The Flash Review and Preview!

The show that's all about the fastest man alive who wasn't actually the fastest man alive for 95% of season 1, 2 or 3 is back! The first two seasons were great, entertaining and had pretty good storylines! Season 3 however was a different story, it ended up suffering from the CW season 3 curse. What's that you ask? Well theres a pattern where most CW shows' season 3 is not great. Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and Smallville all fell victim to a less than good third season. Will season 4 redeem the show and bring it back the good old days? Let's talk about what we know so far. Everything in red is a link so click them! 

**Spoilers for The Flash Season 3 so don't read on if you're not up to date**

Season 3 Review.

Let's start off by looking at what didn't work in season 3. One of the biggest problems was the big reveal. It was long winded, confusing and generally didn't land with the effect they wanted it to when it was revealed that the big baddie Savitar was in fact an evil version of Barry. The simple reason for this was that the season had already shown 'good Barry' in a negative light stemming from the decisions he made to save his mum and trigger flashpoint. So in a way, there was no good VS evil Barry because they were both bad. It was too predictable. Pitting a more happy, morally strong Barry against Savitar would have had a greater effect as audiences would be shocked and horrified to find out the golden hearted hero was unexpectedly actually the villain.  Another problem was the time travel. We get it, The Flash can time travel and that's cool but when you're changing the timeline every few eps, it just gets frustrating, tiring and confusing. Can you actually explain the in and outs of how Savitar exists? Me neither.  

A more minor problem with the shows third season was its lack of focus on previously introduced characters such as Jesse and Wally. There was so much more potential to develop those characters but one ended up half leaving the show and the other was used as a gimmicky side piece. The focus on Barry's relationship with Iris took centre stage for the whole season to provide motive and heart to the finale, but this was ultimately damaged by Barry's character arc this season. Barry was not a relatable character who seemed to never learn from his mistakes and seemed incapable of doing much of anything by himself. In turn this lead to audiences caring for Iris more than Barry which meant that Barry having to enter the speed force at the end of the season wasn't emotional and actually just felt like the right thing. The season didn't begin strongly, maintain well or end with interest for the next season. 

Season 4 Preview.

Fear not Flash fans! There seems to be hope for the Scarlett Speedsters' fourth season. Descriptions of the new season were released at comic con last week along with a new trailer for episode 4X01 which you can watch here!. In summary of the most important details that were announced, the producers of the show have explained that the season will start with a six month time jump from the finale. They explained that when Barry eventually comes out of the speed force, he will be a changed hero with a strong sense of morality and a personality more in line with that of season 1 and 2's Barry Allen. HELL YEAH!.. no more emo Barry with the weird fringe. 

Along with Barry's changed personality, the producers say that time travel will be very limited this season in an attempt to keep the timeline more simple and linear and just less confusing. Ok so a new Barry and less time travel, what else? The villain won't be a speedster! Hallelujah! The big bad will be 'The Thinker', a super intelligent meta human who wants to correct what he thinks is wrong with the world with his mass brain power. Hopefully a more intelligent villain will challenge Barry in a way he's never been challenged before. Maybe Barry will be forced to think more for himself than he's had to in season 3. If we're really lucky, maybe we'll get a finale that doesn't end in a race. To top it all off, Barry will be getting a new suit amongst his emergence from the speed force! The suit looks close to the version we saw Barry wear in 2024. 

What they should and shouldn't do.

Season 4 needs to remember what show it is. A dark and brooding hero works for Arrow because it's a dark show and it's roots are grounded in tragedy, git and survival. The roots of The Flash are portrayed through hope, fun and bright colours amongst the heartaches. Barry isn't Oliver and nor should he try to be. The show shouldn't let Caitlin and Cisco do all the thinking for Barry. Back in season one, the show told us that Barry is a funny, awkward nerdy 25 year old who beams out hope to everyone around him. Barry needs to make quick, good decisions for himself when taking down the bad guy of the week and really demonstrate that he is The Flash and he deserves that title. They shouldn't make Barry treat every villain as the big villain. Season 1 and 2 Barry humoured fans with quippy one liners that mock the bad guys that The Flash knows he can take down. This was practically absent in season 3. 

Character development is a major key! Wally West is in dire need of the spotlight. Keynan Lonsdale's performance as the Kid Flash last season was great and he gave us the cocky fun speedster we missed. However, there just simply wasn't enough of him. They pushed the character well early on but dropped him as the season progressed. This season should truly show Wally becoming a hero of his own good enough to make a proper name for himself. To do this, they're gonna need to give him the limelight for more than just a couple of episodes. With DC's new show 'Titans' in development with no Wally West in the teams line up yet, theres a perfect opportunity for This season of The Flash to get him to a point where he's good enough to join the new show and fight alongside comic all stars such as Nightwing. 

I was scrolling through Instagram the other day and found this awesome DCEU fan account @DCEU_forever. They post awesome edits, memes and new posters for upcoming DCEU movies as they are released! If you love DC comics and/or the DCEU it's definitely an account you are going to want to follow! Don't be afraid to interact on the posts, like, comment, and share your thoughts. You can find the instagram page here! Spread the comic love! 

So that's all for this week! What did you think of season 3 and what are you excited or worried about for season 4? Let me know by commenting below or tweeting me @Akash_Sond. If you haven't already, click the follow button at the top right of the screen or subscribe by email in the box just below that. Hope you enjoyed the read and come back next weekend for my next post! 

Justice league Comic-Con Trailer!

Arguably the biggest thing to come from this years San Diego comic con is of course, the second official Justice League trailer! Let me tell you, it's incredible. For this weeks post i'll be breaking down the trailer with some of the biggest parts or things you may have missed. Enjoy! I will only talk about what is shown in the trailer but ***There will be some spoilers but i'll warn you before you get to them*** 

The trailer released yesterday so if you haven't seen it, or you want to watch it again, WATCH IT HERE! The Justice League movie is set after Batman V Superman which ended with Bruce and Diane's faith in humanity restored after Superman's heroic sacrifice. The world is low on hope and the movies villain Steppenwolf takes this opportunity and arrives to raise hell on earth. Luckily, Bruce has secretly been putting together a team of heroes to defend earth in such cases. But will they be enough? Let's run through the biggest things from the trailer.

STEPPENWOLF.
The trailer shows Themyscira where Wonder Woman's mother, Hippolyta, and the rest of the amazonian army are standing together when a huge beam of light from the sky blazes the ground. The movies villain, Steppenwolf, comes flying down and crashes into the ground in epic fashion. He is not one to be messed with. Clearly. Steppenwolf arrives through the amazonian motherbox. **Spoiler alert, skip to next paragraph to avoid** So the Motherboxes are sure to play the biggest part of the movie. So what are they? Well the story goes that centuries ago, a big bad alien (Darkseid) sent the leader of the apokolips army to conquer many planets. They get to these planets by teleporting through their alien supercomputers known as mother boxes. One of the planets good old Steppen tries to conquer is earth, but fortunately he is stopped by the combined forces of the Amazonians, Humans, and Atlanteans. The three groups split the motherboxes between them for safe keeping. It seems as though Wolfey boy has risen once again to finish what he started, raising hell on earth. He lands in themyscira by teleporting through a boom tube to the motherbox. Cool. as. hell.

THE FLASH.
Barry Allen aka Bazza Azza (literally no one calls him that) has arguably the best parts in this trailer.

Ezra Miller naturally pulls of the role delivering very funny comedic lines. One of my personal favourites; "It's really cool you guys seem ready to do battle and stuff, but i've never done battle, i've just pushed some people and run away". brilliant! A few Flash solo movie characters will be seen in the movie including Barry's dad but more importantly, Barry's love interest, Iris West. She can be seen at the back of the scene where Barry breaks through the glass window for a split second. Staying on that scene for a moment, HOW COOL WAS THAT!? He uses the speedforce to bend then shatter the glass window. The slow motion filming matched with the blue of the speed force (Thing thing that gives Barry his powers) makes for a crazy scene. Other than delivering funny lines and looking super cool whilst running, The Flash can be seen teaming up with the Lady of Themyscira by running fast enough to pass her sword back to her after she jumps off the bridge to catch it.

AQUAMAN. 
Badass. Just totally badass. I mean Batman may be cool, but he'll never be Aquaman skateboarding a parademon in the sky through a building and landing on his feet cool. That's next level stuff! The last trailer even showed Aquaman riding the outside of the batmobile through the streets under the red skies. He actually can't get any cooler. If you read my Aquaman post you'll know how excited I am for his solo movie, it's fair to say I am 10X more excited now! Aqauaman appears to be the outsider of the group. Still a member, just on the outside. He doesn't feel he fits in with them. He delivers the humour of exclaiming that he thinks they're all going to die! Aqua-Momoa is shown really in his element when underwater. These scenes look mesmerising and it seems as though he's under the water attempting to protect the Motherbox that was kept by the atlanteans. Can November just like, hurry up and get here already. please. I want to watch this movie now.

BATMAN.
The trailer plays news audio that explains Batman hasn't been active since the death of Superman. This is presumably because he's mourning supes' death, recalculating his outlook on life and gathering data on the team of superheroes to fight the great danger he believes is coming. It's lucky Bruce is prepared right! Bruce can also be seen staring at a hologram of what we can only guess is Superman. Presumably, Bruce is figuring out a way to bring the guy back to life. Let's hope he succeeds because a Justice League without a Superman is just.. well.. still a Justice League to be honest but we want him back! Theres a little exchange between Mr Alfred Pennyworth and Bruce that references the famous Bat villain The Penguin. A future movie appearance? Maybe. We see some super cool action scenes with bats driving the batmobile way over the speed limit and taking out parademons like a boss! Parademons are basically Steppenwolf's minions. He is definitely the guy setting up the league but there seems to be a power struggle between him and the Woman of Wonder. Interesting.

WONDER WOMAN.
The warrior of wonder opens the trailer by stopping some minor bad guys from breaking into what seems to be the museum she works at or a bank. She takes the guards out effortlessly even after being bashed in the bead with the back of a big gun. Ouch! She delivers some humour when explaining she hasn't been up to much over the weekend. She is helping Bruce strategise and set up the team and she seems to be co-leader of the league. Wonder Woman can be seen putting her epic warrior skills to use by being totally badass and taking down parademons with mad acrobatics and expert combat. She has one hell of a cool moment when she jumps for her sword and The Flash runs at super speed to tap it into a space where she can grab it. One of the coolest scenes in the trailer.

CYBORG.
The half man half machine that is Victor Stone, Cyborg. The character was given a bigger spotlight

than in previous trailers showing a more finished sleek looking CGI and a very deep voice. Cyborg doesn't seem as though he'll bring much comedy but I really am excited to see what he brings! I wasn't too pleased with the first trailers' CGI but they really have improved it for the near-final look. His coolest part in the trailer is when he hacks the batmobile. HE. LITERALLY. HACKS. THE. BATMOBILE. Alfred was in the comms all like 'whaaaaaaaaaaat?' So yeah he's also super cool. Seeing him become Cyborg at S.T.A.R labs is a scene that will be very interesting to see. I'm guessing going from a half dead human to a machine isn't the most painless process in the world.

SUPERMAN.

Finally! The beacon of hope, the Man of Tomorrow, the Last Son of Krypton... SUPERMAN! That intro totally wasn't over the top.... ok i'm a huge Superman fan, I know, I hide it well don't I. The trailer shows a hopeless world with Superman's absence. The hero's symbol is seen hanging from a bridge however, this isn't the usual yellow and red symbol. Its bleak, black and white. This is no mistake. Its a reference to the suit superman wears in the comics when resurrected after being killed by doomsday. Long story short, it's a nod to the comic where Superman is brought back to life. Whether the movie will follow up with the darkened suit is yet to be seen. The trailer ends with Alfred's glass of whiskey shaking, showing something big is approaching. We see Alfred speaking to someone who isn't shown. Mr Pennyworth says "He said you'd come, let's just hope you're not too late". It has to be Superman right? Some online speculation says it could be Supergirl or Green Lantern but I think that's just too far fetched. I mean, if you look carefully you can even see a red cape! There's a small chance the big Supes could come back evil but.... i'm not a fan of that idea so lets just hope he's good. With that being said, I think we can all tell that the resurrection of Superman is a scene that will be remembered for a very long time no matter how it's done. Hope reborn in the DCEU... hopefully.

A few other things.
Ok so the trailer gives us a new look at Comissioner Gordon played by J.K. Simmons. I'm a big fan of Simmons however im not yet sold on this version of Gords. He seems very old school like a detective from a classic 60's movie. It's a cool look, just one that i'm not sure will work for this universe. We haven't seen enough of him to form a final opinion yet so hopefully it works out. Theres also a reference to the Green Lantern in the trailer where Steppenwolf simply says "There are no protectors... no lanterns... no kryptonian". This shows the Lanterns exist in the universe and also hints at their appearance in the future.  Lastly, the movie references most, if not all, past DCEU movies. To name a few, the broken Superman statue from Man of Steel and BvS, Themyscira from Wonder Woman and the doomsday creation site also from BvS.

Overall, the trailer was amazing and definitely got me super super excited to watch the Justice League movie in November. What did you think of the trailer? Let me know by commenting below or tweeting me @Akash_Sond (Click it!). If you haven't already, click that follow button on the top right of the screen and subscribe by email just below that. Come on, do it! Who wouldn't want to?... I mean my blog posts are the most awesome, most entertaining and most informative comic blog posts in the world! That is a fact based on statistics produced by a totally real and official blog statistics governing body. I hope you enjoyed this post and i'll see you next week!

War for the Planet of the Apes review!

War for the Planet of the Apes, or WFTPOTA if you want to use an acronym that no one will understand, is the newest instalment of the Planet of the Apes series. With it's first two movies; Rise and Dawn, both scoring 7.6 on IMDB, it's fair to say expectations were high. So does it live up to expectations or does the third movie fail to impress like many other third movies have before? (yes, i'm talking about you Spider-man 3). Find out by reading on because this is my WFTPOTA review! There will only be very mild spoilers so sit back, read on and enjoy!

"Apes together, STRONG!" 

Director Matt Reeves took on the task of directing Dawn after the director of the first movie left the project. Reeves did a great job of expanding the world and showing the growth of the apes and the disease that had spread world wide. After the first movie showed a young Caesar grow to be the leader of a powerful army of apes and even develop the ability to speak in that cinematic triumph of a scene (Watch it here), the second movie was not going to be able to rely on its CGI apes or even the fact they can speak. Reeves handled this well as the focus of the second movie, dawn, was shifted to the ongoing conflict between the apes and the humans. The story manages to further the love fans had for Caesar and his family. After Dawn, Reeves had a mammoth task of staying away from recycling plot lines and finding a fresh exciting way to deliver the next chapter of Caesars story.

The third instalment, War, tells a very emotional story from the eyes of Caesar, the ageing leader of a group of apes fighting for survival in a world where military groups are hellbent on seeing the apes put to work or killed. The movie shows a very strong and experienced Caesar who's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. Family. He has grown out of touch from humans and feels hate and rage towards them since the climax of the events from Dawn. One of the best things about the movie is how it shows Caesars mind set and view of the damaged world that he is having to raise his family in. He is very low on hope and haunted by the events of the past. It's this aspect that plays into how well this movie deals with Caesar's character arc.

The movie sees the return of fan favourite orangutan, Maurice who is arguably the most important character to the plot of this movie. Maurice is Caesars constant reminder of the good and hope of the world. He's the right hand man who has a very innocent and positive outlook on life, focusing on emotion and caring for his fellow apes, especially Caesar. This element of the movie does a great job of humanising the story and allows for audiences to keep in touch with their care for the apes. With audiences siding with, and supporting the apes, the movie brilliantly delivers heart filled moments and really keeps watchers on the edge of their seats wondering what's going to happen.

Woody Harrelson plays 'The Colonel', the antagonist of the movie, who wishes to re-align the hierarchy of species and place humans back on top. The movie creates an excellent dynamic between Caesar and the Colonel pitting two damaged characters against one another. Harrelson gives a believable performance and really makes Caesar re-evaluate what his views and beliefs are. The Colonel pushes Caesar to his limits and that's all i'll say with the worry of spoiling anything.

The soundtrack and dialogue that War uses is an incredible tool and aids the effect and style the director aimed for. There is limited dialogue in the movie with some of the apes and humans being unable to speak but the dialogue that is present is very powerful and even humorous at times. The back forth between Caesar and The Colonel are definitely a highlight of the movie. The music used in the movie is super cinematic and this just really emphasises some key moments. It keeps audiences interest at times where there isn't much dialogue.

Of course, just like the first two, the movie CGI is fantastic and once again Andy Serkis does an excellent job of mastering Caesar's voice and movements. This really shows on screen as audiences can easily forget that the apes are actually motion captured by humans because the movements are so natural and realistic. The few action scenes included in this movie are great! Very quick and intense scenes display the apes skills and intelligence as well as the brutality of the humans. One of the best things in this movie is the fact that it relies on its narrative supports it with action moments rather than the action being supported by the narrative.

"All of human history has led to this moment"

As for the negatives of this movie, there aren't many at all. However, the movie can be a little slow paced at points in the middle which is arguably necessary for the big moments to hit as well as they do. A big part of the movie focuses on the layered moments of Caesars pain or contemplation. These moments are expectedly absent of action or excitement but if they're misunderstood or under appreciated, I can imagine the scenes would appear quite boring. Adding on to this, the movie does not have as many action scenes as the previous. Although this does not damage the movie, those hoping for an all out ape action movie will leave the cinema disappointed. As you can see, the negatives just mentioned aren't actually very negative. It's rare that I watch a big blockbuster movie and find as few negatives as I have here. An incredible achievement by the director and the rest of the crew involved in making this movie.

War of the Planet of the Apes is a story driven movie which focuses on Caesars point of view and really aims to give audiences an insight into Caesars mind to really provide an understanding of who Caesar is. One of my favourite things about the apes series is how different each movie is to the last whilst still keeping the plots smooth and consistent. The first was a great origin of Caesar with a lot of emotion starting off very closed but expanding at the end. Leading into the second, which was a massive action flick showing Caesar at his prime against his deadliest foe. The third, showing the world from Caesars view taking the movie back to its emotional roots but also including the familiar action elements from the second. The best thing about this movie is how classically cinematic it feels. With the powerful limited dialogue matched with the heart of the characters and the clarity of the plot, the movie is excellent and is a perfect third movie in the Apes series. Overall, War of the Planet of the Apes gets a blog of steel rating of 10/10.  
This officially makes it the highest rated movie out of all the movies reviewed so far on The Blog of Steel! Planet of the Apes must be considered among the best trilogies of all time.

That's all for this week, go and watch WFTPOTA trust me it's worth it! If you liked what you read or even disliked what you read, tell me why by commenting below or tweeting me @Akash_Sond. As always, if you want to keep up to date with the blog, click the google follow button at the top right of the screen and/or subscribe by email using the box just below to be notified whenever I post. I'll be back next week with another post reviewing a new Justice League trailer that will hopefully release during the week because of SDCC (San Deigo comic con). See you then!

Spider-man: Homecoming Review!

Spider-Man: Homecoming is the highly anticipated reboot of the reboot that marks Spider-man returning to marvel... kinda. Sony still have the rights to the character and any other Spider-man related characters, however a deal was made between Sony and Marvel that allows the web slinger to appear in and be a big part of the Marvel cinematic universe. So is it any good? Carry on reading to find out because this is my Spider-man: Homecoming movie review. It'll be spoiler free until the last paragraph but i'll warn you before you get there. Enjoy!

The movie stars Tom Holland as the famous wall crawler who debuted in Captain America: Civil War. He's 15 years old, attends high school and deals with the normal problems and feelings that go along with that age. This alone separates Homecoming from the past Spidey movies which showed an older and more mature Peter. Along side Peter, is his best friend Ned, played by Jacob Batalon, who emphasises the fact that Peter isn't the most popular at school. The dynamic between the two is natural and plays out well throughout the movie. Ned is Peter's 'anchor' to his normal life as a school kid and in many ways it's this aspect that does well to keep the movie from 'going too fast and too quickly' and tells the story of a Superhero who's just beginning and has a lot to learn. Michelle, played by Zendaya, is the school 'loner' who doesn't belong to any group or have any friends but that's the image she's going for. Her character is sure to play a bigger role in future movies. Right from the beginning of the movie, the tone is set and stays consistent. Its light, humorous and entertaining but also has small elements of emotion and inspiration. The characters are introduced well and provide a clear base for a future series of movies. 

The biggest difference between this version of the web head and any previous versions is the involvement of the MCU and it's existing heroes. In this movies case, Iron Mans appearance constantly reminds audiences of the bigger universe Peter Parker is now part of and raises excitement for future possibilities. In the movie, Spidey has been presented as being a child who wants to save the world, has a lot of potential but is in fact, still just a child. Robert Downey Jr reprising his role as Iron Man, becomes somewhat of a father figure to Peter trying to control him and show him the bigger picture and considerations that have to be made when you're a superhero. Peter is the naive protege under Tony Starks wing who wants to show how good he is and he does this by defying Starks orders on multiple occasions. This sounds negative but the movie does well to get the audience to side with Peter rather than have Peter become a whining annoyance.

Ultimately, Tom Hollands Spider-Man fits the MCU better than both previous versions could have. Homecoming is a very light movie filled with hope and minor triumph.  It focuses on humour and has a more accurate comic book representation of the spectacular Spider-Man. The movie included the right amount of Tony Stark without the character overshadowing Peter which was something many fans of the friendly neighbourhood Spider-man were worried about. The movie shows the cliche 'nerd likes the popular girl' plot element but doesn't pan it out the way most would expect it to which is a nice and fresh take. Holland's performance is great, he suits the role and the movie is sure to make fans excited about the characters appearances in future Marvel movies.

The villain of the movie is The Vulture who is played by Micheal Keaton. Keaton does a great job at adding substance to his villain and through his acting, displays different levels of evil and intimidation. Interestingly, The Vulture is a fairly well developed villain who's motives are a little more understandable than past MCU villains. The movie does well to show how intimidating the Vulture is but they use it to clash with Peter's morality and determination. A great superhero-villain dynamic. Keaton's character has complexities and development that Marvel villains have consistently lacked in the past.


This movie isn't perfect though. The past versions of the character showed a clear personal development of Peter Parker and treated the character as an adult through very emotional scenes revolving around the deaths of uncle Ben and Peter's parents. This time, there is a substantial lack of heart. Sony and Marvel have clearly made a conscious decision to keep the character light and avoid Peter being burdened by his powers and their consequences. Although this is consistent with Marvel's usual movie blue print, the exclusion of deeper emotions and understanding leads to a missed opportunity to add more substance to the character, and ultimately prevents the movie from being great. It has it's moments of inspiration and heroism but these moments could've been even better if they were delivered with more heart. The overall plot and cast dynamics are probably as good, if not better than, Maguire's or Garfield's movies but unlike those Spider-men, this Peter lacked understanding and was less relatable. They show Peter being a normal kid wanting to do normal kid things and then they show the wider bounds of the universe, but they don't take the time to thoroughly show Peter's internal disconnect from being a poor, lonely child who lives in a bad area to joining the avengers. This is something that the animated series have done well. With this being said, future movies can develop Peter and possibly develop his character arc in this way. Another interesting thing this movie skips out on is actually swinging through the city. One of the biggest parts of the hero is his ability to seamlessly swing through New York and over its sky scrappers with magical fluidity however this movie doesn't show much, if any, proper city swinging. Hopefully this will change in the future.

**SPOILER TALK! skip to the next paragraph to avoid!** You have been warned! There are a few

notable spoiler-y things that happen throughout this movie so let's get to it! Firstly, the Spidey suit tech and its possibilities sure to be explored in the future allow for a much more abled Spider-man than previously seen. Especially with the suits Jarvis equivalent, Karen. A great twist in this movie which really upped the plot was the reveal of Liz Allan's father as none other than the villain himself, The Vulture! It shocked audiences and really helped keep the excitement going. Donald Glover's character explains to the web slinger in their funny scene that he has 'a nephew who lives around here'. While this could appear to just be a throw away story element, it's actually an easter egg confirming Miles Morales existence in the universe. Miles Morales, if you didn't know, is the character who picks up the mantle of Spider-Man after Peter Parker and we'll have to wait to see if they do this on the big screen.  The post credit-scene confirms the villain Scorpion for the upcoming sequel. At the end of the movie, Tony Stark confirms Peters place in The Avengers with the reveal of a possible new suit which has a strong resemblance to the 'Iron Spider' suit worn by Peter in the comics and animated series. It's basically a Spidey-Iron Man hybrid suit. The biggest easter egg/reveal in my opinion again comes in close to the end of the movie where Zendaya's character 'Michelle' reveals to Peter that 'her friends call her MJ'. This is a very clear reference to Peter Parkers long time comic girlfriend, Mary Jane confirming that Zendaya is in fact going to assume the role of Mary Jane in future movies with Peters current crush leaving town.

Overall this movie is very funny and entertaining. The new Spidey fits perfectly in the MCU and follows the universes consistent tone and blue print whilst also establishing itself as a base for enjoyable future solo movies. It will be interesting to see if the arcs planned for the character include developing Peter's maturity and understanding of the consequences of being a hero or if it will keep his less mature, more fun view on life intact in hopes of making more fun movies. The CGI is great and the suits technology is definitely very cool to see and the actions scenes were spectacular. This movie is definitely a beginning for Peter and I am excited to see where his character can go in the future and how much he improves his abilities and skills. I do think the movie lacks an emotional edge that could have really benefitted developing Peters maturity however the exclusion of this is consistent throughout the MCU and doesn't take too much away from the value of how entertaining the movie is. With all things considered, Spider-Man: Homecoming gets a blog of steel rating of 7/10. 

 That's the end of this weeks post, I hope you liked my review and my thoughts on the movie! If you did, or even if you didn't, let me know your thoughts by commenting down below or tweeting me @Akash_Sond (Click it!). As always, if you like what you read and what to read more, click that google+ follow button on the top right of the page or type your email in just below that to get an email every time I post! I'll be back next weekend with another post for the Blog of Steel. See ya!

AQUAMAN: King of Atlantis!

 Yes I know, He's the guy that talks to fish and has a pretty bad reputation for being quite silly and boring. What better way to change this opinion than casting Game of Thrones badass Jason Momoa! DC are giving the character a place in a team up movie and his own solo flick, cementing him as a big player in the DCEU. 'Justice League' is set to release in November. However after Justice League, Aquaman's solo movie is next up and it could possibly be the most exciting of all! While there may be only *very mild spoilers* this week, there whale be puns. Ahoy! No wait I meant Enjoy!

Aquaman is mostly shown in his comics as the king of the underwater location of Atlantis. In the comics, Atlantis was shown as a location of earth where early civilisations of humans lived and this was around the time that dinosaurs existed. Eventually, a dome was built over Atlantis, establishing it as a well fortified kingdom. This was until a meteor struck earth, drove the dinosaurs to extinction and pushed Atlantis completley underwater. Usually through some sort of magic or act of the gods, those who survived the meteor developed the ability to survive underwater. Over the years they repopulated Atlantis and built underwater palaces, formed social structures and became a complete underwater civilisation. Queen Atlanna of Atlantis, in most of the origins tends to always get banished or for some reason find herself in a sea storm which leads to her being in danger but rescued by lighthouse keeper, Thomas Curry. Atlanna and Tom form a relationship and have a child named Arthur Curry. Arthur Curry grows up on both land and underwater being a hybrid of the two worlds. Nearly all of Arthur's origins include him leaving land in search for his true destiny in Atlantis which is being the king, ruler and defender of the underwater kingdom. Although his role requires putting Atlantis first, growing up on land leads Arthur to defending both land and sea in search of harmony between the two worlds. He takes up the title of 'Aquaman: King of Atlantis' having super strength on land, being able to control water, communicate with sea creatures and much more. He is also known for his weapon of choice, the trident which is passed down through Atlantis royalty and holds many abilities.

Now that you know who Aquaman really is, let's talk about why his movie, set for a 2018 release, is super super exciting! DC and Warner Bros. have decided to ditch the blue eyed, all American, blonde haired cliche for Jason Momoa. The Hawaii born actor with his recognisable hair, beard, and eyebrow slit is most well known for playing Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki people on HBO's game of Thrones. He's huge (6ft 4in) and intimidating let alone a total real life badass who's obsessed with guinness and is able to accurately throw axes. As you can sea from his picture below, being the fearless leader of an underwater kingdom strong enough to take on Superman isn't that far fetched to believe. He's just so dam cool. Anywaves, another reason why you should be excited, is the prospect of seeing an entirely new kind of environment on the big screen! We've seen new planets before (Krypton) and we've seen abstract locations (Themyscira), but we have never seen a movie about a superhero who's home is entirely underwater. The director has confirmed the movie will not shy away from Atlantis which means the majority of the movie will be focusing on underwater civilians, armies, villains, monsters and buildings. It will be like nothing we have ever seen before.

If that's not enough to get you excited, how about the director, James Wan. The specialist horror director, known for movies such as Saw, The Conjuring, Anabelle and Insidious, has been given the oppor-tuna-ty to direct the genre defying solo movie of a justice league founding member. Briefly speaking about the movie, he has been very clear that his experience in making horror will play into his ideas for Aquaman. To be more pacific, Wan is keen to explore the darkness and monsters of the deep sea, something which has never been explored before in a superhero setting. He also assured fans that the movie will entail some jump scares so you can wave that relaxing movie time goodbye because Aquaman will be very intense. Justice League will give us our first look at Aquaman, some of the other characters and possibly even a look at Atlantis in the hopes of it raising interest in the character and that interest will pay off when the Aquaman movie releases.  From what has already been seen in the Justice League trailer, Aquaman seems to be a very gritty and intense character holding the burden of being protector of land and sea. However, he is not absent of humour. If you haven't seen it yet, check out the Justice League trailer here. 

The main cast confirmed so far for Aquaman has Jason Momoa as Aquaman himself, Nicole Kidman

as Queen Atlanna, Amber Heard as Mera, Patrick Wilson as Ocean Master and Yahya Abdul-Manteen II as Black Manta. A very exciting cast list! Amber Heard's character, Mera is Aquaman's wife in the comics and is set to be his big screen partner also. It is unknown whether the movie will be a full origin story as he is already Aquaman in the Justice League however, the movie is likely to contain elements and explanations of the origins. With this being said, we will have to wait and see if Arthur and Mera are together already or if the relationship will form through the characters story arc. Abdul-Manteen's character, Black Manta, will be familiar to DC comic fans. He is Aquamans arch enemy and is sure to cause the big screen version of the character similar trouble to as he does in the comics. I won't say anymore about Black manta with the risk of spoiling possible story elements. The movie is set to release late 2018 but is filming now!

Shorely you're excited for Aquaman now! A great cast, a completely underwater kingdom, a badass lead, and a horror influence. It will be the first ever action superhero horror adventure movie! In a time where superhero movies release practically every month, it can become quite a repetitive experience. A cliche origin movie which follows a standard blueprint in a half hearted attempt to get fans excited for sequels. Aquaman is excusing itself from this rule by adding other genre elements and creating a whole new world. Overall Aqauaman gets a Blog of steel excitement rating of 9/10!

That's the end of this weeks post! Hope you have enjoyed reading it and spotting all the puns! There were 7 in total! If you're excited for Aqauman leave a comment below and tell me why or follow and tweet me  @Akash_Sond. I would love to hear your opinions! Also theres a button on the right side of the page that you can click to follow me on google+ or follow me by email to make sure you never miss a post! See you next week!