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Fantastic Four: Missteps?

Fantastic Four : First Steps is scheduled for a July 25 release and Marvel Studio casting decisions have angered core fans . Casting a female Silver Surfer, and Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/ Mr. Fantastic were bad enough. Now comes news the Invisible Girl/Sue Storm Richards will be leading the group, which now has many wondering if the correct title of this film should be Fantastic Four : Missteps?.

The cast of Fantastic Four : First Steps. From L to R : Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn

This new release will mark the fifth try of getting Marvel’s First Family right. First, there was the low-budget, unreleased Roger Corman version , made simply to retain the rights .

Next, came the Tim Story directed films:Fantastic Four in 2005, followed by a 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four : Rise of the Silver Surfer. Then, came the 2015’s Josh Trank-directed dark, body-horror influenced, Fant(4)stic which flopped hard at the box office.

Now, we have the soon to be released 2025 version which Marvel desperately needs to be a home run after two flops this year: Captain America: Brave New World and The Thunderbolts/New Avengers . The latter got pretty decent reviews from critics and the audiences that saw it in the theater, yet it still flopped. Why? Because audiences have lost faith in Marvel because of its obsession with woke storylines and girl bosses.

You would think Marvel/Disney would have learned its lesson with a steady stream of diminished box office returns. With the exception of Deadpool/Wolverine, Spiderman: No Way Home and Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Marvel movies have steadily declined in story quality since embracing woke themes, first with this remarkably eye-rolling scene in Endgame:

This began the shift from engrossing storytelling to virtue-signaling and pandering. And how has that worked for Marvel? You would think after one failure after another, someone higher up in Disney and Marvel would say , “Hey guys, the audience keeps rejecting our message, maybe we should change course?” Instead Marvel’s and Disney’s honchos Kevin Feige and Bob Iger seem to be doubling down.

The Fantastic Four deserve better than this. This quartet created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby ushered in the Marvel Age of Heroes in the 1960’s

Unlike DC’s Justice League of America, the Fantastic Four didn’t just meet to fight a common foe and then part ways. The FF lived together in the same building, sharing a family dynamic where they sometimes bickered or didn’t get along. The Lee/Kirby run on this book was unparalleled in comic history, introducing iconic characters such as the aforementioned Silver Surfer, the Black Panther, Dr. Doom , Galactus, and the Inhumans.

I recently re-read the “Galactus Trilogy” which still holds up nearly 60 years later. I couldn’t resist anger when thinking about Marvel’s decision to lessen Reed Richards’ role :first, by casting beta male Pascal as the stalwart and chiseled leader…

Comic book Reed Richards and Pedro Pascal

and then by making his wife, Sue Richards/ The Invisible Woman as the girl boss leader of the FF.

And what the heck is Marvel thinking by gender swapping the Silver Surfer?The Silver Surfer is Norrin Radd , a man . Period.

I grew up reading the Fantastic Four and it was one of my favorite titles. I was really pulling for this film, willing to give Pedro and the female silver Surfer a chance. However, making Sue the leader , diminishing Ben Grimm/ The Thing (the heart of the FF)and changing Johnny Storm/ The Human Torch from a skirt chaser into a sensitive cuck was the last straw.

I’ m hoping I am wrong about this movie, but I doubt it. Unless I hear positive word of mouth from trusted personal and internet sources, I’m out of this latest FF iteration .

What are your thoughts ? Is this Fantastic Four : Missteps instead of Fantastic Four : First Steps? Will this latest release make the 2005 version (pictured below) look like a classic? Please leave a comment below and please “like” and share this article.

The cast of 2005’s Fantastic Four. From L to R Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba and Ioan Griffudd

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Captain America shouldn’t represent America?

Captain America shouldn’t represent America? That’s what Captain America :Brave New World star, Anthony Mackie said in a recent European interview.

Anthony Mackie as Captain America

As of this writing, Marvel Studios is in major damage control mode.

Mackie released this statement after the backlash:

Here’s why Mackie stepped in it.

“For me Captain America represents a lot of different things and I don’t think the term, you know, America should be one of those representations. Like, uh, it’s about a man who keeps his word, who has honor , dignity and integrity…”

Mr. Mackie, the character’s name is Captain America and besides that, he wears a costume based on the American flag. How can you expect him not to represent the country?

The character debuted in World War 2 punching out a certain Nazi dictator on the cover of his first comic issue and has stood and fought for American ideals ever since.

Either Mackie felt he had to say this in front of a European audience to promote the film, or this is what he really thinks. Whatever the case, this guy who plays the title role of, who I like to call, “Captain African-American”, has given the viewing public yet another reason not to waste their money on this movie.

Captain America : Brave New World has gone through multiple re-shoots due to disastrous test screenings and is experiencing underwhelming advance ticket sales. In other words, insiders expect another Disney movie flop.

The problem with the movie is it features Captain America, but without Steve Rogers, the one and only Star Spangled Avenger. Mackie was originally The Falcon in the Marvel Universe, a historical character as Marvel Comics’ second black superhero.

Frankly, Marvel messed up passing Captain America’s shield to Sam Wilson/aka The Falcon. He was a perfectly fine and likable character in his own right. Why make him a hand-me-down hero?

Yes Sam Wilson became Cap in the comics, back in the 2010’s but sales tanked on the book .

Sam Wilson as Captain America

Woke politics caused Marvel to virtue signal, race-swapping the character. Fans hated the change, voicing Cap should have passed the mantle to Bucky,/The Winter Soldier his friend from World War 2 who, like Rogers was enhanced by the super soldier serum.

Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes/ The Winter Soldier

Bucky was a more successful Captain America in the comics because of the dynamic of him once being the brainwashed assassin, the Winter Soldier.

Bucky Barnes as Captain America

The problem most fans have with the new Captain America is he doesn’t have super strength. He just a regular guy with mechanical wings.

Anthony Mackie is a likable actor, but, sorry, he’s best as a supporting actor, not a leading man. Marvel knows this which is why Red Hulk is in the movie to boost ticket sales. At least that what Marvel execs are hoping.

But now those hopes are waning with Mackie’s ill-advised comments.

Captain America : Brave New World is scheduled for release during Black History Month (coincidence?) on February 14.

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What’s with Disney?

What’s with Disney?

The studio, started by Walt Disney, celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2023, and what did it give the public in gratitude?   That’s right, flops. 

Why were these movies all box office duds? I dunno, maybe it was because of race-swapped classic characters, girl bosses and other woke propaganda?

Ant-Man:Quantamania… FLOP. Disney’s The Little Mermaid (Live action remake)… FLOP. Wish … FLOP. Peter Pan and Wendy…FLOP. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny… FLOP. The Marvels…huge FLOP.

The only movie that did well was Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, but even it made less at the box office than the first two films in the trilogy. Why was GOTG 3 a success? No woke politics in the film, just a good story featuring characters the movie-going public enjoy; no more, no less.

You would think after the box office disaster that was 2023 , Disney would rethink its obsession with woke storylines in their movies. After all, the studio lost billions. 

Instead, Disney seems intent on doubling down. Case in point, the recent announcement of a new Star Wars movie , continuing the adventures of Rey Skywalker.  Maybe Disney is unaware of fans who checked-out in droves after the last trilogy which featured the divisive The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker.  Oh well, perhaps Disney thinks this latest offering will bring back the fans since it will be directed by a woman… of color. 

Yeah, that’ll do it. 

Seriously, is Disney really this stupid?  

Let me posit a theory that’s been cooking in the back of my mind for the past year or two: what if this Disney implosion is planned?

Consider that Disney has ruined two of the most successful intellectual properties (IPs) in cinema history: Star Wars and Marvel.  What did these two franchises have in common? They both told stories featuring epic heroes and stakes. 

Star Wars has entertained generations of fans since its premiere in 1977.  Marvel Comics became a cultural phenomenon in 1961 with the debut of the Fantastic Four, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. A year later, Lee and Steve Ditko created Spider-Man and the rest is history.

Remember when fans couldn’t wait for the latest Star Wars or Marvel release?  Not anymore. Under the Disney rubric, both brands have been so thoroughly ruined they’ve become objects of  scorn to their once devoted consumers.

Woke politics has destroyed both IPs. As President Donald Trump once famously said, “Everything woke turns to s**t.” The moviegoing public has spoken, loudly and consistently, its rejection of woke characters and plotlines; leading to billions in losses for Disney.

Once upon a time, America revered Disney Studios . They created timeless classics still enjoyed by the public decades later, such as: Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Pinocchio, Bambi, Dumbo, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, and the Jungle Book. Disney films were once the gold standard of entertainment, offering viewers escapism through stories of love, tragedy, perseverance, adventure, heroism and whimsy. Now, the public is losing trust in the Disney brand.

Disney sucks and it’s across the board.  

Again, I have to ask, is this intentional?  For decades, Disney was a symbol of Americana, right up there with baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and the American flag.  Americana is aspects of shared culture that makes, or made America unique in the world.  The word Americana evokes commonality and nostalgia for times gone by.

We no longer celebrate what once was, because Marxist/communist radical elements in our education, government and entertainment have tied our past to nothing but racism, sexism, discrimination and homophobia. Subversives have conditioned at least two generations of young people to despise our past and everything about America.

America used to be symbolized by rugged individualism, strength and innovation. Now our symbols are frailty, weakness and incompetence as manifested in the person of our current president.  Our rule of law has been turned against the people , our educational system is failing minorities and propagandizing young -adults.  

The so-called experts have muddied the waters so much there are no heroic symbols of American masculinity or femininity. Pop culture tells us the only heroes we’re told to worship are those who represent diversity, inclusion and equity (DIE). They call it DEI, I call it DIE

Based on this destruction of American culture and ideals, is it out of the realm of possibility the enemies of our nation and the world have made it their goal to destroy Disney in the hearts of the American public?   Chris Gore and Alan Ng of Film Threat report at Disney it’s all about woke activism rather than talent.

So again, what’s with Disney?  Once the gold standard for animation and family entertainment, now it’s bloated, devoid of original ideas and apparently tone deaf to what the public wants.  It’s really a shame and I sincerely hope they wake up from woke.