Best MCU Beards for No-Shave November

Each year when No-Shave November comes around, I think to test my genetics and see if I can grow a beard than last year. My genes are such that it took me into my thirties to test myself long enough to get the goatee that I currently have. But November isn’t just about the face fuzz, but about men’s health. Physical and mental. So while I'm having a bit of fun with the Marvel-lous men (they seriously give me beard envy) men's health is serious. Many of us internalized the message to not ask for help. Don’t forget to check in on your mental and physical health. And don’t isolate yourself in the world of men; find your team of Avengers.

Though in no particular order, naturally I had to start here. Because iconic.

Maybe similar to Tony's, but it showed his transition from doctor to sorcerer.

Probably the closest to the beard I'm able to grow (but I lack sideburns).

Fitz started as a baby-faced nerd, but became a tough stubbly spy.

Without Hydra programming, Bucky needed something to keep looking tough.

Maybe Matt got tired of paying someone else to shave him?

Very polished and regal. A beard fit for a king.

Sometimes you can't care to shave (and sometimes you want to see your capabilities).

I think we all had beard envy for Cap's temporary on-the-run beard.

Fury was trying to look homeless. A beard helps, I guess?

I don’t know that I ever want chops like Hugh Jackman, but it’s iconic now. 

I had to finish off with The Thing’s bolder-y beard. Love it!

5 Marvel Movies to Watch Before Avengers Doomsday

I started doing my MCU “Binge List” posts after Infinity War and Endgame, when everyone was trying to watch the entirety of the MCU library before that culminating battle against Thanos. It’s served me well to prepare myself and review the story so far. However, with Doomsday coming to theaters next year, even just the known cast list provides a challenge, with over thirty movies and shows potentially playing a part in the upcoming multiversal event.

Sure, I could share the list of the forty-ish Marvel projects that will lead into this crossover… but that’s a bit much even for me. Instead, I’m going to highlight a few movies to rewatch (plus a few extra credit movies) to establish characters and story development. Later this year and next, leading up to the movie, I’ll add a few more movies and shows to the list.

X-Men

We know we have returning cast members from the original X-Men movies, including Professor X, Magneto, Mystique, and more. Since the third Deadpool movie established the Fox X-Men saga in the multiverse, it’s possible we’ll have those variants in Doomsday. However, there’s no guarantee they’ll portray the same variants from Fox or if they’ll be new variants (maybe from the universe where Monica ended up in The Marvels). Regardless, the original X-Men movie produced by Fox will give you a sense of the main characters appearing from X-Men, regardless of where they come from in the multiverse. 

Extra Credit - X2

The sequel to X-Men, so we have the continuation of Professor X and Magneto’s story. Also, this is when we meet Nightcrawler, who’s set to return in Doomsday. 

Iron Man

Since Tony Stark is gone, this movie might be a strange choice for rewatch before Doomsday. But this is where the formal MCU began (before retconning in Spider-Man, X-Men, Blade, etc.). It’s worth revisiting where this epic story began and how far we’ve come since Tony became Iron Man. And with RDJ portraying Doctor Doom, it’ll be interesting to see how they had the likeness between Doom and Tony. If they don’t address the issue of the doppelgänger, bringing RDJ back would be a waste of time. 

Extra Credit - The Avengers

We’ve come a long way since the Battle of New York, but this is when the Avengers first became a team. From the original roster, only Thor is confirmed to appear. But it’s worth remembering where the team began. 

Captain America: The Winter Soldier 

Bucky may have been originally introduced in The First Avenger, but his brainwashing at the hands of Hydra still impacts his story. Plus this movie marks the first appearance of Sam Wilson (the current Captain America) and it was a turning point in the story, as SHIELD fell. Plus since it’s still one of the most popular MCU movies, it could be the considered the pinnacle of MCU movie potential. 

Extra Credit - Captain America: Civil War

Just as The Winter Soldier changed the MCU with the fall of SHIELD, this movie was a turning point for the Avengers. Infinity War would’ve played out 100% differently if the Avengers hadn’t broken up. Plus, this movie introduced Wakanda and Spider-Man and it pushed Bucky’s story along powerfully. 

Avengers: Infinity War

After the fallout of Civil War and Ragnarok, things got chaotic really fast when the Avengers were pushed together on multiple fronts. This movie changed the MCU forever, not just because of Thanos’s snap, but also because of how the Avengers grew to include new intergalactic colleagues. We don’t have the Guardians of the Galaxy confirmed for Doomsday, but you never know (they did say Star Lord would return after their third movie).

Extra Credit - Ant-Man and the Wasp

I know plenty of people didn’t care for this Ant-Man sequel, but I enjoyed it. Bridging the gap between Civil War and Endgame, this movie progressed Scott Lang’s story. Plus, traveling into the Quantum Realm pushed us forward toward the multiverse, even if we didn’t know it yet. 

Avengers: Endgame

This movie is the basis for where the MCU left us in recent years. The Avengers reformed and traversed the multiverse to bring back everyone they lost in the Snap. This is also where half our original Avengers roster said goodbye. No more Tony, Natasha, or Steve. As far as the team is concerned, this is where we left the Avengers and Doomsday is an Avengers movie. It’s gotta be done. 

Extra Credit - Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

This is arguably one of the most popular movies from the post-Endgame era of the MCU. It’s certainly my favorite Marvel movie of recent years. And, along with Far From Home, this movie did a great job establishing the post-Blip world. 

I’ll be back in a few months with more Marvel projects to revisit. I expect we might have more cast announcements by that point. Avengers assemble!

Secret Invasion Binge List

As Secret Invasion approaches on Disney Plus, I’m excited to see what Marvel will make of this intriguing storyline. My brother had told me about this plot from the comics years ago and then I saw it play out in cartoon form in Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Now we get to see it in live-action. I can only hope that Daisy Johnson (aka Quake) will return, as she was part of Fury’s team in the comics and cartoon. But since Agents of SHIELD is kind of semi-canon… we’ll see. There are two aspects of this show we know though: it will contain Nick Fury and the Skrulls. So let’s review Director Fury and his experience with these shapeshifters.

Captain Marvel

This prequel movie was Fury’s first encounter with the Skrulls, as well as ours. As a misunderstood faction of the shapeshifters infiltrated Earth, they sought only for the discovery and safety of their families. Along the way becoming allies with Carol, Fury, and Maria, they fought off the Kree before fleeing into space with Captain Marvel as their protector. We wouldn’t see the Skrulls again (knowingly at least) for many years yet.

Iron Man and Iron Man 2

This was our first present-day appearance of Director Fury. In the credits scene of Iron Man, he approached Tony Stark about the Avengers Initiative. Six months later, he set Black Widow undercover in Stark’s company to evaluate him. After helping Tony Stark save himself, Fury left as quickly as he’d arrived.

Thor

In the credit scene for Thor’s inaugural movie, we see Selvig in the aftermath of New Mexico, teaming up with SHIELD and Fury, leading directly into the events of The Avengers. Unfortunately, it’s obvious to the viewer that Loki is along for the ride with Selvig.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Again, Fury only makes a short appearance (he’s good at those). This time he appears in Times Square, welcoming Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) to the 21st Century. Defrosted after nearly 70 years, it understandably takes Steve a few minutes to acclimatize. 

The Avengers

A major player in this movie, Fury is the one who gets the Avengers together. It was his pet project after all, as we learned in Captain Marvel. First he was sending Widow to recruit Banner and then he was bringing Cap in himself. After Coulson’s death, Fury rallied them together and gave them someone to avenge (Coulson, of course) in the Battle of New York. He also helped them give the World Security Council the slip after the battle. 

Agents of SHIELD

Season 1, Episode 2

After assigning Coulson and his new team to the Bus, they got it wrecked leaving South America. So naturally Fury showed up to tell Coulson off, in a semi-humorous ending to the episode. Fury made a note to warn Coulson about his recruit, Skye. Things turned out okay in the end, so maybe that means Fury will recruit her as Quake to help in Secret Invasion (I’m going to keep dreaming).

Season 1, Episode 22

This episode takes place after Winter Soldier, but I’ll talk about it here while I’m already under the SHIELD heading. On his way to Europe after the events of Winter Soldier, Fury catches the signal of a stranded FitzSimmons. After rescuing them, it's off to help Coulson beat Garrett. And he does. And Fury goes off to do Fury-type stuff (starting to form his Secret Invasion team maybe?).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I loved this team up of Falcon, Cap, and Widow. This movie is largely considered one of the best MCU movies and it’s not hard to see why. In a way, this movie probably set in motion Fury recruiting his private team for Secret Invasion. With the fall of SHIELD and Fury’s supposed death, it creates a power vacuum and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Skrulls used this vacuum to begin advancing their invasion. It was also nice to see Fury in more of a major role, instead of making an appearance that lasted maybe five minutes like many MCU movies.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

So after the Avengers get their butts and minds kicked by Wanda, they take a little respite at the Barton Homestead. And it’s there that Fury shows up to give the Avengers the needed pep talk (and some intel about where to go next to fight Ultron). With the Avengers on the mission, Fury goes to pick up Coulson’s fleet of helicarriers (per the Theta Protocol in Agents of SHIELD). And with Ultron defeated and the New Avengers Facility up and running, Fury slips back into the shadows. 

Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame

While the Avengers are off fighting Thanos and the SHIELD team is off fighting Graviton, Fury and Hill are in Atlanta doing who-knows-what. Just as things are heating up, they start dusting into the air. But not before Fury can use his pager to call Captain Marvel. The next time we see Fury, it’s at Tony’s funeral. Or maybe it was never Fury… you’d never know if a Skrull got dusted instead of him. Peter Parker certainly didn’t know… but we’ll get to that in the next section.

Spider-Man: Far From Home

We’re led to believe that Fury is featured throughout this movie (only to find out in the credits scene that he’s off-world and Talos is covering for him). However, that doesn’t mean the appearance of “Nick Fury” with Spider-Man is meaningless. Fury obviously trusted Talos enough to leave him in charge and to play him. And this Skrull does a pretty good job (though I’d say he doesn’t have Fury’s instincts, or else he wouldn’t have trusted Mysterio). 

WandaVision

Season 1, Episode 9

After Monica Rambeau became super-powered during the events of WandaVision, a Skrull messenger was sent to touch base with her. This takes place during the mid-credits scene, so hopefully you didn’t miss it. It’s likely that she was recruited to help Fury. Only makes sense I suppose.

In addition to what I've already noted for Fury and Talos, we've also been told that Rhodey and Agent Ross will be appearing. If you want to watch Rhodey's story, I'd say to check out the Iron Man movies (all 3) and the Avengers movies (2-4). For Everett Ross, check out Civil War and both Black Panther movies.

So now we wait. Who’s a Skrull? Who’s human? And who’s a Skrull we can trust? And will we finally get to see Quake in the proper MCU? Come on and make Agents of SHIELD fully canon! But that could be a pipe dream. Only time will tell who’s in Fury’s inner circle.

She-Hulk Binge List

We’re in the final stretch waiting for She-Hulk to premiere. She might be a newcomer on the scene, but we already know her cousin: Bruce Banner. And with Bruce/Hulk set to return, alongside his foe Blonsky/Abomination, maybe it’s time to rewatch some of their adventures.

The Incredible Hulk (1 hour 52 min)

Before we had Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, the Hulk’s alter-ego was played by Edward Norton. Despite the different actors, this movie is still MCU canon. And it’s better than its critics say. This is where we get our first glimpse at Bruce and his arch-enemy the Abomination. Also, this movie introduced General Ross and I wouldn’t be surprised if he appears in She-Hulk.

The Avengers (2 hours 23 min)

Enter Mark Ruffalo as our new Bruce Banner. This is his first adventure alongside SHIELD and the Avengers. He seems to have his anger under control (to some extent) as he and the others stop Loki and the Chitauri from taking over Planet Earth. It’s also when Bruce can finally stop running from the authorities it seems.

Iron Man 3 (2 hours 10 min)

This movie is all about Tony Stark and his issues after the Battle of New York. Honestly, we don’t even see Bruce Banner until the credits scene. All the same, this comical scene is often forgotten (even by me). Probably due to the fact that lots of fans dislike Iron Man 3. I still like it though, despite what haters say.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2 hours 21 min)

Hulk and Banner come back into the picture as they seemingly take down the last of Hydra (unless you still consider Agents of SHIELD canon--which I do). But in the course of it, the Maximoff twins mess them up emotionally. This movie also introduced the brief romance (if you can call it that) between Banner and Black Widow. Could have done without that, but whatever.

Thor: Ragnarok (2 hours 10 min)

When Banner/Hulk went missing on Earth, he was stranded on Sakaar for a few years. With the Hulk in charge almost the whole time. It wasn’t until Thor arrived that Bruce came back. This movie showed a more intelligent side to the Hulk. Instead of just growling and yelling “Smash” the titan was able to carry on conversations.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 29 min)

Still traveling with the Asgardians, Bruce/Hulk was caught in the middle of Thanos’s massacre. Sent to Earth to warn everyone, Bruce was around when the mad titan’s forces began attacking. Unfortunately, and for reasons not really explained, the Hulk wouldn’t come out to fight, so Bruce was left to battle in the Hulkbuster suit instead.

Captain Marvel (2 hours 4 min)

Another movie where Bruce doesn’t appear until the credits. All the same, I think this movie is still worth watching. I honestly don’t know why people hate it so much. But after Carol’s story from 1996 is shown, we get a flashforward to the present day when the Avengers are assessing the post-Snap damage. This is where Bruce, Natasha, and the others finally meet Carol Danvers.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

After a brief stop in the present day, the story fast-forwards five years and all of a sudden we have a Bruce/Hulk mashup, sometimes known as Professor Hulk or Smart Hulk. I still don’t know what I think of this version of Hulk, but that’s okay. After Bruce is able to snap Thanos’s victims back to life, the big battle ensues. It’s because of Tony’s sacrifice they’re able to win in the end… but it’s not happily ever after.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2 hours 12 min)

Bruce doesn’t appear until the credits (again) but the Abomination shows up in the fight club with Wong. Blonsky hadn’t even been mentioned since he was said to be in custody seven years prior in the SHIELD episode “T.R.A.C.K.S.” But here he’s free and fighting Wong for cash. Later on, during the credits, we see Bruce analyzing the Ten Rings. But he’s human again. No more Professor Hulk.

There’s a lot to unpack with She-Hulk. Why is Bruce human again? How did Blonsky get free? Maybe we’ll finally get word on where Betty Ross is after all these years. Regardless, I’m looking forward to another awesome MCU series!

Spider-Man Binge List

One month until the long-awaited ending to the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy. Depending on how closely you watch casting rumors and especially depending on how much you buy into them, this movie could be a crazy epic Spider-Verse crossover. Casting rumors aside, there’s a lot to look forward to in this movie. But first let’s take a moment to look back.

Iron Man 2 (2 hours 5 min)

If we’re going to review Peter’s story, let’s start with young Peter. There is a scene at the Stark Expo when a little boy dressed in an Iron Man mask tries to help Tony fight the drones. This was “confirmed” to be Peter Parker, after the success of Tom Holland as the web-slinger. Really, it probably wasn’t Peter and they were just trying to be sensational by saying that. All the same, if you want to check out this scene with young “Peter”, pull it up on Disney Plus.

Captain America: Civil War (2 hours 28 min)

The next time we see Peter, he’s being raised by his Aunt May in Queens and he’s already gained his spectacular spider powers. His outfit is kind of ghetto, but he’s gotten enough attention to end up on Tony Stark’s radar. So Mr. Stark makes a house call and (to oversimplify matters) blackmails a high school kid into joining the Avengers Civil War. At least Peter got a cool suit out of it.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2 hours 13 min)

Literally weeks after the Sokovia Accords, Peter Parker is back in school (black eye healed and all) and he’s anxious to get his next assignment from Iron Man. I guess this just goes back to not putting all your eggs in one basket. Peter got so wrapped up in being Spider-Man that he almost forgot to be Peter Parker. That being said, if Peter hadn’t been so gung ho about being an Avenger, the Vulture would have made off with countless more hauls.

Doctor Strange (1 hour 55 min)

While not the title character, trailers have made it clear that Doctor Strange plays a pivotal role in No Way Home. We don’t exactly know how much he’ll actually appear (after all they made it seem like Tony was going to appear a lot more in Homecoming) but he’s important to the plot. So if you’re going to rewatch any movies outside of Spidey’s movies, watch this one. Plus we’ve got Doctor Strange 2 next year as well.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 29 min)

All Peter had planned for the day was a field trip. In the end, his trip took him a lot farther than expected. All the way to Titan. While heroes fought Thanos’s forces on Earth, Spidey went across space with Doctor Strange and Iron Man. However, they along with the Guardians of the Galaxy are unable to defeat Thanos (though Doctor Strange foresaw this anyway, so let's stop arguing about Quill messing things up), resulting in their eventual dusting at the Snap. 

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

The bulk of the movie takes place without Spider-Man, but Peter ends up being one of the big motivating factors for Tony to help get everyone unsnapped. After he’s back, Spidey fights with legions of Avengers to defeat Thanos 2.0. Tony’s sacrifice is especially heartbreaking for Peter, losing another father figure. I hope he and Morgan got to bond over missing Tony before he went back to school.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2 hours 10 min)

Less than a year after the Blip, Peter is headed off to Europe, still grieving Tony’s death. Instead of a break, he gets roped in by “Fury” and Beck to take on some beasties. Only after Peter hands over Tony’s fancy tech glasses does Beck reveal himself as the villain. Peter faces his demons and defeats Beck (getting himself a girlfriend along the way) but not before Beck sets events in motion to expose Spider-Man’s identity. And that’s where we begin No Way Home,

Sifting through the rumors and the fake news of this movie, if you’re convinced Tobey and Andrew will be in this movie, watch their Spider-Man and Amazing Spider-Man movies. If you think Charlie Cox is showing up as Matt Murdock, I’d recommend watching Daredevil and The Defenders. But as for me, I’ll be lucky if I get through the above movies in time. I suppose you could also check out Tom Hardy's Venom movies too.

Black Widow Binge List

We're finally nearing the release of Black Widow.Barring another pandemic, we're set to see Natasha's solo adventure on November 6--possibly with a Disney Plus release like Mulan. If you need a refresher on Black Widow before the movie gets released, check out this list. I posted it to Facebook back in March when it supposed to have a spring release. But since it was delayed, here we go again!

Iron Man 2 (2 hours 4 min)

Obviously the film mostly focused on Tony's issues (and he has lots of them) but Natasha was slipped in there to help him out/keep an eye on him. While Iron Man 2 tends to be associated with general distaste among fans, it did give us the introduction of Black Widow and War Machine. So despite the lack of focus on Black Widow, pull this one out and give it a watch.

The Avengers (2 hours 23 min)

Black Widow gets a bit more spotlight in this movie. The general focus ends up being on Cap, Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk. All the same, Black Widow gets a decent spotlight and we get a glimpse into her past when she talks to Loki. The movie also gives Natasha her new family, the Avengers.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2 hours 16 min)

Again, she's not the focus of the movie, but she gets more screen time than before. Black Widow teams up with Cap to fight against Hydra's infiltration of SHIELD. Like in Avengers, we get some small glimpses of her past. Nothing specific, but we see how big of a deal it is for her to reveal all of her covers when she spills SHIELD's secrets.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2 hours 22 min)

Unlike Avengers and Winter Soldier, where we only got verbalized references to Widow's past, in this movie we get some glimpses of her past when Wanda messes with her head. It's here that we really start to see how much the Red Room messed with her head. Finger crossed we get more of that in her solo movie.

Captain America: Civil War (2 hours 28 min)

Avengers 2.5, as they call it. Screen time is split pretty well between all the major heroes in the movie, but we get some good moments of Natasha still. Compared to when she was so secretive just a few years prior, this movie gives us a chance to see how much Black Widow has grown to care for her fellow Avengers, especially Cap; she shows up at Peggy's funeral and she lets Cap and Bucky pass in the end.

Avengers: Infinity War (2 hours 40 min)

Technically this one and Endgame take place after her solo movie, as we've been told, but I'm guessing they'll do some sort of tie-in. Even if it's just to lead us into how she teamed up with Cap and Falcon. I have some doubts that they'll show Cap and Falcon, but I'm guessing we'll get the connecting link.

Avengers: Endgame (3 hours 2 min)

Can't do a Black Widow prep list without showing her end. I'm guessing I'm not the only one that got thrown off by this. We probably all guessed that Black Widow was going to take place after Endgame, but since she died getting the Soul Stone, we got thrown for a loop. Endgame showed a great ending to her arc, in my opinion. She went from being a solo agent in Iron Man 2 to being a "family" woman in Endgame.

Agent Carter Season 1 (8 episodes - about 40 minutes each)

For optional, additional viewing, check out Agent Carter on Disney Plus. It takes place in the 1940s, so obviously you won't get any appearances of the Widow herself. However, you will see the Red Room where Natasha was trained, as well as the appearance of a spy they sent to face off against Peggy and her team.

Which movie do you think will be most important for your Black Widow prep? What do you hope to see in the movie? Any big tie-ins you're predicting? 

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.

The Genius of Jon Favreau

Most fans know him as Happy Hogan. Some might know him as Monica’s millionaire boyfriend on Friends. Maybe even as the guy from Swingers. But Jon Favreau is so much more than an actor. The genius of Jon Favreau lies in his writing and directing of some of the most memorable, successful, and transformational films of all time.

Favreau really made a name for himself when he directed Elf in 2003, which became an instant classic. Favreau took on a big comedic personality (Will Ferrell), and somehow managed to make a movie that was at once funny and charming, heartwarming and quotable, lovable and just a dang good story. Favreau knew when to let Will Ferrell be himself, and when to reign him in. And then along came Iron Man.

In 2008, Favreau took on another big personality (Robert Downey, Jr.) and once again knew when to let Downey be himself and let his personality shine, and when to hold back and let the story and geekiness and the worldbuilding take over. Not enough can be said about the importance of Favreau’s Iron Man. It set the stage for one of the biggest, most successful, ambitious, culturally relevant, critically acclaimed, and fun franchises in history. Favreau’s direction created a tone that would be echoed in every Marvel movie that followed. In addition to those successes, Favreau also directed Zathura (a fun sequel to the original Jumanji), Cowboys & Aliens (inventive and well-directed, even if it wasn’t a huge success), and several live-action (with tons of CG assistance) adaptations of classic Disney films.

2016’s Jungle Book was so much better than it was expected to be. The story was familiar, but just different enough to warrant a remake. Favreau will direct a sequel, due out later this year. 2019’s  Lion King adaptation won praise for its beauty and hyper-realistic style. Indeed, it felt like watching a National Geographic documentary where the animals were performing Hamlet.

And then came Star Wars. Favreau hasn’t written much, but he was given a chance to write and produce the first live-action television production in the Star Wars universe. What was created was a hugely successful, pop culture phenomenon that is being hailed as the new direction for Star Wars. (See our review here.) Frankly, it’s not easy to please Star Wars fans. But somehow Favreau managed to not only satisfy (but not pander to) fans, he also impressed critics, and made a huge dent in meme-dom with Baby Yoda!

So the big question is, since everything he touches turns to gold, what should Jon Favreau work on next?

Check out our review of Favreau's projects, The Mandalorian Season One and Season Two.