Like many of you, the MCU has sucked a lot of us here at 10K into it’s wonderful vacuum of content. The interwoven storytelling spanning nearly 12 years, with no end in sight, has been incapsulating and full of some of the best content moments and reaction gifs of the decade.
How big of a nerd are you?
Dev: I’ll start. Giant nerd. No surprise. I was a film major in college, I literally took a class on the history of comic book movies. I’ve been reading comics for over 20 years. I like to think I’m not the type of nerd that corners you to talk about the bastardization of the greater Star Wars canon, or my theories about how DC fired Zack Snyder because he wanted to let Batman eat pussy, but my wife may disagree.
As far as superhero nerdiness goes, I’ve got a couple boxes of comic books stored in the attic somewhere. I think every young boy relates to Spiderman the most for the sake of relatability, but I’m absolutely DEVASTATED at how that franchise has been handled with the exception of a few of the more recent movies. What’s worse is that the characters I actually liked the MOST were Venom and Carnage and that’s been portrayed even worse.
Awes: I love all things Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and of course the MCU so you could say I’m a pretty big nerd.Lancman: I would say I am somewhat nerdy. I’ve found myself reading books this past year, who would have thought. I read 18 books in one series and am on book 6 of another series at the moment. Shit, maybe I am a nerd, I dig it though.
Marlow: I was more known for stuffing nerds in lockers, but in my old age, I’ve come to dork out over Marvel. Also fuck DC.
Kid Jen: Straight up… I’m a fucking nerd. I enjoy weird shit and I say it proudly. Next question.
Tim: I’m a gamer, love Marvel Movies watched all the MCU movies leading up to End Game. Love new tech and nerd out about True Crime Docs so I would say an 11/10.How big into the MCU are you at this point?
Veech: Marvel has always been and always will be better than DC. I have been plugged into the MCU since Iron Man 1 and have never really looked back. The first Captain America movie fell COMPLETELY flat for me and I was underwhelmed to the point that I never continued with his storyline until much later where it was evident that I’d HAVE to watch those movies to tie everything together for the whole cinematic universe to “make sense”. Maybe it’s because he’s Mister Goody-Goody, all neat and tidy, and I’m more of a broody and vengeful guy. He reminds me of the kids who’d remind the teacher that they assigned homework when they had forgot. Hot take, but fuck Cap.
Ragnarok may be the best “solo” movie of the bunch, but there’s so many technicalities and side stories/secondary characters in that I’m not sure if it counts. As WandaVision was being released, I got caught up in the reddit threads and theory posts about what was going on and got tricked into the Mephisto propaganda…still waiting for that asshole to show up. Long-story short, I know everything that has gone on and GENERALLY where things are going with a massive focus on the Mulitverse for more than a few of the upcoming (and current) pieces being released and I’m here for it.
Dev: I have seen every movie on opening night in theaters. I probably have rewatched the whole MCU a dozen times. They could make a Howard the Duck movie where Seth Green just plays soggy waffle and I would probably watch it 4 times to try and catch some easter eggs.
Kid Jen: Buddy… we’re talking since the beginning of Phase One. I never read the comic books growing up but ever since Robert Downey Jr. starred in the very first Iron Man film, the MCU has run steadily throughout the course of my veins. I am forever engaged.
Lancman: I’m pretty damn gripped into the MCU now. Just rewatched all of the movies in order with the lady recently to prep for the new shows, so I’m hardcore in. Funny enough 10K’s very own Zooch got me into it. I was at his place a few years ago and he forced me to watch Infinity War and was instantly hooked. Thank you.
Awes: I’ve been here since Tony Stark escaped that cave with the Mark I and have no intentions of leaving anytime soon.
Marlow: Yes.
Tim: I love the MCU flicks. They’re funny, dramatic, and action packed with amazing CGI, acting, and direction. My favorites, in no particular order: Guardians of the Galaxy, Iron Man, & Thor. Itching for the next Guardians movie to see Starlord and Thor’s comedic act together. As well as Thor: Love and Thunder hoping Loki makes some sort of return.
What are your thoughts on Loki through three episodes?
Lancman: So far Loki is great in my opinion. Like WandaVision, the first episode was a little bit of a mind fuck and odd. That doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s absolutely great so far. It’s better than Falcon and the Winter Soldier to me already. We are on team Loki and cheering for him and Sylvie to get off that planet.
Tim: Completely captivated so far as I am a HUGE Hiddleston fan even beyond his portrayal of the “God of Mischief” Adding a Female “Loki” antagonist is genius. The chemistry and hissy fit fighting between Loki & Sylvie makes me laugh. Self admittedly, Parallel Universe scenarios confuses the hell out of me, but not in a bad way. Just need to re-watch everything. As usual, Loki is not entirely bad but always having ulterior motives to his actions while Sylvie appears to be a true villain, so the road to his internal and moral conflict is what intrigues me the most going forward. Also I expect some serious twists and turns going forward.
Awes: I went into Loki with very little expectations and the hope of a little lighter tone than Marvel’s previous two series (WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) and I have been absolutely loving it so far. Tom Hiddelston and Owen Wilson sharing a screen together has been electric and makes me wish they had crossed paths sooner in their careers. While I wasn’t entirely sold on the MCU using a loophole in where they still have Loki around after killing him (and actually doing it this time) in Infinity War, I have come around on it a bit. Loki has a great blend of comedic beats and serious themes about one’s purpose. Definitely my favorite MCU series so far.
Veech: To put it bluntly, I like it a HELL OF A LOT more than TFATWS or whatever the proper acronym is for the last release. I have no connection to Bucky or Sam Wilson whatsoever, probably stemming back to the Captain America movies being hot garbage. The writing/creativity is slightly behind WandaVision, but that show had such a slow burn and was WILDLY different style than anything I’ve seen that it just came off as brilliant. I do think that the possibilities with this are so much wider and more open than anything I’ve ever seen.
The ability to jump to different worlds and times so freely really kind of removes ANY constraints with the storytelling. One of the only things I didn’t like about episode 3 was that it looked like Elton John was directing another Tron movie and some MCU personalities were just living in the script. Oh, and the fact that Loki is an ACTUAL GOD who’s fought off other superheros and WILDLY more massive beings than these random humans (humanoids) that he’s facing throughout the series, but is somehow now unable to handle more than two small people at a time? Again, this was a problem in the Cap movies that drove me BANANAS and I’m trying desperately to look past it.
Kid Jen: First off.. Loki has always been my favorite Marvel character due to his dashing looks and mischievous (devilish) ways. So this show has been on my mind for awhile. After the first two eps, I was very intrigued. Nothing more, nothing less. But after that third ep… I am IN. Like I am emotionally invested in every single way. What a series this is going to be.
Dev: This shit wails. Definitely the best of the 3 Marvel shows so far (no small feat, WandaVision was mostly incredible) and even with episode 3 being not as good as the first two, I’m still waiting to see what happens next week. Wednesday at 3:01am EST cannot get here soon enough. Also it’s fucking rad that Loki is confirmed bisexual.
Marlow: The show has been better than expected. I love that it started off in the middle of the MCU. That gives us a long timeframe to play within the storyline. Also a queer Loki is pretty dope.
What do you think happens next in Loki?
Kid Jen: A wise man once said to expect the unexpected. I’m gonna take another healthy sip of vino and let next Wednesday decide that one for me.
Veech: Honestly, it’s timekeepers this and timekeepers that the entire series so far. Eventually they’ve GOT to be outed as the bad guys. We clearly know that the TVA “employees” were normal people at one time based on the last episode. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit to confirm that they’ve been “enslaved” there by the Timekeepers to do their dirty work while they’re busy scheming about something else. I’ve heard rumors that one of them (probably the middle one) is going to be in the Multiverse of Madness movie, and I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be the “good guy”.
Tim: Honestly if I was smarter about the concept of Parallel Universes, I’d probably have a better answer. In the end, Loki will have a decision, does he go all in as being the bad guy and screwing over the TVA folks for his benefit, or kill Sylvie and any other evil variants due to his conscious getting the best of him due to his love for his mother. But if he goes “Good Guy” route to save the day, he’ll still make sure that he benefits beyond what a hero should.
Marlow: I imagine that as we progress through the story here we may see Loki, being the narcissist that he is, fall in love with the female version of himself. Showing off that he is capable of compassion, but ultimately betraying “herself” understanding that we will have a Highlander moment in which there can only be one. There was a line uttered by Thor in Ragnarok where he mentions that he’s seen his brother Loki die a ton before. So long term, with him seeing himself die at the hands Thanos, I think at the very end we will see some sort of trickery from Loki to fake that death and live on beyond the ending of Endgame.
Lancman: After watching episode 3 my prediction is that Loki and Sylvie one way or another get off that planet. I know a shocking guess, sorry I don’t really know what else to think will happen. They can’t die, right? No way. I think some people from the TVA will show up and “rescue” them. I’m just really excited to see what happens next, I truly have no idea. I’m hoping Loki and Sylvie develop a friendship or relationship. I can’t wait!
Awes: Well I am notorious for being awful at predictions but I can definitely say the TVA is bad. I never felt good about the TVA but after we learned that all of their employees are kidnapped ordinary people that have their memories wiped? Yeah, that’s pretty terrible. As for what will happen next, I’m sure Loki and Sylvie will somehow find a way off of Lamentis-1 by being saved by Owen Wilson’s Mobius and with his help find out the truth about the TVA and hopefully meet the Time-Keepers. What I’m most interested in is how Loki will set up the rest of the MCU.
Dev: I have two stupid predictions. One that’s mine and one I can’t take credit for. My theory is that the I read a theory that Agent Mobius is actually a Frigga Variant, and I haven’t been able to get it out of my head. It’s definitely going to be my Mephisto is secretly running Westview take for this show. My theory is that the apocalypse of Lamentis-1 is not actually happening. It’s an illusion conjured by Sylvie in an effort to figure out what Loki’s real game is.
We see her try to enchant him at the beginning of their time on Lamentis-1. Then, conveniently, she seems to know everything about this nothing moon. I don’t believe for a second they’re actually in danger of the planet exploding. What if her spell was successful, but the only way for it to work is if she makes him think it wasn’t? So like, Inception, but with magic.
Tune in next week for our Episode 4 roundtable!
Minnesota sports weren’t stressful enough, so I went to Auburn. Diehard everything fan. Will drink beer for money. Deathly allergic to chicken.