Spider-Man Homecoming – Comparative Opinions Episode 53

Welcome to the Comparative Opinions podcast! This week, hosts Holly and David review Spider-Man Homecoming. A bit of non-spoiler territory at first, then they transition into talk about what was great in this movie in spoiler territory. TL;DR: It wasn’t bad, yay!

Also please note: this was recorded before we knew that the new Doctor was being announced on Sunday the 16th, the day this posts! So some of the speculation is being answered with that!

Comparative Opinions is a weekly half-hour-ish podcast hosted on ComparativeGeeks.com. Subscribe for new episodes every Sunday!

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Music is by Scott Gratton: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Gratton/Intros_and_Outros

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Which side will Spider-Man end up on in Civil War?

Happy Tax Day in the US! I figure that makes it a good day to talk about somebody with money problems, right?

From https://www.facebook.com/thegeekstrikesback/
Also, the “We have money” page is from Hickman’s Avengers!

Spider-Man! On one hand, it’s exciting that Marvel worked out a deal with Sony to be able to include him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. On the other hand, there are so many characters already in Captain America: Civil War that I don’t know that too many people’s opinions went from “not-seeing” to “seeing” this movie just because of Spider-Man…

However, in terms of the comic storyline of Civil War, having Spider-Man appear gives them a lot of storytelling ground to walk. In the comics, Spider-Man switched sides and it made some sense… will they pull off the same thing in the movie? Let’s talk that through, and then end in a prediction poll!

Review of Ant-Man: Second-Chance Man – A Graphic Novel

Marvel timed the release of Second-Chance Man beautifully, especially for those who were unfamiliar with the character. The audience’s curiosity was already piqued, people were curious about a superhero who shrinks to (roughly) the size of an ant (yes, there was much scepticism). It gave readers a chance to explore Scott Lang before the release of the Ant-Man movie.

There is a quote on the front cover by ComicVine.com, and I found it particularly apt ‘Get ready to be able to say you are now an Ant-Man fan.’ So many people have told me how much they love the character, granted that’s mainly because of the fantastic movie, but there is a lot of truth in the quote. You will certainly become a fan if you pick up a copy of Second-Chance Man.

You don’t need the backstory to know that Scott Lang is down on his luck, and seeking a way to turn his life around – to make his daughter proud. He got a second chance, was brought back from the dead, and now he’s looking for a fresh start and a new job. It’s where the graphic novel begins. Though in usual Scott fashion, he has an unorthodox way of going about things.

His unique style makes him perfect for the job of security advisor for Tony Stark, but even with a job offer from Iron Man himself, things don’t go according to plan. When Scott discovers his ex-wife is moving to Miami, he makes the decision to follow his daughter. Once there he establishes Ant-Man Security Solutions, runs into and old foe, the Taskmaster, takes on two employees and finds himself smack bang in the middle of a trouble – again. Worse, his daughter’s life is in danger.

It’s a fun adventure, and the action never stops. Here are a few of the reasons I loved Ant-Man: Second-Chance Man.

This Should Not Amuse Me So Much

Okay as a caveat, I am generally very skeptical of the challenge for charity that has been starting up. In some ways it is a good one time fundraiser that probably does not take much effort because it passes itself along. At the same time I don’t think it is the best way to push for awareness about the issues because it is just saying I am giving money to this charity or doing x, y, or z. Lately there has been a challenge going around for ALS awareness called the ice bucket challenge. The idea is that you are supposed to either give $100 to an ALS organization or dump a bucket of ice water over your head. This is kind of a brilliant idea during the summer and I think you probably get a lot of people doing the challenge and giving money to the organization. Again, great fundraiser idea, but not a long lasting change.

Now with this recently we have gotten politicians and celebrities involved in the challenge, which is great because it brings more sharing and more money in to these organizations. I particularly appreciate the ALS challenge because I actually have a personal connection to two different people affected by the disease. Now recently I found the following video of Disney CEO Bob Iger doing the Ice Bucket Challenge.

To my delight he nominates Olivia Pope, Peter Quill, and Tony Stark. I was greatly amused that he nominated the characters and not the actors themselves. Now it also makes sense because all of these characters are connected to Disney in some form or the other. The Peter Quill and Tony Stark were more my favorites. See if anyone answered the call after the jump.

Iron Man 3 and Iron Man Extremis: A LitFlix

This is my first LitFlix to do, as I am tackling the comic movies this year. Check out my original post about that here. This is our first summer blockbuster, and our first comic movie for the year. This is Iron Man 3.

I had a bit of trouble nailing down what comic to read, to prepare for Iron Man 3, and I discuss some of that process here. So first, I am going to talk about about my comics hunt, then about the comic that leads into Iron Man 3, and compare.

Past here I am going to delve into spoilers, so be warned. If you want your own LitFlix experience with Iron Man 3, I recommend reading Invincible Iron Man, Volume 4: Extremis. I have the six-part comic on my Marvel App. Also, see Iron Man 3. It’s a blast.