M is for Marvel - Blogging from A to Z April Challenge

I almost did A is for Avengers, but then I realised if I did M is for Marvel I could get them all in anyway and I could mention others too :).

I would call myself a Marvel fan, but I am not old school and I don't read the comics. I'm one of those annoying new Marvel fans who's gateway to the universes is the movies. Not that I don't respect the comic fans, I have several friends who are deeply into the comics and their knowledge is incredible, but I'm about to witter on about movies and TV shows, not comics :).

I discovered Marvel via cartoons. I remember many happy hours watching Spider-man and his Amazing Friends as a child. It's corny and bad, but I loved it when I was younger.

Then there was Spiderwoman and of course the original X-men cartoon. I was a big fan of Gambit and he was my favourite character, which made me very disappointed when he wasn't in the first three X-men movies.

It's probably why my favourite is the one every body pans: Wolverine Origins, because it has Gambit in it. Of course they did it all wrong because my favourite thing about Gambit in the cartoon was always his eyes. I have a thing about eyes :).

While the X-men movies were good (except X3) I was a fan of Toby Maguire as Spider-man. The first two movies were superb and the second one pushed all my reveal buttons. I love it when superheroes are unmasked and the whole scene on the train it my favouritest ;). (Yes, I know that's not a word).

I didn't see The Amazing Spider-man for quite some time and eventually watched it on Blu-ray because I was not sure they could make me love Spidey as much as I had before. I was wrong, the film is an awesome reboot of the franchise.

However, I'm getting ahead of myself.

What really dragged me into the movie love of Marvel properly, however (which I define as wanting to write fanfic and collecting memorabilia), was X-men First Class. The chemistry between Charles and Eric had me riveted through the whole film. It's played almost like a romance, which makes the ending all the more dramatic and heart wrenching. The rest of the characters are also brilliant.

The young Charles Xavier quickly became my new favourite X-man.

I know it was a different studio to the movies in the Avengers franchise, but this was the movie that rekindled my love and made me want to see lots more comic book movies.

There have been many, many bad comic book movies, but we live in an era where the special effects are brilliant and the fanboys/girls are directing and there are now some great movies out there.

Let's talk about Iron Man. Now I saw the cartoon when I was younger and I have to say, I never liked Iron Man. Then, along comes Robert Downey Jr and suddenly I'm an Iron Man fan. The first film is incredible, the second is awesome as well and I hope the third builds on what is a fantastic franchise. RDJ is Tony Stark, it's that simple :).

The films are visually stunning and the plots have actually been thought about. Add that to the fact that they have a brilliant cast and there is nothing left to ask for. I have to admit I did not see 1 or 2 in the cinema, but on blu-ray.

In fact the only one of the marvel movies I have seen in the cinema was The Avengers. However, I'm getting ahead again.

After seeing Iron Man I saw Thor, and was initially unimpressed. However, I saw it on a small screen and was half asleep. I know this because having rewatched it more than once, it is my favourite of the Avengers prequels. Not gonna lie, sorry Thor, it's not because of you, it's because of Loki. Tom Hiddleston plays the part of what is effectively the villain, in such a way that I wanted him to win, kinda.

It a very Shakespearian tale, which isn't overly surprising given that it's directed by Kenneth Branagh. It big, it's epic and it's just how we needed to be introduced to Thor.

Next I saw Captain America, which is my second favourite Avengers prequel. I love the humour, the characters, the plot and, well everything. The Steve/Bucky friendship is brilliant and the way Peggy has Steve blushing and totally confused is superb.

I own on DVD the 80's version of Captain America, which is so terrible it's almost good. This version is much better :).

This was the point where I gave up and just ordered all the blu-rays.

The less said about Ang Lee's Hulk the better IMHO, but if you like it, go you :).

I love The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton. It's action packed and a great romp even if you can tell what mood Banner is supposed to be in by whether it's raining or not.

Then, however, we come to The Avengers. I may possibly have gone a little gaga over this movie.

I love Loki, not going to attempt to hide that. He made the film for me as Tom gave another stellar performance. I cannot wait to see him in Thor 2.

However, it wasn't just Tom. Joss Whedon did an incredible job on this film. He brought together four sets of characters from highly successful movies and merged them into one like no one else could have done.

It isn't just a superhero movie where everyone comes together, defeats the bad guy and all is sweetness and light. There is conflict, there is anger, there is plot and there is humour.

The cast could have not gelled, but they did. Mark Ruffalo taking the role of Banner and Hulk is simply brilliant, RDJ is as superb and on form as ever, both Chrises give great performances, Renner as Hawkeye is superb and Scarlett was knock out as Black Widow.

This film was a hell of a risk, if it had been bad it could have sunk the franchise, but it was gold and I am so looking forward to the rest.

And just to add, well done to The Avengers and Tom Hiddleston for their wins at the MTV Awards last night.

This year we get Iron Man 3 and Thor 2, next year we're supposed to be getting X-men First Class 2 and Captain America 2. Things are looking up.

Are you a Marvel fan? What was your gateway and who is your favourite Marvel character? Please stay and chat, I'd love to hear from you.

If you would like to see what all of my posts will be about in advance, click here to see my theme post.
My twin and I are also doing the A to Z Challenge over at our fantasy erotica blog: http://fantasyboysxxx.blogspot.co.uk/