Critical Hits & Misses #341

• Mess with Jeff, prepare for death. In the never-ending battle of dealing with the toxic elements of Overwatch's playerbase, Jeff Kaplan performs an epic takedown of a forum troll who tried to play innocent on why he/she received a temp-ban in Overwatch. 


• Marvel's (white) Editor-in-Chief has apologized for posing as an Asian writer, and says he's listened to what people have been telling him about why it was wrong. We'll see, I suppose. 

For today's musical hit, we have "It Feels Like Christmas" from Panic! At The Disco:

Today's critical rolls: Are you ready for the holidays? Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, most likely you have some time off coming up. What are you planning on doing?

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Critical Hits & Misses #337

• Popular Marvel Bad Boy Loki is getting a new series of novels in 2019, and even better? He's going to be pansexual and genderfluid. Yes plz!


• This in-depth article over at Wired discusses the strange case of the DDOS attacks that nearly brought down the internet, all in the name of Minecraft. 

For today's musical hit, we have G-Eazy with Halsey on Jimmy Kimmel, with "Him & I"

Today's critical rolls: Happy Star Wars day! Are you excite? Are you hype?

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Critical Hits & Misses #336

• Merriam-Webster has named the word of the year for 2017 to be "feminism." Hmm, pandering to SJWs, it appears. 


• Our favorite reluctant badass heroine gets a new trailer and a premiere date, finally! Cannot wait for Jessica Jones season 2!

For today's musical hit, we have Lindsey Stirling's "Angels We Have Heard On High"

Today's critical rolls: What's YOUR word of the year? Mine is "creeper." Not because I like it, but because I've used it a LOT of late, unfortunately.

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Critical Hits & Misses #326

• Forbes has a bit of snark for DC fans who claim that there is some mass media conspiracy against Zach Snyder and the DC movies: facts and numbers show that traditionally, critics have liked Snyder films more than actual movie goers have. 


• Marvel comics recently announced a secret surprise wedding in the comics, but like, more people cared about the engagement announcement between Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

For today's musical hit, we have rising artisti OMB Peezy and "Doin Bad"

Today's critical rolls: Are you curious about the secret Marvel wedding? Or maybe you're more excited about Prince Harry's pending nuptials? Or maybe you only care about the West-Allen/Ollicity weddings going on in the Crossover this week on the CW? Or maybe no weddings at all?

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Critical Hits & Misses #325

• What happens to the MCU after Infinity War sends Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark into retirement? The Hollywood Reporter takes a look at some of the possibilities, including one annoying storyline that hopefully never happens (we want Riri instead of Teen Tony, okay?)


• Pixar's Coco opened this past weekend in theaters, and instantly shot up to the #1 spot, especially in Mexico, where it was the #1 movie ever. 

For today's musical hit, I promise I won't torture us all with Christmas music from here until actual Christmas (I personally can't stand most Christmas music), but here's Pentatonix with a nifty take on "Deck the Halls"

Today's critical rolls: So Riri Williams (or even Rhodey) as the new Iron Man, emirite? What about some of the other heroes? Do you think they could pull off female Thor in the movies? And who should take up the mantle of Captain America?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #323

• Uproxx reviews the first four episodes of Hulu's new Marvel adaptation, Runaways. It's spoiler-free, so don't worry if you read it before you get to see the series.


• She's not wrong: Natalie Portman points out that Hollywood's rampant sexual harassment problem stems from the fact that there aren't many women working on sets and especially in suits at the higher levels of the industry. Yup. 

For today's musical hit, we have Theophilus London and "Why Even Try"

Today's critical rolls: Are you excited about Runaways? Or maybe there's another original series out of the streaming services--Hulu, Amazon, Netflix--that you're excited about instead? Let us know!

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #315

TFW your superhero show took itself way too seriously

• The AV Club talks about why Marvel's Inhumans has been kind of the suck, and how the writers probably should have gone the route of Thor: Ragnarok and done intentional humor, instead of this srz bizness superpowered nonsense we've gotten. 


• Lin-Manuel Miranda wants to send a bold message, and he's going to do it by returning to Hamilton in Puerto Rico. NGL, this is awesome. Almost as awesome as Lin-Manuel Miranda tell the President of the United States, "You're going to hell." 

For today's musical hit,we have Dua Lipa and "New Rules"

Today's critical rolls: Have you watched Inhumans? What about The Gifted? Last year's Legion? Which of these shows about superpowered people/mutants do you like or hate? What needs to be renewed and what needs to go away for good?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #296

• After fans flipped a collective shit, Marvel has wisely decided to drop a partnership with defense industry giant Northrop Grumman for a special series of branded superheroes. That's probably the best decision you've made in a really long time, Marvel. 


• And in more good news, a teaser for Wolfenstein 2 pisses off Nazi twitter (we don't use the term "alt-right" here unless we are using it sarcastically or ironically, sorry... they are Nazis). Anyway, the game has a new slogan: "Make American Nazi Free Again." Count me in, Bethesda. 

For today's musical hit, we have Kelsea Ballerini and "Legends"

Today's critical rolls: What could be worse than Marvel comics partnering with a company that makes weapons of war? Imagine the possibilities of all the terrible partnerships out there, and give us fictional examples of companies that should never, ever, partner together to do anything.


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #293

• The spoilers are out for Catwoman's answer to Batman proposing to her. Don't read this article if you wanted to be surprised by the actual issue. The article does discuss a little about superheroes being happy, so it's not just a giant spoiler alert. 


• Forbes discusses how going forward, the DCMU is going to start looking more like the MCU in how interconnected (or not) the films will be. Pretty interesting hypothesis, I guess we'll see how it pans out. 

For today's musical hit, we have Sam Smith and "Too Good at Goodbyes"

Today's critical rolls: What's your take on superheroes being allowed to be happy, and do things like get married? Yay, nay, don't care?

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #278

Happy Monday! I was out of town last weekend, so we missed Friday's CH&M! Hope your weekend was merry!

• Bustle discusses the importance of Thor: Ragnarok's Hela, Marvel's first female villain in the MCU. All hail Queen Cate. 


• I would be proud to call this kid my child: watch a kid call an Infowars host "a fucking idiot."

For today's musical hit, we have Kane Brown and "Found You"

Today's critical rolls: Well, it was a rather disastrous weekend. An 8.2 earthquake in Mexico plus a hurricane on the east coast of Mexico, and then the Caribbean and Florida got hit by the largest storm ever. Were you or someone you know caught in any of these? If not, what kind of natural disasters happen in your neck of the woods?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #277

• Stephen King's books are a cultural icon, and there have been plenty of movies (and shows) made based on them. This weekend is the premiere of the remake of It, and in that spirit, Vulture has a list of every Stephen King movie, ranked from worst to best.


• The fabulous Michelle Pfeiffer has a lot going on in 2017, including starring with Jennifer Lawrence in mother!, as well as Murder on the Orient Express, and ultimately, returning to comic book films by way of Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp. Check out this great interview with the serene veteran actress via Time.

For today's musical hit, we have Kelly Clarkson's "Love So Soft"

Today's critical rolls: Love Stephen King? What's your favorite book and/or movie adaptation? Hate Stephen King? How come?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming

Oh Spider-Man, we do love you so. Not only the most popular Marvel superhero, but one of the most popular superheroes, and hell one of the most popular modern fictional characters of all time. The original two Spider-Man films are not only among the highest water marks of the genre. But the character's relevance has been waning of late, especially given that his last 2 cinematic excursions were raw garbage. But he remains immensely popular, so when Marvel reacquired the option to use him in the MCU, it was obvious they were going to exercise it immediately.

Homecoming is devoted to our titular neighborhood Spider-Man (Tom Holland). In the wake of Captain America: Civil War, he's held on to the special suit Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) gave him and is eager to rejoin the Avengers, but Stark has little time for him and so he's relegated to stopping menial street level crimes. But that changes when Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), a former salvager who feels he was robbed of cleaning up the wake of the events of The Avengers by Stark Industries, begins stealing Chitauri tech and building weapons out of it to sell, as well as building himself a wingsuit to help with his theft. And with Stark and company occupied with moving out of Avengers Tower, Spider-Man may be the only one who can help.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is...fine. Okay. Pretty good. It occasionally flirts with being a better movie, but never really stretches for greatness or being anything other than solid. Maybe that's a flaw, but I'm actually pretty stoked about a Marvel movie being willing to be low key and fun, rather than epic and important to the ongoing storyline. So while that doesn't excuse its flaws, it does make me more inclined to overlook them.

I also love the running gag about how useless Spider-Man is outside of the very specific confines of NYC.

Honestly, the weakest link in the film is Tom Holland as Spider-Man. He's not bad per se and he's a lot of fun, but whenever the film stretches to be more than it is, he's found wanting. Tobey Maguire might be less amusing, but he was much better at the emotional beats than Holland is, at least thus far. The film makes two big attempts to recreate the emotional depth of the train scene from Spider-Man 2, and both times Holland fails to sell them.

But more than being straight bad, it might just be that he's outclassed. Obviously Robert Downey Jr. is great as Iron Man, in his semi-regular cameos, but the rest of the cast is just killer. Michael Keaton as the Vulture is easily the best and most engaging MCU villain since Loki, not least because he's sympathetic and interesting in his own right. Jacob Batalon may be playing a small role, but he absolutely kills every second he's on screen, and Zendaya just devours the screen whenever she shows up. And of course, it's always nice to see Donald Glover, even if he barely has more than a cameo.

"This looks like a problem that can only be solved by punching!"

If the movie has an issue, one that keeps me from being overly enthusiastic about it, it's that it doesn't seem to be about anything. It occasionally strains to have some subtext and themes, but they tend to fall short, and given that they're mostly about how much Peter wants to join the Avengers, they tend to undercut the things I like about the movie. The only one that has any real resonance is the Vulture's thread about how Tony Stark's company is making money cleaning up the mess he himself made, an interesting concept that doesn't get near enough screentime.

So what do I like about it? Well aside from the aforementioned actors I like, the action scenes are well put together and engaging, the dialogue feels natural, the movie moves at a good pace and it's often really, really funny. While it may be a slight movie, it's certainly an enjoyable one, and the script and direction do a lot to keep the energy up. And there's nothing wrong with being slight; Honestly, the biggest issue I took with Guardians of the Galaxy 2 was when it decided it needed to have a big, world ending threat, rather than a smaller one.

"Is this as cool as the train scene in Spider-Man 2 yet?"
"No! Stop asking!"

Honestly, my interest in the MCU has been waning of late, maybe because none of the top 3 best superhero films of the last 2 years (Logan, Deadpool and Wonder Woman) have been MCU properties. It took me until Doctor Strange was on Netflix to watch it, I never finished Iron Fist and I never even started Defenders. So it's nice to see an MCU movie that was small, engaging and relatable, and also didn't require me to devote more precious brain space to the location of another magic rock. Maybe a few more like these, and the bigger stories will start to feel big again, rather than the norm. Either way, this one is good, recommended.

Elessar is a 27 year old Alaskan-born, Connecticut-based, cinephile with an obsession with The Room and a god complex. 

Critical Hits & Misses #267

• Today in Things Nobody Asked For, DC Comics is prepping a new Joker origin film, because reasons. The only feel-good news about this one is that Jared Leto will not be playing the lead. 


• Did you binge watch Netflix's The Defenders this past weekend? Cuz I sure did. Turns out that going forward, there will be more crossovers between heroes on their individual shows. Cool!

For today's musical hit, we have rising artist Demetria McKinney and "Easy"

Today's critical rolls: Did you watch The Defenders? Did you like it? Tell us what you think!

Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

The Unbelievable Gwenpool #18 Review: Weaponizing The Fourth Wall

Issue eighteen takes a small break from Gwen's story to show Teddy's journey through the Marvel universe, beginning during the first Gwenpool-centered Christmas special. It's a fascinating look at what someone would do if they had no knowledge of the Marvel world, but accidentally got roped in. It's a similar conceit to the main premise of The Unbelievable Gwenpool itself, but with potentially even worse consequences. I'm not sure what Teddy is more upset about, not being recognized by the comic counterparts of his family and friends or seeing Gwen murder a group of criminals.

I also love the official debut of Gwen's new superpowers. She's able to effortlessly pluck objects from within panels, jump from location to location, and view 'scenes' from the comics that don't involve her. Just in one issue, we get a truly intense use of fourth-wall breaking as a power, time travel shenanigans, and a cameo from Benjamin Grimm.

I miss the Fantastic Four.

As we get further and further into "Beyond The Fourth Wall", I'm getting increasingly excited to see just how creative Christopher Hastings and Gurihiru will get. I don't know how this arc will end, but I'm sure it'll be great, especially because we'll see a fully superpowered Gwen vs Doctor Doom once Marvel Legacy arrives. Part of me hopes it's just twenty-two pages of Duck Amuck-style jokes.

The Unbelievable Gwenpool #18 is written by Christopher Hastings, drawn by Gurihiru, and lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles. You can find it at your local comic book shop.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.

Critical Hits & Misses #246

• Game of Thrones creators Benioff and Weiss announced their new HBO show Confederate, and promptly proceeded to blow up the internet. A.V. Club takes a look at the show's shitty premise and why it's offensive, and how America needs to stop flirting with the fantasy of the South winning the war.


• Here's a bit of news from SDCC this weekend that brought some personal squuueeee to me: Michelle Pfeiffer was cast in Marvel's Ant-Man and the Wasp as Janet van Dyne, the original Wasp and mother of Hope. That sound you're hearing is me fangurling out.  

For today's musical hit, we have Andra's "Love Can Save It All"

Today's critical rolls: With all the trailers and news that came out of SDCC this weekend, what are you excited about?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #243

• In celebration of the casting announcement for the live action version of the film, Bitch Media discusses the incredible problems with the story of Disney's Aladdin, ranging from racism to cultural appropriation to colonialism to disturbing misogyny. Hold onto your hats, this poignant blog post is a doozy. 


• In happier news, NewsOK reports that the diversity of Marvel's Spider-Man: Homecoming was no accident, and that it was, in fact, quite integral to the making of the film. Someone in Hollywood seems to be getting it, finally!

For today's musical hit, we have "Transgender Dystopia Blues" from Against Me!

Today's critical rolls: So uhh, Disney movies have a lot of problems, for sure. When I was a kid I loved Aladdin and thought Jasmine was awesome. As an adult and a feminist, I understand now the massive problems in it. What other kids' media, Disney or otherwise, do you remember loving as a kid but now realize they are problematic?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

Critical Hits & Misses #236

• In case you were living under a rock, Marvel Studios released Spider-Man: Homecoming this past weekend to some serious box office sales. Over at The Hollywood Reporter, Ciara Wardlow discusses her appreciation for the film and its depiction of "nerd schools."


• Over at Medium, Veronica Chambers talks about why she reads comic books, and the importance of reading for pleasure. 

For today's musical hit, we have Bikini Kill and "Rebel Girl"

Today's critical rolls: Did you see Spider-man: Homecoming this weekend? What did you think? If not, are you planning on seeing it, or just waiting for another Marvel film?


Critical Writ has a super-duper strict comment policy that specifies a single rule above all others: we reserve the right to ban you for being a terribad citizen of the internet.

The Unbelievable Gwenpool #17 Review: A Spectacular Second Chapter

It's official, The Unbelievable Gwenpool has transcended genres and turned into a cosmic horror story. Oh, it started innocently enough. We all laughed at the wacky adventures of someone from the real world wreaking havoc in a fictional universe. In the beginning, we were entertained by some lighthearted crossovers and stories rife with in-jokes. The art felt playful and the comic was a gentle escape from life's woes. Not anymore.

I wish I could just set aside a chunk of time and have a roundtable discussion with Christopher Hastings, Gurihiru, Clayton Cowles, Heather Antos, and everyone else involved of the production of this arc. Even just being a fly on the wall during the initial discussions would suffice, as it would allow me a glimpse into just how this arc was conceived. It's honestly one of the most innovative Marvel arcs that I've read in a long time, possibly with the exception of Jeff Lemire's Moon Knight. Even so, it never reached the levels of metatextual plots brought into play here.

Gurihiru's art enhances the story, adding whole new dimensions of meaning to the issue. At the issue goes on, you'll see what I mean, especially in regards to the Marvel multiverse. The art and lettering styles could be taught in comic classes as a lesson on how to properly write a comic. Back when I was lucky enough to interview Christopher Hastings, he described this arc as 'bananas' and I have to agree. It's fantastic on a number of levels. I'm not going to describe any plot details, you have to read it for yourself. It's worth an immediate read.

The Unbelievable Gwenpool #17 is written by Christopher Hastings, drawn by Gurihiru, lettered by and VC's Clayton Cowles. You can find it at your local comic book shop.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.

U.S.Avengers #6 Review: Don't Go Hailing Hydra (Or Trusting Steve)

U.S.Avengers #6 functions as a Secret Empire tie-in primarily by showing what the main cast members were doing during the initial takeover in Secret Empire #0. Thankfully, it avoids the standard pitfalls of an event tie-in comic by managing to further the development of the regular characters while also keeping the events of the main title straight. It's all too easy to get so tied up in recapping the current event that the main plot either gets put on hold or simply becomes stagnant. Alternately, the event will make no significant change to the story, making one wonder what the point of the tie-in was in the first place.

The comic definitely doesn't have to worry about that, as at least three new plot points are either furthered or created. Firstly, a certain character who I don't want to ruin may or may not be dead. The cover for this issue may or may not be an exaggeration, and it may or may not be that particular character. I doubt that the person is truly dead, but we'll find out in the upcoming issues. I'm not as interested in that particular development, because I still don't know a lot about the character. The death didn't have as much meaning to me, because of that.

However, the other two developments did fascinate me. Back in the last issue, a Hydra mole told the Red Hulk that he was working on a way to allow him to hulk out whenever he wanted, instead of just for one hour. Now, his true allegiance has been revealed, as it turns out that the specialized nanobots just allow the general's body to be controlled by an outside force.

Next, the rift between Toni and Enigma continues to grow, this time over a moral conflict. Enigma is concerned that Toni's increasing reliance on weaponry is a betrayal of her core belief system, while Toni maintains that she's not using them against any sentient beings. It's entirely possible that an invader could co-opt the devices, as shown with the nanobots, at least in my eyes.

I do hope that the rest of the tie-in issues have more substance to them, as not too much else happens. It's mostly a stepping-stone to see the new status quo under Hydra, but it's a steady one. Here's hoping that the rest will be just as good!

U.S.Avengers #6 is written by Al Ewing, drawn by Paco Medina, inked by Juan Vlasco, colored by Jesus Aburtov, and lettered by VC's Joe Caramagna. You can find it at your local comic book shop.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.

The Unbelievable Gwenpool #16 Review: Gwen Poole, Now With Shades Of Jon Scalzi's Redshirts!

Earlier this week, I officially became a John Scalzi fan after reading Redshirts, an excellently written science fiction novel. Whether unintentional or not, the new wrinkle in Gwenpool's plot has similar metatextual and philosophical themes. The start of the biggest story arc in the series so far, "Beyond The Fourth Wall", has begun and we're finally seeing Gwen's origin. It's also the most painfully realistic installment in the comic so far, despite the dimension-hopping shenanigans.

At the end of the last issue, Gwen visited her brother Teddy, thinking him to be his comic-book counterpart. He revealed himself to be from the real world and took her back to her home dimension, but at a point in time before she made the leap to Earth-616. It turns out that the house that he was residing in was actually just an outer shell for an interdimensional portal. After he drags her in, the issue starts to get more, shall we say, mundane.

Do all comic book shops look like this? I am strongly reminded of the Vault Of Midnight. Seriously, right when you walk in the door, it's pretty similar to this.

In the real world, it turns out that Gwen really didn't have the best life, partially because of her own actions, but also due to an outside force. Her friends aren't in town, she's dropped out of high school, and she's having trouble finding employment. Although, that last part is partially her own fault, making minimal effort to actually do so. Mostly, she spends a whole lot of time holed up in her comic memorabilia-adorned room, playing video games and thinking of fanfiction ideas, but not being able to follow through on them.

I recently watched some episodes of Atop The Fourth Wall that recapped Exiles. The original name for Atop The Fourth Wall would have been "Beyond The Fourth Wall." That is the name of this storc arc. COINCIDENCE?! -scribbles on chalkboard like a conspiracy theorist-

As I said earlier, it truly is painfully realistic, especially because a large chunk of what Gwen deals with reminds me of being depressed. I know what it feels like to constantly have story ideas but reject them because you don't think you can write them properly. I've experienced the extreme anxiety that comes from having work and school-related tasks to do, but not being sure of how to begin. It is entirely possible that I'm projecting my personal stresses onto the story, but I would be interested to see if anyone else feels the same way.

The latter half of the issue gets slightly more complicated when Teddy reveals that he's promised to stop her from going back to the Marvel world. Several (false?) McGuffins are set up in order to lead the reader on a wild goose chase and obscure the real impetus for Gwen's trip. So far, this is the best issue yet. Almost everything has been leading up to this, all the way from the first issue, and it definitely shows. The amount of work put into the story is staggering, especially with Gwen's personality shift. Even in the early parts of the issue, we see some foreshadowing for how she would act in the comics universe, with the same attitude for fictional characters and responsibility. The next part in the story arrives in two weeks and I'm really excited to see what happens.

The Unbelievable Gwenpool #16 is written by Christopher Hastings, drawn by Gurihiru, and lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles. You can find it at your local comic book shop.

Zachary Krishef is an evil genius. Do not question his knowledge of Saturday Night Live trivia or Harry Potter books.