Uncanny Exiles: The Smartest Person in the Multiverse

A few weeks back, I tossed out an idea, which I’ve since taken to calling Uncanny Exiles.  Marvel, perhaps in a rush to dilute the products they don’t currently own the movie rights for, has been slapping the adjective Uncanny all over their titles as of late, and if they’re going to give it out for free I’m happy to take it.  I considered Fantastic Exiles, but that didn’t really hit home.  But all that is fundamentally besides the point; I tossed this idea out there a few weeks back. Franklin Richards and Nate Grey. Literal gods on a cross-multiverse road trip, looking for a place to call home.  I think it’s a winner.  And the nice thing about a multiverse is that it’s a pretty expansive sandbox to play around in.  Consider this part two of a semi-regular exploration of that sandbox.  Ladies and gentlemen, tales from the Uncanny Exiles….

SPS - These Clever Kids Are Killing Me

Do you have a favorite band?  A group that stands above the rest, whose discography you know backward and forward, and who you never miss when they're in town?  The absolute ne plus ultra of your musical tastes, top of the list, best there ever is, was or will be?  If you're like me, the answer is probably "No."  And while a dozen music critics just gasped and clutched their pearls, I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

Don't Play The Hero

A few months back, Marvel released its first Netflix series, Daredevil, which proved to be an absolutely terrifying success.  Not only did it earn an astonishing number of views, but it was an absolute critical darling.  Its fight scenes were universally praised for breaking the mold on the traditional superhero show, but moreover the grim and somber attitude it took to the traditionally colorful world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a breath of fresh air, a shot in the arm of a bloated franchise that, frankly, was beginning to lean under its own colossal weight.  It seems radically simple, but Matt Murdoch gets the absolutely crap beaten out of him early in the season, and he spends the next five episode LOOKING LIKE A GUY WHO GOT THE ABSOLUTE CRAP BEATEN OUT OF HIM.  You couple that with a plot that directly references damage done to the city of New York during Avengers, and the fallout from a massive alien invasion, and you've got something sorely missing from the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, or The Avengers: consequences.

With that in mind, the trailer for Jessica Jones terrifies me, in the absolute best way.  The original comic book, a masterpiece in its own right, is fundamentally about the idea that the past has a way of catching up with you, and that inhuman power can sometimes lead to inhuman acts.  It is a world, in short, of consequences.  And on Netflix, it seems like it will fit in just fine.

The Times They Are A Travelin'

If you're on the internet (and you are) you've by now heard that today, October 21st, 2015 is 'the day'.  The mythic day to which Marty McFly and Doc Brown travel in the classic 'Back to the Future II'.  This has, of course, led to all kinds of festivities, from cross-promotional branding to 'how far we've come' think-pieces to jokes about the Cubs.  It's...honestly kind of nauseating, and I say that as someone who's got real affection for the movies.  Maybe it's just minor inner hipster screaming about liking something that's popular.  Luckily, nothing soothes my inner hipster like recommending some obscure crap, and boy do I have that lined up.

You see, time travel is a fun subject, and while 'Back to the Future' as a series handles it quite well (and with some very welcome humor), it doesn't quite top my list.  That honor goes to Science Fiction visionary and all around prolific author Robert A. Heinlein, and his short story " '-All You Zombies-' ".

SPS - I Can See A Lot of Life In You

Last week was a bit preachy, so I thought I'd do something a bit more low key this time around.  Sometimes, you just want to keep things simple.

So, Exiles, Basically

Pretty much since I finished Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four, a series that I have previously raved about, I've had an idea bouncing around in my head.  Sadly, it's one I'll probably never get to execute - even if by some miracle I end up working for Marvel (stranger things have happened) it's a bit too far out there on the cosmic wackiness scale to really get a mainstream book going.  Moreover, it digs deep into the toy box for some of its cast.  Then again, if Marvel is dedicated to keeping the Four separated and out of their home book, this wouldn't be the worst way to lose a character.  You see, in Hickman's FF run, he introduces (in a manner of speaking) a member of the Richards family that just so happens to be one of my favorites in all of comics.  He's also, for all practical purposes, an immortal god.  Ladies and gentlemen, meet Franklin Richards.

SPS - I'll Be Good, I'll Be Good, I'll Be Good

For starters, just watch the music video.  Normally these posts are all about the song itself, and don't get me wrong - we'll get there.  But I spent enough time in film school to appreciate a good music video when I see one, and this one is simply perfect.  It takes an amazing joke and then builds on it with style and humor.  It avoids that painful one-note nature that's very easy to stumble into when developing sketch comedy, and above all it rides a fine line between parody and earnestness that gives the entire thing an irreverent charm, one that doesn't tear apart what I see as an inherently positive song.  Because as mockable as it is, sometimes you do just want to be better.  You want to work out, eat right, be nicer and happier and generally more social.  And in today's exceedingly hip and ironic world, that's a vulnerable place to be.

I'm Late to This Party...

But holy shit Hamilton is amazing.  Lin-Manuel Miranda's MacArthur Grant is well deserved.  Now all I have to do is sell my firstborn to get tickets.

Also, let's say that TAS is officially back from hiatus.