Consequences (An MCU Hawkeye Story)

The facility in Chevy Chase, Maryland seemed abandoned. The building had been listed as a medical supply distributor, but hardly anything was left on the shelves. Thankfully, Yelena Belova and Kate Bishop did not give up easily. They had searched the place top to bottom after Yelena had activated a broadcast scrambler and the two of them had located and Kate had hacked the camera system. That gave them plenty of time to search for hidden surprises. When they found the entrance to an underground tunnel, it was precisely the jackpot they had expected. They slipped into the tunnel and Kate drew an arrow immediately after her feet touched the ground.

“Do you have which arrow is which straight yet?” Yelena asked. “I would rather not blow up in such a tiny place.”

“I would rather not blow up at all but I know what you mean,” Kate said. “I have everything straight now. I packed my own quiver and Clint has definitely quizzed me enough.”

Yelena grunted. It had only been a few weeks since the incident at Rockefeller Center where Kate and Clint had faced off against Yelena, the Tracksuit Mafia, and “The Kingpin” Wilson Fisk. Yelena had apparently abandoned her vendetta against Clint for the death of her sister Natasha Romanov, the Avenger Black Widow. Even though Yelena seemed to have smartened up that Clint did not kill Natasha, it was still a really touchy subject. It was a subject that Kate had consciously avoided whenever she had coffee with Yelena. Of course, she had also avoided telling Clint about those coffee meetups. Kate wanted to be Yelena’s friend without it being weird which meant that Kate took all of the awkwardness onto herself. It was obviously the perfect situation.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Kate said. “I shouldn’t have mentioned his name. That was dumb. It has to still be a sore spot.”

“Of course not,” Yelena said. “Just because my employer told me half-truths in an effort to capitalize on my grief for my one and only sister in order to murder Clint Barton? That’s silly. That’s totally silly.”

“Definitely silly,” Kate said, letting the matter drop. “As long as we’re on the same page. This Contessa is the bad guy or girl or whatever. Right? She has to answer some questions.”

“She will definitely be answering some questions,” Yelena said. “All of the questions.”

“Wow. That gave me literal chills,” Kate said. “That was really good. Very intimidating.”

“It comes from all of my extensive training and perhaps also from when one’s big sister keeps stealing the little sister’s favorite toy,” Yelena said. “Anyway, such intimidation is not for rookies like you.”

“I usually just shoot something pointy near their head without actually hitting their head,” Kate said. “That usually works for me.”

“I am sure,” Yelena said. “Your vast experience is comforting.” Her words were of course dripping with sarcasm.

“Hey,” Kate said. “You agreed to take me along. I’m helping.”

“Only because you would not leave me alone,” Yelena said but a hint of a smile passed over her face. “You are a very annoying sidekick.”

“I’m not your sidekick!” Kate said. “I mean I’m not a sidekick at all. Damn it.”

Actually, Kate had been surprised that Yelena invited her along even though Kate had indeed pestered her relentlessly about it. The acquiescence had felt like validation to Kate who was still pretty new to the superhero thing. At least all of her injuries had healed from Christmas. She briefly wondered how her mother was doing in jail and then pushed the thought away for another time. This was mission time.

“Please hold,” Yelena said softly. “The tracker device says we are very very close.”

“How close?” Kate asked.

As if to answer, several soldiers stepped out from their hiding places.

“Very close,” Yelena said.

The two young ladies lept into action, fighting these seasoned soldiers. Kate’s arrows and Yelena’s fists flew everywhere. Neither of them was trying to kill their targets but the same could not be said about the soldiers who were thankfully wielding knives instead of guns. They must have been worried about firing in such a tight space. Yelena and Kate made short work of them even though they were outnumbered. That was when John Walker stepped out from the shadows, carrying a replica of Cap’s shield. 

“Back off, Yelena,” Walker said. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull but you are off mission.”

“Where is she?” Yelena asked calmly.

“Nowhere near here,” Walker said and held up the tracking device. “She figured you out.”

“I’m sure she figured you out too,” Yelena said. “Perhaps she is using you like she used me.”

“I don’t care,” Walker said and dropped the tracking device to the ground and stomped on it. “You’re not going any further with this.”

“The hell we aren’t,” Kate said and drew an arrow. “Come and stop us.”

“I could, you know,” Walker said. “Instead, I rigged this place with explosives. So enjoy that.” The defeated soldiers started scrambling away as Walker pressed a button on a remote and explosives started to go off.

Yelena and Kate ran like mad as everything started to collapse around them. They barely made it back to the warehouse, gasping for air as they tried to recover.

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Media Update 12/2/21

Hawkeye

I fell in love with Hawkeye when I read Matt Fraction and David Aja’s fabulous story from 2015. I loved the art style, the humor, and Kate Bishop. I liked that a guy who had been an Avenger for years was getting his chops busted by a young protege. It feels like they captured that feeling in the new show on Disney+ and mixed it in with the good parts of the MCU. Jeremy Renner has really grown with the character. Hailee Steinfeld is so good as Kate Bishop aka the second Hawkeye. Mixing the story in with Christmas feels timely and way less forced than I thought it would be. This show follows the grand tradition of Marvel television that was started with Netflix and improved on by Disney+. I am excited to see where this story goes and every new and returning character delights me. I recommend this show.

Get Back

A lot is being said about the new documentary directed by Peter Jackson. It is certainly a fascinating documentary. The footage comes from January 1969 when the lads from Liverpool got together after much tension and started to rehearse songs for what would eventually be the Let It Be album and a live performance before they would go to record. The footage is raw and very real. The Beatles know they are being filmed but also don’t seem to be censoring themselves. It is immediately clear how much of a family they were and how much love there was. The documentary is broken down into three movie-length pieces and I have only watched the first. There is no narration. There is some footage of past events mixed in and some text slipped in to explain items but most of it is presented without any explicit comment. I recommend this documentary.

King Richard

I had been leary of this movie because trailers seem to sanctify the titular character while obviously showing him as a strange and offputting person. This movie is about Richard Williams, the biological father of Venus and Serena Williams and their first tennis coach. The story definitely presents a picture of a flawed man, one full of contradictions and problematic behavior. And yet, he has a heart. Richard Williams was a horrible parent but a very good tennis coach and things seemed to work out somewhat alright. Will Smith transformed himself and really surprised me with how good his acting has gotten over the course of his career. Jon Bernthal is great as a cartoony yet very real portrayal of the girl’s other main tennis coach, Rick Macci. Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton do a really great job as the tennis stars in the first part of their career. I recommend this movie.

Music of the Week:

Wet Leg – Too Late Now

Time Lag Youth – 歌いたい歌を歌って

Gary Harju – I Gotta Move

Notre Noise – Attention Shoppers

Mashup of the Week:

Enzo Bloise – Rain On My Universe

Weekly Update:
This week’s theme is “Family Past”
I watched more Chucky Season 1
I watched more Titans Season 3
I watched more Doom Patrol Season 3
I watched more Young Justice Season 4
I watched more Our Kind of People Season 1
I watched more Elementary Season 6
I watched more Bob’s Burgers Season 11

Top 11 Superheroes That Need a Movie or Show

These are a few characters or teams that I feel could use their own show or movie. Some of them have already been animated and some of them already have a television show but they could use more. I purposely left out characters who are confirmed to already have a movie or show in the works.

11 Deadman

There have already been some allusions to Deadman’s origins when Nanda Parbat was mentioned on Arrow. Boston Brand is a deceased circus performer who clings to the land of the living in order to right wrongs and save the day. While I have really only experienced the character during crossover events, I feel like a lot could be done with this character. In death, he is merely a spirit but he has the power to possess people to use their bodies to accomplish his tasks. He is also often a conduit between the lands of the dead and the living. The problem with putting this on screen is how to depict the possession. Frankly, it could be fun to see a bunch of different actors doing an impression of whoever is playing Deadman. I am not sure if the character could carry a movie on his own but a movie teaming up with somebody like Zatanna or some other mystical DC Comics characters could be fun. It looks like he will be in the upcoming Justice League Dark but that is one animated feature. He could also be in a television show with a whole bunch of guest stars standing in for him in each episode.

10 The Shadowpact

While they were not around for long, I always liked the Shadowpact. They were a ragtag group of mystical heroes and anti-heroes who confronted mystical threats. They always kind of struck me as kind of a blue collar superhero team. They all met each other at a magical bar that exists beyond space and time that is owned by formerly retired leader Nightmaster. Probably the most famous character is Blue Devil, a guy who sold his soul for demonic powers and fame. He struggles with the decision and how it might inspire others to sell their soul too. My favorite character from the issues I have read was Detective Chimp. He is an actual chimpanzee who can talk and was also a very intelligent, chain-smoking detective. In fact, two reboots ago, he was somebody that Batman would consult with to help the World’s Greatest Detective figure out tougher mysteries. The problem here is that the team also had The Enchantress in it and Suicide Squad kind of screwed that up. She is not very necessary and Nightshade (another magician) can easily fill her role since she is already on the team. I won’t go into everyone on the team but they would make a good movie.

9 Runaways

The Runaways were a breakout success in comic books that seemed to come out of nowhere not long before the Civil War storyline in Marvel Comics. The Runaways were young superheroes who were struggling with a very difficult truth. Their parents were some of the most powerful yet relatively unknown supervillains in the world. While villains like Doctor Doom and Loki were tearing down cities while loudly proclaiming their intentions, the Pride were villains that controlled things more from the shadows similar to the early days of the Mafia. They were grooming their kids to take over the family business but the kids had different ideas and ran away from home, struggling with not wanting to be villains but also not really wanting to fight their parents. The series deals a lot with dealing with the strong emotions that come with youth and being on the lam with superpowers and/or superweapons. There were also some very interesting gay, lesbian and transgender themes which we haven’t really seen a whole of in superhero stuff so far. There were so many interesting concepts in this book that would be amazing adapted on screen.

8 Green Arrow

A long time ago (at least a decade), a movie was announced as being in development. This was long before press conferences where the big two revealed their movie schedules for the next four years. DC Comics revealed a potential movie that at the time was simply called Supermax. In reality, the movie was a vehicle for the Green Arrow. In it, Green Arrow would be imprisoned in a new state of the art prison for high-profile lawbreakers and would have to escape to survive. It would have had cameos from a whole bunch of DC Comics villains who would be imprisoned alongside him and thirsting for superhero blood. I really wanted that movie to happen but it was canceled a while ago with the new darker and edgier concept that DC has going on. Green Arrow always felt like a more lighthearted superhero. Like Batman, he was a rich man who combatted crime in a costume but he was always a little more snarky. He is also one of the most liberal superheroes around and that is not bad in my book. Of course, we already have the fantastic show Arrow so nothing like Supermax will probably be made but I would actually love to merge the two ideas at some point and allow Steven Amell to have a movie under his belt.

7. The Outsiders

This was a short-lived offshoot of the Teen Titans (who will probably get a movie eventually). Nightwing and Arsenal (two former sidekicks) put together a more pro-active superhero team. They hunt down supervillains before they finish putting their master plan together instead of waiting for them to attack Metropolis or Gotham and having to scramble to defeat them before stuff really hits the fan. It was a cool concept to see these characters not only react to situations but also try and track down villains before their plans were made. That way, the innocent bystanders of the DC Universe were not in danger as much. When the battle occurs in a remote supervillain hideout, the characters can be more free with their wanton destruction. I am sure Lex Luthor probably insures his hideouts anyway. Along with Nightwing and Arsenal there were plenty of young heroes just trying to figure things out. Metamorpho is basically a walking chemistry set. Grace Choi (no superhero codename) is a super strong bartender who does not take any crap from anybody. Thunder could manipulate her density to cause all sorts of havoc. Then there’s a super powerful android named Indigo and Jade who is basically a Green Lantern. The comic also had a positive outlook toward LGBTQ issues and had a fairly light tone. I cannot stress enough how much DC Movies need a lighter tone here and there.

6 Sandman (Wesley Dodds)

Soon there might be a movie based on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and if it makes it through Development Hell, then I think I will be in love with it. However, there is another character involved with DC Comics with the same name who is actually connected. Wesley Dodds is a rich inventor who lives in the roaring twenties. Wesley’s problem is that every night he cannot sleep because of horrible prophetic dreams connected to the Dreaming from Neil Gaiman’s series. These dreams may keep him up but they also push him toward solving or preventing horrible crimes. He wears a suit, a World War I gas mask and uses a gas gun to put his enemies to sleep. In the Sandman Mystery Theater series, he fights extremely evil people. Dodds himself is a quiet mouse of a man but when he dons his mask, he is confident and ready to risk his body and freedom to bring criminals to justice. Along the way, he is helped and hindered by a party girl/flapper named Dian who is often able to figure out a lot of the mystery without Wesley’s help. Together, they are a formidable force. If Warner Brothers wants to go dark and gritty, they should do it with characters and situations built for it instead of tarnishing their bright, shiny symbols of justice.

5 Blue Beetle and Booster Gold

This is pretty much the opposite of the above entry. There is a time for things to get dark and edgy but if Warner Brothers keeps playing the same song, then people are going to leave the party. Suicide Squad attempted to be more lighthearted but it still had muted colors and struggled with portraying villains vs. having characters save the day. Blue Beetle and Booster Gold are two heroes who bring both the best and worst out of each other. A movie starring the two of them has a lot of potential to be very funny while also adding a little variety to the DC Movie universe. Booster Gold is a man from the future who stole a bunch of equipment and traveled to our time to become famous and a superhero in that order. Blue Beetle is an inventor superhero who has a tendency to be a little too serious. Put them together and they are a formidable team that is constantly cracking jokes on each other like a buddy cop movie. Something in the vein of I Can’t Believe It’s Not the Justice League would work. It would be kind of a gentle parody of Batman v. Superman and other offerings in that universe mashed together with an almost improv style of comedy.

4 Squirrel Girl

Squirrel Girl kind of became a meme a couple of years ago as writers dug through the archives and realized that this minor hero had beaten a lot of Marvel’s biggest villains. She has defeated Doctor Doom, Galactus and several more heroes with determination, smarts and being underestimated. The character has a lot of charisma as seen in her own book recently. She has been a babysitter for Jessica Jones and Luke Cage’s baby (spoiler maybe?) and has been an asset to a couple of different superhero situations. Lately, she has been going on her own adventures as she has tried to figure out who she is and where the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl fits in. Her character has a similar can-do spirit to Kimmy Schmidt and actually has a similar disconnect from the way things really work. She also regularly breaks the fourth wall in her adventures and pokes fun at a lot of superhero tropes and other things we take for granted. In fact, she literally takes some of this from Deadpool who gifted her a set of flashcards which explain most of the characters in the Marvel Universe. Her movie or television show could be kind of like a PG Deadpool. We all know that the reason Deadpool worked was not because of its rating. A similar thing with the same fast-paced, cartoony action with smart dialogue would definitely work.

3 Static

I was just old enough to be able to watch the animated show Static Shock when I was a kid. I would love to see them reexamine that character since there are tons of issues around starring the character. Static comics put a spotlight on what it is to be a black kid in American cities while also showing what it is like to be a young superhero. Power over electricity and electromagnetism is a powerful ability and I was always impressed with the different ways the character could use that power. He wasn’t like most characters with energy-based abilities which includes the similar Black Lightning. He did not always zap his problems away and instead either used his powers indirectly or thought his way out of a problem. Virgil Hawkins was an inspiration, especially to young black Americans who wanted a hero who looked like them. In addition, his villains were people you would actually meet walking around a city who just happened to have superpowers. Deciding what cause to further through use of those powers was a big theme in the cartoon and, from I’ve read, the comic. Apparently,  there is a live action television show that may or may not be happening and I hope that it stays true to the spirit of the character. Also, please do not cast Jaden Smith.

2 Hawkeye (Kate Bishop)

I fell in love with Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye series. Not only does it portray Hawkeye in a very human and relatable way, it really does a lot of good for his protege Kate Bishop. Kate took over the mantle of Hawkeye for a while for Clint Barton, especially why she teamed with the Young Avengers. She is younger and just as good a shot as Clint is but she comes from an entirely different background. She comes from wealth but tends to shrug off her birthright more often than not. I would love to see something with Kate in it because she is a pretty complicated character in her own right. Also, Hawkeye gets a lot of crap from fans of the Avengers series of movies. I love Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, the kind of blue collar/military hero that is just trying to survive while more powerful heroes rage around him. I would love to see a Hawkeye movie where he mentors Kate and they fight villains together. We already saw a little bit of Hawkeye’s urge to mentor during Avengers II And Civil War with Scarlet Witch but Kate would be snarkier yet more receptive. To me, that would be the best way to do a Hawkeye movie which could lead into a Young Avengers movie or just stand on its own.

1 She-Hulk

Please. Please. PLEASE give me a She-Hulk movie or television show. Jennifer Walters is Bruce Banner’s cousin and she accidentally gets transformed into She-Hulk through a blood transfusion needed to save her life. Unlike Bruce, she does not need to be angry to transform but being angry definitely will transform her more easily. She also is not the bottomless pit of rage and self-loathing that Bruce is and actually becomes a better person through being She-Hulk. Hands down the best part of her is that she is a working lawyer more than she is a superhero. My favorite stories about Jen are when she is actually trying cases and researching the law and making closing arguments and getting this done legally. Punching somebody is at the bottom of her list to do when she can simply get an injunction and end the fight before it even begins. I want to see her try some superpowered cases and deal with villains with legal skills. She could bring in Patsy Walker (from Jessica Jones) as her investigator and there could be cameos from all sorts of great characters. This is probably the whole reason I wrote this list. Give me a She-Hulk show or movie or both.