The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025)

The Fantastic 4: First Steps (2025)

starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon-Moss Bachrach, Joseph Quinn

directed by Matt Shakman

115 minutes

The world is threatened by a galactic level threat, the Devourer of Worlds, Galactus. The Silver Surfer, the herald of Galactus comes to Earth, well in advance of her employer. She warns the people of Earth. The Fantastic Four (Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, The Thing, and the Human Torch) and decide that something must be done. They follow the trail of the Silver Surfer to another star system where Galactus is in the process of devouring a planet.

Superman (2025)

Superman (2025)

starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult

written and directed by James Gunn

130 minutes

Superman (David Corenswet) gets beat up by a supervillain named the Hammer of Boravia while the country of Boravia is threatening to invade Jarhanpur, one of its neighbors. The masked villain turns out to be working for Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) who is in turn working with the Boravian president. The Hammer of Boravia is actually Ultraman, one of Luthor's superpowered lackeys.

Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns (1992)

starring Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, Michael Keaton

directed by Tim Burton

126 minutes

Oswald Cobblepot abandoned by his parents (who find him disgusting) is adopted by penguins that live in the sewers beneath Gotham. Decades later he allies himself with criminals from the Red Triangle Circus.

Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer), secretary to Gotham industrialist (and all around bad guy) Max Shreck, displeases her boss one too many times. He pushes her out a window. She falls several stories but miraculously comes back to life. She designs herself a costume and starts calling herself Catwoman.

The New Original Wonder Woman (1975)

The New Original Wonder Woman (1975)

starring Lynda Carter, Lyle Waggoner

directed by Leonard Horn

74 minutes

A German plan to bomb the Brooklyn Navy tards is foiled by Major Steve Trevor (Lyle Waggoner). He parachutes out of his plane as it was destroyed while stopping the German plane that was sent to bomb the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He lands on Paradise Island. He is unconscious when he is found by Diana (Lynda Carter), Princess of the Amazons.

Queen Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, decides that Major Trevor must be returned to the United States. She holds a contest to determine which Amazon will undertake this mission. All of the Amazons taking part in the contest are masked and wear numbers. In the end it comes down to a contest of bullets and bracelets between the two Amazons who score the highest, numbers 8 and 33. The winner (33) reveals herself to be Diana, after she has won the contest of bullets and bracelets.

Wonder Woman (1974)

Wonder Woman (1974)

starring Cathy Lee Crosby

directed by Vincent McEveety

75 minutes

Princess Diana (Cathy Lee Crosby) must track down a missing set of books that contain the names of the United States' top secret agents. Abner Smith (Ricardo Montalban), the mastermind behind the theft of the books, send some of his agents to prevent Wonder Woman from accomplishing her mission. Steve Trevor, her boss, provides assistance and guidance but leaves most of the work up to Wonder Woman.

Mr. Smith's agents aren't quite up the task of dealing with Wonder Woman so he recruits Ahnjayla, one of her sisters, to help him stop her. George, Abner's right hand man, double crosses his own subordinates (Cass and Bob) and tries to do the same to Abner. George's boss proves to be a little more resourceful than George realized. 

Blade (1998)

Blade (1998)

starring Wesley Snipes, Stephen Dorff, Chris Christopherson

directed by Stephen Norrington

121 minutes

Blade's mother was bitten by a vampire in 1967, while she was pregnant. She died giving birth to Blade (Wesley Snipes), a day walker, a vampire who can endure sunlight. Blade works with Whistler (Chris Christopherson), a human who lost his family to vampires. Together they wage war against vampires.

Blade and Whistler gain an unexpected ally, Doctor Karen Jenson, a blood specialist. She meets Blade when he arrives just in time to save her from Quinn, another vampire. She gets bit by Quinn, before Blade arrives but before she bleeds out he gets her to Whistler who patches her up. Karen is still in danger of turning into a vampire. She decides, after another close call, to stay close to Blade.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

starring Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld

directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

117 minutes

Teenager Miles Morales gets bit by a spider while hanging out with his Uncle Aaron. He thinks nothing of it until he discovers he has acquired super powers. He can stick to walls. He stumbles across a fight between Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and the Green Goblin.

The Green Goblin is working for the Kingpin and is trying to stop Spider-Man from interfering in an experiment being conducted by Dr. Olivia Octavius, who is also working for Kingpin. She is attempting to open an inter-dimensional portal. Spider-Man gets killed but entrusts Miles with a thumb drive or goober (as he calls it) which if used properly can shut down Dr. Octavius' portal.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

starring Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry

directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

140 minutes

Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) has still not told her father about her life as Spider-Woman. He thinks that Spider-Woman killed her friend, Peter Parker. She leaves her universe once again and joins an association of Spider heroes. They are led by Miguel O'Hara (aka Spider-Man 2099).

Gwen is given a mission to keep an eye on the Spot, a new villain who live in the same universe as Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), whom she hasn't seen since the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Instead of keeping an eye on the Spot she looks up Miles and spends time with him. It isn't until it is too late that she realizes her mistake.

Batman (1989)

Batman (1989)

starring Jack Nicholson, Michael Keaton, Kim Basinger

directed by Tim Burton

126 minutes

Boss Grissom sends Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), his number one guy, to Axis Chemicals to retrieve some incriminating information before the police get their hands on the documents. Jack gets there only to discover that he's been setup. Grissom wants Jack dead because he's been having an affair with Grissom's girlfriend.

The police surround the chemical plant. Batman (Michael Keaton) crashes the party at Axis Chemicals. He gets into a fight with Napier and Napier falls into a vat of chemicals. Napier survives but he is horribly scarred. His skin is now bone white, his hair is green, and his mouth is twisted into a permanent smile.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

Iron Man 3 (2013)

starring Robert Downey, Jr., Gwynneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce

directed by Shane Black

130 minutes

Bern, Switzerland - 1999 - Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is partying at a conference with Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall), a scientist, when he is approached by Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who tries to get Tony interested in his research project, Advanced Idea Mechanics (AIM). Tony blows him off. 

Malibu, California - 2013 - Killian resurfaces. He shows up at Pepper Potts' (Gwyneth Paltrow) office unexpectedly. He tries to get her interested in his latest project. She listens to his pitch, unlike Tony, but doesn't commit to anything. Happy Hogan follows one of Killian's bodyguards and gets badly injured in a blast. The Mandarin, the leader of a terrorist organization, takes responsibility for the bombing. Tony is asked by the press about the attack. He lashes out and tells the Mandarin via the press, what his home address is.

Tony is making plans to investigate the Mandarin when Maya Hansen shows up at his house. She wants to talk to him. Before the conversation can get very far three helicopters attack Tony and Pepper's home. Tony, Pepper, and Maya just barely escape but the house is demolished. Tony zooms out of there (once he knows that the two women are safe) in one of his suits of armor.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

starring Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry

directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

140 minutes

Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) continues to fight crime in her universe. She reveals her identity to her father. It doesn't go well. He feels that he needs to arrest her. She is saved by a couple other Spider heroes Miguel O'Hara/Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac) and Jessica Drew/Spider-Woman (Issa Rae).

Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) also has problems in his universe. He is fighting a villain named the Spot (Jason Schwartzman). He is trying to stay on his parents good side but it is kind of tough because he keeps disappearing to fight crime and he has yet to tell his parents that he is Spider-Man.

The Batman (2022)

starring Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright

directed by Matt Reeves

Batman (Robert Pattinson) works with police officer James Gordon (Jeffery Wright) to figure out who killed the mayor, the police commissioner, and the district attorney of Gotham City. Batman crosses paths Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz), a burglar who is investigating the death of her friend. He also crosses paths with the Penguin (Colin Farrell), an enforcer for mob boss Carmine Falcone (John Turturro). He convinces Kyle to help him infiltrate the mob's most important nightclub. Batman receives clues throughout the movie from the killer who is eventually revealed to be the leader of a gang that has even bigger plans.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Starring Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Bryan Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Miles Morales acquires spider powers after getting bit by a spider. He witnesses the death of the original Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and meets a groups of Spider superheroes from other universes. The Spider-Heroes work together to prevent Kingpin and Doctor Octopus from destroying the multiverse.

There were a lot of moments that I loved. There were a number of moments when I laughed out loud. There was one moment that got me emotional and teary-eyed.

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

Starring Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas
Directed by Peyton Reed

Scott Lang (Rudd) has been under house arrest for a couple years, ever since the end of Captain America: Civil War. He has had no contact with Hope Van Dyne (Lilly) or Hank Pym (Douglas). He has just three days to go until his sentence of house arrest will be over when he has a dream about Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer), Hope's mother.

Scott calls Hank Pym but no one answers. He leaves a message and then sits down to watch TV. He wakes up in a van with Hope. She is taking him to see Hank, her father. They want to know more about the dream he had. He tells them and they become convinced that Janet is still alive. They think that Janet placed a message in Scott's brain when he was in the Quantum Realm.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Thanos the Titan comes looking for the Infinity Stones. It is all part of his plan to bring equilibrium to the universe by killing half of all living things. The Avengers are in possession of two of the Infinity Stones so naturally their paths have to cross. He gets one of the stones from Loki, before he kills him and Heimdall. Thor survives the encounter. Hulk, who is also with them, is sent back to Earth by a spell that Heimdall casts before Thanos can finish him off.

Dr. Strange is the next target. Thanos' minions are unable to retrieve the stone from the Eye of Agamotto so they take Dr. Strange and the Eye. Iron Man and Spider-Man unsuccessfully try to stop Thanos' troops from leaving with Dr. Strange but they do manage to infiltrate the spaceship.

Kick-Ass (2010)

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Marc Strong, Chloe Grace Moretz, Nicholas Cage
Directed by Matthew Vaughn

Dave Lizewski (Taylor-Johnson) wants to be a superhero. He makes himself a costume and gives himself a name, Kick-Ass. He tries fighting crime. His first time out he gets the crap beaten out of him and winds up in the hospital. One by-product of his recuperative surgery seems to be that he no longer feels pain. So, he picks up where he left off. He has trouble finding any crime to fight until one night he stumbles across three guys beating up another guy. Someone sees him take them on, catches the whole thing on video and before you know he is an internet sensation.

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Mickey, Rourke
Directed by Jon Favreau

Tony Stark (Downey Jr.) and company are back for the second Iron Man movie in what eventually became known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tony's solution for his heart problems is starting to fail him. Ivan Vanko (Rourke), a villain whose father was done wrong by Howard Stark (John Slattery), Tony's father, comes looking for revenge. Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. continue to try talking Tony into working with them. Col. James Rhodes (Cheadle), takes one of the suits that Tony has designed and turns it over to US Government.

Aquaman (2018)

starring Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, Patrick Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
directed by James Wan

I enjoyed this movie more than I thought I would. My hopes were not high. I was expecting a train or a shipwreck. In a sense that's what I got but there were some fun moments along the way. I even shed a tear or two at a couple pivotal moments towards the end of the movie. I thought some of the sea creatures were cool but there was a little too much exposition through monologue and dialogue to satisfy my tastes.

Aquaman (Momoa), aka Arthur, leaves the surface world, where he has spent most of his life, and travels to Atlantis to challenge Orm (Wilson), his half-brother. It was Mera (Heard) who convinced him to return to Atlantis. She fails to mention that she is engaged to Orm, who is getting ready to launch at attack on the surface world. Orm proves to be a little more difficult to defeat than Aquaman expected him to be.

Justice League: Gods & Monsters (2015)

Gods & Monsters

This is the first DC Animated Universe TV show or movie that Bruce Timm produced which looks like the work he helmed from 1991 to 2006 (B:TAS to JLU). It has a similar look to his earlier work but it is notably different in that it is PG-13. There is lots of on screen violence, some cursing, and a little bit of sexual innuendo. I think these elements worked for me in large part because this is an Elseworlds story. It wouldn't feel right if this was played as a mainstream DCAU movie.

Deadpool (2016)

This movie is two stories in one. One is set in the present, the other is set in the past. There are lots of fourth wall breaking moments and an endless supply of jokes. This movie does not take itself too seriously.

This was the first time I watched Deadpool. I remember listening and reading reactions to the movie when it was first released. I wasn't sure if I would like it. I was prepared not to like it but I was very pleasantly surprised. It was light, easy to watch, and not too long.