4 Reasons Why Ant-Man is the Best Superhero Movie to Date

Ant-Man is the type of movie I could watch over and over and over again.  As a matter of fact, I have.  I’ve just completed my fourth viewing with my son last night.  

So, why the repeats?  Don’t I have anything better to do?  Yes, I do.  The problem is that this is the best superhero movie made to date!  I feel obligated to watch it over and over.  I do have my reasons for this irrational viewing schedule and here are 4 of them (in no particular order):

1.)  This is a breakout performance for Paul Rudd:

I’m a fan of Paul Rudd.  Not a huge fan, but a fan nonetheless.  He is remarkably funny and seems to be riding the rocket to fame due to his...well....funniness.  So, when I saw that he was cast in this, what I perceived to be, serious part I thought the movie was doomed.  Sure, there are superheroes that have made funniness the keystone of their popularity (such as Deadpool), but Ant-Man isn’t one of them.

I’m thrilled to report that I was dead wrong in thinking he was a poor decision.

Although the brilliant writers for this movie inserted many a humorous spot in the movie, Paul Rudd made them all the more funny.  Then, adding the antics of Michael Peña, you had what turned out to be a fantastic duo.  Who’d have guessed?  Apparently, the casting crew did.  Paul’s performance seems to have increased the variety of roles he can play in future movies.

2.)  The Special Effects:

This reason has an exception to it.  I was impressed by all the special effects in the MOVIE.  The odd thing is that the worst special effect was the movie PHOTO they are using for iTunes:

It looks great from far away, but as you step closer it looks doctored.

The head looks like it was photoshopped onto the body.  Now, whether it was or it wasn’t isn’t the point.  The point is it LOOKS like it was.  Some of you may disagree, but it leads me to wonder why they would spend so much time and money on special effects only to have a promo photo look crappy.  Anyway, let’s get away from the negative and focus on the positive.

The special effects in this movie are only rivaled by those used in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Whether Paul was riding an ant, floating on a raft of ants, or having Thomas the Tank Engine jettison from his second floor window, these were easily some of the best special effects I have ever seen.

(Thomas the Tank Engine was played by this little boy in the movie.  It’s hard to see the little boy in this picture because of the superb tailoring of the costume, but if you squint a little bit you can kind of see him.*)

All kidding aside, my hat is off again to Paul Rudd, and all the actors and actresses, who had to do their parts with nothing else on the set but blue screen.  In interviews with actor and actresses that have done parts such as this they all say how difficult it can be not only in speaking, but also in having the proper head and eye movements and appropriate body positioning.

3.)  Anyone can enjoy this movie:

The overall view of comic books, and the stories therein, has changed dramatically since I was a kid (and that’s a long time ago, you know...when rocks were still soft.)  Comic books weren’t so mainstream and they weren’t easy to come by.  You saw them in the corner pharmacy or market, but there were no stores that handled ONLY comic books.  It was also a time where comic books were meant for kids only.  The only time you ever saw an adult with a comic was if they were bringing it home for their kid(s) (or at least that was their excuse).  So, if a comic book movie came out back then it would be attended strictly by parents who were 'taking their kids'.   Nowadays it’s different.   With ComicCons, adult storylines, advanced special effects, many new characters, etc. it’s no longer just a kids thing.

In this day and age there are kids and adults who have their favorite characters, with each generation wanting to see the movies for different reasons.  It’s also a great way for parents to hang out with their kids.  The point is, even if you aren’t a fan of superheroes, this is a great movie.  Consider also the fact that this movie is really a standalone movie.  In other words, you don’t have to see ANYTHING else than this movie to understand it; there’s no cliffhanger ending that forces you to see the next one or a vague beginning where you had to have read 10 comics to understand where Ant-Man came from.  It’s just a great movie all by its lonesome.

4.)  Ant-Man is Cool!  (I’d say “Again” but I didn’t think he was cool to start with..):

Ant-Man was introduced in Tales to Astonish #27 in January of 1962 (hence the humor when, in the movie, there was a reference to Ant-Man not being some fictional “Tale to Astonish”, but I’m sure you caught it.)  He was just basically a guy who could shrink.  Big whoop.  He could talk to ants.  Another big whoop.  In addition, the other person who played Ant-Man in the comics was Hank Pym who was a mental train-wreck, a genius, and a wife-beater.  Sure, he was a co-founder of the Avengers, but his star wasn’t rising anytime soon.  Ant-Man was just not interesting or ‘heroic’.

In comes the movie.

Paul Rudd, as stated before, does an outstanding job playing Ant-Man.  His supporting cast is amazing.  The special effects and the costume designed for him were incredible.  Most importantly, he showed WHY Ant-Man is a superhero that can take on the likes of the Falcon and Yellowjacket.  It’s a transformation that had Marvel give him his own comic book, appearances in several other titles, people dressing up as him at ComicCons and the making of another Ant-Man movie.  

Now the real question is, “Is the bandwagon big enough to hold all the Ant-Man fans?”.  Personally, I love it.  Anyone starting to enjoy comic books and their characters is welcome in my home.  The part that gets me, though, is the person who says, “Ant-Man was always my favorite superhero.”  Ummm, yeah, OK.  I think it’s great that you have a newfound love of Ant-Man (as I do too) but let’s not go overboard.  I’ve been collecting, buying, selling and appraising for the better part of 45 years and, prior to the movie, I had never heard ANYONE even put Ant-Man in their top 50 favorite heroes.  

All that being said, I’m a convert.  The movie was EXTREMELY well done and broke through all the mental barriers I had about Ant-Man.  And, to all of you who have found a place for Ant-Man in your collections, or you just love the movies, I’m glad you did/do.  There’s always room for another comic book/comic character fan.  I hope to meet you one day.

Oh, one more thing, was I the only one who thought of a list of jobs for the ants around my house?  Fixing the screen door, folding the laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, getting rid of the ants in my kitch....

* - I was kidding.  There was no little boy playing Thomas the Tank Engine in the movie and there is no little boy in this photo either, so stop squinting.

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R.I.P. Captain America, We’ll Miss You

I just finished reading “Captain America:  Sam Wilson” #1.  What an absolute shame.  When did Captain America become a political pundit?

If you haven’t read this particular issue you can do one of two things:  either you can buy it and read it for yourself OR you can read one of a hundred different websites that are voicing their opinion on it.  They say any press is good press, but many in my circles are not happy about this new press...and neither am I.

Before we talk about the “new” Captain America let’s do a quick review of Captain America and what he formerly stood for.  He was an advocate for the U.S. and it’s war against the bad guys from WWII.   He was of the same opinion as most people...Hitler was bad.  That was pretty much the extent of Caps international views.  Domestically, Captain America stood for truth, honesty, the American way and pursuing the American Dream.  He was inspiring, a strong leader, and a role model for me growing up.  He was Marvel’s boy scout.

Apparently, not anymore.

Marvel is now voicing it’s political opinions through the “new” Captain America...and it’s not just me who thinks so.

If you haven’t read it here’s the scoop in a nutshell.  Captain America comes down hard on a white supremacist group called Sons of the Serpent.  At the time of their beating they were in the process of apprehending a group of illegal aliens crossing the desert from Mexico to Arizona.

If you want to see a comprehensive report on what happened, along with political commentary, see this video from the MacIver Institute..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THg1kmxZk6M 

It seems that Disney/Marvel has started taking political sides.  Specifically, sides against specific candidates and specific views.  It wasn’t enough to just apprehend a group of ne’er-do-wells who were wrongly enforcing the law.  Marvel decided to make a political statement.  One they can’t take back.

Will the next issue have Captain America beating up workers at Planned Parenthood?  Perhaps Marvel can use Captain America to voice their views on Capital Punishment.  Maybe, in the not so distant future, they can release a Secret Wars spinoff called Political Wars!

What were they thinking?  They weren’t.

In an attempt to reach a “younger audience” Marvel has made some dramatic changes:

-They changed male characters to female and introduced them as “new characters”.

-They changed the race of some characters and introduced them as “new characters”.

-They put out a whole slew of new #1 issues for these “new characters”.

-Now, they have decided to take sides on the political front while openly mocking the other side.

So, it wasn’t just that race and gender weren’t important enough to develop actual “new characters”.  Now it looks like these “new” characters will also have political opinions.  It appears that the shortcut to Marvel increasing revenue was to reduce its creativity and succumb to political polls.

The saddest part?  They used a person with no superhuman abilities and a political opinion to replace someone who lost their superhuman abilities and represented the country’s opinion.

R.I.P. Captain America.  We’ll miss you.

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Marvel...Have You Lost Your Creativity or Is Diversity Ruining Marvel?

Sorry I haven’t written in awhile but I should be back on course now.  I’d like to address all of the MASSIVE changes in the Marvel Universe and why they are just a BAD idea.

If you are a reader of Secret Wars, or actually even if you aren’t, you had to have noticed the massive number of changes that are taking place with the characters.  Let’s give an ever so brief, but not all inclusive, listing:

Thor:  Formerly the incredibly massive male is now the not so surprising Jane Foster...female.

Wolverine:  Formerly the smarmy massive male soon to be revealed in a new series as....female.

Captain America:  Formerly the boy scout Steve Rogers is now a combination of Captain America, Falcon and a Tri-Athlete and....female.  Or is Captain America being played by The Falcon?  Will someone make up their mind please?

Hawkeye:  The cocky, but not surprisingly single, Green Arrow knockoff is going to have a sidekick....female.

Captain Marvel:  The former green and white Kree warrior, then the blond warrior with a star on his chest continues to be the blond haired bombshell in a skimpy leotard and....female.

Ms. Marvel:  Are there two of them now?  The former sex starved blond now the teenage brunette who reminds you it’s "Ms. Marvel", not "Miss Marvel",  has seemingly changed faces and age, or maybe not.

Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur:  Is now in a new upcoming comic as Moon GIRL and Devil Dinosaur.  So now we’re making sex changes retroactive to the beginning of time?

Before I go any further let me make myself clear....I AM NOT AGAINST FEMALE SUPER-HEROES OR, FOR THAT MATTER, FEMALES AT ALL!  I’ve been happily married to one for almost 30 years and she’s the love of my life.  She’s actually MY hero.

But, c’mon Marvel, really?  Have you truly run out of creative energy so much so that now you have to split the Marvel Universe down the middle and make half male and half female?  Why?  Why would you not create new heroes so that you aren’t just conceding that you need more females in your comics?  As a woman I’d be insulted.

I can picture the phone call that led up to this massive overhaul:

“Hello, Marvel Comics customer service, how may I make your day super?

Yes, hello ma’am, I’d be happy to discuss our character universe.

Um, yes ma’am, you’re right we have an unusually large male population and few females.  

Um...yes ma’am, we should have more females.  

Yes, ma’am, I know your angry.  

How about we do this, ma'am; we will convert 30% of the Marvel Universe to female to up the count?  

No, ma’am, you won’t be getting any unique characters of your own.  

No...we’re just going to convert males to females.

I realize that’s a cheap and unoriginal way to up the female count but it’s the best we can do.

Yes, ma’am, I agree, originality and creativity appears to have died here at Marvel.

Is there anything else I can do for you other than offering you a consolation prize?

Yes ma’am, I realize I haven’t really done anything for you.

OK, look for those changes soon.  Thanks for calling Marvel.”

Seriously, Marvel, you let Spider-Man develop in character and added a Spider-Woman with her own background.  That was great!

You introduced Spider-Gwen despite having a Spider-Man and Spider-Woman.  That was...well...great!

You then introduced Silk despite having Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, and Spider-Gwen.  Um...OK.

During all of that you introduced the Superior Spider-Man, Miles Morales as Spider-Man, the Scarlet Spider, clones aplenty, Spider Island and the Spider-verse.  That’s alot of spiders.

See?  It’s not just about women getting recycled superheroes in the Marvel Universe, it’s also about beating your main bread maker, Spider-Man, to death with dozens of reproductions.  It’s very Batman-esque.

Granted, you have had success with a number of those titles and are still having some success (despite some of them also now being in the bargain box).  But where do you go from here?  What future have you left for yourselves?  Instead of making gradual changes you are making sweeping, nonsensical changes, during your reboot.  Is Marvel now being run by DC executives?

My suggestion is to start to create some unique female super-heroes.  Heroes that haven’t been done before.  The same goes for African-American heroes, Hispanic heroes, etc.  Are they so low on your list that you can’t at least come up with an original thought for them?  Making The Falcon Captain America, Miles Morales Spider-Man,  Thor a female and bringing back Black Panther does not count as diversity, people.

Where is the creativity?

How about someone who is a master of any type of gun, bomb, etc.?   If they can touch it they can work it or defuse it.  But they can’t do anything if they can’t touch it.

How about a person who can find a way into or out of anything.  They can also find the weak spot in any type of structure or item.  Consider them a combination of Houdini and Karnak.

How about someone who can change the atomic weight or density of anything they touch?  Not themselves, just anything they touch.

What about someone who has an Aquaman type of ability on land in that they can summon and command earth’s creatures.  They can summon Ravens from 10 miles away, or ants that are under their feet.

We haven’t seen Crusher Creel in awhile, what about a superhero version of Crusher Creel with some small adaptations.  Perhaps their weakness is that their strength fluctuates based on their size.  Large is strong, small is weak?

My point is that if you want to balance out the diversity of the Marvel Universe why not do it the right way?  A female Wolverine, a female Thor, Moon Girl, hundreds of cloned spiders...none of it makes sense.  Wolverine will ALWAYS be associated with Logan, Thor will ALWAYS be associated with the massive male with golden hair, Devil Dinosaur will ALWAYS be associated with a Moon BOY.  You won’t change that association, it’s not the way psychology works...stop trying

Get creative Marvel, don’t insult people by “giving” them a character.


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