Rosario Dawson is a Queen

Can we all just agree that Rosario Dawson is a queen? I mean, besides literally playing the Queen of the Underworld, she's the Jedi Ahsoka Tano, she's Claire Temple, she's Wonder Woman, she's Batgirl, she's Jane the Virgin, and she's Josie (without the Pussycats). This is an actress who has been in SpongeBob, Men In Black, Sin City, Zombieland, and my favorite, Rent. I saw Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi in the original cast of Rent on Broadway; I was so glad that Rosario Dawson replaced her for the film. What an improvement!

Disney recently announced that Queen Rosario will be starring in a limited spinoff series that's being developed by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni (thank goodness!) and set to air possibly by Christmas 2021. Rosario made a huge impression when she first appeared, cloaked, and lit by lightsabers, in the incredible second season of The Mandalorian. She was covered with makeup and prosthetics, and many of her scenes were done by a stunt double. But it didn't matter. Queen Rosario had made her entrance, and she secured herself a firm place in a galaxy far, far away.

But Dawson is so much more than just a well cast actress in a highly anticipated role in a wildly popular series with a rabid fanbase. She's fun and silly in LEGO Batman. She shows her acting chops in Jane the Virgin. She is flirty and has great musical chops in Rent. She hams it up in Percy Jackson. She lends stability and consistency to the Marvel Netflix series. This is a woman who can really do it all. Even while talking to an animatronic Baby Yoda. 

Unpopular Opinions: MCU

I started off this week with a countdown on Facebook to Black Widow and the launch of MCU Phase 4. I feel it's only appropriate to pair that countdown with a reflection of sorts to the history of the MCU. Phases 1-3 had movies, shorts, Netflix, Hulu, and network shows. Now we're moving into an area consolidated to movies and Disney+. So as part of my reflections, here are a few of some unpopular opinions about the MCU thus far.

Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk weren’t so bad
They are two of the lesser loved MCU movies. They’re not fantastic blockbusters, but they aren’t as bad as people make them out to be. The big problem with Iron Man 2 is that they bit off more than they could chew (Black Widow’s introduction, Whiplash, Justin Hammer, etc.) but it didn’t make the movie bad. On the other hand, I think the big problem with The Incredible Hulk is how it kind of came out of nowhere and became irrelevant afterwards. It assumed you knew the backstory of The Hulk and it kind of just threw us in there. Also, especially since they re-cast Bruce Banner, the movie kind of became inconsequential. We’ve seen Ross since then, but the Abomination and Betty just disappeared (although the Abomination was mentioned in Agents of SHIELD).

Iron Fist was good
I think the biggest issue people have with Iron Fist is how it’s so different from the comic book character. So to be fair, I’ve never read the comics. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed Iron Fist. Danny Rand was a refreshingly chill character compared to Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage being so angsty. Also, as far as Season 2 is concerned, it was one of the shorter seasons of any Netflix MCU show, so I think that helped keep the pacing up. The 13-episode Netflix seasons made them feel like 13-hour long Marvel movies. And that got kind of exhausting. So even shaving off three hours made it more manageable.

Daredevil Season 1 wasn't so great
Before I watched Daredevil, I heard how great it was. But I was disappointed. Matt Murdock was cool and I liked Daredevil as a character and a concept. However, as the season went on, it felt drawn out. Like I said with Iron Fist, the 13-episode seasons often felt like a super long movie. I much preferred the shows where each episode felt like a self-contained story with an over-arching plot. In my opinion, Jessica Jones, Runaways, and even Cloak & Dagger did a better job at that.

Agents of SHIELD Season 1 was good

I've heard a lot of complaints over the years about Agents of SHIELD's bumpy start. As the series started in the post-Avengers/MCU Phase 2 era, they took some time figuring out their footing. Until the Winter Soldier tie-in episodes, the series didn't have an over-arching story per se. It kind of just seemed like an MCU cop show, where each episode was its own story. Maybe it's just because I had lower expectations that I liked it? I don't know. But it's still my favorite MCU TV show thus far, ever since I started binging seasons 1-2 during grave shifts.

Captain Marvel is good
I don't know what it was about Captain Marvel that got people up in arms last year, but I liked it. Granted, the 90s nostalgia helped, but it added a story into an era of the MCU that we'd never seen before. Also we got some backstory with Nick Fury and Phil Coulson (though I'm still kind of bitter that we didn't get as much Coulson as I wanted). Maybe the details of Fury's eye injury wasn't important, but it was a fun addition. In addition, the plot twist was unprecedented. Everything I'd read had the Skrulls as bad guys, so we were set up for the Kree to be the good guys. But we'd also only seen the Kree as the bad guys (in Guardians, in SHIELD, etc.) so I didn't know what to expect. All that made the experience more fun for me. Honestly, my biggest disappointment with Captain Marvel is that she didn't have a bigger role to play in Endgame, after all that buildup.

Black Widow isn't necessary
Don't get me wrong; I'm looking forward to seeing Black Widow. However, I'm skeptical about it. My worry is that the whole movie will be pure fan-service for the people who've wanted a female-led Avengers movie. Representation matters (as Joe explained this week), but it has to be done right. If Black Widow is done right, it'll be great. My fear is that it's just a cash-grab and it won't matter after it's done. We've had lots of standalone MCU movies over the years (Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, etc.), but none of them have been filler; they've all been relevant to the universe. But since Natasha is dead... how is her standalone movie going to relate to the future of the MCU? I'm skeptically optimistic, but mostly skeptical.

Good Geeky Things Coming in 2017

Happy New Year! Now that I’ve stayed up til midnight to celebrate 2017 beginning (side note: New Years is much more anticlimactic for me than it was as a kid; anyone else feel that way?), it’s time to look ahead (and away from 2016) at what the new year has for us Geeks. By no means is this a comprehensive list, but it’s what I’m looking forward to.

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions (January 27)

A welcome addition to the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise, we’re gonna get a new adventure with Yugi, Kaiba, and the original Duel Monsters gang. If I understand correctly, it’ll be shortly after the end of the original anime series, after releasing the spirit of the Pharaoh. Not much was explicitly shown in the trailer, but I’m looking forward to seeing some of these original characters back, as well as some (likely) supped up versions of their classic monster cards.

Digimon Adventure Tri, Part 4: Loss (February 25)

I’ve gotten back into my childhood obsession of Digimon this past year, perfectly timed for Tri, the sequel to Digimon Seasons 1 and 2. Only Part 1’s dub “Reunion” was aired in US theaters this year, but all the way through Part 3 has been aired in Japan. Part 4, which I’m super excited for, is airing in February. Hopefully we’ll get the dub of Part 2 in American theaters soon as well.

Beauty and the Beast (March 17)

Now while Disney is kind of copping out by rebooting all their animated features as live action remakes (Maleficent, Cinderella, Pete’s Dragon, etc.) I’m excited for this one. In large part it’s because of Emma Watson playing Belle. Now I’m sure the fact that she’s my top celebrity crush helps, but with how intelligent she is (not just as Hermione, but in real life as well), I think she makes the perfect Belle.

Iron Fist (March 17)

In addition to “Beauty and the Beast”, we’ll also have Iron Fist coming out on March 17. Since I’m still very much a n00b when it comes to Marvel Comics, I don’t know much about Iron Fist except that he’s the last new Marvel Netflix character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that will appear before he joins up with the others for “The Defenders” later in 2017, but more on that later.

Power Rangers (March 24)

After rewatching the original Power Rangers series recently (I’m currently working my way through Zeo and I’ll be into Turbo soon) it’ll be interesting to see the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers rebooted as new versions of themselves. This version seems a bit edgier, so that’ll be different from the goody-goody versions in the original. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa.

Doctor Who Series 10 (April)

After a year away from new Who, it’ll be great to get more Doctor Who soon. After watching the trailer that aired with the Christmas special last week, I’m a little skeptical of the new companion, Bill, but I’m willing to give her a shot. She seems a bit obnoxious, but if I handle Leela and Amy Pond, I can stomach Bill. Plus it’s speculated that she and Capaldi will only be together one season.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2 (May 5)

It’s been a few years since Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, and Rocket teamed up for the first time. In just a few months we’ll see them back together again to guard the galaxy. I’m curious how this will lead up to “Avengers: Infinity Wars”. Maybe we’ll see another Infinity Stone? Definitely gonna get a bunch of Baby Groot at the very least.

Cars 3 (June 16)

I didn’t mind Cars 2, but I definitely didn’t expect a sequel. However, based on the trailers it looks like it’ll be a bit darker. I’m not sure what Pixar will be getting at, but I guess we’ll all see in time.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7)

After seeing Peter Parker in “Civil War”, it’ll be interesting to see him in his solo movie. However, based on the trailers it almost looks like it’ll be “Iron Man and Spider-Man” instead of “Spider-Man”. If that’s the case I’m a little skeptical, mostly because of how irresponsible Tony was with Peter’s safety in Civil War. But this won’t stop me from seeing it, even if I am skeptical.

The Inhumans (September 4)

This minority of the human population was first shown in Agents of SHIELD in Season 2. Now we’re about to get a series all about them. This makes it kind of unclear if Agents of SHIELD will be done after their current season or if “The Inhumans” will air separate from Agents of SHIELD. Regardless, the pilot of “The Inhumans” will air in IMAX theaters on September 4 before it airs on ABC.

Thor: Ragnarok (November 3)

After all the confusion of whatever was going on with Thor in “Age of Ultron”, it’ll be nice to get some explanation. In addition to all of that, we’ve got Hulk and Loki appearing. Should be interesting. Plus, in general, I can’t complain about getting a third new movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Star Wars Episode VIII (December 15)

After flashing back to Rogue One, we’re going jump forward 30+ years again to sequel “The Force Awakens”. I’d expect some one-on-one training with Luke and Rey, some space battles, some Kylo Ren tantrums, and hopefully a fitting goodbye to Leia. Maybe in post-production they can lay her to rest, as a fitting tribute to Carrie Fisher?

Besides all these, we also have “The Defenders”, “The Punisher”, some more DC movies, a rebooted “Duck Tales”, and TV series for “Tangled” and “Big Hero 6” to look forward to. What have I missed? What geeky stuff are you looking forward to this year? What is going to make 2017 great for you?

Side Note for any David Tennant fans: Did you see who will
be voicing Scrooge McDuck in the new "Duck Tales"?