March ‘23 CQMB - Aquaman 2, Quantumania, Super Bowl, & More

*SPOILERS* - Skip to the Next Section to Avoid Spoilers

I was so excited to see Darren Cross as M.O.D.O.K. I feel like if they didn’t take the chance to turn Yellowjacket into M.O.D.O.K., then it would've definitely been an incredibly missed opportunity. I think the movie was okay, but weirdly enough, for a movie that’s just okay, I was smiling the entire time, and on the edge of my seat for a few moments. The mid-credits scene really shows that Marvel is not playing around. This shows they have a plan, and this movie really shows us how it is being brought together. The post-credits scene is very cool, as it gives us a glimpse of what Loki: Season 2 is going to look like. It definitely gives off a different feeling from the first season, but I feel like those two teases truly got me PUMPED for the upcoming projects in The Multiverse Saga. I thought they were going to end off the film with Ant-Man and The Wasp being trapped in the Quantum Realm, which I’m sure would have angered some fans, but I would have understood that decision, in it possibly being a core reason for events like The Kang Dynasty, where the Avengers would maybe have to save Ant-Man from the Quantum Realm while being stopped by the Council of Kangs or something like that. However, I guess it does make sense they were able to escape the Quantum Realm safely, and I'm sure Marvel has a different idea of how they want Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars to play out. Overall, I am going to give this movie a 6.85/10, Jonathan Majors really carried the story, he is a very talented actor, and he is an excellent choice to play Kang the Conqueror. Bravo! Not so much bravo to the movie though… like I said, it was okay.

The "Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania Quiz (SPOILERS)" quiz I made was posted on February 17. Feel free to test out your knowledge of the characters from Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania by playing my quiz.

Having been originally slated for November 11, 2022, The Marvels has now been delayed to the point where it is releasing just about a year after its initial release date, now slated for November 10, 2023. It had been delayed from November 11, 2022 to July 28, 2023, but it’s delay now brings the movie to November of this year. I suppose this makes sense, seeing that Blade had been moved up from November 2023 to September 2024, and Marvel is wanting a movie for the fall, so I’d think this is a smart marketing move, where they can give time to advertise for the film without being too jam-packed with projects like Loki: Season Two and Ironheart. Recent reports state that it is possible that Secret Invasion and Loki: Season Two may end up being the only two MCU Disney+ series this year. It seems like Marvel is trying to take things a little slower after the complaints of many fans, calling out the company for releasing projects of quantity rather than quality. It has seemed over the past two to three years that the MCU has just been jam-packed with mediocre projects, projects that have the potential to be very good, but the quality is sacrificed for the high-demand of content. I am glad to see that it looks like Marvel Studios is taking this slowly.

In this section, I will being talking about The Flash and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as they are the only two comic book movies advertised during Super Bowl LVII.

The Flash: This trailer caught me off guard. I had no idea what this movie was going for, and this trailer really set up an idea of what this movie will be about, and it also built up a lot of anticipation for me. I feel like there were certain shots that captivated me and gave me chills, the return of Keaton’s Batman is very exciting, and despite all of Ezra’s crimes, the character of Barry looks great in this trailer. One other thing to note: I know prior to this trailer, there had been many criticisms on how it felt like the DCEU kept trying to change male superheroes to female superheroes, in the likes of Supergirl and Batgirl. So, there was a lot of criticism made for the fact that they were introducing Supergirl into the story, to replace Superman, who was in the original Flashpoint comic book run. I understand those fans’ complaints, and at the time, I sided with them too, thinking if they have a Superman actor, why not use him? But after seeing this trailer, my expectations were blown away, Supergirl looks great and her parts in the trailer definitely built up some hype for me.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: This trailer sort of felt like it wasn’t spectacular, after having followed the mind-blowing Flash trailer, but coming back to it, this trailer is very cool. Some of the things they are teasing make me even more excited to see this movie, and knowing James Gunn, I know this movie will be amazing and will round out the Guardians trilogy with emotion. Both of the trailers for this film look great. Although, I felt it was a little weird to tease a possible relationship between Star-Lord and Nebula. I don’t know if I like that, but I’ll wait until I see the movie to give my full opinion on that.

I also felt like it was worth mentioning that I did watch the Super Bowl. I’ve been a football fan since 2014, and the first Super Bowl I’ve ever seen was Super Bowl XLIX (which was devastating). This year’s Super Bowl was a very good game, and though I am bummed the Eagles lost, I think the Chiefs brought home a well-deserved win.

According to certain reports, Tom Holland has signed a deal that will make his character, Spider-Man, to be the lead in the film Avengers: The Kang Dynasty. A lot of people had expected someone like Sam Wilson’s Captain America or Doctor Strange, which I don’t think is impossible. I think The Kang Dynasty will look a little similar to Infinity War, where there are different groups of Avengers scattered among the universe. So I think it is very possible that Spider-Man may lead one of the groups, but there may be other groups led by characters like Captain America, Doctor Strange, Moon Knight, or maybe even the team of Eternals.

According to some reports, the actor Steven Yeun, known for his roles in films like Minari and Nope, has been cast to play a role in the upcoming film, Thunderbolts. His character has not been announced yet, but I'm sure we'll find out as we get closer to the movie's release date of July 26, 2024.

Recently we received some news regarding the test screenings for Aquaman 2. According to many reviewers, the film is apparently “the worst DCEU movie ever.” I’m not quite sure as to what might make this movie so awful, but I have also seen a few reports of people saying the movie isn’t too far from the first film. There are only ten months until this film releases for us to see for ourselves, as this movie will be in theaters on December 25, 2023.

Thank you for taking time out of your day to read this month's CQMB. Be sure to stay tuned for the next CQMB which will release on the first of April.