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Apparently the other Forces got together and jumped the Speed Force and beat it like it stole it stole money from them. The Flash is clearly taking elements from Williamson's run but are making changes to tell the story they want. The Speed Force getting beat down is definitely not from the books but hey, its keeping things interesting. We're wondering if on the show they're making the other forces emulate the emotional spectrum, kinda like what Geoff Johns did with Green Lantern. It also makes us even more skeptical of the original Wells coming back and if somehow he's also a product of one of the new forces.

Three things stand out to us specifically for this episode: 

* Cecile is becoming pretty powerful.This is the second episode where she's demonstrated that her powers can be a good thing (or scary if used wrongly)

* We're appreciative that they're bringing up the fact that Frost used to be "Killer Frost" and literally murdered people. Can't really sweep that under the rug

*  Where is the baby? Where is Joe & Cecile's baby? Is it just one of those things the show isn't show or is this part of a bigger plot that Crisis changed things. 

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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Nice arm you got there. Be a shame if someone came and ripped it off. Especially if that "someone" was a Black super solider. We knew that Marvel had cast Carl Lumby as Isaiah Bradley but we didn't know how they would integrate him into the story. Look, everyone knows the cover of Truth: Red, White & Black that tells Bradley's story but let's be honest. The story itself is...well...not very good. Episode 2 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier though sets up Bradley's background by 1. not making him brain dead and a drooling mess 2. Establishing him as a bad ass who took the Winter Soldier's arm back in the 50's 3. establishes the horrific legacy of the super solider serum and how it was used on Black soldiers who were experimented on and then swept under the rug. Now instead of being a cringy story that folks have to add onto to make better, it starts off as a story we want to see more of. And that's just a small part of this episode.

This episode opens up humanizing John Walker and showing him as a pretty competent choice for Captain America and we hate it. The propaganda is so strong that. We had to begrudgingly admit that he's more than capable with the shield in his hand. Of course Walker's overconfidence and assholery comes out the further we get into the episode which we appreciate. We also appreciate Bucky not being with the shit at all. 

We also get some deep cut Captain America references, from Battlestar to the Power Broker. We get more understanding of the Flagsmasher's motivations and we aren't going to say they're 100% right but they're making some solid points. Especially about the feelings fo those that were left to survive during the blip.

Listen as we break down this episode and make sure you subscribe so you don't miss any of our discussions.

 

 

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The lead character of NOBODY, Hutch Mansell, completes the trifecta of "Dudes You Should Have Just Left Alone". He joins the likes of John Wick and Robert McCall. You know, the guy who was a secret assassin/government BlackOps/Cleaner that is trying to retire and settle into a "normal" life but people just have to fuck with them. And it all goes horrible wrong (for the dumbasses that mess with them). This is a sub-genre of the Impossible White Man genre of films that also is one of the hardest to make. See, everyone wants to make vigilante films and they think they're man character is Batman when in reality they're making a super problematic Punisher. Think the Death Wish remake (or originals for that matter) or Peppermint. Poorly done, these films just turn into torture porn with a (usually) white lead killing an abundance of people of color because of some horrible tragedy. When done right though, these films become the story of a highly capable individual, using their skills to fight for those that can't fight for themselves and take down the bad guy. John Wick (all over killing his dog) and Robert McCall (fighting for those that are victims). In NOBODY, the catalyst is Hutch defending a young girl. It actually goes out of its way to have him NOT harm some people of color. That's how you do these types of movies. 

On the surface (and the trailers), NOBODY probably looks like a John Wick clone with Bob Odenkirk seeming like odd casting. If that was what this film was, it would probably still be pretty good because well, John Wick was a sleeper hit that's turned into a whole ass franchise. But NOBODY isn't a John Wick clone. More like, John Wick adjacent. And what that does is turn that into its own GOOD movie, that by the end of it, audiences will probably be asking to become it's own franchise as well. This film has great action, a great cast, an appropriately applied soundtrack and even sprinkles in some over the top humor for good measure. 

Odenkirk fully commits to the role of Hutch Mansell both physically and personality-wise. Hutch has settled into his boring, quiet life that seems typical of man who just seems to be sleep walking through life. He works for his Father-in-Law and his Brother-in-Law is a wannabe tough guy. His wife Becca (Connie Nielsen) is the breadwinner and her and Hutch have grown apart. It seems like Hutch has hit that late, mid-life crisis and has completely checked out. Then you slowly start realizing, it's all a mask and that Hutch isn't some "Beta male" but rather someone you really don't want to piss off.

What works for this movie is how the story unfolds. The way the film gives Hutch's backstory to the audience is pretty ingenious, hilarious and honestly...pretty morbid. The supporting cast is great (This might be Christopher Lloyd's best appearance in a film in years). And as mentioned before, the end will have you wanting them to continue on with this series.

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There are some stories that sneak up on you. Luring you in with subtle descriptions and a glimpse at a  character's inner-most thoughts. You think you're about to embark on a journey, and you are, but it's definitely not the one you think following a young woman home - to the land she was stolen from - is likely to take you on. 

Instead of a slowly unfolding story about a soldier trying to find her footing, the character's almost immediately thrust into thwarting an assassination attempt on a princess and carrying out orders certain to leave everyone in this squad of conscripts feeling some type of way about this homecoming. 

And that's exactly how C. L. Clark's debut novel The Unbroken begins.

Picking a side is where the conflict starts...

This military/political fantasy centers Touraine, conscripted soldier, as she returns to the country of her birth as part of the colonizing force's army and Luca an imperial princess determined to wrestle her throne from her uncle.

To prove her worthiness to rule, Luca aims to stop an colonial uprising by convincing the rebels she wants peace...when what she really wants is the means to rule unchallenged. Through a series of bloody events, Touraine finds herself under Luca's authority and thrust into a world of diplomacy, intrigue and uneasy alliances that she's in no way prepared for.

...and a bloody adventure follows after 

What follows is a skillfully designed North-Africa inspired world full action and adventure. Clark puts forward the kind of character dynamics and world-building that paints a vivid picture all while building to tipping point well worth reaching.

The Unbroken will challenge how you view military forces, colonial/post-colonial North Africa, power dynamics, and a women's unconflicted willingness to be violent...and be hellaciously good at it. There's magic, mayhem, love and what drives every good rebellion, tests of loyalty. 

In edition to simply being a fantastic story, the world The Unbroken is multifaceted and richly diverse. The lead women characters are queer; there are other lesbian, gay, and bi characters. There is also a trans side character (you'll definitely want to see more of). 

If you only add one new author to your reading list in 2021, it needs to be C. L Clark. 

A Conversation with C. L. Clark 

I had the pleasure of sitting down with the author to dig into how The Unbroken came to be, how the narrative hit me versus what Cherae readers would take away, and the multiple reasons to be found in this story that explain why I'm excited it's the first of (at least) three books set in this world. Listen in and then be sure to pick up The Unbroken* that hit bookshelves March 23, 2021. 

C. L. Clark graduated from Indiana University’s creative writing MFA program and was a 2012 Lambda Literary Fellow. They’ve been a personal trainer, an English teacher, and an editor, and is some combination thereof as they travel the world. When they’re not writing or working, they’re learning languages, doing P90something, or reading about war and (post)colonial history. Their short fiction has appeared in Beneath Ceaseless Skies, FIYAH, and Uncanny, and on PodCastle, where they are currently a coeditor. You can follow them on Twitter: @c_l_clark.

*Ro received a review copy of The Unbroken in exchange for her honest opinion. 

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We're back with more MCU Phase 4 Disney+ goodness. This time we're back to explore two more characters: Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, the Falcon and Winter Soldier. Right out the gate this series lets us know it's going to be way more action packed than WandaVision. Apparently Sam spent the 5 years in the blip, not erased out of existence but in a Crossfit gym. The opening of this series lets us know right away that the powers that be that don't want Sam to keep the shield don't have a leg to stand on. This is the first time we've seen Sam doing hero shit on his own and....he's damn good at it. Still not good enough to get a loan as a black man though.

On the Bucky side, it's nice to see the trend of using the Disney+ shows to explore the characters that have deep troubling issues that we've just never had a chance to explore. Bucky being forced to go to therapy is good and it's also great that his therapist doesn't let him off the hook. Like WandaVision, when you think about how recent some of the most traumatic events to happen to some of these characters are, it's a wonder they're not all in therapy. 

I know some might be confused as to why Sam would give up the shield and where the hell Great Value Captain America aka John Walker came from. But like WandaVision, audiences need to trust the process and just let the story unfold. One of the best things so far about the Disney+ shows being the intro to MCU Phase 4 is that they're reenforcing how serious that "Five Years Later" was in Endgame. There's also a sense of anti-hero sentiment that's also going on and that never ends well. 

Listen as Ro, Kriss and Dpalm discuss this episode and have reasonable predictions (The therapist is Mephisto).

 

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We won't lie. We're grading this episode on a curve. While it's the third episode of season 7, this is clearly what was planned to be the end of last season. COVID ended up cutting that short and so this episode is wrapping all that up. So it's with that context that we're willing to overlook a few things with this episode. It's clearly rushed and a bit cheesy and on the nose ("It's about love"). But that said, it all still fits over all with what the show is trying to do with Barry and his team. Leaning on Barry and his team and differentiating him from his enemies was a big theme from last season. And while very heavy handed, Iris being Barry's "lightning rod" is also a key element of the character. 

More importantly we're excited about where the show is going next now that they've been able to wrap up the story they were prevented from finishing last season. Once again  this show is pulling from the latest run of The Flash and we're seeing that not only did the Speedforce come back but it seems we're getting the other Forces as well. Which should be pretty exciting. Also, how they decided to handle the firing of Hartley Sawyer was hilarious.

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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Every time we review an episode in season 2 of Snowpiercer, we end up saying the same thing: Layton is out of his depth here. And episodes 4 through 8 really hammer that home. Mr. Wilford executes his long game and literally takes Snowpiercer away  from Layton so easily. Now it would  be easy to get frustrated with this show for how Layton is being portrayed here but we actually like it. It's more realistic. When you look at the timeline of how things have transpired, we're looking at a few months. Layton was never equipped to be a leader of a society like Snowpiercer. He's still stuck in survival mode (understandably) from his time in the tail. He also suffering from the affliction that infects most men: The inability to listen to the women around him. Or more specifically, the right women. He has no problem listening to Zarah, but still is keeping Ruth out of the loop. And Ruth is really make us warm up to her. If Layton had listened to Melanie before she left, perhaps Layton wouldn't find himself in the situation he does at the end. 

Episode 6 also works very well to give us flashbacks on the lead up to Melanie stealing Snowpiercer from Wilford. Also gives a bit more context for why she ended up doing what she did. It also plays well to contrast with Layton and how he messed up. We really look forward to the last 2 episodes to see how all this plays out.

 

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This latest episode of The Flash is further evidence that the beginning of Season 7 is just the true end of Season 6 and we're not mad at that all. COVID clearly caused an abrupt end to the last season and instead of just moving on, The Flash is trying to complete that story before moving on to the next and that's a good thing. We really enjoy how they're tying everything back to Barry and his heart and what makes him a hero. By taking that part of Barry aware this episode and making him more tactical, we see that the benefits are short-lived and that the answer for Barry is to always lean on his family and team. It's the classic "my friends and family don't make me weak they make me stronger" troupe which is probably a bit heavy handed but we'll take it. 

Also, there must always be a Wells. 

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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The WandaVision finale is here. The title is "Series Finale" so it's unlikely that we will be seeing a second season but as with all things in the MCU, this feels more like the beginning than the end. Wanda embraces the role as the Scarlet Witch even though she (and us the audience) doesn't know what that means. At least not yet. There's a lot of places the MCU could go now and we're excited for the fallout. And the memes. Cause the Black Twitter Vishawn memes have been *chef kiss*. 

It's also worth pointing out how once again Marvel has tackled what could be viewed as a problematic storyline from the comic and flips it to give characters agency. Wanda Maximoff comes from a long list of female characters in comics that was written to be a victim of "too much power". WandaVision instead makes Wanda a victim of her grief that much more grounded and understandable. And the show gives her the power to get out of it instead of leaving it to a man to come and save her. Gotta love how Marvel has made that change. Now the question is, which path does she go down? Good? Bad? Or somewhere in the middle? We'll find out in Doctor Strange 2.

Listen as we talk about this finale, the series as a whole and what's next. Also take the break cause we'll be back for Captain America and the Winter Solider (yeah we said it).

 

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Man it's good to be back. Covid ended The Flash's last season a bit early and delayed the start of season 7. There was such a delay that we actually had a little apprehension about the show coming back. Were we really down for another 22 episode season? Were we going to remember what happened in season 6? Were we going to feel the same connection to the show?

Yes. The answer is yes. Yes we are. 

The start of season 7 picks up right where we left off with season 6 and did a great job of getting us back up to speed and reminding us that this show was very good before things got shut down. Eva is still a real problem. We're getting closer and closer to our dream of an all female Rogues team. The show continues to pull from the EXCELLENT Williamson run of The Flash and really gets us thinking about where this show could go. Look, there will be plenty of time to be critical but right now, we're just happy the Fastest Man Alive is back on TV.

Kriss and Dpalm record the Mailbag at the end of every month. If you want to send in your own questions and thoughts, email us: [email protected]

 

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