here all the bombs fade away
I feel like I should have things to say about last night's Once Upon a Time, but after "The Miller's Daughter," which was such a great episode, I find my interest has begun to wane. I feel like what I want out of the show and what the show wants to be aren't really congruent. I dunno. They did some interesting stuff last night, but there was so much I just didn't care about, too. I will probably watch the season finale next week, but then who knows?
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One of the things I did this weekend was start to look into replacements for google reader, and the one I've chosen to test drive is The Old Reader. I didn't bother to export my feeds since I was looking to pare down; I just bookmarked the ones I wanted and subscribed once I'd logged into the new service, which uses a google login. I like that it's very basic. I don't know if it's shareable, but since I never shared anything from google reader either, I don't really care about that. I mean, if you're interested in my list of food blog feeds, you can follow me? but I don't really plan to follow people there, and any recipes I'm interested in I'll save to pinboard, where following makes more sense to me, and I especially like it now because I can block the stuff I don't want to see. If only I could killfile certain terms on the whole internet!
Anyway, so far, I like The Old Reader. We'll see how it goes.
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So I read a bunch of posts and reviews of IM3 and now I think I understand more about the villain's scheme. So Killian wanted to sell Extremis tech to the US Govt, but it was faulty, i.e., some of the recipients were exploding, possibly after becoming addicted? And so Killian hired Trevor to be the Mandarin in order to spin these explosions as terrorist attacks on the US, so that he could then go to the government and get them to buy Extremis - or possibly just contract with AIM (and seriously where were the beekeeper outfits? I hope they show up in Cap 2) to 'eliminate' the threat. That's why he talks about owning both sides of the conflict.
It also allows for both Killian and Trevor to be foils for Tony (the way Hammer and Vanko were in IM2, but didn't really work, since Tony is basically Tony's worst enemy in that movie and the alternate versions of him couldn't compete with the real him in that department). Killian is the brilliant mind creating amazing tech that can be used for good or evil but doesn't really care which as long as he's making stuff/making money. And Trevor is playboy figurehead Tony who makes his money from supporting both ends of the war on terror but is too drunk/stoned/interested in a quick fuck to really know what's going on at the company he represents, while Stane is the man behind the curtain.
I saw an essay that read the movie in terms of "A Christmas Carol" with Tony as Scrooge, and I think that makes a lot of sense, and also helps explain the Christmas setting as more than just "Shane Black likes making Christmas movies."
I fully expect Cap 2 to be set at Christmas now as well, with Steve and Natasha searching for the worst/best Christmas present they've ever gotten (i.e., yay! your former partner/lover/BFF who you thought was dead is actually still alive! boo! he's trying to kill you!) because otherwise, Steve should have been on the plane with the president (and I really want him and Rhodey to meet and be bros in their spangly uniforms, though I still have issues with the Iron Patriot armor, mostly because Norman Osborn, hello! but since he'll never show up in these movies, I guess it's fine?), unless jurisdictional pissing contests are going on between SHIELD and the US govt. Which is also strongly possible, but just less fun than Cap's first Christmas in the future being FULL OF ALL HIS BUCKY FEELS.
The part I still can't figure out, though, is why these disabled veterans were still signing up for the program (or were they being referred to it? Either way, that was mighty unclear). I think linking it to the super soldier serum would have made that make more sense (and I'm told it was in the actual comic, which I haven't read), and also allow it to be for patriotism/wanting to still serve/feel useful, rather than simply the idea that living with a disability was to be avoided/fixed at all costs (I hope they don't grow Bucky's arm back. I LOVE the robot arm. I'm sure by that point, they'll act like Extremis doesn't exist/can't do that, though.).
I mean, I guess that it's possible the rank and file subjects also didn't know that their brethren were exploding, or being used as bombs, because otherwise, I can't imagine all of them would have just gone along with it - even with an addiction or the desire to regrow a limb, I think there would have be someone who would stand up and blow the whistle. It looked like the mother of the soldier from Tennessee wanted to do that, but nobody would listen, so I don't think it would have taken more than a couple more lines of dialogue inserted somewhere to make that make sense.
Does that make sense?
And here is where I talk about fic I'd like to read now:
-The story of Extremis!Pepper being a superhero with Tony as her Oracle, only suiting up himself for Avengers teamups. Rhodey could provide backup!
-Alternately, IM!Tony and Extremis!Pepper being the badass superpowered couple they are. Look, Pepper doesn't NEED superpowers beyond her own competence and organizational skills to fix everything - she's been doing it for years, after all - but wouldn't it be nice if she had them? Especially so that we could put paid to having her kidnapped as leverage against Tony ever again? And Tony could go off to space or dimension Z or wherever and not worry too much about her? Though she'd have to balance it with actually working as the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation. If Bruce Wayne can do it, though, I'm sure Pepper Potts totally can. Because let's face it, she is way more together than he'll ever be.
- (I still want to write them as the Nick and Nora Charles of the MCU, and both of them getting frustrated that a murder can't be solved just by blowing shit up.)
-There really isn't much of a story to this, but I love the idea of Bruce saying, "So, Tony, you were involved in some crazy shit over Christmas, huh?" and Tony going, "Let me tell you ALL ABOUT IT, Bruce. It all started in 1999..." and Bruce tries really hard to stay awake, but the rhythm of Tony's voice is putting him to sleep. And he's kind of glad he wasn't there because threats to Tony and Pepper make the other guy really angry, and it really wasn't a Hulk-sized problem. (Otoh, having Bruce involved once again ties back to the serum, since that is how he became the Hulk in the movies.)
I feel like there were other things I wanted to mention, but now I can't remember them, because work keeps interrupting.
In other MCU news, Michael B. Jordan is rumored to be in talks to play Johnny Storm in the F4 reboot (which would now be part of the MCU proper). While I really want him to be Eli Bradley in the movieverse, I think making him Johnny Storm is pretty awesome (and Sinqua Wells can be Eli). I anticipate a ton of Heimdall-related jokes now ("Where's Johnny, Heimdall? Where the fuck is Johnny?" or maybe I'm the only one who thinks like that.)
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This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/566714.html.
people have commented there.
*
One of the things I did this weekend was start to look into replacements for google reader, and the one I've chosen to test drive is The Old Reader. I didn't bother to export my feeds since I was looking to pare down; I just bookmarked the ones I wanted and subscribed once I'd logged into the new service, which uses a google login. I like that it's very basic. I don't know if it's shareable, but since I never shared anything from google reader either, I don't really care about that. I mean, if you're interested in my list of food blog feeds, you can follow me? but I don't really plan to follow people there, and any recipes I'm interested in I'll save to pinboard, where following makes more sense to me, and I especially like it now because I can block the stuff I don't want to see. If only I could killfile certain terms on the whole internet!
Anyway, so far, I like The Old Reader. We'll see how it goes.
*
So I read a bunch of posts and reviews of IM3 and now I think I understand more about the villain's scheme. So Killian wanted to sell Extremis tech to the US Govt, but it was faulty, i.e., some of the recipients were exploding, possibly after becoming addicted? And so Killian hired Trevor to be the Mandarin in order to spin these explosions as terrorist attacks on the US, so that he could then go to the government and get them to buy Extremis - or possibly just contract with AIM (and seriously where were the beekeeper outfits? I hope they show up in Cap 2) to 'eliminate' the threat. That's why he talks about owning both sides of the conflict.
It also allows for both Killian and Trevor to be foils for Tony (the way Hammer and Vanko were in IM2, but didn't really work, since Tony is basically Tony's worst enemy in that movie and the alternate versions of him couldn't compete with the real him in that department). Killian is the brilliant mind creating amazing tech that can be used for good or evil but doesn't really care which as long as he's making stuff/making money. And Trevor is playboy figurehead Tony who makes his money from supporting both ends of the war on terror but is too drunk/stoned/interested in a quick fuck to really know what's going on at the company he represents, while Stane is the man behind the curtain.
I saw an essay that read the movie in terms of "A Christmas Carol" with Tony as Scrooge, and I think that makes a lot of sense, and also helps explain the Christmas setting as more than just "Shane Black likes making Christmas movies."
I fully expect Cap 2 to be set at Christmas now as well, with Steve and Natasha searching for the worst/best Christmas present they've ever gotten (i.e., yay! your former partner/lover/BFF who you thought was dead is actually still alive! boo! he's trying to kill you!) because otherwise, Steve should have been on the plane with the president (and I really want him and Rhodey to meet and be bros in their spangly uniforms, though I still have issues with the Iron Patriot armor, mostly because Norman Osborn, hello! but since he'll never show up in these movies, I guess it's fine?), unless jurisdictional pissing contests are going on between SHIELD and the US govt. Which is also strongly possible, but just less fun than Cap's first Christmas in the future being FULL OF ALL HIS BUCKY FEELS.
The part I still can't figure out, though, is why these disabled veterans were still signing up for the program (or were they being referred to it? Either way, that was mighty unclear). I think linking it to the super soldier serum would have made that make more sense (and I'm told it was in the actual comic, which I haven't read), and also allow it to be for patriotism/wanting to still serve/feel useful, rather than simply the idea that living with a disability was to be avoided/fixed at all costs (I hope they don't grow Bucky's arm back. I LOVE the robot arm. I'm sure by that point, they'll act like Extremis doesn't exist/can't do that, though.).
I mean, I guess that it's possible the rank and file subjects also didn't know that their brethren were exploding, or being used as bombs, because otherwise, I can't imagine all of them would have just gone along with it - even with an addiction or the desire to regrow a limb, I think there would have be someone who would stand up and blow the whistle. It looked like the mother of the soldier from Tennessee wanted to do that, but nobody would listen, so I don't think it would have taken more than a couple more lines of dialogue inserted somewhere to make that make sense.
Does that make sense?
And here is where I talk about fic I'd like to read now:
-The story of Extremis!Pepper being a superhero with Tony as her Oracle, only suiting up himself for Avengers teamups. Rhodey could provide backup!
-Alternately, IM!Tony and Extremis!Pepper being the badass superpowered couple they are. Look, Pepper doesn't NEED superpowers beyond her own competence and organizational skills to fix everything - she's been doing it for years, after all - but wouldn't it be nice if she had them? Especially so that we could put paid to having her kidnapped as leverage against Tony ever again? And Tony could go off to space or dimension Z or wherever and not worry too much about her? Though she'd have to balance it with actually working as the CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation. If Bruce Wayne can do it, though, I'm sure Pepper Potts totally can. Because let's face it, she is way more together than he'll ever be.
- (I still want to write them as the Nick and Nora Charles of the MCU, and both of them getting frustrated that a murder can't be solved just by blowing shit up.)
-There really isn't much of a story to this, but I love the idea of Bruce saying, "So, Tony, you were involved in some crazy shit over Christmas, huh?" and Tony going, "Let me tell you ALL ABOUT IT, Bruce. It all started in 1999..." and Bruce tries really hard to stay awake, but the rhythm of Tony's voice is putting him to sleep. And he's kind of glad he wasn't there because threats to Tony and Pepper make the other guy really angry, and it really wasn't a Hulk-sized problem. (Otoh, having Bruce involved once again ties back to the serum, since that is how he became the Hulk in the movies.)
I feel like there were other things I wanted to mention, but now I can't remember them, because work keeps interrupting.
In other MCU news, Michael B. Jordan is rumored to be in talks to play Johnny Storm in the F4 reboot (which would now be part of the MCU proper). While I really want him to be Eli Bradley in the movieverse, I think making him Johnny Storm is pretty awesome (and Sinqua Wells can be Eli). I anticipate a ton of Heimdall-related jokes now ("Where's Johnny, Heimdall? Where the fuck is Johnny?" or maybe I'm the only one who thinks like that.)
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This entry at DW: http://musesfool.dreamwidth.org/566714.html.
people have commented there.