universal gains the majority of the profits. This is why Universal hasn’t done anything with the Hulk or Namor. They don’t need to do so. They let other people make content with these characters and gain the bulk of the proceeds. This is also why Marvel hasn’t made a solo Hulk or Namor project. Negotiations have been ongoing for over half a decade. As of the time of this post, no word of a new agreement has taken place. Marvel could cave. Doubtful. Or Universal could soften its distribution rights like Sony did with Spider-Man last year. This seems more likely. What we do know is that a World War Hulk project has been in the works for years, if only in the planning stages.

Closing Thoughts

As I said, there’s a lot of speculation and only one piece of concrete news. The Russo Brothers rejoining the MCU is a step in the right direction, even if they don’t direct a single Mutant Saga project. X-Men Versus Avengers or Avengers Versus X-Men will likely happen at some point, capping the MCU’s Phase Seven. Universal and Disney may be the closest they’ve ever been to a new Hulk/Namor distribution agreement. Technically, Namor is the first mutant. It makes sense for Disney to strike a deal for Namor, and by extension the Hulk, before the Mutant Saga begins. But it will be a new deal.

What are your thoughts? Which X-Men characters would you like to see in the MCU? Which upcoming Marvel project has you the most hyped? Let us know in the comments. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Cassandra Nova Starter Stories

Getting Into Comics: Cassandra Nova Starter Stories

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Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Tomorrow is my oldest daughter’s birthday. Happy 27th birthday! She’s one year closer to 30. Eek! Anyway, I asked her which comic book character she’d like me to cover this week in our ongoing series of “Getting into Comics,” and she answered Cassandra Nova.

Yep. Yet another villain for the comic book starter stories. And yes, she first learned about Cassandra Nova in the recent Deadpool and Wolverine movie. We covered the movie a while back, here’s the link. Cassandra Nova is one of the newer X-Men villains, so she won’t have as extensive of a reading list. Here it goes.

Story Arcs

We’re continuing the trend of separating single issues stories from story arcs. This time, we’ll start with story arcs that consist of multiple comic books and then move on to single-issue stories. We’re doing it this way because Cassandra Nova’s first appearance was in a story arc.

E Is For Extinction (New X-Men #114-116; written by Grant Morrison/art by Frank Quietly and Ethan Van Sciver 2001)

E is for Extinction was the first story arc from Grant Morrison’s run on the New X-Men. Morrison insisted the series be renamed New X-Men; it retained the original series’ numbering, but he revamped the team so much that the series needed a new name. Morrison catapults the X-Men into the 21st century.

Cassandra Nova discovers a long-lost Master Mold A.I. and Sentinel production facility in Ecuador. She uses the last surviving relative of Bolivar Trask to gain control of the wild sentinels and has the man order the Sentinels to massacre the entire population of the mutant nation Genosha. The X-Men locate her by using the newly created mutant detection machine Cerebra and put an end to her reign of terror, but they’re too late. Cassandra Nova almost wipes out the entire population of the island.

If this sounds an awful lot like a plot line from the recent X-Men ’97 cartoon, you’re right. And if you haven’t yet seen X-Men ’97, what are you waiting for? E is for Extinction shows how diabolical Cassandra Nova can get. It’s no wonder that she earned the distinction as “Villain of the Year” by Wizard Magazine in 2001.

Torn (Astonishing X-Men #13-18; written by Joss Whedon/art by John Cassaday 2005)

Joss Whedon continued Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run with Astonishing X-Men. Most of the cast (heroes and most of the villains) remain the same. With that said, the Dangerous story arc that proceeds this one ties up some loose ends with E is for Extinction. Another Sentinel attacks and the culprit behind the attack is (spoilers) the Danger Room itself. The reason why this ties up loose ends found in E is for Extinction is that the Sentinel who destroyed Genosha becomes aware of its actions and ceases to attack the X-Men. It’s also revealed that Emma Frost works with the newly formed Hellfire Club. Enter Cassandra Nova.

Nova has joined this new version of the Hellfire Club. To be exact, Emma imprisoned Nova’s mind into a biological “slug.” Not all is what it seems. Cassandra Nova out mind tricks Emma Frost into doing her bidding. Nova even forces the X-Men to face their greatest fears and childhood trauma. This all leads to Shadowcat mimicking the classic pose Wolverine took in Uncanny X-Men #132.

X-Men: Red, Volume 1 (X-Men: Red #1-11; written by Tom Taylor/art by Al Ewing 2018-2019)

X-Men: Red follows the events from the December 2017 miniseries Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey written by Matthew Rosenberg with art by Leinil Francis Yu. Yes. Jean Grey died a second time, but at least this time she stayed dead for about a decade. Way longer than her first death after the Dark Phoenix Saga. Anyway, X-Men Red was promoted as part of Marvel’s Fresh Start. Part of this fresh start is the X-Men trying to create a new mutant nation.

The heroes of X-Men: Red shake up the norm. Jean, Nightcrawler, and Wolverine serve as the old guard, but new editions Honey Badger, Gentle, Trinary, and even Namor round out the rest of the X-Men.  They use Atlantis as their headquarters in part because Jean is framed for the murder of an English congresswoman. In truth, the congresswoman died at the hands of a resurfaced Cassandra Nova. Nova uses the politician’s death to alienate Jean from the public eye. This forces Jean’s team to work underground.

Marauders, Volume 2 (Marauders Vol 2 #1-12; written by Steve Orlando/art by Eleonora Carlini 2022-2023)

Not to be confused with several other versions of Marauders, this most recent group of Marauders is led by Captain Kitty Pryde. They rescue mutants, wherever they may be and no matter how dangerous the odds. The final member of her crew is none other than Cassandra Nova.

This is the first time that Cassandra Nova has been cast as a hero, albeit a reluctant one. Most of the Marauders, who were victims of Nova’s cruelty to Genosha, would rather not depend on her, and they do depend on her abilities quite a bit. The group depends on her for a while, until they plan for Nova’s eventual heel turn. Marauders is a strange read. It ends its arc with Nova being stranded 2 billion years in the past, with a mass extinction event on the horizon. That’s one way to exact your revenge.

Single Issues

“Silence: Psychic Rescue in Progress” (New X-Men #121; written by Grant Morrison/art by Frank Quietly and Ethan Van Sciver; 2002)

Charles Xavier’s mind lies imprisoned in the comatose body of Cassandra Nova. Jean Grey and Emma Frost team up on a telepathic journey into Cassandra’s consciousness to rescue Charles. The psychic trip is one for the ages. Beyond vast oceans rests a suspiciously fortified tower. Phoenix builds a bridge to cross the divide, but the tower’s defenses destroy Jean’s construct.

Traveling deeper into Cassandra Nova’s consciousness, the two learn that Cassandra Nova and Charles Xavier are twins. They engaged in psychic combat inside their mother’s womb. The fight led Charles and Cassandra’s mother to tumble down a flight of stairs. Jean and Emma learn that Charles intended to kill his sister inside the womb. Cassandra Nova left the womb stillborn.

This sequence gives much-needed context to why Cassandra Nova sicced the Sentinels on the nation of Genosha. She wants to destroy what Charles Xavier holds dear. She wants to make him pay for not showing her the same love he shows others.

The beginning of this issue’s title “Silence” holds special significance. This issue is part of the “Nuff Said” month in which no comics released at the time were allowed to use any words. The only words uttered were by Jean during the story’s conclusion.

There aren’t that many Cassandra Nova stories to choose from, but I may have left off one or two. Let me know which Cassandra Nova stories you’d choose instead. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.

Harley Quinn Animated Series 01

Harley Quinn: “Back to School” Review

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Season’s Thoughts

Last week’s episode had some darker moments, but was fairly lighthearted. This week’s episode got gritty, gory, and introduced another new adversary in the final scene. Contrary to “The Big Apricot,” “Back to School” didn’t have as many slice-of-life moments. It either swung into the dark details of Poison Ivy’s origin or went full goofball with Harley and the baby sharks.

I didn’t mind the extreme shifts in “Back to School” since it was engaging and had good pacing. Ivy not telling Harley about her day will probably come back to bite her later given what we learn at the end of the episode. So far, Harley Quinn has had good continuity.

“Back to School” introduced more new characters, but I count the baby sharks (aside from Shaun) as one entity. Harley Quinn has introduced several new characters consecutively in the past, but not all of them stick around. I’m curious to see which characters they decide to keep for Season Five. Harley Quinn isn’t shy about killing off characters.

Speaking of characters, this is the first time we see King Shark in Season Five. He’s moved to Metropolis. I had a feeling they’d find a way to incorporate him in Metropolis since he’s featured in the artwork for Season Five. However, his appearance with his kids on Harley and Ivy’s doorstep did feel a bit forced. Since it’s the only thing that slightly annoyed me in this episode, I’ll give it a pass.

Kyra’s Take

This week’s episode of Harley Quinn, “Back to School,” added some deep cuts into DC Comics lore and Harley Quinn’s spin-off series Kite Man: Hell Yeah!. While these inclusions can be a lot as Season mentioned, they work within the fabric of Harley Quinn and the greater DC Comics. I like that about Harley Quinn. It reinterprets DC Comics characters while staying true to their roots.

Bane and Goldilocks return from Kite Man: Hell Yeah!. I just finished watching Harley Quinn’s spin-off series. It doesn’t hold up as well, but Bane was one of the show’s standout characters and it’s nice seeing him return to Harley Quinn. I could do without Goldilocks. There’s a reason Queen of Fables doesn’t like her. The third thing of a set one gives Goldilocks will usually be “just right.” Ugh! You don’t need to know much more about the character (or watch Kite Man: Hell Yeah! before watching this episode), and you can imagine the long-suffering Bane having to please this petulant child.

This next section could be considered spoilers. Season avoided mentioning this character. If you’d like to see the episode yourself before reading this take, skip to “end of spoilers.” You’ve been warned.

It didn’t don on me that Harley Quinn has gone four seasons without mentioning Dr. Woodrue until I heard his name. Floronic Man (Dr. Woodrue) frequently serves as a foil to Poison Ivy. “Back to School” casts him as Ivy’s college professor and that works. Woodrue attempting to steal Ivy’s life’s work (namely her plant-sidekick Frank) and claim it as his own has plenty of dark undertones. Harley Quinn doesn’t play it off for laughs either. That’s why these scenes get cut by kid shark antics. As soon as I heard Dr. Woodrue’s name, I got excited. “Back to School” does the character justice.

End of spoilers. I agree with Season that “Back to School” had a lot of severe shifts in tone, but these shifts worked. Harley’s kid shark antics undercut the Ivy’s brooding narrative. “Back to School” does a good job of weaving old Harley Quinn characters into the Metropolis setting while setting up a juicy antagonist for the season.