Tag: Avengers

The Failures of the Flash, and Why the DC Extended Universe Flopped

On By Charlie BrooksIn Comics, FilmLeave a comment

The Flash is the latest in a line of movies set in the DC Universe to flop critically, disappoint financially, or both. Despite trying to repeat the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home by giving fans a return of some of their favorite actors, in this case Michael Keaton as Batman, the film has greatly disappointed at the box office, spending a full month to reach the $250 million mark, all but guaranteeing that the film will lose a massive amount of money when all is said and done. It’s symptomatic of broader failures across the DC Cinematic Universe, which tried to replicate what Marvel accomplished with its films but has failed at almost every turn.

There are lots of reasons that these movies didn’t succeed, but I’m going to focus on what I think many critics ignore when they dissect these cinematic misses: the DC movies never took the time to earn the fan buy-in that they think they deserve.

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Superhero Evolutions: The Incredible Hulk, part one

On By Charlie BrooksIn ComicsLeave a comment

Is he man or monster or…is he both?

Hoo boy…

I’ve been putting this off for a while. Don’t get me wrong; I love the Hulk. He’s my favorite comic book character, and quite possibly my favorite literary character ever. If I ever got the chance, I’d put up with all the bullshit politics, editorial mandates, and fan whining in the comic book industry just to get a shot at writing this character. But actually documenting the number of changes he’s gone through…well, let’s just say that we’re definitely in for a multi-part rant here.

At his core, the Hulk is a simple concept. Inside each of us there dwells a raging fury. When Bruce Banner’s temper boils over, he becomes the embodiment of rage: a 7-foot tall, 1,000-pound force of unfettered fury that can casually knock over a city. Perhaps because the concept is so simple, a lot of different writers have played around with it. The result is something that can best be summed up with what I like to call the Incredible Hulk Drinking Game. The rules are simple: take a shot when, during the Hulk’s history, one of the following happens:

  • The Hulk changes color,
  • The Hulk’s transformation pattern changes,
  • The Hulk changes personality,
  • And take a bonus shot if this change is not given any explanation in the story.

(Warning: do not actually participate in the Incredible Hulk Drinking Game. You will die of alcohol poisoning.)

Ready for a doozy? Here we go…

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The MCU’s Incredible Character Arc for the Hulk (That We Never Got to See)

On By Charlie BrooksIn Film2 Comments

The Marvel Cinematic Universe marks a remarkable cinematic achievement. Despite a few missteps, the movies accomplished some amazingly in-depth storytelling, stringing together almost two dozen films to tell the stories of dozens of different characters. And for the most part, those characters got a reasonably satisfying conclusion by the end of Avengers: Endgame.

Of course, with so many different characters, the films couldn’t present everybody’s story in a satisfying manner. For example, let’s look at the Hulk. He has one of the longest characters arcs of all the Avengers and changes more than anybody…but none of the interesting stuff happens on-screen.

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