Thursday, January 26, 2017

Comic Book TV recap (1/23/2017 - 1/26/2017)

Switching the name as non-superhero but still comic book show Riverdale debuts this week! Legends of Tomorrow has been moved to after The Flash on Tuesday.

Supergirl: "Supergirl Lives" - Winn is deeply affected when a crook gets the drop on him while assisting Guardian. Kara and Mon-El investigate some disappearances and discover an alien kidnapping plot to send people to be sold as slaves on an alien planet. With a red sun. Where Kara and Mon-El are powerless.

Gotham: "Smile Like You Mean It" - Gordon discovers that a former Indian Hill scientist is working on reviving Jerome (Gotham's take on the Joker) and face a cult formed around the serial killer. Selina deals the fact that her mother returned just for a payout from Bruce. Penguin realizes Barbara is not on his side.

Lucifer: "Love Handles" - Lucifer tries to discover the reason why Chloe is infatuated with him as they investigate a designer lethal poison on a college campus.

The Flash: "Borrowing Problems from the Future" - Barry confides with his friends about his vision of the future in which Iris was killed by Savitar and they begin working to change the future. Wally strives to become a recognized hero as Kid Flash. Julian joins Team Flash as Caitlin asks him to help her get rid of her Killer Frost powers.

Legends of Tomorrow: "Raiders of the Lost Art" - The Legends discover that Rip used a piece of the Spear of Destiny to be displaced in time and find him directing a student film in 1967, being pursued by Malcolm Merlyn and Damian Darhk. Rip used the spear to alter his identity and his prop master is one George Lucas...

Agents of SHIELD: "Wake Up" - Agent May struggles to get free from Aida and Radcliffe while her LMD replacement discovers that she's programmed to not reveal her identity. The Senator Fitz

Arrow: "Who Are You?" - Oliver and Company meet a surprisingly resurrected Laurel Lance, only to discover that she's actually Black Siren from Earth-2, working with Prometheus. This leads them to question what to do about the Black Canary's legacy. Curtis deals with his life now that his partner has left him.

Riverdale: "The River's Edge" - Riverdale opens as a reimagining of the Archie mythos as school begins again and Veronica Lodge comes to town. Taking its tone from Teen Wolf, a central plotline is the death of Jason Blossom during the summer. Also involving the classic Betty and Veronica love triangle, this show looks pretty promising.

I forgot to talk about the animated movies I checked out during the break. The Marvel/Lionsgate animated movies and the current crop of Marvel animated films are all available on Netflix.

Hulk: Where Monsters Dare - Doctor Strange enlists the help of the Hulk and the Halloween Commandos to rescue children from Nightmare. A fun, fast-paced adventure.

Ultimate Avengers: The Movie - A prelude of the simpler-titled 2012 blockbuster to come, the Ultimate Universe version of the Avengers team up for the first time to face an alien threat. Nicely paced, well-animated, quite fun.

Hulk Vs. - A pair of short films that pit the Hulk against another Marvel Hero. In Hulk vs. Thor, Loki splits Bruce Banner and the Hulk, possessing the latter to attack Asgard. Thor manages to get Hulk into submission, but things take a major turn for the worse when Loki decides to dispose of Bruce. Then in Hulk vs. Wolverine, the Weapon X program pits a group of their mutants—including Wolverine and Deadpool—against the Hulk, hoping to add them to their team. Another fun film that rings true to the characters.

Thor - Tales of Asgard - Not quite a prequel to 2011's Thor, but still, young Thor and Loki work with the warriors of Asgard as they face invaders while Odin is in the Odinsleep.  Nicely done, but probably better suited to fans of Thor.

Planet Hulk - An adaptation of the comic book storyline that sees Hulk exiled into space, landing on a battle planet. Better suited for fans of the story as this one seemed to drag.

And here's some live-action Marvel movies I watched this week.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - The 2012 sequel to the 2007 Ghost Rider film delivers on weird, but not much else as Johnny Blaze helps a mother help her child—Danny Ketch—stay out of the hands of the Devil, who also happens to be his father. Nicholas Cage seems to be losing it as Johnny Blaze, and another story about the Devil's son was not the right direction for the franchise. Luckily, we now have a new Ghost Rider courtesy of Agents of SHIELD.

Punisher: War Zone - This reboot of The Punisher films goes for a definite comic book feel, going a little high on gore and gross-out moments. After failing to kill a gang leader, Frank Castle is targeted by Jigsaw. While Frank has no reservations about mowing down the guilty, he has to check himself when dealing with the innocent. Probably the best of the Punisher films, but the version we've seen in Netflix's Daredevil and upcoming Punisher series promises to blow this one out of the water.

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