Arrow "Nanda Parbat" Review!

Ollie and Dig take a field trip to Ras's hide out, Ray Palmer gets laid, and Nyssa Ah Gul attempts to slay another one of the Lance sisters (and I don't mean kill). (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: Ra's al Ghul captures Malcolm and takes him to Nanda Parbat; Ray obsesses over finishing his Atom suit, but Felicity tries to get him out of the lab to prevent him from going down the wrong path.

High Points:

• Really enjoyed the training scene between Ollie, Thea, and Malcom. It really showed in a quick instant what great fighters the three are. (As if we already didn't know!)

• Welcome back Mr. Palmer!

• Laurel Lance really has done a complete 180 in this show. She is such a better character then she has been in the past. Her burning Ollie was my favorite line of the night.

• Malcom Merlyn took Laurel down with both hands behind his back. Laurel was ballsy to take on someone so well trained.

• The flash back scenes were much better this week.The gun fight took raised the stakes in the past and once again showed how big of a bitch Amanda Waller is.

• Ra's mentions being around in the 1800's again. Thus again confirming the existence of Lazarus Pit.

• Big Daddy Dig and Ollie took on the leagues guards in military-like fashion. I can't remember the last time we saw Dig in action so it was really fun and enjoyable to watch. 

• THE ATOM SUIT IS ACTION READY!

• Roy Palmer got laid...

• When Diggle and Ollie get captured, Diggle talks about the war and how soldiers need to keep the "I will be going home mentality". This was a true testament to Dig's character and how he is always the one to show valor and courage when all else seems to fail. 

• Boba Fett dolls make up for all wrong doing. Nice gift, Roy!

Want some ice for that burn, Ollie?

Low Points:

• Sometimes Arrow goes overboard with the melodramatic then it really should. I get it there are a lot of family matters on this show but this isn't Full House. 

• Felicity. I mean my god she gets worse and worse every week. Just showing up ruining peoples day, locking people out of computers. She's like the younger sister that gets mad and goes in your room and fucks everything up. What a poo poo character she has become.

• The conflict between Team Arrow and The League of Assassins could be better. Perhaps a harsher conflict like say Ollie accidentally killed Nyssa, or something like that. 

• By offering Ollie the chance to be the next Demon's Head, Arrow is essentially stealing Batman's storyline. Batman was supposed to be the next Ra's Ah Gul. Not Green Arrow. Now it will be interesting to see how this plays out in the Arrow world, but this is a low point because as Christian and I discussed they could have come up with something original and just as cool. This show hurts itself when it tries to become Batman-Lite. Green Arrow is his own character. I'm sure they could have done something differently.

• When the ATOM suit finally turned on, I wanted to see it shrink not fly around. So little has been seen of the suit so I don't want to pass judgements just yet, but I hope the writers don't turn Ray into an Iron Man ripoff.

Watch Arrow at 8pm on Wednesdays on the CW

Verdict: As predicted this week was an improvement. After coming off of a slow episode last week, Arrow needed this one. I feel like tonights episode spoke a huge amount of how tense it is to be on Team Arrow right now. Everyone is angry and upset. In particular, Laurel has a legitimate gripe with Oliver once again because of his lie about who actually killed Sara. She goes on to tell Ollie she can't remember a time she ever loved him. Now if your a man and you hear that from a previous lover/girlfriend, you just bought yourself a first class ticket to the doghouse. In the end though even with all the Malcom Merlyn shit going on, we still see how this team stands for and cares for one another. Especially Diggle. He is the heart of the show. Mostly he has been used as the father figure of Team Arrow this season, which is cool and everything, but tonight we saw the old Dig. The badass American Soldier Dig that everyone has missed. Him and Ollie make such a good duo, and ya they got trapped, but taking down the league isn't the easiest thing in the world to do. (But Felicity is! O, burn!!!!) 
          Now on to Ray Palmer. Finally he returns to the show and as a bonus we got a taste of his new A.T.O.M suit. Compared to Ollie's night, Ray made out like a bandit. Got a little nookie, then perfected his super suit for a quick test drive. But seriously that character has been missed and it was a great way for him to return.
          Lastly this brings me to the ending. Ra's wants Ollie to be his predecessor, and for both Ollie and Dig to walk out of Nana Parbat alive. The question is what will Ollie say? Will there still be a Team Arrow if he says yes? Will we see Lazarus Pit in the near future?!?! Guess we will have to wait and see. The one downside to the storyline though is that is has been done already with Batman. Green Arrow is his own character and should have his own stories to be told with Ra's.

Anyway I want to give tonights episode a solid 7.5 out of 10! Mostly cause Ray Palmer is awesome.

Ray Palmer's theme song

Thanks for reading! What do you guys think of Ollie becoming the next Demon's Head? Let us know in the comments or tweet at us @Caped_Informers. And make sure to tune in next week for "The Offer". 

The Results For The 2nd Annual Capeys: Movies

The 2nd Annual Capey Awards: Movies

The votes have been cast, the points have been tallied, and the winners have been chosen. Welcome to the results to the 2nd annual Capey Awards. Your favorite Caped Informers got together and decided what was the best of the best in Superhero films in 2014. Well, Jabba looks excited let's get started!

Did someone say the Capey Awards?

Comic Movie of The Year
Amazing Spiderman 2
Captain America: The Winter Solider
Guardians of The Galaxy
TMNT
X-Men: Days Of Future Past

Winner: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier only beat out Guardians of the Galaxy by a single vote.  So in short you could say it was a great year for Marvel Studios. Both their films were both critical and box office successes, but we gave the edge to the Captain. His 70's esque political thriller was riveting. It also helps that it had Scarlet Johansson. Never hurts to throw in a little Scarjo

Best Sci-Fi Movie of The Year
Dawn of The Planet of The Apes
Edge of Tomorrow (Live, Die, Repeat)
Godzilla
Interstellar
Snowpiercer

Winner: Dawn Of The Planet Of the Apes

This was another tough race. All five movies were excellent sci-fi, but at the end of the day we choose Dawn. The apes may have been the most compelling characters in cinema in this year. It's truly amazing how great the reboot to the classics have been.

Best Lead Hero
Captain America (Chris Evans)
Spiderman (Andrew Garfield)
Star Lord (Chris Pratt)
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)
Caesar (Andy Serkis)

Winner: Captain America (Chris Evans)

No other hero has had as big of a character arc as Captain America has in his 3 movie appearances. He has gone from a government lap dog to full on rebel.

Best Supporting Hero
Black Widow (Scar Jo)
Falcon (Anthony Mackie)
Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper)
Professor X (James McAvoy)
Groot (Vin Disel)

Winner: Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper)

Rocket and Groot burst into the mainstream this year. It was another close race here. In the end thought the raccoon edged out the tree because of his brilliant prison escape.

Best Villain
The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)
Ronan (Lee Pace)
HYDRA
Magneto (Michael Fassbender)
Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford)

Winner: HYDRA

HYDRA is that evil organization that you just can't help but love. HAIL HYDRA!



The Grab Bag Award
Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone)
Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence)
Quicksilver (Evan Peters)
Drax (Bautista)
Gamora (Zoe Saldana)

Winner: Quicksilver (Evan Peters)

For having easily the coolest sequence this year, Qucicksilver gets the Capey!

Best Director
Russo Bros. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
James Gunn (Guardians of Galaxy)
Brian Singer (X-Men: DOFP)
Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes)
Chris Nolan (Interstellar)


Winner: Russo Bros. (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)

The Russo Bros. came in and took over a character that had been under-appreciated within the MCU and turned him into a star.


Best Movie Fight
Cap 2 Fighting WS on the Highway
TMNT vs. Shredder
GOTG Prison Break
X-Men Against Future Sentinels
Spidey vs. Gobby

Winner: Cap 2 Fighting WS on the Highway

Esquite knife work

Funniest Movie Scene
Quicksilver Saves the Day
Groot Murder a Few Guys
Drax Steals a Dude's Knife
Rocket Needs that Guy's Leg
Captain America Goes to the Apple Store

Winner: Rocket Needs that Guy's Leg

Best Elevator Scene
Professor X Punching Magneto
Gwen Stacy Meeting Max Dillon/Harry Osborn
Cap Critically Injures 15 Guys
The Turtles Jam session on the elevator

Winner: Cap Critically Injures 15 Guys

2014 was truly the year of the elevator. Whether it was Gwen Stacy conveniently meeting both bad guys from Amazing Spiderman 2 or Cap beating the piss out of HYDRA agents, everything was happening on an elevator. Even in real life, shit was going down in elevators. Solange beat the shit of Jay-Z. Then Ray Rice struck his wife like the piece of shit Raven he is. Was just a crazy year behind those closed doors.

Worst Movie Villain (The Aldrin Killan Award)
Electro
Ronan
The Rhino
Green Goblin
The Shredder

Winner: Electro

Best Buds!

I have shat on Electro countless times before, so I won't do it again here. I would like to instead thank Marc Webb for providing 3 villains for this list. Great job buddy, keep up the good work. You made Aldrin Killan proud by filling out this category.

Biggest Disappointment
Amazing Spiderman 2
TMNT
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

Winner: The Amazing Spiderman 2

Wouldn't exactly call it his greatest...

Another thank you for TASM 2, for being so bad that Sony had to run to Marvel for help. Though it is a shame you wasted Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone's talents.

You Need To Be Replaced Award
Marc Webb (Director of TASM 2)
Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec (Writers of TMNT)

Jonathan Liebesman (Director TMNT)

Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach (Producers of TASM 2)

Megan Fox (Actress in TMNT)

Winner: Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach (Producers of TASM 2)

Immediately after I wrote these nominations these two dumbasses were demoted. #IMadeItHappen #NotReally

Best Sexually Charged Moment

Hipster Cap and Black Widow make out on an escalator

Peter stalks Gwen as Spiderman

Gamora does not succumb to Star Lord's pelvic sorcery

Wolverine's ass shot

Winner: Wolverine's ass shot

Last year, Hugh Jackman took home the Capey for best lead hero. This year he takes home the Capey for best ass. His wife must be proud.

Best Animated Movie

Justice League: War

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis

Batman: Assault on Arkham

Son of Batman

Lego Movie

Winner: Batman: Assault on Arkham

Any movie that gratuitous violence, sex, and Batman is an automatic winner. Sorry, Lego Movie. You got snubbed at the Oscars and at the Capeys.

Best Movie Trailer/Teaser

Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Guardians of The Galaxy

Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

Ant-Man

Winner: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

88 seconds of pure bliss. December cannot get here fast enough!

Thanks for reading and congratulations to all the winners! What was your favorite movie last year? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers or @cstrand73. Be sure to check back regularly for more show/movie reviews and editorials regarding the comic book universe. The Capeys TV winners will be posted later this week!

Zack Snyder Releases the First Picture Of Aquaman!

Just under an hour ago Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice director Zack Snyder released the first official image of Jason Mamoa's Aquaman via Twitter. Check it out!

I think he looks fantastic. He is absolutely rocking that beautiful armor and amazing trident. And don't forget about his Atlantian symbol on his belt.

As for "Unite the Seven" it could mean either unite all seven members of the Justice League or it could mean unite the seven seas. Personally I think (more like hope) we are going to get a series of these photos each featuring a new member of the Justice League until Batman V Superman is released. But holy shit just seeing Aquaman is exciting. What do all those naysayers think now? #UniteTheSeven!

You the man, Zack Snyder!

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice hits theaters March 25th, 2016.

What Marvel's Spiderman Needs To Do

6 Things That The Spectacular Spiderman Needs To Do

Spiderman is swinging his way into the MCU. I still get excited every time I write it. After an introduction in Captain America: Civil War, the Web Head will be getting a new solo film in 2017. So I prematurely determined that film should be titled The Spectacular Spiderman and came up with a list of some things that Marvel Studios' take on the character should include. Enjoy!

1. Keep Peter Parker/ Do Not Retell His Origin Story!

Ever since Marvel + Sony's announced their team-up, the name Miles Morales has been tossed around quite a bit. Some people are tired of Peter Parker's tale. Instead they want a different character as Spiderman. Miles is of course the Spiderman from Marvel comics' Ultimate verse. He was introduced back in 2011 and picked up the mantle of Spiderman after Ultimate-verse's Peter Parker's death. The real plus to Miles is that he would bring some much needed diversity to the Avenger's roster with his half African American half Puerto Rican heritage. 

Now while I agree that bringing in Miles as Spiderman does have it's positives, I still believe that Peter Parker should remain the cinematic Spiderman for now. Fans have wanted to see Spiderman chill with his fellow Avengers for some time now and having Miles being there instead of Peter just would not be the same. I wanna see Peter exchange quips with Iron Man and receive guidance from Captain America. He is the original Spidey and with Marvel finally getting to use the character in it's universe, I just don't see them not using Peter Parker.

Now in the future I am 100% onboard with bringing Miles in as a replacement. Marvel Studios wants these films to run for as long as possible, so when the time is right Miles can take on the mantle of Spidey and carry the franchise into a new era.

But until then, if Peter is involved keep his origin story out of it. Peter gets bit. Uncle Ben gets killed. Powers + Responsibility. We get it. We don't need to see it again a third time. The Amazing Spiderman had Ben die because Peter wanted chocolate milk. There is just no coming back from that. Do what The Incredible Hulk did and tell Peter's origins in the opening credits. Of course the film can allude back to Uncle's Ben murder and Peter getting his powers when needed, but just start the film with Peter having been Spidey for a little while. 

2. Introduce New Villains

The Amazing Spiderman did a poor job of utilizing Spiderman's rogues gallery. Which is surprising because besides maybe Batman, the Web slinger has the best cast of baddies in comics. Which brings us to Electro. No one's favorite villain is Electro. Stan Lee and Steve Ditko don't even like him. That is until The Amazing Spiderman 2 director Marc Webb claimed that he loved the character. Then he turned Electro into a caricature and absolute joke of a main villain. Now if that's how Marc treats the things he loves, I sure wouldn't want to be his Valentine. So for the new films let's focus on villains people actually like and have set backstories, not a guy who looks like Mr. Freeze's ballsack and acts like Jim Carrey's Riddler.

Truer words have never been spoken

Several high profile Spidey villains have yet to have a big screen adaption. Electro was picked over greats like Kraven, Mysterio, Vulture, Kingpin, and Scorpion. Marvel won't make that same mistake. They will pick one that fans have been clamoring for because if the MCU needs one thing, it's better bad guys. Besides Loki and hopefully Ultron, the MCU villains have been very underdeveloped and underwhelming. Showcasing Spidey's kickass rogues will definitely help aid that nagging problem.

Although I do have one caveat. Hold on off on using the Green Goblin for now. He has been depicted on screen twice now and the last time Marc Webb gave him fucking meth mouth. Pennsatucky from Orange Is The New Black has a better smile than that ugly bastard. Now this is in no way saying that the characters Norman + Harry Osborn should not be used at all, but what I'm saying is if they are used set them up for a couple of movies before suit up one of them up in the halloween costume. 

3. Get An Experienced Director(s)

No more Marc Webbs. The guy was inexperienced with action movies and large budgets. He did excel in romantic moments, but if you look at #6 I say this next reboot needs less of that shit. So who should Marvel + Sony turn to for directing this bad boy?

The obvious choices are Chris Miller + Phil Lord. They dominated the action comedy genre last year by directing both The Lego Movie and 22 Jump St. The duo has worked with a large budget and are comfortable with both action + comedy. Plus they have worked with Sony before and the last time Marvel hired a duo comedy director team, the Russo brothers, they got the best Marvel solo film since Iron Man. Miller + Lord are a perfect choice to steer this franchise back in the right direction.

I need Peter Parker doing some Slam Poetry in my life

4. Find A Consistent Tone By Telling Cohesive One Story

Besides it's laughable baddies, the biggest problem with The Amazing Spiderman was that it spun too many damn plates. The movie had more story-lines than an episode of Game Of Thrones except that almost half of them didn't even matter to the plot. Truthfully there was just too much going on to care about anything. Important parts of Peter Parker's character like working for the Daily Bugle or going to college were glossed over in favor of showing us  Aunt May become a nurse. Peter is your main character. Never forget that. Don't just throw Peter into a mishmash of random studio ideas.

But by far the least interesting component of the mishmash that was The Amazing Spiderman films was the backstory to Peter Parker's parents. It was a story that had an obvious conclusion (except for the random subway laboratory) with little payoff. No one cares about Peter Parker's parents. We care about how Peter lost his Uncle because he didn't do what was right. He will carry the weight of Ben's loss with him for his entire life. No need to bring his deadbeat parents into the equation as well.

My point is that there is no need to drudge up Spiderman's past anymore. The comic fans know it. The general audience knows it. It is time to move forward with the character instead of constantly linking his stories to his past. The last two movies to really focus in on Peter's past were Spiderman 3 that linked Sandman back to Uncle Ben's death for no reason and The Amazing Spiderman 2 that focused (well they didn't really focus on anything) on Peter's shithead parents. Let's leave the past in the past and move forward with Spidey.

One final note for Sony. Do not try to set up any fucking spin offs. This comment is directed at Sony because they are still obsessed with making a Sinister Six film still even after making a deal with Marvel that squashed their original plans. Instead focus on the franchise at hand. This is your last shot. You can't reboot Spiderman again if this fails (at least not for a while anyway). So listen to Marvel and don't give us anymore of this Oscorp created every single bad guy ever nonsense. 

5. Focus Less on Love Interests

Emma Stone's Gwen Stacy was a high point of the recent Spidey flicks. Kristen Dunst's Mary Jane Watson on the other hand was one of the worst parts of the original trilogy. So whether its Gwen, MJ, Felicia Hardy, or his fucking left hand let's have less focus on Spiderman's love life for at least one movie. 

Look at great superhero movies like The Dark Knight, GOTG, The Avengers, and Captain America: The Winter Solider. What do all these films have in common? Their romantic plots are minimal. Hell, if Peter is going back to high school so let's show him be a nerd and not getting the girl for once. Seriously the guy has gotten more ass than any nerd I have ever seen.

Lastly on this topic, the climax of the film should not include Peter's current boo (if he actually does get one). In all 5 movies Peter has been forced to protect his girlfriend during his final showdown with a nemesis. Let's change up the stakes this time around.

Right on, Adam!

6. Have A Connection To The MCU

One of the coolest aspects of having a connected cinematic universe is that characters can pop up just about anywhere. Take Black Widow for example. She has been in 3 MCU films so far (also referred to as the Black Widow trilogy) Iron Man 2, The Avengers, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Each of those films is from a different franchise and yet Widow fits into each one of them. So while Spiderman will be featured in Captain America: Civil War, I believe Marvel + Sony should have some other character from the MCU pop up in his solo film.

Now I'm not sitting here saying that Iron Man or Hulk needs to show up, but maybe one of Marvel's New York based heroes or villains can. Personally I think the perfect fit would be either Daredevil or Kingpin. Both characters are being introduced in Netflix/Marvel's Daredevil TV show set to air in April. By the time 2017 rolls around the Man Without Fear and the Kingpin of crime will have had over two seasons (assuming that the show succeeds) of development and will be ready for big screen appearances. Just imagine Spidey and Daredevil teaming up to bring down the Kingpin. This scenario could also help set up Sony's Sinister Six (hopefully it never happens because it completely goes against my 4th point) that they seem so obsessed with making still. They could use the storyline from the 1994 Spiderman TAS in which Kingpin assembles the Insidious Six to defeat Spiderman. Anyway I just think that those two characters could fit nicely into Spidey's universe.

Lastly, the Punisher was teased in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. So maybe just like his comic counterpart he could be introduced in a Spidey story. Seriously though I could go on for another twenty paragraphs about who could show up where in a Spiderman movie because the interconnected universe allows for just about anything. So just put someone in there Marvel + Sony.

Bonus: Bring Back Soon to Be Oscar Winner J.K. Simmons As J.Jonah Jameson

Incredible actor who was so perfectly cast that he made Marc Webb and Sony afraid to find a replacement. 

Thanks for reading! Are you excited for Spiderman to join the MCU? Who do you want Spidey throwing down with in his next solo adventure? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. and @cstrand73. Be sure to check back regularly for more show/movie reviews and editorials regarding the comic book universe. I'm also writing up a few diffent pitches a story to the 2017 Spidey movie, so stay tuned for that as well.

Arrow "The Return" Review

Ollie goes back to his favorite vacation spot while in the past Ollie creepily stalks his family in this week's Arrow. (SPOILERS!)

Episode Description: Malcolm (John Barrowman) puts Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Thea (Willa Holland) in a dangerous situation that lands them on Lian Yu with Oliver’s former enemy, Deathstroke (guest star Manu Bennett). A flashback reveals when Oliver and Maseo (guest star Karl Yune) returned to Starling City to retrieve the Omega bio weapon, and despite being under strict orders from Amanda Waller (guest star Cynthia Addai-Robinson) not to reveal himself to anyone, Oliver looks in on his family, Laurel (Katie Cassidy) and Tommy (guest star Colin Donnell).

High Points

• I wanna grab a beer with Young Detective Lance.
• I wanna grab a drink with school girl Thea.
• Cool reversal seeing Ollie on the island in Present day and seeing him in Starling City in the past.
• Slade Wilson is on the loose y'all. Thanks Malcolm, you always make everyone's lives suck.
• I wanna grab a drink with young Tommy Merlyn.
• I wanna grab a drink with young Felicity Smoak.
• Throwback FLO RIDA track!

• I wanna grab a drink with young John Diggle.
• I wanna grab several drinks with young Laurel.
• Tommy Merlyn's pick up game is fire. "Have you ever had sushi eaten off of you?"
• Killing a drug dealer is the fastest way to end a bitchin' party.
• Drunk detective Lance is an asshole and I love it.
• Maseo takes a shot at Ollie's season one look. "That look wouldn't work even if you smeared grease paint on your face."
• Ollie's booby traps still work! 
• Ollie finally tells Thea that she killed Sara. I feel like every week I'm writing that Ollie finally told somebody something. Dude has more secrets than Ted Bundy.
• The Queens vs. Slade was a pretty awesome fight.
• Ollie viscously punched out China White!
• Thea took the path of the hero by not killing Slade.
• Present day Det. Lance's anger is 100% justified. 
• Willa Holland did a great job tonight. Her character is completely different from how she was way back in Season 1. 

Slade be like...

Low Points

• China White's conflict worked well in getting Ollie back into Starling, but overall it was a slow and meaningless conflict.
• Hated how the episode was not dedicated to the Slade Wilson's breakout.
• The flashbacks did little to further the story. All they did was retell stuff that we already knew. (Thea did drugs, Lance was a drunk, Tommy was a perv, ect.)
• That Robert Queen video was unneeded and weirdly prompts Ollie to be a vigilante.
• Captain Boomerang was in the other cell on the island and we never got to see him.
• Slade Wilson took a season to take down last season. It took about 15 minutes to take him down this season.
• We hear about Ra's Al Ghul constantly, but yet have only seen him for about 10 minutes this entire season.
• WHERE THE HELL IS RAY PALMER? Three episodes in a row with no Ray.
• No present day Roy, Diggle, and Felicity also hurt this episode.

Did that Robert Queen video remind anyone of this?

Verdict: "The Return" was very much the proper title for tonight's show. Present Day Oliver returned to the island. Long-Haired Ollie returned to Starling City. But why I found the title so fitting was because this episode felt like a return to Season 1. And that's not a compliment. This episode felt like it was from the first half of Arrow's inaugural season, when the villains and flashbacks were lame. In fact most of what we saw in tonight's flashbacks were things we already knew about (Thea did drugs, Lance was a drunk, Tommy was a perf, Laurel wanted to bang Tommy, ect.) . The only new piece of information we got was that Ollie was back in Starling briefly. So my question is why did these flashbacks take up the majority of the hour? They did nothing, but put Ollie right back on a plane to Hong Kong. As for the villains, can someone tell the writers to stop using China White. Her scheme was easily stopped and she didn't even put up a fight. She has never been a compelling antagonist and never will be. 
          Now for what disappointed me the most this week. "The Return" also marked the return of fan favorite bad guy Slade Wilson (played by the incredible Manu Bennett). Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim had promised that this episode would give closure to Slade and Ollie's arc from Season 2. Now while Slade never breaks his promises, Guggenheim clearly breaks his. Slade was seen tonight for total of 5 minutes in which he got his ass handed to him by the Queens. I would be completely okay with that if he had some sort of closure with Ollie, or maybe he revealed something unknown, but he didn't. Just got his ass beat and casually threatened Felicity. The whole scenario of an escaped Slade just felt like a wasted opportunity. So when Deathstroke does eventually come back to Starling, I hope he gets treated better than he did tonight. Deathstroke deserved better.
          On a positive note at least Ollie finally told Thea that she killed Sara. Thus officially ending her relationship with Malcolm Merlyn. She is finally starting to make smart decisions  Thea may have started out as a whiny druggy, but has since turned into a hardened badass. Every episode she inches closer and closer to becoming another one of Green Arrow's sidekicks. Seeing her don a costume will be a delight (mostly because it will probably show her always visible mid-drift). And while we are in the business of talking about donning costumes, next week's promo seems to show that Ray Palmer will finally suit up as the Atom. So there is definitely stuff to look forward to this season even though I spent most of this review bitching. I just think Arrow needs to be more like the The Flash by setting up more intruguing possibilities for their future, instead of just breaking down the past that the audience already knows about. So at the end of the day I have to give "The Return" a 6.5 out of 10. Don't worry though Arrow-heads, things are always darkest just before the dawn. With Atom suiting up and Ra's Al Ghul reemerging, I predict a return to form for Arrow next week.

We love you, Manu!

Thanks for reading! Was I too harsh? Are you excited to see the Atom? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. and @cstrand73. Be sure to check back regularly for more show/movie reviews and breaking news/stories regarding the comic book universe. Arrow returns same time next week with "Nanda Parbat" as Ra's Al Ghul returns to the show! It's can't miss TV.

Update!: Robbie Amell posted this pic of him and his cousin Steve on Instagram. Looks like Firestorm is coming over to Arrow!

The Flash "Fallout" Review/Thoughts

Tonight on The Flash we received an unprecedented amount of dynamic-duo action. I am talking old-school superhero team ups, unlikely partnerships and, dare I say it, a long-awaited villainous collaboration.

Episode Description: After an explosion separates Ronnie and Dr. Stein, General Eiling returns to Central City in search of the key to unlocking F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M.'s weapon-grade potential. Meanwhile, Barry makes a key realization about the night his mother was murdered.

High Points:

• Episode picks up immediately after the events of "The Nuclear Man" (and with an immediate resolution to last week's dilemmas as well)
• Joe shares his crime scene notes with Barry thus opening up a much anticipated time-travel conversation!
• The ensuing time travel conversations (It's happening! It is really truly happening!)
• You know how people joke about twins being able to feel each other's pain and emotions? That is no joking matter for Ronnie and Dr. Wells
• I actually really enjoyed all of the gadgets that Eiling brought to fight Barry with (the kinetic-energy seeking shrapnel, the acid missiles, etc.) They create newer obstacles for Barry and also made Eiling a more formidable and unpredictable foe
• Everyone seems to be conducting their own personal investigations nowadays. First we get Joe looking into Harrison Wells and now we are getting Iris and Mason Bridge snooping around S.T.A.R. Labs.
• The way Ronnie communicated with a captive Dr. Stein was some Black-Quilled, Hogwarts-Level shit
• We got some sweet, consensual body fusing between Ronnie and Dr. Stein to get our first glimpse at a fully-functioning Firestorm (The aforementioned unlikely partnership)
• We then get a brief Firestorm/Flash team-up to finish off Eiling and the army for the episode (The aforementioned superhero team up)
• The episode ends with The Reverse Flash unmasking himself to reveal that he is in fact Harrison Wells, while simultaneously delivering Eiling to an angry Gorilla Grodd!!

Christian sent this my way about a week ago and it ended up being immediately relevant. Good show sir!

Low Points:

• Iris seems to be the only person in Central City at this point who has zero idea that Barry is the Flash. Even Barry's dad put two and two together and the man lives behind bars.. I don't dislike this as much as a plot point as much as I dislike it because Iris's character is just starting to seem really air-headed at this point. At least she is slowly starting to piece things together with Firestorm..
• I thought it was a little strange how both Ronnie and Dr. Stein were both suddenly prepared to immediately leave their loved ones so they could figure out their Firestorm powers. It was a split-second decision but there was no going back after that
• As amazing as it was to finally see Harrison Wells take off his mask and reveal it truly was him in the Yellow Suit, it brings my constant speculating on the subject to a halt, and for that I shed a single tear

It was fun dreaming up an infinite number of possibilities while it lasted

Verdict: We got ourselves a real humdinger of an episode on our hands here. Where do we even begin the conversation? How about with the cold hard fact that Barry Allen is going to time-travel and it is shaping up to look like some Flashpoint level shit. Of course we have been hit constantly with time travel implications throughout the course of the season but this marked the first time that the S.T.A.R. Labs gang gathered around and had a full-on conversation about it. Everyone is now aware that Barry is eventually going to become fast enough to break through the time barrier, including Barry himself. Plus he is now motivated to not only go back in time, but also to save his mother. If Barry succeeds in doing this we can expect to see some interesting alternate timeline action and I think we may have already been given the indicator that Barry initially succeeds. I am talking about the newspaper headline that we saw in Harrison Well's secret back room back at the beginning of the season. It was dated for April 25, 2024 and it read "Flash Missing: Vanishes in Crisis". Could this be the supposed end result of an alternate timeline? It is definitely starting to look that way. Unfortunately we probably can't expect an alternate universe similar to one detailed in Flashpoint, mostly because we can't possibly expect to get big names like Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Thomas Wayne Batman dropped on us out of nowhere. However, it wouldn't be out of the question to assume that the Arrow gang would be affected by an alternate timeline. Either way a time-travel storyline is on its way and the a whole new world of possibilities and is opening up. In other words, I now have something new to obsessively speculate about.

#cantstopwontstop

On top of all this time-travel talk, we finally got to see some legitimate Firestorm action as Dr. Stein and Ronnie combined willingly to take on Eiling. Plus after their successful merging, the decided to go learn how to use their powers meaning that we are definitely going to be seeing more of this version of Firestorm later on down the line. Could The Flash be making its way into the spin-off generating business that Arrow has made itself? I couldn't help but notice they name dropped "Coast City" during the episode, a.k.a. home of Hal Jordan. If I remember correctly, on Arrow they started just by acknowledging Central City was there before they introduced us to Barry Allen a season later. I'm just saying, the parallels are worth looking into. And to round out the episode we get another amazing cliffhanger sequence, where the Reverse Flash delivers General Eiling to Grodd in his underground/sewer lair. Now I thought we were just going to get Grodd waved in front of our faces this season so he could be the big bad next season, but now we are getting a clear partnership between Wells and Grodd?! We knew that there was a connection between these two characters from previous episodes, but a team-up this soon? The show never fails to give us something to look forward to and I love it! I just hope they are able to follow up in future seasons because right now this is looking like a tough act to follow. Also did Grodd kill Eiling or did he take him somewhere? Part of me hopes Eiling is just locked away somewhere in Grodd's layer because if he is dead we will never have the possibility of Eiling eventually becoming The General. Perhaps Grodd will do tests on Eiling like Eiling used to do to him? Just another potential outcomes out the 100 that this show cranks out every week. From time-travel to speedster-gorilla team-ups to even more untold potential, this episode scores a 9.0 out of 10.

Thanks for checking out the review. What are your thoughts on the Reverse Flash/Gorilla Grodd partnership? Would you watch a spin-off about the wacky misadventures of Ronnie Raymond and Dr. Stein? Let us know in the comments or on twitter @Caped_Informers. Also be sure to check back regularly for more show reviews, movie reviews and other articles relevant to the comic book universe. The Flash is unfortunately going on a month-long hiatus but will return March 17th with their 15th episode.


In case the reference was missed: Let me be clear what I meant by the term "Black-Quilled, Hogwarts-Level shit":

This...This is what I meant