What do The Rocketeer, Captain America, and Indiana Jones have in common? Probably more than you think! In this video we attempt to uncover why The Rocketeer has become such an endearing cult-classic, where its inspiration comes from, how the concept of retrofuturism impacted its enduring popularity, and how it has unexpectedly influenced cinema to this very day…over 30 years after its initial release!
Category: comics
Infinity War Analysis and Review
Everyone seems to be sharing their thoughts on Infinity War. At first, I thought writing a review of my own would just be creating white noise. But then I gave it some more thought and realized that I had to write a review; because if I don’t, I might go crazy from all the thoughts swirling around in my head! I need to get them out of my mind before I’m driven mad, so without further ado, here’s my Infinity War review and analysis!
Warning: Spoilers!
Infinity War is different from any other Marvel movie in history. It opens different. It ends different. It even plays out different. Right from the cold open, to the end credits, this movie takes you through a unique journey. And when I say cold open, I mean a cold open out in the middle of space, where in the first five minutes of the movie, two of the longest running characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe die. Both Loki and Heimdall, fan favorites, die relatively harsh deaths before the actual story even starts. The directors want to make it very clear to the audience that this movie will be unlike any other Avengers movie ever made. In one genius stroke, they let the audience know that no one is safe. For once, a Marvel movie has very real stakes.
It’s totally ambitious, not just because it is the culmination of 10 years and 18 movies in one shared universe, but also because it risks alienating the very fans that have made the franchise so popular. They took risks with the themes of the film and even with the lives of characters, raising the death toll with the possibility of making some viewers upset that favorite characters had been axed. The fans of the comics, including myself, may have been mentally prepared for it (even if they didn’t know the exact details), but the average viewer was not. With one wrong move, the makers of this film could have alienated a large portion of the fan base.
But with a brilliance that is often overlooked, the directors (the Russo Brothers) managed to pull off these calculated risks, all whilst honoring what had come before, juggling dozens of A-list stars, and even…dare I say it…telling a fairly engaging story. It’s interesting how many people take this feat for granted. If you looked at the facts, you’d see how nearly impossible this film should have been to pull off; at least on a technical level. And yet they did it.
The theme is sacrifice. We don’t have time to cover all the instances of this theme here, but there are quite a few (especially from Gamorra and Vision). Even with the villain, the Russos didn’t shy away from playing with this theme. Even if I still hate Thanos, and his backstory only makes me hate him even more, at least they managed to make him believable. The character, even through heavy CGI manages to convey weighty emotion, and really makes you believe he’s a real person with real motivations (whether we sympathize with those emotions as an audience or not).
Thanos is not some forgettable Dark Elf that wants revenge. He’s a deeply disturbed individual who believes that killing half the universe will curb overpopulation. He watched his home world die because of that, and he wants to prevent it from happening anywhere else. It may be insane and morally wrong, but it’s also a unique and plausible motivation for this ‘Mad Titan’. He really believes himself to be the hero. Most of the audience is pulled into this slightly different perspective. In Thanos’ mind, he is the hero who is sacrificing everything that he has, and the Avengers are the villains arrayed against him; attempting to stop him from obtaining universal peace.
This uncomfortable perspective makes the audience, at least in my opinion, hate him even more, as one-by-one my favorite heroes are swatted away like mere insects. It’s a bit depressing to see our heroes not have much of a chance. Thanos managed to dispatch Hulk with a single Infinity Stone. What can our heroes possibly do when he has more? The answer is nothing. Even the strongest Avenger is no match for Thanos and for the first time in Marvel cinematic history, the heroes have lost before the movie even begins. They can do absolutely nothing about it.
Well, almost nothing. My last point is the theme of failure and mistakes. The heroes have several opportunities to beat Thanos, and every small glimmer of hope is snatched away by a single character’s mistake. It’s not just Star-Lord and his sentiments for Gamorra that you should be mad at…everyone had a chance to mess things up. Of course, there were several of these chances that I’m glad they avoided (like Star-Lord killing Gamorra so Thanos didn’t get the Sould stone, or Scarlet Witch killing Vision so that he didn’t get the Mind Stone), but there are also several that would have been fine. Iron Man went to Titan to fight Thanos on his own turf, even when Strange said it was a stupid idea. Scarlet Witch went out to battle in Wakanda when she should have been protecting Vision. Even Thor failed to land a killing blow, or at least cut the gauntlet off Thanos’ hand, with Stormbreaker. There were so many moments when the good guys could have won, but they did not and that is the true art of this movie; to show that, even in the world of superheroes, mistakes have real consequences.
For the first time, several real heroes died in battle; not just token characters. They did not shy away from killing off popular heroes that we love, and they even managed to surprise the audience with who died; leaving alive the older heroes that everyone thought were going to die, and instead killing the newer ones that we expected to live. Not only was it emotional for the audience, but it was also emotional for the characters. The filmmakers have, by killing off the Avengers’ closest friends and family, brought the original heroes of this universe to the lowest place that they have ever been; raising the stakes to the absolute maximum to bring them to the point of desperation for the coming battle in Part 2…and that is feat to be reckoned with!
How Captain America Was Almost Erased From Marvel History (The Surprising History of Captain America)
Captain America is easily one of the greatest and most recognizable comic book characters of all time. He is pretty much featured in every ‘top superheroes’ list and is often sited as one of Marvel’s flagship heroes, alongside the likes of Spider-Man, Thor, and Wolverine. Now with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America is more popular than ever, constantly toe-to-toe with Iron Man as the franchise’s most iconic character.
But, did you know that this almost never happened? Did you know that Captain America almost never existed in the Marvel Universe? For those of you who don’t know, we must go back in time to explain. We must go back to 1940, when Marvel Comics went by a different name; Timely Comics.
During this time, the comic publishing house that would one day become one of the industry’s forerunners, was nothing more than a small company trying to keep afloat amidst the explosion of DC’s (known as National Comics at the time) superhero characters. Realizing that superheroes were the future of comics, writer Joe Simon decided to create a character of his own for Timely. The character, inspired by Simon’s disgust over the Nazi agenda and America’s lack of involvement in combating them, was created with artist Jack Kirby in 1940 as a political statement. Thus, a superhero legend was born in the form of Captain America.
Captain America was an instant success, with his first issue selling almost 1 million copies; a monumental feat for comics at the time. There was something about the character which instantly connected with the public. Perhaps the connection came from Cap’s bravery, self-sacrifice, loyalty, humility, or even his relatable origins as a weakling with a big heart. No matter the reason, people couldn’t seem to get enough of him. Captain America quickly became Timely Comic’s most popular character, and even rivaled some of the biggest heroes from other publishers during the era.
But as they say, all good things must come to an end, and with the end of WW2 the popularity of Captain America began to wane. The writers of Captain America didn’t know what to do with the extremely patriotic Captain without the black-and-white evils of the Hitler to function as a backdrop. It was clear that they could not continue writing Captain America the same way. However, instead of keeping the character’s personality and integrity, they made the mistake of using him as branding tool to sell their stranger and less-marketable comics. As a result, the character suffered even more and was eventually dropped.
The character stayed in limbo from 1949-1953 where he went largely ignored by Timely Comics, which was renamed Atlas Comics in 1950. In 1953 Atlas tried to revive many of its forgotten superhero titles and Captain America was first on the list to receive the new treatment. Atlas had the idea to not only revive the characters, but to also rebrand them, with Captain America now called “Commie Smasher” and being pitted against any ‘anti-American’ enemy that Atlas could imagine; often changing Cap’s personality to fit their more cynical stories. The result of this change in Cap’s morals and integrity was disastrous. Fans rejected the revival, and this version of the character didn’t last a year before being cancelled.
This was a major blow to the character, and Captain America seemed as if he would never rise to popularity again. It seemed as if Captain America would die a very slow and painful death as he slowly vanished from the public eye. Years passed, and although Cap never technically disappeared from Atlas entirely, he seemed to be constantly ignored.
Captain America almost disappeared forever. In fact, it looked as if comics would never see the good Captain’s return.
However, by 1961 two things would happen that would change the comic book industry forever. The first was cosmetic. After going through years of branding turmoil, leadership changes, and financial hardships, the company finally permanently renamed itself as Marvel Comics, the moniker that would eventually go down in history as one of the biggest names in comics. The second thing was much more tangible; the debut of Stan Lee’s ‘Fantastic Four’ which marked the first major step in Lee’s rapid rise as the comic industry’s biggest name. It also rebooted Marvel’s in-story universe; tying it all into a single interconnected continuity. The combination of the company’s attempt to rebrand itself, Stan Lee’s revival of superhero comics, and a firm new direction for its publications, all made the time ripe for a triumphant return.
In 1964, after 10 years of obscurity and neglect, Captain America finally made his triumphant return in 1964’s Avengers #4. Stan Lee had insisted on the return of the icon that he grew up with, and personally championed the retcon (meaning retroactive continuity) that changed Captain America’s history to fit the new emerging canon of superheroes in the 60’s. Firstly, gone were the embarrassing Captain Americas of the 50’s, which were revealed to be imposters that took over for the real Captain America. Secondly, it was soon revealed that, although Captain America had been thought dead since 1945, he was instead hidden beneath the ice of the North Atlantic Ocean, frozen in an ageless state; waiting to be revived. His emergence from this ‘suspended animation’ in Avengers #4 was an instant success. The rest is history.
Finally, the person writing Captain America’s story was someone who cared about the character’s personality and rich history. It certainly showed, as Captain America quickly gained the status of Marvel’s moral center; the character that fans could count on to do the right thing, no matter the cost. He’s someone to aspire to, and we all want to be like him. Even after his 75-plus years of existence, Captain America still challenges us to be the best that we can be, and to consider our fellow man over ourselves. He remains one of the most beloved comic characters of all time. So, it’s astounding to think that he was almost erased from comics forever! Could you imagine if he never existed in the Marvel Universe that we know and love today? We certainly can’t!
Let us know what you think makes Captain America so popular!
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