Mighty Marvel Monday: NYCC Edition

…and we’re back with an All New Mighty Marvel Monday: NYCC Edition!

Before I get started, Happy Thanksgiving to my beloved Canadians, and Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day in my hometown of Portland, Oregon, and eight other cities across America.

In honor of these two events, one reminding us to not only be thankful but to give thanks, and the other reminding us that righting past wrongs is an ongoing and sometimes hard-fought process, I’ve picked three stories that came out of NYCC this past weekend and reflect on the good, the bad, and the mix of good and bad, because even though there is joy to come from these announcements, there is also wrongs that need to be righted, and progress that needs to be made.

On Thursday, just before NYCC, Marvel announced their “updated” phase three movie release schedule. Many were unsurprised, and rightfully disappointed, that this announcement pushed back the release of the only Marvel movie with a woman lead, Captain Marvel, and also changed the release date for Black Panther from the coveted summer blockbuster slot to the relative dead zone of February…which is, coincidentally (or maybe not), Black History Month in the United States. One of the movies announced as the reason for the delay is Ant-Man and The Wasp, which Marvel’s press release states:

“The sequel will mark the first Marvel Studios film named after its heroine.”

Which is technically true, but 1) she’s the secondary character, when everyone knows that if anyone is the designated side-character in any movie, it’s Paul Rudd, 2) still not a good reason to push back Captain Marvel even further, and 3) if Scott Lang doesn’t die in this movie and there’s not a shot of Cassie playing with her dad’s suit, I don’t want to see it. Bring on the Young Avengers.

Moving on.

At the #WomenOfMarvel panel, Marvel announced Margaret Stohl will be writing a sequel to her just released YA Black Widow: Forever Red, and that a Captain Marvel YA novel will be written by Shannon Hale and her husband Dean.

A second Black Widow novel from @mstohl is the best news, as is a first Captain Marvel novel! #WomenofMarvel pic.twitter.com/pB1qNQM1jJ

— Sam Maggs (@SamMaggs) October 11, 2015

I admit to having an inordinate fondness for Marvel’s YA novels. I have my review copy of Black Widow: Forever Red that I can’t wait to read. I loved the now out of print Mary Jane novels by Judith O’Brien, and heard fantastic things about the She Hulk Diaries and Rogue Touch. But where is my YA novel about America Chavez or Kamala Khan? And as much as I appreciate the attention paid to these young women as protagonists, does Marvel really think that teenaged boys don’t read books in addition to comic books? Or that readers in general would be uninterested in a YA novel with a teenage boy as a protagonist? Where is my YA novel from teenaged Loki’s POV? Or Miles Morales?

One last story.

Marvel had a Jessica Jones panel and screening at NYCC, and the buzz is good, including this exciting tidbit: Carrie-Anne Moss is playing a genderbent Jeryn Hogarth. The pilot ep isn’t around (that I can find), but the new trailer is pretty intense, featuring creepy voiceover work from David Tennant.

The reports I’m reading also reaffirm the need for certain content warnings, since Netflix seems to be taking advantage of the lack of FCC censorship and going full grimdark with this one. From the posts I’ve been reading, if you’re going to be watching Jessica Jones in November, please be warned for: graphic violence, abuse, alcoholism, graphic sex, blood, death, paranoia, and unreality/surrealism. For people like me who are giant wimps, the warnings make me pause, but the positive buzz makes me hope that it will be worthwhile, just like Netflix’s Daredevil.

ICYMI

Bryan Cranston wants to be a Marvel villain, and everyone seems to be on board with it.

If you haven’t seen Claire’s Listicles for the past two weekends, “Five Times Jean Grey Got Kissed And Didn’t Expect It,” and “Five Trick Questions: Twin Peaks or Claremont’s X-Men?” be sure to check them out. Also check out Wendy’s essay about her love for classic X-Men.