“I love you, 3000” has quickly become an iconic sentence in pop culture history since Avengers: Endgame premiered in April 2019. 11 years and 23 movies later, the MCU as we know it closes its finale chapter of the Infinity Saga. It may be the end of this storyline, but has it been the final curtain call for every Avenger?

THE ORIGINAL 6

Iron Man

The man who started it all, reminded us with his last breath that he will be forever our Iron Man. Tony sacrificed himself to save millions of people not only on earth, but in the entire universe. His legacy is now in the hands of those who he left behind, however, I am certain that Tony’s spirit will be around for quite some time. His inventions and ideas he never finished in his garage could be picked up by someone – Peter, I am looking at you – and this way we do not need to say our farewell for good. Of course, there is always a possibility for a different timeline (I will come to that at a later point) or, considering we are talking about Mr. Anthony Howard Stark, we could even see him becoming the next A.I. Who knows?

Black Widow

I don’t know about you, but my tears have not dried yet. I love Nat and Clint’s friendship since the beginning and to see them going to Volmir together broke my heart. In a way, it does make sense why Nat had to die. She finally had a family, a place where she belonged to, and she wanted to make sure that they would survive and find their happiness. Is it fair? Hell no! She deserved better. I still hope that Kevin Feige will bring her back. After all, in the comics Gamora was freed from the Soul Stone, even if she had to lose a part of her soul in the process, she came back. The Soul Stone which appeared for Gamora was destroyed, that is why this cannot happen with her, but the one Clint got was brought back by Steve, so Nat has to come back, right? Until anything is confirmed, farewell, brave warrior queen.

Hawkeye

Are you one of those, who always where like “Clint, who?”, then shame on you! Clint gradually got a bigger part in every movie he was in and it is important that he has become a valued member of the team. Everyone else has a gadget or some supernatural powers, but all that Clint has is his bow and arrow and an impressive skill set. Yes, you can be a superhero with just so little. Clint definitely found his peace and all he wants is to be with his family and know that they are safe. However, I do hope to see him again, not as an active member, but as a mentor in one or more of the upcoming movies.

It is confirmed that Marvel is planning a web series on their new streaming site, Disney+, which will launch in November 2019. In that series, Clint will train a fellow archer – Kate Bishop – to become the next Hawkeye.

Hulk

In the five years between Infinity War and Endgame, Bruce has combined the best of his two personalities and has become Professor Hulk. Yes, this is awesome! Hulk is so happy; you have been able to see how Mark Ruffalo enjoyed playing that new Hulk. I do not think that we have to worry about him much. I gave up hope on seeing another Hulk movie anytime soon and maybe it is the best for this character. There is nothing known about his future, but I think that he will stick around one way or another, perhaps he’ll work on a new HQ for the Avengers?

Captain America

During the time heist, Hulk and the Ancient One had an intense discussion about whether they would change the future by borrowing the infinity stones from the past or if they create a different, new parallel timeline to the one we know.

So, we know that when Steve stayed in the past to get his well-deserved happy ending with Peggy, he did not change the timeline we know. All that we saw still happened and was not erased, but he created an anomaly by staying in the past with another Peggy. So, there is a different timeline, which could be of importance in the future. Steve has moved on from being the perfect soldier, even though I do think that he will wield his shield from time to time because that is the Steve we know. He will always help those in need.

At the end of Endgame, a well-aged Steve is back in our timeline which means that he had to do a time jump once more. Was he unhappy? Did new battles occur? How is everyone in the other timeline? Chris Evans announced that he will not return to the MCU anytime soon, but if the fans will ask for it, he gladly would tell us this part of his life.

It has been announced that Marvel is in pre-production of a “What if…” series which will premiere on Disney+. The first episode will be focusing on what if Peggy took the super soldier serum, instead of Steve.

Thor

Thor had a lot to deal with. Losing almost all of the Asgardians, losing Heimdall, and Loki and still thinking why he did not go for the head. At least, he got his second chance. I think, even if he was not in shape – physically and mentally – he was by far the best version of himself. He understands loss; he understands what it means to feel human. I think it is important to see that sometimes even the god of thunder has to face his mistakes and deal with human problems. His journey did not end in Endgame, it only took a new direction. Will he become a member of the Guardians? Will he find a new purpose somewhere else in the galaxy? Thor could also join Captain Marvel on her quest. For Thor, the possibilities are endless.

It is confirmed that Chris Hemsworth has signed a new contract with Marvel so he will definitely stick around for some more years and take us with him on his journey.

THE NEW AVENGERS

We have lost some of the Original 6, but that does not mean that the Avengers will not be around anymore. There are some guys who will not stop to protect earth from anyone who will do them harm and some “new” faces could join them.

Falcon

… or should I say, Captain America? After all the speculations who would get Steve’s shield if he ever would step aside from the battling, we know that it will be Sam. Honestly, I do think that this is a great choice. Steve and Sam are very similar when it comes to empathy, putting others first, and leadership. Sam deserves it and I think he will make Steve very proud. He is already a valued member and knows how everything works. He knows most of the others already and combined with his humour, he is able to build a new team who will follow his lead

Bucky

I am sorry if you are one of those who hoped to see Bucky as the new Captain America, but do not be sad, it is better that way for him. Bucky has lost his memories and his identity more than once. To put on another one would have been too much as Bucky is still recovering. Living in Wakanda by himself was the beginning of his journey to find inner peace and becoming whole again. In my opinion, part of his recovery will be to make his wrongs right and fight for those who cannot fight on their own. It is sad to know that we will not see Bucky and Steve’s friendship on-screen anymore, but I am sure that Bucky has found a new friend already in Sam, who will help him find his place and purpose.

Disney and Marvel have announced that there is a series in pre-production called “Falcon and Winter Soldier”. Nothing more is known so far, so it will be interesting to see when this show will take place.

War Machine

Tony’s best friend, Rhodey, is still very much alive and now has his chance to become the new Iron Man. I do not think that he will retire and live a quiet live in the woods as Tony did, but instead he will stay an Avenger. Unfortunately, they made Rhodey such a side character that there is currently nothing that could be a potential story line for him so Marvel better make some up ASAP.

Scarlet Witch (and Vision)

Wanda is alive and well and besides Clint, who seems to be a father figure for her, she doesn’t really have anyone left who she trusts. Her brother is dead, Vision is dead, and Steve is gone. However, the Avengers have become her family, so I do think that she will help with building a new team. I really hope so because we need every bad ass woman we can get. Maybe she will hop in and out of the Avengers HQ and will go see Clint and his family.

What we do know is that we have not seen the last of her and Vision together. “Vision and Scarlet Witch” are currently in pre-production and the show will premiere on Disney+ in the near future. Not much is known at this current point in time, but maybe we will see what happened between Civil War and Infinity War or we will see both of them in an alternative timeline.

The new team does not end with the ones mention above. There are also others, who could join them. You can read more of them below when we will discuss Phase 4.

OTHER CHARACTERS

Pepper and Morgan

We know that we will not see Pepper appear in a movie again because Gwyneth Paltrow announced that Endgame is the last one for her. Well, thinking about how many times she has said that and has always returned because RDJ has asked her to, I would not bet on it, especially because there is a new character in the game, who would need her mother for quite some time.

Squirrel, as Happy has called her by the end of the movie, could be a relevant character in the future of the MCU. Maybe not in Phase 4 or 5, but when the little girl will be old enough, she could follow into her fathers’ footprints. Her father, Iron Man. Her mother, Rescue. Morgan, Ironheart? Which path Marvel will choose for Morgan we will see in the years to come, but we definitely have to see more of her.

Happy

From chauffeur to bodyguard, then head of security to babysitting Spider-Man, followed by Uncle Happy to little Morgan, and then back to babysitting Spider-Man agin. Or so it seems.

Happy Hogan was not a big part of the movies since Iron Man 3. This may have to do with Jon Faverau being busy with his other projects, but, we know that we will not lose him just because Tony is not around anymore. The man, who truly founded the MCU and fought to bring Iron Man on the big screen, when not many believed in the success of the movie, will come back and be there for Peter Parker. The second trailer of Spider-Man Far From Home shows us that Happy will look after our friendly neighbourhood Spidey. For me, it seems that Happy could even work with Nick Fury, because what could be the reason that he is more around Peter as working at Stark Industries? I need answers!

S.H.I.E.L.D.

The Spider-Man trailer also confirmed that Nick Fury and Maria Hill are back and hunting the bad guys together, now those from the Multiverse. If they do that under the name S.H.I.E.L.D., it has not been confirmed yet, but we do not need to wait long to get some answers.

New Asgard and Valkyrie

Thor leaving with the Guardians at the end of Endgame means that New Asgard is now in the capable hands of their queen, Valkyrie. I cannot imagine that this will be enough for her as she certainly will pick up her sword again and fight some battle. We really need more of her and Marvel should explore this character and give her a bigger part in their upcoming movies.

Loki

Our favourite trickster is dead. Period. However, time-heist Loki has stolen the Tesseract and disappeared. Marvel confirmed that this way he created an alternative timeline and that is why Loki is able to get his own Disney+ series, which will explore his new mischief in a new created timeline.

Phase 3 is now closed, but this does not mean that we will never see or hear of our beloved superheroes ever again. Phase 4 is right behind the corner. Marvel Studios is the most secretive place right after the Vatican, but we do know already of some movies that are confirmed.

Phase 4

The second solo Spider-Man will be the last movie of Phase 3. In Spider-Man Far From Home we will follow Peter and his friends in Europe where he still has to find his place in a post-snap world and work for Nick Fury. As far as it is possible to tell, all of Peter’s friends have been gone for five years as he was, and they now have to finish high school. We also know that this movie will introduce us to the Multiverse, which brings new possibilities for interesting characters and new worlds.

Before Endgame, Marvel announced that a Black Widow solo movie is finally in pre-production. Scarlett Johansson will become once more Natasha and she will be the first actor of the MCU who will co-produce a movie. Now we also know, that this movie will be a prequel and maybe we will finally see how she became the Black Widow. The question I want an answer to is, what the hell has happened in Budapest? How did she and Clint became friends?

Another movie we know is in pre-production, but was delayed because of James Gunn being fired and then rehired, is Guardians of the Galaxy 3, in which Thor will be a part of. Starlord and his friends are looking for Gamora from 2014 and are up for another crazy adventure. Being a part of Endgame, I was hoping for them to stay longer on Earth, especially because Peter is human, but maybe another time.

Every actor who joins the MCU signs a contract for three solo movies. So, we wait for Doctor Strange to drag us back into his world in the sequel while Captain Marvel will also come back for a sequel. We will also all scream “Wakanda Forever” in Black Panther 2. Maybe Bucky has returned to Wakanda and will help Okoye, Shuri, and T’Challa with their upcoming problem. We also can look forward to see Scott and Hope back in action in Ant-Man 3.

To the already established heroes we get introduced to some new as well. Shang-Chi and The Eternals are already announced and will be the first to take us with them into the multiverse.

Now that FOX is part of Disney it means that the rights for some characters are back with Marvel. There are rumours that the Fantastic Four and the X-Men could be rebooted once more to become part of the MCU. Fans do hope to see an A-Force movie, after that short but important scene in which all female heroes are seen fighting together.

The possibilities are endless, and the comics have so many stories which can be adapted for the big screen.Then, there is always the possibility of exploring a different timeline, because we actually have two now!

What are you excited to see the MCU? Tell us in the comments below!

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Every single person in the world is interesting – they’re a walking story.

Does this face look familiar to you? I bet it does. Some of you may know him from your childhood, some from a historical movie, while others will recognise him from action movies or one of his more violent roles. No matter which character he is portraying, he sure leaves a mark on his audience with his brilliant acting. Please, let me introduce you to one of my favourite actors: James McAvoy.

Born in Glasgow, Scotland, on April 21, 1979, he went to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and made his acting debut in 1995 as a teenager in “The Near Room”. For the first couple of years he was mostly seen in TV productions and in several West End productions, such as West Side Story and Romeo and Juliet. Hoping from small to big roles, from TV to movie to stage productions, he makes sure to always challenge himself with the roles he accepts.

After following his career for about 15 years, he never ceases to amaze me with his acting. He steps into his characters’ mind that somehow I forget that he is an actor, especially when he is playing a scary person who I wish to never meet on the street. Some actors are only good in one specific genre and they never leave it. McAvoy is the opposite.

In 2005, the movie in which McAvoy not only climbs his way up to the big screen productions, he also played his way into every child’s heart. McAvoy portrays the faun Mr. Tumnus in the movie adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and it marked the first movie I saw him in. Narnia tells the story of four siblings who are sent away from London to the countryside during the Second World War. While playing hide and seek, the youngest of them, Lucy, hides in a wardrobe and discovers Narnia by accident, which called to her because it is seeking help to defeat the white witch.

His role is not a big one, but the scenes Mr. Tumnus has with Lucy, who he becomes friend with when she first went through the wardrobe, are one of my most beloved memories.

In 2006, McAvoy took a role which was completely different from Mr. Tumnus when he played Dr. Nicholas Garrigan in the historical drama The Last King of Scotland where he becomes the personal doctor of the brutal president of Uganda played by Forest Whitaker. He then starred in the fantasy romantic comedy next to Christina Ricci in Penelope. Cursed by a witch because of revenge, the next daughter born to the Wilhern family will be born with the face of a pig. As every good love story goes, only true love can lift the curse, which happens to be McAvoy’s character, Max. If you have not seen this movie by now, I highly recommend it, because it has a great cast and the story is really adorableand will give you all the Happily Ever After feelings.

In 2007, he starred alongside Anne Hathaway in Becoming Jane, which was followed by the book adaptation of Ian McEwan’s Atonement, which also starred Keira Knightly and he won the British Academy Scotland Award in the category Best Actor in Film. Taking place during the Second World War, the movie tells the story of love and how a little lie can ruin more than just one live.

That’s the main thing that attracts me – characters who have big journeys. I like playing those people.

After watching so many movies with him, I can tell you that it seem to be his thing to go from one extreme to another. From the heart breaker to the action packed to the brutal lead role.

In 2008, he starred next to Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie in Wanted, which tells the story of Wesley, a very frustrated account manager, who discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin and decided to join the secret organisation to become one as well. Be aware, this movie is not for people who have problem with brutality and an insane amount of blood. Still, it is one of my favourite movies because of the fact that you cannot take it seriously and the acting and actions scenes are just awesome.

Another pattern of his is to squeeze in a historical movie ever once in a while. In 2009, he played in the biopic of Leo Tolstoy next to Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer in The Last Station before playing the lawyer of Mary Surrat, the only female conspirator charged in the Abraham Lincoln assassination and the first woman to be executed by the US government, Frederick Aiken in The Conspirator.

In 2010, not only was his son born, he also took on his first voice role in the animation movie Gnomeo & Juliet, which is just a sort of Romeo & Juliet reimagining for kids.

The role which brought him back in front of the camera is at the same time the one which, for me, established him completely in the movie business. Stepping in the footsteps of Sir Patrick Stewart, McAvoy shaved his head and took on the professorship as young Charles Xavier in the prequel movie X-Men: First Class in 2011.

Before returning for the sequel, to which we will come to in just a second, he put the wheelchair into the storeroom to play in two action packed movies, Welcome to the Punch next to Mark Strong and the psychosocial thriller Trance alongside Rosario Dawson, in 2013. Maybe because I saw them one after the other, for me they are quite similar so if I have to recommend you one of them, I would recommend Welcome to the Punch.

Until this very day I am confused about the splitting into Him, Her, and Them with the collective title known as The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, starring also Jessica Chastain. Him and Her were the work-in-progress title of the not finished movie shown at the Toronto International Film Festival 2013, while Them, the finished movie, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2014. The movie shows a couple’s marriage from the three mentioned angles with all their ups and downs.

Taking a break from acting, he voiced the lead role in the BBC radio play adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s book Neverwhere. I highly recommend it to everyone who likes audiobooks or if you just want to listen to Benedict Cumberbatch or Natalie Dormer’s voice next to McAvoy’s. You can listen to it on YouTube or buy your copy on Amazon.

For me the most awful role, which he still portrayed fabulous, he has every played so far is in the movie adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s novel Filth. He plays a manipulative Detective Sergeant in Edingburgh, Scotland, who loves to bully and spends all his free time-consuming alcohol and drugs. I preferred him more as Dr Victor Frankenstein in Victor Frankenstein where he and Daniel Radcliffe re-tell the story of the famous doctor who wants to raise the death.

Thank goodness for 2014 and 2016 when he returned to portray Charles Xavier in X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse. If you happen to know me, you will know that Charles Xavier is one of my favourite fictional characters. Watching Stewart and McAvoy playing the same character next to each other only for a few minutes is everything I wished for.

When M. Night Shyamalan decided to make a sequel to his 2000 superhero thriller Unbreakable, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, called Split in 2016, he cast McAvoy to portray the leading role who is split into 23 different personalities. While Jackson and Willis played the stereotypes of hero and villain, McAvoy is both trapped in one person. 22 of his personalities live side by side in fear of the 23rd, which they call the Beast, and kidnap three teenage girls for him as a sacrifice.

In 2017 he stepped into the sidekick position next to Charlize Theron in the spy movie Atomic Blonde taking place in Berlin, Germany, around the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, before playing James More in the same year in Submergence, of which you can read more about in my movie review here.

2018 saw McAvoy take up two voicing roles where he reprised his role as Gnomeo in Sherlock Gnomes and lends his voice to Hazel in the British-Irish-American animated television miniseries based on the novel by Richard Adams Watership Down, which aired on December 22nd in the UK and then released on Netflix internationally.

Now, let’s have a look on the near future. So far, four productions will be released in 2019. In January the sequel to Split came into our cinemas. Glass combines Unbreakable with Split and brings back Jackson and Willis into their iconic roles next to McAvoy’s Beast.

Marvel fans will be – hopefully – pleased to watch the forth prequel movie in the young X-Men Generation in X-Men: Dark Phoenix and those of you who are fans of Stephen King and horror movies will have the pleasure to see him in IT 2 as one of the grown up kids, Bill Denbrough. Then there’s also the TV show adaptation of Philipp Pullman’s books His Dark Materials where he will play Lord Asriel.

What is your favourite James McAvoy film? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The Many Roles Played By James McAvoy appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Everyone gets excited about the new year and what it brings, especially upcoming movies. Whether  its sequels or stand-alone movies, one franchise that will be topping 2018 is Marvel.

Marvel is bringing multiple new films out in 2018, including Infinity War and Black Panther, but what other Marvel movies are coming out this year?

Read on to discover what’s coming out this year and tell us in the comments below what you’re most excited for!

Black Panther

February 16th 2018

Ever since his appearance in Captain America: Civil War many have been waiting for Black Panther’s stand-alone film, and now the wait is almost over. The film will see T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) return to his home as king of Wakanda, but he comes to find that his power and authority is being challenged by two adversaries he has known for a long time. The result of their conflict ends up causing issues for the entire world so T’Challa ends up partnering with a CIA agent. Chadwick

Joining Boseman is Michael B. Jordan (Creed) who is set to play the film’s villain, Erik Killmonger, and Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave), who will be playing Nakia (aka Malice). Also part of the cast is Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead), Martin Freeman (The Hobbit), Angela Basset (American Horror Story), Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings) and John Kani (Captain America: Civil War).

The New Mutants

April 13th 2018

The New Mutants follows a diverse group of teenage who discover they have extraordinary powers while held captive in a secret facility and must tackle their demons while trying to save themselves. The film features five mutants—Russian teen Magik, a sorceress that uses teleportation and discs to travel; Scots girl Wolfsbane, who must figure out how to reconcile her ability to turn into a wolf with her religious beliefs; Native American Danielle Moonstar; Brazilian ladies man Sunspot; and lastly, a Kentuckian code-named Cannonball.

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy (Split), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Blu Hunt (The Originals), Henry Zaga (13 Reasons Why), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), and Alice Braga (I Am Legend).

Avengers Infinity War: Part 1

May 4th 2018

This is probably the most anticipated Marvel movie and definitely tops the first Avengers film. Infinity War takes place four years after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 with the Avengers still torn apart after the events that unfolded in Captain America: Civil War. However, Thanos is coming to Earth to continue his quest on collecting the infinity stones for his personal use so the Avengers must join forces once again and work with more heroes to stop him.

The film is filled to the brim with almost every hero from the Marvel films and stars Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johannson, Chris Pratt, Robert Downey Jr, Elizabeth Olsen, Chris Evans, Karen Gillan, Tom Hiddleston, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Renner, Josh Brolin, Sebastian Stan, Dave Bautista, Paul Rudd, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Tessa Thompson, and Pom Klementieff.

Deadpool 2

June 1st 2018

Deadpool 2 is one of 2018’s Marvel films that is being kept underwraps and hopefully we will see a legitimate plot or trailer pop up sometime in the next few months to clue us in. Currently its plot stands at:

After surviving a near fatal knee boarding accident , a disfigured guidance counselor (Wade Wilson) struggles to fulfill his dream of becoming Poughkeepsie’s most celebrated French Bulldog breeder while also learning to cope with an open relationship. Searching to regain his passion for life, as well as a new stuffed unicorn, Wade must battle ninjas, tight assed metal men, and babysit a group stereotypical side characters as he journeys around the world to discover the importance of family, friendship, and creative outlets for his very open-minded sex life. He manages to find a new lust for being a do-gooder, a sparkly Hello Kitty backpack, all while earning the coveted coffee mug title of World’s Best 4th Wall Breaking Superhero.

The film sees Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Josh Brolin, T.J Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, and Zazie Beetz return.

Ant-Man and The Wasp

July 6th 2018

Even though Ant-Man isn’t the most popular superhero, there are still many fans that enjoyed the first film so he’s getting a sequel. Again, the events of Civil War has caused Scott Lang to try to balance his life at home, being a father and the responsibilities of Ant-Man. The film sees Scott get called out on a job by Hope van Dyne and Hank Pym who require him to work with Hope, who will be taking up the role of Wasp.

The film stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly who will both be starring in Infinity War so this film will definitely play off the events of Infinity War. The film also stars Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfieffer, Judy Greer (Jurassic World), Hannah John-Kamen (Killjoys), and Walton Goggins (Justified).

Venom

October 5th 2018

We haven’t seen Venom in a while and it’s unclear if Spider-Man: Homecoming or a new Spider-Man movie has anything to do with this, however, we’re still very excited. The entirety of this film has been kept very hush-hush with no plot, images, or video—but we do know that it will be an R-rated film. Nobody is really sure why this movie is being kept on the downlow, but it’s creating a big hype.

Playing Eddie Brock/Venom is Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road), along with Michelle Williams (The Greatest Showman), Jenny Slate, Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games), and Riz Ahmed (Rogue One).

X-Men: Dark Phoenix

November 2nd 2018

The X-Men are a huge franchise that has plenty of movies, but fans just keep wanting more and so Marvel is giving it to us. The film follows the comic book storyline, The Dark Phoenix Saga.

Set in the 1990s, 10 years after X-Men Apocalypse, Jean Grey loses control of her abilities as the Dark Phoenix and forces the X-Men to fight her and keep her safe, while the alien empress Lilandra tries to capture her.

Just like Infinity War, previous stars will be returning including James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, and Sophie Turner as Jean Grey. Along with these three, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Evan Peters, Alexandra Shipp and Kodi Smit-McPhee will also be joining them.

What Marvel movie or any movie are you looking forward to in the new year?

The post Marvel Movies To Watch In 2018 appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Techno Superior is the second instalment in the story of X-Men Gold and it spans through three comics. Just as a preamble, the art by R.B. Silva has a great impact in this story and it is outstanding, and not to mention the inking by Adriano di Benedetto and the colouring by Frank Martin that help to make the special effects pop out of the page and provide depth to all the action scenes. The story again comes from Marc Guggenheim and it is fairly complex in terms of storylines with some of them opening up for future instalments of the series. Others are fully fleshed here and help to understand what drives certain characters.

That begin said, this is a story that will please you, especially if you like a big cast of characters and a story that has an impact that goes beyond the individuals that are part of the X-Men Gold recurring cast.

Read on to learn more about Techno Superior BUT beware of spoilers!

First and foremost, the story has an important addition to the cast of characters, albeit temporary. The favourite mutant thief who will steal (and break) many hearts, Remy LeBeuf, aka Gambit is the center of the first part of the story. As a professional thief, he infiltrates Nanostorm Inc. to steal nano technology, using and impressing the reader with his powers, which ends up being an extremely small (and apparently empty) vial.

Immediately one might think that Gambit is back on his reckless behaviour of thinking about his gain and pure profit without thinking about the consequences. The reader will be surprised to see that Gambit’s goal was to meet his anonymous employer and gauge the type and severity of menace that this employer poses to his fellow mutants and, in general, the world.

Gambit not only finds that Bolivar Trask has a granddaughter named Olivia, but that she is Gambit’s secret employer and continues to manage Trask Industries. As a quick refresher, Bolivar Trask is also the character that created the sentinels, an artificial intelligence with only one goal: to eliminate the X gene. In essence, sentinels target the mutants and engage with deadly force and they have always been one of the deadliest opponents for the X-Men. It is incredibly rewarding to see them return to this world in an evolved fashion, now deadlier and more indiscriminate than before. Think Bolivar Trask sounds familiar? He was also portrayed in the X-Men movie “X-Men: Days of Future Past” by the incredible Peter Dinklage.

After understanding the type of threat that Olivia Trask poses to the world and realising (really being told) that the empty vial contains a swarm of nano technology that can render technology sentient, Gambit chooses to ignore Olivia Trask when she says she wants to use this technology for military purposes (and associated financial gain) and tries to recover the vial. This leads to a confrontation with Olivia Trask’s bodyguards and to the incident that will trigger significant action scenes (and panic) through New York City: The vial breaks and the swarm of nano technology infects a sentinel that is being built at the Trask facility.

The second part of the story focuses on the realisation of the menace this new sentinel poses to the city of New York. Initially, the X-Men Gold team is called into action to rescue Gambit (including a rescuing borderline kidnapping of Olivia Trask) and everybody else who is in the building of Trask Industries and the adjacent street, and to assess the threat.

Besides Logan, who is dedicated to save civilians who are in harm’s way and hilariously being displeased by being called “grandpa”, Kitty, Prestige, Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler are dispatched to fight the nano-sentinel. Kitty—whose power to phase also has an effect on technology, usually damaging it permanently—uses her ability on the sentinel. Despite thinking that the ability worked, the sentinel proves to be stronger than the X-Men initially anticipated. To make things more complicated for our heroes, the sentinel is able to render Prestige unconscious through a psychic shock and the sentinel disappears.

They learn the magnitude of the problem, specifically that the sentinel is self-aware with an ability to learn from prior encounters and that the nano technology has affected more than one sentinel. This will lead to a dramatic escalation of events and a fight between Marvel heroes and the sentinels in the city of New York. There are several heroes that join the fight, including Daredevil, Deadpool, Hulk, and Captain Marvel to stop a threat that does not only affect mutants. The goal of this new sentinel is that all mutations must be eliminated, including mutations different from the X gene, for instance colorblindness or cancer. In essence, the entire population of New York is a target for the sentinels.

The key to win this fight will be Rachel Summers. While still unconscious from her previous encounter with the self-aware sentinel, she will need to face herself, her powers, her parents, her fears—including the fear of succumb to the dark phoenix force—and become a much stronger psychic than she was before.

The last instalment of the story really provides a closer look into Prestige and what fuels and holds her back from unleashing and becoming a stronger version of herself. It is an interesting specific character deep dive (that will have repercussions also in the following stories) and provides the option to connect with Rachel.

Prestige will wake from her coma and realize her potential and tap into it, connect with every mind and awareness and channel her powers into the world, reaching and destroying the nano technology that powered the sentinels.

And this is only the main story of Techno Superior! There are several interesting stories that intertwine, some that will have more lasting effects—for instance, Logan and Ororo are exposed for the first time to the fact that there is a mutant killer loose in the city of New York. This is a particularly upsetting information that will impact the X-Men Gold story in the next instalments.

Also, despite the efforts of the Back to the Basic story, Lydia Nance still is a painful presence for the X-Men and mutants in general. She is still advocating against them in public forums, taking advantage of the latest events involving the X-Men, labelling them as terrorist, which the younger members of the X-Men don’t take well.

It is going to be interesting to see what Lydia Nance will continue to do for the X-Men world and how she will be able to antagonize the X-Men in the next stories.

Have you read the story? Did you enjoy the story? Tell us in the comments below and stay tuned for more to come on X-Men Gold!

The post Marvel’s X-Men Gold: Techno Superior appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The New Mutants follows a diverse group of teenage who discover they have extraordinary powers while held captive in a secret facility and must tackle their demons while trying to save themselves.

The team first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1982 and was co-created by Chris Claremont and Bob McLeod, although, this adaption looks to be a little different than its source material.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) said, “We are making a full-fledged horror movie set within the X-Men universe. There are no costumes. There are no supervillains. We’re trying to do something very, very different.”

The film features five mutants—Russian teen Magik, a sorceress that uses teleportation and discs to travel; Scots girl Wolfsbane, who must figure out how to reconcile her ability to turn into a wolf with her religious beliefs; Native American Danielle Moonstar; Brazilian ladies man Sunspot; and lastly, a Kentuckian code-named Cannonball. The group is ‘mentored’ by Dr. Cecilia Reyes (Alice Braga, I am Legend).

This film is one of three X-Men movies that Fox has scheduled to be released next year, along with Deadpool 2 and X-Men: Dark Phoenix.

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy (Split), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Blu Hunt (The Originals), Henry Zaga (13 Reasons Why), Charlie Heaton (Stranger Things), and Alice Braga (I Am Legend).

The New Mutants is scheduled for release on April 13th, 2018.

Check out the trailer and tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

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The new series follows a suburban couple, played by Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker, whose ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children (Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes White) possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.

For fans wondering just how this mutant-related series will fit into the world of X-Men, showrunner Matt Nix cleared a few things up in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“A fan of the [X-Men] movies but also the comics would not be disoriented at all as to where this fits in the mythology,” Nix said. “If you look at the movies, which take place from — they started in 2003 to now — they don’t all line up perfectly. I’m not slavishly fitting them into a particular slot. But at the same time, if you like the world of the movies, there are definite nods to the movies. It exists in the same general universe.”

“Thanks to Days of Future Past there are many streams and we are not in the same timeline in the X-universe. As in the comics and universe, the idea is that we are doing our own thing. Right now, one of the things covered in the show is that the X-Men — why are they gone? The show covers that,” he said. “Are they gone because they too expensive for television, not exactly,” But that could definitely be a factor.

Starring Stephen Moyer (True Blood), Jamie Chung (Once Upon A Time), Amy Acker (Persons of Interest), Sean Teale (Reign), Emma Dumont (Aquarius), Natalie Alyn Lind (The Goldbergs), Coby Bell (Burn Notice), Percy Hynes White (Between) and Blair Redford (The Lying Game).

The series comes from Burn Notice showrunner Matt Nix and will also executive produce alongside Lauren Shuler Donner, Simon Kinberg, Marvel Television’s Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory. The pilot has been directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men) who will executive produce the series too.

The Gifted premieres today at 9/8c on FOX.

Will you be watching? Or have you already watched it? Tell us in the comments below!

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Marvel’s X-Men Gold is one of the several reboots of the X-Men comics following the fight between Inhumans and the X-Men.

The war and all the events preceding the conflict against the Inhumans proved to be extremely taxing on the X-Men (and fascinating for the readers); the stories were very entertaining and led to several and often traumatic changes to the leaders of the groups (including splitting the X-Men into at least two groups); there have been several “new old” characters time travelling and establishing their lives in our time (the old-new generation including Jean Grey and Scott Summers); and death has been a constant remind of the heartbreaking mortality of the X-Men (for instance, Professor X and Wolverine).

The stories all lead to the latest philosophy to the X-Men story telling. It might be even called a revival since the first story is called “Back to the Basics”. What does that mean, you might be asking yourself?

The X-Men are back to their original lore, discriminated and misunderstood by humans, yet fighting to their deaths to protect those who ostracise them against human and mutant threats alike (often both threats are overlapping). It is also interesting to read the letter written by author Marc Guggenheim at the end of the first instalment of the storyline. For instance, the “old-fashion” yet modern art by Adrian Syaf, Jay Leisten, and Frank Martin that has been chosen for this series is no accident, “we’re going back to go forward”, according to Marc Guggenheim.

Please be aware that from this moment on, the article will delve into spoilers so if you have not read the comic just yet, you might want to come back after you did!

So let’s dive into “Back to the Basics”!

This storyline has an incredibly challenging job by establishing how the X-Men are going back to basics. Hence, there is a fairly long, yet inspiring, preamble that sets the story, the location, and the background for this new phase of the X-Men.

In a nutshell: Anti-mutant bigot positions are extremely popular and there are people exploiting them to their (political) advantage. The Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach has relocated in Central Park (after having spent quite some time in the Limbo). The X-Men are still focusing on saving humans and mutants lives yet each member is going through significant changes or traumas to work through. The Brotherhood of Mutants is back to raise hell and complicate the X-Men’s (really of all mutants) position towards humans.

There is also a constant awareness of other powers working in the world at the same time, from reference to Avengers, Spider-Men (and women), to Captain America, which feels particularly refreshing and contemporary and helps with elevating the dialogues. It is also interesting to see why and how the X-Men are so different from the other enhanced Marvel heroes and it is striking how relatable and modern ostracism for being different really is. Also, in the best tradition of comics, the story is full of great fighting scenes which highlights strengths, weaknesses, powers, and interactions.

The story begins in a very powerful way—Lydia Nance, Director for the Heritage Initiative expresses her bigot opinion about mutants in a TV show, highlighting how dangerous mutants are. She also compares them with the other enhanced humans (for instance, Spider-Man and Asgardians) and how they should be singled out because of their X-genome that makes them HMD (no, not a fancy doctorate title, but it stands for humans of mass destruction).

Lydia Nance is going to be a constant presence in this storyline and her, at the very least, debatable statements will sparkle conversations at the X-Men mansion, both for the adults and for the younger mutants. Despite being a horrible woman (yes, expressing judgement against her and her positions), it is great to see that the X-Men are brought back to their original fights, starting by being misunderstood. It makes the X-Men who they are, including overcoming the prejudice and to help mankind as a whole.

The following full-page art really blows minds away: Kitty Pride, the new leader of the X-Men calling her X-Men to formation. Just an amazing moment in the X-Men history and the clear opening to a brand new chapter for the X-Men.

The team is made of beloved Marvel characters: Nightcrawler—it is so good to see him back in the main team; Colossus—whose presence is even more interesting in light of the romantic history between our favourite artistic Russian metal man and Kitty; Storm—who needs to work through significant confidence issues; Old Man Logan—if the “real” Logan died, the fans are not deprived of his unique fighting skills, caring, and dedication to mutants. He also guarantees extremely violent fighting scenes, which are his trademark. Prestige—the new codename of Rachel Grey, the daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey from the future who has a connection with the Phoenix force; and, as mentioned, Kitty Pride herself who just uses her full name while battling as an X-Men.

As a side note, the cover already provides a retro-feeling in terms of costumes the heroes are using. For instance, it is refreshing to see Storm using her classic costume or Kitty wearing the yellow and black uniform that distinguished her for so long.

It is worth mentioning and describing the first fight of the story, and the following interaction of the X-Men with the human at the scene, since it depicts the team in its entirety and the opinion that humans have of the X-Men. The fight takes place in New York—another classic X-Men aspect—and our heroes are facing with a terrible adversary, Terrax, who controls the earth and an immediate threat to the safety of innocents in the form of skyscraper falling on the city.

Under the expert command of Kitty, the interaction between Prestige and Storm, aided by Logan, allows to take Terrax to an air battle, while Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Kitty phase the skyscraper enabling the building to fall without consequences and casualties. Yet, the most empowering moment of the first instalment of the story is Kitty interacting with the (human) crowd making sure that they are well—and if her question is received with scepticism, mistrust, and a bit of cold indifference, it shows how the X-Men are just interested in the well-being of humankind. It also does not escape the X-Men that, unlike the treatment they just received, the Avengers would be acclaimed for performing the exact same job.

As mentioned in the introduction, the readers are not deprived of the original setting of the X-Men, a mansion that serves as a school and refuge for all the young, and old, mutants. In following Professor Xavier’s (also Cyclops, Wolverine and Storm) steps, Kitty is also the headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach. The school is going to be a constant presence throughout the story, providing continuity with the past, including classics such as Cerebro and the training room.

By the end of the first part of the story, we are actually provided with the “real” enemies of the storyline, the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (the addition of “Evil” to the original name is no accident, mind you!). The group is shockingly led by a former X-Men, Magma, and aided by Mesmero—a telepathic mutant who has always provided support to the dark side; Avalanche; Pyro—who you might remember in the X-Men movies as the friend of Bobby turned evil by Magneto; Masque—a warlock; and a non-identified lizard-like creature who does not have a name or any ability to speak any language known to the X-Men. This last character will be going to play a role also in the later instalments of the X-Men Gold stories.

The “Back to the Basics” story is fairly intricate, providing some twists and turns, interesting developments in the story that will keep you glued to the comics and wanting for more. It is also worth noting that the new start of the X-Men does not “forget” prior events, providing continuity and setting extremely important steps in the characters’ development in “Back to the Basics” and future instalments.

Paying respect to the original source material, the series also focuses on the traditional struggles of being a mutant, for instance the need for normal that according to Logan is gold. It also offers interesting dialogue, not only showing the characters’ state of mind but also where the X-Men are going.

A great example for this is the dialogue between Kurt and Ororo, suggesting she is facing inner demons (having led the X-Men into a war against the Inhumans) yet hoping that the X-Men are going back to their roots: being heroes. Kitty having to deal with Piotr’s feelings for her and an invoice for a total of 18 million USD for rent in Central Park; Prestige working on her powers in the danger room with other young and beloved mutants such as Santo, working their way into the X-Men ranks.

Let’s also not forget the action scenes, with Logan being a pillar for sheer violence in his fights against the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and against the X-Men when Mesmero controls his mind which allows for some great action scenes of Logan versus Santo, and then Santo’s hilarious commentary to the situations he is in.

Have you read this comic? What do you think about their return to the origins? :et us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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