WandaVision: Not Just for Marvel Fans

By: Sarah Gomez, Staff Writer

I’m sure nearly everyone at this point has heard of the Disney+ original WandaVision, the first series made by Marvel Studios, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, with that being said, you don’t have to care or even know about any of that to enjoy the series as it is. Though Marvel fans might advertise this series as something of the specific niche, anyone who likes a good plot and cool characters can enjoy it. This sitcom format series is something enjoyable for multiple audiences of different familiarities of the characters. Whether you’re a marvel fanatic, only seen two or three films, or never even heard of it, WandaVision is bound to have something you can enjoy.

The show follows a couple, Wanda and Vision, as they move into their new home in the town of Westview, New Jersey. Wanda, a stay-at-home wife who can make a pen float in the air, and Vision, an indestructible AI that works for Computational Services Inc., move in at the beginning of the series. This series also expands on the two characters on a more personal level. This approach establishes the two in their own little bubble. The two are the main characters and we get to see the two grow with each other in a completely independent manner. The show follows a standard sitcom format that changes throughout the series, going from 50’s to 60’s and so on and so forth. While the two love birds are living their newly-wed lives in their new home, things begin to look out of the ordinary for their picture-perfect life. New problems begin to arise that are out of the ordinary even for a sitcom, and the rest of the series attempts to understand who or what is ruining the show. 

Though this may not be the most enticing storyline for everyone immediately, each episode comes with its own flavor. In addition to having the time era‘s general aesthetics, the story line of the episode follows a similar arc we would expect from a television show at that time. From I Love Lucy to The Office, WandaVision has an episode for whatever your comfort sitcom may be. In addition to this, the variety in episodes keep audiences constantly on their toes. The easy-to-follow plot makes this an ideal binge for family nights or background entertainment for studying, while still being entertaining.

Movie Review – Captain Marvel

By: Allison UpChurch, Staff Reporter

Captain Marvel, the latest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe lineup, bridges together introductions of new characters while also showcasing old characters and reliving a nostalgic time period of the early 90’s. Captain Marvel herself is only the second female Marvel character to have a title movie (the first was The Wasp in Ant-Man and the Wasp last year), but she and her fellow companions and rivals bring another superhero adventure to the big screen.

At the movie’s start, Captain Marvel is introduced as Vers (played by Brie Larson). She is a soldier for the militia of an alien species called the Kree, and she has no memory of her past. During a mission to stop a species of shapeshifters called the Skrulls, Vers ends up stranded on Earth in 1995 and realizes that a team of Skrulls has extracted a memory from her past that will lead them to a hyperspace weapon. To stop them, Vers teams up with SHIELD agent Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson) to get to the weapon before the Skrulls do.

The storytelling of this movie mostly gets lost in the great big mix of already established Marvel canon. Without some prior knowledge of the Kree alien species (look first into Guardians of the Galaxy) or a general familiarity to Fury, then a moviegoer can easily be confused for most of this movie. However, there is no need to be alone in that confusion as Vers herself does not know who she truly is either, so moviegoers get to go and uncover her identity in the same sympathetic manner that she does.

If a person is up to relieve the past, then there are plenty of nostalgic nods to lifestyles and brands of the 90’s that can be sure to bring delight. This movie is also not shy of taking both expected and unexpected turns with the characters and adds in that comic relief that Marvel movies are known to include. The action scenes in this movie tend to be a little too well choreographed, making the impression that the steaks are not as high as they should be, but overall those scenes are cool as Vers takes on most of those scenes by herself.

In connecting this movie with a Jesuit values that is exemplified here at Regis, Captain Marvel would be labeled under “Cura Personalis” – the care of the whole person. Vers shows the audience that it takes time to develop a true sense of identity, and that it only comes from realizing that every living thing on Earth deserves dignity with regard to mind, body, and spirit. She also goes through both supportive and deceitful relationships that lead her to the values of dignity she wants to exemplify which shows how her spirit has grown and how she turns those values into real life actions.  

Movie Review: Thor: Ragnarok

(Photo: Marvel Studios)

By: Allison Upchurch, Staff Reporter

One of Earth’s mightiest heroes and member of the Avengers return in the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor: Ragnarok.

In this continuation of Thor’s storyline, Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) learns that the goddess of death Hela (played by Cate Blanchett) has broken from her prison and began her quest to bring an end to Thor’s home of Asgard. Thrown through the Bifrost by Hela onto a planet called Sakaar, Thor must team up with his brother Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), the Hulk/Bruce Banner (played by Mark Ruffalo), and an ex-warrior Valkyrie (performed by Tessa Thompson) to escape Sakaar and defend Asgard.

Because this is Thor’s third solo movie and fifth one overall in the Marvel Studios movie lineup, then that means that the character of Thor is pretty much developed. However, the plot of this movie lends itself to being perceived as a repeat of what he experienced in his first film because he is sent to an unfamiliar place and must think (and sometimes physically fight) his way out of the situations he is put in.

What has established right away in this movie that differs from the previous Thor movies is the more availability of comedy, both verbal and physical. The setting of Sakaar itself contributes most to the comedy aspect of this movie because of the planet’s active and somewhat narcissistic leader the Grandmaster (played by Jeff Goldblum) and how he has established this planet to receive power from chaos. This dominates presence of comedy also derives from the fact that the comedy is not subject to just one character, but every main character can get at least one chuckle or bellow of laughter from the audience.

Regarding putting this movie and its characters into the context of a Jesuit education, the role of Thor and his purpose in the movie is best summed up in the Jesuit value of “men and women for and with others.” What this film ultimately comes down to is the idea that Asgard is not a place – it’s people, meaning the people itself are the heart and soul of Asgard. Without them, there is nothing. So when the people are threatened by Hela, Thor and his comrades take it upon themselves to best serve the people of Asgard by working together despite differences of opinion and protect them.

From this standpoint, I’ll be one to say that I can see Thor walking around campus as a student and fitting right into the Jesuit atmosphere.