I’m watching all the Marvel movies, in chronological order. So far, “Captain America: The First Avenger”, Captain Marvel, and Iron Man. Opinions differ over which is next—The Hulk or Iron Man 2. I decided to stick with Iron Man bc I hated the first one… less than expected.

I suspect the fact that the first Iron Man merely got on my nerves instead of becoming an object of my hatred had to do with being directed by @jonfavs but who’s to say, really.

Anyway I’m now at the climax of Iron Man 2 and in the HUD of the pwned Iron Man suit I see… lines from an .htaccess file???

Okay couple things.

1. The Incredible Hulk wasn’t great, but it wasn’t NEARLY as bad as the entire world seems to think it is.
2. Whoever said it comes after Iron Man 2 chronologically was absolutely right, it does not fit between the Iron Mans. Iron Men. Men Iron. Whatever.

It’s Thor time!

Honestly I think the appropriate order is
1. Captain America: The First Avenger
2. Captain Marvel
3. Iron Man
4. Iron Man 2
5. Thor
6. The Incredible Hulk
7. The Avengers

There are little clues in each that make this order make the most sense

Avengers time! This movie came out in 2012, which is a year I still haven’t fully recovered from. No wonder I missed it.

I’ve fallen behind on my Marvel commentary but here’s an update: Iron Man 3 is my favorite so far. The entire movie revolves around PTSD, coping with trauma, destigmatizing mental illness, and self acceptance—all in the face of the burden of masculinity—really did it for me.

Okay next, Thor: The Dark World. It was fine. Actiony. Overall I found it on the boring side and certainly not the cleverness I’ve been sold on for Thor movies. (I’ve seen bits of Ragnarok though and those made me laugh so I’m optimistic)

Captain America is basically my least favorite superhero of all time and I resent everyone involved in the act of making him introspective and a touch more cynical because dammit I enjoyed hating him.

Anyway Winter Soldier was surprisingly good and once again addressed mental illness & trauma in an otherwise over-the-top masculine setting—this time cPTSD. Also fed the Cap a healthy dose of cynicism and distrust. I’m coming around.

Still gotta do something about that NAME tho.

Relevant Marvel content too. https://twitter.com/gesa/status/1251314551401795584

I’ve already seen both Guardians of the Galaxy (the first multiple times) but I watched them again anyway and HOLY CRAP I UNDERSTAND SO MUCH MORE. The biggest help was Captain Marvel. Now I get who the Kree are!

Avengers: Age of Ultron. This whole time I’ve pictured Jarvis as Samuel Anderson (Danny Pink in Doctor Who) and was entirely taken aback by “Doctor Manhattan, but Marvel”. For a couple of people who volunteered for Hydra *on purpose* the twins seemed to switch sides too easy.

I’ve seen Ant Man before, but I’m glad I watched it again bc the immortal (seriously I think he’s immortal) Paul Rudd is a gift. The redemption arc is so much more… realistic except with super science? Looking forward to understanding why tf he’s on house arrest in the sequel.

Captain America Civil War: ohhhhh, so *that’s* why Ant Man is about to be arrested. Also wow they sure did just make Cap the anti-authoritarian here. Also also yeah I’d be pissed if “Captain America” destroyed my neighborhood in mfing Lagos.

More thoughts on Civil War

Hooray for Black Panther! So thaaaaats how King T’Chaka dies.

Oh this Spider-Man kid is gonna drive me up the wall, isn’t he.

Seriously though I kind of hate Civil War bc it encapsulates my least favorite aspect of all Marvel movies (and indeed media in general). ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED OR SOLVED BY DISMISSING THE TESTOSTERONE FROM THE ROOM.

Indeed Tom Holland’s Spider-Man just grates on my nerves—by no fault of Holland himself! I suspect it’s just that teenage boys grate on my nerves and he plays it well. Every Cap appearance in this movie made me laugh out loud though. Also the ending was

Doctor Strange feels like such an outlier. Fantasy in a sci-fi world. I’m looking forward to understanding how he fits in to the broader MCU.