XMen Apocalypse Trailer breakdown

This past week the trailer dropped for the highly anticipated follow up to Days of Future Past- XMen: Apocalypse.  This is an official trailer, unlike the leaked trailer from comic con this summer.  We finally get to see Apocalypse in all his CGI glory and not looking like a villain from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Off the jump, I saw the trailer on my phone after unofficial @brothascomics member, Sandman texted me early in the morning to let me know the trailer was out.  On my phone, I was a little underwhelmed.  Plus I was at work and was kind of distracted and couldn't focus on what I was actually seeing.  Once I got home, I was able to watch it in peace by myself and then with my daughter, who is a huge X-Fan.  So lets look at some frame by frame shots and break down the trailer!  I am also going to mix in some information from the interview Bryan Singer did with ew.com the day the trailer released as he has more background information on our favorite mutants.

Opening scene is on new Jean Grey as she awakes from a nightmare of the worlds destruction and Charles is with her to let her know that it was just a dream.

I do not watch Game of Thrones, but Big Hutch does and he is pretty excited about Sophie Turner as Jean Grey.  This is a "hit reset" of sorts for the Xmen movies as they cast younger with the eyes towards the future of the franchise.  This new group of Xmen( Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler), along with a new Storm and new characters Psylocke and Jubilee are the future of the franchise.  And unsurprisingly, there is no Wolverine- which I think is a very good thing!

The trailer shifts to a voice over from Apocalypse dropping the many names he has been called over the years, God, Rah, Yahweh.... and the scene is inter cut with what looks like him recruiting his Four Horseman.

In the EW article, Singer talks about how Apocalypse wakes up from a 5000 year sleep and is not pleased with the world he sees and is now going to set it the way he sees fit- something he has done many times over the years apparently.  This plays into the comics version of Apocalypse who is constantly wanting to cull the weak and allow only the strongest to survive.  His main co-hort in doing this is usually Mr. Sinister so I wonder if he makes it into this movie somehow.

The scene then shifts to the CIA and Moira McTaggert briefing Charles and Alex Summers on the history of Apocalypse.  The idea that he is the first mutant is tossed out there and you get the sense that Apocalypse has already made his first move(s).

The scene moves back to Apocalypse as he seems to be either recruiting or speaking to Magneto.  From the EW article, Singer indicates this movie occurs 10 years after Days of Future Past and Erik and Charles are still estranged.  Erik has left the world of Evil Mutants behind and has moved to Poland and has a wife but something happens to his new found life and family and Erik is at his lowest point when Apocalypse comes to him offering hope and Erik joins the 4 Horsemen along with Archangel, Storm, and Psylocke.  This scene is also cut with a shot of Jubilee.... Now I hate the character Jubilee with a passion!  The comics version was annoying and somehow they made her even more annoying in the 90's cartoon. I am not sure how/why they decided to put her in this movie, but I am not happy about it!

As Moira explains the 4 Horsemen to Charles and Alex Summers, there is a great line of how maybe the Bible got the 4 Horsemen idea from Apocalypse.  Let me also take the time to hate the idea that the Summers Brother who has it most together is Alex.  

Let me tell you something...no one in their cotton picking minds in the 80's or 90's ever wanted to be Alex Summers.  We all wanted to be Scott Summers, leader of the XMen and bae of Jean Grey.  The fact they have screwed over Scott Summers/Cyclops in these movies is probably the thing I hate most about the XMovies.  They dicked the character over so much, they even turned him into an asshole in the comics,too!  Sorry, side brotha note!

The trailer then moves to show Charles hooked into Cerebro with a tear and a concerned look worried that "he can control all of us". The quick cut is to outside of Cerebro and Apocalypse and the Horsemen are there and Magneto moves Charles across the room.

Raven/Mystique is upset by this and we see a scene with her and Beast discussing why the XMen are needed again and Raven drops a line as to why she is there.... to fight...... Side Brotha note..... I am not down with this Raven not being blue stuff. I know the actress now is high profile with 2 Oscars and probably believes she is better than this material! She made mention in an EW article where she was not down with the 4 hour make up to play Mystique.  Fine, I guess! But it just seems a bit odd now that she is only Raven in the trailer and we don't even see her as Mystique.  And it looks like Raven is taking on a leadership role with the Xmen... again it just seems a bit off and forced.  It looks like she is leading with Beast- which makes sense since Hank has been with Charles from the beginning.

Then there is a line in there where Raven corrects Scott about being able to control his powers , "but this is war".... ugh. Look, I am excited for this movie, but that line gave had a XMen: Last Stand vibe to it and made me throw up in my mouth a little bit.  Hopefully this is the start to having Cyclops become the leader of the Xmen that we know him to be and not the whiny little bitch he is portrayed as in the movies.

The trailer starts to wind down with some drop in shots of Storm and Archangel, along with Magneto using their powers( Psylocke does not make the cut at all using her powers.) 

 There is also a cut in where we get to see Apocalypse use his powers.  In the comics and the cartoon that most people are familiar with, Apocalypse has shape shifting powers allowing him to get larger, as well as shift his body into weapons.  You see him get big on Charles in a quick shot.  Curious as to how much of that we will see in the movie.

The trailers ending begins with Apocalypse monologuing and seeing more destruction, mixed in with a shot of Apocalypse inside Cerebro and Quicksilver doing Quicksilver things

The final shots are of Charles. One he is hooked to Cerebro and his eyes go black as he explain how he has never felt this type of power and the trailer ends on the money shot of Charles, in the wheelchair, and bald.  In the EW article, Singer says its the original chair from the 1st Xmen movie and they actually had to buy it back from a collector( I bet that cost them!)

That's pretty much it.... There is such debate about the XMovies... Some people love them, some people loathe them and this trailer, if you read and believe Twitter, intensifies that debate.  I am not sure how I felt about it. I guess, meh... Trailers are to get you to want to spend your money but I was gonna spend my money on this anyway.  Bison4Life, a follower on Twitter, stated that maybe we are all in trailer fatigue and overload and that could very well be true.  In the past 3 weeks, we have gotten trailers for 3 of the most highly anticipated movies of 2016.  That is on top of what seems to be a new Star Wars trailer everyday.  Maybe there is nothing to get excited for? Maybe, six films in, we know exactly what we are going to get from an Xmen movie and Bryan Singer and we are just holding excitement down until it comes out? This trailer did nothing to make me want to see it more, I do know that.  In Singer I Trust with these movies, tho.  He seems to have a beat and pattern to make these movies successful and highly entertaining so until he makes one that is terrible, 

I'm rolling with him like Xavier!

The Producer

No Love for fictional Black Boxers

With the not so surprising news this morning that Michael B Jordan was not nominated for a Golden Globe award for Creed, I felt moved to finish this project that I have had in draft for the past couple of weeks.  I have only seen parts of Creed but people I respect who have seen the entire movie stated that Jordan did a great job and he looked to at least, maybe... possibly.... get a nomination for best actor for Creed. I paused when the person said it tho because if you look at the history of film, there has not been a lot of love for fictional, black boxers in movies.

The movie,The Great White Hope, starring James Earl Jones, was nominated for Best Picture( didn't win) and he was nominated for best actor( did not win).  But this movie is a kind of, sort of biography itself of boxer Jack Johnson.

Biography pictures about black boxers have generated Oscar nominations.  One for Denzel Washington in the brilliant, The Hurricane. Side brotha note... .how in da fuq he did not win the Oscar that year is still beyond me. His role in the Hurricane is 1000x better than the win he got for Training Day...but whatever.  The other nomination went to Will Smith for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the not so brilliant movie Ali.

Contrast that with stories movies about white fictional and non fictional boxers and you will see there are tons of nominations and wins for movies featuring white boxers.  These movies tend to be "Oscar Bait" and the award shows fall for it hook, line, and sinker.  There is something about white, and underdog, and boxer that the awards love and we have been fed these films for the past 40-50 years. Do a google search and put in "boxing movies" and what comes up will tell you how comfortable Hollywood is with this genre of film.

 And this speaks to the white people's comfortableness with seeing their underdog stories presented on film, while not being comfortable with blacks and people of color underdog stories.  The narrative, as they see it, is that all blacks are gifted athletically, so there is no way they could be underdogs in any athletic event.  Its why films like Rudy and Hoosiers are held to such high standards as virtues of hard work and determination by white people.  Since blacks are viewed as superior athletically, they could never be underdogs and presenting a movie where they are the underdog or they have to work hard to achieve, aren't received as well do to the stereotype. Unless of course they are helped by a white person to achieve their dream. I am looking at you, Blindside!

However, whites are quite comfortable with black boxers in comedies( and so are black people).  Boxers in comedies tend to play into the stereotype as the gifted athlete who dominates any and all comers- especially any white boxer who dares challenge for the belt. Whether its the stuttering champ, Jack Jenkins in Harlem Nights, Damon Wayans, SR as the Grim Reaper in The Great White Hype, or Eddie Murphy Kelly Robinson in I Spy, there is a general acceptance with black boxers in comedy.

I was hoping Creed would break through for Michael B Jordan and maybe it still will once the Oscar nominations come out; although I am not holding my breath.  He should have been nominated for Fruitvale Station.  It seems Rocky once again and scored the upset over the black boxer by getting the Golden Globe nomination! But I guess its really not that surprising.

The Producer

Legion Quest: Part 3

We continue on our road toward the Age of Apocalypse with Legion Quest part 3.  To this point, Legion, AKA David Haller, the love child of Charles Xavier and Gabriel Haller, has gone back in time to kill Magneto.  Legion believes that Magneto is the reason that his fathers dream of peaceful co-existence between mutants and humans has not happened because of Magneto and his insistence on the dominance of Homo-Superior.

In a battle with the Xmen, Legion transports himself back in time, along with four Xmen( Storm, Bishop, Iceman, and Psylocke).  The trip back in time has left all involved with memory loss as to who they are and why they are in Israel.  Legion is a mental hospital being helped by Magneto who is working as an intern at the hospital, along with his good friend, Charles Xavier.




Issue 3 picks up with Charles and Magnus( Erik) having a drink at a local bar.  They are having discussions on the idea of people with special powers and IF they exist, how they would be perceived by normal humans.  The roots of conflict are already planted and their positions are steadfast since this time.  Charles believes that we could all just get along, while Magnus believes that humans will never accept those different than themselves and they would fight against all those who are different.  I love the interaction between the two and the long established friendship they had.  The writers are careful to show how much these two old friends care(d) for one another.

As they night goes on, a conflict in the bar breaks out and Charles, being the bleeding heart that he is, looks to assist a disabled man from being picked on by drunkards in the bar.  Charles, showing some machismo we don't often see from him, takes on the biggest dude in the bar and puts him down without even using his powers.

Magnus, not wanting to see his boy get pummeled by the bar patrons, jump in and Magnus and Charles take on a bar full of drunks fighting back to back to beat them all off( without their powers).  This builds upon their friendship further- showing how close these two dudes were before it all went to shit later in life.

The story switches to present day Israel as the remaining Xmen and Cable attempt to go back in time to inform the Xmen in the past that they need to stop Legion from executing Magneto.  In the previous issues, the Shiar and the Watchers had visited the XMen and informed that there is a fabric in reality being torn by issues in the past and they need to fix it.  The Xmen's plan is to use Cable, and his latent time travel abilities, to go back in time and inform the Xmen of what is happening in the present and inform them to stop Legion.  The Shiar have provided the technology and using the PSI and telepathic abilities of Jean Grey and Charles Xavier, Cable is transported back in time to find the Xmen.

Back in time in Israel, the Xmen are working their lives as ordinary people.  They know their names and they know they have powers, but they do not know why they are in Israel- even though there is a sense of lingering purpose as to why they are there.  In the meantime, Charles and Magnus, fresh off their Roadhouse bar fight are headed on a ferry back to the hospital.  Charles confesses his affection for Gabrielle Haller and Magnus tells him to follow his feelings and go for it.  However, someone else is going to "go for it" with Gabrielle.  In a weird scene, even for comics, Legion goes back to meet his mom, but poses as his father, Charles.  They meet and, even though its not shown, he appears to bed down his mom.  That is kinda fucked up!

Charles "senses" something is wrong with Gabrielle and he and Magnus begin rushing back to the hospital. The Xmen, working on the docks in Israel, are finally visited by Cable.  Cable is drawn to Bishop, another man lost in time, and Cable informs them that they need to stop Legion.  He urges them to "remember" and as the Xmen fight against Cable, the chronal energy lifts the fog of memory from the Xmen and they remember why they are back in time.

When Charles and Magnus arrive, they find Gabrielle a little beaten up and bruised.  As they attend to her, Legion is there, and it appears his mind has also been restored to his mission back in time and his aim is clear- To Kill Magneto!

This concludes Legion Quest 3.  Join us for the conclusion next week- which ushers us into the Age of Apocalypse.

The Producer

What Xmen Comic Story becomes the new movie

Singer to direct New XMen Movie in 2018

With the announcement of a new, Brian Singer led Xmen movie in 2018, we have to wonder what classic Xmen story will they adapt to the big screen.  Fox has seen the power of using titles and stories from the comics with the last two movies: Days of Future Past and Age of Apocalypse so it stands to reason the next movie will follow suit.

X-Men has a long and storied history of classic( and not so classic ) storylines.  Some seem more adaptable to the movies than others and some just wont work because the title is weird( Sorry Executioners Song, X-Tinction Agenda, and Phalanx Covenant). We are going to assume that they do not revisit the Phoenix Saga that they screwed up with XMen: The Last Stand.  My personal preference would be to see the Phoenix Saga played out over a two movies and done properly by Singer. I just don't think they will go there. I could be wrong and hope that I am.  We list our top candidates here.  Feel free to leave a comment in the section on what you think the next movie will be.

In no particular order....

House of M

" No More Mutants"....  This XMen story affects the entire Marvel Universe but since Fox and MCU do not play well together, it would have to focus totally on mutants.  In House of M, Scarlet Witch basically loses her mind and her mutant abilities are twisted by her good for nothing brother, Quicksilver and with those 3 words, most of the Mutant population has their powers wiped out.  The story drags on a bit and naturally many Xmen get their powers back but since they have introduced Quicksilver and Magneto already and even a young, Wanda in Days of Future Past, maybe this story gets the adaptation.

Mutant Massacre

In an attempt to save the Morlocks, the Xmen and  are attacked by the Marauders, who at the time are led by the unseen, Mr. Sinister.  The Marauders devastate the Xmen leaving them battered and bruised. Colossus is paralyzed,  Shadowcat is in permanent phase mode, Nightcrawler is in a coma.... Its a messed up time for the Xmen.  Angel gets crucified which  eventually leads him getting turned into Archangel by Apocalypse.  Plus Sabertooth and Wolverine have quite many fight each other in some of the more violent comic panels in the 80's.  This is probably my leader in the clubhouse for the next movie. Nightcrawler gets reintroduced back into the X-movies with AoA and the Morlocks and Morlock tunnels are also rumored to be a part of AoA.  Colossus appears in the Deadpool movie, Mr. Sinister is rumored to be a part of the Gambit movie( if it ever gets made).  This might actually be a good way to introduce Gambit if the Channing Tatum movie does not get made in the interim.  And I am sure Sabertooth will eventually get put back into X-Films sooner than later.  Mutant Massacre was a good read at the time and its a great title for a movie.

Fatal Attractions

This storyline is most remembered for Magneto ripping the adamantium off the bones of Wolverine but people forget leading up to that, Magneto had blum lost his mind.  Magneto, along with the Acolytes, are offering sanctuary to Mutants on Avalon, but the government does not trust Magneto( duh!) and initiates the Magneto Protocols which basically prevent Magneto for being able to use his powers on Earth. Magneto gets pissed, sets off an EMP on Earth and basically put the planet in a state of darkness with no technology's.  Xavier decides to lead the Xmen to Avalon to attack Magneto and the Acolytes and major battle ensues in which Magneto cleanses Wolverine of his adamantium which forces Xavier to wind mind Magneto and leaves him a vegetable.  Its a great run and story.  Most people remember the visual of Wolverine and Magneto from the cover, but there was so much going on in that run- Illyana Rasputin, AKA Majik dies from the Legacy Virus, Magneto crashing her funeral, and Colossus turning his back on the Xmen to join Magneto.

The Power of Proteus

This run is one of my favorite from the comics.  Dr. Moira McTaggert has a son, Mutant X, who has mind and reality warping powers.  She had kept him under lock and key since his powers manifested and in a battle with Magneto, his prison gets unlocked and he begins to possess the people near and around him in an attempt to get to his father.  The book is kinda scary-especially for 10 year old me.  The movies have already introduced Dr. McTaggert and the Proteus could easily be her love child with Professor Xavier- which would be strange because Legion Quest, which leads to AoA is about Xavier's love child, David, looking to get back at his father.  Some of the major players in Proteus are in AoA( Cyclops, Storm, and Nighcrawler). Colossus and Wolverine play big roles but none bigger than Phoenix.  I would like to see this story adapted but it does not have a sexy name, like Mutant Massacre or House of M so its probably not going to make the cut.


Xmen: Onslaught

This controversial run may not seem ripe for adaptation but it has the title that people would recognize and whether you loved it or hated it( I kinda hated it), it seems a logical choice coming out of AoA.  In this story, which is actually connected to Fatal Attractions, Xavier loses control of his psionic powers and creates a psionic presence known as Onslaught who carries out all the evil things that Xavier would never do.  When he finally does lose his mind, Onslaught wreaks havoc over the entire Marvel Universe and in the books, this lead to another comic event; Heroes Reborn in which all the classic Marvel heroes get a fresh reboot basically with all the dudes that left Marvel for Image
(Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld being the most prominent).  The idea of Xavier repressing his rage for all these years and it coming out to punish those closest to him sounds like a great film.  Hopefully they reestablish the character Cyclops and having a mentor/mentee battle or even a psi battle between Phoenix and Xavier would be something most X-fans would salivate over.

That's our top 5, let us know what story you think will get adapted in the comments section.

Batman V Superman Trailer

There is so much to unpack in the trailer and as I was reading the reactions on Twitter this morning, I did not think my thoughts could be contained in 140 so Ima share it all here.  Once again, I must state up front that I am not a big fan of this movie idea going in.  I think DC has rushed trying to get a Justice League movie up because Marvel already has 2 Avengers movies.  But people forget how hard Marvel worked to get to that first Avengers movie.  Two Iron Man movies, one Captain America movie, and one Thor movie set up the first Avengers movie and slowly introduced others characters such as Scarlett Witch, Hawkeye , SHIELD, and Loki so by the time we saw them all together in one movie, it just seemed kinda natural.  DC is skipping all that by turning "Man of Steel" 2 into a Batman movie essentially with Superman as his co-star! And on top of that, pushing all their chips in by having Wonder Woman star and guest appearances by much of the Justice League( Aqua-bro, Flash, and Cyborg).  Look, there are many ways to skin a cat and I am not saying it wont work for DC this way, but I am saying that when you force it all together at once, you often get a mess of a movie( See Avengers 2).

My initial thoughts on the trailer were kinda lukewarm. I've watched it a few times now and that has not really changed.  I know alot of Marvel fan boys were deriding the comedy bit at the end but that is not my major issue with it.  The trailer was just kinda boring really with one exception.  With that, lets break down the trailer.....

Bruce and Clark meet

The first part of the trailer is dominated by the meeting of the secret identities at some sort of gala thrown by Lex Luthor.  They have a brief exchange about their alter egos with each one deriding the other.  Bruce stating that the Gotham in him doesn't trust freaks dressed like clowns and Clark not being a big fan of Batman version of "vigilante justice".   The trailer is inter cut with scenes we have seen in all the teaser trailers. Its a good scene. I am a big Ben Afflek fan, but not so much as him as Batman.  Both in the suit and outside of the suit, he seems to be channeling Clooney instead of Afflek (that is just me hating on Clooney.)  One of the best parts of MOS( and I am not a fan of the movie) is Henry Cavill as Clark Kent.  I thought he brought a certain weight to the role and out of the nerdy, clumsy outsider that dominated the portrayal in the Christopher Reeves version.

The secret identities brief stare down in broken up by Lex Luthor.  Now again, this is going against the grain of the Lex people know( and some love/hate) from the 80's version.  Eissenberg is playing Luthor almost in a manic state as he name checks both characters and talks about bringing people together.   Its a risk playing Lex off too goofy- especially compared to the version alot of comic fans are comfortable with.  He does seem a bit more menacing later in the trailer, but the hair gotta go!  I am personally a bigger fan of the Justice League/Justice League Unlimited version and in my heart, I wish they had cast Luthor as a black dude( like Denzel).

The trailer moves on with more shots that have been revealed in all the teasers.  The one that interested me the most was the one with Batman fighting in the desert against the "Super Troopers?"

The flying characters in the background look alot like Darkseids Parademons who serve him on Apokolips

People have speculated that the scene from the Gotham teaser the other night was a nightmare sequence for Bruce/Batman but its interesting these creatures have never appeared before in any of the other teasers.  I have to imagine that Darkseid in the big villain in any Justice League movie so maybe this is some foreshadowing by DC.

Moving on, the trailer finally gets to the big reveal of the big bad in this movie, but all the speculation around this movie has been true mostly.  Somehow Luthor turns Zod into Doomsday and he is finally revealed and obviously the reason that Batman and Superman turn from enemies to frenemies to take on Doomsday.  Doomsday is a little less spiky than he is in the comics but there's no denying who it is.

Having Doomsday in a movie where Superman doesn't die seems like a little bit of a cop out, but DC needed a powerful, big bad to take on Superman and Batman and Doomsday fits the bill as essentially a mindless monster that when they kill it, no one will be upset about it.

The clip continues on with the battle between the Doomsday and our heroes.  Suddenly, Batman is stuck in the cockpit of his Bat-Plane and when Doomsday attempts to light him up with his heat vision, he is suddenly blocked and its revealed to be.....

I have been a big fan of the Gal Gadot Wonder Woman.  I think she captures the look of Diana Prince and Wonder Woman perfectly.  I see some fan boys don't like her because she is too small or skinny but Wonder Woman to be has always been strong and feminine which is not a look that many actresses can pull off and I think Gadot does both beautifully.  I wanna get with her and I'm kinda scared of her at the same time.

The trailer ends with the comedy bit about who Wonder Woman is with... Its a funny line and a bit of levity in a scene which probably plays pretty intense up to the point of that line.  The trailer ends on the money shot with the Trinity ready to kick some ass.

Again, I found the trailer kinda boring, but more importantly, all it did was confirm most of the rumors out there about the movie and most smart internet blerds and nerds knew where this was going.  To me, the movie, if edited properly, and not overloaded with fight scenes, can be a great comic book movie.  I truly believe that!  DC making good movies will force Marvel to step up their game which I believe has gotten a bit lazy after all the success they've had.  But I do not trust DC and Zack Snyder yet.  They have to prove to me that they are more interested in building the DC Cinematic Universe and not more interested in making pretty movies that will make fanboys go " Aww shit? Did you see that?!"  These movies and these characters deserve more than that and the fans do, too.

The Producer