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Watching the Marvel Cinematic Universe from the beginning...
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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 315312" data-attributes="member: 5079"><p>Now that [USER=23]@Mel O'Drama[/USER] is up-to-date as possible, as suggested by [USER=2]@Ome[/USER] -- my top tens, all-inclusive of heroes, villains and supporting characters.</p><p></p><p><strong>BEST</strong></p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Captain America: while Tony Stark might be the heart of the MCU, Steve Rogers was its backbone. There seemed to be a belief in superhero films that 'noble' characters don't work: they need to be sidelined and mocked (Cyclops in the X-MEN films) or darkened (Superman in the Snyder films). So what a relief to see Cap played as such a stalwart hero and his Boy Scout image both embraced and only gently kidded. Plus Chris Evans is the best cast character in the MCU, joining Christopher Reeve and Lynda Carter as looking as if they just popped right off the pages of a comic book.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Kate Bishop: one of the most well rounded, well developed and all around likeable characters from the MCU.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Killmonger: the MCU's most well developed villain, whose nuanced motivations don't mask the full depth of his treachery.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Thor: a pretty dull character at first, but later entries added a cheery good humor and shaky confidence to his persona; making him both heroic and relatable.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Michelle Jones-Watson: the most surprising inclusion on the list. The superhero girlfriend is a thankless role, but Zendaya plays the part with intelligence and wit; no one else since Margot Kidder has done so well in this function.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Scarlet Witch: the biggest character arc in the MCU, Wanda started out as an ersatz Jean Grey and evolved into a well-developed, recognizable version of the Scarlet Witch. (I just hope subsequent costume designers understand that 'scarlet' is not a generic synonym for any shade of red.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Okoye: fiercely heroic and amusing, I found her far more intriguing than the title character in BLACK PANTHER.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Wong: handling antiquated characters from earlier eras can be tricky, and often results in a heavy-handed over-compensation. It's been gratifying to see Wong develop as a powerful and witty peer of Dr. Strange.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Spider-Man: While I concede his exuberance can be grating, I think Tom Holland is one heck of a good Spidey; his youth and athleticism make him far more suitable to the role than his predecessors and all the pieces for the character fell into place in the most recent film.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Yelena: Florence Pugh pivots between broadly comedic and (literally) deadly serious, sometimes within the same scene; impressive feat of acting to pull that off.</li> </ol><p> </p><p></p><p><strong>WORST</strong></p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The Eternals (minus Kingo): Ok, it's a cheat to include 9 characters in one slot but they're all so bland, they might as well be merged. I'll exclude Kingo, because Kumail Nanjiani played the role with some energy. All of the other actors just stood around looking portentous and somnambulant.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Suri: While I have nothing particularly against the character, I find the actress' performance to be insufferably smug; and this was well before her anti-vax controversies.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Whiplash: a poorly cast actor stuck with a terrible costume design and bad character concept.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Yellowjacket: MCU has been overly fond of these 'mirror image' villains (Abomination; Iron Monger; etc.), but this was one of the worst villains of the franchise.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Flash Thompson: I am generally forgiving of the gender/race swaps in the MCU, either for the sake of diversity (Ned) or to avoid controversy (the Ancient One), but the casting here is baffling. I can never tell if he's meant to be an arrogant bully or a foolish comic relief, but doesn't work either way.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Aldrich Killian: the fake Mandarin distracts from what a terrible villain this guy was in IRON MAN 3</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Captain Marvel: 'Strong' isn't a personality trait. Even Thor, in his earlier iterations, had more personality than this flat, colorless character. The only reason she's not #1 on this list is because her animated counterpart somewhat redeemed her.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Sylvie: As hard as LOKI tried to make this character work, she fell flat.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Karli Morgenthau: see below</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">John Walker: it's telling that two of my least favorite characters came from the same series. THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER tried to work in shades of gray, but its writing wasn't sharp enough to support this. Rather than nuanced characters, they were simply drab.</li> </ol></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 315312, member: 5079"] Now that [USER=23]@Mel O'Drama[/USER] is up-to-date as possible, as suggested by [USER=2]@Ome[/USER] -- my top tens, all-inclusive of heroes, villains and supporting characters. [B]BEST[/B] [LIST=1] [*]Captain America: while Tony Stark might be the heart of the MCU, Steve Rogers was its backbone. There seemed to be a belief in superhero films that 'noble' characters don't work: they need to be sidelined and mocked (Cyclops in the X-MEN films) or darkened (Superman in the Snyder films). So what a relief to see Cap played as such a stalwart hero and his Boy Scout image both embraced and only gently kidded. Plus Chris Evans is the best cast character in the MCU, joining Christopher Reeve and Lynda Carter as looking as if they just popped right off the pages of a comic book. [*]Kate Bishop: one of the most well rounded, well developed and all around likeable characters from the MCU. [*]Killmonger: the MCU's most well developed villain, whose nuanced motivations don't mask the full depth of his treachery. [*]Thor: a pretty dull character at first, but later entries added a cheery good humor and shaky confidence to his persona; making him both heroic and relatable. [*]Michelle Jones-Watson: the most surprising inclusion on the list. The superhero girlfriend is a thankless role, but Zendaya plays the part with intelligence and wit; no one else since Margot Kidder has done so well in this function. [*]Scarlet Witch: the biggest character arc in the MCU, Wanda started out as an ersatz Jean Grey and evolved into a well-developed, recognizable version of the Scarlet Witch. (I just hope subsequent costume designers understand that 'scarlet' is not a generic synonym for any shade of red.) [*]Okoye: fiercely heroic and amusing, I found her far more intriguing than the title character in BLACK PANTHER. [*]Wong: handling antiquated characters from earlier eras can be tricky, and often results in a heavy-handed over-compensation. It's been gratifying to see Wong develop as a powerful and witty peer of Dr. Strange. [*]Spider-Man: While I concede his exuberance can be grating, I think Tom Holland is one heck of a good Spidey; his youth and athleticism make him far more suitable to the role than his predecessors and all the pieces for the character fell into place in the most recent film. [*]Yelena: Florence Pugh pivots between broadly comedic and (literally) deadly serious, sometimes within the same scene; impressive feat of acting to pull that off. [/LIST] [B]WORST[/B] [LIST=1] [*]The Eternals (minus Kingo): Ok, it's a cheat to include 9 characters in one slot but they're all so bland, they might as well be merged. I'll exclude Kingo, because Kumail Nanjiani played the role with some energy. All of the other actors just stood around looking portentous and somnambulant. [*]Suri: While I have nothing particularly against the character, I find the actress' performance to be insufferably smug; and this was well before her anti-vax controversies. [*]Whiplash: a poorly cast actor stuck with a terrible costume design and bad character concept. [*]Yellowjacket: MCU has been overly fond of these 'mirror image' villains (Abomination; Iron Monger; etc.), but this was one of the worst villains of the franchise. [*]Flash Thompson: I am generally forgiving of the gender/race swaps in the MCU, either for the sake of diversity (Ned) or to avoid controversy (the Ancient One), but the casting here is baffling. I can never tell if he's meant to be an arrogant bully or a foolish comic relief, but doesn't work either way. [*]Aldrich Killian: the fake Mandarin distracts from what a terrible villain this guy was in IRON MAN 3 [*]Captain Marvel: 'Strong' isn't a personality trait. Even Thor, in his earlier iterations, had more personality than this flat, colorless character. The only reason she's not #1 on this list is because her animated counterpart somewhat redeemed her. [*]Sylvie: As hard as LOKI tried to make this character work, she fell flat. [*]Karli Morgenthau: see below [*]John Walker: it's telling that two of my least favorite characters came from the same series. THE FALCON & THE WINTER SOLDIER tried to work in shades of gray, but its writing wasn't sharp enough to support this. Rather than nuanced characters, they were simply drab. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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