Avatar and an Oral History of the Blind Bandit

This article was produced in collaboration with Nickelodeon and appears in the Den of Geek x Avatar: The Last Airbender particular version, which is scheduled for mid-July. As Avatar: The Last Airbender’s next year kicked off, followers were excited to see the more experiences of Aang, Sokka, and Katara. The wise decision would have been to continue that key group at [ …]]…]]…]] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

The article Image and an Oral History of the Blind Bandit appeared initially on Den of Geek.

The next two and a half years have provided Stage Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantum in theaters and ending with Ironheart on Disney+. While Phase Four was about setting up the world and introducing the next generation of soldiers, Step Grant continued by alerting us to multiversal risk while all the remaining champions gravitate into their own small cliques.

This five batch of movies and shows has no entirely new protagonists, unlike the other phases. They are all led by personalities introduced in previous jobs. Despite that, Marvel is constantly moving forward, and some new heroes have appeared in Phase Five to make an impact. Here is a look at the best of them.

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Naturally, there is an apostrophe when it comes to varieties. Essentially, the Wolverine from Deadpool &amp, Wolverine is a brand-new figure to us, yet if he is played by Hugh Jackman. Why not incorporate Red Guardian as” Bob Toledo” from What If…? That can be a slippery slope. or the latest active Peter Parker? Some of the characters on the list may be a little moderate, so it will be decided on a case-by-case foundation based on how suggestive they are of their multiversal counterparts.

Also, honorable mention to Ruben Rabasa ( the” a good steering wheel that doesn’t fly off when you’re driving” guy from I Think You Should Leave ) for his brief appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Simply put, he wasn’t given sufficient screen time to make it. Honestly, the same goes for Prince Yan ( Park Seo-joon ) from The Marvels.

High Evolutionary

Marvel criminals had been more lady than strike since Thanos turned to dust, but divine heaven did Chukwudi Iwuji remove it as the High Evolutionary. The villain from the worst Spider-Man cartoon series ever ( Spider-Man Unlimited, if you’re wondering ) was reimagined as the most hateful and sadistic antagonist we’ve seen in a while. Pet violence, body despair, over-the-top politicking, and a strong shield of pompous made him someone you wanted to see torn off. And son, did he receive it!

Not only is the performance fantastic, but High Evolutionary even ties items together for the Guardians of the Galaxy series. Rocket’s history was only briefly explained in earlier movies, leaving only his physical and mental swelling as a hindrance. High Evolutionary gives closing to that, and even tying it into the life of the Republic and their greatest weapon Adam Warlock.

Ouroboros

Maybe the cast was too on the head. After Ke Huy Quan turned a lot of mind by coming out of retirement to do Everything Outside All at Once, he was cast in the next season of Loki to enjoy a character with a lot of similarities. OB was likewise a charming nerd with a strained relationship who was caught up in a perplexing sci-fi premise that concerned a danger to the world as we know it.

Loki had so many heroes from the first time who needed more attention, such as Casey and Brad, thus adding another label to the mound was going to get no easy feat. To advance the plot, Ouroboros fortunately found the right combination of optimistic and strange to balance out with the amount of exposition and sci-fi lingo.

Cassandra Nova

In the manga, there aren’t very many notable criminals in Deadpool. Yet Ajax from the first film was only around for one story before being killed off. Cassandra Nova was a great choice for the two healing Indians to struggle because Deadpool &amp, Wolverine was all about celebrating the Fox X-Men shows while exploring multiversal ideas. Created by Grant Morrison ( who will be writing Deadpool for the first time later this year ), Cassandra is familiar enough to the X-Men franchise as Charles Xavier’s twin sister, but unique and weird enough to feel right at home in a Deadpool movie that swims through TVA lore. Hell, even if they had followed the comic book’s theory that she was strangled in the womb and still managed to survive, it still wouldn’t have been too well-known for this film.

Emma Corrin plays manic and psychotic well for the character, a pure sadist who laughs about how she doesn’t know why she is the way she is, but there’s no more explanation needed. She lived the majority of her life as a victim of sci-fi bureaucrats, which ultimately led to her becoming the queen of a desolate death factory wasteland. No wonder she wore Doctor Strange’s skin for several days.

Gambit

The special appearances of heroes from films past were starting to run the risk of losing out on their welcome as Deadpool &amp, Wolverine became rife with cameos. Elektra was a decent novelty, but where could you go after Blade stepped into frame with the growl of his theme music? The solution was to bring in the almost-heroic character. Channing Tatum, playing into rumors and behind-the-scenes fumbling that the average viewer would not be aware of, showed up as Remy LeBeau, looking like one of those Photoshopped fan-made posters you’d see on social media or Deviantart.

Tatum made every second count by playing this role despite his long, long wait. What helped make his goofball, yet comic-accurate performance work was how Deadpool ended up the straight man in their interactions while at times seeing eye-to-eye with him. Had Wade, Remy, and that foul-mouthed Johnny Storm been the better bros, had things changed?

Rio Vidal

It sounded too appropriate when they revealed Aubrey Plaza would be starring in a witch-themed show. Then when she showed up all mysteriously in the first episode, it was apparent that she was someone comic fans would know, to the point that she likely mentioned having a “black heart” for the sake of a red herring suggestion that she was Mephisto’s offspring. With enough additional pieces of enigmatic context thrown in to make such a reveal more compelling, it became more obvious as time went on. Then when they pulled the trigger and revealed her true identity, it had some serious impact, from her creepy skull lower face to the cutaway of her cackling during the Ouija séance while Lilia turned her head in horrified realization.

Rio being Death was neat enough, but the added details were what really brought it home. Her relationship with Agatha. Her admiration for Agatha, and the relief of knowing that it was the best thing she could possibly do for her. She went from being perceived as a sinister threat to a neutral force of nature with a sense of duty and a soft side. Even so, it’s odd that Starfox, Adam Warlock, and Death appeared in the MCU after Thanos passed away.

Lilia Calderu

Lilia Calderu ( Patti LuPone ) was one of Agatha Harkness ‘ coven’s great characters on their faux quest for power, but none stood out much. Throughout the show, Lilia was overall helpful but constantly came off as wispy and/or kooky in the presence of the other witches as she was constantly saying non sequiturs and randomly name-dropping tarot card names. Although we knew she was a mystery to solve, the first six episodes showed her behavior as perhaps magic and old age having an impact on her brain.

It wasn’t until the seventh episode,” Death’s Hand in Mine”, that everything came full circle and we realized the truth of Lilia’s behavior. It was fierce, cathartic, and emotionally wrenching to watch all the pieces fall into place. The whole climax to her role in Agatha All Along hits hard and it alone is one of the true highlights of Marvel Phase Five.

Byrdie the Duck

Despite being based on tangent timelines, every now and then, the What If…? An original character would be cast in an animated series. In this case, in a sequel to an episode from season 1, Howard the Duck and his bride Darcy Lewis had an egg. Try not to think too much about how that worked. Due to this going down during this reality’s Convergence ( the big cosmic event from Thor: The Dark World ), this egg was prophesied to house great power. Byrdie was eventually hatched, and she was a waste to those who had taken and abused her.

Fast-forward several decades, and Byrdie the Duck is now part of Uatu the Watcher’s ever-dwindling Exiles. Byrdie’s rocker style, which is voiced by Natasha Lyonne, is based on Beverly Switzler from the 1986 Howard the Duck film Beverly Switzler. Once the season got into its usual lore-accumulated finale episodes, it was Byrdie’s bombastic personality that kept things fun.

Given that Natasha Lyonne is supposed to play some sort of role in Fantastic Four: First Steps, it’s very possible that we haven’t seen Howard and Darcy’s cosmic daughter.

Muse

Daredevil: Born Again had a rough mission statement of trying to merge the Netflix Marvel style with the overarching MCU approach. Due to the reshoots and attempts to improve the earlier Daredevil seasons ‘ footage, a lot of it was scattershot. Muse ( Hunter Doohan ) seems to be the ingredient that really bridges the two and helps make Born Again work. It’s a relief since they were running out of well-known Daredevil villains quickly.

While only around for a few episodes, Muse was the perfect mid-level threat for Daredevil to be dealing with amongst all the Mayor Kingpin hoopla. Muse felt at home with Marvel’s Netflix corner as a serial killer who could punch. But more than that, they were able to commit to the comics by pulling off his masked look and over-the-top goals. Although the Netflix stuff liked to treat comic accuracy as a joke, occasionally making costume references just for the sake of an Easter egg, it just felt right to see Muse in all his splendor.

Yes, I’m still bitter that Nuke never had the American flag tattooed over his face on Jessica Jones. No, I don’t care if it wasn’t made sense.

Bob Reynolds

First off, I have no idea why Sentry is on this list. My editor kept insisting to put him on here even though I keep explaining that he’s been around since the first Sentry movie that started the MCU back in 2007. I’m reportedly the only person who can recall this! Ah, well.

Being in a time when” Superman but dark” has been slammed into the ground so forcefully that it is right under the Vault, Bob/Sentry/Void was always going to be a difficult idea to make work. In Thunderbolts*, they really made the character pop by not only integrating him into the movie’s themes, but also through Lewis Pullman’s fidgety and awkward depiction, where he comes off as likeable and kind, but there’s an angry and suicidal persona bubbling from underneath.

Sentry is now a special kind of superhero powerhouse by seeing it through the other side. He’s the New Avengers ‘ nuclear option, but only in the biggest emergency, or else things might go wrong on an apocalyptic level. He’s their new Hulk, but he poses a greater threat to everyone and everything.

Mephisto

Here it is, Milhouse. We finally arrived at the factory for fireworks.

Consider this one a joint entry with the Hood ( Anthony Ramos ) as the dealmaker, the dealtaker, and the wardrobe are all tied together. Parker Robbins almost resembles the final form of Marvel’s villain critique. After bad guys like Killmonger, Flagsmasher, and Leader being seen as having a great point, only to become cartoonishly evil to make up for it, we get the Hood. Yes, the way he addresses his corporate victims in the name of the young man has a Robin Hood-like charm, but in the end, he’s being self-serving to the point where he’s literally selling his soul to the Devil.

Mephisto ( Sasha Baron Cohen ) adds the right combination of charm and menace as he plays Parker – and later Riri – like a fiddle. Although they have been careful not to have him show too much too soon, he is still fulfilling the potential of what Marvel Satan could be. Waiting until the end of Phase 5 for this red shoe to drop works out well, as with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars looming in the distance, the heroes of the MCU may have to realize that good intentions and a pure heart aren’t always enough to save the day. like on Dr. third eyeball. Strange’s forehead, sometimes you can only get by via damnation.

The first post was The 10 Best Marvel Characters Introduced in MCU Phase Five on Den of Geek.