It’s Friday and what should be a quiet afternoon is getting quite noisy.
-Legendary comic artist/writer Neal Adams passed away yesterday. Adams co-created Green Lantern John Stewart, Batman nemesis Ra’s-Al Ghul and Man-Bat.
He was also a strong advocate for creators rights and was one of the front leaders and secure credit recognition and pensions for Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
-BATWOMAN has fought her last battle on the CW. The show has been axed after 3 seasons.
There was more behind-the-scenes drama on the series than in front of the camera. S1 saw the departure of series star Ruby Rose. At the time of their leaving the show, Rose gave being allergic to the costume as the rationale for leaving. Last year, Rose admitted that they left the show due it being a “toxic workplace” alleging unsafe working conditions to led to their accident requiring surgery and being pressured to return to the show while still recovering. Rose also accused costar Dougray Scott, who played Batwoman’s father, of bullying women on set and detailed a run in with costar Camrus Johnson (Luke Fox/Batwing) who Rose says got on their case for returning to set late from a doctor’s appointment.
Scott disputes that he was abusive on set, WB-TV backed him up during their investigation and even said it was Rose who had multiple complaints lodged against them.
Johnson had this to say at the time.
Things were quiet after new star Javicia Leslie took up the cowl, but it was too late.
-Also gone is LEGENDS OF TOMORROW.
-Either the continuing Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial is taking up everyone’s attention or people don’t care about THE WALKING DEAD anymore. Melissa MacBride has existed the planned Carol and Darryl spinoff show.
Her team’s statement.
“Melissa McBride has given life to one of the most interesting, real, human and popular characters in The Walking Dead Universe. Unfortunately, she is no longer able to participate in the previously announced spinoff focused on the Daryl Dixon and Carol Peletier characters, which will be set and filmed in Europe this summer and premiere next year. Relocating to Europe became logistically untenable for Melissa at this time. We know fans will be disappointed by this news, but The Walking Dead Universe continues to grow and expand in interesting ways and we very much hope to see Carol again in the near future,” AMC said in a statement Wednesday.
For some reason fans have decided to blame Norman Reedus for her departure which lead Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Negan) to defend his pal.
Why must you all have Papa Winchester yell at you? You know a Winchester loves nothing more than to create Twitter drama (:: eyes Jared Padalecki::)
-Marvel gives a slight twist to their upcoming slap, swapping out dates for the CAPTAIN MARVEL sequel, THE MARVELS, for ANT-MAN & THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA.
THE MARVELS (with Tom Hiddleston’s rumoured fiancee, Zawe Ashton joining)
previously held a release date of Feb. 17, 2023 but is now moving to July 28, 2023.
ANT-MAN & THE WASP (with newcomer Jonathan Majors, late of LOKI)takes on the Feb. 17th slate.
-Someone who doesn’t have to worry about day and dates is director Jon Watts (SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME) who has exited the FANTASTIC FOUR reboot.
Jude Law joins Star Wars: Skeleton Crew #starwars #starwarscelebration
Expect a lot of Star Wars news over the next few days and things got interesting right away as Star Wars: Skeleton Crew was revealed and it will star… Jude Law!?
Produced by Jon Watts, Christopher Ford, Jon Favreau, and Dave Filoni, the series will stream on Disney+ starting in 2023.
For me personally, while Spider-Man: Far From Home is a great film, it was made even better by the many Easter eggs and comic book references Jon Watts crammed into it—especially the really obscure ones! The following is a guide to all the ones I’ve spotted along with any deviations from the source material (I will update this as more come to light). Note that owing to the convoluted and complex nature of comic books, I’ve tried to include only the most essential information regarding a character’s history and backstories.
In the comics, Aunt May has worked for F.E.A.S.T. (Food, Emergency Aid, Shelter, and Training), an organization that helps the homeless. This is alluded to in the film, with her cinematic counterpart working at a Salvation Army homeless shelter.
A poster featuring Crusher Hogan and advertising a $100 prize can be seen in the kitchen of the homeless shelter. Crusher Hogan is the wrestler Peter Parker beats in Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962), with $100 being the amount he earns for doing so. And while partially obscured, another name that’s listed could be Bone Saw McGraw, the wrestler Peter fights in the 2002 film Spider-Man.
A Piazza New York Mets flag can be seen in Peter’s room (it was also there in Spider-Man: Homecoming), indicating that he’s a fan, something he has in common with his comic book counterpart. This is revealed in Peter Parker: Spider-Man #33 (2001) in which we find out that Uncle Ben often took a young Peter to see the baseball team play.
The suitcase Peter uses bears the initials BFP, referring to Benjamin Parker (his middle name has yet to be canonically revealed), Peter’s uncle.
Ned Leeds and Betty Brant become a couple in the film. In the comics, Ned and Betty also dated each other before marrying in The Amazing Spider-Man #156 (1976). Note that the MCU version of Ned isn’t necessarily meant to be based on Ned Leeds, merely taking his name while being modeled after Ganke.
Two new characters at Peter’s school are derived from the comics. In both media, Mr Del (spelt “Dell” in the film) is a teacher at Peter’s school (he’s specifically a science teacher in the comic books). The cinematic version of Brad Davis competes with Peter for MJ’s attention. In the source material, he was a quarterback at Empire State University who went out on a date with MJ.
Far From Home sees Mysterio pretending to be a hero and tricking the public into believing Spider-Man is a criminal, which is essentially the story told in his debut issue—The Amazing Spider-Man #13 (1964). In the comics, Quentin Beck/Mysterio was a movie special effects artist and stuntman who sought a quick path to fame by trying to frame and kill Spider-Man. Though he doesn’t posses any powers, Beck’s costume contains various weaponry he can employ in combat. Parts of his suit can emit a smokescreen and hallucinogenic gas, which he often uses in tandem with his hologram projectors to disorient his foes. The crystal ball-esque helmet he dons—that he can see out of, but others can’t see into—contains a sonar device that allows him to “see” through the smoke around him. His gloves can dispel a web-dissolving acid, while his cape would electrically shock anyone who touched it.
In the film, Quentin Beck says he’s from Earth 833, while Peter’s reality is Earth Dimension 616. This follows the multiverse naming convention used in the comics. The mainstream Marvel Universe is known as Earth-616, Earth-833 is where Billy Braddock/Spider-UK comes from, while the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been designated Earth-199999. For those curious, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy takes place in Earth-96283, while Marc Webb’s two Spidey films are set in Earth-120703.
Though not a direct adaption of anything from the source material, the stealth suit Nick Fury gives Peter in the movie was inspired by two costumes from the comics: the black costume worn by Spider-Man Noir and the stealth costume (which has a camouflage mode) Peter develops early on in the “Big Time” (The Amazing Spider-Man #648-656, 2010-11) story arc.
In the comics, the Elementals are a group of beings that hail from another universe, each of who can control one of the elements. Hellfire has mastery over flames, Hydron can command water, Magnum is able to manipulate earth, and Zephyr has power over air. For the film, however, director Jon Watts decided to amalgamate the concept of the Elementals with some of Spidey’s classic foes.
The MCU earth Elemental takes some inspiration from Sandman. Flint Marko, having escaped from prison, hides on a beach where nuclear tests are conducted. After a nuclear explosion, he finds his body has taken on the properties of sand.
The water Elemental is based on Hydro-Man. During a battle between Spider-Man and Namor on board the U.S.S. Bulldog, crewman Morris “Morrie” Bench was knocked overboard, falling into the water just as an experimental generator was being tested. The energy from the device combined with underwater volcanic gases granted him the ability to turn his body into water. In the film, Hydro-Man’s origin story from the comics is cited by Flash as a possible explanation for the existence of the water Elemental.
The lava Elemental resembles Molten Man. Mark Raxton’s skin turned to metal after he’s covered with a liquid metal alloy that was created from substances found inside a meteor. He finds that he now has super strength, possesses skin that is highly resistant to injury, and is also able to generate intense heat, giving his body a molten form.
The air Elemental, meanwhile, could be based on Cyclone. Andre Gerard was an engineer who invented a weapon known as the Cyclone. With NATO not wanting to use his creation, he instead incorporated the technology into a suit that could create high-speed winds around him.
Despite the film not featuring direct adaptations of Sandman, Hydro-Man, Molten Man, and Cyclone, the debut issues of each character are referenced in Far From Home. When Fury and Maria Hill are shooting the earth Elemental the numbers 462 can be seen as part of a car’s number plate (The Amazing Spider-Man #4, 1963; Sandman’s first appearance), Fury’s car in Prague bears the number plate “ASM 28965” (The Amazing Spider-Man #28, 1965, which was published in September; Molten Man’s first appearance), an overturned car on Tower Bridge has “TASM 143” as its plate (The Amazing Spider-Man #143, 1975; Cyclone’s first appearance), and though not in the final cut of film—but present in the trailers—“Asm 212” can be seen on a boat in Venice (The Amazing Spider-Man #212, 1981; Hydro-Man’s first appearance).
Speaking of number plates, the one on the car Fury drives in Berlin is “MTU 83779,” a reference to Marvel Team-Up #83 published in July 1979. The issue sees Spider-Man and Nick Fury team up against Silver Samurai and Boomerang. In addition to being Cyclone’s debut issue, The Amazing Spider-Man #143 (1975) is also the issue in which Peter and MJ first kiss—hence the “TASM 143” number plate appearing on screen when Peter and MJ kiss in the film. The number plate on Aunt May’s car, unchanged from Homecoming, is “AMF 1562,” a nod to Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962). And lastly, in the post-credits scene we see the number plate of Talos’ car: “HNM 62011.” This is a reference to Hawkeye & Mockingbird #6 (2011) in which a Skrull impersonating Nick Fury is discovered.
This cinematic incarnation of MJ reveals to Peter that she knows he’s Spider-Man, with her comic book counterpart having done the same in The Amazing Spider-Man #257 (1984).
While the zombie Iron Man we see in the film was merely an illusion, there actually does exist a zombie Iron Man in the comics. This version of the character hails from Earth-2149 where all the Marvel heroes have been turned into zombies.
Though it is a newspaper in the mainstream comic continuity, The Daily Bugle is a news website in the film. Both iterations, though, have an anti-Spider-Man slant. In the Ultimate Universe, however, the publication did go digital-only, doing so in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #11 (2010). The website in the issue is dailybugle.com; in the film it’s thedailybugle.net.
In the comics, J. Jonah Jameson is the executive editor and publisher of The Daily Bugle. What’s significant about the MCU incarnation of the character is that he’s played by J. K. Simmons, who portrayed the character in Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy!
Spider-Man’s identity has been revealed in the comics—accidentally or otherwise—to members of the public several times. The MCU has Mysterio do this, but in Civil War #2 (2006) Peter himself willingly does so at a news conference as a way of showing his support of the Superhuman Registration Act.
And while not exactly a reference to the comic books themselves, in Venice the students stay at Hotel DeMatteis, a nod to J. M. DeMatteis who has written many Spider-Man comics.
In terms of references to the wider MCU, the biggest would have to be Tony Stark’s death, which occurred at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Pictures of him, along with Captain America, Black Widow, and Vision can be seen as part of the in memoriam video a student at Midtown School of Science & Technology creates. The disappearance and return of half the universe’s population is referred to as “the blip.” Happy Hogan hands May a large cheque for the homeless shelter signed by Pepper Potts. Videos about the Snap, Wakanda, Hydra, Einstein Rosen Bridges (featuring Erik Selvig), and Iron Man can be seen as part of the in-flight entertainment. Various other heroes are also named-dropped: Thor (who’s offworld), Doctor Strange (who’s unavailable to help Fury), and Captain Marvel (Fury tells Peter to not invoke her name). We find out that Quentin Beck was the one who invented B.A.R.F., and was present backstage at MIT during Stark’s demonstration of it in Captain America: Civil War. William—who we first met in Iron Man—has joined Beck in his revenge against Stark. At one point, Fury mentions the presence of Kree sleeper cells, and that this information was top secret. And in the post-credits scene we find out that Talos and his wife, Soren, have been impersonating Fury and Maria Hill respectively during the course of the film.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a more heartfelt, better thought out, better acted, more pleasant version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Instead of magical creatures it’s villains from across the multiverse that our hero accidentally unleashes on New York and has to collect. The hero pays the price for what he’s done. Spider-Man might find the memory spell undone in some yet to be determined sequel, and that would be a waste, but right now I like to imagine there are Warner execs getting yelled at (we want a billion dollars and can’t have it because we made an aggressively bad FB sequel, wahhhh).
Jon Watts makes it look easy. He draws a better performance out of Garfield than Marc Webb, and I say that with a lot of respect for Garfield. I think he was really good this year in The Eyes of Tammy Faye (I’ll see Tick, Tick, Boom this week).
MJ is canonized as MJ Watson and actually a character in this movie. The story is less high school centric which works in its favor. We get to spend more meaningful time with Peter, Ned, and MJ and let Willem Dafoe, Jamie Fox, and Alfred Molina show off.
Marisa Tomei broke my heart in a good way. They actually say THE LINE in this movie.
No Way Home is an improvement on its predecessors and a worthy capstone to a trilogy. Love it.
I can’t really say enough good things about Spider-Man: No Way Home.
These are unique movie-going times and I don’t think you can talk about a movie without mentioning the context of the pandemic. But it’s true at the same time that what makes No Way Home an event, a MOMENT, is independent of dealing with this virus.
Dan Murrell said it better than me, but the simplest way to put it is: THIS IS WHY WE GO TO THE MOVIES.
You can’t have the reaction to those moments without a group. There is no other way to have that experience, collectively, alone, together.
To me that’s what the movies are: alone, together. I’ve never felt that even at live basketball or football games. It’s a movies thing. And Spider-Man delivers.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is a more heartfelt, better thought out, better acted, more pleasant version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Instead of magical creatures it’s villains from across the multiverse that our hero accidentally unleashes on New York and has to collect. The hero pays the price for what he’s done. Spider-Man might find the memory spell undone in some yet to be determined sequel, and that would be a waste, but right now I like to imagine there are Warner execs getting yelled at (we want a billion dollars and can’t have it because we made an aggressively bad FB sequel, wahhhh).
Jon Watts makes it look easy. He draws a better performance out of Garfield than Marc Webb, and I say that with a lot of respect for Garfield. I think he was really good this year in The Eyes of Tammy Faye (I’ll see Tick, Tick, Boom this week).
MJ is canonized as MJ Watson and actually a character in this movie. The story is less high school centric which works in its favor. We get to spend more meaningful time with Peter, Ned, and MJ and let Willem Dafoe, Jamie Fox, and Alfred Molina show off.
Marisa Tomei broke my heart in a good way. They actually say THE LINE in this movie.
No Way Home is an improvement on its predecessors and a worthy capstone to a trilogy. Love it.
