COLLECTOR CORPS - SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING UNBOXING (MARVEL/FUNKO)

Here's June's Marvel Collector Corps - Spider-Man: Homecoming, from Funko. Who's excited for the movie?

Marvel's 'Black Panther' Trailer Highlights

Marvel Studios have released a first look trailer at 2018's Black Panther, and it looks amazing.

Thor: Ragnarok Trailer Highlights

Marvel has released the first teaser trailer for Thor, accompanied by some Led Zeppelin and a big green friendly giant. 

May contain spoilers. 

MARVEL COLLECTOR CORPS - SPIDER-MAN UNBOXING - FUNKO

I received Funko's Marvel Collector Corps: Spider-Man (August) box, and I'm pretty excited to check out what's inside!

Marvel Sweets Recipe

Here's a quick and easy recipe for making some jelly/gummy sweets!

Captain America: Civil War SPOILER REVIEW

Captain America: Civil War is finally out in the UK, so here's a review.

What To Expect From Captain America: Civil War

Civil War is out tomorrow (UK)! Here's what to expect from Marvel's latest superhero flick.

Captain America: Civil War Trailer 2 Highlights

The second official trailer for Captain America: Civil War is out and I. AM. SPEECHLESS.

Avengers: Infinity War Character Predictions

With a rumoured 67 characters planned, Avengers Infinity War seems to be one of the biggest movie events of all time. But, who's going to appear? Here are my predictions?

10 Characters The MCU Needs

Hello! It's taken me a while to write a new blog post, I've been busy working on my book! Check the Book tab for more details!

The other day, I was looking into the news of Squirrel Girl no longer being a mutant (see below), and connected it to what Marvel did with Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in the comics so they'd fit in the MCU, and then I realised that perhaps Squirrel Girl really is being set-up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Then, I went onto think about some characters that I'd quite like to see in the MCU (I've written another post for the DC Extended Universe 'DCEU' which will be out soon), and of course, I had to start with my dear...

Also, check out my phase four and phase five predictions for the MCU.

Squirrel Girl

She's no longer a mutant, she's defeated the likes of Doctor Doom, Wolverine, Deadpool, MODOK, Thanos, Bi-Beast, she even befriended Galuctus and stopped him from destroying Earth. She's insanely powerful, and she's perfect for some comic relief in the MCU. I mean, yeah, she's got a bizarre name and some bizarre powers, but with her no longer being a mutant, it's pretty clear she's being set up for the MCU. I could possibly see her popping up in Jessica Jones, released November 20th on Netflix, however if that's not the case I could definitely see either an animated series tied into the MCU (with live-action appearances down the line), or appearances in Infinity War p.2/Inhumans with a post-credits scene prior to these movies in Ant Man and The Wasp, Civil War or Guardians 2.0. I'd love it if Squirrel Girl were part of the last few standing members of the Avengers that take down Thanos in IW p.2, and I legitimately think this may in fact be the case.

Who I would cast: Sarah Hyland (a slightly more bad-ass, yet quirky Squirrel Girl)/Mae Whitman

Spider-Gwen

The issue with bringing in Spider-Gwen would be the multiverse, not interconnectivity within the films as we see now in Earth-199999, but the actual concept of Peter Parker wasn't bitten, his dead girlfriend was instead. There have been talks of a Spider-Gwen movie, and it would be cool to see Tom Holland's Peter Parker team up with Spider-Gwen (and maybe Miles Morales??) to save the world. However, as amazing as that would be, it probably won't happen for a while, at least the MCU's Spider-Man sequel, and even then, Spider-Gwen could only pop up in a post-credits and a simple name drop. 

Who I would cast: Elle Fanning

Captain Britain

Speaking of multiverses, each one has a Captain Britain (not the same one, of course) designated to protect the British Isles. The Captain Britain Corps. I feel perhaps Captain Britain could indeed have his own movie if they found a suitable plot that would fit in with the MCU (which would be a bit tricky). However, I feel Captain Britain would mostly work in Agents of Shield, and then moving into the movies. I feel Brian Braddock would fit in quite well in the general Avengers movie, specifically the Infinity War movies. We need some non-American Marvel heroes, we're getting that with Scarlet Witch and technically Black Widow, Doctor Strange will be British too, but still, they feel a tad too-American (not Donald Trump American, don't worry), and Captain Britain is genuinely bad-ass. 

Who I would cast: Martin Freeman Dan Stevens

Silver Sable

The thing about Silver Sable is that she's just cool, despite her backstory (her hair turned silver after seeing her mother die). Silver Sablinova is an antihero, and the leader of the Wild Pack. Sable is a master of martial arts, a highly skilled marksman and a badass swordsman. She's often associated with Spider Man, and with another Peter Parker reboot coming up, it'd be interesting to see some different characters pop up. Silver Sable also pops up in the Infinity War comics, and she's paired up with the Punisher, Daredevil, Captain America, and Luke Cage. She's also been associated with Misty Knight, who's appearing in the Luke Cage Netflix series. Dare I say it, when Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow kicks the bucket (perhaps with all the current Avengers), perhaps we can get Silver Sable as a worthy replacement.

Who I would cast: Claire Holt

Miss America (America Chavez)

She's got superhuman strength, she's got superhuman durability, she can fly, heck she's mastered inter-dimension transportation. America Chavez is bullet proof, flame proof and has superhuman speed. She's badass as heck, and she's a Latin-American badass LGBT teenager (which is incredibly important in terms of representation and diversity which is perhaps more needed in the MCU). While she doesn't have enough to fuel her own movie, she could very well appear down the line, I could very well see her, along with the young avengers, pop up in a post-credits scene similar to how Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver did in CA: Winter Soldier, only to have starring roles in a few films later. Essentially, I'd love to see Miss America turn up leading the Young Avengers, helping out in one of the upcoming phase three movies, most likely either Ant Man and the Wasp, Civil War, Spider Man or Inhumans. 

Who I would cast: Antonia Thomas

Spectrum (Monica Rambeau)

Try to spot how connected this character is with MCU heroes, she's perfect for the MCU.

Spectrum is a one-time leader of the Avengers, she's gone by the alias Captain Marvel (upcoming movie with the Carol Danvers CM), and was introduced to the Avengers by Spider Man (Tom Holland). She then teamed up with Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Luke Cage (Mike Colter), Blade and Brother Voodoo. She was mentored by Captain America (Chris Evans) and the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). Monica Rambeau is already so connected with the MCU that I'm actually quite surprised she hasn't even been name dropped yet. Spectrum is hugely powerful and a genuinely interesting yet unappreciated character. I could imagine Monica appearing in Captain Marvel alongside Carol Danvers, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if she does. I mean, seriously, I'm shocked we haven't had even a name drop considering we've even had a Man-Thing name drop. 

Who I would cast: Rutina Wesley

Sentry

Basically, insanely powerful Superman-like ex-drug addict with connections to Hulk, Iron Man and Spider Man. While I don't think he's got enough pull to earn a solo movie, Sentry (Robert Reynolds) does have an interesting back-story, albeit the aforementioned ex-drug (meth) addict background. His arch-nemesis... himself. Well, the Void, which is the other half of the personality, to be precise. Sentry is an interesting character, he can't die unless he chooses too, he's in a constant battle with his darker self, and has to contain his powers using his mental powers, meaning he's constantly on the verge of becoming evil. While, as mentioned earlier, he doesn't have the attention from fans to get his own movie, it would be interesting to see him join the Avengers at some point, especially if they decide not to go with the 'crazy Scarlet Witch' story to keep her as a pure and simple good hero, they could go with Sentry joining the Avengers then becoming oh so very bad. 

Who I would cast: Alexander Skarsgard

She-Hulk

If you've read my predictions for phase four and phase five, you'll know that I predicted a She-Hulk movie (and a sequel), I honestly think that with Hulk seemingly out the picture by the time Infinity War ends, along with a few of the original core avengers (bye Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff), we'll need a new green hero to smash some things up. Who better than the very much deserving She Hulk? Confession time: I think She-Hulk needs a movie much more than the Hulk, especially considering where the Hulk is now in MCU continuity. Let's get some more badass female heroines in the MCU, with them repeatedly delaying the first female led movie Captain Marvel yet again. We need some She-Hulk, and soon. I mean, come on, she's a green lawyer. She's cool. 

Who I would cast: Jennifer Love-Hewitt/Anne Hathaway (seriously)

And... Molten Man and Cardiac

Some fresh Spider Man villains so we don't get another Green Goblin or Doctor Octopus. 

Who I would cast: Greg Finley (MM) and Toby Stephens (C)

Some other thoughts (which I didn't include because I think it's obvious they'll be appearing in some form):

Kamala Khan

Spider Woman

Adam Warlock (Magus casting call for Guardians 2 is a thing)

Miles Morales

Enchantress

That's all for now...

Bye!

TotallyCulture

10 Terrifying Comic Book Villains

Hello! There's something rather terrifying about a slightly creepy looking, incredibly evil supervillain in the Marvel and DC comics/movies/tv shows. With this being my final Halloween-themed post of the month, I thought I'd make it just a tiny bit thrilling by listing 10 very creepy villains. 

10. Sultur 

So, Sultur is a demon in Marvel comics. Yup. An actual demon. Sultur is based on the Norse fire giant Sultr, and is a pretty consistent enemy of Thor's. It's claimed that Sultur sits at the end of the world, waiting for the end of time to come so he can slay everyone and everything. How rude. The very sight of Sultur is absolutely intimidating, imagine facing that in real life. Oh my gosh. 

 9. Lady Styx (DC)

Lady Styx makes me oh so very uncomfortable, her demeanour and very, very alien-like figure with all her extra limbs and long pointy head gives me pure chills. She's worshipped as a god in DC Comics, and sends her legions to annihilate planets and turn the populations into her very own undead slaves. Quite cruel in my honest opinion. 

8. Morbius, the Living Vampire

Oh hell no nasty vampire villain in Marvel. The sheer sight of him, see above, makes me feel uneasy. In recent storylines, he's become a fairly questionable hero. Morbius started out as a Spider-Man villain, went on to become a tragic protagonist with his very own series as a flying, super-strengthened vampire with a nobel prize. Yes, a nobel prize. 

7. Mary, Queen of Blood

Mary Seward is the leader of the Blood Red Moon, a terrorist vampire (note a trend here) organization in DC continuity, and served as handmaid to Queen Elizabeth (Elizabeth Tudor, yes the legit one). Now she's waging a war against humans, see above for terrifying quote; "they are nothing but food" oh hell no.

6. Black Mask

I remember playing Arkham City and feeling very uncomfortable whenever Black Mask popped up because, well, his mask is just a tad bit creepy. To tell the truth, I actually think I've had a nightmare about this guy. Black Mask is the slightly less well known crime lord of Gotham city, having known Bruce Wayne (Batman) since they were both children, yet is possibly one of the creepier Batman villains (the other two are coming up in a bit, don't fret).

5. Bloody Mary

What I admire about DC especially is their ability to create absolutely terrifying villains, and this is yet another one. Whilst I was editing this photo, I got distracted and when I looked back at the screen, I actually screamed. But then, I guess some of my friends will know how easily scared I am. Mary. Worth. Is. Terrifying. 

4. Duela Dent

Oh yes, another DC villain. I remember coming across Duela Dent when she went about as 'The Joker's Daughter', then pretty much all the other Batman villains before it was confirmed she was indeed Harvey Dent's daughter. The sheer sight of her gives me chills, however Duela went on to become an absolutely terrifying hero in Teen Titans before joining the Suicide Squad much to Harley Quinn's disdain. Then she went cray cray again and started mixing with more villains. She became obsessed with The Joker, and after his apparent death, Duela simply started to murder people to get his attention. Damn.

3. Carnage

Cletus Kasady, Marvel's psychopath and homicidal sadist. He killed his grandmother, tried to kill his mother by throwing a television into her bathtub, and tortured and killed his mother's dog. Then his mother tried to kill him, only to be killed herself by Kasady's father. Then Cletus was sent to an orphanage and killed a few people and burnt the place down. Then, he became a serial killer and was sent to prison, only to become Carnage, the most terrifying Marvel villain. Imagine coming across this in real life, I'd cry and need a change of clothes within 3 seconds. 

2. Scarecrow

I'm absolutely terrified of Scarecrow, oh my goodness. I remember playing Arkham Asylum, and wandering through the morgue when suddenly Scarecrow jumps out. I had to have an hour break and a hot drink. Then, as I returned to the game, I was thrilled (not) to find out I'd have to play through a Scarecrow level. Following this, I found out the entire SERIES WOULD BE BASED ON SCARECROW (and Joker, kind of) and I ABSOLUTELY LOST IT. Scarecrow plays on your biggest fears, using chemicals to induce a state of hallucination where your biggest fears play out. Imagine mine, a bunch of dogs and clowns surrounding me. What would be yours? Actually, it's a bit room 101, isn't it?

1. The Joker

The Joker, despite my hatred for clowns, is actually one of my favourite, not only in comics, characters of all time. Heath Ledger, Jack Nicholson, and the rest, have all played fantastic Jokers, and Jared Leto seems like he could most definitely be playing a very iconic incarnation of The Joker. The Joker terrifies me, and so many others, perhaps being slightly responsible for some children hating clowns (my fear of clowns actually only just kicked in in recent years, which is strange). I think the reason why The Joker ranked at the top spot is because his character shows the funny side of being evil, and that's truly a terrifying thought. To think that somebody could be so broken, that killing people and causing mayhem and mass destruction is just a joke to them. If that's not scary, I don't know what is.

That's all for now.

Be sure to check back on the 1st November for my October soundtrack, a monthly feature I do listing 10 songs I'd been listening to in that month. I'll also have a new theme for the first week or two of November, in honour of Guy Fawkes night. Be sure to come back to check it all out!

Feel free to follow me on Bloglovin', Twitter, and Facebook.

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Totally Culture

Curtis

5 Basic Halloween Costumes

Halloween is round the corner, and it's time to decide what costumes we'll be wearing for parties, trick-or-treating (if you're still into that???) and generally trying to scare people. Last year for Halloween I went to a party as a dead version of Arthur (the Aardvark). It was surprisingly well received (no seriously, somebody told me I was brave for wearing a bright yellow jumper... I'm not sure if that's good or bad but I'll take it). 

So, I thought I'd recommend 5 easy Halloween costumes for any last-minuters. 

1. Madonna, Post-Fall

All you need is:

- 1 (or more if you're feeling brave) bruise(s) on your face

- 1 dodgy hip

- 1 walking stick

- 1 life threatening cape

- 1 microphone

2. The Guilty Tory 

All you need is:

- 1 fragile pig

- An obnoxious prime minister

- Pig ears

- 1 t-shirt with a sentence denying these 'outrageous' claims

- 1 pig tail

- 1 tonne of guilt

- 1 kg of 'I was just an ordinary student'

3. Marvel Has Spider-Man

All you need is:

- 1 Spider-Man suit/Spider-Man hoodie (basing on whichever version you go for)

- The rights to affiliate Spider-Man with Marvel

- Sony's web shooters

4. Water On Mars

All you need is:

- 1 mega morph suit (red/orange)

- 1 bottle of water

- 1 Mars bar

- The ability to breathe in the mega morph suit

5. The Cheeky Nando's

All you need is:

- 1 lad/bigoted racist

- 1 'iced gem' haircut (see here for reference)

- 1 Nando's voucher

- 1 'Lads on tour' t-shirt

- 1 tonne of banter

- 4 fellow lads full of banter and 8 sidechicks (each)

That's all for now. 

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Totally Culture

PREDICTING MARVEL PHASE 5

Hello! Before you read this, feel free to check out my ranking of phase 2 of the MCU here, and additionally, feel free to check out my predictions for phase 4 of the MCU here. Despite Steven Spielberg's recent comments about the declining state of superhero movies (a rather redundant statement considering his recent filmography bar a few), I truly believe that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is to stick around until the 5th or 6th phase, preferably the sixth, before a hiatus on Marvel movies and then an ultimate reboot of some kind, perhaps focusing on superheroes other than the front-runners of the MCU; Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and my predicted front-runners Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman, and Doctor Strange for the later phases. I would believe the rebooted MCU following the Marvel hiatus would focus on such heroes like Squirrel Girl (she's actually pretty damn cool, she defeated Thanos/Deadpool/everyone), Miss America (America Chavez) and more, as they become seasoned heroes in the Marvel comics (baring in mind this reboot would come in the late 2020's). 

Obviously, I cannot fully predict the order of these films as I did with phase four as it's so far in the future, so these following 10 predictions are in no particular order. 

1. Namor

I guess all I can really say for this is that it's so deserving for the MCU and would be a fantastic response to the DCEU's Aquaman, one issue though, despite Namor's fantastic storylines and his snarky characteristics, he belongs to Universal. Please Universal, give Marvel the rights back :(

2. The Young Avengers

America Chavez's Miss America, Wiccan, Hulkling and co would make a great Young Avengers movie, especially because they all have such interesting backstories. I mean, Miss America is an LGBT Latin-American teenage female superhero, talk about diversity. It's important and inspiring that the Young Avengers team is also the most diverse, it's a great message for a young audience and thus something I'd like to see played out on the big screen. 'It doesn't matter who you are, it matters that you're a hero'. 

3. Adam Warlock

I don't believe that this would be an introduction movie to Adam Warlock, heck his cocoon has appeared in Guardians (confirmed by the director that it was indeed Adam Warlock), he was hinted at in Thor: The Dark World. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the character in phase three, especially involved in Guardians 2 and Infinity War, perhaps making a post credits appearance in Doctor Strange or Black Panther. Adam Warlock will be an established hero before his solo movie, similar to Spider-Man, as well as my predicted Spider-Woman appearances (see 5).

4. Nova

I would predict Nova for a few reasons, however an important one being that I doubt Tony Stark/Iron Man will be around for phase 4, let alone phase 5, and we need a character to fill that gap. Thus, we get Nova and the Nova Corps as a highly redeeming replacement. Nova, I predict, will be teased in phase 3 (a quick reference similar to Spider-Man's reference in Ant Man), and will make a post-credits appearance in phase 4, only to lead onto become a mainstay of phase 5 of the MCU. A storyline similar to Annihilation would be preferable, however with the Guardians and Captain Marvel being long-established characters by the time of phase 5 I don't see this happening.

5. Spider-Woman

If you've read my phase 4 predictions you will know that I've predicted Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman) to be one of the flagship heroes of Marvel's later phases, making appearances in Captain Marvel 2 and co-leading the Avengers in Secret Invasion, so it's only fair that she finally gets the movie she deserves in phase 5. Spider-Woman remains a fan favourite in the Marvel comics, despite recent controversy (seriously, just google 'spider woman costume controversy' to find out more), and has the perfect characteristics and story-lines to fit the MCU.

6. Captain Marvel 3

I feel this may be a definite, considering most MCU heroes have their own film trilogy (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America), and I feel Carol Danvers' Captain Marvel is going to continue that trend. I would possibly expect a team up in this film between Captain Marvel and the hugely important Kamala Khan's Ms. Marvel (expect Ms. Marvel to appear in a few films beforehand, such as the big Avengers movies, and possibly Young Avengers/Inhumans/Spider-Man). I would also expect this movie to be the Civil War of Phase 5, combining heroes of past and present (heck, how cool would it be to see a phase 1 hero pop up in phase 5).

7. She-Hulk 2

SHE HULK WAHEY. So, with the lack of Hulk movies in the MCU, and presumably Bruce Banner being long gone by phase 5, who else is going to continue the green rage other than Jennifer Walters' She-Hulk? For this sequel, I'd expect appearances from the likes of Black Talon, The Headmen and the X-Humed. As well as appearances from other heroes like Spider-Man, and cameos from the Young Avengers and the Runaways.

8. The Wasp

While Hope Van Dyne (the MCU's Wasp, with Janet Van Dyne being long gone) first appeared in the closing film of phase 2 Ant-Man, I do think that Wasp will be around for a while. The Wasp would be the comic relief of phase 5, as was Guardians/Ant Man with phase 2 and presumably Guardians 2 with phase 3. 

9. Black Panther 2

Black Panther would finally receive his sequel following his solo flick in phase three, and following the story of The Client, I would predict be told in a mysterious way that yet again redefines the superhero movie all those years away. Hopefully, the rights to Storm would be negotiated (depending on what happens to Fox's X-MEN franchise in 10-15 years time), and we'd get a brief history on Storm and Black Panther, only to jump back to the mysterious story of Black Panther in New York.

10. Avengers: Masters of Evil

Perhaps bringing the MCU to an end, the big bads of MCU past and present unite to fight the Avengers (maybe for one last time depending on the possibility of phase six), we'd see a few major villain deaths, as well as a few major hero deaths, and if this were to end the MCU, the Avengers would of course win, only to disband for the final time once their job is done and the universe is safe once more, possibly hinting towards the potential of a 'reboot'/extension of the MCU, with the cliché shot of the Avengers looking out into the distance on top of a building. Oh, the feels.

Frontrunners for Marvel phase 5: Spider-Woman, Nova, Adam Warlock, She Hulk and Black Panther, with additional heroes such as Squirrel Girl, Ms. Marvel, The Defenders and more. 

That's all for now. 

TotallyCulture