Marvel Powerhouse

Marvel is the company that took Superheroes from cool movies that were rebooted every couple of years to a multi billion dollar franchise that is steam rolling all the competition. Marvel movies are iconic and every time a new one opens it pulls in crazy amounts of money. With all of Marvel's success they have re-written the rules of Hollywood but has this power changed movies for the better?

Marvel has set the gold standard for a cinematic universe. Right from the beginning of their franchises Marvel's universe was fantastic. In Iron Man I they bring in Nick Fury to talk about S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers Initiative and instantly comic book fans, superhero lovers, and plenty others were excited beyond belief. Iron Man the movie was a huge hit and fans new there would be sequels but now they also new there would be a whole bunch more superhero movies that would eventually lead into a movie featuring all of them! It was unheard of movie idea, the only thing close to this idea would be the few crossovers from the superhero cartoon shows. Marvel captured their audience with the first movie. The influence Marvel has had over movies is incredible. Before an after credit scene was a rare occurrence. Now it's become so prevalent that I waited through the credits of Star Wars VII to see if they added one, spoiler they did not. I was also shocked when Age of Ultron did not have an after credit scene, it broke the trend but at this point after credit scenes are not really needed.

It used to be that the after credit scene would set up or hint at the next movie. Iron Man has Nick Fury come and talk about the Avengers, Hulk has Tony come and talk about the Avengers, Iron Man 2 has agent Coulson at the Mjolnir crater, Thor has the Doctor go and meet with Fury, Captain America has Steve meet Fury, and finally the Avengers just had a gag scene referencing a conversation previously in the movie. Each movie and scene hinted and shed some light on the movies to come. Each after credit scenes lead up to the Avengers movie, the ultimate culmination in the movie universe that everything was building towards. Now though Marvel has its movies planned out for the next 3 years, you can Google the movies coming out and in what order. Making the after credit scenes largely unneeded.

The after credit scenes used to be what would hint at the next movie but now Marvel is using the movie's themselves to try and set up sequels. Age of Ultron is the one that jumps to my mind with the most potential set ups for new movies. The movie tries to set up Thor Ragnorak, Captain America Civil War, and the Black Panther. Of these set ups Black Panther and Civil War were worked nicely into the movie without totally hijacking the story. There are some references to Africa, large amounts of vibranium found there, and seems to be setting up the Black Panther villain Claw. Throughout the movie we see Captain America and Iron Man argue, fight, and disagree on some large issues. This seems to be trying to set up the Civil War movie. Both of these references did a good job of working in organically into the story without taking it over. The scenes setting up Thor Ragnorak were awkward and forced. None of them seemed to fit correctly into the movie's story and it seemed to pull Thor out of most of the movie. The scenes were trying to set up a movie that we all already know is coming out and, for those who know what Ragnorak means, we can probably guess some of the plot. But Marvel insisted that these scenes be in the movie. It made Age of Ultron into a commercial for movies to come rather than the culmination of Phase II like how Avengers was every a movie in itself with everything building up to it. I have to wonder if Marvel will continue this trend of building in scenes for future movies at the expense of the movie being watched. Also will other studios follow suit? Will all movies just be hints at future movies to come?

More posts about Marvel to come! I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Let me know what you think in the comments.

American Hero

Good evening internet!

Today is what I will call fanfiction Friday (won't be every Friday but it is this Friday) Enjoy!

American Hero

            He opened his eyes. Oh God another morning. Was he happy he woke up? He often wondered if he should be happy to wake up or if he would be happy to just keep sleeping, to keep dreaming, and eventually just leave this life as he was meant to so many years ago. He tried going back to sleep to roll over and just sink back into unconsciousness. He wouldn’t be able to. He never could, it was all the little noises. Maybe his hearing was better than most, he was above average in a lot of regards, or maybe he would just never get used to all the new noises. All the little humming noises around his house; his computer slightly whirring in the corner, his a/c working, the cars going through the street. There was always little noises, no matter where he went, just constant little noises everywhere.

            It was one of those things he would never get used to. Ahhhh time to get up. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he stayed in bed all day. People could use his help. He got up out of bed and began getting ready to run. Running helps, helped keep thoughts out of his head. He opened the door just as the sun was rising.

            He got back a while later. He had run and run and run. His lungs had burned, his muscles had ached, and his mind was gloriously empty for now as it had been the whole time during the run. He stripped down out of his sweaty clothes and began showering.

            Training, exercise, and working were what kept him busy and kept him sane. When he would throw himself into exercise or a mission he could feel purpose, he could feel alive, and he could not worry or think. The adrenaline of battle or the runners high, either way it kept him in the moment. It was the waiting and the sitting around that killed him. Then he time to think. Time to realize he was so alone and that was never going to change.

            He couldn’t think about that it was dangerous. Self pity was paralyzing. People were depending on him. He couldn’t sit around and wallow. People needed his help, the world needed his help. He was never one to sit by when there was work to be done or people who needed help.

            He sat down to check his email. He looked down at the keyboard. The lay out was the same as he had seen it before but different. Now it was all digital. Everything was digital and on the Internet and on computers. A person couldn’t do anything without a computer involved. It used to be a man would go to a factory, a field, or a mine to make a living. Now instead of making or producing most anything everyone sat behind a computer and input data. Just adding numbers or sending messages. He hated it. His hands were meant to do things. Build, break, help, hold, DO! Now they spent so much of their time here. Typing reading and “surfing.”

            Not that the internet was all bad or that he hated it all the time. He enjoyed the videos people posted and he loved the ideas of instant communication. But somehow people had lost the personal form of communication. No one spoke to each other in the streets, strangers avoided eyes, and when people were together they were on phones talking with someone else. People would say he just had to get used to. That he was an old soul. He was from another time though and he would never really adjust.

            No work and no plans for the day time to hit the gym. He grabbed his bags and left for his home away from home. His job required him to be in top physical condition at all times, which was fine by him. He liked working out and doing something and did helped keep his mind from wandering and wondering about his life.

            He liked his job. He liked protecting and helping people. Even before he was 18 he knew he was going to sign up. He was going to defend his country! He was going to defend America and be a hero. He wasn’t going to let anyone, even his own body, stop him from doing what he wanted. No what he needed to do, his duty.

            He got to the gym and started lifting with a variety of weights, working every muscle he could think of. He started to sweat and his muscles began to scream for him to stop. He pushed through it. It would not be the first time or the last time he needed his muscles to go farther than they wanted to.

            He thought back to his past, despite how hard he tried not to. He did not regret his actions. He had killed in war and self-defense. He would do it again. He did not lose sleep over it. The men he had killed, some with weapons some with his hands, were men who threatened his home, and by extension his family and friends, threatened the world, and threated him. He could think back to previous fights and feel guilt free about his actions.

            He gave the arm weights a break for a bit. It was time for the legs to burn again.

            These days things were different. Before it was two countries fighting each other for land, power, money, or some set of ideals. There were sides and there were rules. The rules weren’t always followed but they were still present and people knew when they were being broken. Now wars were fought differently. There were still two sides but it was hard to tell who was fighting on what side and for what. Now soldiers, if you could call them that, didn’t always war uniforms and they certainly didn’t follow rules anymore.

            Secret bombs, civilians as targets, killing to send a message rather than win a war. It was brutal. He didn’t like it. It wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. Civilians were not part of the fight and shouldn’t be more in the war than they had to be. He understood war was hell and even if you weren’t fighting you could be a part of it. But now targeting civilians was commonplace. That just wasn’t right.

            He started to get shaky just trying to stand up. Time to stop with the weights and move on to training. He went over to the other part of the gym and starting wrapping his hands up. There was a punching bag that needed some work done on it. Quick hit, quick hit, low hit, keeping his hands up.

            It hurt his hands but that was nothing compared to his loneliness. The long days of constantly asking questions to people he could in no way connect to. He would ask people where they were when they found out about the attack on Pearl Harbor, history class they would say giving him those confused looks he was all to used to. They would ask him where he was when he heard about the JFK assignation, the fall of the Berlin wall, or when the attacks on 9/11 happened. They thought it was a weird joke when he said frozen. Even day to day stuff was hard to talk about, movies weren’t what they used to be, music had gone through so many phases he could barely call it music sometimes, everyone was always on their phones, he couldn’t really talk about his work and telling stories of WWII made him seem old even to him now. Old and sad. There were those who would understand the stories and the experiences. They were old now. The memories weren’t as fresh as his. The other veterans had lived full lives and moved on. But to me it was just a few years ago. He hated looking at the other veterans and seeing how old they had become. They had similar experiences but the memories were 70 years or more ago. It still felt lonely.

            He didn’t regret what he did. He did it to save the world and his country. He did it to protect the family he one day hoped to have. And in doing so sealed his fate to never have them or see the woman he loved again. He expected to die with dignity and honor then walk into the pearly gates and wait for her to join him. Instead he woke up was decidedly not dead and everything in the world had changed except for him. Once he was caught up on the situation and ready to believe it was really happening he went to go and find her, only to find she could not be caught up on any situation. She lived but it was a sham of her former life. She used to be so energetic, so ready to change the world, and now… Now she barely remembered what room she was in let alone who was in there with her.

            His hands started moving faster, hitting harder. Peggy had lived her life, she had done many amazing and wonderful things and had helped shape the world as it was today. He wanted that. He had wanted to grow old with her. He wanted to live his life with her. Now she had already lived hers and he frequently debated if his was worth living…

            He started adding knees and kicks to the bag. It felt good to hit something. He hated it. He hated the loneliness that was never going to end. He hated waking up every day to being by himself. All alone constantly.

            Then there was the hero worship.

            The chain holding the bag snapped and the bag flew across the room. He charged after it and kept hitting as it lay on the ground, helpless the bag just took the punches. He knew it couldn’t feel anything and in that he almost envied it. He beat that bag till he could barely feel his hands.

            He finally pulled himself away and sat down on the beaten and broken bag. Just waiting for the end of… the day…

End story.

This was written from a first person of Captain America, Steve Rogers, set after Captain America the First Avenger but before the Avengers from the Marvel Universe. I plan on doing a series of these. For sure Ironman and Hulk. Not sure about the other Avengers yet but we will see. Let me know what you think! Have a great weekend world!

Lords of War and Money

Hello Internet,

Today I would like to share a great game I've found. This game is called Lords of War and Money. The game is a turn based strategy game. You pick a race, undead, elves, dwarves, knights, etc., and each race has their own unique units with strengths weaknesses and abilities. As you progress in level you obtain additional troops, both in number and in type. This keeps the game interesting and allow tactics to change and evolve. In addition to unique troops and troop abilities there are also hero talents, stats, and equipment to have your hero wear.

There are numerous formats to fights. You can fight other players on a 1vs1, 2vs2, or 3vs3 setting. You can also face computers in various styles of fighting like hunts, mercenary quests, thieving, and Ranger guild quests. These are not all available at the start but become unlocked over time. There are also daily tournaments for experience and a chance to win some gold.

Speaking of gold, it is needed to play this game. In the game you can enroll your character at a facility to earn a wage for that hour. All you have to do is enter in a code and your character is enrolled. Your character can still fight or play cards in the tavern and you earn some gold to put into your pocket. Enrolling is the best way to earn gold but you can also win hunts and mercenary quests for some gold. You can also exchange real money for gold if need be. I've been playing for a while and never felt the need or desire to do so and I still have a ton of fun!

The downside to this game is it is Russian based and therefore English is not the dominant language. A little Google Translate takes care of most of those issues and there is a significant English speaking community in the game. These players are very dedicated and there tons of players who are happy to help and answer questions about anything and everything.

The game also feature events that pop up sporadically every couple of months. These are twists on the usual fights and generally provide a rare piece of equipment. Events generally last somewhere between 1-2 weeks. They are fun ways to mix up the fights. Each event also ties into the over arching story of the game. The game's history is very diverse and unique. The history is translated from the Russian servers so it is not a perfect translation but it gets the point across. If you aren't into keeping up with the history or you just want to get right into the fighting you can skip the fighting bits!

I highly recommend the game to fantasy lovers who like strategy games. If you have any questions leave a comment! My characters name in the game is Obergon, if you play feel free to message me!

Below is my personal invitation link, if you join using this I get a little bonus (It's a shameless plug I know). If you don't wish to use the link, it hurts but I understand that the internet causes a lack of trust, feel free to Google the title of the game. Enjoy the game!

http://www.lordswm.com/?rid=4357723