User blog:TheIkranRider/Marvel-ous Retrospective

Ergh... With all the obnoxious hype of the X-Men's "final battle," I've decided to get my thoughts out of the way on how I got into Marvel. RIP, Stan Lee, you'll be 4ever missed; you truly are a legend. Much like Jack Kirby, no relation to the pink puff from Dreamland. Anyway, thinking of this was complicated, as I have no idea where to begin. Basically there was some petty stuff, such as the comic books that I weren't really into, or the spoofs from the Simpsons, or the numerous animated shows popping up on Fox Kids. I can't tell you what my earliest memories were, before the blockbuster movies came to be.

I guess...I'll start with my earliest fondest memory, the introduction to the X-Men series. Holy hot, flaming cards of Gambit! This was a massive hit!! I remembered my older sis was REALLY into it, and her favorite Mutant has always been Wolverine, while my favorite was, oddly enough, Nightcrawler. Don't ask me why, I just found him to be unique, and to this day he still is my topmost mutant. She always adored the animated series as a kid, and was one of the best classics Fox had to offer. But my memories were really spotty; I can only relate to the two-part pilot, Night of the Sentinels, the other two-parter, Days of Future Past which introduced me to Bishop, Storm's stresses over claustrophobia, and the numerous catfights between Wolverine and Sabertooth. But the one thing that really irked me was the dreaded Dark Phoenix saga, to which I only saw bits and pieces of. A few of the episodes were recorded on VHS, though we lost 'em shortly afterward.

Still, the craze didn't stop there: my sis collected these models attached to their named bases; one had four of the X-Men (Cyclops, Prof. Xavier, Wolverine and...I think Dr. Strange but I'm not certain) while the other had enemy mutants (Magneto, Juggernaut, Sabertooth, and some pterodactyl that I was always curious of). She also had a complicated board game as well. Heck, I even recalled I was hesitant on saying Bishop's name, as it kept reminding me of saying the s word. Lame. And, let's not forget about those petty games (X-Men for the Genesis, and Wolverine for the SNES). Needless to say, I wasn't as much of a fanatic as my sis was. Then there were the 2 awesome novellas, one of the sleeping giant that was believed to be an island, while the other highlighted the mutants' lives. And I lost them, too.

Soon came Spider-Man on Fox Kids, and I remembered being enamored by it. So much so that, according to my Fantastical Memoir, I included protagonists such as a great white shark and a barracuda... I know, it's pathetic. In addition, I tried to write my own comic, but of course it was screwy; I don't think I need to explain it. I never cared with the crossover that much, as Spidey sided against Wolverine before the cliffhanger. I also found a comic in my parents' mom-and-pop shop of Spidey encountering the Silver Surfer. I can't recall it exactly, but I guess it was alright. Speaking of which, from there, I also dealt with the infamous Silver Surfer game for the NES. I remembered being so creeped out by that demon, later known as Mephisto, just out of curiosity alone. Regardless, I wasn't any good at it, I never stopped crashing. See the AVGN episode for more details.

After that, several years went by until I was into the live-action movie craze. Again, I can't remember exactly what transpired, but I think there were some tidbits of the first X-Men film, and I was disappointed that Wolverine was portrayed by someone else that wasn't from the cartoon itself. So, it was disregarded until several years later. However, by 2002, I was very intrigued with the first Spider-Man film; to this day, I consider it and the third epic to be the best Spidey movies I've ever seen, thus I called the series, the Tobey trilogy.

Then, there was Hellboy in early 2004. At first I saw some tidbits, I think when it was televised on FX, but it grew on me, as did my favorite char John Myers. Later, there was Spider-Man 2...which was one of my least favorites to date; I was so underwhelmed with the villain, the plot, and mostly by Mary Jane's backstabbing! How I ranted that when Doc Oc labeled Peter as lazy, even though he seemed that way himself since he never cared of the damage and murders he's been committing, not even enough to control his damn mechanical arms! He's just a psychopath, pure and simple!!

I was going to jump ship from Marvel, especially with all those lousy media floating around, like the Hulk game for the Xbox, or the movie itself. However, I've been relying on the awesome network for my Marvel fix, especially when it came to X2: X-Men United; needless to say, it was an all-time favorite, especially since it featured Nightcrawler. Sadly, according to the DVD on TV segment, the actor never wanted to portray him again since he was lounging on a chair for many excruciating hrs. for makeup and wardrobe alone.

Afterwards, there was one of the most resentful movies I've ever encountered, and that my friends was X-Men: The Last Stand..! I despised Jean-Grey and the Dark Phoenix so damn much! After her sacrifice at the end of X2, she killed both Cyclops and Xavier, and left the Mutants with their own devices, while she joins the Brotherhood and "The Cure" became widespread. Archangel meant little to nothing, except negating a person's powers to which that "Cure" came from, it reminded me of the Dark Phoenix saga as well as the upcoming 2019 menace, AND Jean was just a complete psychopath as she went completely insane and showed no relent, unless if she begged she wants to be killed. She. Deserved IT!! One of the worst atrocities I never wanted to watch again!

Next, there was the upcoming release of the Fantastic 4, and my dad found the archaic, infamous movie made way back in the 90s. Yes, it was laughably pathetic, even with the part when Johnny ignites to drive away the missile, as well as Ben's designs, but the chars talking about their angsts wasn't too shabby, nor was Ben's anxieties as he left for those outcasts underground. Still, I can admit it was terrible; however, I can say otherwise about the 2005 version in which I saw in theaters. The movie was just so exhilarating! And I was beginning to leave the Starfox series behind. Then, a couple years later, I encountered its underrated sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer. To this day, I find both movies to be the most underappreciated in the Marvel multiverse; I loved each of the main cast. So much so that I eventually got onto making some of my earliest fanfics.

Then there was the startling conclusion of Spider-Man 3. I was hoping they'd continue with the so-called 2 installments, but due to Tobey's back injuries and the fact he was settling down, it was all for naught. I was very disappointed that both of my favorite series came to an abrupt end, including the Fantastic 4; I'll always defend those treasures to this day. Ghost Rider was...meh. Captain America...so-so. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, and Thor and its sequels...who cares. Also, by 2009, I eventually gave up on my story ideas for the quartet because of how it affected my own Showitious, and how that Ioan was no longer inspiring as he used to be.

Ghost Rider 2 was hit-or-miss, though it did remind me of the two polar opposites in FFIV, and how Cerb used to love it so much, though it was complicated to get into. Though First Class was a great comeback as was Origins: Wolverine, as was the so-so The Wolverine; in fact, that resumed my interest with Marvel. As did the interesting discovery of the unfinished Silver Surfer animated series. And while Avengers was incredibly massive, again it was sort of more or less... I don't support the majority of followers that crave the Marvel Cinematic Universe very much. And after the fun I had with Days of Future Past, Apocalypse, and Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as finding out that Disney bought out Marvel, and Fox soon after, and the gory, unsettling conclusion with Logan, THIS was what started the downward spiral! I never cared with the convoluted, asinine, obnoxious, mind-melting universe ever again! I mean how can you possibly follow the Avengers if you hadn't followed the Capt. America subplot, then the Iron Man subplot, then the Hulk subplot, then the Deadpool plot, then the Thor subplot, then the NEW Spider-Man, Guardians, Black Panther, then the Ant-Man plot!? IT'S TOO F@$%ING MUCH!!!

Damn all those consumers who have literally lost their f$%&ing minds on following these hellish films, and purchasing all that merchandise! Marvel used to be promising and inspirational, but now all I see it as a megalomaniacal, corporate establishment hellbent on money, fame, merchandise, resources, and perhaps the betrayal and warping of Stan Lee's visions. Ever since they made a deal to merge with Disney, they've gone WAY out of proportion!! I chastise those as mindless zombies who are just a bunch of moneybags and waste their talent and resources to feed those idiotic consumers; no different than those that eat up Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, AND Mario nonstop!!

By the mid 2010s, it was all over. I kept contradicting myself on making an AudioBiography for the selective movies, but I can't be sure anymore. Marvel lost its marbles, and literally speaking. Much like they did with Walt Disney, I feel they have turned back on their creators, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, as well as many other faithful people. Marvel and Disney, and Fox, are scums of the earth, nothing but the leeches that suck our lives, minds, and wallets dry!! Much like Family Guy, Simpsons, SpongeBob, and the aforementioned franchises, all good things must come to an end. But they don't. I was so pissed off, that I never, EVER desired to follow Marvel again. X-Men is ending, and Guardians HAD to recruit Thor which was incredibly awkward, and the last 2 Avengers were just so abysmal, that I never bothered seeing them. These lackluster companies have warped their legacy, and as long as it exists, the more I want it to just drop off the face of the earth while Disney falls like a second Roman Empire!!