Kostisfire

 Not to be a PITA but... any news from the panel?

I love me some Black Order, but they'll be in Infinity War, so dunno. I'll definitely get Leader and maybe Kang. 

10 hours ago, pk13 said:

Kostis, you rant better in English than 99% of people that claim English as their native language. 

10 hours ago, NerdyTrev said:

My biggest issue with modern Marvel is how they constantly fuck over popular characters that basically made Marvel the powerhouse they are. Victor Von Doom is not only one of the best Marvel characters, but one of the best written villain characters in fictional publication history. The fact that Marve, thinks it's okay to make him IRON MAN (?!?!!?!) is quite the "fuck you" to the character. I appreciate a moment in a story where Doom's villainous morality is questioned because it can be used a goo vehicle for character development, but when a character is downright changed just for the halibit it seems more like a misguided story choice than clever character writing. Doctor Strange is also a prime offender. Just call the title "Magic Tony Stark" and nothing would change. 

Call me bias, but most things with Waid's name on it I'll appreciate and not hate. I'll say that Champions is near shit-quality comics, but his current Avengers is pretty enjoyable. Both the prime numbering and his .1 stuff about Cap's Kooky Quartet. Although the art in the regular title is very distracting at times. 

Hero-Doom was never the problem, as Vic never was a "villain". If Wolverine can join the Avengers, Doom can try to turn over a new leaf. And hell, that was Hickman's intention anyway. That's why he added that final scene in Secret Wars. The problem is, as always, Bendis. Doom and Tony always had a certain relationship in the books, so it's not that "out there" to have him pick up the pieces if he's trying to do "good". But it was rushed, and just because it's not the worst idea, doesn't make it a good one. Even then, the book's one of Marvel's top, so that should tell you everything. 

 As for the rest, Marvel's problem is just pandering to the normies. From the MCU synergy to the Tumblr Agenda, Marvel just said a giant "f'you" to the fans, just 'cause they're making billions out of their flicks. But the wheel is always turning...

 As for MvC, if they get the license, I'll get certain figs that haven't been updated in a while, and that's it. I don't have any use for "Standard Spider-Man #34"...

 Hickman's Secret Warriors, SHIELD & New Avengers were some of the best comics of the decade. Remender's UXF & UA were also great Sci-Fi Space Operas with interesting plots that didn't rely on hooks and baits and whatnot. Think what you will about them, but they were light years beyond America "Holy Menstruation" Chavez...

 As for the MCU, that is what destroyed the comic-verse. 616 Stark turned from a multilayered character to a walking meme. Doctor Strange got deaged and got the personality of MCU Stark, once again. Hank Pym became Ultron to make room for Lang. Marvel's need to have back-up plans for when the Big Guns drop out of the MCU, and the Tumblr pandering led to the massive surge of replacement characters. Bendis took over Iron Man and used to launch "Bendis' Daughter as Iron Man" and "Iron Doom, I did it for the lulz". The MCU turned the Guardians from one of the best cosmic books into a Meme-Book. It's literally a Meme-Book, filled with Meme-Characters. Hawkeye, after Fraction got done with him, got turned into a walking Meme 'cause Marvel's lackster writers can't keep up with Matt, and 'cause Kate's "da best" and Clint "succccckzzzz". 

 The MCU turned Marvel into a juggernaut, made comics "kewl" for the normies, and in an attempt to revitalize the brand and pander to the loudmouth Tumblrinas, led to the shithole that is the current Prime Universe. Alonso, Bendis, the MCU and everyone in charge of Marvel can take a trip to the sun and never return.

...Okay, vent over. But the current Marvel Universe and the MU can fuck off. Damn normies ruining everything. They take niche stuff, suck all the joy out of it and then claim it as theirs. Damn normies...

 Personally I'm enjoying Doctor Str-no wait, that's a POS that gives continuity and decades of characterization the middle finger for "lol, Stephen is soooooo random" plots. Let's see, uh, Deadpool is kinda goo-no, it's just Marvel turning simple issues into oversized POS so that collectors will drop 10 bucks on an already bi-weekly title. Apart from that, well, uh... Infamous Iron Man is... average, but compared to the rest of the Marvel stuff it's a damn work of art. Moon Knight has gorgeous visuals but a boring and overdrawn story, though at least it's not Bendis' MK.

 I won't even comment on the new hip n'cool titles like Gwenpool, NuThor, "YAAAAAAAAAS QUEEEEEEEEEEN" or the rest of that bunch (hint, as time passes, they become even worse POS). Amazing Spider-Man is more Slott fanfic, Silver Surfer is Doctor Who fanfic by Slott, Bunn's Uncanny X-Men was a waste of money and the list goes on. Past one or two mediocre titles, Based HYDRA!Cap and the Star Wars stuff, Marvel is in deep shit. I mean, they greenlit "America". The people responsible for that book deserve the Vlad The Impaler treatment... And Coates' Black Panther is one of the biggest missed opportunities of the decade...

 I've been dropping Marvel books and picking up more DC/Image/Valiant ones, and boy oh boy, am I glad. DC's are cheaper, Image and Valiant use better paper and tell better stories... Priest's Deathstroke is on a whole 'nother level, and nothing Marvel is offering can touch that. After Hickman left, the company took a nose dive. Frankly, the only reason I keep reading those few Marvel books is character attachment. And that's slowly fading away the more Marvel is determined to destroy the classics, fill their books with "hip lingo" and overcharge for overheated scraps. Spencer's HYDRA story is just scraps from Hickman's SHIELD, and that's one of the good books. Marvel comics has gone down the toilet. I find myself rooting for the homicidal villains at this point. I just want Maker to blow everything up, HYDRA!Cap to enslave the Marvel world, and Doom to get tired of the hero business and go all "Emperor Doom" again. That's how shitty the line is ATM.

PS: As for Mark "I'LL FLIP SOME MOTHERFLIPPING TABLES" Waid... thanks, but no thanks. He's written some good stuff, but he's one of the most obnoxious "celebrity" writers. And anyone responsible for the abomination that is Champions, deserves to share a cell with the Joker...

2 minutes ago, NerdyTrev said:

Amen.

 It's sad when the best thing in Marvel's upcoming books is Secret Empire, which is just Spencer feeding off  Hickman's scraps. Ever since Remender, Hickman, etc left, Marvel turned to shit. Lemire's leaving as well, leaving only Ewing and Soule. At least DC has GOATs Priest, writting Deathstroke (praise Jesus that after 2 awful vols were were graced by Priest's brilliant run), and Ellis, writting Wild Storm.

 That list's been floating around for a while now, with Wolvie/Mags/Storm/DOOM being rumored as DLC characters. Even if DST gets the license, we don't know if it'll cover DLCs. Either way, the list doesn't excite me that much. Too many street-level characters without unique enough abilities, and from a toy POV, just the same old figures. I'd take a Ghost Rider or Doctor Strange, but eh. I'm getting MCU fatigue at this point, and sometimes I pray that both it, and the DCEU crash and burn so that we can go back to comics being story-driven and not used as cheap marketing tools...

3 hours ago, DSTZach said:

I mean, I usually show artwork at these things, but I'll have to see what's ready. 24 and the box set are, as far as I know. I guess I'll allow photography.

 I like Kebbel, he's a good actor. That said, Fant4Stic's Vic was in no way, shape or form, "Doom". It's sad when the most faithful adaptation of the character is the Corman version...

 Will the artwork be of just the 4-Pack, or will we get to see anything from 24/25/75?

Prometheus had a nice premise and themes worth exploring. But the idiotic characters, screwed up execution and mess of an "origin story" that may or may not be in the Alien Universe (like, maybe, or like, not, but I guess now it is, 'cause the next one is ALIEN: Covenant?) turned it into a rather average flick. I'm not xpecting Covenant to be better, what with Scott going "no, Prometheus is 1, Covenant is 3, and then we're gonna do a mid-sequel/prequel". Guy's off his rocker... I liked the visual style though, so even if I haven't bought any ALIEN stuff past the Dump, I may get them. 

 I'm on Ep.8 right now, and I have to say one thing: Ward = B e s t B o y. Danny could drop dead for all I care. Just give me more Ward... Okay, that might be a bit harsh. Danny's got good intentions. 

Just now, MisterPL said:

Moon Knight through the ages. We know. 

 

(And I'm with you!)

 I was thinking Marvel Knights. Or Hulk. Or Thor. Or Daredevil. Or Captain America. Or Iron Man. Or Supernatural. Or Cosmic. Or even Modern X-Men. Just... not Classic, 60s-80s X-Men. Just... no... Like, are people excited about Green Quicksilver, Magneto Re-Do & Mastermind, if that means getting Toad? We get very few 4-packs compared to the old days, so such a set would make me extremelly dissapointed. Different tastes and all, I know, but...

PS: I wouldn't say no to an MK TTA set. Or any new TTA set for that matter. Considering centered waves like 24 have stopped,  we could use them...

Unpopular opinion here, but...I'm tired of the Classic X Love... I want something else... 

16 hours ago, BuffaloDelorean said:

-With the Nightcrawler comparison, I do see what you mean with the 2000s CBM comment, since X-Men movies have been doing that sort of thing for years. Comic adaptions including characters they aren't fully willing to use, is, IMO, one of the biggest issues with the genre. However, I wouldn't say the MCU has been anywhere near free from this trope, as they owe several of their weaker villains to this flaw. Overall, using characters as complex as the Weapons in a series that didn't have time to deal with them was probably a mistake, but not one exclusive to Iron Fist, and I wouldn't say they've painted themselves into a corner with these characters in case they want to revisit the concept.

-Personally, I don't see why it's any stranger than her running into the last three, but that's just me. I do agree that petulant, juvenile, ineffective Danny was very irritating. Danny Rand was by far the worst thing about this series, and I don't mean Finn Jones. In spite of some good moments and performances, Danny's writing just didn't seem up to par.

-In most of the "no killing" instances, Danny was out of control, looking for information, or conflicted. The Iron Fist really should be more effective, but him killing more people wouldn't have solved that. There's one major "no killing" scene, and I thought it was fairly organic.

-Thanks for explaining the Doctor Fate thing, I was curious because I couldn't imagine what franchise he would have fit into. I liked Colin Farrell's Bullseye, but not, I imagine, for the right reasons.

-Oh no, the MCU has absolutely fallen into that trap before. See the Mandarin, or Ronan. But I just thought the days of being promised a series based on mysticism, and getting half-assed versions of key characters were behind us.

-Eh, dunno, this time it just seemed... far more contrived. But the fact that Rand wasn't the bad-ass he was hyping himself up to be, kinda irritated me.

-I've not reached that far, to be completely honest. But I've heard that it's very overbearing. And I usually don't get along with the "no kill code" in CBMs, so I imagine I'll find problems with IF as well.

-Yeah, that was just an analogy, sorry for not making it clear.

6 hours ago, BuffaloDelorean said:

-For the first point, I can see how that would be disappointing if you liked the comic, but it isn't really a flaw in the show. I thought the "bloody chemist" was legitimately creepy.

-I don't think the fact that they didn't show K'un-Lun is really an issue. It's definitely because of the budget, but at no point in the show did I feel like K'un-Lun was missing. I like the way they kept the place mysterious, but obviously YMMV.

-Claire (is it really a spoiler that she's in this?) didn't seem shoehorned into the plot. Her actions make sense, and her presence is essentially explained in Luke Cage. I wouldn't say she was unbearable. There were a few grating scenes, but it wasn't too bad. I don't think Claire was saying that she knew how to handle the threat, more that she technically had more experience than Danny did to prove a point. I don't remember her doing something like that, but IIRC besides a few lucky hits she mostly hangs back and lets Danny and Colleen handle them. The "no killing" wasn't really bothersome, it's only really major in one scene (although that sentiment is somewhat frequently voiced by non-combatants). It's no more prominent than it was in Daredevil.

-This one I do agree with you on. I've seen all but the final episode so I was hoping he'd put on a robe again at the end, but I'm not surprised that he doesn't. Still, I don't think the costume will be too hard to justify. All he really needs is a reversed version of what he wore in K'un-Lun (which could tie into him accepting being Danny Rand and the Iron Fist instead of one or the other) along with a mask, which, a) would be in the same style as Matt's first costume (so there's precedent), and b), would be easily justifiable since Danny's a public figure, so he'd have a reason to hide his face.

I can't speak for the "2000s CBM" thing, but I didn't know Doctor Fate had had a cameo in a movie. What was it?

-Creepy or not, it's cheap. It's like using, say Nightcralwer, but instead of having him teleport, he's just such a dark shade of blue "that he can hide in the shadows". It's cheap, and it undermines a huge plot point of the series it's based on. The relationship between the Seven Capital Cities of Heaven was at the forefront of the book, and was used to really expand the mythos. But now, one very important aspect of the IF lore is just... gone. And for what? A 20 minute "mini-tournament"?

-Nah, she was shoehorned. In all of New York, she stumbles into yet another street-level hero with ties to the hand? It's a common complaint everywhere I've been, really. Be it the MCU or Defenders subreddit, comicvine, CBR, etc, etc. She was added to apparently "ease in IF into the world of the Defenders", but she really undermines the already underwhelming Iron Fist. This supposed living weapon, who had been training for 15 years non-stop with magical/alien monks, gets his butt handed to him by nameless mooks, and needs the help of an ordinary nurse and mental pep-talks, to really get talking. Still, it's not so much a fault of Claire, as much as it's a fault of the screenwriters not selling me on Danny being this absolute beast and harbinger of destruction. He's Daredevil 1/2 with some chi powers once every blue moon.

-The "no killing" thing is irritating because this isn't Daredevil. Iron Fist was trained to be a Living Weapon, he's not just some crime-fighter who wants to clean up his city like Daredevil. All Iron Fists have killed, and will kill, it's what they do. Past IFs fought entire armies, because that's their duty. I've not reached that part yet, but from what I'm told it gets really "in your face", so I'll reserve judgement.

-Most CBMs pre the MCU were afraid to embrace their roots, and instead gave us shitty excuses and small "nods" to the source material. Not to mention the black leather they all loved. See "Keanu Reeves as John Constantine", "Leather Fetish Bullseye", "Lex Luthor Von Doom", "Cloud Lak Tus" and so on and so forth. The Doctor Fate thing was just an analogy, it never happened.

33 minutes ago, BuffaloDelorean said:

Maybe it's because I'm not at all familiar with Iron Fist, but I thought the show had a fair amount of mysticism. K'un-Lun doesn't get a lot of attention, but what we did see of Danny's time there was interesting. The first half might have been too focused on Rand Enterprises, but the second half, in my opinion, does a very good job of including the mystical elements of the character's mythology.

 I'm not the biggest IF fan around, but the show is mostly based on the Brubaker/Fraction run, which I've read two times (albeit a while back), and it's the one vol that really created a whole mythos around Iron Fist. I've finished Ep.6, and I'm just gonna comment on the mistakes I've found thus far:

 It's just that it all feels like a bunch of scenes from a 2000s CBM. It's a type of "Oh yeah, Doctor Fate has a cameo. No, he's not a sorcerer, he reads tarot cards at the local fair" situation. Sure, they alluded to both Orson & Wendell's past, but considering how "faithful" they've been to the mystical stuff up until now, I'm not holding my breath. Comic-Book IF is knee-deep in mysticism, but the Netflix version is just a clone of Daredevil, mixed with an average episode of Suits and some "wink, wink" nods. 

 To be completely blunt, I'm more interested in Ward & Harold than anyone else...

12 minutes ago, stack32 said:

Kostis, did you actually write, on purpose, that Shang-Chi would have been a better choice? That seems a bit crazy. I can't see how that show would have been much better, plus we'd lose out on Danny and Luke teaming up.

 Iron Fist obviously has more material to draw from, but considering they didn't have the budget to do it properly, they should've just used Shang and got done with it. They would've gotten their Kung-Fu hero, the controversy wouldn't exist, and by keeping IF for a later phase, they'd probably be able to secure a bigger budget. Sure, we'd lose the PM/IF relationship, but I'd rather get that later, or not at all, rather than a botched IF show. I'm on Ep.6 right now, and I'm actually mad at what they did to the rest of the Immortal Weapons. It is improving the more I watch, but they're disregarding most mystical elements, which results in a 2000-esque CBM which is afraid to embrace its roots.

 The Meachums are the Karen Page/Foggy Nelson/Fisk of the show, so it's irking that we're getting none of them. Especially when Ward/Harold could have been a 2-in-1 fig, taking the place of Suited Danny. Wing has to be in the set, same as Danny, so the choices of DST are sound in that regard, they just needed to give us Hoodie Rand with an extra torso. As for the 4th fig, it should've been Madame Gao, considering she's been in three seasons thus far. Hell, Hogarth would've made sense too.

 As for Lei-Kung (and latter spoilers)...

 Jessica Jones IMO had a fine selection. It had the protagonist, the antagonist and 2/3 supporting cast members. I agree Luke is kinda redundant now, but back then, you'd have been omitting a very big player of the show by not adding him. Will got the Stick/Karen treatment, but with a Second season confirmed, I imagine he'll get a fig, ideally in some sort of "costume".

 Not everything comes out great, but this set especially just isn't up to par. I mean, this is like making the Luke Cage 4-pack, but doing it this way: Suited Luke from Pops' funeral, "Power-Man" Luke (no tracksuit parts), Misty Knight, and Pops instead of Cottonmouth. And that'd be dissapointing as well.

 I mean, sure, we don't have a Weasly or Leland from DD, but these were minor characters. Now we're missing the major parts of the series' supporting cast, and pretty much the main villain. 

 Normally I'd be sad, but my hype for Andromeda is 0, so at this point I'm merely apathetic. It's certainly a bummer, but Video-Game collectibles never did particularly well. The Japanese imports sell, especially the ones based on Metal Gear, but gamers aren't that interested in figures. Vinyls and statues sell a bit better, 'cause they're seen as decorative items. Oh well, here's to Kingdom Hearts doing better! (no sarcasm, as I really want some classic Disney characters)

 So I'm at Ep.5 now, and it's getting better. Honestly, the main problem is that they don't the budget to do the mythos justice, and Iron Fist without the magical aspect just isn't anything special. It's why the Fraction/Brubaker run worked and is the most succesful one. It told a mature story with corporate intrigue, but it didn't erase all the mysticism, if anything, it expanded upon it. 

 My honest opinion is that they should've tackled a more grounded character first, and left Iron Fist for later. Seriously, there are tons of street-level characters, and they chose IF, the guy with undead ninjas, Dragons and Mystical Cities for the first wave? Granted, they went for a "lighter" first act, so I guess that's why folks like Punisher, Blade, Moon Knight and the like were left for the Second and Third phases, but IF just can't be done on a budget. They could've instead used Shang-Chi, who's in the same vein but without the tons of magical stuff. Iron Fist could've been alluded in Shang's series, gotten an appearance in the Second Season and then gotten his own spin-off, like Punisher. That way people become familiar with him, the Asian characters comes first so the controversy is non-existent, and the budget likely increases. This was just a poor decision.

 I'm still in Ep.5, but after reading some spoilers and whatnot, the line-up becomes more and more dissapointing by the second. Considering all the Alt-Looks the other Netflix sets came with, it'd be really easy to give us mre characters are Alts. Here's how I'd do it:

-Danny in his Hoodie: Extra pieces include a bare torso/arms, a pair of white shoes, the "iron fist" & a black jacket piece, with a white torso and tie, like DD/Murdock. So now you have three figs in the place of one. If the jacket/torso/tie/shoes combo is too much, just go the Luke Cage-esque route and give us the hoodie & bare chest combo. Or give us the suit as the default look and add the extra torso/arms combo, just like LC. Really, there were many options for a 2-in-1 Danny Rand.

-Coleen Wing: Same as in the set, really. I'd have preffered the green jacket/sword harness look, but this is more comic accurate, so, eh.

-Ward Meachum: Extra parts include a Harold Meachum head.

-Madame Gao or Joy Meachum. There are other characters that appear later down the line, but eh, I figured I'd go with the major characters. Hell, even Danny in his K'un-Lun Robe would've been great as the "costumed" figure of the set.

 Considering Danny wore a black suit as well, it'd b much easier for it to be an Alt-Look for his hoodie look, instead of a whole new fig. And considering the Meachums were the main antagonists and part of the supporting cast, it sucks we're not getting them, but instead two Dannys, when he could've just had Alt-Parts. I can understand not getting some of the characters that appear Post Ep.6 or so, but these were all major players that were ommited. I found the LC 4-Pack kinda dissapointing as well, for not giving us Shades or Diamondback, and instead Mariah, but this selection is much worse.

 I'm not pretending to know the ins and outs, or any restrictions placed by Marvel, but this 4-Pack's selection is very poor, at least IMHO. Considering how good the DD & JJ sets are, this is quite a bummer. But hey, maybe the extras will be interesting.

 Yeah, I'm 3 episodes in and so far it's... eh. They're way too afraid to embrace the magical aspects, so we're just left with the local Hipster from Uni who took a Yoga class once. The choreography is slow, the cinematography is bland, the writting is cliche, everything is just... mediocre, at best. If you want to do an iron Fist show, do an Iron Fist show. Not Daredevil 0.5 but with a few differences. Hogarth was the best part of the last three hours, and Harold is entertaining. Jones ain't bad, but the writting is just... ugh...

33 minutes ago, BuffaloDelorean said:

I'd say the chances of getting much in the way of "modern but not current" comic 'mates is pretty low.

Although we are getting Now! Magneto...

 Yeah, well, bollocks to that I say! I can't handle more horrible tights with brights undies... At least I hope the Daredevil/Spider-Man/Marvel Knights/Whatever Wave/4-Pack/TRU/Whatever has some things that'll interest me more. Maybe a modern Typhoid Mary. Or some Post-2000 Spider-Man villains. Something!

 I'd buy the hell of some Ultimate X-Men mates. If we get more X-Related stuff, can we please, pleeeease, get some modern-esque stuff? Morrison's New X-Men, the Bendis (crap story, but...) Bondage-Men, All-New X-Factor, Legacy Rogue, something! I know you folks love the old-school tights, but... I'm more of a "shiny and new" guy, so...