Thursday, February 11, 2016

Marvel vs DC - Jessica Jones, Supergirl, Agent Carter, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow

Is it my imagination or are the DC movies starting to look better and better and the Marvel films look .... tired?  Meanwhile on TV Marvel looks better and better and DC might be the one who is tired.  Maybe...









Jessica Jones - I finally finished watching this series and it was excellent.  Right now Netflix is doing the Marvel products perfectly and I have all the confidence that this will continue to be the case with season 2 of Daredevil as well as The Punisher and Luke Cage series.

Jessica Jones was superbly intense and well acted on every level.  There is a lot of praise going toward David Tennant and it is well deserved.  He was one of the best villains depicted in any Marvel or DC series to date.  Rumors that he might be in season 2 of Jessica Jones are circulating but I think his story is done.  I can't imagine how they can top that.

The series fits in well with Netflix's view of the Marvel universe and I hope to see more crossover with Daredevil in the future.  Hats off to Netflix for taking their time and not rushing together the whole Defenders idea.

Having seen a series for the first time on Netflix, I will say that I love the idea that you could watch the entire series when you want and not have to wait a week.  Ironically I probably ended up watching an episode a week for most of the series due to time constraints anyhow.  The only disadvantage is within 13 hours of being released on Netflix spoilers began flooding the internet.  I managed to stay away from most of them.  Still, Netflix has an annoying habit of spoiling the episodes themselves with their descriptions of the next episode so beware!



Supergirl isn't Jessica Jones - While I think Jessica Jones is a better series than Supergirl I will have to defend the caped heroine from all the criticism it has received.  The comparisons are fair to a degree but obviously Netflix has an advantage as it can be more realistic and gritty.  Supergirl is probably the most family friendly superhero series on TV right now and it may be the most family friendly series period on TV. This has given us the opportunity to introduce my daughter to the world of superheroes.  She really gets into Supergirl and has even begun to watch the episodes on her own. Then when we sit down as a family to watch she will often tell us when something important, funny or exciting is about ready to happen.


Supergirl is a fun series but it is very retro in its writing.  The stories are very preachy and always have a lesson not so hidden within.  This coupled with a huge woman empowerment agenda, the stories can often be heavy handed and obvious which I think works in favor for younger audiences.  I have never thought series need to dumb things down, especially for kids but this is not really dumbing down.  It is more presenting things as their basic ingredients.  I love the tone of the series and while the female empowerment is over the top, I still enjoy that aspect of it.



Supergirl meets The Flash - WOW!  We had heard of this possibility on and off since last fall but now it is definitely happening this March.  We already have had a glimpse of Supergirl in the latest episode of The Flash and that tease is bringing the SQUEEEES out from everyone.  I so badly wanted this to happen and now just hope they don't screw it up.  Hopefully this will open the door for future crossovers which would see Supergirl meet up with Green Arrow, The Atom and Hawkgirl.  That would be cool!!






Agent Carter is excellent - I love this series and currently this second season is hitting it out of the park again.  I enjoy this escape into the past.  It is good to get away from the darker more pressing Agents of SHIELD.  Agent Carter is a bit more fun and adventurous and I love that whole retro feel to it.

But there is some real and potential bad news.  The real bad news is that the show is floundering in the ratings.  There is no real good reason for this as the show is probably one of the best on TV right now.  I would argue that it is probably better than Agents of SHIELD, The Flash and Arrow.  It is fun and entertaining to the nth degree and yet no one is watching it.  Shame.  While the ratings are slipping there are some better numbers with on demand.

The potential knock out punch in this is star Hayley Atwell is working on a new pilot for ABC which sounds like another crime drama, something that we really don't need more of.  If the pilot and season 3 of Agent Carter are both picked up then ABC would schedule Atwell to handle both series.  Since ABC has both series it might be easier for them to just cancel Agent Carter.  Time will tell.



Legends of Tomorrow -  I am also enjoying this series quite a bit.  It does seem to have on display a lot of secondary characters and I don't think the chemistry to quite there yet for the team, but overall it is enjoyable.  While I like Professor Stein, Sara Lance, Captain Cold, Heat Wave and Hawkgirl, Ray Palmer and Roy, I mean Rip Hunter are just not clicking just right.  I dislike Atom's Iron Man suit a great deal.  I do get a kick out of their time travelling back in time though - more of that please.



Recent Trailers - the most recent set of trailers has gotten me more interested in Suicide Squad than Batman v Superman.  Deadpool and the next X-men movie are also on my radar probably more than Captain America Civil War for some reason.











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