Sunday, May 3, 2015

First Picture Of The Suicide Squad and Deadshot in Full Costume!

Director David Ayer (Fury) just dropped the first official photo of the main cast of Suicide Squad. Take a gander at Task Force X...


6 Takeaways:

1. Deadshot, Harley Quinn, Boomer, and Rick Flagg all look great. Margot Robbie seems to poised to break out of this movie as the fan favorite character. Harley Quinn is gonna be everywhere when this flick comes out. She will be 2016's Groot.

2. If that is Killer Croc, it disappoints the shit out of me. I wanted a more mutant Croc (Like Jim Lee's in Hush or Arkham Asylum's) instead of the Brian Azzarello version from Joker from which this one is clearly inspired. My boy Adewale is behind the makeup though so that definitely makes me less upset. His take on the character should be cool to see.


3. Well hello there Katana! Didn't expect you to show up in this. Rumor was Karen Fukuhara was going to play Flash villainess, Plastique. Instead she is picking up the soul taker sword as Katana. Maybe this could help set up an adaptation of Green Arrow's Outsider War, where Katana was head of the sword clan. Maybe she is just gonna be there to kick ass and die. Whatever the reason it's just really cool and unexpected for this character show up.

4. Enchantress looks like a combination of the girl from The Ring and the Black Bride from Insidious. Somebody needs to clean that bitch up.

5. Love the nod to Belle Reve prison. With Arkham also confirmed, it sounds like we will be getting a tour of DC's most popular prisons. Can't wait for them to show up at Iron Heights.

6. The overall look is certainly different than I anticipated, but you know what I dig. They aren't meant to look clean cut and nice. They are supposed to look like people that would stab you then fuck your corpse in an alley. So I'm in.

Thanks for reading! What do you think of this look for the Suicide Squad? Do you love Harley Quinn? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow, Flash, and Daredevil reviews. Suicide Squad hits theaters August 2016.

P.S. Where the fuck is Killer Croc's hat?


UPDATE: Check out Will Smith's Deadshot in full costume.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Reranking The Marvel Cinematic Universe!

Marvel Studios has released 11 comic blockbusters since 2008. Iron Man kicked off their interconnected universe with a bang and comic book movies have never been the same since. So now that Marvel's biggest sequel yet Avengers: Age Of Ultron is tearing up theaters, the Informers decided to rank all 11 of the studios interconnected films. Let's get it going.

11. Iron Man 3 (2013)



Total garbage. The first Phase 2 movie takes Iron Man's greatest foe and turns him into a joke while placing Tony outside of his suit 98% of the run time. Shane Black and Drew Pearce successfully took Jon Faveru's Iron Man saga and turned it into shit.

10. Thor: The Dark World (2013)


2013 was not a good year for Marvel. After the debacle that is Iron Man 3, Thor got his sequel later in the year that wasn't that impressive. At this point if Loki wasn't in this franchise would anyone care? Malekith was absolutely forgettable along with Thor's crew of human sidekicks. Natalie Portman is really just picking up paychecks in these movies as Jane Foster. Less of her and more Lady Sif and the Warrior's Three for Thor Ragnorak, please.

9. Iron Man 2 (2010)


Love Mickey Rourke. Love Sam Rockwell. Just not in this movie. Neither villain really stands out or has an interesting plan. One could say the real villain could really be Tony's alcoholism. But despite all it's faults, RDJ and the addition of Don Cheadle as War Machine elevate this mediocre film to a decent one.

8. Thor (2011)


Not much to say here. Just an okay movie with some solid humor that helps set up the character for The Avengers. The Frost Giant battle is fun, but everything else comes off as alright.

7. The Incredible Hulk (2008)


Abomination vs. The Hulk is the main reason I placed this film at number seven. Ed Norton makes for a convincing Banner/Hulk while on the other hand Liv Tyler is a pretty crappy Betty Ross. Mark Ruffalo has done a commendable job picking up Banner from Norton left off, but after seeing Norton put on an acting clinic in Birdman recently, I would have loved to see what he would have done with the character had he continued to portray the Green Goliath.

6. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)


An interesting period piece about Steve Rogers and his transformation into this universe's first superhero Captain America. Loved the WW2 setting and Steve's motivations. What I didn't care for was a slow story that had a difficult time showing off Cap's abilities. If you used this film as a point of reference for Cap's superpowers you would have to assume his own ability is super leaping. He used his amazing shield the least in his opening appearance.

5. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)


Earth's Mightiest Heroes reunite for a second go around. This time against the evil AI Ultron. The same humor and action you loved from the first Avengers is here. Seriously they could make 20 movies just like this and I would love them all. In the MCU, I think there are 3 tiers in the hierarchy of the MCU. Those are Average, Good, and Great. I would say #11-9 are average, #8-6 are good, and here at #5 the great films begin. Which makes it hard to put this great film all the way down at 5, but with so many awesome films compromises needed to be made.

4. Iron Man (2008)


Single handedly kickstarted the Marvel Cinematic Universe and rejuvenated RDJ's career all at once. Iron Man is one of the most important superhero films of all time. Aided by RDJ's charm and Jon Farveru's slick visuals this movie presents an interesting origin for Tony Stark while creating a world that has allowed for all these incredible superhero films to exist. Also ACDC!

3. The Avengers (2012)


The Avengers is the first ever giant superhero team-up on film. The final 45 minute battle alone could secure it a high spot on this list, but The Avengers has more going for it besides it's action. Joss Whedon expertly weaves in the each team members' different dynamics as the team forms to take down the villainous Loki (played by the great Tom Hiddleston). Solid performances across the board and hilarious moments make this movie a must for a superhero fans.

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014)


When this film was initially announced, the general consensus was that this film would be Marvel's first real flop. Introducing five relatively unknown characters that include the likes of a talking raccoon and a tree sounded like a major risk at the time. Well, James Gunn proved all those people wrong and these five "losers" won the 2014 summer box office. GOTG is packed with humor + heart that just fit it's tone completely. Not to mention the best soundtrack in ages. Also Chris Pratt is the greatest.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)


Perfection. This film is an excellent adaption of a classic Captain America storyline that is great at infusing both drama and comedy. Directors the Russo brothers understand the Cap Universe and utilize the additions of Falcon as a sidekick, The Winter Soldier as an adversary, and Black Widow as Cap's moral foil propel this sequel way past it's predecessor. Best Marvel film period. Hail Hydra!



Thanks for reading! What's your favorite Marvel film? Which future movie are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow, Flash, and Daredevil reviews. You can also read my original rankings from August by clicking here.


P.S. These movies are dope and all, but Daredevil is the best thing Marvel has ever put out!

Avengers: Age Of Ultron Review

Earth's Mightiest Heroes are back on the big screen! Here is my review of the team's second outing with very mild spoilers. 


Description: Avengers: Age of Ultron, the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

High Points:

  • Excellent opening sequence. Very cool to see the team fully formed and going on raids together.
  • Hail Hydra! Everyone's favorite evil organization shows up just in time to get it's ass kicked.
  • Captain America is my favorite Avenger. Joss Whedon finds about 150 new ways to use Cap's shield in battle this time around. #TeamCap #FuckStark
  • Hawkeye gets some much deserved screentime in this flick. He was brainwashed for the majority of the first outing, so it was great to spend some time with Clint and see what makes him click.
  • Humorous throughout. One liners were being thrown all over this joint.
  • Well done action sequences throughout. 
  • Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen's accents are the funniest things ever.
  • Cool insight into Black Widow's past. Since last year's CA: TWS, Agent Romanoff has really opened up and become a captivating character in the MCU.
  • A little Andy Serkis never hurts! Neither does a little Wakanda.
  • Joss Whedon took those Man Of Steel criticisms about not protecting civilians to heart because the Avengers are going out of their way to protect every Tom, Dick, and Harry. Seeing heroes be heroic is never a bad thing.
  • Great performances throughout the cast. Each actor has really bonded with their character now that they have all had multiple outings.
  • The Vision's entrance was a bit awkward, but his payoff was pretty great.
  • Age Of Ultron feels like a global film. Action takes place all over the globe.
  • Fun to see the Avengers kick back and dick around. The whole party scene is a lot of fun. 
  • I dug the Black Widow/Hulk romance. Two different types of monsters that have come together.
  • The science bros reunited for some more (you guessed it!) science!
  • DAT CUT SCENE!
Be careful Natasha that shit is dangerous.
Low Points:

  • Ultron was an okay villain. James Spader was good acting as an almost pseudo-Tony Stark, but he never got the full focus he deserved. For starters we never saw how he came across his first full form. He just instantly had it and was off to the races. With so many characters I understand it is hard to balance all of them. The main villain should really stand out though and once again Ultron falls into the MCU's pantheon of under developed villains.
  • Thor's side quest was to further inform us more about the Infinity stones. Sometimes the connective universe has it's movies looking ahead instead of dealing with what in the present.
  • I understand that because Scarlet Witch had come into the fold that mind control was back in play, so I'm okay with seeing it as a big plot device again, but this has to be the last time we see it in an Avengers movie. I don't want every movie to have the team be at each others throat because they are psychically being inclined to. Especially with Civil War coming up, mind control should play no role whatsoever. Have it be a fight of ideologies.
  • The final fight scene was pretty anticlimactic. Yes a sacrifice was made, but defeating Ultron and his goons was pretty simplistic. Also because I asked for the end of mind control in the last bulletpoint, I'm also gonna ask for this to be the last the Avengers face a giant faceless army. For Infinity War, let's see them fight a different threat. Like the Masters of Evil or maybe a space brawl.
  • Enough with the Disney parallels. Ultron keeping signing Pinocchio. Banner and Ramanoff are supposed to be Beauty and the Beast. I get that Disney owns Marvel and that allows for this kinda stuff to happen, but there was enough of it that I have expected Steve Rogers to start singing "Be A Man" from Mulan in the final scene.

Didn't Scarlet Witch's powers look a lot like Poison Ivy's magic dust?

Verdict: Age of Ultron delivers on action and humor. Sometimes it can feel like mindless popcorn entertainment, yet it never reaches Transformers levels of mindless violence. Something is always at stake and you care about the people who are fighting.
         Ultron could have used a bit more focus and sometimes the building of the future of the MCU occasionally hurt it as a standalone film, but there is such more positive stuff going on that you really don't care. This movie did it's number one job: Kept me entertained for 2+ hours. The characters you have grown to know and love are all there taking names and kicking ass. What's not to like about that? Overall I'm giving Avengers: Age of Ultron a 8.0 out of 10. Fun movie and the first must see of the summer.

Thanks for reading! What did you think of Age Of Ultron? What future MCU movie are you most excited for?  Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow, Flash, and Daredevil reviews. Also make sure to look for my remodeled list of the best Marvel movies. Coming soon.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Arrow "Al Sah-Him" Review

Olive is gone and all that is left is Al Sah-Him in an all new Arrow.


Episode Description: Oliver (Stephen Amell) goes through a rigorous transformation. The League of Assassins sets their sights on Nyssa (guest star Katrina Law), who is back in Starling City training Laurel (Katie Cassidy). When Nyssa realizes they are coming, she arms up to face them alone but Laurel asks Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards) and Diggle (David Ramsey) to help protect her new friend.


High Points:
  • Montage! Brain Washing Montage!

  • This Ra's uses special herbs much like Liam Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul did in Batman Begins. 
  • HIVE and Damien Dark are being set up as baddies of Season 4. 
  • The old kill my daughter to assume her heirship trick. You are so wise, Mr. Al Ghul.
  • I would watch the Black Canary solo show! Yea I said it. Laurel's journey this season has been kickass.
  • Laurel and Nyssa bonded over milkshakes. This friendship is great for both characters arcs. Allows Laurel more training and allows Nyssa more screen time.
  • It's dinner with the Diggles!
  • Thea wants to step and be a vigilante. She should call Artemis about how to make a suit that is highly functional, but also rocks a serious mid drift.
  • Ollie be "Theatricality and deception. Powerful agents to the uninitiated, but we are initiated, aren't we Nyssa?"
  • Canary Cry!!!!!!!! Cisco my friend, you are a god!
  • It was interesting Dynamic to see Oliver be the bad guy. When he kidnapped Lyla, I half expected Dig + Felicity to stumble on a Dexter Season 4 finale situation. Maybe I'm just kinda fucked up like that. That sure would have been extreme for the CW.
  • Ollie took that arrow through the wrist like a champ. Shrugged it off like it was a bug bite.
  • IT'S THE GREEN WEDDING!! Ra's Al Ghul is putting on his best matchmaker outfit and marrying up Nyssa and Ollie. Reminds me of those awesome marriages that Tywin Lannister set up for his kids. And those have turned out so well! Sir Lauris is so in love with Cersi.
  • Ra's Al Ghul is finally doing Ra's Al Ghul things! Like releasing viruses upon cities.
May I suggest a song for the lovely couple's first dance


Low Points:
  • Don't tell Nyssa the bad news while there is still food on the table, Laurel! No need to waste burgers and fries.
  • If the League of Assassins' brainwashing techniques are so effective, why not just kidnap Oliver and force him to be "Al Sah-Him".
  • I want someone to make a super cut of the times in Season 3 that Felicity starts crying. It seems to be the only thing the writers make her do anymore.
  • Where do they set up these LoA meet up spots in Starling? Those torches are mighty bright for some random alley to conceal.
  • I get that Oliver "turning" bad is suppose to raise the stakes of the season, but kidnapping Lyla did not really bring any tension whatsoever. You knew Lyla wasn't gonna to die so what was the point?
  • The flashbacks finally came together with the main story by introducing the Alpha Omega virus in the present. Let me just say the juice was not worth the squeeze. Ra's could have pulled out any old virus and it wouldn't have mattered to me and still would have still gotten the job done. It was like Peter Parker attempting to discovery stuff about his parents in Amazing Spiderman 2. Nobody gave a shit.
  • Katana and Maseo's kid is dying! Didn't see that coming!
My face when Ra's ordered Nyssa to marry Ollie.


Verdict: Don't wanna sound like a shithead, but watching Arrow the day after The Flash is always a letdown. Greatness followed by mediocrity. Almost like watching Spiderman 2 every Tuesday then dying your hair black and letting the goth out to watch Spiderman 3 on Wednesdays. Now before anyone jumps on me and says that I just don't like the darker tone of this series, I would like to lunge to my own defense and say that's bullshit. I love dark and gritty. I eat dark content for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If Batman asked me out, I would say yes. I rock out to Evanescence. Daredevil is the number one show on my Netflix queue. I'm into that dark shit. So to say that I think The Flash is better because of it's lighter tone is simply not the case. The problems with this Arrow season all stem from one vile source: OLICITY!
          Yes the torrid love affair that has swept the CW by storm is at least partly responsible for the Emerald Archer's recent decline. Once again the weakest elements of this episode incorporated the romantic attachments of Felicity and Oliver. What makes Olcitity such a malevolent force is that it took a character that was once an independent + quick witted computer hacker down to being a weepy middle school girl. Wanna know the last time Felicity wasn't crying for an entire episode? It was on The Flash. There the old Felicity was allowed to flourish. Not here on Arrow though, she has been reduced to the annoying girlfriend role. 
          Anyway as the rest of "Al Sah-Him" is concerned, it was an intriguing notion to see Ollie as the bad guy of an episode. We have seen the Arrow save the day on countless occasions so to flip the script and have Ollie commit evil deeds was cool to see. What hurt this notion though was you knew that Ollie was not going to kill anyone, especially his best friend's wife. I buy the brainwashing, but the CW doesn't have the balls to pull the trigger on anyone on Arrow right now (Ex. from Season 3: Ollie, Roy, and Thea all died and came back), so the tension in the hour was almost non existent. That doesn't mean some cool new story lines weren't presented though. Ra's has tasked Ollie with unleashing the virus from his past, the Alpha Omega thing, upon Starling City. Now that is what the League of Assassins is best at. Taking down cities that need to be put down. Starling has had two massive terrorist attacks in the last two years, so one could imagine that besides it's connection to erasing Oliver Queen's past, that Starling would be a perfect target for the League anyway. 
          And if you thought tasking Ollie with taking out his hometown was a hard enough obstacle for our hero to overcome, our buddy Ra's wasn't finished yet. In a very Game of Thrines-esqe move, Ra's then ordered Ollie to marry his daughter Nyssa to bond their respective houses. Not only does Nyssa not want to marry Ollie, she doesn't even wanna marry a dude in general. So it's tough break for her. But say Ollie + Nyssa do get married and fall in love (that isn't gonna happen, but roll with me on this) thus subsequently destroying Felicity's heart. Maybe that would wake that bitch up. Then Felicity could move over to the new crossover series with her old beau, Ray Palmer, who she works much better with as a couple. Finally ending the plague that is Olicity.
          Now while I did my fair share of bitching, "Al Sah-Him" wasn't that bad of an episode. It had moments that really stood out (Like the Canary Cry!) so overall I'm giving it an 7.0 out of 10. 

Thanks for reading! Will Ollie ever really come back? Do you want Olicity to die a slow and painful death? Am I just a pessimistic asshole? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow, Flash, and Daredevil reviews. 
         
 P.S. Katie Cassidy, if you are reading, I'd get a milkshake with you anytime, anyplace, anywhere. :). Laurel is the best part of Arrow. #CanaryCry

Batman at Green Arrow's bachelor party

The Flash "The Trap" Review/Thoughts

On this week's episode of The Flash, the curious case of Harrison Wells is blown wide open and all the beating around the bush about his true identity comes to a screeching halt.


Episode Description: The S.T.A.R. labs gang develops a trap in an attempt to expose Dr. Well's connection to Nora Allen's murder. Meanwhile, Eddie meets resistance from Joe when he announces he plans to propose to Iris. 

High Points:

  • Finally getting some more details from that newspaper. (How and when the Flash disappeared, the author of the article, etc.)
  • "You are also The Flash. Founding member of..." -Gideon. (The Justice League? Gideon were you about to say the fucking Justice League??)
  • Very interesting piece of information that Barry created Gideon. Pieces are starting to fall into place and make sense on the current end of the time stream, but there is still so much about the future Eobard came from that we don't know
  • Wind funnel arms! Another classic Flash move in the repertoire. Now we just need to see some helicopter action:
I expect to see Barry flying alongside Firestorm and Atom by season 2
  • The inner struggle that Barry is having with accepting Wells as a mentor but also knowing his true motives was very palpable in tonight's episode
  • Cisco's dream sequence was cool, even if it was just a reiteration of what happened in the "Out of Time" episode.
  • Joe's flashback to the hospital really captured the "deal with the devil" vibe between him and Wells
  • The S.T.A.R. Labs team had a pretty solid trap planned out, but Harrison Well's trap was just a little bit better. They all must subscribe to Traps Illustrated
The authority on modern trap-setting
  • Eddie: "So this has all been about me?" Eobard: "Not a chance". Has nothing to do with anything but it brought a smile to my face
  • Harrison's flashback to an unconscious Barry was really interesting. We got a real taste of what their dynamic was like before Eobard got stuck in the past but there was still a lot left ominously unanswered. Even when his identity is completely out of the shadows, Eobard Thawne still proves to be a very enigmatic villain.
Low Points: 
  • For an honest cop just trying to make the city a better place, Joe really sticks to his "put 2 in the chest" method of police work. 
  • I am not buying Iris's realization at the end of the episode. That electric shock doesn't seem like viable grounds to make a connection between Barry and The Flash. I get static shocks touching people and things all the goddamn time and you don't see me jumping to conclusions. I mean Barry even said he would bring Eddie back, which was almost identical to what he said to Iris about Joe in the alternate timeline. They could have easily done a weird timeline flashback thing there and I would have readily bought it over the electric shock thing
  • As funny as I thought Eddie and Eobard's exchange was, I am still waiting on how Eddie truly plays into all this..
Verdict: The Flash is roaring down the homestretch for this season and we are still learning things about Eobard Thawne. Up until now the focus has been entirely on trying to figure out who Harrison Wells really is. Now that we know the answer, the question has shifted to what is the story with Eobard Thawne? Tonight we got some hints both from the opening and the closing sequences. We know that Gideon really belongs to a future Barry Allen and somehow came to fall into the hands of Thawne. We also know that in the future, Thawne and Allen have squared off a number of times and that The Flash disappeared in 2024 during a battle in the streets with Thawne. Likely that is when the two traveled back in time. We also saw Thawne find it ironic that he ended up being the one to create The Flash this time, which means originally Barry didn't become the Flash until 2020, when the real Harrison Wells originally created the particle accelerator. So we are slowly getting details to form the entire story of The Flash's and Thawne's complicated relationship but there is still a lot to be answered in the coming weeks. On a semi-related side note, we also learned that The Flash was a founding member of something by the year 2024. Now I am not going to say we should expect a fully formed Justice League by season 9, but I am going to pray for it every single night for the rest of my days and hope a miracle happens. 

CW's The Super Seven. I'd watch

                Tonight we also learned that not only is there still more to learn about Eobard Thawne, but that he is a formidable opponent in more ways than just being a faster version of The Flash. It turns out that he made sure that he was aware of everything going on with everybody from the very beginning, and his counter-trap using Everyman as a ploy was a clever ruse that caught me completely off-guard. Which means that yes, for the briefest of moments I was actually starting to think that all this build-up ended with Joe dropping the Reverse Flash like a hat and calling it a night. Luckily we have a villain on our hands who is as calculating as he is fast, which makes me even more excited to see how these next few episodes play out. Besides the opening scene and the last handful of minutes of the episode though there was not too much to talk about. Cisco's dream sequence was cool but it was literally just a recap of things we the viewers already knew. Couple that with some out of place Eddie-Iris-Barry love triangle action and you got a good chunk of tonight's episode. I am also still waiting on Eddie's purpose to shine through. Wells said he took him as "insurance", so what does that mean? Does he want to keep Eddie safe because he needs the Thawne bloodline to live on in order to eventually be born? Do you think the S.T.A.R. Labs crew will reach this realization and send Joe in to put two in the back of Eddie's head? Seems a bit out of character for all or any of them but hell who knows. Drastic times am I right? This long-awaited Wells confrontation episode scores an 8.0 out of 10.



Thanks for reading the review! What do you think will happen in these last few episodes? What is your opinion on Iris's choice to hyphenate? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check back regularly for more reviews, articles, and news about your favorite comic book characters. The Flash returns same time next week with "Grodd Lives".

Friday, April 24, 2015

First Look at Jared Leto's Joker!

Suicide Squad director David Ayer (Fury) just dropped a bombshell just for Mr. J's special 75th anniversary. Here is our first look at Jared Leto's Joker. 



Holy shit! That sure is different. Reminds me of Frank Miller's All Batman and Robin Joker (Which isn't really a good thing because Frank Miller has really lost his fastball). I dig the tattoos for sure, but I'm gonna have to see him in action before I judge the new look. For now I will say like it, don't love it.

Yellow Teeth > Grillz
This makes me wonder though, what will Harley gonna look like? Because of the way her pudding' looks here I'm guessing more of an Arkham City style rather than her classic BTAS threads. At the end of the day though, who really cares what Harley is wearing. All that matter is that Margot Robbie is playing her.


Thanks for reading! Are you pumped for tattooed Joker? Do you want a grill? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers or me @cstrand73. And make sure to tune in for our weekly Arrow, Flash, and Daredevil reviews. Suicide Squad hits theaters August 2016.

P.S. Lil' Jon approves!

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Arrow "The Fallen" Thoughts and Review!

Things in Ollies world come crashing down when we find Thea in the hospital, we take another fun trip to Nanda Parbat, and learn even more about the mystic waters there within.




Episode Description:
Ra's al Ghul finally makes Oliver an offer he can't refuse. The team joins Oliver on his journey to Nanda Parbat where a heartbroken Felicity decides to take matters into her own hands.


"Who let that chick piss in my Laz Pit"-Jason Todd



High Points:
  • Although it was a total steal from the Batman story line, I enjoyed the fact that the Lazerus Pits have been heard to have the same effects in the DC TV series as they do in the animated/comic world.
  • It was good to see Oliver show some emotion finally on this show. He's been so stone walled, emotionless for too long and it's nice to know he's still human inside
  • When Team Arrow arrives in Nanda Parbat, they are met by what looks like the entire league and it looked awesome. Almost like something out of Lord of the Rings on a much smaller scale
  • Big Daddy Dig coming in strong calling out not just Maseo, but the whole league calling them cowards, and a bunch of pansies running away all the time. Dig doing big things each week
  • The resurrection scene was pretty awesome. The anticipation was definitely felt because I could feel it. Only little down side I will post in "Low Points"
  • The sex scene happened, couple episodes late but over and done with
  • I think Arrow heard my claims of the flash back scenes being lackluster all season, they were much better tonight, and a lot more fun to watch
  • Team Arrow ft Maseo fight was a pretty awesome fight scene, including Ollie recognizing himself as the air to the Demon's Head commanding the league
  • How awesome did Ollie look in the League uni tonight at the end of the episode? Looked like the first time Jerome Iginla put on a Boston Bruins jersey for a year.

Watching the Olicity sex scene like....


Low Points:
  • The entire episode was one giant Olicity show. I really hope they did that so we have no more moments between them. It's quite honestly the worst part of this show.
  • Speaking of Felicity, what the hell in her mind tells her its ok to drug a guy after sex or tell the Demons Head he's out of his mind? If you ask me thats probably two of the biggest no no's I can think of
  • Very slow episode all together. I understand it was focused around the Lazerus Pits and Nanda Parbat, I just feel they could have put this in another episode, and now by itself. 
  • The Lazerus Pit scene was extremely short, and Thea turning demon/confused teenager was quite strange. 

I can only imagine Maseo felt like this after letting Team Arrow escaped.


Verdict: Tonight's episode as we all knew going in was going to be all about Nanda Parbot and the Lazerus Pits. Here's what I thought they did wrong about with this episode. They built so much hype around a matter of two minutes. I thought it was much too short, and not exactly what you wanted to see after all the hype. Also, I would have liked to have scene some more detail on Thea's part in the pits.Its like one moment she's in and in a blink of an eye shes in a bed resting completely fine. Hopefully the side effects of the pits show up in remaining episodes and she starts losing it. Could be a very cool aspect to the story line. Another point I want to touch on is the Olicity moment that everyone has been waiting for finally happened tonight. Now I don't hate it, I thought it was much overdue and needed. I just hope that now that its off the chest of the writers, they can focus on what made this show so great in the first place. Briefly commenting on the flash backs this week, I thought they were much better and I'm anxious to see what happens now that the alpha-omega bioweapon has been released into the streets. Now we come to the point everyone will be talking about. Oliver Queen aka Al Sah-Him aka air to the Demon. I have to say, I'm ok with this decision and what direction Oliver's story will go in. I thought he looked awesome in the League uniform, and I think this means we will see him in full fledge action mode these next few eps. Only question is where does this leave Team Arrow. From the short promo of next week's episode and an educated guess, I can only assume there will be some sort of show down that will eventually bring Ollie back to Staring. Another thing to think about in these last few weeks of Arrow, is Ollie just "playing" the role until he can find a way back out of the league? It's something to think about because once Ras is gone and/or killed (if this should happen) Ollie is in control of his own destiny. It's a long shot but should be fun to watch as things unfold in the final weeks. 
All in all I give tonights episode a solid 7.0 out of 10!


Thanks for reading! What do you guys think is next for team arrow? Will there be a show down between them and the league? Will Oliver eventually make his way back to Starling City, or will he be consumed by the league? Let us know what you guys think by commenting below or sending us a tweet @Caped_Informers or @O_doyleRULES11.
Tune in next week for "Al Sah-Him"

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The Flash "Who Is Harrison Wells?" Review/Thoughts

The focus of the S.T.A.R. Labs crew shifts to figuring out who Harrison Wells is this week and we get a bonus trip to Starling City as well as a crafty shapeshifter terrorizing Central City. An interesting mix for an interesting episode.


Episode Description: Barry works on stopping a metahuman named Hannibal Bates, a.k.a. Everyman, who is a shapeshifter who commits crimes by taking the forms of innocent people. Meanwhile, Joe and Cisco travel to Starling City to investigate the car crash that killed Dr. Well's fiancee.

High Points:

  • Start the episode off with a quick zip over to Coast City for some pizza (Coast City is the home of Hal Jordan. Potential foreshadowing?)
  • I really enjoy how the Flash/Arrow cast crossovers are becoming more and more of a casual event that everyone can get in on. 
  • Cisco's fan-girling over Black Canary was an entertaining addition to the episode plus his role in working on Sarah's sound bombs was exciting for two reasons: 1) At long last we will get The Canary Cry! and 2) Another glimpse of Cisco proving his Vibe-like mastery of sound wave technology
  • Everyman may have just been another "villain-of-the-week" type, but his shapeshifting escapades were both tricky and entertaining at times, making him a slightly better character than other villains that have come and gone on this show.
  • I enjoyed the fight between The Flash and Everyman. Granted it was completely one-sided but we don't see Barry pull out the high-speed punches too often and he was all about that approach tonight. 
  • Every time the Flash's heroism gets recognition from the Central City Police I get excited for the future grand opening of The Flash Museum (It's gunna happen)
  • I found the scene between Harrison Wells and Joe to be interesting. I may be reading into it way too much but Harrison mentions both checking in on Eddie (his "distant relation") and then ominously brings up Joe's wife, a character who has not been mentioned or alluded to at all this whole show. Could have all just been fluff, but I'm willing to bet there was more to that exchange than meets the eye
  • The discovery of the real Harrison Wells by Joe and Cisco!
  • The discovery of Eobard Thawne's secret room in S.T.A.R. Labs by Cisco, Caitlin and Barry!!
  • The discovery of the newspaper headline from the future by Barry!!!
The original Daredevil suit was partially yellow...Coincidence?

Low Points:
  • I wasn't feeling the floating liquid thing this time. I get that it happens when certain shit is going down like when time barriers are broken and when the particle accelerator exploded but it seemed out of place in this context. I get that there were tachyons on the scene but they were literally just digging up a body on the side of the road. Didn't seem overly floating-coffee worthy..
  • Could Barry really not have put 1 and 2 together when "Eddie" came to the door? For a brilliant scientist he suffers from some pretty massive lapses in judgement from time to time..
  • I am a bit lost on what to think about Eddie these days. Ever since we found out that he is not the Reverse Flash but rather a distant relative of Eobard Thawne, I have been curious to see how he plays into the story. There seems to be moments of cooperation and potential friendship between him and Barry but there is also definitely tension between the two characters as well. Hopefully Eddie will pan out into something more consistent than this on-the-fence frenemies bullshit that is going on right now so I can finally establish a solid opinion on this guy.
Verdict: The S.T.A.R. Labs team split up this week to cover more ground as Cisco and Joe went to Starling to do some investigating while Barry and Eddie hung back in Central City to deal with a shapeshifting problem. I for one am a big fan of relaxed the crossovers between the two shows have become. Don't get me wrong, it is always fun when The Flash has to team up with Ollie or Ray to take down an evil that is too much to handle alone, but it is also great to see that Joe can swing by the Starling City police department, get some help from Quentin Lance and then offer up some family advice in exchange. Is it as thrilling as watching Ollie and Barry fight Captain Boomerang? Not really. But does it show a deeper level of connectedness between the two shows than just the guys in the suits teaming up? Hell yes. Plus it allows for each show to draw solutions to their respective problems from each other. Example: We have a Black Canary running around Starling City without the "Canary Cry". So we could either beat around the bush about that unforgivable fact in Starling City for a few more seasons, or we could get Cisco Ramon on the case to do what he does best: weaponize the shit out of things. Joe West, a true family man, needs an inside look at the crash site in Starling City where Tess died and Officer Lance has been struggling with familial issues for the entire back-half of this season. Why not get them together and have them scratch each others backs? It's a universe building business we subscribe to when we tune in to these shows nowadays, and I am very fond of the idea that it can be built in ways both big and small. 
                  On the Central City front this week we got Barry and Eddie teaming up to find a metahuman that can take on the form of people he touches. They really decided to stay on a family-friendly path with this villain because much like his namesake implies, the original Everyman was able to shape-shift into people only after he ate a part of them. I guess the The Flash just didn't think their audience was ready for full-blown cannibalism in an otherwise light-hearted show. Plus you can't really have a no-namer like Everyman come in swinging darker and grittier shit around than some of the headliner villains have on this show. 

"The Reverse Flash doesn't eat his victims? What a bitch" -Everyman

However I wasn't bothered by that choice. Everyman ended up being a pretty decent villain of the week who was both clever in his shape shifting game (the "help I'm a kidnapped child" card works every time) and entertaining  in his attempts to portray the people he was imitating. I respected his acting choice to play Barry Allen as aloof yet sexually aggressive as well as his shoot-first, never ask questions take on Eddie Thawne. It's that type of brass-balled method acting I like to see from my villainous thespians. I also liked the growing tension between Caitlin and Barry over the episode. We discussed last week that Caitlin didn't seem very comfortable in siding with Barry and Cisco over Wells and this week only added to that claim. However, she was there when they wheeled in the body of the real Wells and she did see Eobard's man-cave for herself so I find it difficult to believe she will continue to side against Barry. So perhaps this is not the beginning of the Killer Frost transformation we had hoped it was. However, with so much else going on in this show right now with The Reverse Flash at large, and Gorilla Grodd prowling the sewers, and Firestorm off learning how to be Firestorm, there is plenty to keep us occupied until that transformation naturally flows into the story arch. Until then, the stage is set for these last handful of episodes this season. Barry's hunch about Dr. Wells is now a straight-up fact and he saw the newspaper headline forewarning his future disappearance. I suggest we all buckle down and prepare for some time-traveling, tension breaking, speedster style action heading our way in the next few weeks. As for this week, the Flash gets an 8.0 out of 10.


Thanks for reading the review! Do you think there is a chance Caitlin could still side with Wells? Do you think you personally could have handled graphic, on-screen cannibalism in a CW show? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Be sure to check back regularly for more comics news, articles and reviews. The Flash returns same time next week with "The Trap".