Mighty Marvel Monday: It’s Gonna Be May

Sometimes there is so much going on in Marvel that I spend more time hemming and hawing about what to share than I do actually writing this up. This week was especially difficult because of the two ginormous events happening simultaneously–the worldwide release of Avengers: Age of Ultron and the impending launch of Secret Wars. If it was just me writing about either of these events I’d feel overwhelmed and insufficient, but WWAC has you (and me) covered. Look for some incredible, thought-provoking reaction pieces to Avengers: Age of Ultron being published in the next couple weeks, and just in case you miss them, I’ll make sure to recap and relink them here in forthcoming Mighty Marvel Mondays.

As for my reaction to AoU–well, I left the movie theatre smiling, which I’m not sure is better or worse than when I left Guardians of the Galaxy sobbing over a sentient tree. (I’m still not over it.)

Before I continue with this week’s link roundup, I have an important announcement: this week is momentous because Mighty Marvel Monday has a brand spanking new banner!

LOOK AT IT.

LOOK AT IT AGAIN.

MARVEL AT IT.

(See what I did there?)

Our graphics people are so incredibly talented and I am blessed.

And now the news! Honest.

Top Story

Scarlett Johansson hosted Saturday Night Live this past week, and they gave us the Black Widow movie Hollywood probably really does think fans want. The saddest thing about this trailer is how it demonstrates one of the problems that Marvel is struggling with in terms of translating its comics to the silver screen. Marvel Comics is actually pretty great when it comes to women-led titles (like this recent piece on She-Hulk reminds us), which makes it doubly frustrating when that kind of representation doesn’t find its way to the MCU.

MCU Role Call

Two big announcements this week in the MCU, first with Daniel Brühl finally admitting that he’ll be playing Baron Zemo in Captain America: Civil War. Brühl is amazing talented, and I couldn’t be more excited.

Second, Mark Ruffalo officially joined the campaign for more Black Widow merchandise.

.@Marvel we need more #BlackWidow merchandise for my daughters and nieces. Pretty please.

— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) April 29, 2015

Although his “think of the children” argument should not even be necessary at this point, it’s still heartening to see male allies speaking up openly about the issue, and a great follow up to this adorable “flip the script” interview Ruffalo and Johansson did with Cosmo UK.

Marvel Comics

There’s some joy and sadness in Marvel Comics right now.

As excited as I am for the All-New All-Different Avengers preview that was given out during Free Comic Book Day, and the upcoming A-Force (preview here at CBR) and the S.H.I.E.L.D. one-shots for Peggy Carter, Melinda May, and Bobbi Morse announced at C2E2, joy is always balanced with sadness, and I have to take a moment to just be sad.

You see, other people loved the Avengers, or the X-Men, but The Fantastic Four were my team. I’ve followed them through the Ultimate line, back to 1602 in The Fantastick Four, and Marvel Knights: 4 (the best run, in my humble opinion, comparable to Waid’s run in the early 2000s and Hickman’s recent run).

So I’m in actual tears at the fact that The Fantastic Four is no more after 645 issues. I knew it was coming, and yet I was still hoping this day wouldn’t actually come. This write up at IGN alludes to the decision being political and in reference to Fox’s rebooting The Fantastic Four franchise, which makes me even more sad.

Even if I haven’t always been current with their adventures, it was comforting to think that they’d always be there. I’m sad that they won’t be. They are, and will forever be, the first family of Marvel comics.

ICYMI

Jeremy Renner still has a lot to apologize for in the eyes of many fans (including me), but I was still charmed by this Hawkeye filk sung by Renner himself on Jimmy Fallon this past week. I may or may not have listened to it on repeat.

You’re welcome.