So, needless to say, massive spoilers ahead. If you haven’t been watching WandaVision on Disney+ stop what you’re doing and watch the first five episodes before reading any further. What happens in episode five not only changes the audience’s view of the show but the entire MCU moving forward.
WandaVision always seemed like an ambitious undertaking but the meta approach the show takes to itself ups the ante entirely. Having SWORD be aware that Wanda is in a television show that plays by certain rules means they get to be the audience surrogate and discover what it means with the audience as the mystery unfolds. Quite a lot of that happened in episode 5 so let’s unpack some of it.
First, it’s becoming clear that Vision is not thereby choice, and despite and being an essential part of the WandaVision dynamic he seems to be just as much of a puppet in the charade as everyone else in the town. Wanda, it seems, has had some sort of mental breakdown and stolen Vision’s body from a SWORD lab shortly after the events of Avengers: Endgame.
We learned from last week’s episode that the events in Captain Marvel led Maria Rambeau to form SWORD (probably with the help of her new pal Nick Fury and SHIELD). Her daughter, Monica, joined the organization and has been an agent since. That connection led her to the events of WandaVision where she infiltrated the town as an undercover agent (kidnapped is more like it but both work for the sake of this description).
The image that is becoming clear is that Wanda now controls most of the town and, as we saw in the episode, can actually leave of her own free will whenever she wants. She knows it’s an illusion and is totally fine with that. What is also becoming clear is she may not be the only one in control. Though the House of M storyline in the comics shows that Wanda has the power to warp reality she’s never exerted this much control and even she seems surprised by the amount of power she is wielding. This brings up the possibility that there’s another player at work.
SWORD finds a way to send a message to Vision allowing him to essentially wake from the spell Wanda has put him under and confront her about the entire situation. The show breaks out of its episodic structure going well beyond the credits proving Vision is no longer playing by her rules.
That’s when everything cracks wide open. Just as the two are talking about Pietro (Quicksilver) and how Wanda used to have a brother the doorbell rings. At this point the audience expects Pietro to show up, it’s built into the structure of the genre. And he does, just not the one we expect.
Here is where some history may help. Back before Disney bought out FOX two versions of Quicksilver made their way to cinemas at the same time. Aaron Taylor-Johnson joined Elizabeth Olson as the Maximoff Twins in Avengers: Age of Ultron while Evan Peters joined the X-Men in Days of Future Past. In the MCU Quicksilver was killed during the battle with Ultron but within the X-Men timeline Quicksilver is alive and well albeit quite a bit older than his MCU sister at that point. But, since Fox’s mutants are now fair game, it is Peters’ version of Quicksilver that shows up at Wanda’s door at the end of the episode.
His appearance marks the first real mutant and X-Men to show up in the MCU. Of course, the MCU was going to introduce the X-Men at some point but it was always assumed they would be rebooted and much further down the line. By bringing Peters in Wanda has somehow broken the multiverse and pulled him out of the X-Men timeline. What’s even weirder though is that he seems to recognize her as his sister. Unless of course, that’s not actually Pietro just someone pretending to be Pietro to further mess with Wanda’s brain. It goes without saying that next week’s episode is going to be bonkers.
If you were born in the ’80s, ’90s, or literally ANY decade after those, you know about Super Mario. A cultural phenomenon was brought to life on the big screen this last weekend. One that has not only stood the test of time but reinvented itself time and time again. This wasn’t even the first time it’s been made into a movie but, well, let’s be honest.. some of us choose not to acknowledge the LIVE action adaptation of the beloved game from 30 years ago.
It was pretty bad… But this was animation. ILLUMINATION animation at that. The Universal company that brought us Gru and his Minions, showed us the Secret Life of Pets, and gave us a reason to SING! Still, I had my reservations and even some concerns, especially when the casting was announced.
Eyebrows were raised. As big of stars as they were on paper, could they really deliver on voicing characters from a staple of our childhood? They did.
Chris Pratt and Charlie Day may not be Italian, and Jack Black may not be a King or Turtle creature from the Mushroom Kingdom, but they make the characters their own all while paying homage to the lore of a video game.
From the jump, the story reintroduces us to the brothers that just want to save Brooklyn one clogged sink at a time. We feel an instant connection and relate to these “underdogs of the plumbing world”. The movie is riddled with easter eggs, each of which tugs on the heartstrings of every generation of Mario fandom. And the soundtrack was beautifully put together to not only make us feel like we’re taking a walkthrough of the game but like an experience all its own with some familiar favorites thrown in.
Every word in the movie is pure eye candy for both those that are casual fans, and those analyzing every frame to see what they’ll catch next. Bowser’s ship, the Mushroom Kingdom, Kong’s arena, and the Rainbow Road.. They’re all meant to give us just enough of a “new” look at these amazing worlds, but stay true to how we remember them.
The movie itself moves along at the perfect pace. Although, if you don’t really know ANYTHING about the Super Mario Bros, you may have gotten a little lost and felt left behind in the green tunnel. But that’s ok! It’s an adventure of the imagination and a classic story of a boy that meets a girl and tries to save the world from a monster that wants to destroy it.
What’s funny is that you could easily say this is a story about two characters who couldn’t be more opposite if they tried, battling to win the heart of a princess. Who would’ve thought that the King of the Koopas was just trying to impress his crush?
And that song? Ohhh THAT song! It’s my new ringtone and deserves the Oscar for Best Original Song.
Back to the movie.
Universal and Illumination clearly understood the assignment. Is it missing some things or could things have been done differently or even better? Absolutely! We’re the worst critics of the things we hold nearest and dearest to our hearts. But if you’re up for going on a 90-minute adventure through amazing worlds, with awesome music, and characters that’ll make you smile and laugh, then this is the perfect movie to spring you into that warm summer feeling.
Plus there’s the whole part with karts and shells, and banana peels and oh my goodness how amazing was that?? It’s enough to make you want to stand up and cheer, then go home and destroy your friends and family on your favorite track haha.
The bottom line, it pays homage in all the right ways to the little guy with the mustache, while giving us something new and exciting. Take the kids and go see Super Mario Bros. You’ll be glad you did!
Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Opening Act Saturday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. on North 200A. Talent confirmed so far to participate in the post-screening panel is Natalie Alyn Lind (Big Sky, The Goldbergs, Gotham) as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince and longtime RWBY cast member Lindsay Jones (Camp Camp) as Ruby, Kara Eberle ( RWBY: Ice Queendom) as Weiss, Arryn Zech (Detective Now Dead) as Blake and Barbara Dunkelman (Blood Fest) as Yang – along with Jeannie Tirado (Soul, Saints Row) as Green Lantern and Tru Valentino (The Rookie, The Cuphead Show!) as a cyborg. Also attending the panel will be producer/director Kerry Shawcross (series RWBY) and writer Meghan Fitzmartin (Supernatural, Justice Society: World War II).
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023 with the big screen debut from DC Animated Films: highlights this year include the world premieres of the highly anticipated Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham and Justice League x RWBY: Superheroes & Hunters Part One the weekend of March 24-26 in Anaheim, California. Both screenings will be followed by panel discussions with actors and creators. Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham premieres at The Arena on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m. Tati Gabrielle (Kaleidoscope, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted) as Kai Li Cain, Christopher Gorham (The Lincoln Lawyer, Insatiable) as Oliver Queen, David Dastmalchian (Dune, Suicide Squad, Ant-Man) as Grendon, producer/co-director Sam Liu (The Death and the Return of Superman), co-director Christopher Berkeley (Young Justice) and screenwriter Jase Ricci (Teen Titans Go! and DC Super Hero Girls: Mayhem Across the Multiverse).
Both films will have encore screenings in the Arena on Sunday, March 26. Justice League x RWBY: Super Heroes & Huntsmen, Part One will screen at 12:15pm, followed by Batman: The Doom That Came To Gotham at 2:00pm
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
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Crunnchyroll presents ‘BOFURI: I don’t want to get hurt so I’ll max out my defense’: You’re not twinking!
‘Knock at the Cabin’: Puttin on your boogie shoes!
No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Illinois’ financial crisis could bring the state to a halt
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No Question Mark Box Here; Super Mario Delivers a 1-Up in Theaters
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment returns to WonderCon 2023
