Marvel vs DC Volume 3

Namaste and welcome my friends, family, and fellow knowledge seekers to another posting for the Quiet Mouse Strikes Back. Please take the time to read my past 2 blogs about Marvel vs DC, if you have not done so already.
Hmmm... where to start, where to start...
I ended the last blog with some images of past portrayals of Batman and Superman, as well as mentioning some of the past Marvel character movies that released prior to the current arc involving the 6 Infinity stones. But let's move on from that...

The MCU has officially kicked off phase 3 with the massively internationally successful Captain America Civil War. As fans we saw the destruction of the Avengers, but with a hopeful twist at the end where Cap pledged to help Tony Stark if the need ever arose again... which obviously it will...
Also we saw Bucky Barnes a.k.a. Winter Soldier go into a cryogenic tube in the fictional nation of Wakanda, which I'm sure will play out more in the up and coming Black Panther solo movie, as we saw T'Challa face off in the Civil War. Super hyped about this one that is scheduled to come out next year. We are also likely to see the return of Ulysses Klaue,  played by Andy Serkis, who was first seen in Age of Ultron in Wakanda getting his arm cut off and his vibranium stolen by the self righteous mechanical villain of Tony Stark's design, Ultron.

Fairly assuredly we can say that most Marvel movies in phase 3 and beyond, despite solo titles, will be team up flicks, like Civil War, involving other marvel heroes.

So what else is in the works?  The Spider-man reboot is now titled Spider man: Homecoming. We are confirmed for appearances by Iron Man, Tony Stark and Michael Keaton, who is playing the role of one of Spider-man's greatest nemesis, winged vigilante, Vulture.

I've gone into a lot of detail about GOTG VOL 2 and Doctor Strange in past blogs, so I'm gonna skip ahead of those for now to write about other up and coming projects.

Robert Downey Jr. has expressed interest in reprising his role once again in a solo film for his portrayal of the genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man. This will be the fourth solo movie for this character and could be a big part in phase 4.


But before we get to phase 4, we have the mind-bending box office smash Dr. Strange, Black Panther, Thor Ragnarok, 2 Infinity Wars movies (titles of these movies are likely to change due to influence from the directors; Marvel and Disney studio executives). Also there is going to be a Ms. Marvel movie somewhere in there, which will be the first solo Marvel movie with a female lead role. Based upon the success of this movie, there are plans to go ahead with a Black Widow solo movie as well, according to Kevin Feige. It's a good time to be a woman actress and it's certainly a good idea to get more women/girls into watching MCU movies and perhaps even reading comic books as well. Perhaps we may even see Squirrel Girl in the future. Online, actress Anna Kendrick has expressed an interest in pursuing this role, but there has been no confirmation on the validity of this so far.

DC comics seem to be in full swing coming off the successes of Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad. Wonder Woman is coming up this year, but online reports seem a little negative. We'll keep our eyes open on this one, as it could be a summer sleeper hit. Also in the works for DC are Flash, Aquaman, Justice League, and a solo Batman with Ben Afleck who is writing and producing the movie. He had plans to direct as well, but the studio opted to find their own director, which may be an issue later on, as DC has had problems with past directors of Suicide Squad and Batman vs Superman: DoJ.

Rumor has it that a movie adaptation of the comic book titled "Sirens" would reprise the role of Harley Quinn and add in other characters that would make it a female dominant movie seeing the likes of Catwoman and Poison Ivy, among others.

Sounds interesting to me. As I said before, I believe that both for Marvel and DC, it is in their best interests to add focus to the women of their respective universes and provide quality female character portrayals such as those done by Scarlett Johansen, Colbie Smoulders, and Elizabeth Olsen, among others, for Marvel.

Next, I want to talk about Thor: Ragnarok. For those who don't know, the Meriam Webster dictionary defines ragnarok as: the final destruction of the world in the conflict between the Aesir and the powers of Hel led by Loki —called also Twilight of the Gods.

Not sure how that is all going to play out on screen but with an all-star studded cast it seems destined for greatness. On a side note, since Marvel has issues with Hulk, who cannot appear in a Disney/Marvel solo movie due to licensing rights, it seems they have found a middle ground. Parts of Planet Hulk and World War Hulk are said to be included into the Thor: Ragnarok story line which intends to arc across the Infinity War and the 2nd as yet untitled sequel to the Avengers. In addition to Mark Ruffalo, we have the normal Asgardian cast of Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Idris Elba as Heimdahl, the warriors three, lady Sif, among others. Faces new to the story line will be Cate Blanchett as Hela, Benedict Cumberbatch reprising his role as Doctor Strange (who we saw talking directly to Thor at the end of his movie), Karl Urban as Skurge, Jeff Goldblum as Grandmaster, and Sam Neil (Dr. Grant from Jurassic Park) in an unknown role.

Looking into the future, there is a lot of excitement for both the Marvel and DC Universes to play out on a cinema near you. For Marvel, I hope that they continue forward with the solo Black Widow movie and bring back to the table talks about a feature film for the Inhumans. Perhaps Civil War 2 may be in the works following the success of the first Civil War movie last year. 
As for DC, I would personally like to see them expand beyond the boundaries a little and reprise the Green Lantern, as well as including the Martian Manhunter. Glad to see that they are moving forward on Cyborg. 

What comic book movie are you looking forward to the most this year? Logan? GOTG: Vol. 2? Spiderman Homecoming? Wonder Woman? Thor: Ragnarok? Justice League? Lego Batman?

Either way, I'll see you at the movies. Namaste.

Oh, What Have They Done?

Namaste and welcome to another post for the Quiet Mouse Strikes Back.
I am not a food critic or an official spokesperson, but a foodie for sure.

If you're at all like me, sometimes you don't feel like cooking. I'm a certified G chef  and I can wow your taste buds with my culinary arts.
I don't often go out of my way to sing praises for fast food, but I have to say that I LOVE TACO BELL!

I know there are naysayers that would opt to disagree and that is their RIGHT. They may like Wendy's or Arby's or Baja Fresh, among others, for example better. That's okay. For those like myself who enjoy eating at Taco Bell, this is for you...

They did a big thing when they released the Dorito Loco tacos last year. This year has started with a game changer as well. Introducing the best thing to come to fast food in a long time: the Naked Chicken Chalupa! It's $2.99 a la carte, or $5 in a combo with a crunchy taco, a Dorito Loco taco, and a 22oz beverage. That's a deal that can't be beat, my friends.

They replaced the taco shell with a breaded fried chicken patty, made a U shape like a regular taco and stuffed with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and a creamy avocado sauce.
Were they stoned? Did someone's cheese side off their cracker? Has the world turned upside down?
As a foodie, I imagine the flavor in a similar way to how Remy felt in the movie Ratatouille as the flavors combine together to make something greater than the combination of ingredients alone.

At first, I too thought that it sounded gimmicky and weird. But when I ate that crispy, fresh flavor... well, now I'm kinda hooked. I urge all my readers to at least try it out before you make a negative assumption about it.
Anyhow, I do thank you for your time and hope you have a blessed day. Namaste.

President Trump

Namaste my fellow knowledge seekers. Welcome to my blog. I just wanted to touch briefly on the subject of our new President Donald J. Trump.


To be honest, I voted for neither of the two front runners in this election. I'm a patriot of this nation having served in the Navy and now participating in the betterment of my community as a civilian.
That being said, I'm actually hopeful about the next 4 years. I certainly hope that it's not all rhetoric, the speech at the inauguration. He may not be quite the orator or crowd mover like his predecessor Barack Obama, but his words, the real root of the message got to me. I agree that we should make our own nation it's own priority. I agree we need to stop jobs from leaving and work on infrastructure...

The problem is... no actual solutions were revealed. No actual plan was given to the people to raise hope in the power being given back to the people, allegedly. It must be easy to get up and give a speech and make promises, yet I don't envy the man inheriting this job.
I believe things are going to get better, but will likely get worse at first due to the backlash of the pissed off liberals. It's difficult to understand the mind of how someone thinks that rioting and acting like a fool is going to change ANYTHING in a positive manner. It might get us MARTIAL LAW. It might get our first Amendment right for peaceful assembly revoked, or freedom of speech... no joke.

Mr. Trump has his hands full with these 50 states plus territories contained within these here United States of America. I personally see him in a similar light to how folks saw President Ronald Reagan. I don't think he is a messiah to the American people, per se, but we as a united people are faced with a wonderful opportunity. We can cling on to mistakes we have made as a nation and allow that to define us the way it has since George Bush took office in 2000. We can keep being divided over race, gender, sexual orientation, color, or whatever else...
OR...
We can come together as a nation that recognizes it is broken. We cannot look to Washington D.C. to solve all our problems as a people. I don't personally give a shit if you are black, white, brown, red, yellow, green, purple or whatever colors of the rainbow... if you are a legal documented citizen of these United States... you OWE a duty to your fellow citizens. Period. We aren't talking about China or Africa or anywhere else. We, as Americans, are all member of this nation that was founded on the ideas of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with Constitutional rights that cannot be infringed upon unless we carelessly give them away for a false sense of security.
We, as members of our communities, must come together and form militias and watch groups to clean up our neighborhoods and make our streets safe and clean from violence for our children to play outside once again.

Donald Trump may be a good man. He may do glorious things for our nation. But as citizens, we cannot count on Washington D.C. to solve our societal problems of racism, prejudice, and inequality. That's OUR JOB. And it starts at home. It starts with choosing the right path. We all see the finish line with the goal we want to achieve. We just need to pick the path that will get us there. It won't always be easy, but it MUST happen. As President Trump said, we need to be the example of the image we want to present to the world. If we want peace, we cannot be rioting in our streets like hooligans and vandals. If we want a better government, we need to participate and DEMAND that change, and we also need to BE that face of change we want to look in the mirror and be proud of. It isn't up to the President to do that. It's yours and mine. If we want the world to be free of hate and violence, then we need to lead by example and let go of the hatred we have harbored so long toward our fellow humans, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow citizens, and our world... it is time to heal and become united in more than just words and half-assed promises. We need intent. We need passion. We need love.
If things are going to change than the change must start WITHIN us all, for we cannot solve the problems of today and the future with the same mindset that created the problems to begin with.
And we certainly don't want our future to turn out like the movie "Idiocrcacy". Like, we have seriously got to fix some of these problems, guys. I mean, Kanye said he wants to run for President in 2020!!!

I hope you are ready. I am. Even in the darkest hour be assured that the light within your heart can change the world. We are all blessed for living in this nation of abundant prosperity. And even though things aren't always perfect or even the way we plan or expect them to be, there will always be hope to be found here in these United States, a land of opportunity, beauty, and diversity. We just have to learn to love one another and work together and live without causing harm to one another. As I said, it won't always be easy, but it's worth it.

Lastly, I sincerely hope that President Donald Trump does a good job and keeps true to his word in making the United States of America great again for ALL citizens.
Peace be with you in all your life's journeys, my friends.