LESSON 4: MARVEL'S NEXT VILLAIN

Before I get into it, I gotta say: @SAVAGECOMICS IS THE ORIGINAL ARTIST RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS PHENOMENAL PIECE OF JOHN KRASINSKI AS REED RICHARDS AND I IN NO WAY AM TAKING CREDIT FOR IT. SERIOUSLY, THIS GUY’S GALLERY IS UNPARALLED.


Now with that outta the way, hey and Welcome to the next Lesson.

Comic-Con was just a few short weeks ago and it’s easy to say Marvel absolutely dominated this year. Kevin Fiege took center stage and they unveiled the projects they have set for what they’re dubbing Phase 4.

While most titles are worth a looksee, what caught my attention was what wasn’t seen.

FANTASTIC 4.

Now back at home with Marvel, there’s a solid chance that we’ll finally get the first family done properly, but not only done properly done better than we could ever imagine.

With the Mad Titan, Thanos, now defeated, the MCU effectively doesn’t have a major villain for the Avengers to defeat…

...or do they?

It’s widely known that MCU films are taking inspiration from the ULTIMATE line of comics and on that Earth, the Fantastic 4 are very, VERY different.


Namely, Reed Richards.

While most may know him as Mr. Fantastic, in the ULTIMATE COMICS, he’s The Maker, by far one of comics’ worst villains, PERIOD.

Not only is his skin elastic-like, making physical damage an impossibility, but with a brain like his, he’s able to make anything anyone can think of, and everything they can’t. He made creations that even put Thor to shame.

Reed Richards of Earth-1610 is NOTHING to trifle with…which is EXACTLY why the MCU needs to make him their next villain and something tells me they already are.

JONATHAN HICKMAN, writer of Marvel Comics fame, has had a plethora of titles underneath his belt one of them most notably being Secret Wars (2015).

If you’re familiar with that story, you’d know he had a great deal to do with the fate of the Fantastic Four, of both Earths. Now, Marvel contacted him to course correct the condition of the X-Men in their comics with two new ongoing titles: “House of X” and “Powers of X”, and he had a few choice words to say when it came to the Marvel films, too.

“I think one of the big mistakes that some people make at Marvel Comics is that we are reactive to what they’re doing in the Marvel films… We should not be taking our creative cues from the direction they’re taking things in the movies. That kind of defeats the point. My argument has been [that] I should always be way out in front of that stuff. All of that stuff is being drawn from source material.” – Jonathan Hickman 2019

While not a confirmation, Hickman does have a point. Marvel Comics showed signs of decrease in sales after modeling the Guardians of the Galaxy after their MCU counterparts.

It’s always better to model the films after the comics.

Which is why Reed would make the PERFECT villain.

Unlike Thanos, Richards doesn’t need Infinity Gems to unleash universal domination. Sheer brainpower alone has made him a far bigger threat. Not only can he create devices that can depower our heroes, but he can even expand his brain for even greater intellect.

Whatever plan, strategy or potential outcome Thanos could come up with, there’s no doubt Reed has already factored it, found out why it wouldn’t work but built a contingency for it just in case.

Reed Richards, or rather the Maker, would be the posterchild for a tragedy of a fallen hero, always wanting to be good, but never good enough and while a lot of Phase 4 is uncertain, I can’t wait to see what becomes of Marvel’s future foundation.

Well, that’s all for now. So, until the Disney stops making Live-Action remakes or I get as smart as Reed Richards, I’ll see you for the next lesson.


Until then, class dismissed!

LESSON 2: WHO IS SIMBA'S SON?

Hey and Welcome to the next Lesson.

With Disney still churning out remake after remake, it was only a matter of time till they got to The Lion King. Whatever your views on the newest iteration are, you can’t deny the massive impact it left on films as a whole. So much so, when I went to trivia night at my local bar, the subject was The Lion King.

It was fine, I had fun, the night was going great until . . . I got to one question specifically: At the end of The Lion King, who was Simba’s son?

I put down “Kion”, knowing that’s the correct answer – correct answer now, anyway.

And I got it wrong.

Now, this is a trick question for 4 reasons.

If you’re like most of us, you may immediately respond with, “What? Simba didn’t have a son, he had a daughter, Kiara.” And, to that, I’d have to say, yeah! You’re right!

. . .But the truth is much deeper than that.

During production, the animators at Disney had no real faith in Lion King’s success. In fact, they were referred to the “B Team” while the “A Team” worked on the next film, Pocahontas. (insert irony here) So, when the film came time to wrap and Rafiki held up the lion cub, the animators never even named it.

It was simply called “Fluffy”.

So, he didn’t have a name?

Well, not exactly.

After Lion King’s release and before the release of the direct-to-video sequel, there were books released to continue on the stories of the Lion King called: “The Lion King: Six New Adventures”.

In these stories, Simba does have a son. Kopa.

So, okay, there you have it! He does have a son and his name is Kopa!

But…what about Kiara?

Well, in truth the books weren’t made by Disney themselves. Creator Alex Simmons openly admits that Kopa was all his idea.

“Yes, Kopa was my creation all the way.”

So, when Lion King 2 came around, the creative team didn’t even know about Kopa’s existence. As such, when they made the movie, they started over and made his cub a girl named Kiara, effectively wiping away Kopa from continuity.

So, he doesn’t have a son? Well. . .kind of.

In 2015, Disney launched a spinoff show called The Lion Guard. In it, we see Simba and Kiara, but now she’s a cub and no longer an only child. This is where Simba’s son is introduced as Kion, the newest and current son of Simba.

 So, knowing all this, when I was faced with the question, I put “Kion” and the answer to be revealed was “Kopa”.

The trivia MC got the answer wrong and, because of that, I didn’t get my point.

At first, I was mad, but then I decided to do some digging.

Turns out, when asking Google this same question, the first answer to pop up is Kopa…but with inconsistencies ie: a picture of Simba. And directly beneath it, it’s revealed his son’s name is Kion.

So, I didn’t get my point.

I guess someone should’ve told the MC the real truth; it’s clear he needed to Be Prepared.

Well, that’s all for now. So, until the trivia MC gets his answers right or Disney makes Kopa canon, I’ll see you for the next lesson.

Until then, class dismissed!