Playing with Fire marks the last Marvel Rising entry. As far as I can tell, the series died with this one. It’s been years since the last one. But, against all odds, they managed to end with the best episode.
This review of X-Men ’97 has a caveat to it. This review is not intended for fans of the original series. I haven’t seen much of the original series, and it’s been a very long time since then. No, this review is for the people who are aware of the hype and want to watch X-Men ’97—but don’t know if they need the background context.
A conversation can reveal so much information. But what if we only hear one side of it?
When you become a diehard fan of a type of media or genre (really any of them), you notice patterns. I’ve spoken before about storytelling patterns in the wider construct of narratives, but what I mean this time is tropes.
Operation Shuri is a fun idea for an episode, let down by the last few minutes. Up until a single baffling conversation, I was on board with the storyline. Wakanda being so far ahead of most places with their technology, culture, education, etc. is one of the reasons the Black Panther movies are so interesting.
Spring is here, and the rain arrives with it.
But, in a story that will keep you guessing, the rain heralds more than just the season. It heralds a mystery. There’s something about a man named Taylor, and it has to do with the rain.
“Saturday Night” is a victory. Simply awesome. It has, within such a tiny amount of time, everything a long-term fan could want.
I had to wait a long time to get Family Business in hardcover—and I was a little disappointed when I did. Though it still contains some of the stronger elements that drew me to The Magnus Archives, including much-appreciated diversity in its characters, very creepy monsters, and a strong human understanding of its subject matter, Family Business never achieved the same level of scares as even the previous book, Thirteen Storeys.
And we’re back, dear reader, and things are about to get scary.
There was something very bad down in that forgotten laboratory.
“Rolling With It” is a throwback episode. It’s so much like a Magnus Archives episode on purpose. You can easily draw parallels to so many other statements in delivery and pacing.
Hello, dear reader. Today, we have something a little more serious than our last two-parter.
Battle of the Bands is basically a standard cartoon episode. After the main antagonist left the planet in Heart of Iron, I suspected things would turn out like this. And, frankly, this is better. I like it a lot more.
